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campaign basics - a short overview of the campaign

mission statement of the adventure/campaign

books you may or may not want to get

PDF files and forms for your use

rules and style of play - house rules and other such sundries

character generation

character casting

campaign topics - basic BASIC info on some sci-fi and space-related things you might be wondering about

character templates - some basic templates you can use directly or tweak as much as you like

equipment and weapons/armor

GURPS links

Get in the Mood - movies, books and websites to check out, if you have time

Campaign basics

It will be set in the far-future outer space in the Traveller "universe", with all the types of things you might expect. Think of Titan A.E., Aliens (from the aspect of planetary/asteroidal mining and huge corporations at least), the computer game Privateer, etc. Things like Imperial Space Marines (Warhammer 40K obviously) and traders/smugglers (think of Han Solo and Chewbacca) do exist quite openly and near the close of the first adventure the group will be able to decide what direction they would like to go.

I will leave the Traveller setting basically as-is. It is a sci-fi, far-future, galaxy-spanning setting, using some "safe science" (limited genetic engineering, cybernetics, etc.) mixed with some "space opera" style technologies (jump drives, aliens, etc.).

The playing group will be starting somewhere on the fringes of Imperium-controlled space in a region that is dominated by humans.

There are alien races in the Traveller universe, but for the time being we will play in a human-dominated area. At least, the first group of characters will be all human. Assume that you are able to choose your archetype freely, see below for Traveller templates, but feel free to mix and match or create your own. Characters will start at the 85-point level (think of a star athelete or seasoned SAS officer), with a maximum of 40 points of disadvantages. I would suggest not putting too many points into your status or wealth, because NPC reactions will vary from world to world (unless you're the equivalent of David Beckham, and your status points must reflect that) and who knows if your monetary credits will be any good! :)

As much as possible I'll use metric measurements for the game, to give it more spacey feel. Here is a link for GURPS speeds converted into metric units: http://www.dangermouse.net/gurps/srtable.html

Mission Statement for the campaign

The key words I want to use for the game are:

MYSTERIOUS - every character should have some sort of secret...whether a hidden motive, an enemy hunting them, working for some uber-corporation, etc. We'll come up with something for everybody! Basically I want lots of sub-plot ideas ;)
ADVENTUROUS - naturally the adventures should be "big" but not "epic" - you're not going to be asked to save the universe from galaxy-sized monsters, hopefully you'll be needing to save your skins often enough!
QUICK TO PLAY - even the basic GURPS combat rules can get bogged down in a big fight, and the advanced rules are VERY advanced if you use all of them (one-second rounds, to-hit rolls for each bullet). I plan to use a mix of very basic and some advanced rules to make it a semi-realistic game when combat does come into play. The Angel game has some nice ideas the way Corey does it.
FUN - Naturally, the game needs to be fun for everyone. I have read and re-read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and while I don't plan to use ideas directly from the books (like the Heart of Gold) I want to keep it light and fun all the same, like the books, even if there are serious bits. Shouldn't be hard with this group.

In addition to these key words, I want to have a balance between cinematic (like a TV show or movie) and realistic (a few "crunchy" bits of real science, like travel times from jump point to planet, but not so crunchy that we have to do the equations for planetary escape velocity). Think of Stargate, Alien, etc. Heroes can be heroes but people will still die if they're dumped out of an airlock. Or if you go up against 10 heavily armed guards with nothing but a marker pen, don't expect to come out unscathed.

Books

You don't actually need to buy anything at this point.

Here is a list of books that I have:

• GURPS 3rd edition, revised - the main rules book, which as I've mentioned will be supplanted in the next few weeks. You're welcome to buy it if you want as I've told you, because the main Traveller book won't be updated until early 2005. If you really want to get a book (Corey!), try to find this used or at a discounted price.
• GURPS Compendium I - a collection of ALL skills, advantages, disadvantages, etc. from all the various world books and source books that have been released for GURPS, up to 1996. Compendium I will be incorporated into the 4th edition main book, but of course will be heavily updated. Buy it at your own risk, basically. :)
• GURPS Compendium II - meant for GMs because it has many advanced rules. Not a suggested buy.
• GURPS Traveller - of course, the main book for the Traveller universe. I'd suggest you NOT get this because only a little bit of it deals with history and character creation. Much of it is ship-related rules and conversions from earlier versions of Traveller. I have provided everyone with a handout containing the relevant details of the Traveller universe.
• GURPS High Tech, Ultra Tech - equipment and weapons from the current era to far-future. Buy it if you want, but I already have these.

