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Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2021 6:58 pm
by Stan Shinn
(2) Backstory Connections in Character Creation
Creating characters in Mongoose Traveller takes about 2 hours in my experience. One thing that seems broken are the character connections you can make during a term of service. If you make a connection with another character, and then one of these two characters musters out (just 1 term of service), and then the other character continues for 3 more terms, some of those connections don't make sense chronologically.
I'd recommend either not doing the character connections during each term of service, and make them at the end after your characters have all finished their terms of service.
Better yet, use the Package Based Character Creation rules in the Traveller Companion pp. 13-22. Takes only 15 minutes and your characters will be a lot more balanced. Make character connections and backstory a narrative thing, not something tied to a term of service.
Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2021 5:47 am
by LimeyDragon
Typically if you are running a PDT game most characters will be active in what ever military the game takes place in.
Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2021 6:27 pm
by Steve Cole
Doesn't have to be (and I am military and more comfortable there). We designed PD from the start to allow and enable any career, from freebooter to journalist to pirate to soldier. If you can find someone doing something for a living today, you can do it in PD. To be sure, flying around in space you're going to meet a lot of military people, but you don't absolutely have to be one, nor does the game's writing assume you are.
Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2021 6:46 pm
by Stan Shinn
My point in the original post is not about whether you're in the military or not, but that there are bugs in the current Mongoose Traveller (at least the one prior to 2022) regarding the character connection mechanics which are present in all career paths, military or not. Maybe they fixed this in the 2022 edition, not sure.
Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2021 9:42 pm
by Albiegamer
Stan Shinn wrote:Creating characters in Mongoose Traveller takes about 2 hours in my experience.
I've heard this about many systems (and a similar critique for their combat mechanics) but after rolling up hundreds of MGT characters alone I can honestly say my experience is 1) familiarity with the system 2)having a character concept before beginning creation and 3)distractions/dawdling/gabbing with others and such cause things to be so slow. I can do a character in under 30 mins - but I've got experience working them up.
One thing that seems broken are the character connections you can make during a term of service. If you make a connection with another character, and then one of these two characters musters out (just 1 term of service), and then the other character continues for 3 more terms, some of those connections don't make sense chronologically.
This is not the case in either the 2020 or 2022 rulebooks (see quote below).
Now, if one of the events in question throws a character out of their current career, then the rules governing that apply to the character the event was rolled for. Only one of the two characters need have the connecting event, but it works even better if each character has an event that can be linked to the other character's event.
(2020 RB p17 / 2022 RB p19)
THE CONNECTIONS RULE
During Traveller creation, the aim is to not only to
create interesting histories for Travellers through
career decisions, events and mishaps but also to
ensure Travellers know one another before the
campaign begins. This avoids every campaign
starting with the words 'right, you all meet in the
starport bar...'. In Traveller, you will all know one
another to some degree and can get stuck into
adventuring straight away.
If two Travellers agree, then any event rolled
for one Traveller can involve another. Only one
Traveller needs to have rolled the specific event,
though you will find it more exciting if Travellers
can link events together (this is why it is best
to create Travellers as a group activity, going
through terms one-by-one together).
If an event can be linked between two Travellers
in this way, then they both get one extra skill of
their choice. You may gain a maximum of two
free skills from the connections rule and each
connection must be with a different Traveller.
For each connection you make, you may gain
any skill but cannot bring a skill above level 3
using this rule nor may you take the Jack-of-all-
Trades skill.
For example, Erik is working as an Agent and he
rolls an undercover mission (event number 8 on
the Agent Events table). Erik's player suggests
that Erik could have met Kathya while on this
mission and Kathya's player agrees. They then
discuss exactly what happened during the
mission and this begins to form previous history
for both Travellers. Both Erik and Kathya will then
gain an extra skill because of this.
Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2021 11:48 pm
by Stan Shinn
Here's an example of what I'm talking about. You and a friend create characters together, rolling up each term of service, and making connections in real time as you go.
Term 1 of your career you and a fellow PC are in Starfleet Academy. Term 2 you and the PC serve on the Enterprise. You make a connection that takes place during the Doomsday Machine episode. Term 3 you muster out but the other PC keeps serving. The other PC serves until Term 5 and then musters out.
Then you as PC start serving together at the start of the campaign, with you with 3 terms, and the other person with 5 terms of service. For you, the Doomsday Machine episode event in which you had a connection took place 4 years ago, but for your fellow PC, that was 12 years ago. It screws up the timeline if you have folks making connections syncronously as you roll up characters.
Simple fix is to not make the connections until AFTER you all muster out, so that the timeline isn't screwed up.
Posted: Tue Oct 26, 2021 11:55 pm
by Stan Shinn
Albiegamer wrote:Stan Shinn wrote:Creating characters in Mongoose Traveller takes about 2 hours in my experience.
I've heard this about many systems (and a similar critique for their combat mechanics) but after rolling up hundreds of MGT characters alone I can honestly say my experience is ... I can do a character in under 30 mins - but I've got experience working them up.
I'm specifically talking about doing _group_ character creation (I agree, it can go fast if you're doing it alone). I've done this many times with Classic Traveller and Mongoose Traveller. In my experience, Classic Traveller is maybe 15-30 minutes, Mongoose is 1.5-2 hours, when done as a group. Just an observations from several different groups, (as well as watching AP's on Youtube) and yes it takes longer due to kibitzing, backstory connections, and rules clarifications
Anyway, not bad, since session 0 / campaign kickoffs can often last this long if you build connections, but something to be aware of when making design choices about the Star Fleet conversion.
Posted: Wed Oct 27, 2021 2:09 am
by Sgt Major Al Beddow
Stan Shinn wrote:I'm specifically talking about doing _group_ character creation.
Anyway, not bad, since session 0 / campaign kickoffs can often last this long if you build connections, but something to be aware of when making design choices about the Star Fleet conversion.
That there was the answer to the question from the start.
The group can agree on a set number of terms, or the character who mustered out early had some fun in the eight years between their getting out after 3 terms and the friend getting out after five (opportunity for filling some nice backstory of adventuring).
Better yet, use the Package Based Character Creation rules in the Traveller Companion pp. 13-22. Takes only 15 minutes and your characters will be a lot more balanced. Make character connections and backstory a narrative thing, not something tied to a term of service.
What is this *balanced* thing you speak of?
MGP/classic Traveller char gen gives me the same warm feeling inside that Hackmaster 4th Ed did. Almost everything about your character is randomly worked out, kind of how things work out in life. (As opposed to severe over min-maxing out in certain other systems).
As for the Traveller Companion, I agree some good stuff in there. I have been periodically going through it since it came out. I am considering incorporating some of it once we get majority of the core book hammered out.
Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2022 1:19 am
by kehrer1701
I missed this thread before. Yep, for new players to the TRAV system, I can see this at least being a 2 hour project. If you are used to a point bases system, maybe longer. But as Al mentioned, once you get the hang of it, should go faster..