The Premises of Traveller: 1. "Jump takes a week/No ansibles"

[rinku]

That's like a Betamax right?

Sure. Something like that, Zoomer.

 

[AndrewW]

Sure. Something like that, Zoomer.

Considering when I first got Classic Traveller it was only up to book 4 or 5 or so I do not believe that would be correct.

 

[Sigtrygg]

The physics of the 50s is what set up the technologies of the 2000s, there have been no major breakthoughs in fundamental physics since the 70,s.

Loads of papers, pop sci books and TV programs/podcasts but no real progress. We are handing out Nobel prizes in physics for discoveries "proving" decades old physics or discovering new applications.

 

[MasterGwydion]

The physics of the 50s is what set up the technologies of the 2000s, there have been no major breakthoughs in fundamental physics since the 70,s.

Loads of papers, pop sci books and TV programs/podcasts but no real progress. We are handing out Nobel prizes in physics for discoveries "proving" decades old physics or discovering new applications.

While I agree with you, try convincing the younger generations of that.

 

[Condottiere]

1. Aesthetics differ between the Fifties and early Sixties.

2. Also, expectations between the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations.

 

[Sigtrygg]

Eisenhower warned of the military-industrial complex (The Imperium) and Kennedy found out the hard way (Strephon)

 

[Condottiere]

Balance in all things, especially with the wolves on your door, and the barbarians at the gate.

 

[CordwainerFish]

You could make a case that the OTU's physics are those as understood in the 1950's... similar to how Space:1889's physics are those as understood in the late 19th C.

Or certainly as popularly understood, even by the writers who inspired Trav. Heinlein clearly never bellyfeeled Special Relativity, despite the fact that he was a smart melonfarmer and most of it requires only basic algebra.

 

[dragon3r]

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.

Thing is, none of this is mentioned in Understanding Traveller; the example of play there, they aren't even rolling dice, just talking about fleeing from Peoria to Paris. It does say:

The basic rules, the foundation concepts for Traveller, are universal - they describe how the laws of nature and of society work. Any referee can take those basic rules and create any background he or she desires. Traveller can realistically support any science fiction concept in existence.

Which I just read someone wanting to convert, or replicate ships from anime; I mean cool? I have no idea about how to do that though, I don't watch enough anime. The 3I is a great way to learn the game mechanics, and it has a lot of support, deep lore, which a lot of people like. Making stuff up is great too. I have to say that like some said to me the other day that "That's not Traveller to me" sounds kind of gate keepery, I could have replied "so, then Traveller means more to me." It is a futile line of discussion though, leads to nothing. There is no reason anyone has to agree with what Marc wrote, except that is what his idea was behind what he was trying to accomplish. In a conversation with him he said one of the most difficult things to do was to create future high tech. However, falling back on using current tech as a baseline, or correction factor (as is what is often used in engineering) is a good way to do it. The magic of Traveller is in its ease of use: easy to learn, and a lifetime to master; to steal the tagline from another game.

 

[AndrewW]

The magic of Traveller is in its ease of use: easy to learn, and a lifetime to master; to steal the tagline from another game.

Hmmm, discs with a Imperial ship on one side and a Zhodani ship on the other, use that to fight the 5FW, whoever flips the most ships wins.

 

[dragon3r]

Hmmm, discs with a Imperial ship on one side and a Zhodani ship on the other, use that to fight the 5FW, whoever flips the most ships wins.

We did the FFW (even if I had the boardgame) with HG/TCS and as the Imperial player, I lost! Made for a good follow on game of resistance-pirate fleet. We attacked and captured ships to add to our little growing fleet, quite fun.

 

[Sigtrygg]

"That's not Traveller to me" sounds kind of gate keepery,

It is, and the person who typed it was being an arse.

I apologise publicly and completely. Traveller rules can be adapted as any referee sees fit, and with CE authors are free to let their imaginations run free.

 

[Sty0pa]

PCs finding such tech is potentially paradigm breaking as they can exploit it to gain fabulous wealth or other advantages. On a setting level, if governments and scientists learn that such a technology is possible (even if not understood or capable of being replicated), then it could significantly alter the direction of research as it would be understood to no longer be in the realm of utterly impossible.

I could handwave that by simply rationalizing that entanglement physics allow for two devices to communicate with each other, but the 'entangled' particles are destroyed in the process, meaning the capability is consumable; that is, they're

• finite
• hideously expensive to produce/preserve until use

....meaning the players could stumble on Ancient tech or even prototypes that give them this amazing tech capability but not in a way they can persistently take advantage of.

 

[Sigtrygg]

Quantum entanglement does not allow for FTL communication, this has been debunked/explained many times over. And even if it did entanglement doesn't survive jump space

 

[dragon3r]

Traveller rules can be adapted as any referee sees fit, and with CE authors are free to let their imaginations run free.

It's ok, it shows the strength of the game in that people can be so passionate about it. I really liked when Mongoose had the "Worlds of Traveller" I bought those bundles, and did things such as in one star system had a generation ship similar to the Warden from Metamorphosis Alpha, and used the Strontium Dog rules to have a bunch of mutants in a dome type environment taken from Silent Running. Also using Research Station Gamma for a lot of the details, maps, etc.. I won't complain about the feast of gaming laid out before me in my life, it has been good.

 

[Condottiere]

Character generation somewhat dictates play style and gaming experience.

 

[rinku]

I do like that Mongoose has included more of the exotic tech as optional stuff. You can always include or exclude *anything* that doesn't suit the story you're trying to tell, but having the ideas there to consider in the first place is good. One of the big strengths of TNE was having those options quantified instead of just left for the Referee to make up wholesale.

 

[Sigtrygg]

The problem is the exotic stuff that has no place in the Third Imperium setting has already started making its way into said setting thanks to author's not knowing that some of the tech is "forbidden".

 

[AndrewW]

The problem is the exotic stuff that has no place in the Third Imperium setting has already started making its way into said setting thanks to author's not knowing that some of the tech is "forbidden".

It may be more a matter of: "This is cool, lets use it."

 

[Sigtrygg]

That is not a way to maintain a consistent setting.