2300AD Tools for Frontier Living (11923996)

2300AD Credits

Contents

2300AD Original Writers and Contributors

Introduction Colonies and Colony Design Outposts and Outpost Design Frontier Agriculture Structures Power Systems Animals Clothing and Protective Gear Medical Technology Exploratory Equipment Tools and Industrial Equipment Computers Sensors and Scopes Miscellaneous Equipment Space Equipment Spacesuit Design Aquatic Equipment Police and Security Equipment Weapons Robots and Drones Walkers Vehicles Starships and Spacecraft

Marc Miller, Loren Wiseman, Frank Chadwick, Lester Smith, Timothy Brown, Gary Thomas, Joe Fugate, John Harshman, William H. Keith, Jr. Deb Zeigler, Bryan Gibson and Steve Venters

Author

Colin Dunn

Editor

Matthew Sprange

Layout

Nicki Wong

Cover Illustration Shenfei

Interior Illustrations

Colin Dunn, Amy Perret, Carlos Martins, Nick Egberts and Chad Sergesketter

Deckplans Ian Stead

Special Thanks

Rob Eaglestone, Don Mckinney, Gavin Dady, Kory Webb, James Thomas Jr, Sam Lockwood, Chris-Downes Ward, Simon Beaver, Ian Stead, John Macek, Mark Lucas, Steffon Worthington, Dan Hebditch Dedication: For Julie, my friend and partner, for challenging me to do better.

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2300AD Tools for Frontier Living © 2012 Mongoose Publishing. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this work by any means without the written permission of the publisher is expressly forbidden. All significant characters, names, places,items, art and text herein are copyrighted by Mongoose Publishing. This game product contains no Open Game Content. No portion of this work may be reproduced in any form without written permission. To learn more about the Open Game License, please go to www.mongoosepublishing.com. This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United Kingdom and of the United States. This product is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual people organisations, places or events is purely coincidental. Printed in the USA.

INTRODUCTION My grandmere and grandpere emigrated from France to Beta Canum shortly after they got married, nearly 40 years ago. After their divorce several years later, my grandmere took my papa and shipped out to Vogelheim, where they’ve lived ever since. Using her share of the contract settlement, she bought a ranch, and ran an electric fence around all 40 thousand hectares. She then imported cattle embryos from Earth, genetically-adapted to conditions on Vogelheim.

As a child, I was taught to never touch the fence, nor go past it. Beyond the fence prowled the titans and the rest of the gigantic birds that populate this world. That day, though, a section of the fence shorted out, and some of the heifers escaped. The hired hands were with the autumn cattle drive, so Mama took a shotgun and an ATV and went to round them up. She wasn’t fast enough. A pack of titans got the heifers, and then her when she came looking. After that, Papa and several of the uncles and hired hands got together and killed every titan they could find within 50 kilometres. The colonial ecologist was furious, but after Papa showed him what was left of Mama, he decided not to press charges. Papa devoted himself to the farm after that, only occasionally heading into the city for the company of a professional. We had no secrets on that farm.

My papa was only six when they arrived on Vogelheim, so Grandmere made do with a few multibots and an ever-changing array of hired hands. Some of those hands stayed on from year to year, and my papa started calling them uncles. Though Grandmere never remarried, many of those uncles also became her lovers, an arrangement that seemed to suit her well.

Along with the cattle, we raised wheat and corn, along with some specialty crops, greens for the table, and tomatoes for the market. We did well, until France finished L’Ascenceur, the Beanstalk on Beta Canum. After that, the beef market dried up, and many of the hired hands and even the uncles left for other worlds, including Beta Canum.

Vogelheim in that time had few large cities, nor many large towns. Papa was schooled at home, by a 30-year-old portacomp and an intermittent Link connection. He learned a great deal about farm operations though, everything from how to milk a cow to how to read genetic markers on an amniotic fluid sample. By the time he was 18, he was the manager of the cattle operations, while Grandmere contented herself with the crops and market gardens.

We downsized the cattle operation after that, producing just for the domestic market. It hurt to see pasture land returned to the wild, to see titans and their cousins where once we had raised cows. We even started raising domesticated augers - larger, tamer relatives of the titans, for the export luxury market. That was the worst, to see the look in Papa’s eyes every time he went out to check on the auger herd. Once, a small titan managed to leap the fence into the auger paddock. Papa came at a run, and cut loose with an automatic shotgun. He got the titan, and three augers as well.

Interview With A Farmer

I’ve never seen Earth, except in tri-vid shows and articles on the Link. I can’t imagine a world of 5 billion people. Where would they put them all?

My papa left the farm for a year, to attend the college in Neuberg. When he returned, my mama came with him, already pregnant with my sister. I followed two years later, and my little brother was three years after that.

In 2295 I left Vogelheim, selling my share in the farm to Grandmere, and spent eight months in transit to Ellis, on the American Arm. Hot and sere, Ellis was so different from Vogelheim. Most importantly, though, it had no titans. You see, I was with Mama that day, though I stayed inside the fence. I saw what the titans did to her, even as she killed two of their number. I still have the scars on my hands from when I grabbed the wire on the reactivated fence, trying to save her.

The farm was a little village of itself. Some of the long-time farm hands, those who hadn’t become uncles, brought their own families to our isolated station. Papa and Grandmere expanded the cattle operation several times, and we added our own slaughterhouse and processing plant. We were on the verge of becoming a small town at that point.

There are 33 inhabited worlds in the frontier regions of human space, and over 60 separate colonies on those worlds, as well as dozens of outposts, smaller settlements, and interstellar micronations. While the social environment on each of these worlds is unique, depending on the social and physical constraints of the world itself, certain truisms tend to hold for most colonies.

Despite being together for years, Papa and Mama never married. They were always together, though, heads close, talking and laughing. They had been together 15 years when the titans got her.

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Primary Colony Site

Elevation: 497 m above mean sea level

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4 SurvSat 4 Altitude: 127 km Locations 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Landing Pad Hab Module Tower Hab Modules Power Modules Fuel Tanks Greenhouses Storage Domes

8. Warehouse 9. Vehicle Shop 10. Machine Shop 11. Office Block 12. Waste Disposal 13. Hospital Module 14. Antennae Tower

Scale 20 m

tech like Link phones, or expensive but absolutely necessary equipment like mining robots, makes its way out to the frontier and into general use.

Life on the frontier is often not what people expect. It is a mix of primitive and advanced technologies, but even the primitive is informed by advanced knowledge. Some colonies may have outdoor toilets, for example, as portrayed in many a Core drama, but it is probably a composting toilet that is producing fertilizer for the local farms, or, on many worlds, to add to the paydirt that is helping the terraforming process and conditioning the soil for Terran crops. Through digital books or planetary Link networks, colonists have access to the same base of knowledge as anyone in the Core.

Otherwise, technology used on the frontier tends to be sturdy, effective, and unimaginative, trading style and innovation for ease of use and robustness. For example, a Link phone made for the Core market may be little more than a polycarbonate tube with a holographic projector and electrostatic-feedback virtual keyboard. On a colony world, however, the typical Link phone is considerably larger, heavier, and far more robust. It won’t be able to do everything the Core Link phone can do, but it also will not be obsolete after only one season. This same general preference for function, ruggedness, and longevity, informs all technology produced for the colonial market. On the frontier,

The listed Technology Level of any colony world is about manufacturing capabilities, rather than knowledge. Most colony worlds will have access to the high-tech equipment of the Core, but at a premium price. This premium guarantees that only inexpensive

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colonists need their equipment to work, all the time. The replacement might be ten light-years away. This also means that simpler, locally-produced equipment is most often used, with the high-tech gear reserved for critical tasks.

to be a gross waste of resources. Only long-settled worlds like Niebelungen and Beta Canum have that luxury. Medical care is often freely provided by the colony and the home country, in recognition that colonising an alien world is decidedly unsafe. This includes the provision of long-term care, and cybertherapy for lost limbs/organs. However, there is little in the way of other social safety net programs on the Frontier. There is far more work to be done than there are people to do it, so meaningful employment is easy to come by. The expectation is that since there is always work to do, there is no reason, other than choice or critical illness, for a person to be unemployed. If a person chooses unemployment, then they also choose to go hungry.

People migrate to the frontier for a variety of reasons, whether for land, self-determination, freedom of expression or freedom from surveillance. Some even migrate to get rich, with the intention of returning to the Core with their new wealth. This seldom works as planned. Colonists tend to be non-conformists, and the worlds and nations of the Core do not suffer non-conformity gladly. The competition for resources is another driver of colonisation, as Core nations look for opportunities to feed the consumer-driven lifestyles of Earth and Tirane.

Of course, no one will let children starve, either. In such cases where a person (or persons) have children but are unemployed, the colony will endeavor to provide for the children, and so will often place the adults into a forced-work program. These programs will provide enough for the family to get by, while at the same time performing meaningful service for the colony. These jobs are often unpleasant enough to force the recipients to seek proper employment, which tends to pay better too.

Colonies are often settled by fringe groups, looking to escape the rigid conformity of Core life. The fringe groups may be religious, cultural, or just outsiders. These communities will often pool their money, and assisted by government or Foundation grants, will migrate en masse. They tend to be minorities even out in the colonies, but at least on the frontier, their neighbours will tend to leave them alone to do their own thing. With them come the entrepreneurial pioneers, those looking to make their fortune on the frontier, along with the corporations and their employees, likewise attracted by the lure of riches and untapped resources.

The rate of population growth is far higher on colony worlds than in the Core. Most provide reproduction incentives in the form of land grants, tax cuts, or outright cash giveaways. However, as colonies mature and become more urbanised, birth rates decrease regardless of the incentives available. In general, though, the first two generations of any new colony experience growth rates of 1.2% to 1.4%, seeing populations double in the first few decades of settlement.

Generally speaking, people on the Frontier tend to be more socially conservative than those in the Core, at least in regards to issues like crime, justice and the role of government. At the same time, however, they are far more accepting of different lifestyles, more mindful of privacy, and less concerned with how a person chooses to live, far more concerned with whether they are pulling their own weight. As long as no one is being hurt, personal situations are no one else’s business. Polygamy, polyandry, and group marriages are far more common on frontier worlds than in the Core. On some worlds, like Montana in the Chinese Arm, polyandry has become the norm, due to social pressures and the large ratio of men to women.

The fashions and entertainments of the Core tend to make their way out to the colonies, but between travel times and different rates of adoption, the colonies will always seem behind the times to visitors from the Core. These visitors will also find that, the farther out the colonies are, the less they care about the latest and greatest from the Core, and the more likely they are to prefer local fashion and entertainment. Most new colonies do not have the manpower for professional entertainers, so the performers are generally amateurs who act or play music on their own time, once their work is done. In a similar vein, the newer colonies do not have professional athletes, but enthusiastic amateurs are easy to find. The games played are ones that do not require much in the way of equipment or facilities, so baseball, soccer, basketball, lacrosse and cricket are very popular, while American-style football and ice hockey decidedly less so.

Crime and punishment are about protecting the colony, rather than reforming the criminal. On most colonies, serious crimes, like rape and murder, are punished either by death or by deportation to the colony’s home country, where the matter will be dealt with in a more liberal fashion, typically by treatment, re-education, or, in extreme cases, personality wipe. In those cases, the criminal is generally permanently exiled from the colony, no matter what the home country decides to do with him. Deportation is often the preferred alternative in the case of protests by citizens and organisations in the home nation. Colonies usually do not have the resources to treat and reform serious criminals. Less serious crimes are usually punished by requiring the perpetrator to compensate his victims and/or the colony as a whole, usually through restitution and community service. Incarcerating a perpetrator for any length of time is considered, on most worlds,

Out on the frontier, there is a great deal of work for everyone, and insufficient populations to carry it out. On colonies that can afford it, robots are popular in mining and farming, with village and towns often banding together to purchase multibots to help out at farms on a rotating basis. Most jobs are in primary industries, either farming, mining, or fishing, with a small technical elite that manages the operations of the various corporate

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Small Colonial City Population: 7100

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Central Park Colonial Offices College/Training Offices Apartment Tower (576 small units) 6. Apartment Tower (288 large units) 7. Housing (18 units)

Scale 8. Dormitories (4200 beds) 9. School 10. Retail Stores 11. Restaurants and Bars 12. Recreation 13. Greenhouses

14. Waste Management 15. Vehicle and Machine Shops 16. Storage 17. Geothermal Tap 18. Fission Reactor 19. Governor’s House

or government-provided amenities, including the spaceports, power plants and other vital infrastructure items. The service industry consists of businesses that support these primary resource industries, or small owner-operated businesses that cater to personal needs, places like restaurants, bars, shops, and brothels. Wages in any of these businesses are high, but even then there is difficulty in finding staff. In general, the people who move out to a colony are not interested in working for someone else, so robots are available to fill many of these niches, in all service industries. Shop-bots, server-bots, and Dolls are quite common in larger towns and cities on the frontier. This presents the somewhat incongruous picture of a clapboard restaurant in a one-truck frontier town, with the owner’s 13-year-old son washing dishes by hand as she serves customers, while a 100,000 livre robot in the back does the cooking. Such a robot can pay for itself in only a few years, however, if business is good.

50 m

The rigid hierarchy of survival on Cold Mountain, for instance, where it becomes conform or die, or the relaxed attitudes of Dunkelheim to most victimless crimes, are exceptions to these generalities. Colonies grow, change, and adapt to local conditions, and in doing so develop their own unique societies. Some sociologists have even described human colonisation as a vast experiment, which is even now bearing some fascinating fruit. Farming and mining are the primary industries driving colonisation efforts. Both allow the colony to grow internally, and provide products for trade. Early colonies concentrate on subsistence farming and mining, to support their own internal needs. At the same time corporate investors provide pressure for profits, which in most colony worlds comes from the exploitation of natural resources, like

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mining, fishing, lumber and exotic flora and fauna, whether as food or, more commonly, for cosmetic and pharmaceutical purposes. The luxury markets of the Core provide the best initial payoff for new colonies, which can provide further financing to exploit their resources, and increase agricultural output.

Corporate mining, on the other hand, makes use of a great deal of heavy equipment, much of it built elsewhere and transported to the target world. Strip mining, or open-pit mining, is the most cost-effective method for these corporations, and they are generally good about restoring the land once the mine is played out. It is worth noting that by the time a mine is shut down, all the heavy equipment is not worth the cost of transporting it offworld. It is moved to a new mine site, sold off to local concerns, or abandoned in place.

The primary goal of colonial agriculture is to provide the colony with enough food to feed itself. Since food can only be exported to other colony worlds, and not the markets of the Core, it does not have the income potential that mining and other types of resource extraction have.

Other natural resources in demand by the Core are keragenous materials, once known as fossil fuels. While not much in demand as fuel, oil, natural gas, and coal are in demand as chemical stock and synthetic material components. Natural gas is still used as a vehicle fuel on the Frontier, when available, and some colonies burn coal for heat and power but this is not common, and is generally subject to disapproval and censure from Core governments and Foundations. To reduce shipping costs, these materials are often subject to on-world processing and refinement before they are shipped off-world.

Most agriculture on colony worlds is some variation of western mechanised agriculture. Since most crops have to be engineered and adapted for local conditions, the seeds are often modified for increased yields as well. Only in the poorest of colonies, typically those deliberately kept poor and backwards by their overlords, will there be much in the way of human or animal-based manual farming. Manchuria is the exception, as they typically do not have the manpower problems on their colonies that most other nations have, and so can use cheap workers for labour-intensive operations, like growing rice and quinoa.

Water is a concern on some worlds like Dunkelheim and Ellis. Deep drilling can tap into underground reservoirs, but on dry worlds this is fossil water, unlikely to be replenished. Other water recovery techniques include condensers, which collect water from the atmosphere using cooled surfaces. In many areas, batteries are charged up during the day by solar collectors, and then used to power the cooling system to collect water at night. This technique can supply water for personal needs, and can replenish the losses in hydroponic systems, but it usually cannot provide sufficient water for agriculture. On most worlds, however, careful colony siting will allow access to abundant surface water, which can be easily filtered and purified. On desert worlds that still have ice caps, irrigation pipelines can be run from polar ice, though this is an expensive option. The most common solution to the settlement of water-poor worlds in the use of DNA modification to the settlers, along with adapted crops and animals suited to the climate. Geo-engineering and terraforming have their place, but extreme caution must be used, lest worse damage is caused.

Most crops are grain and cereal crops for local consumption, along with oil-producing crops for consumption and as a source of heavy fuel. Agricultural waste is used in biomass reactors to produce fuel and fertilizer, or else is fermented, with similar results. Protein requirements on colonies are usually met by livestock, rather than the power and nutrient-intensive centralised carniculture vats used in the Core. For new colonies, much of that protein comes from small animals, in particular guinea pigs, rats, and rabbits, along with chickens and turkeys. Dairy comes from goats initially, until the colony can support large livestock. Pigs are rare on colony worlds, largely because of the stigma around hyperpigs, which may be on the verge of sentience thanks to injudicious genetic engineering. Another common source of protein on the Frontier is fish from aquaculture. Fish can be raised in tanks, or in small lakes or ponds provided they are cleansed of local life. Catfish are the preferred fish for colonial aquaculture, as they aid in wastewater cleanup and reclamation serving multiple roles. Other common fish include tuna, salmon, and several types of carp, including the common, bighead and blood carps. Shellfish are also often cultured for human consumption.

Availability Frontier

of

Goods

on the

Most colony worlds do not have the ability to produce the equipment found in this volume. However, it can still be made available, though at a sharp increase in price, and often a considerable delay while it is ordered from off-world.

Mines developed to meet domestic colonial needs tend to be small and specialised, using robots and other technologies to reduce manpower requirements. These small mines are usually either shallow or deep shaft mines. Shallow mines general go no deeper than 200 metres, while deep shaft can penetrate several kilometres down, given sufficient time. These small-scale mines are targeted at either necessary commodities for the colony, like iron and aluminium, or high-value elements like tantalum for the export market.

The availability of any goods or item of equipment is a Difficult (-2) Broker check using INT. There is a DM equal to the TL difference between the colony world and the TL of the item. Surveillance equipment has a further -2 DM, and military equipment a further –4 DM.

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Deep Shaft Mine

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Scale 20 m

7. Hotel 8. Restaurant/Bar 9. General Store 10. Waste Management 11. Solar Power Module

So, on a TL 8 colony, there would be a -4 DM to check on the availability of a TL 12 item.

time requirement is halved if there is a suitable TL world within 7.7 light years.

If an item is available, the price will depend again on the TL difference between the colony and the TL of the item. +10% per TL difference is added to the item’s price. Typically, at least half of this amount has to be paid in advance. Note that in the case of farming or mining equipment, the owning government can subsidise the price, to an amount depending on the Tier level.

Cost likewise depends on the Tech Level difference, with 30% added to the price of the object per TL difference between the colony and the TL of the item. Typically, at least half of this amount has to be paid in advance.

Tier Subsidy for Farming and Mining Equipment

Off World Purchasing If an item is not available locally, it can be brought in from offworld, though the time and expense is often prohibitive. Time required is a minimum of two months, plus 1 week per TL difference between the colony TL and the TL of the item. This

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Main Radar Station Comm Antennae Solar Power Module Offices, Control Room Barracks 5. Storage

6. Fuel Tanks 7. Rocket Pads 8. SSTO Pad 9. Runway 10. Hangar

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Colonies and Colony Design Once the survey crews leave, that’s when we move in. Pathfinder teams, we plan and build the colony, mark out homesteading plots, put up barracks and dorms, offices and warehouses. We build the first roads, run power lines and get everything ready for the first waves of colonists. Survey team stays for maybe 5-10 years, then when they leave, we have maybe five years before the first colonist arks arrive.

Once we got all the parts, the rest went well. Took us two years to get the base set, and another two to prepare all the test sites. This one is a Pathfinder outpost, where more teams like ours will examine the world as a possible colony site, test the feasibility of farming, and develop any symbiotes and tweak the basic colonist DNA modification package. Not too long ago, they would have developed a new one, specially tailored to this world. Since the moratorium, that sort of thing isn’t allowed anymore. After four years, they pulled us out, and the Union moved its own Pathfinder teams in. We had a week to brief them before we were out of there, and off to the French Arm.

I have a degree in xenobiology, served eight years in the Army Corps of Engineers, then went back and got an Associate Degree in civil engineering. The Life Foundation bought my contract the moment I left university, and I signed on for ten years.

My second five-year run was for the new Life Foundation complex on Sans Souci. Even at the equator, that was not a warm planet. We built a complete town for the Foundation, with row after row of barracks and dorms. They called the complex the Redoubt. Room there for thousands of people. Then, in our last year there, we were instructed to mothball the place. We put everything in storage, sealed the buildings and tamped the pile. Saw lots of Zapamoga folks there, though, filling the warehouses with freeze-dried food.

My first five years was on the Pathfinder team for a new outpost on Eriksson. The Foundation contracted out an entire team to the Scandinavian Union. We built a central complex for them, with a couple of big concrete buildings and a bunch of modules that they dropped with aeroshells. We turned the aeroshells into garage spaces and warehouses, and, at their insistence, a great big hall that could hold a thousand people. We called it the Althing.

They’re talking about shutting the team down, now. There aren’t a lot of new worlds being opened to colonisation any more, and opening up worlds is what a Pathfinder does. I’ve got my back pay from the Foundation, and my military pension. I’ll be fine, maybe find myself somewhere nice to settle down. I hear that new American world of Avalon has some warm places. The Americans or the Nigerians might have some work for me. Might even arrange to bring my team along. I’m not the only one whose contract is coming up.

One of the team ran afoul of something the survey team had called a gargantula, a venomous, hairy, ten-legged thing that was actually some kind of pseudo-mammal. Within moments of being bitten, he went into severe anaphylactic shock, and even a massive anti-histamine dose did nothing to help him. He died a few minutes later. Autopsy showed that he had an allergy to one of the long-chain proteins the gargantula had in its venom. The anti-histamine just sped things up, killed him quicker, which, in retrospect, was probably a good thing.

The Colonisation Process

Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. The first shipment of spraycrete wouldn’t cure properly, and we wasted a good month running that problem down, and another two months before we could get a fresh shipment in from Kanata. The fuel cells were contaminated, and we had to flush them out, and order new palladium electrodes. These had to come all the way from Chengdu, so we lost a few more months. We spent that time building roads and running power lines. At least all our heavy equipment worked. Once we got the power plant up and running, we concentrated on finishing the buildings, which were just shells. We ran one habitat module as ours, feeding it from the fuel cell on one of our ATVs. That gave us power for cooking, for the toilets, and for heating water, and not much else. We slept in tents for those first few months.

There are several stages to the colonisation process, from initial discovery, through orbital and surface surveys, to pathfinders and colonisation. Discovery Initial exploration and discovery of worlds that may possibly be suited to colonisation begins at interstellar distances. Stellar surveys determine which systems have worlds that may be suitable. Once those systems have been identified, Very Large Array (VLA) optical telescopes, either on planets or moons, or in space, scan them for visual confirmation of the worlds. At interstellar ranges, the telescopes can determine if an atmosphere is present, if there is water, and a few other basic details.

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Orbital Survey

Disease

Once that information is gathered, an initial survey vessel is dispatched to do a thorough survey from space. This survey can include dropping robots from orbit, but usually does not include a manned ground survey. From orbit, the survey team can precisely determine the world’s UWP, along with specific details like atmospheric composition, pressure, landforms, possible resources, presence of life, and detailed surface maps. This phase takes about two months of orbital work before the team returns to provide information to plan the next phase: Exploration.

Most alien microbes, especially viruses, find it difficult to prey on human beings. They are quite dependent on the genetic structure of their host, and the chances of a successful combination are remote. Bacteria are slightly more effective at infecting terrestrial hosts, though even then there are significant compatibility gaps. Unfortunately, both viruses and bacteria mutate and evolve very quickly. With the ability to copy genetic sequences, viruses can quickly adapt to new opportunities. When they do, their human subjects will often have little or no immunity to the newlyemergent disease. Human genetic-engineering techniques can rapidly develop vaccinations, and eventually effective treatments, but such capability is often not available on most colony worlds. For this reason, the various colonial powers have developed rapid-response lab ships, which operate as mobile hospitals and research centres.

Surface Survey

Armed with the information from the orbital survey, the next step is to start landing teams to do a thorough exploration of the planet with an eye to colony sites and exploitable resources. The initial teams identify areas of interest for follow-on exploration, as more personnel are committed to exploring the planet. This phase will precisely determine the world’s Natural Resources, Biosphere, and Habitability characteristics. In depth exploration will take decades, and extend long after the world is actually settled.

As long as the founding nation or organisation could control trade with a colony, then mercantilism functioned well. However, on worlds with multiple colonies, the control of trade was harder to enforce. The rise of the Libertine traders, freight-carrying starships beholden to no nation or corporation, spelled the end of mercantilist policies. While the Libertines rarely traded with the Core and its rigid web of rules and import/export controls, they found ready markets in the various colonies and interstellar micro-nations for each other’s goods and materials. They found markets with Tier 4 nations as well, which lacked access to colonial resources and markets, but could obtain ships to rendezvous with the Libertines and trade Core-produced goods for off-world resources. It was through Iran, for instance, that MuleCorp-produced vehicles were imported to Earth from Hermes, though the United States had refused to allow the sale of the off-world produced vehicles on Earth. They found a ready market as inexpensive work-horses in the many Tier 4 nations, cutting into the markets of many Tier 2 and Tier 3 nations. In 2258, Iran built Meetpoint Station, a deep-space outpost and warehousing facility in cooperation with Indonesia. Meetpoint quickly became a popular destination for Libertine families and many micro-nations, as it facilitated trade with Earth without having to deal with the multiple bureaucracies, especially France and Russia, which controlled access to Earth-orbital space and much of the remainder of the Solar System.

Pathfinder

The pathfinder teams go in with the goal of building the colony. They may be the initial settlers themselves, or may be part of dedicated professional teams that build colonies and infrastructures. Pathfinders determine the best sites for a colony, and in consultation with the colony’s sponsors, choose the best location, depending on the sponsor’s requirements. The pathfinder teams will then build the colony site, develop infrastructure, perform detailed mineral surveys, and plant the first crops. By the time the pathfinders are finished, the colony should be in a position to support and house the first groups of colonists. There will be housing, which could be modular dormitories, or tents assembled from aeroshell parachutes, offices, power, and even some fresh food. A road infrastructure will exist to permit colonists to travel to the land plots, or mines, where they will work. Pathfinders are explorers, engineers, and scientists, all in one.

Types of Colonies

Colonies are established for a variety of reasons. National pride, resource extraction, farming, relocation of non-conformists, all have their place in the creation of off-world settlements. Certain things are expected of all colonies, however, no matter the reasons for their establishment.

With the collapse of mercantilist policies in the 2230s, many nations found themselves in economic doldrums as their colonies started doing more trade with other colonies. This was most prevalent in the French and Chinese Arms, with their heavy mixtures of nations and cultures. Even in the American Arm, however, the demand for goods from Earth dropped as the maturing colonies started making their own finished products. The only market that really remained strong was for high-tech consumer products and robotics, neither of which could be

All colonies are expected, at some point, to be self-supporting to the extent that they do not require additional investment from the founding nation, foundation, or corporation. Ideally, the colony should be a net gain for the founder, both by being a source of raw materials and by being a market for the home nation’s manufactured goods. This brand of colonialism, called mercantilism, was the central focus for most colonies founded between 2130 and 2230.

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Sawmill Logging Walker Lumber Solar Power Module Waste Management Greenhouses Houses Abbatoir Module

9. Cattle Barn 10. Comm Antennae 11. Bar and Grill 12. General Store 13. Hotel 14. Offices 15. Park

profitably manufactured with the lower technology manufacturing available to the various colonies.

Scale 10 m

though they also received far less in the way of resources and colonists than the earlier colonies. These worlds tended to be further out, with longer, more tenuous supply chains, and so the first priority of these colonies was to be self-sufficient in food as quickly as possible, even if that meant ignoring their industrial development and resource-extraction industries. This often led to these colonies being less sophisticated than earlier ones, as the priority was given to food production rather than technologyintensive operations like mining or manufacturing. Another factor in these later colonies was the heavier involvement of corporate concerns and even corporate sponsorship to help defray some of the costs. This can be seen in the Brazilian and Canadian colonial projects in particular.

There was a lull in new colonisation after 2230, but things started to pick up again in the 50s and 60s as smaller nations instituted their own colonisation programs. Unlike the mercantilist colonies that preceded them, these colonies had different rationales. For most of them, the primary purpose was prestige, to prove that they could ‘play with the big kids.’ Indeed, the main point of difference between Tier 3 and Tier 4 nations is the possession of extra-solar colonies. The economic development of these colonies was of secondary importance,

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While national pride may have fuelled the drive to create these colonies, other concerns also fed into these ventures. In the mid 2200’s, nations were increasingly consolidating their hold on their citizens, all in the name of stability. However, it was recognised that, in all nations and cultures, there were people who just couldn’t conform, and would constantly be a source of friction in society. At the same time, it was often exactly that sort of person who had the drive and ambition to accomplish great things. Colonies were created, among other reasons, to provide an outlet for these people, a place where they could go to remove themselves from the society that so chafed them, but at the same time be available to that society, should there be need.

Worlds in the life zone are very likely to contain life as long as they have some sort of atmosphere.

Biomass

Biomass is the first constituent of Biosphere. Biomass is an aggregate of the total mass of all life on the planet. On Earth, for example, the total biomass is some 500 billion tons. The Roll to determine Biomass is 2d6 + modifiers from the table below. A result of 0 means traces of life, while less than 0 indicates no life at all. The result of the biomass roll is the exponent value for the number of millions of tons of biomass. A result of 1 is 1 x 101, or 10 million tons of Biomass. Spread over an entire world, this is a scant amount of life. A result of 7, however, would mean 1 x 107 million tons, or 10 trillion tons. Earth has a Biomass of 8. If desired, the multiplier for the exponent can be determined by rolling 2d6-2 (minimum value of 1).

However, not even the drive for prestige, or the need to provide a societal relief valve, could keep up with the long-term costs of settling other worlds. For this reason, colonisation has slowed markedly from its heyday, and it’s generally only the latecomers like Nigeria, or the old stalwarts like France, with resources to burn, that are continuing the push for new colonies. For the corporations, for many nations, the future is not with the colony, but with the outpost; purpose-built, largely disposable, and designed for profit.

Biomass modifies base encounter rolls for the planet. Planets with a greater Biomass are more likely to produce an encounter. Modify the base encounter roll by the following modifiers.

Biomass Base Encounters Biomass 0 or lower 1-2 3-6 7-8 9 10+

Colony Design

This section is designed to help referees design new colonies, whether as part of an on-going campaign, for fun, or to design a custom universe. This section is designed to supplement the social portion of the World Creation rules from the Traveller Core Rulebook. Use the rules here to generate Size, Transport Net, Telecom Net, Population, Government Type, Law Level and Tech Level, and then determine the UCP based on those numbers. Creating a colony or outpost is very much like creating a character. Planets have base characteristics that are used much like characteristics in character generation.

Condition Outer Life Zone Trace Atmosphere Very Thin Atmosphere Thin Atmosphere Dense Atmosphere Exotic Atmosphere Corrosive Atmosphere Insidious Atmosphere Dense, High Atmosphere Thin, Low Atmosphere Hydrographics 0 Hydrographics 6-8 Hydrographics 9-A Roasting Hot Cold Frozen Inner Life Zone

B a s e C h a r ac t e r i s t i c s

Base Characteristics are factors of the planet that determine the attractiveness and ease of settlement. They are Biosphere, Natural Resources, Habitability, and Compatibility.

Biosphere

Biosphere is an aggregate concept based on biomass (aggregate mass of all living creatures), biodiversity (number of species), and complexity. A low Biosphere in this case could mean a world with a great deal of biomass, but it is all undifferentiated singlecelled organisms, like a planet of yeast. Or it could represent a world with a relatively small number of large, complex organisms. Biosphere represents whether life is present and how complex it is. This is based in part on the animal generation system in Supplement 11: Animal Encounters, and while recommended, is not necessary for the purposes of this design system.

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Encounter DM -8 -4 0 +2 +4 +8

DM -2 -4 -3 -2 +2 -2 -4 -6 -2 -4 -4 +1 +2 -4 +2 -2 -4 +2

Biodiversity

The next component of Biosphere is Biodiversity, the number of different species found on the planet. The roll to determine Biodiversity is 2d6-7, plus the Biomass, above. The result is the approximate number of species, in millions. Earth, in this case, would have a Biodiversity of 8, as there are 8.7 million species on this planet. Biodiversity 0 or lower 1-2 3-6 7-8 9 10+

Biodiversity Minimal Minor Active Diverse Teeming Deathworld

Habitability Modifiers -4 -2 +1 +2 0 -4

either way, including creating some species that are completely incompatible with others on the same world. Compatibility can be used with the rules for Food Synthesisers.

Compatibility

Roll 2d6+7, and subtract Biosphere, plus modifiers from the table below. Condition Atmosphere 10(A) Atmosphere 11(B) Atmosphere 12(C) Tainted Atmosphere

DM -6 -8 -10 -1

Notes Exotic Corrosive Insidious

Natural Resources

Biocomplexity

The last component of Biosphere is Biocomplexity. Here, the focus is on structural complexity of the organisms. Biocomplexity is generated by rolling 2d6-7, and adding Biodiversity. Biocomplexity Description 0 or lower Small populations of single-celled organisms; bacteria and protozoans, typically hidden 1-2 Primitive plants and multi-cellular animals; algae, mosses, fungi, sponges, and similar creatures 3-6 Abundant plant diversity, some lower animals; insects, amphibians predominate 7-8 Many species of animals; social/hive forms appear 9+ Hive forms dominate

Natural Resources represents the economic potential of the world’s natural resources, whether from mining, petrochemicals, agriculture, or some other source. Natural Resources is determined as follows; Natural Resources = 2d6-7 + World Size (minimum 0) + Modifiers (below) Characteristic Atmosphere 0-1 Atmosphere 4-9 Hydrographics 4-7 Hydrographics 9-A Biodiversity 7+

DM -2 +1 +1 -2 +1

Explanation of Natural Resources

Biosphere

Biosphere, which is used in the colony generation process, is an average of Biomass, Biodiversity, and Biocomplexity. Add these three values up, and divide by three.

Compatibility

Aside from the halogen world of Oiseau, all life so far encountered has been carbon/oxygen based. However, the chemical arrangement of that life has varied wildly, from nearly identical on Tirane, to radically different on Aurore. In general, the more complex the planet’s Biosphere is, the less likely it is to be compatible. The higher the Compatibility, the more compatible the life forms are. Results of 0 or less are completely incompatible, with different chiralities (handedness) of the proteins, fats, and complex sugars, or else a different biochemical basis, like silicon rather than carbon. The Compatibility Rating is a general measure of the majority of the life forms on a planet. The actual compatibility of individual species can vary by as much as 1d6

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Natural Resources represent exploitable resources on a planet. This does not include chemicals from life-forms or bio-protein sources, but does factor in how life can change a world’s chemical makeup. A colony’s Mining is limited by the world’s Natural Resources, and can be no more than 1 higher. So a colony on a world with Natural Resources 8, Mining can never be more than 9. Natural Resources Description 0-1 Minimal resources, primarily common ores 2-4 Some resources, common ores and light metals 5-7 Significant resources, including bioactive materials and heavy metals 8-10 Radioactives present, along with some fossil fuel resources 11+ Abundant resources of all types, including petrochemicals

This represents the world’s natural resources when the planet is first surveyed. This value declines by 1 for every 100 years of exploitation at maximum Mining.

O t h e r P l a n e t a r y D e s i g n F ac t o r s (Optional)

Habitability

This determines how comfortable the world is for humans. Habitability is a combination of several factors, including temperature, air pressure, surface gravity, and the abundance of local life forms. A colony’s Agriculture is limited by the Habitability, and can be no more than 1 higher. So a world with a Habitability of 5 could have an Agriculture no higher than 6.

Asteroid Belts A system has an asteroid belt on a roll of 6+ on 2d6, with the following modifiers: Condition Gas Giant present in system Multiple Star System

The base Habitability is 10. Both Earth and Tirane have ratings of 10, while other colonies are modified by the following table. Condition Atmosphere Hydrographics 0 Hydrographics 1-3 Hydrographics A Roasting or Freezing Hot or Cold Micro Gravity Low Gravity Normal Gravity High Gravity Extreme Gravity King’s Gravity

DM -1 per point of difference from ideal Atmosphere of 6 -4 -2 -2 -4 -2 -4 +2 0 -2 -4 -6

Modifier +1 +2

A roll of 9+ indicates two asteroid belts, while 12 or higher indicates 3.

Notes Maximum DM of -4

Asteroid Resources: Asteroids are often the site of extensive mining operations. An asteroid belt has Natural Resources equal to 2d6-7, plus the mainworld’s Natural Resources. If the system has more than one asteroid belt, then the first one generated is at -2 to Natural Resources, while the other Belts are at -4 to Natural Resources. Additional Planets While this system is not intended to be a design every detail of a solar system, the knowledge of the presence of other planets can be useful, as least for descriptive purposes.

0.0 – 0.1 G 0.2 – 0.7 G 0.8 – 1.4 G 1.5-1.9 G 2-2.9 G 3+ G

Roll 2d6-2, with the result being the number of additional planets in the system. If the system was already determined to have a gas giant, then roll 1d6-2 (minimum roll of 0) for the number of additional gas giants in the system. If further detail is desired for the character of the gas giant, roll on the following table

This will give the world’s base Habitability, which is further modified by the Biodiversity. Habitability can be increased through successful terraforming, and adjusted by DNA modification. DNA modification will add +4 to the Habitability of a world. For example, Cold Mountain has the following: normal gravity, atmosphere UWP of D, for -4 (maximum DM), no modifiers for Hydrographics, and the temperature is normal. However, it is a Deathworld for a further -4, for a total Habitability of 2. It is not a particularly attractive world. Giving the colonists the appropriate DNA modification adds 4 to the Habitability for the purpose of attracting colonists.

2d6 Roll 2-3 4-6 7-9 10-11

Gas Giant Type Gas Dwarf Small Gas Giant Large Gas Giant Super jovian

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Brown Dwarf

Comparison 3 or more Earth masses Neptune or Uranus Jupiter or Saturn Up to 12 times Jupiter’s mass At least 13 times more massive than Jupiter

The remaining planets can be designed using the normal Traveller system, if desired, and then placed in orbits around the star. Start at Orbit 0, and place planets, counting outward.

The characteristics of the UCP are created during colony generation, and can change from term to term.

If the star has companions, they, too may have their own planets. If the distance between the stars is known, then stars at least 10 AU (Orbit 6) from the primary may have their own planets. Roll 1d6-1 for the number of planets. If the distance is not known, then roll 2d6-1 for each companion star, and place them in that Orbit, re-rolling any duplications.

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Orbit Number 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Distance From Primary, in AU 1.10 - 0.20 0.2 - 0.40 0.40 - 0.80 0.70 - 1.30 1.3 - 2.6 2.6 - 5.2 5.2 - 10 10 - 20 20 - 40 40 - 80 80 - 160 160 - 320 320 - 640

Example

Condition Planet has moons of size 2 or greater Planet is a moon of a gas giant Planet is the moon of a super jovian or brown dwarf Planet is in orbit 0, 1, or 2

Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto Sedna

Tectonics is an optional characteristic, but if desired, Tectonics of 8 or higher can reduce a planet’s Habitability by 2. Tectonics indicates not just the level of tectonic activity on a planet, but also the number of major tectonic plates. This can be incorporated into planetary maps if desired.

Moons Moons can simply provide additional fodder to describe a world, or they may have effects in their own rights. To determine if a world has any moons, a few factors come into play. The first is whether the world is a terrestrial planet or a gas giant. The second is its proximity to any asteroid, and the third is the planet’s Orbit Number. Terrestrial Planets The base roll to determine if a moon is present is 2d6-7. Any roll above 0 is the number of moon present. There is a +1 DM per Orbit Number for this roll, with a further +2 if the planet is adjacent to an asteroid belt. Gas Giants The base roll for a gas giant is 2d6+2, with the main DMs as terrestrial planets, above, along with the size DMs, below. Gas Giant Type Gas Dwarf Small Gas Giant Large Gas Giant Super jovian Brown Dwarf

DM +2 +4 +6 +2

Modifier -2 0 +2 +4 +6

To determine if a region suffers from tectonic activity like earthquakes or volcanoes, roll 2d6-7, + Tectonics. If the roll is over 12, then some sort of activity occurs within a 24 hour period, within 100 kms of the area. The extent of the activity is up to the referee. For example, the adventurers are travelling across the High Desert on Aurore in sealed vehicles. Aurore orbits a brown dwarf, and has Tectonics of 14. Once per day, the referee rolls 2d6 -7, +14, to score higher than 12. On day three, he rolls a total of 16, and determines that a light earthquake shakes the characters’ vehicles, doing no damage but providing an example of the dangers inherent in travel on Aurore.

Tides

Tides are determined by the position of a moon (or moons) in their orbits around a world. A moon causes a tide in large bodies of liquids equal to its Size. Multiple moons cause multiple tides. Each moon causes one high tide per day. On worlds with multiple moons, they will occasionally align to causing extreme tides, adding their Sizes together to get the size of the high tide. For any given period of time equal to twice the number of planetary moons, in months, the extreme tides will occur.

Colony Design

Furthermore, if the gas giant is in Orbit Number 2-4, or is a super jovian or brown dwarf, then it may have habitable worlds of its own. Roll 2d6, with a roll of 12 indicating that the gas giant has a habitable moon. This may be the system mainworld at the referee’s discretion.

Tectonics

A tectonically-active world is much more likely to have exciting surface features like rift valleys, volcanoes, and earthquakes. Tectonics provides a relative measure of this activity, and can used as a general roll to determine if volcano’s or earthquakes have an effect. Tectonics is generated by rolling 2d6-7 + World Size, with the following DMs:

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Much like character creation, colony also use terms as the standard time unit. Terms in colony design are ten years, rather than the four years of character creation. These initial design steps will determine the starting point for the colony. Initial Colony Design Steps 1. Generate Initial UCP 2. Choose Colony Type 3. Roll For Initial Features 4. Record Initial Features and adjust UCP accordingly

Initial UCP

The initial UCP of a colony is determined by the Tier level of the founding nation, whether it is instead a corporate colony, and by the base characteristics of Natural Resources and Habitability.

4 5 6 7 or more

The Inca Republic

The Inca Republic is nominally a Tier 3 nation, due to its possession of extrasolar colonies. However, given the poverty and corruption endemic to the Republic, for purposes of creating colonies, the Republic is considered a Tier 4 nation.

Interface Type: Tier 1 nations begin with Interface C, Tier 2 nations begin with Interface D, Tier 3 colonies begin with Interface E, and Tier 4 colonies do not have local orbital interfaces. Colony Size: The initial Size of a colony is based on the Tier Level and Habitability, as per the table below. If it is a corporate colony, reduce the size by 1 (minimum 0). Tier 1 1 2 3 4

Tier 2 0 1 2 3

Tier 3 0 0 1 2

Tier 4 0 0 0 1

Tier 1 2 2 3 4

Tier 2 1 1 2 3

Tier 3 0 0 1 2

Tier 1 1 1 4

Tier 2 1 1 2

Tier 3 1 1 1

4 5 6 3

As a Tier 1 colony of France, it starts out with the following UCP: Interface D: (SSTO) Size: 3 Transportation Network: 3 Communications Network: 3 Population: 3 (1,000) Government: A roll of 4 on the Government Type table gives us a government code of 6 – captive government or colony. This does not modify the Law Level. Law Level: France has a Law Level of 9, so Auberjonois will have a Law Level of 4, without any other modifiers. Tech Level: From the base value of 6, 2 is added for the founding nation being France, for a starting Tech Level of 8.

Tier 4 0 0 0 1

The final UCP is D333364-8 Po

Population 0 means that at the start of the colonisation process, there are just the caretakers and pathfinders at the colony site. Government Type: Roll on the table below to determine initial colony government type. This roll receives the following DMs: Manchuria +2, Incan Republic +2, Texas -2, Azania -3 1d6 1 or less 2 3

2 4 6 0

For example, we are creating a new colony world, Auberjonois, on the French Arm. UWP is X685000-0.France, a Tier 1 nation, is establishing the colony. Auberjonois has a Natural Resource of 12, Habitability of 10, and Biodiversity 7. It is an ideal colony world.

Transportation Network: The initial value of a colony’s transportation net is equal to 4 – National Tier Level. Transnational Corporations are considered Tier 2, while all other major corporations are Tier 3 Communications Network: The initial value of a colony’s communications net is equal to 4 – National Tier Level. Transnational Corporations are considered Tier 2, while all other major corporations are Tier 3 Population: The initial value for Population is based on the world’s Habitability and Tier Level. This Population number represents the initial colonisation effort. Corporate colonies reduce this starting value by 1, to a minimum of 0 Habitability 0-3 4-6 7-9 10+

4 6 6 3

Law Level: Initial Law Level for all colonies is equal to the Law Level of the founding nation, minus five, and then modified as follows according to Government Type. Government Types of 3 and 6 add 2 to colony Law Level, Manchuria and Incan Republic add 3 to Law Level. Government Types of 0 and 2 subtract 2 from colony Law Level. Tech Level: The initial Tech Level of a colony, their manufacturing ability, is 6. Corporations of all sorts add +2 to the initial Tech Level. France puts more manufacturing and resources into a colony, and so adds +2, while Manchuria is more concerned with moving large numbers of people, so colonial manufacturing ability is not a priority for them, and subtract -2 from the Tech Level. The Incan Republic, already very poor on Earth, has few resources to put into extra-solar colonies, and so its colonies subtract 4 from the initial Tech Level. Trade Code: All new colonies start with the Trade Code of Poor (Po).

The UCP (Universal Colony Profile) is broken down into 7 characteristics plus trade codes.

Habitability 0-3 4-6 7-9 10+

6 6 6 3

Over on the Chinese Arm, the Incan Republic is trying to colonise Nueva Mundo, with UWP XA93000-0.Natural Resources is 14, Biodiversity is 9 (Teeming), and Habitability is 4. Not such a great world. The Incan Republic is treated as a Tier 4 nation for colonising, despite it being nominally ranked a Tier 3 power.

Tier 4 0 1 3

As a Tier 4 colony, it begins with the following base values for its UCP:

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Interface X: (None local) Size: 2 Transportation Network: 0 Communications Network: 0 Population: 0 Government: A roll of 6, +2 for the Incan Republic, gives a result of 8, for a Government type of 3, Self-Perpetuating Oligarchy. A roll of 4 on the Government Type table gives us a government code of 6 – captive government or colony. This modifies the colony’s Law Level by +2. Law Level: The Incan Republic has a Law Level of 9, so Nueva Mundo will have a Law Level of 4, plus 2 from Government type, and an additional +3 for being an Incan colony, for a total Law Level of 9, the same as the nation back on Earth. Tech Level: From the base value of 6, 4 is subtracted for the founding nation being the Incan Republic, for a starting Tech Level of 2 The final UCP is X200369-2 Po

Colony Type

Colonies are sited on worlds with a Habitability of at least 1. The initial Natural Resources, Biodiversity and Habitability characteristics are used to determine what type of colony can be built. These colony types are analogous to character careers

Fuel and Repair Services

Spacecraft fuel is general available at any world with any sort of interface capability. Most worlds either have or manufacture liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, for use as cryogenic fuels. The hydrogen alone can be used to run conventional and airbreathing MHD thrusters. Solid rocket fuel is more rare, and only available on worlds of TL 9 or higher. Even the poorest colony will have a fuel station or two available, though the conventional model will take days or even weeks to crack enough fuel for a spacecraft. Most colony worlds can provide repairs to interface vessels equal to or lower than their own interface transport capability. They cannot, however, provide repairs for starships unless they have the Orbital Shipyard upgrade.

Initial Colony Features Tier 1 and 2 nations roll three times on the following table, Tier 3 nations roll twice, and Tier 4 nations roll once. 1d6 1

Tier 1 Interface +1

Choose one of the following.

2

Tech +1

Resource Colony: These worlds are developed primarily for their resources (Natural Resources 7+ required). Agricultural Colony: These colonies are settled to provide food for their inhabitants, and possibly for export to other worlds. (Habitability 5+ and Biosphere 2+ required). Resettlement Colony: Whether a prison or simply a dumping ground for undesirables, resettlement colonies tend to be poorly supported. The population is usually put to work in resource extraction that is otherwise commercially unviable (Habitability 1+ required).

3 4

Transport Net +1 Size +1

5 6

Comm Net +1 Comm Net +2

Tier 2 Interface +1

Tier 3 Interface +1 Tech +1 Transport Net +1 Transport Net Comm +1 Net +1 Comm Net Tech +1 +1 Size +1 -

Tier 4 Interface +1 Transport Net +1 Transport Net +1 -

Each upgrade can only be received once. If an upgrade is rolled again, re-roll.

Record Starting Features and Adjust UCP

Initial Features

Most colonies will have some facilities in place before the first colonists arrive, built by pathfinder teams and corporate sponsors. Initial Interface Capabilities and Orbital Terminals Tier 1 nations begin with an orbital terminal that is equivalent to a Large Modular Outpost. Tier 2 nations have similar terminals, though with fewer modules. Tier 3 colonies start with orbital terminals equivalent to Small Modular Outposts, while Tier 4 colonies do not have any orbital infrastructure. Tier 1 nations start with spaceplane service (Interface C), while Tier 2 nations make do with SSTOs (Interface D). Most Tier 3 colonies rely on carried vehicles for interface transport, though disposable rockets are often used to launch bulk cargos (Interface Class E). Tier 4 worlds do not start with any kind of Interface transport at all.

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This is the starting UCP for the colony.

Continuing Colony Generation

The process to develop a colony is based on the Planning Term, a ten-year unit of time. UCP is recorded at the start of a term, and is modified thereafter. Colonies have a maximum number of Planning Terms they can run, based on the Tier Level of the founding nation. For these purposes, France and the ESA nations are considered Tier 1 nations, and the Incan Republic is considered Tier 4. Colonies are created in a similar fashion to characters, using the Planning Term in place of the Career Term.

Tier Level 1 2 3 4

Maximum Planning Terms 16 12 8 4

1d6 1 2 3 4 5 6

Begin First Planning Term 1. All colonies roll on one of the Colonial Development, Upgrade, or Advanced Development tables, as desired. 2. Roll on the Government Type Shift table if necessary. 3. Roll for Trade Classification Development. 4. Roll for Advancement on the appropriate table. 5. Roll to Avoid Disaster. If failed, roll on the Mishaps table. 6. Roll 8+ on 2d6 for an Event. Roll on the Event Table, and apply the results.

Government Type 0 1 2 3 4 5+

Planning Term Development

Once each Planning Term, the colony rolls on the following table. As noted on the table, Upgrades can only be taken by a colony in its fifth or later terms, while advanced development can only occur in the eighth term or later, and even then only for Tier 1 and Tier 2 colonies.

6

Government Type Shift

Upgrades (5th term and higher) Fission Plant Solar Power

Advanced Development (Tier 1 and 2 only, 8th term or higher) Interface Transport +1 Comm Net +1

Industry +1

Solar Power

Manchuria -1 -2 -3 +2 +4 +6

Incan Republic -1 -1 +2 +4 +6 +8

Texas -1 0 -2 0 -4 0

All others 0 +2 0 -2 0 -4

Law Level Often, a change in Government Type will lead to a change in Law Level. The following table outlines the Law Level shifts from a changing government.

If a Base is rolled, roll on the Base table for type of base. If an Outpost is rolled, roll on the Outpost/Enclave table . If a Revolution is rolled, roll on the Revolution Results table.

Colonial 1d6 Development 1 Size +1 2 Transport Net +1 3 Telecom Net +1 4 Population +1 5 TL +1

France -2 -4 -5 +2 +4 -2

Law Level -4 0 -2 +2 0 +2

Trade Classification Development In each Planning Term, if a colony rolls 8+ on 2d6, roll on the following table. The DM for this roll is half of the relevant characteristic: Natural Resources for a mining colony, Habitability for an agricultural colony, and the higher of either for a resettlement colony.

1 2 3 4 5 6

Military Base Fusion Plant Terminal Industry +2 Improvement Transport +1 University

Resource Mining +1 Mining +1 Agriculture +1 Industry +1 Industry +1 Mining +1

Agriculture Agriculture +1 Population +1 Agriculture +1 Industry +1 Mining +1 Agriculture +1

Relocation Agriculture +1 Mining +1 Industry +1 Mining +1 No Effect No Effect

Trade Codes Trade Codes are defined differently from the Traveller Core Rulebook, to represent the different nature of the 2300AD universe.

Government Type Shift

Most colonies start out as a captive government, governed by leaders appointed from the Core. Over time, however, that can change. Often such shifts will also bring changes to a colony’s Law Level. Note that any Government Type is possible.

Note that all colonies start as Poor, but that code is removed once they start to develop their Mining and Agricultural resources.

Advancement

Colony advancement is similar to character advancement. In each Planning Term a colony may gain Ranks, with Rank 0 representing start-up colonies and Rank 6 representing the most developed and oldest colonies. Each given Rank may increase a colony’s characteristics or grant additional facilities. Agriculture, Mining, and Industry. Traits can modify advancement rolls as well as affect the colony’s trade codes.

If a Government Type shift is called for, consult the table below, modifying the current Government Type of the colony.

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Trade Code Agricultural (Ag) Asteroid (As) Barren (Ba) Desert (De) Garden (Ga) High-Population (Hi) High-Technology (HT) Ice-capped (Ic) Industrial (In) Low Population (Lo) Low Technology (LT) Non-Agricultural (NA) Non-Industrial (NI) Poor (Po) Rich (Ri) Vacuum (Va) Water (Wa)

Requirements Agriculture greater than UCP Population Size of 0, Atmosphere of 0, Hydrographics of 0 Uncolonised world Atmosphere 2+, Hydrographics 0 or 1 Planet Size 5+, Atmosphere 4-9, Hydrographics 4-8 UCP Population 7+ TL 12+ Atmosphere 0-1, Hydrographics 1+ Industry Trait higher than UCP PopulationigherHh UCP Population 4 or less Tech Level 6 or less If Mining and UCP Population are both greater than Agriculture Industry lower than UCP Population level by 2 or more Agriculture and Mining less than 4 Population 5+, Agriculture or Mining at least one higher than Population Atmosphere 0 or 1 Hydrographics 9 or A

Colony Survival: A colony is only in danger of dying if the Population falls to 1 or less from a higher level. If this happens, roll 2d6 for 8+ for the colony to attract additional investment with DMs by Tier level, as shown below. This will increase Population by +1. Each additional time this has to be done, though, there is a cumulative -2 DM to the roll to attract additional investment. If the colony fails to attract further investment, it fails, and the owning government or organisation either abandons it or sells off the assets at fire-sale prices. It then becomes an Outpost, with a low population of a few remaining stalwarts. Tier 1 2 3 4

Industry: Every 2 levels of Industry adds +1 to the colony’s Tech Level, with a maximum DM of +4. If Industry is higher than the world’s Population, then it gains the Industrial code. Agriculture: If Agriculture is higher than the colony’s Population, then the colony get the Agricultural code. Agricultural colonies are net exporters of food if they have inexpensive interface travel (Catapult or Beanstalk). Mining: If Mining and Population are both higher than Agriculture, then the world receives the Non-Agricultural code. Non-Agricultural colonies have to import food.

Apply the following DMs to the Advancement roll. Advancement Table Colony Type

Advancement DM Mining Colony DM +1 if Mining is 6 or more Agricultural Colony DM +1 if Agriculture is 6 or more Relocation Colony DM +1 if Population is 3 or more

Colony Mishaps Just as colonies can advance and grow in prestige, so too can they suffer setbacks and disasters. Colonising an alien world is not a safe thing to do, and setbacks are common in the first few Planning Terms. Colonies with 4 or more terms gain a +2 DM to Avoid Disaster.

Advancement DM DM +1 if Industry is 6 or more DM +1 if Population is 5 or more

The Advancement table details the upgrades and changes that occur at each Rank. Advancement Table Rank Resource 0 Mining +1 1 2 Interface +1 3 4 Industry +1 5 TL +1 6 Orbital Shipyard

Agriculture Agriculture +1

Relocation Mining +1

Industry +1

Agriculture +1

TL +1 University

Foundation Base

Survival DM +2 +1 0 -1

Colony Type Resource Colony Agricultural Colony Relocation Colony

Avoid Disaster 8+ 6+ 9+

If the roll to Avoid Disaster is failed, the colony must make a roll on the Colonial Mishaps table. Note that, unlike in character creation, rolling a Mishap does not mean that colony generation ends.

Colonial Mishaps 1d6 1 2 3 4 5 6

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Advancement roll 6+ 8+ 10+

Mishaps Natural disaster, reduce Population by -1 Crop failure, reduce Agriculture by -2 Mines played out, reduce Mining by -2 Orbital accident, reduce Interface by one letter down (B goes to C, etc) Colony contracts, reduce Size, Population and Transport Network by 1 Emigration reduces Population by -1

Values cannot go lower than 0 . (or X for Interface) If Population goes to 1 or lower, than it may have failed. Consult the Text Box on Colony Survival on this page. Roll for a Colony Event For each Planning Term, roll 2d6. On a Roll of 8+, the colony has an Event of some sort. Roll 2d6 on the table below.

revolution. Independence would mean that the rebels have overthrown the previous revolutionary regime, and instituted their own. Bases and Facilities Bases and facilities here are established by the controlling government or organisation. Facilities established by other groups are handled by Outposts and Enclaves

Colony Events 2d6 2 3

Events Disaster! Roll on the Mishap table Agricultural breakthrough increases Agriculture by +1

4 5

Terraforming increases Habitability by +1 Another nation/corporation establishes a colony on the world. Roll for colonial relationship Pirate Raid. Reduce Mining by -1 Owning nation increases investment. Add +1 to Mining and Tech Level Controlling government or corporation establishes a base in the colony or system. Roll on the Base/Facility table below. Colony grows very quickly. Gain a +2 DM to the next Advancement roll. External foundation, corporation, or government establishes an outpost in the system. Roll once on the Outpost table, and then on the Relationship Table. Crops struggle. Reduce Agriculture by –1. Colony declares independence. Controlling nation declares martial law. Government Type becomes 6, Law Level increases by 4. Roll on the Revolution table below.

6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Use the revolution table below to determine the effects of a planetary revolution. Note that colonies can experience multiple revolutions. DM+2 if the colony is a Relocation colony, DM+1 if it is an Agricultural colony. DM-1 for a French or Manchurian colony. Colonial Improvement: Roll once on the Upgrade column on the Planning Term Development table Rebellion Quashed: Parent nation is able to bring sufficient force to bear that the colonial independence movement is stopped by force. Government type goes to 6 for the next Planning Term, and Law Level increases by 3. Civil War: The effects of civil reduce Population by 1 per Planning Term of the Civil War due to deaths, voluntary emigration, and refugees. Independence: TL drops by 2 without the support of the mother nation. Mining, Industry and Agriculture levels are all reduced by 2 as well. The newly independent colony is considered a Tier 4 nation, with Government Type and Law Level determined as per the rules in Traveller Core Rulebook, page 173. Note that this gives a far wider variety of government types than the normal rules for colonies, given here. If Revolution is rolled again for any colony, it is an internal

1d6 roll 1 2 3 4 5 6

Resource Scientific Foundation Orbital Defence Military Naval Asteroid Mines

Agriculture Scientific Military Scientific Military Foundation Asteroid Mines

Relocation Military Naval Scientific Foundation Scientific Asteroid Mines

Possible Local Bases and Facilities

Military: Military bases are devoted to ground-based military units, such as Army, Wet Navy and Air Force. A Military Base of a Tier 1 or Tier 2 power would have all three (if applicable), plus training and recruitment facilities, supporting a base population of 5,000-20,000 on base. This number is independent of the actual colonial population. Tier 3 powers will have much smaller bases, typically only 2,000-4,000. Again, these are combinedarms units, but the Army is usually the largest component. Scientific: A scientific base is established by the owning colonial government, and is usually oriented towards solving environmental problems relating to the new world. These scientific bases are usually very focused in their research. On some worlds, the nature of the ecology demands further study, and these scientific bases have a much broader scope of investigation. Foundation: The purpose of a Foundation base depends on which Foundation organised it. A brief check through the Organisations chapter in the 2300AD Core Rulebook, (page 83) should provide some good ideas. Foundations are selfgoverning, and are not responsible to local governments, though most will cooperate with local authorities. Naval: A base for space-based military units. These bases are home to a segment of the owning nation’s space forces, and include training and maintenance facilities. Most have dedicated fighter squadrons for defence, and are often home to a few larger vessels as well. Tier 1 and 2 powers will have the largest bases, with staff levels in the hundreds or even thousands, and at least three squadrons of fighters. Tier 3 powers depend more on their ground-based facilities, but the space facilities will still house 100-200 personnel, usually along with a squadron of defensive fighters. Orbital Defence: An orbital fort, lightly armed with lasers and missiles, but heavily armoured and screened. AS opposed to naval bases, orbital defence installations are largely just weapon platforms. The are often the locus for constellations of defensive buoys, ringing the planet in shells of disposable weapon systems. Often serves as an orbital base for fighters or other small combat vessels. Asteroid Mining: Until recently, asteroid mining usually followed the establishment of colonies by several years or even decades.

