Mongoose Publishing

Mongoose Publishing is a British tabletop role-playing game publisher founded in 2001 by Matthew Sprange. Its catalogue was tied to the d20 System boom that followed Dungeons and Dragons Third Edition. Among its early lines were the Encyclopaedia Arcane books, the Slayer’s Guides, and the monthly magazine Signs and Portents. The company also built a substantial licensed role-playing line for J. Michael Straczynski’s television series Babylon 5. Mongoose’s Babylon 5 Roleplaying Game used d20 rules and was supported by sourcebooks covering the programme’s setting, characters, and major conflicts. That combination of house material and screen licences defined its first years. In 2003, Mongoose released Conan: The Roleplaying Game, adapting Robert E. Howard’s Hyborian Age with a d20-based rules set. It subsequently published numerous Conan supplements, including region books, campaign material, and adventures. The company later issued a second edition of its Conan game under the title Conan: The Roleplaying Game, Second Edition. Mongoose also became a publisher of RuneQuest. Its RuneQuest line began with RuneQuest, a 2006 edition licensed from Issaries, and was followed by RuneQuest II. The line employed the game’s skill-based, percentile tradition rather than d20 mechanics. Mongoose’s editions introduced setting material as well as rules and support. Traveller became Mongoose’s well-known licensed game line. The company announced its Traveller licence in 2008 and released Mongoose Traveller, drawing on Marc Miller’s science-fiction role-playing game first published in 1977. A second edition, Traveller Second Edition, appeared in 2016. Mongoose has produced core rules, sector books, vehicle and starship material, adventures, and supplements for the Third Imperium and other Traveller settings. It has also published the 2300AD science-fiction setting for Traveller. In addition to tabletop books, Mongoose licensed digital adaptations connected with its properties. Its publishing history includes major systems it developed or revised and games based on television fictional worlds. Mongoose Publishing’s catalogue has changed as licences have begun, expired, or moved to other publishers. Its Babylon 5 and Conan role-playing games belong to earlier phases of the company’s output while Traveller remains central to its identity. The firm publishes Traveller material in print and electronic formats through its web store and other retail channels. Mongoose’s Traveller editions are distinct from earlier Classic Traveller, MegaTraveller and GURPS Traveller publications although they use the same science-fiction universe under licence. Across its history the publisher has worked with major pre-existing properties while producing rules expansions and setting books intended for tabletop campaigns.