The 2300AD Databook Index

2300AD DATABOOK

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Issue 1
Contents
The American "Haven" class spaceliner

A virus past the OQC? -
The Libreville incident

"Terminal killer" -
serial killing event in 2300AD

RCRP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police)
All-Terrain Truck

Traylor Arms RG2b Riot Rifle

Jaschonek Fabrikant A2 "Rifle Blue"

Pentapod Musings

Interstellar communication & X-boats

Terran Confederation

ISSUE 1

Introduction
The 2300AD Databook is an independent non-commercial release meant for the fans of the Science Fiction Role Playing Game 2300AD. New issues are released on an irregular basis, as soon as new material gets available or done. The purpose of this release is to give the 2300AD fans their own online magazine, acting as a source for articles on the 2300AD universe. All material within should be considered "unofficial", although we aim to keep all articles relatively compatible with the more official sources. New articles can be sent in by anyone, and all good articles will get into the next incoming issue. We prefer articles and data that is unavailable anywhere else, and as always, quality goes before quantity. All comments, suggestions and critics are welcome. I hope the databook series will become a long-living resource for all the 2300AD gamers out there. Enjoy.

Foreword on Issue 1:

For a long time we 2300AD fans have been without a good source for new material. Old articles from magazines have been put up in the web as fast as possible, but ever since GDW folded down we have been without anything of our own. The members of the 2300AD mailing list at mars.galstar.com have been able to keep the 2300AD flame burning more or less brightly in the internet for a long time, and many thanks to all of you for that. We were all coming up with new articles, equipment and starships every now and then and putting them up on our sites all across the net. What we lacked was a place where we all could put our stuff up and released, so that as much as possible would be found under a single address. With the 2300AD Databook I am not trying (and could not) to make all the existing websites obsolete. There are many REALLY good 2300AD sites out there, deserving all the credit. What I am trying to do is to create our own online magazine, where anyone can post good stuff and where anyone can read and find all those articles. I wish the databook would become what we could call our own magazine, with new (hopefully awaited) issues pouring out a few times per month perhaps. Most articles in the first issue I did myself, but I cannot make this all alone, I need your help. I hope you as readers would contribute, and send in your articles, or any new material you can come up with (You will be credited accordingly). If nothing else, just send your comments, so we can improve the databook to suit your needs better. I promise that any good material will get released, and I know there are people out there who can produce very good texts, articles, designs or stories. Anything from the 2300AD genre is accepted. With this in mind feel free to enjoy the 2300AD Databook issue 1.

In this issue:
The American "Haven" class luxurious passenger liner
A virus past the OQC? - The Libreville incident
"Terminal killer" - serial killing event in 2300AD
RCRP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) All-Terrain Truck
Traylor Arms RG2b Riot Rifle
Jaschonek Fabrikant A2 "Rifle Blue"
Pentapod Musings
Interstellar communication & X-boats
Terran Confederation

The American "Haven"-class luxury liner
History: With the increasing French dominance over both entertainment- and travelbusiness, the Americans have for long tried to create a luxurious passenger liner for those who want the finest from their trip, and who have some extra livres to pay for it. Even though the interstellar travel has for some time now been getting more and more popular only few countries and private corporations have had enough courage to start designing and paying for a really luxurious liner.

Tim Hallock, a well known ship expert and salesman, who travels alot:

"I had seen all the pictures of the first Haven-class ship, and had read about it, yet still doubted if people would really be ready to pay more than double the price of a normal cruise for somewhat better accomodations and entertainment sections. I was tired of the already familiar beanstalk lift, and mostly just wanted sleep as soon as I could get into the ship. I really was impressed
The first thing that amazed me was the ships immense size. The pictures had made the ship look a lot smaller. I no longer wondered how it took so long to build it. From the terminal window I could see almost the whole ship, as it approached the terminal ready to dock. The ship was at least twice as long as most liners, with two spin systems, one at the middle and one at the back of the ship. Both were actually quite close to the main frame of the ship, and both had four capsules each. The ship was painted deep blue, and with the blinking lights in the windows it reminded me of the dark night sky back home. Just before the ship came close, the spin capsules halted and were retracted against the center of the ship.
After a quite fast security inspection and ID checking I was let in the entrance bay one at the front of the ship. The Interior really looked expensive. The hallways and the entrance bay were constructed from synthetic material that very closely resembled wood in appearance. The soft dark red floor and walls looked clean and I could smell fresh air. After all the people were in, and the entrance bay was closed behind us, a voice started talking from the speakers that were nowhere to be seen:
"Welcome to the Haven-class luxury liner Royce. We are now undocking from the terminal, and the spin decks will be operational in six minutes. Meanwhile find your entrance elevator, and get ready for a quick lift to your quarters. The captain and his crew wish you a pleasant journey."
I could see several crewmembers making sure that everyone found their way to their elevators (which I found comfortably large for so many people). I had read that the security aboard the ship was well organized, but all that was visible to the eye was two guardsmen standing by the elevators.
In the next few hours I was able to make a short report out of the ship. Everything inside seemed to be expensive and new. From the voice operated computers to the service bots and door systems. The interior looked very beautiful, with dark red, dark blue and wooden colour as dominant. The technic within the engineering section also seemed to be state-of-the-art: I couldn't even notice when the ship started moving away from the planet, until the large screens located in the halls showed the outside vision, with a person speaking and telling the technical data. The spin capsules worked really fine, with the four in the behind being the living quarters, and the four in the middle the commercial section, with everything from baths to bars, and from shopping centers to libraries. Life around the ship is eased by the artificial lighting system, creating an artificial night and day, although the commercial section was open all the time, and anyone could adjust their own quarters lighting and clock as they wanted.
I really was impressed by the ship, and must agree that the speed, technology and luxury levels really are different than on any other passenger liners. Everything worked really well, and we were actually ahead of schedule a few times. The crew was well trained and polite, and the lighting system really was comfortable. The shorter lifts to the spin capsules made travelling across the ship quite easy and fast, and thanks to the practical, yet beautiful interios in the zero-g sections I never felt the common Zero sickness. Only drawbacks I could come up with were the lack of "second-class" bars and people, and of course, the very high cost of the journey. The Haven-class liners might be out of question for most travellers, but those who can afford and want the best have practically no other choice. The only, and in my opinion the best."

