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101 new worlds for Traveller

BwapTED

SOC-13
This is a thread for people to post ideas for worlds in the Traveller Universe. I'll start with a few ideas and others can add more:

1] A very earthlike planet whose native animal life is adapted from the book: Man After Man, by Dougal Dixon.

2] An earthlike world that is undergoing a severe ice age. Glaciers cover much of the land outside of the tropics. The equatorial regions are swampy in summer, as runoff from the glaciers soaks the grasslands and forests.

Human colonists are based in the equatorial regions, and are expanding outward. Plentiful fossil fuels are used extensively by the colonists. This is actually part of a low tech terraforming plan aimed at speeding up global warming. Atomic reactors are being used to melt back some of the glaciers.

3] A planet where ocean covers most of the globe, and the single continent is mostly low and marshy[ it's near the equator].

Xeno-amphibians are the dominant form of life outside the oceans. Birds have been introduced from offworld, entering into serious competition with the native large insects and changing the ecological balance.

The main human cultures are rice farming villagers who live on the mainland, and semi nomadic fleets of fishermen who sail the open ocean in wooden sailing ships.


4] A high tech world where robots are manufactured in large quantities, and in many forms. The 'Robot Revolution' has put many humans out of work, but a profit sharing scheme has weakened calls for an ouster of the ruling Technocrats. A small portion of the Gross Planetary Product is distributed to all citizens. It isn't much, but the dole keeps many people clothed, housed, and fed in a very basic manner.
 
5] A earth sized world that orbits a blue-white star in the middle of a nebula, gets very low levels of visible light, but high levels of ultraviolet light. The plants on this world have developed UV absorbing chlorophyll and range from dark blues and purples to blacks often slashed with patches of no color so that they glow fluorescently in the low light conditions.
 
6] An earth-sized world orbiting a very large Gas Giant, which in turn orbits a normal yellow star.

The world is tidal locked to the gas giant, so the same side always faces the GG. The planet orbits the GG in an orbit of about 1 week, so that is the day/night cycle for the planet. Tides are VERY high on the planet.

Local life developed and created the oxygen atmosphere. Local life works on a 7-day cycle with 3.5 days of "day" and 3.5 days of "night".

Temperatures vary a lot during the 7-day long "day".

Colonists have settled the side of the planet opposite the GG since having this large yellow-orange ball that fills half of the sky hanging over your head has severe psychological effects.

During the Rebellion and resulting TNE, the locals regressed back and completely forgot that there even was a GG that they orbited. They just had a world with a 7-day long "day".
 
7] Rock and Ice

This planet was originally a large moon composed of various ices and rocky debris orbiting a gas giant. The moon was ejected from the GG orbit and into the habitable zone when original yellow sun exhausted its supply of hydrogen and expanded into its red giant phase.

The planet is 1.5 times the size of earth but with only 60% of the gravity and is composed of a mixture of ice and large masses of metal rich rocks which form semi-stable continents locked within a frozen matrix of ice and ice volcanoes. The planet has melted enough to have formed a oxygen rich atmosphere and a large equatorial ocean fed by melt runoff. The geology of the planet is exotic with Ice Tectonics driving the volcanics of the planet pushing continent sized chunks of Ice sub-duct beneath the metal rich outcrops and forming huge ice volcanoes that spew boiling water and great plumes of steam thousands of feet into the air. Earthquakes are frequent, and hot springs or geysers may erupt out of the ice without warning.

The temperature at the poles tends to stay well below zero (far into the negatives most of the time) making above ground habitation difficult, however the equatorial zone is just barely warm enough to allow above ground habitation possible.

While the planet is still to young to have evolved its own life, humans have populated the planet to mine the rich mineral deposits and inadvertently introduced lower forms of life that have quickly adapted and spread across the warm equatorial zone.
 
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8] Forgotten Core
The core of a former Small Gas Giant and was almost destroyed when it's parent star went Supernova. The planet's atmosphere was completely destoyed and the planet orbits the neutron star remnant in a highly eliptical orbit between 30AU and 100AU.

The core of the old Gas Giant is now solid and has been layered with several kilometers of exotic heavy metals and transuranic elements. These exotic metals and heavy metals are much easier to mine here than to manufacture and so it is VERY valuable to any empire, even if it is out of the way. The metals on this world could feed the needs of the Third Imperium for thousands of years and still not be exhausted.

The planet itself is Size A with no atmosphere and no hydrographics. There are absolutely NO volitiles on this planet. Not one gram of water or anything like that, so everyting must be imported.

Additionally, due to the large amount of transuranic elements, the radiation levels on the surface are so high that even with the best radiation shielding, people can only work on the surface for 2 weeks. Personnel stay in an orbital facility that is located near the 100D limit and miners only travel to the surface for 1-2 week shifts. Then they are done forever. Pay is very high and very dangerous.

