SAFCOcast - Traveller RPG and Cepheus Engine podcast

Agent of the Imperium - the authorized audio adaptation of Marc Miller's novel of the Traveller Universe - coming in 2026 from Greg Caires of Virtual Traveller and Perpetual Traveller and a team of talented sophonts!

This is the first of our new "format", which you will hear about in the show. Essentially we are going to take about just 1-3 things in the Traveller/2d6 SF world, and our main topic for the foreseeable future will be a page by page Deep Dive into Classic Traveller, as put forth in the Traveller Facsimile Edition. In this show, we discuss: Dungeon Plunger with Matthew from Mongoose GURPS Talk podcast Signals from the Core podcast Tales from the Morrigan To Honor Grandfather Quick and Dirty Vehicle Combat for Classic Traveller Then we into the first our our Deep Dives into the Traveller Facsimile Edition. Our goal is to go through this entire compilation of the 1981 Classic Traveller books, page by page, and really dig into it, analyze it, talk about it, find rules we've never noticed before, and even compare it to more recent versions.   

We want to see your alien lifeforms! Have you created a cool alien creature for your 2s6 SF game? If so, email the details to us at safcomailbag@gmail.com. We will accept entries until July 31, 2025. Please give as much detail as you wish. This can be for any version of Traveller or Cepheus Engine, but please tell us which you designed it for. Entries should be submitted either as an attached plain text or RTF document or simply in the body of the email. Entries should be suitable for all audiences. PG-13 at the most. Please avoid political commentary in your creature descriptions. No sexual stuff. No intended or unintended racist or sexist tropes. Marc designed a game that is "good clean fun" and that is what we shoot for on the podcast. We know most of you will play nice anyway, but feel like we need to say this in case of any random edge-lords out there. We'd love it if you submitted a drawing or your creature. Please - no A.I. art. We'd rather see a hand-drawn picture created with heart.  Once the event is over, we will compile the creatures into SAFCOcast Bestiary Volume 1, which will be available for free download as a PDF on the website. You will get full credit, so give us as much identifying information as you wish. 

In this episode Bob talks with Traveller booster/evangelist/hero Greg Caires about the future of Traveller, the need for new players, what's up with Mongoose, online Traveller play, and his new project, Perpetual Traveller! Edit! We were not sure about Mongoose having a Traveller "starter" set. Well, they do, and here is the link to their Traveller Starter Pack, which is a free PDF! In addition the Traveller Explorer's Edition is only 99 cents for the PDF. Relevant Links: The Perpetual Traveller Facebook group Virtual Traveller Facebook group The music in this episode is Helios Deck, from the Speculative Machines podcast.    

In this episode, besides reading some X-boat transmissions and talking about some Imperial News, we talk a bit about some articles in the Classic Traveller: Out of the Box series from Chris Kubasik on his Tales to Astound blog. It's no secret (since we talk about is constantly) what we use Classic Traveller in our campaign. Chris's exploration of CT is one of the best on the web, and really got us thinking. Links: From Yet Another Traveller Blog by Robert Pearce, the Bonebreaker Class Vargr Salvage Vessel  (1,000 ton) The new Pirates Book for Classic Traveller, from Mongoose Publishing Virtual Traveller for the Mayday! online celebration, on Tabletop Virtual Traveller's Facebook page 2025 Mayday! event page from Cyborg Prime The Distant Fringe ATU Cyborg Prime's Mayday! page Cyborg Prime's YouTube channel Tales to Astound - You Are Not Your Numbers blog post Tales to Astound - An Improvised Classic Traveller Convention Game

