tbeard1999
SOC-14 1K
Kneel...KNEEL, BEFORE ZOD!!!
Mgt = T4?
- Thread starter Andrew Boulton
- Start date
Kneel...KNEEL, BEFORE ZOD!!!
casquilho
SOC-13
Is the main reason that Mercenary isn't receiving any love basically that you all expected it to have an SMG in it?
That was good. Daniel
PS: Oh and yes, I did expect the SMG.
casquilho
SOC-13
LMG: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_machine_gun
SMG: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submachine_gun
Different weapons for different tasks.
Hope this helps you.
Daniel
mbrinkhues
SOC-14 1K
Okay, after a short raid on the FLGS I got my hands on Mercenary (and some microbes gave me the time to read it ) so here is my first view:
The artwork in the book is of an average quality, the pictures matching the page content. Painting style varies beween "slightly anime" to "semi-realistic" with a quality similar to what one findes in GURPS:Traveller and CT/MT
The equipment chapter is mostly useful and well within the Traveller norms. Weapons that are slightly off-Traveller are:
Five items in a fourteen page equipment chapter that does NOT contain anything from the core rules. Five easily ignored/changed items. So easy that even a "houserules are bad" referee like me can accept them.
Overall the book is solid quality for the money (less than 20€). The chapters on "what makes a mercenary base" are very useful for players that don't have a prior military career in real life. The book deliberatly stays away from throwing military terms and TO&E at the user, stuff that most players in my experience don't care for anyway.
) so here is my first view:- The book adds extended options for the Army carrer (Flyboys and Squids)
- The book adds six new carrers with a depth similar to the five exetended carreers in CT/MT. Three of them (Cadre, Striker, Commando) are pure Mercs, two are semi-military (Security, Guerilla) and one is an attached carrer covering arms-salesman etc (Warmonger)
- The book has detailed rules for generating mercenary tickets, both by the Referee alone or in a dialog between a player "merc leader" and a referee "Merc Client"
- The book provides detailed rules for recruiting and generating merc units
- A quite detailed and useful overview what is needed on a mercenry base.
- Mass combat rules
- An equipment chapter
The artwork in the book is of an average quality, the pictures matching the page content. Painting style varies beween "slightly anime" to "semi-realistic" with a quality similar to what one findes in GURPS:Traveller and CT/MT
The equipment chapter is mostly useful and well within the Traveller norms. Weapons that are slightly off-Traveller are:
- The TL-11 version of the mortar described as "firing a ball of energy". The TL8 version also present in the book is the classical mortar
- The frag canon that could/should have been modeled as a howitzer firing VT or similar shells
- The MagRail weapons firing disc-shaped projectiles
Five items in a fourteen page equipment chapter that does NOT contain anything from the core rules. Five easily ignored/changed items. So easy that even a "houserules are bad" referee like me can accept them.
Overall the book is solid quality for the money (less than 20€). The chapters on "what makes a mercenary base" are very useful for players that don't have a prior military career in real life. The book deliberatly stays away from throwing military terms and TO&E at the user, stuff that most players in my experience don't care for anyway.
CosmicGamer
SOC-14 1K
Thank you, mbrinkhues, for a detailed summary/review of the product.
tbeard1999
SOC-14 1K
Are you sure you aren't thanking him for the generally positive tone of the review, rather than its detail?
Well, I'll be getting Mercenary soon and if my review is as detailed but less favorable, we'll see if you thank me
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GypsyComet
SOC-14 1K
Alternity springs to mind.
Supplement Four
SOC-14 5K
Are you sure you aren't thanking him for the generally positive tone of the review, rather than its detail?
Well, I'll be getting Mercenary soon and if my review is as detailed but less favorable, we'll see if you thank me
No, one of the Mongoose fans will tell you that your negative opinion is no good because you've only read Mercenary and not actually played it.
And, if you play it, they'll say its no good because you didn't play a campaign.
