Traveller Release Schedule 2024
- Thread starter MongooseMatt
- Start date
Micky
Cosmic Mongoose
pretty much as I see them. Easy to take ideas and inspiration for, and especially easy to take and place where you want. So many adventures are set in the Spinward Marches yet for me that is the least interesting (with the extra negative of being most cut off from the more interesting sections of the Imperium) of the 4 quadrants. Easy enough to take those adventures and place them elsewhere in the Imperium. Especially Trailing which PoD, a pirate based campaign, would have fit perfectly in.. and where I am setting it. Add in the human v. K'Kree dynamics and the large borderland area between them and that is just an area that is ripe for adventure. It is where my campaign is heading. Would love to see Mongoose do a deeper dive down the road.
But as far as adventures. I love what Mongoose has done with them but again putting on my newbie fresh perspective hat. I have two bits of feedback suggestions for Traveller adventures for what it's worth.
First. So much is said about starships being characters as the PC's.. yet so few adventures focus on space travel .. they are largely planetary based. Getting to and from is not really the basis of many adventures and all that could happen out there in space. Would love to see some adventures where the plot isn't' something based on planetary encounters but space/spaceship based.
Two... while Traveller was first on my pre-retirement catchup of classic RPG's I didn't get into back in the day it wasn't the only one. I finally took a chance on CoC a couple of weeks ago and ordered up some starter stuff and .. WOW man. Perfect. What they do.. Mongoose could well consider doing. What better and easier way to break players into the game, and serve the players that don't have groups to play with or are internet ludites, than to have a good series of solo or 2 player adventures.
NOLATrav
Emperor Mongoose
No, that’s absolutely a fantastic idea.I don't know, maybe I'm the only one who would find that cool.
It reminds me of Flynn’s Guide to Alien Creation, from the 1e days. A sourcebook to create sentient alien races based on the UWP of their homeworld. Great stuff, and also great for creating non-sentient creatures that inhabit a given world (thanks goes to a poster from back then known as rust - cheers rust, for that brilliant hack!)
Anyway, I say go for it and good luck! I’d be interested in seeing it, it’s one of those time-saver things that could end up being invaluable to ref with little time to prep.
You're right, there's no reason to wait for a book that probably would never come, best to scratch my own itch.
I'll let you guys know if I come up with something that works well, after trying it for a while.
Limpin Legin
Emperor Mongoose
Certainly would be interested in such a in-game culture / psychology book, without an automatic dissemination of personality traits because, based on other rule-systems, I haven't seen that works yet. Maybe yours would be different ...That's cool, thanks for sharing!
That being said, I was thinking of a building book more than a list of premade characters. Something having rules to build a psychology, relate the NPC to their culture, create some personal traits, maybe insert them in a group or family, etc. Like the Word Builder Handbook or the Robot Handbook, but for people. We're already half way there, with the character creation system and its careers. But it falls short of deciding of a personality for the character, because that's player's agency. A NPC Handbook would fit nicely between the character creation rules and the Aliens of Charted Space cultures, allowing to build memorable NPCs. I don't know, maybe I'm the only one who would find that cool.
Another view is that it also depends on what is conceived of first: the world system or the culture the character comes from. Reality has it's own story, but from the point of view of game creativity, the culture/character idea may well be thought of first, before their homeworld system is located in game space.
So, similar to the WHB, I would hope for different ways of using the info provided in the book, to suit different character building scenarios.
IanBruntlett
Emperor Mongoose
A couple of GURPS books caught my attention... GURPS Rogues, GURPS Villains. Don't have them at the moment...
Amazon UK are offering them on Print On Demand.
Amazon UK are offering them on Print On Demand.
GURPS Classic: Supporting Cast
A Cast of Thousands Are you tired of shuffling through reams of loose paper and scribbled notes? Do you just make up names and statistics for NPCs off the top of your head? Are your players getting tired of meeting the same characters in every adventure? Well, no more! GURPS Supporting Cast is...
warehouse23.com
GURPS Supporting Cast has good stuff too (just check the Astrogator in the preview), but I also have a *FREE* option for you: Chrysogon's Coterie.
It's 'Basic Fantasy', OK, but it's a great reading and it does have a (sort of) plot.
Fulcs
Banded Mongoose
But I want to....Just a quick note - we don't expect anyone to buy every Traveller book
CordwainerFish
Emperor Mongoose
I am in this picture and... I'm okay with it.But I want to....
nats
Banded Mongoose
Maybe I am just getting too old but I prefer having fewer books than more. Whereas I would love to see what is in Bounty Hunter for example I can live without. There was once a time when I would buy it just to see it ... and then never use it. Those times are past especially with these days of expensive stuff everywhere else. I think was getting mired in too much material stuff. Now I feel better just actually playing the game with what Iittle I have kept.
