Tarkine Down - Amber Zone Reviews #19

Amber Zone: Tarkine Down, by Roger Moore 
Check out the series introduction here.

Free Trader Beowulf, now landing at Dock 12.

Location: Tarkine (District 268/Spinward Marches)

Patron: Administrator of Scout Base Tarkine

Mission: A one-year security ticket for a battalion sized mercenary unit. The mission is to provide security for the base and starport, as the local populace is in a state of unrest.

Complications: The planet is under Imperial occupation, and is mostly cut off from the rest of the District. Anti-Imperial rioting has been on the increase. A riot in a nearby town spreads towards the starport, and the mercs are subjected to harassment attacks, bombs, mortar & rocket attacks, snipers, sabotage, etc. It is likely that any kind of offensive moves against the populace will result only in more anti-Imperial feeling. An unexpected guerrilla attack is launched against the starport and base, in near-equal strength, and with near-comparable weaponry in the hands of the guerrillas.

Payoff: 4 MCr up-front money, MCr 0.5 per month in payroll, and a success-only bonus of 5 MCr at the end of the year.

Strong Points: This is another adventure for the Mercenary/Striker players, but again, it could be undertaken by BK1 characters, taking the part of the mercenary leaders and keeping the major action centered around the PCs. Once the assault described in the adventure is resolved, the referee still has the bulk of a year in which to challenge and bedevil the players. The cause of the civil unrest is beyond what the mercs could manage to change, but diplomatic PCs could give it a try. The group will be on Tarkine long enough for the referee to develop other adventures out of this setup.

Weak Points: Once again, this scenario is set on a world with only near-current Earth technology. If the mercs are armed with TL 11+ weapons, putting down the guerilla incursion will be too easy. The description of the facilities to be defended are sketchy, the scout base is not described at all.

What I'd change: I don’t think that I’d change anything about this adventure; I’d flesh it out some (introduce important NPCs) if I were to use it as a campaign basis, but that’s all. It is a solid, if unspectacular adventure.

In My Traveller Universe: This adventure would make sense on an Independent planet that is near to one of the Big Four. Urdova (Five Worlds-American 0703) has a larger population but comparable tech level, and it is within Jump-2 range of the UPA planet New Georgia. 

The Map: this map was made by me, using Hexographer (www.hexographer.com) it may be used or modified without restriction.

 Legend: the red building is the Scout Base office. The smaller buildings are other buildings. The Skyscrapers are the starport, with four spaceships around it for the four landing pads. The fence is light gray, the paved surface of the port is darker gray. The anchor is the river port, the ships are the docks. The four corners are the guard towers. The triple dots are the minefields surrounding the port. The infantry figure is the mercs barracks.

The Religious Landscape in my Traveller Universe

 Continuing from my previous post Orthodoxy and Traveller:
In My Traveller Universe (IMTU) there is the Orthodox Catholic Church, as well as:

• Islam
• Buddhism
• Scientific Materialism
• Nativist/Animist religions
• Personality cults
• schismatic/heretical christian churches 

The Day of the Glow - Amber Zone Reviews # 28

Amber Zone: The Day of the Glow, by Marcus Rowland from JTAS # 16

Check out the series introduction here.

Location: The planet Purfyr (Foreven 2211)

Patron: None, initially. Eventually the PCs may be hired/conscripted by the Purfyrian government.

Mission: Survive, and help the planet recover.

Complications: The setup of this adventure makes it appear that the locals are all turning into vampires. Many of the classic signs are there – aversion to sunlight, long teeth, desire for blood. Also, persons affected by the condition usually go violently insane. It could happen to anyone, including the PCs; they might already be affected by the time the adventure starts!

Payoff: PCs who volunteer their skills to help fight the outbreak and aid recovery can get paid up to Cr 12,000.

