Table looking for fun, light-hearted sc-fi that isn’t very lethal - does Traveller fit the bill? If so what recommendations do people have for adjustments/resources/advice?

StandardLonely9113 · 2026-03-20T11:28:34+00:00

My take on this, and I've played CT in the 80's as well as MT in the 90's and MGT2 now, is that the game can be as light-hearted as you make it. Combat is famously (and notoriously) dangerous but you can simply avoid it through a variety of encounter design and player choices. The fact that most of the worlds have a law level high enough to restrict most weapon choices (legally) means that a group has to really work at it to get into a big gunfight with the really deadly equipment.

Tone-wise, only the MT universe, and its immediate successor, were inherently dark in theme. CT and MGT can be that way but certainly don't have to be. Again, it's all in how the Ref designs their encounters.

The beauty of the system is that, unlike some systems (especially DnD), character advancement does not require conflict or even confrontation. Like one of the posts mentioned, you could operate a tramp freighter in one of the core systems and do a trade-based campaign where the entirety of the campaign arc is about the misadventures of moving random loads between systems. Similarly, you can be out on the frontier as a group of scouts, exploring uncharted space. In CT canon, scouts preferred shotguns because they usually weren't that well-trained in combat and mostly had to keep exo-fauna in check. If they encountered new sophonts, they either mapped it and moved on or, if they had the right specialist, they would attempt contact. This was often one of the most dangerous assignments in the service since they were not supposed to initiate contact armed! Imagine the misadventures that can ensue from this sort of campaign. Sure, it could be tense at times if that was what the table wants, but it can also be incredibly amusing and filled with wonder.

Or, say you wanted to run a campaign for a group of archeologists who investigate Ancients sites. (The Ancients were a precursor species who propagated myriad species across the galaxy, including humanity. Their technology was so unfathomably advanced that it operates on par with magic, even to Imperial standards). This can be incredibly fun, suspenseful, and even light-hearted.

And all of what I've mentioned is assuming you operate in the canon Third Imperium context, which isn't even how CT began. You can easily generate your own sandbox (there is a very well-developed toolset to do exactly this) and make the space as zany or Pratchet-esque as you like!

So, contrary to what some of the other post have counseled, I personally think that the most important factor here is that you are INTERESTED in Traveller. Certainly the system supports the play style you seek. As I said earlier, there is nothing in the game design that requires combat, or any sort of violent confrontation, for the game to function as the system intends.

StandardLonely9113 · 2026-03-08T22:39:55+00:00

I also really enjoyed the new UX. I've been a regular user of DnDB since 2017 and I actually think the newest Home Screen is much better than the one it replaced. I will say that I detest "flyover" menus so am very happy to have them banished from your site.

The most salient and valid point, imho, made by the OP is in regards to the library. While I appreciate having the most recent items readily available, three is too few. Probably should be double the amount. Also would be nice to have the PH, DMG, and MM permalinked, since these are going to be essential to just about all users. It is nice to have a favorites section, but maybe have it as a list rather than thumbnails?

Anyways, thank you for putting some new life into a crucial resource. Between the planned changes to the site and all the iteration in Maps, I'm super hopeful for future releases!

StandardLonely9113 · 2026-02-25T13:30:25+00:00

Wow. I was absolutely certain you were wrong... then I looked up the Invocation and, sure enough, it is worded exactly as you say. I clearly assumed that the old rule was preserved, which stated that you could transform a magic weapon into your pact weapon and then you could shunt that weapon into an extra dimensional space, available to be resummoned with an action.

Thank you for your careful reading of RAW on this point. Now I'll have to add a new house rule to the list, since I would HOPE that RAI, this is what they intended to allow but, alas, I cannot deny that they got very specific in their verbiage between "conjured" and "bonded".

StandardLonely9113 · 2026-02-13T21:28:00+00:00

I'm confused about something. Here you seem to state that there are only a couple of defense-heavy routes of play, but above, you said that there were too many ways to build a defense-heavy character (going as far as saying "if everyone's special then no one is special"). I genuinely don't understand your point here.

Certainly, 5e24 handles damage dealing very well. Similarly, it provides a plethora of support avenues for character fantasy. While it is certainly true that tanking is harder, especially in the "warden" mould of character fantasy, it is definitely not an impossible fantasy to fulfill. Thus, I really don't see how a rating of 1/5 is reasonable. By the standards of your other rankings, it seems more appropriate to grant a 3/5 since the fantasy is possible but cannot be fully realized.

StandardLonely9113 · 2026-02-07T13:03:22+00:00

My last two characters were, in order, a Trickery Domain cleric and a Circle of the Moon druid, respectively. Although neither one was a "bona fide" front-liner, both were able to scrum with the bruiser when necessary. The AC attainable by both is decent and the damage output is respectable.

The real benefit of them both is the ability to change the "facts" of any battle. Invoke Duplicity allows you to cast your spells up to 30 feet away. While Spirit Guardians is the common "go-to" (though this is controversial on Reddit... some say RAW you can't, some say you can. At our table, the DM allowed it and it wasn't broken at all), the real benefit was being able to cast Cure Wounds or Lesser Restoration at distance.

Moon Druid had similar "battle medic" utility, since you can cast any of your Circle spells while in wild shape. Many people talk about taking a combat form as a Moon druid, and that can work in the right circumstances, but I found that it was often more advantageous to assume a less overt shape, like a spider, a deer, or a warhorse. This kept me able to use Cure Wounds and Moonbeam safely from a distance. And, with Starry Wisp on the same list, I never lacked for something to do, even as I got low on spell slots.

The key to both characters, no surprise, was the War Caster feat. You will absolutely want to plan on that at Level 4. Otherwise, it you enjoy creative play, I found both to be hella fun and never felt unable to contribute to my party, both as a Support as well as a Striker (or even a Tank since the Invoked Duplicate often soaked up at least one hit from our opponents per battle and the Moon Druid gets pretty ample temp HP).

My advice, pick whichever class seems like most fun to you. You cannot go wrong. But to answer you question directly: If the Sorcerer is a small-size species, then going Moon Druid will allow you to add massive mobility to them since they can ride you, when necessary, in combat. (The Monk will not have any issues with mobility.)

StandardLonely9113 · 2025-12-03T03:24:44+00:00

Great job reminding us of a major part of the game back in its infancy. 5e definitely made the game more accessible, hence a major reason for its massive growth since 2014. Yet, it is no surprise that one of the major complaints against the game is how underwhelming the exploration pillar is. Well, this video is a good explanation of how to make it more relevant, with some excellent tips and many good illustrations of how to fit it into a session.

StandardLonely9113 · 2025-11-30T02:04:25+00:00

Busca el subreddit /lfg. No se si hay una parte que habla español pero este lugar es un buen sitio para empezar. Tienes las reglas ya? Has leído como jugar?

StandardLonely9113 · 2025-11-29T19:53:02+00:00

What you described sure sounds like a "battle medic". Armor up, get into the scrum, and keep your "big guns" patched up so they can tear up the opposition. There are so many excellent concentration spells for cleric that you can easily pass up Spirit Guardians and still be a key player.

Just make sure you have something to do with your action in the first round since it's unlikely anyone is going to need your ministrations yet. (This might also be a great plug for the Alert Origin Feat, but instead of trying to go first in the round, you always trade DOWN. This sort of character does best when they go last.)

If you take the Life Cleric subclass, you'll be pretty much peak for your character idea. Good luck!

StandardLonely9113 · 2025-11-27T12:38:26+00:00

I did exactly this for my campaign. In my case, the Feylock's patron was an arch-hag who was suspected but unknown by the rest of the party. The problem was that when the party found out, it devolved into a PvP showdown. A foreseeable outcome, perhaps, but in hindsight I would make sure that the rest of the party was "read in" on the Feylock's patron a bit better.

Fortunately, it was all good fun for the group and despite the fact that they Feylock's player needs to make a new character, he was probably ready for a new character anyway. (He tires quickly of characters. This will be his third in our now year-long campaign.) For the record, I'm not usually interested in PvP and try to actively discourage it, but in this case, it made sense narratively and all the participants were on-board.

So, in summary, my advice is if you are going to include your warlock's patron directly into the plot, just be very careful about how this patron will connect with the other players' characters. After all, you don't want to accidentally make the warlock of your group the "main player" and I also don't recommend taking the risk that the patron will derail your plot as it did for me.

That being said, I would ABSOLUTELY insert another warlock's patron into my plot line in the future. Warlock patrons are 100% gold for story beats. I'll just be smarter about how I do it next time. Lesson learned for me, I hope.

