SAFCOcast - Cepheus Engine/Traveller/2d6SF Talk Podcast

A podcast about the 2d6 Science Fiction RPGS, such as Traveller and the Cepheus Engine, produced by Super Adventure Friends Co. Send your praise, questions, and comments to [email protected]

Announcement: Submit Your Alien Beast 06/12/2025

SAFCOcast 40: Perpetual Traveller with Greg Caires 05/30/2025

SAFCOcast 39: Into Out of the Box 04/23/2025

SAFCOcast 38: Return from the Event Horizon 03/26/2025

SAFCOcast 37: Adam Kovac Interview 03/02/2025

SAFCOcast 36: MayDay 2024 and other stuff with CyborgPrime 04/15/2024

SAFCOcast 35: the Scoundrels of Brixton 02/17/2024

SAFCOcast 34: update on Keith Frye Memorial Game and Mayday! 2023 Interview with CyborgPrime 04/05/2023

SAFCOcast 33: Talking MayDay 2023 with Ken Patterson 02/18/2023

SAFCOcast 32: Never knife-fight Earl Dumarest 01/07/2023

SAFCOcast 31: Interview with Virtual Traveller's Ken Patterson 11/21/2022

SAFCOcast 30: More Campaign Descriptions, Bribery Confusion, and Review of our Campaign 08/21/2022

SAFCOcast 29: Your Longest Traveller Campaign! Winner announced! 04/24/2022

SAFCOcast 29: Your Longest Traveller Campaign! Winner announced! In this episode Jeff and Bob read some much appreciated email from listeners, go over from great finds from the internet, talk about some rules finds, announce the winner for the random drawing from the Longest Campaign submissions, and read the first six of the twelve submissions! Relevant links: - from CyborgPrime - Traveller blog by Dennis Matheson - blog entry from Omer Golan Joel - Cepheus Journal , and - intended to model Earl Dumarest's armored clothing - where we get our theme music Longest Campaign Submissions Thomas of KingstonMegaTraveller w mods8-10 Months (detail is a bit fuzzy) It was set in the JG Glimmerdrift Reaches on an Imperial planet (Petra). The planet was balkanized and there were many tensions among the double handful of nations but the big players were 2 or 3 larger nations. The tech level of the planet was 9, but there was another Imperial planet (TL-12) not far away. The time period was about 1114, but in this particular setting, the Solomani were pushing into the open spaces in Glimmerdrift reaches. It would have been a more typical game if one of the players hadn't rolled up a retired Imperial Marine who had Soc 12 (Marquis). He ended up being the Marquis of Petra and being the Imperial representative. The other characters were a mix of retired Marines, Navy, and some active duty, with one being a local noble. The Marquis was, to the eyes of some of his senior people, a bit erratic. So much so that his Security Chief rapidly decided that if this was what the Imperium would put in charge, the Solomani were welcome. That led to the Security Chief running a Solomani-sympathizer campaign against the Imperium. He was also the funnel and organizer who managed data flow to the Marquis. So on the one hand, he organized an underground flyer that regularly knew a lot about Imperial business and failures, he recruited like minded PCs and NPCs who had Solomani sympathies, and he set the Imperials against the local governments. It got worse as time went on: The high port blew up (the only GM-inflicted campaign event I can think of) and then shipments of high tech offworld arms and vehicles were sabotaged, the Marquis' family was assassinated, and a few PCs and NPCs who were Imperial sympathizers were fingered as being behind the Solomani underground (leading to their execution by the Security Chief after convincing the Marquis he needed to kill these guys who were actually on the Marquis' side). In the end, the Solomani invaded, had local support, and the Marquis had to flee for his life. The Security Chief wrote a full explanation in a letter categorizing every step he took against the Marquis and how at every turn, he turned allies against the Marquis or fingered them for troublemakers, and how he managed to deflect suspicion falling upon himself by having the underground flyer make fun of the Security Chief (and the Marquis immediately felt this made him not in with the Solomani because he seemed the sort to never make himself look foolish... except that's exactly what he was doing to avoid suspicion). There was a lot time spent individually (because of the nature of intrigues) and there were many views and motivations that clashed, intersected, or sometimes passed like strangers in the night. It wasn't easy to GM. I gave the Marquis chances and enough of the other players tried to warn him or help him, but the person he most trusted was the mastermind that he should have normally suspected and that set him against those who were actually trying to help (some were playing both sides and deserved what they got....). I've run a fair few 8-12 month campaigns of more traditional Traveller, but this one ended up being legendary. The Security Chief's final message was done up in an X-Boat transmission.... I don't think we could do this again, but it will always live in memory of those who participated. (2) Winner! Mark AyersThis first was original Traveller, the second was MegaTraveller.Each were about three years I have two longest campaigns. My first ran from winter 1977 until spring 1980. Our teen selves evolved the game as each new Traveller item was published and came into our possession. My next was a revival, in a new town, more than a decade later. It ran from autumn 1993 until autumn 1995. As young adults in jobs, this campaign was appreciated more and died when a classified job function of one of our key members prohibited their participation for two years. (3) Felbrigg HerriotClassic TravellerNot sure exactly, but at least six months of weekly play My longest Traveller game was a Mercenary Campaign. The PCs started as simple bodyguards, making money on the side, then they started hiring on people. Ended up with them having three ships, landers, plenty of men. (Bob - damn - this is very ambitious stuff from the players!) Had to use a spreadsheet to track the men's injuries and promotions etc. About half way through the players got a second PC each. The original PCs became the leaders doing all the politics, admin, negotiation etc, and the new ones were boots-on-the-ground leaders. Had some great sessions, a few with them working as guards on a passenger liner, with murders, fires, and chaos in jump. The scene of them strafing sea monsters from the beach with PGMPs as the beasts consumed holiday-makers will live with me forever. (4) Patrick KanouseClassic Traveller2 years I refereed a Classic Traveller for two years in college. We played a session at least once a month, and I sometimes held individual player sessions. At the time, I was heavily influenced by Dan Simmons HYPERION, and the main villain was a version of the Shrike—albeit not as cool and very psionic based. It was also fickle, tormenting the players in Q-like ways, and designating one of the players as “the Chosen One.” LOL, we still don’t know what that actually meant. Nonetheless, nearly 30 years later, those former players still occasionally shout at me, “The Chosen One!” Great times. (5) Pete BurkeMongoose 2e6 months Longest continuous campaign - I ran a Pirates of Drinax campaign for 6 months over Roll20 last year during COVID. (6) Neuro LancerMongoose 2e6 months I refereed a campaign which lasted 6 months. It was a homebrew campaign using the flavor of the OTU. I used Mongoose 2nd Ed rule set. It started as a trader campaign and ended up being more mercenary-like. /episode/index/show/safcocast/id/22893908

