Yesterday a big box in my mail made me happy. As much as I deny it in my head at times I am still a big fat geek. Being excited about an RPG is proof positive that I may never outgrow that. Since this was the only game I have bought this year I thought I should write about it, but first a little history.
Traveller was the second game I ever played. In case you are curious, the first was D&D and the third was The Arduin. It was 1977 and Traveller still had that new game smell. Back then RPGs generally came in boxes. This was cool because you could put the game books, pencils, dice, and paper in the box and carry it. I still have some boxed versions of Cyberpunk, Traveller, and a few other games that shall not be named.
The box aside I love Traveller. I love the setting, the mechanics, and the problems with the game. See I love the pulpy SF that it was based on like H. Beam Piper, E.C. Tubb, Doc Smith, and hundreds of others. I love the art of the game, and the look of the starships, and the aliens. If you think that Traveller is lame or unrealistic this review isn’t for you. There are a lot of things about Traveller5 that are just awesome, but it is Traveller and nothing else.
Boxes have become too expensive these days, but this game was packed well in two boxes, an inner and an outer, and it arrived safely by US Mail. I was even emailed a tracking number when it shipped. The box arrived promptly and I opened it with a maniacal smile on my face. I was useless for twelve hours as I read the book through and though I skimmed some parts I touched every page and I was both impressed and disappointed.
This is some of the best writing in the long history of Traveller. The “What Is Traveller” section is especially good. Still this isn’t a game, it’s a suite of tools built within a logical framework to build a game. That’s right, if you want to build a version of Traveller this is the best version ever published.
It’s also an outstanding “capsystem” in the Primal Order sense of the word. That it with a copy of Mongoose Traveller as a template you can build the version of Traveller you need or want. Mongoose has shown us this with Hammer’s Slammers, Strontium Dog, and Judge Dredd. I am even intrigued to see a version of 2300AD for these rules.
Many of the solutions to classic Traveller problems are elegant and wonderful. The diversity is incredible. The game lets you build everything from Chimera janissaries for imperial conquest a la S.M. Stirling’s Draka to the Colonial Battlestars and Aliens Pulse Rifle. The mechanics and systems are presented in a unified manner rarely seen. Still, as much as I love it this isn’t a game in and of itself.
Organizationally it’s massive and awkward. This game should be sold in a binder or as five separate volumes. There is too much for anyone to use here. That there is no index is inexcusable with the electronic tools available to make compiling one so much simpler.
I have all 15* versions of Traveller, and now I have this one. I am not generally so much of a completist, but there is something about this game. I love it, but I accept it for it’s foibles and sometimes love it for them.
If you love Traveller, buy this book.
*What are the 15 versions of Traveller you ask?
01 Traveller 1st edition
02 Traveller 2nd edition
03 The Traveller Book
04 MegaTraveller
05 Traveller: the New Era
06 Traveller4
07 GURPS: Traveller 1st edition
08 GURPS: Traveller 2nd edition
09 Traveller Hero
10 GRiP Traveller
11 Traveller20
12 GURPS Traveller: Interstellar Wars
13 Mongoose Traveller
14 Traveller5 preview CD-ROM
15 Traveller5 Hardback
