Guest Post - The Tale of Diluc Mack, Traveller

Today's post was written by my son, telling the tale of the Traveller I described in this post. 

Diluc was born in the slums of his home planet in the Talaveran Empire. Growing up hating the nobles and upper class, he began using has last name, Mack, as an alias for petty thievery, stealing silverware and pinching other valuables. When Mack was 12, he was caught trying to break into the house of a Marquis.

He was sentenced to 5 years in juvenile prison, where Mack would pick up skills that soon get him aboard ship. Having served his sentence, Mack was left listless at the starport, until a certain ship came by. That ship was crewed by pirates and was called the Swinging Hammer. Mack immediately signed on with the pirates as a deck hand and started his life among the stars. Across is 20 years as a pirate, Mack would rise to the captain and command his own ship the High Victorian. He had an interesting way of handling boarding actions, insisting that his men do not, in any way harm the passenger unless it was necessary.

When Mack was about 38, his crew was about to board a ship when he suddenly felt the urge to join them, despite usually handing off command to his lieutenants. Once aboard the star liner, he heard is name being called, though no one else did. Mack soon found himself wandering through the halls of the ship, until he came across a small chapel, where a priest was praying the akathist to Saint Lawrence the Wonderworker (of Dekalb) known for his protection against cabin pressure loss. When Mack tried to enter the chapel though, he was thrown back against the far wall. The priest then stood up, walked over to the doorway of the chapel and explained that Christ would not allowed Mack to enter as he was. The two of them proceeded to speak for over forty minutes, wherein Mack was convinced of Christianity and pledged to renounced his piratical ways. He returned to his crew and they moved on to their home base.

Once there, Mack prepared to take his ship and leave, but was surprised when one of his lieutenants decided to join him. Together, they stole the High Victorian as their last act of piracy, and got out as quick as the could. After a year of somewhat listless sailing, helping little pockets of Christians where they could, the two of them were picked up by a certain baron who decided to be a sponsor of sorts for them. Mack was brought to a church, where a bishop gave him a four year penance to the church, meaning that he would run supplies, missionaries, monks, and settlers to wherever they needed to go. After a year in the Baron's service, Mack left to focus solely on his penance.

When he was finished, he was brought into the Church by baptism as Brendan. He continued his work for the Church, but only a year after his baptism, his old pirate crew found him. In order to defend his passengers, Brendan, who still went by Mack most of the time, offered up his life in exchange for his passengers safety. He was martyred on the spot, with one of his old lieutenants putting a bullet right between his eyes. But, true to their promise, the pirates left the ship alone and went their way. Then, something incredible happened: the High Victorian, despite having no captain, piloted itself home to port, through hyperspace, and docked at Holtzmann. Brendan was buried on Holtzmann with the highest honor possible, and the question of whether or not the ship's miraculous return was due to him or not is still debated by the fathers of the Church years later.

 

 

image credit: Pixabay 

More Patron Saints in the Far Future

It is the season of Advent once again, and I have a new group of stories to share about Saints of Holtzmann's Corridor. 

• for Diplomats: St. Arthur the Peacemaker
• for Colonists: St. Titus of Icemont
• for (Reformed) Pirates: St. Felix the Tabrazian
• for Belters: St. Cassian of Ferrocore

This has nothing to do with the content of this post, but it's still a cool pic.

Saint Arthur the Peacemaker

Arthur (of Mavramorn) was part of the negotiation team sent to Stavanger to bring an end to the Stavanger-Mavramorn war that had raged for several years. During the many heated meetings, he was always the voice persuading for forgiveness and contrition. “Mutual repentance” was his constant refrain. A radical faction of the Stavangerian military attempted to disrupt the negotiations and kill a Stavanger diplomat whom they felt was betraying their cause. St. Arthur sacrificed himself to protect this man from a shooting attack. He died to save an enemy from that enemies' own allies. Shocked both by the betrayal and the sacrifice, the two sides confirmed the treaty and honored Arthur's sacrifice by signing the peace treaty in Arthur's name.

Play Report: The Return of the Star Walker

The Star Walker (see this post) limped out of jump space in an unknown system far to the galactic South of Holtzmann's Corridor. Fortunately for them, the system was inhabited. They found out the locals called their world Saorsumma. In the undefined subsector it is in hex 0303.

On Saorsumma, Mac and Carter, along with the crew & passengers, were taken into captivity by the local government. Saorsumma it seems has starships, but they have lost the knowledge of how to construct or repair them. Jump drives are now to them a Black Box technology. The locals were excited to say the least to get their hands on another functioning J-drive. They wanted to know how to get more. Mac and Carter wanted to get back home.

