Colonial Times 2 (11265659)

COLONIAL TIMES
THE JOURNAL FOR THE 2300AD SCI-FI ROLE-PLAYING GAME
STATION ALPHA
A STATION WITH DECKPLANS AT THE EDGE OF THE DARK
‘OPERATION BACK DOOR’ PART ONE

PATRON: MONIQUE ROUSSEL
BELTER!: MINING THE RUBBLE OF DEEP SPACE
ARMS OF ‘THE INTREPID ARROWS’: POLICE WEAPONS IN MANCHURIA
YOUR WORLD: NEWS FROM THE CORE & THE COLONIES
2 AUTUMN 2013
STYGIAN FOX
Paul May (Order #11265659)

STYGIAN FOX

CONTENTS
4 SIGNALS FROM THE DEEP DARK Writers
Colin Dunn, Steff. J Worthington,
5 EDITORIAL Dave Elrick, Chuck Gannon,
RM Rhodes, Mark Lucas, Pookie.
6 ‘OPERATION BACK DOOR’
MULTI-PART ADVENTURE Artists
BY CHARLES E GANNON Mark Lucas, Steff. J Worthington,
PART 1: ‘THE CAT’S FEET Luca A. Volpino, Scott Richard,
OR CAT’S PAW?’ Adrian Thomassen, RazorCandi,
Angelcurioso, Laurent Esmiol,
NaviStock, KnightFlyte96, Itano-
27 PATRON: MONIQUE ROUSSEL
A JOI BASED PATRON Stock, desideriasp-stock,
BY DAVE ELRICK Neville D’Souza,
Vitaly-Sokol, Gavin Dady,
‘Hameed, NASA, Colin Dunn,
31 ON DECK: STATION ALPHA-14
A MODULAR RESEARCH
Rita Marifoldi, rafalhyps,
Rodrigo Rojas Britez, riktorsashen,
SPACE STATION
pimpmygun.doctornoob.com
ARTICLE BY MARK LUCAS
Cover art:
43 BELTERS!
HARDY FOLK IN THE
‘Matte Future City 121611’
by Scott Richard
RUBBLE OF SPACE http://rich35211.deviantart.com/
ARTICLE BY RM RHODES
Direction & Editing
49 ARMS OF ‘THE INTREPID ARROWS’
ARTICLE ON WEAPONS OF
Steff. J. Worthington
THE MANCHURIAN POLICE

Copyright
FORCE BY COLIN DUNN All contents are ©2013 by their respective
creators. 2300AD is a trademark of Mongoose
Publishing for their science fiction roleplay-
55 YOUR WORLD
NEWS ROUNDUP FROM
ing game. Colonial Times is a trademark of
Stygian Fox for its magazine of sci-fi roleplay-
THE CORE & COLONIES ing and futuristic design and is published to
an irregular, but charming, schedule.
BY STEFF WORTHINGTON ‘Ashen Stars’ is copyright Pelgrane Press Ltd.
60 POOKIE’S POCKET: ASHEN STARS

SCI-FI GAMES REVIEW
Submissions
info@stygianfox.com
Contact
62 CONTRIBUTORS DETAILS
steff@stygianfox.com
Colonial Times is a magazine dedicated to the science fiction RPG ‘2300AD’. ‘2300AD’
is copyright 2012 Mongoose Publishing. This free fan based magazine is not for sale
and is a work of fiction. No similarities to real world people or events are intended.

SIGNALS FROM THE
DEEP DARK
TOPICS BEING DISCUSSED ON FACEBOOK, G+, AND ELSEWHERE
FACEBOOK GOOGLE+
Mark Lucas Mr Teufel Esquire
Interestingly the first time I saw Based on a conversation in FB

the concept of supporting airborne (which I can’t access at the mo-
drones were those tethered drones ment):
on the 2300AD tanks. I’m guess-
ing by 2300 we’d see re-purposed Given the history of 2300AD, how
insects carrying true ‘nano’ cam- would English print and language
eras... change? I’d say French would have
For the benefit on the non-UK a greater influence; perhaps the dif-
members, Sgt Boyd is sport- ference between Commonwealth
ing the beloved ‘Geordie’ accent and American spellings would be
of the North East of England. merged. Emoticons might become
accepted punctuation in formal
Army test next generation nano communications. And colonies
drone - the Black Hornet that have been set up more than a
century ago would already be de-
http://youtu.be/d5TdbMu8xc4 veloping audible accents and, if not
dialects, local slang. If a character
Robert Moore comes from a world that has a col-
ony from a non-anglophone coun-
Does Nicholas Ruffin (Nicholas I) try, they may litter their speach
need a biography or is he best (un) with words from that language.
defined as an “everyman” figure,
depicted as required for whatever
style of French Empire that’s want- Michael Thomas
ed for a setting?
For those of you that don’t yet
Ian Stead know, there is an officially sanc-
tioned conversion document for
Quick question. Has there ever 2300AD on the Basic Roleplaying
been a logo created for Bridgeport Central website.
Swift?
http://b asicroleplay ing .com/
downloads.php?do=file&id=387

EDITORIAL
n occasion, with people who feel much loved ‘Blue Planet’ RPG. A
passionate about something, blood water world with varied aquatic life
pressure can rise and sometimes (which I suitably placed at the bor-
flare up into disagreements and der of Human and Pentapod space
outright slagging matches. Some- at DM+27 28217), Human settlers,
times it’s hard to keep perspective and a touch of the unusual in the
and objectivity when something form of a native sentience that can
you hold in high esteem is called have a weird effect on Humanity. A
into question. little spot of paradise at the end of
the French Arm.
2300AD is not immune to this be-
cause this game, more than some, The truth of the ‘Canon Debate’ is
is unique enough to grow a devot- that, at the heart of it, it’s a spec-
ed number of fans who prefer it to trum of opinion with no one be-
stay the same over the years (minus ing at the ends. Virtually no one
some cosmetic advancements). is 100% canon (unless all they’ve
I’m one of these fans. run are published adventures) and
no one is 100% variant (then it
On the 2300AD facebook page wouldn’t be 2300AD at all).
much has been said, argued, shout-
ed, and bitched about ‘canon’. That When we argue about posting vari-
solid black line where nothing ant or canon material we should
changes for a particular setting. really ask ourselves why we get up-
set at the criticism and even if we
Or does it? should. We should check whether
we feel it’s the subject matter or the
A lot has been posted to the post that is getting the criticism, or
2300AD page that is not canon. whether we feel it’s being aimed at
new ships, different star maps with us personally. Despite the views of
different routes, new weapons and others I don’t mind variant info as
vehicles, and yet when the subject long as it doesn’t become a major-
comes up either side seems willing ity of the page or become all that’s
to shout across this seemingly large posted. As long as there is a slight
divide that their view of the O23U tip in the balance of posts towards
is paramount, almost sacrosanct, canon I don’t mind what’s posted as
and that’s that. long as it’s relevant.
However, all is not as it seems. I The truth of the matter is we are, all
may be known as the ‘Crusader of us, ‘mostly canon’.
of Canon’, to quote a well mean-
ing Facebook contact, but my 23U
also contains the world of Posei- Steff. J. Worthington
don from FASA’s excellent and Editor 5

OPERATION BACK DOOR
THE COMPLETE ADVENTURE BY CHARLES E. GANNON
EPISODE I : CAT’S FEET OR CATSPAW?

An introduction After two successive Kafer offensives Operation Back Door is set shortly after
into human space, it may finally be time the last phase of the Kafer offensive into
For many geeks, movie
buffs, and fanboys &
to take the fight back to them. But first human space that was mounted by the
girls we often wonder there may be a little trail-blazing to do Kafer Suzerain Triumphant Destiny.
‘What if?’. I’m not talk- and a new alien race to meet --all inside Although Triumphant Destiny was de-
ing about the alternate Kafer space. feated and killed, humanity is sure (cor-
realities of Philip K. rectly so) that the Kafers will be back
Dick or Harry Turtle- OPERATION BACK DOOR is a three- before too long. Consequently, Earth
dove but those precious episode 2300AD adventure that is de- and its colonies are entering a critical
comic books, tv shows, signed for a group of 3-6 players with phase of political reconsolidation as
and games that got considerable skill diversity, although they attempt to hammer out a workable
cancelled way before some level of skill in ship operations joint response to the Kafer Threat.
their time (I still weep
is advisable for all. These characters
over Firefly & Pushing
Daisies - sniff!)
should no longer be `in’ a career per se, While not strictly necessary, it is rec-
but working as `freelancers’ of one sort ommended that the referee own the
In gaming terms the or another. 2300 AD modules KAFER SOURCE-
path to success has been BOOK, and INVASION, as well as the
littered with books that Operation Back Door is written in a STAR CRUISER rules. These resources
never made it and ad- format consistent with the scene struc- will add depth and enjoyment to the
ventures we could’ve had. ture suggested in the Director’s Guide situations presented in ‘Operation Back
Most of the time it’s just of the 2300 AD rules set. In this case, Door’.
conjecture but here, on each scene is named and is described
the following pages and in terms of location and the basic ac- Lastly, during the course of this first
issues, we have ‘Opera-
tion that occurs. Because of the scope of episode, the characters will visit a num-
tion Back Door’, Chuck
Gannon’s adventure into
the adventure, specific statements and ber of stellar systems that have not been
the Kaefer Sphere. It definitions of tasks have been limited to outlined in any 2300 AD materials. In-
rests here, complete for a bare minimum. The referee must as- formation for each system is included
the first time, thanks to sign all other tasks, their difficulty rat- which provides all the data needed for
Chuck’s kind permission. ing, and modifiers. The adventure can subsequent adventures in these regions.
be expanded into a mini-campaign with All planets in each system are defined
- Steff ease, and referees will be advised how to in terms of orbital order, AU distance
accomplish this at various points during from their parent star, world type and
6 the course of the adventure. core, diameter in kilometers, and den-

sity. From this data, all other necessary
information can be extrapolated.

PROLOGUE IN THROUGH THE BACK Fuel Purification
DOOR As players of both

This adventure begins on November 2300AD and Star
30, 2302. The Kafers have been re- Cruiser are aware,
soundingly defeated at the Battle of On September 23, 2302, famed Australian
there is a discrepancy
Beowulf (Queen Alice’s Star) about astronomer Helen Asweath discovered
between the 2 rules sets
four months ago (see the INVASION evidence of a brown dwarf in a fairly bar- in so far as the ratings
supplement for more complete details). ren region of space just beyond the Amer- and requirements of fuel
Since then, as a tired and unnerved hu- ican Arm. However, the strategic initia- purification systems are
manity has regrouped and studied the tive made possible by the position of her concerned. To resolve
events of the Kafer Conflict, increasing findÂ�BD (Brown Dwarf)-111 094307-sent this, the following com-
dissatisfaction with the de facto French a shock wave through the command staffs promise is suggested:
leadership has been growing in most of America, Germany, and Australia. BD-
111094307’s astrographic location offered As per 2300AD, each
nations. fuel cracking plant
units from the American Arm apath ena-
bling them to end-run the current French requires 1 solar array
Only a few months ago, the overall to power it, not the 10
military command structure was shak- Arm salient of the Kafer conflict. Instead,
solar arrays required by
en up from top to bottom, with Brit- units using the route that passed through Star Cruiser. Also, each
ish Admiral Charles Graham now in BD-111 094307 could enter the rear flank purifier produces 1 ton
overall command. of suspected Kafer space by emerging at of fuel every 8 hours, not
system SS-27 6854. every 10 hours (which
The most decorated and daring units of is the rate delineated by
the Kafer war were Germans, Ameri- This attack from the rear option helped to Star Cruiser). This pro-
give BD-111 094307 its lasting nickname- duces a weekly output
cans, and Australians, whose contri-
it was indeed the back door into Kafer from a continously oper-
butions to humanity’s narrow victory ating plant of 21 tons of
were much weightier than the forces space. The stir created by the discovery of
Back Door was strong enough to prompt fuel (an even 3 per day),
these nations had been able to commit which falls fairly close to
to the fray. In many cases, --such as at a series of secret meetings that resulted in
the 23 tons per week in
Adlerhorst and Tithonus-- the units the formal declaration of an alliance be- 2300AD.
of these nations had provided shining tween America, Australia, and Germany
--and rare-- examples of international (dubbed the Alderhorst Alliance by the However, when making
cooperation in repulsing the Kafers. press). The leaders of the member nations mass and volume allow-
quickly appointed an integrated com- ances for the plant, be
These battle-forged bonds were not mand staff to explore the strategic oppor- sure to add on the vol-
ume and weight of the
forgotten in the ensuing months. tunities afforded by the (as of yet undis-
solar array separately.
American, German, and Australian closed) discovery of BD-111 094307. Note that in MGT2300
commanders continued to work to- fuel needs depend on
gether, share intelligence, and look for Non-Kafers on Kafer Ships: what kind of engine you
opportunities that emphasized joint have and in all versions
operations. It was at the first meeting of this inte- of 2300AD, fuel can be
grated command staff that AIA (Ameri- gained by cracking ice
The AAEC’s (Australian-American can Intelligence Agency) Deputy Direc- and water from ‘local’
Exploratory Council) confidential tor Shamus Larkin started the morning sources but not by skim-
discovery of the brown dwarf BD-111 with yet another information bombshell. ming gas giants as per
094307 in late September2302 1aid just AIA forensics experts had just discovered, the main Traveller rules.
such an opportunity on the collective along with their counterparts from Brit-
7
doorstep of these three new allies. ain’s MI-5, signs of a non-Kafer species
on board the wreckage of an Improved
Alpha-class battleship that had been bat-

NPC Dossiers tered into nonfunctioning junk at the equipment was known for being brutish,
Battle of Beowulf. The clues recovered rugged, and effective, but it could hardly
Helen Asweath were fairly sparse, mostly food and be considered of sophisticated or elegant
(2300ad) body tissue that had literally been dis- design. And that was how human com-
corporated by explosions and drilled puter experts viewed the Kafer comput-
Position: Communica-
into nearby plastic components. ers. It didn’t add up.
tions / astrophysics
Nationality: Australian
Homeworld: King As fragmentary as the evidence was, However, if the Kafers had enslaved,
Gravity: High however, it was tremendously enlight- or worse yet, were allied to, a more ad-
Frontier/Core: Frontier ening. Of particular interest was the vanced civilization, a fusion of the two
Looks and Gender: fact that neither the food nor the cellu- races’ technologies might indeed produce
Plain female lar material had any similarity to Kafer the results that had been puzzling human
Birthdate: June 6,2270 biology. Nor did it resemble the gen- analysts for some time.
Mass: 86 kg eral biochemical composition of any
Eyesight: Excellent organic materials that had ever been It was doubted that the mystery race was
Hearing:Poor
discovered with Kafers previously. The allied to the Kafers in a coequal sense.
Body Type: Normal
food was discovered to be some sort of Kafer rejection of cooperation with non-
Throw Range:32 m
Coolness: 6 protein and vitamin enriched vegeta- Kafers was a well-documented fact. How-
Encumbrance: 32 ble paste-hardly Kafer fare. Lastly, the ever, there was no guarantee either that
Native Language: remains were discovered in two areas the mystery race would be a willing, or
English that had no control panels or weap- even grudging, ally with humanity. It was
OtherLanguages: ons. Instead, from what the naval ar- altogether possible that it now lived only
German chitects could infer from the wreck’s to serve and help its brutal and fearsome
Size: 12 overall layout, the sites where the alien Kafer overlords.
Strength: 8 remains were discovered were prob-
Dexterity: 8 ably accessways to key computer or The nations of the Alderhorst Alliance
Endurance: 5
electronic control junctions. immediately made their combined dis-
Determination: 12
coveries of Back Door and the mystery
Intelligence: 14
Eloquence: 17 Mystery Race race known to the heads of other nations.
Education: 17 The rest of the world’s leaders tended to
Consciousness: 4 Speculation immediately centered on agree with the analysis of the Adlerhorst
Life Level: 8 the existence of a mystery race which Alliance, but counseled those nations not
served the Kafers in some technical ca- to open a second front using the back
Careers: Ship’s Crew, pacity. Analysts pointed out that Kafer door-not without a global consensus.
Astronomer (Academic). supercomputers (and Kafer comput- However, it was also felt that more infor-
ers in general) were not consistent mation was needed regarding the mys-
Skills: Computer-4, with the rest of their technology. Kafer tery race and that Back Door offered the
lnformation Gather-
ideal way to attempt to scout it out.
ing-3, Bureaucracy-1 ,
Ground Vehicle-I , Com-
munication-3, Remote The heads of the Adlerhorst Alliance’s
Pilot-2, Pilot-1 , member nations responded that no sec-
Ship’s Drives-1 , Melee-1 ond front was under consideration cur-
Survival-1, P-Suit-l , rently, but that they had appropriate
Sensors-2, Writing-1 , assets on site and the area could be con-
Astronomy-6. sidered secure. The time had come for a
scouting mission through Back Door.

