I was thinking: we have more than your average number of Traveller fans here, and more than your average number of threads on the topic.

I thought it'd be cool if some of our more fanatical Traveller-fanboys were to write up a basic description of the Traveller setting (and the differences between the setting in the various editions), for the sake of those who may lack familiarity.

RPGPundit

I could, but I'd pobably get something wrong.

I was actually about to suggest this over in the Mariner thread since I know absolutely nothing about Traveller.

Would love to hear a basic rundown of the mechanics as well!

I think the Wikipedia article on Traveller covers it pretty well:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traveller_%28role-playing_game%29

However, I know you're looking for something more succinct. I'll try to sum it up:

The time is about 3,000 years from now. The setting is the Third Imperium, a vast, sprawling human-dominated interstellar empire made up of about 11,000 worlds. Travel between the stars is done by way of the jump drive, designated by numbers from 1 to 7. A Jump-1 drive, the most common, allows jumps of a parsec each. Each number corresponds to how many parsecs can be jumped. No matter how many parsecs are jumped, each jump lasts one week.

The Imperium is a pretty remote entity to most PCs, due to the travel time involved in moving from one end of the Imperium to the other. Much of the governing is done locally, mostly by feudal-type nobility. If the Imperium shows up, mostly in the form of the Imperial Navy or Marines, it's time to run for cover (if you've done something to piss off the Imperium) or look busy.

Much of the Imperium's commerce is done by free traders, moving their wares in Jump-1 or Jump-2 capable ships. This is the usual way PCs in the game get around, as either merchants themselves or as passengers. The game is also famous for PC groups being mercenaries, whether soldiers or assassins or A-Team like groups.

Traveller is unlike Star Trek or Star Wars in that the universe isn't brimming with worlds easily habitable by humans. There are some, but most worlds have environments hostile to humans, much as we've found to be true so far in the real universe. That said, there are still plenty of such worlds, since there are a number of human-dominated empires besides the Imperium. The two major human empired besides the Imperium are the Solomani Confederation, which was once led by Earth, and the Zhodani Consulate, which is made up of psionically gifted humans. The Imperium itself is made up of humans called Vilani. All human origins have been traced back to Earth, which means that thousands (hundreds of thousands, as I recall) of years ago, a mysterious race now called the ancients seeded humans across the galaxy.

The Ancients also genetically altered canines from Earth to be intelligent and bipedal. These are now called the Vargr, and have their own important, if chaotic, empire. Other nonhuman empires include the Aslan, a lion-like alien race, the Kkree, or Centaurs, a race descended from herd animals, and the Hivers, a bizarre race that kind of resembles a sea cucumber with a starfish for a head.

That's pretty much the basics as I can recall. I'm sure someone will fill in what I missed.

It's also worth noting that a lot of Trav fans can be seriously, seriously grognardy, sticking to canon like barnacles on a ship.  

I ignore them.

The spirit of the classic game, as published in 1977, seems to be "Here aresome tools; go make stuff and get into trouble."  Therefore, even the "canonical" universe ends up being immensely mutable, with individual campaigns often being  derived from the 'baseline' in lots of ways (for instance, in my game, I replaced the Foreven Sector with my own...uh..thing, and Coca-Cola won The Cola Wars).

This practice has resulted in "IMTU Code", a kind of shorthand used to describe the way things are "In My Traveller Universe".  It's very, very geeky.

By the way, mine is

tc++ tm+ !tn !t4 !t5 tg+ t20-- ru+ ge- 3i c jt- au- pi+ !ta he- kk+ hi+ as+ va+ ?dr ?ith ?vr ?ne so vi zh da sy

and I'm not doing the rest.

It's also worth noting that Traveller did not originally have a setting, that came later, Traveller was intended as a generic sf ruleset.

It's actually about as generic as DnD, which is not so much, and there was a clearly implied setting, but originally it was a generic sf rpg and the referee was expected to create their own setting.

Oh, geez, where to start?

Okay, first, you have to understand that the various settings of Traveller are, in fact, all the same setting, but occurring at different points in the timeline of events.  Many players have disagreed with the changes put forth in subsequent developments in the timeline, and that's where you'll see or hear declarations of "Not in MY Traveller universe!"

Second, to paraphrase Greg Stafford's touchstone about Glorantha, Your Traveller Will Vary.  Dr. Rotwang! could tell you about his Traveller and I could tell you about mine, and Marc Miller (the creator of the game) could tell you about his.  Like the blind monks describing the elephant, we'd all be telling you about our experience with the setting, which is totally cool (and thus should it be with all published settings.

Right, so with those provisos out of the way, let me see how quickly I can summarise the setting without too many sidetracks.

Between 300,000 and 400,000 years ago, a now-mysterious race of technologically evolved aliens known as the Ancients spread far and wide across the galaxy.  They achieved countless fantastic (and some unfathomable) technological marvels.  At the same time, they created various servitor or pet races, two of which were derived from Earth -- they took early hominids and canines, adapted the species to their needs or desires or whims, and spread them through space as they travelled, favoring the humans especially.  Eventually, a great and inscrutible war occurred that seemingly wiped the Ancients out of existence, leaving wreckage and ruin in their wake.

