On 5/1/24 03:12, Timothy Collinson - timothy.collinson at port.ac.uk
(via tml list) wrote:
>
> Hi there
>
> Fair point:
>
> On Thu, 4 Jan 2024 at 12:58, Phil Pugliese - philpugliese at yahoo.com
> <http://yahoo.com> (via tml list) <xxxxxx@simplelists.com> wrote:
>
>     I've often wondered that myself & it's certainly NOT what I enjoy
>     about rpg'ing.
>     I want to get away from all that nonsense & hassle.
>     I want to play an old-fashioned space opera & not a contemporary
>     soap-opera where the players can't walk across a room or open a
>     door w/o something going wrong.
>     Imo, it was 'Star Wars' that catapulted Traveller & that's the
>     sort of play that I prefer.
>
>
> I don't disagree - although the fun of, say, Zilan Wine, for me (as
> Referee) wasn't so much in the inflicting tedium on the players (I'm
> sure I do that enough anyway) but in a) actually trying to make the
> bureaucrats come to (some kind of) life and b) see just why it was in
> the book (and repeated by MWM in at least two other places) which made
> me think there must be *something* to it that perhaps I was missing.
>
> Having run it once, I'm now not so sure - though I'd pay good money to
> sit at a table with Marc running Exit Visa, Escape from Arden or the
> Zilan Wine chapter.
>
> IF TravCon (UK) gets going again and IF I continue my 'Scenes from The
> Traveller Adventure', Zilan Wine would be the next chapter in line. 
> In 2020 when we were just able to meet before lockdowns put paid to
> it, I was apprehensive enough about it being 'next' and now I've had
> four years to ponder it and debate whether I should just skip it...
> (But there just might be others who are curious about it like I am and
> would like to give it a go for the role playing aspects not the roll
> playing).  (I'd certainly announce it with large health warnings).
>
> Having said all that, you do put your finger on one area in which I
> think I might still be very weak as a Referee (and, Jeff, can still
> claim that newbie status!).  I might have got 'slice of (Traveller)
> life' down pat, but I'm not sure that I'm very good at epic or even
> just cinematic and exciting SF.  I may be far too far up the 'humdrum'
> side of the scale.  Though I've always hoped that my proposed 1/4 idea
> for the final part of the Three Blind Mice series might be a bit more
> 'writ large'.
>
> tc
>
Collision,

May I suggest Operation Prodigal Son: The Defense Of Terra 2147-2148?

You're no doubt way more familiar with spots around the Old Dart that
would be conducive to good Trav gaming in that timeframe.

One that comes to mind is Terran soldiers, booties and/or starmen
defending Portsmouth's port facilities against Ziru Sirka forces trying
to force an orbithead.

Another is Terran Army COACC forces harrying Erasharshi's battlewagons
in very low Terran orbit (rip off freely from the Battle of Britain, and
take a file to the serial numbers).

A third is, after ZS forces have forced an orbithead somewhere (say
sunny, warm, Scotland - maybe near Auld Reekie), the PCs are in the 1st
UN Jump Infantry Regiment (they kept the name after the Terran
Confederation's formation), Drop Bear standards trailing behind them as
they hurtle towards Scotland as English war pipes are piped over all ZS
comm frequencies.

That should get you started.

Alex