Traveller Starter Set: content and mini review

The Traveller Starter Set is finally mine!

After a lot of time craving for it, I finally got to put my hands on it during a vacation in London.
I've visited Orcs Nest as suggested by many (I've never seen a shop so full of RPG stuff, living in Italy) and found it -it was the last remaining copy!

This introductory box includes:

• The full rules split in two parts (Book 1: Characters & Combat and Book 2: Spacecrafts & Worlds).
• A full introductory campaign (Book 3: The Fall of Tinath).
• Six pregenerated character sheets with a background summary and a description of the notable abilities in the back of each sheet.
• A giant subsector map ready to be filled with new worlds created by the referee. In the center of it, the Ahtwa subsector where The Fall of Tinath takes place.
• Two classic b/w dotted d6 dice.

In general I love the Starter Set, everything seems very good although I still had no time to read the campaign.

I read the new edition rules though, and I like them a lot.
They are a lightly streamlined version of the old Mongoose edition (that I own), they are pretty solid and quite easy to learn and remember.
I like the new management of dice modifiers and the mechanic of Boons and Banes (equivalent of the Advantage/Disadvantage of D&D 5th edition but with 3d6 dice drop lowest/highest). It makes things easier for the Referee, and this is always good.

The rulebooks are very evocative with their full color layout and beautiful pictures, a good step forward since the old edition was still very old-schooley with its b/w layout.
The deckplans are gorgeous 3D illustrations, not handy for play but the classic 2D versions are included for free in the digital version of the Starter Set.
Of course if you buy the Starter Set in your friendly brick and mortar store, you can have the digital copy too for free!

The character sheets are fine and useful for quick one-shots or for those who want to start to play real quick, with a good mix of abilities and styles like a true Traveller crew usually is. There are six pregenerated characters, and one empty sheet.

The box is sturdy and the cover is made in a way it is really easy to open it (unlike many of the boxes from other RPGs).
Inside it there's a nice gimmick: a red ribbon very useful to help to get the rulebooks out of the box by lifting them.

The map is a very nice addition. I would really hesitate to use it for the fear of ruining it, but I can see it as a great and useful tool for Referees.
The symbol of the IISS (Imperial Interstellar Scout Service) in color, the map legend and the galactic directions are a nice touch.

The only disappointment were the dice: as a collector I would have preferred some kind of customisation (a more futuristic look, the symbol of the Imperium on one side, or something along these lines) and because the renewed mechanics include the use of boons and banes were a third dice is used, only two seems cheap.

At the bottom line, in my opinion it is a suggested purchase if you'd like to start with this great game or if you want a fresh update of the past rules like I did along with few goodies thrown in.

You can order the boxed set either in the official Mongoose website or the digital version on DriveThruRPG.

PER ASPERA AD ASTRA

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