There is some interesting stuff in here!
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Traveller
Traveller was our leading line in 2008, and it remained so in 2009. Acceptance of the new rules has been growing at a great rate and, in RPG terms, sales have been extremely good, justifying the faith we put into the game.
In 2009, we started to demonstrate just how dynamic Traveller could be, using it in several different settings, such as Hammers Slammers, Judge Dredd and Strontium Dog. In 2010, we will continue this trend. The basic idea is to introduce a new setting for Traveller every 3-6 months; some ‘one-shots’ like Hammers Slammers, some forming full lines of their own, such as Judge Dredd, while others are in-between, having a fixed and limited number of titles. This will ensure Traveller stays ‘fresh’ and there will always be something new for players to try.
So, what delights can you expect for Traveller next year if you want to explore universes beyond the Third Imperium and Mega-City One?
Reaver – Piracy in the Sea of Stars
A brand new and heavily-detailed setting for Traveller, Reaver – Piracy in the Sea of Stars plays to all of Traveller’s strengths.
The known galaxy is dominated by several immense stellar empires, whose cultural and technological achievements are pushing the limits of human understanding. However, a new cluster of stars has recently been discovered, superlatively rich in resources, yet far away and difficult to reach. The old empires have raced to establish colonies in the cluster, each with the aim of exploiting these worlds before they can be claimed by their rivals.
Players’ take the part of pirates or privateers – either independent or allied to one (or more, if they want a complicated life!) of the empires via a letter of marque.
The colonies are constantly changing hands as the empires gather invasion fleets or privateers smash their defences, while in the more secret parts of the cluster, a number of freeports are frequented by pirates and daring traders. Few dare to tread these freeports without heavy armament.
Several worlds are home to a backward and savage race that many colonies have been keen to exploit. Some have managed to tame these creatures, while others have simply enslaved them. Weak colony governors often lose control of their alien population and suffer constant attacks from the wilds. Few have come to realise that these aliens have their own great cities far away from the colonised worlds and are far more sophisticated than might be first thought.
The colonies form a beacon of civilisation in the void, where the quick-witted and lucky can make vast fortunes very quickly. The Black Guilds, collections of high-tech thieves and assassins constantly wage a shadowy war against one another as charismatic and devious leaders rise and fall, while bounty hunters move through the darker parts of every colony, seeking their marks. Missionaries from the empires seek to convert enemies of the state to their cause and civilise the alien, while honest and less-than-honest merchants ply the space lanes, keen to take advantage of the ever shifting political situation and make greater profit on a single voyage than they would see in a decade within the old empires.
At the heart of all this, the players will pirate ships, trade, perform missions for the empires, avoid other pirates and assassins, accrue fame (infamy) and reputation, search for alien treasures and cities, woo colony governor’s daughters when ‘in society’, upgrade their own vessels, recruit new hands and build up an entire pirate fleet with which they can raze colonies and alter the destiny of the empires themselves.
We will be previewing Reaver – Piracy in the Sea of Stars throughout 2010 until its release at Gen Con. Keep an eye out for it – it is going to be a good ‘un. . .
Codename Veil
An unusual approach to Traveller, Codename Veil is set just a few years in our future, and is a property that Mongoose has had under wraps for more than seven years now.
Players will create veteran characters drawn from the intelligence services from around the world (such as the CIA, MI6, Mossad, and so forth – maybe even the Los Angeles CTU. . .), with the Traveller character creation system drawing up detailed events of their secretive past lives. These characters have been recruited into an international organisation, classified ultra-secret at the highest levels, charged with defending Earth against the predations of a recently discovered alien threat.
Initial contact with alien forces has determined that they are incredibly powerful and likely hostile, though very little is known about them – in fact, the alien forces will be different for every campaign, as there is a back end system for the referee that defines the nature and scope of the alien threat, based upon the players’ own decisions, actions, and successes.
Naturally, with such a threat hanging over Earth, the masses can never come to learn about the alien menace, lest panic sweep entire nations, destroy the current world order, and the planet be left wide open to attack. The players must not only learn to operate in secret but to cover their tracks, all the while accepting that the organisation they are working for can, by necessity, be a cruel and callous one. Their missions may range from investigating possible abductions in the heart of a major city to racing through a tropical rainforest in an attempt to recover a downed alien craft before the homeland military discovers it, all the while hunted by an alien survivor whose technology makes a mockery of the players’ own resources.
Codename Veil will be appearing towards the end of the year.
