How to make Traveller more popular with TTRPG players

[IanBruntlett]

No reason to scan (unless showing it filled out or something), LibreOffice will export to pdf.

The reason why I wanted to share the original action-sheet.odt file was so that downloaders could modify it to their heart's content.

My simple character sheet, irb-simple-character-sheet.pdf, is handwritten, on a piece of A4 paper so I had to scan it in to post it here

I'm familiar with exporting to PDF from LibreOffice.

On the other hand, if you know a resource where I can learn LibreOffice Calc's functions, that would be really appreciated!

 

[MarcusIII]

The reason why I wanted to share the original action-sheet.odt file was so that downloaders could modify it to their heart's content.

My simple character sheet, irb-simple-character-sheet.pdf, is handwritten, on a piece of A4 paper so I had to scan it in to post it here

I'm familiar with exporting to PDF from LibreOffice.

On the other hand, if you know a resource where I can learn LibreOffice Calc's functions, that would be really appreciated!

If you zip it the system might take a zip fille

 

[AndrewW]

The reason why I wanted to share the original action-sheet.odt file was so that downloaders could modify it to their heart's content.

Tried putting it elsewhere and linking?

My simple character sheet, irb-simple-character-sheet.pdf, is handwritten, on a piece of A4 paper so I had to scan it in to post it here

I'm familiar with exporting to PDF from LibreOffice.

I use export to PDF a bit myself.

On the other hand, if you know a resource where I can learn LibreOffice Calc's functions, that would be really appreciated!

Is there something specific you are looking for? Could try the LibreOffice forums.

 

[MarcusIII]

Is there something specific you are looking for? Could try the LibreOffice forums.

There are tons of YT vids on how to use everything ini LibreOffice

 

[actionman]

Show millions of people out there in Internet Land cool mediagenic people having fun playing Traveller.

Another thought:

Bring the Dumarest influence to fore. Dumarest travelled. He was always going somewhere new, having an adventure, building up a stake, then moving on to the next step in his quest.

Don't use the published adventures in the podcast. Leave them for new players to discover. Instead write Dumarest-style episodic adventures for the podcast that work toward the larger goal or quest, or even "side quests" so to speak that happen while the characters are ostensibly pursuing the main quest. Showcase different worlds and features of the Traveller game mechanics. At major worlds like Regina, have several adventures as the characters explore Regina and its star system.

Something else Mongoose could do, along with making character generation software, is make some kind of character visualizer. One can make excellent handsome or beautiful characters with software as old as Skyrim with the free Racemenu mod. Create the character, have a selection of clothes and gear, download the portrait image with a green or whatever background, then import it into a Traveller-specific background generator.

 

[actionman]

I use a custom character sheet.

I made a custom character sheet a long time ago. It was for my Aftermath-Phoenix Command conversion. The most important innovation was pre-figuring the Combat Actions at different weights. It wasn't hard because the break points occur at weights like 10 lbs, 20 lbs, and so on. Pre-figuring the Combat Actions for the weapons the character uses at the different weights allowed beautiful ease of play in situations where the character suddenly changes his carried weight, like dropping his ruck before battle or grabbing a loot item.

 

[Endie]

However, the current Traveller character sheet is a bit lacking when it comes to combat so I created a supplementary sheet, action-sheet.pdf, to keep track of minute details... see attached file.

I like the layout and the info but my God that courgette typeface is barely better than comic sans in terms of getting between the reader and the text.

 

[rinku]

I've mostly shelved development until I can rework it properly in a non-excel version (I have access to excel at work but not at home anymore), but this is the Traveller smart character sheet i did last year:


... and filled in with the character i was playing at the time:



To save space, I figured you could just list the level zero skills by name in a block; they don't yet have specialties. Once you train them up to level 1 they move to the other skill list. Blue text fields are either drop down selections (i.e. skill names) or filled from tables (most of the weapon stats). Red and green text fields are free text, or range limited numerics. Green characteristics are the current value ones, which are the ones that the displayed DMs are taken from.

I figured the TL of the world something was bought at could come up as important, so have a field for that. Most of the shopping happened at Efate, though we used TL12 for the stuff that came from mustering out (she got two Armour results, which is why her vacc suit is TL12 and has a lot of TL12 software, up to the Cr25k limit)

(You might also notice I added PSI to the sheet, but didn't bother updating Doniiq's old sheet)

 

[mavikfelna]

I've mostly shelved development until I can rework it properly in a non-excel version (I have access to excel at work but not at home anymore), but this is the Traveller smart character sheet i did last year:

View attachment 7310
... and filled in with the character i was playing at the time:

View attachment 7311

I like this, but I have yet to find a sheet that allows for alternate and additional stats, like the stats from Traveller Companion or Territory for Aslan and Charisma for Vargr.

Also, no ability to handle Psionics talents and missing background information and other notes, though are 2nd page things

 

[rinku]

Psionic talents are functionally recorded the same as skills and they are selectable; PSR is basically the current PSI value. Those are part of the blank sheet.

