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While I did not have Mongoose Traveller prior to getting Attack Squadron: Roswell, I have a long time interest in UFOs, ever since reading Edward Ruppelt's book, The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects, as a kid. The game looked quite interesting, and after contacting the author for more information, I purchased the game, and found if extremely interesting. Sufficiently so that I purchased Mongoose Traveller in order to fully understand how to use the game. I like the events tables for developing a character, as it gives him far more background than simply die rolls. In addition, it includes the XF-85 Goblin, an aircraft-borne jet fighter, the concept of which I have always found fascinating. The game does a very good job developing a basis for the UFOs, and catching the flavor of the period. It has a wide range of scenarios to give ideas for possible game sessions, which also provide ideas for other scenarios. The Traveller skill table has been very well adapted to reflect the period. Overall, I rate the game 5 Stars.
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Paul Elliott and Zozer Games, redefine Traveller not as dreary and uninspiring Space Opera heuristic but a heuristic for all types of Science Fiction games. In this case, Zozer Games, with Attack Squadron Roswell returns to the same wonderful mix of Hard and Soft by using Traveller to explore the genre of Alien Invasion films of the 1950s. For this provides an excellent skeleton building upon great Traveller products of the past like the flawed COACC but does not quite reach the global scope that Traveller demands. One should certainly buy this product, if they are looking to expand one’s own Traveller universe either in the direction suggested by the ATU or as I said, with modification, the OTU. For as I read the supplement, images of how to incorporate these concepts into my TNE game floated past. Certainly, a few good campaigns can be set in the 1950s, as Atomic Age Cthulhu or the author’s own GURPS Atomic Age shows the time period is a rich era for role playing…and the sheer profusion of films novels highlighting this pulpish yet hard science fiction makes it perfect for Traveller players who crave the mixture of hard and soft. Thus, I wholeheartedly recommend this product.
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Awesome setting book. Each Zozer Games product seems to focus on one "gimmick," which in this case is air-to-air combat. Well done and very inspirational. Looking forward to running this one!
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Publisher Reply: |
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Your comments are really appreciated Ian, I hope you get some great sessions out of it! ~ Paul E/Zozer Games |
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A neat resource for finding names for starships, especially when one turns up unexpectedly and the name is needed suddenly. Not that it won't be useful when characters are seeking to name their own ships, it is an area at which a lot of us struggle and I'm sure your characters, like mine, have served aboard some very strangely-named vessels. (I still remember the Hognose...)
There are several tables from which to choose. A couple of 'traditional' names for military starships, and another if you prefer 'epic' names. A couple more for commercial vessels and then its the turn of privately-owned ships, be they merchants (ethically challenged or otherwise) or wealthy travellers. Use d66 to get a random name or just read down the list and pick one which appeals.
A handy work to tuck away against the need for a name in a hurry.
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Originally posted at: http://diehardgamefan.com/2013/01/31/tabletop-review-the-lad
der/
Let’s say you’ve never played Dungeons & Dragons before. In this hypothetical, you’ve joined a friend’s campaign due to that friend talking incessantly about how awesome it is. You have no idea how to play, but you want your character to climb a wall. You’re asked to make a “climb check”. This requires rolling a twenty sided die, something you’ve likely never seen before because you’re used to playing board games like Monopoly and Life. You take the result here, add in your climb score, which is created by adding your strength bonus and ranks in that skill. The strength bonus, of course, is determined by taking your strength score, subtracting ten, dividing by two, and then rounding down. That number isn’t right yet. You still have to subtract points because your character is wearing armor, which weighs him down.
My point is that pen and paper games can seem like high end calculus to a beginner, and for any given action, there’s usually a good deal of math involved. The dice can seem alien, as can the list of skills and seemingly random numbers attached to them. Something as simple as climbing a wall has a whole lot that goes into it. For experienced players, such math is second nature, and is done almost instantaneously. For a beginner, it might just seem overly complicated.
The Ladder is a game that aims to simply pen and paper rules to the point where a beginning player can quickly feel right at home. Key to this goal is the fact that only six sided dice are used, and rolls don’t involve adding or subtracting any sort of modifier. Skills are relegated to a simple ladder system that uses words like “good”, “poor”, and “expert” to define character’s abilities. This is a noble goal, to be sure. Let’s see how it pans out.
When you create a character using the rules of The Ladder, you have a pretty easy task. You select six “assets” that you want your character to have. These should relate to the them of the campaign as described by your Gamesmaster. So, you’re in modern times, good assets to have might be “driving” or “computer skills”. Of these six assets, you can choose to become an expert in two of them. The other four you’re considered “good” at. Next up to create a few character flaws that add to your character’s personality. Maybe your character is scared of heights. Maybe he’s got asthma. After that, the rest is even simpler, and amounts to nothing more than creating some background information, such as defining features, and home location. You could easily create a character in a minute or two.