The technical data for the Haven-class liner in the next issue.

A virus past the OQC?

The presence of the Orbital Quarantine Control around Earth has definetely been useful and effective, and officially no dangerous foreign viruses or diseases have got to the surface. Rumors, however, always go on about smuggled bacteria and bioweapons. Most are false, but the event described below is the worst so far that has really happened. It is kept highly secret by both the OQC and the French government.

Note to the GM's: feel free to edit the data below to suit your campaign. This article is a good source for an adventure in the human homeworld. More adventure ideas at the end of the article.

"The Libreville Incident"

On march 12:th the American ship KK Rockbreaker (a modified cargo freighter) arrived from the King system carrying seven engineers, five mineworkers and lots of parts for the new mining machinery. The ship had been through this route many times before, and entered a routine inspection. The mining workers went to quarantine for a 10 day period, but the engineers were only quickly inspected, for they were to stay on the terminal until the next ship would arrive. The cargo consisted of parts and materials for the new mining equipment, which was to be constructed right here in Earth. The technology was still somewhat experimental, but had been working so well, that the engineers on Earth would try to construct a larger drillmachine and make a testdrive before transporting it to King. This was all pretty routine. The problem was with three deepfreezed capsules containing the vulnerable and unstable parts of the drill engine. The OQC planted a standard "open in sealed laboratory only" tag on the package and sent it down after two days of microscanning (no foreign microbiology found). The package arrived at the beanstalk terminal on march 19:th, 21:15 local time.

The package was headed to the AmeriCo test laboratory fourty miles outside libreville. It was packed in with the other packets into a heavy AmeriCo truck, which started it's journey to the south. This is where bad luck kicked in. Six chinese workers had been kicked off by the AmeriCo just a week earlier, more or less with good reasons. Furious and out of cash three of the Chinese decided to take two flies with one stroke. They ambushed the truck just seven miles before the laboratory, shot the driver, and stole the packages (well knowing that the machinery inside was very valuable).

Entering their headquarters (an abandoned schoolbuilding right next to a kindergarten and a popular park) they had to open the packages, including the deep-freezed ones to find out what was inside. For three days the chinese inspected the packets and looked for potential buyers outside France. They knew that if they couldn't find a buyer with good equipment soon, some of the engine parts (the deepfreezed ones) would be spoiled beyond repair. One of the Chinese got sick.(severe fever, flu, coughing, unable to eat etc...)

The next day another of them started feeling sick and they were getting nervous. They knew that the OQC, with no confirmation from the AmeriCo on the careful opening of the packets, was looking for the raiders, as well as the police and AmeriCo themselves. They decided to bug out. Leaving with the first train towards spain they had to stop before the border. Two of them were just getting too sick, and had to go to the local hospital. Two weeks went by, the first chinese who had gotten sick first had died in the hospital (many experts were called there to investigate the disease, it is very difficult to die in the hospital in 2300). It was not until four more people, kids from the school near the abandoned packets, were sick with the same disease, that the authorities knew where to look for. After the packets were found, the area was isolated and the people taken to the Libreville Central Hospital. The OQC and the AmeriCo finally tied all the pieces together and all that was missing was the third chinese. He had not looked sick, but might be carrying the disease. The rest of the ill people were cured after intesive medical treatment, but it was obvious that the virus was fast, and could kill if the patient would not enter medical care within 24 hours. A wall of silence quickly surrounded the whole event, and the press never found out: it was disguised as a training operation. The third chinese was never found.

It was found out that the Virus actually came from another Colony, propably outside King, somewhere along the American arm (the parts for the machinery were constructed in several places). The deepfreezing had killed most organisms within the cargo, but some had managed to live due to the faulty packaging and inspection. The virus was a foreign variant of the common flu-virus, with a much faster contamination rate thanks to the unprepared human immune system. The effects of the virus were very high fever and serious damage to the immune system itself, making the subject very vulnerable to other common diseases and viruses. No further spreading of the virus has taken place on earth, although the OQC is actively looking for the third chinese, who is a suspected carrier of the virus.

Ever since the incident the OQC has severely tightened it's regulations on deepfreezed cargo, and most of it is now inspected within the terminal ( in the top). In addition to this all arriving cargo from the American arm is inspected for (and cleansed from) this specified virus. The virus was named after it's founder, an OQC medical Officer Diego Ramonez. It became known by the limited crew as the Libreville DR-virus.

Various adventure suggestions for the GM:

1: The players might be employed by the OQC to find the chinese and the stolen cargo. The players would not know the truth behind the virus and the cargo, and the OQC would not be willing to tell. Little by little they might found out (perhaps one of them would get sick) and would themselves soon become hunted if they tried to get the information public.

2 : The players might be working for the press investigating the sicknessess in the local school, and the stolen AmeriCo cargo. At some point they might get clues and understand that it's just one big event. OQC would propably start putting large pressure on them not to make it public. Evidence would start missing, people start getting silent etc...

3: Maybe the players saw the truck-ambush, or the chinese even directly contacted them to make the ambush for them. Whatever the reason, the players become sick, with little time to find answers. If they ambushed the truck themselves, they might start panicking after some of them get sick and they find themselves hunted. Time for a quick escape...or a quick cure.

"Terminal Killer" - Serial killing in 2300AD

Since the invention of strong mind-affecting drugs with little side-effects, and the increasing monitoring over mental health, the amount of psychic diseases in population has decreased down to a minimum. There, however, always are people who are either too hard to find sick, or who want no cure and have been able to avoid the authorities long enough. Whatever the reason, there still are psychos out there. The strong illegal drugs and hallucinating medical treatments have also created alot of part-time psychos, whose actions are impossible to predict. Following is a true story from the Earth beanstalk terminal, reported by two APL officers.

