Huiha Esoyatre - an Aslan Minor State Part 2

Trokh is the main Aslan language and has remained fairly constant across both millenia and parsecs of space. In the RimWorlds, the three known Aslan states are at least 10 parsecs distant from each other and rarely interact. Each Huiha speaks Trokh but with slight local variations. I discovered a partial Aslan dictionary online which has some useful terms, and which seems to either be derived from the word list in MegaTraveller Alien Vol 2: Solomani and Aslan - the Rimward Races, or to have helped form it, as well as a word list in GURPs Traveller: Alien Races 2: Aslan, K'kree, and Other Races Rimward of the Imperium. Further Trokh words will need to be generated as required from Space Corsair's excellent Traveller word generator programme.

Trokh Word List
aikoho	"many ships", fleet
khoiaya	armor
afeahyalhtow	popular Aslan pet; flying carnivore/killer
ayakyuir	carnivore native to Kusyu, noted for speed and ferocity
Akoaft	"Far Throwing" - artillery
Soarl	"elite"
Trekhyair	"land protector" clan military force
Ahr’eah	"armed pride" - platoon or company
Areiale	"they who sprint" – marines
Ekho’ear	"armed family" – squad
Hraye	"wanderer" – scout
Hryo	"half dozen" - a squadron
Huih’eal	"armed clan" – battalion or regiment

This list of words provides some useful starters, but I think I will have to generate more.

The Personnel figures I generated for each Huiha and E'kho of the Huiha Esoyatre in part 1 of this article were drawn from the populations of each of the Aslan worlds within the hasoi of Huiha Esoyatre. Consulting Alien Races 2 and Solomani and Aslan I determined that 10% of the population, or population resource equivalent, were currently available for Military service. This is a little higher than normal, but the Huiha Esoyatre shares border space with two potential enemies - the Imperium and the Kalar-Wi - and annexed a Kalar-Wi system only four years ago, so political tensions are elevated.

I had earlier determined, using the tables in GURPs Traveller Ground Forces, that the Huiha Esoyatre had some 3000 battalion equivalents available for offworld deployment as a Tech Level 12 force. The choice was made by the Huiha government to upgrade part of this force to Tech Level 14, and this produced 3 Elite Corps, 3 Elite Divisions and two Elite Independent Regiments equipped to TL14, and 10 Corps, two Independent Divisions and one Independent Brigade equipped to TL12. The equipment upgrade reduced overall numbers to about 1000 battalion equivalents.

When I looked at the Geithurian Republic Table of Organization, I essentially started with the first formation and then assigned battalions to it, before moving on to the next formation. With the Unified Imperial Army Gamelea Command, I worked out possible ranges of unit numbers across all Imperial Subsectors in the RimWorlds, and then assigned units to each formation within the Gamelea and Miazan Subsectors from the available units for those Subsectors. The Huiha Esoyatre, however, was a little different.

.With essentially a feudal form of government, each E'kho is required to contribute personnel and units towards the trekhyair, or "land protector", force of the Huiha, or clan, and each lesser clan is required to contribute units toward the trekhyair of the dominant clan of the Huiha. All these subordinate forces remain under the control of the contributing E'kho or Huiha, even if they fall under the command of the senior E'kho or Huiha. To begin to untangle this knot, I had to know how many personnel each E'kho was able to contribute; work out the percentage of the total trekhyair this represented; and then work out what percentage of the 1000 battalion equivalents already determined as making up the Huiha trekhyair each E'kho's contribution actually numbered.

Did I really need this information? No. But I did want to capture the flavour of an Aslan force, and creating this background material contributes to the richness of the mileau. Also the numbers, as they came up, posed questions as to how politics within the Huiha Esoyatre actually worked, and answering these questions gave me a clearer picture of the Huiha as a whole.

After a little number crunching, I arrived at the following raw figures:

Huiha or Clan	Battalions by system
Huiha Esoyatre	Yuwe: 18 Battalions; Yuakteisye: 192 Battalions; Faiwawhwe: 75 Battalions
Huiha Uahwil	Yuakteisye: 1230 battalions; Faiwawhwe: 72 battalions
Huiha Aiaihfa	Yuakteisye: 600 battalions; Faiwawhwe 66 battalions
E’kho Hraktiskear	Atlasiykh: 1 battalion
Huiha Hwouwoahiw	Faiwawhwe: 132 battalions
Huiha I’iyheas	Faiwawhwe: 141 battalions
Huiha Eakteaei	Faiwawhwe: 153 battalions
Huiha Awuahra	Faiwawhwe: 150 battalions
Huiha Htualraluikh	Faiwawhwe: 144 battalions
E’kho Hroukhteftai	Yaitlaorail/Kidan: 1 battalion

As these battalion equivalent numbers were based on the original TL12 3000 battalions, I decided that I would arbitrarily reduce the strength of the larger clans by a third to reduce the over-all total of battalions to better match the formations I had originally generated from GURPs Traveller Ground Forces. One thing that did give me a little wriggle room was the fact that the Aslan don't have set sizes for various units - squads, for example, can vary between 4 and 12 soldiers.

Huiha Esoyatre is both the dominate clan of Yuwe, and the clan that dominates the wider hasoi, even though in military numbers Huiha Esoyatre falls behind Huiha Uahwil and Huiha Aiaihfa. However, Esoyatre's strength may lie in the fact that its four families work more in harmony under the leadership of E'kho Hleahayaou then the eight familes of Huiha Uahwil and the seven families of Huiha Aiaihfa work together under their leading E'khos. Add in political and traditional ties between E'khos of the Great Huihas, as well as alliances with the Lesser Huihas of Faiwawhwe, and interfamily and interclan relationships, and the political landscape of the Huiha becomes a scintillating web of connections. A web that can become an armoured sphere around the hasoi in the event of outside aggression.

Next: A look at the Huiha and E'kho tables of organisation.

Huiha Esoyatre - an Aslan Minor State Part 1

While I haven't written much here, of late, I have been working on a couple of Traveller related projects that tie together.

Looking to be able to game out an escalating ground war between the Outrim Alliance and the Imperium, I have been painting up infantry and armoured units for the main protagonists in 6mm scale. Progress photos are on my modeling log and my gaming blog.

I've also been working on Tables of Organisation for the various factions, extrapolated from the figures I generated for Lymethius Subsector, Gamelea Subsector, and Miazan Subsector, as well as the two articles on the Imperial Marines here and here.

When I came to look at the Aslan of the Huiha Esoyatre, I realized that I needed to take a closer look at the internal political structure of the Huiha. The Aslan are clan and family orientated, and each clan and family maintains their own defense force, recruited from their members and retainers.

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Huiha Esoyatre

Huiha Esoyatre is an Aslan polity of five non-Imperial systems in the Lymethius subsector. Consisting of the four systems of the Yuakteisye Cluster (Yuwe, Atlasiykh, Faiwawhwe, and Yuakteisye) as well as the former Kalar-Wi system of Kidan (annexed in 1106 in the aftermath of the Kalar-Wi War and now known as Yaitlaorail), Huiha Esoyatre has a total population of 85.0136 billion sophonts, 99.9% of whom are Aslan. As one of the major polities in the Outrim Alliance, Huiha Esoyatre has been involved in four wars with the Imperium as the Alliance has resisted Imperial expansion into the Lymethius subsector.

E'kho Hleahayaou dominates the polity from their capital of Hyufteirleryeweiwiy (tr. "the place where the people meet by the swirling spire") in the crater Yuwaol ("great basin") in the northern hemisphere of Yuwe (0408). From this, their ancestral seat, E'kho Hleahayaou has been the most senior family within the Esoyatre Clan for most of the last 700 years. The current Hleahayaouko is Tlehiui V (born 1030), a venerable leader who is still fit and active, having guided the Huiha for over fifty years.

Clan Esoyatre leads an alliance of eight clans. The other seven vassal clans that make up the alliance are: Huiha Uahwil, Huiha Aiaihfa, Huiha Hwouwoahiw, Huiha I'iyheas, Huiha Eakteaei, Huiha Awuahra, and Huiha Htualraluikh. Of the five systems that form the hasoi of Huiha Esoyatre only Yuakteisye has anything like a breathable atmosphere and it is on this world that the bulk of the population of the Huiha are concentrated.

