I’m writing this article to help players and Referees new to the game who are looking for a bit of clarity and wayfinding. When I came back to Traveller to play, the GURPS version was live and detail-heavy supplements were hitting the shelves every month. Even then it was difficult for me to parse through the different versions of what had come before. So. Many. Versions. And now there are a handful more. That’s a lot of material out there.
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There are nine distinct published versions of Traveller out there in the wild that have come to us over time. Each one reflects a different riff on some fundamental ideas, a different interpretation of the game and setting by the authors. Perhaps details the Third Imperium setting in a different region of\r point in time, or maps to a different system of mechanics. Each version has a core rulebook and supplements that go with it to detail its particular universe.
Throughout the versions and over time, some aspects remain the same – characters developed with career terms, the idea of jump drives and that Age of Sail feel, the relative lack of transhumanism, the presence of various “mini-games” such as character/world/ship creation within the rules that are playable by a single person are all aspects common to all versions.
Let’s survey the different versions:
Classic Traveller ( CT )
This was the first edition developed in 1977 by a small outfit in Normal, IL called Game Designers Workshop, and it was the first sci-fi roleplaying game and a contemporary of the first version of Dungeons & Dragons. Classic Traveller was published in the characteristic “Little Black Books” ( LBBs ) and first detailed a “sandbox” style rules system as a toolset for Referees to create their own settings and subsections. Not long after the initial offering the system was expanded in every way, and the default setting of the Third Imperium in the game-year of 1105 was developed. CT continued to be published, revised, and expanded for nine years. A profound amount of supplemental expansion material was published for CT. This version has many active fans to this day, a reflection of perhaps the well-designed rules or the idea of legacy; we tend to stick with the version of the game we were introduced to.
MegaTraveller ( MT )
Almost ten years after the initial offering, the first truly new version ( there had been several incremental upgrades to CT before this ) came along with a new task system, expanded setting materials, and an advancement on the default setting timeline. The game mechanics were now very much interwoven with the Third Imperium setting, where it was now 1116 and the Emperor had been assassinated. Principal play and supplements all detailed a collapsing Third Imperium rife with Rebellion. MegaTraveller was set in an expansive area; most of the Third Imperium as it collapsed, and ran as a published game for five years.
Traveller: A New Era ( TNE )
In 1992, just five years after it’s predecessor MT, Traveller: The New Era hit the shelves. This game featured an entirely new mechanics system and was also strongly interwoven with the default setting, which had been advanced more than a hundred game-years to 1200. These mechanics are for the most part incompatible with other editions of Traveller. In TNE the Third Imperium is gone, shattered, to be replaced by chaos and barely-forming order within Charted Space. TNE also introduces the existential threat of “The Virus,” a digital phage-like AI that threatens to wipe out an civilization it comes into contact with. The default region of play is the former Domain of Deneb. TNE published materials and expansions for three years.
Marc Miller’s Traveller ( T4 )
Four years after the introduction of TNE, the original publishing company had folded and the original creator Marc Miller published a new version of the game from Imperium Games. This version uses an updated version of the mechanics featured in MegaTraveller. As a default setting, the clock is dialed backwards now to the first years of the Third Imperium, where the Sylea Federation gave birth to the new empire. Players participate in the expansion of the new Third Imperium, re-connecting with various “pocket empires” after The Long Night after the collapse of the Second Imperium. The default sector of play was Core, and this version ran for two years.
GURPS Traveller ( GT )
Published by Steve Jackson Games in 1998 and based on the GURPS mechanics and ruleset, this version was imagined and driven by GDW alum Loren Wiseman. The setting was a re-imagined Third Imperium in the year 1116, but in this version Emperor Strephon was not assassinated and the Rebellion never happened; the “original” CT timeline was simply advanced and The Rebellion and The Virus never occurred. The GT default setting within the Third Imperium was the Spinward Marches sector, although additional materials also developed the Solomani Rim. GURPS Traveller published new material until its license expired after 6 years. SJG supported its version with a wealth of supplemental material and although the GURPS system certainly has its advocates, in Traveller circles more people seem to be fan of the GURPS books as source material, supporting their game based on non-GURPS mechanics.
Traveller D20 ( T20 )
In 2002 a Traveller version with game system mechanics compatible with the extremely popular d20 system was published by QuikLink Interactive. The default setting detailed Gateway Domain near the Solomani Rim of the Third Imperium at the game-year 1000, a little more than 100 years before the events comprising the CT setting. T20 was the first version concurrently “live” with another Traveller system ( GT ) and was published for six years. T20 supplements were written to be compatible with CT material and settings, and an extensive amount of works were published.
Traveller Hero ( TH )
In 2006 ( and concurrent with T20 ) a version of Traveller utilizing the mechanics from Hero Games Star Hero was published by ComStar Games. A distinction is the use of a pool of points with which to build characters, roughly similar to GURPS. All of the various settings/times covered in prior versions of Traveller with the exception of the CT milieu were embraced by HT. This version was published for two years.
Mongoose Traveller ( MgT )
Live version – In 2008 Mongoose Publishing produced a “reboot” version largely informed by Classic Traveller. The default setting was the Third Imperium in 1105, though the mechanics were intentionally set apart and offered as a way to portray play in various non-Third Imperium scoff settings. MgT is published today ( in 2017 ) though now in its second edition after eight years, and features an expansive portfolio of supplements and supporting material.
Traveller5 ( T5 )
Live version – In 2013 Marc Miller ( through Far Future Enterprises ) published the “ultimate” version, comprised completely of a profoundly expanded mechanics/ruleset without a core default milieu but comparable with all prior published Traveller milieus. T5 is also a “live” version. At present there is a single seriously-dense 700+pp volume, and no supplements or expansions. Both fans and detractors cite the incredible complexity of the material as a reason for their fervor.