On 16 January 2017 at 09:40, Phil Pugliese (via tml list)
<xxxxxx@simplelists.com> wrote:
>  We've now had our 6th session down the pub after work (every
>  other
>  month) and this was the third on Pysadi.
>
> [much interesting info deleted]
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> only every OTHER MONTH?!?
>
> WOW!
>
> I've never heard of a regularly scheduled adventure with such a loooong interval 'tween sessions!
>
> How on earth did you keep the group together?

Ah!  Yes.  Long story short:
A few years back the Library I work in started a monthly book group
(in the pub after work) which I've been a staunch member of ever since
(and think I'm right in saying that I'm the only one who has read
every one of the 80 odd books we've tackled.

A year or so ago we switched to every other month for various reasons
so when the idea came up to try a 'regular' game of Traveller the
obvious thing - particularly given that 4 out of 6 players attend the
book group - was to put it into the 'inbetween' months of book group.

I'd like to have played a bit more regularly, say monthly, but the
new-to-gaming-entirely 5 out of 6 players weren't keen back then to
commit to more.

So essentially it keeps together because it's mostly a monthly book
group (we now just *play* the book rather than read it) that has been
meeting for years + an academic I happened to bump into on the stairs
at just the right time rather bizarrely + one TravCon grognard who
happens to live near enough to drive round and join us.

>
> Anyway, as far as the rest of your post goes;
> OK, so you were less than perfect.

I keep telling Jeff that every time he wants to drop the 'newbie'
status of my confessions...!  :-)

> It still stacks up as a pretty damn good adventure.

We did seem to have fun, I find it very hard to judge from my seat and
could also point to Gvoudzon not having quite enough to do this
session (but he starred in the first couple of parts so hopefully
everyone gets a turn), but I'm learning.  (I should mention Johnn Four
and his excellent Role Playing Tips as a helpful teacher here:
https://roleplayingtips.com/)

> Heck, it has to have been or you would've been losing your players.

Sadly we did lose one to a shift change which altered her working
patterns.  But she still stays on the mailing list and keeps an eye on
her character from far.  We toyed with the idea of having Egon
volunteer to be left behind on Pysadi in the captain's place, but
decided that wouldn't be as much fun to game out, even if it was
'neat'.

> With such a long interval they have lots of opportunity to decide to bail if they wanted to.

That is a good point.  Although one snag with TTA is that it's quite
complex in its long-term plot and no one (almost including me)
remembers the details of ships, and agents, and characters that
they're hearing about - especially as they're not seeing the import
of, say, the crash of the ship back on Aramis or the itinerary in
wotsit's pocket etc.

So to that end, while we wait for our food to arrive (and the lecturer
coming hotfoot from a lecture), I usually give a recap which everyone
can join in on remembering bits I (sometimes deliberately) leave out,
and which includes non-essential bits but also includes the main plot
points.

Given that the story has been in the public domain [1] since, what,
1981 and I know that one of my colleagues has bought Aramis: The
Traveller Adventure along with a bunch of other things to prepare
herself for TravCon, I can't guarantee that no one either has read the
story or is keeping abreast of it.  But so far, especially from
herself and the grognard who I watch carefully in this respect, no one
has shown any sign of being familiar with it.   (Though it didn't take
the grognard long to twig that it was unlikely the priests were just
going to let them go and that the rescue was likely to the be the
climax of the evening. [2])

tc

[1] I don't mean that in it's strictest sense.

[2] Given that he's played _Into the Unknown_ three times without
spoiling the secrets on either of the two latter occasions, I don't
have much fear he'd try to spoil things even if had read the adventure
- which he claims not to have done and I believe him.

>
> Wish I could get in on the fun...

I wish we could have you.  We could use one or two more that were
better at the role playing side (two are great, two are ok and
learning, two struggle), not to mention perhaps one more with some
knowledge of Traveller!  But they're learning.  And three of them want
more sufficiently to play at lunchtimes every other week.

tc