Tag Archives: 76 Patrons

Adventures, Traveller

Interstellar Philanthropy

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Patron: Smuggler
Required Skills: None
Required Equipment: Starship
Location: Fonda, Mowbrey subsector

Players’ Information:

The players are contacted by Susana Guusinkaa who tells them she runs a local charity, Zhovra Paqrkantsechto, that helps those in need on the on the planet Gatina in the neighbouring system, focusing in particular on those affected by the armed conflicts that intermittently occur on that balkanized world. They are currently raising funds to help a group of poor villages in the nation of Aluzinta who have had to leave their homes due to fighting occurring between their own government and that of the neighbouring country of Bajrith. The villagers are currently living in a camp made of temporary shelters in a safer area of the country but the conditions are very bad and many of them are suffering from exposure or malnutrition. Illness is also rife in the camp and some of the villagers are suffering from wounds they received before leaving their village. The aim of the fund-raising is to evacuate those most in need back to Fonda for the advanced medical care available there.

Unfortunately Susana has just received news that the situation on Gatina has become much worse due to a local militia involved in the conflict moving into the area where the camp is. This militia is made up of soldiers from a part of the planet that has deep historical animosity with the people living in the area the villagers are from. There is extreme danger to the villages from the presence of this militia and she fears that there will be a massacre if the villagers do not move on, however they are currently unable due to the presence of the sick and wounded who cannot travel. Therefore in order to avoid a potential tragedy Susana is trying to implement her plan immediately despite not all the required funds having been raised.

She asks if the players will provide transport for some of the villagers from Gatina to Fonda. She will pay standard fare plus 20% for each one (as many as the ship has the capacity to handle), both ways, even though she will be the only passenger on the outwards leg. Unfortunately due to difficulty with raising the funds on short notice it is not possible to pay the players until they return to Fonda, however she assures them that the charity has sufficient assets and pledged donations to cover the trip.

Gatina
Image from Pixabay – Public Domain

Referee’s Information:

Fonda is a Zhodani client state and Psionics are used openly. Susana has some minor Psionic talents in telepathy and clairvoyance. Her awareness of the conditions on Gatina is partially through the use of these talents.

If the players insist on investigating further before accepting the job then Susana will attempt to hire another starship and the referee should determine if this is successful or not. If unsuccessful she will again attempt to engage the players, or if situation number 6 will leave the starport and seek somewhere to hide on planet. For each day of delay situation number 1 may escalate to number 2 and number 2 may escalate to number 3 (roll 9+ per day).

1. Once the ship has jumped into the Gatina system Susana will be in contact with her operatives and local government officials on planet to assess the current situation and to get authorisation for landing. It will soon become evident that the story of imminent danger was exaggerated – the militia is still a long way from the camp and the villagers are not in any immediate danger. Susana will direct the players to an appropriate landing area near the camp and then triage the villagers to select those most appropriate for transportation back to Fonda. They will board without incident and the trip back to Fonda will be uneventful. However on Fonda there are strict quarantine and immigration restrictions on arrivals from Gatina, as well as some local resentment of the resettlement of Gatina refugees in Fonda which this trip may be seen as. Consequently there will be delay offloading the villagers after landing on Fonda. This will take a number of days to resolve (1D) and there may also be a protest from a small group of locals (8+). Players with appropriate skills (admin etc.) may seek to resolve the bureaucratic impasse more quickly. The protest will not be dangerous unless the players over-react. Payment will be forthcoming once the villagers are debarked.

