Book 1: Mercenary Second Edition - Now on Drivethru

[MongooseMatt]

From freelance soldiers of fortune to grunts of a military charter, there are mercenaries from all walks of life across the universe. It is a good life of adventure for most travellers, and for those fortunate enough to survive a long enough, wealth, fame and adventure is almost certainly assured. Of course, there is always the chance the mercenary dies a horrible death fighting a battle they never should have joined – but that is just a hazard of the job.

Book 1: Mercenary Second Edition gives you everything you need to play a combat-capable character and lead others into battle. You can grab your copy at;

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/130477/Book-1-Mercenary-Second-Edition?affiliate_id=7242

This all new edition of Book 1: Mercenary provides a great many rules and revisions suitable for all ground-based combat in any Traveller campaign. With this book, you will be able to;

* Recruit squads, platoons, companies and entire armies from across the stars to create your own force of mercenaries.

* Engage in massed battles between these forces using a new system that is just as quick as combat between individual characters!

* Take your character through university and higher education before embarking on a career.

* Wield the all new Destructive weaponry to annihilate any foe you meet on the battlefield, while using forward observers to rain artillery and orbital fire down upon them.

* Use the all new ticket system to pick up mercenary contracts and earn massive amounts of Credits.

* Build strongholds, fortresses and bunker complexes, and then engage in sieges and assaults to destroy them.

* Learn the secrets of bulk-buying huge amounts of weapons at a discount, and pick up some new vehicles designed specifically for mercenaries along the way.

* Apply the new gun combat skills and revisions to your games for a greatly enhanced battle experience.

 

[dmccoy1693]

Downloading...

 

[phavoc]

Anyone got this one yet? I'm hesitant to do so because when I bought the first copy (hardback) it was littered with errors. MGT was nice enough to actually replace it (and offered some other books) with a corrected copy.

A poster on Drivethru is asking the same questions. They, too, are concerned that the production quality of MGT Traveller products continues to be spotty and they don't want to purchase something that would turn out to be a bad product.

I would actually prefer having this in hard copy, and since my local gaming store is a member of Bits & Mortar I get the digital version for free. Any ETA on when the states can expect the dead tree version?

 

[Infojunky]

Not yet, monday at best waiting for a check to clear....

 

[AndrewW]

I would actually prefer having this in hard copy, and since my local gaming store is a member of Bits & Mortar I get the digital version for free. Any ETA on when the states can expect the dead tree version?

On the schedule for an August print release.

 

[Prime_Evil]

Anyone got this one yet? I'm hesitant to do so because when I bought the first copy (hardback) it was littered with errors. MGT was nice enough to actually replace it (and offered some other books) with a corrected copy.

A poster on Drivethru is asking the same questions. They, too, are concerned that the production quality of MGT Traveller products continues to be spotty and they don't want to purchase something that would turn out to be a bad product.

It's looking like a big improvement over the original version so far, but I haven't read it all yet. I think that the open development process on these forums has helped to iron out some of the obvious bugs.

It also features a new layout that looks much sharper than the one used in earlier Traveller products. I'd be interested to know what other people think of the new graphic design - I wonder if we may see a reprint of the core rulebook at some point using this layout...

 

[phavoc]

It also features a new layout that looks much sharper than the one used in earlier Traveller products. I'd be interested to know what other people think of the new graphic design - I wonder if we may see a reprint of the core rulebook at some point using this layout...

Care to post an image of what you mean?

 

[sideranautae]

It also features a new layout that looks much sharper than the one used in earlier Traveller products. I'd be interested to know what other people think of the new graphic design - I wonder if we may see a reprint of the core rulebook at some point using this layout...

Care to post an image of what you mean?

Here' a 6 page preview. http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/pdf_p...ethrustuff.com/pdf_previews/130477-sample.pdf

 

[Prime_Evil]

The new version appears to use Arial Bold for headings and Gill Sans for body text - a strange choice, but one that works better than it should.

 

[Prime_Evil]

Hmmm...the new edition certainly has a lot more 'crunch' than the old version. I need to read through the new mass combat system carefully to see what has changed from the version previewed here earlier.

