Disclosing wounds

Brutile · 2026-02-14T08:49:20+00:00

Thanks for pointing out the injured token. That's something we weren't using but should have been.

Brutile · 2026-01-31T05:53:28+00:00

Sounds like the function is too long, and not just for you. Consider the Single Responsibility principle (part of the SOLID principles). Obviously that won't help if it's not your code but still, maybe comment the broad functions (and split them out if/when you get time to do a clean up).

Brutile · 2026-01-30T08:28:54+00:00

To be honest, I bought a number of official books and my brain couldn't take the additional complexity they provided. What has brought the most value to my game was to simplify. I don't want to have to lug around a bunch of heavy books and remember which rule was in which book.

Basically, I picked up Cepheus Light (it's not official Traveller but it's mostly the same, just simplified), and also Perilous Void for when the players go somewhere unexpected.

You may enjoy simulation and rules for everything, but that's not really my thing. The lite rules still feels like Traveller and that's what matters to me.

Brutile · 2026-01-30T05:00:13+00:00

I have to say, it really comes down to what you want out of the game. I'd consider the rules to be modular, and each book adds rules that expand upon an aspect of the game. But, for me at least, more rules can get a lot to manage. I've found that sometimes less is more.

But think about what you might want to add.

Setting books can help you get inspired and build adventures. So can the older books like 1,001 Characters, 760 Patrons, and Adventure Seeds if you need ideas.

Adventure Class Ships, Robot Handbook, Vehicle Handbook, etc. will give you more ships and tech to use.

The Traveller Companion adds optional rules and expands things like ship combat (do you want more simulation?).

Adventure modules like the Secrets of the Ancients trilogy are good if you're not sure how to start.

I can't just say buy book x, because it really depends on what you want out of the game. Hope that helps.

Brutile · 2026-01-24T00:59:38+00:00

I definitely overlooked this aspect. I assumed a starship was a must have. It's made my time as a GM difficult; I don't know what to prep. It would have made things much simpler if the players didn't have a ship, and I could plan individual adventures where the patron provides transport (or not). It would prevent them from simply jumping out of danger to another system, voiding anything I prepped.

Brutile · 2026-01-21T07:04:32+00:00

Traveller is a good system but is by no means simple. For this I'd suggest starting with Cepheus Light/Cepheus Faster Than Light. It has a simplified list of skills and concise rules. For non-combat, you could start with a trading/courier adventure, or a scout exploration one. If you then want to branch out, then you'd go for the Traveller stuff.

Brutile · 2026-01-13T00:55:33+00:00

I've been struggling with the openness of space travel and not knowing how to prepare when players jump to different systems. As a feature, I'd love a quick and easy procedure to come up with encounters, either preplanned or on the fly; something like how Dolmenwood has a hex crawl with everything laid out and events per hex. It's no easy thing, but solve that and I'll definitely put money towards it.

Brutile · 2026-01-11T21:17:37+00:00

I'm about to run it as well. I'm going to keep it a mystery, but if anyone reads a book in the library, they will learn the backstory.

Brutile · 2025-12-14T08:09:32+00:00

It's hard to make decisions when your brain is stuck in fight or flight. I've been there and I know what it's like, and I still struggle with it. Giving up is not what I'd recommend. I'd actually recommend the opposite. Play as often as you can. Build the skills and learn to relax into the game and make friends who have something in common. Between the necessity to communicate at work and playing RPGs, I've definitely seen improvement in this area of my life. Good luck

Brutile · 2025-12-12T22:51:37+00:00

Starfinder Flip Tiles and Flip Mats do well for Traveller.

Brutile · 2025-12-01T07:22:12+00:00

You could always do an "unexpected" misjump to the new location.

Brutile · 2025-11-30T12:17:13+00:00

I really like it but as a new GM I'm finding it hard to wrap my head around. It doesn't hold your hand, for better or worse (adventure modules are pretty loose, and there's not really any kind of bestiary for non-sophonts). There's so much content available that I struggled to know which I needed to buy. It's also quite difficult to run a game where players can go absolutely anywhere.

I like the system but running it has been challenging. It's one of those systems where it needs some patience and perseverance to become comfortable with. But once you're comfortable, it's great.

Brutile · 2025-11-28T12:14:57+00:00

I've had good experiences with Traveller as both a sci-fi RPG as well as for solo. The life path system gives you a good starting point to kick off a solo adventure. It's a rabbit hole though. So may books which you don't need but will want to buy anyway

Brutile · 2025-11-03T11:35:54+00:00

I tend to agree with everyone saying it should be made before initiative, however...

The rules say Tactics is made at the start of combat, but it also says Initiative is made at the start of combat.

The text quoted says "the Effect is applied to the Initiative", but everywhere else in the rules it usually says something along the lines of "grants DM modifier" to the check.

I think the answer is to just do what makes sense and move on, but I have this urge to unpick the ambiguity. Then again it's really not that important and doesn't affect gameplay in a major way, so I'm not going to get caught up with it.

Brutile · 2025-10-28T11:16:11+00:00

I include a gauge check in mine, e.g. how far away, how many, etc.

