Beltstrike Questions for a beginner

[RevReese]

Hello all, nice to be here! I have recently got into Traveller and have the latest editions of Traveller, Beltstrike and Spinward marches. I am a complete beginner at pen and paper RPG's and apologise in advance if i offend anyone with my embarrassingly simple questions!.
Firstly, I have the pocket book edition of Traveller and I understand there are some errors apparently that are documented elsewhere so I will not be concentrating on them.
I recently bought Beltstrike and have practically memorised it from cover to cover! an interesting read it is, but I have a few questions about it:


1. On page 57, the section about rolling checks for assessment. It says that if all the relevant skills are not accounted for in the group then 3 engineering rolls at -1 -2 and -3 can be used instead. Does that mean that if I do not have Engineering (Power) then I have to roll a -1 or a -3 on engineering? I have the other skills available but only this one i do not.

2. Same page, it mentions that zero-G rolls are necessary every hour. well, if a task takes three hours (say) does that mean I need to roll three times consecutively or only once for the period?

3. The plans on pages 29-33 how do I relate them into my story? do I simply describe what is in the map and elaborate? how do I know exactly where my character is?

4. How do I relate game time with real time? I mean if a task takes an hour, do I just say "an hours passes" same goes for longer periods how can I keep track of time in game with minutes, hours and days here and there?

5. On a similar track, when it talks about 'watches' they are six hours yes? and to assess a stateroom takes half a watch (p57) that means 3 hours, and there are 175 staterooms to search, that means 525 hours (just over three weeks) just for the rooms, if I am allowed only three weeks on site, how can I have time to search everywhere else too?

6. Does every single area of the maps need to be assessed? how do I know when one zone ends and another begins? Surely it would get boring working through all 175 rooms just rolling and rolling each time with nothing in them. Or can I ignore some areas and only focus on essential ones?.

7. The detail in the book. How do I give that information out? at the moment I am just reading from the page, but it is getting just like reading a book! How do I know how much to give out and in what way? do I need to memorise these sections? Obviously I need to elaborate on the details given for more mundane areas (corridors, rooms etc).

8. Can i use premade characters in this campaign? We already have characters made before I got the book, do we need to make them again to cater for the Belter career path more, or will the available 'NPC staff' suffice if needed?

There are more questions but they are the main ones and I do not want to put anyone off more than I already have! I am desperate to get into the Traveller universe but my lack of RPG'ing experience and general cluelessness are preventing me from doing much more than reading and dreaming!
I would eagerly welcome any help, advice or tips anyone could give me with open arms, as I cant wait to start playing properly. I have been lurking here for a while, hoping someone else would ask these questions but after much searching I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for so here i am!.
Also, out of interest, can anyone tell me what the latest version is known as please? there are so many variations of Traveller that it is very confusing and difficult to explain to someone if they have a slightly different version.
Thank you for your time in reading all this, and once again please accept my apologies for asking so many in this way, but I don't know where else to go for answers as most Traveller related sites i've found are for a different version, outdated or dead!.

Thanks again!

 

[lurker]

http://traveller.wikia.com/wiki/Versions_of_Traveller

Mongoose's version of Traveller is the latest to be published.

 

[IanBruntlett]

Hello all, nice to be here! I have recently got into Traveller and have the latest editions of Traveller, Beltstrike and Spinward marches. I am a complete beginner at pen and paper RPG's and apologise in advance if i offend anyone with my embarrassingly simple questions!.

Hi there,

I'm experienced at running AD&D 2nd Edition games - about 10+ years ago. I, too, recently got into Traveller. Here are my golden rules:-
* Keep it simple
* Know your stuff
* Have fun

There are the Three TUs:-
OTU:- Official Traveller Universe - e.g. Spinward Marches
YTU:- Other people's Traveller Universe
MTU:- My Traveller Universe

Remember when working things out that this is "your" universe and its up to you to how that plays out.

HTH,


Ian

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

I'll try to answer these as best I can. These are my opinions only though, so you might get some other answers from other posters. Glad to have you in the game!

