Starting Traveller from scratch

[Paladin]

Just to echo, Spinward Marches and the Wiki and map link should get you more than you need to get going. The first 1/3 of Spinward Marches gives a good broad overview of the setting and the last sections detail the specific regions of the marches in greater detail to give you a starting point/basic info.

 

[sixbyseven]

Cool. I'm really pleased that this is the case because it means we can get up and running with the minimum of research and collation.

I did have a quick glance through the wiki and map links - they look like awesome resources, especially because I'm considering a break with tradition and running the session from a laptop!

Sixbyseven

 

[dmccoy1693]

So basically, I haven't done this in years but I just decided to make my own universe 'top down' and work on it in manageable chunks while I GM a D&D game over the next half dozen months... generate a Sub Sector and planets... my own names for various things... my own 'standard' ship designs...

You go.

 

[TrippyHippy]

If that's what you want, then just stick to the Mongoose Spinward Marches book and do *not* get any other versions of Traveller - if you do, you'll end up with a lot of contradictory, inconsistent information about the setting. If you just stick to the Mongoose stuff then at least you'll have some degree of internal consistency (and SF hardness too - the worldgen is a LOT more realistic than most of the older versions).

The extent of the problem here is limited by the extent that you take canon seriously. If you just look at the material as a big pot, which you can draw from as you wish, then there is a terrific amount of info that can found in the CD-Rom. You don't have to make sense of everything, just use what you like.

 

[silburnl]

Cool. I'm really pleased that this is the case because it means we can get up and running with the minimum of research and collation.

There's a lot to be said for starting with just one planet (a planet is BIG, look at ours for instance) and then slowly zooming out as you become comfortable with the setting and want to introduce new elements. It's the approach my group took for the mini-campaign we ran during the MGT playtest last year.

We used Flammarion (Sword Worlds/0930) as our starting point, which has a lot going for it - it has a good starport and tech level yet is only 'city' sized in population, so not too overwhelming for the ref but enough to be getting on with for the players. Once you want to spread your wings a bit and introduce neighbouring systems you can go in a number of different directions because Flammarion gives you good access to the Sword Worlds (antagonistic border state), Darrian (allied uber-tech state), Seven Sisters (Imperial military district) and District 268 (recently opened frontier zone). This gives you ample opportunities for 'neutral zone' espionage hijinks, trade expeditions, diplomatic shenanigans and similar goodness.

Regards
Luke

 

[EDG]

The extent of the problem here is limited by the extent that you take canon seriously. If you just look at the material as a big pot, which you can draw from as you wish, then there is a terrific amount of info that can found in the CD-Rom. You don't have to make sense of everything, just use what you like.

True, but there's still a ton to wade through and it's not very well organised on the CD - which is why I said I though it'd be better to get into the CD later.

 

[pasuuli]

The extent of the problem here is limited by the extent that you take canon seriously. If you just look at the material as a big pot, which you can draw from as you wish, then there is a terrific amount of info that can found in the CD-Rom. You don't have to make sense of everything, just use what you like.

True, but there's still a ton to wade through and it's not very well organised on the CD - which is why I said I though it'd be better to get into the CD later.

The CD is really only useful if you are aware of its contents.

* if it's rules you want, Mongoose Traveller has them.
* if it's starships you want, MGT will soon have them.
* if it's Spinward Marches material you want, MGT has it.

The specialized modules in the CT CD-ROM (Robots, Missiles, Striker, the "games") aren't all that portable, and not so useful IMO.


That said, some parts are good. The Alien Modules and Supplements are useful if you're playing in the Imperium setting and want a pile of data about them. The modules and adventures are hit and miss.

 

[sixbyseven]

My Spinward Marches copy arrived yesterday, and it's just what I was missing, so I think I have everything I need in two books, which is really cool. I'm still reading through it but so far I am more than satisfied with it.

It's a shame that MG don't make it obvious to newcomers that this source book contains a basic OTU overview as well as the Spinward Marches in detail - I wonder if they missed out on a few sales because others didn't realize this...

Anyway, cheers everyone, for the replies on this thread, it's been really helpful to clarify a few things about Traveller and get us up and running.

Sixbyseven

 

[Imperator58]

Were I to give just ONE recommendation on helping you with the "hard stuff," I'd suggest picking up the two CT "lil' black book" Library Data volumes from eBay or a dealer that has OOP stuff (Noble Knight comes to mind). Won't cost you much. The MT Imperial Encyclopedia has the same sort of stuff and is very nice, but the timeframe is different so the data will be off in some cases.
Another useful item is a MAP (curse them!), and there may be downloadable ones... but the nicest prefab poster I know of unhappily comes only in the megatraveller boxed set (and again, the borders will be a little off from the CT/Mongoose setting).

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

And you are now embracing the original intent of the game. It was years after the basic books were released in 1977 before setting material really started coming out.

Enjoy Your Traveller Universe (YTU)!

 

[Woas]

Thank you. I am having a blast making my small sub-sector of space, looking at the planet code numbers of each system and thinking, "Huh, how does this all fit together now..."

And the over-arching/meta game aspects of it all have sparked some great discussions with some of the guys who are set to play when the time comes. Topics about how a centralized galactic government would work or even come about. What role corporations should/do have. Imperium Schmerium I say.

 

[Valarian]

Another setting book which may interest is Gateway to Destiny. This was written for T20 by the same author as the Spinward Marches book. It's available through DriveThruRPG. The setting is the Imperial frontier during the war with the Solomani in 993. The book is again pretty system less, so there's not a lot of T20 stuff to get in the way (a few stat block IIRC), with UWPs for all of the star systems and descriptions for a few key ones.

 

[Emryys]

Another setting book which may interest is Gateway to Destiny...

Recommended at only $15 too....