TEXT: Avenger Enterprises in association with ComStar Media, LLC
  Spinward Marches
  Cluster Book 1
  The Bowman Arm
  TRAVELLER
  Avenger Enterprises 
  in association with 
  Comstar Media LLC
  Spinward Marches
  Cluster Book 1
  The Bowman Arm
  For Referees Only
  
  SPINWARD MARCHES CLUSTER BOOK 1
  THE BOWMAN ARM
  A SUPPLEMENT FOR TRAVELLER
  BASED ON THE AWARD-WINNING TRAVELLER GAME SYSTEM AND UNIVERSE BY MARC MILLER
  Avenger Enterprises is the private venture of Martin J Dougherty, Traveller line editor at QuikLink Interactive. 
  Avenger adventures and supplements are compatible with T20 (Traveller for the d20 system) and Classic Travel-
  ler, and are published under license.
  The Bowman Arm is set in the Spinward Marches of Official Traveller Universe, in the period just after the end of 
  the Fifth Frontier War. As such it is compatible with either the official Hard Times – Collapse – Recovery – New 
  Era timeline or an alternate wherein the assassination of Emperor Strephon does not occur.
  Avenger Enterprises can be contacted by email at: avenger.enterprises@virgin.net
  ComStar Media, LLC: A publisher of fiction and gaming material, ComStar is the exclusive publisher of all Aveng-
  er products. www.comstar-media.com www.comstar-games.com games@comstar-games.com
  CREDITS
  District Commissioner: Martin J. Dougherty
  Colonial Administrator: Hunter Gordon
  Scout Service Planetary Surveyors: Eric O’Dell Michael Taylor Loren K Wiseman
  Xenobiology Expert: Jason ‘Flynn’ Kemp
  Planetary and Interstellar Cartographer: Shane McLean
  ComStar Director of Games: William Andersen
  Copyright ©2005, 2006 Avenger Enterprises in association with ComStar Media, LLC. All rights reserved.
  Traveller is a trademark of Far Future Enterprises and is used under license.
  ‘d20 System’ and the d20 System logo are Trademarks owned by Wizards of the Coast and are used with permis-
  sion.
  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
  
  TABLE OF CONTENTS
   
  Page
  5 
   
  INTRODUCTION
  5 
   
  Author’s Introduction
  5 
   
  Standards and Assumptions
  5 
   
  BACKGROUND 
  5 
   
  The Imperium in 
  6 
   
  The Spinward Marches
  6 
   
  The Spinward Main
  7 
   
  Map of Spinward Marches Sector, Gamma Quadrant
  8 
   
  District 268
  8 
   
  Surrounding Regions
  9 
   
  WORLDS OF NOTE
  9 
   
  Flammarion
  9 
   
  Caladbolg
  9 
   
  Caliburn
  9 
   
  Forine
  9 
   
  Elixabeth
  10  
  THE BOWMAN ARM
  0  
  Ship Encounters in the Bowman Arm
    
  Worlds of the Arm
    
  Asteltine 
    
  567-908
    
  Enos
    
  Faldor
  2  
  Bowman
  2  
  Squallia
  2  
  Flexos
  2  
  Datrillian
  2  
  Nirton
  13-15 
  ADVENTURING IN THE BOWMAN ARM
  15-16 
  THE NEAR FUTURE IN THE BOWMAN ARM
  7  
  WORLDBOOK: WALSTON
  7  
  System Overview
  8  
  Planetary Map
  9  
  Physical
  9  
  Socio-Political
  20  
  Economic
  20  
  Military
  20-22 
  Flora And Fauna
  22  
  Life on Walston
  23-26 
  Adventure Seeds
  26-27 
  Final Notes  
   
  
  - 5 -
  INTRODUCTION
  AUTHOR’S INTRODUCTION
  The Bowman Arm is set in District 268 of the Spinward 
  Marches, a region on the very outer fringe of the Third 
  Imperium. This book gives an overview of the region and 
  details one world within it. It stands alone as a game setting. 
  However, this book is intended to be compatible with a 
  series of supplements detailing the worlds of the cluster. 
  Each of them stands alone, too, but the whole is a complete 
  description of the region; it can play host to a multitude of 
  adventures. Alternatively, any of the single-world books can 
  be easily transplanted and used somewhere else, or in an 
  entirely different game setting. 
  This book ties in with the ongoing ‘Golden Age’ adventure 
  series from QLI and Avenger Enterprises. The first of the 
  Avenger adventures. Call of the Wild, takes place just outside 
  The Bowman Arm, on Steel in the Sword Worlds subsector. 
  STANDARDS AND ASSUMPTIONS
  In order to use this supplement you will need one or another of 
  the Traveller rules sets. This supplement is more or less stat-
  free except for Universal World Profiles. The interpretation 
  of UWPs is the same across all versions of Traveller, so this 
  represents no compatibility problem. 
  You will also need some dice as appropriate to your chosen 
  rules set (normal 6-sided dice for CT and a variety of dice 
  for T20). Pens, pencils and paper are useful, plus maybe 
  something to drink and munchies of some kind. Double 
  chocolate muffins are popular at present. 
  Dates: All dates correspond to the standard Imperial calendar. 
  This supplement assumes that the date is around 00- 
  (i.e. the beginning of year  since the founding of the 
  Third Imperium). Time will flow normally once play begins. If 
  a different date is required, for example to fit the adventure 
  into an existing campaign, then the start date can be altered 
  with little or no disruption to the adventure.
  Place: The supplement is set in District 268, a subsector of 
  Spinward Marches sector.
   
  BACKGROUND
  The following information is provided for the use of the 
  Referee, who should decide how much of it is freely available 
  to the characters, and also how distorted any information 
  they may discover should be. Note that what is presented 
  here is not the whole story in many cases, and is open to a 
  certain amount of interpretation. 
  THE IMPERIUM IN 1111
  The Third Imperium is 0 years old. It has weathered civil 
  war, frontier conflict and some rather serious internal crises 
  but remains as strong and stable as ever; at least on the 
  surface. There is no reason to suppose that any of the many 
  problems facing the Imperium and her Emperor, Strephon, 
  are serious enough to merit extreme measures, let alone that 
  they might threaten the peace and stability of the Imperium.
  The Fifth Frontier War, fought against a coalition of Vargr, 
  Sword Worlders and Zhodani (and led by the latter) has 
  been recently brought to a successful conclusion. The early 
  stages of the war did not go well for the Imperial forces, mainly 
  due to poor leadership and strategy among senior Imperial 
  admirals. That changed when Duke Norris dramatically took 
  charge of the situation, purging the upper echelons of the 
  Imperial command structure ruthlessly. Some critics have 
  suggested that Norris abused the power given to him by 
  an Imperial Warrant; others say that this is exactly why the 
  Emperor trusted Norris with the Warrant in the first place.
  Today, the ripples caused by the war are beginning to 
  subside. The political situation in the region is a little turbulent 
  due to disaffection in some quarters. The sacked admirals 
  (obviously) but also their political supporters and allies 
  are up in arms about the way they were simply sidelined 
  – heroic victor or not, there are many who feel that Norris 
  has over-reached himself and needs to be cut down to size. 
  The implications of Norris’ dramatic assumption of personal 
  command may be more far-reaching than anticipated. 
  Already there are rumors that nobles in far corners of the 
  Imperium are seeking to make their own powerplays, though 
  most are proceeding cautiously while they wait to see what 
  the Emperor has to say about the situation. 
  Reserve naval and ground forces units are already entering 
  the Marches to make good losses incurred in the war, and 
  a new round of shipbuilding has been approved to bring 
  the reserve strength back up to establishment levels. The 
  numbers of warships lost, while large, are a drop in the 
  ocean compared to the might of the Imperial fleets. The war 
  has not significantly reduced the ability of the Imperium to 
  defend its territory. 
  
  - 6 -
  THE SPINWARD MARCHES
  The Spinward Marches Sector has relatively little significance 
  in Imperial affairs, except that it is the Imperial border with 
  the Zhodani Consulate and also with certain Vargr states. 
  Lying fully 44 weeks’ transit from Capital by Express Boat (a 
  little less by Jump-6 courier, but not much), and separated 
  from the Imperial core by the upper claw of the Great Rift, 
  the region is considered to be a fairly unimportant backwater 
  that serves as a convenient buffer against the Zhodani. 
  However, the Spinward Marches were also the origin of 
  Admiral Olav Hault-Plankwell’s bid to become Emperor. The 
  last thing Emperor Strephon wants is another Civil War, so 
  the government of the Marches must be strong… but not too 
  strong.
  It will be some time before matters return to normal in the 
  Marches. The naval bases and orbital defenses are being 
  rebuilt and the battle squadrons replaced, but losses to minor 
  warships will take longer to make good. In the interim, the 
  Navy is doing all it can to maintain order on the spaceways 
  but the inevitable upsurge in piracy, smuggling and general 
  lawlessness has the remaining naval assets overtaxed. 
  Some of the slack is being taken up with mercenary and even 
  Scout Service vessels, but things are unsettled at best.
  The war has also cause massive economic disruption even 
  in areas where no fighting took place. Local defensive forces 
  are gradually standing down while merchant ships return to 
  their routes from wherever service as naval auxiliaries may 
  have taken them. There are new opportunities for the taking 
  in this shaken-up environment, and dangers to match.
  The most troubled regions lie of course along the Imperial-
  Zhodani border, where tensions still run high. The Sword 
  Worlds subsector is also unstable at present. The defeat 
  of the Sword Worlders has resulted in Imperial occupation 
  forces being based on some worlds, while others have been 
  absorbed into a grouping now known as the Border Worlds. 
  This group includes some former Sword Worlds and also the 
  former Reserve Worlds of Steel, Mithril, Bronze and Iron. 
  There are big plans for this area, which will in time provide a 
  link to Imperial territory in Five Sisters subsector. However, 
  it is early days yet.
  THE SPINWARD MAIN
  The Spinward Main is a vast chain of star systems sprawling 
  across the entire Spinward Marches sector. It provides a 
  Jump- link to Deneb and Foreven sectors and links some 
  of the most prominent worlds of the sector: Regina, Mora, 
  Lunion and Glisten. Much of the Main is underdeveloped, 
  but still large numbers of small merchant ships make their 
  living freighting or engaging in speculative trade along the 
  Main. By long tradition, heading in the direction of District 
  268 (broadly Spinward-Rimward) or along the Trin Arm 
  (Trailing-Rimward) from Regina is ‘Down the Main’; the 
  opposite direction is ‘Up’. 
  The Spinward Main forks in several places. An arm of the 
  Main diverging at Biter in the Sword Worlds subsector allows 
  access to the Sword Worlds and ultimately the territory of 
  the Darrians, but this is not considered part of the Main 
  by Imperial traders as it passes through the potentially 
  dangerous territory of the Sword Worlds Confederation. 
  Another divergence takes place at Caliburn. The Collace 
  Arm leads Rimward from there, diverging again at Talos. 
  The Collace Arm proper winds onward through Collace and 
  finally terminates at Froin in the e Five Sisters subsector. 
  The Glisten Arm heads Trailingward into Glisten subsector 
  and contains more than half its worlds.  
  The Bowman Arm meanders to Spinward, to the edge of 
  Foreven sector. It links the handful of Imperial worlds in Five 
  Sisters subsector with the rest of Imperial territory. This arm 
  sees much less traffic than the more central parts of the 
  main, though since the end of the Fifth Frontier War there 
  are big plans to open up District 268. The Bowman Arm will 
  be an important part of this expansion. 
  Traffic on the Spinward Main is varied. Small tramp freighters 
  wander along it or ply a short section of it under contract. 
  Many such are Subsidized Merchants, an ideal design for 
  this kind of work. Larger vessels work segments of the Main, 
  but these tend to be Jump-2 or higher vessels which can 
  move quickly between the more lucrative ports of call on and 
  off the Main.  Most of the sector can be accessed by a jump-
  2 ship using the Spinward Main, so vessels belonging most 
  of the larger shipping firms can be encountered somewhere 
  on it. 
  It has long been suggested that, with suitable investment in 
  ports and supporting infrastructure, the Spinward Main could 
  help the Marches become an economic powerhouse with 
  internal trade facilitated by a web of large and small shipping 
  concerns centered on the Main.  The money has never been 
  available, and the need is not at this time perceived since 
  the Marches are a backwater of no great importance in the 
  wider Imperium.
  
