Update: Good news, terrible news.

Hey peeps if any are still around.

I figured as the terrible news is tied into the good news, I would post here again.

It is with a heavy heart that I post here of the death of dear friend and fellow Traveller, the legend who helped me on my path to professional gamer much like Don McKinney, Mister Greg Lee, Esq. of Lee's Guide to Interstellar Adventure and the one I know him for, the one I got my name on the cover of, my first professional gamer gig, Cirque de Sirkas: A Traveller5 Campaign Book.

I shall miss him. A lot. 

Now the thin candy shell. 

I am working on and writing new stuff for the Travellers' Guide to the Permatic Imperium: An Alternate Traveller5 Universe. Plus I got a new editor Aio Neko and she being a green Traveller, this is her introduction to the game and she has been a wonder to work with. She's good on fixing my endless run on sentences (which is pretty much how I talk in meatspace) and she's put good questions to me about stuff. And of course, Partic Mitchell as always has also been throwing in a good suggestion or six. Thank him for all the cool and groovy gear that you find, he probably inspired me to jam on that. Trust me, it was mega-thin before..still. :)

So, yes we are grinding out the setting book for real, no startown hustle, genuine work with like 150+ pages so far. With no artwork either, them's just words. :)

Which has been the real killer. Needs art work for the book, scads of it. And good artwork costs good money. So, I have been considering the Patreon and Kickstarter angles. Right now, sans printing costs, to do it as I would like can be done for basics at around 5KCr I think. And still it would be the original Star Wars and I'll do my director's cut later, unless it makes a few Fat Traders full of CrImps that is. Then I go all out, star charts, maps, system diagrams, alien sophonts to play, ship, gear, all the goodies and in mass quantities. 

Anyway, I still have to do house work and taxes and then get back to the book so I shall cose here.

Oh, and there is the company Facebook page which is where a lot of stuff has been being done, if you're still curious. And hey, maybe I'll write more here too now that I'm back to being a professional gamer and author again.

Now matter what. Travel safe.

Laterness,

Craig.

Everything is a bloody learning experience.

For once I am going to be lazy, even though I know I will regret this action later when I want to reference something I foolishly mention only here in this post some months down the road. Seriously I use my own tags when I am hunting down things. Like maps, world entries, stuff like that.

Some day I must get and learn to use decent database software. Someday.

Anyway, things happening, HERALD Class Starships had yet another cover snag, but then that makes the twelve copies with the racing stripe extremely rare for future collectors and since about eight of them have some form of personal inscription the value goes up further. :) I wish. No, strike that. Already uttered those fatal words, okay not fatal but man be careful of wishes kids, GMs love messing with them, got to watch the words, especially the missing ones. 

So, I got some cool new art and some very bright illustrations for the ISV SOMETHING COOL, because while some might think Rob Caswell invented the variant paint scheme plate, he just revived it. Airplane books used to do that crap all the time, hell I have this comic, which someday I will complete my collection of called Tigers of Terra and that had cool variant and paint scheme plates too. Dig that stuff, so I got some for the Cool.

Basically working on stuff, doing overtime at bill paying job and trying to handle a task that I let myself get talked into because..well, lots of reasons. So all in all, still alive and kicking and working.

Hope this finds you well, thank you for reading, and travel safe.

Laterness,

Craig.

Metagame: The Actual Imperium.

First off, welcome back and thanks for reading (even if you are new here).

Second I am reading this: http://twilightgm.blogspot.com/2015/11/remote-control.html and it does raise an interesting point, back in the LBB days, the Imperium went from distant and thus unable to do much about pesky "Travellers" doing all sorts of hinky stuff, along with MegaCorps, minor Nobles and of course the odd Mercenary unit or Merchant Prince to much more powerful and involved government that was closer than it was when it made its appearance in Imperium and LBB Traveller.

Which is cool. And seems a smidge of a problem with The Imperium standing not one Hop away with ridiculously high tech goodies to pull out their ass. I have established not only does The Emperor of the Permatic Imperium have Hop ships, He has antimatter power plants and creators, transmat on the local scale on board His Personal Flagship, HMS Blackthorne, all His Marines have BattleDress and could all be armed with Fusion Guns and other high tech crap. His Commandos carry Disintegrator Rifles and have biomechanical skin suit BD.

Which is cool stuff, but may make things hard to get away with.

Truth is that the full Imperium is out there. Remember, Vlad II claims the Title, Prince-Regent of the Fifth Imperium. There is a reason for that.

And leaving that alone for now since it seems some of my player may be paying attention here. Hence the Metagame tags. Thus we all understand that using the info may have bad consequences. Things are sometimes secret for reasons, not always bad either.

So, another thing is that I am thinking again of moving the Riftborne Domains while I still can. Once the location goes to print I am stuck with whatever goes out the door. And I found my TL chart and it shows the Fifth Imperium at its height with a Standard TL of 23, which means a high end of 25 and low end of 21. This means that Leap-1 (1000 parsec/leap) starships which means the Galaxy is some 30 weeks across which makes the Capitol of the Fifth Imperium much closer than I thought to being able to span the Galaxy.

The solution of course it to remove the Riftborne Domains from the Galaxy entirely and the Cross Rift Missions becomes not the rift between spiral arms, but the rift between the Galaxy and the various local satellite galaxies and clusters. So now it hovers in a limbo state somewhere off the Arms on the way to some other perhaps as of yet unnamed location. Keeps some of the mystery.

Anyway, got other stuff to do, such as working to get Herald Class Starships into a real printed book format one of these days. And trying to get some sort of rough complete draft of the setting book.

So, here my fellow Travellers and readers, I close.

Laterness,
Craig.

