When comparing Microlite20 Purest Essence vs Traveller, the Slant community recommends Traveller for most people. In the question“What are the best tabletop RPGs?” Traveller is ranked 7th while Microlite20 Purest Essence is ranked 54th. The most important reason people chose Traveller is:
No magic, no fantasy conventions. This is actually science fiction.
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Pros
Pro Easy to start
If you are looking for a game like DnD, but much easier - try Microlite20 Pures Essence with Ultimate Fantasy supplement.
Pro Rules will be familiar to any veteran D&D player
As Microlite20 is a stripped down version of the d20 SRD with the same classes, races, items and abilities, it will be easy to understand by anyone that has previously played a D&D game. Especially D&D 3.x.
Pro Compatible with d20 SRD
Any material written for the d20 system can be used with the Microlite20 system. All creatures, items, monsters, spells, etc from any d20 SRD licensed resource are compatible with the Microlite20 system.
Pro Clear writing
The writing is very terse and to the point. There's very little in terms of fluff. As such the rules are easy to comprehend and reference.
Pro Simple rules allow easy customization
m20 remains compatible with the d20 SRD, but rules are lite enough that adding modifications to the system is trivially simple.
Pro It's actually science fiction
No magic, no fantasy conventions. This is actually science fiction.
Pro Expansive library of reference materials
Pro Diversity in setting and thematic complexity
Traveller is one of the oldest science fiction roleplaying games, and has a default setting that is even older. As such, there is a lot of cumulative depth that has been developed over the years. The current version of the rules (Mongoose Traveller 2nd edition) is very accessible, however, and allows new players to approach the game without a heavy load of baggage. Anybody who has seen an episode of Firefly, or any other typical space travelling fiction, will immediately understand the tropes. From the basis of its simple system, lots of interesting sci-fi ideas can be developed and there is a lot of material to use as inspiration.
Pro Smooth, fast gameplay
Pro Adaptable
Thanks to various reference materials over the years, and numerous updates, it is possible to run almost any science fiction setting you want, from 1970's space opera, to cyberpunk and transhuman games (thanks to settings like Mindjammer and the addition of cybernetics in recent editions).
Pro Games-within-a-game
Traveller was, arguably, the original 'tool box' game, utilizing tables, dicerolling and design judgment, to generate things such as aliens, planets, star systems, economies, weapons, vehicles, spacecraft and characters. Character generation is a unique experience of taking risks to develop a lifepath history through career development. A bad roll could lead to unfortunate events, injury, prison or even death, while good rolls can lead to boons in skills, resources, contacts and reputation. It's actually fun to generate characters before you even begin play.
Pro No zero to hero
Gets away from the character leveling motif so you can just focus on role playing. Very much the story of typical people doing stupendous things.
Pro Makes complex concepts easy
Starship combat can be a bear in many games. The current incarnation of Traveller has reduced it to a simple, fast, and easy to use game within the game that makes for fun and realistic (enough) game play that doesn't take away from the experience. The vehicle combat system and other rules subsystems work equally well. None are perfect but they enhance the flow of a good game which is what most players want more than anything.
Cons
Con Combat can potentially get stale
Due to the fact that combat is simplified to just 3 variables (AC, HP and attacks) a less experienced DM runs the risk of creating repetitive combat.
Con Retro future basis can get in the way
It's 1970's sci-fi. So some unexpected modern motifs aren't well represented (transhumanism, wireless tech, internet, etc). There are, in modern editions of the game, plenty of examples of these, however.
Con All editions not created equal
Because of its numerous editions and rulesets, finding a proper entry point can be confusing for newcomers.
Con No character development
Although this CAN be a plus, as you know what your players can/can't do and it doesn't change. Plus its easy to mod it if you want it.