  - 7 -
  A
  Condaria
  E5
  AOR
  Tarkine
  C7
  I
  NARSIL
  BA
  NO
  Tondoul
  E4
  BLOP
  567-908
  E0
  BLO
  Dawnworld
  E0
  LO
  Durendal
  BB
  OP
  Gothe
  E6
  AR
  Roget
  B9
  O
  Flexos
  E6
  O
  Caliburn
  EA
  O
  769-422
  EA
  LO
  975-452
  E9
  AR
  Caladbolg
  BA
  AR
  Joyeuse
  BA
  Mertactor
  BB
  Jone
  B9
  OP
  Stern-Stern
  BB
  LOP
  Torment
  X4
  O
  Faldor
  E2
  I
  SACNOTH
  BC
  LO
  Gunn
  E8
  LOP
  Inchin
  DA
  LO
  Jinx
  D7
  LO
  Binges
  AA
  I
  COLLACE
  BD
  LOP
  Spume
  CA
  LO
  876-574
  E0
  OP
  Avastan
  CA
  R
  Pagaton
  C4
  BLO
  Nirton
  X0
  N
  Kwai Ching
  CB
  Noctocol
  E6
  OP
  Dorannia
  E8
  AO
  Tarsus
  BA
  LO
  Walston
  C8
  LOP
  Raweh
  BB
  OP
  Enos
  E4
  BLO
  Steel
  E0
  O
  875-496
  EB
  AOR
  Colada
  BB
  AOR
  Beater
  BA
  LOP
  Kardin
  E6
  BLO
  Mithril
  E0
  Orcrist
  BA
  O
  Dyrnwyn
  BA
  AO
  Bularia
  C5
  OP
  Mjolnir
  BA
  AO
  Biter
  BA
  DARRIAN
  AG
  I
  GRAM
  AB
  A
  Wonstar
  B7
  O
  Ralhe
  E8
  AR
  Mewey
  D5
  NOP
  Jacent
  AD
  OP
  Talos
  E9
  LO
  Debarre
  B9
  A
  Gohature
  C7
  O
  Asteltine
  BA
  R
  Anduril
  BB
  R
  Trexalon
  BC
  N
  Milagro
  E7
  O
  Lakou
  E7
  BLO
  Bronze
  E0
  BLO
  886-945
  D0
  Mirriam
  BA
  Tyrfing
  BA
  OP
  Junction
  D4
  AO
  Trifuge
  C9
  AR
  Karin
  AC
  Sting
  BA
  A
  Andory
  C9
  P
  Singer
  D6
  AOR
  Motmos
  B5
  LO
  Ator
  D6
  N
  Garoo
  AA
  AO
  Emape
  BB
  NP
  Nomym
  CA
  AR
  Iderati
  AC
  AOR
  Rorre
  D3
  O
  Datrillian
  E8
  O
  Laberv
  B7
  R
  Tizon
  BA
  IN
  FORINE
  DA
  Dallia
  B9
  O
  Squallia
  C9
  OR
  Penelope
  C4
  Pavabid
  C6
  O
  Wonderay
  E3
  O
  Candory
  C9
  O
  Mille Falcs
  BC
  Quhaiathat
  C9
  O
  Elixabeth
  B8
  A
  Gungnir
  B8
  LO
  Froin
  C9
  OP
  Flammarion
  AB
  BLO
  494-908
  X0
  Ilium
  B9
  R
  Hrunting
  B9
  LO
  Bowman
  D9
  Excalibur
  BA
  NOP
  Nosea
  BC
  BLO
  Iron
  E0
  O
  Talchek
  C5
  AO
  Cunnonic
  E3
  AO
  Hofud
  BA
  BLO
  Judice
  E0
  MIRE
  AB
  A
  Engrange
  C8
  AO
  Ochecate
  E7
  NOP
  Ektron
  C9
  OP
  Terant 340
  D9
  O
  Saxe
  E7
  I
  ZAMINE
  EA
  AO
  Ucella
  D7
  O
  Uniqua
  E4
  0121
  0122
  0123
  0124
  0125
  0126
  0127
  0128
  0129
  0130
  0131
  0132
  0133
  0134
  0135
  0136
  0137
  0138
  0139
  0140
  0141
  0221
  0222
  0223
  0224
  0225
  0226
  0227
  0228
  0229
  0230
  0231
  0232
  0233
  0234
  0235
  0236
  0237
  0238
  0239
  0240
  0321
  0322
  0323
  0324
  0325
  0326
  0327
  0328
  0329
  0330
  0331
  0332
  0333
  0334
  0335
  0336
  0337
  0338
  0339
  0340
  0341
  0421
  0422
  0423
  0424
  0425
  0426
  0427
  0428
  0429
  0430
  0431
  0432
  0433
  0434
  0435
  0436
  0437
  0438
  0439
  0440
  0521
  0522
  0523
  0524
  0525
  0526
  0527
  0528
  0529
  0530
  0531
  0532
  0533
  0534
  0535
  0536
  0537
  0538
  0539
  0540
  0541
  0621
  0622
  0623
  0624
  0625
  0626
  0627
  0628
  0629
  0630
  0631
  0632
  0633
  0634
  0635
  0636
  0637
  0638
  0639
  0640
  0721
  0722
  0723
  0724
  0725
  0726
  0727
  0728
  0729
  0730
  0731
  0732
  0733
  0734
  0735
  0736
  0737
  0738
  0739
  0740
  0741
  0821
  0822
  0823
  0824
  0825
  0826
  0827
  0828
  0829
  0830
  0831
  0832
  0833
  0834
  0835
  0836
  0837
  0838
  0839
  0840
  0921
  0922
  0923
  0924
  0925
  0926
  0927
  0928
  0929
  0930
  0931
  0932
  0933
  0934
  0935
  0936
  0937
  0938
  0939
  0940
  0941
  1021
  1022
  1023
  1024
  1025
  1026
  1027
  1028
  1029
  1030
  1031
  1032
  1033
  1034
  1035
  1036
  1037
  1038
  1039
  1040
  1121
  1122
  1123
  1124
  1125
  1126
  1127
  1128
  1129
  1130
  1131
  1132
  1133
  1134
  1135
  1136
  1137
  1138
  1139
  1140
  1141
  1221
  1222
  1223
  1224
  1225
  1226
  1227
  1228
  1229
  1230
  1231
  1232
  1233
  1234
  1235
  1236
  1237
  1238
  1239
  1240
  1321
  1322
  1323
  1324
  1325
  1326
  1327
  1328
  1329
  1330
  1331
  1332
  1333
  1334
  1335
  1336
  1337
  1338
  1339
  1340
  1341
  1421
  1422
  1423
  1424
  1425
  1426
  1427
  1428
  1429
  1430
  1431
  1432
  1433
  1434
  1435
  1436
  1437
  1438
  1439
  1440
  1521
  1522
  1523
  1524
  1525
  1526
  1527
  1528
  1529
  1530
  1531
  1532
  1533
  1534
  1535
  1536
  1537
  1538
  1539
  1540
  1541
  1621
  1622
  1623
  1624
  1625
  1626
  1627
  1628
  1629
  1630
  1631
  1632
  1633
  1634
  1635
  1636
  1637
  1638
  1639
  1640
  DARRIAN
  CONFEDERATION
  SWORD
  WORLDS
  BORDER
  WORLDS
  IMPERIUM
  IMP.
  IMP.
  WORLD CHARACTERISTICS
  Desert (Trade Class)
  Desert (Other)
  Water Present
  Vacuum World
  Water World
  Fluid Oceans
  Asteroid Belt
  Ice-Capped
  Imperial Naval Base
  Imperial Naval Depot
  Zhodani Naval Base
  Other Naval Base
  Imperial Scout Base
  Scout Waystation
  Imperial Research Station
  BASES
  TRAVEL ZONES
  Amber Zone
  Red Zone
  POPULATION
  Thanber
  DARRIAN
  Regina
  under one billion
  over one billion
  subsector capital
  TRADE CODES
  A
  B
  I
  L
  N
  O
  P
  R
  Agricultural
  Barren
  Industrial
  Low Population
  Non-Agricultural
  Non-Industrial
  Poor
  Rich
  Trade classifications not represented
  here are encoded in the world
  type symbol or name.
  World
  Type
  Starport andTech Level
  Gas Giant
  Dekalb
  World
  Name
  Bases
  X-Boat
  Route
  AOR
  Trade
  Class
  E6
  0407
  Nonym
  No Gas
  Giant
  Coordinates
  Border
  Travel Zone
  Code (Red)
  CA
  I J
  M N
  Darrian
  Five
  Sisters
  Sword
  Worlds
  District
  268
  SUBSECTORS WITHIN
  A QUADRANT
  MAP LEGEND
  Gamma Quadrant
  A Detailed Stellar Quadrant Located
  on the Fringes of the Spinward Marches
  
  - 8 -
  DISTRICT 268
  Although opened for Imperial expansion in 94 in a decree 
  made by Empress Margaret II, District 268 has seen little 
  investment in the past 170 years. Imperial firms and traders 
  are moderately active in the subsector, but the only real 
  Imperial presence until recently was at Mille Falcs and 
  the Scout base at Mertactor on the Trailing edge of the 
  subsector. 
  Since the end of the Fifth Frontier War the situation has 
  changed a little. Some investment has been forthcoming and 
  the removal of the Sword Worlder threat to communications 
  up the Spinward Main has encouraged more traders to 
  enter the region. The development of the Metal Worlds in 
  neighboring Sword Worlds subsector is widely considered to 
  be a prelude to Imperial economic conquest of the region.
  The main power in the region is Collace, a pro-Imperial 
  world which hosts an Imperial Scout base and has applied 
  to join the Imperium. Other worlds are less keen to see the 
  Imperials extend their influence into the subsector, and some 
  are openly hostile. This has led to some unrest and acts of 
  sabotage which, while difficult to pin on anyone, are obviously 
  part of a conspiracy to slow down Imperial investment. 
  One major opponent to Imperial expansion (and to Collace) 
  is the Trexalon Technical Consortium (TTC), which has 
  long had links with the Sword Worlds. Wisely staying out of 
  the Fifth Frontier War, Trexalon nevertheless profited from 
  Imperial distraction and gained some ground in its ‘cold 
  war’ with Collace. Trexalon wields a lot of influence among 
  the worlds of the region; some of it due to friendship and 
  economic ties and some of it of a more strongarm nature.  
  It is probably not coincidence that several merchant ships 
  have been attacked in recent months. Some such attacks 
  have the hallmarks of typical pirate activity, but others seem 
  to be nothing more than senseless destruction – or else 
  deliberate commerce raiding. The Imperial Navy is not in a 
  position to make much of a response to the problem, which 
  is gradually worsening as time goes by.
  Despite the troubles, Imperial corporations and entrepreneurs 
  are gradually filtering into the district. There are many 
  opportunities to be exploited by those with the wit and the 
  courage to do it. It seems likely that the near future will be 
  turbulent in District 268.
  NEIGHBORING REGIONS
  To Spinward of District 268 lies Five Sisters subsector, which 
  is mostly Imperial territory. Development of District 268 will 
  eventually provide a more solid link between the Five Sisters 
  and the rest of the sector, but for now the enclave is rather 
  isolated. Two worlds within the subsector are of particular 
  interest: Andor and Candory. These are Droyne worlds, 
  and are under Red Zone interdiction by the Imperial Navy. 
  Droyne ships are allowed in and out, but others are kept 
  away unless they have a special permit (which is said to be 
  next to impossible to obtain). The reason for the blockade is 
  not publicly known, but the Droyne use of psionics may be 
  a factor. 
  To Spinward-Coreward lies Darrian subsector, home to the 
  Daryen people, a human subrace. Long Imperial allies, the 
  Daryens are constantly at odds with the Sword Worlders, and 
  fought against them in the Fifth Frontier War. The Daryens 
  once possessed a very advanced technology, but have been 
  in decline for many centuries. 
  Directly Coreward is Sword Worlds subsector, home to 
  what remains of the Sword Worlds Confederation. Much 
  of the Confederation is under Imperial occupation or else 
  incorporated into a buffer zone known as the Border Worlds. 
  The Sword Worlders were soundly beaten in the Fifth Frontier 
  War, but many remain defiant. Incidents are not uncommon, 
  and the Imperial Army has its hands full on some worlds. 
  Others, however, have become quite loyal to their new 
  Border Worlds allegiance and seem to prefer things the way 
  they are now. 
  Lunion and Glisten subsectors, to Trailing-Coreward and 
  directly Trailing respectively, are entirely Imperial territory and 
  contain several highly developed worlds, naval bases and 
  major industrial centers. These subsectors are the jumping-
  off point for expeditions into District 268, and will be the main 
  markets for its goods once investment is complete. 
  The region to Rimward of District 268 (Menorial, Egryn and 
  Pax Rulin subsectors) is sometimes termed the Outrim Void, 
  or just the Outrim. It lies beyond the Imperium, other than 
  a few outposts, though there are numerous Imperial client 
  worlds and multiworld states in the region. Pushing further to 
  Rimward-Trailing leads to the Great Rift, a wide region with 
  few stars and therefore a natural barrier to interstellar travel. 
  To Spinward-Rimward along the edge of the Rift lies a region 
  of independent worlds and then territory belonging to Aslan 
  who have crossed the Great Rift in search of new territories. 
  Their traders and mercenary ships sometimes enter Imperial 
  space through District 268.
  
  - 9 -
  WORLDS OF NOTE
  The following worlds do not lie within the Bowman Arm, but 
  do exert an influence upon events there. For that reason 
  they are discussed here. 
  FLAMMARION/SWORD WORLDS
  0110  A623514-B   N,S   Po Ni   710   F8 V   (Imperial)
  Flammarion was developed specifically to facilitate Imperial 
  operations in Five Sisters subsector. It is the site of a small 
  naval base operating mainly patrol ships, and a much 
  larger Scout Service Way Station serving the Xboat route. 
  It seems likely that intelligence ships also operate out of 
  the Flammarion naval base. The world itself is borderline 
  habitable but is only economically viable as a support to 
  the starport and bases; almost everything on Flammarion is 
  owned by an Imperial service or Megacorporation. 
  Flammarion Highport is a popular destination for ships plying 
  the Spinward Main to obtain a refit. The port is large and well 
  run, though most independent spacers call it ‘soulless’ and a 
  variety of other, less pleasant names.
  CALADBOLG/SWORD WORLDS
  0509   B365776-A   S   Ri Ind   710   F7 V M0 D M4 D 
  (Imperial)
  Caladbolg is an important Imperial world in the region. 
  It is an Xboat link and has a small Scout Service base to 
  serve the communications link into Five Sisters subsector. 
  Naval vessels transiting to Spinward usually pass through 
  the system, which has been Imperial territory for many 
  decades. 
  The industrial might of Caladbolg is not particularly high-
  technology, but nevertheless the world’s output forms an 
  important part of the regional economy. Many of the firms 
  participating in the expansion into District 268 obtain their 
  supplies and spares from Caladbolg’s factories, and money 
  put up by the world’s various states is being invested in all 
  manner of ventures to Rimward.
   
