Traveller Mongoose 2e preliminary campaign talk and party recruitment

[donpaulo]

I'm Paul and I love Traveller. My hope is that you have the same feeling. A warning that this is only a preliminary attempt to setup a campaign. Its going to take at least a couple of months for everything to be put into place so please temper your expectations. My preference is to operate in a transparent manner and let others know what and how I am thinking/feeling so there are no misunderstandings. Without any further distraction lets get into the gritty details of how I am hoping to run a campaign. Wall of text warning as I want to be explicit in this post to make things crystal clear.

FG ultimate license
TZ JST
Sunday noon
Long term campaign
Voice is discord & teamspeak
Traveller Mongoose 2e

The initial day time slot will be Sunday around noon JST, thus 23:00 in NY and 04:00 London. Perhaps the time can be tweaked somewhat but we have to start somewhere. Initially I would like to meet twice a month or “bimonthly” however with enough support and assistance we could ramp up to 3 or even 4 times a month depending on our interests and demands. I find that about 3 hours is best.
This campaign will hopefully be long term, however this referee reserves the right to change his mind if running the game becomes a burden. I want to honest up front because although I can get along with many different kinds of folks for online play there are sometimes conflicts of interest or a certain play style that just doesn't mesh with my approach to gaming. With this in mind I want to set up individual conversations so we can get to know each other better. If we build a strong team with mutual play styles and interests its best for everyone over the long term. Prepared players who have invested in the group, want to build something together and know how to compromise are going to be critical aspects of making this a successful endeavor.

Some things that are important for anyone who is considering this campaign;
First is audio discipline, background noise is distracting and is really not necessary. I ask anyone who wants to participate in valuable game time with me to make an effort to take care of this issue. Any player who does not control outside noise will not be asked to join the group. I do not want to speak louder than background noise. Its really not hard to master this critical aspect of online group play. Make the effort and everyone benefits.
Second is rules lawyers. We all want to follow the rules and sometimes mistakes are made, but if game play is stopped because a player just doesn't agree with a ruling then it ruins the time for everyone. As a player I've had to accept a ruling I didn't like because it was in the groups best interest to move forward with the game. Excessive whining and complaining is not something most players enjoy hearing. After a session is complete we can figure out the best way to handle a situation the next time it occurs, but as the referee I get to make the final call. I don't want to play with combative personalities who cannot accept a ruling they don't agree with. Maturity and treating others with respect is of paramount importance. Failing to comply with this is a fatal flaw and that player will not be invited to join or continue with the campaign.
Third is a zero tolerance policy for some kinds of play styles. There will be no torture, rape, racism or hateful commentary allowed in any game I run. Metagaming is unappealing and I prefer to avoid using it any part of any adventure I am part of. Character sexual relationships are to be a fade to black situation. Characters are not allowed to take direct actions to prevent other player characters from doing something unless they allow interference. Further all player characters who wish to join this campaign need my approval. I've had an unfortunate experience in a previous 5e campaign where one player in particular continued to make choices that put a burden upon me and forced me to play NPCs in a way I found displeasing. So as a result all toons must meet with my approval. I reserve the right to reject any character idea for any reason whatsoever. If a person cannot comply with this rule I wish them well with a different GM.
Fourth is a request for the players to participate in creating the universe. Interesting NPCs, names, places, planets, failure tables, pictures/photos, tokens, maps, especially maps! You name it. I want partners not players. We are going to make this universe together. Perhaps you might even want to GM, I would love to take turns and play in your campaign. Synergy is a wonderful thing, lets find that sweet spot and have even more fun gaming with each other. I hope that meets with your approval as some of the previous rules may sound like I'm a bit of a hardass
Fifth is that financial support for the purchase of additional FG modules is also welcome. Mongoose ain't cheap and costs do add up. We want to support the content creators yet do not have unlimited funds to do so.
Sixth is for players to give me feedback after or between sessions. The better I understand you and your preferred style of play the better it is for all of us. While I don't need a multi page fictional introduction to your character, if you want to write one then go for it. As long as it helps everyone get to know your toon better than its a great idea. However creating a character history that allows a toon to “get around” the rules is strictly not allowed. 'Oh my uncle was a cop or my family was in charge of a factory and so...' Nope that is not happening in my campaign

