Adventure In The Far Future With Traveller Second Edition

This is the Free Trader Beowulf, calling anyone…. Mayday. Mayday…. We are under attack…. Main drive is gone… Turret number one not responding…. Mayday…. Losing cabin pressure fast calling anyone…. Please help…. This is the Free Trader Beowulf…. Mayday…. Bold explorers and brave travellers journey between the stars in Traveller the science fiction roleplaying game by Mongoose Publishing.

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Traveller is a 240 page full color hardcover (also available in PDF) set of rules built off of Traveller 1st Edition by Mongoose Publishing and classic Traveller by Marc Miller. The game provides rules for science fiction adventures from recent times to the far future. Fourteen chapters cover character creation, referee tools like encounter building, starships, trade, world and universe creation, and a sample subsector called Sindal.

Rules are included for combat, space operations and combat, and trade. PCs play travelers who may be small merchant traders, mercs, explorers, or a combination of them all. It is the combination of the subsector creation by the referee and the travelers moving from system to system looking for jobs that helps to build links that create campaigns.

Traveller uses 2d6 roll over a Difficulty number to determine success. Degrees of success called effect are also used. Finally, the referee can assign a boon or a bane die based on immediate circumstances to make the roll easier or more difficult.

Character creation is a life path system that starts characters at age 18 and walks them through life in four year intervals. Characters start out either trying to get into a university or military academy or go right into a career. Rolls are required to enter careers and more rolls determine skills learned and events that happen during that four year period.

Each four year period of work and learning can be dangerous. A character can be injured during character creation. And they may get kicked out of a career and not be able to continue. The player decides when to stop trying to enter new careers. At that point, the character wraps up with a few final rolls and enters play.

If two players agree, then any event rolled for one character can involve another. If an event is linked, then both PCs get one extra skill up to a maximum of two.

Rules are included for two alien races, the doglike Vargr and the expansionist predatory Aslan. A character may also end up with psionic abilities. Characters earn money and gear during character creation and may enter play with a partially owned starship.

Ground combat is dangerous with damage reducing a physical characteristic, thus making future rolls more difficult until wounds are healed. For starship combat there are seven roles that PCs can move between including captain, pilot, and engineer. Each PC can participate if they have the necessary skills.

Within the Traveller setting, faster than light travel is accomplished via jump drives. A jump carries the vessel a number of parsecs equal to the jump number. When a referee creates a star map each hex equals one parsec.

Referees have a variety of tools to create adventures. A referee can detail a subsystem, roll up worlds, and have the PCs enter the subsector to begin trading, exploring, or looking for mercenary work.

For players and referees who want more there are several adventures in print as well as three tech books with extra gear, vehicles, and starships along with rules to create your own vehicles and ships.

Traveller relies on sandbox play driven by PC choice and action. Worlds await exploration and possible exploitation at the hands of the travellers. All of the tools needed for play and to explore the universe are included in the Traveller Core Rulebook.

Addendum: The Traveller Core Rulebook was published in 2016. Per TrippyHippy in the comments:
It's the second edition of the first edition Mongoose Traveller rules (2008) that were, in turn based on the Classic Traveller rules (1977). The new edition represents an evolution of these rules rather than a revolution, so they are mostly backwards compatible, and are built with a sense of robust and easy use in play as much as anything else. The changes in this edition are mainly cosmetic - the full colour presentation and production quality is a significant step up - and polishing the functionality of the rules. Various subset rules have been expanded and/or clarified - like including a Prisoner career in character generation, tweaking the skill list, or tidying up the Initiative rules, or having starship combat work in conjunction with standard combat. They have also included a bonus/penalty dice system akin to advantage/disadvantage in other games, with an aim to reducing the emphasis on +/- modifiers from previous editions.

Per Dire Bare in the comments: "There are around 10 different versions of the Traveller rules and settings published by several companies over the years, this version is the second edition of the rules developed by Mongoose in 2008 and is one of two current versions of the game!" (with the other version being Traveller 5th Edition by Marc Miller).

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[jhingelshod]

May be worth pointing out for anyone who doesn't know, there is currently a Kickstarter for a Traveller box set - Element Class Cruisers. Even if you're not interested in this, you can back at the £1.00 level then add the core books to your pledge for £30 each, post free.

There's also an all in pledge of EVERYTHING from T2nd in print and pdf for £325.....must resist....muuuust...re-siiiisss...

Edit...meant post paste a link..

https://www.kickstarter.com/project...=nav_search&result=project&term=traveller rpg

 

[Bluenose]

The ENTIRE core rules? I'm sold. This, with the campaign included will have me heading over to my FLGS tomorrow morning.

