Re: Traveller (old): Questions

[Culled from USENET's rec.games.frp.misc in one of my infrequent scans
for traveller material -- James]

In article <29pg9b$[email removed]>, [email removed] (Kenneth K Li) writes:
>
>I have just aquire a copy of the (old, 1983) Traveller starter edition.
>Since I haven't played traveller before (In my whole 14 years of
>RPGing). I find it very interesting (It do expend my imagination). But
>find a few questions on the game.
>
>1) Do that game have experience and growth on characters?? I could find
>that on the rules...

Heh.  The ongoing experience rules of old Traveller were always a
point of annoyance.  The trouble was that the authors apparently
didn't want characters picking up skills in play quicker than during
character generation (i.e: 1-4 per four year term).  Basically, you
may embark on a period of self-improvement of four years duration;
this can be physical or skills based. If physical, you increase
each of STR, DEX and END for the period on a roll of 8+ (+2 if
INT 8-, +4 if INT 5-). At the end of the period, or if training is
interrupted for 3 months or more, the stats revert back.

For skills, the four year period can be used to raise either one
gun and one blade, or two non-weapon skills by one, for the
duration of the four years on a roll of 8+ (no mods).  If a further
four years was spent, the skill increases became permanent.

I will be honest, and say that I never saw a character successfully
last eight games years in the eight or so real time years I played
the 1977 and 1981 editions of Traveller.  In practice many groups
worked out house rules for skill improvement or simply got used
to static characters.  GDW finally provided better experience rules
in Megatraveller, but even these I found to be cumbersome and
frustrating.  One of the delights of TNE is that the scale of skill
levels has shifted (x2 or x3), allowing a skill improvement system
that lets the players learn on the job.

>2) Is there still alot of people playing it??

I believe so, but even though I have a lot of nostalgia for 1st and
2nd Edition Traveller (1977 & 1981 - I never saw Starter Traveller,
so I'm not sure what minor changes it has over the 1981 books) the
rules have their problems.
>
>3) How is it compared to Traveller a new Era, somebody say that
>MegaTraveller is not good, and Traveller is a classic, I believe it so.
>And after reading it, it is a very good system, I like all the formulars
>in it, which is logical (as a CS master student) and I like that stuff.

MegaTrav's biggest problem was an appalling typo and omission rate.
>From a game point of view, it was an attempt to integrate ten years
of Traveller development without changing too much.  Character
generation was improved quite constructively; the old combat system,
which was quick and fun, but badly flawed in its treatment of armour
(cf. D&D Armour Classes), was replaced by a modified version of the
miniatures rules.  Starship construction became hellishly complicated
as an attempt was made to combine _all_ vehicular construction into
one sequence.

The game was also firmly tied to the Rebellion background; wheras
the old rules were pretty much generic (unto themselves :) and
only brought GDW's house universe in with the supplemental material.
(I _had_ no supplements for the first two years I played ;)

Traveller: the New Era is pretty much a clean break from the old
mechanics and rules, but I feel it recaptures a lot of the feel
of the pre-MegaTraveller game.  If you like clean, logical mechanics,
you should like it.  Try before you buy, however; if you are happy
with the old style of Traveller, there is no real reason to switch,
particularly if you want to avoid the more modern incarnations of
the default background (which has moved from very vague to very
specific)

>--- Kenneth ---
>
Mark Dewis, old Traveller from the Marches.
- --

[email removed] ... but you can call me Mark.
Forma Propositum Perpetuo Praecedit.