2. Once the ship has jumped into the Gatina system Susana will be in contact with her operatives and local government officials on planet to assess the current situation and to get authorisation for landing. It will soon become evident that the situation has deteriorated significantly and that the villagers are in imminent danger. Whilst descending to the designated landing site the ship will be shadowed by local military aircraft, although due to the low tech level their weapons will not be sufficient to threaten the spacecraft and they will not attack. During triage and loading of the passengers there will be encounters with local infantry units. The infantry will be generally hostile and threatening but will not immediately attack, however the situation may escalate depending upon player actions. Susana will attempt to convince the players to transport the rest of the villagers to a safer area some distance away, which will take them about three trips with a fully loaded hold. If the players decide to do this (no extra money is on offer as all of it is being spent on this mission as is) then tensions with the local military will intensify including, when loading for the final trip, the appearance of armoured vehicles which have enough fire-power to threaten the ship itself. There will be no problems on return to Fonda and payment will be forthcoming once there.

3. Once the ship has jumped into the Gatina system Susana will be in contact with her operatives and local government officials on planet to assess the current situation and to get authorisation for landing. From this she and the players will learn that unfortunately they were too late to save the villagers as the militia have already moved into the area, destroyed the camp and killed its inhabitants. Susana will ask the players if they will aid in finding any survivors and in documenting the sophont rights violations that have occurred. Any help they are willing to give will be accepted even if it is just doing a scan of the area from orbit. Orbital scan will be uneventful. On 4+ there will be 2D survivors hiding in the area around the former camp, who may be located from orbit but more easily tracked down from the ground. 1D mass graves will be evident from orbit which the players will be asked to investigate, along with the site of the former camp. If the players land they will find that there are military units remaining in the area that are a potential danger, particularly if they discover what the players are up to. If the players aid with the investigation and rescue any survivors they will be paid in full on return to Fonda. Otherwise getting paid the full amount will be difficult, although Susana will pay in full for the trip if the players are persistent.

4. As number 1 however once on the ground it will become apparent that the condition of the camp is not as bad as the players were told. The villagers seem in the main to be healthy, although quite miserable, and there is little evidence of disease and injury. In addition there are some of Susana’s operatives present (1D) who are reasonably well armed. The triage will consist of choosing particular passengers, who do not appear to be the most in need and also have some luggage to take with them. The story told to the players is largely a fabrication, Susana is actually charging large amounts of money to transport people in somewhat desperate circumstances to Fonda with the intention that they permanently settle there. The players actions in this circumstance will determine further events. If they do transport the passengers there is a chance they will not be permitted to debark on Fonda (10+). On this eventuality Susana and her associates will attempt to circumvent the prohibition in various ways such as obtaining fraudulent authorisation or attempting a clandestine landing elsewhere on Fonda (expecting the players to aid where necessary). They are also not above throwing the passengers out of an airlock whilst in space. If the players press for further money Susana will offer up to double the initial outlay. Any further disruption by the players will elicit threats and, if it continues, violence from Susana and her associates.

5. As number 1 however the camp will appear to have been abandoned. There will be, however, the requisite number of well dressed passengers waiting, most with large heavy luggage and a few of them armed. These are not actually villagers but are accomplices of Susana and mules they have hired to smuggle precious metals off planet. The precious metals have been looted from the treasury of Aluzinta by corrupt government officials. Players may negotiate higher payment if they realise what the situation is, as per number 4, however these criminals are even more inclined to violence if the players attempt to interfere. If the players go along with the plan there will be no other problems transporting the passengers to Fonda however if they return to either system they will likely be questioned by authorities regarding this journey and may ultimately face extradition to and prosecution in Aluzinta.

6. Susana is not actually part of a charity, which does not in reality exist. She has Cr 500,000 in her possession which has been obtained from a local criminal via a confidence trick and she is in need of a quick trip off planet. Gatina seems to her to be a good place to lay low. Once in the Gatina system she will direct the players to a landing site in a wilderness area not far from a major population centre. She will then attempt to leave the players with the excuse of finding the villagers, claiming they are not trusting of strangers so the players cannot accompany her initially. If they let her go she will not return, and head instead to the near-by city where she will get local transport to somewhere else on the planet. The players may be able to track her down after this but it will be very difficult. There are also likely to be problems with the person from whom the money has been stolen if they return to Fonda.

Adventures, The Base, Traveller

And the winner is…

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It was quite difficult to pick the winners of the 76 patrons contest this last year of the contest. There were 11 good entries to choose from.

