For Referees Only

Spinward Marches
System Guide 1
Datrillian
TRAVELLER

Avenger Enterprises
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in association with
Comstar Media LLC
Spinward Marches Avenger Enterprises publishes game materials for use with
all versions of the Traveller role-playing game. Avenger
System Guide 1: Datrillian adventures and supplements are specifically designed to be
compatible with T20 (Traveller for the d20 system) and Classic
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CREDITS Media.

District Commissioner System Guide 1 is set in the Spinward Marches of Official

Martin J. Dougherty Traveller Universe, in the period just after the end of the Fifth
Frontier War. As such it is compatible with either the official
Colonial Administrator Hard Times – Collapse – Recovery – New Era timeline or an
William Andersen alternate wherein the assassination of Emperor Strephon does
not occur.
System Survey Commander
David Johnson Avenger Enterprises can be contacted by email at:
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Scout Service Planetary Surveyors
Eric O’Dell
Michael Taylor

Xenobiology Expert
Jason ‘Flynn’ Kemp

Planetary and Interstellar Cartographers

Shane McLean
Eric O’Dell

Copyright ©2006 Avenger Enterprises in association with Comstar Media

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2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
5 System Guide: Datrillian
5 System Overview
5 Ran
5 Regin
5 Fafnir And Mimir
6 Datrillian
6 Physical Data
6 Socio-political Data
7 Datrillian Map
8 Economic Data
8 Military Data
9 Flora And Fauna
10 Life On Datrillian
Adventure Seeds
11 1. Regin Rebels
12 2. Listening Post
13 3. Cult Of Sigefred
14 4. Petroleum Fields
15 5. Frostcrabber Wars
16 6. Pirates Of Hrona
SYSTEM GUIDE: DATRILLIAN has ever been established. Recently though a pirate band
has been using Hrona as their base from which to attack
starships attempting to wilderness refuel at Ran.
Lying at the “entry point” to the Bowman Arm, Datrillian is
an obvious candidate for investment and development. This
will however require winning over the ruling caste, who are Regin
opposed to expansion on the sensible grounds that they Regin is the only other inhabited world in the system. A small,
might lose control of their world. rocky planetoid to which a few hundred political dissidents
and common criminals from Datrillian have been exiled.
Datrillian 0501 E227633-8 Ni 801 M1 V (Non-Aligned) These “colonists,” as they are known officially, often come
from powerful families that have managed to protect their
wayward kinsmen from execution although at a steep price.
SYSTEM OVERVIEW
The physical environment of Regin is not all that different
Loki, the sole M1 star of the Datrillian system, is named
from Datrillian except for the scarcity of water but this is not
for an ancient Terran fire deity. The principal feature of the
a serious problem given the much smaller population. Living
system is the large, ringed gas giant, Ran, located in Loki’s
conditions though are primitive and travel between the two
innermost orbit and Life Zone. The main world, Datrillian,
worlds is rare with the occasional “colonists” being sent to
is one of the six satellites of Ran and the only one with any
Regin in expendable spacecraft incapable of making the
facilities or permanent population. Three other tiny rockballs
return journey. The “colonists” do have a primitive broadcast
orbit Loki in fairly typical Outer Zone orbits and the innermost
capability that enables them to transmit information, usually
of these, Regin, has a very small settlement. There are no
electronic mail for family members, to Datrillian but all of this
planetoid belts in the system.
information is intercepted and censored by the government.
In order out from the star, the system contains:
Fafnir and Mimir
Orbit* Name Type Fafnir and Mimir are rather typical for outsystem rockballs.
Small, airless planetoids with no permanent facilities or
0 Ran Large Gas Giant population neither world has been closely surveyed and
6 Atla Small Rockball both are largely ignored by the inhabitants of the system.
11 Blodugad Planetoid Recently though an automated surveillance post has been
12 Ran’s Net Ring constructed covertly on Mimir by the Imperial Interstellar
30 Hrona Rocky, Habitable Scout Service (IISS). The post’s sensors attempt to
35 Bylgia Planetoid record jump traffic coming into and out of the system and
50 Kolgan Planetoid to monitor broadcasts from Datrillian but these efforts are
55 Datrillian Rocky, Habitable often incomplete due to interference caused by the ordinary
1 Regin Planetoid motion of Mimir with respect to Ran and its satellites and
2 Fafnir Planetoid the harsh radiation emissions from the gas giant itself. The
3 Mimir Planetoid post is visited on a very irregular basis by detached duty
* Satellite orbits in radii of primary world Scout ships travelling along the Bowman Arm that are given
instructions to gather the post’s recordings and to provide
Ran any needed repairs to the post’s systems when they travel
Ran is named for an ancient Terran sea-storm deity. through Walston, Caladbolg, or Tarkine.
Library data entries for Ran say the gas giant’s aquamarine
atmosphere is exceptionally turbulent and in combination with
Ran’s severe electromagnetic fields makes fuel skimming
unusually difficult. Several starships have been lost in Ran’s
atmosphere while attempting to refuel. Besides its system
of small satellites the world also has an unexceptional ring
system that is known locally as Ran’s Net, an allusion to
its mythical namesake’s means for pulling unlucky sailors to
their watery deaths.

