Since 2008 with the publication of Fight On #1, the Old School Renaissance has had its own fanzines. The advantage of the Old School Renaissance is that the various Retroclones draw from the same source and thus one Dungeons & Dragons-style RPG is compatible with another. This means that the contents of one fanzine will be compatible with the Retroclone that you already run and play even if not specifically written for it. Labyrinth Lord and Lamentations of the Flame Princess Weird Fantasy Roleplay have proved to be popular choices to base fanzines around, as has Swords & Wizardry. However, not all fanzines written with the Old School Renaissance in mind need to be written for a specific retroclone. Although not the case now, the popularity of Traveller would spawn several fanzines, of which The Travellers’ Digest, published by Digest Group Publications, was the most well known and would eventually transform from a fanzine into a magazine.
The publication of The Travellers’ Digest #1 in 1985 marked the entry of Digest Group Publications into the hobby and from this small, but ambitious beginnings would stem a complete campaign and numerous highly-regarded supplements for Game Designers Workshop’s Traveller and MegaTraveller, as well as a magazine that all together would run for twenty-one issues between 1985 and 1990. The conceit was that The Travellers’ Digest was a magazine within the setting of the Third Imperium, its offices based on Deneb in the Deneb Sector, and that it awarded the Travellers’ Digest Touring Award. This award would be won by one of the Player Characters and thus the stage is set for ‘The Grand Tour’, the long-running campaign in the pages of The Travellers’ Digest. In classic fashion, as with Europe of the eighteenth century, this would take the Player Characters on a tour of the major capitals of known space. These include Vland, Capitol, Terra, the Aslan Hierate, and even across the Great Rift. The meat of this first issue, as well as subsequent issues, would be dedicated to an adventure, each a stop-off on the ‘The Grand Tour’, along with support for it. The date for the first issue of The Travellers’ Digest and thus when the campaign begins is 152-1111, the 152nd day of the 1111th year of the Imperium.
To best run ‘The Grand Tour’, the Referee will need access to The Atlas of the Imperium, Supplement 8: Library Data (A-M), Supplement 11: Library Data (N-Z), Supplement 7: Traders and Gunboats (or alternatively, Supplement 5: Azhanti High Lightning), as well as the core rules. In addition, other supplements would be required depending on the adventure. For example, ‘Of Xboats and Friends’, the opening part of ‘The Grand Tour’ in The Travellers’ Digest #1 requires the supplement, The Undersea Environment, and adventure, The Drenslaar Quest, published by Gamelords, Ltd., are both useful for running underwater adventures—though they are really only useful if the Referee develops adventuring content beyond that presented in the issue. Alien Module 4: Zhodani may also be useful. Of course, that was in 1985, and much, if not all, of the rules or background necessary have been updated since. The campaign is also specifically written for use with four pre-generated Player Characters. They consist of Akidda Laagiir, the journalist who won the Travellers’ Digest Touring Award; Dur Telemon, a scout and his nephew; Doctor Theodor Krenstein, a gifted-scientist and roboticist; and Doctor Krenstein’s valet, ‘Aybee’, or rather, ‘AB-101’. The fact is, AB-101 is a pseudo-biological robot, both protégé and prototype. Consequently, the mix of Player Characters are surprisingly non-traditional and not all of them are easily created used the means offered in Traveller or MegaTraveller. This is addressed within various issues of the fanzine.
The Travellers’ Digest #3 was also published in 1985 and moved the date on from 152-1111, the 152nd day of the 1111th year of the Imperium to 335-1111, the 335th day of the 1111th year of the Imperium. The opening ‘Editors’ Digest’ discusses the planned presence of the fanzine at Origins ’86 in Los Angeles, the aim being to have The Travellers’ Digest #5 available for what would be the first anniversary of the fanzine, by which time ‘The Grand Tour’ campaign will have reached Vland. The editorial also highlights the new look of the fanzine and it is indeed tidier and cleaner in appearance.
