Tag name：rpg

Traveller Session 13

Game Date: 211-1105
Location: Iderati → Ucella → Bularia → 886-945

A map of the local jump map around Bularia

Preparations for departure have gone smoothly and you've completed the small amount of maintenance needed between jumps (The annual maintenance covers the major overhauls and servicing, but there is always some inexpensive checks that must be made between jumps).

Chase and Earl hear that Captain Vexar's activities have picked up lately.

Permission for take-off is denied as we await agents, four of them arrive at our dock with a warrant to search our vessel based on reports of us carrying Imperial contraband. We are only carrying standard cargo, so permission for them to board is given as we have nothing to hide. They will not provide us with any information on our accuser. Masuyo however accompanies them and makes sure they make quick work of their search, they are thorough and make a general search, the only information we get from them is that it came from an anonymous tip off... Masuyo asks Chase to check on all recently departed and currently departing ships. The Customs agents do not find anything, all the paperwork has been thoroughly checked and signed by Captain Earl. Only two ships have left within the past hour, a Far Trader and a Bulk Cargo Freighter. Junebug is suspicious in regards to our delayed departure. Launch clearance is finally given and our jump plot is successful.

Masuyo asks me to look through all the engine and power systems and to keep an eye on things just in case of sabotage. As far as I can tell everything is running fine. The standard Jump nausea has passed so it should all be fine, but I will keep a watch on everything anyway.

A smoggy view from several thousand feet. Through the smog we can see a town on the left hand side and in the centre is a hill also visible through the smog. A tower or grain silo is visible on the hill. Other hills are poking through the smog in the distance.

The view of Ucella Town as seen during the approach.

We reach our destination without incident and plan to land at the D-class star port, as we radio for landing permission, we are instead directed to land in a nearby playing field next to the river, we request authorisation to refuel from the river which is granted. LSP have had an accident of some kind is what we have been told. The star port will send trucks to us for unloading our cargo. Junebug decides to stand guard on-board for this as she is again suspicious. As we come in for our landing Chase makes a flyby the Star port which is no longer there, (smog causes visibility issues) but what we can see is a 10,000 ton freighter lying in what was the star port. We land and set up our hoses for the water refuel transfer.

I make quick check on all our power systems and all is good.

According to the star port staff LSP are crap, they have been planet-side for twenty years and own the star port for their freighters, but sometime within the last week one of them took off then crashed a few minutes later taking out the star port as well as the freighter. They are not overly forthcoming with information on repair times etc. The Merchants Hall is open for us to be able to acquire more standard cargo for our next stop.

There is nothing of note happening (aside form the crashed freighter) for the day that we are on the planet surface, no strange incidents, we do have Kimbley sniff at the cargo as it is loaded to check for anything untoward which is great practice for her.

We request launch approval and offer to pass on the information regarding the star port to Bularia which is our next stop. Our Jump this time was slightly more turbulent than usual and the nausea lasted a bit longer than normal as a result. I need another 8 week study period to up my Engineer(Power) to 2.

A clean view of an agricultural town from a few thousand feet above. A wide river is flowing from the top of the image to the bottom of the right hand side of the image while the town is surrounding by farm fields.

View on approach to Bularia Town

We reach 110 diameters from Bularia (due to Jump), and contact star port control for landing permission and are assigned docking pad 7. We are informed that refuelling is 100 credits per tone of unrefined fuel. We pass on the news about the star port on Ucella, and we are thanked for the news and told an advisory note would be issued. We land and offload our cargo and pay for some fuel. We don’t take any cargo from Bularia as our next stop does not have a star port but they seem very keen to sell us their grain, we ask if they can keep 20 tons of it for our return trip. Bularia is an agricultural world.

We all decide that this is a great opportunity to have some down time, 2-3 days, Chase heads to the pub to glean some information/gossip, and finds that a fair amount of non Imperial traffic comes through here from the Sword Worlds, Zodani and Darrians. Chase is approached by a journalist about the LSP freighter on Ucella but declines to give any information. He does ask about entertainment in the area and is told that there are dances and radio stations available and there is gambling as well (music and dancing is 1930's style). Chase tries out the gambling with a few bets and breaks even, while doing this he hears that pirate activity has increased which is unusual for Bularia. Traders have seen some action with laser scoring on the hulls. There is no specific route which stands out as being targetted. Masuyo and I offer to keep watch on the ship so Junebug can Get Kimbley out for some much needed fresh air and exercise and longer walks. Our downtime winds down and we plan for our next Jump.

Launch clearance is given and we perfectly plot and execute our Jump. The trip is smooth and we all continue with our training/education. We emerge from Jump and a familiar level of static comes across on comms. We head for the systems gas giant as fast as possible, as the jamming affects the sensors too. We all dash for the windows to see if we can visually see anything unexpected, Cyn tries the sensors again but we are sitting in a ball of static and it's no use. Possible pirate activity, there are no active scans only passive ones. The jamming does appear to be coming from the plant we have been sent to survey, which seem to have a frontier style installation. We put the gas giant between us and the planet and any further scans do not net us and further information. The jamming does not appear to be affecting any of the other plants in the system, so we discuss our options for approaching the plant. We talk about trying to approach when the installation is on the dark side of the plant but as it is tidally locked to the gas giant this is not an option. we decide to approach with minimal systems online to leave as little signature as possible for any scans, which will essentially make us appear as a falling rock. as we will be running with very minimal life support we all put on our Vacc suits and put Kimbley into an emergency Vacc ball, then we turn off all no essential systems and head for the planet. We aim for a near miss by the installation so we can try and land on the backside of the planet as fast as possible.

