TFT Traveller?
- Thread starter nudnic
- Start date
far-trader
SOC-14 10K
I think I saw it mentioned just recently, can't recall for sure which group site I was on though. I'll try to hunt it down and post or PM back here in the next couple days if I can find it.
tbeard1999
SOC-14 1K
Kinda like T20?
Actually, the TFT combat system lends itself quite well to Traveller. (Of course, you need to add the Overwatch option in my Hi Tech TFT rules). And it's (IMHO) a much faster and more enjoyable alternative to GURPS or D20 tactical systems (both of which appear to be strongly descended from TFT). It's also far less fiddly than Snapshot, AHL or MGT.
And TFT character creation is amazingly fast by modern standards -- 5-10 minutes tops, for a character that is customized.
And if you like low tech Traveller campaigns, the TFT combat system is a superb choice.
My only recommended change at this point is to replace the 3d6 roll with 1d20. The 3d6 curve is too limited IMHO. If you do this, reduce the bottom end of the scale for IQ -- Old TFT IQ 5 is IQ 2; Old TFT IQ4- is IQ 1.
Last edited:
Wrong. The IMTU forum is specifically for all forms of house rules, including other mechanical systems. Hunter has almost never openly discouraged discussions of people's variants.
The restriction is that Hunter considers attempts to use the MGT SRD to make work-alikes to various official rulesets to be infringement against Marc Miller; that's the only time he's stomped on a conversion discussion.
And no matter what Mongoose preaches, to a large part of the Market, traveller is a setting, not a rules system. (In fact, the complaint I've overheard in my FLGS is that MGT lacks a setting... same people complain similarly about GURPS, but only recently of Hero.)
And the OTU has been ported to no less than 8 discrete systems in 5 families...
The 2d6 Traveller lineage: CT 1st ed, CT 2nd ed, Striker*, MT, MGT**
The GDW House lineage: TNE
the T4 Lineage: T4, T5
The GURPS lineage: GT, GTIW
The Hero Lineage: T4H
The D&D Lineage: T20***
The unofficial conversions:
Peter Newman & I converted it to the WW Storyteller System.
Someone (i know not who) converted it to AD&D 2E †
Someone else converted it to AD&D 1E †
Several people played hybrid Star Frontiers/traveller games, in both directions.
Ty converted to TFT.
There have been 2 comprehensive GURPS conversions prior to the license of SJG. SJG hosted one of them for several years.
There have been a couple of partial conversions to WEG-StarWars (d6 system).
S John Ross has converted it to Risus.
there have been at least two conversions to FUDGE; one is actually based upon Ty's TFT-T
Many GM's ran the OTU using a hybrid of CT and 2300.
*While not an RPG, it's detail level is high enough that people did RP using it sans CT... and MT is essentially an integration of CT and Striker.
** It seems funky, but it's far closer to CT than T4 is. T4 looks very much hybrid between TNE and CT...
† Discussion of these and the the D20 license seemed to trigger Hunter's decision to pursue T20.
Thanks this is exactly the site I was looking for. I wonder why they took it down? I have been wanting to try this out for a while. I really liked Melee and Wizard. Wizard was the second game I bought, Ogre was the first.
Lately my group has been getting bogged down with 4e D&D. I was thinking to suggest something faster paced with SciFi theme for a change.
Lately my group has been getting bogged down with 4e D&D. I was thinking to suggest something faster paced with SciFi theme for a change.
tbeard1999
SOC-14 1K
Me too.
Actually, my host changed and I never got around to putting it on another site. You can find it thru the Wayback Machine:
http://web.archive.org/web/20070210195303/http://www.reese.org/tft/
I used few graphics, so the site should be relatively intact. One of these days, I'll put it back up.
TFT Traveller might work for you. But I'd definitely try replacing the 3d6 roll with 1d20.
far-trader
SOC-14 10K
Wow, blast from the past
I still have Melee and Wizard. Never could get my group into it.
The problem with using different dice with TFT is that non-combat difficulties are in number of dice. As in, a lock might be 4D[6] vs IQ... 3D with locksmith, 2d with Expert Locksmith. If you switch the combat rolls (a rare few of which are affected by certain talents), then any stat changes would affect non-combat roll difficulties adversely.
Icosahedron
SOC-14 1K
Sorry Aramis, as an ATU player I have to disagree with you there. The original Traveller game was a setting-free rules system.
Traveller has grown, of course, and is now more than either setting or rules. In fact there is a whole thread somewhere hereabouts discussing what Traveller is, but your claim isn't historically accurate.
tbeard1999
SOC-14 1K
Yeah, I forgot to comment on that. Generally, I convert each die of difficulty into a +/-3. (I often did this in my 3d6 TFT campaigns as well).
The advantage of using a d20 is that you have a far larger range of useful attribute levels. With 3d6, an 8 is about a 26% chance of success; 12 is about 74% chance of success. That's only 5 values. The 16%-84% range is only 7 values.
With a d20, these ranges are 11 and 15 values respectively.
