Charm City Gameday: Traveller

This past Saturday I headed down to Games and Stuff, one of the FLGS in the greater Baltimore area, for the semiannual Charm City Gameday. I was signed up for 2 games: Traveller and D&D 5e. I've never played Traveller before. The closest I've come is picking up the PDFs of the original little black books, and well, this series of posts that came out of it. Honestly, that's a fair amount of content for a game I'd never played...

Bright and early... ok, not all that early, it was 10am, I wandered into G&S found my table, and waited for the rest of the party to show up. John (the GM) was already there, and we chatted. 2 guys who hadn't signed up ahead of time joined us. I think their names were Nick and Nate, but I neglected to write it down, and they weren't wearing nametags. The scenario was described as follows:

The crew of the far trader "Slinky Too" have been hired to carry a young heiress to that most shady gathering of ner'do'wells, The Grapple, and assist her as she searches for an item lost with her father's death. A deep-space gathering of rogues, smugglers, pirates and those who cater to the underworld, The Grapple is where she believes she'll find the next link in the chain to recover her lost heirloom. Finding the person she's looking for will be one problem; dealing with the denizens of The Grapple will be another...

GM: John Appel
Nasuda (Heiress): ??
Captain Fergus: Joe
Zikran (Gerbil Engineer): Me!
Chief Procurement Officer: ?? - First time playing a tabletop RPG

Getting to the mobile station known as the Grapple wasn't much of a problem, and between the Heiress and the Captain, we managed to get a good berth. Very quickly the heiress came to be known as "Princess" and like that other sci-fi Princess, this one was pretty useful when it came down to it.

So we're looking for this guy, and we hit up the Grapple's captain, info brokers, and flesh sculptors, bumping into Max Mayhem and the Aslan Warrior Woman he works with, a former associate of our Chief Procurement Officer (pirate). We finally get a lead on the guy we're looking for, he's got an appointment with a local flesh sculptor for the next day. The pirate and the gerbil set up a lookout outside the doc's office. 2 suspicious looking individuals head in. I run facial recognition, while the pirate heads in to check it out. Turns out these two are body snatchers and they've taken the doc into the back for a little "light interrogation" after killing the receptionist. The pirate signals me in to rescue the doc. The pirate brings a knife to a gun fight, but managers to close in and survive. I brought a shotgun, and blast one in the back as she slices at the doctor with her monofilament fingernails. Then I kick the other one in the head after the pirate stabs and knocks him down. We work out a deal with the doctor

The next day the guy we're looking for shows up for his surgery. Once properly drugged, we enter the operating theater and start asking questions. Turns out he's sold the heirloom to the Zhodani, since it's some sort of memory crystal. The heiress is shockingly focused on getting the trinket back and isn't interested in killing the guy who killed her dad. I guess inheriting a lot of money can ease the grieving process.

Leaving the surgery center, we find the Zhodani ship that was in dock has just left... so we give chase. A failed attempt at verbal negotiation leads to alternate methods. And once we've crippled their ship, we draw alongside to retrieve our loot. They launch a sneak attack through the docking ring, and by teleporting onto the bridge. Our quick thinking captain slams the engines, ripping the docking tube in half, while those at the airlock shoot the guy flying through it towards the ship. I then immediately run to the bridge where the captain and the Zhodani are in a firefight. Once again, I've got a clear shot at the enemy's back.

Tip: Getting shot in the back at close range by a shotgun is going to put a crimp in your day.

We return the bodies, collect the trinket, and sail off into the sunset with a potentially dangerous psionic item (or at least highly valued), and new powerful enemy. But that's a problem for another day.

Starport Saturday

A while back coliver988 over at Citizens of the Imperium posted an idea about using a mall map as a ship construction yard. In his post he suggests that the anchor stores serve as the construction bays while the smaller stores serve as offices and storage space. While that works I saw it a little differently. If it was more of a starport/docking/repair facility, there would be a much more of a reason for players to spend a lot of time there.

I don’t know about your games, but in mine, the players tend to take a lot of fire (and therefor need repairs) and spend time shopping! At the same time I was working on my most recent geomorph set I decided to draw and stock just such a facility. Well, I’ve drawn it.

It would probably look better if it was done with a graphics program, rather than by hand, but I’m better with paper than I am with graphics.

As an ongoing project I’m thinking about stocking it with shops and characters, making it something of a mini-campaign setting. However, I also want to open it up to you. This is your chance to be a guest blogger here at Tower of the Archmage! All you need to do is to pick one of the different stores, and write up a description of what type of store it is! Now, I’m picturing this as a fairly cross genre sort of place that could fit in the Star Wars, Star Trek (Original Series/Enterprise eras) Traveller, or even Tales from the Floating Vagabond!

How to get involved: Leave me a comment or an e-mail letting me know you want to join in, and pick a space. Write your post (or posts if you’re feeling ambitious). Send me your post via e-mail, and I’ll get it up, probably on a Saturday.

A couple of examples are below

---

A-119
Specialty Retail
Avari’s Antiquities

The first impression one gets upon entering this store is ‘cluttered’. There is barely enough space to move around the various boxes, crates, furniture, pictures, etc. Everything in the store is, or appears to be, old, and it’s all priced accordingly. A quiet rhythmic music plays in the back room, and can only just be heard when halfway into the store. The lighting is somewhat dim, and has a yellowish cast.

Avari is a tall older man with a bald head and bearded face. He is generally kindly and very knowledgeable about antiquities from a variety of planets and cultures. Anything he feels maybe dangerous he will attempt to convince the patron that the item has some small worth, but he might have a buyer, so hell offer 10% more than he usually would. Ok, maybe 15%.