The giant’s six moons are named for the mythological

daughters of Ran, who personified different kinds of waves,
and all have rather conventional orbits. Besides Datrillian,
which is the farthest satellite from Ran, the other five moons
are little more than tiny planetoids with the exception of the
third moon, Hrona, a small, rocky world. Occasional landings
have been made on Hrona but no permanent settlement
--
DATRILLIAN and across the Glacial Sea to bisect Southpole continent.
In the western hemisphere the tectonic boundary separates
Southmain from Westmain and then travels northward along
The sixth satellite of the large gas giant Ran, Datrillian is
the western, Rampart Sea coast of Westmain.
home to the vast majority of the population of the system.
The world’s principal settlement is at Wintergard on the
Physical Data equator along the east coast of Eastmain, protected from
Datrillian is a harsh world. Its small size gives it a surface the harshest weather by the vast continental landmass to
gravity of about one-quarter standard. The world’s very thin, its west and from the worst of the storms of the Rampart
tainted atmosphere requires the use of a respirator/filter Sea by the Shield Archipelago to its east. A handful of other,
mask combination to breathe and also leads to highly variable much smaller cities are spread along the world’s equatorial
temperatures over the course of the world’s thirteen hour day region.
(although this short day actually serves to prevent the much
sharper nighttime drops in temperature that might otherwise
occur with a very thin atmosphere). Daytime temperatures at
Socio-Political data
The population of Datrillian is 8.4 million, almost entirely
the equator can be quite warm (~25 C) but drop well below
Humans of Terran or Vilani stock. A small aristocracy rules
the freezing point of water at night. (Polar regions remain
the planet, descended from militant Sword Worlders who fled
well below freezing even at the height of summer.) Due to
from Gram over three hundred years ago. The vast majority
Datrillian’s small axial tilt conventional seasonal variations in
of the world’s population—7.7 million people—live in the
temperature are small (±5 C) but because the world’s orbital
domed (and underground), equatorial city of Wintergard on
period about Ran is almost equal to the gas giant’s period
the east coast of Eastmain continent. Seven other much
about the sun (~50 days) Datrillian experiences a harsh, two
smaller cities (population about 100,000 each), similarly
week long “winter” once each revolution during its passage
domed and underground, are scattered along Datrillian’s
into Ran’s shadow when temperatures at the equator do not
equator. The cities of Seahaven, Mugiirsport, and Wavecrest
rise above -135 C!
are spread out along the Eastmain coastline within a couple
of hundred kilometers of Wintergard. The cities of Stonepeak
Two-thirds of the 19 million square kilometer planetary
and Vestarfield are located to the west in the Eastmain
surface is covered in water, though much of this is constantly
interior and Gristbay and Svanarhold are located across the
frozen in the polar regions. Several large seas exist in the
Great Sea on the east coast of Westmain continent.
equatorial and temperate regions but coastal and fresh-water
freezing is a nightly occurrence. All bodies of water freeze
The vast majority of Datrillians are descendants of disparate
over to great depths during the annual “winter” and severe
Terran and Vilani settler groups that arrived during the Long
storms precede and follow these freezes. Even during the
Night and the subsequent period of early Third Imperium
warmest periods large icebergs can be a hazard to surface
expansion into the Spinward Marches. The ruling class
shipping anywhere on the planet. The combined effects of
though has its origins in a small cadre of Sword Worlders
Ran and Loki produce strong and complicated tidal forces
who arrived on the world in the late 8th Century Imperial.
that can also lead to turbulent seas in coastal areas during
These Sword Worlders, militants who fled from Gram when
warm periods.
the government there was toppled, enjoyed a technological
edge over the local Datrillians that quickly enabled them
Much of the polar and temperate regions of the planet are
to seize control of the world. Since then they have proven
little more than arctic wastelands but the harsh weather and
to be able rulers who have governed wisely if firmly and
abundant water has produced—and continues to produce—
who have interbred with the local population such that any
several remarkable geological features in the equatorial
distinctions between rulers and ruled are now merely cultural
regions despite the fact that the world has only two tectonic
and political. Datrillian has been a refuge for dissident Sword
plates. (Datrillian has a small, molten core but relatively little
Worlders in the intervening centuries but as time has gone
volcanism.) The world has five major “continents” (each
on these newcomers have found it more and more difficult to
the size of large islands on more conventionally habitable
assimilate to the distinctive society of Datrillian.
worlds with similar hydrospheres). Eastmain (26% of total
land mass) and Westmain (21%) are equatorial continents
Ruling authority is vested formally in the Council of Peers,
located in opposite hemispheres. Barren and weather-
a deliberative body of several hundred of the most powerful
beaten Southmain (15%) connects Westmain with antarctic
aristocrats that holds executive, legislative, and judicial
Southpole (20%) continent while Northpole (18%) shares
authority. The Council chooses a King or Queen usually
the arctic region with the Broken Sea (an always-frozen
from among the adult children of the reigning monarch and
sea bisected by huge, shattered glaciers lying along the
generally while the monarch is still alive—although most
northern hemisphere tectonic boundary). In the eastern
monarchs reign for decades. (The King Father or Queen
hemisphere the tectonic boundary travels down from the
Mother remains a member of the Council until his or her
Broken Sea along the western coast of Eastmain continent

