First Game of Christmas 2017

Once more this year I will continue with what might become a tradition on this site. This year I will be delving into another 12 Games of Christmas. I hope this one goes as well as the previous year's. For our first game this year I will be exploring is one which I have a long relationship. I have not played it a great deal, but it heavily influenced how I played other games. Two of the editions GM sections were well read by a younger me as a how to on GMing. Now I will admit that I think this may have been a mistake. I kind of wish I had had first edition, as it does not focus on advice so much as tools for building adventure. Now let us start with...

Number 1: Traveller

Pictured: True Awesomeness

There are numerous editions of this game, with variable amounts of rules and settings. For this review I will be digging into the first edition of Mongoose Traveller. The reason is that I feel like it does what I want from Traveller games without as much cruft as had built up over the years. I won't be reviewing second edition, as sadly I do not have that edition and have not had a chance to read through it. I may make mention of previous editions, but by and large we will be looking at Mongoose Traveller.

The Peritextual Elements

Nothing will ever beat the first three books for the original Taveller game. I am not joking, they are so stark, so minimalistic, and so simple that it just looks awesome to me every time. Mongoose managed to do a cover that looks the same and yet somehow fails to capture my imagination as well. I am not sure exactly why, but there you are. The internal art is all black and white line art with a sort of sketchy style that works well to convey tone. The margins are a bit wide and it is two column. It goes with a rather simple font and it is no problem at all to read. Each section has a page header at the top of the page that lets you know where you are in the rules, which is hand when you are flipping around as you do in gaming. I have no real complaints, but no real compliments. the formatting and art are serviceable and do not get in the way. There are worse things to have in a game.

Mechanical Elements

The basic mechanics of the game are pretty simple. Roll 2D6 add/subtract appropriate modifiers and compare to a target number. Higher numbers are better than low numbers. Character creation is probably my favorite part of any Traveller game. It is practically a game in and of itself. First you roll for your characteristics, 2D6 down the line for each(Strength, Dexterity, Endurance, Intelligence, Education, Social Standing). In this edition you choose a home world, which grants you some background skills. Then you choose a career, but it is not just a choice. You need to roll to see if you qualify to be in the Career. This is pretty great as it makes the character grow more organically. You also roll for advantages and gains in the career as well as if you have a mishap and must leave the career. If you do not leave the career you can roll for advancement. When you leave the career yo also get some mustering out benefits(also random). I dig it a lot. When everyone is doing this together at the table you can get some truly unique and funky crews. If you ever wondered where the crew of the Serenity came from it would be something like this. The rest of the game is closer to a series of mini games for dilating down to the action level you want. The GM is given loads of tolls for building adventures on the fly and building a sandbox setting quickly. It gives you enough stuff to build as quickly and surface level or slower and deeper world building. It is pretty great. I would recommend just diving in and playing right off the bat, and learning on the go. This game is super basic, with lots of bits you can bolt on when needed or wanted.

Setting

Pictured: Also Awesome looking

There is and is not a core setting within Traveller. I mean there is the Third Imperium with its decades of back story, alien cultures, and metaplot. However that was born out of mechanics and the implied setting therein. Within the first three books released back in the 70s there is no setting, however there are a number of setting assumptions within that. First is the assumption that there is a space nobility. Heck it is one of the characteristics you automatically get at character creation. Also there are some assumptions on how the FTL works as well as the assumption that you will be playing humans. SO we have a human-centric universe with a narrowly defined FTL and noble classes ruling over it all. Also there is a boat load of conflict, which we will learn about a bit during character creation and the mishap tables. Also the core of the setting is the idea of Travelling and the Traveller's Aid Society which is in the setting. Basically you will be going places in this game. The sedentary life is not for you. In fact the universe has a specific organization to facilitate you travel. There is more to it than that, of course, but that gives you an idea of how I first saw the setting. I also remember there being a part in Traveller the New Era that went on for like a page explaining how one comes up with a specific call signs for your pilots. I don't know why it needed so much focus, but it has been in my mind ever since, so it is a core part of my universe when I make a Traveller campaign.

There we Have the First Game of Christmas. Tomorrow...

Heavy Gear