Freelance Traveller

by Jason Kemp

The background details behind the Order of Zar-Tis are in a separate article. This article specifically addresses the game mechanics for introducing the Order of Zar-Tis into your MegaTraveller campaign.

Character Creation: The Order of Zar-Tis Career

The following basic character generation system can be used to develop members of the Order or the Hand. It is handled exactly like the prior careers from the MegaTraveller Player's Manual, except that beginning characters determine their psionics score at the beginning of character creation. If the character successfully enlists into this career, then determine the psionic talents the character can possibly learn using the normal process described in the book (they may have none), and give the character skill level one in each talent.

Skills: Skills are earned as normal: 2 for the first term, 1 per term thereafter. One skill for commission, one skill per promotion, and one skill per special duty. Making a commission, promotion, or special duty roll by four or more grants an additional skill level, as well.

Automatic Skills

Enlistment: Sabre-1
Master, 1st Degree: Instruction-1

Rank Table:
O1 Master, 1st Degree
O2 Master, 2nd Degree
O3 Master, 3rd Degree
O4 Master, 4th Degree
O5 High Master
O6 Grand Master

New Cascade Skill Group:

Psionics: Upon receiving this skill group, the character must select to increase one of their psionic talents by one skill level, or they may select to gain a skill level one in a psionic talent they do not yet know (with the exception of the Special talent. If a character doesn't have the predisposition for Special psionic talents upon character creation, it's really difficult to obtain training to bring it out after initial training.)

The Brand of Zar-Tis

The descriptive text for the plasma sword known as the Brand of Zar-Tis can be found in the background document on the Order of Zar-Tis. This section addresses MegaTraveller-specific game mechanics related to the Brand of Zar-Tis.

In Combat: The use of the Brand in combat requires the Sabre skill, which should be considered part of the Blade Combat cascade skill group. Otherwise, combat should be resolved normally.

Constructing a Brand of Zar-Tis: Only members of the Order with a Sabre skill of 3 or greater are taught how to construct a Brand. Until then, a member of the Order must depend on his/her Master for a Brand.

To construct a Brand from raw components:

Difficult, Gravitics, Mechanics, 1 day (fateful, hazardous)

Referee: The character should have a Sabre skill of 3+, or increase the difficulty one level. The use of components of TL15 or less increases the difficulty by one per TL drop. This task is effected normally by adverse work conditions, inappropriate parts, etc. If unsuccessful, the amount of damage determined from failure will be the amount of damage inflicted when first activated, as the Brand discharges and melts the interior of the weapon into useless slag.

To construct a Brand Recharger from raw components:

Routine, Gravitics, Mechanics, 1 hour (fateful, hazardous)

Referee: The character should have a Sabre skill of 3+, or increase the difficulty one level. The use of components of TL15 or less increases the difficulty by one per TL drop. This task is effected normally by adverse work conditions, inappropriate parts, etc. If unsuccessful, the amount of damage determined from failure will be the amount of damage inflicted when the Recharger is first activated, as it causes the Brand to discharge and melts the interior of the weapon into useless slag.

Combat Statistics:
Plasma Sword: Penetration 15, Damage 4, Block 2

(TML Statistics: Penetration 20, Damage 3, Block 2. I prefer the lower pen and higher damage, since interior bulkheads are AV30, while external hulls are AV40, and I wanted it harder to cut through the outside of a ship than an interior bulkhead.)