History Characters / Traveller

* [[HumansAreWarriors Terrans are warriors]]: For two hundred years the Terran Confederation was on an almost uninterrupted war footing.

* HappinessInSlavery: Feskal are exendable and subordinate to Barnai. No-one, including the Feskal, has a problem with this.

* {{Terraforming}}: One noted movement on the planet Orcrist (which is something of a DeathWorld, difficult for agriculture) is a series of experiments called the Orcrist Soil Manufacturing Project. This is a populist movement rather then one funded by a VastBureaucracy. The more geeky Swordies on the planet of Orcrist will do experiments in there own gardens, and enter it on the planet's internet to be processed and discussed.

* ScrewYouElves: The Solomani are rather insistent that since they are descended from the original human stock, they have a sort of cultural or even biological precedence. Given that the Vilani were the first human race to make it into space -- and conquered most of the known galaxy -- and often stressed their supposed superiority, it's easy to read the Solomani movement as the equivalent of a spiteful "no, *us*".

* BizarreAlienSexes: Lurent have three, Souuggvuez have five, Threep have six.

* MultiArmedAndDangerous: The Sydites, traditionally at odds with the Imperium, sterotyped as rather brutish, and sporting four arms.

* CoolSword: Marines love cutlasses. For ceremony, sport, and dueling, not for war.

%%* StateSec
* WeAreEverywhere: Subverted. In the time-lag of the Traveller universe they cannot possibly be everywhere. They are only thought to be so

* ProudWarriorRaceGuy. They ''are'' sword worlders after all.
%%* SpacePolice

* GalacticConqueror: With the caveat that most of his conquests were gained by manipulation of local econonomics and politics rather then by military means.

* CombatMedic: Not only do the terrans have a BadassArmy, they have badass medics. They need them too, as conquered Vilani haven't been immunized to Terran diseases.

* GlorySeeker: After they started winning this almost became the Terrans' [[PlanetOfHats Hat]].

* [[HumansAreWarriors Terrans are warriors]]: For two hundred years the Terran Confederation was on an almost uninterrupted war footing. ''Everyone'' was a warrior.
* ProudMerchantRace: When they weren't actively fighting wars with the Vilani Imperium the Terrans tried to make every credit they could off of them, incidently introducing Terran ideas and fostering dependence on Terran products.

* SpacePirates: The Terrans condoned commerce raiding, and letters of marque were issued in timese of war. More than a few of the Terran "merchant" ships were designed to be easily converted to commerce raiders for when the next war started.

The default setting of most versions of Traveller. The Third Imperium is a vast decentralized state. By its unwritten constitution worlds have internal autonomy but defer to the Imperium in intersteller matters, such as foreign relations and defense. As the Imperium is so vast, it will vary in its atmosphere from place to place and from time to time. There is plenty of room for Referees to place all sorts of unnusual worlds and societies to explore.

* TheWildCard: Sometimes good, sometimes bad, sometimes neutral, always chaotic. Although their tendency to switch allegiances is exaggerated by other races (loyalty to charismatic leaders is a Vargr virtue), they have no permanent stake in any political position.

* EarthIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse: Earth varies in political importance but still retains an emotional appeal and a cultural effect.

* HumansAdvanceSwiftly: When they won the war with the First Imperium they quickly expanded even beyond the First Imperium borders.

* ChaoticNeutral: Sometimes good, sometimes bad, sometimes neutral, always chaotic.

* WeAreStrugglingTogether: Even more then humans or Aslan, the Vargr have persistent issues with internal divisions and fighting amongst each other.

[[PhantasySpelling Space Spelling]] for [[HumansAreSpecial the most important race of all]] in the ''Traveller'' universe. By chance it is the one to which most [=PCs=] belong to. [[MostWritersAreHuman As far as research indicates, most writers do too]]. The three main human megatribes are the Vilani, the Solomani and the Zhodani. By Emperor Strephon's time the first two have merged. These groupings are divided into umpteen states, clans, factions and sects and there are minor human races as well.

* ProudScholarRace: Scientific type rather then mystic type

* FantasticCasteSystem: Vilani are dominated by three organizations, one for food production, one for government, and one for industry and trade. The jurisdictions over various suboccupations and things like that are arranged in an complex manner which may be incomprehensible to a non-Vilani.

* SupremeChef: PlayedWith. The Vilani lived on a planet with food that is often actively poisonous to humans without processing, making skillful cooking a matter of survival. Thus chefs(called ''Shugalli'') became glorified until they filled much of the work [[TheMedic doctors]] and [[GoodShepherd clerics]] would among the Solomani.

* FantasticCasteSystem: There are three castes, Nobles, Intendants, and Proles. Proles are the bottom rung, and cannot advance unless they display psionic capabilities; prole children are tested for psionic ability when young, and if they're shown to have it, they're promoted to intendants. Intendants can earn noble titles by performing great service to the state, displaying heroism in battle, or winning at the Psionic Games. Proles can only hope for their children to have better lives, but intendants have a strong incentive to perform well and there's a constant infusion of new blood into the nobility.

* AdventurerArchaeologist: The Scout service is likely to be involved in any excavation of alien ruins with in the Imperium, with Scouts providing security as well.

* MirroringFactions: For all that they seem impossibly different, and as often trying to get one over on one another than living harmoniously, the Ithklur and their Hiver "bosses" are alike in one very important way -- stimulating, and interesting is always valued over dully pragmatic.