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Revolution Table 1d6 1 2

Tier 1 Negotiations result in colonial improvement. Revolution fails Rebellion quashed

3

Rebellion quashed

4

1d6 years of civil war, rebels lose

5

1d6 years of civil war, rebels lose 1d6 years of civil war, followed by independence Independence

6 7+

Tier 2 Negotiations result in colonial improvement. Revolution fails Rebellion quashed

Tier 3 Tier 4 Negotiations result in colonial Rebellion Quashed improvement. Revolution fails Rebellion quashed Negotiations result in colonial improvement. revolution fails Rebellion quashed Negotiations result in colonial 1d6 years of civil war, improvement. revolution fails rebels lose 1d6 years of civil war, rebels Negotiations result in colonial 1d6 years of civil war, lose improvement. revolution suc- rebels lose ceeds anyway 1d6 years of civil war, followed Independence 1d6 years of civil war, folby independence lowed by independence Independence Independence Independence Independence

Independence

Some recent colonies, however, founded the asteroid mines first, and created the planet-based colony to support the mines.

Enclaves and Outposts

Another nation or corporation has established an outpost or enclave in the system. Use the table below to determine the general class of outpost, then use the Outpost Generation system to generate the outpost or enclave itself. It will be completed by the end of the current Planning Term. The identity of the owning organisation or governments should be determined by the referee, based on the active nations and organisations in that Arm of space. 1d6 Roll 1-2 3-4 5 6

Outpost Type Space Outpost Planetary (Other World) Planetary (Main World))ost the oost system to generate the outpost itself. It will be completed by the end of the current Planni Enclave (Planetary Outpost)

A planetary outpost on the main world is usually established as far away from the other colonies and settlements as possible. These outposts will be controlled by another corporation, foundation, or nation active in the arm of space, which either

21

Independence

wish to not disturb the other settlements, or do not wish to be observed by them. An enclave, on the other hand, is usually established in close proximity to another settlement, and while it brings its own strengths to the arrangement, enclaves choose their locations in order to make use of the existing colony’s infrastructure.

Colonial Relationship Table

Use this table to determine the relationship between the established colony and any new colony. Alternatively, determine the nationality of the new colony, and use the list of rivalries and allies on page 9 of the 2300AD Core Rulebook. DMs are -1 if original colony is French, -3 if original colony is Manchurian, +2 if original colony is a Foundation, -2 if original colony is a corporation. 1d6 Roll 1 or less 2 3 4 5 6 or more

Relationship Actively Hostile Hostile Cool Neutral Friendly Very Friendly

Outposts and Outpost Design Outposts are small-scale facilities established in deep space, on asteroids, or inhospitable worlds. They are typically not selfsufficient, intended to house staff and guests on a transient basis. Another type of outpost is the colony precursor, like the Manchurians have on Haifeng or the French have on Sans Souci. These facilities are designed as research bases to study the potential colony world. Before the ban on further DNA modification experimentation, these outposts would also have been used to develop a DNA modification tailored to the conditions and environment of that world. Now, they must content themselves with tweaks to the standard colonist package.

become self-supporting, at least for food and other basic needs. For outposts, however, there is no such expectation. Outposts concentrate on specific goals and are supported externally. At best, many outposts will have small hydroponic gardens to supply limited quantities of fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs.

Within these broad parameters, some interesting variations have taken place. At Porte d’Enfer, on the desolate world orbiting close to Wolf 359, the deep buried outposts have acquired permanent populations and begun to spread underground. With access to abundant solar power from surface arrays, these outposts have impressive chambers full of hydroponic and carniculture vats, and can support a variety of light industries. The only foodstuff they need to import are the nutrients for the carniculture vats and luxuries. The outposts are rapidly becoming small towns, with permanent populations in addition to the transient space crews and short-contract miners. In nearby Bessieres, the industrial conglomerate that controls the system rotates workers out on a four-year contract basis. The costs of training new crew are preferred over the costs of permanent populations and the support costs associated with housing families. Managers and their families stay for longer terms, but they are effectively segregated from the workers.

Zero Gee Outposts Zero Gee Outposts are the most common type of outpost, and range in size from small 10-man mining stations, to the American FAR Stations, with crews in the hundreds, to industrial clusters like Bessieres, with its asteroid mines and gas giant scooping operation, and thousands of staff and workers.

There are three basic types of outposts. The first type is the zerogee outpost, either on asteroids or large space stations. If these outposts house more than 50-100 people for any length of time, they usually have provision for some sort of artificial gravity. The second type is a planetary outpost on an inhospitable or airless world. The third type is the outpost on a habitable planet, usually a precursor to colonisation. Outposts exist for a variety of reasons. Some are scientific bases, others are mining stations, some are simply way-stations and refuelling point on the way to other worlds, and some are survey stations set up to study a world in the prelude to a colonisation effort. One of the key characteristics of outposts that distinguish them from colonies is the transient nature of their populations. Additionally, there is an expectation that colonies can eventually

Outpost populations are small, seldom numbering more than a few hundred. The largest outposts, like the industrial facility in the Bessieres system, can have populations of up to 10,000, rotating through habitats and factory stations on two-year terms. However, this size of outpost is quite rare.

Most zero-gee outposts are mining support facilities or waystations, refuelling and discharge points for vessels on their way to somewhere else. Bessieres is a notable exception as the largest industrial facility in human space, even including the Core. Despite lurid stories in Core media, Frontier regions are not full of pirates and raiders. So, contrary to many a Core-produced entertainment feature, space stations and outposts are not armed to the teeth. In fact, until the recent Kaefer attack at the end of the French Arm, it was illegal for civilian facilities to be armed with military-grade weapons. Even since then, only the more distant outposts have been authorised by their governments to arm themselves and, even at that, weaponry permitted would barely afford the outposts to defend themselves, with point defense clusters and light lasers being the only weapons allowed. Civilian stations on the French and Chinese Arms are still not permitted to arm themselves, with the exception of the Texans. Weapons are available in self-contained modules, either the 30-ton Self-Defence module, or the 100-ton Space Superiority module, both produced by Trilon for the colonial market. The name of the 100-ton weapon module is misleading. Against stutterwarping spacecraft, even the most battle-hardened station does not stand a chance. Trilon named it the ‘Space Superiority module’ in order to boost sales.

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Asteroid Mine

1 5

9

2

3

4 6 7

8

Momotaro D500 1000mm lens at f5.6 Distance: 12.4km Digital Enhancement: x12 Locations 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Drill Rig Mass Driver Loader Mass Driver Habitat Dome Hab Module

6. 7. 8. 9.

Transient Habs Transmitter Tower Asteroid Mining Ship Solar Power Arrays

Scale 10 m

Planetary Outposts Planetary outposts are typically located on worlds where resources are available for extraction, or else when a suitable locale does not exist elsewhere in the system. As asteroid mining is much more viable in general, these planetary outposts are becoming scarce. There are probably 50 or more of then scattered across human space, though many have been abandoned, like Chinese outpost at the end of the Chinese Arm.

The surface terminus of the shaft is capped with a dome, usually the surface access point, with vehicle storage and maintenance. Adjacent to this dome would be starship facilities. Power supply, in the form of solar array, fission or fusion plants, are usually located at the surface for civilian outposts, and in the case of the fission and fusion systems, are buried for protection. Military outposts locate their power plants in the deepest, most protected portion of the facility, generally at the bottom of the access shaft.

Planetary outposts on inhospitable worlds start as a collection of surface domes and Quonset-style buildings, usually made from reinforced spraycrete. If conditions are particularly hostile, the domes are buried under 5-10 metres of crushed rock, dirt or regolith. More permanent outposts are constructed around 8-16 metre wide shafts that extend 100-200 metres underground.

Arrayed around the access shaft will be dormitories and apartments, offices, shops, bars, and hydroponic and carniculture systems. Using plasma-borers to cut tunnels, the outpost can end up extending for kilometres under the surface, with schools, parks, and other recreation facilities. The surface habitats on Hochbaden are designed this way, though they are very large.

23

Habitable Planetary Outposts Outposts on habitable planets are usually composed of standard living modules, with an assortment of spraycrete structures, and other structures constructed from discarded aeroshells. These are the easiest outposts to build, though even here, the modules are typically sealed and filtered to protect against any possible airborne contaminants that may have been missed in initial surveys. These outposts are either scientific bases, built to study local conditions, or colony pathfinders, studying local conditions and preparing a permanent site. Barriers, including fences and walls, are common for a planetary outpost, as the capabilities of the local animal life are still unknown. Outpost Generation Rather than a full design system, the characteristics of outposts are randomly generated, based on the Tier of the nation that constructed them, and their location, whether in space, inhospitable planet, or hospitable planet. The following tables are used to generate outposts, or the characteristics of an outpost can simply be chosen. Space outposts are located away from a planet or significant moon. In some ways these are the simplest type of outposts to construct, as the major components can just be towed in place.

Zero Gee Outpost Type 1d6 1-4 5-6

Location Asteroid Station or Habitat

An asteroid base often starts out as just a base camp for the miners exploiting that rock. Successful strikes, however, can lead to the expansion of the base into the surface of the asteroid, carving out tunnels and habitation spaces as it goes.

Asteroid Outposts 1d6 Tier 1 1 Surface Cluster 2

Deep Site

3

Deep Site w/ gravity wheel Hollowed-out Asteroid Hollowed-out Asteroid w gravity wheel

4 5

Tier 2 Surface Cluster Surface Cluster Deep Site Deep Site w gravity wheel Hollowed-out Asteroid

Tier 3 Surface Cluster Surface Cluster Surface Cluster Deep Site

Tier 4 Surface Cluster Surface Cluster Surface Cluster Surface Cluster Deep Site Deep Site

Surface Cluster: A surface cluster is a collection of domes and habitat structures on the surface of an asteroid. They are short-lived, with few in operation after 20 or so years. Radiation

protection is minimal, with Lafarge screens to protect against ionizing radiation, and vacuum-rated spraycrete to protect against everything else. Population of surface clusters is typically low; 2d6 x 10 (x20 for Tier 1 sites). Deep Site: A deep asteroid site’s facility is carved into the material of the asteroid, burrowing into it for living space and safety. Plasma borers can easily carve corridors and rooms throughout an asteroid. The tunnels are almost always round in cross-section. Near the surface of a deep site will be a bay to dock spacecraft that allows easy access to the interior of the asteroid. Often these tunnels are the residue of past mining, with the miners residing in surface domes until they have enough tunnels carved out that they can move in. Deep sites have populations of 1d6 x 1d6 x 10 (x20 if was built by a Tier 1 or Tier 2 power or corporation). Deep Site with Gravity Wheel: A major problem with asteroid settlements is the low gravity. Even with Zero-G DNA modifications, providing artificial gravity enhances the effectiveness of the crew greatly. A deep site with a gravity wheel simply has a carved out a section of the asteroid large enough for a full torus, or several habitats. These are then rotated about an axis within the chamber, providing artificial gravity. Most such wheels spin at 1 rpm, with a diameter of 400 metres. This gives a felt gravity of 0.22 Gs in the wheel, enough to sleep comfortably, eat and exercise for maximum benefit. A deep site with a gravity wheel can have a population of 1d6 x 1d6 x 20 (x30 if built by a Tier 1 or 2 power or corporation). Hollowed Asteroid: In many ways a development of the deep site method, a hollowed-out asteroid has large interior volume carved out for habitation, and, more importantly, gardening and food production. Hollowed asteroids are very popular with belters and other Drifter groups. A hollow asteroid can have a population of 2d6 x 2d6 x 10 (x 20 if built by a Tier 1 or 2 power or corporation). Hollowed Asteroid with Gravity Wheel: Using a similar method to the deep site with gravity wheel, a gravity wheel is added to a carved out volume. This volume is typically kept in vacuum to conserve the energy required to spin it up and keep it spinning, but some outposts have the wheel in the hollowed-out space, and use the wheel’s motion to circulate air throughout the space. A hollow asteroid with a gravity wheel can have a population of 2d6 x 2d6 x 20 (x30 if built by a Tier 1 or 2 power or corporation). Spun Hollowed Asteroid: Very similar to large habitats, a spun hollowed asteroid is carefully carved and balanced so that the entire object can be spun to produce artificial gravity on the inside. A large outpost of this nature might be 800 m in diameter, and 2,000 m long. Gravity on the inside of the station would be a comfortable 0.44G, with an extremely large interior volume to work with. A spun hollow asteroid can have a population of 2d6 x 2d6 x 40, with a transient population of about the same size. These are major installations.

Space Station

Space-stations are purpose-built orbital structures, usually built elsewhere and transported into place. They have to be selfsufficient in environmental support systems, and should have emergency food and water supplies.

24

Unlike asteroid stations, free-flying stations are typically built as way-stations and collection points for resource extraction elsewhere in the system. So a Dalton-class mining ship 3 AUs away might use its mass driver to fling ores and materials to the station for collection, until a commercially-viable quantity can be assembled for interstellar transport.

Space Station Types 1d6 1 2 3 4 5 6

Tier 1 Small Modular Large Modular Small Torus Small Torus Large Torus Small Habitat

Tier 2 Small Modular Small Modular Large Modular Large Modular Small Torus

Tier 3 Small Modular Small Modular Small Modular Large Modular Large Modular Large Torus Small Torus

Tier 4 Small Modular Small Modular Small Modular Large Modular Large Modular Large Modular

Small Modular: A small modular station is made from several standard 30-ton space station modules. These outposts have very small populations, and are not set up to properly handle much in the way of transients. A typical small modular outposts will have 10 + 2d6 modules, including a docking hangar, workshops, and a long-range communication modules. Population works out to around 3 people per module. Large Modular: Large modular stations are built from the same 30-ton modules as smaller stations, but add additional 50-ton and 100-ton storage and operational sections, along with a small spin habitat. This habitat is too small to house the entire staff, and is used as an exercise facility to help maintain long-term health. Large modular outposts have 30 + 3d6 30-ton modules, along with 2d6 50-ton modules, and 1d6 100-ton modules. The spin habitat is 50 tons, and has a recreation facility, and a small med bay, including provision to house staff who are having trouble with the weightless environment. Large modular stations can handle transients, and this type of station is often found as an orbital terminal around newly-settled colony worlds. Station population is 3 per module (no matter the size), along with 2d6 transients. Orbital terminals can see ten times that number of transients, and have extra 100-ton housing modules to handle them. Small Torus: A small torus, despite the name, is a very large station. The habitation ring is usually a full two kilometres or more in diameter, allowing it to create a full one-gee simulated gravity on the inside of the torus, while spinning at less than 1 rpm. These stations are built with long-term occupancy in mind, and are only seen in important systems. In addition to the habitation ring, a small torus has workshops, hanger bays, communications, and all the resources of a small town. A small torus has a population of several hundred to a few thousand, on a ring 100 metres wide and over 6 kilometres around. Station Arcture was a small torus-sized outpost, with significant space for expansion. Population is 3d6 x 100.

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Large Torus: Most Large Torus stations are a series of Small Torus-sized rings, stacked along the core of the station. The space station around Beta Canum and its Beanstalk is an example of this, simply a small space station that kept growing. An alternative is to build a much bigger station, and spin it at an even lower speed. These Large Torus stations can be five to six kilometres across, and blur into the size category of a Small Habitat. At five kilometres in diameter, the Large Torus could spin at just under 0.6 RPM to develop a full gee of gravity in the interior. The ring of a station like this would be about 200 metres wide, and over 15 kilometres around. Population could be in the thousands (3d6 x 500), with half that many again in transients. Small Habitat: There are only a few outposts of this size in human space, including the various American FAR Stations, the Shambhala tax haven at C1, and a few others. A typical habitat in this size range would be something like Far Station Five, which is a Bernal Sphere habitat. It consists of the central garden sphere, about 6 kilometres across, along with several habitation rings of a similar size to the Large Torus, above. A fusion power plant, docks, hangers, and warehouse modules round out the design, which can cost hundreds of millions, or even billions, of Livre. These habitats have populations ranging from a few hundred to many thousands.

Planetary Outposts

Surface Facility, Vacuum World

Surface facilities on vacuum worlds or moons face many challenges in their design and construction. While that have the advantage of gravity, they require vacuum-capable landers to ferry materials. They must also contend with extremes of heat and cold, radiation, and the possibility of micro-meteroid strikes. Most of these types of facilities are buried under a minimum of three metres of rock or regolith for protection. 1d6 1

5

Tier 1 Surface Domes Modular Base Shallow Shaft Shallow Shaft Deep Shaft

6

Deep Shaft

2 3 4

Tier 2 Surface Domes Surface Domes Modular Base Shallow Shaft Shallow Shaft Deep Shaft

Tier 3 Surface Domes Surface Domes Surface Domes Modular Base Modular Base Shallow Shaft

Tier 4 Surface Domes Surface Domes Surface Domes Surface Domes Modular Base Modular Base

Surface Domes: This is just a rough collection of spraycrete domes and half-buried Quonset-style prefab buildings. It is usually used as a construction base to build the next phase of the outpost, and is considered to be temporary. However, some surface dome outposts have been in operation for over 100 years, with no one willing to invest the time or capital required to

Deep Shaft Outpost

3

8

9 5 6

6

7 1 3 2

4 RebCo SAR Tracking Station 4-Alpha

Locations Scale 1. Garden Dome atop main shaft 20 m 2. Transient Quarters 3. Docking Towers 4. Damaged Landing Pad 5. Intact Landing Pad 6. Fuel and Remass Tankage 7. Vehicle Entrance to Underground Areas 8. Antennae 9. Ship on Pad

26

upgrade the facility, aside from throwing a radiation screen over the most exposed buildings. A surface dome facility can house 2d6 x 10 staff, with another 1d6 x 10 transients. Modular Base: Assembled from vacuum-rated 50-ton modules, the modular base is often buried under gravel or regolith to protect it from radiation and temperature extremes. While the modular base is designed to be easy to maintain, this class of base is also not intended to be a permanent solution. A typical modular base would have several apartment modules, a few dormitory modules, a half-dozen office (command) modules, a couple of power modules, a vehicle-maintenance module with inflatable airlock, another inflatable structure to serve as a garage, and other modules as needed. Modular bases can be as big as required, but usually have 2d6 x 20 inhabitants, along with another 1d6 x 10 transients. Shallow Shaft: In a shallow-shaft surface habitat, a 50-metre deep tunnel is drilled into the ground, and the outpost built around the shaft. The top of the shaft is protected by a dome, usually over a garden or park. Shutters between each level can close in the event of a blow-out. Power generation is usually separated from the shaft in a buried location on the surface, with any required heat radiators and power transmission equipment on the surface. Vehicle and spacecraft storage is usually located in companion surface domes or other shallow shafts adjacent to the primary one. Shallow shaft outposts are small, housing 2d6 x 10 people, along with another 1d6 x 10 transients. Deep Shaft: Deep shaft outposts feature a central shaft at least 200 metres deep. This shaft is anywhere from 8 to 16 metres in diameter. Like the shallow shaft outpost, the various functions and facilities of the outpost are constructed around the shaft, with elevators to connect to the surface, and powered shutters between each level. The top of the shaft is again typically under a protective dome, often enclosing a park or recreational garden area. Deep shaft outposts can be very large, with up to 2d6 x 30 inhabitants, and 2d6 x 10 transients. Very large examples of this type of outpost can multiply these population levels by 10-20 times.

Surface Facility, Habitable Planet

While facilities on habitable planets do not have to provide lifesupport, protection from environmental hazards is often required, whether it is from microbe, spores, insect-like creatures, or larger threats. On worlds with Teeming or Death World biospheres, these outposts tend to be walled, and in extreme cases are fortress-like Towers.

27

1d6 1 2 3 4 5 6

Tier 1 Modular Base Modular Base Domes and Modules Domes and Modules Outpost Tower Outpost Tower

Tier 2 Modular Base Modular Base Modular Base Dome and Modules Domes and Modules Outpost Tower

Tier 3 Inflatable Structures Modular Base Modular Base Modular Base Domes and Modules Domes and Modules

Tier 4 Inflatable Structures Inflatable Structures Inflatable Structures Modular Structures Modular Structures Domes and modules

Inflatable Structures: A very temporary and inexpensive base constructed from inflatable buildings. These are usually filled with hardening foam if they are expected to last more than a year. These are typically very small sites, with 1d6 x 10 staff Modular Structures: Using the standard 50-ton modules, with hostile environment protection, a modular base can be set up very quickly, though the cost is quite high. The population of this type of base is highly variable, usually around 3d6 x 10 people, though this number can be double or even tripled. Transient population is roughly the same. Domes and Modules: This is a hybrid base, using standard modules combined with spraycrete domes for more permanent structures. The domes are far stronger than the modules, and often more defensible as well. Such a base would have 3d6 x 20 people, with yet again that many transients. Outpost Tower: Designed for use on the most inhospitable of inhabitable worlds, the outpost tower is a multilevel construction composite building dropped to the planet via disposable aeroshell. The design is strong enough to keep practically anything out, from the ground all the way to the top. While it is designed to operate on local power, it does have a backup power supply as well. As towers are more tightly constrained than other types of bases, they will see populations of about 3d6 x 10, with maybe 1d6 x 10 transients. Walls and Fences On 1d6 roll of 5-6, a planetary facility will have a fence or a wall. If the planet’s Biodiversity score is less than 8, then it has a fence. If the Biodiversity is 8 or more, then it has a wall. Walls are reinforced spraycrete structures generally 5-7 metres tall, with cameras along the top to monitor outside conditions. If the outpost is on a Deathworld, then it will always have a wall, alarmed and electrified.

Outpost Age and Operational State While a well-kept outpost can be kept in good shape for an extremely long period of time, there is always some deterioration. If the upkeep is not up to standard, an outpost can deteriorate remarkably quickly. The first table below generates the age of the outpost, along with DMs for the operational state of the facility.

Outpost Operational State Modified Operational 1d6 Roll State -3 Abandoned/ Non-operational -2 Derelict

Roll 1d6 to determine the age of an outpost, cross-referenced by which Arm of explored space they are in. This age is used to determine the DM for a further roll for the station’s Operational State, which determines what sort of condition it is in.

Outpost Age 1d6 Roll 1 2 3 4 5 6

French Arm New 20 years 60 years 100 years 140 years 160 years

Chinese Arm New 10 years 20 years 50 years 80 years 110 years

American Arm New New 10 years 20 years 40 years 60 years

Outpost Age and Operational State DMs Age in years New 10 20-50 60-80 100-120 140+

Operational State DM +1 0 -1 -2 -3 -4

Operational state is a measure of the condition of an outpost. It also provides a DM for maintenance and repair Skill Checks. Roll 1d6 to determine Operational State, modified by age and national Tier. Tier 1 nations get DM+2 on the Operational State table, while Tier 4 nations get DM-2.

-1

Decrepit

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

Disrepair Shabby Adequate Average Average Average Excellent

7

Perfect

MainteEffects nance DM No fixed population; -4 possible transients 1d6x2 population; possible transients Half normal population Normal population Normal population Normal population Normal population Normal population Normal population 2 x normal population 4 x normal population

-3 -2 -1 -1 0 0 0 0 +1 +2

Abandoned: Abandoned Stations have been shut-down and left to ruin. It is generally not worth the cost to transport the possibly decades-old station to another system. Transients and outlaws may make use of such an abandoned facility. It will have no internal power or life support; water pipes will be frozen, and there will be no internal temperature control. If the facility has a gravity wheel, it will be stopped, having either been spun down on purpose or simply failed and seized. There are dozens, it not hundreds, of such outposts scattered all over human space. The old Royal Society station at Kapetyn’s Star in the Chinese Arm is an example. Even though it was moth-balled before being abandoned, the lack of maintenance is leaving many of the station’s systems to fail. Derelict: A Derelict Station has been abandoned by its original owners but others have taken up residence, though they usually do not have the skills or resources to keep the outpost running properly. Libertine traders will often descend on such a station and remove anything of any conceivable value, in spite of the wishes of any current occupants.

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Tower Outpost

4

5 6 2

7

1

8

3 2 IEX SB-10 Jacques Cartier Primary Surface Scanner Altitude: 487 kilometres

Elevation: 16 metres above mean sea level

Locations 1. Outpost Tower, composite armour sheath (Armour:100) 2. Concrete Apron, 3.2 metres thick 3. Outer Walls, Construction Composite, 3.5 metres thick

4. Dual Machinegun Turret 5. Armoured ATV 6. SSTO Lander 7. Docking Tube 8. Exterior Gate

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Scale 10 m

Frontier Agriculture Agriculture is the foundation of many colonial operations. In some cases, it is used to support mining operations, while in others it is the focus of the colony, either for internal use or for export. This chapter provides an introduction to farming in 2300AD, as it is such an important part of colonial operations. Agriculture can be subsistence-level, in which case it is used to support the farmer and his immediate family, with a small amount left-over for cash sales or trade. Or else it can be industrial farming, aimed at generating a surplus, either to support other operations, like mining and industry, or for export. Subsistence-level agriculture is often animal-powered, by horses, oxen, or other beasts of burden. On some worlds, training and control rigs are used to control work animals in a very sophisticated fashion. It is even possible to exist entirely by manual agriculture, though this is limited, and not likely to generate a surplus of any sort. Gene-modified plants and animals are not overly common, aside from adaptive modifications tailored to the world in question. When possible, local plants and animals are modified for higher yields and used instead. Industrial agriculture, on the other hand, makes extensive use of machinery, including robots and drones, to maximise yields. This type of agriculture will generate a significant surplus, though it makes heavy use of gene-tailored plants and animals, along with the symbiotes and agri-chemicals needed to support them. Early resettlement and agricultural colonies will typically be subsistence-level for the first 5-10 years. After that, the colony will be able to support the costs of mechanised agriculture, and will expand industrial farming and ranching to produce a marketable surplus. Even then subsistence-level farmers will often carve out a marketable niche for themselves by producing artisan products and foods not available through the industrial farms operations.

Farming

Farming is the growing of crops for human and animal consumption. It also covers the growing of crops for textile and industrial purposes. On most worlds, Terran plants either have to be genetically-modified to perform well, or else have to be grown in controlled greenhouse environments. A wide variety of crops are grown, with the choices dependent on local conditions and requirements. Whenever possible, local plants are grown to minimise reliance on off-world sources of seed, and to maximise yields. This is especially important in subsistence-level farming.

At subsistence level, under ideal conditions, one hectare of land can keep four people fed over the course of a year. This would give them a very limited diet, and could lead to vitamin deficiencies if supplements are not taken. Subsistence farming is low-impact and sustainable, though crops typically have to be rotated, and occasionally left fallow, to avoid depleting the soil. A typical subsistence operation for four people might run to four hectares of farmland, and another four of pasture for a couple of cows, a horse, and several chickens. Of the four hectares of farmland, one typically is run fallow, another has legumes to enrich the soil, the third has a variety of vegetables or textile plants, and the fourth corn. If only one crop is possible per season, then they would have to keep double the amount of land in production. One hectare of land given over to textile production will produce 0.05 dtons of raw fibre per year under ordinary conditions. This is modified by soil quality and increases with industrial farming. This is more than enough for personal use, and may allow the sale of some as a cash crop, especially if processed into clothing for the luxury export market. Each hectare of land used for farming requires two hours of work per day. This does not include pasture land. In many ways, mechanised, or industrial, farming is a great deal simpler. Large areas of land are cleared for the equipment, symbiotes and tailored chemicals are used to enrich the soil and protect the crops, and robots often do much of the work. Even here, though, similar principals of land management apply, with crops being rotated yearly in order to avoid depleting the soil of nutrients. Robots and drones monitor and protect the crops, with devices like crop spiders being used to find and destroy pests, allowing industrial production without large amounts of pesticides. The soil symbiotes help to lock in nutrients, especially nitrogen, and some of them protect against soil-borne pests and pathogens, including many types of mould and fungus. It is often a race, though, between the developers of the symbiotes and a planet’s natural biology. On an industrial level, land yields are often two to four times what can be seen in subsistence farming, and with some crops, like corn, the yields can be even higher.

30

Elevation: 973 m above mean sea level

Trachenberg Homestead

2 10

9

1 7 5

8

3

9

6 4 8

Kosmos 42 Surveillance Pod Altitude: 122 km Locations 1. Main House 2. Livestock Barn 3. Garage and Bunkhouse 4. Greenhouses 5. Solar Array

6. Paydirt Crops 7. Terrestial Trees 8. Windbreak of Kiri Trees 9. Native Trees 10. Creek

Livestock

On the Frontier, the definition of livestock can vary from herds of cows to herds of rabbits. Beta Canum’s beefalope and Vogelheim’s augers can also be raised for food, albeit requiring some sort of supplement. One hectare of land would support one animal like a cow or horse, as pasture land. . In the case of livestock, a similar pattern or field rotation is followed as with food crops. This involves rotating the animals through pastures while keeping at least one fallow. Often, chickens are allowed free run on the fallow pasture. Protection of fields, pastures and animals from local plants and wildlife is of paramount importance, and solar-charged electric fences are common, and relatively inexpensive. In areas with particularly

31

Scale 10 m

fearsome predators, often two rings of fencing are used, with the outer-ring carrying a lethal charge. Animals are usually kept indoors at night, too. The amount of pasture required to sustain livestock remains the same, but if produce is grown on productive soils, and the animals kept confined in something like a feedlot or other industrial facility, then the number of animals that can be supported per hectare can be up to five times the subsistence level. This would mean that one hectare of crops could support up to five cattle in a feedlot setting. However, feedlots for large animals are rare on the Frontier, at least on worlds with compatible biospheres where they can graze. Small animals are normally kept indoors, though the Inca Republic colonies often feature fields of grazing rabbits, hemmed in by fine mesh fences.

Greenhouses

Greenhouses provide an intensive environment for starting and growing crops, producing much higher yields than conventional farming. However, greenhouses have a number of costs associated with them. There is the cost of the structure itself, and the energy requirements to run it. Greenhouses are treated as similar to inflatable structures, but at half the price. A single structure likely will not be larger than ½ a hectare, or 5,000 square metres. Such a greenhouse, imported form off-world, would cost Lv125,000. If built from local materials, the only cost is the plastic used to stretch over the frame, at a cost of Lv5 per square metre, or Lv1 if the plastic itself can be locally-made. Every two hectares of greenhouse requires the output of a standard power module for environmental maintenance. Though the can recycle a fair amount of water, they also require the input of clean, filtered, and preferably sterilised water. Greenhouses are usually part of the initial pathfinder phase of a colony, to ensure that food production is in underway for the colonists. It is uncommon for a colonist to have a large greenhouse, unless it is for high-value cash crops, or on worlds with incompatible biosphere or unusual growing conditions. Greenhouses are assumed to have Exceptional soils, and further increase the yield per hectare by four times, similar to industrial farming. The interior environment is equivalent to Habitability 10. Greenhouses also extend the growing season, adding an additional crop to worlds and locations with appreciable seasons, or allow the growing of crops that otherwise would not grow in that climate.

Hydroponics

Hydroponics are very uncommon outside of outposts and other facilities in hostile environments. Like greenhouses, hydroponics facilities are treated like inflatable buildings, but are double the price of a conventional inflatable structure to account for the troughs, the water and feeding equipment, lights and life support requirements. Hydroponics require the output of two standard power modules per hectare. Like greenhouses, the Habitability of a hydroponics building is always 10. Hydroponics yield eight times what an equivalent area of Exceptional soils would provide, but cost an additional Lv50,000 per year per hectare in chemicals and nutrients.

Carniculture

Carniculture, synthetic meat grown in a vat, is a high-energy process that produces a variety of meat in a controlled environment. Carniculture is common on the Core worlds, as well as in large outposts and long-duration spacecraft, but can also see on worlds without compatible biosphere and where energy is plentiful. Carniculture is done in buildings like greenhouses or hydroponics gardens, long, low structures filled with the sealed vats where the tissue is grown. Nutrients must also be provided, typically vegetable-based proteins like nuts or soy beans grown in an adjacent greenhouse or hydroponics garden. One standard vat produces enough animal protein

to provide for one person over the course of a year. A vat is approximately 8 cubic metres, and takes up 4 square metres of floor space. One standard power module is required for every four vats, and each vat requires 2 hectares of greenhouse or 1 hectare of hydroponics to provide the proper nutrients. A vat costs Lv20,000, plus the cost of the building, power module and greenhouse or hydroponics to support it.

Aquaculture

Aquaculture usually involves raising fish and other aquatic organisms, like shellfish and clams, in enclosed tanks. Small tanks can be on land, while larger enclosures are usually in lakes or oceans. As most fish are carnivores of some sort, a source of protein is necessary. In many cases, especially for oceanic farms, the food consists of fish caught in the wild, dried, ground up, and combined with vegetable protein sources as a sort of super-flake, similar to the food given to pet fishes. In other cases, fish are kept as part of waste-water reclamation, and feed on other organisms that are part of the cycle. These facilities are common on many colony worlds, especially in newly-created towns or outposts. Catfish are part of the reclamation cycle, and the quick-growing fish can be safely consumed. Catfish are the most common type of terrestrial fish found in typical small-scale aquaculture tanks, as they are easy to care for, highly robust, and will eat just about anything. Yields from aquaculture can be high, but requires a concomitant investment of energy and external protein. A typical small enclosure, about four metres across, would hold a few hundred kilograms of fish, allowing a catfish meal about once or twice a week. The tanks would be supplied by things like table scraps and cut-up small animals and insects.

Agricultural Land

In subsistence farming, land is typically divided up into long strips, with one narrow end adjoining a local waterway when possible. This ensures that all colonists have access to a water source for their plants and animals. Fouling or blocking the waterway is strongly discouraged, and doing so is a sure-fire way to alienate your neighbours. Land is only cleared as needed, leaving buffers of local vegetation to prevent soil erosion. In cases where even these bands of local plant life would compete too strenuously with the crops, they are completely eliminated and replaced with fastgrowing Terran trees like kiri and bamboo. In industrial farming, however, land is cleared in large areas to allow the most efficient use of machinery and robots. In these cases, the land is divided up in large squares, each measuring two kilometres by two kilometres. A grid of roads runs between the squares, with north-south roads termed range roads, and east-west roads called township roads. The large squares are usually called sections, with each one kilometre by one kilometre square called a quarter-section. Each quarter-section contains 100 hectares. While common, this measure is not universally used. Manchurian and other Asian colonies use a

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Fishfarm Testbed

Elevation: 0 m above mean sea level

5

8 1 2

4

4

7

3

6 4

9 4 SurvSat 17 Altitude: 171 km Locations 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Helipad Offices and Processing Floating Hab Modules Floating Piers Utility Boats

6. 7. 8. 9.

Solar Array Salmon Tanks Mahi-mahi Tanks Cod Tanks

modified version, consisting of longer narrower strips of land. A Manchurian section is only 500 metres wide and 2,000 metres long, and contains 100 hectares of land, the same area as a western quarter-section.

Land Quality

Land is rated in terms of its suitability for agriculture, along a range from Exceptional to Useless. This quality affects the crop yields and the number of animals it can support as pasture. Multiply the Rating by the number of people or animals per hectare, to determine the new total. Exceptional-quality land has a Rating of 2. Normally, one hectare can support 4 people. With Exceptional land, however, a hectare can now support eight people, or two Size 10 animals, like cows.

33

Scale 20 m

On the other hand, unsuitable land has a rating of 0.1. A hectare of this land can only support 0.4 people, or a single size 4 animal.

Paydirt

On worlds with incompatible biospheres, agriculture has to either make use of greenhouses and similar enclosed facilities, or else modify local soils to make them compatible. One method of doing this is to take native soil, sterilise it with heat and radiation, and then start working-in a quantity of dirt from Earth, complete with soils, bacteria, and everything else required. This soil imported from Earth is known as pay-dirt, and in most colony operations requiring its use, one displacement ton (14 cubic metres) is provided free of charge. This quantity of dirt is then usually divided up several dozen times, and worked into separate containers of the sterilised native soil. This process can

be repeated on a continual basis. Under the right conditions, like in a greenhouse or other climate-controlled structure, it takes six months to convert one litre of paydirt into 1 ton (14 cubic metres) of soil. Assuming a uniform depth of 25 centimetres, that amount of soil can be spread to cover an area 7.5 x 7.5 metres. It would require 12 tons (180 cubic metres) of soil to cover one hectare of ground. Most farms have the ability to incubate 6-12 tons of soil at a time, requiring between six months and a year to produce enough soil to cover a hectare. More commonly, greater depths of soil are required, up to one metre deep in many cases. Additionally an impermeable barrier has to be placed between the terrestrial soil and the native soil, and provision made for adequate drainage. Many experts, including Professeur Nichol Kolchak with the IEX, are less than enthusiastic on the topic of using paydirt to terraform small pockets of native soil. On the worlds where this is required, often the native life forms can out-compete their Terran rivals, and will slowly retake land lost to this process. Various measures can slow them down, but some loss is inevitable. In the long run, these experts contend agriculture in greenhouses, or even hydroponics, is considered to be a better option for these colonies. Even more radically, some, including the Life Foundation, feel that these worlds should not be subject to mass settlement, and instead more hospitable worlds should be the focus. These are worlds where genetic engineering techniques can adapt humans and their agriculture to the new world, rather than the other way around.

Land Survey

Once, before Twilight, the section was one mile by one mile, and a quarter section a half mile by a half mile, but in the general devastation following Twilight most of these township and range road divisions ended up being overgrown and lost. The old imperial land measure, the acre, was approximately 0.4 hectares. The world-wide adoption of the metric system after Twilight led to the new definition of the western section and quarter section.

Agricultural Equipment Soil Test Kit

The soil rest kit is a simple set of chemical tests that do not require a computer or sophisticated sensors. Each tube in the kit tests for something different, including pH value of the soil, nitrogen levels, nutrient levels, moisture content, and a few other tests of chemical composition. The kit is designed to be used up to five times before needing to be replaced. TL: 9 Mass: 2 kg Price: Lv50

Land Quality Exceptional Very Good Average Below Average Poor Unsuitable Useless

Rating 2 1.5 1 0.5 0.25 0.1 0.01

Example Rich soil, like river-deposited silt Normal soil Heavy clay soils Semi-arid desert Rocky desert

Animal-powered Farm Implements

This is a kit of tools, containing appropriate tools for clearing, breaking, and planting crops. It includes hooked chains for pulling stumps, nets for dragging rocks, a disker for breaking soil, a harrow, a plough, and a seeder. This array of equipment would consume 1 ton of starship cargo TL: 8 Mass: 2 tons Price: Lv10,000

Animal-powered Harvesting Equipment

The harvesting equipment includes several pieces of equipment that can be drawn by horses or other beasts. The hay cutter and baler are used to harvest crops feed crops. This equipment takes 1 ton in a starship hold to ship. TL: 8 Mass: 2 tons Price: Lv12,000

Gardening Tools

This is a basic set of tool for gardening by hand, suitable for working small tracts of land or gardens. It includes a shovel, rake, mattock, 4 garden trowels, a seeder, and a pair of cultivators. TL: 7 Mass: 50kg Price: Lv400

Aquaculture Tanks

An aquaculture tank in a free-standing tank used to support the growth of catfish and other fast-growing species. There are four standard sizes of free-standing tank, although a near-infinite range of sizes can be produced. The smallest tank is only 1 cubic metre, or 1,000 litres. The next size is 20 cubic metres, then 100, and then the final commonly available size if 250 cubic metres. A tank can support 100 kg of fish per cubic meter of water. TL: 7 Mass (empty): 10kg per cubic metre Price: Lv100 per cubic metre

Aquaculture Enclosures

Enclosures are light-weight panels of industrial composite material, usually attached to synthetic limestone floats, that create floating pens for aquaculture use in lakes or oceans. The

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pens are fully-enclosed, with filter systems that clean and recirculate the water. Fish waste is used as fertiliser, either to grow aquatic plants, or sent ashore for use in terrestrial applications. Cost of the enclosure is per ton of fish kept confined. TL: 9 Mass: 5,000 kg per ton of fish contained Price: Lv500 per ton of fish contained

Land Quality and Habitability

The yields and conditions described above assume ideal conditions, allowing two useful crops to be harvested per season. They also assume Earth-like conditions. If conditions prohibit the growth of two crops per year, then yields have to be adjusted downwards. At the same time, a world may have better conditions, allowing more than two crops to be brought in. A world with a low axial tilt will not have distinct seasons, and so at the right latitude, four or more crops could be harvested per standard year. Habitability is used to determine the effective yield from a farm operation, and is combined with the rules for Soil Quality, above. A world with a Habitability of 10 is like Earth or Tirane, and has no appreciable differences. For other worlds, consult the table below to determine the effect on plant and livestock yields. Habitability and Compatibility have a pronounced effect on yields for terrestrial crops and livestock. This is where having adaptations to local conditions makes a huge difference. Note that native plants and animals would treat local conditions as if they were Habitability 10. Genetically-modified crops and animals also raise the world’s effective habitability, as does the use of soil and crop symbiotes.

Agricultural Yield Table Habitability 10 9 8 7 6 5

Crop Yield x1 x1/2 x1/4 x1/8 x1/16 x1/32

Livestock Yield x1 x0.9 x0.7 x0.5 x0.3 x0.1

4 or lower

x1/64

x0.05

Example Earth, Tirane Beta Canum Joi, Chengdu Kie Yuma

Animals suffer Planetary Adaptation Syndrome in much the same way as humans. This does not have a direct effect on the amount of meat they yield, but does affect their comfort, health and mortality, along with their fertility. Thus, DNAM are typically developed for most animals as part of the pathfinder phase of a colony. All colonial governments have a supply of seed stock that has seen some adaptive modification for the new world. These modifications are very generic in nature, and add 1 to the world’s effective Habitability. If the genemod crops were provided by the Alberta Farmer’s Cooperative or the Life Foundation, then they add 2 to the effective Habitability. The plants from seeds provided by these groups are fertile, and the seeds can harvested to grow future crops. If the genemod crops were provided by a TransNat or other corporation, then the effective Habitability is increased by 3. However, plants from these seeds are not fertile, and so new seeds have to be purchased each year. Seed costs Lv100 per hectare. Example corporations include Trilon and Tao Biogenics. If the genetic engineering was done by Pentapods, then increase the rating by 4. These seeds may, or may not, result in fertile plants. It is also possible that any seeds from these plants would germinate into something completely different after being planted. Pentapod seeds are Lv200 per hectare, and only available in the French Arm. Provider Government Foundation TransNat Pentapods

Habitability Mod +1 +2 +3 +4

Fertile Plants Yes Yes No Sometimes

Seed Cost/ Hectare Free Free Lv100 Lv200

In any case, 10 would be the maximum Habitability.

Beowulf, Kimanjano Crater

Genetic Engineering Modifications

If plants or animals are genetically-engineered for the specific conditions of a world, then they provide modifiers to raise effective Habitability for the purpose of crop yields only For the purposes of this calculation, a planet’s Habitability can be increased through the use of genetically-modified plants and animals. If a field or pasture is using genetically-modified organisms, then increase the Habitability before consulting the Agricultural Yield Table.

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In addition to engineering plants and animals, crop yields can be improved with the use of soil symbiotes, a mix of bacteria, nematodes and tailored fungi that work to block native organisms and enrich the soil. Use of symbiotes adds 1 to Habitability for the purposes of crop yields only. Symbiotes can survive in the soil for a number of years equal to the planet’s Compatibility. After that, they must be renewed. Symbiotes are Lv200 per hectare. So Joi, with a Habitability of 8, would be able to support 1 person per hectare of Average land, and 2 per hectare of Exceptional land. If the crops were engineered by a Foundation for Joi, then the Habitability would be raised by 2, for an effective Habitability of 10, allowing Terran crops on Joy to yield enough food per hectare to feed 4 people per year.

The use of Pentapod-supplied seed on the French Arm continues to bear some risks. While yields are high, and the plants themselves produce fertile seed for the next season, it is the seed themselves that can be a problem. In approximately 10% of all cases, second generation seed came up radically different from the first generation. Subsequent generations remained true to whatever they had manifested as in the second generation. In one case, instead of high-yield corn, the husks instead contained water-filled pods, inside of which floated froglike creatures. On inspection, these creatures turned out to be almost entirely human-compatible protein, save for the small, many-legged seed they carried in their mouths.

A vastly incompatible biosphere means that Terran crops will not grow, and Terran animals cannot graze. If the Compatibility is below 0, then only sterilizing the soils and mixing in paydirt to terraform it can help. Compatibility 10 9 8 7

Compatibility

Compatibility affects the effective yields from native plants and animals, with less-compatible organisms either providing less food or requiring more processing and supplements than Terran foodstuffs.

6 5 4 or lower

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Native Crop Native Livestock Yield Yield Example x1 x1 Earth, Tirane x0.9 x1/2 Beowulf, Chengdu x0.7 x1/4 Joi, Ellis x0.5 x1/8 Beta Canum x0.3 x1/16 x0.1 x1/32 Crater x0.05 x1/64 Dukou

Structures The requirement for shelter is a basic human need, nowhere more so than on the potentially hostile worlds of the Frontier. This chapter covers buildings and construction technology, and techniques. On most colony worlds, initial construction uses pre-fabricated construction techniques, from spraycrete and moulds to preassembled modules dropped from orbit in disposable aeroshells. These prefab structures form the core of any new colony or outpost, and are often used well past their expected service life. Even once they are eventually decommissioned, parts and sections may be incorporated into other buildings. A ranch may have the auto-kitchen from a 50-year-old prefab barracks, refurbished and repurposed, or the fuel cell from a power module may end up powering a distant town. Equipment destined for the Frontier is built to last. The use of prefab construction may continue past the initial settlement phase, especially on worlds that lack easily-accessible building materials. In these cases, spraycrete construction is most common, as only the nanotube reinforcement needs to be imported and, even then, local sources of long fibres can be substituted at reduced structural strength. The most important components of an early colony’s infrastructure are typically built elsewhere and dropped via aeroshell, with structures like offices, hospitals, and power stations. Pre-fab materials, like wall sections, spraycrete molds and similar materials are also dropped via aeroshell. They occasionally suffer minor damage in the process, but since a guided aeroshell is much cheaper than any other sort of lander, the benefits far outweigh the risks.

Spraycrete

Spraycrete construction is a very fast method of constructing building shells. The first step is assembling the mould, usually an inflatable or light-weight composite structure. Once the mould is in place, a layer of spraycrete is applied. Spraycrete is thin concrete mixed with long-fibre nanotubes for structural strength. It sets very quickly, and is extremely strong. Several layers of spraycrete are applied before the outer mould is removed. With this technique, a building shell can be finished in one day. Once the shell is complete, a layer of insulating foam and glass fibre is sprayed on, then a final finishing layer of spraycrete which is smoothed to make the interior walls and ceiling.

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Once the shell is finished, interior fittings like water, power, and networking are added. This is often done before the final insulating layer is sprayed on to hide any pipes and conduits. Interior partitions can be created in a similar manner, using spraycrete and foam on thin sheets to harden them and build structural strength. These interior partitions take only a few minutes to make, so a spraycrete building can be completed in two days. Spraycrete costs Lv100 per square metre of interior floor space, plus Lv5 per square metre for insulating foam. This price includes running fibre, power, and plumbing lines. Tanks of spraycrete weigh 1 ton, take up half a ton of cargo space, and are good for approximately 500 square metres of building. A full tank costs Lv50,000 for the spraycrete, and another Lv2,000 for the tank and spray applicator. The insulating foam is 10% the mass of the spraycrete for a similar building size, and costs half the price. Spraycrete is TL9.

Inflatable Buildings

Inflatable buildings are used strictly for temporary construction, often by survey teams, homesteaders, and prospectors. The advantage of inflatable structures is their portability and ease of transportation. However, they are flimsy, and susceptible to damage in high winds or extreme weather. Inflatable shelters can be equipped with an airlock for hostile environments and, if desired, the chambers can be inflated with foam rather than air. The foam will harden over the course of three hours, making the building much sturdier. At any time, a chemical catalyst can be applied to return the hardened foam to a liquid, which can then be drained and the structure folded up to its travelling size. Plumbing and wiring lines are run through the inflatable structure, and are included in the price. Inflatable buildings contain one fresher per 100 square metres of floor space. Inflatable buildings are built with TL 11 materials. An inflatable structure takes up cargo space equal to 0.05 tons per 10 square metres of floor when deflated. Inflatable buildings are priced by their floor area, at Lv50 per square metre. A typical office space or dormitory building would be 8 x 20 metres, or 160 square metres. A 160-square-metre

inflatable building would cost Lv8,000, and take 8 tons of cargo space. Rigid foam costs the same as the insulating foam for spraycrete structures.

Collapsible Buildings

Collapsible buildings are semi-permanent structures consisting of a rigid rectangular shell that folds down to only a ¼ of its full size for shipping purposes. When erect, these buildings are as strong as the modular buildings below. Collapsible buildings are available from a range of manufacturers in many variations; the most common sizes are 10-ton, 20-ton, 50-ton, and 100-ton. 10-ton buildings are 2.5 tons for shipping and when erect are 2.5 x 7.5 x 7.5 metres. They cost Lv15,600 for the building alone, and all features have to be added. 20-ton buildings are 5 tons for shipping, and when erect are 2.5 x 7.5 x 15 metres, and cost Lv31,600. 40-ton buildings are 10 tons for shipping, and when erect are 5 x 7.5 x 15 metres (two stories tall). Cost is Lv63,200 100-ton buildings are fairly rare, and are used for functions like meeting halls, warehouses, and gymnasiums. They are 25 tons for shipping purposes. These buildings are 6 metres tall, though typically only one floor, and measure 11 x 30 metres. Cost is Lv105,000.

Modular Buildings

Ready-made modular structures are the core of most new colonies, dropped from orbit in aeroshells as part of the pathfinder phase of the colony’s development. The French standard for modular structures designed for planetary use is based on a standard 50-ton module. Most nations use this standard for convenience, though Manchuria tends to use two different standard sizes, 35 tons and 70 tons. The 50-ton module is a two-story structure, with 140 square metres per floor, and measures 5 metres tall, 8 metres wide, and 17.5 metres long. Each module has 5 Hull and 5 Structure on the vehicle scale. A 100-ton aeroshell would carry one of these modules, along with 40 tons of supplies and materials. Building modules can be stacked in a framework up to four modules (eight stories) tall, two modules deep, and up to six modules long. The framework and all infrastructure consumes 20 tons of cargo, and costs Lv100,000. The framework must be placed into substantial foundations to support the modules. The support structure for modular buildings can also be equipped with elevators, though this is rare. Each elevator costs Lv20,000, and takes up 10 tons as cargo. The standard modules as described are not designed for use in hostile environments, nor are they vacuum-rated, though

most of the modules are also available as HE-rated (Hostile Environment), or VAC-rated (Vacuum). HE-rated modules cost Lv100,000 more than standard modules, and lose 28 square metres to life support, climate control and filtration equipment. VAC-rated modules cost Lv150,000 more than standard modules, and lose 56 square metres to life support equipment. These options have to be purchased along with the module, they cannot be added after the fact.

Building Modules

There are a huge variety of customised modules available to support a new colony, all built on the same standard module.

Unconfigured Module

This is a bare module, with no interior fittings. The price includes the cost of adding four sets of plumbing connections where desired, and the module is wired for power and communications. TL: 10 Price: Lv100,000

Hospital

The hospital module contains a full operating theatre, along with four static automeds, four portable medical imagers, two portable automeds, and six recovery beds, along with four freshers and an auto-kitchen for preparing meals. It requires a staff of eight medical personnel along with four support staff. Administrative and other support functions would be served by an adjacent office module or other support facility. A typical new frontier hospital might consist of three or four hospital modules, an office module (perhaps two), a dormitory module for long term care, and a power module to ensure uninterrupted operation. Such a facility would require 32-48 medical staff, up to 16 immediate support staff, another 6-12 administrative staff, and at least two more for the power module. Even a small frontier hospital will require nearly 80 staff, but will count itself lucky if it gets even half of that number. TL: 11 Price: Lv2,500,000

Offices

An office module consists of 12 offices, a small meeting room containing a smart wall, a dining area, two freshers and an autokitchen. TL: 10 Price: Lv200,000

Dormitories

When configured as a dormitory, the module can house up to 86 people in triple bunks on the upper floor, while the lower floor is designed as cafeteria space with a full galley. The dormitory contains

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fresher and shower facilities, but they are frequently inadequate for the number of people living in them. Fortunately, these dormitories are considered temporary residences only, housing colonists until they can be relocated out to the mines or homesteads. TL: 10 Price: Lv320,000

Apartments

Each module can be configured as two relatively spacious apartments, or four small ones. In many cases, dormitory modules are converted into apartments once they are no longer required, at a cost of Lv10,000 per module. TL: 10 Price: Lv250,000

Commercial

A commercial module contains a small business on one floor, and offices and storage on the other. If the business is a restaurant or bar, the kitchen will typically be on the upper floor, staffed by a couple of human cooks or a robot, leaving the bottom level for guests and liquor/stimulants/depressants. Staffing levels are usually minimal, three to five at most, but often with one or two robots as well. TL: 10 Price: Lv350,000

School

In the school version, each module contains two classrooms with smart walls, three small offices, and four freshers. The smart walls are run from the instructor’s portacomps and will tie into the portacomps or Link phones carried by the students. A typical module requires three staff, two teachers and an administrator. Often the role of the teacher is filled by a parent or even an older child, who provides supervision and limited assistance to the students in their self-directed learning programs. TL: 10 Price: Lv350,000

Recreation

The recreation module has two floors of exercise equipment, including stationery bikes, treadmills, resistance machines and free weights. Each module also contains a simulator with an omniball, used for both recreation and instruction. Time on the simulator is usually booked in advance. Other amenities include freshers, low-flow showers, and a mini-galley stocked with nutritious snacks and electrolyte-restoring drinks. When these modules are staffed at all, it is usually by one or two people on a part-time basis, along with a couple of cleaning robots. TL: 10 Price: Lv450,000

Vehicle Shop

The vehicle shop is a single-floor structure, with sufficient interior room to allow any vehicle of up to Hull 20 to be serviced. It includes a hydraulic lift, along with a full suite of tools and a light fabricator for small parts.

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Larger vehicles are accommodated by a larger inflatable or collapsible structure, equipped with a concrete pit instead of the lift for servicing beneath the vehicles. This shelter is included as part of the vehicle shop, and shipped inside it. Due to the requirements of the lift, the vehicle shop must be carefully sited with the underside resting on a full foundation. The vehicle shop counts as two buildings for the purpose of power requirements. To operate at full efficiency, a vehicle shop requires two mechanics and four helpers. The nature of the work makes it difficult to replace skilled humans with robots, though expert systems are among the tools available. TL: 10 Price: Lv900,000

Machine Shop

The machine shop is essential for any young colony, as it allows the manufacture and repair of parts for vehicles and equipment. A machine shop module contains a medium fabricator, three small fabricators, and a wide variety of CAD/CAM cutters and lathes to manufacture just about any part. A machine shop module counts as three normal modules for power consumption purposes. Like the vehicle shop, the machine shop requires skilled operators, with at least one required to be on shift when the facility is in operation, with another available for maintenance and repair. TL: 11 Price: Lv1,200,000

Power Module

The power module contains a pair of fuel cells and a fuel processor, along with an array of solar cells for cracking fuel. All it requires to operate is a steady supply of water to process as fuel. The power module can provide enough power to run 20 modules. Other power systems are further detailed in the next chapter, entitled Power Systems. The power module requires three full-time engineering and maintenance staff. This crew requirement can cover up to two power modules, and though each subsequent module after that entails a cumulative DM-1 to all Mechanics or Engineer (power) checks. TL: 11 Price: Lv2,000,000

Sawmill

The purpose-built sawmill module can process 250 metres of 5 x 10 cm (colloquially called ‘two-by-fours’ from some longforgotten measurement system) timbers per hour, for as long as it is supplied with raw logs. Once cut, the timbers are dried in a kiln while a silica mixture is pressure-fed into the lumber to preserve it. In addition to 5x10 cm boards, the sawmill can cut boards as thin as 2 cm, or as thick as 15 cm, and treat any of them in the kiln.

Even sawdust does not go to waste, as vacuum systems collect it and combine it with resins and glass fibre to build sheets of construction and utility material, usually in 125 x 250 cm sheets, generally 1 cm thick. Alongside the lumber, the mill can produce 10 sheets per hour. Operation of the mill is largely automated, requiring three to five personnel to feed logs in, and two to monitor equipment. The sawmill requires three modules worth of power. TL: 10 Price: Lv650,000

Grain Mill

The grain mill is a standardised module capable of milling any terrestrial grain or seed into flour or other powder of suitable consistency, like meal. Typical crops milled are cereal crops suited to the colony, like quinoa, corn, and amaranth, and their genetically-engineered counterparts. The module is fed by external hoppers, which it pulls in and processes. Chaff and waste products are held and disposed of separately, often in biomass reactors. The grain mill requires two module’s worth of power. The grain mill requires one operator and one maintenance person. The maintenance person can be stretched to cover more than one module, but more than two will entail a cumulative DM-1 to all Mechanic checks. TL: 10 Price: Lv550,000

Abattoir Module

The slaughtering and butchering of animals for human consumption can be done by hand, but for volume processing a more automated process is far more cost-effective. The abattoir can process 60 tons on animals per hour, killing and rendering them, then flash-freezing the meat and skins for future use. Waste by-products from the process can be used as fertiliser, fish food, and fish bait, among other things, so very little of an animal goes to waste. The process is as humane as possible, and starts with a livestock-rated sonic stunner before the animal is instantly killed by a pneumatic bolt to the base of the brain. The rest of the process takes about 10 minutes. Skins are subject in an initial chemical treatment to clean and preserve them before being flash-frozen for later processing by skilled human artisans. The abattoir requires four staff for normal operation, and usually uses a couple more people or robots for cleaning. TL: 10 Price: Lv600,000

Waste Treatment Module

While waste water and solids can be disposed of in large septic fields (100 sq. metres required per person), it is usually considered a more sound practice to treat it in some way. The compact waste treatment module uses accelerated biological processes to clean and filter waste water and household biomass. It is not suitable for cleaning industrial effluent, however. The mix

of liquid and solid wastes enter at the top of one of the narrow sides of the module. There, the material cascades down through multiple levels, leaving solids behind as it flows. Plants and microbes act to clean the waste as it moves through the system. Solids are removed and sterilised by ultraviolet radiation for use as fertilizer and in terraforming operations, while the treated water is likewise sterilised and reused for human consumption. Catfish in the system act as algae cleaners on the filter systems, and can also used as food once they get too big for their tanks. One treatment module is required for every 500 people in a settlement. The waste treatment module requires one module worth of power for operation. The module does not require any full-time staff to monitor it, but it does need to be checked on a daily basis to ensure proper functioning, and and to perform any required maintenance. TL: 10 Price: Lv500,000

Module Connectors

In harsh or inclement environments, modules can be connected by enclosed corridors suspended above the ground on pylons, and connect to the upper doors found on most modules. This corridor is 2.5 metres high by 3 metres wide, and a typical section is 10 metres long. The 2.5-metre pylons are fixed to the ground in concrete foundations. Each corridor section takes up 1 ton on a starship, but most are collapsible for shipping, only taking up 0.25 tons. TL: 10 Price: Lv20,000 per section

Manchurian Modules

The Manchurians use two different standardised modules for their colonies. The 35-ton and 70-ton modules are quite common, with the smaller module used for housing and offices, and the larger module used more for community spaces.

