This is a total fanboy post, so be warned…

Chris Enfors asked me this morning, via Mastodon, if I used Classic Traveller for my campaign. The answer of course is yes.

I started writing a blog post about why I prefer it to the current glossy, bloated, expensive version of the game, but then realized that calling it “bloated” might come off as hostile, so I decided not to say that. Full disclosure - I own a lot of the bloated version, but I don’t use it, because it is bloated.

Here’s the fanboy part…

Then I remembered this great post by Omer Golan Joel, On the Beauty of Classic Traveller. He pretty much expresses my sentiments without being a dick.

End of fanboy part.

If I were to use a more recent system I’d just the Cepheus Engine SRD and some of the supplements like the Vehicle Design Guide and Spacecraft Design Guide, as I think they are the closest thing to Classic Traveller available. They add some good systems without overdoing it. I like Cepheus Light too.

All sillyness aside, the Mongoose stuff is really nice. Reading through the Core Rulebook Update recently I think it is a good system that provides a lot for the gamer. Overall it is a very complete system and is very solid. I have tried using the Central Supply Catalog recently, and found that I have to disallow almost all the armor and weapons from my game, and a lot of the higher tech stuff. Mongoose Traveller 2e is designed to better reflect current trends (and by that I mean post-1977 trends) in science fiction. But that’s not what I’m looking for.