I guess I'm curious as to how most of you play or have played this game in regards to the reaction table. Do you always use it, only sometimes when it's important, or rare or never?
How often do you use the reaction table?
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mike wightman
SOC-14 10K
Not only do I use it, I have extra house rules for using it to facilitate my refereeing choices/decisions if I need it to.
Here's my thread on it:
http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discuss/showthread.php?t=37878
Here's my thread on it:
http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discuss/showthread.php?t=37878
coliver988
SOC-14 1K
I use it but don't always follow it. I've also used it when I had a bunch of NPCs as part of the crew to determine how the crew reacted to one another (basically a matrix of the crew on top & left. I had some unrequited love in there it looked like, as well as some simmering hostilities).
It's useful for me as a springboard into how to handle encounters that could affect the plot. Pretty much each session I'd roll at least once to see which way to lean for encounters. For encounters that had no bearing on the action, I may still roll just to add a bit of personality to things.
It's useful for me as a springboard into how to handle encounters that could affect the plot. Pretty much each session I'd roll at least once to see which way to lean for encounters. For encounters that had no bearing on the action, I may still roll just to add a bit of personality to things.
creativehum
SOC-14 1K
If it's a first time encounter with new NPCs where a pre-disposition is not obvious I use it. But even then, if I'm not sure how things are going to start, I'll roll it even in the case of what might otherwise be considered a pre-disposition.)
(Pre-dispotion: PCs encounter bounty hunters sent to track them down. Probably no need to roll. But still, I might, offering a -DM on the roll, just to see how the bounty hunters are faring.)
(Pre-dispotion: PCs encounter bounty hunters sent to track them down. Probably no need to roll. But still, I might, offering a -DM on the roll, just to see how the bounty hunters are faring.)
Reaction Tables
Never. Never have. I don't feel the need as a Referee to use the Reactions Tables. Perhaps it is because I tend to take the role of Referee one degree higher or to more detail than rolling cubes behind a cardboard screen.
In my opinion, a proficient Referee can sink into the role of whatever alien NPC the Travellers encounter and then present a reaction that is believable, forwards the story or adventure and still provides vibrant backdrop to the diverse sophonts of any Traveller Universe.
At most, I look at the tables and see the ranges of behavior for suggestions and secretly adjudicate the current situation or encounter as the tables cannot cover every possibility.
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Never. Never have. I don't feel the need as a Referee to use the Reactions Tables. Perhaps it is because I tend to take the role of Referee one degree higher or to more detail than rolling cubes behind a cardboard screen.
In my opinion, a proficient Referee can sink into the role of whatever alien NPC the Travellers encounter and then present a reaction that is believable, forwards the story or adventure and still provides vibrant backdrop to the diverse sophonts of any Traveller Universe.
At most, I look at the tables and see the ranges of behavior for suggestions and secretly adjudicate the current situation or encounter as the tables cannot cover every possibility.
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creativehum
SOC-14 1K
Ha ha... you're awesome!
Anyway, a few questions and comments:
Do you use the Random Encounter Tables? (Does the edition you use have random encounter tables? I'm not familiar with all of them (only Classic Traveller and MegaTravaller). I ask because one way of playing Classic Traveller is as written, with a lot of procedural driven play producing random results the Referee then spins with the players into unexpected directions.
You speak of "the story." But I never have "a story." I have the opportunities and challenges I set before the Players and then watch them make choices and see how things fall out. Since I'm not trying to push anything forward in particular toward any end I have no need to avoid random inspiration. In fact, it's a blast to be inspired by random inspiration because it helps the game go lots of places I could never have expected it to go. Which is part of the fun of this kind of play.
Inspiration is a vital word here. Classic Traveller was built as a system for the Players to have their PCs head off into rough-and-tumble interstellar space with the ability to travel to somewhat easily at least a half dozen worlds on the first night of play, and another dozen within reach quickly after that. There was not "story" -- it was about encountering and dealing with an environment in the pursuit of wealth and power and Refereed neutrally by one of the players at the table.
