Another Traveller in the mix

[Andrew101010]

Hello, everyone. I'm Andrew101010 (and yes, that's a nod to Douglas Adams). I've been playing roleplaying games on and off since...well, Ronald Reagan was president when I started. I've played D&D Basic and Advanced, AD&D, AD&D 2E, 3.5, GURPS, Twilight:2000, Traveller (several incarnations, currently a homebrew mix of Mongoose 1&2), Cyberpunk 2020 and a bit of Storytelling. I'm more a player than a GM, though I have run a few games as well. I'm pretty new to play-by-post and am looking forward to telling some stories together.

Oh, and I'm another recruit led this way by savoylen.

[HotsuSama]

Welcome! Sav's given us a few new people to say hi to.

If you have any questions about how the site works, feel free to ask.

[Candide3693]

Hello and welcome to the site!

[Imveros]

Welcome to the club chummer!

It's always nice to have both a game and a friend to show you around to help you get settled.

So, tell us, what has you so excited for traveler?

Let us know if there is anything we can do to help you settle in!

[savoylen]

Hey there Andrew - glad you made it here and LOVE the DA reference!! I see it now that you said something.

[bananabadger]

Your comment about the Reagan years got me thinking ... Nancy Reagan never formally joined BADD or spoke out against D&D, did she? I could have missed it, of course, but somehow I don't remember hearing or seeing that—and you think it would have happened.

Anyway ... welcome! You made it through the '80s and all the way to RPG crossing 2021, that's something to celebrate! Welcome to the site. Hope you have a blast playing Traveller with Savoylen. He's my GM for the Hoffman Institute and is an amazing idea-generator and game-facilitator. I'm sure whatever he invited you to try out on this site will be worth it.

Hope to see you around the boards in other games and threads as well!

[Unko Talok]

Welcome to the site Andrew forty-t--- DANGIT, you already called out the bit!

Seems like you've got quite a lot of fun gaming experience under your belt! I'm glad to see another member of the old guard gracing this site.

If you've got any questions, let us know! We're happy to help.

[Birched]

Welcome to RPG Crossing, Andrew101010! All these new Traveller folks... I'm beginning to think I might have to exercise my tired old brain and look more carefully into this system to see what the fuss is all about. Have fun exploring the site, and let us know if you have any questions!

[chocoladevla]

Good evening Andrew101010,

Welcome over here and wow what a travel through D&D/roleplay. Heard a lot of good things about Traveller but haven't checked it out yet --> do you think I should? And if so, why is it so great????

[Admin Dirk]

Welcome, Sav's friend!

Glad you joined us, and brought your decades of gaming experience with you. You are not alone in going back as far as you do, there's a small but active group of us grognards around.

Hope you have fun.

happy gaming!

[Crimson]

Hello and welcome, Andrew. I see that you got to 3.5 D&D and stopped, seeing as how you found the most perfect edition possible

Ah well, enough of me being a turd. It's always nice to have another experienced player with us, and boy howdy do you sound experienced. I'll never know how all of you multi-system folks keep all the rulesets straight in your head; I'm only just now learning D&D 5e, and I keep getting stuff in it mixed up with 3.5. Traveler has always sounded intriguing to me, but I need to finish soaking up 5e rules before I get myself even more confused.

Keep sav on his toes for us, won't you?

[savoylen]

Originally Posted by chocoladevla

... Heard a lot of good things about Traveller but haven't checked it out yet --> do you think I should? And if so, why is it so great????

First thing that jumped to my mind!

Traveller was my first RPG... really. Sure, I experimented in college with fantasy. DnD was just out and we had a great time together. But there is something about that first love isn't there. The little black books, not much bigger than an open hand kept and keeps pulling me back into the the TU.

Chocoladevla, Yes! you should check it out. Its the oldest running SciFi (and second oldest overall) rules set. And its still going strong!

Why is it great? (Well, you asked... so

Traveller is one of the two "original" role-playing games which was first published in 1977 by Game Designer's Workshop. The main author is Marc Miller who was help by others. Though you can use the basic rules to play any setting in any time period you can imagine, one of the things that makes Traveller, well, Traveller is referred to as The Original Traveller Universe (OTU) which has some features I'll talk about it a bit. The 'lore' in the OTU is broader, wider, and been developed longer than any system you can think of in the "fantasy" realms.

Think of it this way, when you think Dungeon's and Dragons you are talking about a set of rules. Then there are popular settings for the rules like "The Forgotten Realms" and so on. Of course there are all the 'homebrew' settings too. Traveller is the same way BUT I would venture to say that the VAST majority of people playing Traveller are playing BOTH with the rules AND the OTU setting. To most folks, the Traveller Rules and the Traveller Setting are one and the same thing.

So when you say or hear "this is a Traveller Game," this is PROBABLY what they are thinking about in the Traveller Universe (TU).

* The TU is BIG, really, really BIG. Check out this interactive map of the TU and the Traveller Wiki. You don't need these to play Traveller but I wanted to see what I was talking about. The TU is BIG.

* You'll hear Traveller referred to as "harder Sci-Fi" RPG as opposed to a Science Fantasy. Traveller like the details and for the science (other than FTL and Gravity Platting) to make internal sense.

* Travel is via traditional hydrogen fuel drives and Jump drives that take a week to travel a set distanced depending on the size of the ship. A typical traders takes a week to jump 2 parsecs. Because of this, many Traveller games have an "The Expanse" feel.

* Diverse with open limits. The Imperium (most of the known space is ruled in an Imperial-Feudal System with an Emperor, many Nobles, etc.) is one of many far-reaching political zones. The rules provide general guidelines while the players and Referee work together to provide the details allowing many possible worlds, characters, aliens, ships, beasts, and technology. Psionics is real, rare and controlled. Because of this, some Traveller games will have a "Dune" feel.

* A classic Traveller game is a group of Free Traders trying to scratch out a left with each other while paying the mortgage on their ship, keeping the bills paid and having some fun along the way. Because of this, many Traveller games have a "Firefly" feel.

* The players work with a Referee while sussing out the details of the game so many Traveller games have a 'collaboration' and shared-storying vibe when compared to the "all-knowing, all-powerful GM" of fantasy games at the time. Becuase of this, sometimes a Traveller game will feel a bit like playing with the FATE rule-set (narrative control of the story is shared).

* I saved the big one for last... Traveller is DEADLY. A game that can kill you (or at least REALLY injure you) during Character Creation is no joke. I think Traveller players understand and embrace a phrase I heard in a movie recently from an Iconic space character. "Space is disease danger wrapped in darkness and silence." If you are coming from a fantasy background here is an important Traveller tip: If someone is pointing a weapon at you, get of of the way, it could kill you. Really... dodge, parry or dive for cover. If you try to stand there and take it like a boss, you are going to die very soon.

And last, lastly, and I think this is the BIG one... The TU resources are Specific generalities - books map out to the star what is in a system, or the tonnage of that Far Trader... but the details, the STORY behind the numbers on the page are left to the Referee and the Players at the table to decide.

Any way, you should try it I bet you're sorry you asked now...but I'm kind of glad you did!

- Savy

[Andrew101010]

Originally Posted by Imveros

...

So, tell us, what has you so excited for traveler?

...

Wow, I was going to post most of my reasons and savoylen laid out the major points far better than I might have. I will say that having a game setting that goes back to my childhood, with lore being built on that whole time is attractive. I'm not a huge nuts-and-bolts person myself, yet for those who love to build their own equipment or design their own starcraft or build their own worlds the game has rules that make sense and are reasonably easy to follow. And my reading has always been heavier on the sci-fi than the fantasy. Must be a hardwired thing.

And thank you, everyone. Seeing so many welcoming posts my first day here helps me believe this is a great place to hang out, learn, and play games. I look forward to the coming weeks and months.

-Andrew101010

[Yamaneko]

Welcome to the site Andrew101010!