Metagame: Non-Material Currency.

First off, my apologies dear Readers for not posting in like forever. Many things have happened since we met last.

First off the company is doing well, the HERALD CLASS STARSHIPS Traveller5 ACS Supplement is doing well, and many thanks to Stephanie McAlea for her most excellent new cover for the book (pictures here when the print book goes live). And even as I type this a proof is being prepared and sent for (hopefully) Approval, since the last onces had problems other than my mediocre cover. Closed out our first business year and feeling pretty good.

So, enough nattering business small talk, let us get a round and get to the meat of the Meet.

Trade, kids, life blood of the Empire. Or so they tell us. And yes, it is true but mostly because it drives men out into the voids between the stars to find that new thing that will bring in the CrImps.

But for all the questing for cold hard currency there are two other currencies within the Traveller community that while having very little legal standing have that standing based on long traditions of spacers throughout the Imperiums of the Mankinds. Those currencies are the Marker/Token and the Favor. 

The Marker/Token, currency to a million spacers.

No one knows when or for what the first Marker was requested and when and for what it was called in for, but it is a tradition said to go back to mythical Terra and even precedes the Astroporters' Guild, the Jump Wars, and the Second Exodus of Terra. However, no matter its true history The Marker or Token is considered to be an article of value and its use is governed by few but iron clad rules. 

They are generally only requested or granted among known associates or at least persons/entities that have been vouchsafed to each other. This is not merely a good word and casual meeting at a seedy Startown dive, but a process involving serveral meetings, background checks, and is usually not done off the cuff. Or not when both parties have a mostly even footing. When the Patron deals with a Traveller and it doesn't involve The Dance as the semi-formal process is known, the Traveller might want to get that Insurance Backup before lifting off to adventure. 

If given or accepted the conditions agreed to are binding and may not be refused once accepted. This can make a Marker a somewhat dangerous proposition as usually the Patron granting the Marker is likely to leave out what they will request later while demanding to know what the Marker is for now. 

They are rarely requested or granted for small values. In the non-material currency market they are the megacredit bank draft to the Favor's Cr 10 coin. You can get a deadhead passage on a Favor, for a Marker you get the ship. The problem being is one can then have their Marker called in and suddenly find rather nasty people on board and doing things best not talked about.

Markers among very trusted colleagues can be verbal and need nothing more than those involved remembering who owes what to who. A Merchant Prince dealing with an Imperial Earl will rarely commit such a Marker to hard copy, however when either of them deals with a Traveller as a Patron they will often give the Traveller a Token. The Token is a physical or digital representation of the Marker. It may have some significance on its face or by design but again very rarely will you find a Token that tells the bearer what it can be called in for and who from. Point of fact, sometimes having the wrong Token at the wrong time can be a very bad thing. One is advised to leave an unknown Token alone, trying to redeem them has been a lethal experience for some. Yet for every bad Rumor one hears there is the competing tale of a found Token being returned and the finder greatly rewarded. *shrugs* You roll the dice and you take your chances.

So, can you sue over a Marker? Well, yes and no. While there have been cases in the Imperial High Law most of those involve nobles, military units and the occassional merchant house. The truth is the Imperial Courts will generally refuse to hear such cases and tell the litigants to figure it out themselves. About the only time they will hear such a case is when there is a direct consequences for the Imperium. 

Most often such disputed Markers will be arbitrated by a third party sometimes assigned by the Courts if the parties attempt to bring suit or special Moot or Senatorial Committees called for by someone in either of those houses, for merchants it is usually decided by a Guild committee. The military uses an unofficial Abritration Board composed of equal numbers of enlisted/ratings and officers called on an ad hoc basis. So, yes theoretically you could try and sue over a Marker. 

Is suing over it a good idea? Many times, no, not at all. We are after all discussing a currency that buys regiments, agents in the enemy camp, and sometimes the loyalty of a vacillating subordinate, they have also been said, but almost never proven to buy assassins, plagues, safe passages in Red Zones. Bringing The Heat into such things tends to be bad for everyone but the Lawmen. Buyer beware.

The Favor, or buy me dinner shipmate.

The Favor. Ah, Favor, a word with such a sweet sound to the ear of a Traveller. A word which may be used as currency among friends, shipmates, and fellow respectable Travellers. A small currency though. While a serious Marker may buy a battleship or a lord, the Favor buys you lunch or a day of Liberty with some chores being the most common return value of such exchanges. 

Being a small currency it can unlike a held Marker can be refused if the exchange is thought to be an unequal one. While this has probably resulted in more Startown, Port and shipboard scuffles and icy silences between the parties than one would like, it rarely escalates to killings or wars. It has spilt up a crew or three now and again however.

Favors are often granted between fellow Travellers on the mere association of having the same memetic makeup and that a Favor granted to a stranger can come back to you later in the oddest ways. In fact while religion has faded in its influence in human events it still has adherents to this day and among the Travellers the Favor has an almost mythical status. Many "pious" Travellers make it a point to grant a Favor at some point on Liberty before boarding for Liftoff, and those of a more compassionate mind tend to try and spread good will among the Dirtsiders by granting Favors only to natives of the world they're on. Both do it believing it will bring them, their shipmates and The Favored good fortune and well being. The standard Traveller will only grant Favors to those known to them or vouched for by a trusted colleague. 

These are the other currencies that Travellers may find of use in their adventures among the stars and worlds of the Imperiums of the Mankinds. And class is now open to questions. And can someone grab me a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster? I can spot you a Watch. ;)

Laterness,

Craig.

[TNS] HERALD Class Starships Launches.

It is with absolute giddy joy I present to you Thornwood-Daarnulud LLC's very first book, HERALD Class Starships!

