Cepheus Journal #3 is avaiable!

"The Cepheus Journal is a free and ad-free Fanzine for the Cepheus Engine RPG. We will cover all sorts of settings that uses the Cepheus Engine rules. That could be Science Fiction, Fantasy, Modern, Historical and more."

The Contents:

• Alpha Centauri
• The Quarlon
• Additional Shield Rules for Sword of Cepheus
• Disarm Rules for Sword of Cepheus
• Factions
• People’s Army of Vietnam Rifle Platoon
• Vega Subsector
• Provincial Cruiser
• The Gebbebem
• Tau Ceti
• TSAO Review
• The Nissi

Excerpts from Disarm Action and Shield Rules

Whiteshadow, a PC sorcerer, is Charmed by an enemy magician. The enemy instructs him to disarm Cuthden Redfang, his comrade, who is attentively watching the stairwell down to the next dungeon level. Redfang is guarding against an attack from below, so he does not notice what Whiteshadow is doing. The Referee decides Whiteshadow gets Surprise in his lunge for Redfang's two-handed sword.

Whiteshadow: No STR DM, +1 for Melee Cbt, +2 for Surprise, total +3

Redfang: +1 STR DM, +2 for Melee Cbt, +1 for heavier weapon, +1 for wielding a sword, total +5.

Redfang's player threw a 4 +5=9. Whiteshadow's player threw 5+3=8. Whiteshadow fails to get the sword out of Redfang's hands. Now Whiteshadow's player gets to do some role-playing to explain his curious behavior. Redfang is unlikely to attack his comrade without clear evidence of treachery, but Surprise is lost. Without it, Whiteshadow's chance of success is slim.

The Shield of Sligh the Invincible

This mythical weapon of great potency guarded the mightiest warrior of the Eastern Steppes as he waged relentless war on the Central Kingdoms. It was described by some as a circle of mirror-bright metal which no sword or ax could mar nor dull. Fearlessly Sligh stood against hordes of foes bearing the shield which only he was strong enough to hold. At the Battle of the Sundered Slopes he alone held a narrow defile against the Army of Five Kings while his forces raised a breastwork in the gorge behind him. 

After his death the Shield of Sligh became the prize in a mighty tournament fought by the Five Kings, as they all coveted it. A mysterious knight calling himself The Disinherited One entered the contest, and besting all comers, rode off with the Shield. None were able to follow him, or learn what his right name was. The shield vanished from men's tales after that contest. 

Yes, these are the two bits that I wrote for this issue.

Here's a Link to Issue 002

Here's a Link to Issue 001

Check it out!

Play Report - Mission on Mithril

Finally, after 38 years.

A Mission on Mithril Play Report

While my elder son was home on leave from the Air Force (Flyers, term 1) we got in a little Traveller. With his time at home limited, we opted for a standalone adventure rather than launching a new campaign. What better time to go ad fontes (back to the sources)? At their request, I pulled down Mission on Mithril.

MoM may seem like a very 'linear' adventure. On inspection it has enough variety & flexibility that you could run it over and over, with a different adventure each time.

The general layout of the adventure is this: a small Scout ship crew are stranded on Mithril in the Sword Worlds. Mithril is cold, as in arctic cold, and almost uninhabited. The Class E starport does not draw much traffic, so the chance of beneficial starship encounters is low.

Their ship has a malfunction which prevents them from jumping out-system. 

What Kills Travellers?

“I've treated bullet holes, knife wounds, laser burns . . .” - a frustrated ship's Medic to his Captain.

“Some of our jobs are more interesting than others,” - the Captain.

The Universe of Traveller is full of danger. The mini-game that is character generation (rather than character creation) emphasizes the fact that a Traveller universe can be deadly. But what particular things are likely to kill a Traveller?

 

Simple answer: bullets. Most fights in Traveller are gun fights, and it takes only 2-3 bullets to end a Traveller. So avoid those. But how, you ask?

