So...I've heard a lot of negative things about this one, but I'm stilll intrigued.  Experiences?  Rumors?  Thoughts?  Cold hard facts?

Quote from: Zachary The FirstSo...I've heard a lot of negative things about this one, but I'm stilll intrigued.  Experiences?  Rumors?  Thoughts?  Cold hard facts?

Gave mine away to an enthusiast.  So that's one for, one against.

Quote from: HalfjackGave mine away to an enthusiast.  So that's one for, one against.

What didn't you like about it?

Quote from: Zachary The FirstWhat didn't you like about it?

You know, it's been so long since I got it, read it, and played it that I can't even recall my specific issues with it.  In the end it probably just didn't feel very Travelleresque to us.  I recall there being a few mechanical details I didn't like that are artifacts of colliding with d20 concepts -- experience points, hit points, etc. -- but I can't recall exactly what they were.  It sat on my shelf for a very long time before I sent it off to a loving home.

Quote from: Zachary The FirstSo...I've heard a lot of negative things about this one, but I'm stilll intrigued.  Experiences?  Rumors?  Thoughts?  Cold hard facts?

I haven't heard anything negative about it. I think it's decent enough, though it predates d20 Modern and d20 Future, so it doesn't use any of the mechanics from those books, which it probably would benefit from. Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to run it, so bear that in mind.

Quote from: HalfjackGave mine away to an enthusiast.

And the enthusiast thanks you.

Quote from: ColonelHardissonI haven't heard anything negative about it. I think it's decent enough, though it predates d20 Modern and d20 Future, so it doesn't use any of the mechanics from those books, which it probably would benefit from. Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to run it, so bear that in mind.

I can't imagine what one could benefit from borrowing anything from D20 Modern.  It's terrible.

Quote from: Caesar SlaadAnd the enthusiast thanks you.

Caesar, any chance you could give me a quick rundown of what you like/dislike about it?  Does it keep a "Traveller flavor/feel?"  Thanks!

Quote from: Zachary The FirstSo...I've heard a lot of negative things about this one, but I'm stilll intrigued.  Experiences?  Rumors?  Thoughts?  Cold hard facts?

I'm running a session of it at GenCon if anyone has Saturday afternoon free.

I ran it at 2 prior gencons, as well as at a DC gameday, and ran a home game of it. Every game seemed well received, though one might attribute it to the fact that Traveller is "my game", as it were.

It was based on the 3.0 rules, and as such, if you are really sold on some 3.5 conventions, it might rub you wrong.

Character generation is a mixture of D20 level/experience and classic traveller lifepath generation. About the worst thing that can be said about it is that this makes character generation somewhat complex. That said, I think the end result is much more satisfying than Classic Traveller and MegaTraveller. For example, ever capability was a skill in Traveller, but there were many, many skills for which more than 1 or 2 levels was a waste. Splitting things into skills and feats seems very natural and removes some of the head-scratching.

There is also a bit more choice than there was in classic traveller's lifepath, and 0-term characters are more playable.

Even before D20 Modern (and LONG before True20), Traveller modeled most class abilities by selectable feats, some class-specific.

World and Ship stats are almost fully compatible with Classic Traveller, which means that you can pretty much run CT adventures out-of-the-box; you need only adjust characters and DCs. The fact that both system were basic dice + mods systems makes this pretty straightforward.

The drawback of this is that the world data is less realistic that IMO much more believable subsequent versions of the game; CT world generation had some holes in it (I have some tweaks for this).

Personal combat uses a different spin called lifeblood and stamina, which makes gun combat more satisfactory (and deadly) than it is under HP.

Autofire rules are excellent -- easy to use and much more satisfying than D20 Modern's. Weapons ROF is used to define the number of bursts that you get; each burst can be allocated to increase hit chance (by "sprayig" an area) or damage (by concentrating fire.)

Starship Combat is probably the best starship combat a D20 SF game has to offer. In combat, pretty much every party member with any starship skill can contribute. It's no longer a case of everybody else sitting back while the pilots and gunners engage in combat.

I'm not really fond of the psionic system, which is a pretty much a straight port of CT and isn't very balanced when ported. I am using green ronin's Psychic's Handbook in its stead.

I'm still a pretty big fan of MegaTraveller, but I happily run T20, which the D20 folks can pick up pretty easy.

What else do you want to know? What smack-talk have you heard.

Quote from: Zachary The FirstCaesar, any chance you could give me a quick rundown of what you like/dislike about it?

I hope I addressed most of that above.

