Soft Bunk - Amber Zone Reviews # 14

Amber Zone: Soft Bunk , by Loren Wiseman 

Check out the series introduction here.

What could possibly go wrong?  Let's sneak in anyway . . .

Location: Tionale (Spinward Marches/Vilis 0701), a non-Imperial world, a client state of low population and middling technology

Patron: The Tionalian government

Mission: The PCs are hired to serve as a training cadre for the newly formed planetary defense force. There is an indigenous race that has recently become hostile towards the human settlers, who are (very) slowly expanding outwards from the starport. The settlers don't want an open war, only to protect themselves. Other duties as assigned.

Complications: All of the usual hassles of training and organizing, logistics and supply. Plus the invading Zhodani force. Did we mention there's a war on? The PCs go from instructors to guerrilla leaders of at best a company, faced with a battalion of well trained, higher tech troops.

Payoff: Double standard salaries per Bk 4

Strong Points: This is another straightforward adventure designed for use with Bk 4, Mercenary. The PCs have multiple problems to address – the Zhodani, the native hostiles, the tainted atmosphere of the planet, short supply of weapons and ammo; and a technological disadvantage as well. As an additional challenge, the scenario points out that the Zho officers are all psionic talents – it's difficult to hide from telepaths. Maybe they won't be able to completely defeat the Zho force, but just keeping them occupied and their own forces together may be hard enough. A nice 'color' addition that the PCs might be able to leverage is the rivalry between units of the invading force – they were attached, but are not accustomed to cooperation.

Weak Points: This scenario includes some vehicle stats which assumes the players have Striker, as Mercenary has no vehicle rules. This is weak point of Bk 4 rather than this Amber Zone. As a more general remark, I would like to see a Mercenary scenario that is higher up the TL scale – all the ones I've read are designed for the equivalent of 20th century tech. The Amber Zone itself is very solid and sound – a good framework with room for the referee to maneuver.

What I'd change: I would give the PC's more notice of the impending invasion so that they would at least have the opportunity to cache more of their weapons and supplies. I would also delay the invasion – under the Recruitment rules of BK 4, the new militia would not have even finished Basic Training, and been very combat ineffective. When constructing a map for Tionale, I would include a lot of rugged terrain so the PCs would have places to hide themselves and their stuff.

In My Traveller Universe: I would set this adventure on Carygwyn (Achenon 0609) and have the invaders come from neighboring Mardahak. (Achenon 0809) Carygwyn has a larger population than Tionale, but it is far outweighed by Mardahak in both population and tech. Both are Independent planets, so Carygwyn would be on its own to deal with the problem, or possibly the UPA could intervene several months later. 

Southeastern tip of Tionale's main continent.

Map:  With an arbitrary population density of 36 ppl/km^2, Tionale would have a settled area of only 244 km^2. The map scale then is 20 km^2/hex. The map shows the surrounding outback. The human cities/towns are in the cultivated lands. The villages in the rugged land belong to the native race.

Duct Tape makes you smart

"Guns make you stupid; duct tape makes you smart." 

       Michael Westen, the main character in the USA network show Burn Notice, said this once or twice during the run of the show. I always liked that attitude, it was part of what kept me watching the show. Michael claimed to prefer gadgets and trickery to direct violence (although he would employ it when there was no other choice); he declared that killing people usually caused more problems than it solved. 

     I saw no indications of Christian idealism on Michael's part; it was a pragmatic choice for him, and for the writers of the show. Michael's resourcefulness was a key ingredient in the style of the show. For me, that was what made the show fun to watch.

    In RPG's (Traveller as much as any) there is a lot of emphasis placed on the combat rules, and much space in the rule books is dedicated to cataloging weapons. This makes sense, combat is a source of tension & drama, and those elements are part of what makes an RPG interesting. But do the combat rules discourage or negate imaginative solutions to the challenges of the game?  Do guns, as Michael attests, make you stupid? What about sneaky or non-lethal means of subduing opponents who won't listen to reason?

     Or worse, does roleplaying allow people to indulge in sociopathic behavior by making "just shoot them" an acceptable method of problem solving?