Okay PDF, but book soon to come, got the margins messed up somewhere on the cover but that should be a quick fix. 

Also, Meredith over at DriveThruRPG.com got me squared away on the coupons and such, so we will mail out the Bundle coupon when the books go live.

Thank you all for the support over the long years. 

Now, quit reading me stroke my ego in public, I have lobsters to taunt before I eat one...with champagne, for Holiday and First Book Ever Celebration. 

This one is for my loyal players on CotI who got caught up in the most tepid whirlwind of adventure ever as this became closer to a reality.

And most of all, for my Beloved Ship's Cat. One down, two to go kiddo. Just like I promised. Love you, miss you, hopefully honor you. Always.

So, there it is, a set of goals set, worked on and accomplished.

Now, need to work on the next set of books...gak.

Hope you enjoy it, may you travel safe. Let us know how we did.

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/167951/HERALD-Class-Starships

[TNS] Thornwood-Daarnulud LLC has gone full-on live with product.

Hey folks!

First off, please forgive me for the cross posting.

Second, good news, our first product the Traveller5 Character Record is live at DriveThruRPG.com at the link below. That's right, Dear Readers, I after all those "I'm working on stuff" posts, here is one that says "I am fanarking done with a project! Praise be to the Holy Space Cows!". 

We would like to thank all the six people who downloaded it already and especially the nice people who even gave me money for it. Thank you all. Also deserving a Mention in Dispatches is Meredith at DriveThru who was most helpful, cheerful and did right by us. Thanks, Meredith!

So, if you run or are going to run a Traveller5 game this is the sheet for you. And it might even be usable for other versions of Traveller too (go ahead we won't tell :D).

Again thank you all who have helped us get this far. You rock!

Laterness,

Craig

http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/155697/Traveller5-Character-Record-version-121

[Astrography] The Location of the Riftborne Domains.

So, for sometime now I have been talking about the Riftborne Domains being in the Rift between the Local Arm and the Far Arm and such but I had never bothered to chart it anywhere. I had some ideas about its size and location, but nothing set in clay much less stone.

Well, that has changed. I haven't sketched out the Old Empires locations on this yet so at the moment it is pretty bare. Hopefully that will change, hopefully. Anyway, check it out.

Sometime later I plan on charting the locations of the scattered other rift clusters, the various Imperial Clusters and possibly, but no promises the route of the orignal cross-rift mission that brought the Imperial Mankinds to the Far Stars sector and of course their fatal encounter with the Kay.

Anyway, more work to be done today included a belated post on CotI for my sole player who had been very patient and cool. So, I will close here.

Laterness,

Craig 

Update: I am still alive and kicking. In other news, Ship's Cat still dead.

So things have been less than productive here since the death of my beloved Reznor, but I promised him His Name in Books so I carry on and try to get back to being a productive human being and small business owner. 

To that end many things to report. But few I can talk about. :p

Yep, got me some of them there secret projects that folks sometimes get to shadow brag about. Can't say much but suffice it to say I am writing again, Shipwrighting and doing other such professional creation. 

What I can talk about is my physical T5 License is on it way, in fact should be to Marc so hopefully, fingers crossed or your other favorite superstition I might even have genuine product out by say maybe GenCon...maybe. But as the Great Don McKinney says "No Dates!". 

This means getting more stuff ready to start serious work. Some of it is done, not sure if I mentioned this but the Voodgi are done as far as pro artwork goes and they look properly alien. I love the ugly little buggers. And Tim Osborne is awesome and really helped me get them out of my head as they should be. (And he is paid finally too, what with kitty cancer putting a huge hole in my pocket. Them kitty narcotics ain't cheap kids, I really feel for the human population that has to deal it.) His drawing made me realize how humans interact to the Voodgi visually and probably a bit culturally. 

Other things I have been messing with is the Permatic Imperium and datamining the starcharts. 

This is one of the final products of that datamining. I decided to see what trade between the ports of the Imperium looks like and if any patterns might show. The rules are on the pick and I killed my crappy hand drawn hexes since SciFiInterfaces.com taught me to kill anything that interferes with the user's ability to get use out of the interface. Also, they were pretty crude and ugly. 

Now that I have this chart I will now have to reevaluate the worlds of the Imperium and figure out where the Imperial Treasury, the Imperial Star Port Authority, and the Ministry of Trade & Commerce will be upgrading the ports. Which might also cause upgrades to Population and TL, Governments may change if they are too harsh, but otherwise probably little modified. 

So, that is that and I will close here. Enjoy. Comments by humans or machines not trying to sell me crap I neither want nor can afford are of course welcome as always.

Laterness,

Craig.

Update: HMS PANTHER (BF13) Reports Death of Ship's Cat. dateline: 112-0200. location: Permatic [FARS 1725]

I have the painful duty of informing those who don't know yet, that as of approx. 1200 CST on 22 April 2015 my beloved died at St. Paul Vetrinary Clinic (who were very cool & not at all judgemental of my evils, at least to my face :)). 

