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

Traveller Sandbox: The System Resources Table...

Good Afternoon, All:

In any Traveller campaign, some worlds are known for their resources. While other systems possess resources of a similar nature, these Resource worlds have a great abundance or proliferation of a specific resource. As such, these worlds are often coveted by interstellar polities for the goods and services they provide as a result of their natural resources.

With a nod to the Resource Types table in An Echo Resounding, I offer the following table for determining System Resources. As always, I've included what I believe are common Traveller tropes for system resources, based on various elements found in the core rulebook. However, your Traveller Universe may be different from mine regarding those underlying assumptions. If you come across an entry that doesn't seem to fit your needs, please feel free to change it for your own personal setting development.

The usual disclaimers exist here: Some results require specific Trade Codes in order to fit the world in question, while others cannot exist on worlds with certain Trade Codes. Likewise, some require the presence of a specific type of base or starport, or perhaps the lack thereof. Ultimately, if you feel the description doesn't fit the UWP, then feel free to generate another System Resources result.

Table: System Resources

d66	System Resources
11	Advanced Electronics
12	Advanced Gravitics
13	Agroproducts
14	Anagathics
15	Biochemicals
16	Cloning Facilities
21	Computers
22	Consumable Products
23	Crystals and Gems
24	Cybernetics
25	Defense Systems
26	Energy Production
31	Information Archives
32	Interstellar Shipyards
33	Live Animals
34	Luxury Consumables
35	Luxury Goods
36	Machine Parts
41	Manufactured Goods
42	Medical Supplies
43	Petrochemicals
44	Pharmaceuticals
45	Planetary Vehicles
46	Polymers
51	Precious Metals
52	Radioactive Materials
53	Rare Ores and Metals
54	Recreational Intoxicants
55	Robotics
56	Servants (Or Slaves)
61	Spices
62	Terraforming Equipment
63	Textiles
64	Weapons Manufacturing
65	Wood/Timber
66	Referee's Option (Exotics)

Now, I need to come up with three systems to detail using this table. From our intial list in the previous post, I'm going to select the following three worlds for development as examples:

Jizo (Segin 2901 A7978AA-A Amber Zone): Jizo is a large world, having a diameter of roughly 11200km. Jizo has a dense nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere that bears a taint that requires the use of a filter mask. The surface of Jizo is roughly 66%–75% surface water (or similar fluid), similar to that of Terra. Jizo has a general population of 900,000,000 local residents. The people of Jizo are governed by a charismatic dictator. Visitors will find that Jizo is extremely oppressive and restrictive, with little or no personal freedom granted to the general public. Jizo has an excellent Class A starport, with extensive shipyards capable of constructing new starships and overhaul existing vessels. Jizo has Early Stellar technology, with stable Jump technology that opens up nearby star systems. Important installations and facilities on Jizo include a Naval Base, a Scout Base and a Consulate. Jizo has been designated as an Amber Zone by the Explorer's Society. Travellers should exercise caution in any dealings or activities involving this world.

Nyame (Segin 2202 B887797-8): Nyame is a large world, having a diameter of roughly 12800km. Nyame has a dense nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere that is otherwise perfectly breathable. The surface of Nyame is roughly 66%–75% surface water (or similar fluid), similar to that of Terra. Nyame has a general population of 80,000,000 local residents. The people of Nyame are governed by an impersonal bureaucracy. Visitors may find Nyame moderately restrictive, as most personal firearms are regulated or restricted by local authorities. Nyame has a good Class B starport, with shipyards capable of constructing new spaceships and overhaul existing vessels. Nyame has Pre-Stellar technology, with the ability to reach other worlds in the same star system, although terraforming or full colonization are not within the culture’s capacity. Important installations and facilities on Nyame include a Naval Base and a Scout Base.

Umikeo (Segin 2919 C969776-6): Umikeo is a large world, having a diameter of roughly 14400km. Umikeo has a standard nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere comparable to that of Terra. The surface of Umikeo is roughly 66%–75% surface water (or similar fluid), which qualifies it as a Water world. Umikeo has a general population of 40,000,000 local residents. The world of Umikeo is balkanized, with several local factions or regional governments controlling a portion of the world's resources and population. Visitors may find Umikeo moderately restrictive, as most personal firearms are regulated or restricted by local authorities. Umikeo has a routine Class C starport, with limited shipyards capable of performing major repairs. Umikeo has Industrial technology, including the development of fission power and more advanced computing.

For Jizo (Segin 2901 A7978AA-A Amber Zone), I generated "Information Archives". This immediately conjures mental images of Isaac Asimov's Foundation series, and I consider a "galactic library" of some sort. Borrowing a little in concept from Asimov's great works and taking some extreme liberties, perhaps the world was settled by a group of pseudo-scientific survivalists who feels that the galaxy will erupt into chaos and warfare in the near future, based on the calculations of the first colonial leader. In order to protect their offspring, the settlers of Jizo founded the Ksitigarbha Institute to preserve the technical and historical knowledge they felt would be lost in the coming interstellar apocalypse. Although the event never came to pass, the Ksitigarbha Institute is now the greatest repository of knowledge and information in Beta Quadrant. (Oh, this also gives me the chance to create a Librarian-Explorer career path, so characters can be adventurers akin to the Librarian.)

With Nyame (Segin 2202 B887797-8), I rolled "Interstellar Shipyards". Given that neither the Tech Level nor the Starport of this world supports that Resource, I decided to generate another entry: "Anagathics." While the Tech Level for Nyame does not support anagathics (which require TL15 to manufacture synthetically), I can always assume that a plant native to Nyame produces a natural anagathic, which I'll call the Zumbi plant. Being a natural source of anagathics, the Zumbi plant is highly prized. However, it only grows in one region of one planet, and does not survive transplantation elsewhere. Thus, the world of Nyame is highly prized in interstellar society.

For Umikeo (Segin 2919 C969776-6), I generated "Cybernetics", which does not fit the Tech Level of this world. A second roll came up with "Radioactive Materials", which lends itself to the thought that Umikeo is a world rich in fissionable materials. Although this isn't as much of a problem with higher tech worlds, most systems require fissionable material to produce energy. That demand makes Umikeo a viable resource, and highly desirable by interstellar polities, including the Chimalmat Group and Heremod Unity to rimward in Delta Quadrant, as well as the major polities of Beta Quadrant.

