Battle of the Sects, Part 3

Again, just a single sect at the moment but in keeping things at least partially consistent here we are again. The group was escorting Clyde to Bresselwythe when the keen ears of Violet heard what sounded like a bell. Her farming background recognized it as a bell used on livestock, and, just as they were about to turn down the path to the village, they saw Sister Ishbarra and Erirderlun Earthfury. The Sister, seeing how hurt Violet was, communicated that she could help. A bit alarmed as healing magic is not known on the world of Cidri, nor is the idea of laying on hands, the party really had no idea what to expect. Though silent, Sister Ishbarra's lips moved in a silent prayer to Logton, and Violet regained 3 of her strength points from the glowing hands of the cleric. Which cost Ishbarra 6 strength, greatly weaking the cleric. And I realized I really did not quite follow my rules but close enough - it will take a bit of playing and practice. They noticed the sister seemed awfully pale after this feat. Like all magic, though, she will recover 1 point for every 15 minutes of rest and prayer. Which means sitting still and not even travelling unless you are on the back of a cart. 

Heading down the path, they started to smell sulfur. The same sulfur smell from the cultist's ceremony. Then they see Indhyna the Demoness, and her little hell hound. Clyde manages to soil his britches and backs off with the horses.

The battle started, with Axe (okay, I am still not spelling this PC's name correct, and the player was not available this week) hanging back with the horses, ponies and Gerie the goat. Dawn threw a water bottle at the hell hound but missed. Hexis was perturbed that the Elf was throwing their water supply off into the woods. Even Sister Ishbarra, as greatly exhausted she was, joined the fight. There were some interesting moments: Dawn found that her arrows had no effect on the demon, Deimos let everyone know that demonic creatures often need magical weapons to have any affect. A brief discussion that silver weapons as used by magic users are not inherently magical, just safe to use but those who also wield magic. After the hell hound was readily dispatched back the demonic plain it came from, three tree golems showed up, and the fight continued. Dawn attempted to lasso the demon to try & pull her off balance, Violet and the cleric fought one of the smaller twig creatures, Hexis another, and Erirderlun was attacking the largest creature. Then Gertie came charging in and rammed it, arrows started appearing in the back of the one Hexis was fighting, and Indhyna suddenly found a magic snake wrapped around her throat (after 2 failed magic attempts by Deimos. 

Violet actually got killed, but the players remembered the luck stone, so I rerolled that attack and it missed. I'm going to have to see about letting the players acquire more of those perhaps. Moving on, the two smaller wood golum constructs were soon destroyed (Sister Ishbarra actually rolled a triple damage, destroying what was left of that thing), and arrows started appearing in the back other larger one the Dwarf was attacking, while Gertie had a critical fumble, so her horns were stuck in the limbs of that creature. Deimos, recalling the symbol that the demon came from, cast an illusion of it under her. She started sinking into the illusion, though still tried to get a blast out but missed. And in moments, the demon returned to her home plane.

From the woods, a most unusual character showed, a Harefolk. Which have not existed in my world until yesterday as I found the mini in a drawer, liked it, and set it aside as backup in case the party got into trouble. I do have Dungeon Ducks for OSE, but not sure how to do a Harefolk. But I do know she needs to have a high dexterity and the missile skill as she was shooting twice per round like Dawn.

Mine is yet to be painted, from the Reaper forums

Marion has been following the cultists. She is from somewhere to the far west in a land the players (nor I) have ever heard of. But the Demoness has caused problems in their part of the world in the past, and there have been signs she is starting to get more powerful again from the cult. She gave a bit of an info dump, but the key seems to be the old lady in the tower who originally opened the door for Indhyna to reappear on our world. Which sits somewhere near Stubboon's Second Stand.

After the introductions were completed, and the Master Physicker helps heal the few battle wounds, they head finally to Bresselwythe. Bruce is manning the gate (and yes, I kept calling Clyde Bruce, so obviously the next NPC had to be named Bruce. It is how we roll here). A bit of back and forth, and the group gets into the walled-off town. They tie the still sleeping cultist to a pole in a barn, and the group meets Ceteern Gur, who refuses to take payment for the adventures as they have saved on of their own.