1. On page 57, the section about rolling checks for assessment. It says that if all the relevant skills are not accounted for in the group then 3 engineering rolls at -1 -2 and -3 can be used instead. Does that mean that if I do not have Engineering (Power) then I have to roll a -1 or a -3 on engineering? I have the other skills available but only this one i do not.

If you don't have Engineering (Power) but you DO have some other engineering specialty, then you just roll assuming Engineering (Power) 0. If you don't have ANY Engineering skill, then you have an ADDITIONAL -3 DM due to being unskilled. So, if you do have a different Engineering Specialty, then you have a total DM of -1, then -2 and then -3. If you don't have any Engineering skill, then the total DM is -4, then -5 and then -6.

2. Same page, it mentions that zero-G rolls are necessary every hour. well, if a task takes three hours (say) does that mean I need to roll three times consecutively or only once for the period?

You have to roll once each hour, so if the task takes 3 hours, that is three rolls.

3. The plans on pages 29-33 how do I relate them into my story? do I simply describe what is in the map and elaborate? how do I know exactly where my character is?

Not sure on this one. The maps are to help you figure out where you are. You could use them like a dungeon map if you want, but you would need to blow them up. Alternately, assume the players have a map of their own, show them the map and use it to keep track of where everyone is during important events (like fights).

4. How do I relate game time with real time? I mean if a task takes an hour, do I just say "an hours passes" same goes for longer periods how can I keep track of time in game with minutes, hours and days here and there?

Yep, just say an hour passes, or a shift or a day or whatever. Let the players describe what they are doing during that time (if it isn't obvious). Those trips to other asteroids are LONG and BORING. It is a good time for skill training/improvement. Skip back and forth between seconds and days as needed. Personally, I just use a piece of paper and tick off shifts, days or weeks depending on what is going on.

5. On a similar track, when it talks about 'watches' they are six hours yes? and to assess a stateroom takes half a watch (p57) that means 3 hours, and there are 175 staterooms to search, that means 525 hours (just over three weeks) just for the rooms, if I am allowed only three weeks on site, how can I have time to search everywhere else too?

Watches are 8 hours (3 watches per day) which is the "standard" for ships. Since you can't search everywhere in three weeks, you will have to prioritize. Real life is like that... Split the people up into 2-person teams and have them search more that way. NPCs can be used for this too.

6. Does every single area of the maps need to be assessed? how do I know when one zone ends and another begins? Surely it would get boring working through all 175 rooms just rolling and rolling each time with nothing in them. Or can I ignore some areas and only focus on essential ones?.

I would not roll for every room. This is a personal choice, but if the PCs are going to search each and every stateroom, then they need to FEEL the tedium of that search. Again, maybe they need to prioritize. As the Referee, you can just DECIDE how many fun things happen and go with that number, rather than roll for each room. You only really need to roll for the rooms that the PCs investigate anyway, not every single room.

7. The detail in the book. How do I give that information out? at the moment I am just reading from the page, but it is getting just like reading a book! How do I know how much to give out and in what way? do I need to memorise these sections? Obviously I need to elaborate on the details given for more mundane areas (corridors, rooms etc).

The oldest question in the Referee book! (well next to "how can I make their lives miserable today?"). This comes with experience in face-to-face gaming. You as the Referee are telling the story. Try to make it interesting. Keep the book on your side of the Referee's screen and summarize. When in doubt, wing it.

8. Can i use premade characters in this campaign? We already have characters made before I got the book, do we need to make them again to cater for the Belter career path more, or will the available 'NPC staff' suffice if needed?

ABSOLUTELY. If you are adding this into an existing campaign, you should use the previous characters. You might have to adapt some of the background stuff you our personal vision of the universe, such as explaining how a group of interstellar travellers got to the belt... but that is part of the fun of being the Referee.

There are more questions but they are the main ones and I do not want to put anyone off more than I already have! I am desperate to get into the Traveller universe but my lack of RPG'ing experience and general cluelessness are preventing me from doing much more than reading and dreaming!
I would eagerly welcome any help, advice or tips anyone could give me with open arms, as I cant wait to start playing properly. I have been lurking here for a while, hoping someone else would ask these questions but after much searching I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for so here i am!.

