Goto [ Index ]

My first reaction upon receiving this item was: “WTF another book of deck plans and no fluff???” having been burnt by Supplement 3: Fighting Ships. However, I am happy to report greater care has been done by Mongoose by providing the reader with many more useful ships and deck plans (gone is the redundancy of the endless levels of ships like the Tigress). So, if deck plans are your thing, which are essential for Boarding Action games then this product is the one for you. However, if you don’t care what it looks like on the inside of ships or already have a vast array of ships populating YTU (Your Traveller Universe) then you may wish to give this product a pass.

The deck plans are still presented in the traditional vector method of Traveller games past, save the graphics are now clearer and cleaner. Which purchasers of new fangled deck plans who are used to 3D representations may be disappointed by the presentation offered in this supplement. While new deck plans are certainly prettier and evocative of a sense of the space that action takes place, they are very difficult to use and in my opinion more problematic is that they do not leave much to the imagination. Hence, I have recently been turned off the new treatment of deck plans for Traveller. Essentially, ships in this school are going to be a dungeon crawl not a personality. Let the personality come out in the chrome fittings that players add not some gaming company. So, I have come back to the notion this minimalist aesthetic is superior for Traveller after seeing too many poorly conceived 3D deck plans.

Old timers (grognards) will spot more than a few familiar ships now given a Mongoose treatment. The ships in this supplement come from the military services, paramilitary (i.e. Scouts or Search & Rescue) and the merchant branches. Nicely rounding the product are ships from the Aslan, Darrian, and Vargr polities. Each ship is nicely illustrated with what might call a plain or austere grey tone appearance allowing the Referee to colour the ships as they see fit. Unlike the main rulebook, which used greys, black to accentuate chrome – these drawings are much plainer. I realize Mongoose is doing this to give Referees a chance to add the chrome on their own but it would have been nice to see more trimmings on these ships. Therefore, while the art is far superior to CT/MT/GT ship art, it lacks excitement and not very stimulating. Hopefully, in the future, Mongoose will commission artists to show these ships in action; now that the fundamental visual design principles have been laid out.

To this end, I would wonder why Mongoose would not have wanted to included a section of chrome/fluff in the supplement? If at all possible, 3-4 page (colour in an equally ideal world) spread of these ships and those presented in earlier supplements/books in action. Yes, it would have increased the cost of the production of the book but certainly would have increased value of the book but would have made it more of a keeper rather than just another resource. Maybe, they might consider this in future or at least as a supplement to the PDF on Drivethroughrpg.

Subsequently, while, this is a minor bone to pick on it does speak volumes about the lack of vibrancy in the Mongoose Traveller line. I do realize art is expensive but art is some of the reasons that I buy RPGs. Art gives a sense of wonder to a product and nowhere is this needed more than in SFRPGs. Much ink has been spilt in the addition of Chris Foss’ work to T4 but at least, his and Elmore’s art gave T4 a distinctive look.

With text dominating over art in the Mongoose offerings, I find that Mongoose does not really have a distinctive look for their line. Alien Module: Darrians was excellent, for the most part, because art nicely complemented a great text. Starports had great text but no art. Merchants and Cruisers does have art but not great art and not much text. It is a fine line and can only hope that Mongoose will include more fantastic art in future supplements. More chrome and fluff is my vote. On the other side of the equation, there are those who do not want more art and more Tables & Charts…so the battle goes but what drew into D&D was the distinctive art of Dragonlance/Elmore/Moore/Otis/etc. that made T&C easier to read and imagine. Traveller readers, I know are very, very divided on the topic. However, if Traveller still has its sights set upon joining the pantheon of Science Fiction imaginations beside the likes of Star Wars & Star Trek, as Marc W. Miller once wished for. Mongoose Traveller must get more visual.

Accordingly, Supplement 10: Merchants and Cruisers must say it is a worthy addition to any Traveller library despite the drawback of lacking chrome. It does not get a higher Style rating because it is missing the coolness factor. Even as I have come to disdain 3D deck plans there are lessons that can be learnt from them. Such as, this book could have provided illustrations of a cabin view or interiors of ships. For, it is akin to learning how the human body works, much of anatomy can be gleaned from looking at a skeleton (which is what this supplement is akin to), notwithstanding to properly grasp the workings of the entire body must include pictures of muscles and organs…and for the full picture to come together, it must be seen in motion. So, if Mongoose had included more of this fluff, I would not hesitate in giving this supplement a much higher rating for Style.

Help support RPGnet by purchasing this item through DriveThruRPG.