I don't read much sci fi (outside of 40k stuff) so I'm not really familiar with the original sources that inspired Traveller.  What should be in the Appendix N for Traveller?

C. J. Cherryh's Alliance Space books have a pretty strong Traveller vibe. But since the first one was published in 1981, I guess the influence most likely goes in the opposite direction.

Assuming the goal is to consider Marc Miller's inspirations, here's a good article:

https://calypso1577.blogspot.com/2014/02/text-foundations-of-traveller.html

Quote from: ffilz;1114674Assuming the goal is to consider Marc Miller's inspirations, here's a good article:

https://calypso1577.blogspot.com/2014/02/text-foundations-of-traveller.html

ooh... very nice.  Thanks!

Andre Norton:  Uncharted Stars, The Zero Stone, Moon of 3 Rings, Sargasso of Space, and many others
Robert Heinlein:  Citizen of the Galaxy
Poul Andreson:  Poleseotechnic League series

Edit:  These are some of my favorite books, and I love Traveller, especially LBB, because it simulates them so well

Jack Vance: Alastor series, Planet of adventure series, Durdane series, Five gold bands, Maske Thaery, Emphyrio (STAR WARS!), The last castle...
Others will say "Demonprinces" - and thats probably true, but I dont think they rank among his best work.
EDIT: Vance is great for planetbound adventures, not so much if you like spacebattles.

Over on Amazon, there is "The Science Fiction In Traveller: A Reader's Guide to Traveller Role-Playing Fiction" Kindle Edition.

Some Asimov, eg the Imperial, pre-Imperial, Robot and early Foundation stories?

At risk of repeating information from that link, I'll call out a few for emphasis.

The Dumarest books by EC Tubb look like one of the biggest single influences on Traveller.  They also went out of print for a while; I had read most of the big influences on Traveller before I ever came to it, with the exception of Dumarest, so for a while they got less attention than other authors.  But they're back in e-reader format, and there are still paperbacks kicking around.  There's 33 in total; you don't need to worry about reading all of them or in order, but it's worth checking out a few.  What a GM can emulate out of them is that every single world the titular hero goes to has something weird and pulpy going on, some weird law or custom or bizarre weather or dangerous fauna or flora.  It's very much in the pulp tradition of sci fi, and the opposite of GMs who try to make sure every world they roll up makes perfect rational sense.

Space Viking by H Beam Piper gets name checked in the 3rd Imperium, with worlds and ships using names from it, so the influence is undeniable.  It's a little bit dark in theme (for the time, nothing compared to Black Company or Game of Thrones); The Cosmic Computer is a little bit lighter and shares many of the same themes, just without as many call-outs in Traveller.  Deals explicitly with the rise and fall of civilizations and empires, which is a background theme in Traveller, although not one that every GM brings out in play.

Poul Anderson's Van Rijn books about a space merchant were a big influence on Traveller, and at least part of the reason there's a trading game in it to this day.

Starship Troopers was probably the source of Battle Dress in Traveller, and is also in the same broad category of exploring cultures and civilizations as Piper and Asimov.  It's increasingly an unpopular book lately; I think the dividing line is whether you read it as an exploration of a very different world, or the author's definitive statement of his own politics.  I read it as the former; acknowledging there's some of the author in it, the same author who wrote Moon a Harsh Mistress and Stranger in a Strange Land *can't* have meant Starship Troopers as a literal utopia.

Asimov's Foundation trilogy.  Influenced Traveller, another reason with Piper that we have space empires in our Traveller games.  Well written in their own right, but somehow I'm no longer the fan I once was and haven't revisited it.

Certainly some I'm leaving out; Trav was explicitly a hodgepodge rather than one single Book X: the RPG.

I'm increasingly fond of the old pulp science fiction, even predating Tubb.  AE Van Vogt looks like an inspiration even though he's not commonly credited.  Voyage of the Space Beagle is full of adventure ideas for a Traveller GM.  (Trivia: van Vogt got out an out of court settlement of $50,000 from the movie Alien for plagiarism.)