We were all new at one time or another. KEEP ASKING QUESTIONS. We don't bite (hard, and only if you like it). ENJOY

Also, out of interest, can anyone tell me what the latest version is known as please? there are so many variations of Traveller that it is very confusing and difficult to explain to someone if they have a slightly different version.

The latest version is usually called Mongoose Traveller (MGT for short). The original version (which is very close to MGT in rules and style) is called "Classic Traveller" (CT for short) published in 1977 and running through the early 1980s. Then came Mega Traveller (MT), then Traveller: The New Era (TNE), then Marc Miller's Traveller (T4) and now Mongoose Traveller (MGT). The game originator Marc Miller is working on another version of Traveller which has been dubbed T5 but it is not published yet.

Each version of Traveller had some slightly different rules and was set in a different era of the Official Traveller Universe (OTU).

Thank you for your time in reading all this, and once again please accept my apologies for asking so many in this way, but I don't know where else to go for answers as most Traveller related sites i've found are for a different version, outdated or dead!.

Thanks again!

You are welcome. Keep asking until you understand![/quote]

 

[BP]

P.S. There is also GURPS Traveller and Traveller T20.

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

DOH! Yes, forgot about those...

 

[BP]

DOH! Yes, forgot about those...

Donning Hard Hat...

So you're saying those were forgettable?

Ducking and running for cover...

 

[IanBruntlett]

Hi,

Ran the first scenario (The Factory) of Beltstrike yesterday. One problem I had was the sheer amount of information I had to get across to my players. I'm not sure there's any way to get around that.

I did a few things to overcome the amount of exposition involved so I photocopied parts of the book (1) background notes about the setting and (2) layout of the Factory.

Sometimes I think RPG scenarios should be supplied as 2 volumes - one for the GM, one for the players.

HTH,


Ian

 

[BP]

Sometimes I think RPG scenarios should be supplied as 2 volumes - one for the GM, one for the players...

Or at least specifically setup with the props and handouts to support the players as well as the Referee.

 

[RevReese]

Well that was a lot of information! thank you for clarifying some things for me!.

@Rikki: I am still a bit unclear on the Engineering (Power) thing, I just assume having engineering(power) 0 if I have other engineering skills (I have electronics and life support). Then -1 (because its not a skill i actually have, but why another -2 and -3? if i roll the electronics and life support checks (routine?) 2d6 +2(routine) +1(level) then a total of -5 for the engineering (power) 0? or just -3 for unskilled at power?

or do i only roll engineering at -1 then -2 then -3 instead of the above?

Assuming a life support and electronics skill of 1 could you give me a breakdown example of how I would do this task please as I still cannot quite grasp it! sorry!. I think I just need to see the figures in action.

The rest was a great help and cleared up a lot of questions I have had for a while! still a little hazy about time, what if one person is doing a ten minute task and the others are doing three hour tasks, do I just keep returning to the player with the short job until the timelines sync? also can you possibly give me an example of a sheet or something I could use to mark of time as you do? Sorry to impose further but I tend to get distracted with so many different times and I think a visual aid would help.

One final thing about the zero-g rolls: as you said if a task takes three hours, then I roll three checks. Thats okay but if a task is one watch long (say) 8 hours, then they are almost definitely going to get injured at some point when they fail a roll, is that just the way it is for them to reflect the dangers of the environment? it just seemed a bit unfair possibly to keep getting them to roll until they get injured! even with the easy +4 bonus if they take their time.



@IanBruntlett: I think that would be a great idea too, the danger then is of ending up like DnD isn't it? (needing £100 of books minimum to get started with a game! :wink:

Great idea with the photocopying, which parts did you copy? stuff you can expect them to find on their own or have on their computer (plans, character bios, history, nearby habitats etc) or everything that was not a spoiler or table? I am interested in doing this as I think it helps to have the players have something to read as necessary rather than me reading constantly to them every time they think of something! But yes, there is so much information that was one problem by itself (but no complaints there!).