(Inspired by the book Mirkheim by Poul Anderson)
 
9) A Large World with extremely varied climatic areas where several different Indignous Intelligent species have arisen.

Hmm. I thin I will Have to work on this one. Get me back into the habit at least. Still haven't found a group to play with, Dang WoW.
 
An earth-like world that orbits a hot blue sun. Obviously the habitable zone is much farther out than Sol's. The world masses 1.5 times earth's mass and has a 30 hour day. Lack of heavy elements contributes to a lower gravity at 1.05 times earth's. There is very little plate movement and the mountain ranges are like those found in the Appalachian chain. There are 10 major continents, and 5 sub-continents that give about 50/50 land water ratio. There is 1 huge continent approximating the size of Europe, Asia, and Africa. This continent has a land-locked fresh water sea (located in a high plateau between 2 mountain ranges) that has no outlet to the rest of the seas and oceans which are salt water. The 3 moons play hob with the tides. There are 2 asteroid belts and 4 gas giants in the system. I see this world as an agricultural world on which some long lost colonigizing expedition landed around 3500 to 4000 AD.
 
JAFARR, blue sun's cannot have habitable planets. They go nova (or supernova) before earth like worlds can form and cool enough to have solid surfaces.

Sorry to spoil things, but a star of O, B or A colors (blue and blue-white) just don't live long enough for worlds to form.

NOW, you could have a CAPTURED world around such a star, but there will probably not be a planetary system. HOWEVER, Poul Anderson wrote a story about a race that developed in a system with several habitable planets orbiting a B colored star. They were a group of rogue planets that had been captured by the star. Their star was becoming unstable and they were looking for a new home, but were looking in all the wrong places (after all no star would form around such a cold star as a G2 star...
 
10) is Biologists' Heaven, a world with ultra-oxygenated atmosphere with widely varying hydrogen storms, complete with lightning-sparked explosions. The local fauna is highly intelligent and the plant life grows at a fast rate.

Parties of spacers are often sent by various groups to collect undamaged specimens of the wildlife, cage them in elaborate oxygen tents to keep them healthy, and take them back. The Imperium grants hunting/trapping licenses to just about every expedition for 5 Cr per citizen plus 10 Cr per starship involved in the expedition.

Off-world travel is safe due to Imperial Navy presence.
 
Here is an entire Star System:
System Primary Sephius
Color and Spectral Class: Yellow, G0 V
Orbit - Name
0----- Wurphane Y000000-0 Planetoid Belt
1----- Olmud --- Large Gas Giant
__4--- Portune - G100111-A
__6--- Twiren -- H336316-A
__9--- Negar --- F200267-A
_10--- Swen --- YS00000-0
_35--- Cobfell -- Y110000-0 Co-orbital
_35--- Rydwain - YS00000-0 Co-orbital
2----- Zorbin --- Y000000-0 Planetoid Belt
3----- Schwill --- Small Gas Giant
__5--- Sybrin --- YS00000-0
__6--- Tor ------ Y200000-0
__8.6 - Batonea - B686594-B
_45--- Morgon -- Y100000-0
4----- Zester --- Y310000-0
5----- Kruup ---- YS00000-0
6----- Sessel --- G401100-A
7----- Selkin ---- B744445-F Naval Base, Scout Base
__5--- Petruna -- HS00437-E
__8--- Demuth -- HS00123-E
_40--- Abernath - Y5A2000-0
8----- Teya ----- H100436-E
9----- Kupen ---- Y6A0000-0
Main World
Batonea UWP: B686594-B
Trade Classifications: Agricultural, non-industrial
Travel Zone Classification: Green
Primary Star Type: G0 V
Orbit: (8.6 radii of Schwill) Schwill's Orbit is 1.1 AU
Orbit Period and Day Length: 24 hours
Year Length: 1.1313
Gas Giants: 2
Planetoid Belts: 2
Starport Type: B - Good quality Bases Present: Naval and Scout Bases
Size: 6 - 9,803.94 km equatorial diameter Gravity: 0.77 g
Atmosphere: 8 - Dense Climate: Temperate
Hydrographics: 6 - 60% Water Biodiversity: Diverse
Population: 5 - 900,000 inhabitants
Government: 9 - Impersonal Bureaucracy
Law Level: 4 - Light Assault Weapons (smg) Banned
Tech Level: B - Average Imperial
 
Here's another Star System
Sol System Prime (The Lords of Creation)
Orbit --- Name ------------- UPP
Primary - Sol --------------- G2 V
1 ------- Mercury ---------- Y300000-0
2 ------- Venus ------------ B888670-1
3 ------- Earth ------------- B867970-7
-60 ----- Luna ------------- B200270-7
4 ------- Mars ------------- B453870-8
- and satellites
5 ------- Planetoid Belt----- Y000000-0
6 ------- Jupiter ----------- Large GG
- and satellites
7 ------- Saturn ----------- Large GG
- and satellites
8 ------- Uranus ----------- Small GG
- and satellites
9 ------- Pluto ------------- Y100000-0
- and satellites
 
