The path least traveller-ed

[san*klass]

Getting back into CT after a very long break, I have so far learned two things:-

1) Don't see the apparent illogical-isms of the rules as a reason to start house-ruling. Just go with them and see where they take you. It goes against almost everything that I have ever done-in 30years of GM-ing- but it seems to work.

2) Decide on a setting and stick to it! So far, in a few months I have wavered between Spinward Marches just at the start of 5th Frontier War, Rimward Solomani/TOS Star Trek combo, home brew early 22nd century Sol system only "Patrol" and a modified TNE setting

What to do??

Traveller is just so adaptable with so (no, too) many choices!! Both a blessing and a curse!?

 

[kilemall]

You houserule, expect to find unintended consequences if your players demand consistency while you flail with effects you did not think through.

As has been posted on in several places, CT has a lot of simple mechanics on the surface but a lot of surprising interactions and salutary systems under the surface, many of which survive in later editions to this day and others that have been made more complex but not necessarily better.

 

[mike wightman]

My advice is to start with rolling your own subsector. Pick a couple of the old double adventures as jumping off points - my favourite remains Death Station - and go from there. You can add background as you need it.

 

[aramis]

Getting back into CT after a very long break, I have so far learned two things:-

1) Don't see the apparent illogical-isms of the rules as a reason to start house-ruling. Just go with them and see where they take you. It goes against almost everything that I have ever done-in 30years of GM-ing- but it seems to work.

This is one of the most important elements when starting a new (or restarting an old) system: Play it as written at least for a few sessions and see what the rules actually do.

2) Decide on a setting and stick to it! So far, in a few months I have wavered between Spinward Marches just at the start of 5th Frontier War, Rimward Solomani/TOS Star Trek combo, home brew early 22nd century Sol system only "Patrol" and a modified TNE setting

What to do??

Traveller is just so adaptable with so (no, too) many choices!! Both a blessing and a curse!?

I concur with Mike, at least in part - Rolling up a subsector is a good place to start.

Generating a double handful of pregens is another good thing - not so they get used, but so your players have exemplars to compare to.

 

[flykiller]

Play it as written at least for a few sessions and see what the rules actually do.

does death during character generation count as a session?

 

[mike wightman]

Character generation could easily be a session, especially if each player generates a few characters.

Character generation in '77CT was part of the game - do you risk losing your character on the throw of the dice vs the rewards from that extra term.

Failing a re-enlistment roll could put an end to a character in the player's eyes just as finally as a failed survival roll.

More unsolicited advice - and adding to what Aramis said - allow each player to generate a handful of characters and then pick which one they want to play at the start.

 

[aramis]

does death during character generation count as a session?

What part of "As written" did you not understand?

 

[flykiller]

does death during character generation count as a session?

What part of "As written" did you not understand?

so ... "yes"?

so after the first three characters die in chargen the player says, "can we move past this please?" and most referees give in I think. seems to be the universal first traveller house rule - survived/recovered injury instead of death. I remember my first character, Vance Stargate, died/scratch-that lost his left arm, had it bionically replaced, cool guy.

 

[flykiller]

Character generation in '77CT was part of the game - do you risk losing your character on the throw of the dice vs the rewards from that extra term. Failing a re-enlistment roll could put an end to a character in the player's eyes just as finally as a failed survival roll.

in theory it sounds great. in practice it's merely annoying.

did anyone here ever bypass the whole randomSkill/survive/reenlist, randomSkill/survive/reenlist thing and just march straight into a psionics institute looking for max psi points?

 

[aramis]

in theory it sounds great. in practice it's merely annoying.

did anyone here ever bypass the whole randomSkill/survive/reenlist, randomSkill/survive/reenlist thing and just march straight into a psionics institute looking for max psi points?

No one I'd play with. Such behavior is about power acquisition, not character discovery.

Half the fun of CT character generation is figuring out who the hell the character is, based upon the stats, career history, and skills....

And players who cannot accept character death in CGen generally are going to have issues with combat under CT, Striker, or MT....

Note also - Short term and out is an option in '81, '83 (TTB), and '84 (ST) editions of CT....

 

[atpollard]

Note also - Short term and out is an option in '81, '83 (TTB), and '84 (ST) editions of CT....

... Doesn't that almost make HIS point? The 1977 House Rule was so universal that they made it official in 1981.

Spoiler:

i need to whisper in this topic. i think that, in general, rules are over rated. keep it simple and have fun are my rules.

 

[flykiller]

And players who cannot accept character death in CGen generally are going to have issues with combat under CT, Striker, or MT....

so ... death during chargen is practice and warm up for the game?

Half the fun of CT character generation is figuring out who the hell the character is, based upon the stats, career history, and skills....

kinda hard to explore the character if they're dead.

now, I see the point you're trying to make, but I'm not sure it's a game that would attract many players. see, if a player wants to play a combat marine, and winds up generating at random a motor pool mechanic shop head (vehicle 1, mechanic 1, admin 1) - this is kind of off-putting. thus the second universal traveller house-rule - some degree of player control over what the character becomes.

 

[aramis]

so ... death during chargen is practice and warm up for the game?



kinda hard to explore the character if they're dead.

now, I see the point you're trying to make, but I'm not sure it's a game that would attract many players. see, if a player wants to play a combat marine, and winds up generating at random a motor pool mechanic shop head (vehicle 1, mechanic 1, admin 1) - this is kind of off-putting. thus the second universal traveller house-rule - some degree of player control over what the character becomes.

The limit of that RAW is picking which career to attempt, and which skill table to roll upon. And that's still a good bit of control...

It's worth noting that MT solves the low level of control with more cascades.

 

[mike wightman]

in theory it sounds great. in practice it's merely annoying.

did anyone here ever bypass the whole randomSkill/survive/reenlist, randomSkill/survive/reenlist thing and just march straight into a psionics institute looking for max psi points?

Not quite, I don't think I've ever had a player decide not to try for at least a second term.
By the rules as written I think you had to serve at least one term.
I've had a couple over the years who only did one term and then made acquiring psionics a major focus.

 

[mike wightman]

so ... "yes"?

so after the first three characters die in chargen the player says, "can we move past this please?" and most referees give in I think.

Most I played with in the early days just rolled up a few more.

Poor skill rolls - as in not getting the skills you want are another reason people didn't like the characters they generated, but at some point they had to pick one and play it. When that one died - and they died a lot in the early Traveller adventures - they could pick from their other pre-gens or roll another to add to the pile.

You may as well just go with point allocation if you want players to generate the character of their choice and bypass the whole character generation mini-game.

seems to be the universal first traveller house rule - survived/recovered injury instead of death.

Yup, which is why it became default in late editions - but I still like the old 'iron man' generation upon occasion.

I remember my first character, Vance Stargate, died/scratch-that lost his left arm, had it bionically replaced, cool guy.

I take it he lost skill rolls and mustering out benefits for the failed survival roll? Otherwise players would be deliberately trying to fail.

Also no death during character generation means you can't try and 'suicide by scout service' - which I have seen backfire...

 

[atpollard]

Also no death during character generation means you can't try and 'suicide by scout service' - which I have seen backfire...

... or even just inspire: I had a failed 'suicide by scout service' produce an interesting character with Str 3 and Medic-4.

 

[mike wightman]

so ... death during chargen is practice and warm up for the game?

may as well be, the number of TPK that resulted from Kinunir and Twilight's Peak. Even had a TPK in Research Station Gamma once when they attracted the attention of one two many security robots...

kinda hard to explore the character if they're dead.

Which is why you generate a few.

now, I see the point you're trying to make, but I'm not sure it's a game that would attract many players. see, if a player wants to play a combat marine, and winds up generating at random a motor pool mechanic shop head (vehicle 1, mechanic 1, admin 1) - this is kind of off-putting. thus the second universal traveller house-rule - some degree of player control over what the character becomes.

As I said earlier, if a player wants more choice over skills then a point allocation is a better method, or rolling the skill die and then choosing the table, that sort of thing.
Alternatively stress the level 0 skills that marine would have in his skill set:
vacc suit 0, all weapons skills 0, air/raft 0

 

[mike wightman]

... or even just inspire: I had a failed 'suicide by scout service' produce an interesting character with Str 3 and Medic-4.

Don't forget his/her pilot 1, vac suit 0, vehicles 0, weapons 0 - a perfectly playable ex-scout doctor/combat paramedic.

People often overlook the usefulness of the default skills...

 

[flykiller]

You may as well just go with point allocation if you want players to generate the character of their choice and bypass the whole character generation mini-game.

I try to get a mix - the player chooses some and sets a trend, a few skills are randomly rolled for, and I may assign one or two. this results in a much better "mini-game".

 

[mike wightman]

I try to get a mix - the player chooses some and sets a trend, a few skills are randomly rolled for, and I may assign one or two. this results in a much better "mini-game".

Sounds like a good compromise - I quite like it.