Minor Race

Minor Races are those races who are not Major Races (did not independently develop the jump drive) and were not geneered (genetically engineered) by others, except possibly the Ancients.

Description (Specifications)

Minor Races have been living on a world from before the Vilani got jump drive and have not independently developed faster-than-light-travel (FTL) or the jump drive.

• Geneered races are sometimes erroneously called Minor, but the proper term is Variant. Numerous minor races exist, some have been fully developed, some only briefly mentioned, in the Traveller background material. Minor Races can exist at all levels of technology and may have acquired faster than light travel from all sorts of sources from traders, or even reverse engineering ancient technology. This page contains a summary of the best known Minor races taken from the complete list of known sophont races.
• There are at least 100 intelligent races in the Imperium and 400 in Charted Space, but these figures do not included Minor Human Races or variants. Some have been described in great detail, some only mentioned, and many others not mentioned at all.

There are several types of Minor Races:

• Minor Human Races
• Variant/Chimera Human Races
• Non-Human Races

Minor Human Races

As well as the three recognized Major Human Races (Solomani, Vilani, and Zhodani), there are 46 Minor Human Races known to the Imperial scientific community (though some dispute this classification).

• The Ancients transplanted populations of Homo sapiens antiquus to more than a hundred worlds. On a large number of these the populations survived down into historic times. Some became extinct between the time the Vilani first invented jump drive and the Classic Era. Some became so intermixed with Vilani that they ceased to have a distinct existence. Others simply died out. Some were exterminated by the Vilani.
• By 1100 there were 49 human races (including the three major ones) known to Imperial scientists. At least one more (the Loeskalth) are known to exist, but the news has not yet been accepted by the established scientific community of the Imperium. Of those 50, 26 or more have been mentioned in canonical works.
• 50 human races in Charted Space works out as roughly one per sector, but that's an average. A sector doesn't absolutely HAVE to have a minor human race and a sector could conceivably have more than one (Reaver's Deep and the Trojan Reach each has THREE!). However, any sector with more than one is well over its quota.
• 90% of all known homeworlds of human races, surviving and extinct, lie within a kidney-shaped area that stretches from the Spica sector to trailing to the Eiaplial sector to Spinward. This means, of course, that 10% lies outside this area. If one gets far enough away from the Imperium, one may even encounter MHRs that are not part of the canonical figure.
• Many human races are indistinguishable from each other without genetic testing, though a number of them began from a small gene pool and/or evolved in an extreme environment and developed unique characteristics. Some were tampered with by the Ancients.
• A list of minor human races is available, some extra details are listed below.
• Please see Minor Human Race for more information.

Variant/Chimera Human Races

A list of varient/chimera human races is available.

• Please see Variant Human Race for more information.

Non-Human Races

A list of non-human minor races is available, some extra details are listed below.

Derfi'gassak

Little is known about the origins of the Derfi'gassak and the IISS have yet to determine if they are natives of Orkney(Reavers' Deep 2919). The world was first surveyed in 110 however the presence of the Derfi'gassak was not discovered until the next IISS survey ship orbited the planet in 180.

Devi

The Devi Intelligence, an unusual K'Kree subject race, consisting of the sedentary Intellects, who resemble colonies of giant fungi, and their mobile spores, the Shiverbats.

Ebokin

The Ebokin are an eight-legged, matriachal minor-race native to Yebab (Spinward Marches 3002). They rarely travel, but appear as colorful passengers in the The Traveller Adventure.

Gurvin

The Gurvin are a Hiver subject race native to Ofilaq (Folgore 0305). They are detailed in the books GURPS Traveller: Alien Races 3

Inheritors

The fluorine-breathing Inheritors inhabit a Dyson sphere created by the Ancients, at Sphere (Nooq 3201). Their whole society relies on technology they do not understand. They are detailed in the books GURPS Traveller: Alien Races 3

Inyx

The Inyx are a race of aquatic parasites native to Matrix (Banners 2337), who absorb electrical energy from their whale-sized hosts. They are detailed in the books GURPS Traveller: Alien Races 2.

Ithklur

The Ithklur, native to Tryylin (Extolian 2514), are the most feared warriors known to man. To an Ithklur, Vargr plunder is a walk in the park; Aslan warrior spirit is the babbling of a toothless child. Other races make such a fuss over violence - why not just do it and enjoy it? To the Hivers, the Ithklur are their trained, elite shock troops, lovingly perfected by millennia of manipulation and social engineering. No finer tool has ever been fashioned. But as far as the Ithklur are concerned, they have the Hivers just where they want them. Who wants to be a boring taxi driver anyway? If the Hivers want to pretend they're in charge, what does it really hurt, so long as they leave the Ithklur alone? Who is manipulating whom? The Ithklur are detailed in the books GURPS Traveller: Alien Races 3 and Traveller the New Era - Aliens of the Rim

Lithkind

Lithkind are a tiny nocturnal race, native to Izyme (Gzirr!k'l 1833). They are detailed in the books GURPS Traveller: Alien Races 3

Llellewyloly

Llellewyloly are a radially symmetric species native to Junidy (Spinward Marches 3202), colloquially referred to as Dandelions due to a supposed similarity to that Terran plant. They play a part in The Traveller Adventure.

Mahkahraik

The Mahkahraik, which means “People of This World” in their native tongue, are a species of warmblooded, bipedal reptiloids native to Ma (Ley 3021). Full details of this race are available as a free download from QLI/RPGREALMS PUBLISHING

Saie

The Saie were a mysterious, civilization which vanished approximately 3,700 years ago, believed to have been based in the Caledon Subsector of the Reaver's Deep Sector.

Schalli

The Schalli are an uplifted (genetically-engineered) Dolphin-like piscinoid-like species of air-breathing mammaloids and a natural ally of Humaniti, their creators. Schalli are natural navigators (with a superior sense of 3D and 4D environments), but lack manipulator limbs, a serious handicap for a sophont species. To overcome this handicap, a variety of exoskeleton suits with mechanical manipulators have been created to allow the Schalli to operate in terrestrial environments.

Shriekers

See Shriekers.

Vegans

Vegans are an alien species originating on Muan Gwi (Solomani Rim 1717) and inhabiting the Vegan Autonomous District. They are named by humans after the bright star near their homeworld. They are of some importance in the Third Imperium when they were granted them a small semi-autonomous state as a counterbalance to the racist Solomani Confederation.

Za’Tachk

The Za’Tachk are a Hiver subject race, native to Loza'tch (Wrenton 2330). They are detailed in GURPS Traveller: Alien Races 3.

History & Background (Dossier)

No information yet available.

References & Background (Sources)

This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Far Future Enterprises or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

• Periodical: MegaTraveller Journal 4 in Article: 'Governments of Gateway'
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science