TL;DR: an excellent version of the OTU, unifying the various timelines and presenting vast opportunities for adventuring. I gave it a score of 5 out of 5!
This milieu is set in the Far Far Future - the year 1902 Imperial. The New Era and even Traveller: New Era: 1248 are long gone. Known Space was ravaged by the AI Virus, and a few centuries afterwards by the Empress Wave (see below), but that was 500 years ago. I find this double apocalypse strangely convenient to the Referee. As many records were lost due to the AI Virus, and as most polities collapsed several times in the past, the Referee has canonical justification to use any OTU material they like, while ignoring most OTU material they dislike.
This milieu is described as "Pastoral", that is, a less technological era centered on garden-worlds, often isolated and usually agricultural in nature. There are no big empires around, and no universe-shattering events way above the typical PC level. The largest polity around is 14 subsectors in size - less than a sector! Most other polities are a very few subsectors in total each. A very manageable scale. Which I greatly appreciate: this brings things down to player character level. No more multi-sector empires fielding 100,000-ton battleships: much action here revolves around "Adventure Class" spacecraft, isolated worlds, pocket empires, and generally: locations and matters supporting player character escapades. All while letting you to easily use much existing OTU material, of which there is a vast wealth.
The Introduction chapter presents the setting's general outlook and feel, as I have outlined above: pastoralism, relative isolation, the small scale of things.
After the introduction comes the History chapter. It avoids repeating the standard OTU history leading up to the Virus, and starts with the Virus itself. It also mentions variants of this timeline, such as the Virus appearing later; or the Empress Wave having delayed effects, as suggested for those using the TNE: 1248 milieu as background. After briefly discussing the Virus and the Wave, the rest of the history chapter focuses on the Spinward Marches and their environs, such as Antares blowing up and a war in the Foreven sector. I appreciate the fact that this history is kept short, being 4 pages in total including flavor text, avoiding infodumps and long walls of text as many sci-fi authors are tempted to write in such cases.
The next chapter discusses the (Empress) Wave. This chapter starts with flavor text describing the effects of the Wave on an alien world far to the Coreward of the old Imperium. The Wave, for the uninitiated, is a phenomenon introduced in Traveller: New Era, which is a psionic (?) emanation from the Galactic core, travelling at a speed of one parsec per year. It had several versions in Traveller along the years, ranging from mild to disastrous. Here, a disastrous version is presented: it kills approx. 50% of a world's population (and part of the biosphere), mainly children and much less so adults. This overwhelms services and systems of governance, leading to chaos and potential socio-political collapse. Interestingly, this booklet presents actual (Traveller 5) rules for the Wave's effect on worlds, despite this being distant history in this setting.
Afterwards, comes a chapter detailing Charted Space in the Galaxiad era. It covers several OTU regions, including the Aslan (who were hit particularly hard by the twin apocalypses of Virus and Wave); the Vilani (now split into multiple pocket empires); Vargr space (which recovered quickly and is as fragmented as ever); the old Domain of Deneb (which was spared the brunt of the Virus and the Wave but is now corsair hunting ground); Foreven (a "bad place" with rumors of ultratech worlds); Hiver space (fragmented and split between multiple Hiver enclaves); K'Kree space (split into multiple warring K'Kree states); and Zhodani space (mostly Wilds by now).
It is noted (p.28) that The main difference in 1902 compared to 1105 is the Wilderness – the absence of large interstellar empires. This leads to the next chapter - What to Expect in the Wilderness. This has a description of a new Jumpspace phenomenon (Tangles - regions where ships are pulled out of Jump with unexpected results). It further details the dangers of Wilds travel, with piracy, raiding, and xenophobic worlds abounding. Here a few Traveller 5 rules are presented for trade and starship design variations, though these are of limited scope. Other aspects of the Wilds are discussed, namely the dangerous Freeports and Gray Markets and the absence of universal currency. Some D+D tables (similar to earlier D66 tables) present interesting variations in the local medium of exchange.
Afterwards come a chapter about the Black Fleets. Strange organic craft, known as the Black Ships, of unknown origin appeared in Known Space, still mysterious. They are filled with fluid and have an internal "immune system" composed of mobile "rods". However, unlike the Babylon 5 Shadows, it is noted that the Black Ships are closer to animals and act on instinct, rather than being organic craft operated by advanced beings (and cyborgs) at their helms.
The next chapter details the Republic of Regina. Established in 1648 Imperial, this is a semi-aristocratic state located in the Spinward Marches. Key worlds are described, alongside the alien species residing within the Republic and a starmap of this polity. The Republic's technology is surprisingly advanced, up to TL17, including Hop Drives capable of traversing 10 parsecs in one jump. The chapter also notes that AIs - descendants of the old Cymbeline chips (Cyms) - are also common in this region and are granted full citizenship.
Two Patron Encounters are also provided, set in the Republic of Regina and involving Vargr corsairs and hunting expeditions.
Then comes a chapter about Campaigning in the Republic of Regina. This is a useful chapter, as should be included in RPG setting books, suggesting adventure hooks for using the setting in actual play. A D+D table is also provided for specific homeworlds in the Republic, as well as Career events particular to it - adding local flavor to the local campaign. A very good idea. 6 character generation examples in this setting are also included - useful as ready-made adventurers to start playing in the Republic of Regina right away!
Another chapter offers a closer look at Technology in the Republic. It has an average Tech Level of 13, with the maximum being TL17 (!) for a true Far Far Future ultratech experience! This chapter also details the aforementioned Hop Drive and rules for its use in Traveller 5. Equipment is then discussed, for Traveller 5 (this is the main rules-specific part of the booklet), with TL16 and TL17 equipment. and ships.
Afterwards, the booklet includes Library Data about the Galaxiad Era, focused on the Republic of Regina. A good addition to any Traveller book - a good in-universe handout to players.
Finally, a short description of the authors and some adverts for further Traveller 5 titles appear.
The bottom line:
5 of 5
A well-written OTU milieu providing much room for the individual Referees to set their game, with sufficient hooks to permit use of the vast wealth of existing OTU material, all while permitting the avoidance of subjects and setting elements the individual Referee dislikes. Also, this milieu is at the players' scale of things, letting the PCs make a difference and avoiding too many events at a much bigger scope.
Get it HERE.
