On 4/4/2016 10:38 PM, Kelly St. Clair wrote:
> On 4/4/2016 6:36 PM, Kurt Feltenberger wrote:
>
>> My current project is to find a set of rules that will work with the
>> 2003 version of Battlestar Galactica because I absolutely loathe the MWP
>> rules and the whole concept that they utilize both for characters and
>> vehicles.  Traveller could work, but again, once the ships get brought
>> into the mix the rules have to be re-written.
>
> I was staying away from TV, since the OP seemed to have a more
> literary focus.  But if that's in, then of course I have to mention
> Firefly, and (more recently adapted) the Expanse (novels and show).

Whether it's literary or visual media, I think the issues remain; once
you move beyond the character (and while Traveller models *average*
characters moderately well, I don't feel it models exceptional or above
average characters well at all) level, Traveller has some rather rigid
views on technology and how it works that in a lot of cases is simply
not compatible with fiction, regardless of how it is published (visual
or literary).

How do you model something like Hamilton's "Reality Dysfunction" with
the rules?  The characters would probably work, but once you moved
beyond them to the technology and the chrome of the setting the rules
simply fail horribly.  Likewise if you try to do the old Star Wars
Expanded Universe (then again, IMHO, nothing since WEG's D6 rules was
close to capturing that milieu).

<soapbox>

This is where I think as a gaming community we're shooting ourselves in
the foot.  This ceaseless pursuit of "one game to rule them all"
thinking where if we only do enough research and enough thinking that
we'll come up with some sort of rules system that will work for every
genre/milieu is a fool's quest.  During the 1980s, we had dozens or even
hundreds of systems that were created specifically for the milieu they
were going to support and thus could be directly tailored to them.  If
you wanted to play Star Trek, you dug out ST:RPG, or Star Wars you had
the SW RPG, and so on.

Traveller thrived because, and here I'm speaking in generalities and not
specifically about people on this list, back then people actually built
their own worlds and took the rules and built those words from the
rules.  There was genuine creativity and the content of anything we
bought (or were fortunate or driven enough to produce for sale) was more
important than the packaging or the artwork because the real creativity
was within us.

Today, everything is canned and usually hacked onto one of about half a
dozen or so systems.  If it isn't presented in black and white, on
glossy paper, with a lion's share of the budget going to artwork and
production value, it doesn't sell.  And because there's so much that's
prepackaged people (again, not this list, because a more creative and
innovative bunch I've never met) simply don't take the time and effort
to pioneer on their own.

Anyway, I guess I really miss the old days when product had heart and
were rated on the material, not the production values.  Back when
GMs/DMs could spend a weekend or a week and create a unique world that
would then be developed over a year or more of gaming and finding out
what was over the next hill or in the next system.

</soapbox>

As always, YMMV

--
Kurt Feltenberger
xxxxxx@thepaw.org/xxxxxx@yahoo.com
“Before today, I was scared to live, after today, I'm scared I'm not
living enough." - Me