After a few weeks in (relatively comfortable) captivity, a few of the Walker's passengers made a break for it with some local separatists. They disappeared into the world's back country. Maybe some day we'll play out what became of them.

Mac and Carter came up with a plan. The locals weren't thrilled but it sounded like the best option. They have waited four months for the local shipyard to finish the “refit” of their ship the Star Walker. (and we've waited three months to play out the next part of this adventure) I took what the players wanted and checked in Trillion Credit Squadron. By the book, it would take sixteen weeks to complete.

Farewell, Baron Namsos. Hello . . . ???

 In an earlier post I described the chaotic events on Schamel that led to the death of Baron Namsos of Stavanger, and narrowly avoided the nuclear death of several thousand people at Count Murietta's mining camp. The players have not been able to move this conflict forward for several weeks, owing to real-world commitments. 

The situation remains volatile. Within two weeks of the Affair's conclusion, the following official statement was released by the Baron's Council. It went to Schamel, Holtzmann, and every Embassy and Consulate Stavanger maintains.

The Government of Stavanger has made it known that as of week 22 year 929 SA, a state of Feud has existed between the House of Namsos of Stavanger and the House of Murietta of Holtzmann. Namsos holds Murietta personally responsible for the death of Baron Dominic Namsos of Stavanger. Therefore, all vessels, persons and institutions bearing allegiance to Murietta or operating under his banner or colors are subject to attack, seizure or destruction wherever they may be found.

The Government of Stavanger recognizes the right of House Namsos to take such actions as it deems necessary to exact retribution including the death of Count Murietta. No other Imperial vessels, persons, or institutions are legitimate targets of this Feud. The Feud will be ended when Namsos is satisfied that Murietta has made adequate restitution and compensation for his offenses against the House.

Letters of Marque have been issued, all Stavangerian diplomatic outposts have been notified, and all allied and friendly governments will receive customary notice of the State of Feud.

For the Barons of Stavanger

signed Allan Hokksen, First Baron of Stavanger 

Count Murietta replied:

A Statement Regarding the Declaration of Feud Between House Namsos and House Murietta

The Schamel Affair: A Traveller Braunstein

It all started in week 16 of year 929 of the Space Age when Tyrian von Stolberg arrived on Schamel. He was under orders from Count Murietta to explore for ways to boost the Schamelian economy. this was meant to get into the local's good graces and allow Murietta room to negotiate with them for mutual economic benefit. Two weeks later, von Stolberg's prospecting team hit the jackpot - a lode of gadolinium, possibly as much as a million tons of it. In-game, gadolinium is an important component of jump drives, so it's in demand by the ship-building powers: Lanzhou, Stavanger, Dekalb, and the Empire.

On the Traveller Trade tables, metals/alloys go for 10,000 credits a ton, so this mine was billions of credits waiting to be dug up.

What Happened?

Six Factions showed up on Schamel to negotiate and deal for access to the gadolinium mine.

• Count Murietta
• Baron Namsos of Stavanger
• The Lycosky Trade Protectorate Director of Operations, Corridor Region
• The Dekalbian business director for Thetford Aerospace
• Mr. Tarpov, Assistant Secretary for Trade at the Talaveran Consulate (a Boss for the ICO, the Sakamoto Ring)
• Baron de Quintero, another Contender who has a lot of money in mining already, and might see Murietta as competition.

and the Governor of the Schamel Habitation, Gov. Castberg, played by the Referee. In retrospect, it should have been a player running Castberg. The Referee had too much to keep track of to play him effectively.

The Referee assigned each faction a primary and a secondary objective. this front-loaded some conflict into the game. Each faction would, at the end, be assessed on how well those objectives were accomplished. 

Each turn, the players handed to the Referee a card explaining their plans for the following turn. Then they had 20 minutes to interact with the other players in negotiation, argument or whatever. The time limit kept things from bogging down, but we could have made it 30. We only had the afternoon to play it out, and we wanted to get through as many turns as we could, to get to some kind of resolution. We did. See below. 

'I think I did a TARDIS' - a First at the Gaming Table

 Huh?*

This past weekend, we had two firsts at the table while playing Traveller. This despite that I've played this game since about 1982.

First, the simple one. My older son was playing a new character, Dismas, an ex-Flyer. He was on Narok, a non-Imperial world in the Corridor. While there he found himself in the middle of a public protest against the Empire and its various evils. Remember that from the Empire's POV, everyone in the Corridor are barbarians. 

