My Top 10 Favorite Traveller Images (Part I)

Before I start, a couple of caveats and explanations. First, you'll note that I say "images," not "illustrations." That's because Traveller is rather (in)famous for its dearth of artwork, especially prior to the publication of The Traveller Book in 1982. However, the game never lacked for images, by which I mean maps, deck plans, and the like and many of these helped define the game and its approach to science fiction every bit as powerfully as did more "traditional" RPG illustrations. Second, I've purposefully limited my selection of images to Traveller products published by GDW between 1977 and 1986. There's a lot of third-party Traveller material published during that time, many with superb imagery, but, in the interests of focus, I've limited myself to only the main Traveller line. If there's sufficient interest, I might do a second series of posts that expands the scope a bit.

10. Diagram 1 from Shadows

Shadows is one of my favorite Traveller adventures, one I've refereed numerous times over the decades. One of my favorite things about the adventure are its maps and diagrams. All of them serve to describe the alien ruins found on the backwater planet of Yorbund that forms the location in which Shadows takes place. While several of them could easily have been chosen as an entry in this post, I think Diagram 1, pictured to the left, is by far the best and most interesting. As you can see, the diagram depicts the central shaft of the ruins, descending from a hidden entrance at the top of a surface pyramid tens of meters below the surface of Yorbund. It's a very practical image, enabling the referee to get a handle on how the various parts of the ruins relate to each other. It's also very atmospheric, establishing Shadows as a literal descent into the underworld. 

9. Snapshot Deck Plans

Another entry in this list and still no illustrations! Instead, gaze upon these deck plans from Snapshot. They depict two iconic starships from Traveller – the 100-ton Type S Scout/Courier and the 200-ton Beowulf-class Free Trader. These are probably the two most common "adventuring" starships in the game, in large part due to the fact that Scout and Merchant characters stand the chance of mustering out with one of them. They're also the perfect size for a band of characters. Though there are many other versions of these deck plans, it's these from Snapshot that are seared into my brain, thanks to having used them repeatedly in my youth.

8. Entering Jumpspace

Our first "proper" illustration and by William H. Keith, no less (a name that will appear several more times in this post and the next). In case the flash of red isn't enough to give it away, this piece appeared in The Traveller Book. That's the aforementioned Type S Scout/Courier as it prepares to enter jumpspace. Though very simple, it's a favorite of mine and has colored (no pun intended) my conception of what it Traveller interstellar travel looks like. Though I can't prove it, I suspect it was inspired, at least in part, by how the Millennium Falcon entered hyperspace in Star Wars.

7. Zhodani Battle Dress

The psionic Zhodani are the main rivals of the Third Imperium and were described in detail in the fourth Alien Module produced for Traveller. One of many great things about that supplement is the way it firmly established the esthetics of the Zhodani Consulate and their citizens and military forces. I particularly like this illustration (by Bryan Gibson) of Zhodani battle dress, complete with notations pointing out its various features, such as its distinctive clamshell helmet. This piece occupies a halfway point between being a traditional illustration and being a diagram, I think, but it's all the more effective for it.

6. The Patron

Another William H. Keith piece from The Traveller Book (note the red highlights), it depicts a distinctive element of Traveller – and one about which I'll be posting soon – the patron encounter. Many a Traveller adventure begins with meeting Space Sydney Greenstreet over drinks in the darkened corner of a startown bar, his bodyguard looming over the proceedings. Ironically, it's not a scene about which I can recall many illustrations in GDW products, which is probably why this one has stuck with me over the years. In many ways, this is the defining image of Traveller, or at least the way it was played back in my youth. If I didn't have other even more representative images, I'd probably rate this one even higher.