Against All Odds - Can Dragon magazine #18 Help With The Cepheus Engine rpg

 If you've played original Traveller for as long as I have then something really becomes evident. Traveller & to certain extent Cepheus Engine is a game of survival against the odds. This brings us to 'The Dragon Magazine issue #18 & Edward J Cooper's 'The Strategy of Survival'. At its core the Traveller game is partially one of exploration but as my uncle's belief that it was the survival aspect that caused as much death as the character generation! This is born out in tonight's blog post. 



This article goes into the details of the game at the dawn of the hobby; 

"Recently, while attending a good sized gaming convention sponsored by the local wargaming club, I took advantage of the opportunity to observe the TRAVELLER phenomenon first hand. A full fledged campaign version was announced to the crowd. With a roar of approval, a throng of players squeezed themselves into the playing area, some leaving wide-eyed opponents still staring at now vacated wargames. However, the scene attracting my eye as I approached nearer was a small, late twentyish gentleman seated at the far end of one table. Sensing something amiss in his obvious detachment, I politely inquired into what war was disturbing him. He had generated a UPP (Universal Personality Profile) of 375A99 — and was grumbling over the “chance” involved in the game and the bad luck he’d received on the roll! I looked at him twice and still had to ask if he was serious. Somewhat taken aback, he retorted of course he was — and that was that. Later, I watched the same individual enlist his character, with low strength and endurance, but an intelligence of 10 and social, educational levels of 9 each, successfully into the Scouts. Had I been a referee, I would have convicted the guy of cold blooded murder on the spot. Clearly, he simply did not know what to do with his character, nor did I believe he’d taken the time to stop and examine all his alternatives. Somewhat puzzled by the turn of events, I declined an offer to play and continued watching. Several other similar occurrences proved to me then that the success or failure of a character in most cases cannot be traced to “dice or chance” as often as it can to poor handling on the part of a player. I was both surprised and disappointed that some players even blamed a character or given situation for their own bad decisions. But then again, I was extremely excited, awed, by the skill some showed in manipulating their character’s life. Looking back now, Traveller is simply too well made for a player to bow out using “character” as an excuse. The roles generated that afternoon certainly did have their weaknesses, but all were people who could have been successful in their lifetimes. I found as a general rule, the characteristics of the play. "

Has this evened out in the Cepheus Engine Rpg?! Hell no! And this is a feature not a design flaw. You've got to understand what it is that you're getting yourself into as a player. Your PC is expected to be the best but it doesn't mean that they'll stay that way. 

The adventuring life is a hard business & its one that the adventurers don't sometimes choose instead it chooses them instead through the life path events. And this is where living with the hand that your dealt with comes in. Is it any wonder why many adventurers retire to being a bar keep or star ship garbage skow owner. The quiet life creates two things safety & economic opportunities for the PC. That is if you as a player make it that far. Reading through Edward J Cooper's 'The Strategy of Survival' is sort of like having a time machine into one very small aspect of the rpg hobby but specifically on the  Traveller rpg universe & station in the gaming. But its also a glimpse into the future of Cepheus Engine. The same complex math govern's the current game. The fact is that the past guides the future in so many ways.  We as players have the same issues going on as the Seventies. Namely can we get the PC's to live long enough to become experienced?!  The odd's seem stacked against him. But will the dice cooperare with our PC's?!   Short answer? Yes it can & will. The fact is that the dice are  only partially responsible. The other half of this  equatation is the fact that there are a wide variety of options off the P C sheet. Looking at  those options several available for the PC: 

1. The PC can train &  go up the laddar that way. This side steps the usual avenues. 
2. The PC's take advantage of the educational route that is open to them. 
3. The players fight face to face with monsters & goes from there.  
4. Using alternative dice concentions the player can take on other methods 
5. Play the PC the way they are made   & then advantage as needed. The time of play will determine if & when they need through play. 

OSR Space Dungeons & Sectors - Science Fantasy The OSR Way - The Forgotten OSR Game Hulks & Horrors rpg

 Never let it be said that any good good deed goes unpunished. On July 5th Erik Tankar put out a video on Hulks & Horrors rpg Basic Black Edition. So a copy of Hulks & Horrors rpg was ordered from Drivethrurpg. Now anyone whose been reading blog knows of my absolute love of Science Fantasy esepcially OSR Science Fantasy. Over the years Hulks & Horrors has been of especial interest for me as reviewer Philip C put its susinctly in his review of H&H on Drivethrurpg;"Love this game. The mechanics are 1st Edition of the Gygax game which work fine for an RPG that is all about Dungeon Crawling or more appropriately a lost starship, space station, pod colony, science complex and ruined city crawler. While there are no starting adventures in the book (sorry to those who need everything handed to them), there are more than enough examples and charts (lots of charts) that make it easy to create an advanture which is tailored to your play group.

