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Old 02-05-2016, 08:56 AM   #1
Johan Larson
 
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Default Traveller Classic: where is the setting?

The basic books (B01-03) don't have any real detail about the Third Imperium, the standard setting for Traveller. There's maybe some hints of it, in the information about the various services and the social ranks, but not much.

Which book explains the setting?
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Old 02-05-2016, 11:33 AM   #2
Mike Wightman
 
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Default Re: Traveller Classic: where is the setting?

The CT books 1-3 were designed to offer you the chance to make up your own setting.
The Imperium was the setting GDW used to show off what you could do.

The Imperium itself is mentioned in the introductions to LBB4 and LBB5, and details are forthcoming in the early adventures, Kinunir, Research Station Gamma, and Twilight's Peak.

The library data in those books underwent a bit of revision as the official Library Data Supplements (A_M and N-Z) were produced.

By the time The Traveller Book was produced the Imperium setting was included in the book.
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Old 02-05-2016, 02:44 PM   #3
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Default Re: Traveller Classic: where is the setting?

Parts of the setting are explicit in books 1-3: the five services, titles of nobility, the Traveller's Aid Society. Presumably a Classic Traveller universe other than the Third Imperium would still include these in one form or another.

In Books 4 and 5, "the Imperium" was just a short-hand way of saying, "a remote, centralized government, globally strong but locally weak." It wasn't any particular Imperium at that point, and other settings were still possible.

Book 6 was the first to embed "the Imperium" as a necessary feature rather than an option.

May I suggest The Nature of the Imperium? I compiled it to try to make sense of the questions of what is the Third Imperium really? and where is that written in canon?
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Old 02-05-2016, 03:36 PM   #4
Mike Wightman
 
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Default Re: Traveller Classic: where is the setting?

Parts of the setting are implied - they are not explicit. There are many possible settings you could design with exactly the same tropes.

The navy career isn't the third Imperium Navy, the marines isn't the third Imperium Star Marines (note that MWM refers to the IN marines as Imperial Star Marines...), I've even seen multithread discussions about if an Imperial Army even exists (it does). The careers are generic tropes of science fiction character types.

CT encourages referees to come up with their own settings, but yes I agree that similarities would exist between settings if you stick to the terms in the book.
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Old 02-05-2016, 03:39 PM   #5
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Default Re: Traveller Classic: where is the setting?

John Larson, you may enjoy a series of blog posts I've been reading that explore the 1977 edition of Traveller. Among other things, some of the posts touch on exactly the topics discussed in this thread.

Here's the first one: https://talestoastound.wordpress.com...-of-the-box-i/
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Old 02-05-2016, 04:46 PM   #6
Johan Larson
 
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Default Re: Traveller Classic: where is the setting?

Quote:
Originally Posted by thrash View Post
May I suggest The Nature of the Imperium? I compiled it to try to make sense of the questions of what is the Third Imperium really? and where is that written in canon?
Thank you. That does look interesting.
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Old 06-21-2016, 06:35 AM   #7
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Default Re: Traveller Classic: where is the setting?

Quote:
Originally Posted by thrash View Post
May I suggest The Nature of the Imperium? I compiled it to try to make sense of the questions of what is the Third Imperium really? and where is that written in canon?
That's super handy. Very well done.
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Old 02-05-2016, 07:02 PM   #8
Peter Knutsen
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Default Re: Traveller Classic: where is the setting?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Johan Larson View Post
The basic books (B01-03) don't have any real detail about the Third Imperium, the standard setting for Traveller. There's maybe some hints of it, in the information about the various services and the social ranks, but not much.

Which book explains the setting?
Potential settings are explained in science fiction paperback novels, such as many of the ones written by Poul Anderson, and others. And beyond books, George Lucas made a very popular film, soon expanded into a trilogy, which also makes for a good setting to use the Classic Traveller RPG mechanics in.
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Old 02-05-2016, 07:38 PM   #9
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Default Re: Traveller Classic: where is the setting?

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Originally Posted by Peter Knutsen View Post
Potential settings are explained in science fiction paperback novels, such as many of the ones written by Poul Anderson, and others. And beyond books, George Lucas made a very popular film, soon expanded into a trilogy, which also makes for a good setting to use the Classic Traveller RPG mechanics in.
I dunno, there are only a couple of good movies in that setting. I'd skip it and go watch Firefly.
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Old 02-05-2016, 10:59 PM   #10
Peter Knutsen
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Default Re: Traveller Classic: where is the setting?

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I dunno, there are only a couple of good movies in that setting. I'd skip it and go watch Firefly.
I'm confining my reply to noninteractive fiction that was around when 1st edition Traveller was published.
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