I considered this question after reading Rick Stump's blog post on Low Level Encounters in D&D. In that game, PCs at lower levels are fragile and not powerful. They tend to die a lot. Traveller PCs are not “first level”, but their experience does not make them more resistant to damage, unlike D&D. TTB has no guidance at all about how difficult any type of encounter may be. The Referee can put any obstacle in the PCs' way.

Rick identified four factors that the Referee must keep in mind to avoid creating Killer Encounters resulting in a TPK. I have nowhere near Rick's amount of experience as a Referee, so I take his ideas as a guide. Looking at the rules, these four things are what players, rather than Referees, should watch out for.

Four Things

Product Review - Cepheus Atom

Cepheus Atom by Omer Golan-Joel; published by Stellagama Publishing through DriveThruRPG.com

I'm using my old review format from the Amber Zone reviews to discuss this game book.

C-Atom is a compact (less than 50 pages of rules!, and that's digest-sized pages) rules-light game set on Earth, after a cataclysmic war that ended the world. Nuclear weapons, poison gas, germ bombs, you name it. All the nasty stuff you can think of has happened. C-Atom is not set up for complex characterizations, and nuanced interactions with exactingly detailed NPC societies. It's a 1950's vintage Atomic Horror movie. The author calls it a “beer and pretzels” game.

Location: The game's setting implies that the whole Earth was affected by the Final War. So the PCs can begin play in their own home town if they want, or pick any place on the planet. It's terrible most everywhere, though, so expect trouble wherever you begin.

Mission: Survive! Maybe the PCs can find someplace that isn't ruined by Contamination where they can find a bit of peace and begin to rebuild the world. The rebuilding part, however, is outside the scope of the game.

Complications: There are mutants and monsters and out-of-control robots aplenty to ruin the PC's day. Even the environment is out to get you; Contamination is everywhere, and will Mutate you with enough exposure. Most of your equipment must be scrounged. Fortunately there are some high-tech goodies to be found - like Jetpacks!

Strong Points: C-Atom gets a lot done in not a lot of space. PCs and NPCs are super-fast to create, and with a familiar setting (Earth) play can get started right away. The game's objectives and story-focus is not limited – it's precise. It is trying to do just one thing, and that it does nicely. Imaginative players can throw in whatever sub-plots they may want, or concentrate on blasting that next Lobstrosity or Spidergoat before their ammo runs out.

Weak Points: Okay, a quibble. Mutations are referred to in one place as Flaws and Perks, but not in the tables that explicate what the mutations actually do. It should be consistent.

What I'd change: This setting is not my cup of coffee, but like every other RPG product I get my hands on, I pored over it looking for things I can use in Traveller (and now also Cepheus Light & Sword of Cepheus). So not to change, but to <ahem> borrow: the Mutations fit in well with my concept of Genetically Modified Humans. C-Atom presents Mutations both beneficial and baneful, and I'll use both. The Contamination idea in general is usable as a different environmental hazard to encounter. The Unusual Weather table is handy – throw a quick complication at the PCs while they're out exploring.

In My Traveller Universe: Mutations, radiation and nasty WMD's could appear anywhere in my TU.

To Sum Up: A mechanically-simple game that your game group might try for a change of pace. It is simple enough in concept and execution to spring on a party or family get together for an impromptu game that will surely bring lots of laughs. Not a game for the serious role-player, or for those who don't want to suddenly develop Laser Eyes.

Omer was kind enough to send me a complimentary copy of Cepheus Atom. 

The Perfect RPG Book?

 According to James Maleszewski, author of the blog Grognardia (far more knowledgeable and prolific than I am), there is a perfect RPG book, and it is:

The Traveller Book.

It has been my Traveller rules-of-reference since I got my copy as a gift from and old friend. Mine doesn't have the dust jacket, and I've penciled in lots of house rules, and stuck in rules/ideas printed from other sources. It is the book I turn to when I need to know the order of results on the Rumor Table or what small craft a Type-C cruiser has aboard. I admit that after 30 years, I've got so much of the rules memorized (or think I do) that I don't have to consult it except for details like table entries. I even wrote an index for it once, just for practice.

