In August 2024 we presented the Mongoose 2300AD 2E Bundle featuring the 2021 Mongoose Publishing Second Edition of 2300AD, the SFRPG about humanity discovering the stars. Three hundred years from now, humanity is claiming worlds far from Earth. Despite nearly destroying itself in the Twilight War, despite all the wars since, humanity has held on and kept its dream alive. Campaigns in 2300AD are about interstellar exploration – war on the far frontier – new colonies on hostile worlds – discovering and understanding alien species – even espionage in the gritty megacities of the Core worlds. Using the Mongoose Traveller 2E core rules, expect a grittier experience – less Space Viking, more Aliens.
This was the third time the Bundle of Holding presented a new 2300AD offer! In 1986 Traveller publisher Game Designers’ Workshop debuted a near-future RPG called Traveller: 2300 – a confusing name, because it had nothing to do with Traveller and, in fact, followed on from GDW’s modern-day military RPG Twilight: 2000. The company quickly renamed the line 2300 AD and published a Second Edition two years later. (We presented both GDW editions in the September 2018 GDW 2300AD Bundle.) 2300AD found new life in 2012 under Mongoose Publishing’s acclaimed Traveller rules. (We presented that version in our June 2014 Mongoose 2300AD Bundle.) In 2021 Mongoose published a new Second Edition of their 2300AD, and that’s the version we presented in this offer. Not many settings linger so long in the SFRPG gamer’s imagination.
In 2300AD – speaking now of the current Mongoose 2E – humanity has colonies on 32 Earth-like worlds, with outposts on many more. Space is divided into three Arms: French, American and Manchurian, each named for the dominant nation exploring it. The shape of these Arms is dictated by the limitations inherent in the stutterwarp effect, the engine that drives faster-than-light travel. The stutterwarp has a maximum range of 7.7 light years; beyond this range, drives can undergo a “relaxation event,” releasing a burst of heat and radiation that usually destroys the ship and kills the crew. At best, the drive is destroyed in interstellar space, far from rescue or hope.
The most difficult part of space travel is just getting out of a planet’s gravity well. Travel to and from orbit still requires rockets and spaceplanes, although advanced technologies are coming online: catapults, laser lift systems, and orbital elevators. Once in orbit, Travellers are literally halfway to anywhere. Many choose to leave planets behind them, staying in space-based environments and societies.
At the center of human space is the Core: the worlds of the Sol and the Alpha/Beta Centauri systems. Tirane is a near-twin to Earth in climate, gravity and atmosphere. These two worlds together have nearly 90% of the human population, with 75% of the total residing on Earth itself. For most people living out on the Frontier, the worlds of the Core are as distant and strange as any alien homeworld. And to the people of the Core, the humans of the Frontier are truly alien, especially those who follow the Soft Path: adaptation through genetic engineering to the harsh surroundings of their new homes. Even those on the Hard Path, while still biologically human, have attitudes and social structures far different from the Core.
2300AD campaigns are about people and their rise to the stars. Though humanity has encountered many aliens among the stars, the focus of the game is on humans. The Frontier tests their self-reliance and skill. Because journeys from the Core can take weeks, even months, Travellers must resolve situations using equipment and expertise at hand.
This new offer presented the entire 2300AD 2E line, plus the current Traveller Core Rulebook, for an unbeatable bargain price. There were four Mongoose Publishing titles in our Starter Collection (retail value $122) as DRM-free .PDF ebooks, including the complete Mongoose Traveller 2E Core Rulebook Update 2022 and the Mongoose 2300AD 2E core rules set (2021), the equipment catalog Tools for Frontier Living, and the Mongoose 2300AD 2E Referee’s Screen.
Those who paid more than the threshold (average) price also got our entire Bonus Collection with four more supplements worth an additional $135.50, including the massive Project Bayern boxed set, Ships of the Frontier, Vehicles of the Frontier, and the Aerospace Engineers’ Handbook.
Ten percent of each payment (after gateway fees) went to this 2300AD offer’s designated charity, Direct Relief. Direct Relief sends protective gear and critical care medications to health workers, with emergency deliveries to medical facilities across the US and to regional response agencies across the world.
