Ganulph

[menistvo]

I thought this was most appropriate to this area of the forum - as for me, longtime (VERY longtime, since 1980) Traveller referee and player, first off I greatly appreciate this site and those who post - thank you all.

Alright, to the point: From classic adventure 4,
Ganulph X200000-0
"[Ganulph]...was originally inhabited by a society that had attained tech...5. During the Fourth Frontier War, it was garrisoned by Imperial Marines as an advanced base, including a major munitions store. In early 1084 all life on the planet, and its atmospheric envelope, was destroyed in the Manoeuvre of Ganulph..." (Zhodani forces operating out of the far-flung Zho colony at Pa'an in the Outrim Void area of Trojan Reach skirmished with the Imperial forces in the region, namely the Egyrn subsector. A "resupply" base on Ganulph was destroyed by a Zho attack, and "certain experimental weapons" exploded)

Ganulph lost its atmosphere and is now radioactive.

A4 Leviathian has always been one of my preferred adventures. That's why it's rather important to address the Ganulph question.

That question - Although the detonation of large amounts of nuclear weapons (I imagine naval missiles and the "experimental" items) will certainly poison a world at least for a while, I find it a bit difficult to believe that the atmosphere will be blown away.

-Is this (complete loss of atmos) even possible, without some Ancient magical do-hickey, especially considering that the world size will need increased in order to have a thin atmosphere in the first place? (big tip of the hat to Malenfant the Amazing for that revelation - you sir will help revolutionize our beloved Traveller, for the better)

-If it is possible, it must require far more or far larger nuclear devices than currently on earth (i.e. a truly large number; it seems most Traveller nukes are not the 10-20 MT biggies). Or could it be the experimental device? First, I abhor attributing every head scratcher to "Ancients" or "mysterious devices". I do that as little as possible. Second, why would said device EVER be stored on a backwater forward base, near a known area of Zho ops, guarded (as noted in Adv 4 Leviathan) by a light cruiser? A 'shatterer-of-worlds' would never be found in that place (esp since the desperate fighting was coreward, not rimward)- especially considering that it's not Imperial territory to begin with.

Pardon me, I digress - the atmosphere problem is the question here. I might propose, tenatively and prematurely,
Ganulph X54?000-0 as a result of a missile (and perhaps one or two experimental models) storage depot explosion. Hydro prob. 20-50% area, atmos thin but heavily contaminated, world surface dangerous with many fission products. But even this would not last forever...the loss of surface life would no doubt affect the atmosphere in the long term though (UNLESS the O2 producing bacterial are resistant to heavy radiation - that I don't know)
...
I first purchased Leviathan in 1981 or 82, it has long been one of my favorites. The theme is irresistable - exploring the unknown. The Ganulph question always comes up when I peruse that great adventure. I'm curious for your thoughts.
...
Thanks a million in advance! If only we had this site (indeed, internet!) back then...

 

[menistvo]

Quick addition - by TNE (1200 or so) or by TNE1248 I would imagine the atmosphere could possibly be relatively safe (given it wasn't 'blown away', or that oxygen levels didn't drop dramatically). After all, Bikini was hammered (incl. 17.5 MT Bravo test) and today the waters and air are of course safe (although isotopes apparently remain in soil and plant life). The Ganulph incident would be much larger than the combined tests at Bikini, but I imagine the radioactive dust and particles will gradually filter out of the atmosphere. Now the ground, that would take a lot longer (I have read that a 10MT ground burst will require c.10 years for ground zero to reach what is considered safe levels...just maybe Ganulph is not doomed). In order to cover their posteriors, the Regency may keep the world a red zone (any test will reveal the longer-lived radioactive isotopes in the soil, etc. and relics of the tech-5 civilization, leading to the conclusion that a nuclear event occurred. Perhaps the Imperium / Regency wouldn't like that revealed. The report on Ganulph is said to be top secret)

It is notable that the world 985-373 (X775000-0) in the same subsector (Trojan Reach 1209) suffered its own nuclear holocaust (yet remained with an atmosphere).

 

[Malenfant]

Realistically speaking, a size 2 world can't even have an atmosphere unless it's deep in the outer zone of a system (it like Titan or Pluto in our solar system).

You also can't really 'blow away' a whole atmosphere with nukes either unless perhaps there's practically nothing there to start with, like Europa or Ganymede in our solar system where there's only an atmosphere in the sense that there's a few atoms bouncing around above the surface.

Your solution sounds reasonable though - a larger world with a thin, tainted atmosphere would work.

 

[Andrew Boulton]

Maybe the atmosphere was being constantly replenished by outgassing (which is how a world that small had one in the first place), and it was *this* that was disrupted.

 

[menistvo]

Thank both of you for the replies - it is really appreciated.

