Last Updated 3 June 2004.
This is a task system written by Kenneth Bearden, and uses a single die.
No other game has ever captured my imagination the way you do.
If you asked me if I'd get excited over yet another edition of Traveller, I'd answer you by saying, "Is a frog's ass water-tight?" And if you continued, asking me what I'd want the fabled T5 to be, I wouldn't hesitate and launch into--
"That's a no-brainer. Update Classic Traveller with a modern task system and game mechanics. Get back to basics. Slap a new coat of paint on the old girl. Present her in a light in which she's never been shown before. Ever notice how most of the other Traveller editions (while some present high quality) lack the luster--the wonder--of the original game? I mean, some of the later Traveller editions are quite good, but isn't some of the magic missing...."
Blah, blah, blah. Your eyes would glaze over, because I'm THAT MUCH of a Classic Traveller fan. Yes, I do like MT - I mean, it's basically CT. And I think T4 is a good game, albeit broken in spots. I don't talk about TNE too much. T20 looks to be a solid game, but I'll admit that I just don't like the heavy time-consuming mechanics, hit points, character classes, and character levels associated with any d20 based game. And GURPS Trav? Yeah, that one looks like a good one too--but it's just not...err..."Traveller".
Classic Traveller is "Traveller".
Now you know where I'm coming from: CT will always be "Traveller" to me.
I'm a die-hard, but not so much that I'm not open to new ideas. I'm just looking for that magic that enspelled me back in 1984.
That's the trick, though, isn't it? It's not that easy to just slap any-old-mechanics-system on CT and still retain that CT feel. I, myself, have struggled with the notion for over five years now (with varying degrees of success).
But recently, like a gift from Grandfather himself, I got an idea....
What I'm about to present to you is something I refer to as: Serial # KB5-1DTS.
This is a work-in-progress. The ideas aren't "finished". I haven't play-tested them. But, I think these ideas have some real merit--that they're Traveller-viable. And, if I can ever get my life back into role-playing, I'll be using a Traveller system like this one in my Classic Traveller campaign.
Mark, if you're listening, take a good, hard look at this one. This could be T5. It's got that "feel", man. It's got that "feel".
Remember that this is an unfinished set of rules. I'm presenting them because the system is probably 80-90% "there", and some of you crafty GMs out there might want to take the ball and run with it, molding the system to fit your tastes and games.
Before you ask, I have no idea if I'll ever finish these rules. This is, by my measure, the best Traveller system idea I've ever had, and I want to share it with other gamers who might be interested in a thing such as this.
If you run a MT or T4 based game, you can easily use these rules as well. KB5-1DTS works very well with any CT-variant type of game.
If you run a d20, TNE, or GT based game, you'll have more or less work cut out for you - you'll have to decide how much of KB5-1DTS is useful to you.
The following sections will present various aspects of the KB5-1DTS task system. Remember that this is uncompleted work - brainstorming - presented in the anticipation that you can use ideas like this in your game.
Use what you will. Change what you like.
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