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Best Blogs/Series on CT Play

S

Sci-Fi Neophyte

SOC-10
Greetings all,

I am working my way through a blog series recommended here on CotI, and am wondering if CT fans might highly regard other blogs or serialized posts also.

I am currently processing the “Traveller: Out of the Box” series over at Tales to Astound. I find them to be both informative and entertaining, as I further digest Classic Traveller rules as expressed in the 1977 and 1981 core rules, specifically LBBs 1-3, which I am focusing on exclusively for now. Other books and supplements may be introduced at a later date, but I wish to keep things laser-focused initially.

With this said, I don’t believe there is any one right way to play CT. I understand there might be many ways to read and interpret the core rules. I also realize that many may have already house-ruled various aspects to their exacting preferences, but I want to play, at least initially, as close to the rules as written and/or the expressed intent of these six rule books as I can.

However, to help me become more rounded and exposed to various styles of CT play, I am hoping for suggestions on other blogs or serialized posts that may better inform my understanding of CT play as it was intended in the 1970s.

Please and thank you all for your continued support of this SF neophyte and his travels in Classic Traveller.

Be well…
 
The first 2 have lots of CT content (not exclusively though), the other two have only some, but still worth reading.
http://spacecockroach.blogspot.com Variant settings and rule considerations of CT (but also some Cepheus Engine stuff, since Omer publishes)
http://ancientfarfuture.blogspot.com Lots of CT
https://polyhedralnonsense.com Lots of CT character sheets, not so much other discussion of CT
https://wanderinggamist.blogspot.com Some CT, and CT as applied to fantasy too (or low-tech CT)
 
kilemall said:
Interested in altCT?
Click to expand...
Hey kilemall, thanks for responding.

I wish I could reply in the affirmative, but I must confess I’m not sure what altCT is. I have heard of the ATU, but I’m not sure if that's the same thing you’re referencing.

Perhaps with a bit more information, I could let you know if I’m interested and if that information would be consistent with the intent of this thread, which is to collect valuable and insightful Classic Traveller threads, posts, blogs, podcasts, and the like in one spot.

Thank you, by the way, for asking. It’s frustrating to me when someone’s thread gets hijacked and forced down a path that wasn’t originally intended. This makes it difficult for others when searching threads looking for something specific here on CotI. I wish more folks were as thoughtful as you (especially given how easy it would be to start another thread on a different topic, if one chose to do so).
 
kilemall said:
By alt CT I mean custom versions other people created that are not the original 6 books but clearly inspired and in the same vein.
Click to expand...
Yes, please kilemall. The “custom versions other people created that are not the original 6 books but clearly inspired and in the same vein” are interesting to me and are in the spirit of my OP.

(Emphasis added.)
 
Sci-Fi Neophyte said:
Yes, please kilemall. The “custom versions other people created that are not the original 6 books but clearly inspired and in the same vein” are interesting to me and are in the spirit of my OP.

(Emphasis added.)
Click to expand...
Would this scope include things like Traveller 1700 (CT set in 1700 North America), Kosmos68 (CT inspired by Soviet Sci-fi) and Mercator (CT set in Ancient Rome)?
 
Ildefonse said:
Would this scope include things like Traveller 1700 (CT set in 1700 North America), Kosmos68 (CT inspired by Soviet Sci-fi) and Mercator (CT set in Ancient Rome)?
Click to expand...
As I currently understand it, these alternative settings, of which you speak, are variations on a theme. How closely they adhere to the LBBs of 1977 or 1981 is outside my current realm of knowledge. Alternative settings can be helpful if one wishes to draw inspiration from them, but I'm less sure whether they would necessarily add value to this post…of that, I’m less certain. I certainly wouldn’t want to adhere to them slavishly.

Having a collection of various alt settings with a brief description of each elsewhere (read: different thread) may be very useful to many. Still, I plan to create my own setting based on the few, and basic suggestions provided in the 6 LBBs first mentioned in my OP.

I am of the opinion that CT LBBs 1-3 did not specify the Third Imperium as the setting of play (especially in 1977). The Third Imperium, like the others you mentioned, is an example of a setting of play, but no one setting is or should be raised above another, as far as my understanding of CT LBBs 1-3 specifies (especially between 1977 and 1979).

I understand that the Third Imperium became “the setting” over time, as additional books and supplements were added to the product lineup until 1986 or 1987. However, in the first couple of years of Classic Traveller, everyone was expected and left to their own devices to come up with whatever setting of play they thought was fun, appealing, and enjoyable for their individual role-playing groups. This is what I wish to emulate; therefore, my focus is on better understanding the core rules rather than various home-brew settings.
 