@BP: Definitely! it would be nice to have something tangible for them to look at and obviously the props and handouts would really make things 'come alive' for them as well as being integral to the story and useful.


Finally, how do you all setup your games? I mean how many notes do you take beforehand? how do you prepare for a game, so far my idea of preparation is reading the introduction, but I need something to speed up the game and stop me needing to flick through it every five minutes! so any tips from you pro's would be great!

Thank you all for all the help and advice you've given me, I really appreciate it!


@IanBruntlett: Love your three rules, going to write them in my rulebook! :wink:

 

[BP]

...Finally, how do you all setup your games? I mean how many notes do you take beforehand? how do you prepare for a game, so far my idea of preparation is reading the introduction, but I need something to speed up the game and stop me needing to flick through it every five minutes! so any tips from you pro's would be great!

Well, definitely not a pro - but here's my 1 1/2 creative cents:

Keep the players engaged - if they are just sitting listening to you ramble they might as well be at a conference.

Don't introduce things directly all the time - be creative - for instance: use an iPod (or better yet a tape recorder) to prerecord a message - 'Your mission, should you choose to accept it...'

(You can also use computer/iPod/cassette for sound effects such as explosions - instead of describing them - though I've never done so).

Create letters, job postings, wanted posters, xboat messages, mercenary tickets, repatriation bonds, maps, napkin notes, discarded trash, business cards and news clippings to convey info to players without just verbally giving it to them. This will keep them more engaged and allow them to draw their own conclusions (and dumb assumptions).

I liked to use forms (customs forms, work vista apps, job applications) to give characters something to do and an added way to get their input simultaneously without them being able to overwhelm me. Then I could use their info against them. 'Hmmm, There seems to be an unaccounted for time here...' 'Falsifying information on a government form is a federal offense Mister...' 'So you most know the countess then...'

While your players are interacting with props you have more time to do encounter rolls (include phoney ones to keep them off balance) and your own maintenance stuffs.

Put your notes on index cards - they are easy to manage and help you logically separate things. Also make your own short events/encounter tables.

And pictures of scenery and people are quite handy to have. Just remember to have explanations for what's in them and describe them while showing. I used to cut these from magazines as I'm no bodies artist - the net makes this super easy today.

Have fun...

 

[IanBruntlett]

@IanBruntlett: I think that would be a great idea too, the danger then is of ending up like DnD isn't it? (needing £100 of books minimum to get started with a game! :wink:

Great idea with the photocopying, which parts did you copy? stuff you can expect them to find on their own or have on their computer (plans, character bios, history, nearby habitats etc) or everything that was not a spoiler or table? I am interested in doing this as I think it helps to have the players have something to read as necessary rather than me reading constantly to them every time they think of something! But yes, there is so much information that was one problem by itself (but no complaints there!).

First of all I gave them copies of the Sonares system map and a sheet giving time taken to travel between different parts of the system (The author sent me them - one day they should appear on the Mongoose website). I also photocopied the Schaeffer belt chapter (only mileage I got out of that was being able to point to Vinen asteroid base and say "that's where you are"). And lastly I photocopied the info about the Factory (p27-p33) and that was very helpful

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

DOH! Yes, forgot about those...

Donning Hard Hat...

So you're saying those were forgettable?

Ducking and running for cover...

I never played them (I'm a CT guy), so there you go. I meant to include all the versions for completeness, but missed them. Also, they did not advance the OTU timeline (T20 going back to the Solomani Rim War and GT doing an alternate timeline). When I was writing them all down, I was mentally going through the timeline of the OTU and just forgot them.

No offense intended for those people that like these two particular systems.

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

Regarding the Engineering thing.

You have to make THREE different rolls against your Engineer (Power) skill, the first at a -1, the second at a -2 and the third at a -3 special DM.

EXAMPLE 1:
Player has Engineer (LS) 1 and Engineer (Electronics) 1.

