Freelance Traveller

reviewed by Ewan Quibell

One of the early products Approved for Traveller, Encounters in the Phoenix Quadrant by Group One is a starship encounter booklet, the first in a series, which presents 4 starships, their deck plans and their crew. The ships are very basic Book 2 ones and some of the stats you need to run them are in the room descriptions that detail the ships. Each NPC has basic stats and skills and a short description that is mainly their physical appearance.

There is some artwork throughout the booklet that isn't brilliant but adds to the descriptions of the text and deckplans of some of the ships.

I knew this was an early 80's low budget production when I bought it, but when it comes down to it I think there is nothing to recommend it to anyone. Literally nothing.

If you are after NPCs then there are many available free from the web, the majority of those are far, far better than what is presented in this booklet. A whole section of them can be found on Freelance Traveller that make these ones pale into insignificance. If you want deckplans, again there is a whole webring full of them, and the GURP Traveller Deckplan line from S.J.Games is much better value for money in comparison.

Only available on the second hand market and commanding prices appropriate to it's rarity value, in my opinion there is nothing in Encounters in the Phoenix Quadrant that would add to any Traveller campaign. Anyone could do better with minimum effort and even if you are not inclined to do so there is a wealth of stuff online that far surpasses this booklet. I have to say that this really is a completists only work, and gaming cash could be put to better use by buying anything currently in production. If I were reviewing this product when it was released in the early days of Traveller when there were only a few others about, and no Internet, then it may have been a different story. But now, twenty years on? My advise is don't bother.