Want to play Mongoose games? Want to socialise with other players of Mongoose games, and prove you are the best?

Starting May 12th, and on every second Saturday of every month, we are throwing open our doors at Mongoose HQ in Swindon, and inviting one and all to come play!

We already have a Traveller game set to be run, and there will be leagues/campaigns for A Call to Arms: Star Fleet/Noble Armada, and Judge Dredd.

Everything will be run pretty loose and freeform, so if you have a hankering to play, say, Legend, Armageddon 2089, or Victory at Sea, turn up on the day and we’ll rouse the other attendees to join in! It is an open house, with you being free to play pretty much what you want, when you want – the only rule is that it is a day for Mongoose games!

Doors will open at 10am and close around 6pm, and all play is completely free. Just bring yourself, any relevant books or minis (both of which can be provided if you are lacking!), and enjoy some fun-filled days with your favourite games.

As well as May 12th, we will also be running Club Mongoose on the following dates;

June 9th
July 14th
August 11th
October 13th
November 10th

As always, Mongoose HQ is in Swindon, and a map with directions can be found here.

Most of the core rules in the new Victory at Sea are more or less straight, and the fleet lists are slowly being built up to their final forms (still need a lot of playtesting in that area though, as there are a lot of ships in this game).

I am now reaching the point of game design where lots of ideas of ‘cool things to add’ keep popping up. This has the effect of making me wonder whether the rulebook will ever be finished, if I spent the next year working on it. Happens with every game, without fail.

I’ll give you an example.

Just been adding rules for coasts, coastal defences and land in general to the new version of the rules. Land is pretty easy to deal with in a naval game; don’t let ships sail over it. Punish them big time if they do.

You then need Shore Batteries added, which is fine, some big guns on the coast to keep marauding ships at bay, and we already had the core of those rules in Order of Battle. Just needed streamlining down a little, plus more specific examples added. Simples.

Anti-Aircraft Batteries get added next. Simplicity itself, just need to use the same rules for Shore Batteries, make them a bit lighter and mount different weapons in them.  Easy to write but this means, for the first time in Victory at Sea, we can now do pure aerial attacks on ports where only one side has ships and their opponent has nothing but aircraft – and have it make for a good game! Expect to see scenarios for Taranto and Pearl Harbour in this next edition.

And that was all I was going to add to that chapter, for now at least.

But it occured to me that some nice resin harbour buildings, warehouses, command towers, hangars, etc, might be a nice touch – and they would need rules. Well, static buildings we already have rules for with Shore Batteries, so they can be easily appropriated. Just a case of typing up some descriptions (a warehouse, a place where you store things…) and working out suitable Armour and Damage stats. Done!

Then I get thinking about using them as objectives in scenarios, where they have to be protected or destroyed. And if we have buildings, Shore Batteries, and all the rest, why can’t we have troop landers?  What about some rules for handling amphibious assaults? Could we get St. Nazaire into Victory at Sea? Would we want to?

The aim was to make the next Victory at Sea so complete it would never need a supplement. It may just be the case that we need to review exactly what should and should not be in a game about World War IInaval warfare!

The first prototype of our forthcoming Victory at Sea range made an appearence in our office this morning. Designed by Sandrine in 3D software (and then checked and rechecked by our team of Naval Boffins), these are 1/2400 scale ships cast in resin with a few metal odds and ends, such as turrets, with the intention of cramming as much detail as possible on to them – we have, we are pretty sure, the most accurate hull shapes in scale this, for example, but more on that at a later date.

Anyway, this is the Bismarck. Click on the photo for a closer look.

Bismarck Goodness

Please note this is a prototype – the final version will have several changes.  For example, the base will be flatter, probably squarer, have a wave/wake effect on the surface and likely a flat area for you to place a flag and name label (which we are aiming to provide).  The turret guns, while scale-accurate in size, are too thin to a) look completely right and b) survive more than a game or two, and so will be made a little thicker. The top of the bridge has not cast properly on this particular model, and we will be altering the mould to suit.

All that said, you can readily see the detail Sandrine has already crammed onto the model, from the anchors (which are almost too small to see, but very much present), to the secondary weapons along the hull.

Slinking off to Find a Convoy

Using the 3D modelling software (also responsible for the new Star Fleet ships and much of the Noble Armada range) allows Sandrine to do some really fun things that might otherwise require a great deal of time under more conventional methods.  For example, being French herself, she was particularly proud to do the Richelieu (and a fine ship it was). However, there will not be just one Richelieu in the Victory at Sea range. There is the Richelieu as it appeared in 1940. And as it appeared in 1943. And she did the Jean Bart for good measure (the Richelieu‘s sister ship).

Sandrine has done this for every sister ship/variant she has so far worked on, right down to cruiser level (it is entirely possible that she won’t do a different model of every destroyer that ever floated in World War II…). So, no need to just pick up a handful of, say, Leander-class cruisers. You’ll be able to grab the Leander, Orion, Achilles and the Ajax, and they will all be accurately presented.

So far, Sandrine has covered something like fifty different ships, ranging from the Yamato to the Liberty ships, and our (completely unofficial) aim is to have a model of just about everything that floated during the war – that may take some time, as Sandrine also has some other model ranges to work on as well, but after the first wave of releases, we intend to come back to Victory at Sea on a regular basis, and continue filling in the gaps. Large portions of the Royal Navy and Kriegsmarine have been completed and, in between a few revised Gorns, Sandrine is making a determined attack on the core ships of the Pacific Theatre. Next week she is scheduled to work on the Nagato, Shokaku and Fubuki.

So, when will these lovely models be revealed to the world at large? Well, not for a little while. We are currently working on a new edition of the Victory at Sea rules (and a lovely book that is turning out to be), though you will likely see the models out before the book – we have kinda pencilled in this Summer for a potential release date, but we are not hurrying this range. They’ll be done when they are done!

Preparing for a Full Broadside

The Star Fleet Reference Cards Pack (perhaps we should say Pack #1, as no doubt there will be more in the future to cover new ships that come along) is due to go off to print in a few days, so now seems the right time to give you all a sneak peek at them.

This is a 90 card deck and, as the more observant of you will immediatly spot, that is more cards than ships in A Call to Arms: Star Fleet. So, the first question to be answered is that yes, there will be duplicates of the more common ships in the game, meaning for many games a single deck will be all you need (unless you start fielding unusual fleets, or are a confirmed five Kirov man!).

Each card is double-sided, with the Ship’s details on one side, together with a picture of the ship for ready identification;

Federation Dreadnought

And it’s ‘game boxes’ on the other. With a white board-style marker, you can cross off important details such as hits on Shields, the hull, and critical hits;

Reverse Side

This means you can lay your entire fleet of cards on your sideline during play, and simply cross off damage and other features as they come in!

We have included not only the core hull designs, but also the variants, with each variant having its own card for ease of use. On top of that, each fleet is colour-coded, allowing you to readily identify which ships are yours in the deck.

Klingon C8

C8 Reverse

If these cards prove popular, we will release new deck packs as new ships and supplements are released, with the first following the Battle Groups supplement later this year.

Work has been proceeding apace with this game, with our team of ‘Naval Boffins’ weighing in and correcting our excesses and the playtesters refining the rules wording and ship points values.

We are aiming for this to be a Big Book, full colour throughout, with plenty of battles, history, and gaming challenges to keep anyone interested in the war at sea during World War II happy as a sailor in port for years to come. At the moment, the contents of the book is shaping up something like this;

Basic Rules
Introduction
The Turn
The Movement Phase
The Attack Phase
The End Phase
Special Actions
Special Traits

So far, so familiar for those who are currently playing the existing edition, though there are already many, many differences between the basic rules fo the two games. For example, Critical Hits are now mainly progressive, as in A Call to Arms: Star Fleet and Noble Armada, but they also have the ‘sudden death’ potential as well, allowing for rudders to be knocked askew on an otherwise relatively undamaged ship, or to allow for the ‘Hood effect.’

