richardt@orstcs.UUCP (richardt) (07/06/85)
I have been playing Traveller for five years now and would be glad to help anyone with questions about the game. I haven't looked at any of the books other than _The_Traveller_Book_, which is nice because it has all the information in one place, but is disappointing because its targeted primarily at the nebish/*very novice* player. My suggestion is to buy the booklets first if you have ever played any RPG. About detection equipment: I have never run over anything noticeable. Books 3 and 5, Trillion Credit Squadron, and supplement 9 (?) all have some notes, but I've always assumed that scanners were essentially a combination of EM detectors, Light Intensifiers with pattern recognition circuits (maybe!), an infrared scanners. This is about the state of the art right now. As for intrership communication, its all good old electromagnetic radiation, i.e. FM radio. (What happens when you discover an AM world???) The thing you need to remember is that Traveller is very similar to original D & D. The purpose of the rules is to provide a basic system, NOT to provide an all-inclusive set of regulations. (Semantic weighting intended) AD & D tried to provide for every case and has flaws as a direct result. So go ahead and modify and invent your own gadgets. Post them to the net, I'm certain that others would like to see them. orstcs/richardt "If I'm human, what are *YOU*?"
req@warwick.UUCP (Russell Quin) (07/21/85)
Socks: Xpath: warwick snow snow ubu In article <319@cstvax.UUCP> db@cstvax.UUCP (Dave Berry) writes: >In article <10800002@orstcs.UUCP> richardt@orstcs.UUCP (richardt) writes: >> [...] The thing you need to remember is that Traveller is very similar to >>original D & D. The purpose of the rules is to provide a basic system, NOT to >>provide an all-inclusive set of regulations. (Semantic weighting intended) >> [...] > [...] it only takes one player knowing more than you about a particular area > to make the suspension of disbelief much harder to achieve. > [...] >It would also be useful if SF games, & quite possibly fantasy games, included >sections on ecology, biology, diseases etc. Many games don't even give any >systems for overland movement or weather!! This isn't open-ended, >it's needlessly incomplete. > Dave Berry. CS postgrad, Univ. of Edinburgh > ...mcvax!ukc!{hwcs,kcl-cs}!cstvax!db What *SHOULD* they include? For example, it would be useful in some games to know how far a horse can go, what it eats, and for how long it needs to graze. I considered writing a sort of "GM/Campaign-master's Handbook" giving some details & references, but it's just too difficult. One could try keeping an Encyclopedia Britannica around, but it's expensive & bulky. Thoughts, anyone? - R -- ... mcvax!ukc!warwick!req (req@warwick.UUCP) "How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace..."
db@cstvax.UUCP (Dave Berry) (07/24/85)
In article <10800002@orstcs.UUCP> richardt@orstcs.UUCP (richardt) writes: >I have been playing Traveller for five years now and would be glad to >help anyone with questions about the game. (...) >About detection equipment: I have never run over anything noticeable. (...) >The thing you need to remember is that Traveller is very similar to original >D & D. The purpose of the rules is to provide a basic system, NOT to >provide an all-inclusive set of regulations. (Semantic weighting intended) >AD & D tried to provide for every case and has flaws as a direct result. >So go ahead and modify and invent your own gadgets. Post them to the net, >I'm certain that others would like to see them. I like open-ended systems, and usually avoid 'hardware' RPG modifications. But Traveller is slightly different. I ran into problems running the "Annic Nova" adventure because the players knew more than I did about the contents of electronic repair shops & about the life cycle of typical plants. They were deducing various plot features from my inadequate descriptions. I wasn't able to build all their deductions into the plot, (though I think this would have been the best idea) as I was too inexperienced & too stoned. I don't think GMs are likely to be familiar with all modern technology, let alone likely future developments, and it only takes one player knowing more than you about a particular area to make the suspension of disbelief much harder to achieve. This is why, for SF games, I would like to see a range of hardware available. I was asking netland for gadgets in a particular field as I thought someone might have already designed some of these, especially people who know the capabilities of modern-day surveillence & detection equipment. It would also be useful if SF games, & quite possibly fantasy games, included sections on ecology, biology, diseases etc. Many games don't even give any systems for overland movement or weather!! This isn't open-ended, it's needlessly incomplete. >Books 3 and 5, Trillion Credit Squadron, and supplement 9 (?) all have >some notes, but I've always assumed that scanners were essentially a >combination of EM detectors, Light Intensifiers with pattern recognition >circuits (maybe!), an infrared scanners. This is about the state of the >art right now. As for intrership communication, its all good old >electromagnetic radiation, i.e. FM radio. (What happens when you discover >an AM world???) The respones I got suggested looking at (or maybe using) FGU's Space Opera. Thanks, Steve & Oliver. I'll see if I can scrape together the money! -- Dave Berry. CS postgrad, Univ. of Edinburgh ...mcvax!ukc!{hwcs,kcl-cs}!cstvax!db