WHY US? conduct it. After hearing this, the charac- NPC Dossiers
ters should be fully committed to hear the
rest of what Larkin has to say. Helen Asweath
Where: Complex, DM+5 3409.
Larkin will go on to tell the group about (MGT2300)
What: Job offer for participation in
Operation Back Door. the brown dwarf known as Back Door
Position: Communica-
and the strategic significance of its loca-
tions / astrophysics
The characters should be in (or near) tion. He will also reveal that this substellar Nationality: Australian
system DM+5 3409 at the start of this object was recently discovered indepen- Homeworld: King
adventure. Once in system, they will dently by an Australian astronomer work- Gravity: High
be requested to meet with a Mr. Larkin ing in conjunction with the AAEC’s Inter- Frontier/Core: Frontier
on the small orbital port complex that System Baseline Interferometry Program. Looks and Gender:
orbits the tidally locked main world of Plain female
Erie. Once there. the PCs will be ush- Next, he will tell the PCs about the discov- Birthdate: June 6,2270
eries having to do with the mystery race, Mass: 86 kg
ered past a number of security check-
and how the Kafers may in some way be Eyesight: Excellent
points to meet with a man who intro- Hearing:Poor
duces himself as Commodore Shamus dependent upon this probably enslaved
Body Type: Normal
Larkin. In actuality, this man is theAI- species. Larkin points out the need to ex-
Encumbrance: 9
ADeputy Director in charge of security plore the usability of the back door into Native Language:
for Operation Back Door. However, he Kafer space and the strategic potential of English
and his agents are posing as naval secu- the mystery race-which might be inter- OtherLanguages:
rity specialists in order to prevent giv- ested in an alliance with humanity. This, German
ing the operation a high-importance he explains, led America, Australia, and
intelligence profile by overtly admit- Germany to decide that a joint operation Strength: 5
ting that the AIA is involved. was in order, code-named Back Door. Dexterity: 5
Endurance: 4
Larkin (a description can be found
Mission Objectives Intelligence: 8
at the end of this section) will apolo- Education: 10
gize for the mysterious summons and
express genuine appreciation for the The mission’s objectives are really quite
Skills:
characters’ willingness to comply. Lar- simple: trailblaze the path into Kafer Computer-2,
kin will remark that he came across the space, take a quick look, and then come lnvestigate-2 ,
group’s dossiers while searching for back to report. If asked why the armed Admin-1 ,
locally available troubleshooters. He forces of these nations aren’t conducting Ground Vehicle-1 ,
made special note of the party’s cre- the operation, Larkin will explain that the Comms-2,
dentials; reputations which make its militaries of the three involved countries Remote Pilot-1,
members excellent candidates for an are still mostly unaware of Operation Back Pilot-1 ,
Door. By using civilian operatives (i.e., the Engineering-1 ,
upcoming job that Larkin is currently
characters) and nonmilitary vessels, the Melee-1
hiring for. Survival-1,
navy (actually, the AIA) hopes to keep the
P-Suit-l ,
If the characters express interest, Lar- operation as sanitary as possible. Sensors-1,
kin will inform them that if he contin- Art (Writing)-1 ,
ues to divulge information, the PCs will Mission Profile Astronomy-3.
either have to agree to lead the mission
he’s outfitting or remain in protective The mission’s profile is as simple as its ob-
naval custody for a couple of months jectives. First, the group will meet with the
in order to ensure the continued con- other members of the mission team and
fidentiality of the mission. Larkin will get acquainted with the vessel they’ve all
also mention that part of the pay for been assigned. Next, the entire team will
leading the mission would be the deeds travel to DM4 4225, using a stutterwarp 9
to the ship that is going to be used to tug assist to cross the 8.286 ly distance.

Morgan Lindsdrom At this point, the ship will be refueled for any questionable or restricted equip-
(2300ad) by naval elements already in that system ment that the characters might have (and
and then continue onto L-989-20, where wish to take along). He will also be able to
Position:Helm it is advised that it refuel using native fill any reasonable equipment requests, al-
Nationa1ity:American
materials such as Jovian hydrogen or though no heavy combat gear is deemed
Homeworld: Tirane
comets. necessary. As soon as it’s ready, Larkin will
Gravity: Normal
Frontier/Core: Core The next stop is then Back Door itself, take the group on a guided tour of the ship
Looks and Gender: lying at xyz stellarcoordinates -9.0, it’ll be using for the mission. a Merkur 116
Good-looking male -43.4, -7.0. named Cat’s Feet.
Birthdate:April 7, 2267 The team will deploy a variety of orbital
Mass: 89 kg
Eyesight:Exceptional
sensors, cache a recording of the entire-
ty of the mission log at that point, and
Cat’s
Hearing:Average Body once again conduct frontier refueling.
Feet
Type:Normal The last stop on the trip will be a cau- About Shamus Larkin
ThrowRange:96m tious step into what may very well be
Coolness: 10
Kafer space-system SS Shamus Larkin is an Elite NPC. He is a dep-
Encumbrance: 50
27 6854. Here, the team is simply to look uty director in the American Intelligence
Native Language:
English around to the degree that it seems pru- Agency (which will be covered in depth in
Other Languages: dent. It will then retrace its steps back the third episode of this adventure). Larkin
French to system DM-4 3409, where it will be is 52, in fine shape, and one of the keenest
Size: 13 debriefed during a precautionary quar- minds in the American intelligence com-
Strength: 12 antine. munity.
Dexterity: 14
Endurance: 14 Larkin points out that the team has a lot As overseer of security for Operation Back
Determination: 18 of latitude within these objectives and Door, Larkin’s powers are unusually broad.
Intelligence: 13 procedures. For instance, if things in Along with his direct superiors in the AIA
Eloquence: 13
system SS-27 6854 look interesting, par- and the American Space Forces (as well as
Education: 17
ticularly if there might be a possibility their counterparts in the German and Aus-
Consciousness: 4
Life Level: 8 to gather data on the mystery race, then tralian services), Larkin is one of the less
the team can opt to stay on site and con- than 50 people who are aware of all the de-
Careers:AlA Agent tinue its reconnaissance. While it will tails of the mission.
not be essential to refuel at every system,
Skills: lnformation Larkin strongly recommends it. Frontier There is one major fact that Larkin has not
Gathering-4, FirstAid-2, refueling takes quite a bit of time, and if revealed to the characters--one of the NPC
Electronics-2, Com- the team bumps into some unfriendlies, crew that the PCs will be in command of
puter-5, Forgery-1, it will help to have already full tanks. is actually an undercover AIA agent. This
Sidearm-5, Melee-2, individual, Morgan Lindstrom, is not on
Bureaucrat-1, Stealth-2,
Danger Quotient and Payoff the mission to control, manipulate, or spy
Ship’s Drives-2, P-Suit-
upon the PCs. His primary task is to make
I, Interview-1, Ground
Vehicle-2, Psychology-1 Larkin will be completely honest about sure that no one does anything excessively
Hovercraft-1, Track- the potential dangersof the mission. He stupid and that the essential scientific per-
ing-2, Survival-2. will also be quite frank regarding how sonnel on the mission survive to conduct
Special Equipment: 1 lucrative the payoff he’s offering-a fast their studies and make their reports.
S & W ISP 106 with six hull, good cash (Lv10,000 per person),
magazines of ammuni- and plenty of fame (two to three renown Merkur IIb
tion. points) for all, once the operation and its
results are declassified. The Merkur Ilb is a joint German-Ameri-
10 Once the characters accept the offer,
Larkin will be able to provide clearances
can modification of a military variant of the
commercial Merkur design (data appeared

in Ships of the French Arm). While the The addition of the Hyde Dynamics EA-122 Morgan Lindsdrom
German all-military variant (the Ila) re- laser in a masked turret gives the Merkur (MGT2300)
tains a somewhat secret status, the Ilb is Ilb a little bite, but use of the weapon steals
designed to meet a number of wants that power from the stutterwarp drive. When Position:Helm
Nationa1ity:American
had heretofore been considered difficult, firing the laser, the ship’s warp efficiency is
Homeworld: Tirane
perhaps impossible, to deliver in a single reduced to 2.57 (move of 5, in terms of Star
Gravity: Normal
hull. Cruiser ratings). And of course, the low- Frontier/Core: Core
comfort, spinless quarters are as unappeal- Birthdate:April 7, 2267
The Kafer War has engendered a growing as ever. Mass: 89 kg
ing perception that there is an increased Eyesight:Exceptional
risk (and therefore, cost)connected with However, although the Merkur Ilb does no Hearing:Average
exploration. Consequently, interstellar one thing very well, it does reopen the gates Body Type:Normal
trailblazing has largely become a cor- for cursory small-team exploration of po- ThrowRange:96m
porate or foundation venture. Over the tentially hazardous systems. The fuel-crack- Encumbrance: 16
years, survey vessels have shown a steady ing plant can completely refuel the vessel in Languages: English,
French
increase in size and specialization. The about 19 days.
only organizations that could afford to
Strength: 7
own and operate them were the organi- While this might seem like a long layo- Dexterity: 8
zations that could directly or indirectly ver, the effective range of 7.7 LY suggests Endurance: 8
profit from any discoveries made by a maximum of about 2.5 days of operation Intelligence: 8
such vessels. between system stops. This is equal to ap- Education: 9
proximately 130 tons of fuel or, about 6.5
Unfortunately, along with the support days of fuel processing, a perfect stopover Skills:
of big business came the conservatism period in a new system that’s being given lnvestigate-2,
of big business. The German govern- a quick once-over. In short, the Merkur llb Medic-1,
ment, in cooperation with the AAEC, facilitates the more aggressive exploratory Electronics-1,
Informatics-3,
found a way to solve this dilemma-the style of the nations of the Alderhorst Alli-
Decepption-1,
Merkur llb. By giving it a laser turret, a ance. Stats for the Merkur IIb in 2300 house
Gun Cbt (slug pistol)-3,
missile tube and bay (which can also be rules and MGT appear at the end of this Melee-1,
used for deploying independent sensor part of the adventure. Admin-1,
platforms), and an integral fuel-cracking Stealth-1,
capability, the German-American de- In the likely event that there are fewer than Engineering-1,
sign team produced a vessel of modestly six PCs to crew the ‘Cat’s Feet’, simply gen- Vacc Suit-I,
increased price and vastly increased ex- erate more NPCs for inclusion in the crew. Streetwise-1,
ploratory potential in a high-threat en- The NPCs should be of Australian, Ger- Drive (wheeled)-1,
vironment. man, or American nationality (or of value Drive (Hover)-1
to those nations). Psychology-1
Recon-1,
It can hardly be denied that the Merkur
Survival-1.
llb has significant failings. With the crew Also, if the PCs have skills that needlessly
complement cut to 11, the captain/sen- duplicate the primary mission skills of one Trait: Cool Under Fire
sorworkstation and computer/gunnery or more NPCs, simply change the NPCs’
work station must be left unmanned redundant mission skill to a mission skill Special Equipment:
during the “night” watch. While these which is currently lacking. 1 S & W ISP 106 with
stations do not generally need constant six magazines of am-
manning, this situation does reduce the After their tour of the ship, Larkin will es- munition.
crew’s ability to respond with optimum cort the groupto a large, private lounge on
speed and efficiency if surprised during the uppermost level of the orbital port facil-
this watch. ity, where the rest of the team for Operation
Back Door is waiting.
11

Franchot Dumaine ly age. Her love of the stars and of new
(2300ad) NPC Back Door Team Members horizons of knowledge may have had
some roots in subconscious escapism,
Position:2nd pilot/ The following are the first impressions but by the time she was 16, it was clear
xenosapientologist
Nationa1ity:French that the PCs will receive of their NPC that she had a tremendous ability in as-
Homeworld: L-5 teammates. This introductory conver- tronomy and astrophysics. Guided by
substation sation begins in the lounge, but will an almost spooky instinct that she sim-
Gravity: Low continue over dinner. It will begin to ply shrugs off as good guessing, Helen
Frontier/Core: Core break up with Helen excusing herself, has racked up an impressive list of first
Looks and Gender: claiming fatigue, and the rest of the finds and garnered a prestigious advi-
Good-looking male gathering will leave quickly after that. sory position on the astronomy plan-
Birthdate:May 1, 2266
NPC descriptions follow, but their 2300 ning board that set the mission agenda
Mass: 82 kg
Eyesight:Average
& MGT stats will appear at the end of for the Bayern. In the years since, she
Hearing:Average
Body Type:Normal
ThrowRange:112m
HELEN
Coolness: 5
Encumbrance: 56
ASWEATH
Native Language:
French
Other Languages:
English
Size: 14
communications
Strength: 14 and astrophysics
Dexterity: 13
Endurance: 11
Determination: 19 this part of the adventure. has made a nice living teaching, writ-
Intelligence: 9 ing, and lecturing about the wonders of
Eloquence: 15 Helen Asweath the heavens.
Education: 13 Helen, the Australian astronomer who
Consciousness: 4 discovered Back Door, comes across It came as no surprise to the AAEC
Life Level: 9 as a somewhat shy person who seems when Helen notified them of her ten-
ill-at-ease with so many people. Any of tative discovery of BD-111 094307: If
Careers:Xenologist, the characters who have exploration or anyone was capable of finding brown
Agent for Tricolor
astronomy backgrounds will know her dwarfs, it was she. But it was a huge sur-
Skills: Computer-2,
name instantly: Helen is a famous au- prise for Helen when the first response
Info. Gathering-4 thor and lecturer on her topic. Indeed, to her discovery was a visit from four
Bureaucracy-I , if the conversation gets around to Back very serious men from the AIA who
Biology-6, Door or anything related to stellar ob- politely but firmly insisted that she ac-
Anthropology-2, jects, Helen will immediately brighten, company them to “more secure living
Writing-I , Streetwise-1 her animation and enthusiasm sudden- arrangements.”
, Forgery-I , Sidearm-1, ly overcoming her reclusive demeanor. Alternating between shock and dis-
Melee-1 , Stealth-1, gruntlement, Helen’s grudging coop-
Security Systems-4, Helen Asweath’s life is astronomy and eration became whole-hearted and
Pilot-2, Electronics-1 astrophysics. Plagued by a body that joyous when she learned several days
never fully adapted to the rigors of laterthat the AIA and her government
King’s awful gravity and opportunistic were both asking her to consent to be-
childhood illnesses (one of which im- ing on the first exploratory team being
12 paired her hearing significantly), Helen
turned to intellectual pursuitsat an ear-
sent to Back Door.