The only thing that's different in terms of content is that the Core Rules include a short section describing a subsector in Trojan Reach Sector which an area Mongoose are giving a lot of attention for their adventures and campaigns (Pirates of Drinax just arrived for me!), and the Starter Set has a different set of materials in Book 3.

Do note that unlike most other previous versions of Traveller, there's no simple starship design rules in the core rules. I've read comments that this makes the 2nd edition unusable.

 

[TrippyHippy]

The only thing that's different in terms of content is that the Core Rules include a short section describing a subsector in Trojan Reach Sector which an area Mongoose are giving a lot of attention for their adventures and campaigns (Pirates of Drinax just arrived for me!), and the Starter Set has a different set of materials in Book 3.

Do note that unlike most other previous versions of Traveller, there's no simple starship design rules in the core rules. I've read comments that this makes the 2nd edition unusable.

I'm not sure how people could argue it's unusable because of this. There are a selection of iconic crafts in the core rules to run with but, in this edition, they've decided to contain all the ship design rules collectively in the High Guard book.

This means that they are more fully integrated in one place, while I've played in many groups now who are happy to just own a Free Trader or Scout ship or whatever, and never go near designing their own ships from scratch at all. Personally, I see ship designing as advanced rules in actual play. They certainly wouldn't stop you from just playing with the core rules or Starter set alone.

For those who argue that previous editions, like Classic Traveller, included rules for starship design in the core miss the point. In the original game, they didn't provide any stats for pre-made iconic spacecraft - so you had to design them in order to get going. That was not very beginner friendly and this Mongoose edition is designed to be beginner friendly.

 

[Koloth]

As one who has been playing Traveller since the 5x7 black box editions of the early 80's, one the of hallmarks of new versions have been changes in the primary setting. Emperors get assassinated, revolutions happen, virii run wild thru technology, etc. Plus some versions bring a whole new way of creating characters(GURPS Traveller vs Classic Traveller for example). If this review had been of a brand new game that had no past history, it would have been a good article. As a review of a new version of a game with a long and rich history, it needs a paragraph or two of what is different about this version and how well it might work with previous versions.

 

[Charles Dunwoody]

As one who has been playing Traveller since the 5x7 black box editions of the early 80's, one the of hallmarks of new versions have been changes in the primary setting. Emperors get assassinated, revolutions happen, virii run wild thru technology, etc. Plus some versions bring a whole new way of creating characters(GURPS Traveller vs Classic Traveller for example). If this review had been of a brand new game that had no past history, it would have been a good article. As a review of a new version of a game with a long and rich history, it needs a paragraph or two of what is different about this version and how well it might work with previous versions.

Here we go again. I don't own the previous versions. How am I to tell you about other RPGs, many of them out of print, if I don't own them in a review about a different RPG? And how would I know how it works with previous versions if I don't own or play previous versions?

I bought this version to play Traveller. You don't need to know anything about the previous versions to play this one. It is self contained, a game in its own right.

To be clear, this is the core rulebook. It is not a book about the Third Imperium. Yes the sample subsector is set in the Third Imperium but Mongoose created this subsector so it is all new. You aren't going to get a big history of the Imperium in the core rulebook.

I included how the rules work in this RPG. How things work in space. I explained what tools there are for the referee. Not only is the core rulebook complete so is this review. I explained that this version of Traveller is built on classic Traveller and Mongoose Traveller 1E.

Some people responding to this review are asking questions about this RPG (Traveller Core Rulebook by Mongoose). The purpose of this review is to cover that RPG as stated at the very beginning.

Even if I wanted to tell you all about all the other versions of Traveller I can't. Heck I can't even remember all of them. It would be like reviewing D&D 5E but having to cover OD&D, AD&D 1D, basic D&D, AD&D 2E, D&D 3E, and D&D 4E first except Traveller has even more versions if I'm remembering correctly. If I invite someone to play D&D I don't give them a history lesson first. Same thing with Traveller.

You really can jump into Traveller as a brand new player (like I was with Mongoose 1E). That is why Marc Miller wanted the starter set and why Mongoose made one along with the core rulebook. In fact Marc Miller's company sent me email about the current Mongoose Traveller kickstarter going on.

The book itself says this about the history of Traveller: Marc Miller is given credit for Classic Traveller. And: While Traveller is intended to be used for any science fiction setting its players devise, the longest running commercially available universe (indeed, one of the oldest roleplaying game settings of all) is the Third Imperium.

and:

While the Traveller rules can be used to model almost any science fiction novel, movie or setting, the traditional setting for games is the Third Imperium of Mankind, the third great empire to stretch across the stars. In the Third Imperium setting, the players take on the roles of tramp merchants and mercenaries, wandering the galaxy in search of profit and adventure.


