So, how canon is GURPS Traveller, anyway?

[Cleon the Mad]

Sorry if this has been asked before, and hopefully I'm not asking something that has a potential to start a flame war.

Anyway, I was wondering if there's any official word on the canon status of GURPS Traveller. Okay, obviously anything from Dulinor's assassination on past that is an alternate universe and at best "alternative canon", since of course they have Dulinor die on the way to kill Strephon. But how about things that don't depend on the assassination in Year 1116? For instance, GURPS Alien Module Four introduces some races that I've never seen in any other Traveller book/suppliment, canon or otherwise. For that matter, at least one (The Tezcat) is based in Reft sector, yet the MGT Reft Sector book makes no mention of them. (Implying IMO that anything they add isn't canon perhaps?). There's also that parasite/symboite race (The Valkyrie I think?) from rimward of the Solomani Rim I've never seen mentioned (and to be honest, if I did run a campaign rimward of the Solomani Confederation I'd not use, but I digress). There's also the question of their Humaniti book and their Darrians listing, with the MGT Darrians being shipped out now to pre-orders and (hopefully) soon in people's hands who did pre-order, is anything from that listing or the other minor race human listings canon?


Also, how canon is their publication of the Interstellar Wars era? I'd think that would be easier to cover since there's of course much less overall published about it, but the question still remains.

 

[AndrewW]

Does it really matter¿

Use whatever you would like to for your game and ignore the rest. This makes it canon for your game.

 

[rust]

As AndrewW wrote. :wink:

There have been debates on and off about whether GURPS Traveller is ca-
non, and which parts of it are or are not, but unless you intend to write a
new canonical supplement, this is really a non-problem: Your canon is on-
ly what you decide to make your canon - you have paid for the game, it is
yours now, to do with as you please.

 

[Treebore]

"Canon" is whatever you decide actually happened in the game you are running. So only worry about that.

Besides I hate "canon". So I treat anything as rumors, or at best unsubstantiated fact until it comes out of my mouth, and even then there are no guarantee's of accuracy.

I never again want to have my game brought to a stand still because a player wants to argue over the proper number of moons a given planet has according to "canon".

Next time I run into a player like that they will be automatically ejected from the game for being a killjoy.

 

[rust]

By the way, "canon" is defined as:

... a list of books considered to be authoritative as scripture by a
particular religious community.

I seriously hope that Traveller players are not a "particular religious com-
munity" that needs an "authoritative scripture" to tell people which kind
of roleplaying fun is right or wrong ... :lol:

 

[BP]

Merriam-Webster's applicable definition of canon is: "a sanctioned or accepted group or body of related works <the canon of great literature>".

GURPS is officially licensed (sanctioned), and its rules are accepted by the granter of the license and apparently by a market (so also accepted by some - though not a requirement as defined above).


Each version to date has differing rules from all the others - so each is its own canon - they cannot be unified in this sense (setting time-lines notwithstanding - the rules are different). Thus, all are canon - i.e. officially approved and sold (therefore accepted).

So, GURPS is GURPS Canon. To quote the GURPS web site, is an "alternate history" in the existing 3I setting.

Therefore, whether it is your canon is entirely up to you and what ruleset(s) you choose to use.

I don't normally play the 3I setting myself, but in terms of that setting, I think MGT is set prior to the time era GURPS is in - meaning one would have several choices on other editions' setting that might be applicable to them, if any.

Addendum:
Rule #15 - Never argue with players...
Rule #16 - People who argue are not playing.

 

[Cleon the Mad]

Does it really matter¿

Use whatever you would like to for your game and ignore the rest. This makes it canon for your game.

LOL..my intent was to see if there was an official ruling, if any. Although I do like to follow the OTU as much as I can, I'm not letting canon dictate my roleplaying, nor did I ask for the definition of canon.

Tell you what, with all due respect to everyone, forget my question. Without trying to flame, I can see it was best to not ask.

 

[Cleon the Mad]

I don't normally play the 3I setting myself, but in terms of that setting, I think MGT is set prior to the time era GURPS is in - meaning one would have several choices on other editions' setting that might be applicable to them, if any.

Addendum:
Rule #15 - Never argue with players...
Rule #16 - People who argue are not playing.

YES...but as I pointed out in my original post, I'm well aware of where GURPS Traveller diverges from the "standard" Third Imperium timeline. So thus my question, which again I feel was maybe best to not ask, was based more on items that weren't timeline dependent. Such as the two minor alien races I mentioned, for instance.