And yes, I did him evil, I was greedy and I let him suffer because I couldn't let him go. (And the lesson here kids is that evil is infant very easy to define: Doing harm to others for your selfish gains.) But little shit he was, he still in the end won & I took him because I love/d him & since he was urinating pretty much nothing but bright red blood, I took him and had him killed (because "Marty, I can't kill you. You're my friend. You, kill my friend!" a joke I had wanted to make, but I just couldn't). I did all those hypocritical things that we apes do when we suffer grief, I held him (and for the first time in weeks he let me), I cradled him, I tried to tell him how much he did/does/will always mean to me and that for all the evil I had just done, that I always have and always will love him and he was (I lied to him about this, I used to tell him he was only the almost center of my universe) my everything and yes indeed the center of my universe. I kissed his little soft footies, all four of them (he hated that, but I told him I was gonna and I did). I smooched him on the head and I listened to his last heartbeats (and now I know what arrythmia sounds like) that last rapid burst of small, little beats, a pause one small one, another short pause that last soft, weak, tiny beat and it stopped. He did not have agonal breathing, nor did he void his bowels or bladder. But then he did have his pride. :D

Then as I said I would did some completely hypocritical, little kid wishing and commended him both to the Old Mountain God of the Jews (who being a fellow tyrrant is a god I can deal with and he does love his deals) and of course to his god, She of the Oitment Jars, the Protector, Bast, Lady of the Cats, telling them both that was he was the most awesome of cats, a trooper to the last and probably the most considerate person I lived with (I am am at this stage willing to admit he did a lot of snuggling he probably did not want to because I did). Then I tried to leave, but I needed my last skunches and I took them and then I left his remains with the hope that Doctor Ben Seebart will find a good vet school that needs the body a 22 year old domestic feline with metastatic cancer. (EDIT: Dr. Seebart did find a place at the MCC Necropsy Lab, so science will be done with him.)

And as I am doing now and I suspect I will for many long, very lonely weeks and even now again years, I cried my fucking eyes because the hurt just won't go away.

I got through the first night alone with the aid of Mister Inguanadon Rawrr. Yep, I told you I went little kid and it doesn't get much more little kid than stuffed animals. Because they can't die.

Many thanks go out to Chad Vedder and Tim Evans-Strum for their love and money in helping let me keep him and then let him go. Special mention to David Brin, PhD, astrophysicist for helping name him, I hope he doesn't mind I nicked his styles. 

I hope I am wrong and he awaits me yet.

But I am a grown up, so no matter, I will (after my 40 days of sackcloth and ashes) carry on and do good with the life he gave me.

He passed the Gom Jabbar too so, here I say goodbye to one of the best people, best humans I knew. My kitten fuzz, my son.

His Royal Highness Reznor ab Glesner

Prince of Thornwood of the House of Thornwood, Lieutenant Imperial Space Navy, Ship's Cat Extroidnare, True Companion, Twice Savior of My Life, My Best Friend, My Beloved, My Pridemate.

March 1993 - 22 April 2015. 

Update: New Drafts of the Imperial Colors.

Greetings My Dear Readers & Followers.

Today's post comes with some pretty pictures, in this case they are of variants of the flag and banner. They came about because though the original flag/banner was nice enough it was still pretty much a copy of the Imperial Banner of the OTU...with extra stars, and different colors.

So, in the interests of being distinctive and my own thing, I whipped up a couple of variants. Also a roundel for use on craft. Check them below and comment away. 

Next up Flag and Banner (version 2).

Still, I wasn't sure I liked this draft so I did up a couple more seen below. The first has the Starburst up in the canton and rakish stripes in Vlad's House Colors.

But then I wasn't to thrilled with the Starburst placement and that led to the next one.

So, what issues here? Too small a Starburst. Off to do another one...

This one seems alright so I then did a Banner variant. 

And with this last one I feel productive and pretty happy with the results.

Next up, new Imperial currency and a Scout Ranger's Warrant Card.

Enjoy and catch ya on the flipside.

Laterness,

Craig.

Update: A Quick Post Before I Hit the Rack, or the new look of the Riftborne Domains.

What it says on the tin.

This is the latest chart for the Riftborne Domains. It is rough, very basic, but still a bit of an improvement over the picture of the hand drawn and pieced together chart on my wall.

Behold, the new, old chart of my [T5 ATU] The Permatic Imperium.

Things to note are not just a lack of fine detail, but also bits like HI&RM Vladimir II's Vault Fleet location or the other pockets of His Majesty's Imperial Regency in the the named Clusters. You know stuff like that. Well, I have pull some OT at the non-gaming job, so with this post I am off to sleep.

Enjoy and comments by real Sophonts welcome, Spambots not so much.

Laterness, 

Craig.

[Ticket] Abonai Belt / Colony A.

[TOP SECRET - NOFOR]

1. Date of Preparation: 365-0199.
2. Employer Details: Colonial Holdings (Quelw), Ltd.
3. Service Details;
   • Location: [FARS 0624] Abonai Belt / [FARS 0724] Colony A.
   • Length: 90 Standard Days. (Extendable)
   • Exposure: Moderate. Enemy forces are numerous, but technologically inferior.
   • Risk: Medium to High. Abonai military forces have effective control of the world of Colony A and its system space.
   • Type: Cadre/Covert Actions. Train, assist & support Native Forces and/or create such conditions as to require Imperial intervention.
   • Target: Present Government of Abonai Belt, in the Person of Chief Safety Warden Anton Snelling and his Deputies and Staff.
4. Pre-Service Support;
   • Funds: KCr 250 (Various Currencies), KCr 250 (Nerver & Smith, IC* - Account # NSMB-Ch0231).
   • Service: Native Forces may supply intelligence, minor vessel & equipment repair, fuel, and military forces or support at the discretion of the local commander. Imperial Forces may also provide logistical support, again at the discretion of the commander. COSDet already in place in Abonai system to support [REDACTED] may be able to provide intelligence and tactical and signals support in case of covert actions. The COSDet commander is required to maintain forces in place for their primary support mission, but shall extend every courtesy and support they are able to within the limits of the missions.
   • Additional: (The Company) may acquire weapons, equipment and logistical support at Corporate Rates and is exempt from the Citizens' Tax normally assessed on such items and services.
5. Post Service Support: Client will repair or replace reasonable damage to vessels, arms and equipment at cost.
6. Compensation: MCr 1.5 to split among (The Company) and any Hired personnel upon occupation of [FS 0624] Abonai Belt by Imperial Forces and/or surrender of or abadonment of [FS 0724] Colony A by Abonai Military Forces (ground, atmo, and space).
7. Reparation: The Client will provide reparation of hired personnel to port of hire. Client will make all attempts to secure the release and reparation of any personnel wether hired or (Company) employees in case of capture.
8. Escape Clause: (The Company) may activate the escape clause of this Ticket if engaged by forces of parties other than those named as combatants in this Ticket. If they do so they will not face charges of desertion or fraud provided such conditions are documented. If this escape clause is activated the Client releases (The Company) to persure other military employment tickets. Capture by Abonai Forces is not considered sufficient reason to activate this escape clause.
9. Signature Block;
   • For Client: The Lady Lydia Sammantha Vashaka, CEO, Colonial Holdings (Quelw), Ltd..
   • For (The Company):
   • Attachements:
     • [FS 0724] Colony A.
     • [FS 0624] Abonai Belt.

