OTU Only: Listing of publications known to have published subsectors for Classic Traveller

[Graham2001]

This is an attempt to update Don McKinney's list of published subsector data, which can be read at the internet archive. Linked below:

https://web.archive.org/web/20160313121509/http://dmckinne.winterwar.org/sector.html

I posted a query to the TML and the answer I got indicates that the fanzine Alien Star published at least two subsectors (Orion & Anniversary) and that a Swedish fanzine Morgonstjärnen also published at least two subsectors (Hrigli & Utge), the post mentioning this is linked below:

http://archives.simplelists.com/tml/msg/4918097

Both of the fanzines mentioned above were operating in the 1980s. Imperium Staple issue 11 (April 1987) listed two defunct fanzines Dark Star (5 issues, July? - October 1981) and Working Passage (12 issues (Includes an 'Issue 0') Nov 84 - Dec 85) as well as active fanzines such as Between Worlds (First issue in 1985) and The Travellers Aide (First issue in 1985, linked to a PBM game.). All of these are possible areas for research, and as far as I tell with the exception of Working Passage, Imperial Staple & Alien Star have been covered by the wiki.)

 

[Whipsnade]

Don's list has Alsas/Far Frontiers appearing an issue of the Traveller Chronicle. I know that same subsector is in Star Quest's Privateer (1994) but I don't know if they're the same.

 

[inexorabletash]

Don's list has Alsas/Far Frontiers appearing an issue of the Traveller Chronicle. I know that same subsector is in Star Quest's Privateer (1994) but I don't know if they're the same.

They are. So far as I have been able to reconstruct the history, Alsas subsector was designed by Bill Fawcett, and published in "Privateer" (Gameplay, April 1983) - without a map, but with full details on each world. Star Quest republished the article as the Privateer supplement.

This was incorporated (like J. Andrew Keith's Jungleblut from Trail of the Sky Raiders) into Dale Kemper's manuscript for Far Frontiers which was intended as a FASA supplement but FASA dropped Traveller support before it came out. The manuscript later appeared in Ares Magazine (Special Edition #2, 1983), then again - serialized a few subsectors at a time - in Traveller Chronicle (Alsas is in #2, Oct 1993).

 

[Whipsnade]

They are.

I should have known the Imperial Cartographer was on top of things!

Thanks to the various CDs FFE has made available, I've been thumbing through lots of supplements, 'zines, and whatnot I'd never seen or even knew existed. The number of subsectors and lone UWPs tucked away in all those material are mind boggling.

So far as I have been able to reconstruct the history, Alsas subsector was designed by Bill Fawcett, and published in "Privateer" (Gameplay, April 1983) - without a map, but with full details on each world. Star Quest republished the article as the Privateer supplement.

That explains quite a bit about Privateer. The Star Quest supplement has a 1994 date but the content had a definite "old" Traveller "tone" to it. Not quite proto-Traveller mind you, but definitely a "small ship" slant.

For example, Afellahlah, the subsector's hegemon, has a pop code of 9, and TL of C, and a "navy" consisting of 8 Suleimans, 6 Type-R subbies, 2 Gazelle CEs, 2 Fiery CEs, 2 Fer de Lance DEs, and 2 Broadswords. The Imperium has also loaned them a Kinunir, a white elephant whose jump drive is currently off-line due to combat damage, whose black globe is damaged beyond repair, and whose power plant only works 20% of the time.

And they have two sets of battledress too!

 

[agorski]

My meta-list of lists by sector can be found here:

MetaList: Atlas of the Third Imperium

 

[Graham2001]

They are. So far as I have been able to reconstruct the history, Alsas subsector was designed by Bill Fawcett, and published in "Privateer" (Gameplay, April 1983) - without a map, but with full details on each world. Star Quest republished the article as the Privateer supplement.

This was incorporated (like J. Andrew Keith's Jungleblut from Trail of the Sky Raiders) into Dale Kemper's manuscript for Far Frontiers which was intended as a FASA supplement but FASA dropped Traveller support before it came out. The manuscript later appeared in Ares Magazine (Special Edition #2, 1983), then again - serialized a few subsectors at a time - in Traveller Chronicle (Alsas is in #2, Oct 1993).

Dale Kemper also incorporated some of the material from his version of Far Frontiers into a supplement published by Steve Jackson Games for their GURPS Space line Space Atlas 3: The Confederacy in 1990. In the same year DGP incorporated material from that book into Core Sector.

 

[Graham2001]

I've finally gone through TTT and found that the following Subsectors were printed up

Fulani (A- H)
Dark River (C, D, E, G, H, K, L, N, O, P)

Plus individual subsectors for RT/VT.

 

[Graham2001]

With a big thanks to Tim Collinson at the TML I've been able to get a look at three magazine printed subsectors from the 80s.

What follows are quick comments.

Orion Subsector (Alien Star 2)

The author states that this subsector can be used to replace Gazulin in the Trojan Reaches (If a ref wants to use it that way.). It has a fairly straightforward split between the 3rd Imperium and a minor power along with some 'unexplored worlds', this one was pretty clearly written to be added to Adventure 4: Leviathan.

Anniversary Subsector (Alien Star 5)

Stated to be 'Coreward' of Orion Subsector, which would put it somewhere in the Spinward Marches (Or Deneb if you are generous.) assuming Orion is placed where recommended (Trojan Reach Subsector D) almost the entire territory is 3rd Imperial with one non-aligned system at the rimward/spinward corner of the subsector. The rimward X-boat route in Anniversary can be linked to the routes in Orion (See map linked below.). Overall the feel is much the same as the Spinward Marches, a real mix of technologies and populations.

'Anniversary Sector' Test Rendering

Utge (Morgonstjärnen 4)

This the 'dark horse' of the trio, from the looks of it the publishers of Morgonstjärnen (Morning Star) were trying to create their own sector (The authors name the four adjoining subsectors Hrigli, Zhikela, Bastion and D?nnash (?=a,e,o,u)) the subsector is located to rimward of Hrigli (Which appears in Morgonstjärnen 2, which Tim does not have.), it is a very sparse sector, with no jump-1 mains and feels like the edge of a rift. None of the worlds form part of a larger polity.

That is it as it stands at the moment, I've no idea if Alien Star published subsector material in any of the other six issues, and Tim has stated that information on Morgonstjärnen is even sketchier, it would need someone with access to the Swedish RPG community to sort out just what appeared in the other issues of Morgonstjärnen.

In terms of appearance the two Alien Star subsectors look like typical fan publications of the era.

The Morgonstjärnen subsector though looks as if the people behind it were aiming much higher in terms of presentation as it looks much like GDWs material from the 80s (Even if the subsector is written on a standard TAS Form 6)

 

[Graham2001]

Another publication that published a subsector generated using the Traveller rules has been found with thanks to Paul.

Queskania, Issue 3

Published a 'Rigel Subsector' in 1981 that is not set in the Third Imperium, but seems to have been used in a wargame type campaign with players taking the part of rulers of individual systems.

The hunt for more of these orphans continues.

 

[Timerover51]

Would Sectors and Subsectors designed sort of for the Cepheus Engine count towards this or not?

 

[Graham2001]

Would Sectors and Subsectors designed sort of for the Cepheus Engine count towards this or not?

I've been focusing on the early material between 1977 & 1983, but I have been advised that in 1991 the 5th issue of 'The Guildsman' magazine for the University of California's Gaming Guild published a subsector for a home brewed Traveller setting. I'm currently trying to run down some more information on that.

Edit: The home brewed setting was by Jim Vassalikos, creator of the Galactic Traveller mapping program, and the map of 'Tyber Subsector' (The one published in 'Guildsman, Issue #5') looks to have been run off using that software. I'm now wondering if a full sector file still exists (For the 'Ares Sector') .