GURPS Traveller: Shanghai Stars
shang-hai [shang-hahy, shang-hahy]
–verb (used with object), -haied, -hai -ing. Nautical.
to enroll or obtain (a sailor) for the crew of a ship by unscrupulous means, as by force or the use of liquor or drugs.
Origin:
1855–60 CE; after SHANGHAI
GURPS Traveller: Shanghai Stars is a table-top pen and pencil Role Playing Game campaign based on a GURPS Traveller, Transhuman Space fusion campaign I began developing and running for my regular gaming group in June of 2004.
The campaign framework uses material from the Traveller, Transhuman Space, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, Reign of Steel, Cyberworld and Cthulhupunk, OGRE, Aliens (the GURPS book and not to be confused with the film franchise of the same name) and many other bits and pieces of the GURPS line and its assorted universes as well, not to mention the occasional bit from other fine Steve Jackson Games products as well.
Heavy influences should also be apparent to RPG afficianados from other sources as well; the fine Traveller 2300 line of products, the television series Firefly and its theatrical sequel Serenity, Star Trek: TOS, Babylon 5, Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, Alien, Aliens, Outland the more recent Battlestar Galactica series, Space Above and Beyond, the movie Master and Commander, and the video games Privateer, Star Control and Star Control II.
The non-RPG literary influences have been even more numerous, and a complete listing would be beyond the scope of this humble introduction. Of note are the works of Larry Niven, Arthur C. Clarke, Douglas Adams, Ian Douglas, Howard Phillips Lovecraft, Charles Stross, Warren Ellis, Phil Foglio, Kristopher Straub, Herbert Asbury, Bill Bryson, and Andre Norton. There are probably more, but this is an introduction, not a bibliography so I'll stick with the most likely suspects.
The Setting
The setting is a 23rd-Century universe where Earth has survived a ruinous war against transhumanism and expanded out into the galaxy at large to find new homes for man and new resources to support the core worlds. Unlike the standard Traveller settings, there were no Vilani to greet them, no worlds chock full of humans transplanted by the Ancients during human pre-history, though there has been evidence to suggest that alien had visited Earth in the past. To date only the enigmatic Elder Druun (the Greys of popular UFO legends) have emerged as a superior, if wholly disinterested race of aliens. Mankind's only other alien encounters to date have been with the Bwaps, the Lha, the Asteroid Beetles, the Geodes, the An Phar and the Pachekki; with a recent chance meeting with the Hiver dominated Federation of Light.
As of 2008 there have been two campaigns run by me in this setting; the inaugural campaign was that of the SDV Cortes and followed the misadventures of a cast of Invols (Involuntary Crewpersons) aboard a League of Human Nations light cruiser. The second, and more recent campaign has involved the crew of a freelance salvage vessel, the DSV Bad Chariot. The campaigns themselves have been a blend of my favorite science fiction universes with the serial numbers lasered off and assorted spices and flavors added to taste.
The material in these web pages is not meant as an infringement or affront to anyone's trademarks, copyrights or intellectual propertyand is not presented as a "canon" Traveller setting by any far stretch of the imagination. These pages are for entertainment and as a game-aid/resource for my gaming group, nothing more and nothing less.
Additionally this is a living document, subject to change, growth, meddling and/or major overhaul at my most capricious whim. It is also a labor of love and a project that helps me get some creative "me" time in when I feel like it.
Should anyone harbor any issues with, questions, concerns or suggestion regarding the material herein, please feel free to contact me at:
So dim the lights, start the clock, spin the drum and prepare for jump in t-minus twenty and counting.