On a discord, trying to explain Classic Traveller to D&D people:

So Classic Traveller is like Original D&D. It started as 3 small books that give enough to be a game, but with a lot of unanswered questions. So each supplement adds a little something new, either new rules or expanding the setting or both. But instead of making a few supplements and then combining and revising and unifying it to make B/X, you just add hundreds of supplements for 10 years.

#TTRPG #Traveller #ClassicTraveller

@deinol Yeah well Traveller didn't have a Gary who wanted a game legally distinct from one of its creators…

@RogerBW

Don’t worry, Traveller still ends up with more editions than D&D. 🤣

@deinol @RogerBW The setting just has more different timelines for players instead of the constant cataclysmic events of the Forgotten Realms.

Is T:NE the proper equivalent of D&D 4E? ;)

@mhd @deinol Ooh, that's a good idea for my next E&A submission: finding the good in T:NE. 😀
@RogerBW @mhd @deinol Uh… John Zeleznik cover art?

@mhd @RogerBW

Traveller the New Era is absolutely the spell plague of the Traveller timeline.

GURPS is what if we just keep classic and don’t have the rebellion?

@deinol @mhd To over-summarise, I think a lot of the reaction to TNE (which I was there for) was "wah, you're saying I can't have my 3I campaign any more, also what's this weird d20 doing in my Traveller".
Now anyone who wants the 3I is well supported and I'm interested in what one can get out of the TNE setting specifically, whether running it directly or stealing it for other games. (I've never regarded the details of rules as hugely important.)

@mhd @deinol @RogerBW But TNE is a good game, just not the setting & system you'd expect from MegaTraveller, say.

T4 is D&D4E, a catastrophic attempt to rewrite the old rules into a completely unsuited genre, forgotten by everyone except those with a grudge.

But which is Pathfinder? Mongoose or GURPS?
#traveller #ttrpg

@mhd @RogerBW @mdhughes

TNE is good rules, bad setting.

T4 is meh rules, fascinating setting. Going back to the early days and mapping out new planets and making contact? Fantastic idea.

Not that any of the specific adventures were any good, but Milieu 0 + First Survey is a fantastic basis for a game. Just use your favorite system instead. Pocket Empires is also a fantastic idea, but make your own rules.