In (Classic Traveller) space, no one can hear you scream!

I have already written about the use of lethality in old-school games here and here. In this post, I will further discuss this concept in the context of Classic Traveller.

Some incarnations of Traveller assume - in many cases - that space travel is as safe as modern air travel. This is a completely legitimate viewpoint, in tune with Star Wars and similar universes where interstellar travel is commonplace and many people travel from world to world The universe depicted by the three-book Classic Traveller, however, is different. Very different. In it, space is a dangerous place. Traverse the dark gulf between the stars - and risk your life. Looks at the Scout career in the core book, for example. With the basic rule according to which a failed Survival roll means death, a good portion of Scouts perish during their careers even if they are hardy enough. Exploring the stars is dangerous. Scouts have a 41.66% chance of dying per 4-year term if they are regular, healthy human beings. If they are particularly hardy (END 9+), they still have a 16.66% chance of dying per 4-year term. Beyond the obvious game-design need to balance the easy acquisition of a "free" Type-S Scout/Courier, this also has in-universe implications. Traversing the stars is dangerous. If you boldly go into the Uknown, you often find out that the Unknown has teeth, claws and tentacles and that the Unknown wants to eat you. Space, indeed, is a dangerous place.

Interstellar passage aboard a liner or trader is expensive - Cr8,000 per jump for Middle passage or Cr10,000 per jump for the more comfortable High Passage. Even highly paid professionals such as pilots do not make so much money in a whole month, some would not even make such a sum in half a year, even if you ignore life expenses. The only other option is to travel by Low Passage - essentially go into freezers originally intended for livestock (so it was in the source material), which is not only extremely uncomfortable and demeaning but also risky - 16.66% to die en route, 8.33% even with a highly skilled (Skill-2) medic, and an unhealthy passenger (END 6-) has a 27.77% chance of death due to freezer failure! Even if you pay for Middle Passage, and even if you are riding a legit, fully maintained liner, once the liner goes through routine or frontier starports (C or worse) - and in most cases it will - it uses unrefined fuel, and has a risk of 2.77% per jump to develop a potentially deadly drive malfunction and a risk of 2.77% per jump for a dangerous misjump. All of this - without accounting for the threat of piracy, or other risks of traversing the interstellar frontier.

So travelling the stars is dangerous and highly expensive. This is somewhat similar to the Age of Sail or the earlier Age of Exploration. Back then, sailing the cruel seas was a dangerous undertaking, and most people avoided doing it routinely unless they were sailors or fishermen, and even then, most of them stayed close to the coast. Sailing into the unknown could earn you a ship's load of gold, but also a watery grave. Even sailing to known ports was a risky undertaking. In the implied Classic Traveller universe, then, most people do not travel often, if at all. The majority stay on their home worlds or whatever colony they were born on, at most travelling once or twice in their entire lives for pilgrimage, emigration or fleeing wars and disasters. Going beyond very few parsecs is prohibitively expensive - to cross a Sector in Middle Passage will probably cost you your life savings and further put you into debt.

So who travels? Travellers travel. Travellers are a different class of people from the ordinary planet-bound colonist. They travel - they take vast risks - they dare go into the dark and face certain death. In this, they are similar to adventurers in older-school fantasy RPGs as opposed to non-adventuring 0-level "Normal Men". Sure, adventuring can get you rich, and so can speculative trade or mercenary work, but it is likely to get you killed, and therefore, most "normal" people avoid it if they could.

So you play a Traveller. You take risks. You boldly go into the Unknown. Sometimes you get fabulously rich. Other times, you end up dead. Space travel is not for "ordinary" people who wish to have a long, healthy life working for a wage. Space travel is for adventurous souls, nobles bored so much that they look for such thrill and risk for entertainment, and very hardy men and women who serve in the interstellar military, the scout service or the merchant marine.

Coming late March from Stellagama Publishing: Zeta and Tuko!

This upcoming PDF booklet will contain:

- The Zeta - playable Grey Aliens!
- The Tuko - playable sneaky gecko-like alien hunters!
- Unique Zeta abilities - Psionics and Hacking!
- Flying saucers!
- And more!

Coming late March!

Next is Cheating Death — a death and mortal injury supplement with gore, severed limbs — and resurrecting a dead character - in the same way Anakin became Vader!