In other words: detailing all that potential material is impossible. If there is not plot or railroad or story there is nothing but, as the rules say, "a large (bordering ultimately on the infinite) universe, ripe for the bold adventurer’s travels." Keep in mind, this is 1977. At this time there are no setting books for RPGs, no published adventures for people to buy. It is assumed the Referee will be creating his own material. And rather than detail out a whole world, let alone a half dozen, or a dozen, or 40 worlds in a subsector, the game offers a set of tools to help the Referee generate encounters and personalities on the fly. Because that's going to be a lot of the fun of the game.
This has nothing to do with "what kind of Referee one is." It's a choice about rules. If I'm running Pendragon, Burning Wheel, or Sagas of the Icelanders I don't roll random reactions. Not only do those game not have random reaction tables -- but the game play that works best for those games has no need of random tables. So I suppose one could say when I'm Refereeing those games I'm taking the role of Referee "higher."
On the other hand, one could also use the word "different." As in: "When I play these games that are built to do different things I treat the role of the Referee differently."
I use it when I recognize I might be biased by the encounter or I might not be giving the character the benefit of the doubt about what he meant to say or not say. It helps a lot for the NPCs on the street who you don't write a detailed description in your adventure for how they respond to things.
Tangent: Random Encounter Tables
Those Tables I use. Often. I use them for inspiration or a springboard for story however short or long it develops as a result of the roll. My players have ignored the random encounter as it is their sandbox. Freedom of will is the power of the Travellers.
As to Edition, I used the Mongoose Random Encounters tables during the 1E campaign, but only as a baseline. In consulting the rolled result, I always ask myself "What is the story in this result?" Respecting the result and expanding the encounter to a chance happenstance to small interlude or letting it grow into a diversion. If the Travellers show further interest, then it can grow larger and more detailed with a modicum of winging-it, Referee-style.
Nowadays, I am currently using Traveller5, which as of yet does not have such niceties. So, I invented one modus operendi for myself. Here is the procedure:
If the Referee thinks things are becoming dull for the Travellers, throw 6D (six Dice).
1. For every 6 that appears on the Dice, there is a potential for an Encounter.
2. For every 1 that appears on the same throw, reduce the number of 6s at a ratio of 1:1.
3. If there are any 6s left after the 1s eliminate them, there is an Encounter.
4. If there are more 1s than 6s, there is no Encounter. Continue the dull, everyday Travelling. Lucky Travellers.
5. If there are more 6s, count the leftover 6s and let that be a standard for the intensity or story potential for the Encounter.
6. If no 6s or 1s appear on the throw, inflict boredom upon the Travellers. Maybe even a Check SAN (CS) with 2D. "Man, I'm bored. I wish something would happen." After all, nothing happening is an Encounter unto itself.
One 6: A minor happenstance or easy fix with a single Skill or decision gate.
Two 6s: A sidestepping problem to deal with.
Three 6s: A full Encounter with a problem requiring teamwork or more than one Skill.
Four 6s: An Encounter with implications, causality or significant threat.
Five 6s: A story with a view.
Six 6s: Epic Encounter. "Standby on the Screens, Lieutenant."
This is also how I generated the hurdles found in my story Down A Peg though it may not seem so. A good Referee never says aloud, "Uh-oh, an Encounter result." He melds and blends it in with the ho-hum of Travelling experiences.
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Those Tables I use. Often. I use them for inspiration or a springboard for story however short or long it develops as a result of the roll. My players have ignored the random encounter as it is their sandbox. Freedom of will is the power of the Travellers.
As to Edition, I used the Mongoose Random Encounters tables during the 1E campaign, but only as a baseline. In consulting the rolled result, I always ask myself "What is the story in this result?" Respecting the result and expanding the encounter to a chance happenstance to small interlude or letting it grow into a diversion. If the Travellers show further interest, then it can grow larger and more detailed with a modicum of winging-it, Referee-style.