Cyberpunk Session 16

Kitsune showing her form as the nine-tailed fox of asian mythology

Kitsune, as seen by Tremen when he was giving his report

We return to the farm where there is now plenty of Section 9 activity (the normal parts of Section 9, not that part of it to which we have been assigned). After retrieving our gathered cold weather equipment we head up to the track that leads up the hill (attracting strange looks from the operatives in the area - but they know better than to inquire). We soon pass the first torii where, again, we get the feeling of being watched. This feeling only intensifies as we head further in and past the second Torii (Ricky reports that the feeling is no longer of unconstrained hatred but now has a tinge of restocking the larder about it).

Now we're far away from prying eyes and ears (or, at least, those of Section 9 and the general public), Tremen shares his experience reporting to Kitsune and her apparent change in appearance. The consensus is that this is more evidence of the secret world that is really behind what is going on in the world. In addition we also conclude that we need to investigate the temple we saw on the other side of the portal and then find a way to deactivate that portal (preferably with us on this side of it). If we don't then Kitsune is going to have to do so herself and that is likely to be a lot more violent than any closing solution we're likely to come up with.

We continue through the cave entrance and into the cave. There is now a noticeable breeze in the cave and the temperature is colder than our previous visit (e.g., the mist is deeper and thicker). We continue to the portal and do through.

There is a storm raging outside the cave on the other side and we decide to wait it out (mainly because the ice crystals in the wind can be quite irritating. Shadow does take the opportunity to scout the downwards slope, but can't risk going too far.

The storm passes in a couple of hours and the day become crisp and clean (even if the sunlight is somewhat pale and wan). We gather ourselves together, ensuring we have a rope tether to minimise the risks if (when) any of us stumble. A check of our short range walkie-talkies shows these are working - albeit with a limited range and a bunch of static. The path down is, initially at least, relatively easy going. Shadow, for he has taken point, spots something ahead and signals for Wakiya to join him. Through her scope she sees five figures - all hooded and larger than human apart from one. They seems to headed for the distant mountains and don't seem to have spotted us. We resume the journey towards the temple that was visible from the cave entrance - but now being more cautious about being spotted.

A snow field showing some tracks (which stop a short distance away). Mountains are visible in the distance

A view of one route we examined and then decided to avoid

The terrain is relatively flat (there are small undulations in the snow but nothing too severe and definitely flatter (and easier) than the surrounding terrain). We do a quick check of the snow depth which shows it's at least four feet deep. Despite Nameraka struggling a little with the journey we feel we're making progress towards the temple, even if it's often a case of It's just over the next hill. It's at this point we realise that it might have been a good idea to record our route so we take some time to record the terrain of the hills we left together with some compass bearings.

As the day wears on, we reckon that (a) we've come about half-way and (b) we have to make a camp that will have to be snow shelter dug into the snow. Digging the shelter takes a lot effort - so much in fact that Shadow collapses from the effort and Tharbin soon suffers from the cold (if in a slightly milder way than Shadow). Nameraka takes charge of getting Shadow and Tharbin into the shelter and working on restoring their core body temperature by any means necessary (including sharing body warmth). An uncomfortable night is passed by all with a light, intermittent watch being kept by Tremen.

After breakfast the next morning (and we're relieved to see that there's no wind this morning) we set off - now with Wakiya taking the lead and Tremen stumbling at the rear.

After taking most of the day we actually arrive at the temple. Its entrance has a large arch over it and there's no snow on the ground around the entrance. We welcome a warming heat from the entrance that not only has melted the snow, but dissipates the chill within us as well. To Shadow reminds him of South American monuments such as Machu Picchu.

Inside the temple a green glow is coming from the walls - in fact from the lichen on the walls and a corridor leads onwards. Following it we soon come to a crossroads (i.e., passages to the left, to the right and ahead as well as the corridor we came down). Tremen stays to watch the crossroads as the rest of the team explores down the right hand passage.

This leads to a large room with four closed and empty cages in it. Tharbin reports that one of cages shows scrape marks from its cage door and there's a black goo in the scrapes. A sample of the goo is gathered and Ricky observes that the cage itself has moved - but the cage is too massive for any (or even all) of us to move. On the wall a worn and indecipherable bas-relief - possibly a picture of some kind. Wakiya takes a film camera picture of the bas-relief (with Ricky standing next to it both as a marker of scale and cast a light along the surface to highlight any remaining relief to the bas-relief).

