Traveller’s iconic starships: a Breed Apart

[@The_CGA]

I have learned that the Images used herein are the work of Ian Stead, a render artist in the Traveller RPG community. He has his own KZbin Channel here: kzbin.info/door/tlgj9484n_B0zZd3raBXmw

[@timbuktu8069]

I have found excellent inspiration for Traveler in the TV show "Tales of the Gold Monkey". Yes I know, it's set in the 1930's in the Pacific. But, it's about an independent cargo plane that hops from island to island finding adventure between carrying French nuns or live poultry. Just substitute starship and system for plane and island and Hey! Presto! Traveler ideas.

[@craiga.glesner424]

Not all of the images are Ian, there are a couple others I see, such as Andrew Boulton's work (the green MARAVA) and I think another.

[@The_CGA]

That’s cool. I am happy to credit any artists who let me know, there is a blur tool nowdays in YT if there’s some strong objection; In any case it is my belief (others are free to disagree) that this work falls within educational and critique fair use, as well as having transformative value. One of the standards of fair use is a test if something is derivative of only one other work or synthesizes among several. Have a nice day!

[@timbuktu8069]

There is an old TV show: Tales of the Gold Monkey, set in pre-WWII south seas. At its heart it is a very Traveler related show. The hero has a small plane that flies from island to island carrying anything fro French nuns to live poultry. Of course each story has the plane land on an island and face some kind of adversity. Great inspiration.

[@juddgoswick2024]

These planes were called China Clippers. The South China Sea also had its share of tramp freighters. Tales of the Gold Monkey was an excellent show and my brothers and I all loved it, for different reasons. They loved the planes; I loved the pulp. There is a season of Archer, "Danger Island" that pays comedic hommage to the show.

[@timbuktu8069]

@@juddgoswick2024 The reason why I brought it up was that the stories could easily apply to a Travelller scenario, just change the islands to planets and the China Clipper to a Free Trader.

[@juddgoswick2024]

@@timbuktu8069 Agreed!

[@Runeslinger]

I did a written series on this phenomenon a few years ago. It's a topic that I really find interesting, so it was great to watch your video and find so many points of synchronicity in how we feel about it. "The ship" is a fantastic point of attachment and characterization in gaming, for sure. For us, this occurred most dramatically in Star Wars (back in the D6 days), but it also took on significance in my only pirate campaign in Palladium Fantasy. More than any castle, holding, wagon, or whatnot, ships have a way of becoming another character and a home. Love it! Thanks for sharing~

[@grahamcharters1638]

Runeslinger - I hear you! And i had to smile when CGA talked about 'playing house'... I remembered a time mid- campaign when everything was getting tense in the setting, and my players got hold of their first personally-owned starship. I expected them to get straight into the mission with this new tool/weapon at their disposal. Instead, they spent the next 20 minutes discussing who should get which cabin, and why having to share wasn't fair. It was great social roleplay, but not what I was expecting, at all!

[@SHONNER]

Love seeing Traveller videos like this one on the KZbins.

[@btrenninger1]

I agree pretty much with what you say about the starships of Traveller with one exception. That is, if the players are foolhardy, all their eggs are in one basket. The GM has to really tailor the encounters to give them a fighting chance which is hard to do. I remember one encounter with my player's ship being attacked by a superior force of pirates. I expected them to surrender and try to fight another day. But, nope, they fought it out and ended up TPK.

[@The_CGA]

+Brian Renninger This is a big issue. I'm not certain there's much going around it while retaining the "party in a ship" premise. There are some ways to insulate from it, namely the pirates pulling their punches to disable and capture the cargo, boarding with sleep agents or microwave stun weapons to lead to a "marooned" adventure, priates keeping an open line of taunts and surrender offers streaming in so the players have every opportunity to strike their colors... I also like to keep an AI around, or just a computer program, like "clippy" vis MS Office, that might pipe in "it looks like you might be about to get killed by pirates, I struck your colors for you, aren't I helpful?" (This will only work once and then they'll delete "clippy"). There is also taking to the air/raft and trying to make it to a moon or the like, or just stowing away in your own hold as the pirates send in their prize crew (your passengers, or their corpses, may be necessary to convince the corsairs you've expired...) Another option is to have a friendly npc ship in system that hears the player's mayday, and while you set the table such that deus ex machina is impossible, the friendly capatain can provide intelligence to the PCs that they're outmatched... There are still those sorts of players that will get themselves killed, your point is apt. I think leveraging how spacd combat is traditionally done over rounds lasting minutes--thus, allowing a lot of dialogue and narration to telegraph how grim things are-- can help a great deal, however.

