Planets borrowed from science fiction stories in your TU

[aza]

I come here on and off to get a bit of vicarious Traveller enjoyment as I haven't played for many, many years. One thing I am curious about and thought might make a good topic of conversation is - what worlds have you transplanted into your Traveller games from other works of science fiction and what changes did you make so that they would fit? I wondered this after recently reading "Legacy" by Greg Bear and was really impressed by the planet Lamarckia which he had created for that book, and thought if I ever did run a Traveller campaign I would try to include it.

-Aza

 

[aramis]

I once imported the Grid from Tron... Fun, but never again. Tho' I've allowed Frisbee/Chakram as a weapon skill ever since.

Generally, tho', I don't import worlds because it's too obvious.

 

[rancke]

Somewhere in MTU Foreven there's a world called Lebensraum that's a carbon copy of Jack Vance's Big Planet.

I've often wanted to introduce Jack Vance's Rigel Concourse in MTU, but I've never found the right place for it.

EDIT: Oh, I forgot: I put Beam Piper's Fenris in Five Sisters Subsector (875-496, locally known as Janus) and planned to run the adventure from Four Day Planet.


Hans

 

[Jeff M. Hopper]

I stole Mercury from Issac Asimov's robot story Runaround. The Players never noticed.

 

[Jeff M. Hopper]

I once imported the Grid from Tron... Fun, but never again.

I used that in d6 Star Wars, it just seems to fit there better than in Traveller.

 

[Otto Harkaman]

Poictesme

The only inhabited planet in the Gartner Trisystem. Discovered by Genji Gartner in the early 600s AE, Poictesme specialized in agriculture, supplying food to the airless industrial planets of the Gartner Trisystem which served the colonies around nearby stars. By the time Gartner died in 640-650 AE, Poictesme was a Member Republic in the Terran Federation and had its own Planetary Hymn.

"The other planets [of the Gartner Trisystem] were uninhabitable except in airtight dome cities, but they were rich in minerals. Companies had been formed to exploit them. No food could be produced on any of them except by carniculture and hydroponic farming, and it had been cheaper to produce it naturally on Poictesme. So Poictesme had concentrated on agriculture and had prospered." It entered a decline in the early 700's when surrounding planets developed their own industry, the Gartner Trisystem lost its markets, and the factories on the airless planets closed.

In the late 700's the Gartner system enjoyed a brief prosperity when it was chosen for the role of advance base for the Terran Federation Armed Forces fighting the System States War. After the war, it again sank into depression. Its sole exports were melon brandy and war surplus. Storisende was the capitol of Poictesme.

Poictesme seems to have been rather out-of-the-way. The only mentioned scheduled ships serving Poictesme were the City of Nefertiti and the City of Asgard which stopped at Poictesme on their run between Odin and Aton about once every six months. There was no direct travel from Terra.

Poictesme is a cache of military gear, from 10mm pistols to anti-grav tanks mounting 90mm cannon and anti-gav gunships sprouting cannons and missiles.

 

[Timerover51]

Poictesme

The only inhabited planet in the Gartner Trisystem. Discovered by Genji Gartner in the early 600s AE, Poictesme specialized in agriculture, supplying food to the airless industrial planets of the Gartner Trisystem which served the colonies around nearby stars. By the time Gartner died in 640-650 AE, Poictesme was a Member Republic in the Terran Federation and had its own Planetary Hymn.

"The other planets [of the Gartner Trisystem] were uninhabitable except in airtight dome cities, but they were rich in minerals. Companies had been formed to exploit them. No food could be produced on any of them except by carniculture and hydroponic farming, and it had been cheaper to produce it naturally on Poictesme. So Poictesme had concentrated on agriculture and had prospered." It entered a decline in the early 700's when surrounding planets developed their own industry, the Gartner Trisystem lost its markets, and the factories on the airless planets closed.

In the late 700's the Gartner system enjoyed a brief prosperity when it was chosen for the role of advance base for the Terran Federation Armed Forces fighting the System States War. After the war, it again sank into depression. Its sole exports were melon brandy and war surplus. Storisende was the capitol of Poictesme.

Poictesme seems to have been rather out-of-the-way. The only mentioned scheduled ships serving Poictesme were the City of Nefertiti and the City of Asgard which stopped at Poictesme on their run between Odin and Aton about once every six months. There was no direct travel from Terra.

Poictesme is a cache of military gear, from 10mm pistols to anti-grav tanks mounting 90mm cannon and anti-gav gunships sprouting cannons and missiles.

I see that you are a fan of Piper's Cosmic Computer, a.k. a. Junkyard Planet, as well as Space Viking. The interesting thing is that in some respects, some of the islands in the Solomon Islands chain resemble Poictesme in the amount of left over military gear that is still around from World War 2.

 

[Otto Harkaman]

Yep love H. Beam Piper, all those books you listed above are great Traveller style stories.

