Mercenary Field Catalogue

[collins355]

Yes, if you look on Drive Thru RPG, the only MGT products that are "Adamantine best sellers" are the $1 Explorers Edition and the 2022 Core Rulebook/original 2ed Core Rulebook.

In the next bestseller category down ("Mithral") you get Traveller Companion and the 1ed Core Rulebook.

Drop down another bestseller category ("Platinum") and you get Merchants Edition, High Guard 2022, Central Supply Catalogue 2023, Robot Handbook, World Builders Handbook, The Third Imperium, The Pirates of Drinax, Aliens of Charted Space Vol.1, Vehicle Handbook, Marches Adventure 1: High and Dry, Referees Briefing 3: Going Portside, Referees Briefing 1: Companies & Corporations plus some first edition titles.

 

[ColinD]

I love re-reading the Merchant's Edition and the World Builder's Handbook.

 

[tytalan]

Yes, if you look on Drive Thru RPG, the only MGT products that are "Adamantine best sellers" are the $1 Explorers Edition and the 2022 Core Rulebook/original 2ed Core Rulebook.

In the next bestseller category down ("Mithral") you get Traveller Companion and the 1ed Core Rulebook.

Drop down another bestseller category ("Platinum") and you get Merchants Edition, High Guard 2022, Central Supply Catalogue 2023, Robot Handbook, World Builders Handbook, The Third Imperium, The Pirates of Drinax, Aliens of Charted Space Vol.1, Vehicle Handbook, Marches Adventure 1: High and Dry, Referees Briefing 3: Going Portside, Referees Briefing 1: Companies & Corporations plus some first edition titles.

Which is my point. The compendium will probably bring the rules from the various adventures and campaigns maybe a few from the setting books that focus on other things (like the sector books) possibly from the JTAS though most of that will be optional rules. It will most likely not have anything from the core rule books or the ACS books and probably not the army’s or navy’s books though navy’s of the third imperium is a possibility. I don’t expect it to be a living document either though I wouldn’t be surprised if a new version hits every 3 to 4 years, though if the PDF gets updated automatically when they update the book or if it will be a series of books I don’t know.

What I’m sure of is that it will not be comprehensive across all Traveller books and it will not be the living document that some people think they want. It’s not economically viable rule books sell and mongoose is not going to put itself out of business.

 

[Terry Mixon]

Which is my point. The compendium will probably bring the rules from the various adventures and campaigns maybe a few from the setting books that focus on other things (like the sector books) possibly from the JTAS though most of that will be optional rules. It will most likely not have anything from the core rule books or the ACS books and probably not the army’s or navy’s books though navy’s of the third imperium is a possibility. I don’t expect it to be a living document either though I wouldn’t be surprised if a new version hits every 3 to 4 years, though if the PDF gets updated automatically when they update the book or if it will be a series of books I don’t know.

What I’m sure of is that it will not be comprehensive across all Traveller books and it will not be the living document that some people think they want. It’s not economically viable rule books sell and mongoose is not going to put itself out of business.

They could have an actual word doc with the changes between actual updates. And I'd hope they update it sooner than four years as it is intended to pick up and consolidate those new rules. Maybe every couple of years.

 

[tytalan]

They could have an actual word doc with the changes between actual updates. And I'd hope they update it sooner than four years as it is intended to pick up and consolidate those new rules. Maybe every couple of years.

I think updating will depend a lot on how much new material they have to add. I don’t see them doing a word doc simply because they are still going to want some time with the new rules only available in the product they were made for to support sales. It’s going to be a balancing act with sales and marketing having to come before freebies. I know they want to support their customers but they have to cover their bills and income first. I think it will be interesting to see what products they actually pull things from.

 

[MonsterX]

Actually the standard is the reverse rule books sell not adventures. This is mostly because adventures have a lot smaller audience. Adventures are targeted to GMs while most rule books target the entire fan base. Just like rule books that specifically target the GM also don’t sell well, the DMG in its various editions sell less than a fifth the number of copies of the PH that have sold. In pathfinder the adventure paths have some of the smallest print runs while the Rule expansions have the largest it’s a matter of the audience GMs want campaigns the general players want new toys to play with and the players outnumber the GMs about 5 or more to 1.

Even in Traveller you see this HG far out sells mystery of the ancients. Some adventurers do sell rather well but these are not the normal.

In fact none of the reasons that the big campaigns, Pirates of Drinax, Singularity for example are KS is to ensure that the costs of these books are paid for in advance since they target a smaller audience.

You have to sell the referee-focused books to sell player-focused books. They are not independent of each other. Players want books to be able to play in the campaigns that the referees are running. If there are fewer books around for referees, there will be less refereeing going on, which means there will be less playing going on, and therefore less need for player books. Referees might look at the fancy adventures available in other games, and suddenly decide instead to become Keepers, or, God forbid, Dungeon Masters. And then the fall of civilization is not far off.

So, yes, Mongoose could count the beans and decide that adventure modules don't pull their weight and so not publish them, but these things are an ecosystem.

 

[tytalan]

So, yes, Mongoose could count the beans and decide that adventure modules don't pull their weight and so not publish them, but these things are an ecosystem.

No one once suggested that they quit selling adventures what we said was that adventures are not the top selling product. Why are you trying to twist what was said to change the narrative?

Yes, if you look on Drive Thru RPG, the only MGT products that are "Adamantine best sellers" are the $1 Explorers Edition and the 2022 Core Rulebook/original 2ed Core Rulebook.