Unconfigured 35-ton Module

The Manchurian 35-ton module is two stories tall, and 11.5 metres in diameter. There are 2 doors, both on ground level. There are no windows on the ground, only on the second floor. They can be stacked without the need of a rack, unlike the French modules, with a maximum height of three modules. The interior stairwell from each module can connect to the others. Power, water and sewer interfaces are standardised. TL: 9 Price: Lv75,000 70-ton Unconfigured Module This much larger module is three stories tall, and 23 metres in diameter. Like the smaller module, it can be easily stacked, up to three modules tall, without a supporting rack structure. Again, access is through the interior stairs and an interior elevator shaft. TL: 9 Price: Lv160,000

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Building From Scratch

Buildings do not have to be prefabricated marvels shipped from an orbital factory in the Core. Anyone with a set of tools and some lumber, or a chainsaw and some ingenuity, can build a shed, barn or house by themselves or with a little help. Buying a purpose-built wood or metal frame building and having someone building it for you will cost around Lv250 per square metre, and will take about 15 days. Doing the work yourself will cut the cost in half, but will take 2 man-days of time per square metre. Using local materials will cut the cost to just tools and fasteners, but will double the time required. So a typical 70-square metre house (7x10 metres) would cost Lv35,000 to buy and have someone build for you. If you did the work yourself, by yourself, the cost would only be Lv17,500, but it would take you 140 days to build. If you used local materials, then it would take you 280 days to build it. Adding one person to your crew, however, it would cut the time in half.

Building Additions and Upgrades

These additions consume building floor space, and have a cost associated with them. They are subject to the Tech Level-based availability rules. Smart Wall: A smart wall is a display painted on a wall, and includes sensors to capture touch input, along with wireless input from any computer or Link phone from within 15 metres. Fresher: A basic single-person toilet with sink. Unlike starship versions, it does not include a shower. Shower: A basic shower stall. For double the size and price, it can feature a tub. Autokitchen: As described in the Miscellaneous Equipment and Consumer Goods chapter. Full Galley: Refrigerator, oven, range, microwave, and sufficient storage and prep space. Bunks: Upper and lower bunks to accommodate two people. Furniture: Basic furniture, locally made, per piece. Multiply the price by ten for off-world furniture. Interior Walls: Interior, non-load-bearing walls, per linear metre, for a one-story-tall wall.

Item Smart Wall Fresher Shower Autokitchen Microgalley Full Galley Bunks Furniture Interior Walls Hostile Environment Protection Airlock

Tech Level 10 8 8 10 11 9 6 5+ 6 10 10

Hostile Environment Protection: For worlds or regions with atmospheric taints or harsh climates, adding hostile environment protection will filter and regulate the air temperature. It also seals the building against exterior conditions. Includes the cost of the filter/ heat exchanger. Airlock: This is not a vacuum-rated airlock, but rather one designed to separate a hostile exterior environment from the interior.

Fencing

On many worlds, fencing is used to contain livestock and protect sensitive installations and machinery. Fencing may also be required to protect the colonists from the local wildlife. Fencing is available either in standard sections or flexible rolls. Posts are typically constructed from local materials, though pricing is provided. Between 20 and 30 posts are required for every 100 metres of fence. Fencing Types Privacy Fencing Chainlink Barbed Wire Razor wire Shock Fencing LethalForce Fencing Fence Post

3x4 m panel Lv150 Lv140 -

50m Roll N/A Lv500 Lv200 Lv300 Lv200 Lv300 Lv5 each

Shock fencing delivers a non-lethal electric charge, and requires a power unit for every 100 metres of fence. It does 1d6 points of stun damage every combat round spent touching it. The power unit is TL 9, mass 10kg, and costs Lv200. LethalForce fencing, from Trilon, can deliver a potentially fatal charge, and is used to keep megafauna out of human-controlled areas. Lethal fencing does 3d6 points of damage per combat round spent touching it. This type of fence requires a power unit (like the one for the shock fence) every 10 metres, but the unit is identical to the one used for shock fencing.

Floor Space None 4 metres 1 metre/person 2 metres 4 metres 10 metres 3 metres Varies None 10% of entire building 4 metres

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2x3 m panel Lv100 Lv80 -

Price Lv500 per 2m x 2m Lv400 Lv100 per metre Lv8,000 Lv3,000 Lv5,000 Lv200 per bunk Lv100-500 per piece Lv50 per metre Lv10,000+ 100% of building cost Lv5,000

Power Systems A variety of small-scale systems power small communities and individual homes and farms on the Frontier. Solar arrays, combined with liquid-metallic suspension (LMS) batteries for storage, fill most domestic power and climate-control requirements.

Technology Gas-turbine Generator Supplemental Tanks Tidal-action Generator Tidal-action Generator Solar Array/LMS Storage Run-of-River Hydro Wind Farm/LMS storage Compact Fission

When more heating or cooling power is required, geothermal taps are the preferred technology when feasible, though on many worlds wood-fuelled heat is used, especially during the colder seasons. Geothermal systems require a local TL of 8 for construction, and cost Lv5,000. They require power, but no more than a housing module would normal receive. Fuel for vehicles comes from a variety of sources, including solar-powered fuel stations producing hydrogen for fuel cells, natural gas from algae stacks or biomass reactors, and alcohols and bio-diesel from specialised crops and agricultural waste. On many worlds, petroleum resources are tapped to provide fuel as well, especially for heavy equipment and aircraft. The degree of centralised control and distribution required makes fossil fuels fairly uncommon in new colonies, however. Coal is rarely mined for use as a source of power but, along with natural gas, is an important component in the production of synthetic materials. Small towns use larger solar/battery arrays, along with gasfired generators fuelled by natural gas, whether from algae stacks, bog-gas reclamation, or from ground-based sources. These generators have internal fuel tanks good for five days, and often have supplementary tankage as well. These tanks are 25 tons, half the size of a conventional colony module. Natural gas is also often used as a fuel for heavy vehicles powered by gas turbines and MHD recovery systems. In wellfinanced colonies, compact fission reactors, like the Trilon 5MW TWN-9g, are often used. These reactors use thorium to produce power, create little waste, and generate no weaponsgrade material. When available, wind power, tide power, and run-of-river hydropower will also be tapped, depending on the local geography. All of these power-generation methods are available in standard 50 ton modules except for the wind farm, which ships as 15 turbines in 50 tons. Large Scale Power System Solar Rectenna Array Large Fission Plant Fusion Plant

Unit Size 100 sq km 500 tons 450 tons

Fuel Supply 5 days

Houses Supported 200

Price Lv150,000

10 days

-

Lv50,000

-

80

Lv120,000

-

80

Lv120,000

-

20

Lv200,000

-

150

Lv100,000

10 years

100

Lv130,000

-

400

Lv1,500,000

For larger communities, or for the sort of base-load power systems required by heavy industry, orbital solar arrays beaming power to surface-receiving antennas (rectennas) are the preferred technology, with large-scale fission and fusion systems the alternative choices. For most colony worlds, these items are manufactured elsewhere, and then dropped from orbit in custom aeroshells. Each of these technologies can provide power for up to 10,000 homes per unit. Solar Rectennas require orbital solar powersats as well. One powersat can supply up to 1,000 homes, so ten are required to produce the same power output as other stations. For optimal coverage, three powersats are required in synchronous orbit. Once modules are soft-landed, they have to be reassembled into operational units, as noted in the Setup Time column.

Power Requirements

A typical retail operation will consume twice as much power as a house, a machine shop three times, and a light industrial facility

Shipping Size 4 x 100 ton aeroshell modules 6 x 200 ton aeroshell modules 3 x 200 ton aeroshell modules

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Price MLv50 MLv117 MLv195

Setup Time 14 days 28 days 56 days

Notes Type V Reactor Type V Reactor

100 times as much power. Heavy industry will consume at least the equivalent of 1,000 homes of power for normal operations.

Portable Power

The most common portable power generators are described here.

Fuel Station

A solar-powered processor that produces electricity from sunlight and then uses it to crack water into hydrogen for vehicle fuel. The complete station consists of a central unit and ten solar panels. A tank in the unit holds liquid hydrogen. The venting oxygen can be connected to a separate oxygen storage tank if desired, or else just released into the atmosphere. Each solar panel unfolds into a flat square measuring 10 m x 10 m. In sunlight (of average intensity in the life zone), each panel generates one hour of fuel for a small ground vehicle, or 10 minutes for a large ground vehicle. For all other vehicle types, this amount is halved, while aircraft must halve it yet again. The station only works during daylight hours. The station can also be used to produce direct electrical power, in which case it provides enough power for a normal singlefamily home, or about one module worth of power. TL: 10 Mass: 20 kg (with empty tank) Price: Lv3,500

Fuel Cell

The portable fuel cell is used to provide power in many wilderness situations, and is frequently used in concert with the fuel station described above. The fuel cell runs for 10 hours on a full load of fuel. Two fuel cells together would provide enough power for a standard module. TL: 10 Mass: 25 kg Price: Lv2,500

Gas-fired Generator

Built on a small vehicle trailer, the gas-fired generator is a Stirling-cycle engine that can burn just about anything as fuel, but is optimised for natural gas and hydrogen. This engine is connected to a powerful generator, and is capable of supplying the power needs of a work camp or small settlement, providing the equivalent of 20 modules of power. A full load of fuel is good for five days. External tanks can be added, which supply 10 days each. TL: 11 Mass: 8 tons Shipping Size: 4 tons Price: Lv50,000

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External Tank Mass: 4 tons Price: Lv5,000 Fuel Sources In addition to the solar-powered fuel station listed above, there are several methods to obtain fuel on most colony worlds. Other classes of power plants can be used to crack water into hydrogen fuel. Natural gas, the most common fuel after hydrogen, can be obtained from several sources, including biogas reactors, algae stacks, recovered from bogs and swamps, or even drilled and pumped out of the ground. Other sources of fuel for modern multi-fuel engines include alcohol and bio-diesel from agricultural waste. On some worlds, it is economically viable to harvest petroleum from the ground and distill it for fuel. Kilo for kilo, fuel derived this way has more energy than almost any other type. However, the collection and processing of fossil fuels requires a viable centralised infrastructure, which means some sort of central authority or corporation to do the work of collection, refining, and distribution. However, other fuel sources can be obtained individually or as part of small communities or collectives, which appeals far more to the sort of person who emigrates out to the colonies. Most nations tend to discourage the collection of petroleum for fuel purposes. Quite apart from environmental effects, petroleum is far more useful to most nations as feedstock for synthetic and composite materials, and to produce thousands of industriallyvaluable organic chemicals.

Biogas Reactor

The biogas reactor is a system of silos that turns animal and plant waste into fuel and fertilizer. It requires a developed livestock and agricultural operation to feed it, but the averagesized combined farm with cattle and/or pigs and a variety of crops can be effectively self-sufficient in fuel with the system. Each standard module of biogas reactor produces enough fuel to run three light vehicles, or one heavy and one light, per day. It would take 12 days of production to fill the tanks of a modulebased gas-turbine power plant, 18 days for the supplemental tankage and four days to fill the tanks of the portable gas-fired generator or its extra tanks. If imported from off-world, a biogas reactor system fills a standard module, and costs Lv200,000. If built locally, the cost is halved, but construction time is at least three months, and requires a local Tech Level of at least 8.

Algae Stack

Algae stacks are tanks of water and algae. All it needs is sunlight, water, and fertilizer, and it produces natural gas. One module of algae stacks produces enough fuel to keep four light vehicles or two heavy vehicles operating on a continuous basis. It would take eight days of production to fill the tanks of a module-based

gas-turbine power plant, 12 days for the supplemental tankage and three days to fill the tanks of the portable gas-fired generator or its extra tanks. Like biogas reactors, algae stacks can either come in a module, or be built locally. If built locally, construction time for an algae stack array with production equal to a standard module takes at least two months, requires a local Tech Level of 9, and would halve the cost of the module. One module of algae stacks costs Lv300,000.

Bog Recovery

Recovering natural gas from a bog is often frowned upon by colonial officials, as it requires covering several hectares of bog with plastic sheeting. The sheeting is raised towards the centre

as a collection point for the lighter-than-air natural gas being released by the bog. It requires 20 hectares of bog to produce enough natural gas to keep two light vehicles or one heavy vehicle in daily operation. It would take 18 days of production to fill the tanks of a module-based gas-turbine power plant, 27 days for the supplemental tankage, and six days to fill the tanks of the portable gas-fired generator or its extra tanks. Each additional ten hectares reduces the time required by 50%. Bog recovery costs Lv7,000 for enough plastic to cover ten hectares of bog, and another Lv10,000 for collection equipment and other material needs. A local Tech Level of 7 is all that is required. Many of these systems are operated illegally, disguised to look like a normal bog from the air.

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Animals I spent four years at Texas A&M, and another four years at the IEX’s School of Exobiology in Nouvelle Provence, on Tirane. Met my first husband there, also in the exoveterinary program. We shipped out for Montana together, and spent the next two years working with an established vet before we could get a license to practice. Then he left with her and a couple of older men, and I took over the practice. That suited me just fine. Horses and cows I understand; men, not so much. Then again, it’s not like Montana was lacking for men, three of them for one of me. Had some interesting possibilities. Colonial practice was nothing like a vet’s office back home. On Earth, you have so many different kinds of animals that you can see every day, from lizards to ferrets, cats, dogs, iguanas, sheep, anything that can be domesticated has been, but the diseases that infect them are all very well-known. Out in the colonies, though, you only see a few different animals, livestock, dogs, cats, and a few types of neos, but the planets throw so many diseases, fungi, parasites and even allergies at them that your hands are full just diagnosing the latest disease to come bubbling up out of a swamp. The older the colony, the worse it is, as the native life will have had more opportunity to adapt to terrestrial life. Montana was a world of shallow seas and one small, mountainous continent, along with a handful of islands. My practice was outside of Rio Oro, in the middle of the only large flat expanse of ground on the planet. Naturally, it was farming country, with both Mexico and Argentina sharing the prime real estate. There’s no love lost between Texas and Mexico, but I liked the folks on Montana. Lots of cows and horses in my practice, along with sheep, goats and llamas. Almost everyone owned a horse, even townspeople. There were cars, trucks, and hovercraft available, but most folks just preferred the horse. I had a range truck with an open bed. I love horses, but on Montana I had no time to keep one for myself. I never took the DNA mod for Montana, preferring to keep my options open. The cocktail of drugs needs to avert the symptoms of PAS was tolerable, so I stuck with it. On some worlds, the treatment is almost as bad as the disease. After five years on Montana, I decided it was time to move on. I sold the practice back to my ex and his wife and husbands, and took ship for Kormoran. They were in need of an experienced vet there, and I hoped to learn about the native animals too, especially those domesticated by the Ebers.

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The Texan enclave on Kormoran truly felt like coming home. The accents, the food, the local brew. Everything was perfect. Within a day of arrival, I had a job with one of the clinics. They had an arrangement with a local nomadic tribe that the clinic would lend a hand with their animals, in exchange for the Ebers teaching them. I couldn’t have asked for a better arrangement. Met my second husband, a cattle rancher, after I was sent out to his herd to diagnose the latest local pestilence, which turned out to be some sort of weird nomad prank. Kormoran has a funny biology. None of the Eber’s domestic animals had wild relatives, save some that had gone feral. In fact, most of the wild animals had six legs, while all of the domestic animals had only four. Some imaginative biologist had dubbed the domestic animals with names like e-horse, e-cow, and e-dog, more for the role they played in the Eber’s life than for any resemblance to Terran animals. For the most part, the nomads weren’t big on keeping animals, with maybe one e-horse for every ten Ebers, and one e-dog for every three, or so. Still, they cherish the ones they have, and were grateful for the chance to apply Terran medicine to them. I got to know one of their scouts very well, a female with the musical name of ‘Swift Javelin Thrower.’ She would often bring us animals she had captured in the high desert and the surrounding low-lands, so we built up quite a menagerie. She surprised me when she requested that we become Arm-Sisters, which is like the old blood-brothers thing. She spends almost all her time with me, and even saved my life from a rival nomad tribe. Through her, I got to know the native animals very well. The weirdest thing? The high desert animals have a different biochemistry than the Ebers, the e-horses, and the e-dogs. Similar enough to be edible, but different enough that they don’t come from the same evolutionary tree. Curiouser and curiouser, as Alice once said. Only on Kormoran, I feel like I fell down the rabbit hole a long time ago. The first settlers out from Earth carried animals with them, frozen in the ship’s hold. Later colonists carried animals as embryos, and used exo-wombs to bring them to parturition. Animals were brought to the colonies to serve as companions and work animals, but primarily were sent as a source of protein and all the other useful materials an animal can provide. Meat and animal products are a staple of trade between colonies, but very little is exported back to Earth or Tirane. Initially, many colonies used animals as beasts of burden for subsistence farming,

until adequate machinery can be brought in. In many case, colonists also prefer to use animals rather than take out loans or mortgages to pay for off-world equipment, and poorly-supported colonies, like those of the Incan Republic, make heavy use of animal power. Vat-grown meat, or carniculture, became popular on Earth in the late 2240s, and with it came strong animal-rights movements. By the 2280s, the production and consumption of animal-sourced meat, if not outright banned, became strongly stigmatised in most countries. Milk, eggs, beef, chicken, and any other animal product could be produced through some variety or another of the carniculture process. Farming is still done on earth, for vegetables, grains, and the immense quantities of soy proteins required as nutrients for the meat factories. In terms of energy and land use, producing a kilogram of beef from a cow is far more efficient than from vats. However, in the Core, energy from solar power arrays and industrial fusion plants is almost free, and with concentrations of population, factories can be very effective. Aside from few connoisseurs, no one can tell the difference between free-range beef and beef grown in vats as long strings of muscle fibre, twitching under constant electrical impulses to maintain tone and consistency. On most Frontier worlds, carniculture has failed to achieve market penetration. In general, colonies do not have the extensive power networks and abundant, nearly free, energy that make meat factories viable. On top of that, though, is another factor. Most colonists practically make a religion out of self-reliance. For many, it was one of the main reasons they, or their parents or grandparents, chose to emigrate from Earth. Carniculture is only viable in bulk production, and even then the power requirements put the technology out of reach of the average homesteader, or even frontier town. However, a family can easily raise enough cattle, chicken and pigs to not only feed themselves, but sell or trade for other necessary goods. They do not need to rely on central agencies or corporations to do this, either.

L i f e S u pp o r t R e q u i r e m e n t s

Livestock and other terrestrial animals have similar life support requirements to people. For each animal in this chapter, it will be stated how much space and concurrent life-support they require, compared to a human. For example, the Life Support rating for a horse is 4, indicating it requires four times as much space and food as a human. So while two people could inhabit a stateroom, or even four under cramped conditions, a horse under crowded conditions takes up an entire stateroom by itself. This also applies to frozen sleep, with a hibernaculum for a horse being four times the size of an individual person’s frozen sleep capsule.

DNA M o d i f i e d L i v e s t o c k

Most livestock sent out to frontier worlds undergo some form of low-level genetic modification to adapt them to new environments. Animals, like people, are subject to Planetary Adaption Syndrome, which is alleviated through genetic manipulation.

The moratorium on genetic engineering in humans has not led to a ban in animal geneering, but various watchdog agencies keep a close eye on breeding centres, lest they turn out to be a cover for clandestine DNA modification programs. Indeed, in 2294, several researchers at the University of Western Ontario, along with colleagues at the Agricultural School of Adelaide, were arrested on charges of human genetic tampering. Their case is still before the courts, but the speculation is that the template they had created for cattle on Aurore could be modified for people, as there is no specific DNA modification for that world. Livestock are also modified for other reasons, either to improve output of milk, young, or meat and other products. Increasing meat and milk yields are the most common reasons, though. Food animals are never modified for improved intelligence or loyalty.

Horse

When the Neo program was scrapped in the early ’80s, the horse had been next in line to receive the modifications. This was in preparation for becoming a companion animal for the new wave of colonies many were expecting. The closure of the program changed that. Today, there are limited numbers of horses out on the Frontier, largely on older colony worlds that can afford the luxury of keeping what is essentially a large pet. Montana and a few other worlds are exceptions, where horse ownership has become common. Horses are also sometimes seen on newer colony worlds that do not have an industrial infrastructure, as a work animal in subsistence-level farming. Many colonists prefer to keep using animal power well after machinery becomes available, due to the expense. However, for anything much beyond subsistencelevel farming, machinery is required. Price: Lv200 for a foal, Lv2,500 for a mature animal

Cow

The cow is one of the most economically-important animals on any colony world. They are still one of the most important protein sources for most colonies, along with other domestic meat animals like pigs, chickens, rats, and catfish. Price: Lv200 for a calf, Lv4,000 for a mature animal

Llama

The llama is an important food and textile source across South America, and has been extensively imported to many colonies due to its hardiness and the quality of its meat and wool. Price: Lv500 for a cria, Lv3,000 for a mature animal

Pig

Even among farmers and ranchers on the Frontier, there is some controversy surrounding the use of pigs as food animals, in particular the so-called ‘hyper-pig’ developed for off-world conditions. The intelligence of pigs has been a hotly-debated topic, with many sophontologists who have studied the animal declaring they have been getter smarter since the hyperpig program. Pigs were already remarkably intelligent animals

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prior to that. The use of pigs as food animals, at least those of hyperpig stock, has been banned in the former French colony of Elysia, and the Bund on Neubayern is currently debating a similar law. Characteristics in parenthesis refer to hyperpigs. Price: Lv200 for a piglet, Lv2,000 for a mature animal

Dog

As opposed to a neo-dog, this is standard large-breed dog, like a Rottweiler or German Shepherd, that is very common on frontier world as household pets and guard animals. Price: Lv500

Elephants

Unlike most animals, elephants are actually a useful addition to most colony worlds. Their immense size, strength and intelligence makes them invaluable, and they have been widely exported to many Manchurian colonies. Note that, strictly speaking, elephants are never tame, merely ‘co-operative.’ They tend to form strong relationships with their handlers and co-workers. The most widely-used species is the smaller Asian elephant, as African elephants are larger and more difficult to control. Elephants are never used as meat animals. Price: Lv2,000 for a calf, Lv20,000 for a mature animal

Small Animals

Many animals do not require full descriptions, especially smaller domestic animals. Instead, they have an abbreviated description, with size, intelligence, instinct, speed and life support requirements. Any relevant skills will also be noted in the description. All domestic animals have Survival-0, unless otherwise noted. Animals yield approximately 1/3 to 1/2 of their mass in meat, smaller animals providing proportionately larger amounts of meat than larger ones. Cat: Cats are highly adaptable, and found just about everywhere humans go, both as companions and biological pest control. The price listed is highly variable, from a low value for an adoption from an animal shelter to a high value for a pure pedigree. While pedigree cats are very rare on the Frontier, there is some market for them, particularly large breeds like the Savannah and Norwegian Trollcats. Small Dog: Small dogs are largely bred as companion animals, though in some places they are also used for pest control in much Animal Cat Small Dog Chicken Turkey Goat Sheep Rabbit Rat

Size 5 kg 8 kg 10 kg 20kg 40 kg 50 kg 4 kg 0.5 kg

Intelligence 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0

the same way as cats. The highly variable price ranges from a mixed breed animal adopted from a shelter up to a purebred show animal, though the latter is very rare on the Frontier. Chickens: Both as egg-laying birds and meat animals, chickens are one of the most common livestock animals in human space, surpassed only by rabbits. Chickens are easy to take care of and, on worlds with compatible biologies, can largely fend for themselves. Turkeys: Bred largely for meat, turkeys yield nearly 2/3 of their body mass in edible portions. They are slightly more difficult to care for than chickens, largely because they are even less intelligent. Goats: Goats are useful for their milk, meat, hair, and skin. Another easy-to-care for animal, caution must be taken with them in compatible ecosystems that they do not simply eat everything in sight. As browsing ruminants, they can digest just about anything. Goats are smart and famously obstinate. They get along very well with sheep, and can occasionally interbreed. Sheep: Sheep are valued more for their wool than their meat, though that too has value on the Frontier. Wool is one of the few animal-based commodities that finds a ready market with clothing makers in the Core, and with sheep ranches few and far between on Earth and Tirane, most trade in wool comes from the colonies. Wool is a major cash crop for Alicia on Beowulf, Neubayern, and Crater, among other worlds. Rabbits: Rabbits are another small animal that make an excellent meat source for Frontier life, being hardy, easy to care for, with impressive meat and pelt yields. The only drawback to them is that they frighten easily, and can even be scared to death. Rats: Rat meat has long been a delicacy on Earth, ever since Twilight, and is one of the more popular choices from the carniculture vats. On the Frontier, rats are used as food animals on worlds where the local biology is either marginal or incompatible with terrestrial life. In these situations, the rat’s legendary adaptability and ability to eat almost anything is put to good use.

Animal Equipment

While animals are not a large part of any colonisation effort, they may be present as companions, work animals and food animals. On some colonies, whether for cultural or financial reasons, they take on much bigger roles, sometimes becoming the primary source of transportation.

Instinct 3 4 3 2 4 4 3 2

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Speed 10 8 6 4 10 10 12 8

Life Support 1/10 1/8 1/6 1/6 1/3 1/3 1/30 1/100

Price Lv10-2,000 Lv10-2,000 Lv5 Lv7 Lv150 Lv200 Lv20 Lv5

Riding Tack

This is basic saddle, blanket and bridle needed to ride a horse. Similar equipment exists for riding camels and elephants. Camel tack is the same mass and price, but is not compatible with horses. Elephant tack is five times the mass and price. TL: 3 Mass: 25 kg Price: Lv400

Animal Armour

Dogs in particular wear armour to support their roles in military and police services. On the Frontier, this added level of protection allows them to pursue local wildlife through alien brush with considerably reduced risk of injury, not to mention the risks associated with tangling with an alien carnivore. Armour is available for other animals, in particular horses and Elephants, the mass and cost three times and fives times that shown below, respectively. TL: 10 Mass: 10 kg Protection: 8 Price: Lv1,200

Exowombs

Two different types of exowombs are in use for livestock. The first type is the human-made industrial exo-womb, which can incubate and decant up to four cows or horses at a time. Gestation period is normal for the species, and exo-wombs can be used for practically any animal. The second is a Pentapod device, which is rapidly coming into widespread use due to its superior features. The Pentapod exo-womb is itself a living creature, like most Pentapod bio-machines. It can incubate one animal at a time, up to the size of an ox. The main difference between the Pentapod and human designs is that the Pentapod exo-womb can bring the animal to term in a fraction of the normal time. For example, the gestation period for a horse is approximately 340 days. The Pentapod exo-womb can bring it to term in about 35 days. Typical accelerated times for large animals (50+ kg at maturity) are 90% faster. For smaller animals this drops to 50%.

Industrial Exo-womb

This large machine requires power and a protein-rich nutrient source. TL: 11 Mass: 6 tons Price: Lv200,000

Pentapod Exo-womb

Many find the Pentapod exo-womb to be a disturbing biotech device. While it is unquestionably alive, it is basically a limbless lump with a rudimentary head. The head is featureless save for a wide mouth that always seems to be smiling in an oddly human, though utterly vacant, smile. Most people are uncomfortable spending any time at all around it, despite its utility. Staying in the same room with one requires a Routine (+2) Int check.

Failure means that the person will desire leave the room if at all possible, and will be unlikely to return for a number of hours equal to the negative Effect. TL: 15 Mass: 1,000 kg Price: Lv100,000

Animal Cybernetics

Cybernetics are available for animals as well, though the selection is rather more limited. Cybernetics for animals are generally not prosthetic devices, that is, they are not typically used to replace a badly injured or missing body part. Such might be considered for a very valuable breeding animal, however. Instead they are bionics, extending the capabilities of the animal, either as an intelligence gathering platform, a guard animal, or, in very rare cases, as a weapon. On the Frontier, these sort of cybernetic modifications are very rare, and in almost all examples originate in the Core. Most famous of these is the apocryphal ‘Assassin Cat,’ a large domestic cat of no particular breed that, according to the stories, was equipped with a control rig, neural sheathing, muscle implants, cybernetic eyes, carboglass fangs, and a poison injector in the fangs. In these stories, the Assassin Cat would lie in wait for its target, and the last thing they would see would be the red flash of its eyes as it darted in to bite them, injecting a fast-acting neurotoxin. The last act of the Assassin Cat would be to bite off a finger as proof of its kill, and go scampering off. While this is almost certainly a story, all of the modifications the animal is supposed to have are possible, though extremely expensive. It is also worth noting that when the infamous vicelord Raj Ahliwalhia was killed in his apartment in D sector of the Shambhala Habitat in the C1 system, he had been injected with a neurotoxin, and one finger had been removed, apparently with a very sharp knife. The following cybernetics and surgical modifications are available for animals. Some are only available for larger animals, due to the size they take up within the body.

New Cybernetics for Animals

Cybernetics developed specifically for animals are normally based around training and control. Similar units could be made for humans, but control rigs in particular would be extremely illegal.

Control Rigs

Control rigs are implants that tap into the animals’ brainstem, along with an array of nanowire electrodes across the brain. After a day spent mapping the connections, the animal can be controlled by a remote operator. Cybernetic eyes and ears are typically installed as well in order to assist the remote operator; otherwise the animal has to remain in line of sight. In most situations, control rigs are used to monitor the animal, and if necessary, alter their movements. These systems are most commonly used in guard and surveillance animals, and can be used in anything right down to microscopic animals like rotifers.

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Cybernetics for Animals Modification Muscle Implants Neural Sheathing Cybernetic Eyes Cybernetic Ears Implant Weapons SubdermaTalk SubdermaComp RFID Chip

Restrictions Animals 1 kg and larger Animals 1 kg and larger None

Chargers

Animals 50 kg and larger Animals 75 kg and larger Animals 50 kg and larger

Hypercharger Cybernetic Limbs

Notes

The cost of control rigs varies depending on the size of the animal being controlled, generally with the bigger the animal, the more it costs. Price includes the implantation cost, which is about 75% of the total price.

Price +50% +200%

Control Rig Class A B C D E F G

+200%

None

+200%

Edged weapons only None Animals 30 kg and larger Insects and larger

+300% +100% +100%

Tech Level 10 10 11 11 11 12 12

Animal Size 500 kg + 50 kg – 500 kg 5 kg – 50 kg 0.5 kg – 5 kg 0.05 kg – 0.5 kg Insect Microscopic

Price Lv10,000 Lv7,000 Lv5,000 Lv1,000 Lv500 Lv100 Lv500

Training Implants

Training implants are similar to control rigs; the array of nanowire electrodes is less extensive but more targeted. The net effect of training implants is to allow an animal to quickly learn a new set of skills, with the implants acting as sources of both positive and negative reinforcement. Training implants are categorised in much the same way as control rigs, though considerably cheaper. They are not available for insects or microscopic creatures.

More -50% common in animals than people +100% +200% +500%

Insects are frequently the recipients of control rigs, as part of recon and attack swarms.

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Training Im- Tech Level plant Class A 11 B 11 C 12 D 12 E 12

Animal Size

Price

500 kg + 50 kg – 500 kg 5 kg – 50 kg 0.5 kg – 5 kg 0.05 kg – 0.5 kg

Lv5,000 Lv3,500 Lv2,500 Lv500 Lv250

Horse

Behaviour and Diet Grazer, Herbivore

Preferred Habitat Domestic, open fields

Life Support: 4 for an adult, 1 for a foal Skills: Athletics (co-ordination)-1, Survival-1 Traits: Acute Smell/1, Acute Hearing/1 Attacks: Kick (1d6+2) Armour: None

Cow

Behaviour and Diet Grazer Herbivore

Preferred Habitat Domestic

Life Support: 4 or 5 for an adult, 1 for a calf Skills: Survival-0 Traits: Tough/1 Attacks: Hooves (2d6) Armour: None

Llama

Behaviour and Diet Grazer, Herbivore

Preferred Habitat Domestic

Movement Mode(s) Walk

STR 12

DEX 7

END 15

INT 1

INS 3

PCK 5

DEX 6

END 19

INT 1

INS 8

PCK 16

DEX 12

END 13

INT 1

INS 10

PCK 8

Number Encountered: 1d6

Movement Mode(s) Walk

STR 18

Number Encountered: 6d6

Movement Mode(s) Walk

STR 11

Life Support: 2 for an adult, ½ for a cria Skills: Athletics (co-ordination)-1, Melee (bite)-0, Survival-2 Traits: Tough/1 Attacks: Bite (1d6/2) Armour: None Number Encountered: 1d6

Pig

Behaviour and Diet Gatherer, Omnivore

Preferred Habitat Movement Mode(s) Domestic, woods, plains Walk

Life Support: 3 for an adult and ¼ for a piglet Skills: Melee (hooves)-0, Survival-1 Traits: Tough/1 Attacks: Hooves (1d6) Armour: None

Dog

Behaviour and Diet Chaser, Carnivore

Preferred Habitat Domestic

STR 12

DEX 6(10)

END 11

INT 1(2)

INS 10(14)

PCK 8

Number Encountered: 2d6

Movement Mode(s) Walk

STR 3

DEX 8

END 5

INT 1

INS 8

PCK 2

DEX 5

END 35

INT 1

INS 12

PCK 8

Life Support: ½ Skills: Athletics (co-ordination)-2, Melee (bite)-1, Survival-2 Traits: Acute Smell/s, Acute Hearing/2 Attacks: Bite (1d6) Armour: None Number Encountered: 1d6

Elephant

Behaviour and Diet Gatherer, Herbivore

Preferred Habitat Woods

Movement Mode(s) Walk

Life Support: 20 for an adult, 4 for a calf Skills: Melee (stomp/trunk)-1, Survival-2 Traits: Tough/3, Hard to Kill/1 Attacks: Stomp/Trunk (4d6) Armour: Hide (2)

STR 33

Number Encountered: 2d6

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Clothing and Protective Gear Clothing can be made out of an astonishing variety of materials, from animal skins to natural plant fibres to spun glass and metals. The clothes outlined below are made from appropriate materials for their type and Tech Level. Superior materials can be used, which will increase the price by 100-400%. In a similar fashion, inferior materials can be used, which will typically reduce costs by 50%, but runs the risk of ripping or disintegrating at inopportune moments. Most clothing is made from standard patterns to fit standard sizes. Tailored clothing is available on any developed colony for double the normal price.

Plain Clothing Plain clothing is office wear, decent cut and style, but not too expensive or flashy. Each piece would be Lv50-100, while a jacket would run Lv100-200. Formal Clothing Formal clothing is of a superior cut and quality to plain clothing. For men, this would be a suit including jacket, though a tie is uncommon. For women, this is either a suit, or a good skirt with jacket. Both genders typically accessorize with jewelry and quality footwear. Cost for formal wear is 2 x SOC x Lv50, and masses 1-2 kg per piece.

Clothing Automat

Fashionable Clothing Fashionable clothing is flashier than formal clothing, and often incorporates accessories like flex-screens, light panels, colour changing, and a limited ability to stretch or shrink using memory plastics and other smart materials. Fashionable clothing costs SOC x Lv50, with the accessories costing Lv100 each. It masses 1-2 kg per piece.

A particularly well-equipped colony might have several automats to supply the clothing needs of the colonists. Prices are typically 20-50% higher than listed prices. TL: 11 Mass: Two tons Price: Lv200,000

So, a jacket worn by a SOC 10 playboy with light panels and size change would cost Lv500 (base) plus 100 for the light panel and another 100 for the shape change, for a total of Lv700.

In colonies at TL11 and higher, bespoke clothing can be made in what amounts to a clothing vending machine. The customer steps into the machine, and undergoes a full-body scan. The scan is then used to automatically create clothing drawn from a selection in the system, which then makes the clothing on the spot. The whole process takes about 5 minutes.

Cheap Clothing Cheap clothing is fairly low-quality, inexpensive, casual clothing for anyone on a budget. Any particular piece (shirt, pants, skirt, shoes, t-shirts or underwear) costs around Lv15-25, and masses around 1 kg at most. A cheap jacket or coat would run roughly Lv40-60. Utilitarian Clothing Utilitarian clothing is well-made, robust clothing made for function rather than style. This includes things such as work clothing and athletic clothing, as well as practical uniforms. Utilitarian clothing costs Lv30-50 per piece or set, with a mass of 1-2 kg. A jacket or coat would be around Lv80.

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Overcoat This is a long overcoat for men or women, available as either raincoat or cold weather gear. Raincoats are Lv100-300, for either gender, while cold weather coats are Lv200-400. Coats are 2-4 kg in mass. Cold weather coats add +15 to effective temperatures for the purposes of taking damage. Armoured Overcoat The armoured overcoat protects the wearer with a flexible layer of ballistic gel over a layer of inertial cloth. TL: 8 Protection: 8 Mass: 5 kg Price: Lv2,000

Leather or Hide Duster This is a common article of clothing on many colony worlds, but would be regarded as an atavism in the Core, should such an item ever make it past OQC quarantine. The duster is a long, heavy leather coat, very durable and treated to be waterrepellent. They are made from a variety of materials, including Terran cattle, oxen, Beta Canum Buffalope, Chengdu omniphant, and Beowulf cave dragon. Protection: 3 Mass: 3-5 kg Price: Lv2,500 Cap A billed cap to provide protection from the sun. Often includes a neck drape to protect the neck from exposure or insects. Found in a variety of shapes and sizes, from berets to baseball caps to the kepi blanc of the Legion Etrangre. Mass: Negligible Price: Lv5-Lv50, + Lv5 for a neck drape Hat A hat has a full brim to provide greater protection from the sun and other elements. It can be used with a neck drape, or even full insect netting. On Cold Mountain they use rigid hats with fine chain-mail screens as protection against razorflies; normal insect netting does not suffice. Other examples include the classic fedora and cowboy hat. Mass: Negligible Price: Lv 50-Lv150 Cold Mountain Hat Mass: 0.5 kg Price: Free to colonists, Lv250 for visitors Sunglasses Sunglasses are typically made with tinted, polarized plastic lenses, and are available in a wide variety of fashions and shapes. The most common types found on the frontier are either wraparound types that almost completely enclose the eyes, or else the classic aviator style. More expensive sunglasses include an electronic auto-darkening flare protection system, and may also incorporate a wireless HUD, connected to a biomonitor, portacomp, or nanocomp. TL: 5 Mass: Negligible Price: Lv20 for basic sunglasses, Lv80 for high-fashion, + Lv50 for auto-darkening, and +Lv100 for HUD Shooting Glasses These polycarbonate glasses are impact- and shock-resistant, designed to protect the eyes from gunpowder particles, fragments, and high-speed debris. They are typically not tinted, but can have the same options as sunglasses. TL: 7 Mass: Negligible Price: Lv200

Light Gloves Light gloves would be driving gloves or light duty gardening gloves. They have little protective value. Price: Lv5-15 Heavy Gloves Heavy work gloves or gauntlets, these have substantial protective ability against casual cuts or abrasions, and are suitable for most work-related duties. Price: Lv10-50 Boots Light-weight fashion or hiking boots, with little or no protective capability. Price: Lv40-200 Heavy Boots Heavy-weight boots with metal or ceramic protective inserts. Suitable for use at most industrial job sites. Price: Lv80-300 Hard Hat The hard hat is common protective gear worn at most industrial workplaces, including farms and mines. Includes hearing and eye protection. Mass: 1 kg Price: Lv100-200 Welding Gear Welding gear includes a protective face shield with autodarkening eye protection, shoulder-length gauntlets, and a heavy kevlex protective apron. TL: 8 Protection: 3 Mass: 6 kg Price: Lv200 Cold Climate Clothing (Heatsuit) Cold climate clothing consists of a light-weight, adjustable body  suit, with hood, goggles, and lower face cover. The suit contains a battery pack and internal heating elements with the ability to maintain a stable climate down to external temperatures of -50  degrees C. Battery life is about eight hours under the coldest conditions, but closer to 36 hours  under more typical cool weather conditions. TL: 9 Mass: 2 kg Price: Lv300 (more expensive versions are available for the fashion-conscious) Hot Climate Clothing (Cool Suit) The cool suit incorporates a liquid-cooling system that covers the torso and head, but leaves face and arms exposed. Use of the cool suit lowers the effective outside temperature by 15 degrees. The cool suit uses a small belt unit to provide the cooling, with a battery good for 8-10 hours of operation. It is

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usually combined with the typical light, loose desert clothing, which provides another 5 degrees of cooling. TL: 8 Mass: 2 kg (4 kg with full outfit) Price: Lv200

Fire Suit

In many conditions, firefighters will use hostile environment suits while fighting a fire, or even walkers when the need arises. However, in most commonly encountered situations, firefighters will wear the fire suit. Armour protection is minimal, but it provides protection for fire conditions of up to 600 degrees. The built-in life support and heat sinks will last for about 30 minutes, with an outside safety envelope of an additional 15 minutes. TL: 8 Protection: 2 Mass: 12 kg Price: Lv2,000

Hostile Environment Suit

A hostile environment suit is a close-fitting, flexible environment suit, much like the softsuits used in vacuum environments, but with added protective material designed for use in particularly hostile environments (such as corrosive atmospheres or radiological and toxic environments). It is not intended for use in vacuum. The helmet is solid, with audio and visual sensors linked to helmet monitors. The suit has a battery-powered life support system to provide breathable air and a stable temperature. Life support duration is normally eight hours, but with bottled oxygen this can be extended to 20 hours (the maximum battery life). TL: 11 Protection: 3 Mass: 20 kg Price: Lv6,000

Body Armour

Surplus body armour is often available to colonial customers, either for local police or militia forces, or else as protective clothing for colonists in particularly dangerous conditions. Custom-made armour is typically not available, and modern armour-cloth materials are difficult to modify.

Surplus Vest

The vest is made from standard non-rigid ballistic cloth, and despite being surplus is still in good condition. When they wear body armour, colonial police forces will wear the surplus vest. TL: 7 Protection: 5 Mass: 4 kg Price: Lv250

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Damaged Armour

The ultimate bargain-basement armour, damaged surplus armour has actually been shot, and some may very well have had someone die while wearing it. It is, however, very cheap, and armour of this quality is typical for colonial militias. Militias on the French Arm have started upgrading their equipment in the face of a possible threat from the Kaefers, but even that is regarded as a low-order probability. Damaged armour has a protective value one lower than normal, but only costs 20% of the list price for surplus armour, or 10% of the price for new armour.

Surplus Non-rigid Body Suit

This full-body suit made from ballistic cloth is standard for the better-equipped colonial militias, and provides decent overall protection. The suit is lined with a moisture-wicking layer to keep the wearer cool, and several pockets all over the suit provide storage for miscellaneous items. TL: 10 Protection: 7 Mass: 10 kg Price: Lv450 Vedette Half-Armour (Surplus) The vedette half-armour is not a standard issue item in most militias, but many members will purchase one themselves to provide that extra bit of protection. TL: 9 Protection: +2 Mass: 2 kg Price: Lv600

Surplus 2245-pattern Helmet

While superseded in modern French inventories by the 2290-pattern helmet, the 2245-pattern served the French military well throughout the turbulent years of the Central Asian War. As a surplus item, the communicator has been removed, but a replacement can be added for Lv20. TL: 11 Protection: +3 Mass: 6 kg Price: Lv50

Riot Gear

Many colonial police stations come equipped with riot gear, but few frontier peace officers have ever had to don it, at least outside of Vogelheim and Dukou. Riot gear is designed to be intimidating, while providing very good protection from the front arc. It comes equipped with a helmet with full -face shield and a limited life-support system to protect against chemical agents, fumes, and fire. Life support is only good for 15 minutes. The armour protects equally well against gunfire, blunt impacts, sharp edges or points, and fire, though it is heavy and fatiguing to wear.

It is also very obviously armour, which is the point. Riot gear has a -2 Availability for purchase by civilians. TL: 11 Protection: 8 Mass: 20 kg Price: Lv4,000

Riot Shield

This 1.8 metre tall clear plexane shield can be rendered completely opaque at the touch of a switch. It provides complete protection to the officer using it. TL: 11 Protection: +4 Mass: 4.5 kg Price: Lv500

Shock Armour

The ultimate in riot and prisoner control gear, shock armour is rare on the Frontier. It is an electrically-insulated suit of ballisticcloth armour with a weave of wires through the surface. When the suit is live, anyone touching it will suffer a 3D6 stun attack. The battery in the suit can provide enough power for 50 ‘shots’ before needing to be replaced. Most officers using these suits for riot control carry another three to four batteries with them. It is also used in jails and prisons, though they are not common at all on the Frontier. TL: 12 Protection: 8 Mass: 5 kg Price: Lv6,000

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Medical Technology I was trained at the best med-academy in the Core, Osiris Hospital, in Nouvelle Provence on Tirane. I graduated at the top of my class, being called gifted by my mentors. Many people, though, consider doctors mechanics or technicians, and claim that autodocs and expert systems do all the real work. This is not the case. Autodocs and expert systems deal with the easy cases, the routine matters that happen every day; broken bones, burns, Planetary Adaption Syndrome, coughs and colds. Basically anything commonplace and easy. It is for the unusual cases that colonists require the expertise of doctors. Certainement, we make use of expert systems and metabases to aid in diagnoses and treatment, but the true art of healing comes from within. Human intuition enhances skills acquired from years of training and education. These skills, in turn, inform and fine-tune the intuition. Oui, when you see us making our rounds in the hospitals, what you notice first is the technology; gauntlet body-comps displaying quantum resonance images of our patients, Linkphone headsets, and HUDs that remind us how late we are for our next appointment. We look like technicians, with all that gear crowding us. But the secret of healing is in our heads, in our knowledge, our intuition, and our ability to make inferences and see connections. Expert systems are invaluable sources of knowledge and assistance. But they cannot do what we do. I was in attendance at Cold Mountain for a term as a member of Médecins sans Frontieres. Every case we saw there was new to us. We had a couple of brand-new autodocs that we hauled down the well with us, and a metabase expert system that was in use across both Core Worlds. On Cold Mountain, though, the systems kept throwing out garbage data. On one patient, a third-generation colonist, the metabase consistently offered up the diagnosis of pneumonia and recommended omnicillin. A subsequent QRI was negative, and the cloud of imaging mites we blew into his lungs turned up nothing but mildly inflamed tissue, which could have been PAS. His records showed that he had never undergone any DNA modification, nor had any of his ancestors. Failing anything else, we sent a couple of micro-drones to swim through his blood. Once they got to his lungs, his blood vessels were full of what looked like nano-scale fibreoptics. Some sort of new parasite brewed up by that hell planet. We sent in rotifers to scour the blood vessels, but the

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fibres just tore them apart. He died two days later, coughing up blood, his breath coming in ragged gasps. We did not even have time to grow him new lungs. It was just too fast. MSF also brought me to King, as an observer. I spent time in the Orbital Maternity Complex, a large habitat in a LaGrange point between King and its largest moon. Here, women would arrive at the first sign of pregnancy. Pregnancies on the surface almost always failed by the end of the first trimester, due to the extreme gravity and harsh conditions. Though that work was rewarding, it was disheartening at times, too. So many women gave up their health, and often their lives, for the opportunity to conceive and carry their fetus to term. Their cardio-vascular systems would be hypercharged in order to keep the blood flowing in the brutal gravity on the surface. This condition led to incredible risks during pregnancy, especially during delivery. We went there with a couple of Pentapod-made exo-wombs, but the women refused to make use of them. Whoever did the memetic engineering on those people did an amazing job. They were proud of being short-lived monsters, at the ‘forefront of directed human evolution,’ as they like to put it. They see themselves as superbly adapted to the harshest planet in human space, true and dedicated survivors. Everyone else in human space, though, refers to them as ‘trogs’ including the majority of OMC staff, though seldom to their faces. I saw one of these women break a nurse’s arm during labour, just an inadvertent twist and it snapped. The mothers reside in the OMC throughout their pregnancies, and remain for the first year of the child’s life. Even then, infant mortality rates are 12% for infants in their first two years back on the surface. There was a small team on staff from the Life Foundation. Their job was to try to convince women to not return to the surface. The Foundation even offered to pay family relocation expenses to kinder worlds like Ellis or Hermes. Maybe one woman in 50 accepted the offer. MSF was interesting work, but when I chose to settle down, I returned to the French Arm, and my homeworld of Kimanjano. Kimanjano was lifeless, but the protein analogues and organic material that cover the oceans hold their own dangers, toxins and bio-reactive materials, organic acids and allergenic substances. Yet again, the autodocs and expert systems are best equipped to handle the mundane cases, enabling the medical staff to handle the new and the unusual, and there’s no shortage of either on the frontier.

M e d i ca l E q u i p m e n t

The medical technology of the 24th century is far advanced from the humble practices of the early 21st century. In general, any shock or trauma that does not immediately kill can be repaired. Even death is not final with resuscitation being possible for up to an hour past point of death, assuming access to TL 12+ medical facilities or a static autodoc.

Medkit

The medkit is a portable first-aid kit containing limited diagnostic equipment, spray-on bandages, and autoinjectors of antishock, antitoxin, antivenin, antibiotic, stimulant, and anaesthetic drugs.  Other types of drugs would have to be purchased separately. Given sufficient skill, the medkit contains equipment needed to diagnose and treat minor injuries, and stabilise serious conditions. A medkit contains enough materials for 20 uses. Use of a medkit reduces normal healing times by half when used by someone with Medic-1 or higher. TL: 9 Mass: 1 kg Price: Lv500 

Medkit Resupply Package

A medkit resupply package is used to replace medkit materials  that have been consumed. Each resupply package replaces five uses worth of materials. TL: 9 Mass: 0.2kg Price: Lv100 

Gauntlet Autodoc

Often found in a gauntlet-style arm computer or similar device, this autodoc can diagnose and treat wounds and disease as if it had Medic-0. It can remove bullets, close wounds, set broken bones, and dispense a basic array of medicines. It has all the capabilities of a medkit, but does not require the Medic skill to use, just the ability to follow instructions and hold still. Like the medkit, use of the gauntlet halves healing times. It even has micro-manipulators that can cut, stitch, and glue tissue. When used by someone with the Medic skill, the autodoc adds a DM of +1 to non-diagnostic Medic checks. TL: 12 Mass: 3 kg Price: Lv1,000

Lightweight Autodoc

Portable and inexpensive, the lightweight autodoc is popular with emergency teams and is often used in large numbers for disaster relief. It is intended only for temporary care. The medical supplies carried in a lightweight autodoc can maintain a patient for an  average of 24 hours before resupply is necessary. The batteries run for approximately 10 hours  of operation and can be recharged wherever normal electrical power is available. Its medical supplies can be resupplied at any medical facility containing static autodocs. Use of a portable autodoc quarters all healing rates, and adds a +1 DM to all Medic checks. In the

absence of a qualified human operator, the autodoc operates with Medic-2 and Int 8. TL: 11 Mass: 300 kg Price: Lv6,000

Static Autodoc

The static autodoc is designed for permanent emplacement in a hospital ward or on a starship. With the static autodoc, a patient’s condition can be accurately diagnosed and treated over a long period of time. This piece of equipment is designed to run off local power but in the event of a power  outage, it has 12 hours worth of emergency battery power. Use of a static autodoc boosts all healing rates by 6 times normal, and adds a +2 DM to all Medic checks. In the absence of a qualified human operator, the autodoc operates as if it had Medic-3 and Int 10. TL: 12 Mass: 1,000 kg Price: Lv25,000 

M e d i ca l I m ag i n g E q u i p m e n t

There are a variety of imaging technologies available in the 24th century, from portable ultrasound imagers, to Quantum Resonance Imaging, to imaging dust and microdrones. Due to component miniaturisation, medical imagers are defined more by size and capability than by actual technology used. Imagers add a bonus to diagnostic Medic checks. There are three common classes of medical imager; gauntlet, portable, and static.

Gauntlet Imagers

Gauntlet imagers are used alongside gauntlet autodocs, especially in the field. Using the gauntlet imager requires the hand of the gauntlet, where the imager is located, be moved all around the affected area to build up a 3D image, which is then displayed on a HUD or a holographic display. Gauntlet imagers add a DM of +1 to diagnostic Medic checks. TL: 12 Mass: 4 kg Price: Lv2,000

Portable Imager

Portable imagers are usually found in field hospitals or wellprotected vehicles. They deliver a much higher resolution image of the patient, but require the patient to be completely enclosed. Unlike the gauntlet imager, they are able to do full body scans. Portable imagers add a DM of +2 to medical diagnostic skill checks. TL: 11 Mass: 160 kg Price: Lv12,000

Static Imager

The static imager is a massive piece of equipment only found in better-equipped hospitals and some starships. The rooms

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housing these machines have to be carefully shielded to protect surrounding electronics from the effects of the scanner. These scanners can provide extremely high-resolution images, capable of zooming in and resolving fine detail at the cellular level. It grants a DM of +4 for diagnostic Medic checks. TL: 12 Mass: 8,500 kg Price: Lv120,000

When taking more than one dose of Bounce in a 24-hour period, a character should make a Routine (+2) Endurance check. Failure will result in limb paralysis for 3d6 hours. For every additional dose taken in any 24-hour period, apply a cumulative DM-2. TL: 11 Price: Lv20 for five doses (available only at the space facilities of major colony worlds) 

O t h e r I m ag i n g T e c h n o l o g i e s

Herc is a drug made popular by physical labourers and has also been used on occasion by ground military forces. Each dose of the drug increases a character’s Strength by +2 for a period of approximately seven hours (roll 2D6 for duration), after which time the user must rest (do nothing more strenuous than walking unencumbered) for an equivalent period  of time. If the rest period is ignored, or if multiple doses of the drug are taken in a 24-hour period, the character risks painful muscle spasms and possibly permanent Strength damage. TL: 11 Price: Lv300 per 10 doses 

Imaging Dust

Imaging dust consists of dust-mote sized camera and lighting modules. It is normally used to inspect hard-to-reach places, but in medicine also to obtain images of the interior of lungs, sinuses, and the gastro-intestinal tract. Medical imaging dust is incapable of independent movement, and the cameras and lights themselves are very short-ranged, up to perhaps 5 centimetres TL: 12 Price: Lv1,000

Herc

Boost

Microdrones

Microdrones are microscale cyborgs that mate a visual/thermal imaging system with a tailored rotifer-like micro-organism remotely controlled at very short ranges. The microscopic cyborgs can live for up to 6 hours and can travel throughout much of the body from any insertion point. The controller has a very limited range, only about 2 meters, so must be in the same room as the patient. The only restriction microdrones suffer is the inability to voyage down the very smallest blood vessels. Once they die, the rotifer and its imaging equipment quickly breakdown and are excreted from the body. In some thriller entertainment pieces, microdrones have been used as assassins, ingested or injected into the victim at a party or similar affair, and then piloted to the victim’s brain where they wreak havoc. TL: 11 Mass: 3kg for the controller Price: Lv300 per microdrone, Lv200 for controller

Drugs And Symbiotes Bounce

Bounce is a drug used primarily by people operating in zero-G environments. Its  effect is to counteract the reduction of coordination experienced by those operating in a lower gravity than that of their native world. A character using Bounce treats each gravity level as if it were one higher than it is; Zero-G is treated as if it were Low-G, Low-G as if it were Normal-G, and Normal-G as if it were High-G. The effects of each dose last an average of 10 hours. Multiple doses of Bounce can be taken in a 24-hour period to further counteract the effects of gravity upon Dex or to extend the drug’s duration, but side effects are not uncommon in such cases. Note that Bounce can only be used to negate penalties, not add bonuses. The most common side effect is short-term paralysis, lasting until the drug wears off.

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Boost was initially developed as a combat drug during the Central Asian War, but has increasingly found its way onto colony worlds, especially those with dangerous fauna. A single dose of Boost will last for six hours, and give the user the Fast/1 trait. A double dose will give the user the Fast/2 trait, and extend the duration by two hours. A triple dose does not increase Initiative checks, but will extend the duration by another hour, for a total of nine. Subsequent doses within a 24-hourperiod will have no further effect, but still require a Routine (+2) Endurance check to resist the side-effects. Failure will result in a –2 penalty to Dexterity per point of Effect, for a period of 24 hours while the patient undergoes violent convulsions as every neuron in their motor nervous system misfires. TL: 12 Price: Lv100 per dose

Breeze

Originally developed as a party drug in the Core, Breeze’s ability to allow young partiers to dance for three days straight was noticed by corporate interests, who refined the drug and distributed it to workers in mining and resource colonies and outposts. It is highly illegal, due to the possibility of causing a psychotic breakdown. Breeze gives the user the Tough/2 trait, and a single dose of the party drug last for 24 hours. A single dose of the corporate version lasts for three days. Every time additional doses are consumed within a 24 hour period, the user must make an Routine (+2) Endurance check, with a -2 DM per additional dose taken within a 24-hour period. If the check is failed, Education is reduced by -2 points per point of Effect. If Education drops to 1 or lower, the character suffers a psychotic breakdown. Roll twice on the Breakdown Effect Table below, to determine the effects. TL: 12 Price: Lv50 per dose

Breakdown Effect Table 1d6 Roll 1 2 3 4 5 6

Effect Annoying Traits Manic Arrogant Coward Phobia Manic

See page 105 of the 2300AD Core Rulebook for an explanation of the effects.

Planetary Adaption Regimen

The Planetary Adaption Regimen is a cocktail of drugs and antihistamines tailored for a particular planet. It provides a +2 DM to checks made to combat PAS. Any autodoc on a planet will be programmed with the proper drug mixtures, and the autodocs expert system can easily tailor the required dosages to suit any individual. DNA-modified colonists returning to Earth or Tirane require the Regimen, as they would in turn suffer PAS on the Core Worlds. TL: 10 Price: Lv10 per digit of physical UWP difference from Earth (867), with a minimum of Lv10. Each dose is sufficient for one day. For example, Beta Canum, with a physical UWP of 767, costs Lv10 while King, physical UWP of D97, costs Lv90 per dose.

J

J is a drug that was developed in a memory-enhancement study by members of the  Foundation for Practical Knowledge. The drug works very well as a temporary memory enhancer  (add +4to a character’s Intelligence and Education when using J), but the effect does not last long (2d6 hours).

drugs put the patient into a sort of fugue while the drugs do their work, so the patient is not aware of the passage of time.

Inhibitors

Metabolic inhibitors slow the subject’s metabolism to the point where sophisticated diagnostic equipment is needed to detect any sign of life. It is often used as a sort of ‘poor man’s hibernation,’ as it slows the passage of time by a ratio of 10 to 1; so for every day experienced by the patient, 10 days pass in real time. The maximum amount of time the drug can be used for is 20 days of real time, after which the subject suffers one point of damage per day. Once the first characteristic is reduced to 0, the patient sinks into a coma, requiring professional medical intervention to recover. Without medical care, the subject will deteriorate at the rate of two points of damage per day until death. Medical care can arrest this decline, and start the patient on the road to recovery. Inhibitor is often used for the transportation of people over short planetary or interstellar distances, both to increase the number of passengers that can be carried, and reduce life support costs. TL: 10 Price: Lv100 per dose; one dose is good for up to five days.

