Casual Encounter - Adelaide Thrupp

Who says you have to use guns to have adventures in Traveller?
 
Adelaide Thrupp 577AC8 Age 50 Diplomat 3^rd Secretary 8 Terms Cr 210,000

Retired, 10,000 cr/year TAS member, 1 High Passage

Gambling-1, Carousing-1, Interrogation-1, Liaison-2, Streetwise-1, Vacc Suit-1, Forgery-1, Computer-2

Adelaide (Addy) came from a solidly respectable middle class family on Gataneau in the Talaveran Empire. She decided to make her career in public service and joined the Imperial Diplomatic Corps (IDC), and was assigned to the Corps headquarters on Talavera.

Third Secretary Thrupp lays down the law. You would do well to listen up, citizen.

In her first term she was assigned to work with the Imperial Ministry of Justice (MoJ) on a case involving an illegal gambling house with extra-Imperial ties. The casino was successfully shut down, and she was rewarded for her good work with a promotion to Third Secretary.

Non-human Aliens and the Church, take two

A few months ago I was asked about the possibility of non-humans becoming part of the Church in my TU. Honestly, I punted. I chose at the start to not have intelligent non-terrestrial Beings in my TU, and thereby got around the question. But when the question was posed, I started to think about it more. In that post, I admitted that it is possible that there are other Beings in the universe who possess the Divine Image, but I know nothing about what that would look like.

I am fond of reading Fr. Dave's blog Blood of Prokopius. Although he writes mostly about fantasy gaming, he also has played Traveller and has written a number of posts that discuss it in relation to the Orthodox faith. I don't know why I hadn't spotted the post I quote from before, but it explains much better than I did what I wanted to say about aliens and God.

Say No to generic equipment

Classic Traveller's vehicle section is not the game's strongest point - starships get a lot more coverage, and more detail. Striker has vehicle design rules, but for most folk that's too much detail. Here I propose an experiment; not yet a house rule. By means of a table already part of the game we can introduce variables into the generic vehicle designs, which can be just background/color or a plot hook. Please feel free to tell me whether you think this will work or not.

Battle of Reservoir Valley part 1

Recently I set up a new Striker scenario for my pals Dan and Cameron to fight out. Dan announced his side was The Grand Army of the Glebian Empire, while Cameron's forces were known as the Reservoir Pirates. They worked up their units and wrote their orders, and the battle began.

The original topo map inset. Note the reservoir at the left edge of the map.

The scenario called for a meeting encounter - two units out on patrol encountering each other in a wooded valley bordering a stream. Each side's objective was the same, they each were to cross the map and exit the side opposite from where they entered.

Hold the Line, Please! Distance and Communication in space

Pluto has been hot news recently especially among sci-fi fans and gamers. As it is one of the most distant objects in our solar system, the New Horizons spacecraft took nine long years to reach it. That's a long way away, and brings me to the point of this post, which is this:

SPACE IS VAST. SERIOUSLY. IT IS BIGGER THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE.

New Horizons spacecraft first photo of Pluto

From NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day for July 15, 2015:

New Horizons has survived its close encounter with Pluto and has resumed sending back images and data. The robotic spacecraft reported back on time, with all systems working, and with the expected volume of data stored. Featured here is the highest resolution image of Pluto taken before closest approach, an image that really brings Pluto into a satisfying focus. At first glance, Pluto is reddish and has several craters. Toward the image bottom is a surprisingly featureless light-covered region that resembles an iconic heart, and mountainous terrain appears on the lower right. This image, however, is only the beginning. As more images and data pour in today, during the coming week, and over the next year, humanity's understanding of Pluto and its moons will likely become revolutionized.

The Heavens declare the Glory of God

Pluto     X-110000-0

Of Robots and Clones

I have been pondering lately the existence of and the place of robots and clones in my TU. Both are fairly common features of sci-fi.There are two ways to approach these subjects: the practical and the philosophical.  I will deal with both questions for both types, robots first. 

A masterpiece of engineering

Clerics in my Traveller Universe

As priests have higher social standing at least in the Empire, it makes sense to use my popular revamped Nobles career tables to create a Priest career.

St Augustine

These tables assume that the priest is a Christian, ordained by the Orthodox Catholic Church. There are of course other religious groups IMTU, all of which do things differently.

The Church in the Corridor

Most of the churches in the Corridor are under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Moscow who has his See on Talavera. The relationship between the Church and the Empire is as complex in the Corridor as it is anywhere else. 

The Metropolitan of the Corridor is on Chapolco. The other worlds have Planetary Bishops, the lower population worlds sometimes share a bishop with another State.

Metropolitan Patrick VI 777ABD Age 46

Nobles/Church 7 terms

Theology-3, Leader-2, Administration-1, Pilot-1