Other RPGs That You Use In Your Traveller Games
- Thread starter RogerN
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StellarVenture
Mongoose
There are some things from the 40k universe and their rpgs I've drawn on occasionally. There are two that stand out for me. The first the "Gellar field", basically an energy field instead of a hydrogen bubble to keep jump space out, used as a prototype tech but not changing the galaxy at large. The second one being an "astropathic relay" being tech boosting the ability to send messages to a receiver through jump space and as it uses jump space it still isn't an Ansible. This I've used to lean into zhodani studying the science of psionics openly.
Otherwise while not a rpg farscape and their bioship has definitely helped inspire some of my more alien sophants. I've been able to cobble together some in universe sources to even explain some of the bigger aspects with leviathan and alo'he.
I've found myself leaning on Shadowrun occasionally for worlds that embrace cybernetics beyond just replacing lost limbs as many races of charted space seem to look down on augmentation.
Otherwise while not a rpg farscape and their bioship has definitely helped inspire some of my more alien sophants. I've been able to cobble together some in universe sources to even explain some of the bigger aspects with leviathan and alo'he.
I've found myself leaning on Shadowrun occasionally for worlds that embrace cybernetics beyond just replacing lost limbs as many races of charted space seem to look down on augmentation.
Enaknomolos
Banded Mongoose
Stars Without Number has a whole bunch of useful resources, especially if you're running a sandbox game. Is adventure creation tools are particularly handy, but even things as simple as its random name generators are helpful.
I've also used the collaborative system in Diaspora (a FATE game massively influenced by Traveller) to create a setting with my players which we could then play in Traveller. We used Classic, but Mongoose would work too. It's a neat way of doing things. You get a cluster of a few worlds that have pretty well-defined relationships to one another and a whole bunch of conflicts and troubles brewing.
I've also used the collaborative system in Diaspora (a FATE game massively influenced by Traveller) to create a setting with my players which we could then play in Traveller. We used Classic, but Mongoose would work too. It's a neat way of doing things. You get a cluster of a few worlds that have pretty well-defined relationships to one another and a whole bunch of conflicts and troubles brewing.
I'd second the use of SWN: the modular nature of the game (quite like Traveller) makes it easy to steal mechanics. I find the faction system handy in running Drinax campaigns in particular.
Something I borrow from Blades in the Dark is the idea of a focus on the party base (a building, a ship etc) with abstracted abilities to improve it as adventure arcs are completed so that it develops with the (and demonstrates) the progress of the ship. I do it within the story so as to make it less gamey than BitD ("You completed the Borderland Run and saved Hteilotorl; the Iuwoi-ko offers to make an appropriate upgrade to your ship.") but it still boils down to "you did a thing now your base levels up: choose an upgrade of up to 5 million credits".
Grognardia
Emperor Mongoose
I've nicked quite a few bits from Fading Suns
I re-skinned an Alternity scenario for Traveller about 20 years ago.
Elements of 40k crept into the last Traveller campaign I ran.
I'm going to use a version of the FATE skills pyramid in the next Traveller game I run if the players are up for it. Failing that I'll play some solo using characters bult that way.
Elements of 40k crept into the last Traveller campaign I ran.
I'm going to use a version of the FATE skills pyramid in the next Traveller game I run if the players are up for it. Failing that I'll play some solo using characters bult that way.
Condottiere
Emperor Mongoose
More inspiration, rather than nicking stuff.
bartlebyfosco
Banded Mongoose
Mothership works nicely.
Studio Cat
Cosmic Mongoose
R. Talsorian Games has had some influence on my Traveller. Mekton (II and Zeta) with their Reputation and Lifepath rules, Cyberpunk (2013, , 2020, and Red) for ideas on worldbuilding and cybernetics, Dream Park for its use of Beats in creating scenarios, and Teenagers From Outer Space on how to inject comedy into Serious Gaming. Interestingly enough, Mike Pondsmith (who is the owner of R. Talsorian Games) is a Traveller fan who has dedicated two of his space Cyberpunk books to the game.
Actually, on specific adventures rather than mechanics, I have stolen a few adventure plots from Shadowrun and Call of Cthulhu in the past: I just change the nouns to remove the supernatural elements. Tech in Traveller very often presents ways to provide the same effects. Obviously, psionics can serve the same purpose in a pinch, too.
