Secrets in Sulfur Part 2: On the Trail of the Worm #1

Our cast of characters:

John – Boris Clapshaw, ex Army Infantry Sergeant
Jonathan – Riishaa Daanel, ex Marine
Dylan – Count Asenault “Chivers” Washington-Pipps, retired Marine Colonel
Chris – “Bunty” Staffburger, ex Marine Force Commander

Recap:

Bunty Staffburger meets up with his old friend Count Asenault "Chivers" Washington-Pipps, Chivers' batman Riishaa Daanel and Boris Clapshaw, a friend of Daanel's, on Por’via. The three of them are heading off to do some mercenary work in the Geithurian Republic and have stopped over on Por’via before leaving Imperial Space.

Bunty’s girlfriend, Selia Vuir – a sulfur miner – is overdue from her shift. She has mentioned finding a cache of sunstones – opal-like gemstones – which she had intended to sell, under the counter, to Jorgan Kiorpanos, the local VenGems Holdings agent. Bunty and his companions venture out into the badlands above the sulfur flats to try and locate her. Instead they discover mysterious vargr, vicious alien lifeforms called irrijari, and a buried shuttle craft belonging to a mysterious methane-breathing species called the Mi’yargin. The ship has been on Por’via for around 200 years. The Mi’yargin have managed to save Selia, who was injured by the irrijari, by melding her mind into their Collective Consciousness, while they alter her body to better survive in a methane atmosphere.

Once the companions deal with the Vargr, and with the irrijari, the Mi’yargin shuttle takes off to rejoin its mothership, hidden in the rings of the Por’via system’s gas giant. While heading out-system, the companions realize that they are being followed by the Vargr freighter Akhska that was in port, and which was noted for its crew not speaking Gvegh – the standard Vargr language.

The Mi’yargin Nullship is a planetesimal-sized, icy structure, deep in the gas giant’s ring system. A crater near the equator turns out to be a large, external shuttle bay. Gaining access to the Mi'yargin's internal transportation system, Chivers and his companions are able to ambush Captain Vegh and the Akhska’s crew and seize their ship by emerging directly beneath the freighter through the nullship’s surface. The Mi’yargin Collective, having successfully reintegrated the Collective of the shuttle crew, are able to assist Chivers and his companions in translating some of the information discovered aboard the Akhska, and interrogating the one surviving Vargr crewbeing. The Akhska has come a long way – from Waystar in Cabria Subsector where someone called Aia issues orders to Captain Vegh and the crew of the Akhska. The Vargr aboard the Akhska speak an ancient Vargr language called Arrghoun - older than, and distinct from, Gvegh, the language of most Imperial Vargr. The Arrghoun Vargr refer to their employer as Aeroukh Doaengosra - “Lord (or Prince) Whipworm”. The Mi’yargin Collective wonders if Lord Whipworm may in fact be a Danshihabi, an ancient enemy of the Mi’yargin and referred to, by them, as “thieves and carrion worms”.

The Mi’yargin ask Chivers and his companions to journey along the Akhska’s back trail to Waystar to learn more about Lord Whipworm, and to report back to the Collective at a rendezvous point in the Yuar Outsystem in Cabria Subsector. The Collective turns the Akhska over to Civers and throws in a little something to continue their association – a large, sarcophagus-like object.

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The sarcophagus-like object delivered to the ship turns out to be a very old Lowberth capsule, and when this is activated, Chivers and his companions meet Amin Soshousis, a Scout. Exploring the Por’via system in 922, just before the 1st Outrim War, Amin’s Scout ship collided with the Mi’yargin Nullship. She managed to get into her Lowberth before the catastrophic failure of her ship’s life support system. The Mi’yargin managed to retrieve her Lowberth, did a preliminary scan of its systems, and then put it into storage as events unfolded on Por'via, keeping it safe for 200 years.

Music tastes change in 200 years

It takes Amin several days to recover from her extended Lowberth time, and Boris and Bunty are surprised at how well she seems to adjust to the massive time displacement she has experienced. Apart from her slightly antiquated figures of speech, and her very old style Scout uniform, there is little to distinguish her from someone of a more contemporary origin. When asked about this, Amin admits that every day she is having to make little adjustments as she discovers items that work slightly differently, or products that taste or function slightly differently. But, having served as a Field Scout for a number of years, she is used to being transient - never making attachments as duty usually moves one on - and she is used to discovering and experiencing new things. Working a Vargr ship is actually less of a culture shock than discovering all the people she knew are gone and all the bands she used to listen to are now considered Classical Music.

