Space Opera/Western set in the solar system of The Expanse books and TV show!
In The Black - A Quest in the world of The Expanse
- Thread starter Texas Red
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0-0 First Decisions
Texas Red
I’m a She but I’m still Him
- Location
- 100 Meters From Your Location
- Pronouns
- She/Him
Welcome to my second quest! This one's gonna be a little strange because I was inspired by the process of reading Leviathan Wakes after watching The Expanse all the way through at least twice. Now, I'm committed to eventually reading all of the books, but thematically this Quest might be closer to the show than the books, at least at first, since I'm only close to halfway through LW. Alright! Let's get into it!
For those unfamiliar, The Expanse isTHE BEST IP EVER a science fiction book series, made into a TV show that almost got canceled before being revived by a billionaire cause it was his favorite show, allegedly originally made from like 2-3 play-by-post Traveller games. It has a lot of history to it! It takes place in what's described as the "in between point" between the modern day and Star Trek levels of sci fi. The solar system has been colonized! Earth is so overpopulated half the population are unemployed and rely on Basic Assistance for food, Mars is being terraformed and its government borders on fascist militarism, and the citizens of the Outer Planets, the Belters, are treated as an expendable workforce at best and all potential terrorists at worst. Spaceship travel speed is really only limited to the amount of G force the crew can handle, but it's still very slow compared to most sci fi media's portrayal of space travel. There's no faster than light travel or communication, which heavily affects military and politics, and forced people distant from each other to send messages rather than communicate face to face. There's a lot more depth to the setting, within the books and TV show, and I heavily recommend it to anyone. It's hard-as-rock sci fi, so there's no physics breaking stuff at the time the story begins.
We'll see how our story goes, but it's probably gonna be take place during James Holden & Company's romps through the outer planets. It might not affect the story too much, but it'll provide backdrop and ratchet the tension from the status quo the characters will be used to. It'll probably be similar to the Miller part of the story with your own group of hooligan spacers to hang with. The first vote of the quest is gonna be what system we're using. Cause honestly I have no idea what would be more fun.
[ ] A heavily modified version of Mongoose Traveller 2e I'll walk everyone through and promise to make work.
[ ] A homegrown butchered and Frankensteined Powered By The Apocalypse game we're gonna have to make ourselves.
[ ] Purely narrative, unless outside modifiers are needed.
Traveller has the advantage of being very fleshed out. I'd need to do a lot of legwork I'm absolutely willing to do to design the ships and make them work with The Expanse's limit of Tech Level 8, though there will be some exceptions. Also the character creation system is essentially a journaling ttrpg in and of itself, which I personally really like but some don't.
A homegrown PBTA system will have the advantage of simplicity, but I will need to make basically everything myself, which again I am willing to do, but no one will have any reference for rules other than what I give you all.
If anyone has any other suggestions for ways we can do this I'm definitely open to them! These are just the options I thought of.
Oh, and since this decision needs to be made regardless of the system, let's talk origin! You could be…
[ ] An Earther, one from the cradle world of humanity and the only place where you could see the open sky without a dome or vacc suit. You won the lottery, either winning the lottery for a job or university, or being born into a family with money or land, you managed to get off world and become a space vagabond, perhaps after a lot of soul-searching while employed.
[ ] A Martian, hailing from a proud, militaristic society. Since birth you've been told that the honor of every one of Mars is to further the Martian dream, to grant future generations a breathable atmosphere, blue sky, and freedom from Earth's greed in its desperation to not drown in its own filth.
[ ] A Belter, a second class citizen to the inners, but a resourceful, skilled, oppressed worker to yourself and your brethren. Wherever you're from, Pallas, Ceres, a rock hopping ship, or some backwater station in the Trojans no one's heard of, you are Belter. The effects of low G have taken their toll on you, a tell or two of some kind marks you as a Belter to those that look, elongated features, low muscle mass, and hand signs only Belters preform while speaking.
For those unfamiliar, The Expanse is
We'll see how our story goes, but it's probably gonna be take place during James Holden & Company's romps through the outer planets. It might not affect the story too much, but it'll provide backdrop and ratchet the tension from the status quo the characters will be used to. It'll probably be similar to the Miller part of the story with your own group of hooligan spacers to hang with. The first vote of the quest is gonna be what system we're using. Cause honestly I have no idea what would be more fun.