The following table shows the relationships of the various E'khos that make up the member Huihas of Huiha Esoyatre. It also shows the number of E'kho members, vassals and retainers that are contributed to the armed forces of the Huihas, and who crew the Huiha fleets and form the Trekhyair – “land protector” clan military force:

Yuwe:	Huiha Esoyatre		Personnel	Fleet		Trekhyair
	E'kho Hleahayaou		(45,000)	(15,000)		(30,000)
		E'kho Eahikh	(15,000)	(5,000)		(10,000)
		E'kho Oukeihtoi	(7000)	(2,300)		(4,700)
		E'kho Steiai	(3000)	(1,000)		(2,000)
			(70,000)	(23,300)		(46,700)
Yuakteisye:	Huiha Esoyatre
	E'kho Hleahayaou		(25,000)	(8,300)		(16,700)
		E'kho Eahikh	(9,900)	(3,300)		(6,600)
		E'kho Oukeihtoi	(4,700)	(1,500)		(3,200)
		E'kho Steiai	(854,000)	(284,500)		(569,500)
			(893,600)	(297,600)		(596,000)
	Huiha Uahwil
	E'kho Oakhwohkal		(1,205,000)	(401,500)		(803,500)
		E'kho Tliyuftea	(992,000)	(330,500)		(661,500)
		E'kho Iysutreah	(907,000)	(302,300)		(604,700)
		E'kho Suhliy	(825,000)	(275,000)		(550,000)
		E'kho Ahwao	(673,000)	(224,300)		(448,700)
		E'kho Seyu	(258,000)	(86,000)		(172,000)
		E'kho Htuayur	(171,000)	(57,000)		(114,000)
		E'kho Eawaeirl	(127,000)	(42,300)		(84,700)
			(5,158,000)	(1,718,900)		(3,439,100)
	Huiha Aiaihfa
	E'kho Eahei		(339,000)	(113,000)		(226,000)
		E'kho Orakhtoi	(609,000)	(203,000)		(406,000)
		E'kho Hiaui	(515,000)	(171,600)		(343,400)
		E'kho Kawyahlyu	(495,000)	(165,000)		(330,000)
		E'kho Auakhah	(223,400)	(74,500)		(148,900)
		E'kho Hfosaa	(159,000)	(53,000)		(106,000)
		E'kho Oiyas	(98,000)	(32,500)		(65,500)
			(2,438,400)	(812,600)		(1,625,800)
Atlasiykh:	E'kho Hraktiskear		(4000)	(1,300)		(2,700)
Faiwawhwe:	Huiha Esoyatre
	E'kho Hleahayaou		(84,000)	(28,000)		(56,000)
		E'kho Eahikh	(79,400)	(26,500)		(52,900)
		E'kho Oukeihtoi	(74,200)	(24,700)		(49,500)
		E'kho Steiai	(72,200)	(24,000)		(48,200)
			(309,800)	(103,200)		(206,600)
	Huiha Uahwil
	E'kho Oakhwohkal		(52,000)	(17,400)		(34,600)
		E'kho Tliyuftea	(45,500)	(15,100)		(30,400)
		E'kho Suhliy	(44,400)	(14,800)		(29,600)
		E'kho Ahwao	(42,000)	(14,000)		(28,000)
		E'kho Seyu	(38,000)	(12,500)		(25,500)
		E'kho Htuayur	(37,200)	(12,400)		(24,800)
		E'kho Eawaeirl	(35,000)	(11,600)		(23,400)
			(294,100)	(97,800)		(196,300)
	Huiha Aiaihfa
	E'kho Eahei		(59,000)	(19,500)		(39,500)
		E'kho Orakhtoi	(57,000)	(19,000)		(38,000)
		E'kho Hiaui	(35,000)	(11,600)		(23,400)
		E'kho Kawyahlyu	(34,500)	(11,500)		(23,000)
		E'kho Auakhah	(33,700)	(11,200)		(22,500)
		E'kho Hfosaa	(30,000)	(10,000)		(20,000)
		E'kho Oiyas	(29,000)	(9,600)		(19,400)
			(278,200)	(92,400)		(185,800)
	Huiha Hwouwoahiw
	E'kho Yukheaiw		(94,500)	(31,500)		(63,000)
		E'kho Aewi	(86,200)	(28,700)		(57,500)
		E'kho Htoioua	(74,700)	(24,900)		(49,800)
		E'kho Fihoilreil	(74,300)	(24,700)		(49,600)
		E'kho Ewoheah	(73,700)	(24,500)		(49,200)
		E'kho Oisehwih	(73,200)	(24,400)		(48,800)
		E'kho Weoiyah	(69,300)	(23,100)		(46,200)
			(545,900)	(181,800)		(364,100)
	Huiha I'iyheas
	E'kho Ahoaolr		(107,000)	(35,700)		(71,300)
		E'kho Yesiwarl	(82,000)	(27,300)		(54,700)
		E'kho Ouhkyu	(76,200)	(25,400)		(50,800)
		E'kho Iysealeah	(74,000)	(24,600)		(49,400)
		E'kho Eaaiy	(64,700)	(21,500)		(43,200)
		E'kho Ktelriykhoi	(63,000)	(21,000)		(42,000)
		E'kho Iywaifaur	(62,100)	(20,700)		(41,400)
		E'kho Eoahfi	(61,500)	(20,500)		(41,000)
			(590,500)	(196,700)		(393,800)
	Huiha Eakteaei
	E'kho Aoia		(121,000)	(40,300)		(80,700)
		E'kho Khtoahar	(96,700)	(32,200)		(64,500)
		E'kho Hwourlii	(94,500)	(31,500)		(63,000)
		E'kho Ketreh	(84,200)	(28,000)		(56,200)
		E'kho Kheoua	(82,000)	(27,300)		(54,700)
		E'kho Sahuirea	(80,100)	(26,700)		(53,400)
		E'kho Yoleaiy	(79,000)	(26,300)		(52,700)
			(637,500)	(212,300)		(425,200)
	Huiha Awuahra
	E'kho Aaih		(97,200)	(32,400)		(64,800)
		E'kho Hlyeseaas	(85,100)	(28,300)		(56,800)
		E'kho Aaolruiw	(83,000)	(27,600)		(55,400)
		E'kho Uiai	(73,700)	(24,500)		(49,200)
		E'kho Eaui'alr	(73,000)	(24,300)		(48,700)
		E'kho Roiftealroi	(72,900)	(24,300)		(48,600)
		E'kho Khtakhafah	(70,100)	(23,300)		(46,800)
		E'kho Fteawalei'	(69,000)	(23,000)		(46,000)
			(624,000)	(207,700)		(416,300)
	Huiha Htualraluikh
	E'kho Earla		(104,000)	(34,600)		(69,400)
		E'kho Ftyuhrolyel	(83,400)	(27,800)		(55,600)
		E'kho Taaooul	(81,100)	(27,000)		(54,100)
		E'kho Iylraoa	(71,200)	(23,700)		(47,500)
		E'kho Oulelye	(70,000)	(23,300)		(46,700)
		E'kho Fteasoih	(69,300)	(23,100)		(46,200)
		E'kho Kyekhealryo	(68,000)	(22,600)		(45,400)
		E'kho Oilreaweh	(53,000)	(17,600)		(35,400)
			(600,000)	(199,700)		(400,300)
Yaitlaorail:	E'kho Hroukhteftai		(4100)	(1,300)		(2,800)
			(12,448,100)	(4,146,600)		(8,301,500)

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Aslan khoiaya (armour)

A half-hryo (squadron)

House Asheranon, Siridar-Barons of Exxilon Part 2

I had quite a bit of fun working up a family tree for House Asheranon of Bromus.

From my existing family trees, I knew that I had to link in a Morwen, who married Piero of Bromus; and a Bessl who married Duke of Li'iatan II of Miazan.