[@fernandomercado2711]

Going through all the Traveller videos. Loving them. Ordered the Classic Traveller bundle.

[@Number01]

I'd like to see more Traveller videos in the series. These are great! Thank you.

[@The_CGA]

There is an introduction to the Spinward marches which is in the works. The difficulty with more videos about ships is that the artists who made most of the imagery of the ships were pretty touchy about the use of the images in this video, which has put me off. I’d render the 3D models myself possibly, but what few there are that have have been shared are in Sketchup format and look terrible without conversion and some work in blender. Anyway, expect more Traveller stuff as I’ve found there is a large audience for it.

[@Number01]

@@The_CGA Any Traveller videos are appreciated at all. There's not a lot of videos on the game out there. I'd enjoy a timeline series of the main events of the Traveller universe. Your FTL video was great. I especially enjoyed the on screen tidbits as you were speaking. Thanks for the good work!

[@grahamcharters1638]

Fascinating food for thought, as always. One thing that has bugged me about Traveller starships over the years is the fact that they are all built within a narrow range of tech levels. Whereas the frontier worlds you describe them operating in are a much wider scope. What I like to do is to work on the principles that societies with lower tech level will still want to solve similar problems (system defence, interstellar trade etc) as the big boys. So I look at building ships that - for example - need HEPLAR thrusters because they dont have reactionless engines, or need spin habitats due to lack of artificial gravity. Taking these variables and using them to riff on the themes presented by the iconic ships creates some (in my opinion!) interesting and unique results that get players reimagining iconic ships and what they're all about.

[@The_CGA]

+Graham Charters I agree that it would be really neat to see more of that sort of lower tech on camera, and some asymmetry--the player's starship occasionally being a cut above--is fuel for interesting play. I think that within the Imperium and close to its borders, the economies of scale let the megacorps and "used car dealers" lock down the smaller ship markets, for the most part, so that even low tech worlds end up buying used ships or new ones at prices that break their backs. We see this phenomenon on display a little bit in our own world.... However, when the rubber meets the road there is likely a mix of imported ships, along with attempts for the locals to develop their own shipbuilding industry, possibly mixing imported systems with local ones. This likely escalates teh further you get from the empire...and in the rimward parts of the Confederation, in the jigsaw puzzle of the Heirate, maybe in the Hive Young Worlds, and definitely in the Julian Protectorate and even more so the Extents where ships get destroyed much faster...(because Vargr)...there is a great deal of that. Another interesting solution that lower tech societies may look to is outsourcing: some kind of alliance, mercenaries, or housecarles with the higher tech. They might also be more inclined to use asymmetric options. minefields in gas giants, or biological solutions like slimes to corrode hulls that refuel at their worlds...or ship-tackling kraken in oceans...teleoperated drone ships and missile platforms... Alright, you've sent me on a flight of fancy... One thing I omitted from this video that I think probably was worth including, Was that the Iconics also have the right amount of handwavium for players novice to sci fi. The rocket equation, specific impulse, and delta-v are a bit much for folks just getting their feet wet with harder sci-fi...having to put your spacesuit on and hearing the aliens talk in a strange language is an adjustment for most people! Nowdays the basic orbital mechanics and the freedom of rotation is easier to teach, since we have kerbal space program and a laptop for anyone unclear on why you can't dock with a ship that's violently rotating on all three axes... The continuous thrust m-drive, contragravity, and

[@grahamcharters1638]

Complex Games Apologist - Permission to steal some of the ideas in your last post please...? Fair point regarding orbital mechanics, delta-v etc. I only do this in the background (and yes, i do it on a spreadsheet). And I never thought I'd read you advocating handwavium 😀

[@haveswordwilltravel]

The A2 Far Trader has always been one of my favorite ships. I am curious about your take on the Merchant Cruiser aka "Leviathan"? It's a nice segway to a "big ship" campaign. Also makes for a good commerce raider on the frontier. Finally, it could be a nice flagship for the BBEG's pirate fleet.

[@edmckinney7563]

I have two that are my favorites. Azahanti Highlightning and the Safari. Both are not fueled by water but rather Adinizinetriphrosphate, a fuel in cells, that is 10000 times more efficient than water. I have been involved in Traveller since 1978! But, due to a major loss, all I had in all sources bit the dust. TTFN Ed - KB8QEU -- Baron von Greylord XXXIX

[@Grummar]

I really like the sub merchant. It's ugly and fat, but I love the ugly duckling anyway.

