The Inside Scoop on Gaming

GURPS Traveller

The grand daddy of science fiction role-playing games! Traveller is one of the founding pillars of which RPG's have been built upon. Even the cover harkens back to the old periodical sized books from GDW, so many years ago. Not that I ever got into Traveller, but I thought this was a great way to be introduced to it.

The best thing about GURPS Traveller is that it collects two decades worth of material (nearly all of which is out of print) into one new series of books. The information in GURPS Traveller is pretty dense and useful information is presented in both the main text and the sidebars. The definition of game terms was very handy for understanding the facets of the Traveller universe. That being said, do not mistake the amount of information for an immediately playable setting. Much information is presented, but it is not very cohesive.

The amount of data in the GURPS Traveller in commendable. However there really are no good hooks to get a group of players started. This is especially true for gamers who have never played Traveller, like myself. If there had been better of an introduction and some basic plot hooks or a scenario, it would have been an improvement. GURPS Traveller appears to have been written for the long time Traveller player and not for casual or new players. Which is unfortunate, there is so much there that I can see why gamers have been playing Traveller for 20 years.

The setting for Traveller is really not anything that hasn't been done before. The themes in it can be taken from any number of sources from science fiction. Of course I would be willing to bet that Traveller has inspired some science fiction too. But the way it is assembled is very detailed and clearly a labor of love. From the perspective of someone new to the setting, it is a little confusing how the various versions of Traveller are related to one another, what is canon and what is a throwaway story arc. The setting could have been presented concisely than what was in the sidebars, definitions and text. You get the all the basic information, you just have to do a lot of reading, plotting and sorting.

The starship construction section is well done and a somewhat watered down version of GURPS Vehicles. Building a starship is basically assembling some pre-calculated assemblies (hull, engines, etc.). The vehicle examples included in the book are more than adequate to start out with or modify as needed. I would also add that the starship construction guide is food enough to use for other SF games that do not have a system of their own (such as The Babylon Project). But I would not buy GURPS Traveller just for this section.

The GURPS system is somewhat modified for Traveller. With these tweaks GURPS seems adequate for the setting. A generic game is good in that it is adaptable, but it can not usually encompass the whole spirit of a setting. GURPS can be a math heavy and as complicated as you would like. Which I think matches well with the style of Traveller. But you also have to accept the quirks of GURPS (for example my character is a pyromaniac which can MAKE him a better computer programmer). It works and GURPS might bring a bigger gaming audience than a new Traveller system could.

Traveller is a decent GURPS supplement, but it caters to a very niche group of gamers. Its strong points are decent/popular core set of rules, detailed setting and long gaming history. Its weaknesses are lack of hooks, niche intrest, mediocre presentation.

The reprinting of Traveller sort of reminds me when old rock bands get back together for one last tour or to reinvent themselves. It is ambiguous if GURPS Traveller succeeds on either point.

Style: 2 (Needs Work)
Substance: 3 (Average)

GURPS Traveller
Author: Loren Wiseman Category: game Company/Publisher: Steve Jackson Games Line: GURPS Cost: $22.95 Page count: 178 ISBN: 1-55634-394-3 Capsule Review by Wes Johnson on 08/29/99. Genre tags: Science_fiction	GURPS Traveller The grand daddy of science fiction role-playing games! Traveller is one of the founding pillars of which RPG's have been built upon. Even the cover harkens back to the old periodical sized books from GDW, so many years ago. Not that I ever got into Traveller, but I thought this was a great way to be introduced to it. The best thing about GURPS Traveller is that it collects two decades worth of material (nearly all of which is out of print) into one new series of books. The information in GURPS Traveller is pretty dense and useful information is presented in both the main text and the sidebars. The definition of game terms was very handy for understanding the facets of the Traveller universe. That being said, do not mistake the amount of information for an immediately playable setting. Much information is presented, but it is not very cohesive. The amount of data in the GURPS Traveller in commendable. However there really are no good hooks to get a group of players started. This is especially true for gamers who have never played Traveller, like myself. If there had been better of an introduction and some basic plot hooks or a scenario, it would have been an improvement. GURPS Traveller appears to have been written for the long time Traveller player and not for casual or new players. Which is unfortunate, there is so much there that I can see why gamers have been playing Traveller for 20 years. The setting for Traveller is really not anything that hasn't been done before. The themes in it can be taken from any number of sources from science fiction. Of course I would be willing to bet that Traveller has inspired some science fiction too. But the way it is assembled is very detailed and clearly a labor of love. From the perspective of someone new to the setting, it is a little confusing how the various versions of Traveller are related to one another, what is canon and what is a throwaway story arc. The setting could have been presented concisely than what was in the sidebars, definitions and text. You get the all the basic information, you just have to do a lot of reading, plotting and sorting. The starship construction section is well done and a somewhat watered down version of GURPS Vehicles. Building a starship is basically assembling some pre-calculated assemblies (hull, engines, etc.). The vehicle examples included in the book are more than adequate to start out with or modify as needed. I would also add that the starship construction guide is food enough to use for other SF games that do not have a system of their own (such as The Babylon Project). But I would not buy GURPS Traveller just for this section. The GURPS system is somewhat modified for Traveller. With these tweaks GURPS seems adequate for the setting. A generic game is good in that it is adaptable, but it can not usually encompass the whole spirit of a setting. GURPS can be a math heavy and as complicated as you would like. Which I think matches well with the style of Traveller. But you also have to accept the quirks of GURPS (for example my character is a pyromaniac which can MAKE him a better computer programmer). It works and GURPS might bring a bigger gaming audience than a new Traveller system could. Traveller is a decent GURPS supplement, but it caters to a very niche group of gamers. Its strong points are decent/popular core set of rules, detailed setting and long gaming history. Its weaknesses are lack of hooks, niche intrest, mediocre presentation. The reprinting of Traveller sort of reminds me when old rock bands get back together for one last tour or to reinvent themselves. It is ambiguous if GURPS Traveller succeeds on either point. Style: 2 (Needs Work) Substance: 3 (Average)