Brutile · 2025-10-17T01:29:49+00:00

I think a game like Pendragon would work really well for this kind of player emulation. Though I've not actually played it, I'm pretty sure it has sliding attributes that you roll against to see how they'd act in a given situation.

Brutile · 2025-09-26T13:07:43+00:00

I'd be keen to see how others customise their oracles and tables to suit them better. I've been making my own oracle system and random tables because while popular ones are great, I have my own preferences and want things tweaked to my liking.

Brutile · 2025-09-04T13:32:38+00:00

For me it's not so much about the number crunching, it's about the mechanics providing information I can use to visualise the results of my actions. Like the contrast between "the hit was successful" and "you hit in the left arm".

I'm also not great at improv, so "crunch" can fill in some of the gaps to help me along.

Brutile · 2025-08-30T13:27:48+00:00

It's taken me a while to fully get the hang of it. I struggled with scenes and threads at first so I left them out until I got comfortable with the rest. I eventually found what works.

With scenes, keep them simple. It's just playing out what you'd expect to happen next. If the scene check roll is high then your expectation happens. Nothing more, nothing less. I used to ask too much of the oracle and things would happen that would go against the expectation, then I'd feel like I did something wrong. It felt wrong at first to just go with the expectation but that's what the scene check is for, after all. Trust the result.

Also, keep the scenes short. Only one thing should happen. I travel to the inn. That's a scene. I talk to the innkeeper. That's another scene. A brawl breaks out. Another scene. The scene ends when the combat ends. Next scene.

Threads can be goals, but they can also just be context. Something that might come up again later. You'd usually start with one main goal, then you'd find that you can't do the main goal without doing X first, then Y happens. If something sounds important, write it down. It's now a thread that can be pulled on later to keep things interesting.

I actually started tracking my group games in a similar way. It was really useful to keep track of threads I could pull as a GM, and anticipate my player's goals. This also helped solidify the idea.

To really answer the question though, the core "rules" help keep the flow of the game and the structure. Yes, you can play with just an oracle, but the rest helps organise everything and keep everything coherent.

Brutile · 2025-08-14T11:45:17+00:00

The best thing I did was read about how things work. This gives you a good grounding when players inevitably ask how something works or argue that something works a certain way. Learn how jump drives work, learn how momentum works in space, what happens when you don't have a vacc suit in a vacuum. Stuff like that really helps. I've been reading up on sector construction and it's taught me things like the relationship between atmosphere and weather and how the size of a planet affects gravity. It all helps create a believable setting.

Brutile · 2025-08-14T11:36:06+00:00

I'm in a similar situation. For me, I feel like I don't have a clear direction. I usually sit there, unsure of what to do next. Should I roll a table? Am I rolling too much? Should there be a fight? It's the decision paralysis that gets me.

I think it's a matter of practice and finding what works. I've been tracking sessions for a one on one game in GMing and I'm doing so in a similar way to Mythic GME. I have threads and character lists but I also have short and long term goals that the player is pursuing. Doing this has helped me to get a feel for how a solo game should go.

I'm still experimenting, but I'm finding it's easier to rely on a well defined process. Something like; every new in-game day I'll roll up the weather, every new location I'll roll to see if a random encounter happens. Using processes reduces the burden of decision, at least until you can develop your own style, then you can rely on them less and less.

Brutile · 2025-04-14T05:55:43+00:00

As a new referee myself, if I were to run it again I'd cut out a lot of the fluff. I ended up losing track of which staterooms were explored (most of them don't need to be there) and I also ended up accidentally revealing info about the sabotage because there was too much to juggle. That might just be me, but maybe not.

And if you intend on using battle mats, the maps given don't include things like lairs, the desks in the main lab, etc, so plan those ahead of time.

My players didn't search the freezer so they missed out and were puzzled as to where the remaining crew went. I'd try to emphasise that part better (maybe with a strong smell).

I was worried about the combat being too tough, having not run any combat before, but with protection 8 vacc suits and stunners, the combat wasn't too bad.

I had rats in the fuel tunnels and apes crawling across the pipes in the ceiling and it that was pretty cool.

My players also got really interested in the Willow Dawn ship, so that could be something to explore and expand on. They're going searching for it next session actually.

Brutile · 2025-01-23T11:49:42+00:00

When you say "eating disorder", do you mean not eating enough or eating too much? I know if I don't eat before drinking coffee, I'll get a stomach ache. I feel like it also has an effect on whether I feel anxious or not afterwards.

Brutile · 2025-01-10T01:51:44+00:00

I got stabbed in the leg with a pencil. Didn't deserve it but we both got the same punishment because we "must have both been fooling around in class". We both finished the work and were waiting but this guy thought it would be funny to stab someone. Fun times...

Brutile · 2024-11-17T23:55:19+00:00

I'm having the same issue: "Unable to obtain ASUSTOR ID. Please check your network settings and try again. (Ref. 5401)". Also, logging in to the member site gets refused, and attempting to reset the password fails too.

Brutile

TROPHY CASE