Xmails for the Starjammer

The IMV Starjammer in dock at High Fargo starport, Double. In the foreground troops in combat armor prepare to load a waiting Broadsword-class mercenary cruiser.

TL13 mercenary troopers outfitted with combat armor and KG56A3 gauss rifles. Behind them is a TL9 ground APC.

Last week we were able to play the latest installment of our Into the Interface Traveller campaign, which saw the player characters’ starship, the IMV Starjammer, return to Imperial space for the first time in nearly two years.

In preparation for the session I wanted to show off the new 1:270 scale Starjammer model. This scale, which was popularized by the Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures Game, is extremely close to the 1:285 or 6mm scale occasionally used in wargaming for micro armor games and other uses.

In order to give the players a proper sense of the ship’s size, I ordered a platoon of 6mm sci-fi troopers from the igMakes Etsy Store to paint up. These are tiny 3D prints with a decent amount of definition, and they came with an APC and attack helicopter.

Painting up the platoon was a useful exercise and not nearly as difficult as I feared. I found this YouTube video to be very helpful: 6mm is Easy! Painting Teeny Napoleonic British Infantry [How I Paint Things]. Basically, at this scale you are really only able to suggest details by hitting the highlights of the highlights. I could see going down a real rabbit hole here: lots of 6mm scale pieces are available, including cargo containers, freight loaders, and the like.

As I was working on these props it occurred to me that a starship away from its home territory for an extended voyage would likely be barraged by incoming xmails once it returned. Some of these messages would be directed xmails sent months or even years earlier, while others would be the equivalent of spam generated on the fly. Some AI system probably monitors incoming traffic, cross references crew manifests with consumer databases and then sends a flood of personalized advertising towards the incoming ship. Hopefully a high stellar society would have developed AI assistants to cull through the terrabytes of garbage.

It also occurred to me that xmails could be used as handouts to set up a game session and to provide background color and plot hooks. Also, xmails provide an opportunity to promote Allies, Contacts, Rivals, and Enemies. While I really like this Mongoose Traveller mechanic in theory, in practice it can be difficult to implement if your Travellers are actually … travelling … acrosss a subsector. Xmails provide a means to connect PCs with these NPCs throughout a campaign.

I created a template in Word that resembled the old Xmail form from Traveller Supplement 12: Forms and Charts. Rather than drop all of the potential adventure leads into a starport bar, I wrote up some choice xmails that I handed to the players once the Starjammer emerged from jumpspace.

“My Imbecilic Progeny”

The following xmail completes some business and also establishes some background info on an NPC who might show up later in the game: Baronet Sir Cedric Radimir Garner of Montlivan, Knight of the Order of Sol (K.S.). The baronet is the father of Daren (HotLolz), one of the PCs as well as the employer of Sonny the android, Daren’s bodyguard. It’s no accident that Sir Cedric addresses the message to Sonny rather than Daren.

XBOAT MESSAGE	1. Date of Preparation 105-1104
2. Addressee Bodyguard 3185D31A	3. Destination Aboard IMV Starjammer (Kline Registration No. 338-C-2725)
Instructions: Use the space below for written communications using the standard Anglic character set. The message will be transmitted to the addressee above.
4. Message Text Greetings, Salutations, etc., etc.: As you have no doubt already noted, per our standing arrangement I have instructed my bank to disburse another Cr10,000 into your account for yet another year of keeping my imbecilic progeny out of both the news and further legal entanglements. I commend your diligence and ingenuity in this endeavour; removing him to Solomani space was an inspired choice, though I wonder that, given his mother’s inexplicable affection for Terran religions and our poor son’s weakness of spirit he might yet take up the Sollie cause. I do read with some alarm that he has resumed public use of the Garner name; I would be indebted should you persuade him to adopt another pseudonym, though perhaps one somewhat more dignified than that risible Hotlolz. In any case, I bid you to carry on with your charge and offer you deepest felicitations and well wishes, etc. for the coming year. At Cinnel Estates, Rayim, Montilivan/New Mars. The Honourable Baronet Sir Cedric Radimir Garner of Montlivan, K.S.

A Mother’s Love

Dame Augustina Rigby-Garner is the estranged wife of Daren’s father and may yet show up in the game. The following xmail helps color Daren’s privileged upbringing and gives some insight into the Imperial aristocracy.

XBOAT MESSAGE	1. Date of Preparation 110-1104
2. Addressee Sir Daren Rigby-Garner	3. Destination Aboard IMV Starjammer (Kline Registration No. 338-C-2725)
Instructions: Use the space below for written communications using the standard Anglic character set. The message will be transmitted to the addressee above.
4. Message Text Dearest Darikin, I do so hope this little missive finds you in good health and standing, wherever you might be. Know that your poor mother thinks often on you and that you, her only son, are always in her fervid prayers. Brantine is ever so lonesome these days with all the servants away on winter leave, though last week the Good Lord allowed the pollution index to abate just enough for me to walk the gardens unaided. They are so quiet and peaceful this time of year, though I did espy one forlorn shufflewing in the hedges by the gardner’s cottage. We must all of us count our blessings, even in solitude. I received communion at the Cathedral three weeks ago, and the kind Bishop Asher spoke approvingly of your exposé of that terrible business at Einkamp. We both agreed it is simply intolerable for the Imperium to turn a blind eye to the likes of horrid dictators such as General Zakiah. I cannot tell you how pleased I am to see you using your given name again, and I pray that perhaps you have finally put your youthful discretions behind you once and for all. A mother can certainly hope, can she not?  And as I am hoping I do so wish that the halls of Brantine might one day be graced again with your presence while I still have whatever is left of my health. How many years has it been? Oh far, far too many my Darikin. At Brantine, your devoted mother, Dame Augustina Rigby Garner, Beta/New Mars. Postscript. I was informed the other day from Lady Loucyd that your father has apparently taken up with yet another one of his servant girls, and this little trollop is said to be even younger than you, if such horrid rumours are to be believed. Have you corresponded with him lately?

