The topic came up in another thread.

It came up when The Butcher said, "I don't think LBB Classic could do either without some serious work (any more than, say, OD&D could do LotR), but I could be wrong as my Classic-fu is weak. Mongoose can do either out of the box, the chapter on psionics even features a very Jedi-like "psi-warrior" career path."

To which I replied, "Actually it can. Psionics are pretty close to the force already. Indeed in the prequels they start training jedi as infants, by my math that gives a +4 to psionic Strength. (It's 2d6-1 per term past 18). A light saber has the range of a broadsword and the penetration and damage of a laser rifle. Blasters have the stats of similarly sized and functioned projectile weapons but are +1 damage per die and double the ammo capacity. Ships look about the same except that they get a deflector shields that absorb one hit per power plant rating per turn. And all fuel hits cause a massive explosion that destroys the ship.

Trek on the other hand takes a few more tweaks. Jump # becomes maximum warp factor. A phaser I has the stats of a laser carbine and the weight and handling (stat reqs) of a body pistol. A phaser II has the stats of a laser rifle and the weight and handling of an autopistol. The starfleet branches are analogs to various carreers. I'd require one term in the Scouts followed by terms in marines (security), Navy (Command), Scouts (Science or Medical), If Citizens of the Imperium is available then I'd use Scientist (Science) or Doctor (Medical) instead.

It's the ships that would take some extra effort. Trek doesn't seem to have Traveller's massive jump fuel requirements. For existing designs I'd leave things as is and assume that the volume is taken up by the antimater containment system, matter replicator supplies, and but not have it exhausted by FTL travel. Ships would recieve a Shields rating equal to their power plant rating. Each hit taken reduces the rating by one for each damage result inflicted but shields refresh after each combat turn."

To which amacris responded, "Wow. That was awesome! I want run Star Trek Traveller and Star Wars Traveller on the basis of these posts. How would you allow for the greater survivability of ST and SW characters versus the default deadliness of Travller? (E.g. lightsabers blocking blasters, etc.)"

"With my newly bursting ego capacity I replied."

For Light Sabers blocking blasters I'd just allow a Palladium style parry that's boosted with the character's precog rating. It's a little weak but I think plot immunity of some sort is more appropriate to the cinematic settings.

I'd take a page from WEG's Starwars on that one: Force Points. The Referee should generate everyone's psi potential and ignore that many potentially deadly hits, including vehicular ones, telling the players they've lucked out when it happens so they know there's a diminishing resource that's running out. Force trained individuals lose a point of psi strength each time it happens since they're trained to understand and be sensitive to these things.

Vector movement has to go from space combat for both settings. I'd just treat the drive as movement points and charge a point for a hex side change and allow a piloting roll to make the turn for free or make a tighter 120 degree turn with a roll and a thrust point. A Star Wars space combat hex is a kilometer and a Star Trek space combat hex is ten light seconds but in both cases you have to be in the same hex to attack

Ship mounted phasers need a little more detail. I'm thinking you should be able to make a Gunner skill roll (8+ of course) to pick your hit location. Phasers are beam lasers and disruptors are pulse lasers. The computers,  stay the same size, of course!  I'm thinking I'd make the shields double the Power Plant rating so actual lasers can do one point of damage and phasers, disruptors, can do 2 points.  Missiles still cause 1d6 hits and torpedoes cause 2d6 hits.

Transporters have orbital range in TOS and in system range in TNG if the Engineer can make a skill roll.  They are installed / included on all ships as even with anti-gravity the Star Trek universe seems to avoid lifting cargo from planetside whenever possible.  This probably means that Star Trek antigrav isn't as energy efficient as Traveller antigrav.

I'd peg StarWars at TL17 and Star Trek at TL 21 but that's just a guess at best.  White Globes exist in both.  Another possiblility is that Blasters are inhibited by Nuclear Dampners or Repulsors and those are the Deflector Shields on Star Wars vessels.  Though that's a High Guard based answer and we're trying to stick to core.

For the really big ships using just the Classic Traveller Book I'd suggest simply muliplying everything by ten.  Sure, it's lazy and imprecise but the whole point was that it wouldn't be hard to do Trek or Wars in Classic Traveller.

I ran Star Wars sweetly with StarCluster 3, and if it can be done with SC3, it can be done with Traveller.

-clash

Nice, some good suggestions here.

Since Trav came out the same year as Star Wars, I guess lots of players incorporated SW mods in their games.  Freelance Traveller has some interesting info on such campaigns here.

Quote from: flyingmice;637948I ran Star Wars sweetly with StarCluster 3, and if it can be done with SC3, it can be done with Traveller.

