CT Only: New to CT - Books or resources to find canon story line

[zamosc]

I have been introduced to Classic Traveller over the holiday, and now I am hooked. However, I am very new to Traveller and the Imperium storyline. Where do I start, or what should I read to get a better understanding how the 3rd Imperium works or is structured?

Thank you
Z

 

[tjoneslo]

https://wiki.travellerrpg.com/Main_Page

The pages listed under the overview of charted space are a good, if very detailed, overview of the official Traveller universe. If you want the published books find a few of the books listed in the sources at the end of the articles.

https://wiki.travellerrpg.com/Imperial_Encyclopedia

This book has the best overview and library data for the OTU. If you want one book, this would be the one .

 

[mike wightman]

Welcome

Here is the introduction I have used to start a new OTU based campaign, it is cobbled together from a few CT sources:

The lmperium is a strong interstellar government possessed of great industrial and technological might, but unable, due to the sheer distances and travel times involved, to exert total control at all levels everywhere within its star-spanning realm. It encompasses 281 subsectors and approximately 11,000 worlds. Approaching 1100 years old, it is the third human empire to control this area of the galaxy, the oldest, and the strongest. Nevertheless, it is under great pressure from its neighbouring interstellar governments, and does not have the strength nor the power which it once had.

On the frontiers the lmperium allows a large degree of autonomy to its subject worlds calling only for some respect for its overall policies, and for a united front against outside pressures. Extensive home rule provisions allow planetary populations to choose their own forms of government, raise and maintain armed forces for local security, pass and enforce laws governing local conduct, and regulate (within limits) commerce. To monitor the space lanes, the lmperium maintains a Navy. Because these forces can never be everywhere at once, local provinces (subsectors) also maintain navies, as do individual worlds.

Defence of the frontier is mostly provided by local indigenous forces, stiffened by scattered lmperial naval bases manned by small but extremely sophisticated forces.

Conflicting local interests often settle their differences by force of arms, with lmperial forces looking quietly the other way, unable to effectively intervene as a police force in any but the most wide-spread of conflicts without jeopardizing their primary mission of the defence of the realm. Only when local conflicts threaten either the security or the economy of the area do lmperial forces take an active hand, and then it is with speed and overwhelming force.

At the spinward edge, 120 parsecs from the original center of the Imperium, the Marches represent one of the furthest extents of exploration and domination by Imperial forces. Lying adjacent to territory of the Zhodani Consulate and the Vargr Extents, this region is a site which has seen much conflict and intrigue.

 

[The Oz]

I have been introduced to Classic Traveller over the holiday, and now I am hooked. However, I am very new to Traveller and the Imperium storyline. Where do I start, or what should I read to get a better understanding how the 3rd Imperium works or is structured?

Thank you
Z

You don't have to play in the 3I (Third Imperium) setting at all. You can generate (or borrow) a background of your own.

 

[zamosc]

Thank you everyone. It is good to meet all of you. Does anyone know of a play by email or virtual board? I was introduced to Traveller by some house guests over the holiday, and now I am hooked.

 

[whartung]

You don't have to play in the 3I (Third Imperium) setting at all. You can generate (or borrow) a background of your own.

Maybe the Third Imperium is what hooked him.

 

[coliver988]

Thank you everyone. It is good to meet all of you. Does anyone know of a play by email or virtual board? I was introduced to Traveller by some house guests over the holiday, and now I am hooked.

There are a few online games here - scroll down the main page for the play by post section.

Searching the web you may find a few others, and somewhere in this forum there was a Fantasy Grounds into to Traveller character creation or something that may be a springboard to online games.

edit: it was Mongoose Traveller, which is similar but not the same as Classic. Check the Mongoose forums here.

 

[Fovean]

Thank you everyone. It is good to meet all of you. Does anyone know of a play by email or virtual board? I was introduced to Traveller by some house guests over the holiday, and now I am hooked.

Roleplay Online is a free play-by-post site that has a few Traveller games going, however they are Mongoose 2nd Ed rather than Classic Traveller. The games are very similar so you might be able to join one there without too much of a learning curve. I’ve played in two Trav games there over the years and it was always great fun.

https://rpol.net/

 

[kilemall]

I think we would be remiss to not mention Marc Miller's novel on his setting, Agent of the Imperium. Less an historical timeline, more a 'how it works at the sharp end of threats' background, but should give you a feel of how the 3I works.

 

[zamosc]

I only know very little of the setting; however, the fragmentation, and the size of the empire, which makes smaller governments operate on their own really fascinates me. Sort of reminds me like Middle Ages with similar government structure, which could allow for even Planets or system being sort of a "free city state".

