Terran Free Traders

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The Characters

Bob Richardson - Corporate Stooge
Kel Caran - Starship Captain
Eddie Valente - Engineer
Dr. Nathaniel Kae - Doctor

The State of Technology

In most areas both the Confederation and Imperium are TL10, however, both empires are somewhat backward in the realm of Biotechnology. In this field the Confederation is only TL9, while the Imperium is only TL7.

This means that cybernetics are limited to replacement prosthetics and replacing organs or limbs yields no significant improvement. Brain-to-machine interfaces are technically possible, but are a non-funded area of science; and the state of technology as it is, would probably yield many accidents and result in much brain damage. Self-aware artificial intelligence is an area under research and is currently limited to classified experimental military prototypes. Nanotechnology exists, but is very primitive. Nanites are expensive, are not capable of reproducing themselves and cannot exist on their own in the wild.

Space travel is centered around the Jump drive. A spaceship with a jump drive can make quick excursions through jumpspace to specifically-calculated points in space known as “jump points.” For whatever reason these points only occur near (but not too near) areas of significant density (planets & stars) and consequently regions of space with no star systems are often impassable because they lack jump points. Jump drives have a limit on how far they can “jump.” A Jump-1 drive can jump roughly 1 parsec, while a Jump-2 drive (the best available) can make a roughly 2 parsec jump. These jumps consume fuel and take roughly a week to accomplish, no matter the distance of the jump. Still, jumps are not perfect and mishaps do happen. It should also be noted that objects can be sent through hyperspace via a Jump drive, but as of yet no reliable faster than light communication functions beyond the sending of messages on ships that make the jump. Space travel is divided up into four directions: Rimward (towards the galactic rim), Coreward (towards the galactic core), Spinward (towards the direction the galaxy spins) and Trailing (the opposite direction of Spinward). Computers are different between Terran and Vilani technology. Generally speaking, Terran technology involves one central computer handling all a facility's computing tasks, with the computer being capable of being reprogrammed for more tasks. Vilani technology, on the other hand, involves dozens of smaller computing units, each focusing on a different set of computations. Vilani computers are always hard-wired and the idea of reprogrammable computers is new to them.

It should be noted that Psionics do exist in the Traveller universe. However, to both of the dominant cultures they are unknown and unexplained. Individuals who are born psionically capable are extremely rare. To be psionically capable (a psionic talent with no psionic power) requires a 10 point Unusual Background. To be an individual that is psionically active (with a power) requires an unusual background of 25 points. Furthermore, only some psionic powers are available. See page IW135.

The Terran Confederation

The average standard of living in the Terran Confederation is somewhat lower than early 21st century Americans had, but also somewhat more than persons from 3rd world countries at the time endured. The environment has recovered significantly since he mid 21st centuries, most polluting industries having been moved off-world, however, the average global temperature remains unnaturally high by a few degrees.

The Terran media is often saturated with pro-Terran propaganda, the media historically speaking of a “home front” in the different Interstellar Wars (much the way American media spoke of a “home front” in World War II.) Common Terran law is also significantly more restrictive than in some past eras, with government video cameras present in most public spaces, connected to databased of face recognition software. Law enforcement uses this repeatedly in investigating crimes.

At the age of 18 all Terra Confederation citizens are required to spend 4 years in public service. This is called the Draft, but the service may or may not be military service. To determine that service a citizen qualifies for, a standardized test is given upon graduation from secondary school. Once the 4 years are complete the citizen no longer has to work in public service, but he or she is still considered to be on “reserve” until the age of 40 and can be pulled back into public service should a crisis arise. Universal employment is seen as not a right, but an obligation and citizens who go for more an a year unemployed will find themselves again subject to the Draft. The idea of retirement as a period of non-work is a thing of the past. The concept of retirement in the current age is that of working a less-demanding job later in life.

There is a large rift in Terran culture between the people who live on Terra and those who live off-world in Terran colonies. Politically each Terran nation-state has a voice in the General Assembly (of which there is 200-some), while only colonies who have achieved full recognition (of which there is only 4) have a voice. There is a cultural division as well, with persons from Terra being much more xenophobic and accepting of governmental control than off-worlders who have a more accepting and less-accepting-of-control outlook.

There are a number of Terran political factions who are unhappy with and actively criticize the Terran political system for a variety of reasons. These groups are often vocal and varied, but they are diverse enough on the political spectrum (and consequently divided enough) as to not present a unified (or serious) threat, although the Terran government worries about the dissenting groups receiving illicit funding and backing from covert Vilani agents.

The Terran education system is highly controlled, with all recognized schools having to be accredited by the government. In order to be accredited the school must include a large amount of “citizenship” training in their curriculum. There is a large black market in unaccredited education.

