What the players need to learn?

[rsitalyct]

Helllo!

I'm thinking to start my first adventure as GM, but I have a doubt ... I have just learned the basic myself.

As a GM I know what I have to learn ... a complete rule set (TTB, LLB, etc ...) + some of the additional LBB as requested (HIGH GUARD, MERCENARY, etc ...).

My problem are the players, like me totally new to TRAVELLER, ... I don't know if they need to learn some part of the rules or simply the adventure background; It is my first experience as GM but I was thinking that the players ARE NOT required to know something ... they take actions and I, as GM, I'll throw the dices in order to solve them.

Thanks in advance!

Roberto

 

[flykiller]

I have just learned the basic myself.

keep the first games local and simple. try to confine your self to one starsystem at first. remember a star system can hold a great deal - multiple planets, moons, asteroids, gas giants, mining operations, research stations, religious colonies, rich men that own their own planetoids, commerce wars, industrial espionage, etc. limiting at first the scope of the game will help you keep it all under control.

 

[Rhialto the Marvelous]

rsitalyct, what you're suggesting CAN be done, and can actually be great fun for new players, because with that method no rules get in the way of identification with their character.

But it's a matter of consensus. If everyone agrees that only the GM should know the rules, it'll work. If not, not. In that case (in both cases, actually), I would use only the TTB rules, rather than TTB plus LLBs 4-6, because chargen is simpler, equipment lists are shorter etc. Let the players read the chargen and combat rules--it's just a couple of pages.

 

[Jeffr0]

Players need to know how easy it is to die.

If you can either work some sort of "training simulation" into the first session or two and fit it into the plot, that's good. Ultra tech computer entertainment during jump could simulate either.... Players need to understand their chances of surviving getting hit by a pistol/rifle/shotgun, so explain those classic but unusual damage rules to them. Have them get mugged by "goons" that are kayoed on the first hit when they get to the starport.

Postpone space combat until later, if you ask me.

We have so little play time (and sessions get dropped for real live with guys my age) that you need to make even the learning bits look like part of the plot/game.

 

[samuelvss]

Also, your players do not have to know the rules, but tell them what thir characters would know in a given situation. i.e: "He's got a laser rifle, and is in combat armor; you're in a bath robe with a snub pistol. You are NOT going to have a chance in a fire fight."

"You know as a scout that without power the ship cannot maneuver, and you're pretty sure it is without power. That means it will not be able to deccelerate to land, unles power is restored in about [rolls die] turns."

You as a person don't know the exact acceleration of your car, but you've got a feel for when you can make it, when you can't, and when the issue's in doubt. Give the players a feel when their knowledge of rules falls short. It's role playing, not rules. At this stage, you worry about the rules, they worry about their roles. Have fun!!

 

[rsitalyct]

All of you were right ... to start the adventure should be simple, without too much details and traveling in a single star system (or not traveling at all like in THE SHADOWS).
My players needs to know the equipment they are using, the chances have to survive in a fight, etc ... in simple words they must learn something about the "Traveller environment".

Lacking myself of experience, I have to made the firsts gaming sections easy, so they will learn the system and the universe within they are "living"; from my side, I'll learn how to guide them, how to make the things interesting and moving ... I'll learn in order to become a good GM (I hope) and I'll learn from my mistakes!

Roberto

 

[Supplement Four]

If you've got the CT CD-ROM, read the section on die throws printed early in The Traveller Adventure. It's great advice for GMs.

Check out Rule 68A in my sig as well.

I believe that only the GM needs to know the rules. That's the way I always run things. It's not important if players know the rules--they just need to tell the GM what they want their characters to do, and the GM will tell them what to roll.

As GM, keep as much secret as you can. Do as many die rolls behind the screen as you can. This adds to drama, suspension of disbelief, and story-telling. It keeps the players focussed on the story and the game and not the dice or the rules.

Smaller is better when starting out. Run a short adventure. Keep it centered on just one or two star systems (a gun run from one world to another, for example)--certainly within only one subsector.

Be linear with your first adventure, and plan and prepare as much as you can. This will help you ad-lib when you need to, and it will keep your game smooth. As you become more familiar with the rules, you can allow a more open game. Try not to let the players feel railroaded, though. Get them to go where you need them to go without them feeling like they're being pushed. Use carrots to draw players where you want them to go--they'll gravitate towards something that they need.

What is it they need? Listen to the player's talk. What interests them? Psionics? Military equipment? Transforming their J-1 tramp with a J-2 drive?

