[TML] Mongoose & Comstar present....

[Jerry W Barrington]

On 8/8/08 11:22 AM, "Brad Rogers" <brad at fineby.me.uk> wrote:

> Hello All,
> 
> DrivethruRPG have just got hold of this;
> 
> http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?products_id=57163
> 
> It's Traveller related, of course.

>From the product description:
    "In fiction, combat serves to highlight and resolve conflict. The scene
shows us something important about the world, the characters, and their
relationships with one another. Combat also acts as a symbol for danger,
sharpening the tension in a scene by giving us a visceral sense the
characters might die."
    "In a RPG, though, combat occurs so often it blends into the background.
The scene tells us little about the characters or the world. Instead it
serves as a way to work with numbers and explore various tactical options.
We play a game of combat in which random chance, character building choices,
and tactical savvy stand dominant over narrative concerns."

Seems an overbroad statement.  It looks to me like most fiction set in war
use most of the combat as background too.  And in-game, it depends a whole
lot on just how much combat there is and what the players/characters *do*.
When my grav-tank driver parked at the base of the ship's loading ramp to
cover the rest of the party boarding, she wasn't looking for tactical
advantage or working the numbers.  She was defending her people.  That says
a lot more about her than about the game mechanics.