Trade Goods - Common Consumables

[Condottiere]

Apparently, you can be subject to the draft.

 

[NOLATrav]

For “NPC Careers” IMTU I have expanded the Drifter “career” out to a D66 table using MgT 1e supplements that have turned it into a sort of Other Career for MgT 2e, freely available if you want it but also accessible via Events and Mishaps in the main careers. So not everyone has a military or “normal” background, you could have been a Starport tech, a laborer, a grifter, etc. Helps create more interesting backstories and fleshes out the universe quite a bit.

 

[Terry Mixon]

That is the sort of thing that the rules would be good for. Have you considered repurposing T$ RUs and Pocket Empires, or taken a look at the various boardgame/wargames that handle this sort of thing?

I hadn’t but I will now. Thanks.

 

[MasterGwydion]

For “NPC Careers” IMTU I have expanded the Drifter “career” out to a D66 table using MgT 1e supplements that have turned it into a sort of Other Career for MgT 2e, freely available if you want it but also accessible via Events and Mishaps in the main careers. So not everyone has a military or “normal” background, you could have been a Starport tech, a laborer, a grifter, etc. Helps create more interesting backstories and fleshes out the universe quite a bit.

I just use the Careers for PCs and NPCs. If adjustments need made to fit a backstory, I change up the skills a bit or rename something. I have absolutely no mechanical difference between My PCs and NPCs.

My characters do not need to be special snowflakes where they are one of like 5 special people that exist across all of existence and use different rules than everyone else. Even D&D doesn't work that way. They have separate classes, but nothing stops an NPCs from having PC class levels as well. Are you all trying to tell Me that Traveller is even more extreme with the divide between PC and NPC than 3rd Ed D&D?

 

[Sigtrygg]

That sort of shoots another hole in your 'Mustering out is the process of turning an NPC into a PC' hot-take.

In what way?

 

[Sigtrygg]

Apparently, you can be subject to the draft.

The character the player is generating can be subject to the draft, there is nothing to say every being is drafted.

 

[Sigtrygg]

I just use the Careers for PCs and NPCs. If adjustments need made to fit a backstory, I change up the skills a bit or rename something. I have absolutely no mechanical difference between My PCs and NPCs.

My characters do not need to be special snowflakes where they are one of like 5 special people that exist across all of existence and use different rules than everyone else. Even D&D doesn't work that way. They have separate classes, but nothing stops an NPCs from having PC class levels as well. Are you all trying to tell Me that Traveller is even more extreme with the divide between PC and NPC than 3rd Ed D&D?

No.

I agree that Travellers should not be John Wick mixed with Ethan Hunt and Jack Reacher. PCs and NPcs have exactly the same characteristics and skill potentials. The one major difference in CT is that all PCs are assumed to be level 0 in every combat capability to avoid the untrained penalty and don't have to make morale rolls.

My typical take on player characters is:
don't cheat on character generation, roll 2d for each characteristic in order or if you want points buy spend 42 points between characteristics.
"Characters are the central focus of Traveller; they are the alter-egos of the players, and all activity is centered on them. Each character has abilities and characteristics which define his or her actions and reactions. The character is the Traveller
personality; the player is the person engaged in playing the game. Once a character is generated, he or she continues to live and adventure until killed in action, or until too old and decrepit to keep up.
All characters begin the game the same way: untrained, inexperienced, and about 18 years of age."

PCs may then engage in prior service.

Second go look at the NPC section of CT:

"If a random encounter occurs, consult the person encounter table to determine the identity or occupation of the person or group encountered. Throw two dice consecutively, and index the result to the table. Indicated on the table are a basic description or identity for the encountered individuals, a dice throw to determine their number, an indication of their vehicle, if any, and a description of their weaponry and armor.
After determining the number in the group, roll two dice three times to determine respectively the strength, dexterity, and endurance of the people in the group. Generally, it may be assumed that all individuals in an encountered group have the
same characteristics. Later, it may prove necessary to determine the intelligence, education, and social standing of the individuals in the group; such data is not actually necessary upon initial encounter.

NPC encountered
Peasants, Workers, Rowdies, Thugs, Riotous mob, Soldiers, Marines, Naval security troops, Soldiers on patrol, Adventurers, Noble with retinue, Hunters and guides, Tourists, Researchers, Police patrol, Fugitives, Vigilantes, Bandits, Ambushing brigands, Merchant and employees, Traders, Religious group, Beggars, Pilgrims, Guards

Here are the patron professions:

Arsonist, Cutthroat, Assassin, Hijacker, Smuggler, Terrorist, Crewperson, Peasant, Clerk, Soldier, Shopkeeper, Shipowner, Tourist, Merchant, Police, Diplomat, Courier, Spy, Scholar, Governor, Administrator, Mercenary, Naval, Marine, Scout, Army, Noble, Playboy, Avenger, Emigre, Speculator"

I allow players who enlist or are drafted into the Other career to use the above to determine the nature of their prior career.

