Mongoose Taveller: which Version for a Campaign Like this?
I'm considering running a Military SciFi campaign with the Traveller rules, but the setting for it isn't within the Traveller verse. These are the details of my campaign:
- Timeline: the year 2175
- Setting: Set exclusively in the Solar System
- Key Setting Locations:
- Post near-extinction Earth 50 years after the event, but less post-apocalyptic than similar settings due to advanced terraforming and nanotechnology.
- Large, permanent settlement on the Lunar surface.
- Settlements among a partially terraformed Mars.
- Permanent settlements on some of the larger asteroids.
- Permanent citizens of space stations in orbit around some of Jupiter and Saturns' moons.
- Genre: Military SciFi - forces of a religion-fueled crusade emerging from a recovering Earth are striking forces on Mars who are the descendants of rebels from a century ago rebellion.
- Other militant antagonists:
- Security-military forces of an Earth mega-corporation which exercises extra-territoriality control over Asteroid settlements.
- Space faring Free-booters based out of a massive space station orbiting a Jovian moon.
- Descendants of those defeated in the Martian rebellion, now armed and eking out an existence in the less inhabitable regions of terraformed Mars.
- The Lunar Spaceforce of Earth evacuees residing on the moon.
- Tech Level: Pre-stellar (Traveller TL9). At the outer bounds of pre-stellar, as stellar travel is about a century away.
- Species: Humans only. Some Humans are augmented/enhanced with nanotechnology (nanotech is in a sense the weird science/cybenetic augmentation tech of this setting.)
- Bestiary: It's light; some robotic, drone-like threats and a number of mutated Terran species.
So, I'm wondering if one of the Mongoose Traveller rulesets would be better suited for my campaign? I have a couple of players that are new to VTT RPGs, so the amount of crunch (preferably medium crunch at most) is a factor. Something that could possibly influence the decision, is that a gaming buddy has the softcover and PDF for something titled the Orbital Campaign Setting for MGT 1e. He says it's prestellar, set exclusively in the Solar System and would be perfect for my campaign - haven't browsed it yet, so I wouldn't know. I've also been told that there's something called Traveller 2300AD available for 1e, that may provide content that's more appropriate to my campaign.
Money is unfortunately a factor and I'm not in the USA, so the MGT 1e ruleset for FG is notably cheaper. I don't want to spend money I don't have to and certainly don't need what's new and shiney if it isn't going add benefits. I'm running FGC Ultimate just in case that might be a factor.
So if anyone could give me some feedback as to which ruleset might run my campaign better and a sentence or 2 as to why, I'd very much appreciate it.
As well, if anyone is familiar with Orbital or 2300AD book and could give some brief feedback, it'd love to read about it.
[Edit] Can't believe I spelled "Traveller" wrong in the subject line, but I did - doh!