No more Imperium...

[BardicHeart]

Just to add fuel and feed the Zombie thread.

In theory they're all separate, but in reality they're all related. A glaring relationship is how much the Imperium is based on the Jump drive. How much would the Imperium be different with Stargates, .

Traveller minus Jump drive add Stargates add religious politics = Fading Suns RPG setting. Ironically, that setting works better with the Traveller mechanics than it does with their own VPS rules in my opinion.

I do hope T5 is mostly setting neutral though, this was one of the things I liked about CT, you could easily build your own universe and the rules supported and even encouraged that. But I do agree, they need to keep the Imperium as a default setting, pick a milieu and support that as well.

 

[robject]

Traveller minus Jump drive add Stargates add religious politics = Fading Suns RPG setting. Ironically, that setting works better with the Traveller mechanics than it does with their own VPS rules in my opinion.

I do hope T5 is mostly setting neutral though, this was one of the things I liked about CT, you could easily build your own universe and the rules supported and even encouraged that. But I do agree, they need to keep the Imperium as a default setting, pick a milieu and support that as well.

Interesting observation about Fading Suns, btw.

T5 has the typical Traveller assumptions built-in, but it does not integrate itself with Charted Space and the Imperium any more than the first three Little Black Books of CT.

 

[aramis]

I'm not sure I understand this thread. Traveller has always been a vanilla flavored RPG, and intentionally so. Trek's Federation? You got it. SW's Evil Galactic Empire? It's there. Earth II? Already set. Logan's Run? Just tailor the city to your heart's content.

No, it hasn't. After 1981, almost everything coming out was OTU focused.

CT was, but neither MT nor TNE truly were. And T4 even chopped the available TL's needlessly low, making it even LESS generic than MT or TNE.

 

[BardicHeart]

Interesting observation about Fading Suns, btw.

T5 has the typical Traveller assumptions built-in, but it does not integrate itself with Charted Space and the Imperium any more than the first three Little Black Books of CT.

Good to hear, I think that will go over well.

Far as FS goes... I'm not gonna say much more than this. The setting is good, has a strong story line and some interesting aspects. But, it seems to me the setting was very strongly influenced by Traveller (and that may be an understatement). Let me put it this way, there are events described as part of the history, battles and so forth. You cannot recreate those battles using the VPS rules... but you can recreate them quite well using CT or MT. Draw your own conclusions.

 

[robject]

Traveller has always been a vanilla flavored RPG, and intentionally so. Trek's Federation? You got it. SW's Evil Galactic Empire? It's there. Earth II? Already set. Logan's Run? Just tailor the city to your heart's content.
[...]

Actually, a lot of the default assumptions in the rules aren't much like Trek or SW (Logan's Run might work, tho). You'd have to swap out a few rather central concepts, not the least of which is the jump drive. Psionics < The Force. Cutlasses in Trek? Ehhh...

 

[BardicHeart]

Cutlasses in Trek? Ehhh...

Sulu! LOL :rofl: Had to be said...

I've always thought the robot in The Sleepers (T4 Anomalies) and the whole frozen storage thing was probably based on Box from Logan's Run. Reminded me of that first time I read thru it.

 

[robject]

Sulu! LOL :rofl: Had to be said...

D'oh.

Another thought I had is that SOC doesn't map well to Star Trek.

 

[rancke]

Another thought I had is that SOC doesn't map well to Star Trek.

It doesn't map well to the real world either.


Hans

 

[Blue Ghost]

No, it hasn't. After 1981, almost everything coming out was OTU focused.

CT was, but neither MT nor TNE truly were. And T4 even chopped the available TL's needlessly low, making it even LESS generic than MT or TNE.

Admittedly it could be my own prejudices operating here, because when I picked up MT and T4 I never saw them as fictional source material for the system being given. As an example of my thinking; CT's Tarsus boxed module, to me, is about as canonical as Traveller ever gets (GT not withstanding). But even there one doesn't find particulars to nail down cultural specifics unique to Traveller; i.e. "The garish Vargr tractor harvesting logs.... nor the Aslani compound where high lord Zathau is planning his next incursion, all the while an Imperial SDB flotilla in geosynchronous orbit above his mansion waits and watches..." you get the idea. Tarsus has a setting, but there are no particulars to really define what sci-fi fictional setting it's tailored for, other than generic Traveller.