Anyway, again with all due respect I feel it was best to not ask this. I'll not come back to this thread and let it die.

 

[Mongoose Pete]

So thus my question, which again I feel was maybe best to not ask, was based more on items that weren't timeline dependent. Such as the two minor alien races I mentioned, for instance.

If you are asking if there are differences between Gurps and MgT Darrians, then yes, there is some divergence.

Whether you wish to treat the Gurps interpretation of Darrians as canon, or the MgT extrapolation of the original module is solely up to you. However, future MgT products will of course be using their own version as in-house canon.

 

[Egil Skallagrimsson]

Does it really matter¿

Use whatever you would like to for your game and ignore the rest. This makes it canon for your game.

Ha ha!

Very much agree!

Egil

 

[rinku]

There is far less difference between GURPS Traveller and Classic than there is between Classic and Traveller: The New Era (both of which were official versions of GDW's 3I setting).

Every Referee's Traveller universe is going to be a bit different from each others'. As others have said, pick and choose the bits you want. GURPS Traveller has a much right to be canon as TNE or Mongoose - all are separate editions.

 

[MongooseMatt]

From our point of view, we have been told to use GURPS Traveller information where we think it cool, but not to be bound by it.

 

[zero]

This may be a shocker to some, but I dont even use any canon info on the 3rd Imperium setting for Traveller, I just make up whatevers needed :lol:

 

[Jame Rowe]

This may be a shocker to some, but I dont even use any canon info on the 3rd Imperium setting for Traveller, I just make up whatevers needed :lol:

WHAT?!?!?

*Stands Up And, Applauding, Cheers*

 

[rust]

This may be a shocker to some, but I dont even use any canon info on the 3rd Imperium setting for Traveller, I just make up whatevers needed :lol:

I am rarely shocked by perfectly reasonable decisions ... :wink:

 

[Nathan Brazil]

Yes, canon is what you make of it or, for writers and publishers, allowed to. You have all of this to work with more or less chronologically

Interstellar Wars
Traveller 4
Traveller20
Classic Traveller
MegaTraveller or GURPS Traveller
Hard Times (MGT Rules)
Traveller: New Era
Traveller: 1248

Each provides flavors. From my understanding, GURPS is the "alternate Traveller universe" (I am sure the inhabitants do not feel they are "alternate"), where players/fans who did not accept the assassination and resulting history wanted a normal progression. There are cool elements in each of the sets, the big deal is can you incorporate the other coolness into your canon.
On the otherhand, to some Traveller canon can be religion, and woe betide that you are not of the true faith (whichever one that is). I, for one am perfectly fine with everything happening to get to Traveller: 1248. It is harder to play in that time, but for me there is no substitute for the buried Ancients' war machines buried on Vland rising up to fight against Virus.
Yes, I is a fan boy. Yahoo!

 

[rinku]

There is far less difference between GURPS Traveller and Classic than there is between Classic and Traveller: The New Era (both of which were official versions of GDW's 3I setting).

Naturally GT is closer to "CT" since the difference in time is a lot shorter and the main event that IMHO makes Traveller playabel(1) did not happen in the GT timeline so it continued along the boring lines of Classic

The TNE timeline was one of change and violence and collaps.

Hmm... I was thinking more of the fact that TNE totally reworked a lot of the base technology.

 

[rinku]

Putting MegaTraveller construction systems under the TNE setting and chargen can be done quite easily.

Assuming you have the full errata

Anyway, I wasn't making any value judgements at all about Classic vs TNE; just that GDW themselves were prepared to make changes to the game much more radical than were done in GURPS Traveller.

And by my count TNE made significant changes to:

How gravitics worked
How plasma/fusion weaponry worked
How lasers worked
How fusion plants worked
How missiles worked
How maneuver drives worked
How sensors worked
How space combat worked
How computers worked (though this was largely due to virus).

I make no value judgements on these changes.

 

[DFW]

[*]How sensors worked Yes. They reduced ranges, added the concept of "long baseline sensors" so small ships had to either "unfold" their passiv sensors or use smaller sets with reduced capabilities. Made for some interesting design choices. Even more so since sensors, turrets, airlocks etc. all competed for availabel hullspace (Similar to 2300AD)

This one was just plain silly as they introduced tech that was lower than current real world.

 

[rinku]

[*]How space combat worked Brilliant Lances introduced a purely vector based system that uses hexmaps, accumulated thrust and similar concepts.

Well, the vector system was part of Classic, and Mayday did it with hexes back in the early days too. I was thinking more of the rest of it such as hit locations and facing and such.