Happy Birthday Traveller

A day past the 40th anniversary we played the last round in my current game. The good doctor Boris is doing a larger loop around the Trojan Reach before returning (possibly) to Glisten, and our young Scout, accompanied by Li as his engineer, is returning to Cyan to get his ship fixed as well as report on what happened.

I pretty much soft pedaled the adventure - originally I was thinking the Katydid would not be able to even launch, thus fixing the issue with 2 players and having 2 ships. However, as things worked out with real life, the plan changed a bit.

The Katydid was downed by an EMP, creating an impact crater on Selshor. The planet having a very thin atmosphere meant that the ship was almost safe from the local TL 6 governments. Between the high altitude requiring extensive equipment to live, and an almost impervious crystaliron hull, the ship, while scuffed and marked with repeated attempts to enter, was still safe and sound.

The first trip was a scouting trip to see how bad things were.  Using a probe to create ECM, the ship's pinnace landed nearby and Travis, Francine and Ferdinando got into the ship. They had a few minutes before the local government forces arrived from their base camp a couple of kilometers away.  They managed to get the ships logs and do a quick engineering survey and found that the ship was damaged but that they could probably repair it.

Another day in orbit, and Travis, Ferdinando and Boris return to the ship. They get enough fuel to get the Katydid to orbit, and start on the repairs. The local goons show up, waving submachine guns, but they are unable to get in or do any damage to the ship. Additionally, the local forces only have a couple of hours of air before having to return to the base camp.

It takes another full day to repair the Katydid enough to get her into orbit, along with the daily display of impotent machismo from the local government. Finally everything is as ready as they can make it. Travis starts up the engines, and they sputter. Assuming a fusion plant can  sputter....In the meantime, Le Suroit mentions that another crawler has just reached the plateau, hauling what appears to be a howitzer of some sort. As the terrain is unforgiving, and the crawlers are slow, they do have some time. Which they needed - it was the third attempt that finally got the Katydid launched, and moments later they matched high orbits with Le Suroit.

A few days of additional repairs, and the two ships parted ways, and we pretty much finished the mini campaign.

Last Traveller Sunday

The upcoming Traveller Sunday may be the last - one of my players is dropping out.  Hopefully due to other things in real life versus just not enjoying the game.  Sometimes it is hard to tell.

The Selshor system is a red zone system. The primary reason, outside of being outside the Imperium, is the rabidly xenophobic residents. Yes, another xenophobic planet, but at least this one is not a dictatorship - it is a balkanized world (well, one of the governments could be a dictatorship).

It is a small planet with deep crevasses where the population lives in one of 3 major or a few of the smaller valleys where the air is merely thin versus very thin. Most of the planet is high plateaus, which is where the Katydid, Travis' Scout ship, crashed down.  The reasons are not yet known as to why the ship crashed, and the Scout that managed to escape, one of the scientists aboard Le Suroit, has only hazy recollections other than an almost dire fear of the planet itself.

During the week in jump, between research on Girly Girl the Lord Fish and trying to study up on astrogation, the Travellers learn what they can about Selshor.  Beyond the physical information on the system (11 planets and a planetoid belt, 3 gas giants) not much is known about the actual population. The last ISS survey as 11 years ago and apparently they did not get too close to the population at the time. It is estimated that there are about 800-900,000 people, all human, split into 3 major population centers in 3 different canyons that support human life.  The planet is a desert planet with no surface water, although there must be underground water for the nearly 1 million residents.

Traveller Sunday

We sped through a couple of planets: Candia was a desert planet ruled by yet another dictator. Le Suroit stopped by the gas giant, made a few wilderness runs with Travis learning to fly the pinnace, the regular maintenance by the engineers, a very successful research roll, then on to the next system. T'yana is a rich garden world.  Travis and Li restocked with fresh produce as well as frozen and packaged supplies while the pinnace made a few trips reloading fuel and cargo.  There was yet another very successful research roll, so Dr. Boris is making headway on the Lord Fish issue.

This is where they left off: our next session we'll see how well Travis does on his astrogation, how well the doctor and scientist manage to continue their research on Girly Girl (the name of the Lord Fish, who is in a huge tank in the main lab).