O Captain My Captain

One of my players dropped out of the campaign a while ago, but since he played the Starjammer’s captain I’ve been running his character as an NPC for a while. This has been convenient since I could use the captain to provide information drops about starships, interstellar travel, and the Charted Space setting. But the ship’s computer, Juno, can also serve that role and besides, the Starjammer crew is a bit overstuffed. Finally, Captain Cryo has an excellent Navy pension—so it wasn’t really clear why he would keep hanging on.

Given all this, it was high time for this NPC to move on and I wanted to play out this transition. Following my house rules on Certifications for Starship Crew the Starjammer needs a captain who holds at least a Limited Mate’s License. The crew could always hire another captain, but one of the PCs, Astrogator Wayne Masada, had an outside chance of obtaining this certification himself. This xmail, like any good hook, both introduces a dilemma and offers a potential resolution.

XBOAT MESSAGE	1. Date of Preparation 095-1104
2. Addressee Wayne Masada	3. Destination Aboard IMV Starjammer (Kline Registration No. 338-C-2725)
Instructions: Use the space below for written communications using the standard Anglic character set. The message will be transmitted to the addressee above.
4. Message Text The Travellers’ Aid Society oversees licensure of all commercial starship positions in the Third Imperium and beyond. This message provides notice of upcoming examinations for Limited Master’s Licenses. This license entitles the holder to serve as the master of a starship of less than 1,000 tons. A licensed master can fulfil the crew requirements of an astrogator, pilot, sensop, or executive officer. Exams are administered monthly at all Imperial Class A and many Class B starports. The next step in your professional development may be just one jump away. Licensure is Yet More Benefit of Travellers’ Aid Society Membership!

Sitting for the Boards

The following xmail is an example of personalized advertising but it also offers one player an opportunity to obtain a needed certification for his character. As noted in Doctor, Doctor Howard, the Starjammer’s medical officer, is more than qualified to be a ship’s surgeon. This xmail is an invitation to finally check that box.

XBOAT MESSAGE	1. Date of Preparation 243-1103
2. Addressee Medical Officer Howard Barrera	3. Destination Aboard IMV Starjammer (Kline Registration No. 338-C-2725)
Instructions: Use the space below for written communications using the standard Anglic character set. The message will be transmitted to the addressee above.
4. Message Text Dear Corporal Barrera: The Kobayashi School of Medicine is a fully accredited institution widely recognized throughout Magyar sector as a premier centre for medical training. After a thorough review of your service record we believe you have demonstrated sufficient experience and credentials to sit for our Medical Boards Exam. Successful completion of the Boards will entitle you to Imperial licensure as a Doctor of Medicine. Medical Boards Exams are administered twice a month at all Class A Imperial starports in Clown subsector. As a decorated veteran of Imperial military service we are prepared to waive the standard exam fee. The exam require one standard week to complete, with results available within 24 hours. We hope you will consider this exciting opportunity to continue your medical training. Dean Emilia Zengur, Kobayashi School of Medicine, Kobayashi University, Seloo/Clown.

Good Fences

During the last adventure the PCs looted the wreck of a Class M liner, the Speedwell. They had loaded a secure vault into the hold of the Speedwell’s ship’s boat, and then crammed that boat into the Starjammer’s cargo hold. This xmail introduces an NPC who might be interested in buying the ship’s boat, might help them convert their Solomani credits into Imperial notes, and could be useful for moving other, more sensitive goods.

XBOAT MESSAGE	1. Date of Preparation 152-1104
2. Addressee Brogue Enyo	3. Destination Aboard IMV Starjammer (Kline Registration No. 338-C-2725)
Instructions: Use the space below for written communications using the standard Anglic character set. The message will be transmitted to the addressee above.
4. Message Text While on Double visit Crazy Saiful, Small Craft Dealer! We buy and sell used spacecraft of all kinds, from Gigs to Shuttles and everything in between. Boats for every budget. Solomani credits accepted at par! No one beats Crazy Saiful on price! No one! If it flies, we buys!

Tempting

It is well established that the Far, Far Future of Traveller is not the clean and bright post-scarcity setting of Star Trek. This xmail is a reminder of that and also establishes a potential locale for several different plot hooks.

XBOAT MESSAGE	1. Date of Preparation 152-1104
2. Addressee Barry Russell	3. Destination Aboard IMV Starjammer (Kline Registration No. 338-C-2725)
Instructions: Use the space below for written communications using the standard Anglic character set. The message will be transmitted to the addressee above.
4. Message Text Barry Russell, this is your personal invitation to TEMPTATIONS, the premier entertainment club on Double. We cater to all persuasions. Why go dirtside if you aren’t going to get dirty? Visit TEMPTATIONS, located at 1178 Commercial Centre, Fargotown. Free Shuttle and Cover.

Patronizing

The Starjammer’s sensor operator, Ronald Gill, has a criminal past. One of his allies, Lerato Botha, was killed in an earlier adventure and Ronald had to provide information to a cloning facility in order to activate Lerato’s “backup.” This xmail reintroduces Lerato, who might become a useful patron, and the themes of cloning and resurrection. A couple of the PCs have insurance policies that entitle them to their own clone backups, which have not been needed … yet.

XBOAT MESSAGE	1. Date of Preparation 217-1103
2. Addressee Ronald Gill	3. Destination Aboard IMV Starjammer (Kline Registration No. 338-C-2725)
Instructions: Use the space below for written communications using the standard Anglic character set. The message will be transmitted to the addressee above.
4. Message Text It is your old friend Lerato Botha! I am back, my brother. Or at least his clone, with all Lerato’s old memories. It is a very strange thing, I must assure you, to be dead and I have to admit it is still all extremely confusing. The last thing I remember before my resurrection was going to the KST clinic on Sinott to record my mind, which made me feel very sick. I remember being placed into the scanner tube, covered with wires, and then the next thing I knew your friend Lerato was waking up in a metabolic chamber, with every muscle and bone on fire from having been force-grown from a frozen embryo. They say it took half a year to grow this new body and it took another half a year of physical and mental therapy to make sure that the cloning had been done without any problems. So many tests: memory, reflexes, puzzles, and such. At the clinic they said flawed clones were destroyed and the whole process started all over. Perhaps I was not their first product? Your friend Lerato did not want to go through any of that business again, I assure you! But all of that is behind me now. I am using a new name to fit my new body: Lossiomo. I am currently residing on Double and I hope we shall see each other soon. It is not a very charming world, but it has the benefit of being very far away from our friends from Jarslav. I am deeply indebted for your help in getting my paperwork to the KST clinic, and as I recall you are not a man to be in debt to, no matter how good a friend!