Aryon hault-Asheranon served on Duke Chi'leur I of Miazan's staff for over twenty years following the establishment of Miazan Subsector. When the planning began to open Exxilon up for colonization, Aryon and his son, Clyn, and daughter, Morwen, were heavily involved in fitting out the expedition. It was during the reign of Chi'leur's son, Duke Mah'radys I, and following the death of Aryon hault-Asheranon, that the settlement of Exxilon began, and Mah'radys I raised House Asheranon to House Major status by confirming them as Siridar-Barons of Exxilon.

Exxilon lies within the County of Bromus, and even though Morwen hault-Asheranon married Piero Mahuran, grandson of Count Sakkan I of Bromus, relations between House Asheranon of Exxilon and House Mahuran of Bromus, their feudal overlords, remain strained.

So, we already know that:
House Asheranon are Siridar-Barons of Exxilon. House Asheranon practice Absolute Primogeniture. The eldest child inherits, irrespective of sex. The current head of the Household is Padarn II, who is also the Patriarch of House Asheranon. House Asheranon's Influence is Scant (2).

Now, this is interesting. House Asheranon's Influence is described as Scant, yet they have married into both House Mahuran, Siridar-Counts of Bromus, and House Geyukthi, Dukes of Miazan.

Looking more closely at this situation, I see that Piero Mahuran, husband of Morwen hault-Asheranon and grandson of Siridar-Count Sakkan I (872 - 990) of Bromus, predeceased both his father, Oscaran, by 13 years, and his grandfather by seven years, and so never inherited the County. Count Sakkan I, as patriarch of House Mahuran, took charge of Piero and Morwen's children upon Piero's death, and Morwen may have retired to their estate or, more likely, returned to Exxilon.

Just over 100 years later, Bessl hault-Asheranon, sister of Aryon III, Fifth Siridar-Baron Exxilon, married Duke Li'iatan II. Bessl married into a Ducal House on the decline. Devastated by losses incurred during the 3rd Outrim War, and politically outmaneuvered by the Houses Major, House Geyukthi had been reduced, losing the Honour of the Sector Duchy along the way. Bessl worked tirelessly with Li'iatan over the course of his forty-year reign to turn the fortunes of the House, and the subsector, around, only to have much of what they worked for destroyed by the 4th Outrim War of 1080 - 85. As Dowager-Duchess, Bessl continued her work after Li'iatan's death, assisting her son Mah'radys IV, and assisted by Li'iatan's fifth-cousin Admiral Chi'leur Geyukthi, Baron of Culvenia (an estate on Miazan).

In both cases, the members of House Asheranon who married into the more powerful, external Houses, became subsumed by that House's aims and goals and so the alliance did little to benefit House Asheranon.

House Asheranon posses Modest Holdings, generating Cr700,000 for the family per annum. This is in addition to Siridar-Baron Padarn II's personal Holdings.

While not poor, House Asheranon is not a wealthy House. Its holdings are, of course, separate from such wealth as Siridar-Baron Padarn II has managed to amass for his immediate family.

House Asheranon is a large family with 16 directly related members.

There are sixteen members of House Asheranon alive at present. Alongside the senior and junior branches of the House, Houses Minor hault-Resswhen of Exxilon and van Sabor-Mehlan of Miazan also play prominent roles in Exxilon society.

A member of House Asheranon participated in a duel, and lost.

This person was Aryon, eldest son and heir of Padarn II. Aryon has been sent over the Imperial Border as a member of an Exxilonian Trade delegation to the Outrim, until such time as the political dust settles.

Boost local defenses in the Exxilon system by acquiring an SDB flotilla is the current goal of House Asheranon.

Due to its location on the Imperial Border, House Asheranon and the Exxilon Government are very conscious of political currents in the Outrim. With the heightening of tensions due to the imminent withdrawal of Imperial forces from the Kalar-Wi system, and the resurgence of central government power within the Geithurian Republic, House Asheranon has been looking to the defenses of the Exxilon system.

House Asheranon supports an unregistered Mercenary Company.

This Company has been hired out to the Kalar-Wi government of Gaidon to help suppress an uprising by the Kiang, natives of that planet.

I'm quite pleased how the Noble House Character Quirks worked out. They seem to provide a rapid way of expanding Noble Houses from a series of stats to full blown characters in their own right.

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House Asheranon, Siridar-Barons of Exxilon

Exxilon is one of the four systems that make up the County of Bromus in Miazan Subsector. While developing the County, I decided that House Asheranon were Siridar-Barons of Exxilon but, apart from this fact and that relations were cool between House Mahuran of Bromus and their feudal subordinates, I had no further information.

Deciding to develop House Asheranon, I elected to try out some ideas I had developed for fleshing out Noble Houses. These ideas have are also been added to the end of another article on Nobles on this page.

Exxilon has a Universal Planetary Profile (UPP) of:
C-AA5899-9. This means that the planet has a C Class Starport - Standard Repair facilities, unrefined fuel available, but no Ship construction - is 10,000 miles in diameter, has an Exotic Atmosphere and is 50% covered by water. In Exxilon's case, the Exotic atmosphere means that the oceans are classified as "Fluid" - not standard H2O. The population numbers in the 100's of millions and is ruled by an Impersonal Bureaucracy. The Law Level of 9 indicates a fair amount of interference in the citizens' day-to-day lives and that no weapons may be carried outside of one's home. Overall, the planet has a Technology Level of 9 - 1990's to 2000, so cell phones are big and blocky. A Scout Base is also present in system.

"Exxilon is a large, high gravity world, colonised in 969, just after the 2nd Outrim War. It was used as a dumping ground for displaced populations during the late war. House Asheranon was installed as Siridar-Barons of Exxilon by Duke Mah'radys I of Miazan, and soon gained a reputation for their hard, yet indifferent rule, insulating themselves from their subjects behind an oppressive Law Level and and Impersonal Bureaucracy. While the bulk of the population of half a billion live in a string of cities, high up in the mountains of the small continent of Parishnaman, House Asheranon and its retainers are based on a large, geostationary satellite. It is rare for a member of the Household to "go down the well".

The relationship between House Asheranon and their feudal overlords, House Mahuran of Bromus, are cordial yet cool. The installation of House Asheranon by House Geyukthi within House Mahuran's County was both a calculated insult and an assertion of authority by Mah'radys I, the 2nd Duke of Miazan. Count Sakkan I of Bromus may have won that argument, in the end, as he outlived both Mah'radys I and Chi'leur II, his son."

 With the planetary information, and the existing material quoted below, I set to work to flesh out House Asheranon.

Working through my check list, I determined the following about House Asheranon:
House Rank
House Asheranon are Siridar-Barons. They rule Exxilon/Miazan and the Exxilon system.

Head of the Household
House Asheranon practice Absolute Primogeniture. The eldest child inherits, irrespective of sex. The current head of the Household is Padarn II. Padarn II is also the Patriarch of House Asheranon. Padarn II is Old and Cunning.

Prior Service of the Title Holder
Padarn II served as a Colonel in the Baronial Household Force of Exxilon - a TL12 elite formation - under his father, Aryon III.

Moral Stance of the House
House Asheranon is Law abiding.

Influence
House Asheranon's Influence is Scant (2).

Holdings
House Asheranon posses Modest Holdings, generating Cr700,000 for the family per annum. This is in addition to Siridar-Baron Padarn II's personal Holdings.

House Size
House Asheranon is a large family with 16 directly related members.

Recent House Activity
A member of House Asheranon participated in a duel, and lost. This person was Aryon, eldest son and heir of Padarn II. Aryon has been sent over the Imperial Border as a member of an Exxilonian Trade delegation to the Outrim, until such time as the political dust settles.

Current House Goal
Boost local defenses in the Exxilon system by acquiring an SDB flotilla.

House Scandal
House Asheranon supports an unregistered Mercenary Company. This Company has been hired out to the Kalar-Wi government of Gaidon to help suppress an uprising by the Kiang, natives of that planet.

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I'm quite pleased with how House Asheranon came out. From next to no information beyond the family name, and a hint of a possible conflict where the Subsector Duke had imposed the Asheranon's on a world within the County of Bromus, we have discovered a lot about the family itself.

