#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 5, Room 6

 This room is up ahead an on the right, the door is open and has trouble closing properly.

This room looks just like Room #4.

There is a crate, like that in Room #4, but this one is empty.

The room is otherwise empty.  There are no other exits.

 

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 5, Room 5

 Across from Room 4 is another "Whoosing" door. This door takes longer to open. 

This room is shaped similar to Room 4 but here there are small wardrobe rooms where a soft. multi-colored coverings. The seem like armor but are very light and flexible.  The outfits are designed for taller and thinner creatures than humans. A tall elf could likely wear them.

There is no other treasure in this room. 

--

The suits are EV suits that allow the crew to work outside of the ship.  They are non-functional since their power pack had been drained centuries ago.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 5, Room 4

 There are rooms on either side of this long strange hallway, both left and right.  Taking the first room on the right.

There are crates here that look like they are made of metal but are lighter than wood. Inside the crate are strange devices shaped like short (5.5 inches / 12 cm) cylinders.  There are three studs on the cylinder, blue, green, and red.  Pressing one of these studs causes a mist to fire out of the end opposite of the studs.

The room is otherwise empty.  There are no other exits.

--

This is the first of many storage areas near the shuttle bay.  This one has a crate of medical supplies.

The cylinder is a subdermal medical injection tool like a hypospray. If applied properly, bottom on bare skin and button pressed. 

• Blue will heal 1d6+4 hp of damage (like Cure Wounds).
• Green will cure any disease (like the spell Cure Disease)
• Red provides a stimulant. (like the Haste spell)

Only one application per hour can be used.

There are 20 of these hyposprays in this crate, and they have 1d6+3 charges remaining.

 

FASA Doctor Who RPG: Part 2, Review

As we talked about yesterday, the Doctor Who RPG from FASA was released in 1985/6 and consisted of three books and two d6s.  I'll cover each in turn.

Since yesterday I have discovered that while, yes, Colin Baker's 6th Doctor was not popular, that is not why his photos have been removed in the later printings, it was due to FASA not securing the rights to Colin Baker's (and the 6th Doctor's) images. 

A few more notes. The material is a bit all over the place, as was common with many game books of that time, so you need to jump from the Player's Manual to the Game Operations Manual. Not a big deal really, but feels unneeded these days.

The books are also presented in three-column format. And in case you forget, the logo for Doctor Who is at the bottom of every page.  Most of the art is either black-and-white screenshots or publicity stills from the first 25 years of the show and some art. The art varies quite a bit and a lot of it is repeated. Again, I find it hard to complain by comparing it to today's standards. Plus licenses are expensive. 

The Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space RPG

Michael P. Bledsoe & Wm John Wheeler & L. Ross Babcock III & Guy W. McLimore Jr
FASA 9001, ISBN 0931787904
1985
Out of Print

Book 1: Player's Manual

This 48-page book focuses on introducing new players to this RPG and Doctor Who, though it seems unlikely that anyone buying this doesn't know what Doctor Who is. This also covers character creation. 

Characters will be either a Time Lord from Gallifrey or a human companion. It is recommended that first time players choose a human companion. While the rules *could* adapt to other species of companions there are no real guidelines for it. But honestly human does account for at least 90% of all companions. Even "aliens" like Adric, Nyssa, and Capt. Jack. The only ones that were not human were K-9, Romana, Susan, and River.

All characters have six Attributes; Strength, Endurance, Dexterity, Charisma, Mentality, and Intuition. These would map onto the "Standard Six" pretty well. Attributes can range from 1 to 30, with human average of 6 to 10.  Additionally, these scores are grouped by Performance Levels (I to VII, "Handicapped" or "Unskilled" to "Mastery").  Skills are measured the same way.  Each skill is attached to an Attribute. A "Trivia" category even covers any skill not described. Some weapons are covered (largely thanks to Leela I think) but there is only a sampling. Weapons are deadly in Doctor Who.

Characters also gain a Special Ability (or more) to help set them apart. This can be things like the Master's ability to hypnotize.  

Other details like personality traits, appearance, and background are then worked out. 

There is a fiction section, Tabby Cats and Time Lords, that gives us a new Time Lord "Stan" short for "Alistanathcalebiviteth."  Obviously using Romana as the model here. And a new companion T.C. a cat burglar. They get involved with the Master, and Stan ends up regenerating right away.

From here we get into the details on how to make characters. 

Here we find that level (I to VII) grants bonus points (1 to 7) to skills.  Attributes all begin at 6 and players are given  36+2d6 points to divide up amongst the Attributes.  Then a 3d6 is rolled to determine what if any special abilities characters could have.  Plenty of examples are given along the way.

Even looks and personality traits can be randomly determined.

There is a section on combat, but Doctor Who is not a combat-focused show nor is it a combat-focused game. 

The Doctor Who game uses an Action Point system. Fairly routine these days, but it was fairly novel back then. This lets the players know what (and how many) actions they can take. 

This book ends with a bit on Regeneration for Time-Lord characters.

Book 2: Sourcebook for Field Agents

This 64-page book is simultaneously fascinating and irritating. The book largely works as the "Campaign Setting" for this game. First thing first, massive credit to the authors for trying to make sense of 25+ years of Doctor Who lore that is often contradictory and lacking in proper details. The book, even as a guide to Doctor Who, is fascinating. I also get irritated at some of the liberties taken with the lore. I understand WHY they had too, and why it is needed for the game. There are similar liberties that FASA takes in the Star Trek Game. Nothing here would impact my enjoyment of the RPG or the show, but some are just odd.  Example. Conflating the "Meddling Monk" with "The Master" as the same person. Something later media does not do. 

