When browsing DriveThruRPG I always take a look at the Free items section. I often can find small products that I can add into games or a set of quick-start rules to experiment with. On one recent occasion I was browsing and saw a free Mongoose Traveller 2nd Edition (MgT2e) product. The fact that it was free immediately drew my attention in no small part because Mongoose uses a very expensive pricing model and buying any MgT2e product outside of a sale (rare) or Bundle of Holding (like one last year) is usually beyond my budget. So it came to be that I downloaded Bu and Embla Visit Vrirhlanz.
The publisher’s blurb for Bu and Embla Visit Vrirhlanz is…mildly interesting? To be fair, Mongoose does identify that the product is a free present (so set your expectations accordingly):
A free Christmas present for all Travellers!
Join Bu and Embla, Travellers of Charted Space, as they visit the world of Vrirhlanz in the Vargr Extents, to take a break with Embla’s family. The homeworld of the Hlanssai, who have made their way throughout Charted Space on ships of the Vargr, Vrirhlanz is as chaotic as the Hlanssai themselves. On a world technically ruled by Vargr, learn how the Hlanssai keep themselves free of outside control and hear Embla’s reflections on her home from the perspective of one who has travelled across entire sectors.
Publisher’s Blurb
Bu and Embla Visit Vrirhlanz is a 21-page watermarked pdf. So it’s a short adventure, right? Here is the first paragraph of the intro:
In this supplement, two Travellers named Bu and Embla visit Vrirhlanz, the homeworld of the Hlanssai. Bu and Embla Visit Vrirhlanz will help the Referee understand what Travellers may see and feel as they explore a new world, this one in particular.
Bu and Embla…, 2
So…Bu an Embla Visit Vrirhlanz is not an adventure for player characters but a guide for the Referee? If I read that right the intent is to guide the Referee to “see and feel” and not to build an exciting adventure, correct?
That, in a nutshell, is why I bounced off Bu and Embla Visit Vrirhlanz as hard as I did. Now don’t get me wrong; while I have a hard time finding an adventure between the covers the contents are not a total loss. The Hlanssai are somewhat interesting and a fair example of a humanoid but non-human Traveller. The worldbuilding where the Vargr and Hlanssai have to get along (sorta) is interesting as a guide (like it intends to be?) to how different sophonts might live together. The rules for passing through security at the Downport are perhaps the most useful and can be easily ported into other locations with appropriate modifications.
The rest of the worldbuilding in Bu and Embla Visit Vrirhlanz strives to show what a low-tech society might look like in the midst of a high-tech universe. The “adventure,” such as it is, consists of a single Interactions1 table. There are a few pieces of equipment explained and a set of non-player characters provided.
To be honest, I am not sure just how seriously to take the worldbuilding in Bu and Embla Visit Vrirhlanz. The dissonance I sense comes across most clearly in the description of the Isgni Flyer where, “Escaping danger relies on the passengers and crew using the ejection seats to get as far away from the vehicle as possible” along with other problems like, “the rear left window sometimes sticking at three-quarters closed.” The image that follows does not look like the description of the vehicle.
What I see in Bu and Embla Visit Vrirhlanz is a 21-page worldbuilding example. What is missing to me is an adventure. Granted, visiting home after being away for years can be an adventure but that theme lies well behind the pages and only barely appears on them.
Some of you are likely to accuse me of being too harsh on Mongoose for being in good spirits and releasing a free supplement for Christmas. Yes, we can all thank Mongoose for their kindness, but that doesn’t mean I can’t wonder what the real intent of Bu and Embla Visit Vrirhlanz is supposed to be and how it can fit into my adventures.
- What’s wrong with an Encounter Table? ↩︎
Feature image courtesy Mongoose Publishing
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