Read James' explanation here.

Image borrowed from Wayne's Books.

Military Reputations in the Corriodor

This is a panel from a G I Joe: A Real American Hero comic from back in the late 1980's. I've edited the text balloons a bit to reflect the situation in Holtzmann's Corridor. In case it's not obvious, a Raid and Hostage Rescue has just taken place. 

Now this is just a bit of silly fun on a Friday night, but it does reflect a bit of the political rivalry that exists in my Church and Empire setting. 

What could be said about the Pocket Empires or the Third Imperium & its rivals in your game?

Bonus points if you have this issue, and can tell me who these two mercenaries were actually talking about.

Fire for Effect! the Forward Observer Skill

The Forward Observer skill has long puzzled me. When I was a teenager getting into Traveller (in the 1980's) I could not get my head around what the Forward Observer skill was good for. Why did they include it? Now these many years later, I have an answer for that. It turns out that I've missed out on some exciting adventure opportunities!

 

The first reason that FO skill confused me is that to me this skill deals with Big Guns - mortars & howitzers; you know, artillery. Classic Traveller has next-to-nothing to say about Big Guns, at least ground-based ones. The Book 1 Gunnery skill is primarily about starship weapons. The skill text does say that “Gunnery may also be used for similar weapons mounted on ATVs or air/rafts.”

which suggests that these vehicles can have energy or projectile weapons. The Vehicles section mentions AFVs but nothing whatsoever about how to adjudicate fire from Big Guns. Starter Traveller didn't even mention AFVs.

 

A quick digression. Back in the day I did not conceive of the rules as a toolkit for adding my own features into a Traveller setting. I expected the publishers to do it all for me. I have since changed my outlook.

Where was I? Oh yes. Without rules to define and use Big Guns, I had no way to actually use the FO skill except in the most abstract sense. I also lacked the real world information and the sci-fi reading background to make use of the FO skill by whipping up some Big Gun rules.

I think the FO skill did not survive past the Classic edition of Traveller. If later editions still have it, please enlighten me in the comments. If you open up Book 1, it is available on the Service skills table for the Navy, and the Army. If you look in Book 4, Mercenary, FO skill appears on the Artillery and Marine MOS tables, the Staff and Shipboard skill tables. Note in Book 1 this is a skill for Navy and Army types; in Book 4, it becomes a Marine skill as well. It appears in Book 5, High Guard on the Shore Duty and Gunnery MOS tables. Book 4 also introduces the Field Artillery gunnery skill. I'll add a thought on that later.

Hunting Big Game in Traveller

Question: How many shots does it take to bring down an elephant?

Answer: Either One, or lots.

In CT the animal creation process is flexible and simple enough to allow a Referee to create new creatures on the fly. The table scales from 1 kg (rats, rabbits) to 44,000 kg (dinosaurs, dragons, whales).

• A 6,000 kg creature (e.g. a forest elephant) has 9D/4D hit dice. Average 32/14, max 54/24
• A 12,000 kg creature (e.g. an African bush elephant) has 10D/5D hit dice. Average 35/18, max 60/30

This is an elephant to scale with humans, for comparison.

Problem is, it is astonishingly unlikely that a Referee will roll up 'max hit points' with random rolling, at these levels.

A Cepheus Light Vehicle Chase

Rance, Edith and Halls are in a Rambler, a light wheeled ATV. Rance was following up a rumor about a Glorious Empire installation out in the distant back woods of Mardahak. What they found instead was an old factory in ruins and an ambush. They are fleeing from a group of brigands in a pickup truck. The brigands are pursuing them hoping to steal the Rambler. Edith drives off of the dirt road and across the scrub and grass choked fields.

Rambler:

TL 7, Wheeled Vehicle, Kcr 25, AGL +0, Speed 110 kph, Crew 1 Psg 4

Light dmg 6, Critical dmg 10 No weapons, Open, 200 kg cargo

2 shooters, 1 revolver, 1 pistol JoT-1, DM -2

Pickup:

TL 6 Wheeled Vehicle, Kcr 7, AGL +0, Speed 160 kph, Crew 1 Psg 2

Light dmg 4, Critical dmg 7 No weapons, Open, 500 kg cargo

2 shooters, 1 rifle, 1 carbine Driver-1, DM +1

Athletics Skill in Cepheus Light

Here's a fun optional rule that can liven up your CL game.

