Last week my hard copy of The Deep and the Dark arrived, and it’s a real trip to finally get a chance to hold it in my hands. I’ve got a Traveller game scheduled for later in this week, and appropriately enough today is the 47th birthday of the Traveller game. So I’m looking forward to a jam packed week of Traveller goodness.
I experienced the most remarkable serendipity recently. A few weeks ago I was working on a Word document for work when I accidentally activated the “Read Aloud” feature, which I’ve never done—and I have used this program nearly daily for over 30 years.
I was a little surprised to have triggered the function but even more surprised by the natural-sounding voice that emerged. The voice perfectly read out a very technical section of a document that had several unusual place names, names that regularly trip up natives. In retrospect, given how quickly AI technologies have emerged it shouldn’t have been such a surprise that these readers would have gotten so sneaky good.
I put the experience out of mind but a few days later I spied a discussion thread—I think on Reddit—recommending using the Read Aloud feature to help proof draft texts. I often try to read my own writing aloud when I’m editing myself and find the technique can help catch many errors or awkward phrasing that would get missed on the page. But I still miss many things—my reading brain will still sometimes skip or smooth over problematic bits. But to hear someone else read my text gives me a little more distance to appraise my own work. The advice seemed sound and I resolved to give it a go soon.
A few days after that I was working on a passage from Clans of the Aslan that I kept reworking and reworking but I still wasn’t quite sure about. On a lark I decided to run the passage through Word’s Read Aloud and the results were amazing. Hearing the passage aloud helped me hone in on one particularly knotty sentence, but even more helpful was to hear the program pronounce Aslan names.
I’ll be the first to admit that the Trokh conlang can produce many words that look interesting on the page but can be the very devil to read aloud. Personally, it’s all the vowels that tend to trip me up: I lose track of where the stress should fall. And really, like any other language, the trick is to keep pushing through because once you hesitate you’re lost. A computer program, though, never worries and just goes for it.
In general, I found the program did a pretty good job of tackling Trokh words and phrases. I assume it’s applying English pronunciation rules for Aslan, which is probably why the pronunciations generally sound right to my ear. Oddly, the one word that the program really seemed to botch was “Hierate.”
I have sometimes thought that the intimidating appearance of the Aslan language has kept many referees and players from running Aslan scenarios or characters. Maybe using this one simple hack can help anyone master Trokh with just a few simple keystrokes. Try it out! It’s the next best thing to DuoLingo for Hisol’i.
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.
The Iconic Cover of the Basic Traveller set.
The original Traveller featured the iconic Mayday! on its box: the universal distress call M’aidez! (French for Help Me!), generally expressed in English as “Mayday.” Traveller traditionally celebrates May 1 as its holiday.
In honor of the game’s 47th anniversary, I’ve recently developed a quartet of unofficial Aslan sectors for Traveller Map. Etakhasoa, Kefiykhta, Waroatahe, and Karleaya are all live on the site. All are sectors on the spinward/rimward fringes of the Hierate and there are fairly few published details for any of them.
Etakhasoa and Kefiykhta had previously existed only as dotmaps from DGP’s Solomani and Aslan: The Rimward Races book. I generated new sector data mostly using the Traveller5 Book 3 rules, with political details and bases created with good old CT Aslan - Traveller Alien Module One. I did break out Mongoose’s excellent new World Builder’s Handbook for stellar details and help with some other questions.
Kefiykhta (-7,-4) is a true frontier for the contiguous Hierate: beyond are only pockets of Aslan colonies amidst unclaimed systems and those held by outcasts or alien races. This is a recently settled and relatively peaceful area, with lands still plentiful enough to prevent significant interclan conflict. Clans from the Uiktawa and Seieakh blocs of the Tlaukhu have holdings here, and the Seieakh capital is located at Hkawuakhiys (Kefiykhta 0928 A000988-D).
Etakhasoa (-5,-4) is a couple of sectors trailing of Kefiykhta, nearer Kusyu. About a quarter of the sector is outside the borders of the Hierate, including a noticeable carveout in subsectors J, L, M, and N—an artifact of the Cultural Purge, I suspect. This area was originally settled by Aslan separatists, but since the Cultural Purge has been relatively peaceful. The Tlaukhu members lykyasea and Uiktawa are known to have holdings in this sector.
