Quote from: RockViperMaybe you could try something along the lines of Event Horizon where the entity posses crew members to do its nasty work, then leaves an empty floating hulk full of dead bodies in or near the Jump lanes.

You know, the thing is I'm not so much as looking for an evil entity as one that's simply utterly alien and incomprehensible. Perhaps the entity is merely curious, or motivated by things we can't understand.

Personally I thought Event Horizon sucked, I mean just thw whole "universe of pure evil" crap made me wanna heave and yawn at the same time.

One thing I did say about EH, it remeinded me of "the warp" in warhammer 40,000 and what could happen to a ship entering it sans a Geller field.

Wasn't there supposed to be some kind of jumpspace mystery/peril in the Third Imperium setting?  I clearly recall reading rumors of it somewhere, but I don't recall what it was supposed to be about.

!i!

Quote from: Dominus NoxYou know, the thing is I'm not so much as looking for an evil entity as one that's simply utterly alien and incomprehensible. Perhaps the entity is merely curious, or motivated by things we can't understand.

Instead of having psionic PCs or NPCs aboard the ship, allow players to become untrained psionics after having contact with the jumpspace critter. The critter is curious, maybe not even sentient, and is just toying with the ship while it is hurtling through jumpspace.

Kinda like a Lovecraftian kitten playing with the inside of a paper sack (with the PCs ship being the paper sack, of course).

I'd suggest that along with some physical evidence of this thing, have more electrical and electronic evidence of it. Intercom speakers suddenly blaring static or inhuman screaming, lights that become overpowering bright and then exploding, display screens that start showing flowing blobby colors when they should be giving navigational data, computer records misfiled or corrupted, and that sort of thing.

And I know its cliche, but if there is a ship's cat or other mascot on board - have it start freaking out in a big way, yowling at thin air and the like.

Now that I'm on a roll....
Low berths are often used to haul domestic animals. Have the ship be hauling a few groats or something for breeding purposes on the destination world. Do a cattle mutillation scene on one of the animals while it is still inside of a low berth, allowing the PCs to watch.  If I was playing in that game, that alone would scare the bejeezus out of my PC.


(Damn, I'm going to use some of this stuff myself.)

Look a little out of genre. So far we've covered the plot for ALIEN.

Watch "HP Lovecraft's From Beyond". With the jump drive as "the machine"
The jump drive malfunctions and everyone feels ill, on edge, skin sensitive to touch. If you have psychics on board they start to broadcast their nightmares. The creatures which exist in jump space are finally able to catch up with this static ship which is trapped half in and half out of jump space. These creatures can be seen as ghosts and are able to flow through the solid walls of the ship. Close to the drive however they are not only visible but solid and attack. Anyone who spends too much time in the presence of the jump drive starts to be affected...and THEY become the monster prowling the ship...

Watch Carpenters' Prince of Darkness.
Jump drive fails and people start dying - one kills himself by drinking sealant fluid, another kills herselfby bathing in a technobabble energy vortex. There isn't anything evil here but the flailing jump drive has attracted the attention of something unspeakably alien which is sending it's base desires. It can drink sealant fluid, it bathes in energy vortices. We pick up on it's base desires and emulate them. It possesses a couple of NPC crewmembers and uses their minds and eyes to explore the ship, taking time to dismantle equipment and people just to see how they work. Eventually it will become bored and move on or perhaps it will take a liking to this brave new universe and try to cross with the help of it's possessed souls.

Watch 28 Days Later
Take the example given about low berths being used to transport animals. Think how dangerous an angry chimp or even the ships mascot could be. Give the mascot psychic powers and heightened intelligence and watch it save those who were nice to it and murder those who were nasty to it. Watch how it takes some people and reduces them from being thinking feeling individuals and lobotomises them into becoming animals fueled only by hunger and fear....

Some sweet rip-offs there.  In fact so sweet I'm going to try out all three.

Quote from: Ian AbsentiaWasn't there supposed to be some kind of jumpspace mystery/peril in the Third Imperium setting?  I clearly recall reading rumors of it somewhere, but I don't recall what it was supposed to be about.

!i!

 Yes ...you are RIGHT about that.
 Right before GDW folded there was a big backstory-plan involving the Empress Wave, Jump Space and Psionics.

 Loren K. Wiseman  or Christopher thrash posted a link to the SJG Forums about a year ago to an interview with one of the former GDW line editors.

 The gist of the idea was that psionics and Jump space were somehow inextricably linked. This was supposed to shake up whats left of the Imperium at the time. Also, the "Empress Wave" thing  was going to cause headaches in thousands upon thousands of Zhodani - and reveal by accident that just about ALL Zhodani had the capability for Psionics - even the proles.

 After reading that article/interview I noticed that it already paralleled some ideas that I had introduced in my campaign...so I am using parts of those concepts or hinting at them in my G:TRAVELLER campaign.

 If I find that web page with the interview - I'll toss a link on here or start a new thread.

- Ed C.

The SJG thread was Loren's copy and pasting from COTI's 10 things you'd ask Dave Nilsen thread.

He has it archive on his own site.

http://www.cgi101.com/~lkw/AskDave.txt

Of course this is all moot canonically if you allow that Martin J Dougherty has rewritten the New Era up to 1248 imperial.  Messy job in my opinion but some good ideas (but that's for another thread).

Quote from: epocalypseThe SJG thread was Loren's copy and pasting from COTI's 10 things you'd ask Dave Nilsen thread.

He has it archive on his own site.

http://www.cgi101.com/~lkw/AskDave.txt

Of course this is all moot canonically if you allow that Martin J Dougherty has rewritten the New Era up to 1248 imperial.  Messy job in my opinion but some good ideas (but that's for another thread).

 Thanks for finding that!!! (whoo-hoo!!) Saved me hours of searching.

The timeline I am using for my campaign is a pretty smooth blend of classic TRAVELLER and the GURPS:TRAVELLER continuatiuon of that timeline.

- Ed C.