Folks,
We need to remember a few things about the table Sigg kindly provided.
First; the results from using the table will change every time it is used. Mickazoid could take a map of the Marches, a D6, and roll up trade routes, then I could take a map of the Marches, a D6, and roll up trade routes with the result being that two completely different trade route maps.
So, the table is for your personal TUs only. It will produce results specific to the time and place of it's use, results that cannot be easily shared with others.
Second; the table produces trade routes that do not make any economic sense. Much like the later communications/X-boat link table it inspired, the trade routes table ignores nearly all of the factors produce trade in the first place.
The table only takes in account distance and starport rating. Because CT's sysgen does not couple a starport's code to population, government, or law level and only loosely couples TL to the starport code, the table ignores and mutes those factors that heavily influence trade in the first place.
For example: Tenalphi/Lunion with a population under 100 has 53 chances for a roll to produe a trade route out of a 120 chances while Spirelle/Lunion with a population numbering in the 100s of millions has only 30 chances out of 120.(1) That makes no economic sense whatsoever and it due to the table's reliance on starport code only.
Tenalphi may very well the sole source of some exotic, one-of-a-kind item IYTU but even the Imperium's only source of natural cocktail umbrellas is no going to have more trade routes than a rich, democratic, Terra prime world of 100s of millions like Spirelle.
While 'odd' route results can provide a GM with lots of adventure ideas, having the majority of trade routes described as 'odd' defeats the purpose of having any trade routes at all. When the majority of routes must be handwaved away as 'exceptions', no route can be treated as exceptional. More importantly, with the majority of routes being exceptions, there is no underlying economic 'logic' your players can employ within your campaign sessions.
GT:FT is not for the math-phobic and its assumptions, as Aramis has patiently explained and finally proven to his harshest critics, are somewhat different from the Traveller trade assumptions that proceded it. However, GT:FT does produce trade routes that make economic sense.
It is often overlooked, but Far Trader does have a basic trade system. A single number relating to a world's economic 'power' or 'muscle' can be easily produced. Comparing that number to the numbers of the systems around that world is also easily done. That comparison will then suggest trade routes for YTU, trade routes that will have some underlying logic to them.
Have fun,
Bill
1 - Five starport codes (A, B, C, D, and E) at a range of four parsecs gives us 20 "targets". Rolling a D6 for each target results in 120 possible outcomes. Eah target number then indicates the number of successes; a target of 1 mewans six out of six succeed, 2 means five out of six, 3 means four out of six, etc.
