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From: <smaug@ereborbbs.duckdns.org>
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.misc
Subject: Re: Mongoose Traveller or Cepheus Engine
Date: Thu, 4 Jul 2024 12:27:13 -0000 (UTC)
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Justisaur <justisaur@yahoo.com> wrote:
> On 6/21/2024 12:52 AM, Kyonshi wrote:
>> On 6/20/2024 10:07 PM, Alex Schroeder wrote:
>>> I have run Mongoose Traveller, the first one; years later I ran Classic
>>> Traveller and it felt similar but also a bit weirder because the civil
>>> careers aren???t there. But that betting element during character 
>>> creation is
>>> there, of course. I don???t know if many people play that way, however.
>>> People click on generators until they get a character they like, I fear.
>>>
>>> I started thinking about a short Traveller replacement based on
>>> conversations with Frotz. I never had any concrete plans and so it never
>>> went anywhere.
>>>
>>> https://alexschroeder.ch/pdfs/Halbardier.pdf
>>>
>> 
>> Yeah, I have to say the character generation system really is one of the 
>> best parts of Mongoose Traveller, as it gives you a fully-fledged 
>> backstory. It's not quite OSR though, as it involves too much investment 
>> into the character at the beginning.
> 
>> It does work as a sort of party game though: everybody sits around the 
>> table and tries to create their character, and sometimes you manage to 
>> get connections with the other players. That's all very neat and easy, 
>> and I think it would be a great way to spend a first session.
> 
> 
> I only played Traveller once (if you don't count Megatraveller CRPG 
> which I enjoyed too) and the session consisted of making a character. 
> Never actually did anything.  I found it fun anyway.
> 

There's this distinction now that crpgs are not actual rpgs. If people in 
the elder times (the 80s...) had known that. A lot of early attempts at 
computer games were attempts to get the DnD experience into a solo format
with the computer playing the role of the DM. 
Even Colossal Cave started out like that. 
Nowadays people will of course say those aren't real roleplaying games. 

> I used Heroes of Legend in 2e AD&D quite a bit which has a similar 
> background generation (no betting though, and no chance of death, 
> unplayable characters yes) for fantasy.  I eventually found it a bit too 
> complicated and long and affecting character power and pared it down 
> considerably.  I stopped using it sometime in 3e altogether, but 
> occasionally fondly reminisce about 'session 0' where we'd spend a good 
> portion of the first session making backgrounds with it.
>