Helen’s unpopularity as a sickly, over- helm where he could keep an eye on the Franchot Dumaine
weight child has made her very sensi- crew. He will have been fully briefed on (MGT2300)
tive and sympathetic to the pain and the PCs and NPCs, although hisinfor-
difficulties of other people. She abhors mation does not mention that Franchot Position:2nd pilot/
(with uncharacteristic vehemence) cru- Dumaine is a Tricolor agent. xenosapientologist
Nationa1ity:French
elty and deceit, and can exhibit extraor-
Homeworld: L-5
dinary personal courage when trying to Morgan’s easy manner also makes him substation
defend others. Helen also has learned very easy to trust, particularly in com- Gravity: Low
hard lessons about medical costs, owing bination with his common sense and Frontier/Core: Core
to the chronic problems that developed unflappability in the face of a crisis. He Looks and Gender:
during her earliest years on King. She will pointedly reinforce the PCs’ posi- Good-looking male
is consequently an assiduous saver and tion as the mission’s leaders, but when Birthdate:May 1, 2266
keeps one eye on the bottom line at all he has a suggestion to make, the NPCs Mass: 82 kg
Eyesight:Average
will listen closely and gener-
Hearing:Average
ally agree (with the possi- Body Type:Normal
ble exception of Dumaine). ThrowRange:112m
Morgan is not aviolent man, Encumbrance: 56
but he has been in his share Native Language:
morgan of firefights and is not afraid

of another one. However, his
French
Other Languages:
lindstrom helmsman easy relationship with vio-

lence also means that he will
English
times approach it rationally and not get into Strength: 8

fights he doesn’t have to get into. He will Dexterity: 8
Endurance: 7
Morgan Lindstrom attempt to steer others away from vio-
Intelligence: 6
An American drive specialist (actually, lence until and unless it seemsthe only Education: 8
an AIA undercover operative), will in-
troduce himself with a handshake and
a broad, good-natured smile. Lind- franchot dumaine Skills:
Informatics-1,
strom is as outgoing as Helen is intro- Investigate-2
verted; he’ll express a polite interest in Admin-I ,
the characters and their backgrounds. If Biology-3,
asked about himself, he will reveal that Xenology-1,
he started out with a naval commission, Art (Writing)-I ,
but left it after his first hitch was up, pre- Streetwise-1 ,
Deception-I ,
ferring the freer lifestyle aboard com-
Gun Cbt (Slug Pistol)-1,
mercial vessels. Morgan’s history reads Melee-1 ,
almost too much like the all-American 2nd pilot and Stealth-1,
success story: athletic, boyish good
xenosapientologist Computers-2,
looks, excellent student, outgoing, affa- Pilot-1,
ble, and of course, patriotic. Morgan has Electronics-1
been with the AIA since he was 20, and effective course of action.
while no longer bright-eyed and ingen- Franchot Dumaine
uous, he has retained his ideals and deep Franchot, a French xenosapientologist,
sense of concern for the fate of America handles introductions with reserved
and humanity as a whole. Morgan was a charm. He is affable in a quiet way and
natural choice for the Back Door mis- will be eager to learn if any of the char-
sion and his familiarity with computers
and drives qualified him for a spot at the
acters have any skills in life sciences.
Finding such a common interest, he
13

‘Hanne’ Spitmacher will immediately tend to gravitate to-
(2300ad) ward the character(s) possessing them. Dumaine is a fairly nice fellow, and his
He expresses the hope that the team charm and (now intermittent) warmth
Position:Engineer will encounter some sign of the mystery are quite genuine, unfortunately, his
Nationa1ity:German
race during its mission. amiability and helpfulness are com-
Homeworld: BCV
pletely subordinate to his duty as a Tri-
Gravity: Normal
Frontier/Core: Frontier Franchot Dumaine is one of IEX’s best color agent. He will do anything to
Looks and Gender: field experts in xenobiology, and he has accomplish his mission. There is an ob-
Good-looking female an impressive record in decoding the in- vious conflict between his innate proso-
Birthdate:July 6, 2253 terplay between physiology and culture cial tendencies and this absolute ruth-
Mass: 78 kg in the Sung, and most recently, the Kaf- lessness. If under constant stress, the
Eyesight:Average ers. However, Dumaine is also a secret emotional fatigue caused by living with
Hearing:Excellent ultranationalist who became an inform- these conflicting drives may begin to
Body Type:Normal er and field agent for Tricolor six years show up as excessive or even hysterical
ThrowRange:80m ago. Embittered by the way in which the behavior and sudden (perhaps danger-
Coolness: 10
bright successes of the Kafer War kept ous) mood swings.
Encumbrance: 40
eluding France, Durnaine began to dab-
Native Language:
German ble in extremist politics. He attracted About Tricolor
Other Languages: the attention of aTricolor agent who
English slowly recruited the disheartened sci- Tricolor is a secret organization of
Size: 10 entist into the ranks of this dangerously French ultranationalists. It is dedicated
Strength: 10 fanatic organization. to ensuring that France rises to true
Dexterity: 12 superpowerstatus once again and re-
Endurance: 8 In many ways, Dumaine has been ripe tains absolute dominance over human
Determination: 12 for such a picking for some time. More affairs. Not surprisingly, Tricolor wants
Intelligence: 11 a tireless worker than a brilliant mind, to make sure that ‘Operation Back
Eloquence: 4
Franchot has spent the last 10 years re- Door’ benefits France more than it does
Education: 13
senting the unfailing tendency of the the nations of the Alderhorst Alliance
Consciousness: 4
Life Level: 8 media limelight to prefer geniuses over (American, Australia, and Germany).
Careers:Ground Mili- dedicated, highly competent workers
tary, Space Military (such as himself). His dedication and A much more detailed background will
Skills: Streetwise-1 , precision began to turn into an almost be given on Tricolor in the final episode
Swimming-1 , Trader-1 , neurotic fastidiousness, even as his ar- of this adventure. Here, the referee only
Mechanic-3, Electronics- dent patriotism changed into a desire needs to know that Tricolor is, thus far, a
4, Computer-2, First for vengeance upon other nations. completely unknown organization, and
Aid-1, Appraisal-1 , that its agents and directors are ruthless
Combat Rifle-2, However, Dumaine still believes in what fanatics.
Heavy Weapons-1 , Me-
he is doing, and can be both charming
lee-2, Ground Vehicle-1,
and convincing. His looks and silver
Demolitions-1,
Survival-1 , P-Suit-2, tongue often allow him to manipulate
Hovercraft-1 , Side- members of the opposite sex without
arm-1 , Prospecting-1 their being aware of it. Dumaine knows
,Aircraft Pilot-2, Ship’s that Morgan Lindstrom is with the
Drives-7, Communica- A.I.A. Tricolor activated the one mole
tions-3, Gunner-1. it had in that agency in order to learn THE
about the AIA’s role in Operation Back AMERICAN

Door. Similarly, Dumaine’s appoint- INTELLIGENCE
14 ment to the mission team was accom- AGENCY
plished by Tricolor string-pulling.

was just on the other side of the thinly ‘Hanne’ Spitmacher
ship's engineers armored hulls that she called home. She (MGT2300)
began the process of getting out. The
German command learned of Hannah’s Position:Engineer
Nationa1ity:German
intentions,as well as her hope of mak-
Homeworld: BCV
ing a living as a trader with her longtime
Gravity: Normal
friend and intimate, Carson Murrough. Frontier/Core: Frontier
Hannah’s rather improbable hope be- Looks and Gender:
came a reality when German officers Good-looking female
Carson Murrough & guaranteed her 30% shares in a hull if, Birthdate:July 6, 2253
upon retiring, she undertook one vol- Mass: 78 kg
Hannelore Spitmmacher untary mission as a specialist. That mis- Eyesight:Average
sion was ‘Operation Back Door’. Hearing:Excellent
Carson Murrough & Body Type:Normal
Hannelore Spitmmacher ThrowRange:80m
Encumbrance: 40
Hannelore and Carson are both recently Hannah snapped up the offer without
Native Language:
retired naval drive specialists from the a moment’s delay. Hannah is as mul-
German
German and Australian navies, respec- ish as they come and right now, that Other Languages:
tively. means that she is absolutely dedicated English
Hannelore is direct and no-nonsense, to making sure that ‘Operation Back
but is otherwise pleasant to be around. Door’ succeeds. She wants her shares in Strength: 6
Carson, who is clearly very attached to a commercial starship, this mission is Dexterity: 7
how she’s going to get them, and that is Endurance: 5
‘Hannah’, seems to be her opposite, easy
that. Hannah is not interested in lead- Intelligence: 7
going and soft-spoken. Education: 8
ing, but if others won’t or can’t, she will
“Hannah” Spitzmacher is a no-non- take charge and give the orders. Indeci-
Careers:Ground Mili-
sense career military type who has siveness is not one of her problems.
tary, Space Military
seen combat in the Kafer conflict, and Skills: Streetwise-1 ,
before that, in the War of German Re- Carson Murrough grew upon an out- Athletics (Swimming)-1
unification. However, after the Battle back robot farm with nothing but time Broker-1, Mechanic-2,
of Beowulf, she decided she had had and open space on his hands, and the Electronics-2,
enough of the military life, particularly attitude engendered by that atmosphere Computer-1, Medic-1,
when the pitilessvacuum of deep space is still with Carson today. Where as his Trade-1, Melee-1,
longtime companion Hannelore Spitz- Gun Cbt (Slug Rifle)-1,
Heavy Weapons-1 ,
Explosives-1,
Drive (Wheeled)-1,
Survival-1 , Vacc-Suit-1,
Drive (Hover)-1,
Gun Cbt (Slug Pistol)-1
Zero-G-1, Flyer (Ro-
tor-1, Engineering (Stut-
terwarp)-4, Comms-2,
Gunner-1.
15

Carson Murrough macher is intensely goal-oriented and definitely make the reverse appear true
(2300ad) energetic, Carson is easygoing and re- at some points in the adventure (where-
laxed. Carson is an Australian veteran in lies half the fun!).
Position:Engineer who saw a small amount of action in the
Nationa1ity:
Australian Kafer War. Upon hitting 50, he decided A LITTLE HELP FROM
Homeworld: Earth it was time to leave the service, prompt-
Gravity: Normal ing Hannah to think similar thoughts. YOUR FRIENDS
Frontier/Core: Core Carson likes her idea of their becoming
Looks and Gender: part owners in a ship, although in all- Where: En route to and in system
Good-looking female truth, he would have been just as happy DM-4 4225.
Birthdate: raising sheep or fixing broken engines. What: Witnessing the interstellar tug
February 4, 2253 However, as always, Carson is willing assist and refueling.
Mass: 80 kg to follow Hannah’s lead, particularly in
Eyesight:Average Early the next day, the entire team will
light of the fact that he too has been of-
Hearing: Average be awakened by Larkin who hands them
Body Type:Normal
fered a 30% share in a hull.
a packet containing communication
ThrowRange:80m code words and all known data on the
Coolness: 9 Carson is truly amiable and cooperative,
but will not do anything that is contrary different systems they are about to en-
Encumbrance: 40
Native Language: to his considerable conscience. Carson ter. Beyond their next destination (DM-
English also likes a little bit of excitement now 4 4225) that data amounts to broad
Other Languages: and again, even though he won’t active- hypotheses, guesswork, and academic
German ly seek it out. He was never one to turn doubletalk, which all boils down to “we
Size: 10 down an offer to spar. Nor is he likely to haven’t got a clue.” In accordance with
Strength: 10 try to talk a bully out of a confrontation. the enclosed instructions, the group will
Dexterity: 13 take the Cat’s Feet into the outer system,
Carson will just smile and put the jerk’s
Endurance: 9 where it will wait for a rendezvous with
Determination: 12
lights out.
an unspecified ship. And wait it does.
Intelligence: 12
Eloquence: 8 Considerations
Four hours go by before a Hudson-class
Education: 13
Consciousness: 4 The previous information on the five transport shows up. Communication
Life Level: 8 NPC crewmembers of the ‘Cat’s Feet’ is is audio only, and all references are by
Careers:Ground Mili- subject to modification at the discretion the code words provided via Larkin’s
tary, Space Military of the referee. However, the abilities of packet. The Hudson-class vessel is un-
Skills: Swimming-1 , this group must always remain germane marked, not running a transponder or
Mechanic-3, Electron- to the mission at hand. If the NPCs are navigation radar, and begins to come
ics-4, Computer-2, First very close. As the freighter continues to
not given distinct personalities and
Aid-2,Appraisal-1 approach, its massive cargo bay doors
,Combat Rifle-2, Heavy-
asubstantial presence in the adventure,
much of the enjoyment of ‘Operation swing wide, giving the characters a sud-
Weapons-1, Melee-3, den sensation of being eaten alive by a
Suwival-1, P-Suit-2, Back Door’ will be lost. If the referee
finds that he cannot portray all five cavernous black maw. Dumaine mut-
Hovercraft-2, Sidearm-1
Prospecting-1 , Aircraft NPCs thoroughly, the two engineers ters a wry comment about feeling like
Pilot-2, Ship’s Drives-7, (Hannah and Carson) can be relegated Jonah meeting the whale. The Cat’s Feet
Communications-3, to the role of supporting cast members is literally swallowed into the cargo bay,
Pilot-1 , Remote Pilot-I. without damaging the essential drama. which the PCs will note has been sub-
stantially modified. Massive robotic
Amongst the other crewmembers, manipulators clamp on to the ship and
maneuver it toward something that
16 Lindstrom is the characters’ undercover
“ally” and Dumaine their undercover looks like a huge harness. Any charac-
ter with a background in fighter opera-
“enemy,” although circumstances may

tions will recognize it as an overgrown Arriving at DM-4 4225 Carson Murrough
version of the external slings that some (MGT2300)
fighters use to carry missiles. The characters have about six lightyears
This sling however, is large enough for left to travel, after which they will ar- Position:Engineer
Nationa1ity:
the Cat’s Feet! rive in system DM4 4225, where they Australian
An adjacent, largerstructure becomes- encounter plenty of traffic-unusual for a Homeworld: Earth
visible as the bay’s internal working system that can only be reached by tugs. Gravity: Normal
lights come on. This is an even more The harbinger of this traffic hangs silent Frontier/Core: Core
gargantuan sling, with a (compara- in space some 20 AU out, a massive ves- Looks and Gender:
tive1y) enormous ship in it. Hannah, sel (over 40,000 tons) that Dumaine, Good-looking female
Carson, and Morgan (feigning a bit of and eventually Spitzmacher, will be able Birthdate:
uncertainty at first) will be able to iden- to identify as an old Metal-class modu- February 4, 2253
tify it as a German Sachsen-class frig- lar freighter. The presence of this ancien Mass: 80 kg
Eyesight:Average
ate. (Any PC with a naval background French design earns a raised eyebrow
Hearing: Average
would also be able to identify it.) from Dumaine and a respectful whistle Body Type:Normal
from Morgan, who notes that this ves- ThrowRange:80m
During the next three days of travel, sel, like the Hudsonclass, is unmarked Encumbrance: 40
attempts to communicate with the crew and is not running any transponder or Native Language:
of the Hudson-class freighter will be dis- navigation beam. Attempts at commu- English
couraged in a cordial fashion. Requests nication will meet with silence, punc- Other Languages:
to leave the Cat’s Feet will be politely tuated only by the background static of German
refused, and the bay is kept in vacuum. cosmic rays.
Any attempts to communicate with the Strength: 6
frigate will be fruitless (no response). As the Cat’s Feet moves deeper in-sys- Dexterity: 7
Endurance: 6
At the end of the three days, the bay tem, the characters may be interested in
Intelligence: 7
doors will once again swing wide, re- some of the system data (and may swing Education: 8
vealing the twinkling panorama of deep by some of the detailed system objects),
space. The huge robotic manipulators which appears below. Helen Asweath Skills:
-Carson has identified them as the new will quickly become immersed in the Athletics (Swimming)-1
American Centiherc design (the first scientific details of the system, taking Mechanic-2,
automated cargo handler that can also gravometric readings and collecting as Electronics-2,
be used to launch bay vessels)- once much stellar data as her equipment per- Computer-1,
again take hold of the PCs’ ship and mits. As the first nongovernment sur- Medic-1,
swing it out into space. The taciturn veyor on site, the unusual features of Broker-1
communications officer on board the this binary system are an academic gold Gun Cbt (Slug Rifle)-1,
HeavyWeapons-1,
unmarked Hudson wishes the team well mine.
Melee-2,
and recommends immediate transit to Survival-1,
its destination. If the PCs can’t take the As the courier draws near to Plough- Vacc Suit-2,
hint and insist on asking if the frigate share (the world occupying orbit three Drive (Hover)-1,
is heading to the same destination, the in the system), the characters will be Gun Cbt (Slug Pistol)-1
commo officer will politely but tersely hailed by local forces. In addition to Zero-G-1,
tell them that they really don’t need to whatever else may be hiding out of sight Flyer (Rotor)-1,
know that and should proceed toward or is lurking in the cargo modules of the Engineering (M-
their destination without further delay. Metal class freighter, two American FS- Drive)-4, Comms-2,
17A fighters and one Krupp 821 cargo Pilot-1 , Remote Pilot-1.
Carson will remark that everybody out carrier are encountered before the Cat’s
here seems to enjoy what he calls the
“Dr. Mysterioso act.” With a chuckle, he
Feet is guided to a berth at a small or-
bital complex. 17
heads aft toward the drive section.

