advice for a new traveller GM

[bestial warlust]

I just picked this game up yesterday, the pocket edition. And was wondering what someone new to this rpg should expect in terms of game play. Nuances to this system, etc..

The character creation is one obvious big one and I also noticed no tradition xp system.

A little background
I've been playing rpg's since the early 80's starting with the Moldvay/cook d&d basic set. I've played most editions of d&d up to 3.x but then dropped it in preference to previous versions. I'm currently running a white box ('74 ed) d&d and having a blast.

I run other systems besides d&d-- savage worlds, are magica, war hammer frog (1st edition), nWod (mage only), CoC.

My preferred genre is fantasy and intact I didn't like scifi rpg'ing for the longest time, however my tastes have broadened in the past few years and I've been itching to try sci fi. I haven't really been able to settle on anything yet. Stars without numbers is one I had been considering as well as Metamorphosis Alpha (1st ed). I've known about traveller and it's different editions for a while now and from everything I've read the original version seemed most appealing. So after reading some reviews on the mongoose version I decided to get it.

I've grabbed the free pirate campaign and plan on going through Signs & Portents for some free adventures there. I plan on making some pre mades for my group and see what they think of game play and to familiarize myself with character creation.

So what advice would you give a new Traveller GM

 

[CosmicGamer]

This comes from a previous response I made to someone - sorry I don't have time - Its Thanksgiving! - to review it and edit to fit your query better.

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Players have a tendency to come up with their own ideas and if it is plausible can feel railroaded if the GM is always blocking their path. You can often use an NPC to help keep the players moving in the direction of a pre planned plot.

An engineer saying they are needed somewhere and need help getting some debris moved from an access.

A child crying "where's my mommy".

A wealthy looking man panicking "someone get me out of here!".

Someone with some official capacity actually trying to organize and direct people "You two go down that corridor and see if access panel A27 is blocked."

A criminal plotting with the player "Everyone's preoccupied, lets go check out what's in the cargo area."

For folks with a D&D background, it might seam to be a good idea to have a combat oriented starting adventure. In the D&D games I've played, they have been more about the combat, almost a tabletop fantasy war game, more than a role playing game.

What is your intentions as a group, what direction are you leaning? Looking for a futuristic, sci fi, combat game? Looking to have a futuristic, sci fi, role playing adventure?

For the combat game:
A problem I see is that Traveller combat rules are designed realistically and not with Hollywood like heroism built into the game mechanics. They can be quite deadly. This can put off new players if their characters are dying. If you think this is something that might turn off your players, have some emergency response in case players need medical or other rescue.

Something both GMs and players sometimes forget - when the odds are against you, you can try to flee or surrender and survive.

For the role playing game:
Dive right in. Show them what it's all about. Players role playing their characters in adventurous situations. Find out sooner rather than later if this is what the players would like. For a quick example, the group is hired by a corporation to guard their facilities from locals who have been destroying equipment and causing all kinds of trouble.

NPC situations like I described earlier arise.
Local bribing players characters for access.
Business competitors want characters to steal information.
While off duty, a character gets involved with a pretty young local and she ends up being one of those against the company.
During a peaceful demonstration blocking the entrance you are told to disburse them. Other non player characters also doing security start getting overly violent in their methods. Do player characters ignore, join in, or try to deter such?
If the players toe the company line, things can lead to the company instructing them to wipe out a village that is not willing to relocate. Can the characters do this?

My Advice
I'd say that the biggest danger in the beginning would be to isolate the players. In a "your the only ones around and need to survive" type scenario it is too easy for the players and GM to get someone killed or into a situation they could really use help getting out of.

 

[alex_greene]

If you're used to D&D, combat in Traveller might come as a bit of a shock. Combat (both in Traveller and in Legend, I might add) can be brutal and short. One good gunshot, and your character's down and out for the count; two shots, and the player has to get out a new character sheet. And this is true whether the character's an utter novice with stars in his eyes or a grizzled, seasoned veteran with a thousand-yard stare.

Most decent Traveller conflicts are best, and easiest, resolved through either the players having good knowledge of tactics, or through the characters resolving the conflicts with solutions that do not involve combat - e.g. hacking, negotiation, research, investigation, creative engineering, seduction, survival and tracking, even admin and paper pushing - anything but gunplay, as long as it is fun.