Ildefonse said:
Okay, given that very narrow focus I think the Ancient Faith in the Far Future blog is your best bet. Polyhedral Nonsense might give you ideas on how to create setting-specific custom character sheets. Good luck on the project! :)
Click to expand...
I do understand that trying to keep to the original three LBBs (’77 and/or ’81 editions) is limiting. Hence, my having difficulties looking for good guides on late ‘70s/early '80s CT play on my own and wanting to open my search efforts to the larger forum here.

I’m finding the Traveller: Out of the Box series to be immensely informative. Many entries in this series cover various aspects of early Traveller play, and his views on the rules as written are enlightening.

I look forward to adding Ancient Faith in the Far Future to my CT repertoire—many thanks for the recommendation.

If other citizens are out there reading…please keep these recommendations coming!
 
My fave CT extension/homebrew if you will is the Crucible/Highport one, Traveller Plus.

Crucible Highport: A Traveller Web Site

crucible.cc crucible.cc

Course a bit out of date in the sense he filled in for Book 9, but otherwise may be of interest. Has a point skill system, its own combat system, and a personal armor/weapons build system.

Thought of it because it is very setting agnostic. The combat system isn’t strictly CT, it’s dated 2003 so probably ideas from later baked in, but it’s very do it yourself, including a section on types of campaigns that are a good read.
 
I have recently myself returned to using only the three LBBs (BTW, the Facsimile Edition is fantastic for your players because the POD on DriveThru it is so well priced and I think the PDF is free). To my delight, I found just using the three LBBs approach ‘out of the box’ hugely liberating, not constraining at all. If there are no rules for something, just make them up on the fly! For example, we had an android NPC, like Ash or David from the Alien movies, and so I just ran them like a person - stats and all (the alternative might be to use the Animal Encounters rules and run the android like a 100kg animal with a limited set of skills, or similar. you get the point). I.e. no need for robot rules. Anyway, the point is, liberate your mind from the need for all those supplements, and just run with the three basic LBBs (ok, I would allow Citizens of the Imperium because some of those expansions on character classes are nice to have - but not essential).

A really nice couple of examples of building your own milieu out of the box can be found on Paul Elliott’s site here: https://www.zozergames.com/index.html. Scroll down and find Outworld and Kosmos 68. These are highlighted in a post above. I flag them also because they are both really inspiring examples of how to use the LBBs to create something different from the OTU (Kosmos 68 in particular - indeed there is a whole blog site now devoted to this here: https://kosmos68com.wordpress.com). The point is, I believe Mr Elliott was also inspired by the Out of the Box blog, and wanted to see what was possible just using the three LBBs to create his own milieu. And judging by these books, very successful it is too!

For examples of actual play, there is a really fantastic podcast which focuses on the 1977/81 LBBs. It is really great listening to the way other groups play ‘out of the box’ so to speak. Go to YouTube and find ‘Mythic Mountains Folk Tabletop’, then look up their ‘Adventures in the Void’ series.
 
I have just finished reading Chris K's exhaustive Classic Traveller: Out of the Box series on Tales to Astound. That entire series was fantastic, IMHO. It could have benefited from some re-reading and editing before being put out on the web. A few spots seemed to trail off with no conclusion, but those were at a minimum. Overall, it was a very informative and entertaining read. Highly recommended!

I have started working my way through Ancient Faith in the Far Future. I’m not finding those to be on the same par as CT:OOTB, but I have found a few diamonds in the rough and will continue working through his posts. I’m even enjoying how he included his ancient faith into the homebrew setting he uses with his sons.

I’ve also just found Low Guard—Musings on Classic Traveller at https://lowguard.org/?m=202302. While short-lived, JB Hemlock provides some astute insights on how one might make CT “hardcore” SF.

Cheers, citizens! And if you have any other blog recommendations on ’77 & ’81 Classic Traveller LBBs 1-3, please keep them coming.
 
Sci-Fi Neophyte said:
Greetings all,

I am working my way through a blog series recommended here on CotI, and am wondering if CT fans might highly regard other blogs or serialized posts also.

I am currently processing the “Traveller: Out of the Box” series over at Tales to Astound. I find them to be both informative and entertaining, as I further digest Classic Traveller rules as expressed in the 1977 and 1981 core rules, specifically LBBs 1-3, which I am focusing on exclusively for now. Other books and supplements may be introduced at a later date, but I wish to keep things laser-focused initially.

With this said, I don’t believe there is any one right way to play CT. I understand there might be many ways to read and interpret the core rules. I also realize that many may have already house-ruled various aspects to their exacting preferences, but I want to play, at least initially, as close to the rules as written and/or the expressed intent of these six rule books as I can.

However, to help me become more rounded and exposed to various styles of CT play, I am hoping for suggestions on other blogs or serialized posts that may better inform my understanding of CT play as it was intended in the 1970s.

Please and thank you all for your continued support of this SF neophyte and his travels in Classic Traveller.

Be well…
Click to expand...
Hi, I run SAFCOcast, which has been Traveller-related exclusively for a few years now. https://safcocast.com
 
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