N is for Non-lethal Weapons

"Who but a puppeteer would go around with a weapon that does good to the enemy?" - Louis Wu, Ringworld

The Traveller universe is a dangerous place. Whether it's claws, blades, modern slugthrowers, or high tech energy weapons, it really doesn't take to much to neutralize the average Traveller character.

Early in my gaming career, when I finally got the grasp of combat and had a character with a decent sub-machine gun skill, I kind of went in "rampage mode" for a while. I'd kill with abandon, often occasionally upsetting the referee's game plan by shooting an enemy NPC rather than sneaking around him or talking to him. The SMG was my hammer and every problem I came across was a nail. Brian, our wise referee and gaming mentor, finally took me aside and told me that combat was a two-way street. If I continued to shoot everything that moved, the enemy might decide to take the same approach to my character. "Don't kill all the guards, and maybe they'll show you the same courtesy if they catch you." In a game where it's easy to die, I was given the advice to take a different approach and live a little longer. It was good advice, and opened the door to much more varied gaming experience. It wasn't long before my characters were using diplomacy, bribery, carousing, and DEX rolls (stealth) to achieve their goals without firing a round.

I think it was Star Frontiers that introduced me to the tangler gun, and about that time my younger brother, who worked for the police department, bought his first taser. The two events got me thinking about non-lethal weaponry and how they could be used in Traveller. Over the years I incorporated a few non-lethal weapons into my games, but never really formalized anything. Aside from a basic "to hit" mechanic, non-lethal weapons are more about effect, and less about damage, with an occasional "saving throw" option to keep it interesting.

There are a wide variety of real world, non-lethal weapons you can incorporate into your games, and they can be found at every tech level. A quick note about nomenclature: I realize that some people prefer the term "less lethal" for weapons of this nature and I understand why. When I hear in the news of those few occasions where a police officer tases a suspect and the suspect dies, I can't help think that either the officer rolled a natural 12  to hit or the suspect rolled a 2 on his END save. Role playing games have, in some ways, given me a very distorted view of the world. Regardless, for the sake of this discussion I am sticking with the term "non-lethal".

Types of Non-lethal Weapons
Non-lethal weapons may have one or more of the following effects:

• Immobilize/Incapacitate - keeps the target from moving or taking action
• Render unconscious/sleep - self explanatory
• Cause pain - acts as a deterrent, but causes little pain, maybe 1 or 2 points of damage
• Inconvenience - may not actually affect the target, but creates a barrier for him to accomplish his goals

Real world non-lethal weapons and possible gaming effects

• Blow dart, tranquilizer gun - effect varies on the toxin used, target may get an option to roll END or less on 2d6 to avoid the effects, ineffective against many types of armor
• Pepper spray, tear gas grenade - temporary blindness, target at -2 on all actions
• Immobilizing weapons such as a thrown net, bola, lasso, or net gun - immobilizes the target, DEX roll to avoid, STR roll next round to escape
• Electroshock weapons (Tasers, stun guns, etc.) - deliver an electric charge which causes neuromuscular incapacitation
• Non-lethal ammunition (rubber bullets, bean bags, rubber shrapnel grenades, etc.) - similar to standard slugthrowers, but with decreased damage
• Smoke grenades, flashbang (stun) grenade - temporary blindness but no physical damage - good for stealth maneuvers and distractions
• Attack animals such as police dogs or trained predatory birds - differ from standard animal attacks in that the animal is trained to minimize damage.