Strong Points: The adventure is set up as a sci-fi horror story, which could be a big surprise for a lot of players. The possibility of the PCs succumbing to the condition will keep tension high. It could be set on any mid-tech, mid-population world. The truth behind the outbreak is sensible. Preventing the condition from spreading off-world could be its own adventure. The local government reacts in an effective manner, so the situation does not instantly devolve into anarchy. Countering the condition is explained and is not (in the end) dependent on the PCs. The PCs could, if they approach it right, end up being big heroes, and gain a very positive reputation, and not just locally. This is the real strength of this adventure – a chance for the PCs to be heroes. A wide range of skills will be called upon.

Weak Points: After the PCs gain the treatment necessary to reverse/prevent the condition, the excitement level could fall dramatically, as the adventure shifts to clean-up work. All of which would have to be spun up by the referee. If they were more invested in Purfyr, this might be compelling. As written, the PCs are a visiting merchant crew, so they have no reason to be that compelled to want to help. It is likely the PC's first instinct when the plague begins is to high-tail it for the ship and lift out. The referee would have to railroad them into staying. The PCs will be stuck on Purfyr for nearly two months; this could be trouble if the PCs have other operations going on.

What I'd change: This would work even better (and be easier to handle) in an enclosed habitat (orbital or ground) – fewer places to run & hide, dense population, less map-making required for the referee. If I ran this adventure, I'd do it after the second or third time the PCs visited the world, so they had some attachment and investment in the world. I would rather the PCs wanted to stay and help to having to trap them inside the 'hot zone'.

In My Traveller Universe: Horror is not my genre, so I would not use this adventure in my TU.

No specific maps are called for with this adventure. 

Falling, a sci-fi short story

My third Traveller inspired short story has been published by the good folks at Lantern Hollow Press.

My protagonist, Alex Kingsway, awakens to unexpected trouble in Falling. Will he find a way to escape a fatal landing?

Gallery of Worlds June 2014 

Read Just Across Town from the August 2013 issue

Four, no Five, no Six posts for understanding Classic Traveller

I started off with four, but kept finding more. Read 'em and enjoy.

http://andyslack.wordpress.com/2013/05/13/what-ct-77-got-right/
On Animal Encounters: "I still remember the PCs hunting 30-ton pouncers in AFVs. Man, that was nuts."
On Interstellar Empires: "There aren’t any. Nor do you need them."

 http://waystarhighport.blogspot.com/2012/04/to-z-t-is-traveller.html
Quote: What is Traveller? "The two consistent things about Traveller are that there is no faster-than-light communication, and that Jumps last approximately one week. The best description of what Traveller is comes from the little black box that the little black books came in, way back in 1977. Traveller is “science fiction adventure in the far future”.

http://andyslack.wordpress.com/2011/01/18/classic-traveller-skills/

Quote: "Traveller weapon expertise wasn’t a skill level in the way that we now understand the term. All player characters had expertise 0 in all weapons, meaning as a PC you could pick up anything from a spear to a laser rifle and use it. (NPCs did not enjoy this privilege, suffering severe penalties if they tried to use a weapon without expertise.) Expertise with a weapon in CT is more like D&D weapon specialization or the Savage Worlds Trademark Weapon edge; it is a statement about the character’s signature combat style and his favorite tools for the job.
However, compared to the die roll modifiers for range and target armor, the effects of expertise are quite low; the way to take a foe down was to pick the right tool for the job . . ."

http://andyslack.wordpress.com/2013/05/15/end-game/
On Character Generation: "But, the thing about character generation in the 1977 edition of Classic Traveller is this: It’s the end game.
Fresh out of character generation, the typical PC is in his late 30s or early 40s. He’s the same age as Conan was when he seized the throne of Aquilonia. He’s done the spacefaring equivalent of all that dungeon-crawling crap, served his time in the trenches, and now he is ready to concoct "daring schemes for the acquisition of wealth and power", as Book 3 put it."

