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[Classic Traveller] Inspirations and media

Started by Imperator, April 19, 2012, 11:44:33 AM

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Imperator

April 19, 2012, 11:44:33 AM
Maybe this should be on the Media forum, dunno. Apologies if I'm wrong.

We're gearing up for our Trav chargen this Friday, and I was wondering about media inspirations for this game. Movies? TV shows? Other things? Some of my players are not much into reading, so recommending them literature won't fly too far, but movies and TV shows are OK.

I've thought of some classics but I'd love to hear more from people who has experience with the game. Or from people who has no experience with the game but knows some sci-fi flick that is cool. Fuck it, I don't really give a shit about anuone's cred, just keep the ideas coming :)
My name is Ramón Nogueras. Running now Vampire: the Masquerade (Giovanni Chronicles IV for just 3 players), and itching to resume my Call of Cthulhu campaign (The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man).

thedungeondelver

#1
April 19, 2012, 12:01:42 PM
How "big" will your Traveller universe be?  If you're doing an in-system, no-FTL only then both 2001 A Space Odyssey and (please bear with me) Space:1999 (ONLY FOR THE LOOK AND FEEL OF THE TECHNOLOGY) are good starting points.

Aliens (and indeed Alien and the upcoming Prometheus) are also good references.

Larry Niven's "Known Space" books can be a fun source of inspiration.

Babylon 5 and the reboot of Battlestar Galactica.

David Drake's Hammers Slammers (coupled with Aliens) are good places if you're looking for more military SF.  Oh!  Kow Yokoyama's Maschinenkrieger/SF3d.  Starship Troopers, of course.  The Forever War is another great resource.

Get these books.  You'll thank me.
THE DELVERS DUNGEON


Mcbobbo sums it up nicely.

Quote
Astrophysicists are reassessing Einsteinian relativity because the 28 billion l

Imperator

#2
April 19, 2012, 12:04:52 PM
Quote from: thedungeondelver;531668How "big" will your Traveller universe be?  If you're doing an in-system, no-FTL only then both 2001 A Space Odyssey and (please bear with me) Space:1999 (ONLY FOR THE LOOK AND FEEL OF THE TECHNOLOGY) are good starting points.

Aliens (and indeed Alien and the upcoming Prometheus) are also good references.

Larry Niven's "Known Space" books can be a fun source of inspiration.

Babylon 5 and the reboot of Battlestar Galactica.

David Drake's Hammers Slammers (coupled with Aliens) are good places if you're looking for more military SF.  Oh!  Kow Yokoyama's Maschinenkrieger/SF3d.  Starship Troopers, of course.  The Forever War is another great resource.

Get these books.  You'll thank me.
Think mostly about the Third Imperium with some elemnts borrowed from mass Effect and some other sources, so yeah, we have FTL travel.

All of that looks great. I'm chrecking it out :)
My name is Ramón Nogueras. Running now Vampire: the Masquerade (Giovanni Chronicles IV for just 3 players), and itching to resume my Call of Cthulhu campaign (The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man).

SionEwig

#3
April 19, 2012, 12:53:55 PM
I'll second 2001 A Space Odyssey and Space 1999 and would add Silent Running, all have elements that can help.  Another that has some possible use is Space Above and Beyond.  And of course there is Firefly and Serenity.  One book I'd mention for a good merchant feel is Heinlein's The Rolling Stones.
 

thedungeondelver

#4
April 19, 2012, 01:03:47 PM
Quote from: SionEwig;531677I'll second 2001 A Space Odyssey and Space 1999 and would add Silent Running, all have elements that can help.  Another that has some possible use is Space Above and Beyond.  And of course there is Firefly and Serenity.  One book I'd mention for a good merchant feel is Heinlein's The Rolling Stones.

Oh yeah definitely Silent Running.
THE DELVERS DUNGEON


Mcbobbo sums it up nicely.

Quote
Astrophysicists are reassessing Einsteinian relativity because the 28 billion l

beeber

#5
April 19, 2012, 01:39:01 PM
don't forget the comic that used to appear in white dwarf!  can be a bit crazy at times, but definitely inspired by CT.  the characters go through one of the original adventures (shadows) and even get statted up in a few issues (story 3, shadows, prologues 1-3).

Imperator

#6
April 19, 2012, 02:14:35 PM
Quote from: beeber;531690don't forget the comic that used to appear in white dwarf!  can be a bit crazy at times, but definitely inspired by CT.  the characters go through one of the original adventures (shadows) and even get statted up in a few issues (story 3, shadows, prologues 1-3).