I plan to get these books:

• GURPS 4th edition (already ordered actually) - the updated rules of course. You can go on the www.sjgames.com site to see what are the major sections that have been updated. Skill costs is one of the major things updated, as well asattribute changes. NOTE: I DON'T KNOW HOW SOON WE WILL UPDATE TO 4TH EDITION, SO I'D SUGGEST NOT BUYING THIS. It will be some time before we update. I want to have everyone comfortable with
• GURPS Space 3rd edition - not really useful for players, but it will help me make custom planets and figure out things like simplified ship-to-ship combat and that sort of thing.
• GURPS Ultra Tech 2 - more far-future equipment

There are a couple of other Traveller source books I'd like to get but those can basically wait.

PDF files and forms

Time Use form - this one is actually legal to download, and you'll use this to show what your character does when not adventuring and you WILL have to fill this out during game time to show what skills you are

3rd Edition Skills, Advantages and Disadvantages

GURPS Lite for 3rd Edition - designed to explain the system to new players, and help you make your first character

Instant Characters - handy for fast "hand" creation of characters after you get used to the system

Character Sheet Front and Character Sheet Back

Rules and Style of Play

Obviously we will use the GURPS rules for this game. Third Edition, Revised. Fourth edition will be out very soon and while I plan to buy it as soon as it is available, I can't say yet how soon we will upgrade to the fourth edition. Click here for a basic rundown of the GURPS system, from the official GURPS site.

I'll have a separate page up soon for the house rules to speed up combat and things, but for now I'll point you to Matt's GURPS Page, a pretty good and comprehensive listing of rules that one GURPS GM uses to make gameplay fast and simple. I plan to use many of his rules and once you understand how the skills and die rolls work you'll see how simple many of Matt's house rules are.

As far as my GMing style goes, you tell me what you want to do and I'll tell you how many times to roll :) I try to limit how many rolls there are, but obivously if you want to jump over a counter, pull out your pistol in the air, aim while landing, roll safely behind a dead person and shoot, there's going to be a few rolls involved. I definitely want to keep a cinematic style of play so I won't be keeping track of the cubic meters in your cargo hold, how many G's you must thrust in the ship to reach the planet, etc., as long as everything is kept within reason.

I'm not a killer GM (but I don't mind killing players, either) and I don't hand out loot like it's Christmas. I'm actually kind of stingy but I don't usually notice it unless someone points it out. I don't volunteer clues normally so if you guys are in the dark about something your characters will have to figure out something or wait until the "clue bat" bonks one of you on the head.

Character Generation

85 points to start with

40 points of disadvantages

at least 2 quirks must be filled in, up to 3 may be left "open" to fill in as we play the first adventure.... here's a list of quirks to look over, maybe you can get some ideas

maximum skill level of 18, a 15 or 16 maximum is recommended (so you have character points to spend on other things)

Luck advantage is required to enable a cinematic feel to the game - this takes all characters up to 100 pts, which is the standard starting level for GURPS characters

GURPS Lite for 3rd Edition - designed to explain the system to new players, and help you make your first character

Instant Characters - handy for fast "hand" creation of characters after you get used to the system

Some things to think about for your character:

• Where were you born? You may not know the name of your homeworld, but was it a backwater provincial world, seedy startown, posh noble planet, farming world? Why did you leave?
• What was your family situation? Did you have to raise your brothers and sisters? Were you orphaned? Were you sent off to war or slavery at a young age? Do you have a noble upbringing? Were you raised in a busy startown? Or did you have a mundane existence in the middle class of your world?
• What happened to you when you were a youth? Did war or famine set in? Did a family member die? Was your family home razed by battle or construction?
• As you reached your 20's, what situation did you find yourself in? Did you join the armed forces? Did you run off to avoid military service or schooling? Did you get involved with religion or drugs?
• What is your job now (as the game starts)? Are you a crewman on a ship? Are you a simple dockworker? Do you work for a company? Is the company huge or very small? Do you run a stall at a boot sale? Are you a smuggler or merchant? How did you get your job? How long have you been doing this job? Do you want to leave this job? What makes you stay with your job?
• What kind of people do you meet in your chosen line of work? Seedy criminal types? Scary religious types? Scummy corporate types?
• Are you religious? What type of religion suits your character? Monotheistic? Polytheistic? Animism (worship of spirits in inanimate objects)? Dualism (yin-yang, etc.)? Agnostic (not sure)? Occultism? A cult? What kind of cult?
• How do you feel about alien races? How much contact have you had with them? Do you trust them? Do you like them?
• Have you had any love interests in your life so far? SERIOUS love interests? What happened to them? Are you still in love? Do you still talk?
• Name and describe in two sentences or less TWO important crossroads in your life so far, up to the point the game is beginning.
• Don't tell the other characters your story until YOU feel it is right to share, within the context of the game.

Character "Casting"

If you want to base your characters in part or whole on a character from a book, show or movie, please do so. It makes it easier for the rest of us to know sort of who and what we're dealing with if you say "I'm going to be like Stallone in Demolition Man". It's also easy to build up any type of character with the ads/disads that are in the basic rules.

