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I think 1987 Rogue Trader is a fantastic book for what it is, it's full of imagination and swagger and is clearly a labour of love, and curry, but it is a lot more focussed on the military aspect than the "what's it like to live here" material that an RPG really needs.
Yet for whatever reason, reading the original book puts me MORE in mind of those street-level adventures, of it being a varied universe where people get up to all sorts of non-military adventures, than any of what came later, including the big fancy FFG RPG books. Did WEG's Star Wars have that much 'what's it like to live here?' detail? Did Traveller?
Again, the scenarios/plots in the back of 40K: RT depict a lot of stuff that doesn't involve Space Marines, Inquisitors, or Chaos Cultists... or any of the mainstays of later versions.
 
Yet for whatever reason, reading the original book puts me MORE in mind of those street-level adventures, of it being a varied universe where people get up to all sorts of non-military adventures, than any of what came later, including the big fancy FFG RPG books. Did WEG's Star Wars have that much 'what's it like to live here?' detail? Did Traveller?
Again, the scenarios/plots in the back of 40K: RT depict a lot of stuff that doesn't involve Space Marines, Inquisitors, or Chaos Cultists... or any of the mainstays of later versions.
I think that's because a good core book works best by being inspirational rather than being thorough. When only the first book existed, it was a dense fix of imaginative fuel, and I filled out a whole universe from what was there. Now there are thirty years of accumulated canon, there is a lot less room for my imagination to work, and lot more tedious homework involved in getting the setting "right".

The 40K universe felt a lot bigger and more interesting to me as an RPG setting back in 1987 than it does to me now. I'd be more inclined to run something that evoked 40K than actual 40K at this point.
 
Yet for whatever reason, reading the original book puts me MORE in mind of those street-level adventures, of it being a varied universe where people get up to all sorts of non-military adventures, than any of what came later, including the big fancy FFG RPG books.
I don't think that you're wrong, I think you're just an outlier compared to the majority of modern 40k fandom.

Did WEG's Star Wars have that much 'what's it like to live here?' detail? Did Traveller?
Yeah, fair point; although WEG Star Wars kinda cheated a bit by assuming familiarity with the movies, which did cover a number of levels of society. Traveller's lifepaths and overall mission structure, though, did help to give an idea .

Actually, now you mention it, WEG Star Wars might work out OK for a 40k game. Hmm.
 
If you've got 3:16, you don't need Deathwatch.
Total Hogwash. Even if you're in to that form of roleplaying, Aliens or Starship Troopers, maybe. 40k Space Marines, not even remotely close to the same Dho-Na curve that could conceive of such a universe. :hehe:
 
Yet for whatever reason, reading the original book puts me MORE in mind of those street-level adventures, of it being a varied universe where people get up to all sorts of non-military adventures, than any of what came later, including the big fancy FFG RPG books. Did WEG's Star Wars have that much 'what's it like to live here?' detail? Did Traveller?
Again, the scenarios/plots in the back of 40K: RT depict a lot of stuff that doesn't involve Space Marines, Inquisitors, or Chaos Cultists... or any of the mainstays of later versions.
Yeah it was definitely a setting that had not yet been altered through multiple editions, dozens of codices and scores of novels to enforce a more simplistic, siloed, miniature army driven business model. Like the difference between WFRP1 and WFRP2 (oh where did my Tilean mercenary miniatures go? :weep:)
I don't think that you're wrong, I think you're just an outlier compared to the majority of modern 40k fandom.
The majority of modern 40k fandom has never even seen 1987 Rogue Trader I'm willing to bet. Until now, I've never even met someone who's read the 1987 version who doesn't like it better from a GMing perspective, in real life or online.
 
The majority of modern 40k fandom has never even seen 1987 Rogue Trader I'm willing to bet.
Well, yeah. That's kinda my point; the majority probably wasn't even alive in 1987. The first 40k-related thing I was exposed to was Space Crusade, and even by that time things were different (Chaos, bitey Genestealers, Marines being big heroes, etc).

At the Warhammer World store at their Nottingham HQ, they do a very nice reprint of Rogue Trader. But it's not something they really push, it's more just an artefact / souvenir.
 
At the Warhammer World store at their Nottingham HQ, they do a very nice reprint of Rogue Trader. But it's not something they really push, it's more just an artefact / souvenir.
Holy Shit, that's worth a trip to England right there.
 
Actually, now you mention it, WEG Star Wars might work out OK for a 40k game. Hmm.
I've had that thought in the past. The original Rogue Trader setting had quite a bit of Star Wars in it, mashed up with the 2000 AD influences. There are lots of references to 'rebels' scattered around, despite those never becoming an official faction (AFAIK).
 