Advanced Rules
Advanced Rules: This is a catch-all chapter for all the advanced stuff that does not deserve its own chapter – things such as bad weather, radar, evading torpedoes, and so forth.
Aircraft: Born again hard in this edition, along with rules for (possibly) keeping carriers away from the front line in a ‘deep deployment’ rule. ‘Aircraft only’ forces will be permitted, allowing you to play out the likes of Taranto and Pearl Harbour.
Coastal Forces: PT Boats and the like will this time be fully integrated into the main rules, and will include harbours and coastal defences.
Submersibles: No longer allowed within the ‘core’ fleet engagements, games involving submersibles will form their own scenarios as they harry convoys and ambush forces steaming towards a battle over the horizon.

Battles at Sea: This is the ‘scenario’ section of the book.
Scenarios: A primer on how to read and use the subsequent scenarios.
Victory at Sea: This is the ‘default’ and perhaps tournament scenario for the game, but it is now much more than just ‘basic deployment, set up your fleet and go!’ You may now have to contend with bad weather and night-fights, and there is now a scouting phase before the battle where you can detach aircraft and ships to watch for the approach of the enemy. Effective scouting will allow you to have a more advanced deployment area, to ‘deep deploy’ your carriers, and also gain benefits such as initiative bonuses.
Tactical Challenges: General/generic scenarios that will allow you to use any fleet in a variety of tactical situations, both based on real engagements and hypothetical confrontations of your own devising.
Battle of the River Plate: The first of the historical scenarios. Each of these is treated with an in-depth commentary on how the battle came about and how it was fought, before presenting you with the relevant forces and any special scenario rules. Think you can defeat the Royal Navy in this engagement? Think you can sink the Graf Spee before it reaches port (difficult!)? This is your chance to prove it!
Battle of Calabria
Attack on Taranto
Battle of Matapan
The German Battleships at War: A medley of battles, charting the history of the great German battleships of the war, and each of their major engagements, from the Attack on the Northern Patrol (the Allied player must try to survive for as long as possible with the HMS Rawalpindi) to the death of the Bismarck.

Though we have concentrated on the Atlantic and Mediterranean up to now, we will also have plenty of battles from other theatres (just starting work on Pearl Harbour right now!), allowing you to wage the war across the oceans during any period.

The War at Sea: This section looks at the history of the war in naval terms, what factors affected the fighting, how technology came into play, and so forth. The following lists what we have done thus far, but there is much, much more to come.
The Washington Treaty
Ruling the Waves: The Royal Navy: We have done a chapter on every major fleet that took part in the war, looking at their tactics and philosophies, and the obstacles they struggled to over come. There is also, for want of a better term, a ‘card file index’ in each chapter, detailing the statistics and history of what we are hoping will become every military ship that floated during the war, along with some ‘hypotheticals’ (such as the N3).
Commerce Raiders: The Kreigsmarine
A New Empire: The Regia Marina
The Sleeping Giant: The US Navy
Banzai: The Imperial Japanese Navy: Yes, we really need a better title than that!
Fight for Freedom: The Marine Nationale
What Might Have been: The Military Maritime Fleet of the USSR
A Thankless Task: Civilian Shipping
Where Were the French?
War in the Mediterranean
The Atlantic Convoys
The Submarine War
Carrier Operations

Fleet Lists
The Royal Navy
The Kreigsmarine
The Regia Marina
The US Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy
The Marine Nationale
The Military Maritime Fleet of the USSR
Civilian Shipping

Appendices
The Royal Navy Order of Battle
The Kreigsmarine Order of Battle
The Regia Marina Order of Battle
The US Navy Order of Battle
The Imperial Japanese Navy Order of Battle
The Marine Nationale Order of Battle
The Military Maritime Fleet of the USSR Order of Battle
Historical Carrier Complements

So, as you can see, we are well on our way, but lots of work to do yet! No release date has yet been planned for this mighty tome, but we are currently looking at late Summer/early Autumn. That said, it will be done when it is dione, and not before!