To me it's always been the same with MT and T4 in spite of the Rebellion or Virus. I always saw Rebellion as a template for GMs and players as to how to introduce and campaign large events into their Traveller sessions. Even though they were etched in stone, I never personally saw them etched in stone... if that makes any kind of sense. I always saw the settings more or less as guides than actual hard Traveller facts.

 

[HG_B]

D'oh.

Another thought I had is that SOC doesn't map well to Star Trek.

Trav SOC is mapped directly to the setting. Can be thrown out entirely for settings where it doesn't fit.

 

[Dagrill]

Whilst I agree that the third Imperium is too big it certainly wasn't boring! Me and my friends were having a great time in the spinward marches and had reached 1109 in the middle of the 5th frontier war and then GDW spoilt it by introducing the rebellion in the OTU, suddenly the campign collapsed and I never went back to traveller for two decades until T20 came out and that was only to look at it.

If I wanted to visit Terra I'd use low passage and risk death to avoid the aging.

I'd like to see more accurate mapping of space rather than random generation of systems, but I'm not sure how to bring 3D into Traveller and whether that would spoil it.

Also rather than having human space surrounded by enemies, perhaps there could be an open frontier in at least one direction.

Regards

David

For the most part, I agree.

But my issue with the Imperium, at least as it stands in the OTU, is that it is too damn big and too damn boring/static (pre-Rebellion, that is). If a player in the Marches wants to visit Terra using his existing character, you have to play something to the effect of the DGP voyages in order to do it right. And all the characters age a few years in the process.

The more this kind of subject comes up, the more likely I am to just make my own damn environment when/if T5 shows up.

 

[Dagrill]

Hi,

I like the idea of setting somewhere else, but the Zhodani were always too communist for me, with their mind control. A more liberal Zhodani empire would be good as they had all those core expeditions

Regards

David

Ok, I have now read through all the posts in this thread (including mine that I had completely forgotten about it). I wonder if there is a way out of the impasse. Here is a heretical thought...why not set the default setting in the Coreward Extents of the Zhodani Consulate.

Zhodani society resembles Imperial society in many ways. Frontiers of the Core Expeditions would provide the frontier for those who crave it. The Zhodani social structure can easily be mapped onto T5 careers and that way we can build an entirely new history from the ground up whilst keeping important "signposts"/dates of the Imperial Campaign. It would also serve as a radically different basis for Traveller.

Vote here for the Consulate Campaign.

 

[robject]

Hi,

I like the idea of setting somewhere else, but the Zhodani were always too communist for me, with their mind control. A more liberal Zhodani empire would be good as they had all those core expeditions

Regards

David

David,

We'll see if Mongoose's Zhodani sourcebook is as good as it sounds. If so, then it's worth having, regardless of which ruleset you use.

 

[nats]

I never use the 3i setting info in any Traveller game I do. I almost always do adventures (most set in the Spinward Marches) without any background history setting at all. I suppose if I had been playing Traveller a lot I might have used the 3i setting but for the odd games I do I just dont need it. I use the mechanics of jump drives, the standard ships, sometimes some 3i planets like Regina, and the overal concept of the overall Imperium, with the Vargr, Zhodani etc but nothing else. However it would not be Traveller for me if the game didnt have the 3i background. I like it because it provides a background for pretty much everything you do if you need it, and allows for every kind of adventure possible.

It badly needs a good history book done with a set of good maps depicting the main events I think, as presently its all just available here and there. I would be very interested knowing where the areas of trouble in the Imperium are, details of the planets where the Aslan territories meet the Imperium, where there are planets likely to riot, what all these Red Zones are about, a summary of all the main planets and why they are important perhaps with some basic maps and details, and some great worlds for adventure seeds. Its never been done for the whole galaxy and it needs it - I suppose the closest thing is Mongooses Spinward Marches book but that was too narrow in focus - I want to see it for the whole galaxy.

 

[Blue Ghost]

I think sticking with the original concept of a generic place to Game any setting is a must, but also I think some official canon (as has always been the case) is also desirable. Emphasizing this original intent is a must. I think it'll help keep the game alive and thriving.

 

[morfydd]

- I want to see it for the whole galaxy.

The Entire Galaxy. ouch now thats a bit to chew ..Reference ..the entire OTU setting is a small freckle on Orions Arm in the Milky Way Galaxy. Its tiny and insignificant in the grand scheme of the Galaxy much less the Universe.

But now to other matters Imperium Prime ..that sounds like a lot of work .. but would be a source book I would not mind having ...or helping to create..hrmmn