Classic Traveller Part 2

Traveller is the creation of Marc W. Miller , an award winning game designer.  I should have mentioned that in Part One, but the idea for writing about Traveller sort of just popped into my head, and I ran with it in a stream of consciousness kind of way.  I'm like that sometimes...

If you don't own any Traveller products, you can now get a free download of the Classic Traveller from Drivethru RPG .   There's a nice post on creating a Traveller sandbox on Bat In The Attic .

In the last post, I talked about Amber and Red Zones a bit, and mentioned Black and Grey Zones.  These are something I made up, although I'm sure others have thought of something similar. 

A Black Zone is a system or planet that the Imperium does not want ANYONE to now about, and is very propriatary information.  There is even a special branch of the Imperial Navy and Space Marines that deal with the security of Black Zones.  If someone stumbles upon a Black Zone, they will be in a bit of a bind, because they will either be incarcerated, or dealt with lethally.  Most citizens of the Imperium think that Black Zones are just rumors, and don't really exist.

A Grey Zone is an area that the inhabitants try to keep hidden.  It's usually involved in illicit activities, and they want to keep their location unknown.  Such areas are usually hideouts for the criminal element, smugglers, pirates, etc. and are on very remote planets, or stations in asteroid belts.  Making the right underworld connections, and bribing the right person will usually help someone find a Grey Zone.  The Imperium usually pays well for information leading to the discovery of a Grey Zone.

Truly, I think that Traveller is the perfect sandbox game.  I remember one of the first sessions I ran, the characters went into a dungeon I had made.  Of course instead of swords, they had shotguns, and pistols, but you get the idea.  I don't remember why the characters went into the dungeon, I think it was a rescue mission, or they were just exploring after hearing a rumor about it.  Oh well, it's been many, many years since that game session.

That's all for now.  Until next time... Zanazaz out!