Recommend modules ?

[SgtHulka]

Interesting to see how many people agree with me. For some reason I thought I was in the minority...that most Traveller fans preferred a more "intellectual" peeling the mystery onion style of adventure GDW produced. Glad to see I'm in good company =)

In GDW's defense, Classic Traveller is a game that can be played pretty cold. You can spend a lot of game sessions doing nothing but transporting cargo from system to system and getting entangled in various random situations. In AD&D you needed fully-statted and prepped adventures because it wasn't a very "wing-it" friendly game. So I can see why the original authors felt they didn't need to include as much detail.

 

[SgtHulka]

Interesting to see how many people agree with me. For some reason I thought I was in the minority...that most Traveller fans preferred a more "intellectual" peeling the mystery onion style of adventure GDW produced. Glad to see I'm in good company =)

In GDW's defense, Classic Traveller is a game that can be played pretty cold. You can spend a lot of game sessions doing nothing but transporting cargo from system to system and getting entangled in various random situations. In AD&D you needed fully-statted and prepped adventures because it wasn't a very "wing-it" friendly game. So I can see why the original authors felt they didn't need to include as much detail.

 

[weasel fierce]

that, and well, anyones thats played Privateer or Elite I/II (or, I guess, Eve online these days) will have a keen appreciation for the travel, trade and mission kind of play

 

[weasel fierce]

that, and well, anyones thats played Privateer or Elite I/II (or, I guess, Eve online these days) will have a keen appreciation for the travel, trade and mission kind of play

 

[Supplement Four]

Originally posted by SgtHulka:
In GDW's defense, Classic Traveller is a game that can be played pretty cold. You can spend a lot of game sessions doing nothing but transporting cargo from system to system and getting entangled in various random situations. In AD&D you needed fully-statted and prepped adventures because it wasn't a very "wing-it" friendly game.

It would seem that way, but when I started my Traveller campaign a year ago, we spent an average of 1.5 hours with each player, creating his character. It definitley took some time.

But, it was fun. It was a mini-game. I sat down with the players, and we macro-role-played that character's life up until the point where the character started the game.

I say "macro" because, the rolls we made in chargen didn't decide the fates of a moment or two. The rolls decided what happened for major events in the character's life (like going to college) or over a 4 year block of time.

My session to create the characters was less like "work", as it normally is with most rpgs, and more like a different form of actually playing the game.

In another thread, someone mentioned the GDW adventure Stranded on Arden. That's not a typical adventure. There are a multitude of rolls made to see how the players fair with different minor bureaucrats as the PC's weed their way through governmental red tape. It's a "macro" style of gaming. Some people would call it "meta" gaming.

That's what CT chargen is, if you let it. It's not work--it's playin' tha game!

I understand that people have different tastes. And, I respect that. But, God, it would turn me off to no end if I ever saw an official set of Traveller rules without the "roll your destiny" style of charagen that IS Traveller. Heck, there can be some optional rules, to appease some tastes, but I'd never use them.

Especially since, when I finished my chargen session for my campaign, and one of the two new-to-Traveller players I have looked up and said, "I never imagined rolling up a character could be so much fun."

It was.

-S4

 

[Supplement Four]

Originally posted by SgtHulka:
In GDW's defense, Classic Traveller is a game that can be played pretty cold. You can spend a lot of game sessions doing nothing but transporting cargo from system to system and getting entangled in various random situations. In AD&D you needed fully-statted and prepped adventures because it wasn't a very "wing-it" friendly game.

It would seem that way, but when I started my Traveller campaign a year ago, we spent an average of 1.5 hours with each player, creating his character. It definitley took some time.

But, it was fun. It was a mini-game. I sat down with the players, and we macro-role-played that character's life up until the point where the character started the game.

I say "macro" because, the rolls we made in chargen didn't decide the fates of a moment or two. The rolls decided what happened for major events in the character's life (like going to college) or over a 4 year block of time.

My session to create the characters was less like "work", as it normally is with most rpgs, and more like a different form of actually playing the game.

In another thread, someone mentioned the GDW adventure Stranded on Arden. That's not a typical adventure. There are a multitude of rolls made to see how the players fair with different minor bureaucrats as the PC's weed their way through governmental red tape. It's a "macro" style of gaming. Some people would call it "meta" gaming.