But one Patron stood out from the rest. It was written in a very inspiring way. It may have missed the brief a bit since it may seem unethical (but the PCs should believe that they are stopping a crime, so it really isn’t unethical). It also may seem a bit copied from the Firefly episode “The Train Job” and using ideas from “Johnny Mnemonic” but it could also be played in many different ways. Anyway, I think it was the best one! The winner is Hypercognitive by Michael Brown. Well done and Congratulations!

Second place goes to Idol of the Space God by Roland Volz. It is a very fun idea that could be expanded into many related adventures using this church and/or the idols as a theme.

Third place goes to Hewitt’s Hog Rides Again by KJ Potter. Recovering that mortar and the military aspect of this and/or additional adventures using this makes this an interesting Patron.

  1. Hypercognitive (by Michael Brown) $100
  2. Idol of the Space God (by Roland Volz) $60
  3. Hewitt’s Hog Rides Again (by KJ Potter) $40

Trophy

Other winners are Marcus Maximus ($ 15) for being the most productive contestant.

Alegis Downport for writing the Patron that attracts most SPAM comments ($ 5).

Flynn for including his own name ($ 5).

Ron Smith for an excellent campaign starting Patron ($ 5).

Aza, for almost cheating but still writing a cool adventure ($ 5).

Finally Jim Vassilakos for his very interesting Patron in the Foreven sector and for including the Zhodani in option 5 and 6 ($ 10).

All winners will be contacted. All prizes are Gift Certificates at DriveThruRPG.

I want to say a big Thank You to all contestants!

This was the last Zhodani Base 76 Patrons contest. Unfortunately we only have 73 Patrons now. I have to write 3 Patrons myself. I have some ideas… But if you have an idea and want to help, then please contact BeRKA.

Adventures, Traveller

11 new Patrons this year

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In the final 76 Patrons contest we received 11 entries.

This years entries:

  1. Sir Robert Williams, Knight (by Flynn)
  2. Idol of the Space God (by Roland Volz)
  3. The Cousin (by Ron Smith)
  4. Madama Butterfly (by Aza)
  5. The Sylan Extraction (by Jim Vassilakos)
  6. Affluenza (by Marcus Maximus)
  7. Hearts and Minds (by Marcus Maximus)
  8. The Hidden Cache (by Marcus Maximus)
  9. Technical Support (by Alegis Downport)
  10. Hewitt’s Hog Rides Again (by KJ Potter)
  11. Hypercognitive (by Michael Brown)

GasGiant-11
Now I have a lot to think about. I will announce the winner in a few days. Until then, please comment, like and share. Tell us which entry you like the most and why! Both here and on other sites.

Adventures, Traveller

Hypercognitive

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Patron: Merchant
Required Equipment: Vehicle

Players’ Information:

The way the guy — Ambrosius Kemp, the owner of an export business over in Startown — was waving his hands around and sweating, I’d have thought he was gonna keel over any moment. He had called us in to talk to us about a job, but the more he talked, the more agitated he got. He kept going on about how time was running out and how he’d be ruined if we couldn’t help him. I watched him; if he didn’t calm down soon, his time was gonna run out. A sneaked a glance over at Vajra, and she must’ve thought so, too; her fingers were inching closer to her sidearm.

The Colonel finally got Kemp to calm down long enough to explain what it was he wanted. Kemp sat down — actually, he more like collapsed — behind his desk, and took a deep breath before starting his spiel. Seems he has a partner, name of Aquino, who had one of those cybernetic drives installed in his brain so he could better keep up with the number-crunching and the day-to-day. That upgrade made Aquino a whiz-kid who doubled the company’s income in a matter of weeks. Trouble is, in those same weeks, Kemp noticed Aquino acting more and more strange. Finally, Kemp decided to do something, but Aquino beat him to it; he checked out of town. But not before helping himself to the company’s most sensitive data and a big slice of the company’s finances to the tune of Cr5,000,000. One of us let out a low whistle at the figure. I started imagining all kinds of things I could do with that kind of puli. Kemp wrecked my daydream by repeating that loss would ruin him.