Of course, some things are nowhere near the fault of the writers, either of the show or the game. For example, we never made it to Jupiter in the early 2000s (interestingly enough, the same thing is predicted by Star Trek).

The focus of this book and indeed the "buy in" from the players and characters is the involvement of the CIA or Celestial Intervention Agency. This is a group of Time Lords that do meddle in the affairs of others and keep time flowing on it's proper course. They are largely ignored by the President and High Council of Gallifrey and are said to have been created by Rassilon himself. Since they are clandestine and "off the books," CIA field agents don't get top-notch equipment. Usually, they get what ever has been ignored in the repair bays. So these TARDISes are older and often have bits still malfunctioning. It makes it easier then for Game Masters to steer them where they want. 

I DO enjoy the game making Earth a "Temporal Nexus Point" within the game.   While this moves the spotlight away from Earth as the Doctor's favorite planet, it does help explain why the rest of the galaxy keeps picking on us. 

This book has an overview of all the creatures we have seen in Doctor Who to that point and detailed sections on some of the major creatures/aliens too. Namely the Daleks, Ice Warriors, and Cybermen. The Movellans keep getting attention here despite at that time only appearing in one serial. Since then they have only showed up as background elements in a Dalek fight. Not really on par with the Sontarans or the Silurians really if you ask me. 

Lists and descriptions of tons of equipment including the famous sonic screwdriver and the Master's Tissue compression eliminator. Honest the list feels like an expanded version of the Doctor Who Technical Manual.  There are broad timelines for both Earth and Gallifrey. Best just to avoid the whole UNIT timeline. 

The TARDIS Operations section is still surprisingly useful, even given all the things we have seen since. 

We also get some stats for all six incarnations of the Doctor along with a bio. We also get stats for 14 (or 15 if you count Romana twice) companions, with a focus on the most recent and most popular ones. Sorry Dodo and Polly.

This is the one book from this game that would still have some utility in other Doctor Who RPGs. Some minor edits would be needed to bring it in line with the modern series, but that is expected.

Book 3: Game Operations Manual

This 80-page book is the Game Master's book. One of the complaints I have read about this book is that a lot of the material in it is a repeat of material from the Player's Manual, but this is a feature, not a problem. 

It covers the basics of what an adventure is, what a campaign is, and how to craft adventures for your players. 

There is a good section on Judging Character Creation, which goes over the character creation options from the Game Master's point of view. While not explicitly said it lends itself very nicely to notion of a Session 0. 

The leads into judging various actions and what to do. Here the Interaction Matrix comes into play a lot. Modern games would likely have a sliding target number, but this chart is wonderfully Old-School. There are also plenty of examples of what can be done at each Attribute and Skill Performance Levels (I-VII).

There is repeated content on the various alien creatures here. I did recall that at the time I wanted these to be better edited so they took up less space more more importantly having all the information in one spot, but today I am fine with it. This way the players can keep a book nearby and the Gamemaster has their own book.

We also get a lot of detail about time travel (naturally) and TARDIS systems. This in and of itself is a great read.

Overall and Closing Thoughts

I do have to hand it to the authors, designers, and the folks at FASA for trying to untangle a mass of self-contradictory histories from within the show.  

The game is still very playable to be honest and has a lot going for it. I think play wise it would be far too crunchy for many modern players, especially when there is the fantastic Cubicle 7 game that is still available. But that doesn't mean you still can't use these books.

The Sourcebook for Field Agents is still a great read as a Doctor Who book, not just an RPG. And there is still good advice here for Game Masters of every sort, not just Doctor Who (whatever RPG) ones.

It is great to have this and I am looking forward to seeing what I can do with it in the future.

Still, though. Pity how the 6th Doctor was done wrong here.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 5, Room 3

At then of this strange cave (shuttle bay) there is indentation that looks like a door, as the party approach it, it slides open with a "whoosh!"

This opens up into a long hallway.  Like the previous room this one is bright with flickering lights. When the party leaves the previous room and all are in the hallway the door Whooshes shut behind them.

When that happens a spectral figure appears in front of them.  The figure is humanoid but appears to have snake-like features. It speaks to the party in its own hissing language.  

Attacks against the creature fail and undead turning does not appear to affect it. The language it is speaking is unlike anything the party has heard before.

There is nothing else in this long hallway.  There are doors ahead and on the left and right. 

--

The apparition is actually a holographic message. The creature is an Ophidian, or snake man, or more to point, a snake woman, but there non of the secondary sex characteristics typically associated with mammals. 

Even if the characters can speak ophidan they will not likely understand these. This is not a spaceship but a dimensional ship. These ophidians were sent to aid the ophidians of this time and place, but they miscalculated and their ship crashed.   The Ophidians of the past fought a war with the Deros and both sides lost.  The human slaves of both groups became the Grimlocks of this island.

FASA Doctor Who RPG: Part 1, Unboxing/Introduction

To start off my month-long exploration of the various Doctor Who RPGs, I thought I would start off with the very first Doctor Who game from FASA.  But before I get into the details, let's look at two of the three variations of this game.

There are two boxes for the FASA Doctor Who RPG, featuring Tom Baker's fourth Doctor and Louise Jamison as Leela.  The first box (1985) features them in an artistic style (is that...The Guardian of Forever? More on that!) and the other a publicity shot (1986).

The game was published in 1985.  The materials in the "art box" are all dated 1985. The materials in the "photo" box are a mix of 1985 and 1986. For the purposes of this review/overview only I will refer to them as the 1985 and 1986 boxes respectively. 

The books inside are also different looking.

For the most part, the text seems the same. That is to say, I did not find any differences. The art used, in particular, the photos are different in places. Often Tom Baker's 4th Doctor replaces Colin Baker's then-current 6th Doctor. 

This is explained well by the fact that in the US in 1985/6 it was Tom Baker's Doctor on PBS and most popular at the time. 

Other differences often include the addition of an element of art here and there. 

The Doctor Who RPG is described as been close to, but not exactly the same as, the FASA Star Trek RPG.

The games have very similar rules and very similar layouts. This would lead to some confusion in the mind of your good author here, but these games are still more similar to each other than they are different.

The Doctor Who RPG uses 2d6 for most of its resolutions and rolls while Star Trek uses d% and d10s. Both my boxes have their original dice and I think if I tried rolling those d6s now they might shatter.

Thankfully I have my Doctor Who dice from the Cubicle Seven Doctor Who RPG (also 2d6 based) I can use.  Plus I have my clock-face d12 that I like to use when playing the C7 Doctor Who RPG that could work here too. It would mess up the probabilities a bit.

No discussions about the FASA Doctor Who RPG would be complete without a nod to the famous Doctor Who Technical Manual. This gem of a book was always used in every Doctor Who game I ever saw or played in. 

I know I am not the only one that did that too. I'd later use the various Star Trek technical manuals (esp. during the early TNG days) with the Star Trek RPG.

I'll talk more about the relationship between the Doctor Who and Trek RPGs at a later date (Friday maybe).

The rules between the various printings (1985/1986) appear to be the same so when I do my review I'll just game one set. I am partial to the 1985 box, but 1986 books. 

I did say I was looking at Two of the Three. What is the third one?

The Third FASA Doctor Who game shares the same box as the 1986 edition, but the books inside have a different look to them. I do not have a copy of this one, but it appears to be a later one. Wayne's Books though has pictures showing all three printings.   The TARDIS Captain also has a copy of this other printing that he showed off during his character creation month.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 5, Room 2

 Entering the silver room, the party finds a large open area. Lights everywhere flicker on and off in multiple colors, like Faerie Fire.

There are no creatures here.

Attacking the lights will result in an electrical discharge, resulting in 1d6 hp of damage.

--

This room is a shuttle bay, but all the shuttles were gone when the crew abandoned the ship.  Let the characters press buttons and have a bunch of lights come on and off, with lots of beeps and noises. The most dangerous things are gone. There are no weapons here, either. 

Doctor Who, Sci-fi Month, and A to Z Reflections

It's May 1st! Here at the Other Side, that means Sci-Fi Month. 

Doctor Who RPG

I didn't want my Doctor Who fun to stop, so I will extend it to May and I will cover the two major Doctor Who RPGs; the 1986 FASA Doctor Who and the two editions of the Cubicle 7 ones.

I also have the complete FASA line and many of the Cubicle 7 ones. I'll see where my gaps are.

Right now, I am not considering covering the Time Lord RPG above and beyond what I have already done, but I will consider it. I also might toss in a few other time-travel RPGs if I have the time.

In any case, the reasoning is the same for May and it was for April; 2023 is the 60th Anniversary of Doctor Who.

A to Z Reflections

I completed another A to Z blogging challenge. I had a lot of fun with this, and I think people liked it too. I didn't visit as many other blogs as I wanted, way less than I usually do, so I am going to make an effort to go back and visit them all again.  There were a lot of great blogs this year and it seems a shame not to go back. In fact a few will even go on to my new follows list.

Thank you everyone that came by and posted comments.

Follow Timothy's board "April 2023 A to Z of Doctor Who" on Pinterest.

I already have next year's planned (I knew what it was going to be last year) so I might get started on them now so I can spend next April visiting other blogs. Not a bad plan, really.

All images are used with permission from the BBC and are copyrighted 2023 by the BBC.

#Dungeon23 Tomb of the Vampire Queen, Level 5, Room 1

The bottom of the stairs opens up to a gigantic cavern. But that is not the most significant item of interest here.

There appears to be a large metallic cylindrical (as far as can be seen of it) structure here. It is buried into the walls of this cavern.  The structure is at least 100 ft long and 30 ft tall, though all dimensions of it are buried.

There is a square opening nearby.

--

Notes about this level. There is ambient lighting throughout. This is due to the lighting of the spaceship.

This level is all about an abandoned, crashed spaceship.  It was here before the Citadel of Conjurers, and they tried digging down to it. When the Vampire Queen took over these catacombs. She tried to plumb its secrets, but many still remain.

Describe this level to the players, but try to avoid calling it a spaceship or anything futuristic (it's actually very old and really a dimensional ship) and describe it all as if it is magic.  Use the meaning of Arthur C. Clarke's quote, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."  Everything should be described in terms of magic.

#AtoZChallenge2023: Doctor Who Quatermass

The Tenth Doctor: You named a unit of measurement after yourself?
Malcom: Well, it didn't do Mr. Watt any harm. Furthermore, 100 Malcoms equal a Bernard.
The Tenth Doctor: Who's that, your dad?
Malcom: Don't be ridiculous, that's Quatermass.
The Tenth Doctor: Right. 

- The Planet of the Dead

Few things are as quintessentially British sci-fi as Doctor Who. Unless of course, you are talking about Quatermass.

First a bit of background.

Prof. Benard Quatermass is a brilliant scientist and part of the (fictional) British Experimental Rocket Group.  In his work he is constantly dealing with all sorts of alien threats.  Sound familiar?  The Quatermass stories have a solid sci-fi bend to them but are not afraid to do a little bit of horror, as in Quatermass and the Pit. 