It is entirely likely that you will see the new range of Victory at Sea 1/2400 scale ships come out before then, or at least the start of them. Cast in resin, we are hoping to make these among the most detailed World War II models on the market, and a true treasure to own if you are interested in this period. We are casting some prototypes right now and, if they work out, you will see them on Planet Mongoose soon. If not, you will be waiting for a while longer while we attend to the details! In the meantime, here is a 3D mock up of the Iowa…

USS Iowa, Front 3/4

USS Iowa, Rear 3/4

USS Iowa, Passing like a ship in the night...

As many of you will know, we are making a change to the range of Star Fleet models by casting many in metal (the larger models, such as the C8 and Condor Dreadnoughts, and the various bases – the first of which will be previewed very soon). Of course, many wanted to know whether the models would retain their crisp level of detail by changing medium.  We can assure you they will, as the same masters have been used for both metal and resin – however, we had a Federation Battlecruiser quickly painted up to match the existing ships in our studio fleet, so you can play spot the difference!

Can you tell the metal one out of these three (yes, there is one cheating way to do this that will no doubt be revealed on our forums, but try to do it without peeking!)?

Just playing around with her 3D software, Sandrine came up with this. Some of you might recognise it…

Gionetti-class Light Cruiser

This light cruiser is named exclusively for posthumous recipients of the Imperial Starburst for Extreme Heroism.

Originally intended as a fast-reacting fighting ship, its actual use has evolved with experience. The ship is currently in favour as a flagship for many minor operations. Its high jump capability makes it extremely responsive to most situations, and it is possible to displace troops or service crew (or both) to provide quarters for command and staff personnel.

We are busy here at Mongoose. Very busy, designing and producing the next lot of exciting games that will (hopefully!) grace your tabletop. This means we don’t often get a chance to completely clear up after ourselves. This, in turn, means that projects can sometimes get bundled into a box, stashed somewhere, and forgotten about. Occasionally, we find some real goodies tucked away, having been hidden for years.

Recently, we uncovered our ‘Wave 4′ Battlefield Evolution prototypes, our game of near-future modern warfare with pre-painted miniatures. Some of these have been seen before, some have never seen the light of day aside from one Gen Con showing, a few years ago. We thought some of you might be interested in seeing a few models that never were…

Future Lynx

First up is the British Army’s Future Lynx, designed to bring the first round of airpower into the game.  This model had a clip-on missile rack with TOW Missiles that could be purchased by an upgrade. Or, you could leave it off, have a GPMG at each door and carry troops, zipping across the battlefield to drop out onto the roof of an important objective.

Zulfiqar MBT

This model was going to bring a change to one force – a Main Battle Tank for the MEA (Middle Eastern Alliance).  While not having the ‘legs’ of the heavyweights such as the Challenger II and Abrams, it gave a powerful punch to MEA forces, and that low, low profile made it easy to hide behind terrain!

Super Cobra

We couldn’t let the USMC go into battle without air support for long, and this Super Cobra was just the ticket.  Hellfire II missiles gave it a heavy punch and if there were other aircraft in the area, Sidewinders would soon bring them down. Anything left could be mopped up with the under-chin M197 cannon.

EQ2050

Not that the air units would have things all their own way. The EQ2050 Air Defence System was the Chinese PLA’s answer to airpower. Cheap in points, just a couple of these could deny an entire battlefield to the choppers. A fun little mdoel, the missiles rotated and pivoted up and down on their stand.

USMC Stinger Team

Ready to knock down a marauding Super Lynx, as well as suppress any other nations that got the idea of bringing massed airpower to a fight, the two man USMC Stinger Team provided a remarkably effective air defence. Scatter a few of these throughout your squads and enemy choppers had to proceed with utmost caution.

