Falling - my third published story

My third Traveller inspired short story has been published by the good folks at Lantern Hollow Press.

My protagonist, Alex Kingsway, awakens to unexpected trouble in Falling. Will he find a way to escape a fatal landing?

Gallery of Worlds June 2014 

Read Just Across Town from the August 2013 issue

The Religious Landscape in My Traveller Universe

Continuing from my previous post Orthodoxy and Traveller:
In My Traveller Universe (IMTU) there is the Orthodox Catholic Church, as well as:

• Islam
• Buddhism
• Scientific Materialism
• Nativist/Animist religions
• Personality cults
• schismatic/heretical christian churches 

 As this is my universe, and as I am an Orthodox Christian, I am paying the most attention to the place of the Church in the far future. The Church is now governed by the Seven Patriarchates which are (all named for Earth cities):

• Rome (still holds the historic primacy of honor)
• Constantinople
• Moscow
• Jerusalem
• Antioch
• Alexandria
• Philadelphia

     In Orthodox ecclesiology, there are Patriarchs over the broadest regions, Metropolitans who report to them and administer smaller areas, and Bishops who report to them and preside over local areas. The parish priests report to the local bishop.
     All of the Patriarchs are first, the bishops of their cities. Secondly, they have administrative jurisdictions, with the bishops serving under them acting in their name. But in terms of ecclesiastical authority, all bishops are EQUAL. No bishop has the right in himself to determine doctrine, or to reprove another bishop. If a bishop must be reprimanded or corrected, a group of his brother bishops will be convened, usually by the offending bishop's Metropolitan. If a Patriarch must be corrected (and this has happened, we do not try to deny it) then his brother Patriarchs must come together to correct their fellow, and return him to the Orthodox way.
      The jurisdictions in my Traveller Universe overlap, as they always have. The more religiously neutral or tolerant the planet is, the more likely it is that there will be multiple jurisdictions. When the planet is intolerant or hostile, there will be more unity as the congregations work together for mutual support. Also, intolerant worlds are less open to evangelism from multiple jurisdictions. Persecution continues to happen to the Church in all locations, just as it always has; just on some worlds it is more systematic and severe.

Tolerance
     Someone once described the Church's condition as being one of two things: toleration or persecution. As on Earth the Church has been variously accepted & rejected by the cultures of the nations, so it will likely continue to be in the Far Future. How much that comes into play depends, of course, on the piety of the PCs. So where does the Church find the most and least acceptance?
     The Talaveran Empire officially recognizes the Church. The Patriarch of Moscow has his see on Talavera.
     The United Planets recognizes the Church, but maintains Separation of Church and State. The Patriarch of Philadelphia has his see on New Maryland.
Other tolerant states are:

• Five Worlds League (See of Jerusalem)
• Thrainian Confederation (See of Constantinople)
• Ostrander Federation
• Solaris Alliance (See of Rome)
• Stedhard Alliance
• Alliance of Dormarc
• Kingdom of Onaji
• Kingdom of Glauden
• Helmuth Association
• Mercador Compact 

      The Union of Socialist Worlds is officially atheistic, and supports Scientific Materialism. The Church is tightly controlled, and faces systematic persecution. 

Less tolerant or intolerant states include:

• Correllian League
• Kassiran Defense League
• Lycosky Trade Protectorate
• House of Dirata
• Litton Confederation (See of Alexandria)
• Kamarov Republic
• Patrian Concordiat
• Dothan Alliance (See of Antioch)
• Republic of Tamarkand

The Independent planets are all over the board. I keep track of this in my Religion Index (explained in the previous post).

Liturgy
Parishes under all seven patriarchates are just as likely to celebrate the Gregorian Rite as the Chrysostom (Byzantine) Rite.

Activities

• monasteries
• evangelism
• disaster relief
• social services
• aiding displaced or stateless persons
• raising money for righteous causes
• advocating for peace, and for the release of captives

      These are the points at which many PCs will interact with the Church – a local priest or abbot may ask for help in advancing one of these endeavors. The Church will usually not offer cash, and will almost certainly ask that anyone acting on the Church's behalf not employ violence, especially not deadly force.  Monasteries can be encountered anywhere, whether approved by the local government or not. Often times, they will be situated on the less hospitable spots in a star system. As I have mentioned before, many starports will have priests or monks assigned to them, to serve the spiritual needs of Travellers. Parishes may be permitted to grant Sanctuary to persons who seek refuge in the Church.

What is a Dictator?

    We in America like to think of democracy as being ‘good’ and dictatorship as being ‘bad’. But it is worth noting that in its most basic form democracy is the ability of 51% of the population to legally rob the other 49% blind. It can be argued that dictatorship, then, is the ability of the 1% to rob the other 99% blind. That neither happens that simply points out the complicated nature of the world in which we live.

     Robert Kaplan at Stratfor recently wrote an essay (subscription required) in which he explored the phenomenon of the dictator as head of state, and makes the shocking claim that not all dictators are card-carrying members of the Club of Evil.

