Copyrighted by Donald McKinney, (c) 1996-2006
Very early in the development of the T4 line I pitched to the various powers an epic adventure concept which I believed was strong enough to give Milleu Zero a real kick in the pants. Of course, all I had to draw from was my "Timeline" and the Travellers' Digest issues dealing with Core Sector. So, there are probably some differences between published T4 Canon and this material...
That only matters, of course, if you consider T4 canon. There are problems - the subsector map in the rulebook, for starters. Then there's the TL problem - prior material clearly establishes that the Sylean Federation was TL 12 in -150; T4 yanks that forward to year "0" and throws in this Fusion Plus development in late TL 11.
And then there's the matter of Cleon I Zhunastu. I depict him as a noble, honorable figure with a darkside, and I see a Milleu Zero setting where bringing the low-tech worlds into the Imperial fold is a heroic activity. Published T4 Canon says that low-tech worlds are deliberately stripped of all valuables, impoverished to drive local industry to collapse, and finally blown away at the business end of a plasma gun if they don't kowtow to Imperial businessmen. Well, it might be official, but it sucks.
I drew inspiration from the Victorian Age of Imperialism - Cleon as sort of a "John Jacob Astor/Cecil Rhodes" figure... Reading the TD #8, #9, and #10 issues, we are told that the Grand Palace of Cleon was fortified to withstand attack, as it was bombed by the Chanestins AFTER year 0. Therefore, I felt that to justify that, I'd make the hatred between them and Cleon personal. I wanted to show the death throws of the Interstellar Confederation - its statesmen depending on tradition to help them stand against the "we can do anything" victorian British/American-like Syleans... Like the ads for the Titanic movie right now, "God himself could not sink this ship", I wanted to show that bold 'scientific' arrogance...
Sigh... Well, now that I've just made sure I never succeed in my dream of getting my name in print for anything Traveller, here's "The Iridium Throne". If someone ever uses this in their own campaign, let me know...
The excerpt which follows was originally dated 1/24/97, and represented the furthest I ever formally presented the idea; unfortunately, I never had much response from anyone on the concept...
The following is a proposal for a Traveller Milleu:0 Campaign Book; please review and respond. I release Marc Miller, his agents and licensees from any responsibility or claims from this proposal for review... (Marc - I don't have a release form, hope this will do - Don M.)
"The Iridium Throne" is a 96 page campaign book for the Traveller (T4) Milleu: 0 setting, which places the player characters as the crucial individuals in an epic adventure involving the foundation of the Third Imperium.
The adventure opens on Anther (2021 Core), a world owned by Zhunastu Industries, and serving as their gateway to the rimward portion of what will be Core Sector, in -31 I. A Chanestin attack on Sylean-controlled Anther causes the PCs to take refuge and run into Cleon Zhunastu, who is trying to get back to his yacht. The PCs recognize who they are with (at 26 years of age, Cleon is the richest man in the Sylean Federation), and assist him in regaining his yacht, fill the empty stations in his flight crew and escape the Chanestin raiders...
Lots of potential here - the PCs can start out not knowing each other, by picking up each other along the way, during the planetary bombardment. I figure that Cleon's going to lose some crewmen, and some won't make it back before he wants to leave. Also, perhaps the Anther spaceport isn't really willing to let Civilian transport off the surface - so the PCs have to dodge starport guards trying to close the facility, get to Cleon's yacht, get any guards away from it, make sure any critical crew are safe, escape the surface, dodge the Chanestin attackers, and then jumpI figure that Cleon's going to lose some crewmen, and some won't make it back before he wants to leave. Also, perhaps the Anther spaceport isn't really willing to let Civilian transport off the surface - so the PCs have to dodge starport guards trying to close the facility, get to Cleon's yacht, get any guards away from it, make sure any critical crew are safe, escape the surface, dodge the Chanestin attackers, and then jump.
A jump-3 to Balpan (1819 Core) and then to Sylea returns the PCs to safety; Cleon rewards them amply for their assistance, including a new ship... I envisoned some adventures in the Sylean Federation, introducing Tukera as Cleon's primary business rivals...
A year passes, and our PCs are contacted once again by Cleon - who invites them to a Zhunastu Industries board meeting, being held on Anther. Here, to both the PCs and his board, he lays out the basic concepts behind his dream of restoring the Imperium.
The PCs serve Cleon directly from this point forward, with him first as businessman and patron, and later as confidants and emissaries to a visionary and dreamer, and finally as a restraint on a man who sees no limitations.
The campaign episodes occur every year or two - a different campaign style than most Traveller campaigns.
Hope this gives someone running a T4 campaign a few ideas... If there's interest, I'll add suggestions and flesh out details!
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