In the 80s, Citadel released an extensive range of figures for Traveller. Shown above are the Tech 3 military. the figures were produced and are still available from RAFM. The figures above use a black undercoat with a layer of pthalo blue acrylic paint and some Testors gold paint on the visors.
Traveller was one of the first widely accepted SF RPGs. Since its release in 1977, it has gone through a number of changes including a GURPS Traveller release. The original boxed set of 3 books is now referred to as ‘classic Traveller’.
A simple character combat system is provided in Book 1 of the set. In it, characters may close or open range with their adversaries, and evade or launch attacks. The system was expanded upon several times, first with Snapshot, a boxed game presenting combat between characters aboard starships.
This was followed by Azhanti High Lightning. The rulebook offered a simplified Snapshot combat system as well as a large number of deck plans mapping out the interior of an enormous starship.
There are numerous supplements produced by any number of publishers including some attractive maps of ship interiors and buildings. FASA, for example released a set of maps detailing the interior of a luxury hotel.
Finally, GDW introduced Striker, a boxed 3 book set, Book 1 covering the basics, Book 2 covering advanced rules, and Book 3, covering vehicle design. With each figure still representing a single character or creature, a standard infantry unit contains 4 figures mounted on a one inch square base.
The rules are designed for larger battles. They impose rules for leadership, morale, and unit combat readiness. They also provide a rich source for designing vehicles if one has the time and energy.
Book 2 of Traveller introduces starships and offers a combat system more complex than the character combat system. Movement is through vectors, ship’s abilities are modified not just by character abilities, but by software packages which may be loaded or unloaded each turn. The size of the ship’s computer will limit what software may be active and in this way limit the choices available to the player.
The rules were used to create a board game, Mayday. There is really not too much different here from the rules in the RPG but the game is easier to use in that a ship’s movement is tracked by 3 markers, one showing the ship’s position on the previous move, another showing the ship’s current position, and another used to determine where the ship will move.
A fifth book in the rule book series was added to cover battles between large fleets of ships. The first version of the rules with somewhat murky rules is on the right. The second version with rewritten and more understandable rules is on the left.
The fleet rules are closer in design to the character combat rules. Opposing fleets lie at long or short range in relation to each other. Fleets may close range or they may break off. Additionally, there are two lines of battle, The second line, the reserve, is screened by the first.
There are also rules for pursuit, planets, and more, and rules for boarding, the game being a post-Star Wars production.
For players wishing to avoid designing their own ships, GDW offered this handy supplement listing ships of the Imperial fleet.
A replacement for the original Traveller Striker rules, these rules are a kind of SF version of GDW’s Command Decision. I have heard there are many flaws in the rules but have yet to try them. The basing is different than original Striker and it is just difficult to work up the enthusiasm to rebase figures.
A group of 15mm Traveller figures. These were originally produced under The Citadel logo, the label that distributed figures for Games Workshop. The figures were sold either bagged or boxed with a nice brochure describing the military formation represented. Now the figures are produced under the RAFM label, a Canadian company, who according to their website, originally produced the figures for Citadel. For years, I lamented the lack of a source for these figures but they are currently being sold by RAFM.
I painted the figures with bright blue helmets to emulate those worn by the UN and red helmets to emulate the Red Devils of WWII. The dress, a khaki uniform with dark grey body armor, was deliberately kept drab. Figures on the left are newer. The ones on the right are painted with Humbrol enamels and mounted on matboard (now delaminating with age), the ones on the left were painted with Liquitex acrylics and mounted on wooden bases. The enamels are sturdier but not as bright. The figures represent a Tech 2 army for use with GDW’s original Striker rules. RAFM offered low tech troops resembling American infantry from the 50s, mid tech such as those shown and high tech where figures are dressed in battle armor. Figures to the right represent security troops and are painted with an olive drab base overlaid with paint dabs of light green and tan to offer the appearance of camouflage.
The figures are pleasant, easy to paint, and offer a nice range of support for 15mm SF military support.
Like almost all RPGs, Traveller uses miniatures but Traveller also relies heavily on boards for conflict resolution. Below is a nice example from Fasa’s hotel complex.