A good night's sleep later, they are rested and try to find out why the girl cultist was killing Clyde. She was not happy, waking up to the staring face of Gertie, chewing whatever it is that goats chew. And Gertis is twice as large as most goats. Erirdurlun takes the goat to visit with the alchemist Ezmirylda.

The girl tells a tale of being forced to wed an older (and I did not mention that in the game, retconning time as I think it came across a bit better in my head than it did in the game) man in her village, and not wanting to so that, she fled. Hearing of the Indhyna League and that it lets women join and protects them, she found a local cult and joined in. This was her first sacrifice, but she was not holding back at the time and was willing to let Clyde get fed to Indhyna. She may have changed her mind once she saw what really happens when that demon eats her prey, but we'll never know that. She was also the one that lured Clyde out. Neither are particularly smart people. But they both clean up nice. Who knows - perhaps they will get together as Clyde is not an old man. 

And that was where we called the game. I had several NPCs to play, and sometimes got the accents I was attempting all screwed up. So having an NPC who took a vow of silence, and using a small erasable board worked out well for Sister Ishbarra. Other than my bad handwriting. And while I did print out more notes, they were not as well organized as they should be, so I was shuffling a bit. I gave out 120 XP this round as they did defeat a demon, perhaps a bit too easily but their next encounter with her may not go so well. We also gave Hexis a 2nd attack with his tail, which we both forgot most of th etime but managed to remember at least once. 

I also used a few of the creature cards, and they work out really well. I just have to make sure I pull them from that deck ahead of time, which I did do. So overall, I believe my preparation worked out a bit better this game. Still needs work, but progress is being made!

Hopefully everyone had a good time, and they may spend a day or two in Bresselwythe to recover. And Ceteern may mention that perhaps they could help: not only have young men gone missing, but some of the goat herds up in the hills seem to be missing some goats, and the goatherds say they saw flying women snatching up the goats...

And I probably need to come up with a tag for this adventure, so we can find all the posts for this particular round. Since they are after the Orc Fist, Orc Fist it shall be. I'll update previous posts so we can search for that easily via that word thing on the right of the posts (when viewing on a computer - don't think you see that on a phone).

Logton, God Of Healing

As one of the player characters, Violet Applewing, was almost killed in our last session (2 weeks ago now, and while we were supposed to play today, we had some issues so having to play next week). TFT is of course not like modern D&D: sleep and you are magically and completely healed (and no, not really sure that is the case but to me WOTC have really nerfed the actual game so that everyone essentially plays superheroes. But again, I digress...)

And so. I've been working on a few other things, including trying to finish some painting and working on NPCs that may help.

WIP but so close on a couple!

I'm going to try and bring up my homebrew rules I first outlined in this post. To do so, I've also come up with the God of Healing, Logton. And no, not a part of my original pantheon from way back when. I view that as an idea or starting point, not a straitjacket! However - Logton is one of the many offspring of Tionna, who, like Zeus, seems to have a wandering eye. 

Sister Ishbarra is a cleric of Logton. She is a red-robed woman, carrying a shield and hammer or mace. The mace has a symbol of a base crescent with a mace and a constellation of the Lamb. She has taken a vow of silence but does carry a slate and chalk (and I carry a small whiteboard with a dry erase pen if I can find it for the next game session!). She does use CSL (Common Sign Language) which of course, none of the players know. Especially as I just made that up as I write this. But it is now a thing in my world. She is always healing people when she can, though this can be at some cost to her as per the magic rules I came up with. Her mace is blessed, and so will do damage against magical creatures normally immune, such as demons. Which may also come in handy soon...and for me, the advantage of playing an NPC character with a vow of silence is I don't have to talk! As someone who can barely speak coherently far too often, trying to make distinct accents or voices for NPCs strains my already laboring ability to speak!

