CT Only: TRAVELLER: Out of the Box

[aramis]

The thing about creating your own setting is that it requires a little imagination but usually a lot of time to invest, whereas with a default one, you can take it as given and/or adjust it as you go along to suit current and/or expected circumstances, on a ad hoc or premeditated basis.

The Elestrial Concordat setting took a full session to create as part of play...
Character gen was another session.
Session 1 - we discussed what kind of setting, and the basic needs to modify the generation protocols. We opted for none.
We then generated the systems's mainworlds, and cultures as "no more than one index card" each.
We then fleshed out the rest of the systems using T20 expansion tweaked slightly.

The following session, we generated characters, and the mission. (Which, in that case, was "develop the J2 drive"...

So, really, the setting took 5 people 9 hours each, plus an additional roughly 10 for me to collate. Then 30 hours of assorted art. So, about 85 person•hours. (Slap the average wage of any of the group on, at the time, $12/hr, and you get about $1020.)

Canned settings, even at $50 to $100, are comparatively good value for money, even when you factor in the need to spend time learning it.

My current D&D world has 30 years of sporadic use. And about 30 hours of development - mostly between sessions. The map was randomly generated. The cultures were by taking suggestions. It's grown from play, even tho no two campaigns were set on the same continents. It has a certain depth to it that a canned setting seldom does, and yet, lacks the breadth that canned ones usually do.

 

[rhialto]

Creativehum, once again you've provided some great inspiration (in the prime sense) for Traveller (or really, RPing in general). And the most important point, IMHO, is the "invention for invention's sake", or what I'd call "creativity for creativity's sake": you can buy someone else's creative output, or you can engage in it yourself.

Wonderful posts!

 

[warwizard]

When I first got my LBB's in '77 I wrote a program in basic to generate a 8X6 subsector, yeah even the subsector was not defined at that time. This size was what I could fit on my monitor, generation was easy, displaying was hard, had no printer.
I had a full time job and did not have the time to develop settings with this much thought behind them, but in all my early efforts I left it up to the players to choose what they do, be it set demolition charges on the planetary stock exchange building and blow it up as they jump from the system or shoot at the planetary navy that was escorting them to the jump point. (Please leave and do not come back) I had a hit location table for the ships involved distances were so short the lasers were auto hit, the navy had auto return fire running, character tried to shoot and then hit the jump button, one open dice roll later his jump drive has been hit and there was a short battle to the death.

Of course all I was intending was to kick the character out due to bad behavior, the universe just responded to player inputs. If he had won the space battle, (2 scouts vs. 1) that was the entirety of the system navy and the character could have then looted to his heart's content as long as he did not meet someone able to stop him. If he had not been in a scout ship owned by the government the authorities may have just shot him out of hand for his previous actions, and that would be the difference between a strong government and a weak government setting, a local government might be willing to disappear a character that deserves such treatment if there is a perception that they can get away with it.

 

[salochin999]

The thing about creating your own setting is that it requires a little imagination but usually a lot of time to invest, whereas with a default one, you can take it as given and/or adjust it as you go along to suit current and/or expected circumstances, on a ad hoc or premeditated basis.

One way to compromise is to take the OTU and roll back the years.

Say you pick the 3I itself then starting at capital count out say 4 sub-sectors in any direction and say that is the current border of the 3I at whatever date - that sub-sector is the last one with an Imperial fleet.

The next sub-sector along has a lot of 3I influence, ambassadors, client states, diplomacy, spies, intrigue etc.

But it's the next sub-sector after that where the players start. Assume becoming part of the 3I bumps up population and TL so knock all those stats down a bit, maybe a forward 3I scout base on the edge of the sub-sector on a friendly planet, various merchant companies based there, lots of people trying to get rich quick, maybe a pocket empire controls a cluster of systems in the sub-sector, maybe not.

For example the Shallows sub-sector, six spinward of Core.

http://travellermap.com/?x=-17.485&y=22.979&scale=36.7578125

or make it the Vilani expanding out of Vland towards the Spinward Marches have annexed as far as Lan and Khouth sub-sectors with the players starting on the edge of Dunmag two sub-sectors beyond the border.

http://travellermap.com/?x=-63.447&y=65.383&scale=33.125

 

[savage]

For example the Shallows sub-sector, six spinward of Core.

http://travellermap.com/?x=-17.485&y=22.979&scale=36.7578125

or make it the Vilani expanding out of Vland towards the Spinward Marches have annexed as far as Lan and Khouth sub-sectors with the players starting on the edge of Dunmag two sub-sectors beyond the border.

http://travellermap.com/?x=-63.447&y=65.383&scale=33.125

Or TNE post collapse with a lower TL subsector, allowing 3I materials to become artifacts.

Another suggestion might be to develop a few worlds outside of the subsector, not for the purpose of visitation, their whereabouts are unknown but so that activities from that world can flow into the known universe.

 

[salochin999]

Another suggestion might be to develop a few worlds outside of the subsector, not for the purpose of visitation, their whereabouts are unknown but so that activities from that world can flow into the known universe.

Yeah, off-stage actors.

 

[Adam Dray]

I noticed that you are dipping into MegaTraveller books and I just wanted to point out that the Hard Times campaign setting book, offers different types of starship design and a wealth of suggestions for handling worlds that are struggling with a loss of Tech Level.

Anyone got a bead on where I can acquire this? I don't see it on DriveThruRPG. Is it on the CD?

 

[atpollard]

Anyone got a bead on where I can acquire this? I don't see it on DriveThruRPG. Is it on the CD?

It is on the CD, or DTRPG MT: Hard Times LINK

 

[Adam Dray]

It is on the CD, or DTRPG MT: Hard Times LINK

Many thanks. I should just get the CD already.

I wonder if it's on the thumb drive they give out at TravellerCon.

 

[aramis]

Many thanks. I should just get the CD already.

I wonder if it's on the thumb drive they give out at TravellerCon.

Note that Marc can ship the "CD" on a thumb drive.