Hello. I've been quite busy for some time now, but things are finally cooling down enough that I can begin dedicating some time to this blog again. Here's a few planets that I've rolled up in Classic Traveller (with some extra tables and tools from Traveller 5 and the Worldbuilder's Handbook) that I thought I'd share.
The assumed setting is a bit on the harder sci-fi end than the OTU. TL12 is the maximum for human space, and grav tech doesn't exist at all, but cheap and efficient fusion is commonplace enough to make 1G constant thrust gravity achievable, a la the Epstein drive from The Expanse. It's near enough into the future that present-day cultures from Earth are still largely recognizable, but the area being described is far enough away that it lies at the very edge of any meaningful political influence from Earth. All of this can be changed relatively easily, and it can be used in any system, but I've included UWPs in case you wish to use them for Traveller.
I'll probably be posting planets in this area, which I'm calling the Northwest Passage Subsector, occasionally, but not on any regular schedule like I tried to do with my hex a week posts. On the subject of those, I'm unfortunately a bit burnt out on early modern Spain. I may return to the setting in time, but I no longer have any intention to flesh out a hex each week. It was a fun challenge, but ultimately not one I could keep up with, and especially not one that I can now.
Murias C301111-9 Ic Lo Va
Murias is a small, tidally locked world home to significant platinum deposits.
System
Murias orbits a pair of companion K5V orange dwarf stars at a distance of 0.331AU. A third K5V orange dwarf star orbits the pair at a distance of ~1,250AU, appearing as only a particularly bright star from the planet's surface, and only ever visible from the night side. The system is rather old, ~10.3 billion years, which has made the presence of platinum in the crust of Murias a confounding anomaly that is yet to be explained.
Physical
Murias is ~5,500km in diameter and is of normal planetary density. Gravity on Murias is low, only 0.43G. Due to its small size and old age, Murias is geologically dead and possesses no magnetic field. This makes activity on the day side doubly dangerous due to intense radiation from solar winds, in addition to the heat. Due to tidal locking and lack of atmosphere for convection, Murias experiences extreme temperatures, with a mean temperature of 436.30K on its day side and 5.12K on its night side.
Atmosphere
Murias lacks any atmosphere. A vacc suit is necessary when on the surface, with a vacc suit equipped for high temperature operations and radiation shielding being necessary on the day side.
Hydrographics
10% of the surface of Murias, all on the night side, is covered in a single large ice cap.
Population
Murias has a population of ~30, comprised entirely by the crew of a recently established mining installation on the night side, operated by Murias Mining Corp, a subsidiary of the Earth based chemical manufacturing and resource extraction company Donghua Jinlong. This crew is an advance team sent to bring to installation to operation, and it is expected to be operational within the year, with more crew arriving after then. The advance team is considering the possibility of a mutiny to take the claim for themselves.
Government
The installation on Murias is nominally owned and controlled by MMC, but currently the advance team largely governs itself. A supervisor is present but has mostly been sidelined in operations.
Law
MMC prohibits all weapons at the mining site, effectively Law Level 9, but visitors to the Starport are permitted to carry weapons within reason. No law enforcement apparatus yet exists on Murias. Crimes against the advance team will likely be dealt with by direct retaliation, and crimes in the Starport will be recorded and sent to nearby planetary authorities, but no official legal action will take place on planet.
Technology
The installation on Murias uses relatively standard life support technology and heavy machinery but the Starport lacks parts or expertise for repair of many modern ships.
Starport
The Starport on Murias consists of a downport only, which is comprised of a small pressurized building with a waiting area and currently inactive traffic control tower (expected to be brought online when the installation goes up). Automated boarding tubes attach ships on the landing pads outside to the building. Additionally, there is a single hangar suitable for a 200t or less ship where the lone mechanic can perform basic repairs. Self serve pumps offer unrefined fuel. The only regular traffic the Starport sees is a weekly supply vessel from Unha.
Adventure Seeds
1. The players are hired by an anonymous party to ship a surface-to-space missile system to Murias. The advance team intends to use it to secure their claim.
