Traveller Science-Fiction Adventure in the Far Future

Balmer lines: Emission or absorption lines in the spectrum of hydrogen that arise from transitions between the second (or first excited) state and higher energy states of the hydrogen atom.

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BZAT: Traveller Basics

Charted Space Below is a map of the Official Traveller Universe from Classic Traveller. The Imperium (Third) is centermost, flanked to Spinward (left) by the Aslan Hierates and the Great Rift. To Trailing (right) are the K'kree and their "Two Thousand Worlds", while Humaniti's Homeworld, Terra, lies nestled just out of Solomani Space to Rimward (the bottom). The Vargr Extants are the Coreward (top of map) boundry of "Charted Space".

It says The Solomani Sphere, and it was a sphere, once. The Imperium conquered a big enough chunk to capture Terra. The Zhodani Consulate extends off the map to Coreward. The Hiver Federation are an enigmatic and very alien culture of extremely high technology. Further beyond this map there are no known star-faring cultures.

The Spinward Marches were the first sector detailed for the game, and now in GURPS:Traveller with "Behind the Claw". Most Traveller players seem to consider it "home", and it is a great place to have adventure in. Merchant's in quest of profit, Scouts pushing back the frontier, Mercs for hire and Naval patrols, espionage, crime, almost anything you can think of.

Other sectors of obvious interest for campaigns are Solomani Rim sector, where Terra is, Core sector where Capitol is, and Vland sector, named for the system that was the capitol of the First Imperium. Corridor sector is of crucial interest to the Imperium, while Zhodane sector contains Zhdant, capitol of the Zhodani Consulate.

The Ancients

Hundreds of millenia ago there existed an incredibly advanced race that were responsible for seeding many worlds with life from Terra. These beings left behind a variety of artifacts from ruined megastructures to arcane technologies. Long gone now, their Droyne descendents (and the "uncasted" Chirpers) are but a shadow of these "Ancients". Other races in the Traveller Universe are the result of genegineering and transplantation by these Ancients, the most notable being the Vargr.

Vargr

Vargr are the upifted descendents of Terran canines, and are notorious for their Corsairs. Some are Imperial citizens, but most are found Coreward of the Third Imperium in a balkanized region of space known as the Vargr Extents. Their Spinward border is defined by the Zhodani Consulate, and their Trailing border falls short of K'Kree space, known as The Two Thousand Worlds. Lair is the system to which the Vargr were first transplanted, and lies deep within their domain.

Aslan

The sexes have very different roles in their society. Males (in all but the lowest classes) are mostly concerned with military operations, acquisition of territory, and political affairs. Females are concerned with trade, industry, and the accumulation of knowledge. Upper class males have little concept of money and are literally incapable of functioning in a technological society without aid, so they are thus seldom encountered without the supervision of a wife, mother, or other female relative or employer.

For instance, a typical Aslan mercenary unit will be organised by a wealthy married female, who will then assign its operation (for a share of the proceeds) to an unmarried female relative. The battle commander and most of the troops will be unmarried males (many of them also relatives) hired with the promise of land grants (and the opportunity to gain honour and reputation in combat). Staff, operations, supply and intelligence officers will generally be female.

The extremely deadly nature of any combat between Aslan has led to a rigid, ritualised pattern of behaviour designed to reduce conflict. Aslan are very polite, and while most have learned to be patient with non-Aslan, accidental fights still occur. Disputes between individuals are handled by the patriarchs; disputes between families are handled by the pride leader; disputes between prides are handled by the clan leader.

Aslan have no racial prejudice, but they look upon non-Aslan as tahiwihteakhtau (barbarians) unless they embrace Aslan culture and behave as Aslan. The earliest humans to contact the Aslan (c. -1980 Imperial) felt they resembled Terran lions - and the Aslan felt the humans reminded them of the waufuahyu, a hairless primate-like rodent native to caves in the tropical regions of Kusyu.

Most players will be human in some flavour, and are likely to be Imperial Citizens or at least subjects. If of high enough social standing, they may even be nobles. To do the topic of nobility in the Third Imperium justice, I think it would be best to simply quote "Library Data":

Imperial Nobility

Introduction

The Imperial nobility is a narrow class of persons at the upper strata of society who hold, either personally or through their family line, noble rank from the Emperor. Noble rank serves two purposes: it rewards individuals for significant achievements, and it provides social station for the political leaders within the government.

Nobility is acquired through letters of patent (patents of nobility) issued by the Emperor. Traditionally, appointments are published in the Holiday List (appearing on the first day of the new year) and in the Birthday List (appearing on the Emperor's birthday; Strephon's is 202). Additional patents of nobility for political purposes or special occasions, are published when necessary.

Nobility Types

All nobility forms part of the feudal system of Imperial government. Nobles, upon receiving their patent or upon confirming their inheritance when coming of age, swear continuing loyalty to the Imperium, to the Emperor, and to the Emperor's heirs and successors. There are three general types of nobles: honour (achievement), rank (position) and high (service) nobles. Only rank and high nobles are have real administrative functions with the Imperium.

Honour nobles receive patents for "heroism in the military, success in civil or commercial enterprise, or innovation and discovery in the services". Rank up to marquis may be awarded. Patents for honour nobles are not hereditary.