D-22
Food
Tasty Comets

Coffee Flavored Comet with Dark Chocolate Core

This small shop has barely enough room for the equipment and supplies used to create it’s frozen confections. The store front is a garishly decorated counter surrounded by cartoon celestial bodies. Tasty Comets is staffed mainly by local teenagers who spend most of their time looking bored.

One young employee, Jayla, is perpetually perky and has taken the corporate spiel hook line and sinker. Her fellow employees resent her for making them look bad, and a one, Kat, is looking for a way to spectacularly sabotage and humiliate Jayla.

A sample of offerings include:
Comet - Slushy iceball with one of 301 flavors with a core made from a variety of cookies, brownies, frozen fruit, etc.
Hale-Bopp - Carbonated Comet
Sungrazer - Basic Comet with a hot topping
Meteor - 3 cores together with a thin icy layer on top
Shooting Star - Meteor with a hot topping
Asteroid - 7 cores with a thin icy layer

Traveller Links

These are a few things that may be useful if you're interested in Traveller.


Over at RPG.net there is a series of articles detailing the 5th Imperium campaign setting.


Zhodani Base is a blog dedicated to Traveller with some fun posts.  I especially enjoyed the Christmas subsector map.

Crimson Dark is a web comic set in a world very much like Traveller.  It's been going since 2006, so there is plenty to read and enjoy.

Just this weekend James of Grognardia asked about Traveller maps, and in the comments are a lot of great links.

Starter Traveller – Now What?

Sitting before you is a box full of tools and parts. Bit by bit you’ve put together various subassemblies, but now it’s time to put the whole thing together. What will it look like when you’re done? It’s hard to say. There is no one way to play a Traveller campaign. What Starter Traveller does do is give you a nice framework upon which to build the adventures of your choosing.

The last section of the rule book is advice on how to run a Traveller game and campaign. The advice given is actually rather interesting, and different from any of the rule books I’ve previously read.  It covers the Basics, the Gimmick (things like psionics that players earn and continue to benefit from throughout the game), the Pull (players goals), the Push (things players don’t like, but keep coming up anyway), and the Enigma (the things players don’t know, but want to).

Following this page of advice is a section of prewritten patron encounters. They provide the patron, and the request, and then each has a chart which may throw wrinkles into the scenario. 

Thus ends the rule book. The next two installments will focus on the two adventures that come with the starter set.

Starter Traveler – I can kill you with my mind!

aka Psionics

Psionic potential is actually fairly common in the Traveller universe. Everyone starts with a minimum of a Psi score of 2, as the score is determined by throwing 2d6. The roll is modified by a -1 for every 4 year block over the age of 18. The difficulty is that the only way to unlock a person’s psionic potential is by being tested at a Psionic Institute (PI), and then receiving instruction. This is a time intensive process, and expensive. In addition, finding a PI is also a difficult process, as psionics are not accepted by the general population.

Presuming that your character manages to find one of the elusive institutes, and discovers that they have a score sufficient enough to warrant the time and money it costs to train them, it is still no guarantee that they’ll actually have any talents.  There are 6 possible talents that I psionic character can attempt to learn, and each attempt to learn a talent imposes a cumulative -1 to the roll.  In addition, some talents are easier than others.  In order, from hardest to easiest, they are: Teleportation (9+), Awareness (7+), Telekinesis (6+), Clairvoyance (6+), and Telepathy (5+).  For the more math inclined, you will note that I only listed 5 talents.  The sixth is “Special” and needs a 9+ to acquire. What is “Special”? Basically it’s something that isn’t covered by one of the above.  Firestarting, phasing, mind control, flight, etc. 

It’s entirely possible to roll a character with a really high psionic strength, and no talents, just as it is possible to roll a character with low psionic strength, and lots of talents that they don’t have the strength to actually use.  Mathematically it is possible to roll a character with a psionic strength of 12, with access to all 6 of the talents, but it’s extremely unlikely. 

So what can a character do with these psionic talents? It depends on which talents, and what strength score the character has. Let’s look at all the talents, and presuming that a character has a high enough score to do everything that talent allows. First up, teleportation. With a high enough strength the character can teleport clear across a continent, or even to the other side of a planet. There are dangers associated with this due to a variety of factors, including the differing speeds of rotation of the planet at different latitudes, and the problems with increasing or decreasing elevation. It’s doable, though difficult. At lower levels, the range is less, as is the ability to bring stuff with you. In fact, at a low enough level, you’re going naked!

Awareness is the control of your own body, allowing you to put yourself into suspended animation, improve your strength, endurance, or even cause yourself to regenerate!  Telekinesis allows you to move things from a gram in weight to up to 100 kilograms.  Clairvoyance allows remote viewing of distant locations. With a high enough skill you can both see and hear what’s going on. Telepathy allows everything from sensing and sharing emotions to reading surface thoughts to probing deep into someone else’s mind, to finally using their ability as a weapon capable of killing. It also provides the ability to shield your mind from the assaults of others. 

So how does this all work out for a real character? Pulling out one of the ones I made way back at the beginning of this series: Mancrel “McDuff” Duffin. He served 2 terms with the merchant fleet, and was mustered out with 10k credits.  He’s always had an itching at the back of his head, so he decides to track down a Psionics Institute branch and get tested.  5k credits later it turns out that he is a latent strength 6 psionic (rolled a 9 minus 3 for his age). Training costs 100k credits, which means McDuff is only 95k short, and as his power level isn’t high enough to qualify for a scholarship, he’s at the end of his psionic journey, unless he can come up with more money, and fast.  Every 4 years from the determination of your potential that goes untrained, you lose an additional point. 