He paused, and the Colonel had to prod him for more info. Kemp knew he had to locate Aquino fast. He made a lot of commcalls and called in most of his favors, but he finally found out where Aquino was: aboard the planetary hyper rail, headed for the world capital. Another low whistle, from myself this time. Hyper rails are the last word in maglevs, and this planet wasn’t that big; the train would get to the capital in a matter of hours. No wonder Kemp kept saying time was short. Worse, Kemp said that the capital was also the subsector headquarters for Periva Factors, a big brokerage firm that had been trying to get its hooks in Kemp’s firm for a long time. He was certain that’s where Aquino was headed. If he made it, Kemp could say bye-bye to everything he’d built over the years.

Kemp wanted us to intercept the hyper rail, locate Aquino, and get him back to Kemp, who’d have people waiting to deal with that pesky implant. For our trouble, he’d pay us one-tenth of the amount Aquino ran off with. Five hundred thousand for grabbing a guy off a train and bringing him home? Not too shabby.

The Train
The Train – Image from wikimedia – CC-BY-SA-2.0

Referee’s Information:

The hyper rail will reach its destination in six hours. It makes two scheduled stops, one two hours into its trip, the other two hours later. It spends 30 minutes at each stop before continuing. If the adventurers choose not to board the train at the stops, they will have to come up with another way to do so while it’s moving at hundreds of kilometers per hour.

Once aboard the hyper rail, it’s up to the players how they find Aquino and remove him from the train. The referee should determine what security arrangements are in place. At a minimum, it’ll have an Anti-Hijack program (similar to the program mentioned in Book 2: Starships) and an armed guard or two.

While the implant is active, Aquino has total recall and cognitive function that gives him an equivalent INT of F.

1. All is as represented.

2. Kemp is lying; he’s actually guilty of gross corporate malfeasance and has been embezzling funds from the company. Aquino finally had enough, downloaded the evidence, and headed for the World Court in the capital. If the group succeeds in returning Aquino, Kemp will kill him as soon as the adventurers leave.

3. As 1, except Aquino’s not responsible for his actions; the implant malfunctioned and caused temporary insanity. Aquino will be subject to periods of paranoia and rage until the implant is deactivated.

4. Kemp only thinks Aquino has betrayed him. In actuality, Aquino’s actually bent on committing an act of corporate sabotage. He downloaded only copies of the company’s files as bait, and included a computer virus designed to infect and destroy Periva’s system. If he succeeds in his mission, Periva Factors’ operations will be irreparably damaged and the company will be out of business in a month.

5. As 1, 3, or 4, except that a third party has found out about Aquino’s mission and wants to help itself to the secrets locked in his head. 1D+2 crack assassins (adjust for PC strength) will attempt to kidnap Aquino and head for parts unknown.

6. As 1, except that the train is also carrying a valuable cargo, which is guarded by a contingent of planetary troops. The soldiers will consider any disturbance as an attempt to steal the cargo and act accordingly.

Adventures, Traveller

Hewitt’s Hog Rides Again

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Patron: Army Officer
Required Skills: engineering, electronics
Required Equipment:  Engineering tools
Location: Roia (Foreven 0919) C573873-7

Players’ Information:

Roia (Foreven Sector 0919 in Anika Subsector) is a small, arid world wi th a population of 400 million. Though nominally under the control of a central world government, the reality is that local governors and satraps wield the real power and pay little more than lip service to the capital. Constant infighting between them sometimes spills over into open warfare.

About ten years ago, the government brought in offworld mercenaries in an effort to bring some of the more independent regional governors to heel. Many of these governors hired mercenary units of their own, and several years of bitter fighting followed. The exhausted and cash-strapped factions recently concluded a ceasefire, which did little to change the local status quo. Though the mercenary companies are gone, local militia forces with improvised armored vehicles and cast-off weapons continue to eye each other over mine-strewn no-man’s lands.

