Observations and Hopes for New Books

[First Age]

I am working on a tech one, with tech based on what we can extrapolate from what we have here and now (2008) and, indeed, based on what we actually have here and now ...

Phil,

I am one of those guys that played a lot of Space Opera in the 80s because we wanted something with a high tech feel, which Traveller's shoe box starships and bolt action rifles just didn't quite convey. So, thanks!

I've yet to buy, but am currently happily playing, MGT. The kind of book you suggest is the sort of thing that might make me pick up the core book.

Cheers,

 

[aspqrz]

I am working on a tech one, with tech based on what we can extrapolate from what we have here and now (2008) and, indeed, based on what we actually have here and now ...

Phil,

I am one of those guys that played a lot of Space Opera in the 80s because we wanted something with a high tech feel, which Traveller's shoe box starships and bolt action rifles just didn't quite convey. So, thanks!

I've yet to buy, but am currently happily playing, MGT. The kind of book you suggest is the sort of thing that might make me pick up the core book.

Cheers,

I'm glad you liked it!

But don't put off buying MGT (at least no longer than the presumably debugged Pocket Edition ... it's a great game system ... I am sure that there are many out there who are planning to do variant background Games based on it (I know I plan to ... the Tech Book is merely something that's easy to get off the ground right now ... and, of course, there's the B5 variant Book that's been announced, as well)

Phil

 

[First Age]

But don't put off buying MGT (at least no longer than the presumably debugged Pocket Edition ... it's a great game system ... I am sure that there are many out there who are planning to do variant background Games based on it (I know I plan to ... the Tech Book is merely something that's easy to get off the ground right now ... and, of course, there's the B5 variant Book that's been announced, as well)

I know you are right really and am certainly enjoying playing it. The bits that are missing (for me) are one or two skills and some equipment, but the game seems to be solid and built on the shoulders of Trav's past.

I just enjoy a lot of existing 'SF' game systems (Silhouette, Framewerk, Savage) that do things in places where Trav doesn't quite go. High Guard is a big one for me. If that one is right I'm probably in.

 

[GamerDude]

I just enjoy a lot of existing 'SF' game systems (Silhouette, Framewerk, Savage) that do things in places where Trav doesn't quite go.

What are these systems? I've never heard of them.

For me I'm looking for more stuff, both expanding the OTU as well as allowing me to use the MGT mechanics to run other sci-fi games. I'd love to run a Firefly/Serenity based game, but they have FTL communications (The CORTEX and such), FTL that doesn't put you in Jump Space (you still have contact with the rest of the normal-space universe) and such.

Of course, this wish fits in with my agreement that each MGT book should clearly have the OTU material in a separate section from the MGT Mechanics. If you think about it, this kind of 'information segregation' has never been needed before. Books were either OTU in themselves (CT, MT, TNE, T4/MMT) or ATU licenses (GT, T20, BITS, etc.) MGT is the first LICENSE to become the one-place-for-all-things-OTU. The recent debates on here shows that there needs to be clarity in what is being added as pure mechanic and what is being added as OTU.

No, I'm not a canonista, I just like to know what the official baseline is so I can be clear to my players where I'm deviating from it.

 

[Klaus Kipling]

I'd love to run a Firefly/Serenity based game, but they have FTL communications (The CORTEX and such), FTL that doesn't put you in Jump Space (you still have contact with the rest of the normal-space universe) and such.

No, there's no FTL anything in Firefly/Serenity. It all takes place in what seems like a multi-star mega system. Everything is sublight.

 

[TrippyHippy]

I just enjoy a lot of existing 'SF' game systems (Silhouette, Framewerk, Savage) that do things in places where Trav doesn't quite go.

What are these systems? I've never heard of them.

Silhouette is the system that powers Heavy Gear and Jovian Chronicles. It's a limited D6 dice-pool mechanic (usually 1-3 dice) that rolls a bit like Risk (keep the highest result). The result is adjusted by an attribute score (a zero-centred bonus/penalty) and compared to a target score. It's quite neat, but I think it's really the quality of the respective books' layout, and BIG MECHAS! that really sells those games.

Savage could be Savage Worlds, I guess, which is a generic, high pulp-styled game, with very loose-but fast mechanics using different types of dice, and playing cards for initiative.

I dunno what Framework is.

 

[Stuie]

This thread has convinced me to roll my own universe, use alternate technologies, house rule the universe to death, and all along tell my players that it is TRAVELLER!!!

(and I'll be correct)

 

[TrippyHippy]

Yep.

 

[klingsor]

Traveller would be an excellent system to do Serenity with, certainly a lot better than the official one!
The only problem is that Traveller basically generates old guys so the young Firefly/Serenity characters would not have that many skills, then of course not all of them demonstrate that high a skill level anyway: Wash-Pilot, Simon-Medic...

