WARNING there are possible spoilers from Survial Margin below in this major
rant about the "New Era"
Today the 16th of April, 1993 (Solomani Reckoning), I realized I lost an old
friend that I had known since walking into a Gamekeeper twelve years ago and
picking up a little black box with red lettering on it.
Now, I had been willing to cut GDW some slack on this virus thing, after all
what is the universe but a little bad science fiction gone factual, but a
major essence of why I bought Traveller products all these years went a
wimpering poof when I bought Survival Margin today. Traveller, meant more
than a new set of rules to build starships and create funny codes to build
worlds and npc's. It meant more than rules for personal combat from banging
the foul bastard on the head with the club to vaporizing the little snitch
with an FGMP-13. The Traveller Universe was a socio-political/ technical
vision of a complex society in an Intersteller era. There was ability to
imagine oneself as the crafty free trader sneaking off with the lucrutive
gems that you bartered off that barbarian leader, before the Tukera Lines
exploration division captain even noticed this new world. It was the
Passenger liner steward thwarting the hijacking of the Empress Arbatella on
the Vland to Capital run. It was the being the fanatical SOLSEC agent,
evading Imperial Intelligence on Terra, carrying the explosives and cash for
the resistance's next terrorist strike. It was the Aslan of honor, travelling
through the slime of Startown, to fullfill the Clan leaders plans. It was
being the Commander of a Strike Cruiser on a deep raid into Zhodani Space.
Traveller, was the struggle of extraordinary characters trying to survive and
prosper, while competing steller empires of different species, cultures and
political idealogies vyed for supremecy in the game of princes. Traveller was
the "Sun never sets on the Third Imperium" or "the Solomani Manifest Destiny
is inevitable", it was the Freighter Captain who undocked his subsidized
merchant secure in the knowledge that the Navy was on patrol and therefore
trade was safe and could be profitable.
Then came MegaTraveller with the Final War, life wasn't so safe in some
areas, but there was High Drama. You had the clash of new and old empires,
there were still safe area's where the old crafty merchant could still
maneuver his Type A free trader to profit and glory.
Now comes this bloody virus and Survival Margin. Gone is the complex
socio-political/technical environment. Gone are the mighty stellar empires,
Gone is the Merchant Captain of a free trader who crossed the breath of the
Third Imperium for the almighty Imperial Credit. Friends, we have gone from
the struggle of Rome and Carthage straight into the Dark Ages where Hanfred
the Drunk hacks off a peasants head to steal 4 cows. From having an NPC who
broke into the Imperial Research Center to steal a warbot prototype, we now
will have a cold yokel backwater peasant whose big worry is who is molesting
his wildesheep.
We have a choice of being a fraidy-cat Zhodani dominated inhabitant of the
Regency, a merciless snatcher of chickens from this Star Viking Reformation
whatever it is, an uneducated barbaric feudal lord or his wretched peasant
from your choice of the former ...Imperium, Aslan Hierate or Solmani
Confederation.
Gone is the reason to run to the Game Store and get the latest copy of
Challenge or TAS to read the latest from Traveller News Service. Who cares
about whether some poor tech level 4 farmer on Dlan is blown away by a space
viking looking for a replacement Pfaucet for his wife's budoir back home. The
drama is gone. This plot made for a darn good H. Beam Piper novel, but it is
not the gist of a long campaign, it is not a reason to read the TNS(or
whatever it becomes).
Just how many campaigns can you run with the Space viking sacking the tech 4
underpopulated world. (OH this is Tuesday, lets go get that bidet on Sirius
4). Just how exciting is it going to be, to play the Brave Denebian Regency
naval Captain blowing away some bandaged 100 year old space hulk carrying
some wretched better life seeking denizens of the "wilds" who just might have
the a copy of "The Virus" onboard. Pfffooof!!!! This is a universe for a
couple of 14 year kids to play a couple of of rounds with, as a break from
AD&D. With all this low tech bang the guy on the head with a claymore sword,
going on maybe we can merge the systems). Yeah, thats the ticket.. the low
tech peaseants on Home mutated in 75 years and became ORC's, the ones on
Gushmege KOBOLDS.. Yeah thats the ticket, who needs Spelljammer, we got
TRAVELLER the New Era.
I recommend that if you have views like me, you'll make a new universe to
play and dream in.
Maybe, just maybe, I'll have Grandfather take a good hard look at the
universe, go grab a spare empty 20000 or so worlds from an unused galaxy,
enclose them in a pocket universe, and clone everybody in the GDW universe.
Then he is going to invite Strephon to a bar on Gushmege. He is going to pour
him a drink of "Old Grandad", tell him to get a grip on himself, become a
true emperor, and go out and save the empire, civilization and a damn good
campaign universe. That merchant captain out of Vland is counting on him.
Maybe, one last Black strike on a small area of Illinois, North America,
Solomani liberated Terra might still hold back the destruction.
As it stands now, the Zhodani won as the last LARGE Human Civilization.
To the late Major Virgisskiai
3rd Brigade of the 13425 Jump Infantry Division, Imperial Army
The sacrifice of you and your men who made up the forlorn hope raiding
party that hit that Zhondani Supply grav tank supply depot at Chronor was in
vain. The cause you died for, the way of life, your childrens future, was
sacrificed so that some 14 year old kid can buy a couple of modules of a low
tech AD&D space substitute. Your orphaned children will become peasants. The
Zhodani will dominate human civilization, the non-psionic will be slaves to
the psionic. You wasted your life, instead of fighting and dying in the 5th
Frontier war, you should have stayed home on Vland and enjoyed the last good
years with the wife and kids. All of us, mature traveller fans of more than
a decade, raise a glass of thanks to you and your kind..You were
extraordinary....
With Deepest Regret
Brian Makens
P.S:
SolSec Agent on Home:
ARGH!!!!! Just when that Solomani Party Bigwig Cental Commitee member had
brought his green-haired mistress, a vorashian flying tuber, six gallons
of vilani love oil and a trombone into the bedroom, the <bleeped>
evesdropping computer video console started spewing
PPKKUU.....ERRY&&@@,..-==2o23r66YYYY((((00222011Kie
Why do things have to screw up, just when things are getting good!!!