SAFCOcast 28: Mayday! 2022 Preview 03/24/2022

SAFCOcast 27: Cepheus Deluxe and Alien Androids 12/01/2021

SAFCOcast 26: Inspiration! 09/19/2021

SAFCOcast 25: "Useless" Skills and Scurrying for Cover! 05/16/2021

SAFCOcast 24: Interview with Ken Patterson and Greg Caires about the 2021 MayDay! online Traveller event! 03/04/2021

SAFCOcast 24: Interview with Ken Patterson and Greg Caires about the 2021 MayDay! online Traveller event! In this episode we interview Ken Patterson and Greg Caires about the upcoming Mayday! event. The first day of May – May Day – has special meaning to Traveller players due to the infamous Mayday call from the Free Trader Beowulf that has appeared on box and book covers of various variants of the game since its earliest years. In 2021, May Day will be a Saturday – an ideal time to play Traveller. To help the global Traveller community celebrate May Day, three groups of players have teamed up to create a unique day of Traveller-related programming. Operating from its home base on Facebook, the – the same people who organized the weekend-long online “non-convention” last October – will organize “MayDay! a Celebration of Traveller through online roleplaying.” GMs from across the globe will be invited to run Traveller games online using whatever communications tools they prefer and during any suitable time period based on their locale. The only requests are: All games must begin and be run during May 1st in the GM’s local time-zone; All games must conclude by 7 pm Saturday night Central US Time on May 1st to “clear the decks” for a charity game that will be broadcast live on Twitch (more about this below). Based on lessons-learned from the Virtual Traveller weekend, MayDay! will be organized using Tabletop Events for simplicity game submission, player registration and communication. To cover the expense of using Tabletop, a nominal fee (likely $3) will be charged. That fee buys players their convention badges, and they can then join and play as many games as their schedules will allow. More about MayDay!: Tabletop Events: Facebook Virtual Traveller Group: Discord Virtual Traveller server: Both GMs and players are sought. Questions can be submitted via the links above. If online gaming isn’t your thing, CyborgPrime is organizing the 3rd annual “Mayday! Mayday!” event, which consists of live interviews of Traveller authors and others who contribute to keeping the game popular and replenished with fresh material. Last year, CP interviewed both Matthew Sprange and Marc Miller, and generous prizes were awarded to members of the audience. This year, CP intends to interview a variety of new voices, giveaway more and better prizes, give a platform to Ken Burnside of AdAstra Games to host some Traveller Squadron Strike vector combat simulations. The marquee event will be – like last year – the live broadcast of Patrick Kanouse’s Traveller game to benefit his charity . Joining him as players are , , and . They will be playing Michael Brown’s : “A routine cargo run leads to a station orbiting a black hole and one man’s world of obsession, secrets, and madness. As the heroes help an intelligence agent investigate the mad scientist’s activities, they come to realize that they may bear witness to the ultimate adventure…or become just more bits of matter crushed by the black hole’s gravity.” The Carcinoid Cancer Foundation’s mission is to increase awareness and educate the general public and healthcare professionals regarding carcinoid and related neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), to support NET cancer patients and their families, and to serve as patient advocates. We’ll be giving away a bunch of things, and you can even have an effect on the game. The game will stream on at 8:00 pm Eastern. The game will include giveaways and opportunities to influence the game. /episode/index/show/safcocast/id/18192470

