Fantasy Traveller: Adventurer

[Eisenmann]

Hi all,

I just wanted to mention that I'm working on a fantasy version of Traveller titled Adventurer. I'm not sure yet what the final plan is for the effort but I do know it's fun. There are several fantasy efforts under way but we thought, What the heck. And decided to see what we could come up with.

Anyways, the work in progress is posted up on my blog:

http://platonicsolid.blogspot.com/search/label/Adventurer

The latest post covers the Fighting Man career. Feedback is more than welcome. In fact it would be down right much appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Jon Brazer Enterprises]

So far, looks ok. Just curious, but is this for yourself or is this for publication? If it is for yourself, I'm sure it is great.

If it is for publication, answer me this question: why should someone play this over D&D? Allow me to be frank for a moment. Fighting Man sounds to me like you're trying not to use the term Fighter to describe the career. What does Adventurer bring to the table that D&D, Exalted, and RuneQuest do not? How you answer that question is where the "Awesome" should lie.

As a designer, you have to constantly ask yourself how is A better than B all the time. The answer, "Because it uses the Traveller system where others do not," is not a good enough answer. Example: Compare the D&D 3.x fighter to the Exalted Dawn Caste (since both system were new at roughly the same time). What does the D&D fighter do? Hit stuff. What does the Exalted Dawn Caste do? He hits stuff with style, parries any blow coming his way, make a bow out of put magic, shoots bolts of energy at his opponents. That's what Exalted brings to the table that D&D does not.

So what does Adventurer bring to the table that these games do not? I'm not necessarily expecting an answer right this moment. Merely trying to provide you food for thought on how to make your game "Awesome."

 

[rust]

I have a little problem to imagine the setting the characters from this
career are adventuring in.

For example, riding skill obviously does exist, but the armies of this set-
ting seem to consist of swordsmen and archers plus somewhat undefi-
ned "support" units - there is no cavalry, which in my view would be far
more likely to exist than "support" troops.

The secondary problem connected to this is that in a fantasy setting the
player characters usually are far more likely to be "cavalry types" (usu-
ally some variaton of "knight") than foot soldiers, whether swordsmen or
archers.

Therefore I think you have a very nice career there, but in my view you
should either replace the support type with a cavalry type, or add an ad-
ditional cavalry career (e.g. Knight / Mounted Archer / Lancer).

 

[Eisenmann]

Thanks for checking it out.

At this point I'm not sure if it's going to be for publication or not. I'd like to think so but I want to explore where it goes through the design process. This isn't our first design project though. We currently have a live action airsoft system in "production". http://firefight.ning.com

"Fighting Man" is actually a nod to the original edition of D&D.

Design intent includes a fantasy system that has the feel of Traveller, i.e. (semi) random life paths, slow progression, mercenary tickets, mass combat, "sector creation", less superhero more down to earth, if you will.

At this time we plan on putting our take on Traveller's combat system, using lessons learned from systems such as Agon, Burning Wheel, and even Diaspora.

Your statements and questions are spot on, it's why we use The Art of Game Design in all of our design efforts.

http://www.amazon.com/Art-Game-Design-book-lenses/dp/0123694965/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b

By the way, the Deck of Lenses rocks hard:

http://www.amazon.com/Art-Game-Design-Deck-Lenses/dp/0615218288/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b

 

[Madarin Dude]

As far as what i can see it bringing is if you want to run a setting with technology and ancient setting. You could use it to make a setting similar to books like Star Prince Charlie or Icerigger and a wide variety of other stories. Like it so far keep it up.

 

[Eisenmann]

I have a little problem to imagine the setting the characters from this
career are adventuring in.

For example, riding skill obviously does exist, but the armies of this set-
ting seem to consist of swordsmen and archers plus somewhat undefi-
ned "support" units - there is no cavalry, which in my view would be far
more likely to exist than "support" troops.

As mentioned on the blog, influences include Black Company and real life history. To support this, the riding skill is reserved for officer types and nobility.

Not having the skill wouldn't preclude riding a warmblood mount from point A to point B. Doing combat maneuvers on the other hand would be quite problematic.

The secondary problem connected to this is that in a fantasy setting the
player characters usually are far more likely to be "cavalry types" (usu-
ally some variaton of "knight") than foot soldiers, whether swordsmen or
archers.

A career for nobility/knights is in the works to cover these aspects. Though to fit in with the historical bent, the Fighting Man careers focus is on support, infantry, archer.

Therefore I think you have a very nice career there, but in my view you
should either replace the support type with a cavalry type, or add an ad-
ditional cavalry career (e.g. Knight / Mounted Archer / Lancer).

Thanks for checking it out. Much appreciated.

As far as what i can see it bringing is if you want to run a setting with technology and ancient setting. You could use it to make a setting similar to books like Star Prince Charlie or Icerigger and a wide variety of other stories. Like it so far keep it up.

Thanks!

While working on the careers I also keep in mind the Roman legions who were half engineer/half soldiers. And the medieval siege engineers who utilized catapults and sappers.

I now have two more books to add to the queue. :wink:

 

[pasuuli]

There are related threads about this sort of thing, under the name Wanderer...

And here: http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=36738&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc

What does Adventurer bring to the table that D&D, Exalted, and RuneQuest do not? How you answer that question is where the "Awesome" should lie.

IF he uses the Traveller rules, we'll get elements of play that aren't in the other rules. Lifepath generation was mentioned, and Traveller's system is still popular, appealing to those who prefer it to point-buy. Combat tends to be more lethal, so the game may focus less on hack-n-slash and more on the adventure itself.