Opportunity Knocks and Also Texts

Competition for critical crew positions such as Starship Engineer is probably quite intense. Most PCs are usually on the wrong side of the stick, either looking for ships or crew. Savvy captains and companies probably don’t wait for prospects to show up at the local hiring hall: they likely use recruiters that identify and aggressively court potential candidates before they even reach the starport. I thought it would be interesting to have one of the best-qualified crewmembers of the Starjammer receive some unsolicited offers.

XBOAT MESSAGE	1. Date of Preparation 152-1104
2. Addressee Chief Engineer Richy Jamoor	3. Destination Aboard IMV Starjammer (Kline Registration No. 338-C-2725)
Instructions: Use the space below for written communications using the standard Anglic character set. The message will be transmitted to the addressee above.
4. Message Text A lucrative and rewarding position awaits you, Chief Engineer Jamoor! The IMV Double Jeopardy is an Akkigish-class Type R Subsidized Merchant operating in the Nauvoo Cluster, with its home port at Tolson/Clown (Magyar 2106). The Double Jeopardy has an immediate opening for a chief engineer with your exact qualifications. We are prepared to offer you a one-time signing bonus of Cr50000 and monthly salary of Cr6000. All offers are subject to standard medical and psychological competency exams. The Nauvoo Trading company is an equal opportunity employer offering competitive salary, advancement opportunities, and profit sharing. Further details available upon request. If interested, please contact Captain Fabiana Eshni at Berth B12, Fargo Highport. Celina Wong, Senior Recruiter - Nauvoo Trading.

A Son’s Reply

Daren’s player decided to write a response to his mother’s message, which is exactly the sort of engagement I was hoping to prompt with these xmails.

XBOAT MESSAGE	1. Date of Preparation 156-1104
2. Addressee Dame Augustina Rigby-Garner	3. Destination Brantine Estates, Beta/New Mars (Magyar 3128)
Instructions: Use the space below for written communications using the standard Anglic character set. The message will be transmitted to the addressee above.
4. Message Text Dearest Mommikins, so lovely to hear from you. XXOOXX. I fear I have not spoken to Father since the regrettable cinnamon bun incident. I have changed my life and have been Slurm free for over two years now. Surprise! (I know.) I feel sobriety suits me well and I’m even more impressive and charming without the chemical crutch. I will try to visit soon but my men need me and I worry what would happen without my steady guidance. All of my love, your dearest son Darren Rigby-Garner. Double/Clown.

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.

Everybody Wants to Rule the World: Traveller Nobility

The Marquis of Aramis: As an Imperial noble, the Marquis Leonard Bolden-Tukera of Aramis holds his patent directly from the Emperor, although the channels of allegiance provide (and require) fealty to intervening nobles between him and the Emperor.

The Marquisate is a hereditary position which, on Aramis, has made him ruler of the planet. The Marquis owes allegiance to the Count Knowln of Celepina (in nearby Rhylanor subsector), who in turn owes allegiance to the Duke of Rhylanor, one of several Dukes in the Spinward Marches.

The Marquis, as head of the feudal technocracy of Aramis, grants a variety of subordinate positions in city government to citizens of Aramis and Leedor in return for money, pledges of loyalty, and other services (The Traveller Adventure).

I went down my latest Traveller rabbit hole in the usual way, with a seemingly innocent question about nobility that led me somewhere else altogether. CT Supplement 8: Library Data (A–M) tells us that in the Third Imperium, “Individual worlds, and even entire systems, are free to govern themselves as they desire, provided that ultimate power is always accorded the Imperium” (7). Imperial nobles on member worlds generally act only as a local representative of the larger Imperium, but there are scattered mentions in canon of Imperial nobles also acting as the ruler of their world. I was wondering if such arrangements were still allowed in the latest iterations of the rules, and if so what types of worlds would have an Imperial noble as the head of state.

The Heraldic Crest of the Baronet of Montlivan (Magyar 3222).

The idea of an interstellar nobility has been in Traveller from the very beginning with the Social Standing characteristic and the associated titles that line up with SOC scores of 11 or more. This is not unexpected, as many of the most influential sci-fi sources on Traveller featured some kind of space nobility, including the Dumarest saga, Foundation, Dune, and H. Beam Piper’s Space Viking.

Despite this long history, the specific place of nobility in the Third Imperium setting has always been a little unclear. Partially this is by design: the Imperium is vast and the role of Imperial nobility has to adapt to the needs and preferences of different regions and individual worlds. But the idea of nobility has also evolved over time, as can be seen by a survey of different editions.

For Classic Traveller, the best primary source of information on nobles is Supplement 11: Library Data (N-Z) from 1982. Supplement 11 has an entire essay on “The Imperial Nobility,” which provides a nice high level overview of the topic. The second best source is probably The Traveller Adventure (1983), which offers a good example of how the nobility actually works on a subsector level.

For MegaTraveller, the Imperial Encyclopedia (1987) has an entire chapter on “Nobles” that collects most of the information from classic Traveller and adds a few more useful details.

GURPS Traveller has an entire book devoted to the topic. GT: Nobles (2004) is written with the usual high standards of most GURPS supplements. Although well-researched, the book introduces a few quirks that don’t appear to line up with subsequent editions.

Traveller⁵ (2019) really shakes things up by introducing some significant changes in how nobles are assigned to Imperial worlds. In Traveller⁵ the planetary trade codes determine what rank of noble is assigned to different worlds. For example, a Marquis is associated with worlds with the Pre-Industrial trade code (Pop 8).