The only down side of this game is that there was never any follow up and the game looks to only have this one book."

While there's no follow up book for the Hulks & Horrors rpg its gotten my mind reeling back towards several years ago. The thought at the time was could Hulks & Horrors serve as basis for the Stars Without Numbers revised/Cepheus Engine hybrid game as an active source book?! According to several sources, the answer according to ancient OSR theorists is yes. Outlaw D&D writes on this thread on Reddit; "I am actively blending WS with SWN for the best of both worlds, as they are more largely compatible than many folks realize." 
So if we use SWN as the basis replace the space ship rules with Cepheus Engine rpg then we are left with a very active campaign setting waiting to drop in PC's! 
Imagine that after the Shundering that a great plague swept across the universe. Billions & billions of sentient species were extinguished or worse. 

The Reticulans of 'These Stars Are Ours' come into this power vaccuum &  void left by these other races disappearance.  They found thier empire without a single shot being fired. The Reticulans take over & move in. Then upstart man comes upon the scene & he begins messing with Pandora's boxes & ruins. He raises up to a certain point & then mankind has a long hard fall into the present day. The are long forgotten mankind has crawled back to Hostile's technological level nine. 

Then one of the flash point plagues crops up except this time there's a possible cure in the Sanora sector as Joseph Mohr's Rumble In The Jungle adventure provides one possible cure & or treatment.  The trick is surviving Mr.Mohr's pay what you want adventure?! Mohr in twenty six pages neatly wraps up a solid adventure and its easy to use for Cepheus Engine or other OSR games. 
Mohr is on the level of unsung OSR creators such as Michael Brown whose own work on a little number called Lifeform Yeti might well fit such a campaign. Ancient engineered life form capable of surviving extreme artic temperatures & yet is capable of breeding with mankind. Sounds like something one of the ancient races of Hulks & Horror might have done. 

One can well imagine an entire sector of abandoned planets & space craft  made up by the plague mutated life forms of former races. Giant space wrecks & alien craft tumbling through space waiting for the lurcritive contents to be exploited. And what other horrors are waiting for our party of adventurers. 

Using The Dragon Magazine, Issue 27 - January 1, 1979 For The Cepheus Engine Rpg

 Classic Traveller rpg was right on the border of January 1, 1979. The Dragon magazine issue & this classic issue had a bit of the good stuff in it. And this issue was perfect campaign creation fodder. 

The Dragon Magazine, Issue 27  - January 1, 1979 has three articles that works for the Traveller rpg  that includes the following: 'Tesseracts in Traveller', 'Star System Generation in Traveller' & the 'Expanding Imperium'. Ages ago the Seventies are still echoing ahead of the future into 2021.The  fact is Traveller more of a tool kit in its three little black books. But what a wide open interstellar  tool kit it is!

The fact is that Cepheus Engine rpg brings into focus the fact that its roots are completely classic Traveller. Over the years we've run campaigns but these articles are perfect fodder creating encounters & the 'Tesseracts in Traveller'. The tesseracts are ancient artifacts & relics  that have spread out among the interstellar empires from millions of years ago. 'Star System Generation in Traveller' is perfect for creating campaigns in Cepheus Engine rpg even with some of the random tables in the rule book. 
'The Expanding Imperium' brings into the focus the fact during the Seventies the setting for Traveller wasn't as well defined as it is now. There was lots of room to continue to advance the interstellar setting. Hell, you could even  include AD&D first edition's Greyhawk within the Imperium if you as DM wanted to. This also means that 'The Expanding Imperium' could be applied even today in Cepheus Engine rpg 

C.H.U.D. Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers For Cepheus Atom

 The iconic Eighties C.H.U.D.  movie monster adapted for Celpheus Atom 

Excellent (but sadly discontinued ) C.H.U.D. t-shirt design from Fright Rags

OSR Review & Commentary On Patrons of the Frontiers of Space By Joseph Mohr From Old School Role Playing For the Cepheus Engine Rpg & Old School Traveller

 "This is a supplement for use with Cepheus Engine.

