EDG Worldgen: Random Events table (input wanted)

[EDG]

OK, so one more thing I'm thinking about adding to the EDG worldgen is a "Random Events" table. The idea is that at the end of "official" Worldgen, you roll 2D for each world - on a result of 12, some event affects it that changes the UWPs to non-standard values. This way, you can still get some "anomalous" UWPs that shake things up a bit for about 3% of the worlds. The reasons behind these changes can be up to the GM to explain (for "Major social collapse" I'm thinking of the post-apocalyptic aftermath of a massive war, or total collapse of society. for "Major environmental disaster" I'm thinking of asteroid strikes, massive solar flares, etc)

So far I'm trying to figure out what such a table could look like. This is what I've come up with so far, does anyone have any suggestions for tweaks or new entries, or see any glaring problems? The "Major Social Collapse" is likely to kill the low pop hostile environment worlds if it affects those (much like TNE's Collapse, really), but it will let us have very low-tech garden worlds if the population survives.

 2: Isolated (starport X, Red zone, remove +DMs to TL from A/B/C starports (do NOT -4 for X). 
              Min TL is environmental TL minimum, TL can be > 8, society not interested in space travel or contact) 
 3: Major social collapse (pop decrease by 1d6, roll starport as if pop 0, roll unmodified 1d6-1 
              for new TL. If TL is below environmental minimum, pop=0 and world is Barren)
 4: Major environmental disaster (pop decrease by 1d3, if atm is 3/5/6/8 then atm is tainted to 2/4/7/9)
 5: Ongoing Plague/War (pop decrease by 1d3, travel zone increase)
 6: Recent starport downgrade (decrease starport by one step. minimum E)
 7: Recent revolution (re-roll gov (on appropriate pop table) and law)
 8: Recent starport upgrade (increase starport by one step. maximum A)
 9: State of Emergency (increase law by 1d6)
10: Population increase (Pop+1, max A)
11: Recent Balkanization (gov 7, keep law, TL+1) 
12: Technologically advanced (increase TL by 1d3)

Changes in Starport alter the TL (remove or add the difference in TL that is appropriate to the new starport), but have not had a chance to affect the population yet (so you can have a type A with pop 5, or a B with pop 3). Minimum TL is the environmental minimum unless otherwise stated. 

Note that trade codes will be affected by these changes.

 

[Gruffty the Hiver]

I like that, it looks good. Can't think of anything to add at the moment though. Will post if I come up with anything.

 

[EDG]

You'll also note that I put things like "Revolution" and the starport up/downgrades at the most common results of the 2d roll. So those should be the most likely changes because of this table.

I could change the starport up/down results to "reroll starport on the next higher/lower column on the starport table (i.e. if the world is pop 7+ then on a result of "Starport downgrade", it rolls on the pop 4-6 column instead) but that means rolling on another table.

 

[Gruffty the Hiver]

I could change the starport up/down results to "reroll starport on the next higher/lower column on the starport table (i.e. if the world is pop 7+ then on a result of "Starport downgrade", it rolls on the pop 4-6 column instead) but that means rolling on another table.

It looks fine as it is; whether it works fine is another thing!

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

THIS is where you could have the Amber and Red zones showing up!

AFAIK, there has never been a method for determining (rolling) Amber and Red Zones. This table could be that solution.

I would add notes to your table indicating that on rolls of 2, 3 and 5 the world is Red Zoned. On rolls of 4, 7, 9 and 11 the world is Amber Zoned.

I LIKE this idea!

 

[EDG]

Yeah, I think that's a good idea RTT. Though I note that the Travel zone table in MegaTrav seems somewhat lax... it seems to imply that the Imperium doesn't consider a lot of extreme gov/law combos to necessarily be worth issuing warnings for. Personally I'd say if a world's law level is B-E then it should be considered for Amber Zone status, or if law is F+ it should be at least An Amber and considered for Red.

 

[rancke]

Yeah, I think that's a good idea RTT. Though I note that the Travel zone table in MegaTrav seems somewhat lax... it seems to imply that the Imperium doesn't consider a lot of extreme gov/law combos to necessarily be worth issuing warnings for. Personally I'd say if a world's law level is B-E then it should be considered for Amber Zone status, or if law is F+ it should be at least An Amber and considered for Red.

Keep in mind the difference between interdiction and red zones. The Imperium interdicts. The Travellers' Aid Society awards amber and red zone ratings. One of the things it awards red zone rating for is interdiction. That's automatic. But otherwise, it's a matter of judgment. It awards amber zones for ubiquitous dangers over and above what can be expected of any world. It awards red zones for unacceptable dangers. Obviously there can be doubt about whether or not conditions warrant imposing a given rating, especially since danger ratings presumably have economic repercussions.

