Granpafishy
SOC-12
I've been looking for PE for nearly 4 years now and just finaly got a good lead.
But as they say, EBay seems to be the best bet to find it.
What are the books about, and worth having?
- Thread starter Cymew
- Start date
But as they say, EBay seems to be the best bet to find it.
Granpafishy
SOC-12
I've been looking for PE for nearly 4 years now and just finaly got a good lead.
But as they say, EBay seems to be the best bet to find it.
DaveShayne
SOC-12
I have to rise to the defense of this worthy tome. With lots of solid weapon statistics over the full range of TLs this is an invaluable resource for any mercenary campaign in a low to moderate tech environment as well as having some nifty non-military weapons ideas presented.
This and CSC provide a viable alternative to FFS2 for those looking to flesh out a campaign without having to drag out the scientific calculator or try to decipher the increadibly mangled formulas of the aformentioned book.
DaveShayne
SOC-12
I have to rise to the defense of this worthy tome. With lots of solid weapon statistics over the full range of TLs this is an invaluable resource for any mercenary campaign in a low to moderate tech environment as well as having some nifty non-military weapons ideas presented.
This and CSC provide a viable alternative to FFS2 for those looking to flesh out a campaign without having to drag out the scientific calculator or try to decipher the increadibly mangled formulas of the aformentioned book.
mike wightman
SOC-14 10K
I'd like to agree with DaveShayne, Emperor's Arsenal does have its good points. The write up about the different types of firearms at different TLs, for example, which includes a good explanation of why it's a good idea to be wearing battledress when using plasma and fusion guns. The various sighting systems at different TLs. The way weapons improve from TL to TL (a TL15 gauss rifle is a lot more effective than its TL12 ancestor) and finally proposed weapon developments at TL16+. None of those psionic "I think him out of existance" artifact things but proper weapons like X-ray laser pistols, AM gauss rifles, contragrav rifles and full stats for them all!
That's about a dozen pages from 112 so it's up to you if it's worth the money. If you can pick one up for between $10 and $15 then it probably is.
That's about a dozen pages from 112 so it's up to you if it's worth the money. If you can pick one up for between $10 and $15 then it probably is.
mike wightman
SOC-14 10K
I'd like to agree with DaveShayne, Emperor's Arsenal does have its good points. The write up about the different types of firearms at different TLs, for example, which includes a good explanation of why it's a good idea to be wearing battledress when using plasma and fusion guns. The various sighting systems at different TLs. The way weapons improve from TL to TL (a TL15 gauss rifle is a lot more effective than its TL12 ancestor) and finally proposed weapon developments at TL16+. None of those psionic "I think him out of existance" artifact things but proper weapons like X-ray laser pistols, AM gauss rifles, contragrav rifles and full stats for them all!
That's about a dozen pages from 112 so it's up to you if it's worth the money. If you can pick one up for between $10 and $15 then it probably is.
That's about a dozen pages from 112 so it's up to you if it's worth the money. If you can pick one up for between $10 and $15 then it probably is.
Much like MT, T4 is a great system screaming to be let out from under its errata; unlike MT, there was noone who cared if it did or not - to whit, DGP loved and believed in MT. What good in MT exists because of that (yes, I think they were amatures at best. So?). IG never cared. Ever. Period.
They existed to squeeze the maximum $$ within the least amount of time - IOW, they were a normal american corporation and an excellent case study of why america will be the death of capitalism eventually.
Of course, the flip side is that properly fixed, I consider T4 to be the best one yet. Your Mileage Will Vary...
The books that are worth buying are, IMNSHO,
1) Core rules - errata'd they are quite good.
2) M0 campaign _Hardback_ (only the extras save it though. The softcover is included in #10)
3) FFS (good despite vicious flaws and editing worthy of a death penalty)
4) CSC - neat book
5) Emperor's Arsenal - great idea, acceptable execution.
6) Pocket Empires - ditto
7) Psionic Institutes - well written, though I usually don't use PSI. Still, needed to run a cannon PSI campaign and (better than most on this list) worth the price if you do need it...