Leopard II 140mm

Here’s a favourite – the first non-British unit to join the European Task Force; the German Leopard II, with the revised 140mm gun, a tank that was extremely well-armoured and laughed at the puny weapons carried by the Abrams and Challenger II.

USMC in Woodland Camo

Finally, another couple of models we uncovered – these were never intended to go into production (at least, nto in the time scales we were looking at) but we thought it would be fun to experiment with a USMC force in more ‘traditional’ woodland-style camo. So, we knocked up this Abrams and a Shadow transport.

A New Race for Traveller, by Jacob D C Ross.

The Takel are an aquatic native to the planet Umina. A minor race hindered by the unique nature of their planet and physiology, the Takel are not widely-dispersed among the stars.

Physiology
Takel are a genetically diverse aquatic species. They grow to a height of between 1.75 and 2 metres. There are no immediate differences in the appearances of male and female Takel beyond the great variation in appearance from one Takel to another. Takel are omnivorous, generally requiring a diet of 3,500 calories per day, with similar nutritional needs to humans.

The Takel

Takel bodies are incredibly flexible and dextrous. Takel colouring is variable, and any hue found in the visible spectrum (and beyond) may be present. Their skin can be uniform in colour, spotted, streaked or even covered in fractal patterns. Takel skin varies from smooth to bumpy to scaly. Due to their wild genetics, Takel offspring seldom bear any resemblance to their parents.

Takel each have eight arms (not tentacles), with each arm containing a great number of neurons connected to the brain. Each arm houses 3.5 percent of the total brain mass of the Takel, giving the arms amazing co-ordination. Seeing the impossible-seeming contortions, quick-as-a-flash movements and exotic colouring of the Takel, alien visitors to Umina have reportedly been moved to tears at Takel displays of dexterity, such as dance or athletics.

Takel have four eyes and two beaks, and effectively two faces. The first is found at the front of the head, while the second face is at the top of the head, allowing the Takel to see and eat prey while swimming at top speed.

Takel reproduce sexually and are egg layers, with the eggs kept within the mother. A typical Takel pregnancy has approximately twenty fertilised eggs but perhaps only two are likely to survive to term. Takel mature at approximately sixteen Earth years (seven Umina years) and live to about the age of 68 (29.75 Umina years).

Takel do not have vocal cords and so must use a vocoder in order to converse in other languages, in a similar manner to the Hivers. Takel language consists of a series of clicks made with their beaks, requiring non-Takel to use a specialised vocoder to speak in the Takel language.

The Takel manifest psionic ability in roughly the same percentage of the population as humans. Psionically-endowed Takel tend to have the same psionic strength as their counterparts in other species, but when in the water their abilities are enhanced.

The presence of unique mutagens on Umina severely affect Takel genetics. As a result, Takel have a wide variety of traits that manifest differently from individual to individual. When creating a character, roll once on the table below for any mutations present.

2D6     Result
2            Chamelon Skin
3-4        Poison
5-6       Two Tentacles
7           No Mutation
8-9       Thick Skin
10-11   Enhanced Jet Propulsion
12          Amphibian

Chameleon Skin: The Takel can change the color of its skin. This grants it a +2 DM on all Stealth checks, provided that they are wearing transparent clothing or are nude.
Poison: The Takel can deliver neurotoxin (see page 74 of the Traveller Main Rulebook) via a bite.
Two Tentacles: Two of the Takel’s arms are actually tentacles, terminating in hard claws. When used as weapons the tentacles do D6+2 damage.
Thick Skin: The Takel has natural Armour 1.
Enhanced Jet Propulsion: When using their jet propulsion (see below) the Takel gains an additional +3 metres that it may move in a turn.
Amphibian: The Takel is adapted for both land and water habitats, and may breathe air, but still needs a survival suit to venture into alien oceans and must ingest Umina-specific chemicals daily.

Psionic Sharing
In Takel who have a Psionic Strength characteristic, the ability to draw upon their environment for power is present. A Takel can power their talents by taking Psionic Strength from willing participants within a radius equal to Psi DM x 10 metres. The psion may take a single Psi point from one being per point of the psion’s Psi DM to power a talent. All participants must be fully submerged in the same body of water.

