Product Reviews: Mongoose Publications' Traveller, 2nd Edition

Several months ago, I stumbled across the Traveller Starter Set at The Game Matrix.

I can't claim I've been a Traveller fan since it's initial release, but I can say I purchased the little black box...

...containing the three little booklets...

...within three years after it's debut publication.

Since then, I've collected most of the subsequent editions, ending with the GURPS and "T-20" versions.

I've seen Mongoose Publishing's version of Traveller for the past decade, flipped through some books at game stores, but nothing really motivated me to buy anything new.

So when I bought the Starter Kit on a whim, I didn't think it would lead to anything significant.

Yeah.

This turned out to be the gateway drug to reigniting my dormant interest in Traveller.

I was impressed by the production quality, because in the past, I've found Mongoose Publication's quality control to be hit-or-miss.  This is Mongoose's second edition of Traveller, and they've done a lot to bring the game up to date from "The 80s With Starships!"

Misgivings aside, and not satisfied with the Starter Set, I purchased the 2nd Edition Core Rulebook.

This in turn, triggered a buying spree of both old and new Traveller material, starting with the Game Master's Screen.

Classic Traveller (starting in the year 1105 on the Imperial Calendar) primarily focused on the Spinward Marches of the Third Imperium.  So I decided to revisit this sector by buying the The Spinward Marches Book...

...along with the map...

...the Spinward Encounters Adventures Book...

...and the Tripwire campaign.

Now here's where my misgivings about quality control became justified.  While 2008 Edition of the Spinward Marches got decent reviews, I thought a lot of readers were pulling their punches.

While the content in every Third Imperium publication I bought was good, I found there was a complete lack of editorial oversight.

Just about every page, in every book contained a grammatical or syntax error.

It's as if the material was written then sent off to Mongoose Publications without anyone bothering to edit or review it.  

The number and consistency of errors made the material hard for me to enjoy reading.  But if you're more concerned about getting material for game mastering a session than you are about the proper use of written English, then Third Imperium books won't be a waste of your money.

These mixed feelings didn't stop me from buying material on the Spinward Marches' "next door neighbor," the Deneb Sector

After reading through all the new material--and hoarding my money for new purchases--I decided to "take a look back" and buy material (now out of print) I couldn't afford to when they were initially published.

For that "big picture" look, my first purchase was the Fifth Frontier War (which erupts in the year 1107).

Since player characters, or "travellers" as they're called in the game, journey around in starships, I thought getting the games Brilliant Lances...

...and Battle Rider would add to any game session.

The rules to both games are complex and actually set in post-Imperial collapse of The New Era (starting in the year 1116)--but the counters look cool!

It's 1105 again, and Mongoose Publications continues to make products set in the Spinward Marches, like the introductory adventure High and Dry.

In this book, the travellers are given the chance to find and return an abandoned starship.

However, this is a classic case of "easier said, than done."

Most of Mongoose Publication's attention seems to be focused on The Great Rift, a vast volume of space with very few star systems--and refueling points.

There's even "rift-version" of the High and Dry adventure--Islands in the Rift.

In this case, not only will the travellers have to find and return a starship, but they'll have to contend with intrigue and skulduggery in the Old Islands and New Islands subsectors.

 Overall, I'm happy with all my out-of-print and up-to-date Traveller purchases.

Now all I need is some free time to "travel" among the tabletop stars...

Product Review: Warhammer 40K 8th Edition

Shortly before 2017 came to a close, I took the plunge and bought Warhammer 40,000’s Eighth Edition (WH 40K 8E).

Prior to this, I scavenged through used book stores for earlier editions.

Not one early edition either.

As a latecomer to the “grim darkness of the far future...” I ended up with Edition 5, 6, and 7 of the core rulebooks.  (Edition 7’s three-volume set was purchased after Edition 8 hit the shelves).

I didn’t limit my dabbling in WH40K to old rulebooks.  While Edition 7 was in its heyday, I started buying just about every used Edition 6 splatbook (codexes—supplements containing the specific details of a select faction) I could find.

Since I have yet to play a single game of any edition of WH40K, I’m not in a position to make any comparisons, good, bad, or indifferent.

I have though, noticed significant changes have been made with each new edition.  And Edition 8 is no exception.  The rules seem to be the most streamlined of the lot.  The blast templates used for determining casualties caused by flame weapons or explosives have been eliminated.  Also there’s nothing in the new core rulebook to set up a “starter game.”  That is, there’s no crunch (game statistics) about any of the factions’ troops or weapon systems within the core rulebook.

So players are forced to buy at least one splatbook.

Since the bulk of my WH40K force consists of “ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances," I went ahead and bought the latest codex for the Astra Militarum, (formerly known as the Imperial Guard)

In this regard I’m one of the lucky players to have a new codex for my main force.  Other players are still waiting for theirs.

I’m still waiting for a codex for my small force of Adepta Sororitas (a.k.a. The Sisters of Battle, or “nuns with guns”).

Fortunately, in the Index: Imperium 2, consists of the basic data,without the fluff, for me to utilize for my Battle Sisters, along with the team of Inquisitors I purchased at a wargame swap meet a few months ago.

So that's three 8E books I've purchased right off the bat--and I want to buy the upcoming codex for the Adepta Sororitas, and the Inquisition.

And at the risk of implying "I can quit whenever I want to" I don't plan on buying any more 8E splatbooks.  While it's a good strategy to study the capabilities of your opponents' forces, I figure I can get the gist of things with the earlier edition splatbooks.

I'm also plan on keeping earlier edition core rulebooks, because there's still gamers out there who continue to play by the old rules.

So from what little I know about actually playing WH40K, I like the rules.

Maybe I'll even like the game--if I ever get a chance to play.