As for outgassing, that is a fascinating idea but begs the question, would it have a Traveller-designated thin (i.e. breathable) atmosphere, or an exotic one?

 

[Andrew Boulton]

Depends on the gas, I suppose! Dunno if you'd actually get a breathable atmosphere this way, but you could always throw in terraforming as well (an Aliens-style atmosphere processor).

 

[menistvo]

For those interested in the Outrim Void (Egyrn and Pax Rulin subsectors of Trojan Reach), I include this summary of the info along with some speculation on my part.

What is known:
1. Ganulph was a regressed colony with a presumably human (based on the general popn of the Egyrn subsector)population (I guestimate in the thousands) with a general tech level of 5.
2. Ganulph was a smallish world with a thin, breathable atmosphere.
3. Ganulph was the site of a rather large Imperial Navy missile storage depot, with possible experimental weapon(s) included.
4. In 1084, a Zhodani attack destroyed the light cruiser guard and the marine garrison and precipitated the detonation of the missiles (I accept this even though it is very hard to cause actual detonation of an unarmed nuclear warhead; test Coulomb-B in Nevada, USA, resulted in a yield of only 0.3 kT, while most tests resulted in 0 yield. Perhaps the major mistake here was not the loss of the base, but someone allowed the missile warheads to remain active).
5. The nuclear holocaust destroyed the native civilization (and perhaps all higher organisms) through blast, initial radiation, and fallout.
6. A vigorous, extremely aggressive red zone patrol is maintained at Ganulph. Absolutely no visitation to the world is permitted and the patrol vessels will not hesitate to fire.
7. Ganulph, a little-known planet, did not have a First Survey profile, just a location. Actual data was known only by the Navy.
8. The Imperial Navy, as of 1107 (1117 if one uses DGP info about Trojan Reach), had not yet declassified any information about the incident on Ganulph.

Speculation on my part (a suggestion):
1. After the Maneuver of Ganulph (i.e. destruction of the storage depot), the Navy released "official" information as follows: X200000-0 Red Zone
2. Ganulph was not destroyed in the explosion; the actual UWP is X543000-0. Nearby the system is a red dwarf (M3V) which plays a part in the deception. Ganulph actually orbits a K3V star at a dist. of j1-j3 (less than one parsec) from the M3V. The M3V is listed in the fake system data in order to deflect attention from the true system. Perhaps there is a small vaccuum world orbiting the M3V??? [NOTE: the K3V system, the real Ganulph, is not depicted on maps of Egyrn. The existance of the 'shadow' system, the M3V, is based on my suspicion that Ganulph is 'hidden' on charts]
3. The Imperial Navy (Regency???) obviously does not want investigation of this incident; perhaps it would indict someone important or prove to be a stain on the record of an officer or official who would become a hero or important figure in later SM/Regency history.
4. The coming of the Aslan and then Virus relegated Ganulph to complete unimportance. By 1248 the atmosphere may no longer be poisoned by radioactivity, making Ganulph a highly desirable planet (with precautions). But the old red zone code remains, the public conception of a burned cinder is unchanged in the minds of any who still care about this region. It is possible that rumors indicate a garden world somewhere in the area, but most would assume this refers to 987-373. Perhaps the Navy still maintains the patrol. Certainly there will be long-lived radioisotopes in plant tissue and in the soil. Tests will indicate the artificial nature of the isotopes, and the fact that a tech-5 civilization could never produce such weapons. So X200000-0 is a myth, a deception.

I admit I am intrigued by this idea. The IGS/IISS/RISS data shows a tiny, airless dead thing. Reality is completely different. The Zhodani are active in this region (Pa'an would be an excellent minor base for patrol and ELINT missions), just maybe the Regency is building/has rebuilt a secret naval facility on Ganulph.

A few thoughts - hopefully anyone who uses this region will find this topic interesting.

 

[daryen]

Sounds good to me. Run with it.

 

[Fritz_Brown]

If the "experimental weapon" were an anti-matter device, it might set off a chain reaction that would annihilate the atmosphere (I acknowledge that it probably wouldn't have an atmosphere to begin with...), and cause wierd nuclear reactions in the surface that would cause radioactivity.

Of course, how a TL5 society exists on a near airless rock that size is also a good question....

 

[rancke]

The problem with Leviathan is that it is a very early source, and some of things it establishes are not really compatible with subsequently published material. Don't get me wrong, you're perfectly entitled to use whatever you wish in YTU, but you will have to ignore some of the facts that we've learned about the TU since L.