    Kaplan’s thesis is state in paragraph six: “we recognize a world in which just as there are bad democrats, there are good dictators.” Geopolitics is complex. Things and people don’t always fit into simple categories. The astute observer of the world will look at more than how a leader came to power. How did that leader use the power; did his use of power make things better or worse for the state he ruled? Kaplan supports his argument that not all dictators are bad with examples of autocratic leaders who have made things better. One such was Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore. He was clearly a dictator, but he also initiated meritocracy, good governance and world class urban planning.” Deng Xioping of China oversaw a dramatic rise in personal freedom and standard of living for the largest state by population in the world. Bashar al-Assad of Syria protected the minority Christian population from persecution by his fellow Muslims.
 
   Now, none of this makes these men saints or even nice people. But it does illustrate that good or bad governance can be accomplished by more than one political system. Governance, the act of governing, is morally neutral. It is what one does while governing that can be morally judged.
 
    One product of governance that can be achieved by either a good or a bad ruler, democratic or otherwise, is stability or order. Moammar Khaddafi, the late and unlamented despot of Libya, for all his faults or wickedness, provided a more orderly state than what Libya is currently suffering at the hands of the factions scrambling for control of the country. A steady or orderly state can carry on its business, even in conditions of limited personal freedom, and hopefully lay the groundwork for eventual improvements to the public good – personal liberty, opportunity to prosper and improved standard of living. Khaddafi may not have done this, but such things are for the time being much less possible, under a supposedly more democratic ‘system’ if such a term can be used in this case.

      Good fiction is realistic, so it helps to recognize what the real world is like when turning one’s attention to fictional worlds. There are plenty of examples of bad dictators, Emperor Palpatine of Star Wars and Sauron of the Lord of the Rings being perhaps two of the most well-known. But there are good dictators as well. The best example I know of in fiction of the good dictator is HavelockVetinari, the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork on the Discworld, created by Sir Terry Pratchett. Vetinari is unquestionably a dictator; he came to power by personally assassinating the previous Patrician (who happened to be insane). He spies on his own people and manipulates everyone. He practices the rule of “one man one vote” in that he is the Man and he has the Vote. Being in his presence makes most residents of the city uneasy and anxious, and Vetinari cultivates that climate of fear and unease, to keep the advantage. Vetinari is also responsible for the rejuvenation of the city’s banking and postal services, the reduction of street crime by organizing and regulating the Thieves’ Guild and the Assassin’s Guild. All of the city’s power brokers hate him, but they hate each other more, and Vetinari keeps it that way. The city works, and everyone realizes that a city without Vetinari would not work as well as it does, so they put up with him. Stability and the survival of the state are his main aims, and he will have them, thank you very much. So is Vetinari a villain or not?

    In the universe of Traveller, there are several Dictatorship type governments. Specifically they are the Self-Perpetuating Oligarchy (which I call Hereditary Ruler), the Charismatic Dictator, the Non-Charismatic Dictator, the Charismatic Oligarchy and the Religious Dictatorship.

     According to an article on Traveller governments I read from SJ Games, the term Charismatic refers not to the dictator’s popularity, but to the source of his authority. Kings and elected leaders have an external source of their authority – it comes from the society of which they are a part. Established law or tradition says who is the legitimate ruler, and if or when that ruler has to give up power. In contrast, rulers like Oliver Cromwell or Fidel Castro or VI Lenin appealed to personal traits, such as their moral righteousness or adherence to the right political cause or philosophy, to legitimize their rule. ‘Charismatic’ governments are all about the person(s) holding the power.A non-charismatic dictator is simply the successor or inheritor of a charismatic dictator's power - the first step in the transformation into a new tradition or legal system.

    In my Traveller universe (link goes to a page with subsector maps) there will therefore be both good & bad dictators, and good & bad democrats. There are also kings & patricians, republics and the ever-mysterious feudal technocracies (does anyone really understand what that is?).

· House Dirata (Dormarc-Ostrander) is all under the control of the Dirata family. Turf wars among the extended family are the cause of its instability.
 · The Talaveran Empire (Dothan-Talaveran) is ruled by a Hereditary Monarch, but benefits from input from the people through the aristocracy. Plus, it is one of the most religion-tolerant states.
· The Union of Socialist Worlds (Union Subsector) is run by a dictatorial council, filled by ranking members of the only official political party. The Union is officially atheistic, and endorses religious persecution.
· The Patrian Concordiat (Daktari Nebula) is a dictatorial autocracy under the control of the Patria family. The Concordiat is rife with all manner of corruption and abuse. Power is all that matters to the Patrians.
· The Kingdom of Onaji (5 Worlds-American)is ruled by the King, period. The king manages the centralized economy well and is tolerant of religion.
· The Litton Confederation (Solaris-Litton) is a stagnated bureaucracy. Regional interests trump effectiveness in Littonian politics.
· The Alliance of Dormarc (Dormarc-Ostrander) is ineffectual and corrupt. Its parliamentary system all but guarantees gridlock and a bloated bureaucracy.
· The Kamarov Republic (Solaris-Litton & Union) is for the most part an open society that encourages education. It is stridently secular-materialist, and is hostile to all religion.