Patrons of the Frontiers of Space is a list of 100 potential patrons for use with my "Frontiers of Space" published previously. These are patrons specific to the Sonora sector of space but they could easily be modified for use elsewhere."

Joseph Mohr is one of those writers & designers whom sleep is another whole cloth luxury. Every couple of weeks he comes up with a new supplement, adventure, campaign or adventure add on for either Cepheus Engine or OSRIC. Such is the case with his Patrons of the Frontiers of Space a 'pay what you want' forty three page NPC  patron book for the Cepheus Engine rpg. 

Basically Patrons of the Frontiers of Space is a perfectly served up patrons book in the spirit of the classic original Travellers rpg book. It gives a bunch of patrons for your adventurers & hooks to get your Cepheus Engine rpg campaign & adventures rolling. And there are lots of room for NPC double dealing & weirdness to be added into the Cepheus Engine rpg campaign setting of your choice. Patrons are one of the back bones of classic Traveller & Cepheus Engine. Mohr brings some solid choices for adventurers here. 

For the Cepheus Engine rpg Patrons of the Frontiers of Space is core & key a way of turning the adventure starter of the campaign engine for the game. NPC patrons allow adventurers to have access to everything from equipment out of their range. To key NPC's as well as hiring the adventurers for situations that the partons don't want to find themselves in.  Patrons of the Frontiers of Space gives a solid take & selection of just these while giving the DM excuses for getting the adventurers into situations way over their pay grades. 

If your looking for incredibly high standards in layout & artwork look else where  Patrons of the Frontiers of Space is pure useful tool box NPC's from right out of the gate for the Cepheus Engine rpg. The layout is no frills, the material here is bare bones, & its very much exactly what it says on the tin. And that's fine. 

For my purposes  Patrons of the Frontiers of Space is key turn tool box fun for my campaigns for the Cepheus Engine. Can Patrons of the Frontiers of Space  be used in other Cepheus Engine rpg supplement settings besides the author's original space opera Cepheus Engine campaign?! In a word, very much so, Patrons of the Frontiers of Space  is designed with other use built into its DNA. 

For example  Stellagama Publishing's These Stars Are Ours could have all kinds of loose mid range corps working with any number of front men patrons. These can be fronts for many of the Gray's interests with the humans who are the new up & coming powers after the interstellar wars. 
For Independence Games's Clement Sector books & setting are being invaded by outside forces.  Patrons of the Frontiers of Space represents a threat to the established order of regular patrons. These can be  NPC  folks with clout in the affairs of the intergalatic world stage who are offering the adventurers opportunities for adventure or missions of all kinds.                                             

Patrons of the Frontiers of Space for Zozer Games Hostile represents the 'outside's influence' growing because of the importation of forces far outside the circle of the current crop & influences of the corporations.  Humanity in the board room & the streets are vulnerable to the mere presence of royals or some other corporate entities within the universe. 
Is Patrons of the Frontiers of Space  perfect?! Far from it but its lot better then it has any right to. As a 'pay what you want' adventure it lives up to its own shadow that it sets down for your campaign to use. I'm glad I downloaded Patrons of the Frontiers of Space 

Review & Commentary On Gunboats and Shuttles By Paul Elliott From Zozer Games For The Cepheus Engine Rpg & The Hostile Rpg Campaign

"Escape pods, lifeboats, shuttles, gunboats and dropships – vital smallcraft that play an important part in the gritty American Sector setting of HOSTILE. Nearly all of the smallcraft featured in the setting are covered here, with write-ups, external views and comprehensive deckplans. Included also are two pieces of shuttle-related fiction and a bonus: 11 pages scanned in from the ICO’s Flight Handbook published in 2178!"

 Gunboats & Shuttles by Paul Elliott has been sitting on the gaming table for a couple of months now. It stares at our gaming group like an angry marine waiting for its due. So after a couple monthes reading through the book. Using it & really diving into it helps to not take  Gunboats & Shuttles for granted. You get a full spectrum of mid to small level ships in this book. These are not incidental & their very well done. These are working marines, roughnecks, spacers, & even cargo haulers ships. And in Gunboats & Shuttles you get a full spectrum of ships across the board: 

• Neumayer Escape Pod
• Orchid Lifeboat
• Nomad Ship’s Boat
• Sabre Gunboat
• Starlifter Modular Shuttle (and 10 module variations)
• Halo Heavy Shuttle (all three versions)
• Thunderchief Heavy Shuttle
• Mustang Dropship

The layout is really well done & stats are right at the DM's or player's fingers you get a whole lotta bang for the dollar amount for  Cepheus Engine and the HOSTILE setting. And these craft could potentially be applied for other Cepheus Engine settings as well with the same tech axioms. Everything in Gunboats & Shuttles  is oriented towards actual use & play. 