The second sub-step for creating Resource Worlds is to determine the System Challenges that the players will have to address when they set about operating on these worlds. We'll attack that with our next post, and then we should be able to wrap this step up and move on to Exploration Sites, the "dungeons" or "ruins" of an interstellar Sci-Fi sandbox.

With Regards,
Flynn

Traveller Sandbox: Identifying Resource Worlds...

Good Afternoon, All:

Step Four in the process of developing a sandbox setting for the Traveller Sandbox Experiment is to define a number of eight to ten Resource Worlds that the various "Powers That Be" of Beta Quadrant can fight over and exploit. These provide key locations for potential conquest, as well as exploration, espionage, diplomacy and other active missions to obtain and maintain control over the resources represented by these star systems.

Using the fantasy sandbox building methods suggested in An Echo Resounding and adapting them to a science fiction setting as we have been so far, the elements attributed to Resource locations can be easily implemented here, with new tables to reflect an interstellar setting, of course. Resource Types should become System Resources. Resource Obstacles could use the same System Challenges table I'd created previously, or I could modify it to better suit the role of these star systems as resources.


First, though, we should identify these Resource Worlds. Since Resources are best identified through the Trade rules in Traveller, that's probably the best place to look for features that would help us identify Resource Worlds. Since Resource are worlds that generate resources, those Trade Codes that grant bonuses in the Current World category for Freight Traffic should probably start us off well. That's Agricultural, Garden, High Population, Industrial and Rich Worlds. (Amber Zones also give some big bonuses, too, strangely enough.) Under Speculative Trade, it depends on the trade good type, but the following Trade Codes also grant bonuses occasionally: Non-Agricultural, Water World, Asteroid, High Tech, Desert and Ice-Capped. These additional tags occur much less frequent than those under Freight Traffic, so let's restrict our search criteria to only Agricultural, Garden, High Population, Industrial and Rich Worlds.

Looking over the UWPs for Beta Quadrant, I see the following worlds qualify:

Isis          1706 C655422-7  S Ga Ni              511 Se M8 III K1 V*
Bastet        1908 C558534-5  S Ag Ga Lt Ni        722 Se G4 V* M4 V
Abrakos       2108 A66876B-9    Ag Ga Ri           812 In K6 V M3 V*
Chancun       2201 C98657A-6  S Ag Ga Ni        A  100 Na M3 V M9 V*
Nyame         2202 B887797-8  A Ag Ga Ri           802 Ja M1 V M3 V*
GLETI         2205 C664976-6  S Ga Hi              503 Ja F1 IV G3 V* K6 V
Futsunushi    2704 EA7857A-5    Ag Ga Lt Ni     A  523 Ks G2 V
KOYANE        2706 A5699EF-B    Hi              A  712 Ks F7 V* M3 V
Suijin        2806 C688672-6  M Ag Ga Ni Ri        901 Ks G8 V
Prishiboro    2810 E596568-5    Ag Ga Lt Ni        201 Ja G8 V
Jizo          2901 A7978AA-A  M Ga              A  900 Ks K5 V
KANGITEN      3001 C664AFD-7    Ga Hi           A  722 Ks G7 V* M9 V
Amaterasu     3110 B688435-A    Ga Ni              921 Ks F2 V
Orvil         1813 C667368-6  S Ga Lo              115 Na F7 V
Lugh          1915 C676640-5  S Ag Ga Lt Ni        111 Ll F0 V
Misdariva     2012 B766537-8    Ag Ga Ni           512 Na G9 V K0 V M3 V*
2013-678      2013 X678000-0    Ba Ga Lt           001 Na K6 III K1 V*
Litha         2016 A7678A9-A  N Ga Ri           A  711 Ll F1 V
Gbadu         2112 C844563-5    Ag Ga Lt Ni        920 Ja G1 V* [G6 V]
Ghandi        2113 BA67879-6  A Ga Ri           A  725 Na K8 V
Melody        2119 B767565-7  S Ag Ga Ni           803 Na F2 V
Desa          2120 B561877-6  N Ri                 201 Na K5 V* K8 V
Hulene        2213 B754644-6    Ag Ga Ni           912 Na K2 V
Saki          2219 D68A772-5    Lt Ri Wa           613 Na F9 V
Tukirka       2220 C685478-5  S Ga Lt Ni           722 Na G4 V* K4 V
Mami Wata     2311 B784879-6    Ga Ri           A  914 Ja G0 V* M9 V
Kotera        2515 X587246-0    Ga Lo Lt           801 Na G4 V
Tesla         2517 C685634-4  M Ag Ga Lt Ni Ri     901 Na K3 V* [M7 V]
Tabaldak      2813 A6878CE-9  M Ga Ri           A  701 Tj M6 V
Umikeo        2919 C969776-6  S Ri                 403 Na G9 V
Shanan        3016 C578340-6  S Ga Lo              110 Na G0 V
Malen         3018 C983773-5    Lt Ri              804 Na K5 V
Milamapar     3113 B569879-6  M Ri              A  501 Na K7 V* [G1 V]
Polondo       3211 C895311-6    Ga Lo              912 Na M0 V
Djinn         3212 C658311-9  M Ga Lo              900 Na F2 V

Interestingly, there are no Industrial planets in Beta Quadrant (and maybe six over the entirety of Segin sector.) If I remove the Cultural Hubs from the list above, we end up with a list of 28 worlds. That's way too many. Okay, so let's look at a smaller list, choosing those that have the highest Freight Traffic total modifiers, aiming for a level that brings us down to 8 to 10 worlds (in this case, all with a +2 total or higher on the Freight Table for Current World). This brings the list down to:

Desa          2120 B561877-6  N Ri                 201 Na K5 V* K8 V
Nyame         2202 B887797-8  A Ag Ga Ri           802 Ja M1 V M3 V*
Mami Wata     2311 B784879-6    Ga Ri           A  914 Ja G0 V* M9 V
Tesla         2517 C685634-4  M Ag Ga Lt Ni Ri     901 Na K3 V* [M7 V]
Suijin        2806 C688672-6  M Ag Ga Ni Ri        901 Ks G8 V
Jizo          2901 A7978AA-A  M Ga              A  900 Ks K5 V
Umikeo        2919 C969776-6  S Ri                 403 Na G9 V
Malen         3018 C983773-5    Lt Ri              804 Na K5 V

That's more like it! Looking at this list, there's one Resource world in Subsector C, two in Subsector D, two in Subsector G and three in Subsector H. Not a bad distribution, all things considered.