   
   
  CALIBURN/SWORD WORLDS
  0610   E000514-A   Va Ast   324   M2 V   (Imperial)
  Caliburn is in some ways the ‘gateway to District 268’, at 
  least as far as Jump-1 traffic from further up the Main is 
  concerned. Passing through the system is often considered 
  to be a sort of initiation rite for ships coming in from up-
  Main. The system is populated mainly by scattered Belter 
  settlements mining its extensive asteroid and planetoid belts. 
  It is de facto Imperial territory but has little importance in the 
  grand scheme of things.
  For this reason the facilities in the Caliburn system are 
  primitive in the extreme. The various settlements all have 
  their own ports; there is no one central ‘Caliburn Imperial 
  Starport’, so visitors must negotiate with whomever they can 
  contact to obtain supplies and fuel. Most commercial traffic 
  turns around at the Metal Worlds (further up the Main) and 
  heads back, so only those with a real reason to pass through 
  do so.  Traffic volumes are picking up, but slowly. 
  It seems likely that if the District is to be properly opened up, 
  a decent port at Caliburn will be a priority.
  ELIXABETH/DISTRICT 268
  0702   B426467-8   N   Ni   201   M1 V M5 D  (Client State)
  A mid-tech world with a small population, the only real industry 
  on Elixabeth is the extensive Class B starport, which in turn 
  exists to support vessels of the Imperial Navy patrolling the 
  Spinward Main. A handful of vessels are assigned to the 
  Elixabeth base at the best of times, and at present the force 
  has been stripped to the bone. Scout Service and mercenary 
  ships are attempting to take up the slack, but there are not 
  enough even of these.
  Elixabeth Starport is protected by a small security force 
  if Imperial navy-crewed fighters and SDBs, making it a 
  generally safe system for traffic. This makes it attractive as a 
  trade port, with vessels from across the region coming in to 
  sell their cargo. Thus although the Navy is having hard time 
  meeting its commitments in District 268, its presence is at 
  least doing some good in this system.
  Elixabeth is growing in prosperity and importance, and is even 
  seeing some immigration from other parts of the subsector. 
  It seems likely that full Imperial membership will be granted 
  in the near future.
  FORINE/DISTRICT 268
  0703   D3129B8-A   Hi Ic In Na   610   G9V  (Non-Aligned)
  Forine is an industrial world which exports large amounts 
  of electronic equipment and components across the region. 
  Many of these components are ‘black boxed’ with interfaces 
  to allow them to be used with Imperial, Sword Worlder and 
  other standard fittings.
  Forine Starport is a fairly basic facility; the world does not 
  welcome visitors, especially from the Imperium. There is a 
  private spaceport used only by vessels of the Forine Merchant 
  Service and those favored with a license by the government. 
  In recent years this has included many TTC vessels but no 
  Imperial ones. The private port is of much higher quality to 
  the commercial installation. 
  
  - 0 -
  THE BOWMAN ARM
  The segment of the Spinward Main that diverges at Caliburn 
  in the direction of the Five Sisters subsector is normally known 
  as the Bowman Arm (Sometimes misquoted as ‘Bowman’s 
  Arm’). The Arm meanders onward into the next subsector 
  but Flammarion and the worlds beyond are not considered 
  to be part of it; the chain of systems leading to Mirriam, Jone 
  etc is normally referred to as the Sisters’ Reach.
  The underdeveloped nature of the 0 worlds of the Bowman 
  Arm has long been a barrier to Jump- trade through into 
  Five Sisters.  This, and the fact that these frontier worlds are 
  not Imperial members, makes it difficult at best and more 
  often hazardous for Imperial traders to operate in the area. 
  However, some do, and there are numerous non-Imperial 
  vessels operating in the region. 
  SHIP ENCOUNTERS IN THE BOWMAN ARM
  The most commonly encountered vessels in the arm are 
  non-Imperial traders registered out of Collace, Trexalon, 
  Flammarion or Elixabeth (but not necessarily owned by any 
  interests on those worlds). Free and Far Traders are common, 
  as are Subsidized Merchants. A handful of Subsidized Liners 
  ply the Main from Collace or Trexalon all the way round to 
  Mirriam, and some larger freighters are occasionally seen. 
  However, more trade goes into the Imperium via Glisten 
  Subsector than Sword Worlds, so big merchant vessels are 
  quite uncommon.
  Darrian merchant ships headed for Glisten subsector have 
  always used the Arm to make their transit. This practice 
  dropped off during the war but has begun to pick up again. 
  Sword Worlder merchants have also been sighted, though 
  not in any significant numbers. Independent Belter ships 
  of no fixed allegiance are fairly common. Most are small 
  Seekers but larger mining or processing ships, ore tugs and 
  so on may be encountered from time to time.
  Few of the worlds in the region have any sort of interstellar 
  navy, though some do maintain a system defense squadron 
  of sorts. Thus the Main can be hazardous in District 268 in 
  general, and along the Bowman Arm in particular. Rescue for 
  a distressed ship is a matter of pot luck, and law enforcement 
  is patchy where it exists at all. There are a number of 
  mercenary vessels and warships from Collace assigned to 
  the Arm on a general patrol-and-protect brief, but there are 
  not nearly enough of them.
  The Imperial Navy was never strong in District 268, and 
  since the Fifth Frontier War its presence has been further 
  pared down. A handful of Patrol Cruisers and Close Escorts, 
  backed up by a lone (and elderly) destroyer make up the 
  available strength of the ‘subsector fleet’. Requests for 
  additional ships are on file with Sector Command but there 
  are far higher priorities to be met first. The occasional foray 
  by Sector Fleet escorts from naval bases in Lunion, Glisten 
  and Five Sisters subsectors, and the promise of assistance 
  from Scout Service ships in the region, is all the help that the 
  overworked subsector fleet can hope for.
  Non-human ships are not uncommon in the Arm. Aslan 
  vessels can be encountered anywhere.  These are mostly 
  small traders, diplomatic couriers from one or another of the 
  clans, or small patrol ships. Some of the latter are on retainer 
  to various worlds as mercenary system defense vessels. 
  There are rumors that others are acting as raiders. 
  Droyne vessels out of Andor and Candory sometimes make 
  their way along the main. Like the Aslan ships these tend 
  to be small, though most of them do not trade and seem to 
  be in transit somewhere for purposes unknown. The Droyne 
  rarely explain anything, and never in a way that actually 
  makes sense, so their ships remain as much a mystery as 
  any other facet of Droyne society.
  There is always the possibility of encountering an oddity, 
  such as a Misjumped vessel from very far away, a derelict 
  or such like, and of course ships do sometimes fall foul of 
  pirates, smugglers and renegade warships. 
  
  -  -
  WORLDS OF THE  
  BOWMAN ARM
  Each of the ten worlds of the Bowman Arm will be fully 
  developed in a separate ‘world book’ which stands alone 
  but ties into the framework presented here. One such world 
  book, dealing with the Walston system, is included within 
  this supplement. 
  The thumbnails presented here are thus simply that; an 
  overview of the world and its place in the Bowman Arm’s 
  complex economic and political development.  
  ASTELTINE/DISTRICT 268
  0101   B7A7402-A   Fl  Lo Ni   210   K7 V M3 D  
  (Non-Aligned)
  An average sized world with an exotic atmosphere 
  unbreathable by humans, Asteltine is home to around 2000 
  people whose origins vary considerably. People tend to come 
  to Asteltine to work rather than to live, so the population tends 
  to be somewhat variable. Most of the residents are typical 
  Imperial humans, but there are small numbers of Daryens, 
  Sword Worlders and Aslan at any given time. There is some 
  tension between these groups. 
  While Asteltine itself is a fairly unpleasant world, the system 
  supports a fairly large Belting and mining community. This 
  was sufficient to support the development of a decent 
  starport which employs nearly all of the world’s inhabitants. 
  The port is also used by ships plying the Spinward Main in 
  the direction of Five Sisters subsector. 
  For decades Asteltine’s mining and processing industry 
  has been a chaotic mess of small firms and entrepreneurial 
  individuals. However, there are rumors that some of the 
  larger corporations or even the Megacorps may want to 
  move into the system now that access has become easier.
  567-908/DISTRICT 268 (SHVREEYIYI)
  0201   D5325E2-2   Ni Po A   610   M9 V M1 D 
  (Client State)
  Long thought to be uninhabited, 567-908 was discovered 
  (on the eve of the Fifth Frontier War) to be inhabited by an 
  indigenous race of intelligent beings. Nicknamed ‘Shriekers’ 
  since most of their language is pitched at a level above the 
  human threshold of hearing, these low-tech but civilized 
  beings lay eggs, which have in the past been mistaken for 
  gemstones (‘Denuli Gems’). Even today, there are those 
  who covet the ‘gems’ and will try to harvest them. For this 
  reason the world has been Amber Zoned and a detachment 
  of Imperial Scouts have been assigned to prevent this 
  murderous exploitation. 
  The common name of the world (Shvreeyiyi) is an 
  attempt to approximate the Shriekers’ own name, which is 
  unpronounceable to humans. This designation has not yet 
  found its way into official charts; the world is still listed as 
  567-908. 
  The port at Shvreeyiyi is operated by Scout Service personnel 
  and some private contractors. It is a temporary affair that is 
  very slowly becoming permanent. Services are extremely 
  limited at present. 
  ENOS/SWORD WORLDS
  0310   E23059B-4   M   Po Ni De   710   M1 V 
  (Sword Worlds)
  Enos is something of an oddity, being a member of the Sword 
  Worlds Confederation yet lying far from the Confederation’s 
  heartland. Even just reaching Enos from the Sword Worlds 
  is something of an undertaking given the Sword Worlders’ 
  technology, and one that necessitated the use of deep-
  space refueling points or tanker support for vessels making 
  the crossing. This would make sense if Enos was worth 
  anything, but in truth it is not.
  The world itself is thought to be a rogue body captured by 
  its primary, Kaleshi, and is the only borderline-habitable 
  world in a very empty star system. A population of some 
  700,000 or so individuals scrape a precarious living mining 
  petrochemicals from the world’s unusually large reserves. 
  This is a hazardous undertaking, as seismic activity has 
  weakened the rock trapping these deposits, causing 
  occasional gas escapes which can be ignited by human 
  activity or other causes.
  Whilst still technically a loyal Sword Worlds Confederation 
  member, Enos is now dependent upon Imperial trade ships 
  for supplies and equipment.. Its sustainable local tech base 
  is very low and without support (which was withdrawn by the 
  Confederation when they started losing the war) what is in 
  effect a mining colony writ large could not survive.
  The carcass of a Sword Worlder base is present on Enos. 
  Most of its personnel were removed as part of the treaty that 
  ended the Fifth Frontier War, with a skeleton staff remaining 
  to maintain the demilitarized remains of the base in case it is 
  taken over by unsavory characters. 
   
   
  FALDOR/DISTRICT 268
  0301   E5936A7-2   Ni   520   M7 III   (Non-Aligned)
  An unappealing world with a thick, soupy atmosphere, Faldor 
  sees little in the way of offworld trade. Most ships passing 
  along the Arm go via Bowman and bypass this backwater 
  world. Indeed, Imperial databases contain only a surface 
  map and the most cursory entries. 
  Faldor is chiefly known for The Tapperheten Incident, which 
  occurred in 09. A Sword Worlder commerce raider, the 
  heavy cruiser Tapperheten, was chased down by three 
  Imperial Navy light cruisers and brought to action in the 
  Faldor system. The Tapperheten, which had been operating 
  along the fringes of Glisten subsector, was destroyed after 
  
  - 2 -
  a furious action in which the Imperial ships also suffered 
  severe damage. It was long presumed that the Tapperheten 
  was making for Enos when she was cornered, but rumors 
  from Naval personnel suggest that alternative explanations 
  are being investigated. This has in turn given rise to wild 
  rumors about Sword Worlder secret bases in District 268.
  BOWMAN/DISTRICT 268
  0302   D000300-9   S   Ast Lo Ni   801   M0 V
  (Client State)
  The Bowman Belt is one of the wonders of the Spinward 
  Marches. It is one of the most extensive planetoid belts 
  ever discovered, occupying the equivalent of five planets’ 
  worth of orbits in one contiguous belt. The Bowman Belt is 
  home to an unknown, but probably large, number of Belter 
  communities. There are also rumors of other inhabitants 
  – pirates, renegade Sword Worlders and the like.
  The only actual planet in the system is the gas giant Bowman 
  Prime, whose moons are designated by Greek letters. Alpha 
  is home to a tiny IISS base staffed by a dozen or so personnel, 
  and Garrison Starport, the system’s Class C port. 
  Ling Standard products moved into the Bowman system 
  some time ago, and now have extensive operations in the 
  Trojan asteroids. This has led to friction with the independent 
  Belters who work the system. There have already been 
  incidents of violence and things look set to get worse.
  SQUALLIA/DISTRICT 268
  0303   C438679-9   Ni   320   F0 V   (Non-Aligned)
  Squallia is a Balkanized world which actually boasts several 
  small Starports. Each has its own advantages and quirks 
  since each serves a different state. Some of the nations of 
  Squallia are pro-Imperial in outlook. Most are fairly neutral. 
  Not all the states on Squallia possess the TL of 9 listed in 
  IISS charts. Some are TL 7 or 8. Exports are limited, mainly 
  due to low production, but all the same the world serves as 
  a convenient source of mid-tech spares and equipment for 
  those working within the Arm. Ships from Bowman are fairly 
  common, exchanging metal ores for spares and foodstuffs. 
  FLEXOS/DISTRICT 268
  0403   E5A1422-6   Fl Lo Ni   610   M1 V M2 D 
  (Non-Aligned)
  Flexos is a low-population backwater typical of the region. 
  With only 60,000 people in its mid-tech communities, and 
  further handicapped by having to contend with an exotic 
  atmosphere, the world exports little and can afford few 
  imports. Without substantial offworld investment Flexos will 
  probably remain at the subsistence level forever. 
  Investment in such a marginal world tends to be cheap 
  (though it is often not worth doing anyway). This may be one 
  reason why a variety of survey teams and explorers have 
  recently arrived on Flexos. There are rumors of chemical-
  extraction processes that may turn Flexos’ fluid oceans into 
  an economic asset, but no hard data is available.
  DATRILLIAN/DISTRICT 268
  0501   E227633-8   Ni   801   M1 V   (Non-Aligned)
  Lying at the ‘entry point; to the Bowman Arm, Datrillian is 
  an obvious candidate for investment and development. This 
  will however require winning over the ruling caste, who are 
  opposed to expansion on the sensible grounds that they 
  might lose control of their world.
  At present, Starport facilities at Datrillian are extremely 
  primitive, though work is underway to improve them for 
  use as a base for the Royal Defense Corps’ orbital combat 
  assets. These at present consist of some very old PAD 
  (Planetary Aerospace Defense) missiles and a pair of orbital 
  interceptors purchased surplus from an Imperial mercenary 
  squadron. The recent acquisition of a utility cutter and 
  training of a crew suggests that Datrillian is about to begin 
  conducting orbital customs checks rather than inspecting 
  vessels on the ground as is current practice. The reason for 
  this departure is unclear.
  NIRTON/DISTRICT 268
  0502   X600000-0   Ba lo Ni Va   R   011   K8 V 
  (Non-Aligned)
  Nirton is Red Zoned. The reasons for interdiction are not 
  usually made public, and this case is no exception. The fact 
  that a mid-sized world has no atmosphere, no water and no 
  life on it is intriguing in itself; it seems likely that there is a 
  connection between the state of the planet and its Red Zone 
  status. The Red Zone is normally enforced by Navy ships, 
  but these were withdrawn in 08, leaving only a battery of 
  automated satellites. 
   
