third imperium issue 10

8/8/2019 Third Imperium Issue 10

1/19

-" -No . l0 "Sp,ring. 1988

\'.

-.


2/19

Security Leak MagazineDisco v er the extroc rdinorq world 01 th4!'Securirq leak Moqoz ine. In (1 slnqte one-qeersubscriptio n, 40u'lI qet more them just simplerules ond new items. Even" issue is pockedw ith useful information, fo r both the pi..,,,,'!!!,$.nnd the referee . And the Securit.., Leak isdedicated to the best science- f ic t ion ro lep1cnl inq qome ever - T, oue l le ,. Eoch issueco ntoins articles on ('I v oriet l.,l 01 topics tromsome 01 the be st minds in h av e l l e '. Socome visit our unive rse! Subscript ions ore310.60 U.S. pe r '-,leo, . 12.75 sinqll.l in the U.S.Cnnodn. APO & FPO. All other oddresses ore312 pe r ",eo( . .13.25 sinqly. Allow 96 dol.,ls fo rfirst d e l i v e f ( ~ 24 poqes. Quofte:,h.,.The SORAG Handbookof Organization andEquipmentDiscover the rnqsterfes nnd secrets of theZhodoni Consulote 's premiere intelliqencenetwork olonq the (imword renches ot itsmlqhtu empire. Included ote t o t o l l ~ newweapons, spectoneed tools or the trnde ,

In f luencethe FUTURE I

in H IWGThe His to ry of the I .pe r iuaWork ing Group is conduct ing

un ique phcrm cceuncnts, new v ehi cles, nndeven on SORAG oqen t qenemnon sustem . Thisis the onr.., source ot espionoqe mote t iol inthe entire T,avel le , universe. so don't missit! ,6 pp ., ra.ae U.S. Publi shed bl,j theParanoia press. All in mint condition. Allbooklets OtE! shipped the next d m ~ !Coming Soon for 12Aa!

Ch,ono , -Down Sto ,po , t Bookle tT,avel le , HiSlO,'J Sou ...c :ebook

poqrnent s c on be m ode in either U.S. pe rson nlO t business check, O t bl.,! Conodion O t U.S.Po stal Serv ic e rnoneu orders, Send no cosh.

~ m G C D o D I l Q j l!.mCDl3 [jlCDGlDDGCDIlDmCDCllJUClGl [jl:Dol3 [jlDCDGm Ullfi' 0UQjDmoo urn f i ' i : l f i ' G l ! J ~ l l l i l U U o [ ! ] ~ ( i ) .

Come VisitOur Universe.SLP.

TIFFANY STARFanzlneNewsl et te r s u ppo rt in g theHISTORY OF THE IMPERIUM~ O R K I N G GROUP ( H I ~ G ) indeveloping the fu tu rese t t i ng of the I . p e r l ua .S ix I s s u e s c ~ wi th a nnua lae abersh lp to HIWG. Au tho rsand a r t i s t s include MarcMil le r , Je f f Swycaffer , EdEdwards, J ohn Meyers, GreggGi le s , Craig Sheeley , Tom


3/19

[NOTES FROM THE CAPITALII"d l ike to open up th is issue withsome unfortunate news: due to the recent increases in postal ra tes ( i nboth the U.S . and Canada), we will ber a i s i ng our subscr ip t ion ra t e s as ofne xt issue. Current subscr ipt ionswill be honoured a t the old ra te . Canadian r a t e s are remaining the same;US ra tes are i nc r e a s i ng to 52.25 fora s ingle issue and 58.25 fo r a oneyear subsscription.I would, however, 1 ike to ca l lat tent ion to a neH fanzine with whichI am ve r y impressed . Tiffan y Star isproduced by Mike Mikesh (whose workhas appeared in 7hird Imperium) andEd Edwards (editor of the now-defunctWorking Passage, and Traveller"s number one fan). I t is devoted to histo r i ca l information and backgroundde ta i l s on the Reb@llion, includingmaps, diagrams, and in-depth e55ay9.The magazine i s also being supportedby Marc Mil ler , who has cont r ibu tedseveral a r t i c l e s ~But Ti f fan y Star i s more than j u s ta fanzine. I t i s also a forum for fandiscuss ions on the Rebel l ion , withthe goal of presen t ing ideas to MarcMiller fo r o f f i c i a l Rebell ion da ta .What do y ou want to happen to Dul-

inor ? Write an a r t i c l e for Ti f fan yS t ar , and le t Marc know your views !For more information, see the ad onthe facing page.GDW i s planning severa l supplements for the nex t two ye ar s . Thef i r s t of these , the Rebe l l ion Source-booA, should al read y be ava i lab lewhen you read t h i s . Coming th is fa l lis the Referee ' s Co"panion, con ta in ing e verything t ha t was l e f t out ofMegaTrave l l e r . Supplements for nextye a r inc lude the Cloak and DaggerSourcebook, the Deneb Sourcebook (b yDigest Group ) , and a poss ib le bookwri t t en by yo u r s t ru l y but moreabout th i s next i ssue.This i ssue, we have a lo t of spec ia l featu res : pa r t tHO of our Comput e r s se r i e s , more MegaTraveller adapt a t i ons , information on the Glor iousEmpire, and a pul l -ou t map of ChartedSpace. This is the f i r s t complete mapof Charted Space ever to be pubI ished, i nc l Ud i ng a l l sec tor namesand var ious support ing data . Ind iv i dual copies are ava i l ab le fo r $1 .00(both U.S. and Canada).

