tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8464498527698996815.comments2024-03-03T03:20:20.957-05:00Ancient Faith in the Far FutureRobert Weaverhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07917387796213598551noreply@blogger.comBlogger389125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8464498527698996815.post-1807966987083232222023-12-25T02:19:23.311-05:002023-12-25T02:19:23.311-05:00Before I look at your review: I find the series ra...Before I look at your review: I find the series rather Mary Sue. He's really smart and emotionally mature and the chicks all dig him, oh and also he's really humble. Nonetheless I found it interesting from an rpg point of view, that it could actually make an interesting campaign to take those CT terms and roleplay through them. <br /><br />Now looking at your review, I see you've just put it more intelligently than I did. What I usually say is that there are two kinds of writing: quotable, and story. Something like your Hemingway is just a pleasure to read, the characters are real, and it's all very quotable, each word chosen carefully. And something like Tom Clancy has a story where you want to know what happens next, even if the character is absolutely absurd. <br /><br />The writers who can do both quotable and story are the ones remembered generations later, like Arthur Conan Doyle or Tolkien. But the "pulp writers", well you churn through their book in a day or two, put it aside, then two weeks later can't remember anything much about it. That's Lowell. <br /><br />But I stand by what I said - the overall picture of travel and trade is interesting and relevant to CT in particular. Hanley Tuckshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13047638048463160737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8464498527698996815.post-79103692216144554992023-12-24T20:34:08.407-05:002023-12-24T20:34:08.407-05:00LOL, I got lured into reading that series and I fo...LOL, I got lured into reading that series and I found it very disappointing. Had a lot of potential but really got on my nerves: https://themichlinguide.wordpress.com/2023/08/31/review-nathan-lowells-golden-age-of-the-solar-clipper-novels/Baron Greystonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16636292202674906870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8464498527698996815.post-4671769079206325492023-12-24T20:14:54.607-05:002023-12-24T20:14:54.607-05:00"Bureaucrats? Bureaucrats get Leadership, whi..."Bureaucrats? Bureaucrats get Leadership, which explicitly states the PC has led troops in battle? No. Just No."<br /><br />I don't use anything beyond books 1-3, so Bureaucrats aren't an issue. However, thinking on the absence of Leadership in Naval experience, what I would suggest is that Leadership means leading a group in any situation of personal conflict - this personal conflict need not be physically violent to have important stakes. <br /><br />For example, imagine that the inhabitants of Mars are negotiating with Weyland-Yutani over mining rights on Phobos. Each has an ambassador with a team of diplomats and lawyers. The actual stakes here are quite high - and if things go wrong, could lead to armed conflict with thousands of people dying. So it's a conflict situation with high stakes. <br /><br />Naval work is necessarily more passive. Soldiers and marines make individual decisions about where to move themselves under fire, diplomats and lawyers make similar decisions, facing legal and verbal fire. But in the navy, people operate machinery - they operate machinery in peacetime, and operate machinery in battle, either way they're operating machinery. Certainly there are stakes, but they're not in their face, so to speak, the way an enemy soldier across no-man's land or a rival diplomat across the negotiating table is. Hanley Tuckshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13047638048463160737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8464498527698996815.post-34992331113181117292023-12-24T20:05:41.507-05:002023-12-24T20:05:41.507-05:00Key quote from the rules,
"A newly generated...Key quote from the rules,<br /><br />"A newly generated character is singularly unequipped to deal with the adventuring world, having neither the expertise nor the experience necessary for the active life. In order to acquire some experience, it is possible to enlist in a service."<br /><br />Not required. Possible. You can, if you wish take your character with 578A86 and have them simply start play like that. Remember they'll also have all weapon skills at +0! In fact you could roleplay your way through a term or two in whatever service, acquiring skills that way.<br /><br />There's even a novel series with this premise, I'm convinced the writer has played CT.<br /><br />"When his mother dies in a flitter crash, eighteen-year-old Ishmael Horatio Wang must find a job with the planet company or leave the system--and NerisCo isn't hiring. With credits running low, and prospects limited, he has just one hope...to enlist for two years with a deep space commercial freighter. Ishmael, who only rarely visited the Neris Orbital, and has never been off-planet alone before, finds himself part of an eclectic crew sailing a deep space leviathan between the stars."