Classic Traveller Session Two

Next week I am on the road so we will not have a session, but this gives me the time to figure what should happen next. If anyone has any suggestions I am all ears. Espionage adventures are not the easiest scenario for me to run, and I do believe players benefit from splitting up and taking on different tasks essential to the success of the mission, but what does the opposition do in reaction and making the whole craziness seem correct? These are the questions I need to resolve or I feel the adventure can become pretty unfulfilling if nothing makes sense at the end of the investigation.

The fifth player was added to the group last night, Sun Tzu a retired Marine combat medic with sick hacking skills. Concluding their meeting with their Imperial contact, Agent Virell of the Orion Directive, they head back to the casino Echelon Spire to do a forensic examination of the hack.

While Eluum the casino manager is more than willing to accommodate the prestigious group of dignitaries and war hero, his security chief flags Commander Frank as a “HSP”, a Highly Sensitive Person, and cannot be allowed into the casino. “Sensitivity” to psychic phenomena makes one highly suspicious to security agencies, and the Echelon Spire has some of the most sophisticated algorithmic “emotion” scanners which are fairly accurate in identifying people with psionic “potential”. This was done with the outmost courtesy, and of course the Echelon Spire did not want to create an incident which would subject the delegate to unfair scrutiny.

So, Commander Frank took his leave and busied himself at one of the food stands on the raceway’s popular “strip”. While he was out there, he was approached by a grizzled space-dog in fashionable attire. The fact it was also cloth armor was not lost on Frank. The man’s employer has tasked him with delivering an offer to Commander Frank, 12,000 credits to leave Red Cliff Raceway. If he was not inclined to take the offer the stranger was authorized to keep the money for himself and let him handle the refusal as he sees fit. He was hoping for Frank to turn down the offer. That Frank was a “stubborn guy”. That Commander Frank was not. He accepted the credit cube and assured the hired gun he would not be around the resort for much longer. He then bee-lined it back to his ship and started warming up the defensive protocols onboard.

Meanwhile the rest of the group conducted their electronics investigation on the luxury floater which malfunctioned last they were in it. Sun Tzu was able to determine the hack was done remotely by a device. He was able to reverse-engineer the hack and create a signal which could be traced back to the device, as long as you were withing thirty yards of the device when pinged. Further work, and the group was able to hack into the security/service drones which blanketed the sprawling resort. While this did not provide a ping on the suspected device used in the act of sabotage, it highlighted a large blind spot. The actual conference grounds where the economic summit is being held. With several of the PCs expected to be present at the first official social mixer which had already started, the plan was to scan for the device there.

Looking for Darrian operatives specifically, they review the guest list to see if other Darrians would be present besides the four official delegates. They are also hoping to identify Subject Theta among the four Darrian officials with easy access to conversation being provided by the elite social mixer. The Sacnoth Lounge is a luxurious affair with kinetic statues, bold views of the Excalibur landscape, and plenty of wine and chefs-d’oeuvre’s. The Darrian Celestial Marriage Guild, one of the minor factions attending the conference, catches the groups eye as possible enemy agents working against their extraction mission. Goldweaver, Blackwater, and Quen, the Marriage Guild delegates, hope to establish economic stability between the Sword World and Darrain Confederations through arranged marriages between powerful mercantile families. Vera Blackwater is fending off one of the Border World delegates who wants to start the pilot program with her.

Sun Tzu’s tracking device pings off Vera. She is holding the device that hacked the casino luxury box. The group all clusters around the delegates and engaged in conversation. Paulo Song, the OMNI Corp CEO joins the group and for the love of gamma I cannot remember how I had him engage everyone. They also got one of the four Darrian delegates in conversation. She seemed too young and eager about the work she was doing to fit the profile of a disillusioned power-broker hoping to defect. So they crossed her off the list. Only three more to go!

This is why I like to record sessions. It helps me not make a mess of things in later sessions. Not contradict what we have already established as game fact. For example, I had the PCs as part of the Imperial Delegation and they insisted they told me they were part of the Sword Worlds Confed delegates. I don’t take notes during a session because it just is another instance of me being taken out of the game and flipping through pages of lightly-sketched prep material. Figuring out what are the basic facts I need to remember for each potential encounter is the “work” for me as a GM. I want to always keep the basic facts of the plot straight. Inconsistency just frustrates players.

I guess that is the current GM path I am on. How not to frustrate the players with misinformation. Eliminate mental distractions and I clear another hundred miles of rpg road players can barrel down.

So Sun Tzu straight up picks Vera Blackwater’s pockets and walks away with a small, compact hard drive in his hands. Oh, that is right. After he got a positive ping, the Darrian Blackwater was hastily leaving the lounge. They corralled her with Paulo Song and the handsy Borderworlder in an extended conversation so Tzu could pick her pockets. As soon as she could break off the conversation she left. The PCs were okay to let her walk out because they got some hard evidence now on her clandestine actions. Sun Tzu also excused himself and left the conference with the hard drive in his possession. He intended to go back to his hotel room and examine the device, to hack it further.

Unfortunately, as he made his way out onto the busy strip he was drilled in the chest by a long-range laser rifle shot. Even with his stylish ballistic-cloth armor on he was brought down instantly. If it wasn’t a laser he would have been bleeding all over the place, but the laser instantly cauterizes the wound. Leaving the smell of cooked flesh to permeate the air. While panic sweeps the immediate crowd from the violent attack, Tzu’s cybernetic arm alerts the other PCs of Tzu’s plight. Commander Frank is alerted too so he leaves the ship and goes to catch up with the unfolding action. When the group all arrives on the spot of the attack there is no Sun Tzu. Bystanders say the medics swooped in with a medi-cart and made off with critically injured ex-marine. They commandeer an anti-grav pedestrian taxi and take off in search of this medi-cart. They catch sight of it going through a vehicle overhead service door, which is not in the direction of the emergency hospital at the resort. No, the service door goes to a vehicle ramp to the lower levels of the complex. They drive recklessly fast to beat the descending door and make their drive rolls. Being pursued, the medi-cart opens up and speeds down the ramp in attempt to lose the PCs. Alas, their drive roll is really bad. I roll a 3. So they swerve, hit the wall, fishtail and roll to a spectacular stop, debris scattered everywhere. The vehicle does stay intact. But the driver and passenger are a little roughed up and come out of the vehicle stumbling and dazed. They are OMNI security personnel and they have guns on them. Shots are fired but the group of four of them are able to get lucky. They beat one of the guards down and take his gun while the other officer is grappled. With a pistol now pointed at his head the second security guard surrenders. Examining the guards credentials and taking off their helmets it is quickly apparent they are not the guards on their identification badges. They pull Sun Tzu, unconscious but stable, from the wreck and that is where we ended the session.

Paid Group, First Session, Mongoose Traveller

 

I call it Classic Traveller. Sure the combat system has been changed (for the better), and there are more fiddly character options, but it is the same game and plays like the old game. Entirely appropriate system for the genre and requiring the GM to use their creativity to make their game universe come alive.

The PCs begin the adventure with stout rolls in the Social Standing characteristic. So much for belters scratching a living or being roguish characters in general. I reset the introductory adventure material to reflect this. Introducing the Grand Transverse Spinward Summit, an economic conference of new beginnings and new growth!

In attendance are

Imperium Delegates. Princess Ashan Trel, Gram.

Darrian Delegates. Talas Vireen. Maela Soren. Jarath Enno. Selia Trenn. One of which is their suspected target, Subject Theta!

Mercantile Worlds Delegates; Paulo Song, CEO OMNI Corp. Excalibur. Jax Movan, Regional Manager Huron Industries. Excalibur.

Sword World Confederation Delegates; Lady Sigrid Valsdottir, Joyeuse. Sigrid Valsdottir, Joyeuse, Freya Skoldottir, Joyeuse

Spacing Guild Delegates;

Sir Alric Venn

Countess Mira Solen

Border World Delegates; Jarrla Venik, Toren Halvstrom,

Union Delegates; Bagger Vaas, Vandars Labor Union, Excalibur,

Various smaller entities and interest groups.

Subject Theta is a high-level Darrian official suspected of wanting to defect to the 3^rd Imperium. Subject Theta is believed to be one of the four Darrian delegates attending the conference. The Darrian presence sees a normalization of relations between Sword Worlds which has not been seen since the cold war subsided in 1116 3I (it is currently the year 1160 3I).

So, enough of the PCs have such a high social status, it warrants them to be involved in the summit in some manner. We have nobles, former diplomats, celebrated war heroes, and high-ranking navy commanders in the group. All except one character, he is an outlaw and a rogue. He is already at the summit working for muscle with one of the local drug lords. For the others, they approach Excalibur fresh off FTL jump from Gram in their own 200 ton safari-class jump ship. I forgot what name they gave it.

They have the privilege of delivering the Third Imperium delegates to the conference and attending the conference in an official capacity. On the orbital approach Sira Bren, one of the delegates asks Commander Frank Jr. as a professional courtesy to meet with an Imperial agent when they arrive at Red Cliff Raceway, the location of the economic summit on the planet Excalibur. He is with the Imperial Intelligence Agency: Orion Directive and needs assistance around sensitive diplomatic issues surrounding this important summit. After a few probing questions and hesitant consideration, Commander Frank agrees. V.V., the Excalibur native from a noble family, is excited about the prospect of making good money on a government assignment. Fenrir, the war hero has a part to play as well. His celebrity status makes him a VIP at the conference and give him access to mix with the other high-level delegates.

The streamlined ship glides into Red Cliff Raceway, slipping through the condenser field shielding the resort from the acid rainstorms raging on the surface of the planet, and they all debark to great pomp and circumstance. This is a new group and a new campaign, so the PCs want to explore a bit before they go and meet with the Orion agent. First stop is the largest and most popular casino on the plateau, Echelon Spire, a “floating” casino perched on tremendous anti-grav pylons with crystalline walls and floating luxury lounges with views of the enormous racetrack ascending into the neon-lit sky.

I populated the casino with futuristic gambling games and used the basic game of Craps as the mechanic to resolve racing bets. You either where betting the “Favorite” or “Not-the-Favorite”. With the standard throws and the pass/don’t pass rules of Craps we were able to establish whether the favorite won the race, paying even money, or not, and another entry wins at a 2x-10x payout on the wager. One PC played it safe while two others went for long-shots. The long-shots paid off! They mulled whether to continue betting the rest of the race card because they were low on cash. I informed them if they wanted to bet a bunch more races we would lump it all into a single resolution of the dice game and not do individual race bets. I did not want to eat up our game time with too much aimlessness. The other thing I did is have the floating luxury box they were in inexplicably shoot up towards the casino’s crystalline ceiling. With no indication of the luxury box stopping at their futile attempts to operate the box’s controls, the group sprung into multiple courses of action. Someone got on the comms with customer service, another PC ripped away paneling to get to the electronics, while another tried to hack into the box’s operating system. Customer service was no help, but the technicians were able to make their rolls and stop before impact. Just barely. Marginal success. Came real close to splattering them like bugs.

After the casino manager grovels for forgiveness and comps them luxury boxes for the upcoming celebrity races over the course of the economic summit, the PCs decide to check out the lower levels of this massive complex perched atop a thick stone plateau. The lower levels are like the concessions at professional sports game. Going in a circle, the level looks up at the racetrack above. This level is for normal residents of Vandars Dome and offers affordable seating and lower buy-ins at the casinos on this level. Great place for the rogue PC to join the scene. He is approaching a certain Mon-Fey. The man owes his boss 300 credits and Thron is expected to come back with Mon-Fey’s money “or else!” Thron gets into the man’s grill at a small bar in the concourse, but a security drone comes up and identifies Thron as possessing an outstanding 600 credit parking ticket. He is to remain still until Red Cliff security arrives to receive prompt payment. Mon-Fey gets a kick out of this. Thron grabs the security drone and stuffs it down Mon-Fey’s jacket and takes off. Running smack dab into his old war buddy, the one whose life he saved from an assassination attempt! They duck into a janitorial closet and catch up on old times. All of them. We are looking at four PCs. The PCs decide they are going to use their diplomatic clout and money to bribe the nearest security guard to clear the ticket and the report of Thron present at the conference. His outstanding warrants would surely trigger the heavy security technology surrounding the conference.

The return to the main surface level of the complex and head to Hotel Null to meet with their Imperial contact. Agent Virell is looking at a possible Darrian defector among the four attending Darrian delegates. He needs the groups help to identify this “Subject Theta”, avoid Darrian counter-intelligence agents which are certainly here, and take off with the target to a remote jump location. There the transfer of the asylum seeker will take place and the PCs get paid their 100,000 credits (a piece) for a job well done in service of the Imperium and greater peace throughout the cosmos. The conference is a total of three days, and before it is up, Theta needs to be identified, blind spots in the Raceway’s security system need to be created and enemies avoided. Or neutralized.

This is where we ended the session for the night. This paid group picks up next week and it will be then time to plunge directly into the action. I believe a great way to build tension in an espionage/heist adventure is subvert the PCs expected timeline. To quickly increase the tempo of action in response to the PCs activities. This means turning their two-and-a-half day schedule into a quickly compressing timeline which forces them to act before they are “ready”. What that exactly looks like, I don’t know, yet. But I have a few more days to polish my ideas. Looking forward to the next session for sure.

Classic Traveller Rides Again!

 Okay, I am using Mongoose Traveller 2e, but this does not stop me from running the game old-school. Really, the only changes I can see between the original rules and this latest iteration of this fifty year-old game. 

Like all my games now it is a paid game. This is actually the second group to solicit me to run a game of Traveller for pay. Cannot say anyone has ever hit me up to run a game of Space Opera or Star Frontiers or the new Alien rpg. I guess Traveller is still topical today. I don't think it is the greatest science fiction ttrpg available, but it sure gets the job done. I have even come to peace with the Third Imperium campaign setting most people ascribe as the actual "game" of Traveller. 

Like many other original ttrpgs, there was no setting which came with the game. The game designer assumed you would do what they did and build your own imaginative fictional game world for your players to romp in. And I subscribe to this approach. Can't help myself really. I picked the role of forever GM immediately when I was first exposed to ttrpgs. I wanted to use my own ideas for what a science fiction or fantasy setting looked like. But offering my services as a game referee for pay I have decided what the fuck do I care? If the players want to play in the Third Imperium lets do it! I'm just adding it to my list of challenges I have presented myself with in the last decade to improve my skill as a GM. There is nothing stopping me from carving the Spinward Marches into my version of a sweeping space civilization with its attendant cosmic problems. 

This does not mean I have thrown out all my Outer Frontier and Lower Frontier setting information. I've just repurposed the planets for use in the Sword Worlds subsector and called it good. All my factions, npcs, site locations, planetary descriptions; all my nutso ideas will comfortably fit into the published setting. 

And it isn't like I can run any of the official Traveller adventures without wholesale changes. Let us be clear about one thing here at the Vanishing Tower. I think the original adventures which were published in the 70s and 80s, with a few exceptions, were unmitigated shit. "What's a great Traveller adventure to use for new players?" is a nauseatingly common question on game forums. "The one you come up with in your head!" Seriously, isn't this why you are taking on the role of Star Master? Because you have cool-ass ideas which demand to see the light of day? If not rethink whether or not you should be taking on the role of a science fiction game master. 

Another thing new Traveller does the same as old Traveller is creating the kinds of characters the original game did. No, that is wrong. There are changes, and not all for the good. Mongoose got rid of death on a failed survival roll. Instead it becomes a roll on a mishap table. This means there is nothing outside of boredom from a player maximizing their terms of service to load up on skills. So character creation can take longer. But the changes to the combat system, I think they are an improvement over the original. But back to what I said, even with an expanded character creation system with more detailed character options, you still get the same result. So added chrome for not much return.

I have taken the group through a session zero and it was like 4 hours! To be expected. I wasn't surprised. I think we are going to start at Red Cliff Raceway during a high-level economic summit being held at the popular resort, track, and casino. This is because they ended up with some PCs having a very high Social Standing score. So all the scummy gang members, low-lifes with complicated issues, cheap hustlers and space pirates get tossed aside for the elite and politically connected. Sweet, another change of pace, another challenge.

Oh yeah, another character passed a psionics test. They have potent psionic powers! And three other members of the group have insane gambling skills. Money should not be an object with this crew. So it is all going to be about the intrigue, the espionage running behind the scenes of all the other campaign-changing forces out there pursuing their agendas. I'm seeing this campaign going straight at the big universe-sized threats with the high level connections they have as opposed to small crimes and misdemeanors which lead to bigger conflicts. 

To prep for the session I am coming up with various NPCs and matching them with motives you might find at a subsector-sized economic summit. Gamblers, human-trafficking, deadly spy vs. spy action, pleas for peace and prosperity, marginalized peoples clamoring for attention, sabotage, blackmail, political postering... these are some of the elements I see being front and center at Red Cliff Raceway.

A Classic Traveller Patron Encounter Detailed

Saar was modifying Anderson's power converters when he showed to pick them up. 

“Wait out side. I'll get 'em for you.” Saar then plugs in the data chip and begins cracking. There are 8 files. All of various degrees of complexity, therefore various degrees of time to crack. Saar goes to work on the easiest. Time stamped photos of a corporate party in Kazawan City. The photos seem to focus on one individual in particular. It will take a facial recognition app to try and figure out who he is. Fifteen minutes tops. While the comp runs the program Saar looks up at the wal-vid broadcasting the latest scream sheet. 

“Gang violence breaks out at the Synapsis club between off-duty Omni Security and the Binary Dogs. No information yet on why these off-duty officers were at the club or why they engaged gang members, but Omni Security has requested anyone with any information on the whereabouts of Officer Jones [Picture] or Omni Contractor Hernandez [Picture] please contact Omni Security immediately. They should be considered armed and dangerous.” 

 A series of video camera footage just outside the entrance of the club in the top floor of a high-rise is being looped showing Jones and Hernandez entering the club with two other men. Quick head shots of the deceased Binary Dogs are displayed, then the usual quick reactionary crowd shots of the average Vanders citizen at the scene complaining about police corruption, the drug-trade and the poor colonists stuck in the middle trying to earn a living. 

“What the frak?!” When Saar left Jones and Hernandez they were heading to the Below Zero to collect the cash Bargar Vas promised them for getting the water turned back on out at Oh-Rif. What were they doing hours later at the Synapsis in a gunfight? And where is Schmidt? Sergeant Schmidt ran the mission out at Oh-Rif. Last he knew he had just got done debriefing the chief and collecting credits. Well it sure as purple-acid-rain did not concern Saar at the time. “My fraking fingers hurt.” He winced as he stabbed his deck for the readout.

Paulo Song, Omni Sun, COO Omni Horron Research Facility, responsible for the agra-augmentation program being conducted there.

 “Hey Saar”, this was Mr. Anderson punching his apartments com. “Someone is here to see you.”

“Tell him I'm not here.”

“Okay.” 

Saar bends back over his comp and begins an extraction program on the next most easily hacked piece of data. Six hours. “Run it.” 

“He says he can't really leave until he sees you.” the apartment's com crackles again. Aw hell, Saar punches the door access code. Anderson and Yang come back in with a well dressed man. Obviously Kazawan City, not a colonist. Anderson introduces him as his boy Hugo Rossi. Both Rossi and Saar look at each other trying to figure out why in the hell either one them would be talking to each other. Rossi trimmed out, good job obviously, standing in a pumped cube in the dome talking to cut up, electrocuted, dying computer hack. Saar was concluding once again he was shit at choosing friends.

“My employer, Mr. Down, would like to talk to you if you wouldn't mind?”

“Can he patch me up?”

“I hope so, or I've taken a two-hour tube ride for nothing.”

“Who's your boss?”

“Collace Down. His son just returned from Xxcarvis. He is concerned about his son, the condition of his return, and for some reason now he wants to talk to you. He also advises that we try and leave the dome as soon as possible.”

“Down is big in the professional circuit,” Anderson beams, “his son, Flare is probably the top celebrity sports star on Skalvil. I've raced against him before, he's totally cool.”

 Saar accepts he will not be having a quite night at home but says he can't leave until he makes a few files. He wants forty minutes. Rossi doesn't see any problem with that and shortly thereafter the group hits the concourse and grab a tube to Kazawan City. Down lives in a plush high-rise and they are escorted into what can only be the suite's lounge. Rossi fixes everyone drinks while a house attendant treats Saar with stimpacks and NueSkin patches.

 Heavy set with a face sandpaper-washed from time spent outside the environmental domes of Skalvil. Sharp dressed. Longtime local who made it good somehow.

 "Thank you for coming. I see you have met my mechanic Hugo Rossi. He has a lot to do with keeping this family in the winner's circle and a truly capable hand. But despite all my capabilities I have some current issues I am having some trouble wrapping my head around and I believe you may be helpful. It is my understanding you were recently out at Oh-Rif. Specifically, you were on the ground dealing with the seizure of the facility by terrorists. Is that right?”

 “Yes. Sergeant Schmidt, Omni Security. He hired me along with some other of his contract help to go out and see what the problem was.”

 “What did you find?” 

“What was reported. Some unknown armed group had taken over the facility, disrupted the water flow. Don't know why. Attracted a whole bunch of attention. How could it not. Angry colonists were outside ready to force their way in if the water didn't get turned back on. My group secured the facility, engaged the terrorists. We killed some. Some got away. Looks like they killed the whole staff their too. Didn't make much sense. Still doesn't. But it paid. Once we contacted Omni with a sit-rep the salaried boys rolled in and told us to go home.”

 Down drains his glass and sits on the couch. Arms spread, his prodigious stomach sticking out form his jacket. “My son got into trouble on an expedition on Xxcarvis. Championship grav-skiing on those tremendous ice peaks. Film crew, the whole works. Going to set a new frontier record no doubt. Now it is a four week journey one way so I don't expect up to the minute briefings, but that I was almost able to keep up daily with the expedition group. They would tight-beam their daily logs from the range to the Omni-Sun drilling facility. There they would be loaded onto the next transport out. There is enough regular commercial traffic out of Xxcarvis that every other day I had footage. He must of got into some trouble out their because the daily tight-beam stopped. I paid the Scouts to get out there and look for them. The Baudy Beth I think it was. 200T free-trader, 2 jump capability. Four weeks out, four weeks back minimum. A crew of four. They returned two weeks ahead of schedule with my son, the body of one of the scouts and the sole survivor of the trek. I still have not got any information on the whereabouts of the other two crew members. 

“The official report is they came across Flare in life-pod orbiting the gas giant at 0304. Still 2 parsecs out from Xxcarvis. Word is he was never on Xxcarvis. No trace of his ship, his crew. He is not okay. Something happened to him. The surviving scout from the mission I have been unable to find out who or were he is. Probably under lock and key at their base here in the city. I was able to find out the body of the dead scout had been transferred to Oh-Rif. So I want to ask you again: What did you find?” 

Saar let the stimpacks take him far away from his singed skin and lacerated torso. “They had some EMP device. Detonated in the power room. Brought the whole facility down. No power, no communication. They killed all the staff and took a body. They fled on boat out into the Skalvil Sea. We found it beached on the north shore. Original crew bound and executed. Most likely killed before the terrorists used the boat to enter Oh-Rif. They fled into the wastes on a four-wheeled ATV. The frequent acid-rain storms had quickly made their trail impossible to follow. Schmidt returned to the Omni tower to debrief and collect pay. I came home to find, well all of you.” 

Saar looked at the rest of the PC's. They all seemed happy with their drinks. “All I can say it didn't make any sense.”

“I want to take a look at that body. Do you think you can find it for me?” 

“Sure, were do you think we should look?” 