Augmenters

Metabolic augmenters greatly increase base metabolism. This requires intravenous feeding and constant medical attention, but increases the metabolic rate by a ratio of 10 to 1. For every day of real time, the patient experiences 10 days, allowing rapid healing from injuries and surgeries. Note that augmenter cannot be used for the rapid regrowth of limbs or organs, as that process is already accelerated. Further acceleration results in a combination of runaway cancerous and teratomous tissue. TL: 10 Price: Lv250 per dose; one dose is good for up to five days

The real usefulness of J in security circles is in the drug’s side effect - it causes extreme  talkativeness in the user. The user becomes so caught up in the clarity of his memory that he does not realise he is talking out loud to himself. For those using J solely to combat memory loss, this is an annoyance, but it works wonderfully in interrogations. When  asked a direct question, a J user must make a Very Difficult (-4) Endurance check to avoid answering truthfully  and completely. The only problem interrogators generally have is to sort the important facts from the vast volume of unassociated information. TL: 11 Price: Lv30 per dose

Symbiotes

Metabolic Drugs

One dose is sufficient to establish the symbiote colony, and it will survive as long as the host is breathing the proper atmosphere. The AFS provides a DM+4 to Endurance checks to resist the effects of a tainted atmosphere. TL: 11 Price: Lv250 per dose

Metabolics, as they are often known, act to increase or decrease a patient’s metabolism, either to slow the progress of an illness or infection until the subject can reach effective medical care, or else radically increase a patient’s healing rate. Both types of

Atmosphere Filtration Symbiote

The Atmosphere Filtration (AF) Symbiote was first developed for the colonists of King, to filter out sulphur in the planet’s atmosphere. It is a microscopic organism that takes up residence in the lungs and filters selected contaminants, using them for food. AF symbiotes have now been developed for use on several worlds with atmospheric taints. While in a contaminated atmosphere, the AF symbiote will continue to reproduce. After the symbiote dies, it and its load of contaminants are cleared from the lungs by a few coughs.

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Calcium Fixer

The calcium fixer is a single-celled organism introduced into the blood stream for long-duration space travel. It captures calcium dissolved in the blood stream and affixes it to bones. This symbiote is usually destroyed once the user arrives in a more stable gravity, to avoid side-effects like bone spurs and bloodchemistry-related problems. TL: 10 Price: Lv100 per dose

Full-Body Cloning

The full-body cloning of a human is possible. However, the forcedgrowth techniques used for limbs and organs do not translate well to a full body, and tend to give rise to differential growth rates in various areas, producing a misshapen monstrosity. Cancers and teratomas are also very common, leaving a fullbody forced-growth clone a poor candidate for donating organs and other body parts.

Detox

Detox is a symbiote that exists in a variety of tailored forms, each designed to counteract a specific drug or toxin. Within two hours of being administered, all effects of the drug or toxin are gone. The symbiote lasts in the user’s system for up to 2 weeks (2d6+2 days), and delivers immunity to the specific drug or toxin for that time period. Detox cannot counter biological agents. TL: 12 Price: Lv500 per dose to counteract legal drugs and household toxins, Lv2,000 for illegal drugs and poisons, and Lv5,000 for military-grade toxins

Limb and Organ Regrowth

Using pluripotent stem cells harvested from the patient, limbs and organs can be regrown. Common practice is to force-grow limbs or organs in accelerated incubators, and then graft or implant them onto (or into) the patient. Less commonly, organ and limbs can be regrown in place using a regeneration collar. Daily visits and adjustments by a doctor are required to ensure the success of the in-place procedure. This doubles the cost and halves the time required to replace the affected body part. In most cases, it is quicker and easier to implant a cybernetic replacement instead. TL: 11 Mass: Regeneration collars are 0.25-5 kg, growth tanks 100-200 kg Price: A collar is Lv2,000-6,000, growth ranks Lv10-30,000

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Regrowing minor parts like fingers costs Lv2,000, and takes one month. Major limbs or organs costs Lv10,000 and take three months. Complex or critical organs, like the pancreas, heart, liver and eye, cost Lv30,000, and take six months. The forced-growth techniques that allow limbs and organs to be regrown include a risk for producing cancers and teratomas, in a similar manner to DNA modification therapy. Avoiding sideeffects requires a Routine (+2) Medic check, aided by Education, on the part of the attending physician or expert system. DMs: +2 for vat-grown tissue, as opposed to in-place regeneration, -2 for a Major Limb or Organ, -4 for a Critical Organ. Side-effects are determined by the Effect on failure. An Effect of 1 results in a minor teratoma, 2-5 in multiple teratomas, and a 6 or more in vigorous cancer, destroying the limb or organ. This check is required once for vat-grown tissues, and twice for in-place regeneration.

Exploratory Equipment Exploratory equipment covers survival gear, camping equipment, and mobility gear for use in wilderness areas. This equipment can be found with survey teams, in survival lockers on lifeboats, and in the backpacks of campers and military mission teams.

Water Purifier

The water purifier is a battery-operated microfilter and chemical treatment  machine used for purifying natural water sources. The machine can also be used to recycle  biological waste water. Fifteen minutes are required to treat each litre of water. The battery pack is good for 200 filtration cycles, and can be recharged from any vehicle or other electrical power source. TL: 9 Mass: 5 kg Price: Lv2,100

Canteen

The normal canteen is a two litre container with a basic microfiltre to apply limited purification to water as it is filled. The filter cartridges are good for about 20 fillings of the canteen. The filter is only good for treating fairly clean water, and while it filters contaminants, it is not as effective at filtering pathogens. TL: 8 Mass: 2.5 kg (full) Price: Lv20

Compact Rations

make the result palatable.  When using a food synthesiser, an operator packs the mixing chamber with native foodstuffs (plants and plant analogues work best, but animal tissue can be processed if enough time is allowed). The synthesiser chemically analyses the contents, irradiates them to kill local pests,  neutralises or filters out toxic elements, adds missing vitamins and minerals, and ejects the result  in either a dried or pulpy form (operator’s choice). However, a food synthesiser cannot add missing amino acids, nor can it change the chirality (handedness) of the proteins and carbohydrates it processes. The synthesiser is of no help on worlds with a Compatibility of 0 or lower. The amount of food produced and the time required to do so is dependent upon the Compatibility of the planet. Individual foodstuffs can vary from the world’s base Compatibility. The time required for the food synthesiser to process 1 kg of food material is a number of hours equal to 10 -Compatibility. Food Purifiers require refills for their vitamins and minerals, usually once per month, but can be as often as once per week in particularly poor environments. TL: 10 Mass: 25 kg Price: Lv1,500

Refill Packs

Each ration pack is a complete, pre-packaged meal, providing about 1,000 calories and fortified with a full day’s requirement of vitamins and minerals. Each meal comes in its own self-heating (or self-chilling, for some dishes) serving tray. The heating/ cooling process  is activated by breaking the seals and takes around 30 seconds. Military issue meals provide 1,500 calorie, and consist of more basic fare, easily-digested and not likely to cause stomach upset. They are also bland to the point of tastelessness, and all portions of the meal have textures that can be described best as ‘interesting.’ All compact rations sold in the French Arm have to have the Approuvé stamp of approval. TL: 8 Mass: 1 kg Price: Lv15

Mass: 1 kg Price: Lv 50

Food Synthesiser

Goggles

A food synthesiser can be used to detoxify local food sources and add  essential elements for human consumption when compact rations are not available. Sometimes a food synthesiser can even

Biomonitor

The biomonitor is a broad-purpose monitor about five by eight centimetres, usually carried on the belt or wrist. It can give body function readouts for medical diagnosis, can monitor breathability of atmospheres (noting presence of various gases, harmful pollens, and other toxins), and when connected to a nanocomp or portacomp, can give a good analysis of edibility of local plant and animal tissue. TL: 10 Mass: 0. 5 kg Price: Lv500

Goggles come in two different types; the first being nothing more than an inexpensive  piece of protective eye-ware, and the second being a photosensitive, auto-darkening piece  of

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equipment to protect against steady bright light or sudden flares. The auto-darkening models provide a +1 DM for checks against blindness induced by lasers or flares. TL: 2 (normal goggles) or 8 (photosensitive goggles) Price: Lv5 (normal goggles) or Lv190 (photosensitive)

Backpack

A backpack is used to carry equipment (as well as protect it) while keeping hands free. Small items can also be suspended from its frame. TL: 8 Mass: 2 kg Price: Lv60

Load-Bearing Harness

The load-bearing harness is actually a belt and vest, designed to allow an explorer (or soldier) to carry their equipment load distributed fairly evenly across their body. Pockets and pouches can be attached anywhere on the vest using quick-release gekkotoe material, similar to 20th century hook-and-loop fasteners. Backpacks can be attached directly to the vest, rather than using the included straps. TL: 9 Mass: 1 kg Price: Lv30

Wind-Proof Lighter

Using hydrogen fuel and an electric element, the wind-proof lighter creates a high-pressure plasma flame at nearly 4,000° Celsius. Turning off the lighter shuts down the fuel flow and shuts off power to the element. The lighter contains enough fuel and power to remain lit for five full minutes. Refilling the lighter costs about Lv3 for a new battery and fuel. TL: 10 Price: Lv16

to a pack by a cluster of shroud lines. The release of the parachute from the pack can either be automatic, controlled by an altimeter in the pack, or manual, where the wearer pulls a ripcord to deploy the chute. All chutes also include a backup chute. The parachute allows only minimal control of speed and direction of descent, and the wearer is largely at the mercy of the winds. TL: 7 Mass: 10 kg Price: Lv800

Parawing

In contrast to the parachute, the parawing can be aimed and controlled precisely enough to hit a designated drop point. The parawing is smaller, and has an aerofoil cross-section, allowing it to be steered precisely. It is packed in a similar fashion to a parachute, and uses a small parachute as a backup rather than another parawing. Landing the parawing on a target is a Difficult (-2) Athletics (co-ordination), Dex check. TL: 8 Mass: 8 kg Price: Lv1,200

Wingsuit

The wingsuit, often called a squirrel suit, uses flaps of lightweight cloth between the arms and legs, and between each leg, to provide enough surface area to allow the wearer to glide. The glide ratio is 3, which means that for every metre of altitude lost, the suit and its wearer move three metres forward. The wingsuit is incapable of slowing the wearer down for a landing without simply dropping out of the sky, so the terminal phase involves a parachute or parawing.

Flares are used to signal at a distance, such as in the marking of temporary landing areas. They typically come six to a set. TL: 9 Mass: 2 kg Price: Lv10

Small jet units can be added to the wingsuit, which gives it a glide ratio of 12. An extremely skilled operator can even use the jets to come to a crash stop while flying very low above the ground, allowing the operator to dispense with the parachute or paraglider. This is a Formidable (-6) Athletics (co-ordination), Dex check, with a -2 DM if carrying a load of over 10kg. TL: 8 (TL10 for microjets) Mass: 4 kg, plus parachute, micro-jets +5 kg Price: Lv2,000 for wingsuit, additional Lv3,000 for microjets

Portable Stove

Survival Cocoon

Flares

The portable stove is a small electric stove powered from a rechargeable battery. Solar panels on the lid of the stove recharge the battery when closed. Each 5 minutes of use requires 2 hours of charging time, with the battery able to provide 40 minutes of cooking time. TL: 10 Mass: 2.5 kg Price: Lv100

Parachute

A parachute is a fairly simple method of aerial descent, essentially a large canopy of light-weight nylex or similar material, attached

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The survival cocoon contains heating and cooling elements to keep the occupant comfortable in almost any temperature. It includes a hood with a heat-exchange unit to pre-warm or pre-cool incoming air, and self-inflating pockets along the back to provide support and comfort to the occupant. The included power cell provides up to 48 hours of comfort at extremes of temperature down to -40 and up to +50. It can be recharged by hand via an included crank, or from any standard power source. TL: 11 Mass: 3 kg Price: Lv200

Survival Blanket

The survival blanket is a thin sheet of wind-proof synthetic, with a reflective layer that is kept inwards towards a person’s body, capturing their body heat. A ceramic heating element and a thinfilm battery provide additional warmth for up to 18 hours. The survival blanket increases effective temperature by 10°, or 20° if there is power for the heating element. TL: 10 Mass: 1 kg Price: Lv10

Snowshoes

Snowshoes are large and awkward but permit normal walking speed over deep snow. Otherwise, snow deeper than knee height will reduce movement by half, while snow thigh-deep or deeper will slow a person to a crawl, only 10% of their normal movement, with running or jogging impossible. TL: 8 Mass: 2 kg Price: Lv120

Skies

Cross-country skis allow rapid travel over unbroken snow. Skis have a quick release clamp for the special shoes worn with them. The price of the skis includes the shoes, along with the poles used for additional pushing and balance. They have the effect of doubling speed on a Routine (+2) Athletics (co-ordination), End check. TL: 9 Mass: 3 kg Price: Lv250

Respirator

Often an entire protective suit is unnecessary and unwieldy. In such situations, people commonly use a simple respirator mask to filter the air they breathe. Typically, the filters in such a mask must be changed every 6 to 12 hours, depending upon the amount of pollutants in the air. A filter mask grants a +1 DM to Endurance checks involving atmospheric taints. TL: 6 Mass: 0.5 kg Price: Lv350, replacement filter: Lv15

Pressure Tent, Small

The pressure tent is an inflatable hemispherical tent with a radius of two metres. The tent includes a small airlock along with a life support system good for 12 man-days (i.e. 12 men for 1 day or 1 man for 12 days). The airlock can be detached for use on worlds with breathable atmospheres. It is powered by a solar panel built in to the roof, but if that is obscured it only has power for 12 hours. TL: 9 Mass: 2 kg Price: Lv5,000

Pressure Tent, Large

An inflatable half-cylinder with a width of four metres and length of 10 metres, the large tent is suitable as a small exploration base. The tent includes a small airlock, and the life support system is good for 120 man-days. The interior can be subdivided many different ways. Again, the large tent is powered by rooftop solar cells, but can also be run off a power station or fuel cell. The large pressure tent is self-inflating. TL: 11 Mass: 30 kg Price: Lv2,000

Angstrom Recreation ‘Heyerdahl’ Smart Tent

The Smart Tent is a non-pressurised tent that sleeps four. It uses memory-plastic materials to set itself up and take itself down. Without human intervention, the tent takes five minutes to set up; with human help it takes three. Takedown time is half this. Inflatable pads in the tent’s floor give it some rigidity and comfort. Nano guard material resists dirt, mold and mildew, and water rolls off of it. At the same time, it breathes freely, and the material wicks moisture out of the tent, eliminating condensation. For an extra Lv75, it is available with ColourChange walls that can change the colour and reflectivity of the tent walls to one of 16 settings. The only thing that the tent cannot do by itself is stake itself down, or remove the stakes. A human is still necessary for that. TL: 11 Mass: 2 kg Price: Lv250

Inertial Compass

An inertial compass is a small, wrist-worn unit that always points towards a preset location (usually north). The inertial compass will always indicate the preset direction even if its wearer undergoes movement such as flight or underwater travel. TL: 9 Price: Lv80

Inertial Map

An inertial map is a small nanocomp that contains a detailed map of an area in a memory chip. The map gives a small holographic picture of any 10-kilometre square area in its memory. Once the user has plotted in his present co-ordinates, he is represented as a dot in the centre of the screen, and the map moves about that dot as the user travels. Inertial maps are often hooked up to display on other screens, such as the terrain display of a vehicle or combat walker. Map chips cost Lv15 for a 1,000-kilometre square area. Making map chips of uncharted areas and then selling them is an easy way to pick up extra money on many missions. TL: 11 Mass: 0.5 kg Price: Lv500

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Climbing Kit

A climbing kit includes such tools as pitons, 100 metres of fine rope, small hammers, and carabiners. Use of the climbing kit confers a +1 DM to all Athletics (co-ordination) checks used for climbing. TL: 8 Mass: 12 kg Price: Lv450

Rope

Rope is available in a multitude of materials, from spun glass fibre and synthetic polymers to natural long-fibres like hemp or jute. The rope presented here is typical of the natural fibre ropes common in utility use on many colony worlds. It has a breaking weight of 500 kg (adjust weight for local gravity), and masses one kilogram per five metres of length. TL: 4 Mass: 1 kg/ 5 m Price: Lv5 per metre

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Rope, Advanced

At the opposite end of the scale from the natural fibre rope is the spun carbon fibre rope, just barely thick enough to grab, and requiring special gloves be worn. The carbon fibre rope has a breaking weight of 10 tons, and masses one kilogram per 100 metres of rope. TL: 11 Mass: 1 kg/ 100 m Price: Lv100 per metre

Autograpnel

The autograpnel consists of a handheld, battery-powered compressor unit, which can fire a small grapnel as far as 20 metres in the air, then pull a load as heavy as 100 kilograms up the trailing rope. The battery is rechargeable, and is good for 20 uses. It takes about 5 minutes for the compressor to build up enough pressure to fire the grapnel to maximum height on a normal-gravity planet. TL: 9 Mass: 7 kg Price: Lv660

Tools and Industrial Equipment The following chapter includes tools that are commonly available in the 24th century.

Basic Tool Kit

This kit includes small hand tools suitable for a variety of purposes, including wrenches, pliers, screwdrivers, etc. TL: 4 Mass: 5 kg Price: Lv250

Power Hand Tools

This selection of power tools includes a chainsaw, rotary saw, and drill, as well as other electrical tools, along with spare batteries and a charger. While all these tools use rechargeable super batteries, a power supply is required to recharge then. Most tools are good for 8-12 hours of use on a charge. TL: 9 Mass: 35 kg Price: Lv500

Vehicle Maintenance Tools

These are specialised tools used for repair and maintenance of vehicles, such as torque wrenches, grease guns, engine and fuel cell calibration tools, and other specialised tools. Use of these tools gives a +1 DM to all Mechanic checks involving vehicles or aircraft, but not spacecraft. TL: 10 Mass: 10 kg Price: Lv500

Gunsmith Tools

These specialised tools allow maintenance and modifications to chemically-propelled firearms, including binary-propellant weapons, but not gauss or energy weapons. TL: 10 Mass: 2 kg Price: Lv500

Excavating Tools

A set of excavating tools includes picks, shovels, mattocks, and other such tools. None of these are powered in any way. TL: 1 Mass: 20 kg Price: Lv300

Construction Tools

A construction tool set contains hammers, saws, squares, hatchets, chisels, and other woodworking tools. Again, these are not powered tools. TL: 5 Mass: 30 kg Price: Lv300

Nail Gun

Using accelerator technology similar to a gauss weapon, the electromagnetic nail gun is used to drive long nails quickly and accurately. Nail guns can even be used to join wood, synthetic and metal structural material to concrete used special nails. Use of a nail gun reduces all construction time required by half. It is possible to override the safety mechanism on a nail gun, turning it into a low-powered, short-ranged, wildly inaccurate gauss gun (Range Pistol, Damage 1d6, DM-2 on all attacks). Electromagnetic nail guns are illegal in Manchurian and Incan colonies. TL: 12 Mass: 2 kg Price: Lv220

Electronic Repair Tools

Electronic repair tools are specialised tools for work on electronic and photonic equipment, as well as gauss and energy weapons. Use of this equipment allows the Engineer (electronics) skill to be used with no penalty. Electronic repair tools must be the same tech of the item being repaired, or no more than two Tech Levels higher. They cannot be from a lower Tech Level. TL: 11 Mass: 3 kg Price: Lv300

Cutter Bar

The cutter bar is a brush clearing tool, much like a very powerful hedge trimmer, with smaller, sharper teeth. While it can do gruesome damage, it is unwieldy, as it was designed as a tool rather than a weapon (DM-2 to attack). TL: 11 Length: 110 cm Range: Melee (large blade) Damage: 3d6 Heft: 3 Mass: 4 kg Cost: Lv250

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Powered Opener

steel, up to 15 cm thick, in one minute. As a weapon, it is quite ineffective. With a range of Melee (small blade), Damage 1d6, and a -2 DM to attacks, a butcher knife is a better weapon. As a beam laser, it lacks the explosive effect of a weapon laser, and instead wastes far too much energy simply heating up water in a body to do much in the way of damage, unless the target is completely immobile. In such a case, the Lakonian is capable of doing 1d6 per round, adding an additional point of damage every round after the first. TL: 11 Mass: 6 kg plus power supply Price: Lv1,200

Powered Shears

Lighting

The opener is designed to force open locked or jammed doors, including airlocks. It is ineffective against heavy security doors and vaults, however. It takes 2d6 rounds to set up, and will then open a door in 1d6 rounds afterwards. The internal power pack contains enough power to force open 10 regular powered doors, or five airlock doors. It can open welded or forcibly-jammed doors as well, though the internal battery only has enough power to open one or two door stuck in this fashion. TL: 11 Mass: 15 kg Price: Lv900

These shears are massive hydraulic cutters that can eventually force their way through steel beams up to 40 cm thick. They require an external power source, like a heavy-duty fuel cell. TL: 10 Mass: 15 kg Price: Lv1,500

Rescue Jaws

Combining the powered opener with powered shears, the rescue jaws are used by SAR techs to quickly cut and force their way into vehicles and ships. TL: 10 Mass: 22 kg Price: Lv2,350

W e l d i n g /C u t t i n g E q u i p m e n t

Trilon Inc. ‘Terminus’ Plasma Cutter/Welder

The Terminus is a small hand-held unit, complete with a builtin eye-shield that is commonly used for emergency cutting or welding in field conditions. Military units issue one unit per squad. It is powered by a compact LMS power cell, which provides enough power for five minutes worth of cutting or welding. The Terminus can cut through 50cm of hardened steel, up to 8 cm thick, in one minute. Welding is somewhat quicker, and requires welding rods in addition to the Terminus hand unit itself. TL: 11 Mass: 2 kg Price: Lv800 Welding Rod: Mass: 0.5 kg per 50cm rod Price: Lv10 per rod

Artificial lighting is required in a number of circumstances. From chemlights to area lights that can light up a stadium, lighting is available in a huge variety and selection.

Chemlights

Chemlights use binary chemicals that when mixed, emit light for up to 12 hours. Most are activated by bending them and then giving them a shake to mix the chemicals. Chemlights are available in a wide range of colours and styles, including glowpatches and glowsticks. Glowpatches are small square patches, 5 cm on a side. They have an adhesive backing that is activated as soon as the light is, and they can be applied just about anywhere. TL: 9 Price: Lv2 Glowsticks are about 20 cm long, though a wide variety of sizes and shapes are available. TL: 9 Price: Lv1

Hand Torches

The hand torch, or flashlight, is available in dozens, if not hundreds, of different sizes and models. A typical torch will have batteries that allow for 20 hours of continuous operation. TL: 6 Range: 15 m x 2.0 metre Mass: 0.5 kg Price: Lv15

Head Lamp

Darlan ‘Lakonian’ Laser cutter

The Lakonian must be connected to a high intensity power source, like a vehicle-mounted generator or a heavy fuel cell, in order to operate. It is capable of cutting one meter of hardened

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A small electric torch that is attached to the head or helmet, allowing hands-free work. The battery pack lasts for 12 hours. TL: 7 Range: 6 m x 0.5 metre Mass: 0.25 kg Price: Lv20

Tactical Flashlight

Tactical flashlights are small torches that are designed to attach to the accessory rail on a military weapon or helmet. With a tactical light, a soldier can see whatever they aim at, negating any lighting penalties for the range of the torch. The battery on the tactical flashlight will last for 10 hours of constant use. TL: 8 Range: 10 m x 1 metre Mass: 0.25 kg Price: Lv20 Spot Light The hand-held spotlight can illuminate an area three meters across at ranges of up to 50m. Within 10 metres, the light from a spotlight can temporarily blind a person. Roll to attack as if it were a pistol and, on a successful hit, the target must make a Difficult (-2) Dex check to avoid being blinded. If the check is failed, the Effect indicates the number of rounds the target is blinded and suffering DM -4 to all actions requiring sight. The battery lasts for eight hours before needing a recharge. TL: 8 Range: 3m x 50 m Mass: 2 kg Price: Lv35

Lanterns

Instead of the highly directional beam of a torch, lanterns illuminate an entire area. They can be used to illuminate an area up to 10 meters in radius. The battery pack in the base lasts for 36 hours before needing a recharge. TL: 8 Range: 10 m Mass: 0.5 kg Price: Lv30

Work Lights

Work lights require an external power source, but are designed as portable units to move from location to location on a job site or a spacecraft. They brightly illuminate a large area. TL: 8 Range: 10 x 20 m Mass: 3.0 kg Price: Lv30

Area Lights

Generally equipped with their own generator carts, area lights use a dozen very powerful white-light emitters to cast light over a very large area. TL: 8 Range: 100 x 200 m Mass: 500 kg Price: Lv10,000

Special Equipment

The following equipment is state-of-the-art and is usually only found for sale in the Core. If found on the Frontier, the price will easily be 5-10 times higher. Bridgeport UT-9, UT-10, and UT 11 ‘Mul-T-Tool’ The Mul-T-Tool is designed to replace a number of other fastening tools like screwdrivers and wrenches. Most vehicle and heavy-equipment manufacturers in the Core use the very limited array of fasteners supported by the Mul-T-Tool. For work on vehicles from these manufacturers, a mechanic need not have several different types of tools; he needs only a Mul-T-tool. This is a self-powered unit with a flexible head that automatically adjusts to fit the fastener size. Mul-T-tools come in three gauges for three ranges of fastener sizes. TL: 10 Mass: 0.5 kg, 1 kg, and 2 kg sizes Price: Lv300 each

Stik-kit

Stik-kit is referred to as ‘Gekkocott’ in Europe. A Stik-kit is a disposable adhesive patch about the size of a human hand. One side of the patch (colour-coded black) is a ridged, flexible plastic sheet; the other side is smooth and white. Between these two sides is a chemical interior. By grasping the ridged side, the user can flex the patch, releasing the chemical onto the white side, which then becomes very sticky. Note that the Stik-kit is not a conventional adhesive; rather, it utilises the van der Waals force, much like a gecko (thus the European name). Stik-kits will adhere to almost anything, except PTFE plastics like teflon, in almost any environment. A small electric charge deactivates the adhesive - a battery is included in the Stik-kit for this purpose. Some variations on the material require a special chemical catalyst to release the adhesive rather than an electric charge. Stik-kits can be used for anything from patching hulls to creating ladders or suffocating creatures. Each stik-kit patch has a coloncoded band that indicates its holding strength; Red 10 g, orange 100 g, yellow 1 kg, green 10 kg, blue 100 kg, violet 1 ton, black 10 tons. TL: 10 Mass: 0.25 kg per patch Price: Red Lv20; orange Lv40; yellow,Lv80; green Lv160; blue Lv320; violet Lv640; black is not normally available 

Spinner

In order to build beanstalks, humankind first had to develop new materials with incredibly high tensile strengths. One side benefit of this is the creation of devices that can create monofilament strings by mixing a liquefied chemical base with a catalyst. One such device is the spinner, a hand-held mechanism that spins a strong, continuous, one-millimetre-thick, monofilament carbon nanotube-

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polymer cable. The device consists of two reservoirs (one for the base chemical and another for the catalyst), a curing chamber, and an exit tube with a crimping mechanism that allows the cable end to be gripped. The cable is nonconductive to electricity and is extremely  strong, supporting as much as 1,000 kilograms. It is very difficult to cut; for this reason, the spinner also contains an enzyme capable of dissolving the cable. This cable from a spinner can be used to tie down cargo which has a tendency to ‘wander’ in zero-G. Also, some rock-climbing teams use it as an emergency backup rope. Care must be taken,  however, when weight is being supported by spinner cable as soft materials (such as human  flesh) are not cut due to the cable’s thinness. Each spinner creates up to two kilometres of cable. TL: 12 (Availability –2) Mass: 1. 5 kg Price: Lv3,000

Industrial Equipment Fabricators

Fabricators use powdered metals and ceramics to rapidly ‘print’ out parts and models. The metals and ceramics are subjected to a chemical/heat curing process, and are then ready to use. Though the copies are not as strong as the original, the ability to produce any spare part while in the field makes them incredibly useful. Most vehicles sold on the Frontier come with a chip containing a complete set of specifications to allow practically any spare part to be created. Note that fabricators do not make complete devices, only individual parts or non-functional 3D models. It is possible to create all the parts of a more complicated device on the fabricator, and then assemble it by hand. However, most fabricators have controls built-in to their firmware to prevent them from being used to make parts for weapons. Of course, military fabricators do not have these constraints, and fetch very high prices on the black market. All starship workshops contain the equivalent of a portable fabricator. Small Fabricator Suitable for making small parts and models, the small fabricator can create objects up to 15cm x 15cm x 15cm. It takes approximately 2-3 minutes to print out an average-sized part on this device. Each use requires a new refill of powdered ceramic and the catalyst. TL: 9 Mass: 12 kg Price: Lv350 Refill Mass: 0.75 kg Refill Price: Lv25 Portable Fabricator Possibly the most common type of fabricator, the portable fabricator is found in the hands of colonists and technicians

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throughout human space. The software and firmware controls on these models are the most restrictive, as they are large enough to turn out the parts for assault weapons. Military fabricators are the same size, but lack the firmware restrictions. This model can create objects up 100cm x 100cm x30cm, sufficient for most replacement parts. It takes approximately 10-15 minutes to print out an average part of this size. Each use requires a refill of powdered ceramic or metal and the catalyst. It is possible to reuse powder and catalyst, but for most manufacturers this voids the warranty. TL: 10 Mass: 220 kg Price: Lv7,500 Refill Mass: 20 kg Refill Price: Lv300 Trilon Inc. ‘Prometheus’ Industrial Fabricator The largest of the commercial fabricators, the industrial fabricator uses a slightly different process than other models to turns out parts as strong as originals. It is somewhat more expensive to run, and takes longer to create a part. Colonists often pool their resources to provide one of these for an entire colony, as it can make nearly any part imaginable. Use of these devices is restricted by copyright law and the internal software tracks all the parts manufactured. Any misuse may be reported to the authorities or to the corporations whose copyrights have been violated. Owners of these machines are required to pay yearly licensing fees and submit accounting reports. This model can create objects up 3m x 3m x 1m, sufficient for any replacement parts or even new equipment manufacture. The refills for this machine last for 1d6 parts, and then must be replaced. On its own, it requires two modules worth of power (see Structures). TL: 11 Mass: 5,000 kg Price: Lv250,000 Refill Mass: 200 kg Refill Price: Lv1,200 Yearly Fee: Lv10,000

Explosives

Explosives have a wide variety of uses on the Frontier, largely in mining and construction. It should be noted that possession of explosives requires a local license on most worlds, and the penalties for noncompliance are severe. Det-Cord Det-cord is a stabilised plastic explosive extruded in a 5mm diameter cable of only moderate structural strength. It is often used in rapid clearance and demolition, where several separate lengths of the cord can be wrapped around an object and then

detonated simultaneously. Values below are per 10 meter length of cord. TL: 9 Mass: 0.5 kg Radius: 1m Damage: 2d6 Price: Lv100 Cataclysmite Cataclysmite uses nanofabrication to create a tertiary explosive of incredible power. It requires a plasma arc detonator to initiate the explosion, however, and is so stable that it can be shipped anywhere, by any means. The plasma arc detonator cap costs Lv50, and requires a high-intensity power source like an LMS cell. TL: 12 (Availability -2) Mass: 1 kg Radius: 6m/9m/12m Damage: 8d6/6d6/4d6 Price: Lv500

Plastique-9 The most prevalent non-combat explosives in the 24th century are industrially-produced blocks of plastic explosive, and the most common variety is Plastique-9. Multiple blocks of this explosive can be used together to create larger explosions, or a single block can be broken down to a fragment of its size for smaller blasts. TL: 9 Mass: 1 kg Radius: 3m/6m Damage: 4d6/2d6 Price: Lv100 Dynamite On less-advanced worlds, old-fashioned dynamite, which is relatively easy to manufacture, is produced for local use. TL: 4 Mass: 10 kg Radius: 3m/6m Damage: 3d6/1d6 Price: Lv50

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Computers, Communicators and Personal Electronics Even out on the Frontier, computers of various kinds are found everywhere. From Links to nanocomps in clothing, to body comps and workstations in offices and labs, computers are as intertwined with colonial life as they are in the Core.

Range: 2 km Price: Lv10, plus Lv3/month voice/video access, and Lv4/month for data access

Generically known as comps, the various types of computers, from link phones to workstations, run basically the same software.

The nanocomp is a very small computer often included as part of clothing or equipment, or used on its own as a novelty or lowcost computer. It can be found in a variety of forms, including rings, pendants and even as earrings, and can be connected to a single display, along with a keyboard and pointing device. It cannot be used with any kind of display tank, though it can drive a pico-projector. Like most comps, nanocomps have wireless Link access. A typical nanocomp can run for 15 hours before requiring a recharge. TL: 11 Power: Computer/2 Mass: 0.1 kg Price: Lv100

Comp Operating Systems There are three competing operating systems (OS) driving the various brands of comps. All have roughly the same capabilities, and run similar software. Software written for one OS will not work on a machine running an alternative OS without some sort of intermediary software, like an emulator. Linkable PSD (often just called Linkable): This OS is used in most link phones, and is quite common in nanocomps as well. It is uncommon to find this OS running on workstations, though. MetaStable (often just called Meta): The most common OS for static workstations, it also drives most starship and spacecraft computers. MetaStable is almost never found on link phones, though it does see some use in nanocomps used as hardware controllers. Digits: Digits started life as a light-weight OS for portacomps and nanocomps, and remains the most commonly encountered OS for mobile comp systems.

Link Phone

A link phone connects to the planetary networks and data services available on many colony worlds. Link phones sold on Core Worlds include a Panic Button feature, which will summon authorities to the location of the phone. Of course, this requires that the phone be tracked, but most people value the added security. This feature is not available on the frontier, where authorities do not go to any lengths to track their citizens. Link phones also serve as small computers, game-playing devices, cameras, voice recorders, and GPS systems. In the Core they are everywhere. They are also seen on any colony world with a well-developed data/communications infrastructure. Battery life on a Link phone is normally around 72 hours standby, or 24 hours of continuous use. TL: 9 Power: Rating/1 Mass: 0.2 kg

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Nanocomp

Portacomp

The portacomp is a small handheld computer, usually carried in a plastic case on the belt or on a shoulder strap. A wide variety of makes and models are available, ranging from slates and tablets to the classic Aquitaine E500. The E500’s keyboard is a one-handed five-key hemisphere roughly 10 centimetres in diameter, designed to be held in one hand. The monitor is on the back of the hemisphere and is touch-sensitive, allowing an expanded range of inputs while programs are running. Voice input and output are also used, but the keyboard and monitor are useful for a variety of precision inputs and graphic outputs. A flexible 40cm x 30cm monitor expansion (also touch-sensitive) can be carried rolled in a tube in a carrying case. The machine is designed to run off of up to five memory/program chips. Other styles include tablets with touch and stylus input. The portacomp can be connected to any of the accessories and display options in this section. All makes of Portacomp come with wireless Link access for data, which is charged at the same rate as a Link phone, Lv4/month. The battery pack on the portacomp is good for 36 hours of operation. TL: 12 Power: Computer/4 Mass: 0.5 kg Price: Lv400 Flexible Monitor: Mass: 0.2 kg Price: Lv100

Body Comp

Body comps are similar in computing power to portacomps, but are designed to be worn across the body as a distributed unit, connected via a Personal Area Network. A typical body comp like the Aquitaine Hyper70 include a main processor mounted on the arm, a HUD, a set of sensors on the hand for typing and gesture-based computing, and additional accessories like sensors or communicators mounted where convenient. Most body comps can make use of wireless Link services, at the same data costs as any other device. The various body comp components have their own power supplies, and typically last 12-14 hours before needing to be replaced or recharged. TL: 12 Power: Computer/4 Mass: 0.5 kg Price: Lv600

Military Artillery Computer/Communicator

The artillery computer is a specialised portacomp that is tied into local navigation satellites for precise positioning. It can be used to call down precise artillery strikes at areas designated on its map board. Use of this function of the computer requires the Recon skill, and can be tied into any modern (TL11+) artillery. The artillery computer is a hardened unit, radiation-resistant with a case that can stop a rifle bullet. This computer otherwise has the same capabilities as a conventional portacomp, though battery life is only 20 hours. TL: 12 Mass: 1.5 kg Price: Lv2,200

Computer Stations

These large, static computer stations can be found on board starships, in businesses, in hospital and even in some ground vehicles. Anywhere that complex or delicate machinery must be operated, or bulk information must be processed, a typical computer station can be found. The units can easily interact with any others on the same network, allowing information to be freely accessed from one unit by any other, depending on local security settings. These machines have considerably more power at their disposal than a portacomp, though the demands on these resources typically run much higher as well. Most homes do not have these full-size workstations, instead using a network of machines similar in power to a portacomp. Machines of this power are rare on most colonies, generally only used by central authorities to run administrative and survey/ metabase applications. TL: 12 Power: Computer/5 Mass: 10 kg Price: Lv2,500

A cc e s s o r i e s

Personal Area Network

A PAN is a Personal Area Network, sometimes called a Body Area Network. PANs allow all the electronics carried by a person to be linked via a network that uses microcurrents conducted across the surface of the skin to convey information. Unlike other short-range radio-based networks, the PAN has no detectable signal, and cannot be intercepted unless skin contact can be arranged. PANs can interface with a variety of devices, including nanocomps, bodycomps and portacomps, as well as implanted devices like subdermacomps and subdermatalks. Body sensors, including positional sensors, and output devices like HUDs can all tie into a PAN, making it integral to Augmented Reality systems. TL: 11 Price: Lv50

HUD system

The HUD (Heads-Up-Display) puts data and images on a reticule right in front of the user’s eyes. The HUD can be coupled to electronic sights on a weapon, to provide a +2 bonus to hit. It can also be used with some sights to shoot around corners while only exposing the firing hand to return fire. More commonly, HUDs are coupled to electronics and sensors to provide eyelevel information to mobile personnel, in both military and civilian situations. The small batteries in a typical HUD can power it for up to 48 hours of operation. TL: 11 Mass: 0.3 kg Price: Lv400 (Lv200 for non-ruggedised civilian version)

Portable Display

A portable holographic display is attached to a nanocomp, bodycomp, or portacomp to provide a projected threedimensional image within 10cm of the projector. Sensors included as part of the display allow it to be used interactively. The included battery pack is good for 6 hours of operation. TL: 12 Mass: 0.2 kg Price: Lv250

Static Display

Often called a trid (tri-video), the static holographic display is a three-dimensional display unit aimed at the consumer market. Images vary from 70cm diagonally all the way up to 200cm. While the image in the display is a full holographic image, the design of the static display means the image is only viewable from the front. The holographic display is not directly interactive, but instead requires a remote, much like a pre-Twilight television. Many functions can be voice-activated as well. TL: 11 Mass: 30 kg Price: Lv800

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Display Tank

The large holographic display, or tank, as it is often called, can project a three dimensional image up to 4 metres across, given sufficient floor space. It lacks the interactive ability of the portable display, but even that can be added for an additional Lv3, 000. It is widely used in medical imaging, engineering, and museums, as well as the military. TL: 12 Mass: 120 kg Price: Lv15, 000

Spray-on Monitors

The spray-on monitor uses a frame that is set against the wall to spray a thin-screen monitor onto the wall. The frame is a 3D printer that lays down the electronic connections, then an array of spray-on picture elements, similar to LEDs or lasers, that create the image. A nanocomp is then connected to the electronic layer, and is used to connect to the Link network or play media. Screens the size of an entire wall can be made this way. The image is passive 3D, so while almost as realistic as a holo system, it is far cheaper and larger. TL: 12 Price: Lv10 per square metre, plus the cost of a nanocomp

Finger Sensors

These tiny motion-sensors are attached to the fingernails via a strong adhesive, allowing the hand to be used for typing and as a virtual input device when used with a HUD or other eyemonitor. They are normally used with a wearable nanocomp or a bodycomp and a PAN, but for double the price they can make use of a normal wireless connection. They are not required to use the interactive features of holo-displays or pico-projectors. TL: 10 Price: Lv10

Body Motion Sensor

The BM Sensor is attached below a display device, pointed in the direction of the user. It is used with interactive and gesturebased systems to provide an interface without having to glue anything to your fingernails. It is primarily intended for static operation, but can be used on the move as well. When on the move, there is a -1 DM for actions using the interface that require precise control. TL: 10 Mass: 0.1 kg Price: Lv20

Printers

Hardcopy printouts of documents and other information are not common. Most documents, including legal documents, are electronic. However, there is a limited requirement for printed documents, especially on the more primitive colony worlds that lack well-developed data infrastructures and ubiquitous Link connections. The printer outputs to a sheet of silicon plastic, which can be reused dozens of times by the printer with no degradation. The printer simply melts the sheet into its reservoir, and extrudes it as

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needed. Printers come with a reservoir of liquid plastic capable of printing 250 sheets. TL: 9 Mass: 1 kg Price: Lv50 Price of Reservoir Refill: Lv50

Smart Paper

Smart paper is more of an interactive display technology. A sheet is scarcely thicker than a normal sheet of paper, and can wirelessly connect to any authorised computer within 5 metres, acting as an input/output device. Using any pen, stylus, or even finger, it can be drawn or written upon, and will record anything drawn onto its surface to the computer. It can also be used to access the computer and run applications like it was a remote terminal. TL: 10 Price: Lv5 per sheet.

Audio Systems

While a Link phone or comp can store a great deal of media, and the Link be used to access more, the actual playback quality of this media depends on the quality of the audio system. This audio system can pair wirelessly with any Link phone or comp within 20 metres, so long as the correct access code is provided on both devices. It can then be used to play any audio file in full 3D surround sound. It does not require an array of speakers to do this, simply several directional audio projectors that bounce sound around a room. TL: 10 Mass: 1 kg Price: Lv20

Gaming Systems

While portacomps and even nanocomps can be used to play games on large display devices, there exist dedicated gaming systems that really do little except play games and audio-visual or holographic media. Aficionados of these dedicated systems say the experience is superior to gaming off a comp. There are several makes of these consoles, running proprietary, and exclusive, operating systems. Games are not compatible across systems, though they are capable of running games up to Rating 3 designed for a comp (with an emulator). Rating 4 is for games designed specifically for the console. Brands like the Momotaro FunStation and the Aquitaine ExoBox dominate the market for first-run games, especially in the Core and on more-developed colony worlds. However, there are several smaller manufacturers on worlds across the frontier that make and sell consoles and games based on older gaming systems that are obsolescent in the Core, but still perfectly playable. For example, the now six-year-old Momotaro GameZone had a library of over 5,000 games when it was replaced by the GameFactory. Momotaro owns all of those games, and have never released the code, so these small shops have effectively set up local pirate operations. It is not worth the

Toys

Even with a wealth of electronics available, children still want to play with toys. While many toys will only exist in virtual space, a good deal more are real, physical objects. Dolls, stuffed animals, gekkocott building sets, and play tools and weapons are still an important part of childhood. Like many goods that find their way to the colonies, these items are typically manufactured in orbital factories around Earth and Tirane, with a limited selection of the most expensive, heirloom-variety toys still made by hand by artisans in the Core. Typically prices will be around Lv10-200.

time and effort for Momotaro to track all these little operators down, unless they try to export the games and systems across multiple systems. Console models change every few years, and do not tend to be backwardly compatible. TL: 11 Power: Rating 4 for games and emulation software, Rating 2 for everything else. Mass: 1.5 kg Price: Lv60

Pico-projectors

A pico-projector is a digital projector small enough to be combined with most electronic devices, allowing them to clearly project an image up to 200 cm diagonally on any suitable surface. Pico projectors also include a pair of cameras that can track interactions with the projection, allowing screen/keyboard combinations to be projected almost everywhere. They are powered by the device they are connected to. TL: 11 Mass: 0.01 kg Price: +Lv100 to any device

Programs

and

Software

Programs and software are purchased either on a large-capacity datachip or, more commonly, downloaded through the local Link network. In some urban areas, as well as the Core, practically any program can be accessed through the Link, without requiring a download. This is a service that costs approximately Lv10 per month. Portacomp Program/Memory Chips A program chip contains a greater volume of data than a typical small library. This is sufficient to provide an excellent working linguistic translation program or a comprehensive reference guide for a single area of scientific specialisation. A scientific reference chip does not make the user an expert in a field, however, any more than a pile of chemistry reference books makes the owner a chemist. Larger capacity chips are available but are not common. A blank chip costs Lv1, with negligible mass. A stack of 10 chips masses 0.25 kg

Translation Chip The translation chip will translate spoken or written known languages. It is purchased with two complete languages on the chip (English-German, or Taijik-Farsi, for example) and will translate from one to the other at command. This program can also provide near-real-time translation of voice input. TL: 12 Rating: 4 Requirements: None Price: Lv100 Reference Guide A comprehensive reference guide on any one subject is available on chip for a modest price. Possible subjects include (but are not limited to); biochemistry, physics, chemistry, geology of any well-explored world, political history of any inhabited world, and so on. The skill level of these guides is equal to their Rating, and guides are available for any Art, Engineer, Mechanic, Medic, Sciences or Trade skill. Maximum Skill level is 3. Using these guides doubles any time required for a check, but allows the user to add half the guide’s level (rounding down) to their own skill check. Use of a reference guide also allows an unskilled user to attempt a skill with a DM -2, not –3, but time for the attempt is tripled. TL: 11 Rating: 1 per level Requirements: None Price: Lv50 per Rating Language Cracker The language cracker is a program that will analyse a spoken or written language and attempt to discover contextual similarities between it and the native language of the program. This is generally a slow and painstaking process with considerable trial and error involved. The language cracker chip confers a +2 DM to Science and Language checks made to do this. It can also allow a character to learn a language without a native speaker. TL: 12 Rating: 3 Requirements: None Price: Lv120 Entertainment Software Games and other entertainment programs are available through chip kiosks and Link download sites on almost all worlds. The main feature of these games is their ability to enable the user to pass time more enjoyably. Possession of game systems and game software will add +1 to the Comfort level (to a maximum of +4) on interstellar journeys. This increase to the comfort rating lasts for as many days as twice the Rating of the software. TL: 11 Rating: 1-5 Requirement: Flexible Screen or HUD Price: Lv10 per rating number Planetary Reference Library This is a specialised library devoted to a particular world. Having access to the reference library grants a +1 DM on Survival

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checks for the planet in question, along with other checks as deemed appropriate by the Referee. TL: 12 Rating: 4 Requirement: None Price: Lv200 Imaging Software This software is designed to assist in the creation and manipulation of artistic images, including photographs. By law, the changes made by the software have to be recorded in the meta-data digitally encoded in the photo or image, so retouched photos can be restored to their original format. Use of this software grants a +1 DM to Art (holography, photography or painting) checks. TL: 12 Rating: 4 Requirement: Input/Output device Price: Lv 120 Emulation/Virtualisation Software This software allows a comp to run software written for a different operating system. The Rating of the emulation/virtualisation software determines the maximum Rating of software it can run. The computer running the emulator must have a rating 1 higher than the emulator’s rating. TL: 12 Rating: 1-4 Price: Lv30 per rating

the patch is sensitive enough that it can pick up sub-vocalised commands and communications. The microcomm is available in an encrypted version for Lv1,200. Microcomms are powered off body heat, and effectively have unlimited power. TL: 11 Mass: Negligible Range: 5 km Price: Lv300

Hand Communicator

A hand communicator is a battery-powered, handheld radio unit that broadcasts voice and low-resolution video signals at relatively low power. An encrypted version can be purchased for Lv200. The internal batteries last for up to 36 hours. TL: 9 Mass: 1 kg Range: 20 km Price: Lv50

Backpack or Vehicle Communicator

The backpack or vehicle communicator is a heavier version of the hand communicator. When installed in a vehicle, this communicator is generally linked to the vehicle’s power plant to save battery power. Otherwise, the internal battery pack last for 10 hours. An encrypted version is available for Lv400. TL: 8 Mass: 5 kg Range: 100 km Price: Lv100

Tight Beam Up-Link Communicator

C o m m u n i ca t o r s

Communicators allow the transmission of information over long distances. There are various types of communicators available; civilian ones tend to be lower-powered (meaning shorterranged) than their military counterparts, and they also broadcast in a wider arc (making them easier to eavesdrop upon).

Throat Communicator

A throat communicator is the most common personal battlefield communications device next to the hand communicator. It is a small, saddle-shaped device that rests on the front of the throat, over the user’s larynx. A throat communicator allows its user to make radio communications while keeping his hands free for other work. The unit is battery powered and is automatically activated when the operator speaks. An encrypted version can be purchased for Lv300. The throat communicator includes a battery pack good for 24 hours of operation. TL: 10Mass: 0. 1 kg Range: 5 km  Price: Lv75 

Microcomm

The microcomm consists of a small adhesive patch that attaches behind the ear, and uses a PAN to connect to a transceiver located somewhere else on the body, typically on the upper arm or wrist. All functions of the microcomm are voice-controlled, and

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A tight beam communicator is designed to provide secure communication between a ship in orbit and a ground party. The communicator can be used while moving, but it requires a Routine (+2) Comms check every round to remain locked on. Prior to the ground party’s landing, the communicator’s microprocessor is programmed with the ship’s orbit, and the communicator’s inertial locator constantly updates its position relative to the ship. When activated, the communicator will point its dish antenna toward the ship’s present location and establish a tight beam communication link, provided the ship is above the horizon and in effective communication range. In most orbits, the ship will be in an acceptable comlink position roughly 20 percent of the time. The higher the orbit of the ship, the longer the period of possible contact, but the greater the dead time between relayed communications. Two up-link communicators can be used for secure ground communication if a communication satellite is overhead and both communicators are linked to the satellite at the same time. An encrypted version of this equipment is available for Lv6,000, ensuring that even if the tight-beam is intercepted, it cannot be interpreted. TL: 11 Mass: 8 kg Range: Orbital Price: Lv1,500

Sensors and Scopes Sensors are designed to make environmental information easier to obtain. Whether to bring distant objects closer, or peer through dense terrain to find hidden secrets, sensors extend the abilities of their users.

Binoculars

The standard optical binoculars available to purchasers in the 24th century incorporate thermal imaging for night visibility and limited visibility in fog, gyro-stabilisation for  high magnification steadiness, and adjustable magnification from 1x through 20x. TL: 9 Mass: 1 kg Price: Lv100 

Danforth Optics ‘FarSeer’

The FarSeer is a newly-marketed product that magnifies objects and allows night vision by internally enhancing the light received. The main lens is composed of oil, electrostaticallyheld and manipulated for focus. A read-out of the electrostatic charge that focuses the lens gives approximate distance to the object being focused upon, while a backup system, consisting of a pulse laser, provides more accurate readings of any object lined up with a set of cross hairs in the front of the lens.  There are two disadvantages to using the FarSeer. One is that the laser is visible to instruments  watching for it, and the second is that the electrostatic lens will not hold focus in a strong electrical field, such as a nearby lightning storm. Nearby gauss weapon fire, including mass drivers, will also disrupt the focus. The FarSeer magnifies from 1x to 100x. TL: 12 Mass: 1 kg Price: Lv350 

Spotting Scope

A spotting scope is a small optical telescope used for terrestrial viewing. It is intended to be used on a tripod, but does include optical stabilisation for free-hand work. It does not have the thermal imaging capabilities of standard binoculars, although that is an option. Magnification is between 10x and 120x. It is possible to attach an imager to a spotting scope, turning it into a super-telephoto lens. TL: 8 Mass: 2.5 kg Price: Lv200 (Lv400 with thermal imaging)

Danforth Optics ‘FarScope’

The FarScope is a spotting scope that incorporates the same technologies as the FarSeer, in a package more compact than the spotting scope. Available magnification spans 15x to 200x, and includes a light intensifier for night-time viewing. It has the same disadvantages as the FarSeer, though. TL: 12 Mass: 3kg Price: Lv500

Danforth Optics ‘StarScope’

The StarScope is a light-weight Newtonian reflector telescope, designed for astronomical viewing. It includes a powered mount that can be connected wirelessly to any nano-comp or portacomp to find stars automatically. The metabase that comes with the scope includes information for use on any inhabited world, and the included software can ‘learn’ new worlds, based on known stars. Stars can be viewed through the optical eyepiece, or piped backed wirelessly to the controlling comp. The sensor is lightsensitive, and can easily burn out if used in daylight. However, it can resolve stars the eye cannot. Effective magnification on the Starscope ranges from 30x for wide-field viewing up to 200x for close-up views. TL: 10 Mass: 8 kg Price: Lv 500

Danforth Optics Digimike Microscope

While the Digimike is aimed at the education market, the very qualities of robustness and ease of use that make it popular with students and educators also make it common on colony worlds with scientists, explorers, and medical personnel. With optical magnification up to 2,000x using near-field scanning, the Digimike can resolve objects and structures of just 20 nanometres in size. The Digimike connects wirelessly to any standard comp, including link phones, to display the images it captures. TL: 10 Mass: 3.2 kg Price: Lv800

Trilon ‘Herschel’ Portable Observatory Element

The Herschel is a large, folding array telescope. The seven mirror elements are each 50cm across, arranged in a hexagonal

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shape when the observatory is set up. On its own, the element is a powerful telescope, able to easily resolve objects in low orbit, or peer into the depths of space. However, its real power comes when it is linked to other telescopes scattered across the same hemisphere of the planet, creating an optical long-baseline array. Such an array can give detailed views of orbital structures and space craft, image nearby planets, and scan stars for new worlds. TL: 11 Mass: 150 kg Cost: Lv15,000

Momotaro Technologies HotShot Imager Realer Than Life™ Technology

Hyde Dynamics G9 Infrared Viewer

Zooonics ‘Canary’ Large Life Form Detector

The G9 permits a user to see light in the infrared spectrum, allowing objects to be spotted by the heat they radiate. Infrared viewers do not provide physical details of  objects, just their approximate shapes and heat-emission strengths. Two objects with roughly the same shape and heat output will look the same through an infrared viewer. Most infrared viewers have an effective range of 500 meters, but very hot objects can be seen at much greater distances. TL: 10 Mass: 0. 2 kg Price: Lv300 

Hyde Dynamics HR-9a/k Battle Radar

The HR-9a/k  is a portable radar set that can be carried by hand. It is often used by exploratory, police,  and military units to detect moving targets.  This equipment can detect large targets in a standard broadcast scanning pattern (a 120-degree arc), or objects as small as a rabbit on a tight-beam scan (a 30-degree  arc). In either case, the maximum scanning range is five kilometres. The Battle Radar’s screen  provides a crisp, two-dimensional, monochrome image of the area the radar is sweeping, as  well as the direction and distance to identified targets. This information can be routed to a unit’s HUDs, smart sights, or displayed on cyberoptic or neural overlay displays. TL: 10 Mass: 1.5 kg Sensor Range: 5 km Price: Lv450 

Tesla Hut RD-9r Radio Detector

The RD-9r is used to detect radio transmissions and to locate the transmitter. To detect radio transmissions within five kilometres, the operator must make a Routine (+2) Sensors, Int check. To pinpoint the location of the transmitter, at least two radio detectors must be set up a minimum of one kilometre apart, and both operators must succeed at a Difficult (-2) Sensors, Int check. TL: 9 Mass: 5 kg Price: Lv700

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with

The Hotshot imager is a high definition digital imaging camera that can also shoot full 256 fps video, with shutter speeds as fast as 1/10,000 of a second. Equipped with a 10x to 200x optical zoom, the wide field imaging processor can take images Realer Than Life™. Other lenses are available, including super telephoto and macro lenses. TL: 10 Mass: 0.75 kg Price: Lv120

The Canary is a moving point IR sensor which actually works as well on vehicles as it does on life forms. Its short range makes it largely ineffective for military purposes, however. It is designed to be cheap and portable for zoological field teams. TL: 10 Mass: 2 kg Sensor Range: 1,000 m Price: Lv100

Aquitaine BSS-2 Basecamp Security Sensor

The BSS-2 is a multipurpose active/passive sensor suite designed to provide warning against intruders at remote sites. It must be attached to a vehicle powerplant or other power source in order to function. TL: 11 Weight: 50 kg Range: Long vs. ground targets, distant vs. aircraft Price: Lv20,000

Hyde Dynamics AN-99 Super Conducting Electromagnetic Radiation Sensor (SCEMRS) SCEMRS (‘Schemers’) are extremely sensitive scanners designed to pick up the faint electromagnetic emissions of modern electrical and electronic equipment. High-powered emissions, like spark plugs in internal combustion engines, gauss weapon fire, and electronic communications equipment can be detected from several kilometres away. TL: 11 Mass: 5 kg Range: V. Distant Cost: Lv35,000

SCEMRS Shielding

Weapons and equipment can be shielded against SCEMRS detection. The cost is Lv5,000, + double the cost of the weapon or device.

Miscellaneous Equipment and Consumer Goods These goods do not fit into other categories, and may be very special purpose or uncommon luxury items.

Auto-kitchen

The auto-kitchen is a self-contained kitchen, with a small refrigerator, freezer, electric range and combination microwave/ convection oven. Raw ingredients are stored in various storage areas, and then combined by the auto-kitchen to make complete meals. The autokitchen is a large ceramic and synthetic box about 2m x 2m x 1m thick, and contains enough material to make 50 complete meals. They are common with survey teams and pathfinders, but are too expensive for general use. A replacement food pack is Lv500. TL: 11 Mass: 400 kg Price: Lv8,000

Composting Toilet

The composting toilet is an inexpensive method to reclaim household waste as fertiliser and a soil conditioner. These are very common on worlds where the local biosphere is incompatible with humans and their crops. The toilet itself is small, and while it has no odour, people typically keep these toilets in outhouse-type buildings. TL: 8 Mass: 50 kg Cost: Lv80

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SofStuf

SofStuf was originally the brand name for a particular brand of foam tissue, but the product became so popular that, as often happens, the brand name became the common public term. SofStuf is a soft, absorbent substance that foams up and cures to a fluffy consistency upon contact with atmospheric nitrogen. It is widely used as a facial tissue; as the exposed foamy part is torn from the top of the box in which it is packaged, the substance below becomes exposed to the atmosphere and foams up to replace it. It takes less than two seconds to cure. SofStuf is also used as bandages, rags, washcloths, and towels. It comes in a variety of decorative colours. TL: 8 Mass: 0.25 kg/package Price: Lv1

Chrono

Though the wearing of a classic wrist chronometer (a watch) is out of style with the advent of Link phones and body comps, it is still in favour with some, especially out on the Frontier. Wrist chronos come in a wide variety of shapes and styles, both electronic and mechanical. With the use of SCEMR sensors, completely mechanical chronos are in fashion with some groups, such as special forces, militias, and police. The mechanical chrono is an expensive piece of precision machinery, autowinding, with day, date, hours, minutes, and seconds, along with chronograph hours, minutes, and seconds. It has spring power reserve of 56 hours. Outside of military and some scientific circles, wearing a chrono is a definite status symbol. TL: 10 Mass: 0.13 kg Price: Lv1,200+

Makeup Kit

The term makeup kit actually can be applied to two very similar items with different purposes. Most makeup kits are used by people in the public eye (actors and the like) to augment their appearance. However, makeup kits are also very handy in undercover or criminal endeavours as well to create disguises. These kits typically include (but are not limited to) hair colouring dye, modelling putty for altering facial features, collared contact lenses, false eyelashes and artificial facial hair, necessary adhesives and solvents, coloured facial powder and pencils for toning and highlighting, setting powder, necessary applicators and brushes, and a variety of basic skin tone foundation makeup. Use of the makeup kit to create an effective disguise requires the use of either Deception or Art (acting). It provides a +1 DM to all appropriate skill checks. Computer-controlled security systems suffer a -1 DM when attempting to penetrate such a disguise. TL: 8 Mass: 5 kg Price: Lv500

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Space Equipment You’d never know it to look at me, but I wasn’t born in space. I came to it relatively late in life, joining up with a mining outfit when I was 19, and going for the zero-gee DNA mod when I was 21. That was me closing the door on Earth, right? Even before the suppressions in the early 90s, we could see where public opinion was shifting. Most people say it’s the Pentapods that pushed Earth back from the mods, but I have my doubts. People get nervous about the thought of two classes of humans, that’s what I think. And up here, in the hard vac, and on the rocks, me and the other Mods are definitely superior.