The team is contacted by Captain Richtoph, an ambitious officer serving a minor provincial governor in the distant outback. He is seeking technical advisors to repair a damaged vehicle abandoned by one of the departed mercenary units.

Richtoph produces a series of photos of the wreck. The vehicle in question is a TL-10 armored mortar carrier. Its name, Hewitt’s Hog, is stenciled in faded letters on the hull glacis. Its air-cushion suspension and drive fans are wrecked beyond repair. The turret and 18cm RAM mortar are intact, however. Richtoph believes that they can be used if supplied with a functioning power plant, and he has already acquired a supply of ammunition on the black market. He intends to mount the hulk on a wheeled heavy-equipment transporter, strap it in place, and use it as a sort of improvised self-propelled artillery piece–with a weapon far more advanced than any possessed by his local rivals.

Richtoph will provide transport to the wreck site outside the provincial capital of Korsten, as well as a heavy wreck crane, a transporter, and a detachment of militia for security. He would like the team to recover the wreck and repair its powerplant and weapons. He will pay each team member Cr. 10,000 to load the hulk and deliver it to the militia base in Korsten, and an additional Cr. 10,000 if they can get its weapons working again.

Mortar
The Mortar – Image from wikimedia – CC-BY-SA 3.0
(Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-695-0424-15A / Leher / CC-BY-SA 3.0)

Referee’s Information:

Recovering the wreck is not that easy.

1. All is as represented. The wreck is long-abandoned but despite the damage to the air-cushion skirts the hull is intact. With the proper skills and some parts sourced from the planetary starport, the powerplant can be repaired and the turret weapons made functional.

2. All is as represented, but the powerplant was badly damaged by the mine blast and must be completely replaced. A replacement is not available on-world. It will take weeks to order one from Ereidlier (Pieplow 0818), the nearest source.

3. Hewitt’s Hog is junk and cannot be repaired, but its mission computer contains mercenary data logs and encrypted communications codes, which may be valuable off-world. Captain Richtoph has only a superficial understanding of computers and will not stop the team from taking the storage banks if they do so discretely.

4. All seems to be as represented, but the work around Hewitt’s Hog has attracted the attention of a neighboring warlord, who recognizes the threat it poses to his own militia forces if repaired. A team of his agents, posing as laborers recruited for the task, seek to sabotage the recovery effort and destroy the Hog. They have access to small arms, grenades, and an explosive charge. Captain Richtoph’s militia will prove nearly useless in their security role, so it will be up to the team to detect and stop these agents.

5. As above, but the rival warlord launches a platoon-sized military raid to destroy the Hog, or even capture it for himself. This force will be mounted in wheeled heavy trucks with improvised armor, recoilless rifles, and machineguns. As above, the warlord also has one or two agents among the laborers working on the project, who will keep him advised by radio of the team’s progress.

6. The governor who Captain Richtoph represents is far more brutal than the team initially understood. Upon arrival it becomes obvious that he rules his province with an iron hand and a powerful secret police force. He intends to use Hewitt’s Hog to shatter the hill-forts of his regional rivals, consolidating power in his own hands and greatly increasing his holdings. Whether the team wants to help provide a powerful and destabilizing weapon to such a warlord is up to them.

Adventures, Traveller

Technical Support

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Required Skills: Computers and / or Electronics are advantageous but not essential

Players’ Information:

Whilst taking some well-earned rest and relaxation at Urnian starport, the players are contacted by a patron named Bernhard Lahman who is in need of their services. He is the CEO of Lahman Securities, a financial services company that primarily operates in the investments sector. It has come to light via his head of security that there is something odd taking place with some financial transactions, which have been detected via their monitoring tools. It appears that there may be some insider trader activity going on and the profits from such transactions are disappearing via an unknown route.

