Who Plays Traveller

[Andrew Boulton]

Ah, RQ2. The second RPG I bought (after Traveller), back in around '82. IMHO the best set of rules ever.

Started running CT at school, c.1982, OTU (Spinward Marches). Of course, the OTU was still evolving then, so my campaign evolved with it. Ran a mixture of official and home-made scenarios. Campaign moved to the Solomani Rim around '86, and the next year I went off to Uni and switched to MT. New players came and went, and I moved away from published scenarios. TNE came along later, and I dabbled a bit, but the group kind of disintegrated around '95. T4 came and went, and I ran a PBEM from early 2000 to late '03, set shortly before the end of my old campaign (but with different players and PCs). Joined Baron SvonG's COTEM PBEM in late '03, but had to drop out at the end of '04, for RL reasons. Nothing since then.

 

[Berg]

Been playing since '80...
Soon as HG came out it was make big, honkin ships! Now I prefer the "proto-Trav" small ship universe... Seems more plausible and dangerous (trapped somewhere remote with no chance of a 'liner' coming to the rescue)

Right now I play online in Mr Maladominus' excellent CT Terra Incognita online game. For FTF it seems to have to be a 3.5/d20/fantasy/something or other game, so for my Traveller fix it's on the web.
It's not the same as FTF, but I view it as an apples, oranges thing and there are some aspects that allow for ease and better immersion.

As long as we're playin'...right!

 

[Martin]

Started with CT in 1979, first RPG I owned and stuck with it and a bit of MT until the early 90's on a more or less weekly basis. Had many an enjoyable campaign including a very long Striker campaign set in the Sword Worlds. Then real life got in the way for a while and I never quite got into TNE in a meaningful way. I always wished they'd not moved the main setting so far from the Marches, still my favourite location.

Anyway the last couple of years I've tried a couple of abortive PBEM's using CT and T20, dabbled with GT design sequences and am hoping to get my own T20 campaign off the ground this year, if I can round up some interested parties here in Savannah, GA, USA. (Mind you I may find myself distracted by 2320AD if it lives up to the promising sneak-peeks so far.)

 

[Ptah]

Originally posted by Dalton:
The big thing is, are you using an official (ie, CT, MT, TNE, T4, GURPS) version of Traveller or at least using the OTU.

Sorry If I was not clear on that. The big thing is I disqualified myself since I do not use the OTU and the home rules we use are not from and official source.

If I don't require official rules or official universe, than ANY rpg would count (anybody tried thieves world fantasy using the traveller rules....they count, star blazers or gamma world do not - you get the idea...)

So, IF you use any official version of the rules, or if you use your own rules but the OTU and you have played the game....when did you last play?

hows that, any clearer?

best regards

Dalton

Much clearer. Played by the LBBs 1-5 (made up rules for scouts b/c couldn't really afford the extra book ) from 1978-1984, changes to standard rules started to creep in about 1984 and were pretty extensive by 1993. Last time I played a game by close to orginal rules was 1992. Since moving in 1994, the new game group has been primarily interested in fatantasy RPGs.

Off Topic:
So was BRP the same rule set used in Bushido and the original Call of Cthulhu? I really enjoyed those games. I recall playing the original Runequest but didn't really enjoy the game. My recollection is that this was probably due more to the GM instead of rules, hence why I ask.

 

[Whipsnade]

Gents,

Seeing as other are giving a thumbnail review of their Traveller careers...

I'm a long time wargamer and still consider myself more a grognard than a role-player. Began in the early 70s when I got a copy of SPI's Gettysburg folio game thinking it was a magazine. That led to more wargames, then to minis, and then to RPG via Chainmail.

Chainmail was a set of minis rules covering medieval, fantasy, early gunpowder combat. You could have dwarves and cannon, orcs and arquebuses, etc. There were also different types of heros and anti-heros with a small selection of spells.

Chainmail led to D&D naturally, they were written and published by the same people. We played the early, box & booklet, 3 levels only version of D&D a lot and always with a wargame twist.

About 1978, D&D naturally led to Traveller. We were first interested because Traveller had guns! Screw the starships, give us the guns! We played a lot of Traveller and put D&D on the shelf.

In 1981 I took a break from gaming because I joined the Navy. In '82 I was looking for a paper & pencil wargame to run. We were playing Strat-o-matic' baseball onboard and wanted a change. It needed to be 'boardless' because of space issues. I found TCS, dug out HG2, and ran dozens of tournies. Naturally, TCS led back to Traveller proper and I began running RPG sessions too.

I played pretty steadily through CT, into MT (whose task system I stole immediately) and on into the mid-90s. Woek, travel for work, and life changes slowly whittled away at my RPG groups. It was easier to get together and wargame every couple of weeks.