[TOP SECRET - NOFOR]

* Nerver & Smith, IC.
A. Speciality Goods or Services: Capital Investments, Venture Capital, Bonds and Insurance, Import/Export.
B. Baseline Tech Level: E (Low Interstellar)
C. Standard Price Adjustment: - 30 %
D. Corporate Headquarters: FS 0932 C 86A 210-B GG Na.
E. Known Shareholders: Imperial Holdings = 5%, Nerver = 20%, Smith = 20%, various Partners = 15%, Victorious Holding Company = 2%, ADG = 1%.
F. QREBS: Quality = 7 (+2) [Two Years], Reliability = -3, Ease of Use = 0, Burden = 0, Safety = -2.
G. Remarks: Never & Smith is rather new on the block and are said to have been started by patrons who had grievances with ADG. This said it must have been a bit of blow when ADG gained a percentage of its stock. Whatever the truth N&S does a hefty business with quality products and often sound investments. However, they are bit bolder than their competitor and are thus prone to have some rather nasty down turns in their portfolios. Their services are generally reported to be standard and most sophonts should have little difficulty understanding the terms and the rates and fees are often paid through standard Imperial transaction methods. They are the kings of the quick turn around most investments paying off or going bad in about two years. When their products do go bad the speculator stands a good chance of losing their investment.
H. Rumors: They also have a small privately held shipyard that specializes in watercraft, they mostly do yachts for the N&S Board, Partners and staffs that reside on the world's surface. They have been known to do a watercraft for other clients but when they do the fees are outrageous. The results on the other hand have won several Imperial Surface Racing Association championships.

Not one damned decent planet in the whole system! Or some detail on Decitmin Belt.

Now with pictures!

For those in my cyberspace game on CotI this post is old hat, but since I know some of my readers don't hang out there due to what we will politely call personal differences I thought I would post some of the latest work. In this case a small write up, the system details and of course a chart with pretty colors and yellow too. :p Some of you might remember my post for [FARS 0624] Colony A, a captive system containing the Homeworld of the Voodgi. In that post is my first crude system chart, much like my Medals of the Imperium artworks the chart in this post is an improvement on the first. Also, my first binary system so there were still some new things to work out. The "best is the enemy of good enough" version is below, future versions will hopefully look even sweeter. 

As always comments welcome (excluding most Spambots).

In other news, like you care about my boring ass personal life, but hey it hasn't stopped me yet (nor half the damned Internet either with the other half making videos instead of writing), the Ship's Cat just got his (I have had tons) NPO after Midnight. He got laughed at by me because we monkeys are cruel and I feel his future "pain". Still, he rarely eats after midnight as is so it's not that bad and he still can have all the water he can stomach. The reason for those who have never been under the knife, Fuzzass is going to the Vey for his first pre-op and then dental surgery. 

Well, it is waaayyy past my bed time and I did an OT shift last night, so I will close here. Enjoy the fruits of my labor and be well.

Laterness,

Craig, who is creating again!

[FARS 1626] Decitmin Belt. A 000 235-C

As Ht Lo Va {+1} (C11+5) 60 [435C] 

B Im M - Transients 720 G7 V K2 V(o13) 10 0.00.

Noble: Knight, County Ories.

Base: 4th Army (Imp).

World: Decitmin Belt (A000235-C)

Type: Icy

Primary: G7 V

Orbit: 0.8 AU +/- 0.005 (Orbit 2)

Day length: 30.1 hours

Year length: 278 days

Temp: -132 C, night index: -1, season index: 0

Hadley latitude: 677 degrees

Tilt: 34 degrees

Albedo: 0.6, Greenhouse: 0

Satellites: 0

Starport: Excellent quality

World size: 684 km diameter

Atmosphere: Vacuum world

Hydrographics: No free standing water

Population: hundreds

Government: Self-Perpetuating Oligarchy

Law Level: Shock, EMP, Rad, Mag, Grav weapons.

Tech Level: C (12) Jump-3

Data: Decitmin is sparsely populated with 734 sophonts resident by the last Census numbers, comprised mostly of belters, starport employees and the Army base personnel. It does have a larger population if one counts the thousands of transient Army Protected Forces who train in the belt regularly and are one of the reasons for the system's Amber Zone as they often use live ammunition during exercises. Spacing Masters and Pilots are warned to maintain the traffic instructions issued by Telmugaunt Orbital Traffic Control as straying from your assigned lane can result in exposure to ordnance. About half the belters and port staff are  employed by Telmugaunt Metals & Gems who put up a majority share for the port upgrade in 75 PI when a series of rich strikes of rare metals and radioactives were discovered, the company's board of directors who rule the system maintain their hold with an excellent public relations campaign, one of the best run and stocked low traffic ports in the Imperium, and for the most part playing fair with the wildcatters who also ply the system. 