We set up camp in the Kimanjano system, found some good rocks, and lined up some steady customers. The French monopolies aren’t too hot on freelancers, but the Azanians like us just fine. Kimanjano has that organic soup, but the planet is metal-poor. And we found ourselves a nickel-iron asteroid, with a big vein of copper running through it. Twenty years ago, neither of Kimanjano’s belts had ever been surveyed, let alone exploited. Most corps only saw the money to be made in grabbing up the goo floating around in the ocean, and ignored the rest of the system.

My first job was on a company ship, running supplies to the various rocks we were working. No stutterwarp for us, too hard to match orbits with all the little pieces of crap floating around that we had to meet. So we used a plasma rocket, with a supplementary MHD thruster when we needed high thrust. That thing gobbled remass like a hyperpig.

We didn’t find enough to get rich on, but we did okay. We hooked a spin hab to the asteroid two years ago, and now we’ve got nearly 50 miners working for us, mostly ex-pats from the Sol system. Main belt over there is either played out or wrapped up for 100 years in TransNat contracts.

I served on that boat for just over a year, long enough to stake myself for a proper vacc suit kit. That’s what you gotta have, to work in the Deep with the rock scouts and prospectors. A tourist bag will run you a few hundred livre, but a proper worksuit, with fittings for Deep work, well, that runs into the thousands. Armoured torso, attachment points, thruster pack, drills, plasma cutter, the whole load-out. No one is going to loan you the money, especially to a noob, since there’s a fair chance you won’t live long enough to make good. Made my pitch, and found myself on a crew. They were two hands short, but itching to get back out. With me, they had the minimum the Miner’s Union insisted on for an assay run into sector 12, a wedge of rocks and debris currently on the Jupiter side of the belt. We didn’t find a damn thing, but they liked how I worked, and offered me a permanent spot. Three years after that, we pooled our cash, and hitched a lift on a Libertine bound for Bessieres. The French there are none too fond of freelancers, but a five-crew rock hopper is always gonna find work. We stayed there nearly eight years. Lost Angel to a suit failure, but by the end of it we had stashed enough for a beauty of a ship, 200 tons, plasma drive, thrusters, and a big, linear accelerator, so we could do our own mining, instead of just scouting. The corp that fed us work wasn’t too keen on competition, so we hitched another lift with a friendly Libertine, taking half his external cargo load, but making it worth his while. Met my wife on that trip.

We’re producing enough to be able to ship out-system now, which is fine by me. Every year or so, my wife’s ship comes calling, and we spend a week or so together. I’m her man in this port. Doesn’t bug me that she has a man in ten other ports, too. In Kimanjano, I’m her man. I’m not liable to go anywhere, and she won’t leave her ship for any man. There’s about 2 women for every 5 men out in the Deep, don’t know why. On the Libertines, though, it’s more like 3 women for every 2 men. No idea why that is, either, but I’ve heard that these ‘gender ratios are tied to the long-term effects of the zerogee DNA mod,’ or so the Link post said. Why they should be different for belters than traders, well, that’s one of life’s great mysteries, I guess. One of the new guys on my crew says that belters and traders get different strains of the retro-virus, and he says traders want it that way. Says they have secret deals with the Black Clinics to continue to develop the zero-gee DNA mod, for their benefit. I don’t know about that. I do know rocks, life support systems, how to balance books and how to tune linear plasma drives. I left Earth behind 38 years ago, and Sol 30 years ago. Wouldn’t go back, even if I could. The items listed in this chapter are of great use for crews of spacecraft and those who live and work in space, in habitats, on airless world, and in or among the asteroids.

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Standard Items

There are two basic problems with working in the vacuum of space. The first is the need for life support, and the second is the difficulty involved in moving about. Each of the following items has been designed to solve these problems.

Emergency Re-entry Kit

Originally designed as survival equipment for spacecraft crippled in low orbit, the ERK is now also used in the extreme sport of Orbital Diving. The ERK can only be used on worlds with a Thin Atmosphere or better, as it relies on the atmosphere for braking, and parachutes for the final landing phases. The ERK consists of a foamed ablative shield that the user creates using a can of high-density foam and a mould around his spacesuit. The process is largely automatic. A small chemical thruster is used for the de-orbit burn, which takes an amount of time equal to the world’s UWP size code x 3d6 minutes before the ERK enters the world’s atmosphere. The ERK and wearer will be on the opposite side of the world from where they started at this time. The re-entry phase of the operation sees the ablative foam slowly burnt off the suit, never putting the user at risk. This phase requires a Routine (+2) Vacc Suit, Dex check. A failure Effect of 5 or less adds that amount of time to the re-entry phase. An Effect of 6 or more requires an immediate Difficult (-2) Vacc Suit, Dex check. Any failure here means a re-entry accident where the wearer of the ERK will be killed. Once the re-entry phase is complete, the remnants of the heat shield are jettisoned, and the wearer is free-falling from approximately 50 km altitude. At 30 kilometres, a drogue chute deploys to slow the rate of descent, and at 5 km the main chute (usually a parawing) will deploy. TL: 11 Mass: 50 kg Price: Lv2,000

Magnetic Grappler

This device is a squat cylinder (5 cm high by 10 cm in diameter) containing a battery-powered electromagnet for attachment to ferrous metals, such as sections of ship hulls. One face attaches to the metal surface; the other has a lock ring through which to run a safety line for work in zero-G. The battery is good for 12 hours of constant operation. The magnetic grappler will hold up to 250 kilograms. TL: 8 Mass: 0.5 kg Price: Lv20

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Emergency Docking Tunnel

The EDT is used to connect two spacecraft with functioning airlocks to allow the shirt-sleeve transfer of crew, supplies, and casualties. It is also possible to connect the tunnel to any suitable area of hull, and burn in. Each inflatable tunnel section is 10 metres long by 2.5 metres in diameter. TL: 9 Mass: 50 kg per section (20 deflated sections take up one ton of space) Price: Lv1,000 per section

Rocket Stake

A rocket stake is used to attach zero-G safety lines to surfaces which magnetic grapplers and Stik-kits will not adhere to, such as the rocky surfaces of small asteroids. Each rocket stake is 20 centimetres long x 5 centimetres in diameter and comes with a recoilless pistol-grip firing mechanism (care must be taken to avoid the stake’s backblast area) and a 100-metre reel of safety line. If used as a weapon, the rocket stake has Pistol range, does 1d6 damage, and suffers DM-2 to hit. TL: 9 Mass: 5 kg Price: Lv15

EVA Stick (‘Broomstick’)

An EVA stick is a very common item used by those working in vacuum and zero-G. It is a metre-long, telescoping rod with a compressed gas jet in one end, a hook and magnetic grapple on the other end, and a gas shock absorber inside. The jet is used to manoeuvre in space, and the gas shock absorber is used to slow the operator upon approaching a surface. A valve  within the tool can be triggered to prevent the shock absorber from reextending until the operator desires. The gas jet has continuous duration of three minutes; normal use consumes about  three seconds of propellant per manoeuvre. Since the EVA stick uses a compressed gas, it is safe to use within habitats. TL: 9 Mass: 3. 5 kg Price: Lv250

Clamp-on Air Lock

Sometimes called a breaching lock, this unit is used in situations where a normal air lock  cannot be used, and a hull  must be breached quickly  without jeopardising the integrity  of its interior atmosphere.  In such cases, a  clamp-on air lock can be handy. The clamp-on air lock attaches to the outside of a hull by means of magnetic pads, chemical adhesives, or electrical spot welds (depending  upon the hull material),  allowing a hole to be cut through the hull for access to the interior of the ship. If a clamp-on air lock is to be used for more than several minutes, it is usually welded  in place permanently. It is often used with emergency docking tunnels. TL: 9 Mass: 2,000 kg Price: Lv30,000 

Rescue Ball

External Repair Bay

Performing repairs on the outside of spacecraft is much more difficult and dangerous than inside, largely due to the possibility of rupturing a vacc suit. For this reason, the British firm of Gorman Systems, Ltd. has designed a portable external repair bay. The bay is composed of modular sections that attach together on a ship’s hull using magnets or gekkocott, creating a  10 metre x 10 metre x 2 metre space that can be flooded with atmosphere, allowing unsuited personnel to work on the outer surface of the ship. TL: 10 Mass: 800 kg Price: Lv2,000

The rescue ball is a 1.5 metre diameter inflatable ball. The user opens up the ball from its packaging, climbs inside, and inflates it. The included air supply/recycler can provide up to 2 hours of life support, and will maintain the occupant for another hour, unconscious, before it runs out of breathable air. Rescue balls are equipped with rescue beacons. On civilian ships, these beacons are automatic, and cannot be shut off. On military vessels, these beacons are set to go off automatically upon inflation, but can be controlled manually. TL: 8 Mass: 10 kg Price: Lv500

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Emergency Suit

A step up from a rescue ball, the emergency suit provides very limited mobility. It is a brightly-coloured synthetic material that is pulled on like a set of overalls. The soft helmet and suit automatically seal themselves, and the suit is inflated. Even at the low pressure of the interior of the suit, it is still very difficult to move it. It’s like wearing a balloon. All –physical actions suffer a DM-2 TL: 10 Mass: 8 kg Price: Lv900

Claims Beacon

A claims beacon is attached to an asteroid or other object. It broadcasts a continuous, high-powered signal with the ID code of the bank or insurance company that underwrites the beacon, along with a pre-recorded message stating the nature of the claim, the claim file number, and who the underwriter is. Claims beacons are made from very tough composite material, and are difficult to damage. TL: 10 Mass: 5 kg Price: Lv300

B e ac o n s

There are several types of beacon used aboard spacecraft and in space. All are designed to be simple to use and, where possible, tamper-proof. Most cannot be turned off once activated, save by authorised personnel.

Rescue Beacon

A rescue beacon is standard equipment on most spacesuits, life boats, and rescue balls. Once activated, it broadcasts a continuous signal for 144 hours, and blinks a brilliant white light. This grants a DM+4 to all attempts to locate it. In civilian usage, the beacon cannot be turned off once turned on, but military beacons are manually operable. TL: 9 Mass: 1 kg Price: Lv50

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Warning Beacon

Warning beacons are used by governments and other agencies, and are attached to dangerous or restricted objects. The warning beacon emits an extremely bright pulse of visible light, along with a multi-frequency radio warning to stay away. A Link or data channel is usually provided to give more information on the nature of the warning. Warning beacons are squat, armoured cylinders, about 1 metre tall and 0.5 metres wide. The hemispherical top is the light emitter, with the radio, computer, and power supply. The power supply is good for six months, and can be supplemented by solar panels. TL: 11 Mass: 100kg Price: Lv10,000

Navigation Satellite

A navigation satellite is a solar-powered orbital broadcast transmitter. Five satellites are required to provide full coverage of a planetary surface. Each satellite continuously  broadcasts its identification code and current position. A down-link receiver and  microprocessor, either in a Link phone or as a discrete device, establishes its own correct surface location to within 0.5 metres. TL: 10 Mass: 100 kg Price: Lv50,000 each 

Satellites

Satellites are generally placed in orbit by ships already in orbit around a world. They can also be launched by relatively inexpensive disposable rockets, which most colony worlds can manufacture. If there is more than one colony on a world, they will often co-operate and share their satellite resources.

Communication Satellite

A communication satellite is a solar-powered orbital receiver and re-transmitter of tight beam or broadcast communication in a stationary equatorial orbit. Each provides 20-percent coverage of a world, so five satellites evenly spaced in the  same orbit will provide 100-percent coverage. TL: 11 Mass: 200 kg Price: Lv50,000 each

Down-Link Navigation Receiver

A down-link navigation receiver is a portable unit used by ground parties to receive broadcasts from navigation satellites. This is built-in to most Link phones as well, though some reprogramming may be necessary to get them to receive signals from a private satellite. TL: 10 Mass: 0.5 kg Price: Lv30 

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Surveillance Satellite

A surveillance satellite is a solar-powered, low-orbit satellite. Each satellite will orbit an earth-sized planet roughly three times a day and scan the area directly below and  50 kilometres to either side. This common class of surveillance satellite has an optical resolution of 0.2 centimetres on a clear day. TL: 12 Mass: 150 kg Sensor Range: Orbital Price: Lv1,500,000 

Survey Satellite

A survey satellite is a solar-powered photographic satellite for mapping a planet and collecting meteorological data, placed in geosynchronous orbit to provide surface mapping and data on atmospheric weather conditions. Resolution of a survey satellite is approximately 50 centimetres. TL: 10 Mass: 50 kg Price: Lv250, 000 

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Weather Satellite

A solar-powered satellite intended to provide detailed meteorological information for the world below. Purpose-built for weather monitoring, it lacks the resolution required for surface mapping. On occasion, however, these satellites have been rigged for such duties, often through software tricks to use it as a make-shift optical interferometry telescope. It usually inhabits a low polar orbit passing over the entire globe in the course of many orbits. TL: 9 Mass: 20 kg Price: Lv100,000

Spacesuit Design While there are off-the-shelf spacesuits (derisively referred to as ‘baggies’ by most spacers), anyone who spends time in space as part of their profession will eventually purchase a bespoke suit. Pilots may get a skinsuit, while deep-riggers will get a customised worksuit with a hardshell torso and high-end entertainment system. There are three general categories of spacesuit; skinsuits, softsuits, and hardsuits. Each can be customised to a degree.

the sum of Str and End. Mesomorphs add Lv400 to the price, Endomorphs add Lv300, and Ectomorphs add Lv500 to the price. The Heavy Trait adds Lv200 to the price. So, for example, a character with STR 6 and END 8 who is also an Endomorph, would pay Lv1,000, plus Lv1,400 for characteristics, and another Lv300 because he requires the Endomorph-type suit, for a total of Lv2,700.

In the table for each space suit type there is an entry for upgrade slots. This is a similar idea to the upgrade slots for powered armour from Supplement 5-6: Vehicle Handbook. Personal Life Support System (PLSS) gear has upgrade slots as well, which can hold life support upgrades as well as other equipment. Life Support upgrades can only be installed in a PLSS.

Skinsuits

A skinsuit is, as the name implies, a skin-tight pressure suit. It is made from an elastic material strong enough to keep soft tissues from expanding in a vacuum. The material is designed to wick away moisture as part of the suit’s thermal regulation system. If the wearer expects to spend any time in vacuum, the skin suit is often combined with an outer layer of coveralls that provide improved protection and proper thermal regulation. Skinsuits pretty much by definition have to be custom-fitted. Any size change (mass change, muscle implants, DNA modifications, etc.) will require a new suit to be made. They cannot be modified, only replaced. A skinsuit requires a Difficult (+2) Vacc Suit, Dex check to put on. An Effect of 6 or more means the suit was put on in three minutes, while any other success indicates five minutes to don the suit. The Effect on failure adds that much time in minutes to the base five minutes. Life support is provided by a small belt-pack life support system, good for about 30 minutes, which is connected to a soft bubble helmet that inflates when attached to the life support unit. These suits are notoriously difficult to put on and take off, so some wearers choose to leave them on constantly. This creates problems in terms of waste elimination, as skinsuits are neither plumbed nor equipped to dispose of solid waste. The price of a skinsuit depends on physical characteristics and body type. The base price of a suit is Lv1,000, plus Lv100 x

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Skinsuits TL 10 11 12

Dex Penalty -2 -1 0

Protection 1 2 3

Upgrade Slots 0 1 2

Mass 5 kg 4 kg 3 kg

Price Varies Varies Varies

Softsuits

A softsuit is what most people think of when they think about spacesuits. They are the most common type of suit used for short- to medium-duration vacuum exposure, and are the direct descendants of the suits used by the Apollo crews who originally explored Earth’s moon. Since softsuits operate at a lower internal pressure than skinsuits or hardsuits, they require some oxygen pre-breathing exercises before the suit can be sealed and the wearer goes onto internal life support. This is a Routine (+2) Vacc Suit, End check. Any success indicates that the wearer is able to go on internal life support after 60 seconds of pre-breathing. On failure, the Effect determines how many additional minutes of pre-breathing are required. Note that a character with the Thin-Air DNA modification would not need to prebreathe to be able to use the suit.

higher than a standard soft suit, and makes getting into and out of the suit far easier. A hybrid suit does not require the wearer to conduct the oxygen pre-breathing exercises of a conventional soft suit, and provides a DM+2 on the check to enter or exit the suit. In all other ways, however, it is treated as a soft suit, and has the same options available. Hybrid suits are the most common types used for protracted periods on a planet or moon. A rigid torso is not available for baggies. A suit with a rigid torso is 5 kg heavier than a standard suit, has +1 Protection, adds 1 Upgrade Slot, and costs Lv3,000 more.

The basic softsuit can use any of the PLSS options listed later. It comes equipped with a heating/cooling layer, the pressure suit itself, and an outer layer of armour cloth as protection against micro-meteoroid strikes. The helmet is the classic goldfish bowl with an armour cloth cover over it. An auto-darkening polarised visor is usually worn as well. Softsuits do not have to be custom-made. A general-use suit, the so-called ‘baggie,’ can be fitted to multiple wearers with (hopefully) a wash and decontamination in between. Baggies double the amount of time required to put them on and take them off. Pre-breathing is necessary with baggies. Softsuits take at least five minutes to put on, 10 minutes for a baggie. A Vacc Suit, Dex check is required to put on one. On a failure, the Effect is added to the time required, in minutes. This is doubled for a baggie.

Hardsuit

Softsuits and Baggies Dex Penalty -3 -3 -2 -4

TL 10 11 12 10 Baggie 11 -4 Baggie 12 -3 Baggie

Upgrade Protection Slots 3 2 4 3 5 4 2 1

Mass 12 kg 9 kg 7 kg 13 kg

Price Lv5,000 Lv7,000 Lv10,000 Lv3,000

3

2

10 kg

Lv4,000

4

3

8.5 kg

Lv5,000

The hardsuit is a rigid suit that maintains a constant volume of air inside, allowing free and easy movement. Unlike the softsuit, the hardsuit can be operated at the same internal air pressure as the ship or station, and so the pre-breathing exercise is not necessary. It is also quicker to put on and remove, and the additional room in the torso makes it possible to withdraw the operator’s arms completely, allowing the luxury of being able to scratch an itch, or eat a sandwich. Hardsuits are used for all long-duration exposure activity, whether in space or on the surface of a moon, planet or other object.

Rigid Torso

A softsuit can be built with a rigid torso, which is often called a hybrid suit. The rigid torso allows the internal air pressure to be

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When militia forces must perform off-world actions, they tend to use commercially-procured hardsuits, which have a certain amount of armour protection built in. Full military VCD (Vacuum Combat Dress) is seldom available to frontier forces.

Hardsuits TL 10 11 12

Dex Penalty -3 -2 -1

Protection 6 7 8

Upgrade Slots 5 6 7

Mass 15 kg 17 kg 12 kg

Item Comm, 50 km Comm, 500 km Sensors Enhanced Optics

Price Lv10,000 Lv12,000 Lv18,000

Slots 1 2 2 1/2

Mass 2 kg 5 kg 5 kg 1 kg

Price Lv200 Lv2,000 Lv2,000 Lv300

Comfort Options

While these options do nothing for the actual function of the suit, they make it a great deal more comfortable for long-exposure wear. Item Entertainment System Water Bottle Pill Dispenser Scratchpad Standard Diaper MAG Waste Collection

Electronics

All suits come with a basic 5 km range radio and nanocomp as part of the design. Additional electronics are also available. These are added to the suit, retaining the base 5 km radio as a backup.

PLSS Types PLSS Type A B C D E F

TL 11 12 10 11 12 9

Internal Life Support 30 min bottle Any Any Any Any Any

Slots 1 1/2 1/2 2

Mass 1 kg 0.5 0.25 kg 0.5 kg 6 kg

Price Lv200 Lv30 Lv20 Lv10 Lv5 Lv20 Lv600

Entertainment System: This is a nanocomp system with dedicated speakers and a heads-up display for video. The nanocomp can hold about 3,000 hours of video, and 20,000 hours of audio. Regulations generally dictate the video portion of the system cannot be used during work periods, unless it is to display instructions or schematics. In addition, it is generally against regulations to use radio bandwidth to stream audio and video in and around habitat and vacuum or asteroid mining operations. Water Bottle: A 1 litre water bottle, usually loaded with electrolytes. Some asteroid miners have been known to spike their water bottles with pseudo-amphetamines to improve response times and wakefulness on the job. While this is technically illegal, most mining corporations turn a blind eye to the practice. Pill Dispenser: Ostensibly intended to dispense analgesics and anti-nausea medications, in practice these pill dispensers are more likely to be filled with pseudo-amphetamines or performance-enhancing drugs. Again, mining companies will generally turn a blind eye to this, but orbital construction companies are much more stringent in their application of regulations, if only because they are under stricter oversight from government authorities. Scratch Pad: A small, slightly rough pad inside of a helmet that allows the wearer to scratch their nose.

Scrubber Life 2 hours 4 hours 6 hours 12 hours 24 hours 24 hours

*Includes mass of one full 30-minute bottle

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Power 2 hours 4 hours 8 hours 16 hours 30 hours 24 hours

Upgrade Slots 0 1 1 2 4 2

Mass 4 kg* 6 kg 8 kg 10 kg 14 kg 12 kg

Price Lv2,000 Lv2,200 Lv1,800 Lv2,500 Lv4,000 Lv3,000

Waste Collection: For any excursion expected to last more than 30-60 minutes, it is normal practice to use a suit with waste collection. Tourist baggies will not normally be equipped with waste collection systems, though some tour operators may give their clients the option of wearing a disposable diaper. It is generally considered usable for trips of up to 4 hours. For longer excursions, a type of heavy diaper, called the Maximum Absorbent Garment (MAG), can handle both liquid and solid waste, though can become very uncomfortable after use. The MAG is used for missions of up to 12 hours. The stock waste collection system uses a catheter and gekkocotte-fastened collection system. The collection system seldom functions correctly, and is only ever used as a last resort. This system is good for 12 to 24 hours, however.

PLSS F is a lower tech unit normally used around outposts and other well supported areas for tourists, corporate officials, and other non-rigorous users.

Bottle racks

Bottle racks clip to the PLSS itself, and include all couplings and manifolds required to connect all the bottles on the rack. A bottle rack can hold up to four bottles. TL: 10 Mass: 2 kg, +1 kg per bottle Price: Lv200, + Lv50 per bottle

PThee rheart s o n a l L i f e S u pp o r t S y s t e m ( PLSS ) of a spacesuit is the Personal Life Support System,

usually carried as a waist pack or backpack. This unit provides power to the suit for heating and cooling but, more importantly, also contains the equipment required to monitor and regulate the user’s breathable air. PLSS units can hold up to four air bottles, half of which are usually reserved as spares with smaller capacity than the primary tanks. All PLSS units have the capacity for at least one bottle. Aside from the PLSS A unit, that bottle can be of any size. Additional bottle racks are added separately, though if a person is very quick, they can change bottles on the fly. The tanks themselves are available in four sizes, from 30-minute tanks to eight-hour tanks. PLSS units are rated on the life of their atmospheric scrubbers and power supplies. PLSS A is the smallest unit, designed to be worn as a waist pack or carried like a small suitcase. It includes a 30-minute air bottle, and has a set of straps that allow another air bottle of any size to be attached. It cannot be fitted with a bottle rack. PLSS B is another small unit, designed to ride high on the back. It is frequently used on flight suits and other short duration suits. PLSS C is a large backpack, with an effective duration. It is the standard life support system in use for most baggies. It can be connected to a Space Manoeuvring Unit (SMU). PLSS D is the most common PLSS unit in service with workers both in space and on vacuum worlds. It combines a long duration with effective upgradability. It can be connected to a Space Manoeuvring Unit (SMU). PLSS E has the longest-duration of any commercially-available PLSS unit. It is not very common, but is most often found among asteroid miners and other independents, rather than within corporate inventories. A variant of the PLSS E is often used by Tier 1 and Tier 2 space militaries. It can be connected to a Space Manoeuvring Unit (SMU). EVA Pack Old Commercial New Military

TL 10 12

Propellant Duration 30 rounds 50 rounds

Air Bottles Duration 30 min 60 min 120 min 240 min

PLSS Options

Item Additional Scrubbers Additional Battery Lafarge Radiation Screen Delta-V 2 m per round 5 m per round

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Mass 1 kg 2 kg 4 kg 8 kg

Price Lv200 Lv400 Lv800 Lv1,600

Slots 2 2 2 Mass 40 kg 60 kg

Mass 4 kg 8 kg 10 kg

Price Lv3,200 Lv1,500 Lv12,000

Price Lv5,000 Lv8,000

Additional Scrubbers: By adding additional scrubbers to the system, the duration of the PLSS is extended by 50%. Additional Batteries: By adding an additional battery pack, the power duration of the PLSS is extended by 50%. Lafarge Radiation Screen: Similar to the rad screens used by spacecraft, the Lafarge electromagnetic deflection system provides protection against most types of charged particle.

Exterior Options Option Toolkit Rescue Shelter Suit Lock Suit Repair kit Cargo points Suit Lock Mag Boots Gekkotoe Boots

TL 10 11 10 10 9 11 8 11

Mass 8 kg 6 kg 4 kg 2 kg 10 kg 2 kg 1 kg

Slots 0 0 1 0 0 2 1 0

Price Lv8,000 Lv2,000 Lv1,200 Lv3,000 Lv20 Lv5,000 Lv1,000 Lv5,000

Toolkit: Toolkits are external tool bags containing recoilless powerheads for a variety of tools. This toolkit includes the tools to be found in a standard power tool kit and in a standard mechanical tool kit. Rescue Shelter: In the case of an emergency with a space suit, the operator is supposed to deploy the rescue shelter, which inflates into two reflective foil hemispheres. The suit operator closes the shelter around him and his suit, and then pressurises the shelter. He can then exit the suit, and if possible, make repairs. If not, then he has to sit and wait for rescue. The rescue shelter has the equivalent of a PLSS A, and has 60 minutes of air. Most safety authorities require at least half of all workers on space-based projects to carry a rescue shelter. Cargo Points: Cargo points are D-rings attached to reinforced points on the exterior of the space suit, and are designed as attachment points for cables, equipment, or towed loads. Not available for skinsuits. Suit Lock: A suit lock is an extensive change to the basic design of a space suit, and is only available for hybrid softsuits and hardsuits. A suit lock has the suit’s entry point in the back. The suit itself is external to the spacecraft or station, and so external decontamination is not an issue. The operator enters the suit from within the ship or station, and the internal lock closes. Then a pack containing the PLSS is swung into place, and the suit detaches from the vehicle. This is the preferred method for planetary suits, especially on worlds with any sort of active biosphere. Suit Repair Kit: Self-repair capabilities are limited to very small tears. For anything larger, an emergency repair may be needed. The repair kit consists of strips, panels, and patches of spun composite material, all equipped with a strong (one-ton strength) patch of gekkocott on one side. The kit also includes four tube dispensers of fast-acting sealant that can be applied around fittings and hoses to temporarily seal them in case of a problem. Mag Boots: Electromagnetic boots allow the wearer of the suit to walk on ferrous materials, or grip them as anchor points.

Gekkotoe Boots: Similar to the mag boots, gekkotoe boots use molecular adhesion to allow them to grip any material except PTFE plastics (like Teflon), high density composites, and carbon nanotube fibre. Maneuvering Units (EVA Pack) The EVA pack attaches to the PLSS B, C, D, and E units, and can also easily accommodate racks for air bottles. The jets are arranged on movable arms, allowing their height to be adjusted to match the user’s centre of balance, and they can fire to both the rear (for gaining velocity) and the front (for reducing velocity). An emergency radio beacon is included on the pack, and it has two Slots for additional options like lights and sensors. EVA packs are available at TL 10 and TL 12. Delta-V is the change in velocity the EVA Pack can make over the course of one turn. The table below is a sample of velocities after continuous straight-line burns Velocity Round 1 Round 2 Round 5 Round 10

Armour

Old Commercial 3 m/turn 6 m/turn 15 m/turn 30 m/turn

New Military 5 m/turn 15 m/turn 25 m/turn 50 m/turn

While spacesuits are not intended to be used in combat, their Protection value can be increased. The maximum increase is +1 for a skinsuit, +2 for a softsuit, and + 3 for a hardsuit. Cost is Lv1,000 per point, and any armour increase adds an additional -1 to the Dex Penalty. Each point of armour adds 0.5 kg to the weight of skinsuit, +2 kg to a softsuit, and +1 kg to a hardsuit.

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‘Star Wanderer’ Planetary Suit

S pac e S u i t E x a m p l e s Dynatech r7 Excursion Suit

One of the more popular ‘baggie’ style suits, the r7 is a common item available for rent or purchase across the frontier. Often the first suit of an unwary buyer, anyone who uses an r7 for an extended period of time learns better, and trades up to a bespoke suit as soon as possible. The r7 is also popular on starships as an emergency suit, and at many destinations as a rental suit for tourists. The r7 is a basic TL10 baggie with minimal electronics. The only other features are a dispensary for headache and anti-nausea medications, and a bottle of water; scratching an itch in a baggie is not possible. It is normally equipped and sold with a LifeCorp a80 PLSS C, which has space for two air bottles, usually a fourhour primary and a two-hour backup. For tourist use, it is usually only equipped with the primary air bottle. TL: 10 Protection: 5 Dex Penalty: -4 Life Support: 4 hours Mass: 21.5 kg Features: Water Bottle Price: Lv6,400

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The Manchurian government commissioned the Star Wanderer planetary suit in the mid-2280s to assist in the exploration effort of several small bodies in the Delta Pavonis system. It is a hybrid suit with a suit lock, and is very popular with its users. It even sees some export sales, which is rare for Manchurian products. TL: 10 Protection: 4 Dex Penalty: -3 Life Support: 16 hours (20 hours of air) Mass: 31 kg + Air Bottles Features: Water Bottle, 50-Km Radio, Extra Armour (+1), Waste Disposal, Rigid Torso, Suit Lock Price: Lv8,900 + air tanks

Aquatic Equipment On Earth, they grow their meat in huge vats, bathed in chemicals and constantly jolted by electricity like some sort of vast, pink monster from an ancient story. Out on the Frontier, we have no desire to entrust our lives to such centrally-run instruments of food production. If you control the food, you control the people, and that is precisely the reason the Community moved deep into Frontier, to avoid such control.

Here on Hermes, I can take my boat and my crew of my brotherhusbands out into the ice-free regions, drop a few long-lines and after a few days, our hold is full of icefish and hooded ray. Or, we can load up with the traps our wives spent the winter making, and we can go out for glass crabs or king spiders for the export market. My brother-husbands and I can feed our entire family for a year with a few months of work, and a few more months gives us enough to make payments on the boat, the farm, and a little extra to make a shopping run into the city for the things we can’t make ourselves. This year, we hope to get a fabricator. Brother Samuel can get a bootleg industrial master chip, and we can start making tools and light machinery, like replacement parts for the boats and tractors. The police will ignore it, too, unless we started booting MuleCorp designs. That would be stupid, seeing as how they own half the planet. With the boat and the farm, my brother-husbands and I can support the wives, the children, and the elders living up the hill. We fish, the wives farm, and the elders make wine and whiskey. We are as independent as we can be. The seas on Hermes are cold and wild. Even on deck, you need a heated immersion suit to survive. If you ever wind up in the water, the suit will keep you alive for an hour, maybe two if you are lucky. Don’t believe what the makers of the suits say. They weren’t designed for Hermes’ seas, super-saturated with salt and colder than the inner circle of Hell. Not to say the suit are useless, though. Without one, you’re dead in minutes. Even if you live, though you’ll be doing a lot of time in an autodoc. As much as I love my wives, and respect and cherish my brotherhusbands, my real love is our boat, the Doris Lessing. She’s beautiful, a 35 metre hydrocat, with a ceramic hull made right here on Hermes, powered by dual MuleCorp D970 fuel cells. Only the electronics had to be imported from off-world, and we keep those as simple as possible. No matter what, though, we have our boat, our skill, and our ability to see for ourselves. That’s why we moved out here. The sea is a potentially hostile environment that tests humans and equipment alike. There are similarities between the depths of space and the depths of an ocean. Like space,  an ocean holds vast areas where a sun’s light and heat are too tenuous to support life. Like space, oases of life are often found in these regions when geologic activity provides heat and food. And like space, an ocean requires humans have special equipment  to explore its depths. The ocean depths can be more hostile than a vacuum, with extremes of pressure and technical challenges that surpass the requirements of space activity.

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Immersion Suit

The immersion suit combines the qualities of a heatsuit with a water-tight outer layer. The outer layer is drawn up tight around the face, and inflatable cuffs at the wrists, shoulders, knees and neck prevent water leakage into the core body region. Highpressure gas bottles inflate the suit’s floatation bladders, and will trigger when the suit hits the water. The bladders are designed to orient the suit so that the face is clear of the water. An immersion suit will provide enough heat to keep the wearer alive for several hours in sub-zero conditions. TL: 9 Mass: 5 kg Price: Lv800

Fishing Rod

Fishing rods can be used with the Survival skill to catch fish under suitable conditions. Under most conditions, a Routine (+2) Survival, Edu check is required. A sonar unit (see below) adds DM+2 to the roll. Success will yield approximately a number of kg of fish per hour equal to the Effect. TL: 5 Mass: 2 kg Price: Lv20

Long Line

A long line is a fishing line several hundred metres long with a baited hook every few metres, depending on the species of fish being sought. It is towed behind a boat, with spaced floats and weights to keep it at the optimum depth. A Routine (+2) Survival, Edu check will yield 100 kg of fish per hour per point of Effect. TL: 4 Mass: 50 kg Price: Lv100

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Fishing Nets

Fishing nets are large nets, with the spacing in the net set to capture the desired size of fish, and let everything smaller go free. A Routine (+2) Survival, Edu check will yield 500 kg of fish per two hours per point of Effect. TL: 4 Mass: 10 kg Price: Lv40

Sea Floor Trap

On Earth, sea floor traps are used to catch lobsters and crabs. On colony worlds, they are used to trap similar creatures, like the Hermes glass crab, or similar niches, like the Montana spider-worm. A Difficult (-2) Survival, Edu check will yield 100 kg of sea floor creatures per 12 hours the trap is in the water, per point of Effect. TL: 6 Mass: 25 kg Price: Lv250

Personal Flotation Device

The Personal Floatation Device (PFD), often called a life jacket, is required wearing for anyone in a small boat, or any boat in heavy weather. It is worn as a normal vest or jacket, and will inflate the floatation bladders in a manner similar to the immersion suit if the PFD contacts water. An uninflated PFD does not hinder the wearer’s movement. However, an inflated PFD gives a DM-1 to most physical actions aside from walking or swimming, but provides a DM+2 to Athletics (swimming) checks. PFDs are also available for dogs, at the same price. TL: 8 Mass: 1.5 kg Price: Lv80

Portable Sonar

The portable sonar unit is used both on and under the water to see beyond the limited visual range. It consists of a small transducer unit that both generates sonic pulses and receives them, and the handset, which interprets the information received to construct a 3D image of the surrounding region, out to about 150 metres. The handset can be connected to a portacomp or similar device to provide even more information. They are often used by sport fishermen and amateur divers. TL: 9 Mass: 1.2 kg (transducer) 0.75 kg (handset) Price: Lv80

Decompression Sickness

One of the many hazards of deep-diving is the dreaded ‘bends’ arising from dissolved gases coming out of solution into bubbles inside the body upon depressurisation. This bubbling can produce many symptoms, and its effects may vary from joint pain and rashes to paralysis and death. Anyone who dives to depths greater than 30 metres must decompress, and should ascend at a rate no greater than 10m a minute, with five-minute stops at 20 and 3 metres. Avoiding the effects of decompression sickness without doing this is a Formidable (-6) Athletics (endurance), End check. There is a DM+2 if stopping at other intervals or DM+6 if a decompression chamber is available (these do not stack), and DM-1 per 200 metres of depth.

Life Raft

Inflatable Boat

The inflatable boat is filled from a battery-powered pump or containers of pressurised air. Using the pump, it takes five minutes to inflate the two-man boat, and 12 minutes for the four-man model. Two pressurised cans are able to inflate the two-man model within 20 seconds, with five doing the same for the larger version. The two-man boat comes with a pair of oars, while the large version has a rigid board to hold a small electric motor (not included) in addition to included oars. TL: 5 Mass: 7 kg (2 man boat) 10 kg (4 man boat) Price: Lv100 (2 man boat) Lv300 (4 man boat)

The basic life raft is a self-inflating boat capable of holding up to 1,000 kg in standard gravity, and can actually hold up to 1,400 kg before swamping. In contrast to the inflatable boat, the life raft inflates in less than five seconds, and is a single-use device, designed to be thrown off a ship and explosively inflate before it even hits the water. The basic life raft is an open design, not intended for long periods of use, or in inclement weather. TL: 8 Mass: 10 kg Price: Lv300

Small Electric Motor

This motor and battery-pack combination has a sufficient charge to run the motor for about three hours, and can propel the fullyload four-seat boat at speeds of up to 15km/h. TL: 9 Mass: 5 kg Price: Lv150

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Survival Raft

The survival raft is a fully-enclosed version of the life raft, designed for long duration use, even in harsh climates. Each inflatable survival raft has enough room for four adults and includes an emergency beacon, radio, small heater, and water purifier, all powered from a roof-top solar array. 40 man-days of rations are also included, which can be stretched to 120 mandays with rationing. TL: 9 Mass: 20 kg Price: Lv3,000

Safe diving depth for a diver with this type of gear is approximately 40 metres on Earth; divide 40m by the world’s surface gravity to get the safe depth for that world. So, for example, King, with a gravity of 3.08 G, has a safe diving depth of 13 metres, while Aurore, with a surface gravity of 0.73, has a safe diving depth of 55 metres. TL: 4 Mass: 10 kg Price: Lv2,100

Diving Gear, Advanced

Desalination Filter

The ocean waters of most colony waters have dissolved minerals in them that need to be removed. They can cause skin reactions, make people sick, or just taste horrible. On a commercial scale, flash desalination and distillation provide an economic solution, though the power requirements are very high. For portable use, the desalination filter is used instead. It attaches over the mouth of a canteen before it is filled. A battery-powered osmotic filter forces water through the membrane, leaving any salt or other dissolved mineral behind. TL: 10 Mass: 0.5 kg Price: Lv250

Advanced Diving gear dispenses with the tank in favor of a gill unit, and makes use of more sophisticated low-friction materials for the wetsuit and fins as well. The gill has enough power for 12 hours of operation, while the wetsuit and fins allow swimming at up to 50% faster than normal. The gill can only be used in water with a high oxygen content. Advanced Diving gear requires the Athletics (swimming) skill to use effectively. This equipment has the same depth limit as conventional diving equipment. TL: 10 Mass: 6 kg Price: Lv3,600

Diving Gear

Diving gear includes a flexible, warm wetsuit with swim fins, goggles, and an air tank. The tank can hold enough air for three hours of use. It requires the Athletics (swimming) skill to use effectively. The gear adds 25% to a character’s underwater speed.

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Saturation Diving Equipment

For extremely deep dives, a different breathing mixture is used, replacing nitrogen with helium and adding a symbiote to help further stabilise the diver. The suit is a hot-water wet suit to deal with the cold depths, and uses special tanks and hoses

to safely handle the saturation mix. It is bulkier than a normal suit, and reduces swimming speed by 50%. Saturation dives always require the use of decompression chamber to avoid the effect of decompression sickness. The maximum safe depth for a saturation dive is 20 times deeper than with a conventional mixture. TL: 10 Mass: 40 kg Price: Lv2,500

Decompression Chamber

A decompression chamber is used to return a deep diver to surface pressure at a slow enough rate that he does not suffer decompression sickness. A decompression chamber is, in effect, a small habitat, with enough room to accommodate up to four divers. It is divided up into four rooms; living area, sleeping area, life support, and the diving bell that moves the divers from their diving depth to the surface-based decompression chamber Decompression time is typically 10 minutes per metre of depth. This means that a 200 metre dive will require 2,000 minutes, or just over 33 hours, to decompress. TL: 11 Size: 12 displacement tons Mass: 15 tons Price: Lv45,000

Fluid Rebreather Diving Suit

The fluid rebreather is designed to allow a human in a special suit dive to tremendous depths. The oxygenated fluid of the system fills the diver’s lungs and provides oxygen even more efficiently than air. Earlier versions had trouble with removing carbon dioxide, but modern equipment solves that problem. Maximum depth with this system and a heated, flexible suit, is about 5,000 metres, though some have dived as deep as 9,000 metres on Earth. Note that surface ascent still requires the use of a decompression chamber. TL: 11 Mass: 22 kg Price: Lv10,000

Underwater Rebreather

The underwater rebreather is an air-recycling pack that rests upon the user’s back, with hoses leading to a mouthpiece. Filters in the rebreather scrub CO2 from the user’s exhaled air, and a battery-driven electrolyser removes oxygen from the surrounding water, adding it into the recycled air. With a rebreather, a diver can remain submerged for days at a time. The only limits are imposed by the life of the CO2 scrubbers and the electrolyser’s battery pack. Each of these is good for 72 hours before service is necessary. Underwater rebreathers have double the safe dive depth of conventional diving gear. TL: 11 Mass: 10 kg Price: Lv2,100

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Undersea Sled

The sled is a small, battery-operated towing unit for a single diver. Controls are very simple, and it uses Athletics (swimming) to operate. It has a maximum speed of 20km/h, and can dive to 500 metres before hollow spaces inside are crushed. The battery is good for six hours at top speed. TL 9 Mass: 60 kg Price: Lv200

Trilon Inc. NewStone Accretion Generator

On some worlds, dissolved calcium and carbon dioxide in the water can be combined and accreted as a sort of artificial reef. It requires an electrical power source, and a conductive framework that the limestone builds upon. Over the course of about a month, entire structures can be grown out of the water. This technology is used to created floating habitats and pens for aquaculture projects. All that is required is a large amount of dedicated electrical power. TL: 9 Cost: Lv100 per 10 metres of structure for the frame. Price: Lv12,000

Sea Baggie

A sea baggie is a large, disposable plastic container used for emergency survival in deep water. The user opens the baggie, climbs inside, and seals it behind him. The baggie provides enough heat to prevent hypothermia and enough air to last for approximately five hours. When not in use, the sea baggie fits into a 15 cm x 15 cm case that clips onto a belt. Each sea baggie may only be used once. Sea baggies operate at ambient pressure, and so are no help in avoiding decompression sickness. TL: 8 Mass: 2 kg Price: Lv20

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Police and Security Equipment I always grin when I see my badge with the words ‘Safety Officer’ on it. Makes it sound like I’m waving folks across a city street. Its Earth double-speak, saying one thing, and meaning another. I’m not a Safety Officer. I’m a cop. I carry a gun, a badge, handcuffs and a stunstick. I arrest people, when I have to. Mostly I try to talk to them, to get them to calm down. I only have one cell in my station, so I prefer not to have to haul people in. I work with four other Safety Officers patrolling the entire colony. We’re always being promised more officers, but they never materialise. Until then, we make do. They sent us some surveillance drones once. I left them in their cases. We left Earth to get away from crap like that, not bring it with us. Mostly we deal with drunk-and-disorderly or domestic disputes, often both at once. Same sort of thing I dealt with back on Earth before I emigrated. Real crime isn’t a huge problem out here. Oh, we get kids doing stupid stuff, but a warning and some very public community service usually gets them back on track. I’ve been here over five years, and I’ve only seen a handful of assaults. Most of those involved alcohol or drugs, and a fight, over money, a man, or a woman. Only one really serious case. Young guy got fired from his job at the mine, kills his wife and children, and then goes back and shoots up the mine. I couldn’t get within stun range, so I had to take him down. I hated doing that. He’s the only person I ever had to kill in fifteen years of doing this work. I still see his face at night, in my dreams, the crosshairs of the laser’s scope resting just in front of his left ear, as he raises his handgun towards another of his hostages. There’s the briefest of flashes, and then his head just… I still can’t talk about this. We had one kidnapping, some guy just arrived on-world snatched a little girl and drove off into the bush. We found him the next day. Thankfully, the little girl was still alive. Hurt, but alive. The colony prosecutor, newly arrived himself, said that we had to take the guy in to have his head examined, said he was sick. We don’t have the resources to deal with men such as him, so the prosecutor calls the colony’s chief admin, who authorises a trip back to Earth for the guy. There, they can deal with curing him. Here, he just couldn’t seem to adjust to the gravity. Kept slipping and falling all the time, hitting sinks, toilets, floors. By the time a liner was ready to take him back to Earth he was a mess. Even managed to break his arm somehow.

Property crime is rare in a new colony. Mostly, folks are just trying to make their own way, and try not to bother others. Again, it’s mostly kids doing stupid stuff, stealing candy or interactives from the local store. We show them the error of their ways, and we rarely see the kid twice. More dangerous than any of the people here is the planet itself. We’re still newcomers, and it holds lots of surprises for us. Every week, we get a call to investigate an attack on a herd, or fields being trampled. And sometimes, though thankfully not often, we go out to look into a mysterious death or disappearance. Half our job seems to be colonial zoologist and gamekeeper. We go out hunting, but sometimes we’re the ones being hunted. A night stalker nearly took my arm off at the elbow, stripped the flesh from the bone with her teeth. My partner shot her as she came back for more. We found the missing farmer moments later, after a short stop for a tourniquet and a shot of pain-blockers. The stalker had him trussed up and had laid a clutch of eggs in him. Amazingly, he survived with no major problems. I now have one arm made of metal and plastic from the elbow down. Mostly, our job is to stop people from being stupid, to keep the peace, and to keep the colony working. We’re colonists, too. We moved from Earth or Tirane to be here, to build a new world. So far, I think we’re doing pretty good. On Frontier worlds, police forces are a combination of conventional police, big game hunters, zoologists, psychologists, and search and rescue personnel. On some worlds, they are also the local militia, or at least provide the core. Like most colonial professionals, police forces often have to make do with a few items of high technology, and everything else improvised. It is a rare colony that will provide its police forces with the latest surveillance equipment, gauss weapons, or neural disruptors. You will never see a police aerodyne away from the Core, nor Sortech’s R78 autonomic riot dispersal spiders. You will likely see forensic kits, however, and most police offices will have a surplus Russian laser rifle for highrisk take-downs. When they go out in the field, hunting down the latest threat to come stalking out of the native forest, more often than not it is with civilian or old, surplus military equipment. Hunting rifles, shotguns, and large-calibre handguns are the preferred weapons. Against human opponents, though, the sonic stunner and stun baton are the most common weapons of choice if negotiations break down.

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Police are expected to keep the peace as much as possible, as even the loss of one colonist can be a significant set-back, both in terms of the person lost and the effect their loss has on the community. Except in high risk situations, police are almost never authorised to use lethal force. The wide availability of stun weapons means that, if necessary, police forces can simply blanket an area with stunner fire, knocking out both perpetrators and victims, and then sort it out later. On Earth, though, in a similar situation they will use microdrones and neural disruptor webs, which is a safer technology, though much more expensive.

Security

The requirement for physical security is as real for colonists as it is for the inhabitants of a 500-story megastructure on Earth. Not only do colonists have to protect against possible human intrusion, they have to watch out for the sometimes hostile, or even just curious, local fauna (and flora, on some worlds). Security systems are also a requirement for banks, medical centres, and a variety of businesses and commercial facilities. While colonies tend to have lower crime rates than the Core nations, people are still people.

Security Locking Systems

One of the primary uses of technology in the security field is the creation of various locking mechanisms.

Mechanical Lock

Electronic Lock

An electronic lock is opened by use of a number combination keyed into its control panel or by use of a magnetic keycard, radio frequency (RF) proximity card, or an RF implant. As with a mechanical lock, it is possible for a combination or card to be possessed by unauthorised persons, or for the owner to be coerced into opening a door. It is also possible for an electronic lock to be picked or broken, but this requires great skill. The most common key used in the Core is an RF implant in the arm or leg, which is read by the lock when within 1 metre. Electronic locks are rated in terms of how difficult an Engineer (electronics) check to open them is. The more secure an electronic lock, the higher its cost. Electronic locks cannot be picked without an electronic security kit. Physical attempts to break the lock have a DM of -2. Mass: 0. 1 kg (Simple), 0.35 kg (Routine), 1.0 kg (Difficult), 3.0 kg (Formidable) Price: Lv2.5 (Simple), Lv8 (Routine), Lv600 (Difficult), Lv3,000 (Formidable)

The most primitive method of securing an entrance is to use a mechanical lock. Mechanical locks vary widely in the durability of their materials and the sophistication of their workings, but all can be circumvented with a bit of skill or force. Mechanical locks are rated in terms of how difficult a Mechanics check is needed to circumvent them. To open a mechanical lock without a key or combination, a character must either pick the lock or break it. Because mechanical locks will open to anyone (authorised or unauthorised) who has the correct key or combination, they are less secure than other types of locks, and therefore cost less. The mass and price of a lock depends upon the difficulty of a Mechanics check to pick it. Add 20 percent to the price if the lock is designed to trip an alarm. All the locks below are TL 10 locks. Lockpicks from a higher Tech Level have a bonus, while lower Tech Level picks have a penalty. The penalty is equal to the difference in TL between the lock and the lockpicks, with a maximum DM of +/-2. Locks can be purchased at higher or lower Tech Levels; each TL difference adds or subtracts 10% from the cost of the lock. Mass: 0.25 kg (Easy), 0.75 kg (Routine), 1.2 kg (Average), 1.8 kg (Difficult), 5.0 kg (Very Difficult), 7.5kg (Formidable) Price: Lv3 (Easy), Lv10 (Routine), Lv100 (Average), Lv450 (Difficult), Lv2,200 (Very Difficult), Lv12,000 (Formidable)

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Handprint Analyser

The handprint analyser is one of the most common forms of biometric security  systems available in the 24th century. In its simplest form, the device is an image-scanning plate connected to a computer with a limited number of handprints on file. Most often, the analyser is used to secure access to high-security areas and items. To gain access through the door, a person places his hand upon the plate, and if his print matches one in the computer’s memory,  the door opens. If his print does not match, the door remains closed. In many applications, an alarm is also attached to call attention to unauthorised persons attempting access.  On the Core worlds, where widespread computer networks provide access to multitudes of handprint  files, handprint analysers commonly serve as verifiers of purchases. A customer signs his credit account by placing his hand upon a screen after

his purchases have been tallied into  a shop’s computer. The computer is connected to a city-wide network and has access to other computer networks around the world. Portable handprint analysers also exist. They are used to verify identification or to restrict access to such things as briefcases and firearms. It is possible to fool a handprint analyser; see the check below Mass:5 kg Price: Lv700 Fool a hand print analyser: Formidable (-6), Engineer (electronics), Int. Requires the electronic security kit..

Biometric Analyser

Biometric analysers read a variety of body indexes to determine identity, including height, weight, width, breathing patterns and bioelectric field. The full biometric analyser is one of the more accurate identity verifications technologies available. However, the process is fairly time-consuming, taking about five minutes per person, and so it is used only for the most secure facilities. It is widely thought to be impossible to fool a biometric analyser. TL: 12 Mass: 400 kg Price: Lv12,000 Fool a biometric analyser: Formidable (-6), Engineer (electronics), Int. Requires the electronic security kit.

Voice Analyser

Voice recognition security units use a simple vocal input unit to obtain  a voice print of a person seeking access to a secured area. This voice print is then compared  against a file of voice prints stored in a computer memory system. If a match is found, access  is granted; if not, further security systems may be activated. Voice recognition technology is very accurate in the 24th century, and can determine between an actual voice and even a high-quality recording. TL: 11 Mass: 8 kg Price: Lv4,500 Bypass a voice analyser: Formidable (-6), Engineer (electronics), Int. Requires the electronic security kit.

Retina Scanner

The retina scanner is a fairly common method of rapid security identification for secure locations. Banks use them for safety deposit boxes, for example. Like the handprint analyser, it consists of an imager connected to a computer which contains images of the vein network on the retina of a human eye. A person must stand within one meter of the scanner while it reads his eye. Typically only one eye is scanned, though some facilities may require both. The scanner then compares his retinal patterns to those in its memory. If they match, access is allowed. If they do not match, access is denied, and further security measures (an alarm, for instance) may be initiated. Because the human eye is constantly in motion, some retina scans will fail erroneously. Many retina scanners are programmed to inform the subject that the scan has failed, and a second try may be allowed.

It is incredibly difficult to foil a retina scanner as only an exact copy of the correct retina, or direct tampering with the scanning mechanism, will produce an identification match result where none actually exists. It is possible to do this with specially-made cyberoptics, or with vat-grown replacement eyes, though both are very illegal. TL: 11 Mass: 20 kg Price: Lv7, 000 Bypass a retina scanner: Formidable (-6), Engineer (electronics), Int. Requires the electronic security kit. Other solutions are possible; most systems do not require that the eye be alive, for example, or even attached…

Alarms

Alarms are intended to announce the presence of an intruder in a security system.

Klaxon

A klaxon is any sort of noise-making alarm. Volume can be set from Whisper to Painfully Loud. At maximum volume, a klaxon can be heard 2,000 meters away, but physical  obstructions (such as walls and doors) and background noise often shortens this range considerably.  Some klaxons are installed close to the item they are keyed to (as an alarm above a locked door, for instance), and are set for high volume. Others are installed at a location  distant from the item that they are keyed to (like a remote alarm in a guard’s office, for example),  set for low volume. A klaxon usually runs on power from the facility in which it  is installed, but may be purchased with a limited duration battery pack. TL: 8 Mass: 1 kg Price: Lv16 (Lv30 with 40-hour battery pack) 

Security Gas System

Some security systems trigger the release of a gas rather than, or as well as, triggering a klaxon. Such systems require an enclosed, sealable area and a pumping system to flood the area with the gas and then evacuate it afterward. Various gases can be used in such a system; a few common types are listed below. The mass and cost of such a system is based upon the area of the space it is intended to flood. A typical small room or office would be around 24 m3 Mass: 0. 25 kg/m3 to be affected TL: 9 Mass: 5kg Price: Lv500 (base cost) + Lv2/m3 to be affected Doze: Doze is a gas very commonly used in security systems. It is a chemical agent that produces sleep in its subjects. As such, it is an excellent aid in capturing intruders without injury to the intruder or security personnel. Doze causes 1d6 points of stun damage per round until the target is unconscious. A single application disperses in 2d6 rounds.

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Doze should be used with care, however, as prolonged exposure to concentrated amounts can be lethal. When a character has accrued stun damage from Doze equal to twice the sum of his physical characteristics, he is dead. As a consequence, most local governments require a facility be licensed to use Doze. The cost of Doze is based upon the volume of the area it is to fill. Mass: 0. 5kg small canister (holds 10 m3), 10 kg large canister (holds 300 3 Price: Lv1. 5/m3 Foraline Gas: Foraline gas is a substance typically used for crowd control by police forces on the Core worlds, though many human rights groups claim Foraline represents cruel and unusual punishment. Its effect is to stimulate a feeling of panic or fear at the slightest threat of danger. As a consequence, a handful of riot police can disperse large crowds of Foraline-treated rioters, simply by marching forcefully toward them. When used in a security system, Foraline leaves its victims feeling unable to resist security forces. The typical response is surrender. The use of Foraline gas by civilians also requires a license, and it may only be purchased from an authorised reseller, like RebCo SAR. As with Doze, the cost of Foraline depends upon the volume of the area it is to fill. Characters under the influence of Foraline must succeed at a Difficult (-2) Endurance check or they will be unable to perform any action which they perceive as placing them in danger. For every 10 minutes after a character ceases breathing Foraline, the difficulty decreases by one level. After being away from the gas for 30 minutes, the effects wear off completely. TL: 12 Mass: 0.5 kg small canister (holds 10 m3); 10 kg large canister (holds 300 m3) Price: Lv7.5 per m3

noticeable when it encounters dust or smoke, however, or if you are looking directly at the emitter. TL: 8 Mass: 0.5 kg Price: Lv35 (visible), Lv80 (invisible)

Security Circumvention

Some items are not intended to provide security measures, but rather to circumvent them.

Locksmith Kit

A locksmith kit contains tools for opening mechanical locks. On most worlds, it is illegal to possess a locksmith kit without a local license. Locksmith tools are purchased at local Tech Levels, and are subject to the availability rules for higher tech items, if required. Mass: 2 kg Price: Lv450

Electronic Security Kit

An electronic security kit is not intended to provide electronic security, but to circumvent it. It is usually even more illegal to own than a conventional locksmith kit. Lower Tech Level kits are available, they are useless for any electronic locks of a higher Tech Level, and grant DM+1 for any electronic lock of a lower Tech Level. TL: 12 Mass: 3 kg Price: Lv3,000

Intelligence-Gathering Equipment

Intelligence and law enforcement agencies require the use of sophisticated equipment in garnering information for their use.

A l a r m T r i gg e r s

Alarms can be triggered by attempts to pick locks or bypass other security systems. They can also have separate triggers of their own.

Pressure Sensor

A pressure sensor is simply an electronic mechanism that reacts to pressure, or lack of pressure, upon it. Some installations include a sensor that registers when someone walks upon it, a sensor that notes changes in air pressure, and a sensor that registers when an item (such as valuables) is removed from its resting place. The price is rated by sensitivity to pressure changes. TL: 5 Mass: 0.2 kg Price: Lv20 (40 kg change or greater), Lv80 (5 to 40 kg), Lv400 (100 kg to 5 kg), Lv1,600 (5 to 100 kg)

Beam Sensor

A beam sensor consists of two parts; a beam generator and a beam receiver. If an object moves between the two, the beam is broken, triggering an alarm. The beam can either be visible or invisible (infrared) light. Even a visible light beam is only

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Forensics Kit

The basic forensics kit is an item commonly used by agents and officers from nearly every settled world to gather evidence toward solving crimes. The kit attaches to a portacomp or bodycomp (a nanocomp is not powerful enough) and includes an array of visual and chemical sensors, data analysers, and specialised memory chips. An agent using the kit can match fingerprints with sets in the kit’s memory chips, or from a planetary link network, perform forensic ballistics analysis on weapons rounds, make chemical tests such as blood type determination, and do limited DNA analysis. The forensics kit also includes a polygraph and a program that will allow the portacomp to indicate the truthfulness of a subject’s statements, although much of the judgment is left up to the operator’s skill (Difficult (-2), Investigate, Edu). The Forensics Kit provides DM+2 to appropriate Investigate checks beyond use of the polygraph kit. TL: 12 Mass: 5 kg Price: Lv800 Surveillance Equipment The following devices are often used by security teams, police, and government agencies.

