Traveller players, explain yourselves! [+]

[Old Fezziwig]

I am not the first to think of this, but...

Traveller setting, but Burning Wheel rules?

I mean, you've got lifepaths right there.
Aramis' suggestion of the 3 modes of play, BW would be perfect for either Agents of Nobles and the associated intrigue or Space Truckers and the associated under-resourced-leads-to-shenanigans (not so sure about Mercenaries).

I have never read Burning Empires, but I just read the wikipedia page on it (so I now a expert yo).

Anyway, am I way off base, or mis-jumping here?

I'm not familiar enough with BE to really know if it'd work or not, and my personal feeling is that divorcing the setting from the rules is likely to be more trouble than it's worth, even if it's even entirely possible. At the very least, the lifepaths and setting stuff are pretty particular to the setting, IIRC, so I expect there'd be some homebrewing to do before it'd be ready to play. Whether that's worth the effort over just playing Traveller is a personal decision. I guess it could work, but there would be some up front lifting for sure.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

Hard agree Old Fezz (you mind if I call you Old Fezz?)

Burning Empires seems very enmeshed with the Iron Empires graphic novels (I did read the first and enjoyed, but by the time the second came out, I was onto other interests).

Traveller of course has a very strong setting as well - at the very least it is an artifact of its time and what the "future" was imagined to be back then.

 

[TheAlkaizer]

Anyway, am I way off base, or mis-jumping here?

Not only are you not off-base, but it's at the top of my list of my projects. I love Burning Wheel, or what it's trying to achieve. I hate the complexity with which it achieves it. I have two projects that are related:

• Make a core system (dice pools, skills heavy, lifepaths, skills improving as you use them, character goal oriented) inspired by many of Burning Wheel aspects, but some of the rule-lightness of NSR games.
• Spin that core system into two games:
  • A game focused on doing character-goal oriented campaigns set in historical setting, with some domain/warband focus and a bit of mass- battle.
  • A sci-fi game with similar focus as the earliest editions of Traveller: sandboxy, mix of playstyles, taking whatever jump is available, debt-motivated.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

Not only are you not off-base, but it's at the top of my list of my projects. I love Burning Wheel, or what it's trying to achieve. I hate the complexity with which it achieves it. I have two projects that are related:

• Make a core system (dice pools, skills heavy, lifepaths, skills improving as you use them, character goal oriented) inspired by many of Burning Wheel aspects, but some of the rule-lightness of NSR games.
• Spin that core system into two games:
  • A game focused on doing character-goal oriented campaigns set in historical setting, with some domain/warband focus and a bit of mass- battle.
  • A sci-fi game with similar focus as the earliest editions of Traveller: sandboxy, mix of playstyles, taking whatever jump is available, debt-motivated.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

Not only are you not off-base, but it's at the top of my list of my projects. I love Burning Wheel, or what it's trying to achieve. I hate the complexity with which it achieves it. I have two projects that are related:

• Make a core system (dice pools, skills heavy, lifepaths, skills improving as you use them, character goal oriented) inspired by many of Burning Wheel aspects, but some of the rule-lightness of NSR games.
• Spin that core system into two games:
  • A game focused on doing character-goal oriented campaigns set in historical setting, with some domain/warband focus and a bit of mass- battle.
  • A sci-fi game with similar focus as the earliest editions of Traveller: sandboxy, mix of playstyles, taking whatever jump is available, debt-motivated.

But in seriousness, these both sound amazing, although I am much more into the SF personally (hence I am in this thread at all).

It also sounds like quite the uphill battle, so I wish you the luck of it!

 

[TheAlkaizer]

Actually, all this talk of Traveller had me get my books out again. You guys are a bad influence.

 

[pemerton]

I am not the first to think of this, but...

Traveller setting, but Burning Wheel rules?

I mean, you've got lifepaths right there.
Aramis' suggestion of the 3 modes of play, BW would be perfect for either Agents of Nobles and the associated intrigue or Space Truckers and the associated under-resourced-leads-to-shenanigans (not so sure about Mercenaries).

I have never read Burning Empires, but I just read the wikipedia page on it (so I now a expert yo).

Anyway, am I way off base, or mis-jumping here?

That could be interesting. But it would be a fair bit of work to write up the lifepaths!

I don't know Burning Empires very well. (I don't think I have a copy.)

 

[aramis erak]

Obviously the solution is to run GURPS Traveller! (I kid, I kid!)

Most people would help bury your body over that.... I quit using GURPS in the late 90's... GT being part of why.

 

[aramis erak]

I am not the first to think of this, but...

Traveller setting, but Burning Wheel rules?

I mean, you've got lifepaths right there.
Aramis' suggestion of the 3 modes of play, BW would be perfect for either Agents of Nobles and the associated intrigue or Space Truckers and the associated under-resourced-leads-to-shenanigans (not so sure about Mercenaries).

I have never read Burning Empires, but I just read the wikipedia page on it (so I now a expert yo).

Anyway, am I way off base, or mis-jumping here?

For BW fans, it would work.

BE Tech Burner would work just fine, but the rules of BE are so focused upon Valen Invasion that you'd need some form of replacement for the Infection subsystem (which is a Hub sybsystem in BE). Ironically, Mercs are the easiest of the three modes to do in BE, as it's got Firefight as the primary non-social conflict system (and it's large scale combat, not personal combat).

BE's setting shows a lot of Traveller influences, and Chris Moeller has noted it's grounding in his Traveller fandom, but it's as far removed as Diaspora by VSCA/Brad Murray is from its Traveller roots.

BE doesn't scratch the Traveller itch for me. It does rock when run RAW... Chris Moeller noted my AP reports were spot on in the feel of the Iron Empires setting... and 90% of that was just following the rules in the BE rulebook.

Just to explain a bit: Each "logical session" is comprised of about 10 scenes, and comprises one turn in the "Invasion" minigame. The minigame drives play, and players vested interests tend to support their choice of actions and hence scenes for the session. And no, that's not an error...

Start of session, the two sides determine their side action for the invasion minigame. This results in (usually) players framing their builder scenes or color scenes to support their chosen action (getting those extra dice matters!), and once all the budgeted scenes are done, the infection turn is resolved. When the Infection Conflict is won, the invasion phase is resolved... and a major shift in the story takes place. My BE game, due to intensity, only lasted one phase, but it was the PCs rebuffing the invasion and pushing back REALLY hard - story wise, they had no real threat left from the Vaylen.

 

[aramis erak]

Expounding on Burning Empires got me thinking about the other big traveller-inspired game in my collection: Brad Murray and crew's Diaspora - which started as a port of Traveller to Fate, but s with Moeller's Iron Empires, became its own thing.
If you want a crunchy space opera in Fate, Diaspora has you covered. As with BE, you can adapt it to do Traveller, but that misses the brilliance of what's actually there.