The Terran economic system is rigidly free market. The international government has outlawed tariffs between the individual member nation-states and the government contracts with many private corporations to run various military operations for it.

Character Creation

It is assumed that the characters are part of a team of Terran Free Traders. This means the characters are probably Terran in origin and have at least a recent history in merchant activities. The campaign TL (tech level) is 10. Characters are to be built on 100 points with a -25 disadvantage limit. Disadvantages gained as part of a racial or occupational template do not count against this limit, however, attributes bought down below default do count against this limit (unless part of a template.)

We are using several house rules. These include 3-second combat rounds (see new combat maneuvers table), simplified uses for spending FP for extra effort, damage conversion (as described in the Basic Set) and Will & Per are based off of 10 instead of IQ.

In addition, there are the following general restrictions to character creation:

Starting attributes can not vary more than -1 or +3 from the racial average.
No skill may start with more than 4 points in it.
Characters may start with no more than 1 level of any given Talent.
Derived stats are restricted to the standard ±30% presented in the Basic Set.

All the races described above are available for play. However, if you wish to play a sentient machine, exotic alien race, etc. that is possible... with an appropriate Unusual Background as judged by the GM.

Supernatural traits are not allowed. The campaign is considered to be only minorly cinematic, therefore, any cinematic advantage or skill requires GM permission. Rank, Status and Wealth is limited to 3 levels. Signature Gear is limited to one piece of equipment.. Average starting wealth is $50,000.

Character Advancement

Players are expected to keep a copy of their own character sheet and to update the GM's copy of their sheet each time a new Trait is purchased. If any player wants a copy of GURPS Character Assistant for use in keeping track of their character, they can receive it from the GM.

We will be using the full job and salary rules for this campaign. We also will be using the standard character advancement through practice rule in this campaign. This takes the place of the GM pool. In addition, players can expect to receive from 1 – 6 character points per session. The points are awarded as follows:

1 point: Participating and paying attention.
1 point: Not being a jerk.
1 point: Being a team player IC and OOC.
0 – 2 points: Good role-playing.

Occasionally a bonus point or two may be awarded for something similar to the “GM's Point.” A few notable advantages have a maximum number of ranks allowed.

What Free Traders Do

Generally, Free Traders go from port to port selling stuff and making a tidy profit. Staying too long in a single area usually means that they fall behind in their profit margins. In addition to normal trade Free Traders often secretly gather intelligence for the Terran administration, take up Piracy and Privateering or contract out for mercenary, messenger or construction work.

Common roles on Free Trader merchant ships include: engineer, doctor, captain/ship-AI, security, salesman/haggler, janitor/cook and the man with the contacts. Roles not filled by the party will probably be filled by NPCs.

The Vilani Imperium

The Vilani Imperium encompasses thousands of star systems and it takes the fastest courier two years to get from the outer rim where Terra is located to the Vilani capital. This means that even though the Vilani Emperor theoretically holds absolute power, nearly all the day-to-day running of the empire is done by the rulers further down the Vilani government hierarchy.

The Vilani culture is both at once extremely monolithic and extremely diverse. Conformity to Vilani ideals is the surest route to power in the Imperium. At the higher levels of society the culture becomes more monolithic, while among the lowest classes, regional subcultures flourish. This is mirrored in Vilani government, where the rulers of whole sectors or subsectors are forced to epitomize the Vilani Imperial model, while the rulers individual planets (or parts of planets) enjoy a greater degree of flexibility.

The Vilani society is a caste society, of which there are three castes: The highest class is the executive caste, with the managerial caste below them and the commoner caste below them. Vilani citizens are born into their caste, however, there is a degree of mobility. Individuals that are shown to epitomize Vilani ideals in school may be raised a class, while individuals who deviate too much may be lower a caste from their birth caste.

Vilani are known for being very traditional and obsessed with the “proper way to do things.” Vilani culture socializes into individuals from birth that there is a proper way to do everything and Vilani with a tough decision will often consult the databases of thousands of years of predicaments and protocols.

Setting Overview

The Traveller setting dates back to 1977. It was one of the first scifi RPGs released, if not the first. It has gone through many, many versions since then, but what we're playing now is the new GURPS 4th edition version.

The year is 2170. For the last 14 years the Terran Confederation is in an uneasy peace with the Vilani Imperium. After three Interstellar Wars the Terrans have finally gained on an even footing with the Imperium and trade commences between the two interstellar empires. This is a period of economic growth and expansions by the Terrans into the borders of the Imperium and unexplored stars.

The party is a group of Terran Free Traders, seeking their fortune among the stars, transporting goods and contracting out for the odd job.

Setting History

The history in the Traveller setting is actually two histories that only merge into one later on. Therefore, I have presented Confederation and Imperial history separately.