Core Books
We will also be continuing to support Traveller at its core as well. Judge Dredd fans were delighted when they realised that, because their new game used the Traveller system, they already had many different supplements available to them – after all, if a Traveller book has the traditional solid black cover, it is potentially useable with any setting! Because of this, you expect to see many new core supplements released over the next few years.
To give you a taste of what is to come. . .
Merchant Prince is a long-awaited title. Far more than just a companion for merchant-type characters, this book will form the cornerstone for entrepreneurial activity in Traveller universes, with lots of new mechanics for creating your own business start ups. More than that though, Merchant Prince introduces a new set of trading rules. Those in the main rulebook illustrate how part-timers and opportunists trade across the stars – Merchant Prince will show you how the ‘big boys’ do things, how the large trading conglomerates rake in millions of credits every month. Compete with them if you dare…
Other core books include Robots (allowing you to create your own robots, of course, and even using them as player characters), Power Armour (providing rules to create all new armour, from lithe Combat Armour to hulking exosuits – and then customising them) and Dilettante, the career book for nobles and entertainers. Want to be a foppish dandy, a movie idol or the galaxy’s greatest rock star? This book will show you how!
A favourite of mine is the Campaign Guide. Harmless enough title, but this book will allow you to run a complete campaign with no planned adventures at all – and your players will not be able to tell the difference. Perfect for lazy Games Masters (like myself) who barely have enough time to read published adventures, let alone write their own. Your players will touch down on a new world, perhaps within the Spinward Marches, and within seconds there will be a fully fleshed out starport, with a host of things to do that will keep the players going for months. Suppose they decide to leave the starport and engage in a little piracy? No problem, you’ll have prey (and law enforcement) sorted out for them in less than a minute. Want to introduce a little trouble with their latest trading or throw them a curved ball of a patron? It is all there for you in this book, easy to use and quick to create.
Other Worlds
As is in the nature of such things, there are other licensed settings in the works that will be revealed at a later date. However, 2000AD fans will no doubt rejoice that, after Judge Dredd and Strontium Dog, the next comic strip to be added to the Traveller fold will be the ABC Warriors.
Players will take on the role of warbots, designed to withstand Atomic, Bacterial and Chemical (ABC, get it?) warfare, engaging in missions that may ultimately set them at odds with their human masters as they discover their own identities. And, of course, there will be plenty of opportunities to unleash massive levels of firepower as players design their own robots from the ground up, from advanced combat models to big, hulking demolition droids.
--------------
Traveller
Traveller was our leading line in 2008, and it remained so in 2009. Acceptance of the new rules has been growing at a great rate and, in RPG terms, sales have been extremely good, justifying the faith we put into the game.
In 2009, we started to demonstrate just how dynamic Traveller could be, using it in several different settings, such as Hammers Slammers, Judge Dredd and Strontium Dog. In 2010, we will continue this trend. The basic idea is to introduce a new setting for Traveller every 3-6 months; some ‘one-shots’ like Hammers Slammers, some forming full lines of their own, such as Judge Dredd, while others are in-between, having a fixed and limited number of titles. This will ensure Traveller stays ‘fresh’ and there will always be something new for players to try.
So, what delights can you expect for Traveller next year if you want to explore universes beyond the Third Imperium and Mega-City One?
Reaver – Piracy in the Sea of Stars
A brand new and heavily-detailed setting for Traveller, Reaver – Piracy in the Sea of Stars plays to all of Traveller’s strengths.
The known galaxy is dominated by several immense stellar empires, whose cultural and technological achievements are pushing the limits of human understanding. However, a new cluster of stars has recently been discovered, superlatively rich in resources, yet far away and difficult to reach. The old empires have raced to establish colonies in the cluster, each with the aim of exploiting these worlds before they can be claimed by their rivals.
Players’ take the part of pirates or privateers – either independent or allied to one (or more, if they want a complicated life!) of the empires via a letter of marque.
The colonies are constantly changing hands as the empires gather invasion fleets or privateers smash their defences, while in the more secret parts of the cluster, a number of freeports are frequented by pirates and daring traders. Few dare to tread these freeports without heavy armament.
Several worlds are home to a backward and savage race that many colonies have been keen to exploit. Some have managed to tame these creatures, while others have simply enslaved them. Weak colony governors often lose control of their alien population and suffer constant attacks from the wilds. Few have come to realise that these aliens have their own great cities far away from the colonised worlds and are far more sophisticated than might be first thought.
The colonies form a beacon of civilisation in the void, where the quick-witted and lucky can make vast fortunes very quickly. The Black Guilds, collections of high-tech thieves and assassins constantly wage a shadowy war against one another as charismatic and devious leaders rise and fall, while bounty hunters move through the darker parts of every colony, seeking their marks. Missionaries from the empires seek to convert enemies of the state to their cause and civilise the alien, while honest and less-than-honest merchants ply the space lanes, keen to take advantage of the ever shifting political situation and make greater profit on a single voyage than they would see in a decade within the old empires.