At Athletics-3, characters gain the ability to use Parkour for movement around urban areas or aboard ships.

[From Wikipedia] Parkour (French) is a training discipline using movement that developed from military obstacle course training. Practitioners . . . aim to get from one point to another in a complex environment, without assistive equipment and in the fastest and most efficient way possible. Parkour includes running, climbing, swinging, vaulting, jumping, plyometrics, rolling, quadrupedal movement (crawling) and other movements as deemed most suitable for the situation (not to be confused with freerunning). Parkour's development from military training gives it some aspects of a non-combative martial art.

Parkour is an activity that can be practiced alone or with others and is usually carried out in urban spaces, though it can be done anywhere. Parkour involves seeing one's environment in a new way, and imagining the potential for navigating it by movement around, across, through, over and under its features.

A practitioner of Parkour is called a traceur (M) or a traceuse (F).

Some examples of common movements are:

• Vaulting over obstacles.

• "Precision" Jumping and landing accurately with the feet on small or narrow obstacles.

• "Arm Jumps" Jumping and landing feet-first on a vertical surface, catching the horizontal top with the hands.

• Using a rolling motion to help absorb impacts from larger drops.

• Running towards a high wall and then jumping and pushing off the wall with a foot to reach the top of the wall.

• Moving from a position hanging from a wall-top or ledge, to standing on the top or over to the other side.

Raise Shields!

Traveller has, from time to time, taken a little gentle ribbing over the fact that it has rules for spears and swords. This is a game of science fiction adventure in the far future. Well, so what if it does? Sci-fi classics from The Time Machine to The Dumarest Saga and King David's Spaceship had characters use swords and other melee weapons.

So there should also be rules for the use of that natural companion of the sword, the shield.

Shields are the oldest defensive technology of mankind. A shield is a portable barrier, often strapped to the arm or carried by one hand. It protects the bearer against attacks from the front.

Normally you use a shield with a one-handed weapon (blade, club, handgun). If the bearer wishes, he can fit his shield with a weapon rest so that the shield supports long arms (spears, long guns). All attacks with these weapons are at DM -2.  Very high-tech shields may incorporate stabilization and anti-grav to negate this penalty. Imagine heavy weapons carried behind a gun shield!

Unskilled Weapon Users

Can you find the Unskilled fighter in this group?

I read recently a post on anther blog about the differences in fighting capability in classic D&D. A 'normal man' has less damage resistance. His to-hit numbers are higher than the PC's, and his saving throw numbers are higher as well. The post made the case for the clear superiority of the dungeon-delving adventurer. Can the same be said for Travellers?

Well, yes!

I refer to TTB, page 37.

“Any character using a weapon in which he or she has no training is subject to a penalty of -5 when attacking and +3 when defending. All player characters automatically have an expertise of zero . . . in all weapons shown in this book. [I call this the Weapon Mastery advantage] This zero value is sufficient to avoid the no-expertise penalty, but it is not enough to provide a positive DM. Payer characters selecting their weapons should consider the potential benefits of their strength and dexterity levels and any DMs that might be available for those characteristics.”

The PC's Weapon Mastery advantage means a PC will never get caught at a loss owing to unfamiliar weapons. Any PC can take on ANY opponent on reasonably equal ground. A knife fight in an alley to a formal duel in the Duke's courtyard with laser pistols to open field battle. How many of us could say that?

Speaking of Weapon Master, here's one example of what it looks like. Note the way Shiu Lien's attacks change as she goes through a variety of weapons.

She uses:

• a sword, including dual-wielding
• a spear
• sword-breaker hooked swords
• a huge pole-arm (and an example of not meeting the Required Strength)
• a massive bronze cudgel
• a broadsword

all without breaking stride. That's Weapon Mastery.