While House Asheranon is not particularly wealthy, and has little influence on the Subsector stage, they are firmly entrenched in the Exxilon System. The Patriarch of the family, Padarn II, has been Siridar-Baron since the death of his father, Aryon III, in 1085. His extended family consists of sixteen members, most of whom hold senior positions within the governing bureaucracy of the planet.

While generally law-abiding, House Asheranon maintains an unregistered Mercenary Company in direct violation of Imperial Law. Raised during the 4th Outrim War to support the defenses of Exxilon, House Asheranon retained the unit in being after the war. Currently, the unit is under hire to the Kalar-Wi government of Gaidon. House Asheranon is concerned about the exposed position of the Exxilon system and aims to raise a System Defense Boat Flotilla to strengthen their defenses.

Padarn II's eldest son, Aryon, has proved to be a bit of a disappointment. A Captain in the Unified Imperial Army, Aryon became involved in a duel with another young officer. Before Aryon could be cashiered, his father Padarn managed to have him assigned to lead an Exxilonian trade mission into the Outrim.

---

I just have to finish laying out a diagram of the Family Tree, and House Asheranon will be ready for use.

Fun with Family Trees #5

This is a history of Miazan Subsector from the perspective of House Mahuran, Siridar-Counts of Bromus. It draws upon elements I developed during 2013 as I looked at family trees and ties in to the current adventures of players in my Traveller campaign.

---

The Duchy of Miazan was established by Order in Council under the seal of Sector Duke Leonid I Trumer on 093-906. This is the same date as the official accession of House Trumer as Sector Dukes of the RimWorlds and represents one of the first official acts of Sector Duke Leonid's reign. It is also the date of the establishment of the County of Bromus, set up to protect the Coreward/Spimward frontier of Miazan Subsector.

Sector Duke Leonid I Trumer had begun his campaign to reunite the RimWorlds several years prior to the official inaugural date of his reign. The establishment of Miazan Subsector as a Duchy marked a major expansion Rimward by the Sector Duchy, pushing the Imperial frontier beyond the existing Miazan Subsector Military District centered around Celephais. It was an indication that the new regime intended to drive a wedge between the Spinward states of the Outrim Alliance and the Rimward polities of the Rimward Coalition, and bring order and stable government to a fairly lawless region.

Chi'leur I Geyukthi, 1st Duke of Miazan, had served as an aide de camp to Sector Duke Leonid I during his initial campaigns, and as Leonid's son-in-law and supporter, he was considered a safe pair of hands to secure and hold the new frontier subsector. To Sakkan Mahuran, Chi'leur's Fleet Admiral, fell the task of defending the Spinward frontier at Bromus and Exxilon, as Siridar-Count of Bromus, and securing the Coreward communication lines from the Rimward Counties of Miazan and Nakaya.

Sakkan I proved very tenacious in his duties. 118 years old when he died, Sakkan outlived his eldest son, Anton, and his grandson, Piero. Both Oscaran, Sakkan's second son, and Susannah, his daughter, served as Fleet Admirals in the Miazan Subsector Navy during the 2nd Outrim War (954-962).

Remaining active and in good health well into the teens of his second century, it was later rumoured that Sakkan I had discovered a secret stash of anagathics in an ancient ruined Purvion base located either on the House Mahuran estate on Bromus, or on one of Bromus' three small moons. As none of his descendants lived to such an advanced age, it was assumed that the secret of this stash was lost when Sakkan eventually died.

Sakkan II, Sakkan I's great-grandson, became 2nd Siridar-Count of Bromus in 990. In 999 Sakkan's immediate overlord, Duke Mah'dainraian I of Miazan became Sector Duke of the RimWorlds. This elevation seemed to raise House Mahuran's political stock as well as Sakkan II's daughter Susan subsequently married Edenar Ulanor, later Duke Edenar I of Nolgor. On the surface, this marriage appeared to draw House Ulanor into the orbit of House Geyukthi of Miazan through an alliance with an important client but, if this was the intention, it failed. Edenar I was only Duke of Nolgor from 1042 - 1044, but it was the anti-Geyukthi ground work carried out by Feodorus X, his father, and more importantly by his son, Olgarthi Ulanor, that resulted in the fall of the badly weakened Sehlemarl-Geyukthi Sector Dukes in the aftermath of the Rimbaud War in 1044 and the ascension of Olgarthi Ulanor as Duke of Nolgor and Sector Duke of the RimWorlds.

Count Giovhanhi II Mahuran of Bromus came of age during a period of great change in both the RimWorlds and in Miazan Subsector. Born in 1017, and inheriting the family title of Lord Sherck, he became 4th Siridar-Count of Bromus in 1041. His sister Stefani married Pahran Juharl-Zarquestuir who became Duke of Gamelea in 1065, while his second sister, Elemyl, married Mah'radys Geyukthi who became Duke Mah'radys IV of Miazan in 1085.

The 3rd Outrim War broke out in 1025 and House Mahuran weathered the initial assaults by Nutharal forces pushing across the Imperial frontier from Cabria Subsector into the County. Young Giovhanhi joined the Planetary Navy as a Midshipman in 1033 and saw action both in Bromus low orbit, and around Sertan VIII, the system gas giant.

Following disastrous Imperial losses in 1030 and 1031, and the deaths in combat of three House Geyukthi Sector Dukes in quick succession, Sector Duke Yuri Sehlemarl's strategy was to reinforce the fortress worlds in the frontier subsectors and suck the Outrim forces into a series of sieges that would bleed their fleets white. By the time his strategy succeeded and peace was signed in 1038, Giovhanhi's father, Count Giovhanhi I, was ailing and the younger Giovhanhi was finding himself more and more involved in the running of the Bromus planetary government. When war broke out in 1025, Giovhanhi I had suspended the Bromosian civil government and declared a state of emergency. With the end of the war in 1038 and the beginning of a massive rebuilding project, the populace of Bromus voted overwhelmingly for the continuation of the emergency government under House Mahuran with Count Giovhanhi I as Head of State and his son, Lord Giovhanhi of Sherck, as First Minister.

The cessation of war did not automatically mean peace. During the course of the 3rd Outrim War, the Rivokul War had seen the extermination of House Rivokul of Kamperel, the family of Giovhanhi II's grandmother, Eschen. The Republican government that replaced House Rivokul swiftly fell under the influence of Torvor Van Zaquerl, who methodically shot all opposition to his rule as First Consul of the People's Republic of Kamperel. With House Geyukthi of Miazan crippled (four Dukes and three generations of the senior line perished during the 3rd Outrim War, along side various cousins and other relatives), House Rivokul of Kamperel extinct, and House Sehlemarl-Geyukthi of Celephais diverted by their attempts to hold on to the Sector Duchy, it fell to House Mahural to attempt to contain the Van Zaquerl clan of Kamperel even as they sought to secure the Ektra and Floranna systems of the County of Kamperel for themselves.

Count Giovhanhi II spent most of the rest of his life locked in a Grey War with Torvor Van Zaquerl of Kamperel. It was only with the accession of his demi-cousin, Li'iatain Geyukthi, as Duke Li'iatan II of Miazan in 1044 that the full force of the Duchy was brought to bear against the recalcitrant Siridar-Barony of Kamperel. Even then, politics intruded as the new Sector Duke, Olgarthi Ulanor of Nolgor, Giovhanhi's cousin, sought to secure his advantage in the feud between House Ulanor and House Sethlemarl-Geyukthi by hamstringing House Geyukthi's efforts to bring the Van Zaquel's to heel. Starved of resources, and with its best units and service personnel drafted to Sector Fleet, Miazan Subsector Fleet lacked the strength to deliver the Kamperelians a knock-out blow.

Sector Duke Olgarthi died in 1050 and the feud died with him. The following year, the Ektrans rose up against Kamperelian Merchant Factors attempting to buy their government. The Kamperelians retaliated and, much to Giovhanhi's despair, seized Ektra with overwhelming force. For the next thirty years Count Giovhanhi fought to contain the Kamperelians, and to keep the peace along the Imperial Spinward/Rimward border.

