Greetings to my loyal readers! My apologies that it has been so long since I last shared my solo sci-fi gaming stories with you, but the last several weeks have been spent in preparation for something new!
A more involved treatment is offered in SOLO, a guide for "Solo RPG Campaigns for the Cepheus Engine" (also available on DriveThruRPG). For those of you who may be unfamiliar, Cepheus is a game system that arose out of open-source Classic Traveller. It shares much of its DNA, and there have been various releases, such as Stellagamma Publishing's Cepheus Deluxe, Cepheus Light (and the free Cepheus Light: Upgraded), and the original Cepheus Engine RPG from Moon Toad Publishing. There are two other versions available: Stellagamma's Cepheus: Faster than Light! (free on DriveThruRPG) and the heart of the system, the Cepheus Engine System Reference Document from Samardan Press (available as a pay-what-you-want on DriveThruRPG).
Those of you who are familiar with Traveller (often referred to in the Cepheus titles as "the original 2d6 science-fiction RPG" to avoid any licensing issues) will readily recognize its DNA in the pedigree of Cepheus, so titles written for one system are easily interchangeable with the other.
That being said, SOLO has four campaign styles for solo play. The first (and default) style is simply called "Travellers", where the characters from various walks of life participate in adventures of all kinds, either with or without their own starship. A checklist is provided for campaign steps and it is packed with charts for events, encounters, patrons and mission targets.
The second campaign style is Star Traders (the earlier edition of which is also available as a standalone supplement). This is an economic campaign where Merchants use the speculative trading rules in Traveller or Cepheus to buy and sell cargo from world to world, either by means of their own trading ship or by hiring available ships to transport it for (and with) you. Again, tables and charts are provided to introduce interesting and exciting story elements into the session, as well as a system for fast-play space combat.
The Naval Officers campaign sees the characters as the crew of a small Navy patrol vessel, travelling from system to system to ensure the safety of worlds and shipping and of course, to combat piracy. It provides the customary tables and charts, as well as guidelines for creating a character well-suited to the campaign, and an innovative system for discovering what each type of sensor contact is (it would be no fun without some uncertainty and tension, now would it?). Finally, an all-in-one space combat system is introduced, and it is the method by which I resolve space combats in my games. It's not as absolute as the fast-play system, but it's not as involved and crunchy as the "official" starship combat systems in the core books.
The final campaign style is Survey Scouts, which (as the name suggests) sees a crew of an exploratory Scout vessel travelling into an uncharted sector, exploring the worlds within, and documenting the findings for possible future colonization. It includes a detailed process for generating an entire system (rather than just the mainworld), the expected campaign tables and charts, and a "survey points" system, by which players can score how well a survey has gone. The mainworld generation steps are useful even for regular games of Traveller or Cepheus, and are further fleshed out in a supplement called The Universal World Profile.
SOLO offers a couple of other systems in the book that are useful all around. "The Plan" is a scene resolution mechanic, by which players can outline an approach to a mission or situation, rather than role-playing (and rolling) it through blow-by-blow. Preparation and imagination determine the odds of success, and the outcome shapes the overall story and can lead in new directions.
Life Events are tied to the story as plot hooks, events, and means by which players are brought together. Character Reactions are used to establish how the crew relates to one another, and introduces responses in times of fear, stress, or boredom. So characters don't always get along harmoniously and uneventfully. Again, these occurrences can send the story in a new direction, or sometimes bring the characters closer together.
THE CAMPAIGN:
Well, that was quite a bit of exposition, but I assure you it was relevant and hopefully piques your interest not just in the products, but in my upcoming playthroughs. I will be doing a modified Star Traders campaign, not just following the system in SOLO, but also including the lead-up from Playing Solo Classic Traveller. I had run through a couple of quick Star Trader campaigns, lasting five or six months of in-game time, trading back and forth as I familiarized myself with the systems and determined what kind of characters (and what level of skills) would provide the best balance between an interesting story and a successful campaign. I discovered that it's possible to generate a character that would be perfectly valid in a traditional multi-player campaign, that turns a solo campaign into "Easy Mode" and leads to a boring story. After a few weeks of experimentation, I believe I've found the right balance, and discovered to my surprise that a leaner cast of characters and skills can still lead to a deeper and more interesting story and campaign.
Life Events and Character Reactions formed a pivotal part of my upcoming playthrough. It allowed me to bring a party together in a deeper and more meaningful way than just "you meet in a spaceport bar". Like in Rashomon, three supporting characters are inextricably linked by their involvement in a tragic and unfortunate past event. This informs how they relate to the main character, offers lots of opportunities for inter-party tension, and plenty of juicy story hooks. I am currently writing the first scenario and preparing for play. My goal is to design the scenarios in such a way that you can use them for your own campaigns, whether for solo or group play.
My next post will introduce the cast of characters and give a bit of background on each, and then we'll be diving headfirst into the intrigue and high adventure that makes Traveller such an enduring game. Stay tuned!