Christ is Risen!

Hades took a body, and met God face to face. It took earth, and encountered Heaven. It took that which was seen, and fell upon the unseen. O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory? Christ is risen, and you are overthrown! – St. John Chrysostom, Paschal Homily

Fr. Peter Heers and the Satanic Panic

A reader of my blog recently reached out to me. He shared a video of Fr. Peter Heers, an influential Orthodox Christian YouTuber, answering the question as to whether or not the Satanic Panic was actually correct. He ended up warning people: do not play Dungeons & Dragons.

This may come as a bit of a surprise, but I find myself agreeing with his basic premise. If I were to answer the same question I would have to point out that given the current state of the game, its ownership, the way that people are being taught how to play, and the space it occupies in popular culture, I must agree with Fr. Peter. Do not casually play D&D.

Those of you that have been reading my blog, however, will know that I have a very different opinion of the Satanic Panic. Not only did it damage the hobby and the game, is was and is utterly ignorant of how it drove the hobby and the game away from Christianity into the very state that Fr. Peter is so uncomfortable with.

Christianity is implied in 0e, Holmes, B/X, and 1e. The rules lend themselves beautifully to building out fantasy worlds where Christianity plays a major role. Pagan gods have stat blocks, with hit points. That means they are monsters that can be killed. Psalm 82 provides the framework from which to build out an entire D&D campaign based on the idea of hunting down fallen angels (pagan gods) and their progeny. An enthroned, pre-incarnate Christ declares:

You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you; nevertheless, like men you shall die, and fall like any prince.

In 0e and Holmes, there are no “Holy Symbols” in the equipment lists, only Wodden and Silver Crosses. Couple this with the description of the Vampire from the Holmes edition of Basic D&D and I have all I need to prove the early D&D was implicitely Christian:

All vampires, regardless of religious background, are affected by the cross which is sovereign against them. They will not flee these symbols, but it can keep them from their intended victim if interposed between the vampire and its prey.

The Satanic Panic pushed the game toward the demonic, not away from it. Starting with 2e, paganism is hard-wired into the game. It now requires a DM to do the hard work of converting all the various domains and the mechanics that surround them into a Christian context. This work was not necessary prior to the Panic. Today, you can play Warlocks who make pacts with devils, play bards who use their magic to be promiscuous with all kinds of creatures, and even play half devil tieflings (a status that would have God commanding your utter destruction by either flood or the sword of the Isrealite with no mercy). None of these were availlable in the early rules.

Do I think it is possible to bring Christ to the gaming table? This blog demonstrates that the answer is yes.

Do I think that the Satanic Panic has actually brought more people to atheism and worse than early D&D ever did? Absolutely.

Do I think that we can casually play any form of D&D without the hard work it takes to bring Christ to the table? No.

It is becoming increasingly clear that our culture has blinded itself to spiritual world and the daily battles that it brings. Properly done, D&D can allow us to enjoy each other’s company and this hobby while introducing us to that sturggle. Improperly done, we invite the demonic.

When God says to Cain, “sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, and you must rule over it” He is refering to a demon waiting to be let in. Don’t let them in.

When the Rules Change

Back when I first started this blog on December 23, 2008 I was trying to bridge the gap between Christians and folks who played D&D. In that goal, I think I made a difference, tiny as it may have been. I think I can say that mine was a small voice in a grand choir that was the Golden Age of TTRPGs.

On September 10th, 2025 the rules changed.

We are now in a Dark Age and I feel compelled to try and communicate how I believe we got here.

In the almost 2 decades(!) I have been spilling electronic ink in this corner of the internet, the Oppressor/Opressed Dialtectic of Critical Theory has permeated virtually every walk of life. In our own hobby, I need only point to WotC’s warning label on all their legacy titles:

We (Wizards) recognize that some of the legacy content available on this website does not reflect the values of the Dungeons & Dragons franchise today. Some older content may reflect ethnic, racial, and gender prejudice that were commonplace in American society at that time. These depictions were wrong then and are wrong today. This content is presented as it was originally created, because to do otherwise would be the same as claiming these prejudices never existed. Dungeons & Dragons teaches that diversity is a strength, and we strive to make our D&D products as welcoming and inclusive as possible. This part of our work will never end.

This statement divides our community into two camps: the Oppressors (those who lived, played, and wrote during the formative years of D&D), and the Opressed (those who produce the latest version of D&D). This bifurcation can be found everywhere, in all parts of life.

The fundamental flaw in the Oppressor/Opressed Dialtectic of Critical Theory is that the categorization is not only arbitrary, but based on what we are instead of what we do. I am a grognard. I was a D&D nerd in the 70s. There is nothing I can do to change that.

As a consequence, what is evil and what is good gets divorced from action and activity. Goodness is no longer a function of what a person does, it is a function of what they are. The consequence of this shift in morality is, as we saw last week, deadly, tragic, and terrifying.

This is why we all saw the celebrations over a father getting brutally murdered in front of his small child. This is how assassination is now a good thing.

I don’t know about you, but I remember when Assassins in D&D had an alignment requirement of evil.

It is hard to see a way out of this darkness.

I can tell you that we all can experience a unity with each other in Christ that cannot be found anywhere else, but my guess is that is not an answer most of you are ready to hear.

One thing that I have learned to see in my many years as a convert to Orthodox Christianity is that God expresses Himself fractally throughout His creation. In other words, the ultimate that is Christ can be partially experienced in various ways throughout human experience. One such experience is our hobby.

When done right, RPGs cross bridges. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you are from, what language you speak, or what edition of D&D you play. Our love of this hobby and of this game crashes through all of those barriers to unite us in a small, but significant, way. We play. Together.

If we do emerge from this Dark Age, it will be because we refuse to accept that evil acts can be celebrated as good. It will be because we overcome our differences because we love to actively play this game we love together. It will be because we will look back together at WotC’s statement above and remember how foolish we were to let the Golden Age end.