 

[Dave Chase]

You might want to check out this free Linked Adventure Series

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/118274/Through-the-Veil-Part-1?src=s_pi
There are 10 episodes and currently episode 6 is out.


The only advice that I have to give you are already doing, that is to ask questions here about playing, Traveller and rules that do not seem clear to you from the Traveller RPG

Welcome aboard to Traveller and Mongoose

As you look around, you will find mega tons of adventures, planets, opinions, ATU (Alternate Traveller Universe), people willing to discuss things with you.

Have fun and play well.

Dave Chase

 

[bestial warlust]

If you're used to D&D, combat in Traveller might come as a bit of a shock. Combat (both in Traveller and in Legend, I might add) can be brutal and short. One good gunshot, and your character's down and out for the count; two shots, and the player has to get out a new character sheet. And this is true whether the character's an utter novice with stars in his eyes or a grizzled, seasoned veteran with a thousand-yard stare.

Most decent Traveller conflicts are best, and easiest, resolved through either the players having good knowledge of tactics, or through the characters resolving the conflicts with solutions that do not involve combat - e.g. hacking, negotiation, research, investigation, creative engineering, seduction, survival and tracking, even admin and paper pushing - anything but gunplay, as long as it is fun.

The dangerous combat won't be too hard to deal with I have also run campaigns with Harmaster Gold so easy death is nothing new.

 

[bestial warlust]

You might want to check out this free Linked Adventure Series

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/118274/Through-the-Veil-Part-1?src=s_pi
There are 10 episodes and currently episode 6 is out.


The only advice that I have to give you are already doing, that is to ask questions here about playing, Traveller and rules that do not seem clear to you from the Traveller RPG

Welcome aboard to Traveller and Mongoose

As you look around, you will find mega tons of adventures, planets, opinions, ATU (Alternate Traveller Universe), people willing to discuss things with you.

Have fun and play well.

Dave Chase

Thanks I will look at those. And I will definitely utilize this board when I have questions. The community here looks real helpful. I was confused about parts of character creation while reading through the example in the core rules. On a second reading after reviewing I realized that there are several mistakes in the example that lead to my confusion.

 

[ShawnDriscoll]

On a second reading after reviewing I realized that there are several mistakes in the example that lead to my confusion.

The examples were not updated when rule changes were made. It happens with most RPGs. My printing of the book has a broken checklist on page 5. But the narrative rules for chargen explain the process properly.

 

[locarno24]

So what advice would you give a new Traveller GM

Be ready to improvise.
Pirates of Drinax is a great setting, but you've essentially handed the players the keys to an FTL-capable warship and told them "go nuts". Expect them - encourage them - to go off and do their own thing. The "worlds of the reach" sections at the end of each adventure are priceless for this, and you can expect to find yourself stringing together full-session-or-more adventures from these as you desperately try and redirect the players in the vague direction of the plot*.

As noted, combat is very deadly but if you're used to this, then good.

Space combat also requires a fair bit of planning. Make sure you have a whiteboard or some notepaper to hand because there's a fair amount to keep track of once the Harrier is trying to catch ship A before it reaches the jump limit, whilst being pursued by ship B which launched when they opened fire and so on.

Also, have a glance through the various tables and make sure you have quick-reference printouts to hand of the ones you intend to use. I will underscore that you don't NEED half the tables in the traveller core rulebook or supplements. However, strung together they are very good at 'auto-generating' adventures for a week. If nothing else, if you've got half an hour before people arrive and you've got writer's block for the evening, then something like 760 patrons or the 'mission generators' in the rulebook or high guard are priceless. However, they are slow to use on the fly during a game without a bit of pre-preparation.

(* Hint: recorded messages from King Oleb are useful for this. No-one likes having angry Brian Blessed shouting at them)

 

[Egil Skallagrimsson]

For the first game, run a one off, probably using characters you have pre-created, with some combat, to familiarise everyone with the system, not just what the rolls mean, but also to get an understanding of the best tactics to use. Scenerios like a police investigation leading to a shoot out would work well for this. By the end to that the players should be aware how deadly the combat system is, and will remember that before hurling their carefully constructed characters into a hopeless situation.

Egil