Tim, thanks for the praise.  You may not be giving the bloke in the
mirror enough credit, though.

On 19/5/20 2:20 am, Timothy Collinson - timothy.collinson at port.ac.uk
(via tml list) wrote:
>
>
>
> Thanks for this already.  If nothing else as a distraction from a
> tedious job this afternoon.  Had better go on working for a bit to
> make up the time.
>
> Thank you that it not only describes the action but comments on your
> refereeing.  I know this is hard to do (or at least hard to do and not
> feel vulnerable) but I'm already finding it helpful as well as
> interesting.
>
>
Well, part of my hopes for this series is to lay out mistakes I've made,
and where the wheels fell off, so you (plus the rest of the Learned And
Honourable Company Of TML Members) can wet yourselves laughing, learn
from them and go make a whole new bunch of your own.

I think the technical term is "metacognition".

>
>
>     And watching those videos set some wombat to reflecting on his
>     previous
>     mistakes, and tactics to use going forwards.
>
>
> Ah!  Mr Zeitlin, the John W. Campbell of the Travellerverse in
> encouraging writers/referees, would be proud.
Well, most of the times I talk to him about Trav stuff, I usually learn
something.  Rarely it's that I was right.
>
> <snip>
>
>
>     The obvious tactic is to set the game in the Interstellar Wars era and
>     restrict the PCs to being Terrans.
>
>
> This is the snag with Traveller... there's so much *choice*.  I want
> to do this, I want to that, I want to do the other.... I can't fit it
> all in.

That's part of _your_ job as the GM.

Look at the paralysingly broad-and-deep sweep of Trav background, _pull
out the bits you want_, and _bolt them together into a workable game_.

The campaign stereotypes exist for a _reason_ - like a solid _character_
concept making it easier to pick the mechanical gubbins for the
character, a solid _campaign_ concept helps you filter out the bitz that
don't fit (_especially_ if said bit is really cool standing alone).

For example, breaking into and scouting along the edge of the galactic
bulge probably won't feature operational tests of the follow-on to the
Star Trigger.

Likewise, Operation Galvanise (Push The Button), which opens with
pre-emptive Nova Trigger use, will probably remain firmly in the Orion Arm.

>
> <snip>
>
> (I might except Time Travel stories from this where that's kind of the
> point of the thing).  Oooooh, now that's a setting book/rules set
> we've not had for Traveller.  time travel.  Part of my degree involved
> creating a bibliography and I chose time travel fiction as its theme
> so I'd be more than interested in this.  IIRC the nearest we have is a
> Marc Miller adventure that takes the players through various time
> frames (but always forwards IIRC).  Hang on, what's the title?  Memory
> Alpha, I think.

So how do you bolt that in while maintaining rational knowability _and_
keeping it recognisably Traveller?

On further thought, this might be worth a full article on its own.  Have
fun.

<snip>

For those of us wondering what I'm talking about, it's the basic
approach that "it may be weirder than Weird Al Yankovic, but any
apparent mystery is a function of _my own ignorance_ - the rules
generating behaviour are consistent".

>
>
>     Don't mindlessly stick to what "da roolz" say.  In PA:VT, I've bent
>     rules in favour of Rule Of Funny / Rule Of Awesome multiple times
>     already (not to mention short-circuiting rules lawyering - if that had
>     gone on much longer, Easy Frag would have GROWN HAIR).  But, absent
>     ROF/ROA, keep it consistent.
>
>
> I can only dream of aspiring to funny, so have settled for Rule of
> Fun.  I keep hoping we might get to Awesome one day but that may be
> optimistic.  I think I'm going to claim the crown of Rule of Average
> (or Ordinary).

I might be comparatively lucky here.  Most of my mob (with the exception
of Wombat, IIRC) have the hacker nature, so that's a common substrate we
can build off.

Umm.... Milligoon-off-his-meds Goon Show?  "A man can't have
everything.  Where would he put it?"

> <snip>
>
>
>
> I keep trying to.  I keep getting told I can't claim it anymore five
> years on!
>
Learn the rules.  Break the rules.  Be the rules.  (I'm still working on
that last one)
>
> <snip>
>
>
> I shall be really really interested to hear if you do actual
> merchanting, in game.  (See my TravCon write up in the last Freelance
> Traveller)

So far, it's been two charters - out & back from Terra to Remulak
carting Smutny survey teams around, (which resulted in a good but not
great landing), and the one about to start, into the Ziru Sirka as
tensions build towards IW2 (and an active-duty AZS flag officer as an
active enemy).  Thanks for the heads up about MGT2 trade - after my
experience with GT trade, I was half-expecting to have to write some
tools for MGT2.

<snip>

> tc
>
> PS I promise not to respond like this, or as quickly, in future or it
> might get really tedious for you.
>
I agree, that's probably far enough off topic.  It's 0540 local and I'm
not sure where my socks are. I'll try to get the session 0 writeup up
soonish.
>
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