| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Faraer |
Posted - 16 Feb 2009 : 20:24:43
I've never owned or played Traveller, the most venerable of SF RPGs, but parts of its Wikipedia entry are eerily familiar:quote:
[MegaTraveller] was set during the Rebellion era which shattered the Imperium. 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). . . .
The game mechanics were changed to GDW's standardized rules system which had originally appeared in the second edition of Twilight: 2000. . . . Where MegaTraveller left the Third Imperium in its death throes, The New Era smashed it flat and turned it into fertilizer to begin the game anew. A common complaint from players new to Traveller was the feeling they had to learn 3000 years of history to play; TNE removed that. Another perceived problem was that players couldn't make much difference to a polity of trillions of beings. TNE made the standard game world one of a few, in which players would be the difference between their survival and destruction. And for those who had been with the game from the start, a pocket of the original Third Imperium was partially preserved, where high tech and frivolity were still rampant.
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| 8 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Afetbinttuzani |
Posted - 18 Feb 2009 : 04:17:38
As it turns out, I am playing a PC in a Classic Traveller campaign (pre-death of the Emperor Strephon), and I DM in 2E Forgotten Realms campaign. In both cases the campaign settings as they are offer infinite possibilities, so that I feel no need to buy into later editions, with their RSEs and annoying simplifications. |
| Rinonalyrna Fathomlin |
Posted - 18 Feb 2009 : 00:44:02
Glad to hear it. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 18 Feb 2009 : 00:27:29
quote:
Originally posted by Rinonalyrna Fathomlin
quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
But this is too deep a topic for me to get into now. Maybe later.
Darn it, I was hoping to hear more.
I'm a bit reluctant to post my thoughts here, mostly because they'll be ramblings about the TRAVELLER universe. And, thus, really not appropriate for an online community devoted to Realms discussion. Though, it would make for a rather entertaining entry in my blog.
Yes, that's it. I'll outline some points and post it to my blog. Eventually. *wink* |
| Rinonalyrna Fathomlin |
Posted - 17 Feb 2009 : 23:52:03
Don't know about Traveller, but I'm pretty certain there were space opera stories/settings before SW. |
| Brimstone |
Posted - 17 Feb 2009 : 23:32:25
-What is it another Star Wars Rip-off?  Or did I just miss the whole point yet again?  
BRIMSTONE |
| Rinonalyrna Fathomlin |
Posted - 17 Feb 2009 : 23:29:38
quote:
Where MegaTraveller left the Third Imperium in its death throes, The New Era smashed it flat and turned it into fertilizer to begin the game anew. A common complaint from players new to Traveller was the feeling they had to learn 3000 years of history to play; TNE removed that. Another perceived problem was that players couldn't make much difference to a polity of trillions of beings. TNE made the standard game world one of a few, in which players would be the difference between their survival and destruction.
That does sound familiar, and I don't know whether to laugh or groan. I guess there really isn't anything new under the sun.
quote:
Originally posted by The Sage
But this is too deep a topic for me to get into now. Maybe later.
Darn it, I was hoping to hear more. |
| The Sage |
Posted - 16 Feb 2009 : 23:29:22
Oh, yeah... This is part of what drove me from TRAVELLER originally -- the loss of all that history. And what drove me to GURPS TRAVELLER for that matter, which follows the alternate path that the Emperor was still alive, and preserved much of the original timeline.
But this is too deep a topic for me to get into now. Maybe later. |
| Mace Hammerhand |
Posted - 16 Feb 2009 : 20:57:18
And we all know what happened to GDW a couple years later... never played TNE Traveller, and the history part never bugged me...mainly cuz I wasn't really aware of it.
As I said elsewhere, I hope and pray none of the FR-has-too-much-background-complainers will ever attempt to play in a real world historic setting... oh how much would they complain then |
