IMTU
IMTU = In My Traveller Universe
- Initially coined to make online conversations between Traveller players more clear, the term and concept has spawned its own shorthand, the IMTU Code (or "TRAVELLER GEEK CODE"), which is described below. IMTU is just one of a considerable body of acronyms created by and for Traveller.
Please see the following AAB Library Data for more information:
Setting:
Description (Specifications)[edit]
TRAVELLER GEEK CODE: A way to express your personal take on the Traveller Universe and game, this started as a joke and game for many fans in the greater Traveller community (i.e. a way to flaunt your geek-i-tude). The IMTU Code is a rip-off of the "Geek Code". Display it on postings to the TML, so everyone knows where you're coming from!
IMTU tc+ t5++(LBB#000016) tp ge-() 3i(+) jt a ls+ Eneri Dinshaa 0609 A588865-B S 323
Introduction: So you think you are a Traveller geek (T-geek), eh? The first step is to admit to yourself your T-geekiness. No matter what anyone says, T-geeks are people too; T-geeks have rights. So take a deep breath and announce to the world that you are a T-geek. Your courage will give you strength that will last you forever.
How to tell the world you are a Traveller geek, you ask? Use the universal IMTU ("In My Traveller Universe...") code. By joining the T-geek organization, you have license to use this special code that will allow you to let other un-closeted T-geeks know who you are in a simple, codified statement.
The single best way to announce your T-geekhood is to add your IMTU code to your signature file and announce it far and wide. But be careful, you may give other T-geeks the courage to come out of the closet. You might want to hang on to your copy of the code in order to help them along.
Instructions[edit]
The IMTU code consists of several categories. Each category is labeled with letters and some qualifiers. Go through each category and determine which set of qualifiers best describes your Traveller Universe Preferences in that category. By stringing all of these 'codes' together, you are able to construct your overall IMTU code. It is this single line of code that will inform other T-geeks the world over of what a great T-geek you actually are.
Some of the qualifiers will very probably not match with your universe exactly. Simply choose that qualifier that MOST CLOSELY matches it. Also, some activities described in a specific qualifier you may not engage in, while you do engage in others. Each description of each qualifier describes the wide range of activities that apply, so as long as you match with one, you can probably use that qualifier. Also, pay particular attention to case-sensitivity, there may (in the future) be a big difference between a 'tc' and a 'TC'.
Variables[edit]
Traveller Universes can seldom be quantified. To facilitate the fact that within any one category the T-geek may not be able determine a specific rating, variables have been designed to allow this range to be included.
@ for variable, said trait is not very rigid, may change with time or with individual interaction. For example, Geeks who happen to believe that jump torps exist but dislike using them might list themselves as j+@. () for indicating "cross-overs" or ranges. Geeks who go from tc+ to tc-- depending on the situation (i.e. mostly "tc+") could use tc+(--). Another example might be an tc++(**). This would be a person who mostly uses Classic Traveler, but also has an extensive collection of other types of works. > for 'wannabe' ratings. Indicating that while the geek is currently at one rating, they are striving to reach another. For example, ?t4>+ $ Indicates that this particular category is done for a living. For example, tg++$ indicates that the person utilizes GURPS Traveller and gets paid for it. Quite a lucky geek, for sure. @ is different from () in that () has finite limits within the category, while @ ranges all over.
Section I: Rules Sets[edit]
Classic Traveller[edit]
Many fans of classic Traveller use some edition of the original ruleset, and some subset of the myriads of booklets produced by third-party publishers. Players of later editions of Traveller looked with a combination of scorn and admiration on the original versions of Traveller.
- ( tc++) Bring back the LBBs!
- ( tc+) I appreciate this system and owe a lot to it.
- ( tc) It's a resource.
- ( tc-) I just can't see any reason to use it.
- ( tc--) I wouldn't let my ugliest, smelliest dog sit on these rules. t's a bane that would wreck Traveller forever if allowed to thrive.
- ( ?tc) I don't know much
- ( !tc) I ignore these rules.
Likewise for the remaining rule sets[edit]
Other rule sets had their staunch supporters. Each version typically updated or fixed something with an earlier version, which would please some but not others.