Sister Ishbarra

And yes, I wrapped her description around a mini I already had, and even painted. As in painted a couple years ago or more! But at least I am finally using it! I have a feeling she and Erirderlun Earthfury are on the same trail to Bresselwythe. And sadly, though Sister Ishbarra is silent, I feel Eirderlun is a talker. Mostly talking to his goat Genny but will talk to anyone. Ahh, but in re-reading:

While quiet until his 4th mug of ale, Erirderlun is quite knowledgeable and seems to be able to get along with just about anyone with a perfect phrase and has been known to de-escalate tense situations so he would not have to use his healing arts

My group seems to think all Dwarves have a Scottish accent. At least every single Dwarf they play has such an accent. I may try something entirely different, though doubt I'll be able to pull anything off. 

But while I am here, let's see about getting some additional info for our newest god in the pantheon! And dive again into the Lesser Key To The Celestial Legion! 

Logton, God of Healing

Logton, a child of Tionna the God of All Living Things and a mortal woman, is known as the God of Healing. His mother died during childbirth, and Logton grew up as a human, not knowing his celestial origins. He was also mute, never even crying as a baby. It was not until his 25th year when, seeing a child hurt from being hit by a wagon, that his celestial background awakened: holding the child, ethereal wings spread from his back, and the child was healed in a blaze of light. Knowledge of his father seemed to burst into his head and memory, and since then he has been prayed to and places of worship sprung up all over Cidri. His clerics often take a vow of silence. mimicking their god's mute appearance. 

Another AI drawing

His symbol is a crescent moon with a hammer and the Lamb constellation as the background. Often it is very ornately drawn or engraved, sometimes a few lines. 

Yeah, looks a lot like Sailor Moon was here...

His herald is roughly humanoid, and generally about 4' tall but with regular proportions. The herald appears to be made out of smoke. The smoke itself is of an orange hue with spirals in constant motion.  The herald's eyes seem to have 2 pupils, has smokey wings that mimic Logton's wings. The herald's incarnation is from a large egg that drops from the sky, cracking open to reveal the 4' smoky herald. And water within 60 feet freezes over, though it does not feel cold to anyone in that range. The is also, despite the freezing water, the smell of fresh rain. 

Bresselwythe - a small village that raises goats

At the end of the last TFT session, they had rescued poor Clyde, who was about to be a sacrifice to Indhyna. The cult surrounding this demon is outlined in this post, but looking forward to what is to come I needed the village where Clyde is from. 

Starting with the time-sink site from Watabou I ended up with this village (and that site lets us rename and mess with those maps, so a great resource. I did "buy a cup of coffee" once for the creator, maybe I should do so again! Or join his patron. But I digress.)

Then I drag out the Spectacular Settlements and roll on a few tables to get the following info:

Age: Old, almost 70 years now

Hardships: Victims of war 30 years ago, which is why the wooden palisade is in place. More recently, young men have started to go missing.

Size: Small, about 20 buildings

Condition: Immaculate. The buildings are well-crafted and cared for, palisade almost gleams.

Specialty: Goats. There are a lot of goats in the surrounding fields. There is a shearing shed, fodder storage, a barn, a small stall and shop that other villages will trade at. Recently some goats have started going missing.

Population: Sparse, with a noticeable paucity of young men. 60% human, 40% goblins. All are very friendly

Law Enforcement: Disorganized rabble

Leadership: none

Crime: Uncommon (it is a small town). Though travelers may have a higher chance of something.

Places of worship: 1, an oratory in a glade outside of town. A small, wicker background and 3 stone benches in front. They pray to Tonna. Tonna's holy symbol sits on a trapezoid base and depicts a field of grain under the stars, usually carved in bone or ivory when near the sea. The grain is to feed the animals, and the stars represent Tonna herself. Most clerics or druids wear a modest robe during ceremonies, with ribbons adorning their hair. Reading from the sacred texts is accompanied by percussion and acapella singing. Mead is often poured out as a sacrifice. The ribbons are often knotted, which is also how messages and doctrines are passed along (part of the Druid's cant for Tonna is being able to read and write using the knotted ribbons). 

Places of Gathering: 1 large outdoor field where they have goat races, children and goblins racing one another.

Superstition: ivy over the lintel means no harm will come to those who come inside.

Additional: alchemist Ezmirylda Rixile: Soft-spoken and frail-looking, Ezmirylda is a skilled alchemist and poison maker. In her youth, the halfling traveled widely, making her living as an apothecary and discreetly selling poisons. While able to stay ahead of consequences from her nefarious trade, she eventually tired of constant travel, and decided to settle down in an unsuspecting community in need of an apothecary.

Since opening her shop, Ezmirylda has stopped selling poisons, so as not to be discovered, but she hasn’t stopped experimenting and trying to improve her potions and medicines. This does mean that sometimes the local populace becomes reluctant test subjects, but most of the settlement tolerates this because her treatments do work, even if they are a strange color.

She has also gotten good at goat doctoring since settling in Bresselwythe.

General Notes:

· The sounds of goats bleating can be heard a good distance away.

· Coming into town you will probably pass a herd or two of goats if daytime. More often than not children and goblins.

· Trade with several neighboring towns

The alchemist came from the same Spectacular Settlements book. There are sample settlements in there, but I just like rolling dice. But there is enough to go there, though I need a few more NPCs:

• Clyde's parents, Johann and Juli Smeigmeister, an older couple who despair of Clyde finding a wife and getting grandchildren. Those goats won't take care of themselves. They may look to the 2 female adventurers in the group as potential mates for their not-too-bright child.
• Ceteern Gur, goblin. Grumpy and has the largest flock of goats. Trades often with the neighboring towns and is probably the richest inhabitant. He has the only 2 story house in the village, and probably the only space for the group if they want to stay in a single place, assuming they stay.
• Lots of children who tend to ride goats. 
• lots of goats, some friendly, several not so much to strangers

I also have a few things that are affecting them, so may erase that war issue, though it was in the last generation. They are missing goats as well as young men, and I seem to have an overabundance of harpy miniatures for some reason...

WIP. And yes, even a harpy may be a blond!

And some notes in the Fantasy Trip Bestiary:

And while never 100% prepared, I think I have enough stuff to cover the 3-5 hours we play on Saturdays. I've got 1 pre-determined encounter, an interesting NPC I have in my head but need to write down all the things (some are but not enough) so I can play her readily, another probable encounter, then at least 1 potential side-quest for the village as those harpies aren't going to take care of themselves...and this group is pretty good at role-playing. And I have the minis I need ready to go this time - so hopefully no panic searching this time! Though I do need to set aside my box of "tavern" minis as they will suffice for town folk as well.

Though we cannot forget the main quest from Edge City: to Stubboon's Final Stand to get the Orc Fist before anyone else does. Especially the Indhyna League, who so far unbeknown to the group, is a cult around a demoness. Though they may find out this weekend!

Stubboon's Folly

More than 40 years ago I started drawing maps for fun, mostly to give lands to the minis I kept getting despite not actually playing RPGs. Here is the digital map of one of those larger areas (and sadly, I did this in Campaign Cartographer but somehow lost some of the connections/links when I moved the software, so will have to redo it at some point).

You will see that coming from the Spine Mountains to the north there are two routes, the Reach Route and Stubboon's Shortcut. At the time I was thinking a trader trying to cut weeks off the travel time from the undefined northern reaches to Edge City (also known as End City). 

So herein is the Tale of the Trader Stubboon.

Harry Stubboon was a trader, well renowned for his ability to get his goods to market faster than many others. This was well before Gate magic worked as well as it does now. But even now, sometimes the gates seem to refuse to carry some goods or stronger wizards can still hijack some gates. The trade routes are still as important as they were centuries past. 

Stubboon had made a most excellent deal with the northern warlords, having just carried a large caravan's worth of weapons, armor, books of learning (for even the warlords know the importance of knowledge). In return, Stubboon carried back a rich load of dragon dung, used for the creation of gunpowder, as well as northern herbs, wines and dark, dried berries to be made into what was known as bean juice, and magically crafted weapons created with magic unknown in the south. Some of these goods would not last the traditional Reach Route. The Reach Route stretched along the middle of the lands, not near the river pirates nor the horrors of the Terror Lands. Stubboon, having some maps of the Terror Lands, decided that the only way to get the goods to Edge City before some started to spoil, was to take a shortcut.

