LSD Docs/LSD Docs.iso/FILEZ/lsd15.dms/lsd15.adf/MegaTraveler1.doc.pp/MegaTraveler1.doc

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                   Released by Flux/Crystal. Typed by an
                         anonymous mate of his.


                  Megatraveller I - The Zhodani Conspiracy

                                 USER GUIDE

                              ----------------

                  A Letter of Introduction from Marc Miller

Dear Megatraveller Computer Gamer,
   It's hard to believe  that  it's  been  15  years  since I began designing
TRAVELLER. When the game was completed in 1977, I had no idea it would evolve
into the most popular science  fiction  role-playing  series ever created, as
well as form the foundation of  our company, Games Designers' Workshop (GDW).
Here I am, in  the  1990s,  and  TRAVELLER  is  taking  another enormous step
forward in its continued development - computerization!
    I've been asked many times why  I  feel  TRAVELLER has been so popular. I
believe there are several reasons  for  the  game's success. First, TRAVELLER
makes it easy for players to generate characters, create (with just a few die
rolls) entire worlds, and design powerful starships. A player can pick up the
basic game rules and find hours  of  exciting adventure and enjoyment without
being marred in detail. Over the course  of its history, TRAVELLER has always
emphasised the enjoyment  inherent  in  playing  the  game  and  building the
background. Rules and background are also  definite reasons why TRAVELLER has
been so successful. The rules are realistic, understandable and easy to use -
head and shoulders above any other gaming system. At the same time, the star-
spanning empire that is the background for TRAVELLER is the ideal setting for
a science-fiction game. The wealth of detail we have been able to put into it
makes the game a living experience.
    You may be wondering why  TRAVELLER  was renamed MEGATRAVELLER. TRAVELLER
is the name for the original role-playing  system. In 1987, after 10 years of
release, the game system had reached  a  point where it needed revision. Some
rules had fallen by the wayside, while  new  ones had been written to address
new topics. We at  GDW  decided  to  totally  rewrite the game, incorporating
everything we thought worked while discarding  concepts that were not totally
successful. MEGATRAVELLER is the name we use for the current, most up-to-date
version of the classic role-playing game. I'm happy to say that this computer
version carries the MEGATRAVELLER name.
    I've always said that TRAVELLER would  make the perfect computer game for
the same  two  reasons  that  it's  a  great  role-playing  game:  rules  and
background. The background, and its wealth  of detail, will naturally capture
the interest of players. But it's the simplicity of the rules which makes the
computerization possible.  Most  game  systems  provide  completely different
rules for each different  situation  that  could potentially exist. TRAVELLER
simplifies things by identifying the  characteristics  all situations have in
common, and applying one  universal  method  to  resolve  these problems. The
foundation of TRAVELLER is its task  system,  which makes mountains of formal
rules fall away. A  task  can  be  almost  anything;  an  attempt to bribe an
official, a shot with a laser  pistol,  piloting a starship, etc. The referee
(or the computer) decides how difficult  an  activity  is and what skills and
personal  characteristics  affect  the  activity,  and  then  determines  the
outcome. This is a  routine  perfectly  adaptable  to  the  computer, but not
implemented in role-playing games until TRAVELLER.
    TRAVELLER is a never-ending pursuit for  me.  It  has taken many years to
bring TRAVELLER to the computer, and I can't express how excited I am that it
is finally  available.  We're  hard  at  work  developing  a  sequel  to this
MEGATRAVELLER computer adventure, and we hope  to bring you many interstellar
computer adventures in the years to  come. In addition, we're also developing
another of  our  role-playing  systems,  SPACE  1889,  for  the entertainment
software market. Watch out for it in the near future.
    I truly hope that everyone who gets a  chance to play this game enjoys it
as much as I've enjoyed working  on  it.  So  sit  back, take control of five
characters, let your imagination run wild, and  venture to the far reaches of
space for a wondrous tale of excitement, danger and intrigue. GDW and Paragon
Software proudly present MEGATRAVELLER I : THE ZHODANI CONSPIRACY.
        Yours in Science-Fiction Role-Playing,
                Marc Miller.

                       ------------------------------

                              TECHNICAL SECTION

GETTING STARTED

Note: The disks provided with the  game  are  not  copy protected and you are
advised to make a backup copy of all the disks before you begin playing.

Megatraveller should work on any Amiga with  at  least 512K and a floppy disk
drive. The game will make use of extra memory, external drives and hard disks
if you have them. If you only have  512K of memory, then it will be necessary
to disconnect external drives and peripherals and to make sure that there are
no other programs installed on your  system.  If  you  wish to play from hard
disk then you will need at least  1MB  of  memory. Printouts can be made from
within the Character Generator using the parallel printer port.

Making Backup Copies

1. Make sure the original disks are  write  protected. (You should be able to
see through the write protect tab).
2. Use the duplicate option on  the  Amiga  workbench  to make copies of both
disks.
3. You may also like to format  an  extra  disk to use for storing saved game
positions onto. Put the original disks in  a  safe place and only use them if
your copies become corrupted.

Loading from Floppy Disks

1. Turn on your machine and at the  workbench prompt insert your copy of Disk
A into any disk drive.
Megatraveller should now autoboot and after  a few seconds will start playing
the introduction sequence and ask you to answer a question from the manual.

Installing onto Hard Disk

Note: To run Megatraveller from a  hard  disk  you  will need at least 1Mb of
memory and approximately 1.5Mb of free hard disk space.
1. Switch on your computer in the usual manner.
2. Put Disk A into a disk drive  and  when its icon appears on the workbench,
double click on it to open up a window.
3. Inside the window should be an icon labelled Install. Double click on this
and follow the prompts.
4. You will be asked where you  wish  to  install it. Answer this with a name
like:

        DH0:TRAVEL <enter>

To play the game, open up a  window  with  the travel directory in and double
click on the TRAVEL icon.
Alternatively create a directory on your hard disk with a name such as TRAVEL
and copy all the  files  from  the  disks  into  the  directory using the CLI
commands:

        MKDIR /travel
        CD /travel
        COPY df0:#? ""

(insert Disk B)

        COPY df0:#? ""

Then play the game by typing:

        CD dh0:travel
        travel



GAME OPTIONS

Because of the complexity and  size  of MegaTraveller, information will often
be loaded from disk durimng the  game.  You  should never change disks unless
the program prompts you to do so. If  you have more than one floppy disk then
you may place disks in these drives to  avoid swapping disks so often. If you
have lots of memory then disk accessing will also be reduced.
After the game has loaded you  will  see  the title sequence. To bypass this,
click a mouse button or press the space bar.

COPY PROTECTION

The game disks for Megatraveller I: The Zhodani Conspiracy are unprotected to
make it more convenient for you. However,  at  the start of the game you will
be asked to locate information  from  the  manual  packaged with the game, so
keep it handy. All of the  questions  will  refer to information presented in
the many charts the manual contains.

STARTING THE GAME

Megatraveller is designed to be  played  entirely  from mouse, although there
are keyboard shortcuts for most operations if you prefer to use them.
To select an object or menu item, move  the mouse so that the pointer is over
the object and then press and release the left mouse button.
To Cancel or Exit from a screen, press and release the Right mouse button.
To Drag an object, move the  mouse  so  that  the pointer is over the object,
then press but do not release  the  left  mouse button. With the button still
pressed, move the mouse so that the  pointer  is  over where you wish to move
the object to and then release the button.  You will be presented with a menu
containing 4 options:

        START NEW GAME
        CONTINUE OLD GAME
        GET STARTED QUICK
        QUIT PROGRAM

START NEW GAME

This lets you  create  your  own  characters  and  make  up  your  own party.
Selecting this option brings up a further menu:

        CREATE PARTY DISK
        USE MY PARTY DISK
        USE DEFAULT CHARACTERS

CREATE PARTY DISK

Select this if it is the first  time  you  have played and you wish to create
and save your own characters instead of the default characters. Simply answer
the questions asked and exchange disks when prompted.
        Note: Your Party Disk can also be used as a save game disk.

USE MY PARTY DISK

Select this if you have a party disk and wish to start a new game.

USE DEFAULT CHARACTERS

This option allows you  to  start  a  new  game  using the default characters
provided.

After selecting any of these  options  you  progress  into the main character
generator. This is detailed in depth in the manual later on.

CONTINUE OLD GAME

If you have already begun playing  the  game,  then this option allows you to
continue with a saved game position.  You  will  be asked to insert your save
game disk and to select the filename of the saved game to continue.

GET STARTED QUICK

This starts the game using  a  default  party  if  you  are not interested in
creating your own characters.

PLAYING THE GAME

This game is split into two separate stages:

        Planetary Surface Exploration and Combat
        Interstellar Exploration and Starship Combat

You may only save your  game  at  a  starport.  A  starport  is found on most
planets very close to where your ship is parked.

THE CHARACTER SCREENS

During most of  the  game,  the  upper  section  of  the  screen displays the
characters in your party, showing their  armour and status icons. By clicking
on any of  the  characters  with  the  mouse  pointer  you  can  view all the
important information about a character  as  well as manipulating the objects
they are carrying.
The character screens are split into 4 sections:

        CHARACTER SKILLS LIST
        OBJECTS
        USED OBJECTS
        SELECTIONS

CHARACTER SKILLS LIST

This is displayed in the left of  the  screen.  If there are more skills than
will fit in a page, click on the page up/page down icons.

OBJECTS

These are displayed in the centre.
a) Objects may be moved by clicking on them.
b) Move an object by  dragging  it  to  another  slot.  If there is something
already in that slot it will be swapped.
c) Move an object to another character  by  dragging it to a character at the
top of the screen.
d) Inspect an object by clicking on it twice.
e) Use an object by dragging it to  the  Use object icon at the bottom of the
screen.

USED OBJECTS

The bottom right of the  screen  contains  space  for used objects. There are
spaces for:

        BREAKING EQUIPMENT
        ARMOUR
        PRIMARY WEAPON
        SECONDARY WEAPON

These can be manipulated as described above.

SELECTIONS

On the right  hand  side  of  the  screen  are  a  list  of selections. These
generally provide you with more information about the character. Click on the
selection to view the information. Press a  key  or click the mouse to remove
that information. Exit from the character  screen by pressing the right mouse
button or the ESC key.
        Note: Time is frozen whilst in a character screen.

Planetary Surface Exploration and Combat

MOVEMENT

Whilst on a planet you can move about  by pressing the left mouse button over
the main display area. The party will try to move towards your cursor.
You party usually move around together  displayed as one character having the
colour of the leader. The marching order  is  displayed in the lower right of
the screen and can be changed by dragging  a character icon on top of another
one. The characters will then exchange places.
Some planets will have a shop where you  can buy vehicles. To enter a vehicle
move your character onto it. To exit, click on the vehicle icon on the bottom
right area of the screen.
There are some icons in the lower right of the screen which allow you to:

        CONVERSE WITH OTHER CHARACTERS
        EXIT A VEHICLE OR VIEW ITS STATUS
        GAME RESTORE OR QUIT
        TAKE OR USE ITEMS
        BREAK AND REGROUP THE PARTY

You may sometimes need to use a passcard  to get through a locked door. To do
this a character must have the  passcard  in the primary or secondary weapons
slot. Passcards open doors using a colour  coding system. Each passcard has a
series of coloured lines, which  must  correspond  to  the lines displayed in
front of each locked door.

COMBAT

Sometimes other characters will start  attacking  you.  If  you want to fight
back (rather than run away), you must go into combat mode.
To enter combat mode, click on the Party  icon in the lower right area of the
screen. This will separate your party into individual characters which can be
moved about separately. To exit combat mode  select the party icon again. The
middle right area of the  screen  will  change  into  a combat status screen.
Above the display  are  5  colour  bars  to  select  the currently controlled
character.
Whilst in combat mode, the current  character  can  be  in one of these three
modes:
1. Movement: Either the fire or throw  icons are selected. In movement mode a
character can walk about by clicking where you want him/her to move towards.
2. Fire Weapon: The fire icon is  selected.  In  fire mode, click on the main
display where the character should fire at. Continue clicking on the point to
fire again. Change between primary and  secondary  weapons by clicking on the
icon next to the weapon information. To reload click on the reload icon.
3. Throw Grenade: The throw icon is  selected. In throw mode, select the type
of grenade you want to throw and click on your target in the main display.

ORDER MODE

Rather than fight in  real-time,  you  may  give  each  character an order to
perform. Click on  the  order  icon  to  enter  order  mode.  Then  give each
character an order in the same manner as above. Click on the order icon again
and they will perform the action. Time  will  be frozen whilst you are giving
the orders.

SHOPS AND STARPORT

Entering a building will often take you into a shop where you may buy or sell
items. Simply follow the prompts to  choose  who  will pay for the items, who
will receive them and what you wish to buy or sell.

                Interstellar Exploration and Starship Combat

Climb up the ladder of your spaceship  to enter your spaceship. There are two
modes when in your ship:

1. In-system travel - used to move your ship around.
2. Starship - used in combat to  control  the  ships function and for ship to
ship combat.

IN-SYSTEM TRAVEL SECTION

The right side of the screen displays some icons:

        STATION: Go to station mode
        COMMS: Go to communications mode
        JUMP: Do an inter-system jump
        QUIT: Exit from the game with no save

If you are in orbit around a planet, you may also select:

        LAND: Land on the planet
        TAKE OFF: Continue your journey

The main part of the screen shows the  space centring on your space ship. The
upper right of the screen  displays  a  larger  area  of  space. Click on the
rotate and thrust icons to move your ship.
Moving close to a planet will automatically put you in orbit. Moving close to
another ship will place you in combat  mode. Orbiting around a gas giant lets
you refuel if you have fuel scoops and a fuel purification plant.

STATIONS

The upper section contains your characters. Clicking  on any of these goes to
the character screens.
Click on the In-system icon or press the  right mouse button to return to the
system travel screen.
Below these is the  stations  display.  Each  character  may  only occupy one
station. To view a particular station, click on the station slot. To assign a
character to a station, drag the character icon to its new position. If there
is already a character there they will be swapped.
The lower portions of most station  screens  contains  combat map in the left
and station specific controls in the right. Clicking on the icon in the upper
left of the combat map expands it to a full screen map.

PILOT

Controls here are the same as  on  the  system  travel screen. Note that they
only work when you are  in  combat  mode  and  that  your ship returns to the
original speed and direction when you go back to the systems travel screen.

GUN STATIONS (MISSILE AND LASER)

There are two types of gun  station  depending  on which weapons your ship is
equipped with.
a) Click inside the window to aim and fire.
b) Click on the target icon to target  the  enemy ship if you have the target
program running.
c) Click on the fire icon to fire if you have targetted.
d) Left and Right arrow icons rotate  the viewpoint. Click on the reload icon
to reload a missile. Lasers automatically recharge themselves.

COMMUNICATIONS

Click on an entry for further  information.  If  in combat mode, click on the
expand icon to select a ship to view information about from the large map.

ENGINEERING

Click on a system to begin repairing  it.  Only one system may be repaired at
one time.

COMPUTER

The Load icon brings up a list  of  programs  you have. Drag a program into a
spare slot on the computer to start loading it. To run a program click in the
area above the loaded program. To stop a program click in the yellow section.
Computers may only be loading  the  one  program  at  a  time and will have a
number of programs that can run at once.

MEDICAL AND SICKBAY

Characters to be healed must be assigned to the sickbay.
To begin healing  a  character,  click  on  the  heal  icon  and  then on the
character to be healed. Only one character may be healed at one time.
Return a character to duty  by  clicking  on  the  return  icon and then on a
character.

PIRATE

If you successfully defeat another ship you get the chance to steal any items
that ship was carrying by  dragging  items  from  the defeated ship and cargo
hold into your own. Most ships have self destruct mechanisms, which will kill
your party if they are still on the ship  when it goes off. Click on the exit
icon to leave the enemy ship.

JUMP TRAVEL

Click on the system you want to travel to.


                              GAME PLAY SECTION
THE FRONTIER WARS
Man has always been fascinated by outer space. In this era of high technology
and rapid discoveries, space remains  the unconquerable frontier, filled with
mysteries the human race has  been  unable  to  solve  - despite thousands of
years of effort.
Still, the questions persist. Foremost among  them is whether Earth is indeed
the only  planet  with  intelligent  life.  Science  has  yet  to  provide  a
definitive answer, but other forms of expression have all too-readily offered
opinions.
In the  captivating  science  fiction  role-playing  game  MEGATRAVELLER, the
question is affirmatively answered  with  an  amazing  array of intergalactic
societies, mysterious worlds, and exotic alien races.

The Zhodani and  the  Third  Imperium,  the  two  largest  human societies in
charted space, have been in conflict  since first establishing contact in the
year 500 (5018  on  the  Earth  calendar).  Each  society's gradual expansion
eventually led to an historic meeting in a backwater region of space known as
the Spinward Marches.
Although  their  human  physical  appearances  were  exactly  alike,  several
fundamental differences existed between the  two  great powers. The Zhodani's
political structure was  strictly  authoritarian,  whereas  the  Imperium was
governed by the rule of the  Emperor,  a  classic aristocracy. As the Zhodani
race evolved, the human brain's potential was explored and mastered until the
use of powerful  psionics  was  a  way  of  life.  Mind-reading, telekinesis,
extrasensory perception and clairvoyance became common among the Zhodani. The
Imperium disdainfully outlawed the  use  of  any  form of psionics, believing
these strange powers to be an  invasion  of mental privacy. Also, because the
Zhodani utilized  their  superior  mental  ability  in  everyday  life,  many
Imperial traders and merchants grew  suspicious  of their motives and avoided
negotiations with the Zhodani.
The Imperial race, lacking psionics, saw its development grow along creative,
artistic and emotional paths.  And  as  with  any  creative society, wondrous
achievement and joy  was  often  coupled  with  imperfections  and greed. The
Zhodani - viewing the Imperial race  as  dishonest, morally corrupt, weak and
insecure - lived  highly  structured  and  unemotional  lifestyles.  With two
powerful societies  so  clearly  opposed  in  political  and  social beliefs,
confrontation was inevitable.
As the Zhodani continued to  expand  into  the  Spinward Marches, many worlds
were peacefully  integrated  into  the  Zhodani  Consulate.  However, several
independent worlds resisted the Zhodani, believing that they would lose their
freedom and be forced to  live  under  restrictive rule. The Spinward Marches
became an intergalactic 'hot spot' and the aggressive advances of the Zhodani
led to the first of several conflicts known as the Frontier Wars,the first of
which began in 589 - 89  years  after  the two great powers first established
contact.