Jo Grant and Jeff Zeitlin had partially generated data for Waroatahe and Karleaya and I worked with that information. The system locations were generally based on the Solomani and Aslan dotmap, and the existing data included names, UWPs, remarks, bases, and PBG. While the UWPs and bases didn't seem to use the Aslan world generation system, I tried to retain as much as possible while bringing everything up to T5SS standards. So most names were preserved. Starport, Atmosphere, Hydrosphere, and Population were generally retained. Government, Law Level, Bases, Allegiance, and TL were regenerated using AM1 and then adjusted where necessary to fit T5SS standards. Stellar data was generated using World Builder’s Handbook
Waroatahe (-6,-3) is dominated by the Eakhtiyho (Hrasua) bloc and has been one of the most turbulent sectors in the Hierate. The Alien Realms adventure “First Son, Lost Son” was set in Waroathe and eventually located in subsector N, “Hekisearai.” The Hrasua clan capital is located at Ouh (Waroatahe 0333 A567884-D) and their ally the Fteweyeakh keep their capital at Aoieyakh (Waroatahe 2310 B8C6A86-C).
Karleaya (-5,-3) is an old sector, having been settled for over 3,000 years. Politically, it is currently split between the Tralyeaeawi and Aokhalte blocs. There’s a Chirper world in subsector H per Dronye - Traveller Alien Module Five. The Aokhalte capital is at Iykte (Karleaya 1306 A848A89-D), while the clan capital of the Aiheilar, a Tralyeaeawi ally, is at Oihtieal (Karleaya 2902 A573A77-E).
Here’s to 47 more years of Traveller!
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.
Captain card from the Traveller Customizable Card Game.
Aslan - Traveller Alien Module One (1984) introduced a special world generation sequence for Aslan worlds. While Population is generated just as with Human worlds using 2D - 2, Government is generated with a special table producing Aslan-specific Government codes to provide “a clearcut idea of the distribution of power in an Aslan society” (34).
Aslan Government code G indicates a “Small station or facility. Either operated by an offworld clan or controlled by a company (the only instance where a world is controlled by anything but a clan); population must be 3-” (25). Roughly 27.77% of Aslan worlds will have a Population of 3-, and half of those worlds will have Government G, meaning 13.89% of all Aslan worlds are small stations or facilities.
As described in my previous post on Governments and Allegiances in the Hierate, Traveller5 translated the old Aslan government codes into a combination of standardized government and expanded Allegiance codes—for example, an Aslan split-control world (Government Code H) would usually be converted to a Government 7 (Balkanized) world with an AsSc (Split Clan) allegiance. This change neatly captures the same amount of information without requiring a whole host of alien-specific government codes and is reflected in the T5SS data hosted on Traveller Map.
The one exception concerns Government Type G. While the T5SS originally used an “AsSf” allegiance code for Small Facility, this code ended up getting dropped. This is fine for small facilities “operated by an offworld clan” but loses facilities controlled by a company, “the only instance where a world is controlled by anything but a clan,” which I consider a very interesting exception.
Aslan corporations, it should be recalled, are uniquely female institutions. While some males may occupy titular leadership positions, females manage and direct corporations. After all, most males are supposedly unable to even understand or handle money. (C. J. Cherryh’s excellent Chanur novels provide some insight into how such a society might plausibly work.) In Traveller, Aslan corporations generally fit into one of three different structures:
As I’ve been working on the Clans of the Aslan manuscript I’ve been thinking a lot about the role of corporations in Aslan society, and in particular the unique role an Independent company would play. For those females with no interest in or prospects for marriage, and a desire to escape the confines of clan life, such an institution would likely represent an exciting and liberating opportunity found almost nowhere else in Hierate society. Why stay on the family manor bowing and scraping for your idiot brother when you could take to the stars and run your own sector division?
So where are all the corporate-controlled worlds on Traveller Map? And how could one encode such worlds in the Traveller5 sector data format? First, keep in mind that Aslan corporate worlds would generally be limited to Population codes 0,1, 2, or 3. At one time I proposed implementing a new “AsCp” code for “Aslan Hierate, Corporate Control” worlds but upon further reflection I think we can describe all three types of corporations using creative combinations of Government 1 and existing Allegiance codes.
One could indicate or deduce the presence of an Affiliated Aslan company by the combination of Government Code 1 (Corporate-controlled) and the AsMw (multi-world), AsVc (vassal clan), AsTX (Tlaukhu clan), or AsTv (Tlaukhu vassal) allegiance codes, thus showing a corporation associated with a single clan. For example, an Allegiance of AsT0 and Government 1 would suggest a world controlled by an Yerlyaruiwo bloc company, which might mean the megacorporation Tlasayerlahel.
One could likewise indicate a Jointly Controlled company by combining Government Code 1 with the AsSc (split clan) Allegiance.