The Doctor Who Connections

Lots really. I mentioned in my review of Quatermass and the Pit that finding an ancient skeleton older than humanity has been covered by Who in Image of the Fendahl and in horror by The Creeping Flesh. But that is just a story. The connections run deeper.

The whole Jon Pertwee (Third Doctor) was designed to have a solid Quatermass feel to it; brilliant scientist fighting off alien threats with the aid (to his annoyance) of the military and some secret organization. Are we talking about The British Rocket Group or U.N.I.T. here? 

In the 1988 series "Remembrance of the Daleks," which takes place in 1963,  military, scientific advisor Alison Williams remarks to her colleague Dr. Rachel Jensen, "I wish Bernard was here." Rachel replies, "British Rocket Group's got its own problems."  Even the episode "Hide" set in 1974 featured a very Quatermass-like character in the form of Professor Alec Palmer, who was supposed to be Benard Quatermass but they could not get the rights cleared.  

"The Planet of the Dead" has an energy reading in Benards which is 100 Malcoms. Named in honor of Quatermass.

In "The Christmas Invasion," David Tennant's first turn as the Doctor, a British Rocket Group logo can be seen in the command center of Guinevere 1. This one is especially interesting because of the very recent (2005) "The Quatermass Experiment," which featured David Tennant playing a Doctor. Not the Doctor, but he did get the roll in Doctor Who while working on this show. 

In addition to David Tennant this show featured Mark Gatiss, a regular Doctor Who actor and writer. Gatiss also wrote a Doctor Who novel "Nightshade" about a serial that exists in the Doctor Who universe that is not quite Doctor Who and not quite Quatermass. 

Some fans have even suggested that the reason Ace calls her Doctor, "Professor" all the time is because of her familiarity with Quatermass. 

I'd love to see a full-on crossover with Doctor Who and Quatermass. Set it in the late 1950s or early 1960s. That would be a lot of fun.

If nothing else, then it would make for a good Doctor Who RPG adventure!

All images are used with permission from the BBC and are copyrighted 2023 by the BBC.

October Horror Movie Challenge: Prey (2022)

I have been wanting to see this one since it came out. Glad I got a chance to finally see it.

Prey (2022)

Naru (played by the amazing Amber Midthunder) is a Comanche woman who is trained as a healer but wants to be a hunter.  While out hunting with her brother she sees the effects of the cloaked Predator spaceship. She sees this as the Thunderbird and takes this as a sign that she can begin her own hunt.

She joins her brother on a hunt where they discover a lion attacked one of their own. Naru is able to heal him but she wants to go with her brother Taabe to hunt the line. While out she sees signs that something else other than a bear could be hunting them.  Naru is waiting in a tree for the lion when she is attacked by it, she manages to wound it but it knocks her out of the tree. Taabe brings her home and goes back out to kill the lion.

Convinced there is still something else out there Naru heads out to hunt on her own.  Well, her dog Sarii goes with her.  While hunting Naru sees a bunch of slaughtered and skinned bison. She comes upon the bear and it tries to kill her, but the Predator kills it instead with Naru watching. 

She is found by a hunting party sent by her brother, but the Predatory kills them all but Naru manages to escape. She runs and get stuck in a trap set by French trappers. They have also seen the Predator and want to know what she knows.  They also have her brother Taabe and decide to use them as bait.  The Predator though is not interested in bait and kills all the French.

They get to the French explorers' camp, where Naru kills a few more of the French, and the Predator attacks. They fight but the Predator kills Taabe. 

There is a final battle between the Predator and Naru when she deftly shows what she spent the whole movie learning about her prey.

She manages to kill the Predator and takes its head back to her home.

--

So yeah, this one was really fun. Great addition to the franchise.

October Horror Movie Challenge 2022
Viewed: 43
First Time Views: 32

Kickstart Your Weekend: Amethyst (5E) - Magic & Technology Collide (Collection)

A new Kickstarter this week for a 5e sci-fi magic and tech RPG that you might be familiar with.

Amethyst (5E) - Magic & Technology Collide (Collection)

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/diasexmachina/amethyst-5e-fantasy-and-technology-collide-collection?ref=theotherside

I have been looking for a good 5e Sci-fi RPG for a while and I am familiar with Amethyst from previous editions.

This one looks like it has everything. It has already blown past its funding goal and knocking out the stretch goals in record time.

There is so much here too, DEM from Chris Dias seems to be pulling out all the stops for this and it is working well for him.

I just now have to figure out what level I want to get in on!

Sci-Fi / Traveller Month Wrap-up

I can't believe we are at the end of May now.  My plans had been to do a Sci-Fi month featuring Traveller but also doing some other games as well.  The month got away from me and as I started my deep dive I decided to focus more and more attention on Traveller alone. And that is ok. This is something I have been wanting to do for a long time.

I do feel bad I did not get to Starfinder or the Expanse RPGs. I also wanted to review The Lucanii Drift adventure.  I am sure I will get to those sooner or later.

Here is a list of all the Traveller posts I made in May.

• Mayday, Mayday! This is the Free Trader Beowulf... (Introduction)
• Review: Classic (Basic) Traveller
• Review: The Traveller Book (1982)
• Review: The Traveller Adventure (1983)
• Review & Retrospective: Traveller Board Games
• Review: Traveller Starter Edition (1983)
• Review: Traveller Alien Modules (1984 - 1987), Part 1
• Review: Traveller Alien Modules (1984 - 1987), Part 2
• This Old Dragon: Retrospective, The Traveller Articles
• Review: 2300 AD Traveller: 2300 (1986)
• Review: MegaTraveller (1987)
• Review: Traveller: The New Era (1993)
• Review: T4 Marc Miller's Traveller (1996)
• Review: Traveller20 (2002-2007)
• Review: Traveller Main Rulebook (2008)
• Review: T5 Traveller5 Core Rules 3-Book Set (2015)
• Review: Mongoose Traveller 2nd Edition (2016, 2022)
• Review: Traveller and Cepheus SRDs

There is much, much more I could have done. There is 45 years worth of Traveller materials out there and I only scratched the surface.