The third part of ‘The Grand Tour’ in The Travellers’ Digest #2 is ‘Feature Adventure 3: Visit to Antiquity’. In addition to the standard books required by the campaign, the books Adventure 12, Secret of the Ancients, Alien Module 3, Vargr, Alien Module 5, Droyne, and The Atlas of the Imperium will all very useful. The adventure again breaks down the Universal Task Profile used throughout and again, presents the four pre-generated Player Characters. The adventure itself opens with the colour fiction, ‘Tourist Trap’, which explains why the quartet decide to travel to the world of Antiquity and its Ancient site. Doctor Krenstein decides that he wants to visit the world of Antiquity in the Ian Subsector of Corridor Sector in the Domain of Vland, expressing an interest in taking a tour of what is the most accessible and best-preserved Ancients site in the Third Imperium. Akidda Laagiir, the journalist, decries the suggestion, describing the site as nothing more than a tourist trap, and certainly not worth spending two weeks there. After some discussion, the quartet of travellers take a vote and come to an agreement, and visit for a week. Akidda Laagiir still thinks that it will be dull, but as the events of the scenario, it proves to be anything but that.
Doctor Krenstein decides that he wants to visit the world of Antiquity in the Ian Subsector of Corridor Sector in the Domain of Vland, expressing an interest in taking a tour of what is the most accessible and best-preserved Ancients site in the Third Imperium. Akidda Laagiir, the journalist, decries the suggestion, describing the site as nothing more than a tourist trap, and certainly not worth spending two weeks there. After some discussion, the quartet of travellers take a vote and come to an agreement, and visit for a week. Akidda Laagiir still thinks that it will be dull, but as the events of the scenario, it proves to be anything but that.
Antiquity is a moon of the system’s outermost gas giant, a dry world with a thin, tainted atmosphere, best noted for the blast crater at the centre of which is a dome constructed of and containing the fantastic high technology of the Ancients. There is a sleek, white plasticity to the whole complex, with inexplicably strange objects and features throughout. The scenario provides a complete description of the complex and the route that visitors guided along by the discreetly armed tour guides. There are some fourteen such locations, which to be honest, are more interesting to read about than play through. This is because the player and characters are essentially receiving one lengthy dose of exposition. However, it does serve a purpose because it contrasts with what follows.
Doctor Krenstein is recognised and invited by Irsaell, a Vargr scientist, to visit another excavation site where a Vargr scientific exchange team has made an amazing discovery. Objects known as ‘Madimge Eggs’, made of solid monadium as are both the museum and the new excavation site, have been found at both locations. Most are closed and sealed, but open ones contain a variety of crystals. To date, no one has found a means of opening or closing the ‘Madimge Eggs’, but Irsaell has. This is the chance for the quartet to visit somewhere new and interesting, and gives Akidda Laagiir the prospect of getting a better and more interesting story. He does not get the story he imagines. Again, the Player Characters are given a tour of the new dig site, but all of a sudden, the new dig site seals itself, trapping both the Player Characters and their Vargr hosts inside. Fortunately, the archaeological team is fully equipped and that includes supplies for several days at least, but the situation and the discovery of a ‘neo-Vargr’ genetic sample increases tension between the Charisma-dominated hierarchy of the Vargr of the scientific team. For the human Player Characters this will be problematic because they will find themselves relatively low down on this hierarchy, which means that the Vargr will expect them to act with a certain deference and if actions do not go their way, the Vargr may react with violence. That said, there are numerous means of expressing this violence, including verbally, a shove, a snarl, and so on, before resorting to physical harm.
Essentially, a ‘locked room’ mystery, ‘Visit to Antiquity’ is a fascinating look at an Ancients site and a fraught exposure to Vargr interaction. It is not an easy scenario to run though, because there are ten Vargr NPCs trapped with the Player Characters in the excavation site. There is some advice on both handling and portraying them and their interactions with the Player Characters to ensure that their alien nature comes to the fore. Included too, are some notes from various playthroughs so as to give the Game Master of how the events of the scenario play out. Overall, ‘Visit to Antiquity’ is an interesting scenario more than a good scenario. This does not mean that it is a bad scenario at all, but rather its scope and number of NPCs make it a challenging affair to run. However, Akidda Laagiir does get his story and the quartet’s ‘Visit to Antiquity’ proves to more than just a ‘tourist trap’—though of course, as tourist, it proves also be exactly that!
‘Playing the Characters’ continues the close examination of the pre-generated Player Characters provided for ‘The Grand Tour’ campaign. This time the spotlight is on Doctor Krenstein and here he is given a complete biography and explanation as to why he has decided to go on a sabbatical. In hindsight, it would have been useful to have had all of this information at the start of the campaign, but is still a useful addition to the Player Character and the campaign. ‘Library Data’ expands on the information provided as part of the ‘Visit to Antiquity’ scenario, complementing both Supplement 8: Library Data (A-M) and Supplement 11: Library Data (N-Z), . It covers the Ancients, Corridor sector, the Droyne, Monadium, and more, all information which would be available to the players and their characters.
