Traveller - The Third Imperium - Starports.pdf - 08 - Traveller (Mongoose) - Dihercen

Traveller

141.157.190.208

C redits

C ontents

Introduction

M ongoose t raveller

Author

Carl Walmsley

Starport Encounters

Designing Starports

Editor

Charlotte Law

Sample Starports

Layout

Will Chapman

New Ships

102

Reference Material

112

Proofreader

Nick Robinson

Cover Illustration

Carlos Nunez de Castro Torres

Interior Illustrations

Rich Longmore

Deckplans

Ian Stead

Special Thanks

Don McKinney

All signiicant characters, names, places, items, art and text herein are copyrighted by Mongoose Publishing.

This game product contains no Open Game Content. No portion of this work may be reproduced in any form without written permission. To learn more about the Open

Game License, please go to www.mongoosepublishing.com.

This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United Kingdom and of the United States. This product is a work of iction. Any similarity to actual people,

organisations, places or events is purely coincidental.

Traveller is a trademark of Far Future Enterprises and is used under licence. Printed in the USA.

141.157.190.208

i ntroduCtion

There can be few more striking symbols of the far-reaching

might of The Imperium than its network of Starports. Whether

great, glistening star-cities or tiny frontier outposts, they mark

the boundaries of its empire, the extent of its reach.

The existence of the SPA serves to unify the operation of

Imperial Starports, ensuring that the same principles and rules

underpin their activities. Nevertheless, and regardless of which

Class a Starport its into, each is unique in its own way. Whether

because of the quirky frontiersman who runs it, the exotic

planetary atmosphere, the perilous local fauna or the unique

trade opportunities on offer, every Starport has a distinctive feel

and character – and its own opportunities for adventure.

Beyond their symbolic power, they are the intersections of

galactic commerce: the ports where merchants and brave souls

who traverse the edges of known space may seek refuge.

They are the beginning and the end of countless adventures,

spanning innumerable worlds. They play host to the super-rich

and provide cracks into which the dregs of society may fall.

They are safety and civilisation; endeavour and enterprise,

skulduggery and subterfuge.

s tarport C lassifiCations

The vast majority of Starports visited by travellers will it into

one of the ive classiications used by the SPA. Starports within

each class share certain fundamental features, allowing irst-

time visitors to anticipate the types and levels of service that

will be available.

They are Starports. Gateways to the cosmos.

i Mperial s tarports

The vast majority of Starports in The Third Imperium are

managed by the Starport Authority – the SPA. Under their

guidance, travel between worlds remains a relatively safe and

reliable affair. People can get where they need to be and, more

importantly, trade continues to low.

An overview of each Starport Class is provided here. The inner-

workings of Starports – the bureaucracy, personnel, operating

procedures and so forth – are detailed later in the chapter.

Class E Starports

These are the true frontier outposts: lonely bastions in the far

reaches of space, often many days travel from even minor trade

routes. They are typically equipped with a single landing area

big enough for a few small craft or a heavy freighter. The largest

Class E ports have additional pads that can each accommodate

a craft no larger than 1,000 displacement tons.

The number and variety of Starports that fall under the SPA’s

umbrella is immense. Setting such diversity against the needs

of a huge bureaucracy, the SPA employs a Class system to

delineate the various types of Starport. This ranges between

the smallest Class E ports, that are little more than far-lung

landing pads, to the truly awesome Class A ports, which are like

the city states of Old Earth.

A simple structure – either a pre-fabricated building deposited on

the planet when the port was constructed or something crafted

from local supplies – serves as the port headquarters. Circling

the perimeter will be some form of fence: initially a distinctive

metal ring approved by the SPA but over time perhaps patched

and repaired with available material. This line, no matter how

crude, is signiicant as it marks the edge of Imperial territory

and the limits of SPA authority. This is referred to as the XT-line.

Starports consist of two distinct sections – The Highport and the

Downport. A Highport is an orbital platform providing docking

and refuelling facilities for non-streamlined ships; and, in the

case of larger ports, a place to relax and unwind, or to negotiate

new business deals.

A Downport is that part of a port located on (or sometimes

beneath) a planet’s surface. Smaller ports tend only to have a

Downport.

From within the headquarters, all port matters are administered

by the Port Director and his team. Typically, employees will be

required to multi-task. It is not unknown for the Port Director

himself to oversee maintenance tasks, operate communications,

perform security patrols and so on. Typically, a Class E port will

have D3 personnel on duty: the Port Director and possibly a

technician and/or security oficer.

Often springing up around larger Downports are Startowns –

businesses and homes that thrive on the trade generated by

the port. These range from carefully planned conurbations that

work closely with the port, to ragtag shanty towns, bereft of law

and order.

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Very little in the way of landing guidance can be provided by

a Class E port. On approach, port personnel may offer basic

advice over the comms system and switch on the landing lights

but that is all. This can make setting down a rather hair-raising

experience in high winds, fog or cloudy atmospheres.

Given the isolated location of most Class E Starports, rules

governing the possession of weapons tend to be relaxed. On

the fringes of civilised space, it makes sense to look as though

you can take care of yourself. Accordingly, port employees turn

a blind eye so as long as a visitor is not acting suspiciously or

aggressively.

Class E ports on worlds with a Standard atmosphere have no

hangers and only the most basic holding facilities for cargo. It is

rare indeed to ind a Class E port with a proper warehouse – and

even then its capacity rarely exceeds a few hundred tons. Ports

on planets with Tainted, Exotic or Corrosive atmospheres will

include an airlock for passage in and out of the headquarters.

Enough vacc suits for the port personnel plus 1D6 spares will

be kept inside this building.

‘Oficially, anyone who runs a Starport can call themselves

Governor. Given the fact it’s only me, Ellie and Zac that run this

place just who the hell I’d be governing I’m not sure. Like most

guys running a ‘shack’ – that’s a Class E port – we prefer ‘Chief’.

Jeez, I can just imagine trying to get Ellie to call me Governor.

She’d probably shoot me out the airlock – if the Headquarters

was big enough to have one!’

On worlds with Insidious atmospheres, the main landing pad will

be equipped with a simple hanger that may be sealed against

the corrosive or toxic gases in the air. The headquarters will be

equipped with enough hostile environment vacc suits for port

personnel, plus 1D6 spares.

— ‘Chief’ Dennis McQueen, Class E Starport Governor

Class D Starports

The key additions that elevate a Starport to Class D status

are a landing strip (on planets with an atmosphere) and

the ability to refuel visiting craft. In practice, these ports are

usually considerably larger, housing a dozen or more landing

pads. At least one pad will be able to accommodate a 2,000

displacement ton vessel. The rest will be a mixture of small (up

to 200 displacement tons) and medium (up to 500 displacement

tons) sized pads.

Class E ports have no refuelling of repair facilities, though port

personnel may have contacts among the local population that

can provide these services. It is also common practice for the

port to house a scrap pile – an assortment of odds and ends

from discarded ships. Most of the components in a scrap pile

are rusted and broken. From time-to-time, however, one can get

lucky and unearth something useful.

In appearance, a Class D Starport looks more permanent,

housing a cluster of buildings, a checkpoint for those entering

the site and properly surfaced landing pads. The boundaries of

the port will be clearly delineated, with metal fencing or concrete

walls marking the XT line.

Scrap Pile

Characters who ind they are in desperate need of repairs

to their ship, or simply hope to strike it lucky and uncover

some useful spares, can spend a few hours rummaging

through a Starport’s Scrap Pile.

Unlike a Class E Starport – which works on a irst-come, irst-

served basis – craft wishing to land must contact the port on

approach. They will be directed to a particular pad and given

(albeit rather limited) landing guidance as required.

Access to the Scrap Pile costs a ixed fee – typically Cr.

100 – and allows the character to cart away anything useful

that he inds. If he inds nothing, that is just too bad.

A small berthing charge is levied on ships wishing to land at

a Class D Starport. There is an initial docking fee of 1D6 x 10

Credits, plus an additional 10 credits for each day beyond the

irst that the ship remains docked.

To determine what a search turns up, the character makes

a Mechanic check with a –4 Modiier. If successful, he

uncovers 2D6–2 x 0.1 tons of spare parts.

For example, setting down at a remote Class E Starport,

Captain Artemus Eley is desperate to repair some of the

damaged systems on his ship. Clean out of spare parts,

he searches through the port’s Scrap Pile. A successful

Mechanic check with a – 4 Modiier means that he has

found something useful. A roll of 7 on a 2D6 indicates he

has salvaged 0.5 tons of spare parts (7-5 x 0.1 = 0.5). Now

he has at least a chance of patching up his battered ship.

Starports in this class can usually provide a limited amount of

warehousing space for traders to store their cargo – 100 D-tons

capacity is standard.

The refuelling service offers only unreined fuel, at a cost of 100

Credits per ton. Standard ship’s stores are readily available.

Simple repair work may be carried out though there is often

a delay of a few hours before for this can begin. Only parts

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required to repair Hull damage are available and these cost

10% more than normal, relecting the length of time they are

typically stored before being sold. A few of the more down-at-

heel Starports will maintain a Scrap Pile but this lends the port

an unfortunate ‘Class E air’ and is usually avoided.

Exploration specialists are used to patching up vessels that

have been in battles or endured the rigours of frontier worlds.

They have an additional 1D6+2 tons of spare parts available for

Hull repairs.

Class C Starports

Starports in this class see a regular low of trafic and are

equipped to deal with all manner of craft, from industrial

transports to pleasure yachts. More signiicant than this, and

the feature which elevates them to Class C status, they have the

ability to provide reined fuel. Far more so than smaller stations,

these ports have a feeling of solidity and activity. They are able

to do more than tend to the basic needs of frontier traders and

outlying worlds – they are places where employment is sought,

meetings arranged and deals struck.

Class D Starports are often specialised in dealing with certain

kinds of trafic. This makes them better prepared for the demands

of such craft but at the cost of more general provisions.

Industrial specialists are used to dealing with larger craft and

have at least one engineered landing pad that can accommodate

a vessel of up to 2,000 displacement tons. They also have a

one in six chance of possessing the parts required to repair

or replace a damaged ship’s system, so long as the craft in

question is of industrial design (minimum 1,000 tons, with 500

tons of Cargo space).

A typical Class C port has 50 or more landing pads, a couple

of which will be large enough to handle ships as big as 5,000

displacement tons. Most pads will provide a hanger and on

worlds with hostile atmospheres these will be sealed and

equipped with an airlock allowing safe egress for both ships

Recreational specialists tend to deal with small craft, carrying

passengers. Accordingly, the port has Standard quality rooms

available for rent (see Chapter Three: Hospitality Modules ).

A Tricky Landing

Setting down in a hostile environment can be a dificult proposition, especially at smaller Downports where there is limited

guidance from Flight Control.

Strong winds, especially when combined with stormy conditions, can make an approach and landing perilous, even for

manoeuvrable lighters and shuttles.

Landing a ship in such conditions requires a Piloting check, modiied by the severity of the weather and environment:

Prevailing Conditions

Piloting Modiier

Dificult (Strong winds, driving rain, dense fog)

–2

Very Dificult (hurricane, monsoon)

–4

Formidable (super-tornado, eartHeadquartersuake)

–6

One measure developed speciically to help with landing a ship in hostile conditions is the Wind shield. These devices unfurl

like giant umbrellas diverting wind and rain, and allowing craft to set down more safely. A landing pad equipped with a Wind

Shield reduces the severity of the Piloting check modiier by one step.

Wind Shields are never available on Class E or D Starports. Class C and B Starports typically equip 10% of their landing

pads with Wind Shields. Class A Downports equip 20% of berths with Wind Shields. On worlds with especially ferocious

weather conditions, these percentages may be higher.

The quality of guidance and advice provided by a Starport’s Flight Control also affects the dificulty of setting down safely.

Starport Class

Piloting Modiier

–2

D, C

B, A

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