Traveller rules as a house system?

[rinku]

One potential issue with fantasy is scalability. I can totally see a version working at the low fantasy end - crunching up the melee rules a bit so that swordfights are more back and forth maybe - but I'm a little wary of how it goes as a system when characters are routinely outside of the +1 to +4 modifier ranges.

 

[Sigtrygg]

Complete the circle:

TRAVELLER: GURPS

Classic Traveller was intended as a generic game.

GURPS Traveller is not Traveller, it is a Third Imperium setting book for GURPS

I would argue MgT1e was as close as CT to being a generic system, MgT2e is a Third Imperium role playing game in the first instance, with generic rules hidden away... (how many generic books are there for MgT2e that never mention the Imperium, how many generic adventures?)

 

[Ewan]

So, my interest was piqued a little with the information regarding the upcoming Dark Conspiracy game line, which will have a series of standalone games based on the Traveller rules. We also have 2300AD which isn’t standalone (I wish it was) but obviously used Traveller rules and there is also Pioneer which is mooted to be standalone, but based on Traveller rules.

The (Mongoose) Traveller rules, from my estimation, are pretty robust and easy to learn. They also just require 2D6 which I think is actually a big selling point (less barriers to play). They also function in a pretty universal and generic way.

I was wondering whether this might be a way to go in the future for a number of game lines and/or converting some existing Mongoose properties and licences to Traveller rules?

So, could Shield Maidens and Sea of Pirates be done this way? Or a new Traveller based version of Twilight: 2000? Or maybe convert some of the older OGL/D20 material, like Armageddon 2089, OGL Steampunk or OGL Cybernet (or even some Legend material?) into Traveller-based settings? Paranoia might be more awkward to change because of it’s game set up and premise, I guess. But what do people think, otherwise?

Armageddon 2089 using the Traveller rules would be excellent if it ever came to fruition.

 

[FreeTrav]

Complete the circle:

TRAVELLER: GURPS

Actually, on a serious note, I was thinking that if one wanted to release Traveller: Jay's Random Setting, it might be an interesting idea to release something like Traveller Lite or make them Powered by Traveller. The Core Rulebook is really overkill if you want to release Pooh: The Second Hundred Acres, but making it Powered by Traveller would seem to be a reasonable thing to do.

 

[rinku]

Yeah. Sigtrygg may have missed that my suggestion was a joke, but a Traveller version of the excellent GURPS: Lite is a solid idea. Although that's sort of where the Explorer's edition is coming from, I guess.

And yes, CT was a generic game... but not a universal one. It presented a very specific suite of technology and it wasn't until TNE that anything else was considered. Like it or not, science fiction has to have some very specific decisions about it's fictional science, and it varies wildly from setting to setting in ways that Fantasy fiction tends not to. You see variation in how magic works, but rarely in how ships sail or wagons are driven. There's a reason why Steve Jackson focussed on generic fantasy/medieval for the original GURPS core.

So yeah, there's scope for the core Traveller mechanics to be further genericised, with an eye towards bolt on setting and genre modules.

 

[Sigtrygg]

It was left to the referee to change the technology to suit their setting.
Ships
Step 1 - you have three types of drive - rename them
Step 2 - you have three sizes of drive - assign them in the order you want
Step 3 - rearrange, reduce or remove fuel requirements
Step 4 - if you want performance over 6 eg Star trek warp 8 then either extrapolate the drive table or allow multiple drives

You want light sabres - use the armour modifiers for the laser rifle when they are better than those of the sword. use sword if they are already better, damage is 5d

You want hand phasers - use autopistol range, laser rifle armour, damage varies by setting

You want blasters - use the range of smg and the armour of laser carbines

Dune personal shields - all slug throwers use the worst armour modifier, melee us mesh

etc