Once Amin, and Knaes – the captured Vargr whom Daanel has convinced to join the new pack – have worked out the basic bridge control layout, the Akhska leaves the Nullship. Slipping back to Por’via in an attempt to recover Selia’s Sunstone stash, the companions find that it has been picked clean. An attempt to hunt down the scavengers, thought to possibly be associates of Jorgan Kiorpanos, the VenGems agent who was killed by the irrijari, proves fruitless, so Chivers and his associates decide to leave Por’via and set out on their mission for the Mi'yargin.

The Akhska is a Gaeouz Class Far Trader, with a three parsec Jump range and 3Gs of acceleration. Having extracted more data from the Akhska’s log, Chivers and his associates have learnt that the ship transited through Evvikkim while heading for Por’via, and that there seems to have been some message traffic between Captain Vegh and an agent of Aia's operating on-planet. Amin is very reluctant to enter Geithurian space, even when assured that some time has passed since the last Outrim War (the 4th which, Amin argues, proves her point as she entered her Lowberth just prior to the 1st Outrim War). Having assured her that they will not remain longer than necessary in-system, they eventually plot a course from Por’via, via Jul'ni and Hiona in Geithurian space, before jumping on to Evvikkim.

On approach to Evvikkim, Amin informs Chivers and his companions that she is picking up an automated message being tight beamed to their ship. The message is in code and in Arrghoun, which the Bunty and Daanel are able to crack. The message appears to be from a local agent of Aia’s, saying that a strange ship has been spotted in the Evvikkim system and asking the Akhska to get word to Aia.

Evvikkim Downport shows signs of decay, as if it was once a lot busier than it now is. Very few Evvikkimians are evident, and all look pale and drawn. Also, no children are evident within the starport concourse, while the bulk of the service work at the starport is performed by gangs of Vargr of different origins. Large areas of the starport have been mothballed, or partially shut down, and many areas are dusty and unserviced, as if no-one has ventured into them in many years. Even snack food dispensers are lightly coated in a film of dust, and are stocked with older style packets of snacks.

Chivers and Boris Clapshaw meet Sholoam Kharii, Head of Security for Evvikkim Downport, a tall and cadaverous Vilani and who, like all Evvikkimians, wears slightly archaic styled clothing. Amin is convinced that she recognises him, and that he was head of security when she last passed through Evvikkim – over 200 years ago. Sholoam seems a little suspicious when Chivers talks of picking up a cargo, and advises Chivers and his associates to be wary of the Vargr groups that frequent the starport, and in particular a group lead by Angtuez.

While Chivers and his companions are out looking for cargos and news, Amin is abducted from the Akhska by a Vargr gang. Giving chase, Chivers and company track down her assailants in an abandoned maze of tunnels between the starport and Evvikkim City and, after a shootout, rescue her from the band of Vargr led by Angtuez.

Getting back aboard the ship, Chivers and his associates are thoroughly convinced that Evvikkim is getting all a bit too creepy, and so they perform an emergency takeoff, damaging the access tunnel to their docking bay in the process. With threats of legal retribution reverberating from the ship’s comm., the Akhska heads for the system gas giant, Lamo VIII, to refuel while a debate rages over their next move.

Iain M. Banks has achieved a Zero Point Energy State

A post on G+ alerted me to the news, this morning. Iain Banks has lost his battle with gallbladder cancer and passed away.

I am currently reading Matter, and have The Hydrogen Sonata to look forward to. And then I can return to the origin point, I guess, and read all his books again.

The BBC News has more details - with various other UK news sources pretty much regurgitating the same press release.

As he was a humanist, I suspect Mr Banks might get a little annoyed about people suggesting that he had gone to a better place. I would prefer to remember him for his "big ideas" science fiction, and suggest that he has now achieved a Zero Point Energy State. My thoughts are with his wife and family.

Website Update #23

I've had a productive week or so adding some new content to my website - a 'How to' guide for assembling a rather nice little Armoured Car from RAFM, and updating my modelling log with a bunch of stuff I finished painting in May - including a number of grav vehicles for my Imperial Marine unit and a Vargr grav tank. The Vargr tank was originally for an alien race called the Kra'vak, but I converted the commander into a Vargr, and that did the job.

As usual, the website's front page is here, the modelling menu is here and the Modblog is here. Hope you enjoy it.

Aloin's Saga - Solo Traveller #15

This picks up the Solo Traveller game I was relating back in December ...