Dismas was minding his own business but stumbled into the midst of the protest anyway. Some protesters noticed him and moved to attack. As is typical at the start of combat, we rolled for Surprise. Neither side gained surprise. I asked if Dismas wanted to fight or escape.

Escape and Avoidance: Encountering parties may attempt to escape from, or avoid contact with, an encounter. A party which has achieved surprise may always avoid an encounter by so stating. Non-player character parties which have surprise and are outnumbered will avoid an encounter on a throw of 7+ (no DMs). If two parties encounter without surprise, either may attempt to escape immediately (before any combat or contact occurs). Roll

9+ to escape (DM allowed based on range: -1 if close or short range, +I if medium range, +2 if long range, +3 if very long range).

Update for the Table Group

 I received a request for the status of all PCs that are/have been in play at the table. 

To the best of my record-keeping knowledge, this is all correct. Week 24 of year 929 of the Space Age began on August 9th. I continue in my quest to keep the game clock running. 

Player                      Character                  Location              Week, Year

Drew	Logan	Holtzmann	9 929
	Gen. Chen	Holtzmann	9 929
	Chuck	Dekalb	18 929
Aidan	vonStolberg	Holtzmann	9 929
	Rudolph	Dekalb	18 929
Genevieve	Boss	Holtzmann	9 929
	Vicky	Holtzmann	9 929
Katherine	Demo	Holtzmann	9 929
	Sharkey	Holtzmann	9 929
Caleb	Cal	Holtzmann	9 929
	Victor	Worosha	18 929
Sam	Nathaniel	Holtzmann	9 929
Michael M.	Count Murietta	Schamel	23 929
Joel	Mac	Holtzmann	9 929
	Trevor	Dekalb	18 929
Zach	George	Worosha	18 929
David M.	Turpov	Schamel	23 929
Gabi	Dr. Vivian	Holtzmann	09 929
Marius	Carter	Holtzmann	27 928

I strongly recommend that this Friday we pick up some of the PCs on Holtzmann back in week 9, so that they can begin to catch up. The Schamel Affair (which I will post about one of these days) went from week 16 to week 22. Your PCs who have yet to catch up to week 16 will learn about those events as the calendar indicates. Remember that in space, news travels at the speed of Jump.  Imperial news moves at Jump-4, most Corridor powers move at Jump-2 or 3. 

This is complicated, but not as bad as it may seem. The game calendar will keep moving. Players can run multiple characters provided that they don't interact with each other out of time order. Players cannot impart to characters in the past information their other characters further in the future already know. The two PCs must be at the same week in time, and the same planet in space at minimum to share intel. 

More on Careers - Barbarians!

 What does it mean to be a ‘barbarian’ in the Far Future?

Merriam-Webster defines barbarian as “a person from an alien land, culture, or group believed to be inferior, uncivilized, or violent”. Let me emphasize some of those words.  Inferior. Uncivilized. Violent

OED has several definitions. The most relevant two are:

A foreigner, one whose language and customs differ from the speaker's

A person living outside the pale of the [Roman] Empire and its civilization

With the general idea being simply ‘you’re not one of us, and that fact makes you inferior’.

For many fans of adventure fiction, ‘barbarian’ brings to mind Conan the Cimmerian. He wears hides & fur, and wields a sword. If you read Howard’s works, you find that the differences between Conan and the ‘civilized’ people have little to do with technology. Conan despised ‘civilization’ because he saw it as morally bankrupt. He was not jealous of their fancy toys.

This is an AI-generated image.

We readers can also see Conan as ‘primitive’. Compared to 20th/21st century technology, Cimmeria was primitive. Compared to Aqilonia, they were not that far behind. Lack of sophisticated technology does not make one a barbarian.

Here’s another definition. Civilized is defined as “At an advanced stage of social and cultural development, usually marked by the existence of organized communities and an adherence to established conventions of behaviour; highly developed; refined and sophisticated in manner or taste; educated, cultured”

OR

“a relatively high level of cultural and technological development”

A modern New Yorker, with his smart phone and digital everything (TL 8-9) might think of the poor rural dweller in, well, anywhere that isn’t NYC, to be a primitive. He doesn’t have a smart phone and a Tesla model 4! He does have other accoutrements of TL 7-8 life, though. Cable television, modern medicine, new model cars, and a comparable public education.  All that it takes is one TL of difference. The label barbarian may be all in the eye of the beholder. Small-town man does not think of himself as a barbarian, or inferior to fancy-pants city man.