A temple in the style of a south american pyramid but topped by a dome in the form of Cthuthlu

The bas-relief in the left hand room

Tremen is able to distinguish a faint machine/mechanical hum coming from the left hand passage and with investigation of the right hand passage being completed the team heads across and down the left hand passage. The hum is coming from a generator that is powering a bank of freezers (well one freezer - the others are not powered on at this time) and some fluorescent lights. The room also holds a pair of benches with a sheet over something laid on the benches plus what is obviously some kind of rest area (cots and furs are strewn about). However it is another large bas-relief that catches the eye of both Tremen and Ricky. This one is in much better condition and, for a brief period, Tremen and Rocky are capitivated by it - until they rouse themselves and hastily leave the room complaining of a nasty headache (Tharbin moves to deal with this leaving the others in the room). The bas-relief is of some kind of building/temple that is vaguely familiar to Wakiya.

Nameraka examines the benches and lifts the sheet to reveal a large long segmented leg (approxiamately twice as long as Nameraka is tall). There is more black goo on the leg - presumably its blood and Nameraka surmises that it looks like it comes from a (huge) spider.
He also checks the working freezer and determines that it seems to have a frozen block of the black goo (a sample of which is also taken).

Ricky explores the rest of the room. In addition to the cots there's a ricketty desk (one that looks like it's a cheap flat-pack). On the desk is a test tube rack with a test tube holding a silver liquid within and two parchments. One parchment has a five item list, the other has unknown writing but with the logo of Neuf mères on it. There's also a leather satchel (containing a pack of cigarettes, a pen and notepad - inside of which is another five item list (including Moon Cow Milk), bad song lyrics and worse poetry).
Wakiya scoops up the parchments and test tube, puts them carefully into the satchel and then moves the satchel into her pack.

We now leave that chamber, head back to the crossroads and down the one unexplored path. This continues downwards and after a hundred metres or so it starts getting cold again. In addition the light cast by the lichen changes from green to blue. There's the murmer of some kind of indistinguishable language ahead.....

D&D Session 8

The party proceed to the broken boundary wall and spot a path that heads off towards the woods.
Silanne takes the lead and examine the paths and observe several tracks, then heads to the isolated tree and then skirts to the south of the woods, before heading north into the woods. The path is well hidden under the canopy of the trees, Silane continues quietly up the path which emerges at a rock wall. Silanne points to the wall and signals Fiorana to come up and examine it. A hidden door is discovered that Fiorana proceeds to open.

Excerpt of the Phandalin Map showing a path marked around the southernmost part of the woods to the east of alderleaf farm

The faint path around the woods

The party order

The door opens into a tunnel that is just about wide enough for 2 persons, Fiorana takes lead followed by Crom, Silanne & Bluebell, Tarqual, Trem & lastly Tharbin. The tunnel continues north leading to and opens up into a cavern. Fiorana whispers to the group I'm hearing an ominous voice in my head, anybody else hear it?
The Tunnel eventually opens up into a cavern & Crom takes lead preparing for what ever lays ahead, Crom moves forward and steps up to a bridge, as he does so the bridge emits a loud cracking sound and collapses underneath him. He tumbles down.

The map as initially seen by Tarqual

The map as seen by Tarqual after the initial moves

Fiorana heads east along a path then disappears down stairs out of sight, A expression of concern that turns into a look of worry comes over Tarqual. He whispers something to Bluebell
I heard the words i like it when i can play with me food which I mention to Bluebell. I then hear the words you’re not like the redbrands are you? you seem too know what you are doing

The map as seen by Tarqual after moving deeper into the caves

Fiorana disappears I hear the sound of a door being open, and all hell breaks open, Drunken voices and Crom screaming down the corridor to the east can be heard
There are sounds of shouting and whispers all round, and the party proceeds to disperse and target at range. Silanne hasn’t been seen since disappearing down the right hand tunnel near where we entered the cavern.
Fiorana & Crom attack the band to the east down the stairs, whilst Tharbin myself & bluebell target the creature to the North

The map as seen by Tarqual at the end of the session

D&D Session 4

Some debate about the plan¹ to burn down The Sleeping Giant inn is pursued and the party takes note of Silanne's wise guidance of being cautious, until we have more information. The talk is upsetting to hear from the party, any innocent life lost is not something that I could align myself to. I am relieved the party have seen sense.

The party assembles for breakfast next morning, Tremen receives a person who pulls up with the cart outside the inn, it appears to be loaded with some provisions. Tharbin eyes the keg of ale on the cart and ensures it is secured for the trip, some raised eyebrows from the party are ignored by Tharbin.

After a short time preparing, the party head back down to the trail before heading up the path to the north.

Some time later we spot Silanne who signals to us, Tremen directs the cart to a spot on level ground. Silanne then heads off to scout further up the path as we make camp, waiting for information before proceeding into possible danger.

A female halfing rogue examing a body on the path.

Fiorana cautiously examines a body on the path

A small cave entrance with a small stream leading from it

The cave entrance (or, at least, one intepretation of it)

Silanne appears a short time later and signals the party to proceed in formation, and follow him. Fiorana examines a body on the path wearing a red cloak. The wounds don't appear normal, poison is ruled out, magic is suspected by Fiorana. The party than continues down the path in formation. An hour later Silanne pauses and examines the ground, then is seen advancing more cautiously, we assume some tracks have been spotted. The party eventually arrive at a stream that is exiting a cave. Silanne lets loose with a bolt towards the right bank of the river, we hear a roar, the rest of the party move up the river to cross to the other bank, quickly some goblins are engaged & dispatched. Tharbin, Silanne & Fiorana enter the cave, some wolves snarling are heard somewhere inside. Silanne moves ahead towards the wolves, a short moment later some whimpering is heard and the snarling dissipates.