This change, reflected in the latest data on Traveller Map, basically invalidates all of the noble titles and relationships described in The Traveller Adventure. A major NPC on Aramis (Spinward Marches 3110 A5A0556-B) is the Marquis of Aramis; in Traveller⁵ Aramis has a subsector duke and a knight but no marquis. Similarly, there is no Count of Celepina (Spinward Marches 2913 B434456-9), a world that only merits a single knight.

Although the Traveller⁵ books provide very little setting information on the nobility, an article from the Imperiallines 7 (2014) tries to explain how all this works. While a good start, a planned second part of this article has unfortunately never been published.

Mongoose Traveller’s Third Imperium (2021) sourcebook incorporates some elements from both GURPS Traveller and Traveller⁵ newsletter in its chapter on “The Nobility.”

Small changes to the terminology and descriptions across editions make comparisons difficult: it can be unclear if a change marks a true shift in mechanics or is simply different nomenclature. 

For example, most sources identify three broad types of nobles: (1) Nobles with titles issued to acknowledge some type of notable Achievement, such as creating an important work of art or making a scientific discovery; (2) Nobles with titles issued to support a Position held within the Imperial administration, such as the representative to an Imperial world or a high level bureaucrat in subsector office; and (3) Nobles with titles issued as rewards for exceptional Service to the Emperor. The latter type includes some of the oldest and most powerful families in the Imperium.

Any of these titles might or might not be accompanied by a fief, might or might not be inheritable, and might or might not make the holder a member of the peerage or have a place on the Imperial Moot. The following table summarizes changes:

Nobility Across Traveller Editions

Description	CT	MT	GT	T5	MgT
Achievement	–	Honor Nobles	Honor Nobles	Honor Nobles	Honor Nobles
Position	–	Rank Nobles	Rank Nobles	Ceremonial Nobles	–
Service	–	High Nobles	High Nobles	Landed Nobles	Rank Nobles
Fief	Baron+	Baron+	Viscount+	Knight+	Knight+
Moot	?	Baron+	Baron+	Baronet+	Baron+
Peerage	Baron+	Baron+	Baron+	?	Marquis+

Traveller⁵, which makes the biggest changes to the nobility system, uses a largely new set of terms and definitions perhaps to reflect the magnitude of the change. Traveller⁵ also fleshes out all the various income streams that can flow to nobles with different Social Standing scores. Mongoose Traveller seems to combine High Nobility and Rank Nobility into a single category, though it’s not clear to me whether this is an intentional choice or simply an accident of editing.

Getting back to my original question: are Imperial nobles still allowed to be rulers of worlds in the latest editions of Traveller? The answer is yes, though this is never common in any edition. “On many worlds the Imperial noble has no role, while on some worlds an Imperial noble is also the world’s ruler” (GT: Nobles 76). “On lower population worlds, the knight may even be the ruler of the world” (Imperialines 5). “For the most part, noble patents do not indicate actual rulership of worlds” (Third Imperium 48).

In most cases, an Imperial noble is probably at best only the titular ruler of a local world with limited or no authority or responsibility over the planetary government. For example, Queen Elizabeth II was the “Queen of Canada” and her image has been on Canadian bank notes since the 1930s.

So what types of worlds in Traveller would be good candidates for having an Imperial noble installed as planetary ruler? Hands down, I think Feudal Technocracies (Government Type 5) are the most likely candidates. In Imperialines 7 Marc Miller himself wrote “I would call the structure of the Imperium a Feudal Technocracy” (3). And if we look at Aramis, a world that canonically is ruled by its senior Imperial noble, we find that its government is a Feudal Technocracy.

Not all Imperial worlds with Government Type 5 will be ruled by an Imperial noble, and not all worlds ruled by an Imperial noble will have that Government Type, but it’s a good place to look. As it happens, one of the PCs from my Into the Interface campaign has a Baronet father established as the Imperial representative to Montlivan (Magyar 3222), a feudal technocracy in New Mars subsector. The Imperial nobility in Magyar was essentially wiped out or dissolved during the Solomani period and almost all titles needed to be freshly issued following the Rim War. Putting all of this together we can construct the following narrative of the Baronetcy of Montlivan, using the description of Aramis as a template:

Montlivan (Magyar 3222 C688456-A). A hot, medium-sized world with a dense oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere, located on the Rim Main in New Mars subsector. Montlivan was originally colonized by the Vilani First Imperium and named Sukun. Because of the low population and lack of infrastructure, the world has been issued an Amber Zone travel advisory.

Montlivan supports a population of little more than 26,000, almost all contained in a single settlement, Rayim, which is the site of the world’s starport. Rayim is the personal fief of the Baronet Sir Cedric Radimir Garner, Knight of the Order of Sol (K.S.).

Sir Cedric was born on Jarslav (Solomani Rim 0123) in 1032 and rose to become the senior marketing manager, New Mars Subsector, for the Imperial megacorporation Ling-Standard Products. In this capacity he became friends with Sir Noah Kossuth, the son of Duke Solon Kossuth of Fugue. In 1060 Sir Cedric married Dame Augustina Rigby of Beta; they separated in 1063 shortly before the birth of their only child, Daren. 

In 1074 Sir Noah was confirmed as the second Duke of Fugue following the death of his father. At Duke Noah’s urging Sir Cedric was granted the title to his baronetcy by Archduke Adair of Sol in 1088. In 1096 Duke Noah was forced to abdicate as part of scandal popularly known as the Union Affair, leaving the new baronet without his powerful patron.

The baronetcy is a hereditary position which, on Montlivan, has made the Baronet the ruler of the planet. Although Baronet Cedric holds his patent from the Archduke of Sol, the channels of allegiance provide and require fealty to intervening nobles between him and the Archduke. The Baronet owes direct allegiance to the Baron Garzikhur of Dirramu, who in turn owes allegiance to Comtesse Agatha haut Ikin of Beta, who in turn owes allegiance to Duke Wawebes of Fugue, the subsector duke for New Mars. Duke Wawebes owes allegiance to Sector Duke Robert Stephanos Beaudoin of the Solomani Rim.