Real world weapons in development but not widely used include:

• Heat Ray (ADS) or Active Denial System - The Active Denial System is a dish that projects electromagnetic radiation just powerful enough to penetrate human skin and make the nervous system think the victim is on fire although no physical damage is done. (from Wikipedia) "Suddenly your whole body has been turned into a giant radio receiver and the only station it gets is PainFM."
• The Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) is an acoustic hailing device that sends messages and warning tones over longer distances or at higher volume than normal loudspeakers. LRAD systems are used for long range communications in a variety of applications including as a means of non-lethal, non-kinetic crowd control. Though they have been called "sonic weapons", LRADs are not inherently for military use. (from Wikipedia)
• LED Incapacitator -  It works by emitting bright, rapid pulses of light. It temporarily blinds and disorientates the subject, who will suffer intracranial pressure as a result of being exposed to the LED incapacitator. This can cause cluster headaches, nausea and vomiting.
• Dazzler - A dazzler is a directed-energy weapon intended to temporarily blind or disorient its target with intense directed radiation. Targets can include sensors or human vision. Dazzlers emit infrared or invisible light against various electronic sensors, and visible light against humans, when they are intended to cause no long-term damage to eyes.
• The SpeechJammer - while not technically a weapon, it is used against loud targets to shut them up.
• The PHASR - temporarily blinds the target
• Chemical malodorants - stink bombs, effectively. Really, really bad stink bombs.
• Pheromone Weapons - (file this under Truth is Stranger than Fiction) The "halitosis bomb" and "gay bomb" are informal names for two theoretical non-lethal chemical weapons that a United States Air Force research laboratory speculated about producing; the theories involve discharging female sex pheromones over enemy forces in order to make them sexually attracted to each other. (from Wikipedia). Maybe there is a seed of a decent Traveller weapon in there, who knows?
• The Thunder Generator - designed for crowd dispersal, sends a powerful shock wave at the target, knocking them down.
• Sticky Foam Gun - emits a stream of expanding, sticky foam, incapacitating the target

Non-lethal Weapons in Science Fiction

• "Sick Stick" (Minority Report, Kick-Ass 2) - Baton that induces vomiting on contact. "Designed for crowd control but deemed too severe. It emits a pulse that creates spontaneous nausea and diarrhea."
• Kronos Goo Balls (The Incredibles) - cannons shoot balls of black goo that stick to whatever they hit and expand on contact.
• Tangler technology (pistol, rifle, grenades) - shoots a physical web or chemical agent that produces strong "threads" upon release), used to immobilize targets.
• The Tasp (Ringworld) - The tasp, a device that remotely stimulates the pleasure center of the brain; it temporarily incapacitates its target and is extremely addictive. If the subject cannot, for whatever reason, get access to the device, intense depression can result, often to the point of madness or suicide. To use a tasp on someone from hiding, relieving them of their anger or depression, is called "making their day".
• Electroshock weapons - Electrostaff (Star Wars) or Stun Pike (Tron)
• Sonic Weapons - Geonosian sonic blaster (Star Wars), sonic shotgun (Minority Report)
• Gravity grenade - creates a temporary gravity well, pulling anything not nailed down within a twenty foot radius towards it.

Non-lethal  Weapons and Vehicles
There are also weapons that can be used against vehicles that generally will not harm the occupant:

• Spike strips - do damage to vehicle tires only
• EMP devices - Electromagnetic pulse shuts down a vehicle's electronics. At higher tech levels this is a directed pulse, so that it only shuts down what it hits.

Non-lethal Weapons and the Law
Not all non-lethal weapons are legal or considered ethical. The use of blinding weapons (permanent eye damage) and many chemical weapons will be deemed unethical, even though they don't kill.

Many of these weapons might have multiple uses. One of my personal favorites, and standard equipment IMTU is the expanding foam grenade. When detonated near a human target it covers the person in a foam that expands to render them immobile. They can be used in starships to block corridors, or tossed in a vehicle cockpit to quickly make the vehicle unusable. As a last ditch effort it can be used to patch small hull breaches.


Enjoy, and let's be careful out there!

M is for My First Starship Deck Plan

Just for fun, I thought I'd post something showing my humble beginnings; my very first starship deck plan, complete with Ship's Papers, Crew Data, and some highly suspect financial records. This was done in late 1984 or early 1985, evidently before I new how to read or do math. For a "100 ton" trader it's awfully big (actually 274 tons, unless I took a sloped hull into account, which I know I didn't).