For the sake of this example, let’s say he gets a loan from a less than reputable character, and gets his training.  First McDuff will check his “Special” talent, and he doesn’t have one (rolled a 5-1=4). He then checks the rest in the order above. And his scores are: 4, 3, 3, 0, 5. He has no talent at anything except Telepathy, and with a high enough strength that when fully trained he’ll be able to read emotions, surface thoughts, and send thoughts to others. These powers will definitely be of use to the mob boss that funded his training, especially after he spends some time refining his skills so that he can actually use the powers he’s now unlocked. After 4 months at the institute he has the basic skills down, and can shield his mind from others. Every month thereafter McDuff rolls 2d6, and if he scores better then an 8 his level in the talent goes up.  Eventually he will be able to do all that’s been written above, and at distances up to 50 kilometers!

Starter Traveler – Encounters

There are a variety of different encounters that the rule book expands upon: Routine, Random, Rumor, Legal, Patron, Adventure, and Animal. Of these, there seems to be an inordinate amount of time devoted to animal encounters, which is odd for a sci-fi game. Granted, there is a lot that you can do with animal encounters, and a wide variety of animal types to play with, but was it worth 2 pages in the charts book, and 4.5 pages in the rule book? I’m not sure. The animal encounter section does also cover plants, and natural events, so perhaps this section would be better described as Nature Encounters.

Routine encounters are the characters interactions with shop keepers, starport dock masters, etc. They fill in the worlds with the normal people that you bump into and deal with for a minute or two.

Random encounters are just that, random. Your players may run into anything from dirt farming peasants, to nobles and their retinues, to pilgrims, to brigands, to other Travellers.

Rumors can come from anywhere – the two people talking across from you on the tram, a news report, a public speech, or even bits of this and that the players manage to put together. What do you get if you tell the players that religious pilgrims are flocking to planet A, weapons are selling like hot cakes on planet B, and planet C just purchased a whole new planetary computer system from planet D? I don’t know either, but I’m sure the players will come up with some story tying it all together!

There are reasons to avoid high law worlds. Every day you make a throw, and you have to roll higher than the local law level or you have a legal encounter. On a high law level world, the local law enforcement community is likely to harass strangers, and we all know what happens when players get harassed by the local Barney Fife! Fun times, that’s what!

Patron encounters are where it’s at, and what your players will be drooling over. A patron is basically anyone who is willing to hire your players to do just about anything. There are two lists of random patrons, but the DM is left to decide what the job is that the patron is offering. There is no particular way to determine which of the two charts are to be rolled on, but a sample roll provided either a Reporter or a Crew Member. The Reporter works for GNN and needs to get to a neighboring star system pronto. She’s willing to pay to rent your entire ship to get her, her equipment, and cameraman there if you leave right now. As it is your cargo hold is only half empty, and it’s due to be picked up tomorrow.

Image Source

Starter Traveller – Trade

It’s all about the stuff - credits, goods, things. Be they supplies that a mining colony needs for survival, or luxury crystals that a rich patron is willing to vastly overpay for, the interstellar community thrives or dies on its commerce. 

Unless funded by a wealthy patron, characters in Traveller will need to trade to survive. While a ship’s captain can fill the hold with bulk cargo at 1,000 credits a ton, she may be more inclined to carry trade goods. The basic procedure is that once a week you roll on the appropriate chart to see what and how much of it is available, and how much it’ll cost. Depending on what planet you buy the goods at, the price roll may be modified. 

Captain Clayton, currently in port on the planet Isheah (0606), checks to see what’s available. Rolling a 54 gives the result of All Terrain Vehicles with a base cost of 30,000 credits each, and 3 are available at 10 tons each. The modified price is at 110% of base cost, so each ATV is 33,000. Since Captain Clayton has a cushion, she decides to get all 3, and to fill the rest of her hold with standard cargo.  Arriving a week later in Artienang, she checks in to see what the going rate is for ATVs.  Now, she has an option of going to a broker for a die roll modification (and a cut of the profits), or to go it alone.  Miranda decides to go for a broker which will grant a +2 to the roll, but cost her 10% of whatever the worlds price is, whether she sells or not!

As Artienang is both non-industrial and agricultural the dice roll is further modified by +3, for a total modifier of +5.  The roll is 6, which would be a mere 90% of the base cost, but with the modifier becomes 150% of the base cost, or 45,000 each!  She offloads the 3 ATVs for a total of 135,000 minus 13,500 or 121,500, which is a profit of 22,500 credits on 30 tons of cargo.  She probably would have been better off if she’d have just carried standard cargo. 

Pressing her luck, she checks to see what’s available at Artienang. Apparently there is a large stock of Aluminum available, 200 tons of it, and for the low price of 800 credits a ton (80% of base costs). If she wanted to fill her 82 tons she’ll have to pay a 1% fee. The cost to fill the hold with aluminum is 65,600 credits plus 656 credits handling fee for a total cost of 66,256. She also has a passenger (and entourage) who is paying to go directly to Driash (0605). 

3 weeks later, at the Driash starport she hires a broker to sell the aluminum.  While the market is good for aluminum, it wasn’t as good as Captain Clayton had hoped.  The entire cargo is sold for 106,600, with 10,660 going to the broker, leaving a profit of only 29,684. 

Captain Clayton is going to need either better brokers or better cargo if she’s going to continue to speculate on trade goods! My dice rolls aren’t helping her any either. With some better rolls the profit could have been astronomical as the chart allows for up to 400% of base cost with a good enough roll, and the purchase price could be as low as 40% of base cost!

Starter Traveller - Strange New Worlds Map 3

First, there was my hand drawn map.  Serviceable, but not really attractive. 

Then there was Alex Schroeder's mapping program.  Even more serviceable, and much more attractive.

Now The Rubberduck has provided this beautiful map.

That makes me think that if I end up doing a lot of these, it would be well worth it to pick up Campaign Cartographer. 

Thank you Rubberduck for the awesome map!

Starter Traveller - Thoughts on Strange New Worlds

Starter Traveller is a game rather different from any other I'm familiar with, and the world building shows that off just as well as the character building system does.  It paints a picture of a galaxy vastly different from the one I expected when I first started reading the rulebook.  For example, I rolled far more Mars sized and smaller planets than Earth sized ones.  I also rolled a whole lot of worlds with technology levels that more closely match those of the 20th century rather than the imperial standard.  Even a world with a class A starport can have a level of technology that most closely matches that of the 1980s.  It also suggests that not all of the worlds be connected in standard communication & trade routes in order to allow exploration by the players.  This seems to strongly imply that the worlds of Traveller, being well apart from the core worlds of the distant Imperium, are either unimportant backwaters, or areas of a falling/fallen/recovering civilization.  It may even be that the core worlds are just as technologically poor, though the suggestions about DMs modifying the dice rolls as desired suggest that may not necessarily be the case.

While most of the discussion of technology seems to revolve around military hardware, it's a natural extension that the rest of the worlds available technology be similarly matched.  It would be interesting to see a world with access to low level technology, except for a specific exception.  For example Ancient Rome with steam technology or the 1400's with radios.  This could easily devolve into a bad star trek episode, which on the other hand could make for a great game, but your mileage may vary.

I'm sure I'll have some more thoughts on this as I continue reading the rule book and the adventures that come with it.  More to come...

Starter Traveller - Subsector & Spreadsheet

I thought that after putting together the whole subsector, writing it up, mapping it out, and even putting it on a spreadsheet, that others might be interested in it.  So I put cleaned up versions of all my descriptions, and the map into a PDF for you to download.  The spreadsheet, which is useful for sorting the planets by any of their coded features is available too!


Subsector PDF

Subsector Spreadsheet

In putting together my subsector I did use a few resources that didn't come from the starter books.  First off, I'm bad at names, and with 49 systems (slightly more than the 50% that I would have rolled statistically) I found a useful name generator - Amaranth Traces and Thraesja SG-1 name generator that helped me fill in my map.  I also occasionally used Kinkret Web Dice Roller rather than rolling my own dice.

I also want to thank Alex Schroeder specifically for his subsector mapping program.   After I posted my hand drawn map he linked in his comments to it, and I decided to give it a try.  It took a few tries to get my data formatted correctly, and Alex had to make a few tweaks to his program to make allowances for some differences between Starter Traveler and Mongoose's edition. 

Subsector Map PDF - Check out how much nicer this is than my hand drawn map!  There are different trade routes, but I'm totally ok with that, as I was kind of making it up anyway.

I hope that these downloads and links are helpful for anyone interested in Traveller.

Starter Traveller - Subsector Map

Before we get to my map, I want to point out that the rulebook does not tell you how different systems generally link up as far as communication and x-routes go.  It merely suggests that not everything be connected, so that players can explore.  The same goes with determining whether a systems is a Green, Amber, or Red Zone. 

There isn't a map key, but any system with a  planet has a circle in the middle.  A gas giant is represented by a dot on the upper right side of the hex.  A navy base is represented by a star on the left, and a scout base is a triangle.  The starport type is the letter above the planet, and the amber and red zones are pretty clear.  Trade routes are in blue.  

My map was hand drawn on an enlarged copy of the blank map found in the starter set itself.  For those with more time and a greater proficiency with GIMP than I have, there are downloadable Traveller specific brushes.  If anyone feels like remaking my map, I wouldn't mind!

Starter Traveller - Strange New Worlds VIII

Sectors 0801-0810

Sector 0801 - Eamnaba - B677457-C - Navy Base, Gas Giant
Eamnaba is a nearly perfect world, with only a tainted atmosphere going against it. The descendants of the original terraformers have kept the atmosphere in it's current status in order to maintain their positions of power.  In spite of this, the people of Eamnaba enjoy a very high standard of living, and are currently very content, even though they have to wear filters when outside their habitats. 

Sector 0802 - Dreroost - B649624-5 - Scout Base, Gas Giant
The storm ravaged oceans of Dreroost do a very effective job of hiding the millions of inhabitants in their undersea cities.  While the firearm laws of Dreroost are fairly relaxed, no weapon/ammo able to pierce the shells of the undersea domes is legal. 

Sector 0803 - Empty

Sector 0804 - Empty

Sector 0805 - Empty

Sector 0806 - Empty

Sector 0807 - Thayoeth - B331443-D - Gas Giant
This small planetoid is home to herds of giant capybara that eat the wild drygrass that covers the vast majority of this world.  The people of Thayoeth work hard, and live well, with simple pleasures and strong family bonds.  They aren't big fans of outsiders.

Sector 0808 - Sheatecke - C725314-7 - Scout Base
The private world of Sheateck, home to a mere 2 thousand inhabitants, is a high security prison planet, and off limits to anyone, not that there is much of a reason for anyone to visit.  Being a prison world, the sector is listed as an Amber Zone.