[@RichardKurbis]

The books aint cheap... however Drive thru RPG does have the originals through "Game Designers Workshop" which can be printed. Other options are the "Quicklink Interactive" T20 version which was stripped of it's traveller namesake to be Scifi20, which is Traveller using D20's... which is also more cheaper than the GDW pdf's. Personally, my next game will be using the Scifi20, due to its familiar mechanics to current tabletoppers... it seems to work just as well ... perhaps better than the 2D6 bellcurve

[@The_CGA]

Hm. I have heard that collectors are somewhat covetous of the old hard printed classic Traveller stuff, amd that mongoose second edition is a bit pricey. Traveller is all about ambience and flavor to me, and I do all my RPG reading on Kindle nowadays. Can't say I've spend much $ on it all actually

[@RichardKurbis]

@@The_CGA hoping to see more Starfinder articles with you. I just started purchasing the books.

[@ceranko]

Make a video on amber and red zone planets

[@The_CGA]

This is a pretty actionable request.

[@kensvideos1]

Another Great Video.

[@craiga.glesner424]

What's this hex deck heresy I see before me?! Gah, tis the terrible point buy Traveller. :p

[@JosephKeenanisme]

Hehe which version of T? Great thing about it (especially since the early 90s and college based internet access) has been it's strength and weakeness (weakness to some)..... it's openness and "no real setting." The "no real setting" or picking and choosing from a ton of published and fan made stuff is like sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll mixed into a super mega awesome package that won't get you busted by the cops or fired for a pee test ;). For old farts like me and my group of friends GURPS or T would be perfect for a classic science fiction campaign along the lines of Asimov, Niven, Clarke, or the like.

[@The_CGA]

I generally like the Golden Age Pastiche that is the Third Imperium. I don't really care for the game engine in Traveller all that much, but I think Traveller as an idea is worthy of talking about. I tend to keep most of my coverage of Traveller to stuff about the Third Imperium, as I'm generally speaking to a newcomer about 'what is Traveller besides the very first Generic system? I know there are a lot of folks for whom the system and the 'setting agnostic' Traveller is important, I respect that. I have so much on my plate that it's generally the Spinward Marches and the Solomani Rim that are the Sirens that call me back to the Traveller well, rather than 2d6.

[@hilaryflowers7594]

The spaceships have a lot of wasted space.

[@IanStead]

I would appreciate it that if you are going to use my work in this manner that a credit or a name check would be the polite thing to do. BTW I do have a youtube channel

[@The_CGA]

Hi Ian, Apologies, Your models of the classic ships are all over the place, unfortunately at the place where I found these renders you were uncredited. As your work continues to give life to these ships I am more than happy to make sure that your contribution is heard. I will put a top-level comment (pinned) on all my videos crediting you, as it seems that most of the images I have sourced for the Traveller ships are either models of your renders or your own renders. I have enjoyed your KZbin videos accompanied by the sounds of Mike Oldfeld myself -- Great work.

[@IanStead]

Complex Games Apologist thanks much appreciated. Yeah partly my fault, I forget some times to add a little IS signature to my stuff. I am only a lowly freelancer and any exposure tagged to my name really helps. Cheers and keep up the good work

[@craiga.glesner424]

Ian Stead lowly my ass! Dude you are becoming the Keith Brothers of the 21st Century and with good reason. :) Lowly. Ha!

[@andyhart358]

The only thing that makes the Traveller ships a breed apart is that they DON'T WORK. After 40 years of playing, studying, designing for Traveller, I aught to know. EMPRESS MARAVA Far Trader, 200 tons ? Took it apart and started counting the tonnage. I stopped at 423.5. SCOUT ship, 100 tons. Not enough head-room in many of the compartments on the upper deck (check it in profile). Also no ships computer listed in the deck-plans, and drives are too small (and I used both Book 2 and High Guard rules to give it a chance). BEOWULF FREE TRADER, 200 tons? Where do I start? It comes in at 245.5 tons on the deck-plans (so 5.5 tons over maximum allowance) but where is the fuel ?? That's for starters. The rest is a myriad of cock-ups and very poor layout. It would be nice to think that with Mongoose doing a re-publishing, they would take more care, and actually abide by the construction rules when redesigning the ships. I'm going through the Core Rulebook as I write, but I'm not hopeful. One CAN design ships that meet the listed specifications (with the exception of the 400 ton Corsair), but it tales a lot more thought than was given to the original designs.