The Twelve Colonies of Kobol
Orbit --- Name ------- UPP -------- Orbit Period in days around Sun
Primary - Helios ------ G2 V
0.90 AU - Canceron -- A553944-F -- 311.8493
1.00 AU - Aquaria ---- A559944-F -- 365.2422 -- Langrange 4 (60 degrees behind Caprica)
1.00 AU - Caprica ---- AA69944-F -- 365.2422
1.00 AU - Virgon ----- A558944-C -- 365.2422 -- Langrange 5 (60 degrees ahead Caprica)
1.10 AU - Zeus ------ Large Gas Giant -- 421.3762
-5 ------ Leonis ----- B889944-E -- 421.3762
-7 ------ Picon ------ A889944-F -- 421.3762
-9 ------ Scorpia ---- B566944-D -- 421.3762
1.10 AU - Aereleon -- A585844-E -- 421.3762
1.20 AU - Hera ------ Large Gas Giant -- 480.1233
-5 ------ Gemenon -- B586944-E -- 480.1233
-8 ------ Libris ------ D584944-F -- 480.1233
1.20 AU - Sagittaron - B689844-E -- 480.1233 -- Langrange 3 (Opposite Hera in Orbit)
1.30 AU - Tauron ---- A687944-F -- 541.3722
5.20 AU - Ragnar ---- Large Gas Giant* -- 4330.9779

* Ragnar has not fully coallesced out of its planetary nebula, it is surrounded by gas and dust. Helios is a young star, in the final stages of its pulsation, just settling down to its main sequence life. All of the twelve colonies are clustered into the Habitable Zone, and it appears that Ragnar is made out of left over material.
 
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Very nice post, but I always assumed the 12 colonies were around different stars (relatively close to one another). Did they change this for the new series? There is really no reason for the colonies to have FTL (or to still have it as leftovers from the original Kobol expansion) if they are within a couple of days apart at sublight.


The Twelve Colonies of Kobol
Orbit --- Name ------- UPP
Primary - Helios ------ G2 V
0.90 AU - Canceron -- A553944-F
1.00 AU - Aquaria ---- A559944-F Langrange 4 (60 degrees behind Caprica)
1.00 AU - Caprica ---- AA69944-F
1.00 AU - Virgon ----- A558944-C Langrange 5 (60 degrees ahead Caprica)
1.10 AU - Zeus ------ Large Gas Giant
-5 ------ Leonis ----- B889944-E
-7 ------ Picon ------ A889944-F
-9 ------ Scorpia ---- B566944-D
1.10 AU - Aereleon -- A585844-E
1.20 AU - Hera ------ Large Gas Giant
-5 ------ Gemenon -- B586944-E
-8 ------ Libris ------ D584944-F
1.20 AU - Sagittaron - B689844-E Langrange 3 (Opposite Hera in Orbit)
1.30 AU - Tauron ---- A687944-F
5.20 AU - Ragnar ---- Large Gas Giant*

* Ragnar has not fully coallesced out of its planetary nebula, it is surrounded by gas and dust. Helios is a young star, in the final stages of its pulsation, just settling down to its main sequence life. All of the twelve colonies are clustered into the Habitable Zone, and it appears that Ragnar is made out of left over material.
 
The new BSG seemed to hint that most if not all of the 12 colonies were actually in one system. In Traveller, I would make them a cluster of worlds all within J1 of each other. Having a nice big cluster of habitable planets within a J1 cluster would be REALLY valuable and rare in Traveller and might explain why that location was selected as the site of the colonies.

Kobol and New Caprica (from the new BSG) are definitely in different systems.

If you want to map a subsector for BSG, habitable planets are very rare (making the 12 colony worlds even MORE valuable).
 
The Old BSG had Kobol quite a ways from the 12 colonies.... they find it several episodes later. There is a reference in the pilot to "launching attacks on all outter colonies", so we know Caprica isn't an outter colony...

I always had the impression that the Colonies were in a single multi-star system...
 
The new BSG seemed to hint that most if not all of the 12 colonies were actually in one system...

Well, from the "Tomb of Athena" episode I got the impression that the 12 colonies were rather widely spread out, since each was represented in the sky map by a separate constellation. That implies to me vast distances between each colony, not even in the same stellar neighbourhood, let alone a single stellar system.
 
For what its worth the BSG RPG puts them all in the one system. I think that is where Laryssa got it from. The orbits look familiar, as do the extra worlds (Zeus, Hera).
 
For what its worth the BSG RPG puts them all in the one system. I think that is where Laryssa got it from. The orbits look familiar, as do the extra worlds (Zeus, Hera).

Ah, I was wondering if the RPG had a map :)

Nuff sidetrack on the BSG info? Back to the OT stuff yes?
 
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