On Earth (commonly called Terra in later years) the early 21st century was one of crisis. The first of the global disasters occurred sometime around 2114 and the different nations of the world could not handle the situation on their own. In order to deal with the situation they grudgingly had to cooperate, forming an international force to take care of the problem. This force operated as a minor bureau of the United Nations under the Treaty of New York, signed in 2024. It is significant as it operated directly under international oversight instead of the oversight of member nations. Despite most nations being unhappy with the deal, the force was successful in dealing with the crisis.

The precedent set and the wild success of the force led to a trend of increasing internationalism and lessening of the power of individual nation-states. This trend continued slowly (often with much resistance) for the next few decades.

The United Nations Space Coordination Agency (UNSCA) was formed in 2015 to deal with the increasing number of accidents and collisions between vessels and space debris from multiple national space programs. With the crisis of the early 21st century taken care of by the 2050's, a new commercial push into space occurred under UNSCA oversight. Multiple new crystalline structures and compounds were developed at UNSCA stations with international funding during the last half of the 21st century, with part of the licensing revenue going to the UNSCA, giving the agency an income independent of the UN member nations.

During the second half of the 21st century several colonies were established in space, the first being Archimedes Station on Luna. The process of sending things into space became even easier with the invention of the “grav module” at a UNSCA station in 2052, allowing some manipulation over gravity on a ship and dramatically decreasing the expense of sending objects into orbit. Beginning in the 2050's the European Space Agency (under UNSCA oversight) built a huge “generation ship” to establish the first human colony outside of the solar system. They launched their ship towards the Alpha Centauri system in what would be a 40 year voyage.

Not one to be left in the dust, the United States' NASA space agency (also under UNSCA oversight) prepared for years to launch their own expedition to the next closest solar system, Barnard's Star. However, in 2088 the first Jump dive was invented. This new drive for the first time allowed faster then light travel (through hyperspace). The US quickly adopted this technology and in 2097, sent an exploratory expedition to Barnard's Star to scout for their future colony. But what they found at Barnard's Star shocked everyone.

The exploration crew had found sentient alien life on a planet orbiting Barnard's Star. But the alien life was not little green men or what otherwise might be expected. The aliens were human. Not only that, but they were part of a huge interstellar empire that inhabited thousands of worlds and who was also primarily human. This information was leaked to the public a short time afterwards. The reaction to this was met with a mixture of fear and anger. The once grand dreams of a Terran manifest destiny in the stars were crushed. Earth is located in the Milky Way near the end of one of the galaxy's spiral arms, and the only direction of expansion (towards the galactic core) was impeded by an empire thousands of times Earth's size.

The Vilani civilization got its start thousands of years before Earth's. The oldest written records date back roughly 20,000 years and the civilization started their industrial revolution around 6,500 BCE, slowly building up to their first excursion into space about 1000 years later. For centuries the Vilani explored the stars with slower than light ships, but invented the Jump drive at around 4700 BCE. They continued to explore and trade with the worlds they discovered until around 900 BCE when other races (having adopted Vilani technology) began to raid and threaten Vilani civilization. What then followed is a period of conflict known as the Consolidation Wars. This period lated from roughly 900 BCE until 500 CE. During this time the Vilani expanded and conquered every world they could reach in an effort to keep outside “barbarians” from destabilizing their civilization. Their biggest resistance came from the Vegan Polity, which they conquered around 75 CE.

The Vilani then declared an empire of stability and ruled their space for the next two thousand years, stopping further exploration and technological evolution as well as they could; stopping any source of change that might threaten the stability they had fought so long for. Thus technological progress and exploration didn't cease entirely, but it was slowed to a crawl.

It should be of note, however, that a group known as the Kimashargur on the Rimward side of the empire (closest to Terra) revolted around 1000 CE and established their own pocket empire there for roughly a century before they were annexed by the empire around 1100 CE.

When the Terrrans made contact with the Vilani for the first time, it was an incident barely noted by anyone in Vilani command. The years that followed the contact between the two peoples led to the establishment of several Terran bases around Barnard's Star. Some trade followed, while the paranoid commanders back on Terra prepared defenses against any possible Vilani aggression.

In 2114 a Vilani merchant ship passed too close to a US base near Barnard's Star, ignoring the base's traffic-control. Thinking an attack was imminent, the base fired on the ship, destroying it. This act of aggression angered the local Vilani ruler, who launched a small expedition to put the Terrans in their place. The different Terran fleets at Barnard's Star from the different Terran nation-states put up mixed amounts of resistance, but in the end they were mostly slaughtered. The Terrans launched a counterattack, targeting the Vilani expedition. They too were badly beaten, but managed to inflict enough damage on the Vilani ships to appear as a line item in the local Vilani ruler's budget that year. The Vilani expedition, content that it had delivered its message, returned home. The Terrans, however, saw their defeat in a positive light: The Vilani did lose some ships. They weren't invincible, and with some improvement, could be beaten. To the Terrans this is known as the first Interstellar War. To the Vilani this is an unnamed skirmish.

