Hey, guys. New to Traveller. Looks like my kinda thing.

[Mad Dog Smith]

Hey, guys. I just wanted to pop in and say hi.

I've been wanting to get into D&D for a while. And then I found out about Traveller. I'm much more of a space opera guy than a Fantasy guy so I was psyched about the idea.

I joined up on this forum because I thought it might be a useful source of information. I also thought I might find some traveller games in the future.

But right now I'm at a point where I don't know which Traveller to buy. Should I buy the MOngoose version or the Traveller 5?

Both seem to have their merits but I wanted to ask people who played both. Or tried both.

If I have it right, MOngoose is easier to play but Traveller 5 is more detailed?

Also MOngoose doesn't have something called ship generation or monster generation?

Anyway, I look forward to any help, and thanks in advance.

 

[aramis]

Keep in mind: ALL non-mongoose editions are available at present in electronic format. You don't have 2 to choose from, but ...

"Marc Miller was Involved Editions"
CT-77/81/83/84 (on the CT CD)
MegaTraveller (On the MT CD)
Traveller the New Era (On the TNE CD)
"Marc Miller's Traveller" aka T4 (On the T4 CD)
T5 (CD or Hardcover)

"Licensed Editions"
GURPS Traveller (GURPS 3E) (On the GT CD)
T20 Traveller's Handbook (d20 system) (On the T20 CD)
GURPS Traveller Interstellar Wars (GURPS 4E)
Traveller for Hero (Hero System) (Hero Traveller CD)
Mongoose Traveller 2E (Electronic and dead tree, but not on CD)

And then the retrocloned Cepheus Engine, which is a derivative of MGT1E...

MGT1E is the only edition not currently available electronically.

Now, given the two...

T5 isn't a "Ready to Play" game - you'll need to do a good bit of work to get it up and running. A lot of prep.

MGT 2E core is far less complete, but is in a playable state. You need MGT2E-HighGuard and MGT2E-CentralSupplyCatalogue to have the full "core rules"...

And, in either case, you can use TravellerMap.com and the Wikipedia to have a fairly fleshed out setting as well.

My personal recommends would be the CT CD, or the MGT1E core rulebook + High Guard.
Given just the two in-prints, it would be MGT2.

My preference to play is MegaTraveller, tho'...

 

[atpollard]

I would suggest that the Mongoose Traveller Core book is probably all you need to get started playing. As someone just starting out T5 is a LOT of pages to read to learn for the first time.

In any case, finding a group to play with and just getting whatever they are using would be best. Nothing beats being able to ask a real live person an actual question to help learn something.

If you cannot locate live players near you, you are certainly welcome to join the online Play By Post game here on COTI (in my Signature) or one of the other online games that exist. Still, local players would be best.

Welcome to COTI and Tarveller, and good luck.

 

[Psion]

MGT1E is the only edition not currently available electronically.

Er, what?

Mongoose Traveller 1e appears to be available to me:
http://www.rpgnow.com/product/56586/Traveller-Main-Rulebook

And would be my recommendation too. Though I don't know enough about MGT2e, being heavily invested and satisfied with the first edition of the rules, so I can't really say what the second edition might offer.

 

[Spenser TR]

Both Mongoose editions are available in electronic format on DriveThruRPG.

Mad Dog Smith, many people generally agree what you say about Mongoose and T5. In my humble opinion, Mongoose feels much more approachable for running a first Traveller game. There is a -ton- of supporting material; I use the Mongoose 2nd edition system ( core book ) and the 1st edition sourcebooks, along with a smattering of T20 and GURPS Traveller stuff for additional material.

According to their website, the Mongoose peeps say their "starter edition box set" is due out any day now.

I've been running games for over 30 years and for me, T5 is indispensable as a reference book, something to pour over when I consider where the ( non-Mongoose ) game is headed in the future, and where I try my hand at exceedingly complex creation.

Welcome to the game, and to our little treehouse, here. I'm glad you could join us. ^_^

 

[Spartan159]

Welcome aboard. Mongoose (MgT) is closer to the original game with some modernization. It has ship generation in the form of High Guard. the first edition is still available from DriveThruRPG.com. Be sure and check out Abbreviations on this Forum

MgT1e Core Rulebook has creature generation rules and also you can get Supplement 11 Animal Encounters to further expand on the basic rules.

Far Future Enterprises (FFE) is an absolute goldmine of information from previous editions, I highly suggest getting the Classic Traveller CD-ROM and looking at The Traveller Book for a consolidated look at the basis for what followed.

If you can afford it, I believe FFE still has a 4 CDs for 3 rebate deal going on. Actually, I just checked the very page I linked, it's at the top of the page as 443 Sale

P.S. And I see I am still in the running for slowest typer on the Forum

 

[warwizard]

Traveller Has been published in various forms for 42 years There is a TV show and a movie that were made check out Firefly and Serenity. as well as several computer games.

Many of us that have been along for the ride have done many different things within the umbrella called Traveller

Solo play...
Creating worlds, solar systems, subsectors, and more astral topography, using rules that were developed from what we knew about exo solar systems 30 years ago, (perhaps T5 will update that a bit).

Designing equipment, guns, small vehicles, spacecraft and starships to perform various missions, different levels of detail are available, From T4's Fire Fusion and Steel supplement, high complexity, to Classic Traveller's low complexity. Pick the level that fits your desires and attention span.

Creating alien races with different cultures and world views for your players to meet and perhaps investigate from the inside.

Developing adventures and NPC's and situations for your play group to enjoy.

Group play...
Well while one can do the serenity/ firefly trope of a tramp merchant and his crew barely able to keep fuel in the tanks and the next meal on the table, there are many other things that can be done in a Traveller setting, Military adventures, boarding actions, piracy, investigations, surveying new worlds, developing and managing colonies, or entire civilizations. Let your mind come up with whatever you want.