Neurodyne ‘WitnessWire’ Implant

This glass capsule is implanted just behind the ear, or along the scalp. The sensitive microphone can pick up anything the wearer can hear, and either retransmit it or simply record to be played back later. If used to transmit, it is a smart system, with a frequency-agile narrowcast that is difficult to detect. Unfortunately, the implant has a short range, usually no more than 100 meters. Implantation can be done in moments, and the glass capsule is Formidable (-6) Medic or Investigate, Int check to find. TL: 12 Price: Lv800

Aquitaine AuraOptika Laser Ear

MacroComp Pk-7 Shotgun Microphone

Shotgun microphones are commonly used low-technology listening devices. A shotgun microphone is directional, meaning it can be aimed at a specific spot up to 200 meters away, and can pick up any conversation from that spot. A shotgun mike must have a direct line of sight to its target. Most sounds outside the target area will not be picked up, but loud noises (such as shouts and gunshots) will be. TL: 10 Mass: 2 kg Price: Lv400

The AuraOptika is a much more sophisticated and expensive version of the shotgun mike. It bounces a laser beam off of a resonating object near the target, as sound waves cause all objects they strike to resonate, or vibrate. These vibrations affect the reflected laser beam, which is received by the unit. The computer in the handset compares the modulated return signal with the original signal and converts the results into digital sound. The resonating object can be almost anything, such as a window pane, a door, the side of a vehicle, a rock, even a concrete slab. It only has to meet three criteria; It must be relatively close to the target, it must be rigid, and it must be in line of sight (though the target itself need not be in sight). Conversations are usually recorded by any available computer, Link phone, or nanocomp. TL: 11 Mass: 5 kg Price: Lv2,000

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Trilon Industries ‘Monitor’ Bug

The Monitor is a cylinder one millimetre in diameter and four millimetres long, with a one-centimetre, hair-thin antenna. It can be hidden almost anywhere in a room, and will pick up whispered conversations within five meters. Most bugs are voice-activated and have a transmission range of up to two kilometres. The device will transmit for up to 72 hours on internal power before it dies. Within three weeks, the silica plastics that it is made of will have decomposed into dust. Removing the bug from its wrapper activates it, and starts the decomposition timer. Since it broadcasts constantly, it is relatively easy to detect by simply scanning the relevant frequencies. Any backpack or vehicle communicator can be tuned to this bug. TL: 10 Price: Lv500

Technion Systems ‘Capensis’ Improved Bug

The Capensis (Hare) is an improvement to the standard bug. A 0.1 -millimetre sensor cable is run from the room to be bugged to the main unit, a cube about two centimetres on a side, up to 10 meters away. The cable can be threaded through ventilator shafts, pipes, electrical conduits, or cracks in wall material (it can even be concealed under a thick coat of paint). Only the end of the cable needs to be in the room being bugged. One end of the sensor cable detects sound within 10 meters and carries it to the main unit. The main unit records the sound, and can do so for up to 72 hours before it needs to be recharged (although it can be hooked into a building’s power supply for permanent emplacement). At any time, the user may either retrieve the main unit or activate it with a coded wave signal. If activated, the main unit then broadcasts its recording as a high-speed, condensed ‘squirt’ transmission, lasting just a few seconds. This means it is almost impossible to find, since it is emitting no signal most of the time. Detectors have to key on the faint power emissions from the main unit, which can be up to 10 meters away, and can be easily confused with signals from other low-power electrical equipment. Any backpack or vehicle communicator can be tuned to receive the signals from this bug. TL: 11 Mass: 0.1 kg Price: Lv2,000

ARM (Anti-Radiation Missile)

Any missile in the 2300AD Core Rulebook can turned into an ARM by replacing the normal guidance module with the radiation-seeking guidance system. Only one type of seeker can be installed into any missile. There are EM seekers, which home in on radio and microwaves (Lv1,000), gauss seekers, which home in on strong magnetic fields (Lv2,500), and heat seekers, which home in on high-intensity heat sources (Lv500). These prices include a base rebate for the standard guidance package on the missile. If installed as an after-market modification, they will all be Lv250 more.

Technion Systems ‘Odonata’ Improved Bug

The Odonata (Dragonfly) is an enhancement to the improved bug. It receives its name from the superior vision of the dragonfly, the sharpest eyesight of any terrestrial insect. A onemillimetre fibre-optic light guide, with a fisheye lens at one end, is connected to a recording/broadcast unit up to 10 metres away. The unit is not up to full trid broadcast quality, but it is good enough for most surveillance purposes and has limited low-light capabilities as well. Total darkness (which is rare) will foil this system. Any backpack or vehicle communicator can be tuned to this bug. TL: 11 Price: Lv3,700

Trilon Nematode Nano Bug

A marvel of miniaturisation, the Nematode is the size of a grain of rice, yet can pick up voices within five meters and transmit them up to fifty meters with an encrypted, frequency-hopping narrowcast transmission. Care must be taken when placing the nanobug, as it only transmits in one direction. These are typically only found in the tool bags of Coreworld intelligence agencies or very well-connected criminal groups. Finding this bug is a Formidable (-6), Engineer (electronics) or Sensors, Int check, and requires the appropriate equipment. TL: 12 Price: Lv6,000

Cable Tap

This device is used to tap into electronic communications cables. An electric current produces a magnetic field, which can be detected and ‘read’ to tap the signal. This does not require cutting into the cable, produces no drop in voltage, and is impossible to detect without physical inspection of the complete run of the cable. Fibre-optic cables cannot be read in this fashion, however. That technology requires a much more sophisticated (and expensive) tap. This type requires cutting into the cladding around the cable, but not the cable itself. A tap can be attached to a broadcast unit or a recording unit, like any of the

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bugs described. The taps can acquire any data running down the line. Because of the danger of taps, important communications are always scrambled. TL: 12 Price: Lv7,500 (electronic), Lv12,000 (fibre-optic)

Imaging Dust

Imaging dust consists of dust-mote sized camera modules. Individually, they are incapable of resolving much, but collectively can develop a fair image of a room they are blown into. They can operate in daylight only, and have a range of about ten metres back to the monitor. They are incapable of movement, and just drift on air currents. Negative pressures systems can keep them out of a room, and even fans can disrupt them to the extent that they cannot get a good image. Their power systems are good for about 2 minutes of use. TL: 12 Cost: Lv2,000

Electronic Countermeasures ( E C M)

The following items can be used to counter electronic surveillance.

Momotaro ‘Omni’ Sensortect

The Omni is a simple detection unit found on most military and some civilian vehicles, which is used to indicate when the vehicle has been scanned by a sensor of some kind. When one of these units picks up electromagnetic radiation matching certain characteristics, it indicates the fact by an aural and/or visual signal. Simple units only key to one type of sensor (radar, laser, microwave, etc.). Units available at three times the base price will be able to pick up all commonly used sensor systems. Sensortects suffer DM-2 per TL difference between the detector and a higher-tech sensor system, so a TL10 Sensortect has DM-4 to detect a TL12 sensor system. Using a Sensortect requires a Routine (+2) Sensors, Int check. Sensortects installed in a vehicle use no Spaces, but require a sensor operator. Otherwise, the check to use them has DM-4. TL: 10 for most civilian models, 11 for police, 12 for military Mass: 0.5 kg Price: Lv200 at TL10, Lv400 at TL11, and Lv800 at TL 12

Radar Jammer

Radar works by bouncing a signal off its target and interpreting the results. Jamming a radar is as simple as broadcasting random

noise on the radar’s frequency at a higher power level than the reflected signal. Jammers usually broadcast on a wide band of frequencies and negate the effects of all radars within their range (one to ten kilometres, depending on price). Jammers function automatically, but a skilled sensor operator can sometimes ‘burn through’ jamming with a Difficult (-2) Sensors, Int, check. Jammers are usually operated remotely because they become easy targets for ARMs (anti-radiation missiles) when activated. Jammers do not affect laser-based detectors, such as rangefinders and missile homing guidance systems. Mass: 4 kg Price: Lv1,000 to Lv10, 000

Radio Jammer

Most large, multi-frequency, two-way radios can be used as simple jammers. All that needs to be done is to broadcast a very powerful carrier wave on the frequency to be jammed. More sophisticated radios, however, can shift frequencies at pre-set intervals and escape jamming. Modern military communications are even more sophisticated. Tight-beam lasers or microwave communications can be directed up to a satellite and then reflected down to each individual receiving vehicle, making the communications very difficult to jam. Lineof-sight laser communication systems are virtually impossible to jam. In any case, anyone on the battlefield jamming for long will soon become the target of an ARM. It is possible to purchase a specially-built jammer, which works against all communications within a given area (one kilometre for every Lv1,000 in price). TL: 11 for civilian devices, 12 for military Mass: 10 kg Price: Lv1,000-10,000

Bug Detector

Bug detectors are used to find electronic surveillance devices. For the basic broadcast bug, this is simply a matter of scanning the relevant frequencies until the bug’s signal is picked up, then triangulating until it is found, whereupon it can be destroyed or neutralised. More sophisticated bugs are tougher to find. A bug detector has DM-2 to detect a bug from a higher Tech Level. Detecting a Bug is a Difficult (-2) Engineer (electronics) or Investigate, Int check. TL: 11 Mass: 0.3 kg Price: Lv3,000

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Holofield Bug Jammer

Bug jammers work like radio jammers, as described above. If a bug never broadcasts (that is, if the bug is used to record a conversation, which is physically retrieved later), a jammer will not work. It also will not work against the laser ear. Bug jammers work automatically. TL: 11 Mass: 0.5 kg Price: Lv1,500

The holofield is a visual-light projector that creates a dome of subtly-shifting patterns that distort and partially block video and trideo (including cybernetic eyes) cameras but have a minimal effect on normal vision. Some bars will have holofields installed at tables and booths to ensure their guests’ privacy. TL: 12 Mass: 5 kg Price: Lv5,000

Scrambler

Scramblers are after-market encryption devices which attach to any normal communicator and scramble transmissions according to a prearranged pattern, which can only be descrambled by a unit with the same scrambler settings. They cannot be used with Link phones on a commercial network. TL: 10 Mass: 0. 2 kg Price: Lv200

Filter Program Chip

Momtaro Industries S3 or S6 Sensuppress

Either model of the Sensuppress transmits a field of white-noise which washes out any normal conversation within one metre of the unit. Extremely sophisticated computer programs (like the filter program described later) can remove 90 per cent of the noise, however, given enough time. A Sensuppress unit will work against the laser ear, but will not affect the video portion of a video bug. The Tech Level of the Sensuppress becomes important when a filter program is run, as the difference in TL is the DM to the check made to unscramble the effects of a sensupress, or any other scrambling technology. TL: 9 (S3) or 12 (S6) Mass: 3 kg Price: Lv1,500 (S3), Lv3,000 (S6)

The filter program chip contains a program (for any computer, but nanocomps do not usually have enough memory to accept it), which analyses and extracts random noise from electronic transmissions. It generally takes about 10 minutes to clean one minute of conversation. It can also be used to clean video of the effect of a holofield, but this takes an hour per minute of video and can only be done on a workstation. In any case, use of these programs requires a skilled operator, with the audio being a Difficult (-2), Investigate or Computer, Int check, and video descrambling being Formidable (-6). The power level of the computer can be used as a DM for these checks, as can the TL difference between the computer and the scrambling device. TL: 10 Price: Lv500

Thermal-visual (TV) Camouflage.

TV camouflage consists of two parts; the camouflage smock or blanket itself, and a thermal regulation system that can adjust heat output to match the surroundings. Typically, it does this by redistributing heat patterns around the material to break up the

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thermal signature and by dumping excess heat into the regulator. The chill can of the regulator is good for up to eight hours before it needs to be replaced. The camouflage smock or blanket is essentially a tough, flexible sheet of electronic paper, which can change its colours and patterns to match the surrounding terrain without light emissions. This system is only effective at medium to long ranges, and only if the user keeps still. It does not work well on the move, adding DM+6 to all Stealth checks against thermal detection if the user keeps still, DM+1 if not. TL: 12 Mass: 2 kg (+8 kg for the thermal regulator) Price: Lv12,000

During the Kaefer assault on Aurore, a detachment of the Tanstaafl rural police tried their NoEscape on incoming Kaefer vehicles. It had no effect on the incoming bugbusses and crawlers, (though it did disable their plasma guns). However, it worked very well on the three deathsleds that accompanied the attack, permanently disabling one of them, and temporarily taking down another two.

Zip Binders

Disposable plastic ‘zip-strip’ handcuffs, these use gekkocott to bind the plastic strips, requiring an enzyme be applied to remove them. They are typically used in mass-arrest situations, when peace officers may run out of conventional handcuffs. The binders can be broken with a Difficult (-2) Str check but without the enzyme, cannot be removed. TL:11 Mass: 0.2 kg Price: Lv5 each (disposable)

Restraint Devices Handcuffs

Typically made from high-tensile steel and featuring a Difficult mechanical lock, handcuffs are also available in composite material with Formidable (-6) electronic locks. Even the basic metal variety takes several minutes to cut through with typical power tools, though only a few seconds with laser or plasma cutters. The composite handcuffs are effectively impossible to cut with handtools, and even laser and plasma cutters will take several minutes just to cut the binding bar. TL : 5 (steel), 11 (composite) Mass: 1 kg for both Price: Lv50 for steel, Lv 250 for composite

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NeuroTech Immobiliser

The Immobiliser is a dangerous piece of neuro-electronic equipment designed to immobilise dangerous prisoners for transport, or temporarily hold them in situations where highsecurity cells are not available. Electrodes are placed at the shoulders, hips and ankles, and a modulated current selectively interferes with the operation of voluntary motor functions. Sideeffects can include loss of bladder and bowel control and, in some circumstances, the operation of pain receptors is either entirely blocked or sensitivity is greatly increased. Long-term use can lead to neurological damage. If used for longer than a day, the target of an immobiliser must make a Routine (+2) End check, or have their Dex reduced by -1 for 1d6 days after the immobiliser is removed. There is DM-1 per day of use. An Effect roll of -6 or more means the Dex loss is permanent. TL: 11 Mass: 2 kg Price: Lv4,700

SecuriGard Systems ‘Lector’ Body Cage

The so-called body cage is a suit of thick, but otherwise normalappearing overalls. It is lined with strips of memory plastic that are normally flexible, but can go rigid on a command from a control unit. They typically either go completely straight, forcing the wearing into a spread-eagle pose, or else they contract, forcing the wearer into a semi-foetal ball. It can also be used to lock the suit into whatever position the wearer is currently in, which tends to be the most common setting. The memory plastic used is strong enough to break limbs on smaller or weaker people. It is possible to resist the suit with a Formidable (-6) Str check. If the wearer has the Weak Trait, they must make a Routine (+2) Dex check when the suit is activated. An Effect roll of –1 or more will deal 1d6/2 damage, while -6 or more deals 1d6/2 damage and a broken arm or leg. TL: 10 Mass: 4 kg Cost: Lv2,000

Vehicle Restraint Technologies

and

Disabling

Similar to wheel locks, fan locks prevent the operation of hovercraft, and similar locks can be used on aircraft as well. TL: 8 Mass: 12 kg Price: Lv650

DeLisle ChemTech Inc. Gekkocott Foam

Vehicles may need to be immobilised, or even stopped while on the move, and there are a variety of technologies designed to do that.

Wheel Locks

Fan Locks

Any wheeled or tracked ground vehicle can be immobilised by attaching locks to the drive wheels to prevent them from turning. These locks can be removed with the appropriate vehicle tools and a Difficult (-2) Mechanic, Str check. They can also be picked, as Difficult (-2) locks. TL: 5 Mass: 15 kg Price: Lv500

Gekkocott foam can be sprayed into intakes, fan ducts, engines, or any other mechanical space, where it will adhere and solidify in a matter of minutes. Until the right catalyst is applied - and there are dozens of formulations - this foam will render any machinery inoperable. However, with the application of the catalyst and then a light rinse with solvent, the machinery is good to go. One cylinder of the foam is enough to disable up to three vehicles, and includes a supply of catalyst sufficient to remove all of the foam. TL: 11 Mass: 2 kg cylinder Price: Lv500 per cylinder

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The gekkocott version reduces Agility by -3, along with reducing speed by 50%. Against hovercraft, it reduces Agility by -1, but has no other effect. Note that the effects of either of these devices on a motorcycle are often catastrophic. The rider must make a Formidable (-6) Drive (wheeled), Dex check to avoid a crash, with the Agility modifiers of the belt pplied. For this reason, police are loathe to use them against bikers, unless it is a real emergency. TL: 6, TL 11 for gekkocott versions. Mass: 10 kg for either version Price: Lv50 for normal belt, Lv250 for gekkocott version.

SecuriTech ‘Haywire’ Electronic Inhibitor

The electronic inhibitor is surreptitiously added to a vehicle’s wiring or electronics, and acts to disable it. The inhibitor can be turned on or off remotely, via a coded signal. Any vehicle originally built for the Core market and then shipped to a colony world will likely have an inhibitor already installed. Vehicles specifically designed for the colonial market typically do not. In colonies with TrafCon systems, the inhibitor is tied into the TrafCon net, which can disable a vehicle on command from TrafCon authorities. Otherwise, police have access to scanners that can read if a vehicle has an inhibitor, and can engage it. TL: Same as the vehicle, or higher Mass: 0.5 kg Price: Lv500

Reprogramming

Any vehicle designed to be run on a TrafCon system can be rerouted or even shutdown remotely by the TrafCon system. On most frontier worlds this would only be found in vehicles exported from Earth, but designed for the Core market. Most colonies do not have TrafCon systems.

Spike Belts

Modern spike belts incorporate pop-up spikes, which lie flat until a signal from makes them suddenly pop up and lock. Another signal will trigger them to relax and go flat once again, though that process takes a full round. This way, authorised vehicles can drive over the belt with no ill effect. Spike belts are laid out across roads and trails with the goal of not just puncturing a vehicle’s tires, which may have little effect in an era of run-flat or auto-inflating tires, but also of getting the spike belts caught up and entangled in a vehicle’s drive system. Some belts even employ gekkocott in addition to the pop-up spikes, and have long chains and cables hanging from the belt to further entangle them in the vehicle. The normal belt will reduce a vehicle’s speed by 50%, and reduces Agility by -2 as well. If the Agility goes below 0, then speed is reduced by 25% per point less than 0. So, if a vehicle is reduced to -2 Agility, it will be completely immobilised. It is only useful against wheeled vehicles.

FOD Bombs

A FOD (Foreign Object Damage) bomb releases strands of long-chain polymer fibres and gekkocott foam. It is designed to detonate underneath hovercraft and low-altitude vehicles, clogging their engines and ductwork with the fibres and fasthardening foam. Using a FOD bomb may destroy the blowers and engines of the target hovercraft. Military hovercraft employ filters to minimise the effect of FOD bombs. When the FOD bomb is detonated, roll 1d6. On a roll of 1-5, the vehicle is temporarily disabled. On a 6, the blowers are ruined and must be replaced. Filters provide DM-3 to this roll, with a combined roll of 0 or less meaning the FOD bomb has no effect. TL: 8 Mass: 2 kg per bomb Price: Lv100

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P e r s o n a l T r ac k i n g D e v i c e s Quinn-Darlan NoEscape EMF Emitter

The NoEscape emits an electromagnetic field that can disable or even destroy unshielded electronics. This includes the electronics used in modern vehicles, but also older vehicles that rely on electrical discharge to ignite fuel. Diesel engines are immune to EMF emitters, at least until TL9, and human military vehicles of Tech Level 11 and higher are shielded against EMF weapons. Interestingly enough, use of this device against a Pentapod construct (or Pentapod, presumably) temporarily renders it blind. Though the NoEscape is intended for police use, use of one will always trigger an inquiry. The EMF pulse is sufficient to burn out most consumer electronics, and this includes cybernetic implants, which may be necessary for the life of a vehicle’s occupant. Use of the NoEscape may even endanger bystanders, or at least their electronics.

Frontier worlds tend to lack much in the way of jail cells or jailers. In most colonies, the preferred option is reparation contributing back to society. At the same time, convicted criminals have to be tracked. Back on Earth, small microchips can be inserted under the skin, and the person tracked through the pervasive surveillance network, which is the norm in most nations. Recognition systems in street corner cameras and floating surveillance drones can track a person by face, or even by their gait. Out on the Frontier, however, that sort of omnipresent surveillance is not available. Most tracking devices tap into the local Link network if available, or use basic radio communications and a GPS link into the planetary navigation grid.

SecuriGard Tracker

Systems

‘Argus’

Link-enabled

The Argus uses the Link system to report on the location of its bearer, and is accurate to within one metre. It uses the multiple antennae of the Link network to triangulate the location of the tracking device. The Argus has a composite case and band, almost impossible to cut, that is fastened on to the recipient with gekkocott.

The NoEscape is aimed and fired using the Heavy Weapons (man portable artillery) skill, with a range equal to an Assault weapon. Success means the vehicle has been hit, and the Effect roll determines the results. On a 1, the vehicle is slowed down by 50% for 1d6 combat rounds, after which is can continue at normal speed. On a 2-5, the vehicle is momentarily disabled, with speed reduced to 0 for 1d6 combat rounds. A Difficult (-2) Drive or Flyer, Dex check (DM-2 for motorcycles, hovercraft and aircraft) is necessary for the driver of the disabled vehicle to stop it safely with all electronics shut down. On an Effect Roll of 6 or higher, the vehicle is permanently disabled. All unshielded electronics, including cybernetics, are subject to the same effects as the vehicle. In police use, the NoEscape has a number of epithets, including God Gun and NoGo Gun. In conversations with the press or general public, however, officers are usually enjoined to not use the word ‘gun’ to describe the NoEscape. Emitter or projector are the preferred terms. TL: 12 Mass: 10 kg Price: Lv12,000

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The battery on the Argus is good for two years. If tampered with, the device will emit an ear-piercing screech, and immediately notify whichever authorities are tracking it. Likewise, if the wearer leaves their prescribed zone, the Argus will emit an ear-piercing siren, and begin to flash. In some jurisdictions, it is also equipped with a shock pad, and will shock the wearer until he returns to the proper location. In any event, it will notify authorities of the transgression. The composite band can be cut by industrial cutting equipment, but damage to the wearer is extremely likely. A plasma cutter can remove the band in three minutes, but it will do 1d6 damage in the process, and render the limb useless until the damage heals. If the damage is higher than the wearer’s Endurance, then the limb below the tracker (hand or foot) is effectively destroyed, requiring hospitalisation. Sitting still for the whole time is a Formidable (-6) End check. An industrial saw can cut through the band in six minutes, and on a successful Difficult (-2) Mechanic, Dex check there will be no damage. The Effect on failure determines the number of points of damage, with effects similar to the plasma cutter above. A laser cutter will remove the band (and hand or foot) in about 30 seconds. TL: 11 Mass: 0.2 kg Price: Lv1,100

SecuriGard Systems ‘Janus’ Radio Tracker with GPS

Using the planetary navsat network and a radio broadcasting unit, the Janus can be pinpointed to within three metres. The battery on the tracker is good for three months. It is built in a similar configuration to the Argus, with similar effects if it is tampered with, or the wearer leaves their prescribed zone. TL: 10 Mass: 0.4 kg Price: Lv800 SecuriGard Systems ‘Polyphemus’ High-powered Radio Tracker The ‘Poly,’ is it is often called, uses signal strength to determine how far away the band is away from the receiving station. It is nowhere near as accurate as the other systems, and lacks many of their features. Since the Poly is constantly broadcasting, it is very easy to track. TL: 9 Mass: 0.6 kg Price: Lv700

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Weapons Before I left Earth, the closest I had come to the military was a stint in Scouts when I was nine years old. I hated it, and only lasted a few weeks. When I was 15, my folks finally decided that they’d had enough of Earth and its rules and regulations, of always being spied on. So, we shipped out for a place called Tanstaafl, on the moon of a gas giant a long way from Earth. When we got there, they handed us a map, a tractor, and a cubic meter of topsoil, imported from the Mississippi Delta on Earth. Well, ok, maybe a kilo of it had been imported. The rest was built up from sterilized native dirt, mixed with compost, engineered worms, and some offerings from a sewage treatment plant that I would rather not think about. We worked hard, brewing more soil out of what they had given us, and planting our meagre crops. While the suns were up, we would either be working in the fields, the workshop, or fixing that damn tractor. At night, I hit the Link to do my schoolwork. I was looking to get into the local university at the French colony, maybe meet some French girls along the way. When I was 18, me and a bunch of my bros joined the militia. Danko, Wallace, Barber, and Dalton, a bunch of good guys. Liked to work, liked to have fun. We figured that it would be a walk in the park, play with machineguns one day a month, wear our uniforms to the bars, maybe even pick up some girls. That first day, we showed up, and got our uniforms, weapons, and body armour. The uniforms were matching coveralls with MILITIA stencilled on them, and they were the only thing that matched. The body armour was a mix from person to person, with Barber getting a modern-looking French helmet and a vest with a faded US Marines stencilled on it, while I got what looked like a cop’s bullet-proof vest and a steel helmet that likely predated Twilight. At least our guns were the same, a bunch of old cast-off German SG-77s. Danko’s had a grenade launcher, but the rest of us were supposed to just carry rockets for Wallace’s RPG launcher. Every other weekend we practiced, but Wallace wasn’t allowed to fire that launcher. Not enough rockets. And we only ever got a couple of clips for practice. That was back in ‘94. The first time we hit a bar in uniform, a couple of full-time regulars showed us the error of our ways. It was embarrassing to be punted by a couple of old guys like that, but one of them had a tattoo I recognized, a dragon holding a rocket launcher, some sort of Manchurian Special Forces thing. Being tossed by someone that hardcore ain’t so bad, I figure. Besides, the brunette who helped me to my feet was an exchange student

from the French colony. Her name was Vanessa, and she gave me lift back to the base so I could change into my civvie clothes, and then we went clubbing with a bunch of her friends. Turns out they knew the best places to party, and there ain’t much in Tanstaafl that’s illegal. A year later, that research station at Arcturus met some aliens. That was exciting, sure, but at that time, Vanessa occupied most of my thoughts. After the station was captured, though, we began to practice with our weapons every day. We got more ammo, and Wallace even got to fire his RPG once in a while. For some reason, we thought we were ready. In 2298, a year after the research station fell silent, a swarm of ships showed up in orbit around Aurore. The French and Ukrainian system defence ships tried to fight them off, but they were completely overwhelmed, and only a handful escaped, running down-Arm to get help. Tanstaafl, without even system defence forces, could do nothing but watch the French and Ukrainian ships burn. We waited for the invasion, but the aliens had another plan. They started dropping rocks and nukes on us. Nukes! No one has used nukes on a planet since Twilight. But we got nuked. Entire towns disappeared in flashes of nuclear fire, while guided rocks rained down on road intersections, factories, power plants, solar arrays and anything else that looked important. Tanstaafl had nearly 500,000 people when the alien fleet entered orbit, but by the end of the next week well over 100,000 were killed. Vanessa was one of them, and my little sister was, too. After the orbital bombardment, their troops moved in. Golden flying wings dropped hover tanks and half-tracks, filled with plasma guns, missiles, and alien soldiers. We called them Cucarachas, the French called them Cafards, but the name that stuck for everyone was Kaefer. They fought like nothing I’ve ever heard of, murdering everyone and destroying everything they came across. Like my parent’s farm, and my family with it. They were like a horde of locusts, leaving nothing but destruction and infection in their wake. They were really unpredictable, sometimes acting stupid, others times like tactical geniuses. Barber got his throat slit standing not more than a metre away from me one night on guard. Neither of us saw the Kaefer, leastwise before it opened my friend’s throat and then came for me. I emptied a clip in its face, woke up the whole camp. That saved us, as it turns out. A bunch of them had snuck up

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to the edges of the camp’s perimeter lights, waiting to cut us in our sleep. We killed them all, though, and Barber was the only fatality on our side. During the drive to push them back, command detonated a nuke to trap the bugs in a high mountain pass. Only thing was, the recon team was too close, and all five in that team were incinerated by the blast, including my mate, Wallace. First time people used a nuke on a planet since Twilight. Wasn’t the last time, though. I’m the only one left now. Danko died rescuing some idiot farmers who didn’t know enough to get out of the way of an alien army, and Dalton got pinned under his truck when a mine took it out. The other guys in my training platoon are all mostly dead now, or fled the planet. Not me, though. This is my home, and I’m going to stay and protect it. We’ve got a final push coming up, and we’re going to roll those bastards into the sea. The need for weapons for hunting, defense, and recreation are well-established on most colony worlds, which have far less restrictive gun laws than any nation on Earth. Many worlds have wildlife that, if not inimical to Humans, is to their livestock. Most weapons found in civilian hands are light pistols, hunting rifles, and shotguns. Indeed, on the Frontier, the multi-purpose shotgun is the go-to weapon of choice for most farmers, ranchers, miners, and practically anyone else.

Firearms

Rawlings Group

Redbird 11.2mm (.44 Magnum)

The Redbird was chosen in 2291 as the standard sidearm for Texas Rangers on extraterrestrial postings, due to its compact design and high first-shot stopping power. Rangers will carry other weapons in their vehicles in case of sustained firefights, but the ability to end a fight before it really starts was given priority over staying power. Type: 11.2mm conventional revolver Country: Texas Length: 32 cm Action: Single shot Mass (empty): 1.4 kg Ammunition: 11.2x 30 mm (.44 Magnum calibre in Texas) Muzzle Velocity: 1,020 mps Magazine: 6 rounds internal cylinder Mass of six rounds: 0.35 kg RoF: 40rpm Price: Lv1,200, Lv40 for 200 loose rounds

The Texas-based Rawlings TransNat produces a number of items, from kitchen equipment to farm machinery. Their most famous product, however, is the Rawlings ‘Bird’ series of heavy revolvers. They received a tremendous boost when the department of Public Safety (DPS) selected the Rawlings Redbird as the standard sidearm for the Texas Rangers.

Bluebird 9mm (.357 Magnum)

The Bluebird is a classic wheelgun, loading six shots in the cylinder forward of the pistol grip. Unlike most modern revolvers, it fires from the top chamber on the cylinder, rather than the bottom, resulting in a weapon with higher felt recoil than the heavier Redbird, but in more of a classic revolver configuration. Type: 9mm conventional revolver Country: Texas Length: 24 cm Action: Single shot Mass (empty): 1.1 kg Ammunition: 9x 29 mm (.357 Magnum calibre in Texas) Muzzle Velocity: 900 mps Magazine: 6 rounds internal cylinder Mass of six rounds: 0.25 kg RoF: 40rpm Price: Lv900, Lv30 for 200 loose rounds

Rawlings Blackbird

This heavy revolver has become a status symbol for officers in many mercenary units. It is not commonly seen in use by police forces, though the Rangers on the Eber homeworld of Kormoran are said to be looking into the heavy Blackbird due to the sheer size and toughness of the Ebers they encounter, especially the nomads. The heavy 12.7 mm round has incredible stopping power, at the expense of magazine capacity and recoil. Like most modern revolvers, it fires from the bottom chamber of the cylinder, rather than the top.

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M57 Chip Traylor Special

Type: 12.7mm conventional revolver Country: Texas Length: 36 cm Action: Single shot Mass (empty): 1.9 kg Ammunition: 12.7x 35 mm (.50 calibre in Texas) Muzzle Velocity: 940 mps Magazine: 6 rounds internal cylinder Mass of six rounds: 0.30 kg RoF: 40rpm Price: Lv1,800, Lv50 for 200 loose rounds

The 9mm ‘Chip Traylor Special’ is an extremely common firearm across the American Arm and the Core. It is less common on the French Arm, and generally only seen in the hands of criminals on the Chinese Arm. Type: 9mm conventional autopistol Country: United States Length: 20 cm Action: Single shot Mass (empty): 0.6 kg Ammunition: 9x24mm fixed cartridge ball Muzzle Velocity: 460 mps Magazine: 20-round removable box magazine Mass of twenty rounds: 0.13 kg RoF: 80rpm Price: Lv300, Lv20 for 100 loose rounds

Traylor Arms

Traylor Arms makes a number of semi-automatic handguns, ranging from the tiny 4mm wallet gun to the well-known 9mm Chip Traylor Special, all the way up to an 11mm wrist-breaking monster.

Traylor Arms C4 ‘Wallet Gun’

The 4mm C4 pistol is extremely compact and concealable. However, even with bursting rounds the light 4mm bullets do not have much stopping power. Type: 4mm conventional autopistol Country: United States Length: 12 cm Action: Single shot Mass (empty): 0.5 kg Ammunition: 4x10 mm ball Muzzle Velocity: 520 mps Magazine: 7-round removable box magazine Mass of seven rounds: 0.1 kg RoF: 80rpm Price: Lv600, Lv20 for 200 loose rounds

M-59 10mm Police Special

The 10mm Traylor Police Special, is, as the name implies, popular with police forces for its stopping power and high magazine capacity. It is based on the same frame as the popular Chip Traylor Special. Copies of this gun are common with police and security forces on the Chinese Arm. Type: 10mm conventional autopistol Country: United States Length: 21 cm Action: Single shot Mass (empty): 0.7 kg Ammunition: 10x28 mm fixed cartridge ball Muzzle Velocity: 540 mps Magazine: 18-round removable box magazine Mass of loaded magazine: 0.18 kg RoF: 80rpm Price: Lv500, Lv20 for 100 loose rounds

Traylor Arms M-20 11mm autopistol

Firing a more powerful round than even the Rawlings Redbird, the Traylor Arm M-20 is gas-operated, reducing the felt recoil over a comparable recoil-operated weapon. The high-powered round is rare in civilian and law enforcement usage. Type: 11mm conventional autopistol

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must be inserted in the magazine to reduce the capacity from eight rounds to three. Type: 18mm semi-automatic shotgun Country: United States Length: 89 cm Action: Single shot Mass (empty): 2.2 kg Ammunition: 18x70 mm shotgun shell Muzzle Velocity: 400 mps Magazine: 7-round internal tube magazine Mass of seven rounds: 0.4 kg RoF: 60rpm Price: Lv420, Lv20 for 200 loose rounds Country: United States Length: 33 cm Action: Single shot Mass (empty): 1.4 kg Ammunition: 11x38 mm ball Muzzle Velocity: 610 mps Magazine: 10-round removable box magazine Mass of full magazine: 0.5 kg RoF: 80rpm Price: Lv1,200, Lv20 for 50 loose rounds

Shotguns

Stracher M33 Pump Action Shotgun

The M33 can be switched between pump-action and semiautomatic with the flip of a switch. The advantage of the pump action over the gas-operated semi-automatic is the ability to fire the specialised low-velocity rounds like mini-grenades and cap shells. The M33 is found with settlers and police forces all over the French Arm, though on worlds of Law Level 7 or higher a plug must be inserted in the magazine to reduce the capacity from eight rounds to three. Type: 18mm semi-automatic shotgun Country: Austrovenia Length: 94 cm Action: Single shot Mass (empty): 2.2 kg Ammunition: 18x70 mm shotgun shell Muzzle Velocity: 410 mps Magazine: 8-round internal tube magazine Mass of eight rounds: 0.5 kg RoF: 80rpm Price: Lv650, Lv20 for 200 loose rounds

Shotguns are versatile and easy to use weapons. Models firing shot rounds can virtually guarantee a hit at short engagement ranges, while the large bore permits the firing of specialised rounds like rubber batons, gel rounds, and electroshock Cap rounds.

Traylor Arm Wildcat shotgun

The Traylor Arms Wildcat is a typical semi-automatic shotgun designed for civilian use. With seven rounds under the barrel, it has a fair ammunition capacity for a shotgun. As a semiautomatic weapon, though, it cannot fire some of the more specialised rounds, which are too low-powered to operate the weapon’s action. These types of rounds are noted on the shotgun ammunition table. In colonies with Law Level 7 or higher, a plug

A semi-automatic shotgun can be converted to a fully-automatic weapon with a Difficult (-2) Mechanic check. This gives the weapon an Auto score of 4.

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DunArmCo Dingo

The Dingo is a basic side-by-side double-barreled shotgun. It is used primarily for hunting, though the ability to fire both barrels at once makes it a very intimidating home defense weapon. Type: 18mm shotgun Country: Australia Length: 95 cm Action: Single shot Mass (empty): 2.5 Ammunition: 18x705mm shotgun shell Muzzle Velocity: 420 mps Magazine: 2 rounds Mass of two rounds: 0.1 kg RoF: 40rpm Price: Lv200, Lv20 for 200 loose rounds

WuBeijing Gong

The so-called Gong is a smaller-calibre recoil-operated shotgun, almost like a large pistol. A five round box goes forward of the trigger, and it lacks a stock. It is marketed to ranchers and farmers on worlds with small, fast predators, as a defensive weapon that can be brought to bear very quickly. Many favour it for its intimidating appearance and considerable stopping power. Ironically, it is illegal on most Manchurian colonies. Type: 14mm semi-automatic shotgun Country: Manchuria Length: 41 cm Action: Single shot Mass (empty): 1.8 kg Ammunition: 14x50 mm shotgun shell Muzzle Velocity: 370 mps Magazine: 6-round removable box magazine Mass of six rounds: 0.4 kg RoF: 80rpm Price: Lv600, Lv30 for 200 loose rounds

Arno Astra Shotgun

Produced by Arno for the colonial market, the Astra 11mm shotgun is ideally suited for the younger shooter. Only birdshot and a small buckshot round are available for this weapon, which is best suited for hunting flying animals and small game. Type: 11mm single shot shotgun Country: Brazil Length: 94 cm Action: Single shot Mass (empty): 1.7 kg Ammunition: 11x40 mm shotgun shell Muzzle Velocity: 340 mps Magazine: 1 round in barrel Mass of one round: 0.07 kg RoF: 40rpm Price: Lv140, Lv25 for 200 loose rounds

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Hunting Rifles

Rifles typically fire a smaller, but much higher velocity round than shotguns. While they lack the short-range shot spread and variable ammunition of a shotgun, rifles are far more accurate over longer ranges, and the ammunition is much more compact as well.

Stracher Kojote

The Kojote is good, lightweight rifle suitable for people with slighter builds, and is often used for target-practice and hunting small game. Type: 5mm conventional light rifle Country: Austrovenia Length: 59 cm Action: Single shot Bolt Action Mass (empty): 1.2 kg Ammunition: 5x15 mm ball Muzzle Velocity: 650 mps Magazine: 9-round internal tube magazine Mass of nine rounds: 0.2 kg RoF: 60rpm Price: Lv200, Lv10 for 200 loose rounds

Guiscard FC70 (Fusil Chasseur 2270)

Guiscard FC-68 (Fusil Chasseur 2268)

The FC-68 was designed with the Frontier colonist in mind, and is widely used by French civilians on a variety of worlds. It combines a bull-pup configuration (giving it a distinctly military look, one of its strongest selling features) with full-automatic fire. It does not come with a scope, but one may be purchased. It is often used by militia forces that cannot get anything better, as it is at least capable of fully-automatic fire.

The FC70 was designed to make use of the large quantities of 7.5mm surplus ammunition available on the open market after the Central Asian War, and low firing cost has made it (and similar rifles) popular. It is widely used both as a target rifle and for medium-sized game hunting. It does not come with a scope, but one may be purchased. Type: 7.5mm hunting rifle Country: France Length: 102 cm Mass (empty): 3.0 kg Action: Single shot Ammunition: 7.5 x 40mm fixed cartridge ball Muzzle Velocity: 910 mps Magazine: 5round box Magazine Mass: 0.2 kg RoF: 120 rpm Price: Lv650 (Lv10 for box of 100 rounds)

The FC-68 is subject to DM-2 to Availability outside of the French Arm, and is illegal on any Manchurian colony, no matter the Law Level. Type: 5mm sporting rifle Country: France Length: 75 cm Action: Single shot or bursts Mass (empty): 1.0 kg Ammunition: 5 x 15mm fixed cartridge ball Muzzle Velocity: 630 mps Magazine: 70-round box Magazine Mass: 0.3 kg RoF: 600 rpm Price: Lv720 (Lv20 for box of 300 rounds)

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Weapon Rawlings Bluebird

TL 9

Range Pistol

Rawlings 9 Redbird Rawlings 9 Blackbird Traylor C4 10

Pistol

Traylor M57 Traylor M59 Traylor M20 Traylor Wildcat Stracher M33 Dingo

10

Pistol

10

Pistol

10

Pistol

9

Shotgun

10

Shotgun

8

Shotgun

Arno Astra 9

Shotgun

Gong

9

Pistol

Kojote

9

FC-68

10

FC-70

10

Assault Weapon Assault Weapon Rifle

Kodiak

11

Rifle

H900

10

Rifle

Double 10 Express Crossover 11

Rifle

FAA-73

10

Rifle

Type34

10

Pistol

G-22

10

RPG-90

10

Assault Weapon Assault Weapon

M-4

10

Pistol Pistol

Rifle

Rifle

Required Skill Gun Combat Gun Combat Gun Combat Gun Combat Gun Combat Gun Combat Gun Combat Gun Combat Gun Combat Gun Combat Gun Combat Gun Combat Gun Combat Gun Combat Gun Combat Gun Combat Gun Combat Gun Combat Gun Combat Gun Combat Gun Combat Gun Combat Heavy Weapons/ Launcher Heavy Weapons/ Launcher

Damage 3d6

Magazine Auto 6 No

Recoil 2

Cost Lv900

Mass (loaded) 1.35 kg

Ammo Cost Lv40/200

3d6+3

6

No

1

Lv1,200

1.75 kg

Lv40/60

4d6

6

No

2

Lv1,800

2.2 kg

Lv50/200

2d6+1

7

No

0

Lv600

0.6

Lv20/200

3d6

20

No

1

Lv300

0.73

Lv10/200

3d6+3

18

No

1

Lv500

0.88

Lv20/200

4d6-1

10

No

1

Lv1,200

1.9

Lv10/50

4d6

7

No

2

Lv420

2.6

Lv20/200

4d6

8

No

2

Lv650

2.7

Lv20/200

4d6 (6d6)* 3d6

2

No

2 (3)*

Lv200

2.6

Lv20/200

1

No

1

Lv140

1.77

Lv25/200

3d6+3

6

No

2

Lv600

2.2

Lv30/200

3d6-1

9

No

1

Lv200

1.4

Lv10/200

3d6-1

70

4

1

Lv720

1.3

Lv20/300

3d6

5

No

1

Lv650

3.2

Lv10/100

4d6

4

No

1

Lv1,100

3.2

Lv100/200

4d6+2

5

No

1

Lv900

3.7

Lv20/200

5d6+2

2

No

3

5.2

Lv2/1

3d6/4d6

5/4

No

1

Lv800/ Lv8,000 Lv650

2.8

Lv20/200

3d6

25

4

1

Lv360

3.5

LV10/100

3d6-3

100

6

2

Lv1,200

3.6

Lv20/200

3d6+2

42

6

1

Lv1,500

3.1

Lv10/42

8d6AP

1

No

0

Lv500

7.1

Lv60/1

9d6AP

1

No

0

Lv900

9.4

Lv120/1

* Second value on the Dingo is used when both barrels are fired at once.

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Kaskakaia Kodiak Hunting Rifle (7.5mm)

Unlike most 7.5mm rifles, the Kodiak does not use the enormous stock of surplus 7.5x32mm or 7.5 x 40mm ammunition left over from the Central Asian War. Instead, it uses a match-grade custom 7.5x51 mm round developed by Kaskakaia for a military sniper rifle contract that fell through. The terminal characteristics of the Kodiak are excellent, making it a good choice for longrange hunting of medium-sized game. It does not come with a scope, but one may be purchased, as it includes mounting rails to accommodate even military models. Type: 7.5mm conventional rifle Country: United States Length: 78 cm Action: Single shot Mass (empty): 2.7 kg Ammunition: 7.5 x 51mm match grade ball Muzzle Velocity: 1270 mps Magazine: 5-round removable box magazine Mass of five rounds: 0.5 kg RoF: 60rpm Price: Lv1,100, Lv100 for 200 loose rounds

Stracher Double Express Rifle

Stracher makes two variants of their ultra-heavy double-express rifle. Both are heavy, double-barreled rifles that fire a massive 14x120mm round. Dampeners in the stock help cushion some of the recoil. The stock ‘Classik’ is sold to colonists and explorers as a high-threat takedown weapon, and has been used to some success against Beowulf dracoforms, even the heavily-armoured Cave Dragon. It is a basic weapon with polycarbonate stocks and a plain blued steel barrel. The Meisterwerk version is a bespoke weapon with hand-carved furniture and engraved barrels. Each one is a custom-made work of art. Effective performance is identical, though the Meisterwerk receives DM+1 on attack rolls due to the custom fitting, though only for the person for whom it was made. Type: 14mm double-barreled rifle Country: Austrovenia Length: 112 cm Action: Single shot Mass (empty): 4.9 kg Ammunition: 14x120mm fixed cartridge ball Muzzle Velocity: 1,370 mps Magazine: 2 rounds Mass of two rounds: 0.3kg RoF: 30rpm Price: Lv800 for the Classik model, Lv8,000 for the Meisterwerk, Lv2 per round

DunArmCo H900 Thunder

Manufactured by DunArmCo, the H900 Thunder is used for big game hunting, and is occasionally pressed into service by police and militia forces as a sniper rifle. Over-penetration makes it unsuitable for situations like hostage rescue, however. On the Frontier, it is widely used whenever large and/or dangerous local animals are likely to be encountered. It is the favoured weapon for hunting the White Wing of Hermes, for example. Nicknamed the ‘Thunder from Down Under.’ Type: 11mm bolt-action hunting rifle Country: Australia Length: 110 cm Action: Single shot bolt-action Mass (empty): 3.1kg Ammunition: 11x68mm fixed cartridge ball Muzzle Velocity: 1100 mps Magazine: 5-round removable box magazine Mass of loaded magazine: 0.6 kg RoF: 120rpm Price: Lv900, Lv20 for 200 loose rounds

DunArmCo Crossover Rifle

DunArmCo’s Crossover rifle/shotgun combination was originally marketed to police forces as an entry gun, but has since found its niche as a general purpose gun found in many colonial homes, especially on the American and Chinese Arms. The low magazine capacity makes it acceptable to Manchurian authorities, while the versatility makes it popular for all users. It takes five rounds of rifle ammo in a box magazine forward of the trigger guard, and four. round of 18mm shotgun shells in a tube under the shotgun barrel. It should be noted that while the standard box magazine for this rifle only holds five rounds, with very little work the 25-round magazine from the FAA-73 assault rifle will also fit the Crossover. Type: 7.5mm rifle with18mm pump-action shotgun Country: Australia Length: 79 cm Action: Single shot Mass (empty): 2.1 kg Ammunition: 7.5x40mm fixed cartridge ball and 18x70 mm shotgun shell Muzzle Velocity: 1,100 mps for rifle, 410 mps for shotgun Magazine: 5 round removable box magazine for rifle, 4 round internal tube magazine for shotgun Mass of loaded rifle magazine: 0.4 kg

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Type-34

Mass of four shells: 0.3 kg RoF: 80rpm Price: Lv650, Lv20 for 200 loose rounds

S u r p l u s M i l i t a r y W e ap o n s Equipment

and

Militia and colonial forces often have to make due with weapons and equipment cast off from the founding nation, or from older colonies. Much of this equipment is worn and old, many of it at or near end-of-life. Skilled armourers are often employed by these groups to keep their old weapons running properly, or even upgrade them in some cases. A common modification is to add a shotgun for close-in combat, or else a grenade launcher with range-fused grenades and a smart-sight. More often than not, though, grenade launchers are supplied on a squad level, using magazine-fed launchers.

The Russian type 34 submachine gun was a popular weapon during the war, and became a sort of signature weapon for Spetsnatz troops operating in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Using a 100-round helical magazine that actually forms the weapon’s rear stock makes this a very compact, yet accurate weapon. Type: 8mm submachinegun Country: Russia Length: 62 cm Action: Single shot or bursts Mass (empty): 1.4 kg Ammunition: 8x28mm fixed cartridge ball. Muzzle Velocity: 670 mps Magazine: 100-round removable helical magazine. Mass of loaded magazine: 2.2 kg RoF: 1,100 rpm. Price: Lv1,200, Lv20 for 200 loose rounds

FAA-73

Prior to the adoption of the FAM-90 gauss rifle, the FAA (Fusile Automatique d’Assault – 2273) was the standard French infantry rifle during the Central Asian War, adopted just prior to the war. The lack of an integral grenade launcher was a major drawback for this weapon, especially in the urban battles that characterised much of the middle phase of the war. The small magazine size was another factor that pushed the French military to search for a new weapon once the war was over. The FAA-73 rifle remains in service with colonial troops, many of whom have procured after-market magazines to solve the ammo capacity problem. These non-standard issue magazines are available in 50 and even 100-round configurations. Type: 7.5mm rifle conventional assault rifle Country: France Length: 83 cm Action: Single shot or bursts Mass (empty): 3.0 kg Ammunition: 7.5x40mm fixed cartridge ball Muzzle Velocity: 910 mps for rifle Magazine: 25 round removable box magazine (50 or 100-round also available, for Lv20 and Lv50 each) Mass of loaded rifle magazine: 0.5 kg (1.1 kg for 50 round, 2.4 kg for 100-round snail mag) RoF: 550rpm Price: Lv360, Lv10 for 600 loose rounds

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G-22

The Bavarian G-22 was an early binary propellant weapon that ultimately led to the Hanoverian Sk-19. While the weapon’s performance was good, reliability was consistently poor, which led to Bavaria ultimately adopting the less-advanced FAA-73 as their standard service weapon. Subsequent investigation revealed that propellant gas mix was sub-optimal and replacing it with a better mix substantially improved the reliability and performance of the weapon. By then, however, the Bavarian military had already placed their order for 8,000 FAA-73s, and was not about to renege on the contract. The 42 round magazine is loaded through the buttstock, while the propellant and oxidizer bottles are connected forward of the trigger guard. Type: 7mm binary propellant assault rifle Country: Bavaria Length: 83 cm Action: Single shot or bursts Mass (empty): 2.3 kg Ammunition: 7x22mm ball Muzzle Velocity: 980 mps Magazine: 42 round disposable box magazine, two gas bottles with enough propellant to fire 4 full magazines. Mass of loaded rifle magazine: 0.4 kg Mass of propellant and oxidizer bottles: 0.4 g RoF: 900rpm Price: Lv1,500, Lv10 per magazine, Lv 10 per gas bottle

Weapon AS-3

TL 10

Range Pistol

Restraint Carbine WASS

10

Shotgun

11

Rifle

Neural Disruptor

12

Shotgun

Required Skill Energy Weapons Energy Weapons Energy Weapons Energy Weapons

Damage 2d6+2

Magazine Auto 40 0

Recoil Cost 0 Lv450

Mass (loaded) 2 kg

Ammo Cost Lv10

3d6

15

2

0

Lv600

5 kg

Lv15

3d6+2

300

4

0

Lv6,000

73 kg

Lv150

Special

6

No

0

Lv1,400

2 kg

Lv20

RPG-90

Designed by the Segetov Group but license-built all over human space, the RPG-90 is a very basic anti-tank rocket launcher, used to good effect by partisan forces against both the Manchurians and the French and their allies (including, ironically, Russians) during the Central Asian War. Militia tactics often emphasis the RPG as the primary weapon of a fire team, with the other weapons to provide security and covering fire. Type: 90 mm rocket launcher Country: Russia Length: 80 cm for launcher, plus 35 for warhead when loaded Action: Single shot Mass (empty): 4.5 kg Ammunition: 90mm x 45cm rocket with HEAT warhead Muzzle Velocity: 200 mps Magazine: Single shot Mass of Single Round: 2.6 kg RoF: 20rpm Price: Lv500, Lv 60 per rocket

Carl-Gustav M4 Recoilless Rifle

For many years, the standard anti-tank weapon of the Scandinavian Union was the Carl Gustav M4, produced by the member-state of Sweden. This very robust weapon can operate under just about any conditions, and can be equipped with a guided warhead that can make small course corrections to home in on the light from a laser designator. It is not in any sense a rocket or missile launcher, as all the propellant is burned before the warhead leaves the tube. It produces a considerable backblast within a four-meter cone from the rear of the weapon. Type: 80mm recoilless rifle

Country: Scandinavian Union Length: 97 cm Action: Single shot Mass (empty): 6.4 kg Ammunition: 80x200 mm HEAT round Muzzle Velocity: 340 mps Magazine: Single Shot Mass of one round: 3 kg RoF: 20 rpm Price: Lv900, Lv120 per round

P o l i c e W e ap o n s

With the advent of stun weapons, police are rarely required to resort to lethal force in the line of duty. If anything, the widespread use of non-lethal weapons has given police forces an attitude of ‘shoot first, ask questions later.’ In many jurisdictions, the only limit on this use of non-lethal force is the requirement for them to identify themselves as police officers before opening fire. Most police officers will carry another weapon as a backup, however, since sonic stunners are not 100% effective, and some can shrug off the effects. Stunners also have a short effective range. It is also possible to protect oneself from the effects of a sonic weapon, so police forces need an alternative, which is typically a shotgun or large caliber handgun. It is worth noting that neural disruptors, which are extremely rare on the Frontier, are 100% effective against unmodified nervous systems.

S o n i c W e ap o n s

Sonic stunners project focused sound energy, usually in the ultrahigh frequency range, with sufficient energy to stun the target. They are only effective in atmospheres and against targets not wearing heavy armour (particularly airtight armored helmets). As a result of these limitations and the fact that sonic bursts merely stun an opponent, they are of limited combat value. However, they are highly effective, non-lethal control weapons and used

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extensively by police and security forces. Sonic weapons can be used underwater, where they have their ranges and damages doubled, and targets suffer DM-1 on Endurance checks. Sonic stunners are non-lethal and do not inflict normal damage. A character struck by a stun weapon must make an Endurance check with a negative DM equal to the damage (after armour is subtracted). If this Endurance check is failed the character is knocked unconscious. If the Endurance check is successful, the character is unaffected by the weapon and the stun damage ignored.

Brandt Audionique AS-3

This sonic stunner is often used by police and security guards. Like the P-3 laser pistol, the power pack is separate, carried on the belt beside the weapon’s holster. Type: Sonic stun pistol Country: France Length: 47cm Mass (Empty): 2 kg Action: Single shot Muzzle Velocity: Local speed of sound Magazine: 5MJ LMS cell (40 pulses) Battery Mass: 0.5 kg RoF: 130 rpm Price: Lv450 (Lv10 for 5 MJ disposable LMS cell)

Darlan M9 Wide Area Sonic Stunner (WASS)

Typically a vehicle-mounted device, the WASS is a sonic weapon capable of blanketing a large area very rapidly. It is often used in crowd control and high-risk situations like hostage-taking. Type: Sonic stun cannon Country: France Length: 172cm Mass (Empty): 53 kg Action: Single shot or bursts Muzzle Velocity: Local speed of sound Magazine: external fuel cell with power for 300 shots Fuel Cell Mass: 20 kg RoF: 600 rpm Price: Lv6,000 (Lv150 for fuel cell)

Quinn-Darlan ASW-2 Neural Disruptor

Quinn Optronics Restraint Carbine

The heavier restraint carbine is used for high-risk situations where its greater power overrides its more cumbersome size. Type: Sonic stun police carbine Country: America Length: 73cm Mass (Empty): 4 kg Action: Single shot Muzzle Velocity: Local speed of sound Magazine: 5MJ LMS cell (15 pulses) Battery Mass: 1 kg RoF: 300 rpm Price: Lv600 (Lv15 for 5MJ disposable LMS cell)

Weapon

TL

Range

Required Skill

Faustus

9

Shotgun Heavy Weapons

If a neural disrupter is seen on a Frontier world, it is almost always in the hands of a Core world agent. These weapons are extremely rare on the Frontier, rare enough that one can never be purchased except through the black market. A hit from a neural disrupter will knock the target unconscious for 2d6 minutes, and they will wake up with a blinding headache (DM3 to all actions) that lasts for 1d6 hours. The only defense is a rewired nervous system, like neural sheathing or the King and Merman DNA modifications. Type: Voigt-effect Neural Disrupter Country: France/United States Length: 27 cm Action: Single shot Mass (empty): 1.4 kg Ammunition: Muzzle Velocity: C Magazine: 12 Mj HDLMS cell, with power for 6 shots

Damage Magazine Auto

Recoil

Cost

Mass

Ammo Cost

varies

2

Lv950

4.1 kg

Varies

5

119

No

Mass of loaded magazine: 0.6 kg RoF: 120rpm Price: Lv1,400, Lv20 for 12Mj HDLMS cell

Shock Glove

Shock gloves have much the same effect as the baton, above, but are more likely to be used by security guards and the military, not to mention the underworld.

Puke Stick

The puke stick is a prisoner/riot control device. When it hits, or even touches, a target, a specially modulated pulse of electricity is sent into the victim, making him nauseated and often violently ill. Most people are not capable of putting up a great deal of resistance if they are vomiting their guts out.

Shock gloves, unlike stunners, are less-lethal weapons rather than non-lethal weapons, and can inflict real damage. A character struck by shock gloves must make an Endurance check with a negative DM equal to the damage (after armour is subtracted). If this Endurance check is failed the character is knocked unconscious. The effect lasts for Effect x five minutes. If the Endurance check is successful, the character suffers DM-2 to all actions for Effect x two minutes. In any case, each hit from the shock gloves results in one point of real damage. TL: 10 Mass: 0.4 kg Price: Lv250

Puke sticks, like stunners, are non-lethal and do not inflict normal damage. A character struck by a puke stick must make an Endurance check with a negative DM equal to the damage (after armour is subtracted). If this Endurance check is failed the character is violently ill (DM-3 to all actions, 1/3 normal movement rate). This lasts for Effect x 5 minutes. If the Endurance check is successful, the character is unaffected by the weapon and the damage ignored. TL: 0 Mass: 1 kg Price: Lv550

Shock Baton

Designed for police and prison work, short versions of these weapons are much favored by muggers and thieves. Shock batons, like stunners, are non-lethal and do not inflict normal damage. A character struck by a shock must make an Endurance check with a negative DM equal to the damage (after armour is subtracted). If this Endurance check is failed the character is effectively stunned (DM-3 to all actions, 1/3 normal movement rate). This lasts for Effect x 5 minutes. If the Endurance check is successful, the character is unaffected by the weapon. However, in all cases, half of the damage from the shock baton is real. TL: 9 Mass: 1 kg Price: Lv320

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Weapon Price Puke Lv550 Stick

TL 10

Mass 1kg

Shock Baton

Lv320

9

1kg

Shock Glove

Lv250

10

0.4kg

Heft Range 1 Melee (Bludgeon) Melee (Bludgeon) Melee (Touch)

Damage 2d6+2 2d6 3d6

Stracher Faustus CD Gas/Baton Launcher

This five-shot grenade launcher uses 27mm rounds, which are both narrower and longer than standard propelled grenades, making it incompatible with military grenade launchers. The most commonly available rounds are CD (Crowd Dispersal) Gas, Rubber Batons, and Shock Batons. The rounds are loaded in a five-shot rotary magazine, allowing the user to select which round to fire. Type: 27mm grenade launcher Country: Austrovenia Length: 84 cm Action: Single shot Mass (empty): 2.6 kg Ammunition: 27mm propelled grenade Muzzle Velocity: 250 mps Magazine: 5 rounds Mass of five rounds: 1.5 kg

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RoF: 30rpm Price: Lv950 Grenade CD Gas

Damage 2d6 stun

Blast Radius 9 meters

Mass Price 0.4 kg Lv24

Riot Baton

2d6 stun

3 meters

0.4 kg Lv20

Shock Baton 3d6 stun/1d6 1d6 real

0.4 kg Lv30

Robots and Drones Even on the Frontier, robots and drones are vital components of the local economy. Given the chronic worker shortages suffered by most colonies, robots pick up the slack and fill in the gaps. They are important in many industries requiring brute force or repetitive work, or work in hazardous environments. Robots are commonplace enough that they will be in the background of almost any location on the Frontier. From multibots and crop spiders on industrial farms to Rosies in restaurants, they are everywhere, and well-accepted by most people, in the same way that appliances and power tools are accepted. The exception to this general rule are the Dolls, which can pass as human to a casual observer, and some can pass even after extended conversation. People tend to get angry or embarrassed if they do not detect a Doll immediately, and tend to react poorly to them. Thus Dolls are rarely seen outside of their workplaces, which tend to be bars and comfort houses.

