Solo Traveller - What do You Want?

[CosmicGamer]

Are you familiar with the Lone Wolf series?

I am.

It was one of the sources of inspiration for what I was trying out over on travellerrpg.com back in Dec 2009
http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discus ... hp?t=21080
I have just a wee bit more of the story done in a document on my computer but never pursued it as there was little response to the idea.

[dragoner]

Didn't Zozer put out a solo game?

[Tom Kalbfus]

This might be a great idea for promoting Mongoose Traveller, you have a book of say 400 pages, and the writer has to write out each possibility, it could be an e-book I think or a paperback. The Lone Wolf format usually took me an hour or two to read through, and you could go through it multiple times making different decisions each time leading to different outcomes. For combat and skill rolls you use the Mongoose Traveller rules set, the book specifies which rules of that set to use in each case, and this would be a great introduction to Mongoose Traveller, as a Lone Wolf type book would be cheaper than buying the core rulebook, probably between $8 to $10 is my guess for a paperback, if the books prove popular, it could lead to buying the core rules and other accessories. So what do you think, could we do a Pick your path adventure for Traveller? At the beginning or end of the book would be a character sheet for the lone character in the pick your path adventure, since the book author would determine what sort of character it is, he or she can write an adventure specifically for that character, taking into account things a publisher wouldn't know about a moe general PC group.

[Reynard]

Way back in the day, I loved those pick-a-path adventures from the paperback versions ( I just played one of recent design) to solo modules for big named RPGs such as D&D and Star Wars. There were many computer games when these came out in the 80s and 90s yet I still played. The comments I'm hearing here shows the jaded nature of the electronics age but then there are many good computer games people play solo today or multiplayer yet this forum shows at least Traveller has a pen and paper following. That says there can still be solo modules to kill some fun time without pressing buttons or swiping a screen.

I'm not exactly sure what Mongoose is proposing as a format unless that's the point. I visualize the pick-a-path version which have featured pen and paper and dice for resolving and recording events. Space travel wouldn't be too much trouble to get to the next event and even space combat should be possible. Interaction and combat just needs to be kept simple to fit a limited number of choices. We see that in video games all the time. Wait, I'm remembering those very popular text based computer games from the 80s even I created.

The idea of short adventures for one player or even a ref/player version for a few bucks in a PDF is great.

[Nathan Brazil]

A survival module like the old CT Across the Bright Face or Marooned Alone.

Make X money by a certain date or lose your Far Trader, with set rolled encounters on or off ship a little more specific to the planet.

[Tom Kalbfus]

A survival module like the old CT Across the Bright Face or Marooned Alone.

Make X money by a certain date or lose your Far Trader, with set rolled encounters on or off ship a little more specific to the planet.

A solo adventure isn't necessarily that the lone PC is all by himself, every other character will be an NPC, so it would also include limited social interaction with choices made and a few pages of narrative in between, the choices determining which pages to flip to.

[Epicenter]

For solo traveller, I'd like to see activities that are a part of the sci-fi genre that are ... actually surprisingly boring to play out in a role-playing game group but aren't very well developed yet. I think there's a niche for things like this.

I also feel that solo traveller concepts will sell better if they have contribute to multiplayer Traveller, so that GMs can purchase solo Traveller goods to enhance their multiplayer games.

For instance, a detailed and functional Trade system would make merchant games more viable, especially if they were oriented towards ships players actually want (Jump-2 and above) instead of being viable only for Jump-1 Free Traders.

Exploration and Mapping
Trade
Starship Design and Construction

Exploration and Mapping

You've been assigned to land on world whose basic UPP is known. Since it is an inhabitable world, you (the Scout) have been assigned to explore it. Scout out natural resources, native lifeforms, and flesh out maps taken by cartographic sensors with 'on the ground' knowledge.

Trade

It's been over 30 years since Traveller came out. Mr. Sprange, perhaps you and your company would like to take a swing at the Holy Grail of traveller rules: Writing trade rules that would make ships like the Far Trader profitable? The basic Traveller trade rules do not. Ships like the Free Trader will make money steadily, hand-over-fist provided you're willing to play safe and boring. A Far Trader basically will go out of business. A reasonably robust trade system that would allow for people to "make or break" it in the stars as a solo merchant, just porting around cargoes through the stars. I think an abstracted space combat resolution system (for piracy) would be fairly useful (since space combat is basically a single-player and the GM minigame anyway, why not put it into solo Traveller?).

Starship Design and Construction

Recently, something has begun to bother me in Traveller. Why is it that Traveller has these detailed tables for character generation, including the chance of injury (or in older rules, death) during chargen ... yet despite all the nitpicky detailed design rules that have come out during various editions of Traveller, these concepts have never been applied to starship or vehicle design? A player assembles a staff (basically a group of characters with very abbreviated stats - the relevant stat, their salary, age, and dedication value). Factors such die rolls to influence systems integration (well, this gun should work in the system...), cost-overruns, bribery scandals, interference by competitors, could all be possible complications that need to be worked through. Failure at the rolls might result in the project being cancelled (death in chargen).

The final evaluation could list the complications and so on, then the entire "character sheet" could be posted online for other GMs to possibly use. It'd show the complications so that GMs who want "realistic" designs could pass over the designs that only have the most skilled team members and all the systems integration rolls are outstanding successes and so on.

Such a design system would produce many and varied starship designs, instead of these hyper-optimized designs produced in utterly ideal conditions cranked out by players. It might take a longer, but it's a solo game so that's all right isn't it?