Nowadays, I am currently using Traveller5, which as of yet does not have such niceties. So, I invented one modus operendi for myself. Here is the procedure:
If the Referee thinks things are becoming dull for the Travellers, throw 6D (six Dice).
1. For every 6 that appears on the Dice, there is a potential for an Encounter.
2. For every 1 that appears on the same throw, reduce the number of 6s at a ratio of 1:1.
3. If there are any 6s left after the 1s eliminate them, there is an Encounter.
4. If there are more 1s than 6s, there is no Encounter. Continue the dull, everyday Travelling. Lucky Travellers.
5. If there are more 6s, count the leftover 6s and let that be a standard for the intensity or story potential for the Encounter.
6. If no 6s or 1s appear on the throw, inflict boredom upon the Travellers. Maybe even a Check SAN (CS) with 2D. "Man, I'm bored. I wish something would happen." After all, nothing happening is an Encounter unto itself.
One 6: A minor happenstance or easy fix with a single Skill or decision gate.
Two 6s: A sidestepping problem to deal with.
Three 6s: A full Encounter with a problem requiring teamwork or more than one Skill.
Four 6s: An Encounter with implications, causality or significant threat.
Five 6s: A story with a view.
Six 6s: Epic Encounter. "Standby on the Screens, Lieutenant."
This is also how I generated the hurdles found in my story Down A Peg though it may not seem so. A good Referee never says aloud, "Uh-oh, an Encounter result." He melds and blends it in with the ho-hum of Travelling experiences.
From the Writers Desk on Roethoeegaeaegz Orbital, this is the Pakkrat.
The News you want at the speed you need. Net-7 News!
Thanks. I posted this because in the example of play the author warns against over use of the reaction table and overuse or misuse of skills applied to the reaction table. I think his example was a player telling the referee that he had something like an Admin or Liaison or 2 or something, and to apply that to the reaction roll.
There's some anecdotes I have about "bipolar" like reactions stemming from the reaction table, which really made no sense given the PC-NPC interaction. An NPC could be extremely helpful one minute, then extremely hostile the next. It was totally unpredictable if you went strictly by procedure.
With other RPGs, D&D, Bond, T&T, or whatever else, you knew the mood or the flavor of the setting, so you really didn't need too much to refer to a table to generate how an NPC felt or reacted to your statements and actions. Come to think of it, I don't think GURPS, Blue Planet, Jovian Chronicles or a number of other games, have reaction tables. The writeup for the NPC is there, and given the background of the adventure, you, as a DM / GM, already have an idea or sense of the NPCs disposition.
Interesting. Thanks much for the replies. Very much appreciated.
There's some anecdotes I have about "bipolar" like reactions stemming from the reaction table, which really made no sense given the PC-NPC interaction. An NPC could be extremely helpful one minute, then extremely hostile the next. It was totally unpredictable if you went strictly by procedure.
With other RPGs, D&D, Bond, T&T, or whatever else, you knew the mood or the flavor of the setting, so you really didn't need too much to refer to a table to generate how an NPC felt or reacted to your statements and actions. Come to think of it, I don't think GURPS, Blue Planet, Jovian Chronicles or a number of other games, have reaction tables. The writeup for the NPC is there, and given the background of the adventure, you, as a DM / GM, already have an idea or sense of the NPCs disposition.
Interesting. Thanks much for the replies. Very much appreciated.
creativehum
SOC-14 1K
Wait. Are you suggesting the Reaction Table is rolled for each interaction with an NPC? Because that's not how it is used. You rolling for the intitial encounter with an NPC if you don't know how the NPC will react. Subsequent interactions and events can shift that initial reaction. But you don't check it for each interaction and I don't think anyone here would suggest that's how it works.
