Traveller Sandbox: System Challenges and Resource Worlds...

Good Afternoon, All:

As I've noted previously, in any Traveller campaign, no major system exists without some kind of obstacle or challenge facing its citizens, and more importantly, visitors to that star system. In this sub-step to creating Resource Worlds for our Traveller Sandbox Experiment, we will set about to create a System Challenge for each of these worlds. While An Echo Resounding utilizes a different Obstacles table for Resource and Cities, in reviewing the differences and thinking about it a bit, I don't really see a good reason to use a different table in this setting. With that in mind, I'm going to stick with the System Challenges Table I created earlier, and let's see how this works out for us.

For Jizo (Segin 2901 A7978AA-A Amber Zone), I came up with "Alien Invasion". While I could create an army of alien invaders in their interstellar flotillas surrounding this world, Jizo is ultimately the "Biggest Library in Beta Quadrant". Perhaps a race of knowledge-seeking aliens have become so enamored with the collection of data that they have practically taken the planet by storm. I believe that I will go back and determine if any of the worlds in Beta Quadrant are homeworlds to an alien species. If so, they just became scholars, because I picture them swarming to Jizo in droves. The primary route from that system to Jizo would become filled with encounters with this information masters. Also, I could play around with their purpose for acquiring this information. Yes, I think this will work nicely for providing adventure material.

The world of Nyame (Segin 2202 B887797-8) is filled with "Rampant Xenophobia". Since the Cultural Hub of Jengu, another world with a medical bent, already has "Rampant Xenophobia", I think it would help the setting if I chose something else. Grabbing the dice again, I rolled "Class Hatred". Now we're getting somewhere. Nyame now has a Caste-based culture, where Social Standing is significantly important in one's daily interactions. Characters with Social Standing scores more than two apart can't interact socially without causing problems for both characters. In addition, the Castes despise each other, with the differences intensifying the further apart the Castes' Social Standings are. I like this, as it gives me a space to explore interpersonal conflicts and exaggerate the significance in having different Social Standings.

For Umikeo (Segin 2919 C969776-6), I generated "Secret Society". Umikeo is a balkanized world, so the thought occurs to me that it might be interesting if there's a Secret Society, a "New World Order" of sorts, that attempts to exert control over the world's various governments, essentially becoming a secret ruling oligarchy over the planet. These secret rulers are extremely resistant to changes from external sources, and have enough control to make life hard for any offworlder that tries to upset their well-balanced apple cart.

Next time around, I'll combine these sub-elements together into three world write-ups, and then I can move on the next major step in setting development: Exploration Sites. Now, I may also throw in some thoughts on alien races and their homeworlds, but it depends on the number of alien species as to whether this is a footnote or a complete post of its own.

More Later,
Flynn