Leif's DISCONTINUED GURPS Traveller Game OOC01
- Thread starter Leif
- Start date
grufflehead
First Post
Gruffle is the ship's engineer. A young Vargr, he's a bit naive and still treats everything like a big adventure. He's a mathematical whiz, and can fix pretty much anything that flies or drives (and he has a bit of a 'thing' for driving cars), but doesn't cope with violence very well.
His sheet is here so you can see what skills and abilities he has (other PCs in the same thread):
http://www.enworld.org/forum/plots-...rps-traveller-rogues-gallery.html#post5266686
His sheet is here so you can see what skills and abilities he has (other PCs in the same thread):
http://www.enworld.org/forum/plots-...rps-traveller-rogues-gallery.html#post5266686
kookalouris
First Post
OK, you are using 4th edition rules but are you using the 3e setting (the Third Imperium) or the 4e setting (the Interstellar Wars, long before the Third Imperium)?
I'm sorry to split hairs but it's been a few decades for me to remember the finer points.
I'm sorry to split hairs but it's been a few decades for me to remember the finer points.
kookalouris
First Post
"So this Zhodani walks into an Imperial bar..."
Thanks for your replies. Here's my thoughts so far.
First, a shout-out to Shayuri, who I think was doing a fair amount of work for an Amber game that I was going to run on this board about two years ago. The game cratered because I got unexpectedly busy and I still feel bad about the work my would-be players did.
Now to this game:
I've read the threads and it seems like this game has had a little trouble finding its footing. There's been shuffling of characters and high concepts. Not a complaint, I know what it is like a PbP game is like (Hell, my Amber game never even started). What I'm saying is that a new character would be particularly eventful for a game that's currently this fragile.
So I will take some time and cultivate a character that I hope the group is satisfied with.
One question I have and then I think I can get to work. As I understand it, we are Zhodani characters (or at least sympathetic to the Zhodani) aboard a recognizably Zhodani ship in the middle of Imperial Space, correct? If so, how does the Imperial population feel about Zhodani outsiders in their midst?
Example: A character walks into a cantina in Imperial Space ('We don't serve their kind here.' ;-) ) in non-descript clothing and then orders a drink in an obvious Zhodani accent. What happens?
So what's the punchline to 'So this Zhodani walks into a bar...'?
This will let me know who paranoid my character should be.
Let me know what y'all think, at your leisure...
Gerry
P.S. This all reminds me of a joke I heard once.
"Q: How many GDW designers does it take to change a light bulb?"
Answer next reply...
Thanks for your replies. Here's my thoughts so far.
First, a shout-out to Shayuri, who I think was doing a fair amount of work for an Amber game that I was going to run on this board about two years ago. The game cratered because I got unexpectedly busy and I still feel bad about the work my would-be players did.
Now to this game:
I've read the threads and it seems like this game has had a little trouble finding its footing. There's been shuffling of characters and high concepts. Not a complaint, I know what it is like a PbP game is like (Hell, my Amber game never even started). What I'm saying is that a new character would be particularly eventful for a game that's currently this fragile.
So I will take some time and cultivate a character that I hope the group is satisfied with.
One question I have and then I think I can get to work. As I understand it, we are Zhodani characters (or at least sympathetic to the Zhodani) aboard a recognizably Zhodani ship in the middle of Imperial Space, correct? If so, how does the Imperial population feel about Zhodani outsiders in their midst?
Example: A character walks into a cantina in Imperial Space ('We don't serve their kind here.' ;-) ) in non-descript clothing and then orders a drink in an obvious Zhodani accent. What happens?
- Instant gunfire and death?
- Local toughs try to start a barfight with their rivals?
- Grudging comments about 'telespies' and mind-controllers?
- Shrugged shoulders and tolerance, if not acceptance?
- Sudden inexplicable affection and instant comaraderie ('You don't need to see my identification.' :::hand wave::: It's GOOD to be the psychic.)?
So what's the punchline to 'So this Zhodani walks into a bar...'?
This will let me know who paranoid my character should be.Let me know what y'all think, at your leisure...
Gerry
P.S. This all reminds me of a joke I heard once.
"Q: How many GDW designers does it take to change a light bulb?"