So his effective Engineer (Power) skill level is 0.

Roll 1:

2d for 8+ with a total DM of -1

Roll 2:
2d for 8+ with a total DM of -2

Roll 3:
2d for 8+ with a total DM of -3

Example 2:
Player has Engineer (Power) 1

Roll 1:
2d for 8+ with total DM of 0 (+1 for skill, -1 for situational DM)

Roll 2:
2d for 8+ with total DM of -1

Roll 3:
2d for 8+ with total DM of -2

EXAMPLE 3:
Player has no Engineer skill in any specialty

Roll 1:
2d for 8+ with total DM of -4 (-3 for unskilled check and -1 for situation)

Roll 2:
2d for 8+ with total DM of -5
(impossible to make without other DMs for characteristics etc)

Roll 3:
2d for 8+ with total DM of -6
(also impossible without other DMs)

Does that help?

Regarding time table, I just have a blank piece of paper with a column for Rounds, Shifts and Days and make marks, it isn't anything fancy.

For keeping track of the PCs, I would make them work together on tasks so that there are not so many things to keep track of.

If one PC has to roll every 10 minutes for something and one PC has to roll every day for something, things are going to get boring for the daily roll. I would encourage them to do jobs that require similar timescales.

Regarding Zero-G rolls. If the PC is working in Zero-G for an entire shift, I might cut them some slack on the number of rolls. After all, they will not be spending the entire time doing hard work. Maybe a morning and afteroon roll (2 per shift) just to keep them honest, but not injure them every day. That is just a suggestion off the top of my head. There might be certain jobs that I would only make them roll once for no matter how long it took and other jobs (more dangerous jobs) that I make them roll for each hour, so that after 8 hours of dangerous work, they ARE likely to be injured. Some jobs are tough that way. It is really a judgement call.

 

[RevReese]

Thankyou for clearing that up, it makes a lot more sense now! just one more thing if i may:

Assuming PC has Engineering (LS) 1 and Engineering (Electronics) 1, why does he automatically get Engineering (power) 0? surely that has to be taken as a skill during chargen? otherwise it would seem to be pointless taking it then, or is it a situational "one off" thing in this case?

Because otherwise his Engineering(power) skill would not exist at all as level 0 implies competence does it not? so he would need to have it trained (or chosen) so he would not gain the -3 unskilled DM because he has the other engineering skills, but also would not get the power 0 bonus as he technically does not have the engineering (power) skill at all.

Sorry I am not making myself very clear, and I apologise for still not getting it properly. I appreciate all the time and effort you are putting in to make me understand.

 

[Emperor Herdan]

Thankyou for clearing that up, it makes a lot more sense now! just one more thing if i may:

Assuming PC has Engineering (LS) 1 and Engineering (Electronics) 1, why does he automatically get Engineering (power) 0? surely that has to be taken as a skill during chargen? otherwise it would seem to be pointless taking it then, or is it a situational "one off" thing in this case?

Because otherwise his Engineering(power) skill would not exist at all as level 0 implies competence does it not? so he would need to have it trained (or chosen) so he would not gain the -3 unskilled DM because he has the other engineering skills, but also would not get the power 0 bonus as he technically does not have the engineering (power) skill at all.

Sorry I am not making myself very clear, and I apologise for still not getting it properly. I appreciate all the time and effort you are putting in to make me understand.

Engineering is an example of a cascade skill. If during character creation, the character received Engineering 1, She would have to pick a specialty. Lets say she choose Life Support. So her character sheet would indicate Engineering (Life support) 1. All the other subclasses of engineering are now known to level 0 unless otherwise indicated. (Likewise Gun Combat is a cascade skill... Slug Pistol, Slug Carbine, Slug Rifle, Shotgun, Energy Pistol, and Energy rifle round out the sequence)

If she later received an increase in Engineering(eg. Gain Engineering"), she could choose to raise one of the other subclasses to level 1, or raise Life support to Level 2. Raising Lifesupport to level 2 does not mean all the subspecialties are raised to level 1 (smile). They remain at level 0.

