Life Events

[phild]

I was about the write the code for Life Events on my Excel chargen sheet, when I realised that the whole life events thing is really a bit silly. Which is to say, if you read Life Events in a literal sense, the chance of any PC having had a romantic relationship in their previous career is pretty darned slim, and of that relationship leading to marriage and a child is so remote as to probably never be seen! A party of 34 year old virgins sets out to explore the universe....

I'm thinking that what I might do is modify the Life Events table slightly, and then make it a mandatory roll for each term in addition to the normal events table. I'd probably still keep an Event roll of 7 as an additional life event, as 4 years is a long time and a lot of things could happen. Clearly, any player worth his salt will probably build up some kind of life story around the career history that Traveller provides, but by bolstering up the life events, one can ensure that this career history has a bit more "people and relationships" and a little less "skills and promotions" about it.

 

[Gee4orce]

That sounds like it might be a good idea. I agree that the chances of getting a Life Event roll are too slim to even bother printing that table !

Once a term might be too frequent though: the most common result is a new Contact, so you could be dishing out Contacts left right and centre. However, maybe that's not unrealistic - as you say, 4 years is a long time.

 

[phild]

That sounds like it might be a good idea. I agree that the chances of getting a Life Event roll are too slim to even bother printing that table !

Once a term might be too frequent though: the most common result is a new Contact, so you could be dishing out Contacts left right and centre. However, maybe that's not unrealistic - as you say, 4 years is a long time.

In a reformed life event table, I was thinking of removing game mechanical results like Contacts and make all of the outcomes relating to friends, families and household events - perhaps with some small chargen effects like +1 qualification bonuses, but nothing too major.

 

[walkir]

That sounds like it might be a good idea. I agree that the chances of getting a Life Event roll are too slim to even bother printing that table !

In the basic book only - mercenaries and high guard made it 1/6 (#31-36 on d66).

phild mentioned removing game mechanical results. I think that's too much. Why no create your own table for a throw every term and use the mongoose one for a event that says "roll for life events"?

 

[lurker]

I don't believe the characters in Traveller were meant to be average people who go to work, go home, and start families. Many places they go and things most Travellers do are not appropriate and often dangerous for children and family.

My take on it is that you don't have to limit a characters romantic interests and family to what the events say. Family (including parents and siblings) or romantic interests created by players and not events might rarely be part of an adventure and only encountered in between things or when game play takes the character 'home'. A relationship from an event could be another PC or a NPC that travels with the character or has a more active role in an adventure.

Just my thoughts, quickly typed up and probably not worded well, but part of the reason I wouldn't take the time to adjust things.

I'm thinking that what I might do is modify the Life Events table slightly, and then make it a mandatory roll for each term in addition to the normal events table.

This could work for you and I'd like to see what you come up with.

 

[Vile]

That sounds like it might be a good idea. I agree that the chances of getting a Life Event roll are too slim to even bother printing that table !

In the basic book only - mercenaries and high guard made it 1/6 (#31-36 on d66).

And in Spica's Career Book 1, of course! :wink:

I agree that children or a family 'at home' are probably not that common for adventurers. I can see a space-faring society giving rise to shipboard families, maybe, but characters who travel the stars in search of adventure and excitement are less likely to have loved ones on a home planet - or not for long, anyway ...

 

[PoppySeed45]

I think this is the point of the tables - these aren't the average people, they're Travellers. Travellers...travel, you know, and that would stink for a family life. I'm not saying it isn't possible, but can you imagine a married couple who only see each other every 6 months - no email, no texting, hell, even letters take weeks or months to get to you (and the other one, the one at home, doesn't even know where to send them)?

The tables, I think, generate the sorts of folks who would end up as Travellers. If they do generate a loved one, its the sort we see in fiction - the one who WILL wait for months at a time. That sort of love can't pop-up every 1-4 years, can it?

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

I also never interpreted the Life Event table as being the ONLY relationship that the character had. It was just the very significant ones.

A character may have had dozens of lovers and partners, but THAT ONE was very intense and lead to a life-long association (as an Ally or an Enemy).

While there are other deaths in the family (grandparents, distant uncles) the death rolled on the Life Events tables was a CLOSE relative. It was a death the significantly affected the life of the Character.

That's my take anyway.