As the titular head of the feudal technocracy of Montlivan, the Baronet grants a variety of subordinate positions in world government to citizens in return for money, pledges of loyalty, and other services. All important posts and contracts are let on the Baronet's sufferance and can be canceled at his whim.

Copyright Information

The Heraldic Crest of Montlivan was created using DALL-E Free AI Image Generator.

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.

Typically of Forsaken Areas: Hill Giants

The various true giants are iconic monsters of Dungeons and Dragons, most having been in the game since those original three booklets way back in 1974. The G, or Giant, series of modules (1978) were some of the most popular adventures ever published for 1st edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons.

The 2nd edition AD&D designers decided that giants needed a significant boost in order to justify their fearsome reputation, as well as to provide readily available monsters for higher level characters, since demons had been removed from the game. So the true giants were all given additional HD to make them tougher for 2nd edition. This power boost was preserved in the 3e revision.

Back in 2002 Daniel R. Collins wrote a persuasive analysis that suggested 3e giants had too many HD for their type and size, at least when compared to other 3e monsters. I would further argue that, in 3e, where all monsters get ability scores and can readily take character classes, the additional HD are unnecessary and actually limiting. A standard 3e fire giant, for example, has 15 HD and a level adjustment of +4, making it very nearly an epic character right out of the gate. I say better to scale the base HD back to more reasonable levels and thus give DMs and players more opportunities to add classes and templates to these monsters.

Dan did a very nice 1st edition conversion of the true giants for 3e. I built on this work, updating the monsters to 3.5e and adding advanced versions that were comparable to the 3e Monster Manual versions, for those DM who wanted to have their cake and eat it, too.

5e increased the size of all the true giants, moving the hill giant from Large to Huge size. I understand the impulse to make giants really “giant” and it’s not without precedent: the old Cook/Marsh Expert set also boosted the size of giants compared the AD&D versions. But that said, I prefer to keep the giants smaller—if only because my miniatures are all based as Large creatures. Below is a smaller version of the 5e hill giant.

These two hill giant miniatures were an option to the Reaper Bones 4 Kickstarter. Both of these figures were sculpted by Bobby Jackson and consist of the Hill Giant Lowland Warrior and the Hill Giant Lowland Chief. These were a lot of fun to paint.

The following text is Open Game Content.

Hill Giant

This creature appears to be a gigantic, primitive human dressed in rough hides and furs. Its filthy, warty skin is deeply tanned and its shaggy hair is pitch black.

Reckless Brutes of Incredible Strength but Little Wit. Hill giants are never truly accepted into society, yet they do well on its edges and frontiers, forging a strong and profitable existence. Despite their rugged appearance and great size, their basically humanoid shape makes it easy for them to relate with more civilized folk.

Boulder Throwers. Hill giants prefer to fight from high, rocky outcroppings, where they can pelt opponents with rocks and boulders while limiting the risk to themselves.

Towering Bullies. Hill giants love to make overrun attacks against smaller creatures when they first join battle. Thereafter, they stand fast and swing away with their massive clubs.

Skin color among hill giants ranges from light tan to deep ruddy brown. Their hair is brown or black, with eyes the same color. Hill giants wear layers of crudely prepared hides with the fur left on. They seldom wash or repair their garments, preferring to simply add more hides as their old ones wear out.

Adults are about 10-1/2 feet tall and weigh about 1,100 pounds. Hill giants can live to be 200 years old.

3.5e

Hill Giant CR 5

Often CE Large giant

Init -1; Senses low-light vision; Listen +2, Spot +3

Languages Giant

Defense

AC 16, touch 8, flat-footed 16
(-1 size, -1 Dex, +5 natural, +3 hide)

hp 68 (8 HD)

Fort +10, Ref +1, Will +2

Offense

Spd 30 ft in hide armor (6 squares); base speed 40 ft.

Melee* greatclub +10/+5 (2d8+11)
or 2 slams +10 (1d4+7)

Ranged rock +5 (2d6+6)

Space 10 ft; Reach 10 ft

Special Attacks rock throwing (40 ft increment)

*1-point Power Attack

Statistics

Str 23, Dex 8, Con 19, Int 6, Wis 10, Cha 7

Base Atk +6; Grp +16

SQ rock catching

Feats Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Power Attack

Skills Climb +6, Jump +6, Listen +2, Spot +3

Ecology

Environment temperate hills

Organization solitary, gang (2-5), band (6-9 plus 35% noncombatants), hunting/raiding party (6-9 plus 2-4 dire wolves), or tribe (20-24 plus 1-6 hill giant brutes plus 35% noncombatants plus 12-30 dire wolves, 2-4 ogres, and 12-22 orcs)

Treasure standard

Advancement by character class; Favored Class barbarian

Level Adjustment +4

Special Abilities

Rock Throwing (Ex) Adult hill giants are accomplished rock throwers and receive a +1 racial bonus on attack rolls when throwing rocks. A hill giant can hurl rocks weighing 40 to 50 pounds each (Small objects) up to five range increments of 40 feet.

Rock Catching (Ex) A hill giant can catch Small, Medium, or Large rocks (or projectiles of similar shape). Once per round, a hill giant that would normally be hit by a rock can make a Reflex save to catch it as a free action. The DC is 15 for a Small rock, 20 for a Medium one, and 25 for a Large one. (If the projectile provides a magical bonus on attack rolls, the DC increases by that amount.) The hill giant must be ready for and aware of the attack in order to make a rock catching attempt.

Hill Giants as Characters

Hill giant characters possess the following racial traits.

