How do we go from moon landings and space probes to a Galaxy spanning Empire in only a few thousand years? How did this all start?
Outer Veil is a great prequel to the Traveller universe. It is the beginning of man's "conquest of the stars." There are colonies in space, there are space stations and there are Jump/Warp speed craft.
So many have detailed the setting, so instead of adding to that... here's my take.
Outer Veil seems to offer a logical step to early human colonization of space... the first 100 years or so. With the advent of Jump technology, humanity can now reach the nearest star systems in less than 100 years or more... and of course, with the ability to travel, comes the first desire to PROFIT... and it seems only natural that the corporations would be the first to exploit the technology to get their hands on the materials available from far away colonies. Which leads to competition... which leads to fights.
Bad news is... the investment is hard to make pay off... so eventually, economic upheaval ensues, then civil war.
This is just a taste of the world of 2159... well thought out... and unlike others who have made games similar to this, this one is done without the need to make up a political screed at the same time.
The background is presented without editorializing... it is written as if observed dispassionately, IE "Here's how everything went down..."
And it is all plausible...
This is Traveller... without the Empire... without Jump 6... and without aliens (kind of a shame, given the intense development of the alien cultures of the Traveller universe... but I digress...) There are alien ruins, abandoned colonies and a plethora of good Science Fiction tropes waiting to be explored.
If you liked Firefly/Serenity... this one is for you... here's the future... not everyone living in gleaming cities, but a future where you have the gleaming cities, and the frontier of old. Access to the technology does not mean everyone uses it. Farms on frontier worlds may be plowed with tractors... but they will not necessarily have the latest and greatest tech.
So, here come your characters... what do you want to do? Want to smuggle high tech cargos? Want to explore strange new worlds, and spelunk alien ruins? Want to be a Seccessionist? It's all here. And it is compatible with the Traveller universe.
Want to take your Merchant Prince character from Traveller and transplant him? Easy. A few tweaks and BOOM welcome to 2159.
There are some changes, and they are well summed up in the Outer Veil main book. Look no further than this main book to get started... everything is here.
Better... The authors have PROVIDED (thru drivethrurpg) a 10 part introduction scenario.
This is good, crunchy material. If Traveller isn't your game... no worries.... this material can very easily be converted to any system, thanks to the authors' attention to detail...
The Megacorporations, the "Federation," and the universe are detailed in such a way as to be easily transferable.
You KNOW you want it.
This is an OUTSTANDING product... easily worth the $14.99 cost.
Are you ready to "boldly go..."
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