News on New Traveller Books!

[MongooseMatt]

Just to keep everyone updated...

Supplement 12: Dynasty, the book covering wide-ranging dynastic empires, is now in stock, with pre-orders going out this week. It will be in stores within a week or two. You can find it at;

UK: http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/rpgs/traveller/core-supplements/supplement-12-dynasty.html
US: http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/us/rpgs/traveller/core-supplements/supplement-12-dynasty.html

We have also just put up Aramis: The Traveller Adventure for pre-order. Due for release in January next year, it is the classic Traveller adventure, updated for the latest rules set.

UK: http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/rpgs/traveller/adventures-and-campaigns/aramis-the-traveller-adventure.html
US: http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/us/rpgs/traveller/adventures-and-campaigns/aramis-the-traveller-adventure.html

More news on the Vehicle Handbook, Campaign Guide, 2300AD and other titles very soon!

 

[Vargrz]

I am always excited to hear about new resources form Mongoose for Traveller!

Go Mongoose!

 

[locarno24]

Is Dynasty coming out in .pdf at Drivethrurpg?

 

[Vargrz]

What about the book version of Cthuhlian Stars?

 

[OddjobXL]

Both sound very good indeed! Still itching for the Campaign Guide. And twitching. Just a little. Pretend you don't notice.

 

[Jame Rowe]

This is very cool. I plan to get the Traveller Adventure, at least someday.

 

[Eponymous]

Really I'm waiting on the 2300AD book. Even the .pdf so we can get started with a game. I was hoping before Christmas but your post makes me think its going to be later ... like the new year?

 

[renski]

What's going on with the distribution of Supplement 12: Dynasty? It's not on the suppliers order list for my local gaming store, nor can I get it through RPGDRIVETHRU / RPG NOW.

 

[MongooseMatt]

Campaign Guide about to go to print.

As for Dynasty... it will be up on Drivethru later this month, but it has been in full distribution for a while now. Do you know who your supplier for your local store is? We can chase them up...

 

[kplt84]

Awesome. But please Mongoose sort out the art direction for your books. The Alien Modules really let you down. Aslan are not lions yet it appears that disney did the art for the module. And the Vargar art is similar to the "poker play dogs" painting. Vargar are wolves, not the domesticated dogs shown in the book. So please sort it out for the sake of long terms fans and the universe your playing in.
Take a leaf out of the Pelgrane Press play book and the way they respect the lovecraft Material for TOC.

 

[Marachai]

I was wondering if there was any update on either 2300 or the Vehicle book ? . Had both pre-ordered for a while now and was wondering if either was likely to come out this year, or will both most likely be early next year ? .

Mara.

 

[MongooseMatt]

I was wondering if there was any update on either 2300 or the Vehicle book ? . Had both pre-ordered for a while now and was wondering if either was likely to come out this year, or will both most likely be early next year ? .

Mara.

It is going to depend on the printers - 2300AD is about to go to print, and the Vehicle Book is not far behind. They are both hardbacks, so take a little longer, but expect to see them soon!

 

[lastbesthope]

Campaign Guide about to go to print.

As for Dynasty... it will be up on Drivethru later this month, but it has been in full distribution for a while now. Do you know who your supplier for your local store is? We can chase them up...

Haven't seen it on Esdevium yet....

LBH

 

[GypsyComet]

Aslan are not lions yet it appears that disney did the art for the module. And the Vargar art is similar to the "poker play dogs" painting. Vargar are wolves, not the domesticated dogs shown in the book.

To be fair, the Vargr base stock was taken from Earth long enough ago that the Vargr could certainly have developed in several directions. Muzzle sharpness, length and shape of ears, and of course fur color and pattern are all likely to vary quite a bit across the Vargr, never mind body mass variations. One of the pictured Vargr PCs in DGP's "Burning Eye" had droopy ears, for example.

The Aslan artistic treatment by DGP was probably as good as it gets, despite all the overt Japanese influences. That said, the GDW and DGP art for the Aslan was a bit... homogenous. Very little sense of individual appearance variation in any of it, and the Aslan don't strike me as being that way (unlike the Hivers, who make a conscious effort to keep the race homogenous). As such, I have little issue with some Aslan being depicted a bit wilder. Especially the Aslan behind the claw, far from the (possibly homogenizing) influences of the senior clans. I doubt the Aslan are going to have much muzzle, though, making the Lion King costume party thing inappropriate.