If she gains a specific result of "Gain Engineering 1", then she couldn't apply it to Life support (as its already equal or greater). She would have to pick one of the other subspecialties to apply that skill gain to.

Hope this helps

Take care

E. Herdan

 

[kristof65]

To further expand on the Emperor's explaination about Cascade skills, and engineering in particular.

Cascade skills are sets of skills where the underlying prinicples are the same. For a real world example, take my own skill in electronics. While my training was specifically in Radio systems, the underlying skills involved are applicable across a broad spectrum of careers - which is why I've fixed radios, video games, guitar effects pedals, and now car wash systems.

Ditto for a Doctor - though a doctor's specific training may be in Brain surgery, the base training she would go through to get to that point would give her enough knowledge to operate on a dog or cat, if it was critical enough.

Does that help clarify why cascade skills let you do things "outside" of your actual skills?

 

[RevReese]

That helps a lot thank you! I didn't realise that was the case with skills as it doesn't seem to mention it in my book! so to clarify: if i gained gun combat (energy pistol) 1 then I gain all the other gun combat specialities at level 0 too? or if i gain Pilot (small craft) 1 then i also gain pilot (capital ships) 0 too? or is it only specific specialities? I'm sorry to keep labouring the point, but once I have it down properly I should be okay to run the game!

If that's the case then I think I finally get it! I just wish I could have read it somewhere in the rules and saved all of you the hassle! :wink: The only section of relevance is p6 top right corner, it briefly explains about skills but does not specifically mention about the cascade ability:

...He would make all Engineer checks involving jump drives at a +1 DM, but would make all other Engineer checks at +0 DM. ...An engineer might have Engineer (Jump Drives) 1 and Engineer (Power Plant) 2. He would make checks related to jump drives at +1 DM, checks related to power plants at +2 DM and all other Engineer checks at +0 DM.

Unless that is what it was implying without actually saying it?


Finally, a question about watches, On Beltstrike p5, it says :

...usually split into watches of 6 hours...two 6 hour watches, separated by a 2 hour break and eight hours of sleep.

That still leaves 2 hours unaccounted for, is that just to allow some 'breathing room'?.

My problem is here it says a watch is 6 hours..(at least for scanning asteroids)..

p57 says:

To gain the full, detailed assesment...takes a team of three or four characters two weeks, working for two 4 hour watches per day.

Here it says a watch is only 4 hours (or is it only while engaged in the assessing tasks)?

And further down, Rikki Tikki said a watch is 8 hours (or is that only when onboard a ship?) I am just confused as to whether the watches are a standard length regardless where you are or what you are doing, or whether they change depending on circumstances (i.e a watch in a dangerous/hostile environment would be shorter than a watch in a safe/comfortable office).

Please correct me if I am miles off track again, I thank you all again for helping me, I have nearly enough to start a game now, I will be sure to post how it goes now I understand a lot of the 'problems' I had before which crashed the game!.

 

[AndrewW]

That helps a lot thank you! I didn't realise that was the case with skills as it doesn't seem to mention it in my book! so to clarify: if i gained gun combat (energy pistol) 1 then I gain all the other gun combat specialities at level 0 too? or if i gain Pilot (small craft) 1 then i also gain pilot (capital ships) 0 too? or is it only specific specialities? I'm sorry to keep labouring the point, but once I have it down properly I should be okay to run the game!

It applies to all but the Trade skill. That one you don't automatically gain level 0 in the various specialties when you take a level in one of them.

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

The length of a watch varies depending on what you are doing. In some situations it is 4 hours, in others 6 hours and the general term is 8 hours.

Here is how I break it down (YMMV):

4 hour watch: Hazardous or strenuous duty or duty that requires a lot of concentration. Typically 2 watches per day with a break in between.

6 hour watch: Physical labor or activity or lots of button pushing (maneuvering, scanning for asteroids, etc). 1-2 watches per day with a break between.

8 hour watch: Routine, boring stuff (in-jump watch). 1 watch per day.

YOU as referee can decide which length watch is appropriate.