Spelunking my library part 2: Expanded Character Books and More

Once I was actually playing Traveller, I also started getting more books. Book 4 was nice with the expanded character generation, but not having any military experience, while I enjoyed creating the expanded characters the rest of that books was not really used other than having a lot more weapons to choose from. High Guard Book 5, though, is falling apart as I read and used that so much. I built so many ships that were probably very impractical. Yet it was something I greatly enjoyed. And Scout Book 6 opened up the entire system - no longer limited to the home world but we could create sweeping vistas of solar systems full of planets, moons, gas giants and planetoid belts. While a lot of the theory that went into that book may no longer hold true, it really does not matter as the rules of what is possible keeps changing. Hot gas giants inside the habitable zone of a star, giant Earth-type planets, and too many planets in an orbit are just some of the things we (well, not me so that is a royal we!) keep finding as we get a better view of the universe around us. And for me - it is a game so as long as it is fun and consistent, then that is what wins for me! Those books kept me occupied for years even when I was not in a gaming group. One of the best parts of Traveller for me is the sheer breadth of solo-play available. One of the reasons my signature on COTI mentions using T5 as a toolbox: all the versions have so many things you can do without really needing a GM or other players. Though eventually that does pale if you are not using it in some fashion. Which is why I am happy to be able play still and share stuff over on COTI.

Hand drawn on graph paper, then cut out and glued to another sheet of paper. Obviously I have always loved spaceships!

I was also delving into the non-GDW books: Lees' Guide, SORAG, Scouts and Merchants. I sucked up all the books I could find. I had a subscription to the JTAS and always looked forward to the mailer as well as the magazine. Back then, the mailer usually had some TAS form on it which was a really nice touch. That may have been one of the reasons I love physical props and make in-game ID cards that double as a character sheet for my players. 

I also picked up Striker in those years. While never playing the tactical skirmish game, just as with High Guard I build a LOT of grav vehicles and things. Most were never practical, but I enjoyed making up grav tanks that would, in a real game, probably be destroyed way too fast. But it was fun. And now I want to pull that box out and see about making vehicles again! The only one I remember making was a grav speeder for my Scout character. Visually it was reminiscent of the police car from Bladerunner, just heavily armed and armored. It fit in his 200-ton custom Scout craft he got for doing something that the Imperium really, really appreciated. 

I also started getting the 15mm Martian Metal minis. I have quite a lot of those, badly painted. Along with the 15mm scale air/raft. 

the deluxe box was starting to overflow with Traveller goodness! And now I realize I never got High Passage 1 in print - need to check to see if that is on one of the CDs!

By the time I stopped playing Traveller in college (girls seemed much more interesting, and yes, I was a very late bloomer!) that deluxe box was about full: books 0-6, along with SORAG, Merchants and Merchandise, Scouts and Assassins (as I guess everyone likes playing as assassin) and a few copies of the JTAS. High Passage which as FASA's version of the JTAS  

I also picked up a few other games, Melee and Wizard and a bunch of those microgames which I no longer have. For some reason, liking Melee & Wizard, I got the Advanced Wizard and Melee books, but never got the actual RPG book. 

Sadly, the game stuff was put up in a closet, the moved to another closet as I moved after college, and moved again when I was getting divorced. But I broke it out, and had somehow managed to keep all those books, as well as a box I had made for the minis I had bought in high school and college.

Going through some of the folders and notebooks I still have, I found a lot of photocopies of blank world and planet maps. My father made a bunch of copies for me of a lot of Traveller stuff. This was back in the early 80s and while he had no idea what I was doing, and neither did I, my parents were very supportive of me (well, until I moved in with my girlfriend, then that caused a rift that took a decade or more to repair!) I also had his old manual typewriter, so a lot was typed up to make it look better :)

Original hand-drawn and typed D'Arlee Subsector

Using Travellermap API. Though I really like my old one

I had forgotten so much of the stuff I still have. And it is really a blast going through notebooks that have been with me for over 40 years and I still get enjoyment out of them. And for me, that is the reason I love RPGs. While yes, they are often escapism and all that, being the late bloomer as mentioned, I am so much more comfortable in my own head than around people. And games let me explore any number of worlds and universes, and even, as per this blog, revisit ones I've not been to in years.

And yes, there is much more spelunking to do. I may have to create an index for the books that I do have. While I certainly remember the main books, those High Guard periodicals sort of surprised me as I had forgotten about them. And when I dig back into that magic box of memories, I wonder what else will surprise me?