The Third Imperium

The Third Imperium: History, Background, and Setting Information

The Third Imperium The Third Imperium, also known as the OTU, or Official Traveler Universe, is a richly developed setting for a science fiction role-playing game. The game ‘Traveler’ (now known as ‘Classic Traveler’) was first created in 1977, by GDW (Game Designers Workshop), and has since gone through 9 editions.

Contents Background on the Third Imperium: ............................................................................................................. 3 The Imperium Itself: .................................................................................................................................. 3 The Military of the Imperium: .................................................................................................................... 3 The Fleet: ................................................................................................................................................... 3 The Scout Service:..................................................................................................................................... 4 The Nobles of the Imperium: ..................................................................................................................... 4 The Emperor: ............................................................................................................................................. 4 Sophonts, Other Humaniti, and their Domains: ......................................................................................... 5 Locations, Sectors, Systems, and Worlds:................................................................................................. 5

Several websites: http://www.travellermap.com/thirdimperium/ http://wiki.travellerrpg.com/Main_Page http://www.freelancetraveller.com/index.html http://www.travellermap.com/

© 2014 by Brian C. Doupnik

Background on the Third Imperium: The Imperium Itself: The Imperium is a vast organization built to sustain commerce and maintain peace throughout this part of the Milky Way Galaxy. It spans over eleven thousand worlds, and even with the fastest ship, takes over two years to traverse. The Imperium has ruled its territory for eleven centuries, and intends to continue ruling for many more. In the Imperium, the speed of communication is parallel to the speed of travel. There is no FTL (Faster than Light) communication, so most messages are transmitted to and from worlds by the Xboat (Express Boat) network. This is a series of small ships, little more than jump drives, cockpits, and storage banks that jump along readied relay routes. Each time it arrives at a stop, it transmits a message, is refueled, perhaps given more messages, and continues on its way. Because of its advanced technology, the time an Xboat would take, on a standard route, would amount to forty-four weeks travel from the capital to the edge of the Imperium. The speed of jumps depends on the type of Jump Drive the starship is equipped with. Each jump, regardless of the distance, takes one week. A jump-1, for example, would be one parsec in a week. A jump-2, would travel two parsecs in a week, a jump-3, three parsecs, etc. The Empire is divided into twenty sectors, each one thirty-two parsecs by forty parsecs. These sectors are each divided into sixteen subsectors, each of these are eight by ten parsecs. Within a subsector, there are perhaps thirty to forty colonized (to some extent) systems, each with a star, worlds, and satellites, each vastly different from the next. This vast disparity constitutes the need for a feudalistic society, with each progressively smaller domain ruled by a progressively less powerful duke.

The Military of the Imperium: A hefty part of the Imperium’s power comes from its vast legions of Imperial Marines, and the hulking war machine that is the Imperial Army itself.

The Fleet: As important as the Marines and Army are to maintaining the peace on the ground, the true core of the Imperium’s power is its fleets. Each captain in the Emperor’s military is charged, on their own initiative, with upholding the Emperor’s law, and the customs of the Empire. As such, they are also charged with protecting those Imperial citizens who deserve the fleet’s protection, and eradicating those who do not. They are given complete control over the life and death of each citizen they encounter, at least in the immediacy of things. And even if they prove to be corrupt, thankfully a rare occurrence, an investigation several months or perhaps years later does not change the heroics or atrocities that they performed.

The Scout Service: The Scout Service is given the immense task of mapping every single one of the uncharted worlds of the Imperium, gathering and collecting that data, and creating indexes and databases that chart those worlds for the Imperial Military, Nobility, and corporations. When scouts retire from the service, they are not truly retired or discharged as they would be in other services. Instead, they are put on hold. They can be returned to active duty at any time, regardless of the event.

The Nobles of the Imperium: Because of the vast amount of space the Imperium controls, and the slow speed of travel, the Imperium relies on a feudalistic structure of nobles. Archdukes command Domains, while Dukes command Sub-sectors. A Count is in control of a group of worlds, a Marquis, an important world. Barons watch over worlds, while Knights have more limited areas. Most importantly however, there are two types of titles; personal titles, and office titles. For instance: Sector Admirals are often given the title of ‘Duke’ regardless of what their actual position is. This is so that they can interact with other Dukes on an equal social level. However, when they are transferred to a different position, leave the military, or are fired, they lose that title. Because of the long chain of command, there is normally a large time delay in the bureaucracy’s actions, especially when that bureaucracy has to interact with other members of the Imperium. It is specifically for this reason that local governors are given a large degree of autonomy, and only interact with higher-ups when they need superior recourses, an authority greater than their own, or when their superiors are displeased with that governor’s actions.