But how about a truly Independent company? Although it’s a little but of a stretch, we could combine Government Code 1 with the AsXX (unknown) allegiance, particularly if we expand the definition of the AsXX code to also include “unclaimed by any clan.” It’s not a particularly elegant solution, admittedly, but I really like the notion of independent Aslan companies controlling whole worlds, and possibly even entering into conflicts with neighboring clans. There’s some real story potential there.
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.
A pair of Ihatei-class Transports sponsored by the Loakhtarl clan survey unclaimed systems in distant Kyatulyare’ (Iphigenaia) sector.
As I was working on the Taorl Riftliner I realized that at least one Aslan ship from Classic Traveller doesn’t seem to have been converted to Mongoose Traveller. As described in the adventure “Syareahtaorl” from Alien Module 1: Aslan (1984), the Loakhtarl clan outfitted an ihatei fleet with “ten armed 50,000-ton ships, each capable of Jump-3 and 3-G. Each ship carried 10,000 tons of cargo (primarily colonial supplies), a crew of 300, and a colonial force of 1,700 and represented some of the best shipbuilding the clan could obtain” (38).
This is an impressive fleet just in terms of starship tonnage alone, a tribute to the vast resources that the Loakhtarl clan could still command in 1081. The ships are not statted out in AM1, but the MegaTraveller Rebellion Sourcebook (1988) does have stats for an unarmed 50,000-ton Ihatei-class Transport with Jump-3 and 1-G, which looks to be a variant on the ships described in “Syareahtaorl.” Using a converted Ihatei as a base I designed the Oakhtitl-class Transport, which better matches the description from AM1.
Early drafts of Traveller5 provide thumbnails of a couple of much smaller Aslan transports, neither of which made it into the final draft. For each vessel we get a Quick Ship Profile (QSP), which gives us the hull configuration and tonnage, as well as specifications on the jump and maneuver drives. An unarmed “Aslan Clan Transport” is briefly described in the “Green List: the casual user’s ship recognition guide distributed by the Travellers’ Aid Society.” Based on the QSP, this ship appears to be a slightly smaller, streamlined variant of the familiar Khtukhao-class Clan Transport. I’ve worked up a conversion I’ve named the Yokuarla Colonial Transport.
Based on the QSP, the Taorl Exploratory Merchant has twice the tonnage of the Yokuarla-class. As Taorl had already been used as a class name for the Riftliner, I renamed this ship the Taoleila Exploratory Merchant to avoid confusion.
The Yokuarla (TL-ES22) is primarily operated on the borders of the Imperium. Although not as common as the 600-ton Khtukhao Clan Transport, the Yokuarla fills a similar niche, providing passenger and cargo service on the frontiers of Aslan space. Cultural differences make passage a minefield of missteps and perceived insults, and human Travellers are advised to consider booking passage on such a ship only as a last resort.
Hull Points 200
Crew Pilot, Purser, Astrogator, Engineer, Smallcraft Crew
Maintenance Cost Cr14,472 per month
Purchase Cost MCr164.468
| TL12 | Tons | Cost (MCr) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 500 tons, Streamlined | – | 30 |
| M-Drive | Thrust 2 | 10 | 20 |
| J-Drive | Jump 2 | 30 | 45 |
| Power Plant | Fusion (TL12), Power 325 | 21 | 21 |
| Fuel Tanks | J-2, 4 weeks of operation | 106 | – |
| Bridge | Standard | 20 | 2.5 |
| Computer | Computer/20 | – | 5 |
| Sensors | Civilian Grade | 1 | 3 |
| Craft | Docking Space (40 tons) | 44 | 11 |
| Pinnace | – | 8.71 | |
| Docking Spaces (4 tons) x2 | 9 | 2.25 | |
| Air/Rafts x2 | – | 0.5 | |
| Systems | Fuel Processor (20 tons per day) | 1 | 0.05 |
| Shrine to Heroes | 4 | 0.5 | |
| Medical Bay | 4 | 2 | |
| Workshop | 6 | 0.9 | |
| Staterooms | Standard x18 | 72 | 9 |
| Low Berths x20 | 10 | 1 | |
| Software | Library | – | – |
| Maneuver/0 | – | – | |
| Jump Control/2 | – | 0.2 | |
| Common Areas | 18 | 1.8 | |
| Cargo | 144 | – |
The flowing lines and multiple subhulls of the Aslan Taoleila-class Exploratory Merchant (RL-KS13) are characteristic of most ihatei ships.
