Freelance Traveller

Mongoose Traveller 2nd Edition Referee’s Screen

reviewed by Megan Robertson

Mongoose Traveller 2nd Edition Referee’s Screen. Matthew Sprang and Amy Perrett.
Mongoose Publishing http://www.mongoosepublishing.com
13pp., Cardstock or PDF
US$11.99/UK£9.02

This review originally appeared on rpg-resource.org.uk in January 2018, and was reprinted in the May/June 2019 issue.

The usual: pretty picture for the players and all manner of useful charts on the referee’s side.

Despite the picture of a starship bridge that’s rather reminiscent of the Space Shuttle’s controls on the cover, the pictures your players get to gaze at are a circular galaxy viewed almost edge-on, a spiral galaxy viewed from above, someone engaged in an EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity or spacewalk), and an interstellar dust cloud. The astronomical features are delightful images, the sort you get from the Hubble telescope. The fellow on EVA appears to be a contemporary astronaut judging by his space suit, but it’s a nice picture nevertheless.

Meanwhile the Referee can refer to a range of useful tables (although do you really want him looking up radiation damage?)—timeframes, encounter ranges, healing, weapon traits, vehicular actions, turn sequence and the like. It should save a lot of looking-up in the heat of battle.

Useful, as well as a place to hide your notes and your secret die-rolls, but nothing remarkable. If you Referee regularly, it’s worth picking up.