 

[First Age]

I dunno what Framework is.

Framewerk is the game system used in CthulhuTech and uses a set attribute added to a 1-5 d10 skill roll using a poker like addition system. It looks neat, has plenty of hardware, but have not playtested it yet.

Savage has the SF Toolkits and I have played in a highly successful 2300AD game using it.

 

[TrippyHippy]

Traveller would be an excellent system to do Serenity with, certainly a lot better than the official one!
The only problem is that Traveller basically generates old guys so the young Firefly/Serenity characters would not have that many skills, then of course not all of them demonstrate that high a skill level anyway: Wash-Pilot, Simon-Medic...

It doesn't necessarily you know. I know there is this tendency for players to want to keep going with their career rolls, but you can still get pretty interesting characters after just 2-3 terms. Try it, and see.

 

[aspqrz]

I dunno what Framework is.

Framewerk = Cthulhutech.

It was even from Mongoose/Flaming Cobra for a while.

I have the rules, but I haven't had a chance to read through them in any detail ... basically a d10 based system where rolling doubles and triples seems to be the key mechanic (but, like I said, I haven't read through it in detail).

Phil

 

[EDG]

It doesn't necessarily you know. I know there is this tendency for players to want to keep going with their career rolls, but you can still get pretty interesting characters after just 2-3 terms. Try it, and see.

I thought that in CT you couldn't actually stop rolling for a career unless you fail the reenlistment roll - otherwise you're stuck with another term whether you want it or not. Did they fix that in MGT and just let you drop out whenever you wanted?

 

[captainjack23]

It doesn't necessarily you know. I know there is this tendency for players to want to keep going with their career rolls, but you can still get pretty interesting characters after just 2-3 terms. Try it, and see.

I thought that in CT you couldn't actually stop rolling for a career unless you fail the reenlistment roll - otherwise you're stuck with another term whether you want it or not. Did they fix that in MGT and just let you drop out whenever you wanted?

In CT you could retire any time after term 5 and start play - I think the same with MGT for the military ones ?

 

[captainjack23]

Traveller would be an excellent system to do Serenity with, certainly a lot better than the official one!
The only problem is that Traveller basically generates old guys so the young Firefly/Serenity characters would not have that many skills, then of course not all of them demonstrate that high a skill level anyway: Wash-Pilot, Simon-Medic...

Well....I remember that traveller seemed nothing but a bunch of old guys -in 1978.....now....well, suffice to say we were recently horrified when we discovered that all of us were older than our characters....sigh.....well, it beats the alternative.....


And how old is Mal ? 18 +4-5 terms as an NCO should be in his mid -late 30's......

 

[EDG]

In CT you could retire any time after term 5 and start play

I thought that was true only if you didn't roll an automatic re-enlistment?

 

[captainjack23]

In CT you could retire any time after term 5 and start play

I thought that was true only if you didn't roll an automatic re-enlistment?

yes. Although I'm not sure when that was added.

 

[TrippyHippy]

It doesn't necessarily you know. I know there is this tendency for players to want to keep going with their career rolls, but you can still get pretty interesting characters after just 2-3 terms. Try it, and see.

I thought that in CT you couldn't actually stop rolling for a career unless you fail the reenlistment roll - otherwise you're stuck with another term whether you want it or not. Did they fix that in MGT and just let you drop out whenever you wanted?

In MGT, there are no reenlistment rolls. If you roll la 12 on your advancement roll, however, you are required to stay on in that career for another term. If you roll less than the number of terms spent in that career, you are forced to leave. Otherwise, the option is entirely up to the player, what they do next. They actually advise, in a sidebar, that the referee can set limits to differing levels of terms served. So if you want a lower-experienced game, then set the limit to 2 -terms.

CT is more restrictive - you have to roll to re-enlist in the career you are in. In the corebooks alone, there is no implication of mixing up career paths either. You literally just keep rolling until you fail a survival roll, or fail to reenlist. Then you stop, and muster out. Good luck on getting 5 terms worth of re-enlistments/survival rolls in a row, by the way.

 

[Deniable]

In CT, you were only forced to stay in if you rolled 12 on reenlistment, otherwise you could leave at the end of any term. There would be no need for the 12 special case if you couldn't.

 

[TrippyHippy]

Yes, that's true - although there was nowhere else to turn if you did choose to leave. There wasn't any indication to be able to 'multi-career' into other professions if you left one career. You simply mustered out, and started your adventuring.

If you take into account that the failed survival roll, even if you went for the discharge-due-to-injury option rather than death, would also stop chargen in its tracks - it was actually quite difficult to get a 5 term character in CT.