New Traveller Referee? Some tips...

[RogerN]

More helpful hints from a old Traveller grog:

1. Don't worry whether or not you are always on-point with the lore of the game. The Official Traveller Universe is literally as old as Greyhawk and there's a lot of stuff in there. Don't worry if you see us old grogs arguing about this point or that. It's what we do but at the end of the day these are just our opinions. There is a phrase we use a lot on the board here, 'IYTU' and 'IMTU'. It means 'In Your /My Traveller Universe'. How you play Traveller [or any other game] is gonna be different than the way I do it. That's. Just. Fine. If it's fun for your players, do it. If you want the Imperial Marines to look like Killer Clowns from Outer Space [with Fusion Rifles], have at it and enjoy.
2. Once you gather your players, take a moment to read your audience. Some players are gun nuts and want to blast their way through the universe, others want a 'heist movie' a'la Ocean's Eleven. The Q and A for this will take up much of Session Zero.
3. I'd suggest setting up a sandbox. Pick a subsector... any subsector where the majority of planets are J-1 or J-2 from each other is good.
4. If you want to use the OTU for your Traveller game, I suggest buying one of the regional books [Behind the Claw, Trailing Frontier, etc.] and setting up your sandbox there.
5. Don't be afraid to ask questions on the board here. We're happy to help.

Welcome aboard the Beowulf.

This is so important to remember. I've owned this game in its many guises since 1984 and it took me a long time to recognise the importance of IMTU. Everything i tried to do i was very conscious about the pre-written canon and lore. These days i utilise Alpha Crucis subsector and its subsectors and systems only in terms of the maps and names - pretty much everything else is mine. Yes its on the border of the Third Imperium and the Solomani Confederation but thats the key fact that remains. All other stuff is pretty much made up from scratch by either myself or my players.

 

[RogerN]

I just wish Mongoose would make more setting-agnostic books. Yes, there are a ton of resources out there such as Stars Without Number or Savage Worlds The Last Parsec, but no one comes close to the design and ... gravitas that Mongoose brings to its books. They could start a sub-line of products with small-batch print runs (or PDF only) that I think would work.

I'm so with you on this one. I'd love a book that allows me to design and replicate technologies from any sci-fi setting i can imagine or replicate. I know some rules exist across different books but id love a setting agnostic sourcebook that pulls it all together and adds more stuff.

 

[Endie]

I'm so with you on this one. I'd love a book that allows me to design and replicate technologies from any sci-fi setting i can imagine or replicate. I know some rules exist across different books but id love a setting agnostic sourcebook that pulls it all together and adds more stuff.

I suppose the T5 folks would say that that’s exactly what their game is designed to achieve.

It’s also a cautionary tale for Mongoose and others as to just how niche-of-a-niche the market for that is, and how hard it is to make something so open-ended actually playable by normies.

 

[Condottiere]

Pretty sure that this is a general comment I wanted to make somewhere else, or several times.

The reason we rely, or should, on consistency in the rules, and give money to Mongoose, is that we all like to inhabit a shared universe, and at certain points within it, are all on the same page.

 

[Sigtrygg]

I suppose the T5 folks would say that that’s exactly what their game is designed to achieve.

T5 is the roleplaying game for Marc's vision of the Third Imperium and its various eras. There is no variant technology from other sci fi franchises or sources. It is as closely tied to the setting at MegaTraveller, TNE, and T4 are.
Of those only TNE tried to offer variant technology and setting tropes.

It’s also a cautionary tale for Mongoose and others as to just how niche-of-a-niche the market for that is, and how hard it is to make something so open-ended actually playable by normies.

In the general roleplaying community if you say Traveller people think of the Imperium setting first, then that you die during character generation.

Traveller has so much more to offer than just the Third Imperium setting and its constraints.

I am of the opinion that a new referee should not worry at all about the Third Imperium setting, run the game and the setting as you and your players want it to be.

 

[Endie]

T5 is the roleplaying game for Marc's vision of the Third Imperium and its various eras. There is no variant technology from other sci fi franchises or sources. It is as closely tied to the setting at MegaTraveller, TNE, and T4 are.
Of those only TNE tried to offer variant technology and setting tropes.

In the general roleplaying community if you say Traveller people think of the Imperium setting first, then that you die during character generation.

Traveller has so much more to offer than just the Third Imperium setting and its constraints.

I am of the opinion that a new referee should not worry at all about the Third Imperium setting, run the game and the setting as you and your players want it to be.

In Discord the T5 chat has had people mention several times that their T5 mechanics ("makers"?) are precisely for things like "I'd love a book that allows me to design and replicate technologies from any sci-fi setting". There's discussion about it being a game construction kit as much as a game in itself.

 

[Jarac Rassen]

I'm brand new to Traveller, and I don't know how it took me so long to get into it. Especially because I love sci-fi. Your tips are very helpful! I picked up the Fall of Tianth and questioned using that as an introductory adventure, but I might have plans for that later. I'll likely want it as part of a custom setting I want to build. But first, I want to get my feet wet in the Charted Space setting.

One of my friends who is interested said that he definitely want to play as a Bwap, so that'll be interesting.

 

[Sigtrygg]

I am returning to this thread due to a comment on another thread.

This should go without saying but here it is.

Make sure every player is involved, even if their character is not in the current situation. Every player should be regularly asked what their character is doing (I once ran RuneQuest with a table of around fourteen players - every one of them felt involved in the sessions). Even if the main group is involved in a critical situation, take a moment to ask players not in that situation what they are up to.

 

[rinku]

Yes. There's always a potential trap in space combat where only the pilot and the gunners make active choices. Maybe the Sensops has some EW rolls, occasionally the engineer has a thing to do. That's made worse if some or all of those jobs are NPCs.

If you have a larger group - in the 5 or more size - or a team with a lot of passengers, you want to work in drama to keep everyone engaged. Doesn't have to be much, but something. Maybe a passenger panics about being in space combat and needs to be calmed down; maybe a sharp evasion maneuver causes some minor system to overload and a bit of trivial damage control is needed. Maybe a subplot can be progressed.

 

[Vormaerin]

The only RPG I recall ever making space combat interesting was some old Star Trek RPG. From like the 80s? They had job stations for all the characters with stuff to do. I can't say that I played much of it, so it might have actually been awful. But they actually tried.

 

[rinku]

That would probably be the FASA one. We played a bit of it, and it did indeed do a good job of that.

It probably helps that Trek has energy shields, so that's another role, and that any engineer has more to do than is usual in Traveller.

Mind you, very often the guns don't see use. But when it flips over to diplomacy, the entire bridge crew are supposed to chip in with advice.

Oh! And that does remind me that Trek does usually have something for the science and medical staff to do... Traveller and Star Wars... not so much by default. Definitely make sure those players aren't bored.

 

[actionman]

The only RPG I recall ever making space combat interesting was some old Star Trek RPG. From like the 80s? They had job stations for all the characters with stuff to do. I can't say that I played much of it, so it might have actually been awful. But they actually tried.

I remember that. It was the 80's FASA Star Trek. Every job station had a fold out paper console and counters, so when the captain wanted to allocate more power to phasers or something, the engineer player would actually move counters on his console sheet. Someone could actually call out "Shields at whatever percent!"

It was a great innovative approach that did a great job of creating the bridge crew interaction.