Spirit of 1977
Cosmic Mongoose
This is the big one, the premise that determines so much of the rest of Traveller. To be explicit:
1) The time quantum of interstellar travel is 168 hours +/- 10%. More energy means more distance, but does not shorten this time. Even in Miller's more recent T5, higher TL drives like Hop, Skip, etc. increase distance but the time quantum never shortens.
2) There are no ansibles, subspace radio, or any other way for energy to travel faster than light speed. Sending a message means sticking it in a starship and jumping.
This premise produces strong consequences that do not exist in much of Speculative Fiction, and might be undesirable for many potential players:
1) No interstellar "Race Against Time": The first you hear about that planetary disaster Jump-1 away, at least 1 week has past, and it will be at least 1 week before you can do anything. This blows up a slew of Star Trek and Star Wars staple plots. In Traveller, you deal with the aftermath of such events, or you can only Race Against Time at the planetary or system level.
2) Express Boats are Inevitable: I suspect that many players think of Express Boats as a part of the iconic Third Imperium setting. But in a universe where every trip is like an ocean voyage, optimizing trips and logistics seems inevitable. The rules virtually guarantee their existence.
3) Why We Have Nobles: Nobles and neofeudalism are another iconic feature of the Third Imperium. While less inevitable than Express Boats, long travel times means that systems of control require large autonomy for decision-makers, whoever they may be. And if you want your will carried out, you need trusted followers who will obey order when you aren't around.
4) Space Travel is Unpleasant and Most Never Do It: This one is so important that it will get its own entry, but I wanted to cite it here. A huge subversion of nearly every major Speculative Fiction franchise.
5) Little to No Standardization: This one you might want to debate me. You certainly don't have to run your setting this way and I suspect many do not. But it seems a very natural consequence to me. For example, at TL 7+, something like cellphones and the internet is likely to emerge. But there is no reason whatsoever that a Star Empire would standardize such tech across worlds. This is because Most Worlds are Unimportant, another upcoming entry. You land on a new world, you buy their version of a prepaid mobile, and good luck figuring out their social media!
I could go on, but I think you get the picture. What I'm interested in hearing is 1) the degree to which you accept or reject these premises, and 2) how do you address these premises or alter your setting to get around them. No judgment here: I like most of the underlying premises of Traveller, and part of the fun is thinking about how to work with them to solve problems. But if these aren't fun for you, I imagine they aren't fun for some others. Hearing how you address these issues is probably useful for others.
1) The time quantum of interstellar travel is 168 hours +/- 10%. More energy means more distance, but does not shorten this time. Even in Miller's more recent T5, higher TL drives like Hop, Skip, etc. increase distance but the time quantum never shortens.
2) There are no ansibles, subspace radio, or any other way for energy to travel faster than light speed. Sending a message means sticking it in a starship and jumping.
This premise produces strong consequences that do not exist in much of Speculative Fiction, and might be undesirable for many potential players:
1) No interstellar "Race Against Time": The first you hear about that planetary disaster Jump-1 away, at least 1 week has past, and it will be at least 1 week before you can do anything. This blows up a slew of Star Trek and Star Wars staple plots. In Traveller, you deal with the aftermath of such events, or you can only Race Against Time at the planetary or system level.
2) Express Boats are Inevitable: I suspect that many players think of Express Boats as a part of the iconic Third Imperium setting. But in a universe where every trip is like an ocean voyage, optimizing trips and logistics seems inevitable. The rules virtually guarantee their existence.
3) Why We Have Nobles: Nobles and neofeudalism are another iconic feature of the Third Imperium. While less inevitable than Express Boats, long travel times means that systems of control require large autonomy for decision-makers, whoever they may be. And if you want your will carried out, you need trusted followers who will obey order when you aren't around.
4) Space Travel is Unpleasant and Most Never Do It: This one is so important that it will get its own entry, but I wanted to cite it here. A huge subversion of nearly every major Speculative Fiction franchise.
5) Little to No Standardization: This one you might want to debate me. You certainly don't have to run your setting this way and I suspect many do not. But it seems a very natural consequence to me. For example, at TL 7+, something like cellphones and the internet is likely to emerge. But there is no reason whatsoever that a Star Empire would standardize such tech across worlds. This is because Most Worlds are Unimportant, another upcoming entry. You land on a new world, you buy their version of a prepaid mobile, and good luck figuring out their social media!
I could go on, but I think you get the picture. What I'm interested in hearing is 1) the degree to which you accept or reject these premises, and 2) how do you address these premises or alter your setting to get around them. No judgment here: I like most of the underlying premises of Traveller, and part of the fun is thinking about how to work with them to solve problems. But if these aren't fun for you, I imagine they aren't fun for some others. Hearing how you address these issues is probably useful for others.