  To facilitate passage through the system, a refueling station 
  has been set up far from Nirton, in orbit around the gas giant 
  Ditake. Originally little more than an orbital mooring station 
  served by a pair of fuel-skimming shuttles, the fuelling facility 
  has grown into a collection of stations and modules – some 
  of them physically attached and some not – which is slowly 
  becoming a freeport in its own right. 
  Navy couriers pass through the station once every couple 
  of months, staying a few days to download the interdiction 
  satellites’ logs before moving on. 
  
  - 3 -
  as gunships, and carry them aboard a converted merchant 
  ship. Such a vessel (termed an Expedient Carrier in Naval 
  circles) would be wholly useless in a war situation but could 
  provide a useful armed presence on the spacelanes; this 
  might be enough to deter some of the predators. 
  Setting up the JSI is quite a challenge. Everything must be 
  done on a shoestring, and at each stage it is necessary to 
  show everyone involved that the project s far has been a 
  success. Crews need to be found, suitable craft obtained 
  and converted, weapons and systems sourced. It is possible 
  that a sufficiently organized opponent might try to scotch the 
  project by attacking the conversion crews. 
  If the JSI’s ramshackle navy is actually put together, there 
  may be combat operations to be carried out. Certainly there 
  will be patrols and training exercises to run, which will keep 
  everyone concerned very busy for a while. 
  3. CHART & SURVEY
  The data on file about the Bowman Arm is fragmentary 
  and in some cases obsolete. Now that Imperial attention 
  is beginning to focus on the region, the IISS is seeking to 
  update its charts and data files. Unfortunately, there are 
  not enough Scout vessels to complete this work, so the 
  Scout Service is seeking to hire freelancers. Most of the 
  mainworlds of the Arm are adequately mapped, though data 
  on planetary populations, culture, government etc may be 
  somewhat outdated. However, the other worlds, belts and 
  planetoid clusters of most systems have never been properly 
  surveyed. 
  A charting expedition will normally be given a specific target 
  (more often, several targets) such as surface-mapping 
  the moons of a particular gas giant, or charting the main 
  planetoids in a given cluster. In most cases this is dull and 
  routine work, but sometimes a charting expedition will find 
  something unexpected. Potential finds range from derelict 
  spacecraft to hidden bases, and might lead to further 
  adventures across the subsector and beyond.
  4. TRADE SCOUTS
  District 268 is an unexploited market for Imperial companies. 
  However, large trading corporations do not like plunging 
  into the unknown. One way to determine the nature of the 
  market is to send out trade scouts; small merchant vessels 
  loaded with speculative cargoes. Instead of sending their 
  own ships, some Imperial trade firms prefer to make a deal 
  with independent traders. The essence of the deal is that 
  the patron will provide funds for a cargo and meet some 
  expenses in return for an assessment of the marketplace. 
  For the small merchant this kind of deal offers the chance to 
  make a good profit on speculative trading, and if the venture 
  fails then no capital has been sunk into of it. 
  ADVENTURING IN THE 
  BOWMAN ARM
  The Arm is an underdeveloped backwater. While ships have 
  plied the spacelanes of the Arm for many years there is a 
  great deal that is not commonly know about the systems 
  linking Flammarion to Caliburn. As plans to develop the 
  region progress the volume of traffic will go up, but this is 
  not likely to happen for some time. Thus the Arm remains 
  little trafficked and even more rarely patrolled. All manner 
  of covert activity could be taking place in the outsystems 
  or even on the mainworlds of the Arm. Examples include 
  illegal research bases, pirate havens or corporate mining 
  installations quietly set up to exploit the region ahead of the 
  expected land rush.
  Some ideas for adventures in the Bowman Arm follow.
  1. THE FLAMMARION RUN
  Adventurers with access to a starship might be chartered 
  to carry a cargo right through the Arm and into port at 
  Flammarion. A small ship might be asked to carry a message 
  or an important passenger. Many charters include a provision 
  that the ship may engage in speculative trade along the way 
  so long as it does not interfere with the charter mission. Such 
  a charter would be a good way to visit many of the worlds of 
  the Arm, and to gain an appreciation of what life is like there. 
  A slightly different take on this mission is for a group without 
  a starship to have to reach the other end of the Arm by taking 
  passage on a variety of ships, perhaps compiling a survey of 
  worlds and ports encountered along the way. 
  It may be that there are groups who do not want the charter 
  or mission to be completed. Such interference might take 
  the form of petty harassment at various points along the way 
  (starport regulations are often used against rivals), or may 
  be more direct. The most likely opponents in this case are 
  Trexalon Technical Consortium (TTC) agents or a pirate/
  raider band. The characters might be given their mission as 
  bait to draw out the enemy so that Imperial authorities can 
  deal with them. 
  2. SELF-HELP
  The Bowman Arm is something of a lawless area. Piracy 
  and conflict of other kinds is on the rise, especially since 
  the Imperial Navy presence has been reduced. There is a 
  real need for increased patrols and perhaps even attacks on 
  raider strongholds if they are found. However, there is simply 
  no force available to carry out such a mission. 
  A group of merchant captains, starport officials and traders 
  have come up with a solution: the Bowman Arm Joint 
  Security Initiative, normally referred to as JSI. The plan is 
  in its infancy but involves cobbling together a token patrol 
  force out of whatever assets are available. The cheapest 
  way to do this is to obtain surplus small craft and outfit them 
  
  - 4 -
  Trade scouting missions can be precise or very vague. 
  Some patrons will simply provide money and suggest that 
  the freelancer tries to make a profit with it (!) while others 
  may have a more detailed brief, such as attempting to sell 
  electronics spares on a particular world and processed ores 
  on another. In either case the independents have a lot of 
  leeway about what else they can carry and trade, so such 
  deals are normally mutually beneficial. 
  Trade-scouting is a good way to get a group of Travellers into 
  the Bowman Arm, and to keep them moving along the path 
  the Referee has in mind without being too restrictive. There 
  are plenty of opportunities for side trips, misadventures and 
  chance encounters along the way.
  5. DIPLOMACY
  A group of Travellers might be sent to the Bowman Arm to 
  play diplomat. This could be an official Imperial delegation 
  of nobles and bodyguards aboard a shiny armed yacht, or it 
  might be a corporate negotiating team. At the other end of 
  the scale, the Travellers might simply become involved in a 
  dispute (say between the Planetary Dictator of Walston and 
  Sternmetal Horizons) and find that they have the ability to 
  broker a deal acceptable to all. 
  There are many possibilities for alliances and deals within 
  the Bowman Arm. The Impending Imperial expansion is 
  rocking the boat in several areas and new relationships 
  need to be established. Rising tensions need to be defused. 
  For example, the Belter population of Bowman is deeply 
  suspicious of Imperial Megacorporate intentions in their 
  home system. Establishing good relations will be a diplomatic 
  challenge, but first the Belters’ trust will have to be won or 
  they will not talk at all. The typical boardroom hotshot would 
  be incapable of establishing such a relationship, which 
  requires a certain amount of hands-on work.
  6. MERCENARIES
  There is a general move in the Bowman Arm towards securing 
  the future through military capability. This generally involves 
  acquiring weapons of some kind and learning to use them. 
  There is thus a lot of work for lone mercenaries as well as 
  larger groups. If training local militias and planetary defense 
  forces does not appeal, there are more direct contracts to 
  consider. Already some groups have been dislodged from 
  their holdings, and want them back. Force of arms may be 
  the only way. On the flip side, a mercenary group might be 
  hired to dislodge one of these recently-trained militias. 
  Conflict in the Arm is relatively low-key at present, so in 
  most cases the requirement is for company sized or smaller 
  forces. Special capabilities (e.g. hostile environment and 
  zero-g skills) are in demand at present. Even if they arte 
  not mercenaries themselves, the travellers might be hired 
  to recruit a force, or to transport it. Or they may be in the 
  vicinity when an operation takes place and have to deal with 
  the results…
  7. COVERT OPERATIONS
  Given the number of conflicting interests in the Arm, it should 
  be no surprise that large numbers of agents, spies and 
  other operatives are active in the region. Covert operations 
  possibilities range from simple bounty hunting – the region 
  has been a destination for numerous Imperial fugitives – to 
  highly complex industrial espionage or economic sabotage 
  missions. 
  There is a shadowy war being fought across the subsector 
  by agents of the TTC and imperial-backed Collace. In 
  addition, individual worlds may have their own agents 
  working for or against Imperial interests, and of course the 
  Imperial intelligence services are active. On top of all that, 
  the corporations have their own agendas and may have 
  agents in place. 
  There are real possibilities for cross-agency foul-ups and 
  incidents between unassociated but non-hostile groups such 
  as Imperial Naval Intelligence and the corporate intelligence 
  service of Ling Standard products. 
  8. EXPLORERS, BIG GAME HUNTERS AND 
  OTHER DAREDEVILS
  There are whole new worlds to explore in the Arm, and new 
  challenges to meet. Adventurous individuals want to be the 
  first to climb the highest mountain on a given world, the first 
  to photograph (or shoot) a dangerous animal, or the first to 
  achieve some other noteworthy goal. Travellers might join 
  an expedition, transport it, or rescue its survivors. 
  For example, the vast canyons on Walston’s main continent 
  are unexplored. They lie hundreds of kilometers from the 
  world’s only settlements, and no backup whatsoever is 
  available for an expedition that gets into trouble. But who 
  knows what lies in the canyon bottoms? Ruined cities? 
  Evidence of ancient and extinct creatures? Vast mineral 
  wealth? Or perhaps just the remains of the last bunch of 
  idiots to try exploring the area…
  9. FREEDOM FIGHTERS
  Many of the worlds and groups in the region like things as 
  they are and do not want the Imperium to expand into the 
  region. Resistance may ultimately be doomed… but then 
  again it may not. The Imperium is driven by economics and if 
  expansion in a region is going to be too expensive then it will 
  not be undertaken unless there is some other need, such as 
  to secure an astrographic choke point.
  The various opposition groups are scattered across the 
  district and are at present incapable of any sort of coherent 
  action. If a joint plan could be ‘sold’ to all involved then a 
  decent resistance could be put up. Open warfare is not an 
  option, though a little sneaky commerce raiding against 
  Imperial-registered ships might be possible. 
  