I have read some post-Traveller books which were clearly inspired by the game.  There are a few books by Jefferson Swycaffer which are pretty good.  He also wrote some really good Traveller articles for Dragon magazine.  The Angel's Luck books by Joe Clifford Faust are also pretty good Traveller based books.  The Stainless Steel Rat books by Harry Harrison are also very Travelleresque.

Quote from: Dave R;1114698At risk of repeating information from that link, I'll call out a few for emphasis.

The Dumarest books by EC Tubb look like one of the biggest single influences on Traveller.  They also went out of print for a while; I had read most of the big influences on Traveller before I ever came to it, with the exception of Dumarest, so for a while they got less attention than other authors.  But they're back in e-reader format, and there are still paperbacks kicking around.  There's 33 in total; you don't need to worry about reading all of them or in order, but it's worth checking out a few.  What a GM can emulate out of them is that every single world the titular hero goes to has something weird and pulpy going on, some weird law or custom or bizarre weather or dangerous fauna or flora.  It's very much in the pulp tradition of sci fi, and the opposite of GMs who try to make sure every world they roll up makes perfect rational sense.

Space Viking by H Beam Piper gets name checked in the 3rd Imperium, with worlds and ships using names from it, so the influence is undeniable.  It's a little bit dark in theme (for the time, nothing compared to Black Company or Game of Thrones); The Cosmic Computer is a little bit lighter and shares many of the same themes, just without as many call-outs in Traveller.  Deals explicitly with the rise and fall of civilizations and empires, which is a background theme in Traveller, although not one that every GM brings out in play.

Yeah, the Dumarest books will give me something new to start searching for in used book stores.  I have read a couple of the Fuzzy books by Piper which happen in a very Traveller like setting.

