Described as "A Referee's Essential Lifeline", this work is primarily aimed at the referee who doesn't have the time or inclination to prepare detailed adventures or campaigns of their own but who does want something other than a published adventure to run. The Introduction refers rather rudely to 'lazy' referees, but backpedals to include those whose real-world commitments intrude on game prep time as well. Even those who do like creating their own material can benefit - the well-spring of ideas may come up blank or they may need something in a hurry when (as is quite often the case) their carefully-prepared plot does not survive its first encounter with the players!
Two main campaign types are presented: the Automatic and the Semi-Automatic. An Automatic Campaign is almost self-generating, using the tables provided to give the characters things to do and complications to contend with. A Semi-Automatic campaign requires a little more input from the referee. Whatever you decide upon, you'll need a sub-sector to let the party loose in: either roll one up using the rules in the core rulebook or use one of the published ones.
The first section deals with the Automatic Campaign, which is handled via a sort of flowchart. This begins with the characters on a planet, seeking work. Once found, they make any necessary preparations then set off to wherever they need to be - possibly on another planet entirely - to do the job. When they get to their destination, they undertake the task, and then travel back again. At every opportunity, both planetside and travelling, there are options for random events - not necessarily connected to the task at hand - to occur; and once everything's over and done with, the party can rest and relax before the whole cycle begins again. There's a selection of random missions for you to use, or of course you can turn to 760 Patrons or the adventure suggestions in other supplements, depending on what you have available.
The next section, Planetside Events, provides copious events that can take place anything the characters are planetside. Using the above flowchart, they could be job hunting, preparing, travelling or even resting when one of these events occurs. Layered tables provide countless opportunities in both urban and rural settings. A few might be ignored by the party but most demand a response. Naturally, as in any such random system, you are free to choose the option that appeals most if you prefer - or if you really don't like what the dice rolled for you. There's even an option for unleashing a zombie apocalypse, complete with suggestions for alternative names for the 'zombies' as many players may baulk at the term. There are also a series of complications to be used when the party has found (or think they have) the patron or service for which they are looking.
This is followed by a Space Events section, which covers both things that might be encountered when travelling in the black and events that might take place on the ship in which the party is travelling. Again, there's plenty and enough here to make whole adventures of their own from, never mind being incidents occuring when the party is trying to do something else.
This is followed by a Life Events section: there's nothing like making the event personal to one or more members of the party. This is a shorter, but nonetheless potent section of the book. Really devious referees will also make use of characters' backstories to weave people and events from their past into whatever's going on.
The next section, Hooks, is rather interesting. It looks at ways other than a patron encounter to get the adventure rolling by bringing it to them rather than their going out to find it. Something to be used sparingly or players are liable to get fed up with the lack of perceived control they have over their characters' actions.
Then comes Campaign Generation, a detailed discourse on adventure design in general, and about adding depth and complexity to what is going on. It starts off by defining most Traveller adventures as being journeys or exploration. The journey is the classic patron-led adventure where the party has to go somewhere and do something to get paid (or gain some other award), the exploration is generally more character-led as they poke around a location - anything from a single place on a planet to an entire sub-sector - to see what they can find or in pursuit of some other end. All manner of conflicts, complications, time constraints and other things can then be stirred into the mix. It then moves on to discuss tips for referees, such as setting the tone and mood for the adventure. This section's advice is useful for those who like to write their own adventures or those starting with the Automatic Campaign system but wanting to inject a bit more originality into it.
Next is a section on World Building which talks about the creation of cities, villages and wilderness areas from scratch. Samples are provided in an appendix. There's a vast number of options here, many of which set potentials for adventure or provide a dynamic backdrop which may or may not affect what the party is up to but does give the feeling that there's a lot going on irrespective of what they are doing, a good way to build a feeling of reality into your game.
This is followed by a section on Investigation, a popular type of adventure. Whether it's a murder or other crime to solve or something else to uncover, there are some standard processes involved. Unlike the rest of the book, this section is more guidelines than tools for random(ish) generation: if you want to run an investigation you need to know what's really going on and supply appropriate clues to enable the party to find out.
Finally there's a copious collection of random events for just about every situation: things happening during a foot chase, graffiti on a wall, items on a table, random rooms, health events (even characters catch a cold!)... even one for what's on TV! Never be stumped again when the party asks an unexpected question. There are also some sample maps for different locations and a massive Appendix with ready-made examples of places and people to use as you see fit.
This is possibly the most comprehensive GM resource I've seen. Just about every section left me wanting to comment that it would be worth getting the book for that section alone. Whether you really are the lazy or time-strapped referee it's supposedly for or you have plenty of time to create adventures, you'll find this of interest and use as you spawn adventures ready for your next game. Unless you are really good at detail off the cuff, though, do the planning in advance... but this book will make it so much quicker and easier!
Return to Supplement 9: Campaign Guide page.
Reviewed: 10 July 2015