I am new to traveller. Currently I just own the core rulebook and the judge Dredd book. I got the Dredd book first, but the core rulebook has got me interested in acquiring more of the regular Traveller books.

When browsing the RPGShop.com site however I noticed some inconsistencies. For example they offer book 6 - Scoundrel, but also book 7 - Scoundrel. Does this mean that there is an older version which numbered the books differently?

Where is a good place to buy Traveller books? Is it possible to buy bundles (e.g. all 9 core books)? I know there's a pdf bundle available, but I am looking for the printed editions.

I looked at the Traveller wiki and saw that there were rather a lot of editions, and that apparently there's a new T5 edition coming out. Should I wait for the new edition or should I stick to the Mongoose edition?

I couldn't find a Third Imperium core book. Is the Spinward Marches book supposed to be the core book, or is the basic information on the imperium available in any sector book? I guess what I really want to know is: What books do I need minimally to play in the Third Imperium?
(as an aside: is the Third Imperium setting based in any way on the third reich or do they just have the names in common?)

Not sure why it would be labelled as 7.

Book 7 and LBB7 should both be Merchant Prince not Scoundrel.

The LBB is the same content in a smaller form factor:

http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/rpgs/traveller/core-rulebooks-accessories/book-6-scoundrel.html

http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/rpgs/traveller/little-black-books/lbb-6-scoundrel.html

They also have Dilettante as Book 7, this might have been caused by the original plan to release Dilettante first, but it got switched with Merchant Prince.

I don't know of any bundles.

T5 is a lot different then the Mongoose Publishing version so if you like the Mongoose Publishing version might want to stick with that it's still a current version and supported.

There isn't really a Third Emperium book, though Spinward Marches does contain some information on the Third Imperium. No relation to the Third Reich.

You really just need the Core Rulebook, other books would be based on what you are wanting to do. Spinward Marches does give a bit of information on the Third Imperium (some on nobles for example) and covers one area you can play in, but isn't really required.

Thanks for the clarification! With an RPG with such a long history such as Traveller it's sometimes hard to know what's what if you're new to it. Now I will have a better idea on how to increase the ever growing stack of roleplaying games I've been building up over the years

Mongoose Traveller is best pony!

Actually I don't mean to start an edition war, but my understanding from playtest reports is T5 is going to be complex in comparison. As in, a step beyond Rolemaster, complex.

Also, T5 is by Marc Miller, the original author, which has some long time fans understandably excited, but oddly enough it looks like Mongoose is a lot closer to the original Traveller, where T5 is innovating on the dice mechanics as well as level of detail. On both complexity and style, if you like what you see in Mongoose now I'd stick with it. It looks like it will continue as a live game alongside T5.



As a newbie myself, Spinward Marches was enough for me to run an Imperium game in the Marches themselves. I gather you need to reach back to other editions for a comprehensive core worlds treatment, and honestly I still don't know what one product that would be, or even if there is only one or grognards piece it all together from multiple books and magazine articles.

Yep grognards do exactly that - piece it together from multiple sources, many of which are inconsistent. But even if you did that I doubt you would like what you got. At least to me, the 3I setting now feels like something designed by committee. However if you do want to be as canonical as possible, with minimal effort and using Mongoose sources, I suggest the core book, Spinward Marches and the Solomani alien book.

Thanks for the advice. Meanwhile I've decided to stick with Mongoose Traveller. All the better if this will be the simpler of the two editions (compared to T5)! I've ordered a bunch of the core books and ordered a supplement or two, so I should be good to go once they arrive

As far as the Third Imperium goes: I've decided to give it my own spin and just design an entire subsector by hand (38 worlds total and 21 worlds already fully described). The background info that is in the core rules book should suffice for now, and if I feel I'll need more I'll probably acquire the Spinward Marches book.

You should also feel free to borrow world information and such, may not need to generate everything yourself by hand. If a world has something you like, sneak off with it and add it to your own.