Freelance
Traveller
Essay Question is designed to allow our readers to share their experiences and ideas in playing or refereeing Traveller, or in designing things to be used in campaigns. Each issue, we’ll print one or more questions, either submitted by one of our readers, or invented by the Editor. Readers are invited to send their answers (and their questions for future issues) to us at questions@freelancetraveller.com; we’ll print a selection of the answers received in each issue.
April and May, 2010
- How do you, as a referee, encourage your players to play “in character”?
- See the submitted answers.
- What, in your opinion, makes an alien race “interesting”? (“Alien race” may include humans other than “mainstream Imperial”.)
- See the submitted answers.
June, 2010
- What, in your opinion, are the characteristics of a “good” adventure? Does it vary based on the context in which the adventure is being run? If so, how does it vary?
- See the submitted answers.
- Someone has just asked you “What is Traveller?”. It’s obvious that they want a better answer than “It’s a SF/space-opera role-playing game, like D&D is a high fantasy role-playing game.”. How do you answer them?
- See the submitted answers.
July, 2010
- Where do you, personally, draw the line between “Traveller” and “not Traveller”? Why? Is your focus more on the rules, or on the setting? Again, why?
- See the submitted answers.
- What sort of campaign do you prefer to run, or to play in? Why? Within such a campaign, what sort of activities are the most fun or most interesting for you? Again, why?
- See the submitted answers.
August, 2010
- What is your favorite type of “one-off” adventure? Why?
- No answers have yet been submitted.
- What is your favorite type of campaign adventure? Why?
- No answers have yet been submitted.
September, 2010
- Which of the Traveller rule sets do you prefer? Why?
- No answers have yet been submitted.
- What Traveller setting do you prefer? Why?
- No answers have yet been submitted.
October, 2010
- Do you feel that a well-developed “canonical” background is essential for Traveller gaming? Why, or why not?
- See the submitted answers.
- When running/playing in an adventure, do you feel that accuracy should take precedence over story, or vice-versa? Why?
- See the submitted answers.
November, 2010
- What books—or series of books—that you’ve read would you consider “Travelleresque”? Why? Would you recommend them to someone who wanted to know what Traveller is like, but couldn’t play at the time she asked?
- No answers have yet been submitted
- It is widely held that there are three overall styles of gaming: Gamism, Narrativism, and Simulationism (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNS_Theory). Which do you think is best supported by Traveller, and which do you prefer? Why? (Your answer to this may be a reasoned refutation of the validity of the GNS model.)
- See the submitted answers