  We're back! In this episode Jeff and Bob do their best to explain their way out of the fact that it's been nearly two years since they recorded together! Seriously, we thank all the listeners who have stuck with us. We love doing the podcast. We jump into some X-Boat Transmissions and hear from numerous listeners.  Bob then corrects a rules mistake he made about blade throwing in Classic Traveller two years ago. It's a great rule, and Bob throws in another Earl Dumarest example. We then to through some fun Traveller/Cepheus Engine-related Internet Finds, quickly discuss some Imperial News, and Bob thanks John Watts of Independence Games for his massive generosity. Relevant Links for this episode include... Kenneth Passiak's file system for organizing his game materials Chris Chaudruc's adventure, Traveller Mercenary Ticket: Mazon Recovery Box-Centric: an Approach to Proto-Traveller from Omer Golan-Joel's blog Adventures in the Distant Fringe campaign blog by Peter C. One year write-up of the above blog Tales to Astound's Classic Traveller: Out of the Box series General Musings on Marc Miller and Traveller, from James the Geek What are the assumptions of Traveller, from the Ancient Faith in the Far Future blog Great random encounter post from Ancient Faith in the Far Future Adventures in the Void Podcast From Robert Pearce's  Yet  Another  Traveller  Blog 1300 new geomorphs Adventure Class Starship Geomorphs Adventure Class Starship Geomorphs (18 Dec 2024) Starship Geomorphs 2.0 (26 July 2020) Eudaimonia Class Long Range Surveyor Graster Class Military Science Vessel Mongoose's publishing arraignments Omer's Classic Traveller Character Generation Script Independence RPGS - makers of Clement Sector and Earth Sector The music in this episode is Contagious Architectures, from the Speculative Machines podcast.

Adam Kovac has been on the show before with Jeffrey Jones of RPG Ramblings to discuss their Scoundrels of Brixton projects for 2d6 SF RPGs. Adam has recently started his own publishing imprint called Boondock RPG Adventures and has published a couple of adventures for Cepheus Engine or other 2d6 SF games. In this episode we catch up with him and find out a bit more about his current projects. The music in this episode is Contagious Architectures, from the Speculative Machines podcast. 

We're back again! It's that time of the year. Mayday is near, and thus it is time to talk about it. Joining us is the organizer of the online Traveller celebration, Frank Succardi, also known as CyborgPrime. We talk about Mayday, and we talk about some of Frank's other projects, including some work he's doing with AI. All the information about this year's Mayday Mayday can be found on Frank's website, here. And of course, Franks product can be found as well on CyborgPrime Games. You can find Che Webster's Roleplay Rescue blog/podcast here. This episode's theme music is Crystal Math, by the Speculative Machines podcast. Send us a voicemail on Speakpipe!  https://www.speakpipe.com/SAFCOcast

In this episode Bob interviews the creators of the Scoundrels of Brixton Cepheus Engine/Traveller setting and books, Jeffrey Jones of the RPG Ramblings podcast and writer Adam Kovac. Relevant Links RPG Ramblings 66 on which Bob was a guest RPG Ramblings 100: with Bob and Adam talking about Traveller Jeffrey Jones RPG Ramblings publications on DriveThru RPG

In this episode I read a quick message from Greg Caires and Ken Patterson regarding the passing of Keith Frye the upcoming online memorial game for him, and then we interview CyborgPrime (Frank Succardi) about the upcoming Mayday Mayday 2023 online Traveller celebration. Relevant links for this episode: You can find all the information about Mayday Mayday 2023 here on Frank's blog. Keith Frye's Go Fund Me page - https://www.gofundme.com/f/call-to-the-travellers-aid-society-for-keith-frye The Keith Frye memorial game will be April 29, 2023 at 1pm Central Time, and you can watch here...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrqBOk7gquA the Speculative Machines podcast! https://soundcloud.com/speculative-machines

In this episode we talk to Ken Patterson about the upcoming MayDay 2023 online Traveller celebration. The yearly online MayDay celebration is one of the highpoints of the year for Traveller players, so listen and learn! Relevant Links: Traveller's Aid Society (TAS) YouTube page: www.youtube.com/@travellersaidsociety ​ TAS Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087385957632 ​Fundraiser Event Facebook page: https://fb.me/e/2dQewzwkP ​​ Mayday Celebration Games website: https://tabletop.events/conventions/mayday-traveller-online-celebration-2023