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Across the field, the A.K.I. Interstellar freighter Carsuhlan lifted off. The roar of its thrusters cracked through the sticky, summer air. Flocks of small, seed-eating avians whirled and skittered in panic amongst the warehouses and gantries that lined the rim of the loading apron. Lying in the shade of the Iridium Queen’s dorsal turret, Aloin glanced up from the book he was reading on his handcomp, automatically watching how the skipper of the freighter handled her heavily ladened ship. The Carsuhlan slowly circled the field, climbing into the green-blue Naltor sky in a long spiral. A kilometer high, it straightened up and began to accelerate hard. Going transonic, the flare of the main drive slowly faded against the light of rising Secthon as the jet stream gently pulled the vapour trail to pieces.

His eyes tracking down from the departing ship, Aloin spotted movement through the heat haze near one of the warehouses. Checking the chrono on his handcomp, he keyed the send button. “Kiirgun, I think our freight’s on the way.” He winced as he heard a metallic crash from the main cargo hatch below.

Grabbing his handcomp, Aloin eeled through the turret’s escape hatch, dogging it closed behind him. Sliding down the service ladder to the gunner’s station, he quickly checked that the hatch was sealed and armed, before sprinted down the corridor to the downladder to the cargo hold.

Sliding down the hand rails, he arrived in time to see Kiirgun scooping tools back into the toolbox trolley. “Frakkin’ thing fell over,” Kiirgun muttered, flinging wrenches and spanners into the toolbox. Holi Pradeen, the ship’s portly engineer, was sitting in a hammock chair in the breeze by the main hatch and shaking with laughter. As Aloin paused, confused, Holi waved a hand. “I told him the tool trolley wasn’t a good seat,” he wheezed, wiping his face with a handkerchief. “The brakes weren’t on. And then his ‘comp went off, and he jumped, and it all fell over.” Holi began laughing again.

As the haulers pulled up in front of the main hatch, Captain Elera Lukk stumped onto the cargo deck, leaning heavily on her stick. She made a great play of casually filling her pipe and lighting it as the driver from Odinventox was obliged to exit his air-conditioned cab and walk up the ramp to present his waybill. Glancing disdainfully at the proffered paper, Captain Lukk extracted her handcomp from her belt pouch. As the driver glared, Lukk downloaded an electronic copy of the waybill from the local Odinventox server and pinged the request for acknowledgement to the driver’s ‘comp in his hauler’s cab.

As the last hauler pulled away from the Iridium Queen, the starport floods were lighting up. Errai, the system primary, was setting, though Secthon was high and bright and Ninix was rising. Lukk glanced at Aloin. “Yes,” she said, “it was a petty thing to do, but Odinventox – the multi-system megacorp – has messed us around over this freight for nearly ten days. And I took it out on one of their drivers. But, you might have noticed, the arrogance of the masters is reflected in the minions.

“Now, we are not a rich ship, but we are owned free and clear by my family. My family is by no means House Major in status but, on Celephais, we are House Minor, and war heroes, and not without lineage or standing. And so as the Captain of a Free Trader, and as the representative of a House Minor, I think I might expect just a little respect from a truck driver, even one employed by a Megacorp such as Odinventox.”

Lukk blew a smoke ring from her pipe. It hung in the still, sultry evening air as she stared moodily out into the growing darkness. The starport floods were not yet bright enough to blot out the conflicting shadows thrown by the two moons, Secthon and Ninix. “When you and Kiirgun finish the tie-downs, report to the bridge,” she said at last. She glanced at Aloin. “You do have permission to shower first,” she added, and then smiled. “We have a launch window at 2315 and you’re plotting our transit to Jump. I would recommend grabbing something to eat, as well.”

As the Iridium Queen climbed out of Naltor’s gravity well, Captain Lukk stared glumly at her boards. “Four frakkin’ weeks being messed around by three megacorps,” she muttered. Aloin glanced up from Scan. “Kiirgun was right,” Lukk continued. “He said Naltor would be a waste of time. Megacorps fill their own, first, then shipping lines they want favours from, and then what’s left goes to the bottom feeders.”

“Where are we heading, now, Captain?” Aloin asked.

“Kamperel,” Lukk said, succinctly.

Miska glanced at her. “Really?” she whispered. “After all the neg’tive chatter we hearin’? You want t’go there?”

“No!” Lukk snapped. “I do not want to go there but, in case you haven’t noticed, we haven’t exactly been swimming in cargo lately.”

“Word is, they want a war.”

