get me started.

[bubbawny]

Hey guys!

I'm a 38 year old mid-life-crisis walking with a bad attitude!

I was wondering if you could shed some light on how to get into the new traveller? what's the way to go?

I have an old set of CT that I was looking through and started perusing the web to see if there's anything out there.

Is Steve Jackson's Gurps traveller the way to go or this T20?

Help! advise me, oh wise-ones!

 

[Richard Saunders]

Originally posted by bubbawny:
Hey guys!

I'm a 38 year old mid-life-crisis walking with a bad attitude!

I was wondering if you could shed some light on how to get into the new traveller? what's the way to go?

I have an old set of CT that I was looking through and started perusing the web to see if there's anything out there.

Is Steve Jackson's Gurps traveller the way to go or this T20?

Help! advise me, oh wise-ones!

Hello Bubbawny.
This is a joke.
Do you ring CocaCola and ask them if Pepsi is better than coke.
Now to the real message.
Gurps and T20 are different sides of the same game you can use bits from either with the other.
There isn't a lot out yet for T20 but there working on it.
I'm shore you will get a lot more replys so i'l let them tell you the GOOD and bad points.
BYE.

 

[womble]

If you're familiar with one of the base rule sets, that's probably a big decider. If you're not, but hanker after CT, of the two, you'd be better with T20, IMO... Reasons? GURPS shoehorns Traveller Tech Levels into the compressed GURPS progression; GURPS credits are worth a different amount to CT/T20 credits; for my money, T20 just feels more like CT. *shrug* Can't elucidate quite why...

Or you could acquire the reprinted vesrions of the CT material you don't already have and go with that system if you prefer its simplistic-skeleton-plus-diverse-bolt-ons approach to rules.

For a mercy, though, the products from each of the various franchises are very compatible with each other and CT, so you could adopt a hybrid strategy.

 

[Secrect Cow Level]

T20 uses the d20 system (of course!) but still manages to capture the CT feel quite nicely. THE TRAVELLER'S HANDBOOK isn't the best organized book I've ever read but is written in a very fun and lively style. I actually haven't played T20 yet but it seems like a really good game from what I've read.

As for GURPS, I just recently bought the Basic Set so I don't know much about it (although I have to say I don't think much of it so far) but the GURPS TRAVELLER books are supposed to be some of the best ever written for TRAVELLER and the non game mechanics aspects are fully portable to any version of the game.

Of course if you already own a set of CT rules, I'd still say they are the best way to get back into TRAVELLER...

 

[oldcolt]

I would recommend Traveller T20 (d20).

You will find more people to play.

As for there is there is not alot of T20 material, That is true.
However, they do have Traveller T20 THB and Traveller Aid 1 (TA1) in print. TA's 2 thru 4 are in pdf format.

Hunter and the gang are working on adding material.
Go to the Traveller Aid section of COTI for future TA's.
They are planning to release the following books soon (meaning next week or with in a year) :
Traveller T20 THB (2nd printing)
Gateway Source Book
The Starfall Cluster (Source Book)
Traveller20 Referee's Screen
The Traveller's Guidebook for Players
and others

And you could use the following d20 SCI-FI books for material:
Star Wars d20 (multipul books out on print)
DragonSar (multipul books out on print)
Fading Suns
Blood and Space Toolkit (not the best book)
Mecha d20
and others

 

[Anthony]

Frankly, the way to go is dependent on the tastes of your plausible players. Whether you'll find more players with T20 than some other system is not easy to determine; frankly, I'd probably start by just looking for people who want to play Traveller and then asking for their preferences for game system.

 

[oldcolt]

To Bubbawny:

Here is a noval ideal.
Try to set in a few T20 and Grups Traveller games.
Pic the one you like.

If you live in OKC, I can probably find a T20 game you can set in for a couple of sessions.

 

[soloprobe]

Did you know ,that if you buy "T-20" ( for 54.95) ;You'll have to buy "D-20 modern" (24.95) in order to use T-20?...Also unless you are using gurps Material for refrence, You'll have to buy the Gurps basic set, and gurps trraveller in order to play gurps traveller.....

I would recomend sticking with CT.....Because you already OWN the core rule book.....
Hope this helps

 

[msecrest]

Very tough Question.

Long time GURPS player/gm here...

Hmmm

GURPS vs. T20.. I use to be an avid fan of GURPS. Though recently it has waned for me. D20 has alot going for it.. It's a good system.

I'd have to say T20...

BTW if you already have D20 DnD then you won't need the D20 Modern.