Here is the list in the back of Traveller 5.10 -

Aldiss, Brian, editor, Collection, Space Opera.
Aldiss, Brian, editor, Collection, Galactic Empires Volume One.
Aldiss, Brian, editor, Collection, Galactic Empires Volume Two.
Anderson, Poul, Novel, The Man Who Counts.
Anderson, Poul, Novel, Hiding Place.
Anderson, Poul, Series, the Dominic Flandry novels (1951-1993).
Anvil, Christopher, Collection, Interstellar Patrol.
Anvil, Christopher, Novel, Pandora's Legions.
Asimov, Isaac, Series, Robot Series.
Asimov, Isaac, Novel, The Currents of Space.
Asimov, Isaac, Novel, Pebble in the Sky.
Bailey, Barrington J, Novel, Star Winds.
Bailey, Barrington J, Novel, Star Virus.
Barnes Arthur K, Novel, Interplanetary Hunter.
Bates, Leslie, Novel, Friends in High Places.
Bates, Leslie, Short Story, Homecoming.
Blish, James, Collection, The Seedling Stars.
Brin, David, Series, Uplift.
Brunette, Paul, Novel, The Death of Wisdom.
Brunette, Paul, Novel, To Dream of Chaos.
Brunette, Paul, unpublished, The Backwards Mask.
Carson, Matthew, Novel, The Backwards Mask.
Clark, Arthur C, Short Story, The Ultimate Melody.
de Camp, L Sprague, Series, Krishna.
Del Rey, Lester, Short Story, Instinct.
Dougherty, Martin J., Novel, Diaspora Phoenix.
Dozois, Gardner, editor, Collection, The New Space Opera.
Drake, David, Novel, Hammer's Slammers.
Godwin, Tom, Short Story, "The Cold Equations".
Hamilton, Edmond, Novel, Exile.
Hartwell, David G, editor, Collection, The Space Opera Renaissance.
Heinlein, Robert A, Novel, Space Cadet.
Heinlein, Robert A, Novel, Red Planet.
Heinlein, Robert A, Novel, Farmer In The Sky.
Heinlein, Robert A, Novel, The Puppet Masters.
Heinlein, Robert A, Novel, Starman Jones.
Heinlein, Robert A, Novel, Tunnel In The Sky.
Heinlein, Robert A, Novel, Citizen of the Galaxy.
Heinlein, Robert A, Novel, Starship Troopers.
Heinlein, Robert A, Short Story, Life-Line.
Heinlein, Robert A, Novel, Time for the Stars.
Heinlein, Robert A, Novel, The Star Beast.
Heinlein, Robert A, Novel, The Rolling Stones.
Heinlein, Robert A, Novel, Between Planets.
Heinlein, Robert A, Novel, Podkayne of Mars.
Knight, Damon, Short Story, The Country of the Kind.
Laumer, Keith, Series, Bolo Series.
Laumer, Keith, Series, Retief Series.
Leinster, Murray, Short Story, Plague.
Leinster, Murray, Collection, Colonial Survey, Gnome Press, 1957.
Leinster, Murray, Collection, The Med Series, Ace, May 1983.
Leinster, Murray, Collection, Med Ship, edited by Eric Flint
and Guy Gordon, Baen, June 2002.
MacApp, C C, Novel, Prisoners of the Sky.
MacApp, C C, Novel, Secret of the Sunless World.
MacApp, C C, Novel, Recall Not Earth.
McCullom, Michael, Novel, Life Probe.
Niven, Larry, Series, Ringworld.
Niven, Larry, Novel, The Mote In God's Eye.
Niven, Larry, Novel, The Gripping Hand.
Niven, Larry, Series, The Man-Kzin Wars anthologies based on the Known Space novels by Larry Niven.
Norton, Andre, Novel, The Stars Are Ours!.
Norton, Andre, Novel, Galactic Derelict.
Norton, Andre, Novel, Star Rangers.
Nourse, Alan E, Short Story, Brightside Crossing.
Piper, H Beam, Novel, The Cosmic Computer.
Piper, H Beam, Novel, Space Viking.
Pohl, Frederick, Series, Heechee.
Rowley, Christopher, Novel, Starhammer.
Rowley, Christopher, Novel, Vang: The Military Form.
Rowley, Christopher, Novel, Vang: The Battlemaster.
Russell, Eric Frank, Novel, Wasp.
Saberhagen, Fred, Series, Berserkers.
Schmitz, James, Novel, The Witches of Karres.
Sheckley, Robert, Short Story, Zirn Left Unguarded, the
Jenghik Palace in Flames, Jon Westerly Dead.
Simak, Clifford, Short Story, Desertion.
Smith, Cordwainer, Collection, The Rediscovery of Man:
The Complete Short Science Fiction of Cordwainer Smith.
Smith, E E "Doc", Series, Lensman.
Swanwick, Michael, Novel, Vacuum Flowers.
Swycaffer, Jefferson, Series, Traveller Novels.
Swycaffer, Jefferson, Novel, Not In Our Stars, Avon Books, New York, USA, 1986..
Swycaffer, Jefferson, Novel, Become the Hunted, Avon Books, New York, USA, 19nn..
Swycaffer, Jefferson, Novel, The Universal Prey, Avon Books, New York, USA, 19nn..
Swycaffer, Jefferson, Novel, The Praesidium of Archive, Avon Books, New York, USA, 19nn..
Swycaffer, Jefferson, Novel, Tales of the Concordat 1: The Empire's Legacy.
Swycaffer, Jefferson, Novel, Tales of the Concordat 2:.
Swycaffer, Jefferson, Novel, Tales of the Concordat 3: .
Tubb, E C, Series, Dumarest Series.
Van Vogt, A E, Novel, Slan.
Van Vogt, A E, Novel, The Weapon Shops of Isher.
Vance, Jack, Series, Demon Princes series.
Vance, Jack, Series, Tschai.
Varley, John, Novella, The Persistence of Vision.
Viehl, S L, Series, Stardoc (series).
Vinge, Vernor, Novel, A Fire Upon The Deep.
Vinge, Vernor, Novel, A Deepness In The Sky.
Vinge, Vernor, Novel, The Witling.
Webber, David, Series, Honor Harrington.
Wells, H G, Short Story, When the Sleeper Wakes.
White, Steve, Novel, Prince of Sunset.
White, Steve, Novel, Emperor of Dawn.
Williams, Walter Jon, Series, Drake Maijstral Series.
Williams, Walter Jon, Series, Dread Empire's Fall.