In my Church and Empire setting, from the Talaveran point of view, all the residents of the Corridor could be considered barbarians. Their tech is lower (how uncivilized!), sometimes far lower. They don’t speak Talaveran. They do not hold to Talaveran customs of behavior. Thus, barbarians. Barbarian can be no more than a term of snobbery, a means for looking down upon one’s fellow man. Pride of race/culture. I don’t present the Corridor worlds that way, and my play group has not adopted this attitude, I’m pleased to say.

Keep in mind, that Stavanger is TL-12 and Lanzhou is TL-13. Almost as good as the Empire, but still behind. But do they therefore not meet the definition of ‘civilized’? Of course they do! Mavramorn and VanGoff’s World at TL-10 out-do modern America. Yes, they’re civilized.

What I’m getting at is: think beyond the stereotype of the pidgin-speaking, melee-weapon, primitive barbarian. A barbarian can come from any world, at any tech level. They are a group apart, separated for whatever reason from the main government and society. They might come from a Subordinate world, or live out on the edge in Ungoverned Space.

Let us now consider the Barbarian career, both what it states, and what it implies.

Play Report - Hunting on Narok

Only three days of in-game time were covered in the last session. The Crew of the High Victorian is on Narok. And chose to take a random patron job while waiting for the cargo convoy to ship out.

A local magistrate put out a bounty on a local prairie-dwelling beast known as the yong-gong (shrieking thing). He explained that it had broken into some local farms, killed livestock and then killed farm workers who were defending the herds. The magistrate said it had to be put down, so a “Wanted: Dead, success only” contract.

Do you see it?  It's right over there!

The player for the Marquis said he wanted a quick win, and a success on his record. Plus it would be a little bit of good PR for the Empire.

The players are learning, no rushing off without a plan or enough gear. The Marquis secured vehicles, communicators and enough gear. One PC, an ex-Army man bought himself a modified rifle LINK to hunt the yong-gong. The yong-gong is a big critter, about the mass of a Kodiak bear:

Duelling in Space

In our last session, a player brought a character to the table, which was a product of this online generator: https://www.batintheattic.com/traveller/

Barbarian Warrior Logan Singh B5A758 Age 46 7 terms Cr4,000 

Skills: Brawling-1, Carousing-1, Mechanical-1, Recon-1, Short Bow-2, Sword-7

Yeah, I put that last one in boldface on purpose. I have remarked before on this blog about how high levels of skill are possible. See Enrique Salazar for one. Now there's one in play in my TU.

Pascha and Penance and Adventure

 April 16^th is Great and Holy Pascha for the Orthodox Church in the year of our Lord 2023. In the Far Future, the dating of Pascha may become more complicated but the significance of the day will not change.

In my parish, we will baptize and chrismate nearly a dozen new Orthodox Christians at the Paschal Vigil. Glory to God!

Part of the preparation for Baptism (for the converts) and for Pascha (for the faithful) is Repentance and Confession. This post is not going to be a lesson in Orthodox doctrine, but rather an exploration of what these things might look like in the context of Traveller.  Let me explain.

In the game we’ve begun recently, my son is playing a PC called Mac. Mac went through the Pirates career. Recently he came to me and said that as part of his PC’s story, Mac had encountered a Christian priest in the midst of one of his piratical ventures, and as a result was convicted and chose to leave the buccaneering life.

He fled from the Empire to the Corridor and is now part of a new legitimate crew. He is concerned that his former associates may come looking for him, considering he skipped out with their Type-K Corsair. Remember, kids, don't give the Referee ideas.

His encounter with the priest was the start of his turnaround (to repent means to turn around, to go the other way – to start going the right way). On Holtzmann, he sought out the Church, and ended up making his Confession to the Bishop of Holtzmann. We decided that his major points for Confession were Robbery [piracy] and (probable) Murder. As a pirate, involved in space battles, it is likely he contributed to the wrongful death of others. Now he’s going to direct his life towards different ends.

Mac is now a Penitent. He is not buying forgiveness; Christ forgives freely all those who repent and turn to Him. The Bishop directed him to three obediences, to help shape him in the new way he desires to live his life. They are: 

1             Forswearing forever the piratical life (let him who stole, steal no more: Ephesians 4:28). All gain must be by honest means.

2             Become for four years a patron and supporter of the Home for Widows and Orphans [see my post on charitable work], established on Holtzmann for the Imperial subjects in those circumstances, from around the Corridor. He exchanges greed (vice) for generosity (virtue).

3             A vow of non-violence. Avoid fighting whenever possible, and use no lethal weapons. He exchanges aggression (vice) for being a peace-maker (virtue).

