ACKS and Traveller
Observations:
- ACKS is the lovechild of B/X and Traveller by way of a classical history education
- Mid-level ACKS is structurally Traveller-esque, particularly when played nautically
- We see this especially in the trade system
- Traveller's no-ship, have-ship, and "oh god what do I do with all this money" phases of play are analogous to ACKS' dungeon, wilderness, and domain phases
- Traveller-style Patrons, with money but without land or force, are a good solution to "why hire adventurers" for ACKS
- Traveller is better at Traveller than ACKS is.
- God I'm burnt out on ACKS.
Conclusions:
- Maybe I should run Traveller but add the best parts of ACKS
- Steal holdings and trade rules from Suns of Gold
- Probably lots of things worth mining from Stars Without Number, really
- Might also be things worth taking from Classic Traveller
- Add mercenaries and henchmen
- Add "treasure map" high-risk high-reward (megacredit+) opportunities (eg starship salvage, piracy, big caches of illegal goods)
- More exploration focus
- Maybe steal SWN's "scream" background too, player maps pre-fall and out of date, jump tech rare
Huzzah, Traveller! I actually have an opportunity to license the Traveller rules for an Autarch sci-fi game. I've been mulling it heavily.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree that Traveller does its Traveller parts better than ACKS does it CKS parts. I think ACKS' mass combat is best-in-class, for sure.
i think that the flaw in traveller is the late game... and acks at leats in my group is delivering a really cool late game with war, aliances, and magical constructs. SWN may have a nice endgame with factions...I have to try that.
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