MGT Only: What should I buy?

[Adam Dray]

I'm going to run a Traveller campaign with the Mongoose rules.

I have a hard copy of the core book. What else should I own? What is essential?

How does that change if I'm not running games in the Imperium, and my Nova Roma universe is more like T2300, and most games are about colonization by Legionary (military) forces in light (500DT) ships packing in 50-100 crew and support personnel like sardines?

 

[Jame]

You should buy EVERYTHING! And then send it all to me. :devil:


If you don't want to do THAT for some strange reason :nonono: :smirk:, start with the TMB, 2300 AD (the revised version) and the career supplements. Maybe the Compendiums for the potential house rules (I have a snippet in C1).
Whether to add the Spinward Marches book and the races books is more of a setting thing. Though I do like the Darrians one.

 

[GypsyComet]

I know there are some generally useful bits in the 2300AD book, but I'm curious about your reasons for suggesting it.

 

[Shonner]

I'm going to run a Traveller campaign with the Mongoose rules.

I have a hard copy of the core book. What else should I own? What is essential?

Did you read it? Can you tell what is missing if you are a Traveller player? Do you have any Traveller setting books from other editions? Or do you mean "Traveller campaign" as in Mongoose Traveller game system?

 

[Adam Dray]

I read it, made five characters with it, and ran it twice at TravellerCon/USA in my own Nova Roma universe. I played it once in John Watts' Clement Sector universe at TravellerCon, too, though he uses some house rules around skills, it seems.

I bought the Classic Traveller Bundle of Holding and read most of it. I've played CT twice but never run it, unless you count that one time in 1983 where I stumbled all over the rules and then went back to Star Frontiers.

I have a handful of T2300 PDFs and find them incredibly useful for ideas. I have some of Gypsy Knight's "Clement Sector" stuff, which I find incredibly useful for ideas and mechanics, since Nova Roma has a lot in common with Clement Sector, coincidentally.

I'm newish to Traveller, so I don't know the right words for things. I'm using "campaign" in the old D&D sense: a bunch of interconnected adventures (or at least game sessions) in the same universe.

Can I tell what is missing? No, and I doubt anything is missing, really. That's not the problem. I actually think that the core book is sufficient for most purposes, but without having read all the supplements, I'm curious what people recommend in addition.

 

[whulorigan]

I actually think that the core book is sufficient for most purposes, but without having read all the supplements, I'm curious what people recommend in addition.

I would get:

MgT Supplement 4: Central Supply Catalogue
MgT Core Book 10: Cosmopolite (expanded options for "Common Citizens/Scholars/Scientists", general rules for College and University pre-enlistment options, as well as some nice advantage options for characters with very high (14+) scores on INT or EDU).


Additional considerations:

For additional options for ship design: MgT Core Book 2: High Guard

If you will be using anyone who is wealthy or Noble: MgT Core Book 8: Dilettante has some nice rules for background wealth, banking, and investment portfolios.

TMg Adventure 1: Beltstrike has expanded rules for Belters and additional equipment for them (and has a section detailing asteroids and their various types).

Beyond that, all of the additional TMg Core Books (1-10) expand on each of their respective "character templates" by giving additional options, career paths, and equipment. It really depends on what types of characters you think you might be presenting as NPCs, or what you think your group might want to play.


The MgT 2300AD Core Rulebook is a good investment as well if you are not playing the OTU (or even if you are). I know you said you have some 2300AD stuff, but I don't know if you meant the old GDW stuff or the new MgT stuff.

 

[Adam Dray]

Thanks, Wayne! That's super useful.

I believe the T2300 book I have is the Mongoose one, yeah.

 

[Spinward Scout]

Book 3: Scout is really good if you're doing any exploration (but see my threads here and here for extras).

Book 4 Psion is ok if that's an interest at all. Very detailed, but I haven't found a lot of use for their new talents/skills. Three talents/skills or maybe four at the most - and I like Psionics. There are a lot of sci-fi staples that they left out, too. The equipment section is awesome.

 

[whulorigan]

Book 4 Psion is ok if that's an interest at all. Very detailed, but I haven't found a lot of use for their new talents/skills. Three talents/skills or maybe four at the most - and I like Psionics. There are a lot of sci-fi staples that they left out, too. The equipment section is awesome.