What also attracted me to the Traveller is the 2d6 dice system. I have played GURPS in the past; however, was a little over complicated for what I want in a game system.

Question, long time Battletech/Mechwarrior (BT/MW)gamer, but I could not happen to notice that 1E BT/MW has a very similar 2d6 mechanics. Did FASA do anything for Traveller or was it inspired from Traveller?

Thank you all for the warm welcome, and I hope to see and discuss more Traveller related items. I am very new, yet excited to learn and do more in and with Traveller (CT).

 

[BlackBat242]

Through most of the 1980s FASA made a great many supplements and adventures for Traveller* - they were among the best, in many ways. As Traveller was first published in 1977, I'd say that FASA took 2D6 from GDW.



* until MegaTraveller came out in Jan 1987 there was only one Traveller edition (and still is only one as far as I am concerned ).

 

[Spinward Scout]

If you specifically want to use Classic Traveller, the CD on the FFE website is pretty cheap at $35 and contains 95 PDFs of the Classic Traveller books. Everything you need to play. I"ve copied the PDFs over on to my hard drive for easier access. Works great!

 

[whartung]

If you specifically want to use Classic Traveller, the CD on the FFE website is pretty cheap at $35 and contains 95 PDFs of the Classic Traveller books. Everything you need to play. I"ve copied the PDFs over on to my hard drive for easier access. Works great!

Yes, this is a huge deal.

As an anecdote, I purchased Azhanti High Lightning, the board game, back when it came out. 1980/81.

It was $40.

That's $126 in todays dollars. O.O

$35 for FFE CD is < $12 in 1980 dollars.

I seem to recall books like Mercenary and High Guard going for about $6 each.

So, for the price of book 4 and 5, you get, well, "everything" save JTAS.

So, yea, this CD is an absolute steal.

 

[zamosc]

Through most of the 1980s FASA made a great many supplements and adventures for Traveller* - they were among the best, in many ways. As Traveller was first published in 1977, I'd say that FASA took 2D6 from GDW.



* until MegaTraveller came out in Jan 1987 there was only one Traveller edition (and still is only one as far as I am concerned ).

I have looked at the other versions, since I was introduced. All of them really look good, not a big D20 fan, and it looks like Mongoose stuck with the simple 2d6 rule set with some tweaks.

What really hooked me is the flexibility of the 2d6 mechanics. Some say 2d6 is not enough, and you need 3d6 roll under; however, 2d6 served and continue to server Battletech(BT) and MechWarrior(MW) just fine.

It also seems that most of the Traveller scale is 0-4, which is a five step scale. A 5 step scale should be more then enough for advancement, and good game play.

Years ago I tried GURPS (think 3rd edition? Mid/late 90s); however, I was still in FASA land. I thought to my self, wow!!! this is over complicated FASA was doing with 2d6, even on a board game hex grid map for tactical board game like play.

++laugh++ It seems I have always been a little outside of the normal RPG trends. When most folks were playing D&D(RC/BCEMI/Bx) I was playing SPI's DragonQuest 1e/2e.

I like Roleplaying, but I do appreciate more of a technical boardgame feel to combat.

 

[zamosc]

I want to simulate events that take place beyond the normal game session time.

For example: characters mine ore or prospect, some normal tasks that would not allow for great rpg game play session. However, during that time they had to fight off bandits or claim jumpers only twice within a week. At the end of the week, the party was able to mine 4 oz of gold.

Has anyone experimented with something like this? I am currently building an event chart, but wanted some ideas since I am a little rusty with RPing and RPGs.

 

[whartung]

I want to simulate events that take place beyond the normal game session time.

For example: characters mine ore or prospect, some normal tasks that would not allow for great rpg game play session. However, during that time they had to fight off bandits or claim jumpers only twice within a week. At the end of the week, the party was able to mine 4 oz of gold.

Has anyone experimented with something like this? I am currently building an event chart, but wanted some ideas since I am a little rusty with RPing and RPGs.

Honestly, this is essentially little different from, say, a trip in Jump Space.

"Stuff happens", for a week -- very routine stuff, but still stuff.

99% of the time this stuff is unimportant (the lights work, the drives function, the power plant hums).

Sometimes, "something happens" and the mundane becomes exciting.

A typical way to manage this it to come up with some skill checks that represent the week. A few dice rolls can be used to determine how well the mining or ore processing worked. Fail the check, bad week, no real gold this time. Critical fail the check, and you break you pick (or something). Success, you get a few ounces of gold, Spectacular success Whoo Hoo! more money.

Then, during this week you can check for random encounters with bandits, strangers in distress, etc.