Be sure to look for some cool pictures of who will "play" your character online. :)

The flip side to having a character straight out of a movie is that he/she can be easy to "read" (predictable), so feel free to change any motives, looks, skills, etc. to fit exactly what you want to do with the character.

Campaign Topics

Here are some topics you guys may want to skim over. These are are just the basics, and the situation may change from world to world, depending on where you travel.

• The THIRD IMPERIUM (or IMPERIUM for short) - ruled by a human, this is the primary human conglomeration of systems that rules much of known space. This is the largest goverment and military force throughout known space, although by no means the only government. Laws and edicts are passed down from Capital and enforced by officers of the government and star marines. The Imperium occupies much of the centre of known space and is surrounded by other alien empires and dozens of smaller confederacies. Overall, the Imperium collects taxes from the systems it controls and enforces laws, puts down rebellions, etc., but the individual systems and planets are able to govern themselves as they see fit.
• FTL (FASTER THAN LIGHT) TRAVEL - ships equipped with 'jump drives' can travel from one parsec (about 12 light years) to 6 parsecs at a time, gathering hydrogen and other fuel materials from starports based at strategically placed systems. The lowest form of personal transport are the "freezers" where cryogenically frozen people pay about 1000 credits each for each jump. Interplanetary ships without jump drives roam every system, transporting people and materials to and from the system's planets.
• SPEED OF INFORMATION - because there is no "hyperspace news channel" that allows people to communicate instantaneously with people in other systems, news events and communication tends to be confined to planet-wide or system-wide communication systems. News travels (at the fastest) at 6 parsecs (60 light years) per week in fast jump-6 capable ships called X boats, which act as sort of the Pony Express of the Imperium. There are systems that allow digitized mail and news reports to be broadcast as soon as the X boat exits jumpspace, and then it refuels, gathers new messages to take to the next X boat station, and then leaves to deliver the next batch of mail. This system is considerably slower in the less organized and fragmented states that surround the Imperium. Other major regions have similar communications setups available.
• PSIONICS - illegal and highly distrusted within the Imperium but there are societies outside Imperium control (particularly the Vargr) that use psionics on a daily (and intrusive, to outsiders) basis. Rich people can actually afford psionic shields built into helmets, but generally psi's are rare. Rumors abound of secret societies and Imperial organizations that encourage psi's but no official record of them exist. Some people have been found that are able to naturally suppress, repulse or reflect psionic abilities, but because public research in this area is limited, widespread testing of psionic abilities is almost non-existent.
• ALIENS - humankind is the primary spacefaring species of the campaign (but not the Traveller setting), but there are different subspecies of humans and aliens populate the explored regions of space with quite a lot of regularity. Humans are basically at peace with the aliens, and the aliens with each other. Apart from territorial disputes and border flare-ups, there haven't been any major wars in years. Here's a link to a small PDF file of more alien races (that are not generally under the influence of the Third Imperium): http://www.sixpak.net/gurps/files/Gurps_Traveller_Alien_Race_Intro.pdf
• RELIGION - organized religion had a hard time coping with interstellar discoveries, especially sentient alien life, but with about 1700 years (from the present day) to recover, new religions have taken the place of the religions we are familiar with today but function in the same way. Religious wars are mainly confined to planetary conflicts and have not grown to enjulf whole systems (yet).
• CYBERTECHNOLOGY - "jacking in" with a simple plug is commonplace...as soon as a techno-minded person can afford it they can get an implant anywhere they wish. Either wrist is common for those with "techie" jobs or hobbies, while diplomats and merchants choose less obvious means such as in the hair behind the ear or pure wireless means. Body modifications are common but obvious modifications are not the current style in legitimate business or court transactions. Modifying yourself to beyond normal strength (or vision, or intelligence) is considered uncouth as well. People who modify themselves too much risk being classified as a robot (nonsentient and therefore liable to siezure). But amongst the seedy types these things can be common...and welcomed. Genetic manipulation (and bioweapons by extension) is distrusted by all, however rumors persist of secret bases on military-controlled worlds where experiments take place. Legally, you are not permitted to genetically modify yourself to falsify identity checks, etc.
• ROBOTS - no sentient robots or machines exist, and although some pleasurebots and butlerbots, etc., can be made to mimic the human form, they are merely robots, nothing more. War robots are used as well but not often. All robots and machines are imprinted with what basically amounts to Asimov's Laws of Robotics (a robot may not harm a human, or by inaction allow a human to be harmed, etc.).
• SPACE HULKS - yes, space hulks :) Occasionally, ships will not make it out of jumpspace, the "space" that jump-enabled ships go into to travel from jump point to jump point. No one is sure why. When a space hulk (empty, nonresponsive ship) is found, local crews race to be the first to the scene to claim any salvage rights they may have (if the Imperial Navy doesn't chase them away and claim the ship for research). Stories are told to children and young crewmembers about haunted ships, or ships from the first stages of FTL travel that carry the still-living remains of warped, twisted astronauts...
• NANOTECHNOLOGY - as noted in the handout I have you (pages 14-15 of the GURPS Traveller book, sidebars), nanotechnology is currently extremely expensive as well as highly experimental, and does not play a role in the Traveller universe because of this.
• WEAPONS AND EQUIPMENT TECHNOLOGY - see pages 107-110 of the Traveller main book for details on things like beam weapons, communications technology, slug weapons (ballistic guns), drugs, etc. Things like force swords (lightsabers), monowire weapons, vibroblades, etc., are so rare as to be nonexistant. Take note!