- ( mgt) Mongoose Traveller
- ( t2 or mt) MegaTraveller
- ( t20) T20
- ( t3 or tne) TNE
- ( t4) T4
- ( t5) T5
- ( t5(LBB) ) T5, LBB edition (add a member number if you like)
- ( tg) GURPS Traveller
- ( to) Other rules set (2300AD, HERO, CORPS, GW, etc)
- ( tp) Proto-traveller
Overall Rules Use[edit]
- ( ru++) The Traveller rules are the best.
- ( ru+) The Traveller rules are great.
- ( ru) I use the Traveller rules, more or less.
- ( ru-) I have modified significant portions of most of the Trav rules.
- ( ru--) I use mostly other rules systems.
Gearheadedness[edit]
Note that in some sense, gearheadedness stands in tension against fantasy gaming.
- ( ge++) Intricacy to the subatomic level, please!
- ( ge+) Details === Color
- ( ge) Some detail gives me the flexibility I need for the game.
- ( ge-) Too many rules and steps stifles me.
- ( ge--) Ack! Must we try to explain everything?
Section II: Canonicity.[edit]
Each Traveller rule set seemed to violate some fundamental assumption about Traveller itself. Discussions and arguments over what is canon anyway? were prominent.
The 3rd Imperium[edit]
The nature of empires in Traveller is still unclear. The Third Imperium exists, and is held together by trade backed with military power. And yet, piracy exists and even, to some extent, thrives. This boggled the minds of many, and discussions followed.
- ( 3i++) The 3I is a massive juggernaut, with an amazing tax base and thousands of SDBs in even minor systems. Interplanetary trade is robust. Many starports are huge city-sized affairs.
- ( 3i+) The 3I is a powerful force to reckon with, with good control over most of its member worlds and the power to back its authority. Interplanetary trade is good on many worlds. Starports are planetary trade centers.
- ( 3i) The 3I is a stable confederation, held together by the nobility of its population, but not all-powerful and overall not wealthy. Interplanetary trade is regular. Starports are common.
- ( 3i-) The 3I is a loose, vulnerable sprawl of worlds, which by the way is no worse off than the other interstellar states. Interplanetary trade exists on major worlds. Starports are significant on major worlds but not so massive.
- ( 3i--) The 3I is a picture of gross mismanagement over impossible distances. It's a wonder it held together so long. Interplanetary trade exists on only the best worlds. Starports are, on the whole, rather weak things.
- ( !3i) IMTU, the 3I doesn't exist or is irrelevant.
FTL Drives[edit]
The lack of a technical explanation for the jump drive means it is, in effect, a fantasy element of the game. The 1990s saw a strong upsurge against fantasy elements in Traveller, resulting in Traveller: The New Era, which attempted to explain as much as possible in scientific terms. This broke some fundamental assumptions of classic Traveller and, by extension, altered the nature of the Traveller universe. Thus players of classic Traveller often had problems talking to players of TNE.
- ( c++) I have the technical specs on jump drives right here...
- ( c+) Jump drives work sort of like this...
- ( c) Well, we have jump drives, but I never had to explain them.
- ( c-) FTL drive mechanics are a bit different out here.
- ( c--) We ride the sky in real slow beasties.
Jump Tonnage[edit]
Classic Traveller was not self-consistent. With a dozen or more third-party publishers, and GDW still deciding what the Third Imperium setting was, and Marc Miller testing the boundaries of the game with things which had no rules, odd problems were injected.
One of those problems was the Jump Torpedo. GDW soon declared such things as non-canonical.
This problem resurfaced with TNE, which managed to justify Jump Boats which were under 100 tons in volume. Far Future Enterprises later stated the impossibility of this too, and yet TNE has its fans.
- ( jt++) Jump torpedoes are not only canonical, but absolutely necessary for survival as we know it.
- ( jt+) Jump boats are do-able, economical in many cases, and cool.
- ( jt) Jumpships under 100t might exist in experimental form -- but there are various problems with the design.
- ( jt-) Jumpships under 100t are too small, or they open too big a can of worms.
- ( jt--) Small jumpships destroy Traveller.
- ( jt? ) What's a jump torpedo?
- ( -jt+) Depends on my mood.
Starship Automation[edit]
Traveller did not originally lay out rules for how smart robots can be, how smart ship computers are, and whether or not a starship can be operated without a crew. The easy answer is that characters are the focus of the game, and therefore every ship needs a crew. The harder answer is that automation in some sense is a fact of technology.