As I explained in my review, the referee sets up a subsector or uses one like the one provided in the core rulebook. The players make traders, or mercs, or explorers. And the campaign starts. I honestly think you are making playing Traveller more complicated than it needs to be. You don't need the history of the Third Imperium or previous rules or previous editions. Heck you don't even need to play in the Third Imperium.

For example, Mindjammer has used the Traveller rules for a book in that setting. No Third Imperium at all. Could I have talked about Mindjammer in the review? I suppose, but I stuck to Mongoose books for now because that is already a lot to take in. You didn't ask me why I didn't cover Mindjammer. Or if Cowboys vs. Xenomorphs would be getting an update.

 

[Bluenose]

I'm not sure how people could argue it's unusable because of this. There are a selection of iconic crafts in the core rules to run with but, in this edition, they've decided to contain all the ship design rules collectively in the High Guard book.

This means that they are more fully integrated in one place, while I've played in many groups now who are happy to just own a Free Trader or Scout ship or whatever, and never go near designing their own ships from scratch at all. Personally, I see ship designing as advanced rules in actual play. They certainly wouldn't stop you from just playing with the core rules or Starter set alone.

For those who argue that previous editions, like Classic Traveller, included rules for starship design in the core miss the point. In the original game, they didn't provide any stats for pre-made iconic spacecraft - so you had to design them in order to get going. That was not very beginner friendly and this Mongoose edition is designed to be beginner friendly.

It seems a rather strange argument to me, but there are people making it. And I suppose the lack does make some difficulties for people who are used to designing their own ships in their own settings.

And the other three main rulebooks for Traveller are High Guard, that you mention, with the ship design rules, several ships, and various other rules; the Vehicle Handbook with similar rules for atmospheric vehicles of all sorts; and the Central Supply Catalogue which has a variety of extra equipment additional to that in the core rules. In my opinion the last of those is the most useful.

 

[Charles Dunwoody]

What honestly frustrates me about Traveller is it really is just as easy now to pick up the core rulebook, stat up a subsector, and have the players send their Travellers in to trade and explore. But every time I try to encourage playing Traveller, fans of another version come out and want to talk all about previous versions. Which is great, except they want me to cover all the previous versions without talking about the current one. And I don't own or play the previous versions! Why would I if I'm newer to Traveller?

Traveller isn't that complicated. Pick in in print or out of print version. Whip up a subsector. Whip up some Travellers. Grab a ship, likely a free trader. Go adventure.

I just wish we could talk about the joy of that type of campaign for once! Whatever rule system you choose.

At its heart, Traveller just isn't complicated. But it is well thought out and designed and a great RPG to play. Again, whatever rule version you choose. For me, in print just makes sense. All Traveller fans should simply encourage others to try the game because it is a great game. That's why people are playing so many versions of it today and why a version stays in print.

 

[TrippyHippy]

As one who has been playing Traveller since the 5x7 black box editions of the early 80's, one the of hallmarks of new versions have been changes in the primary setting. Emperors get assassinated, revolutions happen, virii run wild thru technology, etc. Plus some versions bring a whole new way of creating characters(GURPS Traveller vs Classic Traveller for example). If this review had been of a brand new game that had no past history, it would have been a good article. As a review of a new version of a game with a long and rich history, it needs a paragraph or two of what is different about this version and how well it might work with previous versions.

The Mongoose Traveller editions are based upon Classic Traveller, rather than GDW's other follow on editions. This means that the primary setting is implied, like in D&D say, rather than detailed heavily with meta plots and the like. The setting details of follow on editions, such as MegaTraveller or Traveller: The New Era have no bearing on any version of Traveller put out in the last 20 years really - the core games are toolboxes, not setting bibles.

 

[pemerton]

Traveller has always seemed interesting but I've never known where to start.

I don't know anything about Mongoose Traveller, but recently I've been running a Classic Traveller campaign. Here's a write-up of the first session which might give you some ideas; and this writeup of the fifth(?) session has links back to the rest.

My main advice would be to establish links (between patrons and PCs, between the PCs' mission and random encounters, between worlds, etc) as much as possible, so that the game maintains focus and drive. In aid of this in my game I've been using random world generation but not random subsector generation - I've placed worlds as I've needed them to drive the game.

Overall I think it's a good system, hugely robust given that it's 40 years old. The only part of it that I would say has felt weak is the system for onworld exploration.

 

[pemerton]

In the original game, they didn't provide any stats for pre-made iconic spacecraft - so you had to design them in order to get going.

I have what I think is a 1978 reprint of the 1977 (ie original) printing. It has the Scout, Free Trader, Yacht, Cruiser (Type M), and two Subsidised Merchants (Type M and Type R) fully detailed.

The 1980 (? I think that's the right year) revision added the Patrol Cruiser (Type T), the Lab Ship from Supplement 4, and a revised version of the Safari Ship from Supplement 4, to this list.