Game Geeks reviews T20

[Blue Ghost]

I came across this either last year or the year before last, but here is a very intelligent man who is a gamer and I think a chem-professor, who has a web-series that reviews games.

Here's his review of T20;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cejnN3V2wpU

 

[Rover]

I saw that a while back too. T20 is my favorite flavor of Traveller. I love the D20/3.5 system.

 

[GypsyComet]

A bit out of date now, with Hunter gone and the license reverted. He also glosses over some fairly rough patches. I helped with that book, and the prior career system is still a minefield.

 

[Rover]

What do you mean by minefield? Although I thought it was poorly explained in the book, once I wrapped my head around it, it was my favourite part of the T20 system.

 

[aramis]

What do you mean by minefield? Although I thought it was poorly explained in the book, once I wrapped my head around it, it was my favourite part of the T20 system.

A number of places people can get it wrong.

It's not entirely clear about there being a link between class and career. (You can only raise the class for the current career unless it's your highest class already, for example. The rulebook doesn't tell you how to spend skill points (because that would have violated the d20 STL). Feats that should matter for certain careers don't.

A number of little things.

 

[Rover]

I get what you mean. That was the exact issue I had at first. Once the light bulb went off it was a different story. Too bad my old gamming group broke up I miss my old T20 traveller games.

 

[Blue Ghost]

A bit out of date now, with Hunter gone and the license reverted. He also glosses over some fairly rough patches. I helped with that book, and the prior career system is still a minefield.

I have to admit that for all the gloss given to the book, including the primo cover and interior art, I found it rather hard to get through, and confusing where class came into it. I think the host is a post-doc chemical engineer who teaches at a university, and even he stated that the vehicle design system was burdensome and confusing.

I've emailed the guys if they would review T5 or other Traveller game modules, but no response.

 

[Blue Ghost]

Hmm, traffic is down.

Anyway, my big beef with T20 is that it is a D20 system; i.e. experience points / rewards system. To me experience in Traveller is bundled with your skill. If you were in the marines with a combat rifleman of 5, then your experience and education elevated you to that state.

With D&D the whole "life is a journey" mentality I think works for the active adventurer who is constantly using his skill, but that said skill will cap out, and that experience only buys you so many active combat moves and counter moves for your character. And I think that's where it falls apart with Traveller.

I think if you were to start adventuring at 18, then the experience system would make more sense, but most Travellers are well over 30, maybe even have a pension, and have skills that have capped out.

Wiegell's opinion that T20 has a lot going for it I think is true, but I really wish he had reviewed the earlier iterations of the game, and then compared it to Star Frontiers or Gamma World, as well as commented on what Traveller is supposed to be; the all purpose generic set for your sci-fi gaming setting.