Sector 0809 - Luosse - C341365-9
A generally poor world, Luosse does have one thing of value - a large content of radioactive materials useful for ship building.  The former government of Luosse began to raise the price of the material 3 years ago exponentially.  This is the reason that the Emirates of Serte invaded last year.  As such there is an Amber Zone in effect.

Sector 0810 - Serte - A9879B7-C - Navy Base, Gas Giant
The shipyards of Serte are booming, which is why the Imperial Navy is in town.  In a system boasting 3 gas giants, and 2 asteroid fields there is very little that the system is lacking, except for radioactives.

Starter Traveller - Strange New Worlds VII

Sectors 0701-0710

Sector 0701 - Empty

Sector 0702 - Argell - B776554-7 - Scout Base, Gas Giant
The agroworld of Argell is a wild place with spots of industry that are beginning to poison the atmosphere.  Some roving bands of ecoterrorists have been assaulting these industrial centers.  The technocrats have been ineffective in their attempts to stop them. 

Sector 0703 - Empty

Sector 0704 - Empty

Sector 0705 - Kairtehe - A564885-9 - Scout Base, Gas Giant
This gleaming gem of a world boasts a shiny new starport, paid for through the profits of the trade that passes through the system, the farms that grow plentiful foods, and the industries that keep the people employed.  The civil service does what it can to keep everything according to plan, which has been successful for the most part.  The major stain on their work is the growing drug trade, and decadent amusements the people of Kairtehe are beginning to adopt.

Sector 0706 - Empty

Sector 0707 - Empty

Sector 0708 - Empty

Sector 0709 - Shaish -D657477-4 - Gas Giant
From the sunken bays of the dirtside starport the calls from the sellers in the trade square can easily be heard, and few of them are in the imperial standard tongue.  The starport resides in the richest and most powerful nation state on the surface.  Which nation is the most powerful is determined by which one controls the starport.  There are a large number of defensive structures around it, and the skys overhead are filled with an odd mix of military zeppelins, propeller planes, and a couple of imported sky-speeders.

Sector 0710 - Empty

Starter Traveller - Strange New Worlds VI

Sectors 0601-0610.

Sector 0601 - Guoffo - X150510-6 Gas Giant
The corporate world of Guoffo has been nearly depleted of  value, at least the corporate overseers think so.  It hasn't been helped that the local overseers have been denying that there have been any profits for years now, and they even sabotaged the starport, destroying it.  The local gas giant is currently migrating out of the system, disrupting the orbits of the rest of the local stellar bodies.

Sector 0602 - Empty

Sector 0603 - Empty

Sector 0604 - Clele - A6C1647-B  - Navy Base, Gas Giant
Clele is a poisonous world, a noxious green landscape orbiting a noxious yellow gas giant.  Yet from these corrosive vapors comes a medical technology that has saved countless lives.  A local Navy Base runs the starport, and protects the system. 

Sector 0605 - Driash - C000414-B - Gas Giant
Durash was once an eden, a gloriously lush orb.  It is now a broken fragmented asteroid field being mined for material and investigated to see what exactly caused the destruction of the world.  The starport hosts both a research station and an ore refinery.

Sector 0606 - Aesselo - A8547BC-A  - Scout Base, Gas Giant
Queen Valentine is a fat, boorish, selfish slob of a woman, and the people hate her.  However, she is incredibly intelligent, and there is little chance of the crown slipping from her brow.  

Sector 0607 - Isheah - A587848-A - Scout Base, Gas Giant
The 400 million plus inhabitants of Isheah enjoy a lush, and generally welcoming environment.  The planet is smaller than it's earth normal gravity would indicate due to a higher than average heavy element makeup.  A world wide representative government generally allows it's people a high level of freedom of expression, but keeps a tight grip on available weapons, and doesn't look kindly on violent visitors. 

Sector 0608 - Artienang - C988668-7 - Scout Base, Gas Giant
There is one main continent on this world, with a large central desert, and a number of tropical of archipelagos.  Currently the system is being used to spy on the goings on in the Tau Erython system.  The rules of the system, King Alexander knows of the spys, as they have his family hostage.  The rest of the kingdom believes that his family is off visiting Saecketo (sector 0506).

Sector 0609 - Haustew - C8C5362-6 - Scout Base, Gas Giant
The insidious atmosphere of Haustew is a naturally occuring feature due to the chlorine oceans that cover half of this world.  The people are contained in a single contained city that is currently being held by "pirates."  In reality, these "pirates" are actually corporate espionage agents interested in gaining access to Tau Erython who found King Alexander unwilling to deal with them. 

Sector 0610 - Empty

Starter Traveller - Strange New Worlds V

Sectors 0501-0510

Sector 0501 - Aitheyi - C98569D-8

An agricultural bread basket, Aitheyi provides food for many of the local systems that are less than self-sustaining.  Unfortunately the bureaucracy keeps things so tightly in check that the people are chafing under the repression and ready to burst.  The local scout base resides in the dirtside starport.  The local gas giant supports an extensive ring and moon system. 

Sector 0502 – Empty

Sector 0503 - Sewea - C636566-5

The oceans of Sewea constantly bubble, which keeps the planets atmosphere refreshed in spite of the local gas giant’s attempts to strip it.  Unknown to the general population, the government is currently being controlled by a wild telepath.  Fuel is provided by a pair of Neptune sized gas giants. 

Sector 0504 - Knaleff - E8997BF-3

Once ruled by the charismatic father of the current leader, this is a world fallen into ruin.  Pollution has ruined the atmosphere and the expansive oceans, causing rising temperatures that have melted the ice caps, flooded and destroyed much of the world’s agriculture.   Lacking a gas giant there is little reason for Travellers to stop here. 

