Alien Module 3: Darrians
Author: Pete Nash
Series: Traveller
Price: £24.99
Format: Hardback (168 pages)
Ref: ISBN 978-41-907218-61-3 | MGP3843
Again due to Amazon cock-ups, I am late reviewing this item that I have long had a pre-Order for but Amazon deciding when there is a publishing delay because they had not ordered enough copies decides unilaterally to cancel my order forcing me to go to a FLGS 800km away…
I must admit, I felt there was a great trepidation when I saw this product announced. For the Darrians had unfairly gained the reputation of being Space Elves and I feared that I might see yet another Dragonstar or D&D in Space rendition. For as much, as I loved Mongoose’s race books for D&D – they had no place in my Traveller Universe. However, I knew much of fandom clamored for Space Elves. My own view of the Darrians was that they were a minor human race to be found in the Spinward Marches that managed to struggle against all odds to become one of the dominant of the minor players in the Marches – that is they were the Israelis of Chartered Space – whether they had pointed ears or not was irrelevant. Not that one takes exception to looking at pictures of Darrian/Elven babes/beaus. Thankfully, I was rewarded with an excellent product.
Like the other race books that Mongoose has produced, it follows a similar pattern. New careers for aliens, a smattering of history, some starships & other toys, the worlds of the Darrian Confederation, possible patrons and encounters and a section on how to play them. The careers section is well flushed out and contained excellent descriptions how and what made the Darrians different from the Imperial norm. Here the right balance between skill acquisition and time spent in a career was perfectly balanced. The author clear had GDW’s original alien module as a guide but his own text make the descriptions more congruent with the text. Emphasizing, for instance, Social Standing to be equated with knowledge acquisition was an absolutely brilliant move in the Darrian sphere.
There are deck plans but there are also illustrations of the starships; sadly, the pictures of the starships are sensor profile and in no way resemble the phenomenal starship art of the main rulebook. While on the topic of art, the art in this book is truly some of the best Traveller art that I have seen in a very long time. Yes, the Darrians are portrayed as Elf-ish but I was so impressed that I would routinely ignore the hypotrophic ears for the quality of the art contained within. Gone are the cartoonish and silly art that marked much of Mongoose’s line up to now. Hopefully, it marks a new era where gritty realism and photo-like illustrations come to the fore for at least their Traveller line. Especially, commendable was their illustrations of the different character careers. True, there weren’t any Darrian babes/beaus but I understand that their agreement with Marc prevents that.
Pete Nash did a great job reconstructing Darrian history, eliminating many of the grey areas that marked the original Alien Module and updating it to more current understandings of science. Such as the super flares that were so much a paranormal fear in the 1970s get a realistic re-examination that is less paranormal although traces could still be found there - this is sad. I realize that Pete Nash would have had the limitations of the original module to contend with but there was no consultation with some the old Traveller grognards who could have at least vetted the manuscript and many incorporated some of the work that SJG has done on the Darrians. Some of the tech such as the Meson egg cooker is quite fun but really is not Traveller. But other innovations like Pandora’s Box were excellent and well thought through.
If there was one thing lacking which was present in previous Mongoose Alien Module products which was a series of tropes or charactures how to actually play the Darrians from popular (Science) Fiction films/books. So, I was still left wondering are these Space Elves or not… I also would have liked to see more on the Sword Worlds-Darrians conflict played out. For I could not help but get the sense that the Darrians were akin to the Nordic countries who were facing off against a rising Germany rather than Israelis. Traveller claims that it does not ground itself in real world polities but as many know, the war gaming roots of Traveller often show up of simulacra of “the real world”.
All-in-all this is an outstanding product. I look forward to future offerings and hope that Mongoose can keep the excellent cadre of writers that are now emerging on staff. For it is starting to look more and more like the Imperium that I know and love…their first independent campaign – Tripwire left a bitter taste in my mouth. Even though, I am a big fan of the game system…they have to respect the history of Traveller as well as build the future. Even despite its high price, I feel this product was worth every penny spent upon it. Keep up the excellent work – Mongoose!
Review Summary