Tag name:traveller

Traveller

First published 22nd May 2000 (Last Modified 2nd September 2026)

Character Generator

In preparation for running a new Traveller Campaign, The GK Strategem, I've created a Mongoose Traveller V2 Character Creator. 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!)

Other tools I've created

I've also created two other tools:

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 2, 2026 at 19:49 pm

Traveller Session 25

First published 21st July 2026 (Last Modified 1st September 2026)
Game Date
307-1105
Location
Elixabeth
A map of the local jump map around 567-908

Naval Intelligence Investigation Report

NI-EB-DF-0067 Vagabond's Hope
Subject Response(s) Observations & Comments
Review Panel Commander Sir Aanshake, Lt Commander Naiide, Lt. Shukash Commodore Farris also attended the investigation panel
Identity Vagabond's Hope The Vagabond's Hope is a damaged 200 ton Type K Safari Ship owned by the Imperial Interstellar Scout Service (IISS). The ship shows signs of having been struck by one or more missiles in the recent past
Crew
  • Captain Dumarest
  • Lord Tharbin
  • Lieutenant Fiorana (Retired)
  • Masuyo Ryujin
  • Chase Stormburg
  • Sergeant Junebug (Retired)
  • Cyndariel

Also aboard is Kimbley, a somewhat tame and shiptrained creature that is, apparently, the ship's mascot.

Destination None planned at this point, but did offer their services Suggest flagging this vessel for tracking
Recent Jump History

Date in System

(All dates in 1105)

  1. Datrillian
  2. Bowman
  3. 567-908
  4. Debarre
  5. Iderati
Zhodani attack on Iderati occured on 267-1105 - so the Vagabond's Hope was present
What really happened at Iderati Lord Tharbin led the description of a terrorist attack at Iderati Highport followed by a dramatic escape from the Highport. They report seeing a space battle on departure but were more concerned with escape than recording details See attached detailed logs and report attached
Was there any warning of imminent attack? Crew reports there was no warning. Revealed that they had been visiting Sir Mamon Wakisha to report on a mission he had given them. Sir Mamon Wakisha is the head of the Imperial Naval Liaison at Iderati
Nature of mission assigned by Sir Mamon Wakisha Crew explained that they had been assigned to explore/review survey data anomalies at 886-945. They showed ship's log of their investigations into a pair of crashed ships on the surface. One was a modified Type S Scout, the second is a 200 ton Zhodani scout/courier. They were unable to enter the Type S scout and unable to approach the Zhodani ship. The video evidence shows them firing at some kind of invisible creature after a body crashed to the ground from the top of the Zhodani vessel Recommend sending a follow up mission to 886-945 as soon as practicable
What was the enemy force strength Estimated that the attack was from a third or fourth rate squadron but unable to provide a more detailed estimate Their video/sensor logs suggest their estimate is reasonable, although other reports we have (see associated reports) are contradictory
Other Notes Crew did request that their ship was repaired Explained that as their ship is managed and operated by the IISS, it is the responsibility of the IISS to maintain and repair their vessel. In any case we do not have the spare capacity to conduct repairs at this time.

Personal Notes - Aurelius Cassian - Valet to Viscount Iim Davide Urast of New Rome

Visit of Lord Tharbin and the crew of the Vagabond's Hope as guests of the Viscount

Viscount1 is disappointed that both Masuyo Ryujin and Lieutenant Fiorana were unable to attend the meet & greet session on the Flag Bridge of the Zairlur but the other members of the crew of the Vagabond's Hope including Lord Tharbin and Captain Dumarest did attend2. Also present were Sir Hailei3 and her entourage, Sublieutenant Spencer and Doctor Vega (both crewmembers of the Zairlur), some NCOs (also crewmembers of the Zairlur) and myself.

Lord Tharbin caused a scene and embarrassment with Sir Hailei. Viscount was clearly annoyed that Lord Tharbin was unable to act gracefully to Sir Hailei's account of her departure from Iderati.

Captain Dumarest, on the other hand, was generally very helpful and supportive of the Viscount.

The Viscount asked Captain Dumarest for his views on three jump space emergences showing on the Zairlur's tactical display. Initially non-committal, the captain became very agitated when it became apparent that the vessels were 1,000 ton merchant vessels and when one of them started transmitting a Signal GK4 he immediately suggested that the Viscount needed to treat the vessels as a potential ambush. The Viscount ordered the fleet to prepare to approach the distressed merchant vessel. At this point the crew of the Vagabond's Hope returned to their vessel so that it could be undocked from the Zairlur.

A bottle of the Viscount's personal stock of best brandy together with four glasses has gone missing from those served at the meet & greet.