Now that we've identified the Resource worlds for Beta Quadrant, in my next post, I'll look at the next sub-step in the process. We're going to build a System Resources table!

More Later,
Flynn

Public Service Announcement: 30% Discount at Lulu.Com

Good Morning, All:

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That's all the news that's fit to repost. On Monday, I'll resume my series on the Traveller Sandbox Experiment.

Enjoy,
Flynn

Traveller Sandbox: Sample Cultural Hub Write-Ups...

Good Afternoon, All:

Over the last week or so, we've gone through the effort of identifying several Cultural Hubs for the Traveller Sandbox Experiment, and then followed that with deeper development of three examples. Below, I'm providing a bit more of a formal write-up in the form of Library Data entries on the three worlds in question. Note that the write-ups are written with a few specific goals: maximize the potential for flavor and adventure, yet remain concise so as to avoid overloading the reader with extraneous details. It's a balancing act, but hopefully, I achieved it in the examples below. As always, your thoughts are welcome.

NOTE: Based on the concept that this sector is part of the Traveller Universe that contains the Azri Drakara Sector (aka Cepheus Sector), as well as Dracos Sector, I've elected to call this region of space the Segin sector, named for a particularly bright star (Segin, aka Epsilon Cassiopeiae) which is located just under half-way between Dracos Sector and Sol Sector.

Jengu (2407 A79A89C-B Amber Zone): The secret society known as the Penultimate Order of the Sacred Spring left Old Earth during the First Diaspora seeking a world of its own where its members might exist without persecution. After founding a colony on the world of Jengu, the Order felt free to practice their alternative healing techniques in peace. Centuries later, Jengu possesses some of the most advanced biomedical technologies in Segin sector. The people of Jengu are highly xenophobic, and their laws regarding offworlders are particularly stringent. For this reason, the Explorer's Society has identified this world as an Amber Zone.

KOYANE (2706 A5699EF-B Amber Zone): Until thirty years ago, Koyane was ruled by the Fujiwara Clan, a psionic oligarchy known for its adherence to strong traditional Old Earth values. Their dynasty fell with the Kiyohara Clan and its supporting Emishi faction encouraged anti-psionic sentiment among the populace, then overthrew the Fujiwara Clan in a religious war. The victorious Emishi quickly replaced the psionic regime with a religious autocracy, which has maintained a state of martial law to insure that psionics remained abolished on Koyane. The Brothers of Sakari, remnants of the psionic heritage of former Koyane nobility, continue to wage a sporadic war against the Emishi faction in the hopes of recovering their lost empire. The violence of these conflicts, as well as the overzealous reactions of the Emishi, have earned this world an Amber Zone status from the Explorer's Society. Despite that, Koyane has a high reputation for service industry training; in particular, personal servants trained on Koyane are rightfully prized in interstellar society.

Sutekh (1707 AADA846-B): Sutekh has always been a trade center, and much of the Sutekh Empire sprang up from the interstellar markets that supported Sutekh world corporations. As Sutekh grew in prominence, many interstellar corporations also began to locate their research and development centers on Sutekh. The world rapidly developed an infrastructure to support scientific research. The University of Sutekh is known throughout the Beta Quadrant for the quality of its science departments. Sutekh has suffered a dramatic increase in natural disasters related to unstable plate tectonics over the last century. This has raised concerns among more outspoken researchers that these events are simply precursors to a cataclysmic global event that could potentially change the very face of the planet. Conservative scientists dismiss such thoughts as paranoia, claiming that the disasters are nothing more than part of a minor geologic cycle.

To complete this step, I'll follow the same basic approach for the rest of the Cultural Hubs I identified earlier, and record them in a master document. After that, I move on the Resource worlds, which we'll begin to discuss in my next post.

With Regards,
Flynn

Traveller Sandbox: The System Challenges Table...

Good Afternoon, All:

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 identifying at least one obstacle for any given star system, the Referee continues to create an impression of the system that makes it stand out in the players' minds over the course of the campaign. In addition, knowing the challenges present in a given system also gives us inspiration for potential adventure opportunities, which encourages more entertaining gaming for our gamers.

With a nod to the City and Town Obstacles table in An Echo Resounding, I offer the following table for determining System Challenges. As before, I've included what I believe are common Traveller tropes for system functions, based on character creation rules and world generation system elements. However, your Traveller Universe may be different from mine regarding those underlying assumptions. If you come across an entry that doesn't seem to fit your needs, please feel free to change it for your own personal setting development.

The usual disclaimers exist here: Some results require specific Trade Codes in order to fit the world in question, while others cannot exist on worlds with certain Trade Codes. Likewise, some require the presence of a specific type of base or starport, or perhaps the lack thereof. Ultimately, if you feel the description doesn't fit the UWP, then feel free to generate another System Function.

Table: System Challenges

d66	System Challenges
11	Alien Invasion
12	Angry Rioters
13	Class Hatred
14	Code Duello
15	Corporate Interests
16	Corrupt Leadership
21	Crime Syndicate
22	Crushed Spirits
23	Destructive Customs
24	Diplomatic Tensions
25	Displaced People
26	Divisive Factions
31	Enemy Terrorists
32	Enigmatic Conspiracy
33	Excessive Taxes
34	Extreme Censorship
35	Food Shortages
36	Gathering Refugees
41	Global Epidemic
42	Hidden Evil
43	Homeless Poor
44	Industrial Mishap
45	Inter-Species Feuding
46	Invasive Psionics
51	Natural Disasters
52	Overly Aggressive Military
53	Pirate Haven
54	Raiding Offworlders
55	Rampant Xenophobia
56	Religious Zealots
61	Resistance Fighters
62	Secret Society
63	Spy Network
64	Unscrupulous Merchants
65	Varmint Infestation
66	Referee's Option (Unusual Obstacles)

Using the table above, I generated three possible System Challenges, one each for the three cultural hubs we have been using as examples.