The 4th Outrim War broke out in 1080 and, while most the fighting took place along the Spinward border of Gamelea Subsector, Miazan Subsector saw its share of conflict. Left out of the loop regarding the elaborate warplan developed by Siridar-Lord Elmar Hendrian for Sector Duke Kanus II, which was designed to cripple the Geithurian Republic and break up the Outrim Alliance, the local commanders in Miazan Subsector battled on the best they could. In the midst of the struggle, the Kamperelians swooped on Floranna and could not be dislodged. At war's end in 1085, the task of rebuilding began again.

In 1087, worn out and disillusioned, Count Giovhanhi II died. He was succeeded by his son, Sakkan III, who had seen his father slowly worn down over forty years of difficult service. Sakkan retained House Mahuran's active role in the Bromosian government, serving as both Head of State and First Minister, but his natural reserve and shyness distanced him from his people. Sakkan's insistence that a company of Vargr from the settlement on Lo Taisang be included within his honour guard, to the discomfort of his more xenophobic subjects, acted to further isolate him and it was into this political breach that his Interior Minister, Phorgan saVasparan, began to thrust himself.

Ventauran Kickstarter from Darkest Star Games

Darkest Star Games is one of the many boutique figure manufacturers I support by buying too many of their toy soldiers.

Producing an excellent range of 6mm scale miniatures, Darby has also been expanding his 15mm line. Recently, he has been "upscaling" a number of his 6mm vehicles to 15mm - such as the Talin IFV and the S'orhan LODAN GIFV.

The Talin Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) has a nice Low/Mid-Tech vibe about it. Civilianized, it would make a great ATV.

The S'orhan Low Orbit Drop Assault Vehicle, Grav Infantry Fighting Vehicle is a Ventauran Grav Assault ship and is a huge model - over 12cm long.

So it really wasn't a surprise when Darby announced a Kickstarter to accelerate the "biggification" process. Initially aiming at getting two new vehicles - the Ventauran Kh'erian Main Battle Tank and the Federation Scorpion Light Armoured Combat Vehicle into production, one of the stretch goals is the release of a new batch of Ventauran Infantry.

Sculpted by the gentleman who produced the original 25mm Ventaurans, these new 15mm sculpts can be seen as an upgrade on the excellent Ventauran Infantry produced by Eureka Miniatures.

So, if Ventaurans are your thing or if, like me, you see Zhodani, check out the Kickstarter and help get these little guys onto a battlefield near you.

Note - all photos lifted from either Darkest Star's website or the Kickstarter page.

Website Update #28

It's taken a while, but here's a belated website update, with a new link - as my host has managed to munt the original link.

Buying Used Starships

The topic of buying used starships came up during a Traveller Facebook Group discussion recently and it got me thinking about what sort of trade-offs one might make if one picked up a slightly used ship.

Firstly, price. Most merchant or “Adventurer” class ships are financed over a 40 year period. It might be possible to pick up a second hand ship part way through this payment cycle and continue on with the payments, or the ship may have been seized for debts or other mischief and been condemned by an Admiralty or Prize Court. In that case, the price of the ship may be lower, but the risk of malfunction may be higher, particularly if money had been tight and annual maintenance had been skimped or skipped.

Given a reasonably regular maintenance programme, there is no reason why a ship might not continue in service for well over a century. Like Grandad’s axe, we might replace the head a couple of times, and replace the handle a couple of times, but it would still a good axe. The most likely case for scrapping a ship is if its hull was no longer capable of withstanding the stresses of atmospheric  re-entry. And even then, in backwater systems, it might be possible to find semi-gutted merchant starships relegated to insystem haulage duties – dragging supplies and raw materials from gravity well to gravity well, only semi-pressurized and partially flare shielded.

Ships for sale at A and B Class Starports are more likely to have current registrations and be up to date with their maintenance. Though, if one is looking for bargains, and considers maintenance regulations more of a guide line, then it is still possible to pick up an inexpensive junker. In all cases, the ancient concept of caveat emptor – buyer beware – still holds sway.

Age of the Ship

2d6		Age of Starship
2		Ship is 2d6 years old
3		Ship is 10 + 2d6 years old
4		Ship is 20 + 2d6 years old
5		Ship is 30 + 2d6 years old
6		Ship is 40 +2d6 years old
7		Ship is 50 +2d6 years old
8		Ship is 60 +2d6 years old
9		Ship is 70 +2d6 years old
10		Ship is 80 +2d6 years old
11		Ship is 90 +2d6 years old
12		Ship is 100 + 2d6 years old

Determining the Ship’s Age helps determine the Ship’s Base Price. Base Price = Ship’s New Price – 1% per year of Age to Age 50 and then 0.5% per year thereafter (so a 50 year old ship’s Base Price should be 50% of the same model’s New Price, while a 70 year old ship’s Base Price should be 50%+ (20 years x 0.5 = 10) or 60% of New Price).

Condition of the Ship

2d6				Condition of the Ship
2 - 3				The ship is 3d6 years behind in its annual maintenance. Reduce Base Price by 1% per year behind and add three extra rolls on the Quirks and Foibles Table.
4 – 5				The ship is 2d6 years behind in its annual maintenance. Reduce Base Price by 1% per year behind and add twoextra rolls on the Quirks and Foibles Table.
6 – 7				The ship 1d6 years behind in its annual maintenance.  Reduce Base Price by 1% per year behind and add one extra roll on the Quirks and Foibles Table.
8 –12				The ship’s maintenance logs are up to date. No modifier to Base Price.

Any ship behind in its maintenance will have to undergo immediate servicing before it will be permitted to carry freight, cargo or passengers. The annual maintenance cost is increased by 1% per year the ship is behind in maintenance.

DMs:
+/- 1 per level of Streetwise (the character may opt to either find a cheap ship, or a good ship) on a
successful Streetwise roll.
-1 year of missed maintenance per level of Engineering on a successful Engineering roll (representing maintenance
work an Engineer can carry out with a standard tool kit).
+1 if the ship is for sale at a Class B Starport
+2 if the ship is for sale at a Class A Starport

Quirks and Foibles
Ships are complex machines and tend to develop little eccentricities during the course of their working lives. These quirks are often hard to diagnose, and locate but rarely compromise safety. Roll once on the Quirks and Foibles table for every ten years, or part thereof, of age of the Ship.

