FAQ?
- Thread starter kbor66
- Start date
far-trader
SOC-14 10K
Well I'd thought I should know this, and half imagined there was but I can't find it. There is the general site faq which everyone should read (just below the menu at the top of the page) but I can't find anything else. I know there was talk about needing one.
I'd say, if you have a good connection (i.e. fast or cheap), use the search function. It's pretty good and quite fast if you search a single forum at a time rather than all open forums. That would be a good quick start to see if your question has been asked before. Try a couple key words, seperately or together. If that comes up dry post your question. The folks here are mighty friendly and quick to help. If you find something close in a previous post from ages ago, just post there and revive the thread, new citizens are always arriving and they may have missed it and have the answer you need.
Welcome aboard kbor66
I'd say, if you have a good connection (i.e. fast or cheap), use the search function. It's pretty good and quite fast if you search a single forum at a time rather than all open forums. That would be a good quick start to see if your question has been asked before. Try a couple key words, seperately or together. If that comes up dry post your question. The folks here are mighty friendly and quick to help. If you find something close in a previous post from ages ago, just post there and revive the thread, new citizens are always arriving and they may have missed it and have the answer you need.
Welcome aboard kbor66
far-trader
SOC-14 10K
Or was "that" the question?
1. What does OTU, MTU, New Era, Viris, mean?
2. Can I have difference class than what I have in prior history?
3. Where does the Imperium space/ control begin end?
4. What printing do I have?
5. What is the difference between Ct, T20, New Era, Gurps etc? And can I use the deck plans/ships between them?
6. Why is the equipment list so short? And does price change with higher TL?
7. What are the abbrevations mean?
8. X is list on the chart but nowhere else? What happen?
9. What book other the T20 handbook do I need to play?
10. What happens if my ship misjumps?
11. When can I take 10/ take 20?
12. Why don't the cargo/passenger prices change with tech level,distance, etc?
13. Why can't I start out at first level?
14. How do I adjust CR from other monster books?
15. What are AOO(attacks of oppurnity)? And when do I use them? How many do I get per round?
16. Where are the free down loads?
17. I have an old adventure from an earlier version, how do I convert it?
18. I don't like this rule, can I drop it?
19. What are some of your house rules?
20. Why is combat so deadly?
21. I have old character what do I do to convert it to t20?
22. Is there any free character generator or sheets?
23. What do I do when my character goes over 20th level.
24. Why hasn't some one answered the question I asked yesterday?
25. Where do I post typos, or errors?
2. Can I have difference class than what I have in prior history?
3. Where does the Imperium space/ control begin end?
4. What printing do I have?
5. What is the difference between Ct, T20, New Era, Gurps etc? And can I use the deck plans/ships between them?
6. Why is the equipment list so short? And does price change with higher TL?
7. What are the abbrevations mean?
8. X is list on the chart but nowhere else? What happen?
9. What book other the T20 handbook do I need to play?
10. What happens if my ship misjumps?
11. When can I take 10/ take 20?
12. Why don't the cargo/passenger prices change with tech level,distance, etc?
13. Why can't I start out at first level?
14. How do I adjust CR from other monster books?
15. What are AOO(attacks of oppurnity)? And when do I use them? How many do I get per round?
16. Where are the free down loads?
17. I have an old adventure from an earlier version, how do I convert it?
18. I don't like this rule, can I drop it?
19. What are some of your house rules?
20. Why is combat so deadly?
21. I have old character what do I do to convert it to t20?
22. Is there any free character generator or sheets?
23. What do I do when my character goes over 20th level.
24. Why hasn't some one answered the question I asked yesterday?
25. Where do I post typos, or errors?
2. Classes are dependent on the GM. Most classes have some restriction on crossclassing into them, however most cross class restrictions are not terribly onerous. In some cases you have to be a different class then what you had at prior history. Military classes (Navy,Marines,Army) can only be taken while actively serving for example.
