Hello! I've read here and there about folks using Traveller outside of the OTU to run games set in environments like Star Wars, Dune, or Flash Gordon. I am looking for a few pointers or ideas on how folks have tackled conversion in the past:

1. How did you (or would you) handle Luke Skywalker-esque character advancement in Traveller? It seems impossible to implement with the rules-as-written.

2. How did you (or would you) model younger, highly-skilled characters like Luke, or Captain Kirk in TOS being the youngest captain in Starfleet history? My ideas:
a) Have the terms be 1d4 years long instead of 4 years long
b) Allow players to shorten the length of the term by 1 or more years, and get +1 on advancement, in exchange for taking a penalty of 1 or more on your Survival roll

3. How did you (or would you) handle Star Wars/Star Trek-like energy shields on starships? Sandcasters make physical sense, but they simply aren't genre-appropriate for the sort of setting I imagine.

4. How did you (or would you) model Flash Gordon dodging through laser fire, or Han Solo avoiding Stormtrooper blasts? Traveller is a very rare RPG in that highly developed characters become neither harder to hit nor do they gain additional hit-points. That makes good sense within hard sci-fi but makes it hard to emulate certain genres. I know that most Traveller gamers avoid combat; our group likes combat. Has anyone experimented with house rules to help the highly-skilled survive? Some ideas I've had:
a) "Gun Combat" includes training in dodging as well as shooting (like Equilibrium's Gun Kata), so when you dodge you apply your Gun Combat skill as a negative DM to the attacker
b) As above, but Athletics
c) Allow an "Active Dodge" where you roll a skill (Athletics?) 8+, applying the Effect as a negative DM
d) Some sort of "Toughness" skill that subtracts from all damage (like innate armor?)
I'd like to avoid any sort of "Hero Point" system as I find that simply creates a resource-management subgame with a Hero Point economy. I'm looking for a solution that works within the existing ability scores and framework.

I know that Traveller is not a perfect fit for this genre, but it's such a superior set of rules with such breadth of material that I'd like to use it if I can. Thanks for any advice.

P.S. I'm referencing Mongoose Traveller specifically, though I also own all of Classic Traveller and would use either system if one would better achieve the results I'm looking for.

Instead of Traveller for science fantasy, I used d6 Star Wars and LUG Star Trek and Mekton II / Mekton Zeta for that genre. It turned out to be a much better genre fit for me.

Quote from: jeff37923;666088Instead of Traveller for science fantasy, I used d6 Star Wars and LUG Star Trek and Mekton II / Mekton Zeta for that genre. It turned out to be a much better genre fit for me.

I have run d6 Star Wars, LUG Star Trek, and Mekton II many times and am familiar with those systems, but for the reason I stated (preference for Traveller's core mechanics), I'd prefer to adapt Traveller.

There is the Traveller System Reference Document too, of course.  I have rarely used 1st edition Traveller with the Third Imperium all these years.

An easy way to look at how Mongoose Traveller is used for many settings is look at Mongoose's own non-Third Imerpium releases.  They are all quite good.  I can give some thoughts, as others may, on 1st edition, if you would like to use these ideas for a home game.

So, this is some quick feedback, with 1st edition Traveller as the base.


1. How did you (or would you) handle Luke Skywalker-esque character advancement in Traveller? It seems impossible to implement with the rules-as-written.

Using the skill pilot as an example, Luke leaves his homeworld with pilot 1 or 2, from his experience in various flying machines there.  Over the years, which would be a number of full length campaigns in game, he becomes better.  By the time of the final battle in Jedi years later, it would have increased.  This is in keeping with the experience rules on page 42 and 43 of Traveller book 2. Luke's power of the force would progress quickly with his training from Yoda and later study, following the psionic rules in book 3.

2. How did you (or would you) model younger, highly-skilled characters like Luke, or Captain Kirk in TOS being the youngest captain in Starfleet history? My ideas:
 a) Have the terms be 1d4 years long instead of 4 years long
 b) Allow players to shorten the length of the term by 1 or more years, and get +1 on advancement, in exchange for taking a penalty of 1 or more on your Survival roll

Skill level III is a master in the field.  It is equivalent to a doctorate in academic skills.  Kirk is in his mid-twenties when he gets a command.  He still has much to learn about Leadership and other skills toward his peak performance in his late thirties.   The pace of skill development is a life long affair for those that continue to strive, as Kirk.

3. How did you (or would you) handle Star Wars/Star Trek-like energy shields on starships? Sandcasters make physical sense, but they simply aren't genre-appropriate for the sort of setting I imagine.

These technical equipment considerations are more about description than effect.  The technical difference between a revolver and a laser carbine is considerable, but they are both handled with the same rules, using modifiers adjusted to characterize the campaign description.

4. How did you (or would you) model Flash Gordon dodging through laser fire, or Han Solo avoiding Stormtrooper blasts? Traveller is a very rare RPG in that highly developed characters become neither harder to hit nor do they gain additional hit-points. That makes good sense within hard sci-fi but makes it hard to emulate certain genres. I know that most Traveller gamers avoid combat; our group likes combat. Has anyone experimented with house rules to help the highly-skilled survive? Some ideas I've had:
 a) "Gun Combat" includes training in dodging as well as shooting (like Equilibrium's Gun Kata), so when you dodge you apply your Gun Combat skill as a negative DM to the attacker
 b) As above, but Athletics
 c) Allow an "Active Dodge" where you roll a skill (Athletics?) 8+, applying the Effect as a negative DM
 d) Some sort of "Toughness" skill that subtracts from all damage (like innate armor?)
 I'd like to avoid any sort of "Hero Point" system as I find that simply creates a resource-management subgame with a Hero Point economy. I'm looking for a solution that works within the existing ability scores and framework.

I don't think you want me to write it for you.  So, I will talk about how the skill blade can be used to deflect blaster fire, as an example of using the rules as they stand for alternative settings.  When attacking, under the standard rule a defender's blade skill is used as a negative modifier against an attacker's blade skill, with the sum the total skill modifier.  This can be extended to include campaign specific blaster fire for special weapons as the Light Saber.  In general, creative use of skills without modification can address many issues that arise from in game creativity, as one always does when playing a skill based game, especially with creative players.  This is simply extending those in game rulings as campaign rulings.