I do want to thank everyone that came by and commented, shared their own interactions with the various rule systems, gave me advice and corrections.  You helped make this a better series.

I suppose the natural question to ask is "Which edition(s) will I be playing?"  I think it is a toss-up between the Classic 1977 Traveller and the new Mongoose Traveller.  Both seem like they will do everything I want. 

Next May I am thinking of doing Star Trek RPGs. Focusing on the FASA and Mōdiphiüs versions but also looking into the Last Unicorn Games and Decipher versions as well as the various versions of Starfleet Battles.  It would have been great to do that one this year given all the Star Trek we have had on TV of late, but Traveller really had to come first.  Maybe one day I'll do Star Wars.

Moving into June where I want to get back to some D&D!  (Stranger Things is back!) I also want to get more monster book reviews in.  

Soon after that, I have something special planned I am calling "100 Days till Halloween."  So keep an eye out for that.

Monstrous Mondays: Spelljammer Monstrous Compendium for 5e

Getting back to my Monstrous Mondays with a review of a Monstrous Compendium, but this is a new Monstrous Compendium for 5th Edition D&D. 

This might very well be the new format for monsters for D&D 5.5/5r.  

Monstrous Compendium Vol One: Spelljamer Creatures

Wizards of the Coast released this free in PDF format and on DnDBeyond.  

Inside are 10 new (to D&D 5) monsters.  They are,:Asteroid Spider, Clockwork Horror, Eldritch Lich, Fractine, Gadabout, Goon Balloon, Nightmare Beast, Puppeteer Parasite, Star Lancer, and Yggdrasti.  They range from CR 1/8 to 15. 

It is a fun little sampling, a nice appetizer till we get some proper Spelljamer materials later this year.

What I find interesting is the switch from Wildspace to the Astral Sea. Personally, that is what I wanted to do back in the 2nd ed days, but the point became moot when I never got my Spelljammer game off the ground, literally and figuratively. 

So I am really looking forward to the new setting this summer.

--

This is my, rather late, contribution to this month's RPG Blog Carnival.  This month hosted by Rising Phoenix Games. Check out all the posts about Spelljammer from this month.

Review: Traveller and Cepheus SRDs

Ok. I will be honest this is much less of a review than it is an overview/analysis of the various Traveller and Traveller like SRDs and OGLs. 

Mongoose SRD

Mongoose, back in 2008 released the first version of their Traveller RPG and a version of a Traveller SRD with an Open Gaming License. This covered their First Edition game.  Later they updated it 2nd Edition.  At some point (I am not sure when really) they also created the High Guard System Reference Document and Mercenary System Reference Document.  This covers an awful lot of Traveller. 

My understanding is there is a Compatibility License though I did not find any details on it, but that is fine.

Much like the d20 SRD there are a few different copies out there.  These are the ones I have referenced the most often.

• https://www.traveller-srd.com/
• http://www.travellersrd.com/

Cepheus SRD / Engine

Back in 2016 Jason Kemp released the Cepheus SRD which emulated Traveller. Personally, from a game design point of view, I rather like it.  He took the Mongoose Traveller SRD and then did something I really like, he took other SRDs to get the desired effect.  Here are the various SRDs from his Section 15 of the OGL of the Cepheus Engine RPG:

Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

High Guard System Reference Document Copyright ©2008, Mongoose Publishing. Mercenary System Reference Document Copyright © 2008, Mongoose Publishing.

Modern System Reference Document Copyright 2002- 2004, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Bill Slavicsek, Jeff Grubb, Rich Redman, Charles Ryan, Eric Cagle, David Noonan, Stan!, Christopher Perkins, Rodney Thompson, and JD Wiker, based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Richard Baker, Peter Adkison, Bruce R. Cordell, John Tynes, Andy Collins, and JD Wiker.

Swords & Wizardry Core Rules, Copyright 2008, Matthew J. Finch

System Reference Document, Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.

System Reference Document Copyright 2000-2003, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Rich Baker, Andy Collins, David Noonan, Rich Redman, Bruce R. Cordell, John D. Rateliff, Thomas Reid, James Wyatt, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.

T20 - The Traveller’s Handbook Copyright 2002, Quiklink Interactive, Inc. Traveller is a trademark of Far Future Enterprises and is used under license.

Traveller System Reference Document Copyright © 2008, Mongoose Publishing. Traveller is © 2008 Mongoose Publishing. Traveller and related logos, character, names, and distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks of Far Future Enterprises unless otherwise noted. All Rights Reserved. Mongoose Publishing Ltd Authorized User.

Cepheus Engine System Reference Document, Copyright ©2016 Samardan Press; Author Jason “Flynn” Kemp

He also used the T20 and Modern d20 OGC for this. Very clever.

This was released as the Cepheus Engine RPG in 2017. It is a complete RPG, but still mostly an SRD in an RPG cover. That is fine since it's goal is not to be a game but to be a resource to make material for other games.  To continue my rather awkward D&D analogy this is all 100% OSRIC; both in form and function.

In 2021 Stellagama Publishing released the Cepheus Deluxe RPG.  Which is an RPG based on the Cepheus Engine.  Extending the analogy further to point of self-referencing, this is the Swords & Wizardry of Traveller. At least in function.  

