In a message dated 11/25/2007 9:26:11 AM Pacific Standard Time,
writes:
> The key idea, though, is that adventures are specifically designed for
> involving the players, and that, after all, is what Traveller - or any
> RPG - is ultimately about.
The problem with adventures is that they are so specialized.
To be worth bothering with, an adventure must focus on a single
area (whether that is a single world, or up to a cluster or so)
in relatively decent detail. Then it provide an activity interesting
to the players (or they won't do it).
The problem is that by focusing on that single area, you limit
yourself to the players interested in that area. Then, of that
small subset of players, only the ones interested in the
provided activity will want it. And then, only one player in
a group will actually buy it.
The key is to make adventures that can be set in locales where the overall
region doesn't matter. One of the good things about Traveller history is
that I could have a Solomani or Vilani (or make up your Minor Race) <insert
subsector/sector here>. TNE makes that even easier ot have a reasonably
familiar Traveller world anywhere you want and any GM worth his dice can place
it with a reasonable amount of easy 1 paragraph backstory (Virus hit,
society went THIS way, then X, Y, Z happened and that's why A,B,C are the way
they are).
Assuming it's not entirely generic to begin with, much less
adaptable. For the former if it's a factory/company thing it could happen
ANYWHERE with some name changes if done right. For the latter... I quite
easily converted the original Ravenloft Module to my Star Wars WEG D6
campaign... I have half a fancy to make it a TNE adventure on a world just
outside the RC... probably in Diaspora. :D
Traveller made it easy for all of us to make our own random
subsectors. I think specific adventures are the most useful so I can use /
adapt them on the fly as "filler" adventures. For my campaigns, I almost
always set up two or their tier story/character arcs to go through but I like to
space them out with "filler" and semi-random missions sometimes. Sometimes
these amount to nothing more than "on the fly" random encounters and made up
backstories, etc. TNE motivations go a good way (though I have a simple
script I did in pearl to randomize it without needing a deck of cards).
The "BIG" stuff is all carefully planned but I could certainly use a book of
adventures, random world here, scientific mission there that doesn't need to be
tied to any one place (or if it is, I can just change some names).
Along those lines, I had always wanted to see The Traveller
Adventure done up as a comic or webcomic. I always thought
THAT would be a very cool thing.
Or as a riff on Jeff's idea, but address my concern above,
make the novel an anthology of multiple short stories. That
way it could cover more than one activity and site and have
a better chance to hook someone's interest in at least one
of the stories.
I could go for that, too. Ultimately, for Traveller to survive it
needs to get a new lease on life. Someone needs to make an MMORPG about it
or something...