Examples from the Independent worlds:

Mavramorn (Holtzmann’s Corridor 0605) Independent C-34374A-10 50 million people
The Mavramorn system is potentially very rich in natural resources but the local government isn't developing them. They are very jealous of their sovereign territory, and won’t let anyone else in to develop them. Figurehead president is a glorified bureaucrat, the real power is the Army & Navy Chiefs of Staff, who own or control most of the industry and public services. Mavramorn & Stavanger fought a brief war 100+ years ago, and the military heads came to power under wartime rules. The civil leadership is maintained in place to placate the populace with meaningless ‘reforms’.

Tucloas (Weitzlar 0308) C-2316A5-10 Independent 8.5 million people
Tucloas’ current King took the throne after a short but bloody civil war against the reigning monarch. He was an aristocrat and a distant relative of the ruling line, but thought himself the more competent administrator. After wiping out the royal family in a series of bomb attacks, he led his forces (stiffened by a large number of mercenaries) against the next closest relative of the former king, whose claim to the throne was distant enough to cause doubt and division within the armed forces. The new king is having trouble keeping his mercenary forces under control, and there are still loyalist forces at large.

Drexell (Daktari Nebula 0204) C-9327A5-12 45 million people
Drexell’s head of state is a figure known only as El Supremo. "El Supremo" is arguably insane. The listed law level applies to only some upper-class autocratic types. For everyone else, it's level 12. El Supremo is managed by his aristocratic 'secretaries' and 'ministers'. Off-planet visitors are restricted to the southern continent, away from the main bulk of the population.

76 Patrons Writing Contest 2nd Place

BeRKA over at The Zhodani Base has announced the winners in this year's 76 Patrons Writing contest. I've won 2nd Place (second year in a row!) with my entry "Chapel Bells Chime"!
You can read it at the Zhodani Base, along with all the other fine entries, but I present it here for my readers.

76 Patrons – Chapel Bells Chime

  

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bride_north_america.jpg

Patron: the Betrothed
Skills required: Carousing, Liaison, Streetwise
Equipment required: none

Location: Titan,  Foreven 1429   A-642ABA-D  J    Hi In Po Capital

    A friend or relation of one of the PCs is getting married, and the PC and his/her associates have been invited to the big event, which promises to be a major event on the social calendar of Titan's capital city. The PC with the connection may, at the referee's discretion, be asked to take part in the planning of the reception, which will be a very large affair, with many hundreds of guests as well as media coverage.  A week prior to the wedding, the bride-to-be comes running to the PCs for assistance. The wedding might not happen, because her betrothed has disappeared! The patron is in a state of panic, and turned to the PCs because they “have experience with this kind of thing”. Local custom on weddings is very specific, owing to property transfer laws on Titan; a wedding is also a real estate contract. Therefore, it is imperative that the wedding happen on the scheduled date; rescheduling a wedding is a contract violation, which requires someone way, way up in the government or religious hierarchy to approve in order to avoid messy litigation. The PCs must work quickly to get the happy couple reunited in time for the big day.

Referee's Information
    This scenario will work just as well with either the intended husband or the wife doing the disappearing. The referee can impose tasks on the PC group to help with wedding preparations before the main event occurs – setting up security at the reception would be good camouflage for the actual mission. The PCs may be motivated by affection for the patron & intended, but reluctant PCs will be encouraged by members of either family offering cash incentives to find the missing person. However, if the PCs ask for cash payment, this should have social consequences for them once the word gets out. In any event, part of the PCs assignment will be to keep a lid on the fact of the disappearance while they investigate. The referee will determine what impact there will be on the six variables below if the news of the disappearance gets out.
Reasons for the disappearance:

1    The intended spouse has had a change of heart, or wimped out, and is now in hiding, waiting for the date to expire in order to get out of the marriage. The PCs can attempt to reason with the intended, but the intended will try to convince the PCs to not expose him/her, including offering bribes.

2    The intended has been in an accident (vehicular or recreational) and suffered a loss of memory or is in a comatose condition. Persons at the scene of the accident got the intended to hospital, but other than a routine police report, the accident did not make the news. The intended did not have his/her identification on hand at the time of the accident, so the hospital does not know who the person is. There are several hospitals in the capital city.

3    As in number two, but the intended died in the accident. The referee will determine whether the intended's remains have been located, and whether the accident was a natural disaster or a man-made accident. If the accident was caused by another person, that person may try to hide the body and disguise the accident scene to throw off suspicion of fault.

4    The intended has been kidnapped by a jealous rival who wants the a shot at the patron him/herself. The intended is unharmed for the time being, and is held in a location far from the capital. Once the intended is found, getting him/her back to the city in time for the wedding will be difficult. The referee is encouraged to engineer the trip as a race against the clock on the day of the wedding.

5    The intended has a nasty secret (financial trouble, previous marriage never ended, he/she is actually a spy) that suddenly is in danger of being exposed, and the intended is trying at the last minute to handle it. Once found the intended will ask the PC's help in clearing up the matter before the wedding date.

6    The intended has been kidnapped by a jealous rival of the patron, who wants the intended for him/herself. The intended may be brainwashed by the rival.  The rival may threaten violence against the intended or as leverage if confronted by the PCs. If the intended is rescued the kidnapper may attempt to break up the wedding.