Answer next reply...
Leif
Adventurer
That is definitely a serious quirk of this game, Kookalouris. I didn't set out to have things that way, it just kinda happened. Ok, it was probably my fault for commenting on how much I liked the design of the Zhodani Courier ship, which has now become the party's vessel. Anyway, I've stated, as you may have seen, that, "The fragile peace between the Zhodani Consulate and the Imperium is holding." So far, while individuals on both sides may dislike or hate the other side, relations between the two powers are grudgingly friendly. Think of it like the tensions between christians and jews in central Europe. Jews [Zhodani] are tolerated, but they tend to be clannish and stick to the portions of civilization where they are as much in the majority as possible. And, [mostly the young] Imperial citizens go 'slumming' at times to get a taste of an alien culture. Intermarriages are uncommon, but not unheard of, cf. the heritage of our own Zoe. The bottom line is, of course, the Bottom Line: as long as the Imperium can make good cred because of/from the Zhodani, they are willing to put up with a surprising amount of stuff. Also, I've stated that the tech level in the Consulate is 12, which is probably 1 to 2 levels higher than what is prevalent in the Imperium. So they really don't want to start something with a technologically superior people, anyway.
Does that help?
Does that help?
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As Leif is the GM, his answer is official...I just thought I'd share my personal spin on this question, as it was throwing me for a loop too.
Zoe is of mixed heritage, and favors her Imperial father in looks...most Imperials would not look at her and immediately recognize her as Zhodani. That's one reason she's been 'drafted' as it were, for this duty.
The ship's make and model are Zhodani, but like most things in Traveler, it's been in production for a long time. It's not impossible, or even implausible that such a vessel could have fallen into the hands of an Imperial. Of course, any Imperial engineer who got a look at it would be able to tell this particular ship is of relatively recent manufacture, but the model itself is not a giveaway.
And finally, the original game had us not in Imperial space, but in the Vargr Extents, where Zhodani are more tolerated, in general. The general impression I got was that we'll likely be on fringe worlds and sectors a lot, where weird things like freebooters tooling around in a captured Zhodani ship aren't as weird...or at least aren't as likely to stir official reprisal.
Now, if we strolled into Core with this baby, I'd fully expect to have a flotilla of SDB's barreling down on us right away.
As for tech, I always thought the Zho were just a smidge behind the Imperial state of the art...though I think they're better about distributing their technology throughout their space. In other words, Zhodani worlds have a high -average- tech level than Imperial worlds, but the highest possible Zhodani tech level is a little behind the highest possible Imperial tech level.
Nitpicky little detail though, and unlikely to make a difference. The Imperium is definitely not looking for another Zhodani War, regardless.
Oh, and let me take a stab at that riddle:
Answer: "One, as long as he doesn't die during character generation."
Zoe is of mixed heritage, and favors her Imperial father in looks...most Imperials would not look at her and immediately recognize her as Zhodani. That's one reason she's been 'drafted' as it were, for this duty.
The ship's make and model are Zhodani, but like most things in Traveler, it's been in production for a long time. It's not impossible, or even implausible that such a vessel could have fallen into the hands of an Imperial. Of course, any Imperial engineer who got a look at it would be able to tell this particular ship is of relatively recent manufacture, but the model itself is not a giveaway.
And finally, the original game had us not in Imperial space, but in the Vargr Extents, where Zhodani are more tolerated, in general. The general impression I got was that we'll likely be on fringe worlds and sectors a lot, where weird things like freebooters tooling around in a captured Zhodani ship aren't as weird...or at least aren't as likely to stir official reprisal.
Now, if we strolled into Core with this baby, I'd fully expect to have a flotilla of SDB's barreling down on us right away.
As for tech, I always thought the Zho were just a smidge behind the Imperial state of the art...though I think they're better about distributing their technology throughout their space. In other words, Zhodani worlds have a high -average- tech level than Imperial worlds, but the highest possible Zhodani tech level is a little behind the highest possible Imperial tech level.
Nitpicky little detail though, and unlikely to make a difference. The Imperium is definitely not looking for another Zhodani War, regardless.
Oh, and let me take a stab at that riddle:
Answer: "One, as long as he doesn't die during character generation."
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