Nightwind1
SOC-12
Is the Hadji sector next to the Jonny, Race, and Benton Sectors? And the Vargr-populated Bandit Sector?
why base setting?
- Thread starter tim_manley
- Start date
BlackBat242
SOC-14 1K
What a Quest-ion.
Queston?
Questiac?
Queston?
Questiac?
Fox's Master
SOC-9
Tried but couldn't do it
After a year + of attempting to run a Traveller adventure, I found it extremely difficult. While the character development aspects of the game deserve high praise...with advancement tables and progression during four-year intervals, I found that when players are unable to select their respective skills, the resulting characters are quite limited. Additionally, with no method to advance one's skills, the characters remain quite stagnant. While my good friend will continue to GM my character for a few more months to wrap-up the campaign, I'm moving onto Serenity...happy gaming!
After a year + of attempting to run a Traveller adventure, I found it extremely difficult. While the character development aspects of the game deserve high praise...with advancement tables and progression during four-year intervals, I found that when players are unable to select their respective skills, the resulting characters are quite limited. Additionally, with no method to advance one's skills, the characters remain quite stagnant. While my good friend will continue to GM my character for a few more months to wrap-up the campaign, I'm moving onto Serenity...happy gaming!
Sounds like you're running CT. MT introduces a lot more cascades (not just used for weapon and vehicles), thus giving a lot more choices.
In TNE (and T:2300/2300AD) you always pick your skills but have the rolls for survival, promotion, retention.
In T4, you can pick your skills.
In MGT, you have the option to point buy or roll up characters.
BlackBat242
SOC-14 1K
Very slow gaining of new skills... far less than in real life for both military and civilian professionals.
That's why I made it much easier to gain skills while adventuring*.
There is still that total skills Int/Edu cap, so this leads to fewer aged PCs just beginning adventuring (with their skills nearly maxed-out), and more younger PCs with skill slots available for "in-adventure learning".
Instead of 6 month per skill, I allow 3 months per, or 2 months if no previous skill need be "abandoned" in order to learn the new one.
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Non-extended chargen like LBB1 or S4, I give them .6 skills a term to choose or roll (which I am thinking of making a straight .75), also I give them easier dedication rolls as well. The rules also seem to state you can choose either one new skill, improve two skills one already have or two weapon skills. There are some more high tech options as well.
Can't speak to other editions, but the death mechanic in CT (as a tool to avoid a PC that wasn't 'turning' out) and knowledge of chargen allowed one to get a desirable team of PCs together. JoT and only a handful of basic skills gave good odds of having enough knowledge to get by (without ho-hum succeeding at most tasks) - though expansion book skills tended to dilute this aspect.
Chargen is an interesting mini-game at times, but for the most part just becomes a chore before an adventure. My players actually preferred to pick from a list of pre-gened characters. Much like an actor picks from a character - they rarely ever makeup the character.
I made my lists from a program and folks always got a good team together - the rules are so well balanced that munchkin and total incompetents really don't make an automated listing . By hand, one could even specifically tailor PCs for an adventure or campaign. Or simply let players pick off the skill tables - though, in practice, players rarely prefer this. To much decision making actually - like going to a pharmacy and seeing a whole aisle of competing meds and having to choose.
Traveller really emphasizes story and roleplay. New and enhanced skills happen between adventures - just as in most stories - and generally one would be bored roleplaying such.
Chargen is an interesting mini-game at times, but for the most part just becomes a chore before an adventure. My players actually preferred to pick from a list of pre-gened characters. Much like an actor picks from a character - they rarely ever makeup the character.
I made my lists from a program and folks always got a good team together - the rules are so well balanced that munchkin and total incompetents really don't make an automated listing . By hand, one could even specifically tailor PCs for an adventure or campaign. Or simply let players pick off the skill tables - though, in practice, players rarely prefer this. To much decision making actually - like going to a pharmacy and seeing a whole aisle of competing meds and having to choose.
Traveller really emphasizes story and roleplay. New and enhanced skills happen between adventures - just as in most stories - and generally one would be bored roleplaying such.
BlackBat242
SOC-14 1K
As a further to my previous post, this is how the party in the last campaign I ran learned new skills.
They bought a bunch of "skill courses" designed for computer-aided learning.
They they purchased (at a hefty cost) a holo-simulator to use with those course programs.
This piece of equipment took up a full stateroom, but allowed interactive "book" and "hands-on" instruction to occur.
This is how the study time was cut in half... it was basically like attending a tech-school course after work (1 hour per day, 5 days a week).
When in Jump, they could do 2 or more hours per day and still carry out all normal duties.
They bought a bunch of "skill courses" designed for computer-aided learning.
They they purchased (at a hefty cost) a holo-simulator to use with those course programs.
This piece of equipment took up a full stateroom, but allowed interactive "book" and "hands-on" instruction to occur.
This is how the study time was cut in half... it was basically like attending a tech-school course after work (1 hour per day, 5 days a week).
When in Jump, they could do 2 or more hours per day and still carry out all normal duties.
DangerousThing
SOC-13
I've never really liked the OTU. For a long time this was why I usually ran GURPs or BESM for my SF campaigns.
Right now I'm using Traveller 5 beta and I like the rules, but I still don't like the setting. I'm pretty much using the same setting I've used for my other campaigns.
Right now I'm using Traveller 5 beta and I like the rules, but I still don't like the setting. I'm pretty much using the same setting I've used for my other campaigns.
I'm working on creating a region which is in the same "universe" as the OTU, but of course, non-canon. It is the Orion OB1 Association (something which actually exists in the real world, but I've probably placed it in the wrong direction etc., but I have tried to keep the relative distances between the Orion stars the same), a region of giant stars and hardly any solid worlds (mostly belts, there are often at least 7 per system.), and M'norr Republic client states. (for anyone who's interested, here's a link: http://explorerbase.wikispaces.com/Orion+OB1+Association, or here's another: http://traveller.wikia.com/wiki/Orion_OB1_Association)
