Been thinking about my preferences for science fiction roleplaying systems. Obviously they are all based on Traveller. There are a lot of good ones. Pretty much every Cepheus Engine variation is really good, and Mongoose Traveller 1e is therefore also really good, as that’s what CE is based on. The CE-based system from Independence Games is very good, and has an incredible and very well-developed setting. My understanding is that the settting was created from the author’s long-running Traveller game ( I mean for decades). Besides being a fantastic and cohesive system and setting, knowing this shows me what a really creative person can do with the simple rules of Classic Traveller.

My preference is for a fast-moving game with enough detail (crunch) to make it work, but not so much you get bogged down. I’m not interested in anyone’s published setting. I don’t hate them or anything. I just like to do my own thing. If wanted a setting to just start running, I’d go for Clement Sector or Earth Sector from Independence Games.

Classic Traveller - the best game ever written. Not broken. Really perfect for fast-moving SF roleplaying and a flexible home-brewed setting (using the original books). Know the source material and feel. Classic was originally published in 1977, and it supports the kind of SF that was published then. HOWEVER it is so flexible you can really do anything with it. You have to be comfortable with the idea that the Referee can create whatever he/she wants. It’s not like a modern game that spells everything out of you. I think one of the best ways to get Classic Traveller is with the Classic Traveller CD-ROM from Far Future Enterprises, which give you everything Game Designers Workshop ever published for it, in PDF format. For $35 you get everything. The Classic Traveller Facsimile Edition is also great, containing the original 3 Little Black Books all in one book. With this you have all you need to run a great game, forever. The PDF is free, and the book is super cheap! The Traveller Book is also great. Contains the 3 Little Black Books and some additional adventure stuff to get you started.

Cepheus Light - by Stellagama Publishing - a great modern update to 2d6 SF roleplaying if you are looking for something that plays fast and light - doesn’t get bogged down in technical rules. Yes - it heavily abstracts some things like ship and vehicle combat. That kind of thing is what makes it “light”. It does what Classic Traveller did, but is a bit more concise and has some updated skills and mechanics. Really, really great!

Cepheus Engine System Reference Document or Cepheus Engine Roleplaying Game (the printed version) - an evolution of the OGL Mongoose Traveller 1st Edition game, the SRD is very faithful to Classic Traveller but has some updated mechanics and skills. Really really good. If you want something with a little more crunch that Cepheus Light AND you want something a bit more modern-feeling that Classic Traveller. I prefer this to other version of CE because I think it kept the skills “big”. Example: in other, newer versions, Engineering has a bunch of sub-skills you have to pick for specialties. I think that is too granular. I think if you have a starship engineer they should be skilled in all the systems. That’s how I like it. Big skills that encompass lots of sub-skills and implied sub-skills. Oh, the whole System Reference Document is available in HTML - for FREE - on this website!. They even make the entire HTML version downloadable from GitHub.