#RPGaDay2023 - 15 - Favourite Con Module / One Shot

 

This was ‘Favourite Convention Game’ in 2014, so the new prompt opens up a different set of options.

I’ve two contenders for this, both of which I’ve run repeatedly and would reach for at the drop of a hat if I was running Traveller at short notice. However, they’re both self-indulgent as they’re con modules I wrote for Traveller and have been run repeatedly at BITS events.

They are ‘Delta 3 is Down’ and ‘This Fear of Gods’. The former was published (currently out of print as I need to update it) and the later has sat in development hell of my own making for over a decade due to time challenges. I’ll go with the former as it made it to press.

Best image of the cover I could find in the web.

Delta 3 is Down takes all the prejudices built into the Imperial viewpoint in Traveller and spins them around. The nutshell description on the TravellerWiki sums up the adventure really well.

The Zhodani view the Imperials as violent, expansionist, mentally disturbed, guilt-ridden liars and thieves. The Imperials view the Zhodani as treacherous, mind-sucking scum. A Zhodani Admiral, carrying the latest plans for the Consulate Border fleet, becomes stranded on an Imperial border world. Events ensue as the psionic Zhodani try to escape back home.

The idea for this adventure came about when I was recovering in hospital from an operation. I was reading the GURPS Traveller Aliens book with the Zhodani in, and I loved exploring the different cultures in it. This led to the germ of an idea about how could I could turn the relationships on their head for the game. I needed a way to put the Zhodani in peril, ideally in Imperial space so it would be familiar to longer term Traveller players but unfamiliar to the characters. I was really fortunate that Jesse DeGraff was happy to model and render a dramatic cover for the Zhodani scout/courier in the book. Andy Lilly did some maps from my sketches, and expanded up some of the text for the final release. It’s a fun scenario with a lot of sneaking and chases going on. Being subtly is the way to succeed. 

My worst memory of running this was at GenCon UK in Loughborough where it was one of the RPGA tournaments. A player rocked in, looking absolutely knackered with a pillow! He then proceeded to fall asleep for most of the session. Fortunately, I’d written the characters so there was always someone with a back up to a skill. Our sleepy head did the scoring at the end and noted that I didn’t seem to know the scenario. Wry smile on my part, as my marking for him was pretty direct.

However, that aside, it’s always been a fun game to run, so I’ll make it my favourite.