Hull Points 400
Crew Pilot, Purser, Astrogator, Engineers x3, Maintenance, Smallcraft Crew
Maintenance Cost Cr28,074 per month
Purchase Cost MCr322.225
| TL12 | Tons | Costs (MCr) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 1,000 tons, Streamlined | – | 60 |
| M-Drive | Thrust 1 | 10 | 20 |
| J-Drive | Jump 3 | 80 | 120 |
| Power Plant | Fusion (TL12), Power 635 | 42 | 42 |
| Fuel Tanks | J-3, 4 weeks operation | 310 | – |
| Bridge | 20 | 5 | |
| Computer | Computer/20 | – | 5 |
| Sensors | Civilian Grade | 1 | 3 |
| Craft | Docking Space (95 tons) | 105 | 26.25 |
| Shuttle | – | 14.67 | |
| Systems | Fuel Processor (40 tons/day) | 2 | 0.1 |
| Medical Bay | 4 | 2 | |
| Shrine to Heroes | 4 | 0.5 | |
| Workshop | 6 | 0.9 | |
| Staterooms | Standard x35 | 140 | 17.5 |
| Low Berths x30 | 15 | 1.5 | |
| Software | Jump Control/3 | – | 0.3 |
| Library | – | – | |
| Maneuver/0 | – | – | |
| Common Areas | 35 | 3.5 | |
| Cargo | 226 | – |
The Aslan Ihatei-class Transport is one of several standard designs encountered in Aslan colonial fleets. Like all of them, it provides economical movement of a large number of colonists in low berths and their supporting heavy equipment and start-up supplies (about 1.5 tons per colonist).
An Ihatei Transport is unarmed and relatively slow in normal space, relying upon its great size and moderate armor for protection. As such these transports often travel in convoys with armed ships such as Ekawisykua-class escorts.
The listed purchase cost for an Ihatei Transport reflects a discount for a standard design.
Hull Points 25,000
Crew Pilot, Purser, Astrogator, Sensor Operators x3, Officers x12, Engineers x100, Maintenance x25, Administrators x12, Smallcraft Crew x16, Medics x84
Maintenance Cost MCr1.124915 per month
Purchase Cost MCr13,295.693
| TL12 | Tons | Costs (MCr) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 50,000 tons, Streamlined | – | 3,000 |
| Armor | Crystaliron, Armor: 7 | 5,250 | 1,050 |
| M-Drive | Thrust 1 | 500 | 1,000 |
| J-Drive | Jump 3 | 3,755 | 5,632.5 |
| Power Plant | Fusion (TL12), Power 40,200 | 2,680 | 2,680 |
| Fuel Tanks | J-3, 4 weeks operation | 15,536 | – |
| Bridge | 60 | 250 | |
| Computer | Computer/20 | – | 5 |
| Sensors | Improved (Distributed Arrays) | 9 | 12.9 |
| Life Scanner | 1 | 2 | |
| Mineral Detection Suite | – | 5 | |
| Craft | Docking Spaces (95 tons) x8 | 836 | 209 |
| Shuttles x8 | – | 117.4 | |
| Docking Spaces (50 tons) x8 | 440 | 110 | |
| Cutters x8 | – | 85.9 | |
| Docking Spaces (4 tons) x10 | 44 | 11 | |
| Air/Rafts x10 | – | 2.5 | |
| Systems | Fuel Processor (2,000 tons/day) | 100 | 5 |
| Medical Bays x4 | 16 | 8 | |
| Shrines to Heroes x5 | 20 | 2.5 | |
| Workshops x4 | 24 | 3.6 | |
| Staterooms | Standard x134 | 536 | 67 |
| Low Berths x10,000 | 5,000 | 500 | |
| Software | Jump Control/3 | – | 0.3 |
| Library | – | – | |
| Maneuver/0 | – | – | |
| Common Areas | 134 | 13.4 | |
| Cargo | 15,059 | – |
The Oakhtitl-class Transport is a notable variant of the Ihatei-class. While the Ihatei is expressly designed to carry Aslan to an established colony world, the Oakhtitl is built for exploration and raiding in frontier areas. Although by no means a warship, the Transport is modestly armed and armored, and more manueverable than an Ihatei, carrying 10 torpedo boats (High Guard Update 2022). An Oakhtitl includes barracks and an armory for 1,000 Aslan soldiers, who serve as ship’s troops or a ground assault force during planetary raids.
The listed purchase cost for an Oakhtitl Transport reflects a discount for a standard design.
