Traveller is a science fiction role-playing game, first published in 1977 by Game Designers' Workshop.
Both rely on six-sided dice exclusively, and both draw from the original Traveller rules. ==== Traveller ==== The original version was designed and published by GDW in 1977.
Mongoose Publishing released a sourcebook for the setting in 2012 that adapted it to their version of the Traveller rules. == See also == Striker (miniatures game) == References== === Further reading === === External links === Far Future Enterprises Mongoose Traveller GURPS Traveller Traveller wiki TravellerMap (a map of the official setting) Origins Award winners Role-playing games introduced in 1977 Permadeath games Space opera role-playing games Traveller (role-playing game)
Additional supplements flesh out rules further, including a revision to High Guard to handle all starship design. ==Reception== In the April–May 1978 edition of White Dwarf (Issue #6), Don Turnbull gave a strong recommendation for the new game, saying, "Altogether, what is here is very satisfactory and much of it is stimulating.
The presentation is exemplary, the detail impressive, the treatment exacting and the inventiveness inspired." In the September 1978 edition of Dragon (Issue 18), Tony Watson complimented the game on the high production value of its components, saying, "Physically, Traveller is first class, a tradition with Game Designer’s Workshop.
It offers a colorful but consistent future for players to adventure in." In the inaugural edition of Ares (March 1980), David Ritchie was enthusiastic about Traveller, giving it an above average rating of 8 out of 9 and commenting, "This game starts off where Dungeons and Dragons left off, but, if there is any justice, will end up being more popular than that venerable relic.
For one thing, the Traveller rules are fairly consistent (moreso than is usual for such games)." In the May–June 1980 edition of The Space Gamer (Issue No.
28), Forrest Johnson gave a good review, saying, "Traveller is the best game of its type, recommended for the sophisticated science fiction gamer." In the November 1980 edition of Ares (Issue #5), Eric Goldberg called Traveller "a most impressive achievement from a design standpoint...
Lee also wrote the Gamelords supplement Lee's Guide to Interstellar Adventure in the early 1980s. There are two different Backwards Mask books in the Death of Wisdom trilogy.
The strip spoofed Traveller and other space opera settings. === Music === The concept album Traveller by heavy metal band The Lord Weird Slough Feg is based on the game. == Related role-playing games == === Traveller: 2300 or 2300 AD=== Originally published by GDW as an updated replacement for Traveller, eschewing classic space opera to take inspiration from the grittier contemporary [science fiction] media of the 1980s.
Eurisko exploited corner-case features, and built unusual fleets that won the 1981 and 1982 championships.
Traveller [is] one of the true classics of the roleplaying hobby". ==Awards== Traveller: The New Era won the 1993 Origins Award for Best Roleplaying Rules. In 1996, Traveller was inducted into the Origins Hall of Fame. == In other media == === Software === The Imperial Data Recovery System is a computer program published by FASA in 1981 as a play aid to speed up bookkeeping for Traveller, and assist with sector maps, character and ship records, accounting, and encounters.
Eurisko exploited corner-case features, and built unusual fleets that won the 1981 and 1982 championships.
The original was then published for those who wanted it, and Carson's serves as an alternate end to the trilogy. === Periodicals === Gaming magazine White Dwarf ran a comic strip called The Travellers by Mark Harrison from 1983 to 1986.
The original was then published for those who wanted it, and Carson's serves as an alternate end to the trilogy. === Periodicals === Gaming magazine White Dwarf ran a comic strip called The Travellers by Mark Harrison from 1983 to 1986.
Eight boxed wargames were released as tie-in products. ==== MegaTraveller ==== A major overhaul published by GDW in 1987, but designed by Digest Group Publications.
Supplements and magazines produced during this era detailed the progression of the rebellion from the initial assassination of the Emperor in 1116 to the collapse of large-scale interstellar trade in roughly 1124 (the beginning of the supplement Hard Times). ==== Traveller: The New Era ==== Published in 1993, this was the final edition published by GDW.
McCubbin reviewed Traveller: The New Era for Pyramid #2 (July/Aug., 1993) and concluded that, despite some complaints he had about the new version, "Traveller's still around and that's good.