Footnotes

  1. The Viscount is a retired naval captain but is wearing a modified uniform of a Commodore. Commodore Ferris did not attend the meet & greet
  2. Chase, Cyndariel and Junebug did attend but are not mentioned by name in the notes
  3. Sir Hailei and Tharbin are rivals. Tharbin knows Sir Heilei as a jerk who was born into wealth and privilege and has known nothing else
  4. Emergency signal like SOS

Traveller Session 18

First published 13th March 2026 (Last Modified 1st September 2026)
Game Date
266-1105
Location
Iderati
Jump map around Iderati

We are heading to Down Port - current time planet side is 12.30 ish landing 12.45 ish gives us a couple of hours to prep for the meeting. We need to organise ground transport, and make sure all attending meeting have appropriate attire for the meeting.

Junebug wishes for us to spread some vague rumours/doubts around the crew complement to try to throw off an enemy from her past in the Marines, whilst she writes a message to the Marines with a complaint about him.

We get a docking port & safely land & meet customs. In system for 3 weeks, we have access for 6 hours due to our meeting with Mamon. We declare our cargo, but stress not planning on selling here, so it will not be leaving the cargo bay.

An annotated star map of the area around Iderati

Annotated map on Sir Mamon Wakisha's Desk

We hire a ground car for transportation to Mamon's estate. Protesters outside down port no idea what they are protesting about, but give us no trouble. We arrive on time and are shown in immediately & he has a document on his desk. He welcomes us & asks how our survey went. To the best of our ability, then we explain what happened, tell him about the downed ships & explained about the creature and what happened. We give him the evidence photos & samples. He also cannot see the creature in the photo. Explain about Kimbley's assistance in locating it, no evidence of psionic abilities. Any research carried out about creature, ship modified and did not find anyone alive. Sensors also did not pick up the creature. We explain about our attempt to enter the ship but too high a technology for us to figure out how to enter. Mamon is taking copious notes as we give our report. We did not have any other strange feelings whilst doing survey but we do tell him about creature healing itself & returning for further attacks & as we were taking damage we decided to retreat.

We also report about incident on Bularia he seemed a bit taken aback, we explain what happened & how we managed to foil their plan. He adds it to his chart in front of him: He asks us our plans for the next while just in case he has any further questions or follow up & we inform him we plan to have at least 3 weeks down time in system. He authorises the second half of our payment.

Masuyo asks regarding the increased ghost stories around Iderate D, reason for asking is the thing we encountered could be considered a ghost. Strangely he hasn't shown any doubt about our description of the creature, giving rise to the thought he may have had similar reports before. We give him Vexar's name & he is known to him but he does not have enough pull with the Navy to stop him. He thanks us profusely & dismisses us as he has his own work to do & offers us potential future opportunities & tells us if there is anything we need we can contact him.

We get back into our ground car & stop to have a nice meal together. Earl buys some smart casual clothing & some formal attire as well. and gets a hair cut.

Cyn & Chase realise we have been gone for a while and are worried because we only got a 6 hour free pass, but we return at 18.00 hours & we decide to head up to High port, to shift our cargo and get replacement parts for the air raft so I can fix it properly. We need someone to head out to the Scout office to give our survey report on 886-945. The next day we all head out to carry out our own tasks, I go and get replacement parts & some spares (just in case).

Masuyo heads to Merchant Hall with one bottle of the Vodka as a sample to see who would be most interested in it & give us the best price. She finds the least busy trader &approaches them and offers 20,000 bottles of this, trader looks interested but not without a sample first. He seems to enjoy it, but seems to be a bit surprised by the amount we happen to have, so Masuyo explains about how we obtained it. Explaining that we have no intention of returning to the system so he can get the monopoly on it. We sell for 120000 credits. They will offload it themselves.

While Cyn does not see anything unusual, Chase has a feeling of being under observation. The rest of us notice that people are leaving the concourse. Tharbin & Masuyo in particular notice that people are leaving the concourse due some kind of communication. Trader is oblivious - Tharbin decides to follow someone, people who are in military uniforms or should be in military uniforms. Tharbin lets us know & thinks there may be some kind of emergency as the seem to be getting recalled.

STATE OF EMERGENCY NOW EXISTS

All residents with emergency duties must proceed to their station.

All visitors must shelter in place.

Access tubes to other modules are closed.

Crews of docked vessels identify yourselves to station security for escort to the docks.

Military personnel identify yourselves to security for escort to transportation.

Emergency regulations are in place.

We all head back to the transit tube leading back to the ship, as we arrive in the transport area. An announcement is then made. We approach the Security person to report to offer assistance & one of them throws a backpack into the transport tube to the North. There is an explosion, property damage & some injured people. Cyn & myself take some damage from flying debris, the security guards don't look well along with a lot of the civilians. Injured by the blast while running away, was he a fanatic? he shouted something whilst throwing the bomb. The surrounding terrain lessened the blast by the time it reached us leading to only minor damage.

