I've been tinkering with the pre-release draft of the core book for Mongoose Publishing's "Pioneer" RPG. Some neat stuff in here!

#mongoosepublishing #pioneer #traveller #ttrpg

https://wordpress.sharrukinspalace.com/2026/04/15/four-pioneers/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=jetpack_social

Call me late to this party! Love the band, loved their original Traveller album, but just #lastyear this sequel quietly came out. And I'm finally listening to it having stumbled on it in their #Bandcamp!

#sloughfeg #thelordweirdsloughfeg #progmetal #traveller #travellerrpg #spacerock #spacemetal #sciencefiction #waytooshort #TuneTuesday not #offtopic exactly either!

https://thelordweirdsloughfeg.bandcamp.com/album/traveller-supplement-1-the-ephemeral-glades

Italo Calvino: A Traveller in a World of Uncertainty

https://www.historytoday.com/archive/portrait-author-historian/italo-calvino-traveller-world-uncertainty

#HackerNews #ItaloCalvino #Traveller #Uncertainty #Literature #HistoryToday

RE: https://dice.camp/@DiceMonkey/116369683819833126

"As a play experience in 2026, the 1977 boxed set is undeniably old-school. ... It is lean, confident, and full of empty space waiting to be filled."

And this is why I find my Battlestar Galactica game works so well in Traveller as written in 1977. Traveller provided me with an adaptable tool kit that I molded to my BSG universe. We've never lacked for any scaffolding needed to play and have fun!

#BattlestarGalactica #Traveller #TTRPG

Added a new world to my #Traveller campaign - New Syroe, where the desire for healthy lifestyles has gotten a little out of control.

https://polyhedralnonsense.com/2026/04/07/building-a-galaxy-11-the-excessively-healthy-world-of-new-syroe/

#TTRPG

Building a Galaxy 11 – The excessively healthy world of New Syroe

As I create worlds for my ongoing Traveller campaign set in the Foreven sector, I’ve been creating the details of new worlds just ahead of my players’ explorations (my previous Foreven posts). I’m usually creating a world based on one of the following:

• Based on the randomly generated UWP of the planet

• Based on a idea from fiction

• Just using an existing Traveller or Cepheus setting

Recently, I’ve also started creating worlds based entirely on adventure seeds and plot ideas found in various Cepheus and Traveller books I’ve collected over the years.

I took the premise of my last adventure from the out-of-print Traveller supplement 21 Plots III from Gypsy Knights Games (now called Independence Games). It’s a collection of plot seeds; sort of a modern version of 76 Patrons. There are 21 short descriptions of a patron, and some possible twists for each one. It’s specifically designed for use in Independence Games’ Clement Sector setting, but can be easily adapted to other settings.

The patron adventure I used was called “Cream Filled Pastries”. Here’s the basics from the 21 Plots Book:

Zacek wishes to hire the characters to transport a cargo container of cream filled pastries from Cascadia (Cascadia 0705) to Antryl (Cascadia 0704)…Foods such as cream filled pastries are illegal on Antryl. The characters will have to devise a way to get past cargo inspections in system and, if they choose to go there, the highport…

So, based on this, I needed to create a world around the idea of banning sweets. I took a existing world in the Magnus subsector of my Foreven setting to use. All I had was the UWP. Here’s what I came up with

New Syroe

2231 New Syroe C94978B-8
Starport: Routine quality installation. Only unrefined fuel available. Reasonable repair facilities are present.
Size: 14,400km, 1.25G
Atmosphere: Thin / Tainted – Thin. Tainted requires a filter mask. The atmosphere contains an unusual taint such as disease, a hazardous gas mix, pollutants, or sulfur compounds which requires the use of a filter mask.
Hydrosphere: Very Wet World, 86 – 95%, It is a marine (near superhydrous) environment.
Population: Moderate, 10 Million to just under 100 Million (P0,000,000)
Government: Civil Service Bureaucracy – Government by agencies employing individuals selected for their expertise.
Law Level: Extreme Law – Rigid control of civilian movement
Tech Level: Information Age – 1990 CE – Cell phones, photonics, slow drug.