-clash

It's not so much a matter of Traveller as a whole being unable to do them as it is being able to do them with just the little black books with minimal modification.

Which brought another little issue to mind.  Aliens are handled as the little black books suggest.  You say "My character's a Vulcan" and pow he's a Vulcan or "My character's a Wookie," and pow he's a Wookie.  Rationalizing that 2 Strength Wookie or that 2 Intelligence Vulcan is your problem.

Quote from: David Johansen;637954It's not so much a matter of Traveller as a whole being unable to do them as it is being able to do them with just the little black books with minimal modification.

I wasn't in the least disagreeing, David. It certainly can. There was no doubt in my mind.

-clash

Ya, Traveller works fine for these, as it did back in the day for folks.  The biological differences are more cultural for Vulcans and Wookiees.  Spock and Chewbacca are a pair of the best their worlds offer, just as Kirk and Luke.  I wouldn't add a racial aspect into Traveller.  Perhaps include mustering out or similar benefits as Vulcan Academy or Speeder Racing.  

For Light Saber versus blaster, simply use the blade vs blade rule that the defenders blade skill in blade vs blaster is applied as a negative modifier to the attackers blaster chance to hit.  For ship to ship combat, greatly decrease the range of phasers or ship blasters compared to standard Traveller weapons, which would make close range combat a given.  It is just a different technology issue, different weapons and so on.  Star Trek is a higher tech level than standard Traveller, in some ways Star Wars is lower in others higher.  Traveller tech levels are not necessarily an across the board leveler for a world.  Say our world, our space travel is still at 8, but our computers are 9.  So,  Star Wars can have advanced space travel, but have relatively low weapons.

All great stuff!

Maybe Lightsaber parrying involves a Psi power that, when activated, allows you to subtract your Lightsaber skill from attacks against you.

With regard to Force Points/Psi Potential, I could see that making sense. It would have to be a permanent loss, though, to avoid each PC having 4-12 lives per session. Perhaps you can recover a lost Force Point by doing something heroic, a la D6 Star Wars.

What about character advancement? Star Wars at least seems to embrace the "young hero who grows in skill" model, rather than the "grizzled vet at the top of his game" that Traveller tends to produce.

Mongoose and Amarillo Design Bureau are working together on a Mongoose Traveller version of Prime Directive even now.

Looking forward to that Star Trek game from Mongoose.  For sure.  As you say amacris, the Force (psionics) could be used to augment standard skill based modifiers.  Standard telekinesis can be used in this way without modification.  There is slow skill advancement possible in Traveller, which is appropriate, since it does take Luke years to achieve his pilot ability.  Also, the Force (psionic) rules do have a training rule that is set to develop a character's full potential over time, which is considerably faster than skill development.  So, it mirrors Luke's natural Force talent rather well.

People only think Traveller has no advancement rules because they weren't in book 1.

Anyhow, I want to like Mongoose Traveller but I just can't seem to.  I was running it for a while, last month but it sure convinced me that the only way Traveller character generation works right is with death in character generation.  I don't like the handling of stat bonuses or the skill packages either.

I really like T5 but our playtest of it earlier this year left something to be desired.  I think much of it was a referee issue but it was also a nothing we have penetrates these guys armor issue too.  Which is a referee issue too if you see what I mean.

Quote from: David Johansen;638003People only think Traveller has no advancement rules because they weren't in book 1.

Anyhow, I want to like Mongoose Traveller but I just can't seem to.  I was running it for a while, last month but it sure convinced me that the only way Traveller character generation works right is with death in character generation.  I don't like the handling of stat bonuses or the skill packages either.

I really like T5 but our playtest of it earlier this year left something to be desired.  I think much of it was a referee issue but it was also a nothing we have penetrates these guys armor issue too.  Which is a referee issue too if you see what I mean.

Ya, experience developed in game is in book 2.  I suppose one could say that book 2 and 3 are referee books, if one wished to look at it that way.  So, I suppose it is not surprising that many players may not have carefully read 2 and 3.

I think it is great that Mongoose is doing what they are doing and that folks really enjoy it, but I do stick to the 3 books for the most part these days.  It is good that Marc is enjoying his work on T5.  I'm very happy that is so.  I just received some e-mail updates today from him about it that he sent out to everyone as a mass e-mail.  I don't use the Third Imperium setting for the most part.  So, my interest in it is not aligned with those aspects of it.

There's a reason the original traveller had laser-swords.

RPGPundit

Quote from: RPGPundit;638411There's a reason the original traveller had laser-swords.

RPGPundit

Really?