At the heart of all this, the players will pirate ships, trade, perform missions for the empires, avoid other pirates and assassins, accrue fame (infamy) and reputation, search for alien treasures and cities, woo colony governor’s daughters when ‘in society’, upgrade their own vessels, recruit new hands and build up an entire pirate fleet with which they can raze colonies and alter the destiny of the empires themselves.
We will be previewing Reaver – Piracy in the Sea of Stars throughout 2010 until its release at Gen Con. Keep an eye out for it – it is going to be a good ‘un. . .
Codename Veil
An unusual approach to Traveller, Codename Veil is set just a few years in our future, and is a property that Mongoose has had under wraps for more than seven years now.
Players will create veteran characters drawn from the intelligence services from around the world (such as the CIA, MI6, Mossad, and so forth – maybe even the Los Angeles CTU. . .), with the Traveller character creation system drawing up detailed events of their secretive past lives. These characters have been recruited into an international organisation, classified ultra-secret at the highest levels, charged with defending Earth against the predations of a recently discovered alien threat.
Initial contact with alien forces has determined that they are incredibly powerful and likely hostile, though very little is known about them – in fact, the alien forces will be different for every campaign, as there is a back end system for the referee that defines the nature and scope of the alien threat, based upon the players’ own decisions, actions, and successes.
Naturally, with such a threat hanging over Earth, the masses can never come to learn about the alien menace, lest panic sweep entire nations, destroy the current world order, and the planet be left wide open to attack. The players must not only learn to operate in secret but to cover their tracks, all the while accepting that the organisation they are working for can, by necessity, be a cruel and callous one. Their missions may range from investigating possible abductions in the heart of a major city to racing through a tropical rainforest in an attempt to recover a downed alien craft before the homeland military discovers it, all the while hunted by an alien survivor whose technology makes a mockery of the players’ own resources.
Codename Veil will be appearing towards the end of the year.
Core Books
We will also be continuing to support Traveller at its core as well. Judge Dredd fans were delighted when they realised that, because their new game used the Traveller system, they already had many different supplements available to them – after all, if a Traveller book has the traditional solid black cover, it is potentially useable with any setting! Because of this, you expect to see many new core supplements released over the next few years.
To give you a taste of what is to come. . .
Merchant Prince is a long-awaited title. Far more than just a companion for merchant-type characters, this book will form the cornerstone for entrepreneurial activity in Traveller universes, with lots of new mechanics for creating your own business start ups. More than that though, Merchant Prince introduces a new set of trading rules. Those in the main rulebook illustrate how part-timers and opportunists trade across the stars – Merchant Prince will show you how the ‘big boys’ do things, how the large trading conglomerates rake in millions of credits every month. Compete with them if you dare…
Other core books include Robots (allowing you to create your own robots, of course, and even using them as player characters), Power Armour (providing rules to create all new armour, from lithe Combat Armour to hulking exosuits – and then customising them) and Dilettante, the career book for nobles and entertainers. Want to be a foppish dandy, a movie idol or the galaxy’s greatest rock star? This book will show you how!
A favourite of mine is the Campaign Guide. Harmless enough title, but this book will allow you to run a complete campaign with no planned adventures at all – and your players will not be able to tell the difference. Perfect for lazy Games Masters (like myself) who barely have enough time to read published adventures, let alone write their own. Your players will touch down on a new world, perhaps within the Spinward Marches, and within seconds there will be a fully fleshed out starport, with a host of things to do that will keep the players going for months. Suppose they decide to leave the starport and engage in a little piracy? No problem, you’ll have prey (and law enforcement) sorted out for them in less than a minute. Want to introduce a little trouble with their latest trading or throw them a curved ball of a patron? It is all there for you in this book, easy to use and quick to create.
Other Worlds
As is in the nature of such things, there are other licensed settings in the works that will be revealed at a later date. However, 2000AD fans will no doubt rejoice that, after Judge Dredd and Strontium Dog, the next comic strip to be added to the Traveller fold will be the ABC Warriors.
Players will take on the role of warbots, designed to withstand Atomic, Bacterial and Chemical (ABC, get it?) warfare, engaging in missions that may ultimately set them at odds with their human masters as they discover their own identities. And, of course, there will be plenty of opportunities to unleash massive levels of firepower as players design their own robots from the ground up, from advanced combat models to big, hulking demolition droids.
