Traveller: create subsector first or characters first?

What say you? I tend to roll up a subsector well in advance of players rolling up PCs as I figure that way there's already an idea of what sort of things might be done in the game. I guess the sequence doesn't really matter too much since the results are random but then again you might extrapolate from the random results differently if you already know what PCs there will be. I think I'm a bit biased in favor of saying the universe doesn't give a fig who or what the PCs are, it is what it is. Que sera, sera.

Anybody got a good reason to do one before the other?

Quote from: Dumarest;993306Traveller: create subsector first or characters first?

What say you? I tend to roll up a subsector well in advance of players rolling up PCs as I figure that way there's already an idea of what sort of things might be done in the game. I guess the sequence doesn't really matter too much since the results are random but then again you might extrapolate from the random results differently if you already know what PCs there will be. I think I'm a bit biased in favor of saying the universe doesn't give a fig who or what the PCs are, it is what it is. Que sera, sera.

Anybody got a good reason to do one before the other?

How to make a Traveller Sandbox

Quote from: Dumarest;993306Traveller: create subsector first or characters first?

What say you? I tend to roll up a subsector well in advance of players rolling up PCs as I figure that way there's already an idea of what sort of things might be done in the game. I guess the sequence doesn't really matter too much since the results are random but then again you might extrapolate from the random results differently if you already know what PCs there will be. I think I'm a bit biased in favor of saying the universe doesn't give a fig who or what the PCs are, it is what it is. Que sera, sera.

Anybody got a good reason to do one before the other?

It is Chicken or the Egg situation.

You can roll up the subsector first and then have many different homeworlds to choose from for when you roll up characters. You can roll up characters first and have the players tell you what homeworld they have come from so that you can place it in the subsector (I tend to shy away from this because if you have players unfamiliar to Traveller, they tend to come up with worlds designed to encourage Munchkin characters).

You could always create a character from a generic homeworld, have that character explore the subsector and map it as they go, then present the finalized report to the players for their use when generating characters. That is what I have been doing lately.

Quote from: estar;993307How to make a Traveller Sandbox

Read this. It is excellent.

Subsector first. I really can't think of any game where I would want to create setting AFTER creating PCs. Sure, the creation of PCs will result in filling out the setting, even in minor ways, but other than that, the basic setting should be created first. For my Traveller campaign, I assume PCs come from outside the sub-sector, and using Classic Traveller '77 there are no home world effects. As the campaign rolls on, new or replacement PCs might come from somewhere in the sub-sector.

Frank

Well, their home worlds would be nowhere near the subsector since Traveller is all about the wild and woolly frontier. Any planets in the area will probably have been relatively recently colonized if anyone is living there. We'll see. Subsector first is how I've always proceeded; I was just wondering if there was any other perspective that made sense.

Quote from: Dumarest;993483Well, their home worlds would be nowhere near the subsector since Traveller is all about the wild and woolly frontier. Any planets in the area will probably have been relatively recently colonized if anyone is living there. We'll see. Subsector first is how I've always proceeded; I was just wondering if there was any other perspective that made sense.

For LBB Traveller, as GM I devote the first few sessions to collaborative character and universe creation.

We do a collective narrative character creation first, choosing attribute scores, careers, term results (skills), etc. rather than rolling dice. After my players have the characters they wish to realize in play.

Then we decide what systems would be best for the characters and narrativly support the backstories they've created.

Next, they sign off on the story arc I will run that best protagonize their characters..oh forgot it, I can't keep this up.


I roll up random subsystems. Players roll up random characters. Shenanigans ensue.

Quote from: darthfozzywig;993492For LBB Traveller, as GM I devote the first few sessions to collaborative character and universe creation.

We do a collective narrative character creation first, choosing attribute scores, careers, term results (skills), etc. rather than rolling dice. After my players have the characters they wish to realize in play.

Then we decide what systems would be best for the characters and narrativly support the backstories they've created.

Next, they sign off on the story arc I will run that best protagonize their characters..oh forgot it, I can't keep this up.


I roll up random subsystems. Players roll up random characters. Shenanigans ensue.

Good one.

Quote from: darthfozzywig;993492For LBB Traveller, as GM I devote the first few sessions to collaborative character and universe creation.

We do a collective narrative character creation first, choosing attribute scores, careers, term results (skills), etc. rather than rolling dice. After my players have the characters they wish to realize in play.

Then we decide what systems would be best for the characters and narrativly support the backstories they've created.

Next, they sign off on the story arc I will run that best protagonize their characters..oh forgot it, I can't keep this up.


I roll up random subsystems. Players roll up random characters. Shenanigans ensue.

For the first 30 seconds I started sliding into Big Purple PTSD, but you saved it before I smashed my computer screen with a hammer.

Quote from: Larsdangly;993783For the first 30 seconds I started sliding into Big Purple PTSD, but you saved it before I smashed my computer screen with a hammer.

If it wasn't for your post, I wouldn't have returned to finish reading the post that you replied to. And it's really the last couple of sentences that matters, so thank you:).

Also, I'm glad about your screen;).

Quote from: Larsdangly;993783For the first 30 seconds I started sliding into Big Purple PTSD, but you saved it before I smashed my computer screen with a hammer.

Ha ha, that's where I was..."Is this guy serious? What the heck is this...oh, good one."

Quote from: Dumarest;993856Ha ha, that's where I was..."Is this guy serious? What the heck is this...oh, good one."

He got me too, a good laugh.

If those are the options, subsector first.