Traveller, what do you think?

jeff37923 · September 14, 2015, 05:58:18 AM

Quote from: Shawn Driscoll;855724The term "role-play" means something different to everyone, too. So it's a long hard slog from the start, communicating about it.

Bullshit you fucking wanker. Try starting with how the word is used in common usage and work from there.

Quote from: Shawn Driscoll;855724Ha! There were no Star Wars reverse engineers yet back then. I remember hearing what was said about how the swords worked. I'd forgotten that, because Starlog and Cinefex educated everyone rather quickly.

You are fucked in the head. There were articles in both The Space Gamer and White Dwarf dealing with laser swords.

Willie the Duck · September 14, 2015, 08:39:21 AM

Quote from: GameDaddy;855338That's interesting, becuase I have always thought of Traveller as more Hard Sci-Fi, rather than Golden Age Sci-Fi.

It is not hard sci-fi, but it plays out like hard sci-fi (and for some people, that means it is hard sci fi). There is FTL transit, but it takes weeks, you have to account for the fuel spent, and trying to engage in ftl while being attacked is a recipe for disaster, so you can't just warp away from an attacker. Pull-you-to-the-deckplate artificial gravity, reactionless thrusters, and contragravity exist, but mostly for asthetic or convenience reasons (few people want spacships that look like the stanford taurus design, even if your rockets use fuel, you don't want to have to figure out different thrusts in and out of atmosphere, etc.), not to give writers/GMs license to break all physical laws just to make the story work.

Omega · September 14, 2015, 08:57:41 AM

That is the one thing Star Frontiers has over Traveller. No anti gravity.
That was one of the major things I hated about the so-called fans. Their incessant need to add damn antigravity to the ships with whatever excuse they could cop up.

DavetheLost · September 14, 2015, 12:20:20 PM

Star Frontiers had much that struck me as silly back in the day, but I liked that there was no artificial gravity in the spaceships.

As for reverse engineering Star Wars, role players in my neck of the woods started demanding lightsabres for their characters about teh first time we saw them.

There was also a lot of discussion and speculation about how they worked, what they would or would not cut through, etc.

Bren · September 14, 2015, 03:19:35 PM

Space Quest, which was published in 1977, included blasters and luxblades. (Apparently someone was afraid calling them lightsabers might be a problem.) Old style Traveller had a six guns in space (oh, sorry, slug throwers in space) feel from the get go.

Omega · September 14, 2015, 07:54:45 PM

Quote from: Bren;855799Space Quest, which was published in 1977, included blasters and luxblades. (Apparently someone was afraid calling them lightsabers might be a problem.) Old style Traveller had a six guns in space (oh, sorry, slug throwers in space) feel from the get go.

Considering Lucas was suing people left and right right out the gate. That was a valid worry.

Bren · September 14, 2015, 09:02:46 PM

Quote from: Omega;855849Considering Lucas was suing people left and right right out the gate. That was a valid worry.

Could be. But "luxblade" is up there with "slugthrowers" for dumbest names ever for a sci-fi weapon.

Omega · September 15, 2015, 02:43:07 AM

Slugthrower works in a PA setting, not in a SF setting unless its a translation of an alien term for a gun. Laser swords were around before Star Wars. Though really the light sabers are just glowing vorpal swords.

Bren · September 15, 2015, 05:28:09 AM

Quote from: Kalimero;855914Also,a re you copy/pasting your posts from somewhere else? It's in a weird font, and is dark text on a black background, making it very hard to read.

1. The referent for the pronoun "you" in this sentence is highly ambiguous.

2. On my screen none of the posts have a weird font or a black background. Nor have I heard that complaint before from anyone else. The problem may be on your end. Perhaps you have chosen a style that makes your screen appear that way?

There is a drop down arrow in the lower right portion of the window that allows you to change the style.

3. Welcome to the forum.

Shawn Driscoll · September 15, 2015, 05:36:17 AM

Quote from: Bren;855865But "luxblade" is up there with "slugthrowers" for dumbest names ever for a sci-fi weapon.

What are the best names?

Bren · September 15, 2015, 06:25:53 AM

Quote from: Shawn Driscoll;855917What are the best names?

Lightsaber and forceblade are good. Lasersword is marginally better than luxblade.

Guns and Ammo probably has a few names one could use instead of slugthrower. Gun was good enough for Harry Harrison and H. Beam Piper and it's not like Traveller used some obscure or made up name for knife or cutlass. Why does "gun" need special treatment?

E.E. "Doc" Smith used made up manufacturer and model names like Lewiston or Standish for his weapons (most of which were some kind of energy weapon) similar to the way we might refer to a particular gun as a Beretta, Browning, Colt, Kalishnikov, Smith & Wesson, Walther, Webley, or Winchester.

Shawn Driscoll · September 15, 2015, 07:14:44 AM

I make up brand/franchise names for stuff. Sometimes, I use a real name. If it's in the far future, the name will have a different meaning from the original sometimes. Like how Kleenex and Dixie and Xerox and Colgate saw use. Just depends on the planet where the name is used.

Werekoala · September 15, 2015, 09:11:28 AM

Not sure where all this "Traveller had "slug throwers"" is coming from. Looking at my Book One (copyright 1977), the relevant weapon skills are: Body Pistol, Automatic Pistol, Revolver, Carbine, Rifle, Automatic Rifle, Submachine Gun, and Shotgun. No "slug throwers" listed. None in the equipment table either.

Also, in Citizens of the Imperium it does in fact have stats for "Lord Darth Vader" in the back - I only mention it because it's funny that he (and Star Wars) are credited as being created by "Gene Lucas".

David Johansen · September 15, 2015, 02:30:15 PM

Part of the problem with later editions of Traveller is that the core of the original is so damn good.

It's really hard to match its presentation and clarity. You start trying to merge in stuff from supplements or whatever and it just keeps getting more cludgy.

What I loved about T4 was the attempt to keep it clean and simple while integrating things. The half dice were always a weird choice and weapons couldn't really penetrate armour as written, armour absorbing damage dice sucks out the random potential for penetration, but I think the dull setting was a bigger problem.

T5, is amazing in its own right but desperately needs restatement in a more approachable format.

Simlasa · September 15, 2015, 04:47:03 PM

I've always liked Traveller, specifically the setting-agnostic game presented in the original LBBs.
For some reason though, maybe just luck of the draw, I've found there is a certain species of oddball that seems attracted to the game... I'm not sure how to describe them... OCD military fantasists, maybe? Way too many guys telling me they were in Special Forces and waving guns around (literally)... most of whom seem to have ONLY played Traveller and eschew fantasy RPGs.
Games that break down into discussions of real world military practices and how tech works.

Not always, of course, but enough that I'm a bit wary when joining Traveller groups these days.