It makes your two-term Other character seem a little more awesome, doesn't it? Fighting in a training hall, your PC could do the same.

New Subsector, New Rules, New Characters

For my new experiment in using Cepheus Light, I've rolled up a few new characters. I found some character images in Planet Stories v2 # 12 (1945) and thought they looked just about perfect for my new adventurers.

I present: 

Robert Rance, Ace Adventurer

Random Encounters - Two Patrons

Alistair Deacon

Business Mogul, someone who always “knows a guy” who can help the PCs – in exchange for a favor.

A Deal is about to be born. And it will be profitable.

Deacon is not that tall, not that big and not that impressive looking. A good-looking guy, sure, but a city-dweller and ground-pounder.

He tends to be 'flash' – you'll find him at the popular clubs, often tossing credits around. His clothes are always the current fashion, and tailor-made. Any tech he carries with him will be top of the line, the best the local TL can offer.

When he introduces himself, it's always “I'm Alistair Deacon”. The implication being that of course the PCs have heard of him. This may be vanity, but it's also a show of dominance. He will on occasion talk about himself in the 3rd person; such as “Of course it'll be a winner. Financial losses don't happen to Alistair Deacon.”

And in general, he's right. He may not look tough, but he's no fool. His business ventures are always legit, and profitable. He can smell a dodgy deal a klick away.

He's loaded with cash, and connected to scores of people – both legit and criminal. He's not a criminal, but he knows people who are.

He has two associates nearby at all times - “Kong” and “Nails”. Kong is the obvious muscle, even in his nice suit. Nails is less obtrusive, and often fades into the background. Just because you don't see him, that doesn't mean he's not there. Deacon isn't a fighter, so he always has someone around who is.

Alistair Deacon

77799A Age 42 Cr – Millions

Bureaucrat, 6 terms Executive

Liaison-3, Administration-2, Computer-1, Vehicle-1, Carousing-3

Alistair owns several businesses, on more than one planet. As a patron he may want:

The Remnants of the Glorious Empire - Cepheus Light

Over the last few years I have worked a good bit with the Cepheus Engine rules set. Mostly because of my work with Stellagama Publishing (Thanks, guys!) on things like These Stars Are Ours! and The Space Patrol, and now recently Sword of Cepheus. It's been fun.

Now, I'm still a Classic Traveller guy. There's nothing wrong with branching out, however. One of my new projects, therefore, is restructuring one of the subsectors of my TU, and converting all that can be converted therein to CE game terms. With my Pocket Edition of Cepheus Light, I will create new characters, build new vehicles and starships, and find out how well CL works.

The area formerly known as Weitzlar Subsector is now known as the Remnants of the Glorious Empire.

Behold my new custom-made map of the Glorious Empire Subsector

More Vehicles - Leopard 2 MBT

Behold the Mighty Leopard II! Another MgT 2e design.

Leopard in action

German Leopard 2A5 Main Battle Tank (TL 8-9)

Chassis: Heavy Ground Vehicle
Spaces: 27 (81,000Cr)
Crew: 3 (3 spaces, Driver, Commander, Gunner)
Agility: -1
Speed: Medium/72kph (Slow/45kph)
Range: 500km (750km)
Hull: 150
Armor: 60/60/60 (15 spaces)
Traits: AFV, Tracks (DM+4 to Drive [tracked] checks)

Armament: One Large Turret (4 spaces, 275,000Cr) w/ One Cannon (Rng-2km, Dmg-1DD, Spaces-10, Cost-400,000Cr, Mag-30, Mag Cost-5000Cr, Blast-10, AP-4) and One Medium Machinegun (Rng-0.4km, Dmg-3D+3, Spaces-1, Cost-5000Cr, Mag Cost-250Cr, Auto-3), One Ring Mount (750Cr) w/ One Medium Machinegun (Rng-0.4km, Dmg-3D+3, Spaces-1, Cost-5000Cr, Mag Cost-250Cr, Auto-3), Improved Fire Control for Cannon (25,000Cr, DM+2 to attack rolls, Scope trait)

