IanBruntlett
Emperor Mongoose
OR selling the Core Rulebook and a setting book together for a discounted price?
State of the Mongoose 2025
- Thread starter MongooseMatt
- Start date
MasterGwydion
Guest
Are they? They might be. I haven't seen the data.
I will say though, that after I hadn't played Traveller in years, it wasn't the rulebooks that brought me back. It was Pirates of Drinax.
Bryn the 2300AD guy
Cosmic Mongoose
2300AD is its' own universe. Originally it had it's own ruleset (the Overlord system), but now uses the Mongoose Traveller rules. If there was an Expanse licence, it would be a separate universe using the Traveller rules.
JupiterIndustries
Banded Mongoose
Chaosium offers their core system (Basic Roleplaying, BRP) as a completely separate product line now.
What people are asking for in some ways is this. It wouldn't be traveller though, but Traveller would effectively be the flagship of a D6 core system in the same ways that Call of Cthulhu is for Chaosium. Certain elements like "sanity" are exclusive to CoC in the same way that a lot of the sci fi elements are for Traveller.
What people are asking for in some ways is this. It wouldn't be traveller though, but Traveller would effectively be the flagship of a D6 core system in the same ways that Call of Cthulhu is for Chaosium. Certain elements like "sanity" are exclusive to CoC in the same way that a lot of the sci fi elements are for Traveller.
Nah, I don't think most people are asking for Traveller to enter the GURPS market of being gruel you can flavor yourself with any genre seasoning. I think the main concern is breaking the Traveller = Charted Space link while keeping Traveller very clearly a sci fi game. Making other games with variants of the Traveller rules (as Dark Conspiracy seems to be) is fine, but publishing another generic 2d6 ruleset seems unlikely to be a good idea.
The "everything in the core rules is part of Charted Space" perception damages the Charted Space setting AND limits the core rules.
The "everything in the core rules is part of Charted Space" perception damages the Charted Space setting AND limits the core rules.
lategamer
Cosmic Mongoose
Yes, my message was poorly constructed. The point I was trying to make was it's flexible.
I think Cepheus has this lunchbox eaten.
But the presentation values of Traveller, with a slew of third party and/or licensed settings may be interested. I have a setting which I could convert...just lacking market intelligence on the Traveller system and what it's like working as an indie with it.
Cepheus is Traveller, just unbranded. All the distinctive elements of Traveller are present in the Cepheus engine games. But if you just mean that there's no point in making Traveller Cowboys or Traveller Fantasy, sure, it's already been done by 3rd parties with open licensed versions of the game. And I think that's a good thing. Dark Conspiracy using a Traveller-style system is great. But I wouldn't want to market it as Traveller: The Dark Conspiracy.
lategamer
Cosmic Mongoose
I would like to release Whole New World for Traveller. But yeah, it would not be Traveller: Whole New World.
Sometimes I wonder how much of the Traveller = Charted Space stuff comes from GURPS/HERO/T20 making Charted Space material for their games and calling it (for instance) GURPS Traveller instead of GURPS Charted Space? Like if there had been a GURPS line of Forgotten Realms stuff, would they have called it GURPS D&D? Or GURPS Forgotten Realms?
Obviously, it's more than one thing and some of those things have nothing to do with the game developers. But it makes me wonder from time to time.
Obviously, it's more than one thing and some of those things have nothing to do with the game developers. But it makes me wonder from time to time.
Sigtrygg
Emperor Mongoose
I have said ever since its launch that GURPS Traveller is actually GURPS Third Imperium, GURPS already did Traveller in its core rule book + Space + Ultratech
GURPS came after MegaTraveller, and MegaTraveller had dispensed with the game being anything but the Third Imperium, well the Rebellion era at any rate. TNE was "Third Imperium", despite new rules and a setting fast forward, but in FF&S did give rules for variants. T4 is Third Imperium, T5 only details tech for the Imperium setting.
MgT1e went back to CT for a brief time, build your own setting, But it dind't take long before Imperium based books rather than generic were the norm. MgT2e is a Third Imperium role playing game, the Imperium is mentioned over a hundred times, IN, IISS, Aslan, Vargr, all there.
