VoS: What is TravellerCon?
Keith: TravellerCon-USA is a boutique convention dedicated to playing Marc Miller's game of the Far Future, Traveller, in all its forms, including (but not limited to) RPG, Board games, and miniatures. I like to keep the "-USA" attachment because the inspiration came from Travellercon in the United Kingdom.
VoS: How long has TravellerCon been going on?
Keith: With two hiccoughs, since 2007.
VoS: Why a Kickstarter for it?
Keith: Travellercon has been a financial laggard since its inception. In 2011, when we were forced by the previous venue (Continental Inn, Lancaster) to move the date to November, projected attendance dropped dramatically, to the point that we had to cancel. Kickstarter has allowed the convention attendees to ante up, as it were, and pledge their support.
VoS: What has the Kickstarter experience been like? What is the difference doing something like this in a world where things like Kickstarter exist?
Keith: After watching various Kickstarters proceed across the Gaming Industry, I said "Let's give it a try". We were both surprised by the result - Megan more so that myself. The successful Kickstarter was able to guarantee moving forward, instead of Megan and I gambling with our own limited funds.
VoS: How long have you been playing Traveller?
Keith: Since 1980 or so.
Megan McTernan Haithcock: Since around 1998
VoS: Describe in your own words what Traveller is about and why you play it.
Keith: Traveller is a vast universe of possibilities and potentials. Elegant star-liners glide through planetary systems, alongside merchants of every stripe, while majestic battleships secure the borders from the barbarian hordes without.
VoS: Do you mostly play or GM the game? Why?
Keith: I mostly Referee. In my youth I have played in some very good campaigns and I find a lot of what I've played since to be disappointing. As a Referee, I'm able to take that which most impressed me and share it with the players.
Megan: I mostly play. I have refereed games with Keith, but as far as refereeing a game all my own, I have to admit I don’t like being that much in the spotlight...
VoS: What is the future for Travellercon, assuming success of this Kickstarter?
Keith: We plan to keep TravellerCon "Traveller-fan oriented". We could expand our menu to include other or general sci-fi properties, and have been encouraged to do so, but we both feel that would dilute what makes TravellerCon (in both countries) special. As funding improves, we'd like to bring in more guests, especiall Marc Miller, Frank Chadwick and Loren Wiseman. We've had Frank as a guest in the past, and he told me that he hadn't had so much fun at a con in years. That gives me a happy.
Megan: We’ll probably use KickStarter going forward…the biggest hinderance to us running Travellercon each year is getting the funds together. With Kickstarter, we’re able to get the funds in the beginning (when we need them)…and it also gauges whether the interest is there to run the con that year.
VoS: Name some other favorite RPGs and why, and what is the appeal of the RPG hobby, the tabletop experience, especially in a digital world?
Keith: Besides Mega-Traveller, Call of Cthulhu and the Iron Crown Middle Earth RPG. The heroic thread is pretty obvious. I like Jason Siadek's "Battlestations!" which combines RPG and tabletop gaming with miniatures nicely.
VoS: Good picks there, especially Call of Cthulhu for the old school horror rpg tip and Battlestations as one of the premier modern science fiction adventure boardgames. It was a pleasure interviewing you two. Here's a link to the project, which was successful. I await my T-shirt...
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1163341869/travellerconusa-2014
VoS: www.farfuture.net is the new publishing home of the Traveller RPG, formerly of Game Designers Workshop
http://www.farfuture.net/
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