Warp Gate Rings – TL 18+
At the height of the Nicerian Empire’s power and technological advancement, they were the unquestioned ruling power of the region. A network of warp jump gates spanned the region, and allowed the Empire’s ships reach and speed that none could stand against. Their capital was said to be protected by an invincible battlestation, now jokingly refereed to as “Walhalix” in the regional myths.
When their capital’s sun exploded, so did the suns of all of the Nicerian core worlds with jump rings. The event that triggered the first nova spread like wildfire through the warp tunnels that the rings made, igniting dozens of stars into blazing nova. This multi-star apocalypse scoured the Empire’s core systems of all life, melting most of their planets and sending their remains to scatter into the void of space.
Now, thousands of years later, the remnants of those worlds float, brilliant strands of glowing color against the darkness beyond the galactic rim.
The Nicerians built jump gate rings that could create a jump gate for ships all the way up to 10,000 tons, and at the time of the nova most Imperial traffic was carried by 10,000 ton ship carriers like the space hulk at Skein Reach subsector 6, hex 0201. For military operations, they would load up the ship carriers with monitors, fighter carriers, and troop transports as needed.
The jump gates transported ships both ways, and depending on the ring and the power input can transport ships at the equivalent speed of jump 1 to jump 6.
Posted in Equipment, Vehicle and tagged Skein Reach by Adam A. Thompson with no comments yet.
Planet of the Cybertank
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an adventure for Traveller or other science-fiction role-playing games
for player characters with access to a light starship or armored fighting vehicles
~
In a quiet system the Player Characters (PCs) receive a distress signal from another spaceship – scrap salvagers stranded on a forbidden zone amber planet (UWP X642000-0). The small world, Zinah 2, was once host to a mining colony. Starchart library data indicates that it was irradiated by nuclear weaponry and abandoned 200 years ago.
Adventure Overview
This adventure has the players land to investigate a distress signal, only to also be stranded on planet by a massive tank piloted by an artificial intelligence. They will have to use skill and guile to escape from the planet.
As an alternative scenario, if the travellers have access to grav tanks or similar military equipment, they may be hired to eliminate the cybertank so that salvage can be collected or a new mining colony can be established.
The Cybertank’s Domain
From orbit the automated emergency distress signal appears to be coming from the highly radioactive wreckage of a type A Free Trader “SS SWAMPDOGE”. The wreck is on the outskirts of the ruins of a mining outpost.
When the players arrive in orbit the cybertank is in its repair bunker in low-power mode (see below). A difficult (-6 DM) sensors check is required to detect the cybertank there and the PCs will likely land before they are aware of it.
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Posted in Adventure, Traveller, Vehicle by Adam A. Thompson with 5 comments.
Vesuvius Heavy Combat Walker
These massive war machines, dubbed “assault mechs” by their designers, dominated the battlefield at the height of the stellar era. Their moniker came from the fact that these types of combat walkers were designed and used to spearhead ground assaults and to destroy or hold objectives. Few other ground units are as heavily armed and armored – these walkers are even able to face off against light starfighters.
This combat walker is a TL 14 update of the fabled Galactic Monopoly (GM) Vesuvius-class assault mech with the latest in gauss, fusion and rocket weaponry. The anthropomorphic form, advanced fire control systems and neural control helmet allow humanoid pilots unparalleled reaction time and accuracy. It also carries the most armor of any combat walker design that saw widespread use.
Vesuvius
Cost (Cr.) 31,705,700
TL 14
Skill drive (walker)
Agility 1
Speed 125 kph
Range 800 km
Crew 1 pilot
Cargo none
Open no
Hull 16
Structure 17
Armor 150 (225 front, 100 left and right, 75 rear, 100 top, 100 bottom) +13 (ERA)
Shipping Size 75 tons
Height 24 meters
Weapons
– hard point (right arm) – 22mm heavy gauss cannon (14d6 mega-AP, very distant range, 100 rounds), 19 spaces, 10,000,000 Cr
– hard point (left arm) – RF Plasma B Gun (14d6 destructive, distant range, auto 4) 16 spaces, 1,500,000 Cr
– missile bay (torso) – artillery rocket pod (16d6, distant range, auto 12, 30 rockets) 4 spaces, 52,000 Cr
– improved fire control (+4 DM) 100,000 Cr
Extras
– AFV
– manipulator arms (Str 24, Dex 16) 190,000 Cr
– laser anti-missile system (TL 13, +2 to negate hits, 2D6 damage), 4 spaces, 250,000 Cr
– explosive reactive armor type IV, 0 spaces, 125,000 Cr
– neural link (+2 initiative, +2 agility), 1,050,000 Cr
– advanced navigation (+3 DM), 50,000 Cr
– TL 10 communications (encrypted continental), 1 space, 8,000 Cr
– advanced electronic countermeasures (TL 14, +3 DM, ), 40,000 Cr
– advnaced sensors (TL 14, +2 DM, very distant range), 1 space, 62,500 Cr
– hostile environment protection, 1 space, 50,000 Cr
– life support (short-term, 1-4 days), 1 space, 20,000 Cr
– stealth (class III, +3 DM), 3,200,000 Cr
– smoke, 0.5 spaces, 1,000 Cr
– flares, 0.5 spaces, 1,200 Cr
– chaff, 0.5 spaces, 2,000 Cr
– prismatic aresol, 0.5 spaces, 4,000 Cr
– extra armor (superdense) x 15, 15,000,000 Cr
Posted in Traveller, Vehicle and tagged mech by Adam A. Thompson with no comments yet.
Combat Walkers of the Confederation of Planets – Quarterhorse
These combat walkers, or “mechs” as they are more commonly called, are old tech level (TL) 9 and 10 designs used by the Confederation of Planets in wars past. Occasional examples of these vehicles show up in the planetary defense forces of Confederation worlds, in the private armies of mercenaries, and in the hands of rich collectors of expensive weapons. Others are seen in the form of copies, variants, and equivalents on low-tech worlds.
Quarterhorse – light quadruped military walker
A basic four-legged mech, the Quarterhorse is relatively fast, very sure-footed, and provides a nimble firing platform for its heavy autocannon. Good out to a range of about 500 meters, the autocannon can threaten most light or medium armored units.
Still used for patrols or perimeter defense, they were mainly used in assaults as infantry support vehicles. Their, agility, build, and high forward turret placement give their “mech-jockeys” the ability to crouch the mech behind cover and pop up to fire.
Quarterhorses are sometimes mockingly referred to as “poor planeteer’s battle armor”, as they provide protection and armament similar to the powered personal armor of higher-technology forces at a fraction of the price.
Lacking life-support, pilots using them in hostile environments must wear vac suits or otherwise make arrangements for their respiration.
| Quarterhorse | light quad military walker, general purpose |
| Cost | 428,000 Cr. |
| TL | 9 |
| Skill | drive (walker) |
| Agility | +2 |
| Speed | 102.5 kph |
| Range | 300 km |
| Crew | 1 |
| Cargo | none |
| Open | no |
| Hull | 2 |
| Structure | 3 |
| Armor | 20 (30 turret front, 10 turret rear) |
| Shipping Size | 10 tons |
| Height | 2 meters |
| Weapons | small turret with
|
| Extras | AFV |
| 2 extra legs (+1 DM on rough terrain, +1 DM to attack rolls) | |
| advanced controls (+1 agility) | |
| basic navigation (+1) | |
| TL 6 communications | |
| advanced sensors (+2 bonus, very distant range) | |
| increased speed |
Posted in Equipment, Traveller, Vehicle and tagged mech by Adam A. Thompson with no comments yet.