At the heart of the game is the ladder system itself. For each skill, you have a rating on the ladder. The idea is that if you’re good at something, you’ll succeed at related tasks most of the time. So if you’re good at driving, chances are you’ll make that turn without a problem. The kicker is that you do still roll a die. On a roll of two through five, nothing happens. Your outcome stays the same as it would have been without the die roll. On a roll of a one or six, however, things start to get interesting. These numbers represent the chance that any person may at some point exceed or fail to meet their normal skill level. For example, even a master martial artist can miss a kick, and a novice baseball player can still hit a home run. Rolling a six moves your attempt up the ladder, while rolling a one moves you down the ladder. Rolling either prompts a second roll. So, if you roll a six, you’ve exceeded your expectations, and get to roll again. Another six means you do even better. You keep going until you don’t roll a six. This sets up the chance, although unlikely, that you can can pull off something amazing.
The ladder system is definitely interesting. For most actions, it has a nice feeling to it. You have a pretty good idea of how you’ll perform on any given task, yet there’s always a chance that something can go wrong/right. Also in play is the “wonky ladder” system where some outside influence can affect the likelihood of your place on the ladder being changed. For example, let’s say you want to perform a running jump. The trouble is that you’re on a patch of ice. This results in a bad wonky ladder, and when you go to make your jump roll, you’ll go down a ladder on a roll of a one AND a two. This gives the system some flexibility when dealing with extraordinary circumstances.
It’s when there’s conflict that one starts to see some serious flaws in the system. Logically, it makes sense that someone ranked good at something should almost always defeat someone ranked poorly at the same task. However, when it comes to this game, it can often feel like your roll means nothing. If you’re down more than a rung, you have to hope your opponent rolls multiple ones in a roll, or that you roll multiple sixes in a row just to avoid an abysmal outcome. In combat, things get even more redundant. Winning a roll awards the victor points. A certain number of points is needed to win. This means that even if the lesser player has a miraculous roll, they’ll still likely lose because they can’t possibly meet that total number of points before their superior opponent. It takes some of the chance and fun out of conflict, and makes things more of a foregone conclusion. It may be logical, but it’s not as much fun.
Advancement in the game comes via “plot points” that are awarded by the GM. These can be cashed in to improve an existing skill, add a skill, or used to bump yourself up a ladder in times of need. The GM is encouraged to stem too much growth, however, as one shouldn’t be an expert in too many fields. It’s definitely interesting to watch a character grow, and this system can easily be used to create a very specific build.
This game attempts to make things simpler, and for the most part it manages. It can get a bit over complicated when it comes to degrees of injury and how that affects your ladder scores, but the system is still one that can be used to ease a beginner into the world of pen and paper games. I can’t say it’s better than it’s more complicated brethren, but it does offer some appeal to those looking for a rules-light adventure.
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A really in-depth treatment of the setting. Personally, I like picking the combat effects after rolling, the way armour work, the system for advancement, the simple way the game handles the importance of advantages, how magic is powered... and did I mention the work that went in the setting?
It's a splendid game indeed.
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| Warband |
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by Asen G. [Verified Purchaser]
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Date Added: 12/30/2012 04:14:21 |
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A really in-depth treatment of British tribes at the time. Since they're part and parcel of 43 A.D., this supplement can help a GM (or rather, a Referee) that wants to run a Roman miliitary campaign set in these times, and be sure they're getting the NPCs "just right".
Or you can just raid your enemies and steal their cattle!
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This is amazing work. The detail, concepts and technology absolutely bring a real hard science campaign to reality!!!!I have been playing Traveller since I was 13 and never thought of the concept of a realist approach like this setting. THUMBS UP ALL THE WAY!!!!
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If you are using Zozer Games's Orbital low-tech setting - or just have a need for a relatively primitive exploration/survey craft for use in-system - this is a nice, well-presented one to have to hand.
The product begins with some explanatory notes giving the rationale for the design's development within the Orbital setting, and this is followed by the description of a 'walk through' which brings the vessel to life in one's mind's eye as if one was watching a TV documentary about it. Given the low-tech level, by Traveller standards, of this craft, it is easy to visualise and indeed could almost be built today. It's certainly easy to imagine.
The actual deckplans, produced in standard Traveller style, show clearly how the whole thing hangs together and presents the craft ready for play.
The product rounds off with several variant forms - for anything from a small attack craft to a cargo ship or a rescue vehicle - and gives an example crew. These are fully-developed NPCs, so if you decide that your characters are going to encounter one of these craft rather than be running it, the crew is ready-made for you.
