Apathy Blogs

Imperium Chronicles by William Mitchell

I was given a complimentary PDF of the Imperium Chronicles RPG for review. It took me quite a while to figure out exactly what to say about it. You would think that with my love of Traveller it would be a perfect fit for me. Somehow it isn’t though.

If you ever wanted to play in a sci-fi universe like Traveller’s Third Imperium but with d20 style rules, this game is for you.

Of course, there already exists a whole set of Traveller d20 books. However, by now they are long out of print. I never got any of them, so I can’t tell you how this compares. I didn’t get them for the same reason Imperium Chronicles doesn’t quite suit me — I don’t think d20 is the best system for all games. Don’t get me wrong, I like d20 for Dungeons and Dragons or Pathfinder. And if you want to use d20 for games like Traveller or Mutants and Masterminds or World of Darkness, that’s fine. But I like exploring different game systems. For me quirky rules are part of Traveller’s charm.

One thing that surprised me is that Imperium Chronicles doesn’t actually use the OGL. It’s simply a lot like the d20 system, but has a bunch of minor differences. As a fan of the open gaming movement, I would have thought it would be easier to just tweak the existing rules. You can still keep all of your world information as product identity. I figure if you are going to be d20ish, you might as well go all the way.

While the Imperium Chronicles feels inspired by Traveller’s Third Imperium, it is definitely a different setting. Not that Traveller’s setting is all that unique, it was inspired by Asimov’s Empire which in turn was inspired by the Roman Empire. Imperium Chronicles contains a rich tapestry of noble houses, alien races, and unique worlds. Even if you don’t use the setting in its entirety, it is filled with great ideas worth stealing and incorporating into your science fiction galaxy of choice.

I can tell this work is a labor of love. William clearly wrote this because he wanted his own perfect blend of games he liked. In the end it isn’t quite the game I would have put together, but that’s okay. It might be exactly what one of my readers is looking for. I repeat: If you wanted the world of Traveller with d20 rules, this game is exactly what you need.

Myself I will likely just mine it for ideas to convert into Mongoose Traveller. I wouldn’t regret a purchase with only that in mind. I have more game systems than I know what to do with. But I can always use more great ideas.

Apathy Rating: 4/5.

When I was fairly young my older sister’s friend told me about Dungeons and Dragons. I don’t really remember much of what she told me, only that by the end of that summer I wanted to play. I had some experience delving into dungeons as my favorite computer game was Hack, a rogue-like game that later evolved into Nethack. It was a very old school RPG, where magic items were identified through trial and error, or the lucky use of an identify scroll. When you died you got your name on a high score list and started all over again from level 1. Monsters get harder and harder the deeper you go. The dungeon was randomly generated each time, so no two games were a like. Ok, I need to stop talking about how awesome Nethack is so I can move on to the actual point of this article.

My birthday is in the fall and I asked for Dungeons and Dragons for my birthday. I didn’t get it. My mother wasn’t certain about it, so she bought me the Middle-Earth Role-Playing Game (MERP) instead. She’d read The Hobbit, so she figured it couldn’t be too bad. It was based on Role-master, which is not a beginner’s game. It was a great read and had fantastic art though. I don’t think I ever played a real game of it though, although I know I made some characters.

Shortly thereafter I convinced her to let me get actual Dungeons and Dragons. I think I started with the AD&D Player’s Guide (First edition, but we didn’t call it that since the second edition was a long way off). I shortly thereafter had the Dungeons and Dragons Basic Set (Red Box), the AD&D Dungeon Master’s Guide and In Search of Adventure (A collection of adventure modules B1-9). I only had myself and my cousin to play with, but that was enough to keep us going for a couple years. We didn’t have anyone older to play with or teach us the rules. We just read the books and muddled our way through.

So now I have a niece and nephew. They aren’t quite as old as I was when I started, but they are the age many of my friends started gaming. Their father is also a gamer, but he’s concerned about introducing true violence to his children this early. I can’t blame him, D&D is about murdering people and taking their stuff. Still, sometime soon I’d like to get them an introductory RPG product.

Wizards of the Coast has recently released A 4th Edition Starter Kit (in a red box). From what I hear it isn’t really a complete game. It doesn’t have a standard character creation rules book, it has a choose your own adventure thing that walks them through character creation. That’s neat to include, but a little red player’s guide would have been handy. I’m not convinced this is a good stand-alone starting set. It’s designed to get you to buy other books, not to be a complete package for more than 1 level of adventuring.

