Top 5 Traveller Books

[LeperColony]

What are your top five favorite Traveller books?

Here's mine:

1. Hard Times
2. Survival Margin
3. Arrival Vengence
4. Rebellion Sourcebook
5. Book 6 (always had a soft spot for those Scouts)

Here are my least favorite:

1. GT: Ground Forces (don't like what they did to the Imperial Army)
2. Regency Sourcebook (a lot of it just doesn't make sense to me)
3. T20 Core Rulebook (just don't think Traveller and D20 are a good fit)
4. Book 1 (a little too light, imo, when contrasted with modern systems)
5. TNE Core Rulebook (love the setting, hate the rules system)


Honorable Mentions

1. Grand Survey (first time I saw it, I was blown away by the scope)
2. GT: Deckplans
3. Azhanti High Lightning
4. Fifth Frontier War
5. Vampire Fleets

 

[Dagrill]

What are your top five favorite Traveller books?
Here's mine:
1. Hard Times
2. Survival Margin
3. Arrival Vengence
4. Rebellion Sourcebook
5. Book 6 (always had a soft spot for those Scouts)

Honorable Mentions
1. Grand Survey (first time I saw it, I was blown away by the scope)
2. GT: Deckplans
3. Azhanti High Lightning
4. Fifth Frontier War
5. Vampire Fleets

Mine are:
1. Alien Module 1 - Aslan
2. Deneb Sector
3. CT High Guard & Mercenary
4. Aramis: the Traveller Adventure
5. EA1: The Fogotten War
6. Fiddler's Green
AHL rates pretty high as well although I lost my copy, I think that was the one with light wounds, as I still have some markers.

I haven't seen Grand Survey, I'll add it to your list of recommendations

Regards

David

 

[robject]

Survival Margin was a favorite of mine for a long time. Nowadays, I don't use it. But it's a neat read. Similarly, Rebellion Sourcebook and Hard Times. Nice "solid" feel to them.

This isn't my "final" list, but this will do for now:

1. MT Imperial Encyclopedia
2. High Guard, 1st Edition (CT)
3. Adventure 3: Twilight's Peak (CT)
4. Adventure 7: Broadsword (CT)
5. Traveller5 core rules

Extended List:

6. The Traveller Book
7. GURPS: Sword Worlds
8. T4 Milieu Zero
9. LBB 4 - Mercenary (CT)
A. Supplement 6 - 76 Patrons (CT)
B. MT Player's Manual
C. MT Referee's Companion
D. T4 Psionics

Mine are:
2. Deneb Sector

Interesting. Tell me your thoughts about it, please?

 

[rancke]

1. Sword Worlds¹
2. The Traveller Adventure²
3. Interstellar Wars³
4. Milieu Zero.⁴
5. Lords of Thunder from MTJ4⁵

¹ I co-wrote it . No, seriously, like TTA below it is just the right scope and scale and it's done mostly right.
² Just the right scope and scale for a Traveller setting book and I've had it a long time.
³ A good scope and scale for a setting overview and just waiting for some subsector-sized companion modules. Plus I like historical information. Plus this one is Really Done Right.
⁴ Historical plus done decently.
⁵ Very well done even though the scope is a bit too large for my taste.
​

Hans

 

[Chuck Anumia]

My Top 5

1. LBB 4 - Mercenary
2. Supplement 6 - 76 Patrons
3. MT - Imperial Encyclopedia
4. GURPS - Star Mercs
5. TNE - Smash & Grab

My campaign for players is set in the TNE era and my interface mechanism for beginning players is the Caste of Assassin's Mercenary Corp.
They hire on as members of a small team that seeks to acquire larger ships to either sell to the government or private industry, depending on types of ships recovered from the wilds. OR to use the better ships for their own missions to recover more valuable targets all the while exploring the sub sectors around them during their adventures.
This provides the players with an opportunity to use the greatest warships ever created for the game without having to enlist in the military for the duration.
So far I have 5 contracts for the Mercenaries ranging in duration of mission from 6 months to 1 year 1 month for an out and back; get there, grab the target ship (and any others available) and return type missions.

 

[robject]

1. Sword Worlds.
4. Milieu Zero.

1. LBB 4 - Mercenary
2. Supplement 6 - 76 Patrons

I'd add those to my "like" list, although I can't prioritize 'em. Hans did an excellent job with GURPS:SW - it should be canonized. And Milieu Zero is nicely done. Mercenary is a good resource, as is 76 Patrons.

 

[Timerover51]

My five favorite Traveller books, in no particular order.

1. The Traveller Book (aka LLB 1-3, Starter Traveller)
2. Research Station Gamma/Twilight's Peak (tie here)
3. CT-AM5 Droyne (currently playing a Droyne character, see above, notice a pattern here)
4. Spinward Marches (Classic Traveller)
5. Traders and Gunboats (I like small ships)

Also, Annic Nova adventure module, but that was in JTAS 1 as well as Double Adventure 1.

My five least favorite Traveller books:

1. Traveller: The New Era (not into slaughtering every in sight)
2. Survival Margin (if I want to be depressed, I read about World War One)
3. MegaTraveller Reference Manual (design sequences drive me nuts)
4. Traveller 5 (500+ pages!?)
5. Close Orbit and Aerospace Control Command (design sequences again)

Mongoose Sword Worlds right up there too (see comments in Mongoose Traveller thread), but I was thinking more of GDW products. I know T5 is not GDW, but it is written by Marc.