MORE DETAILS
The EXACT nature of the start of the campaign is as yet undecided. My preference is currently for the team to be somehow less than ideal candidates. Underdogs would be another way to put it. This would be a great place for some flaws to manifest themselves. Overcoming the odds is a really fun way to play in my view and really builds team cohesion. I expect initial TL to be about 9 in some areas and up to 12 or 13 in others with costs being the determinate factor.
My preference at this point is for a gritty realism that allows the team to adventure and heal afterwards so medical tech is going to be a critical part of the campaign. Initially this GM prefers a railroad adventure style until a sandbox area can be built up. I don't want to gloss over healing from surgery or spend valuable time creating content that will not be explored by the team so this is an important part of the campaign to consider. The team is going to need a doctor, y'all will have to invest time and money in an NPC at greater expense if nobody wants to play a medically related toon. I will try hard to compensate the doctor in other ways. Medical tech will quite possibly be an important part of the initial chapters of the campaign but that will be up to the team to decide upon. If a PC has a major injury the player in question will be given the choice to roll up a new toon, go with the injured one or take a temporary character while the main one heals. Traveller can be brutal when it comes to the ease in which death is part of any session. Choice is the key factor here, nobody wants to play a toon they have no interest in continuing.

There are a few things I am toying with that I'd like to share with any and all interested persons. This referee really likes the idea of character flaws as they make for great role playing opportunities. So please consider incorporating some flaws into your character! The more flaws your toon has the easier it is for the GM to grant requests and benefits. Ideally this is a give and take situation. Min-max tough guys who smoke cigars and keep kill counts are interesting sidekicks, not main characters in my view. Our view of the universe is also one to consider. Some may choose to embrace diversity and tolerate most behaviors while others may decide that they wish to limit their choices that is for you to decide, but life itself is about change in all its glorious forms. Be ready to experience that.

Another important aspect of the campaign is going to be financial in nature so we are going to have to work out a trade system that is both fair, fun and cannot be optimized. Making systemic regular runs for profit should be the exception rather than the rule in my view. After all its never a milkrun is it ? Please give some thought to how you might suggest a system that we can create that will support our campaign. When it comes to costs and technology I may have to set aside the price to acquire something until a reasonable assessment can be determined. Hopefully some of this kind of stuff will be streamlined going forward.

Roleplaying is important and I admit its not my strong point but I will do my best to create interesting characters to interact with.

Experience is also going to have to be ironed out. My preference currently is to have a each character hit a sort of maximum level of skills and then to manage them as a zero sum game. So if the pilot wants to improve her flying skills she will have to lose a skill in another area due to “lack of practice”. I think this is a reasonable way to handle experience although I think the aging tables will need a revision in my universe. Please keep this in mind when coming up with character ideas.
I prefer an Expanse Belter or Blakes 7 approach to party dynamics rather than a strict military one with a direct chain of command. Everyone is part of the group and acts in their general self interest. Each team member brings a skillset to the party and the benefit is for all. Perhaps for party dynamics there will be leaders for certain aspects of missions but that is for the party to determine. Please do not expect the team to start with a vessel, rather you will have to work your way up to one, although its certainly possible for the group to have a ship depending on how the dice fall.
PM me for further discussion

[MrWigggles]

Sure, I'll give this a go. Especially if we dont do High and Dry.
You may also wanna post this lfg on the traveller discord.
https://discord.gg/mDVfuMUfmM

[RustyInRT]

I would be interested in giving this a go. The suggested time is at my limit so anything later would not work for me but I like your straightforward, honest approach, the verbosity of which may discourage the less committed.

[donpaulo]

I would be interested in giving this a go. The suggested time is at my limit so anything later would not work for me but I like your straightforward, honest approach, the verbosity of which may discourage the less committed.

Indeed, I am not so interested in the fair weather gamer for this kind of effort

Committed and willing to invest into a group is how to build lasting success and fun

[donpaulo]

campaign now has a sufficient number of players

[TheFastEddy]

Late to the game as usual-lol. I like your approach - hope you all are having a good time. Maybe I'll catch you next time.
Cheers!