Character Templates

Just a list of 'official' templates in the Traveller main book, feel free to take ideas (or not)

Here's a link to a medium PDF file (maybe 15 pages) of the Traveller character templates:
http://www.sixpak.net/gurps/files/Gurps_Traveller_Character_Templates_Jobs.pdf

athelete,
attorney,
barbarian (you come from or live on a low-tech world),
belter (space miner),
bounty hunter,
bureaucrat,
computer tech,
corsair (pirate),
diplomat,
engineer (engine crew on a ship),
entertainer,
farmer (Luke Skywalker!),
hunter/guide,
journalist/reporter,
law enforcer,
manager (office worker),
martial artist,
mechanic/technician (different than engineer),
doctor,
medical tech,
merchant,
professor,
rogue,
scientist,
scout,
undercover agent,
wealthy traveller,
army (enlisted),
army (officer),
army
aviation (enlisted),
army aviation (officer),
marine (enlisted),
marine (officer),
marine special ops (enlisted),
marine special ops (officer),
navy (enlisted),
navy (officer),
navy aviation (officer)

Equipment and Weapons/Armor

Much of the stuff in the Ultra Tech and Ultra Tech 2 books are available, with some exceptions (nanomachines and that sort of thing). Ultra Tech basically covers most sci-fi type weapons and equipment. The High Tech book, which covers modern-day equipment, includes stuff available just about anywhere in the Traveller universe. Stuff like really old-tech stuff is in the Low Tech book. I have all of these books except for Low Tech, which I don't anticipate us needing. :)

Here's a link to an 11-page PDF file of Traveller equipment and weapons:
http://www.sixpak.net/gurps/files/Gurps_Traveller_Equipment.pdf

More links to PDF files related to GURPS Space characters (including Space-specific characters, jobs, gadgets, medicine, weapons and skills, etc.) are here - scroll to the bottom: http://www.sixpak.net/gurps/index.php

Don't assume that because something is in these books that it's automatically included in the Traveller setting. If you have specific questions I'll look them up as I get time.

GURPS Links

http://www.sjgames.com/ Official Steve Jackson Games site (they also do Munchkin, Illuminati and dozens of other games)

http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/ Official GURPS site, with links to information for 4th edition, resources, articles, play aids, and all the sourcebooks

http://www.sjgames.com/gurps/traveller/ Official GURPS Traveller site

http://www.hunterandlori.com/GURPSLinks.html Hunter Johnson's GURPS links

http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Lair/7940/gurps-links.html (Massive) List of unofficial GURPS links

http://www.sjgames.com//gurps/fanpages.html Official list of unofficial GURPS links

Get in the Mood

Movies:

• Fifth Element (huge mega-city, general mood)
• 2001: A Space Odyssey (spacey feel, esp. the early bit)
• Heavy Metal (general mood, space themes)
• Solaris (space ship in trouble)
• Alien (space ship in trouble)
• Aliens (space marines, combat)
• Event Horizon (space ship in trouble)
• Pitch Black (crash landing on alien planet)
• Final Fantasy (huge mega-city)
• Demolition Man (quasi-utopian city/society)
• The Black Hole (crazy scientist in space)
• Titan A.E. (humans interacting with aliens)
• Dune (isolated rulers)
• Star Wars: Attack of the Clones (only for the Coruscant scenes)
• Minority Report (general mood)
• Blade Runner (dreariness of the city, mood)
• Mad Max/Road Warrior (general mood)
• Running Man (general mood)
• Starship Troopers (space marines in space, combat)
• Galaxy Quest (taking the piss out of Star Trek, general mood)

Books:

• Revelation Space by Alistair Reynolds (very "crunchy" sci-fi, not the same technology as far as ship travel but excellent)
• Foundation (series) by Isaac Asimov (Trantor was the basis for Coruscant in SW: AotC and the basic premise of a galaxy-spanning human civilization is part of the inspiration for the Traveller setting)

websites:

• Astronomy Picture of the Day Archive (excellent pictures, great for wallpapers!)

Note also that I didn't copy the books into PDF form :) but some are generic handouts anyway, so no harm done.

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