• +12 Strength, -2 Dexterity, +8 Constitution, -4 Intelligence, -4 Charisma.
• Large size. -1 penalty to Armor Class, -1 penalty on attack rolls, -4 penalty on Hide checks, +4 bonus on grapple checks, lifting and carrying limits double those of Medium characters.
• Space/Reach: 10 feet/10 feet.
• A hill giant’s base land speed is 40 feet.
• Low-light vision.
• Racial Hit Dice: A hill giant begins with eight levels of giant, which provide 8d8 Hit Dice, a base attack bonus of +6, and base saving throw bonuses of Fort +6, Ref +2, and Will +2.
• Racial Skills: A hill giant's giant levels give it skill points equal to 11 x (2 + Int modifier). Its class skills are Climb, Jump, Listen, and Spot.
• Racial Feats: A hill giant's giant levels give it three feats.
• +5 natural armor bonus.
• Natural Weapons: 2 slams (1d4).
• Special Attacks (see above): Rock throwing.
• Special Qualities (see above): Rock catching.
• Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A hill giant is automatically proficient with simple weapons, martial weapons, light and medium armor, and shields.
• Automatic Languages: Giant. Bonus Languages: Common, Draconic, Elven, Goblin, Orc.
• Favored Class: Barbarian.
• Level adjustment: +4.

Advanced Hill Giants

Hill Giant Brute CR 7

Hill giant warrior 4

CE Large giant

Init -1; Senses low-light vision; Listen +2, Spot +3

Languages Giant

Defense

AC 16, touch 8, flat-footed 16

hp 102 (12 HD)

Fort +13, Ref +2, Will +3

Offense

Spd 30 ft (6 squares)

Melee* greatclub +14/+9 (2d8+16)

Ranged rock +9 (2d6+7)

Space 10 ft; Reach 10 ft

Special Atk rock throwing (40 ft increment)

*3-point Power Attack

Statistics

Str 24, Dex 8, Con 19, Int 6, Wis 10, Cha 7

Feats Cleave, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Sunder, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (greatclub)

Skills Climb +9, Jump +9, Listen +2, Spot +3

Base Atk +10; Grp +21

SQ rock catching

Possessions hide armor, greatclub

5e

Hill Giant

Large giant, chaotic evil
Armor Class 14 (natural)
Hit Points 95 (10d10 + 40)
Speed 30 ft.
Str	Dex	Con	Int	Wis	Cha
21 (+5)	8 (-1)	19 (+4)	5 (-3)	9 (-1)	6 (-2)
Skills Perception +2
Senses passive Perception 12
Languages Giant
Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)
Actions
Multiattack. The giant makes two greatclub attacks.
Greatclub. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (3d6 + 5) bludgeoning damage.
Rock. Ranged Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, range 60/240 ft., one target. Hit: 21 (3d10 + 5) bludgeoning damage.

OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a

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15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE
    
    • Open Game License v 1.0a, Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
    • System Reference Document, Copyright 2000-2003, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Rich Baker, Andy Collins, David Noonan, Rich Redman, Bruce R. Cordell, John D. Rateliff, Thomas Reid, James Wyatt, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.
    • System Reference Document 5.1, Copyright 2016, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Mike Mearls, Jeremy Crawford, Chris Perkins, Rodney Thompson, Peter Lee, James Wyatt, Robert J. Schwalb, Bruce R. Cordell, Chris Sims, and Steve Townshend, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.
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Mercenaries in The Deep and the Dark

The founders of Game Designers’ Workshop—including Marc Miller himself—were avid wargamers, and the player base of Traveller continues to include a large number of military veterans and wargamers. So it is probably no surprise that one of the first supplements out of the gate in 1978 was Book 4: Mercenaries, which dealt with ground forces in Traveller. Book 4 also introduced advanced character generation, which immediately proved to be a popular if controversial extension of the original game.

I don’t have any data to back this up, but I suspect that the mercenary campaign might be even more popular than the free trader campaign, which is often considered the default Traveller game. In any case, I was looking forward to reading Martin J Dougherty’s treatment of mercenaries in Mongoose Traveller. MJD is consistently good and always strong on military topics. Mongoose ran a successful Kickstarter a few years ago to fund a deluxe three-book boxed set treatment of mercenaries. Although I didn’t get in on the Kickstarter, I did pick up the Mercenary PDFs after the fact. Mongoose has also published several follow-up products, including the excellent Mercenaries of Charted Space, which I picked up a couple of weeks ago during the recent Bundle of Holding sale.

Mercenaries are extremely common inside the Aslan Hierate and within the Buffer that separates the Hierate from the Third Imperium. In fact, the Keith Brothers almost certainly developed Reaver’s Deep with mercenary campaigns in mind.

Given all this, Mongoose Traveller Mercenary is another book that would work very well with The Deep and the Dark. Below are the mercenary companies mentioned in The Deep and the Dark statted out using the MgT mercenary system.

Mercenaries of The Deep and the Dark

Caledon Highlanders

A human-owned mercenary regiment (pg. 47) active in Reaver’s Deep and into adjoining Imperial and Solomani territories.

Caledon Highlander

STR 8	DEX 7	END 9	INT 7	EDU 6	SOC 5
Athletics (endurance) 1, Drive 0, Gun Combat (slug) 2, Melee 0, Recon 0, Survival 0, Vac Suit 1
Weapons: Gauss Rifle with auxiliary grenade launcher (4D, AP 5, Auto 3, Scope), RAM grenade (5D, Blast 9)
Armor: Chameleon Combat Armour (+13, +4 Stealth)

Characteristic	Value	DM
Force Name	Caledon Highlanders	–
Unit Size	Brigade	–
Unit Type	Motorised Infantry	–
Unit TL	13	+2
Mobility Type	Partial Grav	+4
Combat	6	+0
Bombardment	6	+0
Aerospace	5	-1
Support	6	+0
CEI or DEI	7	+0
Morale	10	+1
Reputation	9	+1

Caledonian Highlanders (Colonel Sir William Fraser, KC)

• 1 x Regimental Headquarters
• 1 x Battery of Regimental Artillery
• 2 x Sections
• 5 x Multiple Rocket Launcher or drone missile vehicles
• 1 x Fire Direction Centre vehicle
• 1 x Regimental Logistics Unit
• 1 x Pioneer Battalion
• 1 x Battalion Headquarters
• 1 x HQ Staff
• 1 x Battalion Squad
• 1 x Battalion Aid Station
• 1 x Battalion Artillery Battery
• 1 x Grav Tank Company
• 13 x tanks
• 1 x Engineering Company
• 1 x Lift Recon Company (Elite)
• 3 x Infantry Battalions
• 1 x Battalion Headquarters
• 1 x HQ Staff
• 1 x Battalion Squad
• 1 x Battalion Aid Station
• 1 x Battalion Artillery Battery
• 1 x Grav Tank Company
• 13 x tanks
• 4 x Infantry Companies
• 1 x Command Staff
• 4 x Platoons
• 5 x Squads

E’al Htoukha

A large, private Aslan military company (pg. 49) controlled by the Hlaotiyoiho clan.

