Freelance Traveller

These pages contain fan-written reviews of individual Traveller products. If you would like to write a review for Freelance Traveller, we're willing to read (and most likely publish) it. All we ask is that you

• be honest about what you think, and why, and
• don't use inflammatory, abusive, or insulting language, or language that would be inappropriate in a gaming industry publication.

It's OK to write a negative review; not all products are going to be good. However, you need to remember that appearing in a Traveller-related publication makes you, de facto, a representative of the Traveller-playing community - and you don't want to give people outside that community a bad impression of us.

It's also OK to write a review of a product that has already been reviewed here, so don't let that stop you from submitting a review of your own.

All reviews in Freelance Traveller Magazine or its websites are the personal opinions of the individual reviewers, and should not be construed as representing the opinions of the staff of Freelance Traveller, even in cases where the reviewer is known to be a member of that staff. These reviews are provided to the community for informational purposes, and are not intended as endorsements of the products or websites reviewed.

• 101 Cargos (Timothy Collinson) Cargos can make money - or trouble - for player-characters. Here are many ways to do so.
• 101 Governments (Paul Williams) Describing a government in more than just a single letter.
• 101 Lifeforms (Peter Newman) Animals to encounter in play.
• 101 Plots (Timothy Collinson) Over a hundred ways for referees to send players chasing all over the setting.
• 101 Rendezvous (Timothy Collinson) Places to meet and things that can happen there.
• 101 Travellers (Timothy Collinson) Looking at the BITS sourcebook for NPCs.
• 21 Plots (Jeff Zeitlin) Getting Off The Ground in the Gypsy Knights Games setting
• 21 Plots III ("kafka") More seeds for more adventures
• 21 Plots Planetside ("kafka") Quick Seeds for Quick Adventures on Quick Worlds
• 21 Plots Too ("kafka") Another seed packet for adventures
• 2300AD: Then and Now (Timothy Collinson) A side-by-side look at two editions of 2300AD
• Aliens of the Rim (Rob Prior) A look at the Traveller: The New Era sourcebook for the Hivers and their main clients.
• Ancient Trails: Witness to History ("kafka") Chasing dreams, in a very literal sense
• The Beyond (Colin Michael) A look at this sector that is - of course - Beyond the Imperial border.
• Traveller-Compatible Product: Career Book 1 (Allen Shock) A look at Spica Publishing's expanded non-military careers, for Mongoose Traveller
• Career Book 2 (Benjamin Pew) A look at additional careers, from Spica Publishing
• Subsector Sourcebook 1: Cascadia ("kafka") Collecting Quick Worlds yields more than a quick subsector.
• Creatures of Distant Worlds Compendium 1 (Jeff Zeitlin) Exotic animals - and others
• d66 Compendium (Jeff Zeitlin) A simple idea, packaged usefully
• Darthanon Queen (Ewan Quibell) A mediocre ship and some mediocre scenarios to go with it.
• Diaspora Phoenix (Grahame Mulliss) A New Era novel
• The Early Adventures (Ewan Quibell) A compilation of adventure material from DGP's Travellers' Digest.
• Encounters in the Phoenix Quadrant (Ewan Quibell) Another mediocre ship and mediocre characters to man it.
• Escape (Ewan Quibell) Escape from the Aslan!
• Traveller's Aide #9 - Fighting Ships of the Solomani (Martin Lamar) A look at the Solomani fleet and doctrine.
• Flynn's Guide to Alien Creation ("kafka") A look at building Space Opera aliens while avoiding Space Opera clichés.
• Flynn's Guide to Magic in Traveller (Jeff Zeitlin) A look at a formal skill-based system for magic in Traveller.
• Gateway to Destiny (Joel Benford) A look at a sourcebook for Milieu 1000.
• Gazelle-class Close Escort Deck Plans (Ewan Quibell) A useful but uninspiring look at a ship with potential
• Travellers' Aide #2 - Grand Endeavor (Mark Urbin) (Mark Urbin) A look at a collection of stories set during the Interstellar Wars or in the Year 1000 era.
• Glimmerdrift Reaches (Joseph Kimball) An early version of a sector on the trailing edge of the Imperium
• GURPS Traveller (Brian Christopher Misiaszek) A review of the core sourcebook for Traveller under the GURPS system.
• Hyperlite: The Sirius Treaty (Tim Bancroft) An overview of a non-Traveller product based on the Traveller SRD.
• Hyperlite: The Sirius Treaty (Jeff Zeitlin) An independent look at a Traveller variant
• System Book 1: Katringa (Timothy Collinson) An entire system, in coherent and well-developed detail.
• The Khiidkar Incident (Timothy Collinson) The second adventure from BITS.
• The Long Way Home (Timothy Collinson) The first BITS adventure supplement for Marc Miller's Traveller.
• Marc Miller's Traveller (Joseph E. Walsh) The core rules for the fourth edition of Traveller.
• Marc Miller's Traveller: Starships (reviewed by Richard Crowley) Starships and rules for designing them
• Mercator (Benjamin Pew) A look at a low-tech supplement for Classic Traveller
• EPIC Adventure 4: Merchant Cruiser (Ewan D. Quibell) Trading on the Imperial fringe.
• Merchants and Merchandise (Colin Michael) An early expansion of the Merchant career.
• Milieu 0 Campaign (Leroy Guatney) A look at the Imperium in its earliest days.
• Mongoose Traveller (Jeff Zeitlin) A look at the core rules from the Mongoose Traveller line
• Mongoose Traveller - The Spinward Marches (Jeff Zeitlin) A Classic Area of Classic Traveller, for the latest release from Mongoose
• Mongoose Traveller - 760 Patrons (Jeff Zeitlin) Close Encounters of the Random Kind
• Mongoose Traveller Supplement 1: 760 Patrons, Second Edition ("kafka") 760 Patrons, remade and expanded
• Mongoose Traveller - Mercenary (Allen Shock) A look at the expanded Army and Marine careers for Mongoose Traveller
• Mongoose Traveller - High Guard (Jeff Zeitlin) A look at the second expanded career book.
• Mongoose Traveller Supplement 2 - Traders and Gunboats (Jeff Zeitlin) Small Craft and starships up to 1000 tons.
• Mongoose Traveller Adventure 1 - Beltstrike (Jeff Zeitlin) Belters and prospecting and more...
• Mongoose Traveller Supplement 3 - Fighting Ships (Martin Lamar) From fighters to carriers, destroyers to dreadnoughts, a representative selection of ships.
• Mongoose Traveller Supplement 3 - Fighting Ships (Jeff Zeitlin) From fighters to carriers, destroyers to dreadnoughts, a representative selection of ships.
• Mongoose Traveller Pocket Rulebook (Jeff Zeitlin) A compact edition of the Mongoose Traveller Core Rulebook
• Mongoose Traveller - An Introduction to Traveller (Jeff Zeitlin) A minimum usable set of rules for getting your feet wet.
• Mongoose Traveller Adventure 2 - Prison Planet (Jeff Zeitlin) A look at what penalties the PCs might pay for being PCs.
• Mongoose Traveller - Scout (Jeff Zeitlin) A look at the Scout character type
• Mongoose Traveller: The Universe of Babylon-5 (Lorcan Nagle) An extensive review of the first licensed setting for Mongoose Publishing's Traveller line
• Mongoose Traveller - Agent (Nik Kraakenes) A look at the character/career book for a very ... flexible ... character type.
• Mongoose Traveller - Psion (Jeff Zeitlin) On the matter of mind over matter.
• Mongoose Traveller: Babylon 5 - The Trouble With Drazi (Jeff Zeitlin) An adventure set in the Babylon 5 universe.
• Mongoose Traveller - Scoundrel (Jeff Zeitlin) Adding color to ... colorful ... characters.
• Mongoose Traveller - Alien Module 1: Aslan (Doc Kinne) A look at the latest presentation of one of Traveller's Major Races
• Mongoose Traveller - Alien Module 1: Aslan (Jeff Zeitlin) Another look at a favorite alien race
• Mongoose Traveller Supplement 4 - Central Supply Catalogue (Jeff Zeitlin) What the well-prepared adventurer has sent to him so that he CAN prepare...
