RISING FROM THE ASHES OF GDW, THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS SCI-FI RPG SEES YET ANOTHER INCARNATION M05r FAmais.50-P WG SEES YEr A140THR

IMPERIUM GAMES, INC.
$30 hardcover and $25 softcover
BY MARC MILLER, LESTER SMITH TONY LEE, GREG PORTER, KEN WHITMAK DON PERRIN, AND MATT MACHTAN ILLUSTRATIONS BY LARRY ELMORE AND CHRIS FOSS.

Game Designer's Workshop may be gone, but Traveller lives on. Imperium Games will soon be releasing Marc Miller's Traveller, the latest in the legendary line of RPGs. For those of you not familiar with Traveller, it was the first SF RPG ever published. The first three books in the series were released in 1977, and before long there were some 60 additional sourcebooks detailing the Third Imperium - without a doubt, Traveller 'is one of the most exhaustively detailed game worlds ever published.

The game was revised in '87 with the release of MegaTraveller, and again in '92 with Traveller: The New Era. Each release pushed the timeline of the game universe forward. (Incidentally, Traveller: 2300 is not part of the true Traveller timeline. Rather, it takes place in the same timeline as Twilight: 2000.)

Imperium Games had several goals in mind for the new Traveller. First, they wished to return to the simpler rules of the "classic" Traveller of nearly 20 years ago. (Optional rules are included for those desiring more complexity.) Secondly, they wanted to facilitate games that take place in any Traveller era, from 300,000BC to 5,000AD. Lastly, they wanted to reconcile the volumes of "future history" that were presented in previous Traveller materials.

Did they succeed? Well, the rules are indeed less complicated than, for example, Traveller: The New Era. Even new roleplayers shouldn't have trouble with them. It's harder to judge the other two goals, though, because the new core rulebook doesn't spend a lot of time covering Traveller history. Instead, it focuses on the time of Emperor Cleon, and humanity's recovery from the Long Night, a 1,000-year period of social and technological collapse. This is a fine time to be adventuring, indeed, and it's a great place to start the Traveller relaunch -- but we'll all have to wait for future expansions to cover other periods of time in detail.

Marc Miller's Traveller is quite complete, as core rulebooks go. Character creation isn't as quick as in other modern systems, but it also provides characters with more depth. The skill system is sharp, and is complemented by good coverage of commerce, equipment, ground combat, star travel, spacecraft construction and combat, psionics, and world generation. There are also two short scenarios included.

I really have only two complaints about Marc Miller's Traveller. First of all, it could use some lengthy examples of more complicated topics like ground combat. Secondly, I wish it had some more background information on the game world; as it is, it's more suited to GMs who like to be given a toolbox to "roll their own" scenarios. Fortunately, Imperium Games is planning on one release a month for the next fourteen months, so there will be plenty of resources available.

In the end, I don't think it'll win anyWhite Wolfers over but, Marc Miller's Traveller is a worthy addition to the Traveller line and to any SF gamer's library.

So far, Imperium have announced the following releases for Marc Miller's Traveller. Each is priced at $20.00.
September 1996 - Starships
October 1996 - Central Supply Catalog
November 1996 - Aliens Archives
December 1996 - Milieu 0: The Third Imperium & First Survey

The Journal of the Travellers' Aid Society magazine will also be put back into print to offer more support for Traveller.

Truly hard-core Travellers an register as a Citizen of the Imperium; fifteen Terran dollars get you dogtags, a newsletter and more. Write to Imperium Games at P. 0. Box 481, Lake Geneva, WI 53147. Their phone number is (414) 275- 3984. You can also find their excellent web site at www.imperiumgames.com.

If you're lucky enough to be reading this SHADIS at GenCon '96, stop by the Imperium Games booth (#539) and ask them about the five official Traverller games being run this year.