 

[MasterGwydion]

No.

I agree that Travellers should not be John Wick mixed with Ethan Hunt and Jack Reacher. PCs and NPcs have exactly the same characteristics and skill potentials. The one major difference in CT is that all PCs are assumed to be level 0 in every combat capability to avoid the untrained penalty and don't have to make morale rolls.

My typical take on player characters is:
don't cheat on character generation, roll 2d for each characteristic in order or if you want points buy spend 42 points between characteristics.
"Characters are the central focus of Traveller; they are the alter-egos of the players, and all activity is centered on them. Each character has abilities and characteristics which define his or her actions and reactions. The character is the Traveller
personality; the player is the person engaged in playing the game. Once a character is generated, he or she continues to live and adventure until killed in action, or until too old and decrepit to keep up.
All characters begin the game the same way: untrained, inexperienced, and about 18 years of age."

PCs may then engage in prior service.

Second go look at the NPC section of CT:

"If a random encounter occurs, consult the person encounter table to determine the identity or occupation of the person or group encountered. Throw two dice consecutively, and index the result to the table. Indicated on the table are a basic description or identity for the encountered individuals, a dice throw to determine their number, an indication of their vehicle, if any, and a description of their weaponry and armor.
After determining the number in the group, roll two dice three times to determine respectively the strength, dexterity, and endurance of the people in the group. Generally, it may be assumed that all individuals in an encountered group have the
same characteristics. Later, it may prove necessary to determine the intelligence, education, and social standing of the individuals in the group; such data is not actually necessary upon initial encounter.

NPC encountered
Peasants, Workers, Rowdies, Thugs, Riotous mob, Soldiers, Marines, Naval security troops, Soldiers on patrol, Adventurers, Noble with retinue, Hunters and guides, Tourists, Researchers, Police patrol, Fugitives, Vigilantes, Bandits, Ambushing brigands, Merchant and employees, Traders, Religious group, Beggars, Pilgrims, Guards

I am not sure these are meant to be anything more that quick descriptions of one-off, randomly-rolled NPCs. I doubt that this is meant to reflect Careers. I can fit every one of those descriptions into existing Traveller Careers.

Here are the patron professions:

Arsonist, Cutthroat, Assassin, Hijacker, Smuggler, Terrorist, Crewperson, Peasant, Clerk, Soldier, Shopkeeper, Shipowner, Tourist, Merchant, Police, Diplomat, Courier, Spy, Scholar, Governor, Administrator, Mercenary, Naval, Marine, Scout, Army, Noble, Playboy, Avenger, Emigre, Speculator"

Same as above.

 

[Condottiere]

Career was what you tell your mother you're climbing.

Life path is the journey you're on.

The Traveller character generation system is dated, but there are no convenient alternatives that wouldn't subvert the game.

Personally, I think it should be a question of some agency, and random events, which interact and synergize each other.

 

[J. L. Brown]

In what way?

If NPCs and PCs are exactly the same, and the only difference is 'mustering out'; then positing that the vast bulk of the NPC population does NOT use the PC Career tables is in direct contradiction. Either NPCs and PCs (and their careers / classes) are the same, or they are different.

So now the 'PCs are just NPCs that have Mustered Out' approach has at least three holes:
1} In-service games (like 'Fire On the Sindalian Main');
2} NPCs which have explicitly retired; and
3} NPCs have different career paths than PCs do.

 

[Anstett]

To my way of thinking of running a campaign.

There are the vast majority of the 'unwashed masses' that make up the bulk of civilization. Sophonts who go to work, shirk responsibilities, raise families, leading boring predictable lives.

"The secretaries pout and preen like cheap tarts in a red light street, but all he ever thinks to do is watch"

Then there are the NPCs that interact in a significant way, causing problems, providing solutions, Patrons, Contacts, etc. Sophonts that the Travellers actually care about.

Dragonslayer Space | Main / PerceivedAttitude

Then there are the Travellers themselves. The players who have Agency and an instinct that there is something more to the Universe.

All the world's indeed a stage, And we are merely players, Performers and Portrayers, Each another's audience, Outside the gilded cage

Agency is why the same system that pumps out thousands of retired Navy personnel only puts out dozens of retired Admirals who become Travellers.

Looping this back to the original opinion on Why Common Consumables...

What is a common consumable to the boring average sophont who is content to just watch the world around them is an opportunity to a Patron to buy low sell high, and for a Traveller a risk to sell coal to Newcastle.

 

[Anstett]

For the other part of the thread.

There should definitely be common sense applied by any Referee when applying the ruleset to the actual game universe.