“There isn't much north of the Skalvil.” Downs picks up a remote from the table and turns on the his holo-vid. A three dimensional image of the rain scarred wastes of Skalvil in brilliant display. The Skalvil Sea was prominent then the display zoomed into the terrain north. Three colonies were identified: Krunner Farm, Harean Station and Horsail. 

“Harean Station is a slug farm, protein bases for you poor colonist’s food supplies out there on the plains and you poor dome'ers living on subsidy. Krunner Farm harvests Hellboria Wood. Very hard, very colorful when back lit and very expensive. My bar top here is a nice specimen. Horsail is a fracking operation. Anyone heading north via ATV's cannot get very far without living, knowing or being supplied by one of these colonies. Someone is going to know who they are and where they are. I suggest you start out immediately. Omni knows as much as this too. If they are hot to track down the terrorists, they will be heading there soon. But then again, now the facility is back up maybe not so soon. Hugo here has tuned up the Trell III, a capable back country air raft. Enclosed of course. He has agreed to accompany you all. As a top mechanic you shouldn't have to worry about breakdown.”

 

Sights Around the System

These tables were generated/inspired by the CardSharp Galaxy.

Here is some random generators to kick up details on any new solar system your PCs jump into:

  

Tables from Cyberpunk 2020 (for your Traveller game)

These tables are system agnostic enough to rip from the rulebook and plug into that dirty shit-hole you call a downport;

Useful tables from cyberpunk 2020 (for your Traveller game);
p.33 lifepaths,
p.30 fast and dirty expendables,
p.43 fumble table,
p.58 occupation table,
p.61 weapons list (damage and ammo stats work easily enough)
p.68-69 gear descriptions/gear list,
p.76 cyberware list,
p.83 chips & prices,
p.142 programs list,
p. 167 programming 101 (more for the setting info then a table),
p. 179 uniform civilian justice code,
p. 220 night city encounters.

CT: Shattered Worlds, The Siamese Syndicate, One-Shot

Need a Traveller Encounter Fast? Here is one for the harried Referee; (made using the Augmented Reality city kit!)

A New Plot for the next group of Pcs: The PC's are confronted by mysterious deaths in their concourse and are motivated to find the answer. A.C.M.W screamsheets are on the story. 

What’s going on: Rob ‘Infidel’ Castro, per orders from the Siamese Syndicate, a fixer network, is testing the “Acoustic Weapon Sensor” for the Nordeast Corporation. It is being kept at a Nordeast Safehouse(???). And is triangulating a “field of death” around the Nelson Hale Block off of Cruikshank Concourse. Nordeast hopes to buy a minor nation state on the restricted planet of Port Prince Peace.

Angry Citizens Media Web, a pro-labor propaganda outlet. ACMW is trying to uncover the cause of these deaths. They have a lead on this Siamese Syndicate.

Local Conflict: Castro is experiencing TREACHERY. The Angry Citizens Media Web possibly infiltrated the Siames Syndicate fixer network and are trying to uncover the Accoustic Weapon Sensor tests which are killing their friends and neighbors.

Fixer Network "Boss":

Shaven head, wears grey suit, bulky, and sombre. He is obsessed with "zone" dancing in public places. Secretly employed by the Huron corporation, follows their instructions acting as a Siamese Syndicte diploment.

Area Event: Development/Investment leading to Rapidly Escilating Fatalities from the McGuffin.

McGuffin: Accoustic Weapon Sensor is causing the fatalities.

Where is this all located? Vanders Colony Dome 1, Cruikshank Concourse, Nelson Hale Building, as well as the Bio-sculpt sex studio Aztechnology, in ARchLuxury Apartments building complex.

Nelson Hale is mostly 2’s and 4’s (apartment type), pumped of course.

Current Events; Oil spill on Cruikshank has caused an Agit-Pop Flash Demonstration led by the Copy Catz. Ad-Lib is looking for “Infidel” Castro. He thinks he might know something about what’s going on.

NPC Names: Bashar Ad-Lib; ACMW Reporter,

Boris Yelpin’; Ad-Lib’s camerman

Dilemmas Dangers, Gang Leader of Copy Catz

Wes Dekine, Siamese Syndicate Boss

Dot Avi, Siamese Syndicate Boss

Salted Hashbrowns, Nordeasat Corp. Scientist

Uetake Kunio, Nordeast Corp. Agent

Greto Giles; Nelson Hale Urchin

Tarzan Lopez; Cruikshank Concourse scavanger

Opening Sounds: Police band radio, “Attention mobile unit. Confidential informant advises possible facilitation. Sending Threat-Let. Suspect cover is Wes Dekine, uploading profile dump, no further information. Please respond.”

Gang in the neighborhood: The Copy Catz, composed of 24d10 members led by an adult, . They fight with mixed weapons and their tactics tend towards assault and flank. The gang's primary reason for being is Political (Conservative); they love gambling and HATE daylight! The gang's symbol is two cat skulls facing each other. Gang memebers tend to wear yellow/gold attire. They usually have music from the latest Agit-Band. When first encountered, their initial reaction will be hostile, watch and wait for attack of opportunity. You encounter 3 members hanging out on a corner.

The Gang: Dilemmas Dangers (leader), C8A6B7, light auto, not skilled.

Gangmember Stats; 777773,

Hot Swap, Mad Dog, Booker Numbers, Bad Hayes, Gay Nava, Commodore 69, Computer-1.

Then there are 120 more soldiers of the line which need calling up from Cruikshank neighborhood.

Random Encounters:

Encounter 1 (Pest Control)

Blood-Matted Fitz-Trap, a dangerous predator found on the Skalvil wastes. 4HP, Bite (1d6). What the frak is it doing in the dome? A Copy Catz foolishly brought one back after field trials of the A.W.S. His body is nearby. What do the Copy Catz have to do with wild animals?

Encounter 2 (Hot Cyber Goods)

Urchin Greto Giles14 DEX, 4HP, Knife (d6). She is leading a Scavenger Tarzan Lopez 2HP, Taser (d8 stun damage) to try and sell their cybermodem. Essential part to the AWS. Copy Catz, on Infidel’s orders, are tracking them down. The pair look nervous. As if they know what they have is hot, dangerous goods.

Encounter 3 (Residents pleading for help)

Body Pit: Copy Catz members are disposing of jellied bodies in the Nelson Hale Block.

Encounter 4 (Hot and ready to rock)

Eviction Squad: Roll random reaction to see how it goes down. 1d10+SS+Int=stand down #. They are juiced and ready to pop!

Encounter 5 (Breaking & Entering) Exploitable for entry; Samuel Gompers Building.

Working for Needful to dispense street hygene. Security techs to silence the persistent alarm. These are possible angles to get access into the building. Needful Hygiene Dispensers: You will be deployed to a building lobby or reception area, and sometimes you'll operate in the street, where you will remain for the duration of the gig. You will be supplied with a paper coverall, nitrile gloves and a 20L back-mounted tank full of hand sanitiser, or other germicidal, dispensed by trigger pump to hygiene conscious citizens. You may leave your patch once you've run out of gel. Pay is docked per 500ml remaining at the end of your shift. The tank must be returned in good condition, but the gloves and coverall are yours to keep.

Encounter 6 (News scoop!)

Angry Citizens Media Web (ACMW link-95)reporter Bashar Ad-Lib and his camera man is onto the story. He wants to try and find the source and is looking for people handy with sensor equipment and electronic counter-measures to do some triangulation.

What is happening at ARchLuxury Apartments, 10 floors, malfunctioning alarm, a crime scene, the building looks gothic, pristine. Remote Assistants grant access. Eyeball recognition. The whole thing is encased in plastic siding.

Classic Traveller City Building Random Generator

The data for this random table generator was wholly taken from Augmented Reality The Holistic City Kit For Cyberpunk. I punched in a bunch of the die roll tables into Last Gasp with some use of Text Mechanic to create a one-click generator.

Specifically designed for cyberpunk the entries are suitably generic enough any science fiction city and/or starport can find a home for these entries. It will at least give you detailed structures on the fly with a minimum of fuss. Just what the busy Traveller referee needs!

Classic Traveller Random City Building