Tables from Cyberpunk 2020 (for your Traveller game)

These tables are system agnostic enough to rip from the rulebook and plug into that dirty shit-hole you call a downport;

Useful tables from cyberpunk 2020 (for your Traveller game);
p.33 lifepaths,
p.30 fast and dirty expendables,
p.43 fumble table,
p.58 occupation table,
p.61 weapons list (damage and ammo stats work easily enough)
p.68-69 gear descriptions/gear list,
p.76 cyberware list,
p.83 chips & prices,
p.142 programs list,
p. 167 programming 101 (more for the setting info then a table),
p. 179 uniform civilian justice code,
p. 220 night city encounters.

Classic Traveller Combat Revealed!

I don’t know if Traveller’s combat system is considered “deadly”, but it has carried an air of complexity around it by those who have never played. I’ve had the pleasure of running six-seven sessions of Classic Traveller and I find the combat system amazingly plain, but with oft overlooked features which make it really sing!

Look at the combat turn order, nothing there any regular rpg’er hasn’t seen. The surprise mechanic is simple, and interesting. To hit is 8 or better on 2D6, and wounds are applied to your Physical attributes; Strength, Dexterity and Endurance. Range is simplified and the list of actions a character can take is boiled down into 4 actual combat actions. So where does this notion of an opaque, killer combat system for Traveller come from?

The reason Traveller combat is considered deadly and/or complex is because of at least two rules never used by regular players and referees. Rules so important it changes the whole relationship of the PCs to the game universe. They are the rule on weapon skills and the use of endurance attribute in melee.

The weapons skill rules are the most significant. Ranged combat takes on a completely different dimension when not used properly. The lack of this rule makes PCs less competent and easier to kill. On page 36 of the LBB’s is the entry Untrained Weapon Usage. “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 def[i]nding (defending). While you let that sink in check out the next few sentences; “All player-characters automatically have an expertise of zero (0) in all weapons shown in this book.”

Not only does the average NPC have a 5 to their ranged weapon attack, the average PC suffers no disadvantage. A minus five swing in Traveller is a BIG deal. It makes most NPC’s the players interact with are “mooks”, adversaries which they can brush aside quickly. Add in proper use of cover and the surprise mechanics, any experienced combatants run effectively will roll gangbangers, grumpy miners, thugish dock workers, enraged bureaucrat; the PCs are designed to be Bruce Willis in Die Hard. A cut above the rest of the folks trapped in the tower. This is where you get to swing from the cable with auto rifles blasting the poorly paid and trained security guards! In a flat-footed straight out draw a PC should be Clint Eastwood to every one of those “lucky” punks out there.

My test was a poll on the Mewe Classic Traveller group and it looked like this:

Your average Traveller player and referee doesn’t play with these rules at all. This is what I mean about swinging the combat game against the PCs. They are playing the game with one arm literally tied behind their back. Unlike weapon speed in AD&D, the -5 for untrained weapon usage is an essential mechanic for the Traveller game. Remove it and the way players play Traveller significantly changes. Further, this small sampling shows most referees and players have never considered this rule and its effect on combat.

Myself, I’m stingy with zero level weapon skills for NPCs. The weapon is deadly enough. Anyone can squeeze a trigger. But who can keep their heads about them when multiple people are firing guns, at short range no less?! Pandemonium is what happens. A character trained to be cool and deliberate during fire brings your game to movie-level action. Like in Heat, and Den of Thieves. The tattooed, ipod-wearing street hood goes down in a street fight with one spray from the trained PC.

In conclusion, there are some assumptions placed on Classic Traveller which change game play away from superior PCs, and therefore the game is going to be played differently. If you implement RAW I believe you will find players enjoying the game more.

CT: Shattered Worlds, The Siamese Syndicate, One-Shot

Need a Traveller Encounter Fast? Here is one for the harried Referee; (made using the Augmented Reality city kit!)

A New Plot for the next group of Pcs: The PC's are confronted by mysterious deaths in their concourse and are motivated to find the answer. A.C.M.W screamsheets are on the story. 

