this post was submitted on 21 Jun 2025
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Traveller

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Discussion of the various incarnations on the Traveller RPG by Marc Miller, et al.

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Thoughts on a GM-less Traveller game? (ttrpg.network)
submitted 5 days ago by flibbertygibbit@ttrpg.network to c/Traveller@ttrpg.network
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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.

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[–] Scallops@ttrpg.network 2 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

Zozer Games has a few solo Traveller books that are well regarded.

There's one aptly named Solo for general traveller adventures, there's Hostile Solo for an Alien / Aliens feel and some really cool squad mechanics. I think there's a third supplement, but I'm not sure.

Edit: aha! The third book! Classic Traveller style, I'm guessing by the price there's minimal artwork.

[–] flibbertygibbit@ttrpg.network 2 points 2 days ago

I wonder how the books are different. I tried a solo Traveller game with Zozer solo first edition, and I couldn't get into it. It was too much like a journaling game with not enough crunchy forced randomness. I wonder if the other versions are significantly different. I will probably get the second edition to see what it's like.

I will say though, I do like the random tables from Zozer solo. Obviously it's all tailored to Traveller which is a bonus compared to other solo systems. I particularly liked how it handled the character relationships. I will likely sprinkle in some of the random table use here and there and maybe use some of the character creation guidelines.

[–] rosswinn@ttrpg.network 2 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Just a few ideas. First of all, I think using Pirates of Drinax is an excellent idea because it's a great sandbox. Second, I think it's a great opportunity to collaboratively run your game between the three of you. You can say, "I want to do this." One of your friends can say, "I want to do that," and somebody else can say, "I want to do that." Using those three things, you can build a concept. I'm really interested to hear regular updates, Maybe even a blog that each of you writes an entry into in sequence; so you write the first, the second person writes the second, the third person writes the third, so that we can really get a multiple perspective view of what's going on and how it works. Also consider documenting by either audio recording or YouTube video or something so that you guys can reference it when you're in the next session. Definitely record keeping is gonna be a big part of this.

[–] flibbertygibbit@ttrpg.network 2 points 2 days ago

Thanks, Ross. That is the cooperative style we are thinking. I think we'll have one PC each as our main characters, which we can channel the decision making through when needed, and interpret the results together. I think it's a good plan.

We'll document our sessions for sure, and I'll try to do the occasional update. For sure I can do a retrospect once we get into it. I'll ask the guys about a blog or video capture of the sessions. That sounds like work to me but they may be into it.

[–] calamitycastle@lemmy.world 5 points 5 days ago (1 children)

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.

[–] flibbertygibbit@ttrpg.network 3 points 5 days ago (1 children)

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.

[–] calamitycastle@lemmy.world 4 points 5 days ago (1 children)

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!

[–] flibbertygibbit@ttrpg.network 3 points 5 days ago

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!

[–] DragonBard@ttrpg.network 4 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I'm going to suggest the Motif system, as it has Story, Character, and World emulators that might make it easier to run.

https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/publisher/7970/thought-punks/category/38729/motif-framework

I have used this system for a solo game of Traveller and it worked quite well.

[–] flibbertygibbit@ttrpg.network 4 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I haven't seen this before but it looks interesting. Is the Story Engine the 'core' book, with the Character Engine and World Engine being something like ad-ons? I don't think there's anything keeping us from using multiple sources. I would be willing to give it a read and try it.

[–] DragonBard@ttrpg.network 4 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Yes, the story engine is the core system. It's primarily what I used for my solo game, as Traveller has enough other systems to fill in the world running. But I think the character engine might be simpler than using something like the Traveller 5 personals system if you truly need some randomness to how NPCs will react.

[–] flibbertygibbit@ttrpg.network 4 points 5 days ago

Okay, I bought those 3 books and I'll check them out. Thank you for the recommendation, kind internet stranger!

[–] Sanctus@lemmy.world 4 points 5 days ago (1 children)

This is science. Document it and do it and report back with your findings. I was gonna spin up a local llm trained on only TTRPGs to try that out. As thats the only use I see for the technology.

[–] flibbertygibbit@ttrpg.network 4 points 5 days ago

I will try to remember to occasionally report back.