Rob's Traveller Regula Fidei

[robject]

Status of This Post. DRAFT

Preamble. This is the rule I use when determining whether something is canon, and whether something is overstepping canon. This regula proceeds from (1) loyalty to Marc, (2) loyalty to Traveller, and (3) guidance from Don's Hermeneutic.

Now, my job is not to create canon. My job is to enforce what is determined to be canon. My job does not require that I be nice. So I'll go to training for that particular skill.

My job is also not to be an expert in anything in Traveller. I rely on specialists when something needs to be dug out.

The rules of Traveller canon:

1. Authority. What Marc says is canon, is canon.

2. Priority. FFE is primary. T5 is first, and CT/MT are next. Material Marc had a direct hand in have high priority. The third party materials from FFE can be treated as non-binding sources.

3. Clarity. All of the major concepts for Traveller are clearly communicated in the rules. If it's not there, it's not Traveller. Marc brings new things in when he's ready.

4. Distinction. Each ruleset creates OTU distinctions, binding only in those rulesets.

5. Non-Binding Sources. Secondary sources have useful ideas, but do not trump canon or ruleset distinctions. Mongoose, SJG, DGP, GO, HIWG, and online discussion forums.


It goes without saying that Marc "is" canon, and may change or create exceptions in the above rules. Here is his list of Things that Are Non-Canonical:

1. Spacecraft under 100 tons can't jump. (T5 lays this out clearly, so this is addressed in #1 in the above list). I believe this actually and clearly clobbers what was a TNE distinction.

2. Almost all Aslan art has the hands and paws wrong.

3. All the major races are identified. Don't add another one.

4. DGP is not canon; e.g. the pre-Ancient Primordials/Sparklers are not what Joe Fugate wanted them to be. (This is a addressed in #1 in the above list).

5. Light sabers and Ansibles don't exist. (These are addressed by #2 in the above list).

 

[Blue Ghost]

Why is DGP not-canon for you?

 

[robject]

Why is DGP not-canon for you?

It's not me; it's the situation that keeps the material legally out of peoples' hands. Until that situation changes, it's off-limits.

 

[whulorigan]

It's not me; it's the situation that keeps the material legally out of peoples' hands. Until that situation changes, it's off-limits.

But is it the actual subject material that is non-canon, or just the word-for-word text of the original DGP-publication that is off-limits due to copyright? It has always been my understanding that the DGP material is canon, but is just difficult to get one's hands on, making such canon likely to be accidentally overwritten by authors without access to the material.

 

[robject]

But is it the actual subject material that is non-canon, or just the word-for-word text of the original DGP-publication that is off-limits due to copyright? It has always been my understanding that the DGP material is canon, but is just difficult to get one's hands on, making such canon likely to be accidentally overwritten by authors without access to the material.

This is a solved problem, so to speak, that has no happy ending. I refer you to older discussions on COTI, usually involving Don McKinney, who was on speaking terms with Rodge Sanger, and Avery/Marc Miller.

Here we go.

...from reading Joe Fugate's posts from back in 2004, it seems that copyright protects expression, rather than concept -- although I could be wrong. So being free to "dip into DGP's Traveller archives for inspiration in developing background material" was never actually in danger.

http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discuss/showthread.php?t=32789&highlight=roger+sanger

So while yes, the concepts are available to use for inspiration and development, they are not mandatory, and therefore they are, at best, secondary sources (because you're not required to consider it when writing stuff, and it doesn't trump anything). The reason I exclude them entirely is because they're not publicly available. (For instance, if you don't have one of the books, how are you supposed to personally research something?)

Now it is true that publishers have been basing work on DGP's concepts, and that's good. But I hear that the adventures are the important thing, and I've only seen one or two of those (and by the way, the Kebkh are non-canon: Deyis II was scrubbed of all life in Agent).

 

[mike wightman]

Which is why that scout ship was sent to investigate the complete regeneration of the world by the various primordial relics extant in the Deyis II system :devil:

The scrubbing had the secondary effect of sending a signal to the primordials that their home world had been scrubbed, which is what stirred them into coming back.

 

[robject]

The scrubbing had the secondary effect of sending a signal to the primordials that their home world had been scrubbed, which is what stirred them into coming back.

Maybe the Scrubbing caused the Wave.

 

[Keklas Rekobah]

...

1. Chronology. T5 is primary; If it's not there, search chronologically backwards from material by Mongoose, GURPS, and FFE. The newer source wins (unless it's known to be wrong).

...

4. DGP is not canon; e.g. the pre-Ancient Primordials/Sparklers are not what Joe Fugate wanted them to be. (This is a addressed in #1 in the above list).

So, how does this square with the Imperial Encyclopedia entry on Primordials? (http://wiki.travellerrpg.com/Primordial)

(IMTU: "Primordials" are generally defined as any species that arises from the earliest conditions that are conducive to organic life. More specifically, the name "Primordials" has come to mean the earliest hypothetical species' to come into existence soon after the first supernova explosions released Carbon, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Phosphorus, and Sulfur into the early Hydrogen-rich universe, about 500,000,000 years after the Big Bang. Evidence for any such a species is sketchy, at best, and largely open to interpretation.)

 

[robject]

...And you've brought up my current thought for me.

I was just thinking about the Imperial Encyclopedia last night, and how I thought it makes an excellent baseline for canon. In many ways, it distills much of CT down to the essential bits -- I mean, look at page 4:

The following Traveller rules and supplement sets are incor- porated (in part) in the Imperial Encyclopedia: Traveller, Mercenary, HighGuard, Scouts, MerchantPrince, TheSpinward Marches, Citizens of the Imperium, Azhanti High Lightning, Sfriker, Traders and Gunboats, Library Data (A-M), Library Data (N-Z).

Thus, the IE potentially has already consolidated much of CT for us, thereby removing a huge amount of work.

However, I can't find an entry on the Primordials there.

 

[robject]

Oh, you mean the Wiki.

The wiki material on the Primordials looks fine at this time. I seem to remember making an edit to it too. Whether the material is correct or not is not relevant: it's best to remember that the wiki is a creative ATU engine, where many different contributors may expand Traveller's possibilities without worrying about canon.

 

[mike wightman]

Maybe the Scrubbing caused the Wave.

Now that is an interesting thought...

Like I've said many times, with a bit of work the Primordials can become a useful addition rather than just retconning them out of existence.

Especially now the Traveller map is revealing the wider galaxy to us - Essaray, Abyssals, Denizens (still need more info on those) and the Dushis Khurisi - I think the Primordials, and possible other races that have achieved the T5 singularity back in the very distant past add adventure possibility to the setting.

 

[mike wightman]

Then there is my favourite quote from MT:

THE FIRST STARFARERS
We place the age of the universe at more than fifteen
billion years.
The oldest stars in Charted Space are dim red dwarfs
some ten billion years old
Intelligent life first appeared in Charted Space more than
two billion years ago

what about outside of charted space...

Intelligent life first began sublight travel between the
stars more than a billion years ago. Short-lived beings
found sublight travel tedious and frustrating and contented
themselves with confinement to a few star systems. Longer
lived races ranged far and wide using generation ships,
cold sleep, and even electronic personality transfers.

electronic personality transfer - send out you robot swarms via stl and have them build relay stations every few light years, have them build the machinery to clone bodies, build synthetic bodies or robotic hosts and transmit your personality at lightspeed to other systems...
could they tie in with T5's
"Dakhaseri. Literally, Audience of Stars [Vilani]. An ancient
Vilani story tells of meritorious souls allowed to watch the events of
the world; their discussions (and futile attempts to intervene) are
the basis of many Vilani myths"?

The first jump drive was an unrealized dream until only
300,000 years ago. By a fluke of evolution, a single
supergenius was born to the pastoral Droyne, and under
his leadership this ancient race travelled extensively
throughout a region nearly 1000 parsecs across. The race
worked wonders throughout Charted Space and then
destroyed themselves in a wide-ranging war that shattered
worlds and destroyed civilizations

and this is the critical setting detail I would not have overwritten in any way shape or form - Grandfather invented jump travel (I've posted my variant on this before).

Today, the Droyne live in independent communities on
many separate worlds. They avoid entanglements and
political disputes; they live peacefully with their neighbors;
and their hand-built jump drives are the best that can be
found anywhere.

we know via metagame info that Grandfather has had a hand in ensuring the Droyne are still around, and if MgT is canon then we also know that more than Grandfather survived the Ancients war (is MgT Secret of the Ancients canonical or not?)
what we are just learning about are the extinct high TL races that disappeared between the Ancients war and human ascendancy (Kursae for example - what do they look like by the way and are there any still in stasis from their technological peak or did they achieve the TL required to build machines that could re-create their bodies as mentioned above...) and those other races in other parts of the galaxy - are they linked to the Kursae in any way?

I know it is a bit Babylon 5-ish but I really like the idea of primordial races - note the small p - but then some of my favourite novels are Stephen Baxter's Xeelee saga.

 

[robject]

Like I've said many times, with a bit of work the Primordials can become a useful addition rather than just retconning them out of existence.

Don's the one who just wanted them gone. I think they're easily salvaged, sans Baddies From The Core. I like their cities, after all.

 

[Timerover51]

First, could you perhaps explain the term "Regula Fidei"?

Second, if I may make a recommendation, I would recommend only dealing with material that is readily available either through Far Future Enterprises or DriveThruRPG. The Digest Group Publication have very limited availability until such times as reprinting is authorized.

Third, what is the status of the Keith books put out through Gamelords, as well as the other Gamelords material?

 

[mike wightman]

The primordials are part of MT canon, available in Knightfall, and the first starfarer box is also MT and available canon.

This series of images is a series of faces, sounds, lights,
and colors. There are some star fields and solar systems
shown, but nothing you can recognize.
Referee:This is an account of how the Primordials became
dissatisfied with their home, and left it seeking to explore the
galaxy.

There are a further three quotes that mention them directly, not to mention you investigate one of their cities/bases.

 

[robject]

The primordials are part of MT canon, available in Knightfall, and the first starfarer box is also MT and available canon.

There are a further three quotes that mention them directly, not to mention you investigate one of their cities/bases.

That's right, and most of Knightfall's stuff is good. Don didn't like any of it, but I can handle the slippery slope. I don't know anything about starfarer.

 

[robject]

First, could you perhaps explain the term "Regula Fidei"?

Good idea. I can try, but maybe others can put it into words better.

It's a metric by which we gauge how binding published material is on Charted Space for future publishers of Traveller material.

 

[pendragonman]

First, could you perhaps explain the term "Regula Fidei"?

Literally "Regula Fidei" is the "Rule of Faith". I believe that Rob is trying to rule in or rule out various publications for canon sources.

 

[robject]

Canon: Published material on Charted Space binding for future publishers of Traveller material.

How do we gauge canonicity? What's the metric? When I say "yeah, that seems right", what is going through my brain? How do I know I'm not insane?

EXAMPLE. The MegaTraveller Referee's Companion, specifically the pages on "aliens". Is is canon? Is it binding?

Chronology. It's a 30-year-old resource. Mongoose Traveller is the latest source on sophonts. By definition, Mongoose is canon, unless it's wrong (and that's where discernment is needed to figure out what THAT means).

 

[Nathan Brazil]

Maybe the Scrubbing caused the Wave.

o:

Did the Scrubbing send a message back in time? Or did The Empress Wave, given its current rate of speed and the Wave of Craziness, start much sooner and thus much closer to Charted Space than previously published?