A New Edition of Traveller

[MongooseMatt]

Having Traveller in full-colour hardcovers is fantastic, but I shudder to think of the cost.

Well, if everything goes according to plan (no promises, mind), by the time the hardback comes out next year, we may have our free international shipping in place...

 

[dmccoy1693]

I'm liking the Bane and Boon idea a lot.

It really is great. It makes a ref's adjudication job so much easier. "I'll give you a boon for it," is so much easier than "I think that is worth a +2," "But I think it is worth a +4," arguments. Its quick, simple, and gets back to the action. I love it.

 

[dmccoy1693]

You wouldn't say that if you knew what the NZ dollar is worth - even our puny Australian dollar is worth more at the moment.

On one hand, "Ok. Nevermind."

On the other hand, "Hmmm, maybe I could make a living off my role playing publishing in NZ then."

 

[Prime_Evil]

Having Traveller in full-colour hardcovers is fantastic, but I shudder to think of the cost.

Well, if everything goes according to plan (no promises, mind), by the time the hardback comes out next year, we may have our free international shipping in place...

You may just make a lot of gamers in Australia and NZ very happy

 

[Prime_Evil]

On the other hand, "Hmmm, maybe I could make a living off my role playing publishing in NZ then."

You could make a Hobbit of it.... :lol:

EDIT: Do we have any information on third-party support for the new edition yet? I know Matt mentioned a new compatibility license earlier, but there are no additional details in the blog post. Will the existing third-party publishers be releasing updated books to coincide with the early 2016 release of the core rulebook?

 

[Golan2072]

I see that the detailed MGT 2E blogpost is up!

http://blog.mongoosepublishing.co.uk/?p=798

By the way, I can't find a link in it to purchase the playtest package; I assume that it will be ready later today.

 

[MongooseMatt]

The graphics team are now arguing about snails.

 

[Anonymous]

The graphics team are now arguing about snails.

Let them eat what they want and be done with it!

 

[allanimal]

The graphics team are now arguing about snails.

OOOh! Is there a new alien race of uplifted snails????

 

[Jak Nazryth]

Are some on the graphics team French?
Only the French argue about snails with any amount of passion...

 

[Prime_Evil]

The graphics team are now arguing about snails.

OOOh! Is there a new alien race of uplifted snails????

Can snails wear battledress? Or at least battleshells?

 

[MongooseMatt]

Are some on the graphics team French?

As a matter of fact, yes

 

[Jak Nazryth]

HA! I KNEW IT! :lol:

 

[Golan2072]

From the blog post:

Ship shares – these no longer provide a few measly percentage points on a ship. They will either get you a ship (with varying stages of mortgage paid off – and there are now rules that only one ship will be present in the party during creation) or are considered an investment, adding to your pension.

So one of my biggest pet peeves with MGT 1st edition was fixed! Really waiting to but MGT 2nd edition.

The skill list itself has been revised to make more sense and create characters who will be a little more capable. For example, Computers, Comms, Sensors and Remote Ops are no longer separate skills but have become specialities of Electronics. This means that anyone with the Electronics skill has at least some chance of being able to use an electronic device – not an unreasonable assumption in a technological society that has interstellar travel.

More streamlined and consolidated skills - another selling point for me. A big turn-off for me in MGT 1st edition was the huge number of niche skills and other "fiddly bits". So I'm starting to like MGT 2nd edition already - before even reading it (p.s. my international credit card is at the ready for the playtest packet)/

Now, with just 2D controlling the fates of characters, you have to be very, very careful about what modifiers can be included or you can easily end up with automatic successes and failure – not very exciting during a tense situation in a game. We recognised this and wanted to lay down a foundation that not only flowed well for the Core Rules, but on which future supplements could be based.

YES! Getting rid of modifier bloat. Great! I once wrote an article about modifier creep:

http://infinitestarsmagazine.blogspot.co.il/2013/02/a-less-travelled-road-three-creeps.html

…Boon and Bane dice. These are extra dice the players roll alongside their normal 2D under the direction of the referee. In a nutshell, the referee no longer has to determine Dice Modifiers on the fly, simply whether the circumstances are beneficial (have a Boon dice) or adverse (use a Bane dice). This has the dual effect of making the game flow faster and removing the reliance on DMs placed upon a 2D roll.

D&D 5th edition Advantages and Disadvantages. A nice touch. This is a mechanic I really like.

We have also made changes to the way animals are handled, making their creation a thing of simplicity for referees; come up with a concept for your creature, assign Hits and Attacks, then add Traits and you are done. The Traits for animals handle special abilities such as heightened senses or psionic capability and we will be adding to them in future supplements – especially useful as they are also used for alien species, forming another common bond within the mechanics of the game.

YES! You got rid of animal skills and other fiddly bits. GREAT!

 

[ScottyG]

My wallet is ready, ..... will it happen today?

I appreciate that mongoose don't really do strict timetables in the wild, but dudes.......

 

[DickNervous]

Gah....sometimes it's hard living in NZ wen you have to wait up past midnight.....

Dude, You live in New Zealand. I'll trade you my New Jersey for that. I'll wait until into the night for new RPG PDFs for ... being in New Zealand.

And I'll join you, trading my Long Island for NZ. We can be neighbors and play Traveller all the time.

Best part is that since I work from home, I could keep my current job and probably live very nicely in NZ compared to just scrapping by here on Long Island. Though I might miss the kids....

 

[hdan]

I hope there are still random generators in the game for worlds, animals, etc. I mean, of course I can always use one of the previous edition's tables, but that's not the point.

(And I also hope that the Animals include SIZE AND WEIGHT this time, lol.)

I really like the sound of everything you've mentioned doing so far. Collapsing the skill list some is something I've already been doing. Yes, it's more realistic to have an Engineer specialized in different drive components, but it's more fun to have an Engineer who "knows how to run the engine room".

Standing by with Credit Card ready....

 

[Matt Wilson]

And I'll join you, trading my Long Island for NZ. We can be neighbors and play Traveller all the time.

What? You haven't been enjoying the 80% humidity this week?

Seriously, everything in the preview post says good things about this new ed. Looking forward to checking it out.

 

[MongooseMatt]

My wallet is ready, ..... will it happen today?

We are just about to PDF the file (will take a little while, but it is the last stage!).

All other files (this is a little package, not just one book) are ready and waiting for the Core Rulebook PDF to join them!

 

[-Daniel-]

We are just about to PDF the file (will take a little while, but it is the last stage!).

All other files (this is a little package, not just one book) are ready and waiting for the Core Rulebook PDF to join them!

I expect you all are feeling as excited as we are. :mrgreen: