ISO A4 format - Freelance Traveller

23
Critics’ Corner
Three for 2300AD
Reviewed by Timothy Collinson
The Tricolore’s Shadow. Colin Dunn. 10 pages, PDF.
Terror’s Lair. Colin Dunn. 10 pages, PDF.
Special Supplement 1: Biotech Vehicles. Colin Dunn. 8 pages, PDF.
Mongoose Publishing http://www.mongoosepublishing.com
US$2.99/UK£1.89 each via DriveThruRPG.
These three small PDFs from Mongoose provide
additional material to supplement the core 2300AD book
reviewed in Freelance Traveller’s May/June 2012 issue.
Two are adventures branded for the 2300AD milieu. The
third is a supplement and not specifically 2300AD; it is
styled to fit the Traveller core line. Given the Pentapod
penchant for biotech, it seems relevant to include it here.
The Tricolore’s Shadow
Fans of the original 2300AD material will recognize
the two adventures. The Tricolore’s Shadow appeared in
the original Traveller: 2300 box as a starter adventure.
The PCs have been hired by RebCo SAR to survey part
of the French continent on Beta Canum 4. It involves
conflict with the French – and perhaps set the pattern for
the French often being portrayed as the ‘baddies’ by
2300AD players – travel across Beta Canum, an alien
vessel, and contact with the Pentapods. The alien vessel
connects this book directly with Special Supplement 1 as
the ‘Archie’ vessel description, stats and illustration are
present in both volumes. Also included with the adventure
is a map of Beta Canum 4 together with other material
provided as a two page player handout.
Differences between the original version of the adventure
and the present one are minimal with the exception
of the addition of the whole ‘Archie’ presence, and
the more modern presentation of the world map – although
it’s less clear, the addition of a map of the valley
being surveyed and the loss of the Bradstreet illustrations.
What little ‘rule’ based material there is has been
updated – e.g. the vehicle hull and structure points. Oh,
and pay has been tripled which is in line with other revisions
to Livre amounts for the core rulebook. The world
map is that of the core 2300AD book but unfortunately
the opportunity has been missed to either present it in
colour or to make it somewhat clearer.
Terror’s Lair
Terror’s Lair is the adventure which was provided
with version 2 of the GDW game. Now retitled as
2300AD and dropping the Traveller connection, the
boxed set virtually doubled the page count of the original,
revised some of the rules and was laid out more
clearly. The adventure (included with the Forms booklet)
is a rarity in Traveller: a solo adventure with 70
numbered paragraphs of varying length and the reader/
player able to choose an option at the end of each paragraph
which leads onto the next segment. This has been
retained in the Mongoose version and again American
Marshal Obadiah Thomas is on the trail of a drug smuggler
on a ship in Earth orbit. Various outcomes are possible
depending on the choices made and each numbered
paragraph contains a time element so that the passage of
time can be tracked.
On this occasion the adventure is identical in both
versions except where the rules are involved. Basically,
Tasks have now become Skill Checks or Characteristic
Checks. The description of Obadiah Thomas is, of
course, given in 2300AD style. The illustration and sidebar
describing the ship the adventure takes place on
have gone and the illustration of the marshal is new: he
looks younger and much gaunter in his new incarnation.
As an introduction to 2300AD both of these adventures
introduce various aspects and are set in two very
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