- ( au++) TL is sufficiently advanced that NO ONE need EVER crew a starship, unless it's just on the off chance of someone whacking the ship computers.
- ( au+) Starship automation is commonplace.
- ( au) Starship automation is in the trial phases, and has bugs to work out, or is quite expensive.
- ( au-) Starship automation doesn't work (for whatever reason).
- ( au--) Terrible things happen when the referee allows it!
Life Support[edit]
- ( ls++) Life support is very expensive and very difficult to work on!
- ( ls+) Life support is expensive and difficult to work on.
- ( ls) Life support can be do-it-yourself with off-the-shelf components.
- ( ls-) Life support is a fraction of the cost published.
- ( ls--) Life support is absorbed in other misc expenses.
Piracy[edit]
The existence of Piracy bothers some players.
- ( pi++) Piracy exists and is rampant. Anyone may commit piracy. Ship tracking and ID are uncommon.
- ( pi+) Piracy exists. Antipiracy is mostly political or economic, and is inadequate. Transponders may be changed or masked, or are not widespread or sufficient.
- ( pi) Piracy only exists in the vacuum of government or corporate morals.
- ( pi-) Piracy is not sustainable.
- ( pi--) Piracy is impossible.
Drop Tanks and Tankless Systems[edit]
Drop tanks tread a fine line. On the one hand, they are canonical. On the other hand, they pose a risk of completely upending a basic presupposition of Traveller: that interstellar travel is limited most of all by fuel requirements.
- ( ta++) Starships only really need fuel for maneuver.
- ( ta+) "Tankless" systems are often used by large corporations.
- ( ta) Drop tank-assisted jumps are usable at TL14+.
- ( ta-) Drop tank-assisted jumps are expensive and dangerous.
- ( ta--) Drop tank-assisted jumps should be banned.
Heresy[edit]
Every Traveller referee decides what to put in the game, and what to exclude. At the end of the day, it's the referee who runs Traveller games, not the rules.
- ( he++) The technological devices, social structures, and related background material IMTU require careful and detailed analysis to prove any link with Traveller whatsoever.
- ( he+) I'll diverge from canon when someone makes a convincing argument, or where canon is clearly broken.
- ( he) The material is fine as it is.
- ( he-) Divergence from published background is just asking for trouble. There's no way a single GM can achieve the scope and consistency of the canon background, and trying to tweak "just one thing" inevitably leads to contradictions.
- ( he--) Marc Miller said it, I believe it, and that settles it.
Section III: Sapients[edit]
K'Kree[edit]
- ( kk++) I like K'Kree roasted over a spit with BBQ sauce.
- ( kk+) I like K'Kree only if it the meat is mixed into a haggis.
- ( kk) K'Kree have a funny aftertaste...
- ( kk-) K'Kree smell funny.
- ( kk--) All K'Kree should be catapulted into the sun.
Hivers[edit]
- ( hi++) Hivers are the Puppeteers from _Tales of Known Space_.
- ( hi+) Hivers are convincingly alien.
- ( hi) Hivers are okay.
- ( hi-) I have some problems with Hivers.
- ( hi--) All Hivers should be ground into haggis.
And so on[edit]
You get the picture. Follow the above model for:
- ( as) Aslan
- ( va) Vargr
- ( dr) Droyne
- ( ith) Ithklur
- ( vr) Virushi
- ( ne) Newt
- etc.
Solomani[edit]
- ( so++) The heirs of the galaxy.
- ( so+) Basically a bunch of great guys.
- ( so) You know how humans are...
- ( so-) A bunch of bad eggs. Rabble. Trash.
- ( so--) Should be targetted for termination.
Likewise for:
- ( zh) Zhodani
- ( vi) Vilani
- ( da) Darrian
- ( sy ) Sylean
History & Background (Dossier)[edit]
The Traveller Mailing List in the 1990s had fans from several rulesets. Each ruleset had its own design goals, and represented an evolving view of the Third Imperium. Therefore, differences in fundamental presuppositions over the Traveller Universe caused a number of misunderstandings and obstacles to productive communications. There were some flame wars.
The IMTU code was a tongue-in-cheek attempt to identify presuppositions with the rulesets tends to bring to Traveller. It proved a popular method for concisely summarizing one's preferences. It probably did not defuse flamewars, although perhaps it helped explain the context of the participants.
References & Contributors (Sources)[edit]
- Author & Contributor: Rob Eaglestone