So be it. The Aslan have not had a completely satisfying attempt yet, and better than Mongoose have tried.

 

[Vargrz]

For me Vargr are more "wolf" than "dog" but this is just my preference.

I like the more lion like view of the Aslan as well, but would love to see some Aslan concept art or figures posted.

 

[Prime_Evil]

Depicting Aliens is always tricky, even for the best artists. I'd love to see a Vagr illustration by Ron Spencer - his werewolf illustrations for White Wolf were always excellent. '

I reckon that Something Awful managed to identify the worst Vagr picture of all time for their retrospective of bad artwork from classic Traveller books:

Worst Vargr Picture Ever!

Mind you, that's nothing next to the worst K'kree picture of all time:

Worst K'kree Picture Ever!

 

[Treebore]

Every dog IS a wolf, meaning every dog on this planet is descended from wolf stock, so if we can get such diversity what would you think the Ancients could get?

 

[GypsyComet]

The canids and their close relatives (foxes, as the documented example) as well as a few other species such as pigs, are apparently highly malleable at a genetic level. Pigs are almost like people, in that a pig in the barn will stay happy, bald, and fat, but even a season tossed out into the wild to fend for itself will turn the same pig hairy, lean, and sporting tusks. The Russian study with foxes showed slower but similar effects, with breeding for domesticity (personality traits) causing physical adjustments over just a few dozen generations.

The base stock for the Vargr was removed from Earth roughly 300,000 years ago, long before Man entered the mutual domestication process with wolves or even took on many of the world-spanning racial traits we stress over so much these days. Terran canines have done *all* of their differentiation in a fraction of the time the Vargr have been on Lair.

Past editions have documented little differences in appearance, and also up to half-a-dozen distinct "races" of Vargr. Were these developed during the uplift process or did they come later as the Vargr spread across Lair? We don't know, though I suspect a bit of both. The foundations of the Roth Thoken were probably put in place by the Ancients, for example, and early populations would have been bred the normal way towards different specialties. After the Ancients were gone those breeding patterns may have stuck through habit for a few generations, but after that only geographical distance would have kept the Ancients breeding plans going. Given that the Ancients probably had the Vargr genetic malleability turned up to 11 for a while and may not have turned it off entirely before departing, adaption to environment would have begun very quickly. I'd consider it likely that many of the servant breeds were shorthairs, for example, or even balds, depending on the needs for protective clothing in their roles for the Ancients. Return to the wilds would probably have spelled the end for the balds, and the shorthairs would have migrated to warmer climes or reverted to longer coats. I don't have a map of Lair handy, but if the world is missing a lot of equatorial land, the shorthairs would have become rare, leaving the coldcoats to dominate the genetic future of the Vargr.

Similarly, the need for an acute sense of smell probably was a survival trait, leading most Vargr to keep their wolfish muzzle. While there will be variation, I doubt an intelligent species would ever go so far as to breed itself to Pug extremes or even Bull Terrier shortness. The pointed nose of the wolfhounds, shorter Alsatian (the Vargr default, really), or blockier Hound I can certainly see, though.

The very intelligence of the Vargr is going to have made many of the paths of domestic canines on Earth non-starters. We've bred dogs to many specific tasks, often to the detriment of the dogs. That is simply not going to happen as often or to the same extremes when sexual maturity stretches out to 15 years from 2 and the growing Vargr can tell you in detail exactly what the problems are. Vargr do have their Pygmy and Samoan analogs, however.

 

[MrJamela]

Any updates on the new Campaign book?

A lot of the online stores show it listed as December 2011, but we're rapidly running out of December.

It looks perfect for a campaign I'm hoping to start next year.

Thanks,

Jaime

 

[IanBruntlett]

Take a look at http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/releaseschedule where Campaign Guide is listed as being released in January 2012. Personally I would take that information with a pinch of salt.

Personally I am hoping that Campaign Guide will make typical Mongoose Traveller adventures less labour intensive to prepare for. And to revolutionise the way I run Traveller games. And to get me to re-write my "Tell Me Abouts" - short articles to jump start my memory when running Traveller games if I suddenly fprget something.

HTH