Of these, I have the Cepheus Deluxe in POD and it compares favorably to the OSR offerings for the D&D clones. It also compares well to the Classic Traveller line.

Review: Mongoose Traveller 2nd Edition (2016, 2022)

We are coming to the end of my journey with the Traveller rule system. Not 100% at the end, but getting there.   Today I want to talk about the newest, 2nd Edition of Mongoose Traveller.  This edition is an update to the Mongoose Traveller from 2008. Again it coexists with the T5 Traveller from Far Future Enterprises I reviewed yesterday.  The only thing I can liken it to is the coexistence of D&D 4e and Pathfinder 1st Edition. Though which one is which is a matter of opinion.

Traveller 2nd Edition was first released in 2016.  A revised update was released in 2021 and called the "2022 Edition."  Both are the same rules though the 2022 update has a few improvements in layout and editing.  For this review I am just going to consider the 2022 version and notes from the 2016 version. 

Traveller Core Rulebook Update 2022

PDF. 266 pages. Full-color covers and interior art. Bookmarked and hyperlinks table of contents. 

Traveller is experiencing a renaissance of sorts. We live in time where old-school games are really popular, sci-fi is having a new golden age (have you seen all the Star Treks we now have?) and Traveller is riding that wave.  The new Traveller is best seller on DriveThru with the 2016 version a Mithral bestseller and the 2022 version a Platinum bestseller as of this writing.  I also know my FLGS sells the books hand over fist. One of the reasons I wanted to do my deep dive into Traveller now was because of all of this.

So how is the 2022 Edition?

In a word it is gorgeous.  

Mongoose, back in the early d20 boom, earned a bit of a reputation of a "spaghetti publisher" as in "throw a plate of spaghetti against the wall and see what sticks."  As time went on their reputation improved. These days they get a lot of credit for not just having solid books, but also serving the d20 bust.  Though some less than perfect editing sneaks in. The 2016 edition seemed to have this problem; at least that is what I have read online.  Both books had high-quality color art, there are some pieces in the 2016 edition I actually like a little better, but in general, I am pretty happy with what I see.  Happy enough to wish I had grabbed the physical books when I was last at my FLGS. 

What about the rules?

The book is similar in many ways to Mongoose 1st Edition, but enough differences in layout and organization.  For the first time, the designer did NOT try to invoke the feeling of old Classic Traveller.  This is a GOOD thing.  To attract new players they needed to make this a new game.

Introduction

This covers the various reasons why you might want to play Traveller and the different ways to play. I was hoping that among the examples of Star Trek and Starship Trooper they would include the most British of all Traveller shows, "Blake's 7." Which always was my goto example. 

There are some suggested books to read such as Traveller Companion, High Guard, The Third Imperium, and more.  I don't have those so I can't comment on them here.  What it does tell me that this version of Traveller is set in the Third Imperium. So that is something to look forward too. 

We get some game and dice conventions and descriptions of the Tech Levels.

Traveller Creation

Character creation is next as expected. This follows much along the lines of all Traveller versions. You roll your six abilities/characteristics.  We are back to our standard six from Classic Traveller with the same point spread and averages. The CCP is still here too.

You pick your background skills and then move to the next phase. There are good flow charts for character creation and the character sheet is annotated.  You go into your pre-career (aka school) and then move to your career. 

Like the first edition, careers are laid out with face pages so everything you need for a career is at a glance.

This is quite helpful really.  The careers supported in this core rules are Agent, Army, Citizen, Drifter, Entertainer, Marine, Merchant, Navy, Noble, Rouge, Scholar, and Scout.  There is an extra "career" that of Prisoner. Possibly to do that epic Stainless Steel Rat or Farscape adventure.

Various benefits and of course mishaps occur, leaving you with extra cash, some property or medical debt. 

There are some Skill Packages now.  There is a push here to get all the players and characters working to gether to make sure there is cohesion. 

We then get some examples of Alien species. The Aslan and the Vargr. 

Skills and Tasks

This chapter is combined as it really should be.  The system is basic which is what you want.  The character rolls a 2d6 and need to get greater than an 8 to succeed.  There are various Die Modifiers added and the Target number (the "8") can be be altered depending on the task difficulty. There are example throughout which works well.  An "Impossible Task" for example would require 16 or more rolled on the check.  There are also levels of success and failure. So if the roll is missed by -6 that is an "Exceptional Failure."  A roll of 6+ over the target number is an "Exceptional Success."

The amount of time spent on a skill check can alter the results and there are opposed checks as well. 

The rest of the chapter covers all the skills, their specialities and descriptions.

Combat

Combat is a always separate and it is a special case of a skill check.  What I do like about this system is that combat can rely on STR or DEX as appropriate and is not hard-coded like say D&D. For example Initiative can be modified by DEX or INT.

The combat phase is broken down into Significant, Minor, and Free actions.  You can do one Significant and one minor action per round or three minor actions.  You can perform anynumber of Reactions or Free Actions as permitted. What can be done in these actions is detailed. Attacking an opponent is Significant action, as is giving orders (Leadership). Minor actions are things like aiming, reloading, changing stance. 

Damage is discussed and it is very deadly.  

Encounters and Dangers

This combined the old Encounters and Animal Encounters chapters of Classic-era Travellers. There are all sorts of environmental dangers, diseases, high and low gravity situations, radiation, falling and so much more. Hmmm. Maybe best just to stay on your homeworld.  To quote Leonard McCoy from the 2009 Star Trek movie "Space is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence."

Animals are discussed and even a few examples are given. 

NPCs are also presented with the ubiquitous d66 tables of quirks, motivations and more that Traveller fans love. 