It seems in those days the Imperial Scout Service would loan any 34 year old man 9 million credits for a ship down payment and the good banks at Glisten would cover you for the remaining 37 million. Daddy must have had some strong connections. Good thing Captain Kenorist was such a talented trader. He was able to completely pay the ship off in only four weeks, and was 63 million credits in the black after only eight weeks. Trading around Glisten was quite lucrative, apparently.

L is for Lab

Lab Ship illustration by W.H. Keith

Creating Lab-based Scenarios for Traveller

“Look, I’m just a biochemist. Most of the time, I work in a little glass jar and lead a very uneventful life. I drive a Volvo, a beige one. But what I’m dealing with here is one of the most deadly substances the earth has ever known, so what say you cut me some friggin’ slack!?” - Stanley Goodspeed (The Rock)

Lab adventures tend to be among my favorites, and I love the 400 ton lab ship from classic Traveller. Rather than create a new deck plan for an already perfectly good ship, I’ve decided to offer suggestions for creating your own lab-based game scenarios.

Overview

1. Decide what type of gameplay you want. Who are your adventurers?
2. Pick a lab type and describe it
3. Determine the overall plot and character goals
4. Write up a plot scenario, create some NPCs and determine what end game conditions might be
5. Add your PCs and stir well

Gameplay
Decide what type of game you want to play. Will this be a one night one-shot, a minor side quest, or the start of a new campaign? Do the players prefer combat heavy games or is exploration and heavy roleplay more their thing? Keep these in mind as you develop the scenario.

Determine the type of lab and describe it
I’ve added an extensive list of lab types, and some ideas, mostly movies, to draw inspiration from. Think about what type of lab it is and who works there.

• Is the lab well-funded, or barely getting by?
• What resources/equipment is available?
• Is it a large, high-tech facility or in someone's garage?
• Is the work being done at the lab legal/illegal, ethical/unethical, controversial/uncontroversial?
• Who supports the research? Who, if anyone, is opposed to it?
• Who mostly occupies the lab? What will their reactions toward PCs be?
• What is unique about the lab, if anything? Does it require zero-G rooms, clean rooms, massive computer processing, special environmental conditions, or live human subjects? Or is it just research done at a computer?
• Where is the lab and why? (Lab ship in space, above ground/underground/under water, urban or rural setting, on an asteroid?)
• With whom does the lab collaborate and why?
• What successes and failures has the lab had? Are there any prototypes of their work?

Types of Labs (with sources of possible inspiration)