“As long as they don’t want it within the next 1400 hours, we will be in, out, and over on Miazan having a jarus steak dinner with Celephaisian Rum Cocktails.”

The Tunnels of Tonivar: Chapter 2 The Bromosian Gambit

Characters:
John – Akira Valdez, Ex - Merchant
Chris – Nimrod ‘Nim’ Higgins, Ex- Marine Commando
Jonathan – John Hawkwood , ex Marine

Akira Valdez and Nimrod 'Nim' Higgins survived an exciting treasure hunt on Tonivar/Cabria, as related here, befriended a group of Kiang revolutionaries, and relieved a Kalar-Wi officer of his ship. After dodging through Kalar-Wi Space, the newly renamed Harmony and her intrepid crew reached the Imperial world of Celephais where they were able to dispose of their valuable cargo.

In the aftermath of the excitement of selling the Kalar-Wi Honour Chest to Ghorman Holk of Holk, Garstil and Vorshu; Antiquarians, Valdez and Nim secured a load of ACRs and ammunition for the Kiang of the Harmony, and for the Phagouran Nak Prah Revolutionary movement back on Gaidon in Cabria Subsector. Nim then decided that having another human security specialist onboard could be an asset, given that Valdez’s plan was to trade around the Subsector, raising funds for the revolution. After a bit of hunting around, Nim and Valdez hired John Hawkwood, ex Imperial Marines, as Steward and Security.

While sorting out the munitions cargo, Nim and Hawkwood became aware that the Harmony was under surveillance from another group of Kiang. Tracking them back through the starport, Nim and Hawkwood discovered that these Kiang were linked to a small Kalar-Wi ship that had recently arrived in port.

While considering their options, Nim received an X-Boat message from his father, Osiris Higgins.

“Son, if you receive this then I may be in a spot of difficulty.

Gaspar Hourlanti and I have a lead on the whereabouts of Gilbert Chor. He wasn’t on Naltor, as we had thought. Seems that Sam and Isfan, his sons, have been having some dealings with Phorgan sa Vaspran, Minister of the Interior for President for Life Count Sakkan of Bromus. The Chors have a compound in the main town, Hasamton, as well as an estate just out of Bromus Downport.

If I don’t reset the auto tag on this message every two days, it will upload to the next X-Boat. If you get this message, I haven’t made it back to the Starport.

Remember, the Bromosians are xenophobic and touchy as heck. They have a couple of ex-Imperial SDBs deployed insystem and they don’t like people taking liberties.

See you soon, Son. Let’s show those Chor’s a thing or two.”

This message provoked some debate between Valdez and Nim as to where they should head next. Eventually, they agreed that they needed to get to Bromus and see what sort of a mess Osiris “Ossi” Higgs had got himself into. Valdez was aware of his old friend’s rather shady merchant history but he wasn’t aware of the details of the feud with Gilbert Chor. All Nim could recall was that the feud was long standing and Gilbert Chor had swindled Ossi out of a cargo, though the details were a little vague as they kept changing, depending upon what sort of mood Ossi was in at the time.

Picking up a spec cargo, the Harmony cleared Celephais Downport and headed for Udara IX, the system Gas Giant, to refuel before Jump. Detecting a ship in pursuit, Valdez had Tak Tai Nok and Von Dat Goh, the two Kiang leaders and bridge crew, change course for Udara VI, a small rocky world otherwise ignored by insystem traffic. Dropping into near orbit, they quickly selected a suitable spot in a crater, landed the Harmony, and set up an ambush under an overhang in the crater wall.

As the pursuing ship drew closer, Valdez and Tak managed to work out that it was probably the 150ton Kalar-Wi yacht that was in port with them on Celephais. Then, as the yacht put itself into an overflight orbit, it was suddenly jumped by a 300 ton armed merchant that had also been on an outbound vector. The two ships engaged and the 300tonner, the Diamond Angel, quickly disabled the yacht, causing it to crash into a mountain near the crater where the Harmony was lying in wait.

Hailing the Diamond Angel, Valdez found himself talking to Sam Chor, the ship’s captain and the son of Gilbert Chor, Ossi Higgins’ old enemy. Sam Chor told Valdez that he is just a simple merchant captain, but that after a bad experience during the Kalar-Wi War, he still considered the Kalar-Wi to be “the enemy” and that, as far as he is concerned, the Kalar-Wi will resume the war as soon as they are ready.

