Mercenary, Heavy Weapons.

[Border Reiver]

Does it have at least normal heavy weapons such as machine guns. flamethrowers, autocannons and so on? And does it have normal small arms such as SMGs?

I'm sure someone will tell me that the autocarbine is the SMG and so is the autopistol but....

I really dont see what the problem is with this section, if its down to how they are decribed then change it.

Shouldn't have to. One of the things with Traveller was that it was written by people that understood military matters, be it through there own service, military gaming or both. They would understand that a suppressive fire is about putting a weight of fire into a zone to make it untenable not aiming beside someone to make them duck. It is still about killing and wounding those in the beaten zone.

The field artillery really grates, confused and wrong. The heavy weapons could have had auto-GLs, HMGs, tac missiles and more. Where are the nukes? How about metalstorm weapons, multibarrel cannons, heavy lasers. The magrail gun is a little annoying just for the disk ammunition but :roll: whatever floats your boat. If I use it it will be described as a heavy caliber dart/flechette.

And what about that Artillery Battledress. Are they trying to describe Marauder Suits? Mecha?

Now for all my criticism of the equipment section there are still gems in there and some useful stuff. The rest of the book is still excellent (though I still giggle about the 11 pages dedicated to REMF details (Military Bases & Headquarters), great stuff and something never really covered before in Traveller. Still quite a lot of the book though I really don't think it would be effective if it was shorter.

The Tickets and Recruiting is well put together, the handy roster of NPCs useful. A couple of sample Merc units might have been cool, an OTU one and a non-OTU one perhaps? Maybe something for S&P in the future?

Mayhaps an Ironmongery supplement is in order, with both OTU and non OTU equipment.

 

[Border Reiver]

Equipment is basically what I wanted the book for.

Then that is the issue - this is not an equipment book. That comes later.

Awesome!!!


8) :lol: 8)

 

[Border Reiver]

But get someone on board that knows weapons and military equipment. :lol:

 

[District268]

Equipment is basically what I wanted the book for.

Then that is the issue - this is not an equipment book. That comes later.

Excellent news

 

[aspqrz]

But get someone on board that knows weapons and military equipment. :lol:

You could always try Greg Porter of BTRC who did the Emperor's Arsenal for T4, and the designs there were some of the few good things about it.

His game supplements, Guns, Guns, Guns! and Vehicle Design System are amazing, if complex, and, more recently, he's done Stuff! which allows you design anything and get consistent results, all by simple addition and subtraction!

Really good stuff. I know Greg ... have done a bit of playtest for his stuff over the years (including Stuff!) ... he's really good at it.

You could do worse 8)

Phil

 

[Allensh]

Loren Wiseman and/or Frank Chadwick wouldn't be bad choices either...

Allen

 

[aspqrz]

Loren Wiseman and/or Frank Chadwick wouldn't be bad choices either...

Indeed, for the finished product as long as you don't get them to design a design system. FFnS was fundamentally unusable compared to, say, GURPS Vehicles or 3G3 or VDS ... and especially compared to Stuff.

For the equipment, sure.

Phil

 

[Cutter]

Can anyone who has seen Merc tell me if they revisit and restat any of the weapons first mentioned in the main rule book?

 

[Infojunky]

His game supplements, Guns, Guns, Guns!

G3 has some serious issues, but for a starter book for someone with only a passing association with physics and engineering it works. Once you have an idea what the numbers mean the book becomes more and more laughable. But it is well presented.

Vehicle Design System are amazing, if complex,

The vehicle system he did for Imperium games was much better than VDS as it doesn't have setting of normal for the your setting that VDS has. That being said VDS is much better than his earlier work in G3.

more recently, he's done Stuff! which allows you design anything and get consistent results, all by simple addition and subtraction!

Now I will have to look at that, Greg can put together a meta system well, so his current effort should be worth the effort.

 

[Infojunky]

Loren Wiseman and/or Frank Chadwick wouldn't be bad choices either...

Indeed, for the finished product as long as you don't get them to design a design system. FFnS was fundamentally unusable compared to, say, GURPS Vehicles or 3G3 or VDS ... and especially compared to Stuff.

Phil, you know The Gurps book and FFS are direct relatives, and both play/work out in very similar fashions, so saying one is broke while the other isn't is rather disingenuous. In many hays what Pulver did for Gurp:Vehicles is just as arcane as FFS.

 

[Klaus Kipling]

I think the level of criticism here is blown all out of proportion.

The artwork is fine! There's none of the amateurish looking stuff that was in 760 (and less so in TMB). It has the most consistently good artwork sp far in the product line. Please do not mistake taste for quality - they are not the same thing.