"April 20:th, 2299: a very warm and crowded day at the Beanstalk terminal. Clock 09:25 the security is alerted to the lobby: One of the ladies bathroom is locked, and has been so for the last twenty minutes. A bystander says he heard screams from within some time ago, but couldn't get in. The security team opens the door and finds a woman inside, in three pieces. An instant alarm is sounded out and the terminal area is sealed. The French national guard goes through all the people, but nothing can be done, and the doors are opened. The beanstalk security camera shows two people entering the bathroom: the other the victim, and the other a medium sized person, propably woman, with long dark hair (a view from the back). No-one comes out before the security team. After investigation the security team finds a small, yet man-fitting maintenance tunnel entrance in the back of the bathroom. It appears the murderer knew his way well, and the APL concludes that the victim was chosen randomly. The security around the terminal lobby is increased, and the locks are disabled from the doors.
April 23:rd, 2299: a rainy day in Libreville, yet the terminal is crowded. Clock 14:55 the security is alerted again. After security team two arrives at the spot, a lift entrance at the corridor leading to the third wing, they find a killed woman and a security officer in the ground. Both cut open with a blade (a vibroblade, the APL officer's jacket couldn't help). Again, the terminal area is sealed. This time the killer has to be within the building: the corridor is not crowded, but people pass through it every minute, and someone must have seen the murderer. According to eye-witnesses, a man stood at the front of the elevator and asked people to help him. He was dressed as a maintenance person, and supposedly needed help with the "broken" elevator. A woman finally decided to help him, and entered the lift with him. She was never seen alive again. The security camera in the elevator had been turned off an hour earlier, but the one in the corridor showed an image of a man dressed in the blue outfit of the maintenance crew. It was clear that the killer knew the terminal and the equipment within all too well to be an outsider. A quick glance at the maintenance crew list with a background check gave results: Maintenance Officer Simmons had been killed, in a similar way, just two months ago. The killer was never caught, but the event was thought of as a robbery: all of Simmons's equipment and clothing was missing. It was evident that the killer was acting as Simmons. It was still unclear how he knew the beanstalk terminal so well.
At this time the murders broke the news-barrier. Wide rumors of a "Terminal killer" started spreading, and the APL was blamed for the lack of security. In the following week the security personnell around the terminal was doubled. With very little options, people still crowded the terminal.
On June 7:th, almost two weeks after the last killing, the APL finally thought that it was all over. At 19:20 an alert sounded: someone had used Simmons's ID card near the tunnel leading to the shopping mall area. The security was immediately dispatched, and arrived just in time: with a quick glance they managed to see a maintenance officer enter a men's bathroom. The area was cleared and the security rushed in. To their amazement the person inside was their chief maintenance officer, but something was wrong. As the chief turned towards them, his face looked sad and tormented, and the security could soon see the reason: a large explosive device was planted around his belly. At the very same time the security was alerted to the other side of the building: Two more bodies ripped apart in the cargo area. The whole terminal was once more halted. The bomb appeared to be a fake-one, and the maintenance-chief could give no answers: he was forced to wear the bomb and come here by a masked gunslinger in the maintenance area.
The nightmare would perhaps gone even worse, had it not been for the insight of one of the engineers in the terminal. During the previous week he had secretly re-routed all the camera cables and power, and indeed: the killer had tried to cut out the power of the camera's from the entire wing, but with little success: he could be seen clearly in one of the films, changing clothes, and talking to a cellular phone. The killer was, after all, an outsider, unfamiliar to most. Only some new members of the maintenance crew remembered seeing him in the corridor's, calling himself Casey. The terminal doors were opened as soon as "Casey"s location was pinpointed, and people were let out like normal. Casey was to be caught with little noise as he would leave the building. With an amazing luck, or inside help, Casey managed to avoid this, however, and was spotted running towards a leaving shuttle. For his misfortune he also broke the rules on the airstrip and was halted by the national guard. Panicking and desperate, he managed to kill two guards, before he was shot down by the patrolling police. Casey was dead, and the reasons behind the incident are still unclear. He was classified heavily psychotic."

Note to GMs: The truth behind the story is simple: Mr. Jones, second officer in lead of the APL, has become VERY impatient. He is waiting for the chief officer Mr DeRauffe to retire, and would do anything to accomplish this. Or already did: he was able to catch the Simmons�s murderer already three days after the incident, but as he saw the killer's rage and mental state (plus the strong dependancy on mind-altering drugs, which Jones could easily get his hands into), he decided to give this an option: with inside help from him, the killer would be able to create much more terror in the terminal area, and sooner or later DeRauffe would have to give up and leave. This would of course leave him in charge, and the killer with no inside help, easily captured. Jones almost succeeded, yet he actually forgot how skilled and daring crew he was working with, and despite his efforts to keep the killer operational, Casey was caught. Mr. Jones however, was never caught, and might still be planning something for the future.

This gives many good adventure ideas: make the players the police, the APL or the internal security team. Or the press, the victims or even someone co-operating with the killer. Or maybe they are just eye-witnessess who want to get involved, in a way or another.

RCRP (Royal Canadian Rural Police) All-Terrain Truck

The RCRP, a straight subdivisory of the all-famous RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) has become, if possible, even more well-known in the rural areas than the RCMP. The RCRP, though, is better known for it's superior equipment, perfectly suited for the faraway colony worlds, than it's services. Below is described one of their most widespread vehicles: The RCRP AT-Truck, also known as the "Atras".

The Atras is actually an advanced version of the very common ranger truck (see the description in the "Ground Vehicle Guide"). What makes the Atras so widespread and popular is it's perfectionism: It comes fully equipped with everything needed (and to most people more than that), it handles surprisingly well, The engine just keeps on working (all parts are made of a very strong synthetic metal), and the truck is very suitable to all those faraway colony worlds with varying environment.

