New to Traveller

[mhorgunn]

So we have been playing D&D5E for about 6 years on FG. I have a friend who expressed a desire to play/ run Traveller. He is experienced in the game by not GMing on the platform.

Are there any suggestions… any extensions… that might prove useful?

[cdjensen99]

On the forge there is some nice ship plans complete with LOS set up. There is a Shop extension on dmsguild that is compatible with traveller and setting up vendors. And there are a lot of pre-gen adventures that I would suggest starting with. That way you can concentrate on running the game and not designing and running an untested adventure. I would recomment the CSC, High guard, 2e rule set, companion. That should do it.

[mhorgunn]

on the forge there is some nice ship plans complete with los set up. There is a shop extension on dmsguild that is compatible with traveller and setting up vendors. And there are a lot of pre-gen adventures that i would suggest starting with. That way you can concentrate on running the game and not designing and running an untested adventure. I would recomment the csc, high guard, 2e rule set, companion. That should do it.

csc?

[sirkerry]

csc?

Central Supply Catalogue, a book of, well stuff that Travellers might need

[GregRex]

Welcome mhorgunn!

As a new GM coming from 5e a couple of things to pass along that was a shock to me when getting into Traveller.

1. There is no Monster Manual equivilant. Mongoose does not currently publish anything like that. There are some community .mods out there for NPC's, you can compile what comes with the adventures, or create your own.

2. Speaking of adventures... they are nothing like DnD. The published adventures provide some really good fun but are only the framework for a Traveller game. Skimming and running through is not ideal. The GM needs to read it cover to cover and think about; "Why is the party going to do this?", "What is in it for them?", "Can I use the party's connections in some way?", "Where can I sprinkle in a hook if I want them to continue with the world-building I am doing?"etc.

3. Patrons are a GM's friends. After your character creation session, there should be a feel for what the group is about. Are they traders, thrill-seekers, mercenaries, thugs, pirates, explorers, wanderers, etc. Create or find some patrons from published adventures that will facilitate that theme when planning your games out.

4. Be prepared for a session where the players don't even touch an adventure. Travelling 6 parsecs in a Scout Courier can easily fill a 4 hour session with trade, encounters, random stellar events, and some fun RP at the local High Port.

Here are some links to online resources I use in my games that don't come with FG:

Traveller Map (https://travellermap.com/) For creating jump routs, UWP, and system Wiki information
Traveller Tools (https://travellertools.azurewebsites.net/) Used to generate trade, passenger, and NPC's

I'm excited for you and you group. I have lots more but don't want to over do it and there are plenty of other great ideas out there from the FG community!

Cheers,

Greg

[cdjensen99]

csc?

My apologies, I should not have used abbreviations.

[mhorgunn]

Welcome mhorgunn!

As a new GM coming from 5e a couple of things to pass along that was a shock to me when getting into Traveller.

1. There is no Monster Manual equivilant. Mongoose does not currently publish anything like that. There are some community .mods out there for NPC's, you can compile what comes with the adventures, or create your own.

2. Speaking of adventures... they are nothing like DnD. The published adventures provide some really good fun but are only the framework for a Traveller game. Skimming and running through is not ideal. The GM needs to read it cover to cover and think about; "Why is the party going to do this?", "What is in it for them?", "Can I use the party's connections in some way?", "Where can I sprinkle in a hook if I want them to continue with the world-building I am doing?"etc.

3. Patrons are a GM's friends. After your character creation session, there should be a feel for what the group is about. Are they traders, thrill-seekers, mercenaries, thugs, pirates, explorers, wanderers, etc. Create or find some patrons from published adventures that will facilitate that theme when planning your games out.

4. Be prepared for a session where the players don't even touch an adventure. Travelling 6 parsecs in a Scout Courier can easily fill a 4 hour session with trade, encounters, random stellar events, and some fun RP at the local High Port.

Here are some links to online resources I use in my games that don't come with FG:

Traveller Map (https://travellermap.com/) For creating jump routs, UWP, and system Wiki information
Traveller Tools (https://travellertools.azurewebsites.net/) Used to generate trade, passenger, and NPC's

I'm excited for you and you group. I have lots more but don't want to over do it and there are plenty of other great ideas out there from the FG community!

Cheers,

Greg

Thanks Greg ... Love the map. Very Cool

1.) That's interesting ... is that because unlike D&D, Traveller is not combat centric? Where can you find .mod s?
2.) Not too worried here. My friend has about 40 years experience playing the game
3.) Agreed
4.) We do that in our D&D games now. It seems as if (from what play I've watched on line that role play is king here.

Thank you again

[Trenloe]

Where can you find .mod s?
The Fantasy Grounds forums standard is to have sticky threads at the top of the RPG system sub-forum. Traveller is no different - look for the Community Expansions sticky thread.

[kronovan]

1. There is no Monster Manual equivilant. Mongoose does not currently publish anything like that. There are some community .mods out there for NPC's, you can compile what comes with the adventures, or create your own.
This is only partly correct. While it's true there's no such publication or DLC produced by Mongoose, there is the Foreven Worlds: Creatures of Distant Worlds (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/store/product.php?id=JBEFWCDWMGT2) by Jon Brazer Enterprises. It's certainly not as expansive as a typical D&D monster manual and its the Foreven sector, but it contains some very cool threats, some of which could be placed anywhere in the Traveller verse.

[mhorgunn]

This is only partly correct. While it's true there's no such publication or DLC produced by Mongoose, there is the Foreven Worlds: Creatures of Distant Worlds (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/store/product.php?id=JBEFWCDWMGT2) by Jon Brazer Enterprises. It's certainly not as expansive as a typical D&D monster manual and its the Foreven sector, but it contains some very cool threats, some of which could be placed anywhere in the Traveller verse.

Good to know ... Thanks!!!