--
--
death.) The current King, Olrik Windrider, is middle-aged and Government revenues come from taxes levied on the sale
has reigned for four years, succeeding his elderly mother, of goods and services with exemptions for minimum levels
Queen Sharik, who remains a member of the Council. The of basic foodstuffs and essential services. Tax rates are not
King appoints members of the Council to head executive high as the services provided by the central government—
ministries and to serve on the various judicial bodies of the primarily the Royal Police (and Defense Corps)—are limited.
Council. These appointees serve at the King’s pleasure. Stipends for those serving in government are minimal as
most aristocrats earn substantial sums from their House
The principal political relationships on Datrillian are feudal activities. Likewise, many services traditionally provided by
in nature but the fiefdoms are not land-based. Rather they government—education, professional certifications, utilities
are based on economic holdings such as manufacturing or and other public works, emergency response and medical
service enterprises. (These unconventional feudal practices care—are provided by feudal Houses on Datrillian on a fee-
trace their origins to the original Vilani settlers—and some for-service basis or as charity.
obscure Terran settler communities.) Common people
and their fief-holders are bound together in a complex Datrillian’s starport is managed by the Royal Defense Corps
relationship of mutual pledges of service and obligation tied which handles customs activities there. (Several trading
to performance of the activities of a given feudal enterprise. Houses manage cargo and refueling operations at the
Once an individual makes his or her first pledge of fealty—a starport under Corps oversight.) Recently, the Corps has
key component of the Datrillian coming-of-age ritual—they procured a handful of surplus utility cutters from off-world and
are usually committed for life (but such arrangements can be has moved its customs activities into orbit above Datrillian. In
dissolved upon mutual consent on rare occasions). These addition to their customs duties these Corps cutters are now
feudal relationships make it generally difficult for outworlders backed up by a handful of orbital interceptors to patrol Ran’s
to integrate into Datrillian society because most outworlders atmosphere enforcing the government’s newly imposed
are unable to understand the commitments involved and the “safety blockade” of wilderness refueling. The government
sense of identity that Datrillians gain from upholding those claims that refueling in Ran’s atmosphere is too dangerous
commitments. and insists that visiting starships land at Wintergard starport
for refueling. (Coincidentally the refueling Houses are
Most Datrillians are comfortable with life as they know it and charging double the normal price for unrefined fuel. . . .)
uninterested in social progress . The harsh environment of
Datrillian has convinced them that change can be dangerous military Data
and so they are generally resistant to new ideas. Datrillians The Royal Metropolitan Police is responsible for security in
can be combative and the ruling class maintains an emphasis the city of Wintergard and its immediate environs and has
upon militarism as the appropriate response to threats even detachments in each of the seven cities. Police forces are
though the world has faced few genuine challenges from off- equipped at TL 8 and are commanded by a Chief Constable
world in many generations The fact that the overwhelming who reports directly to the Council of Peers. The Police
majority of Datrillian’s population resides in the city of are generally not very visible in Wintergard or the other
Wintergard means that there is broad agreement on most cities but Police response in the event of disturbances or
major issues. On the other hand, their close-knit, urban other emergencies are prompt and forceful. The Police are
society leaves most Datrillians suspicious of off-worlders generally well-regarded by most Datrillians and service in
and generally uninterested in interstellar affairs. the Police is a respected occupation, especially for non-
aristocrats.
Economic data
Datrillian has a complex economy focused on agricultural Datrillian has only a small military force, the Royal Defense
production, consumer goods, and light industry. Commercial Corps, which is actually a branch of the Royal Metropolitan
enterprises are organized as feudal holdings—Houses— Police. The Corps is responsible for planetary defense,
headed by aristocratic families. In addition to its core intelligence, customs and immigration services at the starport,
enterprise each House provides basic social services— global emergency rescue, and space operations (consisting
housing, education, health care—to its members (sometimes primarily of launching the spacecraft that transport “colonists”
these services are contracted from other Houses specializing to Regin). The Corps-Captain reports to the Police’s Chief
in the specific service). Most economic activity is based at Constable but is selected by the King. Corps personnel tend
the city of Wintergard but most resource extraction—metals to come from aristocratic families, usually those children that
and radioactive ores, petrochemicals and other organic do not find themselves in positions of direct authority for the
compounds—is conducted at the smaller cities located along family fiefdom.
Datrillian’s equatorial region. Each of these mining cities is
governed/managed by a specific House under royal charter- Corps forces are generally equipped with TL 9 weaponry—
grant from the central government in Wintergard. usually reflecting military prototypes or off-world imports—
and TL 8 transport and communications equipment. The
Corps manages the main starport at Wintergard as well as