In all cases, the referee must determine the flow of subsequent events.

Off the Cuff Movie Review - Operation Petticoat

   If you've read many of my off the cuff reviews, you've probably gotten the idea that I like Cary Grant movies. This film is one of his later comedies, set during the beginning phase of World War II, but it ends in the modern day (for when the film was released). It co-stars Tony Curtis - I've already quoted or paraphrased him from this film in another post. 
     Anyway, Grant & Curtis are Navy officers aboard the submarine Sea Tiger, which got sunk in port within days of the war's outbreak. Captain Sherman (Grant) wants to get his boat repaired and back into the war, while Acting Supply Officer Lt Holden (Curtis) wants to get back to Hawaii, so he can marry his rich fiancee. Events conspire to make it difficult for either to get what they want, but Lt Holden manages at every turn to steal or bamboozle his way into "a better deal than what I've got now". By the film's end, one of them gets what he wants, while the other changes his mind about his goal. Along the way, a goofy cast of characters from the crew of the sub to South Pacific locals, to a group of stranded Army nurses create one headache after another for Sherman, and every move Holden makes to get them out of one jam gets Sherman deeper and deeper in Holden's constant scamming. It's hilarious to watch the usually calm & suave Grant play the progressively more perplexed and bewildered Capt. Sherman, to the point you wonder who's really running the boat. Despite the serious backdrop of the war, the film manages a breezy and fun-filled tone throughout. There's romance in the air for both Holden and Sherman, and even the ship's comically misogynist chief mechanic ("It's either her or me in this engine room!" he demands) warms up to the presence of the women. When the boat ends up being painted pink (it makes sense in context) suddenly both sides are out to get the Sea Tiger, assuming it's a trick of the other side. It takes all of Sherman's and Holden's wiles to get them out of this one. 
     There is nothing in this movie that I would caution parents about letting kids watch. A few sailors go shirtless, but it is because they're working, not showing off. The women are stared at appreciatively, but there's no leering or off-color talk. Lt Holden's scamming gets tolerated by Capt Sherman only because it is a practical necessity - the rest of the crew are concerned about getting caught stealing so much stuff, but agree that they will have to give up the ship as unsalvageable without it. Two characters kiss, but only briefly. No one gets hurt any worse than getting knocked into the water by a clumsy nurse. 
    My boy's favorite line from the film, which you'll have to watch to understand: "What happened?"  "We sunk a truck!"

      Now, this movie's setup is a great template for an adventure or even a campaign theme. This idea will work better in a game world with modern or future technology, but I suppose it could be made to work in a low-tech fantasy setting. The setup is that the characters are the crew of a vessel, which by reason of outside circumstances, must keep on the move - finding themselves behind enemy lines seems a good idea. Complications should include extensive damage to the vessel and the scarcity of repair parts, an enemy that harasses them  rather than conducting all-out assaults, crew or passenger issues that force side-trips and unreliable or too-brief access to repair facilities. The movie above plays this for laughs, but it could be made into a very serious scenario. Depending upon how far the vessel has to go, or the danger of the area to be traversed, this set-up could last for many game sessions.

76 Patrons - The Fighting Sullivans and Others

     As I watched the movie last night it was obvious to me that if one took the Sullivan brothers out of history and into an RPG world, they would be the cause of many adventures. Here are a few ideas that I came up with:

Adventure hooks/plots based on The Fighting Sullivans

Honestly, just about any scenario can be livened up by a group of five capable, loyal and organized brothers as allies or antagonists.

      The PC's owe the five brothers a debt of honor, which entails providing for their dependents after they're dead. This includes one very attractive widow.

      The five have been hired for a mission directly in opposition to the PC's mission.

      The five have been hired for a mission in competition with the PC's mission.

      The five brothers have a Destiny upon them and all five must survive long enough to fulfill it, to prevent Big Badness. The PC's are responsible for their survival during the big mission leading up to the Fulfilling of the Destiny.

      One of the five is lost/missing/kidnapped/captured and the remaining four hire the PC's to help recover the fifth.

      A Patron hires the PC's to eliminate the five brothers, as they stand between the patron and a large inheritance.

      The five brothers are a super-hero or secret agent team, and the PC's have discovered their identities.

     

Gender flip: it is a family of five fighting women. Gender split: a family of 3 men 2 women or 3 women 2 men that all operate together.

    

My wife is a big fan of audio books. We love Librivox! Also we love borrowing books on CD from the public library to listen to in the kitchen or in the car on long trips. My wife is a big fan of Agatha Christie and Elizabeth Peters, so:

Adventure based on Agatha Christie's Cat Among the Pigeons:

  The PC's have been hired to be covert security for a student at a private academy, and must take civilian jobs on the academy campus. No heavy weaponry is going to be allowed. This should be a brains not brawn assignment. 

Adventure based on the Amelia Peabody series:

     The PC's get involved in an archaeological expedition, either as security, as the dig leaders, or even as porters/staff. During the dig, rare and valuable macguffins are uncovered, stolen and in need of recovery. There may be international forces involved in the thefts. Murder of the archaeologists is not out of the question. A war may start up during the dig, which may or may not have anything to do with the dig itself. Depending on the genre, the macguffins could be magical or mystical.