The system's culture is non-homogenous mostly due to the presence of the belters who have a decided trend toward xenophobia fearing claim jumping or worse over rich strikes. This of course is not at all strange by interstellar standards when a good strike, not even a rich one can bring a belter several million CrImps over a lifetime of work, but because such claim can have such worth, the belters have developed a variety of esoteric, obscure and baffling methods of communication, navigation and general living. It is a somewhat fluid culture and at times explosive, Travellers are warned to mind their manners and be careful when dealing with belters. Port employees on the clock can be expected to be much like their counter parts on any other port in the Imperium, but off the clock they may have more in common with the belters and can often be found in belter bars hanging out with relatives and friends. The 4th Army for the most part keeps to themselves at their base in the outer system and gives advance notice when they are moving into an area, claims are flagged, scanned and recorded in case of damage during operations. Unless you arrive during a training evolution or are for some reason subject to a Customs check (they assist the locals as part of their training for boarding), you can expect little interaction with them.

Traders and speculators should look to incidentals, novelty items, the latest medias, and luxury foods for almost assured sale on the docks of Decitmin since the belters spend much of their time cooped up on their ship in the deep and it can be the little things that keep them sane.

Below is the orbital data for the Decitmin Belt system. 

The Worldlet in Orbit F08 is Telmugaunt Metals & Gems, LIC HQ and they only allow expected guests all others will be escorted to the nearest port. 

The Belt at Orbit F10 is claimed by the Imperial Army and serves as a Protected Forces training base and the HQ for the 4th Imperial Army. Travellers are warned to avoid this belt as it is actively patrolled by Army units (including some spacecraft) in addition to the regular use of live  weapons, defenses and ammunition. This makes the belt a navigation and security risk for those people who dislike flight plans and risk adversity. 

The other worlds are inhabited by miners of various sorts, researchers and support staff.

Orbit 00 - G7 V Primary

Orbit 01 - BigWorld (GHFA110-B) Sats 0 

Orbit 02 - Decitmin Belt (A000235-C) Sats 0

Orbit 03 (HZ) - StormWorld (H7DA113-C) Sats 2

Orbit 04 to 07 - EMPTY

Orbit 08 - IceWorld (Y73600-0) Sats 1

Orbit 09 - BigWorld (YECA000-0) Sats 2

Orbit 10 - IceWorld  (Y59A000-0) Sats Ring

Orbit 11 & 12 - EMPTY

Orbit 13 - K2 V Far Companion

Orbit F01 - EMPTY

Orbit F02 (HZ) - StormWorld (Y8E8000-0) Sats 1

Orbit F03 - EMPTY

Orbit F04 - RadWorld (H9A7000-0) Sats 1

Orbit F05 to F07 - EMPTY

Orbit F08 - Telmugaunt Metals & Gems, LIC (G10135-C) Sats 0

RESTRICTED ORBIT

Corporate HQ

Orbit F09 - EMPTY

Orbit F10 - Military Belt (Y00026B-C) Sats 0

RESTRICTED ORBIT

4th Imperial Army HQHC

42nd Protected Forces Regiment HQHC

1st Company/17th Training Battalion

3rd Squadron/1st Spacelift Group

Orbit F11 to F19 - EMPTY

Orbit 14 to 19 - EMPTY

See Traveller5 Core Rules page 42 for details of Atmo and Rads.

@&))6$! Apps!

So, had a nice post all typed out and was going from one app to another to cut and paste some links and got hosed by crash and lost it all. Crap.

Take two!

As I may have or not mentioned the Ship's Cat has an infected tooth and thankfully he managed to get sick during that lovely refund time for us working poor, so he'll soon be in hospital as they say across the Pond. In other more work related news but related I have commissioned Tim Osborne of who did some artwork (including a rare image of me) for Greg P. Lee's Traveller5 Cirque Campaign Setting Book to do up a picture of the Voodgi. 

I never intended the Voodgi to become a focal species, or Race in Traveller terms, but both my meatspace and cyberspace games involve them and their Homeworld so I figured I needed a picture of them, much like I needed artwork and deckplans for the Type-S 100-ton Scout/Courier of the Permatic Imperium. 

And speaking of the Something Cool (though the player's is called the Vargr's Grin which was due to an early misunderstanding about the OTU Aliens and their absence in my ATU), I am soon to have that ship paid off which means I can commission a Free Trader and a Yacht for Volume One of Common Starships of the Permatic Imperium, I figure the Navy Escort, the Scholar's Labship and whatever other ships I find in the CharGen section (I haven't combed it completely and made a final list yet). 

Next up after all that is pics of the Edendextu and the Bibickian and that will give me illustrations of the three playable Sophont species of the Permatic Imperium setting. Still leaves about a dozen or so Member and Client species of the Far Stars sector. This of course is only one sector of the nine that compose the Riftborne Domains, so there are probably sixty to one hundred sophont species in the whole of the Domains. I suspect I will not get around to detailing so that leaves some Death Star room for Referees to create new Sophonts for the setting without upsetting canon. Not that I have any canon exactly much less Canonistas, but if I manage to get this setting out the door and people buying it, I suspect they will appear. Not sure if that would be cool or awful, I think a bit of both. :)

So that concludes the business end as it were for the post and now we move on to everyone's favorite segment of the Internet, pictures. Today's picture is another sketch by yours truly here and a link to some that aren't. (I hope, that is where things went wrong last time...) 