Sector 0505 – Empty

Sector 0506 - Saecketo - C889402-9

Most of this world is covered in tropical oceans flourishing with a wide variety of unique life forms.  Most of the 35 thousand inhabitants live fairly primitively on the scattered islands, harvesting what they need from the worlds oceans.  Access to technology is available, and there is one city on the worlds largest island, but most natives prefer the carefree existence of island living.    The local scout base is located in orbit of the system’s innermost gas giant (of 3), and is currently studying the effects of the naturally occurring very mild relaxant in Saecketo’s atmosphere. 

Sector 0507 – Empty

Sector 0508 - Tau Erython - A130326-G

**Warning – Red Zone!!  Unauthorized access will be met with extreme prejudice!**

Tau Erython is a small rock in an uninteresting system.  The official story is that this system is used for weapons research & development by the Navy.  The truth is that a planetary fragment from an alien precursor civilization was found orbiting the local gas giant.  It was discovered by the Scout service, which is why they also have a base in system.    

Sector 0509 – Empty

Sector 0510 – Empty

Starter Traveller - Strange New Worlds IV

Sector 0401 - Davidia Prime - A6619A9-A
Davidia Prime is a busy point in the subsector, hosting a rather dry but comfortable habitat, a large lawful population which is overseen by an immensely popular governor, and hosts a Navy Base, a Scout Base, and a set of twin gas giants.  The system is patrolled by numerous craft, and while the world neither qualifies for Ag World or Industrial World status, it is very successful.

Sector 0402 - Empty

Sector 0403 - Eurtade - C923212-7
The Corporate world of Eurtade was originally host to a large industrial complex, the ruins of which still cover much of the surface.  After the planets natural resources were tapped out, leaving a stripped and poisoned atmosphere and ocean, most of the worlds employee-citizens were reassigned to other job sites, leaving only a small skeleton crew.  Today, the few remaining descendants of those workers live on, keeping the life support of a small complex on the southern continent running.  The former processing station has been shifted from orbit around to the orbit of the local gas giant for ease of harvesting fuel.  The remainder of the planet is host to whoever chooses to land there and stake a claim.

Sector 0404 - Alicia IV - B663851-7
A cool mountainous world, much of the water is trapped in snow and ice, and hardy evergreen forests cover much of the surface.  There is a significant tourist trade (it might even be considered a vacation world), and many of the worlds inhabitants are involved in servicing these visitors.  A Navy Base orbits the world, maintaining security in space, but the surface is a wild frontier.  The titular rulers are those who can maintain the equipment used by the visitors, technology the rest of the population is not so lucky to have access to.  The local gas giant is a hot Jupiter class which has a year of 4.5 standard days.  Specialized ships designed to withstand the brutal heat and winds of this giant are necessary to collect fuel which is sold at the starport.

Sector 0405 - Empty

Sector 0406 - Gibsonia - A440577-C
A poor, non-industrial, desert of a world is ruled by a variety of regional gangs and governments (which is which is often hard to tell).  A Navy Base and Gas Giant orbit on a rather askew track, which tends to send comets careening around the system with more than usual frequency.   The system is listed as an Amber Zone due to the navigational hazards and the planet's chaotic situation.

Sector 0407 - Greece - X354424-1
This system is listed as a Red Zone due to it's protected status.  The world is inhabited by a genetically modified strain of human that is capable of dealing with the low gravity and ammonia tainted atmosphere.  They live in small democratic city states with a level of technology reminiscent of Ancient Greece from Terra's early history.  A series of satellites monitor the world's development.

Sector 0408 - Groton Station - A120133-E
A small orb, barely bigger than an asteroid, hosts a Navy Station and the few civilian workers.  The civies are managed by the private company the Navy contracted to run some of the entertainment establishments for the sailors.  The local gas giant has alternating bands of violet and yellow.

Sector 0409 - Eckaitont - E677754-6
This beautiful world has a high concentration of iron in it's upper crust, lending to a very red-orange dominated planet.  The Technocrats rules the world, keeping one of the most successful terraforming projects running.  In the next 200 years the atmosphere should be completely purged of the tainted chemicals used to help sow life.  The scout base is located on the south pole, and the local gas giant is a dull brown orb.


Sector 0410 - Empty

**Edited to fill in a couple of missing planet names**

Starter Traveller - Strange New Worlds III

Parsecs 0301-0310

Sector 0301 - Empty

Sector 0302 - Quemar - E100233-8
This barren rock sports a scout base and a small research station focused on the odd chemistry of the local gas giant, which for some reason is constantly glowing with a globe wide aurora.  Harvesting fuel from this gas giant takes double the usual time due to the scarcity of the proper chemicals.

Sector 0303 - Empty

Sector 0304 - Deniz - D41044-4
Deniz is a dry rock in a tidally locked orbit just a little too close to it's star.  The people living on the surface inhabit the twilight band collecting solar energy from the light side, and trying to scratch a living growing a variety of foods in subsurface caverns.  The starport sits in it's own orbit between the inner rocky world and the further out gas giant.  Aside from servicing passing ships, it's also used to collect ice comets and send them in controlled descents onto Deniz's surface.

Sector 0305 - Aranliq - C898486-8
Shrouded in thick clouds, Aranliq is a former industrial world who's population recently was halved by a plague.  The Civil Bureaucracy has handled the recent demographic shift capably, but an end of the world cult has sprung up and is causing problems.  The Starport and planet have all only just ended their quarantine.  The system is still listed as an Amber Zone.  The gas giant is still available for refueling for those nervous about the plague. 