If you want an in-depth review of the good, bad and ugly of 8E, here's one review by Miniwargaming on what they love and don't love about WH40K8E.

(Image: Adepta Sororitas by Anna Steinbauer)

Book Review: Hammer & Anvil

(Image from:  Goodreads)

Sometimes all it takes is a few scenes to turn a good book into a great book.

That's the case with Hammer & Anvil, the sequel to Faith & Fire and the subject of my previous book review.

In this story, Miriya and Verity are looking for peace and closure after the events of their initial adventure.  Instead, they find anything but.  Both wind up on the barren rock known as Sanctuary_101, ten years after the massacre at an Adepta Sororitas fortress-convent, in effort to reconsecrate the site.

Or so they're told.

As with all things Warhammer 40,000 (WH40K):  Factions within the Imperium of Man, in this case the Inquisition, the Adeptus Mechanicus, have their own hidden agendas.   Even Canoness Sepherina isn't completely forthcoming about full scope of their mission.

The book starts off as something of a mystery, and on page 55 of this 410 page book, the Sisters of Battle learn it was Necrons who were the mysterious attackers that wiped out their original convent (WH40K's "robot zombies").

(Image by Nicholas Kay)

The mystery continues to unfold, and by page 194 they learned the extent of the Necron threat to the Imperium. Although for WH40K fans who've already read the Fluff, this reveal isn't so revealing. What is finally disclosed on page 259 is the item Canoness Sepharina has been searching for:  An artifact known as the Hammer and Anvil, believed to have been lost in the initial Necron attack. Which makes Hammer & Anvil something of a MacGuffinTitled book.

Even as the Second Battle of Sanctuary-101 got underway, I was about to give Hammer & Anvil a 3-star rating, like it's predecessor.  However, the story took off with a "Hell Yes!" Moment on page 334, where--spoiler alert--a tormented survivor of the original massacre exorcises her personal demon while fighting a Deathmark (an assassin android).

A few more "Hell Yes!" scenes followed close on the heels of the Deathmark's death:  There is something of a "Men of Harlech" scene as the Necrons silently closed-in on the beleaguered Battle Sisters; when the treacherous Techpriest Tegas finds the Hammer and Anvil, hoping it's an ultimate weapon, but turns out to be merely a Memento MacGuffin; and finally the often-overlooked Verity helps bring down the Nemesor leading the current assault.

Among these high points of the last 76 pages are split action scenes of Verity assisting in battle at the fortress-convent, first as a healer, then as a combatant; and Miriya with a commando team infiltrating the Necron lair in Sanctuary-101's moon.

What I also found amusing was how the machine logic of both the Necrons and the techpriests were constantly confounded--and ultimately thwarted--by human illogical behavior and raw emotions.

All this was enough to bump Hammer & Anvil to a 4-star read.  Average reviews on both Amazon.com and Goodreads are almost as good with 3.80 and 3.79-stars, respectively.

While Ciaphas Cain is still my favorite WH40K character, (because he's Harry Flashman, IN SPACE!), Miriya and Verity come in at #2 and #3 for me.

A Sisters of Battle Omnibus is due to hit the shelves next month.  This tome will contain "... Faith & Fire and Hammer & Anvil, along with the prose version of the audio drama Red & Black and a new short story 'Heart & Soul', available in print for the first time." 

(Image from Amazon.com)

Book Review: Faith & Fire

 One of the more popular factions among Warhammer 40K players, but sporadically supported by Games Workshop, are the Adepta Sororitas (a.k.a. Sisters of Battle), the actual military arm of the Ecclesiarchy.

I stumbled across a copy of Faith and Fire at Half Price Books.

Fire certainly comes into play throughout the novel.  The Sisters of Battle believe that the only good witch/mutant/heretic/traitor is one who's not only dead, but burnt to a crisp.  Meanwhile, their psyker enemies often retaliate with "witch fire."  So in just about every combat scene there's flames, screaming, smoke and burnt-flesh odors.

The story itself revolves around Miriya, a Celestian, and Hospitaller Verity, in their attempt to recapture renegade psyker Torris Vaun.  During their investigation, and the battles they're swept-up in, they uncover a plot by deluded Deacon Viktor LaHayn to restart an Artifact Of Death hoping to revive the comatose God-Emperor of Mankind.

Their Odd Couple partnership resembles the Cop And Scientist team-ups from Holmes & Watson to Scully & Mulder.

I found Faith & Fire to be a predictable, but entertaining story and give it a 3-star rating.  The finale has an element of Deus Ex Machina to it.  However, this can be justified, since the story revolves around the characters' religious zealotry for the God-Emperor.

Readers generally liked Faith & Fire, which has a 3.5-star rating on both Amazon.com and Goodreads.  Warhammer 40K fans either loved it, or hated it.  The fans who disliked the book thought the characters were wooden, flat, unremarkable and even unlikable, along with sounding more like men, than women. 

I didn't pay attention to these valid observations, because the characters are members of Imperium's Church Militant.  Their lives revolve around prayers, singing hymns, and incinerating the enemies of the God-Emperor.  This doesn't leave much room for deep character development, or more feminine pursuits, beyond religious fervor.

Faith & Fire does follow the standard story lines of the Warhammer 40K 'verse--

--The heroes demonstrate insight and initiative.
--Which in turn, causes them to run-afoul of their dogmatic superiors.
--The agency the heroes are members of have a hidden agenda.
--Which in turn, runs afoul of one or more other agencies operating on their own agendas.
--There's a conspiracy afoot to take over a planet/star system/quadrant/the entire Imperium.

Despite these standard tropes, I still liked Faith & Fire enough to start reading the sequel,  Hammer & Anvil, right off the bat.