Clarke County, Space, Alan Steele
Lunar Descent, Alan Steele
Orbital Decay, Alan Steele
Downbelow Station, CJ Cherryh
Rimrunners, CJ Cherryh
Heavy Time, CJ Cherryh
Hellburner, CJ Cherryh
Revelation Space, Alistair Reynolds
Absolution Gap, Alistair Reynolds
Redemption Ark, Alistair Reynolds
Chasm City, Alistair Reynolds
Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson
Diamond Age, Neal Stephenson (for a nanotech future)
Cold As Ice, Charles Sheffield
Summertide, Charles Sheffield
When Gravity Fails, Alex George Effinger
A Fire in the Sun, Alex George Effinger
Hammer's Slammers series, David Drake
Aristoi, Walter John Williams (for a very nano-tech, virtual reality world)
Hardwired, Walter John Williams
Voice of the Whirlwind, Walter John Williams
Angel Station, Walter John Williams
Rendezvous with Rama, Arthur C. Clarke
Fountains of Paradise, Arthur C. Clarke
Imperial Earth, Arthur C. Clarke
Songs of Distant Earth, Arthur C. Clarke
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Robert A. Heinlein
Starship Troopers, Robert A. Heinlein
The Real Story: The Gap into Conflict, Stephen R. Donaldson
Forbidden Knowledge: The Gap into Vision, Stephen R. Donaldson
Dark and Hungry God Arises: The Gap into Power, Stephen R. Donaldson
Chaos and Order: The Gap into Madness, Stephen R. Donaldson
This Day All Gods Die: The Gap into Ruin, Stephen R. Donaldson
Space Doctor, Lee Corey
The Legacy of Heorot, Jerry Pournelle, Larry Niven, and Stephen Barnes
The Dragons of Heorot, Jerry Pournelle, Larry Niven, and Stephen Barnes
Beowulf's Children, Jerry Pournelle, Larry Niven, and Stephen Barnes
A Mote in God's Eye, Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven
The Gripping Hand, Jerry Pournelle and Larry Niven
West of Honor, Jerry Pournelle
The Mercenary, Jerry Pournelle
Prince of Mercenaries, Jerry Pournelle
Falkenberg's Legion, Jerry Pournelle
Go Tell the Spartans, Jerry Pournelle and S.M. Stirling
Prince of Sparta, Jerry Pournelle and S.M. Stirling
The Wild World of the Future, Claire Pye

For myself, I'd add in -

Allen Steele, Near Space series (partially mentioned)
Allen Steele, Coyote series
John Scalzi, Old Man's War series
Alistair Reynolds, Revelation Space series
Alistair Reynolds, House of Suns
H. Beam Piper, Fuzzy series
H. Beam Piper, Lone Star Planet/Four Day Planet

I've got some other media recommendations but am not including them because they are anime, manga, non-fiction books, movies, or TV series.

Wow, nice list (although I am kind of shocked that the Stainless Steel Rat books aren't on it).  As far as movies or shows go, what else is applicable other than Firefly and Outland?

Quote from: goblinslayer;1114717Wow, nice list (although I am kind of shocked that the Stainless Steel Rat books aren't on it).  As far as movies or shows go, what else is applicable other than Firefly and Outland?

The Expanse, The Martian, Alien, Aliens, New Battlestar Galactica, Babylon 5 (there were some fucked up slapdash Traveller sourcebooks put out by Mongoose for that), Space Cowboys, Deep Impact, Space Above & Beyond, Battle Angel Alita, Silent Running, and Space:1999 (for some definite 70s space opera). Those come immediately to mind.

Anime and Manga offerings would include Ghost in the Shell series, Cowboy Bebop, Megalobox, Gundam *(for space colonies), Planetes (for low tech near space campaigns), and Space Battleship Yamato 2199 (for space opera that might as well have been created with Traveller as idea fodder).


EDIT:  *I should say that the Main Gundam timeline is the one I am talking about. However, the setting of Gundam Iron Blooded Orphans can be mined for a lot of Traveller campaign ideas.