There's a couple of great new offers up on BoH for Savage Worlds fans. Hellfrost has 2 bundles available. Very cool, Nordic inspired fantasy setting.

https://bundleofholding.com/presents/Hellfrost2017
https://bundleofholding.com/presents/HellfrostAtlas

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It's been a little while since I looked at Hellfrost. I had the original 3 core physical books, but sold them off during my great "Fuck gaming and fuck gamers in particular!" purge of 2013. I've not picked them back up, though I'm intending to take advantage of both of these bundle offers. I know the setting has been greatly expanded over the last few years, including adding an Arabian flavored southern area.

What I remember about the setting was that it a nice Nordic/Germanic sort of flavor it it. It was grim without being hopeless. There were lots of cool factions with solid hooks. It had a nice magic system (I believe with no power points, though don't quote me on that.). The best thing about it to me was that I had tons of ideas for how to run the setting as I read the books. That to me is one of the hallmarks of a good RPG book -- that it gives you lots of inspiration as you read through it.

Hope that helps! Perhaps someone more familiar with recent developments in the game can chime in with more.
 
The Dark Eye has a bundle up!

Have long heard of this famous German fantasy rpg, loved the old CRPG based on the world, but do I need another fantasy setting?

What are the mechanics like?

May pick it up just for historical interest, I like to see what RPGs outside of North America are like.
 
The Dark Eye has a bundle up!

Have long heard of this famous German fantasy rpg, loved the old CRPG based on the world, but do I need another fantasy setting?

What are the mechanics like?

May pick it up just for historical interest, I like to see what RPGs outside of North America are like.
Feeling the same. Heard it's great but do I NEED it. Probably.
 
Did WEG's Star Wars have that much 'what's it like to live here?' detail? Did Traveller?

Star Wars has a little in the way of cool fake ads and background information gleaned from the character templates, but mainly made the reasonable assumption that anyone playing had likely seen a movie or three. Plus the galaxy is so big, you could make it whatever you wanted, especially in 1987 when we'd been shown nearly nothing in the way of setting history. I liked it better that way.

Traveller has no setting built in, so there are only a few things you have as assumptions about whatever setting you choose to create: mainly no faster-than-light communication. Almost everything else depends on what the ref decides.
 
This week's Bundle of Holding is Traveller: The New Era. I have never played any Traveller game other than a one off at a con, but I don't know what edition that was. Can any of you Traveller experts weigh in on New Era? Would this be a good place to jump in?

I have only played Classic Traveller and Mongoose Traveller and I would recommend anyone starting out to pick one of those two. I have not played TNE but it does look interesting and I did just buy it (hey, I'm helping charities!). But from what I've read about it I wouldn't start with it. Okay, I'll let someone with much more knowledge than me have the floor now. :smile:
 
Star Wars has a little in the way of cool fake ads and background information gleaned from the character templates, but mainly made the reasonable assumption that anyone playing had likely seen a movie or three. Plus the galaxy is so big, you could make it whatever you wanted, especially in 1987 when we'd been shown nearly nothing in the way of setting history. I liked it better that way.
At that point, it really was at the sweet spot of being familiar to everyone yet still full of room to make it what you wanted.

This week's Bundle of Holding is Traveller: The New Era. I have never played any Traveller game other than a one off at a con, but I don't know what edition that was. Can any of you Traveller experts weigh in on New Era? Would this be a good place to jump in?
I wouldn't consider myself a setting expert, and I have never owned TNE, but if, by "jump in" you mean getting into Traveller as a whole, I would say it isn't the best place. For one thing, it doesn't use the same rule system as standard Traveller. It uses the same rules as Twilight:2000 2nd ed. It also drastically changes the setting with an apocalyptic event. I might be a good game, but from both a setting and rules perspective, you are going to get something different than standard Traveller.
 
Traveller: The New Era is almost as contentious as Mongoose Traveller among the Traveller grognards, so it has that going for it if nothing else.
 
Thanks. After posting I was curious and looked up Traveller editions. And no wonder I've always found it confusing. 9 editions by 7 publishers. That license gets around.

I'm fairly certain the game I played at the con was Classic Traveller. I'll probably look to grab that or Mongoose then, cause the rules seemed pretty fun to me.

Honestly, if you have no interest in the Mindjammer setting, I'd recommend Cepheus Engine over both. It's OSR Traveller. It's like Classic Traveller, Traveller 20, and Mongoose Traveller First Edition had a baby.
 
This week's Bundle of Holding is Traveller: The New Era. I have never played any Traveller game other than a one off at a con, but I don't know what edition that was. Can any of you Traveller experts weigh in on New Era? Would this be a good place to jump in?
The New Era is the
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of Traveller games.