We really liked where the author took the craft giving us a very nice overview, application, & even possible game use in each entry. And this ties well into the Hostile setting as a whole. The ships here are very useful with artwork by Ian Stead, Algol, & Maxim Zhuravlevthat really makes it easy to show players yes this is what the PC is flying. 

The Heavy lift shuttle is extremely useful for Roughneck or Explorer with a really nice entry. Gunboats & Shuttles brings the heat for adventurers looking for solid mission profiles. And it really feels like a Janes Weapons or vehicle books. 

Gunboats & Shuttles  is a great book for the DM looking to really add in a cinematic feel to their Hostile games. We get some great fake advertising & entries for Gunboats & Shuttles within the Hostile universe.  And these could be used as in game player hand outs. Within this book are some excellent diagrams & maps for use with Cepheus Engine rpg games. 

 Gunboats & Shuttles is an excellent support book for craft that you need for both Cepheus Engine rpg as well the Hostile setting itself. The craft here are great support ships for both marine & even explorer or roughneck PC's.  Gunboats & Shuttles  is an excellent quality book to add to your own Cepheus Engine rpg collection. 

Review & Commentary On Explorers By Paul Elliott For The Cepheus Engine Rpg For The Hostile Rpg Setting & The Original Traveller rpg

 "Explorers is a supplement for Cepheus Engine and for the gritty HOSTILE science fiction setting.
It provides all of the tools the explorer needs to tackle dangers and exotic encounters on remote worlds. Included within the book is a fully detailed survey ship, the USCS Castle Bravo; an in-depth look at both the Tharsis Armadillo All-Terrain Vehicle as well as the explorer’s habitat of choice: the Leyland-Okuda modular base series. The space suits of the HOSTILE universe are also featured, with a set of customisable options.
Finally, survey and exploration procedures are explained with advice and rules provided which will allow the referee to create a tense, unpredictable and (hopefully!) dangerous survey mission. These come with 36 uninhabited world descriptions for use in your game. "

Players & friends alerted me to the release of Zozer Games Explorers was shoved int erm came exploding into my email box by my players. The cover alone is what really grabs your attention with a creepy classic Science Fiction & 70's Alien style poster artwork feel to it. The supplemenrt dives into the 'Upstream' space mining & exploration faux industry magazine cover.  But this is actually the first section of rules & organization over view. Shades of West End Star Wars rpg with the fake adds which were often used as player hand outs. This is gives a solid feel of the field of space exploration in the universe  of Hostile. You get a quick arm shot of a common survey vessel & overview of the Armadillo ATV. And its very well done giving the DM a perspective on the ATV and it almost feels like you could actually drive one. And that's one of the things about Explorers as a supplement it feels very grounded in its own universe. 

The module base section is very well done & we get down, dirty, & very scientific within Explorers take on living the pioneer life on the edge of galatic discovery. This section has a very much updated feel of those Eighties faux NASA books such as the Mars Mission Manual. This is life on the bleed edge of surival & space exploration. This section of Explorers gives an excellent overview of the shelters, colony pop up dwellings, and bases that are going to be used by PC's. 

Next we get into some hard core space suit design & mission specific stuff with regards to the day to day workable skin of the explorer. This section is very well done & hits the high notes that Hostile does with added benefits of actually being another customizable PC section of Explorers. This is one of the best sections of the book because it allows the DM & players to work together to tie together the gear for the PC's missions. 

'How To Explore' is one of the best sections of Explorers which involves planets, systems, missions parameters, planetary characteristics, & much more. This section ties in nicely with Explorers especially for instellar exploration campaign.  This section goes right into The Castle Bravo survey vessel which was introduced around a decade ago to compensate for the inadequacies of its predecessor, the North Star long range scout. And this is a perfect star ship for the players PC's and its a slamming ship! 

The Castle Bravo survey vessel reminds me of many of the classic original Traveller rpg ships. An actual star ship that the PC's can use for missions across the board. Its a real neat design incorporating elements of the classic 70's art Science Fiction ships with the Two Thousands bleeding edge space exploration. In many respects I really love the Castle Bravo survey ship class its really well done. 

