Traveller was one of the first major roleplaying games.  Set in a far, far future world that seems to draw strongly from Asimov, Dune, Star Trek, Star Wars, and countless other science fiction literature, Traveller provides a game universe where player characters can travel from world to world, engage in battle on the ground or in the sky, and involve themselves in interstellar economics.

Traveller uses a different character generation and advancement mechanism, whereby the player goes through a design process to determine the character's history, career experience, and so forth.  Unlike D&D; and derivative games, in Traveller, character skill and ability advancement is downplayed in favor of positional-advancement - gaining of wealth, gadgets, titles, and power. 

The original Traveller gamebooks were distinctive half-size black pamphlets produced by [Game Designers Workshop]? (GDW), and many of these half-size pamphlets were printed.  Later versions of the game system introduced full sized booklets and new political twists, as the emperor was assasinated and many sectors of the galaxy thrown into strife (in MegaTraveller?), or the universe is rediscovered and retamed (in [traveller: The New Era]?), or the Third Imperium is begun (in [Marc Miller's Traveller]?), or an alternate history is followed where the emperor is not assasinated (in [GURPS Traveller]?).

The spelling 'Traveller' is what was used on the books printed and distributed in the U.S., even though it is a spelling more commonly used in International English.

See also MegaTraveller?, [traveller: The New Era]?, and [Marc Miller's Traveller]? for different versions of the core system.

GURPS and d20? versions of the game are also available

farfuture.net is the home of Traveller's creator [Marc Miller]?

Links:

• The Irish Traveller Movement