No, this post is not about time-travel.
Time is a scarce resource.
The passage of time matters, as it affects all of the above in-game mechanics and more. The setting of Traveller, whether OTU or homemade (like my Church and Empire setting), is in motion. Things happen, polities and VIPs are making and executing plans. The PCs exist within and as part of that setting. The setting exists for the players, not the PCs. Even after the players achieve High Level Play the setting is still independent of the PCs.
Keeping track of time creates urgency, and encourages planning. Time spent is always a trade-off. If you’re doing this, you can’t do that.
The more I read from other bloggers about the importance of time in TTRPGs, the more I am persuaded that it’s an important aspect that I have neglected.
What in Traveller takes time? Where must time be tracked?
Travel, obviously. Interplanetary and interstellar travel takes a lot of time.
Recovery from wounds. Recovery from unconsciousness.
Careers
Paying hirelings or NPC ship crew
Mortgage payments on ships
the Aging table (which I now understand much better. I'm in term 8!)
The movement of information – one of the implications of Jump Drive
Experience/skill development (way more time than most gamers like) I like it this way. It reflects the reality of how hard it is to learn a useful skill.
Building starships – which takes a LONG TIME, by the way.
Some things in Traveller are limited by how often you can do them.
Trade & speculation – limited to one throw per week.
Encounters – You get one Patron throw a week. No Patron? No job this week.
Experience again – if you fail the ‘dedication’ throw, you wait a game year before you can try again.
Retirement pay arrives once a year
Finding Rumors
Noting the passage of time is also relevant to these situations:
Air supplies in vacc suits and survival bubbles
Light source power supplies
Long-term subsistence
Psionic strength recovery
Chartering vehicles
Occurrence of natural phenomena or animal encounters
Fuel skimming
Effect of insidious atmospheres on vacc suits
The coordination of combat rounds. How much can you do in one round?
An aside about aging. The game designers expected that your characters would be out among the stars for YEARS. The aging rules were not just for character chreation, they were to be applied duirng the active part of the game (see JoT skill description TTB p. 28, and the anagathics rules TTB p. 106)
What The Traveller Book says about time
Game Time: The passage of game time is of great importance. Player characters' actions must be measured against those of the rest of the universe. One of the most important parts of being a good referee is keeping proper track of the passage of game time. [emphasis mine] One of the greatest tools available to a referee is the ability to make players waste game time on items unrelated to the task at hand, especially if the group is working against a specific deadline. The ratio of real time to game time is left up to the referee. Obviously, it must be a flexible ratio, depending on circumstances.
Referees should watch out, however, for situations which take almost no game time, but take a great deal of real time. For instance if a character wants to know certain details of a door he is about to go through, he might ask "How big is it?" On being told, he might ask "Is it shut or open? Can I see anything through it or is the area beyond it dark?" All of this information could be gained in a few seconds of observation if the player were actually present; it is the artificial nature of the game that makes it take so long. Referees should not count this against the passage of game time.
In addition, the passage of time may cost the characters money. Characters must eat and must have lodging. Characters who suffer aging effects may require medical care. Starships must be maintained at regular intervals, or they will deteriorate. Simply by causing the players to become side-tracked while investigating some minor puzzle, a referee can cause their schedule to become upset and their intricately planned schemes to fail.
Page 15, TTB.
Timekeeping is mentioned but not emphasized in The Traveller Book. The paragraphs above are easy to pass by on your way to the building starships chapter. Did I mention it takes time to build a starship? Yes, I did.
Ways for the Referee to use time in the adventure.
Hold them up in line for entry/exit visas
Failed Legal Encounter rolls can mean a day or days in lockup
Checking for ship/vehicle breakdowns (The ATV rule*) – either preventative or post-failure maintenance!
Present adventure opportunities on a tight schedule – what options must they pass up to take advantage of this?
*The ATV rule is an interpretation I make of the ATV skill description. That skill states that ATVs are reliable, breaking down on a throw of 11+ per day of operation. With modifiers for severity of use, and available maintenance skills. I extend that to all manner of vehicles and gear. A communicator, hand computer, rebreather or vacc suit could fail or need repair while in the field. This makes Technical skills like Computer, Electronics and Mechanical more valuable.
In Summary:
Make time matter to your players. Time marches on, whether the Travellers are active or not. A race against the clock can be an exciting adventure, but the clock is always moving. Impose the consequences of the passage of time. See what it does for your and your players immersion in the setting.
Image credit: Pixabay
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