Musing on Superman

The new Superman movie is coming out, and given some of the hullbaloo surrounding it, I thought I’d give my two cents about one of my favorite comic book characters. In truth, there aren’t many good stories about Superman. This is largely due to the fact that modern writers do not understand the character, his context, or what he symbolizes.

The Character

This is probably one of the most difficult comic book characters to write because moderns do not understand the fact that Superman isn’t really Superman. He isn’t even Kal El. He is Clark Kent. The fact that Superman so strongly identifies with the Everyman and wants to live a normal life as a human being is the reason he is a hero. Clark Kent understands what the Everyman desires, needs, and fears because he tries so hard to be the Everyman, despite the fact he can never truly be Everyman. At the heart of this character is a level of humility that most people today do not comprehend. Rather, they look to his power and fantasize about what they would do if they were Superman. In so doing, they reveal themselves to be monsters, because Clark Kent would give up his powers in a heart beat if it meant he could live a peaceful, normal life.

The Context

Superman was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster. Importantly, both were Jews at a time when the nation-state of Israel did not exist and Europe was not a safe place for Jews to live. One can speculate about the fact that “Superman” is an English translation of the German “Übermensch;” however, that leads us back to the power fantasies of monsters. In truth, the Jewishness of Siegel, Shuster, and Superman say less about being Jewish and more about being American in the first decades of the 20th century. While living as a Jew in the rest of the world was difficult at best, America provided a place where Jews could not only thrive, but be accepted as Americans. Take a look at these celebrated American artists of the early 20th century:

• Jack Benny

• Irving Berlin

• Leonard Bernstein

• George Burns

• Aaron Copeland

• Will Eisner

• George Gershwin

• The Marx Brothers

• Mae West

And I could go on and on…ever single one of them is a Jew, but we don’t think of them as Jewish-Americans. Every one of them is embraced simply as American.

The Symbol

Thus, Clark Kent and his hope to be Everyman, and Superman’s acceptance as a hero all hinge on the Jewish experience of the United States in the early 20th century. In other words, Superman symbolizes America at her best. This is why Superman landed in Kansas at a farm raised by a good Christian family. There is nothing more American.

So, modern writers who attempt to make Superman a hero of the world, a man who uses his power to make the earth a better place are doomed to fail. Superman isn’t an all-earth hero. If he were, he wouldn’t be a hero. He would be a villain: a demi-god with enough power to force the world and its people to bend to his will and his vision of the “good.” This is why so many superman clones end up as villains. Without the Kents, without the Jewish experience of America, without the Christian values that gird the American experiment, Superman is not Clark Kent. Superman is not a hero. Superman is a monster. Clark Kent and his humility, his desire to be the Everyman, and his American-ness is the hero.

I live in hope that someone, somewhere understands these things and writes the stories this wonderful character deserves. Unfortunately, my cynical self denies this possibility anytime soon. It is neither cool nor politically correct to celebrate the best of America or the Christian values that make that best version possible.

St. Prokopius the Great

Today is the Feast of St. Prokopius, after which I named this blog. I realize I haven’t been very active in quite awhile and that I still have a couple of projects awaiting my return: both the Suleiman Subsector map as well as a Five Parsecs From Home Campaign. What hobby time I have has been eaten up by an even more agressive version of Gamer ADD that afflicts those of us who love to paint minis. One might call it “OOoo I want to paint THAT!”

Here are a couple of examples:

In the meantime, I wanted to tell the story of how I met St. Prokopius. I was travelling with a group to Mt. Athos (the center of monasticism on the Orthodox World) with the intention of visiting 4 or 5 monasteries. Unfortunately, I had injured my foot just a few days prior on a stone step and it was swollen and angry. Our supervisor decided to try and find any kind of medical advise or treatment upon our arrival. I was placed on a bench to await any possible outcome. This bench was placed in front of a young soldier saint, whose name I did not know. While trying to make out his name, and wondering about his story, I was told that there was a doctor that would see me.

I was led through a maze of byzantine hallways until a pair of ancient doors revealed a white, modern, hospital examination room with several very cool looking pieces of medical equipment. My doctor introduced himself as a convert from Mexico City and proceeded to conclude that my foot was probably not broken, but that I should have it X-Rayed when I got home. He gave me some ant-inflammatory cream and sent me on my way.

I managed to hobble through the next several days and monasteries, but I noticed something peculiar. Everytime I would find a place inside the chapel where we were doing services, I found this young soldier saint standing in front of me as an icon. Every single time.

When I got home, a thourough examination of my foot found absolutely nothing wrong and I learned that the young soldier was St. Prokopius the Great Martyr. He served under the Emperor Diocletian and was appointed as Duke of Alexandria, where he was sent to persecute Christians. After having a Road to Damascus moment, he became a Christian to horror of his mother. In an attempt to persuade her son to change his mind, his mother turned him in to the authorities.

As you might expect, the ploy failed spectacularly and Prokopius underwent all kinds of tortures. This inspired even his own guards to become Christians only to be executed as martyrs. His mother, seeing all of this joined them. She, St. Theodosia, is celebrated today along with her son.

He has been inpiring me since.

I hope to have more soon.

Christ is Risen!

  

[Hades] received a body and encountered God. It took earth and came face to face with heaven. It took what it saw and fell by what it could not see. Death, where is your sting? Hades, where is your victory? Christ is risen and you are overthrown. Christ is risen and demons have fallen. Christ is risen and angels rejoice. Christ is risen and life rules. Christ is risen and not one dead remains in the tomb. — Paschal Homily by St. John Chrysostom

Christ is Born!

