Original D&D Discussion

« Wanderer »

Welcome Guest. Please Login or Register.
May 20, 2013, 11:27pm

Original D&D Discussion :: Science Fiction :: Traveller (1977) :: Wanderer

« Page 2 of 2 Jump to page Go

Author

Topic: Wanderer (Read 2,641 times)

apeloverage
Level 6 Magician

member is offline

Joined: Apr 2008
Gender: Male

Posts: 477
Karma: 20

Re: Wanderer
« Reply #15 on Apr 27, 2009, 3:26am »

Apr 23, 2009, 12:16pm, Thorulfr wrote:

Apr 23, 2009, 5:26am, apeloverage wrote:

I thought of it as being a combination of ancient Greece and the Carribean during the 'age of piracy'. I guess they're the two settings with lots of trading and small islands that first leap to mind.

That's what I meant by "oddly anachronistic elements". Shells as currency but the "Brotherhood of the Coast"? The first is pre-bronze age, and the latter is 'Golden age of Piracy' (although... wampum was made from shells and was still accepted as currency in some places in the American colonies into the 'GAoP' ("Golden age of Piracy"). Naaa.. if I keep playing Devil's Advocate to myself, I'm going to disappear in a brimstone-scented puff of recursive logic.)

Funnily enough when I was writing it, I thought I was 'translating' Traveller very directly and avoiding D&D-isms. I guess making something generic isn't my strong point...

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

Teleleli; the people, places, gods and monsters of the great city of Teleleli and the islands around.

Thorulfr
Level 5 Thaumaturgist

member is offline

Joined: Nov 2007
Gender: Male

Posts: 245
Location: Behind the Orange Curtain
Karma: 10

Re: Wanderer
« Reply #16 on Apr 27, 2009, 6:55pm »

Apr 27, 2009, 3:26am, apeloverage wrote:

Funnily enough when I was writing it, I thought I was 'translating' Traveller very directly and avoiding D&D-isms. I guess making something generic isn't my strong point...

Please - quite the contrary: if I have offended or was too flippant, I do apologize. What is clear from your reply is that we are taking two different approaches (or perhaps keeping with a nautical theme, two different tacks.) You seem to be trying to translate Traveller directly, keeping all the tropes intact; while I am trying to imagine what a fantasy game written by GDW, based on their Traveller engine, might have looked like. Is either approach better? Well... you seem to have a largely functional game, while mine is barely in the larval stage. On the other hand, since given the current circumstances in my life, the chances of my actually getting a FTF game - of anything - going any time within the next year or so are vanishingly remote, I am doing what I enjoy: namely geeking over minute questions of anthropology and economics and the history of technology.

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

Happily chasing game systems down dark alleys, clubbing them senseless, and rifling through their pockets for loose tables since 1978
Shameless plug

Finarvyn
Administrator

Dungeon Master
member is offline

Joined: Jun 2007
Gender: Male

Posts: 4,673
Location: Near Chicago
Karma: 178

Re: Wanderer
« Reply #17 on Apr 27, 2009, 7:06pm »

I'd say that if either of you gets something really substancial hammered out it would be nice to start some threads and post some rules.

I'm not sure which approach is better. I found some semi-D&D-like rules online that were based on the Traveller engine and tried to use that as a launching point. Problem was that it's been too many decades since I seriously played Traveller and so when there were snags in my rules I really didn't (and still don't) quite know how to de-snagify them.

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

Marv / Finarvyn
DCC playtester (2011) C&C playtester (2003)
I'm partly responsible for the S&W WhiteBox
Builder of the TrollBridge
Master of Mutants; MA since 1976
OD&D Player since 1975

"Don't ask me what you need to hit. Just roll the die and I will let you know!"
- Dave Arneson

greentongue
Level 5 Thaumaturgist

member is offline

Joined: Nov 2007
Gender: Male

Posts: 319
Location: Orlando, FL
Karma: 11

Re: Wanderer
« Reply #18 on May 10, 2009, 10:36am »

[Classic Traveller] Ancient World Trading and Sailing Rules
by Mithras @RPGnet

Quote:

This has been on my mind for several years, and I had chance to get all my notes together last week to write it up. The ancient world seen through the eyes of Traveller characters, they own a ship, travelling from port to port, trading and smuggling, picking up rumours, having adventures, taking jobs from shadowy patrons, dodging Roman patrol galleys...

The aim was to use as much as possible from the original rules. I didn't mention my preferred houserule, which is to ignore all armour DMs if they are positive, only using the negative DMs. Its my standard CT houserule that I've used for years.

I never had chance to write up the last chapters, on patrons, encounters and equipment lists ... but the game is playable without those just using the relevant sections in Traveller Book 3. Of course stats for Terran creatures wopuld have been nice too

http://www.geocities.com/zozergames/mercator1.pdf
__________________
Paul Elliott

« Last Edit: May 10, 2009, 10:37am by greentongue »

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

Greentongue
Visit my Classic Tekumel page!

hogscape
Level 5 Thaumaturgist

member is offline

Invisibility 10 ft. Radius

Joined: Oct 2009
Gender: Male

Posts: 324
Karma: 13

Re: Wanderer
« Reply #19 on Oct 18, 2009, 9:54am »

Trust Paul Elliott to strike gold again!
Mercator, outstanding...MORE!

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

Random
Level 7 Enchanter

member is offline

[avatar]

Joined: Jun 2008
Gender: Male

Posts: 537
Karma: 14

Re: Wanderer
« Reply #20 on Mar 9, 2010, 11:05am »

So, is the title Wanderer sufficiently ripped off enough that anyone can call label their variant Traveller rules as such (i.e. It's not trademarked)?

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

apeloverage
Level 6 Magician

member is offline

Joined: Apr 2008
Gender: Male

Posts: 477
Karma: 20

Re: Wanderer
« Reply #21 on Mar 9, 2010, 1:20pm »

I'm not using it - I was going to call my rules Drifter.

By the way, the Mongoose version looks like it'd be easier to turn into fantasy, because it has careers like noble, barbarian and psionic, as well as details about alien races.

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

Teleleli; the people, places, gods and monsters of the great city of Teleleli and the islands around.

Random
Level 7 Enchanter

member is offline

[avatar]

Joined: Jun 2008
Gender: Male

Posts: 537
Karma: 14

Re: Wanderer
« Reply #22 on Mar 9, 2010, 3:33pm »

Yeah, I've checked out the SRD. I'm not plotting anything drastic; I was just curious.
I'm content with Traveller as it is. Getting stranded on a low-tech world full of alien beasts is fantasy enough.

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

coffee
Level 10 Necromancer

member is offline

[avatar]

Education is fun!

Joined: Jul 2007
Gender: Male

Posts: 2,503
Karma: 57

Re: Wanderer
« Reply #23 on Mar 9, 2010, 5:41pm »

Mar 9, 2010, 3:33pm, Random wrote:

If it's a low tech world with psionics, then you're there...

Link to Post - Back to Top IP:

Logged

Dieter the Deathless, anger-fueled fighting machine.

« Page 2 of 2 Jump to page Go

Click Here To Make This Board Ad-Free