Hull Points 25,000
Crew Captain, Executive Officer, Pilots x3, Astrogator, Sensor Operators x9, Officers x28, Engineers x116, Maintenance x51, Administrators x25, Gunners x36, Smallcraft Crew x26, Medics x16, Troops x1,000
Maintenance Cost MCr1.388758 per month
Purchase Cost MCr16,162.982
| TL12 | Tons | Costs (MCr) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 50,000 tons, Streamlined | – | 3,000 |
| Armor | Crystaliron, Armor: 9 | 6,750 | 1,350 |
| M-Drive | Thrust 3 | 1,500 | 3,000 |
| J-Drive | Jump 3 | 3,755 | 5,632.5 |
| Power Plant | Fusion (TL12), Power 41,300 | 2,753 | 2,753 |
| Fuel Tanks | J-3, 6 weeks operation | 15,828 | – |
| Bridge | 60 | 250 | |
| Computer | Computer/20fib | – | 7.5 |
| Sensors | Improved (Distributed Arrays) | 9 | 12.9 |
| Life Scanner | 1 | 2 | |
| Mineral Detection Suite | – | 5 | |
| Weapons | Large Missile Bays x2 | 1,000 | 50 |
| Medium Particle Beam Bays x8 | 800 | 320 | |
| Triple Turrets (beam laser) x8 | 8 | 20 | |
| Triple Turrets (missile rack) x8 | 8 | 26 | |
| Triple Turrets (sandcaster) x8 | 8 | 14 | |
| Ammunition | Missile Storage (1,920 missiles) | 160 | – |
| Sandcaster Canister Storage (500 canisters) | 25 | – | |
| Craft | Docking Spaces (95 tons) x6 | 627 | 156.75 |
| Shuttles x6 | – | 88.05 | |
| Docking Spaces (70 tons) x10 | 770 | 192.5 | |
| Torpedo Boats x10 | – | 414.07 | |
| Docking Spaces (4 tons) x10 | 44 | 11 | |
| Air/Rafts x10 | – | 2.5 | |
| Systems | Armory | 200 | 50 |
| Fuel Processor (2,000 tons/day) | 100 | 5 | |
| Medical Bays x4 | 16 | 8 | |
| Probe Drones x20 | 4 | 2 | |
| Shrines to Heroes x5 | 20 | 2.5 | |
| Workshops x4 | 24 | 3.6 | |
| Staterooms | Standard x871 | 3,484 | 435.5 |
| Barracks x1,000 | 1,000 | 50 | |
| Software | Jump Control/3 | – | 0.3 |
| Library | – | – | |
| Maneuver/0 | – | – | |
| Common Areas | 942 | 94.2 | |
| Cargo | 10,104 | – |
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.
Riftliners operated by Tyeyo Fteahrao Yolr (Tyeyo Dustspice Importers) stage in high orbit above Auhahkei (Riftspan Reaches 3039 A86768B-C). The corporation is controlled by females of the Ikhtealyo clan.
A recent thread on Reddit called for examples of Aslan megafreighters that could cross the Great Rift. Across all editions there really aren’t many published freighters in that size class, much less Aslan freighters.
But the discussion prompted me to take another look at a compelling ship design that seems to have fallen by the wayside: the Taorl Riftliner from GURPS Traveller: Alien Races 2.
The Taorl might not be a superfreighter or megafreighter, but in some ways it’s far more useful than either ship for an Aslan clan: a versatile jump tender that can ferry smaller ships and cargo between star systems or even across the Great Rift itself. A Taorl is built to make Jump-3 while carrying over 10,000 tons of payload.
Note that although early drafts of Traveller5 included a striking Jesse DeGraff illustration described as a “Taorl Exploratory Merchant (RL-KS13),” this would be a much smaller (1,000 ton) ship than the Riftliner. I think this T5 picture is more likely to be a misidentified Khtukhao Clan Transport (R-FB22). (See the deckplan on page 62 of Alien Races 2.)
I broke out my copy of the High Guard 2022 Update to work up a MgT conversion of the Taorl. I really had to tinker around to get this ship right: the GURPS design includes a spacedock for all the secondary craft. A spacedock is an airlock hangar bay that “can be totally evacuated or filled with air” (GURPS Traveller: Starships 64). This is basically equivalent to an MgT full hangar (High Guard 66). However, converting the Taorl with a full hanger requires a 30,000-ton hull to hold all the secondary craft. And more importantly, the use of a single monster hangar doesn’t really match the GURPS description of the ship acting as a tender.
I then tried converting the Taorl as a 20,000-ton ship with docking spaces, which seemed closer to the mark. Then finally I landed on a 10,000-ton design with external docking clamps, allowing the ship to carry over 10,000 tons of secondary craft externally and still make Jump-3, which seems to live up best to the jump tender concept.
While working on the Taorl conversion it occurred to me that I hadn’t come across a design for an Aslan system defense boat, even though such craft are reportedly common inside the Hierate—as would be expected for such a territorial people. While the Aslan often utilize Imperial and Solomani designs (and vice versa), they also adapt them for their own purposes, as seen in the Hleakakhea, an SDB commonly carried by riftliners.
The Taorl Riftliner is a general-purpose clan vessel, manufactured throughout the Hierate in a number of variants by many different clans, but is especially common along the edge of the Great Rift. A Taorl (which roughly translates as “aesthetic fortune; honor, responsibility”) primarily functions as a jump tender, carrying secondary craft and other payloads attached to the exterior of its hull. A standard loadout for a Taorl consists of eight 95-ton shuttles and 24 separate 400-ton payloads. A loaded riftliner is ovoid in shape and is often said to resemble a Terran conifer cone, with payload pods and shuttles arranged like overlapping scales around a central axis.
Specialized Taorl pods are produced for different payloads. All such pods displace 400 tons and have 120 hull points. A Fuel Pod holds 400 tons of fuel and costs MCr18. A Cargo Pod is equipped with a small TL12 power plant to provide gravity and environmental controls, holds 394 tons of cargo, and costs MCr22.5. A Low Pod holds 650 low berths, has a small TL12 power plant and medical bay, and requires 1 engineer and 5 medics. A low pod costs MCr93.870. A Passenger Pod has 70 staterooms for passengers, a small TL12 power plant and medical bay, and requires 1 steward and 1 medic. A passenger pod costs MCr62.64.
An unloaded Taorl carries enough fuel to make two consecutive 3-parsec jumps, and even a fully loaded Taorl outfitted with 10 fuel pods can make a single Jump-3 and another Jump-2, enough to traverse the Great Rift.
When encountered, the riftliner will be carrying a mixture of up to two dozen 400-ton payloads; these may be any type of pod, Hleakakhea system defense boats, Eakhau traders, or Hkiyrerao research ships, depending on its mission. Any of the 24 Class IV docking clamps could be adapted to carry even larger secondary craft of up to 2,000 tons.
The Purchase Cost of the Taorl reflects a discount for standard design, but does not include the cost for any 400-ton payloads.
Hull Points 4,000
Crew Captain/Pilot, Executive Officer/Purser, Officers x4, Astrogator, Sensor Operator, Engineers x70, Maintenance x10, Smallcraft Crew x8, Administrators x5, Medics x2
Maintenance Cost Cr468,707 per month
Purchase Cost MCr5,507.096
| TL12 | Tons | Cost (MCr) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 10,000 tons, Standard | – | 500 |
| M-Drive | Thrust 1 | 203 | 406 |
| J-Drive | Jump-3 | 1,532 | 2,298 |
| Power Plant | Fusion (TL12), Power 10,351 | 690 | 690 |
| Fuel Tanks | J3, 4 weeks of operation | 6,258 | – |
| Bridge | Standard | 60 | 50 |
| Computer | Computer/20 | – | 5 |
| Sensors | Civilian Grade | 1 | 3 |
| Craft | Docking Clamps (Type IV) x24 | 480 | 1,920 |
| Pods x24 | – | – | |
| Docking Clamps (Type II) x8 | 40 | 40 | |
| Shuttles x8 | – | 117.4 | |
| Systems | Shrine to Heroes | 4 | 0.5 |
| Fuel Processor (1,000 tons per day) | 50 | 2.5 | |
| Medical Bays x4 | 16 | 8 | |
| Staterooms | Standard x120 | 480 | 60 |
| Low Berths x126 | 63 | 6.3 | |
| Software | Library | – | – |
| Maneuver/0 | – | – | |
| Jump Control/3 | – | 0.3 | |
| Common Areas | 120 | 12 | |
| Cargo | 3 | – |
The venerable Hleakakhea is a lower tech adaption of the TL12 Guardian-class SDB, and is as ubiquitous in the Hierate as the Guardian is in the Imperium. A Hleakakhea is named for an air-breathing aquatic animal native to Kusyu that lives in warm coastal estuaries across the planet. Hleakakhea are ambush predators protected by tough, bony armor and can grow to nearly 4 meters in length, and hunting them was formerly a popular sport before overharvesting drove the species to the brink of extinction. Remains of prehistoric Hleakakhea have been found over 6 meters in length, though that particular subspecies is believed to have died out during Kusyu’s last ice age.