Icebreaker This time, both communications and Note: Star DM-4 4226 shares identical
debarkation are freely permitted, and coordinates with DM-4 4225, but it is
An icebreaker is slang some of the air of secrecy drops. Al- not a binary companion. It is at a dis-
for a credit card sized though the personnel encountered in tance of 9300AU.
expert system that
this naval outpost don’t have the exact
can be hooked up to Orbit AU World and Core Type Diameter Density
specifics of the characters’ mission, they
a simple computer to 1 0.10 Hothouse, rocky 13,011 1 .0
assist with the cracking have a pretty good idea of why the group
is out here and where it’s going. 2 0.13 Gas giant, rocky 72,551 1 .0*
of any security codes
If the referee desires, this would be a 3 0.24 Cool Gdn, rocky 12,044 1 .0
that might be protecting
good place to expand the adventure 4 0.49 Failed core, icy 25,327 0.1
the system. In essence,
icebreakers are very so- into a small campaign. Dumaine, Iike 5 0.79 Failed core, icy 14,101 0.3
phisticated random code Asweath, is the first non-government 6-8, - Dust and rubble - -
generators combined researcher in his speciality to enter this
with a dedicated system system. Ploughshare offers him an un- UWP
that uses safecracking
logic to defeat multi-
paralleled opportunity for the study and X767000-0
sampling of a completely new biosphere.
part locks. Icebreakers
The renown and book contracts that are
are generally used to
defeat multipart locks. almost sure to result are the answer to *This gas giant’s initial diameter was approxi-
every academicians chronic dilemma of mately 18,000, but was doubled twice, according
Icebreakers are generally to the “snowballing rule.” The listed density would
used to overcome simple publish or perish. Consequently, he will
therefore only apply to the world’s core.
combination locks, code be eager to head down to Ploughshare
word restrictions, etc. (both in order to pursue this genuine
When using an ice- opportunity and to reinforce his cover System Overview
breaker to assist with as the mission’s life scientist)-but the
such a task, decrease the naval commanders will not let him go Astrophysicists have long been eager to
difficulty of that task by planetside without an armed escort. journey to this system in order to study
one level. Price Lv250
And, if any of the characters are scien- the interactions of DM-4 4225 and
and up.
tists, this may be a golden opportunity DM-4 4226 which are not a binary pair
for them as well. despite their proximity (9300 AU). The
first mission, intended to scout the area
Naming Worlds before a final commitment was made
If this sidetrip isn’t desired, the referee
can simply have the refueling completed to the stutterwarp tug operations, dis-
Upon discovery of new covered that the outer three orbits of
worlds (such as Plough- in a couple of hours, and send the crew
of the Cat’s Feet hurling off into the un- DM4225 have been either disrupted or
share) it is the Captain’s
privelige to name the known that lies beyond the edge of this pulverized.
new planet. However, system.
many captains enact a This is sure to galvanize academic inter-
lottery system amongst est in this system, which may hold clues
the crew allowing a DM-4 4225 as to how binaries may either break
member to name a apart, or what happens when two sepa-
world with the Captain Location: (-8.9, -34.6, -3.2) rate stars pass close to each other.
holding the veto (in Stellar Type: K5 V
case of any ridiculous Absolute Magnitude: 7.53 Planetary Overview
suggestions). There also Radius: 0.59
naming rights for many Mass: 0.71 Regardless of the astrophysical fascina-
investors who put their Luminosity: 0.08
(cont.)
tion that DM-44225 will generate, it is
Temp. in Degrees K: 41 00 sure to take a back seat to the keen po-
18
Number of Orbits: 8 (however, the out- litical interest in the system. Not only
er three are occupied by dust and rubble has DM-4 4225 recently emerged as a
only).

LIFE ZONE
core)
core)
PLOUGHSHARE
(gas giant)
(hothouse)
4225
(rubble)
(rubble)
(rubble)
4225
(failed
(failed
DM-4
METAL CLASS
FREIGHTER
X X X
DM-4
AU 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 5.0 10 15 20 25 30 50 100
P L O U G H S H A R E
ROUTE
DM+5
3409
4225
P L O U G H S H A R E X767000-0
TYPE:COLD GARDEN
WORLD
DM-4
MASS:1.21
SIZE:13,805km
LL
GRAVITY:0.97
ATMOSPHERE:NITROGEN/OXYGEN
989-20
HYDROSPHERE:32% ICE/38% WATER

CLAIMED BY:AMERICA/AUSTRALIA
LY FROM EARTH:41.9 (one route via tug)

The Contemporaries
(cont.) possible gateway to Kafer space, but it UNSCHEDULED DETOUR
(played at concerts, has revealed itsetf to be the answer to
used in
hard commercials,
earned cash into American and Australian colonization Where: Near system L-939-20
3-V montage segments)
exploratory missions. dreams. The world at orbit three, tenta- (-8.9, -39.3, -1.3).
tively dubbed Ploughshare by the Yank- What: A mysterious system failure.
‘Sundial Aeon’
Regardless of how a Aussie crews of the ships in system, is
by Pleasure
new world has Impact
come by the find that both nations have hoped The referee should require a task roll
it’s name and what it’s
YT: http://youtu.be/ for on the American Arm. from the on-duty navigator to see if that
called, it still has to go
z3mm8UO3GAM
in front of the board individual can keep the navigational
of the Interational Despite Ploughshare’s partial (32% over- system from crashing l00%, but in fact,
iTunes: https://itun.es/
Astronomical Union all) glaciation, the rest of the planet is the outcome is inevitable, the system
i6xR3fm
for approval (since one of the ripest colonial plums yet dis- loses all its data and goes off-line.
1919). covered by humanity. Gravity is almost
‘Sinking’ by Sysyphe earth normal. The temperate zone offers The lack of a navigational system has se-
The board will throw a climatological range reminiscent of rious repercussions. Guiding a stutter-
YT: http://youtu.be/
out any names such as Maine to Georgia. Thirty-eight percent warping vessel requires constant navi-
WgyM2QbvRrk
“Bob” (in such occasions of the planet’s 68% unglaciated surface gational attention. Initial navigation
using names derived is water, prducing a land to ocean ratio
iTunes:
from their https://itun.es/
relation to coordinates need constant refinement
i6xc4Qd of almost 1:1. as the system grows nearer. Addition-
the parent star until it is
settled - Gliese 667 IIb ally, since the ship is not under accel-
‘When
for The Silence Is
example). The planet evinces luxuriant growth eration, but is in effect travelling under
Speaking’ by Koan and a wide variety of animal life, none pseudo-velocity, one can only be sure
The board meet every of which seems to contain any viruses that of travelling the desired direction
3YT: http://youtu.
years and finalise or bacteria that would be especially le- by checking the current position against
be/75ukBYcS8Qc
all names. Names that thal to terrestrial biots. In short, the earlier ones. This is done by taking bear-
have common sense discovery of Ploughshare represents a ings via stellar objects after every indi-
meanings, are named major upswing in Australian- Ameri- vidual stutter and comparing them to
i6xt3wn (album Only)
after august figures, or can colonization potential and portends the readings which immediately pre-
pay reverence to either intensified interest in this area of space,
‘Universe Alchemy’
minority Earth cultures ceded it with the current one. This pro-
by local
Kliment despite the system’s tug-only access. cess, including the data records of the
or indigenous
features or sentients are ship’s bearings, is stored in and handled
YT: http://youtu.be/-
favoured over others. History by a navigational subsystem referred to
w4oOD1IcL8 as the Sequencer.
‘Ploughshare’ is likely to The only drawback to finding Plough-
be approved. share is that both the Australian and If the Sequencer die’s, and takes the pre-
i6xR3q5 American leaders who are now aware of vious navigational records with it, the
the garden planet and eager to initiate ship is effectively lost. A new course can
‘Glass Soul’ by Mokhov
precolonization studies are being forced be plotted, but the chance of error is
to sit on their hands due to the confi- very high, since the new starting coor-
YT: http://youtu.be/
bGebXNlzcRI dential nature of the forces in the DM-4 dinates are only estimates. Precise infor-
4225 system and their relationship to mation can only be obtained from ex-
iTunes: https://itun.es/ ‘Operation Back Door’. Despite the solid tremely accurate astrographic bearings.
i6xc4QN commitment of the American and Aus- Eventually, a ship could certainly navi-
tralian governments to the secrecy con- gate to its destination by error averaging
cealing these military initiatives, there (the process of reducing inaccuracies by
is now a major economic motivation to correcting in ever smaller increments).
resolve those initiatives quickly in order
20
However, by that time, the charge built
to get on with more profitable coloniz- up in the stutterwarp drives would al-
ing ventures. most surely have killed everyone off.

Helen Can Help! It seems as though someone “jimmied” To discover a clue to
their way into the guts of the system. the sabotage:
The chief navigator/pilot will be faced This is usually impossible to do, except
with a Difficult task if he attempts to as authorized by the captain or XO of 2300AD Task:
plot a new course from the ship’s cur- a ship who hold the access codes to Formidable, Com-
rent estimated position to LL 989-20. this restricted area of the system’s pro- puter, 2 hours (one
Dumaine will remain very calm as he gramming. If a saboteur were to enter try only).
attempts to help with this task, but he the system and put a few digits in the
will be sweating noticeably. wrong place, the calculating ability that MGT2300 Task:
governs the assessment of navigational Formidable (-6),
If one of the characters doesn’t think of bearings could be rendered useless, pos- Computers, Intelli-
it, then Morgan or Helen will, there’s sibly stranding the ship in deep space. gence, 2 hours. (one
an expert astronomer onboard. Given The discovering character will be able to try only).
a day, Helen’s skill will allow her to sig- tell that someone nevertheless managed
nificantly increase the accuracy of the to get into the program and plant a virus BRP 2300AD Task:
bearing estimation (her help reduces the bomb that crashed the system. Special Success (20%
above task level to Routine). If the task of skill), Technical
fails, the PCs will only be able to realize If the NPCs are Confronted Skill: Computer Use/
it after two days of travel, at which time Computer Program-
they will have to let Helen take another If the PCs decide to confront the NPCs ming/Electronic
try. This attempt will succeed (it has to (which is not likely, considering the dif- Security, Mental,
if the group members are to reach LL ficulty of discovering the sabotage at this 2 hours. (one try
989-20 before the accumulated charge point), all will deny any knowledge or only).
on the stutterwarp drive kills them). involvement in such an act of sabotage.
However, a search of the NPCs’ stowed GURPS 2300AD
Secret Sabotage gear will turn up an icebreaker in Mor- Task: Formidable
gan’s cargo. Morgan will be (genuinely) (-5), Computer Op-
The one important piece of informa- stunned and claim that the icebreaker is eration / Computer
tion that will not (or should not) be im- not his and was obviously planted in his Programming, 2
mediately evident to the PCs is that the luggage. The characters can believe what hours. (one try only).
trouble with the navigational sequencer they will. Dumaine will evince a quiet
was not an accident. It was caused by a doubt in Morgan’s story, but not engage
self destroying computer virus in that in any direct character assassination.
system, which was implanted by Fran- Such behavior could center some sus-
chot Dumaine. If one of the characters picion on Dumaine, if the characters
decides to run a systems check after the decide to investigate the possibility that
failure, Dumaine will volunteer to help someone did plant the icebreaker in
out, just to make sure that his tampering Morgan’s luggage (which Dumaine of
is not discovered. However, if a charac- course did, in order to deflect any sus-
ter runs the check without informing picion from himself if his sabotage was
anyone else, he has a chance of finding a discovered). It is important to realize
tell-tale clue that something or someone that Dumaine is not suicidal: His sabo-
onboard is playing deadly games with tage of the navigational sequencer was
the crew of the Cat’s Feet (see sidebar). not intended to strand the ship in space
and defeat the mission. Instead, it was
If the task is successful, the character important for him to establish a sense of
will note some irregularities in the sub- doubt in the reliability of the ship’s guid-
routine governing user access to the
navigational programs.
ance systems. This must be achieved so
that a subsequent act of sabotage, which
21

involves crippling the ship after the mis- L 989-20 B (Secondary)
Visit sion but before return to DM+5 3409,
Paraguay! might be interpreted as a second and fa-
tal failure when the ship fails to return.
Stellar Type: MO V
Absolute Magnitude: I 1.7
At this point in the adventure, Dumai- Radius: 0.54
neis not yet sure whether he will have to Mass: 0.48
utilize this treacherous final option. Luminosity: 0.04
Temp. in Degrees K: 3500
Number of Obits: 3
Arriving in LL 989-20
Data on the star’s companion, L 989-
The team will arrive, somewhat nerve- 20A (perihelion of 10.1 AU), can be
wracked, in system LL 989-20. Save the accessed directly from the appropriate
physical descriptions of objects for ac- tables in the 2300AD Director’s Guide/
tual PC visits to those features of the
Beautiful system. Refueling will take some time,
MGT2300 Corebook. It is a classic
(standard) GO VII star without planets.
Scenery during which automated sensors can be
deployed and their results analyzed-the Orbit AU World and Core Type Diameter Density
PCs can be given access to the system 1 0.1 Gas giant, rocky 15,965 0.9
data given below once the sensors are 2 0.2 Gas giant, rocky 36,023 0.9*
deployed.
*This gas giant’s initial diameter was approxi-
mately 18,000, but was doubled once, according
Refueling to the “snowballing rule.” The listed density would
therefore only apply to the world’s core.
The best insystem refueling spots are on
several of the second gas giant’s moons, System Overview
Historic or refueling could be accomplished di-
rectly from the second Jovian’s atmos-
Buildings phere.
L989-20 is a generally unremarkable
system, except for the fact that the pres-
ence here of two gas giants of differ-
We have it After completing their refueling, the
crew of the Cat’s Feet should be ready
ent types offers some interesting mili-
all! to head through the back door and into
tary options. Planet 1 is a dark, cloudy
world, dominated by browns and char-
what may be Kafer space. coals and occasional flecks of dull red. It
A paradise has a proportionately massive core for a
gas giant and its atmosphere is fre-
nestled between
the Inca Republic LIFE ZONE
& Brazil
giant)
giant)
A
B
989-20
989-20
SYSTEM CHART FOR

