MarcusIII
Emperor Mongoose
I've played every way there is to play for decades.
How to make Traveller more popular with TTRPG players
- Thread starter MarcusIII
- Start date
TrippyHippy
Emperor Mongoose
I think all debates regarding GNS theory are pretty boring, personally. Sometimes they are useful labels for identifying styles of play, but when people start claiming that game X CAN’T be about storytelling, it is time to switch off. All RPGs can be whatever you make of them.
Studio Cat
Cosmic Mongoose
I'm over here wondering how GNS theory is going to help with getting more people exposed to Traveller and interested in playing the game.
FreeTrav
Emperor Mongoose
Directly, it doesn't. But understanding how a particular game fits the model and how that in turn relates to player styles does offer ... I guess I'd call them "thought patterns"... for focussing any marketing efforts in what would likely be the most productive directions.
Studio Cat
Cosmic Mongoose
I can grok that, but it depends on how the game is run and most people who are not deep in gaming don't know what GNS theory is (and learning it prior to playing is an added detriment to player interest). Now Traveller is so flexible that I bet you could even use it do cozy gaming and I will be experimenting with this to see if it can.
FreeTrav
Emperor Mongoose
Actually, when looked at from this point of view, it's not the players whose awareness of GNS theory is required; it's the marketing department. In this case, it comes under the heading of 'know your customer', and - for the most part - the customer for Traveller is the player who - whether he knows about GNS theory or not - plays his TTRPGs in more-or-less NS mode, and is a fan of "crunchy space opera" (i.e., space opera that doesn't completely ignore Real Science, even if it takes liberties with it).
The customer for D&D, on the other hand, will probably play his TTRPGs in GN mode, whether he understands GNS or not.
Studio Cat
Cosmic Mongoose
If that works for you, run with it. To me, GNS Theory is nothing but a distraction when applied to attracting interest to a game like Traveller.
shirgall
Cosmic Mongoose
GNS has nothing to do with the value proposition of roleplaying in TTRPGs.
Roleplaying is the adult continuation of “let’s pretend.” It enables the safe exploration of choice and consequence. It lets you argue as someone else, inhabiting different viewpoints, cultures, values, and outlooks, and in doing so builds empathy and understanding that you cannot get from optimization puzzles or abstract mechanics.
At the table, roleplaying is inherently collaborative. The world is not a story one person tells to others; it is a shared space that participants actively explore, test, and extend together. Each player contributes perspective, texture, and intent, and the setting grows through that interaction.
What many players love about Traveller, in particular, is that it invites a reimagining of the “What if?” at the heart of all science fiction.
Yes, doing this well requires trustworthy and serious roleplayers. Fortunately, there are far more of them out there than the internet sometimes suggests.
Traveller (in all its versions) provides the right scaffolding to support this style of play. Its mechanics are simple, its characteristics are straightforward, its skill system is easy to reason about, and it begins with characters who are already competent adults looking for adventure. It is not the simplest or the most consistent, but it has always been open for clarification and refinement.
Most importantly, Traveller scales outcomes by degree of success and failure. Effect matters. That only works when players are trusted to roleplay those outcomes in good faith, using Effect not to “win,” but to consistently build a world that feels coherent, grounded, and alive.
That trust is where roleplaying actually lives, and Traveller has been growing toward it for half a century.
Roleplaying is the adult continuation of “let’s pretend.” It enables the safe exploration of choice and consequence. It lets you argue as someone else, inhabiting different viewpoints, cultures, values, and outlooks, and in doing so builds empathy and understanding that you cannot get from optimization puzzles or abstract mechanics.
At the table, roleplaying is inherently collaborative. The world is not a story one person tells to others; it is a shared space that participants actively explore, test, and extend together. Each player contributes perspective, texture, and intent, and the setting grows through that interaction.
What many players love about Traveller, in particular, is that it invites a reimagining of the “What if?” at the heart of all science fiction.
Yes, doing this well requires trustworthy and serious roleplayers. Fortunately, there are far more of them out there than the internet sometimes suggests.
Traveller (in all its versions) provides the right scaffolding to support this style of play. Its mechanics are simple, its characteristics are straightforward, its skill system is easy to reason about, and it begins with characters who are already competent adults looking for adventure. It is not the simplest or the most consistent, but it has always been open for clarification and refinement.
Most importantly, Traveller scales outcomes by degree of success and failure. Effect matters. That only works when players are trusted to roleplay those outcomes in good faith, using Effect not to “win,” but to consistently build a world that feels coherent, grounded, and alive.
