CT Only: Traveller Candy n Dressin'

[Supplement Four]

This thread is dedicated to the hard working Refs out there--those that strive to put on a memorable game for their players....






I remember my first read through The Traveller Adventure, all those decades ago, when I was going over the details of Aramis. There was an air tax! The city is one, large (not giant), sprawling city inside of an old mine, on a world that will kill anyone on the surface without protective gear. And, the city had slidewalks whereever you went. There was even a map where the slidewalk was broken!

What cool details, I thought, to make that place memorable.

Reading that taught me to be a better Ref. I was young when I read it, learning to be a DM/GM/Ref. And, it taught me about the details. Those things that will really bring a location to life.

Today, I was reading more of Asimov's Foundation, and I read about how the character I'm currently following in the tale, Gaal, needed to get to a taxi (and air taxi). He approached a booth and bought a ticket. The man that sold it to him said, "Watch the ticket. It will glow as long as you're going in the right direction."

So, Gaal used it to find the taxi ramp.

I thought, how cool is this? That's something I could use in a Traveller game--some window dressing to make a world memorable.





Another thing that happened in the book, which I'm not sure is a great idea, is that a blue line appeared in the floor. As long as Gaal followed the blue line, he would not get lost and reach his destination in the sprawling starport.

In the book, there were thousands of criss-crossing lines, all of different color. You just followed your color.

But, I was thinking...for a Traveller game, what if the line appears in the floor, or the walls, or even the ceiling, but that one person--the person following the colored line--is the only one that can see it?

Maybe the user needs a special headset. Maybe it's just high technology. The Ref will have to apply the correct Tech Level to the idea.





Speaking of TL, I love looking at UWPs and trying to figure out how things are on a world. For example, Pysadi, in the Aramis subsector, has a tainted atmosphere. Yet, the world is TL 4, which puts it in early WWII era.

How do people survive on this world? The buildings have to be filtered somehow? But, you're limited by the TL 4 of the world.

When my players went through there, I speculated about natural filters that were used on the buildings. I was thinking log cabins, with a lot of detail on using a tar like substance to seal the place and make it air-tight.

Then, the actual filters built into the buildings, that must be changed every so often, were made primarily from sea sponges.

Air-tight log cabins and air filters made from sea sponges. Their filter masks were akin those bulky WWI gas masks with the screw on filter.

All this, as it came out in my game, did for Pysadi what MWM's description of the slidewalks and air tax did for Aramis. It made the place very memorable for my players.



I was watching one of my favorite films last night. Minority Report, with Tom Cruise. There's lots of stuff a good Traveller Ref could steal from that movie for his game, but I especially like the eye readers that are everywhere. That's kinda like a futuristic version of cameras that are watching our every move. You walk into a store. The camera picks up your eye print. Then, the mechanical salesman in the speaker starts to say something like, "Mr. Jones! Come back for another pair of those high-top sneakers?"




What thoughts do you have for some candy n dressin'? Stuff that another Ref might find extremely useful for his game?

 

[Supplement Four]

A few more dressin' ideas....



If on a world like Aramis, or out in the belt, or some similar sealed environment, wood is most likely going to be very expensive. It has to be imported. Expect a lot of plastics as substitute.



This next one, I got from Traveller itself: A captain on a vessel will have the gravity on the ship slowly adjusted to that of the ship's destination. That way, the ship will have a week, or so, to slowly get acclimatized to the new g-force.

If heading to a stronger G world, the crew and passengers may spend a lot of time with the ship's physical activity equipment during the jump, working legs.



Foundation: Not only one of the inspirations for Traveller, but, Trantor, as a world entirely covered by a city, is probably also inspiration for Coruscant.

 

[ovka]

In my games during the early 80s I postulated that all of the characters had personal hand-held computers that they could pay a small (Cr1/day) fee to attach to the planetary computer network of any planet of TL 8+ to get directions and information whenever they needed it.

Who knew back then that cell phones and the internet would be so pervasive.

I also remember an adventure that mentioned nightstands in TAS and/or starport hotel hotel rooms serving as wireless chargers for all portable electronics (just set them on top over night). It also seems like the same source had a passing reference to Imperial coinage getting recharged sitting on the nightstand as well (but no indication of why that was important).

Cheers,

Baron Ovka

 

[Supplement Four]

There must be a lot of down time during Jump. Not 100%, as I'm sure that someone needs to be posted on the bridge at all times (the crew, or some of the crew, takes shifts) and in engineering. And, there may be repair work/ship maintenance to do.

Plus, there's the passengers. They've got to be a handful. I bet most crew groan when they take on passengers, but the captain does it to earn the credits, especially if there are High Passengers.

I read in a book sometime (I think it was Chris Claremont's First Flight) that people who travel in space area all multi-degreed Doctors of this and Masters of that. Some travelers, in other words, use all that down time in Jump to educate themselves.

In Traveller, the weeks spent in Jump Space is an excellent time, I think, to bring out the Classic Traveller Experience rules and improve something about the character.

 

[aramis]

There must be a lot of down time during Jump. Not 100%, as I'm sure that someone needs to be posted on the bridge at all times (the crew, or some of the crew, takes shifts) and in engineering. And, there may be repair work/ship maintenance to do.

Figure the JDrive maintenance is done while in N-Space, and the M-Drive while in J-Space. PP is done while docked/landed... or in shifts, one jug at a time.

 

[Supplement Four]

Figure the JDrive maintenance is done while in N-Space, and the M-Drive while in J-Space. PP is done while docked/landed... or in shifts, one jug at a time.

When my players have ships, I like to figure their sub-jobs, based on each character's expertise. Every character has a primary job, of course--those listed in Traveller: Pilot, Navigator, Engineer, Medic, Steward, Gunner.

I try to look at the skills and see: Who's in charge of ship's Security (usually, it's the Steward, but can be another character). Who acts as a cargo hand (under the Steward).

In my games, the Steward is an important job. He does interact with the passengers--sometimes the only character to do so--but he is also in charge of Security, and he's in charge of the cargo hold. The deck hands and cargo hands answer to the Steward.

Who acts as the ship's broker? Besides Broker, Forgery can be important, along with Administration.

Does the broker also sniff out work while on planet? This can be another character. Carousing skill can be important.

Which characters, besides the Pilot and the Navigator, can serve a watch on the bridge? I usually pick a character with lower Pilot or Nav skill, or maybe a Communications specialist or a Computer technician.

Who's the primary pilot of the ship's boat or shuttle?

Who's the primary driver of the ship's ATV?

Under the Engineer, I'll pick his "crew". These are characters with Mechanical and Electrical skill--the ship's Mechanic and ship's Electrician. Computer technician.

Who's the Captain?

Who's the First Officer?

Is there a Second or Third Officer?

Who's in charge of the Ship's Locker (usually the Steward).

Who are the EVA specialists? Usually characters with Vacc Suit skill.

Are there any Medics to assist the Medical Officer?

Gunners are prime targets for extra positions, especially as Mechanics, Electricians, Computer Technician, and Cargo/Deck Hands, in addition to Security support.





Because it is based on skill, each crew is different. And, sometimes SOC trumps expertise, depending on the atmosphere on the ship. In this way, a character with higher skill may get a lower position. Ownership can do that, too.

Once I'm done, I sometimes stipulate that a character gets a 10% bump in the standard salary for his primary position for each sub-position the character fills. Sometimes, the salary is the same, but the extra jobs increase the number of ship shares the character gets. More jobs = more work = more responsibility = more income.

 

[Supplement Four]

Reference page 30 of The Traveller Book. There's a list of six characters. If these six were characters in my game, each a crewman aboard a Subsidized Merchant, here's how I would set up their sub-positions....

The zero skills I awarded the characters to fill crew positions.





PC1
Computer-1, Gunnery-1, Vacc-1

Port Gunner. Bridge Watch. Computer Tech, EVA Specialist



PC2
Navigation-0*

Navigator. Bridge Watch.



PC3
Engineering-0*, ATV-0

Chief Engineer. Second Officer, Security Detachment, Engineering Watch, ATV driver.



PC4
Electronics-1, Gunnery-1, Mechanical-1, Pilot-1.

Starboard Gunner. Minorty Owner, First Officer, 2nd Pilot, 2nd Ship's Boat Pilot, Back-up Gunner, Electrician, Mechanic, Bridge Watch, Engineering Watch, Cargo Hand, Deckhand.



PC5
Elecronics-1, Gunnery-1, Mechanical-1, Medic-2

Medical Officer. Third Officer, Engineering Watch, Electrician, Mechanic, Back-up Gunner, Security Detachment.



PC6
Steward-0

Steward. Security Chief, Deck/Cargo Chief, Ship's Locker Supervisor, Finder.



PC7 Merchant Captain Alexander Jamison
Vacc Suit-1, Pilot-2, Electronics-3

Pilot. Majority Owner, Captain, Ship's Boat Pilot, EVA Specialist, Electrician, Bridge Watch, Engineering Watch.





*I know that these positions require level 1 skill, and that Skill-0 won't do. I wrote those in just to illustrate my method of assigning sub-positions.

If these characters are what the players roll up, then I suggest that the Ref allow the use of the Experience rules straight out of character generation. Encourage the players to try for the missing positions, especially those players who have PCs with no primary position skill for a tramp freighter. Somebody will be successful (thought it might not be the two I selected above with the Skill-0 place holders), and the Ref can assign sub-positions accordingly.

 

[Supplement Four]

Something I've done before, and also something that I've skipped over before: Language and Accent.

Reading Foundation reminds me that, even if speaking the same language, accents can be strong--certainly in different parts of a world, but also on different planets.

Even if speaking the same language, the Ref can add some candy to his game by making NPCs from different worlds have different accents. If the Ref knows something of a real world foreign language, then he can use this to his benefit. Bastardize the language a bit--who know what English/Anglic will sound like on two different worlds in the far future.

And, make up new languages.

Of course too much detail to language diversity can also slow a game down and make it not fun. The Ref is the master story teller. It's up to him to decide when to color his game with language candy and when not to.

 

[aramis]

Something I've done before, and also something that I've skipped over before: Language and Accent.

Reading Foundation reminds me that, even if speaking the same language, accents can be strong--certainly in different parts of a world, but also on different planets.

Even if speaking the same language, the Ref can add some candy to his game by making NPCs from different worlds have different accents. If the Ref knows something of a real world foreign language, then he can use this to his benefit. Bastardize the language a bit--who know what English/Anglic will sound like on two different worlds in the far future.

And, make up new languages.

Of course too much detail to language diversity can also slow a game down and make it not fun. The Ref is the master story teller. It's up to him to decide when to color his game with language candy and when not to.

there's a JTAS/BOJTAS article on just how far the "official" galanglic has drifted on various worlds.

 

[kilemall]

Take some everyday routine thing and make it future/alien/shocking/no really it ain't 2018 with lasers and jump.

Example, I think it possible that bio-luminescence could become a thing. And so whatever it is, microorganisms or plants, you might have a chore people have to do to 'water the lamps' every month or so.

Being introduced to actual meat instead of vatmeat- 'it's..... bleeding! and this other cut we left out for a month stinks! and it tastes wild and not sweet!'

The need to wear filtering eye/audio and cyber pieces to avoid hightech compulsion techniques in public and online commtech, kind of a lower tech sensory psionic shield- think the sunglasses from They Live as per below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JI8AMRbqY6w

 

[martletsquire]

Regarding what to do during a jump, well, I've always held to the 'Heinlein Juvie' concept, like that found in "Starman Jones." Ship's maintenance crew services the ship, painting, replacing seals, cleaning, cleaning, cleaning. Ship's Engineering Crew service the drives, and the big machinery. Bridge Crew do bridgy things, either doing a watch, or running sims, or staying current with whatever training is required. And so forth.

I always got the feel that the smaller ships are like the tramp steamers of the 30's through 60's that also had some passenger cabins available. Crew stays busy making sure things don't get or stay broken, while the person (s) assigned to handle passengers makes sure that they stay out of trouble.

As to passenger travel on most of the ships, unless it is a very large ship (like FASA's King Richard,) the passengers are pretty much left to themselves, with most of the recreational opportunities being from stuff the passengers brought with them, with the purser/whomever making sure no weapons are drawn and no equipment is destroyed. And, of course, the obligatory 24/7 gambling game in one of the lesser crew's quarters...

I guess part of the problem many may have is due to the rapid changes in our own world. When I first started Travelling, it was easy to have the feeling of the 'Age of Steam' style, with big honking computers, a few terminals, and mysterious machines that go 'bing' (or 'boom' if not taken care of.)

Viewed from today's tech, well, VR glasses or contact lenses that connect wirelessly to the ship's computer to allow the wearer to contact said computer and be directed wherever they need to go just doesn't seem so far-fetched now. An engineer, walking around, talking to himself (the computer actually) and looking at a blank wall section (actually using displayed schematics and sounding systems to 'look' into a troubled section without removing the wall) and then a 'zoomba' computer drone carrying the tools and pieces parts for the repair is dispatched per request of the worker (or computer, hmm, internet of things...)

The world around the Game has moved so much faster and stranger than we could believe.

 

[Supplement Four]

As to passenger travel on most of the ships, unless it is a very large ship (like FASA's King Richard,) the passengers are pretty much left to themselves, with most of the recreational opportunities being from stuff the passengers brought with them, with the purser/whomever making sure no weapons are drawn and no equipment is destroyed.

I used to create an Entertainment Program for the ship's computer, not unlike Library. This would be something that, if a ship wanted to attract passengers, it would have (and throw some credits at). The passengers could play games on the station in the passenger cabins or in the passenger lounge. It also would contain seasons of entertainment programming, from documentaries about the ship's destination to fiction shows from the world the ship just left.

After a time, I considered the Library Program to have an Entertainment section--barring the need for the ship to buy and use another program (after considering space on the ship's computer during a jump).

 

[Supplement Four]

Not quite candy....

Here's something I've done in the past. Characters end up Mustering out of whatever career they've had at different ages, especially if the Ref enforces the hard Survival Rule the way I do (you fail Survival, you die--no have term muster out).

Characters are supposed to start adventuring one they muster out, and of course, the normal answer to this is that the PCs all started at different times but mustered out at the same time (so that they can all come together for the game).

Sometimes, I've turned that around to where all the characters start their first careers at the same time and end up mustering out 4 or 8 years later (or whatever the time).

This is a good way to boost up skills on characters with low skill counts.

The question becomes, what happened to the other characters who had already mustered (while waiting for the longer term characters to muster)?

I thought of this when I needed certain skills that the group as a whole didn't have.



EXAMPLE

You've got three PCs. The Scout musters out after just 2 terms, not wanting to face the high Survival throw again. The Merchant musters out after 3 terms, not wanting to face an Aging Crisis. And, the Naval character tried to muster out after 3 terms but rolled mandatory re-enlistment and ended up going 4 terms.

So, if they all muster at the same time, then the Scout has been out of his first career for 8 years, and the Merchant has been out of his career for 4 years, before the Naval character musters and starts the campaign.

What I would do is give a character a skill of his choice (sometimes my choice, or random rolled from a selective list) for each 4 year "waiting period".

Therefore, the Scout would get 2 skills (or skill levels) for the 8 years.

The Merchant would get 1 skill or skill level for the 4 years.

This is a great way to ensure the skills needed for the adventure are had by the PCs.





ALTERNATIVE

Alternatively, I would just use the Experience Rules, as written, allowing the waiting PCs to increase skills or abilities that way. If they made the rolls.

 

[mike wightman]

Those two waiting characters still have aging rolls to make...

 

[Supplement Four]

Those two waiting characters still have aging rolls to make...

Yep. But, they didn't know that when they mustered out.

 

[mike wightman]

That may really upset players if they deliberately cut their character generation short to avoid aging rolls.

 

[Supplement Four]

That may really upset players if they deliberately cut their character generation short to avoid aging rolls.

When I did this, I didn't have a problem, but you could have a point, depending on the player.

I list the above as an option. I typically do not play that way.

 

[Ulsyus]

There must be a lot of down time during Jump. Not 100%, as I'm sure that someone needs to be posted on the bridge at all times (the crew, or some of the crew, takes shifts) and in engineering. And, there may be repair work/ship maintenance to do.
...
In Traveller, the weeks spent in Jump Space is an excellent time, I think, to bring out the Classic Traveller Experience rules and improve something about the character.

Depending on the level of maintenance of the vessel, in J-space I worked on the assumption that engineering could be monitored from the bridge, that it just had to be checked once daily to confirm the readings on the bridge were accurate with what was happening at the tail end, and that it all came down to familiarity with monitoring systems. That way I could get a Computer roll off each of the players, one for he Jump normally, and that would help determine if something went wrong.

I agree with the training concept. We didn't use it years ago but once MT came out it became what the PCs did in their down time.

 

[Ulsyus]

The question becomes, what happened to the other characters who had already mustered (while waiting for the longer term characters to muster)?

I thought of this when I needed certain skills that the group as a whole didn't have.

Have you had the ones who got out early go through something like a second career? Maybe analogous to being a contractor, so that they weren't tied to terms as such and could pull the pin on it at just the right time to synchronise with the PCs exiting their careers later.

 

[Supplement Four]

Have you had the ones who got out early go through something like a second career? Maybe analogous to being a contractor, so that they weren't tied to terms as such and could pull the pin on it at just the right time to synchronise with the PCs exiting their careers later.

I only did that once or twice, long ago, but what we did was exactly like what we did for standard career generation. We made up a background that fit the skills. Maybe the guy did have a second career as this or that. People can change often. Maybe he went to school and learned X or Y.