Simply, it's not a day to day task, it's a week of routine "work" where a few things may happen during the week.

 

[zamosc]

I am little confused, since I played the other night and noticed that some skills have different modifiers per skill point. I think it was Aircar or VAC suit that had +10 or something like that per skill point.

Why are some skills weighted heavier then other skills? How does one pick a modifier or bonus/penalties in CT?

 

[mike wightman]

The CT saving throw system is not a task system. The rules give you examples of how that particular skill may be used in a given situation to determine the dice throw. This is explained much better in the section in The Traveller Adventure about the use of dice.

So basically a skill level can be worth a variable bonus depending on the saving throw situation, and the target number can vary by situation etc.

There is a critical paragraph that follows the skill saving throw examples missing from all but the 1977 edition of CT:

Skills and the referee: It is impossible for any table of information to cover all aspects of a potential situation, and the above listing is by no means complete in its coverage of the effects of skills. This is where the referee becomes an important part of the game process. The above listing of skills and game effects must necessarily be taken as a guide, and followed, altered, or ignored as the actual situation dictates.

 

[mike wightman]

By the way here is the text from The Traveller Adventure:

Situation Throws: In the absence of any other guidance, the referee may always resort to the situation throw. When an incident first occurs, throw two dice to determine its relative severity. A low roll means that it is easy, a high roll means comparative difficulty. The number achieved is now the situation number. The player characters involved, when they attempt to deal with the situation, must roll the situation number or higher on two dice, They are, of course, allowed DMs based on any appropriate skills. Tools, assistance, and equipment may also provide beneficial DMs; weather, haste, adverse environment, or other handicaps may impose negative DMs. It is even possible for a referee to make the situation number greater than 12, thus making success impossible unless the players can provide necessary skills or tools with DMs to get their throw also above 12.

Example of Throws: An adventurer (46797A) has experienced a malfunction in the drive room of her vessel. The situation seems hopeless at the moment, and she is forced to abandon ship. The air lock hatch, however, is warped shut. A quick resolution to the problem is to state that she must roll strength or less to force it open. After several unsuccessful rolls, she casts about for a pry bar to help her.

The referee arbitrarily rules that the bar allows -4 on the die roll (the referee could guess or roll one die for the result).

On the next roll, the adventurer is successful; then she makes her way to the ship's locker for her vacc suit. Grabbing a survival pack, she proceeds to abandon ship. She knows that the drives cannot stand the strain much longer, and that she must get out immediately. The referee decides that the drives will explode on 9+ in the current turn, 8+ in the next turn, and so on, The referee decides that the character's last minute repair attempts have been partially successful, and he increases the needed roll by her level of engineering skill (Engineering-2) to 11+.

The adventurer needs to find a survival kit before she leaves the ship, but one extra turn will be needed to gather it up. The referee rolls to see if the ship explodes this turn (11+). It does not, and she grabs the survival kit.

On the second turn, she cycles through the airlock while the referee checks for an explosion again (10+ this time); once more the ship remains intact.

On the third turn, while the character is drifting away from the ship, the referee rolls 11 and the drives explode (9+ was needed).

The distress call from her radio attracts a local asteroid miner. He is required by custom and law to pick her up, but may net like being diverted to an unprofitable rescue mission.

The referee rolls two dice for his reaction: the result is 4. She must now convince him to take her to the local starport so that she can arrange salvage of her ship. She may add any applicable skills, such as streetwise, bribery, even DM -1 for Intelligence 9+ if the referee thinks this appropriate.

Obviously, in a situation such as this, repeated requests will not be possible (or they may be allowed at DM -1 per additional request). Probably she only gets to try once.

Even with DMs totaling -3, she rolls an 8, which does not convince the miner to go out of his way to help her. She is stuck on his ship until he finishes his prospecting run of (the referee rolls one die) 4 months. Judging by his reaction roll to her, he'll probably make her pay for room and board as well.

If Classic Traveller were ever to receive a 'remastered' edition I would include this whole section in the core LBB1-3.

 

[zamosc]

@mike wightman
I appreciate the insight and great example; however, I am still a little lost. I guess this is due to me playing more tactical board games like: Battltech/Mechwarrior, ASL, Panzerblitz, etc, which have a set value on a chart with conditions you can cross reference.

I never DM/GM a D&D b/x or BECMI game, always played those games for more social aspect of the game, so I am not sure of how to wing-it on dice bonus/penalties. Due to the latter, do you have recommendations on what you usually do, or how you start figuring the values?

Should I look at it from a percentage of chance of success or failure? I really like the non-uniform of the dice mechanics; however, I am worried that I have no feeling or understanding on where to set my values - am I setting too low, or too high for my game event.