 September 26, 2014 - 3:45am | Read a recommendation on this module and tracked it down on ebay (Mint condition $9 with shipping though its so mint that it almost has to be a reprint). Murder mystery module and has a lot of information on setting up a murder mystery. From my reading i think its easy enough to adapt to any setting. The module has high replayability in that the referee chooses which of 9 suspects could be the murderer and provision is there for new referee created suspects to be included. There is also a chapter on the PC as the murderer. Also there is a discussion on complexity of the murder and how to make it simple or more complex which lets a referee adjust the adventure to the needs of his campaign. Another standard feature is Library Data which is basically a brief player hand out on an adventure rellavent topic if the players should consult a computer or even ask the right NPC a good question they can referee the player to this info. Things like this that have been prepared for the referee and not left to him to prepare are causing me to think that GDW needs a nod of the head to producing some of the best Sci fi rpg modules back in the day. I have to say that after now reading 2 Traveller adventures I really appreciate the section called "Standards and Assumptions" which is about rooting you in the setting I dont play Traveller but this section is brief and if I did play Traveller I can see its value. It was a good recommendation, a good purchase and I'm very happy I bought this on speculation. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
September 26, 2014 - 4:15am | Looking at the set up for this adventure I'm struck by 2 things: 1. the "en media res" background beginning is real good- so good it deserve to be played: The job had been a hard one, but the adventurers had pulled it off. The missing ore carrier belonging to Lamarck Minerals, LLC, had been discovered deep in the Arcturus belt, and the plot by disgruntled employees to steal the vessel and flee the subsector was uncovered and nipped in the bud. Now the group was back on Arcturus station 3 to meet their employer, Ringill Urshukaan, the president of Lamarck Minerals. Here they could collect their payment and await the arrival of the intrasystem liner that would ferry them to Wainwright Starport and a ship bound outsystem. Perhaps they should have listened more closely to some of the stories the miners had told concerning Lamarck Minerals and Urshukaan's usual treatment of employees. To me that is a great plot seed and worth actually playing instead of hand waving it away as background. It lets the PCs meet the station manager and work with her instead of her background being that "she became a freind of the PCs during their prior mission and will help them now". You could even allow for a romantic laison between a PC and the station manager if your group was so inclined to allow for some romance among characters. 2. The second part of the set up is the interview with the company president. Its goal is to establish him as a bastard of a corporate exec that many people want to kill and set up the PCs with a money motive to kill him too. The party is told in no uncertain terms that Urshukaan is dissatisfied with their performance on the job just completed. Though they recovered the ship, and gathered evidence against the plotting employees, they failed to capture the ringleader, and took too much time to carry out the task. Urshukaan has decided, therefore, that Lamarck Minerals will not honor the contract- in accordance with a non-performance clause which permits him to do this with perfect legality. The adventurers have been cut off completely from the Cr50,000 apiece promised at the beginning of the mission, and have nothing to show beyond a small advance against expenses now more than used up during the mission itself. They also miss the liner (that Urshukaan arrived on) to the star port because he kept them waiting and now have to spend a week on the station waiting for the next one and they have to pay for their lodging as well. Four hours latter Urshukaan is found dead. In the tradition of Star Frontiers presenting corporate execs and mega corps as the baddies this module did a good job setting up the corporate exec for murder. I love the non performance clause issue- thats bound to piss the players off especially if they had slogged through the background adventure of finding the ore carrier. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
September 26, 2014 - 12:19pm | Concerning suspects and complexity. There are 3 each suspects for business or money motive, love triangle motive, and background motive. The background motive is linked to a revolt he brutally but effectively put down as a temporary governor for the empire with a company of imperial marines. He was disavowed by higher command but remains popular in this area of space since many worlds were concerned that the revolt could spread. Referee can go for mild complexity with only one suspect from each area or use all nine. He can further complicate things with two suspects working together- shades of Orient Express. PCs have three days to solve this at the behest of station manager before a government investigator arrives who is ambitious but lacks friends and influence which means he will try to pin it on an scape goat. Pcs will need solid evidence if they are to accuse anyone of influence but pissing off the suspects of influence could get them charged by said government stooge though only the referee knows this. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 September 26, 2014 - 12:44pm | One of my favorite Traveller modules but one that does require a little homework for the GM since evidence needs to be found and conclusions drawn. Really one for a more experienced group who can handle roleplaying over just shooting everything. Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
 September 27, 2014 - 6:19am | A great traveller adventure to be sure. It's a bummer the subtlety of the thing would be lost on my players/children... I just ran Expedition to Zhodane for my kids - minus the Zhodane. The Professor needed to be rescued from a faction which had him hostage, but the asteroid ship, the mining slave base and all that was good idea fodder. I love mining traveller for ideas. Don't think I'll ever actually play the game though, way too crunchy for me. |
September 27, 2014 - 6:40am | I've been wondering about a Traveller to SF conversion guide. From what I can see you'd need a skill coinversion and potentially a ship conversion guide as it seems Traveller ships have more firepower than SF ships. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
September 28, 2014 - 11:16am | I wonder if it's even possible with as many differences between the two systems. I pretty much use the Jedion approach - just distill the system out of it, then put it back together in the system you want. "X needs to happen. This is what's required for X to happen. These obstacles are in the way. Y needs to happen to pass said obstacles. These bad guys are opposed. They need Z amount of hits to eliminate." Etc. |
 October 27, 2014 - 4:54am | Traveler has some great stuff... I am so ripping off one of the races to add to SF. "Never fire a laser at a mirror." |
 October 27, 2014 - 10:10pm | Which Traveller race are you "ripping off"? Just curious. |
October 28, 2014 - 4:37am | I am thinking the K'kree... vaguely horse like herbivores with the desire to make everyone a vegetarian & exterminate all carnivores. A herd based society. But Traveller has a ton of great races to pilfer & modify as needed, here is a list: http://wiki.travellerrpg.com/Races/summary... "Never fire a laser at a mirror." |