• Aging/Immortality/Anagathics (Cocoon, Highlander, etc.)
• Ancients Research (studying artifacts left behind by the Ancients, artifact testing, attempts at reverse engineering)
• Animal Research (12 Monkeys, Planet of the Apes reboot, Jurassic Park, Island of Dr. Moreau, PETA)
• Astrophysics/Astronomy (black holes, jump space, anti-matter, dark energy, etc.)
• Biology (Dr. Frankenstein, uplifting animals, Deep Blue Sea, Planet of the Apes reboot, Island of Dr. Moreau, Altered States)
• Botany (xenobotany, Minority Report)
• Chemistry – generic, but could be tied to almost any other type of lab
• Cloning (6th Day, Alien Resurrection, The Island)
• Communication research (FTL radio, Contact, deciphering alien languages, etc.)
• Computer Technology (development of new computers, AI, different storage media, The Matrix, A.I., the Paranoia RPG computer, Terminator films, Demon Seed)
• Cryogenics Technology (low berths, Frozen Watch, Idiocracy, The Eternity Brigade, etc)
• Cybernetics (Six Million Dollar Man, Robocop, Terminator films, anything cyberpunk)
• Defensive Systems (force fields, ship shields, ship armor, personal body armor, etc.)
• Digitization of Mass (Tron)
• Disease Research/Contagion Containment (Center for Disease Control, Salk Institute, I am Legend, World War Z)
• Energy Research (fusion, fission, zuchai crystals, dilithium cyrstals, etc.)
• Food Technology (hydroponics, synth meat, Silent Running, Soylent Green, Norman Borlaug)
• Forensics/Crime (CSI, NCIS, Minority Report, material and chemical analysis equipment)
• Genetics (Jurassic Park, The Fly II, GATTACA, metahuman research, mutations)
• Geology (core samples, trays or other containers of mineral samples, jugs of liquid samples, analysis printouts, etc)
• Holography/Holodeck Research (ST:TNG and Voyager)
• Medical (almost anything, any labs using live humans for testing or research, Coma)
• Miniaturization/Supersizing (Innerspace, Fantastic Voyage, Antman, Dr. Shrinker, The Amazing Colossus, WIlly Wonka's chocolate camera, giant insect movies)
• Neuroscience (mind control, brain-taping, Total Recall, The Puppet Masters, Portal/Aperture Science, Brainstorm, intelligence enhancement, Charley, Lawnmower Man, Altered States)
• Other/Misc. (invisibility as seen in Hollow Man, the Genesis device from Star Trek)
• Pharmacology (development of new medicines, illegal drug manufacturing, Breaking Bad, Limitless)
• Physics (Hadron Collider, theoretical physics, fusion/fission, jump technology, gravitics, etc.)
• Psionics - specify which abilities being studied (Scanners, Firestarter, Jumper, Chronicle, parapsychology)
• Psychology (brainwashing techniques, Manchurian Candidate, Nikita, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)
• Radiation (x-rays, Gamma rays, Watchmen)
• Robotics (Blade Runner, Westworld, Ex Machina, Short Circuit, Chappie, I Robot, ST:TNG's Dr. Soong, Terminator films, Robocop, etc.)
• Sleep/Dreams (Dreamscape, The Cell, Brainstorm, Inception)
• Sociology (psychohistory)
• Surveillance & Sensor Technology (densitometers, NAS-neural activity sensors, Enemy of the State, Blue Thunder, 1984, Minority Report)
• Teleportation (Star Trek, The Fly, Portal/Aperture Science, Stargate, etc.)
• Time Travel (Primer, The Time Machine, A Sound of Thunder, 12 Monkeys, Looper)
• Weapons Research (traditional and non-traditional, xenoweapons, bioweapons, chemical weapons, psycho-warfare, non-lethal weapons, etc.)
• Xenobiology (alien autopsy, District 9, Independence Day, Alien Resurrection)

Note: some of these may represent technologies beyond TL15. If so, the experiments should generally fail or have limited success, otherwise the technology would become the new standard. Other type of research may not be appropriate for the "feel" of a typical Traveller game, but that should be at the referees’ discretion.

There may be some cross-over in lab types. A lab doing cloning research may involve animal subjects. Try picking two and see how they mix.

Determine the Plot
Think of a plot based on your gaming preferences. If you are stuck coming up with a plot consider using something like S. John Ross' The Big List of RPG Plots or Georges Polti's 36 Dramatic Situations. I personally like The Big List because it is specifically geared toward RPGs.

Use your imagination to fill in the gaps. Try to anticipate what a player’s reaction might be to your set up and then assume they are not going to react that way and come up with something else. Feel free to change or ignore previous decisions you've made.

Scenario Example
I’ve decided to write a scenario based on random selection from the above information. I’ve come up with: bioweapons lab using live animal subjects, legal, but unethical research, location: asteroid, underground; Plot: Better Late Than Never (from The Big List of RPG Plots)

Ideal conditions (determined after the scenario was developed): PCs have their own ship, TL 10+ world, low traffic system (remote or low population)
NPCs:Kepp Maddix, clerk at Progressive Integrated, who hires the PCs
Kern Hilson, a scientist at the lab facility
Linn Hebron, owner of Progressive Integrated
Additional NPCs as may be needed: various scientists, company employees, and the bad guys.