Also complementing ‘Visit to Antiquity’ scenario is ‘Vargr language and Culture’. Written as an excerpt from “Vargr Culture: An Introductory Survey”, this is another article that the players and their characters could have access to. This emphasises the importance of Charisma for Vargr and how that is expressed, particularly verbally, an interesting aspect that the Game Master could bring into play. Included too are some Vargr proverbs, which the Game Master could also include, and an explanation of Vargr psychology in relation to their origins as a genetically manipulated species uplifted by the Ancients from Terran wolf stock. The reactions to this vary, including feelings of inferiority and the drive to overcome this by proving self-worth, leading to brash and dangerous behaviour, and the belief that that their origins make Vargr special. Even this varies, including some Vargr who believe in their species’ superiority over all others! Included is a ‘Gvegh’ alphabet for the dialect spoken by a majority of Vargr. Over all, this is a fascinating article, well written and with some good examples of Vargr interaction which will help the Game Master portray the Vargr in ‘Visit to Antiquity’.
The location of Antiquity is detailed in ‘Ian Subsector’, which provides a good overview as well as a subsector map. Besides Antiquity, notable worlds include Jubal, a Red Zone world with a derelict underground city home to a population of highly xenophobic Vargr, and Kiran, home to the best medical facilities for twenty parsecs.
Penultimately, The Travellers’ Digest #3 returns to the major focus of The Travellers’ Digest #1 and that is robots. ‘Robot Design Revisited, Part 3’ continues the expansion on the ‘Ref’s Notes’ article, ‘Robots’ which appeared in The Best of the Journal of the Travellers’ Aid Society. Instead of looking at their construction or detailing different models, this looks at their role in the game and in the background of the Third Imperium. Thus, it discusses the nature and origins of ‘The Shudusham Concords’, the pre-Third Imperium basis for laws governing function, programming, weapons uses, and more of robots throughout its extents. It notes that robots only become common at Tech Level 12 and above and that pseudo-biological robots—such as Doctor Krenstein’s valet, ‘Aybee’, or rather, ‘AB-101’—are only available at Tech level 15 and above, and even then, are very rare and expensive. There are notes too on portraying the artificial intelligence of robots and a detailed breakdown of the apparent UPP for pseudo-biological robots, ‘Aybee’ being the example. Handling robot misunderstanding of instructions is covered and there is a ‘Universal Robot Profile’ for ‘Aybee’ as well, which provides a technical version of him rather than the Player Character version included as part of the campaign. The article brings the series to close with useful and interesting information that will help the Game Master portray the presence of robots in her campaign.
‘The Corridor Sector’ provides the X-Boat routes, maps, and Library Date for the Corridor Sector, further complementing content earlier in the fanzine. This contains lots of lovely details about several of the most notable worlds across the sector, but does leave you wishing for more. ‘The Gaming Digest: Damage and Repair’ gives a detailed guide to determine damage done to items of technology and how to repair, drawing on Striker and Traveller, to give a Universal Task Profile for making repairs and ‘Traveller Tech Briefs: Sensory Devices: Densitometers’ examines how a densitometers, or ‘mass detector’ works and can be used in play. On planets, they can be used to locate tectonic plates and ore deposits, whilst in space, they can even detect the presence of gas giants—from which a starship can scoop and refine fuel. Lots of uses, so nice to have idea of how they work so that they can be useful during play. Both of these last two articles are decent and nice additions for playing the version of Traveller at the time.
Physically, The Travellers’ Digest #3 is, as with all of the issues so far, very obviously created using early layout software. Whilst it looks slightly rough by modern standards, this would have looked clean and semi-professional at the time.
The Travellers’ Digest keeps getting better and better, with The Travellers’ Digest #3 an improvement over The Travellers’ Digest #2. Several of the articles support ‘Feature Adventure 3: Visit to Antiquity’ whilst also being interesting in their own right such as ‘Vargr language and Culture’ and ‘Library Data’. ‘Feature Adventure 3: Visit to Antiquity’ is an interesting scenario rather than necessarily a good one, but it has a strong emphasis on interaction and roleplaying with the otherness of the Vargr, making it surprisingly sophisticated. The Travellers’ Digest #3 is an entertaining and informative issue with content that Traveller fans would appreciate today.
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