Quirks and Foibles

d66		Quirks and Foibles
11		Power Plant always displays a voltage drop just before Jump and dims all the lights throughout the ship. A service engineer will mutter something about “darn Vilani distribution busses”.
12		Manoeuvre Drive becomes sluggish in non-standard gravity fields. Manoeuvring within 10 Diameters of a planet of Size 7 or less or Size 9 or larger becomes one level of Difficulty greater.
13		Jump Initiator is laggy. When the Jump Drive is engaged, there is a 2d6 second delay before the Jump Initiator engages and the ship Jumps.
14		The Engineering deck is always five to ten degrees warmer than the rest of the ship and the hottest part of the Engineering deck is around the Power Plant.
15		Under low power, the port side (or starboard side) Manoeuvre Drive Impulse module vibrates. These vibrations reverberate through the deck plates along the port (or starboard) side of the ship.
16		No matter how the Jump Drive is tuned, it always seems to use 2% more fuel than expected per Jump. At some stage, a cross tank pump was installed that makes up the deficit by siphoning fuel from the Power Plant supply. This reduces standard Power Plant endurance from 28 to 20 days.
21		The Library Computer is buggy. On a roll of 8+ it will have partially scrambled the particular entry a user wishes to consult. Sometimes, this data is recoverable on a subsequent search, or if the character has Computer Skill.
22		The Navigation Computer is buggy. If the Navigator fails a Navigation roll, on 1d6: 1 – 2 the Navigation computer suddenly reboots; 3 – 4 the Navigation computer throws up an error message that requires a successful Computer Skill roll to clear; 5 – 6 The Navigation Computer tape drive shreds any Jump tape in the drive, or suddenly starts spooling madly if there isn’t a tape in the drive.
23		The Gunnery Computer is prone to lock up. All Gunner Interact and Targeting programmes will crash if they have been used together for more than 1d6 combat turns. Turrets will still function under local control.
24		The Life Support Computer is prone to flagging errors. On 7+ on 2d6, these are false errors, otherwise they are actual errors. On 1d6: 1 – 2 Carbon dioxide levels in crew quarters are dangerously high; 3 – 4 atmospheric humidity controls default to Bwap-comfort levels; 5 – 6 Oxygen levels begin to drop to planetary Thin Atmosphere classification.
25		The Ship’s Artificial Gravity will start to fluctuate. It will cycle either up or down from Standard Gravity, one Planetary Size Band per 1d6 minutes over the course of 1d6 hours before resetting to Standard Gravity. The effect can be ship-wide or localised.
26		The Galley Entertainment module will spazz for 1d6 minutes every 1d6 hours. During this time, the tri-D viewer will play random files from all directories, the lighting module will fluctuate, and the audio module will cycle through random audio files while the volume fluctuates wildly.
31		One State Room is always five to ten degrees colder than the rest of the ship.
32		When anyone uses the fresher, the smell of wet locker room permeates the crew area.
33		Atmospheric Humidity fluctuates. As more systems come on line, the humidity increases until it reaches Bwap-comfort level. As systems go off line, humidity levels decrease until they reach Deep Desert levels.
34		All plant life brought aboard the ship will die within 1d6 weeks.
35		The lights in the common areas fluctuate from pitch black to complete white out over a period of 1d6 minutes. This light fluctuation will be triggered by 1d6: 1 – 2 preparations for jump; 3 – 4 enforced system idle time during Jump; 5 – 6 system idle time when the ship is in port.
36		The ship’s water supply will become brackish after 1d6 weeks. While not harmful, it will taste unpleasant and be hard on skin and hair. Replacing filters and flushing the system will alleviate the problem for 1d6 weeks, when it will occur again.
41		A cabin door will jam half open, or half closed, every 1d6 days.
42		Cooking odours from the Galley will permeate the ship for 1d6 hours after any cooking has finished.
43		One iris valve sticks. It takes 1d6 seconds longer to fully close or fully open.
44		All clothing washed in one of the Galley’s washer units will come out stained slightly pink.
45		One cabin always smells slightly of wet fur.
46		There is a stain on the deck carpet in the Galley. There does not seem to be a carpet cleaner in Known Space that can remove it.
51		One landing jack always leaks fluid from a pinhole in a line up in the gear well.
52		The rear cargo ramp is prone to jamming. During extension or retraction, on an 8+ the power drive will jam. It will take 1d6 hours to clear the jam.
53		One of the main Ship’s Riding Lights will fail every 1d6 Jumps. If the ship is operating within the Traffic Control Zone of a Class C+ Starport, it will be fined Cr5,000 for the violation and written up. All subsequent visits to that port will attract additional official interest.
54		During Jump, an unpleasant odor permeates the cargo hold, contaminating anything stored within. For certain cargoes, this will make them unsaleable.
55		The Ship’s sensor array will jam in the deployed position during landing or docking approach every 1d6 port calls. This will delay landing or docking 1d6 hours until the array can be retracted. A successful Engineering roll will reduce the time required by half.
56		The main airlock control is sticky. Every time the lock is cycled, on a 2d6 roll of 8+ it will jam. It will take a successful Engineering, Computer or Electronics roll to clear the jam and allow the lock to cycle.
61		One turret is always 1 -2 degrees off target when under Computer assisted fire control.
62		The truck in the missile/sand hoist for one turret squeaks when in use. This intensely irritating squeak can be heard through all surrounding compartments.
63		One turret will always lock-up on traverse if under Computer assisted fire control. It will respond perfectly under manual fire control.
64		The Gunnery Station for one turret always smells slightly of vomit.
65		Power supply for one turret fluctuates. After 1d6 combat rounds, roll 1d6: 1 – 2 Power drop, lasers cease to function and missile racks fail to reload; 3 – 4 Power surge, lasers fire at double effect and then burn out, requiring an Engineering and Gunnery roll to repair, missile racks cook off, firing their missiles in random directions; 5 – 6 Turret goes offline. A successful Computer or Engineering roll will bring the turret back on line.
66		The Manual Fire Controls for one turret are prone to short out. After 1d6 Combat Rounds on Manual Fire Control roll 1d6: 1 – 2 Manual Controls short out, turret off-line for 1d6 hours, reduced to 1d6 minutes on a successful Electronics roll; 3 – 4 Manual Controls short out, turret off-line for 1d6 days, reduced to 1d6 hours with successful Electronics and Engineering rolls, turret operator takes 1d6 damage from flashover; 5 – 6 Manual controls short out, fire at Gunner’s station, operator takes 2d6 damage and turret off-line until serviced at a Class C+ starport.

An older, second-hand starship may be an economical way for a party of Adventurers to get into space, but older ships should also have character.

Another Light Goes Out

"Here we see a long forgotten starport on a long forgotten backwater planet in a forlorn system, deep into the Long Night. The ghosts of the once great Imperium, now long gone can be seen here, in the skeletons and rotting hulks of once proud starships.

"Here, under the light of a distant binary star the planet never truly has a night - in light brighter than an earthly full moon, the dim night light reveals the last vestiges of a star spanning civilization brought to ruin and leather flyers wing over it all in unconcerned ease.

"How melancholy indeed to see mans achievements brought so low, here on the Derelict planet."
- Bryan Gibson

I learned today that Bryan Gibson had finally lost his battle with Double Pneumonia and has passed on.

A well-known craftsman associated with the Society of Creative Anachronism, Bryan was also an artist and has contributed to several editions of Traveller, as well as to numerous adventure books and supplements over the last thirty years. A selection of his art - the picture, above, a melancholic piece that reflects my mood this evening, is taken from the collection - is currently hosted on deviantART. Bryan was also the author of Field Manual for Spica Publishing.

I never met Bryan in person, but I did have the privilege of taking part in a couple of mIRC Traveller games he ran, as well as chatting with him, off and on, via IM. I understand that he was a man of fairly firm views, and could be rather prickly to deal with on occasion, but I always found him immensely creative and interesting to talk to.

"Stand easy, soldier, ere the setting of the sun.

Stand easy, soldier. Job well done."

Armed Forces of the Outrim Alliance

The Outrim Alliance is a collection of at least seven small, non-Imperial Interstellar Polities lying to Spinward of Gamelea and Miazan Subsectors in Per Vulia, Entorth, Lymethius and Cabria Subsectors. Coalescing as an alliance during the late 8th Century, the disparate states were united in their opposition to Imperial expansion to Spinward. While membership has fluctuated over the course of two and a half centuries, the current alliance consists of: the Geithurian Republic; Huiha Esoyatre; Hand of Ssra'Ka Aissr; Khedivate of Nutharal; Huiha Khysokhou; Hunt of Rronurl; and the Johdari Association.

Initial skirmishes along the Spinward-Rimward frontier of Daltharmai Subsector led to a state of undeclared war as Imperial colonists moved into the Trailing end of the Tallu Cluster in Lymethius Subsector. During the 2nd Rimward War of 793 - 794, Sector Duke Liarb I launched a series of reprisal raids against the Geithurian Republic which galvanized that state to ally with the neighboring Aslan of the Huiha Esoyatre. Following the end of the Rimward War, Sector Duke Liarb II sought to pacify the Geithurians with a rapid campaign of deep Cruiser strikes against their trade and starport facilities. Unfortunately for Liarb II, the Ko of Huiha Esoyatre had been actively recruiting allies from amongst the scattered minor polities to Spinward and these responded to the Imperial raids with overwhelming force. Duke Liarb II's death in a skirmish in the outer system of Anar in 810 resulted in a temporary peace that lasted for over a century as the Imperial Sector Government became distracted by its own internal upheavals.

By the early 10th Century, the Imperium began to push into Lymethius Subsector again, only to find that the Outrim Alliance was still firmly opposed to their expansion. A series of four wars fought between 925 and 1085 have resulted in stalemate, with the political borders essentially unchanged. A Black War run against the Geithurian Republic by Siridar-Lord Elmar Hendrian, Head of Imperial Intelligence under Sector Duke Kanus II, during the decade prior to the outbreak of the 4th Outrim War in 1080, effectively paralyzed the Republic politically for nearly twenty years after the Battle of Anthorann and the end of the war in 1085.

