So I have a love/hate relationship with the legendary science fiction tabletop roleplaying game, “Traveller”. My first exposure to the game was 1st or 2nd edition, it was really long ago, and to be frank, I hated it. But later, I did buy the 3rd edition of the game, because some of my friends absolutely adored it, and I figured I would give the game another chance.
When my wife and I moved away from that town, I sold my “Traveller” books to those friends. To this day, these are the only TTRPG books I have willingly removed from my vast collection (not including gifts, of course).
You might think that this would be the end of “Traveller” for me, right? That I would have learned my lesson, and just moved on from the game?
Well, when Mark Miller did a Kickstarter for his revised “Traveller 5”, I found myself backing it, because I’m a sucker for KS projects. I even accidentally added a second copy of the slipcase set as an add-on, so my brother got a copy of the game, too.
I don’t think either of us have played it, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that I have “Traveller 5” (5.1, to be exact).
So imagine my surprise when, earlier this month, I heard that there is a company creating “Traveller 5E”.
My first thought was, wait… don’t I already have that? As it turns out, no, I don’t.
You see, there are several branches of the “Traveller” line. There is the original, classic “Traveller” which Mark Miller maintains, and I own the 5.1 edition of, for better or worse. Seriously, “Traveller 5” has gotten a lot of hate from the internet, since it came out. I suspect mostly from fans of the other major branch, being the one maintained by Mongoose Publishing. As I recall, it was originally called “MegaTraveller”, but regardless, this is considered to be the main line of the “Traveller” game now, and is from what I understand, simpler and more popular than Miller’s classic “Traveller”.
… and now there’s going to be “Traveller 5E”, which means exactly what you might think. It has nothing to do with Miller’s “Traveller 5”, other than the lore it shares with all “Traveller” games.
This one is powered by the “Dungeons & Dragons” 5th edition (5E) engine. Because of course it is.
Sigh
Look, I don’t hate games that use the 5e engine. I own many games that are built around that engine, and they are just… fine, I guess. But here’s the thing: While I hear folks saying that the “Traveller” fan base is aging out of TTRPGs (which is hogwash, in my opinion!), does that mean they have to allow a different company (Mongoose is only overseeing the implementation of the lore here) to rip the guts out of “Traveller” and shove it full of 5e, instead?
Just this alone made me rather irrationally angry, even though I don’t play, and honestly have no interest in “Traveller”. How dare they vandalize such a classic game like that?
But, after taking some time to reflect on the subject, I have to ask myself “Why am I mad about this?”
The main reason I disliked “Traveller” originally, and why it continues to vex me to this day, is the system it is built upon. Note that I am only talking about Miller’s classic line of the game, not the one maintained by Mongoose, because I’ve never played the Mongoose branch. I know, that makes me a heathen to many… whatever.
The point is, why would it bother me if someone built a new branch of the “Traveller” game line, that simply wraps the game’s extensive and very interesting lore around the 5e architecture? Wouldn’t that be a game I might actually want to play?
Actually, no. But it would in theory be an improvement for someone who really dislikes the “Traveller” system, and it would make the game much more accessible to the vast majority of TTRPG players, almost all of whom play, or have played, D&D 5e.
This is a good move for Mongoose, and for “Traveller” as a game. Folks who find the game through the 5e branch may then jump over and try one of the other branches in time, bringing more fans back into the Mongoose and Classic lines.
But I still don’t like it. “Traveller” is crunchy by default, and 5e is… not. A system like “Savage Worlds Adventure Edition” would have been a better pairing for a new branch of “Traveller” in my opinion, but then again, it isn’t up to me. And there are a lot more people playing 5e than there are SWADE.
I don’t like it, but I accept it, and I see why it is good for the game. I won’t be buying this abomination, but I think I might pull my “Traveller 5.1” set off the shelf and give it another read. The hexadecimal conversions still give me a headache, but I can at least enjoy the lore.