In this episode we discuss the last two "longest campaign" submissions, talk about the Parry rule in Classic Traveller Combat, go through a lot of great Internet Finds, and briefly touch on the OGL debacle.  Relevant links: Our last session: https://www.gaming.concretelunch.info/itv-session-24-one-night-at-the-happy-gluck/ Third Imperium Fanzine online archive: http://thirdimperiumfanzine.info/ Men's Tactical Jacket, on which the fictional Scout jacket was based. https://www.wayrates.com/products/mens-all-terrain-versatile-tactical-jacket-5688118.html "Any Dice" website - Online dice probability calculator: https://anydice.com/ Honor Thy Grandfather board game: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/373921/honor-grandfather Android Arts: http://androidarts.com/Traveller/Traveller.htm https://twitter.com/androidarts http://androidarts.com/Traveller/Traveller.htm https://mastodon.gamedev.place/@androidarts Random Cepheus Engine Character Generator: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/407601/Random-Character-Generation-for-Cepheus-Deluxe-Enhanced-Edition Dumarest: the RPG: https://www.burntcitygames.com/ The Speculative Machines podcast: https://soundcloud.com/speculative-machines

In this episode we interview Ken Patterson of the Virtual Traveller Facebook group about the upcoming online streaming game to benefit Mr. Keith Frye, one of the pillars of the Traveller community as he battles serious illness.  Relevant links are as follows: Static web page: www.travellercon-usa.com/fundraiser TAS Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087385957632 TAS YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@travellersaidsociety Gofundme page: https://www.gofundme.com/f/call-to-the-travellers-aid-society-for-keith-frye YouTube Channel Livestream Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoKyEzc0q8Uzqi7ujoaxUWg/live Our theme music for this episode can be found at: https://on.soundcloud.com/YfmH7

In this episode we do internet finds, rules finds (in which Bob gets even more confused about the Bribery skill in the little black books), xboat transmissions, two from our longest campaign event, and we review our own campaign 4.5 years into it.  Relevant links: Maritime Executive Newsletter Log of the Grayswandir Dragon Magazine #53 (go to page 60) 2nd Dynasty 3D Print STLs Classic Traveller Harsh Beginning, by Omer Golan-Joel Luke Gearing's interview with Marc Miller "Writing Traveller Adventures Using the Hero's Journey Method" by CyborgPrime MegaTraveller (DGP) Adventure: Manhunt Traveller Facsimile Edition TravellerCon 2022 Lone Star Game Expo2022 Cepheus Journal 11

