CT Only: LBB:0 Hidden Setting

[mike wightman]

A thread over at rpg.net about Traveller's failed promise had me browsing through LBB:0.

I was stunned to find a setting I had forgotten all about. It is in the chapter about campaigns which details how a referee can make up a setting:

The subsector is located on the fringe of the Moladon Federation, a loose organization of 300+ worlds governed by a federation council. Half the worlds in the subsector are in the federation, the rest are petty one or two world nations. The federation is currently in a period of stasis, between expansions, but plans to eventually absorb all worlds on its borders. The last war was over a century ago. but minor skirmishes are constantly taking place, especially between the larger outer states. Tech levels within the federation are between 5 and 12; outside they are between 1 and 9. Federation naval power is just strong enough to supress piracy within the borders, and there is a great deal of local planetary autonomy.

The chapter goes on to give guidance as to how the referee can generate the worlds of this frontier subsector.

I'm wondering if anyone ever based their own campaign on this snippet of a setting?

I would probably start by changing the name of the federation...

An alternative question is if anyone is intrigued enough to fill in additional details for this setting?

edit - thanks to timerover51 for the page reference "It is on the bottom of page 28 and top of page 29 in Book 0: Introduction to Traveller."

 

[flykiller]

anyone is intrigued enough to fill in additional details for this setting?

not really sure what it could offer that isn't already present in the spinward marches and solomani rim or trojan reaches. as an rpg that is. if the "game" consists of developing the setting, then sure, it's a whole new world, but I always think of it in terms of setting for an rpg.

 

[Brandon C]

If it were 30+ worlds at TL8-12, sure.

 

[infojunky]

Honestly I am beating on Adventure 0 basic premise right now, but now that you point that out I am going to consider it...

 

[Lord Kilgore]

I love LBB0. It helped me a LOT, both initially and over the many years since I got Deluxe Traveller for my birthday in 7th grade. I still look through it from time to time and I always enjoy it. The Moladon Federation example was part of the inspiration for my departure from the OTU in ~1986.

But I have never used that example directly in play. I'd much rather roll and build my own worlds and create my own background. While interesting and a great guide, I see nothing particularly special or intriguing about the example snippet.

 

[creativehum]

I see nothing particularly special or intriguing about the example snippet.

I think the example's key value is as a reminder that the rules are a toolset for someone to make different kinds of settings as they wish.

If someone wants to play in the Spinward Marches that's great. But there are all sorts of ways of making a setting. After all, a little unde 10% of the original rules is devoted to making a setting.

 

[Lord Kilgore]

I think the example's key value is as a reminder that the rules are a toolset for someone to make different kinds of settings as they wish.

Absolutely 100% agree. That's exactly what I did. I meant that the example of that specific setting was not "particularly special or intriguing."

 

[Timerover51]

A thread over at rpg.net about Traveller's failed promise had me browsing through LBB:0.

I was stunned to find a setting I had forgotten all about. It is in the chapter about campaigns which details how a referee can make up a setting:

The chapter goes on to give guidance as to how the referee can generate the worlds of this frontier subsector.

I'm wondering if anyone ever based their own campaign on this snippet of a setting?

I would probably start by changing the name of the federation...

An alternative question is if anyone is intrigued enough to fill in additional details for this setting?

Hmmm, I have LBB 0 somewhere. Now I will need to dig it out and take another look at it. Thank you, Mike.

Edit Note: I found it. It is on the bottom of page 28 and top of page 29 in Book 0: Introduction to Traveller.

 

[Brandon C]

If someone wants to play in the Spinward Marches that's great. But there are all sorts of ways of making a setting.

My original group had a strong dissenter. We started with books 1-3 in 1983. Two of us GMed and the other GM was actually angry with me for not using the 3I setting.

 

[creativehum]

My original group had a strong dissenter. We started with books 1-3 in 1983. Two of us GMed and the other GM was actually angry with me for not using the 3I setting.