Selshor is where the Katydid crashed more than 6 months ago, getting on to a year now.  Selshor is outside the Imperium, so while the physical status are well known, the politics and society are not as well known.  Dr. Francine Occa, who was a crew member of the Katydid and managed to escape, only knows that the population is even more xenophobic than Cyan's ruling class, and that the ship crashed on a high plateau with extremely thin air. Her rescue was quite fortunate - Selshor does not get many passing ships.  She recommends extreme caution in their approach.

Traveller Sunday

Flying back to the Cyan Port, there is a light snow covering the tarmacs, and the occasional craft launching or landing in the distance.  Boris, Travis and Li part ways with their Marine guards, and go to the Port Hotel where they have a few hours before their dinner with the Countess. Li leaves to get some shopping done, while Travis and the Doctor clean up and do some research on the Countess and try to catch up on local news.  Most of the local news is state-sponsored propaganda, but even there is little negative news on the Countess. The Imperial database indicates she has been a career diplomat and has moved up through the ranks consistently over the years, and is now the Imperial representative on Cyan. Her goals, as listed by her bio, are to bring peace and prosperity to Cyan. Knowing how the nobility works, our Travellers are aware that prosperity will also be coming to the Countess.

Li returns with several bags, and asks if she too is invited. As she was, both Boris and Dr Duk-Lyle almost appear affronted that she even made such a suggestion.  So quickly pulls out a fairly spectacular semi-formal gown, and returns.  Amidst the praise, a slight bump on her thigh is revealed to be a small holster and pistol. With a grin and "it doesn't hurt a girl to try" she quite easily leaves the small body pistol behind. 

They are met at the hotel entrance by a port taxi, and are quickly shuttled to the racing yacht. Met at the airlock by an austere butler, they are ushered into the dining area where they are met with delight by Countess Millie. A coffee and introductions are exchanged, and Millie offers a tour of the yacht before dinner. Travis recognizes the coffee from Trane, and finds to his dismay that the Countess imports it at a fair expense. The yacht is a Kitaro class racing yacht, so is not a typical Traveller yacht.  Fine yet subdued appointments show a refined taste. They are led to the large kitchen where Chef Waldo and is sous-chef are busy cooking. They are almost ejected from the kitchen by the same chef who is busy cooking some sort of fish.  The rest of the tour goes well, from the small pool with the complete holographic wall system, to the larger than expected engineering section. At the rear of the ship is the garage, currently with 2 grav speeders.

At pleasant chime announces that dinner is served. Returning to the dining room, they encounter the Marquis Juliette Sung Ottowald who they last saw on Trane.  A very pleasant dinner was served, and making rolls against social, Travis noted that the fish is exceptional and wonders if it is Lord Fish.  And indeed it is (note that Lord Fish is from the http://travellerrepublik.blogspot.com/ site - thanks!)  The Countess notes that she has an idea she would like to discuss after dinner.

So, after a resplendent meal, after dinner is served causing Travis to grimace at missed opportunity. Her plan is to finance Le Suroit to research keeping the Lord Fish tasty for more than a couple of days after processing. This fish is not only expensive due to its rarity but also that it has to be shipped live - once dead, despite any preparation, the taste and value rapidly declines.  She offers a cool Cr250,000, enough to pay for the fuel processor as well as purchase a fish or two at Kryslion, their next port of call. Li continues to elbow both Travis and Dr. Duk-Lyle, so they take an electronic copy of the contract to review it.

They end up hiring an advocate to review the document, and decide to modify it so that they will also get a cut of the profits going forward should they actually manage to find a way to preserve the flesh. The Countess readily agrees to the new contract. So now they have a six month window at Kryslion to see if they can do what has not been done despite more than 50 years of trying.

Now from the GM/Player perspective: this allows the players to finance the Cr180,000 fuel system they needed for the ship, as well as give them some additional incentive to explore Kryslion.   They do not have a definitive time to get to Selshor (the original goal of this adventure, to retrieve the Katydid. However, the Scouts would prefer a sooner rather than later).  The chances of them succeeding are pretty low but not impossible. It will be a weekly roll that has to be met each time. Success will move forward, near success may lead them to an incorrect research path, and failure may really mess them up. This is a task chain, so I need to read up on that.

