Oh man, Tarsus: World Beyond the Frontier (1983). It’s pretty much the direct sequel to the Starter Edition, meant to bring players further into the game and show them how everything works. It isn’t an introductory tool for the GM though, boy howdy.

The main thing in the box is the world book, which describes the planet in detail. I don’t think any other Traveller publication gives this much detail to a single location, which is a bit of a bummer, because Tarsus is well-realized. It’s a plausible sort of world, with a narrow inhabited band at the equator, a 90-day year and temperatures that swing from -58 degrees Fahrenheit to over 150 degrees at the poles, creating a blasted wasteland.

The scenario portion is presented in a way similar to RuneQuest’s Borderlands, published the previous year, with each scenario printed separately as individual pamphlets. The set-up involves a character’s father calling for help. The first pamphlet details the initial arrival and general exploration of Tarsus and its settlements. The second sees the players arrive at Dad’s ranch and try to figure out what is going on there. The third details the SuSAG corporation that is sabotaging the ranch. The fourth is another investigation into the planet’s native population. And then the fifth is a pile of adventure seeds, a nudge out the door and a “good luck!” There is a ton of great material here but holy crap, so much of it is top-level detail and the responsibility falls to the GM to put together practically everything in the campaign. The bit at the ranch is the only true adventure and it is a shame the rest of the pamphlets aren’t structured the same, because it’s really good.

So yea, Tarsus is a gold mine, but you gotta be willing to, you know, hack at it with the pick axe.

Also, is that Pam Grier on the cover?