2300 AD
| Designer(s) | Frank Chadwick, Timothy B. Brown, Lester W. Smith, Marc W. Miller |
|---|---|
| Publisher(s) | Game Designers' Workshop |
| Publication date | 1986 (1st edition - titled Traveller: 2300) 1988 (2nd edition - titled 2300 AD) |
| Genre(s) | Hard science fiction |
| System(s) | Custom |
| Originally titled Traveller: 2300 | |
2300 AD is a hard science fiction tabletop role-playing game created by Game Designers Workshop, originally offered as an alternative to the space opera portrayed by the company's leading science fiction role-playing game, Traveller. In fact it was originally titled Traveller: 2300, but this caused confusion as the game used neither the rules system nor the setting of the original Traveller. The game was therefore renamed in its 2nd edition.
The game setting follows on from that of GDW's military role-playing game Twilight: 2000, in which a worldwide conventional war with limited nuclear exchanges at the end of the 20th century nearly brought about the end of civilization. In the intervening three centuries, mankind has rebuilt and returned to space. A Space Elevator orbital interface has been constructed, connecting the city of Libreville, Gabon to a satellite in geosynchronous orbit. Also, practical means of faster-than-light (FTL) travel have been discovered, leading to the exploration and colonization of planets orbiting nearby stars. The post-Westphalian nation-state remains dominant, and most space colonies are considered the territories of various nations back on Earth. This fin de siècle society is analogous to the European colonial era of the 18th and 19th century.
The dominant power, both on Earth and in space, is the Third French Empire (founded in 2298). Intriguingly, the Empire's currency is the livre rather than the franc—even though, in real life history, livres have not been used as currency since 1794. According to the storyline, France was able to survive nuclear war relatively unscathed, on account of having made a choice to abandon its NATO allies at the start of WWIII. Much more so that other countries, France retained enough assets and skilled people so that it managed to develop a significant head-start in the race for postwar rebuilding, political leverage, and technological improvement. Competing powers include the United Kingdom, Manchuria, Germany, and an alliance between Australia and the reduced United States of America. All of these control certain extrasolar planets themselves. There are three major lanes through known space, called Arms, named after the nations which dominate them (the French Arm, The American Arm and the Chinese Arm). Lesser routes leading off the arms are called "Fingers".
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