New to Third Imperium - Any Recommendations?

[DivineWrath]

I'm a bit new (new-ish) to Traveller in general, let alone Mongoose Traveller. (At least I still fell that way). I do hear about the Third Imperium from time to time. I don't recall reading much up on it in the Mongoose core rulebook; it has the feel of a sandbox RPG. Am I correct in assuming that the Third Imperium stuff is covered by other books? If so, what would be the best books I should read up on?

 

[dragoner]

Not books but some good websites:

http://travellermap.com/

http://wiki.travellerrpg.com/Main_Page

I hope they can be of some help, welcome to Traveller!

-Rob

 

[AndrewW]

A lot of the books have stuff related to the Third Imperium.

For some general information on the Third Imperium try The Spinward Marches:

http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/rpgs/traveller/the-third-imperium/the-spinward-marches.html

 

[Sigtrygg]

There is MgT book called Library Data - it details the Third Imperium setting.

 

[Lord High Munchkin]

The 3rd Imperium is one of many settings that MGT supports... it's an old 1970's version of Sci-Fi. There are other "flavours" of 'Traveller', but have a look, you might like it... but don't worry if you don't, there are many others to check out too.

 

[IanBruntlett]

The Spinward Marches book has all sorts of interesting bits and pieces.
http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/rpgs/traveller/the-third-imperium/the-spinward-marches.html

 

[Egil Skallagrimsson]

Another vote for MgT Spinward Marches as the best quick introduction.

Egil

 

[ShawnDriscoll]

The Library Data book has all the Traveller history up to the current 3rd Imperium (57th century). It is a must read. A lot of Space Viking is used for the setting's theme. Early 1960's sci-fi.

 

[DivineWrath]

Ok, thanks. I was hoping that I was merely failing to find a book called something like "Guide to the 3rd Imperium". It seems that the books I was looking for were not named the way I expected them to be. I'll check out those 2 books.

Thanks for other information (including website links). It'll help fill in the gaps of what I know about Traveller.

 

[ShawnDriscoll]

Ok, thanks. I was hoping that I was merely failing to find a book called something like "Guide to the 3rd Imperium". It seems that the books I was looking for were not named the way I expected them to be. I'll check out those 2 books.

Thanks for other information (including website links). It'll help fill in the gaps of what I know about Traveller.

The Spinward Marches describes just one sector of the Traveller universe. Kind of a "day in the life" of that portion of the empire. The Mongoose Alien Books have sectors covered also for nearby empires.

 

[GypsyComet]

The Spinward Marches describes just one sector of the Traveller universe. Kind of a "day in the life" of that portion of the empire. The Mongoose Alien Books have sectors covered also for nearby empires.

Specifically, if you look at TravellerMap, five of the eight sectors surrounding the Spinward Marches (Ziafrplians, Gvurrdon, Deneb, Trojan Reach, and Reft) have been given further detail by Mongoose. Of the remaining three, one (Foreven) is a "Reserve" that will not see any official development, but has been getting published fan support.

Even one sector is a huge amount of room to adventure in. The many offered sectors provide variations of overall flavor and options.

 

[Prime_Evil]

I believe that Mongoose was putting together a book that would serve as an general introduction to the Third Imperium for new players - I haven't heard much about it for a while now, so I don't know whether this project is still on the schedule. It's a great idea though. One problem with a long-established setting like this is that it can be hard for newcomers to hop aboard and come up to speed with the official metaplot. To make matters worse, this is a well-loved setting that inspires great loyalty in many players - some of whom regard any deviation from officially sanctioned canon as something akin to heresy. While its understandable that this attitude exists amongst grognards who have a strong personal investment in the setting, it can be discouraging to newcomers.

 

[ieqo]

Another quirk about the 3I that makes it so beloved by us grognards, but actually helps newcomers get a handle is this: each sector or region (owing to the speed of interstellar communication and the autonomy of the sector-dukes) has its own flavor. Life on the Solomani Rim is far different from life in the Spinward Marches. Both of these are far far different from life in the Core. In short, pretty much any scifi theme, trope, or type of literary atmosphere can be found somewhere within or nearby the Third Imperium.

 

[GypsyComet]

The other timeline resource is this one: http://dmckinne.winterwar.org/pdfs/TravellerIntegratedTimeline.pdf