I want to play CT BUT...

[Sardan]

I have never played a great deal of Traveller in the past. A few dozen sessions of CT back in the day, never owned any of the books. The Sci-fi game of choice for me was always Space Master.

However I never really liked the Space Master setting, any of them, and the Traveller setting always had a certain allure.

Therefore When the opportunity arose recently I picked up some of the CT reprints; I have the Books, The Supplements, The Adventures and Aliens1-4 and 5-8.

I'm really interested in starting a CT campaign with my group but there are a few things putting me off. I'd be grateful if you could comment on my problems and offer any solutions you may have come across (or indeed tell me to stop whining and just play the game! )

1. I wanted to pick up Double Adventures but hear there is a problem with the reprint. Is this correct and what is the problem?

2. I like Sci-fi and I like the Traveller universe but I have never understood how a game set so far in the future has the players using cutlasses and slug throwers. The slug throwers aren't all that bad but the melee weapons seem to be over emphasized. Does anyone else have this problem?

3. And now my big problem, the skill resolution system is just so random. Skills require different throws to succeed and ranks in some skills produce more DMs than in others. The whole thing is just so inconsistent.

Now having had that rant, I still want to play Traveller but how do I minimise these "problems"?

Thanks in advance.

 

[T. Foster]

1. I don't know about this 'cause I don't have the Double Adventures reprint volume, but I'm sure someone who does will chime in shortly...

2. It's a matter of game flavor. Some fans can (and probably will) give long explanations for why slug throwers and/or blades are more practical than 'high-tech' weapons and will always be more practical. You can use those explanations, or you can just accept that the flavor of game the original designers were going for emphasized 'low-tech' weaponry, and thus it's reflected in the rules. Which doesn't mean you have to follow their example in your own games -- convert the Blade Combat entries on the chargen tables into Gun Combat, and use the higher-tech weapon lists from Book 4 or Striker (including gauss weapons, laser pistols, and so on).

3. This is for a lot of people (including me) THE big problem with using Classic Traveller as a 'real' game (as opposed to a nostalgic museum-piece). The simplest solution is to incorporate this task resolution system into your games. It was developed c. 1985 for CT (by a third-party fan publisher, Digest Group Publications) and was later incorporated into the core rules when CT was revised into MegaTraveller in 1987. Another, more basic, task system for CT can be found here. Last but not least, you might also be interested in checking out the T5 (i.e. Traveller 5th edition) task system, currently in open playtest and available for download here. Note that the T5 system uses a 'buckets of dice' approach (as many as 7D for certain tasks), and that it assumes character skill-levels approx. double what you'll get from the CT chargen rules (i.e. a CT character with skill-2 needs skill-4 to be equivalently effective under the T5 task system), but it's at least nominally still Traveller. (Edited to add: to find the actual task system portion of the T5 draft chapter, skip to page 37 of the PDF file).

 

[hirch duckfinder]

wotcha mate . the great thing about the trav setting (otu , official traveller universe ) is its diversity . some worlds are very high tech , and some aren't . this is because in the imperium , as on terra circa 2003 , wealth power and technology are not evenly distributed . also social factors and cultures vary massively .
this is one of the best and most convincing aspects of trav , to me .
the slug-thrower things gets kicked about a lot . most justifications centre on the argument that slug throwers just are , and will remain , a simple and effective way of stopping people which hasn't been superceeded . it has been added to e.g. lasers , gauss weapons etc. but explosions propelling metal remain effective and relatively cheap .
swords exist for similar reasons ; economics and the fact that hitting people with sharp things will always be effective , especially on space craft where shooting projectiles/ lasers would be highly hazardous for obvious reasons .
regarding the skill system , if you really have a problem you could aquire either T4 or megatraveller ( EBAY ) which have regimented task systems . personally , i prefer the classic system . you need to roll an 8 . this goes down by one for each level of skill . the ref gives you extra dms if the task is difficult / easy , according to his/her judgement and the needs of the narrative . i enjoy hearing characters tell me how they will try to apply their skills to a given situation . when you make them describe this , it's usually not hard to justify the mods you impose .
simple and effective .

 

[mad13142000]

Originally posted by hirch duckfinder:
...the slug-thrower things gets kicked about a lot . most justifications centre on the argument that slug throwers just are , and will remain , a simple and effective way of stopping people which hasn't been superceeded . it has been added to e.g. lasers , gauss weapons etc. but explosions propelling metal remain effective and relatively cheap .
swords exist for similar reasons ; economics and the fact that hitting people with sharp things will always be effective , especially on space craft where shooting projectiles/ lasers would be highly hazardous for obvious reasons .

I always thought it was because we like playing pirates in space...

But you have a big variation in Tech Level from world to world - The simple killing things work best in those situations. My sword kills just as dead at TL1 as at TL20...My Plasma gun, on the other hand is hard to find parts and energy for below TL10...

<whatever...I use the plastic gun - like Glock...It's cheap and goes through metal detectors...>

-MADDog

 

[Zutroi]

I frequently enjoy explaining to people why flintlock pistols have rounded grips with big, heavy, hard knobs: "If you're lucky, it'll fire. Once. Then you flip her around and have a right fine club. The club always works."

Same thing for the Marine's cutlass. It has no moving parts, and never runs out of ammo. Add in the nice psychological effect of seeing a Marine with his war face screaming at you and carrying The Biggest Knife Around while you desperately try to unjam your cheap Blammo Arms ACR knock-off...

Of course, when you're the Marine, that's when that inconveniently located duct work will get in the way of that nice French Roll you were planning on executing against Mr. Jammed Rifle

 

[WendellM]

Originally posted by Sardan:
I wanted to pick up Double Adventures but hear there is a problem with the reprint. Is this correct and what is the problem?

