Subject: Review of Digest Group's Referee's Gaming Kit
OK. Its a screen!
I hate screens. I don't buy screens. They're a scheme to keep gaming companies
in the bucks. It cost $8.95 and I went and bought it. The sun was in my eyes.
OK? Disclaimer over.
Besides the screen you get: an introduction with information about what's in
the package, some hints on playing traveller and an blank equipment data sheet
to be photocopied; Eight equipment data sheets detailing various and sundry
equipment (portable fusion generator, grav pack (back pack with grav modules),
map box, hand computer, fusion still, inertial locator, etc.) with 1 or 2
paragraphs of description, an illustration, 2 or 3 tasks for operation and
repair and statistics for several TL versions of the product with weight,
volume, price, power requirements, operating noise, and operating duration;
and 2 "folio" adventures which just means that they are short, they happen
to be two parts of one adventure taking place on Deyis II, an amber world of
Zarushagar sector (that's between Lucan's and Dulinor's territory) You get
a subsector map and the usual bunch of tasks, player info, ref info, etc. in
seven pages. They also included a piece of cardboard which is currently
backing the sheets in their new location in a plastic bag. The adventure looks
fine. As I said before, I hate screens so its nice they included extra things.
The screens are a set of two fold outs with six surfaces each. Some of the
information is for Ref's while others are for the Players.
Ref's side: 2 1/2 sides of combat. This includes flow-charts which summarize
Megatraveller combat, range table, other tables and most of the tasks which
are used in combat. There are a number of tables present which do not appear
in the rules but which summarize the information in the rules: Penetration/
attenuation Guide (%), Penetration and Damage (%), and Movement DM Guide. Some
are marked "simplied restatement of the rules" which was fine by me. It was
nice to see these rules summarized and all together for the first time; I've
finally figured out how combat works. Which begs the question, as to why the
Penetration and Damage table, for example wasn't presented the way it is on
the screen in the first place (pentration type cross level of success giving
the damage as a percentage to apply) in the rule books.
Someone went color happy with the typepography. There are color bands beneath
the tables, the pages are not white, etc. You can actually read everything,
which would be much more difficult if everything was in black.
Ref's side: 1/2 page of interpersonal tasks. Everything except estimating
characteristics.
Ref's side: 1 page of demolition table. Identical to rules.
Ref's side: 2 pages of encounter tables. Identical to rules including Starship
tables from Imperial Encyclopedia.(but does not have explanatory passages)
All of the information is there. It is not cluttered and it is very readable;
thank the color.
Player's side: 2 pages of art and advertising. Including an illustration from
the folio adventure.
Player's side: 1 side Traveller's Guide, summarizing all the info in a UWP,
and what all those codes translate to (using Ref's Manual translations, so
the Atmosphere table has 0 Vacuum, 1 Vacuum (trace), etc.) With color panels
to make tables readable. Useful since you keep forgetting what the codes mean.
Player's side: 1 page Combat, with range table, hit value table and task
difficulty direct fire tables. Yellow panels beneath every two other rows
allow you to see it.
Player's side: 1 page Task format explanation. Less useful info, since you
figure the player will know all of that before too long.
Player's side: 1 page with 2 maps of Third Imperium and Surrounds, cica 1116.
The *real* reason I bought this package. There are two maps, one small scale
with the names of sectors, names of important worlds and political units.
These are the smaller 7 across, 5 vertical maps (rather than the 7 x 7 ones
found in the books) only detailing the Third Imperium. The borders are in
red ink and were done with a plotter--you can *see* the borders. I think I
finally figured out about the claw from looking at these maps. The larger
maps shows *all* the borders and every star. Yes "Every star system position
accurately shown" meaning each system gets a little black dot (Deneb, Vland,
Antares, etc. important worlds get red dots) so you can see the stellar
density right away. You can also see all the borders. Unfortunately, besides
the ones listed on the map I couldn't identify any of them. I found the Droyne
worlds right away. I counted them; they're are twenty. Maps are great. But,
looking at the map, I wondered what are all these groups of 1, 2, 3, 15, etc.
systems on the borders. Ah, for an atlas.
Summary: should you buy this? Only if you want it. Nothing is presented simply
for effect. They are well-presented and either identical to rules from the
books or summarized better than the rules were the first time. I think the
color makes it more readable. There are extra things included. But of course
some of us *really* hate screens. (Sun was in my eyes, honest!)
Fred Schiff - You can kill and maim with your Zen gun.
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