Traveller Fiction

[Blue Ghost]

Gents,

I voted for "Both", but I'm not exactly holding my breath.

I'm an omnivorous reader, a voluminous reader, and an eclectic reader. I read a lot, I need to read constantly, and when I'm desperate I've been known to read utter crap. Yet despite all that, the TNE novels and T4 novels nearly beat me.

I had to force myself to read them. Force. As in "Attempt and failed multiple times", as in "It took several readings to get through to the end", as in There's time I'll never get back.

Making the matter even worse, I was ashamed that Traveller was associated with these books.

The Dragonlance novels for D&D were bad enough, but the Traveller novels were like becoming personally and painfully aware of a new sexually transmitted disease.

I'll look any new Traveller fiction over, but I'm exactly not expecting much fi anything.

Kafka's idea is probably the best. Come up with a setting bible as was done with Thieves World and let some short writers take a crack at it.

Regards,
Bill

Someone I knew passed onto me a self-published "Traveller" novel, complete with fan art for the cover. I won't mention said author's name, as he probably visits these boards on occasion, but is was, in a word, awful. What's worse is that the guy poured a lot of effort into it, but it's like he edited the thing himself, which I'm pretty sure isn't too far from the truth. I mean, this guy deserves kudos for the effort. No joke. It takes a lot to write a complete novel. But he really needed some help.

The "Dragonlance" books... oh my. I truly can't imagine what concept was behind these books. And I'm not sure which is worse, the fact that they were published, or the fact that they continue to publish MORE Dragonlance stuff to this very day. Presumably the narrative and syntactic kinks have been ironed out; i.e. good prose with a logic to the story, rather than some half baked setup.

I think some good Traveller fiction might not take the form of novels, but perhaps short stories or, more rather, brief fictional intros to adventures. Just my thoughts.

 

[Jame]

Classic might sell better, but any era is possible.

Start with the Classic era, using a setting bible which includes modified versions of certain things from MGT (such as augments) and then once the profitability of the line is established go for other settings.

 

[Andrew Boulton]

Start with the Classic era, using a setting bible which includes modified versions of certain things from MGT (such as augments) and then once the profitability of the line is established go for other settings.

Unless MG were directly involved I suspect anything MGT-specific would be off-limits.

 

[Jame]

Unless MG were directly involved I suspect anything MGT-specific would be off-limits.

Okay. Why, though?

 

[aramis]

Okay. Why, though?

If it isn't in the SRD, they claim it is "product identity"...

In other words, you can build your own setting, describe your materials based upon what's in the SRD, and write your novel using that framework, but don't use anything outside of that. Essentially, what you're doing there is creating a new, "not quite traveller" setting, and by use of open content materials, writing a setting bible as a game. Create a new name for it, then write your fiction for your 2d6 OGL "NotTraveller", don't reference traveller in any way, and you can then use those tropes from your "NotTraveller" game as the basis for your "NotTravellerButFeelsLikeIt" novels.

When/if you release the game, IT references the Traveller SRD in the OGL license, and only in the OGL copy.

Essentially, doing what Joss Whedon did with Firefly. Take the rules revise them for setting fit, then rewrite the setting as if the rules don't exist, then write in that setting. (Then later license the setting for a different game, which said wound up tapping some of the publshed fans of the original game to make it work.)

Likewise, you could legitimately design (and include stats for) using T20 ship stats... but can't indicate compatibility (due to the wording of the OGL and lack of license).

 

[Icosahedron]

What I can't figure out is what exactly is Traveller copyright?

eg, pretty obviously I can't write a novel about the crew of a Type R trader with a floorplan copied from Supp 7, who travel to Alell, Regina Subsector, Spinward Marches and meet a representative of Ling Standard Products who tries to sell them a FGMP-15.

But,

Can I write about the crew of a Free Trader called Beowulf with a custom floorplan very similar to something in Supp 7, who travel Spinward across The Marches with a Jump Drive that takes a week to travel up to 6 parsecs, and who are armed with Gauss Rifles and Body Pistols?

I'd love to honour my favourite game with a story that might bring in fresh blood, but not if it'll get my ass sued off by lawyers.

 

[aramis]

What I can't figure out is what exactly is Traveller copyright?

eg, pretty obviously I can't write a novel about the crew of a Type R trader with a floorplan copied from Supp 7, who travel to Alell, Regina Subsector, Spinward Marches and meet a representative of Ling Standard Products who tries to sell them a FGMP-15.

But,

Can I write about the crew of a Free Trader called Beowulf with a custom floorplan very similar to something in Supp 7, who travel Spinward across The Marches with a Jump Drive that takes a week to travel up to 6 parsecs, and who are armed with Gauss Rifles and Body Pistols?

I'd love to honour my favourite game with a story that might bring in fresh blood, but not if it'll get my ass sued off by lawyers.

Probably not "Beowulf" since that's iconic to the traveller branding. (CT, T20, and GT all use it prominently.)
"The Marches", not good form, but the "Marches of Spica" with occasional shortenings to "the Marches," probably safe.

Gauss Rifles are definitely good to go. Body pistol? not so much... find three unrelated uses (counting Traveller) and make note of it, and you've researched a "generic term"... but I'd suggest finding 5 for comfort.

Likewise, a world called Regina is fine, but it better not have Regni Downport, nor orbit Assinoboya.

You can even talk in terms of displacement tons of hydrogen... the term Displacement ton has values in various places from 1 cubic meter to 15 cubic meters.

Likewise Credits, even Imperial Credits, are universal.