First my work, in this case I was reading up on Imperial Regilia and came across a reference to it representing the Sovereign's Authority and that got me doodling and this is the result. Behold!

Well, that is pretty much it for right now so I will close here. 

Laterness,

Craig.

PS: I forgot the link which was to illustrate an example of an Imperial Marshal Service star. 

http://s151.photobucket.com/user/far-trader/media/ImperialDeputyMarshalBadge2.jpg.html

Unlike most MoJ Agencies and Departments the Imperial Marshals Service uses a custom badge which is a plain, five pointed, ringed star with the Imperial Starburst in the center, pretty much a unashamed clone of the United States Marshals Service badge. Why, you ask after some eight thousand years are they still using the same tin? Tradition! :D 

Well, I really have to handle some other online stuff, cyberspace crew is off to meet the Voodgi Civil Affairs Logistic Staff Officer who says that they conveintly happen to have some Mercs, but no Commanding Officer with the proper combat qualifications to lead them...

Then, it is real world stuff and some scunchy rack time with Ship's Cat. 

Catch ya on the flipside.

Update: I'm feeling much better now.

So My Dear Readers (and it turns out I do have them, not just Spambots),

I have been decidedly non-productive this month. First I got a nice wet, phlemy respitory infection. While I was ill I found a new D&D game I just had to have over at GOG.com, a module I had heard of since the days of yesteryear, The Temple of Elemental Evil. Is fun and unlike Baldur's Gate (good old THAC0 AD&D of my youth) the ToEE is 3.5 cheeserific! Damn if it isn't fun to drop 3rd Level Spells in one round. And "Crafting Magical Shit For Your Party" Feats. Sure I am a mid-10th Level Wizard and the Bard, Pali, Cleric and Rogue are all 12th moving on to 13th, so my spells aren't as impressive (though I do have my Spell Pen with Greater coming next), but damn my party busts shit in its ass like it owes us money! 

That is the fun parts of the month. Bad part is that after some 22 standard years of being pretty healthy the Ship's Cat has an infected tooth and a hole in his face from where the guk blew it out. Not cool, so off to go deeper into debt and the St. Paul Vetrinarian Clinic to find out I am going to have put together several hundred CrImps to get him up to snuff. Good news is that till then he is on antibiotics and has a cone collar for when I am not around or asleep to keep him from opening the hole more. 

And in gaming news I am considering having an Imperial Legion like the French Foreign Legion that like the FFL is used outside the Imperium proper. Yet while it seems sort of cool as my good friend Rustin (H. Wright) is always reminding is that the French are pretty shitty at Empire. Though as Vietnam pointed out they are good at leaving some else to clean up their mess. In fairness to the French I will point out we Yanks should have told the Frogs to take a long hike off on a short pier after Dein Ben Phu (yeah, to lazy to look up the correct spelling, it is late and hey, I am a "lazy American" :)). Still not sure why after that most righteous ass whooping and display of sheer unadulterated hard core soldiering we even put advisors there much less combat troops. No lie, I still think my armed forces are some of the baddest in the world and sometimes The Baddest Asses in the World, but anybody who humps that much arty over mountains on their fanarnking backs is not just not someone to be screwed with. Especially when they then employ it properly too. Got to love those pre-registered targets. :D

Hmm. Maybe no Legion after all? Comments? 

Till next time, 

Laterness,

Craig.

Imperial Scout Vessel Something Cool.

Not much to say, winter is here snow and all, been sick, did some OT at non-gaming job.

In gaming life, well, as I said been sort of busy. On the other hand, nice thing about being sick I'd you can still be productive even I'll as shit. In this case a starship project that started as the ship for some players on my CotI (Citizens of the Imperium) Play by Post which the Detached Scout Ranger had possession of, the ISV Something Cool. At first it was just an answer to a quick question that made me realize I need to male up versions of the standard starships that Players can get as Muster Out Benefits. The ISV Something Cool is the first of them. 

It is you basic TL-G Imperial Scout Service starship, the old 100-ton, Type-S, Scout/Courier that in the OTU of the Third Imperium is that much loved funky wedge, but here is a slick lifting body airframe with cool gull wings because Ian Stead is all cool like that. 

I suspect I will end up with a bunch of them one day and then comes a Starships of the Permatic Imperium: Common Starships. Till then check out the styles.

Got deckplans and some nice black and white pics as well. :D 

Well, off to figure out what I am doing for the couple hours till sleep. Enjoy.

Laterness, 

Craig.

PS: Players can email me for a copy of the deckplans, but no posting them. You know just in case any of them are around and curious.

The Vision Thing.

So gentle readers,

Yes, I live still even though not posting a lot. And while not posting I have been working. Bought and paid for one ship, M/V Screaming Penny artwork and blueprints, also have another one in the works. Also, I have put some time into the Traveller5 SophontMaker and now have one Minor Human Race, the Bibickians (a heavy worlder race) and two different Native Intelligent Lifeforms of the Far Stars, both the previously featured Voodgi and the Edendextu of Permatic [FS 1725]. 

Yet more things done, starting work on taking all the stuff here and in the DropBox and notebooks and putting together a Setting Book for the Permatic Imperium. And here I hit the real work. The fine Don McKinney has looked over my initial Far Stars sector data and suggested that I "leave room for the Death Star" and not over detail the sector. I fear he may be right, even though my love of detail rails against the idea. Turns out though that I may have an out, those lovely new Hop Drives (10 parsecs per trip) and some interesting thoughts on TL-G+ (16+) by my Patron at Court, Robert Lord Eaglestone which suggests that once the Fantastic Drives hit the standard Traveller sectors might not be so important. Since I have had such drives in my Traveller Universe since I first saw them in Beta I think I shall do up the Far Stars as Don suggests and then figure out what the rest of the Riftborne Domains look like under the new exploration and settlement model.

