A darn cool summation, I've not seen it all covered in one place before...subscribed.

Great video! I would just like to point out that CE (Cepheus Engine) is not a "pure" retroclone of Mongoose 1st edition. Rather, it's an amalgamation of the unified mechanics of 1st edition, and the deadliness of Classic Traveller. In essence (in my opinion at least), it's Classic Traveller but streamlined! Quite awesome actually, it's my go-to for Traveller-type games currently. And the PDF (from the original publisher) doesn't cost a dime. Which is always a plus. Anyway. Keep the contents coming! I've been watching you semi-regularly for a while but never really subscribed since I don't sign-in often. That changes today!

@ardwulfslair

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for subbing! I hope to go into more detail on CE in a future video.

When generating a character in Classic Traveller, if your character stats sucks enlist in the Scouts which has highest probability of dying.

@ArdentArchivist

5 ай бұрын

If they survive, then at least you'll know that they're lucky!

Just found this, even though I regularly follow your content -- thanks! Traveller was my first RPG, followed closely by D&D and then Top Secret. The character creation was my favorite part, including the fact your character could "bite it" during the process. That process was the inspiration for my free pnp Federation Stellar Force (and its spawn). Excellent overview and introduction to the game, system and iterations. Makes me want to pull out my little black books . . .

Great video. Please more Traveller content.

So glad to see you mention Cepheus Engine. Right now I run a Cepheus Light (slimmed down Cepheus Engine version game) am a player in a Classic Traveller campaign and a Mongoose Traveller version 1 game. Regardless which version you play the game is great.. I prefer old school and open gaming license. That is my reasoning behind what I play. Highly recommend Cepheus Light

This is good, because I bounced off the books as a kid.

Great overview!

Very gold! Thank you

excellent video

I've saved all my 2300 AD books because I loved that IP. If I could find anyone who played it, I'd be so happy to. But this is as dead as Latin in my era.

@tobarstep

4 жыл бұрын

2300 AD is a great game and one of my classic favorites. There is a 2300 AD that Mongoose put out along with MgT 1. They're actually coming out with a new version updated to the MgT 2 rules later this year. I think the PDFs are going to come out in March or May with the physical books coming out around August. edit: Well, they just announced the state of Mongoose 2019, and 2300AD has been pushed back to an October release for PDF and December for physical.

Great explication of the various incarnations of Traveller over the years for someone just now discovering this game system. Nice video, now to go watch more!

Most excellent, my friend. As a longtime Traveller, I'll be watching this series with great interest!

@ardwulfslair

4 жыл бұрын

Expect to hear from me in January about it.

MegaTraveller is the only Traveller for me. It's the best setting and the best game mechanics. Note, dying during character creation was an optional rule in MegaTraveller.

Fantastic, thank so much, I think Mongoose had trouble explaining this during their Kickstarter.

Good information - I was completely confused by the series and different editions.

Please more traveller. Maybe talk about using it to run other IPs such as Star Trek, Star Wars, Babylon 5, Ect ect. Please

This explanation of the editions is gold.

I agree Traveller was the first skill based RPG

I also own Fifth Frontier War and the old Alien race core rulebook for most of the original races (Vargr, Droyne, etc.)

I stumbled on this video after I picked up a print-on-demand of Classic Traveller (Facsimile Edition, a single volume containing the 1981 version of Books 1-2-3). It's been a fun read so far, and I think I could really run a satisfying game with just these first three books. I was also considering Mongoose's Explorer Edition which is cheap as a PDF ($1) it has both more and less than what I got in that CT reprint, but I suppose Mongoose 2e is more modern and would have more support (I don't know really)

@ardwulfslair

Жыл бұрын

I did a video on the facsimile edition! But it came out after this video.

Based on your coverage of the RPG (and from other channels, too) I have become very interested in Mongoose T2, and would love to pick up the books. Thanks!

Traveller Hero is still available from Marc Miller, and from Hero Games... its just gone to a collected pdf format on CD or Flash Drive now... the TH license for new material sunsetted with the advent of Mongoose Traveller

@shadowcatkevin7232

Жыл бұрын

it started as a fan conversion document project we got permission to put out as a free pdf,. that later Com-Star Games came to use and offered to publish as a regular product

You left off GRiP Traveller, not my favorite, but unique in its own way.

@ardwulfslair

Жыл бұрын

I actually have GRIP Traveller. But it's really just CT set up for online play on a defunct platfor..

Always try the first to see if you like it.

I have the original Traveler and KS'ed the new version. I wanted to pick up the books but didn't have the money. I like RPG's in general and am very fond of "Stormbringer", "Not coming home" (WWI), and "Tiny Wastelands" by Alan Bahr.... it helps IF you have a few mini's and Paizo maps as well...

@ardwulfslair

4 жыл бұрын

T5 video incoming!

You could also mention that Mongoose Traveller has also released versions of 2300AD as setting supplements for both its editions of Traveller.

@ardwulfslair

2 жыл бұрын

At the time the video was made that was only true of MgT1.

I'm actually trying to develop a game based on the Cepheus Engine to sell. I funded on Kickstarter the Deluxe Enhanced Edition, and though the artwork and some organizing was improved, I still find a number a misprints, misspellings, and inconsistencies in areas of the book. Just off the top of my head, I noticed in the World Building chapter, that to be considered "Low Technology" the Tech Level of a world needs to be 3 or less in the description, but the table (and previous editions) says 5 or less. It seems small, but when they keep adding up, I question who proofread it. One aspect I am steering from in my game is having a more variety of races that are humanoid, but biologically very different (machine, plants, and beasts), but they naturally can intermingle with the humans, to make half-breeds. Just wondering if this would be too much of a departure from the Traveller/Cepheus norm, or if would still be "in the spirit" of the game.

Classic Traveller Starter Set is not always free on DriveThruRPG but currently it is, so act now, etc. Also, Traveller 5 was a shambling mess, I read it ALL but cannot say if the organization has improved in the 3-book hardcover set edition. It has a roll-low rules system and skill-levels basically are doubled compared to the same level of skill in something in Classic Traveller rules. For Traveller completists only.

I've been trying to get into science fiction adventure role playing for a long time, but it never quite worked. Mongoose 2e is finally the version that sticks, and i'm having a lot of fun with it. However, and i'm frustrated that no one ever seems to deem this important enough to speak out, the quality of the books is insufficient. There's minor layout issues and quite a few grammatical mistakes, but even worse the rules are not clearly written. If you value clear, thought-out rules (like me), either look elsewhere or be prepared to finish the rules for the designer and publisher, because Mongoose 2e is very much not finished. The core rulebook doesn't even say what happens when an opposing check ends in a tie. Just to give you an idea. And yet, i just recently bought High Guard and the Central Supply Catalogue because in its core it's a great game and, more importantly, there's (almost) nothing else like it. Of all the games i've encountered in my travels, Traveller's was the most... Traveller (snicker).

MGT2 recently exploded on Fantasy Grounds.

wow, this is completely insane. I was getting interested in... "Traveller"... but which f.r.e.a.k.i.n.g one??

6:47 "Is actually free." Not on Drive Thru RPG. Can you point to anotherr resource?

@ardwulfslair

Жыл бұрын

It has ceased to be free, alas. I'd have to check for another free option... but the replica verson of CT is at least pretty cheap.

Glad to hear Traveller New Era died in 1996. It is a pity that it didn’t die in 1992. The game was virtually unplayable by anybody other than the NRA’s geek association. What that system did to starship ops which is the core of Traveller was criminal.

I personally enjoy the interior art of Mongoose 1e over 2e. Consider if you want to show someone what the career system is about- I would rather show them the art in 1e to let them know what the game is really about.

An automatic translation would be great for non english speakers. But great review anyway!

Hello. It was not clear to me, that your character can die during character creation, what edition is it? Is it only from the Classic Traveler?

@ardwulfslair

10 ай бұрын

It's only ever been *common* in Classic Traveller. MegaTraveller (IIRC) has it as an option, and I think it's technically possible in Mongoose Traveller, but I've never seen it actually happen. Even in Classic many people treated it as a forced end to character creation rather than death.

Quite a system; seems like the ASL of RPGs (or am I denigrating?). Have actually worked through all those versions? Is an exampled play-through possible? Aside from D&D when I was a kid (45 years ago), don't know much about RPGs. Thanks for the vid!

@chaosexhaust7533

4 жыл бұрын

The ASL of RPGs, depending on who you ask (since both systems can be as complex or as simple as you want with the optional and advanced rules) is either Phoenix Command or GURPS with all the splat-books. The former is widely hated for its extremely nano-tactical approach (almost like Gunslinger from Avalon Hill), but it's actually very fun and playable if you just use the core book and ignore the rest (and trust me, you want to).

@VonChoker

4 жыл бұрын

that would be rolemaster, colloquially called tablemaster because of all the tables you had to roll on . Classic Traveler (my personal favorite) was an elegant system

@chaosexhaust7533

4 жыл бұрын

@@VonChoker Rolemaster Classic (The re-released RM2) is not something I would call "The ASL of RPGs". Far from it. There's a lot of tables sure, but most of them are used in character generation and those that are mechanically used (each weapon has a chart) is barely tedious. You roll a D100 once, and that's it. Everything else is modified up and down. NOW the old initiative system (the original RM) can rival ASL for complexity, but that has been streamlined with the modern "Classic" version, so it's actually usable without a computer to calculate all the DRMs now. Speaking of Classic Traveller, even with its questionable single column format and organization, has a banger starship movement and micro-management rules. The computers break like, once or twice a week and you had to maintain it during jumps to avoid crashing into a star or planet. Great game.

@Dracopol

4 жыл бұрын

I've been playing Traveller online for years, not very table-y except in character creation or if your starship is hit by an attack. Then it's just the occasional skill-roll and an intriguing change of planets, tech-levels and aliens (in Classic Traveller you are mostly uniformly human until you get to the edge of the Imperium and meet aliens from other star empires. However, the GM can change it and make different aliens a focus in their own campaign.)

@ardwulfslair

4 жыл бұрын

There will eventually be a video on Rolemaster. It is nowhere near as complicated as many assume it to be.