[ ] A heavily modified version of Mongoose Traveller 2e I'll walk everyone through and promise to make work.
[ ] A homegrown butchered and Frankensteined Powered By The Apocalypse game we're gonna have to make ourselves.
[ ] Purely narrative, unless outside modifiers are needed.
Traveller has the advantage of being very fleshed out. I'd need to do a lot of legwork I'm absolutely willing to do to design the ships and make them work with The Expanse's limit of Tech Level 8, though there will be some exceptions. Also the character creation system is essentially a journaling ttrpg in and of itself, which I personally really like but some don't.
A homegrown PBTA system will have the advantage of simplicity, but I will need to make basically everything myself, which again I am willing to do, but no one will have any reference for rules other than what I give you all.
If anyone has any other suggestions for ways we can do this I'm definitely open to them! These are just the options I thought of.
Oh, and since this decision needs to be made regardless of the system, let's talk origin! You could be…
[ ] An Earther, one from the cradle world of humanity and the only place where you could see the open sky without a dome or vacc suit. You won the lottery, either winning the lottery for a job or university, or being born into a family with money or land, you managed to get off world and become a space vagabond, perhaps after a lot of soul-searching while employed.
[ ] A Martian, hailing from a proud, militaristic society. Since birth you've been told that the honor of every one of Mars is to further the Martian dream, to grant future generations a breathable atmosphere, blue sky, and freedom from Earth's greed in its desperation to not drown in its own filth.
[ ] A Belter, a second class citizen to the inners, but a resourceful, skilled, oppressed worker to yourself and your brethren. Wherever you're from, Pallas, Ceres, a rock hopping ship, or some backwater station in the Trojans no one's heard of, you are Belter. The effects of low G have taken their toll on you, a tell or two of some kind marks you as a Belter to those that look, elongated features, low muscle mass, and hand signs only Belters preform while speaking.
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0-1 Who are you?
Texas Red
I’m a She but I’m still Him
- Location
- 100 Meters From Your Location
- Pronouns
- She/Him
[X] A heavily modified version of Mongoose Traveller 2e I'll walk everyone through and promise to make work.
[X] A Belter, a second class citizen to the inners, but a resourceful, skilled, oppressed worker to yourself and your brethren. Wherever you're from, Pallas, Ceres, a rock hopping ship, or some backwater station in the Trojans no one's heard of, you are Belter. The effects of low G have taken their toll on you, a tell or two of some kind marks you as a Belter to those that look, elongated features, low muscle mass, and hand signs only Belters preform while speaking.
Your mother was lucky enough to make it to Ganymede early into her pregnancy. You were born relatively healthy, save for a few vitamin deficiencies and skull cracks that were easily patched. Like all belters, your early life was hard. You have artificial kneecaps, since your own didn't form right, if someone traced their hand through your hair, they'd feel the dents where the doctors had to glue you skull together like Humpty Dumpty, and you were sick nearly constantly up to the age of 18. You survived though, because that's who you are. A survivor. And you're proud of it. How did you spend your childhood?
[ ] A street kid on Ceres, smashing cameras, growing hallucinogenic mushrooms in your bathroom, and trying every drug under the artificial sun with your dumbass friends. (Streetwise 0, Athletics 0, Electronics 0, Carouse 0 [Ability to gather rumors and drink someone under the table])
[ ] Working the dome covered fields on Ganymede, learning the sciences and trades closest to the skills of a farmer on Earth. (Science 0, Medic 0, Profession 0 [Ability to have an honest job], Electronics 0)
[ ] On a rock hopper, mining asteroids and living as close to the edge with your family as you can, outrunning dusters and blues when they catch you with your transponder busted and spending a weekend every month fucking around on Ceres while your family sells ice and nickel. (Vacc Suit 0 [Ability to use a space suit at all), Mechanic 0, Athletics 0, Carouse 0)
[ ] A void-cloaked space station, like Pallas, Tycho, or some tiny one out in the Trojans. Life around there was either cushy or so dangerous you wonder how you survived your childhood, no in between. (Electronics 0, Admin 0 [Sorting through bureaucracy], Vacc Suit 0, Streetwise 0)
[ ] Somewhere else (Write in origin and skills)
For those that don't know, the way that Traveller works is that you choose your starting skills that you picked up in adolescence. I gave some options here for common backgrounds in belter space for simplicity. Having 0 in a skill means you roll flat, plus any other modifiers. If you roll a skill you don't have anything in, then you get a -3 to the roll, except under specific circumstances. I'm gonna roll stats now, in a completely random order.