Since the end of the Kalar-Wi War in 1105, and the accession of Konzevr Ashtebr Edlchtel of Appaer/Lymethius as President of the Geithurian Republic, the Outrim Alliance has shown increasing signs of a resurgence. This development is beginning to worry Imperial Officials, especially as relationships with the Kalar-Wi, who were instrumental in the military defeat of the Outrim Alliance at the end of the 4th Outrim War, are still at a low ebb.

It is against this background that I take a look at the Ground Forces of the Outrim Alliance.

---

As before, I am using GURPsTraveller: Ground Forces by Douglas Berry as my guide. As with the development of figures for Imperial armed forces, it seems logical that non-Imperial planets above a certain population and Tech Level will produce "Battalion Equivalents" from a percentage of their population. These "Battalion Equivalents" can either be grouped into Battalions and higher formations at the producing planet's tech level, or traded-in/amalgamated into Elite formations, or higher Tech Level formations. In the latter case, the assumption is that the planetary Government imports higher Tech equipment, which makes individual formations more efficient, and permits the Government to enlist fewer soldiers.

In the case of non-Imperial planets and polities, it would seem unlikely that they would be able to import Tech Level 15 equipment as I have yet to generate a non-Imperial Tech Level 15 planet. This indicates that the degree to which local armed forces may be upgraded is more limited than with the Imperial Unified Army.

As previously, to determine the number of Battalion Equivalents each planet produces, the Battalion Equivalent Table is used. This table is my adaption of the original Classic Traveller table that appeared in Journal of the Travellers' Aid Society Issue 10, rather than the one from Ground Forces as I find it easier to use.

Defence Battalions or Battalion Equivalents (BEs)
Population	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	A
TL
3	-	1	10	1C	1K	10K	50K	100K
4	-	1	10	1C	1K	2K	20K	200K
5	1	2	3	30	3C	3K	30K	300K
6	1	2	3	30	3C	3K	30K	300K
7	-	1	2	20	2C	2K	20K	200K
8	-	1	2	20	2C	2K	20K	200K
9	-	-	1	15	150	15C	15K	150K
A	-	-	1	15	150	15C	15K	150K
B	-	-	1	12	120	12C	12K	120K
C	-	-	1	12	120	12C	12K	120K
D	-	-	1	10	1C	1K	10K	100K
E	-	-	7	7	70	7C	7K	70K
F	-	-	-	5	50	5C	5K	50K

Working with these figures and applying them to Lymethius Subsector, we begin to see the following emerge:

Lymethius Subsector Worlds
Planet	Port	Pop	TL	BEs	Reserve	Raw BE	Units
Bilas	C	2	A	-	-	-	Nil
Geithur	A	9	A	15C	24C	8C	1 TL12 Elite Armoured Division, 1 TL12 Elite Armoured Regiment, 2 TL12 Elite Infantry Divisions, 1 TL12 Elite Infantry Brigade, 2 TL12 Armoured Divisions, 1 TL12 Armoured Brigade, 2 TL12 Infantry Corps, 1 TL12 Infantry Brigade, 1 TL12 Regiment (overstrength)
Evvikkim	D	4	6	1	2	1	1 TL6 Infantry Battalion
Welthor	C	4	9	-	-	-	Nil
Lysarnor	B	8	8	2C	3C	1C	1 TL12 Elite Armoured Regiment, 1 TL12 Elite Infantry Regiment, 1 TL12 Infantry Regiment, 1 TL12 understrength Regiment (4 battalions)
Tian	C	6	A	1	-	1	1 TL10 Infantry Battalion
Vermorzol	A	6	7	20	30	10	1 TL7 Brigade
Appaer	B	A	C	120K	180K	60K	1 TL14 Elite Armoured Field Army, 1 TL14 Elite Armoured Division, 1 TL14 Elite Armoured Regimrnt - the Konzevr's Guard, 2 TL 14 Infantry Field Armies, 2 TL 14 Infantry Corps, 2 TL14 Infantry Divisions, 1 TL14 Infantry Brigade, 27 TL12 Armoured Field Armies, 54 TL12 Infantry Field Armies.
Hiona	C	5	B	-	-	-	Nil
Yuwe	A	5	C	-	-	-	Nil
Atlasiykh	C	5	A	-	-	-	Nil
Jul'ni	B	8	9	14C	21C	7C	1 TL14 Elite Armoured Division, 1 TL14 Elite Armoured Regiment, 2 TL14 Elite Infantry Divisions, 1 TL14 Elite Infantry Brigade, 4 TL14 Infantry Divisions
Faiwawhwe	C	5	A	-	-	-	Nil
Yuakteisye	A	A	A	150K	225K	75K	5 TL13 Elite Armoured Field Armies, 10 TL13 Elite Infantry Field Armies, 10 TL13 Armoured Field Armies, 50 TL13 Infantry Field Armies
Dysa Metharoth	B	4	9	-	-	-	Nil
Fiona	A	4	9	-	-	-	Nil
Coroson	C	6	8	2	3	1	1 TL8 Infantry Battalion
Tallu	A	5	C	1	-	1	1 TL12 Infantry Battalion
Auru	C	3	B	-	-	-	Nil
Kidan/Yaitlaorail	C	4	7	-	-	-	Nil
Kalar-Wi Empire
Masaad	B	3	8	-	-	-	Nil
Kalar-Wi/Gamelea	A	7	C	120	180	60	1 TL12 Armoured Brigade, 2 TL12 Infantry Divisions
Loa-Wi/Cabria	A	8	B	120	18	60	1 TL12 Armoured Regiment, 1 TL12 Infantry Division
Gaidon/Cabria	B	9	9	15K	24K	8K	1 TL12 Armoured Corp, 2 TL12 Elite Infantry Divisions, 1 TL12 Elite Infantry Brigade, 2 TL12 Infantry Corps, 2 TL9 Elite Armoured Corps, 2 TL9 Elite Armoured Divisions, 1 TL9 Elite Armoured Brigade, 1 TL9 Elite Infantry Field Army, 10 TL9 Infantry Field Armies, 2 TL9 Infantry Corps, 1 TL9 Infantry Division, 1 TL9 Infantry Regiment
Yolurlund/Cabri	A	5	C	-	-	-	Nil
Geithurian Republic Expeditionary Force - Ingeki Kargesu
Personnel for the Geithurian Republic Expeditionary Force are recruited from all member worlds of the Republic	3060	TL12	2 TL14 Elite Infantry Corps, 2 TL14 Elite Infantry Divisions, 1 TL14 Elite Infantry Brigade - Geithurian Republican Marines, 2 TL14 Armoured Corps, 2 TL14 Armoured Divisions, 1 TL14 Armoured Brigade, 5 TL14 Infantry Corps, 1 TL12 Armoured Corp, 3 TL12 Armoured Divisions, 1 TL12 Armoured Regiment, 3 TL12 Infantry Corps, 1 TL12 Infantry Division, 1 TL12 Infantry Brigade
Huiha Esoyatre Expeditionary Force
Personnel for the Huiha Esoyatre Expeditionary Force are primarily recruited from E'kho Oakhwohkyal of Yuakteisye	3000	TL12	1 TL14 Elite Armoured Corps, 1 TL14 Elite Armoured Division, 1 Elite Armoured Regiment, 2 TL14 Elite Infantry Corps, 2 TL14 Elite Infantry Divisions, 1 TL14 Elite Infantry Regiment, 3 TL12 Armoured Corps, 2 TL12 Armoured Divisions, 1 TL12 Armoured Brigade, 7 TL12 Infantry Corps
Kalar-Wi Empire Mobile Force - JKW/Orsh
Personnel for the Kalar-Wi Empire Mobile Force are recruited from all member worlds of the Empire	286	TL12	1 TL14 Elite Infantry Brigade, 1 TL14 Infantry Division, TL14 Infantry Brigade - Kalar-Wi Marines, 2 TL12 Armoured Divisions, 1 TL12 Armoured Brigade, 1 TL12 Infantry Corps, 3 TL12 Elite Infantry Battalions

Since the end of the 4th Outrim War in 1085, both the Huiha Esoyatre and the Geithurian Republic have been upgrading the equipment and training of their respective Ground Force Lift Formations as well as Planetary Defense units. Much of the High Tech equipment is being sourced from the Hand of Ssra'Ka Aissr and the Johdari Association to Spinward.

