Hadji and Storr Sectors - The Rimward Wastes

[GypsyComet]

(Moved from GChuck's Phlange topic for visibility)

Storr and Hadji existed only as names in CT Hivers and later as 1120 dotmaps (in DGP's Solomani & Aslan) prior to whatever steps were taken to put them into Traveller Map.

I've been working on Hadji in the spaces between other projects, and Storr is also on my list because their publication history is the same. My assumption in Hadji has been that the 1120 map is a snapshot, and that we're seeing it at a political nadir. Not that it was a vast united space before, but I'm assuming there were a few more states around in 1105 and that it has been a busy 15 years...

Aside from the three mains that run around the spinward part of Storr having the makings of some great space opera empire tales, I haven't really dug into it yet. Storr looks to have two or three regions with distinct characteristics by 1105, though.

I've attached a J2 Voids and Mains map that might make that more apparent.

The region is far enough out from the big empires that TL11 or 12 is going to be dominant. The higher TLs, in my opinion, require either singular transcendent worlds or big empires with lots of support for innovation. I'm not a fan of super-tech nations hiding just off the edge of Charted Space in ever growing numbers, if only because I agree with the (old TML) sentiment that the true frontiers are already too far away from the center of the map. With a TL 11 -12 assumption, J2 is either dominant or high end, making the J2 paths across the region very important.

The brown main in Hadji is actually two smaller ones. They are grouped by color in this case for a specific purpose. The two bright green bits along the spinward edge of Hadji are the same main that doesn't connect visibly on this map.

 

[gchuck]

So... is this going to be a 'project' in the foreseeable future?
If so, do you propose to use the UWP's provided?

If you answered 'Yes' to any of these questions, I'd be interested in helping.

chuck

 

[GypsyComet]

My partner in crime and I already have revisions under way in Hadji that only affect Storr by implication, so if you have some revisions or thoughts for Storr I'm all for it. The only constraint, as I've implied in Hadji, is that the published map in Solomani and Aslan be respected. Storr in 1120 is a political wasteland, as there are no documented multi-system polities on the 1120 map. That has ramifications for 1105, but the 1200 and 990 maps (the two "adjacent" eras in Traveller Map) could have some wild business going on.

The area is probably sparse enough that Virus didn't get very far before stalling out, so 1200 has room for change.

And 990 is far enough back that the triple Main point in Storr E-F-I-J is just begging for some multi-polity shenanigans.

 

[Spinward Flow]

The region is far enough out from the big empires that TL11 or 12 is going to be dominant. The higher TLs, in my opinion, require either singular transcendent worlds or big empires with lots of support for innovation

With a TL 11 -12 assumption, J2 is either dominant or high end, making the J2 paths across the region very important.

Counter-proposal.

Type A starports with TL=11 worlds should be the maximum, and because they can manufacture jump drives, they are the worlds capable of establishing hegemony with neighboring star systems along the mains. Limit the type A starports to worlds that are:

• "Easily habitable" by Garden World and Agricultural World combination trade classification standards that also has population: 7 (so NOT a Non-industrial World).
• Asteroid Belts with significant population (basically a Pre-Industrial or Industrial world) with 1+ Planetoid Belts in system that can be classified as Mining Worlds supporting the main world along with at least one (or more if natural satellites meet the criteria too) Farming World that can produce the necessary food supply for the system.

Type A Starports require that a main world cannot be a Non-industrial World, so population: 7+ is required for type A starports.

Star systems that don't have the above trade classifications can have up to type A starports and/or up to TL=10 ... but in order to reach the combination of type A and TL=11, the above conditions must be met.

You can then take those limitations one step further and determine that of the type A starports with TL=11 (which should be a small quantity indeed), if the system is on one of the mains that you've identified, only a SINGLE such system can be raised up to TL=12 maximum. That way, each main has the potential for a single TL=12 per identified main (and would probably become the capital of any interstellar polity based in that main).

That way, your "power worlds" are the ones that are capable of sustaining themselves with the necessary technology and population to begin expanding outwards in colonization fashion. The "valuable" places get settled first by large enough quantities of colonists/refugees that they're able to grow and evolve over time to build out their own star system and begin the process of establishing hegemony over neighboring star systems, giving you a very "organic" feel to the aspirations of pocket empires (if any) that might be present in the sectors along the mains you've identified.

 

[GypsyComet]

Not sure I would call that "counter", frankly. My statement about higher TLs is why such places are unlikely to be present, not a claim of carte blanche.

Hadji is being "crafted" from the original UWPs and the implications of the surviving states and the mains they sit on or near. Those UWPs are being adjusted where needed. You may note that the original UWPs have their Pop scores stripped out in most cases, leaving a sector of undocumented populations.

The end result is likely to remind of the early Vilani period before the Consolidation Wars: travel is along the ready paths almost exclusively, and the local natives are most of the bright spots on the map.

 

[Kilgs]

Sounds awesome!

 

[gchuck]

Well... my current campaign is based in the Storr sector, so based on the subsector names, I've got plenty of planet/system names already done up.
Happy to pass them along if you want. SF authors, and planets from SF stories and such.

 

[GypsyComet]

The current work in Hadji is taking an approach similar to the original Leviathan. Partial UWPs that are mostly the physical elements and "we don't know" for the social elements. As the secrets of the sector fall into place, many of those unknowns will be filled in, since Traveller Map is supposed to be authoritative instead of subjective.

The subsector names in Hadji have been adjusted. Some are still in place, but the original assortment is a bit too odd by the standards of the era and will be relegated to "this subsector was originally named Bob by an early survey but has since determined its own name..."