By this stage, Celephais Traffic Control was demanding that the Diamond Angel stand down and prepare to be boarded by System Patrol as, apparently, they did not share Sam Chor’s contention that the only good Kalar-Wi is a dead one. Sam, in response, ordered his ship to full acceleration and as it cleared 100 planetary diameters from Udara VI, the Diamond Angel Jumped outsystem.

After quickly checking the crash site of the yacht for survivors, the Harmony also headed outsytem. Von and Valdez determined that to get to Bromus, the Harmony needed to head for Byer’s Planet and then transit Kamperelian Space, via Ektra, to reach Omega Vasalai IX. After that, Bromus was just Jump-2 away.

As the Harmony dropped down into the Byer’s Planet system, Valdez had Von scanning the Traffic Control board for word of the Diamond Angel. Eventually, they learned that the Diamond Angel had transited the system a day before the Harmony, refuelling at the system Gas Giant and then Jumping on again. Valdez decided that it was worth trying to source a spec cargo before heading for Ektra as the lag time between the Harmony and the Diamond Angel was still within the margin of error on Jump (while the mean time in Jump is 168 hours, there is a small variance, and a long Jump by the Harmony while the Diamond Angel was short Jumping could put the two ships almost on top of each other). As it transpired, Byer’s Planet didn’t have a lot going for it and the Harmony pressed on.

Arriving at Ektra, Valdez was rather put out to discover a Kamperlian import tax on all goods crossing the X-T line. While he could offload some of his cargo for a small profit, the Kamperelian “Anti-Piracy” tax would mean he was trading at a loss. Refuelling, the Harmony Jumped for Imperial space.

Omega Vasalai IX, a barren rock settled by a religious community over two hundred and sixty years ago, had little to offer the average traveller besides the basic services of a waystation. While the crew of the Harmony serviced the life support and restocked the galley, Nim took a quick walk around the concourse. Near a tea shop, he thought he spotted a familiar figure, his father’s sometimes business partner Gaspar Hourlanti. Following Gaspar into the tea shop, Nim watched with interest as the old rogue was joined in his booth by an attractive younger woman. As Nim mulled over ways of introducing himself into their intense conversation, he noticed a casually dressed man with a military-style haircut entering the teashop.

As soon as Gaspar’s companion spotted the newcomer, both Gaspar and the woman hurried out the rear exit of the teashop. As the newcomer gave chase, Nim caught up with him just as he reached the exit. During the frantic fist fight that followed, the newcomer attempted to pull a gun from his jacket pocket, only for Nim to knock him out with a right hook.

After dealing with Starport security, Nim was permitted to return to the Harmony while the newcomer is arrested for causing an affray and having an illegal weapon. Arriving back at the ship, and reporting in to Valdez, Nim checked his handcomp and discovered an old number for Gaspar. Tapping the number, Nim was surprised when Gaspar answered. After a brief conversation, Gaspar agreed to come to the Harmony and talk to Nim.

A short time later, Gaspar appeared at the main hatch of the Harmony. He was accompanied by the young lady from the teashop. Once they were safely ensconced in the crew commons, Gaspar introduced his companion as Sheri Daxunn, Imperial Intelligence Agency. To Nim and Valdez’s amazement, it transpired that Ossi and Gaspar had been working for Agent Daxunn as contractors, investigating the mysterious Stranman Society.

Aras Stranman of Gamelea was Sector Admiral of the RimWorlds under Sector Duke Neal Zuro III. When the Duke died in 842 – 267 years ago – Stranman sought to play the honest broker between the various factions and then, in an attempt to forestall the looming civil war, permitted his Fleet Officers to elect him Sector Duke. Stranman lasted two years as Sector Duke before being executed. Seen as an honest military man providing much-needed leadership in a time of troubles, who was deceived, and ultimately betrayed, by treacherous and venal politicians, a persistent mythology has grown up around the person of Aras Stranman. A Stranman Society sprang up amongst retired military officers in the 990’s, as the Sector again approached a crisis in leadership, and claimed to draw inspiration from Aras Stranman’s actions 150 years earlier. Usually viewed as a debating society and grumbling club for disgruntled ex-officers, the Imperial Intelligence Agency maintains a watching brief on the Society as, periodically, the Society has spawned dangerous conspiracies.

That such a conspiracy is currently active is the belief of senior IIA analysts and Agent Daxunn, and others, are investigating. Daxunn was following up leads amongst some of the smuggler groups active in Miazan Subsector, and had contracted Ossi and Gaspar to monitor the Chor family’s operations to see if they were tied in with the Society.