Equipment

Covers the economy briefly and plenty of things to spend your precious few credits on. The list here is not highly different.  What is different here is the new level of art added to the lists.  Descriptions of arms and armor are paired with great color art of these items.  More than that there are tech items, medical equipment, computers, and survival gear.  Various toolkits are also described such as Planetary Sciences and Psionicology Toolkits.

And of course guns.

Each bit of equipment comes with a TL rating.

Vehicles

Cover most moveable craft that are not Starships. Each one gets a TL rating, an associated skill needed to operate, speed factors, crew/pilot and of course cost. Nothing is free in the Imperium. 

Spacecraft Operations

A mostly alphabetical listing of everything (mostly everything) that can go on in a ship. 

Space Combat

Similar to other versions and the combat chapter above. This details how ships can fight including movement, targeting, and firing phases. Along with damage and reactions.  The chapter is not large but remarkably detailed.

Spacecraft Construction

I think I would have put this chapter before combat.  Mayb put combat after Common Spacecraft.

Distinctions are made between interplanetary and interstellar spacecraft.  Like character creation, there is a helpful flowchart. 

Common Spacecraft

I rather love this chapter. This lists all sorts of spaceships with their details and a full color picture and some deck plans. This is also laid out so many of the ships have all their details on the facing pages. 

Many of these ships are found in previous versions of Traveller too. So it adds a nice bit of continuity to it all. 

Psionics

Stuck near the end is psionics again. There are talents and powers and the Psion Career.  I have always liked the Psionic powers section in Traveller, but this one really makes me want to play one.  The Careers are all numbered 1 through 12 with the "Prisoner" at 13 (Navy for example is 8).  The Psion career is appropriately numbered "X."

Trade

Covers basic trade between the worlds/systems/colonies.  There is a huge d66 list of Trade Goods to be used by Referees. 

World and Universe Creation

This chapter feels more like Classic Traveller than the others. Sadly no equations to apease the math geek in me but a lot of information all the same. The section is not huge and I a sure there are additional books for more worlds out there.  But there is enough here to get you started.

Index

The index is comprehensive and hyperlinked.

Unlike previous versions of Traveller there is no included adventure here.

--

Ok. What can we say here at the end?  Or in other words who should buy this Traveller and what does it have over other Editions/Versions?

Who Should Buy This?

Much like D&D is synomous with Fantasy Roleplaying, Traveller is synomous with SciFi Roleplaying.  IF you want to try science fiction out then for me the obvious first step is to see what Traveller is doing.

Traveller 2nd Ed 2016 vs. 2022

Both corebooks are still on the market now.  They are the same system.  I have both and while the rules are largely the same the organization of the 2022 version is much better.

Classic Traveller vs. Mongoose Traveller 2nd Edition

Ah. The old-school vs. new-school debate. We live in a time where not only you can get new Traveller in print you can get old Traveller in print as well.  Which one should you play?  I think the choice comes down to experiences.  Both games really let you play the same game. Both games are fun. Both games take on some basic assumptions but largely leave the rest of the universe to your imaginations.

IF you started with any version of Traveller and enjoy that, then stick with that, but certainly check this one out.  IF you have never played any version of Traveller before then the Mongoose 2nd Edition, 2022 version is the one to get.  You can buy it at DriveThruRPG or your FLGS.

Mongoose Traveller vs. FFE Traveller

We owe a lot to Far Future Enterprises for getting all the Traveller books from 1977 up to today scanned and added as a PDF to both their website and to DriveThruRPG.  That is a huge debt we owe them.  However, I can't exactly recommend Traveller 5 over Mongoose's version. There might be content in the FFE Traveller 5 that I could port over. But I think to show my appreciation for what they have done, I'll keep buying the older Traveller materials.

In the end, for me, Mongoose Traveller 2nd Edition is, right now, the best Traveller I can buy. 

I'll make an effort to grab a print version the next time I am at my FLGS.  Right now there is no Print on Demand version for the 2022 edition.

This would be the nominal end of my Traveller reviews, but not so fast. There is still a THIRD way to play "Traveller" that is active and in print today.  

Review: T5 Traveller5 Core Rules 3-Book Set (2015)

We are entering a strange time now. There are now two editions of Traveller on the market, the Mongoose version and now, in 2015, a new version from Far Future Enterprises, the inheritor of Game Designers' Workshop intellectual properties.  This one is designed to be a new edition of the Traveller 4 edition and thus an "unbroken line" from Classic Traveller.

I have the Traveller 5.09 version I grabbed from Far Future Enterprises and the 5.10 version from DriveThruRPG.  For the purposes of this review, I am going to be considering the 5.10 version.

T5 Traveller5 Core Rules 3-Book Set

As with Classic Traveller, this version is split up into three books.  They are not little, and the covers are not included, but they do have the same names.  So that is fine.

Each book has a comprehensive table of contents of all three books.  

Book 1: Characters and Combat

PDF. 208 pages, black & white and color interior art. 

Starting out this has a different feel than other versions.   We start with the the typical "What is a Roleplaying Game" bits and "What is Traveller" under the Traveller is a Role-Playing Game section with an example of play. What follows is a bit on the Galaxy (weird to see how little of it is charted in Traveller), A Brief History of the Universe, and The Foundations of the Universe.  The feel here is one of situating the characters in the Traveller Universe first as opposed to having the character operating in the universe as Classic Traveller does.  Thematically (not rule-wise) this makes it a bit closer to MegaTraveller.  

Traveller Uses Dice takes us back to the real world.  There seems to be some new dice mechanics being introduced here in the form of "Flux Rolls." We get bits on Money, Ranges, and Humanity.  I have to admit I admit I am not liking the organization so far.  The topics seem to come at random. 