 

He whom nothing can contain has been contained in a womb. He is in the Father’s bosom and His Mother’s embrace. How can this be, but as He knows and willed and was well pleased. Fleshless as He was, He willingly took flesh. And He Who Is became what He was not, for us. And while departing not from His own nature, He shared in our nature’s substance. So Christ was born with dual natures, wishing to replenish the world on high. — Christmas Kathisma

Gamer ADD: Suleiman Subsector Gazetteer Part 2

1110 Quaver C111469-B

Prior to the Civil War, Quaver was a major trade hub overseen by an opportunistic dictatorship. Seen as a possible disruptive force in subsector politics, it was Imperial policy to undermine Quaver’s government. This policy succeeded just as the Civil War was breaking out. This success couldn’t have come at a more unopportune time. Trade collapsed and the new government, still trying to figure out how to govern, proved incapable of dealing with the failing economy. Millions either starved or fled. Today, a population of around 50,000 souls is governed by an Administrator appointed by the Solomani Rim. The economy has yet to recover.

1201 Akimasi C8A5455-6

1202 Sase C347441-9

Akimasi and Sase are two contrasting examples of the impact of the Civil War on planets with domed cities and less than ideal atmospheres. Akimasi was a colony world ruled by a feudal technocracy wholly dependent upon the Imperial government to make sure it had enough oxygen to keep its single city supplied with breathable air. Sase was a thriving civil service bureaucracy that managed to keep a population in the tens of millions safe from a diseased atmosphere through an elaborate system of air filtration and inoculations.

When the Civil War brought chaos to trade within the Subsector, Akimasi resorted to trading oxygen for safe haven to all parties: from Imperials to Solomani to pirates and criminals. They had the space to tolerate these interlocators and it allowed them to get through the entire war virtually unscathed, save for a minority of those with unsavory pasts that decided to stay on and integrate.

In contrast, Sase’s larger population put a huge strain on the government’s ability to keep up with demand on filters and medication. The situation quickly devolved into the rich having access through bribery and the poor being left behind. When people started dying, there was a massive revolt. The ensuing violence and spread of disease killed millions. In an attempt to avoid such government abuse and violence in the future, the current government is a representative demoncracy.

Both experiences left each planet very eager to cooperate with Tukera Lines to establish the Imperial Starlane. Today, they each seek to grow economically and in population with the stability the trade route has brought.

1205 Biggles C236666-9

Prior to the Civil War, Biggles was a protectrorate of Ascalon. Due to this relationship, Biggles was able to survive most of the privations incurred in the chaos that followed. The largest changes have been a loss of population (mostly due to emigration) and the loss of constant contact with Ascalon due to a shortage in Jump-2 ships. Although not officially part of the Ascalon Alliance, the government still sees itself as a protectorate. As a consequence, it is a hotbed of political intrigue and espionage as the Ascalon Alliance and Cluster Concorde vie for influence.

1207 Ascalon 1207 B5628A9-B

During the Imperial Era, the Royal Family of Ascalon also held the Imperial noble rank of Marquis, giving the king of Ascalon more political clout within the subsector than one might expect. Just prior to the Civil War, he used this influence to butt heads with the Duchess of Suleiman. This political rivalry continues to this day; however, the king also spent much of his political clout in anti-Solomani rhetoric. In the current climate, this rhetoric is almost non-existant. That doesn’t mean he isn’t trying to avoid dependence on or alliance with the Solomani Confederation. It also doesn’t mean he isn’t on board with having relations with either Tukera Lines or the Concorde, but he will only do so on his terms.

Note: I am using Rim of Fire, a GURPS Traveller sourcebook by Jon F. Zeigler published in 2000, as inspiration for this Gazetteer. The conflict bewteen the Marquis and Duchess is described largely in economic terms, with the Marquis coming off as a greedy upstart that seems to want to use any excuse to sabotage the Duchess; however, the text suggests something far more interesting that I plan to explore. The blurb on Ascalon has one of the very few mentions of Christianity I have found in Traveller sourcebooks. Suleiman is described as a people trying to reconnect with their Turkish (Islamic) roots. Thus, this conflict goes beyond economics and dips into both culture and religion. I will take the liberty to make Ascalon a Christian monarchy to make things more interesting.

1304 Vanefa A563963-E

Two factors played a huge role in determining the fate of Vanefa in the post-Civil War era: treachery and water. When trade got interrupted by the Civil War and Solomani encroachment began to look inevitable, the royal family of Vanefa gambled and sided with the Confederation. This did not play out well. It isolated Vanefa, despite being part of the Azeremiid Cluster. They could no longer import enough water for the billions who lived on the planet. War broke out and the royal family was imprisoned and executed. Stability wasn’t achieved until the Cluster Concorde intervened and imposed a government answerable to the Duchess of Suleiman in exchange for a steady supply of water. This promise ended up being rather tenuous until Tukera Lines made Vanefa a regular stop within the Imperial Starlane. Thus, the local population is more loyal to Tukera than it is to the Concorde.

1306 Rimmon X220000-0

In the Imperium, Rimmon was an uninhabited restricted zone that no one paid much attention to. Today, despite remaining uninhabited, the world is a focal point in the conflict between the Alliance and the Concorde. In order to facilitate trade and influence, the Concorde is seeking to start a colony on Rimmon. This would allow Jump-1 ships access to both Biggles and Coriolanus. Ascalon is actively sabotaging these efforts, because of its ties to Biggles and the inlfuence it has on Coriolanus through its agents stationed on Biggles.

1402 Gulimaru C7A66B7-A

The interruption of trade during the Civil War resulted in 90% of the population dying due to lack of oxygen. Those that survived did so through force. Despite the welcome influx of trade through the Imperial Starlane, the dictatorial rule through strength remains in power.

1404 Esterhazy C335420-B

This old Solomani colony world managed to survive the Civil War virtually unscathed due to long established trade routes within the Azeremiid Cluster. Locals proudly maintain a form of constitutionalism based upon the priniciples of an ancient terran document known as the Golden Bull.

