> lizard
>
> I'm not sure why. Race/class fits Traveller very well.
>
> Race:Humaniti, Aslan, Kkree, Vargr, etc...
> Classes:Ground Military, Space Military,Scout, Merchant, Noble,
> Diplomat, Criminal...
> Prestige Classes:Fighter Ace, Droyne 'Sport',Merchant Prince...
Race, Class, Feats & Skills would all be easy. That isn't the problem. The
character generation system for Traveller is one of its most distinctive
features. To do a conversion justice, you'd need to find a way to transport
that feel to d20, which is hard under a license which prohibits one from
describing the process of creating characters.
> The main difference would be that, to keep the Traveller 'feel', each
> character would begin play at 5th to 10th level, with appropriate aging
> effects.
A straight terms-for-levels conversion would have lots of unwanted side
effects, but it is a good place to start experimenting. I suspect that a
good conversion would end up redefining how levels improve characters and
change the effects of advancement.
The deeper problem is that the setting is only half the game. When I ran
Traveller games oh so long ago, I always made notes about the players'
character generation process Every award, promotion, and skill was
accompanied by a note about what the character was doing to earn those
details. The whole thing combined to give every character a distinctive
feel, with lots of roleplaying potential. Then I used those notes to makes
hooks for adventures. It's setting certainly deep enough for a rich
campaign, but no more so than those of Herbert, Roddenberry, Lucas or Niven.
Lose the chargen process and Traveller becomes just another sci-fi game.
-Brad
