This is a site for discussing roleplaying games. Have fun doing so, but there is one major rule: do not discuss political issues that aren't directly and uniquely related to the subject of the thread and about gaming. While this site is dedicated to free speech, the following will not be tolerated: devolving a thread into unrelated political discussion, sockpuppeting (using multiple and/or bogus accounts), disrupting topics without contributing to them, and posting images that could get someone fired in the workplace (an external link is OK, but clearly mark it as Not Safe For Work, or NSFW). If you receive a warning, please take it seriously and either move on to another topic or steer the discussion back to its original RPG-related theme.

Traveller ATU assistance

Started by BillDowns, October 04, 2012, 06:05:34 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

BillDowns

Need some help for a few good words.  I'm setting up a one sector ATU for my son and his friends to get acquainted with mongoose Traveller. I don't like the 3I :)

In the human polity, I have 3 levels of world membership and i need some cool words to indicate those levels.

The top tier are the earth-like garden worlds, the home of these lost humans, the most populous and powerful. I had thought about using "protenoi" which sounds better than Tier 1.

The next tier are the marginal worlds, but still have a million or so inhabitants. My tentaive name is "defteroi".

The lowest tier, would those small places, all basically in O'Neill style colonies with populations under 100,000. I was thinking of "mikroi".

Anybody have anything better?
 


crkrueger

OTU - Official Traveller Universe
MTU - My Traveller Universe
What's ATU?  Alternate? ie. another term for MTU?
Even the the "cutting edge" storygamers for all their talk of narrative, plot, and drama are fucking obsessed with the god damned rules they use. - Estar

Yes, Sean Connery\'s thumb does indeed do megadamage. - Spinachcat

Isuldur is a badass because he stopped Sauron with a broken sword, but Iluvatar is the badass because he stopped Sauron with a hobbit. -Malleus Arianorum

"Tangency Edition" D&D would have no classes or races, but 17 genders to choose from. -TristramEvans

BillDowns

Yes, ATU = Alternate Traveller Universe.

Sorry - term I've used since, oh, 1980 maybe '81. :)
 

jeff37923

Quote from: BillDowns;589337Need some help for a few good words.  I'm setting up a one sector ATU for my son and his friends to get acquainted with mongoose Traveller. I don't like the 3I :)

In the human polity, I have 3 levels of world membership and i need some cool words to indicate those levels.

The top tier are the earth-like garden worlds, the home of these lost humans, the most populous and powerful. I had thought about using "protenoi" which sounds better than Tier 1.

The next tier are the marginal worlds, but still have a million or so inhabitants. My tentaive name is "defteroi".

The lowest tier, would those small places, all basically in O'Neill style colonies with populations under 100,000. I was thinking of "mikroi".

Anybody have anything better?

Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary maybe?

What language do you want the words to sound like they have come from?
"Meh."

KenHR

I kind of like the names you have now.  Why do you want to change them?
For fuck\'s sake, these are games, people.

And no one gives a fuck about your ignore list.


Gompan
band - other music

BillDowns

Quote from: KenHR;589409I kind of like the names you have now. Why do you want to change them?
Thanks. I actually like them myself but I wanted to see if anyone cold come up with anything better :)

I am trying for a heroic age pseudo Greek situation with nomadic barbarians  thrown in for good measure.

To expound upon the setting, the humans in this sector all live in a "cluster" of around 30+ stars. Shortly after arriving in this cluster, all of their ship-borne tech failed, dropping them back to low TL4. All they remember about  Earth is that it was a Garden and some unspecified Evil took it over. Their ancestors fled and were pursued for a time by that Evil. Later, they wandered through a wilderness of stars, encountering unfriendly stellar conditions, hostile aliens, and some that were provoked into hostility. Finally, after 6 centuries, they arrived in their current location. Shortly thereafter, though, all their ship-borne tech failed; 6 centuries of jury-rigging repairs took their toll. They dropped to TL4 and lost all their history. So, all they have are the fairy tales.

Astrographically, this sector has a band of stars across the coreward edge, with 3 rimward extensions. The middle one is where the humans are.

Inhabiting the trailing edge of that band are the "barbarians" although they are known to roam all over the sector. They can be traded with, but watch your hair!

In the trailing extension live another alien race. It is possible for J2 ships to get there from the Human space, so there is some, albeit limited contact. From them, humans have learned of another race, somewhere rimward and spinward, however, these "trojans" are blocking any travel down their cluster to this 3rd race - the "egyptians" of the setting.

Off in the spinward extension, lies yet a 4th race but the humans have not encountered them. These will prove to be the "romans/etruscans" of the setting.
 

estar

This article on Burgess Shale Traveller, i.e. before the detailing of Third Imperium, may be of interest.

http://www.freelancetraveller.com/features/othroads/burgess.html

BillDowns

Yeah, I've had Jeff's site bookmarked for a few years.

I always just referred to it as Original Traveller, and when I'm in a contrary mood, "Real Traveller" :D

And, by that, I also mean 1st edition.
 

jeff37923

Quote from: estar;589431This article on Burgess Shale Traveller, i.e. before the detailing of Third Imperium, may be of interest.

http://www.freelancetraveller.com/features/othroads/burgess.html

Beat me to it.

You know, any game without a defined setting could fit the Burgess Shale description.
"Meh."

estar

Quote from: BillDowns;589442Yeah, I've had Jeff's site bookmarked for a few years.

I always just referred to it as Original Traveller, and when I'm in a contrary mood, "Real Traveller" :D

And, by that, I also mean 1st edition.

The one saving grace of Traveller, regardless of edition, is that original structure is present thus allowing folks to ignore the Third Imperium if desired. The problem is more of presentation than mechanics. Basically because of the generic character occupations and the fact the World Generation system of most editions was not welded to the Third Imperium meant that Traveller always could serve as a general sci-fi roleplaying game.

crkrueger

Quote from: estar;589477The one saving grace of Traveller, regardless of edition, is that original structure is present thus allowing folks to ignore the Third Imperium if desired. The problem is more of presentation than mechanics. Basically because of the generic character occupations and the fact the World Generation system of most editions was not welded to the Third Imperium meant that Traveller always could serve as a general sci-fi roleplaying game.

True, and I think MGT (Mongoose Traveller) does a better job of this then earlier versions by including alternate forms of technology, so you can move more in a Star Wars, Mecha, or 40k direction if you want to, you're not tied to the "magical anti-grav plates yet ships still are 90% gas tank" OTU model.
Even the the "cutting edge" storygamers for all their talk of narrative, plot, and drama are fucking obsessed with the god damned rules they use. - Estar

Yes, Sean Connery\'s thumb does indeed do megadamage. - Spinachcat

Isuldur is a badass because he stopped Sauron with a broken sword, but Iluvatar is the badass because he stopped Sauron with a hobbit. -Malleus Arianorum

"Tangency Edition" D&D would have no classes or races, but 17 genders to choose from. -TristramEvans

BillDowns

True, and I am using the hard sci-fi variations of Mongoose with a few house-rules to further my setting.