8) Imperial Squadrons - equiv of High Guard. In context, really only useful with PE.
9) If you can find a copy of the BITS version of The Long Way Home, then buy it. Otherwise don't. The fixes to make it anywhere near canon are huge - just like every other British fandom adventure (see Leviathan for ex).
10) various other cra* - if I haven't mentioned it by now, flee. It's best use is fish wrap - but only if the fish is question has been out of water for at least a week...
William
Much like MT, T4 is a great system screaming to be let out from under its errata; unlike MT, there was noone who cared if it did or not - to whit, DGP loved and believed in MT. What good in MT exists because of that (yes, I think they were amatures at best. So?). IG never cared. Ever. Period.
They existed to squeeze the maximum $$ within the least amount of time - IOW, they were a normal american corporation and an excellent case study of why america will be the death of capitalism eventually.
Of course, the flip side is that properly fixed, I consider T4 to be the best one yet. Your Mileage Will Vary...
The books that are worth buying are, IMNSHO,
1) Core rules - errata'd they are quite good.
2) M0 campaign _Hardback_ (only the extras save it though. The softcover is included in #10)
3) FFS (good despite vicious flaws and editing worthy of a death penalty)
4) CSC - neat book
5) Emperor's Arsenal - great idea, acceptable execution.
6) Pocket Empires - ditto
7) Psionic Institutes - well written, though I usually don't use PSI. Still, needed to run a cannon PSI campaign and (better than most on this list) worth the price if you do need it...
8) Imperial Squadrons - equiv of High Guard. In context, really only useful with PE.
9) If you can find a copy of the BITS version of The Long Way Home, then buy it. Otherwise don't. The fixes to make it anywhere near canon are huge - just like every other British fandom adventure (see Leviathan for ex).
10) various other cra* - if I haven't mentioned it by now, flee. It's best use is fish wrap - but only if the fish is question has been out of water for at least a week...
William
Wow, William, where have you been? Seriously, it's easy to attack the defenseless, but a defense based on principle is refreshing to see.
And of course, I now feel obliged to plug T4.1, A.K.A. T5, which could become a worthy successor, not to T4 only, but to CT/MT as well. What began as a cleanup task has developed into the Next Step.
www.traveller5.com
Timely feedback to Marc is the best thing we can do for Traveller.
If you have the time and inclination, please try out the playtest draft for T5, and then write Marc an email with constructive criticism about it.
Wow, William, where have you been? Seriously, it's easy to attack the defenseless, but a defense based on principle is refreshing to see.
And of course, I now feel obliged to plug T4.1, A.K.A. T5, which could become a worthy successor, not to T4 only, but to CT/MT as well. What began as a cleanup task has developed into the Next Step.
www.traveller5.com
Timely feedback to Marc is the best thing we can do for Traveller.
If you have the time and inclination, please try out the playtest draft for T5, and then write Marc an email with constructive criticism about it.
Well, first of all, I consider the T5 bits to be part of the "properly fixed" requirement above. I've been using the material for quite some time now and have sent Marc some feedback on it.
The main problem with it is simply the fact that there is only, essentially, one third of the rule set available. I hope he is able to put out more of it later this year as he has commented, but with all going on, I do doubt it.
William
Well, first of all, I consider the T5 bits to be part of the "properly fixed" requirement above. I've been using the material for quite some time now and have sent Marc some feedback on it.
The main problem with it is simply the fact that there is only, essentially, one third of the rule set available. I hope he is able to put out more of it later this year as he has commented, but with all going on, I do doubt it.
William
It looks like the playtest material isn't even one-third of the rules planned... there seems to be a lot of goodies in store for a wholesale character "system", and not just a chargen section. That includes a full system for generating alien player characters.
It looks like the playtest material isn't even one-third of the rules planned... there seems to be a lot of goodies in store for a wholesale character "system", and not just a chargen section. That includes a full system for generating alien player characters.