Whatever it is that they're interested in, that will be your carrot. They will follow.

Make it interesting for them.

 

[Jeffr0]

All of you were right ... to start the adventure should be simple, without too much details and traveling in a single star system (or not traveling at all like in THE SHADOWS).Roberto

This advice has always stuck in my craw-- given then name of the game and all that.

Realistically, doing one world per 3 hour game session is a whirlwind-like pace. A TV-episode length plot tends to take 3 game sessions, in my experience-- unless I can do some serious telescoping or glossing.

To do some hard-core *Travelling* with new people... look at adventures like Kinunir and Twilight's Peak. Have the players do the trading thing. You should be able to hit several worlds in a session this way. Each world doesn't have to always have a patron-- they may just get a rumor or two and that's it. If the players are into the trading stuff, stretch it our and get more detailed with it... if not, sling the big adventure at them in the next session or two.

The feeling of "we can go anywhere" is really what I want to get across to my players. If you have some patrons in mind, some rumors to pull characters in various directions, and an occasional full-on adventure... you can have lively sessions without the players feeling like they've been railroaded.

 

[Rhialto the Marvelous]

The feeling of "we can go anywhere" is really what I want to get across to my players. If you have some patrons in mind, some rumors to pull characters in various directions, and an occasional full-on adventure... you can have lively sessions without the players feeling like they've been railroaded.

This is true, and I would add that, if prepped right, there *will* be no railroad. You actually can go anywhere, because anywhere has in fact been mapped out, however roughly--and roughly is all that's required. Setting up such a "sandbox" environment takes a little while, but even a beginner can do it.

My online buddy Rob Conley wrote a great post on how to go about it (and S4 has described similar strategies).

http://batintheattic.blogspot.com/2008/10/to-me-traveller-public-by-gdw-games-and.html

 

[samuelvss]

My online buddy Rob Conley wrote a great post on how to go about it (and S4 has described similar strategies).

http://batintheattic.blogspot.com/2008/10/to-me-traveller-public-by-gdw-games-and.html

An excellent summary at this link!

Having an excellent iea of what to do is not as good as having a good list, and I would call this an excellent list, along with a healthy feel of how things are to go!

 

[flykiller]

The feeling of "we can go anywhere" is really what I want to get across to my players.

(ack!) yes, the players can go anywhere, and when they do the referee's job becomes difficult. it's hard enough with an experienced ref and experienced players, but with a new ref and new players it becomes unpleasant. a hurried outline of a world the players _might_ visit is work enough, but when you do seven of them and the players suddenly change their mind and head in the opposite direction and you have to draw up a world on the fly, then you have to be very quick to have a good game.

 

[Jeffr0]

This is true, and I would add that, if prepped right, there *will* be no railroad. You actually can go anywhere, because anywhere has in fact been mapped out, however roughly--and roughly is all that's required. Setting up such a "sandbox" environment takes a little while, but even a beginner can do it.

This is excellent!

I've been having an ongoing argument with Hans Rancke-Madsen ever since I bought GT practically. He was working on a series of Regina articles for the beginning ref and I was like, "but a half-dozen sessions set at Regina... that might be a great rpg, but it's not Traveller."

The GT tools took every aspect of the game and turned the detail up to "11". This, IMHO, made something impossible to use to, you know, actually run a game.

But the core CT books, 76 patrons, the simple trade system, and then something like Kinunr... things start to fall in place.

And there's all kinds of tricks. My *first* traveller campaign, the PC's did working passage for a Darrian merchant. They just so happen to go to each of the worlds that I had lots of material on. When I wanted a longer multi-session adventure, I had the merchant get rid of them after steadily getting angrier and angrier with them in each session.

If the players are doing the trading thing, then you can totally set them up. Wow... the stuff they're selling here, you just might make a killing on that over here at this world [where you just so happen to have an encounter prepared.] That's why you keep the trade system simple like in Books 2 and 7. It doesn't take long to learn those two and they provide the illusion of absolute freedom-- with plenty of hooks. (GURPS Far Trader? What do you think we're trying to do here?!)

The other thing is... even if you're doing free form with (say) 6 worlds visited in a session... just pull the Zork thing. You'd see mountains in the north. You'd go north... and you'd never get to them. It's okay for them to get to a world and there be nothing much to interact with. If you have your overall plot in mind, you can maybe let them work for a rumor... but there doesn't have to be this big thing at every planet.