There's a saying in History: 1 agreeing independent source is plagiarism, 3 is Research, and 10 is common knowledge.

 

[Andrew Boulton]

I may have interesting news soon...

 

[beowulf2044]

Wouldn't writing a story set in the Sword Worlds run afoul of the rights to Star Viking by H. Beam Piper?

 

[Icosahedron]

Thanks for that rule of thumb, Aramis. The only catch now is that word 'independent'. Talking of which, and talking of the Sword Worlds, how did GDW avoid a lawsuit by Tolkien/Piper?

 

[aramis]

Thanks for that rule of thumb, Aramis. The only catch now is that word 'independent'. Talking of which, and talking of the Sword Worlds, how did GDW avoid a lawsuit by Tolkien/Piper?

Who knows... They also reference Doc Smith, Frank Herbert, Larry Niven, and many, many more. There's even a Pern reference.

 

[Leitz]

I voted yes, though my self-imposed allowance would make this a dear thing. I'm short on good fiction that inspires. When I started writing my prose was dry and dull. Then I realized I've only been reading technical manuals for years and they were fairly dry and dull.

I would love to see short stories from not so big names. It would let me preview their style and topic selection so that when they did a novel I could have some comfort in buying it. I get turned off by big names that either need to work out their ⌧ issues elsewhere ("Rama", Orson Scott Card), or are so grand in scheme that I fall asleep early on ("Boat of a million years").

When I want SF it's set somewhere I'm familer with. Star Wars, Star Trek, or Traveller. Given the limited characters of the first two settings, anything that follows Traveller mechanics, whether or not it mentions OTU stuff by name, is a positive for me. Being an infrequent fiction reader, I dislike shifting from one physics paradigm to another. Too few brain cells to keep things going.

L

 

[rancke]

Wouldn't writing a story set in the Sword Worlds run afoul of the rights to Star Viking by H. Beam Piper?

No. The Sword Worlds were presumably a homage to Piper, but the OTU Sword Worlds have very little to do with Piper's Sword worlds beyond the notion of naming worlds after legendary swords -- hardly a copyrightable concept.

note that the list of names fail to include several of Piper's.


Hans

 

[rancke]

Who knows... They also reference Doc Smith, Frank Herbert, Larry Niven, and many, many more. There's even a Pern reference.

Some of the references were dropped again later. Smade's World, for example.


Hans

 

[Andrew Boulton]

Some of the references were dropped again later. Smade's World, for example.

I'd never noticed that.

 

[far-trader]

Who knows... There's even a Pern reference.

I feel I should know this... but I can't come up with it. Can anyone jog my memory?

A system named after the one in the books?

 

[aramis]

I feel I should know this... but I can't come up with it. Can anyone jog my memory?

A system named after the one in the books?

R'bak, Saggitarian Subsector, Reft Sector.

R'bak
Reft Sector 1314
B387777-3

Traveller Wiki says this:

R'bak (world)edit this page
From Traveller Wiki - Science-Fiction Adventure in the Far future
R'bak/Saggittarian (Reft 1314)
Classic Era (1115)
B387777-3
Starport B Good: Spacecraft Construction, Overhaul, Refined fuel
Size 3 Small (4,800 km)
Atmosphere 8 Dense
Hydrographics 7 Wet World 70%
Population 7 Moderate (0 million)
Government 7 Balkanization
Law 7 Moderate Law (no firearms)
Tech Level 3 Pre-Industrial (basic science)
See also UWP

R'bak: Red Zone. R'bak is the only system in Saggittarian Subsector. Meteor swarms present a considerable hazard to navigation. Travellers are advised to adhere to guidance instructions from the starport authority as inner system travel is especially threatened. The starport for the system is located at one of the space habitats in synchronous orbit around the main world. The world itself, however, is interdicted.

Centuries ago, before the Third Imperium restored interstellar exchange, insystem shuttles fell into disrepair, and the world's inhabitants were isolated from their fellows in space. The ground society quickly descended to barbarism and forgot the people in orbit.

In recent times, the habitat dwellers have replaced their interplanetary craft with Imperial aid, and they now have the equivalent of a B-class starport. At the Imperium's insistence, however, they have not recontacted the population on the ground. The Imperial Navy has requested that the developing cuitures be protected from the interference of outside activity.

This last fact has drawn some attention in the sector news media, for the Navy is rarely interested in protecting developing cultures. Generally, it is the IISS that takes the interest in placing such worlds off-limits. Rumors of unusual lifeforms and psionic activity among Rbak's ground-dwellers persist, however. These rumors have led some researchers to pinpoint R'bak as the site of a top-security military research project.
This article was copied or excerpted from the following copyrighted sources and used under license from Far Future Enterprises and by permission of the author.
– Travellers' Digest No. 20​

 

[flykiller]

Would you be interested in Traveller fiction?

in theory, yes. in practice, probably not without seeing what it is first. fan fiction is ... well ....

 

[Nathan Brazil]

Traveller Fiction? Yes please.

Stories in the OTU would be great. Pivotal moments in OTU history would be fine even though we fans know the ending. Titles like:

First Contact: 2098AD
The Last Empress
Sport for Yaskodray or Sport to Yaskodray(?)

Well I can dream, can't I?

 

[Enoki]

I have two Traveller based novels done (Called Hao's Luck and Hao's Business), but haven't found a venue and means to put them out for readers based in part on restrictions on use. Neither makes any direct reference to the game, just locations and some game items like ship classes and such. But...

Oh, not really looking to make money on them in any case...

They're MT / CT based...

A third quasi-Traveller one is also available...