Yep, Traveller d20...Picked it up on ebay for $24 plus shipping. And man, am I glad I did. This is 464 pages of solid sci-fi goodness. It looks like combat will scale amazingly well, and the characters rolling previous history is muy fantastico (even though you can't die during chargen in this version). Vehicle construction seems a little stuffed full, but makes sense and looks straightforward. I'm thinking of combining it with the 1248 milleu (http://www.comstar-games.com/csg-store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_9&products_id=1&zenid=fae10930b1343913ae18af7f22a0417f)*, since there's really not a lot of setting present in the book itself (LBBs 1-3 all over again).
There's just something about Traveller, and as huge a CT fan as I am and always will be, I think T20 might really help bridge the gap with some of my gamers. Either way, this is one purchased I think was an absolute bargain, and I'm psyched to try it out.
Sure it's a few years late, but I think I'll add it to my review queue as well. :)
*-Illustrated somewhat here (pdf) (http://www.comstar-games.com/free-traveller/1248-High-LEvel-Trav-MaP.pdf)
The book's layout is utter crap, IMHO, but there's a lot of gaming fun inside it. :)
That is definitely a bargain. T20 has become a rare bird. QLI published their own setting for it, Gateway to Destiny, which it too is hard to get hold of as a book, although it's available as pdf. I don't own it so can't comment on quality.
I do own some of the Comstar/Avenger material (but not 1248), and while production values are sparse, quality ranges from alright to very good (e.g. the Homecoming Campaign, set in Gateway but fairly easily plugged into other places).
Heh. Yeah, in some ways its a bit of a convoluted system. But they did spend a lot of time with it and I've had some very joyous games under it.
My biggest caution is that chargen can be a bear. It has all the complexity of typical D20 chargen plus the lifepath system. But once you figure out how they work together, it works pretty well.
I'd recommend that any prospective GM (or should I say, referee) or T20 get 76 Gunmen:
http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=325&products_id=1886&
That pretty handily handles most of your "Quick NPC" needs.
Yeah, the layout is a bit busy, but I'm a Palladium fanboy. To me, it's smooth sailing. :p
Quote from: Caesar SlaadHeh. Yeah, in some ways its a bit of a convoluted system. But they did spend a lot of time with it and I've had some very joyous games under it.
My biggest caution is that chargen can be a bear. It has all the complexity of typical D20 chargen plus the lifepath system. But once you figure out how they work together, it works pretty well.
I'd recommend that any prospective GM (or should I say, referee) or T20 get 76 Gunmen:
http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=325&products_id=1886& (http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=325&products_id=1886&)
That pretty handily handles most of your "Quick NPC" needs.
I saw that! Looks like that might come in handy.
I think I'm going to do up a chargen guide and a "What's Different in T20/The Basics" as well. I haven't discovered anything like that out there yet, though I don't think chargen is too tough, just a bit longer than some d20ers might be used to.
Hey, any idea why T20 has become a bit of a rare bird? It was on Noble Knight Games for like $75, and I've seen it other places at comparable prices. It's still available through QuikLink, after all, last time I checked? Is it the Limited Edition Picture of Randy Quaid hollering on the cover? :)
The owner/single employee of QLI was gone for over a year, hence orders weren't fulfilled.
Quote from: Pierce InverarityThe owner/single employee of QLI was gone for over a year, hence orders weren't fulfilled.
Damn. That's not a way to foster customer loyalty. I knew he had been absent a while for some crisis or serious bit or another, but a whole year? Wow.
That probably partially explains why the Honor Harrington RPG they were going to do never happened.
Quote from: JongWKThe book's layout is utter crap, IMHO, but there's a lot of gaming fun inside it. :)
Plus most of the interior art is pretty blah, if not outright bad.
Quote from: Pierce InverarityThe owner/single employee of QLI was gone for over a year, hence orders weren't fulfilled.
Well, Hurrican Katrina, a dead relative, and a divorce will definitely take precedence over a game publishing business which is essentially the man's hobby. I cut him some slack on this account.