Takel Characters
When creating a Takel character, make the following adjustments:

Str –2
Notable Dex (4D6)
End –2
Edu +1

Aquatic: The Takel cannot operate outside Umina’s ocean (including other oceanic environments) without using survival suits.
Jet Propulsion: If a Takel chooses to do nothing but move for its turn and is in a fluid medium, it may use their innate jet propulsion system to double its movement. Each time it does this counts as two rounds of action for the purposes of fatigue.
Multi-tasking: Due to their complex neural systems, Takel gain an extra minor action each round.

To adventure outside of their ocean, including within an alien ocean, a Takel requires a survival suit.

Survival Suit (TL 13)
The suit is of non-Takel manufacture and must be imported. It is a nearly skin-tight apparatus that provides the salt water mixture a Takel requires to live,  including the unique mixture of chemicals peculiar to Umina. Using this suit, the Takel can survive and interact on land and within alien oceans. The survival suit costs Cr. 4,500 and requires Cr. 20 worth of chemical refills per week. A completely transparent model costs Cr. 13,500.

Takel Society
Takel live on Umina (C66A622-7 S R NI Ri Wa), and have done so for the entirety of their civilisation, which stretches back at least 32,000 years. This age is only verified by historical account, not by archaeology, as the lack of minerals on Umina and the mildly-corrosive nature of its ocean means few artefacts of the past have survived.

The Takel govern themselves by convention, meeting every two Umina years (4.4 Earth years) to settle important matters and direct Takel efforts. Once a majority of 80% agree on a course of action, that plan is enacted. Disagreements seldom arise, not because the Takel get along uncommonly well, but because of their individualistic natures. Takel leave one another to their own plans on the understanding they will not be bothered by their companions.

Takel science is somewhat lacking in most areas. Without access to vast mineral resources on the very sparse land of Umina, the Takel have not achieved much in the way of transportation or computer technology. As they are perfectly adapted to their environment, the Takel never researched housing or buildings beyond basic protective barriers to keep safe from large predators. The Takel have excelled in creating personal weapons and traps to defend themselves against the megafauna that stalk Umina, and their skill with medicine is astonishing. The Takel quickly adapted their own medical technology for other species after first contact. Since Umina is mineral-poor, offworld traders provide the Takel with TL 7 or TL 8 equipment they do not have the infrastructure to manufacture for themselves, while Takel medicine is at TL 14 and nearing TL 15.

Takel have a very permissive attitude with regard to body modification, as they do not have an orthodox ‘look’ to the species, and they are tolerant of physical forms outside of the norm. Rather than cybernetic enhancements, the Takel usually opt for biological enhancements. Some of the most popular include crustacean claws, bio-electrical shock systems, limb regeneration and echolocation organs. These are also some of the most popular augments that the Takel sell, after gills and corrosive-resistant skin.

Within galactic society the Takel play a minor role. Those who venture away from Umina generally find work as doctors, entertainers, scouts (especially useful on aquatic worlds) and soldiers. Few Takel do leave their world, however, as many find the need for a survival suit to be too great a burden for the chance to adventure. Umina’s ocean contains a certain mix of chemicals that the Takel require in order to survive, and so in addition to wearing a survival suit, the suit must be precisely calibrated.

Adventures
The majority of adventures involving Takel will take place on Umina. The small ocean planet contains scant few islands, but corporate and scientific interests have constructed a floating city, Namitam, that serves as the planet’s downport. Submarine tours are available for hire and the Takel will welcome strangers to their sea floor settlements, out of curiosity, if not hospitality. Umina has several sites of interest.

There is a portal near the southern pole, of unknown design. It is actually a jump gate, linking Umina with an unknown watery realm. The water within this realm contains the same mix of chemicals required to support Takel life, but does not appear to have a solid surface, although large spheroids of rock do float within it. It is home to all manner of aquatic creatures, as well as jump gates to other planets with a Hydrographic score of 7 or greater. The portal is large enough to allow passage to a submarine twice the size of modern nuclear subs.