Both have fully edited manuscripts by now. Zeta and Tuko have full art as well and is undergoing layout. Cheating Death, scheduled to late April or early May, will soon have art as well!

Our Mascot Awakens!

Stellagama Publishing's mascot, Mr. Agama, woke up today from his brumation - lizard hibernation - as today was sunny enough for him. So he came to bless us with his lizardly presence!

This is him on the wall of our house in Yavne, Israel. He typically dwells in our attic.

Scum and Villainy - an Interstellar Crime Supplement for White Star

I am proud to announce that we have published (!!!) our very first product - the first product ever - of Stellagama Publishing! This is Scum and Villainy - a supplement for the White Star™ sci-fi RPG detailing interstellar criminals, as well as stealth rules and the tools of interstellar crime!

Here is the product's overview:

Proud aristocrats, brave mercenaries, dashing pilots and loyal star knights populate the spacelanes of the White Star galaxy. However, they are not alone. Besides the brave heroes with shining star-swords, other people ply the ocean of stars in search of profit and glory. Among these are the less savoury of spacefarers. In the bowels of interstellar society, one may find them – the scum of the galaxy: namely, lethal assassins and stealthy rogues. They might live in whatever wretched hive in the far colonies or in the stinking underbelly of a great arcology in the core. But regardless of their habitat, their stories are also stuff of legends, parallel to those of their more scrupulous brethren: stories of cunning heists, daring escapes, cleverly executed plans to bring down a tyrant – and, indeed, outsmarting the Consortium and all other stuffed-shirt, dour-faced authority-figures who think they can tell the free-spirited scoundrel what he can and cannot do.

This humble booklet offers the White Star™ player and Referee two new classes. First is the Assassin – a man (or woman!) trained in the art of precise killing and stealth. Second is the Rogue, a thief or spy skilled in getting into places people do not wish him to enter. Together with them, we present you with clarified and expanded stealth rules, two new ship modifications, five new weapons and two new pieces of gear. Altogether, we hope that this will open a secret door for you into the world of interstellar crime!

Grab it HERE!

Something Wicked This Way Comes...

I am proud to announce that we have submitted our very first product - the first product ever - of Stellagama Publishing to Drive Through RPG (DTRPG). Fingers crossed, it will be approved soon and then made available for your gaming pleasure! This is Scum and Villainy - a supplement for the White Star™ sci-fi RPG detailing interstellar criminals, as well as stealth rules and the tools of interstellar crime!

Here is the FTRPG overview:

Proud aristocrats, brave mercenaries, dashing pilots and loyal star knights populate the spacelanes of the White Star galaxy. However, they are not alone. Beside the brave heroes with shining star-swords, other people ply the ocean of stars in search of profit and glory. Among these are the less savoury of spacefarers. In the bowels of interstellar society, one may find them – the scum of the galaxy: namely, lethal assassins and stealthy rogues. They might live in whatever wretched hive in the far colonies or in the stinking underbelly of a great arcology in the core. But regardless of their habitat, their stories are also stuff of legends, parallel to those of their more scrupulous brethren: stories of cunning heists, daring escapes, cleverly executed plans to bring down a tyrant – and, indeed, outsmarting the Consortium and all other stuffed-shirt, dour-faced authority-figures who think they can tell the free-spirited scoundrel what he can and cannot do.

This humble booklet offers the White Star™ player and Rreferee two new classes. First is the Assassin – a man (or woman!) trained in the art of precise killing and stealth. Second is the Rogue, a thief or spy skilled in getting into places people do not wish him to enter. Together with them, we present you with clarified and expanded stealth rules, two new ship modifications, five new weapons and two new pieces of gear. Altogether, we hope that this will open a secret door for you into the world of interstellar crime!

Effective use of Lethality in Old-School RPGs

A few days ago I wrote about lethality in older-school RPGs. Many responses were enthusiastic; other correctly criticized my post regarding arbitrary as opposed to non-arbitrary death; after all, "gotcha" death usually sucks in RPGs, and if the Referee just wants to kill the PCs, he could always bury them in a landslide or under a collapsing ceiling. This, of course, will be no fun. So I am obliged to further elaborate regarding the use of lethality and Save-or-Die elements in older-schools role-playing games.