In the one I bought (1st printing - I don't know if there are any others), some of the pages in Double Adventure 4: Marooned/Marooned Alone are out of order. Things are fine through Marooned page 19, but that's followed by Marooned Alone pages 18-21, then Marooned pages 24-25. Then comes the Marooned Alone title page, followed by Marooned Alone pages 10-13, then 6-9, then 2-5, then 14-17, then Marooned pages 20-23, then Marooned Alone's 22-23. So, everything is there, just out of order. In my copy, I've penciled an "A" or "B" by the page numbers where appropriate so that it's possible to read through them in the proper order.

 

[daryen]

Originally posted by WendellM:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Sardan:
I wanted to pick up Double Adventures but hear there is a problem with the reprint. Is this correct and what is the problem?

In the one I bought (1st printing - I don't know if there are any others), some of the pages in Double Adventure 4: Marooned/Marooned Alone are out of order. Things are fine through Marooned page 19, but that's followed by Marooned Alone pages 18-21, then Marooned pages 24-25. Then comes the Marooned Alone title page, followed by Marooned Alone pages 10-13, then 6-9, then 2-5, then 14-17, then Marooned pages 20-23, then Marooned Alone's 22-23. So, everything is there, just out of order. In my copy, I've penciled an "A" or "B" by the page numbers where appropriate so that it's possible to read through them in the proper order. </font>[/QUOTE]And since the adventures should really be named "You are going to have to roll up a new character before the adventure ends" and "You might as well just roll now" instead of "Marooned" and "Marooned Alone", it really isn't a big problem.

There is some pretty nice stuff in the Double Adventures, so it probably is still worth getting. (IMO, anyway.)

 

[eclipse]

Originally posted by MADDog:
I always thought it was because we like playing pirates in space...


I second that!

But you have a big variation in Tech Level from world to world - The simple killing things work best in those situations. My sword kills just as dead at TL1 as at TL20...My Plasma gun, on the other hand is hard to find parts and energy for below TL10...

<whatever...I use the plastic gun - like Glock...It's cheap and goes through metal detectors...>

-MADDog

Just a minor nit...A Glock, with it's Titanium Steel frame, is not a TL 12 Body Pistol.
Of course, this is the sort of stuff that fun to remind players of as the security alarms go off.

 

[roygbiv]

Originally posted by Sardan:

3. And now my big problem, the skill resolution system is just so random. Skills require different throws to succeed and ranks in some skills produce more DMs than in others. The whole thing is just so inconsistent.

BITS also has a Universal Task System which dovetails neatly with CT. I use it constantly.

 

[Sardan]

Thanks for all the links guys.

 

[theSea]

Hey Sardan--

Yes, the Double Adventure Re-Print 'misprint' is as noted above. Also the notes on 'Marooned' and 'Marooned Alone' are quite accurate. Of all the CT double adventures it is the one that I am least likely to play or run. The reprint also has some goodies that were not generally released such as the 'Stranded on Arden' adventure (which appeared in the Traveller Book on another planet as 'Exit Visa') and 'Plague of Perrouques.

If the imperfection *really* bothers you, most of the double adventures can be had for cheap from ebay or various on-line retailers. I'll throw a quick plug to the Traveller Trader - he's a pleasure to deal with and you can find his ad in the 'duty free shop' forum on this very website.

Do keep in mind that the CT reprints support FFE directly - funding development of T5 and paying royalties to the original writers of the CT products. In this day of greedy middle-men enforcing rigid intellectual property rights and claiming it's to support the artists they're screwing... it's refreshing to know that you're putting a few bucks directly into the creator's pockets.

'Shotguns in space' is really part of what makes this setting unique.... and some of us *do* find the notion of Ray-Guns and Blasters to be somewhat hokey (don't get me started on phasers - 'stun' or 'disintegrate??!?' Why not 'melancholy???'). Also cutlasses and boarding axes don't blow out view ports, hull plates etc when you miss -- plunging all those valuable hostages into vacuum

. A cutlass weilded by a marine in battledress is a formidable weapon indeed.

DGP's task system is an improvement on CT - grab copies of the MT players and Refs books (which can be done for cheap too) and you can pick and choose as you like - the players book also centralizes the 'advanced' character generation system from books 4-7 for you.

I haven't looked at the BITs task system, but their stuff is usually pretty good - 'At Close Quarters' looks to be a hoot of a combat system.

Just my cr0.02 - hope it helps,

--Michael

 

[Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen]

Very interesting commentary!!

I used to play CT "in the day". I remember sessions starting at 9pm (when I got done at my part time job) and lasting until 7am.

I have recently started playing CT again. Of all the iterations, it’s my favorite. I love the background, the Imperium and all the rest! Personally, I thought that much of the background concerning slug throwers, bladed weapons, etc. was because of the influence on the authors from 1950’s sci-fi novels (space opera). But I could be wrong.

In any event, this is what makes CT (and several of its iterations) cool!

Concerning skills: when I first started my recent campaign, I got a copy of MT and have used its task resolution system on and off. Sometimes, I just use the original rules for “unimportant stuff”, but use MT when the skill resolution has a major impact on events

 

[theSea]

Originally posted by Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen:
I thought that much of the background concerning slug throwers, bladed weapons, etc. was because of the influence on the authors from 1950’s sci-fi novels (space opera). But I could be wrong.

Now there's a shocking comment from someone calling himself "Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen"

Right up there with me asserting that "salt water and marine life are good."

theSea - currently re-reading The Cosmic Computer for the umpteen-millionth time...


** If you play Traveller and have not read any H. Beam Piper you should rectify that situation IMMEDIATELY