That second bit (lethal combat) makes me think that Adventurer could be a shoo-in for "historical fiction" adventuring, like Sinbad and pseudo-Kaliphates, or Jason and the Argonauts and internecine Greek warfare, or some strange blend of the Ptolemaic Kingdoms and Indo-Iranian Mythology, or Khanates and Eastern mysticism... none of which is D&D or RuneQuest or etc.

 

[zace66]

well i think it might be useful. I want to run a time travel campaign and this could be an answer to by search...

Keep it up - well done.

 

[AndrewW]

well i think it might be useful. I want to run a time travel campaign and this could be an answer to by search...

Keep it up - well done.

There are some talents in Psion for time travel.

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

Also, using the Traveller system would allow a Referee to easily integrate Flintlocks or other early firearms without having to add a bunch of new rules.

 

[lordmalachdrim]

If it is for publication, answer me this question: why should someone play this over D&D?

Because they dislike D&D and the growing power creep and munchkinism that is appearing in more and more "modern" games.

Some people like nice low-fantasy games and with WFRP going to a funky 3e this could work for their grim, low end gaming.

 

[tneva82]

If it is for publication, answer me this question: why should someone play this over D&D?

Cleaner and more easily understandable rules which aren't exercise in book keeping for starters. Traveller rules are lot easier to play than D&D with far less book keeping. You can't really create complete NPC stats in D&D on the fly for example. Far too many modifiers, bonuses, skill points and whatnot to keep track off. In Traveller it's dirt easy.

Better question would be: what the heck D&D provides that makes it worth the pain?

This if you are refering to 3.5 edition. If you refer to 4.0 then answer would be: proper roleplaying game rather than tabletop wargame.

 

[dmccoy1693]

If it is for publication, answer me this question: why should someone play this over D&D?

Because they dislike D&D and the growing power creep and munchkinism that is appearing in more and more "modern" games.

Some people like nice low-fantasy games and with WFRP going to a funky 3e this could work for their grim, low end gaming.

*Playing Devil's Advocate*

Ok, why not play 1E D&D or an OGL 1E Clone? It is substantially less powerful than 3E/4E D&D.

I"m not necessarily looking for an answer, but this is the kind of question I am constantly asking myself right now. Why should someone use my tech supplements over someone else's? I plan on writing a modern sourcebook for Traveller in the future. Why should anyone use that over the World of Darkness system or d20 Modern? "Because it doesn't use a d20" isn't a good enough answer.

My current favorite answer for various forthcoming products: "Because this thing is pure testosterone."

 

[tneva82]

Why should anyone use that over the World of Darkness system or d20 Modern? "Because it doesn't use a d20" isn't a good enough answer.

Why not? Is there something in D20 modern or world of darkness which makes them The Only True Choice and to hell with options?

RPG market is too concentrated on few rulesets already. Why make it even more so? More diversity the better for players.

 

[dmccoy1693]

Better question would be: what the heck D&D provides that makes it worth the pain?

The simple answer (no matter how sad of an answer it is, it is none the less true) is name recognition. More people know the name Dungeons and Dragons than any other role playing game out there and that alone carries it as far as it goes. Name recognition makes it easier to find in regular book stores, name recognition mean that people will stop their search for a moment to open up the book and see what's inside (this is also where sales because "the artwork was pretty" come in), and name recognition means that it is easier to find a group.

I know it is not the answer you want to hear (I know I wish the answer was different), but it is true. Take my own company for example. Jon Brazer Enterprises is still largely an unknown quantity. If a random gamer was looking at the new products on DriveThru, they'd pass over something from my company to see what Mongoose or Avenger did, without realizing that my products are for use with the same system. Who knows, they may want to run a bug-and-zombie-filled campaign and not even notice that I make stuff specifically for that. I remember hearing from some players long before MGT's release that they didn't want an assault rifle but instead wanted a ZX-172 45 cal air cooled James & Weston with an extended range TO-91 laser sight. I am doing exactly that with my Mech Tech 'n' bot series, but since I am still largely an unknown quantity, they'd just pass right on by and not notice. Name recognition counts for alot.

 

[dmccoy1693]

Why not? Is there something in D20 modern or world of darkness which makes them The Only True Choice and to hell with options?

If "it doesn't use a d20" were the only reason, players could convert over easily enough. That is one of Traveller's strengths, it so easy to customize. 1000 times more so than the d20 system. Change a few skills, modify a few careers, limit the tech and you do not need a basic Traveller Modern system book. So I have to offer something that makes the eyes pop out of people's head and say, "I must have this now!!" That's where the awesome lies.

Edit: And Awesome doesn't necessarily translate to power creep. You can do awesome and still be a low power game.

 

[tneva82]

The simple answer (no matter how sad of an answer it is, it is none the less true) is name recognition.

Well I won't be going to be playing any RPG just because it's name is known. I rather play good rules from unknown RPG than crappy rules from well known RPG.

 

[Eisenmann]

Because we can. :wink:

 

[dmccoy1693]

Well I won't be going to be playing any RPG just because it's name is known. I rather play good rules from unknown RPG than crappy rules from well known RPG.

In that case, I hope you are enjoying my stuff.

 

[Paladin]

If it is for publication, answer me this question: why should someone play this over D&D?

Because they dislike D&D and the growing power creep and munchkinism that is appearing in more and more "modern" games.

Interesting point. Traveller brings up an interesting difficulty for a fantasy based game. There are no level advancements or rapid growth in power. That mechanic will likely be a huge stumbling block or a great joy depending on your play style. But it will definitely force the "role" in role-playing.