I was just wondering, if anyone knows, how much of the Traveller background will be included in T5. Perhaps I am only wondering because pretty much all is talked about are the rules, so I was wondering how much of the universe was in it. And if so, how much is rehashed stuff from previous games, and how much new? There are supposed to be so many pages on the cd-rom that it'd have to have an awful lot of rules if there was no/little background. Anyway, I was just wondering if anyone can let me know what to expect there.
T5 background material
- Thread starter Murdoc
- Start date
Live from my cool @ss job...
A total second of this question, I too wish to know how much of the OTU is going in and how much of my old collection will be rendered historical coolness but not useful to the current edition.
A total second of this question, I too wish to know how much of the OTU is going in and how much of my old collection will be rendered historical coolness but not useful to the current edition.
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I heard that Marc was going to completely rewrite the entire OTU from the First Imperium through the Fourth, changing everything, and leaving off at the 1248 time line.
(For REF eyes only: The above is a totally false rumor spun from imaginary cloth and intended to cause a little trouble. )
(For REF eyes only: The above is a totally false rumor spun from imaginary cloth and intended to cause a little trouble. )
I'll ask. I think this is mainly rules, but like in The Traveller Book, where rules ended and background began seemed to be fuzzy in places.
Like concerning starports, how nobility works, jump, etc.
Well, there has been this cry for getting back to the basics, no?
It's not a sourcebook, for example -- unless Second Survey is included (not sure).
It doesn't include chapters on the Traveller major races. Although it might contain character generation data for them.
It does have the Imperial calendar.
It does not have the timeline of recorded history, nor the list of emperors.
It probably will mention a "timeline" of setting milieux.
Care and feeding of Nobility is discussed, which seems OTU to me.
Very little is a rehash. Mongoose Traveller did an excellent rehash of Traveller. T5 is taking the opposite approach: integrating the piles of rules that have accumulated and organizing them into a coherent whole.
So for example, there are maybe 20 (my guess) "core" pages for character generation -- the careers and related tables -- but there is a bunch of supporting text for those pages. And there are modular elements to chargen that support it but are not essential. So when I say there are maybe 120 pages of chargen-related matter (and that doesn't include skills and tasks), it helps to know that a lot of that text is in separate sections which deals with aspects of characters that is integrated with the whole, which previous versions had to deal with haphazardly and in supplemental books or articles.
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That sounds nice. The haphazard nature of much all the various remakes of D&D is what burned me out on that game after 18 years of play. Had a different problem with GURPS, it seemed every book had changed the rules somewhat.
I've deloaded some of the T5 stuff, though I'm afraid I've haven't really prerused much of it. What little I read, I've liked though. A few of my old crew didn't like some of the careers dropped, but I convinced them that didn't necessarily eliminate those careers, it just made them lifestyle choices. They actually bought into it.
I've deloaded some of the T5 stuff, though I'm afraid I've haven't really prerused much of it. What little I read, I've liked though. A few of my old crew didn't like some of the careers dropped, but I convinced them that didn't necessarily eliminate those careers, it just made them lifestyle choices. They actually bought into it.
That's a hard sell. I'm glad they consider it workable.
T5 has a number of hard sells which will ruffle the feathers of hard-boiled Traveller players. Usually they have to do with specialization which best suits the game, where to draw the lines, that sort of thing.
Basically every nook of Traveller has these issues. Characters, combat, equipment, worlds, travel, animals, vehicles, trade... everything's been expanded on, and so everything is in danger of trading muscle tone for flab.
Robject, you are telling beloved hard SF careers like Steroid King, Nympho Princess, Handsome Rogue, Crazy Old Man, Strange WTF alien, were dropped in the playtest sessions...that's it...I ain't buyin' no T5...I am going back to CT.
It was a good thing I hadn't gotten up yet to get that Coke. I can imagine how it would have felt inside my nasal passages now!
I lobbied for Demure Semi-Clad Warrior Princess, believe me. I suggested she could adorn the border of every other page. I was thrown out of the room, through the holo-window.
Now, Strange WTF Alien is there, but it's not a career. Beings are statted out on a card that describes their characteristics, related to how capable they are, how long they live, gender and caste considerations, and some basic hints about their structure and composition. The usefulness of the card, however, is that once you've filled one out for your Race Of Choice, then you can roll up a player character of that type, and run her through character generation. Some aspects of sophonts put them at an advantage or disadvantage to humans in careers.
But the short of it is that generating a new alien race will produce a race internally consistent with Traveller. All of Traveller. Chargen, careers, skills, geneering, personality, etc.
This system is a dream for tinkerers who like to build things.
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Cute people...
Still nice avoidance on answering the question. Still wanna know. I am hoping for no major rewrites and thus I can keep my Mega-Traveller info, such as my Emperor's list and major Universities and such intact and still functional, still...damnit, I want Settings answers, because I am annoying poop-butt that hardly ever uses the rules as they are written...well sometimes I do. But since I have a royal pain getting them to play Traveller I tend to get all the books for the Setting, which I so love.
Still nice avoidance on answering the question. Still wanna know. I am hoping for no major rewrites and thus I can keep my Mega-Traveller info, such as my Emperor's list and major Universities and such intact and still functional, still...damnit, I want Settings answers, because I am annoying poop-butt that hardly ever uses the rules as they are written...well sometimes I do. But since I have a royal pain getting them to play Traveller I tend to get all the books for the Setting, which I so love.
Andrew Boulton
The Adminator
There are no major changes. Hopefully there won't be many minor ones.
Alright, that's cool. So basically 1000 pages of rules then? I certainly look forward to seeing it.
So are there any plans then to make such a sourcebook/sourcebooks then? Or any suppliments at all? Or is this one, all-encompassing volume going to be it and people will have to rely on other systems for the established TU then? I'm just curious as to how this will play out for new players then.
So any rules on making new races then? This is mostly just for the case of relying mostly on the rules, with little TU in it, forcing GMs to make up their own stuff. Or is it integrated into "animal" alien creation?
They should have put it to a vote here on the site. I'd have been behind you man.
Thanks for the answers, btw (the serious ones anyway
)Two things:
First, allow us to actually get the rules done first? I'd love to see an errata-less version of Traveller by 2200.
Second, "Skyclad Warrior Princess" will not be a T5 Imperial ship class.
Sorry for the disappointment. My wife reads some of the drafts, and that would get me in serious trouble.
:devil:
First, allow us to actually get the rules done first? I'd love to see an errata-less version of Traveller by 2200.
Second, "Skyclad Warrior Princess" will not be a T5 Imperial ship class.
Sorry for the disappointment. My wife reads some of the drafts, and that would get me in serious trouble.
:devil:
