Solarpunk Traveller #5

 

[Pretty Picture will go here when I get back to my other computer]

The Big Picture

TL;DR. In this post, I try to pull together what an actual solarpunk Traveller adventure would actually look like. At a high level and focusing on games that would appeal to the average “traditional” Traveller player. What I did not do, is focus on “cozy sci fi” which is something I think Traveller could do—and maybe I’ll talk about that later.

 

This is post #5, the first four are  #1, #2, #3, and #4.

 

Welcome to Solarpunk Traveller. In this setting, the Imperials are the “Good Guys”. They regulate interstellar commerce allowing the free, but profitable flow of knowledge within Imperial Space. They prevent the willful enslavement of others. They regulate the standards used to create technology and they protect the borders from those who wish to destroy what humanity has made.

Tech Aside: Technology doesn’t just work. It requires coordination. A common modern example might be cars and fuel. There are big cars and little cars. There cars made by this country and that country, but they all are built to use a standardized fuel—or at least one of a small set of standardized fuels. Likewise, in Solarpunk Traveller, starships are built around standards. If the players capture an enemy ship with a really cool triple laser turret, they can sell their old single pulse laser and swap in the new one. It doesn’t matter which Imperial world made the ship or the salvaged turret, only that they conform to Imperial standards. From there it is just engineering to swap the two. Traveller has always had a “Do-it-yourself” or solarpunk view of technology.

The corollary being that a megacorp can’t ship through interstellar space turrets that only work on the starships they built. This creates sustainable technology which can be adapted to meet the differing needs of people across the Empire.

 Individual planets and star systems are autonomous political units. Most exist to look after the welfare of their citizens. Some follow highly restrictive beliefs while others are welcoming and friendly. Some are prosperous with new people continuously immigrating, bringing with them highly qualified personnel with rare and valuable knowledge, while others are slowly dying under the weight of their own stupidity. The Empire allows this, with one restriction, people are free to use their own wealth to leave, if they wish.

Social Equity Aside: Traveller has always been like this. People can come and go from planets—there are a few that the Empire has isolated. The Traveller’s Aid Society has labeled these as Red Zones and a few TAS advises folks to not visit (Amber zones), but generally the population is free to travel as they wish between worlds. Traveller has always had this element of social equity. Sure, there are unjust worlds, but they are the exception, not the rule.

Most of the Empire is full of star systems with spaceports full of people coming and going, travelling between worlds for business or pleasure. Few of these people carry weapons, because they are not needed. In general, Traveller has always rejected pessimism. Only on the edges are things ill-defined or dangerous.

In Traveller, the Empire has always been made of communities focusing on particular needs. Planets or star systems have governments focusing on the needs of the people living there. The Traveller’s Aid Society is a community of affluent people who work to make their travels easier—and also help non-members at the same time. Corporations are communities of people working to build and sell goods and services. The Scouts are a community of people interested in (and support by the Empire to) exploring the edges of Imperial Space.

So, what kind of adventures can we have in such a world?

The adventure Tarsus just works out of the literal box as a solarpunk adventure. A citizen has a problem with her inheritance, and a group of her friends help her sort out the trade relations with different communities. Depending on the players, violence may or may not be very important in resolving the problems. Here are some ideas.

Diplomatic Spies. Maybe the players are a team sent from Milagro (a minor world in District 268)  to see if they can’t open relations with Lydia (a small, xenophobic world just inside the empire in Glistin). This could be a highly roleplaying, diplomatic game which would not be most players’ preference, except that the nearby world of Grote is offering the player characters good money to also learn the secret to Lydian tea which is highly regarded in many noble homes.

Trouble Shooters. The players could be a team of trouble shooters for the Imperial Bureau of Standards who are sent from world to world on missions to investigate corporate wrong-doings. Not the legal kind, that is the parties NPC sidekicks who are all lawyers and accountants. No, the parties job is to sneak (or fight) their way into restricted spaces and extract evidence of illegal activity. This remote outpost might be a “chop shop” converting stolen Zhodani technology to work within imperial standards. That planet might be using radioactive paint on the faces of their stylish watches. All sorts of “spy adventures” are possible.

Human Rights Protectorate. The Traveller’s Aid Society spends most of its time worrying about its member’s comfort, but they are a huge organization with a lot of money, and an invested interest in keeping the empire strong. So, they might have a secret organization of their own trouble shooters who investigate allegations of slavery, forced labor, and other illegal activities. These teams might be sent to all sorts of nasty places to investigate all sorts of unpleasant groups. And it would be easy to imaging more typical players jumping in  such games.

This week we are investigating a claim that this remote oligarchy is genetically manipulating their citizens to create low-intelligence laborers who are unable to ever leave the system. Next week it is a corporation that kidnaps poor children and raises them as mindless killers.

Of course, the group can be all these things. The player characters could simply be a trusted team with a starship that is hired for different missions. The key to making it solarpunk (IMHO) is focusing on the basics. Refusing pessimism. The players are out to effect positive change in the world. Sustainable, “do-it-yourself” technology. The players are not shipping around a few boxes of mindless junk from one world to the next, trying to make a payment on their personal debt. They control assets (particularly a starship) that is given to them by their community with the understanding that they will use it for good. And social equity, they are doing good in their world. They are not chasing this month’s mortgage payment. They are chasing people who are taking advantage of others. They are chasing those who violate the community standards that define the empire. And hopefully they are having interesting adventures as they do it!

 

As always, thank you for taking the time to read this, and please feel free to leave comments or questions below.