Shades of Green
First Post
Marc Miller's greatest creation, Classic Traveller (CT), also takes weird and arbitrary approximations for playability (such as abstract range-bands for combat rather than a tactical organization of forces on grid/hex paper). The three key differences between OD&D and Traveller are these of genere (fantasy vs. sci-fi), of a class/level-based system as opposed to a skill-based system, and the fact that Traveller has a mechanism for beginning play with experienced characters. Most of the three basic books of Classic Traveller are quite comparable in complexity and learning curve to OD&D, with the exeption of the older ship-combat system (vector-based), which was scrapped in the later "The Traveller Book" edition (a few years later) in favour for a simple range-band system. Yes, Marc Miller had suspension of disbelief (that is, a realistic "feel" as opposed to realistic accuracy) in mind, especially in matters of world-creation, but he too had little problems with weird and arbitrary "hanwavium" science, such as artificial gravity, FTL travel, inertialess (or inertia-dampend) drives and psionics, the first three exiting in order to allow simpler gameplay (and fitting the sci-fi of the time), and the last existing in order to put a little "magic" into Traveller's sci-fi setting.riprock said:Rule #1: Realism is limited to the level of a ripping yarn. The game will make some weird and arbitrary approximations for playability (such as experience points for adventuring instead of for training), and the whole thing will have simple math, not a detailed statistical spreadsheet. This is imagination, not military history or any other serious topic. (This rule runs contrary to the design philosophies of Marc Miller and Steve Jackson, IMHO.)
Now, the "gearheady" (i.e. complex rules and complex formulae) versions of Traveller - MegaTraveller and Traveller: New Era - were written by other people, not Marc Miller.
In short, Marc Miller's "realism" was somewhat similar to H.P. Lovecraft's "realism" - it may be handwavium or quasi-fantasy, but it should *look and feel* scientific and realistic. That's why I love Traveller: it has a degree of inner logic and is quite believable, yet I, as a Referee (game master), can be very creative and very imaginative (up to the point of inserting an SRD monster - an Aboleth - as a Lovecraftian horror to a Traveller adventure), and so could my players.