For Traveller there has always seemed to be a little bit of a disconnect in the role of the Steward. The current v2 rulebook says a steward is a skill in serving nobles and high class passengers. For starship operations you need to have a steward per 10 High, or 100 Middle passengers, and of course, the steward holds the cash for the dead man's lottery, aka the Frozen Lottery.
The description of a steward seems to be that of a butler. Except most butlers tasks are associated with an individual, or a small family. It has always seemed to be at odds for that of a basic ship's steward who takes care of general passengers. In CT original book, the skills of a steward were taking care of passengers. MGT has cloned the butler and made them a steward in both its' versions.
In some instances we see ship module descriptions that count towards steward skills. That seems rather odd. A beautiful park onboard a starship is a luxury to enjoy, there's no question there, but it doesn't help take care of passengers. If you are paying the rates that a person pays for starship travel, it's safe to assume you want somebody to be taking care of you. Even on cruise ships or aboard trains the crew manages to assist passengers, change linens, answer questions, etc.
The various versions of Traveller seem to have their own take on what a Steward's role is. How do others see the role? Is the steward a butler in space in your game settings? Is he just a guy on the crew who puts the frozen dinners in the microwave for passengers and crew alike? Or do you try to differentiate the role of a steward-0 being who delivers sheets and the aforementioned frozen dinners vs. a steward-3 who can schmooze any noble, knows how to sew Andurian silk and doubles as a sommelier during 12 course dinners for the noble and his friends?
The description of a steward seems to be that of a butler. Except most butlers tasks are associated with an individual, or a small family. It has always seemed to be at odds for that of a basic ship's steward who takes care of general passengers. In CT original book, the skills of a steward were taking care of passengers. MGT has cloned the butler and made them a steward in both its' versions.
In some instances we see ship module descriptions that count towards steward skills. That seems rather odd. A beautiful park onboard a starship is a luxury to enjoy, there's no question there, but it doesn't help take care of passengers. If you are paying the rates that a person pays for starship travel, it's safe to assume you want somebody to be taking care of you. Even on cruise ships or aboard trains the crew manages to assist passengers, change linens, answer questions, etc.
The various versions of Traveller seem to have their own take on what a Steward's role is. How do others see the role? Is the steward a butler in space in your game settings? Is he just a guy on the crew who puts the frozen dinners in the microwave for passengers and crew alike? Or do you try to differentiate the role of a steward-0 being who delivers sheets and the aforementioned frozen dinners vs. a steward-3 who can schmooze any noble, knows how to sew Andurian silk and doubles as a sommelier during 12 course dinners for the noble and his friends?