A Human minor race from a world in the Vilani's home sector. They're famed for their cultural aversion to acknowledging, yet alone showing, fear.

A hursuite human race, along with the Geonee one of the early rivals to the Vilani, then incorporated into the First Imperium as subjects, and in time the Second and Third Imperia.

* LawfulNeutral: Usually though not always LawfulGood. ''Exceedingly'' lawful.

* AndNowYouMustMarryMe: This is the short, easy way that a Geonee man marries; he can, at least traditionally, just "capture" a woman from another family. The longer, more usual method involves gaining the trust of a Chirper (like many worlds, theirs has a population of these un-casted Droyne), which becomes a symbol of the marriage's legitimacy; a man can then approach a woman and arrange a marraige.

!!Bwaps
Newt-like aliens scattered throughout known space. Known for their skill and persistence at recordkeeping.

* HenchmenRace: They come close to being this for the Vilani (and are inherited by the later Terran and Vilani-Solomani imperiums). Certainly of all the minor races the Vilani incorporated (Geonee, Suerrat, Vegans, etc.), the Bwaps had the most compatible culture and actually benefitted from the annexation. They spread all across Vilani-explored space.

* ElvesVersusDwarves: Sword Worlders are like Dwarves to them, and the two are in regular conflict.

* ScienceHero: The Darrian's consider their advanced technology to be their highest acheivement.

* AndManGrewProud: Virus is what caused the final downfall of the Third Imperium in the ''New Era'' timeline. Trillions of people were killed by Virus, which then burned itself out.

One from the supervisors' guild because his presence is required by law whenever five or more workers are engaged in the same task.

%%* FoeYay: With the Darrians.%%How?

* HonorBeforeReason: The Aslan are tribal, but their culture is impressively monolithic. Honor is paramount. The Cultural Purge that destroyed any deviants from the honor code was hugely important in the development of their modern society -- though it wasn't 100% completed, as the Glorious Empire offshoot stil survives (just about) in the Trojan Reach.

* HesJustHiding: Strephon's assassination is what kicked off the fall of the Third Imperium, but it was a double who was killed -- Strephon was off overseeing a secret project, and went into hiding for a time after the assassination.

* CodeOfHonour: The ''Fteir'' code, with the proviso that it varies greatly from clan to clan. In fact, the Aslan's true name as a people is Fteirle -- those who live by the code of honor.

%%* PantheraAwesome
* ProudWarriorRace: Honor is everything to an Aslan.

* PragmaticVillainy: It's not that they have no moral standards but vilainy that is considered to be for rational reasons like avarice or ambition is considered venial compared to vilainy done for reasons considered irrational. That is they might admire TheDon but they would never admire a SerialKiller.

* FantasticCasteSystem: The ruling caste of the Zhos all have psionic abilities. The Psionic Olympics provide a path to nobility for the children of lower classes by allowing them to demonstrate their psionic abilities. If you never develop Psionic capacity then you will never become a noble.

* BadAssMustache: And in most illustrations he has a flat-top too.

* TheReptilians: Like Tyrannosaur-iguana men.

* TheReptilians: Scaly, and have a short tail.

* ArborealArbode: Their primitive societies were built in very large trees.

* BruiserWithASoftCenter: Ithkklur culture is interested in finding the self and in meditation -- they just feel that fighting is the best way to do both. They also like cultivaing flowers and generally come across as very nice people.

A hursuite human race, along with the Geonee one of the early rivals to the Vilani, then incorporated into the First Imperium as subjects.

* SlaveRace: For most of their history; their entire culture is artificially imposed upon them.

Reptilian aliens who fought, and later joined with, the Julian Protectorate (a loose collection of Human/Vargr states).

* BoisterousBruiser: They not only know they are good at fighting, they actively enjoy it.
* BruiserWithASoftCenter: Ithkklur culture is interested in finding the self and meditation -- they just feel that fighting is the best way to do both.

* SlaveRace: Not really a SlaveRace for the Hivers, but fills the same niche so to speak. They like to say that the Hivers are their "taxi drivers", doing the boring work of getting them to places where they're free to engage in spiritual self-discovery and/or mayhem.

* LivingGasbag: Essentially this.

* LittleGreenManInACan: A mild example. They need to wear protective clothing to keep them wet in human-favorable climates but it doesn't hide their appearance.

!!Geonee
A human race, known for their short stature and their claim to be descended from the Ancients.

* TheRemnant: They believe themselves to be this. Scavenging the jump drive from an Ancient starship, knowing that their legends tell them they were transplanted on their world, and finding evidence of human and Droyne/Chirper life on various other planets, they came to what was, in fairness, not an unreasonable conclusion: that they were descended from the Ancients. They still insist this is true.

* [[Foil]]: They and their historical enemy the K'kree have, in essence, the same underlying motivation -- fear of predation causing them to try and impose control on the universe around them. The Hivers are peaceful, manipulative, largely emotionless, "first among equals" in their empire, and attribute all accomplishments to lone, clever individuals; the K'kree are aggressive, blunt in their attentions, demonstrative and tender within their own society, dominate other species by force, and think and act collectively.

* CigarChomper: They evolved in a highly volcanic environment and smoke of a caustic variety is like a health supplement to them. They smoke their own cigars, for health reasons.

* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: It's a computer virus.

A race of massive, rhino-like herbivores with a pacifistic outlook. They didn't develop much of an advanced civilization themselves, lacking the drive required for less naturally secure species, but they happily adapted to the human-led interstellar society of the Third Imperium.