(rpg) Traveller -- tell me why you like it?
- Thread starter TheLe
- Start date
Psion
Adventurer
Any specific Traveller you are speaking of here?
In general:
Things that aren't so hot about Traveller (mostly targeted at specific versions)
Note:
CT = Classic Traveller
MT = MegaTraveller
GT = Gurps Traveller
TNE = Traveller the New Era
In general:
- The major model of "tramp traders in space" proved very flexible and fun when it came to adventures
- With starship creation, it had gearhead appeal.
- The fact that it actually respected newton when it came time to determine how fast you are travelling (in an era where most games were still assigning "top speeds" to spaceships) appealed to the physics geek in me.
- The fact that it used some real data for system generation appealed to the astronomy geek in me, and gave me a feeling that maybe, oneday, an adventure like this could happen.
- Character creation was an adventure in itself
- Character generation implicitly included history
- MegaTraveller still has the best RPG task system ever written AFAIAC.
- The Imperium setting appealed to many classic SF tropes. Powered armor, star-spanning feudal nobility, etc.
- The implicit inclusion of a variety of worlds, cultures, and governments provided for many possiblities in the setting.
- Military gear was cool
- T20, specifically, has one of the best starship combat systems ever.
Things that aren't so hot about Traveller (mostly targeted at specific versions)
- 2D maps
- Planet generation could use a healthier dose of reality in most versions other than GT.
- GT lacks lifepath chargen.
- People whine about character deaths in traveller, even though this has not been true since CT.
- The TNE canon is beyond stupid
Note:
CT = Classic Traveller
MT = MegaTraveller
GT = Gurps Traveller
TNE = Traveller the New Era
Let's see, what do I like about Traveller? First, I would have to say that I like the career system in character creation. It means you aren ot just creating a cahracter, you are building a history. Personality quirks seem to develop just from what you end up doing each term (especially if you are using the expanded character creation system).
I also love the fact that characters take about 10 minutes, tops, to create. Okay, now I have to say that is possibly because I have been playing Traveller since 1979, but I could be wrong. Simple character creation is important to me. Other games (DragonQuest, GURPS, D&D3e, Hero System) take a lot longer than this, and some can take an hour or more! the sooner players can start playing the better, if you ask me.
I also really like the fact that the system is modular, and it is easy to add to it. I've created new professions and new pre-enlistment options without any problem. Adding new races is easy too, though that happens less often than you would think. Heck, I created all the elements for a Doctor Who game using Traveller back in the 1980s. it was easy, fun, and we used Traveller to play DW for years.
I am sure I could go into nauseating detail as to who I like Traveller, but I will hold off on that for now. It's fun, quick to learn, easy to run, and can be as detailed as you want it to be. What's not to like?
I also love the fact that characters take about 10 minutes, tops, to create. Okay, now I have to say that is possibly because I have been playing Traveller since 1979, but I could be wrong. Simple character creation is important to me. Other games (DragonQuest, GURPS, D&D3e, Hero System) take a lot longer than this, and some can take an hour or more! the sooner players can start playing the better, if you ask me.
I also really like the fact that the system is modular, and it is easy to add to it. I've created new professions and new pre-enlistment options without any problem. Adding new races is easy too, though that happens less often than you would think. Heck, I created all the elements for a Doctor Who game using Traveller back in the 1980s. it was easy, fun, and we used Traveller to play DW for years.
I am sure I could go into nauseating detail as to who I like Traveller, but I will hold off on that for now. It's fun, quick to learn, easy to run, and can be as detailed as you want it to be. What's not to like?
painandgreed
First Post
thele said:
I like it because it is a fairly hard science fiction setting with a detailed background. It is set up for adventuring with worlds with governments and tech levels, yet with a larger organization spanning everything. The system is fairly detailed yet simple. Rolling up characters can be lots of fun.
What I don't like about it. The character creation can be very random. You may have to roll up several characters before you get one that you'll be happy playing. It is fairly locked into the style of play by tech level and such so you can't really play a space opera game if you wanted. At this point, the rules, especially for computers, are a little antiquated.
This is abotu Classic Traveller. I've played Megatraveller but prefer the small books to later versions.
GVDammerung
First Post
I love Traveler. IMO, it is the finest SF RPG to date. There have been slicker graphical presentations. There have been slicker rules presentations. There have been more “space opera” like SF games. There have been more “hard SF” games. There have been SF games that use iconic setups or characters. One and all, Traveler has buried them on an airless moon. Why?
Traveler has a character generation system that is simple but which immediately draws you into your character unlike any other SF game. The play of Traveler is also notable. Character advancement is not the main motive factor, as compared to other games. After character creation, your character is fairly well established. Thereafter, adventures are about what happens to your character without so much the omnipresent concern of “leveling” or gaining more “development points.” This makes preparation and play simpler, as well.
However, while the rules for Traveler are simple, the setting and its execution is complex, whether it be in terms of starship design, the details of a system/planet or the interaction of cultures and states. Yet, for all the richness of the setting, it precludes nothing and allows almost everything. It is simple at its core but can be made increasingly complex to suit individual tastes.
In a nutshell, Traveler is balanced and accommodates every style of play but without losing its essential “Traveler-ness.” One size fits all. Traveler is a universal constant, adaptable to whatever you may want to do with your SF game.
To turn the question around, why aren’t other SF games as good or better than Traveler? In a nutshell, most SF games -
(1) Model a very specific setup - the Star Wars universe, Space Opera’s Romans/Communists etc. in space, the Star Trek universe, Ringworld/Known Universe, Aliens universe, Living Steel, etc. - and are much less flexible or forgiving of adventures that deviate from the status quo of the universe being modeled; or
(2) Use a generic rules set - GURPS, Star Hero, etc. - that lends no particular sense of unique identity to the game, or
(3) Opt for “science-fantasy” - Buck Rogers, Star Frontiers, Alternity, etc. - rather than science fiction. This is an issue because science fiction can model science fantasy more easily than science fantasy can model science fiction because the unique tropes of science fantasy are at odds with the hardest elements of science fiction but the tropes of science fiction, even the hard ones, are encompassed within science-fantasy or can be easily co-opted.
All of these games can be fun. Many are good games. Traveler, however, stands out and has demonstrated a unique staying power because it does/can do what the aforementioned do plus more than any of the aforementioned, in a more memorable way (meaning in a mechanically simple, “non-leveling,” thus story-centric, way).
IMO
Traveler has a character generation system that is simple but which immediately draws you into your character unlike any other SF game. The play of Traveler is also notable. Character advancement is not the main motive factor, as compared to other games. After character creation, your character is fairly well established. Thereafter, adventures are about what happens to your character without so much the omnipresent concern of “leveling” or gaining more “development points.” This makes preparation and play simpler, as well.
However, while the rules for Traveler are simple, the setting and its execution is complex, whether it be in terms of starship design, the details of a system/planet or the interaction of cultures and states. Yet, for all the richness of the setting, it precludes nothing and allows almost everything. It is simple at its core but can be made increasingly complex to suit individual tastes.
In a nutshell, Traveler is balanced and accommodates every style of play but without losing its essential “Traveler-ness.” One size fits all. Traveler is a universal constant, adaptable to whatever you may want to do with your SF game.
To turn the question around, why aren’t other SF games as good or better than Traveler? In a nutshell, most SF games -
(1) Model a very specific setup - the Star Wars universe, Space Opera’s Romans/Communists etc. in space, the Star Trek universe, Ringworld/Known Universe, Aliens universe, Living Steel, etc. - and are much less flexible or forgiving of adventures that deviate from the status quo of the universe being modeled; or
(2) Use a generic rules set - GURPS, Star Hero, etc. - that lends no particular sense of unique identity to the game, or
(3) Opt for “science-fantasy” - Buck Rogers, Star Frontiers, Alternity, etc. - rather than science fiction. This is an issue because science fiction can model science fantasy more easily than science fantasy can model science fiction because the unique tropes of science fantasy are at odds with the hardest elements of science fiction but the tropes of science fiction, even the hard ones, are encompassed within science-fantasy or can be easily co-opted.
All of these games can be fun. Many are good games. Traveler, however, stands out and has demonstrated a unique staying power because it does/can do what the aforementioned do plus more than any of the aforementioned, in a more memorable way (meaning in a mechanically simple, “non-leveling,” thus story-centric, way).
IMO
DreadPirateMurphy
Explorer
When I was a kid, what attracted me to Traveller:
- Rules to design things -- star systems, space ships, robots, computers. It is a micromanager's dream, with enough standard examples that you don't HAVE to design from scratch.
- Characters who were older than 18-years old, and who didn't advance in arbitrary levels.
- Integration of wargaming elements with Mercenary, High Guard, and Striker.
- Aliens with detailed philosophies of life that were fully formed but truly different. You have genocidal, claustrophobic herbovores, hexilaterally symmetric social engineers, and psionic, socially rigid creatures that seem to have no racial ambition but whose ancestors destroyed large swaths of the galaxy.
- Huge background history that incorporate Earth, but explains why minor and major human races are spread throughout the galaxy.
- A respect for actual science that may bend the rules, but rarely breaks them completely.
- Different technology levels on different planets, so it was easy to mix and match.
- Tons of adventures, rules expansions, etc., in cute tiny black book format!
- Rules to design things -- star systems, space ships, robots, computers. It is a micromanager's dream, with enough standard examples that you don't HAVE to design from scratch.
- Characters who were older than 18-years old, and who didn't advance in arbitrary levels.
- Integration of wargaming elements with Mercenary, High Guard, and Striker.
- Aliens with detailed philosophies of life that were fully formed but truly different. You have genocidal, claustrophobic herbovores, hexilaterally symmetric social engineers, and psionic, socially rigid creatures that seem to have no racial ambition but whose ancestors destroyed large swaths of the galaxy.
- Huge background history that incorporate Earth, but explains why minor and major human races are spread throughout the galaxy.
- A respect for actual science that may bend the rules, but rarely breaks them completely.
- Different technology levels on different planets, so it was easy to mix and match.
- Tons of adventures, rules expansions, etc., in cute tiny black book format!
Ralif Redhammer
Legend
What I like about all editions of Traveller:
The character generation. I love that it allows one to craft layers of development into a starting character.
Skill Resolution - the basic principles are easy to grasp and use. As is the advancement system.
Starship Combat - As others have said, it's pretty realistic from a physics perspective. It reminds me of how combat is depicted in Das Boat.
What I don't like in Traveller: The New Era
Combat - My character is currently trying to pursue a peaceful existence, as combat tends to take forever.
Skill Resolution - having to make a check for everything
Overall, I prefer the "basic" Traveller set, as it strips away some of the more cumbersome rules while maintaining much of the flavor.
The character generation. I love that it allows one to craft layers of development into a starting character.
Skill Resolution - the basic principles are easy to grasp and use. As is the advancement system.
Starship Combat - As others have said, it's pretty realistic from a physics perspective. It reminds me of how combat is depicted in Das Boat.
What I don't like in Traveller: The New Era
Combat - My character is currently trying to pursue a peaceful existence, as combat tends to take forever.
Skill Resolution - having to make a check for everything
Overall, I prefer the "basic" Traveller set, as it strips away some of the more cumbersome rules while maintaining much of the flavor.
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