A psion cult is hidden near the ruins. They are led by a mad Takel priest who wants to use the portal to hydroform the planets linked to the portal to be hospitable for Takel life. This would, of course, utterly decimate the native ecosystem of the hydroformed planet. The cult use their abilities of Telekinesis, Energy Kinesis and Psionic Attack to devastating effect (see Book 4: Psion). Additionally, the cult may inundate the minds of Travellers with images of their monstrous deity and false dangers, perhaps causing them to turn on their comrades or open the airlock while underwater. If the cult detect scholarly minds with appropriate political connections or technical knowledge they will try to capture and brainwash the crew in order to receive the information and materials their operation requires.

Campaigns
Takel perhaps work best as a supporting force. They make fine patrons in that most of what they want in terms of material must be imported and few Takel have the desire to leave their homes. Takel NPCs should be socially outgoing, but reserved enough to not readily allow strangers into their inner circle.

Takel encountered off-world will usually be merchants selling medicine or doctors offering bio-augmentations. Because of the cost of living incurred with the required modifications to most of their equipment, Takel medical supplies and other wares should be offered at a higher price than usual. Of course, Takel medical services are often more advanced than those readily available, so players will likely have use for them.

If the referee decides to use the Takel as an enemy, the easiest way would be by using the southern jump gate and the psionic cult that guards it. The referee should feel free to make the hydroforming apparatus work swiftly, eradicating native ecosystems quickly. For added threat, allow the Takel to win their first planet with ease, taking the capital of whatever government the players serve, Earth, or a player’s homeworld. In true battle the Takel would prove to be a serious nuisance, utilising guerilla tactics like stealth strikes and harrying units.

Every now and again, one question pops up on our Traveller forums – after finishing a term during character creation, how do you change assignments within the same career? If, for example, you are a marine working in Support, can you buck for some ‘trigger time’ and become a Star Marine or join a Ground Assault battalion?

Before we give the grand answer to this eternal dilemma, it is worth pointing out that Traveller is not like many other roleplaying games. Balance between characters is far more nebulous, and this is down to the nature of the game.

At its most fundamental level, Traveller is about ordinary people trying to make their way in the world.  Your character has just finished his career and is effectively getting a second start in life, built on his past experiences.  He may have a pension, my have some savings but, other than that, how he gets on in life is up to you. Maybe your character will be a trader, plying the space lanes in a succession of larger freighters as his bank balance increases. Perhaps he will be a mercenary, intentionally seeking war zones and lending his service to the highest bidder. Or he could just ‘see what is out there,’ exploring the galaxy and taking whatever work happens to pop up on the next planet. You could start your own business, mine asteroids, start a criminal organisation, be a space ship salesman (or thief), or become the galaxy’s greatest (ageing) rock star.

Given that, balance between characters is not much use and we intentionally don’t give it much more than a nod in terms of the number of skills and credits a character can earn in a career. After all, one of your friends may be determined to build a combat monster whereas you might prefer to play a ‘face man’ who can bend people round his little finger with a little silver-tongued work. Just as in the real world, both characters have their merits – after all, a blood-thirsty maniac would be no good to us here at Mongoose when it comes to laying out books (Will is more your silent, cloaked assassin type).

So, back to the question; after finishing a term during character creation, how do you change assignments within the same career? Can you just switch, do you need to roll to enlist again, or what?

Here is the official answer…

It doesn’t really matter.

Really, it does not matter.  You are not going to break the game or end up with a monstrous, unbalanced character whichever method you choose – or whether you choose not to allow it at all.

All I can really tell you is what we do in our own games in the office. And before I go on, let me stress that this does not in any way denote the ‘proper’ way of playing the game. It really is just what we do. By all means take this as a starting point for your own campaigns or choose your own options. It is your game and we won’t be busting down your door for doing it differently!

