Traveller 5 Has Arrived!

I received my hardbound Traveller 5 set today - 5 days ahead of schedule and everything in great shape! I don't know why, but there's something about holding a physical copy of a book that is so much more fulfilling than reading a PDF from a tablet

Congratulations to Marc Miller for his successful Kickstarter campaign!

What's Playing at the Starport Megaplex?

I came up with a list of a couple dozen or so movie titles that might be playing in my Traveller universe and decided to create movie posters for some of them. Sorry guys, "Debbie Does Dalos" didn't make the list. What's playing at your starport megaplex?
 

Xboat Fanzine Issue #1

I just received this in the mail. Congratulations to Robert Eaglestone for his successful Kickstarter campaign. It's always great to see new Traveller products being developed to keep the game not just alive, but thriving. I'm honored to have been a part. Ian Stead's cover art blows my socks off and I can't stop looking at it.

For those who didn't fund the Kickstarter and are interested in purchasing issues, I'd suggest to keep your eyes on the Traveller Facebook groups for more info. I think Rob's got his hands full right now making sure all the orders get processed. I'll post an update here when I find out what his plans are.

As one of the contributing artists, and having had access to the texts for months, I think I'm too close to the project to provide any kind of review. I'm curious to hear what the people new to the fanzine have to say. I do have one minor complaint, which I've already read echoed by other Kickstarter contributors - the 'zine came in the mail just as it is shown, so there was a small bit of damage that occurred during delivery. A couple crunched corners and a few bent pages inside. Nothing to cry over, but not pristine. Maybe some kind of mailer can be used for the next issue.

To all the supporters, I hope you enjoy this addition to your library. Happy Travelling, everyone!

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UPDATE 2020-06-18
XBOAT Issue #1 PDF is now available on DriveThruRPG. You can purchase it here: XBOAT #1.
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HSG's "Yacht My Problem" campaign on YouTube

I just wanted to give a quick shout out to High Shelf Gaming for their "Yacht My Problem" Traveller campaign. David Gillespie is using Roll20 to bring his group together virtually. Gaming sessions are live streamed and posted on YouTube.

Watching others play is an entertaining way to see different gamer and referee play styles. Session 3, just released yesterday, was a good reminder of just how deadly Traveller play can be and how quickly things can go bad. The scene where the characters had to move their recently deceased comrade from one ship to another while flying through space was a particular nail-biter - and yet still hilarious in many ways. I also enjoyed seeing the bounty hunter variant of my Hammer Class starship and some Starship Geomorphs used in actual gameplay. Always happy to see my work being put to good use.

HSG's videos can be found here: High Shelf Gaming on YouTube.

HSG also does a gaming podcast. For more Traveller goodness, check out their podcast episode: Traveller: A Space Opera RPG

Scout Grav Bike

I finally had a little time over the July 4th weekend so decided to model Rob Caswell's great grav bike design from Grand Census / World Builder's Handbook. I had to take a few creative liberties - not unusual when going from 2D to 3D - but I think I got it pretty close.

Rob Caswell's original artwork

My take on the grav bike in 3D.

Yes, that's a sawed off shotgun tucked into the fairing.

A lone scout, loaded with gear, explores the inhospitable desert region of an alien world.

Yet Another Traveller Blog Facebook page

I've created a Facebook page to complement this blog. I'm hoping it will be a bit more conversational and plan to post a bit more in the way of general thoughts and ideas, as well as works in progress for feedback.

Check it out here: Yet Another Traveller Blog Facebook page

X-Boat - Kickstarter for a new Traveller fanzine

Just wanted to pass on the news that Robert Eaglestone has just launched a Kickstarter for a new Traveller fanzine. Ian Stead and I will be providing the artwork. Although the content will not be canon, it does have the support of Marc Miller. Check it out here: X-Boat fanzine Kickstarter

UPDATE: The Kickstarter campaign was a success and the books are in development, with estimated quarterly release dates. I'm not sure if copies will be available to those who didn't back the project through Kickstarter.