A couple of weeks ago I was prepping for a Traveller game. I knew the PCs would begin in the Kline (Magyar 3012) system and I already had a few different adventure hooks in mind. I also wanted to have a few random encounters ready to go in case the PCs went too far off book.
Yes, it's inherently inefficient to roll up random encounters ahead of a game, since many or even all of these might never be used at the table. But that said, I find the very exercise of generating random encounters—and then thinking through how the results might be used—helps get me in the mood for a game. The transitory nature of Traveller means that many star systems are simply alphanumeric strings of planetary profiles, trade remarks, and brief descriptions. A random encounter forces me to think more deeply about what might be going on with the location.
So I grabbed my trusty copy of The Traveller Book and consulted the Encounters chapter. I wrote out a couple of Routine Encounters on note cards—these are purely local color, “Ordinary people, performing their routine jobs,” to be added opportunistically. As most of the initial activity on Kline was to be in the city of Mirjam, the world capital, I skipped Animal Encounters.
I rolled for Random Encounters and got 26, “2D soldiers on patrol.” Such groups have a leader and are equipped with armor and guns. Given Kline’s TL, this likely meant combat armor and gauss rifles. I decided the soldiers would comprise a squad of Kline system defence forces on a routine deterrence sweep for Solomani agitators. Since several PCs are veterans of the Imperial military services, such an encounter would likely be more helpful than a hindrance.
I also rolled on the Rumors Matrix and got a Q, “Background Information.” I decided to connect this to the patrol: Kline is on a heightened state of alert due to recent pro-Solomani demonstrations.
Then I rolled for Patron encounters and got 66, Diplomat. Since no ideas immediately jumped out at me, I grabbed 76 Patrons to see if there was anything I could adopt. There are two Diplomat patrons: the first (#2) involves an Imperial reservation world, while the second (#12) involves a Vargr noble and neither seemed a good fit for Kline. But on further consideration, the possibilities of the second started to grow on me:
DiplomatRequired Skills: none Required Equipment: weaponry
Players’ Information: The players’ group is approached by a representative of the Imperial Minister of State, who is searching for a small party to act as an escort for a visiting Vargr noble.
He will remain in the subsector for about six months before departing for home. Anti-Vargr sentiment is high for the moment, due to a number of unfortunate incidents involving Vargr warships, and the Empire is anxious about the noble's visit. The group will receive Cr2000 each at the successful conclusion of the assignment, and will undoubtedly get first consideration for future jobs.
Swap out “Vargr” for “Aslan” and given Solomani agitprop activities in the region, this Patron encounter quickly has legs. Instead of a Vargr noble, how about an Aslan envoy, from one of the big clans? The envoy could be a newly-appointed clan representative to the subsector government, and would need to be accompanied by a female advisor and a couple of bodyguards to round out the delegation.
And the unfortunate incident could be a massacre of colonists on a Solomani border world in Dark Nebula. (As many such colonists were recruited from Imperial worlds in Magyar, such an outrage could hit home for Solomani living on Kline.) A recent inflammatory documentary on the massacre, secretly produced by SolSec, could be stirring up anti-Aslan sentiment.
The PC’s starship, the Starjammer, is on extended loan from the Duchess of Kline and thus theoretically available to be reactivated by her for official duties. The ship, a Type U armed packet, is designed for transport of VIPs into potentially hostile regions and thus a perfect fit for the mission. Further, the PC’s “colorful” background as troubleshooters makes them good candidates for escorting the Aslan delegation.
The beauty of 76 Patrons is that it provides just enough information to provide inspiration for a harried referee but not one jot more. For example, “An Imperial diplomat seeks an escort for a non-human noble” is too little information to be of much use to most referees. 76 Patrons goes just a bit further by providing a potential conflict or call to action at the heart of the job, the “anti-Vargr sentiment.”
Whatever one gains by adding specificity and detail to an encounter description, one also loses flexibility and adaptability. If, say, the patron entry specified that the Imperial representative was from the ministry office on Lemish (Corridor 1808 A79568C-C), while the Vargr noble was Sir Gvigvoz Ourvaethsoeghzge from Rrev Rigr (Corridor 0402 B100657-C), it becomes a little bit harder to adapt that encounter to an Aslan envoy in Magyar sector.
Traveller was’t the only old school game to use this minimalistic technique of providing just enough information to allow referees to “make it their own.” Consider, for example, The Keep on the Borderland with its unnamed Castellan and roster of NPCs known only by their profession or rank.
I sometimes wonder why the hobby moved away from this old school approach and toward embracing more and more specificity. Admittedly, it can be a little tricky to get just the right amount of detail. But I also think these old school products were largely written by grown-ass adults who had acquired plenty of life experience: many had served in the military, held down jobs, owned homes, watched the news. Working from just the barest of notes an adult might be able to improvise an NPC or an encounter while a 15- or 16-year old might struggle with such a task. As the hobby grew steadily younger, perhaps it was necessary to provide additional details to such descriptions.
In any case, the real genius of 76 Patrons is the inclusion of multiple options in the referee’s section. Each patron entry had up to six different twists: the same patron might be an honest broker, an inveterate liar, or an undercover agent working a sting. The referee or the dice can choose which twist to apply, allowing the same patron to be reused multiple times.
In the case of Patron #12, each twist meant a different degree of anti-Vargr sentiment. At the lowest level, picketers might show up and harass the noble. At the other end, an assassination attempt would be made.
Once I had the basic framework for the patron, I was able to quickly find a promising itinerary for the seven system junket, one that featured a stop on a Droyne world, two worlds with Imperialized Aslan communities, one with an Ancients site, and an opportunity to meet with representatives of two Imperial megacorps. The final stop would also allow the PCs to visit the Baroness Leonila Folse, whom they had met in an earlier adventure.
What began life as a potentially interesting patron encounter quickly morphed into a full-fledged adventure. I decided to use this as an opportunity to introduce the players to the Syoisuis clan, the single largest and third-most powerful clan in the entire Aslan Hierate. I also tried using translations of all Aslan words and names in order to avoid overwhelming the players with lots of Trokh gobbledygook. So the envoy was introduced as <<Speaks-with-Care>> from Zodia sector, of the <<Stillwater>> pride of the <<Blackriver>> clan, rather than Hlyeasai from Iwahfuah, of the Wyohea ahriy of the Syoisuis huiha.