That's what CT chargen is, if you let it. It's not work--it's playin' tha game!

I understand that people have different tastes. And, I respect that. But, God, it would turn me off to no end if I ever saw an official set of Traveller rules without the "roll your destiny" style of charagen that IS Traveller. Heck, there can be some optional rules, to appease some tastes, but I'd never use them.

Especially since, when I finished my chargen session for my campaign, and one of the two new-to-Traveller players I have looked up and said, "I never imagined rolling up a character could be so much fun."

It was.

-S4

 

[The Shaman]

Originally posted by SgtHulka:
You can spend a lot of game sessions doing nothing but transporting cargo from system to system and getting entangled in various random situations.

I'm sharing referee duties in our game, which we are running using nothing but the various random encounter tables and the books 76 Patrons, Startown Liberty, Wanted: Adventurers, Lee's Guide to Interstellar Adventure, 101 Patrons, and 101 Plots. I guarantee we have not lacked for adventure!

 

[The Shaman]

Originally posted by SgtHulka:
You can spend a lot of game sessions doing nothing but transporting cargo from system to system and getting entangled in various random situations.

I'm sharing referee duties in our game, which we are running using nothing but the various random encounter tables and the books 76 Patrons, Startown Liberty, Wanted: Adventurers, Lee's Guide to Interstellar Adventure, 101 Patrons, and 101 Plots. I guarantee we have not lacked for adventure!

 

[SgtHulka]

Originally posted by Supplement Four:
My session to create the characters was less like "work", as it normally is with most rpgs, and more like a different form of actually playing the game.

In another thread, someone mentioned the GDW adventure Stranded on Arden. That's not a typical adventure. There are a multitude of rolls made to see how the players fair with different minor bureaucrats as the PC's weed their way through governmental red tape. It's a "macro" style of gaming. Some people would call it "meta" gaming.

-S4

You know what, that's really well-said, and that pretty much encapsulates what makes Classic Traveller "different". It's a bunch of mini-games that co-exist to form an RPG.

Character Generation is a mini-game.
Speculative Trading is a mini-game.
Building a Starship is a mini-game.
Recruiting a Mercenary squad is a mini-game.
Playing out an abstract Merc Ticket is a mini-game.
Finding a Patron is a mini-game.
Travelling from hex to hex across a planet's surface is a mini-game.
Gathering rumors is a mini-game.
Book 1 Personal Combat is a mini-game.
Book 5 Starship Combat is a mini-game.

And then there are "maxi-games" for when you want to get super-detailed:

-Book 2 Starship Combat
-Mayday
-Snapshot
-Azhanti High Lightning
-Belter (I think, haven't read it yet)
-And the Big Daddy of them all, Striker

Add to that all sorts of kit-bashing and you can get as deep and detailed as you want.

Then there are "mega-games" layered on top of it. I've never played any of these, but my eyes popped out when (I think it was Expedition to Zhodane) I read advice to the Referee to play "Fifth Frontier War" and use the results to determine where the various naval forces were stationed at different times during the adventure.

And, as you mention, the default expectation seems to be a sort of "macro" view of your character...a "non-pure-role-play" view. A distance between player and character. And, again, as you correctly point out, it starts right there at CharGen. No, you can't be whoever you want. No, you can't create a deep, immersive, literary masterpiece of backstory and then roll up your character. It's the opposite -- you roll up your character and create the story based on how the dice fall. And really, the whole game sort of extends from there. The Referee can't create his perfect literary masterpiece of moral dilemmas and perfect situations and thrilling conclusion, because the players may decide they're more interested in going and exploring Planet X instead of Planet Y, ruining the Referee's best-laid plans. So the Referee has to adjust the game-story based on player actions. To my mind that's fantastic.

 

[SgtHulka]

Originally posted by Supplement Four:
My session to create the characters was less like "work", as it normally is with most rpgs, and more like a different form of actually playing the game.

In another thread, someone mentioned the GDW adventure Stranded on Arden. That's not a typical adventure. There are a multitude of rolls made to see how the players fair with different minor bureaucrats as the PC's weed their way through governmental red tape. It's a "macro" style of gaming. Some people would call it "meta" gaming.