  - 5 -
  In order to curtail Imperial expansion it would be necessary 
  to fight a multi-level campaign in the courts and boardrooms 
  as well as in the hearts and minds of local people. Every 
  Imperial move must be challenged, delayed, harassed or 
  best of all, forced to withdraw. Yet all this must be done 
  without provoking a military response from the Imperium. 
  Deniability is essential. 
  Perhaps such a conspiracy already exists. Funding comes 
  from Sword Worlders determined to carry on the war by any 
  possible means, and from Trexalon. A group of travellers 
  adventuring in the region will eventually piece together the 
  nature of the conspiracy and may en up joining or fighting it 
  – or both, trying to play both ends off against the middle for 
  their own gain. 
  10. THINGS BETTER LEFT UNDISTURBED
  There are a number of distinctly strange places in the 
  Spinward Marches. Almost all of them are thought to be 
  a legacy of the Ancients, and most actually are. Many of 
  these sites have lain undisturbed for millennia, but with new 
  expansion into the region comes the possibility that someone 
  will stumble over something that would have been better left 
  alone. 
  At its most basic, this adventure seed might be the driving 
  force for an adventuring group. Rumors of an Ancients site 
  or other alien relics tend to draw adventurers, who would 
  be willing to undertake a lengthy search in order to find 
  something suitably valuable. 
  On a more complex level, this theme can be built into any 
  of the other adventure seeds presented here. For example, 
  a covert-operations team might be sent to find out what is 
  happening on a remote moon, only to find that a corporate 
  research facility has been set up to carry out semi-legal 
  research. Later, the team hears that the facility has suffered 
  some kind of disaster and returns to investigate, only to 
  discover that something far more sinister was taking place 
  there. 
  If the Referee wishes, a large-scale ‘alien conspiracy’ 
  storyline could provide a backdrop to other events in the 
  region, or rumors of such could be a red herring to divert 
  attention from a more mundane political maneuver. It is a 
  good idea not to use Weird Alien Threats too often, but the 
  occasional hint of something disturbing adds an element 
  of mystery to a Traveller game and keeps players from 
  becoming too comfortable with their world-view.
  THE NEAR FUTURE IN THE 
  BOWMAN ARM
  The Imperial expansion into District 268 is in its early days, 
  but it is going to happen. A little further up the Spinward 
  Main, the Metal Worlds are being settled and exploited. 
  Improved starports will lead to an increase in trade further 
  along the Main, making access to District 268 easier. The 
  expansion will be led by trade scouts for the big corporations 
  and entrepreneurial individuals, though in some cases larger 
  firms will attempt to gain a solid foothold early on, and may 
  be willing to undertake quite risky ventures to gain a good 
  position.  
  Ling Standard Products already has holdings in the Bowman 
  system and Sternmetal Horizons is also interested in setting 
  up mining facilities in the region. Neither corporation is 
  above placing an installation in a remote area of a sparsely-
  populated world and bringing in mercenaries to protect it, 
  securing a foothold whether the world government likes it or 
  not. This kind of corporate squatting causes a great deal of 
  resentment, so negotiation and licensing deals are normally 
  pursued first. 
  The ‘corporate scramble’ for District 268 could become quite 
  heated; there is a real possibility of a Trade War between 
  Sternmetal and LSP. However, another conflict is brewing. 
  The Trexalon Technical Consortium (TTC) is very aware that 
  this is their last chance to stave off Imperial expansion into 
  their backyard. Once losses from the Fifth Frontier War are 
  made good, Imperial strength in the region will grow beyond 
  the ability of TTC forces to counter. 
  Thus the TTC is about to up the stakes in its cold war with 
  pro-Imperial Collace, and begin more active opposition to 
  Imperial operations in the region. This opposition cannot 
  take the form of an open naval campaign, of course, since 
  that would trigger the intervention of the Imperial Navy. The 
  blockade squadron from Andor alone could shatter the TTC 
  navy with firepower to spare. Open war must be avoided. 
  Thus the TTC is using different methods.
  Covert operatives are active throughout the subsector, 
  spreading anti-Imperial propaganda and trying to persuade 
  worlds to resist Imperial business proposals. Although TTC 
  resources are very limited, some support in the form of 
  investment and advice is being provided to worlds willing 
  to side with Trexalon. This is not on the scale that the 
  Imperium can offer but it is presented as a modest benefit 
  from a worthy alliance, rather than a lucrative pact with the 
  (Imperial) Devil. 
  More direct opposition is also being prepared. Third-party 
  factors and agents are currently obtaining weapons and 
  mercenary advisors (some of them from within the Imperium) 
  and supplying them to anyone willing to resist the Imperial 
  
  - 6 -
  advance. Trexalon has not yet reached the point of handing a 
  gun to every crazy willing to shoot at Imperials, but it is getting 
  that way. Trexalon hopes that the Imperials will misconstrue 
  the intentions of local self-defense organizations and attack 
  them, creating anti-Imperial feeling throughout the region. 
  Other pawns in the TTC game are dispossessed Sword 
  Worlders looking to carry on the war by whatever means, 
  and Aslan Ihatei. The latter, landless second sons seeking 
  places to settle and claim territory, are being actively assisted 
  in finding suitable sites in the Bowman Arm. The result will 
  be several colonies of well-armed warrior people determined 
  to hold what they consider theirs and whose viewpoint has 
  been manipulated to make it strongly anti-Imperial.
  The TTC is also beginning a very risky policy of supporting 
  piracy against the Imperials. Rather than executing or 
  imprisoning pirates, Trexalon has begun releasing them 
  subject to an agreement to operate more Coreward – i.e. 
  towards Imperial space. TTC money has been spent on 
  creating freeports here and there in the region where ships 
  can be repaired and re-armed, no questions asked. 
  If the Imperium can prove that the TTC is sponsoring this 
  kind of activity, serious consequences will result. It is thus 
  a dangerous, high-stakes game that Trexalon is playing 
  but there is no other way to slow down the Imperial 
  encroachment. 
  The Imperial/TTC conflict is more likely to simmer in the 
  background that erupt into open violence. If the cold war 
  becomes hot, it will be very short indeed. However, neither 
  side wants open war (for different reasons) so there is almost 
  a mutual agreement to try to keep the lid on the situation and 
  to play within certain rules which may change over time but 
  are unlikely to be entirely ignored. 
  
  - 7 -
  WALSTON
  Walston lies on the most common route through the Bowman 
  Arm, and possesses one of the best ports in the immediate 
  area. This, and the broadly habitable nature of the world, 
  makes it a popular stopover point on the route. Under the 
  right circumstances Walston might become the economic 
  center of the Arm. 
  SYSTEM OVERVIEW
  Walston orbits an M2 primary named Albin’s Star for the 
  captain of the first exploration ship into the system from the 
  Imperium. The system contains two small gas giants named 
  Insive and Greenish (the latter for its color, apparently) plus 
  five rocky bodies in fairly standard orbits. There are no 
  planetoid belts as such, but the system does have the usual 
  comets and planetoid collections at the Trojan points of the 
  gas giants. Walston itself lies on the outer fringe of the Life 
  Zone, occupying the innermost orbit of Albin’s Star.
  In order out from the star, the system contains:
  Orbit 
  Name 
  Type
  0 
   
  Walston 
  Rocky, Habitable
   
   
  Roberts 
  Large Rockball
  2 
   
  - 
  (Empty Orbit)
  3 
   
  Greenish 
  Small Gas Giant
  4 
   
  - 
  (Empty Orbit)
  5 
   
  Victir 
  Iceball
  6 
   
  Temine 
  Iceball
  7 
   
  - 
  (Empty Orbit)
  8 
   
  Scales 
  Iceball
  9 
   
  Insive 
  Small Gas Giant
  ROBERTS
  Roberts was named for the Astrogator of the first colony ship 
  into the Walston system. It is a large (size 7) rocky body 
  with no satellites. It has an atmosphere of sorts, but it is 
  too thin to breathe unaided. To date there have been only 
  a handful of landings on Roberts, and little in the way of 
  surveying. An expedition some years ago claimed to have 
  found ruined structures on Roberts, but these have not been 
  located again. 
  GREENISH
  Quite a small gas giant, Greenish is named for its sickly 
  yellow-green coloration. Its atmosphere is very turbulent, 
  making fuel skimming somewhat hazardous. Greenish has 
  no less than seven significant moons, plus a picturesque ring 
  system that contains few bodies larger than a tennis ball. 
  There is nothing very unusual about the moons of Greenish; 
  most have more or less ‘textbook’ orbits, thought the empty 
  orbits each side of Greenish suggest that the system was 
  once somewhat more vigorous. 
  Belters from Bowman have at times explored the moons 
  of Greenish and her Trojan planetoids. Only a handful of 
  prospectors remain, suggesting that no big strikes were 
  made.
  VICTIR
  Victir is a fairly typical outsystem iceball; airless and 
  inhospitable. Ike much of the system it has only been 
  cursorily charted by official expeditions. It is possible that 
  unofficial exploration has been undertaken, but the results 
  of such a survey would not be available to the authorities, 
  assuming it existed at all. 
  TEMINE
  Another iceball world, Temine was the site of a (failed) 
  mining operation in the 750s. Initial indications of high 
  concentrations of rare earth metals (such as lanthanum) 
  turned out to be inaccurate, but only after large sums were 
  sunk into a surface mining installation and supporting town; 
  over 2000 workers came to Temine, only to leave again in 
  less than a decade. The Temine Bust put investors off sinking 
  money into transborder exploitation projects for many years 
  and remains an embarrassment to all those firms involved.
  SCALES
  A large and forbidding rocky world with very low surface 
  temperatures, Scales has never been fully surveyed, let 
  alone exploited.
  INSIVE
  Insive is located at the very outer edge of the Walston 
  system. Less turbulent than Greenish, it lies too far out to 
  be worthwhile skimming fuel at. Insive has a handful of small 
  moons plus one very large one, named Insive Alpha. Alpha 
  seems to be a captured body. One theory suggests that it 
  was originally located in orbit 2 or 4 and was flung outward 
  to be captured by Insive’s gravity before it could leave the 
  system. 
  
  - 8 -
  
  - 9 -
  WALSTON
  Lying in the closest orbit to the system’s primary, Walston is 
  the only inhabited body in the system.
  PHYSICAL DATA
  Walston is not the most inviting of worlds. It is rather dry, 
  with temperatures being highly variable thanks to the thin 
  atmosphere, which requires a filter mask to breathe safely. 
  Lying on the outer edge of the Life Zone, Walston does not 
  get excessively warm, even during the day, and at night 
  temperatures plummet well below freezing in all regions. 
  Somewhat less than half the planetary surface is under 
  water, though not all of this water is in liquid form. In polar 
  regions the seas are constantly frozen to a considerable 
  depth, and icebergs are common even close to the equator. 
  Nightly freezing of fresh-water bodies and the surface of 
  some seas is a fact of life. Rainfall tends to be minimal since 
  there is little evaporation of frozen water. Walston has no 
  satellites, so there are no tides to contend with. 
  There is little erosion on land, due to a combination of thin 
  atmosphere and relative dryness. Walston has a number of 
  fairly impressive mountain ranges which create windshadows 
  and further deprive inland regions of rainfall. Thus the 
  landscape tends towards being rugged and impressive, but 
  inhospitable. Rocky badlands and dusty plains are common, 
  though most coastal regions are better watered.
  A number of major deep-sea thermal vents exist, giving 
  rise to warm currents that make some areas much more 
  habitable than others. Indeed, there are several obvious sites 
  for settlement, though at present there is only one center of 
  population. This lies on Settlement Island, off the western 
  coast of the world’s largest continent, Walston-Main. 
  Settlement Island is fairly large; some 200km from north to 
  south and 350 from east to west. The sea between it and 
  Walston-Main is shallow and dotted with small islands. A 
  drop in sea level of just a few meters might create a land 
  bridge, though this is not likely to happen. The island itself is 
  not particularly high above sea level except in the southern 
  extreme where a huge extinct volcano (Mount Salbarii) and 
  its surrounding hills rise steeply from the coastal plain. 
  The island is washed by a warm current which creates a 
  zone of higher than average rainfall and fertile seas; Mount 
  Salbarii traps some of the rain over the island, feeding two 
  great lakes which then spill over into northward-flowing 
  rivers. These rivers not only make the island’s interior the 
  most habitable part of the planet, but they also serve as 
  highways between the main and northern settlements.
  Walston-Main is large, cold and uninviting. Mountain 
  ranges (with the odd active volcano) are interspersed with 
  dusty plains. A number of deep canyons run roughly east-
  northeast across the continent. These have never been 
  explored. Erosion seems an unlikely explanation for their 
  presence; tectonic activity or some ancient cataclysm may 
  be the cause. 
  Walston-Main contains about 50% of the world’s land 
  mass. Most of the rest is split between the Main-Southeast 
  Subcontinent, Walston-Antipodes, The Shallows and 
  Varken’s Continent. Main-Southeast is connected to 
  Walston-Main by two narrow isthmuses. One is more or less 
  impassable, consisting of a chain of volcanic mountains; the 
  other is a frozen desert. Thus Main-Southeast is effectively 
  a separate land mass. 
  Walston-Antipodes lies mostly in the Southern hemisphere 
  and includes the great Antarctic ice shelf. It is not known 
  how much land lies under the ice cap. The Shallows is a vast 
  region of very shallow sea with many islands and mountain-
  tops protruding above the surface. The region would be 
  extremely hazardous to seagoing navigation if any were 
  undertaken. Much of the Shallows can be considered to be 
  a vast saltwater swamp rather than an archipelago, land 
  mass or sea area. In some areas it is possible to walk for 
  hundreds of kilometers between islands, never encountering 
  water deeper than a man’s waist.
  Varken’s Continent is a horrible place, with some of the worst 
  terrain on the planet. Some small areas may be marginally 
  habitable but these are surrounded by mountains and rocky 
  deserts which effectively turns them into islands surrounded 
  by an ocean of desolation and reachable only by air. 
  Countless small islands dot the surface of Walston’s oceans. 
  Most of these are either covered in ice or near-vertical; few 
  offer any real prospects for habitation.
  SOCIO-POLITICAL DATA
  Walston is home to around 3,000 individuals. Of these, some 
  90% are Vargr, and are second-class citizens. The ruling 
  elite of the world (an hereditary dictatorship) are humans 
  who claim ancestry all the way back to the early settlement 
  of the region during the Rule of Man. This claim is disputable, 
  but certainly the ruling families have held Walston for many 
  centuries.
  The only inhabited region of the planet is Settlement Island, 
  which has three major ‘towns’ of about 600 people each 
  and a scattering of small hamlets in addition to the capital at 
  Central Lake. Central, as the settlement is called, is home 
  to 300 or so inhabitants. Expeditions occasionally visit 
  Walston-Main for various reasons, prospecting being the 
  most common, but until now there have been no attempts to 
  create a permanent base on the mainland. 
  Law level is moderately high, but not excessive. It is true that 
  Vargr are subject to more laws and regulations than their 
  human neighbors, a fact that has caused concern among 
  Imperial observers given the world’s Client status. An IISS 
  