It also helps mitigate the "magic attribute" problem in which DX is by far the most important stat.
Last edited:
You're the exception, not the rule... And setting is implicit in the CT rules themselves. Strong elements of the setting are incorporated into the rules of CT; 2 of the four "editions" of CT incorporate explicit OTU material (TTB and Starter Traveller), and CT 2nd mentions the default setting.
It's never truly been "generic"; even 1st printing has the core of the OTU setting tropes already in rules materials, just not in prose.
I can add at least one more to this list: Chris Thrash wrote an article for JTAS Online (SJGames) called Vast Imperium, Bold Travellers as a Big Eyes, Small Mouth (BESM 2nd edition) conversion for Traveller. Published April 10, 2001. No link because it hides behind the JTAS pay wall.
Kinda like T20?
Actually, the TFT combat system lends itself quite well to Traveller. (Of course, you need to add the Overwatch option in my Hi Tech TFT rules). And it's (IMHO) a much faster and more enjoyable alternative to GURPS or D20 tactical systems (both of which appear to be strongly descended from TFT). It's also far less fiddly than Snapshot, AHL or MGT.
And TFT character creation is amazingly fast by modern standards -- 5-10 minutes tops, for a character that is customized.
And if you like low tech Traveller campaigns, the TFT combat system is a superb choice.
My only recommended change at this point is to replace the 3d6 roll with 1d20. The 3d6 curve is too limited IMHO. If you do this, reduce the bottom end of the scale for IQ -- Old TFT IQ 5 is IQ 2; Old TFT IQ4- is IQ 1.
Looks like I completely missed that entire discussion! Thanks for the brief!
I have always explained Traveller (especially when recruiting players) as hard science fiction with only three specific handwaves otherwise: jump drive, tabletop hot fusion, and gravitics (air/rafts).
(Low berths are a possible fourth.)
The particular rules used, and the geopolitics, do not need to be specified; Traveller is a particular sub-genre of interstellar sci-fi, characterized by the absence of some particular sci-fi tropes: FTL commo, ubiquitous high-energy-density tech like self-contained laser pistols and lightsabers, lots of cyberpunk and netdiving, warp drive and jump gates, AI robots everywhere, et cetera...
The rules for rolling up a character or resolving a firefight, or the details of interstellar history and government, are not what make a game Traveller...
Last edited:
tbeard1999
SOC-14 1K
Here's the complete rundown:
Unless otherwise stated, replace the standard 3d6 roll with 1d20. A 2d6 roll is 1d20-3; a 4d6 roll is 1d20+3; a 5d6 roll is 1d20+6; etc.
IQ 5- is changed to an IQ of 1.
IQ 6 is changed to IQ 2
An automatic hit is a natural "1"; an automatic miss is a natural "20".
If an automatic hit is rolled, roll 1d20 again. A 1-2 is triple damage; 3-10 is double damage; 11+ is an automatic hit.
If an automatic miss is rolled, roll 1d20 again. A 1-2 is automatic miss and break weapon; 3-10 is automatic miss and drop weapon; 11+ is an automatic miss. (As an alternative, transpose the numbers so that a 1-10 is an automatic miss; 11-18 is an automatic miss, drop weapon; 19-20 is an automatic miss, break weapon.)
TFT modifiers are retained (i.e., a -4 in TFT is still a -4 in d20 TFT). Note: you could make a statistical case for multiplying the TFT modifier by ~1.5. So a -4 in TFT would be a -6. I don't really think that this is worth the hassle of re-doing every TFT modifier. An exception are the optional Aimed Shots modifiers. They should be multiplied by 1.5. So a head shot is -9 DX, weapon arm is -6 DX, shield arm -9 DX, Leg -6 DX. Similarly, the Dagger Marksmanship modifiers should be multiplied by 1.5. so a head or hand shot would be -9 DX.
When using the Fencing talent, you do triple damage on an AdjDX roll of 1 (this does not have to be a natural 1). You do double damage on an AdjDX roll of 2-3.
I've been extremely happy with the d20 replacement because it expands the useful range of attributes. In a 3d6 system, a 39 point character is pretty dominant -- if he allocates 13 to each attribute the character will succeed 84% of the time with normal rolls. That's only 7 attribute points after starting.
But with a d20 system, the character will need a 17 on each attribute -- a 51 point character.
Icosahedron
SOC-14 1K
Thanks Aramis, I feel really included now...
There was very little setting material in the original 3 book boxed set. Whatever there was was certainly 'implicit' and was countered by several explicit exhortations to make things up for yourself. I'm only the 'exception' because the original advert to join the party stated 'fancy dress', and then the hosts changed their mind. Now you need a tie to get in...
But let's not hijack this thread into another 'what is Traveller' discussion, as I said, there's a thread for that already.
I like that - that's signature material. Very CT.
tbeard1999
SOC-14 1K
Here's the revised version of High Tech TFT (necessary for TFT Traveller).
http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discuss/showthread.php?p=315746#post315746
http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discuss/showthread.php?p=315746#post315746