Gamer ADD: Suleiman Subsector Gazetteer Part 1

Before I start making notes about each of the worlds in the Suleiman Subsector, I have a confession to make. As much as I (and pretty much every Traveller fan I know) bashes the New Era, as I was going through and reading up on various bits of information on the Third Imperium and the Rebellion, I was reminded how much I actually liked the actual rulebook of the New Era. While it might not be the best print quality (I handle mine with care for fear that the binding will finally decide to give up), its contents are really well laid out, helpful, organized, and just plain useful. I noted that I have marked in a bunch of errata, which goes to show I used it a lot back in the day (for what, I don't remember). Interestingly, I found myself using it again as a primary resource. It has a section on world generation and decline that is wonderfully concise and clear, occupying only a few pages. It, along with the GURPS The Rim of Fire suppliment, are the only two resources currently open on my table, for what its worth.

0902 Porlock D433655-9

The Civil War has proven to be disasterous for Porlock. Regular shipments of O2 were necessary to sustain a popultion of 800 million. The death toll was catastrophic, tens of millions suffocated to death; however, the local Feudal Technocracy managed to cobble together enough resources to maintain the current populaton of 8 million souls. The survivors now have a very strong sense of independence and defiance. They live not because of some great stellar empire, but because of their own ingenuity and will.

0903 Bethe C422679-A

Locals are more concerned about the various rival local governments than what is happening in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War. Survival and control over the oxygen farms that have sustained the local population since the beginnings of the Civil War carry far more import.

0907 Llewellyn C20047A-C

During the Civil War, this world was evacuated and remained unpopulated until recently, when colonists from the Ascalon Alliance began to repopulate the world and its mining facilities.

0909 Ganelon X430000-0 

0910 Poseidon X8AA000-0

Little more than research stations, both of these worlds were abandonded during the Civil War and their facilities stripped down for anything of value. While officially claimed by the Solomani Confederation, the Party is stil too focused on controlling conquered populations elsewhere to allocate any resources to recolonize either of these worlds.

1002 Khadish B556889-E

The local culture is the only Vilani remnant from the First Imperium left in the subsector. It is a strange combination of pacifism and xenophobia. While they tolerate outsiders, they often cheat, swindle, and mislead them. Thus, while a lack of interstellar trade has seen a general decline, the Civil War has left them largely unchanged.

1007 Shaabipili B5538A9-E

This once balkanized world has been untied under the charismatic dictatorship of Yumraan Boraan, who united a wartorn world with the promise of peace and alliance with Ascalon. Seizing control of the Naval Depot with help from Ascolon forces, Boraan was able to cow the various factions into accepting terms. Despite a far more restrictive legal structure, the population is quite content with the relative prosperity achieved through the mutual help and protection from the Ascalon Alliance.

1105 Coriolanus B237624-B

Despite having a harsh environment requiring outside resources to survive, Coriolanus managed to avoid catastrophy. Having a Scout Base and being part of the old Xboat Network ensured regular traffic despite the war. Nonetheless, millions took advantage of the traffic to emigrate. Prior to the Civil War, Coriolanus was a balkanized world; however, the mass exodus proved to be a catalyst for unity among those who remained. Currently governed by a direct democracy, the primary issue being debated concerns their potential alliance with the Ascalon Alliance, the Cluster Concorde, and the Imperial Starlane.

1107 Tammuz B754865-E

While the Civil War did result in a general decline, Tammuz managed to stave off the worst by throwing in its lot with Ascalon. Once ruled by a charismatic dictator, his death was one of the losses seen during the war. Currently, the government is overseen by the royal family of Ascalon.

Gamer ADD: A Subsector Map

As my mind continues to insist on thinking about a Traveller Campaign based on the Peace Finally Comes map, I decided to develop the Suleiman Subsector of the Solomoni Rim. It falls within the Imperial Starlane, sits at the edge of the Solomani Confederation, has an Aslan population, and has the Azeremiid Cluster — a group of worlds that has a history of cooperation that dates back to the Long Night. Seems like a place ripe for adventure:

Five Parsecs From Home: Campaign Turn 6

The last time we saw our crew, they had just finished one of two jobs available on the Hospital Planet of Bargol 3. Knowing that they had a job in hand, most of the crew spent their off time training and prepairing for the mission brief.

On a remote part of the planet, a Private Organization is conducting experiments using the local flora to see what kind of medicinal properties might be found. The outpost was in need of some supplies and our crew was tasked with the delivery.

The task was not so simple, however. Some of the local fauna, colloquially known as Razor Lizards, had become agressive towards humans. This would prove to be a bit of an understatement. On route, two members of the crew (Cinders and Lance) got cut off from the rest by a roaming pack. Fortunately, they did not have to engage, but it did mean that they would be unavailable during the combat to come.

Upon arrival at the destination point, the three remaining crew found themselves outnumbered 2 to 1 by a pack of Razor Lizards. Wither set up in a sniper position to cover Pint and Skins as they tried to deliver the goods to the drop point. While Withers was doing a good job providing cover, the other two kept missing their shots (I don't think Skins rolled over a '3' the entire game). As a consequence, the sheer number of Razor Lizards were too much for Withers to shoot down. 

Things got very sketchy when Skins found himself overwhelmed. The razor sharp claws of the pack leader found their way through his combat armor, but just as Skins was about to see a limb ripped off, Pint lived up to his Hulker ways and pummeled the creature enough that he eventually look a limb for himself. Seeing their pack leader dismembered, the rest of the pack lost their appetite and fled.

Ironically, the Campaign Event noted that recent events taught the crew an important lesson. I had to chuckle, because everyone knows: never split the party!

Gamer ADD: Interpreting the Map

If one compares the maps of The Shattered Imperium (1122) and Peace Finally Comes (1125), one of the first things that jumps out is that two of the factions have disappeared: Strephon’s stronghold in Gushmege and Margaret’s stronghold in Delphi. This suggests one of three things: 1) Strephon was not, in fact, assassinated and he has regained control 2) Lucan has managed to defeat both Margaret and Strephon or 3) Margaret has ascended the throne.

