What Rule Sets

There are several rule sets, two or three of which are current.

Mongoose Traveller

• The most straightforward rules and closest to the original Traveller.

• Has a huge wealth of support material from Mongoose Publishing and a wide variety of third
parties.

• Is available in German, French and Spanish.

• For a beginner this is probably the best place to start.

Traveller5

• Pretty much brand new with only one or two items of support thus far.

• Has a doorstop sized core rulebook that brings together construction (and other) rules for just
about everything in one volume.

• Introduces several concepts new to Traveller to widen its appeal and extend the science fiction
possibilities and variations.

• As yet, there are no setting details for what’s often called T5, although a couple of adventures
have been published.

GURPS Traveller

• Could be considered still current although there are no new books being published (The Journal
of the Travellers’ Aid Society continues, however, as a fortnightly online subscription magazine
edited by Loren Wiseman one of the original creators).

• Has high quality background books.

• A huge amount of compatible GURPS material can be used in conjunction with GURPS Traveller.

• The general rules (GURPS core rules – or GURPS Lite) are additionally required and are least like
classic Traveller.

• Some rules also struggle with the non-metric units usage.

It’s still possible to buy original Traveller material, often called Classic Traveller, as individual PDFs from
the likes of DriveThruRPG, or on CD-ROM collections from Far Future Enterprises, or on the second-hand
market.

Much of MegaTraveller, the second edition, can still be bought electronically. And all of Traveller: The
New Era which followed into a darker setting and Marc Miller’s Traveller (or T4) that returned to the
start of the Third Imperium can also still be purchased.

At The Table
Much of the advice for any role-playing games are applicable to Traveller – turn up on time, be
respectful of others around the table, don’t allow distractions to spoil the game, etc – but a few things
might help newbie Travellers.

If you run a gaming group, have players generate characters with you so you can help guide a workable
array of character types and builds that suit the campaign concept and adventures you have in mind.
And encourage players to form connections between their PCs each other.

At a convention you’ll want to use pre-gens suitable for the adventure. Point out to players the salient
features of who they’re playing: characteristics (UPP), skills, and equipment.

Encourage players to be open-minded about what gender, race or kind of character they’re given.

Let players swap PCs if they want to. And let them change minor details that don’t affect the adventure
of stats.

Design pre-gens appropriate to the adventure and ensure they’ll have opportunities to make their mark.

Write character names on name cards or badges, as Traveller names can be hard to get grips with on
occasion and it helps players stay in character. It’s not a bad idea to add player names as well to help
everyone get to know each other.

Find free cheat sheet online per the system you’re using and print them out for players to help you with
the rules. Or consider making your own to help learn the rules and remember them.

Keep obsession with exact rules to a minimum. Traveller is supposed to be fun, so have a relaxed
attitude to just how closely the rules are followed. Given there are so many rule sets with variations,
players with wide varieties of experience, different GM approaches, and various home grown rules,
there are many ideas of what constitutes Traveller. There are few situations where everything will be
exactly as your book says.

Ask players to pay attention to the set up of adventures. Let them know, as Traveller is science fiction
gaming, they can simply assume real world normality. And give hints about what’s coming and clearly
state what’s different in this game to either the real world or the standard setting. For example, perhaps
in your adventure Jump drive hasn’t been invented yet or perhaps psionics are widely accepted in the
Imperium.

Use handouts throughout the game. Traveller is known for lots of great possibilities to create real life
objects to help focus the attention. World maps, starship deckplans (or even models), Library Data
entries, mocked up photographs, perhaps even a ‘found’ diary or log entry. Add information,
atmosphere, and clues through the use of such game aids.

Be sensitive to the ‘edges’ of the universe. This is true for any role-playing game, but given the far-
reaching nature of Traveller, it’s particularly pertinent. You won’t have generated every possible
outcome of player actions beforehand, and can’t be expected to have an answer for everything that
might come up.

Try to ensure players get a fair share of your attention and their characters get a fair share of the action.
And don’t get so wrapped up in telling your story that you don’t give them breaks when required.
Be wary of introducing some new technology or feature of the universe as a way of saving players or
bringing the adventure to a climax. It’s a no-no in science fiction writing, and it’s equally poor form in a
Traveller adventure. If you are going to introduce something out of the ordinary, make sure the players
and their characters have the chance to know about it or experience it – perhaps in a lesser form –
earlier in the adventure.

At the end of the game, ask for feedback. Be prepared to receive honest but fair feedback, and don’t
take criticism aimed at you personally – player sometimes don’t know how to distinguish between the
game and the person when giving feedback.

Between Games

A lot of Traveller can be enjoyed as stand alone, solo gaming material. Whether it is creating a character,
designing a weapon or a starship, or handcrafting an entire planet with lovely crinkly coastal zones,
there’s much that can be enjoyed between gaming sessions.

There are even a few solo adventures or small sub-systems for adventuring or trading without a referee
to manage affairs. And there are a lot of online opportunities for discussions about Traveller, mailing
lists, play-by-email gaming, or games run via chat.

It’s a fair bet that if you’re interested in Traveller, you’re probably interested in science fiction. Between
fixes of actual gaming, reading SF can give you a greater appreciation of Traveller adventures and the SF
genre. Sub-genres and tropes crop up often, and the more you are familiar with them, the more
comfortable you’ll be in the fictional universe and the better your GMing of NPCs and situations.

Consider The Future

Isn’t Traveller already about the future? Yes, but what about real life? If you’ve enjoyed playing Traveller
– perhaps as a one off game – you may find you want to go further.

One way is considering writing something for publication. There are several outlets for doing so from
fanzines to the more formal publications; from those that pay for contributions to those where you’re
writing for the love of it. Freelance Traveller is always looking for submissions.

Another strength of Traveller is the shared universe anyone can contribute to. It’s easy to start small and
try writing up a character you think is interesting or an adventure seed of just a couple of paragraphs.
Combining several elements may allow you to write at more length. Or perhaps you have an artistic bent
and can draw futuristic scenes, map alien worlds, or model 3D starships. Editors are often crying out for
good quality material.