Children of Earth
Children of Earth: The Solomani Rim in the New Era was a richly detailed campaign setting created by Harold Hale for Traveller: The New Era.
- Material for the Children of Earth setting appeared in Traveller Chronicle Issues 10-13 published from mid-1996-until late 1997.
Description (Specifications)
Children of Earth details the rise of Gabree-el Dahnara, a psion and university professor, who came to prominence and eventual power on Terra in the wake of the Collapse and founded "The One Faith" also known Gabreelism. The background story for the setting goes into some detail regarding the reunification of Terra under a civil authority known as the Terran Republic, the relationship of civil and religious authorities, and the Terran Republic's expansion into the Sol subsector. Additional materials detail the Solomani Rim post-Collapse, including the Vegans and the resurrected Dingir League.
The story begins as the descendants of Gabree-el continue to guide Terra's rise from the ashes in the Imperial year 1206.
- Along the way, players are introduced to a variety of new character types, including priests, Vegans, and Kagukan merchants.
- The concept of Faith level was introduced as an optional additional attribute of player characters, along with descriptions of how faith level could be used in the context of a gaming session.
Further Development
In July 2015, Hale returned to the author's chair for Traveller creating "Courtesans" a TNE character generation system that allowed for the creation two new character types. The Terran Republic, along with the Regency, was used as the setting for the material.
History & Background (Dossier)
This storyline has been one of the most popular Traveller backgrounds and it's still talked about with much fondness years later.
Controversies
Some players objected to the idea that Terra would fall under the control of a bunch of "religious fanatics", while others objected to the whole idea of the inclusion of religion in a science-fiction role-playing game system (...this despite its inclusion in such novels as Frank Herbert's Dune).
Children of Earth had a tenuous claim to being Traveller canon, in that GDW published nothing regarding Terra or all that much about the rest of the Solomani Rim before closing its doors in February 1996, Traveller Chronicle was published with permission (and the only Traveller publisher left standing), and at the time of Children of Earth was introduced, Marc Miller's Traveller focused on the 'Milieu 0' timeline had yet to appear.
References to Children of Earth in Other Traveller Publications
101 Religions, published in 1998 for Marc Miller's Traveller, contains a listing and description for The One Faith.
References & Contributors (Sources)
- Periodical: TNE Traveller Chronicle 10
- Periodical: TNE Traveller Chronicle 11
- Periodical: TNE Traveller Chronicle 12
- Periodical: TNE Traveller Chronicle 13
- Traveller Wiki Editorial Team
- Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science