MGT LBB vs "Regular"?

[yamsi3467]

Hi,

I'm new to MGT, but I am a veteran of CT. I noticed on the Mongoose site that there are LBB versions and "regular" versions of some of the books. For example, there is an LBB: High Guard, but there is something else listed as just High Guard. What are the differences?

Yamsi

 

[HG_B]

Hi,

I'm new to MGT, but I am a veteran of CT. I noticed on the Mongoose site that there are LBB versions and "regular" versions of some of the books. For example, there is an LBB: High Guard, but there is something else listed as just High Guard. What are the differences?

Yamsi

LBB = Little Black Book format. Small paperback like the original Traveller books from the 70's.

 

[yamsi3467]

Yes,

I remember the LBBs fondly! I was just wondering if there was any content differences between the versions.

Yamsi

 

[far-trader]

As I understand it, from what I read about the first MGT digest sized offering (the Pocket Edition of the Core Rules - aka MGT LBB) the only content difference is the LBBs drop the Footnotes (mostly colour text), and maybe some artwork (but I'm not sure about that). FWIW Mongoose offers the Footnotes from the Core book as a free pdf for those who want it to supplement the Pocket Edition:

http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/pdf/travfootnotes.pdf

I think they did this because some of the Footnotes in the Core book were actual rules bits. They might have changed their method after the Core book and included all the material in the LBB versions, just at a smaller font size (though actually an easier to read one from what I've read) of course.

 

[Spinward Scout]

They did change some artwork between the Core Rulebook and the Pocket Core Rulebook, but other than that, and what far-trader mentioned, I haven't seen a difference other than a spelling correction or two. Looks to me like they just shrunk the page down to size to print it - there's extra white space at the top and the bottom on the Pocket one.

 

[Spike]

I got the Merchant Princes LBB, partly because of my budget and mostly because my game store has terrible stocking for anything not D&D or 40k.

It appears to be the same sort of book as the full sized books, same layout, same arrangement, same 'stuff'. I can't compare it to the actual Merchant Prince book, of course but comparing it to Mercenary, Scoundrel and so on, I can't see any difference in the format other than the size.

That said: The size is a deal breaker. I've read all my MongTrav books cover to cover, and spent many hours flipping pages and looking up stuff. Merchant Prince is the exception, as I have to force myself to read any of it. Something about that small font (I'm guessing) really makes it irritating to read.

 

[Icosahedron]

That said: The size is a deal breaker. I've read all my MongTrav books cover to cover, and spent many hours flipping pages and looking up stuff. Merchant Prince is the exception, as I have to force myself to read any of it. Something about that small font (I'm guessing) really makes it irritating to read.

Ah, the dastardly finger of time poking us in the eyes!

Yes, it's a definite problem for those of us of a certain age, but I circumvented it by practical means - I use a credit card size fresnel magnifier as a bookmark. It doesn't remove the irritation, but it makes it manageable.

Perhaps Mongoose should provide one with every copy as a sales gimmick?