The biggest difference is that in Leviathan, the Outrim Void was an almost completely unknown area of space. You get the impression that the Imperium has only recently reached Glisten and that Egyrn and Pax Rulin are raw frontiers. But later we learn that it is a buffer zone that has lain between the Imperium and the Aslan Hierate for half a millenium and that there is a lively trade between the two regions. Granted, the Outrim Void (or, as I call it, the Buffer Zone) can easily be a backwater where almost all trade travels along a few jump-3 routes (the only jump-2 route actually goes through Tobia, far away from the Outrim Void). That some of these worlds don't get visited from one decade to the next is quite believable. But never visited by even a single Scout expedition or an enterprising trade scout in all of the 1000 years since the Imperium reached the Marches? How believable is that?

Originally posted by menistvo:
7. Ganulph, a little-known planet, did not have a First Survey profile, just a location. Actual data was known only by the Navy.

The Scouts had long-range survey expeditions as far into the Trojan Reach as subsector E late in the 2nd Century. IMO it is far more likely that the Scouts found Ganulph some time during the 2nd Century and interdicted it, then lifted the interdict when its people recently reached TL 5.

Or... maybe the Scouts hadn't lifted the interdict yet! That would make the Navy's use of Ganulph for a base a technical violation. Presumably the base would have been placed on an uninhabited continent and the Navy would have expected to get away with it by claiming that they weren't interfering with the native culture...

After the disaster, of course, the whole affair became something that could cost the heads, or at least the careers, of senior IN admirals. Hence the cover-up.


Hans

 

[robject]

menistvo, I think your solution is cool and adventuresome. Thanks for posting it!

I really liked the original assumptions about the Outrim. Having wild, unexplored territory seems to be almost a requirement to make Traveller "complete", and yet it instead became a kind of urban sprawl, where every world is catalogued as far as the eye can see. Knowing everything ( = no fog of war, eh?) isn't all it's cracked up to be.

I agree with Hans that as the Imperium was fleshed out, it became apparent that it's just too big and too close to the Outrim to have not detailed and exploited every system there. In this detail I wish things could be different.

 

[alanb]

Originally posted by rancke:
That some of these worlds don't get visited from one decade to the next is quite believable. But never visited by even a single Scout expedition or an enterprising trade scout in all of the 1000 years since the Imperium reached the Marches? How believable is that?

The ship encounter tables in Leviathan suggest that at least some vessels would be operating in the area at all times. They include Naval, Scout and Merchant ships, as well as Zhodani and Belgardian vessels.

Presumably the Imperium knew a great deal more about the area than they had made available to the general public.

No, that doesn't make sense in the light of subsequent canon, but there you go.

Leviathan was probably the single coolest of the early CT adventures (published by GDW, anyway). It came nearest to fulfilling Traveller's potential for freewheeling adventure. The fact that it was so massively overwritten is a genuine tragedy.

 

[mike wightman]

Having the outrim void as unexplored territory fits in much better with the background of the fan project known as proto-Traveller IMHO
Leviathan should probably be added to the list of source material, but the High Guard ships have to go
Here's a link to the proto-Traveller thread.
And here's another discussion which also makes some good points.

 

[Andrew Boulton]

"Leviathan was probably the single coolest of the early CT adventures (published by GDW, anyway). It came nearest to fulfilling Traveller's potential for freewheeling adventure."

And yet it's the only one not actually written by GDW...

 

[mike wightman]

Having now re-read the rumours and library data, Leviathan does indeed make a fine addition to proto-Traveller, IMHO

 

[menistvo]

First of all, I am happy to see that this topic has generated some interest

Second, you are most welcome robject and thank you for the kind words. How I view this forum, the more persons who post pertinent ideas, the better (we can pick and choose what we like, use, etc - and we're all the richer)

Third, rancke wrote:

The Scouts had long-range survey expeditions as far into the Trojan Reach as subsector E late in the 2nd Century. IMO it is far more likely that the Scouts found Ganulph some time during the 2nd Century and interdicted it, then lifted the interdict when its people recently reached TL 5.

Or... maybe the Scouts hadn't lifted the interdict yet! That would make the Navy's use of Ganulph for a base a technical violation. Presumably the base would have been placed on an uninhabited continent and the Navy would have expected to get away with it by claiming that they weren't interfering with the native culture...

After the disaster, of course, the whole affair became something that could cost the heads, or at least the careers, of senior IN admirals. Hence the cover-up.

You are absolutely right about the Scouts having the UWP info - I should have written "The data is known by the Navy and Scouts, but was classified (possibly) by the Navy and not released." The "heads rolling" idea, coupled with the absurdity of a size-2 world in the habitable zone, with a breathable atmos is exactly why I postulate the "real Ganulph" is not at the M3V, but at a nearby K3V (keep in mind the K3V is not in the official data).