Also -- I feel compelled to clarify my response above. I cetainly don't use it for every NPC. If the PCs enter a store then buy something I assume the shopkeep is a professional who is in the business of trading goods for credits. I'm not going to roll to see if he suddenly attacks the PCs. The reaction table is there when the reaction is uncertain and more than a mundane interaction.
Also -- I feel compelled to clarify my response above. I cetainly don't use it for every NPC. If the PCs enter a store then buy something I assume the shopkeep is a professional who is in the business of trading goods for credits. I'm not going to roll to see if he suddenly attacks the PCs. The reaction table is there when the reaction is uncertain and more than a mundane interaction.
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I use the reaction table almost any time the current narrative situation doesn't compel a given reaction.
EG: Offering Duke Bill Hamford, Norris' Castellan, a drink, it's a reaction table roll with a +2...
Offering Hamford a drink once he knows you? No roll, he just says yes if it's not <4 hours to a duty shift...
Making a new proposal to Duke Hamford? Roll, with DM's as follows:
It makes economic sense: +1
It makes money for Hamford: +1
It makes money for Norris: +1
It requires investment by Norris -1
Ir requires investment by Hamford -2
It's not legal: -1
It involves Jump Space Research: +2.
EG: Offering Duke Bill Hamford, Norris' Castellan, a drink, it's a reaction table roll with a +2...
Offering Hamford a drink once he knows you? No roll, he just says yes if it's not <4 hours to a duty shift...
Making a new proposal to Duke Hamford? Roll, with DM's as follows:
It makes economic sense: +1
It makes money for Hamford: +1
It makes money for Norris: +1
It requires investment by Norris -1
Ir requires investment by Hamford -2
It's not legal: -1
It involves Jump Space Research: +2.
No, but I've seen that done. I and all the groups I've ever gamed with, had the DM/GM/Ref assuming the roles of all NPCs, and use of the reaction table was sparingly. As you say, initial tone, but that's it, again as per the example of play in the book.
I also ask this because when T5beta rolled off the assembly line the NPC reaction table was or seemed really complicated and over-emphasized. So much that it had me wondering if this game was geared differently than I and others had played it.
Just in general I'm curious how often people refer to it, and how they apply it.
I also ask this because when T5beta rolled off the assembly line the NPC reaction table was or seemed really complicated and over-emphasized. So much that it had me wondering if this game was geared differently than I and others had played it.
Just in general I'm curious how often people refer to it, and how they apply it.
creativehum
SOC-14 1K
Out of curiosity, what author are you talking about? What book?
The big black Traveller book, with the blue trimmed dust cover jacket and the faux Millennium Falcon on the cover.
creativehum
SOC-14 1K
You mean The Traveller Book? (Not being snarky. I think T5 is often referred to as the BBB. But I don't think it has an image on it. Really not sure which one you are referring to.)
Also: I don't remember any warnings of misuse of Reaction Rolls in The Traveller Book. Out of curiosity I did a quick skim. Didn't find anything about concerns about misuse. But I did find plenty of clear sentences outlining how to use them -- lining up pretty much with what everyone has said above.
Also: I don't remember any warnings of misuse of Reaction Rolls in The Traveller Book. Out of curiosity I did a quick skim. Didn't find anything about concerns about misuse. But I did find plenty of clear sentences outlining how to use them -- lining up pretty much with what everyone has said above.
I think it might be in the "Example of Play" section. But no, I'm not referring to T5.
To be honest, T5 is part of the reason I started this thread and poll, because T5 seemed to really emphasize the reaction table for PC-NPC interaction.
I mean, it's an RPG and not really a hard war sim as such, so you have a lot of leeway of how to handle NPCs. But I am curious for additional opinions.
To be honest, T5 is part of the reason I started this thread and poll, because T5 seemed to really emphasize the reaction table for PC-NPC interaction.
I mean, it's an RPG and not really a hard war sim as such, so you have a lot of leeway of how to handle NPCs. But I am curious for additional opinions.
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