In this episode Jeff and Bob read some much appreciated email from listeners, go over from great finds from the internet, talk about some rules finds, announce the winner for the random drawing from the Longest Campaign submissions, and read the first six of the twelve submissions! Relevant links: RPG Ramblings Podcast, with Jeffrey Jones Traveller RPG Mayday Mayday 2022 Official Event Page - from CyborgPrime The Log of the Grayswandir - Traveller blog by Dennis Matheson Stargrave - miniatures A Less-Travelled Road: The Three Creeps - blog entry from Omer Golan Joel FB post about IISS H2A Revolver and ISS ME7 Field Jacket for scouts, created by Brannon Boren Subsector Editor and Mapper - Cepheus Journal TSAO: Liberty Ship" from Stellagama Publishing, and Felbrigg's video review Bob's "Mesh-Plus" armor - intended to model Earl Dumarest's armored clothing Speculative Machines podcast - where we get our theme music Longest Campaign Submissions Thomas of KingstonMegaTraveller w mods8-10 Months (detail is a bit fuzzy) It was set in the JG Glimmerdrift Reaches on an Imperial planet (Petra). The planet was balkanized and there were many tensions among the double handful of nations but the big players were 2 or 3 larger nations. The tech level of the planet was 9, but there was another Imperial planet (TL-12) not far away. The time period was about 1114, but in this particular setting, the Solomani were pushing into the open spaces in Glimmerdrift reaches.  It would have been a more typical game if one of the players hadn't rolled up a retired Imperial Marine who had Soc 12 (Marquis). He ended up being the Marquis of Petra and being the Imperial representative. The other characters were a mix of retired Marines, Navy, and some active duty, with one being a local noble.  The Marquis was, to the eyes of some of his senior people, a bit erratic. So much so that his Security Chief rapidly decided that if this was what the Imperium would put in charge, the Solomani were welcome.  That led to the Security Chief running a Solomani-sympathizer campaign against the Imperium. He was also the funnel and organizer who managed data flow to the Marquis. So on the one hand, he organized an underground flyer that regularly knew a lot about Imperial business and failures, he recruited like minded PCs and NPCs who had Solomani sympathies, and he set the Imperials against the local governments. It got worse as time went on: The high port blew up (the only GM-inflicted campaign event I can think of) and then shipments of high tech offworld arms and vehicles were sabotaged, the Marquis' family was assassinated, and a few PCs and NPCs who were Imperial sympathizers were fingered as being behind the Solomani underground (leading to their execution by the Security Chief after convincing the Marquis he needed to kill these guys who were actually  on the Marquis' side).  In the end, the Solomani invaded, had local support, and the Marquis had to flee for his life. The Security Chief wrote a full explanation in a letter categorizing every step he took against the Marquis and how at every turn, he turned allies against the Marquis or fingered them for troublemakers, and how he managed to deflect suspicion falling upon himself by having the underground flyer make fun of the Security Chief (and the Marquis immediately felt this made him not in with the Solomani because he seemed the sort to never make himself look foolish... except that's exactly what he was doing to avoid suspicion).  There was a lot time spent individually (because of the nature of intrigues) and there were many views and motivations that clashed, intersected, or sometimes passed like strangers in the night.  It wasn't easy to GM. I gave the Marquis chances and enough of the other players tried to warn him or help him, but the person he most trusted was the mastermind that he should have normally suspected and that set him against those who were actually trying to help (some were playing both sides and deserved what they got....).  I've run a fair few 8-12 month campaigns of more traditional Traveller, but this one ended up being legendary. The Security Chief's final message was done up in an X-Boat transmission.... I don't think we could do this again, but it will always live in memory of those who participated. (2) Winner!  Mark AyersThis first was original Traveller, the second was MegaTraveller.Each were about three years I have two longest campaigns. My first ran from winter 1977 until spring 1980. Our teen selves evolved the game as each new Traveller item was published and came into our possession. My next was a revival, in a new town, more than a decade later. It ran from autumn 1993 until autumn 1995. As young adults in jobs, this campaign was appreciated more and died when a classified job function of one of our key members prohibited their participation for two years. (3) Felbrigg HerriotClassic TravellerNot sure exactly, but at least six months of weekly play My longest Traveller game was a Mercenary Campaign. The PCs started as simple bodyguards, making money on the side, then they started hiring on people. Ended up with them having three ships, landers, plenty of men. (Bob - damn - this is very ambitious stuff from the players!) Had to use a spreadsheet to track the men's injuries and promotions etc. About half way through the players got a second PC each. The original PCs became the leaders doing all the politics, admin, negotiation etc, and the new ones were boots-on-the-ground leaders. Had some great sessions, a few with them working as guards on a passenger liner, with murders, fires, and chaos in jump. The scene of them strafing sea monsters from the beach with PGMPs as the beasts consumed holiday-makers will live with me forever.  (4) Patrick KanouseClassic Traveller2 years I refereed a Classic Traveller for two years in college. We played a session at least once a month, and I sometimes held individual player sessions. At the time, I was heavily influenced by Dan Simmons HYPERION, and the main villain was a version of the Shrike—albeit not as cool and very psionic based. It was also fickle, tormenting the players in Q-like ways, and designating one of the players as "the Chosen One." LOL, we still don't know what that actually meant. Nonetheless, nearly 30 years later, those former players still occasionally shout at me, "The Chosen One!" Great times.  (5) Pete BurkeMongoose 2e6 months Longest continuous campaign - I ran a Pirates of Drinax campaign for 6 months over Roll20 last year during COVID.  (6) Neuro LancerMongoose 2e6 months I refereed a campaign which lasted 6 months. It was a homebrew campaign using the flavor of the OTU. I used Mongoose 2nd Ed rule set. It started as a trader campaign and ended up being more mercenary-like. 