Alright, stats are as follows:
Strength: 8
Dexterity: 5 (-1)
Endurance: 7
Intellect: 11 (+1)
Education: 11 (+1)
Social Standing: 7
Ignore the third dice on that first one, I pressed the wrong button.
[X] A Belter, a second class citizen to the inners, but a resourceful, skilled, oppressed worker to yourself and your brethren. Wherever you're from, Pallas, Ceres, a rock hopping ship, or some backwater station in the Trojans no one's heard of, you are Belter. The effects of low G have taken their toll on you, a tell or two of some kind marks you as a Belter to those that look, elongated features, low muscle mass, and hand signs only Belters preform while speaking.
Your mother was lucky enough to make it to Ganymede early into her pregnancy. You were born relatively healthy, save for a few vitamin deficiencies and skull cracks that were easily patched. Like all belters, your early life was hard. You have artificial kneecaps, since your own didn't form right, if someone traced their hand through your hair, they'd feel the dents where the doctors had to glue you skull together like Humpty Dumpty, and you were sick nearly constantly up to the age of 18. You survived though, because that's who you are. A survivor. And you're proud of it. How did you spend your childhood?
[ ] A street kid on Ceres, smashing cameras, growing hallucinogenic mushrooms in your bathroom, and trying every drug under the artificial sun with your dumbass friends. (Streetwise 0, Athletics 0, Electronics 0, Carouse 0 [Ability to gather rumors and drink someone under the table])
[ ] Working the dome covered fields on Ganymede, learning the sciences and trades closest to the skills of a farmer on Earth. (Science 0, Medic 0, Profession 0 [Ability to have an honest job], Electronics 0)
[ ] On a rock hopper, mining asteroids and living as close to the edge with your family as you can, outrunning dusters and blues when they catch you with your transponder busted and spending a weekend every month fucking around on Ceres while your family sells ice and nickel. (Vacc Suit 0 [Ability to use a space suit at all), Mechanic 0, Athletics 0, Carouse 0)
[ ] A void-cloaked space station, like Pallas, Tycho, or some tiny one out in the Trojans. Life around there was either cushy or so dangerous you wonder how you survived your childhood, no in between. (Electronics 0, Admin 0 [Sorting through bureaucracy], Vacc Suit 0, Streetwise 0)
[ ] Somewhere else (Write in origin and skills)
For those that don't know, the way that Traveller works is that you choose your starting skills that you picked up in adolescence. I gave some options here for common backgrounds in belter space for simplicity. Having 0 in a skill means you roll flat, plus any other modifiers. If you roll a skill you don't have anything in, then you get a -3 to the roll, except under specific circumstances. I'm gonna roll stats now, in a completely random order.
Alright, stats are as follows:
Strength: 8
Dexterity: 5 (-1)
Endurance: 7
Intellect: 11 (+1)
Education: 11 (+1)
Social Standing: 7
Ignore the third dice on that first one, I pressed the wrong button.
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0-2 First Term
Texas Red
I’m a She but I’m still Him
- Location
- 100 Meters From Your Location
- Pronouns
- She/Him
[X] Working the dome covered fields on Ganymede, learning the sciences and trades closest to the skills of a farmer on Earth. (Science 0, Medic 0, Profession 0 [Ability to have an honest job], Electronics 0)
Scratch that, you were born on Ganymede. The best place in the system with less than .3 G to gestate and give birth. Your parents were botanists, and you envied them since you could understand it. You were perfectly aware of how lucky you were, growing up in not only a gravity well, but one with a magnetosphere. You developed your own personality separate from your parents as you entered your teens, though you still picked up a few things from school, most of your science classes, how to work an honest job, how to patch yourself up if you're hurt after your first bone break reminded you how fragile you were.
