Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! The winner of The Zhodani Base St. Patrick’s Day Contest – 2013 is Friz.
His entry is an old school rescue adventure called “The Regretful Historian” in the form of a Patron. Well done!
I hope we will get lots of other interesting contest entries in 2014. Welcome again next year.
A quick competition. A $10 prize at DriveThruRPG for the winner. Design something (e.g. a character, a ship, a patron, a system) for the St. Patrick’s Map. The most interesting entry will win.
Send Your entries by e-mail. Please use plain text format and attach any images. Word files will not be accepted!
The competition starts now and ends 16 March 2013.
By entering the contest You allow your entry to be posted at the Zhodani Base. All entries might also be posted in PDF format as a free down-loadable file at the Zhodani Base.
Last years winner was Randy with this write-up of Derry.
What has happened at the Base in 2012? A lot of things!
The coolest thing was the 15 entries in the 76 Patrons Writing Contest. 
I hope we can beat that in 2013! I’ll add a few bucks to make the first prize even better. Sponsors are Welcome!
The most annoying thing this year was being hacked. 
Well the base wasn’t really hacked. It was vandalized by a script-kiddie. Nothing was lost, and I didn’t lose control over anything. A script found a vulnerability and vandalized what it could. I could restore everything. This made me upgrade to the latest version of WordPress (the software that is running the blog). I also added two plugins that I thought looked cool. A dice roller and a forum.
One of these plugins had a vulnerability. The Base was vandalized again. 
Now I am a lot more restrictive about the plugins I add.
When upgrading the software I also got a better tool for site stats. All I knew before was that I had about 300.000 accesses each month. Now I know that I have about 4000 proper visitors each month
The 5 most popular posts on the blog was:
The 5 most popular search words/phrases for finding the blog was:
My post old post about The Average Traveller Universe seem to attract lots of surfers from eastern Europe. 
I am looking forward to 2013. On my to-do list there are a few reviews that needs to be written. I will also write something about spherical ships. When I have time I will also do a few updates of some old stuff. I will continue posting news about the Zhodani Base, Traveller and astronomy at Facebook.
Cheers
/BeRKA
Welcome to the Zhodani Base Awards 2012! 2012 has been a very good year for Traveller. There have been lots of new publications and a few interesting Kickstarter Projects.
The first category is “Best Cover“. The nominees are:
The winner of the “Best Cover” category of the Zhodani Base Awards 2012 is: Solomani Rim: From Mongoose
There were lots of Traveller products with nice covers this year. Lots of love for all nice covers. This one was the one that I liked the most.
Next category is “Best Fanzine or Online Magazine“. The nominees are:
The winner of the “Best Fanzine/Online Magazine” category of the Zhodani Base Awards 2012 is: Freelance Traveller (again).
Freelance Traveller has again proved that they are the best fanzine by publishing (almost) monthly issues with lots of good contents for free.
Next category is “Best Adventure“. The nominees are:
The winner of the “Best Adventure” category of the Zhodani Base Awards 2012 is: 21 Plots III: From Gypsy Knights Games
There were lots of fine Traveller Adventures for different settings published. This year I prefer one with a number of hooks that can be used for lots of settings.
Next category is “Best Ship or Deckplan“. The nominees are:
The winner of the “Best Ship or Deckplan” category of the Zhodani Base Awards 2012 is: Ship Book: Garuda Class MSV: From Gorgon Press
There was lots of fine ships for Traveller published this year. I liked the Garuda Class MSV since it can be used in my adventures and it looked cool.
Next category is “Best ATU Product“. The nominees are:
The winner of the “Best ATU Product” category of the Zhodani Base Awards 2012 is: Outpost Mars: From Zozer Games
I am just a sucker for Mars… I hope they will do a lot more for this setting.
Next category is “Best OTU Product“. The nominees are:
The winner of the “Best OTU Product” category of the Zhodani Base Awards 2012 is: Journal of the Travellers’ Aid Society. Issue No.1-24: From Game Designers’ Workshop (GDW)
Even though it is a re-release, it is over 1200 pages of Traveller goodies. It just had to win.