As for the lively trade, that appears very accurate for Pax Rulin SS (note that Pax Rulin is TL15 by 1200) but not Egyrn. Why? I believe, IMO, that there are reasons:
- The Zhodani had a known base in the OV. There were even battles there during the Fourth FW and the "Maneuver of Ganulph" occurred (not only did the TI lose a base, they lost a light cruiser in battle). Zho patrols made this area dangerous; ditto Arkesh Spacers and other pirates who may have found haven in the high-tech, unaligned worlds of Menorial Subsector (spinward).
- The worlds were not particularly attractive. Goria housed a violent society, Braudel was the site of extensive psionics use, Pa'an of course was a hostile Zho colony, Velscur was TL3, Vior was a hideous regressed colony where the inhabitants would eat visitors ( in MTU the inhabitants have died out by 1248). Ganulph was interdicted (whatever the UWP is) and aggressively patrolled by Imperial warships, 985-373 is uninhabited, and then there's the Belgardian Sojourn... Also, it must weigh on the minds of all but the most adventuresome (or reckless) merchants/adventurers that if your ship "breaks down" on low-tech frontier worlds, you may end your years on such a world. If such persons learned the UWPs of the OV, they may detour through Pax Rulin anyway (the trade route through Pax Rulin to Gazulin SS I personally do not include in the "Void").
- The Belgardian Sojourn (BS for short ) was a xenophobic, fledgeling empire (three worlds). Although not at all violent, they apparently resented intrusion (called every other starfaring nation "the Enemy"). Perhaps the Imperium did not want to alienate the BS and force them into an alliance with the Zhodani (perhaps if info is made widely available, this will become a "green light" for merchants and travellers, who will visit the worlds of the BS and irritate the little empire - until the Zhodani appear and offer a solution...). A major Zhodani attack through the usual routes, if accompanied by a secondary attack (even heavy raiding) in the Ourtim Void area, could menace the Spinward Marches.
- Although not right on the doorstep, a known Zhodani ally (Avalar Consulate) could possibly operate undetected through Menorial and toward the Egyrn Subsector, in support of a Zho campaign against Five Sisters, D268, etc.
- The situation in the Marches was not conducive: Glisten was well-settled and economically favorable, so a major trade route through Pax Rulin to Tobia is most logical. District 268, however, only became Plankwell SS after the collapse (and even then not completely annexed). D268 was opened much earlier to colonization/expansion, no doubt as Pax Rulin had been once, but Egyrn was beyond even D268 and efforts to produce economically viable client-states and eventual member-states no doubt concentrated on D268 (and to a much lesser extent the extreme coreward 1/4 of Egyrn). This alone would never result in a "forgotten frontier" but together with the other reasons, may be the "final straw".

Just possibly, there was no major reason for the unknown (outside of Scout and Navy circles) nature of the OV, but that several minor reasons existed at the same time (see above). There does remain one key point: irregardless of changing Ganulph or not, Leviathan (though not GDW-written) was published by GDW (as Adventure 4) and must be considered official. So the OV information will need some reconcilliation with the timeline/history.

The Regency Sourcebook mentions the "relative safety of the worlds of the Plankwell Subsector" (although they are NOT so far from the Zhodani... even for those who reject Leviathan, see the Atlas of the Imperium, page 11, world square 0909 allegiance code "zl"). I believe this should not necessarily be attributed to the distance from Zhodane (Pa'an at 0909, the loss of a base and a CL occurred nearby); rather it is IMO accurate because of the good relations between the Regency and Zhodane. During the Frontier Wars, the opposite was true (Sword Worlds coreward, a mysterious Zhodani presence rimward...). The "forsaken" status of Egyrn may soon change. Now that the SW are broken in two, and the Zhodani are not the threat they once were, Egyrn may soon be a "District" subsector (the navy base at Motmos/Plankwell is a big stepping stone...).

It is important to note that I use the Traveller "canon" (I believe that's the word used here) as much as possible, but I have made changes to facilitate realism (like making Ganulph larger and not allowing nukes to "blow away" an atmosphere, among other such changes) and, after Traveller year 1200, I charted my own course with the history (I didn't have any access to this forum for quite a long time, living in Romania - and I adore my timeline from 1200 on).

Like any other post, food for thought - any ideas, complimentary or contradictory to the above theme, are more than welcome. The OV, a wonderful game setting, deserves its day in the light.

 

[alanb]

Originally posted by Andrew Boulton:
And yet it's the only one not actually written by GDW...

Yes.

To put it simply, there were a bunch of very talented scenario writers in the UK at that time. A lot of their stuff appeared in White Dwarf, which was why that magazine was so cool before it degenerated into a Games Workshop house organ.

The feel of their stuff was different from that of the GDW work, but in a lot of ways it was better. Even the work of the Keith brothers was often a bit dry in comparison, aside from the Skyraiders trilogy. But the difference in style was probably what ultimately doomed Leviathan. It simply wasn't where the OTU was heading.

In a lot of ways, Leviathan is a perfect example of Proto-Traveller. It was the road not taken, and a fine example of the fun that could be found down that road.