MT’s task system is just made for this. I haven’t come across any other task system that’s better. You can just make a task up on the fly, it will be reasonable even if it isn’t as prescribed in the book, your player will understand it, they will understand the concepts behind it and working out the needed detail is child’s play. Roll the dice and off you go …
Mostly agree, but I admit over the years, I've come to appreciate the 2 point step vs. the 4 point step. Other than that, it's really well done. I always thought that was the most useful thing MT/DGP ever did (though some of the skill cascades weren't bad and their notion of research projects was okay).
I've been at times wrestling with consistency over the long haul with some sorts of common tasks (stupid stuff like 'fixing a vacc suit puncture' etc). I've realized your time point (short lookup or don't do it) has to be respected.
I'm thinking of writing a perl, javascript or java app that I can have running which connects to an SQL-Lite DB and in the database, I record all my tasks and break them down by category (spacesuits, spaceships, spacecombat, personalcombat, spaceshiprepair, etc). With this, I ought to be able to grab a category and get a quick list box I can click on to show me the common tasks in about that 15 second window (much like a file card lookup).
When your are not at the table a detailed description of what’s involved in doing certain things broken down into its various parts/tasks in a book/setting, like skimming a gas giant, gives you the feel and understanding of how this might work when you are at the table. If you expect it to come up in the scenario you’re going to play, have that detail available to refence (see quick reference scan above). If you don’t expect it to come up in the scenario and it _does_ come up you’re already gone through the detail before, you can make a task up on the fly and it will be reasonable …
Yes, and I think though the rulebooks themselves don't really call this out very loudly, the interviews with the creators in MT and their own uses of the system suggest that's entirely what they had in mind.
Even better is that MT takes Classic Traveller and just bolts on a codified task system. Don’t have details of character gen for a Darrian in MT? no worries, just role it up in CT and they adapt exactly without having to try into MT.
Yep, with a few tweaks (give them some homeworld skills, interpret a bit here in there to allow more cascade options) you've got a fully workable conversion.
Even better that that is that the good people of BITS put out their Task system that puts the vast majority of task systems against each other and maps them to every other so you can take any scenario and map it into MT without a problem.
I found TNE was okay (as far as tasks) and my only real gripe with CT was some of the modifiers were hard to recall for some tasks (and seemed quite variable in magnitude). The system I don't really get is T4s scheme... I guess it just felt alien to me despite likely having some mechanics. MgT uses a lot of CT-ish stuff so it's approach to tasks seems workable to.
I think, with the exception of GT, T4 and T20, most of traveller has had either an explicit or implicit way to handle tasks that has worked really well. GT probably worked well for those coming from a GURPs background. (I omit any Hero System Traveller variant simply because I know so little about that conversion... I played and GMed Champions, but never the Trav bits).
When you get right down to it, you've got one of two modes: Telling a story (leading the players) or sandboxing (the player's choices become the story). In both cases, too much reference to papers or having boggy resolution mechanics mires the game and breaks the flow, so a fast resolution mechanic and a reasonable notion of how to conjure the necessary parameters for the resolution to occur in real-time.
Once you have that, the focus then becomes on the players, the story, and fun we all look for.