RFC: Second Survey and Non-Allegiance (Universal?) Base Codes

[robject]

How about "Clan Base" and "Tlaukhu Base"? Those are hierarchical terms for the Aslan, with "Tlaukhu" being specifically a Golden-Era term.

"Clan Base" has extended value to any clannish-sophont organization. For example, a Droyne Oytrip could well have a base somewhere (ever thought of THAT??). Do K'kree have some sort of sub-herd interstellar organizational leaning?

But "Tlaukhu" is clearly a Hegemonic term.

Hegemony: Predominance; preponderance; leadership; specifically, headship or control exercised by one state over another or others, as through confederation or conquest: originally applied to such a relation often existing among the states of ancient Greece.

Yeah, The 29 is certainly a hegemony. Is that "all" they are? Is that the root term that can be expanded?

 

[tjoneslo]

It also has a way to complete the loop on the pirates Ethically challenged merchants cargo processing: Now that you have successfully "borrowed" 50 crates of someone else's cargo, what do you do with it? Legitimate ports are going to ask questions about the source of said cargo. Freeports... not so much.

 

[robject]

The more you talk about it, the more I like it. The more I crave it in the 1900 setting data. I can now see worlds both inside and outside of civilized space having Freeports.

 

[tjoneslo]

How about "Clan Base" and "Tlaukhu Base"? Those are hierarchical terms for the Aslan, with "Tlaukhu" being specifically a Golden-Era term.

To get the codes to better mean something, think about what services are offered at said base. In the more generic terms talked about here, a base offers enhanced services for a specific set of people. E.g. a Naval Base offers support services for the naval ships which may not be available in the general port.

So a Clan base would either be like a Corsair base, a Freeport specific to selected groups, or more like an extended TAS hostel. Or maybe you can come up with a better version.

 

[tjoneslo]

My idea of a general base codes, with not too much variation from the established ones.

Bases, in general, are established by as a separate area used by a limited group of people. Usually a base is established and maintained by a local or nearby government for their own use. If you are a member of the group you may be able to have access to the base and the services it provides. Otherwise the base will be off-limits with significant penalties for invading the protected space.

Maintaining a base requires increased ship traffic and usually stronger traffic control in the system. Depending on the base (and the controlling power) there may be additional trade opportunities either to supply the base or pick up things that have "fallen by the wayside". While most bases are established on well populated (7+) worlds to ease the need for supplies, there are some on lesser populated worlds and in several cases the population of the base exceeds that of the system where it is established. The lower the local population (and Tech Level) the more likely there are opportunities for shipping goods and people into or out of the system.

In places where there are multiple bases in the same system these bases may or may not share space to provide services. It is always possible for two different (possibly hostile) powers to establish bases within a (neutral) system. This can be an interesting place to visit.

Base Code	Base Name	Mission Description and services
C	Corsair Base	A Freeport. Services available are servicing of starships (equivalent of a B port), a large and easily accessible Startown with many opportunities for trade. Generally not under the control of any of the local powers, so may be dangerous as well.
D	Naval Depot	Major staging area for Naval forces. Usually contains a ships graveyard for ships that have been retired or are awaiting refit and refurbishment. A major ship construction yard, with access to the latest technology. In some cases this base occupies the entire system and unauthorized travel to the system is forbidden.
E	Embassy	A diplomatic base, used to establish friendly relations to many of the surrounding worlds. May have a significant military presence if the diplomacy is going poorly. A frequent site of "showing the flag" naval presence.
F	Trade Station	A station established for the enhancement of trade. May be a diplomatic effort, which would have an extensive startown with many goods being traded. Or a trade station established as a way point (class B port) between two larger interstellar powers as a link in a longer trade route.
M	Military Base	A staging area for military (ground) forces. Contains an extensive vehicle repair yard, housing for many troops, and training grounds for the same.
N	Naval Base	A staging area for naval forces. Contains a ship yard (Class A port) with access to the latest technology for ships and an area for barracks and recreation of the crews
S	Scout Base	A base for the Exploration and Scouting services. A ship yard (Class A port) with the latest technology and extensive lab setup for reviewing the data returned by the explorers.
W	Way Station	A station for interstellar communications traffic. Contains a small port with access to latest technology specific to the needs of the communications service.

 

[Spinward Flow]

Counter-proposal.

