GAMING NEWS: Mongoose Gets a Traveller License!

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TOP: Mongoose now has a Traveller license!

Hi All,

One of my favorite all-time sci-fi games is the Traveller series... It originally came out at the end of the 1970s (...shortly after Star Wars came out) and really established Role-Playing Games (RPGs) and science fiction in the gaming mindset. And now there's exciting new news that may breath some fresh new life into Traveller: Mongoose Publishing is coming out with new materials for Traveller!

TOP: Some cool limited edition 28mm Droyne figures from...

J.D. Lauck of MEGA Minis.

So, without too much further rambling from me, here's the Mongoose Publishing press release:

After a near 10-year gap in which only reprints of the Traveller game system have been available, Mongoose Publishing becomes the centralised resource for Traveller titles with the publication of their core rule book Traveller: Science-Fiction Adventures in the Far Future, in February 2008. On this foundation, Mongoose will produce a supporting line of supplements, adventures, and source books detailing the official and original Traveller universe of the far future.

The materials published by Mongoose will be placed in and part of the canonical Traveller universe.

It is our aim to halt the fragmentation of the Traveller game, and reintroduce one solid system (...based on Classic Traveller), with one source for the official Traveller universe.

But that is not all. . .

Mongoose Publishing Science Fiction RPGs:
Mongoose will also be using Traveller in its licensed science-fiction properties (...each featuring a Traveller logo).

We have pioneered this concept already with Runequest, publishing a rules set and supporting adventures and source books, then using the Runequest rules as the basis for other alternative fantasy role-playing settings, such as Hawkmoon, Elric and Lankhmar.

The first licensed setting to be produced using the Traveller rules set (...and available in early 2008) will be Starship Troopers, a welcome return to bug-blasting action across the galaxy! Hot on its heels will be Strontium Dogs, based on the hit 2000AD comic strip. After that, who knows... ???

TOP: Cool Traveller starship miniatures from...
Ken Burnside of Ad Astra Games.

To the greatest extent possible, we intend that there be a transportability of characters, concepts, and even equipment between the various systems. So, it will be perfectly possible for your Strontium Dog Bounty Hunter to land on a planet in his Scout/Courier, only to find him battling for his life against waves of Warrior Bugs - with no conversion needed between the games!

All games and settings will therefore be able to utilise the core supplements, such as High Guard, Mercenary, and 760 Patrons, while retaining their own character.

News Release URL:
http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/news/news_item.php?pkid_news=166

And Traveller certainly has seen many versions from the Classic Traveller timeline to one sin which the mighty Imperium degenerates into civil war, ones in which vampire-like computer viruses take over the world, a "Space Viking" scenario in which the Traveller universe recovers from a "Dark Age" and many more. I'm really curious exactly which timeline and background Mongoose will choose to continue.

TOP: One of the two Traveller computer games.

And the product range has been vast as well including: four different versions of the RPG game, miniatures in 15mm & 28mm, starship minis, at least two computer games, posters, sci-fi novels, clothing patches, adhesive stickers, T-shirts, and who knows how many other spin-offs and other goodies.

Here's the rest of the Mongoose Publishing press release:

Open Gaming License:
Once the rules for Traveller appear, we plan to make them available under the Open Gaming License (OGL). At the same time, we will issue a Traveller Logo License (TLL) which makes the Traveller logo and titling available to licensees.

Far Future will Publish T5:
Far Future is proceeding with plans to produce the long-heralded Traveller 5, initially as an extensive CD ROM package (...estimated at 1000 pages) by the end of 2007, and a distilled 350-page Traveller 5 Core Rules book in the first half of 2008.

T5 will be a superset of the Mongoose Traveller rules, providing detailed coverage of rules, concepts and history not available elsewhere. There will be cross-compatibility between Traveller and Traveller 5, allowing you to use rules and supplements from each.

Traveller will be faithful to Classic Traveller, with an upgraded task and combat system. Traveller 5 will be a superset of those rules, providing greater detail and more insight into resolving situations in Traveller.

And eventually, we might even see Striker III, a Traveller miniatures ruleset of Chadwick'ian lineage. The key developer behind Striker III resides nearby (...when he's not in Texas) and he runs a web group where you can learn more about the project, which I've shared a link for below.

TOP: "The Journal of The Traveller's Society," THE Traveller magazine!

And here's a half dozen or so more helpful Traveller links:

Freelance Traveller link:

http://www.freelancetraveller.com/index.html

(Probably the best link for anything Traveller)

Citizens of the Imperium forum link:

http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/

(Probably the best Traveller forum around)

Far Future Enterprises link:

http://www.farfuture.net/

(Marc Miller's site, one of the creators of Traveller...)

(Find reprints of older Traveller materials here and...)

(it's also the home of Traveller 5)

Ad Astra Games link:

http://www.adastragames.com/

(Find Traveller starship minis here)

MEGA Minis link:

http://www.megaminis.com/

(Find limited edition 28mm Traveller minis here)

Loren Wiseman's home page link:

http://www.cgi101.com/~lkw/

(A creator of Classic Traveller & the genius behind GURPS Traveller )

CT Striker Yahoo E-group link:

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/ct-striker/

(One of the best discussion groups for Striker III)

Classic Traveller Yahoo E-group link:

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/Classic-Traveller/

(One of my favorite discussion groups for Traveller)

6SFWG (6mm Science Fiction War Games) Yahoo E-group link:

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/6mmScienceFictionWarGames/

(Striker III and anything & everything related to 6mm sci-fi can be found here)

Have a great Monday!

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

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