Tharbin proceeds further into the cave and takes a turn to the left - a possible fork up ahead on the path, I proceed up to the right and spot a goblin patrolling a bridge fording the stream.

Footnotes

DJV: Tremen is completely unaware of this plan and its discussion ↩

D&D Session 7

A view of a farm in a valley over a stone wall. There are woods on the slopes of the valley.

A view of Alderleaf farm

Summary of last session: A discussion takes place about dealing with the Redbrams. Tremen is reluctant to confront the Redbrams, without any further evidence of wrongdoing, and then proceeds to talk to the town clerk to see what his position is on the goings on of the Redbrams & the sleeping giant.
Monkeys name Fortenbrass. Dwarf Grundrem who gave us the initial quest is Fortenbrass friend.
Tremen goes to the town hall and gives a report to Town Clerk with Sildar present, whom confirms details of Tremen report.
Sildar confirms presence of the Redrams presence in the caves, & the town clerk mentions concerns arts of extortion and strange disappearance of a family that lived opposite the sleeping giant. The discussion continues with the town clerk not committing to an exact amount of payment or precisely what he wants us to do. Eventually Tremen agrees to investigate the missing family.
Silanne investigates the pathway that they observed last night whilst monitoring the goings on from the Sleeping Giant.
Tremen heads off to the building that the missing family were residing in, on arrival he observes the building looks like it has been ransacked, and notice the mouldy food looks like a couple days. On exiting the building Tremen notices some scuff marks on the door and appears it tracks out towards the sleeping giant.
Fiorana brings back some apples from the orchard.
Bluebell & Tarqual head of to the Smithy and have a general pleasant chat and discover he is Sildar’s son. Eventually the party reassemble and Tremen briefs us on the party. We decide to collectively head off to the sleeping Giant and investigate.
Tremen & Silanne approach the front door first, Tremen casts a check evil & good before casting detect magic. Tremen approaches the door and observe its ajar so pushes open. He did sense the presence of magic.
Fiorana sneaks into the back upstairs and is surprised by another halfling jumping out of a box, who mentions he lives at Alderfarm, & often sneaks in to play with his friend Narse who lives across the road.
Tremen enters the room and it appears empty, Bluebell heads to the bar and seeks out a drink, with their familiar in tow (an otter). After a quick survey notices the door at the ear and heads towards it, with some of the party following behind. The door leads to some stairs that lead down to a storeroom.
Silanne notices a chute that most leads to the outside, and further exploration starts to examine a barrel
Silanne shouts out for Fi to get downstairs sometime during the search of the building.
Tarqual finds 2 scraps of red cloth that appear to be part of ropes tucked away behind the bar.
Cromagon heads off to talk to the locals to inquire last time any of the Redrams were seen.
Trem & Bluebell head off to the house, Trem is a little surprised by the transformation of bluebell into a wolf as they enter the house.
Tharbin appears at the door at the back of the room and beckons us towards him and we head down the stairs, Silanne asks where Bluebell & Tremen are; & I mention that I overheard them saying they were heading back to the home of the missing family. He proceeds to dash upstairs out of the building, and a loud whistle is heard a short time later.
Eventually everybody is assembled in the cellar/storeroom and caught up on the party’s exploration.
I offer the scarps of the red cloth for examination and Tremen suggests passing them onto Bluebell who appears in wolf form. Eventually we decide on proceeding through the hidden door down into the tunnel. The tunnel just about holds 2 abreast but it would be difficult to swing a 2 handed weapon. The party descends with Bluebell in wolf form at the forefront with Silanne behind. The party eventually climbs out of the tunnel and emerge at the broken wall to the North of Alderleaf farm and to the west of the wooded area. Silanne reminds us of their observations of the movement of people from last night.

Traveller Session 12

Game Date: 200-1105
Location: Debarre then Iderati

We plot a course for Iderati and we aim to drop out of Jump close to the gas giant to scoop some fuel before making our landing on the planet.

GM⇒Fiorana

203-1195 - The engines(Jump, maneuver and power) are all operating smoothly. In fact they are running slightly better than on the Jump between Flammarion and Debarre.

Our present Jump is progressing smoothly and during the Jump we decide to land at the low star port to offload the Debarren Bear. Our exit from Jump close to the gas giant puts us around three days out from Iderati, Masuyo contacts Star port control to alert them to our presence and our intention to gather fuel from their gas giant before requesting a berth in the low star port and giving them a quick report. Tharbin successfully scoops some unrefined fuel for processing.

While we are travelling towards Iderati we find out that they have and A class star port, a dense atmosphere so masks may be required and a lot of oceans, we are not allowed to carry weapons or armour as they have a Law level of 8. We are assigned berth 36 after letting them know that we have the Bear on board which is tranquillised. We have a good landing and an official is heading towards us with all of the relevant paperwork of customs etc., Masuyo pays the docking fees from her own personal funds on this occasion. we have 20 tonnes of standard cargo to be offloaded to the Merchants Hall and the Brokerage may be the best place for us to sell the Bear. The official asks if we need any supplies and she replies with a not right now we are here for about one week.