Traveller Session 15

First published 12th November 2025 (Last Modified 1st September 2026)
Game Date
239-11051
Location
886-945
A map of the local jump map around Bularia
Two ships on a mars like surface. The ships are separated by a shallow canyon and overlooked by a large dark brown cliffside. The left hand ship looks like a standard type S scout ship. The right hand ship is larger and two decks in height.

The approach to the two vessels

Masuyo attempts to cycle the airlock but alas nothing, she does however discover that it is not a standard issue Imperial airlock, it has been significantly upgraded. She turns and asks me to have a look to see if I have any more luck but it seems to be beyond us for the time being. Tharbin runs a scan using the ships systems and it does not show anything unusual in the immediate area, Earl continues eastwards and rediscovers the creature at approximately 25 meters East of him which he relays to us despite the fact we cannot see it, He also takes a picture of it with Cyn's PC. Junebug tells us that Kimbley can see something as well and is quite agitated by it, so they both head towards it as well to give Earl some back up. As there is no way for us to access the ship we quickly discuss our options on what to do, meanwhile Junebug throws some chem lights towards the creatures position to see if it casts a shadow so we at least have something to target, she does catch a glimpse of it but nothing more. We remember the body lying at the base of a ladder from the ship across the canyon and decide it might be best for us to return to the ship and carry on with our mission rather than risk further injuries fighting whatever this creature is as we also don't know if there are more of them. Kimbley is straining at her collar as Junebug holds her back, it seems she is trying to defend Junebug implying the creature is indeed hostile.

Cyn gives Masuyo a hypo designed to help against Psionic powers to see if that helps her to see the creature, but it has no immediate effect, she shouts to Earl to throw some dirt over the creature to see if that helps us to see it and Junebug takes a blind shot at it letting Kimbley go in the process. Kimbley takes off towards the creature and bites it causing injury to it and Junebug chases her taking another shot at it and hitting it. Earl however misses again (methinks he needs to target practice 😉 ). Tharbin turns on the manoeuvring thruster jets to kick up dust in an effort to help but we still cant see it.

Earl yells that it is retreating again and it does appear to be injured and it has apparently left some blood behind on the ground. Masuyo lets Tharbin know we have all made it back to the ship so he opens the airlock for us and we all scramble onboard. Once inside and safe we have Tharbin take some images of the canyon and the ships and immediate surrounding area for later study. Cyn takes the injured team members and Junebug to the Med bay to document their wounds and get DNA samples and treat them. We run an Anti Hijack search for any unauthorised entries to the ship just in case any more of theses strange invisible creatures have come onboard without our knowledge. Cyn decides it is best to quarantine herself, Earl, Junebug and Kimbley in the Med bay for the time being.

We take the ship to 500 meters above the surface to carry out our survey, it is an Earth equivalent sized planet, we take all the usual samples soil, air, water for testing. We run the mapping program and continue with the full survey.

Earl searches the computer for any reports or legends and myths for indigenous lifeforms on the planet but comes up blank on all counts, nothing to be found no strange reports or occurrences. We change the planets classification to E833, 0 Population, 0 Law, 0 Tech2 there is no sentient life on the planet (at least as far as we can tell from the scans etc. our experience is quite another thing) there is some plant life.

We check the photo Earl took of the creature and distance does not change our perception of the creature, we still can't see it even in the photo.

Masuyo asks for some clarification on some points, The Imperial ship is it Standard? From a distance yes, but up close it has been significantly modified with advanced tech, the engines are also uprated.

The other ship is 200 tons, streamlined needle formation, possibly a courier vessel, she asks again if any of us have every see a ship of the configuration before, we agree that we are not certain at this time, but it does appear to be more Zhodani than Darrian based upon Masyo's knowledge.

Masuyo speculates that there may be some connection with the 3rd Imperium worlds Goethe, Emape, Mirriam, Jone and Karin, which are all Amber worlds.

Warning: Information regarding an individual's psionic ability is confidential, and may not be released without consent.

Warning: Use of this test is NOT conclusive proof of psionic ability, skills or use.

Warning: Use of psionic abilities is illegal anywhere within Imperial Space unless sanctioned by §SO1.6.112

Replacement test kits can be requested using form IISS952432

Warning text on the Psionic test kits3

Cyn runs tests while in quarantine and there are unfortunately inconclusive, but show them all to physically fit, I am not so sure about their mental health however. Psionic testing may be required, but this will need to be kept off the records as great efforts have been made to suppress Psionics within the Imperium. Cyn tells us what she is planning and we all agree to the tests, these are just basic tests, Earl and myself both show a similar levels of genetic traces of psionic abilities, but only potential at the moment as neither of us has had any training, Cyn and Junebug both have slight indications of potential psionic abilities, Masuyo and Tharbin do not show any signs of potential and finally Chase is somewhere in between.