Characteristic	Value	DM
Force Name	E’al Htoukha	–
Unit Size	Division	–
Unit Type	Lift Infantry	–
Unit TL	14	+2
Mobility Type	Grav	+8
Combat	7	+0
Bombardment	8	+0
Aerospace	6	+0
Support	7	+0
CEI or DEI	6	-1
Morale	8	+0
Reputation	7	+0

Kaha a’huye

The Brotherhood of the Rose-Tinged Waters (pg. 50) is a storied Aslan mercenary company sponsored by the Afaikhiyoi clan, operating out of Kusyu.

Characteristic	Value	DM
Force Name	Kaha a’huye	–
Unit Size	Brigade	–
Unit Type	Expert/Specialist	–
Unit TL	5	-1
Mobility Type	Infantry	-3
Combat	2	-2
Bombardment	0	–
Aerospace	0	–
Support	5	-1
CEI or DEI	11	+2
Morale	15	+3
Reputation	13	+2

Ktiriy’eirl

One of the larger mercenary companies operating in the Hierate, Ktiriy’eirl (meaning, roughly, ‘relentless attack’) provides armoured grav units to client clans. The company is managed by females of the Hrasua clan (pg. 120) and known for the high quality of its armoured vehicles, most of which are manufactured by Hwyroar, the clan corporation. Mercenaries are usually Ground Forces veterans of the Hrasua clan or one of its many allies. The mainstay of Ktiriy’eirl units are Khtachwel assault grav tanks supported by infantry in combat armour. Ktiriy’eirl maintains several large troop transports allowing the company to rapidly deploy assets wherever a client desires.

Characteristic	Value	DM
Force Name	Ktiriy’eirl	–
Unit Size	Division	–
Unit Type	Grav Armour	–
Unit TL	14	+2
Mobility Type	Grav	+8
Combat	7	+0
Bombardment	8	+0
Aerospace	7	+0
Support	8	+0
CEI or DEI	9	+1
Morale	12	+2
Reputation	7	+0

Longshot Inc.

A mercenary artillery company (pg. 51) operating in Reaver’s Deep with headquarters located on Solomon in Eakoi subsector.

Characteristic	Value	DM
Force Name	Longshot, Inc.	–
Unit Size	Brigade	–
Unit Type	Artillery	–
Unit TL	14	+2
Mobility Type	Grav	+8
Combat	4	-1
Bombardment	13	+2
Aerospace	7	+0
Support	7	+0
CEI or DEI	6	-1
Morale	9	+1
Reputation	9	+1

Sellswords of Gilead

An unusual human mercenary company (pg. 53) based on Sequel in Khtoiakta subsector of Dark Nebula.

Characteristic	Value	DM
Force Name	Sellswords of Gilead	–
Unit Size	Battalion	–
Unit Type	Security	–
Unit TL	2	-2
Mobility Type	Infantry	-3
Combat	1	-2
Bombardment	0	–
Aerospace	0	–
Support	4	-1
CEI or DEI	10	+1
Morale	14	+2
Reputation	11	+1

Teahleikhoi

‘The Soldiers of the Falling Night’ are an Aslan mercenary company (pg. 55) associated with the Iyhlua clan. Organised and operated as a regiment, Teahleikhoi is based in the Uhtaa subsector of Reaver’s Deep.

Teahleikhoi Trooper

STR 10	DEX 5	END 9	INT 7	EDU 6	SOC 5
Athletics 0, Drive 0, Gun Combat (slug) 2, Melee (natural) 1, Recon 0, Survival 1,Tactics 0
Weapons: Gauss Rifle with auxiliary grenade launcher (4D, AP 5, Auto 3, Scope), RAM grenade (5D, Blast 9)
Armor: Cloth (+8)

Characteristic	Value	DM
Force Name	Teahleikhoi	–
Unit Size	Brigade	–
Unit Type	Armoured Infantry	–
Unit TL	14	+2
Mobility Type	Grav	+8
Combat	7	+0
Bombardment	8	+0
Aerospace	7	+0
Support	8	+0
CEI or DEI	8	0
Morale	11	+1
Reputation	9	+1

Teahleikhoi (Siylakht Iyhli)

• Regimental Headquarters
• 1 x Command Ship
• 1 x Fighter Squadron
• 15 x Fighters
• 3 x Combat Platoons
• 1 x Commando Platoon
• 1 x Recon Platoon
• 1 x Engineering Platoon
• 2 x Artillery Batteries
• 3 x Battle Groups
• 1 x Tleiatre Battle Leader Starship
• 1 x Headquarters Platoon
• 3 x Companies
• 1 x Company Command
• 1 x Logistics Squad
• 1 x Repair Section
• 1 x Casualty Station
• 4 x Infantry Platoons
• 2 x Fire Support Vehicles
• 1 x Eiaikeiar Intruder Transport (pg. 70)

A Tleiatre Battle Leader is a TL14, 3,000-ton starship with J-3 and 4g capabilities used for command and control. The regimental command ship is a 5,000-ton vessel designed to coordinate large-scale operations. It also carries a small fighter squadron, and transports various other support units as required when the regiment as a whole is committed in combat.

