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

[mike wightman]

I usually use 8+ or 12+ as the target numbers, if I can't make my mind up for an 8ish situation then I roll 2d6 to generate a target number. If I can't make my mind up for a 12ish situation then I use 3d6 to generate a target number.

As for the rest of it - well here is how I run my games:

In uncertain critical situations the referee may call for the player to make a saving throw in order to overcome the adversity.

The throw is made on 2d, with DMs based on skill, characteristics, prior experience, environmental circumstances, and any specialist tools needed for the throw.

It is for the referee to decide on the target number for the throw to be equaled or exceeded, and the exact value of any DM (whether it is beneficial or a hindrance) from the above factors. The referee may alternatively decide that a successful outcome occurs if the throw is less than or equal to the target.

Usually 2D6 +/- DM ≥ Throw Value equals success, but as mentioned the referee may decide that roll under is required.

 

[whartung]

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?

What's fascinating about that thing the Mike quoted is that it seems that the dice are driving the story.

Random targets for random skills for random outcomes.

For example, the ship could have blown up at any time.

But that's not the case.

As the Referee, the dice may drive the activity, but not necessarily the narrative. Sure, the ship may have blown up, and, sure the character could have died in the explosion.

But, as the Referee, you have the Finger of God that can intervene at the last moment. Let fate decide the little things, but you decide the big things.

Having to run around and chase dice (whether it's skill checks, tasks, combat) is all part and parcel to playing the game. But the story is yours, as Referee.

So, it's an interesting idea to use random target numbers for random small events, just to push the story along and breed some excitement.

But in the end, random vs some table, it's all a matter of feel for flow as a Referee in letting the story unfold.

 

[Fovean]

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.

If you poke around a bit on this site you can find Rule 68A, which basically says:
Easy task 2D+DMs ≥ 6
Common task 2D+DMs ≥ 8
Hard task 2D+DMs ≥ 10 (or A in hexadecimal)

So this might be a baseline system for you to use until you get used to determining your own target numbers.

If you prefer to think in percentages you can use the site anydice.com and input a dice roll, click Compute and see the percentages for achieving a certain number.

Here’s a link to anydice (I set it to calculate 2D6 but it may default to an empty input field):
https://anydice.com/

Also in T5 there are pages of dice rolls and percentages; I’m currently not able to but maybe someone could the grab “1D,2D,3D,4D,Flux” page and post it for reference.

 

[Axe]

I suggest skimming the errata. There are some modifier corrections and rule clarifications that may help.

Off the top of my head, an example would be donning a Vacc suit during an emergency. The written rules indicate a character with a high Dexterity has a more difficult time than a character with a low Dexterity. There's a (very) few places where "greater than" and "lesser than" should be swapped.

The mistakes in the rules are a part of CT's charm. The game started during the Wild West beginning of rpgs (and low tech publishing software).

I use a lot of 3I things in my game. For instance, I like how it's law that if any ship receives a distress signal, they are required to lend help. Sure hope is not a trap....

Edit:

Stan Shinn has created some sheets he uses during conventions to bring the players up to speed quickly. They contain a setting summary, a rules summary, and a character sheet. Highly recommended:

http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discuss/showthread.php?t=34436


The following is from a post I made a while ago about the summary sheets:

Create something similar to the following to aid your players with your edition:

Stan Shinn (a member) has created some sweet pdf aids to help newbies. I think he designed them to hand out at the beginning of his Con games. The pdfs are: Classic Traveller Introduction (2 pages), Classic Traveller Rules Summary (2 pages), and a Classic Traveler Character Sheet (1 page).

I highly recommend them. They can be found in his post within these forums:

http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discuss/showthread.php?t=34436


I printed these pages onto nice white glossy cardstock (double sided) and hand them out to my players.



Note:
In the Rules Summary, page 2, the "Weapons and Range Matrix" need a very slight rework. The easy way to fix the table is to swap the column headers of the UPP requirements/advantage columns. (example below)

Attacker's Weapon	Adv	Req
Dagger	8+	3-
Revolver	9+	6-

Being a little "nitpicky" (and can be ignored for simplicity), I'd change the "Req" header to "Dis", due to the data in the column actually showing the disadvantageous levels of the attributes (strength/dexterity) and not the required level.


Note #2:
There is some errata to the official table the Weapon and Range Matrix is taken from. The errata to the official table is not a big deal (Dagger at Short Range is -1 (not +2), Foil vs Combat is -6 (not -8), Body Pistol Wound Inflicted is 2D (not 3D), and a footnote for Ablat armor: "Each time that laser fire hits Ablat armor, it decreases the Ablat's DM by 1."

 

[BRover]

If you poke around a bit on this site you can find Rule 68A, which basically says:
Easy task 2D+DMs ≥ 6
Common task 2D+DMs ≥ 8
Hard task 2D+DMs ≥ 10 (or A in hexadecimal)

. . .

I happened to find this earlier . . .

http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discuss/showthread.php?p=242946#post242946

 

[aramis]

The "storyline" isn't found in the supplements and adventures, for the most part...

Most of it is in the Journal timeline entries, and in the Fifth Frontier War large format book.

The next storyline installment is the next edition... MegaTraveller.

Understand this: No one at GDW intended there to be a background storylne when CT core and book 4 and supplments 1 and 2 were written. Even as far as Adventures 1-4, supplments 3 & 4 and Book 5, the Setting was a convenience, intended to be suitable for a wide range of plots, big and small... but not one written by GDW.

The 5FW storyline was introduced to provide a metaplot, in the TAS News in the Journal. It culminated in the FFW board game and the FFW RPG Module.... and made a net change of very little. Almost on purpose. It's even ignorable if you don't use the marches, and avoidable if your did... just stay to the trailing subsectors.

 

[whartung]

It culminated in the FFW board game and the FFW RPG Module.... and made a net change of very little.

There was a FFW RPG Module?

I've mentioned this before.

For whatever reason, even with my casual connection to the game, JTAS #9 was a shocking development.

i took it almost as if it was "real", vs a game. It was a strange impression that it left on me and wherever it was I was at at the time.

 

[Dulinor]

There was a FFW RPG Module?

The Spinward Marches Campaign

 

[whartung]

The Spinward Marches Campaign

Ah, yes, I just never heard it referred as that before.

 

[TNE2300]

you might want to check out:

the Traveller Integrated Timeline by Don McKinney (All Hail!)

 

[Nathan Brazil]

Don had a bias which I do not agree with: like not recording the Assassination or events post 1116.

 

[BRover]

Don had a bias which I do not agree with: like not recording the Assassination or events post 1116.

I got the feeling that he didn't want to deal with the fans who were fighting over alternate histories after that . . . by stopping at 1116, he avoided the hard feelings (and Hard Times?)

 

[mike wightman]

CT Only thread.

CT stops when MegaTraveller starts so an 1116 cut off makes sense.

That said the point of departure for MegaTraveller and the GURPS ATU has to be much sooner than this.

In a similar way there are canon inconsistencies with the Mongoose ATU which actually diverges right from the start of 1105.

For CT the integrated timeline is a pretty good guide to major events.

 

[aramis]

Ah, yes, I just never heard it referred as that before.

I couldn't pull up the correct name - and while my books are now a few meters away, I'm admittedly lazy.

It's not a great module... but it does include the rules content from Sup 4 in a format matched to Starter Traveller and/or The Traveller Book.

Note that adding Snapshot gives you almost all the Bk4 weapons...