I'm briefly online, and thought this might interest folk.

My current GM started a Classic Traveller game on Monday, LBBs.  We have one house rule, when picking skills you roll the d6 first and then choose which table to take a skill from, it gives a modicum of control but still not much.

I rolled up a character with Str 2, Dex 10, End 5, Int 3, Edu 9 and Soc 9 (I asked to swap Int and Soc, but the GM rightly refused saying that the point was to play what I got, which I think was the right call and ended up a lot of fun).  So, I made him an upper middle class chap from a low gravity world.  I applied for the Navy, but got rejected, and was drafted into the Army.

Sadly I made my survival rolls and got chucked out against my will after three terms, so didn't get to die of old age.

I ended up with Gambling 2, Electronics 2, ATV 1 and a couple of gun skills.

So, Captain Horatio Blythe, from a long Naval tradition which sadly he was too thick to uphold.  Horatio joined the Armoured Cavalry, where he performed primarily as technical support.  He also played a lot of cards.

One other player created a scout, died in chargen, and then created another scout.  The third player (two more join next week) got a Merchant.

Between us we have pilot, navigate, engineering, mechanics, electronics, we're actually pretty skilled up.  We have sod all money as we all got really unlucky on the mustering out rolls.

Great game, the GM is using his own setting but the rules clunky as they are do still deliver.  Characters feel like real people, the chargen helps make them that way.  Characters feel vulnerable, because they are, and with realistic ambitions of wealth and status because that's all there is in game to work for.  We're adventuring, exploring some ancient gate which has taken us through to a sargasso sea of derelict ships from many civilisations (which is a big deal as humanity has only encountered three in game so far) and are out there being ordinary folk having extraordinary adventures.

There's a thread at storygames right now which for a great site is a terrible thread, in which people with no love for the game or understanding of it discuss between themselves how to awesomeify it.  The answer of course is just to play it, the point of Traveller is that you are working joes making your way in a universe full of the wonder of space, and that is enough.  Or at any rate, if it isn't you're better playing something else.

So, Traveller rocks as is, it delivers characters with history and who feel more real than in many other games, it does it quickly and chargen is interesting in the process.  I recommend it to you all.

Oh, I think it speaks volumes for the game that two nights later, with no reference materials to hand, I can remember his stats and skills so clearly.

QuoteThere's a thread at storygames right now which for a great site is a terrible thread, in which people with no love for the game or understanding of it discuss between themselves how to awesomeify it.

People are always tinkering with Traveller.  I don't hold it against the storygames crowd if they want to hippy it up a bit.

But I agree the game stands as written.  I'm not even fond of the Books after #3 and the 3rd Imperium I can give or take.  Books 1-3 are a slick little sci-fi adventure toolkit.  Throw in Book 4 for the extra careers and I'm happy as a clam.

Quote from: jrientsPeople are always tinkering with Traveller.  I don't hold it against the storygames crowd if they want to hippy it up a bit.

But I agree the game stands as written.  I'm not even fond of the Books after #3 and the 3rd Imperium I can give or take.  Books 1-3 are a slick little sci-fi adventure toolkit.  Throw in Book 4 for the extra careers and I'm happy as a clam.

I think it's more that nobody in the thread is really that into the game, which makes the whole thing a bit arid and pointless.  I don't get the awesomeification thing, why not just play games you already think are awesome?  That and they're not really tweaking, after agreeing that the rules, setting and themes aren't up to much they're basically then lost as they've discarded the entire game.

I figured that posting there about the fun of playing the game pretty much as written would be threadcrapping, but here people understand that older games can still be a ton of fun and so I thought it would be a more positive contribution here than there.

And yeah, books 1-3.  The extra careers are in Supplement 6 incidentally, not book 4.

Supplement 4, infidels! Twenty lashes and forty How's-Your-Mothers.

!i!

Quote from: BalbinusAnd yeah, books 1-3.  The extra careers are in Supplement 6 incidentally, not book 4.

We're both wrong.  It's Supplement 4.

Edit: Beaten to the punch!

Quote from: Ian AbsentiaSupplement 4, infidels! Twenty lashes and forty How's-Your-Mothers.

!i!

Bugger, that's what I get for trying to correct someone, wrong myself.

Ah well, anyway, back offline again as my cab has arrived.  See you all later.

The sweet spot for me is MegaTraveller boxed set.
It has the extra careers, the bonus skill, and the ultra-nifty penetration/armour rules.
But it still plays as fast and free as CT.

Quote from: SettembriniThe sweet spot for me is MegaTraveller boxed set.

An early departure from the True Doctrine, yet not party to the eventual schism.  Beware the illusory allure of Penetration, for that way leads madness and downfall.

!i!

I dig the character creation in Megatrav, 'cause it still feels like an extension of the original.

I'm not so interested in what I read of TNE, and my understanding is T4 is riddled with errors.  

As I am with most systems, it's the character creation than hooks me, and I really love the Traveller approach.  

I can't wait for those LBB 1-3 reprints to arrive.

I wonder how it would go to continue the Traveller Life Path using Mythic?
=

Quote from: GreentongueI wonder how it would go to continue the Traveller Life Path using Mythic?
=

Explain, please.

!i!

Well Mythic generates Story on the fly, so continuing the generation process would just switch to more detail from the current overview.

Does the character have a Patron? odds: "Very Likely"
Does the Patron have a task the character can do? odds "Very Likely"
Is the Task on planet? odds:"Somewhat Likely"
Is the Task dangerous? odds: "Very Likely"
Does the Patron provide transportation? odds "Somewhat Likely"
Will help be needed to complete the Task? odds: "Likely"
What is the Task concept? {Action/Subject}
==
(For example I generated "Cruelity - Status Quo" and "Overthrow - Liberty" which to me means that the Patron wants to have the character bust up a sweat shop.
==
Does the Patron have family at the sweat shop? odds:"Likely"
...

Mythic Helper
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Explain to me this Earth thing you call "Mythic".

You guys are a bunch of right bastards...

Everytime a thread pops up here extolling the virtues of Traveller, I go over to my preferred online game shop, and eye those "Reprint" books of the CT rules...

I may just have to break down and get them at some point.  Chances of me ever using them are slim to none, but...  it's "Traveller"...  The game that I always wanted to play as a kid, but none of my AD&D/RuneQuest/Champions-lovin' friends would give the time of day to...