To summarize:

Like -
1) Play flows easy; d20 skill system is workable and robust AFAIAC
2) I like the way characters turn out
3) Like starship combat
4) Like combat
5) World and ship stats make using CT materials easy.
Edit:
6) The core book is freakin' sweet! It's one of those huge books you can do a lot with. And like the original books, it's sort of setting-light, so pretty easy to spin off your own setting with (I was toying with the idea of a Master of Orion setting with it...)
7) I also dig the Gateway to Destiny setting for it, and it has become my Traveller setting of choice. It's set in the Domain of Gateway (Ley Sector, Gateway, Glimmerdrift, Crucis Margin, all different than the Judges Guild take on these sectors), and has some pretty sweet support material.


Dislike
1) Straight port of psionics
2) Did not take advantage of post-CT world generation
3) Chargen can be lengthy

QuoteDoes it keep a "Traveller flavor/feel?"  Thanks!

I think so, yes. Unlike GURPS, you still have lifepath chargen, which is a main reason why I feel GT does not.

Quote from: Zachary The FirstSo...I've heard a lot of negative things about this one, but I'm stilll intrigued.  Experiences?  Rumors?  Thoughts?  Cold hard facts?

I love the damn thing. It has a feel that is close to the original CT, but allows you to attract in d20 players to the goodness that is Traveller. In particular, I like how they handle modern gun combat which maintains the lethality that should be there (although I admit that while it reads awkwardly, it sure plays fine). The character generation system can be long depending on if you want to play a 1st level PC or one who has got some years of experience under his belt - but I've found that most players have enjoyed that and turned it into a minigame.

Actually, the thing that I like best about it is that it is one-stop-shopping for a d20 science fiction RPG. Every other d20 SFRPG that I've seen is missing something important in the book, like rules for world generation in d20 Future or starship creation rules in d20 Star Wars. Admittedly, the hardback book is about $45 and the PDF is $30 (IIRC), but you only have to buy one book and not a core book + a bunch of supplements to get a complete game.

QuoteActually, the thing that I like best about it is that it is one-stop-shopping for a d20 science fiction RPG.

That was the thing that got me interested in the book.

I'm not really a Trav fan, but just looking through the book got me interested jsut because of the sheer depth of stuff covered.  EVERYTHING is in there.  You could buy that book and never need another RPG again, which is sometihng I love in a game, and something even some of my all-time favorite games fail to do.

Quote from: J ArcaneThat was the thing that got me interested in the book.

I'm not really a Trav fan, but just looking through the book got me interested jsut because of the sheer depth of stuff covered.  EVERYTHING is in there.  You could buy that book and never need another RPG again, which is sometihng I love in a game, and something even some of my all-time favorite games fail to do.

The T20 book doesn't go into a lot of detail about the Official Traveller Universe, so it should suit nicely as a generic set of d20 SFRPG rules. Some fiddly bits may have to be added depending on what you want the universe to reflect for your game, but its a really modular system already so it is easy.

(Just as an aside, I downloaded the VRNet web enhancement for d20 Future from WotC and slapped that onto my T20 games and it works fine.)

Quote from: jeff37923(Just as an aside, I downloaded the VRNet web enhancement for d20 Future from WotC and slapped that onto my T20 games and it works fine.)

I'm thinking of, for my Traveller D20 game at gencon, pulling in the Dramatic Conflict rules for Chases and Hacking from Spycraft, and the Stunt Point rules from Mars D20. Another nice thing about D20 ... lots of rules variants to pull from.

I also straight up use some supplements like 1001 SF Weapons.

(Another thing I was thinking of doing was wrapping T20 style lifepath chargen around Spycraft 2.0 classes.)

It feels like Classic Traveller while working as is "out of the box" from one book while at the same time being more flexible and cherrypicking from all other Traveller editions. Ship stats are close to High Guard, with the upcoming player's book you have all the careers from TNE/T4 (plus a few more IIRC), and planets are a mix of all editions from what I gather.

The NPC pdf (76 Gunmen) is one of the most handy d20 supplements I've seen. Saves a lot of time in game and with the various vehicle and ship pdfs and most any Traveller setting book and you're set, though the core T20 book has a decent mix of NPC, vehicle and ship stats.

I've been in one long campaign, co-GM'd another, and run a one-off scenario (mixing a free Mongoose Starship Troopers RPG bughunt with a 1248 county and GT:ISW backdrop). T20 worked well enough for all of them and was ok with both Traveller grognards and gamers who knew d20 but not Traveller.

Chargen does take a while but treat it like a more flexible CT chargen (creating a backstory) and it's ok. Combat is lethal, close to CT, with a shotgun being able to kill anyone without armor regardless of level.

Caveat: I would not recommend ordering directly from QLI at this time.