Marc Miller is all of the time talking about pushes, pulls, and gimmicks. Look at The Spinward Marches Campaign for a good example. That sort of a game (and Twilight's Peak) is what 'real' Traveller is about. Other types of scenarios can be sprinkled in, but you tend to have to break their ship or make the players completely destitute in order to "force" them into your game. But like a good "con", I think the ultimate ref would make the players think they are in complete charge of everything-- and that it's all their idea.

 

[Jeffr0]

(ack!) yes, the players can go anywhere, and when they do the referee's job becomes difficult. it's hard enough with an experienced ref and experienced players, but with a new ref and new players it becomes unpleasant. a hurried outline of a world the players _might_ visit is work enough, but when you do seven of them and the players suddenly change their mind and head in the opposite direction and you have to draw up a world on the fly, then you have to be very quick to have a good game.

Turn down the granularity and it shouldn't be so bad. Trade gives the illusion of control and something to distract the players with-- so you can pull off your sleight of hand.

Card board cut-out worlds? Maybe... but just like any form of fiction, you need to be intelligent about which details you allow to take the stage. Some good characters and "scenes" will generally be more memorable than a bunch of artfully derived astrographic details. "Yes, because of the trinary, the shadows are purple here... without protection, you'll be blinded in 22.3 minutes." Whatever....

 

[Rhialto the Marvelous]

Marc Miller is all of the time talking about pushes, pulls, and gimmicks. Look at The Spinward Marches Campaign for a good example. That sort of a game (and Twilight's Peak) is what 'real' Traveller is about.

Yes, and without offense to Hans or SJ Games, their idea of Traveller tends to be of a simulation, not of a game. Not to say GT is unplayable, but supplements like FT are clearly written for reading in the first place, gaming in the second.

Other types of scenarios can be sprinkled in, but you tend to have to break their ship or make the players completely destitute in order to "force" them into your game. But like a good "con", I think the ultimate ref would make the players think they are in complete charge of everything-- and that it's all their idea.

Well, but here's the thing. If you set up the sandbox the way Rob does (and it does take a fair amount of *initial* prep, no doubt about it), then you're precisely avoiding the "con" game. There actually *are* mountains in the north.

In other words, if the sandbox is criss-crossed at all major points with one or two out of half a dozen plot lines so to speak, then the PCs won't ever march into complete terra incognita (unless they say they want to travel 100 parsecs due coreward, but that breaks any game, and besides why would they). So the illusion of choice actually becomes real choice.

If they heard this rumor in the downport saloon about this unmarked launch heading to the mountains every week with unknown cargo, and they decide to investigate spontaneously, then the sandbox GM either a) predetermined the launch-ownner and cargo beforehand; or b) has 1-3 likely candidates at his fingertips, based on his prep. All he needs now is the Gamelords Mountain Environment (if he's lucky), a couple generic floorplans that could serve as somebody's mountain base, and a couple generic guards.

 

[Jeffr0]

For comparison, this is what I've been doing in order to get a feel for the Marches as a whole. Not just the sketch of the overall canon... but the shape of how and where adventures were intended to happen by the original designers (Miller, Keith, etc.)

It's a two letter "source" code, a two letter lower case "note type" code, and then the plot summary for the resource:

M3,c1,Biter,The party meets the Commodore of the 154th Battle Squadron and is invited to travel with him to Regina.
M3,c2,Garda-Vilis,The party finds a pirated vessel near the gas giant.  Dirtside, they discover a cache of military hardware in the wilderness.  The party may also return here to deal with an Al Morai installation manager.
M3,c3,Frenzie,Al Morai places a crew member aboard the ship who searches the party's quarters and plants evidence before the ship makes jump.  The party may also return here to deal with an Al Morai installation manager.
M3,c4,Denotam,The party is now suspected of being Zhodani spies and commandeers an Al Morai Close Escort.
M3,c5,Mora,The party must travel to Mora to invesitgate the source of the false message that has implicated them.
M3,c6,Shirene,The party can confront the Al Morai supervising manager at Shirene that is responsible for the plot.
D1,nt,Heya,Annic Nova first sighted 1103.
D1,nt,Kinorb,Annic Nova stood off for five weeks without contact.
D1,nt,Dentus,Annic Nova scanned by the local scout base.
D1,av,Keng,The party encounters the derelict space craft Annic Nova near a small gas giant.
D1,av,Yorbund,Tremors uncover some unusual pyramids-- the party explores them.
D2,av,Mithril,The party's scout ship exits jump three days late.  They agree to explore three locations of the mostly unpopulated world in return for repairs.
D2,av,Dinom,The party's patron has been suddenly killed in a sudden uprising-- they must trek "across the bright face" in order to flee the world.
D6,pa,Collace,A stranger waiting in the party's room wishes to hire them for a mission on Pavabid.
D6,av,Pavabid,The party attempts to create a "message from god" for a theocrat.
KK,av,Feneteman,While working as starport security consultants, the party must rescue a K'kree merchant held hostage by Vargr corsairs.
KK,av,Fornice,The party is hired to break into a K'kree enclave to covertly replace broken components on an important piece of artwork.
AS,av,Glisten,The party is hired to crew the ship of an Aslan seeking a lost expedition far beyond the Imperiums borders.
A1,pa,Regina,A middle-aged profressional wishes to hire the party to break into a scrapped Kinunir class vessel to retrieve some technical information.
A1,pa,Regina,A foppish noble wishes to hire the party to accompany him on a hunting expedition to Knorbes.
A1,nt,Knorbes,The restricted imperial game preserve contains an ancient site that is secured by a Kinunir class ship that will gladly transport the party to "the Gash".
A1,pa,Pixie,A young lady wishes to hire the party to rescue her father from his illegal imprisonment in "the Gash".
A1,rm,Shionthy,Rumors lead the party to discover a derelict Kinunir class vessle in the asteroid belt of the system.
A6,av,Utoland,While the flat-broke party seeks funds via the local classifieds, they stumble upon an asteroid vessel and travel to the Zhodani Consulate.
AR,nt,Lysen,This world's cities were mostly leveled during Zhodani/Imperial battles in the Fifth Frontier War.
AR,nt,Jewel,At the close of the Fifth Frontier World, party musters out of the Imperial military at Jewell starport.
AR,av,Emerald,In the aftermath of the Fifth Frontier War, barbarians, Zhodani commandos, diamond mines, and ancient temples await the party in the outback of this agricultuaral world.

My idea was to get maps of where the various rumors and campaigns were going on... so that I could improvise similar situations more easily. Or I could even have people experiencing these various adventures show up as patrons and encounters!

I was going to write a program to generate subsector maps showing how the various adventure resource lay out in relation to each other... with the notes seperated out where the UWP data usually is.

It'd be a "plot" map rather than a "census data" type map. (You can't expect a beginning ref to do this sort of stuff... but if you know he has (say) the CT CD-rom, this sort of thing might be useful as a visual index....) If I could combine this sort of preparation with the some of the stuff your friend is talking about... hmm....

 

[DaveChase]

All of the previous post are good advice.

Mine is this

Have an idea of what the players want of role playing in a SciFi setting.
Play the game like watching a movie. Need to keep it flowing and interesting.
( Sure there will be some lulls and boring parts but if everyone is involved it will be fun)

If your players learn the rules better than you, that is fine. Just remember that you are the force behind your world (game). You know the NPC's, the envoriment and how things naturally evolve. Players can twist and surprise you. That is fun and great as long as you do let it get to you.

If you make your own scenario/adventure, don't detail every action and reaction.
Instead, have key issues/situations that you know if x then y or if z then b happens.
Monitor the players and help them stay in character, gentle reminders of what they might do or might know, But Don't Run their characters for them.

Use the rules (Traveller) to help define and build the world(atmosphere) but you decide how life lives in it.

Get stuck and can't think of any creative ideas:
Go read a book on SciFi, Fantasy, Magic, or real world exploring.
Watch a movie of the above.
Come post here (or other forums of interest) and ask for some ideas.
Talk with your players and see what things they would like to do with their characters (or places they would like to see or items they would like to get). This is one of my favorite ways to generate situations because the players point the way and I just fill in the details

Take notes of what happen during the game. They will help focus you when you run again and will allow you use things that happened before in future scenarios. (like meeting certain individuals)

And most importantly, have fun running the game. There is nothing more boring that GM who is just following the adventure book, pushing you along to accomplish what they want by the book. (once in a great while it might be nice and in the beginning when no one knows what they are doing it OK also. But playes and GM's should gain experience also from playing.

Dave Chase

 

[aramis]

I believe that only the GM needs to know the rules. That's the way I always run things. It's not important if players know the rules--they just need to tell the GM what they want their characters to do, and the GM will tell them what to roll.

This is one point where I seriously disagree.