Also, this book largely makes the Mercenary SRD obsolete. Will there be an update to this at some point?

(I'd love to see one of the Third Party Publishers produce a book of mercenary tickets, complete with details of the opposing forces. Now that large chunks of the Vehicles book have been added to the SRD, you can even give the enemy forces a few custom vehicles...)

 

[dmccoy1693]

Anyone got this one yet?

As a rule, I actively try to avoid talking about another company's products. It can be viewed as I am biased for it and "I'm scratching another company's back" or biased against it since the "company is my competition". So I tend to play it safe and say nothing.

This book however, I'm making the following exception:

DAAAAAAAAAAMN! *long whistle* OH OH OH! Strongholds, Me like! Massive improvement over the original.

 

[Gruffty the Hiver]

Wow. So the 2nd edition is a separate product to the 1st edition, which means if you bought the 1st edition you have to buy 2nd edition separately to keep up to date, which then makes the the 1st edition redundant? Cheers for that then... :roll:

 

[Sigtrygg]

You mean much like HG2 replaced HG1, or CT '81 replaced '77?

This new edition of Merc could have a different title to avoid confusion with 1st edition.

 

[Prime_Evil]

Well...it is clearly marked as a Second Edition

And the changes do seem to be worth the price of admission. The original Mongoose Mercenary book was an early release and was weak in comparison to some of the later material. I'm hoping that over the next year or two a number of Traveller titles will get the same treatment

 

[Gruffty the Hiver]

We're being asked to pay to keep up to date on something we've already bought. Doesn't seem right.

 

[Prime_Evil]

I can understand where you are coming from, but this isn't just a repackaging of the earlier material - it's a completely different book. It can be argued that this is what Mercenary SHOULD have been from the start, but that's a different argument. Mercenary was an early release from the days when Mongoose was still finding its feet with the Traveller product line and the revised version substantially changes the focus of the book.

 

[Dracous]

What would be good if we could get the weapons list as spreadsheet. It is a bit hard searching through it at the moment. Would be nice if I could change the order to be by name, or tech level.

In a side question. What now happens to the central supply catalogue. Will that get a second edition to bring it into line?

 

[Roguewind]

In a side question. What now happens to the central supply catalogue. Will that get a second edition to bring it into line?

A really good side question, as I was just thinking of buying that. :shock:

 

[MongooseMatt]

Anyone got this one yet? I'm hesitant to do so because when I bought the first copy (hardback) it was littered with errors. MGT was nice enough to actually replace it (and offered some other books) with a corrected copy.

You will be okay with this one - completely different team behind it, completely different design process.

It also features a new layout that looks much sharper than the one used in earlier Traveller products. I'd be interested to know what other people think of the new graphic design - I wonder if we may see a reprint of the core rulebook at some point using this layout...

We are certainly looking at perking up the new books that come out!

We're being asked to pay to keep up to date on something we've already bought. Doesn't seem right.

Umm, I am trying to think of something else where this would not be the case, especially in light of a complete redesign. Upgrade Windows, upgrade from DVD to Blu-Ray, upgrade from HD TV to 3D TV.

Very sorry, perhaps I am misunderstanding what you are saying?

We have not changed a few stats here and there - this really is a brand new book.

What would be good if we could get the weapons list as spreadsheet. It is a bit hard searching through it at the moment. Would be nice if I could change the order to be by name, or tech level.

That's a good idea - I'll see what we can do!

In a side question. What now happens to the central supply catalogue. Will that get a second edition to bring it into line?

I brought this up in another thread.

After Mercenary, the next obvious book for revision is High Guard. However, to my mind, a revision of High Guard should be done in conjunction with a revision to the Core Rulebook which, in turn, should be done alongside a new Central Supply Catalogue. And we are not ready for all of that!

These things will have their turn, but it will likely be 2015 at _best_ before we look seriously at this. Got lots of other cool Traveller related titles to get through first!

 

[alex_greene]

Just got my copy. Busy uploading backup copies to my flash drives. Will review in the morning.