Product Review - The Bronze Case

TheBronze Case, by Richard Hazlewood, published by Stellagama Publications

My buddy Omer at the Den of the Lizard King sent me a copy of this adventure. Thanks Omer!  Go get a copy, visit his blog, and tell him what you think. I'm making my review in the format that I've used for reviewing the JTAS Amber Zone adventures.

Location: Amaterasu, a mid-pop, high law, TL-8 world

Patron: Amy - a freelance agent.

Mission: Help Amy deliver the bronze case to its destination.

Complications: There are a lot of folks who want to steal the case. The local law level means that the Travellers won't have access to their usual assortment of heavy weaponry.

Payoff: Cr 10,000 to the group for successful delivery.

Strong Points: This is a good old-fashioned “accidental spy” adventure, where the Travellers get swept up in bigger events swirling around them. Once it gets going, they won't have time to stop and catch their breath. There's plenty of danger, and options for player ingenuity. The NPCs are nicely fleshed out with MgT style stat blocks. A successful mission means the Travellers now have a new contact in Amy, and maybe a romantic possibility? They may have new enemies, or patrons, depending on how they respond to the other players in the drama. By scaling the opposition, this adventure could be for a solo PC.

Weak Points: Not a lot of opportunity for PCs to bring their social skills into play, the opponent forces are (as written) not likely to listen. The titular case is a macguffin, which does reduce the PCs motivation to simple monetary gain. Players might decide partway through that bailing on Amy is safer, if less rewarding. One niggle: the local TL is 7 (1970's Earth) but vehicles are all equipped with GPS devices? Maybe MgT breaks up the TL periods differently from CT.

What I'd change: I have no suggestions for this adventure. It's a fast-paced gig that could be played out in one session or two. 

In My Traveller Universe: If I ran this adventure, I'd put it on Kemasiik, in the Corridor [B-68466B-5]. The Law level is high, and the captive government could put the lockdown on commodities the gangs are after. The Empire has some influence there so Talaveran corporations could have facilities on-planet. Local TL is low, but with off-world influence (Kemasiik is controlled by VanGoff's World) there could be lots of TL-7/8 gear to be had.

Map: The adventure route runs roughly along the coastline, but I decided to change it up a bit and give the players two routes. Both have a half-way point where one of the plot points occurs. Each hex is approx. 100 km.

I made this map, using Hexographer. It may be reproduced or modified without permission.