Players, IMO, generally benefit immensely from an understanding of the basic rules for resolving actions, and the ability to generally estimate their chances of actions.

This reflects the reality that, most of the time, we understand our own abilities well enough to judge common tasks' chances. (This is also why I love task systems like DGP-CT/MT/2300.)

The benefit is not doing "stupidly hard" things, nor trying stuff the character should know they have no chance at, but the player might not.

The GM can provide that, but I have found it better when players can intuit it within mechanics.

So, I generally expect players should be familiar with the Combat mechanics (not, of need memorizing them, but knowing how they go together), and with the GM's mode of generating throws, be it a bolt-on, or the myriad specialized subsystems as presented in Bk1...

 

[Supplement Four]

http://batintheattic.blogspot.com/2008/10/to-me-traveller-public-by-gdw-games-and.html

As Rhialto's buddy said, build a sandbox to play in. Traveller, like not other rpg that I can think of, gives you the tools to do just that.

If you don't have a lot of time on your hands, I suggest finding a linear, short, pre-written adventure that is detailed and not vague. Most of the original CT adventures are not what you're looking for. You want something like the old D&D modules where everything is spelled out for you: every NPC, every stat, every map.

There are some adventures like that. BITS publishes some (I love Cold Dark Grave). DGP has written several (mostly in thier Traveller's Digest magazine). You'll find others by third party sources. I don't know about Avenger, but I know they did write some CT adventures--ask how appropriate they are for a new GM. Check out the Mongoose adventures, too. There are several free published in their monthy e-zine. They'd be easy to use with a new CT ref if that ref went through and converted all the rules (not a bad thing to do...the GM learning the rules in the process).

When you get this adventure, go over it with a fine toothed comb. Know it like the back of your hand. Do, that, and you'll thank yourself later.



Now...

If you do have some time, I highly suggest that you use the tool that Traveller gives you to create your own sandbox.

Use Scouts to create a subsector (if not using an official subsector).

Use Trillion Credit Squadron to create the fleets (if necessary for your game) to create the possible vessels in this subsector.

Use Grand Census and Grand Survey to detail the heck out of the worlds you've created.



If using an offical sector, you may still want to do some of that detailing.

Also, you may want to do something called Reading a Subsector, (check this link: http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discuss/showthread.php?t=14705&highlight=Reading+a+Subsector )

That will help you immensely.



Players will always ask you questions you're not prepared to answer.

What's the highest tech level world within a month's journey? What's the law leve like there?

What's the gravity like on the world we're going to?

What are their custom's procedures like?

Where are the pirate hotspots?

Where can I get BattleDress and a PGMP?

..etc...



This is why you'll want to keep your first adventure or so small. Remember, as GM, you've got to make each place the characters visit seem like a real place. Suspension of Disbelief comes with details.

You may want to start off with the Traveller Adventure. It is a large adventure (it's acutally a campaign), but it is one of the best CT adventures ever written. Lots of neat ideas in that one, and you can take it one chapter at a time--keeping ahead of your players.

If you do, I'd have all the characters be citizens of Aramis (or, at least, that's where they mustered out of the various services).

You can detail Aramis. Then, as the story progresses, you can detail the next place, and so on.

 

[Supplement Four]

This is one point where I seriously disagree.

Players, IMO, generally benefit immensely from an understanding of the basic rules for resolving actions, and the ability to generally estimate their chances of actions.

This reflects the reality that, most of the time, we understand our own abilities well enough to judge common tasks' chances.

I used to play that way, but I've found the benefit of being the know-all GM.

It's a focus on story.

If it's "stupidly hard" to attempt something, I'll caution them.

"I want to my character to run down that hallway and shoot the bad guy."

"Um, sure. You could do that. But, the combat system is deadly, and if you do, he'll probably kill you before you get there. Sure you want to do that?"

See...they only need to know what I tell them. I think background material and universe history is more important for them to know than any rules.

If they ask, I tell them. If anyone is interested in reading the rules, I don't bar it.

It's just not a necessity. And, I think my games are better for it.

 

[Jeffr0]

I don't know about Avenger, but I know they did write some CT adventures--ask how appropriate they are for a new GM.

Actually, that Avenger stuff is the most usable stuff I ever came across as a beginning GM-- particularly the Flexos and Datrillian guides and the Bowman Arm.

That's the stuff I used to run my first campaign. Very accessible/playable. Go to Comstar and buy it now before it is gone at the end of the month!