I would like to get thoughts on my half-assed plan to coordinate a GM-less Traveller game for myself and two of my buddies.
Context:
- Our experience with Traveller is limited but not zero. I have never played Traveller but have read many of the books (mostly Mongoose Traveller, Classic Traveller, and Traveller5). I have ran a handful of sessions with the same two guys as players (we played through High and Dry).
- We are old hats at other games, especially Dungeons & Dragons. The three of us starting gaming together in middle school, which was more than 30 years ago now (yikes!). We've been playing together in a group pretty consistently since then.
- We are all also experienced GMs but we don't want to GM. I could run a game, but I would much rather play. We thought trying a GM-less system with a cooperative narrative would be a fun compromise.
- We have to play online. We live in different parts of the US so playing in person is not an option. We play via Roll20 with Discord for voice.
The Plan:
- Use Mongoose Traveller 2e for our core system. Of the Traveller systems I've looked at, MgT2e seems to be the most accessible and I have all the books now thanks to the recent sale. For added context, I also have all the Classic Traveller, MegaTraveller, and Traveller5 books from Marc Miller.
- Set the game in the Pirates of Drinax setting. The internet seems to love this setting and set of adventures and, from the reading I've done, it does look pretty fun.
- Use Mythic Game Master Emulator 2e as our referee. This system has resonated most with me and the games I like. I tried the Zozer Solo First Edition and didn't really enjoy it -- the experience was too much of a journaling game for me. However, I now see there is a Second Edition, which I may have to check out.
- With these components in place, we'll make characters (which is scheduled for the 30th), establish a starting premise, and jump into our sandbox.
That is my basic plan. What do you think? Are there any pitfalls that I will undoubtedly fall into? Is there something that I absolutely must try? I would be interested in hearing any feedback.
Since you're the one who made the post, I think you should 100% run the game for your two mates! GMing for small groups is the best!
Your post doesn't include any notes about how you will play without a GM, so just go for it! Make them reward you with snacks and trinkets.
Yeah, I should, but that's the thing -- it makes it an obligation. The three of us plus a few more play in a regular D&D 5e game every couple weeks, that I am currently running. This game will be outside of that and we agreed that we would all like to play together. I definitely agree with you that running for small groups is fun, but I want to play too.
In reference to playing without a GM, that's what the Mythic Game Master Emulator is for. It's an oracle system where you ask it questions like you would a GM, and it generates an answer. As a group, we would come up with those questions, test them against the system, and interpret the results together.
Ah you know what, I'm sorry I missed that part of your post. I stand by my comment though, I feel like removing the GM is also removing part of the game but interested to hear your results!
I agree with you that it's removing a big part of the game, but I hope the replacement is still fun. I think it'll just be different.
We recently played a game of World Wizard, which has a similar cooperative narrative style to it. None of us had played that kind of game before and we really enjoyed it. This approach to playing Traveller was an idea to build on the fun we had in that game.
Also, happy cake day!