Wait? You are saying theater there are people who insist that the only way to play Traveller is with the Third Imperium???

Heavens to Murgatroyd! I had no idea!

 

[mike wightman]

not really sure what it could offer that isn't already present in the spinward marches and solomani rim or trojan reaches. as an rpg that is. if the "game" consists of developing the setting, then sure, it's a whole new world, but I always think of it in terms of setting for an rpg.

That's not a bad idea. A collaborative 'game' where we fill in the details.

A federation of 300+ worlds is less than the Spinward Marches but more than enough to be the distant government.
Frontier subsectors consisting of non-aligned worlds and small groupings of worlds.
Are there aliens?
Are there distant empires that can threaten the federation?
Federation history.
How do the federation 'core' subsectors differ from the outlying subsectors differ from the frontier sectors.
What lies beyond the frontier?

 

[mike wightman]

If it were 30+ worlds at TL8-12, sure.

I would imagine the federation higher TL worlds to be concentrated towards the core subsectors of said federation, with a smattering of TL 8-12 worlds in the frontier subsectors.
The fun bit is the referee can decide.

 

[mike wightman]

Honestly I am beating on Adventure 0 basic premise right now, but now that you point that out I am going to consider it...

Please post any ideas you have and what you come up with

 

[mike wightman]

But I have never used that example directly in play. I'd much rather roll and build my own worlds and create my own background. While interesting and a great guide, I see nothing particularly special or intriguing about the example snippet.

I agree with you. The example isn't particularly unique in a way, I'll bet many of us who have designed our own settings actually came up with better stuff.
But I think there is scope to add to the intrigues and 'specialness' of the example setting if we turn our minds to it.

 

[mike wightman]

Hmmm, I have LBB 0 somewhere. Now I will need to dig it out and take another look at it. Thank you, Mike.

Edit Note: I found it. It is on the bottom of page 28 and top of page 29 in Book 0: Introduction to Traveller.

You are very welcome.
I should have put the page reference in the original post, thanks for doing that. Hope you don't mind if I add it to the original post .

 

[mike wightman]

My original group had a strong dissenter. We started with books 1-3 in 1983. Two of us GMed and the other GM was actually angry with me for not using the 3I setting.

Sadly as time went by more and more people thought Classic Traveller was the Third Imperium setting and nothing but.

This thread shows they are wrong

 

[mike wightman]

I think the example's key value is as a reminder that the rules are a toolset for someone to make different kinds of settings as they wish.

If someone wants to play in the Spinward Marches that's great. But there are all sorts of ways of making a setting. After all, a little unde 10% of the original rules is devoted to making a setting.

I agree with you completely.

 

[mike wightman]

Wait? You are saying theater there are people who insist that the only way to play Traveller is with the Third Imperium???

Heavens to Murgatroyd! I had no idea!

Yup, as more setting fluff for the Third Imperium was produced it gradually became THE setting. LBB:6-8 dropped all generic pretence and every iteration of the game since has been firmly entrenched in its Imperial setting to such an extent that to many people Traveller is the Third Imperium role playing game.
TNE did offer variant tech rules in FF&S so you could branch out into your own settings, and MgT have tried to be a bit more generic but still most material these days is for their version of the Third Imperium.

I thought this thread would be an opportunity to go back to basics as it were.

 

[creativehum]

I was being sarcastic, of course.

Years ago when I tried threads like this on this site it never went well. The notion that Traveller could be anything other than the Third Imperium was received as some sort of heretical nonsense.

I think things have change even though!

 

[mike wightman]

I hope so.

As I posted over on that other forum I think the 'failed promise' of classic traveller was that it tied itself too closely to the setting.

Perhaps CE and in its own way MgT have fostered a renewed interest in creating bespoke settings.

The LBB:0 snippet of setting design was worth using as an example of bespoke setting design, and I hope people will chime in with details to flesh out the setting, just for fun of course