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Hammers Slammers

rancke said:
Easy test: Does it have jump drive only and lack FTL communication other than ships?

:devil:


Hans
Click to expand...

Good question... did Hammer's Slammers ever care, btw? If not, then it could fit neatly within Traveller's framework with very few changes... Either way, it would make a nice resource for Traveller players... a win-win...
 
This is a dream come true.

Now if only mongoose could do a Starship Troopers port for Traveller (based on the book not the films)...
 
mike wightman said:
This is a dream come true.

Now if only mongoose could do a Starship Troopers port for Traveller (based on the book not the films)...
Click to expand...

That was the original plan, couple years back, when they retired their d20 Starship Troopers rules.
 
MongooseMatt said:
I don't know if you can call it real Traveller though :)

* Ducks *
Click to expand...

What I dislike about Mongoose's version of Traveller, as you already know, is the way things are being changed. You didn't do that with your Conan game line. You only added to the universe with stuff that one would think would already be there. For example, you haven't introduced gun powder or non-human races into the Conan universe (but yet, Mongoose makes like changes to the Traveller universe).

This is why I sing the praises of Conan. It's a fantastic game. I dislike the d20 game system, but the changes Mongoose made to it are brilliant. They're the changes I would have made (and some I hadn't even thought of) if I were in charge of making a d20 game set in Conan's universe.

This is why I love your Conan game (I've been very vocal about it), but dislike Mongoose's version of Traveller.

I'm hoping that your Hammer's Slammers will be more along the lines of Conan rather than Traveller.

If it is, I've found a new game to love.





BTW, I wouldn't call it "Traveller" at all. I'd call it the Hammers Slammers rpg. So, it uses the same game system--that doesn't bother me at all. I like 2d6. It's simple. And, Traveller, isn't a game system. It's a gaming universe (that's had several gaming systems applied to it, some better than others).

What I hope not happens is that I start seeing finger-nail sized disintegrator pistols or Star Trek-like transporters in Mongoose's Hammers Slammers game--things that shouldn't be there. If you do it like you've done with Conan, you've just earned yourself another fan.

Here's to looking forward to the book!
 
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Hhhmmmm.....I've loved the Slammers saga ever since I was a wee tyke and read them when they first came out. I don't know how much longevity an RPG based on them would have, but I think they'd be great for wargaming.

I'd say so long as the Slammers universe is hung on the framework of the basic traveller mechanics it'd work out ok. Especially since I have a shameful confession to make: I've had powerguns in my universe from the beginning. I know, I know...it's heresy and I flog myself in shame. When Mercenary came out I figured they'd make a dandy halfway point between the lasers and the plasma/fusion guns. They are better for close combat (being automatic), and the tri-barrels are brutal as anti-personnel weapons. Better than VRF GG's for damage, but they can't hit as many targets - it's just the ones they hit don't tend to get up again. But I do have them drop in penetration faster at longer ranges than the higher tech energy weapons.

But a TL-15 power rifle is a highly sought after weapon by players since they hit harder than a laser, and can hit two guys at once to boot. So I'm at least interested in seeing how Mongoose Trav handles them. The blowers and combat cars....well, I have Striker for those.
 
Looked at it while buying some colors:

+ Stays resonably close to the HS universe
+ Gives a nice overview of the timeline
+ Includes the major characters in a resonable close write up
+ Includes most of the features tanks, weapons etc. in a good writeup

- ONLY includes what is in the HS novels
- Lacks material to play anything BUT Hammes Slammers
- Reads more like a wargaming manual than an RPG supplement

Conclusion:

Nice book for very dedicated HS fans but more in the way of a universe overview. Lacks the material needed to play in the universe rather than play HammersSlammers. That's a bit like doing a CoDo RPG supplement and giving you only Falkenbergs Legion to play.
 
Like the universe of the Aliens movies, and Bladerunner*, I wonder about the extended HS universe. It could be a very neat place to game, with the Slammers only being one option.

They should flesh it out in another supplement.

We see some non-Slammers (just a little) view point of the Slammers universe in Drake's books The Voyage and Cross the Stars (both non-Slammers stories set in the same universe as the Slammers).





* Bladerunner especially. All sorts of offworld stuff is hinted at. What's it like? Is there FTL travel? What are the extraterrestrial colonies like?
 
mbrinkhues said:
- Reads more like a wargaming manual than an RPG supplement
Click to expand...

To me, that's a good thing - the Slammers universe has constant conflict, enough so that thier are quit explicit rules and laws regulating the various merc legions. But....

mbrinkhues said:
Conclusion:

Nice book for very dedicated HS fans but more in the way of a universe overview. Lacks the material needed to play in the universe rather than play HammersSlammers. That's a bit like doing a CoDo RPG supplement and giving you only Falkenbergs Legion to play.
Click to expand...

....you're so very right: since the game is based on a series of books and short stories that focus almost exclusively on the Slammers, and the Slammers always win and are the best, most expensive and well equipped outfit there is....how do you even try to roleplay that, let alone wargame it? While there is a lot of material you can piece together on this universe and the other outfits in it, it requires reading all the books and stories. And lots of annotations.

So it's kind of like I thought the first time I heard they were going to do this: "Awesome! I love those books! Oh, wait...on second thought, who's going to not play a Slammer? Who plays the other guys and how the heck am I going to make it challenging while staying true to the series?"
 
So to use another universe's way of seeing this dilemma:

One one hand you have this really great series of military action stories everyone knows about and a cool game based on it. But is it a wargame or an RPG?

One the other hand in this same universe the guys all the stories are based on are pretty much all the stories are based on so its a pretty limited genre. So while there's enough to support a wargame there might not be enough to support an ongoing RPG.

So the gripping hand is trying to figure out if this game is something that might just be more useful as a source book for those who want to add Slammers stuff to a Traveller campaign, like maybe a Striker for Mogoose Traveller?
 
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