Tag Archives: Traveller

The second 76 Patrons Contest

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It is now time for the second Summer Zhodani Base 76 Patrons Writing Contest. For those who thought last years prize was just for collectors, I have something for you that I hope everyone (and your kids) can enjoy. This years first prize is “The Space Warriors” by Stewart Cowley, who also wrote the TTA books. :-)

The style of the entries should be in the style of the patrons in CT Supplement 6, 76 Patrons.

Last years winning patron (by Raz) can be found here:

Two of my own patrons can be found here:

The contest starts now and ends 30 Sept 2010. Write as many entries as You like.

After the 30:th of September 2010, all entries will be posted on the Zhodani Base. Registered users (on the 1:st of July) and participants in the competition may then vote (using a points system) for the entries they like the most.

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.

All entrants will be given credit for their work and will retain the copyright on their entries.

Some general guidelines:

1, Each entry should be less than 1000 words.

2, One image may be used in each entry. You must either have the right to the image, or it must be used under some sort of free licence. Wikimedia Commons is a good place to find an image that You can use. Please provide information about the image. (Is it Yours? If not, where have You found it? What license is used?) Note: You don’t need to use an image.

3, Each patron should offer 6 options.

4, Each patron should be placed in the Foreven Sector. You may use the version of the Foreven Sector that can be found here at the Zhodani Base. (You don’t have to use this version.)

5, Please don’t force the PCs to sign up for (what they think are) illegal activities. It is better if they find that out later, or in some way are forced to take illegal action… :twisted:

6, Please use a spell checker! :roll:

Send Your entries by e-mail. Please use plain text format and attach the image, if You select to use one. Word files will not be accepted!

As an alternative, contributors to the Zhodani Base may log in and write their entries here. Entries posted that way will be made visible when all other are.

Please include a preferred nickname (that can be Your real name) to show on the Zhodani Base. If You expect to win, include an address to send the first prize to.

Some help: (That you don’t have to use.)

You may use Mongoose Traveller rules to design something for your patron, since the Zhodani Base now has a Foreven Free Sector License.

The Space Warriors

Adventure ideas (repost)

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Since I think these ideas were quite good, I’ll repost them here. It is probably quite difficult to dig these up from the OTEATP group where I first posted them.

These are just some of my thoughts about how to build a simple adventure, and not meant as criticism to anyone. Take a look at at, and tell us what You think and add Your own ideas to it, and then we will eventually have an adventure cookbook.

So, when we run out of ideas, lets have a look at this: (Don’t follow the parts of the recipe that You don’t like!)

1: There is a theory that there are only 36 different dramatic situations. (Hey, 36 You say, then we can toss the coyns, very CT indeed, or use the red dice white dice thingie…) These situations are listed here.
Use one or two of them…

2: Adapt the situation to the CT universe.

3: Use an encyclopedia, and look up two or three words at random, and include these in the adventure.

4: Look in an online newspaper, and pick two or three minor events, and adapt these to the CT universe.

5: Use an idea from Your favourite television action program. (But not from “Murder she wrote”)

6: Use a really strange idea from your favourite television sci-fi program.

7: ???

8: ???

etc…

99: Put it all together.

Thoughts or ideas?

Space Adventures
Image copyright expired. Public Domain.

Twilight Sector – A new TU

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Cool, a new traveller product to review. 8-)

First we need to understand that Twilight Sector is not located a few sectors rimward of the Solomani Rim. It is not even located in the Official Traveller Universe. It is located in an entirely new Alternative Traveller Universe.

How dare they? Heretics! ;-)

Well, this is actually a good thing. I have hoped for a long time now that someone would dare to make a commercial product for a new TU. The reason for this is all the problems there are with the OTU and that there are always some whining canon-heads that complains when you try to do something creative.

There have been other attempts to create other alternative traveller universe to get around the problems with the OTU. Two examples are Proto-Traveller and Dark Hunter. I have even tried to make my own traveller universes. One based on the Elite game, and one based on history.

In the Twilight Sector Campaign Setting Sourcebook we get a very good description of the history of this universe and of the Major powers. There are also many pages of library data in the end of the book. This is very useful since it is a new setting, and no old library data can be used if you want to play in this TU.

There are a few interesting differences from the OTU. First, there are no aliens (but there have been one or more ancient races). There are mutants instead. Maximum jump range is 8 (not 6). There are also interstellar radio with messages travelling up to 8 parsecs in a week.

Since the book is called Twilight Sector, I would have guessed that it would be a bit like other sector books (Rim of Fire, Behind the Claw or Gateway to Destiny.) But it wasn’t. There is no full description of a traveller sector with maps and UPPs for every world. Instead we get a very good description of half a subsector (6 worlds and two space stations). That was a bit of a disappointment when I had hoped for something else.

One of the worlds described is a copy of Earth called Terra/Sol. Even though a copy of Earth seems a bit silly, I am looking forward to read about why and how it was made. The ancients in this TU must have been much more powerful than Grandfather in the OTU. Maybe even as powerful as Slartibartfast.

In the book there are many nice images. Some are in colour. Some (like the cover) are a bit sexist. The worlds described have nice isodecahedron worldmaps and nice system maps. But the subsector map is quite ugly and not at all of the same quality as the other illustrations.

I really hope that Terra/Sol games will publish more books about this interesting TU. I also hope that this will inspire other publishers to make their own Traveller Universes.

Twilight Sector

Image used with permission. Part of Twilight Sector Carnival at Atomic Array.

Want to learn more about Twilight Sector? Read on…

Drop by Terra/Sol Games today!

Review written as part of the Twilight Sector Carnival at Atomic Array.

Rull Subsector – HCS Map with dark background

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In the free download form Hell Creek Sanitarium there was a map with a printable background. Here is the not so printable version of the map for those who like a darker background.

This map is based on the data (by Dylango) of Rull Subsector of the Foreven Sector found at the Zhodani Base. The differences are that the borders have moved a bit and that there are trade routes added.

 Click to Zoom

Start voting

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You may now vote on which of the “Patrons” you think are the best.

The Patrons You can vote for are:

Only registered users and participants in the competition may vote on the entries they like the most. Everyone else may still express what they think by posting comments.

Give the best “Patron” 2 points, and give the second best “Patron” 1 point. The participants may not give their own entries any points. Send in your votes using e-mail.

The voting ends on October 24:th.

Vote Now

Image from wikimedia. Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 1.0 License

The Hermit

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Patron: Civil rights activist
Required Skills: None.
Required equipment: None.

Players’ Information:
On a populated world, a guy whose job it was to monitor a dangerous natural / geological / biological situation has been abandoned by his former organization due to losing a war, but has continued on alone in his duties.

A ruthless and ignorant citizen of the conquerors has eyed his domicile and the compound he occupies for his own and intends to have the hermit removed by the new authorities.

 Hermit

Image from New York Public Library’s Digital Library. Public Domain

Continue reading →

Universal Health Care

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Patron: Doctor, Surgeon
Required Skills: none
Required Equipment: Starship

Players’ Information:
The group is contacted by Dr. Annalise Nassline, a young medical doctor affiliated with a large medical center on Pylkan (Foreven 2834). She and her assistant seek passage to several of the less populated worlds in the Urnian Subsector.  They need middle passage for themselves and are traveling with an eight dton sealed standard shipping container.  She explains that the container is a mobile operating theater, and diagnostic lab.  The pair are on a mission of mercy, treating sophants on worlds with inadequate medical infrastructure.

Operating Room

 Image from Department of Defense. Public Domain

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Luck Handi

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Patron: Claims investigator/ISS Agent
Required Skills: Investigative skills and a total lack of psionic abilities.
Required equipment: None.

Players’ Information:
The characters are approached at any starport by a middle aged man in good quality casual attire. He has grey hair and an easy confident gait.

The man introduces himself as Gaillard Igsnakiir and says he has a job to offer. He says he is an agent of a legal claims company called “Spin for a Win”. He explains it is a small company and he is very stretched and needs some immediate help to tail and gather information about a man suspected of defrauding the company. He shows the Group a picture of a strange scrawny man wearing a Psi Shield helmet with a “lived-in” but intelligent face. The psi-shield has an unusual protrusion on the right hand side. He says the man is travelling under the name Eneri Fortune, but suspects that the man has used more than one identity.

He goes on to explain that the man took out a claim against the Imperial Secret Service for false imprisonment. The case went to imperial tribunal and Mr Fortune was awarded a large sum of money. During the tribunal Mr Fortune called a man named Liskaguur as key witness.

Gaillard Igsnakiir thinks he has been compromised and that Mr Fortune knows he is following him. The job is for the players to continue the investigation.

8-Ball

Image from wikimedia. This file is licensed under GNU Free Documentation License

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The 76 Patrons Contest is over

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The 76 Patrons Contest is over. The entries are posted above.

Registered users (on the 1:st of July) and participants in the competition may vote (using a points system) on the entries they like the most.

You can start sending in your votes now. Give the best patron 2 points, and give the second best 1 point. The participants may not give their own entries any points.