We get 18,000 credits for the cargo we brought, and we split up to do our own thing. I receive an email:

Date: 207-1105

To: Fiorana

From: Sir Mamon Wakisha, Head of Imperial Naval Liaison Iderati

Re: A proposal

In appreciation of your significant actions in support of the Imperium (in particular your efforts on board on the Nicholas de Nicolay), I'd like to invite you and your crewmates to an informal dinner to reminisce and discuss an opportunity.

Sir Mamon Wakisha

We get an offer of 4,000 credits for the Bear, we know we can get more for it but that will take longer and we may have to transport it elsewhere so for the sake of convenience to us we sell it but tell the buyer they have to collect it or pay us more for delivery. the buyer opts to collect it but tells us it may take a few days to organise transport for it.

I tell the rest of the crew about the email I received and Masuyo is instantly suspicious why I am I getting this email and not the Captain of the The Hope? Who is the person sending it? She then does some research and it seems that the email is in fact legitimate, she also finds out that he is quite high in the Chain of Command for the sub-sector, he is in fact the Knight in charge, I find out when and where this dinner is to be held, and what kind of dress code is required, We need to be clean neat and tidy, smart clothing but not dress uniform. The dinner is to be held two days hence at his personal estate.

Earl heads to the market to mosey around, whilst Cyn heads out to the pub, they both kind of get similar information, we are near the edge of The Imperium, no trouble is expected in the area, there are the occasional Sword World travellers for trade but nothing more dramatic and there are no reports of Zhodani ships.

We decide who is attending the dinner with me and Earl decides to stay behind while the rest of us go, we call for a taxi to take us. We arrive at the estate and are greeted by Mamon Wakisha, he takes us inside and makes sure we all have a drink, then he asks us about our recent adventures and talks about the events on the Nicholas de Nicola, it turns out that he chose to crew rosters for the trip out to Leviathan. Masuyo notes that I am being treated as nobility by him even though I am not. We openly tell him about what we have been up to since we became a detached scout unit and he seems to be very impressed about our rescue of the town in danger from the volcano. he then moves on to tell us that he is not impressed with the Nobility and Navy on Iderati, but he has no real clout to make any real changes in the sub-sector. We finally get to the reason he invited us and it seems he has recently come across some conflicting reports on the planet 886-945 one report E800000-0 states that there is an atmosphere and water but no people and E833000-0 states that there is no atmosphere and water, he offers us 250000 credits to investigate and carry out a more thorough survey of the planet for him. we discuss potential travel routes one of which would take us to Gothe which has a Law level of 11 and we are vert reluctant to take this route so we check for alternatives. I negotiate with Mamon and he agrees to 300000 credits or he can arrange for a weapon for the ship. We agree to take the job but ask him for some time so we can discuss which reparation option we want to choose, this seems to impress him.

After quite a bit of discussion we opt to take the money, and as for the question on Annual or Monthly maintenance for the Hop we opt for the yearly maintenance and aim to get her in at around 50 weeks.

View of dry desert-like environment. There is a small moon visible close to the horizon

A view of 886-945 from the first scout report

A view of a canyon showing massive outcropping of uneroded rock. There is a river at the bottom of the canyon. A spacesuited figure is gazing at the landscape

A view of 886-945 from the second scout report

We have a few questions for Mamon:

Has anyone else been sent to 886-945 and not returned?: No.
We need copies of the Scout reports.: Copies of the reports are sent to us, surveys were carried out from orbit, ground surveys from different locations, the first one was carried out 20 years ago and the second 10 years ago.
What if we take damage?: Repairs will be carried out if there is demonstrative damage.

The reason he has asked us to investigate is that he would like to know if the planet is habitable, he has only recently found to two conflicting reports which is why we are being asked to carry out this task now. From the reports he has it seems there are no people, infrastructure or Government etc. We make the final agreement and officially accept the mission. We take on some standard cargo for our next stop.

Jump route Iderati → Ucella → Bularia → 886-945.

Traveller Session 9

Game Date: 177-1105
Location: Flammarion, then Debarre

A seriously overweaponed streamlined fighter in orbit over Flammarion. It would appear that the designer is seriously worried about this vehicle being chased.

Vessel spotted over Flammarion. Probably some noble's overengineered streamlined fighter (it certainly doesn't look all that practical!)

GM⇒Fiorana

176-1105, (Preparations to depart): I have been given a post-refit report on the Vagabonds Hope. While the navy didn't have time to do much with the decor they did renew all the engineering electronics and computer systems (including the military sensor package). These *should* all be in tip-top condition but the report does warn me that the Vagabonds Hope's first flight after refit should be treated as a shake-down cruise to identify any remaining (or new) problems.

GM⇒Chase

Extra information gleaned from the drinks shared with the Naval grunts on Flammarion, they were surprised that their training regimen has remained the same for the past several years, despite the slow and steady increase in sightings of both Zhodani and Sword World vessels in local group of non aligned systems.