In the next bestseller category down ("Mithral") you get Traveller Companion and the 1ed Core Rulebook.

Drop down another bestseller category ("Platinum") and you get Merchants Edition, High Guard 2022, Central Supply Catalogue 2023, Robot Handbook, World Builders Handbook, The Third Imperium, The Pirates of Drinax, Aliens of Charted Space Vol.1, Vehicle Handbook, Marches Adventure 1: High and Dry, Referees Briefing 3: Going Portside, Referees Briefing 1: Companies & Corporations plus some first edition titles.

Supplemental rule books are bought by everyone, adventures are only generally bought by refugees that doesn’t change their importance but it does mean fewer are bought. Because of this adventures in general also run lower production cost but that’s off set by the greater cost per book to print them. But never once did anyone suggest that they quit publishing them we just disagree with the statement that they were the top sellers.

 

[Sigtrygg]

I am surprised Mongoose has not produced a three book core rule set, or at the very least a dedicated player's book. There is a lot in the core rule book that isn't much use to anyone who doesn't want to referee the game.

 

[rinku]

In the discussion of "adventures vs other book" the core rule books themselves - the ones required to play - aren't part of it. Clearly those are almost always the top seller.

But I'll take the point that it does appear adventures are not top.

 

[MonsterX]

No one once suggested that they quit selling adventures what we said was that adventures are not the top selling product. Why are you trying to twist what was said to change the narrative?
Supplemental rule books are bought by everyone, adventures are only generally bought by refugees that doesn’t change their importance but it does mean fewer are bought. Because of this adventures in general also run lower production cost but that’s off set by the greater cost per book to print them. But never once did anyone suggest that they quit publishing them we just disagree with the statement that they were the top sellers.

Steady on! I'm just explaining why, despite this true fact that you observe, Mongoose continues to publish modules. I responded to your post to add information to what you said, not to disagree with it. If you want to point out that you knew that already, the socially acceptable way to do that is to say "exactly". Not everyone in every response is looking for an argument.

 

[tytalan]

I am surprised Mongoose has not produced a three book core rule set, or at the very least a dedicated player's book. There is a lot in the core rule book that isn't much use to anyone who doesn't want to referee the game.

I would wonder what you feel in the CRB that players have no use for? Maybe Encounters and Dangers but that’s only 13pgs not exactly enough to justify multiple books?

 

[Endie]

Some of the Trade section at a push, maybe, and World and Universe Creation could be justified. That's another twenty-something pages. But it looks pretty sparse at that point, and there's stuff in there that players are better-off knowing.

 

[MongooseMatt]

So, yes, Mongoose could count the beans and decide that adventure modules don't pull their weight and so not publish them, but these things are an ecosystem.

Nail on the head.

If you glance at the catalogues of other publishers, you will spot the ones that have measured sales and determined that adventures sell less... so they stop doing adventures. However, we figured out long ago that while adventures do sell less (Pirates of Drinax aside!), they support the core range and sourcebooks. One drives the other - as you say, an ecosystem.

Also, we like to support the lazy Referee (because I am one) who likes to be supported throughout an entire campaign.

There is another point though - Traveller is an RPG and is thus rooted in stories. And we like to tell stories. It is the adventures that allow us to explore sci-fi concepts (Singularity is a big example there, and the FFW has threads running all the way through it), something Traveller was rooted in form the start.

Finally, they are exactly the sort of thing you wave in front of Hollywood executives when they make their annual phone call about optioning Traveller

 

[MongooseMatt]

I am surprised Mongoose has not produced a three book core rule set, or at the very least a dedicated player's book. There is a lot in the core rule book that isn't much use to anyone who doesn't want to referee the game.

We have looked at it.

The trouble is, the CRB has a reputation for being one of the most complete rulebooks on the market - if we take stuff out of it, that will no longer be the case...

 

[Sigtrygg]

To clarify - a player's book with just the stuff a player needs at the table during a session. Tasks, combat, equipment, personal vehicles that sort of thing - just to save flipping through the entire CRB.

A referees screen but for players if you will, or a playmat...

 

[MonsterX]

To clarify - a player's book with just the stuff a player needs at the table during a session. Tasks, combat, equipment, personal vehicles that sort of thing - just to save flipping through the entire CRB.

A referees screen but for players if you will, or a playmat...

in principle a good idea, but with my players, the absolutely essential minimum would probably cover the whole table. We spend a lot of time flipping through books.

 

[rinku]

Flip that on its head; what would you strip OUT of PHB as "referee's only"?

I make it maybe "Encounters and Dangers", "Spaceship Construction" and "World and Universe Creation". But you'd need to include bits of the first and last of those to cover definitions that players would want, like the effects of gravity and radiation, and what the UWP codes mean.

The only section that could be clearly removed is the one that Mongoose got highly criticized for leaving out of the 2016 version of 2.0 - Spaceship Construction. That move was SO heavily disliked it was restored in 2022.

 

[Endie]

Given the enthusiasm with which my players engage with the starship construction rules, and their eager theorycrafting regarding upgrading the one they possess, I’d say that would be a real shame to omit, too.

 

[Sigtrygg]

And yet I have players that have zero interest in ship design... it is a waste of space for them.

 

[Galadrion]

And yet I have players that have zero interest in ship design... it is a waste of space for them.

Different horses for different courses. In my personal experience, though, the majority of players I've had experience with have at least been somewhat interested in the ship design rules.