I found the Traveller Book for a good price, $10, and picked it up.  From what I've read, it's the first three Traveller books- 1-3, just in a hardcover.  I take it this is all one would need to play the full game, correct?

The Traveller Book is Traveller Books 1-3 with identical rules. It has all the rules you need to play the game. Later Books expand the rules and options of play. Some people believe those expansions are vital and complete the game. Some people are content with the core rules found in The Traveller Book. (Called "Basic Traveller" -- that is, the core rules, complete in and of themselves, requiring no more material.)

The Traveller Book also includes additional material covering GDW's official setting for the game. (The original three books contained no information about the official setting.)

If you get it, a terrific compilation of Errata for the Classic Traveller books has been collected in this document.

You can have my Book 6 Scouts with its Star System Generation rules when you pry it from my cold, dead, hands.

But you can play Traveller without it, for sure.

Book 4 adds some more science fiction weapons: snub pistols, gauss pistols and rifles, RAM Grenades, accelerator rifles, advanced combat rifles, and plasma guns.

Supplement 4 (it was 4) Citizens of the Imperium is invaluable for the careers it adds.  It also adds some primitive weapons.

Striker adds vehicle combat.

If you want the the Third Imperium setting you'll want The Spinward Marches and both Library Data supplements.

It's a bit like Basic Dungeons and Dragons, functional yes, complete, no.

Quote from: David Johansen;943009Book 4 adds some more science fiction weapons: snub pistols, gauss pistols and rifles, RAM Grenades, accelerator rifles, advanced combat rifles, and plasma guns.

Supplement 4 (it was 4) Citizens of the Imperium is invaluable for the careers it adds.  It also adds some primitive weapons.

Striker adds vehicle combat.

If you want the the Third Imperium setting you'll want The Spinward Marches and both Library Data supplements.

It's a bit like Basic Dungeons and Dragons, functional yes, complete, no.

As I said... there is disagreement on this.

For me, both the original Traveller rules and Basic Dungeons & Dragons are absolutely complete.

Will the Referee need to extrapolate from the rules or make up rulings on the fly? Absolutely. Exactly as designed.

Can one always buy more rulebooks to add more rules and details? Absolutely. Can the game of Traveller be played straight out Books 1-3 or The Traveller Book? That was the point.

That said, it is a matter of both taste and expectation. There's no right or wrong on this.

Which means, RunningLaser, you'll have to make up you own mind as to whether it is complete or not.

Basically, as long as you want to run ex-Military people. You really need Supplement 4: Citizens of the Imperium if you want non-military careers. Or make the tables up yourself (various old magazines of the day also had new non-military careers). Technically there is an "Other" career in The Traveller Book/LBBs, but it's seemingly meant to be a criminal and not very good compared to the others.

It's best to stick with that and Supplement 4. The problem with most of the other rulebooks, at least Books 4, 5, 6, and 7, is that they provide expanded careers for the various military careers that generate much more powerful characters, or at least characters with a lot more skills compared to the original Books/The Traveller Book.

You either need to stay away from advanced character generation or hand out four skills per term for other careers.

Book 4 expands the weapon list.

Quote from: RunningLaser;943002I found the Traveller Book for a good price, $10, and picked it up.  From what I've read, it's the first three Traveller books- 1-3, just in a hardcover.  I take it this is all one would need to play the full game, correct?

Yes.

I agree with most of the other posts so far. We played the black boxed set (books 1-3) as a standalone for quite a while before we expanded into supplements, and other than Book 4 I never really felt like any of the others were that critical, so I'd say that if your hardback is books 1-3 you are golden.

Quote from: RunningLaser;943002I found the Traveller Book for a good price, $10, and picked it up.  From what I've read, it's the first three Traveller books- 1-3, just in a hardcover.  I take it this is all one would need to play the full game, correct?

Yes. I played for almost three years just using the 3 lbb before I started buying the supplements. I started playing in 1977.

1980 was a golden year. Two supplements were out by then, Mercenary, and Highguard, both of which I purchased that year. I never did buy Trillion Credit Squadron though.  There were plenty of articles in Dragon Magazine that year as well, in earlier JG Gazeteers, and in Different Worlds too. One of my favorite articles came out in March of 1980 in Dragon issue #35, and then also in the June 1981 issue of Dragon Magazine, #50,  Edited by Ed Greenwood (he had written Traveller articles for Judges Guild even earlier). That same month The Space Gamer #40, a special Traveller Issue was released at Steve Jackson games and that included articles by Marc Miller, Steve Winter, Forrest Johnson and Bruce Webster. There was also Dragon Issue #51 a fourteen page Traveller spread by Roger Moore, Jeff Swycafier, Paul Montgomery Crabaugh, and Marc Miller a few days later, and finally issue #53 in September with additional goodness on Merchants by Dennis Matheson.

List of Traveller Articles and Reviews in Different Worlds Magazine:
TRAVELLER, ORIGINAL [GDW]
  Adventures, Spinward Marches:
    Race for the "Specter", by Doug Houseman      #20   pg 20-28
  Background, Misc:
    The Travellers' Aid Society, by Iain Delaney   #13   pg 10-11
  Background, Introduction:
    The Imperium, by Marc Miller and Frank Chadwick   #9   pg 16-20
  Background, Technology:
    Genetic Engineering, by Dave Bryant         #38   pg 16-19
    Terraforming, Part 1, by Doug Houseman      #22   pg 16-21
    Terraforming, Part 2, by Doug Houseman      #23   pg 28-33
  Campaign Design, Encounters:
    Make Love, Not War, by Terrence McInnes      #32   pg 24-26
    Planetary Encounters, by Mason Jones      #28   pg 26
  Equipment, Combat:
    Pistols, by Paul Crabaugh            #21   pg 17
  Equipment, Computers:
    A New Computer System, by Martin Connell      #11   pg 14-17
  Equipment, Ships, Misc:
    Battleriders vs. Battleships, by Paul Crabaugh   #26   pg 13
    Battleriders vs. Battleships, by John Harshman   #29   pg 21
  Equipment, Ships, Designs:
    For Sale : Three New Fighters, by Paul Crabaugh   #17   pg 10-11
    Starfreighter Athena, by Henry Padilla      #18   pg 24-25
    Terraforming, Part 1, by Doug Houseman      #22   pg 16-21
    Terraforming, Part 2, by Doug Houseman      #23   pg 28-33
  Rules, Misc:
    Effects of Mass in Traveller, by William Lowe   #25   pg 15
  Rules, Board Games, Azhanti High Lightning:
    Swords on Deck, by Paul Crabaugh         #18   pg 7
  Rules, Board Games, Trillion Credit Squadron:
    Changes for TCS, by Doug Houseman         #18   pg 8-9
  Rules, Character Creation, Misc:
    Make Love, Not War, by Terrence McInnes      #32   pg 24-26
    Traveller Mutations, by Iain Delaney      #10   pg 8-9
  Rules, Character Creation, Careers:
    Cops!, by Terry McInnes (1)            #46   pg 10-14
    More Citizens, by Paul Crabaugh         #15   pg 4-5
    The Underworld, by Jon Mattson         #33   pg 16-19
  Rules, Combat:
    Pistols, by Paul Crabaugh            #21   pg 17
  Reviews, GDW:
    The Traveller Book               #30   pg 33-34
    The Traveller Adventure            #36   pg 30-31
    Adventure 2: Research Station Gamma         #11   pg 26
    Adventure 6: Expedition to Zhodane         #44   pg 32
    Adventure 7: Broadsword            #23   pg 45
    Adventure 8: Prison Planet            #32   pg 37
    Adventure 9: Nomads of the World-Ocean      #33   pg 37-38
    Alien Module 1: Aslan            #37   pg 31-32
    Alien Module 3: Vargr            #43   pg 29-30
    Book 6: Scouts               #41   pg 31-32
    Book 7: Merchant Prince            #45   pg 31-32
    Double Adventure 2: Across the Bright Face/Mission on Mithril
                     #11   pg 26
    Double Adventure 3: The Argon Gambit/Death Station   #14   pg 34
    Game 3: Azhanti High Lightning         #11   pg 20
    Supplement 6: 76 Patrons            #22   pg 37
    Supplement 8?: Library Data (N-Z)         #30   pg 31
    Supplement 11: The Solomani Rim         #28   pg 45
    Supplement 12: Forms and Charts         #35   pg 37
    Supplement 13: Veterans            #39   pg 36-37
    The Atlas of the Imperium            #42   pg 31
    Beltstrike                  #38   pg 36-37
    Tarsus                  #34   pg 30-31
  Reviews, FASA:
    Action Aboard               #18   pg 42
    Adventure Class Ships, Vol. 1         #19   pg 40
    Aslan Mercernary Ships            #25   pg 36
    Deckplans: ISCV King Richard         #18   pg 41
    Deckplans: ISCV Leander            #18   pg 41
    Deckplans: ISPMV Fenris            #18   pg 41
    Deckplans: ISPMV Tethys            #18   pg 41
    Deckplans: ZISMV Vlezhdahl            #18   pg 41
    Far Traveller, Issue 1            #34   pg 34-35
    Fate of the Sky Raiders            #35   pg 34-35
    The FCI Consumer Guide            #28   pg 44
    High Passage, Issue 1            #15   pg 38
    High Passage, Issue 2            #18   pg 40
    Legend of the Sky Raiders            #21   pg 37-38
    Ordeal by Eshaar               #18   pg 39
    Rescue on Galatea               #23   pg 45
    Starport Module One : Hotel Complex         #27   pg 45
    The Trail of the Sky Raiders         #27   pg 44-45
    Uragyad'n of the Seven Pillars         #22   pg 37-38
  Reviews, Gamelords:
    Ascent to Anekthor               #40   pg 30-31
    The Desert Environment            #42   pg 31-32
    The Drenslaar Quest               #38   pg 34-35
    Duneraiders                  #42   pg 31-32
    Lee's Guide to Interstellar Adventure, Vol. 1   #46   pg 32-33
    The Mountain Environment            #40   pg 30-31
    A Pilot's Guide to the Drexilthar Subsector      #41   pg 33
    Startown Liberty               #37   pg 34
    The Undersea Environment            #36   pg 33-34
    Wanted: Adventurers               #47   pg 31
  Reviews, Judges' Guild:
    Crucis Margin               #20   pg 36-37
    Glimmerdrift Reaches            #20   pg 36-37
    Simba Safari               #18   pg 40-41
    Waspwinter                  #21   pg 36-37
  Reviews, Marischal Adventures:
    Flight of the Stag               #18   pg 39-40
    Salvage Mission Fleetwatch            #18   pg 39-40
    Trading Team               #23   pg 41
  Reviews, Paranoia Press:
    Merchants and Merchandise            #16   pg 41-42
    Sorag                  #15   pg 36

Awesome breakdown GameDaddy!!

Is there a Different World's compilation available online?

I remember some of those articles from way back when, but not all.

Quote from: David Johansen;943009It's a bit like Basic Dungeons and Dragons, functional yes, complete, no.

That isn't a bad comparison.

I've run whole campaigns from the BD&D red book, and many more just using the Traveller LBBs.

Everything you NEED is there, but everything you WANT may require more books...or some DIY.

A crapton of support and supplements exists for Classic Traveller, so if you want more, its easy to get lots and lots.

I just ordered the Classic Traveller CD, that should keep me in reading and imagination fodder for a while.

Quote from: Baron Opal;943418I just ordered the Classic Traveller CD, that should keep me in reading and imagination fodder for a while.

Don't forget about the two third party CDs for classic Traveller ;-) The Gamelords and FASA CD is the better of the two.

Also I wrote up a short How to make a Traveller Sandbox that work fine with just the 3 LBBs.

• Roll up two subsectors side by side.
• Note all the high population planets.
• Write a short paragraph on each placing them in the context of your background (Empire, Federation, Free Space, etc)
• Find any high tech planets (the highest ones you rolled )
• Make notes on them.
• Find all class A and B starports
• Make notes on them.
• Scan the remaining planets pick out 4 to 8 that grab your attention.
• Make notes on them.
• Look at your notes and come up with two to four "plots" that ties one or more locales together.
• For each of the planets you have notes make up four "patron" encounters for each. They should start as one sentence each and be self contained in respect to the major plots.
• Come up with 6 to 12 general patron encounters that can be placed anywhere in your subsectors. Make them flexible like (set in a seedy starport, etc)
• Make up a rumor chart with 10 to 20 items that feeds the players into what you prepared.
• Then use the NPC resources that were suggested to make a list of NPCs. Assign them to the various items you created above.
• Look at your notes and decided where recurring NPCs will occurs. (Captain of the subsector Revenue Patrol, Custom Offical, Badger the Broker, etc). Probably need 6 to 12 of them. Give them a paragraph description in addition to their stats.

Traveller played with just the 3 LBB's has a scope and structure a bit like playing boxed-set OD&D, IF the DM has a deep understanding of the game and a lot of experience running. The games are similar in their parsimony when it comes to rules and options, but arguably grander scope than most more modern and complex games. On the other hand, I think the 3 LBB's are actually far better suited to a new player who comes to the game fresh. Most incarnations of Traveller are indistinguishable from the original in basic rules, and the game never mutated or bloated far beyond its original structure. In this way, it is quite different from D&D, which changed its mind about lots of things over a few years, and today is mostly played using rules that are distant descendants of the original. This is because the people who wrote the 3 LBB's kicked ass both at game design and technical writing.