Sell me on Traveller

[payn]

Ao, I think the way to go Jeremy isn't to try to sell people on a campaign,but to sell them on a one-shot, casual, no commitment beer-and-pretzels session zero that is all messing about with character creation to see what happens. Then if theyblike the characters that emerge after a few goes...build a campaign for those characters.

Thats not a bad idea. I'd easily spend an evening doing a group chargen for Traveller even if it didnt lead to a campaign.

 

[Gradine]

I think Traveller can be a hard sell for folks who dont like random chargen (which seems most folks these days). Its also hard for backstory first style players. I sell it on the idea it flips all that on its head. You start by thinking about the skills you want your character to be able to do, and then aim your stats and careers at getting them. Being in the Navy for 1 term and then going to the merchant marines is not multiclassing! You are building a skill package and it pays to think about that ahead of time. Also, the events are where you get ideas for the backstory. Again, random elements might be hard to swallow for some, but it can really help creativity in making a character. Also, I highly recommend the entire group doing this together in a session zero as opposed to rolling apart. This can connect the group and help aid in direction.

I think this (especially the bolded parts) is what makes Traveler actually pretty great for newer TTRPG players. You don't have to worry about getting over the anxiety of not knowing how to come up with a character idea when the dice are doing most of the work for you.

 

[Thomas Shey]

I think this (especially the bolded parts) is what makes Traveler actually pretty great for newer TTRPG players. You don't have to worry about getting over the anxiety of not knowing how to come up with a character idea when the dice are doing most of the work for you.

It can, but to people who get into RPGs with the idea of playing a fictional character, it can also create some serious dissonance. It depends on where they're coming from.

 

[payn]

I think this (especially the bolded parts) is what makes Traveler actually pretty great for newer TTRPG players. You don't have to worry about getting over the anxiety of not knowing how to come up with a character idea when the dice are doing most of the work for you.

Yeap. I like to GM and play, but I realized something over the years. I always thought I was a "backstory is about to happen" type player. Though, I love to GM, especially published adventures. It occurred to me that Im better at taking a foundation and running with it than making something up out of whole cloth. Traveller really delivers for me in this regard.