What’s going on: Rob ‘Infidel’ Castro, per orders from the Siamese Syndicate, a fixer network, is testing the “Acoustic Weapon Sensor” for the Nordeast Corporation. It is being kept at a Nordeast Safehouse(???). And is triangulating a “field of death” around the Nelson Hale Block off of Cruikshank Concourse. Nordeast hopes to buy a minor nation state on the restricted planet of Port Prince Peace.

Angry Citizens Media Web, a pro-labor propaganda outlet. ACMW is trying to uncover the cause of these deaths. They have a lead on this Siamese Syndicate.

Local Conflict: Castro is experiencing TREACHERY. The Angry Citizens Media Web possibly infiltrated the Siames Syndicate fixer network and are trying to uncover the Accoustic Weapon Sensor tests which are killing their friends and neighbors.

Fixer Network "Boss":

Shaven head, wears grey suit, bulky, and sombre. He is obsessed with "zone" dancing in public places. Secretly employed by the Huron corporation, follows their instructions acting as a Siamese Syndicte diploment.

Area Event: Development/Investment leading to Rapidly Escilating Fatalities from the McGuffin.

McGuffin: Accoustic Weapon Sensor is causing the fatalities.

Where is this all located? Vanders Colony Dome 1, Cruikshank Concourse, Nelson Hale Building, as well as the Bio-sculpt sex studio Aztechnology, in ARchLuxury Apartments building complex.

Nelson Hale is mostly 2’s and 4’s (apartment type), pumped of course.

Current Events; Oil spill on Cruikshank has caused an Agit-Pop Flash Demonstration led by the Copy Catz. Ad-Lib is looking for “Infidel” Castro. He thinks he might know something about what’s going on.

NPC Names: Bashar Ad-Lib; ACMW Reporter,

Boris Yelpin’; Ad-Lib’s camerman

Dilemmas Dangers, Gang Leader of Copy Catz

Wes Dekine, Siamese Syndicate Boss

Dot Avi, Siamese Syndicate Boss

Salted Hashbrowns, Nordeasat Corp. Scientist

Uetake Kunio, Nordeast Corp. Agent

Greto Giles; Nelson Hale Urchin

Tarzan Lopez; Cruikshank Concourse scavanger

Opening Sounds: Police band radio, “Attention mobile unit. Confidential informant advises possible facilitation. Sending Threat-Let. Suspect cover is Wes Dekine, uploading profile dump, no further information. Please respond.”

Gang in the neighborhood: The Copy Catz, composed of 24d10 members led by an adult, . They fight with mixed weapons and their tactics tend towards assault and flank. The gang's primary reason for being is Political (Conservative); they love gambling and HATE daylight! The gang's symbol is two cat skulls facing each other. Gang memebers tend to wear yellow/gold attire. They usually have music from the latest Agit-Band. When first encountered, their initial reaction will be hostile, watch and wait for attack of opportunity. You encounter 3 members hanging out on a corner.

The Gang: Dilemmas Dangers (leader), C8A6B7, light auto, not skilled.

Gangmember Stats; 777773,

Hot Swap, Mad Dog, Booker Numbers, Bad Hayes, Gay Nava, Commodore 69, Computer-1.

Then there are 120 more soldiers of the line which need calling up from Cruikshank neighborhood.

Random Encounters:

Encounter 1 (Pest Control)

Blood-Matted Fitz-Trap, a dangerous predator found on the Skalvil wastes. 4HP, Bite (1d6). What the frak is it doing in the dome? A Copy Catz foolishly brought one back after field trials of the A.W.S. His body is nearby. What do the Copy Catz have to do with wild animals?

Encounter 2 (Hot Cyber Goods)

Urchin Greto Giles14 DEX, 4HP, Knife (d6). She is leading a Scavenger Tarzan Lopez 2HP, Taser (d8 stun damage) to try and sell their cybermodem. Essential part to the AWS. Copy Catz, on Infidel’s orders, are tracking them down. The pair look nervous. As if they know what they have is hot, dangerous goods.

Encounter 3 (Residents pleading for help)

Body Pit: Copy Catz members are disposing of jellied bodies in the Nelson Hale Block.

Encounter 4 (Hot and ready to rock)

Eviction Squad: Roll random reaction to see how it goes down. 1d10+SS+Int=stand down #. They are juiced and ready to pop!