• Mongoose Traveller - Alien Module 2: Vargr (Doc Kinne) A new look at a second Major Race.
• Mongoose Traveller: Strontium Dog - Bounties and Warrants (Jeff Zeitlin) Adventure Seeds for Strontium Dog
• Mongoose Traveller - The Third Imperium: Sector Map Packs (Jeff Zeitlin) A brief look at the poster maps for the Third Imperium setting
• Mongoose Traveller Book 7: Merchant Prince (Jeff Zeitlin) Expanding on trade opens up new campaign opportunities
• Mongoose Traveller: Compendium 1 (Jeff Zeitlin) Signs and Portents for Traveller, distilled
• Mongoose Traveller Compendium 1 ("kafka") Another look at the compilation from Signs and Portents
• Mongoose Traveller: Dilettante (Jeff Zeitlin) Looking at the wealthy traveller
• Mongoose Traveller: The Third Imperium - Alien Module 3: Darrians ("kafka") A minor human race with a major political effect
• Mongoose Traveller: The Third Imperium - Sector Fleet ("kafka") A view of fleet organization in the official Traveller setting
• Mongoose Traveller: The Third Imperium - Crowded Hours (Jeff Zeitlin) A set of prepackaged adventures for Traveller
• Mongoose Traveller Book 9: Robot (Jeff Zeitlin) More than just iron men.
• Mongoose Traveller Book 9: Robot ("kafka") Another look at this add-on rulebook.
• Mongoose Traveller: The Third Imperium: Starports ("kafka") A look at the anchors of interstellar societies
• Mongoose Traveller LBB9: Library Data ("kafka") Broad but not deep, an information capsule for Mongoose Traveller's Third Imperium setting
• Mongoose Traveller - The Third Imperium: Tripwire (Jeff Zeitlin) Counterespionage and violence on the frontier.
• Mongoose Traveller Supplement 11: Animal Encounters ("kafka") Wildlife in its original sense
• Mongoose Traveller Supplement 10: Merchants and Cruisers ("kafka") More info about more starships
• Mongoose Traveller Supplement 12: Dynasty (Jeff Zeitlin) Governments, Megacorporations, Religious Hierarchies... and how to "play" them.
• Mongoose Traveller Supplement 8: Cybernetics ("kafka") From enhanced prosthetics to cyborgs
• Mongoose Traveller: The Third Imperium: Reft Sector (Harry Bryan) A look at one of the lesser-known sectors, but with high adventuring potential.
• Mongoose Traveller: The Third Imperium: Alien Module 4: Zhodani ("kafka") The latest view of a psionics-centered human society
• Mongoose Traveller Supplement 9: Campaign Guide (Jeff Zeitlin) More a referee's "toolkit" than a "guide".
• Mongoose Traveller: 2300AD ("kafka") A look at the Mongoose Traveller rework of a GDW classic
• Mongoose Traveller: Spinward Encounters (Jeff Zeitlin) A set of adventures for the Spinward Marches
• Mongoose Traveller Supplement 5-6: The Vehicle Handbook (Jeff Zeitlin) Mongoose's second try at a vehicle design system
• Mongoose Traveller: Compendium 2 (Timothy Collinson) More good stuff collected from Signs and Portents.
• Mongoose Traveller: The Third Imperium: Alien Module 5: Solomani (Jeff Zeitlin) A new look at the True Men hailing from humaniti's home.
• Mongoose Traveller: The Third Imperium: Deneb Sector ("kafka") A long-established sector with something for everyone.
• Mongoose Traveller - The Third Imperium - Minor Alien Module 1: Luriani (Jeff Zeitlin) A well-written treatment of a minor race.
• Mongoose Traveller Supplement 7: 1,001 Characters (Jeff Zeitlin) NPCs galore
• One-Act Adventures: Vengeance by Proxy (Jeff Zeitlin) A quick and flexible adventure
• Three for 2300AD (Timothy Collinson) Capsule reviews of Terror's Lair, The Tricolore's Shadow, and Special Supplement 1: Biotech Vehicles, all from Mongoose.
• CD-ROM: The Journal of the Travellers' Aid Society (Paul Havoc) The Classic Traveller Canon on CD
• CD-ROM: 2300AD (Jeff Zeitlin) Traveller wasn't GDW's only SF RPG...
