Jon over at his blog beat me to the punch a bit in announcing this, but we've started a two-tier Traveller campaign in a custom sector I've called the "Outer Arm".
Rulesset is cepheus as a good and slightly more cohesive update to the CT rules - anyone who's played CT can drop in very easily - for the players running characters, which they will have several as part of, at minimum, several faction troubleshooting teams. The faction play is an adaptation of the rules from Stars Without Number which are sufficiently system agnostic to be bolted into other settings with minimum changes. Each turn takes approximately two weeks of game time, and there will be roughly one turn per week as we settle in. The orders they give their assets will be used to provide a raft of scenarios if the players want to tackle them. Any actions the characters take will have an impact on the orders and resolution of faction actions.
The background: Earth has expanded into space, and on the fringes of the expansion are a number of subsector-sized pocket empires that, insofar as the ruling classes go, are largely ethnic. The Eunified concordance is largely composed of the disaffected of Europe. The New Republic were, originally, from the North American polities. New Nijon was mostly east asian and Japanese. The Han saw themselves as carrying on the middle kingdom. Noviya Rossiya were slavic peoples, largely Russians. The Andalus Protectorate was largely settled from the middle east. The Guiterran Empire was largely settled from the South American continent, with a strong desire to return to a greater glory of Spain and high culture.
Then everything toward earth went silent. Nothing left but automated transponders picked up across the light years. The impact severely rocked the outer arm, but they were self-sufficient enough to persevere.
Many ships sent to investigate never came back. Those that did scans from orbit saw that the homeworlds still had structures, but nothing that was still human, though sometimes definitely humanoid, was left. Some ships tried to drop a lander, and horrible fates overcame those who landed.
It is presumed that the ships never returned suffered the same fates as that of the landers.
Or worse.
First turn of play - public events
Polities
The Han court denies that they have been involved in industrial espionage in the Unie system. There appears to be no significant rise in tensions from this or unexpected fleet movements.
Factions
On Altanthe (1219), Ibrahim-Al-Bork , the apparent ysmam of the Order of Light has issued a statement declaring that the scourge of the unbelievers has overtaken the outer arm and must be dealt with, that even the beggars do not know their place, with their wild women and deceiving ways.
On Delaura (1712) Pee Wee Banzai and The Worst Hussars have put on a concert, complete with a sundiving demonstration by Elan Beeblebrox, setting the record for deepest sundive. Press tried to reach him for comment.....
Other things have of course happened, but are only known to the players most directly involved......