Star Trek and Traveller and My Opinion

    Over the last week or so, my wife and I have watched a few episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation on Netflix. I am always on the lookout for plot ideas to use for my Traveller projects, so I have a reason for paying attention. I have watched some, but not all of Star Trek (ST). I'm not old enough to have seen the Original Series on TV, but I was in high school when The Next Generation (TNG) came out. I watched it some, but once I went to college I stopped watching TV so I only really saw parts of the first three seasons. Only caught DS9 or Voyager when I was at my sister's house, so not much.

      I have been playing Traveller since the very early 80's, so the two sci-fi artifacts overlap in my experience. But I cannot recall ever wanting (let alone trying) to play a Traveller adventure based upon or in the ST 'verse. And hey, I've toyed with doing a Traveller/Doctor Who crossover – let the Imperial Marines handle those pesky Daleks! – but never ST. Oh, and let's not forget Firefly, which just oozes Traveller! Even with re-watching the show with what I hope are more mature eyes, I still say no to Traveller/ST. Why not?  Most of my experience was with TNG, and so far I haven't seen anything to change my original opinion of the show, which is this: the universe as presented by ST-TNG is boring.

      According to TV Tropes Gene Roddenberry believed that by the 24^th century, humans will have evolved out of silly things like emotions, strife, violence, greed (there's no money in TNG!) and all that. The pilot episode is a long-winded, wooden and dull tribute to that vision. This is rubbish for two reasons.

      The first reason is this: it simply does not reflect the reality of the human experience. To believe in such an outcome requires far more faith than I have (Roddenbery was an agnostic, hence there is no religion in ST). As an Orthodox Christian, I believe that mankind is fallen in his nature, we cannot become truly virtuous on our own. Now, I do believe that a person can grow beyond self-centeredness and its attendant vices; such people are called Saints. But I will leave the religious discussion there.

      The other reason the vision of TNG is rubbish, is that it does not make for good storytelling. The pilot episode and by extension the setting has very little drama. The secondary characters, who can reasonably be called audience surrogates, move very little and emote even less. If these people are all bored with what's going on, why should the audience care? The plot of the pilot episode grinds to a halt several times to introduce new characters, all of whom are boring. TV is a visual medium, but we need more than shiny screens and sparkly transporter lights to keep us interested. We need characters we can relate to. Note that after Roddenberry was moved away from writing/directing the show got more character complexity (and flaws) and more conflict/drama.

     Traveller, by contrast, is for lack of a better term a literary medium not a visual medium. The only shiny bits are the ones the players describe. It is for me a much more interesting setting by the very fact that playing Traveller is an active, creative process as opposed to the passive viewing of a TV show. To make the connection to what I have said above, characters in Traveller are explicitly player surrogates and so reflect the desires, hopes and shortcomings of the players. There is no requirement for a Traveller character to be virtuous or villainous, but both options are available. A good game, though, will be one in which the choices and actions of the characters have consequences, and require the character (and the player) to deal with those consequences. 
      As I have discussed before, Traveller does not have an 'experience point system', so character growth and change stays within the story, as part of the setting. Traveller characters have goals, which can be either easy or difficult to achieve, and drive the character's choices and actions over long periods. As far as I could see, none of the crew on TNG had any goals other than "let's do this again next week" - you could watch the shows in any order, and very little of previous episodes mattered this week. 
     Another difference between the two that makes TNG unappealing to me as a source for adventure ideas is that the crew & the ship seemed almighty and invulnerable. There was a techno-babble solution to hand for every problem, and every episode whatever harm had befallen the ship the week before was all better thanks to, well, techno-babble. Conversely in Traveller, I've had many character's ships in constant need of repair, or characters put into situations where technology won't save them, and they could possibly die. This is called drama - the uncertainty of potential loss. 
     Conflict, drama, potential for growth, or failure or loss; characters who are invested in the outcome whether for gain or growth - these things make for interesting stories. Maybe I will come upon something in TNG that gets my interest, if I see the characters in the show displaying some interest. If I do, I will duly note it here.

Military Research Online Resource

Combined Arms Research Library

     I was introduced to this site recently, and got rather excited by it. As a former soldier, amateur historian and student of things military, this publicly accessible site is a deep well of information. This collection will be useful to history buffs, wargamers in general, writers of history and military fiction (historical or science-y) and Traveller players in particular. Thanks to TimeRover51 over at the Citizens of the Imperium Board for bringing this to my attention. Sections include:

• World War II Operational Documents
• School of Advanced Military Studies Monographs
• Combat Studies Institute
• Master of Military Art and Science Theses
• Obsolete Military Manuals
• Civil War Order of Battle documents
• Military Review (journal)

I've already downloaded papers on the effects of rifled weapons on Civil War tactics, the employment of an 81mm morter (hey, you never know), a Field manual on Mountain Operations and one on the organization of a WWII Infantry Battalion. Interesting reading, if not of any immediate practical employment.