--
the primitive spaceport facilities at Vestarfield in the Eastmain One species of moss, known locally as barrow-whey, is
interior and Gristbay on the Westmain coast. It also operates fermented by local brewers and is a popular alcoholic
a small planetary defense missile battery around Wintergard beverage throughout Datrillian society. “Barrow-beer” is
and a small number of orbital interceptors and cutters used also sold off-world under several different brewer’s brands.
primarily for customs duties in Ran orbit. Barrow-whey has a quick growing season and must be
harvested before each onset of “winter” but fermentation
The Corps is supplemented by an extensive, if seldom time, whether by necessity or custom is not quite clear,
utilized, reserve militia consisting of service elements from can take several years. Brewers hoard the secrets to their
most major Houses. These militia forces train frequently brewing methods and most Datrillians have staunch loyalties
with Corps regulars in weapons handling, small unit tactics, to their favorite brands.
wilderness survival, and rescue operations. Most commercial
aircraft, ocean-going vessels, and large ground vehicles can Few off-world plant or animal species have been transplanted
be requisitioned by the Corps when necessary. Through the successfully to Datrillian, particularly in the wilderness areas.
militia most Datrillian aristocrats hold some sort of reserve The severe weather conditions make it difficult for most off-
commission in the Corps and this has been an effective world plants and animals to survive outdoors. A variety of
means by which the militant traditions of Datrillian have off-world animals are kept by Datrillians as domestic pets
been maintained in the absence of any serious conflict in although no particular species exists in large numbers. Most
centuries. would not survive long if they escaped or were released into
the wilderness. Likewise a variety of agricultural plants exist
Flora And Fauna in hydroponics and other artificial environments maintained
There is only limited flora on the surface of Datrillian: varieties at Wintergard but these are strictly luxury items and will not
of primitive molds, lichens, mosses, and ferns are common be common in most homes or eateries.
in equatorial regions and in coastal areas in the world’s
temperate zones. Surface-dwelling and air-breathing fauna frostcrabs
is also quite primitive and consists almost entirely of various T20: Frostcrab – Small (6kg) Eater; St/Lb 4/7 (1d6); Init +3;
species of insects. There are no flyers on Datrillian. Sea- To Attack 4+; To Flee 10+; Spd 9m (6 squares); AC 16 (+3
borne life is more extensive, particularly in the equatorial dex, +1 size, +2 natural armor); AR 2; Atks two claws +4
regions, but is also primitive with both swimmers and seabed melee (1d4-2); SA Cold Resistance 5; SV Fort +2, Ref +5,
crawlers being invertebrates. Few Datrillian organisms are Will -1; Str 6, Dex 17, Con 11, Int 2, Wis 8, Cha 9, Edu --,
large enough to pose much threat to humans but several Soc --.
species of flora and fauna can be poisonous when disturbed Skills & Feats: Survival +3. Multiattack.
or eaten. Special Ability: Cold Resistance (Ex)-Frostcrabs have a
cold resistance of 5.
Most surface-dwelling flora and fauna is restricted to the
equatorial regions of Eastmain and Westmain continents. CT: Frostcrab – 6kg Eater; Hits 2/2; Armor jack; Wounds 2
Southmain, Southpole, and Northpole continents are (as claws); A5 F7 S3.
largely lifeless except for transient, sea-borne species that
occasionally gain a foothold in non-polar coastal regions.
Most surface lifeforms have developed periods of dormancy
during the harsh, cold “winters” even in the equatorial regions.
Dormancy is less common in sea-borne fauna which often
resort to north-south migratory patterns in response to the
severe “seasonal” changes in temperature.

The principal foodstuff of Datrillian is the frostcrab, an

underwater crawler that is common throughout the equatorial
region. “Frostcrabbers” have depleted the population within
several hundred kilometers of Wintergard and have been
forced to forage farther and farther out to sea each year.
Frostcrab is a staple of the Datrillian diet and both cooked
and raw versions of the crustacean are common in most
homes and eateries. Efforts to create artificial frostcrab
farms have so far been unsuccessful as some element of
the frostcrab lifecycle seems to depend upon the destruction
wrought by the “winter” storms.