<br /><br />Basically, Ishmael joins the Merchant Service. In the books, there are many mentions of his using his Intelligence and Education to suggest better ways of doing things - and make money. And promotion is described, with his studying for exams for ratings in what are obviously Steward (he starts in the mess), Engineering and so on, and later being promoted from quarter, to half, to full and double share, and so on.<br /><br />https://nathanlowell.com/1-quarter-share/Hanley Tuckshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13047638048463160737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8464498527698996815.post-68251123431924325302023-12-24T20:05:01.162-05:002023-12-24T20:05:01.162-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Hanley Tuckshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13047638048463160737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8464498527698996815.post-2067565703856819962023-12-24T19:28:47.308-05:002023-12-24T19:28:47.308-05:00I mentioned Admin in my example character in a blo...I mentioned Admin in my example character in a blog post,<br /><br />"from Admin-0 to Admin-1 takes it from an 17% to 83% chance of avoiding trouble. If are travelling from one system to another and know you'll have to deal with bureaucrats at either end, would it be worth hiring this guy to help? "<br /><br />https://www.thevikinghatgm.com/2021/03/ct-skills-are-profession.htmlHanley Tuckshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13047638048463160737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8464498527698996815.post-82046038830648622802023-11-20T01:21:29.314-05:002023-11-20T01:21:29.314-05:00Cool. It's not (that) difficult to start a mys...Cool. It's not (that) difficult to start a mystery story; but bringing one to a satisfying conclusion is harder. Well done! And well done for having a solution to "but I'd just shoot it".Anzonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10379198133368255423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8464498527698996815.post-43993489287382074132023-09-24T07:50:36.964-04:002023-09-24T07:50:36.964-04:00Not as such, but yes, the Scooby-Doo vibe is very ...Not as such, but yes, the Scooby-Doo vibe is very clear. It has been pointed out how much easier of a time the Mysteries, Inc. gang would have had of it, if Fred had kept a shotgun in the back of the Mystery Machine. The PC who spotted the vacc suit figure immediately went for the laser rifle and shot at it. Robert Weaverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07917387796213598551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8464498527698996815.post-87956347051413436012023-09-23T22:26:43.080-04:002023-09-23T22:26:43.080-04:00Have the words "zoinks" or "jenkies...Have the words "zoinks" or "jenkies" bee used at the table yet?Ad Astrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01761364587508981218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8464498527698996815.post-19769298883406532262023-09-03T12:13:01.507-04:002023-09-03T12:13:01.507-04:00Mr. Maliszewski and his sycophants can whine all t...Mr. Maliszewski and his sycophants can whine all they want but I am suspicious of any man who complains of having too many tools.Ad Astrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01761364587508981218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8464498527698996815.post-85080208312328850532023-09-03T09:28:30.272-04:002023-09-03T09:28:30.272-04:00Heretics perverting the true teachings of the omni...Heretics perverting the true teachings of the omnissiah!Ad Astrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01761364587508981218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8464498527698996815.post-22496267553807814512023-08-05T06:23:16.884-04:002023-08-05T06:23:16.884-04:00Humans are religious people. The Church is promine...Humans are religious people. The Church is prominent in my setting, but it's both more believable and more fun to have heretical and pagan groups competing. Also, it gave me the opportunity to point to the Whisperers, an idea I had years ago but never incorporated in any way. Robert Weaverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07917387796213598551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8464498527698996815.post-71925033397765749872023-08-04T22:04:33.347-04:002023-08-04T22:04:33.347-04:00Nice! It's got a bit of a Fading Suns vibe. I ...Nice! It's got a bit of a Fading Suns vibe. I don't tend to spotlight religion in Traveller, but I might come up with a way to use these guys.Baron Greystonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16636292202674906870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8464498527698996815.post-83228810964025260932023-07-30T14:07:00.430-04:002023-07-30T14:07:00.430-04:00I like the fact that we have no ansibles or FTL co...I like the fact that we have no ansibles or FTL comms other than ships. But it does take a bit of getting used to, as this is not a Star Wars or Star Trek type of game. It does present a lot of problems (I see that 40 year ship loan as being really difficult to