13. You can start at 1st level. You are somewhere between 14-18 years old, and have nearly no skills or experience, but you will level pretty quickly during game time.
13. You can start at 1st level. You are somewhere between 14-18 years old, and have nearly no skills or experience, but you will level pretty quickly during game time.
M
Malenfant
Guest
Answer to 18:
Yes
Yes
mike wightman
SOC-14 10K
OTU - official/original Traveller Universe
MTU - my Traveller Universe
Virus - resposible for bringing to a close the MT Rebellion era and leading to Traveller The New Era; an AI weapon developed to infect any computer system on a ship and cause the ship to be incapacitated or destroy itself; it was released before being fully tested and was able to infect any computer system in known space, it also mutated beyond its original programming so that eventually computers could become sentient though insane; over time sane versions of virus appeared...
New Era - Traveller The New Era; GDW's 3rd version of Traveller set seventy years after the events of the MT Rebellion and the Viral plague that devestated the whole of known space; it is an era of exploration, building anew, conflict, heroism and tragedy; it changed the core rules used from a simple d6 based mechanic to GDW's d20 house system (wonder if they copyrighted the d20 bit?
), and also made changes to how some of the technology (ship's systems mostly) worked.4. 8 dots. In the first edition printing there are a row of dots (grey fading to white in the centre) in the top margin of each page going from the spine to about halfway across the top of the page. In the 2nd edition printing these are not included.
6. Regardless of how long any equipment list is it will always be too short. Your GM is the final arbiter of anything that is available (in the book or otherwise), the entries in the book are just meant to give an example base line of what can be available. More "stuff" is available in other supplements, but space is at a premium in any single book.
9. None. Even the THB isn't required as such.
10. Bad things. Generally GM fiat unless they want to roll on the misjump table.
11. When your GM allows it.
24. Did you give anyone a reason to respond?
6. Regardless of how long any equipment list is it will always be too short. Your GM is the final arbiter of anything that is available (in the book or otherwise), the entries in the book are just meant to give an example base line of what can be available. More "stuff" is available in other supplements, but space is at a premium in any single book.
9. None. Even the THB isn't required as such.
10. Bad things. Generally GM fiat unless they want to roll on the misjump table.
11. When your GM allows it.
24. Did you give anyone a reason to respond?
7.
CT = Classic traveller. The orginial 3 black cover books which used 2d6 as the mechanic. Also includes the all bhe black cover books.
MT- Mega traveller
Gdw - game design workshop. A company which produce the 3rd version of traveller see New Era
TNE- The new era
T20- traveller d20 the most current version which used the open source d20 mechanic from Wotc for 3rd edition D&D and their other
CT = Classic traveller. The orginial 3 black cover books which used 2d6 as the mechanic. Also includes the all bhe black cover books.
MT- Mega traveller
Gdw - game design workshop. A company which produce the 3rd version of traveller see New Era
TNE- The new era
T20- traveller d20 the most current version which used the open source d20 mechanic from Wotc for 3rd edition D&D and their other
6. equipment list short
The book could only contain so many items. If the item you want is not listed, feel free to add to your equipment list.
Tech Level changes are up to the individual Game Master. I suggest on equipment you drop the price by 10% for each TL difference between the Minumum and the level you are buying. But not cut the price by more than 50 %.
Also you may want to improve the materials, capabilities, change the weight etc as you then is needed.
Ex. Pup tent 20 cr TL 5 Weight 2kg Holds two people. Temperature range 0C to 38 C Set up time 5 minutes. Made of canvas, wood, ropes, and steel pegs. Canvas color can be od green, light green, or black.
Pup tent 20 cr TL 8 Weight .5 kg holds 2 people Temperature range -10 C to 38C. Set up time 1 minute. Made of lightweight plastic, nylon and other materials. Any color with military having various camo colors.
The book could only contain so many items. If the item you want is not listed, feel free to add to your equipment list.
Tech Level changes are up to the individual Game Master. I suggest on equipment you drop the price by 10% for each TL difference between the Minumum and the level you are buying. But not cut the price by more than 50 %.
