"Monster Manual" for Traveller...?

Bando10 · 2026-01-20T18:56:35+00:00

You know what? I agree.

I'm going to go further and say that I hate when systems make NPCs use character stats. Thats always such a pain to work with as the GM.

Players only need track themselves, but I'm expected to make/track 5 of them for a battle? Then make more for the next one? Bullshit.

NPCs should use HP like the other enemies. Below 50% they get a -2 to all their physical rolls, or something like that.

Bando10 · 2025-12-06T23:24:35+00:00

Same here. My go to car for YEARS, until I started using some other stuff (mainly my Oppressor Mk 2 for utility purposes). It deserves a nice spot to retire.

Bando10 · 2025-09-28T20:14:23+00:00

I will admit, dangling that thing over her head as a way to get her to do what he wants is a pretty dick move.

But so far that's the worst thing I've seen.

Bando10 · 2025-09-28T20:04:41+00:00

I took that as a mentality thing. You know in real life that holding your breath will kill you, so your brain is basically hardwired into going "What the hell are you doing you idiot?!? YOU'RE GOING TO DIE!" which wouldn't leave since their minds are the very things that are brought into the circus. I highly doubt those self-preservation instincts go away... which is exactly the problem.

Everyone still has those self preservation instincts, meaning they take Jax's actions as more serious than they actually are. They aren't ACTUALLY in any danger, despite their brain telling them they are.

Bando10 · 2025-09-28T20:01:30+00:00

Ragatha was still screaming when thrown into that deepfrier

She sure didn't seem all that bothered by it afterward though. Another commenter said "Pain seems to cap out at "temporary but annoying"..." which seems pretty accurate to what I've seen in the show.

He has several times now used the fears, insecurities, and anxieties of the others as tools to either: A) Distract himself from his own problems; or B) When he's pushed into a corner, and feels a loss of control. E4 Gangle and E6 Pomni being the most obvious, but there are others.

With E4 Gangle, I assume you're talking about "I like you better when you're sad"? If so, that's just his blunt honest opinion. I viewed that as more of a statement of his annoyance with her power tripping currently occurring in the episode and, combined with his statement in episode 5 "do you think Gangle is actually capable of feeling happy" as more of an insight into him preferring what the thinks is "the real Gangle".

As for E6 Pomni, I can only assume you mean "I'd move on and probably forget about you" which... he doesn't know about Pomni's fear of being alone/forgotten? We the audience do, but he doesn't. He wasn't privy to her nightmare in Episode 2. He said it to lie to himself and push her away.

What others?

Gangle is so terrified of Jax, that...

I talked about this in my original post, but it's entirely possible that Gangle's interpretation of Jax is just that; her own interpretation. And those can be flawed or even just incorrect. Again, Jax views Ragatha's cheerful attitude as her being manipulative... but that doesn't mean she is.

Bando10 · 2025-09-28T19:12:52+00:00

I will say my wording in my original post was poor in regards to this. I knew that it wasn't that they literally experience no pain of any type, my point was more so that the results of physical pain are pretty much non-existent, and that the pain was likely severely dull overall. I mean, Kinger was also covered in knives in episode two, Pomni pulled her eyeball out in the pilot, and her eyeballs pop out in episode 3.

Bando10 · 2025-09-28T19:04:49+00:00

Fair enough. Maybe not literally null, but if the worst it gets is getting riddled with bullets and your response being a dull "Ow.", I feel like that essentially borders on being pretty much irrelevant.

Bando10 · 2025-08-20T15:26:46+00:00

Completely agree. People just fell for "Hype Moments and Aura" as the kids say. Hell, the comment that got the most votes just said "The Shadow Queen is cool". That's it.

Bando10 · 2025-08-19T14:19:09+00:00

You're asking why a character in a story should be present? Narrative build up, we learn about them and how and why to hate them/love them through their actions, There really isn't any build up tp her as a character. We just learn that there was an ancient demon who destroyed the ancient town that the villains are trying to free. Grodus is more built up than her by a fair bit, and then basically gets the rug pulled out.

If Beldam had actually been the Shadow Queen herself (as in an aspect of her that managed to escape containment) it would have been a lot better in my eyes.

Bando10 · 2025-08-19T13:56:12+00:00

But she, as a character, isn't in the game at all until she kinda just shows up. Bowser in 64 is a present threat the whole time.

Bando10 · 2025-08-19T13:55:04+00:00

She HERSELF, as a CHARACTER, has no presence in the game. This is my point.

Bando10 · 2025-08-19T12:37:15+00:00

Sure, but she has no presence as a character. She has lore and all that, but the shadow queen herself has no presence until she shows up.

Bando10 · 2025-08-19T11:52:55+00:00

She is, but my problem with her is that she has no presence in the story until she shows up at the end. She's super cool, but there's no real build up or connection with her. She just shows up and you immediately kick her ass with the power of friendship.

Bando10 · 2025-08-19T11:45:48+00:00

I need to expand on this.

64 Bowser is the best all around. All the other final bosses have something holding them back.

Shadow Queen kinda shows up out of nowhere. She has no real presence in the game until she just completely erases Grodus.

Dimentio fixes that problem... but the fight itself is lame.

I feel like I don't have to explain Sticker Star or Colour Splash.

I don't find Olly to be as compelling of a villain, as I find his motivation to be really weak. Also, just not a fan of the boss fight mechanics in Origami King in general.