For Jengu (2407 A79A89C-B Amber Zone), I rolled "Rampant Xenophobia". This is an interesting twist. Here's a star system based on a secret society devoted to healing and medicine, whose entire economy is based on the health industry, and yet a lot of the local population experience xenophobia. A holdover from the days of their foundation, many Jengu citizens were raised with the belief that offworlders do not understand their society and will even persecute Jengu given the chance, so the Jengu citizenry are taught by the world government that offworlders mean them harm and can never be trusted.

Interestingly, I generated "Invasive Psionics" for Koyane (2706 A5699EF-B Amber Zone). Relating this back to the Psionic Freedom Fighters concept, perhaps the world of Koyane has become psionophobic. While the use of psionics is not what's invasive in this interpretation, the sheer cultural paranoia about psionics is. Any unexplained situation, serendipitous success or similar occurrence could spark a "witch hunt" mentality as the "victim" accuses the unsuspecting offworlder of being a psionic.

I first generated "Pirate Haven" for Sutekh (1707 AADA846-B). I'm not that fond of a world known for academia being seen as a haven for pirates, so I chose to generate another entry here. This tim, I came up with "Natural Disasters." Now, I'm getting some great ideas. Perhaps Sutekh is going through an Ice Age of sorts, or better yet, the planet's tectonics have become unstable. Yes, that sounds good. Scientists predict that the recent increase in natural disasters within the last century are a precursor to a dramatic global event that will dramatically change the face of the planet. Skeptics denounce the cataclysmic predictions of the scientific community, claiming that the disasters are part of a minor geologic cycle and nothing more. Basically, the Referee can insert the plot of every bad SyFy Channel end-of-the-world disaster flick here.

With this step, the Cultural Hubs section is pretty much complete. I'll follow this post up with a formal write-up of the three worlds in question, and then we'll move on to designating Resource worlds. Given that this setting is likely to have a military aspect to it, these should be very interesting, indeed.

With Regards,
Flynn

Traveller Sandbox: The System Function Table...

Good Afternoon, All:

In any Traveller campaign, any major system should be known for something it does, some function that it fulfills in interstellar society. Identifying that core function helps Referees to paint a picture of the system that makes it stand out in the players' minds over the course of the campaign. Remember, we're building a setting we can game in, and so the focus for this exercise lies in creating elements we can later use in our sessions to promote adventuring opportunities for our gamers.

With a nod to the City and Town Activities table in An Echo Resounding, I offer the following table for determining System Function. As before, I've included what I believe are common Traveller tropes for system functions, based on character creation rules and world generation system elements. However, your Traveller Universe may be different from mine regarding those underlying assumptions. If you come across an entry that doesn't seem to fit your needs, please feel free to change it for your own personal setting development.

In addition, some results require specific Trade Codes in order to fit the world in question, while others cannot exist on worlds with certain Trade Codes. Likewise, some require the presence of a specific type of base or starport, or perhaps the lack thereof. Ultimately, if you feel the description doesn't fit the UWP, then feel free to generate another System Function.

Table: System Function

d66	System Function
11	Academic Institute
12	Advanced Scientific Research
13	Agricultural Producer
14	Anti-Piracy Efforts
15	Architecture and Civil Engineering
16	Banking and Finance
21	Center of Diplomacy
22	Civilian/Military Vehicle Production
23	Communication/Information Hub
24	Computer/Robotics Production
25	Displaced People Reservations
26	Espionage and Security
31	Exceptional Artisans
32	Freedom of Religion
33	Heavy Industry
34	Hive of Corruption
35	Martial Ethos
36	Media and Journalism
41	Medicine and Biotechnology
42	Militant State
43	Mutual Defense Policy
44	Personal Services
45	Prison Planet
46	Psionic Services
51	Rare Resources
52	Regional Capitol
53	Starship Production
54	Strong Cultural Identity
55	Strong Polity Identity
56	Strong System Identity
61	Tourism
62	Transportation Services
63	Vigorous Trade
64	Weapons Manufacturing
65	World Corporation
66	Referee's Option (Unusual Exports)

Using the table above, I generated three possible System Origins, one each for the three cultural hubs we're using as examples.

For Jengu (2407 A79A89C-B Amber Zone), I generated "Hive of Corruption". That doesn't fit with a Law Level of 12, so I rolled again to get "World Corporation". I interpret this to indicate that the world of Jengu is now at the mercy of a world-wide corporation, or even multiple ones. Given that the government form is impersonal bureaucracy, I'm inclined to use the multiple world-corporations concept. Given Jengu's foundation as the haven for a secret society devoted to a non-traditional approach to medicine and healing, perhaps the bulk of these corporations grew in support of that philosophy. Here's a world where health and medicine are of significant importance, from the underlying culture to the current economy.

Koyane (2706 A5699EF-B Amber Zone) received the result of "Personal Services". This normally reflects classic service industries, such as barbers, caring for children or the elderly, funeral arrangements, etc. In a world descended from Japanese culture, which an extremely high Law Level, it makes sense that a structured society based on politeness and enforced courtesy would evolve. This places an emphasis on the role of personal services, because the high level of social protocols requires a high level of customer service. This would make Koyane a great world for the training of personal servants, diplomats and courtesans, among other things. From a gaming perspective, it also creates situations where polite characters are rewarded, and impolite characters are arrested and punished severely, almost out of proportion to the nature of the crime.

I generated "Advanced Scientific Research" for Sutekh (1707 AADA846-B). Given that we discussed the concept of corporate research and development being an emphasis for Sutekh in the alternate origin story, we can salvage some of that here. In addition to growing as a center for interstellar trade, corporate interests began locating their R&D divisions on Sutekh proper. The world rapidly developed an infrastructure to support the advances that had been brought forth, producing an environment that continues to support advanced and applied scientific research. The University of Sutekh is known throughout the Beta Quadrant for the quality of their science departments.

Our final secondary step in developing Cultural Hubs for the Beta Quadrant setting is to determine the system's primary challenge. In my next post, I'll introduce another table, inspired by the City and Town Obstacles table found in An Echo Resounding. We're almost done with this step!

With Regards,
Flynn

Traveller Sandbox: The System Origins Table...

Good Afternoon, All:

Every world is populated for a reason. A few of them are the world of origin, the homeworld, for various alien races. Most published Traveller universes tend to assume that most worlds are settled by other races as part of interstellar expansion, and I personally am a firm believer in that approach. With that in mind, it helps to have some kind of clue as to the origins of the population within a given star system.