• Reign of Discordia - Traveller Edition ("kafka") A first look at another setting for Mongoose's implementation of the Traveller ruleset.
• Reign of Discordia - Traveller Edition (Jeff Zeitlin) Another look at this post-Imperial space-operatic setting
• Golden Age Stareships Compilation 1-5 (Jeff Zeitlin) Five starships from past versions of Traveller, updated for Mongoose Traveller
• 1248 Sourcebook 1: Out of the Darkness (Bruce Johnson) Continuing GDW's story
• 1248 Sourcebook 1: Out of the Darkness (William Wilson) Continuing GDW's story
• Nemesis-class Pursuit Ship (Jeff Zeitlin) A writeup of a good ship could be better
• Orbital ("kafka") Traveller, as near-future hard SF
• Outer Veil ("kafka") Hard SF and early tech, but still unquestionably Traveller.
• Outpost Mars ("kafka") Traveller meets technothriller
• Power Projection: Fleet (Ray Garbee) A game for resolving fleet actions.
• Keepers of the Flame - the Regency Sourcebook (Christopher Griffen) A look at the sourcebook for Traveller: The New Era for adventuring in the remnants of the Imperium.
• Scouts and Assassins (Colin Michael) An early third-party attempt to detail the Scout Service.
• SORAG (Colin Michael) A focus on the Zhodani secret intelligence agency.
• Spacedogs (Timothy Collinson) A look at this BITS adventure for Vargr PCs.
• The Stazhlekh Report/The Harrensa Project (Ewan D. Quibell) Two adventures in one volume, from FASA.
• The Sydymic Outworlds Cluster (Ewan Quibell)
• Tancred (Ewan Quibell) A look at an early planetary setting for Classic Traveller
• Traveller Collector's Edition (Books 0-8) (Colin Michael) A look at the first of the Far Future Enterprises reprints of the Classic Traveller material.
• Traveller HERO (Jeff Zeitlin)
• Twilight Sector Campaign Sourcebook (Richard Hazlewood) A look at an alternative setting for Traveller
• Twilight Sector Campaign Sourcebook, Revised Edition (Richard Hazlewood) A look at the revision of an alternative setting for Traveller
• Twilight Sector Campaign Sourcebook, Revised Edition ("kafka") Another look at the update to TerraSol Games' alternate Traveller setting.
• Twilight Sector Setting Update Alpha ("kafka") Further whetting appetites for an alternative Traveller setting
• Tinker, Spacer, Psion, Spy (Jeff Zeitlin) Terra/Sol Games offers a set of career options for their Twilight Sector setting.
• Twilight Sector: Beyond the Open Door ("kafka") An alternate-setting adventure/campaign with something for everyone.
• Six Guns: Gauss Weapons ("kafka") A look at a look at gauss weapons
• Starfarer's Gazette #1 ("kafka") A "house 'zine" for the Twilight Sector setting.
• Techbook: Chrome (Richard Hazlewood) A look at alternative rules equipment for cybernetics.
• Technical Manual 1: Reprieve-class Escape Pod (Timothy Collinson) More than just a space bubble, when you have less than a working ship
• TYPE S (Allen Shock) A look at the first Comstar/Avenger product for Mongoose Traveller
• Vampire Fleets (Jeff Zeitlin) A look at the Virus sourcebook for Traveller: The New Era.
• Vanguard Reaches (Colin Michael) A brief look at this area well outside the Imperium.
• Travellers' Aide #1 - Personal Weapons of Charted Space (Matthew Bond) (Matthew Bond) A look at this first supplement for d20 and Classic Traveller.
• Travellers' Aide #1 - Personal Weapons of Charted Space (Megan Roberton) (Megan Robertson) Another look at this d20 and Classic Traveller supplement.
• Travellers' Aide #1 - Personal Weapons of Charted Space (Mark Urbin) (Mark Urbin) Another review of this supplement for d20 and Classic Traveller.
• Other People's Toys Reviews of useful or interesting non-Traveller products
• Off The Table Fiction reviews, linked to Traveller
• LinkLooks This section of Critic's Corner concentrates on websites.