I decided on these things as they both reflect an amendment of life from Mac’s former ways, and, as this is a game, they are opportunities for adventure. Mac will also (off-screen) go to church, pray, and all the things that go into living the Christian life. But those things are not the sort of adventure that RPGs can emulate.

Depending on how much the W&OH needs money (and it will be a lot) Mac’s going to be busy finding legit ways to raise cash to support them. For a game that often emphasizes violence as the solution to problems, finding alternate solutions will be a chance for some creative role-playing.

As a place to start, Mac will be examining my post on Grenades for types that are non-lethal. We will also put our heads together for other non-lethal means for resolving conflicts. Electro-laser stunners, incapacitating gases, and the TAS Wardens Sleep Rods come to mind.

Off-camera, Mac will be in regular consultation with the priest who runs the Home, to learn of needs, and to confirm that he’s keeping to his penance. He might just provide funding, but more likely will make deliveries, transport people, and visit all kinds of interesting little corners of my TU.

Who know what kinds of adventures and situations and people Mac may encounter with this new direction in life?  Feel free to leave suggestions in the comments. 

Image credit: Pixabay

Naval Base Holtzmann

Recently I was glancing through Supplement 11: Library Data N-Z. I have owned a copy for a long time, but as I don’t play in the Official Traveller Universe, I’ve not paid it any mind. However, after reading the article I’ve reproduced in part here, I realized that I have ignored a potential source of information and adventure.

 

Naval Bases

Naval Base: Port facility for the support, maintenance, repair, and refit of naval vessels. Planetary surface facilities are generally provided for vessels of 1,000 tons or less; orbital facilities handle larger ships. A naval base has several distinct parts to it; each part helps in the accomplishment of the overall mission of the base.

The typical naval base is composed of an orbital berthing area, a surface berthing area, a maintenance section, and an administrative headquarters.

Berthing areas provide locations for ships to lay over, whether for a day or for months. All berthing areas include provisions for refueling from storage tanks or fuel lighters.

Encounters in the Corridor

I present here a customized Random Encounters Table for Holtzmann's Corridor, where most of the play in my TU happens. The standard table from TTB works well, but why not have one that more reflects a particular subsector?

Die Roll	Encounter	Number	Notes
11	Peasants	4D	-2
12	Laborers	4D	-1
13	Shantymen	3D	-2
14	Thugs	2D	L
15	Local Authorities	1D	L
16	Churchmen	1D+2	L
21	Rioting Mob	5D
22	Imperial Noble w/retinue	2D	LGAV +2
23	Police Patrol	1D	LAG
24	Pilgrims	4D	-1
25	Company Agents	1D	L
26	Corporate Security	2D	L
31	Beggars	3D	-3
32	Imperial Merchant crew	1D	+1 V
33	Imperial Marines	3D	LGVA +2
34	Tourists	2D	V
35	Local Soldiers	3D	LGA
36	Missionaries	2D	LV
41	Researchers	2D	+1
42	Students	3D
43	Unemployed spacers	1D	+1
44	ICO criminals	2D	LG
45	Rebels	2D	LG
46	Revelers	4D
51	Prospecters	2D	V
52	Fugitives	1D	L
53	Fugitives (Imperial)	2D
54	Imperial Adventurers	1D	LGV +1
55	Local Noble w/retinue	1D	LGV
56	Celebrity	1D	LV +1
61	Free Trader crew	2D
62	Salvagers	3D	LV
63	Press Gang	3D	LGA
64	Petty Thieves	1D
65	LTP Merchant crew	2D	L +1
66	Anti-Imperial Protesters	5D

Explanations:

• Imperials are from the Talaveran Empire, not the 3I
• Shantymen are drifters & tramps who congregate around starports
• Local Authorities are government officials, not law enforcement
• Churchmen are clergy rather than missionaries
• Pilgrims can be of any religion
• Company Agents are businessmen or spies
• ICOs are Interplanetary Criminal Organizations
• Revelers are loudly celebrating something (sporting event, holiday, etc.)
• Fugitives are wanted by either a local government, the Empire or an ICO
• A Celebrity will have reporters around them
• LTP Lycosky Trade Protectorate is the Empire’s main rival
• A= some or all are wearing armor
• G= some or all have guns
• L= a leader (with skill) is present
• V= the group has a vehicle, local tech & LL appropriate
• +/- N group is equipped to local tech level adjusted by N

 

The next project is a Starship Encounter table for the Corridor!

 

What kind of Encounters will Travellers have in your game?  Share your ideas in the comments.