Yes, I find that the Psionics Book has options that stray toward the "powerful-psionics" (almost superhero) paradigm, which is not my personal preference.

I like psionics, but I like them to be subtle.

 

[aramis]

If you want wider career options, the Spica Career Book series is excellent.

 

[whulorigan]

If you want wider career options, the Spica Career Book series is excellent.

Yes. Seconded.

 

[Shonner]

I have all the Mongoose books except for the 2nd Ed rule stuff that is coming out lately. I wouldn't know which books to recommend someone buy anymore since I use all of them.

 

[Quint]

I would second the recommendation for Central Supply Catalog as a just generally decent "second rulebook". All the rest of it really depends on what you want to focus on in your campaign. I enjoyed most of the other career books to one degree or another except Mercenary which seemed off (and off enough that I'm not buying the 2nd Edition) - but it's really just a question of how much "extra" stuff you want. The MRB is pretty good.

D.

 

[Xerxeskingofking]

i would like to third the Central Supply catalogue. it's full of gear to pour over, and has quite a few things in it that are not really OTU compatible, things like ports of ideas form other sci fi settings (like, for example, the Mauler form Halo, or the Splinter weapons of warhammer 40,000's dark eldar), or just things that are never mentioned in the OTU (high TL melee weapons, for example). Their is also rules for higher or lower tech versions of tech, and about reverse engineering something at a lower tech level (considering what I know about your ATU, that may be right up your street)


High Guard is good for starship stuff, and has rules for building both small craft and capital ships, as well as rules for higher or lower tech starship parts.

 

[Ulsyus]

Get a copy of T5 on disc from FFE - it has more useful items that you could use in a Traveller campaign than you can possibly poke a stick at.

At the very least you'll have one of the best TL breakdowns and series of descriptions that's been put out in support of the game.

 

[GypsyComet]

i would like to third the Central Supply catalogue.

I, on the other hand, would exercise caution regarding the CSC. Its weapon rules are less a supplement to the main book, and more a replacement. You will find rough edges when trying to combine the two. You *may* find its non-weapon section adds a few things to the main book's lists, but the CSC is mostly an arms catalog.

 

[Quint]

I, on the other hand, would exercise caution regarding the CSC. Its weapon rules are less a supplement to the main book, and more a replacement. You will find rough edges when trying to combine the two. You *may* find its non-weapon section adds a few things to the main book's lists, but the CSC is mostly an arms catalog.

Kind of a Traveller tradition isn't it..?

;-)

D.

 

[Daidoji Dave]

I, on the other hand, would exercise caution regarding the CSC. Its weapon rules are less a supplement to the main book, and more a replacement. You will find rough edges when trying to combine the two. You *may* find its non-weapon section adds a few things to the main book's lists, but the CSC is mostly an arms catalog.

I don't disagree, but the corollary would be, if its the kind of thing you're going to get eventually, its better to get it sooner rather than later. Having half the table shopping out of the core book and half out of the CSC is the worst of both worlds.

A similar logic applies for High Guard; if you're going to feature ship construction and combat, better to get it out of the gate.

On a read through, 2nd edition Mercenary looks really good at its core mission. Said core mission being a functional system for mercenary companies, tickets and mass combat. Excepting an option for military academies, they dropped the careers from the first Mercenary (which I'm okay with). So if you don't need that core mission, you don't need the book.

(As an aside, I too still resent paying good money for 1st ed Mercenary in print, but I'm happy enough with 2nd in pdf.)

I'm generally lukewarm about Mongoose's career books, but a bias I bring is I'm largely content with the level of detail of careers in the core book. If you like your particular job or MOS to be in the title of the career instead of in the result of a d6 roll on a table then you'll want every career book you can lay your hands on. On the third hand, by the time you're talking about your own universe, you may just homebrew or alter your own careers anyway.

 

[Adam Dray]

I wouldn't mind a replacement for MgT weapon rules, which seemed pretty poorly thought-out on first reading. The auto fire rules especially felt really wrong.

I hadn't heard of the Spica book. I will check that one out.

CSC, check.
High Guard, check.

Thanks, guys!

 

[whulorigan]

I hadn't heard of the Spica book. I will check that one out.

CSC, check.
High Guard, check.

And don't forget MgT Core Book 10: Cosmopolite.
And I believe there are 3 Career Books by Spica at this point.