Equipment/Modifications: 

• Improved Control System (5000Cr), Smoke Dischargers (1 space, 1000Cr)
• Improved Communications System (75Cr, Rng-500km) w/ Encryption (4000Cr) and Satellite Uplink (1 space, 1000Cr)
• Computer/1 (500Cr), Improved ECM (1 space, 20,000Cr, DM-1 and DM+/- to opposing Sensors checks, Rng-5km)
• Improved Navigation System (10,000Cr, DM+2 to Navigation checks)
• Improved Sensors (Rng-5km, 15,000Cr, DM+1 to Sensors checks) w/ Hardened (15,000Cr)
• Sensor Mast (15,000Cr) and Increased Fidelity (1 space, DM+1 to Sensors checks, 15,000Cr)
• Improved (TL-9) Camouflage (5000Cr, Min Rng-0.5km, DM-2 against all visual/IR search checks)
• Hostile Environment Protection (Cr), Short Term Life-Support (1 space, 10,000Cr)
• Fire Extinguishers (1000Cr)

Cost: 1,044,325Cr

Designed by A1C Z. Weaver, USAF

Image Credit: böhringer friedrich [CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)]

Taking another look at Jack armor

Yeah, I know. It's not very effective as presented in CT. And it sounds dumb, as in "your armor ain't worth jack".

Recently I learned that there is a real, historical type of armor known as Jack. And it actually worked.

The CT definition of Jack (TTB, p. 43)

"A natural or synthetic leather jacket or body suit covering the torso and upper arms and legs. Jack is somewhat better than ordinary clothing or bare skin when defending against blades; it is worthless against guns."

Now read the definition of historical Jack:

Jack of Plate

"A jack of plate is a type of armour made up of small iron plates sewn between layers of felt and canvas. They were commonly referred to simply as a "jack" (although this could also refer to any outer garment). This type of armour was used by common Medieval European soldiers as well as by the rebel peasants known as Jacquerie. The present day equivalent is perhaps a bullet-proof vest.

The jack is similar to the brigandine. The main difference is in the method of construction: a brigandine is riveted whereas a jack is sewn. Jacks of plate were created by stitching as many as 1000 small overlapping squares of iron between two canvases. The garments weighed about 17 pounds (7.7 kg), which made them much more acceptable to the wearer than solid breastplates. They also offered a tactical advantage: they allowed soldiers to rest the butts of weapons firmly against their shoulders, which wasn't feasible with smooth-surfaced plate armours. Jacks were often made from recycled pieces of older plate armor, including damaged brigandines and cuirasses cut into small squares."

The real explanation of Jack sounds much more like Traveller's definition of Mesh armor. Also, the description given would put Jack of Plate at TL2, not TL1.

How to fit Jack of Plate into the TTB combat matrices?  Like this:

Jack of Plate is Mesh+1. That is, 1 worse than regular Mesh against all weapon types. Available at TL 2, cost is 300 Cr.

Image source: Wikimedia Commons

A Useful Table - Random Values for Things

Recently I had two PCs who were exploring the hinterlands of an island on Tifur. This island was inhabited by large reptilian creatures - dinosaurs. They came upon one such hostile beast, about the size of a bull elephant – 14,000 kg.

Oh lucky you. You encountered a T-Rex.

Sounds like Frightening Animal Encounter time, right?

Wrong.

Their ATV had an Auto-Rifle in a mount on top. The dino appeared at long range, and even at speed 3 it took it three rounds to close in on the PCs. By then the Auto-Rifle had filled it full of lead. [Auto-Rifle vs. Jack armor is +6 to hit; in effect, an auto-hit. And two throws to hit each combat round.]

So now the PCs have this dead dino. What to do with it? There's no way they could have butchered it and saved even a tenth of the dino meat. So they decided instead to skin it.

The PCs returned to the logging camp and the port town with 700 kg worth of dino hide. This presented me with another problem. How do I determine how much a dino skin is worth?