I'll admit there's a couple of misunderstandings in 3 of the weapon entries (I've gone in to more detail on COTI, and can't be bothered to repeat here). The Frag Cannon seems redundant, as it's just like a mortar, but mechanically, no problems in the new weapons. The problem fluff description is just a teeny flaw

(Though I was promised a gauss shotgun, and it's not there!!!! Aargh, I'll have to shoot myself in frustration now :twisted: ).

Now, if the Third Imperium had mecha like equipment, don't you think they'd call it Artillery Battle Dress? Don't you think if the writers had used the term mecha, then the fans would have been really up in arms and the flames lit? As for them carrying 4m AT Guns, I'd expect by TL13 that the AT Gun could be a bit more compact than that.

I was expecting to finally have something to really complain about and vent over from the new Traveller line given the level of criticism from some quarters, but once again I find a mostly excellent product with just an occasional wincing moment.

BTW, BR, I'm not having a go at you , especially as you've explained your criticisms in detail and have also given praise for what you like (which seems to be most of it), but some of the other criticism is just crazy, and goes to show that there's no pleasing all Traveller fans all the time.

 

[rust]

I think the level of criticism here is blown all out of proportion.

Thank you very much for this information !

Just a few hours ago a friend asked me to take a look at the forums and
tell him whether it would be a good idea to buy Mercenary. After all the
criticism I was close to telling him to wait, although I could not imagine
that Mongoose really could have published a truly bad book.

Now I think my friend will order Mercenary tomorrow ... 8)

 

[Infojunky]

I think the level of criticism here is blown all out of proportion.

Thank you very much for this information !

Just a few hours ago a friend asked me to take a look at the forums and
tell him whether it would be a good idea to buy Mercenary. After all the
criticism I was close to telling him to wait, although I could not imagine
that Mongoose really could have published a truly bad book.

Now I think my friend will order Mercenary tomorrow ... 8)

The book is quite good, it is there are some Boners in the weapons section that has got people talking.

The character section is well done.

 

[Jame Rowe]

I want low-tech heavy weapons!

 

[charliebananas]

Got my book today, and I've got to say I love it, I was disapointed in 760 patrons, but this is great. I have a new player starting on monday so I generated a Merc for him, the guy came out as a tank, very cool.
I was surprised by the amount of equipment, and I like it, but my game is not set in the imperium, so I'm not shackled to the past and "how it used to be".

 

[spinwardpirate]

I've been scanning the horizon for a copy, but alas, none are to be found in any of the local shops.

Initially, this thread put a damper on my enthusiasm. But as the thread progressed, I think things turned around. Now that I know what to expect, I'll probably be pleasantly surprised once I find a copy.

 

[spinwardpirate]

I want low-tech heavy weapons!

Just how low-tech?

 

[aspqrz]

Phil, you know The Gurps book and FFS are direct relatives, and both play/work out in very similar fashions, so saying one is broke while the other isn't is rather disingenuous. In many hays what Pulver did for Gurp:Vehicles is just as arcane as FFS.

Depends on whether you're talking 1st or 2nd Edition!

Both go into needlessly complex detail, IMO, which 3G3 and VDS don't, but I've used them to reverse engineer a lot of stuff and to design *bits* of stand alone stuff.

FFnS in all incarnations was confusing, at best, tho that was probably as much because of the typos as anything else.

Stuff! is much easier to use.

IANAE* so I have no idea how "realistic" any of these are, but from an ease of use and reverse engineering POV, I'd go ... easiest to least helpful ... Stuff! => VDS + GURPS Vehicles ** => 3G3 => FFnS ... but I freely accept YMMV.

I'm expressing an opinion, not immutable law starting a flame war level, though :wink:

Phil

* I Am Not An Engineer
** Both have issues, very different ones, and are useful in different ways. I often use one to supplement the other.

 

[far-trader]

I want low-tech heavy weapons!

Just how low-tech?

Now I'm picturing a classic "16 ton" steel weight on a rope with a sign underneath that advertises "Free Stuff!"

Of course then we need all the requisite silly "small arms" to be fair (fresh fruit, pointed sticks, etc... )

Or maybe big tree trunks, tied up high in trees on ropes that swing them together to crush the enemies armored tanks.

 

[rust]

Of course then we need all the requisite silly "small arms" to be fair (fresh fruit, pointed sticks, etc... )
Or maybe big tree trunks, tied up high in trees on ropes that swing them together to crush the enemies armored tanks.

Are your Ewoks a major or a minor OTU race ? :lol: