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Kromm · 11-21-2018, 12:35 PM

For adventurers
Getting away from it all
Means jumping right in
— From I Was a Travel Agent for Secret Agents

While there are exceptions, most roleplaying adventures involve the heroes going somewhere cool, or at least dangerous, and then doing things that are . . . cool, or at least dangerous. This places a heavy burden on the GM, who's expected to come up with not only intriguing problems for the adventurers to solve, but also interesting destinations for them to visit and perhaps even things for them to do while they're traveling between hot spots. It's often necessary to motivate the players to accept the quest or mission, too.

Pyramid #3/121: Travels and Tribulations comes at these challenges from every angle, offering a variety of inspiration to the GM in need of ideas for the next battle, journey, adventure, setting, or campaign:

The Department of Unconventional Philosophical Resolutions
By Phil Masters
Who says only modern-day action heroes take on technology-minded villains? James Bond would feel right at home in this mashup of GURPS Action with the GURPS Steampunk series: The Department is as British as MI6, and it and its foes are thoroughly immersed in cutting-edge tech. Though travel is within the United Kingdom much of the time, don't forget that in the Age of Steam, the sun never sets on the British Empire. And if that isn't good enough for you, this piece also includes information on using it in GURPS Infinite Worlds campaigns, which are all about travel!

Merlin's Magnificent Menagerie
By Christopher R. Rice
Speaking of GURPS Infinite Worlds, let's make a stop in the Merlin worldlines. Any good adventure in exotic lands needs exotic creatures to match. Here are six weird and wonderful examples intended for GURPS Technomancer campaigns. They would work just as well in any setting that features cryptids, magic, or radioactive mutations, though . . . or if you prefer surprises, toss them into a game world that doesn't normally feature those things!

Eidetic Memory: The Klinik Nova
By David L. Pulver
And speaking of GURPS Action, there's probably no better genre for sending the heroes halfway around the world to become embroiled in difficult situations. In this case, we're talking about law-and-order good guys – okay, off-the-wall action heroes, but at least they're on our side – heading to that classic destination of international crime and spy movies, Switzerland, to prevent developments that could make the world less safe. The enemy? The darling of recent action cinema: the Russian mafia. This time the hostilities are likely to play out at a medical clinic, Hard Boiled-style.

Have Game, Will Travel
By Jason Brick
This piece is "meta": It doesn't look at any one setting or genre. Rather, it talks about making interesting destinations – and the journey to get there – a bigger part of any kind of adventure. There's tons of practical advice here, including some excellent suggestions for using travel experiences in the real world as inspiration for locations and events in your campaign.

And Steven Marsh frames the issue with his trademark outside-the-box thinking. This issue's Random Thought Table looks at tying heroes to locations and locations to the campaign timeline, and at having the fun of getting from A to B continue (on a smaller scale) even after you reach your destination.

—

Store Link: http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG37-2721
Preview PDF: http://www.warehouse23.com/media/SJG37-2721_preview.pdf

11-21-2018, 12:35 PM	#1
Kromm *GURPS* Line Editor Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Montréal, Québec	Pyramid #3/121: Travels and Tribulations For adventurers Getting away from it all Means jumping right in — From I Was a Travel Agent for Secret Agents While there are exceptions, most roleplaying adventures involve the heroes going somewhere cool, or at least dangerous, and then doing things that are . . . cool, or at least dangerous. This places a heavy burden on the GM, who's expected to come up with not only intriguing problems for the adventurers to solve, but also interesting destinations for them to visit and perhaps even things for them to do while they're traveling between hot spots. It's often necessary to motivate the players to accept the quest or mission, too. Pyramid #3/121: Travels and Tribulations comes at these challenges from every angle, offering a variety of inspiration to the GM in need of ideas for the next battle, journey, adventure, setting, or campaign: The Department of Unconventional Philosophical Resolutions By Phil Masters Who says only modern-day action heroes take on technology-minded villains? James Bond would feel right at home in this mashup of GURPS Action with the GURPS Steampunk series: The Department is as British as MI6, and it and its foes are thoroughly immersed in cutting-edge tech. Though travel is within the United Kingdom much of the time, don't forget that in the Age of Steam, the sun never sets on the British Empire. And if that isn't good enough for you, this piece also includes information on using it in GURPS Infinite Worlds campaigns, which are all about travel! Merlin's Magnificent Menagerie By Christopher R. Rice Speaking of GURPS Infinite Worlds, let's make a stop in the Merlin worldlines. Any good adventure in exotic lands needs exotic creatures to match. Here are six weird and wonderful examples intended for GURPS Technomancer campaigns. They would work just as well in any setting that features cryptids, magic, or radioactive mutations, though . . . or if you prefer surprises, toss them into a game world that doesn't normally feature those things! Eidetic Memory: The Klinik Nova By David L. Pulver And speaking of GURPS Action, there's probably no better genre for sending the heroes halfway around the world to become embroiled in difficult situations. In this case, we're talking about law-and-order good guys – okay, off-the-wall action heroes, but at least they're on our side – heading to that classic destination of international crime and spy movies, Switzerland, to prevent developments that could make the world less safe. The enemy? The darling of recent action cinema: the Russian mafia. This time the hostilities are likely to play out at a medical clinic, Hard Boiled-style. Have Game, Will Travel By Jason Brick This piece is "meta": It doesn't look at any one setting or genre. Rather, it talks about making interesting destinations – and the journey to get there – a bigger part of any kind of adventure. There's tons of practical advice here, including some excellent suggestions for using travel experiences in the real world as inspiration for locations and events in your campaign. And Steven Marsh frames the issue with his trademark outside-the-box thinking. This issue's Random Thought Table looks at tying heroes to locations and locations to the campaign timeline, and at having the fun of getting from A to B continue (on a smaller scale) even after you reach your destination. — Store Link: http://www.warehouse23.com/products/SJG37-2721 Preview PDF: http://www.warehouse23.com/media/SJG37-2721_preview.pdf __________________ Sean "Dr. Kromm" Punch <kromm@sjgames.com> *GURPS* Line Editor, Steve Jackson Games My DreamWidth [Just *GURPS* News]