With a nod to the City and Town Origins table in An Echo Resounding, I offer the following table for determining System Origins. Please note that it contains what I believe are common Traveller tropes for system origins, based on character creation rules and world generation system elements, but your Traveller Universe may be different from mine regarding those underlying assumptions. If you come across an entry that doesn't seem to fit your needs, please feel free to change it for your own personal setting development.

Table: System Origins

d66	System Origin
11	Ancient Ruins
12	Border Outpost
13	Corporate Site
14	Criminal Haven
15	Defensive System
16	Displaced Undesirables
21	Ethnocentric Community
22	Exiled Nobility
23	Exploratory Base-Camp
24	Farming Colony
25	Government Complex
26	Interrupted Trip
31	Isolationists
32	Land Grant
33	Luddites
34	Military Conquest
35	Mining Colony
36	Naval Base
41	Outcasts
42	Personal Estate
43	Philosophic Enclave
44	Pirate Base
45	Prison Planet
46	Prospector's Claim
51	Psionic Institute
52	Rebels
53	Religious Compound
54	Research Station
55	Shipwreck Survivors
56	Stepping Stone
61	Technophiles
62	Trading Hub
63	Training Facility
64	Treaty World
65	Wildlife Preserve
66	Referee's Option (Something Unusual)

Using the table above, I generated three possible System Origins, one each for the three cultural hubs we're using as examples.

For Jengu (2407 A79A89C-B Amber Zone), I generated "Philosophic Enclave". This tells me that the original settlers of this world were united under the auspices of a specific philosophy, as opposed to a religious belief system or ethnic culture. Reviewing the Wikipedia entry on Jengu, I noted that there once existed a secret society called the Jengu cult, which focused on the worship of water spirits, honoring fishing, healing and medicine. Taking some inspiration from that, and removing the religious aspects, I'm struck by the concept of a secret society devoted to fishing, healing and medicine. Considering that Jengu is a water world, the fishing takes care of itself, and I'm left with healing and medicine. Ah hah! The original colonists of Jengu were devotees of a non-traditional philosophy on medicine and healing, belonging to a secret society of healers. Feeling pressure from more traditional medical practices on their world of origin, these settlers came to Jengu to freely practice their medical practices. This gives Jengu a potential for distinctive medical technologies either more or less advanced than others of their tech level. Nice flavor already!

I generated "Psionic Institute" for Koyane (2706 A5699EF-B Amber Zone). Assuming the Traveller norm, psionics is probably ill-regarded by the population of the sector as a whole. The original settlers of this system were psionicists, and they came to establish an institute for the exploration of psionicology in an isolated system far from other cultures. The combined factors of a religious autocracy and a high law level sparks two different lines of creative thought for me: either the psionicists became the state religion, or a religious faction overthrew the psionic regime and maintain a state of martial law to insure that psionics is abolished and remains abolished on Koyane. The Japanese kami Ame-no-Koyane (for whom the system is named) was seen as the patron of the Fujiwara clan on Old Earth. As the Fujiwara clan gained political power by marrying their daughters to emperors, I can see the psionics element remaining very strong in politics during the formative years of the system. In the Azri Drakara sector, the Covenant of Discipline is a psionic religious autocracy, which is why I think that here, I'll put the psionicists out of power. However, now I have the concept of Psionic Freedom Fighters waging their war against the oppressive religious faction in an effort to reclaim their former Empire. Cool! We've got some instant historical background for the Beta Quadrant Campaign, and a twist on the usual Traveller Universe presentation of psionics.

For Sutekh (1707 AADA746-B), I generated "Trading Hub". This is probably the most straight-forward of all three examples. As we noted earlier when considering Sutekh as a cultural center for the setting, its sister-system of Seshat (1907 B69A8A8-9) has a greater population five times the size of Sutekh's, so it is likely where the Seshat Empire originated. Sutekh was settled as a trading connection to other interstellar markets, and promptly blossomed. Numerous corporations came to the world, seeing opportunities to develop under less restrictions than existed on the homeworld. Corporate research and development pushed Sutekh's technology infrastructure ahead, as dealing with a smaller population size made such changes to the infrastructure an easier proposition. As more corporations abandoned Seshat for Sukhet, Seshat fell into a decline. As an aside, since the rules indicate that a Class A starport is necessary for starship construction and repair, I have to decide whether to change Seshat's starport to Class A to reflect its role in this story, or change the story around so that Sutekh has been the center of the empire all along (requiring perhaps a population code change from 7 to 8 and a name change on the Empire, but I'm okay with that, too.) Since we're still in the formative stages here, I think I'll bump the pop code for Sutekh up to an 8 and make it the center of the Empire.

Okay, new story for Sutekh (1707 AADA846-B): Sutekh is the capital world of the Sutekh Empire. The original settlers were primarily corporations and merchants, giving rise to a rapidly developing interstellar trade center. Not a lot of flavor, but then again, not all of the flavor of a world has to come from the System Origins.

Our next secondary step in developing Cultural Hubs for our setting is the system's core function in the campaign setting. That looks like it will require another table to be created, inspired by the City and Town Activities table found in An Echo Resounding. We'll tackle that in my next post!

With Regards,
Flynn

Traveller Sandbox: Cultural Hub Examples...

Good Afternoon, All:

In my last post, I identified ten possible cultural hubs for Beta Quadrant. However, this step in the process is not complete. Just because I've selected these worlds does not mean we can move on. Instead, let's flesh these out with a few notes, to make sure we have something useful for gaming purposes. Only then should we move on to our next step in the process.

While I have ten worlds to develop here, I'm only going to write up three of them today. The worlds that I have chosen here are: Sutekh, Jengu and Koyane. I've chosen them because they are the capitol worlds of the three major polities in Beta Quadrant. Thus, the flavor we give these will have a dramatic impact on the rest of the Quadrant.

