For those in the know, how different is T5 from Mongoose Traveller? Would it be easy to use a sourcebook from one for the other?

By Terry O'Carroll (Terryoc) on Saturday, June 02, 2012 - 10:55 am: Edit

Jean, I don't know, but I asked at the traveller RPG forums. If I get any useful information I shall summarise it in this thread.

Edit: from what I am gathering, there seems to be a great deal of cross-pollination between Traveller implementations, so I think that TPD will be broadly useful with T5.

By Shawn Hantke (Shantke) on Saturday, June 02, 2012 - 01:44 pm: Edit

My opinion is that people play with what ever Traveller System they like best (Classic Traveller, MegaTraveller, Traveller The New Era, GURPS Traveller, Traveller T20, Traveller 4 "T4", Mongoose Traveller (which is supposed to close to CT) or T5 and then view all the versions and the plethora of other material (even from other non Traveller sci-fi stuff)as source books or background material for their own campaigns. In a way Traveller was "GURPS" before HERO and Gurps were. A system that could cover a lot of different settings, era and tech levels. The psionic rules could be adapted to cover magic, technology could infer super powers etc. I know that people borrowed from WEG Star Wars games and FASA ST:TRPG to make their Traveller games better and vice versa. When we gamed with PD1 we hated the system but loved the background so we modified our GURPS campaigns because we loved the GURPS system and had already been using stuff from Traveller.

By Shawn Hantke (Shantke) on Wednesday, April 24, 2013 - 03:48 pm: Edit

I got my Traveller 5 kickstarter package today, it looks pretty sweet.

Now where is the Traveller Prime Directive unicorn?

By Eric Smith (Badsyntax) on Wednesday, April 24, 2013 - 04:21 pm: Edit

Its a HUGE book, and I mean *HUGE*. I'm very glad they sent a PDF with it, the book went to a shelf, and I looked over the PDF.

The rules are kinda hard to follow to me, and I'm 100% ok with Gurps Vehicles (and wish it had miniature rules). I tried writing an app to generate systems, got about 80% done, and decided that I preferred the system in Gurps First In/Gurps Space and the old World Builders Handbook.

Overall, kinda disappointed with the final product, but the print quality and amount of content was great.

I think the GURPS system was the best overall, as I think SJGames is absolutely great with their products, and I've learned a lot above and beyond the games by reading them.

By Ted Fay (Catwhoeatsphoto) on Wednesday, April 24, 2013 - 04:22 pm: Edit

I also got my T5 - Kewl.

By Tony L Thomas (Scoutdad) on Wednesday, April 24, 2013 - 04:23 pm: Edit

It's in the Ogre 6E box...

By Tony L Thomas (Scoutdad) on Wednesday, April 24, 2013 - 04:46 pm: Edit

oops. Spoke too soon.
Kickstarter update #84 for Ogre posted a photo of the entire contents of the Production Box and Kickstarter ediions...
And neither one contained a MGT: PD unicorn...

By Shawn Hantke (Shantke) on Wednesday, April 24, 2013 - 05:00 pm: Edit

Maybe at the bottom of the Ogre garage?

By Terry O'Carroll (Terryoc) on Wednesday, April 24, 2013 - 05:24 pm: Edit

The PD:T unicorn is in one of Jean's boxes waiting to be unpacked when she arrives in Amarillo.

By Jean Sexton (Jsexton) on Thursday, April 25, 2013 - 09:05 am: Edit

Unicorns are notoriously shy.

By Ken Burnside (Ken_Burnside) on Thursday, April 25, 2013 - 11:32 am: Edit

They are also quite tasty. Especially with Carolina vinegar rub BBQ spices...

By Andrew Granger (Captaincf) on Friday, April 26, 2013 - 09:59 am: Edit

I prefer oregano and paprika.

By Garth L. Getgen (Sgt_G) on Sunday, June 30, 2013 - 12:45 am: Edit

Jean, are you able to report any progress with PD-Traveller? People over on the Mongoose board are wondering.

Also, up-topic last year you asked about Traveller Five. From what I've read on-line, it's available now, but people are NOT happy with it.


Garth L. Getgen

By Jean Sexton (Jsexton) on Sunday, June 30, 2013 - 09:03 am: Edit

Garth, thanks.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Sunday, June 30, 2013 - 10:02 am: Edit

Jean had to move, get her apartment set up, do CL47, go to Origins, get her office set up, and wind up the post-Origins and post-CL47 stuff. (She didn't get a computer that can do Traveller until a few days ago.)

