I am thinking of how Travellers are viewed by the residents of planets they visit.
The classic era 3rd Imperium seemed to get more cosmopolitan as it went on. If, as the Traveller Book says, interstellar travel is as common as air travel today, then Travellers won't generally command too much attention, unless they venture out into the sticks.
What about in a small ship universe where travel is dangerous and rarer? This seems to be the assumption of the LBBs, particularly the 1977 versions where it's more expensive and difficult to travel off the established jump lanes. A post-Collapse or Milieu Zero/Long Night setting will feel similar.
If a world sees a ship every six months or once a year, it seems to me Travellers are going to be pretty much planetary celebrities. (Assuming the general population gets to find out about their visit, of course.)
This makes me think of the Ultras in Alastair Reynolds' Revelation Space series, for those who know it. The Ultras are the interstellar travellers. When one of their ships turns up at a backwater colony, it's a major event. World leaders on hand to greet the visitors from deep space.
Doesn't quite seem to be a situation the average PC crew could fit into. But it would certainly increase the importance of having somebody with higher SOC in the party.
Have you ever played it that way in your games?
The classic era 3rd Imperium seemed to get more cosmopolitan as it went on. If, as the Traveller Book says, interstellar travel is as common as air travel today, then Travellers won't generally command too much attention, unless they venture out into the sticks.
What about in a small ship universe where travel is dangerous and rarer? This seems to be the assumption of the LBBs, particularly the 1977 versions where it's more expensive and difficult to travel off the established jump lanes. A post-Collapse or Milieu Zero/Long Night setting will feel similar.
If a world sees a ship every six months or once a year, it seems to me Travellers are going to be pretty much planetary celebrities. (Assuming the general population gets to find out about their visit, of course.)
This makes me think of the Ultras in Alastair Reynolds' Revelation Space series, for those who know it. The Ultras are the interstellar travellers. When one of their ships turns up at a backwater colony, it's a major event. World leaders on hand to greet the visitors from deep space.
Doesn't quite seem to be a situation the average PC crew could fit into. But it would certainly increase the importance of having somebody with higher SOC in the party.
Have you ever played it that way in your games?