  - 20 -
  mission in 05 concluded that while Vargr are subject to 
  racist restrictions they are ‘not unduly oppressed’ and their 
  status does not contravene any Imperial High Laws.
  As noted, Walston is an Imperial Client world, and receives 
  protection from the Imperial Navy; this is more notional than 
  real at present given the lack of naval forces in the subsector. 
  A small subsidy is paid to the world government to maintain 
  and operate a Class C starport. This is located at Walston 
  Startown, the northernmost of the settlements, rather than 
  at the capital. 
  The planetary dictator is currently involved in negotiations 
  with one or more Imperial corporations with a view to licensing 
  mining and other economic installations in remote areas 
  of the planet. There is absolutely no way for the people of 
  Walston to exploit these resources, or to stop any group that 
  felt like it from simply moving in, but the dictator still insists 
  upon stupidly high licensing fees, stalling the whole process 
  to no-one’s advantage. Meanwhile, offworld surveyors have 
  begun to do their work. Perhaps the dictator wishes to hold 
  out for a good deal when the surveyors find something that 
  simply must be exploited. However, he runs the risk that a 
  corporation may lose patience and simply move in without 
  permission. With no ability to dislodge such an operation by 
  force and  too little money to make a challenge in the Imperial 
  courts, there is a real risk that the dictator will provoke a fait 
  accompli that cuts the world population out of any benefits of 
  offworld investment.
  The Vargr population of Walston are accepting of their status. 
  They get little say in government and cannot hold certain 
  posts, but on the whole they are left alone to live their lives 
  as they will, other than paying lip service to the idea that 
  humans are their social superiors. Since most of the people 
  of Walston live comfortable, unambitious lives and get along 
  well enough, this is not a problem. Offworld Vargr tend to 
  become extremely offended at both the human ‘overlords’ 
  and the contented Vargr ‘peons’ of Walston, which can lead 
  to difficulties. 
  While Walston has been a client world of the Imperium for 
  many years there are no plans to apply for full membership. 
  Change is unwelcome on Walston, and Imperial membership 
  might upset the ‘natural order’ of things. 
  ECONOMIC DATA
  Walston has a mainly subsistence economy based on 
  shallow-water seabed farming off the island’s ice-free 
  western coast and more conventional agriculture along 
  the river valleys. What manufacturing there is operates as 
  effectively cottage industries in the three main settlements. 
  A mature TL8 industrial base is quite sufficient to provide a 
  high standard of living and to meet the needs of the undersea 
  faming industry. Virtually everything is craftsman-made to 
  order, and even utilitarian equipment tends to be of a high 
  standard. 
  The Starport employs a few dozen people and brings in a 
  modest income from passing vessels, crews stopping over 
  and so forth. Ships come through fairly regularly – sometimes 
  two or more in a single day – and the part-time port brokerage 
  even turns a profit on speculative cargoes from time to time. 
  Walston imports little and exports even less; the port is purely 
  an external commercial installation. 
  MILITARY DATA
  Walston cannot be said to possess a military force of any 
  kind. The dictator maintains a security formation equipped 
  with TL8 smallarms and vehicles, which acts as a law-
  enforcement agency, fire/rescue department and starport 
  security force in addition to protecting the ruling elite. Other 
  than a couple of support weapons at Central, the security 
  force has nothing more potent than an assault rifle at its 
  disposal. 
  There is no offworld defense capability whatsoever. Even the 
  starport’s single utility boat is unarmed and serves only as 
  a transport for maintenance personnel servicing the orbital 
  mooring beacon. Walston does not even possess a ground-
  to-orbit missile battery. 
  Similarly, there is no way to project force beyond the coastal 
  waters of Settlement Island, and no real force to project. 
  While a militia could be raised and deployed aboard the utility 
  boat or seagoing craft such as coastal faming submarines, it 
  unlikely that much could be achieved. Walston has no history 
  of conflict and no warrior traditions amongst its people. 
  FLORA AND FAUNA
  The seas of Walston are home to a variety of hardy life. 
  Most of this is on a microscopic level, though a wide range 
  of hardy fish species, seabed crawlers and free-floating 
  invertebrates exists to feed upon them. Only two species of 
  seagoing animals pose any real threat to humans. 
  The first is Alderson’s Coastal Hunter, more usually known 
  as ‘Aldersons’. Aldersons are armored arthropods growing 
  to 30-40 cm long, not counting a whip-like tail which is the 
  same length as the body. The Alderson has a pair of puny 
  lobster-like claws, but normally hunts by either surging from 
  cover to grab small prey or entangling larger invertebrates 
  with its tail. Aldersons can give a human a nasty bite and are 
  very tenacious if they feel threatened enough to fight over 
  territory or if they mistakenly entangle a human diver’s limb 
  with their tail. Their armor plates make them difficult to kill 
  with a knife.
  T20: Alderson’s Coastal Hunter (AKA “Aldersons”) 
  – Small (6kg) Carnivore/Pouncer; St/Lb 9/4 (d0+4); 
  Init +3; To Attack if surprise; To Flee if surprised; Spd 3m 
  (2 squares), swim 6m (4 squares); AC 7 (+3 dex, + size, 
  +3 natural armor); AR 3; Atks whiptail +3 melee (d6), two 
  claws + melee (d3); SA improved grab; SV Fort +4, Ref 
  +5, Will +2; Str 0, Dex 7, Con 4, Int 2, Wis 8, Cha 6, Edu 
  
  - 2 -
  T20: Flyer Swarm – Diminutive (kg) Scavenger/Carrion-
  Eater (swarm); St/Lb 2/8 (6d8-6), individually St/Lb / 
  (/4d8-); Init +3; To Attack 8+; To Flee 7+; Spd 3m (2 
  squares), fly 9m (6 squares) (poor); AC 17 (+3 dex, +4 size); 
  AR 0; Atks swarm (2d6); Size/Reach 3m x 3m (shapable)/
  0m; SA distraction; SQ immune to weapon damage, swarm 
  traits; SV Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +2; Str , Dex 7, Con 8, Int 
  --, Wis 0, Cha 2, Edu --, Soc --.
  Skills: Listen +4, Spot +4. (Flyer swarms have no feats.)
  Special Abilities: Distraction – Any living creature that 
  begins its turn within a flyer swarm must make a Fortitude 
  save (DC 2) or become nauseated for one round, becoming 
  unable to act that round.
  Special Qualities: Immune to weapon damage - Flyer 
  swarms do not take damage from physical weapons (as 
  physical blows do not kill a sufficient number of creatures 
  to lessen the swarm), but are still susceptible to energy 
  damage, particularly heat and fire, but not highly focused 
  weapons such as lasers. Swarm Traits - Although individual 
  flyers are diminutive, a swarm of them is treated as a single 
  larger creature occupying four squares contiguously, and 
  these four squares are completely shapable. Swarms 
  automatically hit and do damage against any creature in the 
  squares they occupy at the end of their turn. Swarms cannot 
  make attacks of opportunity, but can provoke them. Swarms 
  can squeeze through cracks or holes large enough for their 
  component creatures. Swarms are immune to critical hits, 
  trip attacks, bull rushes, grappling, and they cannot grapple 
  another opponent.
  CT: Flyer Swarm – 1kg Carrion-Eater; Hits 14/5 (individually 
  /0); Armor none; Wounds 5 (as claws); A6 F5 S(2).
  Special Notes: Flyer swarms have the following special 
  abilities and qualities.
  • 
  Distraction - Any living creature that begins its turn within 
  a flyer swarm must roll 8+ on 2D6 (DM -1 if End 4-, DM +1 
  if End 0+) or become nauseated for one round of combat, 
  becoming unable to act that round.
  • 
  Immune to weapon damage - Flyer swarms do not 
  damage from physical weapons (as physical blows do not 
  kill a sufficient number of creatures to lessen the swarm), but 
  are still susceptible to energy damage, particularly heat and 
  fire.
  • 
  Swarm Traits - Although individual flyers are diminutive, 
  a swarm of them is treated as a single larger creature 
  occupying four squares contiguously, and these four squares 
  are completely shapable. Swarms automatically hit and do 
  damage against any creature in the squares they occupy at 
  the end of their turn. Swarms can squeeze through cracks or 
  holes large enough for their component creatures.
  Most of the land-dwelling animals on Walston are fairly 
  harmless egg-laying burrowers of one sort or another. Most 
  species can hibernate for long periods to survive a drought, 
  and most possess a coat of coarse hair to insulate them. 
  There is nothing on land that can directly harm a human, 
  though some of the burrowers can be a nuisance. Favorite 
  --, Soc --.
  Skills & Feats: Hide +4, Move Silently +12, Survival +5. 
  Multiattack.
  Special Abilities: Improved grab – If an Alderson hits with 
  its whiptail attack, it does normal damage and automatically 
  attempts to start a grapple (grapple check +5) as a free action 
  without provoking an attack of opportunity. This attack works 
  against creatures of up to medium size. Aldersons have a 
  +8 racial bonus to their grapple checks, which is somewhat 
  offset by their smaller size.
  CT: Alderson’s Coastal Hunter (AKA “Aldersons”) – 
  6kg Pouncer; Hits 6/9; Armor mesh; Wounds 3 (as blade 
  [whiptail]) or 2 (as claws); A0 F0 S (2).
  Special Notes: Aldersons are able to grapple and entangle 
  their prey if they successfully strike with their tail, with a +2 
  on any combat action related to maintaining their hold on 
  their prey.
  The other seagoing threat is more dangerous. It is known as 
  the Deep-Water Brakarr for its similarity to a shallow-water 
  dwelling beast encountered on some other worlds; in fact 
  they are not related. The Brakarr is a sinister-looking beast 
  which looks like a fish with an armored head from just behind 
  which several manipulative tentacles extend. When moving 
  at speed these are swept back but on the attack they grab 
  prey and haul it into the Brakarr’s mouth. Brakarr over .5m 
  long and massing as much as an adult human have been 
  sighted in coastal waters. They are aggressive and can 
  decimate farmed fish stocks if not driven off. They are also 
  quite willing to take on a diver, and usually win. Fortunately, 
  they seem to prefer much deeper and colder waters and are 
  rarely sighted near Settlement Island.
  T20: Deep-Water Brakarr – Medium (00kg) Carnivore/
  Killer; St/Lb 9/3 (3d0+3); Init +4; To Attack 4+; To Flee 
  0+; Spd swim 2m (8 squares); AC 20 (+4 dex, +6 natural 
  armor); AR 6; Atks bite +7 melee (d6+); SQ blindsight 9m, 
  scent; SV Fort +4, Ref +7, Will +2; Str 3, Dex 9, Con 3, 
  Int , Wis 2, Cha 2, Edu --, Soc --.
  Skills & Feats: Listen +4, Spot +4, Swim +9. Weapon 
  Finesse (bite).
  CT: Deep-Water Brakarr – 100kg Killer; Hits 12/8; Armor 
  cloth; Wounds 4 (as teeth+); A4 F7 S3.
  Despite the harsh conditions there is a fair amount of life on 
  land. Much of it is small; crawling insects and so forth. Terran 
  creatures seem not to have gained much of a foothold on 
  Walston, whose local fauna is fairly primitive. There are 
  no major flying creatures, though several species of insect 
  possess the ability to spread a ‘wing’ membrane and drift on 
  the thin air currents. Some of these tiny flyers drift in swarms 
  which can pose a hazard in inland areas. Prevailing winds 
  keep the western side of Settlement Isle clear of them.
  
  - 22 -
  tricks include climbing into awkward spaces on vehicles to 
  enjoy the warmth from the powerplant or burrowing under 
  fences into a cultivated area, then engaging in a devastating 
  feast. 
  One species of burrowers, known simply as ‘Walstons’, are 
  kept as pets by many families on Walston. Sociable and loyal 
  beasts the size of rabbits, Walstons are vegetarian and easy 
  to care for, and seem to like living in the homes of humans 
  and vargr. They have absolutely no value as guard or working 
  animals, being slow-witted and lazy when well-fed. They do, 
  however, emit a pleasing humming sound when petted and 
  will snuggle up to anyone in emotional distress, apparently 
  to offer comfort. 
  T20: Walston Burrower – Small (6kg) Omnivore/Gatherer; 
  St/Lb 7/0 (2d6); Init +2; To Attack 9+; To Flee 7+; Spd 6m (4 
  squares), burrow 3m (2 squares); AC 3 (+2 dex, + size); 
  AR 0; Atks two claws +4 melee (d3-4); SV Fort +5, Ref +5, 
  Will +2; Str 3, Dex 5, Con 0, Int 2, Wis 2, Cha 2, Edu 
  --, Soc --.
  Skills & Feats: Hide +4, Move Silently +9. Weapon Finesse 
  (claws).
  CT: Walston Burrower – 6kg Gatherer; Hits 4/6; Armor 
  none; Wounds 2 (as claws); A5 F6 S.
  LIFE ON WALSTON
  Daily life on Walston is slow and, for the most part, 
  comfortable. Filter masks and thick clothing are needed 
  when venturing outside, but otherwise there are no serious 
  hazards. Dwellings are kept at an uncomfortably warm 
  temperature (as far as offworld visitors are concerned) by 
  humans; less so by vargr. 
  Within the three towns and Central, buildings are blocky 
  with rounded corners, and sunk into the ground rather than 
  built upwards. Thus very few buildings have more than 
  one storey above ground, but larger ones may have two or 
  even three levels below the entry floor. Within a settlement, 
  structures are grouped close together and connected by 
  semi-sunken tunnels at the entry floor level. Most clusters 
  have only a couple of ground-level entrances for personnel 
  and a communal vehicle garage. Outlying hamlets are 
  mostly a single structure, though some have three or more 
  independent buildings if the settlement has expanded since 
  it was constructed. 
  Indoor clothing on Walston tends to be light. A kilt and a 
  light shirt/tunic is the commonest dress for both sexes, with 
  light sandals or bare feet. Vargr tend to wear bright colors, 
  with human favoring more sober outfits in gray, white, black, 
  blue or dark red. This makes humans look like a somber lot 
  compared to the vargr, but in truth both groups are easy-
  going and friendly. 
  Although the vargr are disenfranchised and must defer to 
  humans in many situations, they do not seem to be unhappy 
  with this situation. There are few decisions to make anyway 
  and everyone has a high standard of living. People of both 
  races tend to be unambitious and find many offworlders to 
  be more than a little bit manic with their go-getter attitudes. 
  Asking most Walston citizens why they don’t go offworld 
  to seek their fortune, or set off into the wilderness to find 
  mineral riches, results in a blank look and the oft-repeated 
  phrase ‘but it’s NICE here!’.
  Most of the population work in farms close to the settlements, 
  with smaller numbers employed as divers or submarine 
  crews in the coastal seabed farms. A small percentage work 
  at the starport (usually part-time alongside a craftsman or 
  farming job) or are employed in the world’s tiny bureaucracy 
  and security force. Vargr work in all these industries and 
  can hold fairly high positions, but humans are always given 
  precedence. 
  Vargr are not required to be obsequious to humans; merely 
  to acknowledge that they hold a higher place in Walston’s 
  social structure. This idea has become ingrained to the point 
  where it is thought of as the natural order of things. The 
  locals are quite comfortable with the idea that offworld vargr 
  might have different values, but here humans are superior. 
  Offworld vargr find this attitude more than a little creepy.
  The people of Walston are not good at reacting to problems, 
  and are nervous about their responses until they are 
  approved by whoever is perceived as being in charge. 
  A few individuals are quite dynamic, such as the security 
  managers at the underwater farms. These people deal 
  with divers in trouble and other crises on a fairly regular 
  basis and are comfortable with thinking on their feet. Most 
  individuals prefer to get together with friends and neighbors 
  and have a good talk about the issue. Hopefully one of the 
  more usual troubleshooters will deal with the problem in the 
  meantime. Thus if confronted with a minor disaster (e.g. 
  a wastebin fire) the average Walston local will deal with it 
  well enough. However, all the time he or she will be looking 
  around for someone to defer to, and will not be comfortable 
  until someone takes charge of the situation and approves 
  whatever action was taken.  
  