Wolmarans Black Jackets

An infamous Solomani mercenary company currently based out of Damiel in Danvers subsector of Dark Nebula.

Characteristic	Value	DM
Force Name	Wolmarans Black Jackets	–
Unit Size	Brigade	–
Unit Type	Armoured Infantry	–
Unit TL	14	+2
Mobility Type	Motorised	+4
Combat	7	+0
Bombardment	2	-2
Aerospace	6	+0
Support	6	+0
CEI or DEI	9	+1
Morale	14	+2
Reputation	10	+1

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.

Press Clippings

It’s been a busy couple of weeks here in the Great Dungeon of the North.

Anthony Miller of the excellent Page 121 YouTube channel posted a thoughtful and favorable review of The Deep and the Dark. I really enjoy Page 121, which covers many similar topics as this blog: lots of Classic Traveller and Dungeons and Dragons material. Page 121 is currently doing a series on AD&D Creature Features which, as you might imagine, is near and dear to the Great Dungeon.

The January/February 2024 issue of Freelance Traveller reprints an article that first appeared here, Wafer Tech in Mongoose Traveller. Editor Jeff Zeitlin has been publishing this most excellent fanzine for fifteen years, which is an amazing run. Among the many things I like about Freelance Traveller is that he’s been curating and republishing useful Traveller articles from around the web, such as Christopher Thrash’s analysis of “Ship Structure and Hull Size Limitations.” So much good Traveller material has quietly disappeared over the years that it’s nice to see someone trying to preserve these pieces before they are gone.

The Type U Armed Packet

I was very happy that a Mongoose Traveller version of the Type U Armed Packet made it into The Deep and the Dark, and not just because this starship fits very well into the Buffer setting covered by the book. The Packet is, of course, a ship design that I’ve been tinkering with for going on five years now. The published version tweaks the math for the latest version of High Guard and sports new art and a two-level deckplan.

As I’ve written before, I think the Type U is a great ship for player characters: it’s got a little armor, some guns, decent maneuverability, and a relatively high jump range. But best of all, its mission—unscheduled passenger service into dangerous systems—is made for gaming. Clients who can afford to charter such a vessel usually arrive at the docks with an adventure in the making.

As far as I can tell, the Armed Packet is first mentioned in the in the Ship Recognition Guide of the 2013 draft of Traveller⁵. The text explains that the Armed Packet provides

unscheduled passenger service for those in a hurry. The crew can be trusted, but these little ships still find themselves jumping in harm’s way.

I’m not sure if Marc Miller or Robert Eaglestone conceived of the Armed Packet, but I suspect the ship was developed to either test or fill out a missing niche in the Traveller⁵ starship mission/modifer codes, a system that goes all the way back to CT High Guard. While the 2013 draft does not provide a detailed ship design, the Quick Ship Profile (UF-CA33) tells us that the Packet is a 300 ton (C) vessel with an airframe hull (A), 3g maneuver (3) and Jump-3 capability (3). The Deep and the Dark version conforms to these general specifications.

For my own Into the Interface campaign, the player characters operate a modified Type U, the I.M.V. Starjammer. So I was pretty excited to sign up for the Traveller RPG Starship Miniatures Kickstarter from 2nd Dynasty, which included a 3D model of the Armed Packet. While I thought at first I might invest in a 3D printer, in the end I opted to have a third party print me resin versions of the ship at both tactical scale (which fits on a 1-inch base) and 1:270 scale.

Painting the larger model really kicked my butt. Going in I was feeling relatively confident about my painting abilities and what I learnt working on this project, to my sorrow, was that model-making and miniature painting are two adjacent hobbies with an overlapping but largely different skill set. As this recent Reddit thread helps explain, the tools and techniques are different. With organic figures or natural materials like stone you are using washes and shading to introduce the illusion of small variations in the surface of the miniature. With inorganic, manufactured materials like a starship hull you are trying to eliminate variations, at least until the weathering stage, to create the illusion of smooth, machined surfaces.

The model was cast in several different pieces and when I started to assemble the parts I realized that some of the resin pieces were warped and didn’t fit very well together. Further, some of the pieces seemed to have poor print quality: some sides had many surface defects, and two of the three turrets had broken gun barrels. At first I thought some of this was just normal for 3D printers but after some more research I think these are just poor quality prints. Even lots of sanding and filing and plastic putty couldn’t completely address all of these flaws. 

I primed the model with Vallejo gray primer in the airbrush, then looked at some Ian Stead artwork of the Type U for reference on color schemes. I had picked up the Vallejo Star Fighter Colors set, which had a pretty good selection of base colors. I started laying down a base coat with the brush but quickly found the coverage looked uneven. I decided to switch over to the airbrush, but needed to do a lot of masking. Too late I realized that Tamiya makes lines of masking tape specifically made for models, which would have made this stage far easier.

With the base coat down, I then gave the entire model a coat of Tamiya Gloss Clear. I then applied Tamiya gray panel liner. It’s a pretty amazing product that quickly fills the gaps and unfortunately spreads into some of the flaws as well. In hindsight I wish I had gone with the black panel liner to create a greater contrast.

I wanted to try my hand at some custom decals to better resemble the Starjammer. The nature of the model is such that it doesn’t have many empty panels where a registration number or even hazard stripes would easily fit. I did find a couple of spots on the wings to place a Starjammer crest. I bought some custom waterslide paper for my aged inkjet printer, which didn’t have great resolution but did the job.

Applying decals is a tricky maneuver, even with the aid of microsol and microset. I probably should have found a spare model to practice on, but I was ok with the results. I definitely didn’t want to press my luck with more decals than the crest. Once dry I hit the whole thing with a layer of Testor Dullcote.

Overall, this project was frustrating and I’m not very satisfied with the results, which look a bit messy to my eye. But I certainly learned a lot and could probably do much better on my second model. My single biggest mistake was probably not appreciating the differences between painting a monster miniature and painting a starship model. My second biggest was not having a better plan for approaching this project: a more efficient workflow would have reduced the need for retouches and would have made the end result smoother.

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.

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.

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