2. The players are hired to perform a new survey of Murias and discover that the fabled platinum deposits were a mere sensor blip.
3. The mutiny goes off while the players are stopping over in the Starport, and their ship is seized as well.
4. As 3, but the players are taken hostage.
5. The players are hired by MMC to sabotage the advance team's plans.
6. A nearby powerful world attacks the installation to seize the mining rights out from under both MCC and the advance team.
Unha B52A58A-B Ni
Unha is a radiation-blasted ice shell moon with life of unknown complexity in its vast subsurface ocean.
System
Unha is a moon of a medium gas giant, which in turn orbits an M5V red dwarf star at a distance of 0.747AU. Unha lies within the Van Allen Belt of its parent gas giant, and its surface is continously blasted with radiation. The gas giant is also orbited by a ring system and 9 other moons: 7 size S, 1 size 1, and 1 size F. The massive size F moon possesses an extremely dense nitrogen atmosphere.
Physical
Unha is ~8,300km in diameter and is of low density due to its low metal content. Gravity on Unha is low, only 0.44G. Due to tidal stress from its parent planet, Unha is geologically active and possesses cryovolcanos on its surface. The system is rather young, only 2.8 billion years old.
Atmosphere
Unha has a very thin atmosphere with a pressure of only 0.153bar. It is mostly composed of nitrogen (88.7%) and oxygen (10%) but is too thin to be breathable. A respirator, a filter mask capable of protection from radioactive particulates and radiation shielded clothing are all necessary to safely operate on the surface.
Hydrographics
The entirety of Unha's surface is covered in a shell of water ice, which varies in thickness from 6-19km. Beneath the shell is a vast and deep ocean, like those found on many ice shell moons.
Population
Unha has a population of ~800,000. This population is descended from first wave colonists sent by South Korea. Due to the radiation levels on the surface, the population of Unha lives in natural caverns and fissures in the ice shell which have been reinforced and sealed to support large, under-ice cities. There are several such cities at various sites with deep enough ice and cavern systems, and these are connected via high-speed under-ice trains. Scientists are currently beginning to take great interest in Unha's oceanic life. Though the ecosystem was long thought to consist only of single-celled organisms, evidence is mounting of complex life deeper down, and submarine expeditions are being prepared to investigate.
Government
Unha is governed by an administrative state, with most power having been offloaded by the elected government, officially a representative democracy, to agencies controlled by appointees.
Law
Due to the limited space available in the tunnel-cities, Unha has relatively strict laws. All weaponry and armor is illegal without proper permits, and violations are swiftly prosecuted. Additionally, all ships entering the downport must submit to a thorough radiation scrubbing process before being allowed to land. Though sentences may be harsh, Unha lacks the death penalty.
Technology
The technology on Unha is relatively standard for the Northwest Passage. Most ships can be repaired at the starport, save for the most advanced computers and drive systems. Unha's life support system is notably sophisticated, and is expected to be able to run self-sufficiently for almost half a century if maintainance were to cease.
Starport
The Starport on Unha consists of a highport and a downport. The highport is the main installation, and is located further out in its own orbit around Unha's parent planet, outside the Van Allen Belt. It is a fairly standard spingrav station with two rotating ring sections for passenger and cargo docking respectively as well as a central control module. The downport consists of a shuttle terminal mostly used by specialized, radiation shielded craft that carry passengers and cargo down from the highport.
Adventure Seeds
1. An under-ice train breaks down hundreds of miles from the nearest terminal.
2. The players are hired to man a research submersible and investigate the biosphere beneath the ice shell.
3. As 2, but they stumble upon a secret submarine installation while doing so. (Touchstone: that one secret Kolto harvesting base on Manaan in KOTOR).
4. The players crash land on the irradiated surface.
5. The players get caught up in bureaucratic infighting between two agencies with overlapping responsibilities.
6. The players are hired to investigate anomalous cryovolcanic activity on the surface.
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