Sector 0306 - Empty

Sector 0307 - Empty

Sector 0308 - Empty

Sector 0309 - Gradina - B767552-B
Gradina is one of the bread baskets of the local area.  The world is ruled by the Poor Richards Council, venerable farmers who are very concerned with land use but not much else.  The people work hard, but enjoy some of the best quality of life of anywhere in the subsector.  The starport requires imported fuel due to the lack of a local gas giant, and the Council's unwillingness to allow the harvesting of the worlds oceans for fuel.  

Sector 0310 - Zhivak - C324797-7
The thin poisonous atmosphere of Zhivak swirls at high speeds, blowing sand and water vapor which tends to wear away at anything left out on the surface.  The 30 million inhabitants live entirely in subterranean metropolises which 50 years ago were ruled by rival gangs.  The gang leaders eventually came together, realizing that things would go better for all of them if they worked together.  They instituted a byzantine bureaucracy that doesn't really relate to the people, but brings in great profits for the government in "fees". 

Starter Traveller - Strange New Worlds II

Sector 0201 - Orzavay - C6A2233 - 9
The world of is notable in part because of the naturally occurring nitrous oxide.  This mostly dry world is inhabited by a few hundred hardy souls and is ruled over by the Desalinators.  Most of the citizenry works at ranching giant flightless fowl and farming, and all live along the edge of the worlds only "ocean" a large salt lake.  The starport is located atop a space elevator that is anchored to the center of the ocean.  The trip up or down the elevator takes 3 days.  This is the only planet of the system.

Sector 0202 - Didiquila - D511A55 - 6
A trace of atmosphere rolls off of the frozen poles.  80 billion people cling to life on the surface in towering ugly habitats.  Chairman Bob has been ruling the world for the last 120 years (and looks as young and handsome as the day he took office).  Crime is all but unheard of, but the people live dull gray lives.  The starport is an ancient orbital platform with a corresponding landing sight.  Both are maintained by a bare minimum of staff that don't really know what they're doing.  An independent scout base is located on the planet's asteroid moon.

Sector 0203 - Verrio - B432253 - A
There is barely any air on this hot planet, and all the water is trapped in subterranean pools.  The few inhabitants keep these well stocked with a wide variety of exotic fish.  The biologists in charge of the pools are in charge of the colony.  In spite of the inhospitable environment, the small population lives in relative luxury.

Sector 0204 - Erabis - E361787 - 9
The largest moon orbiting the gas giant Erabis is a dry world bathed in the radiation of the larger planet.  In spite of this, the large population thrives.  Unfortunately most electronic technology doesn't last long in the extreme radiation, so mechanical devices powered by that radiation are most common.  Of these, the Imperial Civil Service atmosphere generators are clearly the most important.  Since Erabis is such a welcoming environment they don't get a lot of visitors.  The "starport" is nothing more than a high flat plateau. 

Sector 0205 - Empty

Sector 0206 -Tebea- X233400 - 7
This small icy ball floats alone around a dark nearly dead star.  The 27 thousand inhabitants all live in small habitats containing no more than 30 people each where they mine what they can from below the surface.  There is no law.  Piracy and claim jumping are common. 

Sector 0207 - Pal Rathra - A13086A - F
A gleaming starport orbits this small rock with wispy clouds.  Geodesic domes dot the surface, connected by silvery tunnels.  A small fleet of system ships from the starport keep their guns trained on the domes.  They're waiting for the colony to turn over some highly valuable biotechnology found in a dig site of an ancient civilization.  Currently the system is listed as a Red Zone. 

Sector 0208 - New Indonesia - B4878AC - 6
The tropical world of New Indonesia is ruled with an iron fist by a revolutionary young warlord who has taken control of the planet.  This is an Amber Zone, as the new ruler and his military allow no disobedience with their new laws.  Access to the planet is strictly prohibited, even by space radio, and attempts to skim fuel from the local gas giant are met with extreme displeasure and usually laser fire.

Sector 0209 - Berdion - B300130 - C
A scorched rock blasted by its star's near constant solar flares is tidally locked.  The starport sits in the shadow of the planet, and serves the few remaining researchers below.  The planet's core reacts oddly to the flares, creating odd space time distortions. The lead scientists haven't promoted anyone into their ranks in years, and are generally disinterested (at best) with visitors.  A ringed gas giant with an extensive moon system gleams and glistens with every flare, making it one of the most beautiful sights in the subsector.

Sector 0210 - Gerdi - C87988A - 5
This garden world is one of the most hospitable spots in the local area, though the people do seem to live in relative poverty.  Any traveller arriving in system should be aware that the law is strictly enforced.  The air is thick and slightly toxic, yet paradoxically sweet smelling.  In spite of the planet's rich resources and industry the people live safe but rather drab lives.


This ended up being a very full column, with a lack of gas giants and a bunch of dictatorial regimes.  

Starter Traveller - Strange New Worlds

Following up on yesterdays post, here are parsecs 0102-0110.

Sector 0102 – Shijie – C400688 – 6 – Non Agricultural, Non Industrial, Vacuum

Yet another barren rock, this one a little smaller than Mars.  Most of the 3 million inhabitants live below the surface in dungeon-like cities, and work at extracting the mineral wealth from the rock.  A few locals work in the Scout Base perched near the top of the highest peak of the globe.  Much of the rest of the surface of the world is covered with the rubble and slag of the mining operations. 

