>always been interested in traveller
>finally get hold of traveller rpg and learn it
>randomly generate a sector
>friends roll up characters
>excited to live vicariously through them as sigma grindset space merchants
>game begins
>quickly lose all interest in actually running traveller
What is wrong with me? It's like I liked the idea of playing more than actually playing. I ran out of adventure ideas after 8 sessions. Everything felt like some version of "criminal wants you to do something for more money than you could make legally in the same amount of time" but moreover it just feels like it can't live up to my dream.
>it can't live up to my dream
Nothing can, anon. Just play for score.
>What is wrong with me
You're wojak-posting.
>bitching about getting eight sessions of traveller
I frickin' wish, my dude. I think the most i've gotten is four.
Next time, run something more focused and concrete. It doesn't have to be job of the week, every single week. Also, hopefully by eight sessions the players have come up with some goals for their characters to follow.
That's was why I wanted traveller though. It is concrete. You have a ship and some sort of expenses associated with it, so the PCs NEED to actively seek out jobs and passengers.
But frick, I'm trying to steal stuff from firefly cause I'm so desperate already.
have them steal a bank
not rob a bank
steal the entire thing
Ones an ex scout lawful good type
At least in the campaign I'm still running
In the other, it was the GMPC I ran who was lawful good type and clashes with the PCs. But they gave up that campaign after one PC died to go back to playing 5e.
okay, no worries I can salvage this
have them steal an evil bank as evidence and bring it to somebody who'll reward them a frickton
Idk how that even makes sense but I'll think about it.
How do you even get it? And no I still think about traveller but I'm realizing i fantasize more about what I want the game to be like, but once I put pencil to paper, or actually run it, I don't like the result because it's something concrete, instead of goodfeels in my head. Like I like OSR games because I love the character building his empire, and traveller is the same way, I want the wheeling and dealing but when it comes to making actual adventures it's like it's not very fun. Whereas some shitty Pathfinder or 5e game with combat after combat is more fun. Or my steampunk political intrigue campaign. It's easier to make stuff for those.
>How do you even get it?
Ask your friends. Everyone knows a guy who knows a guy. Get it liquid form if you can, easier to manage small doses. Look into guides for microdosing, plenty around the web already. It's becoming a thing for ADD medication if you don't want to be on amphetamines, which is what prescription drugs use. Amphetamines have huge withdrawal problems, while LSD is non-toxic and non-addictive. Essentially better in every way.
As for being more into the IDEA of roleplaying than actually roleplaying, I'm afraid there is only one way to get into it more: do it more. I run premade adventures exclusively. We play Traveller too. There are a million stories already out there for classic, gurps, nu-traveller. Pick one off the shelf and run it. Don't be afraid to kill people. It should be exciting and dangerous every 2-3 games.
Nah, you're misunderstanding. "We need to pay our mortgage" isn't a concrete goal. "I have to find my ex lover," or "I need to get revenge on my old business partner," or "we want to start a pirate empire!" are concrete PC goals. Character generation is for you as much as for the players. Traveller char gen should give you a whole basket of hooks to mine, and give you guys some stuff to collab on for future plots.
>Traveller char gen should give you a whole basket of hooks to mine, and give you guys some stuff to collab on for future plots.
It does but they didn't detail their contacts or goals much so far. I mostly made it up for them. They have a long term mission but it feels like a generic plot to some extent. I'm fixing it but I'm just losing enthusiasm.
>I mostly made it up for them.
Don t do that. Collaborate with them so they have some stake.
How do I when they don't want to?
Find another group, then. Or restart and tell your players to try harder. Or introduce a big main plot and force your players onto the rails since they don't seem to want to do otherwise.
>Or introduce a big main plot and force your players onto the rails since they don't seem to want to do otherwise.
That's what I did. For now. But once it ends they will need to be more proactive.
Go write your firefly fanfic and stop inflicting this embarrassing shit on other people
What? Are you trolling? I'm trying to engage seriously here. I already said above that I DONT want to railroad them. I only feel compelled to steal from firefly because of a lack of ideas. The game provides them pressure to do something (make money, like irl) and I have adventure hooks. They just feel lackluster. And the meat of the adventure, without DnD combats to fill time, sometimes seems empty. But even with non DnD systems I don't have this problem.
Run premades until you get your spark back. The problem isn't the game, it's your brain. You have ADHD & depression or some shit. We can't fix that shit. This is a Belgian gardening forum not a therapist
>You have ADHD & depression or some shit.
For real?
How do you keep your interest going? What kind of adventures do you run?
>How do you keep your interest going? What kind of adventures do you run?
Strong characters who get themselves into trouble, overarching plots and major goals beyond "keep the ship running," and we swap refs every now and then which keeps things fresh.
