A Return to Traveller

[WHW4]

Always loved the game, but my players just preferred Fantasy or "modern" RPGs like Espionage, Justice, Inc.,Top Secret etc.

This is our group as well. There's a couple of us that have tried and tried to get the rest interested in a Traveler game, but they'd rather play Star Wars if they're in a space mood. You can't evoke an "Alien" feel from Star Wars (well, not as easily), and that is what I want!

I have poured over those LBBs endlessly; the hardback that came out a few years ago was a nice way to have most of the little tidbits collected in one spot for chargen.

 

[nedjer]

Spent many years playing Traveler. Gives enough to kickstart ideas and scenarios, but asks you to decorate the interior.

Predator, Alien, AvP, Resident Evil, Blade Runner, Day of the Triffids and Babylon 5 wallpapering has all looked great and worn well.

For an imaginative kid it's a goldmine. If the kid just wants to kill things with blunt instruments maybe look elsewhere.

 

[Ed_Laprade]

Played occasionally back in the day. (Did spend more time on chargen and making ship plans, of course. ) But my books got damaged quite some years ago and I dumped them. When I heard about the Mongoose version I got all nostalgic and bought a few. Very nicely done, and I wouldn't mind playing again!

 

[Haltherrion]

The other thing I like about Traveller in the end is that it is a nice rules-light system. I've toyed with some homegrown rules light systems and honestly it isn't hard to make one since, by definition, they don't have a lot of rules. Where my systems founder are all the collateral you need to make a decent game: skill catalogs, career descriptions, gear catalogs. Traveller handles all that pretty well. No reason you couldn't use it for a wide range of games including contemporary, horror, etc.

 

[Ariosto]

The star-hopping is really -- as in "Star Trek" -- a convenient framing device for all sorts of situations. I think GDW early on bruited the rules set's flexible potential. Back before GURPS, it was the prime candidate mentioned in a magazine article about adventures crossing alternate universes/ time lines. My friends and I have used it for a number of things, including Cold War spy capers. FASA's Behind Enemy Lines had WW2 commandos using a very similar system. The Thieves World boxed set included suggestions for using Traveller for sword-and-sorcery adventures.

The gradually revealed "house setting", though, was very popular. With MegaTraveller, the line became pretty officially "the Third Imperium (or successors) game".

I like that Mongoose has gone back toward the original concept, with a number of licensed settings showing the game's versatility.

I also have Traveller: The New Era, which looks a bit more involved. I'm not sure whether I'll be running any Trav regularly the second half of this year (demand for SF being far from as high as for "the standard fantasy thing"), but I am tempted to give TNE a try.

I would guess that some people spending a lot of time "not playing" are actually playing a lot some of the "sub games" included, such as rolling up characters and worlds, making aliens, and building space ships.

What will really keep you on your toes is players who insist on courting misjump.

 

[Votan]

In Mongoose Traveller that happens far less often, and even before that your far more likely to receive some kind of permanent injury.

Pity. I preferred the higher risk of death. It seemed like a risk/reward trade-off for creating a really exceptionally skilled character.

 

[Votan]

The star-hopping is really -- as in "Star Trek" -- a convenient framing device for all sorts of situations. I think GDW early on bruited the rules set's flexible potential. Back before GURPS, it was the prime candidate mentioned in a magazine article about adventures crossing alternate universes/ time lines. My friends and I have used it for a number of things, including Cold War spy capers. FASA's Behind Enemy Lines had WW2 commandos using a very similar system. The Thieves World boxed set included suggestions for using Traveller for sword-and-sorcery adventures.

The gradually revealed "house setting", though, was very popular. With MegaTraveller, the line became pretty officially "the Third Imperium (or successors) game".

The Third Imperium also linked well with a lot of the popular science fiction of the era (1980's) from Asimov's foundation to the Flandry series. The idea of space empire was rich, compelling and there was a dense body of literature to give ideas as adventure seeds. In that sense, I thought that the Third Imperium was a good way to frame the game and make it accessible.

Of course, that might have reduced the potential of the system, as well. But then there are always trade-offs.

 

[Plane Sailing]

The Third Imperium also linked well with a lot of the popular science fiction of the era (1980's) from Asimov's foundation to the Flandry series.

Asimov wrote his Foundation novels in the 1950's! And Flandry was from say 60's onward!

(admittedly I only consider the original three to be the true foundation novels, I don't know what came later)

I'd always created and ran my own campaign world for Traveller - I never liked the Imperium setting, but I happily grabbed any of the adventures and supplements and spindled them to fit my campaign.

I've got the new Mongoose Traveller basic book, and I have to say that they've improved the chargen - more interesting options, and adds to the ability to link party members together too.

I'm very tempted by 760 patrons, having had some great adventures kicked off by 76 patrons back in the day.

Cheers

 

[Treebore]

Pity. I preferred the higher risk of death. It seemed like a risk/reward trade-off for creating a really exceptionally skilled character.

Nothing says you can't use the old methods! They are highly compatible after all.

 

[Votan]

Asimov wrote his Foundation novels in the 1950's! And Flandry was from say 60's onward!

(admittedly I only consider the original three to be the true foundation novels, I don't know what came later)

Well, let me be more precise and state that books like this were commonly available in the 1970's and 1980's. If a contemporary reference is needed then how about Miles Vorkosigan's saga or the Mote in God's Eye stuff (which brackets the 1980's quite nicely)?

I think the key point is that the idea of a space empire governing a vast expanse was a common literary trope and that this made it easy for people to understand the game universe.