How often do you use the reaction table?

[Fovean]

As others have mentioned, I use it mainly as a tone generator to flesh out NPCs, the general vibe of ship crews, installations and worlds. Not necessarily concrete reactions per se.

But honestly I haven't actually referenced it during my current campaign as I've (d)evolved into "on a scale of 2-12 with 12 being very positive..."

 

[creativehum]

I'm still baffled by the poll.

• Always. It's part of the rules, and part of what Traveller is all about.
• Sometimes, but only with important NPC-PC discourse.

But, of course, the rules don't insist on it being used "always."

I see them as part of the rules. And I only use them "sometimes." For reasons I already laid out upthread.

 

[Blue Ghost]

I think if you check T5 there's a huge emphasis on use of the reaction table. Not so with CT, I can't remember it ever being a factor in MT, and I haven't gone through the GT rules (only the supps) to voice an opinion. I'll assume it's in MgT.

 

[creativehum]

I think if you check T5 there's a huge emphasis on use of the reaction table. Not so with CT, I can't remember it ever being a factor in MT, and I haven't gone through the GT rules (only the supps) to voice an opinion. I'll assume it's in MgT.

Okay, cool. Got it.

 

[aramis]

I think if you check T5 there's a huge emphasis on use of the reaction table. Not so with CT, I can't remember it ever being a factor in MT, and I haven't gone through the GT rules (only the supps) to voice an opinion. I'll assume it's in MgT.

It's present in CT...
Referenced in Bk2 starship encounters, Located in Bk3.
CT 81 B3 p.27:

Reaction throws are made upon initial encounter, and one throw determines the reaction of an entire group.
Reactions are used by the referee and by players as a guide to the probable actions of individuals. They determine responses to business offers or deals (admin or bribery expertise serves as a DM). Reactions govern the reliability and quality of hirelings and employees. Generally, they would re-roll reactions in the face of bad treatment or dangerous tasks.​

CT 77 B3 p22-23 includes the same text and the same reaction table.

It's pretty explicit - so if i wasn't emphasized, either the Ref was rolling but not telling you, or houseruling it away, or substituting his own judgement in a situational case. Two of the three of which I've been known to do.

MT, it's part of the encounter flowchart, RM p 43, Encounters Step 11.
The whole process of modifying that initial reaction is an entire chapter: Interpersonal Tasks. The Reactions table is simplified to 4- Rude, 5-7 neutral, 8+ polite, but that's not enough to determine hostility nor cooperation; those come from tasks following.

It's useful, but it's not a straightjacket. Apply with common sense and GM mods ...

 

[Blue Ghost]

Right, and I didn't want to bring this up, but one session the Ref (not I) was rolling for everything. I even told him that's not how you're supposed to use the table (in fact I whined about it, embarrassingly enough). And T5, or at least the way it's presented in beta, and some of the exchange I had in the T5 section, got me to thinking about how other people actually played the game.

 

[Volador]

I am going back to using the encounter table and random encounters more, so that in the game world encountered by my players it is a little bit more unpredictable and fresh. Not being quite so gifted as some refs I find dice rolls can be inspiring and liberating and take a lot of work and angst out of things. And it has cured a certain staleness that i felt was starting to creep in to my efforts. The trick then is to then guide and develop the results and not rely too much on randomness, nor let the dice take you to silly places. I've also used it as a pseudo luck roll, or to get some idea of npc group pre-dispositions or how successful/down on their luck they might be which then can factor into the encounter.

 

[flykiller]

Not being quite so gifted as some refs I find dice rolls can be inspiring and liberating

well, not so much "gifted" as putting a lot of work into prepping something and watching the players head in an opposite direction .... player: "so what do we see?" miffed ref: (rolls dice) (hey ... yeah, I can use that!) (smiles not nicely) "you see ....!"

 

[GamingGlen]

(just looked at the polls for first time in awhile)

There's a reaction table?

 

[ShawnDriscoll]

In my games, I don't have players asking questions out of character.

NPCs have their agenda. PCs have theirs. When the two meet, role-play determines things. I won't pause a game to see what a Reaction Charts says will happen.