When you were 18, you graduated your standard education and were ready for your next steps in life. The whole system was laid before you, you could do anything you wanted. How did you start your life as an adult?
Some options in standard Traveller have been excluded, as Belters don't really have an opportunity to join them.
[ ]University (roll EDU 6+ to enter)
-Choose two skills from this list to get, one at level 0 and one at level 1: Admin, Advocate (legal shit), Astrogation (space navigation), Art, Electronics, Engineer (ship engineering), Medic, Navigation, Profession, Science
[ ]Agent INT 6+
-Law Enforcement (Security corporation)
-Intelligence (fuck the pigs, fuck botany, become an informant for the Outer Planets Alliance)
-Corporate (If you can't beat em, join em)
[ ]Citizen EDU 5+
-Corporate (Just another desk jockey)
-Worker (Just a clock puncher working to build the infrastructure of Ganymede)
-Colonist (Keeping the family business going with growing food for The Belt)
[ ]Drifter (Automatically Qualify)
-Wanderer (Space Bum)
-Belter (They're always hiring on ice miners headed to Saturn)
[ ]Entertainer INT 5+
-Artist (You make paintings, hologram art, or YouTube videos)
-Journalist (Make sure The Belt knows what's up)
-Performer (Actor, dancer, singer, athlete, etc.)
Merchant INT 4+
-Merchant Marine (Working on a megacorp's trade ship)
-Free Trader (Working on a small, employee owned ship trading whatever you can around The Belt)
-Broker (Working as a trader portside)
Rogue DEX 6+
-Thief (Steal shit. It's a living!)
-Enforcer (You're a little tougher than most, put it to use, break some legs!)
-Pirate (Fuck an honest living, become a pirate!)
Scholar INT 6+
-Field Researcher (Exploring the Jovian system to further science)
-Scientist (Creating new methods of hydroponics and fertilizer types)
-Physician (Becoming a doctor isn't very hard in The Belt if you seem like you know what you're doing)
For those unaware with Traveller, your backstory is broken down into 4 year segments called "Terms". You have to roll to get into careers, and if you fail, you have to take the Drifter career or "submit to the draft". Unfortunately, Belters don't really have a military in this time period, so if you fail, you have to become a drifter for that term. This continues until you decide to end character creation.
Scratch that, you were born on Ganymede. The best place in the system with less than .3 G to gestate and give birth. Your parents were botanists, and you envied them since you could understand it. You were perfectly aware of how lucky you were, growing up in not only a gravity well, but one with a magnetosphere. You developed your own personality separate from your parents as you entered your teens, though you still picked up a few things from school, most of your science classes, how to work an honest job, how to patch yourself up if you're hurt after your first bone break reminded you how fragile you were.
When you were 18, you graduated your standard education and were ready for your next steps in life. The whole system was laid before you, you could do anything you wanted. How did you start your life as an adult?
Some options in standard Traveller have been excluded, as Belters don't really have an opportunity to join them.
[ ]University (roll EDU 6+ to enter)
-Choose two skills from this list to get, one at level 0 and one at level 1: Admin, Advocate (legal shit), Astrogation (space navigation), Art, Electronics, Engineer (ship engineering), Medic, Navigation, Profession, Science
[ ]Agent INT 6+
-Law Enforcement (Security corporation)
-Intelligence (fuck the pigs, fuck botany, become an informant for the Outer Planets Alliance)
-Corporate (If you can't beat em, join em)
[ ]Citizen EDU 5+
-Corporate (Just another desk jockey)
-Worker (Just a clock puncher working to build the infrastructure of Ganymede)
-Colonist (Keeping the family business going with growing food for The Belt)
[ ]Drifter (Automatically Qualify)
-Wanderer (Space Bum)
-Belter (They're always hiring on ice miners headed to Saturn)
[ ]Entertainer INT 5+
-Artist (You make paintings, hologram art, or YouTube videos)
-Journalist (Make sure The Belt knows what's up)
-Performer (Actor, dancer, singer, athlete, etc.)