Base Code	Base Name	Mission Description and services
D	Naval Depot	Major staging area for space naval forces. Usually contains a ships graveyard for ships that have been retired or are awaiting refit and refurbishment. A major ship construction yard (class A port), with access to the latest technology and a heavy security presence of active patrols of the naval depot jurisdiction is the default expectation. In some cases this base occupies the entire system in a staging fortress/port arrangement and as such unauthorized travel to the system is explicitly forbidden.
E	Embassy	A diplomatic base, used to establish friendly relations to many of the surrounding worlds or as a "neutral territory" recognized by multiple parties were commerce and diplomacy can be conducted. May have a significant military presence if the diplomacy is going poorly. A frequent site of "showing the flag" naval presence.
F	Freeport	A Freeport, where services available are maintenance of starships (equivalent of a B port), a large and easily accessible Startown with many opportunities for trade. Not all freeports operate under the control or jurisdiction of any of the local powers, so Travellers may be well advised to mind their manners.
M	Military Base	Staging areas for military surface forces (air/land/sea). Contains an extensive vehicle repair yard, barracks housing for many troops, and training grounds for the same. Typically there will be more than one major surface forces base per world and Balkanized worlds will usually have at least one per governing entity.
N	Naval Base	A staging area for space naval forces. Contains a shipyard (class A port) with access to the latest technology for ships and an area for barracks and recreation of the crews.
S	Scout Base	Outpost for supporting scout ships, missions, crews and their bureaucratic office counterparts. Contains a ship yard (Class B port) with access to the best technology than can be obtained within an 8 parsec radius of the base. Laboratory facilities for exploration and survey analysis as well as extensive data banks for communications support and training are usually present, along with logistics and other support personnel.
T	Trade Station	A station established for the enhancement of trade. May be a diplomatic effort, which would have an extensive startown with many goods being traded. Or a trade station established as a way point (class B port) between two larger interstellar powers as a link in a longer trade route.
W	Way Station	Major staging area for scout ships and crew training centers. Contains a shipyard (class A port) with access to latest technology specific to the needs of the communications service capable of maintaining the smaller ships used by scouts compared to the larger naval depots. Access to the jurisdiction of the way station is usually restricted and actively patrolled by security to discourage potential intruders.

Mainly a consolidation of the Corsair Base into the Freeport, since the two are going to be functionally interchangeable (only difference in the Vargr, really).

Changed the code on the Trade station from F to T (for Trade).

Added a little bit of polish to the details of the various entries.

 

[tjoneslo]

The only addition I've been able to think might be possible would be an "R" for Research station. Rather than the "Rs<X>" trade comment code. Note that having two (or more) base codes adds to the importance of a world, hence bringing in more trade. Which is a better reflection of reality than delegating that to a trade code.

 

[Condottiere]

The term is Code.

Well, more guidelines than actual rules.

 

[Fovean]

I love where this is going.

IMTU I’ve always used T in the UWP to denote a TAS facility. But I really like the idea of a Trade Station, especially for backwater D/E starports. What about C for Commercial Port?

 

[Spinward Flow]

What about C for Commercial Port?

See: Embassy and/or Freeport.

 

[tjoneslo]

What about C for Commercial Port?

That's what the initial starport code in the UWP is to indicate. It's part of what the Imperium's trade first approach has wrought, and infected most of the rest of charted space. If we're really going to mix things up I would make the following changes:

The UWP Starport code would be replaced by a digit ranging from 0 to 7, indicating the size of the port and traffic through the port). Generating this either requires accepting random generation with the usual amount of hand waving to explain the frequent (very) odd results from the dice. Or requires generating a full set of trade routes across your entire campaign space (Charted space in this case) to have a consistent set of port sizes. Ports would be assumed to be a Class C (sizes 4-7) or class D (sizes 1-3) or Class E (size 0). Class X ports are reserved, as they are in T5, for unexplored space.

There would be two new base codes:
A - Commercial shipyard - The equivalent of a Class A port, where new ships can be built, any kind of damage repaired, and all required maintenance performed. Limited to ports of size 5-7. They have access to the highest technology the Government of the area supports.

B - Commercial shipyard - The equivalent of a Class B port, where damage can be repaired and most required maintenance performed. Limited to ports of size 3-6, and not where there is an larger shipyard. They have access to the local technology, and may have imports shipped in on occasion.

Either may have a "junkyard" of old ships which can be picked through for parts, after, of course, the junkers have gone through them and striped all the useful and valuable parts. There may be used, or repossessed, ships available for sale as well.

 

[Condottiere]

At the junkyard, you might pick up a Transformer.

 

[Fovean]

See: Embassy and/or Freeport.