Aquitaine GZK-10 Survey Probe

The survey probe is one of the first human devices to contact an alien world. They are generally landed via disposable gliders or aeroshells, whereupon they inflate their hydrogen envelope to begin their long-duration voyage. Survey probes are solarpowered, with small batteries for night-time operation. The electric fans make them very manoeuvrable, but not very fast. The probe is equipped with a full spectrum of sensors, including magnetic anomaly, visual, IR, microwave, UV, radar, groundpenetrating radar, sonar, extended range auditory, and even olfactory sensors. A small lab allows it to conduct basic analysis on any samples acquired, and transmit findings to a ship in orbit. Any leakage of hydrogen from the lift envelope can be replenished by the probe from local water supplies. Each probe has a pair of manipulator arms on flexible tentacles in addition to a primary sensor-cluster, much like a humanoid face. Two multi-legged drone spiders, along with two flying disk camera platforms, extend the sensor capabilities of the probe.

of possible emergent AI in these machines, there has not been a close examination of these claims nor the robots themselves. Many colonists actually seek them out, like a pilgrimage, to see if they have any special insight to the planet. Due to their design, survey robots cannot connect to planetary Link networks or any sort of ad hoc wireless network, necessitating seeking them out in person. They can only connect data lines to a ship in orbit, though they can connect voice channels to local radios. TL: 12 Frame: Basic (Long) Size: 4 Slots: 4 remaining Unit: (head) Size 2 Slots: 4 Armour: 6 Strength 9, Dexterity 9 Hull 5, Structure 6 Mass: 396.5 kg Intelligence: 12, Education: 7 Arms: Size 3, Extending, retractable Locomotion: Robot Airship Size 5 Lift 500 175 kph Brain: Synaptic Computer with 10 Memory Sticks, running Command Algorithm 3, Personality Program 3, Antivirus 2, Encyclopaedia 3, Language (French), Language (choose), Voice Recognition System, Advanced Vocoder, Software Skillpacks: Recon 2, Sensors 1, Biology 1, Remote Operator 0 Traits: Light, Sealed, All Ranged Attacks have a +2 DM to Hit Due to the size of the envelope Equipment: Enhanced Audio, Basic Optics, Enhanced Optics, Low-lite, IR, Radar, Sonar, Basic Holo-Projector, Voder, Advanced, Rad Sensor, Regional Radio, Inertial GPS, Biology MicroLab, Carrier Berths (4 x Size 2) Price: Lv282,700

Survey robots have been known to last for up to 20 years, longer if they can be repaired and maintained on a regular basis. There are many colony worlds that still have several of these robots flying around gathering data. After all the years of service, the robots have developed interesting personalities. Though a computer scientist will say that they are not true AI, to most they seem as fully intelligent as any human. Despite tales

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Momotaro Spider Drone

The spider drone is a small, eight-legged robot used by probes to get in closer to ground areas of interest without risking the probe itself. The drone is primarily a sensor platform, with an array of visual, IR, UV and ground penetrating radar, along with basic auditory sensors. It does have a sampling arm able to collect small samples for return to the probe for analysis. All functions of the drone are controlled by the probe. TL: 12 Frame: Basic (Long) Size: 2 Slots: 6 Armour: 1 Strength 4, Dexterity 6 Hull: 2 Structure 1 Mass: 13 kg Intelligence 0, Education 0 Arms: Size 1 Damage: 1d6 Locomotion: Sprawling Legs Size 2, 8 kph Traits: Drone, Light, Sealed, +2 DM to opposed grappling checks, All ranged attacks suffer a -1 DM until Close range,

TL: 12 Frame: Basic (Long) Size: 2 Slots: 6 Armour: 1 Strength 0, Dexterity 0 Hull: 2 Structure 1 Mass: 9.5 kg Intelligence 0, Education 0 (Drone) Arms: None Locomotion: Rotors Size 2 44kph Traits: Drone, Light, Sealed, Aerodynamic, +2 DM to opposed grappling checks, All ranged attacks suffer a -1 DM until Close range Equipment: Basic Optics, Advanced Optics, Distant Radio Transceiver, Drone Controller Weapons: None Price: Lv6,100

Equipment: Audio Sensors, Basic Optics, Infrared Vision, Distant Radio Transceiver, Microscope Weapons: None Price: Lv9,700

Hazmat Drone

Flying Disk Camera Platform

The flying disk is a fast little flyer, equipped with a pair of high-speed cameras. It is very manoeuvrable, and effectively disposable. The probe carries eight of these devices, which act as eyes and ears in areas where the probe cannot, or should not, go.

AgilArVehicle TL Skill ity Speed Range mour Mining 11 N/A -1 7 5 75 km 4 Robot km/h

The Steadman Industries HMH-5 Hazmat drone is a remoteoperated vehicle meant to go in harm’s way. Variations of this design are also used for explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), nuclear reactor work, and toxic spill cleanup. To avoid interference, the drone is controlled by fibre-optic cable back to a computer or gauntlet. Each drone carries a spool of 500 metres of cable, which is about the thickness of standard fishing line. This cable is the drone’s greatest weakness, as it can become caught up or cut by debris or wreckage in the event of natural or man-made disasters. It has a back-up radio controller, which has never proven very effective, especially in radiological environments.

Crew and Shipping Passengers Cargo Open? Hull Structure Cost Size N/A No No 10 10 Lv450,000 10 tons

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Skills and Programs: Robot Brain: Parallel Computer, running Control Algorithm 2, Personality Program 1, Antivirus 1, Skill Pack (construction) 2, VRS, Basic Vocoder

TL: 11 Frame: Basic (Tall) Size: 3 Slots: 10 Armour: 3 Strength 12, Dexterity 10 Hull 5, Structure 2 Mass: 1,138 kg Intelligence: 0, Education: 0 Arms: Size 3 Locomotion: Tracked 60 kph Traits: Drone, Sealed, Strong, Hardwearing

Equipment: Tracked, Digging Tools, Plasma Borer, Low Light, Infrared, Video Display, Lightbar, 4 Spotlights, Rock Cutter Plasma Borer (weapon mode) Weapon Location Damage Plasma Fixed 19d6 DeBorer Forward structive

Range Very Long

Auto 2

Ammo 80

Equipment: Chainsaws, Tool Kit, Audio Sensors, Code Reader, Basic Optics, Infrared Vision, Low Light Vision, Very Distant Radio Transceiver, Radiation Detector, Smoke Detector, Cable with 1,000 M Fibre Optic Cable Weapons: None Price: Lv22,500

SAR Drone

Mining Robot

The mining robot is an important contributor to most colonies, as these worlds typically lack the manpower to effectively exploit their mineral wealth. The mining robot is a variation of the standard construction robot in the 2300AD Core Rulebook. The primary difference is the addition of a plasma borer to the assembly. A plasma borer uses a focused stream of plasma to heat and soften the rock face while a more conventional drill head moves into it. A small deep-radar unit on the robot searches for flaws or pockets in the rock, and adjusts the beam accordingly. While the beam is focussed far too closely to be used as a weapon, the focus can be adjusted by skilled technicians to turn the borer into something like an extreme flamethrower, very destructive but difficult to aim. AgilVehicle TL Skill ity Farm 11 Drive -1 Mulibot (wheeled)

ArSpeed Range mour 68 500 km 3 km/h

The SAR drone is an example of a snake bot, a multi-segmented device able to work its way through crevices, small tunnels, wreckage and collapsed buildings to find survivors. It is capable of providing limited first aid, running communications lines, setting up emergency transponders, and even providing emergency life-support, food and water. It is not a large machine, however, and is best used in the Search portion of Search-andRescue operations. A SAR team will typically deploy a dozen or more of these at a rescue scene, allowing them to use their array of sensors, including olfactory, thermal and sound, to ferret out anyone trapped, whether in a building, mine collapse or even an avalanche, as the bots can dig through snow and loose dirt easily. TL: 12 Frame: Tube Size: 2 Slots: 4 Unit: Sensor Cluster Size 1 Slots 2 Armour: 1 Strength 0, Dexterity 0

Crew and Passengers Cargo Open? Hull 0 2 No 13

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StrucShipping ture Cost Lv Size 13 139,700 13 tons

Hull: 3, Structure 3 Mass: 17 kg Intelligence: 0, Education: 0 Arms: None Locomotion: N/A 3 metres/round Traits: Drone, Floating, Hardwearing, Sealed, +6 DM to opposed Grappling Check, Able to move through small passages as a machine 2 size categories smaller Equipment: Audio Sensors, Infrared Vision, Distant Radio Transceiver, GPS Unit, Hooks Floating, Hardwearing, Sealed, Smell Sensors, Drone Controller Weapons: None Price: Lv10,600

Programs and Skills: Robot Brain: Parallel Computer, 1 Memory Stick, running Control Algorithm 2, Personality Program 1, Antivirus 1, Skill Pack (farming) 1 Int: 3 Edu: 0 Special Features: Robot, Drone Controller, Basic Navigation, Basic Communications (Extreme Range), Farm Module Bay (20 Spaces), Farm Modules: Use the same modules as the MuleCorp Mashkodebizhiki (Bison)

Crop Spider MuleCorp ‘Massey’ Farm Multibot

New colonies generally do not have the resources to import farm multibots, though towns and villages can often band together to purchase one to serve the entire area. The Massey is a multipurpose machine, as its name indicates, being able to plow, seed, fertilise, tend, and harvest with little human intervention, save to keep it maintained. Multibots are complex machines, and can break down often in less than optimum conditions. In fact, they break down often enough that they include a fabricator and files to make most of their own spare parts. This fabricator will see considerable work, usually being pressed into making other goods and parts when it is not making parts for the multibot. It is the equivalent of a light industrial fabricator.

Airship, Robot Name Airship, Size 1 Airship, Size 2 Airship, Size 3 Airship, Size 4 Airship, Size 5

TL 7 7 7 7 7

Slots +2 +4 +6 +8 +10

Lift (kg) 10 30 80 250 500

The Crop Spider is a small semi-autonomous robot designed to travel through fields and crops, taking soil and plant samples, and looking for insects and parasites. It can perform basic tests with its on-board equipment, though for any sort of complex work, it has to return samples to a more complete lab. The high resolution cameras allow the spider to find and identify diseases and pests on plants, and relay that information back to a control console, which could be a gauntlet or body comp, or a workstation in a vehicle, home, or office. With some modification, crop spiders can be used to assist with labour-intensive crops like rice and quinoa. TL: 10 Frame: Basic (Long) Size: 2 Slots: 6 Armour: 1 Strength 4, Dexterity 6 Hull 3, Structure 2 Mass: 32 kg

Speed (kph) 25 50 125 150 175

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Mass (kg) 1 3 8 25 50

Cost (Cr.) 750 1,500 2,250 4,000 15,000

To Hit DM 0 +1 +1 +2 +3

Androids in 2300AD

An android, in this context, is an artificially-intelligent system in a very life-life human body. It would take an actual medical scan to determine that the being in question is a robot. While 2300AD does not have true artificial intelligence, many expert systems can come awfully close. It may be possible to construct an almost-artificially intelligent robot. Indeed, someone may have already done so, in some backwater experimental lab.

Intelligence: 7, Education: 3 5 Arms: Size 1 Locomotion: Sprawling Legs Size 3 40 kph Brain: Parallel Computer with 2 Memory Sticks, running Command Algorithm 2, Personality Program 2, Antivirus 1, Farming 1, Encyclopaedia 1 (farming)

TL: 10 Frame: Basic (Tall) Size: 2 Slots: 6 Strength 0, Dexterity 0 Hull 2, Structure 1 Armour: 1 Mass: 15 kg Intelligence: 0, Education: 0 Arms: None Locomotion: Lift Envelope Size 2 50 kph Traits: Drone, Light Equipment: Audio Sensors, Code Reader, Basic Optics, Infrared Vision, Very Distant Radio Transceiver, GPS Unit (Satellite), Drone Controller Weapons: None Price: Lv5,750

Traits: Sealed, +2 DM to opposed grappling checks, All ranged attacks suffer a -1 DM until Close range Equipment: Audio Sensors, Motion Sensor, Basic Optics, Tactile Sensor, Radio Transceiver (Distant Range) Weapons: Robot Punch (Melee (unarmed), 1d6 damage) Price: Lv47,600

Pichot Industries RS-10 Domestic Robot ‘Rosie’

The domestic robot can be used for most cleaning and cooking tasks, including bartending and commercial cooking. It is intended more for a commercial/institutional audience than private ownership, unlike the Systemas Domesticas robot found in the 2300AD Core Rulebook. A Rosie can keep track of and perfectly deliver up to eight meals at a time, while washing a load of dishes in its belly, and taking orders from nanocomps in the eating area. It has a factory-installed repertoire of 2,000 recipes, to which more can be added. It is also equipped with a learning program, so it can watch someone make a recipe and, with three repetitions, will be able to repeat the recipe exactly.

Herd Drone

The herd drone is a small LTA (Lighter Than Air) drone that drifts around herds of livestock to monitor their condition and surroundings. It is little more than a floating camera with a high resolution thermal imager, which helps to monitor animal health, and also enables the drone to spot predators or other threats at night. Tethers Cable Type Metallic Metallic Fibre Optic Fibre Optic

Cable Length 500 m 5,000 m 5,000 m 20,000 m

It can also clean, wash dishes, wash clothes, and take notes. Though Rosies are expensive, they are a fairly common sight in bars and restaurants across the frontier. Rosie can also be made without the internal washer system, in which case the chassis is

Spaces (on controller) 0.5 1 0.5 1.5

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Spool Mass 50 kg 400 kg 50 kg 500 kg

Price Lv200 Lv900 Lv2,000 Lv18,000

much more humanoid, and for many restaurants and bars, the styling can be made quite ‘sexy’, in a very artificial way. Rosie’s are capable of talking and bantering with customers. The chassis is also available in a male-appearing version called a ‘Jacques.’ TL: 11 Frame: Standard (Tall) Size: 3, Slots: 10 Unit: Size 1 Head Slots: 2 Strength 8, Dexterity 8 Hull 4, Structure 2 Armour: 3 Mass: 120kg Intelligence: 9, Education: 7 Arms: Size 2 Locomotion: Legs Size 3 Brain: Parallel Computer with 2 Memory Sticks, running Command Algorithm 2, Personality Program 3, Antivirus 1, Steward 1, Carousing 0, VRS, Encyclopaedia 1 (recipes), Language (Choose), Experience Processor, Emotion Generator Traits: Sealed Equipment: Household Cleaner, Audio Sensors, Code Reader, Dishwasher, Basic Optics, Infrared Vision, Smoke Detector, Tactile Sensor, Wireless Connection, Smell Detector, Taste Sensor, Timer Weapons: Robot Punch (Melee (unarmed), 1d6 damage) Price: Lv68,800

HumaniTech Enhanced Companion Robot ‘Doll’

Labour of all sorts is at a premium on the Frontier. On most worlds, the demographics are skewed, with many more men than women. While this tends to even out over time, the first thirty to fifty years will generally see a gender imbalance. Conversely, Libertine starship crews see an imbalance the other way, with women outnumbering the men. Traditionally, people in such circumstances have sought the services of a professional, but even they are in short supply on a developing world. That is where a Doll comes in. Extremely life-like in both look and feel, the doll is capable of carrying on a conversation, with a decision tree designed by psychologists in the Core. Most movements and functions are likewise very life-like, including the ability to stand upright and walk. Dolls are available in both male and female formats, and exotic forms are available for an additional cost. So close are these robots to being human in appearance, in every conceivable way, that most manufacturers mark a bar code and serial number above the Doll’s left eye. While this can be concealed with makeup, it is always there, to be shown on demand. Dolls are occasionally found in other roles, like servers at upscale restaurants, hosts or hostesses, and receptionists at corporate offices. They are life-like enough to fool most observers in this roles. TL: 12 Frame: Tall Size: 3, Slots: 10 Unit: Size 1 Head, 2 slots Strength 8, Dexterity 8 Hull 4, Structure 3 Armour: 3 Mass: 120 kg Intelligence: 12, Education: 5 Arms: Size 2 Locomotion: Legs Brain: Synaptic Computer with 2 Memory Sticks, running Command Algorithm 3, Personality Program 4, Antivirus 1, Steward 1, Carouse 1, Psychology 1, VRS, Encyclopaedia 1, Language (French), Language (choose), Experience Processor Traits: Light Equipment: Audio Sensors, Emotion Generator, Emotion Analyser, Basic Optics, Tactile Sensor, Wireless Connection, Smell Detector, Taste Sensor, Sex Organs, Voder (advanced), Bio-cover , Bio-cover “Beautiful” Upgrade Weapons: Robot Punch (Melee (unarmed), 1d6 damage) Price: Lv144,750

Aquitaine D-5 Remote Piloted Robot/Drone

A remote piloted drone is a small, battery-powered, rotordriven  aerial sensor. It incorporates a video imager with up to 5x magnification and thermal imaging for night vision and limited visibility in fog or smoke. The video imager outputs directly to a  monitor and a video recorder at the controller station. The

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OceanTech SD-8 ‘Sandy’ Deep ROV

drone also includes a microphone for audio data and a large lifeform detector. The drone has a limited free-flight capability, where it will fly semi-randomly until it sees or hears something that triggers a pre-programmed response. It can also be operated as a drone by a remote pilot. It is based on the robot/drone used for urban surveillance in the Core. For this reason, most law enforcement agencies on the Frontier are reluctant to use them except in the most dire of circumstances. TL: 12 Frame Type: Basic (Long) Size: 2 (0 slots remaining) Strength 0, Dexterity 0, Hull 2, Structure 1 Locomotion: Rotors Size 2, 100 kph Intelligence: 2, Education: 0

The Deep ROV 9 (Remote Operated Vehicle) is a selfpropelled, torpedo-shaped device approximately two metres long and about a metre wide, with a variety of attached tools, such as lifting  arms, oxygen tubes, cutting lasers, and highintensity search lights. An operator at a remote panel can control the robot from as far as five kilometres through either a fibreoptic cable or 50 kilometres using an Ultra Low Frequency(ULF) radio. The bandwidth of ULF systems is low, so a drone being controlled this way has DM-2 to all actions. The ROV has video, infrared, and sonar sensors and a broadcaster to relay images of its surroundings to the control panel, and  the panel also contains a sonar scanner to track the robot’s position. Again, due to bandwidth restrictions using the ULF system, the drone can only relay still images every two seconds or so. ROVs are used for rescue operations, and undersea operations in which conditions are too dangerous for direct human presence. TL: 10 Frame: Basic (Long) Size: 3, Arms Size 3 Strength 12, Dexterity 12 Hull 3, Structure 2 Armour: 3 Locomotion: Water Jet Size 3 90 kph Traits: Sealed, Aerodynamic (hydrodynamic), Equipment: Audio Sensors, Infrared, Distant Transceiver, Drone Controller, Sonar, Oxy-fuel Cutter, Radiation Sensor, Spotlight, Toolkit, 5 km of fibre optic cable in a fullerene sheath. Weapons: Robot Punch (Melee (unarmed), 1d6 damage) Price: Lv32,800

Brain: Parallel Computer with 1000GB, running Control Algorithm 1, Personality Program 1, Antivirus 1, Recon 0 Traits: Light, Sealed Equipment: Audio Sensors, Basic Optics, Advanced Optics, Code Reader, Drone Controller, Infrared, Distant Transceiver Weapons: Ram (Melee (unarmed), 1d6 damage) Price: Lv29,500

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Microdrones

Insects of many types are common around Terran colonies, including wasps, bees, cockroaches, flies and moths. This ubiquity has led to many of them being used as platforms for surveillance devices and as remote-operated drones. This involves grafting a sensor platform to the insect, along with control nodes allowing them to be remotely-operated.

Int: 0 Move: 4 Skills: Recon 0, Melee 0 Mass: Negligible, 1 kg for the controller. Price: Lv1,000, Lv200 for the controller

Recon Swarm

This is relatively new technology. It uses a few dozen engineered Japanese giant hornets (Vespa mandarinia japonica) equipped with cameras and control rigs. Focal range on the cameras is about 10 meters, but computer synthesis of the combined images of the swarm can create very detailed images. The control rigs have a range of about 500 metres, after which the swarm will automatically return to their hive. The swarm can also be used to attack. Anyone caught in the swarm must make a Routine (+2) Endurance check to avoid taking 1d6 points of damage from the combination of the neurotoxin that is a component of their venom, along with potential anaphylaxis. TL: 12 Int: 1 Move: 10 Skills: Recon 0, Melee 0 Price: Lv23,000

Moth

Much like the roach, the moth is a Terran insect carrying a sensor package, and subject to remote-control by an operator within 500 meters. Each operator can control up to three moths. The moths have a limited mimetic ability, allowing them to change colour to match their surroundings. TL: 11 Int: 1 Move: 6 Skills: Recon 0, Melee 0 Mass: Negligible, 1 kg for the controller. Price: Lv1,400, Lv200 for the controller Vehicle and Robot Design Changes

Roach

Another cyborg device, the roach is a modified terran cockroach equipped with a small sensor package including a 10-metre range visual/near infrared camera, and a sensitive microphone. It narrowcasts what it hears and sees, and can be remotely operated via the controller at ranges of up to 500 meters. Each controller can run up to six roaches at a time. Unlike medical microdrones, roaches can live for several months, and care is usually taken to retrieve them. It has even been known for some operators to become attached to their charges. When operating under remote control, there is a semi-random aspect to a roach’s movement, making it difficult to detect without careful observation. TL: 11

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Drone Controller

Drones require nothing other than a drone controller and a wireless network connection or radio transceiver. The required control software is instead run on a remote computer, with either the computer or a human operator in control. TL: 9 Slots: 1 Mass: 0.5 kg Price: Lv1,000 The lift envelope for any Robot-sized airship is a number of m3 equal to the Mass of the lift system, x 2. So, a Size 1 Airship is 2 m3, while a Size 5 is 100 m3. Lift envelopes are quite large, approximately 1 m3 per kilogram of lift. So, a Size 1 robot airship has a 10 m3 lift envelope, equivalent to a sphere 2.66 metres in diameter. A size 5 robot, then, has a lift envelope 9.8 m across. The DM is for opponents firing at the robot with ranged weapons. Due to the size of the lift envelope, they receive a DM when attacking it.

BioCover Upgrade

If a robot has a BioCover, then this modification can be applied to it to change its appearence. Social Standing is a perceived Social Standing, and will drop by 4 if the robot is known to be a robot.

Appearance Beautiful Handsome Average Unpleasant Hideous

Social Standing 11 9 7 5 3

Price of Bio-Cover Upgrade +15,000 +6,000 0 -1,500 -4,500

External Slave Robot Carriers Instead of being protected in a silo, a robot or drone can also carry slave units in external mounts on the hull. Here, they use as many slots as their Size, and the mount weighs 1 kg per Size of the slave. Mini-Lab Scientific Robots will often carry around a lab, miniaturised and optimised for a particular subject. When the lab is installed, choose a Science Specialty from the list on page 57 of the Traveller Core Book. A Mini-lab costs Lv50,000, masses 50 kg, and takes4 Slots. Remote Control Tether The tether still requires the device to have the on-board drone controller, but allows more precise control than the more interference-prone radio links. Using a tether gives a +1 DM to all actions with the tethered drone. Tethers are available in a variety of lengths, as shown below. Tethers unwind from the controlling vehicle or station, so do not require space on-board the drone

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Walkers Aside from military uses, walker vehicles are very rare on Earth, with personal ownership being almost unheard of. On many frontier worlds, especially in the Chinese Arm, walkers are quite common, and see use in many roles, from police and firefighters to farmers, loggers and miners. The enhanced lifting ability, along with the capability of carrying a wide variety of tools and equipment, and the ability to operate in close quarters, have made walkers very popular on the Frontier. The walker provides an effective force-multiplier, allowing one man to do the work of several, which is a key advantage given the often-limited manpower available on Frontier worlds. Though most walkers are found in corporate and government service, there is an increasing trend for more walkers in private hands, especially the smaller, less expensive models. Walkers come in two basic varieties; the humanoid walker, and the so-called ‘pod’ walker. In humanoid designs, control is accomplished with a slaved exo-skeleton, so that the walker mimics the wearer’s actions. Though still somewhat ponderous, these suits are close to the ‘powered armour’ of popular fiction. Pod-style walkers feature an enclosed pod for the operator, with computer-controlled legs, and remote-controlled, ‘waldo’ arms. These tend to be cheaper, but less responsive. They are by far the most common type of walker seen in private hands. Note that 2300AD has special rules for designing Walkers, found on page 188 of the 2300AD Core Rulebook. Mobility ExoFrame Mobility exo-frames are used to provide nearly a full range of motion to people who are injured or otherwise unable to walk. Similar models are also used to provide enhanced mobility to people from low-gravity environments when they find themselves on a higher-gravity world. The mobility frame is a light-weight carbon-fibre frame that fits along the outside of the limbs, and includes head and neck support. A backpack-mounted battery supplies almost five hours of power to the frame. Minimal training is required to use the frame, and a user can be up and walking in a matter of a few hours. The exo-system does not extend to the hands, but there are attachment points at the wrists allowing the frame to lift heavier loads under gravity.

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Mobility frames are also used to help people re-learn how to walk after limb replacement and to exercise new organic limbs until muscle tone is sufficient to effectively bear weight.

Mobility Exo-Frame TL Slots STR Modifier DEX Modifier Armour Duration Cost Speed Shipping Size

11 6/6 +0 +0 None 2.4 hours Lv2,000 3/15 0.05 tons

Modifications: None Triton Deep Diver ExoFrame The Triton Deep Diver ExoSuit is a humanoid design created to dive to the deepest depths on Earth or most colony worlds, though it is insufficient for the extreme depths of the pelagic world of Haifeng. Even contemplating that world’s oceans is terrifying for most professional divers. The pressures encountered 30,000 metres down, even in Haifeng’s lighter gravity, are monstrous. The creatures encountered there are even worse. The Triton is used for long-duration dives, and usually kept at surface pressure to ease the transition of the operator at various depths. These suits operate from surface or submersible support vessels and are commonly used in deep-ocean construction. On Kimanjano they are used in the construction of deep-water platforms used to harvest the rich pre-biological organic soup that covers the planet’s oceans, while on Haifeng they were used to build part of the Life Foundation outpost, protected by Isonade swimmers and Kraken sub-fighters. While the Triton is equipped with legs, most underwater movement uses a backpack mounted waterjet propulsion system. Sensors are minimal, just enough to allow effective operation in the lightless, often murky, depths of an underwater construction project.

Triton Exo-Swimmer TL Slots STR Modifier DEX Modifier Armour Duration Cost Speed Shipping Size

The swimmers are armed with a mix of weapons, including a blue-green laser rifle for engaging targets both on and out of the water, four micro-torps for aquatic targets, and four multi-mode missiles for ground or airborne targets. A 4.54mm gauss weapon mounted in a chin turret completes the vehicle’s armament. It is not designed to operate in deep water, with a maximum depth of only 1,000 metres.

11 14/0 +3 +0 10 4.8 hours MLv1.13 3/15 0.1 tons

BH-12 Combat Walker

Modifications: STR Increase (+1), Extended Life Support, Extended Duration (+400%), Medkit, Standard Navigation (+2). Standard Comm, Basic Underwater Sensors (+1), Swimmer System, Improved Safe Depth (+2000%) Safe Depth: 2,000m Crush Depth: 5,000m

Isonade Combat Swimmer

The Isonade (named for a Japanese water monster) is built around a streamlined pod-body, making it more of a submarine that can walk than a true suit like the Triton. The quiet MHD drive can propel the Swimmer at speeds of up to 75 knots (40 km/h). The legs and waldo arms allow the swimmer to attack shore positions, and in some circumstances can be used to board ships and platforms. A combination of a grapnel, powered winch, and magnetic feet allow the swimmer to walk up a hull, though clumsily. Combat Swimmers were first developed by the Japanese in the wake of the Central Asian War, when it was realised that Japan’s extensive undersea holdings were at considerable risk from attack, both from conventional military forces and from unconventional units like mini-subs and the new fighter subs. The swimmers were developed to operate in the built-up areas of the undersea installations and right up into the littoral (shallowwater) zone. The large, wide feet offer additional stability in the sand and muck along shorelines.

Vehicle Isonade

TL Skill 12 Drive/ Walker

Agility Speed Range +1 75 450km km/h

Armour 15

Though it was a long time coming, the Central Asian War nonetheless took military observers by surprise; not so much that the war happened, but that it happened when it did, and that it got so large, so quickly, involving nations from across the Eurasian continent. It is the closest thing humanity has had to a world war since Twilight. Like many such wars, it became the testing ground for number of technologies that were barely past the prototype stage. Highmobility hovertanks, combat robots, and combat walkers were the biggest innovations to come out of that war. The first combat walker to see action was the French-built BH-12, an armoured exoskeleton that carried an autocannon and magazine-fed rocket-propelled grenade launcher. It was used in support of ground troops in the vicious house-to-house clearing actions of the latter part of the war. Lightly armoured compared to modern walkers, the BH-12 was nonetheless proof against small arms and even heavy machineguns, though armour-piercing rounds from autocannons and similar weapons could still defeat it. Lessons learned from the BH-12 fed French design and innovation on the next generation of combat walkers, including the current BH-21. The BH-12 was never manufactured in large numbers and, with the advent of the BH-21, the design has been declared surplus. Many were scrapped, but most were transferred to colony police and militia services, as a sort of one-person SWAT team. In this role, it is usually equipped with a large-calibre sniper rifle and machinegun. A few frames were even made available for the civilian market, with their armour stripped off and weapon links removed. These frames can be found for Lv20,000 or less on the open market.

Crew and Passengers Cargo Open? 1 0.5 No

Hull 3

Structure 3

Shipping Cost Lv Size 446,400 6 tons

Modifications: Reduced Speed (30%), Diver System, 2 x Manipulator Arms (STR 6, DEX 2), Basic Sensors, Basic Underwater Sensors, Basic Navigation, Basic Communications with Encryption, Magnetic Feet, Short Term Life Support, Improved Fire Control (+1) Weapons: Blue-Green Laser Rifle in turret, 4 Light Tac Missiles, 4 Microtorps, Gauss Rifle in chin turret Safe Depth: 400m Crush Depth: 1,000m

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BH-12 Combat Walker TL Slots STR Modifier DEX Modifier Armour Duration Cost Speed Shipping Size

The Royal Society has made extensive use of the Madoc, and has sold or loaned it to a variety of Foundations, including the AR-I and IEX. The Army has taken an interest in the suit, but so far the Society is resisting pressure to make the design available for military use.

10 3 +3 -4 14 2 hours Lv141,000 1/5 0.15 tons

In the field, several Madocs will operate from a forward base camp that is little more than a trailer of spare power cells, a solar array to recharge the spares, and a tent just big enough for a single Madoc, a decontamination unit, and a shower.

Modifications: Extended Duration (+300%) , Basic Camouflage, Basic Communications (Encrypted), Basic Navigation (+1), Basic Sensors (+0) Armament: 20mm Autocannon, Rocket Launcher with 4 reloads.

Madoc Scout Walker TL Slots STR Modifier DEX Modifier Armour Duration Cost Speed Shipping Size

Long Strider Racing Walker

On the colony world Syuhlam, walker vehicles are more common than any other type of ground vehicle, and personal ownership of walkers is very common. As the walker manufacturing industry expanded, manufacturers took to advertising their wares through informal races. This led to the formation of professional walker racing, both on tracks and cross-country, like rally-cars. The various manufacturers sponsor teams, and legal versions of their racing machines are popular sellers across the Chinese Arm. The Long Strider lacks the waldo arms and hands of most other walkers.

Madoc-class Scout Walker

The Royal Society first commissioned the Madoc in 2281, after a thorough evaluation of the Trailblazer combat walkers used by American marines attached to French units in the Central Asian War. The original Trailblazers were modified BH-12s, carrying less armour and weapons but more sensors, and operated at a higher speed. The version designed by the Royal Society is intended to be used by long-duration scouts operating on worlds where either the biosphere has not been thoroughly evaluated, or else has been found to be inimical. It is equipped with a wide range of sensors, hostile environment protection, and full life support for three days. While the operator can even sleep in the walker, it is not recommended, and leads to impairment of operational efficiency over time.

Vehicle TL Skill Long 11 Drive/ Strider Walker

Agility +2

Speed Range 165 450 km km/h

Armour 4

11 1 +3 0 10 3.6 hours Lv263,500 3/15 0.1 tons

Modifications: Increased Duration (+300%), Extended Life Support, Medkit, Computer, Standard Navigation (+2), Standard Sensors, Enhanced Visual Sensors, Enhanced Audio Sensors, Armoured Coveralls L’Homme Fort Utility Walker SorTech of France makes several types of industrial walker. Their L’Homme Fort (Strong Man) is a best-seller, produced under license by the Bessieres consortium for shipment across the French Arm and beyond. Though France does not deal directly with Manchuria, many merchant firms do not share their scruples, and the Libertines do not care for Earth-bound politics at all. So the Strong Man, or its latest knockoff, is common on the Chinese Arm as well. It stands out from the typical crop of Syuhlam-produced walkers by being a humanoid design, where the vast majority of the Manchurian colony’s walkers are of the pod type. Aside from a winch, the Strong Man has no built in tools. Modular sockets on the arms, back, and torso can accept a range of attachments and accessories, while the hands can carry and

Crew and Passengers Cargo 1 1

Open? No

Hull 1

Structure 1

Shipping Cost Lv Size 62,200 3 tons

Modifications: Advanced Controls, Basic Navigation, Basic Sensors, Entertainment System, Increased Speed (+10%), Extreme Range Communications (TL10)

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use any human-sized tool. The hands were deliberately made smaller than normal for this size of walker in order to be able to accommodate conventional tools. L’Homme Fort is the most common walker type to be seen on the French Arm, often taking the place of more specialised units like the Centaur at building site, mines, and industrial facilities. Most jobsites have a portable solar array and several spare powercells. These are often swapped out when the workers are taking a break during the course of a work day.

L’Homme Fort Utility Walker TL Slots STR Modifier DEX Modifier Armour Duration Cost Speed Shipping Size

11 14 +8 -2 None 1.2 hours Lv106,000 2/10 0.15 tons

Saw: Range Large Blade, Damage 5d6, DM-2 to attack Nailgun: Range Pistol, Damage 1d6-1, 200 shots, DM-2 to attack A pneumatic nailgun, magazine-fed screwdriver and power drill round out the mix. The tool carousel can be rotated out of position and replaced by a fairly dexterous hand. The right arm also has a plasma welder, while the left arm has a high-capacity glue gun. The Centaur is a common sight in the central hub region of a colony and at mine sites, but it would not be common to see one at a homestead or outlying village.

D-78 ‘Ratatosk’ Logging Walker

Modifications: Increased Duration (+100%), Increased Strength (+4), Basic Communication, Winch

MuleCorp CW-1 Centaur Construction Walker

Many construction projects on the Frontier require compact heavy machinery capable of fulfilling multiple functions on the site. The Centaur can use its four arms to carry material, or to stabilise the unit when the back-mounted crane is used. The upper arms each carry a variety of tools on an internal carousel, including both a 35 cm circular saw and a 50 cm reciprocating saw, either of which can cut wood, steel, or ceramic with equal ease.

Vehicle TL Skill Centaur 11 Driver/ Walker

With some imagination, the nailgun and the plasma welder can both be used as short-range weapons. The potential for mayhem in a 50 cm long saw that can cut steel should be obvious.

AgilArity Speed Range mour +1 75 450 km 4 km/h

The Ratatosk logging walker is a four-legged vehicle built to operate in rough and mountainous terrain. This design is courtesy of the Arbeider  Maskinens Corporation, in the Scandinavian Union, developed to operate in the rough, inaccessible terrain that characterises much of its home territory. These walkers are also exported to the Frontier, though they are manufactured under license by the Bessieres Consortium for the export market. The Ratatosk has large utility arms that grip the tree and a frontmounted two metre chainsaw to do the cutting. A third utility arm on the back of the walker runs the length of the tree to delimb it, and then the trunk is either piled nearby, or stacked on top of the walker to be carried out. Cyclo-cranes and other heavy-lift airships are typically used to haul the logs out with minimal environmental impact, and without the cost of building access roads.

Crew and Passengers Cargo Open? Hull 1 1 Yes 2

Structure 1

Cost Lv 555,250

Shipping Size 10 tons

Modifications: 4 Manipulator Arms, 4 Legs, Cutting Equipment, Tools, Basic Sensors, Basic Navigation, Basic Communications, Reduced Speed (-50%), Open Topped, Medium Crane

Vehicle TL Skill Ratatosk 11 Drive/ Walker

Agility -2

Speed Range 75 450km km/h

Armour 4

Crew and Passengers Cargo 1 10

Open? Hull No 47

Structure 36

Shipping Cost Lv Size 474,200 30 tons

Modifications: 4 Legs, 2 Cargo Arms, 1 Heavy Crane, Standard Controls, Standard Navigation, Basic Communications, Basic Sensors, Cutting Tools, Open Cargo Bed, Entertainment System, Reduced Speed (-50%)

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Alyeska Industries GD-27 ‘Big Dady’ Orbital Construction Walker

The Big Dady (named after one of the test pilots) is as much a small spacecraft as it is walker. In many ways it is the orbital equivalent of the Triton undersea walker. Like the Triton, it is a walker first, with added mobility given through the backpack maneuvering unit. The GD-27 provides a comfortable shirt-sleeve environment for the operator and is designed to provide support for up to 12 hours at a time, though 4-6 hours is more common. Surpassing the 6 hour mark requires the onsite replacement of the suit’s power supply. It is equipped with all the tools required for orbital work. In case of emergency, the operator has a standard rescue ball available to climb into and await rescue.

GD-27 Orbital Construction Walker 11 TL Slots STR Modifier DEX Modifier Armour Duration Cost Speed Shipping Size

3 +4 -2 12 144 minutes Lv282,600 2/10 0.15 tons

Modifications: Increased Duration (+300%), Extended Life Support, Basic Navigation (+1), Advanced Communications, Basic Sensors (+0), Enhanced Visual Sensors, EVA Maneuver System, Tool Kit

A d d i t i o n a l M o d i f i ca t i o n s Battledress

for

EVA Maneuver System An EVA system is a small thruster pack, control arms, and an array of small attitude thrusters all under automatic control. All the operator has to do is move the large joystick in the right direction, and the system takes care of the rest. For advanced operators, the automatic system can be disengaged and the controls run manually. This makes the suit markedly less stable, but a great deal more maneuverable. It uses the same rules as the spacesuit EVA pack. Propellant EVA MS TL Duration Slots Delta-V Com10 60 rounds 3 5 m per mercial round Military 12 100 rounds 6 10 m per round

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Mass Price 120 Lv60,000 kg 180 Lv80,000 kg

Vehicles On the Frontier, ownership of personal vehicles is not only common, it is practically required. A typical homestead that has been around for a few years tends to accumulate an array of vehicles, from small quad-style ATVs to range trucks, tractors, and hovercraft. Only on the poorest, or newest, colonies will the primary mode of transport be on foot or by horse.

commuter cars. A colonist comes in from an outlying area, either by train, ATV, or range truck, and trades the larger vehicles for a compact car designed for the more cramped streets of an urban area. Charges for the use of the commuter vehicle are nominal, assuming that it gets returned. Otherwise, it is billed to the colonist’s account at the rate of Lv100/day.

Unlike on Earth, vehicles in the colonies tend to be powered by a variety of technologies. Alcohol-burning engines are common on many worlds, as the technical infrastructure to produce ethanol and methanol is considerably simpler than that required to produce hydrogen. Multi-fuel engines, like Stirling cycle rotary engines and gas turbines that can burn alcohol, vegetable oil, or even petrochemicals are also quite common, especially in heavier vehicles. Battery and fuel-cell vehicles are seen, but are generally exported from off-world, even in the more advanced colonies, and it is difficult to find parts for them. A key consideration is always the ability to produce a commodity, in this case fuel, locally, with local technology.

Bridgeport Swift Raven

Like all technology intended for Frontier use, vehicles tend to be as simple and robust as possible. Many will have a chip with fabricator files to allow spare parts to be produced easily, though such files are locked down and very difficult to copy. Vehicles intended for the colonial market will have fewer options and luxury features, even if built on the same basic chassis as Core vehicles. Core vehicles have an auto-pilot, which ties into the local TrafCon (Traffic Control) system that controls the operation of all vehicles and aircraft. TrafCon systems are almost non-existent on the Frontier, with only the French Colony on Beta Canum and the Manchurian colony on Chengdu making use of the systems.

Manufactured by the makers of the ubiquitous hover jeep, the Raven is a typical luxury ground car, used mostly to provide transportation for business executives, politicians, and those among the wealthy who prefer ground travel. On colony worlds, it will be equipped with an engine designed to burn commonly available fuels, typically alcohol or natural gas. The interior is individually outfitted to suit each purchaser, and often incorporates genuine leather seats, fully-equipped entertainment centres, portable refreshment centres, and other luxurious appointments installed in the passenger compartment. Machines used by business executives are often equipped with extensive communications equipment. Political figures and anyone who might be a target for assassination avail themselves of armoured models, which are custom-built to order at the factory, and usually incorporate ballistic cloth/ceramic armour, bulletproof glass, a specially reinforced suspension with run-flat tires, and a sealed, gas-proof interior (to prevent attackers from using a chemical gas cloud to disable the driver). A more powerful engine and larger fuel tank are installed to retain the same performance at the expense of interior cargo space.

Bridgeport-Swift Corvis Commuter Car

The urban areas of mature colonies resemble low-density areas of Core cities, though without the constant bombardment of advertising. They also lack the harried, rushed feeling common to most cities in the Core and their inhabitants. The other thing they tend to lack is any effective mas- transit system, though the bigger frontier cities will have trains to connect to outlying communities and other cities. In the absence of mass transit, many of these Frontier cities make available on loan small

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Ma’iingan (Wolf) Off-Road Motorcycle

Powered by a hydrogen fuel cell driving an electric motor in both the front and rear wheel hubs, the Wolf is a common sight with survey scouts, colonial pathfinders, and law enforcement officials all over the frontier, especially on the Chinese Arm. The Wolf can be driven in reverse, with the drive system balancing the torque between the two powered wheels. Produced by a joint Canadian-First Nations corporation, the Wolf is expensive for a motorcycle, so another version, the Wiisagi-ma’iingan (Coyote) is produced for the consumer market. This uses an alcoholburning engine which only powers the rear wheel, making it lighter and easier for a novice to drive, but not as fast or agile as the Wolf. extremely tough terrain, the Badger can carry up to five people and a significant quantity of cargo through most terrains and on poor roads.

American Motors Sierra Off-Road Pickup Truck

Optimised to carry cargo rather than passengers, the Sierra can carry three people in the forward cab and 12 Spaces of cargo in the open bed. The heavy-duty suspension and all-wheel drive, along with all-wheel steering, allow it to handle almost any terrain. Versions manufactured for the colony market are powered by multi-fuel engines driving a generator that feeds an electric motor in each wheel hub.

Metzger Aerosport Vannoccio 420-X Sports Car

The Vannoccio 420-X represents a typical high-performance automobile, and continues a centuries-old tradition of gratifying the ‘need for speed’ in a sizable portion of humanity. Such types of vehicles are usually methane or hydrogen-burners, although certain esoteric high-performance enthusiasts make use of specially-blended exotic fuels incorporating highly dangerous petroleum/ nitrous oxide mixtures. Sports cars such as the 420-X are designed to fit into a specific environment (a solid highway in good condition). As specialised designs, they do not function well outside the narrow confines of their specialty. The 420-X’s road speed is tough to match by conventional vehicles, but its cross-country speed is abysmal. The vehicle’s suspension is simply not designed for crosscountry travel. Fuel economy is not a major consideration in vehicles of this type either. Space is provided for only two people (driver and passenger), and provision for cargo is nil (the trunk is large enough for a only small suitcase and little else). A car like the 420-X would be a rarity on most colony worlds. It would only be found in urban centres with a sufficient road system to allow these vehicles to be pushed to their limits

Bridgeport-Swift Badger Off-Road Car

On most colony worlds, away from urban areas, roads are generally poor when they exist at all. While not designed for

Manufactured by Metzger, SA of Terra and Tirane, the Aerosport is a lightweight, one to two person hovercraft intended to be put to the same uses as an off-road motorcycle. The machine is primarily valued because of its ability to cross a wide variety of terrain types. The hovercycle is small enough to be able to weave between the large trees in a dense forest (although it cannot force its way through dense underbrush like heavier air-cushion vehicles can), but does no better in extremely broken terrain than other ACVs. The hovercycle is more likely to be upset by wave action, and cannot travel across extremely choppy water (which larger ACVs have no trouble with). A version is also available without jump jets for Lv11,000.

Bridgeport-Swift Warbird Hover Jeep

The military version of the Bridgeport-Swift Songbird (2300AD Core Rulebook, p175) is equipped with a pintle-mounted machinegun and jump-jets for crossing obstacles.

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MuleCorp Mashkodebizhiki (Bison) Tractor

This hard-working tractor was named after the Ojibwa word for bison, reflecting the vehicle’s size and strength. This older design was originally shipped around the American Arm, under the auspices of the American Trade Organisation. However, in the 2280’s, Libertine traders began buying up the older tractors and shipping them back to Earth via Iran and Indonesia. These robust and inexpensive vehicles are very popular in Tier 4 markets, often undercutting vehicles produced by Tier 2 and Tier 3 suppliers. The tractor is capable of taking on and powering a large number of agricultural and construction attachments, including swathers, balers, multi-combines, bulldozers, excavators, and forklifts. With the included parts metabase for an industrial fabricator, it can even supply most of its own parts.

or fertiliser, harvest, thresh and even bale. While farms on Earth will divide those duties across different machines for efficiency, out on the Frontier the cost of shipping is of primary importance. TL: 10 Mass: 8 tons Price: Lv250,000 Lift The lift module combines a forklift with a medium-duty crane, greatly increasing the utility of the Bison for construction and other tasks. TL: 10 Mass: 4 tons Special Features: Cargo Arms (2 tons capacity), Medium Crane Price: Lv100,000

Drill

Used for drilling for water or petro-chemicals, the drill is a shallowshaft rig, with a maximum drill depth of 250 metres. The drill can penetrate 10 cm of solid rock or 2 m of packed earth per minute, with a width of 10 cm. It is suitable for dry land applications only. TL: 10 Mass: 6 tons Price: Lv150,000

Maurice-Fenderman M312

M o d u l a r A t t ac h m e n t s

An industry has sprung up in Tier 4 Core Nations around the provision of modular attachments for the Bison. Most of these attachments are also available in the American Arm, but Libertine Traders saw little profit in shipping them to Earth.

Excavator

The excavator is a heavy-duty hydraulic shovel that can clear 20 cubic meters per hour. TL: 9 Mass: 5 tons Price: Lv85,000

This is a combination wheeled/air cushion all-terrain vehicle intended for agricultural and general utility use on Frontier worlds. It was designed to provide the Frontier colony farmstead with a multi-purpose utility vehicle which could be used for a wide variety of agricultural tasks, such as plowing, cultivating, planting, and general hauling, as well as serving as a portable power source for electrical equipment. Its most unusual feature is its double suspension system, capable of shifting from wheeled to multipleplenum air cushion suspension. As an ACV, fuel consumption is higher, but it can cross an almost infinite variety of terrain types with ease. Unlike most hovercraft, however, the M312 still uses its wheels for forward propulsion and is therefore somewhat more fuel efficient than is normal for an ACV. The M312 has the additional advantage, for an agricultural machine, of being able to pass over very young plants with minimal damage.

Bulldozer Blade

The bulldozer blade can spread and move up to 100 cubic meters of earth and gravel per hour. It cannot, however, dig. TL: 9 Mass: 3 tons Price: Lv30,000

Multi-Combine

The multi-combine is designed to be used with high-density mechanised farms. It can till soil, plant seed, spray chemicals

Utility Module: This is a system that incorporates changeable modules on the front & rear of the M312. These include bush-

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hog (cutting tools), plow module, seed/fertiliser spreader, and a light-duty one-ton crane/winch set-up. The list price includes a single module, and additional modules are Lv5,000 each. These modules cannot be used with the Bison tractor and farm multibot.

combustion engines, as alcohol or other plant-based fuels are a lot easier to produce than hydrogen. However, initial expeditions require hydrogen for their landing craft, so using it as a fuel for vehicles is logistically more efficient.

MuleCorp Mule Utility Vehicle The first vehicle built by MuleCorp was the Mule, a small prime-mover designed to push or pull heavy loads on prepared surfaces. It saw rapid and widespread use at spaceport and shipping yards across the American Arm, though export and sale was carefully controlled through the American Trade Organization and its favoured shipper, AmeriCo. Like many older, less expensive MuleCorp products, it is being purchased by Libertine traders for export to the other Arms, and even Earth, through the Libertine partner nations of Indonesia and Iran.

Matsu Snow Demon Snowskimmer

RangeStar Range Truck

As civilian recreational vehicles, and military reconnaissance and communication vehicles, the Snow-Demon and its ilk are commonly encountered on any world with suitable terrain for its use. The Snow-Demon has no jump-jet mode, and cannot cross linear obstacles such as ditches and fences.

Most versions of the RangeStar are powered by a pair of multifuel Stirling-cycle engines, which can use just about anything even vaguely flammable as fuel. The engines drive both front and rear wheels through a pair of interlocked transmissions, and each engine can combine their power or drive each pair of wheels independently. The distinctive rumble of the engines has made these vehicles a popular choice for private ownership, though the engine is not legal in most places on Earth. Some have developed a work-around by replacing the power train with a fuel cell version, with an electric motor turning the drive shaft, and adding a recording of the truck’s distinctive engine sound.

Snowskimmers like the Matsu Snow-Demon are intended for use primarily in conditions of heavy snow or ice cover, or where the terrain is otherwise suited to its use. Because of its enclosed cabin, the vehicle is especially suited for high-speed movement in extremely cold conditions.

The Snow-Demon comes with cold weather passenger compartments as standard equipment, with special door seals, insulation, and a large-capacity heater.

Built by the Texas Rawlings Corporation, the Rangestar is a very common vehicle on Texan colonies and across the Chinese and American Arms. It is the standard light cross-country vehicle for the Texan Self Defense Force (SDF), along with the Texan Rangers and many colonial militias.

Some observers have noted that the engine noise of a RangeStar is very close to the sounds made by a Kaefer bugbus, close enough that refugees from Aurore have been known to go into hysterics at the sound of an approaching RangeStar.

MuleCorp Ortho ATV

The Ortho sits in an odd in-between world. It was originally designed for the Core market, as a sort of high-end off-road capable vehicle that was bigger than a car, but smaller than a truck. Despite the best efforts of MuleCorp, it garnered only limited sales, and the company ceased attempts to export it to Earth. The Ortho did find a market with scouts, surveyors, pathfinders, and colonists, however, as a small, rugged vehicle that could handle almost any sort of terrain. The hydrogen fuel cell was a selling point in these markets. Vehicles intended for the colonial market are usually powered by multi-fuel internal

Gorman Systems TD90 Semi-tractor

This heavy cargo mover is built to pull heavy trailers on at least partially-prepared roads. It is not capable of cross-country travel.

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Sumatro-Fabrique Heavy Crawler

The heavy crawler was designed as a generalpurpose cargo carrier for use in areas without well-developed road infrastructures. Unlike many of the heavy vehicles listed, it is built in planet-side factories and then partially disassembled and shipped into orbit on heavy-lift rockets, and from there transported to other worlds. Like most heavy vehicles, it is softlanded via standard aeroshells, in this case a normal 120-ton model. Final assembly is done by personnel on the planet. In addition to the colonial market, Australia, Canada, and Russia all purchase these vehicles for operation in their wilderness areas. The roller-like tires of the can go anywhere, even across loose sand, muskeg, and still water. With the ability to carry enormous cargos or large passenger modules, these crawlers, though expensive, are quite common, especially in newer colonies. Once road networks are well-established, the need for these mammoth vehicles is reduced. This vehicle uses a set of modular payload bays to convey passengers, cargo and special purpose modules. The design of the vehicle assumes payload modules are contained within the hostile-environment protection of the parent vehicle. Standard payload modules are 50 Spaces in size, allowing different types of modules to be used to transport colonists and their equipment in the same crawler. Larger 100 or 150 Space modules may be used when carrying a single type of payload. 50 Space modules have Hull 12 and Structure 12.

Tirane-Fabrik D6000 Heavy Mining Dump Truck

The D6000 is a massive mining vehicle with wheels two stories tall. Due to its size and weight, Tirane-Fabrik manufactures this vehicle in a factory in orbit around Tirane, and ships it to customers in two 100-ton aeroshells, with the main chassis in one aeroshell and the load bed and eight tires in the other. The remaining space is given over to spare parts and a further eight replacement tires. The shipping modules and parts add Lv200,000 to the price of the truck. Tirane-Fabrik is in negotiations with the Bessieres conglomerate to move production there for French Arm consumption, which would mean sharp reductions in its Tirane workforce, in particular the Freihafen offices. The D6000 is powered by a hydrogen-burning gas turbine with MHD power recovery, which drives a massive high-torque electric motor in each of the four primary wheel hubs. A multi-fuel turbine model (the D5000) is available, though the turbine on that model lacks the MHD power recovery, so it cannot carry as large a load. It is otherwise identical.

Sample 50 Space Modules

Standard Passenger Module (Lv320,000): 30 passengers, 2 Freshers, Galley (feeds 30), Long Term Life Support for 30, 250 kg of supplies. Survey Module (Lv323,100): Atmosphere Samplers, Geology Samplers, Hydrology Samplers, Mini-Galley, Fresher, 6 Crew, 3 Bunks, Long Term Life Support, Computer Model 1, 3 Specialist Laboratories (2 person, DM+2), 250 kg of supplies. Cargo Module (Lv75,000): 12.5 tons of cargo. Vehicle Module (Lv75,000): 10 displacement tons of vehicles in tight stowage.

Herkul Heavy Utility Vehicle

This HUV is based on the chassis of the Explorer tracked ATV. It lacks the special features and amenities of the ATV, and is less expensive. It is commonly used in resource extraction and farming industries throughout the Frontier.

Tirane-Fabrik D40 Light Excavator

The D40 is a relatively light four-wheeled vehicle with a backhoe and front-end loader. It is a fairly common construction vehicle in older colonies that can support such specialised vehicles.

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The Lk-250 is fitted with normal communications and radar anti-collision gear, along with either an inertial and/or a satellite navigation system as desired. Its cavernous interior can be fitted to carry passengers in combination with cargo; most models found on Frontier worlds are designed for combination service (a few even have provisions for carrying livestock).

Korean Aerospace Consortium PSY-55 Utility Tilt Rotor

Draggar 317 Heavy Excavator

The Draggar 317 is another piece of heavy equipment that is typically manufactured in space and then landed via aeroshell on a colony world. It requires three 400-ton aeroshells to land all of its components, and a heavy lift crane or airship to assemble them. It is one of the biggest ground vehicles ever seen on a colony world, and will only be used in the largest of strip-mining operations. Though still smaller than the enormous Bagger 388 diggers used on Earth in the years before Twilight, it seems more like a mobile building than a vehicle. While it was designed by the AardArbiter Grupp on Earth, the models used on colony worlds are usually licensed-built in space by either the Bessieres conglomerate, for French Arm sales, or the Tiranebased TiraneFabrik Grupp, for export to the American and Chinese Arms.

The PSY-55 is a general purpose tilt-rotor aircraft commonly used in many colony worlds, especially on the Chinese Arm. From search-and-rescue and law enforcement, to ferrying around VIPs, to ersatz skycrane, the PSY-55 is an effective investment for any colony. Larger than the Howey, but smaller than the Gull (2300AD Core Rulebook p176), the PSY is a solid general-purpose aircraft.

Trilon Inc CV-130 ‘Colossus’ Heavy Lift TiltRotor This four-engine aircraft is capable of carry an extremely heavy load, and it one of the largest tilt-rotors ever made. Only the Manchurian Heavy Dragon is larger.

With the ability to carry 100 paratroopers and their gear, along with their GunDogs and support weapons, the CV-130 is a transportation workhorse for militaries, including colonial militias. Many colonies will purchase one or two of these aircraft to increase the mobility of their limited forces, and when not in use for troop movements, they are very handy and capable passenger and cargo aircraft. During the siege of Elysia in 2286, a Libertine blockade runner dropped a CV-130, complete with crew, in a 400-ton aeroshell, halfway around the planet from the rebel colony. At 5,000 metres, the aeroshell was blown off with explosive bolts, and the crew of the Colossus flew their aircraft at practically wave-top level to the beleaguered island colony, providing much-needed food, medicine, and weapons to the rebel forces. The Colossus was then outfitted as a gunship, and served admirably until it was shot down by anti-aircraft railguns in 2288.

TiraneFabrik Lk-250

The TiraneFabrik Lk-250 is a large-capacity cargo ACV designed for bulk transport on worlds where the road network is poor or non-existent. The large loading door in the front of the vehicle can be lowered to form a telescoping ramp, which enables the vehicle to be loaded without deflating the skirts, an advantage in many types of terrain. Other models of large cargo hovercraft are built as RORO-types (roll-on, roll-off), meaning they have ramps at both ends. ROROs are commonly seen as ferries, since vehicles can drive on and off without reversing.

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The Rock Pigeon (Rock Pig) Utility Helicopter

The Rock Pig is a basic design common on the Frontier, but long superseded on the Core Worlds. It uses a pair of counterrotating main rotors that can be unloaded in forward flight, along

with a pusher fan for propulsion. It is very fast for a helicopter, and can easily transition into full VTOL mode. It is used for exploring, general utility use, transportation, and is even used by militia and mercenary forces in a gunship role.

TriCom Aviation Gx-88 Gyro-copter

The Gx-88 is a small, two-person rotorcraft. It is built to operate in a variety of environments, making it a favourite with exploration, survey and pathfinder teams. Once a world is settled, aircraft can be built to match their specific environments.

AerotechSA S4 Scout Airship

The Scout uses twin lift envelopes, with a gondala/payload bay suspended between them. The Scout is powered by a pair of closed-cycle fuel cells, and uses the array of solar cells across the top surfaces of the lift envelopes to crack recovered water back into fuel. This gives the aircraft almost unlimited range, only restricted by the endurance of its human crews. The gondola is sized for a long-duration crew of two, complete with a mini-galley, fresher, and bunk space. In a pinch, another four people can be carried in the gondola, and up to ten in the payload bay. In normal practice, the payload bay is used to carry survey equipment and recon drones, though it can also be used to haul small vehicles, cargo, and passengers.

Haverland S56 Light Bush Plane

The Haverland is a conventional small plane designed to operate in rough conditions. Though not as agile or flexible as a tilt-rotor aircraft, it is mechanically more robust and far easier to maintain. It is commonly equipped with pontoons for water landings, if local conditions permit.

Bridge-Swift Sparrow Air Car

The Sparrow is extremely rare sight on the Frontier. It is not as robust or flexible as tilt-rotor aircraft designed for off-world use. All Sparrows are optimised for use on Earth or Tirane only, and require extensive work to operate effectively anywhere else. It is rare to see neural-linked civilian vehicles like the Sparrow outside of the Core.

Zeppelinwerkes Elefant Cyclo-Crane

The Elefant is a relatively common sight on many colony worlds, used as a mobile crane for construction, resource extraction, and hauling heavy material when road are lacking. As a cyclocrane, all loads are hung suspended from lines extending from the nose and tail of the odd-looking, rotating aircraft. The control gondola is hung from these lines, and the cargo suspended from the Gondola. The Elefant can lift up

Anywhere these aircraft go, though, they attract considerable attention. They are very exotic in appearance, and while they have limitations, they are among the most maneuverable aircraft to be found, anywhere. They also feature a secondary road drive system, and on most colony worlds this is the most common mode of operation. The high-performance engine can be tuned to run the road wheels, but the ducted fans require extensive modification to perform properly outside of their normal environment. On some worlds, like Crater, the fans simply cannot be made to work without replacing all of the fan assemblies.

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British Exospace CRV-22

Aerodyne aircraft are relatively uncommon outside of the Core due to their high cost, of both the vehicle itself, and fuel and maintenance. However, there are situations in which aerodynes are ideally suited. Search and Rescue is one of these, especially in close areas like urban settings, cliffs, and dense forest. The British Exospace CRV-22, called the Blue Whale in RebCo SAR service, is the most commonly seen example of aerodyne away from the Core. The CRV-22 is a large aircraft, with two aircrew, three SAR techs, and three med techs. It can accommodate six more in stretchers, and another in the aircraft’s automed.

Sargasso Sea Systems APY Personal Watercraft

These small one- and two-person watercraft are most often used as recreational vehicles. However, their small size and economy make them useful as carried craft for larger vessels, and utility transportation around large harbours or other surface facilities.

Dolphin Marine Industries D505 Fishing Boat

Using a combination of hydrofoils for high-speed transit and a stable catamaran hull for efficient cruising, the D505 is used on any stretch of water large enough to contain fish, or some reasonable analogue thereof. Even on worlds where the local animal life is not edible, fishing boats are still widely used, if only to ferret out anything marketable from the waters. These are fairly large boats, with significant refrigerated storage, a galley, head, and supply storage for extended fishing voyages. Though the operation and piloting of the boat is largely automated, a fair number of crew are required for the actual business of fishing. Even baiting a line is more efficiently done by people than by machines, at least with technology commonly available on the Frontier.