Moving forward in time to the 21st century, the native humans who evolved on Earth or Terra began to send out slower-than-light colony ships to far off stars.  By the end of the century, the earliest form of faster-than-light travel, the "Jump" drive is discovered.  Very shortly thereafter, the Terrans encounter an already ancient human empire known as the Vilani and their First Imperium.  Inevitable war ensues on and off over the next 250 years or so, and eventually the aging, stagnant Vilani empire falls to the young and vigorous Terrans.  The Terrans absorb the Vilani territories, spread throughout space, encountering a number of other Jump-capable aliens, including the lion-esque Aslan, the starfish-like Hivers, the particularly nasty centauroid bovine K'Kree, and their long-lost uplifted canine cousins the Vargr.

In time, the Terran-Vilani govenrment declares itself the Second Imperium, but social inertia that plagued the First Imperium continues, even under the new rule, and it collapses after only a couple of hundred years, leading to an interstellar "dark ages" that lasts about 1000 years.

In time, a new fledgeling federation arises out of the ashes and establishes itself as the Third Imperium after roughly 600 years of expansion and consolidation.  The Year 0 marks the beginning of the Third Imperium, which corresponds approximately to 4250 AD.  Expansion and exploration brings them into contact with two new Jump-capable races, the wierdly stagnant flying lizard people named the Droyne, and the psychically adept humans known as the Zhodani.  Collectively, those races that were fortunate to discover Jump technology on their own, without outside influence or archaeological assistance, declare themselves "Major Races" and inherently superior to those "Minor Races" that either failed to achieve Jump on their own or were foolish enough to accept borrowed technology.

The major conflicts within the Third Imperium prove to be agitation among the Solomani, the "Men of Sol" or Terran purists, with their breakaway empire, and, on practically the opposite front, an on-going conflict with the psychic Zhodani Consulate.  At the publication of the original Traveller, the year was set at about year 1100 of the Third Imperium.  The Imperium is huge and stable, communication is limited to the speed of the fastest ship (which is roughly 18 to 20 light years per week, but usually much slower), and the vast expanse of territory is administered on a semi-autonomous fiefdom system of Imperial nobility.  Most of the incorporated Imperium has been brought up to a reasonable technological level following the long period of barbarism, but many weird backwaters that developed local customs over the intervening 1000 to 2000 years are encountered frequently, especially in the more far-flung outskirts.

Now, after this period, Mega Traveller advanced the timeline to about 1115-20, during which time the Imperium collapsed and splintered, creating much social chaos upon which the players could potentially capitalise.  Traveller: the New Era posited another dark age involving a sentient and malevolent computer virus and advanced the timeline another couple of hundred years.  Traveller 4 took the timeline back to Year 0, while GURPS: Traveller took the timeline back to about 1115, effectively ignoring Mega Traveller and The New Era.  Meanwhile, various fan projects have picked up the action in a number of different points on the timeline, the most prominent of which, the 1248 project from Avenger/ComStar, tries to reconcile all of the existing timeline offshoots by setting itself after The New Era.

Good lord, there's so much I've left out, but that's basically it.  Ancients spread humanity across the stars, Earthlings meet already-starfaring humans, take over their empire, collapse, rebuild, establish a new empire.  Information travels only as fast as the fastest ship, making for great, wide-open spaces.  Aliens, familiar and strange, abound.

!i!

IA's post hit all the major points.  awesome!  

the major thing to remember is what he said at the end:  the speed of information (as in, news) travels at the speed of jump.  no FTL commo, here.  the maps show the major x-boat routes (and therefore, the fastest spread of info for the public), but private ships can spread the news a bit faster.  or those TL-15 jump-6 couriers.  but it's still event, 1 week,  then notification for others.

i never bothered with a full IMTU spread.  i always end up doing third imperium, circa 1105-1110 or so.  never got to run a players in the fifth frontier war, yet. . .

This is from my general background for a campaign I ran for people unfamiliar with Traveller

-----------------------------

This is the age of the Third Imperium of Mankind. In the year 1105, the Emperor Strephon rules over an empire of eleven thousand worlds. On the far reaches of the empire lies the Spinward Marches, the frontier of the Third Imperium. A crossroads for humans and aliens it is a dangerous place, but for those who dare to cross the night between stars, fame and fortune waits.


The Third Imperium
Founded One Thousand One Hundred and Five years ago by the Emperor Cleon I, the Third Imperium has expanded to encompass over 11,000 worlds. The Emperor Strephon currently rules the Third Imperium. The Emperor has appointed nobles to aid his rule of the Imperium. Dukes, Counts, Barons, and Knight go forth among the worlds of the Imperium to bring the Emperor's words and enforce the Emperor's law.

The Imperium is not an oppressive empire crushing all dissent before it. It is a grand confederation to provide for the common defense of it's member worlds and to ensure that commerce and trade flows freely among the stars. Other than regulating trade and providing military forces the Imperium does little to interfere with the internal affairs of its members.