Footnotes

  1. Mid-afternoon Imperial Standard Time and Local Time
  2. GM: Interestingly, I've now seen three different Universal Planetary Profiles (UPP) for 886-945, E800000-0 from the original Supplement 3, E833000-0 from the later Imperial Atlas, the current published Mongoose material and on travellermap.com, and E883000-0 on the traveller wiki (which I suspect is a typo of some kind!)
  3. Ten kits were part of the standard scout service medical supplies on board Vagabond's Hope

Traveller Session 7

First published 4th May 2025 (Last Modified 1st September 2026)
Game Date
150-1105
Location
567-908
A map of the local jump map around 567-908
Deck Plan for the remains of the Vigilant Star. The deck plan is based on that of a Type A2 far trader, but the lower deck has been cut by a spherical cut with only the rear of the vessel still present. The upper deck is intact as it was entirely within the sphere

Deck Plan of the remains of the Vigilant Star (click on the plan for a larger version)

After boarding the launch and exiting Vagabonds Hope we make our way to the location of the Vigilant Star, and as we approach we see that the entire front section of the ship appears to have been sheared off and we can see into some of the staterooms on board. We hail the ship as SOP, but get no response. It appears that we will have to use our Vacc Suits to get to the other ship as there are no hatches for us to connect to. We get the launch into position and fire a magnetic grappler over to anchor the tether and then we make our way across, I communicate to Cyndariel to stay on standby whilst we make an initial re-con of the other ship. Cyndariel the relays our plan and current position to our own crew aboard the Vagabonds Hope.

I am first to attach my line and make my way across followed by Earl, we enter into a cabin. it is in reasonable condition, a piece of paper floats away from our passage so i grab it and it shows the flight plans of the Vigilant Star. We are in the cabin of Niamon Eirak and the paper has the Jump calculations the he has made. I take a copy of it and send it to Tharbin to see if he can give any more information on it.

In the cabin of Niamon Eirak can be found calculations for jumps:

Jump Calculations:
  • Mizen-fel to Prinx
  • Prinx to Yiktor
  • Yiktor to Rushu
  • Rushu to Attica
  • Attica to Retinae
  • Retinae to Faisal
  • Faisal to Dekalb
  • Dekalb to Winston
  • Winston to Terant 340
  • Terant 340 to Jacent
  • Jacent to Rorre
  • Rorre to Darrian
  • Darrian to Ator
  • Ator to Flammarion

In the meantime Earl has continued to explore and finds some cargo containers and I make my way along the outside of the ship to see if i can find any other access points we missed on our initial pass with the Launch. We get a call from Masuyo telling us to be exceedingly careful and stay in a group if at all possible so I make my way back into the ship to regroup with Earl and I also ask for Cyndariel and Junebug to join us at their earliest convenience. Cyndariel suits up and joins us right away but Junebug is tied up with something else and will join us as soon as she is free. We do have gravity on board with a vacuum but no power. With both Earl and I in the cargo area we can cover more space quickly and make short work of that exploration. The crates weigh a few hundred kilos each and most of them have a lot of stickers all over them with various destinations but the majority of them are destined for Flammarion. Thankfully the grav plates are still functioning but the Atmosphere has vented out into space. On her way to us Cyndariel has found an engineers cabin, determined by the debris floating around inside. Earl suddenly comes across another cargo container but this one is very different from the others, there is no location label and there is no obvious method to get into the crate. We spot some airlocks south of our position so we approach and find an iris lock, as there is no power Earl accesses the manual override to get it open, we find the engine room on the other side which has the dead engineer and a terminal which seems to have some power. I access the terminal and a name pops up CAPTAIN KEALIN VEXAR of the BLACK SWAN, I read it out and Earl instantly recognises the name.

[BVR TRANSCRIPT]

[VIGILANT STAR, BRIDGE VOICE RECORDER, ENTRIES]

00:01:45 - CAPTAIN'S VOICE: "Alright, crew, we're nearly at the jump point for Flammarion, start powering up the jump emitters..."

00:02:15 - FIRST OFFICER'S VOICE: "Captain, incoming vessel bearing 270, range 5000 meters. Identified as pirate corsair 'Black Swan' under Captain Kaelin Vexar's command."

00:02:30 - CAPTAIN'S VOICE: "Stand to! Prepare for defense. We'll outrun them if we have to..."

00:03:15 - ENGINEER'S VOICE: "Captain, 'Black Swan' is opening fire on our port side. We're not at the jump point yet..."

00:03:20 - CAPTAIN'S VOICE: "Don't worry about that now! Get us into Jump space!"

00:03:45 - FIRST OFFICER'S VOICE: "We've taken damage to the jump drive emitters..."

00:04:10 - CAPTAIN'S VOICE: "That's it! Make the jump anyway. We can fix the damage later."

00:04:20 - ENGINEER'S VOICE: "But, captain... we're not at the safe zone yet... The jump envelope is still forming..."

00:05:00 - CAPTAIN'S VOICE: "Do it! Just get us out of here!"

[BVR TRANSCRIPT ENDS]

[JUMP SEQUENCE INDICATOR ON BVR SHOWS INCOMPLETE FORMATION, FOLLOWED BY A BRIEF, DISJOINTED SERIES OF ENTRIES BEFORE THE RECORDING CUTS OFF]

We have all the information we can get from here for the time being so we continue to check the ship for possible survivors, Cyndariel has confirmed the cause of death was rapid decompression. The next alcove leads to a ladder to the next deck up and I make make my way up to the hatch and access the manual override to open it. in the corridor here we find sveral empty passenger cabins and Cyndariel finds the Captains cabin in which there is handwritten notes in a small notebook labelled "1105-".

Captain's Notes for 1105
A map of an area of the spinward marches showing the route recorded in the captain's log and (dotted) the jump from Ator to Flammarion for which the navigator had computed the jump coordinates

The route from the Captain's Log plus the computed jump from Ator to Flammarion). Click on the map for a larger version

Stave (Spinward Marches 0710)
Date of Departure 010-1105
Duration 4 days in-system
Purpose Stopover to celebrate Prime Day - even if we arrived on 006-1105!
Notes Shame we're on this primitive world but at least the beach is a very pleasant stopover (and the locals do have some interesting alcoholic drinks).
Terra Nova (Spinward Marches 0511)
Date of Departure 019-1105
Duration 2 days in-system
Purpose Commercial trade exchange and cargo delivery
Notes Our one stop in the Zhodani Consulate on this tour. Papers all in order and no problems negotiating for our new cargo.
Mizen-fel (Spinward Marches 0311)
Date of Departure 029-1105
Duration 3 days in-system
Purpose Routine fuelling and maintenance stopover
Notes A minor delay due to unforeseen cargo issues, but all cleared up while the fuel purifier did its work
Prinx (Spinward Marches 0212)
Date of Departure 038-1105
Duration 2 days in-system
Purpose Commercial trade exchange and cargo delivery
Notes Smooth transactions with local merchant guilds; we took on a shipment of rare, high-quality minerals from the Prinxian mines.
Yiktor (Spinward Marches 0114)
Date of Departure 046-1105
Duration 1 day in-system
Purpose Brief stopover for crew R&R
Notes A group of our crew members took part in a popular underwater sports event, which was...illuminating, to say the least.
Rushu (Spinward Marches 0215)
Date of Departure 056-1105
Duration 3 days in-system
Purpose Commercial trade exchange and cargo delivery
Notes A successful transaction with local merchant guilds; we took on a shipment of rare, exotic spices from the Rushuan plantations.
Attica (Spinward Marches 0414)
Date of Departure 064-1105
Duration 2 days in-system
Purpose Commercial trade exchange and cargo delivery
Notes Local merchants quite cagey but we made a profit from the minerals and spices.
Retinae (Spinward Marches 0416)
Date of departure 072-1105
Duration 1 day in-system
Purpose Delivery of supplies
Notes While the research remains classified (and I "don't have the required security clearance") I was asked to carry a cargo all the way to Andor (and personally deliver it to the star port on the planet's surface!). The accompanying paperwork is in order (including authorisation from the 208th Imperial Fleet). I've agreed to take the cargo but to be on the safe side I'll route via Flammarion and consult with Mr. Casarii since the penalties for violating the Imperial Interdiction are quite severe.
Faisal (Spinward Marches 0518)
Date of departure 082-1105
Duration 3 days in-system
Purpose Commercial trade exchange and cargo delivery
Notes Picked up unrefined ores for Dekalb. A vessel of a few thousand tons spotted leaving system but no record of it present in the star port’s (hand-written!) records.
Dekalb (Spinward Marches 0618)
Date of Departure 091-1105
Duration 2 days in-system
Purpose Commercial trade exchange and cargo delivery
Notes A smooth cargo delivery - the local stevedores are very efficient!
Winston (Spinward Marches 0620)
Date of Departure 099-1105
Duration 1 day in-system
Purpose Brief stopover for minor repairs
Notes Jump Drive capacitors needed adjustment; Kaida reports the 'refined' fuel we bought on Dekalb had a very high concentration of Deuterium which affected the jump.
Terant 340 (Spinward Marches 0622)
Date of Departure 109-1105
Duration 3 days in-system
Purpose Commercial trade exchange and cargo delivery
Notes A successful transaction with local merchant guilds; we took on a shipment of rare, exotic spices from the Terantian plantations.
Jacent (Spinward Marches 0624)
Date of Departure 118-1105
Duration 2 days in-system
Purpose Commercial trade exchange and cargo delivery
Notes A smooth transaction with local merchant guilds; we took on a shipment of high-quality textiles from the Jacentian textile mills in exchange from the spices from Terant 340.
Rorre (Spinward Marches 0526)
Date of Departure 126-1105
Duration 1 day in-system
Purpose Brief stopover for crew R&R
Notes We allowed our crew members to take part in a popular recreational activity, which provided some much-needed relaxation.
Darrian (Spinward Marches 0627)
Date of Departure 136-1105
Duration 3 days in-system
Purpose Commercial trade exchange and cargo delivery
Notes A successful transaction with local merchant guilds; we took on a shipment of rare, exotic minerals from the Darrian mines in exchange for the Jacent textiles (though the profit margin on the textiles was quite low).
Ator (Spinward Marches 0729)
Date of Departure 145-1105
Duration 2 days in-system
Purpose Commercial trade exchange and cargo delivery
Notes A smooth transaction with local merchant guilds; we took on a three ton shipment of redundant electronic components. They may be scrap but the shipyards at Flammarion's highport will pay enough for them for us to make a significant profit.

I open the iris valve to the common area which has another empty cabin, I come across another body which i search for ID and request Cyndariel have a look at the body, again cod is rapid decompression. She was Elara Aurora a courier from the Federation of Arden on her way to Iderate, there is no indication as to why she was aboard this ship. was she working to pay her passage, she is carrying encrypted documents on her which we decide to take with us. The Captains cabin also had an encrypted crystal which we also take with us. throughout our entire search we have not found a shipping manifest. Junebug has finally made it on board with us as as she approaches the strange create she has bad feeling about it. Having found no survivors we contact the Vagabonds Hope to request they put in a salvage claim for us so we can tow the wreckage back into the range of the plant and scavenge what we can from the derelict.

We get back aboard our Launch and set up the tow to get the Vigilant star onto orbit around 567-908, as we begin we get confirmation that our salvage claim is successful, it will take around one day for us the get it into a rough geosynchronous orbit over the settlement. Masuyo requests that we load the unmarked cargo crate onto the Launch and to take any and all suspicious materials down to surface with us. We get the Vigilant Star into a relatively stable orbit. Masuyo and Tharbin traced the route of the Star back to Zodani Space skirting Querion Darrian - it appears that a mis jump brought them to 567-908 and this is what caused the ship to be sheared apart. After landing Junebug tells us all about the bad feeling she has around the crate but cant explain why it make her feel this way so she asks those of us affected by the singers performance aboard the Liner to get close and see if we also get the same reaction and now that we have to time to focus on it we do in fact get the same strange feeling around it. What is inside? we need to get it open.

We drop off the cargo we picked up from Walston and Masuyo is offered a strange crystal for 2,750 from our cargo takings so she buys it. When she gets back she asks me to take a look at the maneuver drive to see if I can coax some more power out of it, i make moderately successful attempt it's not 100% but it is an improvement. Earl suggests the Junebug have Kimbley take a sniff at the strange container and she suspects that he is also having a strange reaction to it

Vagabonds Hope is refuelled and ready to go, all salvage has been recovers and loaded. we make our Jump successfully and continue our training from the previous jump.

Player Note: Chase

Noticed something odd in the Captains Log - mention of some research that was classified. Captain mentions they were asked to carry cargo to Andor, and deliver it personally to the star port - authorised by the 208th Imperial Fleet.

Worth having a quiet word with Mr Casarii when we get back Flammarion as he is also mentioned in the Captains log??

Mongoose Traveller V2 Trade Plugin Details

First published 8th September 2025 (Last Modified 26th August 2026)

Description

This plugin adds a shortcode to add information about trading from a starport

  • Version: 3.380.0
  • Author: David Vines
  • Last Updated: 2026-09-01T15:26:38Z
  • Requires WordPress Version: 4.0 or higher
  • Tested up to: 7.1
  • License: Contains materials from Mongoose which are used by following the Mongoose fair use policy. The code elements were written solely by myself.

    The Traveller game in all forms is owned by Mongoose Publishing. Copyright 1977 - 2024 Mongoose Publishing. Traveller is a registered trademark of Mongoose Publishing. Mongoose Publishing permits web sites and fanzines for this game, provided it contains this notice, that Mongoose Publishing is notified, and subject to a withdrawal of permission on 90 days notice. The contents of this site are for personal, non-commercial use only. Any use of Mongoose Publishing’s copyrighted material or trademarks anywhere on this web site and its files should not be viewed as a challenge to those copyrights or trademarks. In addition, any program/articles/files on this site cannot be republished or distributed without the consent of the author who contributed it.

    In particular note that this page explicitly does not grant consent to republish or distribute this plugin.

Change Log

3.380.0 - 01 September 2026

Support dark mode

3.359.0 - 16 August 2026

Allow display of multiple javascript exceptions

3.345.0 - 02 August 2026

Correct typo in exception text

3.343.0 - 08 July 2026

Replace 'placeholder' in the HTML with '#' to remove 404 error reported by Simply Static

3.335.0 - 12 January 2026

Really fix the search parameters!

3.334.0 - 12 January 2026

Correctly read the URL search parameters (so that the name of the source world is actually read!

3.324.0 - 11 October 2025

Refactor: Common up some code between my plugins

3.320.0 - 01 October 2025

Typo fix: Missing semicolon confusing jshint!

3.318.0 - 12 September 2025

Bug fix: get crew details from the URL correctly

3.316.0 - 12 September 2025

Apply only the largest DM from buy and sell columns, Add hover text for the buy, sell and sell dms columns, fix travel zone DMs and law level DM

3.315.0 - 11 September 2025

Better presentation on landscape

3.314.0 - 10 September 2025

Also retrieves travel zone status

3.313.0 - 09 September 2025

  • Add lookup into travellermap.com
  • Actually compute the die modifiers!
  • Show Sell price at current location

3.312.0 - 08 September 2025

Initial Version


The information on this page was retrieved by Plugin Information Version 3.282.0.

The GK Strategem

First published 18th November 2024 (Last Modified 24th August 2026)

I'm running a new traveller campaign - pages about it can be found here:

Traveller Session 26

First published 24th August 2026
Game Date
308-1105
Location
Elixabeth → Grote → Smoug
A map of the local jump map around 567-908

The Hope is orbiting Elixabeth, can we go to the surface to refuel from the sea​?

The Anya Vaska is heading to last known location of freighters along with the Zairlur. They have been warned by Masuyo not to trust them. Meanwhile Earl orders Chase to head for the surface, and the rest of the crew to carry out any and all repairs: I look into what needs to be done.

Why are the Imperial ships here? Reason is Viscount wanted more information and was doing a Tour of the area around edge of Third Imperium, which has been getting raided recently, but no raiders here now. He was given two ships as an escort, but everything seems too convenient about the whole situation as we don't have much information on the Viscount. We decide to put down on the surface of the water as it is tidally locked, we land closer to the desert edge of the water. We take on enough to refuel for a Jump 2: We are discussing our next move and where we are going. We think the best option is to head back into the Imperium, the only thing left to decide where we want to finish up?

The Anya Vaska is launching small ships towards the freighters and Zairlur is launching fighters to act as cover for them. The Anya Vaska has arrived in position and the freighters launch missiles, which is not unexpected by us. Most of the small craft are out of action, the Anya Vaska is badly damaged but fires one final shot and takes out one of the freighters. Jump points are forming, a number of ships are emerging from the Jump points, but the radio chatter suggests they are not friendly.

A space battle showing two large starships with many fighters in the fight. The large vessel in the foreground is suffering significant to its leading starboard side.

The Zairlur under attack

We have enough fuel on board for refining and we lift off and head off for the pole to put the planet between us and the ships coming into system. A 100,000 ton ship (which was at Iderati), two 20,000 ton ships and a host of smaller ships ranging in size, the ships are Zhodani. We launch on our planned course to leave system towards Grote. Active scans are being carried out over last half an hour before we Jump. No other Jump capable ships around Elixabeth. The Anya Vaska is a complete wreck. The 3,000 ton freighters no longer exist, One of the 20,000 ton ships is very badly damaged as is the Zairlur, the other 20,000 ton ships looks to carrying out a boarding action overlooked by the 100,000 ton ship1.

Captain Earl receives a message from Vexar. We make a successful Jump. The Captain decides our final destination will depend on what happens when we arrive at Grote, then adjourns the meeting. We have an impromptu celebration for our escape.

A small amount of activity in the system as we arrive, a couple of 200 ton ships in system, one is about to leave and the other is in orbit around Grote. The decision is made to go to the Star Port to get refined fuel. Masuyo contacts SP control to request permission to land, which is given, There are several incoming messages offering us fuel, we choose the closest one to our landing pad. 20,000 credits for the fuel. A very gentle landing ensues. There seems to be no real organisation at the SP and it takes a while to get the fuel line connected. Masuyo and Tharbin arrange a meeting with SP manager to pass on the news of the conflict Masuyo stays behind but Junebug goes along for added security, Earl loans Junebug his slug pistol.

The air raft arrives to take them to their meeting, Tharbin asks Junebug to secure the area and keep an eye on things. Tharbin tells the SP manager about what happened at Elixabeth and we felt it was necessary to pass the information to at least alert them of the potential danger. He asks about the Viscount, a flicker of recognition at the name but denies any knowledge of him passing through. Is anyone heading to Marastan any time soon, so we can forward a message to them, but they only get things in regularly from Mithras, essential supplies. Can we send a data package? We can email a message using the automated messaging service installed at every SP. SP manager unaware of a war going on. Asking SP manager not to broadcast any messages until after we leave. He wishes us a pleasant onward journey. Tharbin leaves with Junebug. Tharbin comms the Hope that the people here have no idea what is going on.

Refuelling is complete team were reasonably efficient. Our next Jump destination is Smoug and we successfully make the Jump.

Footnotes

  1. GM's note: As the Vagabond's Hope prepared to jump it did observe a small (400 ton) vessel depart rapidly (6G) from the Zairlur and which jumped almost as soon as it reached the safe jump radius from Elixabeth. Its high speed and preventive manoeuvres prevented the invading ships from incepting it.

Traveller Message Tracker

First published 2nd August 2026 (Last Modified 9th August 2026)

Loading and Computing routes


DJV's Traveller Message Tracker Plugin Version 3.380.0. For details on the assumptions made by the tracker see the description at Traveller News/Email tracker Plugin Details.

Traveller News/Email tracker Plugin Details

First published 2nd August 2026

Description

This plugin adds a shortcode to allow a user to save messages sent from a system in the Spinward Marches and to display what messages have arrived at the same system. The messages are saved in the user's browser and do not leave it.

The following assumptions are made:

  • Only covers the Spinward Marches (plus Capital and Zhdant)
  • X-boats jumps take 7 days, but don't jump further than the next system on the route even if a further system is within Jump-4
  • If two systems are Jump-3 apart then add together the population stats from their UWPs. If the total is more than 17 it's a day for a message to find a ship making the jump. If the total is more than 13, it's 23 days to find a ship and otherwise these systems only get a ship once a year. (It's worth noting here that we ignore travel code status (assume that the ship is a supply vessel of some sort) and the value of 14 allows Andory and Candory to be connected to Wonstar.
  • If two systems are Jump-2 apart then again add together the population stats from the their UWPs. Between 15 and 20 it's a day to find a ship. Between 11 and 14 it's 8 days to find a ship and otherwise it's 53 days to find a ship. (if both systemss have an A class starport that overrides the population total and we assume it's a day to find a ship)
  • If two systems are Jump-1 apart then yet again add toegther the population stats from their UWPs. If the total is more than 10 it's a day to find a ship, if the total is between 5 and 10, it's 8 days to find a ship, and otherwise it's 23 days. However the starports are also checked. If either starport is an X class starport it's 83 days to find a ship and if that's not the case but one of the starports is an A starport it's just a day to find a ship.
  • Once a ship is found it takes 7 days to make the jump and transfer any messages
  • Capital is 500 days via X-boats from the Trailing edge of the Spinward Marches. Zhdant is 255 days from Errere
  • Version: 3.380.0
  • Author: David Vines
  • Last Updated: 2026-09-01T15:26:38Z
  • Requires WordPress Version: 4.0 or higher
  • Tested up to: 7.1
  • License: Contains materials from Mongoose which are used by following the Mongoose fair use policy. The code elements were written solely by myself.

    The Traveller game in all forms is owned by Mongoose Publishing. Copyright 1977 - 2024 Mongoose Publishing. Traveller is a registered trademark of Mongoose Publishing. Mongoose Publishing permits web sites and fanzines for this game, provided it contains this notice, that Mongoose Publishing is notified, and subject to a withdrawal of permission on 90 days notice. The contents of this site are for personal, non-commercial use only. Any use of Mongoose Publishing’s copyrighted material or trademarks anywhere on this web site and its files should not be viewed as a challenge to those copyrights or trademarks. In addition, any program/articles/files on this site cannot be republished or distributed without the consent of the author who contributed it.

    In particular note that this page explicitly does not grant consent to republish or distribute this plugin.

Change Log

3.380.0 - 01 September 2026

Support dark mode

3.360.0 - 16 August 2026

If the received times are equal sort by sent times

3.357.0 - 09 August 2026

Bug fix - Broken message saving!

3.356.0 - 09 August 2026

Bug fix - ship jumps cause loop when calculating route after the initial starting point for a message

3.355.0 - 09 August 2026

Ensure all possible jumps are recorded (Some systems in the left (spinward) side of the map weren't correctly connected)

3.354.0 - 09 August 2026

Allow a Jump-3 once a year - normally this will be overtaken by Jump-1 or Jump-2 ships but some worlds have only Jump-3 neighbours - this connnects those worlds as well

3.353.0 - 09 August 2026

Add support for player ship jumps that also take messages (and can overtake the normal message transmissions)

3.352.0 - 08 August 2026

Code rework, Add edit button (Can only edit the body of messages, not the subject), rework route finding

3.351.0 - 04 August 2026

Bug Fix

3.350.0 - 04 August 2026

Add Egyrn and Pax Rulin subsectors

3.349.0 - 03 August 2026

Add XBoat skip routes in the Sword Worlds as well. Change time for Zhodani, Darrian and Sword Worlds XBoat routes to a total of 8 days since, technically, they are just trade routes rather than XBoat routes

3.348.0 - 03 August 2026

Adjust styling and add Xboat routes that jump intermediate stops (but still limited to Jump-4 of course)

3.346.0 - 02 August 2026

Fix slug

3.345.0 - 02 August 2026

Initial Version - pre-alpha


The information on this page was retrieved by Plugin Information Version 3.282.0.