The Taorl Riftliner was originally designed to carry four hryo of Hleakakhea battleriders before clans realized the possibilities of other payloads. In wartime, unarmed riftliners will carry Hleakakhea or larger battleriders for self-defense—the “conquer or die” tactics forced on battleriders and their tenders are well-suited to the Aslan psyche.
Many of the larger and wealthier clans have replaced the Hleakakhea with TL13 designs based off the Dragon class, while the leading Tlaukhu clans field improved TL14 Dragons imported directly from the Imperium. These Dragons are reported to be faster, protected with bonded superdense armor, and utilize advanced stealth tech.
Hull Points 176
Crew Captain, Purser/Executive Officer, Officer, Pilots x3, Engineer, Gunners x6
Maintenance Cost MCr0.013176 per month
Purchase Cost MCr158.121
| TL11 | Tons | Costs (MCr) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 400 tons, Streamlined | - | 24 |
| Reinforced | - | 12 | |
| Armor | Crystaliron, Armor:11 | 66 | 13.2 |
| Radiation Shielding | - | 10 | |
| M-Drive | Thrust 4 | 16 | 32 |
| Power Plant | Fusion (TL8), Power 256 | 25 | 12.5 |
| Fuel Tanks | 16 weeks operation | 20 | - |
| Bridge | 20 | 2 | |
| Computer | Core 15/fib | - | 3 |
| Sensors | Military Grade | 2 | 4.1 |
| Improved Signal Processing | 1 | 4 | |
| Weapons | Small Bays (particle beam) x2 | 100 | 40 |
| Missile Barbettes x2 | 10 | 8 | |
| Ammunition | Missile Storage (480 missiles) | 40 | - |
| Armored Bulkheads | Bridge | 2 | 0.4 |
| Power Plant | 2.5 | 0.5 | |
| Maneuver Drive | 1.6 | 0.32 | |
| Fuel Tanks | 1.6 | 0.32 | |
| Systems | Fuel Processor (20 tons/day) | 1 | 0.05 |
| Medical Bay | 4 | 2 | |
| Shrine to Heroes | 4 | 0.5 | |
| Staterooms | Standard x8 | 32 | 4 |
| Software | Maneuver/0 | - | - |
| Evade/2 | - | 2 | |
| Library | - | - | |
| Common Areas | 8 | 0.8 | |
| Cargo | 43 | - |
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.
Recently I was taking a hard look at the Traveller Map data for a handful of Aslan sectors. Afawahisa is a sparse border region three sectors from Dark Nebula and really only developed in Mongoose’s The Great Rift boxed set (2017). Given that the sector had been subject to such a recent publication I was surprised to find that the Afawahisa data was still listed on Traveller Map as “In Review.” But what does that mean?
Much of the sector data for the Charted Space setting was originally developed in the 1980s and the 1990s using a wide range of world generation methods. The resulting data was of highly varying quality and consistency, and in some cases reflected dramatically different historical periods such as The New Era setting. As people began to collect these different datasets and place them side-by-side the glaring differences in data became increasingly apparent.
For over a decade all sector data for the Official Traveller Universe has been subject to ongoing review as part of the T5 Second Survey project. The T5SS is an informal, fan-run effort originally coordinated by Don McKinney, who described it on the Citizens of the Imperium boards as “driven by Marc Miller to stabilize, correct, and control the UWPs of the OTU so that there’s a solid canon base of data for future reference.” The T5SS updated the legacy sector data to reflect both Traveller5 worldgen and a consistent 1105 dating. Since 2013 Joshua Bell’s Traveller Map has hosted the results.
One common change a T5SS review pass would make to sector data would be to adjust world size to reflect the Atmosphere code in the Universal World Profile. As described over on the Zhodani Base, “A problem with the random generation of worlds in Traveller is that small worlds (where size < 4) … might get an ordinary breathable atmosphere. This is a problem, since the minimum molecular weight retained for a [small] planet shouldn’t allow that.” Basically, small worlds cannot retain most atmospheres over billions of years: the constituent gases escape the gravitational pull of the planet and dissipate into space.
Don McKinney came up with a very elegant hack to fix this common problem. As he described it in comments on the Zhodani Base post, “I prefer changing the UWPs: if Atm 1/A/B/C, Size 3+; if Atm 2/3, Size 4+, and if Atm 4-9, Size 5+.” The great benefit of Don’s adjustment is that it neatly addresses the size problem without affecting the trade codes or (usually) past write-ups of the world. I was surprised to find, then, that the adjustment wasn’t made to the Afawahisa data.
