I posted a ranty thing the other day and after having a civilised conversation with a local BAM store owner, rion take me to a bad place and removed it.
The point of the post; Modern games are very polished and evolved, but maybe, just maybe they are blinkering newer (or timid) game masters into believing they are the “one true way”. The fall out of that can be the utter confusion, frustration and general unhappiness that comes from perceived imperfection falling short. In a nutshell, be careful which gods you worship as none are perfect.
The post got a little carried away and somewhat off track, so with something more constructive in mind, I would like to introduce new players and reacquaint older ones with my top 4 table top RPG’s and some reasoning behind them.
Mongoose Traveller (1st edition).
A common thread that will run through all of these (semi)reviews is a feeling of GM hackable, low preciousness, seat of your pants amending as you go, that I feel is not only ok, but to a large extent integral to role playing. Role playing by it’s very (ancient) nature is improvisation. This is a two way street in games, with players improvising responses to GM’s improvised obstacles. Nothing puts me off a game more than a “mechanic for everything” game with little or no wriggle room.
Comes with holes? More like comes with opportunities and flexibility.
Very plain, just like the original 3 books in a little box.
It should also be said up front, that MT1 1e is only recently out of print, but is the best “retro clone” of the original Traveller I have used, being more like a second edition of the original than a full remake. If it was published in 1985 it would have fit in well. I could access the original, but I prefer MT 1e for it’s completeness and it is basically the same game.
I will also say, that I have MT 2e and a modern wonder of fine printing and refined rules it is, but it lacks two things.
It does not contain star ship design rules (should that matter-see above?) and more importantly, it does not take me to the roots of my Sci Fi past thematically. It does offer some cool ideas that can be cherry picked to make 1e smoother mechanically, which brings us back to the point above.
MT 2e is neat and tidy, glossy and all too “perfect”. MT 1e is a hackers diary of cohesive, but not “written in stone-pull it apart at your peril” ideas, with lots of simple, but appropriate black and white illustrations on plain paper that invites pencil notes and sticky tabs. The illustrations in particular take me back to my days reading 2000AD comics and Stainless Steel Rat books and trying to portray them myself (my friend Mark who introduced me to the game was way better).
Old school.
More like this please.
Is it a one book solution?
Yes it is. The book has guidelines or actual mechanics to develop worlds, star ships, vehicles, trade goods, develop characters and one of the best mini-game character generation systems ever (including the very real chance of dying) and all the mechanics needed to game these. There are a few things that the 2e core book does better or expands upon, but these can be easily ported over and many stem from commonly known house rules anyway.
Is it relevant?
The original system (that I once owned) dates back to the ‘70’s with a ‘70’s perspective on the future. Technology has obviously moved on, but that all depends on how you look at it. Ever played a “Rocket Man'“ style or a Star Wars themed game? Who says that science (fiction) in a galaxy far far away has to be a continuation of our history. MT 1e has updated some older ideas, but thematically we are still talking people manning ship’s guns, driving vehicles and shooting lasers, not automated systems as is more likely the case in our future. It is a game, a simulation designed to involve, entertain, immerse.
Other stuff.
The system is a basic and very clean 2d6 with mods and a nice little bell-curve. The original game was a little sketchy with a simple 8+ to pass > input GM data here, which was probably taking things a little too far in the “hand wave” direction. MT 1e tightens this up considerably. The idea of Boon/Bane dice, lifted from D & D 5e is not a deal breaker either, as I prefer mods for this game.
The book itself pays homage to the original set of three little black books, but is a larger format hard cover and has some illustrations. The original books lacked any illustrations at all, with the exception of some map sets, adventures and magazine articles. Traveller was illustration free or as I like to say “Imagination maxed”. MT 1e keeps the ‘80’s feel with the art on offer.
There is much more out there (I have a dozen or so pdf’s but no physical books), but to be honest, they are not needed to run a complete and immersive campaign for a lite space opera format or even a hard core “Aliens” style game. Most of the books are just collections of star sectors, star ships, NPC’s and equipment, which are part of the fun of being a GM.
In the interests of full disclosure, I am more likely to play M-Space these days, as I prefer d100 games, and I see it as a positive evolution of the game (more so even than MT 2e). I find the systems cleaner and more flexible than either with the added benefit of compatibility with other d% games and easier character (NPC) generation. The feel of M-Space is also a little more to my liking, ironically down to the sparse art, but that is a personal thing. Something that is not as subjective though is support. M-Space is alive and well supported.