tl;dr: If you want a box, get the O1: Lieutenant-perk or better.

What is this?

Traveller LIFTOFF is a starter set for the Traveller RPG made for young players and designed around a "plug-and-play" mentality that lets you start adventuring right along. Just grab a few friends, generate your characters, and LIFTOFF!

Created by 13Mann with support from Mongoose and many prominent Traveller artists, LIFTOFF is made for the next generation of Traveller players – and hence: the perfect gift any Traveller parent can give to his or her kids. Inside the box, new players will find everything they need to play, while experienced players, too, will find contents like the full-color Charted Space map and full-colour deck plans of popular Traveller starships both useful and incredibly "must have".

Who is 13Mann?

We are the German license holder for both Mongoose's Traveller RPG and Marc Miller's Traveller5. Beyond that, we publish several other tabletop roleplaying games – and we have had amazing success with our own ABOREA™ product line, a fantasy RPG targeted at young players which serves us as an introduction to the (rather complex) Rolemaster system.

We have seen 12 year olds playing ABOREA™ games with enthusiasm at toy trade fairs and being swayed by the ‘new and innovative’ game concepts. And we are very confident this can be done for Traveller as well.

Why crowdfunding?

As some of you may know, we at 13Mann believe in quality products and doing so comes with high initial costs. If we were to provide all the money upfront, it would be too much of a financial risk. Your support helps us achieve something no publisher (at least no Traveller publisher) would dare.

We predominantly produce for the German market but here we have the rare opportunity to work with Mongoose on a Traveller Starter Set both in English and German.

Why is this such a great opportunity?

LIFTOFF will introduce the classic and timeless awesomeness of Traveller to a new generation. The basic rules – which are a condensed and simplified version of the Mongoose rules – have already been written and are in a constant state of playtesting, re-evaluation and further simplification and fine-tuning -- just download and read the latest rules version here.

We want to make absolutely sure that the LIFTOFF rules deliver the fastest, smoothest, easiest and yet unmistakeably "Traveller" game experience possible -- AND at the same time give experienced players loads .of material they can use at their own gaming table.

What will you be getting?

The basic version of the LIFTOFF box will contain the following:

• a Players’ Handbook (about 60 pages) will all the rules required for easy play, including ready-to-play characters. You can download the text for the Players’ Handbook here
• a Referee’s Handbook containing all the important background, an introduction to referee’s job, a guide to the Traveller universe and some ready-to-play NPCs. You can download the text for the Referee’s Handbook here
• an Adventure Handbook, containing 6 adventures which can be played as continuous session or as a string of simple 2h sessions, perfect for rainy afternoons, short introductions or convention play. It will see the characters develop their contacts while following a mission to uncover the truth about what happened to Outpost 14. You can download the text for the first adventure here (we don’t want to spoil everything)

• a pack of six cheat sheets for players, so they (and probably the referee, too) have the most important rules at a glance
• an A2 sized (16.5 × 23.4 inches or 42.0 × 59.4 cm for those of you on the metric system) full colour map of Charted Space

• an A2 sized full coloured deck plan of a Free Trader

That’s all contained in the box and if you were to buy the box at your FLGS or from an online store, this is all you will get (there won’t be any individual perks or stretch goals).

What will it look like?

You can see a sample layout with some real text and real illustrations here.

English or German?

We will produce both, an English and a German version of Traveller Liftoff. English will be the default language. If you want a German language version, please let us know in your selected perk comment section.

Can I order additional material from the box?

You want additional Players' Handbooks or maps? No problem. Simply add 6 EUR for each single item you want to add and state in your perk comments, what you want. If you order more than 5 items, please consider adding 10 EUR shipping costs for every 5 articles beyond the first 5. You have to select the E3: Sergeant-perk or better to be eligible for ordering. If you choose O5: Colonel or above, you don't need to include additional shipping costs.

Can I order additional boxes?