-S4

You know what, that's really well-said, and that pretty much encapsulates what makes Classic Traveller "different". It's a bunch of mini-games that co-exist to form an RPG.

Character Generation is a mini-game.
Speculative Trading is a mini-game.
Building a Starship is a mini-game.
Recruiting a Mercenary squad is a mini-game.
Playing out an abstract Merc Ticket is a mini-game.
Finding a Patron is a mini-game.
Travelling from hex to hex across a planet's surface is a mini-game.
Gathering rumors is a mini-game.
Book 1 Personal Combat is a mini-game.
Book 5 Starship Combat is a mini-game.

And then there are "maxi-games" for when you want to get super-detailed:

-Book 2 Starship Combat
-Mayday
-Snapshot
-Azhanti High Lightning
-Belter (I think, haven't read it yet)
-And the Big Daddy of them all, Striker

Add to that all sorts of kit-bashing and you can get as deep and detailed as you want.

Then there are "mega-games" layered on top of it. I've never played any of these, but my eyes popped out when (I think it was Expedition to Zhodane) I read advice to the Referee to play "Fifth Frontier War" and use the results to determine where the various naval forces were stationed at different times during the adventure.

And, as you mention, the default expectation seems to be a sort of "macro" view of your character...a "non-pure-role-play" view. A distance between player and character. And, again, as you correctly point out, it starts right there at CharGen. No, you can't be whoever you want. No, you can't create a deep, immersive, literary masterpiece of backstory and then roll up your character. It's the opposite -- you roll up your character and create the story based on how the dice fall. And really, the whole game sort of extends from there. The Referee can't create his perfect literary masterpiece of moral dilemmas and perfect situations and thrilling conclusion, because the players may decide they're more interested in going and exploring Planet X instead of Planet Y, ruining the Referee's best-laid plans. So the Referee has to adjust the game-story based on player actions. To my mind that's fantastic.

 

[Merxiless]

Across the Bright Face. It has all the elements of an action film. I think it is one of the best scenarios in print for any RPG, let alone Traveller.

The hex encounter tables inspired me to do the same for a lot of other planets in "Exploratory / Travel" scenarios.

Grand Survey is a great book also, when you can find it. It's not a straight scenario, per se, but if you have a scout crew, it's pretty much a must-have, even if for ideas for strange new worlds.

All of the stuff the Keith Brothers wrote is pretty good, to excellent, because the artwork is evocative, and the scenarios are more than just dungeon crawl, and monster of the week.

What I like best about Traveller is the ability to pre-generate a lot of the background, AS Background, so that when players go someplace you were not expecting, you can dig out the campaign notebook, and have a planet ready to go, in as much detail as you as referee, personally desired, when you did it.

And since it's basically a simple system, with a lot of possible permutations... once you get the hang of it, you can look at a world's UPP, and trade codes, and situation, and make up a "Best guess, Mr. Sulu" description, encounters / whatever, on the spot.

I often find that the scenarios my players enjoy the most are not canned from a module, but made up on the spot, thus they are tailored to the ongoing campaign, characters, and the evolving storyline.

That's one big fault of most D&D style adventures...they have to be "generic" to fit a potentially mixed party, of specific "Levels"

Sure, they are detailed and fun. The Slaver's series was monumental for me to run as a DM.

But it paled in comparison to my Traveller players going to this little Class C port, 30% Hydrographics world in my own Far Reaches, called Tartine, and getting embroiled in the machinations of the local drug gangs, criminal underworld and all sorts of nastiness, eventually being chased halfway across known space by Naasirka.

Because nothing was pre-determined. It all flowed out of player choices, and NPC Reactions, combined with NPC Choices, and player reactions.

There was literally, no way a pre-determined module could have possible been written to encompass everything that happened.

Good luck in your search. I like to see positive threads here.

 

[Merxiless]

Across the Bright Face. It has all the elements of an action film. I think it is one of the best scenarios in print for any RPG, let alone Traveller.

The hex encounter tables inspired me to do the same for a lot of other planets in "Exploratory / Travel" scenarios.