-Mi ke Jackson,Editor

Glorious Empire..... . . 4Trave l l e r ' s Hardware . . . . 5Trave l l e r Craf t . . . . . 6


4/19

IGLORIOUS EMPIREI

Empiret he i r

Consisti ng of some thirteen worlds,th e G lo rio us Empire is a small , i nde-pe ndent s t a t e in the Trojan Reach.Cr e a t e d by a separa t i s t AsIan clan in650, it i s t rea ted neu t r a l l y by theHiera te , and co ld l y by a l l o the rnearby s ta tes .The Glorious Empire e xpanded ra pid l y, conquering many worlds t h a tal read y had a human popula t ion . TheAsIan Hierate grew alongside, hemmingit in , thus creat ing i t s unusualshape. Expansion slowed and thenstopped in the 900 '5 due to in suff ic ien t resources to support the ware f fo r t . The Empire cur ren t ly t radeswith var ious AsIan c l ans , and maintains government-run piracy operat ions aga ins t the Flor ian 'League andother nearby human Horlds.CULTUREThe inhabi tants of t h Glorious E ~ pi re are 6 5 Asian and 3 ~ Human. AsIan form the upper and . i d d l ~ c l a s ses , while huaans comprise the mainlabour force , with s ta tu5 l i t t l e bet te r than s laves . S o m ~ p a r a l l ~ l s canbe drawn with the South Africa of20th-century Ear th .All c i t i zens of the Empir e behaveas Asian, and can b g e n e r a t ~ d according to A 1 i ~ n ~ o d u 1 ~ 1. However,they a re e xtremely a 9 9 r e s s i v ~ , near lythree t imes as touchy and vio len t asare normal Asian. Tolerance sk i II isnonex is ten t .

Humans i n the Empire behave in as imi la r manner, though they are cons t an t l y s ubserv ien t to t h e i r Asianma s t e r s . They look down upon humansouts ide the Emp i re , see ing them asweak and dishonourable . Human Imper i a l s can be generated as fo r Asian,rep lac ing Dewclaw with Brawlingsk i l l . They may not become o f f i ce r sand cannot receive proper ty .Ci t i zen s of the Gloriousare r a re l y encountered outs ides t a t e .GOVERNMENTThe Glorious Empire has a governments ystem based l a rgely upon tha t of theHie"ate - - fami l ies band toge ther toform pr ides , which bond toge ther as aclan. The Empire has onl y one c l an ,however, so the en t i re s ta te is underone coherent government.The supreme head of the GloriousEmpire i s the Grand Emperor. Thef i r s t Emperor was the head of theclan, and l a t e r Emperors have beenchosen i n a unique manne r : t r i a l bycombat. Combat i s to th e death , andmay onl y be attempted by a pr idehead.The Emp i r e mainta ins a navy andarmy, and each world i s held undert i gh t con t ro l . A-dan l i s t ings givemost worlds type K governments. Imper ia l l i s tin gs give type 6 (cap t ivegovernment) or type 9 (impersonalbeaurocrac y ) . Soc ie t y is genera l l yoppress ive and law leve ls a re high.

The Glorious Empire i s r a t ~ d as anA ~ b e r Zone by the Trave l le r s Aid Soc i e t y.During the Rebellion , Asian forcesc a p t u r ~ worlds throughout the TrOjan


5/19

ITRAVELLER'S HARDWARE ISPEED LOADERThe speed loader allows f a s t reloading of r v o v e r s and snub p i s t o l sduring combat. I t i s basical l y around p l a s t i c block with s l o t s fors i x s h e l l s ; pushing i t in to the cy l inde r of a r e vo l ve r - type weapon loadsa l l s i x shots simultaneousl y. Individual speed loader s must be loadedahead of time, and can then be car r i e d around u n t i l needed . Loading aspeed loaded lakes 30 seconds. Loading a gun with one lakes only onecombat round. Tl 6, lOOS. Cr15.

s ize. tNat.ut-e l Iy , a remote c o n t ~ o l i sincluded to allow the person who s e ti t up to get away !) I t will continueto operate unt i l the power pack runsout (l00 shots) ; a l t e r n a t e l y, i t maybe plugged into any nearby e l e c t r i c a lo u t l e t for a n e a r - i n f i n i t e l i fet ime.Due to i t s low-level programming,the combat sentry has a -2 DM on combat tasks. I t will always f i re i fthere are an y t a r g e t s within i t s p ~ e -s e t range l imi t , and i t may n e v e ~per-sot-m an in terrupt . Weight: 15kg(16kg with eaee r , Volume: 20l (15 incase). Cost: Cr8S00.

TRIGGER LOCK VARIABLE OUTPUT LASER

COMBAT SENTRY

The vIa laser i s a refinement oflaser technology. Unlike e a r l i e r versions, the V/O l a s e r ' s powerpack i sb u i l t with a special energy capacitor(similar to those in ships ' drives)which allows i t to s tore up largeamounts of energy and then re leasethem in a s in gl e bur st .The vIa laser i s the same s ize andweight as a normal TL 9 laser r i f l e ,but i t s pack weighs 5000g . I t has a-1 DM on to h i t tasks, but has adjUStable damage and penetration. Damagecan be v a ~ i e d from 1 to 18 by changing the beam's power; the penetrationhas a base value of 6, plus one perdamage point of the beam.The V/D laser has SO energypoints , and each damage point i tshoots costs one of these. When a l lSO are used up, i t must be recharged.

However, f i r i n g high-power beamscan be d a n g e ~ o u s to the system. Whenever f i r i n g the V/O laser , r o l l threedice. If the resul t ing n u m b e ~ i s lessthan the nUMber of damage points ofthe beam, the p o ~ e ~ pack explodes asa Tl 13 HE hand grenade. Changing the

Used with an y f i rearm, t r igger locksare a special form of key preventingother people from using an individ u a l ' s gun. At TL 7, the t r i g g e r locki s a magnetic attachment which holdsthe t r igger out. A special ring neutr a l i z e s the magnet and allows t h .t ~ i g g e ~ to be pulled. At TL 9, thet ~ i g g e r lack i s a thin f i n g e r p ~ i n treade r keyed to the gun's owner. Ine i t h e r case, only the correct personcan us e the gun. TL 7 t r i g g e r lock:Cr50. TL 9 t r i g g e r lack: Cr200 .Weight for e i t h e r i s negligible .

Produced a t TL I I , the combat sentry


6/19

ITRAVELL ER CRAFT ISta r l ing next issue. ~ Hill be pre~ . n t i n var ious TrAve l le,. cra f t deS ig ned Mi th the neH MegaTravellerru le s . In o rde r to bl 'sl Ilake use ofthem, He are here reprlnt ln9 the of-

f ic ial MegaTrave lle,. veh icle deslg"erra ta . If you have a design youMo uld 11kI' to sha re . send i t to Th i rd1 . r ; Hith a worksheet of yourca lculat ions.

p." . 62, Step 3 (t:OIr':tJon):The price c:oIWM II In thousands of cndb on the Small CraftHu' Table.P 63. $l9p5 (CUO,Pdlon):Conf'9uration 1 shouldbe Iabe'-d Need1eJWedge. T'tHt Nrfram. CoNmn forConfigurlllione. Dom..oisk.- be "'.0. noI XO.5. 1110 Prico Mod_mn lorConfigunoIIon 7, Inogu"" shouldbe ,0.5 noc x.05.

P4J863. Sf." 6 (d.tkalIon):1he armorvaJue mass f8ICttX1s In'.:I th81lnT1Ot Yaluemo d (r.'.rs 10ttHt Modcolumnon the ArrrtoITable Instep 9).p. fU, Step 11 ( ~ Thti s.cond and ttmI NrlI81lCft; should r .m : ., the vehlcMi has chassis UCP of0.2 or.so cannot be encbsed; occupantsmust rid. on Is outside. I the c:hau1s UCP 11 more than 0.2, the vehicleIs.nclosed unless selectedotherwise.PII(J8 64,Step 1 {cotreetJon. and darl1catJons}:The IabIeheading Ismlsl.ading. ThePowerOut. Weight, andPriot is pM kilolit.,of volume: thu, the Pow.,. Out. Weight, and Price 01 each tabfe entry Is for 1 kiloUterot power plantvofume. The volume mlumn .houkt be labeledMnlmum VolIme, this is the ,manest volume to which the power plantmay be buiLThetec:h level 12 FusOn Power Plant KIIHour entry .hould be0.003. not0.005 as shown.The tech kwet17 An!:mlltter Power Plant Klfyear entry should be 250.0. not 25.0 a! shown.Also.further testing of vehicle designs using the hydrocarbon fueledpower plants has reveaJed that they are toonel'flcient as given. More .ccapt.. . value. aN given below: .lXlO0.025

0.0400.lXl5oos0.0010.0050.001--P.,1G1o I l -_CM W./gIlt P rb0.25 1 1000. 1 20000 .60 t 50000.80 t 10000Dflctj:>tlonlnt.matCombustionImproved "'Iernal CombGas Turbinet .HJT- .olL5S7S

Antimaner pow.r plart, UH /ufH po d$'. a sp:IaI .el


7/19

"-1070. Sl." 15 l""'""*"'I:Thopowerroqul_ let lho ElASkl" Nrwy. houlllbe:W.lght , , _ , 10.PII(lO 71 S!op3 ICMOCti>lI:Tho pri:o column lindhotdpoiU cobM let Iho 101""", Guns tablo or. """ocl.Tho

COITC .........:IIESON G lM (SI'1NALIIOUKT)-ICP IJCt PoInts" 10000 508 12000 80C 3000 200 5000 50E lOll 10F 1000 20G .000 10H see 20J .000 10K 10000 80L 3000 50101 lOll 40N eoo 20p 5000 80Q 1000 70R lOll 50S 2000 eoT 1000 70U 2000 80V 1200 70W 1000 50X 2000 80Y 1200 70 ...Z eee 50 f'l/ li'ol. UN Iho bolI...,......,.j.

Psge 75. Step 20 ~ The ndwKt Fie range IIstJ ,at'lQ' band #rd ' n u in par. nth',.,. Th.number In parenthes It the ectu. In kJome1et'1.Whet'the tang' bencl inda ts o ~ e r . rang. band for-effk t , the I u d tang. In 1dIomet, 1"I ill much more -.::curate.W. recommend }'OU us. , il.Mr the rang. band Of lh,Iu d rang. In k bM ten In . gHM combIII ....Ion-don, \1M k:lloh. Utring and matd'lir9 ranoe mett-odt; can brI.Pagfl n .Sf." 22 (COt'rI/lC1bt): Th. k'ld lrtld ftr, rq l In klDN lers for ,Dtm bore ill 20. nc1 22.. l..il: 'wisa. thehfifed r. . rang. In kbnet, , . Jot 24a'nben II so. notgo.

p.; , 79. S l 33 (com/IC1i)n):Change the last ..ntsnce to ,..d: v."ide Is opt'n-topped Of small., !han _ UCPo f0.2, the weapon mot.Wlt mustbltFIxed OfOpen; Turrets 01 arenot allowed.


8/19

GOERTEL SUBSECTORThe Go e r t e l subsector, l ike many others of the Trojan Reach, is named af ter thefi r s t world colon ized there, an outpost of th e an cie nt Sindalian Empire. I t isone of onl y two human worlds in th e sub se ctor: the res t are either AsIan or ofthe Glorious Empire.Durin9 the Rebellion, a ll of the worlds of th e Goertel subsector fa l l to theinvading AsIan t ha te i (second sons) .

SYOAKH (0207) i s th e cap i t a l of th e Glor ious Empire. I t was i n i t i a l l y co lo-nized in the earl y 400'9, and sp l i t off from the res t of th e H ierate in 650. I tsoon conquered half a dozen nearby worlds and established the Empire.HTOURLAO (0208) has a populat ion of 5 b i l l i on , 3 .5 of whom a re human. I t i sthe main industr ia l centre of the Empire.COLONY SIX (0401) is th@ las t of six worlds coloniz@d by Solomani sublight

vessels launched in -2445. The ships were smaller versions of the ones used tocolonize the Islands subsectors (Reft Sector). Colony Six was established in-200, and the remaining ships continued on. Course predict ions place them current l y in Zia f rp l ians sector.GOERTEL (0402) is run by a r el ig ious d ict ato rsh ip , the Church of Nom (Univer sal Religion Profi le: 440202-8).A"EOUYA (0710) has almost no useful resources of any sor t , and has never beencolonized. A minor clan c on struc te d th e s tarport in 988, but soon ran out ofresources to suppl y i t - - i t is now abandoned.

AirEhrafouFtulroisOatreHea "aEialhl yS)'oakhHtourlaoKeawoawAsyuhYero ' i l r aOihuEikhaawColony SixGoertelHteakyaKhauErasasoHrahraiuHli yhEilaeahYestahwyeFi yleakh

0109 A779568-B0110 B0007KA-E R0202 B4686AA-70203 B532336-C F0205 E84026A-40206 B500111-A F0207 A6968BC-E F0208 B311968 -E F0210 B430433 -90301 B8C3235-9 F0304 D500867-B0306 B300464 -7 F0308 C88979E -90401 A68A541-D0402 B6688DC-60403 B2234J6-E0406 C6875N8-C0410 B68AIG6-C T0502 B4206LC-D T0503 B200AK7-E R0504 B8632G7-C0606 BAA06M6-C0609 B4138MA-D R

Non-industr ial .Asteroid B@lt. Non-agricultural.AgriCUltural, Non-industrial. Rich .Law population. Nan-industr ial . PoOr.Low popUlation. Non-ind. Des@rt world. Poor.Low population. Vacuum world. Non-industr ial .Glorious Empir@ capi ta l .Ice-capped. Non-agr. Ind. High population.Desert world. Poor. Non-industrial .Low populat ion. F lu id h)'drographics. Non-ind.Vacuum world. Non-agricultural.Vacuum world. Non-industr ial .Rich.Wat@r world. Non-industr ial .Non-industr ial . Poor.Agricultural . Non-industrial.Water world. Low population.Desert world. Non-agricultural. Poor.Vacuum world. Non-agr. Ind. High population.Low population. Non-industrial.Desert world.Non-agricultural.

GGGG

GGGGGGGGGGGGGGG


9/19

MAP LEGEND

BASES

WORLD CHARACTERISTICS DPRES

SI LRAA I HE

gasg iant

under one bi l l ionover one bil l ion

x-boatrouteworld name

s t a r p o r ttypebasesworlCL........type

travel zone c od e) a o ~

Clan military base* Tlaukhu mil! tar,.base

Imperial scout ba se Scout way s ta t i on, Research. s t a t i o n

Water presento No water pre s e n t~ f Asteroid belt

TRAVEL ZONESf ' \ Amber zone.& Red zone

SecundusPRIII1IS

POPULATION


10/19

FEATURE ADVENTURE:VENDETTA

ETHERHOME Government/Resor t Ci tyThe Popula t d.on :

n\ 25 000Spor t s offi, \ s Of/ i cesDome " t e

Res iden t i a l yv:t r e.....} /M a l ~ t - }la ll/} \/ / v Hote lI ,

After a long trade mission in the AsIan Hierate, the players have stoppedto r e s t a t Colony Six (Goertel 0401,A 6 S A ~ 4 1 - D ) . Their ship 15 undergoingannual maintenance, which looks asthough it will lake tHO Dr threeweeks.Colony Si x i s a comfortable worldwith a dense, breathable atmosphereand a p o p u l a t i o n of 300 000. I t i s acomplete water-world , with abBasluteI y no 1and eaesee , I t s governmeont i 5a representative democracy, with thepopulace voting on the Ill.mbers of theth i r t y-seat 9 0 v e r n ~ e n t cDuncil.Colony S i x has two d i s t i n c t societ i e s : the s e a - r i d e r s , who l i v e inhuge , f l o a t i n g b o a t - c i t i e s severa lk t lomet,..es across, and the Hind-r i d e r s , l i v i n g in 5mal l , non-mobileg r a v i l i c c i t i e s . Two-thirds of thepopula t ion are s e a - r i d e r s . They arethe industr ia l force of the world, aswell as the c o l l e c t o r s and 9roHer5 offood - - mostl y var ious type s of f i s h .The world 's type A 5tarpor t i s b u i l ton a sea-r ider c i t y . On the otherhand. the wind-riders run the beaurocracy, u n i v e r s i t i e s , and research ins t i t u t i o n s . The two s o c i e t i e s coexistin a mutuall y beneficial , symbioticre la t ionship.A SMALL PROPOSITIONWhile relaxin9 a t an underwater hotelnear the s t a r p o r t . the . players areapproached by a small man who i d e n t i f i e s himself as Sven Lao. He wouldl ike to hire the 9rouP for a short ,well-payin9 Job which he 9uaranteesHil l cause them no t rouble a t a l l .If the players e xpress i n t e r e s t ,Lao wi l l expla in. Unti l recently. he

her to Lao. They will have no problems with the pol ice, as the world 'slaw level of 1 prevents most legalinterference.ETHERHOMEBantook l ives a t Etherhome, one ofColony Si x ' s twelve wind-rider c i t t es , I t i s both the seat of government and the planet"s onl y major res o r t , with fac11i t ies for up to 3000t o u r i s t s a t any o n e time.EtherhD.e i s basical l y a largegrav generator with bUildings a t tached in any place they will f i t ,and gardens and parks everywheree l s e . I t has a populat iDn of 2 000,_ost of whom Itve in large apartmentcomplexes Dn the c i t i e s " underside.The top side 15 dominated - by parks,hote ls , casinos, pubs, and theat res .


11/19

( '1" '$ .::r....4CSoNHe can onl ybut then the

.' '

At the v ~ c@nlre 15 the V i l l a , -the locat io n of a l l govern.ent of-f ices and the council chambers themse lves .

Etherhome 15 located 150k northof the s ta rpor l . AcceS5 i s by grayvehicle onl y, as there are no f ac i l -i t i e s la rge enough for spacecraf t ,and it 15 very di f f i cu l t for an yother vehic les to cl imb the half-ki lomet r e to the ci ty .'EXCUSE ME, MiSS Bantook has a luxurious a p a r t ~ e n t a tthe very edge of the ci ty . The building has a heavy secur i ty system, in clUding video cameras and re t ina lscanner locks. Breaking in looks likea di f f i cu l t proposit ion a t best . However, Bantook is commonly found re laxing in various . nightclubs, inwhich secur i t y is nonexistent .The Councillo r is re la t ive l y easyto find, but unfortunately, she isus u a l ly in the company of Dartanion,he r bodyguard. Dartanion is from theGlo rious Empire , and a member of theWahteilakh (descr ibed b e l o ~ ) . During

g roups hel p once mo r e .pay C r 000 t h is t i me,j ob is much s impler .Lao hopes to find some scandalousmaterial about her past 5 0 he canmare eff ect i vel y blackmai l her . Heneeds the players to break into thegover nment computer f i l es and searchfor anyt hi ng -d i r ty . He ~ o u l d do i th imself, but he is not very good withcomputers , and a ll of the accesscodes have been changed since heworked the re .

Rules for these computer ac t ivi -t i es are deal t with i n th is issue ' sComputers ar t i c le . The Vil la - uses amodel/5 mainframe with separate ter -minals throughout the building, and aDefense program (+1 pr09ram DM). I tis also par t of the world data network, and can be accessed from an ycomputer with a radio l ink.Searching throu9h Bantook's f i l esreveal s a spotless record, whichf rustrates Lao no end. He su9geststha t a ll her d i r t y laundry is insepa rate holocrysta ls , 50 will payerlO 000 i f t he players break i nt ohe r off ice i n t he Villa and bri ng h im


12/19

-k i l l ed our b r o t h e ~ , - and declaresVendetta: one of the grop must d ie tomake up for the death of Dartanion.He then a t t acks .I f one of the charac te r s i ski l led , he wi l l then t u ~ n and leave.

I f he i s ki l l ed (a fa r more l ike lypropos i t ion) , then two days l a t e r ,the p l a y e ~ s wil l again be c o n f ~ o n t e d .This time it wi l l be tHO Wahteilakh,who wil l e xplain t h a t now two of thecharacters must die .This w111 cont inue unt i l (a) therequ is i te number of charac te r s aredead, or (b ) the group runs fa renough away. CTen parsecs might doit. IA JUNCTURE OF VENDETTASWhen they go to Lao to give him thecrys t a l s , they discover t ha t both heand Bantook are gone. The c ry s t a l scontain nothing scandalous, and i tshould become qui te obvious t ha t thecounci l lor i s qui t e clean , haVingprobabl y done nothing wrong in herent t r-e l i f e .

The nex t day, Bantook reappears ,t e l l ing the media t ha t she has j u s treturned f ran a sho r t hol iday. Lao i5l a t e r fOund in a hosp i ta l recover ingfrom an - acc iden ta l - fa l l from Etherhome. He i s in in tens ive care andcannot be contacted .At th i s poin t , the p layers shouldrea l ize tha t t h e i r grea tes t pr io r i tyl i es in ge t t ing away fom the s tead i lyincreas ing numbers o f Wah te ila kh . Howth is is a l l eventual ly resolved is aproblem for the re fe ree .THE WAHTEILAKHThe Wahtei lakh i s a w a r ~ i o r cu l t fromthe Glor ious Empire. Formed in theear l y 900 ' s exclu sively for humanmembers of the Empire, i t holds aphilosophy of honour, loyal ty , and

ing-2f Grav Vehicle- I ; Hunting-2fSyaor l -3 ; Stea l th -2f and Tact ics-1 .(The s yaor l , a specia l weapon avai l able onl y to Wahteilakh, i s descr ibedbelow. )Two i n t e res t ing customs are common

to the Wahteilakh. The f i r s t is theso-cal led - Wa r r i o r s End:- uponreaching the age of 40, a cu l t memberis o f f i c i a l l y too old to f igh t , andmust commit r i t ua l su ic ide . The sec ond i s cal led -Vendet ta , - and s t a t e st ha t any ki l l ing of cu l t members mustbe avenged on a one- to-one bas i s .They wi l l pur su e Vendet ta t i r e l e s s l y,unt i l ei ther the balance i s reached,Dr i t i s phys i ca l l y impossible to doso (eg, the t a rge t escapes, dies ofother causes , k i l l s the l a s t Wahtei lakh, e t c , !

SYAORLThe Wahtei lakh use onl y one weapon - the s yaor l . I t cons i s t s of a tubularh an dle w ith a bonded superdense ro t a t ing spool ins ide . Wound about thespool i s a f ive-met re length of u lt rawire , a f i lament onl y a few molecules th ick , capable of cut t ingt hr ough a lmos t anyth ing . At i t s endi s a small lea d w eig ht.Offensivel y, the syaorl i s used in


13/19

ICUSTOMIZED WEAPONS IWeapon designs come in a l l forms.There are hundreds of va r ie t i e s ofblades and guns, each with i t s ownd i s t i n c t capab i l i t i e s . MegaTravel lerl i s t s the basic models of the morecommon weapon t ypes, but many possib i l i t i e s ex i s t fo r adjustments andenhancements to in di vidua l weapons.CUSTOMIZATION: Any weapon, bladeor firearm, can be customized - - tha tis , specif ical ly ta i lored to f i t theuser . A customized weapon i s carefu l ly weighted, i t s handgrip mouldedto the exact shape of the use r ' shand, i t s mechanisms designed to perfec t l y compensate for any aiming,f i r ing , or throwing pecul iar i t ies theuser may have.Customized weapons must be madefrom scratch by an expert smith (anindividual with weapon sk i l l 4 ors rea t e r ) . Each cos t s 2 .5 t imes thenormal pr i ce , and takes 1D weeks toconst ruct . The r e su l t in s weapon wil lhave a +2 DM on a l l to h i t tasks fo ri t s owner, but a -2 DM fo r everyonee l se .

BLADE CONSTRUCTION: Blade weaponscan be improved by be t t e r manufacturing techniques. At TL 4, fo r twicethe pr ice, they can be made cons iderabl y sharper , i ncreas i ns penet rat io nby one.At TL 7, new a l loys make bladess t ronger and l i gh t e r - - cos t goes up50%, pe net ra ti o n i nc re a se s by one,and weight drops 20%. I f these newtechniques are combined, penetra t ionis onl y increased by one (not two).SWITCHBLADES: Daggers can be bu i l tso as to f l ip out of t he i r handle,s impl i f ying ca r ry ing . Cost i s Cr20.Switchblades are outlawed a t lawlevel 5.COLLAPSIBLE BLADES: Swords, axes,and polearms can be bu i l t out of se veral smal ler sec t ions a t TL 4 and

sembl y and dissassembl y each take oneminute.SCOPES AND GYROS: MegaTravellerl i s t s to h i t adjustments for t e l e scopic and e lec t ron ic scopes and gyroscopic s t ab i l i z a t ion . Any weapon ofTL 10 and up may be gyros t ab i l i zed .The 9yro cos t s Cr200 and weighs 3009.Costs for s igh ts are l i s ted in TheImperial Encyclopedia.

LASER SIGHT: The l aser s igh t f i r e sa low-energy beam a t i t s t a rge t . Thisse rves two purposes: f i r s t , i t puts asmal l , br ight dot on the t a rge t a tthe poin t where the bu l l e t would im pact ; and second, a microcompu te r canuse i t to gauge dis tance. The combined system dramat ica l ly improvest a rge t ing .The l aser s igh t gives +1 to h it a ta l l ranges from sho rt to very long( range-f inding) . It also gives an add i t iona l +1 to h i t a t shor t and medium range ( t a rge t pa in t ing) . It i sTL 8, cos t s Cr200, and weig hs 1kg.

XENON TARGETER: The xenon t a rge t e r , a t a rge t pain te r fo r night use ,emits a br ight v i s i b l e - l i gh t beam,giving +1 to h i t a t c lose , short , andmedium ranges. It i s TL 7, cos t sCr100, and weighs 500g.

ELECTRONIC BATTLEFIELD SIGHT: TheEBS uses a video imaging system tocombine t e l escop ic , IR , l igh t in tens i f i e r , magnif icat ion , and l asers igh t capab i l i t i e s . It i s automat icaJJ y bu i J t in to the ACR, the gaussr i f l e , the ARL, a l l TL 13+ l aser weapons, and a l l high -energy weapons.For o ther s , i t provides +2 to h i t a ta l l ranges, and al lows use of theElect ronic Sight task d i f f i cu l t i e s .CrlOOO, 500g, TL 10.EXTENDED BARREL: Usable onl y withp i s t o l s , the extended b arr el in cre as es weapon length by 5cm, weig hs 80g,and cos t s Cr80, giving +1 to h i t a t


14/19

ICOMPUTERS PART 21

USING PROGRAMS

The f i r s t sk i l l is mandatory nothaving the ski II increases di f f i cu l tyby one level. The second ski 11 ( i fan yl is optional.

programs issome requiremostbut

To copy a program:Routine, Computer, program DM, oneminute/spaceReferee: The program DM consists oftwo parts : a general DM from -2 to+2 (based on the qual i ty of thecopy program, designated by thereferee) , and a TL DM, formed by5ubtracting the TL of the t a rgetprogram from the TL of the copyprogram. The combined DM cannot

The operation ofself-explanatory,extra information.Copy programs do jus t tha t theycopy other programs to which the computer has access, ei ther through computer link or actual physical poses sian of the data_ Successful l y copying a program requires the followingtask:

La5t issue, we discussed basic ccmput e hardware and software in MegaTraveller . Now, in th is a r t icle , we examine programming and hacking_

T r v e l l e r ' Digest 11 mentionedsome aepee t e of programming, including computer anal ysis tscrutinizingdata to find pat terns Dr other desi red infor ' ' I Ial ionl and s imulat ionprograms. Also ment ioned were programm ing languags - - to recap, binaryi ns t ruc t i ons a t TL 6, ar t i f ic ia l languages f rom TL 7 to TL 9, and s tandard spoken languages eeg, Galanglic}a t TL 10 and up. Writ ing programs forTL 7 to 9 computers increases d i f f i cul ty by one level , for TL 6 computers by two levels .Professional software is generallyexpens ive, 50 individuals may wish tow r i t ~ thei r own. Writing a programuses the following task:To wr i t e a computer program:(Diff icul ty), Computer, (Ski l l ) ,

C T i m ~ J .R e f e r e ~ : Diff icul ty and sk i l l s arel i s ted in the table below_ Time istwo hours per program space.A superf icial mishap represents aflaw which does not impede program

funct ion, but which may slow operat ion. Other mishaps must be diagnosed and corrected using thetasks provided in Travel ler 's Di-gest 11.Pra,.U1 1i/f1nlty Tnt Still!Artllttr7 boU. . FA 6l11fr1, Fltf Ob!bttlt hll9t1ut IUflni/ TleUn, Itcal'"

bU n ElttttOlin, e -CIlIIY Illfiult lit.Itftl!lt JUHaf1l I l l . 'IilgusUc bU l l EIKtNlliu. Eft.EnirDnntll lilfiatt Miel. t}'Pt Dr PUIt, E"lltfril,Ftrt.t liflialt ht . '


15/19

Failure without a mishap allowsth e cha ra ct er to t r y again. A superf ic ia l mishap means the targets ystem wi l l not allow the c h a ~ a c -ter an y access whatsoever. A minormishap is as above, but the character ' s location is traced. In amajor mishap or w o ~ s e , the defenseprogram accesses any nearby computers and shuts off power to thecharacter 's locat ion, locks computer-controlled d o o ~ s unti l security forces can arrive, or opens theroom to vacuum.

To find a specif ic file/program in aforeign system:Difficult , Computer , model DM , oneminute.Referee: The model DM is the Model ofthe target computer, multiplied by-0 .5 , and ~ o u n d e d up . (That is ,modellO and model/I computers havea DM of 0, model/2 and model/3computers one of -1 , model/4's andmodel/5's one of -2, etc.)On a major mishap, the intrusion is discovered by either a defense program or someone using thec o m p u t e ~ .

Once the d e s i ~ ~ d information isfound, i t may be copied, erased, oraltered. I t is then a simple matterto leave the computer system.

While invading a computer system, i tis common to ~ u a bug prograM, whichwill inform the c h a r a c t e ~ if at anytime the console or system he is using is being monitored, O if his owncomputer is being invaded. If i t isrun simultaneousl y with an intrusionp ~ o g r a m , the referee may te l l theplayer what the to tal program DM is .(Otherwise, the player may onl y knowhis own computer's qual i ty DM.)Once inside a system, i t is necessary to find the desired information.

To remove a v i r u s from an infectedsystem:Difficult , Computer, Electronics, 30minutes, uncertain.R e f e ~ e e : A minor Dr greater mishapmeans that all programs currentlyrunning anyHhere on the system areerased. A major mishap means thatthe computer will need to be repaired.

Four other programs deal Hith hackingthat is , i l lega lly inf i l t ra t ingforeign computer 5ystems. They areoften used in concert with virus andcop y programs.Intrus ion programs allow the userto bypass passHords and thus breakinto c o m p u t e ~ systems a n d / o ~ f i les .Defense programs act to prevent theseactions.

To i n f ~ c t a c o m p u t . ~ y s t ~ m Hith av i r u s p r o g ~ a m :Routine, Computer, Int . , 30 sec.

To break into a f i le or computer system:Difficult , Computer, p r o g ~ a m DM, 30sec.Referee: The program OM consists of acombination of three separateOM's. The f i ~ s t is the qual i ty DMof the Intrusion program (-2 to+2), the second is the Defensep r o 9 ~ a m qual i ty (-2 to +2), andthe third is the Intrusion programTL minus the Defense p r o 9 ~ a m TL.The f i r s t DM minus the second,plus the third consti tutes the

To discover a virus program:Difficult , Computer, Electronics, 15sec. , uncertain.R ~ f e r e e : Reduce di f f icu l ty by tHOlevels i f the vi rus ' act ions areeasi l y o b 5 e r v ~ d ( ~ g , s ystem crashes, programs k ~ e p going blank,songs persis tentl y play, e tc . ) .


16/19

Can t inu ed f r o " p a J2The s yao r l i s ex t remel y d i f f icu l tto use. To a t tac k. use the simp l i f i edhand-ta-hand ta s k CTrave l ler "s Di ges t

JJ, . T r a v e e Er ra ta ) , bu t c hangedi f f i cu l t y to -d i f f ic u l t - a nd rep l a c es t reng h wi t h dexte r ity on DM ' s . Ona ny mi sh ap more se r ious than s upe r

Can t in ued f ra i l page J3and th e ACR. F i r es 5 round s Corbu r s t s ) eac h t urn. TL 7 , 75g, Cr 3 5 .WEAPON ATTACHMENTS: Guns can oftenhave seco ndary we apon s a t tac hed be lowth e barr e l , a ffo r d i n g e xt ra f l e x ib i l ity in c omba t . The mos t common a t t achmen t i s t he grenade launche r (4cmGL-7 , 4cm RAM GL-8 , and 4cm RAMGL-91 , whose ad vantage over r i f l egrenades i s t ha t i t need not be r e loaded a f t e r every shot . Other f r e quent l y at tached weapons includ e th eshotgun, l ase r p i s to l (wi t h a 20-sho tpower pack : see T. 1. #9) , and gaus sr i f le (usual l y on ly on hi g h - e ner9Yweapons, to alloH c lose r r ange o rmor e a ccu ra te s n i p i ng ) . All cos t a ndperfo r m as norma l , but we igh 2 5 l e s s . Add i t iona l weapons can onl y beat tach ed t o gun s of 0 .7m or grea te rleng th . The base we apon a nd th e a t tachment may not both be f i red i n thesame r ou nd .

LARGE MAGAZINES: Ex t ra capac i t ymagazine s are ava i lab le fo r most Hea pons. (Double cos t , weight . and numbe r of sho t s . ) Fo r SMG "s and a s s au l tr i f le s , th i s requ i r es a ba r r e l - shaped

a g z i n e Not ava i l ab le fo r revo l ve rs , s nub r evol ver s . or hu nt i ng r i f l e s .OTHER AMMO: HE and HEAP ammo canbe pu rchased fo r weapons whi ch do no tnormall y ment ion t hem i n t he i r l i s t i ngs. (Doub l e cos t . Not a va i l ab le fo rshotguns. ) For HE , i n c r e a s e damage by1. For HEAP , double penet ra t ion. Rubbe r bu l l e t s cos t the same as normalammo, but have a penet ra t ion of 0 anddo 1 damage.

compu ter netHor ks (TL 11 + ) , 1 t 15poss ib le t o a ccess any computer ont he wor l d f rom anywhe re e l se on th eworld (a s sumi ng t he us e r has sub sc r ibed to th e plane t a r y da ta ne t worksee T a v e Di ges t S ). On" or l ds of TL 7 and up, i t i s alwayspos s i b l e to l in k up " i t h another computer , assuming both have modems. Ina l l other s i t u a t ions , i t i s necessar yto ac tua l l y phys i ca l l y operate a t e r minal d i r ec t l y l inked to the des i redcomputer.Er r a t a : The Env ironmental p rograml i s ted l a s t i s s ue s hou ld var y in s i zede pendin g on the s ize of the c r a f tbe i ng cont ro l l ed :

Cra f t s ize Prog ram(di s p l a c emen t ) SpacesUnder 100 tons 0 .5100- 300 lons 1301 - 600 tons 2

601- 1000 t ons 31001 - 5000 t ons 45001 - 10 000 tons 510 001- 20 000 tons 620 00 1- 30 000 tons 730 001- 50 000 tons 850 001 -1 00 000 tons 9100 001 - 200 000 tons 10Ove r 200 000 tons IIThe F i r e Control program i s s im i l a r ,ta k ing up 0 .1 spaces per ~ O WeaponControl Points , wi th a min imum s izeof O . spaces .

We have received severa l commentss i nce las t is sue regard ing the enormous s i ze of the programs l i s ted i nPa r t I . This was due to cer t a in facto r s : f i r s t , He had to conform(v ague ly) t o olde r Trave l l e r r uleswhi ch de f i ned t he number of spacesa compu t er ha s l second, He ha d tocon fo rm to the i n f o r ma t i on i n T r a v ~

e r Digest as to how much informa


17/19

TRAVELLER'S ADVICEAO\IENTVRItJe,IIIJ T RAVEl.J.RNEED NOT BESE RIOUS PR. ....cTlCA.l

" ' O l ( ' LlET'-JEE:'"P L , ' s u,wO F T EN U Vc l'JuP,." v .... ,.,E'

OT HER Gp,SE S CA N STA.T1if1'OOI"I " " u.sBE F\.1T" I'" J ( ~ f CAN 9E" fI:(Jrt.Ill. t.J6 EDT... ~ . .

oGuNSC"N BE" e x ~ E FOR F....KES OR G . f ' U I ~ CAN B'FEloCATE D

INSIDE EQUIPMENT: AIR/RAFT

Modul e

Fue l TankGrav Con t ro lPa ckage

Module

Fus i on Powe r PlantHeatVent

Pas s i ve EMSsenso r

S t or ageSpaceAttachmen tPoin t f orPi n t e l Moun t j , ~ : : : : : : : : : 1 - ___or Sea t

Avi o n i c s

Plexi g l a s sWindsc reen

LING-STANDARD PRODUCTSCutlas s 21 Open- t op Ai r / ra f t


18/19

SENTRY BOX WESTNo. 1 IN TRAVELLER LITERATUREl

WE STOCK TIlEFOLLOWING LINESOF FIGURES:Ral ParthaCitadelRAFMMini f i gsMartian Me ta l sAs gardGr e nadi e rFrei-korpsStone Moun ta i nHe ro i cs a nd ROBSky t r exGHQNa ismithDar k Hors eOr f t he Wall

WE SPECIALIZE IN ROLE PLAYING GAMES,EQARDGAMES AND LEAD FIGURES

ESPECIALLY LEAD FIGURESlWe s to ck a l l the l ate s t TRAVELLER suppl ement s a t re asonable pri ce s!We a l s o have back i s sues of J ournal and hard t o ge t TRAVELLER f i gs .I F YOU NEED SOMETHING JUST S K


19/19

third imperium issue 10

Documents