A final bonus category this year is “Best Free Traveller Product“. The nominees are:
The winner of the “Best Free Traveller Product” category of the Zhodani Base Awards 2012 is: T5 Traveller5 Wallpapers From: Game Designers’ Workshop (GDW)
Those wallpapers are really nice. (Did you support the Traveller T5 Kickstarter?) Now, go and download all of the free Traveller Products. Why? They are free!
It was so difficult to decide the winner of the 76 patrons contest this year. There are 15 good entries. Of these, there are 13 that I want to use, and of these there are 6 that I think are really good. I must say thank you to all the participants for all the interesting, fun and playable entries!
I have now finally picked the winner. The winner of the fourth Summer Zhodani Base 76 Patrons Writing Contest is Greg Videll with the Patron called “Tourist Trap“.
The runner-up is Library Bob with the Patron called “Renovations“.
The winners will be contacted.
Another winner: image from wikimedia,
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
This years 76 Patrons contest was a success. There was 15 entries. That is more than the number of entries we had received the last three years added together.
This years entries:
In a few days I will announce the winner.
Patron: any
Required Skills: none
Required Equipment: starship
Players’ Information:
The group is asked to deliver some cargo by a person called “Alan/Alana” (it can be either a man or woman) who represents a small consortium called the Long Haulers. They typically bring in cargo from the Imperium and attempt to distribute it throughout the Foreven. The group is in the Inpota system of the Reidain Subsector. The increased tech level for the independent and neutral system of Reidain and the systems that Reidain controls allows for a broader range of cargo to be delivered and Alan sees a possible avenue for profit and is looking into the types of cargo that would be most valuable and cargo haulers, such as the group, that would be able to make said deliveries. They pay well and Alan has treated the group well. They start their J-2 run from Inpota on their way to Reidain.
Biohazard : Image from wikimedia. Public domain.
Referee’s Information:
On their way to Reidain the group receives a mayday call originated in subsector hex 0604 right between Inpota and Reidain. The group comes upon a Darrian warship ship called the Invincible firing upon an Avalar cargo ship called the Dependable. The Avalar ship is clearly under matched and it is they who have sent out the distress signal.
When they come upon the scene the group is still receiving the pleas of help from the Dependable. The Darrian ship has an Admiral called Castellar’s. He declares to the group that this is a legal action against an enemy of the state and to stay out of the interchange. He continues on that even though they were told to heave to for boarding the cargo ship decided to fire upon them.
The Darrian ship is closing for boarding upon Dependable. Castellar’s calls the Dependable asking once again to give up the information concerning the plague they are carrying to Reidain. They won’t let them destroy the tenuous peace in this subsector. As they close the Dependable explodes destroying the cargo hauler and severely damaging the Invincible.
Castellar’s calls the group and asks them for their help. They were able to wirelessly download some valuable information from the cargo haulers computer before they exploded. He wants to get to Reidain with this information as soon as possible. His ship has been severely damaged and he doesn’t want to wait for repairs to be completed. Would they help?
1. All is as represented, correctly. Castellar’s has stumbled upon an Avalar plot to sway Reidain to ally them with Avalar by saying the Darrians want to cause a plague on Reidain and providing false “information” that is was the Avalars. This is of course a pre-emptive move by Avalar to strike against Darrian systems. There is no plague.
2. As 1, but there really is a plague. People from the Dependable escaped and Castellar’s has picked up the survivors who are also plague carriers. It could be Avalars or the Darrians who are doing it. Referees choice.
3. Castellar’s is insane and he has split into two personalities. He has spent his whole career as a protector of the Darrian people. His hatred of Avalar and all things Avalar has put him over the edge of sanity. Even though this is a high tension subsector there is a Darrian movement to have peace with Avalar and even trade with them. This has put him over the edge. One personality is totally amoral and intends on spreading a plague to the Reidain system and then blaming Avalar. He even has created proof. His other personality has “found” intelligence about the plague and Avalars involvement and he will do anything to protect his people. The Dependable never fired upon his ship; the Admiral merely thought they did.
4. There is no plague. Castellar’s is being setup as the bad guy. He has recently retired and a well-known hater of all things Avalar. He has “stumbled” upon some intelligence about a plague and the Avalars and he will do everything in his power to see it stopped, including destroying innocent cargo ships that have nothing to do with any plot. There is no plague though. Again, it could have been started by Avalars or the Darrians. Referees choice.
5. As 4, except people on the Dependable have been deliberately infected in the hope that at least one survivor will be rescued by Castellar’s thereby infecting his crew and then the group as well delivering the plague right to the doorstep of Reidain.
6. “Alan” is not who he claims to be. He is a cleaner for the megacorp conglomeration called the Corporate Expanse. They are a ruthless group who board members are composed of notorious and evil megacorporations. They have been using subsector hex 0406 to experiment with new and radical ideas on encrypting their communication traffic so they can continue to conduct business without people being aware that they are even here. There is a problem and now the ship is a liability. He has orders to destroy the ship by any means as long as nothing gets back to the Corporate Expanse. He has planted false intelligence information so that Castellar’s will destroy the Dependable, saving the day. The data he downloaded has a time delay worm virus that will destroy itself and any information related to it in the computer it resides. Castellar’s will be vilified as someone who try to concoct a ludicrous story about plague and then “save” everyone so he could return and become a hero to his people. Elections are soon and he would be able to run and the supposedly the people will elect him with little opposition. Alan is making sure his plan is running smooth and will disappear when done leaving the group wondering about future Long Hauler contracts.
In all cases the referee should determine the flow of subsequent events.
Patron: Scientist
Required Skills: None
Required Equipment: Starship
Players’ Information:
Purfyr (2211 C867645-A Ag Ni Ri 6 2 Na)
Purfyr is a thinly-populated but hospitable world in the Mowbrey Subsector, located off the main trade routes in the Foreven Sector and so far not the subject of interest of any of the major powers in the sector. Most often mentioned in trading circles for its agricultural wealth and the friendly neutralism of its nation-states’ governments, Purfyr is known in scientific circles for the colours of its indigenous photosynthetic life–red, orange, yellow–produced by pigments similar to the carotenoid photosynthetic pigments of Terra. These pigments are thought to absorb the bluish light of Purfyrs primary more effectively than would the greens and cyans of Terra.
Dead Leaves : copyright Randy McDonald
An Imperial university in the Spinward Marches contacts the party and offers them a one-year contract to transport a party of six scientists to Purfyr, there providing them with transportation, security, and other assistance as they engage in their studies at select points on the planetary surface. In addition to being offered full reimbursement on costs, the party will be paid an initial installment of 250 000 credits, followed by a payment of the same size on the safe return of the six scientists.
Referee’s Information:
1. The six scientists are all actually scientists working for the university in question, operating without secret agendas.
2. Either one or two of the scientists are actually deep-cover agents for the Imperium, hoping to make contact with Imperial agents on Purfyr.
3. Either one or two of the scientists are actually deep-cover agents for the Zhodani Consulate, hoping either to make contact with Zhodani agents on Purfyr or to find a way to safely exit to the consulate.
4. At least one of the scientists is hoping to acquire biological data from Purfyrs life for personal use, whether private biotechnological experiments or resale to a megacorporation (and so violating their contracts of employment with the university).
5. On arrival at Purfyr, the political climate turns out to have shifted in a decidedly anti-Imperial manner (if not necessarily pro-Zhodani), complicating security.
6. As 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5, the Zhodani Consulate takes an interest in Imperial activity on the Consulate’s rimward frontier.
Patron: Businessman/Investor
Required skills: any, technical skills helpful
Required equipment: none
The situation:
The patron has recently acquired at auction the ownership of the land & property of a failed colony on an in-system moon, planetoid or planet. Whatever the location, the atmospheric conditions required a sealed habitat. The characters are among a group that the patron has hired to travel to the habitat and conduct an initial assessment. They will be transported to the location by shuttle or the PCs own craft; their goals are to assess damage, get the life support and other machinery working again, and begin cleanup in advance of a more dedicated construction team. The habitat was sold at government auction, and is certified to have failed for political/economic reasons rather than disease or disaster. Payment will depend upon the skills a character brings to the expedition, technical skills will be most valued. The total size of the group is equal to 2D+2, but there should be at least two NPCs making the trip. The patron will not be there in person, but can be contacted by radio from the shuttle. The patron has agreed to grant salvage rights to the characters for any personal (i.e. non-structural) items left behind.
The habitat : Image from wikimedia. Public domain. Created by NASA.
Referee’s Information:
The referee will create plans for the habitat. It can be above ground or underground, but must be sealed. The habitat was large enough for maybe 200 persons at the most. Include a landing area with airlocks and some adjoining storehouses. It should be sufficiently remote that help is a while in coming, and trips back to the main planet are impractical.
Complications:
1. No unusual problems – it will take several days to repair, refuel and restart all the machinery; referee can determine difficulty of repair tasks. Any characters searching the habitat may find a few 100 Credits worth of salvageable goods.
2. As number 1, but the habitat made use of numerous robots controlled by the central computer, which were left ‘on’ and ran out of power. When power is restored, the robots will reactivate, causing problems for the characters until switched off or given new commands.* Also, salvageable goods worth several 1000s of credits can be found
3. As number 1, but while searching for salvage, evidence of a murder is discovered in the form of a dead body full of bullet holes. The habitat will be declared a crime scene and sealed off. The characters may be hired as detectives to track down the former inhabitants. Also, salvageable goods worth tens of thousands of credits can be found. PCs or NPCs may have trouble getting things out past the police, who would consider it potential evidence.
4. A legitimate shipping company has been using the habitat as a storage facility, under abandoned property laws. The storehouses are full of their stuff, clearly marked and bearing appropriate shipping documents. No agent of the company is present when the characters arrive, but if they enter the storehouse, a transponder will notify the company and they will assume the group are bandits when they arrive.
5. There is evidence of seismic activity, and portions of the habitat may be structurally unsound. Additional tremors may cause collapses, sinkholes or breach of seals. Salvageable goods are as in number 2 or number 3.
6. A gang of pirates has been using the habitat as a base. The storehouses are full of their stolen goods. The pirates, equal in number to the whole group, are there at the base, and will fight to keep their stuff and contain knowledge of their presence.
In all cases, the referee must determine the flow of subsequent events.
* There is an amusing chapter in H. Beam Pipers The Cosmic Computer where this happens to the main characters. Adjust the level of danger to suit your game.
Patron: A mysterious private communications network
Required Skills: Computer, if any
Required Equipment: Access to a public network computer
Players’ Information:
StarWhispers, a club of computers and communications enthusiasts has spread a network of influence from the Spinward Marches, along a swath of the Imperium, all the way to Terra. Approximately 100 star systems (and growing) have a mall communications relay within hailing distance of the StarPort. Consisting of a Model 1-bis computer, a powerful planetary range communicator, a solar cell and battery storage, and a microthruster. StarWhisperers leave messages, proposed library program additions, map chip data, old scanner logs, resumes, want ads, business proposals, correspondence courses, etc, in the computer’s memory for other members to find. Membership can be applied for at any Type A or B StarPort on the Imperium’s Spinward edge. The cost is kCr 2.5, takes a month, and membership is for life. After an application is processed, a package will arrive from the nearest world with a tech level E+. If the application included an itinerary, it will catch up to him after 1D months. It contains a Hand Computer, Model 2bis, program capacity of 6, tech level E or F. It contains a club version of Anti-Hijack (allowing unauthorized entry to the computer only on a 4 or less), a version of ECM, and an empty private Library, with a full suite of software tools to produce, create, and edit any work of art except holography. It can take still pictures, video, or record sound, and radio communicate 100 km.
A communications relay : Image from wikimedia. Public domain. Created by NASA.
Referee’s Information:
After gaining membership in the club, and establishing an online presence across a few dozen systems, players start to meet online actors again, and think of ways to use the club.
1. A SW relay at a Type C system contains some detailed map chip data of 1D-2 planets in the subsector that are of particular interest to the players. These data include CommCode (phone) directory information, and extensive library data about residents and business, and government, religious, and non-profit groups on all of them.
2. A Merchant character gets an idea from examining message traffic collected while cruising past a SW relay in a Type E semi-frontier starport system, and is able to generate four cargoes leads in the trading week at his next two ports of call, instead of the usual three. Trade Burst.
3. There is a puzzle on a SW message board relay in a Type A StarPort city. Throw 10+ to solve, +Computer, +1 Int C+. It reveals a notice of a standing offer to purchase certain kinds of machine tools on a Vacc world or in an Asteroid belt system in the sector, for the next year. Any Book 2 sized cargoes of that will sell out at +2 due to demand, but no Broker will be necessary, available, or even possible for these private deals.
4. Libertarian cultists STORM are recruiting for personnel to staff a budding asteroid industrial base. There are positions available from prospecting, mining, 0-G Construction, and hydroponics specialists, to metallurgists, mercenary teams, teachers, scientists, and engineers. Their cult revolves around the Golden Rule, a square deal, and forthright, even provocative speech. They have a sober, “squeaky clean” reputation, and in truth carouse very little if at all, but are intent on building a society according to their vision, involving hard work, thrifty living, clever investment, advanced education, universal military service, universal access to universal surveillance, and the highest standard of living for all citizens.
5. A musician leaves some dreamy, celestial music videos and artistic writings on a SW relay in the middle of nowhere. The writings contain a coded section (roll 10+ to decode, +Computer) which describes a ritual that can be done with five simultaneous viewings of some of his works under a precisely calculated dosage of Fast drug. Roll 11+ to perform the ritual correctly, +1 if Commo or Computer skill, +Medical. Upon success the ritualist will perceive a secret message in the music. The composer wants to collaborate with a Computer Programmer (he has no skill) on a project based on an artistic symbol language of his own invention. The Referee should determine the degree of usefulness/credibility of this mental construct. Roll Again: On 1-2 the artist has reconstructed a logical pattern in computer science that is technologically trivial and of no commercial value, whatever the experience of someone studying it from the artist’s metaphysical perspective might be, On a 4 it is the pattern of an expert system, a crude artificial intelligence shell and worth some money with a week of finishing work from someone of Computer-2 or higher, on 8+. On a 5 it forms an unknown pattern, throw 10+, +Computer to recognize it as a virus before executing it, to the great detriment of the hardware it is run on! -1D to Computer Level. It will require a successful attack against an anti-hijack program at level-0. On a 6 it forms a pattern generator that, after a week of Computer work, will make structured sound patterns that some people will think is music and enjoy greatly, but many people will hate. In particular, extreme extroverts and anyone with Carousing-3+ will find this music baffling and eventually irritating. The patterns are complex, and slightly more attractive (+1 on Reaction) to intelligent people (Int C+). Not very danceable.
6. While inspecting the contents of a SW relay at a Type D or E starport, the relay computer automatically triggers an ECM package as another starship approaches. The relay has received some ship traffic news from passing vessels and the profile of this ships travels stands out as fake. The ECM area gives the players a chance to evade the pirate ship’s notice, or detonate their missiles prematurely if combat begins. This relay has a well maintained expert system of commercial grade, and is declared freely copyable and distributable by the creator, provided his name and a contribution address to StarWhispers Foundation are not deleted.