Call your travel
agent today! L 989-20
(gas
(gas
L
L
22
AU 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 5.0 10 15 20 25

quently veined by split-second bursts in orbit around Back Door, it will be Discovering a useful
of lightning. Planet 11 is more diffuse, time to go prospecting “iceteroids,” the iceteroid
dominated by stunning reds and yel- only likely fuel source in this system.
lows and surrounded by a number of Back Door’s pseudo-planetary family is 2300AD Task:
large moons. not particularly cooperative in this re- Difficult, Sensors, 8
gard. Discovering a suitable fueling site hours.
History is determined by a task roll (see side-
bar). MGT2300 Task:
Remote probes sent into this system Difficult (-2), Sen-
three weeks ago revealed no evidence Depositing the Copy of the Log sors, Intelligence or
that it has ever been visited before. Both Education, 8 hours.
gas giants were briefly scanned (in order After finding a suitable refueling spot,
to ensure their usefulness as frontier Morgan will observe that it probably BRP 2300AD Task:
refueling spots). While there has been would help any follow-up team if the Modified Success
no time to study any of planet II’s group put the log recording right on the (skill -15%), Technical
many satellites, there is considerable in- iceteroid it would save them the trouble Skill: Sensor Systems,
terest in doing so, since this larger gas of finding a refueling site themselves. Mental, 8 hours.
giant lies directly at the center of the Morgan will volunteer to place the log
system’s life zone. copy (a secure recorder), and Dumaine GURPS 2300AD
will quickly offer assistance. Dumaine Task: Difficult (-2),
UNLOCKING THE BACK wants to make sure that Morgan doesn’t Electronics Opera-
add a message of his own. If Morgan tion (Sensors), 8
DOOR has suspicions of Dumaine (which he hours.
doesn’t), then Dumaine wants to make
Where: System BD-1 I 1 094307. sure that the American does not have Helen is the only
What: First glimpse of ‘Back Door’. the opportunity to record them for NPC with Sensors
later discovery by follow-up teams that skill (level/2).
When the team arrives in the Back Door would come in the event that the Op-
system, it will be relieved (though hard- eration Back Door team never returned.
ly surprised) to find that the reputed
brown dwarf is there, waiting patiently Secure Recorders
to absorb the discharge from their stut-
terwarp drive. Helen will want to take a Secure recorders are often left behind by
day or so to deploy her automated sen- vessels which fear imminent destruc-
sors with the greatest of care. Meanwhile tion and/or have an enemy on their tail
(if a character is not already thinking of who wanrs to prevent them from mak-
it), some of the NPCs will point out that ing a report on what they have seen.
Y
Larkin has requested that a copy of the Secure recorders incorporate a low-
log be stashed somewhere in system. power, highsensitivity radio receiver
Also, the group is going to have to find a that searches for a key code of radio ~ Japanese
fuel source. But before doing all that, the emissions. The code “units” are defined Yen
£
PCs will get the opportunity to behold by frequency and duration of signal.
the strange wonders of a brown dwarf When the recorder receives the correct
system up close, learning the below data sequence of transmissions, it activates ~ British
as they do so (see the system data). a broad-band transponder. This guides Pound Sterling
friendly forces to the recorder and its
Prospecting
23
data storage.
After Helen lovingly places her sensors

Brown Dwarfs BD-11109.4307 dull-red in color, mottled with smears
(from Wikipedia) of amber and brown. The surface ap-
‘Back Door’ pears to be churning in slow-motion,
Brown dwarfs are sub- atthough in actuality this represents
Location: (-9.0, -43.4, -7.0)
stellar objects too low in massive (and violent) meteorological
Stellar Type: Brown Dwarf (Y)
mass to sustain hydro- conditions on the surface.
Absolute Magnitude: 0.0
gen-1 fusion reactions
Radius: 227,243 km
in their cores. They oc- History
Mass: 0.02 (Sol)
cupy the mass range
Luminosity: 0.000028
between the heaviest Back Door is the second useful brown
Temp. in DegreesK: 1350
gas giants and the light- dwarf “system” that has been discovered
Number of Orbits: 0
est stars, with an upper via the Intersystem Baseline Interfer-
limit around 75 to 80 ometry Project. Subsequent to its dis-
System Overview
Jupiter masses (MJ). covery by Australian astronomer Helen
Asweath, Operation Back Door and the
BD-111 094307 is a modest-sized brown
Brown dwarfs heavier arrival for the Cat’s Feet represent the
dwarf with a sparse, unresolved plan-
than about 13 MJ are first follow-up studies of the substellar
etary accretion disk that extends out to
thought to fuse deute- system.
0.72AU. The largest object in that disk
rium and those above
is a roughly spherical planetoid with a
~65 MJ, fuse lithium as
diameter of approximately 320 kilom-
well. “Operation Back Door” continues in Issue
eters, orbiting at adistance of 0.1 6AU.
#3. The second episode, ‘First Contact,”
Dwarfs are categorized begins with the PCs entering the last stop
Back Door is predominantly ochre and
by spectral classifica- on their exploratory jaunt, system SS-27.
tion, with the major 6854, home of the Ylii.
types being M, L, T, and
Y. Despite their name,
most brown dwarfs
would appear orange/
red to the human eye.
Some planets are known

to orbit brown dwarfs:
2M1207b, MOA-
2007-BLG-192Lb, and
2MASS J044144b.
Brown dwarfs may have
fully convective surfaces
and interiors, with no
chemical differentiation
by depth.
The nearest known

brown dwarf is WISE
1049-5319 about 6.5 BD-11109.4307
light years away, a bi-
nary system of brown ‘Back Door’
dwarfs discovered in
2013.

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on November 15, 16, and 17th.
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Foreign & Off-World

Visitor Packages Available

PATRONS by DAVE ELRICK
MONIQUE ROUSSEL
Classic Traveller had a supplement
ON
JOI
Below is the first in a collection of patron Joi (61 Ursae Majoris)
called 76 Patrons which included 76 encounters for 2300AD. The following
adventure seeds, each with six potential entry specifically uses the background Joi is a garden world
outcomes. Later on, BITS (British Isles of one of the worlds in the 2300AD uni- extremely well suited to
Traveller Support) published a similar verse, although with a little work refer- Humanity’s needs. It’s
book in their 101… series for any ver- ees should be able to port the situation crops, while basic, are
sion of Traveller called 101 Patrons. to other worlds in the 2300AD universe edible It has four colo-
When Mongoose Publishing took over or even in their Traveller (or other sci- nies and 1 newly inde-
the Traveller licence, they took the for- ence fiction game) universes. pendent state (Elysia).
mat a little further with their book 760
Patrons. It has a wide variety of
Patron 1: life for scientists to ex-
The patron encounters published in the The Conservation Issue amine and may even
above books were useful for referees have an indigenous
who need an idea or a short filler adven- World: Joi, French Arm (C965675-9) sentient species known
ture for an ongoing campaign. as ‘Clever Dragons’.
Required Skills
Typically, the entry would include some Stealth, survival, weapons skills, vehicle
idea of the world type (if the entry was skills
planet-based) and a suggested set of
Situation
27
skills that the player characters would
find useful to successfully complete the Joi (page 56-57 of the 2300AD rulebook)
adventure. is a garden world in the French arm with

Joi as a player haven five separate colonies – German, British, nese colony’s exposed southern border
Japanese, Azanian and a former French (or coastline as the Japanese insist their
Joi is a pleasant world colony called Elysia. Elysia split from hegemony extends to the sea on that
with differing cultures France only 9 years ago and is still try- side) campaigners have used the sea
and nationalities. It’s ing to establish a completely stable gov- route from Elysia to access the disputed
on the cusp of becom- ernment, as such they are keen to avoid areas and, as a result, tension has grown
ing a major world and further problems with their neighbours between the Japanese and Elysia.
is starting to see an in- on Joi – particularly the Japanese who
crease in trade, visitors, are aggressively expanding their colony The Japanese have increased ranger pa-
and infrastructure so at Samurai Bay and, if rumours are to trols throughout the continent and have
it might behoove de- be believed, working with the French to spread small, fast military boat patrols
cent Games Referees to destabilise Elysia so that the French can along the southern shore. While they
think about setting up
Joi as permanent base
for their players. It’s
far enough away from
the Core and major
worlds along the French
Arm to still feel like the
frontier in parts but is
populated well enough
to have all the main re-
quirements of a civilised
world. The main cities
have hospitals, a mod-
ern infrastructure, and
moni qu e
travel hubs to not only
other parts of the planet
but also off-world.
It’s open to possibilities

of civil war (Elysia),
espionage, exploration,
rousse l
reconnaissance, and
urban adventure. If regain control of their former colony. insist that they arrest and deport or jail
your players learn more The Japanese colony has been the target all trespassers, rumours suggest that
about Joi once they’ve of environmental campaigners for some they have committed some atrocities.
established there (may- time following their policy of introduc-
be brought from Earth ing Terran crops on a massive scale. En- The situation is complicated because the
by healthy start-up in- vironmental campaigners believe this mountainous central area of the content
centives from one of the will damage the local ecosystems and is the home of a native animal species
colonies), they can have have taken steps, including ‘positive ac- colloquially known as ‘Clever Dragons’.
several adventures be- tion’, to stop the spread of Terran crops. Research has shown that this species
fore the Kaefer’s invade. The Japanese, never very welcoming of is at least as intelligent as Terran great
outsiders, have taken an increasingly apes and one controversial Japanese sci-
hardline approach against outsiders entist (now in exile from Samurai Bay)
28
trespassing on ‘their’ continent. Because suggested that they may be a sentient
Elysia is the closest colony to the Japa- species, claiming that he taught a cap-

tive Clever Dragon over 1800 words of The Kaefer Invasion
Japanese sign language. Environmental-
ists have seized on this and are pressing
InterPlanetary Once the alien menace
for the area where the creatures live to lands in the German &
be protected – a claim resisted by all the Japanese colines, play-
governments on Joi, except for Elysia. ers can take the roles
Player’s Introduction of defenders (now that
they know Joi as ‘their’
The player characters are currently world they may feel
in Elysia. Depending on their back- compelled to fight for
grounds, they may be residents of Ely- it), supply runners from
with Tara McKenzie New cornwall, Elysia,
sia or just passing through. They have
either been contacted by, or have an- or another location, aid
swered a job advertisement placed by What’s Really Going On the evacuation, or just
a well-dressed woman called Monique plain old Kaefer hunt-
Roussel and have arranged to meet her Roll a D6 or select whichever one of the ers. They will get to
in a private office. following situations appeals to you the witness first hand they
most: valiant but faltering
defence by the Japanese
(saved by the timely
1 - News Reporter arrival of Rochement’s
fleet).
Monique is a news reporter for a major news syndicate (InterPlanetary). She is fol-
lowing up a story that the Japanese response to what they see as trespassing has The actual heavy resist-
turned more brutal and they are beating and sometimes killing, rather than jail- ance may only last five
ing or deporting, outsiders they catch in the disputed areas. She has a small team days but there will be
(her and two camera/sound operators), but she needs people to guard her team plenty of the enemy to
while they pursue this story. This will involve running the naval blockade and liv- hunt down and kill as
ing rough while they track environmental groups and film their interactions with they flee into the hinter-
the Japanese. lands of Joi.
After the battle for Joi

2 - Criminal P.R.
players will have a
wealth of useful experi-
Monique represents a gang of poachers who have been offered big money to re-
ence to use against the
trieve body parts from Clever Dragons for use in the herbal medicine trade. They
enemy on other worlds.
don’t need whole carcasses, just a small internal organ from each animal. Naturally,
‘Advisors’ coming from
they not only have to avoid the Japanese ranger patrols but also environmental
a world that beat back
campaigners who want to protect the Clever Dragons. She needs some muscle to
the Kaefers in 5 days
protect her throughout the expedition.
will be in demand,
if only for the mo-
3 - Sapientologist rale boost it will bring
to those who live on
Monique leads a small science team from Earth who want firm evidence that that worlds like Dunkelheim
the Clever Dragons are sentient. This will require anything from gathering evidence & Aurore.
from their camps and filming them in their natural habitat all the way up to poten-
tially abducting one or more live specimens (she can supply tranquiliser rounds
which match what they already know about the physiology of the Clever Dragons
– of course, that isn’t a great deal so they might not be completely effective…). She
29

After The Kaefers needs people to guard her team while they gather evidence and potentially assist in
getting live animals away.
War can build reputa-
tions as well as shatter 4 - Environmental Agent Provocateur
lives and as the Kaefer
War draws to a close, Monique represents a group of environmental campaigners who are interested in
those players who took gathering evidence of Japanese ecological crimes and possibly destroy some of the
the fight to the alien Terran crops being cultivated in the disputed areas. They need extra muscle to get
menace may be re- into and out of the disputed areas and help to destroy crops.
membered by some as
‘The Six Ronin’, ‘The 5 - Elysian Customs Agent
Approaching Thunder’,
or ‘Honest Abe’s Com- Monique represents the Elysian provisional government. Their previous attempts
pany’. This could have to stop environmental groups using Elysia as a back door into the Japanese colony
benefits when seeking have so far failed. They have managed to stop some of the more obvious ones as
freelance work after the they arrive in the colony, but even the thickest campaigners aren’t going to put their
war. Reputations travel real reason for visiting Elysia on their immigration paperwork and there isn’t the
far and can grow be- organisation or information to identify and stop them all.
yond expectation and
might bring it’s own set She needs people who are not affiliated to Elysia or to the environmental groups to
of problems (difficulties investigate and catalogue the scale of the problem and preferably identify the ring-
moving incognito for leaders permanently based in Elysia. She also needs some idea of what is happening
example). to the groups when they encounter the Japanese and how the groups respond – the
last thing the Elysian government needs is environmental campaigners shooting it
Any war stories attached
out with Japanese rangers and giving the Japanese an excuse to escalate the tension
to the players may get
between the two colonies by claiming Elysian support for ‘armed aggression’.
them a little cash in re-
turn for interviews, book
deals, or from a patron 6 - Secret Agent/Patsy
who wants to hire ‘The
Heroes of Joi’ for a ‘special Monique is actually secretly working for the Japanese government, although her
kind of job’ that requires cover will be as one of the options above. The Japanese are looking for an excuse to
delicate discussions in the escalate tension against the Elysians and cut off the flow of outsiders who illegally
medium of violence. cross from Elysia to the Japanese colony. As an added bonus if they can neutralise
(or, better yet, engineer a reason for them or the French government to take over)
The actual battle on Joi
Elysia, they also flank and weaken the position of the German colony which they
only lasts a few days
so it’s for the Referee to are currently disputing territory with. They are recruiting small groups of people
prompt gently his play- to ‘infiltrate’ Japanese territory where they can be arrested committing atrocities
ers into using those few (the actual atrocities are staged by the Japanese – they only need the bodies of the
days well to do some- ‘culprits’) or, better yet, can be killed resisting the Japanese authorities – all of it con-
thing truly spectacu- veniently filmed by Japanese news teams working with the rangers and the colony
lar. Something that will military. Further events are up to the referee.
serve as a beacon of hope
for all those in danger.
“See that bug’s tank? I’m
having that.”
30