You can learn a lot from just the UWP values of a given world. Looking at these worlds in particular, here are some basic write-ups that simply translate the UWP values into text (provided by a program I wrote to convert UWPs into text):

Jengu (2407 A79A89C-B Amber Zone): Jengu is a large world, have a diameter of roughly 11200km. Jengu has a dense nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere that bears a taint that requires the use of a filter mask. The surface of Jengu is roughly 96–100% surface water (or similar fluid), which qualifies it as a Water World. Jengu has a general population of 600,000,000 local residents. The people of Jengu are governed by an impersonal bureaucracy. Visitors will find that Jengu is extremely oppressive and restrictive, with little or no personal freedom granted to the general public. Jengu has an excellent Class A starport, with extensive shipyards capable of constructing new starships and overhaul existing vessels. Jengu has Early Stellar technology, introducing the most primitive of true artificial intelligences, as computers are able to model synaptic networks. Important installations and facilities on Jengu include a Naval Base. Jengu has been designated as an Amber Zone by the Explorer's Society. Travellers should exercise caution in any dealings or activities involving this world.

KOYANE (2706 A5699EF-B Amber Zone): Koyane is a medium-sized planet about 8000km in diameter. Koyane has a standard nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere comparable to that of Terra. The surface of Koyane is roughly 86%–95% surface water (or similar fluid), whose land forms only a few small islands and archipelagos. A highly populated world, Koyane is home to approximately 7,000,000,000 local residents. The people of Koyane are governed by a religious autocracy. Visitors will find that Koyane is extremely oppressive and restrictive, with little or no personal freedom granted to the general public. Koyane has an excellent Class A starport, with extensive shipyards capable of constructing new starships and overhaul existing vessels. Koyane has Early Stellar technology, introducing the most primitive of true artificial intelligences, as computers are able to model synaptic networks. Koyane has been designated as an Amber Zone by the Explorer's Society. Travellers should exercise caution in any dealings or activities involving this world.

Sutekh (1707 AADA746-B): Sutekh is a large world, have a diameter of roughly 16000km. Sutekh has a very dense atmosphere that is breathable only above a minimum altitude, due to extremely high surface pressures. The surface of Sutekh is roughly 96–100% surface water (or similar fluid), which qualifies it as a Water World. Sutekh has a general population of 40,000,000 local residents. The people of Sutekh are governed by a representative democracy. Visitors may find Sutekh moderately restrictive, as most personal firearms are regulated or restricted by local authorities. Sutekh has an excellent Class A starport, with extensive shipyards capable of constructing new starships and overhaul existing vessels. Sutekh has Early Stellar technology, introducing the most primitive of true artificial intelligences, as computers are able to model synaptic networks.

While you can find a few adventure ideas simply from the Universal World Profile of a world, there are a few other elements that can help you develop a stronger sense of adventuring potential and actual flavor for the worlds in question. Using the fantasy sandbox building methods suggested in An Echo Resounding and adapting them to a science fiction setting like this, the elements attributed to Cities and Towns can be easily implemented here, although you might need a new table to really capture a futuristic feel instead of a fantasy feel. City And Town Origins could become System History. City and Town Activities might transform slightly into System Function (modified somewhat by the Trade Codes associated with a given world.) City and Town Obstacles metamorphoses into System Challenges.

My only other suggested addition here would be to include one or two cultural taboos or unusual practices to add a flavorful element that stands in the minds of the players. It is a challenge to make each world a unique gaming experience, but if we can only make a few stand out, the cultural hubs are the ones that should receive our efforts first. You can easily use cultural research to provide some of those unusual traditions, or dig around in the old MegaTraveller supplement World Builder's Handbook (itself being a rewrite in part of the old Digest Group Publishing supplement Grand Census for Classic Traveller) for the unusual customs tables provided for world generation. Ultimately, you should evaluate how flavorful the world is with the first three elements I mentioned above from An Echo Resounding, before you decide whether you want to add those details or not.

So, in order to complete this step, I need to create some tables for System History, System Function and System Challenges. Sounds like a great post or two later on this week.

More Later,
Flynn

Traveller Sandbox: Finding The Campaign's Cultural Centers...

Good Afternoon, All:

In the beginning, I defined the third step of this process as choosing five to ten worlds that will serve as the cultural centers for the setting. Two will be the major hubs, and the remainder will be minor hubs. In a traditional sandbox game, these would be cities and towns of importance. In Traveller, given the vast differences in scale, these are worlds and star systems about the Quadrant.

In order for a system to have significant impact in interstellar society, it needs to have the means to maintain starships, if not build them. In Traveller parlance, that means the world generally possesses a Class A starport, since these are the only starports that can produce starships. Class B starports may do in a pinch, because they at least have facilities to do major repairs on starships, but I imagine we will find enough here to warrant restricting our cultural centers to Class A starports without an issue.

Looking at the map of Beta Quadrant, we can observe the following:

• Sutekh (1707 AADA746-B): The only Class A starport in the Seshat Empire, it is the de facto Imperial capital. Seshat's population is larger, but it doesn't have the starport needed to support being a motivating force for an interstellar Empire.
• Abrakos (2108 A66876B-9): An agriculturally rich and politically independent garden world capable of supporting interstellar travel, the only reason Abrakos isn't a major player is because the available worlds around it are controlled by the Jengu Alliance. Interestingly, Abrakos has a colony or captive government, so I will need to explain this in combination with its Independent status, or I'll need to give the world a different government code to maintain its independence.
• Jengu (2407 A79A89C-B Amber Zone): Another waterworld, Jengu is an impersonal bureaucracy whose oppressive local laws have earned it the designation of Amber Zone.
• KOYANE (2706 A5699EF-B Amber Zone): Possessing the highest population on the list so far, Koyane is very likely going to be one of the major cultural hubs for this setting. It is governed by a religious autocracy that will likely taint the culture that I design for the polity it governs.
• Litha (2016 A7678A9-A Amber Zone): A world very similar to Terra, Litha is a paradise controlled by a charismatic dictator. Given the size of the polity, I don't see Litha being any more than a minor cultural hub in the scope of the setting.
• Tabaldak (2813 A6878CE-9 Amber Zone): The ruling family of Tabaldak hold jurisdiction over this system and an adjacent system only one parsec away, although Malsumis (2814 X410232-8 Red Zone) is little more than an interdicted outpost at the moment.

NOTE: Zinsu and Haligan were not included in the list above, despite having Class A starports, due to their low populations. Zinsu is home to 60,000 people, while Haligan only supports 20,000 permanent residents. It's hard to imagine these two worlds influencing interstellar culture significantly when their combined populations are less than one-tenth of the metropolitan area where I currently live. They could serve the role of resources in a fantasy sandbox, though, so while I felt I should mention them here, I will more likely consider them for the next step in the design process.