Option 1 seems the least likely. The possibility that Strephon survived and wasn’t just a body double or an android never felt very plausible and the territory that served as his stonghold has collapsed into a frontier claimed by no one. Had Strephon re-claimed the throne, that area would not have been abandoned.

Option 2 also has its problems. The first is the personality of Lucan. He is not presented as someone who would accept anything but victory. A peace treaty that so radically reduces his territory is not something I imagine Lucan would willingly accept. There is also the oddity of the Imperial Starlane. I interpret this as an establish trade route connecting the Imperium with various independent worlds and clusters in Massila, Diaspora, and the Solomani Rim, Daibei, and, most importantly, Vega (now surrounded by the Solomani Confederation). This is the strategy of someone capable and with enough patience to play the long game. Lucan is neither.

Option 3 is the most likely and (for me) the most attractive. Margaret has familial ties to the Imperial family. She is also a moderate who wants to return to the values of Strephon’s Third Imperium: “an efficient well-run government that encouraged trade, industry, exploration, and stability.” She has support within the Moot. She also strikes me as the most likely candidate to get the support of the Brother’s of Varian who seek justice for the assassination of Strephon and Lucan’s brother (and rightful heir) Varian. Finally (and most importantly in terms of interpreting the map), she is married into the family that runs Tukera Lines, a megacorporation that reached every corner of the old Imperium.

For me, this last piece of information is convincing. The existence of the Imperial Starline on the map is most easily explained by Margaret’s temperment, outlook, and resources. She would play the long game, using trade and stability as beacons to bring back lost territories into the fold. She would also be one to maintain a connection to Vega and see their existence as a necessary counterweight to a much expanded, if not stronger, Solomani Confederation. Strenghtening that tie and helping to maintain a ready defense of that territory would put a lot of pressure on a Confederation trying to strengthen their hold on new territories unused to the centralized and authoritarian mechanations of the Solomani Party.

That leaves me with one mystery: how was Lucan deposed? I am sore tempted to believe that the Brotherhood of Varian convinced Lucan that Strephon survived and that this information was being leaked throughout his territories. Given his temperment, I would imagine Lucan would try by any means to have Strephon (or his body double) killed.

While it is tempting to have Lucan be coaxed into a battle to destroy Stephon’s remaining fleet only to be overwhelmed and killed by ambush is tempting, I don’t see Lucan putting his own safety at risk. Rather, I think that a second assassination tied to Lucan would be too much for the moderates of the Imperium to bear. A coalition of moderates, the Brotherhood, and an Admiralty sick and tired of incompetant and selfish leadership could dethrone Lucan with evidence that he assassinated both his father and his brother and illegally seized the throne.

This helps explain why Strephon’s stronghold has yet to be re-intgrated into the Imperium: they are still angry with a system that let them down on multiple fronts and multiple occasions.

While certainly not the only way to interpret the map of Peace Finally Comes, it is the one that gets me more excited about Traveller than I have been in decades.

Gamer ADD: Traveller Edition

Back in June, James over at Grognardia shared an amazing piece of lost GDW history: a map of the Imperium at the end of the Rebellion.

I have a love/hate relationship with Traveller. I love the setting and I think that the character creation system is one of the best mini-games in the entire history of RPGs, but I’ve never really known what to do with any of it as a GM. The scale is so large and the setting is so…settled.

As a consequence, I found the idea of the Rebellion to be really interesting. It created conflict, it broke the massive setting into a variety of smaller fronts…but I still had no real idea what to do as a GM. Nothing ever really inspired me.

The New Era was a mistake. It did an awesom job of radically reducing the scope of the Traveller setting, but it did so at the cost of everything that made the Third Imperium interesting. GDW went bankrupt shortly thereafter. Marc Miller produced another version of the game set at the dawn of the Third Imperium (I still have a copy buried somewhere on my book shelf), but it suffers from the very same problem as the New Era. It lacks everything that makes the Third Imperium so interesting to me.

Enter this wonderful map. This may very well be the most inspiring map I have looked at in a long time. I have found myself mentally preparing an actual Traveller campaign; however, what fascinates me is not the idea of the campaign itself (the likelyhood of actual play is fairly low at this point in my life), but the reason why I finally have a grasp at what a Traveller campaign might look like.

Over the years, the most successful campaigns I have run (regardless of genre or system) all have one thing in common: there was something lost that everyone is trying to find. The best way I know how to set this up for a D&D campaign is the Points of Light model, where the Bright Empire has collapsed and the PCs are now some of the main actors in trying to re-discover/re-establish the values of the Bright Empire in a sea of Chaos.

The Rebellion, the New Era, and Marc Miller’s Traveller all have the right idea: they are all striving to create a Points of Light setting for use with Traveller. The reason that they all fail is due to timing. Marc Miller’s Traveller chooses the wrong Bright Empire. Instead of trying to re-establish the Imperium that is so beloved (the Third), we are istuck flailing about trying to re-establish the First and Second. The New Era goes too far. The utter destruction of such a vast empire makes the dream of re-establishment nigh-impossible. The Rebellion comes the closest to success; however, it is set during the collapse instead of its aftermath. Rather than re-discovery and re-establishment, PCs are asked to fight for the survival of the Bright Empire.

Realizing this, I have come to understand why this map excites me so much: there are a dozen sectors on this map that could be used as the starting point for a Points of Light Campaign. The Bright Empire may not be what it once was, but it still exists and the dream is still alive. A PC may be beyond Imperial territory, and may even be within enemy territory, but they have the ability to become a Light in the Sea of Chaos.

The best part of all of this to me is that for the first time, I feel like the Third Imperium can now become my version of the Third Imperium.