Explorers within seventy one pages feels like an update of Paul Elliott, & Ben Lecrone's Orbital 2100 campaign setting with huge expansion of many of the ideas, adventure elements, space suits, ships, etc..

 Explorers takes the Hostile rpg setting into the outer bleeding edges of instellar space exploration. This means that its a solid drag & drop supplement right into the back end of the Hostile rpg setting. Explorers is a must add on for Roughnecks because the explorers are often the trail blazers or runners for the Rougneck's mining  operations. 

Because of Explorers the way that the book is set up its perfectly tuned for adding in sci fi horror elements to make the lives of the PC's wretched. All in all Explorers is a solid add on book for the DM of Cepheus Engine campaigns & yes I'm really glad that I grabbed it! 

Review & Commentary On The Free Zozer Games Camp Cretaceous rpg & Campaign Setting Book By Paul Elliot

" Player characters travel back into the Cretaceous period in this supplement for Cepheus Engine. There they carry out perilous missions in their attempts to study dinosaurs in their natural environment. A great game to play alongside young people and children. "

One of the free game setting supplements that I noticed on Zozer Games is Camp Cretaceous  a free setting book & 2d6 Cepheus Engine gaming system motor under the hood. This is a really good setting book for thos kids who are at that age where  dinoaurs are the greatest thing on the planet. Or their 'whatever age' something or better parents or grand parents looking to further their own Jurassic Park experience or prehistoric education. This is a fast play game which can be picked up right away. Everything here is well thoughtout by someone who knows their prehistoric history. For a free game & setting Camp Cretaceous  doesn't skip on the details, eventualities, factions, & of course dinosaurs. All of this comes in at an even one hundred & twenty pages. 
The one thing that stands out is that the author presents is his DMing & dealing with children players. There's extensive advice when it comes to dealing with everything from the table top level up. The  Late Cretaceous campaign setting is well done with all of the dinosaurs, history, ecology, etc.. Camp Cretaceous  is  done in such a fashion that it will serve as compelling game for both the seasoned rpger or a beginner. Camp Cretaceous  takes the setting material into the direction of exploration, discovery, & problem solving. The combat system is well done but not necessary for a whole cloth good time of play within  Camp Cretaceous . 

Camp Cretaceous  is a perfect add on for an adult DM looking to expand their Cepheus Engine rpg game campaign into 'lost world or time travel campaign themes. There are several reasons why this works one of these the game works to create expediations. So there's a perfect ' in' for DM's looking to exploit a Cretaceous campaign setting.  For example with  Stellagama Publishing's These Stars Are Ours campaign setting. Camp Cretaceous  could be used as a supplement to agument a planet with a biological or ecological laboratory setting for the dinosaurs created by the Reticulans. 

This campaign adventure hook could be used for Zozer Games Hostile rpg with the xenomorphs using the dinosaurs as hosts. Perhaps even a combination of the two campaign ideas with the marines dodging dinosaurs & xenomorphs. 
Let's get back to  Camp Cretaceous . There are several reasons why this game works: 

1. A lot of care & time went into the writing & creation Camp Cretaceous 
2.  Camp Cretaceous  was done by a historian & technical writer who knows his subject matter. 
3.  Camp Cretaceous  is a perfect game for introducing kids to rpging & actual history. 
4. Great game for those who have the attention span for action but want problem solving within their rpg's.
5. Dinosaurs! 
6. Plenty of room for campaign expansion & add on's within  Camp Cretaceous 
7. Plenty of DM ideas, hooks, & toybox stuff built into  Camp Cretaceous 
8.  Camp Cretaceous  is a perfect game for an Athur Conan Doyle Lost World game campaign. 
9. Nice to see a kid friendly game & setting book that's free. Camp Cretaceous  does an excellent job with that. 
10. Just go download Camp Cretaceous  and have fun! 

Camp Cretaceous  is a five outta five in my book. 

Fast & Loose Review Of Stouthearted Games Cepheus Modern By Mark Stout for Cepheus Engine Light or Old School Original Traveller rpg

 "Cepheus Modern is a 2d6-based OGL game based on Cepheus Light, for playing campaigns set in the modern era. Whatever your game is: modern paramilitary, retro espionage, World War II battles, mysterious explorers, or renegade hacktivists; Cepheus Modern has you covered. This rules-light game offers character creation with a variety of modern careers, skills and equipment, rules for resolving actions in and out of combat, and a complete animal/creature creation system.