The Spinward Marches
The Imperium's farthest frontier sector, containing 437 star systems divided along a coreward to rimward line by the Imperial border. The region is dominated by two major powers: the Imperial Spinward Marches sector and the frontier provinces of the Zhodani Consulate. In the independent territory between the two powers lie three small states: the Federation of Arden, the Sword Worlds Confederation, and the Darrian Confederation. Each follows its own diplomatic line designed to maintain independence from both the Zhodani and the Imperium.

The Spinward Marches has been settled for over 700 years and is still a frontier sector. High-tech worlds are scattered among empty, fallow worlds; there is potential for exploration, exploitation, and development for centuries to come.


A Short History
In -3224 (earth year 2082) humanity reached the stars only to find... humans. For hundreds of parsecs to the galactic core there was a multitude of worlds inhabited by human. There were alien races and alien ecologies but humans dominated all.
These worlds were all united under the rule of the Vilani in the Ziru Sirka or Grand Imperium. By the time humans from Terra made contact the Ziru Sirka was over 1,500 years old.
However this 1,500-year-old rule had a price in cultural rigidity and stagnation. The dynamic Terrans exploited this in a series of interstellar wars that brought down the Ziru Sirka. In it's place the Terrans erected the Rule of Man uniting Vilani and Terrans under a single rule.
But the dynamism of the Terrans (now known as Solomani) could not arrest the decline of Vilani culture. Within 400 years; civil wars and economic upheavals caused the collapse of the Rule of Man. With the collapse both Vilani and Solomani worlds slide into the 1,500 year Long Night.
After 1,500 years the Long Night was beginning to recede and many worlds started reaching out to the stars again. On the world of Sylea a man named Cleon Zhunastu had a dream of restoring the glory of the Ziru Sirka and the Rule of Man. In a thirty-year campaign he transformed the Sylean Federation into the basis for the Third Imperium. In the 654th year of the Sylean Federation; Cleon and the Grand Senate of the Federation proclaimed the Third Imperium with Cleon Zhunastu as Emperor Cleon the first.

The Human Question
Throughout all of history three questions remained; from where did humanity come from? Who placed us among the stars? And why did they do this? As the years of Third Imperium rolled on, archaeologists found out several things: first genetic analysis indicates that humanity was scattered around 300,000 years ago, second there are many sites around the Imperium were built by a non-human race over 300,000 years ago, third that in a period of 10,000 years, this race destroyed itself in a great war leaving humanity to fend for itself, and last the best candidate for the original human homeworld is Terra the homeworld of the Solomani.

This race was dubbed the Ancients. In addition to humanity it is believed that ancients took members of the canis (dogs, wolves, etc) genus and uplifted them to sentience as the Vargr.
No one knows why the ancients choose humanity to scatter among the stars. There are no answers for the reason why the ancients destroyed themselves in a great war.

Aliens
   In addition to the scattered descendants of humanity, alien races are found throughout the stars. There has been two traditional categories that the alien races have fallen into. Major races who have discovered the jump drive on their own and minor races who have learned the secret of the jump drive from another race. The major races includes Humanity, the Aslan, the Vargr, the Hiver, the K'Kree, and the Droyne.
   Of the many worlds the ancients placed humanity only three discovered Jump Drive on their own; Solomani of Terra, Vilani of Vland, and the Zhodani of Zhdant.
   The Zhodani, the Aslan, and the Vargr are all present in the Spinward Marches.

-----------------------------------

This is pretty much sums up classic traveller.

Enjoy

Rob Conley

A 44 page overview of Traveller history.

The much shorter Foundational Description of Traveller by Marc Miller.

That's all really boring, and I actually like the Traveller setting. Can anybody do it in a snappy paragraph or two?

Why don't you give it a go?

!i!

ED: "Seen any episodes of "Firefly" ? Yeah well its kind of like that - except there are also 3 or 4 alien races and the Goverment body is called the Imperium.  But the spirit is VERY similiar . "

CUSTOMER: "Cool ...I saw some Firefly eps ...it looked fun. "

A couple of things not mentioned that set the Traveller OTU apart from other settings.

1) There is no Prime Directive. Just because a world is less technologically developed than those nearby doesn't mean that it is treated as a game preserve, it means that it is economically disadvantaged for interstellar trade.

2) Except in special cases, the Third Imperium does not govern individual worlds, it governs the space between those worlds and their access to that space. This is important when you consider that most worlds are self-governing and that the 3I has a hands-off policy towards those governments.

There are a few more that really describe the setting (besides speed of communication) that I partially remember from the T4 introduction.

If this is off-topic, shoot me a PM instead, but...can someone calmly and articulately explain where Traveller:TNE went wrong and how it inspired the frothing, seething hate of a million, billion suns in Traveller fans?  I mean grognard hate I can see, they hate everything; but this, it seems goes well beyond that rare realm of RPG fandom: Legitimate Hate.

I'm not a Traveller guy.  I've never been a Traveller guy.  Traveller has piqued my curiosity, however, and I'm sure I'll be buying those LBB's eventually.  But man, that TNE hate, hoo-boy...