actually track of the decades, especially if the ship leaves Imperial or whatever political group you are in that can enforce the law). But it also brings in a lot of other possibilities as well for those with a ship with longer legs.Craig Oliverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058529051056253854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8464498527698996815.post-67065809596089996902023-07-21T22:20:46.624-04:002023-07-21T22:20:46.624-04:00Looks like fun. And using the calendar lets you ru...Looks like fun. And using the calendar lets you run multiple groups simultaneously. Also, maybe even let them influence each other's play through events.Michael Thompsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07499151284629030483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8464498527698996815.post-57943062694165002852023-06-22T11:46:35.002-04:002023-06-22T11:46:35.002-04:00Not really the way old school Traveller character ...Not really the way old school Traveller character gen worked. You took what the dice gave you and hoped it wasn't death. For instance roll up a marine and odds are you'll get someone who seems to have an irrational fetish for using a cutlass.Ad Astrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01761364587508981218noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8464498527698996815.post-76866148601658548842023-06-22T06:03:00.320-04:002023-06-22T06:03:00.320-04:007 in sword is a bold move in a universe full of ra...7 in sword is a bold move in a universe full of ranged weapons. I doubt any human with experience of the game would have generated such a PC.Nagorahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10805769538648631984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8464498527698996815.post-12066628684406608152023-05-05T18:53:22.455-04:002023-05-05T18:53:22.455-04:00Andy Slack noted that a Traveller credit was equiv...Andy Slack noted that a Traveller credit was equivalent of about a US dollar (1977 US dollar; about $3 now)Anzonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10379198133368255423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8464498527698996815.post-36142297481271134822023-04-25T21:30:46.157-04:002023-04-25T21:30:46.157-04:00That's a good push and pull that works well in...That's a good push and pull that works well in your campaign. It's driving the game and character goals.Michael Thompsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07499151284629030483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8464498527698996815.post-68417819153526021552023-04-17T21:52:18.804-04:002023-04-17T21:52:18.804-04:00The first one is a rust monster. The second one is...The first one is a rust monster. The second one is a wyvern.Cybermancerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04849466234099696581noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8464498527698996815.post-7928455086730571622023-04-03T20:47:04.394-04:002023-04-03T20:47:04.394-04:00Well that's a rust monster, and maybe a stirge...Well that's a rust monster, and maybe a stirge? How about a displacer beast?Baron Greystonehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16636292202674906870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8464498527698996815.post-47538298163077526492023-03-21T23:16:36.725-04:002023-03-21T23:16:36.725-04:00In my own life, Administration can be an incredibl...In my own life, Administration can be an incredibly powerful skill. The other part of Admin is knowing the bureaucratic culture. It's not always the same, but it rhymes in different places.Michael Thompsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07499151284629030483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8464498527698996815.post-86768782999198282412022-11-17T07:54:16.586-05:002022-11-17T07:54:16.586-05:00Craig, please share if and when the NA skill gets ...Craig, please share if and when the NA skill gets used in game!Robert Weaverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07917387796213598551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8464498527698996815.post-6188313168211002232022-11-15T14:56:07.162-05:002022-11-15T14:56:07.162-05:00I think I had a couple characters that ended up wi...I think I had a couple characters that ended up with that skill and wondered the same thing! I like most of your suggestions, some I may end up using of them if I get a player or character that has that skill!Craig Oliverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01058529051056253854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8464498527698996815.post-17166752778884404642022-11-08T22:43:45.396-05:002022-11-08T22:43:45.396-05:00I'm interested to see that the skill descripti...I'm interested to see that the skill description explicitly calls out level 4 as "professional" level. In the original game, any skill above 0 at all was enough to hold down a job performing the skill. I seem to recall that Citizens of the Imperium might be the first instance of skill-4 being particularly notable, with the Doctor career and Medical skill.faoladhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03691952430041394614noreply@blogger.com