Traveller | The Cleaved Helm | Sacnoth Dominate's Sword Worlds

The Cleaved Helm

TRAVELLER^® | Science Fiction Adventure in the (not quite so) Far Future

"Another excellent option open to allow exploratory adventuring is available to those willing to step part of the way out of the [Classic] Traveller [campaign]. You can still use an awful lot of the material developed for the [Third Imperium campaign] in doing so — just set the adventure in the 'past' (that is, prior to the 1100s in which the [Classic campaign] takes place)."
— J. Andrew Keith, "Adventures in Traveller: Exploration,"
Journal of the Travellers' Aid Society #18

Latest Update: Shipwright

The Space Viking Era

An historical Sword Worlds campaign setting

"Rollánd . . . his good sword, loved Durendal, he draws . . . 'gainst Chernubles, splits his bright helm adorned with gems; one blow cleaves through mail-cap and skull, cutting both eyes and visage in two parts, and the white hauberk with its close-linked mail; down to the body's fork, the saddle all of beaten gold, still deeper goes the sword, cuts through the courser's chine, nor seeks the joint. Upon the verdant grass fall dead both knight and steed."
— La Chanson de Roland (c.1115 OT)

A Space Viking^[ᚠ]

The Cleaved Helm is an unofficial Alternate Traveller Universe campaign for the classic science-fiction role-playing game, set among the setting-historical Sword Worlds of the 2nd Century pre-Imperial. This is the period of the Sacnoth Dominate when the inhabitants of the original twenty Sword Worlds are expanding into interstellar space. It also happens to be the period most akin to the Sword-Worlds setting of H. Beam Piper's Terro-human Future History — particularly the novel Space Viking — which inspired Traveller's Sword Worlds.

The Space Viking Era is a time before the advent of the iconic Third Imperium in Sword Worlds space (indeed the Third Imperium has yet to be established in this era). The Sword Worlders have just begun to interact with the Darrians to spinward and have only limited trade with the Zhodani to coreward beyond the Entropic worlds. Recently, formal and informal exploring expeditions to the trailing, rimward and coreward frontiers have opened these regions to Sword Worlds exploitation and even occasional settlement.

The Cleaved Helm blazon of Durendal^[ᚡ]

At The Cleaved Helm you will find information about the History of the Space Viking Era and about the Worlds of the Sacnoth Dominate (and beyond). There are Library Data entries for The Cleaved Helm campaign and in-setting news briefs from Anderspress News Service, a major news provider in the Sacnoth Dominate.

The Cleaved Helm also presents ready-made adventure scenarios — Venture Sparks — and descriptions of non-player characters who may be encountered — Chance Meeting — in The Cleaved Helm campaign. Shipwright — Skipasmiður in Sagamaal — highlights some of the starships (and non-starships) which may be encountered in the Sword Worlds. You can also follow the Exploring Expeditions as they venture into the Sacnoth Dominate's frontiers.

The Cleaved Helm also provides referee guidance — Ref's Notes — on backround elements of the campaign and pointers to canonical — and apocryphal — Sources of published material for the campaign.

Welcome to the Space Viking Era!

The Cleaved Helm is dedicated to the memory of Hans Rancke-Madsen. I didn't always agree with Hans but I appreciated his civility, admired his creativity and respected his dedication to Traveller and the Sword Worlds.

Image credits:
^[ᚠ] Original illustration (detail) by Michael Whelan. No endorsement of The Cleaved Helm has been made or is implied.
^[ᚡ] Original illustration by Thomas Tamblyn. No endorsement of The Cleaved Helm has been made or is implied.

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