I think it’s too bad Marc Miller didn’t just continue developing Classic Traveller. Not to second-guess the Emperor. I just think he got it right in the first place. A few things were missing, like vehicle combat. Omer Golan-Joel’s Quick and Dirty Vehicle Combat, now available officially as a Classic Traveller item from Mongoose, shows how to fit vehicle combat into the game in a way that really fits with it.

I know a lot of people really liked MegaTraveller. I don’t have it, but I believe it when they tell me it’s good.

Thinking back to my earliest Traveller games I was 15 and it was the summer of 1980. Star Wars was out, of course. The Empire Strikes Back had been released. We were playing Traveller that summer. I was late to join my friends in the world of gaming, and they had already been playing for about a year. We were lucky because our friend who ran Traveller played it with some older guys who really understood how to use the game. We benefited from that.

I just don’t remember feeling like the rules were inadequate. If there was no rule for something, our GM decided how to handle it. Example: if we were in vehicle combat, he’d just have us make attack rolls and we’d describe what we were doing. Honestly, it wasn’t complicated. I do like Omer’s rules. I’m going to use them. But I guess my point is that I’m not really sure all the later editions really “improved” the game. I’m not sure later editions do that much to improve any RPG. I think the game gets better as the GM and the Players get better in ways that go beyond the rules.

I’m glad Mongoose is doing some new Classic Traveller materials, or at least allowing official publishing via their TAS program. I’d like to see this continue. I’d like to see an alternate ship combat system, at least for “adventure class” ships, that is suitable for Classic Traveller. Omer, are you listening? haha.