This is a thing of beauty.
My name is Ramón Nogueras. Running now Vampire: the Masquerade (Giovanni Chronicles IV for just 3 players), and itching to resume my Call of Cthulhu campaign (The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man).

jeff37923

#7
April 19, 2012, 02:14:40 PM
All of the above plus Planetes (anime and manga), 2001 Nights (manga), the Peter Elson Artwork website is a must see for visual inspiration, Jerry Pournelle's CoDominion stories (including his collaborations with Larry Niven in The Mote in God's Eye and The Gripping Hand), District 9 (because people are people and aliens are people too, even though they are alien), Gattaca and The Handmaid's Tale and The Day After (for dystopian possibilities), HALO (especially HALO Legends).

I will add more later.
"Meh."

thedungeondelver

#8
April 19, 2012, 02:50:08 PM
Quote from: jeff37923;531700All of the above plus Planetes (anime and manga), 2001 Nights (manga), the Peter Elson Artwork website is a must see for visual inspiration, Jerry Pournelle's CoDominion stories (including his collaborations with Larry Niven in The Mote in God's Eye and The Gripping Hand), District 9 (because people are people and aliens are people too, even though they are alien), Gattaca and The Handmaid's Tale and The Day After (for dystopian possibilities), HALO (especially HALO Legends).

I will add more later.

Yes, HALO.  My god, yes.
THE DELVERS DUNGEON


Mcbobbo sums it up nicely.

Quote
Astrophysicists are reassessing Einsteinian relativity because the 28 billion l

Kuroth

#9
April 19, 2012, 11:56:09 PM
Did you get one of the Spanish language editions available at Far Future Enterprises Imperator?  Marc still has a few of those.

Far Future hard copy products

John Morrow

#10
April 20, 2012, 01:56:19 AM
Quote from: Imperator;531663We're gearing up for our Trav chargen this Friday, and I was wondering about media inspirations for this game. Movies? TV shows? Other things? Some of my players are not much into reading, so recommending them literature won't fly too far, but movies and TV shows are OK.

TV:
Starhunter 2300 (the first season of Starhunter is less relevant and not as well done -- you don't really have to watch it first)
Cowboy Bebop
Space Rangers

Movies:
Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick
Lifepod
Soldier
Outland

Books:
The Shattered Stars (Great fit for Traveller)
Merchanter's Luck
Robin Laws\' Game Styles Quiz Results:
Method Actor 100%, Butt-Kicker 75%, Tactician 42%, Storyteller 33%, Power Gamer 33%, Casual Gamer 33%, Specialist 17%

Imperator

#11
April 20, 2012, 02:23:10 AM
Quote from: Kuroth;531844Did you get one of the Spanish language editions available at Far Future Enterprises Imperator?  Marc still has a few of those.

Far Future hard copy products

No, Kuroth, I got a boxed set from a discount shop, and a lot of stuff in PDF :) Thanks for the link, though. Despite the Spanish book being a little pricey, it's very interesting nonetheless.

And thank you John for your sources. They go to the to-do list :)

Anyway, this is the kind of awesome thread that makes me post in this place more than any other. Thanks everyone for your help so far.
My name is Ramón Nogueras. Running now Vampire: the Masquerade (Giovanni Chronicles IV for just 3 players), and itching to resume my Call of Cthulhu campaign (The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man).

Shawn Driscoll

#12
April 20, 2012, 02:38:17 AM
Might as well add The Star Lost to the list if you are doing '70s sci-fi.

jeff37923

#13
April 20, 2012, 03:29:24 AM
Quote from: Shawn Driscoll;531884Might as well add The Star Lost to the list if you are doing '70s sci-fi.

NO.

Buy the book Phoenix Without Ashes by Harlan Ellison (who created The Starlost bible) and make sure your copy has his essay "I Don't Think We Are In Kansas Anymore" that details the absolute weirdness that surrounded the series - itself a good scenario for Traveller.
"Meh."

John Morrow

#14
April 20, 2012, 07:22:56 AM
Quote from: Shawn Driscoll;531884Might as well add The Star Lost to the list if you are doing '70s sci-fi.

The Starlost is inspiration for Metamorphosis Alpha, not Traveller.
Robin Laws\' Game Styles Quiz Results:
Method Actor 100%, Butt-Kicker 75%, Tactician 42%, Storyteller 33%, Power Gamer 33%, Casual Gamer 33%, Specialist 17%
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