The Truck itself:
Making a significant part in the truck's cost is its main hull: It is constructed of a very strong and durable synthetic metal that has minimal size-changes with temperature. The truck (or perhaps its closer to a giant-jeep or Hummer) can keep on working in temperatures from -70 to +90 degrees Celsius, with no special adjustments or new components. This is alone more than needed in most colonies, where temperature changes are much larger than on Earth. The Engine is powerful enough to (in theory) push the truck up a vertical ledge, and has even higher bottom than the Ranger, making off-road travel easier and more comfortable. The tires are all adjustable, and the truck can be quickly modified to work in a planet with any G from 0.1 to 5.0. The cockpit can, if needed, be sealed with an airproof synthetic shield to allow easier control of inside temperature and oxygen. The truck is also equipped with two strong batteries and powerful headlights.

The Equipment:
The Atras can be bought either as the "Jeep" model (The A model) or as the "Truck" model (The T model) with extra equipment and cost. The following is the equipment shipped with both models: Basic tool set, Mechanical tools set (with an Atras maintenance guide), Power tools set, A power generator, a small hydrogen plant, Two medikits, A dangerous environment suit, A power winch (both in the front and the rear), Two spare tires (already the basic tires are made of several strong layers), Two fire extinguishers, a flare gun, an emergency package (two knives, a survival gun, food for 20 man-days, another flare gun with 20 rounds, an emergency radio, an extra medikit with two resupply packs, 5 litres of water and a small pressure tent). In addition to these both models have a loudspeaker in the roof, powerful headlights, and another smaller rotating headlight in the top. There is also a 100 liter extra hydrogen tank in the back for spare hydrogen. The tank is well armored and protected from crashes.

The Atras-T (the truck model) also has the following modifications and additions: The back of the T-model is covered (the cover can be removed in about 5 minutes) with and airtight synthetic cover, as well as the cockpit. In addition to the lights, the T-model has an infrared headlight in the roof, and the cockpit windows can be tuned for IR to see the light. The truck model has a slightly larger back, and a more powerful engine. The addition for the T-model equipment: another emergency package, Two pressure tents, A larger radio, Extra two spare tires (for a total of four, the truck model has double tires in the rear), two p-suits, two hunting rifles (only when the vehicle is supplied to the authorities), a Dangerous environment attachment unit (a detachable box that clinges to the ground, has an air storage for 30 man-hours, a powerful radio, four small winches, and is usually attached with an emergency pack), two underwater rebreathers, two medikit resupply packages, and a Computer unit, and a larger hydrogen/power plant combination with large retractable solar panels.

Both models are also equipped with a large box holding the most common (and some not so common) needed spare parts for the truck, as well a an instructive booklet on the maintenance of the vehicle. All buyers of the vehicle are given a free one-day course on the trucks specialities, abilities and maintenance. With a small extra cost the buyers may also have the vehicle painted and adjusted for their needs. The vehicle is coming increasingly popular in the rural areas of the new colonies, where the difference between a normal jeep and an Atras can make a huge difference, and where the difference in cost isn't that important. On less demandive areas many people still consider the Ranger a better option, for its smaller price, but where people are living and struggling for survival outside the regular maintenance ring, or where the rural Police needs the best, trustworthiest vehicle, the Atras has become the choice number one. The Ranger is considered much more cost-efficient, but the Atras as such has already become a legend, and is what some people would call "the luxury AT-jeep"

Technical data follows:

Type: Off-Road Truck
Crew: Driver
Weight: 6800 kg
Armor: all sides 0,8
Track: 7
Evasion: 3
Cargo: 5 passengers and 1500kg cargo
Top Speed: 170 km/h
Cruising speed: 100 km/h
Combat Speed: 300m
Powerplant: 0,3 MW Hydrogen Chamber
Fuel Tank: 350 kg Hydrogen
Consumption: 8 kg / hour
Duration: 43 hours
Cost: 18 000 Lv (T-model: 20 000 Lv)

The Traylor Arms "Riot Rifle" RG2b

The Traylor arms has been the leading supplier of shotguns and riot-weapons for years now, and they just released a new basic weapon for the Riot-Police gear: The Rg2b Riot Rifle.

The Riot Rifle is actually just a combination of a short-range gas-grenade thrower and an automatic gauss rifle. The gun uses 40mm gas-grenades for a primary weapon against rioting crowds, with several gas-types available, and an automatic rifle to stop individual troublemakers.

The Grenadelauncher is the primary weapon, proved to be very effective in dispersing rioting crowds. The launcher fires specifically designed 40mm gas-grenades with a low velocity magnetic accelerator. The gas is quickly spreaded over an area with a radius of approx. 15 meters (2d6+8). The Grenade Launcher is similar to a GW-12 grenade launcher with a halved aimed range.
Following are the basic gas-types:

1. The standard riot-gas:
The purpose of this gas is not to stop those in it�s area of effect, but to make them run without a significant "halt" effect on the victims body. Inhaling the gas is very painful and has a quick blinding effect. The gas is somewhat white in appearance, but does not block vision as itself. Once inhaled the effects of the gas last for approximately four to seven minutes.

Task: to stay in the gases area of effect longer than necessary: Difficult: endurance: 5 seconds (it takes a few seconds to "fight" the gas). If the player succeeds in this roll he can stay within the gases area of effect as long as desired. A failed roll means he has to leave the area as soon as possible. A critical failure might mean he panics and does almost anything needed to get out of the area IMMEDIATELY. This roll needs to be done only once when the person is effected by the gas, right after throwing the task below for the first time.
Task: to minimize the effects of the gas: (This roll needs to be done every 10 seconds the player stays in the area of effect): Routine: endurance: instant. A failure in this roll means the player/person in the area of effect cannot resist the effects and inhales lots of the gas: that player is -3 to all actions and becomes blinded by the gas (which might cause additional penalties). A succesfull roll means the player only inhales little of the gas and stays calm, getting only -1 to his actions, and no blindness. Those who succeed in their rolls, have to roll again after ten seconds of exposure, with a cumulative negative effect each roll. Those who fail must roll again also with cumulative effects, but the total penalty cannot exceed -5. The penalties of a person who succeeds every time cannot exceed -3. The effects last for d6+2 minutes.

2. Shock gas
The shock gas is the more powerful variant of the common stun gas, with a simple purpose: disabling anyone in the area of effect without long-term effects. The gas is almost colorless in appearance, although the most common C-variant uses a pale-green color mixture to make the gas more visible. The Shock gas has a devastating effect on anyone not wearing proper protection (an airtight gas mask), and is used when the riots get too ugly, or when the police wants to get prisoners for questioning etc. The effects of the gas last for approx. 10 minutes (d6+6).

Task: to minimize the effects of the gas: endurance: difficult: instant. (Must be rolled again every 10 seconds in the area of effect). A failure in this roll means the player is almost incapacitated by the gas (-5 to all actions, coughing, struggling for clean air), as well as blinded. A succesfull roll indicates that the player manages to keep his/hers eyes closed (avoiding blindness), and inhales only some of the gas: -1 to all actions. The player must roll again after 10 seconds, with cumulative negative effects (cannot exceed -5). A critical failure might, in addition to the -5 penalty and blindness, mean up to double the normal time of effect.

The following gas type is far more military in nature (strong, possibly lethal and more uncommon), and several contracts ban its use against civilian targets. Some police departments (especially SWAT teams and other special groups) so however possess some ADH, kept welll locked and secured. The ADH gas has been used against terrorists in Tirane two times, yet special care must be taken every time the gas is handled and used.

3. ADH-3 "Breathtaker" Nervous gas.

The ADH-3 is a relatively strong nervous gas used against unprotected targets. Although the gas affects anyone not completely protected by an environment suit, it has a maximum effect only against someone not wearing a gas mask. The gas quickly stuns the nervous system of the victims, making them completely helpless and paralyzed. If the gas is inhaled, the victims find breathing very difficult, and in less than 30 seconds this effect may completely disable the victims lungs and even the heart.

Task: to fight the effects of the ADH gas attacking the nervous system through the skin: difficult: endurance: instant. This roll needs to be done every 10 seconds a player not completely protected by an environment suit stays in the gases area of effect. Each failure gives the player a cumulative -1 penalty to all actions. When the penalties start exceeding the physical or mental attribute bonuses of that player, they become more or less paralyzed by the gas.

In addition any player not protected by a gas mask, therefore inhaling the gas, should roll for the task below.

Task: to fight the effects of the ADH gas after inhaling it: difficult: endurance: instant. This roll needs to be done every 10 seconds the player stays in the area of effect. A success indicates that the player can hold his breath tight, and takes no penalties. A failure means inhaling (even a bit) of the gas, giving an instant -2 to all actions (including the following rolls to resist the gas). That player finds it very difficult to breath, and feels a striking pain in his lungs. As soon as the penalties overcome that players Endurance attribute bonus, that player is practically unable to breath and will suffocate to death in (endurance bonus) minutes. Only a direct injection of an antidote with removal from the area of effect can help. A critical failure in this roll indicates that the victim gasped the gas and the poison got all the way into his/her heart and veins. That player is considered dead, and only a quick antidote injection with removal from the area of effect make CPR or other medical aid possible.

The Automatic Gauss rifle is completely similar to the FAM-90 rifle in technical data.

Jaschonek Fabrikant A2 "Rifle Blue"

With the Kafer war raging on several planets, many marines found their weapons, originally developed against human opponents, far too weak to be effective against the Kafers. A single Kafer could take even several bursts from a M4A1, M2 or M5, and the few seconds it took to fire those rounds were often the most critical. Many marines were later assigned light plasma rifles, which however again were meant to be used against something far different than the Kafers. The troops needed a relatively lightweight, cost-effective plasma rifle with as large clip as possible, and the common and effective grenade launcher below the barrel.

The JF-A2, nicknamed the "Rifle blue" by the US Marines, was designed with the Kafers in mind. The weapon is strong, much more rugged than most plasma rifles (with less breaking parts) and well protected against dust and water. The large ammo drum is located just in between the trigger and the grenadelauncher, and the empty hot rounds are dispersed straight to the right from the chamber. The gun itself is relatively lightweight, although the large clip weighs several kilograms. The grenadelauncher is optional but common, and can be found in most rifles. Many troops, French, German and American have found the rifle very effective against the Kafers. A single round is often enough to drop one down, and several can be fired for an area effect. The gun has its drawbacks though: thanks to the heavy ammo, the gun is far heavier than the M4A1 for example. The availability of the plasma rounds used to be a factor, but now that the gun has become more popular it is no longer a problem. The powerful hit from the plasma rifle has a small blast radius, which many marines are still unfamiliar with, and this has already caused unwanted victims. Some marines, on the other hand, just stick to the old weaponry because they know it better. It seems that people are divided into two by the gun: some find it a welcome addition, and use it when available, and others consider it a clumsy and ineffective replacement for the grenade launcher. The "Rifle Blue" has not replaced the M4A1 or the M5, nor the FAM-90 as the standard weapon, and propably never will, but the weapon is becoming somewhat popular in all areas where the Kafers are fought, and has indeed proven its effectiveness in good hands.

Technical Data follows:

Type: Lightweight plasma rifle
Weight: 3 kg (empty)
Length: 71cm (bulk=2)
Action: single shot
Ammunition: 10X70mm 5MW plaser battery
Battery weight: 300g
Clip: 20 rounds in a rotating ammo drum
Clip weight: 6.2kg
Aimed fire range:850m
Rate of Fire: 3
DPV: as tamped explosion EP=1
Cost: 1800 Lv (8 Lv / battery)

Pentapod Musings...

Below are a couple of "articles" giving ideas for dealing with certain aspects of the Pentapods. Both were prompted by other peoples' ideas on various subjects. You may love or hate ideas here, and probably won't agree with everything, but it's okay! None of this is official! Just read'em and enjoy...

PentaGods Story
Pentapod Warriors

Back in January 1998, someone (who shall remain nameless) posted some conjectures about the Pentapod "gods" to the ad2300 Mailing List, prompting the following piece of fiction from Steve C.

Originally posted: Wed, 28 Jan 1998 06:36:19 -0600 (CST)

I have often thought about an Exploratory campaign where the PCs met the Pentagods, and what sort of false-leads to hit them with (Some "Call of Cthulhu" style stuff). I considered the possibility that all their bioengineered products were produced to "take over" the associated organs in humans ("You used biocontacts, didn't you? Well, now you can't see. Ralph, you used the earplugs and rebreather?...") I decided the 'pods were the good guys, though... <VBG>

I did come up with the idea that, when Exploratory 'pods returned to their creator, the data they had gathered wasn't "transmitted", but "absorbed". It would basically look to the PCs like the Pentagod was eating the 'pods (which could result in some REAL "interstellar Incidents")! This would be a great scenario hook for an injured PC, or one who's heavily cybered, and tired of it...

The Kafer War hadn't been kind to Matrix... He'd lost one hand and both legs, thanks to a Snap-fire and Tri-Beamer. Once he'd been discharged, he'd gone into Contact, more out of a sense of needing someplace to be than anything else. His metal limbs hadn't been such a gawk-fest, out past the edge of the Frontier, and most of the time, the Survey Teams let him forget he was any different. Then they landed here, and met Shuushka'avick... The giant Pentapod "Creator" had quickly learned to communicate with the Team, but her growing dissatisfaction with spoken "transmissions of information" was increasingly apparent.

The near-disaster caused by some of the more hot-headed members of the crew's reaction to Shuushka'avick's more normal method of communication (reabsorbing her 'pods) had taught them a little humility, and the "Science Boys" weren't so quick to jump to conclusions, anymore. They'd all thought Xceivier "dead" when Shuushka'avick had "eaten" him. His later reappearance (after she understood the cause of their horror) had rather shocked them. Thus; they were entirely unprepared when she asked if she might absorb one of them!

Captain Cook had been utterly confounded when Matrix had volunteered. Now he lay on the portable automed, while the Doctor removed his cybernetic attachments, and a couple of volunteers helped maneuver him out into the deeper water, and over the side... She was waiting for him, and his crewmates swam him into position.

"You sure you wanna do this?" asked Jerri.

"Crazy fool!" the Doctor muttered. Matrix just smiled, and nodded. Jerri shook his head, and helped him down.

With the two swimmer's help, he was brought before the giant Pentapod's mouth, her giant eyestalks swivelling to watch him. It reminded him of old videos of divers swimming with whales. Slowly, she opened her mouth just a crack (more than enough to let all of them in). The divers left him there...

She pumped the water out of her mouth, leaving him breathable air. She seemed overly concerned with his comfort, in his last moments, but being without his hand & legs always recalled memories of the hospital, during the war, and that had meant PAIN, so he was greatful.

Being swallowed was an interesting experience... warm, wet, sticky, dark peristolisis. Being "absorbed" was panicking! The stinging juices surrounding him had made him think he was drowning, or dissolving (or both). Then his lungs filled with the thick, viscious fluid, and he could breathe, again... He'd read about breathable liquids, somewhere; remembered seeing a picture of a rat in a beaker of clear fluid, with a weight tied to its tail. He shuddered as the image he remembered transmuted into him...

Shuushka'avick was suddenly there, somehow, in the dark with him. Somehow, he sensed her concern, and utter curiosity... He wondered how that was possible, and began "hearing" strange noises, then "seeing" the tiny stings he'd felt as nerve fibers, linking them together; information flowing between their neural nets. He wondered if this was how she and Xceivier communicated. Suddenly, he could understand her song.

"Yes" she sang to him.

All of a sudden, he felt all his knowledge of the Human race flowing into her. The good, the bad, the ugly... and the intensely personal. He tried to hang onto parts, then realized that everything he was or had been was going with it, his personality dissolving with his body. He tried to scream, and realized he had no lungs...

"Don't move, you blithering idiot, or I won't be able to hold you on the table! I'm a doctor, not a magician!" he heard MacKoy say. Now how was that possible? He opened his eyes, and stared down at... his body? It couldn't be his. It had two good legs!

He raised up, and looked at his left hand... the one that hadn't been there for two and a half years! Even before the shock hit him, his body was reeling sideways.

"Easy, Matrix, stay on the table!" Doc said. "Who knows what your latest hair-brained adventure has gotten you into! What kind of a Tom-fool goes to a Pentapod Dinner where he's the main course? I'm going to have to examine every part of your body except your brain... it's a cinch you don't HAVE one of those!"

Looking down at his new, non-cybered body, wiggling fingers and toes, Matrix started to laugh. Having lungs, again, was nice, too!

Also late in January, 1998, Jody Duncan was asking about Pentapod soldiers. This again prompted more output from Steve C, who has used the critters quite a bit, in his campaigns.

Originally posted: Mon, 26 Jan 1998 19:09:55 -0600 (CST)

On Mon, 26 Jan 1998, Jody Duncan wrote:

I've been thinking about Pentapod soldiers. My PCs (in the campaign I am running) will soon meet the Pentapods, and I've designed a Pentapod ship that carries troops. Now, what I've been thinking about is the nature of the Pentapod "warriors". Obviously they'd be human size or larger, with various genetically engineered weapons. That's about all I have right now. I'm still debating whether they'll all be heavily armoured with various slash/stab/rend/bite weapons, or lighter and more agile with bio-engineered projectile weapons (similar to the grunt-bugglies in Ranger) or have both... Any ideas?

Steve C replied:

They would be both aquatic and land-capable. They would have chameleon camouflage power, and electric-eel-like stun capability that metal armors wouldn't affect. You could have lightly-armored, fast "Scouts", as well as slower "Grunts" or "GroPos". The ones I designed had five firing-tubes (one under/between each eye), and were heavily armored. The "bag" on the bottom was also inflatable with gas, for LTA capability. That plus their massive strength gave them incredible leaping ability, and their spiny, tentacled pods gave them climbing ability.

They were capable of floating with the wind, with limited aerial mobility, but preferred not to use it, since this made them easy targets. Also, if their gasbags were burst, they could easily drop to their deaths (they have five separate bags, so this isn't TOO likely). They generally used their LTA ability to give them zero-bouyancy, allowing them to leap to tree-top level, and hide, then jump down, as desired.

Weapons varied, but included spikes on the pods, which could be used like Morningstars, shocking tentacles for a Stun-only attack, and a variety of missile weapons, including ordinary slugs, fletchettes, poisoned darts (sleep, paralysis, and lethal poisons), as well as rounds that reacted with water (or blood) to burst into flame, producing burning or exploding effects.

Other ideas include bird-like flying scouts, special organic flamethrowers ("Lookie Ralph! It's a DRAGON!"), and special "Heavy Weapons" units.

Unfortunately, the 'pod warriors never made more than a cameo appearance in any campaigm that I ran/played, so their combat effectiveness is untried. I never did figure out if weapons were internally reloadable, or if a tube could only "spit" one kind. Also, I don't know why I never made any with bladed weapons... <?>

I do remember that I made them Size 18, black (unless using chameleon ability, which they didn't, outside of combat), very strong (Strength 24? 28?), and that all had infrared vision, sonar, radio & tight-beam communications, and radar. They generally looked like giant 'pods, with short tubes sticking out between/under their eyes (for the missiles weapons), and spikes on their "legs" and pods. Armor value was high (1?), and I never created any special "Officers" to command them.

One idea I had, which was never implemented, was to introduce a "Phase II" that had a shell over the lower half of the 'pod, as well as the top, thus making their air mobility better, and armoring their gasbags.

If you want a specifically designed warrior (as opposed to a 'pod adaptation), you could make "flying spiders", dragons, intelligent wasps (great for Recon, too), etc, etc, etc...

(This discussion also prompted Richard Spake to do a drawing of his idea of a Pentapod Warrior Caste, which you can see by clicking on the above link).

24th Century Interstellar Communications
(X-boats and Courier Missiles)

In a game like 2300 AD where there is no faster-than-light communication, one might wonder how news travels from one world to the next. Like in the 1700-1800s, it moves at the speed of the fastest ship available to carry it.

"X-boats" (XBs; very fast Communications ships) and "Courier Missiles" (CMs; like the French Merimee in Ships of the French Arm) run up and down the arms, tight-beaming compressed & coded squirt transmissions to their colonies, outposts, stations, and other paying customers. Most X-boats are run by nations, at taxpayer expense. Really important stuff is sent via manned X-boat. More general stuff is sent via CM. Interstellar news, "Magazines" and other subscription services, Holovid entertainment, and electronic mail all arrive this way, and are beamed to the news organizations, magazine offices, or networks.

When an XB arrives in-system, it squirts any traffic intended for other systems in the direction it was headed to a waiting XB which then continues the trip, Pony Express style. The original XB then continues in-system, and begins squirting data as it discharges its stutterwarp. CMs simply enter the system and follow their programming, which usually has them squirt their data and go to some rendevous point to await human maintenance for discharge and refueling. Other CMs are waiting to pick up the transmissions and continue the journey.

After having advanced up an Arm/Finger, an XB or CM will usually have received data for the Down-Arm or Finger world "below" its current position. After discharge, it could turn around and head back the way it came. Thus, an XB crew may work the Sol to Nyotekundu run, then reverse it. Since it takes 40 hours to discharge, however, CMs will usually not work this way, and XBs will usually work in teams to prevent this two-day wait in return messaging.

When one XB (1) comes in-system with data from (say) Up-Arm, it will pass its counterpart headed Down-Arm (2). Another XB (3) is also headed Up-Arm at the same time. Our original XB (1) squirt-transmits to (3) and continues in-system, passing along messages to any outer planets on its way to its discharge and refueling point. For the next two days it sits "on station" where it can (if needed) receive and pass along transmissions to other XBs, but usually four more ships (4-7) will be sitting by, waiting to go both Up and Down the Arm during the first XB's discharge. When its two days are up, the XB may return Down-Arm the way it came, or continue Up-Arm, assisted in the opposite direction by one of the other six ships returning after its own two days of discharging (2 or 3). Thus, you can see that it takes three X-boats to cover only one system for daily mail, per "exit" from the system. This is the reason that Courier Missiles are so popular, even with the military. They are much cheaper, and there's no crew to be paid (and no life support)! Of course, you can get by with fewer ships/missiles if you run mail less often, cooperate with other nations, etc.

Note here that only off-planet traffic ever jumps through these hoops. Strictly planetary transmissions need not be involved with either XBs or CMs. Each system has its own code (such as "sol" for Earth's solar system, or "bcv" for Beta Canum Venaticorum). Note here that worlds are designated by system name followed by a dash and a number. Thus Aurore would be Eta_Bootis-2c. Mercury would be Sol-1. Systems with spaces in their names have them replaced with underlines (_), so DM+27 28217 becomes "DM+27_28217". Spacestations such as L-5 and Station Arcture have their own "domains". Also note that, like 20th Century UseNet postings, the sender may specify a message for only "Local" propagation, "World-Wide", or "System", "American/Chinese/French Arm", "Core" any combination of arms, or "All".

Ships pick up their mail at port. As the XBs & CMs pass up and down the arms, they can carry messages for (say) "Scout@Phoenix.Ship.nom" instead of "jmclure@bcvlink.net.bcv-4". Such X-mails are left at all mail ports along the way, and are deleted once the ship catches up to them (deletion notice propagates from there, so if your ship exceeds the speed of the X-boats, you may get the same X-mail multiple times).

Most Courier ships will make fair X-boats, although you'll want more Communications workstations installed. While one Comm. station can transmit to many different targets, one at a time, X-boats usually are equipped with more than one, in order to speed things up. Many Corps will want their own X-boats for private Corporate data, (especially Trilon, since Kie-Yuma would otherwise rarely get news), and most national colonies will run separate X-boats or CMs...

Outpost worlds, mining colonies, remote scientific installations, and other worlds not on an Intercolonial route will not receive regular transmissions of anything. They will get X-mail and entertainment programming only when an X-boat or Courier Missile is sent their way (almost never), or (more likely) when they get a supply ship. Since most supply ships are not X-boats, however, they may not be able to carry much communications or entertainment programming. Tramp Freighters or Exploration/Survey vessels can earn a few extra Livre by carrying comm/ent. traffic to lonely miners and scientists in less-frequented systems. Like the arrival of a sailing vessel in the 1700, Ships Crews may find themselves very popular in ports of call, as they are (nearly) the only news from home the locals may get for months!

Example:

Lt. Col. Du'Frey, on the military base at the top of BCV's Beanstalk, decides he needs to get an urgent message to Scout, one of his Troubleshooters aboard the starship Phoenix, somewhere in the French Arm. He codes and compresses it, and (the daily X-boats already being gone) dispatches it via a set of Courier Vessels headed to Crater, Sans Soucci (DM+36 2219), and Kimanjano. The mail for "Scout@Phoenix.Ship.nom" from "LCGDF@BS.mil.net.bcv-4" heads off in three directions. Near the end of the first day, the ships (with movement 6) arrive in their target systems, and leave copies of the compressed, coded message at the starports there. Meanwhile, the X-boats also get copies and will continue carrying it. Since there's no telling where in the Arm the Phoenix is, the one heading back to BCV-4 will also get a copy, and leave it at BCV's starport.

The Phoenix, meanwhile, has been headed Up-Arm, towards Earth. The X-boat from Kimanjano will catch up with it at Queen Alice's Star, where the Phoenix is discharging. Scout will now get his X-mail or Holovid recording, and may answer it, or head back. Assuming the Phoenix had just finished discharging and had a movement rate of 6 or greater, he could immediately head back to Kimanjano, beating the X-boat carrying the notice that he had received this message, and that it could be deleted from the starports' message bases. Arriving at Kimanjano starport, he could then get the message a second time. If he then caught a second fast ship to BCV-4, he could get it a third time upon arriving at BCV-4's starport. If he stayed with the Phoenix, however, the X-boat from Queen Alice's Star coming along behind him with the deletion notice would pass it to the XB leaving Kimanjano for BCV, and the message would be deleted there before he could see it (again).

If Scout had been changing to fast ships (movement 6+) all the way, the X-boats would never had caught up to him. Also, if Du'Frey had designated his message for "French Arm" propagation, only, then it would not have followed Scout to Earth (which is in the "Core Arm").

This can lead to some interesting adventures, as PCs attempt to outrace a message up or down an Arm. One group of PCs, having discovered a Tantalum strike on a world, may try to get a message back to the Company's Homeworld to buy up all the shares of stock before the news of the strike drives prices up. Another group, fleeing Earth just ahead of the law, may try to outrace their own "wanted" posters. Note, however, that any group of PCs will probably be foredoomed to failure in trying to beat XBs or CMs, since they would have to have multiple fast ships (Merimee CMs have a movement rate of 6), and stopping to discharge means losing the race. Competing with the resources of Nations and MegaCorps is very, very tough...

The Terran Confederation:

While no nation has been forced to sacrifice any of its sovereignty, colonies, miliatry forces, nor their right to establish and build more, the nations of Terra have joined a very loose confederation that would not allow the new government to interfere with the internal or external relations of its member states. Case in point, the Confederate will not be allowed to interfere in a war between the French and the Polish nations over colony rights.

Currently, the Confederation has its capital at Geneva, Switerland. But debate has started in the Confederate Senate on moving all of the Govermental operations to either a specially built O'Neil Space Station or to the Antartic where a specially built domed city would be constructed. At the time of this writting the Antartic proposal looks as if it might be winning more support.

The Confederate Chancellor (Executive Branch)
The Confederate Chancellor is elected form within the Confederate Senate's membership. The Chancellor holds office for a term of six years, and is limited in the fact they may not run for two consectutive terms. The Chancellor acts as the head of the Executive Branch of the Confederate government (the Govermental Appartaus aka the Confederate Chancellory).

The Confederate Senate (Legislative Branch)
The Confederate Senate is made up of two representives form each of the member nations, and indepenant colonies. These representives are the Senior Seat (the national leader of the nation or independant colony or an oppointed representive), and a Junior Seat (this is the representative that has been popularly elected by the common citizens of the nation or independant colony).

The Confederate Supreme Court (Judical Branch)
The Supreme Court of the Terran Confederation is composed of eleven Supreme Justices choosen form the best legal minds in the Confederacy. Each has had to spend at least five years within their home nations Supreme Court. The Term Limit for a Confederate Supreme Court Justice is twelve years. The Chief Justice of the Confederate Supreme Court is elected by the Justices them selves.

The Terran Confederate Armed Forces:
The Terran Confederate Armed Forces are commanded by the Confederate Security Council. The Council was formed by the major stellar powers during the Second Interstellar War for use in cordinating the military forces in large scale combat actions. The Confederate Navy was formed to act as the core of the defenders of Terra. This core of highly trained military personnel are limited in their scope and ability. The Security Council was formed to ensure that the Confederate Navy would never be used as an oppressor of humanity. The Council has the ability to VETO anything that deals with the use of the Terran Confederation's Armed Forces. Currently, the Confederate Chancellor has the abilty to mobilze the Confederate Armed Forces for only a period of 30 days with out the Security Council's permission. If the Council percieves an abuse of this abilty, the Council can move the Senate to Impeach the Chancellor (the Senate is duty bound to follow through with this recomendation if it is made by all members of the Council).

The Confederate Security Council:
The Confederate Security Council is made up of nine perminate seats and two rotateing seats that is filled by an elected representive from within the Confederate Senate. The most common representives to be elected are form Argentina and Australia (though the Republic of Austria-Solvenia and the Republic of Canton also spends time in the seat as well). These open seats are filled for two year terms. All members of the Council must have some form of military service to quallify for the postion (most of the time the national representive is an oppionted military officer of the nation whose seat is vacant).

The seats on the Confederate Security Council:

01 The Republic of Manchuria
02 The Third Empire of France
03 The Greater German Republic
04 The Empire of Japan
05 The United States of America
06 The United Kingdom
07 The Union of Northern Soveriegn Republics (Russia)
08 The Republic of the Ukraine-Transcacus
09 The Scandinavian Union
10 open seat
11 open seat

The Terran Confederate Navy:

The Terran Confederate Marine Corps: