General Traveller Tips/Advice

[prognosticValtiel]

I find I get the broader concepts of Traveller but I seem to struggle a bit with detailing the normal stuff of Traveller. I'm working on a sort of checklist to cover or things such as to help me flesh out the scene my players are in a bit more, but is there anything else advice wise you would recommend?

 

[Daidoji Dave]

The skill system: sometimes two or more skills apply. Broker or Streetwise to find a desired item, but there is no comprehensive list. Rarely, any stat can pair with any skill - Deception + Dex for slight of hand, Persuade + Str for intimidation, and so on. Again, there are examples but no comprehensive list. Effect 0 is a success, but the GM may impose a minor condition. Effect -1 is a failure, but may convert to a success if the player chooses to accept a major condition. These are RAW (or were, I'm one update behind on the books), but are easy to forget.

Learn and teach Task Chains early. To land a starship in a sandstorm I'd take Sensors to read off altitude, Comms to follow in a landing beacon if there was one, another Pilot or sometimes even Flyer to act as co-pilot, Engineer - Power Plant to give max power, Engineer - M-Drive to keep the drives steady. But none of these are called out in skill descriptions, and outside of the first session or two I won't suggest them all as GM, I don't want to play both sides of the screen.

Complicate your scenes, complicate your adventures. My first homebrew Traveller adventure was an abandoned research station built into an asteroid, but it was pretty barebones and played out faster than I expected. When I reworked it I added in, just more. Instead of "here's a salvage mission" and the twist was "old security bot before you can strip the place" it was "here's a salvage mission, on a timer because there's a collision with another asteroid forecast." And a competing salvage crew launched, and I kept it up in the air whether they were only in a race but otherwise legit or possible claim-jumpers/opportunistic pirates. And there was a body just outside the lab, an apparent suicide from years ago. And something in a tank in the lab. And more stuck doors, but more jeffreys tubes running through the place. But, still a security bot combat as well.

And for scenes, as with dungeon rooms in D&D, two elements or two things going on at once are better than one. Room with security bot and fragile valuable salvage is better than either alone. Social scene where the party want the clue out of the lead and a would-be mercenary is trying to get them to hire him (they weren't advertising, he just thought the one PC's guns meant something it didn't) is better than either alone.

Let players have the win when their plan merits it or the dice go their way. You can challenge them with depth of obstacles, with more complications, rather than just dragging out a skill challenge or making combats tougher.

Speaking of combats, mostly don't outgun the PCs. A group of lower skill combatants can still be threatening, and ironically nothing focuses players more than enemies with stunners. Do look to change up the scenery sometimes - combats on catwalks, in a marsh, on a city street where both sides know it's only a matter of time before the cops (or the crimelord) get there.

Mostly don't outclass PCs with NPC skill ranks either. With randomly rolled PCs, one of my patrons or rival NPCs usually has key skills at 2 and stats at 1, or one stat at 2 at most. This will vary depending on your char-gen method though.

 

[kilemall]

Little details that are future things the inhabitants take for granted but are jarringly different help sell the ‘you aren’t in Kansas anymore’ spacey stuff.

Everything in a house is Alexa but competing brands so they yell commands at each other trying to screw each other up. Future scenes include the dog tore up the house but it was the appliances. Training classes exist to properly bring up semi intelligent equipment or owners to do same.

Biotech is everywhere- lamps grow and glow, furniture is a sort of animal that can move around on command and snuggle/massage, powered armor means vacc resistant muscle suits, fruits and veggies grow on trees in days with dialing up size and taste and coloration. Advantage is it heals and cleans itself. But it all has to be fed and wayered and excretion handled.

Differing xeno attitudes about outsider differences- some places very cosmopolitan and accepting, others not and possibly focused on strange little things that shouldn’t make a difference but do to them.

For fun flavor, treat Law Level as an average not a specific base of increasingly stringent laws. Roll LL or below for some act to be a violation, and another roll for level of punishment.

So stealing is illegal but if convicted you have to do menial chores for however long to pay it back, littering is the death penalty but murder is legal as long as properly registered.

I wouldn’t do it too often but they won’t forget those planets easily.

When describing a scene, modify according to the skills of the PCs.

A leader will pick out the vibe and key people at a gathering to inspire, the tactics guy will spot the guards/heavies/firing position, the art person will be impacted by style/taste or lack thereof of sophonts and setting, and the engineering guy will see the air handling/power runs and control's points of the facility controls.

This gets buyin on setting, personal ownership of said ownership through psychology of agency, give them sense of character, suggest now and future DMs they can use, and strong visualization.

 

[Dragoner]

I find I get the broader concepts of Traveller but I seem to struggle a bit with detailing the normal stuff of Traveller. I'm working on a sort of checklist to cover or things such as to help me flesh out the scene my players are in a bit more, but is there anything else advice wise you would recommend?

Mostly what I need for a game is a map, or maps, and NPC's; that will be the meat of the adventure. Let the players win, make their die checks be around 2 out of 3 chance of success; they will have plenty of time to lose later.

 

[Bartleby]

I would recommend when you have to make a ruling about technology on the fly, you don't make it universal. Anything from how law enforcement reacts, to what IDs people have, to how customs is handled landing on a planet. These things might be different in each and every location. Don't feel you have to explain how the future works, jus explain this little corner for now.

 

[mike wightman]

Use the media you and your group consume to reach a consensus on the setting. Think of the TV shows, movies, books and comics.
How is space travel? Like Star Wars, Star Tek, the Expanse...
What do the inside of ships look like?
How do people dress?
What technology is just "there" in the background and taken for granted.

Search for images using key words, use AI to generate scenes until you get what you are after.

 

[prognosticValtiel]

One Idea I was having is working with the ships trader guy and inbetween sessions rolling out the speculative trading cargo should they want to do speculative trading or just focus on normal trading.

Also I love the ideas here, and I could be thinking too hard about it. I feel like I can make Traveller adventures fine and do things such as fine but I think I struggle with just setting the scene. Then again could be thinking too hard.

For reference I had a planet my travellers went down to once and say "This is like the colony in the movie avatar." Should I instead describe it with some detail like "It is a colony in every sense of the word, Prefabs are vaguely connected through dirt paths. Chickens are scene eating birdseed in the back as heavy loaders move equipment from the Port to the warehouse."

 

[Nathan Brazil]

I find I get the broader concepts of Traveller but I seem to struggle a bit with detailing the normal stuff of Traveller. I'm working on a sort of checklist to cover or things such as to help me flesh out the scene my players are in a bit more, but is there anything else advice wise you would recommend?

Look at the UWP of the world and describe (in what order you feel is right):
0.How bright is it outside (from Luminosity and orbit)
1.The gravity (based off size)
2.The freedom or constraint of breathing equipment
3.Humidity in part from the UWP and terrain you are at.
4.Temperature (based on the UWP and your dice roll)
5.Crowded outside the starport (Population)?'
6.Types of Vehicles flying or moving on the ground or water nearby based on the world's TL.

 

[kilemall]

There is a whole referee advice sub forum you could mine for ideas. In fact mods, could this be moved there if the OP is agreeable?

 

[prognosticValtiel]

There is a whole referee advice sub forum you could mine for ideas. In fact mods, could this be moved there if the OP is agreeable?

Oh I wasnt aware of this, I'd be more than happy to move it! Still new to the forums (and just forums in general so I'm still trying to learn forum etiquette and such)

 

[Daidoji Dave]

... just setting the scene. ...

For reference I had a planet my travellers went down to once and say "This is like the colony in the movie avatar." Should I instead describe it with some detail like "It is a colony in every sense of the word, Prefabs are vaguely connected through dirt paths. Chickens are scene eating birdseed in the back as heavy loaders move equipment from the Port to the warehouse."

I see now. I like the second better.

It's also about the max length I'd go before shutting up and waiting for questions or actions. The reason is there's a natural back and forth between GM and players. You get two or three sentences of description, scene setting (or read aloud, for published adventures) before players start to tune out. But that's okay, because if you drop two or three sentences and shut up there's space for players to ask questions. Then you get a few more sentences out in answering their questions, and engagement and retention go up. And the players are actually playing the game, even while you're still setting the scene.

So I really like the core concept of "prefabs, chickens, heavy loaders." That's not only good image of a place, it also implies something meaningful for the players without spelling it out. For instance they've got industrial tech in the background, but they've brought low tech on purpose because they don't have local production. Or, they've got heavy loaders sitting around so you could get on one and drive it later if you find a use for it, but it's not the GM telling you you're supposed to. So I prefer that over "like the colony in the movie avatar," but your example text is about the max I'd want to go before stopping talking.

What I'll often do is just pick one or two things to focus on. If a planet is low-grav and high tech, I might decide they built up instead of out. Lots of catwalks and balconies, lots of air cars and bikes, youth gangs in winged bodysuits and street toughs with cheap grav belts on in case they have to jump. Probably the rich live higher up, and the very wealthy have floating houses and dine at exclusive free floating restaurants all sitting on grav plates. But I don't try to get all of that out at once. I'll start with "it looks like this place built up rather than out. A lot of tall buildings, you can see people out on balconies and catwalks, and grav cars landing on the tops of the tallest buildings." And then I shut up and wait for questions or declarations of actions. Anything else can come out in response to questions, or later during play.

 

[kilemall]

Thanks for the move mods. OP should find more material suited to his interests.

 

[Spinward Scout]

I have a bunch of tables in my blog that might help with some background information.

The link is below in my signature. Spinward Scout's Way Station

 

[mike wightman]

Always listen to player input, as they ask questions and describe things as they see it they are contributing to the setting description. Encourage them to describe things as their character see it.

Make notes so you can maintain consistency and also drop in a flashback.

"Remember how the starport on Rigel was run down, well this is worse"

 

[aramis]

if using the OTU, pick your edition's OTU flavor and stick with it for the time being; mix-n-match has issues of them not matching in the detail levels and tech paradigms. Use one cogent view first, then later rip, shred, mix, blend...

To quote Marc Miller: Map Only As Really Needed. Don't start by mapping a sector. Start no larger than a subsector.

No traveller edition supports the core tropes of Star Trek, Star Wars, Dr Who, Galaxy Quest, nor The Orville, when run as written. Most can be stretched to do them... If you ignore the FTL and tech paradigm differences, much of the Star Wars expanded universe is closer than the rest of them. Mando or Book of Boba are readily done, Bad Batch is a bit more afield
It has far more overlap with Firefly, Space: Above and Beyond, Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda, Homeboys from Outer Space, season 1 of the 79-81 Buck Rogers reboot, Space Precinct, and Jason of Star Command. And even much of Space 1999... but not the moon going FTL due to a nuke explosion...

Marc's stated sources include the who's who of 50s and 60's SF: Dune, Foundation, The CoDoverse, Doc Smith (both Fuzzy and Lensman), Heinlein (esp. Starship Troopers), Star Wars had effects on it, too, but not on Bk 1-3 1977 edition - Star Wars came out as CT was going to print. (Designer's notes in Dragon Magazine)

The range of activities all editions can be used for readily: firefly-esque merchant, the CoDo style mercenary game, the troubleshooter type game (like the BR Reboot season 1), , space cops, Socialites, renegade psionicists...

T4 has rules for running Pocket Empires, TNE has a colony running rulebook (World Tamer's Handbook).

Editions with minis games: CT has Striker, MT has the mass combat rules in Referees Companion which serve that role well, TNE has Striker II.
CT gives us Invasion Earth for planetary invasion rules; the ratings match those in MT, too.
CT has a boardgame of space combat matching its core rules relatively closely: Mayday.
TNE has two: Brilliant Lances is a more detailed version of the core space combat, plus some ship construction; Battle Rider is large scale combat.
CT has two boardgames of shipboard combat: Snapshot is Bk1 compatible; Azhanti High Lightning is Striker compatible.
T4 has the 3rd party released At Close Quarters for shipboard combat.
There is a version of GZG's Full Thrust specific for Traveller, but it's really naval ships scaled. It's good, but it's not suitable for "Adventure Class Ships"...

The early OTU is often reminisced about... it's often described as being the "444 plan" Books 1-4, Supps 1-4, Adventures 1-4... it's view is of a darker OTU, keeps to the small ships, usually ignores the advanced Army & Marine gen... the FGU adventures and sectors are compatible with the 444 plan. Note sup 4 adds 12 careers to CT's core 6; sup 3 is the Spinward Marches... A game with just those sources often looks more like Star Wars than like CoDo... but either way, war is hell, war is business, and business is booming in the early OTU.

Don't sweat the details... just note for your players you're running Your Traveller Universe, and get them into situations to react to.

The the closest thing to Marc's view on the editions I have extracted is that each edition's OTU is the same place... as seen by different historians. (My BA is in history, and put 3 historians in a room give them a topic, and between 3 and 7 resulting opinions on what's there will happen. Phi Alpha Theta pizza parties had some odd discussions...)