LogFAQs > #908256337

I_Abibde posted...

Let us know how that goes. I have been weighing my sci-fi options, and Traveller is certainly one of the most appealing. (Others include White Star and Stars Without Number, plus oddities like the sci-fi version of the One Dice system.) Also: Is Mongoose Publishing still handling Traveller these days? I remember that being their big deal.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starfinder_Roleplaying_Game ?



I_Abibde posted...

As for your advice on running a ship and crew (thank you), I doubt we are going to be that in-depth about it. The ship is a means to the end. The question is whether or not the trip to the city in the clouds will be one-way or not.

I was mostly bringing it up so you can have a touch of flavor if you want. Give a couple NPCs names, or describe one as "the guy with the eyepatch" or "the weird halfling who spends all her time up in the rigging", and players are far more likely to engage with them. Then, if they do, you suddenly have useful NPCs for future flavor (and who the PCs will be far more likely to care about when you eventually kidnap or murder them all, or have them betray them).

Plus, even if you're only looking for the "recruiting a bunch of weirdos" scene, thinking about ship roles can help flesh out the humor of that scene. Like having a completely unhygienic half-orc apply for the job of ship's cook (up to you if the food he cooks is surprisingly good or outright terrible). Or the incredibly nebbish navigator who has all the maps, charts, and tools but has apparently never actually set foot on a ship before (and who is totally going to get seasick for humorous effect once they sail). Or the grizzled dwarf who's blind in one eye and has a stump leg, but who is a brilliant woodworker (which means he's going to be vital for patching the ship and making barrels when necessary). Or the snarky elf merchant they recruit to handle Quartermaster duties, who always criticizes or snarkily insults anyone who ever requests any of his stock for any reason whatsoever (which is why his store went bankrupt and he needs a new job). Or the shifty rogue who clearly seems like they want to get out of the current port city as quickly as possible for some reason, but who is incredibly evasive about why. Or the cackling and possibly deranged Druid who also has coastal/sea magic and who can potentially create fresh water or subdue storms, but who also creeps you the fuck out. And so on.

Sure, you can just go "Yeah, you recruit enough crew to run the ship effectively" and never describe any of them, and it's good enough to just ferry the PCs from adventure to adventure, but if you've got a Spelljamming ship, it's a good opportunity to use the ship as a rest/resupply hub, and having NPC personalities to interact with during downtime helps make it a more interesting setting.


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