And, if you play a campaign and still dislike Mercenary, they'll say you haven't played it long enough.:devil:
Let's cool it a bit
For some reason, people seem to be taking this discussion personally. Remember, we are just talking about a game, not a religion.
You don't like Mongoose Traveller, that's fine. If you wish to argue the case provide reasons. You feel a need to dispute someone's opinion, that's cool too. Just make sure that it's the opinion you attack, and not the person.
For some reason, people seem to be taking this discussion personally. Remember, we are just talking about a game, not a religion.
You don't like Mongoose Traveller, that's fine. If you wish to argue the case provide reasons. You feel a need to dispute someone's opinion, that's cool too. Just make sure that it's the opinion you attack, and not the person.
Hopefully the pocket edition has no interior art. In this day of great internet art, I don't much care for the cheaper stuff in my rulebooks. It just adds to the page count. Also, nobody ever complains about no art, but at least half the people always complain about some art, as my mate (Alvin) Nixon used to say.
Oh I don't know about that. A 5"x8"x0.5" solid block of text and tables isn't so bad. But a 8"x11"x0.25" solid block of text, it just gets to be too much to not have some art or other distractions to mix up the presentation. Otherwise it's like a bad thesis or journal submission.
It's pretty much what they did with the other Mongoose pocket books, and they looked alright. Actually, it's what they did with Original Traveller too, lest we forget.
As long as the text is clear and comprehensive, it'll be good for me. I don't intend to use it as a reading book, of course.
As long as the text is clear and comprehensive, it'll be good for me. I don't intend to use it as a reading book, of course.
casquilho
SOC-13
I don't know about that, I mean I have read some posts that make me think they are discussing their religion.
Daniel
Icosahedron
SOC-14 1K
Personally, when I buy a rule book, I figure I'm buying the rules, not some artwork. If I want a SF comic book, I can buy one elsewhere. Same with 'official background' material. I'm very happy that Mongoose intend to keep rules and background separate, it's what put me off Traveller after CT - a few rules and then several pages of (IMTU) useless OTU stuff.
I reckon CT had it about right - one or two line drawings per LBB.
Trouble with kids these days is they never get weaned off picture books - no stamina. In my day books were for reading; several hundred pages and you got a frontispiece if you were lucky. I blame TV... dont know they're born... what do they teach em... <Moan, mutter gripe!>
I do not remember whether LBB 1 - 3 had any, but the later ones and the
Traveller Book had some drawings, although very few.
At a minimum, there was an illustration of several vehicles in the '81 LBB 3 (?).
If by Classic Traveller you mean all of the prodcut line, then yes, there was an increasing amount of art as the years went by.
And IMHO, the Traveller Book had quite a few illustrations althought I think for its time the Traveller Adventure probably had the most.
If by Classic Traveller you mean all of the prodcut line, then yes, there was an increasing amount of art as the years went by.
And IMHO, the Traveller Book had quite a few illustrations althought I think for its time the Traveller Adventure probably had the most.
mbrinkhues
SOC-14 1K
I don't know about that, I mean I have read some posts that make me think they are discussing their religion.
Daniel
Now what? Do we discuss our interpretation of the Holy Book of Traveller Canon in the classic crusader style or not? Between my age and weight getting in and out of full plate and my Tabbart isn't as easy as it was back during trips to Prussia. And those battleaxes aren't getting any lighter either. So either way but I sure want to bury that battleaxe.
OTOH my neighbor is one of those Linux users and I am sure I have a tabbart of the "Church of Microsoft" somewhere...
Ah, I will be back on the Traveller Canon Crusade as soon as I have dealt
with all those proud Star Wars-Infidels all around me. That Ennie for their
Saga Edition has made them a bit restless, I think.
By the way, if you do not need that battleaxe, and do not mind ...
In who... Or what...?
I'll take that Church of Microsoft, and raise you the Church of Apple, though as I am also a member of the Cult of Xbox, does that make me a double agent?
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