Spinward Marches

[rlvargas]

I'm looking to find more info on the Spinward Marches. What would be the definitive source (sources)? Printed and on the web?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Elliot]

You could try www.spinwardmarches.com for starters!

 

[daryen]

As Elliot mentioned, http://www.spinwardmarches.com gives an excellent picture of the Spinward Marches. It is a snapshot of the very end of the CT era, a year or so after the end of the 5FW.

There are many, many other sites that show the CT era Spinward Marches. Two other good sites are http://zho.berka.com/ and http://www.jtas.org/travelleratlas/ .

For a TNE picture, go to: http://www.panpub.com/traveller/sectors/ . It has many sectors, including the Spinward Marches. As far as I can tell, it is the only accurate online picture of the TNE Regency.

As far as I can tell, there is no online reference for the GT version of the Spinward Marches.

 

[Liam Devlin]

Originally posted by daryen:
As Elliot mentioned, http://www.spinwardmarches.com gives an excellent picture of the Spinward Marches. It is a snapshot of the very end of the CT era, a year or so after the end of the 5FW.

There are many, many other sites that show the CT era Spinward Marches. Two other good sites are http://zho.berka.com/ and http://www.jtas.org/travelleratlas/ .

For a TNE picture, go to: http://www.panpub.com/traveller/sectors/ . It has many sectors, including the Spinward Marches. As far as I can tell, it is the only accurate online picture of the TNE Regency.

As far as I can tell, there is no online reference for the GT version of the Spinward Marches.

*************************************************
I'm no fan of GT as a general rule, but they do have this map of 1105 SM on this site (if I may disagree with friend Daryen, in a friendly way): http://www.utzig.com/traveller/iai.shtml
Deneb is set for 1117, various other sectors have only the Hi pop planets done. What is detailed is very colorful.

 

[rlvargas]

Thanks for the websites. Very useful.

How about printed material? Is there anything in the vein of The Linkworld Cluster pdf?

Thanks again!

 

[daryen]

Originally posted by Liam Devlin:
I'm no fan of GT as a general rule, but they do have this map of 1105 SM on this site (if I may disagree with friend Daryen, in a friendly way): http://www.utzig.com/traveller/iai.shtml
Deneb is set for 1117, various other sectors have only the Hi pop planets done. What is detailed is very colorful.

As regards the SM, I would say it is another CT era description. When referring to the GT version, I mean 1120 era with the various changes therein (like the bigger Darrian Confederation and the massively changed Sword Worlds).

I have done a version of the Darrian subsector with GT borders on my site. I also have also done the same for the Sword Worlds subsector, but have not put that on my site yet.

 

[daryen]

Originally posted by Slowflow:
Thanks for the websites. Very useful.

How about printed material? Is there anything in the vein of The Linkworld Cluster pdf?

Again, I am not sure which era you are looking for.

For the CT era, you have these sources:
- Supplement 3, Spinward Marches. This is included in the second Reprints volume (The Supplements). Please note that this is the first version done of the Spinward Marches, and some things have been "retcon'ed" over time.
- Imperial Fringe Introductory Adventure. This is included in the fourth Reprints volume (The Short Adventures). This only includes a listing of UWPs, with no library data.
- Alien Module 8: The Darrians. This is included in the latest Reprint volume (The Alien Modules 5-8). This includes the 1110 boundaries (as opposed to the 1105 boundaries given in the above two sources), but only gives UWPs and library data for the worlds of the Darrian Confederation.

Note that the first two items don't really give you anything more than you get from the above mentioned sites. The last item is really only useful if you want to know about the Darrians. Don't get me wrong, I still highly recommend getting the Reprints. I just want to make sure you have realistic expectations going in.

Specific items about the Spinward Marches are covered in Supplements 8 and 11; Adventures 1,2,3,7,10,12; and JTAS. All are in their appropriate Reprint volumes.

The above are all still in print (via the Reprint series). Out of print sources include:
- The Spinward Marches Campaign is probably the best CT era resource, but as I don't have it, I can't speak with authority on it.
- The Regina subsector is detailed in The Traveller Book.
- The Aramis subsector is detailed in The Traveller Adventure.

For the MT era, I am not sure if it was ever completely described in anything. The Megatraveller box set did include a four color map with the 1116 political boundaries (which were the same as the 1110 boundaries).

For the TNE era, the best resource is The Regency Sourcebook. Even if you hate TNE, if you like the Spinward Marches, this book is great. It gives you the UWPs for both 1117 and 1200. It also includes a tremendous number of writeups. While long out of print, it is not that hard to find, and (unlike the Spinward Marches Campaign) does not usually go for ridiculous prices.

For GT, there is Behind the Claw. While it does have many things that people (including me) have found fault with, it is still quite useful. Do note that all planetary descriptions are done in GURPS format, which, if you don't use GT, will have to be translated back into Travellerese. This is also out of print, but can be found for reasonable prices.

If I missed anything (which I am sure I have), I am sure others will mention them. I hope I haven't beaten your question to death.

 

[Tobias]

I would also recommend getting the program Galactic from Jim Vassilikos´ homepage:

http://members.aol.com/jimvassila/

It comes with sector maps for almost all known Traveller sectors, including the Marches. It´s very nice for adding/editing your own information.

Regards,

Tobias