In this episode we talk to CyborgPrime, the main organizer of the upcoming  Mayday 2022 Online Traveller event, and Greg Caires of Virtual Traveller, who (along with Ken Patterson) is organizing the online game sessions for event. The main event day is, of course, Sunday May 1, but there will be virtual games going Friday and Saturday (so as not to waste the weekend!). We'll learn a bit about the event's history, how it is organized, who is involved, what is going on, and most importantly -- how to keep track of it and be involved! You can find all the links here on the official event page, on CyborgPrime's site. Episode artwork by the legendary William H. Keith Jr. 

In this episode Jeff and Bob dig into a couple of listener emails, announce a new event, review their last Traveller Session, and dig into a tiny fraction of the greatness that is Cepheus Deluxe.  This episode is dedicated to the great Ron Stepp, a devoted member of the Traveller community, who recently died. Ron emailed us often, and his friendship was indeed valued. Relevant Links include: Ron Stepp's Art: https://moriturimax.artstation.com/ Our "Your Longest Campaign" event submission form Michael Brown's "New World" cyberpunk setting and game based on Cepheus Engine Distress Call pdf - found on Paper Dice Games Marc Miller interview at Gary Con X, from Tales to Astound blog - from 2018 The Bureaucrat career, from Ancient Faith in the Far Future blog Traveller Robots from Research Station Gamma resin printer files FASA's Starport Module Number One Hotel Complex, on DriveThru RPG The Miller Milk Bottle, on p16 of this pdf Our last Traveller Session -- To Kill A God Part 2 Graham Spearing's review of Cepheus Deluxe, from his podcast Gaming in the First Age Cepheus Journal #8 Freelance Traveller Nov/Dec 2021 Link to all Rob Eaglestone's issues of XBOAT, on Drive-Thru Patrick Kanouse's writing on Black Gate The Speculative Machines Podcast    

Our main topic in this episode is sources of inspiration for your Traveller or Cepheus Engine campaign! Where do you get your ideas? How best to use those ideas? Of course, we cover more than that in this episode too, with X-boat Transmissions, Internet Finds, and Imperial News. Here are the relevant links mentioned in the show: Thought Eater Podcast. The blog is still going, but the podcast is not Ice Planet Horror - our campaign session review Hugh O'Donnell's Masters Thesis Other links from Hugh: http://thetroubles.uk https://www.de.ed.ac.uk/news/digital-education-informed-games-making https://mesadeguerra.com/entrevista-hugh-odonnell-the-troubles/ Traveller RPG Character Barracks Bridge of Spies Cepheus Light: Upgraded Cepheus Deluxe Info on Cepheus Light: Upgraded on Omer's blog Long video review of Cepheus Deluxe by Graham Spearing Cepheus Deluxe short written review by Andy Slack Hostile setting revised Felbrigg's Game Planner Type S Scout/Courier 3d print project The Speculative Machines Podcast Patrick Kanouse reviews a new SF RPG - Death in Space - on the Dark Gate website. Linking here to all of Patrick's articles there. https://www.blackgate.com/author/patrick-kanouse/