Welcome to Traveller.

 

[flykiller]

I joined up on this forum because I thought it might be a useful source of information.

uh, well ... there's a lot of discussion ....

when I started up a group they all looked up the "latest version" and were oriented to mongoose 2e before their first game, so weaning them onto "my version" - the only one I was ready to run - was a pain. you'd be better off if you just started with mongoose 2e so you're not fighting the tide if you're in a game with new players. but if you start into a game with older players, there's no telling what you'll encounter first, except that it will be a mishmash of ideas from different systems all thrown together. key is be flexible.

 

[Spartan159]

uh, well ... there's a lot of discussion ....

Shhh... set the hook first. :devil:

 

[kilemall]

How much RP gaming have you done?

 

[Fovean]

Welcome!! Fair warning - once Traveller gets its hooks in you, you never get them out...

I'll echo atpollard's sentiment that T5 is A LOT of material for someone just starting and quite frankly there's still some kinks getting worked out. The 2nd edition of Mongoose Traveller is quite fun and you can be up and running quite quickly. It's true however you'll likely want to pick up MgT High Guard (for ship and station construction, asteroid mining and capital ship combat) as well as Central Supply Catalog for weapons and gear.

But I'd say grab a PDF of the MgT 2e core rules off drivethrurpg and check it out. T5 will be there when you're ready.

Cheers and happy travelling!

 

[aramis]

Er, what?

Mongoose Traveller 1e appears to be available to me:
http://www.rpgnow.com/product/56586/Traveller-Main-Rulebook

And would be my recommendation too. Though I don't know enough about MGT2e, being heavily invested and satisfied with the first edition of the rules, so I can't really say what the second edition might offer.

I saw an email from Matthew mentioning he was going to pull it. Guess he changed his mind.

Given that, that's the edition I'd recommend for a new player/GM.

 

[Supplement Four]

My suggestion is either Classic Traveller (my personal favorite) or MegaTraveller.

And, if you go with the former, I suggest that you get either Starter Traveller or The Traveller Book, not the Little Black Books.

If I had to pick one, I'd pick The Traveller Book.

 

[rhialto]

My suggestion is either Classic Traveller (my personal favorite) or MegaTraveller.

And, if you go with the former, I suggest that you get either Starter Traveller or The Traveller Book, not the Little Black Books.

If I had to pick one, I'd pick The Traveller Book.

As a fairly recent re-discoverer of Traveller I'll second the Classic Traveller vote, with a strong endorsement for the CD's available from FFE: for $35 you get dozens and dozens of PDFs of CT material (not all of it harmonious). If you want something a little more free-wheeling a reprint of the Little Black Books in a single volume is here, product FFE 0: it's what I currently use, and is mostly compatible with Mongoose Traveller. The Traveller Book is also good (reprint copy from RPGNow is here), but does include the default Third Imperium setting bits not included in FFE 0 above. The choice between versions may also depend on how much of a default setting you want.

 

[GM Joe]

Yup, go with Classic Traveller. Near as I can tell, the majority of people who actually play Traveller these days use either Classic Traveller or Mongoose Traveller (v1 or v2 depending on if they've upgraded yet). Mongoose is modern and shiny, but expensive. Classic is...well, classic. It's stood the test of time. It's also the version that I think every Traveller player should have experience with. It's the lingua franca of the Traveller world (and, to some extent, the SF RPG world).

Any version of Classic Traveller is fine, but if you want something in print you can get The Traveller Book in hardcover really inexpensively: $20.59 at the moment, including the PDF. That hardcover will give you a lot of material -- the core rules, some adventures, a bit of background on the default setting... all good stuff.

Or just go with the CD-ROM from Far Future Enterprises. For $35 you get a ton of Classic Traveller rules and support materials (including The Traveller Book in pdf format).

Or get both! We live in an age where we can buy hundreds of dollars of high-quality RPG material for a relative pittance. Take advantage of it!

 

[Vargas]

Traveller Has been published in various forms for 42 years There is a TV show and a movie that were made check out Firefly and Serenity. as well as several computer games.

Um, Traveler's 40 anniversary is this year. And whether or not Firefly and Serenity were actually inspired by the game is a matter of some conjecture. Joss Whedon's comment regarding having roleplayed in college was somewhat ambiguous.

 

[kilemall]

Um, Traveler's 40 anniversary is this year. And whether or not Firefly and Serenity were actually inspired by the game is a matter of some conjecture. Joss Whedon's comment regarding having roleplayed in college was somewhat ambiguous.

Expanse was also RPG'd.

I expect in both cases they are being very careful to avoid IP issues.

 

[LeperColony]

I would probably recommend Mongoose 2nd to someone just starting out. I think it's an easy introduction to Traveller. That being said, the other lines are worth picking up since you can get them on CD cheaply.

One of the interesting things about Traveller is you can really see the impact different design assumptions and philosophies have on a finished product. A rules set isn't just a game, it's also an argument for how that game should be played.

By the way, there's also a card game, if that's your bag...

 

[mike wightman]

The Traveller Book is still an option too since it is available as pod from drivethru.

My usual recommendation is to get MgT2e and the CT cd rom from FFE.

 

[aramis]

Um, Traveler's 40 anniversary is this year. And whether or not Firefly and Serenity were actually inspired by the game is a matter of some conjecture. Joss Whedon's comment regarding having roleplayed in college was somewhat ambiguous.

Imperium came out in 1975. The setting is older than the flagship game (Traveller).

Joss' comment is far less ambiguous if one looks at the games in print and available in the UK at the time. Traveller's the closest to the FF tropes.