Whither T20?

[kafka47]

Laryssa, intriguing idea. The OTU is littered with many such frontier planets throughout different milieux but to develop an entire ecology and environment is task quite the task...

Tarsus & Beltstrike did this but poorly, IMHO.

SJG Planetary Guides somewhat better.

Cargonaught Press' Faldor was somewhat better.

I rather like what came in FASA's Far Traveller but the worlds were no where complete as you have described.

GDW also had many adventures that give quite a good look at ecologies and environments but nowhere as they did for the 2300AD line (you could always steal from those).

But, back to your original point, maybe, I am bit jaded but plunking characters down on a frontier planet is abit akin to creating 0 level characters in AD&D.

Good idea, in principle, but Traveller postulates a different path. It speculates on a wheel, spokes & hub model for adventuring.

The AD&D model postulates those 0 level characters will grow to become ubercharacters.

Whereas, Traveller is about the journey of life not accumulating experience points to become King of the Sector. These events may have happen through chance and circumstance but equally players could have to accept TPK with no bringing them back.

By all means, develop the frontier model, if it works for you, it sounds like a great adventure and one that I have used but found that players often resist the survivalist time game for extended periods of time. The perfect picture for you exists on the T20 Referee Screen.

 

[marvo]

Originally posted by Chaos:
There´s a surefire solution to this: starship system breakdown.

"So, when are we going to leave, skipper?"
"As soon as you can convince the maneuver drives to stop pouting and start working, son."

I have already done that one - twice. My original intent was to teach the players the importance of Starship Maintainance.

A lengthy planetary adventure evolved in each case, which was really great. However, now that my players spend the big bucks on ship maintainance, refined fuel etc, I would feel guilty trying to pull this one again. Of course, I could always manipulate them into thinking it was something they did

 

[RickA]

Originally posted by Marvo:
Hi RickA.
This is something that has been discussed many times in the past. The T20 Computer design and Ship Computer design systems do not really mesh that well.

Try searching for 'starship computer' and you will find about 20 threads. I was going to list them here, but there are to many.

I know, been involved in a lot of them. My post was in response to oz_chandlers post above.

Originally posted by oz_chandler
I've seen a lot of complaining on this board about the need for a 2.0 version of the T20 PHB, but I disagree. I've found everything in the book very useful, and after the 2nd printing, it all works very well too.

 

[Laryssa]

Originally posted by kafka47:
Laryssa, intriguing idea. The OTU is littered with many such frontier planets throughout different milieux but to develop an entire ecology and environment is task quite the task...

Tarsus & Beltstrike did this but poorly, IMHO.

SJG Planetary Guides somewhat better.

Cargonaught Press' Faldor was somewhat better.

I rather like what came in FASA's Far Traveller but the worlds were no where complete as you have described.

GDW also had many adventures that give quite a good look at ecologies and environments but nowhere as they did for the 2300AD line (you could always steal from those).

But, back to your original point, maybe, I am bit jaded but plunking characters down on a frontier planet is abit akin to creating 0 level characters in AD&D.

Good idea, in principle, but Traveller postulates a different path. It speculates on a wheel, spokes & hub model for adventuring.

The AD&D model postulates those 0 level characters will grow to become ubercharacters.

Whereas, Traveller is about the journey of life not accumulating experience points to become King of the Sector. These events may have happen through chance and circumstance but equally players could have to accept TPK with no bringing them back.

By all means, develop the frontier model, if it works for you, it sounds like a great adventure and one that I have used but found that players often resist the survivalist time game for extended periods of time. The perfect picture for you exists on the T20 Referee Screen.

Actually D&D characters start from 1st level as 0 level was goten rid of. Same concept though. The first adventure is usually the one where the characters aquire their starship. The Starship they were in gets blown to bits, and they arrive on the planet's surface in an escape pod. The escape pod has some survival equipment, but the bad dudes who blew up the ship aren't finishedm they were too busy at the time, shooting down other starships, to deal with the escape pod, but now they are finished they turn their attention to the escape pod down on the plane't surface, they want to hunt down the PCs because they have in their possession something they want, this is sort of like the opening scene of Star Wars Episode IV. The exact something that the Bad guys want and the PCs don't want them to have is of course different, and it doesn't have to be a Deathstar Space Station, but it could be something the PCs equally don't want to fall into these bad guy's hands. The thing couldbe a person, maybe a princess or something else of that nature.