Foreven Sector - Canon?

[Paladin]

MGP Traveller is my first experience with the game so I don't know much about the game's history.

Should fan based items designed for the OGL make any reference to historical items for the sector or write it off completely and start from scratch?

Should the planet names previously used stay?

Since multiple projects may occur simultaneously, should writers attempt to play off each others work or ignore each other and "may the best product win"?

Would it be better to target the full sector akin to Spinward Marches OR 4 subsectors at a time OR a more in-depth look at only one subsector at a time?

 

[Golan2072]

Should fan based items designed for the OGL make any reference to historical items for the sector or write it off completely and start from scratch?

If I understand the Foreven Sector License (FSL) correctly, you may use anything in canon related to that sector (e.g. mention the Imperium and the Zhodani and even publish ships for these polities as long as they are used in Foreven). You may also start from scratch, or, if you want, go with the Traveller Logo License (TLL) or the Open Game License (OGL) and publish your own non-OTU setting. By "publish" I mean either free or commercial.

Should the planet names previously used stay?

Your choice; but you may use the ones provided in the Foreven license (which is part of the developer's kit).

Would it be better to target the full sector akin to Spinward Marches OR 4 subsectors at a time OR a more in-depth look at only one subsector at a time?

Your choice. Detailing a sector is a lot more work and you might end up detailing only part of the worlds due to time or space constrains (e.g. as in the Trojan Reaches sector included in the MGP Aslan book). Detailing a single subsector requires less work but is a much narrower frame. A quadrant (4 subsectors) is a compromise between these two.

Personally if I'd publish for an established setting (e.g. the OTU) I'd publish a quadrant; a new setting would probably be better off with a whole sector displaying the "big picture" in the core-book and then detailed subsector books published after it.

 

[Paladin]

Should fan based items designed for the OGL make any reference to historical items for the sector or write it off completely and start from scratch?

If I understand the Foreven Sector License (FSL) correctly, you may use anything in canon related to that sector (e.g. mention the Imperium and the Zhodani and even publish ships for these polities as long as they are used in Foreven). You may also start from scratch, or, if you want, go with the Traveller Logo License (TLL) or the Open Game License (OGL) and publish your own non-OTU setting. By "publish" I mean either free or commercial.

Should the planet names previously used stay?

Your choice; but you may use the ones provided in the Foreven license (which is part of the developer's kit).

I know it's ultimately "my choice", I was going for "should" to get feedback from the community.

 

[Golan2072]

The bottom line is that the most extensive canonical reference for Foreven is Classic Traveller's Double Adventure 5: Chamax/Horde, and even then only two worlds are detailed. Other CT material makes some passing references to Foreven but very, very little is set in stone except for Zhodani presence in the coreward part of the sector and some Imperial client states in its trailing parts.

There might and might not be a Zhodani client (or splinter) state called the Avalar Consulate in this sector; IIRC it isn't 100% canonical.

These few canonical references can be played up or downplayed as suits your taste. If you want an intensive cold-war between the Zhodani and the Imperium (with the client states serving as a proxy), you can easy do that. If you want the majority of the sector to be lawless frontier, you can also do that very easily. There could be some Droyne worlds around; feel free to emphasize or downplay them as you want. You might even be able to get some Aslan influence (traders and ihatei, not actual Aslan worlds) into the rimward/trailing part of the sector if you really want as they can possibly get in through the Trojan Reaches.

The rest is wide open. Minor races, Solomani colonies set during the Second Imperium, ancient artifacts, pocket empires - all are possible.

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

Personally, I wouldn't worry about what others have published about the Foreven Sector.

I would like to see "many visions" of that sector, all ignoring each other and presenting me the Referee with several options to choose from.

Trying to build on others work can have it's appeal, especially if you feel that they didn't do a particular subject or planet justice, but that can also be hard to coordinate since you have no idea what the original author's ideas were.

I say go it alone and do your own vision.

 

[pasuuli]

MGP Traveller is my first experience with the game so I don't know much about the game's history.

Should fan based items designed for the OGL make any reference to historical items for the sector or write it off completely and start from scratch?

Should the planet names previously used stay?

Since multiple projects may occur simultaneously, should writers attempt to play off each others work or ignore each other and "may the best product win"?

Would it be better to target the full sector akin to Spinward Marches OR 4 subsectors at a time OR a more in-depth look at only one subsector at a time?

Don't worry about what others are doing unless you can collude with very little effort. Committee projects are hard to steer.

There's not much history for Foreven; just go on the material given by Mongoose and you'll find you have more than enough room to experiment.

And, I recommend sticking to a subsector if you're writing an adventure, or a quadrant if you're writing a campaign, or a sector if you want to do a sourcebook. I put those in order by difficulty; I think the adventure would be the easiest and fastest start.