Okay, we’re not actually playing a Cowboy Bebop RPG, we’re playing Traveller.
But this gaming session actually felt… right.
The first couple of times we played Traveller, it felt off. I even told the group that the premade adventure felt more like I was railroading the party, more than I usually see in these types of adventures.
There was also a noticeable lack of conflict. Specifically, no combat.
The adventure kept calling for skill rolls as they got their salvaged spaceship up and running out of an active volcano.
Once it was over, not a single initiative roll was made. No to hit rolls, no damage rolls.
This would have made for an interesting pilot episode of some sci-fi series, I suppose.
I read through yesterday’s adventure well over a month ago, and then skimmed over it this past week.
That’s when I remembered one of the lessons I learned (and seemed to forget) when running a role-playing game: as GM/DM/referee/overseer/etc. your job is not to play the adventure vs. the player characters, your job is to help facilitate the shared story using the adventure.
So I pretty much used the adventure as set up while winging it, inserting plot elements were necessary.
And there was combat. With wolves. Or wolf-like predators.
After this session ended, I felt much better with the Traveller system, no longer feeling ‘off’.
Heck, if these characters ever find themselves chasing bounties…