Do you like your modern games with a dose of strangeness? Cepheus Modern has that as well, with chapters covering Psychic Powers, Cybernetics, Urban Fantasy, and Aliens! Run your game as straight reality or with as little or much weirdness as you like. To add more sci-fi to your game, consider using this game with Cepheus Light."

Whist digging ourselves out here at Casa De Fabiaschi the players have been trying to figure their way out of the, 'Oh my God the space station is going to explode & we're all going to die' routine. Let's take a step back & look at an optional 'pay what you want' Cepheus Engine title by Stouthearted  Games called Cepheus Modern. This is another one of those Cepheus Engine light  titles that's been on the back burner for a month or so. 
Now apparently as a member of the Cepheus Engine rpg club we're not supposed to talk about Mongoose Traveller or original Traveller, etc.  Whatever 'cus I'm not a publisher of Cepheus Engine nor do I want to get authors in trouble. But as a subsystem that can be tacked onto Cepheus Engine rpg?!  Cepheus Modern is a winner in my book. It presents a whole host of alternative retro & modern campaign options along with the careers to go with them. 

So this makes Cepheus Modern very valuable on a number of fronts as a DM or Cepheus Engine player. The fact that Cepheus Modern  catters to the campaign & adapts the rules to it rather then the other way around. Cyberpunk campaign? Check that's there. Magic & psionics? Check & check again. Uban Fantasy as an actual viable option?! Check again. But its the fact that the rules actually work without any fiddling on the part of the DM. And its the fact that Cepheus Modern will also work with 1970s 2D6 RETRO RULES From Zozer Games which is how psionics & magic have been quietly appearing the background of our current campaigns. 

 Cepheus Modern covers all of the basics & does the job that its supposed to in spades & it does so without any issues what so ever. Do I think you should get it?! Yes & its worth the download if your a Cepheus Engine DM or player. 

Review & Commentary On The Pay What You Want Adventure - 'Sleeping Giant' written by Joseph Mohr From Old School Role Playing For Cepheus Engine rpg & Old School Traveller rpg

"The travelers are offered a job with a substantial payday, The only problem is that the job is on a burned out radioactive world in the Sonora sector of space, An alien species, long dead and gone, once used robotic walkers to invade the planet Ceqal IV. The Olonsean Empire would like to have artifacts from these walkers. The patron, however, has other ideas."




 Joseph Mohr is an engine every couple of months a new OSR or Cepheus Engine rpg  adventure pops up on Drivethrurpg. And so its been interesting to see "Sleeping Giant" a pay what you want Cepheus Engine Rpg adventure  pop up yesterday. There been quite a bit of experince at the table top when it comes to using  Joseph Mohr Cepheus Engine rpg adventures that we have had over the last two years. Each one comes with a hook, a set up, the meat of the adventure, & then the conclusion for the PC's. And this isn't a bad thing at all. And this set up is highly effective; "Nehael Thriqu, an intelligence officer of the Ilsunsi Directorate, approaches the travelers when they are in star port with a proposition. The Directorate has received intelligence that the Olonsean Empire intends to send an expedition to the world of Ceqal to recover alien artifacts. The Olonsean Empire is an aggressive species of aliens who are always looking for artifacts which can improve their military. It is believed that the planet Ceqal IV may contain such artifacts as it was once the site of an ancient battle. This battle took place long before any of the races which currently inhabit the Sonora sector evolved or moved into this part of the galaxy. Much of the planet is covered in radioactive zones from the orbital bombardment that took place here long ago. A great deal of hazardous wreckage still orbits the world from the battle that took place in space around the system. It is considered dangerous place to visit and no one has after the first explorers visited the world nearly five hundred years ago. Nehael Thriqu offers the travelers CR 200,000 to visit this world and find whatever it is that the Olonseans are looking for before their own expedition arrives. He offers CR 100,000 as a bonus if the travelers can recover the artifacts and bring them to him. Alternatively he will be quite happy if the travelers can just prevent the Olonseans from recovering the artifacts by destroying them. To this end he will supply the travelers with military grade explosive charges (five) which should accomplish the task." One of the things that really shines out about  "Sleeping Giant" is how easy it is to customize & really play with to suit your campaigns.  "Sleeping Giant" has all of the ingrediants of a good solidly done original  Star Trek television episode in an adventure outline form.  "Sleeping Giant" could easily be adapted to a very gritty & lived in Cepheus Engine rpg setting like Zozer Games Hostile rpg setting.  Here's how it would work  with a Hostile style game. The Company patron comes to the PC marines with a purposal to recover relics or weapons from world of Ceqal before  the Olonsean Empire (effectively a group of alien pirates or marauders) recovers them first. Bonuses will be paid & there is propitiation of future missions. 