Merchant INT 4+
-Merchant Marine (Working on a megacorp's trade ship)
-Free Trader (Working on a small, employee owned ship trading whatever you can around The Belt)
-Broker (Working as a trader portside)
Rogue DEX 6+
-Thief (Steal shit. It's a living!)
-Enforcer (You're a little tougher than most, put it to use, break some legs!)
-Pirate (Fuck an honest living, become a pirate!)
Scholar INT 6+
-Field Researcher (Exploring the Jovian system to further science)
-Scientist (Creating new methods of hydroponics and fertilizer types)
-Physician (Becoming a doctor isn't very hard in The Belt if you seem like you know what you're doing)
For those unaware with Traveller, your backstory is broken down into 4 year segments called "Terms". You have to roll to get into careers, and if you fail, you have to take the Drifter career or "submit to the draft". Unfortunately, Belters don't really have a military in this time period, so if you fail, you have to become a drifter for that term. This continues until you decide to end character creation.
0-3 Change of Plans
Texas Red
I’m a She but I’m still Him
- Location
- 100 Meters From Your Location
- Pronouns
- She/Him
@Logos01 this is honestly my favorite part of Traveller, making stories you wouldn't expect still meaningful.
You wanted to go to college, but it just wasn't in the cards for you. You somehow botched every entrance exam you took, and your dreams of learning how to work on a starship and maybe even start your own business making drugs up near Tycho fell through your fingers. You had to move on with your life. The ice-hauler Ulysses was in port one day in June when you were sulking and wondering what to do with your life, and given you had to do something, you asked a few of the crew if they could use someone with your skill set on bored. The rock hoppers laughed about "skill set" and said welcome aboard.
You were fresh meat on the blocky, crane covered ice hauler you spent your first time in Zero G in, but they were never cruel. You were just the rookie, until someone even younger than you joined up two years later. The Ulysses became your found family quick, though you always made sure to shoot mom and dad a tight beam on Sundays to tell them what you were doing.
Basic training!
Life Event: Life on the edge hones your abilities, increase any skill you already have by one.
Would you like to continue with this career, or try to enter a new one? Do keep in mind that every previous career gives a -1 to enter a new career. Refer to the list above for new careers. You cannot reenter a career you have left or flunked out of.
You wanted to go to college, but it just wasn't in the cards for you. You somehow botched every entrance exam you took, and your dreams of learning how to work on a starship and maybe even start your own business making drugs up near Tycho fell through your fingers. You had to move on with your life. The ice-hauler Ulysses was in port one day in June when you were sulking and wondering what to do with your life, and given you had to do something, you asked a few of the crew if they could use someone with your skill set on bored. The rock hoppers laughed about "skill set" and said welcome aboard.
You were fresh meat on the blocky, crane covered ice hauler you spent your first time in Zero G in, but they were never cruel. You were just the rookie, until someone even younger than you joined up two years later. The Ulysses became your found family quick, though you always made sure to shoot mom and dad a tight beam on Sundays to tell them what you were doing.
Basic training!
- Pilot 0
- Mechanic 0
- Astrogation 0
- Vacc Suit 0
- Profession 1 (Asteroid Miner)
- Gun Combat 0
Life Event: Life on the edge hones your abilities, increase any skill you already have by one.
- Science (Pharmaceuticals) 1
Would you like to continue with this career, or try to enter a new one? Do keep in mind that every previous career gives a -1 to enter a new career. Refer to the list above for new careers. You cannot reenter a career you have left or flunked out of.
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0-4 Recognized Genius
Texas Red
I’m a She but I’m still Him
- Location
- 100 Meters From Your Location
- Pronouns
- She/Him
When you were 22 you shot a job application to a pharmaceutical research center down to your home-dome on Ganymede, just a small indie Belter lab you expected would accept your "credentials", and to your honest surprise, they did! Most of the Ulysses was a bit sad to see you go, but understood this wasn't a lifelong path for everyone. Your bunk mate handed you a going-away gift when you arrived back in port, a modified plastic pistol, suitable for living in vacuum. He said you were a good roommate and would hate to see you in a headline. He was a little intense, but you could tell he only meant good with giving you a loaded unregistered firearm to keep.
Self defense acquired!
