... is NOT ready yet; you'll have to wait another week or so. But it's done
enough that I've written my half-page of blather on page 1, which is one of
the last things I do. Normally, you don't get to see it until the issue is
posted. But this time, I decided to share it early.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

In discussions of Traveller, there often seems to be a perceived dichotomy,
of play versus ‘gearheading’ or ‘worldbuilding’. While I will concede that
‘gearheading’ isn’t for everyone, I’ve come to the conclusion that
‘worldbuilding’ overlaps—or perhaps subsumes—both play and ‘gearheading’.

A referee can spend hours and hours rolling up and writing (and reading)
about worlds, cultures, characters, trade goods, and so on, and in doing
so, paint a picture of his (her) Traveller universe. That’s the
‘gearheading’, and it’s an important part of worldbuilding.

But a world is more than an encyclopedic compilation of places and things.
It’s a living and dynamic collection of all those, plus people and their
actions, thoughts, hopes, dreams, fears, and nightmares. And it’s all
connected. Nothing really happens in isolation; what you do today
influences what the people you interact with will do tomorrow.

Traveller and some other games try to emulate that, at least partially, in
both the ‘reaction roll’ and having contacts (and allies, enemies, and
rivals, in recent versions of Traveller). But the real world-building
happens when the players and the referee, and the characters and NPCs,
start actually interacting. That’s when a world stops being a binderful of
facts, and comes to life. And that’s when you’ve actually built a world.
Even if you haven’t written a single thing about it.

®Traveller is a registered trademark of
Far Future Enterprises, 1977-2018. Use of
the trademark in this notice and in the
referenced materials is not intended to
infringe or devalue the trademark.

--
Jeff Zeitlin, Editor
Freelance Traveller
    The Electronic Fan-Supported Traveller® Resource
xxxxxx@freelancetraveller.com
http://www.freelancetraveller.com

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