That trust is where roleplaying actually lives, and Traveller has been growing toward it for half a century.
Fluffy Bunny Feet
Emperor Mongoose
Is it what they are looking for or their means of achieving what they are looking for?
They may be looking for wealth, revenge, travel, lost friends or just about anything else and merely find adventure on the way.
What they are looking for can change. They may be trying to gain wealth only to have one of their friends be taken by pirates/slavers and now they seek either to rescue or at worst avenge them - maybe both. Their goals may change repeatedly over a campaign.
shirgall
Cosmic Mongoose
There's nothing wrong with changing, what I was referring to is that they start with skills and abilities and a desire to adventure (for whatever reason) not classes where 1st level has minimal power.
actionman
Emperor Mongoose
+1 for using grok in a sentence that does not refer to AI.
Studio Cat
Cosmic Mongoose
My first science fiction novel was "Have Space Suit, Will Travel" by the master. I was 12, a year before finding Traveller, and I read the book in one night with a flashlight under my bedcovers.
But that's a distraction to our main discussion here.
Snap, or close enough to make little difference. Same first science fiction book in 1976 or 1977, I was about 10 or 11. Traveller was about 4 years away for me (Christmas 1980).
actionman
Emperor Mongoose
I think my first scifi novel was Breed to Come by Andre Norton.
Getting back to topic a bit, I would say that the FLGS side of things is most likely a lost cause for Mongoose. Those are fading, and generally can't afford to stock lines that aren't sellers. DriveThru is a much better place to push things, and Mongoose appear to be on top of that.
Studio Cat
Cosmic Mongoose
I agree with this to a point. The FLGS that are surviving economically are changing their business model to accommodate having game spaces in the store where gamers can play I believe. It isn't just point of sale anymore. Into this arena is where Traveller demos should step.
Evil Aardvark
Banded Mongoose
To get more people to play you have to meet them where they are. Many people play RPGs in person, and many people play RPGs online. People who play online tend to be tied to a single VTT - because it takes effort, and sometimes cost, to stay on top of them.
Traveller is fine for face-to-face play, but the VTT options are growing, but incomplete. The biggest VTT - roll20 - is picking up, but the second biggest VTT - foundry - is left out in the cold, and Fantasy Grounds is both relatively unpopular and kind of archaic.
I play with 3 different groups: two groups of 5 to 7 people, and another with a professional GM with 50ish active players and another 50ish waiting. All those groups are online only, and migrated from roll20 to Foundry. We don't play Traveller and we'll never play Traveller - as much as we want to - because it isn't where we are.
There is a Foundry system for Traveller, and functionally it is excellent. But having to type in all the content by hand and configure effects for every item by hand is something few people are willing to do.
There have been suggestions of broader VTT support for a year or two, but it hasn't materialized. And even when it does, it'll take years to catch up with even part of the back-catalog.
I hope, one day, to be a happy Traveller player with my online group, but until it is a viable option...
Traveller is fine for face-to-face play, but the VTT options are growing, but incomplete. The biggest VTT - roll20 - is picking up, but the second biggest VTT - foundry - is left out in the cold, and Fantasy Grounds is both relatively unpopular and kind of archaic.
I play with 3 different groups: two groups of 5 to 7 people, and another with a professional GM with 50ish active players and another 50ish waiting. All those groups are online only, and migrated from roll20 to Foundry. We don't play Traveller and we'll never play Traveller - as much as we want to - because it isn't where we are.
There is a Foundry system for Traveller, and functionally it is excellent. But having to type in all the content by hand and configure effects for every item by hand is something few people are willing to do.
There have been suggestions of broader VTT support for a year or two, but it hasn't materialized. And even when it does, it'll take years to catch up with even part of the back-catalog.
I hope, one day, to be a happy Traveller player with my online group, but until it is a viable option...
Condottiere
Emperor Mongoose
Service economy.
You would need to be clear exactly where you can get people to spend their money, whether it's the core books, the supplements, third party accessories, and/or micro transactions.
You would need to be clear exactly where you can get people to spend their money, whether it's the core books, the supplements, third party accessories, and/or micro transactions.
Studio Cat
Cosmic Mongoose
Sounds like you are arguing for your limitations. If Foundry works for Traveller, what is preventing anyone from running a quick Traveller demo, like character creation and maybe running Death Station?