1. The First Frontier War
The initial Zhodani  attacks  were  well  planned  and  executed  with speed,
accuracy and precision. The  Imperium  was  completely  surprised and offered
little resistance. Deadly battles between the  two great combatants raged for
the next 15 years.
To strengthen their position, the  Zhodani  formed  a strategic alliance with
the Vargr, a race of intelligent  beings  with a genetic structure similar to
canines. This alliance, known as  the  Outward Coalition, threatened Imperial
territories in the  Spinward  Marches.  The  Coalition  aggressively attacked
Imperial forces in a strategic area of space known as the Great Rift.
But  after  several  devastating  military  defeats,  the  Outward  Coalition
crumbled, and in the  year  604,  the  most  conclusive  battle  of the First
Frontier War was  waged.  A  momentous  attack,  led  by  Admiral  Olav haut-
Plankwell,  Commander  of  the  Imperial  Fleet,  defeated  a  Zhodani  force
attempting to raid critical Imperial worlds.  This battle brought the 15-year
bloodbath between the Zhodani and  Imperium  to  a welcomed end. Although the
Imperium  claimed  victory,  its  losses   in  starships  and  manpower  were
appallingly high.  The  casualties  suffered  by  both  the  Zhodani  and the
Imperium forced an official  stalemate,  followed  by  an armistice. Although
this treaty marked the  end  of  the  First  Frontier  War,  it  was only the
beginning of a long period of antipathy and continued border conflict between
the two great races.
When the First Frontier War ended,  Admiral Olav haut-Plankwell returned with
his fleet to Capital,  the  central  headquarters  of  the Imperium. There he
assassinated the Empress Jaqueline  and  seized  rule  of  the  Imperium in a
bloody  coup.  A  multitude  of  power-hungry  Imperial  factions  were  thus
immediately thrown into a violent Civil War.

2. The Second Frontier War
Eleven years after  the  end  of  the  First  Frontier  War, tensions between
Zhodani and Imperium again escalated out of control, erupting into the Second
Frontier War, which lasted five  years.  The  Zhodani and Vargr re-formed the
Outward Coalition - adding a new ally, the Sword Worlds, an independent group
of planets within the Spinward  Marches.  Imperial forces were battered early
in the war by  forceful  Zhodani  attacks  in  the Jewell subsector. Imperial
Emperor Cleon V appointed a brave warrioress, Arbellatra Alkhalikoi, as Grand
Admiral of the Imperial Fleet.
Arbellatra hurriedly fortified weary Imperial forces and fought strategically
brilliant battles against the  Zhodani.  In  addition,  the  local resolve of
several independent worlds within the battle zone strengthened the Imperium's
chances against the Outward Coalition.
The war finally ended when  several  Imperial Dreadnought Starships, the most
advanced and lethal battleships ever designed,  were complete and readied for
battle.  This,  along  with  the  arrival  of  reinforcements  from  trailing
subsectors, led to a decisive engagement that ended the Second Frontier War.
However, early defeats in the war  took  their toll on the weakened Imperium.
Arbellatra was  forced  to  sacrifice  more  territory  to  the  Zhodani, and
independent status was given to  previously  incorporated Imperial worlds won
during the First Frontier War.
Following  in  the  footsteps  of   the  late  Emperor  Olav  haut-Plankwell,
Arbellatra returned to Capital with  her  fleet.  She confronted and defeated
the remnants of the Imperial's Central  Fleet,  commanded by the new Emperor,
Gustus. Her bold actions brought  about  the  long-awaited  end to the bloody
Imperial civil war and re-established Central Imperial authority.

3. The Third Frontier War
An uneasy peace between the Zhodani  and  the Imperium reigned for nearly 360
years, but was suddenly disrupted  in  976  when constant distrust and hidden
expansion led to the Third  Frontier  War.  Both  great forces were expanding
their territories. This so-called  peaceful  expansion  erupted into war when
the Zhodani launched attacks against the Imperium.
Imperial response was  slow,  and  desperately  needed reinforcements arrived
late. A new method of warfare also emerged in this third great conflict: most
of the combat took  the  form  of  commercial  raiding, disruption of trading
channels, and pirating of civilian trade ships.
The Third Frontier War lasted six  brutal  years.  The Imperium was forced to
acknowledge its loss  to  the  Zhodani,  and  the  citizens  of  the Imperium
suffered the most significant scars of war. Again, an armistice was signed in
which the Zhodani received major  territorial  claims  that gave them a long-
desired foothold in the Spinward Marches.
Following the Third Frontier War,  The  Imperial  public, blaming the Emperor
Styryx for the unforgivable casualties  of  war,  rose against the throne and
overthrew the Emperor in a historic revolution.

4. The Fourth Frontier War
The fourth great conflict between the Zhodani and the Imperium began in 1082.
Great naval battles between  the  Zhodani  and  Imperium  were fought for two
years. The final conflict was named "The  Battle of the Two Suns", because it
took place in the Regina System, which  contains two stars. The battle led to
an Imperial victory,  though  neither  side  gained  substantial  ground. The
Imperium was able to reclaim two worlds lost in an earlier Frontier conflict.
The Fourth Frontier War is  often  referred  to  as  the "False War", because
fighting lasted only 18 months  and  an  armistice  was signed before Capital
could send instructions and reinforcements to Imperial commanders in charge.

5. The Fifth Frontier War
Unlike the previous Frontier Wars, the  fifth started as a well-organized and
planned offensive by the Zhodani  and  the Outward Coalition, which consisted
of the Vargr and the Sword  Worlds.  The  Zhodani  plan called for the secret
shipment of military weapons and armour to dissident guerilla units on select
worlds within the Imperium. These elite Zhodani rebel forces planned surprise
uprisings against targeted Imperial military  bases.  This would divert major
groups of Imperial troops, and  starships,  as  well  as the attention of the
Imperium, as the Zhodani  steadily  increased  their  military  forces in the
Spinward Marches. Following the surprise  uprisings, the Zhodani would launch
their  primary   offensive   against   weakened   and   unprotected  Imperial
territories.
The Zhodani conspirators planned  to  smuggle  arms  to  the dissident forces
within Imperial borders with the  help  of  Regina subsect chief executive of
the  Sharurshid  Megacorporation,  Konrad   Kiefer.  Kiefer,  unsuspectingly,
planned the shipments using Sharurshid's facilities and resources, as well as
his own contacts  with  black  market  smugglers,  criminals and interstellar
pirates. The Zhodani no doubt  made  lofty  promises  of  power and wealth to
Kiefer to turn him against the Imperium.
Fortunately, Sharurshid's leading  authorities  already  suspected Kiefer was
illegally trading, embezzling corporate  funds  and  forging company records.
Lenara Raclor,  a  special  agent  from  Transom,  Sharurshid's  intelligence
agency, was assigned to investigate  Kiefer's  activities. She soon uncovered
the Zhodani plot and found records of  shipment dates and locations of secret
arms deliveries. With  the  help  of  several  ex-military travellers, Raclor
obtained the holographic data and accompanying decoding keys and...

Now it's your  turn  to  write  history!  You  control  the  five ex-military
travellers as they set  out  to  thwart  the  Zhodani  conspiracy and capture
traitorous Konrad Kiefer.
The fate of the Imperium rests in your hands. How will the Fifth Frontier War
unfold? Your actions will determine the outcome and change history forever!

CHARACTERS AND CHARACTER GENERATION

1. Characters in the TRAVELLER Universe

An exciting  aspect  of  MEGATRAVELLER  is  the  unique  character generation
system. You will be able to  determine a character's strengths and weaknesses
by choosing a set of basic ability  scores you wish to develop. This approach
is unlike other computer role-playing  adventures,  which assign characters a
set of initial attribute scores that  can't  be  changed. For example, if you
want your  character  to  be  physically  strong  and  agile,  you  can  keep
generating basic ability scores until the character has a high STR (strength)
and DEX (dexterity). On the other hand, if you desire a character with a keen
mental edge, you can choose a basic  set  of ability scores that include high
INT (intelligence) and EDU (education) ratings.
The MEGATRAVELLER character generator is  simple  to use, but detailed enough
to give you the  power  to  mould  your  characters  into  likenesses of your
choosing. This is extremely important  in  a role-playing environment because
your characters should represent your alter-ego.  The characters are a direct
link between you and the  vast  MEGATRAVELLER  universe. Your characters will
grow to mean more to you  than  just  a  computer  graphic with a name. Other
computer role-playing games  offer  little  control  over  the development of
characters,  thus  making  it  difficult  to  fashion  a  character  to  your
specifications.
The  character  generation  process  was   designed   for  ease  of  use  and
enjoyability. More detail and  more  control  means  more  fun! In your spare
time, you may want to  generate  characters  and  add  them to your character
pool. If one of your characters perishes  during  game play, you will be able
to add new characters to your party at a starport with recruiting facilities.
There you can replace a fallen member of  your team with one of the auxiliary
characters you will have placed in  the  pool. It's not mandatory to generate
extra characters; the character pool  will already have several pre-generated
characters to choose from.
MEGATRAVELLER  offers  the  most  in-depth  character  building  system  ever
designed for a computer role-playing game.  With all its depth, the character
generator remains exciting, easy and fun!  Regardless,  there are bound to be
some players who don't enjoy the  process of generating characters. If you're
one of these players, you can  choose  pre-generated characters and get right
into the game!

2. Character Ability Scores (Attributes) and the UPP

Each character you create is  represented  by  six  basic ability scores that
will affect nearly every action the  character  attempts in the game. Each of
these abilities is represented by a number from one to 15, with one being the
lowest and 15 being the highest possible rating.
Next, each individual  ability  score  is  represented  as  part  of a group,
referred to as the UPP  (Universal  Personality Profile). Scores ranging from
ten to 15 are represented  by  letters  (A  represents  10, F represents 15),
because TRAVELLER  uses  a  hexadecimal  system  to  display  the character's
ability scores in the UPP. In  hexadecimal  notation, the numbers one to nine
are represented by the common  Arabic  numerals,  and  numbers  ten to 15 are
represented by the letters A to F.
Here is an example of a UPP:

        STR   DEX   END   INT   EDU   SOC
       |    |     |     |     |     |     |
       |____|_____|_____|_____|_____|_____|

The following abilities are used to describe a character:

STRENGTH: Strength (STR) refers to a character's muscular power. The higher a
character's  Strength,the  more  effective  related  physical  tasks  can  be
performed.
Strength also determines the amount of  weight  a character can carry without
being encumbered and slowed. Most  of  the  tasks requiring physical strength
are combat related.