 And even the writer says it right at the beginning of the adventure; "This adventure involves an alien robotic walker which was once used in combat during an invasion of this world. The walker is basically a large mechanical warrior in which a crew once lived inside. Consider it a walking tank. It was heavily armored and equally heavily armed. There are many components to this device which the Olonseans would benefit from. Should they recover any of these components they will put them to military use and change the balance of power in the region. This adventure is set in the Sonora sector which is detailed in my previous work “The Frontiers of Space.” But it could easily be moved to some other part of the galaxy if needed." 

To make this work in Zozer Games Hostile rpg setting I'm breaking one of the conceits of this setting. Namely that there are no humanoid alien races within it. The Talon Sector & the Earth Empire that we've been using as the basis of our Hostile games does have humanoid races within it. Its a big galaxy folks and besides this something that the Aliens comic books from Dark Horse also played with. That's another blog entry.  "Sleeping Giant"  has random encounters, the robotic wreckage, and even the possibility of more relics.. There's a bit of problem solving & all together this works very well.  "Sleeping Giant"  is actually a nice campaign set up adventure for some experienced rpgers in the Cepheus Engine rpg. 
Could  "Sleeping Giant"   work for original Traveller rpg?! In a word very effectively because it hits the right buttons for original Traveller. You've got a solid mission, a post apocalytic alien world, a rival enemy hell bent on those same relics. Yes it works nicely.. 

The Lulu Mail Call - Hostile rpg Campaign Thoughts

 Mail call & some Cepheus Engine Hostile rpg thoughts today & how to really dig into the reality of some campaign choices. 

Today was spent recovering from last night's game cus it went till about five A.M. & then staggering out the mail box what do we  see but a package from Federal Express!? Awesomely this came out far faster then was expected. 
What was ordered was a copy of the following: 

HOSTILE

Hostile Gunlocker

Zaibatsu

HOSTILE Technical Manual

All of the player's PC's are at the moment in medi tanks & receiving cybernetics after getting slashed up by a Yakuza assassination  squad & running into a really nasty creature inside a haunted starship wreck. 
So now its all a matter of getting the time to have the players bring in some new PC's for this week's game coming up.. 

But with work schedules, Covid, & more our home games are gonna have to take an interesting turn or two. DM Steve has some ideas & we're going to be meeting coming up for our two current Cepheus Engine campaigns. So things are happening with this .. Right now coming up there are at least three or four Eighties & Nineties films in our VHS movie club watch rotation. So there's that.. coming to influence some of the adventure choices. Personally right now my own preferences for Sword of Cepheus has been coming through strongly. 

Right now Allard Technologies is the upstart corporate player in our current campaigns & there's some really shady business out among the stars. 

Appendix S - Readings Into Gordon R. Dickson's Child Cycle For Original Traveller & Cepheus Engine Rpg

 The fact of the matter is that we played military themed old school Traveller rpg &  Cepheus engine rpg campaigns with Vietnam, Gulf War, & Afghanistan veterans as well as their wives. The fact is this puts a very different spin on military/Eighties action film inspired campaigns such as mine especially a  Hostile rpg alternative one. And this brings up Gordon Dickerson's Child cycle which sits in stark contrast to David Drake's Hammer's Slammers. 

The Spirit Dorsai is a part of an anthology by Gordon Dickson according to the wiki entry; "The Spirit of Dorsai is a collection of two science fiction stories by American writer Gordon R. Dickson. It was first published by Ace Books in 1979. The collection includes linking material and the stories are part of Dickson's Childe Cycle. The first story, "Amanda Morgan", is original to this collection. The other, "Brothers", originally appeared in the anthology Astounding, edited by Harry Harrison." Don't let the Star Wars inspired cover fool you this is pure old school Traveller/ Cepheus Engine rpg material right here. Let's dive straight into the Child cycle wiki entry for a very solid summery; "The series is sometimes referred to as the Dorsai series, as the Dorsai people are central to the series. The related short stories and novellas all center on the Dorsai, primarily members of the Graeme and Morgan families.