 

[steelbrok]

I think this is the point of the tables - these aren't the average people, they're Travellers. Travellers...travel, you know, and that would stink for a family life. I'm not saying it isn't possible, but can you imagine a married couple who only see each other every 6 months - no email, no texting, hell, even letters take weeks or months to get to you (and the other one, the one at home, doesn't even know where to send them)?

Just like real life in the age of sail

 

[walkir]

I think this is the point of the tables - these aren't the average people, they're Travellers. Travellers...travel, you know, and that would stink for a family life. I'm not saying it isn't possible, but can you imagine a married couple who only see each other every 6 months - no email, no texting, hell, even letters take weeks or months to get to you (and the other one, the one at home, doesn't even know where to send them)?

Just like real life in the age of sail

One woman at every starport?

 

[alex_greene]

Well, there's always the Zoe and Wash marriage from Firefly. If not for the events of Serenity, and the show getting canned, there'd likely have been plenty of life events within that relationship.

 

[PoppySeed45]

Just like real life in the age of sail

I thought about that too, but society was different then...I don't think it would work in the futuristic context of Traveller (hell, would it work NOW, in modern life?). I mean, would a "modern" man or woman be happy that their love goes away for nearly a year, to return probably poor and running from the law?

Of course, IYTU, it can work just fine...I just think with the modern sensibilities written into Traveller it'd be hard to reconcile (I also like it from the fiction angle that such loves are rare - the ones you TRULY keep forever; the rest cheat on you or forget you and make great revenge sequences!).

 

[kristof65]

I thought about that too, but society was different then...I don't think it would work in the futuristic context of Traveller (hell, would it work NOW, in modern life?). I mean, would a "modern" man or woman be happy that their love goes away for nearly a year, to return probably poor and running from the law?

Well, remember that by the time of the 3rd Imperium, they've had a few thousand years of jump travel - "modern" sensibilities in that regard may have reverted back to an Age of Sail mentality - or at least for some people.


Personally, I'd like to see the Life Events table expanded to at least a D66.

 

[phild]

I also never interpreted the Life Event table as being the ONLY relationship that the character had. It was just the very significant ones.

I agree, which is why at the start of the thread I referred to the silliness of results coming only from a "literal" reading of the table. Nonetheless, if you're going to have those sorts of things, my thinking was why not turn it up a notch or two and give the players even more material to get them thinking.

Even if you are talking about only reflecting significant events, there is still only a 2.3% chance per term of starting a "significant" romantic involvement - so that's 11.1% over a 5 term career. Traveller's may be predisposed to being a little different, but there are some hints in the chargen that this travelling nature may not have manifested until chargen is complete:

1. Traveller includes fairly mundane civilian careers as well as the space hopping military ones now.
2. The bonus for changing planets on the Life Event table suggests that many (most!?) characters stay on one planet for their prior experience.

I also like the idea of a woman in every port (in a game sense, purely in a game sense!), and the life events at the moment doesn't help bring this to life. I'll give it some thought and see how I get on.

Any suggestions for suitable events? I could use my own life as a model, but the occasional goldfish trauma aside, I'm not sure there's much to go on...

 

[kristof65]

I also like the idea of a woman in every port (in a game sense, purely in a game sense!)

You're just saying that just in case your significant other reads this, aren't you?

Any suggestions for suitable events? I could use my own life as a model, but the occasional goldfish trauma aside, I'm not sure there's much to go on...

I think most life events can be covered by the existing life events table, but each entry on the table could probably have a sub-table of it's own. So far, every idea I've had could really fall under one of the existing categories.

The more I look at it, I think I would keep the exiisting life events table, but create a more specific D66 chart for each type of event there, and then let the player choose whether to roll on that, or create something for themselves using the guidelines of the general table.

 

[Klaus Kipling]

I say more life events. I give the player a life event as standard each term and then if they roll another on the career event they get a second and reroll on the career event table (another LE and that's that, 2 LEs max).

Contacts, rivals, etc, are just too cool not for players to have several. RAW and they are few and far between.

 

[Paladin]

I also never interpreted the Life Event table as being the ONLY relationship that the character had. It was just the very significant ones.

A character may have had dozens of lovers and partners, but THAT ONE was very intense and lead to a life-long association (as an Ally or an Enemy).

While there are other deaths in the family (grandparents, distant uncles) the death rolled on the Life Events tables was a CLOSE relative. It was a death the significantly affected the life of the Character.

That's my take anyway.

2nded