Body Pistol "Going-Away Present"
The start-up on Ganymede went far better than you expected. Your research into G-Comp drugs superseded your peers, leading to you winning a local award for a patent of a new kind of Juice, expensive, but with lesser side effects of the standard brands. No one outside of very select circles would actually recognize your name as "famous", but you were envied and praised around the lab. The testing of your drug patent granted you a better understanding of biology and medicine, only adding to your skill set.
Once someone does that, I need a survival roll. For Scientists that's EDU 4+. So you want to roll 2d6, add your Education mod, +1, and try to get over 4. If you don't make it, then you are forced to exit the career from a mishap. If you fail the survival roll, someone else roll a d6 for the mishap and I'll take if from there. If we succeed as we're statistically more likely to, move on.
Next I'll need someone to roll a life event, just a 2d6 roll flat.
Then I need another advancement roll, INT 8+. So you want to roll 2d6, add your Intellect mod, +1, and try to get over 7.
After all that, I'll summarize the next term, from 26-30!
Self defense acquired!
Body Pistol "Going-Away Present"
| Range | Damage | KG | Cost | Mag Capacity | Mag Cost | Traits |
| 5 Meters | 2d6 | - | 950 S¢ | 6 | 10 S¢ | - |
| Mods: | Red Dot: +1 to hit | Suppressor: Felony, silent shooting |
The start-up on Ganymede went far better than you expected. Your research into G-Comp drugs superseded your peers, leading to you winning a local award for a patent of a new kind of Juice, expensive, but with lesser side effects of the standard brands. No one outside of very select circles would actually recognize your name as "famous", but you were envied and praised around the lab. The testing of your drug patent granted you a better understanding of biology and medicine, only adding to your skill set.
- Science 1 (Biology) from advancing
- Medic 1 from your basic training in this career.
- +1 to Endurance
Once someone does that, I need a survival roll. For Scientists that's EDU 4+. So you want to roll 2d6, add your Education mod, +1, and try to get over 4. If you don't make it, then you are forced to exit the career from a mishap. If you fail the survival roll, someone else roll a d6 for the mishap and I'll take if from there. If we succeed as we're statistically more likely to, move on.
Next I'll need someone to roll a life event, just a 2d6 roll flat.
Then I need another advancement roll, INT 8+. So you want to roll 2d6, add your Intellect mod, +1, and try to get over 7.
After all that, I'll summarize the next term, from 26-30!
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0-5 Baller
Texas Red
I’m a She but I’m still Him
- Location
- 100 Meters From Your Location
- Pronouns
- She/Him
Y'all got a life event that gives you the opportunity to roll to cheat to get ahead, and I know y'all are gambling men/women/others, but it's an 8.33 percent chance you'll get it and if you fail you lose a benefit roll, so I'm gonna assume that you all don't want to do that.
You spent the next four years diligently working in the lab, trying to reach the prestige you earned once again. You made steady progress in pharmaceutical research, but nothing like the peak of your 20s. Your lab dipped into fusion drive research for a couple of months after getting a project from an anonymous client, so you picked up a few things there.
Alright, everything I said in the last post about the next term, do again, assuming you want to stay in this career, which I assume everyone does. One difference. When everything is said and done I need a 2d6 roll minus the number of terms you've taken. Which will be 4. The goal is simply to get over 0. If you get 0 or less, you start to take permanent damage to your stats from aging. Don't worry though, statistically you'll probably be fine for a couple terms! But after this term we're gonna vote every term if you want to end character creation or not.
You spent the next four years diligently working in the lab, trying to reach the prestige you earned once again. You made steady progress in pharmaceutical research, but nothing like the peak of your 20s. Your lab dipped into fusion drive research for a couple of months after getting a project from an anonymous client, so you picked up a few things there.
- Engineering 0 basic skill roll
- Computers 1 advancement skill
- Investigate 0 advancement skill roll
Alright, everything I said in the last post about the next term, do again, assuming you want to stay in this career, which I assume everyone does. One difference. When everything is said and done I need a 2d6 roll minus the number of terms you've taken. Which will be 4. The goal is simply to get over 0. If you get 0 or less, you start to take permanent damage to your stats from aging. Don't worry though, statistically you'll probably be fine for a couple terms! But after this term we're gonna vote every term if you want to end character creation or not.