Apart from that I see very little in Mongoose Traveller that is done better than it was done in Classic Traveller. The tech and ships seem too bright, too colourful now .... not the same as the old stuff I used to enjoy looking at, reading and imagining as a kid in the old Traveller books. Traveller felt a bit more brutal, rusty and well worn in the 80s than this new incarnation ..... it doesn't really do anything for me this new Traveller.
You marvelled at how cool it was to fight off ship boarders using cutlasses in space back then lol. Imagination then took over. Now everything is spelled out in glorious detail with multiple options. No need for any imagination, when you are too busy looking for the rule .... !
Apart from that I see very little in Mongoose Traveller that is done better than it was done in Classic Traveller. The tech and ships seem too bright, too colourful now .... not the same as the old stuff I used to enjoy looking at, reading and imagining as a kid in the old Traveller books. Traveller felt a bit more brutal, rusty and well worn in the 80s than this new incarnation ..... it doesn't really do anything for me this new Traveller.
You marvelled at how cool it was to fight off ship boarders using cutlasses in space back then lol. Imagination then took over. Now everything is spelled out in glorious detail with multiple options. No need for any imagination, when you are too busy looking for the rule .... !
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NOLATrav
Emperor Mongoose
Funny you say this, just the other day I was reminiscing about the art in the 70’s/80’s Traveller stuff… like the guy in LBB4 with the laser carbine… or the steampunk-style view of the original Leviathan… all those lovely B&W line drawings… absolutely evocative to my pre-teen self back then.
But I do love what Mongoose is doing with art and layout. Personally I want the game to be flashy and evocative and modern - but as simple to play as it was back in the day. Lots of people on Reddit are asking “what books do I need?” and everyone responds similarly - just Core, and if you want gear then CSC, and if you want ships then HG, etc.
I think Mongoose has been doing such great and respectful work in keeping the game alive. But clearly the old material still works. Just keep Travellin’ my friend.
Fulcs
Banded Mongoose
We're kind of conditioned these days to judge everything against something else, but it's possible to like both as well.
. I still love the old black and white illustrations but really love the modern colourful mongoose versions too. If colourful brings in the cashflow to keep traveller going then I'm all for it
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IanBruntlett
Emperor Mongoose
Yes, I liked the B&W art. But I love the new 2nd edition artWe're kind of conditioned these days to judge everything against something else, but it's possible to like both as well.
Limpin Legin
Emperor Mongoose
The edgy B&W art is sleek and ultra-futuristic. The 2e art is more immersive. My glimpse of the newer FFW art suggests Mongoose have combined the two with both colour and more detail. (All these views are my own subjective opinion, of course.)
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nats
Banded Mongoose
Well I am in a minority lol, but I am honestly glad that people find the Mongoose art good because as long as Traveller is popular it will be around and Mongoose are producing some decent books like the World Builder Book.
For myself I guess being brought up with Star Wars and 2001 made me feel that colour didnt really have much of a part to play in ships and the old CT books never showed any colour either. But I also grew up marvelling at Chris Foss space art, and you can get much more colourful than that, so whatever lol.
I guess I would just prefer to see the ships looking more worn, being used seeing them docking or fighting in space, and looking cool sitting on landing platforms getting refuelled etc than just a basic boring 3d render. But maybe for the next version ...
For myself I guess being brought up with Star Wars and 2001 made me feel that colour didnt really have much of a part to play in ships and the old CT books never showed any colour either. But I also grew up marvelling at Chris Foss space art, and you can get much more colourful than that, so whatever lol.
I guess I would just prefer to see the ships looking more worn, being used seeing them docking or fighting in space, and looking cool sitting on landing platforms getting refuelled etc than just a basic boring 3d render. But maybe for the next version ...
Limpin Legin
Emperor Mongoose
Star Wars and 2001 always has been in colour. Dr Who wasn't. But maybe you didn't have a colour telly. My parents were late in buying a colour telly, so I saw most programs in B&W as well.
That sounds more Space 1999 and Thunderbirds which were originally emphasising Gerry Anderson's intricate models and puppets, as well as Sylvia Anderson's plush sci-fi styled clothing, offset by the gritty environment.
nats
Banded Mongoose
I meant the ships are not overly colourful in Star Wars or 2001
Condottiere
Emperor Mongoose
That would be due to a stylistic choice.
You'll note the shift between the original trilogy, and the Prequels.
Captain Scarlet seems more colourful, than the Seventies Scifi anesthetic aesthetic.
You'll note the shift between the original trilogy, and the Prequels.
Captain Scarlet seems more colourful, than the Seventies Scifi anesthetic aesthetic.