Lethality should always be the result of a choice. An informed choice, at least to a certain degree. As I've noted above, and as obvious to any good player or Referee, "gotcha" lethality is not very enjoyable. A Save-or-Die situation should arise as a result of a player choice. Taking risks sometimes warrants an immediate risk of death. For example, if you choose to go toe to toe with a venomous snake, you take the risk of getting bitten, which may be fatal. Typically, a good Referee will describe a snake or, at least, hint at its existence. If you choose to ignore the warning and take the risk, you can definitely face death. After all, venomous snakes are scary for a reason - many of them can kill you. A dead king's tomb still containing treasure after centuries of potential grave-robbers is bound to be trapped to the hilt, and its exploration warrants great care and many precautions. If you take the risk and rush your exploration of such a dungeon, a trap may kill you. There should always be a chance to avoid the trap by player skill and attention to details. But deadly traps in such tombs are part of the adventure genre. If you choose to drink a mysterious potion found in an underground temple of Chaos, you risk being poisoned or worse. If you enter the dungeon corridor strewn with many human bones and skulls of possible victims of a horrible monster - you might actually encounter the monster itself, and you risk turning into yet another pile of bones in the corridor. If you enter the curious garden of strange statues, you might face the Medusa - capable of turning you to stone with a single gaze.

The thing common to all of these cases is that there is a warning before the decision to take the risk or avoid it. Either an explicit warning, such as the town's elders speaking in hushes whispers about the horrors of a haunted tomb, an environmental cue such as bones of former victims or the petrified victims of the Medusa, or a risk known to common sense such as the notion that strange liquids in deep chapels of Chaos might have negative effects on you or the basic fact that venomous snakes might kill you with a bite. Taking the risk is a player's choice, and typically holds a potential reward. A pile of gold under the slithering snakes, rumors of great treasures guarded by the Medusa, stories of potions holding wondrous effects on their imbibers. If you wish to reduce risk, you also reduce the reward in many cases. You wish a big reward - you'll have to take risks.

The same goes in Traveller. In character generation, if you choose to be a Marine, you should be tough as nails - as a Marine should be, or you face a high risk of death in the line of duty. Even if you're tough, Marines are people who get kicked out of a starship in orbit and told: "conquer that planet!". This is badass, but very, very risky, especially in times of war. The reward is first the badass title of a Star Marine, and also all manners of combat skills, easy retention and relatively easy promotion. Scouts are more extreme - you die easily in the line of duty just like Marines, because you go into the Unknown and the Unknown has teeth, claws, and tentacles, but you may receive the ultimate reward - a free starship of your own! A clever character entering the Merchant Marine risks a far lower risk of death, but if you do gain a starship, it has a heavy mortgage attached. You can try and save hard-earned Credits by travelling in Low Passage, but you risk Low Berth failure and death. You can try and save on expensive refined fuel by doing frontier refuelling, but unrefined fuel can do bad things to the delicate and finicky civilian systems of your Free Trader.

Risk and reward, accompanied by at least some hint regarding the risk and reward at hand, are key to enjoyable death threats in older-school RPGs. This could add much tension, excitement and thrill to your game of handled right. This is why Save-or-Die effects are so useful in such games.

In praise of lethality in old-school RPGs

A common complaint about older-school role-playing games (RPGs) is that they are highly lethal and, as the complaint goes "unduly and arbitrarily punish characters and players". And indeed, many newer-school players view such lethality in disdain and prefer their games to include more moderate dangers, less "arbitrary" threats and much stronger player characters. Dungeons and Dragons(TM) 5th Edition is a prime example of this. Around levels 3-5, player characters are already very powerful and are rarely killed by ordinary monsters; I found my 5th level party mowing through undead supposed to be scary, and only moderately challenged by a mummy, energy-draining wraiths and shadow-demons capable of moving through walls. Risks were mitigated; healing was made much easier; and many frightening abilities from earlier editions, such as level drain, poison and disease, were made far more forgiving. Don't get me wrong - we are enjoying the hell out of our D&D 5E campaign set in the Barbarian, Conqueror, King setting with some ACKS rule additions. But the ruleset feels to me more and more forgiving - and sometimes "flat". Risks and threats seem a bit minor compared to what the horrors of a haunted dungeon, a cemetery in midnight or a giant-toad-infested swamp should be.

Older-school games were certainly lethal. Highly lethal. A venomous snake could kill you. Green slime could kill you. Triggering a trap could kill you outright. A fight with several zombies at low level could certainly kill you. Medusae could turn you into stone with a single failed saving throw. At low levels, one or two sword swings had a potential to kill you. In Classic Traveller, you could die during character generation as well, using unrefined fuel could kill you, a single well-placed and lucky laser shot could blow your ship out of the sky, travelling in low passage could kill you, the "first blood" rule could get you severely injured from a single shotgun blast.

Why the lethality? There are plenty of reasons why this actually enhances your game. First and foremost, you typically play adventurers. Why be typical "Normal Man" level 0 villagers eke out a living at 1gp a month from the sweat of their brows, toiling on the harsh soil under the constant threat of starvation - when there are dungeons laden with marvellous amounts of gold and wonderful magical items a day's travel from the typical hamlet? Becuase dungeons are dangerous, and most who venture there do not come back. Adventurers are those brave - or some might say insane - souls who dare delve into these deadly places reeking with the stench of death. The YouTube video linked above - a promotional video for the excellent old-school dungeon called "Barrowmaze" - strikes the nail right on its head. Horrors await those who dare stray away from civilization into the wilds and the ruins of the eldritch past. Villagers huddle in the relative safety of their hovels and even soldiers - typically "Normal Men" as well except for the most grizzled veterans - find safety in their numbers and rarely dare fight anything but other Men, or at most Beast-Men hordes. Only a few foolhardy adventurers dare descend into dungeons in hope of finding gold and glory. Most find their untimely death. But a few survive and carry back sacks full of gold back to civilization, eventually becoming lords and magisters.

But adventuring carries risks. Horrid risks. This is part of the challenge of the game. This is a major source of excitement for the players. A mistake can kill you. Monsters can rip you limb by limb. A venomous snake, like a real venomous snake, is dangerous and frightening - a bite is very likely to kill you. Rush into combat like a fool - and you will typically get butchered. Tread carelessly, and you risk death. Player skill is important. This is a similar challenge to the "Roguelike" genre of digital games which is now enjoying another golden age after existing from the very dawn of digital gaming, from the sci-fi FTL: Faster Than Light, through the post-apocalyptic N.E.O. Scavenger to the fantasy Dungeon Crawl: Stone Soup. In these games, unlike more typical digital games of our day and age, you die easily. And death is permanent - you can't just reload a saved game when you die. When you die - you die. Yet players - myself included - come back and play these games again and again. Why? Because the challenge is exciting, because facing the challenge is enjoyable. Survival is its own reward, is a thing of pride. Player skill is important. Learning how to survive in the N.E.O. Scavenger world, for example, is something you - the player - have to learn; no character skill will save you from contaminated water, hypothermia and infection setting into your wounds; you have to learn how to cope with them. This is challenging. This requires thought and learning. This is also enjoyable for many gamers. An old-school RPG is the tabletop equivalent of "Roguelike" digital games; player skill is important and survival is a challenge - and its own reward.

Finally, having survived the horrors of the low levels, when death hangs over your head each and every moment in the dungeon or in the wilds - is the best background your character can have. Not even ten pages of backstory can mean as much for your character as actual experience you and your fellow player went through with your characters. You start, more or less, as a nobody, and you build your character, your personality and history - by actual adventuring. Classic Traveller adds to this a "lifepath" character generation system where you actually - though briefly - go through risky careers and face a threat of actual death for your character, making your choices and risk management crucial for your character's survival even during that early phase of the game. But even in Classic Traveller, the background your past career - rolled on a few tables in 5-10 minutes or so - is only a paragraph of text in most cases, and then you strike out to the stars to make a real name for yourself. But facing risks and threats builds your character. When a significant portion of the encounters in the game might end in a Total Party Kill (TPK), reaching Name Level - typically the 9th level in D&D-type games - is an achievement to be proud of and not just a given stage in the game.

In short, lethality in an RPG - when done right and framed correctly - can be a source of challenge, excitement and enjoyment. This is what makes older-school so appealing to many people, and this is something every tabletop gamer should try; some might not like it, but others will be thrilled.