Referee's Briefing 6: Garden Worlds

[MongooseMatt]

Some Travellers never encounter any environment wilder than the climate-controlled cabins of a starship or the well-regulated conditions of a highport. Those who venture planetside, however, might encounter all manner of different environments in their wanderings. Among these, a temperate region with a breathable atmosphere and enough water to support life is one of the most common. This is largely because colonists landing from space naturally choose the most habitable areas to occupy, and the initial colony site is the most likely to grow into a major city or the site of a world’s starport. Thus, Travellers venturing beyond the urban environment of the starport are likely to find themselves in a green but not necessarily pleasant land.

Referee’s Briefing 6: Garden Worlds presents some of the conditions, hazards and wildlife likely to be encountered in such a region, along with ways the referee might use them in an adventure.

Grab your own copy now right here: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/204706/Referees-Briefing-6-Garden-Worlds?affiliate_id=7242

 

[legozhodani]

Just chilling after work watching District 9 and noticed this pop up! Result, off to get a copy

 

[mancerbear]

Just down loaded and had a flip. From what I see I like it but, u usually for me, I'm disappointed by a couple of things, all in the animals featured.

I was exited to see the poni, but noticed immediately that it looks nothing like what I expected. Previous editions have illustrated the poni as a symbol of the IISS, and it looks more like an eight-legged sauropod than horse. Previous descriptions (what little there are) describe them as reptilian, scaled, armoured, very large, and swift. Instead we get an eight-legged blue horse.

I feel the same way about the Chamax, which look nothing like established Traveller has offered in the past; basically all toothy maw, eight-ten legs, and nothing like a Terran insect.

I don't want to appear like I'm whinging, because I love Mongoose Traveller. The Referee Briefings are great supplements. I'm just feeling that changing the appearance of such classic Traveller beasts is a let down.

Of course, I'm not privy to everything that goes on in Mongoose, and these changes may have been rendered due to legal reasons.

 

[bklokis]

The stats for Poni on pg 20 are identical to the stats for Horse on pg 18. I presume this is an error? What are the actual Poni stats? I assume it has a better attack with those additional 4 legs.

 

[MongooseMatt]

The stats for Poni on pg 20 are identical to the stats for Horse on pg 18. I presume this is an error? What are the actual Poni stats? I assume it has a better attack with those additional 4 legs.

Good catch, we are on the case - should be updated a little later today. Update with More Poni!

 

[allanimal]

I was exited to see the poni, but noticed immediately that it looks nothing like what I expected. Previous editions have illustrated the poni as a symbol of the IISS, and it looks more like an eight-legged sauropod than horse. Previous descriptions (what little there are) describe them as reptilian, scaled, armoured, very large, and swift. Instead we get an eight-legged blue horse.

I feel the same way about the Chamax, which look nothing like established Traveller has offered in the past; basically all toothy maw, eight-ten legs, and nothing like a Terran insect.

Totally agree - the Chamax don't look scary at all in this...
And the Poni is also very un Poni-like.

 

[alex_greene]

The Chamax don't look scary ... until the Referee describes a scene reminiscent of the one in the Starship Troopers movie where the MI look over the parapet of the fortress on Planet P, and all that the Travellers can see is bugs out to the horizon.

Just a carpet of the monstrous things, piling up against the walls in waves. And then there's a burning chemical smell, because the ones at the bottom of the building pile have started bursting open under the mass of bugs on top of them, and the acids are starting to leach through the base of the walls in places ...

Sorry. Refereeing there.

 

[legozhodani]

Few animals can be scary to humans when we have super death weapons and nature defing armour. To a city dweller going about there day to day life on the way to the shops for loaf and a pack of fags just one of them would be a trouser filling moment!

 

[Gimgamgoo]

Did the pdf get the poni update or has this gone to a backburner?

Also, from a noob to Traveller's point of view, the Chamax didn't look particularly scary. The problem was I missed the line about them being about the size of a great dane. This alters things a little and I guess makes it closer to 'starship troopers' scary. The images portrayed no sense of scale, I guess a pic of people shooting them or something would have shown proportions better.

Anyway, I'm glad to know there's the chance for a Starship Troopers type element in the game should I ever need it.

 

[MongooseMatt]

Did the pdf get the poni update or has this gone to a backburner?

It has indeed been updated!

 

[Gimgamgoo]

Did the pdf get the poni update or has this gone to a backburner?

It has indeed been updated!

Is this the drivethrurpg version? The one on the Mongoose download site seems to have identical stats for Poni/Horse still.

 

[MongooseMatt]

Is this the drivethrurpg version? The one on the Mongoose download site seems to have identical stats for Poni/Horse still.

Oop, my bad - give me 5 minutes...