Also you may want to improve the materials, capabilities, change the weight etc as you then is needed.
Ex. Pup tent 20 cr TL 5 Weight 2kg Holds two people. Temperature range 0C to 38 C Set up time 5 minutes. Made of canvas, wood, ropes, and steel pegs. Canvas color can be od green, light green, or black.
Pup tent 20 cr TL 8 Weight .5 kg holds 2 people Temperature range -10 C to 38C. Set up time 1 minute. Made of lightweight plastic, nylon and other materials. Any color with military having various camo colors.
BrennanHawkwood
SOC-12
My answers to a buch of these questions...YMMV...
If you look around on CotI and the TML archives you should find these types of topics cropping up on a regular basis.
The difference between the various versions of the game boils down to game mechanics and point in time in the traveller universe. CT, MT, TNE, T4, GT and T20 are all Traveller. Each version has different advantages and disadvantages and each of them have a potential wealth of material that can be used with any of the versions. At their heart they are all a game about a group of characters journeying in a science fiction environment. They each use a different (in some cases only slightly) set of game mechanics. Between the differing game mechanics and the default slant placed on the feel of the setting you can come up with just about any type of sci-fi game you want (which IIRC is one of the original intents behind the game).
Regarding the second part of your question...it depends. How much of a gearhead or perfectionist are you? Because the ship design and play mechanics vary between the different versions of the game, some ships that are common between them can end up with significantly different mixes of components taking up space within the ship. As a result, the deckplans often don't match up very well. On the other hand, if you like the deckplan and aren't concerned with it being an exact match to the ship's stats, go for it!
Just kidding...change what you want.
I would suggest that if you change a rule and then discuss your game or the way your game works someplace like TML or CotI that you may want mention the rule change if it has an impact on the discussion. By indicating that you are talking about an IMTU (In My Traveller Universe) rule change you'll be less likely to end up butting heads with some of the folks that REALLY know (and love) their particular set of rules.
Seriously, I've found that converting characters to T20 from other Traveller rulesets is more a case of building the character anew based on what the previous character was capable of.
The answers to these are dependant on which version of Traveller you are using and which day of the week it is...
If you look around on CotI and the TML archives you should find these types of topics cropping up on a regular basis.
You may get various answers regarding the first part of this question, but this is my take on it.
The difference between the various versions of the game boils down to game mechanics and point in time in the traveller universe. CT, MT, TNE, T4, GT and T20 are all Traveller. Each version has different advantages and disadvantages and each of them have a potential wealth of material that can be used with any of the versions. At their heart they are all a game about a group of characters journeying in a science fiction environment. They each use a different (in some cases only slightly) set of game mechanics. Between the differing game mechanics and the default slant placed on the feel of the setting you can come up with just about any type of sci-fi game you want (which IIRC is one of the original intents behind the game).
Regarding the second part of your question...it depends. How much of a gearhead or perfectionist are you? Because the ship design and play mechanics vary between the different versions of the game, some ships that are common between them can end up with significantly different mixes of components taking up space within the ship. As a result, the deckplans often don't match up very well. On the other hand, if you like the deckplan and aren't concerned with it being an exact match to the ship's stats, go for it!
Depends on which ones you are asking about...
Officially? A core rulebook from the d20 gamesystem. Unofficially? If you don't know d20 you'll probably want some book that has the full rules or the one of the d20 SRDs (System Reference Documents) which contain most of the d20 rules and are available on the web. Beyond that, there are many many many Traveller and Traveller-esque gaming books out there that could be recommended depending on your gaming style and what you are going to do with your campaign.
These are all questions that can generally be answered by having access to a core d20 rulebook such as the Players Handbook or by looking through the SRD. I find adjusting CRs to be a bit of an arcane process that is highly dependant on the characters you are using so you may not find a satisfactory answer for that one.
I think you answered this question already...also, check the rest of the internet as well...there are a bunch of really cool traveller websites out there. Many of them have a lot of really useful stuff to grab and use. The Starport link at the top of the CotI forums is good starting point to get to some of these sites.
I would say wing it. Don't worry too much about any close conversions between versions. Read the adventure several times over and then jot down some notes on how to achieve the same effect for any given encounter using your ruleset.
Not unless you like the rules police coming after you!
Just kidding...change what you want. I would suggest that if you change a rule and then discuss your game or the way your game works someplace like TML or CotI that you may want mention the rule change if it has an impact on the discussion. By indicating that you are talking about an IMTU (In My Traveller Universe) rule change you'll be less likely to end up butting heads with some of the folks that REALLY know (and love) their particular set of rules.
Wave a magic wand in the character's general direction and cross your fingers...
Seriously, I've found that converting characters to T20 from other Traveller rulesets is more a case of building the character anew based on what the previous character was capable of.
mike wightman
SOC-14 10K
Question/answer 1 addendum: here is an alternative version of what the New Era means
11 Take 10. take 20.
You can take tell anytime you are not being rushed or threaten. You are trying to discover all the book titles and actors of series Buck Rogers. You can not take 10 if Captain Kirk is pointing a laser pistol at you and wants the information in 10 secs.
You can ONLY take 20 if not be rushed/threatened and there no penalty for failure.
You can take 20 to firgure a jump because there is a possiblity of misjump
You can take tell anytime you are not being rushed or threaten. You are trying to discover all the book titles and actors of series Buck Rogers. You can not take 10 if Captain Kirk is pointing a laser pistol at you and wants the information in 10 secs.
You can ONLY take 20 if not be rushed/threatened and there no penalty for failure.
You can take 20 to firgure a jump because there is a possiblity of misjump
Officially? A core rulebook from the d20 gamesystem. Unofficially? If you don't know d20 you'll probably want some book that has the full rules or the one of the d20 SRDs (System Reference Documents) which contain most of the d20 rules and are available on the web. Beyond that, there are many many many Traveller and Traveller-esque gaming books out there that could be recommended depending on your gaming style and what you are going to do with your campaign.
</font>[/QUOTE]I'm going to start a crusade on this. The two rules that you require (the how to create a character and how to go up a level), which are missing from the Traveller D20 book are also missing from the SRD. If you don't know these rules, downloading the SRD won't help, You need to buy either the Players Handbook (or D20 modern or the Star Wars book) to get these rules.
BrennanHawkwood
SOC-12
Officially? A core rulebook from the d20 gamesystem. Unofficially? If you don't know d20 you'll probably want some book that has the full rules or the one of the d20 SRDs (System Reference Documents) which contain most of the d20 rules and are available on the web. Beyond that, there are many many many Traveller and Traveller-esque gaming books out there that could be recommended depending on your gaming style and what you are going to do with your campaign.
</font>[/QUOTE]I'm going to start a crusade on this. The two rules that you require (the how to create a character and how to go up a level), which are missing from the Traveller D20 book are also missing from the SRD. If you don't know these rules, downloading the SRD won't help, You need to buy either the Players Handbook (or D20 modern or the Star Wars book) to get these rules. </font>[/QUOTE]True. I knew there were some key pieces missing from the WotC SRDs...just couldn't remember specifically which ones they were.
--- Blair
When we get done answering these ??// I will clean them up and do a posting.
9. The core 3.0 D&d Players Handbook, D20 modern, or the Star Wars d20 book. Are need to play. The books show how to handle character creation and general rules not covered in the t20. The WOTC srd does contain some of rules but not the character creation rules.
Any one want to point the need srd down loads. I have 3.5 srd.
9. The core 3.0 D&d Players Handbook, D20 modern, or the Star Wars d20 book. Are need to play. The books show how to handle character creation and general rules not covered in the t20. The WOTC srd does contain some of rules but not the character creation rules.
Any one want to point the need srd down loads. I have 3.5 srd.