 

[Thanos]

I haven't read 5 books

 

[aramis]

top 5:
1. The Traveller Book
2. Starship Operator's Manual
3. MT Player's Manual
4. MT Imperial Encyclopedia
5. T20 THB

Honorable Mentions
1. MT Referee's Companion
2. T4 Psionics
3. CT Supplement 7
4. CT Supplement 8
5. CT Supplement 11

bottom 5
1. Mongoose Mercenary
2. Mongoose Supplement 5
3. Mongoose Supplement 6
4. Mongoose AM Aslan
5. Mongoose AM Vargr

Dishonorable Mentions
1. Mongoose Supplement 5-6
2. Mongoose Psion
3. T4 FF&S2
4. T4 Emperor's Vehicles
5. TNE Regency Sourcebook.

 

[robject]

top 5:
[...]
3. MT Player's Manual

Honorable Mentions
1. MT Referee's Companion
2. T4 Psionics
[...]

Those are on my list as well. MT Player's Manual is *THE* reference to beat for character generation. The Referee's Companion is just a wonderful resource for all sorts of Traveller bric-a-brac. And T4 Psionics, like the MT Player's Manual, is *THE* reference to beat for psionics.

 

[Nathan Brazil]

1.Flynn's Guide to Magic in Traveller (MgT)
2.Flynn's Guide to Aliens in Traveller (MgT)
3.World Builders Handbook (MT)
4.Fire Fusion and Steel (TNE)
5.Traveller 1248: Out of Darkness (Generic?)

Sword and Planet man. Sword and Planet.

 

[Dagrill]

Interesting. Tell me your thoughts about it, please?

Well it's one I'm totally unfamiliar with and I bought it cheaply on ebay.

As well as covering the sub-sectors of Deneb, with a couple of pages on worlds in the sub-sector, it has a history, details on several alien races, there are also deckplans for a couple of ships.

What really grabbed me were the rules for a Billion Cr squadron game and the
background of infighting between the Imperial Nobles within the Sector for greater influence, which the Imperium limits to small ship wars and keeps the IN busy.

This gave me several ideas for a campaign and a greater insight into why the Imperium is actually quite ready to fall apart, I am more accepting of the rebellion storyline now.

Kind Regards

David

 

[Dagrill]

1. Sword Worlds¹
I co-wrote it . No, seriously, like TTA below it is just the right scope and scale and it's done mostly right.
Hans

If you are talking about the GURPS one rather than the Mongoose one, yes a great book, which I will probably have to buy (again) as a pdf if I run a campaign around there. The Mongoose one was poorly formatted and seemed to be a rehash and couldn't even make it's mind up about the current date,
kept on referring to the border worlds, but was supposed to be pre 5FW.

Regards


David

 

[robject]

What really grabbed me were the rules for a Billion Cr squadron game and the background of infighting between the Imperial Nobles within the Sector for greater influence, which the Imperium limits to small ship wars and keeps the IN busy.

Thanks David. I see four somewhat related things that you got out of the book. Now can you identify four things that could be done better, which could apply to the Tuglikki sector book (Deneb's rimward neighbor), which is in its early stages of writing?

 

[Spinward Scout]

1.) The Traveller Book
2.) DGP's Starship Operator's Manual
3.) T4 Psionic Institutes
4.) MT Player's Manual
5.) MgT Pocket Rulebook

 

[Hemdian]

Top 5:
- Supplement 5: Lightning Class Cruisers
- Spinward Marches Campaign
- MegaTraveller Players Manual
- World Builders Handbook
- Starship Operators Manual

Honourable mention:
- Adventure 1: Kinunir
- The Traveller Adventure
- Imperial Fleet
- Rebellion Sourcebook
- Vilani & Vargr

 

[Dagrill]

Thanks David. I see four somewhat related things that you got out of the book. Now can you identify four things that could be done better, which could apply to the Tuglikki sector book (Deneb's rimward neighbor), which is in its early stages of writing?

Firstly , proofreading the Frigate refers to a multi-role picket, which I've worked out is a 30t small craft, but no details are provided. I could design my own, but it's a bit frustrating.

Some, of the aliens are large and don't breathe oxygen like the Shi'awei of Chaosheo, while they could appear as npc's not much use as pc's.

third, no index

fourth, It would be nice to have some world maps for featured worlds, again I could draw my own, but it takes time.

Also isn't Reft the rimward neighbour of Deneb?

Kind Regards

David

 

[77topaz]

Thanks David. I see four somewhat related things that you got out of the book. Now can you identify four things that could be done better, which could apply to the Tuglikki sector book (Deneb's rimward neighbor), which is in its early stages of writing?

Surely you mean Tuglikki, Deneb's coreward neighbour?

 

[Baltech Budapest]

1) The Traveller Book
2) Supplement 4: Citizens Of The Imperium
3) Supplement 7: Traders And Gunboats
4) Traveller 5 Core Rules
5) MgT: The Spinward Marches

 

[mike wightman]

Best book ever - The Traveller Book.

Best and most used additional rule book - High Guard 2.

Best adventure - The Traveller Adventure.

Best setting book - MT Hard Times.

Since I need a 5th - MT Imperial Encyclopaedia.