Encounter 5 (Breaking & Entering) Exploitable for entry; Samuel Gompers Building.

Working for Needful to dispense street hygene. Security techs to silence the persistent alarm. These are possible angles to get access into the building. Needful Hygiene Dispensers: You will be deployed to a building lobby or reception area, and sometimes you'll operate in the street, where you will remain for the duration of the gig. You will be supplied with a paper coverall, nitrile gloves and a 20L back-mounted tank full of hand sanitiser, or other germicidal, dispensed by trigger pump to hygiene conscious citizens. You may leave your patch once you've run out of gel. Pay is docked per 500ml remaining at the end of your shift. The tank must be returned in good condition, but the gloves and coverall are yours to keep.

Encounter 6 (News scoop!)

Angry Citizens Media Web (ACMW link-95)reporter Bashar Ad-Lib and his camera man is onto the story. He wants to try and find the source and is looking for people handy with sensor equipment and electronic counter-measures to do some triangulation.

What is happening at ARchLuxury Apartments, 10 floors, malfunctioning alarm, a crime scene, the building looks gothic, pristine. Remote Assistants grant access. Eyeball recognition. The whole thing is encased in plastic siding.

State of the Dome - CTU review and invitation

Aeolus led Arachne, Aiako and Alcestis off into the dark, leaving Ariadne to guide the settlement…

The disparate adventures run in my Shattered Worlds OTU (Original Traveller Universe) make for satisfying world-building which has led to the delights of this seldom-run campaign.

This first adventure had the most continuous sessions. Shattered Worlds Issue #1 engaged a seasoned crew of Traveller Players faced with a strange anomaly on the surface of the planet Xxcarvis. The LotFP adventure Monolith from Beyond Time and Space was used for the Anomaly. They got spooked out and only one of the four-man crew survived to return to Skalvil. These events unfolding on Xxcarvis are the meta-event which will blow through the campaign universe. This was all done through a G+ group which sadly is no more. Another unknown campaign disappearing into the ether. The one surviving PC from this adventure most likely will not play again, but their actions are now canon!

The next adventure Under the Dome Issue #1 had a police strike against terrorists who commandeered a corporate research facility. This lasted two sessions with more questions than answers, but the PCs were free to go in whatever direction they wished. And it lead to bloodshed and frame-ups!

Under the Dome Part Deux has the contract workers splitting up from the cop PCs after the terrorist job. The hired hands PCs are going to a Union bar to collect on a payout. The Union offers the party good money for any heavy firepower they could swing the worker’s confab. The PCs take a pass. Next Omni Cop HQ sends them to ask the Binary Dogs a few questions. This is a set up to get the PCs in a deadly gun-fight with this drug-running gang. The PCs come out on top and hole up in a nondescript pumped hotel cube. And there this story thread hangs hoping to be picked up again.

Under the Dome #3 introduced a new group of PCs, the third now, picking up work “under the dome”. Pretty straight job. Omni-Sun employee owes gambling money. The bookie is a “skin job” so it has a hard time getting respect from its human customers. It wants to step up pressure and become a bookie to be feared if you welsh. The PCs chew up the low-life ladder right up to getting arrested. It was an excellent place for this quirky escapade to come to a stop. Unfortunately it will be unlikely this group, Player Group C, will ever assemble again. No session report or video

Under the Dome #4 reintroduced a regular PC with some newbies. Another noir-like, uncover information, investigation type session as the PCs move through NPCs and locations. It ends in off-road buggy chases and a shoot out. Pretty cool.

What will Under the Dome #5 turn up? Who knows. But with a fleshed out sub-sector and big and little things happening all around; there is not much adventure-thirsty PCs can’t get up in to. If you want to know when these impromptu online sessions, these “Flash Sessions”, join either the MeWe or Discord (or both) groups.

We have both types of Solo Role-Play; Fantasy & Science Fiction

I recently played solo rpg-ing with two rules-lite products from the DIY gaming community. These being Sword & Backpack and In the Light of a Ghost Star. S&B is obviously a fantasy game, questing for treasure and such, while ItLoaGS is a science fiction game where players deep-dive a ruined Earth for ancient artifacts. The author of ItItLoaGS also sent me a free short fantasy adventure model, Holt of the Elk Lord, but first up is the sci-fi horror adventure.

ItItLoaGS Random Solo Surface Patrol – Collect what you can, load it up on the lander and return to orbit. I create a Science orientated PC named Dr. Drazz. Red Shirt #1 and Red Shirt #2 are assigned to me. They will provide protection on the nightmare surface of old Earth.

First roll is to determine my touchdown location. The elctro-static atmosphere is home to violent ammonia storms. Your landing is much determined by conditions than a planned route. It comes up A1, up in the mountains in the far north west. How a landing goes will be left to a toss of the dice. 2D6 will be used. Much like a D&D Reaction Roll or a Traveller Saving Throw, the spread of outcomes should be familiar. Target numbers 8 or higher are what usually counts as success. The toss is a 3! Catastrophic conditions! The lander is thrown against the stoney peaks and comes to rest. Time to assess the damage. I pull out my Space Opera rule book and roll on the starship battle damage table. Since it is a catastrophic failure I decide three tosses on the table are required; all come up Armor Belt Penetration. The lander can’t enter orbit unless the hull is patched first.

Relying on our surface hex map my Party has a choice between exploring an ancient idol surrounded by crumbling temples or a mysterious tower occupied by an Astro-Lich. The tower is more likely to have the technology we need to fix the lander. Maybe even something valuable to bring back. I order the team down the steep slopes and we head west. We are quickly out of the difficult mountains and cross a more hilly land. No monstrous danger is to be found and I quickly find out why. Hard radiation zone! I use an Arcanum Syndicate product; “Sci-Fi Random Encounter Tables” written by Brandon Williams, to generate this result. I resolved with standard ItLotGS’s 4+ for success to determine if any of us are sickened. The Red Shirts survive, their light and heavy armor making the difference. Dr. Drazz is not so lucky. Lost by 1. He is carrying a Cell-Patcher. I throw against a Science attribute of d8 and succeed in rendering a radiation remedy post-haste! I will not be able to use this device’s healing abilities for twelve hours now as it recharges.

The tower of the Astro-Lich turns out to be a sophisticated space ship under construction. It must be close to completion. Engines can be seen test-firing. A horrid screech and wail sounds from the top of the ship where smokey tendrils swirl about. Undaunted I order the Red Shirts forward, blasters ready. Near the base we walk around building equipment, pump-tubes reaching from ship to ground. Automated spider-borgs scamper hither and tither. Going into stealth mode we begin scavenging in the temporary warehouses and buildings. We strike pay dirt quickly. A throw on a Mothership Dead Planet table yields a functional life support system! We get this back to the lander and no need to patch the hull. This high tech equipment will keep my crew alive till rendezvous. Going to be difficult to bring it back. We need some way to transport it. Two security guards roll up on us and a gunfight ensues! Red Shirt #1 disintegrates the first mook with a Heavy Blaster while Red Shirt #2 lays down some “suppressing fire” with lighter weapon. The second guard dives for cover and runs away.

We load the land rover up and split. With the proper radiation antidote we are safe from the waves of purple gamma streaking across green-stained sky. Before the lander is reached another party of scavengers is encountered. We all nervously finger our holsters and ask how things are going. Long and short; they agree to help get the life support system back to the lander if we would team up and assault the tower/ship for more artifacts. Reaching the crippled lander marked my stopping point for ItLotGS.

Sword & Backpack was well matched with Nate Treme’s short sandbox adventure The

Primeval Holt of the Elk Lord. I wish I took notes on all the different ways I house-ruled success chances, but NPC encounters really set the tone of play. I had no interest in consorting with the rubes found in Grimholt so Mendalzane the Wizard plunged into the shunned Sleeping Forest in search of the Elk Lord.

Like the sci-fi game described above, Sword & Backpack, Justa Guy With an Axe Edition, is rules-lite with only a thin scaffolding of mechanics. I’m finding it makes the idea of actually solo-rpg’ing appealing. Challenging my DM skills of creativity on the fly is the point, not tactical, crunchy resolution mechanics. 