Then what's the point of a class T Trade Station?

 

[Fovean]

That's what the initial starport code in the UWP is to indicate.

Ok, but again, it makes this hypothetical class T superfluous. What's the point if it's covered by two other base codes and the basic starport rating?

I was reading T as a port that offers robust trading opportunities without the support of a shipyard. So possibly a better than expected stop at your average Class D or E starport (perhaps they roll for goods and passengers at "two levels higher" or some such). Otherwise, as you point out, it'd just be a regular starport. No point in indicating a T classification.

 

[Fireforge]

What if the T trade port was more along the lines of a specialty place where a small corporation has developed a specific item of trade or manufacturing process that if you swing by would provide a cheaper access to the item. I am thinking of some of the islands in the Pacific where you could pick up specific fruits trade items that were not readily available at other locations without a major mark ups. These places might also be old fueling stations from long ago when the jump technologies did not allow jumps over two. Think of Guam or Midway prior to the advent of long range aircraft. They were settled by a combination of naval and company depots to refuel ships and then the clipper planes. Technology ran there primary purposes out the window, however, they were strategically important later on during WWII. I realize that this is a simplistic explanation, however, it would create a reason for some of the oddest locations.

 

[Spinward Flow]

Then what's the point of a class T Trade Station?

Roll for additional speculative cargo (usually 1 per week changes to 2+ per week at a Trade Station) would be my answer.
Additionally, "roll twice" for passengers and standard cargo (major/minor/incidental) quantities of lots and then choose the larger roll for the quantity.

Point being that "more trade" (passengers/cargo) flows through a Trade Station than a location without the classification. So you're more likely to leave with a full manifest than is typical for a world with identical UWP stats but no Trade Station (so it makes a difference).

Of course, at that point you're into House Rules to do that kind of thing.

 

[tjoneslo]

Then what's the point of a class T Trade Station?

The T base code for Trade Station comes out of the early CT material. I know it's mentioned in the Traveller Book for a couple of worlds along the border with the Vargr extents. But quickly vanishes down the memory hole. I'll have to check if it gets resurrected under a different name in the Milieu 0 / T4 rules.

It ends up being half way between a Freeport (The trade station is sponsored by a corporation or government) and an Embassy (The trade station is focused on generating trade opportunities rather than general diplomatic contacts). If you believe this overlaps too much with the other two I won't argue the point with you.

As stated above, using the T5 rules, having two bases in a system increases the importance of the world, which in turn increases the ship traffic and rolls for the speculative trade in the system.

 

[Fovean]

The T base code for Trade Station comes out of the early CT material. I know it's mentioned in the Traveller Book for a couple of worlds along the border with the Vargr extents. But quickly vanishes down the memory hole. I'll have to check if it gets resurrected under a different name in the Milieu 0 / T4 rules.

It ends up being half way between a Freeport (The trade station is sponsored by a corporation or government) and an Embassy (The trade station is focused on generating trade opportunities rather than general diplomatic contacts). If you believe this overlaps too much with the other two I won't argue the point with you.

As stated above, using the T5 rules, having two bases in a system increases the importance of the world, which in turn increases the ship traffic and rolls for the speculative trade in the system.

Thanks for the clarification, and the reference to TTB. I’ll dig it out and have a look.

Hope I didn’t come off as argumentative, just trying to get on the same page as it were. Like I said, I like where this is going but I do think there’s overlap that could probably be refined a bit to make each category more distinctive.

I think IMTU an Embassy would remain a strictly diplomatic affair, with any extended trading opportunities being an unintended (but likely cultivated) consequence. I imagine Embassies giving foreign/alien parties safe and sovereign “land” within the local geopolitical structure and acting as a neutral ground for various discussions. My feeling right now is that this would be within the extrality line of the local Starport, regardless of its rating, at least in Imperial space. Thus the T5 mechanical benefits cited could vary based on local relations, from embargoes to business as usual to a visiting trade delegation increasing local opportunities. Potential for a lot of good hooks and fluff there.

Thanks again. This is a fun thought experiment.

 

[Garnfellow]

I think the Trade Station codes comes from the Traveller Adventure, with the IISS establishing these to encourage trade. I'm not sure if they show up anywhere else, though I think it's a nifty idea.

 

[Spinward Flow]

I think the Trade Station codes comes from the Traveller Adventure, with the IISS establishing these to encourage trade. I'm not sure if they show up anywhere else, though I think it's a nifty idea.

Definitely 404 not found by the time LBB S3 rolled off the presses ...