Prime Directive Traveller

[LimeyDragon]

I have a few questions..

1. What is everyone wanting to see in Prime Directive Traveller that may or may not have been done in the other version.?

2. A Book detailing each faction.?

3. Perhaps a book per faction of just ships with deck plans.?

I want to hear what others want. I know i for one love deck plans..

 

[Rick]

Hmm, tricky. Not that familiar with the GURPS supplements, but I'll give it a go. I'm looking for a framework system that basically opens up the sandbox and lets you dive right in wherever you want to, or are most comfortable. Klingon Merchant crews, independent research or exploration teams, Federation Officers or Orion Pirates. Hopefully, the system will be flexible enough to accommodate widely differing approaches. :wink:

I think a book per faction with a selection of that factions deckplans in the back would be favourite.

 

[Jean]

Just so you know, the Traveller PD Team has been hard at work reviewing the careers. We're moving along!

I won't be in here much during this week to answer questions. My goal is to get this book to the point where we can announce it to distributors.

 

[Jean]

Careers are still under review and the various species are well under way and under review.

 

[Jean]

Over on ADB's page on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Amarillo-Design-Bureau-Inc/231728653279?ref=mf), part 1 of the Fralli career path is up. I'll add part 2 in a few hours.

The third comment on the picture gives you the background on it.

In all seriousness, I have one last species to work on and that is a minor thing. We have started on technology things and are making good progress with Matthew giving valuable advice.

 

[Jean]

Progress is being made on Traveller Prime Directive. We're up to what SVC calls "the screaming space chickens from hell" (the Paravians). That means that 20% of the book has been roughly laid out.

 

[LimeyDragon]

Progress is being made on Traveller Prime Directive. We're up to what SVC calls "the screaming space chickens from hell" (the Paravians). That means that 20% of the book has been roughly laid out.

That's fantastic.. I can't wait to see the final product..

 

[Jean]

SVC says that over a third of the book is in rough layout. We're moving along!

 

[Jean]

SVC posted this on ADB's BBS:

Preliminary report....

Chapter 0, fiction, done except for title page.

Chapter 1, introduction, done.

Chapter 2, empires & species, done.

Chapter 3, character creation, done except for doing layout on a page of alien traits. Ten minutes of work.

Chapter 4, skills, is about 2 or 3 pages, and is done.

Chapter 5, end game awards, is going to take some thinking as Traveller doesn't grok that you didn't leave the military.

Chapter 6, worlds and trade, 3 pages, done.

Chapter 7, technology, I think this is done but I have to ask Mike about deleting a couple of things we may not need.

Chapter 8, universe, done. Biggest chapter, 46 pages.

Chapter 9, ships, 4 pages, not done, waiting on Mike to write the space combat system.

Chapter 10, the adventure, lacks about an hour of SVC page layout work.

Chapter 11, Index, needs a couple of hours work, but has to be done last.

Chapter 12, 100 more pages Matthew wants, not even started, but it's all stuff that would be done after we lock the schedule and announce the book.

 

[Captain Jonah]

Chapter 5, end game awards, is going to take some thinking as Traveller doesn't grok that you didn't leave the military.

Perhaps its me but could you translate the bit above into English please :lol: :wink:

Otherwise keep up with good work :mrgreen:

 

[AndrewW]

Chapter 5, end game awards, is going to take some thinking as Traveller doesn't grok that you didn't leave the military.

Perhaps its me but could you translate the bit above into English please :lol: :wink:

Traveller doesn't understand not leaving the military (ie: say you have a career in the Imperial Navy, it doesn't understand you not leaving that career but continuing within it, rather then going through the usual mustering out and getting on with your adventuring career).

 

[Myrm]

Yes the default is that you are expected to change career and entering the Drifter career of 'adventuring' BUT it shouldnt take much tinkering to change that to a current military career.

There was way of doing that in T20 somewhere Im sure, so Id be very surprised if there wasnt a mechanism in place in the original versions in some supplement - to allow people to play current military.

There are several easy mungs to fix it that I can think off - all slight variations on one another that result in little change being needed.

1) Assume that the whole RPG bit of adventuring as a Prime Team member is a new career and by starting a character the prior life stuff ends at the point you change career into Prime Team -so you muster from one to another. Kind of takes into account the idea that these people are probably not mercenaries pulled in but career starfleet - I guess it ignores the idea of the 'Mustering Out' process being a requirement to leave any active military - which after all is really a premise of Imperium based games rather than a game mechanic in toto.
2) In a similar vein assume that in Starfleet you are not so much changing career per se, but changing a major assignment duty - and tie the benefits rolls, andto an extent the careers to movement from one major assignment to another - thats a slightly more themed version of the one above.
3) Hand out the mustering benefits on a term by term basis and call them Service Benefits - the DMs that would appear simply kick in at a relevant point - tweak timing for flavour. This introduces sone fairly minor changes in character generation.
4) Assume that those who are still military haven't mustered out, so dont get the benefits - harsh but then they are not losing rank etc - again, no change needed.

THose are quick and easy to some value of that phrase. When I have run Traveller in the past we usually go for some form of 1 or 2 as the solution for continuing career military - or for those undercover. Really we just took the view that the gaming we do is simply the 'next career' for all players and so it forms a special move - you could just as easily assume its an active military career as a 'bunch of scavvy adventurers touring the Imperium in their battered tramp freighter' which is the premise for most standard Traveller games.