Yes, you can but unfortunately the shipping costs don't scale that well. Actually, they scale bad. If you just want one additional box we recommend simply choosing the same perk again. However, if you want more then one additional box, please add 15 EUR shipping costs (yes, it scales that bad) and then 20 EUR per additional box you want to order. You have to select the O1: Lieutenant-perk or better to be eligible for ordering. However, if you truly want to order multiple boxes (for your children, grandchildren, a gift for young boys and girls) we recommend you choose O5: Colonel or above. Then you don't need to include additional shipping costs and can order as many boxes as you want for 20 EUR each.

What are our stretch goals?

The more people participate in this crowdfunding, the better for everyone. So tell your friends and your fellow gamers about it. Most stretch goals will feature an additional deck plan, like the one for the Free Trader until all ships featured in the box are covered. It will also include additional adventures. And we are particularly eager to see solo adventures come to life. Our stretch goals go in steps of 25,000 EUR.

• 125,000 EUR: Deck plan: Fighter & Launch, Solo Adventure 1, Map of a Starport Class E
  
• 150,000 EUR: Deck plan: Scout, Character Sheet Block, Map of a Starport Class D
  
• 175,000 EUR: Deck plan: Pinnace, Additional Group Adventure 1, Map of a Starport Downport Class C
  
• 200,000 EUR: Referee's Screen, Token Set, Map of a Starport Highport Class C
  
• 225,000 EUR: Deck plan: Lab Ship, Solo Adventure 2, Map of a Starport Downport Class B
  
• 250,000 EUR: Deck plan: Close Escort, Additional Group Adventure 2, Map of a Starport Highport Class B
  
• 275,000 EUR: Deck plan: Subsidized Merchant, Additional Group Adventures 3 + 4

What’s the timeline?

This crowdfunding will end on October 1, 2014. If we reached our funding goal, the next steps will be the creation of additional artwork and translation of English texts to German (for our German supporters). This will take about a month.

Sometime in early November we will commence our Layout work and final editing. Printing should start in mid-December and (taking Christmas holidays into account) finish early February, at which point we will transport the boxes and additional materials to our distributor of choice (Mongoose) who will do the international shipping to you folks. Those in Germany, Austria and Switzerland will receive a parcel from 13Mann directly. Depending on where you are, and your local customs officers, and if everything goes according to plan, your parcel should arrive around the end of March, early April 2015.

What if you were to buy this later in a shop?

You may spot a LIFTOFF box in your FLGS or online shop of choice. The box will only feature the contents listed under “What will you be getting?”. None of the stretch goals will be included (which you may be able to purchase for some additional money however), and certainly none of the individual rewards. So yes, you do get the best value for money here.

What happens if LIFTOFF doesn’t get funded?

We do want to share our dream of introducing new and young players to Traveller, but at the same time we have to be realistic. So what happens, if we don’t reach our funding goal? Indiegogo will automatically return your investment. Of course it also means there won’t be a LIFTOFF box.

However, we will keep the Players’ Handbook and the Referee’s Handbook as plain text documents available for download at 13Mann’s website. No further changes will be made to the documents though and there won’t be any illustrations or deckplans available.

Shipping costs included

All individual reward levels that require us shipping boxes and other materials to you, already include shipping and packaging costs if you live within the EU or North America.

International delivery and customs duty

We will ship worldwide and all our individual reward levels contain shipping costs to the EU, Europe (outside EU), and North America. If you want your parcel shipped outside this area, we have to ask for an additional 15 EUR on your perk level.

As we will be shipping from inside the EU, your local customs may require you to pay additional customs duty. Each country has its own regulations and tariffs regarding customs duty, so it is impossible for us to include it in the perk levels.

What if I am a retailer/merchant?

If you have a gaming store or are a retailer and want to bulk order (20+ units), you can contact us at vertrieb@13mann.de for individual pricing plans.

13Mann will provide you with regular updates. Please join us in making this happen!