--
LIFE ON DATRILLIAN know others outside their House well. Datrillian families are
large and extended and tend to live in the same abode which
has been the home of the family for generations. (Homes
For most people life on Datrillian means the same as life in
usually belong to a specific House rather than to specific
the city of Wintergard. This large, self-contained metropolis
families.)
is a haphazard mixture of centuries-old and modern
architecture. Portions of the domed city have been built and
Many Datrillians work in the agricultural sector, supporting
rebuilt again and again and the city has expanded in size as
the harvesting of frostcrabs or the underwater processing
its population has grown. Once a single, half-buried dome on
facilities that have been steadily expanding into the coastal
the shore of the Rampart Sea Wintergard now covers over a
sea floor. Others work for the manufacturing and processing
thousand square kilometers and extends several kilometers
Houses of Factortown, commuting to and from their homes in
underwater along the sea floor.
Yeomantown each day. A smaller proportion of people work
in the commercial services sector—banking, health care,
The coastal Wharf district is the oldest part of the city and
trading, retail—or in government, education, and the arts.
here the great frostcrabbing Houses have their harvesting
and processing operations. The central Newtown district is
Datrillians tend to focus on the well-being of their family
the location of government offices, educational institutions,
and House rather than on their individual well-being. For a
artistic activities, and the clear-domed Monarch’s Park. The
Datrillian the worse social sanction is to be formally separated
House district, west of Newtown, is home to the Datrillian
from one’s House. This emphasis upon the community results
aristocracy and is characterized by large estates surrounded
in broad support for those social institutions—primarily
by extensive gardens and wide boulevards. Factortown is
manifest in government activities—that are common to all
the city’s industrial district and the location of the starport
across Datrillian society. Datrillians tend to be content and
facilities, on the northern outskirts of the city. To the south
are generally supportive of the status quo. The standard of
Yeomantown is the city’s primary residential and commercial
living for most people is comfortable if not extravagant and
district. There is an extensive public transit rail system and
adequate, House-based social institutions exist to give most
therefore few personal vehicles in Wintergard—most non-
people a reasonable sense that they will be able to survive
pedestrian traffic on the city’s wide, covered boulevards
most personal crises.
tends to be large commercial vehicles.

Due to the harsh environment—generally frigid temperatures

and the combination respirator/filter mask required to breath
the air—most Datrillians seldom venture outside the closed
ecosystem of Wintergard. Temperatures inside tend to be
cool and Datrillian dress reflects this, tending to clothing
that covers the limbs and head. There are no clear fashion
distinctions between men and women—reflecting the general
equality of roles for men and women in Datrillian society—
but aristocrats tend to dress in more reserved, darker colors
than the average common person.

While there are clearly defined roles for aristocrats and

common people on Datrillian these groups intermingle easily,
particularly within a given House. Indeed, most Datrillians
will know more members of their House at all social levels
than they will know people of other House of the same social
level. Datrillians are generally quite polite and formal with
each other and quarrels are rare. This politeness will extend
to off-worlders as well but it covers a thinly-veiled distrust
or even contempt. Fundamentally, Datrillians just don’t like
outsiders.

Datrillians identify strongly with the House to which they have

pledged fealty. For the vast majority their relationship with
their House is a life-long one and is usually the same as that
of their parents and grandparents. Datrillians work, play, and
live with other members of their respective House. Marriages
outside their House are rare for no reason other than the
simple fact that most people have little opportunity to get to

- 10 -
ADVENTURE SEEDS Alternately, the party might be contacted by representatives
of the Royal Defense Corps intelligence service to travel to
Regin and report on the activities of the “colonists” there.
The following adventure seeds can be used to set up quick
These intelligence agents have grown suspicious of some
adventures in the Datrillian system.
sort of rebel activity on Regin due to several informants
among the family members of recently exiled “colonists.”
1. REGIN REBELS Their suspicions are not yet substantiated enough that they
can ask for official support—Regin is, after all, home to
For some time now a cadre of “colonists” on Regin have
been plotting a return to Datrillian and an assault on the several formerly-well-connected aristocrats—but they have
government there. The group is led by Drusilla Hendriksdattar, been able to draw upon some limited Corps funds to hire the
the daughter of a member of the Council of Peers who travellers and their starship.
was exiled to Regin for her opposition to the government.
The rebels have been salvaging the expendable transport Finally, the travellers might find themselves in Wintergard
spacecraft that occasionally bring new “colonists” to Regin just when Hendriksdattar and her band—against all odds—
and have nearly completed reconstruction of two spacecraft manage to reach Datrillian and launch their assault on the
that might carry as many as 300 rebels back to Datrillian. armory. Chaos ensues.
Hendriksdattar’s lieutenant, Daoud Pilaan, a former Royal
Defense Corps officer court-martialed for killing the husband
of his former lover, is training a group of “colonists” in
small group military tactics. Hendriksdattar plans to return
to Datrillian, make a landing at Wintergard, seize a Royal
Defense Corps armory, and lead an attack on the Council
chambers aimed at taking several members of the Council
of Peers hostage.

Several aspects of this plan are overly optimistic. There

just aren’t the appropriate skills available on Regin to
reconstruct the spacecraft properly much less to fly them to
Datrillian. They may make it into orbit above Regin but the
interplanetary transit to Datrillian is much more problematic.
Hendriksdattar, the most experienced pilot on Regin, has
only flown imported military grav vehicles on Datrillian and
has never piloted a spacecraft. Still what these rebels lack
in skills and experience they match in determination (or
desperation).

Travellers might encounter Hendriksdattar’s rebels in

several different ways. A damaged or misjumped starship
might be forced to land on Regin to effect repairs. In
such circumstances the crew will be seized by the rebels.
Crewmembers with technical skills will be pressed into work
on the reconstruction of the two salvaged spacecraft (and
components of the travellers’ ship might be cannibalized as
well). Crewmembers with piloting skills will also be pressed
into service. Of course, if the travellers are sympathetic with
the rebels’ cause they might choose to cooperate freely.

