CT Only: Starships & Starport A's & TL

[flykiller]

The beauty of CT LBB1-3 is that the ref is free to make such decisions for themselves.

the beauty of lbb1-3 is that the ref must make most of the decisions himself.

 

[Spartan159]

I tend to like as much information as I can get so I can make an informed decision. > looks at shelves of Traveller material < Not that it can't get overwhelming...

 

[flykiller]

that's too much. don't try to take the background material as canon, just use the background material as a shell for your own campaign. every game is an atu (alternate traveller universe).

 

[Supplement Four]

The "Too Much" factor is why I tend to keep Traveller separated by edition. If I play CT, I don't really use materials from any other edition. If I play MT, the same goes.

 

[kilemall]

that's too much. don't try to take the background material as canon, just use the background material as a shell for your own campaign. every game is an atu (alternate traveller universe).

The mindset and approach should be as a toolkit- use the right tool for the job.

 

[coliver988]

Noticing kilemall's signature: Your Universe May Vary

probably should be: Your Universe Will Vary

I've got a lot of background info, generate way too much material that is never used by my two players, but I do use the OTU as the starting point. I agree with flykiller's opinion - it is all a tool kit. I grab stuff from most editions of Traveller and smash them together. But we really play rules light - so far the rare combat has been more a comedy of missing and one character's steel bar he has named Cudgel. Which set of combat rules do I use - err, actually none per se. the basic 8+ to hit and so far they have had very unlucky dice (but so has the opponents).

But I keep reading BITS At Close Quarters, re-reading CT combat, and I've got Snapshot sitting on my desk, and T5 has some cool things. One of these sessions we may try for real combat but so far they manage to talk their way out (perhaps I am too lenient a ref)

 

[creativehum]

Rather they [GDW] were developing the whole [of the OTU], with the publications of the rules, boardgames, and JTAS articles being essentially snapshots of their train of thought at the time of publishing.

They may not have had envisioned such a whole at the very start, but that shifted, and reasonably quickly, for both commercial and, I assume, personal interest of the developers. That is, an 11,000 system spanning Imperium didn't just happen, They(tm) wanted it that way. When that concept became a gleam in their eye, anyone can guess.

I don't think I said anything other than that. And regarding the first paragraph, I pretty sure I said exactly that.

My quibble would be with this:

"So, it's fair to consider LBB1-3 as a singular entity, but the Supplement reach their tendrils back, and affect that unit."

The Supplements and additional Books don't "reach back." A Referee or Players have to choose to use them, at which point they become part of the game. Basic Traveller stands on its own as a set of rules (which is why both The Traveller Book and Starter Traveller were published in '82 and '83 respectively.) Even then it was recognized Basic Traveller was complete with the rules set.

That's the only point being made here. And once one chooses to add later Supplements and Books the game begins to change into something else. This is neither good or bad as long as one getting what one wants out of the game.

But playing with Basic Traveller was, and is still, a viable option for playing the game if that's the game one wants.

 

[whartung]

The Supplements and additional Books don't "reach back." A Referee or Players have to choose to use them, at which point they become part of the game.

The point being, if you choose to use anything past 1-3, those books affect and, when in conflict, usurp, books 1-3. You can no longer consider them in isolation.

 

[creativehum]

The point being, if you choose to use anything past 1-3, those books affect and, when in conflict, usurp, books 1-3. You can no longer consider them in isolation.

Absolutely and without doubt.

 

[Timerover51]

That's the only point being made here. And once one chooses to add later Supplements and Books the game begins to change into something else. This is neither good or bad as long as one getting what one wants out of the game.

But playing with Basic Traveller was, and is still, a viable option for playing the game if that's the game one wants.

I am not really sure that Supplement 1: 1001 Characters, Supplement 2: Animal Encounters, or Supplement 4: Citizens of the Imperium change the concept or setting of Basic/Classic Traveller that much. Supplements 1 and 2 mainly give the referee/Game Master a break from rolling NPC and animals when needed, while Supplement 4 expands the possible character careers without adding a lot of additional background material.

The Supplement that really changes the game from a stand-alone game to part of a mythos is Supplement 3: The Spinward Marches. Then the Imperium is there in all of its glory.

 

[aramis]

The point being, if you choose to use anything past 1-3, those books affect and, when in conflict, usurp, books 1-3. You can no longer consider them in isolation.

A pure Bk 1-3 universe is a very different thing than the OTU.

Hence, ProtoTraveller - which is Bks 1-3, the non-CharGen half of Bk 4, all of Supplement 4, and adventures 1, 2, & 4.

Very different feel.

 

[creativehum]

I am not really sure that Supplement 1: 1001 Characters, Supplement 2: Animal Encounters, or Supplement 4: Citizens of the Imperium change the concept or setting of Basic/Classic Traveller that much. Supplements 1 and 2 mainly give the referee/Game Master a break from rolling NPC and animals when needed, while Supplement 4 expands the possible character careers without adding a lot of additional background material.

The Supplement that really changes the game from a stand-alone game to part of a mythos is Supplement 3: The Spinward Marches. Then the Imperium is there in all of its glory.

Timerover51,
Please remember that I was responding to whartung's post and his reference to the Supplement's tendrils reaching back and altering Books 1-3.

The fact is I agree with you, and I'm sure whatung does too. In fact, I can't imagine anyone not agreeing with your point. That is why I wrote "later Supplements."

Because of this, if you were to open my Little Black Traveller Box you would find Books 1-4, as well as Supplements 1, 2, and 4... which I think are wonderful tools for the Referee to use.