[Condottiere]

The future for solo play is likely the computer, much like I believe it's mostly today. And Lego. And probably dolls.

[Jacqual]

The future for solo play is likely the computer, much like I believe it's mostly today. And Lego. And probably dolls.

Our man at Mongoose Matt should talk to Lego they might make some Sci-Fi stuff that would rock for Traveller, oh wait they already do so I guess Matt talked to them already

PS Lego's Rock

[Condottiere]

I was creating spaceships with Legos before I encountered Traveller, and if I recall correctly, with a similar design philosophy.

[simonh]

The future for solo play is likely the computer, much like I believe it's mostly today. And Lego. And probably dolls.

And yet World of Warcraft hasn't actually killed D&D, and Even Online hasn't killed Traveller.

It's always been possible to play Traveller solo, as has already been pointed out, it's just that there were an awful lot of gaps in the published rules for doing so. A supplement that fills those gaps certainly has a place. It doesn't have to do everything, it just has to do what it aims to do well, which means covering a specific set of activities in fair detail. Rules for further activities can always be 'plugged in' from additional supplements later.

Also, count me in the camp that thinks a supplement like this would actually see a fair amount of play in normal GMd gaming groups. I can even see it being used in turn based 'play by mail' mode. I'd love to run a game like that at my local games club, where each member runs their own trading ship on a shared map and submits orders each week. If I have one specific request for the direction of development of this set of rules, it's to please consider and support a use like that in the design.

Simon Hibbs

[Condottiere]

I'm not saying that computers will kill off tabletop gaming, but when you're on your own, computer programmes can do a lot of the work and create the appropriate ambience that comes with exploring an unfamiliar environment, that normally would be the task of a human referee.

[GamingGlen]

Except that each computer game has a set script and story.

A tabletop RPG supplement to enhance solo play would give infinite adventures and only for the cost of one book (well, two if you count the core book).

I've been thinking of making a solo-play 4x space strategy game, the last good computer one was Master of Orion 2 and I don't feel like going through the process of trying to make it work on my new computer. Perhaps a game with factions for you, the Grand Space Poo-bah, to keep tight reins on, such factions being (off the top of my head): Exploration/Colonization, Military, Merchant, Nobles, and each having a phase within a turn to do their thing (so you can explore and colonize, have a space navy to thwart pirates and non-player opponents/aliens, conduct trade, and politics). But this may never get beyond the thinking stage.

[AndrewW]

I've been thinking of making a solo-play 4x space strategy game, the last good computer one was Master of Orion 2 and I don't feel like going through the process of trying to make it work on my new computer.

Seen FreeOrion?

http://www.freeorion.org/index.php/Main_Page

Both Master of Orion and Master of Orion II work fine here in Linux using DosBox.

[CaptainOrs]

This might be a great idea for promoting Mongoose Traveller, you have a book of say 400 pages, and the writer has to write out each possibility, it could be an e-book I think or a paperback. The Lone Wolf format usually took me an hour or two to read through, and you could go through it multiple times making different decisions each time leading to different outcomes. For combat and skill rolls you use the Mongoose Traveller rules set, the book specifies which rules of that set to use in each case, and this would be a great introduction to Mongoose Traveller, as a Lone Wolf type book would be cheaper than buying the core rulebook, probably between $8 to $10 is my guess for a paperback, if the books prove popular, it could lead to buying the core rules and other accessories. So what do you think, could we do a Pick your path adventure for Traveller? At the beginning or end of the book would be a character sheet for the lone character in the pick your path adventure, since the book author would determine what sort of character it is, he or she can write an adventure specifically for that character, taking into account things a publisher wouldn't know about a moe general PC group.

There was a Fighing Fastasy book called Starship Traveller. I think it was based on the Traveller universe, but I could be wrong.

[CaptainOrs]

The future for solo play is likely the computer, much like I believe it's mostly today. And Lego. And probably dolls.

And books, and models, and crafts, and all sorts of things! I think you are classifying people in too tight of a niche that maybe you personally fall under. I like to write games, software, read books, create maps and stories and all sorts of other creative things you didn't mention. I personally am intrigued by what Mongoose is working on and I hope they are not discouraged by some of the negative comments.

I would be interested in a system where you build the story together and maybe fill in some of the blanks with your imagination and creativity. That said, I would also enjoy interactive stories such as Lone Wolf or Fighting Fantasy.

TSR put out a series of solo play adventures a long time ago for D&D. I loved them! For me, coming up with ways to play solo would be a huge benefit as I struggle to find others to play with now that I have a family with kids engaged in a lot of activities.

I would take any and all of the solo play options (including reams of tables that randomize everything). Getting the chance to play when I don't have anyone interested available would be awesome.

[AndrewW]

TSR put out a series of solo play adventures a long time ago for D&D. I loved them!

Endless Quest Books.

Starting with #1 Dungeon of Dread by Rose Estes.

[CaptainOrs]

TSR put out a series of solo play adventures a long time ago for D&D. I loved them!

Endless Quest Books.

Starting with #1 Dungeon of Dread by Rose Estes.

Good point of those books, but I meant modules. I remember M1 - Riddle of the Minotaur was one of them.

[CaptainOrs]

I was looking at the 2300 material on DriveThruRPG and noticed there was a Traveller adventure for the setting that was solo play. From the description, I got the impression it was an intro to the setting. Do you need any other 2300 books to play that adventure? It was called Terror's Lair.

[Mithras]

Well it's 2018 now, and there's always: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/207164/Solo