Other travellers might be contacted on Datrillian by members

of Hendriksdattar’s family to travel to Regin to assist the rebels.
They might be contracted to carry certain cargo—spacecraft
components, small arms, life support equipment—to Regin
or simply to travel to the world and secure Hendriksdattar’s
return to Datrillian. In such circumstances, when she returns
Hendriksdattar will pressure her family into contracting
with the party to return to Regin again with the necessary
materials to complete work on the two spacecraft.

- 11 -
2. LISTENING POST who revealed the secret facility to the Datrillians. (He also
knows that IISS elements are over-stretched in District 268
and that the Scouts will have their hands too full dealing
While in port at Caladbolg (or at Tarkine or at Walston) the
with the diplomatic fall-out from the revelation of the post
travellers are contacted by a representative of the local
to mount an effective pursuit for him.) Gilgaadin will likely
Scout base. The Scout has learned that the travellers plan
simply decide to run but Indigo Muse’s maneuver drive has
to travel along the Bowman Arm and asks them to undertake
seen much better days and the travellers’ ship should be
a mission for the IISS. (If the travellers are travelling aboard
able to overtake him well before he reaches Datrillian. What
a detached duty Scout ship this is not a request. If the
to do with him, assuming they can successfully stop Indigo
travellers are travelling in a merchant or other vessel the
Muse, is another matter. Nothing in their original briefing
Scout will provide them with a voucher for payment of a not-
covered what they should do if the listening post were
insubstantial amount of money that can be redeemed at the
discovered much less what they should do with the person
respective Scout base on the other end of the Bowman Arm.)
who discovered it!
The mission is to visit the secret, automated IISS listening
post on Mimir, gather the appropriate sensor recordings,
provide any needed repairs to the post’s systems, and
deliver the recordings to the respective Scout base on the
other end of the Bowman Arm .

The need to protect the listening post’s secrecy will require

the travellers to visit Mimir without letting the locals on
Datrillian know of their visit. They can try to jump into the
Datrillian system and refuel at the gas giant without visiting
Datrillian but this will expose them to the risk of wilderness
refueling in the turbulent atmosphere of Ran or possibly
lead to them being discovered by the Royal Defense Corps
“custom” patrols that are seeking to maintain the “safety
blockade” of the gas giant or in the worst-case scenario lead
to them being attacked by the pirates of Hrona while deep in
Ran’s atmosphere.

Should the travellers choose to refuel on Datrillian they

will have little or no problems making their way between
the Ran satellite system and Mimir (regardless of whether
they visit Mimir before or after refueling at Datrillian). They
will though encounter the Indigo Muse at Mimir, a Belter
from Caliburn. The ship is commanded by Harry Gilgaadin
who was on his last financial leg at Caliburn, gave up in
frustration, and jumped to Datrillian to see if his luck would
improve. He has already surveyed Loki’s cometary halo and
failed to find any materials of value. He next journeyed to
Mimir and was much surprised to find the Scout listening
post. Gilgaadin has been on Mimir for a couple of days when
the travellers arrive—long enough to discover that the post
is an IISS facility and to realize that information about the
post might possibly be worth much more to the authorities
on Datrillian than the salvage value of any of the equipment.
Gilgaadin is an Imperial citizen with no particular grudge
against the Imperium but he had fallen on particularly hard
times at Caliburn and has spent much too much time of late
contemplating his fate should Indigo Muse’s ill-maintained
life support system or drives fail.

Indigo Muse is ill-equipped for any combat but Gilgaadin is

determined to turn his discovery into some sort of financial
gain. He realizes that he can bring news of the listening post
to the authorities on Datrillian, collect some sort of “reward,”
and be long gone before the Scouts learn from the travellers

- 12 -
3. CULT OF SIGEFRED to stop (or kill) once he or she has realized that word of
the clandestine activity must get back to the authorities at
Wintergard.
One of the cultural elements brought to Datrillian by the
Sword Worlders was Aesirism, a nativist movement that
sought to “reintroduce” traditions from an ancient Terran
ethnic community to Sword Worlds society. These practices
have evolved on Datrillian in a manner that makes them
unrecognizable to most contemporary Sword Worlders
but they remain popular and widely-held among Datrillian
aristocrats.

The principal manifestation of these practices is evident

in the semi-religious Cult of Sigefred. Members of this cult
embark upon individual “spirit journeys” into the wilderness
of Datrillian in search of psycho-spiritual enlightenment.
These pilgrimages can last several weeks and many seekers
are killed by the harsh conditions of Datrillian’s environment.
But those who return—and who are rewarded with elaborate
tattoos applied by the small cult priesthood—are regarded
with great respect and believed to have much wisdom in all
aspects of human endeavors. Many return again and again
to the wilderness to undertake more and more challenging
journeys—longer periods, greater distances, harsher climes,
more severe courses requiring sea-borne journeys or the
climbing of mountains. Each successful journey results
in more tattooing and greater regard from other Datrillian
aristocrats. The most experienced of these seekers will be
invited to live with most Datrillian nobles for as long as they
wish.

