Traveller is a science fiction role-playing game first published in 1977 by Game Designers' Workshop. Marc Miller designed Traveller with help from Frank Chadwick, John Harshman, and Loren Wiseman. Editions were published for GURPS, d20, and other role-playing game systems. From its origin and in the currently published systems, the game relied upon six-sided dice for random elements. Traveller has been featured in a few novels and at least two video games. Design Traveller is a tabletop role-playing game. Characters journey between star systems, engaging in exploration, ground and space battles, and interstellar trading. One player, the game master or referee, oversees task attempts and guides events as the players explore the setting. Characters are defined not by the need to increase native skill and ability but by achievements, discoveries, wealth, titles, and political power. Influences and inspiration Marc Miller lists a number of books that influenced Traveller and provided its key features: Dorsai, Gordon R. Dickson, 1960 Dumarest of Terra saga, Edwin Charles Tubb, 1967-2008 Envoy to New Worlds, Keith Laumer, 1963 Hammer's Slammers, David Drake, 1979 Retief's Peace, Keith Laumer, William H. Keith, 2005 Space Viking, H. Beam Piper, 1963 The Cosmic Computer, H. Beam Piper, 1963 Key features Some of these key features include: Commerce: Commerce is the major driving force of civilization. Human-centric but cosmopolitan: The core rules focus on human characters, but there is support for using and playing aliens. Limited communication: There is no faster-than-light information transfer – meaning no ansible, subspace radio, or similar. Communication is limited to the speed of travel. Decisions are made on the local level rather than by a remote authority. Morals and mortality: People remain people and continue to show courage, wisdom, honesty and justice, along with cowardice, deceit, and criminal behavior. Sociological: Interstellar society is socially stratified (high, mid, and low passage; SOC (Social Status) is a primary character attribute). Affairs are often managed by independent nobility, who make use of classic titles such as Baron, Duke and Archduke. Characters Traveller uses a lifepath-style system for character generation. Characters get skills and experience in a mini-game where the player makes career choices determining the character's life up to the point before adventuring begins. A character can be human, robot, alien, or of a genetically engineered species. A character can be civilian, military, or noble, a young cadet, or a tried-and-true veteran, each with strengths and weaknesses. Death