Website Update #27

After a surprisingly successful painting month, I managed to both finish off some fun figures and start to sketch out a ground force conflict in my Traveller campaign to game with, initially, 5150: Star Army.

Website is here.

Imperial Army - Gamelea Subsector

Following on from my earlier post on the Miazan Subsector Imperial Unified Army, I decided to continue the process by working up the UA for Gamelea Subsector.

As before, I am using GURPsTraveller: Ground Forces by Douglas Berry as my guide. Ground Forces postulates that all Imperial planets above a certain population and Tech Level produce "Battalion Equivalents" from a percentage of their population. These "Battalion Equivalents" can either be grouped into Battalions and higher formations at the producing planet's tech level, or traded-in/amalgamated into Elite formations, or higher Tech Level formations. In the latter case, the assumption is that the planetary Government imports higher Tech equipment, which makes individual formations more efficient, which permits the Government to enlist fewer soldiers.

Firstly, to determine the number of Battalion Equivalents each planet produces, the Battalion Equivalent Table is used. This table is my adaption of the original Classic Traveller table that appeared in Journal of the Travellers' Aid Society Issue 10, rather than the one from Ground Forces as it is easier (for me) to use.

Defence Battalions or Battalion Equivalents (BEs)
Population	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	A
TL
3	-	1	10	1C	1K	10K	50K	100K
4	-	1	10	1C	1K	2K	20K	200K
5	1	2	3	30	3C	3K	30K	300K
6	1	2	3	30	3C	3K	30K	300K
7	-	1	2	20	2C	2K	20K	200K
8	-	1	2	20	2C	2K	20K	200K
9	-	-	1	15	150	15C	15K	150K
A	-	-	1	15	150	15C	15K	150K
B	-	-	1	12	120	12C	12K	120K
C	-	-	1	12	120	12C	12K	120K
D	-	-	1	10	1C	1K	10K	100K
E	-	-	7	7	70	7C	7K	70K
F	-	-	-	5	50	5C	5K	50K

Working with these figures and applying them to Gamelea Subsector, we begin to see the following emerge:

Gamelea Subsector Imperial Worlds
Planet	Port	Pop	TL	BEs	Reserve	Raw BE	Units
Varch	B	5	B	1	-	1	1 TL11 Infantry Battalion - 1st A'Varchi Ranger Battalion
Acorlis V	C	6	7	20	30	10	1 TL12 Infantry Battalion, 2 TL7 Armoured Battalions, 2 TL7 Infantry Battalions
Julnar	A	5	F	-	-	-	Nil
Leminkainen	D	5	4	10	15	5	1 TL8 Infantry Battalion - the Freedom Militia
Anthorann	C	9	B	12K	18K	6K	1 TL15 Elite Armoured Brigade, 1 TL15 Elite Infantry Brigade, 1 TL12 Elite Armoured Corp, 2 TL12 Armoured Corps, 2 TL12 Infantry Corps, 2 TL11 Armored Field Armies, 4 TL11 Infantry Field Armies, 1 TL11 Armoured Corp, 1 TL11 Elite Infantry Brigade, 2 TL11 Infantry Divisions
Kerak	C	0	B	-	-	-	Nil
Rimbaud II	B	4	D	-	-	-	Nil
Tulvan	C	7	8	20	30	10	1 TL12 Armoured Battalion, 1 Elite TL8 Infantry Battalion - the Civil Guard, 3 TL8 Infantry Battalions
Kalath	B	4	9	-	-	-	Nil
Feor	A	8	9	15C	21C	8C	1 TL15 Elite Armoured Brigade, 2 TL15 Elite Infantry Divisions, 2 TL12 Armoured Brigades, 2 TL12 Armoured Regiments, 4 TL12 Infantry Divisions, 1 TL12 Elite Infantry Battalion
Vanvlack VII	B	5	B	1	-	1	1 TL11 Infantry Battalion - The Vanvlack Volunteer Defence Force
Gamelea	A	A	F	50K	75K	25K	1 TL15 Elite Armoured Field Army, 3 TL15 Elite Infantry Field Armies, 100 TL15 Armoured Field Armies, 200 TL15 Infantry Field Armies
Ventura	B	9	C	12K	18K	6K	1 TL15 Elite Armoured Division, 1 TL15 Elite Armoured Brigade, 1 TL15 Elite Armoured Battalion - the Parliamentary Guard, 1 TL15 Elite Infantry Corp, 1 TL15 Elite Infantry Division, 1 TL15 Elite Infantry Regiment, 6 TL12 Armoured Corps, 24 TL12 Infantry Corps
Bryak	D	A	9	150K	225K	75K	1 TL15 Elite Armoured Field Army, 2 TL15 Elite Infantry Field Armies, 27 TL9 Armoured Field Armies, 56 TL9 Infantry Field Armies
Canblyne	A	5	D	1	-	1	1 TL13 Infantry Battalion - Citizens' Defense Battalion
Gilanda	B	4	3	1	-	1	1 TL3 Infantry Battalion - Republican Guard
Lymethius Subsector Imperial Worlds - part of the Duchy of Gamelea
Ouron	C	4	7	-	-	-	Nil
Finduil	C	8	8	2K	3K	1K	1 TL15 Elite Armoured Brigade, 1 TL15 Elite Infantry Brigade, 3 TL8 Armoured Divisions, 2 TL8 Infantry Corps, 3 TL8 Infantry Divisions, 1 Elite TL8 Infantry Battalion - the Finduilan Rangers
Por'via	D	5	8	1	-	1	1 TL8 Infantry Battalion
Anar	A	7	A	15	21	7	1 TL15 Infantry Battalion, 1 TL10 Armoured Battalion
Unified Imperial Army Units for Gamelea Subsector
Personnel for each Field Force of the Unified Imperial Army are recruited from all Imperial planets within the subsector the Field Force is assigned to.						3366	1 TL15 Elite Armoured Division, 1 TL15 Elite Armoured Regiment, 2 TL15 Elite Infantry Divisions, 1 TL15 Elite Infantry Brigade, 2 TL15 Elite Infantry Commando Battalions, 6 TL12 Armoured Corps, 3 TL12 Armoured Divisions, 3 TL12 Armoured Regiments, 2 TL12 Infantry Field Armies, 3 TL12 Infantry Corps, 3 TL12 Infantry Divisions

It is Imperial policy to equip all Unified Imperial Army Units to at least Tech Level 12 standard. This ensures a unity of equipment across formations. Subsector Army Commands are permitted to upgrade units under their command to higher Tech Levels, but the cost for this upgrade is to be born at Subsector level.

House Juharl-Zarquestuir have been Dukes of Gamelea since the beginning of the Ninth Century. It was Duke Petron IV (reigned 1041 - 1065) who, following the Ulanor succession to the Sector Duchy in 1044, began to upgrade the Gamelea Unified Army to Tech Level 15. This was partly in response to increased activity by the Outrim Alliance, and partly in response to the shift in power amongst the Houses Major of the Rimward Subsectors.

The major Imperial recruiting grounds in Gamelea Subsector are Bryak, Gamelea, Ventura, Anthorann and Feor. Duke Petron encouraged the system Governments to upgrade a portion of their Planetary Defense Forces to Tech Level 15 even as he ensured funds were available for the Unified Army. Duke Pahran continued his father's initiatives but his death in 1080 at the beginning of the 4th Outrim War delayed further progress as the Unified Army found itself heavily committed to resisting incursions by the Outrim Alliance.

In spite of the political lethargy that paralyzed the Gamelea Subsector government under Duke Petron's grandson, Adryos Urzov IV (reigned 1080 - 1105), the current Subsector Duke, Kolin II Andralistain, has indicated that he intends to complete Duke Petron's plans to upgrade the Gamelea Subsector Unified Imperial Army formations to Tech Level 15 over the next five years.