Additionally, I had set up some maps to have Purity shot down in Startown. This was an option if they wanted to get some combat in. Combat being possibly fatal in Traveller. Also gives me a chance to bring out a Zombie game that has road and building tiles so we can have a tactical game. Zombies will be the opponents.  Just using the pieces...

Traveller Sunday - Prison Escape

As we last left our Travellers, Dr. Duc-Lyle and the Warden, accompanied by Corporal Pagille Ortirez and Warden Brownartz, were heading to the site of the missile explosion. Travis, Purity, Pennity and the Level 1 Warden (whose name escapes me as I never came up with this one!) were also headed there in another grav APC.  As were 4 Imperial SDBs. They must have timed it well as they pretty much all arrived at the same time.

The Renegade (Scout ship) was missing it's mechanic/Engineer, who was driving the 4 wheeler with the additional sensors on board to help triangulate the mole vehicle. There was a smoking 30-40 meter crater in the jungle, with trees pushed back along the edges. Some terse communications later, there was a Cyan SDB settled on one side of the crater, an Imperial SDB parked on the other side, close to the Scout ship.  The two grav APCspark near the edge as well. Hoovert Brownartz, the chief warden, is in direct communication with both the Countess Barout (recently elevated to a Countess as that's what was needed by T5) and Aphix Irteepini, the xenophobic dictator of Cyan. While the diplomats parlayed, the Scouts were getting frantic about their missing crew mate. Travis, being an ex-Scout, volunteered to help search, as did Dr. Duk-Lyle. The guards were flying the grav vehicles in a spiral search pattern, and finally after half an hour, Travis saw the glint of metal in the jungle. Setting down nearby, they found the overturned 4 wheeler, but no sign of Og (Ognuearz Giokga) nearby.  A search finally yields the Vargr Scout, unconscious on the ground. The good doctor stabilizes our furry friend, and using a stretcher from the grav APC they rapidly transport him to the Renegade where there is a med-bay waiting.  It was a concussion with a hairline crack, but Og will make a full recovery.

Finally peace is made between Aphix and the Imperials, and the SDBs, except for 1 Cyan SBD, leave. The Cyan SDB is monitoring the Renegade, where a conversation in the common area is being held.  The warden thanks the good doctor for uncovering some shady drug losses, and verifying that medical treatment is fair, consistent and meets Imperial standards. There is some evidence of some brutality towards political prisoners, and the data will be further reviewed. Travis' efforts are also praised as he found some hostilities between Cyan and non-Cyan guards that HR should be better aware of. Purity will be returning to the Level 1 facility for a couple more days to finish up her research.

Li Brewster is getting early parole for her good behavior, and has offered her services as an additional engineer for Le Suroit. The parties separate: the Renegade launches for the starport with the SDB following, the grav APC, a bit crowded, takes our party back to the prison to interview Li and do a final farewell for Travis.  Li, who resembles Sally Field, and has Persuade-2 along with her winning smile, convinces Dr. Duk-Lyle that she would be a fine addition to the crew.

The prisoners in the mole vehicle, meanwhile, have disappeared. Imperial Marines are searching Brigham and the nearby jungle as they have discovered the abandoned vehicle, with tracks that lead out from a small truck or other personal vehicle. They are hoping to capture them before the Cyan police do. 

Our Travellers will be heading back to the starport. Here they will be greeted and feted by the Countess on her yacht, and by her personal chef.  She has a Kitaro class yacht.