Also, presumably, the TAS only awards a blanket rating for an entire world if the danger is ubiquitous to areas where off-worlders tend to visit. Remember, the TAS can also amber- and red-zone parts of a world.

So maybe that Law Level E world influenced the local TAS manager to 'adjust' its rating. Or maybe special exceptions to the laws apply to off-worlders. Or maybe the high laws concerns stuff that off-worlders normally don't get involved in.

I'm all for changing UWPs that don't make sense. But I think someone should attempt to make sense of them first, instead of changing them automatically.


Hans

 

[EDG]

I always thought Amber Zones were similar to the "travel advisories" given out by western governments whenever things get nasty in another country. As far as I'm aware, they don't actually limit or prevent anyone going there, they just say "be on your guard if you do go there, and it's at your own risk".

Red zones on the other hand are outright interdiction - nobody's allowed to visit the planet (or possibly even the system in some cases).

 

[rancke]

I always thought Amber Zones were similar to the "travel advisories" given out by western governments whenever things get nasty in another country. As far as I'm aware, they don't actually limit or prevent anyone going there, they just say "be on your guard if you do go there, and it's at your own risk".

Red zones on the other hand are outright interdiction - nobody's allowed to visit the planet (or possibly even the system in some cases).

You're right about the amber zones. They're "Be real careful if you go there (and don't expect your insurance to cover you)" advisories. However, red zones are just "You really don't want to go there!" advisories. The TAS doesn't have the authority to forbid anyone from going anywhere.

All interdicted worlds are red zoned. Not all red zones are for interdicted worlds. I can dig up some canonical examples, if you like.


Hans

 

[EDG]

This may come as a shock to some, but there is actually an MWM idea that I do like - apparently in T5 he's going to have "Dieback" worlds where basically the colony failed, everyone died, but there's still ruins and tech lying around.

We could add that here ("look! compatibility with T5!" ) - if a world loses all its population through the Random Events then it's recorded as starport/pop/gov/law 0, but the TL is whatever the old TL was, and it gets an informational tradecode of "Db" (for Dieback).

Though to be honest I prefer the TNE term of "Boneyard" (which could have an informational tradecode of "By").

 

[EDG]

All interdicted worlds are red zoned. Not all red zones are for interdicted worlds. I can dig up some canonical examples, if you like.

And then we also have the old problem of whether uninhabited worlds should be red zones (or X or E starports) or not... but let's leave that for another thread.

Though I was under the distinct impression that "Red Zone" meant "interdicted". Whether it's interdicted by TAS or the navy or anyone else shouldn't make a difference should it?

What are the examples then?

 

[AKAramis]

All interdicted worlds are red zoned. Not all red zones are for interdicted worlds. I can dig up some canonical examples, if you like.

It's defined in the Traveller book that Travel Zones are issued by the Traveller's Aid Society.

One of the Asteroid Belts in the coreward end of the marches has a red zone due to having an antimatter belt...

Travel Zones: Most worlds are assumed to be civilized or at least amenable to travellers and visitors. Some, however, are caught in the throes of war, plagued by disease, or are simply not ready for interstellar visitors. Such worlds are classified by travel zones to denote such status. In most cases, you should indicate travel zones based on the information available. Three such zone types exist: green, amber, and red.

Green travel zones indicate that no special hazards exist to travellers. Any unmarked world is a green travel zone by default.

Amber travel zones indicate that travellers should exercise caution when visiting such worlds. The amber code may mean that the citizens of the world are xenophobic, that the political situation is chaotic, or that some other danger exists within the system.

Red travel zones usually indicate that a major danger exists within the system. This danger may be disease and the world may be quarantined. The system may be involved in a war, and surface or space battles may be probable. Red travel zones are also used to show a government edict prohibiting entry to the system or world. This may be to protect a local civilization which is still developing and not yet ready for interstellar contacts or to protect valuable resources until the government can
mine them.

You, as the referee, should establish the reason for an amber
or red travel zone.

 

[EDG]

One of the Asteroid Belts in the coreward end of the marches has a red zone due to having an antimatter belt...

Shionthy? Don't get me started on that one .

(though its not an AM belt, it's a belt that has some AM particles in it because of the Ancients - at least according to the Traveller wiki. Over 300,000 years those AM particles should have had ample time to interact with and annihilate with the vast amount of normal matter dust or asteroids in the belt, so by all rights there should be none left at all today. Plus, if you break up a planet, all it does is reform shortly afterwards - you'd need all the particles that make up the planet to achieve escape velocity in order to avoid that, and even then it's not likely that it'd form a belt around a star, it'd just reform as a smaller planet with what didn't escape (and according to this link you need about 2.5 trillion tons of antimatter to completely destroy an earth-size planet) OK... so I guess I did get started on that )

But thanks for the MT info.

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

If you use the idea that "Unusual Danger for that type of world" as your definition of Amber Zones, then High Law Level wouldn't qualify. After all, you should know what you are getting into at LL F! Not unusual, just common police state type of worlds... :wink:

I also did not realize that Red Zoned worlds were not necessarily Interdicted by the Imperium.... I have always assumed they were.

And I HATE to say this, but I agree with the Hiver that you shouldn't re-roll the Starport, just bump up/down the Class by 1. Simpler.

I was NOT manipulated! :lol:

 

[Gruffty the Hiver]

Uhm.

I've been looking at the travel zones issue today and found this, which is completely contrary to some of my earlier postings about this elsewhere:

Travel Zone Classifications

The Traveller's Aid Society classifies worlds by their degree of danger to travellers, using a color system ranging from green, through amber, to red.

Red Zones are generally class [*starport type is missing!*] starport worlds, deliberately interdicted by the Imperium, or by other governmental units. Entry is prohibited, often with severe penalties accompanying violations.

Amber Zones are specific worlds otherwise accessible, but posing some danger due to war, plague, or local governmental dispositions. The amber designation means caution.

Green Zones are not otherwise stated. All unclassified locations within the lmperium are coded green; outside the Imperium, the assumed classification is Amber for Imperial citizens.

I think perhaps travel zones now warrant their own thread, as the whole system appears to be an absolute mess across all versions of Traveller .

 

[EDG]

Good idea... I've started another thread on it.

 

[Gruffty the Hiver]

Good idea... I've started another thread on it.

....so have I!

 

[rancke]

While I was writing this, several hours ago, the window froze on me. Now that I'm closing down my Netscape session, it suddenly unfroze. So I'll go ahead an post it, even though I can see that others have mostly covered the same territory already.

And then we also have the old problem of whether uninhabited worlds should be red zones (or X or E starports) or not... but let's leave that for another thread.

Why should uninhabited worlds be red zones? Red zones are for dangers and interdictions. Dawnworld isn't interdicted, for instance. And uninhabited worlds would have an E starport if someone (like the Scouts) had leveled a bit of rock and placed a starport beacon nearby. If not, it would have an X starport.

Though I was under the distinct impression that "Red Zone" meant "interdicted". Whether it's interdicted by TAS or the navy or anyone else shouldn't make a difference should it?

No, but the TAS is a private organization. Why should it have the authority to interdict anything?

Though, come to think of it, the Navy and the Scouts don't have the authority to do it either. They have to petition a member of the Imperial family to do it. But they're the two Imperial organizations that most often petition. Presumably any Imperial organization can petition, but most don't. There are no canonical examples that I can recall, but why shouldn't the Ministry of Colonization have a spare world or two tucked away? In my own TU, I have an organization called the Imperial Academy of the Arts and Sciences. It's moribund by the Classic Era, but in former times they were great rivals of the Scouts and managed to get a few lost colonies interdicted so that they could study them.

Anyway, here's a quote from Library Data (N-Z):

Red Zone: The Traveller's Aid Society travel zone classification for a nation, world, or system which is dangerous to travellers [sic]. In general, the imposition of a red zone classification indicates the location is quarantined, interdicted by higher authority, or at war." [LDNZ:16]

What are the examples then?

I'd have to get back home to my books for that, I'm afraid.


Hans

 

[rancke]

One of the Asteroid Belts in the coreward end of the marches has a red zone due to having an antimatter belt...

Shionthy? Don't get me started on that one .

Actually, Aramis is wrong. It's not red zoned because it has antimatter, it's redzoned because it is interdicted. Granted, it's interdicted because it has antimatter (or so they say), but...

(though its not an AM belt, it's a belt that has some AM particles in it because of the Ancients - at least according to the Traveller wiki. Over 300,000 years those AM particles should have had ample time to interact with and annihilate with the vast amount of normal matter dust or asteroids in the belt, so by all rights there should be none left at all today.

See, here's a place where IMO fun ought to win out over realism. A system like Shionthy is fun. So, please, please, PLEASE, don't spoil it with excessive realism.

(I'm working on an adventure that involves Shionthy's situation vis-a-vis the Imperium, so I do have ulterior motives, but I really mean it.)


Hans