DEXTERITY: Dexterity (DEX) involves  a  character's  physical coordination or
ability to perform detailed tasks. A  character  with a higher Dexterity will
be likely to complete actions in a more timely manner than a character with a
lower Dexterity rating.

ENDURANCE: Endurance (END) is a  character's  physical stamina and ability to
continue performing demanding activities over a period of time. A character's
Endurance will be critical  in  combat  situations.  The higher the Endurance
ability rating, the more damage a  character  will  be able to sustain. Also,
Endurance will affect the rate of  oxygen  consumption when travelling on the
surface of a non-atmospheric world (vacuum)  or any environment requiring the
use of oxygen apparatus.

INTELLIGENCE: Intelligence (INT) is  a  character's  knowledge and ability to
apply logic or arrive  at  competent  conclusions.  For example, Intelligence
would be extremely beneficial to a  character  attempting to alter a computer
program for a desired result. Intelligence  helps  to determine the number of
skills a character is able to obtain and use during the game.

EDUCATION: Education (EDU)  represents  the  amount  of  formal  and informal
training a character has  received.  Along  with  Intelligence, a character's
Education plays a part in determining  the  number  of skills a character can
learn and use at any one time. The higher an individual's Education, the more
skills he can acquire and apply in various situations.

SOCIAL STANDING: Social Standing (SOC)  signifies a character's status within
society. This social  hierarchy  is  often  based  on  military rank, wealth,
achievement, and the social standing  of  the character's family. Individuals
with a high Social  Standing  are  accustomed  to  a  much higher standard of
living, and in most  cases,  aren't  skilled  at  negotiating and bargaining.
Also, Social Standing affects the  way  others  treat an individual. The poor
may  look  upon  the  upper  class   with  resentment,  whereas  upper  class
individuals greet their social equivalents with friendship and camaraderie.

In two instances, two different  ability  scores  are  combined to generate a
characteristic that helps to further define  characters.  First, the sum of a
character's INT and EDU determines the  maximum  number of skills a character
can maintain and use at any one time.

INT+EDU = maximum # of skills

Secondly, a character's LIFE FORCE RATING -  the amount of damage a character
can take before becoming unconscious or being killed - is based on the sum of
the character's STR, END and DEX scores.
What ability scores make a well rounded character?
As with any human being, there's  no perfect combination. It depends entirely
on the way you intend to  solve  the  game. MEGATRAVELLER allows you to reach
your goals using a variety  of  different  tactics.  If  you're the hard core
"shoot-em-up" adventurer, you'll probably want high (A to F) STR, DEX and END
ability scores.
If your forte is strategy and  puzzle-solving, you should generate characters
with high INT and EDU scores.
Always remember, a party consists of five characters, so it's recommended you
have a diverse range of individuals. The  sum  of  a team is greater than its
parts. You may be pleasantly surprised  when a mediocre character who doesn't
excel in any one category ends up being the most effective.
When you begin the character  generation  process,  you  will choose a set of
ability scores randomly generated by the computer.  After you select a set of
scores, you will  begin  developing  the  character.  You  will  have several
opportunities during the remainder  of  the  character  generation process to
increase many of the  basic  ability  scores.  Once  the character generation
process is  completed,  a  character's  abilities  will  be  set,  and cannot
permanently change during game play. However,  there  will be several ways to
temporarily increase ability scores once the  character  is in the game. Most
of these artificial ability increases will  occur by using medicinal drugs or
serums, and will primarily affect STR, DEX and END.

3. Enlistment and Drafting Procedures in the Military Services

Each of the characters you develop will have a military service background in
one of the Imperial forces. A character must must either submit to the draft,
in which the computer will randomly choose a service, or attempt to enlist in
a specific branch of the military. Enlistment  in a particular service is not
guaranteed, and some  acceptance  standards  are  higher  than  others.  If a
character is rejected, he will automatically be submitted to the draft.

Military Services

There are five distinct military organizations a character can get serve in:

Army. A character that serves in the Army is placed in the Imperial planetary
armed fighting forces. Training focuses on surface military actions, battles,
campaigns, and  tactical  manoeuvres.  Because  of  their  excellent fighting
background, many who serve in the army  choose  a career as a mercenary after
their tour of duty is  over.  The  army  is  the  easiest service in which to
enlist; acceptance is high. The  ideal  service  for combat training, weapons
and survival skills, the Army is  also  the military service easiest in which
to increase in rank.

Navy. The purpose of this branch of  the  Imperial armed forces is to protect
and secure regions of  space  controlled  by  the  Imperium. The interstellar
space navy also patrols Imperial territory in  search of rogue bands of space
pirates that threaten trade channels. Naval qualifications are very rigid and
re-enlistment is difficult. While in the  navy,  a character will gain skills
vital to the operation of a starship.

Marines. Similar to the Army, Imperial Marines are planetary surface fighting
units carried aboard  large  starships.  Often,  Marines  are responsible for
dangerous missions such as  boarding  and  securing  crippled pirate vessels.
Likewise, Marines  are  responsible  for  protecting  Imperial  starports and
providing reinforcements  to  ground  troops.  The  Marines  have  a fearsome
reputation for "toughness", and are often the first to be called into battle.
The rigorous  training  and  responsibilities  of  the  Imperial  Marines  is
dangerous: life expectancy is lower than  that  of other branches of service.
Throughout their tour of  duty,  Marines  acquire  numerous weapon and combat
skills. In addition to these battle  skills,  marines, at times, gain several
skills necessary  to  operate  a  starship.  Of  all  the  Imperial  military
services,  the  Marines  have  the   strictest  acceptance  policy,  and  the
opportunities for advancement are low.

Scouts. The Scouts are members  of  the  Imperial exploratory service. Scouts
are responsible for exploring uncharted  regions  of  space, mapping known or
newly discovered regions,  and  maintaining  lines  of  communication between
territories. Although members of the  Scouts  do not acquire specific combat-
related skills,  they  gain  useful  skills  involving  the  operation  of  a
starship. Although they are not  trained  for  battle, Scouts are educated in
the use of numerous combat  weapons.  However,  the  percentage of Scouts who
see action in battle  is  very  slim.  Although  acceptance standards for the
Scouts are not  as  stringent  as  in  other  services,  the  job  is just as
dangerous in its own way.  Many  Scouts  have  lost their lives exploring new
territories. There is no ranking system  within the Scouts, but re-enlistment
is almost always granted, allowing the  possibility of acquiring a variety of
exploratory skills. In addition, Scouts receive excellent benefits because of
the highly dangerous tasks they are called upon to perform.

Merchants. Merchants  are  not  necessarily  members  of  the  Imperial armed
forces. Merchants are  individuals  that  engage  in  interstellar commercial
enterprise. They serve on starships owned  by large megacorporations, or work
for independent wealthy traders. Like any  profession that centres around the
transfer of money, greed has been  known  to draw some Merchants into illegal
smuggling rings. While in the  Merchants,  a  character can acquire the vital
trading and negotiating skills required of  a proficient trader. Normally, it
is difficult to enlist in the Merchants and chances for promotion are low.

As mentioned  earlier,  since  your  party  of  adventurers  consist  of five
individual characters,  it's  a  good  idea  to  develop  a  group  that  has
experience in a variety of military  branches. This strategy gives your party
a wide range of  skills.  MEGATRAVELLER  allows  you  to  set your own gaming
strategy. You can trade and  pirate  valuable  cargo,  set out to find hidden
treasures or battle your way to your  goal  using elite fighters. By having a
diverse group of characters in your party, all your options will be covered.

Commissions, Promotions, and Rank

Each Imperial military service,  with  the  exception  of  the  Scouts, has a
specific ranking system. When a  character's  enlistment attempt succeeds, he
becomes eligible for  a  commission.  Commissions  are  necessary for service
promotion. If a character is drafted, he is not eligible for commission until
his second term of service.  Once  a  character  receives a commission, he is
eligible for a promotion for each subsequent term of service.
Promotion  procedures  are  different  for   each  branch  of  the  military.
Promotions are easier to attain in  the  Army, followed by the Marines, Navy,
and Merchants respectively. The Scouts have no organized promotion system.
What advantage does a character's military rank  play in the game? The higher
a character's rank, the more skills he  receives for each term of service. In
addition, rank will  increase  the  amount  of  benefits,  skills, items, and
credits awarded when it comes time to muster out and leave the military.

MILITARY RANKS

Rank #  Army            Navy            Marines         Merchants

1       Lieutenant      Ensign          Lieutenant      4th Officer
2       Captain         Lieutenant      Captain         3rd Officer
3       Major           Lt. Commander   Force Commander 2nd Officer
4       Lt. Colonel     Commander       Lt. Colonel     1st Officer
5       Colonel         Captain         Colonel         Captain
6       General         Admiral         Brigadier       Owner

Terms of Service

When a character completes a successful  term  of  service, he will receive a
certain number of skills. The number  of skills the character receives during
a specific term of service is based on:

1. The branch of military in which the character is serving.

A character receives one skill for  each  term  served, with the exception of
the Scouts. A character in the  Scouts  receives  two skills for each term of
service.

2. Commissions or promotions received during that term.

A character receives one  additional  skill  for  any commission or promotion
awarded during a  term  of  service.  There  are  special  cases  in  which a
character may be granted two extra skills for a commission or promotion.

3. Any special duty served during that term.

If, during a term  of  service,  a  character  is  granted  a special duty or
assignment, he receives one additional skill for that term of service.