The Emperor: Emperor Strephon was born on 202-1049, and proclaimed emperor in 1071. In the early 1100s, Strephon launched a series of reforms, giving Archdukes additional governing powers and taxation authority. The restoration of governing and taxation powers was designed to reconnect the Throne of the Emperor to the lives of Imperial citizens, shifting from its then-current position as a distant and abstract authority. The Strephonian Reforms (begun in 1113) were also meant to shake the government from the grip of complacency and stagnation. To lead the reforms, he appointed Dulinor Archduke of the Domain of Ilelish. Both the reforms and the selection of Dulinor were accomplished over significant opposition. During Strephon's reign, the Fourth Frontier War (1082 to 1084) erupted; although it was concluded with little actual input from Capital, Strephon was nevertheless credited with the speedy end to the conflict.

There are rumors that Strephon is contemplating activating the Domain of Deneb and elevating Duke Norris of Regina to Archduke of Deneb in recognition of the signal services he did the Imperium during the Fifth Frontier War.

Sophonts, Other Humaniti, and their Domains: In the Third Imperium, there are two categories of alien species: Major Races, and Minor Races. Major Races are defined as those races which developed Jump Drive technology on their own. Minor races have either used other’s technology, or are still devoid of Jump Drive technology entirely. Major Races (Sophonts) include the Aslan, Droyne (Ancients), Hivers, Humaniti (Solomani, Vilani, and Zhodani), K’Kree, and Vargr. The Aslan are a feline species that tower over all of the other Major Races. Their society is enforced with a rigid code of honor. Droyne were the last race to be recognized as a Major Race, mainly because they are the only major race not to have an empire. This is ironic because they are the oldest race with the Jump Drive. They are short and reptilian, slightly resembling the goblins or kobolds of mythology, with the exception that they have small wings that can be used to hover. Hivers are the most alien and foreign to Humaniti. Despite their name, hiver society is highly individualistic. They are a race based on six-fold radial symmetry, and bear a slight resemblance to a plant. Humaniti has three Major Race subdivisions; the Solomani, the Vilani, and the Zhodani. The Solomani derived their name from ‘Men of the Sol System’. They are the original humans; those left behind when the Ancients. When they expanded and encountered the First Imperium, they discovered the Imperium was corrupt and overthrew it. After a century, they were overthrown by the Vilani again, who created the Third Imperium. The Vilani are the most dominant of the Humaniti. They currently control the Third Imperium, and the Emperor is a Vilani. The Zhodani are the most technologically dominant of the races, but due to their psychic prowess, they are commonly discriminated against. The K’kree are a race having 2 arms and 4 legs reminding humans somewhat of Centaurs. They are herd animals and rarely found alone. They are militant and often aggressive herbivores with a disdain for all meat eaters. The Vargr are a bipedal canine slightly smaller than a human. This species resembles Terran wolves because they are. Wolves taken from Terra were genetically manipulated by the Ancients to a bipedal form in an attempt to create suitable servants. However, they are now mostly pirates and mercenaries.

Locations, Sectors, Systems, and Worlds: Firstly, a map of the Imperium and surrounding territory is required to realistically view these locales in relation to each other, without relying on heavy extrapolation:

Please note that for a better and more comprehensive map of the Imper ium and surrounding territory, visit: www.travellermap.com

The Imperium is divided into four Domains, each one four sectors arranged in a square. A sector encompasses all of the stars within a grid of thirty two by forty parsecs. It also encompasses sixteen subsectors, each one eight by ten parsecs. (As an additional note, one parsec is equal to 3.26 light-years, or about 206,000 AU) Some specific settings of interest are the Spinward Marches, and the Solomani Rim. The Spinward Marches is an area on the border between the Imperium, the Zhodani Consulate, and the Vargr Extents all three. The sub-setting is extremely plentiful with shady characters, alien races, and exciting action adventures. There are several subsectors within the sector that are of note, particularly the Sword Worlds. These worlds are settled by people that take great pride in their Norse warrior heritage, and as such, all of their worlds are named after swords of legend; such as Excalibur. An extremely different but equally well fleshed out setting is the Solomani Rim; this Sector is a mix between the Vilani and the Solomani, and is perfect for an adventure ripe with political negotiation, scandals, and intrigue.