The first few weeks of travel were almost placid as Stubboon and his caravan left the icy crags of the Spine Mountains, heading straight to the menacing mass of the Wizard Mount. At the site of the always clouded-over peak, Stubboon lead his caravan past the Dump. The Dump is a magical dumping ground, rich in discarded magic that twists and turns on its own. Few who have entered have ever returned for magic works in odd ways there, and can twist reality itself.

I am painting a few things and may as well use them!  Creature from the Dump

It was after the Dump when events started turning dark for Stubboon. Creatures started following the caravan, and the slowest were starting to get picked off. The Terror Lands is named thusly for a reason: terrors in the day become worse terrors at night. Each night, more of the caravan was either missing, or bloody remains of what were once camels, donkeys, or guards. It turned into a continual journey through the dark forests, marshes and swamps with little to no rest for any.

A week after entering the Terror Lands, Stubboon has his first stand against the demonic creatures following them. Bypassing Woodfall, a ramshackle town somehow surviving at the edge, he pressed on to a more secure location. A large castle, the remains from an earlier empire pre-dating the Terror Lands, would give them some shelter than a town full of witches he felt. A few magic weapons were even found, and the caravan rested and fought in a well-defended fortress for a few days. Three days in and there seemed to be a lull in the constant attacks. Stubboon gathered his caravan and raced to the next safe place according to his maps, another long-forgotten castle outside the Terror Lands. Racing there, they made it, but the caravan was less than half of what it was at the start. This castle was in much better shape, but still in ruins. Stubboon's guards were down to less than a dozen fighters now, and 3 or 4 slipped out in the next few days while they rested and let the pack animals recover. 

Ready for what he thought would be the final push to Edge City, Stubboon led his caravan through the broken gates of the keep and headed south. Flying far overhead were creatures following his progress. Almost two weeks went by, and Stubboon thought he was safe from pursuit but never let his guard down. What was to be a few days away from Edge City, the final attack on Stubboon happened: the entire caravan was wiped out. Animals and guards were slaughtered or carried off, and Stubboon himself, fighting for his very life, was carried off back north.

To this day, one may hear rumors that somehow this merchant is still alive and in torment by demons call forth by the wizards of the Mount. Or that there are treasures to be found at those stands, left behind in their headlong rush to escape the magical persecution. Some cartographers have offered large rewards for the maps Stubboon has, for he did get further through the Terror Lands than any before or after him. Stubboon's Folly is a name that can be given to any ill-conceived idea. Even the name Stubboon can be used as an insult for some, though mostly in the merchant circles. As the centuries passed, fewer recall the origins of the insults, though cartographer's still offer rewards for the maps, and rumors of magical weapons on the lost routes to the north persist to this day.

Battle of the Sects, the Followup

Seeing as our group interrupted the ritual of a few women about to sacrifice Clyde, and I happened to be painting so demon-type things, I figure I should use those no-longer-grey pieces of plastic. I was actually painting a few things, but I had picked out the demon minis as I have a box of a few demons already painted, so figured I could add some. And as our last alternate game (which is at my friend's house, and for some reason I never recap games I am not running...maybe I should) has an imp, I do have some imp minis. Though knowing him, he also has a lot of imps and demons to choose from.

Who interrupted my meal?

And while I have 2 weeks to plan a few things out, I also know I procrastinated a lot the last few times. Now my plan is to have the minis and any papers I need all ready to go instead of having to frantically search for where I stashed the cultists (one of my boxes is going to be cultists and religious figures: the monks, clerics and cultists. Religion in a box!)

The general idea is that I'll also introduce Erirderlun Earthfury, as while technically I cannot stack the healing up, he will have some healing potions. And he will know of the sect in question, as our group has never heard of it. 

And since my random rumor card had the Indhyna League also looking for the Orc Fist. And as I have a book on creating cults...

The Indhyna League is essentially a bandit gang: a bandit gang are usually groups of murderers, muggers, thieves and/or rogues. In our case, we're also going to throw in a bit of the eldritch for our cultists, who are part of the League. Sometimes the die roll does not do what you want, but rules for RPGs are really more of suggestions at times! But the banditry helps get them money for some of the more expensive parts of their rituals. Which the women our group killed (except for the one prisoner they have) apparently only had those necklaces with the runes, which did give off magic to Deimos. 

The Indhyna League is not particularly wealthy or powerful but does have 5 buildings in a few towns north of Edge City, as well as their own stronghold near Stubboon's Final Stand. The small town of Bresselwythe (where Clyde is taking them) may or may not have a building that the League uses. But those buildings they have access to are:

• a hospital (often used to treat their members, so at least one physicker is a member)
• a granary (there is a hidden room. Now I need to find images of granaries to see just where and how we put a hidden room!)
• a safe house (perhaps even in Edge City!)
• a carpenter's (giving access to wooden goods. Often crates with a secret bottom to smuggle goods)
• a workshop. Tools for keeping their gear in good working order

Their stronghold is an old wizard's tower, just on the outskirts of the remains of the outpost of Stubboon's Final Stand. And yes - I will eventually have to write up just what Stubboon's First, Second and Final Stands are all about. I had this idea back in college but never wrote it down. Yet I still remember the basic idea of what I was planning. 

The League has a special resource of armor: they give all the lieutenants and higher ranked thugs special weapons. One of the reasons they are going for the Orc's Fist: it is for one of the leaders. Hah - see, I managed to work that random roll on a table into the narrative. 

The Indhyna League got started more than 50 years ago, when Loretta Darcival heard an eerie message from a plane of demons. She was a large woman but was beaten by her husband. Indhyna, the voice, gave her the power to overcome her husband. Lorretta killed him and left the small town to start the cult to help empower those who were beaten down. Over the years, and via more violent sacrifices, the leagues has been getting both larger and darker. It is probably 2/3 women, and the majority of the leaders are women. Lorretta is now housebound in her tower, but still directs the League. They pray for boons and powers from the demonic plane and are often gifted weapons of magical abilities. They have also been given a massive grimoire, which Lorretta and trusted lieutenants have been adding to over the years. This book sits on the top floor of the tower, in a room adjacent to Lorretta's bedroom. 

Not all of their techniques use overt force: when they can, they have killed off those in power and managed to get their cult members put into that power. While originally it was to help pass laws to help the weak, over the years that focus has been somewhat lost in the thirst for more power. 

To communicate with the demon plane, they need the blood of young male virgins. Lorretta discovered this when her husband, in a drunken rage, cut their son, and from that blood, Indhyna could first be heard. Over the years, this grew from a simple cut to full scale sacrifice. More blood gave more boons and power. Without these sacrifices, the cult would soon lose contact with Indhyna and her fellow demons. 

The symbol often associated with the League is a spider spinning a web of flames. 

Lorretta is now approaching 70 years old, and her skin, from years of contact with Indhyna, glows with a lava-like appearance. She radiates heat but does not seem to be bothered by it. One of the reasons is that she is now undead: Indhyna has granted Lorretta life after death to gain more followers. And the radiant heat covers the scent of her undead flesh. (Note: one of the characters actually has a +3 sword against undead from an earlier adventure, and this undead thing was just what I rolled up on the table!) Despite her lust for power, she remains true to some of her roots, and wears simple peasant garb. In fact, most of the League wears poor clothing as most of them are from poor backgrounds, seeking strength and protection from others. Then turning that into a vicious assault on those who would have assaulted them first. 

Lorretta is rarely still: despite needing a cane now to walk, she is always getting up and re-arranging something. If the rest of the cult knew she was embezzling gold from the collections, they may turn on her, and this is part of the reason she is rarely at rest. She has managed to siphon off gold for her child and 2 grandchildren. They have no idea who their benefactress is, but they live in comfort in Edge City. 

The Indhyna League employs fences in numerous towns and cities, including Edge City. The fence in Edge City may be getting some idea about the embezzlement of funds to the rich quarter of town, but so far has not done anything about it. 

Staying in the stronghold is Lorretta's right-hand man, the Summoner. I'll have to come up with another post for him as this one is getting quite long! There is also a Loremaster, another man, who has added several pages to the Indhyna Grimoire. 