Ok. We finally get to a chapter Characters are the Central Focus of Traveller, but not till page 46. 

Characters still have the same six basic characteristics/abilities but there are an additional two added, Psions (Psi) and Sanity. Then there are another eight that are also used that are combinations of the regular six. I can't help but feel that something that was elegant is not needlessly complicated. 

Eleven pages later we get to Characters and Careers. This covers the careers that we see in many versions of Traveller.  I do like the art on the various medals a character can get while in the service, nice touch.  The careers are comparable to previous versions.  Each carrier gets a single page of detail which is nice really, print it out and staple it to your character sheet card. There are also many tables for backgrounds.

There is a new section on Genetics. There are some lists and diagrams for family trees (genetic trees) but I am not seeing the in-game application to this yet.  I guess if your character is genetically modified this would be good. Sections on Chimeras, Synthetic Lifeforms, and Clones follow. 

Tasks are next and deal with how you do things in Traveller.  We are back to a Roll Under task resolution.  A few pages discussing how tasks are determined with an example of three character with low, medium and high dexterity. 

Skills is introduced with a Master Skill list, though "Massive Skill List" would also be appropriate. There are a lot of skills here.  Skills and their descriptions take up the next 40 pages.

Equipment is given the acronym QREBS for Quality, Reliability, Ease, Bulk/Burden, and Safety. 

We jump back to character focus with Intuitions, Personals, and The Senses. 

We get to the second half of the title 2/3 of the way into the book. Combat. Up first is Personal Combat. This covers all sorts of types of combat, conditions, environment, movement, and more. There is even an example of combat between two groups of five combatants. This is good, because I still have no real good notion of how combat works in this system. This follows by a list of weapons.

Dice is next and covers all the rolls for 1D to 10D and the Flux die.  Look I have a Master's degree in Stats, I like math, I like numbers. But this feels needlessly complicated to me. 

The book ends in an Index (but hyperlinks and the PDF is not bookmarked).

Book 2: Starships

PDF. 304 pages, black & white and color interior art. 

One of the things I love about Traveller has been their starship-building rules. It's like character building and I don't feel bad about min-maxing or even meta-gaming it.  

We start out with the basic anatomy of a stellar hex grid. Ok, that is useful. This introduced us to the section on Star Systems. We get some brief overviews of systems and some helpful charts and tables to describe them.  This is followed by Star Ports (places to go in the system) where the adventures usually begin.

Starships are next and cover all sorts of starships. The same sorts of details are here as in other versions of Traveller. I would need the rules side by side to see the differences, but it feels more like Traveller T4 than anything.  Lots of color art for the various types of ships are a nice touch.  Our old friend the Beowulf-class Free Trader is present. 

Starship Design and Construction covers how to build and pay for these ships.   All of this is recorded on the Ship Card, like a character sheet for ships. This is a feature that goes back to the beginning. 

Maneuvering is next, or how your ship is a ship and not a space station. This includes interplanetary travel.  Jump covers interstellar travel. 

Plenty of sections on how Power, Sensors, Weapons, Defenses, Fuel, and Space Combat work. Far more detail than I recall in any version of Traveller so far.

Trade and Commerce Between the Stars section is next. Traveller is built on the reality that goods and people need to move between the starts and there is an economy based on that. 

Technology and Tech Levels are discussed in detail. Followed by Lifespans of intelligent species (why wasn't this in Book 1?), Interstellar Communities, Computers, and Robots.

This book was a bit better organized than Book 1, up till the end that is.

Book 3: Worlds and Adventures

PDF. 304 pages, black & white and color interior art. 

This covers Worlds and Systems.  It seems that some of the System material from Book2 would have been better here. 

If Book 1 creates characters, and Book 2 creates Starships, then Book 3 creates worlds and systems. Again pretty detailed with charts and graphs galore. This covers the first 94 pages or so.

Makers or building things run the next 80 odd pages.  Seems like this should have been in book 2. 

Special Circumstances are next for the next 70 pages.  This includes Psionics. This covers psionic characters and their powers. This also covers the Zhodani.  

There is an interesting sub-section on Sophonts, or intelligent non-humans.  Again, this would have been better served in Book 1 I think, but I do see why it is here. 

We don't get to Adventuring until page 270 and then it is only 10 pages. Very underserved in my mind.

Each book ends with book specific Appendicies and Indexes.

--

So. 816 pages of PDF rules for Traveller 5.10.  (FYI my Traveller 5.09 weighs in at 760 pages).

What do I know?  Well. This version of Traveller is an interesting view of divergent evolution.  In 2015 to 2019 (and still) there are two in print, live versions of Traveller out there. Traveller 5 and Mongoose Traveller.  Both have the same ancestor, Classic Traveller, but each went on a different path.

We also live in a world now where ALL versions of Traveller are easily available in PDF, Print, and POD versions. 

Given all of this, I just can't see myself playing Traveller 5. There is a LOT here I can see myself using though.  I do not regret buying it at all. Far from it. I think my goal here is to grab anything I can find that is useful that is still roughly compatible with the Classic Traveller Core.  

My issues with Traveller 5 are largely from the organization of the material and the over-complication of the rules.  I am not a fan of roll-under systems, but I can get over that for the right game. 

I give Far Future Enterprises credit for trying to expand the game in a new direction, it's just a direction I am interested in going in these days. At nearly $45 for three (four if you count the "Read me" pdf, which I don't) PDFs and no POD option is a bit rich for most people's blood. 

Still, I am a perpetual sucker for the sunk cost fallacy, so I am always looking for an excuse to use all my books. 

BTW: This is also my 5,000th post here at the Other Side!