Re-enlistment

After a term is  successfully  served,  a  character  can attempt to continue
military service or he can  muster  out.  To  continue service, the character
must attempt to re-enlist. If re-enlistment  is successful, another full term
is served - as long as no injuries are sustained. If re-enlistment is denied,
the character is forced to retire  from  military  service and muster out. On
very rare occasions, a branch of military  service can force a character into
serving another term.

Retirement Pay

The total number of terms that a  character serves in the military determines
the amount of credits  he  receives  as  yearly  retirement  pay. A character
becomes eligible for retirement  pay  after  five  terms of military service.
After leaving the military, eligible characters receive 2000 Imperial credits
for each term of service.

        1 term of service = 2000 credits

Retirement pay is issued on a monthly basis and can be collected at any class
G to A starport (see Starports  in  the Interstellar Exploration and Starship
Combat section of this manual).

4. Injuries, Operations, and the Death of a Character during Character Gen.

It is possible for a character to  die while being generated. In addition, at
times, a character  may  sustain  injuries  caused  by  rare  and unfortunate
accidents that occur during military service.  If an injury is sustained, the
character can muster out and leave the service.
However, the character loses one or several  points  from his STR, END or DEX
abilities  based on the severity of his injury.
An alternative to mustering out due to injury is to let the character undergo
an operation. Because operations are highly  dangerous,  there is a risk that
the character will die during  surgery.  But  if  the character survives, the
ability scores will not be lowered,  and  the character can continue his term
in military service. The higher the character's END rating, the better chance
he will survive an operation.
If the character accepts the injury  and  leaves the military, credit is only
given for a half a term.  Since  mustering  out benefits are only awarded for
full terms, the character cannot receive  a commission or promotion. Luckily,
the character still receives one  skill  for  that  term,  even if it was cut
short.

Aging

For each term spent in the  service,  a  character ages four years (two years
for a half term). As  a  character  grows  older,  the  physical burdens of a
military career begin to take  their  toll.  A  character's  Str, END and DEX
abilities will decrease with age.  At  a  much  later  age, a character's INT
ability will also slowly decrease.  The  character development strategy is up
to you. You must determine if you  want younger and healthier characters with
high ability scores, or more experienced adventurers with a greater number of
skills, but lower ability scores.

        Age 4 years = 1 term. Age 2 years = 1/2 term

Mustering Out

There comes a time when  a  character's  military  profession must come to an
end, whether by force or personal choice.  At that point, a character is able
to take his valuable skills and training  and  set out to brave the TRAVELLER
universe. Luckily, the military rewards characters for their loyal service by
offering mustering out benefits to help them get started on their new path in
life.
When a character musters out, he will  receive a specified number of benefits
from one or two areas: the cash table or benefits table. A character gets one
choice from these tables for every term  of service, and an additional choice
is given for  every  two  promotions  in  military  rank.  For  example, if a
character served five terms, and was  promoted  to  the rank of General (rank
6), he would receive ten  benefits  for  the  number  of terms served, and an
additional three benefits for moving through the ranks.

        +1 benefit for achieving rank 1 and 2
        Additional +1 benefit for achieving rank 3 and 4
        Another +1 benefit for achieving rank 5 and 6

Any gambling skills acquired during a  character's service will help him when
choosing from the cash table.  A  character  cannot  draw from the cash table
more than three times. The following benefits are offered:

Weapons. The character is  given  a  weapon  along  with some ammunition. The
amount of ammunition depends on the type of weapon received. The character is
always given a weapon  in  which  he  has  at  least  one  skill  value. If a
character receives a weapon a second time, he can opt for a +1 skill level in
the use of that weapon.

TAS. The Traveller's Aide  Society  offers  free  access to information about
worlds or systems to its members. At  times, this information is very crucial
and can be helpful to travellers. There  are many dangers within, and outside
of, Imperial Space,  and  TAS  can  better  prepare  a  character for unknown
surprises. There is no charge for information, and most facilities offer free
boarding and maintain well-stocked cocktail lounges.

Ability Increases. A character can  receive  permanent  increases to his INT,
EDU and SOC basic abilities on the  benefits table. Since INT and EDU combine
to determine the  maximum  number  of  skills  a  character  can possess, the
benefits table offers a  good  opportunity  to  increase  these two important
basic ability scores.

Armour. Protective armour and vacc  suits  (space  suits needed to breathe on
certain planets) can also  be  acquired  during  the mustering out procedure.
However, these items, essential to any  adventurer, are limited to very basic
styles, and are not the most advanced forms of battle armour and space suits.
Sophisticated armour and space suits  are  quite expensive and more difficult
to come by.

Imperial Release.  An  Imperial  Release  will  grant  pardon  from  a  crime
committed on a world under Imperial rule. These releases can only be obtained
when mustering out, and should be  used sparingly. An adventurer may discover
that on more corrupt worlds,  it  may  be  possible  to bribe the jailer into
releasing him from confinement.

5. Skills

MEGATRAVELLER allows a character  to  gain  many  skills during the character
generation process. Skills are the most important part of a character because
they determine the probability  of  successfully  performing a task (action).
Some skills are specific to performing a certain task, but many skills can be
applied to a variety of  situations.  Each  skill  begins at the number zero,
representing an untrained basic working  knowledge.  As skills are increased,
the corresponding number will increase. There is no limit to how high a skill
number can  reach.  The  greater  the  skill  level,  the  more  successful a
character will be when attempting a  related  task. The skill level is always
displayed after the name of the specific skill. For example:

        Navigation - 2

There are two categories of skills in MEGATRAVELLER: basic skills and cascade
skills. Basic skills pertain to the general ability of a character to perform
a certain task. Cascade skills are a general category and offer the character
an opportunity to gain a  specialized  skill.  The  following are examples of
both types of skill.

        A basic skill  : Medical
        A cascade skill: Gun Combat (The character would be allowed to choose
                         one skill from the following list:
                         Energy Weapons, Handgun, Laser Weapons,
                         Neural Weapons, Rifleman, Submachinegun.)

The maximum number of skill  levels  a  character  can potentially possess is
equal to the sum of the character's INT and EDU. Each skill level is equal to
one skill. For example, a character with a UPP  of 777777 has an INT of 7 and
an EDU of 7, allowing that  character  a  total  of  14 skill levels that can
possibly be developed. If this character possesses the skill Submachinegun 4,
then only ten skill levels remain for that character to make use of.
It is possible for a character  to  improve  a skill area by repeatedly using
that skill successfully. A character can find out which skills he can improve
upon by visiting a starport  containing  a  training facility. Be forewarned:
training isn't free, so be ready  to  pay  a  price  if you want to improve a
character's skills.
Here is the complete list of skills  in the game. A brief description follows
the name of each skill.  Cascade  skills  are  handled differently. After the
name of a cascade skill, there is  a listing of the specific skills available
under that Cascade skill.

*Academic*      cascade: Admin, Linguistics, Sciences, +1 Education.

*Admin*         The character is experienced in dealing with bureaucratic
                agencies and understands the requirements of successfully
                relating to them.

*Aircraft*      The character is capable of operating jet-propelled aircraft

Assault Rifle   The character is accomplished in the use of assault rifles.

ATV             The character is trained in the operation and maintenance of
                all types of All-Terrain Vehicles.

Battle Dress    The character is qualified to use battle dress, a high-tech
                military armoured suit.

Blade Combat    cascade: Dagger, Sword.

Brawling        The character is proficient in hand-to-hand combat, and is
                capable of fighting without weapons.

Bribery         The character is adept in bribing officials to circumvent
                regulations and ignore cumbersome laws.

Carousing       The character is a sociable individual who enjoys meeting and
                mingling with strangers in unfamiliar surroundings.

*Combat-*       The character is capable of constructing rapid field
*Engineering*   fortifications, utilizing camouflage, and assessing strengths
                and weaknesses of enemy locations. This skill also includes
                the strategic planting of mines.

Combat Rifleman The character is efficient in the use of modern combat rifles

Communications  The character has a working knowledge of various comms
                systems, primarily those aboard spacefaring vessels.

Computer        The character is practised in the operation of electronic and
                fibre optic computers. Computer skills are vital to the
                operation of a starship's onboard computer.

Dagger          The character is trained in the use of a dagger as a weapon.

Demolitions     The character is well-grounded in the placement, handling,
                and use of explosive devices.

Electronics     The character is experienced in the use, operation, and
                repair of electronic devices.

Energy Weapons  The character is trained in the use of a variety of energy
                weapons, including the plasma gun.

Engineering     The character is skilled in operating, maintaining and
                repairing starship drives and jump drives. A proficient
                engineer is essential for effectively operating a starship.

*Environmental* cascade: Recon, Stealth and Survival.

Exploratory     cascade: Pilot, Sensor Ops, Survey, Vacc Suit, Vehicle, and
                Survival.

*Fleet*         The character has a grounding in naval operations, formations
*Tactics*       and manoeuvres. An essential skill for space combat.

*Forgery*       The character is quite capable of faking papers, signatures
                and documents.

*Forward*       The character has professional skills in determining the
*Observer*      direction of artillery fire. Modern fire support is an
                effective weapon, but only if accurately directed.

Gambling        The character has expertise in various games of chance.

*Grav Belt*     The character knows how to operate a grav belt that can
                propel him through the air.

Grav Vehicle    The character is able to pilot all types of grav vehicles
                that glide above the ground.

*Gravitics*     The character is able to use and repair all types of
                gravitational devices.

Gun Combat      cascade: Energy Weapons, Handgun, Laser Weapons, Neural
                Weapons, Rifleman and Submachinegun.

Hand Combat     cascade: Brawling, +1 END, +1 STR, Sword and Dagger.

