2012-03-16

Traveller Adventure: Heading Off-World

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A September of Short Adventures
Heading Off-World

An adventure for Classic Traveller Little Black Books set on Elysium, a TL8 agrarian world. (Return to the Traveller Adventure Cover Page.)

Summary
Sooner or later, the characters will want or need to leave Elysium. Here's what most Travellers would be interested in before they clear the atmosphere.

Background
From the information gained in the Dossier on the Pandora Research Facility, the characters would probably want to travel to Pandora or to Elysium-7 (unofficially nicknamed Stygia). Even if they're heading completely out of the system, they'll still need to take care of a few things before leaving

Adventure
Classic Traveller: Books 0-8
Passengers - Heading offworld from Elysium holds its appeal for those who want a little higher-tech action. The characters can typically find 2d-1d Low Passengers, 1d-1 Middle Passengers, and 1d-2 High Passengers at any given time. The Regional Capital of Corinth draws the most passengers by far, and it's only a Jump-2 away. Use a DM of -1 to each passenger roll for destinations other than Corinth, and a DM of -2 to each roll for Dilmun with its sparsely populated scientific and mining outposts.

Cargo - The most common cargo export from Elysium contains food. Fruit, Grains, Meat, and Spices are abundant on Elysium. Cargoes of Liquor, Textiles, and Wood are commonly available as well. Firearms are illegal and will never be available as cargo. Computers, Electronics, Machinery, and all sorts of Parts are in high demand on Elysium (DM +2 on the selling price table in addition to the Agricultural world DM) so they will almost never be found as available cargo. Textiles, Body Armor, and Vacc Suits from the Vesper Textile Company will be available at a discount to the characters if they helped with Fixing the Factory, but outside the scope of this adventure arc since the Vesper family needs at least a week or two to ramp up production again.

Trapping Permit for Stygia - Characters planning on stopping at Stygia to look for Quartz Leopards will not be able to land without a Visitor's Pass, and will be prevented from taking any life form off the planet without a Trapping Permit. The Visitor's Pass to the Stygian Exotic Game Preserve costs 500Cr and takes about 15 minutes to process in the Downport customs office. It is valid for one week, and it comes with a booklet warning of the dangers of attack by predators, the need for protection from the -120 degree temperatures, and some way to breathe in the extremely thin atmosphere.

A Trapping Permit costs 2.5kCr and takes 3 days to process. It remains valid for one week from the date of issue and will be scrupulously checked by the patrol boats constantly in orbit around Stygia. Admin, Bureaucracy, and Liason skills can each be used to shave a day off the processing time by throwing a 10+ (DM +Skill). Bribery could also speed up the process by a day if the character throws 10+ (DM +Skill), but if it fails (by throwing a 5-) the lawbreaking character may no longer be eligible for a Trapping Permit.

Travel Times - It'll take a half hour to clear the atmosphere, and another 1.5 hours to reach the minimum safe jump distance if heading out of the system. Travelling in-system from Elysium to either Pandora or Stygia takes another 3-4 hours. The trip between Stygia and Pandora takes 4-6 hours.

Nearby systems include Pendar (TL 7, Rich, Non-Agricultural, Jump-1), Dilmun (TL 10, Science and Mining Outposts, Jump-2), Corinth (TL 12, Regional Capital, Jump-2), and Radagast (TL 11, Industrial, Jump-3)

Further Hooks
The characters will have their share of trouble if they don't buy a Trapping Permit for their trip to Stygia, or if they try to bluff their way into Pandora without a Quartz Leopard in their hold. There are also a couple of random encounters to deal with detailed in Will urchins never cease? and Wait, we have Ore Slugs in the hold? (forthcoming).

Return to the Traveller Adventure Cover Page.


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