New to Traveller? Some tips...

[Sigtrygg]

So you want to run a Traveller game. You may have joined a game at a convention, a friend may have insisted you give it a try, but now you want to run your own game...

please take the following as well intentioned, use or ignore or expand upon.

I will edit this from time to time, and I hope others chime in with their tips.

1. Setting.
Traveller was originally intended for groups to make up their own settings, so don't be put off by the size, scale, and sheer amount of material describing the Third Imperium. Ignore it completely to start off and nothing will be affected much, you can always introduce elements of it later. The origin of the Imperium was to have an "off board" major polity that could explain where people served in the army, navy, etc.. You can call it Empire, Imperium, Federation, Confederation and it won't make a bit of difference.

1.1 The Third Imperium of the 57th century (IY1105) is the default for a lot of people, you don't need to know the entire history, there are many summaries and introductions and elevator pitches for this setting.

2. Communicate with your players.
Traveller is a game for everyone to have fun. No one has fun if forced to play a character they don't like, in a game arc they don't like. If they decide they want to travel from planet to planet having adventures then forget about setting up a "crew of an ethically challenged merchant ship" - just give them a ship, or use the other methods Travellers have for getting from world to world. If they do want their own ship but don't want the minutiae of trading for upkeep then just grant them one - a detached duty scout, a lab ship, a noble's yacht, a pirate corsair...

2.1 talk about the sci-fi the players like, which books, TV series, movies, ask what sort of adventures they want to get involved in - exploration, investigating extinct alien races, interstellar war, colonising a new world, espionage...

3. Have a session zero for character generation.
Get the players together to generate their characters, do it term by term, and encourage the players to think of reasons how their characters may have encountered each other during this prior history. You can encourage this with minor rewards such as banking a mustering out re-roll, or re-roll of a skill on a skill table, or allowing them to just pick that term's skills.
If time permits get them to roll a couple of characters, then let them pick which one they want to play initially. Keep the others safe though...

4. Have an introductory adventure in mind.
Mongoose offers many short introductory adventures that can get you started, or you can re-purpose an introductory adventure from a different game, or just make up your own.

5. Listen to your players...
how is this different to communicate? Listen to them as they discuss things during the game, listen to them after the game. You are the referee, you can put them in situations that interest them, you can grant them clues and maguffins that further their interests and goals.

Always remember - this is a game, you play it to have fun, so have fun

 

[Fluffy Bunny Feet]

3. Have a session zero for character generation.
...encourage the players to think of reasons how their characters may have encountered each other during this prior history.

4. Have an introductory adventure in mind.

Always remember - this is a game, you play it to have fun, so have fun

One of the suggestions I have seen (and like) is that when the players are generating their characters backgrounds is to as they roll those "life events" do a small "adventure" customized to that event and those characters. Have them role play the event where they met "Bob the Bartender" and made him a contact (or ally, rival enemy whatever). Do the same for the events where they meet each other and set the stage for them to one day become partners in trade (adventures or crime as the case may be). So when their "Pirate Enemy" Jack the Butcher keeps showing up and trying to take their ship they know WHY, it is personal (because of you foiling my scheme I lost my noble title, you disgraced my family by knocking up my sister and leaving her behind or whatever).

A mini adventure of their past, how they encountered and made these people into contacts, allies, rivals and enemies. Lets them practice the game in ways that don't change their characters but do add character to their connected NPCs and connect the player with the characters past.

Make those histories live for them don't just go "okay you know each other" or this is "Jim your contact".

One of my suggestions is take copies of the PCs and make NPC's out of them. MULTIPLE NPCs. For example the PC who is a University graduate and 2 term Free Trader becomes the 18 year old NPC about to enter University, the university student, new graduate, just hired Merchant, during his 1st term Merchant and so on. Takes a lot of the work out of creating NPCs and if the player ever complains the NPC is unreasonable you can explain "But he is YOUR PC during his 2nd term as a merchant". Even more fun can be having the younger NPC end up hero worshipping the PC and wanting to "be a hot pilot just like you".

For your merchant PC instead of a mortgage on that Free Trader they own 25% of they could just as easily have bought into it during their career and the old owner/captain (contact/ally whatever) has retired owning the other 75% and is expecting to live off 75% of the profits. If they amass enough ahead they can slowly buy him off but they don't have the mortgage over their heads though he might show up complaining if the money isn't rolling in. Another reason for the side adventures of course is to make the money to buy him out quicker. Helps if you did that role playing mentioned above including him and setting his personality. Is he a curmudgeon always complaining about how poorly you are doing or trying to jack up the price of being bought out or is he going to be scrupulously honest and expect the same of you? Will he become an enemy and try and take the ship back? Make a written contract of the agreement guaranteeing him a living income if they fail to profit and allowing him to sell his share off (the new owner might be a real bitch). Or he could die leaving his share to someone nastier or always into get rich quick schemes.

Don't forget to remind them that their crimes may follow them between worlds as advanced forensics do exist and even low TL worlds might have off world experts and gear to handle the evidence you leave behind. Big enough crimes can make that bounty hunter worth while to those worlds. Stealing the crown jewels of a minor Kingdom on a balkanized world may just haunt you. Offend a nobles (or crime lords) honour and you may get a NEW enemy for life (save their honour/face and it may be an ally for life or until they feel you are paid back). Let them create by their adventures new contacts, allies, rivals and enemies.

 

[Condottiere]

You could get them to play pregenerated characters in a short, one off scenario.

That would introduce them to game mechanics and character concepts.

 

[Fluffy Bunny Feet]

You could get them to play pregenerated characters in a short, one off scenario.

That would introduce them to game mechanics and character concepts.

The role playing around the life events does the same. Part of it is what skills you achieved during the term. You got your broker skill and a romance, maybe your teacher was the romance or maybe it was another student? Your gun combat was linked to criminal charges, you end in a situation where you need that gun maybe to stop a brand new rival or a new enemy. It also begins those uses when you have very few and low level skills.

 

[WHULorigan]

The role playing around the life events does the same. Part of it is what skills you achieved during the term. You got your broker skill and a romance, maybe your teacher was the romance or maybe it was another student? Your gun combat was linked to criminal charges, you end in a situation where you need that gun maybe to stop a brand new rival or a new enemy. It also begins those uses when you have very few and low level skills.

True, but one of the things you can do in a pre-gen scenario (or just a series of short, one-off staged engagements) is to deliberately showcase certain skills or items in a controlled, non-campaign-affecting way:

So you were a Marine in the Support Division (tech guy with the mechanics and motor pool). But you were a Marine after all, and have seen a lot . . .

"So just how much damage does a Fusion Gun or an HE RAM Grenade do against TL14 Ballistic Cloth or Combat Armor . . . Or my characters Protec-Suit that he just mustered out with . . ."

It gives the new player experiential perspective that his character would have, that he might not appreciate from a perusal of the game mechanics alone.