Handgun         The character is able to use a variety of handguns.

Heavy Weapons   The character can operate heavy weapons such as the light
                assault gun and rocket launcher.

*High Energy*   The character can use high energy battlefield weapons. These
*Weapons*       weapons are larger, more powerful and less versatile versions
                of the portable plasma and fusion guns.

*High-G*        The character has survived in environments with a gravity of
*Environment*   two Gs or greater. A high-G environment exerts considerable
                stress and bodily injury to those unaccustomed to extreme
                gravity.

Inborn          cascade: Carousing, Jack-of-Trades, and Leader.

Interpersonal   cascade: Admin, Interview, Liaison, Linguistics and Steward.

*Interrogation* The character is proficient at the psychological art of
                interrogation. This skill includes the ability to extract
                more information from a subject than is normally possible. An
                interrogator has been trained to detect lying and assemble
                piecemeal information.

*Interview*     The character is trained in conversing with others on an
                individual basis. The character's knowledge of psychology,
                body language, and oral communication allows him to keep his
                subjects at ease, making them more apt to be open in
                conversation.

Intrusion       The character is experienced in clandestine methods of
                acquiring goods that belong to others. An individual with
                Intrusion skills can pick pockets, safes and locks.

Jack-of-Trades  The character is capable of handling a wide variety of
                situations and is very resourceful at finding solutions to
                problems.

*Jet Propelled* The character is able to operate and pilot Jet-propelled
*Aircraft*      aircraft.

Laser Weapons   The character is trained in the use of most laser weapons.

*Leader*        The character is experienced in leading others through
                difficult situations, and has the knowledge and self
                assurance to be admired and trusted.

Liaison         The character is accomplished in the art of dealing with
                others. This skill is used in relation to military units,
                citizens in a community, or alien and foreign cultures. The
                character is capable of subordinating his or her own views
                and prejudices when they may conflict with the opinions held
                by those he is communicating with.

*Linguistics*   The character is experienced in communicating in foreign
                languages.

Mechanical      The character can operate and repair an assortment of
                mechanical devices.

Medical         The character has a thorough background in the medical arts.

Mental          cascade: +1 INT and +1 EDU

Navigation      The character is instructed in interplanetary and
                interstellar navigation. A starship navigator is responsible
                for plotting courses and ensuring information is available to
                the crew and pilot when it is required. Also this skill
                allows the character to interpret the data provided by the
                starship's scanners and detectors.

Neural Weapons  The character is educated in the use of neural rifles and
                pistols.

Physical        cascade: +1 DEX, +1 STR, and +1 END.

Pilot           The character is capable of operating starships and large
                interplanetary spacecraft. This skill allows the individual
                to control lift-offs, landings, refuelling and routine
                flights.

*Recon*         The character is adept at military scouting, and is capable
                of travelling through rough terrain without being detected.

*Recruiting*    The individual is familiar with the most effective methods of
                approaching others and presenting proposals for employment.

Rifleman        The character is drilled in the use of standard military
                weapons, such as the autorifle, carbine, and rifle.

*Robot Ops*     The character is capable of overseeing robots and programming
                them for specific duties.

*Robotics*      The character has a background in designing, building and
                repairing high-tech robots.

Sciences        The character has a background education in various areas of
                modern sciences.

Sensor Ops      The character is accomplished in the operation and
                interpretation of a variety of sensor readings.

*Screens*       The individual is schooled in the operation of defensive
                equipment developed for starships. These protective devices
                include nuclear dampers, meson screens and black globe
                generators.

Ship's Tactics  The character is experienced in the operation of a starship
                during battle situations.

*Ship's Boat*   The character is able to operate a small interplanetary craft
                known as Ship's Boat. These craft range from five to 100 tons
                and include shuttles, lifeboats and fighters.

Space           cascade: Engineering, Navigation, Pilot, Sensor Ops, Ship's
                Boat and Vacc Suit.

Space Combat    cascade: Screens, Spinal Weapons, Turret Weapons, Sensor Ops,
                Ship's Tactics, and Tactics.

Space Tech      cascade: Communications, Computer, Engineering, Gravitics and
                Vacc Suit.

Special Combat  cascade: Battle Dress, Combat Engineer, Combat Rifleman,
                Demolitions, Forward Observer, Grav Belt, Heavy Weapons, High
                Energy Weapons, High-G Environment, Stealth and Zero-G
                Environment.

*Spinal Wpn*    The character is prepared to operate major starship weaponry.

Stealth         The individual, trained in covert activity, is capable of
                remaining unobserved by moving quietly and taking maximum
                advantage of available cover.

*Steward*       The character is educated in the care of, feeding and
                entertaining of starship passengers.

Streetwise      The character can successfully deal with dangerous
                individuals without alienating them. This skill also enables
                the character to obtain information, hire persons, buy or
                sell illegal contraband, or engage in other "shady"
                activities.

Submachinegun   The character is trained in the use of a submachinegun (SMG)

Survey          The individual is capable of mapping and charting star
                systems and producing accurate maps of Imperial territories.
                This skill will help determine characteristics (UWP) of an
                unknown or unclassified world.

*Survival*      The character can successfully live off the land and survive
                life-threatening situations. The individual can find food and
                water, and build shelter in the harshest environments.

Sword           The character is trained in the use of the sword as a weapon.

Tactics         The character is experienced in small unit tactics.

Technical       cascade: Communications, Computer, Electronics, Gravitics,
                Robot Ops, and Sensor Ops.

Trader          The character has a working knowledge of techniques and
                practices of commerce. This skill allows a character to
                determine the real value of many items, increasing his
                negotiating power.

Turret Weapons  The character is accomplished at operating turret-mounted and
                fixed small craft weaponry.

Vacc Suit       The individual is able to operate a standard vacuum space
                suit. This also includes the use of armoured battle dress and
                other suits required on planetary surfaces with an exotic,
                corrosive or insidious atmosphere.

Vehicle         cascade: Aircraft, ATV, Grav Vehicle, Jet-Propelled Aircraft,
                Ship's Boat, and Watercraft.

Vice            cascade: Bribery, Forgery.

Watercraft      The character is qualified to operate all water-borne craft.

*Zero-G Env*    The character has been trained to function and perform
                physical activity in a Zero-G environment. Actions attempted
                in such environments can hinder individuals unable to
                compensate for recoil and inertia.

Note: Not all of the above skills are important in MEGATRAVELLER I. Some will
come in handy in future MEGATRAVELLER computer adventures.
Each skill that does not play  a  part  in  this first adventure, THE ZHODANI
CONSPIRACY, has an asterisk by its name. When generating your characters, you
may want to  include  some  skills  which  aren't  necessary  for THE ZHODANI
CONSPIRACY, if you plan to use  these same characters in future MEGATRAVELLER
computer adventures.

The skill system outlined here  is  the  basis  for the MEGATRAVELLER pen and
pencil role-playing system, as well. Though some  of the above skills are not
essential to solving this first  computer  adventure,  it would not have done
the gaming system justice to remove them entirely. Even in the pen and pencil
role-playing version of MEGATRAVELLER, not  all  of the character skills play
an important role in every adventure.  In  addition, a unique feature of this
MEGATRAVELLER  computer  adventure  is  that  it  allows  you  to  print  out
information on characters you have  generated.  Therefore, the characters you
generate can  be  used  in  the  pen  and  pencil  role-playing  system. This
compatibility would not exist if skills were eliminated from the above list.
Characters are given a set of default  skills  as  soon as they enlist or are
drafted into a service, as well as  when  they achieve a certain rank in that
service. These default skills are common to military life. For example, every
character other than a merchant is given Gun  Combat - 0 because the use of a
weapon is initially  taught  to  all  soldiers,  whether  they  be Army,Navy,
Marines, or Scouts.
The following are lists of skills that are picked up in each of the services:

Army
Hand Gun - 0, Combat Rifleman - 1, ATV - 0, Vacc Suit - 0.
Army Lieutenant: Submachinegun - 1.

Navy
Hand Gun - 0, ATV - 0, Turret Weapon -0.
Navy Captain: +1 Social Standing.
Navy Admiral: +1 Social Standing.

Scouts
Hand Gun - 0, Vacc Suit - 0, ATV - 0, Sensor Ops - 0, Pilot - 1.

Marines
Hand Gun - 0, Vacc Suit - 0, ATV - 0, Sword - 1.
Marine Lieutenant: Handgun - 1.

Merchant
Hand Gun - 0, Vacc Suit - 0, ATV - 0, Navigation - 0.
1st Officer: Pilot - 1.

6. Advanced Education Table

Characters with an Education ability less  than  8 are only entitled to three
skill lists from which  to  select.  When  a  characters'  Education  is 8 or
greater, an extra list, the  Advanced  Education  Table(AET), is added to the
other three. The AET offers  more  non-combat oriented and specialized skills
that aren't available in the basic soldier's repertoire.

7. Choosing from a Character Pool

MEGATRAVELLER gives you the  option  of  choosing pre-generated characters if
you don't want to go through  the  character  generation procedure, or if you
want to become familiar with the rest  of the game before generating your own
characters.
In addition, you can  develop  up  to  15  characters  and  save  them in the
character pool. If one of your original characters is killed, you can recruit
new members for your party at  various starports. New characters recruited at
starports will come from the character  pool,  so  you  may want to develop a
wide range of characters with diverse skills and backgrounds.