Traveller [is] one of the true classics of the roleplaying hobby". ==Awards== Traveller: The New Era won the 1993 Origins Award for Best Roleplaying Rules. In 1996, Traveller was inducted into the Origins Hall of Fame. == In other media == === Software === The Imperial Data Recovery System is a computer program published by FASA in 1981 as a play aid to speed up bookkeeping for Traveller, and assist with sector maps, character and ship records, accounting, and encounters.
The game used a more realism-centered approach to science fiction, doing away with reactionless thrusters, shortening laser ranges to a reasonable distance, etc. ==== T4: Marc Miller's Traveller ==== Published by Imperium Games in 1996, T4 is set in the early days of the Third Imperium (Milieu 0), with the small, newly formed empire surrounded by regressed or barbaric worlds.
But he concluded that the fourth edition of Traveller was close to perfect, giving it a top rating of 6 out of 6 and saying, "Time-tested and buffed to a sheen, Traveller will endure as long there’s enough plastic to manufacture six-sided dice." In a 1996 reader poll by Arcane magazine to determine the 50 most popular roleplaying games of all time, Traveller (as either Traveller, MegaTraveller, or Traveller: The New Era) was ranked 3rd.
Traveller [is] one of the true classics of the roleplaying hobby". ==Awards== Traveller: The New Era won the 1993 Origins Award for Best Roleplaying Rules. In 1996, Traveller was inducted into the Origins Hall of Fame. == In other media == === Software === The Imperial Data Recovery System is a computer program published by FASA in 1981 as a play aid to speed up bookkeeping for Traveller, and assist with sector maps, character and ship records, accounting, and encounters.
I hope it always will be." In the August 1997 edition of Dragon (Issue 238), Rick Swan reviewed the fourth edition of Traveller, and called it "a masterful effort...
Wiseman and published in 1998, GURPS Traveller uses the third edition of the GURPS system and takes place in an alternate timeline in which no Rebellion occurred and Virus was never released.
The game mechanics used GDW's house system, derived from 2000, 2nd Ed.
It is presented as a future extrapolation of the speculative World War III of GDW's popular military role-playing game Twilight: 2000.
Steve Jackson Games produced numerous supplements for the line, including details for all of the major races, many of the minor races, interstellar trade, expanded world generation, the military forces of the Third Imperium, and starships. ==== Traveller20 ==== Published by QuickLink Interactive (QLI) in 2002, this version uses the d20 System as its base and is set at the time of the Solomani Rim War around Imperial year 990, about a century before the era depicted in the original game.
After the company's license to the Traveller brand and setting lapsed, the purely mechanical elements of this game were republished as the generic SciFi20 system. ==== GURPS Traveller: Interstellar Wars==== In 2006, Steve Jackson Games released Interstellar Wars (GTISW, sometimes GTIW) for the 4th edition of GURPS from 2004.
After the company's license to the Traveller brand and setting lapsed, the purely mechanical elements of this game were republished as the generic SciFi20 system. ==== GURPS Traveller: Interstellar Wars==== In 2006, Steve Jackson Games released Interstellar Wars (GTISW, sometimes GTIW) for the 4th edition of GURPS from 2004.
The core rule book was released in April 2008, with a regular series of supplements following. ==== Traveller5 ==== In 2013, Far Future Enterprises published a new set of rules by re-working and integrating concepts from earlier rulesets.
Mongoose Publishing released a sourcebook for the setting in 2012 that adapted it to their version of the Traveller rules. == See also == Striker (miniatures game) == References== === Further reading === === External links === Far Future Enterprises Mongoose Traveller GURPS Traveller Traveller wiki TravellerMap (a map of the official setting) Origins Award winners Role-playing games introduced in 1977 Permadeath games Space opera role-playing games Traveller (role-playing game)
The core rule book was released in April 2008, with a regular series of supplements following. ==== Traveller5 ==== In 2013, Far Future Enterprises published a new set of rules by re-working and integrating concepts from earlier rulesets.
==== A second edition of Mongoose's Traveller was published in 2016.
Traveller5 was reprinted in 2019 after a successful crowdfunding campaign, with errata and a new format, this time breaking down the game rules into three distinct books: Characters and Combat, Starships, and Worlds and Adventures. ==== Mongoose Traveller 2nd Ed.
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