Traveller players, explain yourselves! [+]

[Bayushi_seikuro]

In the somewhat recent past I played in a short-lived Mongoose Traveller campaign and a one-shot of the Risus Traveller variant, Freelance Traveller.

The Mongoose Traveller campaign ended early because one person didn't understand the risk vs reward nature of careers during character creation (he ended up with a slightly imperfect character, threw a tantrum and quit) and two others didn't grasp the lethality of Traveller combat (their characters died because they tried playing Traveller like D&D, after which they hit the eject button). With only two of us left, the campaign folded.

The character creation risk/reward is an interesting thing. My character (a scout) crashed a ship and started with stat damage - which I chose to use some of his mustering-out money to pay off. It's interesting that you can have it as a reason you need to adventure.

As the game has progressed, speaking on the lethality of the combat and how you can't play it like D&D, Hob takes a beating like a champ. As a player, I know the danger I'm putting him in, but when I look back at it, he's just a rough-and-tumble guy who is clever and dashing - he'd almost be a better fit for a swashbuckling kind of game, but oddly when he does brash bold things, the dice just show up, and so it's become a thing in the group of 'it's time for Hob to do Hob <expletive>'. I mean, I've gotten him down to within points of being dead, but somehow he ends up making it.

As far as treating it like D&D... this system has been around long enough, most people I know of who know about it KNOW its lethality.

 

[jdrakeh]

As far as treating it like D&D... this system has been around long enough, most people I know of who know about it KNOW its lethality.

These folks were completely new to Traveller. They all had warnings going in (even the character gen guy) but just didn't heed them. They didn't think the GM was serious, I guess. Now they have experience with Traveller.

 

[jdrakeh]

Fast Travel now uploaded to Itch (PWYW).

 

[Autumnal]

All of this talk about Traveller got my cylinders firing. I present Fast Travel.

Wit’s all this, then?

 

[Agamon]

All of this talk about Traveller got my cylinders firing. I present Fast Travel.

[Re-uploaded PDF. Google broke the first one.]

The second one, too, it seems

 

[payn]

So tell me about the Reach and the sandbox. I am staggeringly envious of Gareth Hanrahan’s talent, but not everything great my tiny mind and all its quirks. Could it work for someone who doesn’t like a lot of fighting?

Well, I tend to like the Trojan Reach because it puts walls on the sandbox. Dont get me wrong, there are a myriad of civilizations to visit, but it puts a place to explore as opposed to just flying around and seeing what happens. The TR just so happens to be sandwhiched between to sprawling empires weary of a war. So, the TR remains a DMZ of sorts, making it a rife place for political intrigue on top of its own quirks and possibilities.

There are many short adventures published by Mongoose for the reach. You can collect one, a few, or all of them and have a great deal of material to toss at your players. Additionally, there is a lot of short and medium adventures contained within the Pirates of Drinax products. You can even leave out the metaplot (though I think its a major strength of the TR) and just run everything piecemeal as you see fit.

I find Traveller to be a great RPG for folks who like to solve problems with skills and social role play before descending into combat. The game in general promotes this approach, but you'll find enough opportunities for a lifetime in the TR.

In the somewhat recent past I played in a short-lived Mongoose Traveller campaign and a one-shot of the Risus Traveller variant, Freelance Traveller.

The Mongoose Traveller campaign ended early because one person didn't understand the risk vs reward nature of careers during character creation (he ended up with a slightly imperfect character, threw a tantrum and quit) and two others didn't grasp the lethality of Traveller combat (their characters died because they tried playing Traveller like D&D, after which they hit the eject button). With only two of us left, the campaign folded.

I've encountered two types of players in my Traveller days. Those who intuit how the skill system promotes chargen and gameplay, and those who approach it like D&D. I've heard the complaints that getting mustered out of career now means you have a multi-classed PC and that the randomness prevents you from having the character you want. The truth is, the careers are there as skill delivery system along with giving interesting and random character background foundation to build upon. I can understand why some players are reluctant, as they have become accustomed to building their PCs with little randomness. I even prefer it myself in the D&D/PF space, but that is entirely how those systems are built. Traveller isnt designed like that, its meant to be a skill driven system and if folks grok that, you will be in for a good time.

 

[Enaknomolos]

Wanting to re-capture that feeling but using new mechanics, my buddies and I wrote Diaspora, a FATE game designed to recreate the boogie-ing around space in a small spaceship feel that CT provided. If you are open to a less old-school game, it scratches the itch.

I love Diaspora! Thanks so much for putting that out there in the world. Because it and Traveller are both so modular, I've also found it's pretty easy to mix and match bits of the two together if you want.

 

[dragoner]

I played a Scout (pilot of the Banksian named scoutship Unexpected Visitor) exploring Thieves' World:

Thieves' World (role-playing game) - Wikipedia

As the box set from Chaosium has Traveller statistics.

 

[Autumnal]

The TR just so happens to be sandwhiched between to sprawling empires weary of a war. So, the TR remains a DMZ of sorts, making it a rife place for political intrigue on top of its own quirks and possibilities.

Oh, it’s Casablanca! More seriously, that does sound like a very interesting place to be.

I find Traveller to be a great RPG for folks who like to solve problems with skills and social role play before descending into combat.

That’s definitely me.

.I played a Scout (pilot of the Banksian named scoutship Unexpected Visitor) exploring Thieves' World:
Thieves' World (role-playing game) - Wikipedia

As the box set from Chaosium has Traveller statistics.

Well, then it was clear enticement on their part and you’re blameless. Carry on and tell me what sorts of trouble your Scout got into.

 

[dragoner]

Well, then it was clear enticement on their part and you’re blameless. Carry on and tell me what sorts of trouble your Scout got into.

We had a noble with us, so there were some hijinx with Prince Kadikithis ruler of Sanctuary. Originally we had snuck in with a S'danzo caravan, and kind of fell in with the thieves in the maze, vs the Hellhounds. Ultimately had a showdown in the slave market, where we freed all the slaves and rode back north to freedom. They probably were not too happy with the Imperium.

It was interesting though, like would they recognize guns right off? A lot of different questions. Magic was handled kind of like psi, and we never figured out exactly what was going on with that.