8. Character Generator Procedures

Here is a breakdown of the character generation system in MEGATRAVELLER.

a) A set of basic ability scores is  chosen for the character. These sets can
be re-calculated until a desired set is displayed.
b) The character must attempt enlistment into a specific service or submit to
the draft.
c) Once a character enters a  service,  the  default  skills are added to the
character's list of basic skills.
d) You are then told whether  or  not the character received any commissions,
promotions, or special duties  for  the  term  being  served. Based upon this
information, the character is given an  appropriate number of selections from
the list of skill tables. If the  character suffers from an injury, they must
muster out, receiving credit for only  a  half-term,  or risk an operation to
continue.
e) Skills for the character are determined  from the skill tables you choose.
As the skills are chosen,  they  are  added  to  the  list of the character's
skills.
f) As the character finishes a  full  term,  his age is increased four years.
Depending on age, certain ability scores are increased or decreased.
g) After a term is served, the  character  must re-enlist, be forced into re-
enlistment, or muster out. If at least five terms have been served, mustering
out is considered retirement. When a character retires, he receives a monthly
retirement fund.
h) When a character leaves the service, he is allowed to make selections from
the cash or benefits table. No more  than  three choices can be made from the
cash table. Any gambling skills the  character  may possess will increase the
amount received from the cash table.
i) If a character  has  more  skills  than  the  sum  of his Intelligence and
Education scores, he must edit his skill lists.
j) Once a character is fully  developed,  you  must name him/her and save the
individual in the character pool.


                INTERSTELLAR EXPLORATION AND STARSHIP COMBAT

Between your visits to various worlds within the TRAVELLER universe, you will
spend a great deal of time  travelling the interstellar spaceways. These vast
regions of space are traversed by  far traders shipping cargo between worlds,
Imperium fleet vessels protecting the interests of the Imperium, and dreadful
pirates who prey on defenceless  cargo  ships.  In the TRAVELLER universe the
spaceways are futuristic highways. Just as someone gets in their car to go to
work, individuals in MEGATRAVELLER can travel between worlds by starship. The
Imperial  Navy  consists  of  formidable   and  powerful  fighting  starships
constructed to protect the Imperium.

1. In-System Travel Screen

Space travel in MEGATRAVELLER can be  accomplished  in one of two ways. Space
travel within a star system is  performed  using the In-System Travel Screen.
The space between systems is so vast that a special method, Jump Travel, must
be utilized. For more  information  on  jump  travel,  see  the section: Jump
Travel Screen.
A majority of the In-System Travel  Screen  will consist of a large viewport.
In this viewport you will be able  to travel between worlds in your starship,
the Interloper. Each star system has a star, situated directly at its centre.
Orbits are drawn  as  circles  surrounding  that  star.  Some  orbits contain
worlds, gas giants, or an asteroid belt. These are all displayed graphically,
as are any satellites (moons) the worlds might have. To get information about
a world or a gas giant and  its  satellites, you must access the Interloper's
communications station (see the Communications Station section).
At the top of the  viewport  is  an  In-System Travel heading. The particular
star system in which you are travelling is listed beside this heading.
All ships travelling in the system  are  represented  by a single icon in the
viewport on  the  In-System  Travel  Screen.  When  combat  is  engaged, each
different class of ship has its own icon in the 2D overhead view displayed on
most of the Interloper's station screens.
The Interloper can be distinguished from  other starships because its icon is
surrounded by a circle.
When the circle around the Interloper  encompasses another starship, you will
be thrown into combat  mode.  Combat  mode  is  where  all space combat takes
place.
On the In-System Travel Screen, the system is displayed in quadrants shown in
the top right hand corner of the screen. Your ship is represented by a single
coloured pixel.
The Interloper's fuel gauge is displayed  in  the  lower left side of the In-
System Travel Screen. This  gauge  is  separated  into  three areas: NO JUMP,
CAUTION (not labelled as caution), and  JUMP.  If  the  amount of fuel in the
Interloper's tanks in in the NO JUMP area, it's impossible to make a jump. If
the fuel line is in the CAUTION area,  then a jump is possible, but there's a
slight chance of a misjump. The  JUMP  area signifies that the Interloper has
enough fuel to make a successful jump.  Jump  space is explained in detail in
the Jump Travel Screen section of the manual.
When a misjump does occur, the Interloper  will jump into a system other than
the chosen destination.  This  can  be  a  major  setback,  as  making a jump
requires a significant amount of fuel. For  this reason, after a misjump, you
will have the added  expense  of  refuelling  the  Interloper  - which can be
costly.
Displayed in the bottom right side of  In-System Travel Screen is a graphical
key. This key explains the  graphic  representations  used  in the system map
shown in the large  viewport.  These  graphic representations include planets
and accompanying satellites with and  without  starport facilities, and large
or small gas giants.
The Interloper can  only  land  on  worlds  with  starport  facilities. Those
without starport facilities aren't an integral  part  of  the game and can be
ignored. Large and small  gas  giants  can  only  be  used for refuelling the
Interloper, but only if the ship is outfitted with the proper equipment (fuel
scoops and a fuel purification plant).
Fuel scoops allow the Interloper to trap raw hydrogen fuel from a gas giant's
atmosphere. The fuel purification plant then  transforms the raw fuel so that
it is compatible with a ship's drives.
Below the small system representation are five menu selections:
        STATIONS
        COMMO (abbreviation for communications)
        LAND (LAUNCH)
        JUMP
        REFUEL

Selecting STATIONS will allow you to  access  the various stations within the
Interloper.

Selecting COMMO will immediately take  you  to the Interloper's communication
station. Here, you can find  pertinent  information  about  a system, any gas
giants or planets and accompanying satellites within the system.
The communication station can  also  be  accessed  by  selecting the STATIONS
option, but since COMMO is probably the  most commonly used menu selection on
the In-System Travel Screen, it was  given  its own menu selection for easier
access.

LAND is selected whenever  you  wish  to  land  the  Interloper  on a world's
surface. To signify which planet you  intend  to  land on, you must manoeuvre
the  circle  surrounding  the   Interloper   around  the  planet's  graphical
representation in the viewport.
When you enter the Interloper  from  the  ground,  the LAND menu selection is
changed to LAUNCH. After  entering  the  Interloper,  your characters will be
placed in the stations they occupied when  they  last left the ship. From the
station screens you must go to the In-System Travel Screen and use the LAUNCH
selection to leave the planet.

Selecting JUMP will take you to  the  Jump Travel Screen, where it's possible
to jump to another star system.

Selecting REFUEL will allow you to refuel the Interloper, as long as the ship
is  properly  equipped.  Similar  to  landing,  the  circle  surrounding  the
Interloper must encompass  the  graphical  representation  of  the  gas giant
before a refuelling attempt can be made.
Lastly, if a mouse is being  used,  below  the five menu selections are arrow
icons used to control the Interloper. The  arrow icons permit you to turn the
ship left and right and to  accelerate  or  decelerate. Also displayed is the
current acceleration of the  Interloper.  Once  the  ship accelerates it will
remain at that accelerated speed until a new speed is selected. The ship will
continue to move forward even when a right or left turn is utilized. In order
to come to a stop, you  must  decelerate  an  equal  amount, or turn the ship
entirely around and accelerate an equal amount in the opposite direction.

2. The Jump Travel Screen

Jump Travel is the basic concept  of interstellar travel. Theoretically, jump
spaces are alternate spaces, only dimly understood from the standpoint of our
own universe. Jump is defined as  the  movement  of  matter from one point in
space (called normal space) to  another  point  in normal space by travelling
through an alternate space (called jump  space).  The  benefit of the jump is
that the time required is relatively invariable - approximately one week.
Entering jump space is possible from anywhere in a system. Sometimes jumps do
go wrong, these failures usually  put  the  ship  in  a system other than the
system of intended destination.
For a ship to be able to make a jump, it must be equipped with a jump-capable
drive. There are different types of  drives,  each  allowing jump travel of a
certain distance. The distance is displayed  as  a number after the name Jump
Drive. For example: Jump - 2.
The number means that  the  jump  drive  is  capable  of  jumping  a ship the
distance between two hexagons. Hexagons are  used to measure distance between
systems on the Jump Travel Screen.  At  the moment, the Imperium's technology
level is only high enough to produce jump  - 6 capable drives, but even these
are rare and very expensive. In  this  first MEGATRAVELLER adventure, you are
limited to Jump - 2 technology.
The Interloper's fuel gauge remains displayed  in  the lower left side of the
screen, the same position as on the In-System Travel Screen.
The bottom right portion of the screen,  next  to  the fuel gauge, is used to
display the name of the system and subsector the characters are currently in.
Once a destination  system  is  chosen,  the  name  of  that  system  is also
displayed.
The remainder  of  the  screen  is  used  to  display  a  hexagonal  grid map
containing the eight systems in the game and surrounding space.
Any hexagon occupied by a system  bears  that  system's name. The name of the
system the characters are currently in  is highlighted. This highlighting can
be moved to other hexes so you can choose  the name of the system you wish to
jump to. Remember to keep in mind the restrictions placed upon jump travel by
the type of jump drive installed  in  the  Interloper. If the Interloper only
has a jump - 2 drive, then the ship can only jump a distance of two hexes.