The Set-Up
The PCs are contacted by Kepp Maddix, a relatively low-level procurement clerk at Progressive Integrated (PI), to do a supply run to one of their remote research facilities. The supplies are nothing out of the ordinary; a few new computers, a couple office chairs, some medical supplies, about four dtons in total. The job will pay slightly more than normal because of the remoteness of the site and because the regular delivery service cancelled at the last minute. Delivery of the medical supplies may be time-sensitive, so the PCs may have some room to negotiate their fee. The delivery site is an asteroid field in-system, about one day away. If needed, the referee can determine the asteroids distance from the main world based on the capabilities of their ship and the Typical Travel Times table from Book 2. If the PCs do not have their own ship, they may be hired to pilot the company's small cargo ship (100 ton, 2-G). If the PCs research the company before accepting the job, they will find it is a smallish, fairly generic research company reaching into a variety of markets, mostly humanitarian (genetic crop enhancement, vaccines, disease research). Maddix will not be able to disclose, or does not know the nature of the research being performed at the facility.

The PCs accept the job, pick up the cargo, and fly out to the asteroid. As they approach the asteroid they see a starship leaving the area. They announce their arrival to the base, but no one responds. They land and soon discover the facility has been recently attacked.

The facility appears to have been ransacked, as if someone was looking for something. The facility’s 23 employees and scientists may be killed, rendered unconscious, and/or locked up, depending upon the referee’s desires, but some of the scientists should be alive. If the PCs think to contact Maddix, he will put them in touch with the head of the company, Linn Hebron. If not, then a scientist will immediately contact Hebron to make her aware that sensitive research and contagious viral samples have been stolen. Regardless of who makes contact, Hebron will offer the PCs a reward for return the stolen goods, since they have the only ship in the area. The reward will be substantially more if the PCs can keep the incident quiet. Kern Hilson, one of the scientists, will offer to accompany the PCs to reclaim the goods. If the PC group is undersized, some additional scientist may offer to come along as well, and some may even have small weapons.

Referee’s Information:
The Lab
The lab is located on a small, remote asteroid. There is a small landing pad and single above ground building. The facility is mostly underground. The lab is doing viral research, which includes animal testing. The lab does not have a security force, but rather uses secrecy and its remote location as protection. There are no other spacecraft at the facility, but it does have a good communication system which will allow instantaneous contact with the planet.

Viral research options (depending upon your faith in humanity):

• The research is being done to produce vaccines against future outbreaks (humanitarian reasons). The scientists and company are the good guys.
• The research being done is apparently for humanitarian reasons, but the owner of the company has other plans for it. The scientists are dupes at the mercy of corporate greed.
• The scientists are intentionally trying to create a weaponized virus. The scientists and the company are the bad guys.
• Some or all of the scientists are doing the research against their will (under threat to their families or some such), in which case the facility has a small security force to keep them in line. The scientists are the good guys and the company is the really bad guys.

Note: the PCs don’t necessarily need to know this to have a successful adventure, but it might come out in game play and affect how the NPCs react.

The ship departing from the asteroid at the time of the PC's arrival contains the stolen research and virus samples. The bad guys’ ship has the same acceleration as the PCs ship. The idea is that the PCs are basically right behind the bad guys the whole time, whether the bad guys know it or not.

The referee has some options depending upon his gaming style and what the players gaming preference is:

• The PCs catch up to the bad guys in space. Ship combat ensues. If the PCs destroy the bad guy ship, the PCs will be (quietly) rewarded for stopping a potential major incident. If not, the bad guys get away and the company's in-house security will take over. There is no punishment for the PCs if they fail.*
• The PCs catch up to the bad guys in space and attempt to retrieve the stolen goods. Ship combat and/or shipboard combat ensues. If the PCs successfully retrieve the stolen goods they will receive a significant reward (or stabbed in the back by the company, depending upon your gaming style)
• The bad guys jump to another system, which can start an entire adventure of tracking down the bad guys.
• The bad guys make it to the planet (or starport) ahead of the PCs, but just barely. There can be a possible shoot-out on the landing pad, or maybe the bad guys escape.
• At any time the PCs can attempt to call the local police forces or nearby ships for help. This may prevent the escape of the bad guys, but the PCs would not get their reward.