Personally I'd refer you to "classic" Traveller if you can find it at a reasonable price. It may still be available in PDF, POD (as The Traveller Book), and discs. Also frequently found on eBay and other secondhand sources.

Classic encourages you to generate and model a setting based on your preferences and inspirations rather than loading a designer's premise onto you.
 
I thought that the TNE rules were garbage, but liked the campaign premises that it offered. (Pocket empires, the Regency, the Reformation Coalition).
 
Honestly, if you have no interest in the Mindjammer setting, I'd recommend Cepheus Engine over both. It's OSR Traveller. It's like Classic Traveller, Traveller 20, and Mongoose Traveller First Edition had a baby.
It seems to be attracting a lot of quality 3rd party support as well.
 
This is one of those serious conflict bundles. I already own all the physical books, but it would be handy to own them all in PDF as well. I'll probably end up getting it.

I haven't made up my mind about UA3, and I am not going to until I actually play it, but it is different enough that even if I like it, it will be more an additional game I like than a replacement for UA2.
 
We seem to have skipped over the Dragon/Fantasy Age bundle. What are people's thoughts on those two?
 
We seem to have skipped over the Dragon/Fantasy Age bundle. What are people's thoughts on those two?
I'm not a fan. The system starts off quite simple (Attributes, stat modifiers, skill checks are modifier + bonus + 3d6 vs target number), but with added complexity for no good reason, and the way the attribute system works (Each stat has a specific in-combat use) means your character's fighting style and out-of-combat abilities will feel more tightly linked than in D&D.

The "stunt" system is the worst bit, because it means you can't intentionally try to do neat things in combat - whether you get to stunt or not is dependent on whether you roll stunt points, and most successful rolls will probably generate points - and everything slows right down so players can... consult the stunt table. Score a crit in D&D5, and it's cool and fast. Score a crit in * Age, and you've got to look at the Stunt Points table, players will weigh up what's the best option right now, and it kills the pacing and momentum of combat. Same basic system applies for out-of-combat stunts, too, and even if it's not applicable players will want to spend all of their points.

I'd say there are many better games in the same general area - Shadow of the Demon Lord, frex, does pretty much the same thing but much more neatly.
 
Hey the John Wick bundle is almost over. Anyone enthusiastic about it? Some stuff looks interesting but I'm on the fence.
 
This week's Bundle of Holding is Traveller: The New Era. I have never played any Traveller game other than a one off at a con, but I don't know what edition that was. Can any of you Traveller experts weigh in on New Era? Would this be a good place to jump in?
Bluntly, no. This was the third edition of the game, released in the early 1990s and could arguably be a contributing factor to why Games Designers Workshop (GDW) ended up closing doors on it's business.

The system is a then house system, using a D20, rather than the classic D6 based system and it's very heavy on metaplot and background with some murky art. While some purists might like to get into that, the setting details were notably retconned in later editions. Of all the editions of the game, for me personally, it's the least compelling. That said, it did win an award or two when it was released, so what do I know! :smile:
 
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Incidentally, I'm selling a full cased copy of Unknown Armies 3rd Ed in almost new condition. If anyone wants to make an offer, PM me, but I hope to put it on eBay during Easter if I get the time.
 
Hey the John Wick bundle is almost over. Anyone enthusiastic about it? Some stuff looks interesting but I'm on the fence.
I picked it up. In general, it pretty much comes down to if you like John Wick or not. There's some really interesting ideas there, but it's all very John Wick. (A lot of it also has narrative mechanics which may put some people on here off).
 
I picked it up. In general, it pretty much comes down to if you like John Wick or not. There's some really interesting ideas there, but it's all very John Wick. (A lot of it also has narrative mechanics which may put some people on here off).
Thanks. I'm not that into narrative mechanics so probably not the best fit for me. The idea sound cool.
 
Huh, I missed a Traveller The New Era thread! So I'll dissent, TNE is a great system bolted onto the wrong setting assumptions. It should have been a new edition of 2300 AD and left Traveller alone, much like D&D 4e suffered from the D&D parts being forced into a system that could have stood on it's own much better without them, most of the problems with TNE stem from trying to wedge the Third Imperium into it at any cost. TNE is really Twilight 2000 2.5 and it does Twilight 2000 very well as well as 2300 AD. It could have even worked okay for Traveller if they hadn't insisted on forcing 2300 AD elements like detonation pumped X-Ray laser warhead missiles and HePlar thrusters into a setting that just didn't work well with those things.
 
Tell the truth, Allen. You guys are tracking my pdf purchases, then using that data to determine the next Bundle of Holding. Literally like 4 in a row where I just bought a product and it goes up on BoH within a few weeks...
 
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