I am really curious about Green Ronin’s Dragon Age RPG. It looks like a better boxed set, with a complete game that is fairly rules light compared to 4th Edition D&D. If they were about 5 years older I’d be tempted to get it for them, except the dark in “Dark Fantasy” is probably not age appropriate. I would have to read through the book myself before getting it for them.

My love of Doctor Who makes me want to check out Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space. It has an advantage in that the Doctor never carries a weapon, and always tries to resolve things peacefully. Monsters may exist, but talking to them is usually an option. How many times has the Doctor tried reasoning with the Daleks? Of course, the price point is such that I can’t just casually get it for them on a whim. Still, it might be a strong possibility for a Christmas gift.

I also keep thinking that Traveller RPG could work with some guidance. Sure, there is the possibility for fighting space pirates. On the other hand, my brother-in-law will likely be running a game for them. You can easily run a more Star Trek The Next Generation style game that focuses more on peaceful exploration of the galaxy. Not quite the out of the box experience, but still quite possible.

So it should be noted that other than Traveller, I don’t own any of the above products myself. I’d certainly like to try them out sometime. Does anyone else have a suggestion for a less violent starting RPG? I really want something that is self-contained in no more than two or three books. It’s kind of too bad Bunnies and Burrows is out of print. Maybe I’ll just get them Squirrel Attack! instead.

Something New for Traveller

Twilight Sector is a sourcebook from Terra/Sol Games for the Mongoose Traveller RPG. I received a free review PDF and have not used it in a game yet.

Traveller is one of the oldest science fiction role-playing games. There have been many versions over the years; right now the most active and widely available version is by Mongoose Publishing. At its heart, Traveller is a game about space travel. Characters are usually the crew of a space ship. They may be mercenaries, free traders, outlaws or military. The idea is that there are countless worlds out there to explore.

It was originally designed to be a generic space role-playing game that could be used for any setting. Star Trek, Red Dwarf, Babylon 5, Firefly, Farscape or many others could all easily be adapted to the Traveller rules. But a game needs an example setting to get people started. What started as a few example sectors of space grew over time to be known as the “original traveller universe”. I have seen a map of the Third Imperium printed out in a 56”x50” poster and it is overwhelming to behold. The traveller universe however, is just one possible setting you could use.

One of the things Mongoose has done is opened the production of supplements to third party publishers. It is an open license similar to the d20 license that Wizard’s of the Coast used to offer, or the GSL of 4th edition Dungeons and Dragons. So Terra/Sol Games has created their own alternative universe for people to play with. It is really just a beginning, as it only details an area the size of a subsector. There are 7 systems and 2 starbases, each of which is quite detailed. They even have maps of each main planet and solar system. Even if you don’t want to use the detailed timeline and alternate history, these planets are worth borrowing to insert into whichever universe you do play in. The sector itself is meant to have a number of mysteries and it is left to the individual GMs to decide what the answers are. It can easily be worked into an existing campaign as a newly discovered region on the edge of known space.

Twilight Sector also focuses on mutants. There are both natural mutants and genetically induced mutants. There is a fairly detailed section on how to create characters of both types. I would have to use them in play to get a feel for the balance, but they usually have both positive and negative mutations. They can certainly add a unique feel to a game. I could see a group of mutants trying to fit in as an excellent basis for a campaign.

The book has served to rekindle my interest in Traveller. I myself will probably just borrow parts from it, as building my own universe is part of what I enjoy about the game. Twilight Sector certainly provides some interesting bricks for me to use though. The alternate history is an interesting read and full of good ideas. I definitely look forward to more books from Terra/Sol Games, as it is always refreshing to look at an old game from a new perspective.

Apathy Rating: 3/5.

Want to learn more about Twilight Sector? Read on…

• Atomic Array: Twilight Sector (Atomic Array 034)
• Game Cryer: Review by Chris Perrin
• The Zhodani Base: Twilight Sector – A new TU
• Apathy Blogs: Something New For Traveller
• Rogue Puppet: A Role Player’s Dream is Discovered
• Examiner.com: Review by Michael Shorten

Drop by Terra/Sol Games today!