New (Old) Gaming Goodies

     Last month (or so) I mentioned that I had won second place in the Zhodani Base's "76 Patrons" contest with a little adventure called Renovations. With that honor came a gift cert good over at Drive Thru RPG. Yesterday I finally got around to spending my hard-earned credit, and I picked up some nice play aids. I got a D66 sheet of 66 Cargoes - things interesting and mundane to find in a ship's hold. I picked up some back issues of Signs & Portents, Mongoose Publishing's house organ, which usually features some material for Traveller. Best of all, I got a PDF version of the Judge's Guild supplement Starships and Spacecraft with it's selection of deck plans for some of the typical Traveller small starships. Deck plans are fun to make, but can be very time consuming, so this supplement is a time-saver, and looks cool as well.

Just Across Town nearing publication?

     Many, many months ago, I put up a series of posts introducing characters from a short story I was writing, called Just Across Town. I am glad to announce that I've finally gotten it done (enough) to submit to the good folks at Lantern Hollow Press, who published my story Snowball last year. I am hopeful that they will publish JAT in their spring issue, but I figure if they don't, then I'll break it up into segments and publish it here, in serial format, like Charles Dickens (no, I'm not putting myself in the same category of writer as Dickens).
     The story is how my four main characters, who are touring their way around My Traveller Universe, find themselves at the wrong (right?) place at the wrong (right?) time and have to take a dangerous journey of only a few miles under difficult conditions in order to save the day.

St Raphael the Archangel

     St. Raphael is one of seven Archangels who stand before the throne of the Lord. He was sent by God to help Tobit, Tobiah and Sarah. At the time, Tobit was blind and Tobiah's betrothed, Sarah, had had seven bridegrooms perish on the night of their weddings. Raphael accompanied Tobiah into Media disguised as a man named Azariah. Raphael helped him through his difficulties and taught him how to safely enter marriage with Sarah. Tobiah said that Raphael caused him to have his wife and that he gave joy to Sarah's parents for driving out the evil spirit in her. He also gave Raphael credit for his father's seeing the light of heaven and for receiving all good things through his intercession. Besides Raphael, Michael and Gabriel are the only Archangels mentioned by name in the Bible. Raphael's name means "God heals." This identity came about because of the biblical story which claims that he "healed" the earth when it was defiled by the sins of the fallen angels. Raphael is also identified as the angel who moved the waters of the healing sheep pool.

  
A prayer:  
     O God, who gave blessed Raphael the Archangel unto thy servant Tobias to be the companion of his wayfaring : grant unto us thy servants ; that we may ever be protected by the guardianship of this same thine Archangel, and defended by his help. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. 

     As in real life, in my Traveller universe, Christians ask St Raphael for aid and protection on their journeys, and for aid in recovery when injured along the way.

When Things Go Bad

     I have on several occasions before referenced Strategic Forecasting (STRATFOR) as an invaluable resource for understanding the geopolitics of our world, and how that knowledge can be translated into gaming 'worlds' such as Traveller. This article in not only good practical advice for us here in the real world, but it provides some useful tips and tools for handling fight scenes in gaming or in writing fiction. This article is reproduced with permission.

"When Things Go Bad is republished with permission of Stratfor."

When Things Go Bad

By Scott Stewart

Over the past several weeks, we have discussed a number of different situations that can present a common problem to people caught up in them. First, we discussed how domestic terrorism remains a persistent threat in the United States, and that despite improvements in security measures since 2001, soft targets still remain vulnerable to attack by terrorist actors driven by a variety of motivations. Due to the devolution of the jihadist threat toward the grassroots, there is also a growing trend of jihadist actors using armed assaults instead of bombing attacks. We also discussed the continuing problem of workplace violence, and finally, we discussed last week evacuation plans for expatriates due to natural disaster, civil unrest or war.

People caught in any of these situations could find themselves either confronted by an armed assailant or actually coming under fire in an active shooter scenario. Of course, there are other situations where people can find themselves confronted by armed assailants, from street muggings and carjackings to bank robberies. Because of this, we thought it might be useful to our readers to discuss such situations and how to react when caught in one.
Mindset

Perhaps the most important factor affecting a person's reaction to a life-threatening incident is their mindset going into the situation. As we have previously noted when discussing situational awareness, the way the brain is wired makes it very difficult for a person to go from a state of being "tuned out" and completely unaware of what is going on around them to a state of high alert. When confronted by such a jump, it is not uncommon for people to freeze, go into shock and become totally unable to respond to the situation confronting them. This type of panic-induced paralysis can be extremely deadly, and at that point the only hope of surviving an incident is sheer luck or divine providence. People in such a state can do nothing to save themselves.

Another factor of this mindset is the need for people to recognize that there are bad people in the world who want to hurt innocent people, and that they could be potential targets. This means that people must not only practice situational awareness but also trust their gut when they feel something isn't quite right. Denial can be a very dangerous thing when it overrides or rationalizes away gut feelings of danger. Over my former careers as a special agent and corporate security officer, I have interviewed numerous people who allowed denial to override suspicious indicators they noted, and who then proceeded to do things that resulted in their victimization -- all because they had the mindset that they could not possibly become victims. These situations ranged from a mugging victim, who thought there was something odd about the way three guys on the corner looked at her, to the kidnapping victim who spotted the deployed abduction team but proceeded into the attack zone anyway because he thought the team would target someone with more money than his family had. In shooting situations, I have spoken with victims who did not realize that shots were actually being fired and instead dismissed them as pranks or fireworks. I have seen media reports of similar remarks from witnesses regarding recent shooting incidents, such as the July 20 shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. In short, denial is deadly.

