contraterrene

In the tradition of Gygax, what follows is a listing of some of the media that has been present in me while prepping, running, reading about, or philosophizing about Traveller.

This list is extracted from materials I shared with the players of my most recent campaign; it is idiosyncratic and opinionated and far from comprehensive, but I heartily recommend everything below as inspirational material!

• Iain Banks’ Culture series (novels)
  • The mercenaries of Consider Phlebas are straight out of Traveller.
  • Contact is a higher tech and more idealistic version of the Scouts.
  • Thematic elements.
• The Expanse (TV, also the novels)
  • Great reference for a Traveller party operating in high-stakes circumstances.
  • Legitimate salvage.
• Asimov’s Foundation (novels)
  • Psychohistory is a canon part of the 3i.
• Star Trek: TNG & Voyager (TV)
  • (and potentially some elements of DS9)
• Dune (both films, original novels)
  • Herbert is a bit further into the far future, but the noble intrigues and psychic desert cultures fit right in, and some of the weirder cultures in the 3i might get as wild as the Sardaukar or Harkonen depicted here.
• Firefly (TV)
  • An inevitable comparison because Whedon based the show on a Traveller campaign.
  • The 3i does not include the Confederacy analogue :p
• Mass Effect (PC)
  • Visuals
  • Vibes; vast city-space-stations, a bustling civilization with sparsely settled frontiers and borderlands.
  • Ancient alien fuckery abounds in both properties.
• The Aubrey Maturin novels + Master and Commander (film)
  • One of my primary touchstones for exploration.
• CJ Cherryh’s Foreigner series (novels)
• The Incal and following comics.
  • Some high power entities in the universe might resemble the Incal.
• Georgiy Daneliya’s Kin-Dza-Dza! (film)
  • Extremely weird.
  • Good reference for high strangeness cultures sometimes found in the Imperium.
• Bujold’s Vorkosigan Saga (novels)
  • Particularly for mercenary actions and noble intrigues.
• Weber’s Honor Harrington series (novels)
  • Great reference for the Imperial Navy
• Wing Commander/Freelancer (PC)
  • Visual look, vibes
• Planetes (anime)
  • Great reference for EVA action and how hardcore wearing a vaccsuit can be.
• Crest of the Stars & Banner of the Stars I-III (Anime)
  • The Ahb are spot on for the vibe of high level Imperial nobility, Jinto is a good example of what a minor noble might be like.
• Alien & Aliens
  • Casette futurism! Horrible alien wildlife!
• Babylon 5
  • Obligatory, iconic.
• Legend of the Galactic Heroes
  • Imperial Navy in all its grandeur, nails the vibes of capital on capital action.
• The Icarus Hunt (and sequels) (novel)
  • Timothy Zahn knows how to make a tramp freighter jumping around tense as hell!
• Elite: Dangerous (PC)
  • Incredible sound design, worth it just for starship ambience.
• Star Citizen (PC)
  • Mixed feelings on monetization
  • Great looking scenery and starships for visual inspiration; adore the starports!
• Teixcalaan (Novel)
• Seaquest DSV (TV)
• Many other authors
  • Niven
  • Pournelle
  • Heinlen