Traveller Birth Certificate Project

[The Hinterworlds Rambler]

I want to start work on a Traveller Birth Certificate to go with my Passport and other "Forms and Charts" type stuff that I do for games.

The object is to keep it universal and as "realistic" as possible, so nothing for specific rulesets, and to give a fancy method of denoting a given PC's homeworld.

What sort of Information headings should be on it?

What size is a good size for the final document?
Card sized, like a TAS card? LBB Page?

Next would be:

a PC "Will" for his or her next PC,
a card-sized Patent of Nobility
a Psi-Institute ID Badge.

Anyone got any suggestions?

 

[Spinward Scout]

Hey Baron,

My birth certificate is 4x5 inches. Has Name, Date of birth, Time of Birth (not all have that). Gender. Length and Weight. Place of Birth. Parents Names. Doctor's Name. And My Footprints. And a Pressed hospital stamp.

Wouldn't mind seeing your Traveller Passport and other Forms and Charts if you ever decide to post them someplace. Hint, hint.

 

[CosmicGamer]

I want to start work on a Traveller Birth Certificate to go with my Passport and other "Forms and Charts" type stuff that I do for games.

The object is to keep it universal and as "realistic" as possible, so nothing for specific rulesets, and to give a fancy method of denoting a given PC's homeworld.

What sort of Information headings should be on it?

What size is a good size for the final document?
Card sized, like a TAS card? LBB Page?

Next would be:

a PC "Will" for his or her next PC,
a card-sized Patent of Nobility
a Psi-Institute ID Badge.

Anyone got any suggestions?

hmm,

First, because the world of Traveller is specifically designed to allow for worlds that are drastically different and often allowed to follow their own Law, Government, and customs, maybe you should rethink the concept of a single universal Birth certificate.

In one culture the custom could be a tattoo that is put on a child at birth.

Also, I would think on many technologically advanced worlds the standard would be some sort of ID chip.

In line with my tattoo world, there could be a small chip implanted at birth.

For interstellar travel there may be more standardized versions of Identification.

I'm no historian but I believe back on Earth in the pre 2000AD years, there was a stand for Identification used by many societies for travel and you needed your local form of birth certificate to obtain these more widely accepted forms of ID. Now that I think about it, yes, your right, it was called a passport.

I find it fascinating how the culture from that period of time has lasted so long and infused itself throughout our universe.

 

[Magnus von Thornwood]

Some more things...

Also needs a spot for following: Live Birth, Successful Decanting and Brought Online. Or those are my thoughts on the common methods with in the Imperium, perhaps add an Other:___________. for those cultures/species that have different methods of procreation. Say, Hiver!

I also would (being a big paperwork freak, don't believe me, check out my site on the profie. ) like to see a Charts and Forms Section on the board! Or am I missing it in my noobness?

 

[The Hinterworlds Rambler]

Of course it makes no sense technically that by the 57th century such a paperwork system wold be in place, and be universal world to world, but I am approaching it from a Game standpoint. This is intended to be a fun bit for the player, and a creative way to note Homeworld, Parent's Names, etc. Stuff that would otherwise just be footnotes.

I am also a firm believer in characters giving a depth to the homeworld that they come from, Like Baron Thornwood is a Reginian, I'm A Sidur Haskian, that sort of thing. Even little bits like that make the setting seem realistic, and therefore, more fun. Like how the old JTAS' took a realistic approach with news reports and the like.

 

[Andrew Boulton]

a card-sized Patent of Nobility

http://www.farfuture.net/b4.jpg

 

[veltyen]

What sort of Information headings should be on it?

Headings?

Name.
Place.
Date(Local).
Date (Standard/Imperial).
Origin

Name and place are the easy ones. Date may need clarification on whether it is conception, birth or registration. For a planet with a high infant mortality it may be culturally appropriate to only register children at 5 years old for example.

Origin is the tough one. You might want to include spaces for 1-5 parents, and genetic design patents that may be involved. In a high tech universe there are a lot of options. Parents may need extensive sub information (medical propensities, percentage DNA used in merge, parental profile). Fully designed people may need even further detail.

What size is a good size for the final document?

As compact as possible but no more.

A full document may be quite extensive - 10 generations and full history for noble patents for example.

 

[rancke]

First, because the world of Traveller is specifically designed to allow for worlds that are drastically different and often allowed to follow their own Law, Government, and customs, maybe you should rethink the concept of a single universal Birth certificate.

I agree. I think the Imperium would have a standard identity card (there's one described in GURPS Traveller), but birth certificates would be issued by individual member worlds (and for balkanized worlds, individual countries). The Imperium would not issue ID cards to all its 15 trillion inhabitants, but only to those that were part of each world's "interface culture" (the part of the population that was in direct contact with the Imperial culture).