Well I'm working on the middle one. The latter isn't likely given I doubt any of them will put in that much work. How do the characters get themselves into trouble? I had it happen in my group where they bumbled through a smuggling operation and got ripped off, but that only happened once. Mostly they just looked for interesting jobs and I gave them several options that caught their characters eye.
Tempt them with things. Have people approach them with shady deals that come with strings attached, or will draw major heat. Let them get their hands on stuff that is valuable but illegal and hard to get rid of safely so they sweat every docking inspection. Have bad people cross them and take the stuff they were about to pick up and load on their ship -- that will get them enthusiastic about hunting the bastards down and murdering them. Have the cops chase them, have them try to get off world and get a couple of systems away before their wanted status gets around.
Every group has at least one troublemaker, give them opportunities to drag the party into whatever shenanigans you can cook up.
>For real?
Idk but probs
You find friends that aren't worthless pieces of shit to play with. Seriously, if they can't work up the effort to collaborate with you on making an interesting character--not even making one up themselves, literally just helping you out for the sake of the game you are all playing--they're most likely a selfish dickhead. It's not like you're demanding a ton of effort on their part, so them being unwilling to raise a single finger is a huge red flag whipping in the wind.
Just make a ancient soace dungeon, scientist lair, alien gladiator maze, aliens just parking next to your planet with their version of a gameshow and inviting everyone or something silly. Have them go theough stellaris like exploration events. Set up mining equipment. Discover wrecked ghost ships. Let them move up society and have spoiled children.
And then like other anon said kill them and make them play their kids with like a meta element of raising them
the hypothetical is almost always more seductive then the practical. the general idea put into practice tends to be much more complicated then the sensation itself, so without the due infastructure it falls flat.
take it from a long time solo and multi rpg player. a group with a good well structured dm will almost always have a much more compelling situation then off the cuff personal adventure.
not that personal solo cant be down well, but it likewise takes quite a bit of effort and structure and resources, and those things are all must be done by a single indivigual rather than it being split up between a gm and the players.
so dont loose hope, but understand that it requires effort.
ADHD. I was the same. Microdosing LSD helps.
>What is wrong with me?
You go on the internet and latch on to every trendy new meme like "sigma grindset" and so you butchered your attention span.
truly, the most sigma grindset of posts.
Nah it was more, I hit my late 20s, began to get into OSR games, began to watch or read certain stories and began to idealize this archetype of someone trying to make money and build their empire or kingdom or whatever. First it was old school DnD but traveler really tickled that itch.
>friends roll up characters
>excited to live vicariously through them
>the GMPC I ran
>they didn't detail their contacts or goals much so far. I mostly made it up for them
>What is wrong with me?
Can you explain point by point what is actually wrong with those?
Yes my friends rolled up characters. that's literally how traveller works.
Yes I was excited to see what their characters did. Did I sort of want to play myself? Yes but the context of the adventure was more important to me.
Yes I ran a GMPC in the first campaign I ran because there were only 2 characters. I never overshadowed them.
They didn't detail much of their contacts and goals cause they wanted me to do it. So I did.
What IS wrong with me? I'm not trying to be defensive I'm just confused.
you can get various ideas from their earlier supplements, I will highly recomend you a couple of books that might help you get some more ideas, these are all MgT1e and available in the pdf share thread
Supplement 1 - 760 Patrons
Supplement 1 - 760 Patrons 2nd Edition
Supplement 9 - Campaign Guide
Supplement 11 - Animal Encounters
Supplement 13 - Starport Encounters
Supplement 16 - Adventure Seeds
I was also interested in it until I actually gave it a shot. Maybe, just maybe traveller just isn't very good.
What made you lose interest? What was your campaign about?
Nah, I been hooked on it for years, I can barely work up interest for other systems anymore.
This is a Traveller thread so I guess I will ask. I'm trying to design a modular ship that is 75% modular (the maximum amount that can be made modular) my problem is that I want it to move faster than an addlepated drifter, so I try to stick J-2 drives in it but then it throws it off the 25% which is barely manageable to begin with, so I up the Tonnage a bit, but then that makes everything else heavier... ad nauseum.
Is there any way to make a tiny but fast cab that pulls a huge modular brick through space or not?
Possible from 100dtons upwards as long as you're unarmored and keep staterooms in the module. Show your math so far.
MgT2
J-1 Drive is minimim 10 tons. A bridge is 10 tons. So even without a powerplant or M Drive or fuel, I'm close to the cap.
Plus, don't you need Armor at least a little?
This concept is impossible for any tonnage if you want to keep the fuel in the cab.
If you don't:
Thrust is 1% per thrust so 2 tons
3 tons of power plant gives enough power so 25 tons total. That's 75% available. Scaling means you get even more % of free space with bigger tonnage.