http://gondica.wordpress.com/2011/08/18/traveller-the-grizzled-veteran/ 
Quote: "Traveller was designed by people that know the science of geography, e.g. Marc Miller. This academic field influences the rules for designing planets. The gamemaster starts with specifying the planet’s physical qualities (size, atmosphere, hydropgraphy), which influence its population size, which in turn influences its political arrangements and technological development level, which in turn influence its economic parameters.
When you created player characters, they existed within a socioeconomic system. They chose professional careers and got money and equipment accordingly, they aged (occasionally even died) before entering the game. This is an approach influenced by social sciences and since my academic background is political science and history, this game turned out to be the right one for me.

http://travellermerc.wordpress.com/2011/03/24/why-play-a-70s-game-in-2011-is-travellerstriker-dead/

Quote: "The play occurs within the flexible sci-fi format that allows flat out historical refights, pulp like adventures, xenomorphs vs human (a la the Alien or Predator franchises), all in addition to the laser pistol toting, vacc suit wearing space opera one might expect from a sci-fi game. Traveller’s tech levels, despite some obvious challenges, remain a great way to hold on to history, alternative history and science fiction all in the same game context. That makes for an impressively flexible tool.
Classic Traveller and its sub-games like Snapshot, Striker et al. provided a game-making toolkit rather than simply a game."

Cout D'etat - Amber Zone Reviews # 16

Amber Zone: Coup D'etat by Loren Wiseman from JTAS # 10
Check out the series introduction here.

It's like Prisoner of Zenda - in SPACE!

Location: Anywhere; the planet is not named, the only information is that it lies at the borders of the Imperium, and has a constitutional monarchical government and only moderate tech level.

Patron: The Crown Princess Glorinna Firella. Because rescuing princesses never happens in RPG's.

Everything is better with Princesses.

Mission: This adventure is a mercenary ticket for a company sized unit, as a security/pacification mission. The King, Glorinna's father, is in danger of overthrow by armed revolution and the Princess is trying to arrange damage control. The mercs will supplement the royal forces while the Princess tries to ride out the unrest.

Complications: The revolt touches off almost as soon as the mercs land; so the mission changes on the fly to protecting the Princess. She's got a palace in the country where they can hole up, but it's a summer home, not a fort. There are lots of local forces joining the rebels, so the PC's group is very outnumbered. The rebel leader is intent on getting control of Glorinna – guess what happens if you marry the princess? Holed up in the castle with the princess are a lot of loyal non-combatants to take care of. In a week's time, a ship will arrive to evacuate them, but there may not be enough room for everyone.

Payoff: 750,000 payroll, with the promise of continued employment

Strong Points: I really want to do this adventure. The setup is simple yet it can be fiendishly complex to keep the patron safe. The tension level should be high at all times, what with all these rebels knocking on the gates, and taking pot-shots at anyone sticking their head out a window. The referee can keep the PCs one die roll from disaster for a week. There's plenty of opportunity to trot out fun hardware from Book 4 like artillery and use the abstract battle system. However, the rebel forces are limited in their attack options, as their goal is to capture the Princess, which means they can't just level the palace with artillery. The PCs can also take the offensive, sneaking out of the castle to launch raids against the enemy's encampments. Depending on the outcome of the one-week stand, there is potential for a long campaign to re-conquer the world, or rescue a captured Princess, or even start a counter-revolt to take over on their own.

Weak Points: There will be a lot of record-keeping for the players and the referee in this one. Tracking ammo expenditure is no-one's idea of a good time, but the referee should insist on it, as the PCs have no source of resupply. Also the referee will have to make up several maps beforehand, at different scales, as there will be lots of tactical movement to be monitored.

What I'd change: I would give the option of a small group of well-equipped (TL 11+) PCs instead of the merc company; the size of the opposition would have to change as well for the sake of balance.

In My Traveller Universe: I'd put this adventure on Pampati (Holtzmann 0406) I specifically crafted this planet for my TU with this adventure in mind; it's low tech, poor and has the right government type and is lightly populated.