SAFCOcast 23: To Violence Or To Not Violence 02/15/2021

SAFCOcast 22: Interview with Greg Caires about Virtual Traveller 11/14/2020

SAFCOcast 21: Xboat Transmission, Game Recap, and So Forth 10/25/2020

SAFCOcast 20: What are the basic elements of a Traveller game? 09/12/2020

SAFCOcast 20: What are the basic elements of a Traveller game? In this episode Jeff and Bob discuss the basic elements of a Traveller game, as detailed by Marc Miller in the Traveller Book. Before that Bob does a short correction from the previous episode, we do Internet Finds, and some fun Rules Finds, as well as present the last of the planets submitted in our Random Planet Generation Smackdown! (that system appears below, under the relevant links). Relevant links: Reaver's Deep: Cepheus Journal is now online: Independence Games has released the Opportunity-class Light Trader, with art by Ian Stead. Albacon, a UK-organized online con, has 3 Traveller session, including one by Greg Caires (who alerted us to this con). Oct 3-4 Of course, the Virtual Traveller non-con is coming up in October as well. Here’s the link again: For anyone wanting to do some Swords & Sorcery with a Traveller/CE style system, Omer Golan-Joel’s Sword of Cepheus is now available in print from DrivethruRPG. I was looking through my PDF last night, and it is really good. I ordered the printed version. In his FB group, Traveller Gaming in the Future, Ron Stepp has posted a spreadsheet tool called Adventure Class Ship Designer. I have not tried it yet, as I hate turning on my PC, but knowing Ron’s work I’m sure it is good. Speaking of Ron, he is a prolific creator of Traveller content, especially incredible settings and ship designs, and has started a blog on which to keep his work in a place less ephemeral than social media posts (I wonder how much he lost when G+ was disappeared?)? The Speculative Machines Podcast, home of our music! Faddle - from Pete Burke C589632-8 Ni Faddle is a cold, icy world with most of the surface covered in permafrost. There is a band approximately 400 miles wide around the equator that is comfortable and is actually considered pleasantly tropical. The atmosphere is dense which helps create the effect Faddle is famous for - the floating "Udrassi" mats. Udrassi is a native organic lifeform that straddles the line between fungus, plant and animal life. The udrassi combine into large circular floating mats that organize around a central hub. On each hub, three pools of amino acids are arranged in a triangular pattern - early colonists to the planet were able to quickly determine that by adding saline water of specific concentrations to the pools in certain sequuences, the mats could be raised, lowered or steered and also directed to attract or repel other floating mats. The mats are extremely strong - some colonists built houses and larger buildings anchoring into the mats themselves. It wasn't long until early colonial families created resort hotel compounds for tourists by assembling larger mats together - and by manipulating the hub pools on the mats, small towns developed by combining mats together. The planet is mostly a recreation destination - the floating lifestyle of the permanent residents is very laid back . Some floating resorts stay in the tropics all year round, while others float to a mountain range south of the equator in the permafrost region where a ski resort has been set up. /episode/index/show/safcocast/id/15981788

