What is the Main Usefulness of the Traveller Timeline?

[robject]

[FONT=arial,helvetica]Nuanced question here. What do you think is the utility of the Traveller timeline? (You can read this as "what is it's main goal?" or "what is it's primary purpose?" if that helps).

I ask because I never asked it before.

Don took it as a way to measure and create the setting consistently. By incorporating "facts" from published sources, he was building a complete timeline. And I think the timeline is pretty complete up to the Rebellion, although Don always was working on some odd bit of material from somewhere.

And I know Don was taking it a step further. And I know the Lorenverse was part of his plans.

(Don took on a lot of Traveller work).


So let me step back and ask "What's the Main Goal of the Timeline?"

Heck, let's make it into a POLL as well, and see if I can brainstorm some possibilities.[/FONT]

 

[Reban]

I voted Publishers Resource but I'd include any referee setting up a campaign.

For me as a historian (amateur) it helps me understand what went before and where the TU is going at any particular point which lets me set a tone for whats happening around the PCs or what the big influences are.

Its also a fun read, allowing me to sweep through the TU history and imagine it as a sci-fi Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire.

And of course, now it's a memorial to Don.

 

[Travellerspud]

I get a kick out of using it to try and match character generation events (battles, etc) with actual events....

 

[whulorigan]

I didn't vote in the poll because I think it fulfills all 3 stated goals (and I cannot currently choose multiple options in the poll).

I guess probably the most important would be for setting consistency for publishers of OTU material.

 

[ovka]

I use it to help me determine what happened in the past and what will happen in the future so that I can incorporate those into a gaming session.

Cheers,

Baron Ovka

 

[mike wightman]

If you want a consistent setting then you have to have a consistent guide for authors to follow.

A timeline is one feature, a 'how the technology works' at different TLs is another.

Both should be available to referees - not just the hidden cabal....

My vote would be all 4.

 

[robject]

I get a kick out of using it to try and match character generation events (battles, etc) with actual events....

I see other responses in that vein. If you think that "as a game resource" doesn't fit, suggest a new option...

 

[robject]

I didn't vote in the poll because I think it fulfills all 3 stated goals (and I cannot currently choose multiple options in the poll).

I guess probably the most important would be for setting consistency for publishers of OTU material.

It DOES fulfill all of the listed goals. Vote for the most important.

 

[robject]

A timeline is one feature, a 'how the technology works' at different TLs is another.

Both should be available to referees - not just the hidden cabal....

A timeline is useful for a setting book. The Deneb Sector book has a timeline in it. (It serves as a guide to the author as well).

 

[whulorigan]

It DOES fulfill all of the listed goals. Vote for the most important.

VOTED.
[FONT=arial,helvetica]As a publisher's resource (e.g. for setting consistency). [/FONT]

 

[maksimsmelchak]

Ultimately, the game is about players so I think it is most useful as a player resource...

And why is that?

Because it adds to the richness of the setting.

I got a chance to work with Don on many projects including working through some of the timeline events.

May he rest in peace. He was a real mensch to me and I really appreciated and will miss him.

Shalom,
Maksim-Smelchak.

 

[Quint]

While I use one extensively as a campaign reference, this is mainly a utility of how I build and run campaigns. As a result I voted Publisher Reference.

D.

 

[Nathan Brazil]

I put down as a gaming resource though my projects are more writer/publisher oriented. I use the historical maps and other broad statements in OTU history for my projects. For example (what I am working on right now) there are some broad statements in DGP AM1 which give the volume of exploration and size of colonized Vilani space by -8900. Based on a few sentences, I can go back and find EXACTLY what systems were visited and/or colonized by Vilani in time for the Early Ziru Sirka in 9000 BCE as stated in T5 5.09 rules on pg 17.

Or say colonized worlds and outposts of the Terran Confederdation by the time of the 6th or 7th Interstellar War based on statements of in GTIW along with the system generation rules.

I guess it is a matter of how broad or drill down you want the paint on the canvas of history.

 

[aramis]

My primary use is as a play aid. It is valuable if the players use it to tie their characters into the setting and/or each other...

It's particularly nice, however, if developers actually make use of it, too...

 

[Highorbit_drifter]

Its absolutely required as a publishing guide, giving consistent setting features. Of course different authors can interpret those events differently. To me its the most important use.

But the other uses are important as well. It gives color to chargen, lets DMs know those First Imperium radioactive ruins were built, and, as suggested, it give that Rise and Fall grand sweep of history. Some people don't like the fact the OTU is so far in the future, but I love it. It gives a great depth of history to fall back on, or just explore. The Timeline is needed to make sense of all that history.

 

[nobby-w]

I used it to fit a historic setting in.

I got quite a lot of mileage out of it to fit a historic setting (end of second imperium). It also gave me some useful ideas.

 

[Space Hamster]

To me, the reason to use an existing campaign setting is that the players and GM will already have a general understanding of the game universe. The players’ characters would have an understanding of the setting for which they live.

The timeline makes the setting dynamic. It allows then GM to find events through the history of the setting and run a campaign around one of them. This allows for a more tailored setting that the GM can run.

 

[Hyphen]

To me, it fulfils all three, but the most important is as a designers/publishers' resource.

The two other uses flow from that one. If the publishers can get things consistent, then their scenarios (and any "flavour text" written about things such as starships) will be consistent as well.

Most long-running series have a "bible" of sorts that are handed to new writers. A set of standards for the show, if you like. One of those is a timeline.

The fact that we can mine that timeline for scenario ideas is merely a bonus. ;-)

 

[Fovean]

I use it as a story resource... A band of Vargr did something here, many years ago, I can use that for a hook. A mega-Corp, naval asset, noble, whatever... All of it fleshes out the setting and can inspire adventure plots.

 

[flykiller]

other, primary: tourist literature
other, secondary: setting suggestions
other, tertiary: market product coordination