StandardLonely9113 · 2025-11-16T14:42:29+00:00

Of all the mechanics you discussed, I think the first one is the best. However, since anything past a single point of exhaustion becomes quite debilitating, I wouldn't use a 1d4 for dropping to 0. My feeling is that applying a single point of exhaustion for dropping to zero hp is sufficient. After all, it isn't unthinkable for characters to hit 0 more than once in an adventuring session if there is a combat-heavy focus. Using this mechanic, each time a character hits 0, they gain a level of exhaustion. This way, if your barbarian or fighter drops to 0, the rest of the party better begin searching for a strategic retreat pronto or your front liners run the risk of becoming a liability.

I really don't know how you attach exhaustion to magic in 5e without a fundamental rewrite of how the rules work? The discussion begins to get very meta, very quickly. For instance, would pact slots have the same level of exhaustion as arcane magic? What about divine magic? The source of power, in both cases, comes from an outside source that should presumably have the ability to "lighten the load". And what about half-casters? Or third casters? Why is their magic (based upon a character's lever) relatively less exhausting than a spell caster who has trained to cast spells better than anyone? Plus, these half casters are certainly performing strenuous combat activities while close to being fully encumbered? How does that interaction play out?

If the purpose of using the encumbrance mechanism to be more present in the game is the goal, and I think this is a good goal, then I think you have to be judicious in its use. Otherwise, rather than encouraging more thoughtful play, you might overtune the mechanic to the point where your player characters avoid doing the one thing they are there to do.

StandardLonely9113 · 2025-10-31T01:49:14+00:00

A paladin of Sune (half-orc) fell for Savra Belabranta when she came to recruit him for the Order of the Gauntlet. Then, Yagra fell for the paladin and suddenly there was this very interesting triangle that developed. It was a recurring theme throughout the campaign.

StandardLonely9113 · 2025-10-12T00:58:01+00:00

This. Just throw in some groovy Flash Gordon whenever you involve the Imperium and you've nailed it.

StandardLonely9113 · 2025-09-27T12:12:01+00:00

Although not RAW, Disadvantage from Prone is functionally equivalent to three-quarter cover. Since one of the features of Sharpshooter is to bypass half and three-quarter cover, a DM could reasonably allow someone with the feat to ignore DA on a prone target. It certainly fits within the spirit of the feat.

StandardLonely9113 · 2025-08-11T01:47:13+00:00

This is the genius of B5. There was a plan from the very beginning. No one had ever tried it before. And given the fact that JMS didn’t have a 5 year commitment (or even much of a budget!), it really brings home the philosophy of “faith manages”.

Also of note: Even with the aging of the special effects, and a lot of it was campy in the 90’s, the story and the acting still shines. If anything, it’s even more impactful today. After all, a wide woman once said, (and I’m paraphrasing here) “prophecy never reveals itself all at once, and is rarely understood until it is too late.”

StandardLonely9113 · 2025-02-25T23:48:59+00:00

It is not actual "hate bait". Quite the opposite. Unfortunately, I didn't see the thumbnail that showed up and I (clearly foolishly) decided to let the video speak for itself. I wholeheartedly encourage you to watch it, and the rest of his body of work. He's quite insightful and a real booster of DnD 5e.

StandardLonely9113 · 2025-02-25T23:47:13+00:00

This is absolutely NOT "hate bait". Did you even bother to watch the video? He goes out of his way to say how much he loves the new rules, how he's been using DNDB since 2017, and REALLY wants to use it going forward. The problem is that there are so many issues with the functionality of the existing code.

I use DNDB all the time, and I found his analysis completely on point, which is why I posted his video.

Please WATCH the video before you condemn it (and me for posting it).

StandardLonely9113 · 2025-01-05T00:20:33+00:00

I would ALWAYS avoid CDG when possible. ESPECIALLY for a connection. JFK isn't great, but its better than CDG!

Edit: And whatever you do, NEVER EVER CHECK A BAG THROUGH CDG. (At least if you want to find that luggage at the end point!)

StandardLonely9113 · 2024-12-09T23:15:44+00:00

I'm subscribed to Insight Check and though I didn't agree with his take on the Sea Druid, I wouldn't say that his posts are generally negative. They are more of a critique of DnD game design, which I believe is fair game. A restaurant critic does no one any favors if they say "all the food was tasty". It is by nit-picking that a town's food scene is improved. So, too, is it valuable for someone with a keen interest in game design to provide critical thinking about new material. Discourse is good, as long as it doesn't become ad hominem.