Five Parsecs From Home: Campaign Turn 5

Last time we saw our crew, they had to make a decision as to whether or not to stay on Zindox 20 and continue to nurture the relationship they had started with Nethercorp. The problem was that not only were Pirates and K’Erin Outlaws hunting them, but reports of Unity losses to Converted forces seemed to indicate an invasion was immanent. As a consequence, they decided to change scenery, avoid a war, and possibly shake their rivals off their tail.

The trip to the planet of Bargol 3 was relatively uneventful. The random travel event indicated that the crew had time to reflect, which seems to suggest that they took a couple of extra jumps to try and hide their destination from anyone attempting to follow. This stratagem worked, because both the Pirates and K’Erin Outlaws failed to follow the crew to their new port of call. Borgol 3 is a Hospital Planet, which means that any injuries the crew sustains will require less time to heal. This also resulted in Skins managing to Stragically Transfer some Equipment to an Alternate Location in the form of a damaged Pain Suppressor Implant.

The rest of the crew focused on either training or finding work. The latter proved fruitful with two jobs: the first from the Astra Coalition and one from one of the local Hospital Groups. The former was both urgent and better paying, so the crew decidied to do that first.

The crew was tasked with securing a crash site and to determine whether or not there were any survivors. The problem was that the crash happened at the edge of the property of a Unity-controlled facility. The grounds were heavily guarded by merceneries. With lives possibly in the balance, our crew blasted by the mercenery check points and a fire fight ensued. Maggot and Skins tried to get to the crash as the rest of the crew laid down cover fire. While Wither managed to get the first casualty, wounding one of the mercs, both Maggot and Skins found themselves pinned down and Maggot was dangerously close to having to melee with a merc Bruiser armed with a Power Claw (highest damage of any weapon in the game). Cinders rushed forward and managed to get to the crash unscathed. Determining that there were indeed survivors in desperate need of help, he cried out to let everyone know.

Once the mercs realized that our crew was not there to kill them or steal something from the facility, the firefight ended and the survivors were evacuated. Among them was a child which both endeared our crew to the locals (+1 Story Point) and allowed Cinders time to reflect on this new phase of his life as the “dad” of the crew (+2 XP).

We shall have to see if this new notoriety will gain the crew unwanted attention…

Five Parsecs From Home: Campaign Turn 4

This Campaign Turn saw our crew preparing for a raid on a remote space port which had fallen out of use due the relative difficulty of landing and shipping goods in and out of the location. With other more optimal choice on the planet, the port caught the attention of smugglers and pirates.

According to the data the crew has accumulted, this port somehow has ties to the Sector Government and possibily beyond. Thus, the mission of this turn was to acquire some kind of data storage unit which could expose those involved.

Upon arrival, the crew found themselves badly outnumbered. Additionally, the pirates had been tipped off that the crew might be coming and a Bounty Tracker had been brought in to bolster their numbers. Fortunately, our crew was more resourceful than expected and they were able to Seize the Initiative. In game this allows the crew to take one action before the beginning of the battle, usually to make a move so as to have a tactical advantage. I interpreted this as our crew getting ahold of some old blueprints and exploiting a feature in the port to get much depper into the facility than expected.

Things started slowly, as each side maneuvered into better tactical positions. By the second round, however, the crew’s positional advantage proved fatal. The bounty tracker was the first casualty and when more followed, the pirates began to panic. While they did get a few shots in, none of the pirate’s efforts were able to penetrate the crew’s toughness. In the meantime, Skins was able to secure the data storage device without issue and made his way off the board.

In the end, the pirates were driven off and the crew found more than what they were expecting. The data they managed to secure revealed a syndicate of various criminal organizations (including the K’Erin Outlaws responsible for the deathe of Wither’s family). Currently, this syndicate is targeting Nethercorp, a sector-wide corporation with a local headquarters. While there is enough evidence to suggest that the power behind this syndicate is somewhere in the Unity Government, more investigation is necessary.

After some deliberation, the crew decided to share some of their findings with Nethercorp, giving them another Patron, at least on this world (Zindox 20). Unfortunately, news feeds are full of high casulaties of Unity Forces tasked with protecting the system from invasion. In game this means any future rolls for Invasion will be at +2. In addition, they have also heard rumblings that the pirates they fought this turn are out for revenge. Thus, the beginning of next turn will bring with it some serious choices.

Five Parsecs From Home: Campaign Turn 3

Note: I am going to lean a little more into mechanics with this post, because the mechanics played such a key roll in determining the narrative of this Campaign Turn.

Having just been reprimanded by Maggot for being duped into making him an assassin and tool for the corruption rampant within the Unity government, the rest of the crew has decided to rally around what brought them together in the first place: their common belief that they can make a difference.

Over the course of character creation and the first two turns, the crew has gathered several Rumors and Quest Rumors. The former determine whether or not Quests are available as options during Campaign Turns and the latter determine how close you are to completing the Quest. I rolled that a Quest was available for Turn 2 but decided to opt for the Sector Government job because it had good pay, allowed the party to automatically avoid an unplanned fight with K’Erin Outlaws (a Rival), and there was a time frame within which the job had to be completed. The narrative consequence of Maggot being unavailable this turn happened due to a post-battle roll.

So, the crew is going to pursue the Quest this turn and their pre-battle choices reflect this. The major occurrence during this preparation stage was what I am going to call the “accidental” recruitment of Pint:

While in game I chose to use Wither’s pre-battle turn to recruit a new crew member so I had five characters to go on the mission, the result of the rolls provided for an interesting way of describing how that came about. Pint is a modified human called a Hulker. The game describes them as

Bulging with muscles and rage, these Human gene-mods are perfect for hauling, crushing, and breaking. Or hauling things that need to be crushed or broken.