I'll need to come up with some rumors, possible cargos to buy, and stuff like that. They are also seeing if they can outfit the lab ship with a fuel purifier: they have been lucky in that the Scouts have been getting their refined fuel the last few systems, but that is about to stop. And wanting to avoid a misjump, even with a new Jump engineer on board, they are looking into that. It will cost Cr180,000 and take 35 tons according to Book 5/High Guard. As they don't actually have that amount of cash on hand, and they will have to pay Li's salary at some point (she is happy to get a job and out of prison, so will work for free for the 1st jump, but she will want her salary after that.  The Scout engineers (this is a Way Station, so they do have a lot of engineers!) think the purifier is do-able, just figuring it out where to put it.  The current plan is to actually add a new spoke to the ship, and mount it there along with some extra tankage to continue to allow the Jump 2.  Putting it there makes some sort of sense - it will reinforce that single spoke, as the pinnace often is used as a fuel shuttle there are already fuel lines in the spoke, so they can purify the fuel before it gets to the tanks. Plus it make my mini we've been using for Le Suroit a closer model!

Traveller Sunday

Through a series of real life/miscommunications, we've managed to miss one of the 2 players the last two sessions.  As the characters had separated anyway, it worked out, and we've managed to pull them back together.

So, resuming on day 245 of 1104, Travis has been carousing with the guards and staff.  Few rumors of any import arose, although Li did communicate that something big was going to go down soon.  Dr. Boris found no widespread corruption or abuse, but inventory of certain drugs did not always match.  Purity's research found no systematic abuse.  There was a higher number of injuries to non-Cyan prisoners which was some indication of the hostilities from the often xenophobic Cyan natives.

The morning of 245 was muggy, with the constant sound of insects loud against the jungle noises surrounding the Level 1 facility.  Suddenly, the sound of shouting and screams rent the air.  Travis, his 2 Cyan guards and his Marine guard Pennity rushed back to the guard station to the sensor ops room.  There, Almill, one of the remote drone monitors, seemed to be having problems with the drone that was near the area of disturbance. Purity and Travis got a call from Li about a mole vehicle breaking the ground.  Without footage, the players had no idea what was going on.  Travis, in his youth and inexperience, did not notice the furtive manner of Almill, but Corporal Mell did.  Drawing her firearm, she requested the drone operator to step away from the console.  He did so with some speed, and the operator next door got the video going in time to see the drone digging its way back underground, escaping from the approaching APCs.  Almill was arrested on charges of aiding and abetting, while Travis and his guard retinue went out to view the new hole in the ground. 

Boris and the head warden were now on their way from the main administrative/hospital area, almost 200 kilometers away. Via a grav APC it would take under an hour to get there. In the meantime, the Renegade class ship in orbit started using its gravatic sensors to see if they could track the mole.  Resolution was not ideal from orbit, so the ship was fast approaching to get closer and perhaps find the fleeing prisoners.  Looking into hole, Travis wondered about a drone going in after the felling vehicle.  The drones at Cyan prison are large, grav drive based drones about 2 meters long, with audio and video capabilities.  The hole in the jungle dirt did not look stable enough for another vehicle to follow.  The drone followed the tunnel for almost a kilometer when the radio signal started getting too low.  They retrieved the drone and by now the Scout ship was significantly closer and had an almost 80% probability to the location of the mole.  The Scout ship was being flanked by 2 system defense boats from the local dictator, Aphix Irteepini.  Weapons went hot when the mole vehicle was located, and a missile was launched.  Several Imperial SDBs were heading out the confrontational area.

The primary issue is political: Cyan has its own government, a non-charismatic dictator who controls the army.  While the starport is an Imperial domain, the planet, while part of the Imperium, does have its own government. While there is some contention, what with a small rebellion, the Imperium normally stays out of local politics.  However, the prison is an official Imperial Prison, and so there is some grey legal areas. Additionally, the three escaped prisoners are leaders in the rebellion, and Irteepini would rather have them killed than returned to prison.  They are local Cyan but were interred in the Imperial prison along with hundreds of other political prisoners.

Apparently the prison break was well thought out: while the jungle and air space were monitored, no one thought about tunneling at that scale. The molepod was constructed locally in secret, using plans from the Imperial Army Corps of Engineers.  Cyan, being tech level A, had the tooling and wherewithal to construct this vehicle.

Dr. Boris gets a gun

Using the UWP Gunmaker program I generated the following gun. Then looked around for some SF revolvers.  I should have saved off where I got this image from...