What more would you need for that?

As far as alternate stats, sure. This really is just a sheet for humans at the moment.

Although many aliens just swap Social for something else. Either do a specific alien sheet with the relabel, or make SOC change to CHA for a Vargr etc. I expect specific sheets for specific aliens is the way to go, though. No one's changing species mid-game, unless the game is especially strange...

If you make a sheet for humans, there's no problem making variants for the other aliens. It's not like this is 1981 and we're photocopying character sheets from the back of a hardcopy rulebook. One size does not have to fit all.

 

[AndrewW]

Although many aliens just swap Social for something else. Either do a specific alien sheet with the relabel, or make SOC change to CHA for a Vargr etc. I expect specific sheets for specific aliens is the way to go, though. No one's changing species mid-game, unless the game is especially strange...

Just have the ships dr stick you in the medical low berth with the autodoc and program it for a species change.

 

[rinku]

Regarding psionics, here's the sheet in action. Not that Psuu has been hitting the boosters a bit and has a current PSR of 12...

I placed the psionic skills at the end of the skill list in order of difficulty as they are listed in the CRB, not alphabetically among the other skills.

 

[JupiterIndustries]

It's hard to introduce a new player to Traveller without a flood of exposition.

It's hard to introduce a new player to Charted Space.

The solution? Don't.

The group doesn't need to know what the order of battle was in some Fourth Frontier War skirmish unless it's absolutely relevant. I think it's viable to come up with an introduction that doesn't take anything more than two paragraphs.

Break it down into baser elements. There's a big Empire, there are xenophobic rebels, there are psychic humans, etc.

 

[Studio Cat]

It's hard to introduce a new player to Charted Space.

The solution? Don't.

The group doesn't need to know what the order of battle was in some Fourth Frontier War skirmish unless it's absolutely relevant. I think it's viable to come up with an introduction that doesn't take anything more than two paragraphs.

Break it down into baser elements. There's a big Empire, there are xenophobic rebels, there are psychic humans, etc.

S

Post in thread 'How to make Traveller more popular with TTRPG players'

Jan 2, 2026

This is all that was needed for a setting primer in Classic Traveller, taken from Understanding Traveller p11.
Seems to work fine.

• Studio Cat

• 

All you need is the paragraph titled "The Imperium" from the post linked.

 

[Fluffy Bunny Feet]

It's hard to introduce a new player to Charted Space.

Generate a sub sector with one or more pocket Empires in it with the PCs starting in one that doesn't yet have outside contact. They wouldn't need knowledge of more than a dozen star systems and potentially only 3 or 4 depending on the desires of the GM. Maybe there is a vast empire out there but it hasn't been exposed yet and when it is the data would be minor to start.

 

[Jarac Rassen]

Generate a sub sector with one or more pocket Empires in it with the PCs starting in one that doesn't yet have outside contact. They wouldn't need knowledge of more than a dozen star systems and potentially only 3 or 4 depending on the desires of the GM. Maybe there is a vast empire out there but it hasn't been exposed yet and when it is the data would be minor to start.

That's what the Foreven Sector is for!

 

[MarcusIII]

t's hard to introduce a new player to Charted Space.

The solution? Don't.

Correct. The first games I played in didn't have any info about a larger polity. It was just set up like a dungeon crawl but with space ships.

 

[MarcusIII]

That's what the Foreven Sector is for!

Just generate your own sectors for free. Edit them and save for later printing or distribution to your players as needed.

 

[Limpin Legin]

Just found this Traveller FAQ via the Traveller RPG Discord:

Traveller:Frequently Asked Questions - Traveller

wiki.travellerrpg.com

I don't know how readable people find it, or whether it can be made more readable in anyway, bearing in mind the comments in this thread.

 

[Endie]

Just found this Traveller FAQ via the Traveller RPG Discord:

Traveller:Frequently Asked Questions - Traveller

wiki.travellerrpg.com

I don't know how readable people find it, or whether it can be made more readable in anyway, bearing in mind the comments in this thread.

Yeah that page has always been a mixture of obscurantism, CT advocacy and bitter vets proclaiming victory over other bitter vets in the Great TML Wars of the 90s on questions like "is piracy economically feasible in the Third Imperium?" or "Are naval budgets large or small?". Not to mention the classic "Relativistic Weapons" tar pit.

A useful FAQ page that helped beginners would not deliberately order the "which version should I buy?" question so as to put the largest, most popular current version last, and CT first. And neither Stranded nor Twilight's Peak are good starting adventures for the beginner GM fresh to the game.

I've been tempted to rewrite it to be a genuine guide for newcomers to Traveller, and answering the questions that we repeatedly see newbies to these forums actually asking, but I know that getting rid of the obscure, much-beloved-of-Grognards controversies, ceasing recommending 1970s-era rulesets and expanding the first section to actually sell the idea of running the game would get reverted in minutes, and I have been much happier since I learned to avoid wiki edit wars.