Additionally, Hulkers are unable to grasp the more technical aspects of the game. For example, they cannot have Technician, Scientist, or Hacker as Classes and their Combat Skill cannot be applied to shooting, only brawling.

The planet that the crew is currently on has a trait called “Technical Knowledge” which allows a +1 on all Repair rolls. Thus, it didn’t make much sense for a Hulker to be present. So I rolled up a Motivation from charcter creation. This isn’t normally done with recruited characters, so there was no mechanical benefit. I was just looking for some narrative clarity. The result was Loyalty. This suggested that Pint was on this world because of his loyalty to a company, a contract, or a person. Since he was available to join the crew, that means this loyalty was abused.

Narratively, I imagine that Wither committed a random act of kindness, buying a meal for what looked like a down and out guy who had been shafted by the system. This triggered Pint’s need for loyalty, which he immediately shifted to Wither. Like a stray dog, he started to follw her around. Initially creeped out by this, Wither tried to lose him in a crowded bar; however, in her hurry to get away from Pint, she bumped into the drink of someone who was perfectly happy to enetrtain themselves with some fistacuffs. It was at this point that the “accidental” recruitment happened. Pint caught up with Wither and assessing the situation declared that anyone wanting to fight Wither had to have a conversation with his fists first, because Wither was his friend. Thus, Pint was now officially part of the crew whether or not anyone wanted it.

The mission for the battle of this Campaign Turn was Defend. This seemed odd until I rolled up the opponent: Security Bots. Thus, I interpreted that the mission as a raid on a secret government facility. In process the crew had to hold their position long enough to download the information they needed to find out the location of the final step of their Quest. In addition, there was a Deployment Condition (Brief Engagement) that suggested that they further had a limited amount of time before overwhelming reinforcements arrived.

It was a rough battle. The Security Bots have a high Toughness and an Armor Save. So, they survived several hits. On the flip side, our crew also got hit several times, but their Toughness proved to be enough. In the end, the superior weapons of the crew proved too much, punching through the Toughness of the Bots when weapons with less damage would not. Pint proved his worth by going toe-to-toe with one of the bots for a couple of rounds, finally getting the better of the exchange on the last turn. Thus, the crew got what they came for.

Satisfied by what the crew accomplished during the turn, Maggot is now motivated to get back to what the crew does best; however, in the post battle part of the turn, Cinders was put into the Sick bay and will not be available next turn. Apparently, he was doing some upkeep on the ship and something went catastrophically wrong. The ship took 1 Hull damage in process.

Five Parsecs From Home: Campaign Turn 2

After last campaign turn, the Astra Coalition managed to get Unity forces to move into system to hunt down the Converted Fleet. In the meantrime, our crew found themselves broke. Ship maintenance was far more expensive than expected. As a result, when an agent from the Sector Government approched them with a job offer, most of the crew were willing to entertain the idea. Maggot ended up being the lone dissenter. When no other job offers presented themselves, the rest of the crew pressured their captain into accepting the job.

The crew was informed that a data relay in a remote part of the planet had gone down. They suspected spies of sabotage and were handed a dossier with information on one such spy with a bounty on his head. Their job was to deliver a new hard drive for the relay, fight off any opposition, and collect an extra bounty if the person of interest was on scene. When asked (by Maggot) why the Sector Government couldn’t handle such a thing, they were informed that all available assets were currently hunting down the Converted Fleet.

The job went down much as expected. There was resistence led by the fellow in the dossier. Maggot took him down with his plasma rifle and the hard drive was installed into the relay. It was then that they realized that they had been duped. While they did get paid, the job was not what they were told. The group they had just fought were a group of disgruntled Unity soldiers who were trying to help other soldiers who were being neglected or persecuted by the Unity Government. The bounty ended up being one of their leaders and the new hard drive was used to pinpoint other cells in the group.

Disgruntled Soldiers, not Spies

Maggot was furious. These disgruntled soldiers were the people he wanted to help, not murder. He turned on his crew and gave them the riot act. In game, Maggot will refuse to participate in any battle next turn. I have interpreted this as an ultimatum: you guys can take any job you like, but if you continue to prove yourselves pawns of Unity he’ll have nothing to do with them.

This display was a bit of shock for the rest of the crew. Realizing that they were too focused on money, rather than the ideal that brought them together as a crew, they set about chasing down some rumors about who this Sector Government Agent really was.

Five Parsecs From Home: Campaign Turn 1

As an aside, I am opting to not get too much into mechanics (save for the occasional high drama rolls) because I frankly don’t know if anyone reading this either cares or has played the game. Let me know if I am wrong.

As expected, the first Campaign Turn saw a job offer come in from the Astra Coalition. Someone had recently caught their attention and was up to something in an abandoned factory. The crew was tasked with securing the site and incapacitating the person of interest if possible.

When the crew arrived in a disguised transport provided by Astra so as to not attract undue attention, our crew found the factory occupied by Converted Infiltrators. The Converted are a “Nightmarish cyborg race that replenish their ranks through captives and corpses, enhanced with bolted-in weaponry and control circuitry.” Infiltrators are scouts and spies sent in to prepare for invasion.

The fighting started with Wither taking aim with her Hunting Rifle. She sniped what looked like the leader with a shot that barely penetrated the cyborg armor, but nonetheless took it down.

Converted Infiltrators charge across the factory...

The Converted answered with some automatic fire, finding a target in Skins. Had it not been for a Combat Armor save, he would have been the first casuality for the crew. In response, Maggot and his prized plasma rifle took over. In short order, half of the Converted (and all armed with automated fire) were downed. All that were left were melee focused foot soldiers who fearlessly charged our crew.

Only one survived long enough to actually get into melee. To his misfortune, he found himself fighting Cinders. Although the initial rolled indicated a clear win for the Converted, Cinders was armed with a boarding sabre — an elegant weapon that allowed a re-roll. The second result saw Cinders feinting and buring the blade home.