SAFCOcast 19: More Random Planets! 08/22/2020

SAFCOcast 19: More Random Planets! In this episode we are focusing on two more of the random planets submitted during our Random Planet event a few months ago, this time from Dwayne "" Walstrom and Jonathan Daylett (check out his - a great adaptation of a Mad Max style setting). Before that we dig into a couple of items from X-Boat Transmissions, and end with a . Here are the planet/system writeups... From Hiverlord Planet/System: Not AssignedRolled with T5 rules.FV main star (no companions). Standard orbit. Temperate climate. B735BDG-9 Hi In GG=0 PB=3 No bases.Importance (Ix)=2 Ranks worlds within a regionEconomics (Ex)=BA9(-2)Culture (Cx)=6D68Population= 102 Billion Hi=Hi population In=industrial With an extremely high population level and poor atmosphere, this overwhelmed planet is run by an accepting, yet overbearing and stern, Religious Dictatorship. The religion itself promotes, perhaps even encourages, Free Love, and has strict rules against contraceptives and most forms of abortion. Birth (and survival) rates are high, given the planet's TL of 9. Combined with longer lifespans associated with higher technology, the world quickly reached and exceeded its purported capacity. Several nearby Agricultural worlds have a ready-made market with this extremely overpopulated system. This world is located in a 'Dumarest'-style setting, with no significant interstellar powers. The reasons why this world hadn't begun expanding (aggressively or otherwise) is simple to deduce: with over 100 Billion citizens to support, it doesn't have any resources to spare for expansionist activities. From Jonathan Daylett Planet/System: Aristodma CAB2654-9 R Ni Large, extremely hot planet with a corrosive atmosphere and scant water. Rich in phosgene and hydrogen chloride, very valuable chemical compounds used in plastics and technology manufacturing. Due to the high gravity, the densest parts of the atmosphere are much lower to the ground, allowing for research stations, collection facilities and refineries to be built on the highest points of elevation. The primary authority is a feudal technocracy. What began countless rotations ago as a corporately owned resource, Aristodma is now home to millions of people who live in ports, research stations, and other dense plastic fortresses. They are governed by those with the highest level of understanding of the environmental hazards present. People came here for the high risk, high reward lifestyle of gas-farming. Over the years, however, it became apparent that there were those more suited to the dangers involved, and they soon became leaders among the people. Generation by generation, the highly profitable gas-farmers have gained a reputation of shrewd but fair governance. It has worked well enough, until recent years as a few other factions started to see the cracks in the system and decided to try and make their own ways of life beyond the confines of primitive feudalism. Now those in command have to contend with not only an environment that is actively trying to kill them every second of every day, but with a contentious minority group that steals technology and parts for building new facilities as well as a political faction that seeks to upend the centuries-long reign of those who see themselves as de facto rulers of Aristodma. /episode/index/show/safcocast/id/15715595

SAFCOcast 18: Classic Traveller Combat, Mailbag, and other Stuff 08/01/2020

SAFCOcast 17: interview with Ken Patterson, about the upcoming Virtual Traveller event 07/19/2020

SAFCOcast 16: Traveller Session Recap, Imperial News, Etc. 06/25/2020

SAFCOcast 15: Random World, Awesome Online Con Game, and Other Traveller Delicacies 06/10/2020

SAFCOcast 15: Random World, Awesome Online Con Game, and Other Traveller Delicacies Weirdly we had no XBoat Transmissions this time! We need email! In this episode, we get back to our Random Planet Generation project by reading about Algira, a planet created by Patrick Kanouse (full description below). Really nice work, Patrick! We then move on to Internet Finds, including... , a Classic Traveller Fanzine by Omer Joel and Paul Elliott Jeff finds two Traveller articles in online copies of the old Dragon magazine. p 35: Traveller Adventure "Canard" by Roberto Camino is the first one! The next one on our next episode! Stray RPG Thoughts. Just found this blog. Dude has amazing stuff about mega corps and the super rich in RPGs. Highly relevant for Traveller, Cyberpunk, or whatever. Our main topics was our participation in an online Classic Traveller Game run by Greg Caires, as part of the online offerings of this year's North Texas RPG Con. It used Greg’s Sappers character class, which appeared in : Character Generation Rules: Deep Space Rescue Corps: A Career for Classic and MegaTraveller. We wrap up with News of the Imperium, a new segment in which we discuss upcoming convention games and events relevant for Traveller, upcoming or recent product releases, and anything else that fits. This time it included... Greg Caires tells us: PGHCon in Pittsburgh has gone online and their website says registration fees are going to a local food bank I believe and I’m offering a CT game in support. Greg is running So Others May Live again… TravellerCon 2020: at this point it looks like TravellerCon/USA is going on as scheduled, Oct 9-11, in Lancaster, PA. Link: Patrick Kanouse write: Hey there! Wanted to let you know that I’m planning on running Murder at Arcturus Station using Traveller5 rules for Gen Con Online. Still needs to be accepted, but that’s the plan. Gaming and BS podcast is on Twitch.tv - I watched Sean run Mothership. Really fun. /episode/index/show/safcocast/id/14759474

SAFCOcast 14: Traveller on Roll20, Session Recap, and other Traveller Stuff! 05/26/2020

SAFCOcast 13: Interview with Robert Eaglestone 04/11/2020

SAFCOcast 12: Session Report, etc 03/28/2020

SAFCOcast - Cepheus Engine/Traveller/2d6SF Talk Podcast

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