Traveller 5.10 Book 2: Starships Pt 1

 Book 1 is reviewed here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10

And decided to continue my overview of Traveller 5.10. And just like Benny, I do like spaceships!

Star Systems

Book 2 starts with star systems, what our starships are travelling to and from. Unlike the original Classic (though Book 6 Scouts greatly expanded it) that covers just the main world, we get an overview of distances, Oort clouds, Kuiper Belts, and some definitions for inner, outer and remote systems. To quote Douglas Adams:

Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.”

Even a single system is immensely, mind-bogglingly huge. And of course, we start with an image of the inner system, and like a lot of programming languages, the orbits start at orbit 0 (Book 6 did the same thing, and I do wonder why they start at 0 though it is natural to me due to my software background). 

Then we have charts, lots and lots of charts. Orbital distances, decimal orbits and habitable zones for the inner, outer, remote and Oort cloud and beyond systems take 2 pages apiece. It is interesting to see that some stars surfaces are way out there to Jupiter's orbit (if I am reading that chart correctly, which is not always a given as I've previously noted that a lot of T5.10 I think makes sense to Marc but he had a hard time getting it out in a way that makes sense to others). A nice chart also gives the habitable zone by stellar type, and I'll admit I've been relying on Heaven & Earth to do all that for me, based off of book 6.  

We get more charts on close satellites, our moons or in rare cases, our main planet orbiting a gas giant. And 2 pages for far satellites. 

No details on generating worlds (that is Book 3) but details for where they all go. Not entirely sure why it is here rather than the worlds book, but then things in these books are often placed in what I think is not the best place. It would help if there more in-situ references in the rules as to where to reference these charts, but alas, that is not the case.

Starports

We have several pages detailing starports. I have at least a couple supplements and things on starports, and I think these can and should be a lot more interesting than they usually are in play. For me, a larger starport is really a city-state, in the case of the Imperium, something that is part embassy and part a planting of the flag. The GURPS Starport book is actually a very good book, though it uses the big ship/high traffic GURPS Traveller universe so I often just divide those numbers by 10. 

Not a whole lot has changed: the definitions of the class are the same, and we also have the book 6 spaceports. We do have rules now for the chance of a high port based on the class and population. And they note that an asteroid main world has a beltport rather than a starport. Something I will have to remember! And a small chart indicates that it takes 2d hours to refuel at a class A or B, and 4D at a C or D class starport. Which honestly: it should depend on the size of the tanks to fill up cross-referenced maybe with the starport type. Well, at least that is what I think!

There are, of course, some charts but it is more full of some long-needed definitions. The terminal may have the concourse, freight docks, customs and immigration, cargo market, accommodations, data terminals, message center and emergency medical. The peripheral facilities can include the SDE (starport defense establishment), auxiliary traffic control, scout and/or naval bases, the consulates, system defense field, shipyard, repair shops, transport hub and possibly some industry.

Some overview of the starport authority (also covered in the TJAS article by John Ford, which has always been one of my favorite articles), the port warden and regulation enforcement. I think an entire book (in the classic book series sense of book) could have been written for starports and included the SPA character generation. Of course, I do have at least 2 SPA character generation rules, so I feel several people have thought this over the years. And Steve Jackson Games did publish an entire book as mentioned above!

We have a listing and description of a few non-official facilities such as the Scout Lounge, the Lone Star and TAS (and the Travellers Aid Society itself could have an entire book devoted to it as well! I vaguely recall there were rumors about that at one time. And for some reason I thought Mongoose may have been considering it as well, but I may very well be misremembering). 

External to the starport we have the local world or system government, interstellar government, ship owners and operators, passengers and shippers. 

The last two pages cover a typical stay at a starport, the various ambiences you may have depending on world type, the special cases of the Depot (Navy usually) and Way Station (Scouts), and some notes on high volume worlds.

The last page has a typical class E port. Seems like there used to be this very same picture, but it evolved to cover the upgrades all the way to the class A port. And I also know way back when COTI had a really good thread on starports, and somewhere (!) I saved off a lot of the images of the port going from a class E to A. 

Next overview post we actually start covering starships!