I was sketching a Rebellion replacement setting for my RPG group; Wounded Colossus, when TNE was announced. My group kind of fell away after that. TNE didn't kill my group, changes in the lives if the members did.

Since then, I've sat in on or run one-shots at 'cons, run intro-type things at FLGS, and generally played with Traveller more than I have played Traveller. The change isn't that much, I usually got stuck GMing anyway even when I was playing. I've also kept up with all the new versions, 'test driving' my way through chargens, sysgens, vehicle building, combat systems, and the like.

And that's my Traveller career.


Have fun,
Bill

 

[Berg]

*Steal Thread*

So was BRP the same rule set used in Bushido and the original Call of Cthulhu? I really enjoyed those games. I recall playing the original Runequest but didn't really enjoy the game. My recollection is that this was probably due more to the GM instead of rules, hence why I ask

Not sure about Bushido, but Runequest, CoC, Pendragon, Nephilim, Stormbringer and Elric I think...
It was/is Chaosium's House Rules tweaked for each game
This may help explain...
RPG History

Work on a new Deluxe BRP is happening

*Return Thread*

 

[Pickles]

Originally posted by Dalton:
... and, before my first wife had a bonfire, every chaosism supplement for runequest and glorantha.

 

[hirch duckfinder]

i play ftf weekly and online in a pbem which has been running for nearly three years.

 

[daltoncalford]

FTF?

ok Hirch, what the .... is FTF. I am getting swamped with acronyms and I am a computer guy and should know them all.

The sad thing is, I am finding that although I don't know the achronyms, I usually have owned/played almost every game out there - except D20.

best regards

Dalton

 

[Andrew Boulton]

"So was BRP the same rule set used in Bushido and the original Call of Cthulhu?"

Bushido was by FGU. CoC was basically BRP; RQ and Ringworld expanded on it; Pendragon went in a slightly different direction. I forget the details of the other Chaosium games. IMHO RQ2 was the best.

 

[Fritz_Brown]

FTF is face-to-face, Dalton. What you started to say is WTF. One letter ... all the difference in the world.

 

[daltoncalford]

Face to face, ohhhh, since I am new to this computer role-playing thing, we never came up with a need to state that roleplaying may be somthing other than face to face.

best regards

Dalton

 

[Andrew Boulton]

"generally played with Traveller more than I have played Traveller."

That's the great thing about it - there are lots of things you can do on your own that are almost as much fun as with other people.

Bit like sex...

 

[daltoncalford]

Careful Andrew,

You are starting to sound like Derrick (scrounger for those in the know).

best regards

Dalton

 

[Whipsnade]

Originally posted by Andrew Boulton:
"generally played with Traveller more than I have played Traveller."

That's the great thing about it - there are lots of things you can do on your own that are almost as much fun as with other people.

Andrew,

Well, like sex I'd rather 'do' Traveller with company!

Then again, at my age food has replaced sex. I just had a mirror installed above my kitchen table...


Have fun,
Bill

 

[Gruffty]

Originally posted by Bill Cameron:
Then again, at my age food has replaced sex. I just had a mirror installed above my kitchen table...

Perv.

Bet you take pictures, as well...

 

[Ptah]

Originally posted by Bill Cameron:

Then again, at my age food has replaced sex. I just had a mirror installed above my kitchen table...

I hear you have also engaged in these things called "pot lucks" wherein you invite another couple over and you swap food. Shocking!

 

[Ptah]

Originally posted by Dalton:
FTF?

ok Hirch, what the .... is FTF. I am getting swamped with acronyms and I am a computer guy and should know them all.

Ah Dalton, but you've fallen in with some mil and ex-mil guys, who are the true acronym masters. I once worked for the AFOSR in the PL/WSSI in conjunction with JPL and NASA, on STS-x mission, FOF issues, and data that would go into DS1.

 

[daltoncalford]

Soo, it's been a few days and of all the registered members, only 33 votes?

Come one guys, vote and let us all know how many actual players are out there. If 33 is the total, we are truly in a bad conditon.

best regards

Dalton

 

[far-trader]

I'm more convinced that the reason you don't have more people saying they're playing Traveller is because... they ARE playing Traveller

Besides, any survey is simply a sample of a population. Take the measurement at the wrong time or place and the error is that much bigger. And you have to factor the percentage that just doesn't do surveys. And the fact that a large proportion of the membership on this site has NEVER posted and in fact may have been one time visitors or just folk dropping by to download stuff to use when they play

So, I wouldn't be too disappointed with the numbers. Check out some of the other surveys if you like, I don't recall high responses to most of them either