A Variety of Questions From A New(?) Player

[travchao999]

Hey, so I'm looking to get back into Traveller. I used to own a good many of the supplements and like half of the books of "Classic" Traveller, but for some reason never played much. I just picked up, Mongoose Traveller (Core Rulebook, that's all my FLGS had), since I like how they handled the new Judge Dredd book, and I am probably going to do a campaign with my RP group. But I have some questions.

First: What happened to vector-based ship movement? For some reason I want to say they got rid of it in CT High Guard book, but did they? Sorry, that's kind of an unrelated question, I just kinda like newtonian movement systems, or at least, would have liked something saying that the ships are "fly-by-wire". Also, what are M-Drives? Are they gravity manipulation plates? I for some reason want to say they are.

Second: So how compatible are my old books? Like, I expect the main books are very changed, but what about like, the alien supplements or the library data? Are they pretty much the same as CT's, or should I buy the new versions? What about sector books like the Spinward Marches?

Third: Speaking of new versions, so what's the difference between the Little Black Books, and the regular versions? Because I mean, I would just get the LBBs since all of these supplements/rulebooks are pretty expensive, and there sure are a lot of them. Are there any that I should get for sure? For reference, my party likes stuff, I like advanced rule options (like advanced combat options), but yeah, I would like lots and lots of stuff options. Weapons, ship stuff, you name it. I'm looking at like central supply, and like the vehicle books and maybe merc and high guard? I don't know. The game won't be until everyone's back from vacations and whatever, and everyone's in town again, which will probably be in like august, if I remember correctly. Still though over time, I'm going to have to drop a lot of money on these like 30 buck a book things (I guess only 15 if I get ebooks). Not that I don't want them, they all look like they have great material, but ugh.


Thanks,
Travchao

 

[GypsyComet]

First: What happened to vector-based ship movement? For some reason I want to say they got rid of it in CT High Guard book, but did they? Sorry, that's kind of an unrelated question, I just kinda like newtonian movement systems, or at least, would have liked something saying that the ships are "fly-by-wire". Also, what are M-Drives? Are they gravity manipulation plates? I for some reason want to say they are.

Vector movement remains a CT thing, except for a tabletop adaption/combination of Traveller and Full Thrust released several years ago. That does NOT stop you from using your CT tools (Book 2 or Mayday) if that is what you want to do, though.

In the Third Imperium setting, M-Drives are almost always considered to be "magic" gravity manipulation drives of some sort. They aren't Foster's black hole drives, though; they "push".

Second: So how compatible are my old books? Like, I expect the main books are very changed, but what about like, the alien supplements or the library data? Are they pretty much the same as CT's, or should I buy the new versions? What about sector books like the Spinward Marches?

Library Data has evolved a bit since CT, but most of what you were told back then remains true. The UWP library is now vast, covering the entire Imperium and well beyond. Some worlds have been adjusted following "reality checks" of various types. Mongoose has a growing series of sector books (like the CT Spinward Marches but more involved), or the simple UWP listings can be found at http://www.travellermap.com/

The alien books from CT are still useful, though the skill list is a little different from CT to Mongoose. Mongoose has books for the Aslan, Vargr, Zhodani, Darrians, Solomani, and Luriani, and other races have been mentioned or detailed in the editions between. You will find some new material in the Mongoose aliens books, but the level of "need" is up to you.

Third: Speaking of new versions, so what's the difference between the Little Black Books, and the regular versions? Because I mean, I would just get the LBBs since all of these supplements/rulebooks are pretty expensive, and there sure are a lot of them. Are there any that I should get for sure? For reference, my party likes stuff, I like advanced rule options (like advanced combat options), but yeah, I would like lots and lots of stuff options. Weapons, ship stuff, you name it. I'm looking at like central supply, and like the vehicle books and maybe merc and high guard? I don't know. The game won't be until everyone's back from vacations and whatever, and everyone's in town again, which will probably be in like august, if I remember correctly. Still though over time, I'm going to have to drop a lot of money on these like 30 buck a book things (I guess only 15 if I get ebooks). Not that I don't want them, they all look like they have great material, but ugh.

Mongoose has done LBB versions of the full-sized books. There are no intentional differences between the two.

Ships, equipment, and various "detail rules" are spread across the "Career" books by Mongoose. The currently available Mercenary and High Guard were the first of those books, and are a bit rough compared to the later ones.

My own "must haves" for an Imperium game would really start with Scout and Scoundrel. The books I would avoid in an Imperial context are Robot, Psion, Dilettante and maybe Agent. All are interesting books, but they are also game changers (Psion, Agent, and Dilettante) and/or have little to do with the Imperium setting (Robot, Psion).

Note that black cover books, with the exception of Library Data, are not tied to a particular setting, while books with cover art ARE setting specific. Black covers are topical, but wander around settings both specific and hypothetical. Central Supply Catalog, which is the big book of equipment, includes things that really don't belong in the Imperium, but would be quite appropriate in Judge Dredd or a conversion of 40k, for example.

 

[travchao999]

Okay! Thank you for the response! At least now I have a little more guidance in what I should start with. It was much easier with CT, because I got everything I wanted in a package deal for not that much.

 

[IanBruntlett]

Hi Travchao,

Mongoose Traveller was my first (and currently only) Traveller.

As part of my learning curve, I wrote up some notes, you can get hold of them on:-
https://sites.google.com/site/ianbruntlett/home/role-playing-games

HTH


Ian

 

[travchao999]

I should also ask, what do you mean by agent, psionics, robot and dilettante being "game changers"? Also, I've gotten the library data and the scoundrel to start with. I'll get scout and merc next, I think.

Also, that traveller map website=really, really, really fantastic. I wish there was something like that back when I was doing shadowrun and had to quickly fly through the book to find a neighborhood.

 

[Infojunky]

I'll get scout and merc next, I think.

I would do a pass on Mercenary until the revised edition comes out, though there are some fun careers in it much of the rest of the book has issues. If Ironmongery is what you are drawn towards Supplement 4 Central Supply catalog will do you better.

 

[AndrewW]

I would do a pass on Mercenary until the revised edition comes out, though there are some fun careers in it much of the rest of the book has issues. If Ironmongery is what you are drawn towards Supplement 4 Central Supply catalog will do you better.

PDF is due out this month.

 

[travchao999]

Oh is the new combat revisions going to be made into a new merc thing? Yeah, maybe central supply is better for me.

 

[GypsyComet]

I should also ask, what do you mean by agent, psionics, robot and dilettante being "game changers"?

I'm referring to the books by those names. Each alters one or more fundamental elements of "normal" Traveller if you let it, and can require completely different approaches to running and/or playing the game.

It is possible to dip into Agent and Dilettante and not break things too much, but both provide structures for PCs to have vast resources available. If you've seen the MIB movies, they typify a high end Agents game; once you know the nature of a problem, you probably have a solution sitting idle in the broom closet. No problem too large...
Dilettante is for playing or running the ultra rich. Once again, resources are not a problem. You can certainly play Traveller this way, but it is largely incompatible with the usual modes of play.

Robot as a book is an interesting treatise on the subject that interfaces with the Third Imperium almost not at all. Employing it beyond its design system (which takes some getting used to) really calls for a different setting, or many settings.

Psion is the biggest game altering book of the lot. It spends considerable page count discussing exotic psionic talents and what sort of completely different campaigns those talents make available.

 

[travchao999]

I see