Amber Travel Code
- Thread starter Stattick
- Start date
alex_greene
Guest
They're worlds which the core book says "should be considered for" the classification. Not all worlds in your Traveller universe have to automatically require Amber or Red codes, just because that's the way the dice rolled in their UWP.
It's entirely possible for a Scout crew to discover that a world previously thought to be safe has become hazardous through a revolution or disaster; likewise, a world previously classified as Amber might have its code either dropped because it was classified as such due to a bureaucratic error, or even have its code upped to Red due to the outbreak of a plague, or rapid climate shift or whatever.
In times of war, or in sectors bordering hostile alien civilisations, it is possible to classify all the worlds in the subsectors belonging to the threat nation as Amber or even Red, just because they're on the wrong side of the border.
Ultimately, which worlds actually get to be classified as Amber or Red are entirely up to you.
It's entirely possible for a Scout crew to discover that a world previously thought to be safe has become hazardous through a revolution or disaster; likewise, a world previously classified as Amber might have its code either dropped because it was classified as such due to a bureaucratic error, or even have its code upped to Red due to the outbreak of a plague, or rapid climate shift or whatever.
In times of war, or in sectors bordering hostile alien civilisations, it is possible to classify all the worlds in the subsectors belonging to the threat nation as Amber or even Red, just because they're on the wrong side of the border.
Ultimately, which worlds actually get to be classified as Amber or Red are entirely up to you.
I considered the Government factions, and if there was a Strength 10+ faction of an unsavory nature (e.g. Charismatic Dictator, especially on a Balkanized world) then I assigned an Amber code, the assumption being that there is active opposition to the ruling government being expressed through acts of violence.
Other Amber worlds are those with Corrosive/Insidious atmospheres but an insufficient TL to deal with them, or Barbaric/Violent/Degenerate cultures...
Other Amber worlds are those with Corrosive/Insidious atmospheres but an insufficient TL to deal with them, or Barbaric/Violent/Degenerate cultures...
As an example of this, when the Fifth Frontier War broke out in Golden-Age Traveller, almost the whole Spinward Marches sector was declared an Amber Zone.alex_greene said:
Remember that Amber and Red denote travel restrictions/warnings. A world can be declared a Red Zone, and have nothing there to prevent people from landing. It's rare, but possible. An Amber Zone rating simply means "this place can be really really dangerous. you are duly warned".
Rikki Tikki Traveller
Cosmic Mongoose
Actually, any world outside of the Imperium is considered an Amber Zone, but they are not marked as such.
Amber and Red Zones were always one of those tricky things. There were never any good rules (at least early on) for how or when to use them and what they meant.
I like the idea of using the Factions info. I also considered any Balkanized world with a low Law Level to be an Amber Zone.
I tried to have 2-5 Ambers and 1-2 Reds in each sub-sector.
Amber and Red Zones were always one of those tricky things. There were never any good rules (at least early on) for how or when to use them and what they meant.
I like the idea of using the Factions info. I also considered any Balkanized world with a low Law Level to be an Amber Zone.
I tried to have 2-5 Ambers and 1-2 Reds in each sub-sector.
I created one system that has an Amber code because ships keep mysteriously disappearing, and the head of the local TAS office decided it had happened once too often not to warn Travellers.
This has enormously ticked off everyone else in the system, who are aghast at the thought of all that lost trade and contend that space travel is a risky business and they shouldn't be blamed for a statistical blip.
This has enormously ticked off everyone else in the system, who are aghast at the thought of all that lost trade and contend that space travel is a risky business and they shouldn't be blamed for a statistical blip.
AndrewW said:
Oh sure, travel isn't forbidden or anything. It's more a question of a ship factoring in the travel code and deciding to go somewhere else instead. I mean, Israel is always open for tourism, but if the State Department issues a travel advisory, you're going to see fewer tourists.
According to MGT Core "The Imperial Navy enforces Red Zones". But not all Red Zones have interdiction Satellites in orbit or a fleet in orbit. The level of enforcement varies. And, remember, Travel Codes may apply to a single world of a whole system.
If you look at all the planets and moons in a system, you will find that there are a lot more Amber Zones than you ever imagined.
If you look at all the planets and moons in a system, you will find that there are a lot more Amber Zones than you ever imagined.
For my world creator spreadsheet, I created a little formula to determine the travel code for a system:
Atm 10,11: +1
Atm 12+: +2
Pop: 2,3: -1
Pop: 1: -2
Govt: 0,7,10: +1 + Faction Modifier + Law level Modifier
Govt: 6,11+: +Faction Modifier + Law level Modifier
Govt: Other: No Faction or Law level modifiers
Faction: +1 per Faction of "Notable" size or higher, to a max of +2
Law level: 0: +1+Govt Modifier
Law level: 8: +0.5
Law level: 9: +1
Starport A: -1
Starport B: -0.5
Naval base: -1
TAS Hostel: -2
Imperial base: -2
Pirate base: +1
2D6-4 + DMs
Total>8: Amber
Total>11: Red
This seemed to produce a reasonable spread of Ambers (c. 10%) and very few Reds (less than 1%), but is probably a bit unwieldy to use outside of a spreadsheet.
(and apologies for duplication, as I have posted this in another thread somewhere too...)
Atm 10,11: +1
Atm 12+: +2
Pop: 2,3: -1
Pop: 1: -2
Govt: 0,7,10: +1 + Faction Modifier + Law level Modifier
Govt: 6,11+: +Faction Modifier + Law level Modifier
Govt: Other: No Faction or Law level modifiers
Faction: +1 per Faction of "Notable" size or higher, to a max of +2
Law level: 0: +1+Govt Modifier
Law level: 8: +0.5
Law level: 9: +1
Starport A: -1
Starport B: -0.5
Naval base: -1
TAS Hostel: -2
Imperial base: -2
Pirate base: +1
2D6-4 + DMs
Total>8: Amber
Total>11: Red
This seemed to produce a reasonable spread of Ambers (c. 10%) and very few Reds (less than 1%), but is probably a bit unwieldy to use outside of a spreadsheet.
(and apologies for duplication, as I have posted this in another thread somewhere too...)