By practicing the proper level of situational awareness and understanding the possibility of being targeted, a person will be mentally prepared to realize that an attack is happening -- something we call attack recognition. The earlier a target recognizes the attack, the better. In the kidnapping case noted above, the victim recognized the attack before it was sprung, and could have avoided a long (and costly) hostage ordeal, had he taken immediate action to avoid the attack site. As we have mentioned repeatedly, criminal and terrorist attacks do not appear out of a vacuum. Instead, they are part of a planning process that can be recognized if one is looking for it. We have also noted over the years that criminals and terrorists tend to be very bad at camouflaging their actions, and their suspicious demeanors often leave them vulnerable to early detection.

Admittedly, there is the slight danger of embarrassment in the aftermath of a false reaction. I have blushed after hitting the ground and rolling to cover in response to unexpected celebratory gunfire in Yemen, but in general it is far better to initially overreact when there is no threat than it is to underreact in a truly dangerous situation.

But even if one cannot avoid an attack, recognizing danger immediately and then quickly taking action to avoid it can often mean the difference between survival and death.
Run, Hide, Fight

Some people have been critical of the simplicity of the "Run, Hide, Fight" public service video available on YouTube, which was produced by the City of Houston and funded by the Department of Homeland Security. In our assessment, the video does a good job achieving its goal of raising awareness of active shooter situations and of providing a simple, easy-to-remember mantra similar to the "stop, drop and roll" fire-prevention slogan. The video also discusses the necessity of having an evacuation plan and being aware of surroundings. Is the video a complete self-defense course? Clearly not, but it does meet its limited objectives.

Once a person has recognized that an attack is taking place, a critical step must be taken before they can decide to run, hide or fight -- they must determine where the gunfire (or threat) is coming from. Without doing so, the victim could run blindly from a position of relative safety into danger. We certainly encourage anyone under attack to get out of the attack site and run away from danger, but you must first ascertain that you are in the attack site before taking action. Many times, the source of the threat will be evident and will not take much time to locate. But sometimes, depending on the location -- whether in a building or out on the street -- the sounds of gunfire can echo and it may take a few seconds to determine the direction it is coming from. In such a scenario, it is prudent to quickly take cover until the direction of the threat can be located. In some instances, there may even be more than one gunman, which can complicate escape plans.

Fortunately, most attackers engaging in active shooter scenarios are not well-trained. They tend to be poor marksmen who lack tactical experience with their weapons. For example, in his attack on a Los Angeles Jewish community center daycare Aug. 10, 1999, Buford Furrow fired 70 shots from an Uzi-style submachine gun but only wounded five people. The Uzi is an effective and highly accurate weapon at short distances, meaning the only reason Furrow did so little damage was his poor marksmanship. During the July 20 shooting in Aurora, James Holmes only managed to kill 12 people -- despite achieving almost total tactical surprise in a fully packed theater -- due to a combination of poor marksmanship and his inability to clear a malfunction from his rifle.

This typical lack of marksmanship implies that most people killed in active shooter situations are shot at very close range. There are some obvious exceptions, like the shooting at the University of Texas on Aug. 1, 1966, when ex-Marine Charles Whitman shot several people from the top of a tower on the college campus. But even then, most of Whitman's victims were shot early on in his attack, and his ability to successfully engage targets declined rapidly as victims realized where the shots were coming from and either moved away from the threat or took cover and waited for the authorities to respond.
MDACC

As seen in the Whitman case, potential victims can do several things to reduce their chances of being shot, even with a trained shooter. We use an old acronym to describe these steps: MDACC, which stands for motion, distance, angle, cover and concealment.

First, it is much harder to shoot a moving target than a stationary one, especially if that target is moving at a distance. Most tactical shootings happen at distances of less than 7 meters. Indeed, there are very few people who can consistently hit a stationary target beyond 25 meters with a pistol, much less a moving target. Most people can put 25 meters between them and an attacker in just a few seconds, so motion and distance are your friends.

The angle between the target and the shooter is also important, because shooting a target running away in a straight line is easier than shooting a target running away at an angle, since the second scenario would require the shooter to swing the barrel of the weapon and lead the target. Both require a good deal of practice, even with a rifle or shotgun. If the target can run at an angle behind objects like trees, cars, office furniture or walls that obstruct the shooter's view of the target (concealment) or stop bullets (cover), that is even more effective.

Whether running or trying to hide, it is important to distinguish between concealment and cover. Items that provide concealment will hide you from the shooter's eye but will not protect you from bullets. A bush or tree leaves may provide concealment, but only a substantial tree trunk will provide cover. A typical office drywall-construction interior wall will provide concealment but not cover. This means that if a person is forced to hide inside an office or classroom, they might be able to lock the door but the shooter will in all likelihood still be able to fire through the walls and the door, should they choose to do so. Still, if the shooter cannot see his or her target, they will be firing by chance rather than intentionally aiming.

In any case, those hiding inside a room should attempt to find some sort of additional cover, like a filing cabinet or heavy desk. It is always better to find cover than concealment, but even partial cover -- something that will only deflect or fragment the projectiles -- is better than no cover at all.
The Inner Warrior

Mindset also becomes critical when a person is wounded. In active shooter situations it is not unusual for many more people to be wounded than killed; this also relates to the issue of poor marksmanship discussed above. In such a situation, it is extremely important for the wounded person to understand that, unlike what is portrayed in the movies, most wounds are not immediately fatal and rarely immobilize the victim right away. However, it is not uncommon for people to drop to the ground when they are shot and freeze in panic or go into shock. This gives the shooter an opportunity to approach them for a point-blank coup de grace.

It is very important for people to realize that most gunshots are survivable and that, even after being wounded, their bodies can continue to function to get them away from the attack site and to safety. Certainly, once a target gets out of the immediate danger zone they will want to seek first aid or treat themselves with improvised pressure bandages to stop the bleeding and avoid going into shock. Modern trauma medicine is very good, and as seen in the Aurora shooting, most victims wounded in these types of attacks will survive if they get prompt medical assistance.

It is no mistake that training regimens for special operations forces soldiers and serious athletes place so much emphasis on the mental aspect of combat and sports -- that is, learning that your body can keep functioning and continue to do amazing things, even after your mind has told you that it is time to quit. That same sense of drive and determination, the inner warrior, can help keep a person's body functioning after they have been wounded. The inner warrior is also critical when it is time to fight rather than to run or hide, but that is a topic for another time.

76 Patrons - Custom Build

My second entry in the 76 Patrons contest at the Zhodani Base has been posted here.

The player's & referee's information is here:

Custom Build
for 4+ characters


Patron: Scout Pilot
Skills Required: Technical skills, Administration
Equipment Required: tools

Player's Information:
The PC's are contacted by a detached duty Scout, who is looking 

for help on a building project. He has acquired a starship hull, 

which is sound but lacking some key components. The Scout has 

borrowed against the selling price of the ship to purchase or 

build the required parts. He offers the party a share of the 

selling price, initially 30% to him and 70% split amongst the 

group. The Scout claims to have a buyer already lined up.

Referee's Information:
The situation is as the Scout has explained it, the hull is legally

his, and he has secured funding. Referee can choose the size of 

the ship based upon the size of the PC group and their skills. 

Any starship, even a rebuild should be worth several MCr. The ship

sits on a paved area that used to be a warehouse floor, outside of

the local metropolis, and he has rented some heavy equipment 

necessary to lift large components. The referee must determine the

number of parts still needed and their cost. It is suggested that 

the referee consult the Traveller Book,p. 78 'Repair parts', the 

Starship Operator's Manual page on Maintenance, under Other Tasks,

the JTAS article Starship Malfunctions, (JTAS 15 p.16), and 

'Refitting Ships' and 'Repairs' in Adventure 5: Trillion Credit 

Squadron.

Of course there will be complications. 

76 Patrons contest at Zhodani Base

BeRKA over at the Zhodani Base site is holding a contest for the best "76 Patrons" style adventure outline. The rules are here http://zho.berka.com/2012/07/01/the-zhodani-base-76-patrons-writing-contest-2012/: and this is my first entry.

76 Patrons Writing contest

Sparkly Hoozits

Patron: Businessperson

Location: any

Skills required: Liaison, Streetwise, Thief skills

Job: The patron recently bought a rare Sparkly Hoozit. It cost a lot, and the patron barely out-bid a local underworld boss and fellow collector of Hoozits. The Hoozit was even more recently stolen, and the patron has reason to believe that the gangster was responsible. The Hoozit requires special care, so there’s only a few places the gangster could have hidden it. The problem is that the patron bought it at an illegal hot property auction, so he can't file charges with the police, and wants to keep this quiet. The patron wants the PC's to act as go-betweens, to negotiate the return of the Hoozit. The PCs should have no trouble in locating the gangster, and little trouble in determining where the Hoozit is being kept.

Complication: After the first meeting with the gangster, but before a deal is made, the Hoozit vanishes. The gangster accuses the patron of a double-cross, the patron accuses the gangster of a further swindle to drive up the price, and by all accounts, there may be a criminal war erupting any day. The patron turns out to have access to armed enforcers. On the chance that the gangster is telling the truth, the patron wants the PC's to find out what really happened and where the Hoozit is now, and get it back.

     The six options are listed below, but in white text to hide them. Click and drag to highlight the possible ways this scenario could play out.

Options:

1 The gangster is faking, and will offer to sell it back at a greatly inflated price.

2 One of the gangster's people stole it so he can sell it himself.

3 One of the gangster's people stole it, to goad the patron into 'removing' his superior.

4 The previous owner of the Hoozit has stolen it back, and plans to leave the planet with it.

5 Unrelated thieves have stolen the Hoozit, and are unaware of the trouble they have started.

6 The patron is trying a double-cross and instigated the war to eliminate the gangster (reason left to the referee)