The travellers may encounter the Cult of Sigefred in several

ways. Family members of a seeker who has failed to return
when expected may hire the travellers to mount a search
for the missing wanderer. Other family members may resent
this disruption and disrespect for the ritual and will seek to
delay or obstruct the travellers, perhaps even going so far as
to mount (or hire) another expedition meant to stop them by
force or trickery. The seeker may indeed have met his or her
demise in the wilderness or may yet still be alive but unwilling
to accept any assistance from the travellers. The travellers
may find the seeker injured and incapacitated and return him
or her to Wintergard only to find they have created an enemy
for life who is embarrassed at not having been allowed to
bring their pilgrimage to its natural conclusion.

On the other hand, if the travellers happen to be engaged

in any “unofficial” activities somewhere in the Datrillian
wilderness they might be stumbled upon by a seeker
involved in a pilgrimage. Two points are relevant here. The
first is that members of the Cult of Sigefred have a religious
regard for the natural wilderness of Datrillian and so are
likely not to look too kindly upon people who are engaged in
some sort of clandestine activity that might spoil the pristine
wilderness. The second point is that those who engage in the
“spirit journey” are very hardy individuals used to surviving
in extreme conditions and able to persevere in the face of
great discomfort. Such an individual will be particularly hard

- 13 -
4. PETROLEUM FIELDS management that discuss the success of the diversion
efforts. Finally, one or more of the Svanar personnel working
The city of Svanarhold on the Rampart Sea coast of for LSP might draw undue attention to their recent financial
Westmain continent is governed/managed by House Svanar windfall while carousing in a Svanarhold bar leading to the
under a royal charter-grant. The continental shelf offshore travellers deciding that the individual bears closer scrutiny.
from Svanarhold is rich in petroleum and natural gas
deposits and House Svanar is the principal provider of these
key natural energy resources to Wintergard and the other
cities of Datrillian. Svanarhold is rather remote, connected to
Gristbay and the primitive spaceport there by a 250 kilometer
high-speed rail line and by occasional commercial aircraft
transport to Wintergard. Large sea-going vessels transport
the crude oil and natural gas mined on the Svanarhold shelf
to refining facilities at Wintergard.

Datrillian’s harsh environment has taxed the technical

capabilities of House Svanar to expand beyond its current
production capacity at the same time that energy needs
forecasts for the next several decades indicate that capacity
will have to be expanded. Therefore Svanar has obtained
special dispensation from the King to contract with the
Imperial megacorporation Ling-Standard Products (LSP) to
provide offshore oil exploration services on the Svanarhold
shelf. LSP has a small cadre of exploration specialists who
are overseeing a much larger team of Svanar personnel.
Unbeknownst to House Svanar LSP, assisted by a handful of
suborned House employees, has been keeping information
on the most promising deposits for itself, revealing only the
harder to access deposits to Svanar.

The situation in Svanarhold presents several adventuring

possibilities for travellers. Officials in the Resource Ministry
in Wintergard who opposed House Svanar’s LSP contract
have been suspicious of LSP’s intentions from the beginning
and might approach the travellers about infiltrating the LSP
operation or, if they have a starship, about conducting a
covert, independent survey of recent areas of the Svanar
shelf explored by LSP. Elements in House Svanar itself,
themselves suspicious of the Imperials, might approach
the travellers about a similar sort of mission. Alternatively,
the travellers might be approached by a representative of
Sternmetal Horizons about investigating LSP activities.
Sternmetal lost out to LSP on the exploration contract and
would very much like to demonstrate to House Svanar that
LSP is up to no good. (If the travellers are successful in
uncovering the LSP activities Sternmetal might even decide
to approach the Resource Ministry with evidence that
House Svanar has been unable to manage its charter-grant
effectively—and of course with an offer to step in and assist
another House to do a better job.)

The LSP activities might be discovered in several ways, the

easiest being survey evidence that shows that a region that
has been explored by LSP but rejected as a potential mining
site does indeed contain significant deposits. Infiltrators in
the LSP exploration team might uncover records of diverted
exploration results or communications to the off-world LSP

- 14 -
5. FROSTCRABBER WARS employers they will be recruited to begin an investigation of
the sabotage. Their initial suspicions point to one of their
Frostcrabs are harvested by vast underwater nets that are competing Houses.
dragged along the shallow seabeds of Datrillian by individual
underwater submersibles. The frostcrabbing industry is
dominated by several large agricultural fiefdoms each of
which manage their own flotillas of submersibles and food
processing facilities and distribution centers in Wintergard.
(Independent frostcrabber submersibles are rare but do
manage to eke out an existence, selling their harvests to
the large frostcrabbing Houses.) The coastal regions of the
Rampart Sea around Wintergard have long been treated
as an agricultural commons with frostcrabbing Houses not
being permitted to lay exclusive claim to any frostcrabbing
population or specific region of the Sea. This has led to a long
tradition of vicious competition between different Houses in
which occasional submersibles—often an independent—
have failed to make it back to their home ports.

Over-fishing of the frostcrab population in the coastal waters

around Wintergard has forced the frostcrabbers to travel
further and further into the Rampart Sea to find available
harvests. Frostcrabbers can now be found along the glacial
polar sea barriers and as far away as the west coast of
Westmain continent. Because their submersibles are not
capable of withstanding the winter storms at sea harvesting
at these remote locations can prove especially hazardous for
frostcrabbers who are not able to make it back to Wintergard
to weather the winter freeze. The independent frostcrabbers
are most at risk of weather-related troubles because they
are forced farthest afield by the larger House flotillas.

The travellers can be dragged into the dangerous and

competitive world of frostcrab harvesting in several ways.
Perhaps they have befriended the captain of an independent
frostcrabber whose submersible has not returned to
Wintergard as expected. Datrillian will soon be passing behind
Ran and the winter storms will begin in earnest. The travellers
will be urged by their friend’s family—or perhaps hired by the
family if they have not befriended the frostcrabber—to mount
a search effort and effect a rescue if possible. The travellers
will eventually find the wayward submersible, shipwrecked
on an icy glacial shelf along the polar barrier just as the first
of the winter storms are beginning. . . .

Alternatively, the travellers might be approached by a

representative of one of the frostcrabbing Houses. One
of the House’s submersibles failed to return from its last
voyage. Enough time has passed that it is clear the vessel
was lost. The travellers are hired to search for the wreckage
and to attempt to determine the cause of the vessel’s loss.
The missing submersible will be found on the sea bottom
off the Westmain coast. A search of the wreckage will
discover several bodies and no survivors. Investigation of
the wreckage will discover evidence of an explosion and on
close examination it seems that the source of the explosion
was a bomb. When the traveller report this information to their
- 15 -
6. PIRATES OF HRONA The pirates have been told to evacuate (and destroy) their
base and jump outsystem rather than risk exposing their link
to the TTC and the government of Datrillian. They will do
Datrillian’s location at the “entry point” to the Bowman Arm for
this if any large force comes across their base on Hrona but
vessels travelling from Imperial settlements in Sword Worlds
a single ship or a small party of travellers will be attacked.
subsector makes it an especially attractive world to economic
If necessary, the pirates will call upon the spacecraft of the
and political interests in the Imperium. Correspondingly the
Royal Defense Corps to assist in hunting down anyone who
Trexalon Technical Consortium (TTC) has decided that it is
has stumbled onto their base.
particularly important to “help” Datrillian continue to resist
the influx of Imperials. Fortunately, the TTC has found a
willing co-conspirator in King Olrik and the Council of Peers.
Together they have found a way to discourage wilderness
refueling at the system’s gas giant, thereby forcing travelling
starships to refuel at Datrillian where the starport charges
exceptionally high prices meant to discourage travel to
Datrillian by making it prohibitively expensive.

The TTC has hired a small band of mercenaries/pirates

to attack starships attempting to use the gas giant Ran
for wilderness refueling. Based on the moon Hrona these
pirates swoop down on unsuspecting starships—their crews
perhaps giddy with relief that conditions in the atmosphere of
Ran are not as turbulent as they’d been led to believe—and
attack them when they are most vulnerable. The pirates are
welcome to any cargoes they salvage from the ships they
attack and have a ready-made place—the depths of Ran’s
atmosphere—in which to dispose of the damaged hulks of
their captured prizes. The small customs spacecraft fielded
by Datrillian’s Royal Defense Corps rendezvous regularly to
trade needed supplies with the pirates in exchange for their
hijacked goods which are then sold by certain mercantile
Houses at Datrillian spaceport as seized customs goods.

The travellers may encounter the pirates of Hrona in several

different ways. Perhaps the most unfortunate would be
simply to be set upon unsuspectingly while trying to refuel at
Ran. Alternately, the travellers might have been hired by an
Imperial megacorporation to investigate the disappearance
of several of its starships at Datrillian. Their instructions
might include rumors that all is not as portrayed at the gas
giant and unconfirmed reports of other starships that have
managed to refuel at the gas giant and yet found rather
normal atmospheric conditions. Other patrons might include
agents from Collace or perhaps even the Imperial Interstellar
Scout Service (IISS) who have heard similar reports but have
been unable to mount their own investigation. Finally, certain
lower-level elements in the Royal Defense Corps intelligence
branch might also hire the travellers to investigate rumors of
a pirate base on Hrona. These intelligence officers have no
idea that the Hrona pirates are part of an effort sanctioned by
the Datrillian government.

- 16 -
- 17 -
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Open Game License v 1.0 Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
System Reference Document, Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors Jonathan
Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on original material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave
Arneson.
T20 – The Traveller’s Handbook Copyright 2002, QuikLink Interactive, Inc. Traveller is a
trademark of Far Future Enterprises and is used under license
Spinward Marches System Guide 1: Datrillian – Copyright ©2006 Avenger Enterprises in
association with Comstar Media LLC.