New PCs and Travel skill

[Yepesnopes]

Hi all,

I am looking for some counsel and discussion.

Soon I will play the intro scenario Theft of the moon prepared by Zed to some friends of mine. The idea is to create a new group of players and keep playing the game in the future. For this reason, I think the PCs have to be created with an eye to the future.

I will be creating the PCs to save game time and I was thinking if I have to create them all with an initial Travel skill of 3. Travel is such an important skill of the game, that I see no reason to start with a lower score on it (unless you create on shot PCs). What do you think?

[Hermes Serpent]

I always advise new players that Travel is very important and having 2 or 3 points of Travel skill should be something to spend points on. Those that fail to take my advice soon fall prey to Fatigue and Despair.

[Falenthal]

Raising Travel to 3 and probably also the main weapon to 3 and secondary to 2 if possible are, from my experience, the best options to spend the starting free points. But that makes it also a bit dull.

I think that, out of flavour and roleplaying, and also to be able to experience the mechanics of the game, some of the startign characters shouldn't get Travel 3 from the start. Also, I wouldn't leave anyone without ranks in Travel.

Depending on the background of everyone, between 1 and 3 ranks would be appropiate: an elf who hasn't seen the world outside the Halls of Thranduil could get just 1 point. Dwarves already begin at 3. A Hobbit that has travelled all the way from The Shire, can begin with 2 or even 3 ranks. A shopkeeper from Lake-town that considers a walk along the Elven Quarters "treading foreign lands" could also qualify for a 1.
For those who just have 1 rank, you can try to keep their Encumbrance low, so that Travel Fatigue won't make them Weary too soon.

[zedturtle]

Don't forget Traits... a well-picked Trait (and a generous LM) can cover for a temporary deficiency.

[Falenthal]

Don't forget Traits... a well-picked Trait (and a generous LM) can cover for a temporary deficiency.

Well said!

[Deadmanwalking]

Yeah, 3 might be a little excessive for everyone to start with. 2 is perfectly workable, though they'll want to raise it fairly soon. And the right Traits definitely help (Energetic, Determined, and Hardy come to mind).

Especially if there's a Beorning with Twice-Bake Honey Cakes in the group. -2 TN goes a long way.

[Glorelendil]

Raising them all to 3 both trivializes one aspect of the adventure, and makes all the other aspects more challenging.

If at least half of the party has 2 or 3, and they all have a trait that can be invoked now and then, it shouldn't be a big deal if a couple heroes show up to the party already Weary.

[Majestic]

I'd encourage keeping at least some of the PCs with Travel 2 as well. Though they may not all be complete "noobs" (beginning adventurers), they're not all likely extremely seasoned adventurers, either.

The Fellowship had both hardened and experienced travelers, like Aragorn and Gandalf, but it also had a bunch of Hobbits who had pretty much never left the Shire, too.

If one or more of them ends up getting Weary from travel, just give them the opportunity to rest in a safe place, so they don't spend the whole adventure in that state (and thus failing many of their rolls).

[Yepesnopes]

From a role playing point of view, I agree that it is better for the feeling of the game to have characters starting with different values in the Travel skill.

On the other hand, Travel is so important! Honestly you are going to rise it to 3 asap, that I have never had a character who did no started with Travel 3. That is why I was asking if I have to create all PCs with Travel 3. Moreover, I am not sure how a player whose character has Travel 2 and ends up weary after a journey, while the ones with Travel 3 are fresh... May be I have to experiment

But true! Some Traits may palliate the Travel 2, and include a Beorning with Honey cakes is a very good option. Good points!

[Stormcrow]

I agree with vilainn6. Not every character is a world-traveler. Fatigue from traveling is common in Tolkien, and avoiding it by being a party of expert travelers is avoiding this common trope.

Simply put, most people in the game's period are not experienced travelers. Player-heroes may be exceptional, but they're not necessarily experienced in travel before they leave home to go on adventures.