When my PCs had an undercover mission to Nebelthorn of Ruie, I made up fake Nebelthorn ID cards for them as props, but I've never bothered to make up Imperial IDs for them.


Hans

 

[Magnus von Thornwood]

Neato!

http://www.farfuture.net/b4.jpg

Rockin' Neato!

If you replace the Imperial Starburst or move it up to the top, you could place the Armorial Achievement (a Coat of Arms with all the goodies) in the center (where the ImpStar is) and that is pretty accurate.

So are there any of those for Orders of Knighthoods, other Ranks and Titles, etc?

Also, was thinking of Discharge Paperwork (for Service Mustering Out, or Exit Term of Service, also known as "Exit, Take Suitcase!"), Ratings (IN) and Certifications (TAS) for skills, University Degrees for high Edu.

But again I am a Bureaucrat at heart, so I dig on such things. And Handouts rock, imho!

Oh and SvG, love the new Avatar!

 

[The Hinterworlds Rambler]

OK here's my old two. I went to the minamalist route, and didnt hit the bilingual thing at all. I always figured it switches back and forth as needed on com screens:

This one is overly scripty, but it had to be a scroll type prop:

This one is more "Modern" as was more like an office plaque deal:

Both sport a simple Gold Sunburst and the Imperial Marines Anchor/Bird thing.

Here's the latest set of cash, all Bilandin:

And the Passport:

I know both are very "earthlike" but its all I had to go on. plus, players can relate.

 

[Fritz_Brown]

Neat! Though the picture on the last one made me think: "It's people! It's peeeeepllllllle........" The "SL" under the picture helped with that....

 

[Magnus von Thornwood]

Chart and Forms!

Charts and Forms, Charts and Forms, Charts and Forms, Charts and Forms!

Neato, coolio! Dig on this most seriously, though I must admit the purist in me digs the bi-lingual thing...

Anyway, got to go to work, be back on Sevenday, and see what's up then.
Laterness.

 

[aramis]

Baron Saarthuran:

Nitpicks
1) Archdukes can only grant Knighthoods and Baronetcies in the OTU...
2) the ID card probably should have labels for data.
3) ID card there should be space for reference digit print and retinal print
4) there is no species/subspecies identifier. (I'd suspect him to be Human... Homo Sapiens bilaninensis?)

But the card looks great.

 

[The Hinterworlds Rambler]

In this case, Miri von Harper's Patent was issued by the emperor directly when restructuring Night's Oligarchy after the assassination of the old Duke (of the subsector) there. It was an emergency move by Streph in that particular game, and was also done as a warning to the other nobles of that area that were acting up.

Looking at the Patents and stuff a few months after doing them, I realize that I might be going at it too CT and my need to jazz it up some. Maybe some kind of faux digital watermark?

I also want to tone down the Credits so that they can be printed easier, and be double sided.

 

[aramis]

remember, based upon the description in The Traveller Adventure, credis are "one sided", as they are made by bundling threads of a polymer &/or metal to form the face, bonding them together into long bricks forming the image, distorted, and then sliced to size, and branded with serials.

 

[rancke]

remember, based upon the description in The Traveller Adventure, credis are "one sided", as they are made by bundling threads of a polymer &/or metal to form the face, bonding them together into long bricks forming the image, distorted, and then sliced to size, and branded with serials.

That's what the original writers intended, but they never came right out and said it. If the polymers are polarized (or whatever it is called when they don't look the same from both sides), the two sides can be different, and I actually think it is a rather neat idea that they are (not my own, alas).



Hans

 

[The Hinterworlds Rambler]

Even a simulation of the polarization is fine for a reverse side for me. I tried to simulate this by starting with a money-sized rectangle, then adding a repeated geometric pattern rendered in diffferent transparencies in red, green, and blue. Then I threw the green tint over that, and then started adding serials.

This concept, as presented in the TA, is totally doable now. I've seen devices that do the slicing for different applications, and even in larger sizes. Its all in the machine and the polymer formulation.

 

[sid6.7]

i think its a good idea...we are after all called "citizens" of the imperium...there
must be some kind of record keeping thats going on....it might only be required
if you go off-world though...

 

[Tysis]

Hey do you guys remember The Traveller Adventure (got a copy of it in a box somewhere)? Was it Psiadian Wine (spelling?) that had the buearacratic adventure when you had to get all those signatures to take some NPC off planet and return her (at least I think it was a her).

Anyway, imagine a snafu in your cloning insurance policy (one of the T5 instructions). Your (or some npcs) "birth" certificate is not correct and you have to go get it updated.

 

[aramis]

Zilan Skymellon Wine.

Psaydi has Howwood.