In addition, less-advanced worlds with a high population, such as Gleti (2205 C664976-6) or Kangiten (3001 C664AFD-7), might make for other options for minor cultural hubs. Large populations means the potential for a higher presence in interstellar society, so long as they have the opportunity to get out there. With their Class C starports, the population of these worlds have access to interstellar space, but I couldn't justify to myself any more influence than being minor cultural hubs.

Okay, after some thought here, I've decided to identify the following cultural hubs, selecting primarily high population non-aligned worlds to round out the minor cultural hubs: Jengu (major), Koyane (major), Abrakos, Ghandi, Gleti, Kangiten, Litha, Milamapar, Sutekh and Tabaldak. We'll visit some of these worlds in the next post, as we write up some details reflecting their role in the setting.

As an aside, I really should name this sector. Does anyone have any suggestions?

With Regards,
Flynn

Traveller Sandbox: Choosing the Right Quadrant...

Good Afternoon, All:

Step Two in our Traveller Sandbox Experiment is simple: choose the quadrant we are going to develop. In order to do that, I think we should review some of the prime features of each quadrant so we can make a choice informed by adventuring potential. Note that all of the Quadrants offer the opportunity for conflict between at least two established major polities, so many of the classic Traveller scenarios can easily be modified to fit into this setting.

To help us out here, I've also used the Travellermap.com API to create a new version of the sector map with borders and some trade routes, the ones based off of calculations that do not point to Non-aligned worlds or worlds of differing allegiances.



Alpha Quadrant (Upper-Left)
The Alpha Quadrant is dominated by the Asuran Hegemony. Other polities that are present include the spinward third of the Seshat Empire, the entirety of the Gyalpoan Trade Coalition and the majority of the Avalon Commonwealth. The greatest potential for conflict here probably lies along the shared borders of the Asuran Hegemony and the Seshat Empire. The smaller polity of the Avalon Commonwealth must also resist the expansion of the Seshat Empire, while the Gyalpoan Trade Coalition remains relatively isolated. I can see this Quadrant emphasizing border conflicts and exploration in a less intense environment, and is probably the most well-rounded of all of the Quadrants in terms of gaming experiences.

Beta Quadrant (Upper-Right)
The Beta Quadrant contains the rest of the Seshat Empire, as well as that portion of the Koyane Shogunate that extends into this sector, the entirety of the Jengu Alliance, the two worlds of the Tabaldak Jurisdiction and the five worlds of the Litha League. The major polities are focused along the coreward half of the Quadrant, leaving the rimward half full of non-aligned worlds and small polities. The presence of the Jengu Alliance and the Seshat Empire around the independent world of Abrakos provides some interesting potential for intrigue and diplomacy on that world. The of the Koyane Shogunate toward Jengu Alliance space paints an interesting picture of a polity trapped between two significant powers. This Quadrant feels like it's in the middle of military action to me, and will probably lend itself to a mercenary campaign. Considering the name of the polities here (an Empire, a Shogunate, a Jurisdiction, a League and an Alliance), there's a lot of potential combat going on. I'm feeling that Beta Quadrant is a strong candidate for selection.

Gamma Quadrant (Lower-Left)
A great majority of the coreward half of Gamma Quadrant is non-aligned. To rimward, the Changesan Dynasty pushes against the independent polities of the Stars of Namaka and the Ishtar Sovereignty, which buffers the Perunian Federation from the much larger Changesan Dynasty. Along the trailing edge of the Quadrant, the Heremod Unity extends some of its border-worlds into this region of space. The Changesan Dynasty-Ishtar Sovereignty-Perunian Federation sandwich going on suggests some interesting political issues, but the large degree of non-aligned worlds here really separates the two big powers of the region (the Changesan Dynasty and the Heremod Unity), and suggests that Gamma Quadrant would be a good option for an exploratory or mercantile campaign. Considering that this is the proto-typical style for most Traveller campaigns that I've run or played in, I'd have to say that Gamma Quadrant is also in the running for selection.

Delta Quadrant (Lower-Right)
The Heremod Unity dominates Delta Quadrant, although the Chakanan Empire has an established presence in this region of space as well. The Moloch Regency puts in a token appearance along the rimward edge, and the Chimalmat Group sits on the coreward border of the Heremod Unity. Here's an interesting region of space, where three larger powers interact. The Heremod Unity is contending with the Moloch Regency and the Chakanan Empire along two of its borders, which probably indicates that a majority of its resources are devoted along those borders. The border-worlds toward the center of the sector are thus less protected, which could add a somewhat "Wild West" feel to that region, if we so chose to take it in that direction. I think Delta Quadrant lends itself well to campaigns that feature "small fish in big pond" scenarios, acting in some ways like a small version of the Third Imperium setting. Much of the action can probably take place within the Unity itself, with occasional forays into Regency or Imperial space, as well as the border-worlds to spinward and coreward.

The Results
Since each Quadrant really stands out as a candidate for a specific type of Traveller gaming experience, I'm now forced to consider the kind of game that I want to run in this particular setting. The options are: the well-rounded Traveller experience (Alpha Quadrant), the mercenary-heavy campaign (Beta Quadrant), the exploration and mercantile campaign (Gamma Quadrant) or the "small fish in a big pond" single-polity campaign (Delta Quadrant). Each one has its merits. Given that I mentioned in the original post for this idea that I hadn't run a mercenary campaign before, I think I'm going to choose Beta Quadrant this time around.

In my next post, I'll be examining the worlds of Beta Quadrant to identify the major cultural hubs that will direct the political influences of the campaign setting we're creating here. If you as a Reader wish to point me to a different Quadrant for this development exercise, please comment on this post soon, before I'm too far along to change my path. Otherwise, hold on, because we're about to shape the forces that motivate the actions of the Bigger Picture...

More Later,
Flynn

Traveller Sandbox: Our First Look at the Sector...

Good Afternoon, My Friends:

Below is an image of the sector I've generated for the Traveller Sandbox Experiment. I'm currently trying to color-coded the various potential polities and such. Before we even look at the UWPs, let's just look at the overall astrography, and how that provides us with adventuring potential.