Rank nobles receive patents because of a citizen's position. Two sub-types exist. Local nobility represents the Imperium in systems not administered by high nobility. These nobles make up the majority of the Imperial nobility, and although they are only equivalent to barons and knights in precedence, they are hereditary members of the peerage. Administrators are citizens who hold Imperial office. Except in extraordinary situations, a person must be a peer in order to hold high office in the Imperial bureaucracy (although not all peers hold office). These patents are tied to a position, and are not hereditary.

High nobles belong to the smallest segment of the peerage, consisting of people belonging to old and powerful families entrenched in the Imperial system for generations. These nobles directly administer Imperial territories and are personal representatives of the Emperor. Patents are awarded for "political support in office, victory in the military, or contributions or economic assistance from the commercial sector" beyond any reasonable expectation. Patents are hereditary (upon confirmation by the Moot) and almost always include a fief or feudal estate granted by a letter of enfeoffment.

Noble Ranks

Knight

The lowest of the noble ranks (Soc B) is the knight, awarded by the Emperor or an archduke as an honourific rank in recognition of achievement or service. As such, a knighthood is coveted by non-nobles and is seen as more attainable than membership in the peerage. A knighthood entitles the recipient to be addressed as Sir (some females prefer Dame) before their name, and to suffix the initials of the order of knighthood after their name. An individual accorded a knighthood may receive a fief of land on a single world, generally not more than 10 square km.

Knights are not members of the peerage, and thus are not subject to all the protocols. Instead, they belong to orders of knighthood and are awarded privileges according to the order. Each order has its own code, and knights are expected to abide by these codes. Members of the peerage generally consider knights to be "separate but equal" members of the nobility, and it is considered a breach of protocol for a member of the peerage to treat a knight with disrespect.

Several dozen orders of knighthood exist in the Imperium. Some are restricted to specific classes of individuals; others are awarded for specific achievements or service; still others are broad-based orders. The most common are the Order of Starship and Crown (established in 17) and the Order of the Emperor's Guard (established in 52). More exclusive orders are the Order of Hlyuea (established to honour loyal Aslan citizens), the Order of Gvadakoung (established to honour loyal Vargr citizens), and the Honourable Order of the Arrow (established to recognise interstellar explorers). The domains each have their own orders: the Order of Antares , the Order of Deneb , the Order of the Gateway , the Order of Ilelish , the Order of Sol , the Order of Sylea , and the Order of Vland . Of these, the Order of Sylea is administered by the Emperor himself (as Archduke of Sylea ), and the Order of Deneb has never been used (no archduke exists).

Baronet

Intermediate between the first and second level of noble rank is the baronet. This is a special form of baron awarded by an archduke. The Emperor can create baronets (either as Emperor or in his capacity as Archduke of Sylea); in practice, they are only created by one of the Archdukes.

They rank below barons in seniority and precedence, and do not generally receive fiefs of land. A baronetcy entitles the individual to use the prefix Baronet before one's name.

Baron

The second level of noble rank (Soc C) is the baron, and is the lowest level accorded membership in the peerage. Several styles of address are used, including attaching a prefix to the surname (such as von-, haut-, or hault-) or using the title Baron. When a barony includes a fief, the the title is generally followed by the fief's name (such as Baron Solvenos). An individual accorded a barony may receive a fief of land on a single world, generally not more than 100 square km.

Marquis

The third level of noble rank (Soc D) is the marquis, a noble associated with a single world. The title consists of the world name after the title, as in the Marquis of Aramis (or alternatively, the Marquis Aramis). An individual accorded a marquisate may receive a fief of land on a single world, generally not more than 1,000 square km.

Count

The fourth level of noble rank (Soc E) is the count, a "local area" noble associated with two or three worlds within a subsector. Counts are referred to by their title, followed by their surname or the name of one of the worlds within their county. An individual accorded a county may receive a fief of land on a single world, generally not more than 10,000 square km.

Duke

The fifth level of noble rank (Soc F) is the duke, associated with a subsector or sector. The noble is referred to by their title followed by "of" and then the subsector or sector name (for example, Duke of Regina). The power of the duke depends on circumstances and the situation within the sector, but generally one duke within a sector rises to power and comes to be the Sector Duke, who is the ruler of that sector. An individual accorded a duchy may receive a fief of land on a single world, generally not more than 100,000 square km.

Archduke

At the highest level of nobility (Soc G) are the archdukes, who exercise control over the six original domains. They act as intermediaries between the Emperor and the other levels of nobility (except for the Domain of Sylea , where the Emperor is also the archduke).

Emperor

Above the range of noble ranks (Soc H) is the Emperor and the Imperial Family. The Emperor is the ultimate object of thousands of oaths of loyalty and fealty. The current Emperor of the Third Imperium is Strephon Aella Alkhalikoi.

Endquote. And quite a large quote at that, but in my opinion it is about as simplified as one could express it. In some campaigns the situation may become more complex if multiple titles are held, client-state nobility attain Imperial rank, or military ranks used as modifiers to social standing. All of these factors come into play IMTU, but other's may vary.