Just got this email announcement and I wanted to pass it along.
Quote from: Marc Miller email[This particular announcement comes to you as a member of COTI.]
[By the way, the Emperor's Birthday is August 29, (or 241-2024 in the Imperial notation). ]
>
Some years ago, fellow game designer Greg Stafford died, and I was impressed that his company announced almost immediately that he had a succession plan in place, and that his legacy and his designs would live on.
His example was an inspiration to me, and I resolved to emulate him. It would be a terrible loss if Traveller were encumbered, or somehow restricted in its outreach to present and future fans.
With that in mind, I have worked to make Traveller an asset to science-fiction role-players... with our user-friendly Fair Use policies, with the Travellers' Aid Society programs, with the Cepheus editions of Traveller, and with Mongoose as a primary publisher of their edition of Traveller.
Over the past several years, I have turned over more and more responsibilities to Mongoose, and I have collaborated actively with them as they work to realize the Traveller dream. Earlier this year I passed full ownership of Traveller to Mongoose in order to secure its future.
With that in mind, I point out that, following the example of Greg Stafford, I have a succession plan in place: day-to-day decisions about the Traveller game system are already being made by Mongoose Publishing (with my co-operation and approval), and if anything should happen to me, they would carry on with my full knowledge and blessing.
That doesn't stop me from speaking my mind: expressing opinions about Traveller, writing stories and lore, and even revealing secrets about the universe.
But Traveller is in good hands, now, and far into the far future.
And I thank you for your (continuing) support for Traveller.
Marc
-----------------------------
Visit Citizens of the Imperium: https://www.travellerrpg.com/
Good news for Traveller, I'll stick to Cepheus tho.
Quote from: GeekyBugle on August 27, 2024, 12:58:45 PMGood news for Traveller, I'll stick to Cepheus tho.
Wish I could wean everyone else from the shiny $30+ Mongoose PDFs.
Quote from: Tod13 on August 27, 2024, 01:31:28 PMQuote from: GeekyBugle on August 27, 2024, 12:58:45 PMGood news for Traveller, I'll stick to Cepheus tho.
Wish I could wean everyone else from the shiny $30+ Mongoose PDFs.
There's NO WAY a PDF should cost $30+ once made you have infinite copies of it.
I suppose it was bound to happen. I'm not really thrilled with Mongoose Traveller but I do think this is probably best for Traveller. I moved on, came back for T5, and moved on again. I write my own games now and I'm not willing to tie them to other people's properties and decisions.
Quote from: GeekyBugle on August 27, 2024, 12:58:45 PMGood news for Traveller, I'll stick to Cepheus tho.
Yeah, I've gone that way too. Especially with some of the recent support it's been getting.
Quote from: Rob Necronomicon on August 27, 2024, 02:53:27 PMQuote from: GeekyBugle on August 27, 2024, 12:58:45 PMGood news for Traveller, I'll stick to Cepheus tho.
Yeah, I've gone that way too. Especially with some of the recent support it's been getting.
And the HYUGE amount of other genre games based on it.
I would have preferred that he had put it in the public domain or something along that lines. There have basically been two groups responsible for Traveller still being relevant over the years, and that's largely the fans. Marc Miller basically abandoned the game which led to MegaTraveller and really only came back to it decades later with T4 and T5, both of which were just an odd departure from the original game (almost like a reverse d6 system).
But with that said, Mongoose was the big factor in reviving it, taking the original rules, modernizing them a tad but not ruining them (at least until 2e) and releasing them under the OGL.
Just glad it wasn't Modiphus. They seem to get their hands on everything and pair it with their crappy 2d20 system
I'm not a "Cepheus hater" by any stretch. I love the concept, but not the execution.
First, all of the versions: Cepheus SRD, Cepheus RPG, Cepheus Deluxe, Cepheus Light, Cepheus Faster Than Light, Cepheus Transwarp, Cepheus Ludicrous Speed, etc. Yes, some of that is made up hyperbole, but the entire mess makes me wonder if there's a chart to sort it all out. Because I'm not wasting my time trying to figure it out.
Second, I'm not found of some of the new rules that made their way in. Adding stuff is tricky; sometimes it works and sometimes not. But one version had HP and Lifeblood (instead of reducing atts) and I just stopped reading.
Third, the sample pages for the Cepheus Deluxe KS looked like psychedelic vomit. Hot pink and orange, with wide side margins. Minimalist B&W is part of the charm. I went from "Leaning towards backing" to "Hell no" in 1.5 seconds.
Could have been worse...the newest Mongoose Traveller is pretty decent; better than 5th that's for sure.
Still, The Traveller Book is on dtrpg so, why bother I guess. That's the best version.
We have a little Q&A about this running on our forums, if you want the scoop:
https://forum.mongoosepublishing.com/threads/traveller-changing-hands-q-a.124929/
It all seems like a good move to me. Marc had to retire at some point. Personally, I still play a mix of Classic and MegaTraveller with my group, but Mongoose 2e is a worthy modern version that I would play if I didn't have a game that has run for years.
Quote from: Aglondir on August 27, 2024, 04:58:54 PM<snip>
First, all of the versions: Cepheus SRD, Cepheus RPG, Cepheus Deluxe, Cepheus Light, Cepheus Faster Than Light, Cepheus Transwarp, Cepheus Ludicrous Speed, etc. Yes, some of that is made up hyperbole, but the entire mess makes me wonder if there's a chart to sort it all out. Because I'm not wasting my time trying to figure it out.
<snip>
Yea. I've asked about that. Stellagamma keeps talking about writing something up, but never seems to have the time. I kind of understand but I think it would make sales jump because the system(s) would make more sense to people.
Quote from: Tod13 on August 28, 2024, 08:43:41 AMQuote from: Aglondir on August 27, 2024, 04:58:54 PM<snip>
First, all of the versions: Cepheus SRD, Cepheus RPG, Cepheus Deluxe, Cepheus Light, Cepheus Faster Than Light, Cepheus Transwarp, Cepheus Ludicrous Speed, etc. Yes, some of that is made up hyperbole, but the entire mess makes me wonder if there's a chart to sort it all out. Because I'm not wasting my time trying to figure it out.
<snip>
Yea. I've asked about that. Stellagamma keeps talking about writing something up, but never seems to have the time. I kind of understand but I think it would make sales jump because the system(s) would make more sense to people.
You both could try and use a little logic:
The SRD is? An SRD
Cepheus RPG is? The basic RPG
Cepheus Deluxe is probably the same as the RPG but full color and maybe some expansions
Cepheus Light is a reduced ruleset
Cepheus FTL is even more so than Light
Transwarp probably even more so
Ludicrous Speed even more so
There you have a chart (BTW think there's also a Cepheus Atom which is even more reduced)
What I'm just now catching up on are the Fair Use policy, and Traveller's Aide Society. If I understand correctly we can now do just about anything rpg-related with rules or Third Imperium for free release, and for commercial release on drivethrurpg "modules, adventures and rules" using Mongoose Traveller as a base (but still no fiction or comics, unless short vignettes in an rpg resource). That's... not absolutely everything, and probably still too little, too late for the Cepheus horde, but still, that's a much better option than the low point.*
Looks like licensed setting are the big thing they're holding onto aside from fiction, "established publishers only" though they'd consider prolific TAS authors. Still a big limit there, depending on what you'd like to do.
*I am paraphrasing much of that heavily, you should probably read for yourself before publishing anything but they are short enough its not burdensome.
Quote from: Dave 2 on August 28, 2024, 09:06:01 PMWhat I'm just now catching up on are the Fair Use policy, and Traveller's Aide Society. If I understand correctly we can now do just about anything rpg-related with rules or Third Imperium for free release, and for commercial release on drivethrurpg "modules, adventures and rules" using Mongoose Traveller as a base (but still no fiction or comics, unless short vignettes in an rpg resource). That's... not absolutely everything, and probably still too little, too late for the Cepheus horde, but still, that's a much better option than the low point.*
Looks like licensed setting are the big thing they're holding onto aside from fiction, "established publishers only" though they'd consider prolific TAS authors. Still a big limit there, depending on what you'd like to do.
*I am paraphrasing much of that heavily, you should probably read for yourself before publishing anything but they are short enough its not burdensome.
Or publish for Cepheus which uses the OGL.
Believe it or not, I've heard about Cepheus. There's a fanboy drops around in every single Traveller thread to let me know.
But Mongoose doing what they should have done from the beginning is still the interesting part of this news to me.
Also, the OGL - is probably stable for quite a while now that Hasbro/WotC has backed off kicking the leg out. But I do follow Cepheus enough to know there was some internal discussion about what to do when they were threatening to yank it.
Quote from: GeekyBugle on August 27, 2024, 12:58:45 PMGood news for Traveller, I'll stick to Cepheus tho.
I'm fairly partial to Cepheus Universal and HOSTILE more so than MGT2E.
Hi there! I have been tasked by Stellagama HQ to deliver a brief summary of the different Cepheus products we have released.
Cepheus Light: This is our first reworking of the Cepheus Engine SRD (not our product). We call it "Light" because we made a bunch of design choices to turn the SRD toolkit into a game that you can just play without the GM having to work on the rules very much. Cepheus Light is a complete game. Yesterday, Cepheus Light just got a new facelift, layout, and errata treatment. If you bought a PDF of Cepheus Light, you should have gotten an email from DTRPG telling you that the new version of the PDF is available to you, for free on their website (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/257644/cepheus-light).
Cepheus Light Upgraded: A short-lived version of Cepheus Light that had some tweaks that ended up in Cepheus Deluxe. It is no longer available for sale.
Cepheus Deluxe: This was our more complete version of Cepheus Light. It had some rules tweaks that fans told us they wanted, and had a more in-depth ship combat, and different ship armor/damage rules. This version of our rules has the Stamina/Lifeblood damage rules for characters, instead of the older system of damage reducing attributes (though it's pretty easy to use the older rules without much work). It also has robot design rules, and elaborate encounter rules that I apparently wrote in some sort of fugue state. It is not available for sale anymore.
Cepheus Deluxe Enhanced Edition: This is the version with the "psychedelic vomit" page borders. It has more examples, an errata treatment, and commissioned art. This was the version that we kickstarted, and is now the main version you can buy on DTRPG (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/415159/cepheus-deluxe-enhanced-edition).
Sword of Cepheus: We released this using the Cepheus Light rules a few years ago, and kickstarted a second edition last April: new art, better layout, and updating it to Cepheus Deluxe Enhanced rules. The second edition was just released a couple of days ago. You can get it on DTRPG (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/493396/the-sword-of-cepheus-2nd-edition). Print on Demand version is about two weeks out.
Cepheus Faster Than Light: This is a minimalist version of Cepheus Deluxe, at only 38 pages. There are only 6 careers, no rules for making anything, and is just designed to get people playing and fast. We've moved to other lighter systems for fast-playability. I thought it was no longer available, but I'm always happy to be wrong about these things (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/263755/cepheus-faster-than-light).
Quantum Starfarer/Barbaric!/Solar Sagas/Superpowered/Dark/Cepheus Atom: This line of products uses a much lighter 2d6 system (we call it Quantum) with no careers, and skills-as-attributes. Quantum Starfarer (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/388252/quantum-starfarer) is a basic space opera game. Barbaric! (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/450864/barbaric-2nd-edition) is now in a 2nd edition that was kickstarted earlier this year (I think) is for fast-playing Swords and Sorcery gaming. Solar Sagas (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/432307/solar-sagas) is a pulp scifi game in the vein of Buck Rogers set in our solar system. Superpowered (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/419700/superpowered) is a superhero game using the Quantum system. Quantum Dark (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/452181/quantum-dark) is a small urban fantasy/horror game. Cepheus Atom (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/324514/cepheus-atom) is a post-apocalyptic game using the Quantum rules.
FTL:Nomad (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/479380/faster-than-light-nomad): Moving forward from the OGL scandal in 2023, we developed a new Xd6 system that we're using for many of our new products. FTL:Nomad is a space opera game. A lot of Nomad is based in Cepheus and Quantum, so you'll feel right at home with it, but there are some significant changes that make it our own thing. Along with FTL: Nomad, we released the Xd6 SRD this year. We also released free quickstart rules (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/481407/faster-than-light-nomad-quickstart-rules) for Nomad.
Cepheus Ridiculous Speed and Cepheus Ludicrous Speed (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAWL8ejf2nM): These are only available on Druidia, and none of you look like Drewish Princesses (https://youtu.be/XnytcZTEF7E?t=78).
Quote from: Tod13 on August 28, 2024, 08:43:41 AMYea. I've asked about that. Stellagamma keeps talking about writing something up, but never seems to have the time. I kind of understand but I think it would make sales jump because the system(s) would make more sense to people.
I hope my post in this thread helps clarify things.
Thanks for the heads up on all the CE flavors. I have a few and just got SoC 2ed but have not gotten to read it yet.
Quote from: Heavy Josh on September 01, 2024, 12:35:50 PMQuote from: Tod13 on August 28, 2024, 08:43:41 AMYea. I've asked about that. Stellagamma keeps talking about writing something up, but never seems to have the time. I kind of understand but I think it would make sales jump because the system(s) would make more sense to people.
I hope my post in this thread helps clarify things.
Thanks Heavy Josh! Much appreciated.
Well, the thing you need to remember about Cepheus is that it isn't a game in and of itself. It's a launching pad for people to build other games. All of those "versions of Cepheus" aren't "game versions" per se but rather a series of different games launched from the same launching pad.
The same goes for my Clement Sector and Rider. Both are launched from the Cepheus Engine launching pad, have gone in their own directions, and are their own games now. Same goes for all of those Josh listed as well as Zozer's Hostile and so many others.
Indeed, there's now so many games being launched from this pad, that I can't keep up with all of them either.
Quote from: Heavy Josh on September 01, 2024, 12:25:02 PMFTL:Nomad (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/479380/faster-than-light-nomad): Moving forward from the OGL scandal in 2023, we developed a new Xd6 system that we're using for many of our new products. FTL:Nomad is a space opera game. A lot of Nomad is based in Cepheus and Quantum, so you'll feel right at home with it, but there are some significant changes that make it our own thing. Along with FTL: Nomad, we released the Xd6 SRD this year. We also released free quickstart rules (https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/481407/faster-than-light-nomad-quickstart-rules) for Nomad.
Or, as we call it, "Mongoose Protection Insurance".
Are any of them licensed as CC BY 4.0? The ones I have purchased thus far are CC BY SA 4.0. I am interested in the former license but not the latter.
Thanks,
Steve
Quote from: Independence Games on September 02, 2024, 11:26:08 AMOr, as we call it, "Mongoose Protection Insurance".
We do not call it that. 😊
Quote from: swzl on September 02, 2024, 12:46:33 PMAre any of them licensed as CC BY 4.0? The ones I have purchased thus far are CC BY SA 4.0. I am interested in the former license but not the latter.
Thanks,
Steve
The Xd6 system SRD (the Nomad system) is released under CC BY 4.0.
Quote from: Heavy Josh on September 02, 2024, 03:28:20 PMQuote from: swzl on September 02, 2024, 12:46:33 PMAre any of them licensed as CC BY 4.0? The ones I have purchased thus far are CC BY SA 4.0. I am interested in the former license but not the latter.
Thanks,
Steve
The Xd6 system SRD (the Nomad system) is released under CC BY 4.0.
Which I can't find anywhere, the SRD I mean.
Quote from: Heavy Josh on September 02, 2024, 03:27:02 PMQuote from: Independence Games on September 02, 2024, 11:26:08 AMOr, as we call it, "Mongoose Protection Insurance".
We do not call it that. 😊
LOL. By "we", I meant me and my business staff (aka my wife).
Quote from: Heavy Josh on September 02, 2024, 03:28:20 PMQuote from: swzl on September 02, 2024, 12:46:33 PMAre any of them licensed as CC BY 4.0? The ones I have purchased thus far are CC BY SA 4.0. I am interested in the former license but not the latter.
Thanks,
Steve
The Xd6 system SRD (the Nomad system) is released under CC BY 4.0.
Thanks. I'll look into it. Is it on DriveThru or hosted on a website?
Quote from: Dropbear on September 01, 2024, 10:24:24 AMQuote from: GeekyBugle on August 27, 2024, 12:58:45 PMGood news for Traveller, I'll stick to Cepheus tho.
I'm fairly partial to Cepheus Universal and HOSTILE more so than MGT2E.
Yes, Zozer is best!
Quote from: Heavy Josh on September 01, 2024, 12:35:50 PMQuote from: Tod13 on August 28, 2024, 08:43:41 AMYea. I've asked about that. Stellagamma keeps talking about writing something up, but never seems to have the time. I kind of understand but I think it would make sales jump because the system(s) would make more sense to people.
I hope my post in this thread helps clarify things.
Awesome. That might be good to put on the website and somewhere on DTRPG. It helps customers know what is what. Thank you a lot.
The Quantum games BTW are perfect for one shots - a lot of genre character but very quick to make unique characters. Our Traveller group often uses Quantum when we need a one-shot when someone is out.
Just as an addendum, the Traveller Fair Use Guidelines have also been changed.
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0609/6139/0839/files/Traveller_Fair_Use_Policy_2024.pdf?v=1725357857
Whether you could survive the lawsuit is one thing but US IP protection laws are way more liberal that Mongoose's "fair use" BS.
Quote from: swzl on September 03, 2024, 02:24:43 AMQuote from: Heavy Josh on September 02, 2024, 03:28:20 PMQuote from: swzl on September 02, 2024, 12:46:33 PMAre any of them licensed as CC BY 4.0? The ones I have purchased thus far are CC BY SA 4.0. I am interested in the former license but not the latter.
Thanks,
Steve
The Xd6 system SRD (the Nomad system) is released under CC BY 4.0.
Thanks. I'll look into it. Is it on DriveThru or hosted on a website?
Ok, I asked, and it comes as a downloadable file with the FTL:Nomad PDF on Drivethru. I don't know if it's available freely elsewhere.
Quote from: Tod13 on September 03, 2024, 08:39:38 AMAwesome. That might be good to put on the website and somewhere on DTRPG. It helps customers know what is what. Thank you a lot.
The Quantum games BTW are perfect for one shots - a lot of genre character but very quick to make unique characters. Our Traveller group often uses Quantum when we need a one-shot when someone is out.
You're welcome! I'm going to suggest Omer puts it up on his blog and our various social media spaces. Maybe on the X account that I suggested we open for reasons that seemed ok at the time.
Yeah, the Quantum games are fun little games, aren't they? They're intended for "beer-and-pretzel"* games, pick up games, and short campaigns. Glad you're making use of them!
*I suppose if you're eating pretzels and drinking beer at any other game, you're doing it wrong? I don't know where that expression comes from.