NPC MOTIVATIONS:
Couple of people have asked me about the secondary character profiles. Best
reference is to get hold of Andy Slack's "Expanding Universe" rules
extensions for Classic Trav, revised and reprinted in "Best Of White Dwarf
Articles Vol 1", publ 1980, since there is a lot of other useful stuff in
there. The secondary profile stuff had come from an earlier article by Tony
Bath which I no longer have, but is mentioned here as part of a quite
decent alien generation system (which works up to a point ...).
Basically, roll 2D6 for the following: Disposition, Morals, Generosity,
Loyalty, Courage and Ambition. For classic trav (ie pre task system)
throw less than or equal to the characteristic most relevant to the
interaction you are dealing with, modifying by factors such as role playing
ability, referee's mood etc (didn't call it classic for nothing). So for
offering a police officer a bribe, modify by bribery skill, what you think
of the amount offered, maybe law level (for the police officer's fear of the
consequences of getting caught) relative to a sensible mean (say 7) and
throw against morals.
Using the task system, apply the relative NPC characteristic mod,just as you
do for PC characteristics, to appropriate tasks.
Given the appropriate choice of characteristics (and I'm not sure that
the WD set is the right one) this is a very effective way of managing NPCs
in game terms, and of differentiating between them (note also that aliens
will get mods on their initial throws).
WISH LIST:
(Actually, I don't really have a wish list as such, so please don't take
this as complete ... I'm sure there's another few things I could think of):
1) Don't do it! Oh well ...
2) Learn from what DGP did right. Although the MT stuff for GDW was, erm,
lacking in several departments, what DGP published under their own marque
was generally of the highest standard. The picture:text ratio was right
(looking at for example the Dark Conspiracy material in our local shop I
feel it has too many illustrations) and supplements (or in the case of the
the Aliens stuff, each half of each supplement) were generally illustrated
throughout by the same artist, to maintain a consistent feel. And the
artists were excellent, of course.
Also what they published, and what they
planned to publish. I would like to see the equivalent of
following material (darn it I would have liked to see it for MT):
- - the 5 alien supplements, esp the minor race one
- - starship operators manual, vols 1 AND 2 - I got the impression that this
would lead into a set of sourcebooks for particular types of ship
- - combined scenario / sector sourcebooks, like the Flaming Eye, like the
planned Black Duke, etc.
- - World Builder's Handbook, and the planned Grand Explorations book (how I
was looking forward to that one).
I also thought that the Keith brothers' idea expressed in MTJ3 of having
sourcebooks based around particular professions was a good one. If we had
had the old character generation system, the WBH could have had the expanded
char generation for Scientists, for example. I would have liked to have
seen some of the Medical Digest stuff from TD compiled and expanded as
a medical sourcebook.
Finally on this point, I'd like to see the DGP equipment charts and task
libraries (assuming there is still some form of task system) continue
in some form, rather than have the dreary and less useful equipment lists
I can see in other games (including the original MT rules).
3) Related point - sort out your licensing! Get some licensees to replace
the lost ones ... they add to the vitality of the game. In particular find
a miniatures license - my personal preference would be Grenadier but I'm not
fussy.
I'd also like to see some of the old licensed material, in particular
the Paranoia stuff, rehabilitated and reprinted if possible. Alot of people,
including me, liked it and felt it added something to the game (including
a number of interesting new and significant aliens, for which there is
a crying need).
4) Um, that's it for now ... (it's late)
HISTORICAL DIGRESSION:
Cynthia writes:
>>The "Short Nap" - the intervening 70 years - seems to me more like the time
>>between the fall of Rome and the rise of Charlemagne.
> Poor example, Fall of Rome to Charlemagne is about 350 years, not
>70. Good example, in that I think the TNE should be set about 200-300 years
>after, not 70.
I disagree, although the reason is that I don't think such a complete
collapse is likely anyway. Less than a hundred years after Theodosius the
Great, Theodoric had established an Ostrogothic kingdom that
stretched from France to Yugoslavia. And the Eastern Empire was more
or less intact through most of this period. Point being that larger polities
inevitably emerge to fill such vaccuums, which is where I think Hard
Times goes wrong. As for technology, very little was lost; what was lost
was the ability to advance further. Economically and militarily important
technologies are in such times the most jealously protected; notably noone
during the dark ages forgot how to ride a horse from Rome to Byzantium, it
just got a lot more difficult and alot less safe. Same applies to the 30
years war - the balance of power shifted in Europe to a bunch of more
stable states at the periphery, who took advantage of the advances made
in military technology during the war.
> See note above about "man on a horse". Charlemagne's empire broke
>up because of a poorly planned succession policy. Alexander's empire had
>the same problem. For a contrary example, note how long Rome held on to
>Caesar's conquests in Gaul. The Romans had a well-established routine for
>transfer of rule from one proconsul to another, and they were clearly
>subordinate to Rome's authority; Charlemagne's sons and Alexander's heirs
>were equals with no central authority to bind them together.
> Point being, viability of interstellar states will depend on internal
>politics, not how many years after the collapse of the Imperium it is.
Agreed on the last point, although the smaller the power which establishes
hegemony (and we are being told that at this point they are very small) and
the faster it is established, the more unstable that hegemony will be. Rome
took a lot longer to get there and stopped while it was ahead ...
Again, though, note what happens when these empires do break up ... even
very unstable powers such as these collapse into relatively stable smaller
empires - the Short Nap shouldn't actually happen.
I've often thought that the period
after Alexander provides a good model for the post-Rebellion era - a number
of strong and stable rump states (for Egypt and the Seleucid Empire read
Deneb, Vland and Antares), a few which fall pretty quickly (Gushemege,
Illelish for the Greek and Indian possessions) and the gradual infringement
of newer and more vital empires at the periphery (for Rome and Parthia,
provide the alien empires of your choice).
When Alexander was asked on this death bed as to who should
rule the empire after his death, legend has it that his reply was "kratistos"
(to the strongest). I've often thought this would make quite a good
Rebellion era scenario title ... maybe it's not to be.
FINALLY:
I'm in Austin, Tx. next week on business and would like to supplement my
collection, not only of traveller stuff but for other games - anyone know
any good gaming stores in town?
Mark