Minor Race

Minor Races are those races who are not Major Races and were not geneered by others, except possibly the Ancients. That is, have been living on a world from before the Vilani got jump drive and have not independantly developed faster than light travel. 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. Listed here are only a few of the minor races.

There are about 100 intelligent races in the Imperium and about 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.

Minor Human Races

As well as the three recognised 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 concievably 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.

Answerin

Answerin are mentioned in Travellers' Digest No. 5, p. 40; GURPS Traveller: Humaniti, p. 17-23; and Vilani & Vargr, p. 98. Their homeworld is Answerin/0431 Vland. They are a subspecies of Homo sapiens, but their taxonomic name has not been mentioned.

Ayansh'i

Ayansh'i are mentioned in Reaver's Deep Sector Sourcebook, p. 48-49. Their homeworld is Ghost/3115 Reaver's Deep. They are a different Hominid species than Homo sapiens, but their taxonomic name has not been mentioned.

Azhanti

Azhanti are mentioned in GURPS Traveller: Humaniti, p. 24-29. Their homeworld is Irale/2315 Antares. They are a different Hominid species than Homo sapiens, but their taxonomic name has not been mentioned.

Cafadians

Cafadians are mentioned in Travellers' Digest No. 3, p. 47. Their homeworld is Cafad/3135 Corridor. There is little or no description of this race, so it could be Human or it could be Hominid.

Cassildans

Cassilldan are pictured in Solomani & Aslan, p. 24.

Darrians

Darrian live in a small group of worlds immediately spinward of the Imperium or the Regency. Such is the cosmopolitan nature of Darrian society that, within Darrian borders, you can find 'pure' Darrians, Aslan (mostly citizens of the Confederation, although a small number of Ihatei have been allowed to settle on Darrian worlds), Zhodani and Imperials. Darrians mass slightly less than other Humans on average. The Darrians are detailed in Classic Traveller Alien Module 8 "Darrians - The Secret of the Star Trigger". Their taxonomic name is Homo sapiens darrianus.

Dynchia

Dynchia are mentioned in GURPS Traveller: Humaniti, p. 50-59 and in JTAS No. 24, p. 44-48. Their homeworld is Melantris/Leonidae. Their taxonomic name is Homo dynchia.

Floriani

Floriani are mentioned in GURPS Traveller: Humaniti, p. 60-67. Their homeworld is Floria/0213 Trojan Reach. Their taxonomic name is Homo floriani.

Geonee

Geonee are mentioned in GURPS Traveller: Humaniti, p. 68-78 and in Travellers' Digest No. 11, p. 8. Their homeworld is Shiwonee/1430 Massilia. Their taxonomic name is Homo sapiens geonensis.

Halkans

Halkans are mentioned in Travellers' Digest No. 20, p. 8. Their homeworld is Halka/0510 Trojan Reach.

Iltharans

Iltharans are mentioned in GURPS Traveller: Humaniti, p. 79-85. Their homeworld is Drexilthar/1826 Reaver's Deep. Their taxonomic name is Homo sapiens ilthara.

Irhadre

Irhadre are mentioned in GURPS Traveller: Humaniti, p. 86-92. Their homeworld is Chanad/0935 Lishun. They are a subspecies of Homo sapiens, but their taxonomic name has not been mentioned.

Kargol

Kargol are mentioned in GURPS Traveller: Humaniti, p. 93-102. Their homeworld is Kargol/1205 Leonidae. They are a different Hominid species than Homo sapiens, but their taxonomic name has not been mentioned.

Loeskalth

The Loeskalth are mentioned in The Trail of the Sky Raiders, p. 28 and 45. Their homeworld were somewhere in Gushemege Sector, but the surviving remnant have fled far, far away. They were thought to be extinct, but a population was found around 1110 in Far Frontiers. The Imperial scientific community did not learn of their existence for some time, and they are not part of the 46 Minor Human Races known to exist.

Luriani

Luriani are mentioned in GURPS Traveller: Humaniti, p. 103-112 and the The Traveller's Handbook, p. 26. Their homeworld is Daramm/0821 Ley. Their taxonomic name is Homo luriani.

Murrissi

Murrissi are mentioned in Solomani & Aslan, p. 49. Their homeworld is somewhere in the coreward Aslan Hierate.

Suerrat

The Suerrat are mentioned in JTAS No. 26, p. 4-5. Their homeworld is Ilelish/2907 Ilelish.

The Suerrat claim to be a Major Race as they independently developed interstellar travel. However this was based on generation ships, not jump technology, so the claim is not accepted by other races.

Sydites

The Sydites are mentioned in The Traveller's Handbook, p. 27-28. Their homeworld is called Khuur. They are a different Hominid species than Homo sapiens, but their taxonomic name has not been mentioned.

Syleans

The Syleans have their own article.

Tapazmal

The Tapazmal are mentioned in Travellers' Digest No. 20, p. 27. Their homeworld is Dlaekan/3124 Trojan Reach.

Thaggeshi

The Thaggeshi are mentioned in Vilani & Vargr, p. 18. Their homeworld is Thaggesh/2530 Vland.

Vlazhdumecta

The Vlazhdumecta are mentioned in The Trail of the Sky Raiders, p. 53. Their homeworld is called Afachtiabr.

Yilean

The Yileans are mentioned in GURPS Traveller: Humaniti, p. 135-142. Their homeworld is Gashikan/2732 Gashikan. They are a subspecies of Homo sapiens, but their taxonomic name has not been mentioned.

Variant Human Races

For convenience, known Variant Human Races are also listed here.

Acheron

The Acheron were genetically engineered to exploit the mineral wealth of their homeworld. They are stronger, tougher and more resistant to high radiation levels.

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

An eight-legged, matriachal minor-race native to the Spinward Marches. They rarely travel, but appear as colorful passengers in the The Traveller Adventure.

Gurvin

The Gurvin are a Hiver subject race. They are detailed in the books GURPS Traveller: Alien Races 3

The Inheritors

The fluorine-breathing Inheritors inhabit a Dyson sphere created by the Ancients, 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 who absorb electrical energy from their whale-sized hosts. They are detailed in the books GURPS Traveller: Alien Races 2.

Ithklur

The Ithklur 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 millenia of manipulation and social engineering. no finer tool has ever been fashioned. But as far as the Itklur are concerned, the 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 the leave the Ithklur alone?

Who is manpulating whom?

The Ithklur are detailed in the books GURPS Traveller: Alien Races 3 & Traveller the New Era - Aliens of the Rim

Lithkind

Lithkind are a tiny nocturnal race. They are detailed in the books GURPS Traveller: Alien Races 3

Llellewlowy

Llellewlowy are a radially symmetric species native to the Spinward Marches, 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 (Sydymic 3021 B865134-6). Full details of this race are available as a free download from QLI/RPGREALMS PUBLISHING

Saie

Found in the Reaver's Deep Sector

Vegans

Vegans are an alien species from a star system near Vega. The 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. They are detailed in the books GURPS Traveller: Alien Races 3

External links

Known Home Worlds, Alien & Minor Human Races

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