A Note On Names
Do you know how hard it is to name 492 worlds? I started by naming all of the worlds with allegiance codes. Each group is named for the pantheons of a different religion or mythology. I chose to do that simply to keep in sync with the example set by our own solar system, and because I wanted different name-flavors for the various groups. For the remainder, I combed through a number of randomly generated names, and took those that sounded easy to pronounce. Hopefully, these work, at least for the purposes of this experiment.

Polities
When I first start looking at star maps for setting creation, I prefer to start with the presumption that the largest polity on the map is human. That is, I prefer that presumption unless we want the large human polity is off to the side of the map, which gives us some worlds along its border that extend the polity into the sector in question (as I did with the Azri Drakara sector, following in the example of a frontier sector set forth by the Spinward Marches sector of Traveller fame.) Really, it depends on if we want a frontier sector of a larger entity, or a smaller human polity stepping out into the much bigger universe.

With that in mind, I look at the sector I've generated here, and I am immediately struck by the large polities in the various corners of the map. This makes me think of a frontier where two or more larger polities come together. Here's a list of the various polities that I identified, as well as the temporary names I've given them. (These are subject to change as this experiment moves forward.) Polities that perhaps extend off the map are denoted with an asterisk (*).

• Asuran Hegemony (Ah)*: 70 worlds
• Avalon Commonwealth (Ac): 4 worlds
• Chakanan Empire (Ce)*: 27 worlds
• Changsegan Dynasty (Cd)*: 21 worlds
• Chimalmat Group (Cg): 3 worlds
• Gyalpoan Trade Coalition (Gc): 5 worlds
• Heremod Unity (Hu)*: 105 worlds
• Ishtar Sovereignty (Is): 5 worlds
• Jengu Alliance (Ja): 19 worlds
• Koyane Shogunate (Ks)*: 29 worlds
• Litha League (Ll): 5 worlds
• Moloch Regency (Mr)*: 5 worlds
• Perunian Federation (Pf): 7 worlds
• Seshat Empire (Se): 29 worlds
• Stars of Namaka (Sn): 3 worlds
• Tabaldak Jurisdiction (Tj): 2 worlds

This leaves approximately 153 worlds Non-aligned (Na) or Independent (In). As you can see, this is a busy little piece of interstellar real estate. I put a maximum TL of 13 in place, simply to create multiple polities. Otherwise, we'd be looking at pretty much one polity (with perhaps different cultural centers) or two polities butting up against each other.

From the number of worlds under each allegiance code, the obvious selection for a human polity is going to be the Heremod Unity. The worlds of this region are pulled from Norse mythology, which immediately conjures images of Vikings in Space. The Unity is located in the lower half of the sector, which makes me want to look first at those two quadrants in the second step of the process. We'll dive into that with our next post, though.

Enjoy,
Flynn

Traveller Sandbox: Some Basic Assumptions...

Good Afternoon, All:

I'm still in the process of creating the sector, analyzing the basic polity structures based on my rather specific requirements, and generating a map. However, I feel that I should take a few moments to outline my basic assumptions about a Traveller setting. These are all based on the mechanics of the system, from character creation to the speculative trading rules, etc., with a little bit of other stuff integrated in because it appeals to my personal suspension of disbelief.

Player Movement
Based on the general results of character generation, I like to start with the assumption that our PCs will have Jump-2 capable ships, meaning that they can move between systems up to two parsecs (hexes) apart. While I'll also look at Jump-1 routes to address those concerns (in case the PCs end up with a Jump-1 ship instead), I find that Jump-2 is a pretty good standard for use.

Polity Size and Structure
I've read somewhere that humanity has never successfully created an empire with a communication gap between the frontier and the capital of six months or longer. I'm sure that, on occasion, borders have extended beyond that range, but in those cases, the empire is unstable and will collapse within one generation. With a delay in messages that long, it is obvious that the outlying frontier regions have tremendous autonomy, and that enforcement of central authority is going to be almost non-existent. In Traveller, that's equivalent to 18 Jumps (assuming one week in Jumpspace and three days of preparing for the next Jump), or 36 Jumps from border to border. Anything larger should collapse under its own weight, or operate under the basis of distributed authority (such as the Third Imperium, in which the Grand Dukes were essentially sovereigns with enforced fealty to the Emperor in name.)

With that in mind, I aim for something smaller (because I like smaller polities). I chose a maximum communication gap of one month, which boils down to three Jumps, one way. After two Jumps, I don't include every world in the polity, but a random portion of them, weighted toward Rich, Agricultural and Industrial worlds. This creates an uneven border, which I think looks better on the map. I also don't measure the distance in terms of total parsecs, but instead I calculate one Jump from each world at the capital's TL, so that rifts are taken into account. The resulting polities range from a little more than half a subsector in size for a TL9-TL10 central world, up to a little larger than a sector for a TL15+ central world.

Trade Routes
I assume that Trade Routes exist anywhere where there are positive total modifiers from the Trade tables in both directions between two worlds within Jump-2 of one another. I wrote a small app that analyzes those as well for me. After I have the basics down, I look at the most profitable, and make decisions that look right, in terms of movement between the most populated and higher tech worlds. The little side markets I drop off of the Trade Route maps so that players have something to discover. (I do keep a master of that information, though, so I can work one or two into NPC backgrounds and adventures.) Also, unless it's important to the setting, I don't track Trade Routes into non-aligned space. I figure those are markets that PCs should discover and tackle, knowing that such regions are wild and unruly, and thus prone to encounters of a most dangerous sort.

World Generation
I prefer to generate worlds using the "Hard Science WOrld Creation" options outlined on pg 180 of the Taveller core rulebook. I prefer the concept of fewer self-sustaining worlds that are more Earth-like with lots of small colonies and outposts, rather than the more ubiquitous nature of standard world generation. I also filter my world data to insure that populated worlds with no atmosphere have a minimum TL to sustain themselves, among other unlikely results. One of those might be okay in a sector, but I'm going to put such weirdness there by my own hand, to fit my personal needs as a Referee.

Alien Homeworlds
Here, I take a nod to my own Flynn's Guide to Alien Creation, using the methods in that book to determine the presence of alien races in my sector, and then creating the original concept for the races using the book. Like all random processes, I will take the results I get and reshape them as necessary to better fit the setting.

While I'm sure there are other assumptions I'll discover or reveal along the way, these are the basic assumptions that will most impact the map initially.

Hope This Helps,
Flynn