So, know that I am still alive and working, just trying to figure out how to apply my vision. Which is also leading me decide if certain types of government are going to be stricken from the Imperium and one will have to travel in the ex-Imperial worlds to find a solid Religous Dictatorship. And I use that one as an example since I am also thinking of moving my Permatic Imperium "Past Such Silly Superstitions" as religion and dictatorships in general as well. I mean I do have an empire in which all sentient species are free persons, even non-organic and created species. Now, the bad guys (and yes, my empire is a goody-goody light empire, so thus the good guys) might be tyrrants and twisty high priests because you always need a good villain so for all you lovers of might makes right and don't question the gods can still have your "fun" just do so outside the Imperium for your own safety. :)

Oh, and last a big "hello" to my spammer bot from M88 who sometimes does write things that almost look like a human wrote them and two or three that I was tempted to respond to till rational thought returned. 

And for those who read the whole thing behold an early sketch of the ISV Something Cool. Not the actual look at the moment, but it is pretty and I may design a ship to match it someday. Still, I thought it was cool and Ian Stead deserves some plugging. Also pictures are cool.

Enjoy and be well.

Laterness,

Craig.

Update: Still Alive & Working.

So, just another quick note dear Readers.

It looks like the County Ories may have a new Count named and in CharGen, this makes four PC Nobles in my meta-verse: Count Jowern, Count Ories, Baron Redsm, and Baronet Pecias. Yep, the Great Game of Houses is starting to take shape.

I am doing some more professional writing (jamming on it tomorrow in fact) and have a new art project, a Ranger Warrant Card that gets issued to all Scouts who elect to take a Term in the Ranger Branch. I got a player who is one so, I thought it would be cool to do one up. Also, I really should start working up the various Patents for my Nobs. Armed Services personnel already got the second draft spiffy Medals that I thinking of asking Ian if he might do them up proper, but I don't know if he is comfortable with cloth. Well, virtual cloth anyway, for the ribbons.

Well, very long, hectic and tiring day. Sorry, no pretty pictures or long ass rambles today. Maybe later. Till then, travel safe.

Laterness,

Craig.

Update: Working on paper.

This is a very, very brief post. Mostly the picture below of a CrImp 1 note in progress. Then off to see a documentary about a Dune film since I am all sorts of nerd like that.

Enjoy.

See I told you I would do more with currency in the Impermium, and behold I sort of deliver. :D

Laterness,

Craig.

UPDATE FOR THE UPDATE.

Movie was awesome and explains to me why the fanark it rains on Dune at the end of the standard by which all optical versions of Dune must live up to, the much loved and hated Lynch version.

Meanwhile some progress on the Imperial Treasury Note. (yeah, a bit late I remembered the proper mint term for a paper currency unit. Well, by modern US standards. For the coinage, I have decided to look out side the US as there are more low TL worlds in my Sector Data than I thought. I am thinking of using the database I have built originally for 200 PI, instead as the base Year 0 or 100, 150 or even -50 PI just before Vlad shows up. The Edendextu would still be ruling the roost and if there is NIL on Quelw they too have a small space empire. Comments, dear reader?

Anyway, tomorrow is a very busy day full of work and not a lot of time play with currency for the rest of the week. So, realize there is still some bits missing, but it is much better than the above.

Update: Computer Woes & Starships.

Greetings all.

As the wether becomes more habitable (by my admittedly personal tastes) things on other fronts are going not so well. First of course is that it appears that my main computer is having a major crash and that needless to say has put a crimp (not CrImp :p) in my productivity. Good thing is I ran a backup so at least I have most of my data still, bad thing is the backup app can't seem to see the target drive. Crapsticks! Still my tech guy is going to see if he can do some scuzzy voodoo to it and bring it back. Here's hoping...

On the other hand, not sure if I have mentioned it yet or not but another Daarnulud Design Bureaux starship is in the works. This one is the 600 ton, IM/V Sceaming Penny with the illustrious Mister Ian Stead (https://www.facebook.com/ian.stead.52) doing the plans and artwork (because frankly I am just not that good for this day and age, 1980s, I am looking good, 201Xs, not so much). As usual with these "I got a new project" posts this one comes with some pictures from the development stage. This is the first draft of the plans which are stellar, but then I went and suffer an attack (for which I am sorry about having now) and of course had to make requests for changes only after it had sat and cooked for a time. Yep, turns out I too am that asshole client. Ouch. Gonna have to make good on that. Anyway check it out:

I super-digging the oval bridge! On the other hand I had my quibbles later when this came in after:

Then I started making annoying changes. If you follow the passageway from the Bridge you will see a small space on the port side, that is the Ship's Locker. So? Well, if you look you will see the door is accessible from outside the Bridge passageway. Not cool in my Naval Archtecture handbook. Ship's Lockers usually contain the vessel's small arms and petty cash. Not something that shoud be accessed easily. He was pretty cool about that one, not so sure the request about the cargo hold was as well recieved. I won't say what, one must keep a few secrets, but it it will involve some work on the Draftsman's part, not so much the Naval Architect. :)

Anyway, just trying to get back to posting more often...again. We'll see how it goes. Meanwhile enjoy and hope you are having a good day. (Because I am a dick like that, but really if you have indeed had 87 nice days in a row..."Have shitty day!". Look it up kids, George Carlin was fucking awesome! Also, a smidge subversive. :D) Crap, got the details wrong but the message right. Oh, and for the lazy, because I have to share the love, here check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6X0MDBqyYZQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Laterness,

Craig.