I'm working on a short introduction to T5 for some new players - folks who've never played any of the traveller incarnations previously. For this starter game, I'm working on converting the "Lab Ship" double adventure to T5 and running the players through that with some pre-gen characters. In starting to describe it out, I found myself explaining quite a bit in random places, so I thought I'd try and make an intro document for them.
Would love feedback:
Traveller: Science Fiction Adventure in the Far Future
Traveller is set thousands of years into the future. Humanity reached out to the stars, found that we were not alone, and that among the aliens through the stars were us - other humans. Several key technological breakthroughs opened the galaxy to exploration. Cold fusion provided power, gravitational theory and control led us to antigravity and got us out of the gravity wells, and multidimensional space theory led us to jump and the ability to move distances faster than light. As humanity and other sophonts spread through the stars, a common means of describing technologies, cultures, sophonts, and systems all came into being. These being tech levels, universal planetary profiles, (what to call sophont UPPs).
As we spread through the stars, civilizations and empires rose and fell. Technology was discovered, aquired, and lost. Star systems and planets inhabited and abandoned. Sophonts on or across other worlds contacted, traded with, fought, and integrated. The remnants of civilizations far older than ours still exist among the stars. Some sophont civilizations flourished and spread, others never made it off their planet. Among all of these, humans appear to have spread very broadly across the stars, and not only be our doing. For whatever reasons, which historians and archeologists argue around, humanity spread through the stars and primarily dominates the systems in our local arm of the galaxy.
This spread through the stars wasn't instant, and still isn't. Travel between star systems takes time, and communications doesn't flow any faster. Technology isn't consistently available across the stars, and economics drives everything. Distance and delays in communication and commerce lead to looser and more distributed governments, frequently federations or empires supporting local rulers.
Technology and it's limits
Gravitation theory provides artificial gravity, inertial dampeners, anti-grav lifters, and at higher tech levels, manuever drive which works against the gravity of planets and solar systems.
Cold fusion provides distrubuted, low cost power capabilities fueled by water. While small enough to fit in engines, it hasn't (yet?) shrunk to the size of small power cells. This technology has freed vehicles and starships to incredible ranges, refueling where and as they go. At the highest known tech levels, antimatter power is coming into economic possibility.
Computer and genetic advancements have enabled cloning, personality replication and editing, and into the edges of self-aware synthetic intelligence. Genengineering has opened the realm for fully aware, created sophonts. Robotics and computer assistance is common among high technology levels. Personalities can be copied, edited, wiped, and even transfered.
Advanced nanotechnology is enabling many of these others, but molecular or atomic disassembly and reassembly remains outside of known technologies.
Organic brains opened technologies that are otherwise inexplicable - technology or capabilities called psionics. Extrasensory perception to manipulation of the environment is possible, including teleportation. In fact, it was how teleportation could possibly work that led to the discovery of jump drives.
Jump drive, which shifts starships into multidimensional area called jumpspace, allows us to shift between the stars. High tech levels are more efficient at power consumption, and can move a starship further, but always with a delay in jumpspace. There are theories of even deeper levels of jumpspace that remain at our highest technology levels, so far, theories.
Through all of human dominated space, these technologies can be found, are used and exploited, but are not consistently available. Some cultures and societies have banned specific technologies or aspects of technologies, where others have embraced them.
Would love feedback:
Traveller: Science Fiction Adventure in the Far Future
Traveller is set thousands of years into the future. Humanity reached out to the stars, found that we were not alone, and that among the aliens through the stars were us - other humans. Several key technological breakthroughs opened the galaxy to exploration. Cold fusion provided power, gravitational theory and control led us to antigravity and got us out of the gravity wells, and multidimensional space theory led us to jump and the ability to move distances faster than light. As humanity and other sophonts spread through the stars, a common means of describing technologies, cultures, sophonts, and systems all came into being. These being tech levels, universal planetary profiles, (what to call sophont UPPs).
As we spread through the stars, civilizations and empires rose and fell. Technology was discovered, aquired, and lost. Star systems and planets inhabited and abandoned. Sophonts on or across other worlds contacted, traded with, fought, and integrated. The remnants of civilizations far older than ours still exist among the stars. Some sophont civilizations flourished and spread, others never made it off their planet. Among all of these, humans appear to have spread very broadly across the stars, and not only be our doing. For whatever reasons, which historians and archeologists argue around, humanity spread through the stars and primarily dominates the systems in our local arm of the galaxy.
This spread through the stars wasn't instant, and still isn't. Travel between star systems takes time, and communications doesn't flow any faster. Technology isn't consistently available across the stars, and economics drives everything. Distance and delays in communication and commerce lead to looser and more distributed governments, frequently federations or empires supporting local rulers.
Technology and it's limits
Gravitation theory provides artificial gravity, inertial dampeners, anti-grav lifters, and at higher tech levels, manuever drive which works against the gravity of planets and solar systems.
Cold fusion provides distrubuted, low cost power capabilities fueled by water. While small enough to fit in engines, it hasn't (yet?) shrunk to the size of small power cells. This technology has freed vehicles and starships to incredible ranges, refueling where and as they go. At the highest known tech levels, antimatter power is coming into economic possibility.
Computer and genetic advancements have enabled cloning, personality replication and editing, and into the edges of self-aware synthetic intelligence. Genengineering has opened the realm for fully aware, created sophonts. Robotics and computer assistance is common among high technology levels. Personalities can be copied, edited, wiped, and even transfered.
Advanced nanotechnology is enabling many of these others, but molecular or atomic disassembly and reassembly remains outside of known technologies.
Organic brains opened technologies that are otherwise inexplicable - technology or capabilities called psionics. Extrasensory perception to manipulation of the environment is possible, including teleportation. In fact, it was how teleportation could possibly work that led to the discovery of jump drives.
Jump drive, which shifts starships into multidimensional area called jumpspace, allows us to shift between the stars. High tech levels are more efficient at power consumption, and can move a starship further, but always with a delay in jumpspace. There are theories of even deeper levels of jumpspace that remain at our highest technology levels, so far, theories.
Through all of human dominated space, these technologies can be found, are used and exploited, but are not consistently available. Some cultures and societies have banned specific technologies or aspects of technologies, where others have embraced them.