  - 23 -
  ADVENTURE SEEDS
  The following adventure seeds can be used to set up quick 
  adventures in the Walston system.
  1.  WALSTON-MAIN
  The travellers are requested to carry out a comprehensive 
  survey of a region on the Walston-Main continent. They must 
  determine not only the presence of mineral wealth or other 
  exploitable resources but also the practicality of setting up a 
  mining operation in the area. Weather conditions, availability 
  of water and tectonic stability are all important factors in such 
  an undertaking. The client is an offworld investment group 
  hoping to convince the planetary dictator to grant them a 
  license to exploit an area of the continent. Solid data will 
  allow a better estimate of what to offer, or whether it is worth 
  just going ahead in defiance of the dictator’s stonewalling. 
  It transpires that several other groups have been hired to 
  undertake similar surveys, some of them by rival concerns. 
  While the continent is huge, there are not all that many prime 
  sites for a mining outpost, so fairly soon the travellers will 
  begin to encounter other surveyors. Some of them may be 
  friendly, others distinctly stand-offish.
  There is no law in the outback of Walston, so any clash with 
  other prospectors will be regulated only by the willingness 
  of the parties involved to negotiate or compromise. The 
  situation could turn into a bloody range war between rival 
  groups of prospectors, or (depending upon the players) be 
  something more complex. It might be possible to hammer out 
  a compromise between the various groups and to even help 
  one another out. The efforts of a loose alliance of legitimate 
  prospectors to fend off a gun-happy band of thugs could 
  spawn several interesting encounters.
  There are other possibilities of course. Walston-Main has 
  never been fully explored. There may be evidence of ruined 
  settlements hidden in the rugged valleys of the outback; 
  perhaps someone is still living there!
  The great canyons of Walston-Main have never been 
  explored. This would present numerous challenges and 
  might be exploration for exploration’s sake. Alternatively 
  there might be a sinister secret lurking at the bottom of the 
  canyons…
  2. THE SHALLOWS
  The Shallows presents a number of challenges to explorers. 
  A vast region of tiny islands, half-frozen inlets and shallow 
  channels, it is virtually impossible to traverse by all-terrain 
  vehicle or boat, and presents a number of problems to 
  starships or grav vehicles since safe landing areas are not 
  immediately obvious. 
  The ecosystem of the Shallows is unique, making it home 
  to a variety of unusual sea and beach creatures. Little or 
  nothing is known about the local flora and fauna, which 
  might have pharmaceutical or other marketable properties. 
  Similarly, mineral and other resources may be exploitable. 
  For this reason, various groups have attempted to survey 
  and chart the region; sometimes successfully and more 
  often not. Some groups (always offworlders) have attempted 
  record-setting expeditions such as crossing the Shallows 
  using only man-portable equipment. Such endeavors are 
  viewed with puzzlement on planet but may make the news 
  as far away as Mora. Were a Shallows expedition to get 
  into trouble, no rescue would be available using on-planet 
  resources. A group with a starship or air/raft might be able to 
  render assistance. 
  Exploring the Shallows might lead to a discovery. Centuries 
  ago, the water level on Walston was slightly lower than it 
  is now. In those ancient days the Darrians built an outpost 
  on an island in the region. When the disaster known as the 
  Maghiz swept over the region, this outpost was used as a 
  safe haven from the surge of electromagnetic disturbance 
  that accompanied it. This surge severely disrupted electronic 
  equipment in the area and damaged the outpost’s systems 
  rather badly, but the survivors who fled here were able 
  to at least survive. Their ships, however, were rendered 
  inoperative. Those in the system eventually crashed or 
  drifted into deep space over the years. Some may still be 
  drifting slowly outward; the craters of others might be found 
  if anyone thinks to search. 
  It is possible that one or more inert Darrian ships lie on the 
  seabed of the Shallows. Badly decayed but still of interest 
  to Imperial and Darrian scientists. The outpost itself might 
  be located too, submerged when the sea level rose. By that 
  time the refugees would most likely have died out. 
  3. RESCUE SUB
  The submarines used by Walston’s coastal farmers are 
  craftsman-built and very reliable. They do, however, suffer 
  serious malfunctions from time to time. When that happens, 
  the rescue sub is launched to recover the distressed vessel, 
  or at least its crew. However, this time there is an additional 
  problem.
  A farming sub (equipped to support 4 divers and with a crew 
  of 2) has suffered a severe control malfunction and run out 
  of control, heading for deep water off the coast. The crew 
  have managed to shut down the propulsion system, but 
  the craft is now caught in a current that is likely to carry it 
  past the northern end of the island and eventually onto the 
  coast of Walston-Main. The sub is sinking slowly despite the 
  best efforts of the crew to maintain buoyancy or blow the 
  tanks and surface. It is not known yet whether it will fall into 
  a trough between the island and mainland and pass crush 
  depth (the farming subs are not deep-submergence vessels) 
  
  - 24 -
  or be washed onto the coastal shelf. Neither outcome is 
  particularly favorable. 
  The distressed crew is already beyond the reach of the 
  rescue sub. There are 3 divers on board – one was outside 
  when the drive went haywire and was able to raise the alarm. 
  The farming sub can support 5 people for at least another 
  day or two, but by then it will be too late; the hull will either be 
  crushed by water pressure or smashed on coastal rocks. 
  The rescue sub can go much deeper than a farming vessel, 
  but is not fast enough to catch the drifting sub in time. Rescue 
  by a starship is not possible. Unless specially adapted for 
  deep water as some System Defense Boats are, starships 
  cannot function underwater beyond a depth of a few meters. 
  The distressed vessel is already quite deep; escaping in 
  diving equipment remains a possibility but even if the crew 
  were picked up very quickly after reaching the surface (say 
  by a hovering spacecraft), the pressure change might be 
  fatal. 
  The only solution seems to be the rescue sub. It might 
  be possible to increase its speed with jury-rigged extra 
  propulsion systems, or to transport it to the rescue area in 
  a starship’s cargo hold, then somehow get it into the sea. 
  The latter can be accomplished by landing in the water 
  and submerging the starship a little (all starships can stand 
  immersion to a few meters’ depth) to allow it to float out 
  through the cargo doors. After the crew are taken off the 
  rescue sub must then get home. This means fighting the 
  current all the way, The rescue sub can do it but it cannot 
  tow the farming vessel against the current. It will have to be 
  abandoned unless something ingenious is thought up, such 
  as attaching a cable to a starship and making a low-level 
  flight home. 
  Matters may be complicated by rocks, entangling seaweed 
  or hostile fauna if the Referee desires.
  4. MAIN-SOUTHWEST
  The Main-Southwest Subcontinent is virtually a separate 
  land mass and is very far from Settlement Island. Offworlders 
  have been covertly landing there for some time. Among them 
  are contractors of the Imperial Megacorporation Sternmetal 
  Horizons. These individuals have been conducting more-or-
  less legal mineral surveys with a view to starting extraction 
  operations as soon as the planetary dictator gets around to 
  granting a license – or Sternmetal loses patience and goes 
  ahead anyway. 
  Operating out of semi-concealed camps the surveyors have 
  been ranging all over the Main-Southwest Subcontinent. 
  Additional personnel come in occasionally aboard supply 
  ships, but the number of prospectors is deliberately small 
  to avoid notice. The latest supply vessel discovered that 
  the numbers were even lower than expected – some of the 
  prospectors had disappeared.
  The travellers might get involved in this situation in a variety 
  of ways. Sternmetal might hire them to investigate the 
  disappearances, or the planetary dictator may ask them to 
  check on rumored offworlder activity in the region. The Imperial 
  authorities (most likely the IISS) might also approach them. 
  Depending upon why they became involved, the characters 
  might be suspected of playing a part in the disappearances 
  by the remaining Sternmetal people – assuming they can be 
  found. 
  It is not advisable to go hopping around the region in a 
  starship. It would be spotted sooner or later. Thus the 
  characters will either be dropped off by a ship or land theirs 
  and camouflage it before using other means of transport. 
  Their investigation will turn up signs that prospecting is taking 
  place – bore holes and discarded equipment at likely mine 
  sites, for example. After some searching, the characters will 
  start to find the bodies. 
  If the Referee likes horror movies, the reason might be quite 
  sinister. Perhaps a hidden research base has created some 
  kind of bioengineered monster and accidentally let it loose. 
  Perhaps there is an unsuspected land-dwelling predator 
  after all… 
  Alternatively, the deaths and disappearances might be the 
  work or rivals. A pirate or smuggling ring operating out of 
  the Main-Southwest Subcontinent and trying to remain  
  undiscovered might be killing off the prospectors. It is also 
  possible that Imperial enemies may have a base there. This 
  might be renegade Sword Worlders determined to carry on 
  the war, or it might be forces from the Trexalon Technical 
  Consortium (TTC) intent on disrupting Imperial expansion 
  in the region by any means necessary. Any clash with such 
  groups is likely to be bloody.
  5. MOUNT SALBARII
  Mount Salbarii, the volcano on Settlement Island, may not 
  be as extinct as was previously supposed. An ominous 
  rumble accompanied by a ground tremor emanated from the 
  mountain a few months ago, and smaller disturbances have 
  been noted since then. The planetary dictator is naturally 
  concerned that the mountain may erupt. 
  There are no vulcanologists on Walston. Indeed, there is 
  no-one with any real planetary-science background. Any 
  character with skills in prospecting, geology, or such like 
  knows more than the entire population put together. Even 
  just a high-level education indicates enough background 
  knowledge to seem like an expert to the folks of Walston. Thus 
  the dictator would like the characters to go to the mountain 
  and determine if it really is going to erupt. He would also like 
  to know when and which settlements are in danger if that is 
  possible – he actually does not even know how much data 
  the characters might be able to determine. 
  