When I am running the character creation session, I tend to vary between allowing an automatic switch and rolling for qualification/enlistment again.  Which is usually determined by the career and also the character involved – an Event may suggest a change in career path, or the player may make a good case for why his character should be allowed to make the change, based on the personality of the character and where the player wants to take him. When rolling for qualification/enlistment, however, I don’t usually use the negative DM for previous careers. After all, the character is already in the career and has, to an extent, already proved himself. Of course, you may want to impose your own penalties if the character has had a string of rather unfortunate Events…

Here are some examples of how we do things.

Agent
If a character is in Law Enforcement, it makes plenty of sense for them to make an automatic move to Corporate, especially after a notable event, good or bad (good may mean they are headhunted, bad may mean the character was ‘encouraged; to leave law enforcement and had no choice but to go corporate). If, however, the player wants to take the character into Intelligence, this may be automatic if (for example) they get Event 8 and successfully go undercover to investigate an enemy and impress an intelligence agency. On the other hand, without such a boost, a straight qualification roll may be more appropriate.

Army, Navy and Marines
These can all be treated in a similar way, and we normally do this based on whether the assignment can be seen as a ‘sideways’ move or is a fast track to something more in the limelight.  For example, in your campaign, Support and Infantry in the army may be seen as being the ‘core’ of an armed force and therefore at a similar level as each other, allowing automatic swaps between them. However, if Cavalry is seen as being somehow more important or a ‘cut above’ the rest of the army, then an enlistment roll may be the way to go. On the other hand, if someone in the Infantry rolls, say, Event 12 and displays heroism in battle, perhaps a switch in assignment may be an automatic benefit as well as the promotion or commission.

Citizen
Well, how many times have you changed job in your life?  It is entirely appropriate to switch assignments on the fly with the Citizen career.

Drifter
Unlike the Citizen career, being a Drifter is more likely to lock a character into a certain way of life, and so it may be better to treat each one as a separate career in its own right. After all, if you have a Scavenger working as part of a salvage crew, he is unlikely to suddenly become a Barbarian – though maybe something like Event 8, where the character is attacked by enemies, could not only leave him injured but marooned on a low tech world. Now that is a great plot hook to bring back into the game later in the campaign!

Nobility
I would tend to let players switch between Administrator and Diplomat as they saw fit, as the two can have some obvious links as the character becomes one of the movers and shakers of their world. However, Dilettante… Maybe it is just me, but I am not sure such characters will end up doing anything truly worthwhile!

Ranks
The final question when switching assignments is how to handle Ranks and, again, I would base it upon the career in question.  If you are switching between assignments within the same military (such as our Army example above), then it makes perfect sense for the character to retain their current Rank and, hopefully build upon it. The same can be said for more informal organisations or even different organisations that have a common basis. For example, a Rogue who starts as an Enforcer, becomes a Thief and ends up as a Pirate could perhaps retain his Rank through all assignments (gaining Skills and Benefits only as he ranks up within each assignment, so you don’t get to ‘double up’ on Benefits), with the reasoning that their reputation is growing and begins to precede them. Someone who has made his name as an Enforcer or Thief could easily be accorded great respect among Pirates. The same argument cold be made for Citizens, as their CV/resume gains weight.

On the other hand, perhaps it does not work so well for Entertainers. How many times has a real world celebrity decided they are no longer a singer/actor/socialite and tried to do something ‘serious’ only for their career to disappear down the plug hole? And, again, the Drifter has somewhat defined lines between its assignments and keeping Rank makes little sense there.

In these cases, it is perhaps better to muster out, get your cash/benefits, then roll for the qualification and start as Rank 0 in a different assignment, effectively treating it as a new career.

The Golden Rule here is to not hamper a player in what he wants to do with his character. There are enough dice rolls to end his character’s greatest dreams already, and if he wants to attempt to do something with his character, let him.  His choices and the dice rolls that follow will determine whether his career choices are the right ones…