A S&B character is defined by one of three jobs; the fighter, the wizard, and the rogue. Pick your name and give yourself a weapon, wallah! You are done. All adventures resolve actions by rolling a d20. If it is something related to your “job” then add a +5. The difficulty number you must meet or exceed is set by the StoryTeller (the ST). While each of the three jobs has their own specialties, there are no “class” restrictions. You want your Wizard to swing a sword, then start swinging! Your Mercenary Reaver wants to summon demons, get out your chalk and candles! The point is, if you can fit the task within the scope of your job the ST will give you a +5 on the roll.

Fighting is abstracted by opponents throwing contested rolls for the attack and defense. High roll wins. Hitting your opponent deals a wound. Losing the roll is a miss. D20 for initiative of course and then make shit up. The driving action here is; what random tables should I use for this. This being whatever I’m up to at the moment. Cross-country travel requires a Wisdom check to not get lost. S&B does not have any attributes so a Difficulty number is set and the +5 argued for. Mendelzane succeeds in not getting lost and arrives at The Pond. Mechin, an ancient, sentient, giant goldfish calls The Pond home and Mendelzane wants to enhance his Elemental Magic. I forgot what I did to instigate a Reaction Roll, but the Wizard succeeded and was allowed to drink from the enchanted pool with a Blessing +1 on any defensive roll being the result.

With the blessing of the fish, Mendelzane decides it is time to seek Ziphek the Elk Lord and petition for favor. The journey is uneventful and my Elemental Wizard arrives at the petrified trunk which is the throne room of Ziphek. Nate was clever enough to detail the Ziphek’s with “Members of the Court”. We know the Elk Lord dislikes humans, but I’m walking in with the fish-god’s blessing. Let us see how this goes. Fimbault, a badger ends up being the gatekeeper to Mendelzane. The Reaction Roll is inconclusive. The badger will not allow entrance unless Mendelzane performs a service to the Elk Lord. Melmoon, a crazed hermit, occupies the Ruined Fort on the other side of the forest. Fimbault suggests that running this madman out of the forest might sway the court to except an audience.

More and more random tables were pulled willy-nilly as Mendelzane navigated the forest, battled the hermit and acquired a traveling companion; a Grimholt merchant with a kingly gift. Now he only needs a king to present it to. Assuring the merchant that the Wizard could easily introduce him to the Elk Lord, the two headed back through the forest. And promptly got lost. Here is where, with random tables, I derive the most pleasure of solo-rpg’ing (yes I am a seasoned pro by now). Finding out what a new encounter actually is. Before the dice are dropped, my party of two may have to confront any number of problems which could overwhelm them. What will it be, what will it be?

It appeared we had traveled to an unknown and foreboding valley, sharply defined, with a dark, silent lake laying placid before them. Further along the shore where the hills crowded in a ruined temple perched. “This is a place of death my friend,” Mendelzane spoke. “I would know what evil once stirred here, perhaps those ruins may yield a clue?” Surprisingly (or luckily, it is a dice roll) the Merchant finds some steel and agrees to search the foreboding haunt. Nothing is revealed, in treasure or knowledge, so we head out to find our way back to the Elk Lord and his court. But it is not to be! A creature from the black depths arises; a Shambling Mound!

“Flee as fast you can friend!” I cried. “This demon is more than a match for us!” I push the merchant up the hill, but his feet need no assistance. Pulling the mule cart up the hill I could see the Shambling Mound would overtake us if something wasn’t done. Mendelzane throws all his magic at the beast. The wildly unpredictable Fireball and the irresistible Waterfall spell. Scorched and washed back into the lake we reach the valley’s ridge and disappear into the forest.

Court goes well, what with the merchant presenting a magnificent gift and I detailing the successful rousting of the hermit, we were promptly knighted as Grimholt Guards. This will provide us with a +3 on reaction rolls with allies of the Elk Lord.

In closing, I find a solo rpg session a pleasant late night activity with the payoff coming from seeing stories unfold from a dynamic environment. It may strip some of the wonder from the game, seeing my particular method of creating laid bare before me, a dispassionate view of the ugly sausage-making for immersion. I am sure Dr. Drazz and the wizard Mendalzane will be face with more random trials to come!