The personal watercraft is powered by a heavy-duty battery running a high-capacity water-jet. As long as the screened intake remains clear, it can navigate through heavy mats of floating vegetation, albeit very slowly, without worrying about prop fouling.

PAN 50 Work Boat

The work boat is found in various configurations throughout human space, wherever there are navigable stretches of water. Most of these boats are rigid inflatable designs, and are nearly unsinkable. Their lightweight and portable construction makes them economical to ship between worlds, and their shallow draught and speed make them useful just about anywhere.

Seaspan Marine FC9 Fast Cat Ferry

Most of these boats are powered by an outboard impeller unit, powered by a battery or a fuel cell. On some worlds, internal combustion engines fuelled by alcohol or fossil fuels are used instead.

The FC9 Fast Catamaran is one of the largest vessels to be transported between the stars. Usually constructed in orbit, it is fitted into a large custom aeroshell for final delivery to the customer. Unlike the frigate, is it shipped in one piece, thus requiring a much larger aeroshell. The aeroshell is recovered by the client and typically cut up and reused for structural material.

Workboats are outfitted with a basic array of navigation equipment, including GPS if the world in question has a navsat constellation, short-range radar, and communications equipment.

The Fast Cat is designed to provide fast surface travel for passengers, freight, and vehicles. It is not a cargo vessel, however, and would not be economical in that role.

On small craft like the PAN-50 it is strongly recommended that all occupants wear some variety of personal floatation device.

Built on twin aluminum hulls, the Fast Cat is powered by a pair of gas turbines burning either hydrogen or natural gas. The range is long enough to travel between islands of a chain, or along a coastline, but not sufficient for trans-oceanic travel. Nigeria has ordered one of these fast cats for shipment to Avalon, as part of the outpost they are establishing there. Their ship is outfitted with a fuelling station to provide extended range, and to be able to refuel their subcraft which is expected to be delivered at the same time. It is expected that the cat will be used as a mother ship, to assist in their survey of the island chain they are hoping to turn into their first interstellar colony.

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combat mode, in addition to external ordnance, it mounts three 12mm rotary door guns, which are more than capable of clearing a deck in battle. It also transports a squad of troops, who can deploy via rappelling gear from all three loading doors.

Carter-class Multipurpose Submarine

The Carter is a medium-sized submarine that is used for ferrying passengers and supplies to undersea wellheads and other undersea facilities. On many colony worlds, they will use these subs for a wide variety of uses, including exploration, transportation, underwater servicing, and some will even strap external torpedo racks on them for use as a paramilitary vessel.

Commando Scout Car

The Commando is a small four-wheeled armoured vehicle that, along with the Warbird, is one of the most common small vehicles found in militia inventories. In addition to a 20mm autocannon, it is armed with a light machine gun on a pintle mount. Its most devastating weapon, however, is a laser designator on extendible mast, allowing it to paint targets for smart missiles launched from behind cover.

Bessieres ACVI-3 Hover IFV

The French AVCI-3 (commonly called the Bessieres) is the typical ACV Infantry Fighting Vehicle many will encounter on frontier worlds in much of the French Arm. Its basic design has been copied by many nations, and twins and near-twins of the Bessieres are in service with numerous armies, both on Earth and on other known worlds, although it has begun to be replaced in front-line units by more advanced types. The Bessieres, like all modern military air cushion vehicles, is capable of short hops using high-performance vectored thrusters. These give the vehicle a limited jump-jet capability, enabling it to negotiate cliffs and similar obstructions. Each minute in jump-jet mode uses 10 minutes of fuel, and speed is quartered.

Mandenal Helicopters SH-30 Rooivalk Patrol Tilt Rotor

The Rooivalk is an Azanian design derived from the Houston Aerospace Howie light tilt rotor. Though not capable of amphibious landing, the ‘Valk is equally at home on land or on the decks of ships at sea. It is routinely used as a shipboard VTOL, with search-and-rescue operations occupying the bulk of its operational time. When necessary, however, it is a very capable combat craft, with the forward weapon pylons equipped with a variety of torpedoes, missiles, or other weapons. When in

Tiburon-class Patrol Boat

Most colonies will not require a surface vessel any more powerful than the Tiburon-class patrol boat, a small, light hydrofoil capable of patrolling over vast ocean distances at high speed. The Tiburon is equipped with limited armaments, befitting its role as patrol vessel rather than combatant. On the forward hull is a remote turret containing a PGMP Mk2A2 paired with a 20mm autocannon. Immediately aft of the gun is a four-cell multi-role missile launcher. However, no reloads are carried. Rounding out the armament is a pair of powered gun-mounts with shields port and starboard, each equipped with a medium rotary machine gun. The vessel’s defenses are minimal, as it not intended to face serious opposition.

Tribal-class Surface Frigate

This is the heaviest combat vessel likely to be encountered on colony worlds and is very rare. Only colonies that expect to see actual combat will go to the expense of importing these vessels. The frigate is a multi-purpose vessel, carrying two marine teams for boarding operations, as well as special operations on land. A large hanger aft can house a tilt-rotor transport or an x-wing gunship. Primary armament for the Tribal-class frigate is an 80mm naval mass driver on the forward hull capable of firing on targets in low orbit with the two-stage RAP (Rocket-Assisted Projectile) round. Additional armament consists of 60 vertical launch missile cells equipped with medium multi-role tac missiles. Secondary armament includes a pair of anti-missile lasers, four 12mm machine guns on pintle mounts, and four torpedo tubes, with eight Sprint torpedoes carried. An explosive belt anti-missile/antiassault system, an array of decoy launchers, and an underwater blue-green laser turret round out the ship’s defenses. Few colonies have the resources to field ships of this nature. Among the few that can are the navies of the French and British

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unlike the frigate which can also perform search and rescue, and customs patrols. The Killer Whale exists to kill ships. The patrol sub also carries a pair of combat swimmers to provide close support around sub-surface facilities. These pod-style walkers can also provide force projection onto the shore if the situation warrants. Due to its size, the Pembunah Paus is constructed at the Sumatro-Fabrique factory in Earth orbit, and then towed out to the customer in two custom 500-ton aeroshells. Final assembly is completed after landing by Sumatro-supervised technicians. colonies on Beowulf, the Bavarian and Texan colonies on Heidelsheimat, and the Imperial French forces on Joi. Ships of the Tribal-class are built in orbit at the Harlan and Wolfe Yards around Beowulf, and exported as needed. They are softlanded in a pair of 400-ton aeroshells, with final assembly to be completed by the purchasing agency.

Heavy Multi-role TAC Missiles TL:    Range:   Damage:   Mag:      Auto:     Mass:    Size:

N e w V e h i c l e M o d i f i ca t i o n s

9 Extreme Varies by warhead 1 No 500 kg - vehicle bay or hard point launcher only 2 Spaces

Warhead Damage Burst Radius Cost

Anti-Armour 12d6 Super AP 8m Lv8,000

Anti-Air 11d6 Fragmentation 10m Lv8,000

Modular Bay Modular Bays in vehicles allow mission-specific modules to be swapped out as needed. These modules are part of the structural rigidity of the vehicle, and are required for proper operation. If vehicles do not have a module in place, then Agility is lowered by 1, while Structure is reduced by an amount equal to the half the number of Spaces in the missing module. Cost of a Modular Bay is Lv100 per Space for Light Vehicles, and Lv1,000 per Space for Heavy Vehicles.

Anti-Personnel 10d6 Fragmentation 20m Lv6,000

Sumatro-Fabrique Pembunah Paus Patrol Sub

The Pembuanh Paus (Killer Whale) patrol sub is found only on worlds with significant underwater industry, like Beowulf, Kimanjano, Heidelsheimat, and Nibelungen. It will usually cruise underwater in silent mode, powered by fuel cells, watching and waiting for trouble, though it has a supercavitating drive for bursts of speeds needed for mission intercepts. Armament is light, with a pair of torpedo tubes that can also be used to launch missiles for attacking surface or aerial targets. Additional armament includes a blue-green laser cannon for point defense, and a 20mm autocannon in a pop-up turret for engaging targets on the surface. For a colonial government, the Killer Whale is incredibly expensive, the type of vessel only purchased if significant combat operations are expected. It is a true military vessel, with no peace-time role,

Module Clamps As an alternative, clamps can be used to hold external modules and cargo. Objects held in Module Clamps reduce the speed of the carrying vehicles by 1% per Space of carried object in Light vehicles, while Heavy Vehicles do not have their speed reduced at all. Module Clamps cost Lv50 per Space for Light Vehicles, and Lv500 per Space for Heavy Vehicles. Luxury Fittings Luxury Fittings do not have an in-game effect. They are simply better quality interior fittings, using natural fibre cloth, leather, synthetic armour cloths, real wood, and other expensive features to improve the comfort and quality of the vehicle. For any situations where the appearance of the vehicle may be important, each Lv1,000 per Space spent on Luxury Fittings adds DM+1 to the reaction roll, to a maximum DM+3, although more money can always be spent on Luxury Fittings.

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Bridgeport-Swift Corvis Commuter Car Vehicle Corvis

TL 10

AgilArSkill ity Speed Range mour Drive 0 200 500 km 4 (wheeled) km/h

Crew and Passengers Cargo Open? Hull 1+1 250 kg No 1

Structure 2

ShipCost ping Lv Size 3,800 1.5 tons

Modifications: Entertainment System

Swift Raven Standard

AgilArVehicle TL Skill ity Speed Range mour Raven 12 Drive 0 250 600 km 5 (wheeled) km/h

Crew and Passengers 1+6

Cargo Open? Hull 3 No 6

Struc- Cost Shipping ture Lv Size 6 39,000 6 tons

Modifications: Autopilot (skill 1), Computer /3, Basic Navigation (+1), Wet-bar, Luxury Fittings (Lv12,000)

Swift Raven Business Vehicle Raven B

ArTL Skill Agility Speed Range mour 12 Drive 0 250 600 km 5 (wheeled) km/h

Crew and Passengers 1+6

ShipCost ping Lv Size 45,600 6 tons

Structure 6

Cargo Open? Hull 3 No 6

Modifications: Autopilot (skill 1), Communicator (TL 8 with uplink), Computer /3, Basic Navigation (+1), Entertainment System, Wet-bar, Luxury Fittings (Lv12,000)

Swift Raven Security Special AgilVehicle TL Skill ity Speed Range Raven 12 Drive 0 260 600 km SS (wheeled) km/h

Armour 25

Crew and Passengers Cargo Open? 1+6 0 No

Structure 6

Hull 6

Cost Shipping Lv Size 113,240 6 tons

Modifications: Autopilot (skill 1), Communicator (TL 8 with uplink), Computer /3, Basic Navigation (+1), Entertainment System, Extra Armour x4, Hostile Environment Protection, Increased Speed x2, Wet-bar, Luxury Fittings (Lv12,000)

Wolf AgilArVehicle TL Skill ity Speed Range mour Wolf 11 Drive +3 300 500 km 0 (wheeled) km/h

Crew and Passengers Cargo Open? 1 0 No

Hull 1

Structure 1

Shipping Cost Lv Size 24,080 1 ton

Modifications: Increased Agility, Increased Speed, Off-Road Capability, Open Frame, TL10 Communications, Standard Navigation, 2 wheels

Coyote Vehicle Coyote

TL Skill 10 Drive (wheeled)

Agility +2

Speed Range 300 375 km km/h

Armour 0

Crew and Passengers Cargo 1 0

Modifications: Open Frame, 2 wheels, Decreased Range, Off-road capability

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Open? No

Hull 1

Structure 1

Cost Lv 6,320

Shipping Size 1 ton

Vannoccio 420-X Sports Car AgilArVehicle TL Skill ity Speed Rage mour 420-X 12 Drive/ +3 350 240 0 Wheeled km/h km

Crew and Passengers 1

Cargo Open? 0 No

Hull 2

Structure 2

Cost Shipping Lv Size 40,120 1 ton

Modifications: Basic Navigation (+1), Basic Sensors (+0), Increased Speed, Increased Agility, Lowered Range, Entertainment System, Luxury Fittings.

Bridgeport-Swift Badger Off-Road Car Vehicle Badger

AgilArTL Skill ity Speed Range mour 10 Drive 0 135 400 km 3 (wheeled) km/h

Crew and Passengers Cargo Open? 5 2 No

Hull 4

Structure 3

Shipping Cost Lv Size 16,600 3.5 tons

Special Features: Off-road, Basic Navigation (+1), TL 8 Communications

American Motors Sierra Off-Road Pickup Truck AgilVehicle TL Skill ity Speed Range Sierra 11 Drive +2 225 600 km (wheeled) km/h

Armour 4

Crew and Passengers Cargo 3 12

Open? No

Hull 7

Structure 8

Cost Shipping Lv Size 48,000 7.5 tons

Modifications: Off-road, Increased Agility, Increased Structure, Open Cargo, Winch, Tow Hook, Basic Navigation (+1), TL 6 Comm (Very Distant)

Metzger Aerosport Vehicle TL Skill Aero11 Drive sport (hover)

Agility +2

ArSpeed Range mour 250 700 km 4 km/h

Crew and Passengers 1

Cargo Open? Hull 0 Yes 4

Structure 3

Cost Shipping Lv Size 16,000 1 ton

Modifications: Jump Jets, Open Frame, Extra Agility, Basic Navigation (+1)

Bridgeport-Swift Warbird Hover Jeep Vehicle Warbird

AgilTL Skill ity Speed Range Armour 11 Drive +1 250 600 km 4 (hover) km/h

ShipCrew and Strucping Passengers Cargo Open? Hull ture Cost Lv Size 4 1.5 Yes 1 2 52,000 4 tons

Modifications: Basic Navigation (+1), TL 8 Communications, Jump-jet, +1 Structure, Pintle Mount, Medium Machinegun

MuleCorp Mashkodebizhiki (Bison) Tractor AgilVehicle TL Skill ity Bison 10 Drive -1 (wheeled)

ArSpeed Range mour 68 500 km 3 km/h

Crew and Passengers Cargo Open? Hull 2 2 No 15

Struc- Cost Shipping ture Lv Size 15 422,500 15 tons

Modifications: Off-road, Eight Wheels, Reduced Speed (-50%), 20 Spaces for Modular Attachments (see below), 2 Winches, 2 Utility Cranes.

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Maurice-Fenderman M312 Vehicle TL Skill M312 11 Drive (wheeled), Drive (hover)

Agility 0 -1

Speed Range 250 480 km/h km/240 km

Armour 4

Crew and Passengers Cargo 3 4

Structure 6

Open? Hull No 5

ShipCost ping Lv Size 26,560 5.5 tons

Modifications: Additional Drive System, Decreased Range, Open Cargo Bed, Utility Module, Off-road

MuleCorp Mule Utility Vehicle Vehicle Mule

AgilArTL Skill ity Speed Range mour 8 Drive 0 40 600 km 0 (wheeled) km/h

Crew and Passengers Cargo Open? 1 5 Yes Spaces

Hull 1

Structure 1

Cost Lv 2,160

Shipping Size 1 ton

Cost Lv 179,000

Shipping Size 3 tons

Modifications: Off Road, Reduced Speed, Primitive Controls, Tow Hook (2000 kg capacity), Open Top

Matsu Snow Demon Snowskimmer Vehicle TL Skill Snow 11 Drive Demon (hover)

AgilArity Speed Range mour +1 250 720 km 4 km/h

Crew and Passengers Cargo Open? 4 0 No

Hull 1

Structure 2

Modifications: TL8 Communications with Extended Range, Standard Sensors (+1), Standard Navigation (+2), Hostile Environment Protection

MuleCorp Ortho ATV AgilArVehicle TL Skill ity Speed Range mour Ortho 11 Drive +2 225 1,200 4 (wheeled) km/h km

Crew and Passengers Cargo Open? 5 1.5 No Spaces

Hull 5

Structure 6

Cost Shipping Lv Size 54,000 5 tons

Modifications: Off Road, Extended Range (+100%), Increased Structure, Standard Navigation (+2), Basic Sensors (+0), TL8 Communications (Extreme)

RangeStar Range Truck Vehicle TL Skill Range- 11 Drive Star (wheeled)

Agility 0

ArSpeed Range mour 225 1,200 4 km/h km

Crew and Passengers Cargo 15 4.5

Open? Hull No 6

Structure 8

Cost Shipping Lv Size 53,100 7.5 tons

Modifications: Off Road, Extended Range (+133%), Improved Structure, Basic Navigation (+1), Communications (Extreme), Winch, Amphibious Militia Version: RangeStars destined for the militia market include Armour 16, Short-term Life Support, Standard Navigation (+2), and Satellite Uplink, along with a powered ring mount (weapon not included). Price is an additional Lv39,750, and Cargo is reduced to 2.5.

148

Gorman Systems TD90 Semi-tractor Vehicle TL Skill TD90 11 Drive (wheeled)

Agility +1

Speed Range 105 1,000 km/h km

Armour 3

Crew and Passengers Cargo 3 4

Structure 10

Open? Hull No 10

Shipping Cost Lv Size 105,700 10 tons

Modifications: Improved Range (+100%), 6 Wheels, Bunk, Fresher, Autopilot, Basic Navigation (+1), TL8 Communications, Towing (x3, 16,000 kg, 80 Spaces)

Sumatro-Fabrique Heavy Crawler Vehicle Big Man

TL 11

Skill Drive (wheeled)

Agility -1

Speed Range 79 600 km km/h

Armour 4

Crew & Passengers 5

Cargo 2.5tons

Open? N

Hull 100

Structure 100

Cost MLv 1.12

Shipping Size 100tons

Modifications: Eight wheels, Off Road, Advanced Controls, Autopilot/1, Standard Navigation, TL10 Communicator and Uplink, Standard Sensors (+1), Refuelling Station, Long-Term Life Support for 5, Mini-Galley, Fresher, Heavy Crane, Hostile Environment Protection, 3 Bunks, Reduced Speed (50%), 150 Spaces for Modules, Module Clamps

Herkul Heavy Utility Vehicle Vehicle Herkul

TL Skill Agility Speed Range 12 Drive -1 85 600 km (tracked) km/h

Armour 4

Crew and Passengers Cargo Open? 4 30 No

Hull 15

Structure 14

Cost Lv 175,300

Shipping Size 18 tons

Modifications: Tracked, Open Cargo Deck, TL8 Communications, Strength 50 Winch

Tirane-Fabrik D6000 Heavy Mining Dump Truck

AgilArCrew and Vehicle TL Skill ity Speed Range mour Passengers Cargo D6000 11 Drive -1 158 600 km 4 1+1 49.5 (wheeled) km/h tons

Open? Hull No 100

StrucShipping ture Cost Lv Size 100 980,000 100 tons

Modifications: Off Road, 8 Wheels Open Cargo Bay, Utility Arm (Bed Lift)

Tirane-Fabrik D40 Light Excavator

AgilA r - Crew and Vehicle TL Skill ity Speed Range mour Passengers Cargo Open? Hull D40 10 D r i v e 0 1 8 0 400 km 4 1 0 No 4 (wheeled) km/h

StrucShipping ture Cost Lv Size 5 86,880 4.5 tons

Modifications: Cargo Arm, Decreased Speed, Decreased Range, Digging Equipment

Draggar 317 Heavy Excavator Vehicle

TL Skill

Draggar 8 317

Agil- Speed Range A r - Crew and Cargo Open? Hull ity mour Passengers D r i v e -3 2 5 400 km 3 27 11 No 100 (tracked) km/h

Struc- C o s t Shipping ture MLv Size 100 2.3 100 tons

Modifications: Tracked, Off Road, Reduced Speed, Digging Equipment, Cutting Equipment, Heavy Crane, Geology Samplers, Refueling Station

149

TiraneFabrik Lk-250

AgilArity Speed Range mour +1 125 2,400 4 km/h km

Vehicle TL Skill Lk-250 11 Drive (hover) Location Front Hull Right Side Left Side Rear Dorsal Ventral

Armour 4 4 4 4 4 4

Crew and Passengers 5

Cargo Open? Hull 399 No 133

TL Skill 11 Flyer (wing)

Cost MLv 4.02

Shipping Size 200 tons

Modifications: Reduced Speed, Reduced Range (-50%), Standard Navigation (+2), Basic Sensors (0), TL10 Communications (Continental)

Korean Aerospace Consortium PSY-55 Utility Tilt Rotor Vehicle PSY-55

Structure 134

AgilCrew and ity Speed Range Armour Passengers Cargo +2 450 2,400 4 7 5 km/h km

Struc- Cost Shipping Open? Hull ture MLv Size No 6 7 1.05 13 tons

Modifications: Tilt-rotor, Fresher, TL8 Communications, Basic Navigation (+1), Basic Sensors (+0), Autopilot (Flyer /1) Base Environment: 76 Clearance: 26m radius

Trilon Inc CV-130 ‘Colossus’ Heavy Lift Tilt-Rotor Vehicle CV-130

TL Skill 11 Tiltrotor

AgilArCrew and ity Speed Range mour Passengers Cargo -1 600 5,000 8 104 20 km/h km

Struc- Cost Open? Hull ture MLv No 50 50 18.04

Shipping Size 300 tons

Modifications: Tilt-rotor, 2 Freshers, Autopilot (Flyer +2), Standard Navigation, Standard Sensors (+1), TL10 Communications, Extended Operational Range Base Environment: 86 Clearance: 60m radius

The Rock Pigeon (Rock Pig) Utility Helicopter AgilVehicle TL Skill ity Rock Pig 11 Helicopter +1

Speed Range 220 3,000 km/h km

Armour 3

Crew and Passengers Cargo Open? Hull 4 2 No 2

Structure 2

Shipping Cost Lv Size 325,000 4 tons

Take-off/Landing Radius: 22m Base World: 86 Special Features: Increased Speed (+20%), Standard Navigation (+2) TL 10 Communications, Basic Sensors (+0)

150

TriCom Aviation Gx-88 Gyro-copter Vehicle Gx-88

Agility Speed Range +1 220 3,000 km/h km

TL Skill 11 Flyer (rotor)

Armour 4

Crew and Passengers Cargo 2 0

Structure 1

Open? Hull No 1

Shipping Cost Lv Size 169,900 3 tons

Modifications: Multi-environment, Increased Speed, Basic Sensors (+0), Basic Navigation (+1), Basic Communications (Very Distant) Base Environment: 86 Take-Off Radius: 22m

Haverland S56 Light Bush Plane Agility 0

Vehicle TL Skill S56 11 Flyer (winged)

Armour 4

Speed Range 495 4,800 km/h km

Crew and Passengers Cargo Open? Hull 4 250 kg No 1

Structure 2

Shipping Cost Lv Size 202,000 6 tons

Modifications: Autopilot (skill 1), STOL, TL 10 Communications, Water Landing, Basic Navigation (+1) Takeoff/Landing Roll: 100 m/150 m

Zeppelinwerkes Elefant Cyclo-Crane Vehicle TL Skill

Agil- Speed ity

Range ArCrew / mour Passengers

Cargo

Open? Hull

Elefant

-4

1,000 km

116

N

10 Flyer (airship)

160 km/h

4

2

24

Structure (Gondola) 24

Structure Cost Ship(EnveMLv ping lope) Size 120

1.01

50 tons

Modifications: Basic Navigation (+1), TL6 Communications, Basic Sensors (+0) Lift Ability: 580 Spaces, 290 tons Envelope Size: 19,200 tons Envelope Shipping: 1,920 tons

AerotechSA S4 Scout Airship

Vehicle TL Skill S4 11 Flyer Scout (airship)

Agility Speed -4 160 km/h

Range 10,000 km

Crew / ArPassen- Carmour gers go Open? 4 4 29 N

Hull 8

Structure (Gondola) 8

Structure (Envelope) Cost Lv 40 894,200

Shipping Size 20 tons

Modifications: Fresher, Mini-Galley, Bunk, Standard Navigation, TL10 Communications, TL11 Advanced Sensors (+1), Long Term Life Support, Computer /2 Envelope Size: 6,400 tons Envelope Shipping: 64 tons

151

Bridge-Swift Sparrow Air Car Vehicle Light Aerodyne

TL 11

AgilSkill ity Flyer +3 (rotor)

Crew & Passengers 6

ArSpeed Range mour 400 600 km 4 km/h

Cargo 500 kg

Open? N

Hull 2

Structure 2

Cost Lv 483,000

Shipping Size 8 tons

Modifications: Ground Drive, Neural Link, Standard Navigation (+2), TL6 Communications, Basic Sensors (+0), Advanced Controls, Autopilot (Flyer /2), Luxury Fittings (Lv15,000) Base Environment: 86

British Exospace CRV-22 Vehicle Light Aerodyne

AgilTL Skill ity 10 Flyer +3 (rotor)

ArSpeed Range mour 400 800 km 4 km/h

Crew & Pas- Carsengers go 15 0

StrucOpen? Hull ture N 7 6

Cost Shipping MLv Size 6.91 20 tons

Modifications: Extended Operational Range, Increased Agility, Light Crane, Advanced Controls, Standard Navigation System (+2), Advanced Sensors (+2), 3 Bunks, Automed Base Environment: 86

Sargasso Sea Systems APY Personal Watercraft AgilArVehicle TL Skill ity Speed Range mour APY 12 Seafarer 0 132 900 km 4 (motorkm/h boat)

Crew and Passengers Cargo Open? 10 0 Yes

Hull 1

Structure 1

Cost Lv 5,400

Shipping Size 1.5 tons

Modifications: Increased Speed, Decreased Range, Open Top

PAN 50 Work Boat Vehicle PAN 50

TL 11

Skill Seafarer (motorboat)

Agility 0

ArSpeed Range mour 99 800 km 4 km/h

Crew & Pas- Carsengers go 6 625 kg

Struc- Cost Shipping Open? Hull ture Lv Size Open 3 4 28,500 5 tons top

Modifications: Increased Speed, Basic Navigation (+1), Basic Sensors (+0), TL 8 communications with Extended Range, Winch

Dolphin Marine Industries D505 Fishing Boat Vehicle D505

AgilTL Skill ity 11 Sea-3 farer (ocean ships)

ArSpeed Range mour 100 5,000 4 km/h km

Crew & StrucPassengers Cargo Open? Hull ture 20 10 tons re- N 50 50 frigerated/ 2.5 tons normal

Cost Shipping MLv Size 1.863 50 tons

Modifications: Catamaran, Hydrofoil, Autopilot/1, Standard Navigation (+2), TL8 Communications with Extended Range x2, Basic Sensors (+0), Standard Underwater Sensors (+1), Galley, 10 Bunks, Fresher, Refrigerated Hold (10 Spaces/2.5 Tons), Longline Storage, 6 Winches, Work Area (8 Spaces)

152

Seaspan Marine FC9 Fast Cat Ferry AgilVehicle FC9

TL 11

Skill ity Sea-6 farer (ocean ships)

Speed Range Armour 100 10,000 4 km/h km

Crew & Pas- Carsengers go 12 crew/70 86 passengers

Open? Hull N 100

Structure 100

Cost MLv 2.51

Shipping Size 100 tons

Modifications: Catamaran, Autopilot/1, Standard Navigation, TL6 Communications with Extended Range x2, Standard Sensors (+1), Standard Underwater Sensors (+1), 4 Freshers, Galley (feeds 80), 2 Winches, 2 Utility Boats

Carter-class Multipurpose Submarine Vehicle Carter

AgilTL Skill ity Speed Range 10 Seafarer -3 50 1,500 (submakm/h km rine)

Armour 4

Crew and Passengers Cargo Open? Hull 20 48 No 90

Struc- Cost ture MLv 90 9.2

Shipping Size 270 tons

Modifications: TL10 Communications with Increased Range, Standard Navigation (+2), Standard Underwater Sensors (+1), Autopilot (Seafarer/1), Computer/1, 10 Bunks, 2 Freshers, 1 Mini Galleys, 2 Air Locks, 2 Manipulator Arms (Str 12, Dex 7) Safe Depth: 600 metres Crush Depth: 1,800 metres Life Support: 200 days

Commando Scout Car

AgilArVehicle TL Skill ity Speed Range mour Com10 Drive 0 180 600 km 12 mando (wheeled) km/h Location Front Hull Right Side Left Side Rear Dorsal Ventral Turret Front Turret Other

Armour 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12

Weapon 20mm Autocannon Light machinegun

Crew and Passengers Cargo 2 0

Open? Hull No 4

Structure 4

Cost Shipping Lv Size 96,020 4 tons

Modifications: Basic Navigation (+1), Extra Armor (+8), Increased Range, Increased Speed, Laser Designator (V. Dist), Off-Road Capability, Pintle Mount, Small Turret, Standard Sensors, TL10 Communicator (w/uplink) Weapons: 20mm Autocannon in Remote Turret, Light Machinegun on Pintle Mount, Laser Designator in Turret

Location Turret Pintle

Damage 5d6 AP 3d6

Range VeryDistant Very Long

153

Auto 6 6

Ammo 1,000 3,000

Bessieres ACVI-3 Hover IFV Agility +1

Vehicle TL Skill Bes11 Drive sieres (hover) Location Front Hull Right Side Left Side Rear Dorsal Ventral Turret Front Turret Other



Armour 120 70 70 70 80 70 120 80

ArSpeed Range mour 195 700 km 80 km/h

Crew and Passengers 10

Cargo 0

Open? Hull No 4

Structure 3

Cost MLv 4.6

Modifications: AFV, Jump Jets, TL10 Encrypted Communications with Uplink and Tightbeam, Standard Sensors (+1), Standard Navigation (+2), IR Mask I, Computer Model/3, Advanced ECM, Improved Fire Control +1, Life Support (short-term), Hostile Environment Protection, Weapons: 20mm 3-barrel Autocannon, 7.5mm Machinegun, Missile Launcher, all in remote turret Defenses: Smoke Launchers (6), Flare Launchers (6), Chaff Launchers (6), Prismatic Aerosol Dispenser (6), Explosive Belt Anti-missile System

Weapon Light rotary Autocannon Missile Launcher Machinegun

Location Turret Turret Cupola

Weapon Explosive Belt

Damage 4d6

Damage 6d6 AP 9d6 Super AP 5d6 AP

Range Very Long Very Distant Rifle

Shots 10/facing

Auto 8 No 6

Ammo 5,000 2 2,500

Targets 8

DM –5

Mandenal Helicopters SH-30 Rooivalk Patrol Tilt Rotor Vehicle TL Skill SH-30 11 Flyer (wing)

Agility +1

Shipping Size 9 tons

Speed 720 km/h

ArRange mour 5,000 km 4

Crew & Passengers 2/8

Cargo 2

Open? N

Hull 6

Structure 6

Cost MLv 2.43

Shipping Size 36 tons

Modifications: Tilt Rotor, Advanced Controls, Autopilot/1, Standard Navigation, TL8 Communications, Advanced Sensors, Short Term Life Support, Increased Speed (+100%), 3 Deployment Ramps & Rappelling Harnesses Armament: 3 Medium Rotary Machineguns in Pintle Mounts, pylons for 4 Spaces of external ordnance

154

Tiburon-class Patrol Boat Vehicle Small Ship

TL 11

AgilSkill ity Sea-3 farer (ocean ships)

Speed 330 km/h

ArRange mour 5,000 4 km

Crew & CarPassengers go 8 500 kg

Open? Hull N 13

StrucShipping ture Cost Lv Size 13 756,900 13 tons

Modifications: TL10 Encrypted Communications with Uplink and Tightbeam, Standard Sensors (+1), Standard Navigation (+2), Autopilot (skill 2), Improved Fire Control +1, Life Support (short-term), Hostile Environment Protection Weapons: 20mm Autocannon and PGMP Mk2A2 in Remote Turret, 4-cell Missile Launcher, 2 X 7.5mm Rotary Machineguns in Powered Gun Mounts with Gun Shields Defences: Smoke Launchers (6), Flare Launchers (6), Chaff Launchers (6)

Tribal-class Surface Frigate AgilVehicle TL Skill ity Tribal 10 Seafarer -6 (ocean ships)



Weapon 8cm Mass Driver Missile Launcher BG Laser 12mm HMG x4 Torpedo Tubes x4 Weapon Explosive Belt

ArSpeed Range mour 60 8,000 80 km/h km

Location Remote Turret VLS Pop-up Turret Pintle Mounts Fixed Forward Damage 4d6

Crew and Passengers Cargo 80 25 tons (100 Spaces)

Damage 20d6 Ultimate AP 9d6 Super AP 7d6 6d6+4 Super AP 12d6 AP

Open? Hull No 332

Structure 332

Range Very Distant (Orbital w/RAP rounds) Very Distant Distant Very Long Very Distant

Shots 10/facing

Targets 8

Cost MLv 24

Auto No No No 8 No

Shipping Size 664 tons

Ammo 40 60 5,000 8

DM –5

Modifications: Multihull (trimaran), Increased Speed (100%), 80 Bunks, Full Galley (30 people), 6 Freshers, Sick Bay (4 patients), 4 Autodocs, Autopilot (+2), 3 Fire Extinguishers, TL10 Encrypted Communications, Advanced Sensors (+1), Advanced Navigation (+2), IR Mask I, Computer Model/3, Advanced ECM, Improved Fire Control +1, Life Support (short-term), Hostile Environment Protection, 2 Marine teams, 2 Medium Cranes, Hanger Bay, 2 Utility Boats Weapons: 80mm Naval Mass Driver in Large Turret Forward, 4 12mm Machineguns, 60 Missile Launchers, 4 Sprint Torpedoes Defences: Smoke Launchers (24), Flare Launchers (24), Chaff Launchers (24), Prismatic Aerosol Dispenser (24), Decoy Launchers (12), Explosive Belt Anti-missile system, 2 Laser-based Anti-missile Systems, Blue-green Laser Anti-torpedo System

155

Sumatro-Fabrique Pembunah Paus Patrol Sub Vehicle TL Skill Agility Speed Range Pem11 Sea-3 90 2,700 bunah farer km/h km Paus (submarine) Weapon Autocannon Missiles Torpedoes Blue-green Laser Turret

Location Pop-up Turret Turret Cupola Turret

Armour 5

Crew and Passengers 34

Damage 6d6 AP 9d6 Super AP 5d6 AP 7d6

Cargo Open? Hull 0 No 250

Range Very Long Very Distant Rifle Distant

Struc- Cost ture MLv 250 177

Auto 4 No 6 No

Shipping Size 750 tons

Ammo 5,000 2 2,500 -

Modifications: Supercavitating Drive (900 km/h), TL10 Encrypted Communications with Increased Range, Advanced Controls (+2), Advanced Sensors (+2), Autopilot, Computer/2, Standard Navigation (+2), Standard Controls, IR Mask I, Advanced ECM, Improved Fire Control +1 (laser and autocannon), Fire Control +2 (torpedoes and missiles), 34 Bunks, 2 Freshers, 2 Mini Galleys, 2 Air Locks, 2 Hanger Bays, 2 Manipulator Arms (Str 12, Dex 9) Weapons: Autocannon in Pop-up Turret, 8 Smart Torpedoes, 8 Multi-role Smart Missiles, Defences: Blue-green Laser in Pop-up Turret, Noisemaker Decoys (6), Sonar Masking (Stealth II) Safe Depth: 2,000 metres Crush Depth: 6,000 metres Life Support: 500 days

156

Starships and Spacecraft Starships and spacecraft are the lifeline of any colonial effort. All save the most advanced worlds require contact with Earth, whether for immigration, technology, or even just nutritional cargoes. For beginning colonies and outposts, though, contact with the Core and other colony worlds is critical. Colonies require enormous quantities of supplies to start and, as they mature, also require interstellar shipping to deliver the goods and materials they produce to market. Profits are invested back into equipment and supplies for the colony, and in improving the quality of life for the colonists.

Commercant-class Transport

The Commercant-class drop-cargo carrier is a design common to the French Arm, although similar designs are frequently seen on the Chinese Arm. There are literally hundreds of these ships in service, virtually all owned and operated in the private sector. Drop-cargo has several advantages on the frontier. Many colony worlds do not have effective interface transport, certainly not

up to handling heavy cargos. At the same time, most merchant vessels rely on interface transport at their destinations, due to the expense of operating landers. The Commercant filled this gap, transporting an aeroshell cargo module, which could be dropped to the surface of any atmosphere-present world. The module contains a retro-rocket package, heat-resistant hull materials, and parachutes to bring its cargo safely to the surface from orbit. Though the module itself is fairly expensive, the drop-cargo approach is a boon to struggling colony worlds. Also, the cargo module is collapsible after use and is somewhat reusable, provided another vessel can haul the collapsed version out of the gravity well. Otherwise, the shell can be recycled for building or warehousing material. The Commercant itself is a cramped vessel which can take up to six passengers. Stripped of cargo, the ship can make fairly good time, but when towing a loaded cargo module it slows to a more standard speed for cargo vessels.

Commercant Class Transport

Size (tons)

Cost (MLv)

Hull

Modular Hull (50%)

 

400

12

 

Hull 8

 

-

-

 

Structure 8

 

-

-

Streamlining

Unstreamlined

 

-

-

Armour

-

 

-

-

Stutterwarp Drive G

Unloaded

1.76

0.65

1.94

(Old Commercial)

Loaded

1.27

-

-

 

Tactical

0.63

-

-

Power Plant

MHD Turbine G

 

2.86

0.25

Radiators

Radiators G

 

0.29

0.03

Bridge

 

 

20

2

Computer

 

Model/2

-

0.16

Electronics/Sensors

Basic Civilian

DM -2

1

0.05

Fuel

2 weeks

 

47.04

-

Cargo

 

 

38.16

-

Staterooms

20

 

80

2

Other Fixtures

200 ton modular section

 

200

-

 

Cargo Handler Subcraft

 

10

-

Maintenance Cost (monthly)

 

-

0.0025

Life Support Cost (monthly)

 

-

0.04

 

400

18.43

Total Weight/Cost

 

157

Sensors

Commercant

Class Transport

1

2

Starboard Airlock

Port Airlock

Cargo Bay Hatch (Ceiling)

3

5

6

Cargo Handler Bay Cargo Bays Bridge Observation Blister Access Crew Staterooms x14 Ship’s Office Utility Room Crew Common Room Galley Storage Lockers Passenger Staterooms x6 Passenger Common Room Engineering Control EVA/Maintenance Room Utility Rooms are multi purpose

4 10

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 12. 13. 14. 15.

2

7

5

Cargo Handler Bay is 6 Metres High and opens above and below

10 5

Fuel Tanks

Fuel Tanks

Aeroshell attaches to underside of vessel

8

12 9

7

13

Fuel Tanks 14 Life Support

15

Fuel Tanks

Chair

Machinery

Acceleration Chair

Bay Door Edge

Bed

Access Panel

Double Bunk

Hatch

Internal Wall

Hatch Floor

Bulk Head

Hatch Ceiling

Door

Hatch Both

Deck Access Floor (no hatch) Deck Access Ceiling (no hatch)

Stutter Warp

Deck Access Both (no hatch)

Toilet Wash Basin Shower Unit Locker Aeroshell Grapple

Scale 1 Square = 1.5 Metres

Radiators

MHD

Radiators

158

Travailleur Work Pod

The French-made Travailleur work pod is a small, reaction-drive vessel intended for short-range operations. It is equipped with a large grappling arm for handling and placing cargo , along with two finer manipulator arms for performing maintenance tasks and examining cargo. It is controlled by a single operator, who usually wears a skin suit while piloting. The chemical rocket is capable of a sustained burn of up to 30 minutes, but usually operates in short bursts for close-in maneuvering. The work pod is also a common sight at asteroid mines, where its extended capabilities make it a favourite with mining companies. Travailleur Work Pod 

Size (tons)

Cost (MLv)

Hull

Hull 0

 

10

0.5

 

Structure 1

 

 -

-

Streamlining

Unstreamlined

 

-

-

Armour

-

 

- 

-

Heat Shielding

-

 

 -

-

Reaction Drive

Liquid-fuel Rocket sA

1.5g

0.5

1

Reaction Drive Fuel

30 minutes

 

1.875

 -

Power Plant

Fuel Cell sA

 

0.02

0.1

Radiators

None

 

 -

 -

Cabin

1 Crew

 

3

0.05

Computer

Model/1

Rating 5

 -

0.03

Electronics/Sensors

Basic Civilian

DM -2

1

0.05

Fuel

8 hours

 

0.004

 -

Cargo

None

 

 -

- 

Other Fixtures

Grappler Arm

 

2

1

 

Light Arms (x2)

 

1.5

0.5

Maintenance Cost (monthly)

 

 -

0.002

Life Support Cost (monthly)

 

 -

N/A

 

9.899

3.23

Total Weight/Cost

 

159

Travailleur Work Pod Light Arms

Grapple Arms

Sensors Fuel Life Support

Fuel Fuel Cell Plans

Reaction Drive

Chair

Machinery

Acceleration Chair

Bay Door Edge

Bed

Access Panel

Double Bunk

Hatch

Internal Wall

Hatch Floor

Bulk Head

Hatch Ceiling

Door

Hatch Both

Deck Access Floor (no hatch) Deck Access Ceiling (no hatch) Deck Access Both (no hatch)

Toilet Wash Basin Shower Unit Locker Aeroshell Grapple

Scale 1 Square = 1.5 Metres

160

Drop Pods

Drop pods, often called aeroshells, are the most cost-effective way to get cargo down from orbit to a planet’s surface. They are available in a range of sizes, from 40 tons to 400 tons. All are blunt, round-bottomed cones, with a single-use heat shield on the underside allowing a single planetary re-entry.

Aeroshell Design

Aeroshells are designed with Standard Streamlining, Heat Shields, and a Recovery Package, which includes the single-use de-orbit motor, guidance system, and parachutes. The Recovery Package uses 10% of the hull volume, and costs 10% of the base hull price. Aeroshells lose another 10% of their volume to waste from the shape of the shell. Aeroshells of up to 100 tons can be designed as reusable vehicles. They can be collapsible as an option, making it less expensive to return then to orbit. Some heavy-lift vehicles can loft a loaded 100 ton aeroshell into orbit, but launchers of this

size are not common. A reusable aeroshell must have a new parachute/parasail loaded into it before it can reenter, but the heat shielding is good for 50 uses, after which the aeroshell is typically discarded. The replacement parachute will cost 10% of the price of the aeroshell’s hull. A collapsible aeroshell costs 50% more than a normal reusable model, and loses another 5% of its interior volume for the structural features that allow it to be collapsible. It consumes 50% less space for shipping purposes to get it back into orbit. Aeroshells can only be used on planets with Atmosphere 1 or higher. Final braking and landing employ parasails for smaller pods, and multiple large parachutes for larger ones. The parachute from a single 100-ton aeroshell can supply enough cloth to make a full suit of clothes for up to 4,000 people. Three standard sizes of drop pods are detailed here. Other custom sizes are possible. Indeed, aeroshells are often custommade to fit a specific cargo.

Ultralight Drop Pod (50 tons)

The utralight drop pod is most commonly used to drop supplies and light equipment. Since it is small enough to use a parasail, it can be accurately guided to its destination. For this reason, it is also used by military groups to land supplies and equipment to troops in the field. This should only be done when the dropping forces maintain air superiority. Ultralight Drop Pod Hull     Streamlining Recovery Package Waste Armour Heat Shielding Reaction Drive Power Plant Radiators Cockpit Computer Cargo Maintenance Cost (monthly) Life Support Cost (monthly) Total Weight/Cost

Size (tons) 50 2.5 5 5 37.5   50

Hull 1 Structure 1 Collapsible Standard (Aeroshell)     37.5 Tons

 

161

Cost (MLv) 0.75   0.75 0.075 0 0.25 0.001 1.825

TerraFuse DRV-4 Drop Pod (200 tons)

Designed for use with the Commercant carrier, the medium drop pod can carry 160 tons of cargo to a colony world. The pod is too large to be easily transported back to orbit, so it is typically broken down for useful materials once unloaded. Medium Drop Pod Hull   Streamlining Recovery Package Waste Armour Heat Shielding Reaction Drive Power Plant Radiators Cockpit Computer Cargo Maintenance Cost (monthly) Life Support Cost (monthly) Total Weight/Cost

Size (tons) 200 20 20 160   200

Hull 4 Structure 4 Standard (Aeroshell)     Single Use 160 Tons

 

Cost (MLv) 2   0.1 1 0.002 3.1

Trilon Industries AS-400 Ultra-Heavy Drop Pod (400 tons)

This is the largest commercially available aeroshell in production. It is used for dropping modular structures and heavy equipment, along with large, bulk cargos. Manchuria uses a variant of the AS-400 to land large numbers of colonists. The colonists spend the entire voyage in the aeroshell, and it becomes the foundation of their community once they land. Heavy Drop Pod Hull   Streamlining Recovery Package Waste Armour Heat Shielding Reaction Drive Power Plant Radiators Cockpit Computer Cargo Maintenance Cost (monthly) Life Support Cost (monthly) Total Weight/Cost

Size (tons) 400 40 40 320   400

Hull 8 Structure 8 Standard (Aeroshell)     Single Use 320 Tons

 

162

Cost (MLv) 4   0.4 2 0.005 6.4

British Exo-Space’ “Miranda’ Heavy Cargo Lander

The Miranda heavy cargo lander is one of the rare nuclear-powered interface vessels to be found in human space. It is designed to land and take off from water only, in order to bear the vessel’s high weight, provide reaction mass for the fission rockets, and grant some shielding from the residual radiation. While nuclear reaction drives in the 24th century are relatively clean, there is still a risk of radioactivity. The Miranda is one of the largest interface-capable spacecraft ever built. It is too heavy to operate from any runway and the use of water landings allows it to operate on worlds of up to 1.2 standard gravities, though at a considerable cost in cargo due to the extra reaction mass required. Miranda-class landers are not allowed to operate in the Core at all, and most colonies will ban them once the colony is well established. Hermes makes heavy use of them, however. Though the colony has a catapult, it is not suitable for lofting heavy, yet relatively fragile cargos like vehicles. MuleCorp is working on a space-based factory, but that facility is not expected to be operational until 2303 at the earliest. The size of the Miranda’s cargo hold places a limit on the size of assembled vehicle that MuleCorp can export. There are rumours of a secret deal between MuleCorp and the Iranian/Indonesian Coalition that runs Meetpoint Station to assemble incomplete vehicles there for export to the Core, allowing even the heaviest models to be constructed. The American Trade Commission would likely move to stop such a blatant action. Miranda Class Heavy Cargo Loader

Size (tons)

Cost (MLv)

Hull

 

 

500

16

 

Hull 10

 

-

-

 

Structure 10

 

-

2

Streamlining

Hybrid Lifting Body

 

5

5

Landing Run

960m

 

-

-

Take-off Run

800m

 

-

-

Armour

-

 

-

-

Heat Shielding

 -

 

-

5

Stutterwarp Drive

Unloaded

0

-

-

 

Loaded

0

-

-

 

Tactical

0

 

-

Reaction Drive

Nuclear Thruster J

3.0 G

34

72

Power Plant

Fission Reactor M

 

70

8

Radiators

Radiators M

 

7

0.07

Cabin

4 Crew

 

12

2.5

Computer

Model/1

Rating 5

-

0.03

Electronics/Sensors

Basic Civilian

-2 DM

1

0.05

Fuel

8 hours

 

40

-

Cargo

326 tons

 

326

-

Passenger Couches

10 Passengers

 

5

0.3

Other Fixtures

 

 

-

-

 

-

0.09

   

500

-

Maintenance Cost (monthly) Life Support Cost (monthly) Total Weight/Cost

   

163

110.95

1

Miranda Class Heavy Cargo Loader

2 3

Life Support

4

6

5

Level One Main Deck

3

7

Chair

Machinery

Acceleration Chair

Bay Door Edge

Bed

Access Panel

Double Bunk

Hatch

Internal Wall

Hatch Floor

Bulk Head

Hatch Ceiling

Door

Hatch Both

Deck Access Floor (no hatch) Deck Access Ceiling (no hatch) Deck Access Both (no hatch)

1. Sensors / Avionics 2. Bridge 3. Freshers x2 4. Passenger Compartment 5. Airlock 6. Storage Locker 7. Engine Control

Toilet Wash Basin Shower Unit Locker Aeroshell Grapple

Scale 1 Square = 1.5 Metres

Fission Reactor

Fuel Tanks

Fuel Tanks

Radiators

Radiators

Nuclear Thrusters

164

Miranda Class Heavy Cargo Loader

Lift

Cargo Bays

Cargo Bays

Chair

Machinery

Acceleration Chair

Bay Door Edge

Bed

Access Panel

Double Bunk

Hatch

Internal Wall

Hatch Floor

Bulk Head

Hatch Ceiling

Door

Hatch Both

Deck Access Floor (no hatch) Deck Access Ceiling (no hatch) Deck Access Both (no hatch)

Toilet Wash Basin Shower Unit Locker Aeroshell Grapple

Scale 1 Square = 1.5 Metres

Lift

The Floors in the front, middle and rear sections of Cargo Bay A can be removed for tall cargo

Level Two Cargo Deck A

Level Three Cargo Deck B

165

S pac e S t a t i o n M o d u l e s

In addition to the array of standard 30 ton modules available in the 2300AD Core Rulebook, larger 50 and 100 ton modules are also available. The standard 50-ton modules from Trilon are circular in cross section, 8.3 metres in diameter and 12 metres long, with four internal decks. Their line of 100-ton modules have a roughly square cross-section, 20 metres long and 8.3 metres wide, with 6 internal decks.

50-Ton Modules Base Module

The base module is an empty can, useful for a number of purposes. Hull

50 ton Station Module

Hull Streamlining Armour Heat Shielding Reaction Drive Power Plant Radiators Cockpit Computer Electronics/Sensors Fuel Cargo Passenger Couches Other Fixtures Maintenance Cost Life Support Cost Total Cost

1 None 0

Structure

None None None 2 Crew

Model/1

None

Size 50 1

Cost (MLv) 1.5

3

0.25 0.03 0

0 0

47

0.008/year MLv1.78

166

F ac t o r y M o d u l e

The factory module costs an additional MLv10, and in addition to the factory itself, contains 2 offices and 5 tons of storage. It requires an external power source.

70 ton Spin Can

The spin can is used to provide simulated gravity for a recreation facility (20 tons), along with an infirmary for four patients and four staterooms (16 tons). In addition to the spin can itself, the hab facility requires another 7 tons of machinery, and a 13-ton water tank as a counter-weight. Hull

70 ton spin can

Hull Streamlining Armour Heat Shielding Reaction Drive Power Plant Radiators Cockpit Computer Electronics/Sensors Artificial Gravity Cargo

1 None 0

Staterooms Other Fixtures Maintenance Cost Life Support Cost Total Cost

None None None 2 Crew None Double Hull Water Tank In module 4 Infirmary Recreation Facility

Structure

Model/1

Size 70 1

Cost (MLv) 2.7

3

0.25 0.03 0 0.7

7 13 3 16 8 20

0 0

0.4 2 0.1 0.006/year MLv6.18

167

1 0 0- t o n

module

The heavy 100 ton module is used when a large interior volume is required.

Base Module

The base module is an empty module, with space for options. It includes no internal power, and only a small control room/cockpit for docking control. This variant is often used as a pressurised warehouse module. Hull

100 ton Station Module

Hull Streamlining Armour Heat Shielding Reaction Drive Power Plant Radiators Cockpit Computer Electronics/Sensors Fuel Cargo Passenger Couches Other Fixtures Maintenance Cost Life Support Cost Total Cost

2 None 0

Structure

None None None 2 Crew

Model/1

None

Size 100 2

Cost (MLv) 1 MLv

3

0.25 0.03 0

0 0

97

0.001/year MLv1.28

Hotel/Dormitory Module

This module adds 22 staterooms to the base hull, along with an office and some storage space. Hull

100 ton Station Module

Hull Streamlining Armour Heat Shielding Reaction Drive Power Plant Radiators Cockpit Computer Electronics/Sensors Fuel Cargo Staterooms Other Fixtures Maintenance Cost Life Support Cost Total Cost

2 None 0 None None None 2 Crew None

Structure

Model/1

Size 100 2

Cost (MLv) 1 MLv

3

0.25 0.03 0

5 88 4

22 Office

168

0 0

2.2 0.025 0.003/year 0.044/month MLv3.505

Control Room

Office Cargo Bay Fresher

Control Room Cargo Bay Life Support

Life Support Office

Cargo Bay

Cargo Bay

Cargo Bay

Factory Levels

100 Ton Base Module

Cargo Bay

Cargo Bay Cargo Bay Lift

Cargo Bay

Lift

50 Ton Base 50 Ton Factory Module Module

Cargo Bay

Chair

Machinery

Acceleration Chair

Bay Door Edge

Bed

Access Panel

Double Bunk

Hatch

Internal Wall

Hatch Floor

Bulk Head

Hatch Ceiling

Door

Hatch Both

Deck Access Floor (no hatch)

Lift

Deck Access Ceiling (no hatch) Deck Access Both (no hatch)

Toilet Wash Basin Shower Unit Locker Aeroshell Grapple

Cargo Bay

Scale 1 Square = 1.5 Metres

169

S pac e S u p e r i o r i t y M o d u l e

Despite being billed as the ultimate weapons package for any outpost or space station, the critical vulnerability of any station is the lack of a stutterwarp drive, and attendant combat mobility. Adding weapons does not appreciably improve the station’s odds of survival if attacked. Nonetheless, Trilon has been selling them in large numbers since the Kaefer invasion of Aurore. The Space Superiority module includes a fuel cell for power, active and passive sensors, UTES targeting, a missile director, a particle beam in a barbette and a bay capable of holding 20 Ritage-2 missiles. This module can also be used to control an array of defensive buoys and drones. The module also has a Class-5 screen generator for defense. Hull

100 ton Station Module

Hull Streamlining Armour Power Plant Radiators Cabin Computer Electronics/Sensors Fuel Cargo Weapon Mount 1

2 None 0 NM Fuel Cell A Radiator A 8 Crew

Weapon Mount 2 Fire Control Missiles Screens Other Fixtures Maintenance Cost Life Support Cost Total Cost

Structure

Model/1 DM +1

Advanced 12 hours Heavy Turret BMZ-150 Particle Beam Weapon Standard Turret Type 17 Point Defence Cluster UTES Missile Controllers (5) Ritage 2 Missile Bay Rating 5 Offices (x4)

Size 100 2

0.54 0.054 24 3 0.318 6 2 2 1 1 40 2 16

Cost (MLv) 1 MLv 0 0 20 0.0054 0.25 0.03 2

2 3 1.3 0.6 17 18 0.1 0.007/year MLv65.2854

170

Fire Control Level

Holo Table Common Room Control Room Cargo Level Cargo

100 Ton Space Superiority Module

Cargo

Living Quarters

Chair

Machinery

Acceleration Chair

Bay Door Edge

Bed

Access Panel

Double Bunk

Hatch

Internal Wall

Hatch Floor

Bulk Head

Hatch Ceiling

Door

Hatch Both

Deck Access Floor (no hatch)

Upper Missile Bay

Deck Access Ceiling (no hatch) Deck Access Both (no hatch)

Toilet Wash Basin Shower Unit Locker Aeroshell Grapple

Scale 1 Square = 1.5 Metres

Lower Missile Bay

Power Plant

Screen

Particle Beam Barbette

Gun & Engineering Level UTES / Sensors Fuel Radiators

Point Defence

171

Nuclear Power Module

The nuclear power module is used for large stations, in particular outposts far distant from any stars. It can supply enough power for up to 1,000 people in a static station. Hull

100 ton Station Module

Hull Streamlining Armour Heat Shielding Reaction Drive Power Plant Radiators Cockpit Reactor Control Computer Electronics/Sensors Fuel Cargo Other Fixtures Maintenance Cost Life Support Cost Total Cost

2 None 0

Structure

None Fission Reactor M Radiator M 2 Crew

None N/A

Model/1

Offices (x2)

Size 100 2

Cost (MLv) 1 MLv

70 7 3 12

8 0.07 0.25

8

0.05 0.001/year

0 0

0.03 0

MLv1.28

Hanger Module

In addition to the hanger itself, the module contains a workshop and a pair of offices. It requires an external source of power. Hull

100 ton Hanger Module

Hull Streamlining Armour Heat Shielding Reaction Drive Power Plant Radiators Cockpit Computer Electronics/Sensors Fuel Cargo Hanger Bay Other Fixtures

2 None 0

Maintenance Cost Life Support Cost Total Cost

None None None 2 Crew None

Structure

Model/1

Size 100 2

Cost (MLv) 1 MLv

3

0.25 0.03 0

6 75 8 8

Offices (x2) Workshop

0 0

1.5 0.05 4 0.001/year MLv5.83

172

Solar Powersat Module

A typical powersat is constructed with five of these modules, along with backup power modules and other modules as required. The module itself contains the solar arrays and microwave transmission equipment needed to beam power to a planetary rectenna array Hull

100 ton Station Module

Hull Streamlining Armour Heat Shielding Reaction Drive Power Plant Radiators Cockpit Computer Electronics/Sensors Fuel Cargo Other Fixtures

2 None 0

Maintenance Cost Life Support Cost Total Cost

New Components Office

Structure

None Solar Array P Radiator P 2 Crew

Model/1

None

Office Microwave Transmitter

Size 100 2

Cost (MLv) 1 MLv

50 5.0 3

50 0.05 0.25 0.03 0

4 25

0.025 25 0.076/year

0 0

MLv76.355

and

Design Errata

Though the same size as a stateroom, dedicated office space aboard a starship or spacestation is only 25% of the cost of the stateroom. It lacks many of the lifesupport and other built-in amenities like a fresher or storage space. It is an empty room with space for two desks, hardcopy file storage, and perhaps a small meeting table. One wall is a smart wall for displays and interactive meetings and notes. TL: 10 Size: 4 tons Price: MLv0.025

Hydroponics Bay

The standard model is available at TL 10, and a more advanced version is available at TL 12. A starship with a hydroponics bay reduces its life support costs by 90%. A bay consumes 2 tons of space per person on the ship not in hibernation, and costs MLv0.1 per person. Hydroponics Bays at TL 10 have a minimum size of 30 tons, while at TL 12 the minimum size is 10 tons. TL 10 Hydroponic Bays require annual maintenance, with a price of Lv10,000 per person. TL 12 Hydroponic Bays are otherwise

identical, but their yearly maintenance is half the price of the TL 10 Bay.

Infirmary/Med Bay

Infirmaries consume 2 tons of space per patient, and cost MLv0.5 per patient.

Autofactory

A standard multipurpose autofactory takes up 30 tons on a ship or station. It requires the full output of a class A power plant for operation. An autofactory can produce 10 displacement tons of product per day, from 15 tons of specific raw materials, producing five tons of waste for recycling. TL: 10 Size: 30 tons Price: MLv8

Powersat Solar Arrays

Powersat Solar Arrays are rated in a similar fashion to other powerplants. These are arrays and power conditioning equipment designed to power microwave emitters that supply planetary rectennas. They are substantially-larger than the backup arrays used by starships. The listed area is for comparison and visualisation purposes.

173

Array Type M N P Q R

Size (tons) 30 40 50 100 150

Cost (MLv) 30 40 50 100 150

the microwave systems are also able to receive power beamed from other satellites and redirect them to the ground.

Area (m2) 42,000 56,000 100,000 140,000 210,000

Powersat Microwave Transmitter/Receiver Arrays

Microwave transceiver arrays are rated by their capacity, with is the same as the Array Type. They take up 50% of the size of the solar power array, cost 50% of the price, and have focal arrays that are 10% of the area of the solar arrays.

The microwave transmitter beams power down to the ground rectenna via a wide, low-energy-density microwave beam. Since even in a synchronous orbit an array can be in shadow,

2300AD Core Rulebook Errata: Bridge Costs

From page 203; ‘For vessels over 2,000 tons, a standard bridge is 80 tons in size, and costs MLv0.8 per 100 tons of ship.’

174