Stewards

phavoc

Emperor Mongoose
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?
 
I think of them as a cross between a flight attendant and a cruise ship employee. They are customer service personnel first and foremost. They have do serve food, make sure needs and wants are met, and do whatever the situation calls for.
 
I did a quick internet search on steward. I would say that the skill is a mix of butler and cruise ship employee. The skill should cover the know how of how to keep passengers content to the know how to manage the resources and affairs of a ship. I also know the role has changed over the centuries, so what it really covers is what it needs to cover. Also, a little bit of improvising might be needed from time to time.

Regardless, I wouldn't like needing 3 to 5 different skills to do what the steward does. I would like to point out that the profession skill can be wide enough to cover all the know how of a profession such as Belter (asteroid mining). See 2e core rulebook p. 68 for other examples.
 
In my game the Steward skill is the basic housekeeping and life support skill.

I also increase required Steward coverage to the crew.
 
I see it as a force multiplier.

Our current interpretation of steward would be a form of personal, or semi-personal service, whereas flight attendant seems to be passenger management.

Aerospace Solomafrikaans:

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuLL8g8ena0
 
I think the job varies based on the type of ship. On a large luxury liner, there would be an assortment of specializations, like on a cruise ship: the novices who keep staterooms tidy, the kitchen staff from vegetable choppers to head chef, dining room servers and the sommelier, the ballroom staff (but entertainers would be a separate job), and probably other specialties. On a small luxury liner or yacht, many of those jobs would be performed by a few highly versatile stewards. On a steerage liner, the job would mostly be staffing the meal buffets, the video library, and basic facilities maintenance. On a free trader that also carries passengers, the steward would probably do all those jobs, but to a more utilitarian standard of quality -- and in shady ports of call, they'd double as security officers. And on highport to downport shuttles, the job would be a lot like a modern flight attendant.

Note that a modern flight attendant may spend an entire career on nothing but overseeing boarding and departure, serving drinks and maybe food, and occasionally dealing with unruly passengers, they are also responsible for passenger safety in the event of an emergency. That is why I count security as a part of the steward's job description.
 
Condottiere said:
I see it as a force multiplier.

Our current interpretation of steward would be a form of personal, or semi-personal service, whereas flight attendant seems to be passenger management.

Aerospace Solomafrikaans:

hqdefault.jpg


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuLL8g8ena0
Why don't you just come out and say the word? "Stewardess!" For some reason people like to substitute two words for one and make it unisex. Obviously the word stewardess comes from the word steward. Steward is male, stewardess is female. Traveller, it seems, resurrected the word Steward from which the word Stewardess was derived, and in todays PC political culture they substitute two words for one: Flight Attendant. For some reason it has become offensive to acknowledge one's gender.
 
When games involve more 'steward/ess' activity well often allow it to cascade to cover other skills when in relevant situations. Such as Admin 0, Pharmacy 0, Advocate 0, Melee 0 etc. As interstellar travel can be a dangerous place I'm sure the basics of STEWARD covers a lot of situations.
 
Condottiere said:
There's always stewardrix, like administratrix and dominatrix.
I like that, so a "steward" is a combination "Administrator and Dominatrix" ... sounds like a lot more interesting of a crew position after all. :)
 
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