Grand Survey is a great book also, when you can find it. It's not a straight scenario, per se, but if you have a scout crew, it's pretty much a must-have, even if for ideas for strange new worlds.

All of the stuff the Keith Brothers wrote is pretty good, to excellent, because the artwork is evocative, and the scenarios are more than just dungeon crawl, and monster of the week.

What I like best about Traveller is the ability to pre-generate a lot of the background, AS Background, so that when players go someplace you were not expecting, you can dig out the campaign notebook, and have a planet ready to go, in as much detail as you as referee, personally desired, when you did it.

And since it's basically a simple system, with a lot of possible permutations... once you get the hang of it, you can look at a world's UPP, and trade codes, and situation, and make up a "Best guess, Mr. Sulu" description, encounters / whatever, on the spot.

I often find that the scenarios my players enjoy the most are not canned from a module, but made up on the spot, thus they are tailored to the ongoing campaign, characters, and the evolving storyline.

That's one big fault of most D&D style adventures...they have to be "generic" to fit a potentially mixed party, of specific "Levels"

Sure, they are detailed and fun. The Slaver's series was monumental for me to run as a DM.

But it paled in comparison to my Traveller players going to this little Class C port, 30% Hydrographics world in my own Far Reaches, called Tartine, and getting embroiled in the machinations of the local drug gangs, criminal underworld and all sorts of nastiness, eventually being chased halfway across known space by Naasirka.

Because nothing was pre-determined. It all flowed out of player choices, and NPC Reactions, combined with NPC Choices, and player reactions.

There was literally, no way a pre-determined module could have possible been written to encompass everything that happened.

Good luck in your search. I like to see positive threads here.

 

[FlightCommanderSolitude]

The Divine Intervention scenario in Double Adventure 6 is one of my favorites that I ran back in the day. It starts off with a sort of Usual Suspects setup and progresses into a very tight Mission Impossible (or perhaps A-Team) situation. Opportunity abounds for gunplay, but it's tempered by a need for discretion. It could also probably be run in one (longish) game session, unlike many of the other Traveller scenarios.

The B-side, Night of Conquest, is actually rather difficult to run. A large part of the adventure involves moving on foot through a city during an invasion, unarmed. I suppose in the right hands it could be transformed into something great, but I had a rough time inventing a city, its buildings and thoroughfares, and its inhabitants on the fly - all the while trying to imagine where invading forces would be and what they were doing.

 

[FlightCommanderSolitude]

The Divine Intervention scenario in Double Adventure 6 is one of my favorites that I ran back in the day. It starts off with a sort of Usual Suspects setup and progresses into a very tight Mission Impossible (or perhaps A-Team) situation. Opportunity abounds for gunplay, but it's tempered by a need for discretion. It could also probably be run in one (longish) game session, unlike many of the other Traveller scenarios.

The B-side, Night of Conquest, is actually rather difficult to run. A large part of the adventure involves moving on foot through a city during an invasion, unarmed. I suppose in the right hands it could be transformed into something great, but I had a rough time inventing a city, its buildings and thoroughfares, and its inhabitants on the fly - all the while trying to imagine where invading forces would be and what they were doing.

 

[leadhead]

My favorite is Leviathan, produced by GW for GDW it details a Merchant Cruiser and sets up a cool series of exploration/diplomatic situations.

 

[leadhead]

My favorite is Leviathan, produced by GW for GDW it details a Merchant Cruiser and sets up a cool series of exploration/diplomatic situations.

 

[Ranger]

Startown Liberty. It will bring those port towns to life, and if you need to, you can use it to run a session on the fly while you put together something bigger. A week is a long time in port and a lot can happen just shopping for supplies.

 

[Ranger]

Startown Liberty. It will bring those port towns to life, and if you need to, you can use it to run a session on the fly while you put together something bigger. A week is a long time in port and a lot can happen just shopping for supplies.

 

[DElrick]

The Sky Raiders Trilogy are well worth picking up, if you can find them. A great little mini-campaign with some memorable sequences.

I can recommend Safari Ship as well.

 

[DElrick]

The Sky Raiders Trilogy are well worth picking up, if you can find them. A great little mini-campaign with some memorable sequences.

I can recommend Safari Ship as well.