As already mentioned, this low-tech design is customised for the Orbital setting. If you are not using it, you might still find a use for this... perhaps if your characters encounter a system that has only developed to this level of technology, or if it is a poor system that doesn't have the resources to use more sophisticated craft in-system.
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Unquestionably, somebody in need of wanting to introduce more pragmatism and grit into their Traveller game would be wise to pick this book up. And, those like me, whose goal of the reaching for the stars not as just destination points but fully realized places replete with cultures and different ways of doing things yet grounded in the sensibilities that these new worlds will carry the problems of the old into them, will certainly welcome the addition of this book into their Traveller collection. Those wanting to dream about the easy life in the Stars should go back to playing Star Wars/Star Trek versions of Traveller. Zozer Games, I hope will return to this milieu, and create more supplements and adventures for it – and thus hopefully inspire the Grand Old Game itself.
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| Orbital |
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by Gary W. [Verified Purchaser]
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Date Added: 12/20/2012 12:47:05 |
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Orbital (a dull name, like a place holder name they forgot to change) is a hard science fiction, colonized solar system, no FTL campaign setting for Traveller. I have personally never liked the Traveller rules, considering them way too complex (especially in chargen), but bought the book because I have long wanted a hard sci-fi solar system based rpg. If you like Traveller, you will get everthing you want from this book. If you are like me and can't even finish the TMB, I see no reason why with a little adaption you could not use this setting with a rule set of your liking (there is no necessary connection between this universe and the Third Imperium). The setting is realistic, detailed, and well-written, but I have two major gripes:
a) the Luna/Earth Cold War. It is necessary, in the author's opinion, to motivate humanity to colonize the solar system, but I just find it hard to believe. Hard to believe that after only a few decades colonists on the moon would become so unalterably opposed to Earth and see themselves as so different from it. This division just seems unmotivated, existing solely to provide conflict/tension in the setting. A better division might have been Earth/Mars or Inner System/Outer System.
b) the book's organization. The chapter that describes worlds of the solar sytem and sets out its geographical/political structure should come before the chapters on organizations, space craft, etc., because they are hard to understand without knowing the geography and politics of the system.
Those problems aside, I rate Orbital as highly as I do because the information inside would be a invaluable resource to anyone planning a hard sci-fi campaign or writing hard sci-fi fiction.
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Well put together, and explains the background for these devices, how they fit in the game universe, and otherwise a useful game product. Especially given the price!
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This is a great little addition for anyone running Traveller! I am running a Chthonian Stars campaign and this fit right in! It would also fit perfectly with 2300 or any lower-tech world in the Traveller universe!
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I purchased this game a couple of months ago, and have been able to run two one-shot scenarios and a PBP campaign since that time. The rules are excellent in that it is very simplistic. Combat is broken down into Direct Fire and Area Fire. Direct Fire means you're shooting at something you can see, and Area Fire means you're just going full auto into a designated area.
The Stress rules really help to give the characters, even NPCs, some depth to them. Not everyone can be a hero, and you're just as likely to hit the dirt when things go South. There are also rules for artillery fire, and an in-depth discussion of how a mission works for the boys of the 1st Cavalry (the PCs). The mission seeds given are great, though I haven't run any myself.
My only problem is that in the PBP campaign I ran, getting the true 'feel' of terror in the jungle didn't cross over as well. In my opinion, it's something that could cross over a lot better in a face-to-face game, letting the spur of the moment and real 'in-the-room' tension get to your players.
All in all, a fantastic title for those looking for a gritty Vietnam-era tabletop game. I'd highly recommend it.
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This game is one of the best historic rules books I have ever read. By far the best post WWI, pre-terrorism war game I've read. I know that's kind of a narrow area, but it still counts for something. This game has a nice and easy system that players, especially beginners, will enjoy. I also like how it groups the equipment and explains some of the rules. One final thing I liked about it is the stress factor. This makes war seem so real that your player, in some of the first attacks, will actually be scared out of his mine and hide, drop to the ground, panic, etc. This takes away the seasoned veteran attitude that most games have that when you're in your first combat, you basically can be the hero and are no different than your superior officers in that you have the same bravery and willingness to go into the fight and dominate. Now you can do that in this game if you're lucky, but most characters will panic and be scared like real people would in their first few combat situations. A few things I didn't like about this game is that, even though the equipment is nicely organized into groups, it doesn't have a ton of different specific weapons with different stats, it's just groups. Also, it's a simple system so it's not very in-depth. Those are the only two reasons why it didn't get 5 stars. I would definitely buy this game if you're looking for a fun war game, especially if you want one set in Vietnam. Honestly, I would just buy this system for the stress system itself because you can integrate that into other games you play to make it more realistic.
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