Saturday, March 5, 2011

Mixing & Match Sci-Fi Gaming

(Image:  Book cover to T20 Traveller, by QLI/RPGRealms Publishing)

Wargamers are often like chefs.  That is, when it comes to setting up games for their buddies, they'll take ingredients from a published game, mix it with a second, or more products and--voila!--create something unique.  "Kmfrye2001," author of the Tempest in a Teapot blog, did just this by putting together a wargame set in the universe of Traveller, but using the Stargrunt II rules, to resolve combat.

(Image:  Book cover to Stargrunt II, by Ground Zero Games)

Tempest in a Teapot's After Action Review (AAR): 


Notes:

Traveller, designed by Marc Miller and published by Game Designers Workshop (GDW), has been a popular science fiction role-playing game (RPG) since it was published in the late '70s. 


I've been playing Traveller--or at least, collecting the books--since I was a teenager, so it has been a part of my gaming life ever since I started got into the hobby.

There's been several variations since Traveller debuted in 1977.  For the past 3 years, Mongoose Publishing has been releasing revisions of the classic Traveller rules and supplements:


Stargrunt II, by Ground Zero Games, is a popular set of sci-fi skirmish rules:

3 comments:

Evyn MacDude said...

Funny as Stargrunt2 is Jon Tuffley's take on Traveller ground combat.

Not saying Mr Frye is wrong, as it has been commented on in the community of Traveller fans, is that everybody's Traveller game is their own. And none of them quite match.

Or what really maters is to play the game.

Ted Henkle said...

Yeah, I like how everyone adds their own creative flair to role-playing games, like Traveller.

Ted

kmfrye2001 said...

Hello Gents,

I agree with Evyn - Jon Tuffley's pretty much captured the feel of what Traveller combat "seems" to be, for me as well as a good many others.

Minor details are open to debate, naturally.

If you're ever in Lancaster (PA) on the third weekend of October, you should drop in at Travellercon. Some of the best Traveller miniature gaming (and RPGs) I've seen in one spot, full stop.

Best regards,
Keith Frye (kmfrye2001)