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Old time Traveller players will recognize these three letters – DGP. This is the feeling that I get when read through Tinker, Spacer, Psion, Spy – Terra-Sol Games is rapidly becoming a first class gaming company that gives the parent company a serious run for the money. For this and the story of DGP is one of a little company that could and succeeded. Always producing new and innovative stuff, Terra-Sol Games has brought Traveller up to date with the latest developments of Science Fiction literature (borrowing from elements of cyberpunk, transhumanist and even New Space Opera motifs) is paving the way for the Grand Old Game to be thoroughly (post) modern rather than lodged in the Age of Sail or Golden SF. The best thing is that this supplement will hardly impact upon your Traveller game, if you wish to retain that original Traveller feel; nothing in this supplement holds you back.

So what is Tinker, Spacer, Psion, Spy? The short answer is that it is a Careers book meant to supplement and some ways supplant the Careers in the original Traveller rules. You would still need the original books to get a handle on what is being discussed and/or alternate careers. The Traveller book could be said to have generic careers – this book takes them and firmly grounds them in a Space Opera milieu. It could be in part used with a Hard SF milieu, although, lacks some of the careers that would make an appearance, say in Firefly (for that I would suggest that you check out Spica Publishing’s Careers book). Nonetheless, this is a complete compendium of careers ranging from Athlete to Journalist to Space to Colonist to my personal favourite Career on Hold. As the original Mongoose Traveller had the Drifter and Classic Traveller had the Other...this is a simple contrivance but a highly effective one. Terra-Sol Games is grounded in their Alternative Traveller Universe but I see no reason, any Referee with some imagination could not port the Careers over. However, you will have to take things like Mutants lightly, as I do anyhow even if I would play in the Terra-Sol Games world.

What else do you get? You get a very interesting discussion on educational institutions and their impact upon the game (essentially conferring skills) and another brilliant contrivance – Early Terms. Who says, one needs to wait to they are 18 before they can pick up skills – through a few consultations of the tables – you can have streetwise and savvy adventures in their 20s rather waiting till they would leave (muster out/retire) to become adventurers. This way it builds the perfect connection back to building the adventuring party. Related to beginning earlier, it also provides nice rules for life extension which is one of the areas that regular Traveller was beginning to show its age (pardon the pun) – life extension without anagathics (or MgT Sword Worlds miracle vitamins) enter into the equation should be a natural part of any game. Lodged in-between are new mustering out benefits, some of these are a brilliant re-conceptualization but others still repeat the old fallacies and problems of the original game. Maybe, in the 1970s, you could retire and get your company vehicle but it hardly seems appropriate in this day and age (which Terra-Sol Games postulates the Future will be the New Now) – so while I like the idea of shares, I would rather see a system when you retire, you are entitled to so many shares and those shares would allow a partial down payment toward a big ticket item or could be converted into cash. Notwithstanding, I do understand that Terra-Sol Games is also a prisoner of the main rules. It will be interesting how 2300AD or similar spin-off properties might take this proposal. So, yes, players need a ship but by Gods in Space, they have to work the arse to get one.

The appendixes in this volume also are a worthy addition to the rules. Appendix 1 – 30th century longevity – the rules governing how Terra-Sol Games will handle players/npcs living until 234 – essentially, governed by cash which is accurate and realistic plus retains and preserves the game balance established in the main Traveller rules. Appendix 2 – 30th century languages is one of those things that needs to be written about but pretty obvious but here it shows the Terra Sol Sector bias but a creative Referee will see how one can port some of this over to Rift Sector. Appendix 3 – Legal Troubles, again an excellent chapter that can easily be part of any Traveller Universe and also gives a nice adventure seed in the form Convict Battalions. Appendix 4 – Injury Tables, maybe because I like the theory behind games like Living Steel or Rolemaster – I always found Traveller lack in this type of detail. Not that one needs to play with it every time but certainly gives the cinematic feel that ordinary Traveller was lacking. Appendix 5 – Medical Care – there are only Medics not Clerics (Netherell, notwithstanding) in Traveller but medical care can come in a variety of forms. For a serious discussion on the different options this chapter is invaluable. Appendix 6 – Life Event Tables brilliant additions for building characters. All these appendixes help create the well rounded character for role playing. So, if you like how Mongoose has handled Chargen by incorporating story into the process then you are going to love this Careers book. It is currently much better than the Splat books of the main Traveller Careers (although these are quite good just this one is better) and reaches the heights of the MgT Alien Books.

And, the Art – OMG!!! Scarcely has there been a more beautiful Traveller product out there. The art contained within captures the Traveller vibe perfectly. Although, I give Mongoose credit for steadily improving their art – please Mongoose look at your small press licenses – THIS IS TRAVELLER ART – nice, sexy, gritty, realism at its best. Nice work. There is no cartoon fluffiness of the earlier Terra-Sol Games offerings – there are only solid pieces of art that are just fantastic. They must keep this standard and seeing the preview for Netherell – they have. Terra-Sol Games has really outdone and outstripped the competition; their nearest rival is not Mongoose but the phenomenal art of Gypsy Knight and parts of Spica games. It is mainly black and white line drawings that update a vibe found in games like Cyberpunk 2020 or the very best of GURPS art. But, again, OMG this is excellent art. Ok, slight complaint, some of the art does get recycled but this is to be expected from a Small Press. However, to their credit, it is only once in the same way/pose. The art pieces include ones that have humor. But, most important it is sexy without being explicit. It is a future that I want to be a part of – and as RPGs are escapist fantasies, I think, art forms the critical juncture between text and play. So, now, I will stop being a pain in the arts...but the aesthetic of the game is not only the rules.

The book is well written and well edited. The rules are coherent and little work is left for the Referee to fill in. Most of all I found this book to inspire things in my own Traveller game. Terra-Sol Games certainly has a winner in this one. I will have little difficulty in porting these rules over to the OTU ignoring of the Terra/Sol Sector. There are nice references to other products in the line without being overly smug about it (i.e. if you don’t know who the Octopi are – you can just make stuff up). However, there is lots of free stuff on Terra-Sol Games’ website or moderately priced items from Drivethroughrpg that can get you started. As I said at the beginning of this review, this company reminds me a lot of DGP – early products crude and high in content...then as time went on better quality and even better content till when one thinks of Traveller of the 1980s – inevitably the sigh about DGP comes up. I hope that this will not be the fate for Terra-Sol Games and hope that they will apply for a Flaming Cobra licence or something that will let them do their magic for the OTU.

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