The last of the Converted was pinned down by fire from Skins and finally finished off at close range by Lance.

In the aftermath, the crew found a transmition device and an analyzer. The former was set to call in an inasion fleet (I rolled an 8. Had the crew not won the day, that roll was enough to indicate I was going to have to run an invasion scenerio next round!) The Infiltrators had been stopped just in time and the evidence of a planned invasion was just the type of thing Astra needed to get Unity to do want it is supposed to.

The analyzer was installed on the Hyperion and will make finding the location of the K’Erin responsible for the destruction of Wither’s family much easier than previously expected…

Meet the Crew

A note before I get into each character: While I did randomly generate a list of names, I chose these. They all represent nicknames that harken back to a moment of embarassment or failure. They all stuck because folks in their lives kept using them. Whatever real or legal names the crew had in their previous lives are either too dangerous to use or officially belong to a legally dead person.

Maggot

The captain of our ship does not have a home planet because he was born into and grew up in a Frontier Gang. Hopping from system to system to avoid the law, Maggot learned that he could make more money as a scavenger than as a petty criminal. It was this side hustle that allowed him to not only spot but also purchase the Strange Alien Vessel Hyperion and gain his freedom from his former life.

I chose Maggot to be the captain because not only did it fit his backstory, but it also fit nicely with his motivation of Faith. It reminds me of Firefly’s Mal and his struggle with Christianity, his desire for freedom, and the responsibility he felt for his crew.

Wither

Next we have what I consider to be the main protagonist. Growing up on an industrial world, Wither had a loving family and life worth living. That all changed when K’Erin Outlaws raided her home planet, which had been left undefended by Unity forces. Her whole family was killed in the raid, her home destroyed, and everything she held dear is gone. All that is left is a desire for revenge. She took up with mercenaries to learn how to fight. In the meantime, she has been trying to find out not only where the specific K’Erin that killed her family are, but who was responsible for leaving her home undefended.

Wither is the youngest member of the crew and has been adopted as a kind of kid sister by everyone else. Despite the fact that she is one of the crew’s best shot, there isn’t anyone who wouldn’t go out of their way to protect her.

Cinders

The oldest member of our crew hails from a world that regressed technologically because the Unity government approved trade routes to systems too far for the locals to deal with. Cinders is a scoundrel and a bit of a womanizer; however, he knows his best days are behind him.

Curiously, his main motivation is Romance. I have interpreted this as a need for a family he never was able to have. He knows he will die a bachelor, but in this crew he sees the children he might have had if his life hadn't been so rough. This is especially true of Wither, of whom he is particularly fond and protective of.

Skins

Hailing from the same industrial world as Wither, he and his family avoided the same fate; however, the economic collapse in the wake of the attack forced Skins into the life of a petty criminal. When they later met, he and Withers became fast friends and have a tight bond over their shared experience. Unlike Wither, Skins is much less interested in revenge. Rather, he is more politically motivated. He has contacts within a private organization called the Astra Coalition, which seeks to fill in the gaps when the Unity government fails to hold up its end of the deal in the Fringe. I expect that the crew will be working closely with Astra as the campaign begins.

Lance

Our last crew member comes from what is euphamistically called an “Isolationist Enclave.” In reality, Unity quarantined the planet when it was discovered that the local population had a significantly high number of birth defects. Rather than pour money and time into figuring out why, the Unity government simply cut them off. As a consequence, locals do not have the proper supplies to deal with defects. Lance was born without much of his face. He found it difficult to belong and ended up joining a gang. With a motivation of Glory, I imagine that he wants to make enough money to get himself a new face, a new start, and a new life. In the meantime, Maggot has sold Lance on the idea that he can better realize that dream with this crew rather than his old one.

Now for Something Completely Different

For awhile now, I have been focusing my hobby time mainly on miniature wargaming. As such, I have been exploring various solo-games that scratch the miniature wargame itch, since I haven’t got access to a large pool of fellow players. The game I have enjoyed the most is called Five Parsecs from Home (FPFH). In the Appendix, Ivan Sorensen (author of the game) specifically sites three of my all-time favorite sci-fi movies/tv-shows: Blade Runner, Soldier, and Firefly. Personally, I think Ivan’s musing on the latter is an understatement:

Most “space adventure” games owe a debt to this show. The worn-out look, and the premise of spaceships-as-freedom in the face of an overbearing government fits Five Parsecs perfectly.

Prior to my experience of playing FPFH, I would have argued that Traveller was the closest experience I have had to playing a game that felt like Firefly. In terms of RPGs, Traveller still holds that crown, but I would be sore tempted to figure out a way to use the combat rules of FPFH in Traveller or, at the very least, use the random tables in FPFH to help me Referee a campaign.

I am ready to start up a new campaign in FPFH, and wanted to try recording each Campaign Turn on the blog. My hope is that it pushes me to make the game more of a narrative than an excuse to put miniatures on the table and roll some dice. To that end, let me introduce my crew as whole:

Figures primarily come from The Maker's Cult and their Cyberzerker faction.

There are a couple of tables at the end of character creation called “Flavor Details.” I haven’t really used them before, because I already had a good idea about the crews I have played in previous games. I decided to actually roll on these tables because not only does it up the ante for narration, but virtually the entire crew comes from some kind of criminal background and I needed a better idea of how to proceed.

The crew met through “a common cause or belief” and can be best characterized as “hardened rebels.” This seems rather contradictory for a bunch of products of scum and villany, but their ship (Strange Alien Vessel) reminded me of another old favorite sci fi tv-show of mine: Blake’s 7.

Thus, the “criminal activity” of this crew is either trumped-up charges or a life that was forced upon them due to the overbearing bureaucratic nightmare of the Unity government. As such, the common cause of these hardened rebels is a desire to right some of the wrongs Unity has wrought upon the galaxy.

Next Up: Meeting Individual Crew Members