Monthly Archives: April 2014

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cel2-oStCZU One commentator referred to it as “minimalism on such a grandious scale”. Yes, such minimalism is (in 993 Imperial) in vogue in the Empty Quarter: it reminds one of the stark deserts that are a feature of the sector.

Two interesting articles from Slate: Pre-invasion, there was a Military Training Camp for Boys in Crimea. For two weeks, the young kids learn how to fight from experienced soldiers, including weapons training and live-fire shooting. How does it fit in … Continue reading →

A new day-job for your PCs: Imagine looking out over Tokyo Bay from high above and seeing a man-made island in the harbor, 3 kilometers long. A massive net is stretched over the island and studded with 5 billion tiny rectifying antennas, … Continue reading →

Jump point: South Korean Prime Minister Offers to Resign Safety It is reasonable to see an Imperial bureaucrat resigning in the face of (translated into Traveler terms) a starship full of children exploding due to lax/corrupt safety standards: but not … Continue reading →

Gizmag notes an interesting concept: The Sunken Park, a kind of underground oasis with big cracks in the roof. It could be useful as a setting in the Empty Quarter… or any desert region.

Sure, Westros is popular right now, but what I really want are detailed maps of Sylea, Vland and Terra of the Classic Traveller era (1100s). A map of Vland at the point when they discovered jump drive would be appreciated … Continue reading →

… or the local Imperial Noble, can be extremely influential, depending on how conformist and hierarchical the society is. In the above example, the Ruling Noble had to step in and protect one of his enemies, because if he didn’t, … Continue reading →

Asked about a local conflict, “Oleh, a local taxi driver, snaps: “I don’t care. I just want to be paid more.”” I find it amusing to see elite attitudes to war filter down to the common man. Or, more truthfully, … Continue reading →

The Spiral to War The Referee should be able to build a world slowly spiraling to war: this Economist article does a decent thumbnail sketch, although the dedicated Traveller referee will have to do a lot more reading, on the … Continue reading →

As this article from NPR illustrates, it isn’t necessary to train good troops to match the best the Imperium can field: 80%+ of the time, they only need to be substantially better than their actual opposition, usually a neighbour or … Continue reading →