The people are hard working, but lacking in many of the common conveniences of the Imperium.  The mining is done with large inefficient machines or by hand.  Entertainment is provided by primitive black and white televisions and wired audio broadcasts.  It resembles most closely 1940’s urban England.

An old starport is serviced by a small fleet of antique fuel collectors that swarm over the local gas giant. 

Sector 0103 – empty

Sector 0104 – Dumiya – C575016 – 5 – Uninhabited

The Starport of the Dumiya system is actually located in orbit of the local gas giant, as there isn’t anything worth being had on the rock that is Dumiya itself.  It’s an unremarkable sphere a little larger than Mars, with a thin poisonous atmosphere, and ice caps that cover about half the world.  No one lives there.  The only population and government are found on the Starport, which is privately owned.  Most of the workers of the Starport live at 1920’s level of technology. 

Sector 0105 – Ensel – A896324 – 13

An earth sized world with a thick poisonous atmosphere, oceans that cover 60% of the surface, and exotic vegetation.  Animal life never developed on this greenhouse world, but some of the plants have some unusually animal like features.  The 3,000 inhabitants live primarily on the North Eastern island continent, and spend their time studying the local flora.  When a decision needs to be made it’s done by consensus.  Being a scientific research station they are equipped with top of the line technology.  The class A Starport serves as an orbital platform for the research team, as well as being a refueling and repair station.

Sector 0106 – Rojudeu III – C100636 - 8 – Non-Agricultural

Barely big enough to be spherical, this cold rock sits well outside the habitable zone.  It does contain a large concentration of crystals useful for building computers.    As such there is a large mining and refining industry which employs most of the 1.5 million inhabitants.  The rulers of this world live sequestered on its southern pole, and rarely communicate with their people.  Neon is the predominant shade of fashion.  The gas giant of the system is less giant than average and is a shockingly violet color, but still provides the necessary fuel for the Starport and those that are passing through.

Sector 0107 – Sokocuka Delta – D984324 – 7

This almost earthlike world suffers from one big problem.  The atmosphere is thick and it stinks.  It isn’t poisonous, but it isn’t pleasant either.  This is due to a slightly elevated level of sulfur in the air.  It does grow the best tomatoes on this side of the galactic rim however.  The 9 thousand inhabitants are the descendants of the original Neo-Hippy colonists, and they live much as their forefathers did.  The starport in orbit is cobbled together from the hulls of 2 of the original colony arks.  It’s never been upgraded, and is barely staffed.

Sector 0108 – Quartus – A985989 – A

A cultural metropolis, Quartus has a top of the line Starport and shipbuilding facility.  The billions who live on its surface enjoy a thick atmosphere which helps protect them from the bright white sub-giant star at the center of the system.  It is one of the few planets that is truly self sustaining, though it does not produce enough to be an exporter of food or finished products to be of note.  The civil service keeps things running very efficiently, in spite of the ever growing population.  The system has gas giants, an inner hot Jupiter, and a much further out ringed green one. 

0109 – Empty

0110 - Empty

There you have it, the first column of the subsector, and an interesting mix of worlds to explore! 

Starter Traveller - Worlds

In Starter Traveller you begin the creation of the universe on a more local scale; the subsector.  Consisting of an area of space 8x10 hexes.  Each hex represents one parsec, or 3.26 light years.  There is a 50/50 chance that there will be a star in any hex with a potentially inhabited planet.  Once you determine of there is such a star & planet combo you follow the check list to roll up the world.  Like characters, worlds are described by a series of letters and numbers.  These represent, in order; Starport type, planet size, atmosphere, water, population, government, and law.  You also determine the tech level for the planet, which ranges from stone age to basically godlike power.  It's funny how it scales through the list.  For example tech level 5 resembles 1900-1939.  6 is 1940-1969, 7 is 70-79, 8 is the 80's, 9 is the 90's, and then 10 is Interstellar Community.

Did you know that we're a decade into our interstellar period?  Go us!

Once you have your worlds figured out, the next step is to plot out communication and trade routes.  It does not tell you how to do this.
 
World building in Traveller can be... weird.  You may end up with an airless asteroid with no population, but a corporate government that's pretty strict with it's laws.  In looking over the world generation system, there do seem to be a few minor adjustments I'd make, just to help things make more sense. 

Here is an example world I rolled up today.  It is in hex 0101.  The world is Munduan - A30069A-C.  The first digit stands for the Starport, in this case a Class A Starport.  Next is the planet's diameter, atmosphere, and water level.  for Munduan it's a small planetoid of 3,000 miles, which for reference is about the size of Mercury.  It has no atmosphere and no water.  The next 3 digits represent the population, government type, and law level.  Munduan has somewhere between 1 million and 10 million inhabitants.  It is ruled by an Impersonal Bureaucracy, and they are very strict - no one is allowed to own, let alone carry a weapon of any type.  Walking sticks without a doctors note could get you brought up before a magistrate.

The final notation represents the worlds technology level.  C stands for Average Imperial.

Munduan is obviously a vacuum world, non industrial, non agricultural.  It needs to import just about everything.  In fact, the only thing it has going for it is that it is the link between this subsector and 3 others, and has a large if somewhat older starport. It also hosts a Scout Base, and it shares it's star with a gas giant, which is where the Starport harvests it's fuel to sell to those passing through the system.

Since Shinobicow of The Dump Stat is posting characters for the rest of the year, I'm going to give them a subsector to inhabit and explore. 

The Classic Traveller Starter Kit is currently available for free from RPGNow. It contains all you need to play Traveller including rules for character, world, sector, starship and encounter generation as well as two complete classic adventures to kick start your own exploration among the stars. Go get it!