While, on the face of it, the Childe Cycle is a science fiction series, it is also an allegory. In addition to the six science fiction novels of the Cycle, Dickson had also planned three historical novels and three novels taking place in the present day. In an essay in his book Steel Brother (Tor, 1985), Dickson describes how he conceived the Childe Cycle, the panoramic "consciously thematic" treatment of the evolution of the human race, and the planned contents of the six never-written novels. Each group of three novels would include one focused on each of three "archetypes, the Philosopher, the Warrior, or the Faith-Holder." The first novel's protagonist would be mercenary John Hawkwood, who lived from the 1320s to 1394. Hawkwood "has been referred to as the first of the modern generals." He defeated a Milanese ruler who might have stymied the Renaissance. The second historical novel was to deal with the poet John Milton (author of Paradise Lost) in the period he served as a "Faith-Holder" and "Fanatic" ... "propagandist for the Cromwellian government." The third historical novel's focus would have been on Robert Browning whose "poetry is a vehicle for his philosophy." The three twentieth century novels would have focused on: "the life and character of George Santayana to showcase a Philosopher," a World War II "Warrior," and a female "Faith-Holder" in the 1980s. The latter novel was expected to deal with issues of space colonization, beginning a thread continuing through Necromancer and concluding with the full formation of the Splinter Cultures" 
And this weaving of the science fictional cultures together along with John Hawkwood's journey is pure Traveller fodder right there. But let's discuss the real meat & potatoes here. At the time when I read the series I was reading Frank Herbert's Dune. And science fiction this contrasts harshly with the   Childe Cycle as  a science fiction series, but also an allegory. Divided & diverse  forms of humanity & human philosophy made manifest across the stars. This fits exactly the contrasting military & technological levels within Traveller & Cepheus Engine. 

Gun runners & weapons manufacturers are going to have a field day with this fact & its one of the primary lights behind my use of Modern War: Conversion System From Zozer Games. This is a fantastic little system to put the guns,planes, etc. in the hands of the people. And in this case its a system that enables the DM to eye ball a piece of military hard ware determine stats for & then drop it right into their games. The DM's last night were really impressed with it last night. 

Even with psionics & exotic human abilities the modern technologies still has its place within our games especially Hostile rpg. Its only the fact that several of the Dorsai technologies were mentioned last night that they may make an appearance according to the Child Cycle wiki break down; "A large part of the series focuses on the exploits of the Dorsai. In the face of escalating countermeasures, the Dorsai choose to use relatively simple weapons, which are both reliable and effective. The other militaries follow suit.

By the 23rd century, the average civilian sports hunter has a more technologically advanced weapon than the average soldier. In fact, "advanced" small arms are treated with derision, such as the "Dally Gun" which Cletus uses to break up an ambush in Tactics of Mistake. The Dally Gun is possibly derived from a Cadillac Gage weapons system of the 1960s, the Stoner 63, which (like the "Dial-A-Gun" from the story) was designed with interchangeable components for reconfiguration as needed for a particular mission. While the Stoner 63 received significant use with the SEALs of the U.S. NAVY up until 1980 (with high praise regarding both durability and reliability, although it was a bit heavier than other comparable systems), the Dally Gun was considered a failure.

The main infantry weapon throughout the Cycle is the cone rifle.  The rifles are little more than launching platforms with triggering mechanisms. Because the cones (which explode on impact) accelerate after being fired from the rifle, they are more deadly at long ranges than short.

Also used are spring rifles, utilizing a 5,000 sliver magazine in a non-metallic mechanism to fire a sliver up to one thousand meters.

Power guns (energy weapons) were available as early as Cletus' period, where his aide is nearly killed with one. Sonic cannons are also used as weapons." 
Again these are weapon systems that we've seen in old school Traveller & they have their place but Traveller isn't about weaponry or military themes so much as its a character driven game. 

For my own Hostile rpg campaign these technologies are top secret & Dickson's science fiction has more of an influence on the strains of humanity rather then the end product. The Dorsai & Child cycles are classic for a reason & remain some of my favorite readings. 

Where are the weapons going from  Modern War: Conversion System From Zozer Games? Over to the beleaguered  human forces in These Stars Are Ours campaign setting from TSAO: These Stars Are Ours! From Stellagama Publishing.