  - 25 -
  The mountain can be climbed, though in the thin atmosphere 
  this would be quite an undertaking. It would be possible to 
  fly a ship or air/raft up the slopes or even into the crater at 
  the top of the mountain. There is a small crater lake within; 
  the water is warmish but there is no way to tell if it is getting 
  warmer without planting some instruments and monitoring 
  them. There is no smoke or obvious indication that an 
  eruption is imminent. 
  Within the crater, the characters may be able to find a 
  number of lava tubes leading down into the rock. These are 
  warmish once the characters get far enough in, but nothing 
  too severe. It is possible to penetrate deep into the mountain 
  using these tubes, which snake and loop back in places, and 
  occasionally come to a dead end. 
  A period of exploration and monitoring of instruments 
  indicates that the mountain is indeed becoming active. It is 
  up to the Referee how soon it will erupt, and how violently. 
  It may be that all that will happen is more rumblings and the 
  odd plume of smoke. On the other hand, internal pressure 
  might be about to blow the side of the mountain off!
  The most likely conclusion is that there will be a small 
  eruption in the next few months. This will dump a fair amount 
  of ash downwind (away from the settlements and over the 
  sea towards the mainland) but should not seriously threaten 
  even the nearest town. It will be alarming but not excessively 
  dangerous. 
  A sadistic Referee might decide to either follow the projected 
  eruption with a bigger one that does threaten the nearest 
  settlement, or else have magma escaping through uncharted 
  lava tubes to surface close to the nearest settlement, 
  necessitating a hurried evacuation. Lava reaching the sea 
  (perhaps through underwater tubes) would pose a hazard to 
  the coastal farmers in the area. It would also create clouds of 
  steam which soon after begin to fall as freezing rain. 
  If the mountain were to explode due to internal pressure 
  becoming intolerable, the damage radius would be much 
  greater. It would still not cover the whole island but would 
  certainly change the course of daily life there for some time 
  to come. Segments of the population would have to relocate 
  northwards even if they survived the initial devastation. 
  6. RAIDERS
  Planetary Raiders are a problem in District 268 and the 
  surrounding region. Using starships (usually cargo vessels 
  converted to carry extra ground troops) the raiders choose 
  weakly defended worlds as their target, and usually 
  attack relatively minor settlements rather than important 
  installations. Because their ships do not need to be able 
  to defeat others in open combat, and ship-to-ship combat 
  damage is unlikely, the overheads of such a group are lower 
  than those of true pirates. The methods are quite similar.
  The usual approach is to land close to a town or city and 
  shoot up any defense installations with shipboard weapons 
  while ground troops overrun the defenders. Goals vary 
  from wanton destruction through slave-raiding to capture 
  of industrial goods and produce. Some of the more daring 
  groups have actually tried to seize control of a frontier 
  starport in the hope of netting a starship or two. Others use 
  simple extortion, threatening to flatten the town unless tribute 
  is handed over. The normal duration of a planetary raid is 
  hours at most, preventing much in the way of a response 
  from being made. 
  Obviously, worlds with a good COACC force or system 
  squadron can prevent such raids, but many systems in 
  District 268 are wide open. One obvious target is Walston. 
  In fact, the only real reason the system has not been raided 
  before is the lack of concentrated industry that can be 
  robbed; raiders like high-value, low-bulk goods that can be 
  quickly gathered and loaded. 
  Despite the chicken-stealing nature of a raid on Walston, one 
  group has decided to launch an attack. Their goal is to take 
  the starport and seize its stocks of starship spares (minor as 
  these may be, they are still valuable) along with anything else 
  that might be grabbed. The profit margin can be pushed up 
  by taking captives for ransom or to be sold as slaves. Slave-
  trading is of course aggressively targeted by the Imperial 
  Navy but in these difficult times there is little chance of being 
  caught anywhere outside the Imperial border.
  The raiders are using a 400t Subsidized Merchant as their 
  transport. It is armed with two dual laser turrets and carries a 
  20t launch. The latter mounts a missile rack which is normally 
  used for ground-fire suppression. Some 22 ground fighters 
  are aboard, equipped with a variety of weapons. The most 
  common loadout is an assault rifle or submachinegun, flak 
  jacket and helmet. Some individuals have full Cloth or even 
  Combat Armor, and access to heavier weapons (mainly 
  ACRs).
  The raiders have vehicles at their disposal including two 
  air/rafts armed with a pintle-mounted light machinegun, a 
  couple of wheeled bulk-loaders for rapid stowage of loot, 
  and a TL7 light tank armed with a 75mm cannon. Their plan 
  is to approach the port acting like a legitimate merchant 
  ship, land where they are told then launch their attack from 
  the ground. The launch will lift off from its piggyback mount 
  and suppress any ground-based heavy weapons (there are 
  none) or batter any ships at the port, while the Subbie itself 
  engages any ships with its lasers from point-blank range. 
  Meanwhile, the tank and ‘rafts will advance rapidly, followed 
  by ground fighters, to secure the port. The raiders will 
  round up everyone they want as quickly as possible and 
  begin loading whatever loot they can get – cargo, spares 
  or stockpiles from the port workshops. They expect to be 
  on-planet for just a few hours. Since Walston is such a soft 
  
  - 26 -
  target the raiders expect to get away scot-free and even take 
  a little time to enjoy themselves. They are not a disciplined 
  fighting force and are quire capable of committing terrible 
  atrocities.
  The port defenders are stunned. Individuals might fight back 
  but will quickly be overwhelmed by firepower. There is nothing 
  on-site that can bring down a ‘raft or stop a tank, let along 
  engage a starship. The militia armory contains carbines and 
  light machineguns, plus a handful of disposable anti-tank 
  rocket launchers. The militia have virtually no experience with 
  the latter, and will be scattered and scared at the beginning 
  of the raid. If some of them can be rallied and the armory 
  reached, perhaps a defense can be mounted and maybe 
  some of the captives rescued. However, the only people 
  likely to lead such a defense were in the front line when the 
  raiders landed. They are dead, wounded or captive by now. 
  Note that there are very few weapons in the locals’ homes 
  as this is illegal. The only chance is to reach the armory, but 
  there are troops and even a tank to deal with, plus the air/
  rafts deployed to keep the locals’ heads down.
  The raiders are undisciplined but aggressive. They are used 
  to dealing with the feeble resistance of mid-tech victims, and 
  are willing to take the odd casualty so long as they think they 
  are winning. Once the tables start to turn, self-preservation 
  is the order of the day. A determined counterattack might be 
  enough to scare off the raiders without having to defeat them 
  all in a stand-up fight.
  FINAL NOTES
  This book gives a broad overview of the region and events 
  within it. The accompanying single-world supplements 
  expand upon the notes herein to detail each world more 
  thoroughly. However, it is simply not possible to present 
  an entire star system in a few thousand words. Planets are 
  big places, and in many cases habitation is restricted to a 
  small area. If the Referee wishes to add additional groups 
  living on a world or in its outsystem, there is no real reason 
  not to; they simply haven’t found their way into the Imperial 
  databases yet. 
  Similarly, those databases may be incomplete. Until recently 
  567-908 was listed as uninhabited. It turned out to have an 
  indigenous intelligent species! Thus, the world descriptions 
  contained in this book and its companions are not carved in 
  stone. They are a starting point; an aid to play rather than a 
  straitjacket for the Referee’s imagination. Who knows what 
  wonders might be found hidden on these worlds? Indeed, do 
  not be surprised if adventures published in the Avenger line 
  unveil hidden secrets about the region and its inhabitants. 
  As these worlds are further explored by travellers from the 
  Imperium (or elsewhere) then we will find out more about 
  them. We may even discover that some of what we ’know’ 
  (i.e. some of the data in this book) is incorrect or incomplete. 
  The more closely a subject is studied, the more complex it 
  becomes. 
  This book and its companions draw upon the body of Traveller 
  ‘canon’ as published by GDW and others. Reference has 
  been made to the following publications:
  • 
  Supplement 3 – The Spinward Marches
  • 
  Adventure 4 – Leviathan
  • 
  Adventure 0 – Safari Ship
  • 
  Double Adventure 2 – Mission on Mithril/Across the 
   
  Bright Face
  • 
  Double Adventure 5 – Chamax Plague/Horde
  • 
  Double Adventure 6 – Night of Conquest/Divine 
   
  Intervention
  • 
  Module  – Tarsus
  • 
  Module 2 – Beltstrike
  • 
  Regency Sourcebook  – Keepers of the Flame
  • 
  Avenger Adventure  – Call of the Wild
  • 
  Golden Age Epic 1: The Forgotten War
  • 
  Golden Age Epic 2: The Gabriel Enigma
  All but the last three of these is now out of print, though 
  many titles are obtainable as reprints through Far Future 
  Enterprises. Call of the Wild is a current publication from 
  Avenger Enterprises and is set just a few parsecs away. It 
  ties in to both Adventure 4 and Double Adventure 2. Astute 
  readers may find it interesting that Keepers of the Flame 
  was used as a reference, since that book is set 90 troubled 
  years in the future. The answer is that this supplement is part 
  of the official OTU (Official Traveller Universe) timeline and 
  leads directly into the Rebellion/Collapse/Recovery/New Era 
  
  - 27 -
  timeline. However, the rebellion is not set to begin for half a 
  decade, and Referees preferring an ‘extended golden age’ 
  timeline are welcome to create a future in which Archduke 
  Dulinor does not assassinate Emperor Strephon and thereby 
  shatter the Imperium. One such future is explored in the 
  GURPS Traveller line published by Steve Jackson Games, 
  but an alternative could be created. 
  In short, this book is about the Bowman Arm as it is today, in 
  . What happens next is for the Referee and the players 
  to decide.
  MJD, Winter 2005.
   
  
  Open Content:  All Game statistics are designated as Open Content 
  under terms of the Open Game License.  All other material in this 
  publication is designated as Closed Content, and may not be used 
  without the express permission of Avenger Enterprises and ComStar 
  Media, LLC.
  OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a
  The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and 
  is Copyright 2000 Wizards of the Coast, Inc (“Wizards”). All Rights 
  Reserved.
  1. Definitions: (a)”Contributors” means the copyright and/or trademark 
  owners who have contributed Open Game Content; (b)”Derivative 
  Material” means copyrighted material including derivative works and 
  translations (including into other computer languages), potation, 
  modification, correction, addition, extension, upgrade, improvement, 
  compilation, abridgment or other form in which an existing work 
  may be recast, transformed or adapted; (c) “Distribute” means to 
  reproduce, license, rent, lease, sell, broadcast, publicly display, 
  transmit or otherwise distribute; (d)”Open Game Content” means the 
  game mechanic and includes the methods, procedures, processes 
  and routines to the extent such content does not embody the Product 
  Identity and is an enhancement over the prior art and any additional 
  content clearly identified as Open Game Content by the Contributor, 
  and means any work covered by this License, including translations 
  and derivative works under copyright law, but specifically excludes 
  Product Identity. (e) “Product Identity” means product and product 
  line names, logos and identifying marks including trade dress; 
  artifacts; creatures characters; stories, storylines, plots, thematic 
  elements, dialogue, incidents, language, artwork, symbols, designs, 
  depictions, likenesses, formats, poses, concepts, themes and graphic, 
  photographic and other visual or audio representations; names and 
  descriptions of characters, spells, enchantments, personalities, 
  teams, personas, likenesses and special abilities; places, locations, 
  environments, creatures, equipment, magical or supernatural 
  abilities or effects, logos, symbols, or graphic designs; and any 
  other trademark or registered trademark clearly identified as Product 
  identity by the owner of the Product Identity, and which specifically 
  excludes the Open Game Content; (f) “Trademark” means the logos, 
  names, mark, sign, motto, designs that are used by a Contributor to 
  identify itself or its products or the associated products contributed 
  to the Open Game License by the Contributor (g) “Use”, “Used” or 
  “Using” means to use, Distribute, copy, edit, format, modify, translate 
  and otherwise create Derivative Material of Open Game Content. (h) 
  “You” or “Your” means the licensee in terms of this agreement.
  2. The License: This License applies to any Open Game Content that 
  contains a notice indicating that the Open Game Content may only be 
  Used under and in terms of this License. You must affix such a notice 
  to any Open Game Content that you Use. No terms may be added to 
  or subtracted from this License except as described by the License 
  itself. No other terms or conditions may be applied to any Open Game 
  Content distributed using this License.
  3.Offer and Acceptance: By Using the Open Game Content You 
  indicate Your acceptance of the terms of this License.
  4. Grant and Consideration: In consideration for agreeing to use this 
  License, the Contributors grant You a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-
  free, non-exclusive license with the exact terms of this License to Use, 
  the Open Game Content.
  5.Representation of Authority to Contribute: If You are contributing 
  original material as Open Game Content, You represent that Your 
  Contributions are Your original creation and/or You have sufficient 
  rights to grant the rights conveyed by this License.
  6.Notice of License Copyright: You must update the COPYRIGHT 
  NOTICE portion of this License to include the exact text of the 
  COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any Open Game Content You are copying, 
  modifying or distributing, and You must add the title, the copyright 
  date, and the copyright holder’s name to the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of 
  any original Open Game Content you Distribute.
  7. Use of Product Identity: You agree not to Use any Product Identity, 
  including as an indication as to compatibility, except as expressly 
  licensed in another, independent Agreement with the owner of each 
  element of that Product Identity. You agree not to indicate compatibility 
  or co-adaptability with any Trademark or Registered Trademark in 
  conjunction with a work containing Open Game Content except as 
  expressly licensed in another, independent Agreement with the owner 
  of such Trademark or Registered Trademark. The use of any Product 
  Identity in Open Game Content does not constitute a challenge to the 
  ownership of that Product Identity. The owner of any Product Identity 
  used in Open Game Content shall retain all rights, title and interest in 
  and to that Product Identity.
  8. Identification: If you distribute Open Game Content You must 
  clearly indicate which portions of the work that you are distributing are 
  Open Game Content.
  9. Updating the License: Wizards or its designated Agents may 
  publish updated versions of this License. You may use any authorized 
  version of this License to copy, modify and distribute any Open Game 
  Content originally distributed under any version of this License.
  10 Copy of this License: You MUST include a copy of this License 
  with every copy of the Open Game Content You Distribute.
  11. Use of Contributor Credits: You may not market or advertise the 
  Open Game Content using the name of any Contributor unless You 
  have written permission from the Contributor to do so.
  12 Inability to Comply: If it is impossible for You to comply with 
  any of the terms of this License with respect to some or all of the 
  Open Game Content due to statute, judicial order, or governmental 
  regulation then You may not Use any Open Game Material so 
  affected.
  13 Termination: This License will terminate automatically if You fail 
  to comply with all terms herein and fail to cure such breach within 30 
  days of becoming aware of the breach. All sublicenses shall survive 
  the termination of this License.
  14 Reformation: If any provision of this License is held to be 
  unenforceable, such provision shall be reformed only to the extent 
  necessary to make it enforceable.
  15 COPYRIGHT NOTICE 
  Open Game License v 1.0 Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
  System Reference Document, Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, 
  Inc.; Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on 
  original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Ameson.
  T20—The Traveller’s Handbook Copyright 2002, QuickLink 
  Interactive, Inc.  Traveller is a trademark of Far Future Enterprises 
  and is used under license.
  Bowman Arm Copyright 2005, 2006 Avenger Enterprises and 
  ComStar Media, LLC.  Author Martin J Dougherty.  Traveller is a 
  trademark of Far Future Enterprises and is used under license.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Traveller/Traveller d20/Avenger_-_Traveller_-_The_Bowman_Arm.pdf