Too many rules

As a new Traveller GM I have found the conversation here to be very instructive and useful. I too would like to see an online based index where additional or supplementary rules (outside the 90% or so of the Core Rules) are found, as this will also help me in determining what future products to buy.
 
When you look at D&D there are, what, a few pages of rules?
Really, when you consider that D&D in every edition has several large hard backs and that spells are effectively special rules which are invoked by casters the amount of rules is massive compared to Traveller.
The best part of Classic Traveller (and now Cepheus Deluxe is continuing that) is that you can play the game with minimal rules to remember, and then the referee can make up anything else on the fly using the task system. No need to have a specific rule for it all !!!
Rules are always a convenience. The GM/Referee is totally always free to make up rules on the fly for everything, including character creation and how combat works. No books or material necessary. More rules mean the convenience of having a ready-made rule to look up if needed at the expense of having to learn more rules.

I think Mongoose Traveller is relatively rules light compared to a lot of systems and in my mind boarding on too simple for my tastes. I like that it is easy to onboard new players and relatively easy to learn.
 
I too find MgT 2e to be relatively rules-light, and very straightforward. I mean, it really is Classic Traveller with a solid skill/ability system and modern sensibilities. The deeper crunch is merely a basis for consistency in universe.

Frankly there are aspects of the game I find a bit too light and I love that the system doesn't break when I tweak and add things. Because the core of the system is simple and strong and provides a great foundation for just about anything.
 
In response to the opening poster...

My experience is that was D&D that first added mad amounts of options with huge numbers of source books somewhere around v3.5.
I played D&D for 35 years and Traveller on and off, but I am newish to Mongoose 2e and it also seemed overwhelming at first; I made the mistake of getting hold of several books at once and it melted my brain. The Core is all you need at first—and just that alone is not overly complex. It is up to you to surgically remove stuff that is too complex or unneeded.

I do notice a pattern amongst many Traveller players who view the rules as being completely mutable (rule zero) whereas D&D got stuck into more of an "official rules" bubble and many of its players obsess over precise meanings. Old Traveller was tighter because it was limited in detail - for some players that level is enough, despite its occasional (interesting) insanely complex mechanics such as found in the Scout's book about world data, 99% of which was never used by 99% of players I suspect.

The only issues I have is that Mongoose sometimes set themselves up for problems with editing errors, missing tables. etc. And ambiguous wording. And even 2E has strange hangovers that make less sense in 2023, given we now know that automation and AI is likely to reduce skill loads. e.g. look how Pilot (Small craft) and Pilot (starship) contribute differently to a 99 ton ship and a 101 ton ship. And the skill for a laser pistol is different for a slug pistol, and so on.

But for me, Mongoose has made a brilliant version of Traveller, and they have supported it remarkably. And the support seems to be continuing, judging by the release schedule. And you cannot knock the company for customer support and ethical behaviour. That is a rare thing nowadays. Compare them to certain other companies that are lacking in this area... "give me a 'w'".

I will be travelling here for many years to come.
 
I don't think it's just a rules issue. What about a bestiary? Yes, there are the Aliens of Charted Space books, but did you remember to cut out all the races in JTAS? From other Sector specific adventures? What about culling all those vehicles and equipment spread over a hundred books and articles?

My two biggest issues w/ Mongoose's approach to Traveller are:
1) With the obvious exceptions of Travellermap and the Traveller Wiki, there is no online, easily accessible source for any of the actual rule materials (vis-a-vis d20PFSRD...) in a way built for players & Refs trying to quickly find specific rule explanations...which of the 50 most recent books did I read that rule in???)
2) even worse, all their books and materials read like they are written for players who want to hear a story, not for Refs who want to run a game....meaning rather than giving Referees the critical information in clean, simple, efficient formats and tables, Mongoose (even in campaign books made for Referees) spread all the info into a narrative form which means I need to spend weeks culling out the relevant info into digestible, effective, playable notes. What is the benefit of having a publisher so focused on RPGs if they are doing very little to actually make the Referee's job any easier?
 
My two biggest issues w/ Mongoose's approach to Traveller are:
1) With the obvious exceptions of Travellermap and the Traveller Wiki, there is no online, easily accessible source for any of the actual rule materials (vis-a-vis d20PFSRD...) in a way built for players & Refs trying to quickly find specific rule explanations...which of the 50 most recent books did I read that rule in???)
There is this: https://www.traveller-srd.com/
 
One of the most overlooked and yet genius features of original classic Traveller is how you design animal encounters for the planet and environment. Having a bestiary is all well and good, for a planet, but how do you have a bestiary for the couple of dozen planets in a subsector?
 
One of the most overlooked and yet genius features of original classic Traveller is how you design animal encounters for the planet and environment. Having a bestiary is all well and good, for a planet, but how do you have a bestiary for the couple of dozen planets in a subsector?
I think the DNR campaign starts to do this in the Expeditions expansion by specifying alien types typical to certain world types (desert, rockball, habitable, etc). I could be mistaken, but I believe even the Mg1E Animal Encounters book also had a bunch of pregen creatures categorized by environment. That would do the trick.

Don't get me wrong, there is something I love about the expansive generation mechanics and rules. I think Traveller is great for those who want to generate custom everything for every world, and there are rules and tables for that....but many times there are all sorts of elements that add to the adventure that I don't have time to generate or search through loads of books for that one species or piece of equipment that's already been designed and fleshed out....if I could just recall where I saw it.
 
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