Adventure Class Ships

The one downside of having so much support for Traveller right now is the difficulty in just reading, assimilating, and utilizing even a fraction of this material. For months after I turned in the manuscript for The Deep and the Dark I kept finding useful bits and pieces in other books that I wished I could have acknowledged or incorporated.

Adventure Class Ships, released back in early October 2023, is a particularly strong match for The Deep and the Dark. Large areas of Reaver’s Deep and Dark Nebula sectors have been set aside as a buffer zone between the Aslan Hierate and the Third Imperium. Consequently, this region is a fairly backwards, small ship environment.

Adventure class ships, defined as sub-2,000 ton vessels, are right in the sweet spot for PC use—and are the largest ships likely to be encountered inside the Buffer. Further, the astrography of the region lacks the great, winding mains of the Spinward Marches or the Solomani Rim, requiring ships with jump-2 or even better, jump-3 capability. And the lower tech nature of the Buffer means TL12 or 13 is the most common maximum.

Fortunately, many designs in Adventure Class Ships fit the bill perfectly and are likely used throughout Reaver’s Deep and Dark Nebula.

The Third Imperium employs several designs with jump-4 or better for missions into the Buffer and Hierate space, including the Far Scout (pg. 12), Far Reach Survey Scout (pg. 16), Express Packet (pg. 78), and Long Range Courier (pg. 82).

Many independent human governments in the Buffer use the Frontiersman-class Scout (pg. 10), Assault Gunship (pg. 104), and the Mercenary Carrier (pg. 112) in their planetary navies.

Aslan clans both inside and outside the Hierate rely upon the Stayaow Combat Scout (pg. 134) and the Aihaiyo Hunting Ship (pg. 136), which are fairly common in both sectors.

Small commercial interests and independent operators inside the Buffer use the Merchant Trader (pg. 30), Long Trader (pg. 38), Large Freighter (pg. 54), Passenger Cruiser (pg. 66), and Prospector (pg. 88). These ships are often plagued by criminals and pirates who have adopted designs such as the Shadow Trader (pg. 28), Fast Smuggler (pg. 34), Pirate Carrier (pg. 102), and Kteahearl Raider (pg. 138).

Starship Encounters in the Buffer

The following tables incorporate ships from both Adventure Class Ships and The Deep and the Dark.

The referee should use this encounter table for Buffer worlds with Population 6+. Encounters occur on a 6+.

Moderate and Densely Populated Buffer Worlds

2D	Result
2	Pirate Carrier arriving in system, engaged in piracy.
3	Aslan Aihaiyo Hunting Ship standing by, waiting to receive a charter.
4	Dakaar-class Freighter standing by to receive a load of freight bound for the Carrillian Assembly.
5	Type U Armed Packet arriving in system with cargo goods and passengers from the Imperium.
6	Aslan Merchant Trader owned by the Khtyuwi’ corporation, standing by to receive new speculative cargo.
7	Passenger Cruiser with passengers, waiting for clearance to land.
8	Type A2 Far Trader carrying cargo and passengers, leaving the system.
9	Large Freighter arriving in system with passengers from the Principality of Caledon.
10	Assault Gunship on patrol, arriving at starport.
11	2 Avenger-class Patrol Frigates on manoeuvres, leaving the system.
12	Mercenary Carrier, standing by.

The referee should use this encounter table for Buffer worlds with a Population of 5-. Encounters occur on 8+.

Sparsely Populated Buffer Worlds

2D	Result
2	Aslan Stayaow Combat Scout operated by an exohierate clan.
3	Aslan Kteahearl Raider engaged in piracy.
4	Express Packet operated by the Imperial Interstellar Scout Service, carrying a diplomatic pouch to an embassy on a client state.
5	Fast Smuggler carrying goods to port.
6	Aslan Prospector operated by an exohierate clan, scouting out potential mining claims.
7	Type A2 Far Trader operated by trade pioneers out of Caledon in search of new markets and novel goods.
8	Large Freighter operated by Carrillines Ltd., carrying unrefined ore to the Carrillian Assembly.
9	Type K Safari Ship arriving with a charter of Imperial tourists from Daibei sector.
10	Aslan Long Trader operated by the Tlasayerlahel corporation, arriving in search of speculative cargo.
11	Shadow Trader carrying a corporate charter from Imperial space to Marlheim.
12	Avenger-class Patrol Frigate departing, on patrol.

Copyright Information

The Traveller game in all forms is owned by Far Future Enterprises. Copyright © 1977 – 2024 Far Future Enterprises. Traveller is a registered trademark of Far Future Enterprises. Far Future permits web sites and fanzines for this game, provided it contains this notice, that Far Future is notified, and subject to a withdrawal of permission on 90 days notice. The contents of this site are for personal, non-commercial use only. Any use of Far Future Enterprises’s copyrighted material or trademarks anywhere on this web site and its files should not be viewed as a challenge to those copyrights or trademarks. In addition, any program/articles/file on this site cannot be republished or distributed without the consent of the author who contributed it.

Materials produced by Digest Group Publications (DGP) are copyright © Roger Sanger. Any use of Digest Group Publications’ copyrighted material or trademarks anywhere on this Web site and its files should not be viewed as a challenge to those copyrights. Usage is intended to follow the guidelines announced by Roger Sanger on the Traveller Mailing List for preserving the overall Traveller milieu.