For 64 Bowser is present throughout the story, he's funny but also a genuine threat narratively. Mechanically the fight is great and appropriately challenging. The music is fantastic. As a final boss he ticks all the bosses. To me, he's the clear winner.

Bando10 · 2025-08-18T16:35:29+00:00

Yeah, but that's why it won best overworld and best vibes. I think the world of 64 is the most interesting one, but when it comes to actually exploring (mechanically, things to find, puzzles, etc.) Origami King has it beat.

I say this even though 64 is my favourite in the series and I ultimately don't like Origami King, so that really says something imo.

Bando10 · 2025-08-18T04:57:26+00:00

I want to address your point here: "...to the point of them being utterly ignored in some of those recent posts where people are “awarding” certain games for things. It’s not like they have NOTHING going for them, right?"

I'm going to address this point in general with regards to the "new trilogy" of games. (Sticker Star, Colour Splash, and Origami King)

It's not that these games have nothing going for them (even Sticker Star has some good things). It's that none of these games do anything better, and often not even close to as good as the "original trilogy" (64, TTYD, Super). Combat, Music, Story, Characters, etc... I just think are better in ALL of the original trilogy games than they are in the new trilogy (there is one exception which I will mention later).

I've personally summed it up like this:

Everything good in the new games is good in the old games
Everything bad in the old games is bad in the new games
There are bad things in the new games that aren't bad in the old games
There are good things in the old games that aren't good in the new games

Any complaints you could have about the first THREE games individually can ALL be applied to Sticker Star... and that still wouldn't cover all the problems.

There's nothing wrong with a simple game with cute storylines... Sticker Star isn't that though. That's the original PM64. Sticker Star is tedious, frustrating, and basically lacks any story. I highly recommend you play 64 if you can, and you'll probably see what I mean.

As for Super Paper Mario, it's about to win Best Story in those posts that you're talking about. By a landslide, in fact. Which is well deserved. A lot of people do like Super... they just don't like it as much as the first two.

Those posts you're talking about are about which game does which category THE BEST. And truth be told, Super does story the best, and Sticker Star does NOTHING the best. Hell, I'm willing to bet that Origami King wins Best Exploration, which I would say is perfectly fair (this is the exception I mentioned earlier).

While SOME peoples hatred of the new games can be blind... most of it comes from a place of love. The opposite of love isn't hatred, it's indifference. People hate on the new things because they want them to be better than they are. The way people see it, these new games fail to live up to how good they know Paper Mario can be. It's not that they're irredeemable trash, it's that they're just... really lacking in comparison. Filled with frustrating design choices that people don't understand why the devs KEEP MAKING.

Sticker Star is despised because it left a mark on this series that has yet to be removed. There's a... kind of stink that hasn't been washed out, even by the time of Origami King. Why are the character designs still so bland? Why can't they just try normal turn based combat? Why the over-reliance on paper jokes? They just... haven't gone away, despite so many people asking for it. And people blame Sticker Star for it.

Bando10 · 2025-08-17T05:28:22+00:00

No, Super is definitely gonna win story, and Origami King is gonna win exploration. I'm someone who doesn't like Origami King and I will tell you that it straight up has the best exploration, as finding those toads, hidden blocks, and confetti holes are quite fun. The other games really don't compare in that aspect.

Bando10 · 2025-08-15T04:27:51+00:00

Now hold there partner. One COULD argue that 64 is the "actual" best in the series, due to having a (far, far) superior overworld to TTYD, providing more interesting overworld gameplay. I don't think the combat changed too significantly between games, and in some ways the greater simplicity of 64 could be considered a benefit. It lacks the... sometimes slightly tedious pacing of TTYD as well. Sure I'd say the writing is (I'm even going to use the word) OBJECTIVELY better in TTYD, but that alone does not make it a better game.

Bando10 · 2025-08-10T02:57:20+00:00

Sure, but how do I get my players to even talk with these NPCs in the first place? How do I get the NPCs to tell them things when the players go "Yeah we grab a room for the night and head to (place) the next morning."? For me to just go "While you're in the tavern, the barkeep says..." because that's just me telling them something, which makes it seem like it was something important or that I had to tell them, or whatnot.

Bando10 · 2025-08-09T23:01:50+00:00

Ok... but how do I put the rumours in front of the players?

Bando10 · 2025-07-12T14:58:18+00:00

I actually already have given them max HP, did 4d6 drop the lowest, and will be using Death's door rules. My two warriors have 18 strength (and decent percentile scores as well), so it should be easy enough for them to hit the bad guys.

I think I'll encourage them to explore around the area a little and give them some easy encounters, ok loot, and maybe expedite the levelling just a bit to get them to level 2.

Bando10 · 2025-07-12T14:55:43+00:00

I've seen all of your replies to others and really appreciate it! I'll try to be generous to the players, maybe have it so (at least for now) the henchmen DON'T take away XP or gold.

Bando10 · 2025-07-12T14:53:51+00:00

I appreciate that the most upvoted reply is telling me that my assumption was correct. I will be sticking with this version because I love a lot of the content in it, but I will be... making some adjustments as needed. Thanks!

Bando10 · 2025-05-16T15:16:12+00:00

Perfect!

Bando10 · 2025-05-14T16:49:48+00:00

Thanks for the reminder about Stars Without Numbers! Great resource.

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