howardfanatic said:
I just dug out my FFE reprints of Classic Traveller (I have most of them). And I am wondering-- what changes do the Mongoose system make to the Classic?
The big points:
1) Chargen.
a) There is no basic and advanced chargen. Each career has 3 specialties, and a possible officer table, giving some of the flavor of the advanced systems in CT.
b) Each term characters get to roll on an event table, a bit like the old assignments, but more about incidents and events than duty posting.
c) 0-level skills are more directly supported in chargen (in CT, they mainly showed up in adventure setups or as the result of a back-end mod in the compiled revisions to knock down the power of books 4-7)
d) The connection rule lets you build connections between characters ahead of time.
e) The skill package rule makes sure that the party has the basics to handle the sort of campaign the ref has in mind.
2) Skill system - uses the basic 8+ success used in CT, but standardizes the stat modifiers and DMs for difficulty.
3) Combat doesn't use a armor vs. weapon matrix, but uses a system whereby damage is reduced by armor rating.
4) Ships - uses a system that is close to CT basic rules in style (plants rated A-Z, look up performance on a table), but has options and feature more like high guard+.
There's other little things, but those are the biggies AFAIAC.
Or phased better: If I own the Classic Books, why should I buy the Mongoose system?
As for me, #1 - # 3 are big winners in my book, and I find I can still use my CT (and MT and T20) stuff with little fuss. My players find the chargen system engaging and fun, and I find the chargen system has the background building nature of CT books 4-7 without near as much fuss. And I've always preferred unified skill system, and was never really a fan of the CT combat look-up table.
#4... I'm less of a big fan of. It's less complicated than high guard and addresses things like sensors, modularity, radiation shielding, and the like, and it's not near the task to make a cool small ship design, but I really think that the CT High Guard (and T20) approach to weapons is much better.
So take that as you will. Some folks (like some folks you'll be hearing from over in the CT forum where you posted on CotI) really derive a lot of values from the way 1-3 were done in CT. If you're in the same boat, Mongoose Traveller might not do much for you. But if it sounds like something you might get use out of, give it a go.
