» Mongoose to publish Traveller
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Mongoose to publish Traveller
After resurrecting a number of other RPG lines (including Paranoia and Runequest), Mongoose Publishing has announced today that it will now turn its attention to Traveller. Stating that its goal is “to halt the fragmentation of the Traveller game, and reintroduce one solid system (based on Classic Traveller)”, Mongoose went on to promise their new core rule book Traveller: Science-Fiction Adventures in the Far Future by February ‘08. The Traveller ruleset will power licensed sci-fi titles as well, including Strontium Dogs and the returning Starship Troopers, and will also be available under an Open Gaming License. The press release (below) gives details on the long awaited Traveller5 as well, so click through for the lowdown.
Mongoose Publishing press release follows:
Traveller Returns!
After a near 10-year gap in which only reprints of the Traveller game system have been available, Mongoose Publishing becomes the centralised resource for Traveller titles with the publication of their core rule book Traveller: Science-Fiction Adventures in the Far Future, in February 2008. On this foundation, Mongoose will produce a supporting line of supplements, adventures, and sourcebooks detailing the official and original Traveller universe of the far future.
The materials published by Mongoose will be placed in and part of the canonical Traveller universe.
It is our aim to halt the fragmentation of the Traveller game, and reintroduce one solid system (based on Classic Traveller), with one source for the official Traveller universe.
But that is not all. . .
Mongoose Publishing Science Fiction RPGs
Mongoose will also be using Traveller in its licensed science-fiction properties (each featuring a Traveller logo).
We have pioneered this concept already with Runequest, publishing a rules set and supporting adventures and sourcebooks, then using the Runequest rules as the basis for other alternative fantasy role-playing settings, such as Hawkmoon, Elric and Lankhmar.
The first licensed setting to be produced using the Traveller rules set (and available in early 2008) will be Starship Troopers, a welcome return to bug-blasting action across the galaxy! Hot on its heels will be Strontium Dogs, based on the hit 2000AD comic strip. After that, who knows. . ?
To the greatest extent possible, we intend that there be a transportability of characters, concepts, and even equipment between the various systems. So, it will be perfectly possible for your Strontium Dog Bounty Hunter to land on a planet in his Scout/Courier, only to find him battling for his life against waves of Warrior Bugs – with no conversion needed between the games!
All games and settings will therefore be able to utilise the core supplements, such as High Guard, Mercenary, and 760 Patrons, while retaining their own character.
Open Gaming License
Once the rules for Traveller appear, we plan to make them available under the Open Gaming License (OGL). At the same time, we will issue a Traveller Logo License (TLL) which makes the Traveller logo and titling available to licensees.
Far Future will Publish T5
Far Future is proceeding with plans to produce the long-heralded Traveller5, initially as an extensive CD ROM package (estimated at 1000 pages) by the end of 2007, and a distilled 350-page Traveller5 Core Rules book in the first half of 2008.
T5 will be a superset of the Mongoose Traveller rules, providing detailed coverage of rules, concepts and history not available elsewhere. There will be cross-compatibility between Traveller and Traveller5, allowing you to use rules and supplements from each. Traveller will be faithful to Classic Traveller, with an upgraded task and combat system. Traveller5 will be a superset of those rules, providing greater detail and more insight into resolving situations in Traveller.
Matthew Sprange
Mongoose Publishing
http://www.mongoosepublishing.com
8 Responses to “Mongoose to publish Traveller”
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Aron Head Says: August 5th, 2007 at 1:07 pm
Hrmmm… I wonder what this means for the Gurps licensing as well as my membership to the Journal of the Travellers Aid Society (JTAS)?
Chris Says: August 5th, 2007 at 2:16 pm
I am SO sad Mongoose has gotten their grimy hands on this property. Hope it’s not their next BFE.
Sigh.
WilliamG Says: August 6th, 2007 at 3:26 am
Now they’ve got Traveller too? Geez. How many dozen books will they stretch the original rules into, at $29 a pop?
I’m guessing at least eight.
Chris Says: August 6th, 2007 at 11:07 am
If they make them hard cover, put them out as 96 page books with the type amount of kerning and leading they use in their layout….you could be off by as many as 8 books.
And honestly, what makes that even more fun is to read the posts by Mongoose apologists. ‘Nah man, The figures for Evo didn’t need to be in scale with each other…that added tactical options! Now, with the game on hold, think of all the options now that we can officially proxy!!!’
James S. Says: August 6th, 2007 at 11:48 am
*sigh* Yep. I gotta agree with you Chris. I guess Mongoose isn’t going to be satisfied until they’ve ruined all of our fond memories of the old games. Fortunately, I was smart enough to see the writing on the wall and haven’t bought a single Mongoose product since they burned me so bad on Conan.
WilliamG Says: August 6th, 2007 at 3:16 pm
Paranoia seems to have been handled *reasonably* well – it helps that the proper talent was brought in to get it done. But Runequest, oh man… and Conan…
Brian I (formerly Foe3) Says: August 6th, 2007 at 5:18 pm
The SJGames Daily Illuminator put out there press release. I’ll do OC the courtesy of playing their reporter and post, since it addresses some questions folks have asked:
August 6, 2007: The New Face Of Traveller
Mongoose Publishing has just announced a comprehensive Traveller license and a strongly supported reintroduction of the Traveller system. Here’s their press release.
I have one big comment on this: YEA!
It is my hope . . . as it is Marc Miller’s hope . . . that this will reinvigorate Traveller, bringing new fans to this great game universe, and bringing new enthusiasm to the many players and GMs who have been enjoying it for decades.
Under the terms of Mongoose’s license, most existing Traveller licenses will “sunset” . . . that is, they will reach the end of their current term and will not be renewed. GURPS Traveller and the Journal of the Travellers’ Aid Society are specifically exempt from the “sunset” provision. Our license for those two projects runs until the end of 2011. At that time, Marc Miller will decide whether the license is renewed . . . just as he has been doing since we started. We are highly honored by this exemption. We take it as a compliment to the work that we have done so far with GURPS Traveller and JTAS. (And when I said so to Marc, he said, “Well, you should.” That made my day.)
Just as we have done since Day 1, we’ll continue to do the best that we can by Traveller, so you’ll think we’re worthy of your support, and Marc will once again say, “Keep it up, guys.”
Needless to say, JTAS will fully support the Mongoose line. Editor Loren Wiseman is already talking with Mongoose’s Matthew Sprange about an interview to more fully introduce their plans for the universe of the Iridium Throne.
Hold onto your helmets, troops. It’s about to get interesting!
– Steve Jackson
Tori Bergquist Says: August 14th, 2007 at 4:47 pm
I’m not quite the Mongoose apologist, but I have been keeping up with their game products and I have higher expectations, honestly, that this will go well. MRQ being released in small core books is something they are correcting with RQ Deluxe, for example….and they did a lot of work to back up and apologize to the fans with their Conan Atlantean Edition corrections, for example. Mongoose is a company which is growing considerably larger, faster than it could handle….but when I realized that the only books anyone is putting out these days that I look forward to are com,ing from Mongoose (and Green Ronin, when they get around to it….and Chaosium, ditto), then I have to reluctantly accept that they seem to still be catering to my aged gamer demographic, something other, bigger companies do not seem to concern themselves with, anymore….So here’s two thumbs up for the prospect of a Traveller game with real support and real appeal.