 

[daryen]

I am recommending two basic approaches:
1) If you don't leave the service (in other words you are adventuring while still in Star Fleet), then you are considered to still be in the same service. You do muster out, but this represents what you have gained over your career, not your rewards for getting out of that career.
2) If you do muster out, you are assigned an appropriate new career. (E.g. Trader, Agent, etc. At minimum you get Drifter.) You use this new career for future advancement and improvement.

We are writing this up to be as generic as possible so that Mongoose can steal it and use it generally, if they so wish.

 

[locarno24]

Chapter 5, end game awards, is going to take some thinking as Traveller doesn't grok that you didn't leave the military

Meaning benefits?
Doesn't really matter - benefits are 'the stuff that you have' - in theory you could have them whilst still being in the military; they're odds and ends you've picked up as gifts, trophies, and personal curios. They may be rolled for at the end, but that doesn't mean in background terms you don't get them until then (especially if you've been through multiple careers). High Guard works perfectly well for navy campaigns - the only trick is for survival rolls to cause mishaps but not eject you from the career, so everyone's still a starfleet officer of one rank or another come start-of-game.

The benefits system works - one roll per term means that a more senior person will have more stuff. All that needs to be considered is what sort of things are on offer.

They shouldn't be 'standard kit' - a weapon benefit shouldn't be a personal phaser pistol because anyone going dirtside will be issued one anyway.

A Mark XIII phase pistol with some sort of custom sight, that's distinctly non-starfleet issue, is a different matter, and perfectly in keeping for the man with gun combat (energy pistols)/3 - as a crack marksman he may well have done a stretch in a trials & evaluation team, and got issued a prototype.

Equally, a klingon or gorn captain might have a standard federation phaser pistol, taken from a particularly worthy opponent/ally.


Will be interested to see the ship combat system. I'd assume (possibly wrongly) that the core mechanics won't change much (point defence, damage, etc), because (a) it ceases to be the traveller ruleset and (b) they work.

However the moment you introduce tactical FTL, obviously something needs changing, even if it's just the range bands, and (at present) there's no provision for "shields".
(The best version of shields I've seen used in game to date is High Guard's reinforced hull - it gives you a damage sink but still allows damage to leak through onto critical systems like sensors, drives and weapons.)

The other big thing is some sort of power management - it just wouldn't be right if you couldn't "divert emergency power to shields!"

 

[Jean]

SVC thought you might be interested in this from our Communique #78: http://www.federationcommander.com/Newsletter/June-2012/images/Communique-78.pdf

Note that we added the Striker and Seeker ships -- these are ships that people who play Traveller are familiar with. You can try flying these ships using the free Federation Commander: First Mission rules: http://e23.sjgames.com/item.html?id=ADB4000

You might be interested in our ezine Hailing Frequencies which covers all of our games. Traveller Prime Directive will be covered there as well.

 

[Jean]

SVC wrote this on ADB's BBS:

SVC wrote: Pushed forward partly by the Traveller thing, we're going to embark on a push to do a lot of deck plans. I'm talking serious plans like those done to date for the Fed FFG, Klingon G1, Romulan SkyHawk, Free Trader, Federation Express, and whatever others we have done.

I'm going to be using the services of, well, just about anybody who can actually perform the work, paying something like $100 for a destroyer and $150 for a cruiser. (If you want a job, email me.) [Jean notes that if you need SVC's email address, PM me.]

But what keeps coming up is "What goes on the plans?" and I don't know. I mean, I can design a house (I've been in several and know that they have a garage, a kitchen, a laundry room, a dining room, a living room, a den, other entertaining spaces, bedrooms, bathrooms, and closets. Oh, and doors and an HVAC system.)

I've never been on a starship and have no idea what is on one beyond the SSD. I could, I guess, look at all of the plans we have, and make a list of features, and at least I'd know if a deck plan artist forgot the turbolift.

So what I want from you guys is to construct a protocol list. What's on a ship? How many square feet do we need? How much storage?

I hope you see my point and can contribute some information.

Contribute here: http://www.starfleetgames.com/discus/messages/38/30656.html?1339786441

 

[Jean]

On ADB's page on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Amarillo-Design-Bureau-Inc/231728653279?ref=mf) we have the working cover for the Traveller Prime Directive Core Rulebook.

SVC has written: I am particularly interested in knowing if Traveller fans will accept that as being a Traveller format cover.

I wanted to shrink the word Traveller and put the logos on either side, but Jean banished the logos to the back cover as no other Traveller book has them.

I'd appreciate feedback on the page on FB as that is one that SVC checks, but feedback here will get to him as I copy and paste it into an email.

Thanks for your help!

 

[IanBruntlett]

To avoid confusion I would prefer some kind of Traveller logo on this book.

 

[Jean]

Ian, isn't there a Traveller sort of logo in the name style on the front cover below the picture? We were talking about ADB's logos not being on the front cover so as to not distract from the Traveller part.

Can you point me at a cover that has the logo you are thinking of?

 

[zozotroll]

Jean look at the Spinward Marches cover. Bottum third or quarter Red Traveller on black background. What you have now lloks great, but if I saw it in a store I would pass right by it as there is nothing to tell me it is traveller connected.

Owen