Masuyo graciously purchases me an auto-pistol as I only have my static blade, Cyndariel buys some psionic inhibiting drug for the crew and is testing it in her Lab to see if it can be replicated, Junebug and Tharbin both purchase a hunting rifle each so we can hunt the bears on Debarre. The bears are armoured and we want to try and capture one alive

We prepare to depart after loading the mails and cargo for Debarre, we successfully take off, and Tharbin successfully plots our jump co-ordinates for when we reach 100 diameters to perform the jump. I ask Junebug to give me some lessons in using my new my new auto-pistol, she agrees and we set up a practice range in the common area.

Six days into the Jump and I am carrying out a routine check on our power systems, all is fine except for a marginally higher than normal reading, but as we are on our shake-down cruise this may be the new normal for our renewed systems. I decide to monitor it just to be sure.

GM⇒Chase

In your dream you’re desperately trying to fiddle with the sensor controls – the results are all off the scale. Insight the sensor readings upon entering the Debarre System align with the dream scenario.

An armoured two ton bear on a path in a forest

A Debarrean Bear

GM⇒Earl

In your dream tonight you're in a forest, feeling worried – Is that a bear? Or worse?

Both Chase and Earl tell us they have experienced strange dreams again and I exclaim "Is this another one of your prophetic dreams?"

We plan to land and take some time away from the ship and the damn white box!

Our last day in Jump is uneventful and proceeding normally until...

The sensors (civilian) are overwhelmed with an unusually high amount of static, comms are out and we cannot contact any other ships in the system nor the Star port. The guys in the cockpit try and use the new military sensors to try and pick the origin of the sensory overload, Tharbin finally succeeds in getting the location, it is coming from an island to the north of the Star port. There are a couple of other ships in the system and at the Star port according to our sensors, one of the ships at 100 diameters out is currently stationary, we have also established that this does not appear to a normal type of static. We decide to go ahead and make for the Star port and land in an empty bay, Tharbin and Masuyo prepare to disembark and talk to Star port officials to find out what the hell is going on, the rest stay aboard for the time being.

There is a Star port official waiting impatiently outside our ship and he does not appear to be happy by our sudden appearance, "What the hell is going on?" Masuyo explains what happened as we exited our Jump in system and asks if there is a problem from the surface, "I was hoping you could tell us, it only happened when you guys showed up."... "We thought it was you that was causing it and would ask you turn it off but you seem to be as in the dark as us." They both then explain that we have managed to locate the source of the static and he seems very surprised, we can't get any signals out or in all of our comms are currently jammed, our sensors cant pick anything up because they are not working, everything is offline for the moment. Masuyo and Tharbin threaten to leave with the intended mails and cargo for the planet as they are not happy with the Star port officials attitude, "NO, no that won't be necessary," as his demeanour changes to a more friendly one, he explains that it has been some time since they have had any mail or fresh cargo delivered (we get paid 60,000 credits). As the signal is new and not natural, but only seems to have started literally seconds after we entered the system it may have something to do with the white box aboard our ship??? They ask after the stationary ship we passed on the way in and it is a Safari class ship of hunters who are on their way out of system on the way to Iderate after hunting bears planet side.

Tharbin and Masuyo offer to investigate the strange signal in return the Star port will refuel our ship as payment, it is agreed but the official persists in stating that the island is just that a forested and uninhabited (except for the wildlife) island why would any kind of signal be coming from it? Earl heads down to prepare the launch for the trip.

We all get ready to depart after a sharing of the conversation and the plan of action, we equip armour and weapons as well as our breathing masks and any other relevant equipment needed, for me this is my Laptop and toolkit, We fly north toward the island and fly around a couple of times to take readings and take note of any visual anomalies. We find a suitable landing site in the south west corner of the island. Our flyover reveal some kind of ruin and only helps to confirm that this is location of the strange signal. We set the ship down at the chosen landing site.

Mongoose Traveller 2e Trade

Current Location

Current Location:
Current Location UWP:
(This UWP is not in the correct format (e.g, A123456-C))

Travel Code: None Amber Zone Red Zone

Trade Codes:

Current Game Date

The current location's name, UWP and the current game date are used to initialise the psuedo-random number generator

Skills of the Purser

Education
Social Standing
Admin-
Broker-
Carouse-
Jack of All Trades-
Steward-
Streetwise-

Abilities of the Crew and Ship

Highest Naval Rank
Highest Scout Rank
Ship is armed?

These details are used to determine what is available and its price

Destination

Destination:
Destination UWP:
(This UWP is not in the correct format (e.g, A123456-C))

Travel Code: None Amber Zone Red Zone

Trade Codes:

Distance

Destination is Jump- away
Note: This is NOT computed even if you retrieve the UWP(s) from travellermap.com - for now, at least, you need to manually choose the distance.

These details are used to determine the number of passengers, the amount of standard freight and mail, and the estimated price at the destination

Passengers

There are no passengers waiting to travel.There is a passenger waiting to travel:There are some passengers waiting to travel:

Low Passengers: 0
Basic Passengers: 0
Middle Passengers: 0
High Passengers: 0

Freight

There is no freight waiting to be transported.There is some freight waiting to be transported. The following lots are available:

Mail

You have not been selected to transport any mail.

There is some mail waiting to be transported. There of 5 tons available.

Speculative Trade

You failed to find a supplier or broker for speculative trade

You have found a Black Market supplier. The available goods and prices are:

This exact page can be retrieved by linking to:

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DJV's Mongoose Traveller V2 Trade Plugin Version 3.324.0. View the Change History.

Traveller

Character Generator

In preparation for running a new Traveller Campaign, The GK Strategem, I've created a Mongoose Traveller V2 Character Creator and a Trade Calculator. This new campaign will be in an alternate universe to that described below (mostly because my memory of those campaigns has faded to the level of mostly gone!)

Timeline

I have, on and off, over the last couple of decades run a traveller campaign. Some players have expressed an interest in the timeline, so let's see if I can reproduce it from my limited memory.

Approx -300,000: Ancients abound developing many weird and wonderful devices and ships. It is rumoured that one or more of these still exists and that the vessel concerned is capable of Jump-6 without the aid of 60% of the ship being devoted to fuel.It is also believed that the computer system fred dates from this time.
1109: Date of my first campaign. A group of merchants and friends attempt to make a living in the spinward marches. They soon misjump and crash land on a remote system. They only escape when their cargo forces them to repair their 200-ton trader (after which it becomes a 150-ton trader!).
1110: Fifth Frontier War begins. The Zhodani launch a surprise attack on the Imperium aided by Vargr and the sword worlds.
1111: The Zhodani capture Regina, the Spinward Marches sector capital
1112: The capital of the Sword Worlds (Gramm) is devestated by a huge explosion. Riots ensue after it becomes apparent that the rulers cared more about protecting their main computer complex (which survived the explosion) instead of the inhabitants of the surrounding city (which didn't!).
1113: Imperium suffers a major reverse when a dozen stars spontaneously turn in supernovae. Although Darrian action is suspected (and the Imperium breaks off all treaties with the Darrians) nothing is proven. One of the systems lost is the Glisten system which was a major imperial starship construction facility (capable of constructing TL15 ships)
1114: The Zhodani capture Rhylanor, which had only recently become the new sector capital. The Imperials sue for peace with the Zhodani, who agree to sign a new peace treaty. The Imperium moves considerable deterrent force into their remaining portion of the spinward marches and a cold war begins
1119: The Zhodani launch a covert mission into the border worlds on both sides of the imperial/zhodani border. It disappears (although an internal zhodani report suggests that the use of people from planets which had been imperial might have a contributory factor, and certainly was very foolish).
1121: Unusual activity is seen around the ancient sites in the Five Sisters subsector including the recorded disappearance of a merchant vessel
1150: A passenger liner jumping between xxx and Trin's Veil fails to arrive on schedule

Notes on the timeline

As should be noted I run with a different universe to that of either Traveller or MegaTraveller. In my universe the Zhodani won the fifth frontier war and the Civil War never happened (and neither did the virus). I have used the virus as an alternative universe (unsurprisingly the players had needed some encouragement to do the 'right' thing!)

At the time of my latest campaign (dated 1150), the Zhodani/Imperial cold war was just beginning to end. Some more normal contact was being resumed between the Zhodani and the Imperium and there were those considering resuming a 'normal' postal service.

The Vargr were being their usual nuisance to all concerned.

The Sword worlds were worried that they were about to be abandoned by the Zhodani.

The Darrians have had a problem for the last thirty years. How do you convince someone that you didn't blow up twelve stars when your entire defence strategy depends on your enemies knowing that you can!

More and more Aslan have begun to be seen in the Spinward Marches after decades of absence. They pointedly kept out of the fifth frontier war and appear to want to take advantage of the trade possibilities of being a neutral player between the Zhodani and the Imperium.

The fred computer system

An important element in at least two or more of my campaign has been (and may be still is!) the fred computer system. Fred comes in a 20-ton cargo package. Intelligence reports that it contains a TL20 sentient computer system and packs some pretty impressive systems:

Fusion Gun ('Man' Portable)
Gauss Rifle and Pistol equivalent
Black globe generator (although to be fair this needs to be connected to a ship's jump capacitors to be generally useful in ship combat).
Self repair capability

Last updated: September 8, 2025 at 14:02 pm

Cyberpunk Session 15

A crumbling set of steps leading uphill a dark forest. A Torii gate straddles the path

The Torii gate straddling the crumbling path

Following on immediately from the , previous sessionWe see there are many cobwebs in the trees and Shadow spots something off to the side of the path - something with many legs and purple and which disappeared almost as soon as Shadow spotted it. Shadow calls up Wakiya to see if she can see anything through the scope of her sniper rifle but there is nothing visible. As they do that Tremen watches the other side of the path and Nameraka examines the Torii in more detail. The ropes and strings visible on the Torii look very old. He touches the ropes with his cyberarm but all this shows is that the ropes are strong and relucant to move (quickly falling back into position).

A gully with a Torii in front of the view. Behind the Torii the gully leads to another Torii with a gated cave entrance. The whole scene dimly lit with wan sunlight finding its way into the gully

The gully leading to a cave entrance

Continuing up the path through the Torii we soon pass into a gully at the top of the hill. A second Torii is at the start of the gully which leads to a third Torii behind which is a gated cave entrance. The gate itself is not locked, but is chained and the chain closed with an intricate padlock.

Wakiya examines the lock and notes that it is very very cold and drops the lock which clangs back against the gate. Nameraka then has a go at picking the lock (using his cyberarm and hand to hold the lock). After 30 minutes or so he succeeds and the gate swings open. While this is happening Shadow again feels as if something is watching. Again he asks Wakiya to scan with her scope and again she spots nothing¹.

We cautiously enter the cave. While not claustrophobic we need to proceed in single file with Shadow leading followed by Wakiya, Tremen, Ricky, Nameraka and Spooky bringing up the rear. The daylight only goes a few metres into the caves and we are forced to rely on flashlights for illumination. It is cold inside, colder than you would expect for an underground cave though not as cold as the padlock. The passage leads us on a wide downwards spiral with shallow steps and the passage becomes more regular². After what feels like twenty minutes we reach a crossroads. To the left we hear no sound, unlike to the right where we can definitely hear the sound of running water (in addition the right hand passage looks to be a more roughly hewn passage than any of the other routes. Ahead the passage continues downwards.

As we contemplate our choices Spooky feels a faint breath on her neck. She brushes away the touch and her hand comes back with a cobweb (which results in her paranoia spiking at this point). Nameraka confirms that there is nothing behind her. Spooky puts the web into an evidence pack for later examination. The passageways not not seem to have any cobwebs. One of Spooky's theories is that she has had a tracking device attached but her thorough search doesn't find anything.

Shadow leads us down the left hand passage. This passage seems to be spiralling back upwards and after twenty minutes or so we reach a balcony overlooking a large cavern. Some sconces spring into life as we enter the balcony casting a dim blue light. Spooky is sure she saw something something on the floor of the cavern (it seemed to move in front of a light source at the base of the cavern) but, yet again, there is nothing visible using Wakiya's sniper scope.

We return to the crossroads and cross overe into the right hand passage. After fifteen minutes we come to a midsized flow of water (move than a stream but less than a river). There is a narrow path along side the water with the sound of water over rocks some way further along.

Initial View of the cavern

This seeming a quite risky route we again return to the crossroads and turn right down the straightahead path. This continues to descend in a wide spiral and it is getting noticably colder. After another fifteen minutes or so it opens out into a large cavern. There is the sound of water falling from above and the floor of the cavern is covered in a mist. High above are two dim blue lights illuminating a balcony. This would seem to be the balcony we were on earlier and its plausible that the water falling from the ceiling is from the flowing water spotted in the right hand passage. The cavern floor has been leveled to remove the bigger rocks and obstructions. Visible at the back of the cavern is a small raised area (about two metres by one metre by one metres) with steps leading up to it. There are two dim blue lights on the edges of the raised area and, at the back of the raised area is an archway. Both Wakiya and Nameraka really feel the cold, particularly those parts which held the lock on the gateway (even Nameraka's cyberarm is aching).

Moving closer to the archway we first see strange runes on the arch and then there is a loud crackling sound and the view through archway changes from the back wall of the cavern to a view of the interior of a small ice cave. The surface of the view is rippling making it obvious that the ice cave is NOT here as such. Nameraka (being the bravest of us) puts his cyberarm to the image and it does, indeed, seem to be a portal and he moves through the portal (we can see him through the portal on the other side). Tremen and Shadow go through next followed by the rest of the party. Once through the portal Nameraka and Wakiya feeling of cold gets much worse. There is, however, an orange light ahead.

A view from an ice view overloking a fog filled plateau. A building is (just) visible on a hill poking through the mist. The sun is directly ahead but looks eclipsed.

The view from the ice cave

We round a corner and we're in a cave above a plateau. The view ahead is of a cold landscape. There is a building on one of the hills ahead visible ahead and the sun in the distance is being eclipsed. There is no net or wireless access available here and Tremen takes as many pictures as possible on his mobile phone.

We head back and are very relieved to see that the portal is still operational and still shows the cavern and we return through it (taking more picture to prove (even only to ourselves) that it is a portal). We head back through the passageways back to gated entrance. The position of the gate has moved (it is slightly more open). Nameraka closes the gate, replaces the chain and (using the intricate padlock) locks it.

We reckon it's been about four to five hours and we return down the hill. As we do so Shadow again feels like we're being watched - this time she also feels a sense of hatred from whatever is watching.

We return to the farm and our van where there is no change or signs of interference. Nameraka and Wakiya's sense of feeling cold dissipates.

We return to Section 9. Tremen reports to Lady Kitsune while Shadow and Wakiya attend to cleaning and checking their weaponary (in Wakiya's case to check the calibration of her sniper snope).

On his return Tremen is obviously somewhat shaken and says that (a) we need to visit that building which was visible from the ice cavern and (b) he'll explain more once out at the farm and beyond most forms of survelliance and observation. The team start gathering the equipment and supplies needed to do the investigation while surviving the extreme cold of the location beyond the portal.

Footnotes

After two very low perception rolls Wakiya is also convinced that the scope needs to be recalibrated. ↩
I.e., less of a natural cave but hewn from the rock ↩