In this episode, we discuss the "boring, useless" skills that as teenagers we cringed if we got when we rolled up Traveller characters, and explore the possibilities of these skills with a little creativity. We also do a quick recap of the online Mayday! even run by Cyborg Prime, Greg Caires and Ken Patterson, and Patrick Kanouse, as well as internet and rules finds. We also found ourselves in the midst of a tornado warning! We're OK. North Texas is like that.  Relevant links for this episode:  Cyborg Prime's Youtube channel Patrick Kanouse's Two Brothers Gaming Robert Pearce's Hammer class 100 ton merchant Michael Brown's Angle of Incidence Felbrigg Herriot's Vacc Suit: the New Spaceman The Carcinoid Cancer Foundation Classic Traveller - One Shot Saturdays Wayne Peters - Deviant Art Page Interview with Christopher Rice, a GURPS guru, on the Roleplay Rescue podcast. A Random Subsector Generator for Cepheus Engine and a Subsector Editor Getting started in Classic Traveller blog post - Alegis Downport Value of Vacc-1 in Behind the Claw Podcast episode 3. New issue of Freelance Traveller New issue of Cepheus Journal StarForce: Alpha Centauri MayDay! 2022 - a weekend-long Celebration! of Traveller through online roleplaying Quarter Share - a novel (audiobook link) the Speculative Machines Podcast

In this episode we interview Ken Patterson and Greg Caires about the upcoming Mayday! event. The first day of May – May Day – has special meaning to Traveller players due to the infamous Mayday call from the Free Trader Beowulf that has appeared on box and book covers of various variants of the game since its earliest years. In 2021, May Day will be a Saturday – an ideal time to play Traveller. To help the global Traveller community celebrate May Day, three groups of players have teamed up to create a unique day of Traveller-related programming. Operating from its home base on Facebook, the Virtual Traveller group – the same people who organized the weekend-long online "non-convention" last October – will organize "MayDay! a Celebration of Traveller through online roleplaying." GMs from across the globe will be invited to run Traveller games online using whatever communications tools they prefer and during any suitable time period based on their locale. The only requests are: All games must begin and be run during May 1st in the GM's local time-zone; All games must conclude by 7 pm Saturday night Central US Time on May 1st to "clear the decks" for a charity game that will be broadcast live on Twitch (more about this below). Based on lessons-learned from the Virtual Traveller weekend, MayDay! will be organized using Tabletop Events for simplicity game submission, player registration and communication. To cover the expense of using Tabletop, a nominal fee (likely $3) will be charged. That fee buys players their convention badges, and they can then join and play as many games as their schedules will allow. More about MayDay!: Tabletop Events: https://tabletop.events/conventions/mayday-celebration Facebook Virtual Traveller Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/virtualtraveller Discord Virtual Traveller server: https://discord.gg/3WRUjXk Both GMs and players are sought. Questions can be submitted via the links above. If online gaming isn't your thing, CyborgPrime is organizing the 3rd annual "Mayday! Mayday!" event, which consists of live interviews of Traveller authors and others who contribute to keeping the game popular and replenished with fresh material. Last year, CP interviewed both Matthew Sprange and Marc Miller, and generous prizes were awarded to members of the audience. This year, CP intends to interview a variety of new voices, giveaway more and better prizes, give a platform to Ken Burnside of AdAstra Games to host some Traveller Squadron Strike vector combat simulations. The marquee event will be – like last year – the live broadcast of Patrick Kanouse's Traveller game to benefit his charity The Carcinoid Cancer Foundation (https://www.carcinoid.org/). Joining him as players are Two Brothers Gaming, High Shelf Gaming, and The Death Die Club. They will be playing Michael Brown's Angle of Incidence: "A routine cargo run leads to a station orbiting a black hole and one man's world of obsession, secrets, and madness. As the heroes help an intelligence agent investigate the mad scientist's activities, they come to realize that they may bear witness to the ultimate adventure…or become just more bits of matter crushed by the black hole's gravity." The Carcinoid Cancer Foundation's mission is to increase awareness and educate the general public and healthcare professionals regarding carcinoid and related neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), to support NET cancer patients and their families, and to serve as patient advocates. We'll be giving away a bunch of things, and you can even have an effect on the game. The game will stream on High Shelf Gaming's Twitch channel (https://twitch.tv/highshelfgaming/profile) at 8:00 pm Eastern. The game will include giveaways and opportunities to influence the game.