*If you want to have consequences for failure, the bad guys can discover they are being pursued in space, and initiate combat.

Bad guy options (coordinate with viral research option above):

• The bad guys are terrorists, ideologically motivated, out to take good science and use it for bad.
• The bad guys are financially motivated, looking to sell the virus to the highest bidder.
• The bad guys are a group of radicals who understand the dangers of the research, for good or bad, and want to keep it out of the wrong hands.

End Game
The scenario end game and conditions of success are up to the referee and players.

Note: The "Better Late Than Never" plot kind of takes the adventure portion of this scenario out of the lab, but I just decided to roll with it. An alternative scenario might involve the PCs being at the lab just before the bad guys attack, or they might arrive during the attack.

K is for K'kree

Of course K is for K'kree. This is Traveller. It was either this or Kinunir.

Not much to say about this one. K'kree ships are pretty simple, and if you want to keep it at a printable size you are kind of limited to 1,000 tons. I got about half way done with this, and bemoaning how little source material there is for K'kree ships when I realized I had the GURPS alien book with the K'kree. The deck plans are more similar than I'd like, but again - it's a simple layout. I'd never seen a ship detailed with waterfalls and landscaping, so I went with that.

Purist and gearheads should note that while this layout is to scale and is an accurate 1,000 tons, I have no idea if the drive and fuel space meet canon ship generation requirements. Just shootin' from the hip this time, folks.

Now I've just got to figure out the pronunciation. Is it KIK'-ree or kik-REE'?

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For a higher resolution PDF, click this link: (Traveller K'kree Starship Courier). The deckplan was created to be printed out on 24"x36". Scale is 1" = 10'-0" so it can be used with 15mm miniatures. Enjoy!
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J is for Jobs

"It is the working man who is the happy man. It is the idle man who is the miserable man." - Benjamin Franklin

Whether it's a corkboard pinned to a wall at the one-room Class E starport on a low level world, or the bank of employment kiosks at Regina Downport, most starports will have the means to allow contact between people for employment. However, the jobs listed at the starport are not always the best ones around. It's the low hanging fruit, but it's generally easy to get. Many of the jobs posted are with the understanding that the employment period will only be a week or two. Some jobs will require a longer commitment. Frequently these jobs are geared toward only one PC, so referees should decide if they want to break up the group, even if temporarily. A temporary side job for one or two PCs might be a good diversion when you can't get the whole gaming group together.

I put together a quick job generator in Excel that break the jobs down into the following categories:

• Low-Tech Work
• Mid/High-Tech Work
• High-Tech Work
• Bounty Hunting
• Mercenary
• Starship Positions
• Repo Work
• Income Opportunities
• Skill Related

Adventure 6 - Expedition to Zhodane shows a good example of job write-ups and also rates the job as inconsequential, interesting, or essential (essential being required to complete the predetermined adventure). To that list I would also add volunteer, illegal, and scam. I usually don't create an actual write up for the job, but just review them briefly and see which ones look interesting.


Low-Tech Work
    The saddle maker is looking for an assistant.
    The baker is looking for an assistant.
    The town needs a new security guard.
Mid/High-Tech Work
    The city needs a new border protection officer.
    The news reporter seeks short term help.
    The insurance investigator seeks short term help.
High-Tech Work
    The city needs a new dairy farmer. (a high-tech dairy, of course)
    The crime lab analyst seeks short term help.
    The security officer seeks short term help.
Bounty Hunting
    Bounty: Wanted for burglary: Alive Cr4,000
    Bounty: Wanted for use of psionic power: Preferred alive Cr20,000
    Bounty: Wanted for murder: Dead or alive Cr60,000
Mercenary
    A team or individual is needed for a patrolling mission.
    An individual is needed for a rescue mission.
    A team is needed for an escort mission.
Starship Positions
    A starship seeks someone with Ship's Boat-2.
    A starship seeks a temporary communications technician.
    A starship seeks a full-time chief engineer.
Repo Work
    Repo furniture / electronics (non-friendly). Helpful skill: Disguise
    Repo recreational watercraft (non-friendly). Helpful skill: Computer
    Repo merchant starship (non-friendly). Helpful skill: Carousing
Income Opportunities
    Money can be made in illegal gambling (risky crowd).
    Money can be made volunteering for medical experiments.
    Money can be made transporting a small cargo (legal, high risk and pay).
Skill Related
    Person with Blade Combat skill is needed.                                           
    Person with Medical skill is needed.                                               
    Person with Interrogation skill is needed.