 

[kafka47]

IMHO, I would have to go with T20 as if you wanting to see new Traveller rather than a reinterpetation...T20 is simply more like the old Traveller but with a fresh outlook...the choice becomes T20. (plus it is cheaper right now)

Even with all the cheat sheets that I have devised for GT, I still feel out of place with I talk about Control Ratings and Tech Levels that do not reflect Traveller. I know this just a small thing, but I really like my GDW Traveller.

So, while I think GT is a noble exercise (and I own the whole line, save the deckplans), it just seems like we are backpeddling until at least the new Interstellar Wars Milieu comes out (or at least that is what I am hoping for...)

 

[MJD]

Well, first T20 does not cost 54.95. Second, you don't need D20 Modern.

Fact is, that while the license does not allow us to priunt crertain data in the T20 book, it's a very small amoutn of information - a very vague brush with a D&D game is enough to leanrn what you need - then you don't really need any othe rbooks. I certainly don't use anything but the T20 rules.

The players book can and will containt the 'missing' data though, along with lots of other things.

And of course, T20 is designed to be directly compatible with CT materials. GT (which I like and wrote for) is designed to use the GURPS SPACE concepts and thus isn't quite as compatible.

 

[plop101]

Op/Ed Commentary:

Isn't it amusing that everyone likes to compare their new version of Traveller with CT. Makes one wonder why we don't use it to begin with...

 

[Jame]

There are lots of supplements out there for the various recent editions (mainly T4, even if it's dead, and then GURPS, followed by T20) I'd recommend the G:T core rules, BTC and Far Trader books for a general reintroduction, and the BITS stuff looks like it could be useful.

 

[notagoodusername]

I gotta chip in and say that if you have the money spare get GURPS Traveller: Starports. Of all the GT books this one is easily the best, and it touches in wonderful detail something that appears in alomst all Traveller game sessions, but is very much glossed over in a lot of places. Hell, by page 20 I'd decided it was already worth the money I'd paid for it even if I didn't read another page, for the ideas it got going in my game-brain alone!

Very good resource.

Shane

 

[Elliot]

Im sorry guys, I have agree with MJD (he's official, so I hate to agree with him) and say T20 is nearer in spirit to CT than GT. If you want the real thing buy the FFE reprints (you probably cant get T20 at the moment anyway as it sells too quick for suppliers to deal with!). But T20 has more of the essence of Traveller than GURPS despite GURPS being a good game with a respectable pedigree and D20 (not T20) being a Thursday night with some dorks and a set of dragon dice.

 

[soloprobe]

Oh, My mistake, It only cost $44.95.

As for not needing the d-20 core rules; I have a quote from page 14 of the T-20 Traveller's handbook:

"Please note that this rulebook is not a standalone game system. It requires that you already possess a copy of a roleplaying game core book published by Wizards of the coast and that you be familiar with those basic rules"

If I can play T-20 without having to buy another rulebook please tell me how.........

 

[Mythmere]

It's half of this, half of that: if you ever played D&D 3e, you have enough from memory to play T20 without buying a core rule book. (or you could download the SRD from Wizards of the Coast, come to think of it). If you're brand new to the d20 system, I have to disagree with MJD - you need to read the rules somewhere and d20 has a lot of little ins and outs to the rules. But I guess you could just read the SRD

 

[MJD]

Okay. What I mean is; You. Do. Not. Need. D20. Modern.

That statement was incorrect, and therefore as a criticism, unfair.

I was able to use T20 in its draft form when Hunter sent me it without ever having seen D&D 3e. I played 1st edition 15 years ago. That was my point. These days, well I've read 3e, never played it and don't need to refer to it.

Some vague familiarity with the d20 system, maybe even a core book, is necessary until the Players Book for T20 comes out.

But you do NOT have to purchase d20 modern to use T20.

 

[MJD]

Mr 'Soloprobe', if you consider the price of T20 ot be excessive, that's your opinion. Using it as an argument against buying the game (that's how your post reads to me) is fair - PROVIDED THE PRICE YOU OBJECT TO IS THE CORRECT ONE!

Your original post seems to be aimed at dissuasing people from buying T20. If you are going to do that, on our boards, I suggest that either:

1. You get your facts right (you don't need d20 modern and it doesn't cost what you claimed), or
2. You shouldn't be surprised (or sarcastic, as your post reads to me) when you are corrected.

Your quote - that T20 needs the d20 system - is correct. However, I get along fine without a d20 core book at all. (Before you jump on that, I didn't write the rules, Hunter did). So I feel justified in saying you don't really NEED access to the book, just to have an idea of the concepts.

 

[MJD]

And of course, 'core rulebook' does not necessarily mean d20 Modern.