       PCs who are of Lawful Good or Principled alignments (whether Christians or some other religion) should look for non-lethal (and hopefully non-violent) ways to deal with opposition. In my TU, even non-Christian PCs who take jobs where the Church is the patron will be required to refrain from deadly force or face nullification of the contract; the Church will not sanction deadly force being used on its behalf. Devout Christian characters, monks for example, will prefer to suffer violence to their own persons than to be directly or indirectly responsible for the death of another person. The relationship of the Church to the State's use of force is outside the scope of this discussion; I'm talking specifically about person to person interactions. 

To illustrate my point:

    This morning over breakfast, my boys and I were discussing their options in our current Traveller game. Joe and Jay, their characters, are currently scoping out an airbase way back in the hinterland of their world, obviously meant to be a secret facility, and not one sponsored by the government. They were there because the head of the local intelligence agency recruited them, as he was concerned about moles who could alert the opposition to his movements.

    One of the pair suggested that their group (2 PCs and 2 NPCs) should open fire from cover and 'take out' all the guards at one time so that they could get into the airbase. The other opposed the idea, pointing out that if they failed to get all the guards in the first round, the flash & bang would give away their position. The first responded, correctly, that lasers (two of the group had lasers) make neither smoke nor sound. 

     At this point, I interrupted to get them to see the larger picture.  Hooray for the Socratic method!

Q: What was your mission?  
A: To find out what's going on here. 
Q: Are Joe & Jay authorized law enforcement agents? 
A: No.
Q: Are the guards at the base actively committing a violent crime at this moment? 
A: No. 
Q: What do you call an unprovoked deadly attack by a civilian upon another person?  
A: Oh. Murder. (sheepish looks)
Yup.
Q: What might be a better way to handle this? A: they started planning ways they could bluff their way past the guards to get inside the base. 

     Now, my kids are not sociopaths, they're kids. They had not thought the issue through very well, until I reminded them of the moral aspect of their actions. But be honest all you adult gamers. How many of you, if presented with this scenario, would have considered if not used the 'shoot first' strategy?  As a teenage gamer, I would have. 

     That's not very good role-playing is it?  Find yourself some duct tape or its high-tech/fantasy equivalent and outsmart your opponents. That's also a much better story to tell later than "we shot them". 

     To come back around to Michael Westen, here's a case where Traveller players can employ the much discussed and debated Jack of All Trades skill - let JOT skill represent the character's ability as a gadgeteer or Macguyver. Just about every episode Michael would cobble together some useful gadget from at-hand components "and some other stuff".  With this idea, having more than one level of JOT would actually confer increasing positive DMs. The referee would have to give more thought to the details of adventure locations, and PCs can start collecting bits of gear like real people do.

Blog Carnival May 2014 What does Star Wars mean to you?

      The RPG Blog Alliance sponsors Blog Carnivals, where all of their members are encouraged to write a post on a particular topic, cross-post and discuss. Since I've recently joined RPGBA, I decided to jump right in an participate. 

General Tangent is hosting this month's carnival and his topic is:

What does Star Wars mean to you?

Well, that depends. The Trilogy or the Prequels?

      The Trilogy was part of my sci-fi upbringing, but not a big part. I only saw Return of the Jedi in the theater; it wasn't until later that I saw Star Wars and Empire on TV.

      I remember while watching Star Wars on TV once that I got out my Traveller books and started working up a much smaller galactic Empire that I could play in. My game group and I never used it. We played WEG's Star Wars rpg when it came out in 1987, but we didn't stick with it. I've still got the 2^nd edition core rulebook up in my attic, but haven't touched it in a long time. The most memorable event in a Star Wars game was actually a quote lifted from Blake's 7. Our GM was trying to railroad us into a commando raid on this Imperial space station. My character, not the most heroic type, refused stating “No I'm not. I'm not expendable, I'm not stupid and I'm not going.” It kind of derailed the adventure, because the GM didn't know what to do.

      As far as my current gaming goes, I am now quite happily settled in my small-ship Classic Traveller universe, with no aliens and only rare psionic (aka “Force”) powers. My TU has an Empire (The Talaveran Empire) which is one of the competing Big Four powers in my setting, not the overwhelming powerhouse like Star Wars.

     I will NOT have anything relating to the Prequel Trilogy in any game I'm running, because I think the Prequel films were rubbish. Don't get me started on the whole “Episode 1” alternate titles either. A complete rant on that I'll save for another day. Let's leave it at I don't see anything unique to the Prequels that I'd want to add to my game setting.

      I know that Star Wars had an influence on Classic Traveller. Traveller was the biggest sci-fi RPG going during the time the Trilogy was in theaters, so lots of Traveller players watched and loved the movies. Book 5, High Guard, was clearly an attempt to bring the Star Wars sized big ships into the Traveller 'verse. I've played High Guard a lot, but never with Star Wars in mind. High Guard makes me think more of Honor Harrington or her source material Horatio Hornblower than Skywalker and Solo.

      To sum up, I enjoy the Star Wars Trilogy and recognize the films as a major landmark on the terrain of sci-fi. But my inspiration for Traveller has always been literary rather than visual. Give me Heinlein, Piper or Asimov over Lucas any day.

Rule of Man Commemorative - Amber Zone Reviews # 13

Amber Zone: Rule of Man Commemorative, by Wiseman & Miller from JTAS #9

Check out the series introduction here.

 

Collectible Imperial currency.

I am going to be intentionally vague on the details of this Amber Zone. If I were to be more specific, it would give away too much of the plot which depends on secrecy. I like this kind of scenario, but I have to say at the outset that I was disappointed with this one- it could have been awesome but is likely to be just dull.

Location: Regina & Lanth (Regina Subsector, Spinward Marches)

Patron: Antiquities dealer

Mission: The antiquities dealer on Regina hires the PCs to deliver a small parcel of limited edition coins to another dealer on Lanth. The coins are individually packaged, and should be kept in the packages, but are not particularly valuable.

Complications: On arrival at Lanth, the receiving dealer is not at the address given. The PCs must hunt around for the receiver. Very perceptive PCs might get the suspicion that they are being followed.

Payoff: The Regina dealer offers a Middle passage and Cr 2000 per member of the group.

Strong Points: This adventure has a good amount of potential, but only potential as it is written. This adventure would work well as a solo mission.

Weak Points: There is more going on in this scenario than is presented. However, as written, the PCs will most likely remain blissfully unaware of the larger goings-on, and will complete the delivery within a day or two, and go on to the next thing. Even if they do notice something is amiss, it is well beyond the scope of this adventure as written for them to figure out what is wrong, and have any impact on the larger events. In this case, what they don't know won't hurt them, or have any effect on them at all.

What I'd change: I would both make it more likely that the PCs would discover the real reason for the delivery of the package, and more likely that the other factors involved would try to directly contact or interact with the PCs. I'd make the mission more of a chase/escape adventure rather than a delivery run. Like every 'accidental spy' movie ever made, the PCs should find themselves as the centerpiece of a significant operation, one which they have to figure out on the run, and try to stay alive while doing the right thing.

In My Traveller Universe: I would locate this adventure on two of the major planets of any one of the Big Four star nations (Talavera, the Union, the UPA, the Trade Protectorate)

Dagger at Efate - Amber Zone Reviews # 12

Amber Zone: A Dagger at Efate, by John Lewis from JTAS #8

Check out the series introduction here.

Now imagine this displacing 800 displacement tons. That's a big dagger!

Location: Efate (Spinward Marches 1705)

Patron: The Imperial Navy, using wartime regs to compel the PCs to render assistance.

Mission: There is a starship approaching the planet that appears to be on a collision course with the planet, and specifically Imperial forces stationed there. The PCs must board the ship and determine the situation. If the ship is a threat, the PCs must neutralize the threat.

Complications: The ship's computer will counter attempts to dock with the ship. The controls have been cleverly locked onto the present course. They have eight hours only to change the ship's course. There is something very nasty hidden aboard the ship.

Payoff: Possibly none other than recognition for having rendered service to the Imperium. Ambitious PCs might leverage a successful and minimal-damage result into a contract as military auxiliaries. Cash remuneration seems unlikely in this scenario.

Strong Points: This is another solid problem-solving scenario, which will require some cleverness on the part of the players. There are a number of possible ways for the PCs to avert this disaster; from brute force to finesse. The ticking clock aspect keeps the tension up, so the PCs can't be too indecisive. Even if the main target is missed, a ship collision with the planet's surface is likely to cause a lot of damage, so half measures won't do.

Weak Points: The referee had better drop some hints so that the PCs search the ship thoroughly, or the nasty surprise will take them out, unawares. That is, in my mind, unfair to do to players.

What I'd change: If the PCs are very familiar with the Broadsword-class, (the assumed class of ship in the AZ) the referee can substitute any other kind of ship to change the game. If it seems they are being too clever, maybe there are some robotic sentries aboard, or the ship's automated defenses activate to hamper their intervention. At the last, there might be a suicidal agent aboard, secretly undoing whatever the PCs try!

In My Traveller Universe: This one I would place on Hudson, a part of the Talaveran Empire. I would alter the backstory to resemble the political infighting and separatism within the Empire: Restorationists from Bishor have taken a major gamble on this strike giving them the political leverage to wrest Bishor from Imperial control and return it to the supposed heirs of the planet's hereditary rulers. 

As this mission takes place in space, maps are not of the essence, except for deck plans of the Broadsword or whatever ship is used. These are available from numerous published sources, like JTAS #8 or CT Adventure #7. For the referee who wants to have a lot of surprises, the best bet is to design a custom ship, and create the deckplans yourself.

Crystals from Dinom - Amber Zone Reviews # 11

 Amber Zone: Crystals from Dinom, by Marc W. Miller 

Check out the series introduction here.

Unobtainium!

Location: the planet Dinom, Lanth 0201, Spinward Marches Dinom is a vacuum world and the setting of Double Adventure #2, Across the Bright Face. Dinom has recently gone through a worker's revolution, and is still unstable.

Patron: Quadric Industries, a manufacturing company that needs its shipment of macguffins from Dinom. Regular shipments have not happened since the rebellion; the shipment of macguffins has actually been misplaced.

Mission: Quadric contracts the PCs, the crew & troops of a mercenary cruiser (the text specifies a Broadsword-class) to land on Dinom, find the macguffins and protect a QI ship which will land and load the shipment. The cruiser will then protect the cargo ship while it returns to Quadric's HQ.

Complications: The locals are suspicious, unfriendly and armed. The company that sold the macguffins was dissolved in the revolution, and Quadric does not know where their offices are, nor if the shipment or information about it are still there. The revolutionaries have made the company office their HQ and made a mess of it. The revolutionary space force will object to the PCs and company leaving with the macguffins. The macguffins are large and heavy.

Payoff: Quadric promises MCr 4-5 for successful recovery of the macguffins.

Strong Points: This adventure has opportunities for problem solving, NPC interaction and combat, both on the ground & in space. The setup is for a large crew and squads of ship's troops, but an aggressive group of PCs could pull it off without the troops. The threat level is not too high this time, the OPFOR is not a truly organized military force. There is no point in the adventure where everything could go wrong; it is unlikely the PCs will be defeated except by their own foolishness. The payoff is pretty generous for a low-threat mission. Especially if the referee has DA 2, there is enough here to work with to develop a campaign on Dinom, like perhaps a counter-revolution.

Weak Points: the OPFOR is perhaps too easy for a mercenary unit, as they have no military arms. The actual search of the company offices for the macguffin's location could be a tedious exercise in dice rolling. Like so: 

Player: <roll> “Did we find it?” 
Referee: “No. Fifteen minutes have passed, roll again.” 
Player: <roll> “Did we find it?” 
Referee: “No” 
Player: “#$%@*#!!” 

Having DA 2 on hand will give the referee maps and other background data, but the enterprising referee can make that up for himself.

What I'd change: The OPFOR can easily be given better guns to up the challenge level. I'd make all of the spacecraft involved under Book 2 rules; for such a small engagement, this works better and makes the OPFOR craft comparatively more a threat. Ship stats are given in High Guard (Book 5) format. I would adjust a few details if the PCs don't have a merc unit backing them up; making the mission more dependent on stealth.

In My Traveller Universe: I would set this adventure on Storishale, in the Alliance of Dormarc. The Alliance is dithering enough that the rebellion would not be put down effectively, and while it is not a close match to Dinom, it fits the need for low population and necessity of sealed environs. 

The adventure came with a city map, and planetary maps are in DA 2, so I have not made up any other maps.