These aren't much on the surface, but a little creative thinking can make them an interesting opportunity. This list can provide more than just employment for a PC. Looking through the list might give you ideas for other adventure hooks.

Why does the city need a new border protection officer? What's happening at the border?
Maybe some of the jobs are interrelated. Are the medical experiments related to the bounty on the psion? Is the burglar with the bounty the reason the town needs a new security guard?

PCs can check the job kiosk up to World Pop times per week. While many more actual jobs might be available, this represents the best job they found in that time period.

Example fleshed out: Person with Medical skill is needed.

The Job
The PC makes contact with the HR Director at a Startown hospital, who is looking for someone with experience to help out for about a week at the hospital. The HR director insists the interview be done at their facility. The interview is one sided, as the Director asks about the PCs medical experience, certification, etc. but dodges any questions about what type of work the PC would actually be doing. "We'll go over all that later" or something similar will be a standard response. When the time comes to tour the facility, the PC is led into the Crippled Children With Big Sad Eyes ward. Okay, not literally, but there are dozens of sick and injured children, all in terrible pain, all gut-wrenchingly pathetic. The pay offered should be small, but reasonable. If the PC accepts the job, the HR director should show him around the place and introduce him as "one of the new volunteers", ignoring the PCs corrections, if any. The character will be expected to work very long hours - every time he wants to take a break, get some food, or some sleep, another child should start screaming in pain, or some young cancer patient will ask the PC to give her doll a hug.

Payday
If the PC asks about his paycheck at the end of the week, anyone he talks to will mention that volunteers don't get paid. If the PC insists that he is a paid, short-term contractor, anyone he talks to will be genuinely surprise the PC wants payment since "all of the short-term contractors we've worked with have donated their pay to the children's relief fund". If the PC puts his foot down about getting paid, they will be told that payments are processed through corporate, and the payment should be ready in 2 - 3 weeks. If the PC acts like he is about to do something stupid or violent, the HR director will settle with him out of petty cash.

This isn't quite a scam, just a tactic the underfunded hospital uses to get free, experienced help. Players who like to play the White Knight should be given a chance to shine, and get their picture in the news with a sick child, or some other non-monetary reward. Lots of praise - no money. Surprise the player later in the game by throwing in some perk and having an NPC say they recognized the character from the story in the news. The perk might be anything from a round of drinks at a starport lounge to free fuel.

Players who refuse the job can be hounded for the rest of their gaming career about playing a medic who wouldn't even help out a bunch of sick kids.

I is for Interdiction

"Warning: Trespassers will be shot. Survivors will be shot again." - unknown

One of my minor frustrations with the Traveller sector generation process was the creation of Amber and Red Zone worlds. I loved that they were included in the process, but there was no way to determine why the planet had a restricted classification. I've created the table below to address the reason for and enforcement of planetary interdiction.

IMTU the reason for the restriction is usually, but not always, made public and can be determined by contacting the local TAS office, Imperial Navy public liaison, or checking with a trusted news source. Amber Zones are not usually interdicted, but Red Zones almost always are. Note that the official reason a planet has been interdicted is not always the real reason.

