T is for Traveller #atozchallenge

Today's post is about the science-fiction role playing game Traveller.  I tend to lean more towards being a fan of science fiction than fantasy, so of course I own at least two versions of the classic sci-fi game Traveller.  Traveller is the Dungeons and Dragons of sci-fi rpgs.  It was not the first sci-fi game, but it was created in the early days of the hobby, has gone through many editions, and is synonymous with sci-fi role playing today.  When I was younger I used to bike down to the toy shop in the town where we lived.  Back in the games section (where I bought Fortress America and Gangbusters) they always had a few of the "little black book" Traveller supplements on the shelf.  I had a vague sense of what they were but I never investigated them further.

Today I have the reprints of the original Traveller books as well as the 1st edition Traveller core book from Mongoose Publishing.  There is a lot of charm to the Traveller rules and setting.  What other game uses hexidecimal numbers or kills characters during their creation?  The setting is pure space opera with a heavy dose of hard science.  I find it in the spirit of Isaac Asimov over George Lucas.  I actually ran a play-by-forum game of Mongoose Traveller for a bit.  I loved that there is so much that a GM can throw into the setting.  In my game I had a murder mystery on a starship and a replicant uprising.  Many versions of Traveller are still in print, at least in pdf form.  Mongoose has also recently released a second edition of their rules.  If you have never looked at Traveller and you like science fiction, I would do some research on it.

The wikipedia entry on Traveller, not a bad place to start.

The Traveller entry at the Museum for Role Playing Games.

Guide to Classic Traveller, a free pdf covering the original game.

Introduction to Traveller, this is a free pdf introducing the Mongoose version of Traveller (which I recommend).

Freelance Traveller, a fanzine for all editions of Traveller.