Sadly, Don passed away unexpectedly in 2015 and I suspect that Afawahisa just didn’t receive a full T5SS review while The Great Rift was in development. I wanted to write this blog entry because Don’s nifty size hack was never well publicized and even today folks will occasionally wonder why Traveller Map UWPs don’t line up with the published UWPs from early GDW supplements like The Spinward Marches.
One problem with the way the size hack was generally applied to UWPs was that the Size code was often adjusted to the lowest possible result, which inadvertently created an inordinate number of worlds with Size 3 and Atmo 1, Size 4 and Atmo 2 or 3, and Size 5 with Atmo 4–9. This drove me nuts working on Magyar and Dark Nebula, and is a good example of how, when working with sector data, it’s very easy to accidentally create new problems when trying to fix old ones.
I wanted to develop a simple table that would allow me to apply Don’s hack but also introduce a random element to the revised Size code. In traditional Traveller worldgen planetary size is generated with 2D - 2, which creates a range from 0 to 10 (A) with a median result of 5. The distribution of results falls along a bell curve, with a 16.66% chance of producing a Size 5 world and a 2.77% chance of producing a Size 0 or 10 world. A Size of 5 is roughly 6 times more likely than a result of 0 or 10. Atmosphere is then generated by Size plus Flux, which can create an Atmosphere code ranging from 0 to 15 (F).
| World Size | Surface Gravity (Gs) | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | – | 2.77% |
| 1 | 0.05 | 5.55% |
| 2 | 0.15 | 8.33% |
| 3 | 0.25 | 11.11% |
| 4 | 0.35 | 13.88% |
| 5 | 0.45 | 16.66% |
| 6 | 0.70 | 13.88% |
| 7 | 0.90 | 11.11% |
| 8 | 1.00 | 8.33% |
| 9 | 1.25 | 5.55% |
| A | 1.40 | 2.77% |
To create a Size adjustment table that included some variability, I first looked at what world Sizes were appropriate for each Atmosphere code from 1 to 9. I zeroed out the inappropriate results and then prorated the percentages for the appropriate entries. The proration maintains the relative frequency of world sizes: for a world with a thin oxygen-nitrogen Atmosphere (5), a Size of 5 is still roughly 6 times more likely than a Size of A.
A trace oxygen-nitrogen Atmosphere (1), for example, requires a minimum world Size of 3 with a maximum Size of 6. So I removed results of 0–2 and 7–A and prorated the percentages for Sizes 3–6. A Size of 5 is still the most common result (30%), with a Size of 3 being the least common (20%).
| Atmo Code | World Size | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | A | |
| 1 | 20.01% | 25.00% | 30.00% | 25.00% | - | - | - | - |
| 2 | - | 25.00% | 30.00% | 25.00% | 20.01% | - | - | - |
| 3 | - | 21.74% | 26.09% | 21.74% | 17.40% | 13.04% | - | - |
| 4 | - | - | 30.00% | 25.00% | 20.01% | 15.00% | 9.99% | - |
| 5 | - | - | 28.58% | 23.81% | 19.06% | 14.29% | 9.52% | 4.75% |
| 6 | - | - | 28.58% | 23.81% | 19.06% | 14.29% | 9.52% | 4.75% |
| 7 | - | - | 28.58% | 23.81% | 19.06% | 14.29% | 9.52% | 4.75% |
| 8 | - | - | 28.58% | 23.81% | 19.06% | 14.29% | 9.52% | 4.75% |
| 9 | - | - | 28.58% | 23.81% | 19.06% | 14.29% | 9.52% | 4.75% |
I then recast the table to use a d20 to generate adjusted world Size based on Atmosphere code. (I know, I should have reformulated this as a native 2D table but a straight d20 was so much easier—and I primarily use this in an Excel lookup table.)
| 1d20 | Atmosphere | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | |
| 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| 6 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| 7 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| 8 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| 9 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| 10 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| 11 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| 12 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| 13 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| 14 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| 15 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| 16 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| 17 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| 18 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| 19 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| 20 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | A | A | A | A | A |
A world with a UWP of X164000-0 has a standard oxygen-nitrogen Atmosphere code of 6 that could not be retained with a Size of 1. To adjust the Size, roll a 1d20 and consult the column for Atmosphere 6. A result of 4 produces an adjusted Size of 5. A result of 17 produces an adjusted Size of 8.
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.