Travel Zone & Interdiction   (A for Amber Zone, R for Red Zone)

A1    general chaos
A2    societal upheaval
A3    local xenophobia
A4    government coup
A5    piracy
A6    oppressive government
A7    oppressive laws
A8    dangerous society
A9    minor war
   
R1    wildlife refuge
R2    protect developing society
R3    wealthy family's private reserve
R4    to protect valuable resources
R5    protect sensitive installation
R6    punishment of local government
R7    quarantine a disease
R8    trade embargo
R9    world war
RA    global disaster
RB    Ancient site
RC    protect military base
RD    military or arms embargo
RE    known psionic community
RF    classified

Interdiction Classification and Enforcement
Class and Actions Taken
0: No travel restrictions, not interdicted
1: Automated satellite - Broadcasts restrictions, and collects transponder data of ships entering in range of system
2: Automated satellite - Will open fire on ships entering the restricted zone
3: Automated or manned satellite- Will open fire on ships entering the restricted zone
4: Interdiction Station (400 ton) - Will open fire on ships entering the restricted zone
5: Close Escort (300 ton)- Will intercept ships and escort them away or fire upon them if necessary
6: System Defense Boat (400 ton) - Will intercept ships and escort them away or fire upon them if necessary

The class and quantity of enforcement units goes up with the Navy's assessment, but there are usually 3 to 4 units per system.

An example of a Class 2 satellite is the InSat-12, shown below.
An example of a Class 3 satellite is the 300 ton Type SMU-4C/D from GW's IISS Ship Files.
An example of a Class 4 Interdiction Station can be found in Space Gamer magazine (#67).
An example of a Class 5 Close Escort can be found in Supplement 7 - Traders and Gunboats.
An example of a Class 6 System Defense Boat can be found in Supplement 7 - Traders and Gunboats.

For the purposes of this article, interdiction refers to the prohibition of access to a world from the outside. It does not inherently prevent anything leaving the planet. Interdiction differs from a blockade, which is intended to prohibit any ships from entering or exiting a world. The typical interdicted zone is a sphere of 100 planetary diameters, although this often varies, especially for smaller worlds. The Imperial Navy views penetrating the 100 diameter sphere as indicating clear intent of planetary interaction as it is the cut-off point for safe jumps.

Weapons Platforms and Spy Satellites
The design of an interdiction satellite is not too much different from the design of an orbital weapons platform, interdiction satellites just tend to announce their intentions first. Some satellites are fitted with a wide variety of sensors, so that the conditions on the planet may be monitored.

The InSat-12 Automated Interdiction Satellite
The InSat-12 is a twelve ton, Class 2 automated interdiction satellite used by the Imperial Navy. It is fairly standard for its class, which typically range from 10 to 40 dtons. This satellite is produced at TL14 and uses a L-Hyd fueled power plant. Older models and some produced at earlier tech levels still use a generator and solar collection panels for power. It can maneuver at 1G, which allows for orbital relocation, system patrols, and basic combat maneuvers. It is armed with a double pulse laser turret and a multiple sensors.

H is for Hydroponics (and Food Production Technology)

"Soylent Green is people!" - Detective Frank Thorn

This post is a little bit of a cop-out. I intended to do this post on Hydroponics. After all, it starts with an 'H', it's practically a sci-fi trope equivalent to space food, and I had already drawn a Hydroponics Bay geomorph. Easy peasy, right?

But the truth is, I really don't know much about hydroponics. Or the future of food production. Or the past of food production.

Food for Thought
But luckily, I loves me some Google and have an affinity for all things Traveller. I looked to see what I could find in the published material and online forums and came up with surprisingly little. My research notes slowly turned into a Tech Level table, that frankly, I'm having a hard time completing. I figured Traveller Grognards are a pretty smart group in general, so I humbly throw my incomplete work at your feet. Tear it to shreds, fellas. Look into your crystal balls and let me know what you think about food in the far future.

I've still included the Hydroponics Bay geomorph, but suspect it will need revision after I've heard from others.

 Technology Levels and Food Production (click image to see larger version)

In the future, only the emotionally unstable eat real meat, just ask any K'Kree (from Star Wars #31)