Yesterday she got the Traveller files moved to her new computer.

There is a ton of work done, but some left to do: the space combat system, the bridge crew, and some number of deck plans.

I don't know traveller and have left it to RPG editor Jean Sexton and Traveller PD designer Mike West to wind this up. It should take them a month or two to get to a point where they can commit to a release date.

By Jean Sexton (Jsexton) on Tuesday, July 02, 2013 - 12:01 pm: Edit

Update 7/2

The text for the core book is now on my Mac. I will need to hunt down all the missing art, copy the files, get them on my computer, and then link them to the book.

The Traveller PD Team is all on board and we're moving along.

Happy dance!

By A. David Merritt (Adm) on Tuesday, July 02, 2013 - 02:00 pm: Edit

Cool, once this is out the door, maybe we can get the next Empire book out.

By Shawn Hantke (Shantke) on Tuesday, July 02, 2013 - 02:23 pm: Edit

Dear Aunt Jean, Will the Traveller PD Empire books be straight conversions of the existing GURPS/PD20M Empire books or will they require additional material such as Deck Plans?

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Tuesday, July 02, 2013 - 02:54 pm: Edit

There will be some extra planets and deck plans that will go into a FINAL FRONTIER book for the other systems.

By Shawn Hantke (Shantke) on Tuesday, July 02, 2013 - 04:55 pm: Edit

So Traveller Klingons, Romulans and Federation will be more pages than GURPS/PD20M Klingons, Romulans, and Federation?

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Tuesday, July 02, 2013 - 06:27 pm: Edit

Don't know yet.

But I see no reason for them to be. I'd rather put the extra stuff in other products accessible to all systems.

By Garth L. Getgen (Sgt_G) on Monday, July 08, 2013 - 12:18 am: Edit

I was on a Trek board (non-gaming site) the other day, and someone there posted the following:

"I've been trying to figure out why ADB thinks they need to hold up the entire game for deckplans, of all things. I mean, I'm sure plans will be useful, but they're not needed in a core book for a RPG. It would be better to release the plans on their own later, especially if it would get the game itself on the shelves sooner."

My reply to them was:

"This is not the place to talk about it, but from what I understand that is not ADB's doing. Please visit the ADB and/or Mongoose boards. Again, I do not work for nor speak for either company."

It does so irk me that people all over the 'Web think ADB is the one holding out for deck plans. {sigh}


Garth L. Getgen

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Monday, July 08, 2013 - 12:29 am: Edit

Matthew/Mongoose is the one demanding deck plans, not us.

However he has recently began to realize we won't have as many as he wanted and will have to settle for maybe six or eight ships instead of 20.

By Garth L. Getgen (Sgt_G) on Monday, July 08, 2013 - 01:18 am: Edit

Just my opinion, but I would rather see the PD:T books all be twins to the PD:GURPS & PD:D20 books. That means no addition material that isn't specific to the game-engine. Why should PD:T players get extra cool stuff like deck plans and planet maps that PD:GURPS / PD:D20 players don't get? If it were up to me, the Klingon book would have had the D7 instead of the Gunboat, but that ship has sailed long ago (no pun intended).

I would like to see about twenty or so ships worth of deck plans in a stand-alone book (may or may not include planet maps, depending on page count), and perhaps each individual ship with plans printed on 17 x 22 heavy-gauge paper.

I think the book should have the following:
Fed CA (players will DEMAND this one)
Klingon D7 (players will expect this one)
Fed FFG
Romulan SkyHawk
Romulan Snipe
Fed Police boat
Orion Light Raider (I know Nick did a set of plans, and someone else said they are also working on the same ship)
Orion CR raider cruiser (no plans in the works that I know of)
Free Trader
Klingon D5 or F5 (no plans in the works that I know of)
Klingon E3/G2 (no plans in the works that I know of)

That's eleven. I think we need at least one each Gorn, Lyran, Kzinti, and Hydran ships. Oh, and SVC will need to decide whether or not the Tholian PC plans are still valid.

Just a gut-feeling, but I think most players at first will want to play a Fed CA or maybe a D7. But sooner or later, I think many will realize it will be more fun if they go to a smaller ship, like a FFG or F5. I'm biased, but I also thing that a Cops & Robbers campaign would be a lot of fun, so the book needs to have (in my opinion) police boats for Feds, Klingons, and Romulans, as well as Orions pirates and civilian targets.


Garth L. Getgen