GURPS came after MegaTraveller, and MegaTraveller had dispensed with the game being anything but the Third Imperium, well the Rebellion era at any rate. TNE was "Third Imperium", despite new rules and a setting fast forward, but in FF&S did give rules for variants. T4 is Third Imperium, T5 only details tech for the Imperium setting.
MgT1e went back to CT for a brief time, build your own setting, But it dind't take long before Imperium based books rather than generic were the norm. MgT2e is a Third Imperium role playing game, the Imperium is mentioned over a hundred times, IN, IISS, Aslan, Vargr, all there.
Starqueen
Mongoose
I used to Loooooove Dark Conspiracy back in the day! When I got it, I think it was already out of print, it was an old copy, but I really loved the Tabloid!-esque exploits, the X-Files meets Call of Cthulhu meets Film Noir vibes and Retro-tech cyberpunk aspects!
As for Traveller, I think what I'd really like is a few bullet-point or one-page 'missions' that could be run in the 5th Frontier war, especially ones that could be run working for any faction, or with notes for adapting to other factions, or even 'mirror missions' set in the same place but with opposing goals! I am starting two campaigns this winter, one group using 'Flashpoints' as a starting point, and the other group using 'Opening Moves.'
As for Traveller, I think what I'd really like is a few bullet-point or one-page 'missions' that could be run in the 5th Frontier war, especially ones that could be run working for any faction, or with notes for adapting to other factions, or even 'mirror missions' set in the same place but with opposing goals! I am starting two campaigns this winter, one group using 'Flashpoints' as a starting point, and the other group using 'Opening Moves.'
Settings don't sell as well as core rules, but they sell extremely well overall. There is a lot of demand for them. I think Mongoose made the right decision there. I just think there needs to be more of an editorial firewall between Charted Space and the wider ruleset. Even if just a "Charted Space Sourcebook" that laid out its specifics like how 2300's book says 'yes this, no that' to various things.
I'm mostly a homebrew sort myself, especially in other genres. But that lovely poster map in the Deluxe Traveller box set got me to play in the Spinward Marches for a bit and the glory that is Travellermap.com is like a siren song to do something in Charted Space. It's a balance between leveraging that value and maintaining that Traveller is not just the Charted Space RPG. Tricky given how many sci fi games are 'the setting rpg'.
mavikfelna
Emperor Mongoose
Chartered space doesn't need to use every rule and technology in the rulebooks. I rather prefer the Charted Space setting to not have the different energy shields in High Guard but they do belong in High Guard to support other settings.
Right, but that's not how it's understood in the current presentation. Like Traveller needs a book that covers robots, androids, sentient space ships and all that fun stuff. There's tons of settings that can use those rules.
But then many people think "oh, that's how robots work in Charted Space. Of course there are autonomous ships." Because autonomous ships are a reasonable sci fi trope and the rules have them. So that means they exist in a setting that actually doesn't consider them normal.
You hear that kind of argument on a pretty wide range of topics and there's nothing that says that's not true, because there's no statement of what does or does not belong in Charted Space.
But then many people think "oh, that's how robots work in Charted Space. Of course there are autonomous ships." Because autonomous ships are a reasonable sci fi trope and the rules have them. So that means they exist in a setting that actually doesn't consider them normal.
You hear that kind of argument on a pretty wide range of topics and there's nothing that says that's not true, because there's no statement of what does or does not belong in Charted Space.
Sigtrygg
Emperor Mongoose
But the authors who write the adventures and supplement don't know what not to use and as a result the Third Imperium just becomes filled with tech that has no business being there - if bound by previous canon. If not bound by previous canon then what is the point in having a setting in name only?
Since personal defence force fields were introduced at TL15 in the Third Imperium Book then it makes it ridiculous to not have vehicle and starship scale energy shields as well.
MarcusIII
Cosmic Mongoose
Yes, they nailed it for sure. Which is why I use it for MTU. Clean and unencumbered for the most part.
wintertraveller
Cosmic Mongoose
This is great news! Congratulations, Chris!
Terry Mixon
Emperor Mongoose
Maybe he holds Imperial dispensation to keep his original moniker.
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