I'm familiar with the last two, but I'm struggling to identify the first one.The best "Space Rogues" setting I've seen is a toss up between the Early Codoverse (Falkonberg and other start of the Codo era novels), The Vorkosiverse, and Ringworld... Falconberg's about taming the frontier as much as the merc ops. The Vorkosiverse, well, Miles and Ivan are both intelligence operatives - in different modes - and the side stories involving Ellie Quinn are Ellie doing things on behalf of ImpSec when Miles can't. And Ringworld? It's a terra incognita exploratum.
CoDo Verse is indeed initiated with Falconberg's Legion... but it's the same setting as Niven/Pournelle use (at the other end of the timeline) with the Mote in God's Eye, and it's sequels.I'm familiar with the last two, but I'm struggling to identify the first one.
Do you mean "Falkenberg's Legion" by Jerry Pournelle? (It doesn't match either of your spellings but looks like it might fit.)
All of them with trade systems create a play-loop, albeit one that often is very mechanistic...Are there any space games other than Scum and Villainy that have some kind of adventure structure mechanics or gameplay loops? Stars Without Number says its a sandbox game, but is missing all the mechanics from OD&D that created unscripted adventures.
Okay, I never heard of any of these either.![]()
Many games reward failure as a process of learning. Seems like a risky proposition though to turn fights into knockouts to earn XP.Yeah, that was way before my time. Seems it had already wrapped up when I was born.
Regarding XP: One source of XP I think would be quite cool is getting knocked out in combat but surviving.
Not sure how big an impact it makes, but in a game where dying in combat is not that rapid, it might slightly nudge some players to push their luck a little bit further than would be wise.
I do that in my Cepheus Engine (Traveller) games is to give weeks of learning time after a critical failure, because skills are increased by studying over weeks. It helps people feel not so bad about trying something they are not good at.Yeah, that was way before my time. Seems it had already wrapped up when I was born.
Regarding XP: One source of XP I think would be quite cool is getting knocked out in combat but surviving.
Not sure how big an impact it makes, but in a game where dying in combat is not that rapid, it might slightly nudge some players to push their luck a little bit further than would be wise.
The lack of "likely to occur in typical campaigns" advancement in CT was also one of its major downsides for many players, and kind of a black eye that stuck around even after Mega added a more reasonable one. Two edged sword.We have done the XP song and dance before, so I wont rehash how unnecessary I find it conceptually. In a general space campaigns, like most Traveller games, the players are free to explore the setting in any myriad of ways. Want to be explorers? Ok. Want to help oppressed and downtrodden people? Also, ok. Want to become ruthless pirates? Yeap, ok too. Want to move between all those things as they become convenient and/or interesting? Perfect! One of the best features of flat leveling and no XP is how freeing it is for the players to explore in a truly open game fashion.
I'll admit I have only run for about 5-6 different groups in Traveller. Nobody missed the advancement play loop of D&D. They really liked the ability to just focus on adventuring for its own sake. There was an adjustment phase when they learned what a skill level means in game terms, but after that it was smooth sailing.The lack of "likely to occur in typical campaigns" advancement in CT was also one of its major downsides for many players, and kind of a black eye that stuck around even after Mega added a more reasonable one. Two edged sword.
I disagree that players generally find it freeing; many have complained that it means they're stuck with a bad character for anything but X, where X is defined by what few skills are on the sheet. There is no room to grow into a change in role in stock CT, as it takes years to learn a new skill. In Mega, it's slow, but doable (and faster than basic char gen, but not a huge lot). In TNE and T4, it's way too fast compared to Character Gen (about 6-7 sessions, often covering 10-20 weeks for the PCs, so 1/5 to 2/5 of a year, equaling the gains from a 4 year term).
In my experience, most new-to-trav players who aren't new to gaming don't really grok that skill 1 is employable in field, skill 2 is experienced in field, or highly trained, and level 3 is professional (as in post-baccalaureate degree holder) level skill in CT and MT. (And T:2300).
Now, I'll note as well: each later Traveller edition has decreased the breadth of most skills from the prior. Each also has added new skills.
Many new to Traveller Refs/GMs didn't internalize that, either
Both. I, myself, am always looking for the game part to matter. If I wanted to sit and tell stories in pure collab I could... but I don't enjoy doing so. Without the game elements, it's not got the elements of risk I crave as both player and GM. (pun intended.) The roll of the die being a player in the game is a strong draw for me.I'll admit I have only run for about 5-6 different groups in Traveller. Nobody missed the advancement play loop of D&D. They really liked the ability to just focus on adventuring for its own sake. There was an adjustment phase when they learned what a skill level means in game terms, but after that it was smooth sailing.
Maybe I got lucky, or maybe you just play folks who are heavy into the game part of the RPG?
The setting is described as Arabian Nights in Space. I have only read about it and it seems rife with RP and adventure opportunity.Does anyone want to pitch me on Coriolis?
I only heard the name before and only learned a few things about it today. Any fans of it who think it's the greatest thing ever and want everyone to know why?