Lahman would like the players to join the company IT support team as a ‘cover’ for an investigation that Lahman wants to hire the players for. This way they can keep an eye ‘at the ground level’ for any unusual activity. They will provide on site IT support for the company, which involves dealing with support calls, dealing with company employees requests for help and installing equipment. They will report to the internal IT support team who will provide the players with a limited amount of access to the company systems. If questioned if Lahman has a suspect in mind, he reveals it may be Cared Johen, one of their top traders who has been behaving a little erratically the past couple of months. Lahman wants the players to keep an eye on Johen to see if there is any evidence of anything illegal taking place and if necessary, apprehend the suspect if sufficient evidence can be gathered.

The players will receive Cr. 10,000 each with a bonus of Cr. 50,000 for the group as a whole when the operation is brought to a successful conclusion.

Computer
A Typical Workstation – Image from wikimedia – Public Domain

Referee’s Information:

Johen is known to have some good friends in Lahman Securities own internal security team, hence the Lahman wanting a completely independent group to perform the operation. The risk being that if word got to one of Johen’s friends, he could be warned and the surveillance operation be exposed.

In addition, to help with the ‘front’ that the players have been recruited as IT support agency staff, they will have to still provide day-to-day technical support to the rest of the company. It may be possible to use this as an excuse to locate Johen’s workstation and install some tools which may reveal the nature of what Johen is doing.

A Roll of Six Determines the Possible Outcome:

1. Johen is siphoning off money fractions of a credit at a time to another bank account somewhere. The players will need to build up evidence of the transactions that are taking place to confront and accost Johen.

2. Johen is manipulating transactions to bring down Lahman Securities. He has a personal grudge against the owner; Lahman as he was denied a huge bonus for his contribution to the launch of their latest financial product, which has become a huge success for the company.

3. It turns out that suspecting Johen is completely wrong. Instead a number of other employees who are Lahman’s full time IT support personnel, are the real perpetrator’s. Realising that the players have been hired, they escalate their intentions by stealing a substantial amount of money and make a break for it. Unfortunately the suspects lose their nerve and a firefight against the players in the building ensues. The players will have to protect the company workers and make sure that they aren’t caught up in the crossfire.

4. The suspect Johen is a member of a terrorist group and has already siphoned off an amount of money for the organisation. However the terrorists are now going to hit the company for even more and make a political statement at the same time, by launching an armed attack on the company. The players may have a chance to stop the attack if they are able to intercept a last minute message. The terrorists will attack from two different directions a) from the underground vehicle parkbay and b) from above by landing on the roof by air raft with the intention of making their way down. If necessary they will have no hesitation in taking hostages.

5. Johen has become alerted to what the PCs are doing (possibly discovering their monitoring tool for example) which in turn, alerts the players. As the players arrive to confront Johen he makes a break for it, intending to take a large amount of cash and escape. The result is a high-speed chase across the city where Johen hopes to make it off-world via a transport waiting for him.

6. Johen is actually trying to expose the Lahman Securities and the people that hired the players as crooks who are manipulating the market to their own advantage. Lahman is aware of this and is trying to frame Johen before his activities are exposed. The players will have to make a choice in who they believe and either help Johen in trying to build evidence to whistle-blow on Lahman, or assist their employer as originally agreed.

Statistics:

Foreven Sector – Urnian / Urnian UWP – B9779AC-A N Hi In Cp 5 3 Cs

Classic Traveller Statistics for Key Characters:

Bernhard Lahman (CEO of Lahman Securities) UPP 7669AA
Administration-2, Computer-1, Leader-2

Cared Johen (Leading Trader for Lahman Securities) UPP 699BA9
Administration-1, Air/Raft-1, Computer-2, Electronics-1, Gambling-2

Lahman Securities IT Support NPC (6 in number) UPP 566997
Computer-2, Electronics-1

Terrorist NPC UPP 998886
(Number to be determined by Referee to match the players.)
Blade Combat-1, SMG-2, Tactics-1, Vehicle-1
Equipped with SMG, dagger and mesh armour