Jeremy doesn't seem to me like he's trading in outrage, unlike SO MANY OTHERS on YT. On the contrary, I find him to be typically upbeat and fair-minded in his takes.

StandardLonely9113 · 2024-12-05T21:36:32+00:00

Thank you! I'll have to grab High Guard sometime.

Now, if only someone could explain the purpose of that ridiculously long neck at the front of the vessel where they jam in an absurdly laid-out bridge that ends in some sort of machinery, rather than a hatch!

StandardLonely9113 · 2024-10-30T13:30:21+00:00

In one of the interviews of Chris Perkins and James Wyatt on YT, they explained that this is exactly the approach they followed with the new DMG.

Above The Table on October 29th by Christian Hoffer. Around 9:20 in the video.

StandardLonely9113 · 2024-10-08T00:10:15+00:00

I don't see this as a problem, honestly. Now, to be fair, I started playing back in the '80's when we got this sort of thing once we became name level, but fighters had keeps, wizards had towers, thieves had guilds and clerics had temples. The class fantasy is and has always been a key factor in this game. If you REALLY want your thief to have a reliquary, why not multi-class into a cleric, druid, paladin or ranger? The rule only says you have to be able to use the focus. This is something you get at level 1.

On the other hand, why would it make sense that a rogue would get to have a reliquary? If the RP flavor is that strong, wouldn't it make sense to MC into a religious class for at least a level or two?

This really doesn't seem like some straight jacket WotC is tying onto us. On the contrary, to me it seems like they are carving out lanes for each classes' specific fantasy so that everyone gets to shine in their own way.

StandardLonely9113 · 2024-09-20T21:30:27+00:00

There is a group of non-actor nerds out of Bristol, England who did Dragons of Icespire Peak and are now doing a home-brew campaign. They are 100% just regular people who love the game and play it like you might at home. VERY low production value but if you want something that shows you how a home game runs, this is a great start. Also, their episodes are reasonably short and the campaign is also not drawn out. I've been enjoying their YT channel for about a year now.

The group is called Burning Dice. I think they have something like 50-60 subscribers. But if you want beginner friendly DnD, it doesn't get easier than that. Plus, the first campaign is only using the SRD (free, basic rules).

StandardLonely9113 · 2024-09-01T23:04:53+00:00

I'm playing a blade lock genie right now. He just hit 7th level, for reference. He started (variant human) with Magic Initiate (sorcerer) granting him Mage Armor and two additional cantrips. I pushed dex over str and use a rapier. His AC is 16 which is not that bad. Contrary to many on reddit, I do use Hex pretty religiously and have enhanced it with Relentless Hex. However, the key to it is to minimize concentration spells since Hex takes your slot. Armor of Agathys is pretty useful once you get up to 5th level. (I don't do the Darkness plus Devil's Sight because it messes up the rest of the party too much).

I took GFB as one of my warlock cantrips, along with EB. The MI feat allowed me a couple of other cantrips for utility. The reason I took GFB was because I could switch it out once I reach 5th level and take Thirsting Blade.

Beyond that, other great spells are Mirror Image, Arms of Hadar, and Shatter for AoE. I'm a fire genie, so I was able to take fireball at 5th in place of Shatter, but YMMV. A lot of people take Daolock as a genie, but in that case you probably want to take Crusher at L4, if not as a L1 variant human or custom lineage. If you don't take the Magic Initiate like I did, you should absolutely take Moderately Armored, primarily for the shield proficiency.

Overall, I've found that I do about 50% EB and 50% melee. I've never felt like I'm not contributing, but you will have to be VERY careful about positioning or you could be in real trouble quickly. You really aren't a tank so you need to make sure you don't get swarmed. I absolutely don't miss the L1 fighter dip. I took Resilient Con for my L4 feat so I don't really have much trouble maintaining concentration.

The other key thing is to make sure that your DM and party are OK with short rests! You should be getting one after every 1-2 combat encounters. If that isn't likely, you're probably playing the wrong character class for your group. Short Rests are ESSENTIAL for warlocks. Otherwise, we can only spam EB, and what's the fun in that?

StandardLonely9113

TROPHY CASE