Nim mentioned the X-Boat message he received from Ossi, and described the encounter between the Harmony and the Diamond Angel in the Celephais System. Valdez recalled that the Diamond Angel had loaded a cargo of G-Carriers at Celephais. Agent Daxunn looked concerned. Given that Ossi's message had mentioned a working arrangement between the Chors and the Bromosian Minister for the Interior, and given the equipment that the Chors seemed to be shipping to that rather low-tech world, Agent Daxunn could see the makings of a potentially nasty political situation, even if the Stranman Society was not involved. As the Harmony was already heading for Bromus in search of Ossi, Daxunn requested that her team be allowed to hitch a ride to determine what was really going on there. Beginning to wonder what they had got themselves into, Nim and Valdez agreed and then set about getting the Harmony ready to lift off.

Noble Houses – Small ones, large ones, some as big as your ‘ead

Sometimes you just need a couple of ideas to define an NPC, and sometimes you need a complete character sketch. For “crowd scenes”, there is often little point in minutely detailing a host of NPCs as odds are on that the Player Characters will breeze through the encounter and be on the next ship outbound before you can reveal all the clever quirks you’ve written up. But on the other hand, to avoid all the NPCs becoming cookie-cutter caricatures, they do need some defining points.

Given my current interest in Noble Houses Major and Minor, I was intrigued to discover a post on The Welsh Piper Blog about randomly generating character quirks for Noble Houses in a Fantasy setting. “How hard would it be to convert this to Traveller?” I asked myself. And so here are some thoughts ...

This Character Sketching system is aimed more at Houses Minor than Houses Major as basically, there are many more Houses Minor than Houses Major. Depending upon your take on Traveller Noble Houses, these character sketches should also work for system- ruling Houses Major as well. Be aware, though, that Houses Major come under more intense scrutiny from various Imperial Authorities than what Houses Minor are subject to, so some of these results may require a little massaging.

House Rank
If a hierarchy of Houses Minor within a given area (usually a planet or planetary system) has not been fully mapped out, then the Social Status (and Rank) of the House is generated:

Roll 1d6	SOC Status	Rank
-1	11	Honour Knight
1 - 2	11	Enfeoffed Knight
3 - 4	12	Baron
5	13	Marquis
6	14	Count

DM: -1 per result of SOC 12+.

The intention is to create a Social Pyramid by restricting the number of “high-end” Houses Minor on a given planet or in a given system.

Head of the Household
If not already known, dice to see if the local society practises Male Primogeniture (1 – 3 on a d6) or Absolute Primogeniture (4 – 6 on a d6). Other forms of succession are also possible, such as Lateral Succession, Dynastic Rota or Dynastic Election, but Male Primogeniture and Absolute Primogeniture tend to be the succession practises we are most familiar with.

Roll for the sex of the current title holder – Male (1 – 3 on a d6) or Female (4 – 6 on a d6).

The Patriarch (1 – 4 on a D6) or Matriarch (5 – 6 on a D6) is the person who dominates the decision-making for the House. A Matriarch result in a Male Primogeniture society indicates that the Nobleman’s mother, aunt or sister is the dominant personality within the House. A Patriarch in a Male Primogeniture society result where the title holder is female indicates that a grandfather, or an heirless Uncle, is dominating the House’s decision making until he can marry off the title holder.

Dice for the Age Band and personality of both the Title Holder and the House Patriarch or Matriarch.

Roll 1d6	Apparent Age	Personality
1	Young	(1d6: 1 Trusting; 2 Bold; 3 Confident; 4 Arrogant; 5 Rash; 6 Immature)
2 – 4	Middle-aged	(1d6: 1 Assertive; 2 Aggressive; 3 Savvy; 4 Cautious; 5 Swaggering; 6 Calculating)
5 – 6	Old	(1d6: 1 Cunning; 2 Strident; 3 Cautious; 4 Meticulous; 5 Bullying; 6 Detached)

Compare the Age Band results of the House Title Holder with those of the House Patriarch or Matriarch and decide whether the two characters can be rolled into one, or whether it is better to retain the two separate characters.

Prior Service
Roll to see which career the Title Holder pursued prior to attaining the House Title

Roll 2d6	Prior Service
2	Business Executive
3	Army Officer
4 - 5	Naval Officer
6 - 7	Diplomat
8	Bureaucrat
9	Scientist
10 - 12	Noble

Moral Stance
This is the over-arching moral stance adopted by the House in the pursuit of its goals:

Roll 1d6	Moral Stance
1 – 2	Scrupulous: While the House will pursue its goals with the uttermost vigour, it will, at all times, operate within both the letter and the spirit of the Law.
3 – 5	Law abiding: Whilst pursuing its goals vigorously, the House will stick within the letter of the Law – what is not forbidden is possible.
6	Pragmatic: The Ends justify the Means. Laws are for lawyers to worry about.

Influence
A measure of the power, prestige and wealth of the Noble House, and how it is viewed by its peers. In game terms, a House’s Influence determines how difficult it is for that House to archive its goals or ambitions, how likely it is to be courted as a power broker, and how much weight and respect its views and interests are given by other Houses.

Roll 1d6	Influence
1	Nil
2	Scant
3	Minimal
4	Average
5	Significant
6	Considerable

To archive a favourable result when undertaking an action, or when pursuing the House’s goals, the House must roll its Influence or less on 1d6. Skills possessed by the Patriarch/Matriarch and/or the Head of the House that can assist the Influence roll include: Leader, Bribery, Carousing, and Liaison. Each of these skills will reduce the actual roll by one: eg House Smarfii has an Influence of 3. Lord Garron Smarfii has Liaison-2. To archive his current objective, Lord Garron must roll 3 or less (his House’s Influence). He has Liaison Skill so this can either be viewed as temporarily increasing his House’s Influence to 4 (so he has to roll 4 or less to succeed) or reducing the result on the die he rolls by 1, making it easier to roll 3 or less.

Holdings
Holdings can be physical land – in fact Noble Characters can receive estates as benefits – but it is more usual that a Noble House will measure its holdings in such things as wealth generating stock and bond portfolios, real estate, and corporate control.
As a fast and dirty determinate of a Noble House’s Holdings roll 1d6:

Roll 1d6	Size of Holdings
1 – 2	Modest Holdings – generates 1d10 x Cr100,000 per annum
3 – 4	Appreciable Holdings – generates 1d10+10 x Cr100,000 per annum
5	Extensive Holdings – generates 1d10 +20 x Cr100,000 per annum
6	Massive Holdings – generates 1d10 x Cr1,000,000 per annum

These sums are in addition to any other benefits individual members of the Noble House might be granted.

House Size
The House Size is the number of members of the extended Noble Family who can expect to draw upon its resources. Also, it is the core group that the Head of the House, or the Matriarch/Patriarch, would expect to count upon for support – unless of course he or she can’t.

Roll 1d6	Family Size
1 – 2	Small Family (2d6)
3 - 4	Medium Family (2d6+6)
5 - 6	Large Family (2d6+12)

Recent House Activity
These are significant unplanned events in the Noble House’s recent history. Such events can explain a Noble House’s attitude or reaction to events and circumstances, or indicate their probable reaction.

Roll 3d6	Activity
3	Favoured by the Subsector or Sector Duke for (d6: 1 - 2 staunch loyalty; 3 - 4 the ability to generate funds; 5 - 6 political acumen and deal making).
4	Achieved overwhelming military victory.
5	Achieved Pyrrhic military victory.
6	Sponsored a House of lower SOC to rise to House Minor Status or, if the House is of House Major status, sponsored a House Minor to House Major status.
7	Returned from expedition (1d6: 1 - 3 in local system; 4 - 5 in wilderness world in Subsector; 6 beyond Imperial border).
8	Captured (d6: 1 - 2 pirate band; 4 revolutionaries; 5 spies; 6 raiders).
9	Brokered diplomatic agreement on the Subsector or Sector Duke’s behalf (d6: 1 - 3 trade agreement; 4 - 5 mutual defence pact; 6 truce).
10	Discovered valuable commodity (d6: 1 - 2 precious metal; 3 anagathics; 4 - 5 Indistrial material; 6 gemstones or radioactives.
11	Birth in the Family.
12	Death in the Family (d6: 1 - 2 natural causes, 3 - 4 tragic accident; 5 battle; 6 suspicious circumstances.
13	Participated in dual (d6: 1 - 2 won; 3 - 4 lost; 5 - 6 draw).
14	Adventuring family member (s) presumed lost or dead.
15	Losing money as a result of (d6: 1 stolen heirloom; 2 - 3 bad business; 4 corporate raiders; 5 rival House; 6 freak accident).
16	Vassal settlement in jeopardy of (d6: 1 attack by raiders; 2 - 3 plague; 4 - 5 failing food supplies or life support; 6 revolutionaries).
17	Suffered military defeat.
18	Snubbed by Subsector or Sector Duke because (d6: 1 - 2 poor military performance; 3 use of anagathics/cloning or cyborg technology; 4 late paying taxes; 5 - 6 causing trouble at court.

Current House Goal
This is the project that the head of the Noble House is currently focused upon. While there could be many motivations, such as pursuit of wealth, power, favour or prestige, the noble will set out to archive this goal with all possible resources at the disposal of the House. The Moral Stance of the Noble will temper what the Noble will do, though there is no guarantee that a Scrupulous Noble won’t fall victim to the machinations of a more Pragmatic Noble.

Roll2d6	Goal
2	Support the Subsector or Sector Duke’s plan for (1d6: 1 - 2 expansion; 3 warfare; 4 - 5 diplomacy; 6 rooting out dissidents/revolutionaries.
3	Acquire larger holdings (d6: 1 - 2 strategic location; 3 - 5 valuable resource; 6 special feature).
4	Dispose of (d6: 1 - 2 another noble; 3 courtier; 4 military officer; 5 high-level bureaucrat; 6 powerful adventurer or celebrity).
5	Marry into a particular family for (d6: 1 wealth; 2 love; 3 - 4 political advantage; 5 lust; 6 nefarious purposes).
6	Bring about political reform.
7	Bring local pirates or raiders to justice.
8	Boost local defences by (d6: 1 - 3 acquiring System Defence Boats; 4 - 5 upgrading the Tech Level of the defence forces’ equipment; 6 hiring experienced offworld mercenaries).
9	Establish a new colony.
10	Upgrade infrastructure or Tech Level within the House’s estates.
11	Remove stain from family name.
12	Increase the Family’s prestige and influence by (d6: 1 - 2 funding and leading an exploration mission or scientific research project; 3 - 4 amassing wealth; 5 military prowess; 6 political influence).

House Scandal
Most families have secrets, some dirtier than others. Some secrets may be rumoured or known about by many members of the House, while others are known to only a few. In any case, these secrets are kept carefully hidden away from outsiders for fear of financial loss, political fallout or the loss of prestige such knowledge will bring.

Roll2d6	Scandal
2	None – outwardly the behaviour of the House is perfect, perhaps a little too perfect.
3	Party to treasonous activity with (d6: 1 revolutionary cell; 2 - 3 official body; 4 - 5 foreign power; 6 dissident noble faction.
4	Committed and covered up a capital or High Justice Crime.
5	Addicted to (d6: 1 - 2 drugs; 3 - 4 alcohol; 5 - 6 unseemly, illegal, or immoral practises).
6	Manipulates the system to avoid Imperial service.
7	Supports a band of (d6: 1 - 2 pirates, 3 revolutionaries, 4 unregistered mercenaries, 5 psionics, 6 musicians and entertainers).
8	Embezzling tax revenue to (d6: 1 - 2 amass a personal fortune; 3 - 4 divert to fund a revolutionary movement; 5 cover gambling debts; 6 pay an extortionist).
9	Moonlights as (d6: 1 - 2 resource poacher; 3 - 4 corporate raider; 5 gunrunner; 6 smuggler).
10	Secretly a psionic.
11	Family History of mental illness.
12	Under the control of (d6: 1 - 2 a Psionic manipulator; 3 - 4 a glamorous fortune hunter of the opposite sex; 5 - 6 a charismatic faith healer.

Lastly
Houses Minor and Major can feature in a Traveller campaign in a variety of ways. They can be the patrons and employers of bands of adventurers, as well as the targets and foes of such bands. Conflicts between Houses can set up situations that require a “few good sophonts to act in an unofficial capacity”. Such conflicts can also impact upon events in the wider campaign area as scandals are uncovered or military or intelligence units have to be redeployed to foil acts of treason or dishonesty on a system-scale, or markets can be thrown into turmoil by actions, or the rumours of actions, taken by Houses pursuing their own agendas. By looking at the motives of the Houses, such events become less the result of random rolls on a table and more like the shifting and flexing of a power structure responding to its natural rhythms.

Website Update #22

After a productive month of puttering around in my lead pile, I've finished painting up some figures and have added pictures to my Website Modeling Log.

Working on TO&Es for the Marine Divisions in the RimWorlds inspired me to complete a couple of Grav Tanks (like the one here) and a Grav APC and a Light Grav Tank for the LAR Battalion. I just need to add some decals and they're complete.

Both the tank and the marine figure are from Ground Zero Games - the tank model weighs 230 grams!