History of New Syroe

A generation ago, New Syroe was a human settled planet facing a health crisis. Most of the planet’s food supply was from off-world, usually highly processed. The planet’s population lived in arcologies. Their lives were generally sedentary, and highly automated (imagine the ship in Wall-E).

Diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease were endemic, and life expectancy was in serious decline.

In response, all political authority was handed over to the Health Initiative – New Syroe’s primary medical authority. They began a crash program to improve the people’s health through the following:

• Began a program of hydroponics, so New Syroe could grow its own healthy fruits and vegetables

• Limited the import of unhealthy foods.

• Promoted exercise and healthy lifestyles.

In many ways, the reign of the Health Initiative has been quite successful. Most lifestyle diseases have been nearly eliminated, and New Syroe’s population is the healthiest in the sector. The hydroponics program has become incredibly profitable, and New Syroe-grown produce is valued across the subsector.

The Bad Bits

Unfortunately, the Health Initiative has grown into something of a police state, taking concern for the public health into the realm of fanaticism:

• All unhealthy food is banned and possession is considered a crime.

• Morning and evening calisthenics is mandatory for all citizens

• Random blood tests are performed on citizens to check for high cholesterol or blood sugar.

• All citizens are issued Health Bracelets that act like FitBits. They record heart rate, body temperature, and other medical data. This data can be accessed by the government at any time.

• All citizens are required by law to take at least 10,000 steps a day.

Notable Places and Things on New Syroe

Healthy Heart Initiative (HHI)

The primary paramilitary police force that enforce the Health Initiative’s strict rules. They have near total authority to investigate any health related crime.

HHI Ranks

• Berries – Patrolman

• Bean – Corporal

• Carrot – Sergeant

• Broccoli – Detective

• Celery – Commander

• Tomato – Chief

• Kale – Commissioner

Berries (Patrolman) 789565
Athletics-1 Gun Combat (Slug)-0 Melee (unarmed) – 1 Drive (Wheel)-0
Stun Gun (2D Stun), Revolver (3D-3 Damage)
Grey uniforms with berry rank insignia.

Broccoli (Detective) 878A69
Athletics-0 Gun Combat (Slug)-0 Melee (unarmed) – 1 Drive (Wheel)-0 Investigate-1 Streetwise-1
Stun Gun (2D Stun), Revolver (3D-3 Damage)

Gateway to Nutrition

New Syroe’s main starport. HHI agents scan incoming cargo for “nutritional contraband”, specifically:

• Sugar

• High cholesterol foods

• Food containing nitrates (Bacon is particularly forbidden)

• Salty snacks

The walls of the starport are covered with billboards giving various health tips, and warnings about New Syroe’s strict health laws. The starport is connected to Vigor City by monorail and a pressurized motorway.

The Sweet Trade

Despite the best efforts of the HHI, contraband sugar has become increasingly common on New Syroe. Many citizens have a private stash of sugar packets. Current street prices per 30 gram packet:

Brown – 80 Cr
Granulated – 120 Cr
Powdered – 200 Cr

Vigor City

The largest city and capital of New Syroe. It’s a rainbow colored arcology, protecting the populace from the thin atmosphere. Residents can travel around via moving sidewalks, but there are multiple bicycle and jogging paths that most residents use.

Personal vehicles exist, but they are exclusively used for intercity travel. Most vehicles are fruit shaped.

Health Is Wealth Justice Emporium

The main justice facility in Vigor City. It’s the local headquarters for the HHI, and contains the courthouses for nutrition based crimes. Anyone arrested for smuggling will be brought here, along with their contraband.

Lean Muscle Corps

A highly trained rapid reaction force for the New Syroe military. They show up whenever the local HHI is outgunned.

They wear colorful stretchy tactical armor. Imagine 1980s aerobics wear that can stop projectiles. They’re fond of flashy, athletic maneuvers (i.e. combat rolls, parkour), sometimes at the expense of tactical effectiveness.

LMC Trooper ABA687
Athletics-2 Gun Combat (Slug)-2 Melee(Unarmed)-2 Drive (Wheel)-1
9mm CalorieBuster Assault Rifle – Damage 3d6, ROF: 3, 30 round mag
Armor: 10