I have sometimes swapped in Savage Worlds' deck-of-cards initiative system.
Once, when we had a space battle with dozens of small ships and I hadn't bought High Guard yet, I ported in the Star Frontiers/Knight Hawks ship-combat system. I knew it was easy to learn and fast to play.
Once, when we had a space battle with dozens of small ships and I hadn't bought High Guard yet, I ported in the Star Frontiers/Knight Hawks ship-combat system. I knew it was easy to learn and fast to play.
I've never done it, but I've been tempted to add in some kind of hero point system. Those are suited for more cinematic campaigns, and DON'T have to be a powerful as a WEG Star Wars Force Point. I first saw them in the old James Bond 007 game back in the 80's and they were great!
Maybe along the lines of how Mutants and Masterminds does it - earlier complications give you something you can use later to help when things are desperate AND important. In MGT2 terms I'd think in terms of a limited pool of discretionary Boons; that way they're of no use if a natural boon is in play, they could be used to negate a natural Bane, or help with a hard task without making it too easy.
Maybe along the lines of how Mutants and Masterminds does it - earlier complications give you something you can use later to help when things are desperate AND important. In MGT2 terms I'd think in terms of a limited pool of discretionary Boons; that way they're of no use if a natural boon is in play, they could be used to negate a natural Bane, or help with a hard task without making it too easy.
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collins355
Emperor Mongoose
Five Parsecs from Home by Nordic Weasel Games/Modiphius
I definitely ported a lot of stuff between Car Wars (pre 5th edition) and Traveller as the overhead was slight, both being 2d6 systems where the target number often came out around the 7-8 Mark. Car Wars was RPG light and benefitted from importing an expanded (and more consistent) skills list.
My CW campaign was set in Florida and I had a space port at Cape Canaveral. I had intended it to be the low port and have world the player were on as a TL8 Earth analogue that had failed and was now a Red Zone. This helped explain the slightly odd Car Wars setting where food poverty goes hand in hand with consumer x-ray lasers. Occasional smugglers would sneak through to import high tech gear. Once they had completed their truckers "Rags to Riches" plot arc they would realise that they were a big fish in a very small pond that was set in a much larger universe. It would either be the plot-twist closing scene (similar to MIB2) or the hook to the sequel of a new Traveller campaign where they would start as deck hands on a space freighter (since many of their skills would be transferrable) with aim of ending up as space truckers.
Sadly after almost 4 years of playing by Facebook they seemed to think that working 4 hour days was going to make them rich and some poor decisions meant that they ended up running at a loss and only completed a single delivery contract and never moved more than 100 miles from their start point let alone get to the Cape.
I had such plans
My CW campaign was set in Florida and I had a space port at Cape Canaveral. I had intended it to be the low port and have world the player were on as a TL8 Earth analogue that had failed and was now a Red Zone. This helped explain the slightly odd Car Wars setting where food poverty goes hand in hand with consumer x-ray lasers. Occasional smugglers would sneak through to import high tech gear. Once they had completed their truckers "Rags to Riches" plot arc they would realise that they were a big fish in a very small pond that was set in a much larger universe. It would either be the plot-twist closing scene (similar to MIB2) or the hook to the sequel of a new Traveller campaign where they would start as deck hands on a space freighter (since many of their skills would be transferrable) with aim of ending up as space truckers.
Sadly after almost 4 years of playing by Facebook they seemed to think that working 4 hour days was going to make them rich and some poor decisions meant that they ended up running at a loss and only completed a single delivery contract and never moved more than 100 miles from their start point let alone get to the Cape.
I had such plans
Limpin Legin
Emperor Mongoose
I tried with Numenera, Cyberpunk and the Last Parsec and didn't have much success. I mainly had to learn the difference between a rule and a setting narrative, and then I was fine.
The only inspiration that I keep in Traveller is using the term "Challenge" instead of "Task", and play it in a similar way to Tales from the Loop. That really is a minor difference, just that I think "challenge" has a more heroic vibe to it.
The only inspiration that I keep in Traveller is using the term "Challenge" instead of "Task", and play it in a similar way to Tales from the Loop. That really is a minor difference, just that I think "challenge" has a more heroic vibe to it.
