traveller5It’s amazing to me how the Traveller roleplaying game can be so unifying and polarizing at the same time. You see, for some the game’s main attraction is the Third Imperium setting, while for others it’s the hard-science fiction ruleset. And then, there’s the question of which rules? Over the years, the game has seen many versions, including the little black books of Classic Traveller (CT), Mega Traveller (MT), Traveller, The New Era (TNE), Marc Miller’s Traveller (T4), GURPS Traveller (GT), d20 Traveller (T20), and Traveller Hero (TH). Now, you may have thought that the recent publication of Mongoose Traveller (MGT) was supposed to clear all that up with a definitive current version. No, no. If only life were that simple!

While licensing Mongoose to proceed at maximum jump, Traveller’s creator, Marc Miller, is also working in parallel on what’s being called Traveller5 (T5). System-wise, it’s apparently a descendant of T4 (that is, task resolution is accomplished by rolling a variable number of six-sided dice) with a fair amount of added detail to accomplish such things as custom designing weapons, armor, vehicles, and alien races. So, if you still haven’t found the perfect Traveller for your tastes, or you’re one of those who’s trying to maintain a complete collection, head on over to Far Future Enterprises, where as of now you can order a CD containing a prepublication draft. (And in celebration, at this version of the web site, you can order CDs of other former GDW products at 50% off.)