There does not need to be an Explicit rule that says "Megacorps get cheaper rates because they buy in bulk" that is just Implicit in the nature of how economics works.

If a rulebook example seems to break at the larger (or smaller) scale then it is incumbent on the Referee to sit back and wonder why that happens and how to adjust. Or hire @Geir to build a new rulebook.

 

[Terry Mixon]

If a rulebook example seems to break at the larger (or smaller) scale then it is incumbent on the Referee to sit back and wonder why that happens and how to adjust. Or hire @Geir to build a new rulebook.

I won't tell anyone if I win the lottery, but there will be signs...

 

[MasterGwydion]

Agency is why the same system that pumps out thousands of retired Navy personnel only puts out dozens of retired Admirals who become Travellers.

Or like in real life, there are only so many retired admirals, because there are only so many admiral jobs available. No open admiral slot, no promotion. No promotion no admiral.

Agency is a fiction that We tell ourselves to feel special. In reality, PCs and NPCs both have agency since they are both run by living, thinking, entities, the players and the referee.

 

[Sigtrygg]

If NPCs and PCs are exactly the same, and the only difference is 'mustering out'; then positing that the vast bulk of the NPC population does NOT use the PC Career tables is in direct contradiction. Either NPCs and PCs (and their careers / classes) are the same, or they are different.

They have the same characteristics and the same skill ranges, but only PCs are put though prior history. NPCs you make up on the spot but they have the same capabilities of PCs.

So now the 'PCs are just NPCs that have Mustered Out' approach has at least three holes:
1} In-service games (like 'Fire On the Sindalian Main');
2} NPCs which have explicitly retired; and
3} NPCs have different career paths than PCs do.

PCs are not NPCs that have mustered out. PCs are the characters that CT talks about - in universe avatars of player agency.
An NPC that has retired is not a Traveller PC - unless there is a player running the character it is.
NPC obviously have different career paths, look at the encounters I listed, and there are even more if I used the expanded Traveller Book encounter tables.

 

[Sigtrygg]

To my way of thinking of running a campaign.

There are the vast majority of the 'unwashed masses' that make up the bulk of civilization. Sophonts who go to work, shirk responsibilities, raise families, leading boring predictable lives.

"The secretaries pout and preen like cheap tarts in a red light street, but all he ever thinks to do is watch"

Then there are the NPCs that interact in a significant way, causing problems, providing solutions, Patrons, Contacts, etc. Sophonts that the Travellers actually care about.

Dragonslayer Space | Main / PerceivedAttitude

Then there are the Travellers themselves. The players who have Agency and an instinct that there is something more to the Universe.

All the world's indeed a stage, And we are merely players, Performers and Portrayers, Each another's audience, Outside the gilded cage

Agency is why the same system that pumps out thousands of retired Navy personnel only puts out dozens of retired Admirals who become Travellers.

Looping this back to the original opinion on Why Common Consumables...

What is a common consumable to the boring average sophont who is content to just watch the world around them is an opportunity to a Patron to buy low sell high, and for a Traveller a risk to sell coal to Newcastle.

Coal to Newcastle is now well worth doing, we haven't had coal mines around here since Thatcher finished the Labout Government's plan of closing them all and then Bliar destroyed what little heavy industry remained after that. No steelmaking, no ship building, they even relocated the call centres.

 

[Sigtrygg]

For the other part of the thread.

There should definitely be common sense applied by any Referee when applying the ruleset to the actual game universe.

There does not need to be an Explicit rule that says "Megacorps get cheaper rates because they buy in bulk" that is just Implicit in the nature of how economics works.

If a rulebook example seems to break at the larger (or smaller) scale then it is incumbent on the Referee to sit back and wonder why that happens and how to adjust. Or hire @Geir to build a new rulebook.

Megacorporations are effectively conducting speculative trade on a massive scale with their own goods.

 

[Sigtrygg]

Or like in real life, there are only so many retired admirals, because there are only so many admiral jobs available. No open admiral slot, no promotion. No promotion no admiral.

Agency is a fiction that We tell ourselves to feel special. In reality, PCs and NPCs both have agency since they are both run by living, thinking, entities, the players and the referee.

The player is running an avatar of themselves, in my experience as a referee I have never put the same effort into every NPC in a scene that the players are interacting with. I lack a split personality and the ability to think like half a dozen different people simultaneously.

 

[Condottiere]

I feel a strong urge to play a human xenochiropractor.

 

[Nelphine]

The player is running an avatar of themselves, in my experience as a referee I have never put the same effort into every NPC in a scene that the platers are interacting with. I lack a split personality and the ability to think like half a dozen different people simultaneously.

I wish players were playing an avatar of themselves. Most definitely are not. They're playing a game, and they treat their character like a pixel, with predetermined personalities and desires. It's more like a favored digital pet, not an avatar.