Drawing by H. Beam Piper
I don't know if the sphere is suppose to be the sun or a spherical starship landing.

 

[Timerover51]

I suspect that the sphere is supposed to be the sun.

With respect to the original post, I am working on putting in the Bald Space Rovers of Andre Norton into the rimward area from Terra, and maybe making use of some of her planets from other books, such as the Solar Queen series and maybe Catseye and Star Hunter. Both of the latter have the remains of prior civilizations on them.

 

[Otto Harkaman]

I was thinking of some of Andre Norton's planets as well.

I always like how in her universe things were wide open as to what had gone on in the past. I never liked Classic Traveller Genesis with Grandfather etc.

 

[selunatic2397]

Andre Norton was a heavy influence in my Traveller universe as well.

 

[BlackBat242]

With respect to the original post, I am working on putting in the Bald Space Rovers of Andre Norton into the rimward area from Terra, and maybe making use of some of her planets from other books, such as the Solar Queen series and maybe Catseye and Star Hunter. Both of the latter have the remains of prior civilizations on them.

I was thinking of some of Andre Norton's planets as well.

I always like how in her universe things were wide open as to what had gone on in the past. I never liked Classic Traveller Genesis with Grandfather etc.

Andre Norton was a heavy influence in my Traveller universe as well.

I too have been working my universe closer to AN's general "feel" and style (something I did from the start with my AD&D world in 1984).

 

[ShapeShifter]

Mostly planets and story concepts mined from the "Dumarest" books.

More recently, I'm trying to work references to the Krell species (and the planet Altair) into my Traveller milieu. Krell superartefacts could make for great foci of missions/quests for both the Good Guys and the Baddies.

 

[madmike]

Mostly planets and story concepts mined from the "Dumarest" books.

More recently, I'm trying to work references to the Krell species (and the planet Altair) into my Traveller milieu. Krell superartefacts could make for great foci of missions/quests for both the Good Guys and the Baddies.

Beware the Id

I often had variations of vanished civilisations in campaigns. Some higher tech, most average or lower.

 

[Cryton]

Moth from Flinx series of the Humanx Commonwealth stuff by Alan Dean Foster.

Swiped the Thranx as well.

Cryton

 

[Shiara]

Andre Norton, Isaac Asimov, are the two who have had the most influence. Although the Deathworld books do too, despite the fact I cannot recall the author's name to save my life. I don't port things in whole cloth, but the influences are strong.

Shiara

 

[Dragoner]

Harry Harrison wrote the Deathworld trilogy, Planet Story by him (illustrated by Burns) is also great; as per the op: borrow? No, I ruthlessly steal from SF authors I like: Norton, Banks, Harrison, etc. .

 

[Timerover51]

Mostly planets and story concepts mined from the "Dumarest" books.

More recently, I'm trying to work references to the Krell species (and the planet Altair) into my Traveller milieu. Krell superartefacts could make for great foci of missions/quests for both the Good Guys and the Baddies.

There was a paperback book released in the late 1950s based on the script of Forbidden Planet, with the same title. It would be interesting to see if one was available online. Just think of what a "brain boost" could do to your Intelligence rating. You would have to make a Survival roll though.

As for Grandfather, one thing about him is that he was circa 300,000 years ago. That is more than enough time for other star-faring races to develop, flourish, and then disappear, and for advanced civilizations to develop that never went beyond their own solar system. All of the Real World's recorded history covers about 5,000 years.

Edit Note: If someone is willing to spend some serious money, there are copies of the Forbidden Planet book on Abebooks. And I do mean serious money.

 

[BlackBat242]

Swiped the Thranx as well.

Cryton

As did I.

I put their "pocket empire" in Spica sector; "C" subsector; 0505, 0605, 0607, 0706, 0707, 0804, 0805, 0806, & 0807... with Hivehome being 0706.

Using the Atlas of the Imperium; 2105, 2205, 2207, 2306, 2307, 2404, 2405, 2406, & 2407... with Hivehome being 2306.

 

[ShapeShifter]

There was a paperback book released in the late 1950s based on the script of Forbidden Planet, with the same title. It would be interesting to see if one was available online. Just think of what a "brain boost" could do to your Intelligence rating. You would have to make a Survival roll though.

Edit Note: If someone is willing to spend some serious money, there are copies of the Forbidden Planet book on Abebooks. And I do mean serious money.

Way ahead of ya. A few months ago I scoured the intarwebz for a used copy of the novelisation, and, crikey, are they collectible! o: It is likely nowhere as valuable as literature as the going prices would suggest, so I called off the hounds and decided to focus solely on the movie. I had a similar experience last year shopping for an early print of Whitfields' The Making of Star Trek. Copies of that in good condition are worth one's vital organs -- if not more. Thankfully, I eventually found one for a pittance.

Another two sources which just occured to me: Vance's Planet of Adventure stories and some of Heinlein's "juveniles". (Gotta get back to finishing those. )