| Referee's Companion | |
|---|---|
 Cover by James Holloway | |
| Designers | |
| Publishers | Game Designers' Workshop |
| Publication | 1988 |
| Genres | Science fiction |
| Systems | 2D6 task based system |
| ISBN | 0-943580-71-4 |
Megatraveller Referee's Companion is a supplement published by Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) in 1988 for the science fiction role-playing game MegaTraveller .
Megatraveller Referee's Companion contains information about the MegaTraveller universe for the use of the gamemaster, who can then reveal as much or as little to the player characters as desired. The content includes details of four alien races (Aslan, Droyne, Vargr, Zhodani), various mega-corporations, new technology, and robotics. New rules are provided for scientific research done by the player characters, large scale combat and communications. [1]
GDW first published the space opera role-playing game Traveller in 1977, and many adventures and supplements followed. Ten years later, in an attempt to revitalize the franchise, GDW revised the rules and published it as MegaTraveller. One of the first supplements to be published was the MegaTraveller Referee's Companion, [2] a 98-page softcover book by Marc W. Miller with contributions by Frank Chadwick, Joe D. Fugate Sr., and Gary L. Thomas, interior art by Rob Caswell, Liz Danforth, Jeff Dee, A.C. Farley, Bryan Gibson, and Tom Peters, cover art by Jim Holloway, and published by GDW in 1988. [3]
In the inaugural issue of Games International , Jake Thornton noted that much of the material had been previously published in various sources, saying "Very little of this supplement has not been dealt with before in one or other old Traveller related products. If you are upgrading from Traveller to MegaTraveller then look carefully at the old supplements, copies of the Journal of the Travellers Aid Society, etc that you have before you buy." He concluded by giving this book an average rating of 3 out of 5 stars. [1]
In Issue 141 of Dragon (January 1989), Jim Bambra liked the book's "diverse range of topics", and concluded that it was "another fine addition to the MegaTraveller game." [4]
Traveller is a science fiction role-playing game first published in 1977 by Game Designers' Workshop. Marc Miller designed Traveller with help from Frank Chadwick, John Harshman, and Loren Wiseman. Editions were published for GURPS, d20, and other role-playing game systems. From its origin and in the currently published systems, the game relied upon six-sided dice for random elements. Traveller has been featured in a few novels and at least two video games.
2300 AD, originally titled Traveller: 2300, is a tabletop science fiction role-playing game created by Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) and first published in 1986.
GURPS Space is a sourcebook published by Steve Jackson Games (SJG) for use with GURPS, published in four editions from 1988 to 2006.
Bushido is a Samurai role-playing game set in Feudal Japan, originally designed by Robert N. Charrette and Paul R. Hume and published originally by Tyr Games, then Phoenix Games, and subsequently by Fantasy Games Unlimited. The setting for the game is a land called Nippon, and characters adventure in this heroic, mythic, and fantastic analogue of Japan's past.
GURPS High-Tech is a sourcebook published by Steve Jackson Games (SJG) in 1988 for GURPS.
Challenge was a role-playing game magazine published by Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) between 1986 and 1996.
Cthulhu by Gaslight is a horror tabletop role-playing supplement, written by William A. Barton, with art by Kevin Ramos, and first published by Chaosium in 1986. This supplement provides information on role-playing in an alternate setting of Victorian England of the 1890s for Call of Cthulhu. An expanded second edition was published in 1988, and a third edition was published in 2012. It won an Origins Award and received positive reviews in game periodicals including White Dwarf, Casus Belli, Different Worlds, Space Gamer/Fantasy Gamer, The Games Machine, Games International, and Dragon.
Talislanta Sorcerer's Guide is a supplement published by Bard Games in 1988 for the fantasy role-playing game Talislanta.
101 Vehicles is a 1988 role-playing game supplement for MegaTraveller published by Digest Group Publications.
Aurore Sourcebook is a supplement published by Game Designers' Workshop in 1987 for the science fiction role-playing game 2300 AD.
Hard Times is a supplement published by Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) in 1991 for the science fiction role-playing game MegaTraveller.
Traveller Alien Module 6: Solomani is a supplement published by Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) in 1986 for the science fiction role-playing game Traveller.
Alien Realms is an anthology of adventures published by Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) in 1983 for the science fiction role-playing game Traveller.
Traveller Alien Module 7: Hivers is a supplement published by Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) in 1986 for the science fiction role-playing game Traveller.
Invasion is a supplement published by Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) in 1988 for the science fiction tabletop role-playing game 2300 AD.
Earth/Cybertech Sourcebook is a supplement published by Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) in 1989 for the science-fiction role-playing game 2300 AD.
Kafer Dawn, subtitled "The Frontline of Mankind's Fight for Survival", is a supplement published by Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) in 1987 for the hard science fiction role-playing game 2300 AD.
Kafer Sourcebook is a supplement published by Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) in 1988 for the hard science fiction role-playing game 2300 AD.
Deneb Sector is a supplement for the science fiction role-playing game Traveller that was created as a charity fundraiser in 1984. Although the authors had permission of the Traveller game designer to publish the unlicensed product, official Traveller material was released later the same year that superseded the material in this book.
Rebellion Sourcebook is a supplement published by Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) in 1988 for the science fiction role-playing game MegaTraveller.