The peace that followed the First Interstellar War lasted only 3 years. During this time the Terrans rebuilt their forces back greater than before. There was also a political change back on Terra. The Terrans, witness to the divided slaughter of their fleets at Barnard's Star, further integrated their forces. This caused even more power to be transferred from the different nation-states to the international sphere. And with the admission of colony countries on Luna in 2116, the United Nations charter was rewritten and the organization was named the United Worlds Organization (UWO), or more commonly called the Terran Confederacy; the new charter reflected the internationalist sentiment of the era.

In these years of peace Terran merchant ships penetrated further and further into Vilani space, selling cheap goods and disrupting the Vilani economy. This again irritated the local Vilani ruler, who in late 2125 again sent a military fleet at the Terrans. This time the Terrans were ready and the major battle between the fleets ended in a tactical draw. What followed then was several years of raiding and occasional fighting. The Terrans came to realize that the Vilani government was not bringing its full regional power against them due to a conflict (civil war) back at the Vilani capital and after a failed raid against Nusku in 2134, agreed to a truce. This is known as the Second Interstellar War. Again the Terrans rebuilt their military and further improved their ships with new technology and lessons learned from experience.

In 2145 the Vilani again attacked the Terrans. The new Vilani regional ruler saw the Terrans as a thorn in his side and wanted to rid himself of them. The Vilani took the Terrans by surprise and pushed the Terrans back in defeat after defeat, eventually laying siege to Terra itself. The Siege of Terra was brief before the Vilani were driven back, but the attack involved nuclear weapons, which wiped out London, Moscow, Washington D.C., Beijing, Tokyo and Delhi. With this the Terrans mounted a major counteroffensive, driving the Vilani back. This occurred at the same time as political rivals of the local Vilani ruler made their move to claim his position. With this he was forced to pull back and save his job. As the Terrans pressed their counteroffensive they took the world of Nusku from the Vilani and finally made peace with the Vilani Imperium again in 2156. Thus ended the Third Interstellar War.

In the years since the end of the Third Interstellar War, trade has once again resumed. Both empires are building back up their forces, licking their wounds. The formerly Vilani world of Nusku is slowly being integrated into Terran society and the galaxy watches and waits. Today is 2170.

The Known Galaxy

There are thousands of worlds in the known Galazy, but only several dozen easily reachable from Terran space. Along the major trade route leading from Terra towards Vilani space you have: Barnard, Agidda and Nusku. All these are Terran controlled worlds and all were primarily settled by Terrans, except Nusku, which was conquered from the Vilani during the Third Interstellar War.

Continuing along the major trade route into Vilani space you have Apishal, Zaggisi, Shulgi, Dingir, Khakushma. This goes well into the Dingir Subsector, which is where the campaign starts: with the party on their merchant ship at Khakushma.

Since the game will probably involve much travel in the Dingir Subsector (as that is the immediate surroundings), here are brief descriptions of the neighboring worlds on the trade route:

Damakaa

Tech: High Control: Low Resources: Average A barren rock world inhabited almost solely for its mining, Damakaa is cold and the atmosphere requires a space suit to survive in. Damakaa has low gravity.

Dingir

Tech: High Control: High Resources: High A major destination for Terrans trading in the Imperium, Dingir is a relatively decentralized world with multiple starports and a relatively Earth-like ecology. Smuggling is rampant, but an Imperium naval base exists on the world.

Shulgi

Tech: Moderate Control: Low Resources: Average A frozen desert world with a trace atmosphere and a corporate government, Shulgi has a small population primarily involved with extracting then natural resources.

Zaggisi

Tech: Moderate Control: High Resources: High A tropical world with a diverse ecology and a feudal system of rulership, Zaggisi has a large population and a mildly dangerous natural atmosphere.

Apishal

Tech: Moderate Control: Low Resources: Low

A poor world with a tiny population, Apishal has a thriving ecology, a thin atmosphere and a rigid caste system.

Karkhar

Tech: Moderate Control: Moderate Resources: High

Another feudal world with a population in the millions and a thriving ecosystem, Karkhar has a mix of agriculture and industry and a moderate climate.

Kinunir

Tech: Moderate Control: Low Resources: Average

A little-controlled world with a population in the thousands, Kinunir has a warm, but thin atmosphere and monetarily poor inhabitants.

Altair

Tech: Low Control: Low Resources: None

An uninhabited asteroid belt with a burning temperature, Altair is sometimes used as a meeting place for criminals and with the right investment, may one day be mined for precious metals.

Khakushma