List of Operational
Stations
Format:
Name
Location
Mission
STARSHIP ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN Alpha 1
L5
Now on display as
part of a collection of
Space Station Alpha-14 Alpha’s core components - and so the historical stations
by Mark Lucas ATA Alpha-class station was born.
Alpha 12
This article takes a detailed look at a Basic Arrangement Sol-Asteroids
common type of modular habitat that Survey drone repair
can be found throughout human space. Common to all Alphas is the head-to-tail station owned by
arrangement with a command module Ceres Platinum Hold-
Included is a description, full deck plans ings.
and an encounter idea that referees at the ‘top’ and a power plant module at
could work into an existing scenario. the other end. Between these two com- Alpha 13
ponents runs the station’s ‘backbone’, Nyotekundu
History consisting of a series of interconnected
Prospecting Station
8-ton modules from which countless
The Alpha-14 is a typical example of the possible combinations of modules can Alpha 14
ATA-Alpha class medium sized space be hung. The standard arrangement Referee’s discretion
station, constructed by the now defunct for accommodation is a pair of 600-ton
‘hamster wheels’ that are spun at 4RPM Research Station
Anglo-French manufacturing giant,
Ashwell Tessier Astrosystems. The ini- to simulate a gravity of 0.5g. These habi- Alpha 17
tial design for the Alpha class was first tats are usually deployed in a counter-
Alpha Centauri
laid down in 2233, during an economic rotating pair with a sizable anti-torque
engine nestled between them. In theory Training facility for
boom that saw many nations and or- The Life Foundation
ganisations scrambling to set up space the anti-torque engine has sufficient rat-
facilities to support exploration, mining ing to allow the station to function with Alpha 19
and colonisation efforts. only a single habitat, although in fact DM+15 4733
The customer for the first Alpha station, such an arrangement wouldn’t get cer-
tification without back-up systems that Ship repair and refu-
a French research institute, repeatedly eling station
changed its design specification, lead- would be more expensive than just fit-
ting the second habitat. Alpha 20
ing Ashwell Tessier’s architects to add
multiple fixing points and universal ele- Vega
ments in an attempt to preempt further Alpha-14’s Layout Research Station
configuration changes, so although the
Alpha wasn’t originally intended to be Getting on board... Alpha 23
a modular design, it ended up that way. Alpha-14 can be boarded through the 61 Ursae Majoris
After the completion of the first station, following entry points:
Ashwell Tessier received a flurry of or-
31
ders for similar stations that could be Port/Starboard Docking Arms - At the
designed and built very quickly through end of each of the two arms is a stand-
the use of various combinations of the ard airlock, allowing entry either from a

Interface Transfer
station for New Corn-
wall, Joi
Alpha 24
Beta Canum-4
Research Station near
Premiere Orbital (Or-
bital beanstalk station)
Alpha 25
Haifeng
Oceanographic ob-
servatory/ Interface
transfer station
Alpha 29
DM+36 2219
Research Station
Alpha 30
Hochbaden
Prospecting Station
located in the system’s
asteroid belt.
32

33

docked ship or through direct ‘extra- itat surface and is definitely not a means
vehicular’ access. Normally the dock- of entry for the faint hearted.
CERESPLATINUM
ing airlocks will only allow entry when
confirmed by someone on the station’s
command deck, although it’s possible
Power Plant Capsule - At the top of the
power capsule there’s another EVA air-
HOLDINGS for access to be hacked, overriding the lock, intended to allow engineers quick
control centre, this will result in explo- access to the outside of the power plant,
sive decompression of the entire dock- it’s also usable as an emergency access
ing tube as the door is forced open. If point.
the would-be intruder didn’t move
out of the way before the door opened Station Description
they’d be fired off into space by the re-
ALPHA
12
sulting blast of air. Communications / Sensors Deck - At
the top of the command capsule is a
EVA Airlock - At the hub of the dock- small work area with two crew stations.
ing arms is the entry point intended for One station is used to control the long-
spacewalkers. Again, this airlock can range radio system while the other con-
be locked from the command deck, al- trols a basic civilian-grade sensor suite.
though it’s not standard practice to lock Control of both comms and sensors can
entry unless the station’s inhabitants feel be handed off to the command deck,
under threat. The chamber contains two however, doing so takes up one of the
spacesuits attached to donning frames. three command crew stations.
A Emergency Airlock / Access Door - Each Command Deck - The main compart-
L spin habitat has either a large cargo air- ment in the command module houses
E
lock or an emergency access door. These three crew workstations for monitor-
are included as a means of bringing ing and managing all the station’s sys-
R large machinery or cargo aboard while
the habitat is not under spin - usually
tems. The three crew stations are iden-
tical multi-function consoles that can
T when the station is first fitted out
On habitat 1, at the A4 storage area
switch between traffic control, station
systems, security, communications and
there’s an access door. When the station crew management. Built into the com-
is in use, the door is secured against mand deck is the station’s vault, a secure
opening as doing so would vent the en- chamber for storing weapons, valuables
THERE IS tire habitat. Some stations feature an or anything that needs to be locked
NO CAUSE inflatable lifeboat that can be launched
FOR ALARM away.
from the door, although this is not
PLEASE equipped on Alpha-14. Docking Arms - Two 20m long braced
RETURN TO access tubes that allow starships or
YOUR On habitat 2 there’s a cargo airlock that space vehicles to dock with the station.
STATIONS can can be used when the habitat pres-
surised. Usually the habitat must be Access Tunnel - The stations ‘backbone’
brought to a stop in order for cargo to access tube runs from the command
be brought aboard, although there are capsule all the way down to the power
emergency protocols for using the car- capsule, a distance of 180m. Along this
go airlock when the habitat is spinning, stretch there are open emergency hatch-
these require the use of climbing ropes
34
es every 20m that automatically close
and a pulley system that draws cargo or in the event of an emergency - or if trig-
passengers up a spoke and over the hab- gered from the command deck.

STATION ALPHA-14 Sensors Deck
2. Command Deck
1
2
3
3. Port/Starboard Docking Arms
Side View 4
6
4. Access Tunnel
7
Spoke A1
5. and 7. Spin Habitat

Hub and access spokes
(One for each spin habitat)
Spoke A4 Spoke A2
Spoke A3
6. Spin Machinery

Spin Habitat Access Spokes - Each spin Spin Habitat 2 - Is nearly identical to
habitat has an access hub with four habitat 1 in layout, although it’s open
spokes, each spoke providing ladder ac- spaces are arranged differently. It has a
when cess ‘down’ to the spin habitat. At the lab instead of a sickbay, more offices and
instead of an emergency cargo hatch it
you centre of hub there’s no simulated grav-
ity, it isn’t until about halfway down a has a full cargo airlock that can be used
have a spoke that an occupant starts to notice
a tug. At the hatch at the end of a spoke
while the habitat is pressurized.
giant the simulated gravity is just less than

0.5g.
Access Tunnel - running a length of
20m from the hub of the second spin
thirst habitat to the start of the first set of mis-
sion modules.
Spin Machinery - The cylindrical hub
module contains the machinery that is
used to drive the spin habitats. It also Mission Modules - Each module pro-
runs fly small, rapidly spinning fly- vides 85-tons of space, split over three
wheels to ensure that no spin leaks into ‘floors’ that can be configured to handle
the station’s main hull. There’s a crew whatever tasks are required. As these
station in the capsule, although it is only modules operate in zero-g, all surfaces
used for maintenance or emergency ac- (floors, ceilings and walls) can be kitted
tions. out with equipment and consoles.
The modules are docked on the central
Spin Habitat 1 - Contains 60 state- access tunnel with hatches connecting
rooms, all equipped for double-occu- to the module’s top floor. Passage be-
Americola pancy. However, as 6-month tours are tween the module’s 3 floors is via doors
not uncommon, all staterooms are ac- that are cut into the floors, rather than
tually used for single occupancy. State- via hatches, although there is an emer-
rooms contain bunk bed, two ward- gency hatch available as a secondary
robes, a single desk, chair and computer means of moving between floors. Note
terminal as well as a shower, sink and that on the second floor there’s a corri-
is all toilet cubicle.
Along with a galley and various open
dor that runs under the station’s access
tube to the adjacent mission module.
you spaces, habitat 1 also includes a sickbay, Alpha-14 carries 6 mission modules,
currently configured with various sys-
office and briefing room, which also
need! doubles as the station commanders of- tems for mineral analysis through ad-
fice. vanced spectroscopy and quantum rip-
pling.
There are 4 overhead hatches (A1,A2,A3
and A4) that lead to the station’s hub, Cargo Modules - Alpha-14 has a rack
there are are also two floor hatches (One on which larger water tanks and cargo
near A1 and the other near A3) that lead pods are attached. The water tanks sup-
ply various needs - although not usually
$
into an under-floor duct. This duct pro-
vides access to various cables and pipes powerplant fuel (the fuel for which is
and can also double as an emergency sealed inside the plant) or life support
~ American access tunnel. Also near B4 is an emer- which runs on a nearly closed system
Dollar gency cargo hatch that can be used to where 95% of waste water is recovered.
load and offload cargo or equipment Some stations use these tanks to sup-
36 that can’t be carried down an access port fuel processing to refuel interface
spoke. This hatch can’t be opened while craft of visiting starships.
the habitat is pressurized. Along with the tanks, Alpha-14 is

Romthom
The
Magnificent
Invites you to the equipped with four 45-ton cargo mod- Scenario idea
Hotel de la Ville ules. On some stations these are bolted
4, Rue de Segogne, into place without any means direct ac- While travelling through Aliceport the
Montmartre, cess from the station. PCs are asked if they’d be prepared to
Paris take a short-term contract to investigate
To experience the Alpha-14 is equipped with cargo mod- the goings-on aboard a research station.
wonder of his ules that have extra hatches installed, al- Three days ago the station’s director
mediumship. lowing the modules to be used as extra logged that staff were starting to suffer
space or for storing supplies. Each car- an acute onset of sickness. A few hours
From 7pm to 11pm go module as a main door at one end, ago the station stopped sending up-
he will attempt to contact there’s no airlock though, so the door dates and isn’t responding to calls. The
the recently deceased for can only be opened if the module has PCs need to get onboard the station,
you for only Lv60! not been pressurised. identify what’s happened. If none of the
PCs have medical training then a medic
o
Power plant capsule - The 300-ton Fu- NPC will be assigned to the group.
sion plant is 20% smaller than a corre-
sponding fusion plant designed to pow- Optional Alpha 14 location
er a starship. This more compact model and background
Go to has been optimised for greater automa-
romthomtm.fra.sol tion and easier maintenance, although it Alpha 14 is located in orbit around
to book tickets NOW! only offers 50% of the power output of a Beowulf and is currently under the
starship power plant. joint control of The Royal Society and
Ask about
v our special the University of Alicia. The station
accommodation rates! On the top floor there are two crew is occupied by sixty three personnel,
Only Lv200 for show, stations and an EVA airlock which is split into two teams: one team stud-
room, and evening meal! equipped with two spacesuits, attached ies Beowulf ’s meteorology and climate
to donning frames - allowing a single using an array of geostationary satel-
member of crew to suit-up in less than a lites, controlled from one of the mission
minute. The rest of the capsule is domi- modules. The station’s second team is
38 nated by the tokamak ring of an Almass
77MW fusion reactor.
responsible for tracking comets and as-
teroids and maintaining a catalogue of

near-Beowulf objects using a separate Another member of staff has attempt-
set of outward facing satellites. Most of ed to cut his way out of the station us-
the station’s mission module space is ing power tools. A number of sick staff
taken up by satellite maintenance and managed to wrestle the tools from him
repair equipment. On the external stor- before he pushed himself elsewhere in
age racks are two spare satellites. the station, leaving one of their num-
ber gravely injured.
The situation
Boarding the station will be contested
The station’s food supply has been con- by the member of staff who has taken
taminated. Over the course of 2 days control of the command deck. The PCs
almost the entire staff suffer acute will need to come up with a plan for
food poisoning, however one in five of getting onboard. Once on the station
the staff (currently 12 personnel) suf- they’ll quickly identify that almost the
fer from a form of delirium, the main entire crew are suffering some form of
symptom for which is paranoia and vio- food poisoning, or have been left weak
lent hallucinations. While it is serious and disoriented from its after effects.
enough that the station’s personnel are Sooner or later they’ll also encounter
sick, these twelve individuals have made staff who are suffering from paranoid
things dire. delirium. The encounter will be re-
solved when the PCs gain control of
One staff member has barricaded her- the station allowing for a larger team
self on the command deck, she believes of medical personnel and relief staff to
that the whole station is a giant alien or- be safely shipped in.
ganism is taunting her - the taunts are
in fact the increasingly desperate calls
from Aliceport orbital for a status up-
date.

BELTERS!
EVERYTHING YOU WANTED
TO KNOW ABOUT BELTERS BUT
WERE AFRAID TO ASK
by RM RHODES
ne of the most interesting trends in those who truly loved the kind of life- Want to explore
the early part of the 22nd Century was style the Belt forced people to adopt. the universe?
the exodus to the Asteroid Belt that fills
the orbit between Mars and Jupiter. For The early sponsors of Belt enterprises Want to earn good
a variety of reasons, a large number of were national entities, but corporate pay and benefits?
people chose to leave Earth and seek interests piggybacked on the effort as
their fortune and settled in the Belt. contractors and quickly established
There was no particular demographic – their own facilities. It didn’t take long Then our mining
women were just as likely to head to the for wildcat miners to take off for less bases could be
frontier as men. crowded portions of the Belt and/or set YOUR first steps to
themselves up as independent sub-con-
The average length of time that any of tractors. As the focus shifted from Belt into a new life!
them spent there was three months, but activities to virgin colony worlds and
those that lasted a full year were more the concept of a Core began to develop, CERES PLATINUM
than likely to spend the rest of their lives the various corporate and national ac-
floating through the rubble – a trend tivities were scaled back, leaving rump is the largest
that holds true today. An interstellar facilities that have been on the verge of platinum and gold
drive was rumored to be coming “any shutdown for over a century. mining operation
day now” for about twelve years, during
which the Belt accumulated its largest Because of this, Belters in the Core do in the core!
ever population – almost a million in- not look back on the boom times with
dividuals at any given time. By 2200, at nostalgia and even now exhibit a large ENLIST TODAY!
the end of the second age of exploration, amount of disdain for anyone who has
there were only ever 100,000 individu- not “put their year in.” Aside from crews
als at any given time. Those that were that are rotated in and out on a regular
just looking for a frontier left en masse basis, the majority of the Belt inhabit-
when the colonies opened up, leaving ants are there by choice and outsiders

often feel as if they were being treated and everything. Although the typical
like baggage. This is out of pragmatism stereotype is that all Belters are miners,
– in the event of an emergency, locals it’s not entirely true. Almost all Belters
will have to take care of making sure have worked in mining at one time or
newbies survive. A common put down another, but that’s not really the point.
is “Not worth the time,” which is short The focus in these communities scat-
for “not worth the time it would take to tered throughout the Belt is not on fi-
save your ass,” implying that the insult- nancial gain – luxury goods are gener-
ed has no survival skills. ally too expensive to even contemplate
– but survival.
TAKE PART IN
Over the course of the past 185 years, the
THE 2300AD belter communities have perfected the Belters have a love/hate relationship
conversion of small asteroids into small with vacuum. It’s a majestic, impersonal
COMMUNITIES zero-gravity, nearly self-sufficient habi- environment that has the capacity for
tats that house anywhere from a dozen great beauty and will kill in an instant
ON FACEBOOK if given a chance. The biggest threat is
to several dozen inhabitants. These ad-
AND GOOGLE+ vances were completely ignored dur- depressurization and the standard en-
ing the planning for the Kolonie Zwei vironmental safety training course in-
debacle, which many belters watched cludes a short period of exposure in
with great amusement. In contrast, both controlled conditions so that students
JUST SEARCH know what to expect. The chuff of exit-
Boise and Ellesmere were built follow-
FOR US THERE ing belter best practices. ing atmosphere is almost iconic in pop-
ular culture and it has almost become a
AND JOIN IN THE There are larger habitats – what the pub- cliché for a story to start with a depres-
lic refers to as belter cities. This is a mis- surization accident.
DISCUSSIONS
nomer, because they can usually only
THAT ARE hold a few hundred people at a time Sociologists who have studied Belter
and nobody really lives in them perma- communities (and there haven’t been
SHAPING THE nently. They are typically built in larger many) describe them as intentional
asteroids that have been spun to provide communities where privacy is more
UNIVERSE important that almost anything else.
gravity and hollowed out to make sev-
OF 2300AD eral self-contained spaces connected by The focus is on living a simple life – not
a series of airtight tunnels. These spaces because they don’t know what luxuries
are used to stage live entertainment. await them on Earth (they watch the
Concerts and travelling performers typ- same 3-V everyone else does), but be-
ically make a point to stop in these cities cause they have simply chosen to reject
them. There aren’t a lot of Cracks in the
when passing through a system. They Belter communities, although some
are few and far between – most of them would say that every Belter has cracked.
are in the Core, and one each in Vogel-
heim, Delta Pavonis and Tau Ceti. Somewhere between a third and a half
of Core Belt inhabitants were born
After the big corporate mining and there, although it is becoming more and
housing installations, the most com- more common for adolescent groups to
mon type of habitats are small settle- head for less crowded belts in the fron-
ments of 40 or 50 individuals where tiers instead of settling in the Core. This
44 most of the inhabitants are engaged

in farming, domestic activities or run-
number goes up in the frontier belts to
almost 100% because colonists are far
ning kleinfabricken to make anything less likely to seek belt living than inhab-

itants of the Core. The population den-
sity in the Core Belt isn’t very high – it’s
traordinarily difficult environment and
were not necessarily from the British
CAN
basically the city of Fargo spread across Commonwealth. This ignored the fact YOU
the circumference of a planetary orbit. that the immigrant belters were not in-
terested in claiming colonial rights or
FILL
Although it is the largest fringe com- resources and just wanted to be sure THIS
SPACE?
munity in the Core, inhabited largely they had a planet with a breathable at-
by people who just want to be left alone, mosphere to aim for in a pinch. The
the Belt is a fairly calm place. Most au- situation got so extreme that belters in
thority figures regard the Belt as a ha- QAS showed up as a recurring villain on
ven for multitudes of escaped and want- a popular children’s video series. (The THEN
ed criminals and they’re probably not
wrong – but few actually stay in the Belt
French seemed bemused by the whole
thing.)
COLONIAL
and instead just pass through en route TIMES
to a place that understands the luxury
of a real bed. There may be one or two
What many did not realize is that the
belters had set up a series of communi- NEEDS
pirate bases and perhaps a Provolution cations satellites that allowed the com- YOU!
safehouse in the Core Belt, but it’s not munity to tap into the British communi-
really a good place to do business of a cations satellite network. This provided
clandestine nature. Most of that activ-
ity occurs in the other asteroid belts
them with access to communications
feeds from the Core brought by each in-
WE
throughout human space. coming ship, the same system used by NEED
Around about the early 2200s, a large
the British colonists. This led to over-
utilization of very carefully calibrated
ART
group of Belters decided that the Core resources that tended to crash more of- AND
TEXT
Belt was too crowded and set out for ten than they should have. Every time
Queen Alice’s Star – the only extra-solar the British shut down a pirate link, an-
asteroid belt in a system with a colony other one sprung up.
world. It was reasoned that proximity
to a colony world was probably a good The whole thing never quite came to a SEE
thing, just in case. Unfortunately, this
migration was not discussed with either
head, but it abated in the 2220s when
the Bavarian government allowed com-
CONTACT
the British or French Colonial Offices panies to set up licensed operations at INFO
and the British Colonial Office protest-
ed – loudly. For their part, the belters
Gerrollblock in DM -56 328, adjacent to
Rho Eridani. It was a given that aster- ON
(the capital B differentiates Core Belt- oid mining companies could not afford CONTENTS
PAGE
ers from frontier belters) ignored the to be picky when it came to nationality,
British and went about their business of so many left QAS and the Core seek-
building habitats. ing honest work. Many more followed
when commercial opportunities in Ross
The British sent in the Royal Navy to 863 and Henry’s Star opened up in the
do periodic sweeps of the belt, looking 2230s. STYGIAN FOX
to disrupt asteroid construction, which

taught the belters better clandestine As the belters left, the Royal Navy con-
skills. This led to a decades-long-run- ducted sweeps to chase out malingerers
ning PR war between the immigrant and made the whole place rather inhos-
45
belters and the British Colonial Office, pitable for most of the next few decades.
who were not interested in supporting While it wasn’t until the late 2270s that
a population that chose to live in an ex- belters began to visit QAS again with the

Spurious Rumours intention of settlement, young belters best guesstimates are somewhere in
have been sneaking into the QAS belt the nature of 100,000 people scattered
There is a strain of con- on a dare since the 2240s, to the point across all ten extra-solar belt, including
spiracy theory that posits where it has become somewhat of a rite the commercial enterprises.
various extremist groups of passage. There are persistent rumors
in these places, plotting Of these, nearly a third of the popula-
that small pockets of belters never really
or preparing a long-delay tion in any of the non-commercial belts
left QAS back in the day and that forgot-
comet aimed at one world
ten habitats are still floating out there, are loners who have found refuge in
or another. The truth is
that these locations are waiting to be found. their own private planet. These are of-
so distant from their pri- ten characterized as extreme Cracks,
maries that the solar cells In addition to the commercial enter- wild-eyed crazies who have run as far
every belter habitat relies prises, a few other systems opened up in away from the pressures of the Core as
on are next to useless. the 2230s and absorbed a great deal of it is possible to run. There is no way for
the diaspora from QAS. Belts in Vogel- anyone to watch them if nobody knows
There are also rumors heim, Delta Pavonis, Mu Herculis and where they are. Sometimes a small com-
that some crazies have Tau Ceti were visited with a great deal munity will provide supplemental food
spent decades transform- or emergency resources to their local
more discretion, so as to not inflame
ing asteroids into works of crazy, but these individuals do their best
local tensions unnecessarily. Only the
art or that they’re sitting
American Navy in Mu Herculis took to remain self-sustaining.
on tantalum or platinum
strikes – but these are al- any notice of the newcomers and have
ways from a friend of a occasionally deployed the fleet to sweep Libertine traders are the primary lifeline
friend who heard about out the usual suspects under the guise between the various belt communities.
something in a distant of “naval training exercises.” These primarily bring food supplements
system. Stranger things and specialty parts that cannot be fabri-
have been known to hap- Every twenty years, a new generation cated with existing materials. It is very
pen, though. Unsurpris- of belters scouts out a new belt, driven common for libertine families to marry
ingly, there are few true by the same sense of overcrowding that into belter communities and vice versa.
loner crazies in the Core When belters move from one system to
drove people to QAS. In the 50s, it was
Belt – it’s too crowded. another, it is usually via libertine ships
Omicron 2 Eridani. In the 70s, it was
Queen Alice’s Star. In the 90s, it was so as to leave no trace of their move-
Further rumors are of
a top secret supermax Procyon. To date, the Brazillian naval ment.
prison facility in Proxima base in the Procyon belt has been the
Centauri’s Oort Cloud, only indication that anyone has noticed Libertines are the primary market for
but then again, there are the incursions. whatever precious metals belters come
also rumors of completely across – these generate credit that can
artificial humans living Because of the discreet nature of the be used in a pinch or for buying enter-
in secret installations in belter communities in the frontier, it tainment. Money is only used in exter-
Sol’s Kuiper Belt. It’s hard was inevitable that pirates, smugglers nal transactions because there is noth-
to know what to laugh at ing internal to the community that is
and other not-entirely-legal enterprises
and what to be intrigued valuable enough to pay money for.
would spring up in their vicinity. Most
by. Both locations are
large enough to house of the activity that authorities suspect is
any number of habitats occurring in the Core Belt can be found Libertines are also the source for most
that nobody would ever in the frontier belts – belters are often of the colonists that decide to run away
know. Which is, as every hired to build asteroid facilities for men to the belt (another common trope in
belter knows, with no name willing to pay in frozen popular entertainment). They hitch a
the whole food. Belters are reclusive to begin with ride with a free trader and get off at the
44 point. and the extra-legal spaces are not inter-

ested in being counted, which makes it
next asteroid habitat, completely unpre-
pared for the life they think they want.
difficult to get exact numbers, but the It is not uncommon for criminals to es-

cape to what they believe is a free haven. store in your living space.
Those that can adapt to a place without
laws will probably not “die in an acci- Nearly all belters (except for some of the
dent” soon after they arrive. It is also crazies) have the Micro G DNAM. Those
equally common for law enforcement that don’t have very specific reasons for
types to follow the same path in search their exception. A sizable population of
of their suspects. the belters were born with it.
The significant difference between belt- Belters are from everywhere – mostly
ers and libertines is that belters have from Tier 1 and 2 nations, with an even
found a place where they want to stay. spread from Tiers 3 and 4. National iden-
Libertines have a desire to travel every- tity means very little in belter communi-
where and see everything. Both find the ties.
rampant materialism in the Core to be
silly – belters know that there are plenty Nearly every star has both a Kuiper Belt
of rocks to live on and if you wanted and an Oort Cloud, yet neither is consid-
to have one for yourself, people would ered for long term habitation in any sys-
help you build it. The only real property tem in Human Space.
that the libertine owns is the ship. Eve-
rything else is just stuff that you have to
47

48

ARMING
‘THE INTREPID ARROWS’
THE WEAPONS OF MANCHURIA’S POLICE FORCES
BY COLIN DUNN
Manchurian police forces are tasked Tenshang State Armoury Police Pistol
with keeping the peace. However, the Type 55 The Intrepid Arrows
Manchurians are mindful that armed,
local police can become the focus of a The Type 55 is a light-weight, small- The Manchu people
rebellion, either as member, or simply to calibre semi-automatic pistol. While inhabit the northern
get their weapons. For that reason, the legally it is only available to police and and western areas of
police forces are limited in the weapons state-sponsored paramilitary forces, it the area of Asia tra-
they can deploy. They have to be effec- is a common personal weapon on Man- ditionally known as
tive enough for use against civilians and churian colonies across the Chinese greater China. They
criminals, but not so effective that they Arm. While the light 7mm round is not are the 4th largest
become a military threat. much of a man-stopper, it is better than indigenous group
nothing. in that area and 1st
largest in present day
Type: 7mm semi-automatic pistol (AD2300) Manchu-
ria itself with Hans
Country: Manchuria coming a close second
Length: 23 cm
Action: Single shot

49
The Manchurian National Flag

and Tibetans and other Mass (empty): 0.6 kg
Himalayans a distant
third. Ammunition: 7x18 mm fixed
cartridge ball
Throughout their his-
tory the Manchu peo- Muzzle Velocity: 480 mps
ple have been known
for their resilience and Magazine: 10 removable box magazine
defiance in the face of
those attempting to sub- Mass of loaded magazine: 0.15 kg Type 55
due them by force.
RoF: 60rpm
The Manchurian peo-
ple are descended from Price: Lv250, Lv20 per box of 100
peoples that first in- rounds.
habited the interior of
north Asia as early as
2800 BC and who later
became known as the
Jurchen. Tenshang State Armoury Security
Pistol Type 66
Successive centuries
saw the Manchu’s for- The Type 66 is a small-calibre sup-
tunes wax and wane pressed pistol only available to Imperial
from being conquered intelligence forces, though in practice it
by Genghis Khan, to es- is often also used by regional security
tablishing the Qing dy- forces as well. This short-barreled weap-
nasty in China, to hav- on uses cased contained-piston rounds, Type 66
ing their culture diluted where the propellent burned is com-
by Han influence and pletely contained within the cartridge.
being seen as backwa- While damage is low, it is effectively si-
ter ‘yokels’, to Japanese lent. It is capable of semi-automatic fire,
domination, then com- but the ejected cases are very distinctive.
munist domination, the
Manchu’s fortunes rose Type: 8mm contained-piston pistol
again in the ruins of Muzzle Velocity: 200 mps
greater China. Country: Manchuria
Magazine: 7 removable box magazine
Freed from the cultural Length: 23 cm
and military domina- Mass of loaded magazine: 0.35 kg
tion by Beijing (at the Action: Single shot
time a significantly flat RoF: 40rpm
and radioactive piece of Mass (empty): 0.6 kg
ground), the Manchuri- Price: Lv2,000, Lv2 per round
ans used their resources Ammunition: 8x40 mm contained
and industry to domi- piston round
nate the north of greater
China and spread out to
the west after (cont.)

Wu-Beijing Type20 Shotgun
(cont.)
Action: Single shot
The Type 20 is a basic pump-action
encountering some little
shotgun used for riot control and door Mass (empty): 2.4 kg
resistance from farm-
entry. Rubber shot and shock rounds
ers collectives in what
are available for riots, and slugs or small Ammunition: 18x40mm fixed cartridge
si now known as China.
explosive rounds for blasting locks and shot (10x6mm shot)
Over time Manchu-
hinges. Though it is classified as a police
ria has stabilised and
weapon and so not technically available Muzzle Velocity: 410 mps
grown into the star far-
for civilians, the Type 20 is a common
ing state we know today.
weapon with colonists on the Chinese Magazine: 6 round internal tube
Arm. magazine
When the ancient Ju-
rchen paid tribute to
Type: 18mm shotgun Mass of 6 rounds in magazine: 0.40 kg
the great Emperor
Shun in the 23rd cen-
Country: Manchuria RoF: 40rpm
tury BC they did so
in arrows and finekly
Length: 23 cm Price: Lv780, Lv20 for 200 loose rounds.
crafted bows. While ex-
perts are divided on the
etymology of the name
Manchu, it is thought
by many (including the
Glorious Historical Bu-
Type-20 reaux of Anthropologi-
cal Enlightenment) that
the word ‘Manju’ (or
‘Intrepid Arrows’) gave
rise to the name of the
people.
Many local police in

Manchuria during Twi-
light fought off roaming
bandits, nationalist re-
Type-715
bels, and the occasional
Tenshang State Armoury Police Rifle stick. Russian marauder by
Type 715 forming small mili-
Type: 7.5mm police rifle tia groups and calling
Like most police weapons in Manchu- themselves ‘The Intrep-
rian territory, the Type 715 is a semi- Country: Manchuria id Arrows’ in honour
automatic weapon. It fires the standard of the forebears. The
Wu-Beijing 7.5 x 32mm round, which is Length: 23 cm tradition continues to
effective but suffers from poor terminal this day and the name
ballistics. It is also used to fire bullet- Action: Single shot is used as a by-word for
trap rifle grenades, usually with some the state police.
sort of irritant gas for crowd dispersal. Mass (empty): 3.1 kg
Also unlike most modern weapons, the
Type 715 has a mounting lug for a bayo- Ammunition: 7.5x32mm fixed
net, which is often used to carry a stun- cartridge ball

Muzzle Velocity: 970 mps RoF: 40rpm
Magazine: 20-round removable
box magazine Price: Lv200, Lv10 for a box of 100
rounds.
Mass of loaded magazine: 0.2 kg
Type-B Bullet-Trap is worth noting that Manchurian police

Rifle Grenades also receive training in how to effec-
tive use armour-piercing rifle grenades
While rifle grenades area a rare against armoured vehicles and walkers
sight in military usage, many Man- in urban settings. All anti-armour rifle
churian police forces use them in grenades are equipped with a chip that
riot-control to fire irritant gases prevents them being used against Man-
and other crowd-control agents. It churian military targets.
Wu-Beijing Type-91 Storm Cloud Type: 20mm binary propellant

flechette gun
The Storm Cloud is a long-range anti-
personnel/anti-material rifle based on Country: Manchuria
the old Type-81 Storm Gun. Instead of Length: 172 cm
the huge 20mm round, the Storm Cloud
fires a tight cluster of 7 6x60mm flech- Action: Single shot
ettes, with an effective range of over Mass (empty): 10 kg
Type-91 1000 meters. Dispersal of the darts over
that range is less than 30 cm, virtually- Ammunition: 20mm flechette
guaranteeing a hit. It is not considered (7 6x60mm flechettes)
an effective weapon for hostage situa-
tions. Muzzle Velocity: 1,020 mps
The Storm Cloud has a +2 to hit at all Magazine: 10 removable box magazine
ranges, but aimed fire at specific targets Mass of loaded magazine: 2 kg. 2 kg for
(like head, or a vehicle sensor) is effec- propellant bottles for 100 shots.
tively impossible. Or rather, aimed fire RoF: 40rpm
at only a specific target is impossible. Price: Lv2,200, Lv80 for 20 loose rounds
WEAPONS STATISTICS

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YOUR WORLD
THE LATEST NEWS BROUGHT TO YOUR FINGERTIPS
yourworld.ct.uk.sol
for your up to the
minute news!
Out into the cold

“We’ve known for a while” said Simone Cassel, Elysia’s
Intelligence & Security Minister, regarding the revela-
tion that 3 French spies had been arrested in the Parlia-
ment Building.
“They (the French) will try anything to destabilise Ely-
sia and bring harm to it’s people.” The Presdient jean
Fournier declined to detail further saying that “Secu-
rity matters are the purview of the security minister.”
Franco-Elysian relations had been warming of late but
this scandal may see any co-operation dwindle.
Terror on the slopes

Few of us know the horror of a wildfire out of control
but those who do, spare a thought for the residents of
Cold Mountain. Having to fight of predators is one
thing but having to fight the weather and the atmos-
pheric fires it brings is something else entirely.
An unusual weather disturbance occurring roughly
every 5 or so Terran years has seen oxygen levels creep
up near the colonies. Naked flames can spark off large
fires and may lead to what the locals call ‘raging wind’
or a tornado that is ablaze. Leaders are hoping the lev-
els will return to normal within the next few weeks.
A new threat on Aurore

Reports are coming in from the Tanstaafl Health Ministry that a new hith-
erto unknown microbial infection is affecting some outlying farms in the
eastern hills near Mt Phaeton. Medics have been dispatched but are so far
unable to explain the infection which has spores that grow a strange fuzzy
fungus like carpet choking out the lungs, eyes, and throat of both livestock
and humans.
Doctors and medics are currently examining the life cycle of this new af-
fliction to determine if there is anything threat after the host is dead. The
ministry and the Tanstaafl Rural Police are urging the populace to be vigi-
lant and report any signs of infection by sat-com immediately.

YOUR WORLD
Robo-Cat!
Guerlain (Robotics) have revealed their latest
model... called Henry. It’s a robotic cat that acts
just like a real cat. It meows, snuggles up to you,
and feels warm and living. At Lv12,000 it’s obvi-
ously aimed at the rich and those who love cats but
have allergies to cat fur (the fur on Henry’s back
is nano-glass) but I think we can all agree that the
results are impressive. This reporter wasn’t told
Henry was artifical until I’d been stroking him for
ten minutes. They can be fully tailored to the cus-
tomers needs. If I had the money mine would be
rainbow coloured and called Lovecraft. If anyone
wants to buy me an early Christmas gift that is ..
More on robotics and artifical life next issue.

Uniting species through punk
Lucy Glass, lead singer with the band Wet-
blade, stopped by the Colonial Times office
this week to talk to our sister publication
‘Rock Core’. Lucy, a Crater native, told RC
that her aggressive style, screeching guitars,
and heavy and fast drum beats echoed back to
the pre-Twilight ‘punk style’ and gave a voice
to the billions of angry and frustrated youth
throughout human space.
“It’s really an outlet for all of us. I’ve spoken

to businessmen on a Tokyo train, a captain on
a Ukranian warship, and an art collector on
Tirane and Wetblade means something dif-
ferent to all of them. It’s not restricted to what
the media like to call ‘the angry youth’. I seem
to be a muse for many, an outlet for some, and
an object of desire to a few.”
Lucy was alluding to the legal case against
Mickael Goetz, an unemployed builder who
stalked her home on Crater for 2 months
before being arrested and sentence to 2 years.
Wetblade has seen their popularity rise on
Kormoran as coastal Ebers regard their tunes
as ‘Battle Poems’ and their latest
56 album ‘Rise’ has also been

released in an ‘Eber friendly’
version.

YOUR WORLD
Green Warriors
‘Friends of the Worlds’ campaigner Melissa Brant
has told CT that she intends to set up a human body
blockcade against any attempt to “improve” (as she
puts it) the Hadley River in Wellon (seen left). Lysand-
er et Folie have been given permission by the colonial
government to extend the downport into the river
basin, angering locals and worrying environmentalists
across the sphere. A case of appeal is currently going
through Wellon High court but FotW are unlikely to
win despite several notaries offering support.
Money for old radio
At a recent auction in Napoli, an old Sattori radio

went for Lv45,000 to a private collector... despite not
working. While the pre-Twilight radio is in remark-
able condition considering its age (and being only 2
miles from a nuclear airburst in 1998), many of its in-
ternal components are beyond use. Still, it appears the
bidders were more interested in its looks than what
little radio reception thse units used to have.
Time to check your attics, who knows, you could have
a fortune stored away up there.
A festival of waves
Once again the crowds gather in north-

west Wales for the annual wakeboarding
and surfing festival ‘Wakefest’. Nearly
100,000 tourists will gather in the small
town of Abersoch this weekend to surf,
wakeboard, buy surfing goods, and to
watch the Interstellar Wakeboard Cham-
pionship.
After the competition has finished and

the gold spoons handed out, the town
comes alive in a festival of light, lasers,
fireworks, and floating light fields as
the musical side of the festival begins.
Headlined this year by ‘Short, Controlled Bursts’ the festival also has some of the most famous
acts around including Wetblade, EFO, Daany Sanchez, Maria Serenity, Antoine Jarre, Arthaus,
57
and the band at the current number one spot, Sanctify. There’ll also be family areas and
entertainments plus beer tents and a separate DJ and groove zone on the beach. All those
wishing to attend should call 44-7989-2222 but hurry, the festival is nearly at capacity and
starts in 3 days.

44

YOUR WORLD
YOUR
MONTHLY
MAGAZINE
REVIEW
élan
(roughly two per year) the retailers can’t keep them
on the shelves long enough. Still, it was this very fact
that has made King’s position difficult. the owner
at guerlain, John Blacksmith, has decreed that élan
must now have an online edition in order to reach
customers on distant worlds for who the price of
shipping a paper copy is out of reach. Still insisting it
was a wrong move, Ms King tended her resignation.
It’s not clear how the magazine will fair without her as
the issues we see were planned months ago and it may
take more than a year for Ms King’s influence to dis-
appear but no one is in any doubt that élan is her baby.
The Legacy of Oubliette The Issue

Pierre-Louis Spearing ________
Milan Week: Winners & Losers
What’s Hot On Tirane It is fitting that this month’s issue deals
with another departure as they look at
November, 2299 the closing of the French fashion house
Oubliette. It has long been whispered that the com-
pany was overstaffed after it lost so heavily on trying
Initially planned as a single large fashion book, such to appeal to a younger market and that it was only a
was the orders that Guerlain fashion decided to make matter of time before the doors would close, but still
élan a short series fashion magazine. Now, after 14 we read the article on their demise not so much as
years and 196 issues, the woman who started it all, fashion news but more as an obituary and a warning
Marie King, is stepping down. to all fashion houses that no matter how good their
lines are, commerce will out.
She has proved without doubt that there is a mar-
ketplace for old style magazines for those who The biography on Pierre-Louis Spearing was well
appreciate the actual over the virtual. King was written and inciteful (I never knew he had a robot
once called “a lunatic” by an unkind advertis- cat!) and of course, it’s coverage of Milan Fashion
er who promptly pulled his advertising as soon Week™ was superb (Denis Nino was in lightning
as it was revealed that élan would be print only. form!) but where the magazine takes a wrong turn
is it’s summary of current trends on Tirane. While
“A good magazine is like good silk. you need the tac- informative it nonetheless repeats ideas and forms
tile sense to know that you are holding something of that were all the rage on Earth 2 years ago. I’m not
worth.” She wasn’t wrong. The magazine proved to sure why we need to know that. Still, grab Ms King’s
be a hit and is now the fashion magazine through- genius while you can as her stock is sure
out Human space (with Vogue Interstellar a close to rise.
second). Fans hold their issues in binders and in
special collections around their home like rare and ~Susan Mason 59
valued books and everytime there is a special edition

ashen stars
robin d. laws pelgrane pr ess
From Star Wars and

Star Trek to Traveller
and the Firefly Role-
Playing Game, we have
been roleplaying Space
Opera for over thirty-
five years, usually in
semi-military or inde-
pendent ship operator
campaigns. Ashen Stars
takes its cues from
both, but makes its
(Click Pookie To campaigns investiga-
Access His Blog) tive in nature, the rea-
son being that televisu-
al Space Opera are essentially mysteries to be solved. For
example, the 1967 classic Star Trek episode, ‘The Devil
in the Dark’ has the Enterprise crew determining who is
killing the workers and destroying their machinery on a
mining planet.
(Click Image For Links To Pelgrane Press)
The setting for Ashen Stars is the Bleed, a wild frontier
to The Combine, a post-utopia recovering from a war
with the mysteriously forgotten Mohilar that devastated and the warrior locust-like Kch-thk who used to eat
system after system using unknown technologies. A dec- other species and can transfer to new bodies when
ade later, and unable to police the Bleed, The Combine their old ones die.
contracts peacekeeping missions and criminal inves-
tigations out to independent ship operators known as Character generation is a collective process. Once
‘Licensed Autonomous Zone Effectuators’ or ‘Lasers’. As everyone has decided upon their Warpside and
Lasers, the player characters crew and operate a ship on Groundside roles, the division allowing each Laser
a tight budget, hoping to complete Reputation enhanc- a moment to shine, each player assigns points to his
ing assignments that will lead to better and more profit- character Investigative and General Abilities, the
able assignments. Each crewmember undertakes a role amount dependent on the number of players. The
aboard ship and off ship for efficiency’s sake. For exam- various alien species also have their own Special
ple, Communications Officer is a Warpside role, while Abilities. Every character needs a Drive and the team
Survey Officer is a Groundside role. A Lazer is usually must choose a ship and purchase any modifications,
one of ‘The Seven Peoples’ of The Combine, from or- including personal cyberware and viroware. Lastly,
dinary humans and the uncannily beautiful Balla who each character needs a personal development arc,
love nature, but fear all emotions to the Durugh, short such as identify the Mohilar, which can be highlight-
alien humanoids that can phase through solid matter ed in each investigation’s B-story.

Mechanically, Ashen Stars uses the Gumshoe System. Bleed that leaves room aplenty for the GM to add
This has the Lazers expending ratings in Investigative his own material, backed up with good advice de-
Abilities, like Bio Signatures and Evidence Collection, signed to keep each episode unique; and an enter-
to gain extra clues during an investigation. If a Laser taining scenario that puts a knowing twist or two on
has a rating in an Investigative Ability, he gains the base the genre.
clues related to that Ability, whereas points in General
Abilities, like Communications Intercept and Scuffling, With no dice to roll for Investigative Abilities, the
are expended to modify simple d6 rolls. The idea here GUMSHOE System initially feels odd. It is easy to
is that Investigative Abilities give a Lazer the equivalent adjust to, especially in the very straightforward Ash-
of screen time and prevent the story from stalling due en Stars. Its treatment of Space Opera is refreshing,
to failed skill roles that prevent clues from being found. its setting is rife with story potential, and its use of
investigations as a framing device is intriguing and
To this unfussy treatment of the GUMSHOE System, intelligent.
Ashen Stars adds a cinematic, if surprisingly gruelling ~ Matthew Pook
starship combat system. Initially it looks complex, so
needs the very full example given in the book. Also in-
cluded is an array of nasty threats; a description of the
NEXT ISSUE
WEAPONS
WORLDS
ROBOTS
VEHICLES
PATRONS
NEWS
..and maybe something from you?
In order for Colonial Times to
continue we need your input!
See the Contents page for the
e-mail address to send your
submissions ideas to.

INPUT
THE GENEROUS CONTRIBUTORS
WHO HAVE MADE THIS ISSUE OF
COLONIAL TIMES POSSIBLE.
THEY’VE STEPPED UP. YOUR TURN.
Steff. J. Worthington Contact info is steff@stygianfox.com .

Available for cartography projects, trade dress, and
graphic design for RPG’s and other books.
Colin Dunn .
Contact info is cgdunn@gmail.com .
Available for short writing/editing projects for
Traveller and other SF games and related short fiction.
Charles E. Gannon
‘Fire with Fire’ out now http://www.charlesegannon.com/
‘Trial by Fire’
cegwebmaster@hotmail.com
Release date
July 2014 Author of ‘Fire With Fire’
Baen Books
available now from all good book retailers.
Scott Richard
Contact info is http://rich35211.deviantart.com/
http://scottrichard.cghub.com/
Matte Painter and 3d artist, movies, book covers, games, and concept art.
Adrian Thomassen
Contact info is http://adrianthomassen92.deviantart.com/
Artist | Hobbyist | Digital Art

Angelcurioso
Contact info is http://angelcurioso.deviantart.com/
Photographer & Stock Producer
Mark Lucas
Contact info is mark@lucas-digital.com
Available for Articles, illustrations, maps and deck plans.
NaviStock
Contact info is http://navistock.deviantart.com/
Photographer & Stock Producer
desideriasp-stock
Contact info is http://desideriasp-stock.deviantart.com/
Artist & Stock Producer
Vitaly-Sokol
Contact info is http://vitaly-sokol.deviantart.com/
Photographer & Artist
‘hameed
Contact info is http://hameed.deviantart.com/
Digital Artist

Sade Shizuku
Contact info is http://alturl.com/txmuy
3D Artist & Stock Producer
Rafal Hyps
Contact info is http://rafalhyps.deviantart.com/
Artist
Riktorsashen
Contact info is http://riktorsashen.deviantart.com/
Artist | Hobbyist | Photography
Pookie
Contact info is http://rlyehreviews.blogspot.co.uk/
Editor & Reviewer
Available for Editing & Reviews
R. M. Rhodes
Contact info is oletheros@yahoo.com
Writer
Available for Comic Book projects.
Gavin Dady
Contact info is Gavindady@gmail.com
Mechanical designs (starships, vehicles, guns, satellites)
hobbyist

David Elrick
Writer
Neville D’Souza
Contact info is http://nevs28.deviantart.com/
http://nwiz25.cgsociety.org/gallery/
Artist | Hobbyist | Digital Art
Laurent Esmiol
Digital Artist
Luca A. Volpino
Contact info is lvolpino@wildboar.it
sololuca.wordpress.com
Media | News | Publishing
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COLONIAL TIMES

THE JOURNAL FOR THE 2300AD SCI-FI ROLE-PLAYING GAME

‘OPERATION BACK DOOR’ PART ONE

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THE MANCHURIAN POLICE

60 POOKIE’S POCKET: ASHEN STARS

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Mark Lucas Mr Teufel Esquire

Interestingly the first time I saw Based on a conversation in FB

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EPISODE I : CAT’S FEET OR CATSPAW?

6 the course of the adventure. core, diameter in kilometers, and den-

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DOOR As players of both

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morgan of firefights and is not afraid

lindstrom helmsman easy relationship with vio-

times approach it rationally and not get into Strength: 8

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about the AIA’s role in Operation Back AMERICAN

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HYDROSPHERE:32% ICE/38% WATER

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SYSTEM CHART FOR

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After Helen lovingly places her sensors

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Some planets are known

The nearest known

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Momentum Is A Signitory To U.N. Charter 238.1A

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At The National Theatre in Reston

Dame Molly Stafforde

Foreign & Off-World

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It’s open to possibilities

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After the battle for Joi

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5. and 7. Spin Habitat

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giant the simulated gravity is just less than

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