3. Station Screens

There are two ways you can get  to  the stations screens. The first method is
selecting the STATIONS menu  selection  on  the  In-System Travel Screen. The
second method is automatic:  when  forced  into  combat,  you are immediately
placed at the station screens.
The nearby picture is of a station screen for the Interloper's pilot station.
The top portion of the screen remains  the  same  as it is throughout most of
the game, with a few minor changes (explained below).
The middle section of  the  screen  is  used  to  display the menu selections
ASSIGN and VIEW. Next to these menu selections are the station blocks.
The bottom of the screen is  broken  into two sections. Information displayed
in these two sections depends on  the  station being viewed. This is detailed
in the explanation of each individual station.
The Interloper contains eight different  stations  that characters can occupy
and perform work in. These stations are  used to operate the various controls
of the ship. The eight stations are:

        PILOT STATION
        GUN STATION #1
        GUN STATION #2
        COMPUTER STATION
        ENGINEERING STATION
        COMMUNICATION STATION
        MEDICAL STATION
        SICK BAY STATION

Each is important and will have  to  be  used  at  one time or another. Since
there is a maximum of five characters in  a party at any one time, characters
must be strategically  placed  in  the  stations.  Be  sure  a character with
appropriate skills is placed in a  station  where his skills will improve his
performance.  For  example,  if  you   want  accurate  information  from  the
communication station,  the  character  in  that  station  should  have  good
communications or related skills.
When the characters enter the  Interloper  for  the  first time, they will be
placed in the stations by default. A  character will be assigned to a station
in which he is the most skilled. Every  time  you land on a planet, leave the
Interloper, and return, the characters  will  be  placed in the stations they
occupied when they last left the Interloper.
Using the station blocks in the middle of the screen, you can determine which
character is in a specific station.
Each station  block  consists  of  three  sections.  The  first  is  a square
displaying the  service  symbol  of  the  character  currently  occupying the
station. Below each of these  squares,  with  the  exception of the pilot and
sickbay station, is the third section:  a small rectangle telling you whether
the character in the station is busy doing something or waiting for something
to be completed. If the  rectangle  is  not  filled  in, the character is not
busy. If the rectangle is  filled,  the  character  is  in the middle of some
action. This rectangle does not  appear  for  the  pilot and sickbay stations
because no time-consuming actions take place there during the game.
If the rectangle under the following station is filled, the character in that
station is doing the following:

Gun Stations:
The Character is waiting for his  laser  weapon  to fully recharge or for the
missile bays to be reloaded. Laser  weapons  can  still be fired even if they
aren't fully recharged, but the rectangle  will remain filled until the laser
is recharged. The missiles cannot  be  fired  until they're reloaded into the
missile bays.

Computer Station:
The computer is still loading new programs.

Engineering Station:
Repairs are still being made to one of the repairable ship systems.

Communications Station:
Information is still being processed and cannot yet be accessed.

Medical Station:
A character in the medical  station  is  still  in  the process of treating a
character(s) in the sick bay station.

Characters can be  switched  from  station  to  station  -  and  you can view
stations using the two menu selections next  to the station blocks, under the
heading STATIONS. Select ASSIGN to assign  a  character  to a new station. If
there is a character already in that station, then the two characters will be
switched. Select VIEW if you  wish  to  view  one  of the stations. A station
cannot be viewed unless there is a character assigned to that station.
The top of the station screen remains  the  same throughout most of the game,
with a few exceptions. The  marching  order  block  is replaced with a square
titled, "The  Interloper".  Below  the  title  are  some  statistics  of  the
Interloper. These stats include: the weapons in  guns #1 and #2, the computer
model, the  jump  drive  capability,  and  the  maximum  acceleration  of the
Interloper. The ORDER icon changes  to  an  IN-SYS TRAVEL icon. Selecting the
IN-SYS TRAVEL icon will take you back to the In-System Travel Screen.
Other than the above changes, the top portion of the screen remains the same.
The character screens can be viewed as always.
It is possible for a character  to  take  damage  in  the GUN #1, GUN #2, and
COMPUTER stations. In combat,  some  damage  is  also  applied to these three
stations. If the  damage  is  great  enough  to  destroy  the  weapons or the
computer, the station is considered  destroyed.  Characters in a station when
it is destroyed will suffer damage.

4. Pilot Station

The pilot station is used  to  fly  the  Interloper during combat situations.
When you leave the pilot station, the Interloper will continue to move on the
same course and speed as when you left. To plot a new course or to change the
Interloper's speed, you must return to the pilot station.
The two sections of the pilot station consist  of an overhead 2D view and the
information and controls  for  operating  the  Interloper.  The  following is
displayed:

Controls identical to those in the  In-System Travel Screen, which operate in
the same manner, as well.
The Interloper's fuel gauge.
The status of those systems that  can  be  damaged during combat: gun #1, gun
#2, computer, manoeuvre drive, and the jump drive.

5. The Gun Stations

Each of the two gun stations  represents  a  hard  point on the Interloper in
which a single weapon system can be  installed.  At the beginning of the game
only one of the Interloper's hard  points  is  occupied with a weapon system.
Additional weapon systems can be purchased and installed at any starport with
the proper facilities.
There are three types of weapon systems available:
beam lasers, pulse lasers and missile  bays.  There are also several types of
beam and pulse lasers, as well as a variety of missiles.
The bottom of the gun station is  divided  into an overhead 2D view, with the
Interloper's icon in the centre and a  viewport (as if looking out into space
through a window). Below  the  viewport  are  the  controls for operating the
various weapons systems. At  the  top  of  the  viewport  is  the name of the
character manning the gun and which gun station is being displayed (GUN #1 or
GUN #2).
A small square containing  an  X  resides  in  the  upper  left corner of the
overhead 2D view. If MEGATRAVELLER is being  played  with a mouse, this X can
be clicked on to increase the size  of  the display to fill the whole screen.
The keystroke command of "x" will accomplish  the same. This feature may come
in handy because you can't see some  enemy ships in the small viewscreen that
are still in combat range.
In combat, you will be able to fire  lasers or missiles at a specific target,
let lasers recharge or  reload  missile  bays.  Lines  pointing  in the eight
compass directions diverge from the Interloper  in  the 2D view. Two of these
lines will be highlighted.  The  area  of  space  between the two highlighted
lines represents the view seen outside the weapons window. You can rotate the
view in both displays up to 360 degrees  to view any enemy ships, missiles or
mines around the Interloper. All  targeting  and  firing of weapon systems is
done from the controls under the gun stations viewport.
See the INTERSTELLAR EXPLORATION AND  STARSHIP  COMBAT  section of the manual
for more information on how the weapon systems actually operate.
The lasers will always  recharge  themselves,  but  the  missiles  have to be
manually reloaded  from  the  Interloper's  auxiliary  supply.  The remaining
missiles will be displayed graphically.  The  overhead 2D display is replaced
with the missile reloads. Once  you're  finished  reloading you can return to
the overhead 2D display.

6. Computer Station

The computer station is probably the most important station in the game. Many
of the ship's operations require  the  appropriate  program be running in the
computer. These programs tell the ship  how to execute the various operations
it is assigned. Different models of  computers  have the ability to store and
run a different  number  of  programs.  At  the  beginning  of  the game, the
Interloper is equipped with  a  Model  2  Computer,  but  this  can always be
replaced with a different model.
Each computer model can have a certain number of programs loaded into memory,
so many  of  these  programs  can  run  at  one  time.  A  computer's STORAGE
represents the number of the programs it can store. CPU represents the number
of stored programs which can be run at one time.
There are 12 programs which can be  purchased.  A program must be loaded into
the computer and running for it to be effective. The programs are:

Target (T):
Helps beam and pulse laser weapon systems  lock on a target. Lasers cannot be
fired without this program running in the ship's computer.

Launch (L):
Helps a missile launcher lock onto targets. If this program is not running in
the ship's computer, the missile weapon system cannot be fired.

Jump-1 (J1):
Must be running in the ship's  computer  before  a jump-1 can be attempted. A
better jump program, Jump-2 and higher, can  also be used to make lower level
jumps.

Jump-2 (J2):
This program must be running in the ship's computer in order to make a jump-2

Navigation (N):
Controls ship through jump space to  its  chosen destination. This program is
required to make any jump attempt.

Manoeuvre (M):
Enables the ship to  manoeuvre.  Without  it,  the  ship  cannot move left or
right.

Predict-1 (P1):
Elevates a weapon system's accuracy,  thus  increasing  the ability to hit an
opponent.

Predict-2 (P2):
An upgraded and more effective version of the Predict 1 program.

Predict-3 (P3):
The  most  advanced  version  of  the  Predict  1  program.  Insures  maximum
effectiveness of weapon system fire.

Manoeuvre/Evade-1 (ME1):
Loads various evasive manoeuvres that help the Interloper dodge enemy fire.

Manoeuvre/Evade-2 (ME2):
Upgraded version of Manoeuvre/Evade 1. It  is more effective but requires two
computer spaces instead of one.

Auto Evade (AE):
Serves the same purpose as the  Manoeuvre/Evade  2  program, but needs only a
single computer space to run.

Displayed on the bottom portion of the  screen is the 2D overhead view (left)
and the computer information (right).  Programs  can  be loaded and run using
the LOAD and RUN icons or  equivalent  keystrokes.  A program must be stopped
before another program can be loaded.
In addition to those programs loaded in the computer, there is enough storage
space for 20 extra programs.  When  you  choose  to  LOAD  a new program, the
overhead 2D view will be replaced with  the extra programs in storage. When a
program currently loaded into  the  computer  is  replaced,  it goes into the
computer program storage.
For each individual storage space available in the ship's computer, a graphic
block is shown. This block is divided into two squares and a small rectangle,
one on top of the other. The  graphic representation of the program is placed
in the bottom square. When a program  is loaded, the square above the picture
of the program will fill, line by  line,  from top to bottom. When the entire
top square is filled, the program is ready to be run. The rectangle on top of
both squares is filled when the program is running. This way, you will always
know which programs are loaded and which are running.
Note: Some programs  require  two  of  the  computer's  storage spaces. These
operate just like programs  which  require  only  one  space,  except for the
additional space required.
If your computer takes damage during combat, there is a chance that a running
program will be destroyed. Once a  program  is  destroyed, it is removed from
the computer.

7. Engineering Station

Characters in the Engineering Station  can  repair certain damaged systems on
the Interloper. The  systems  that  can  be  repaired  are:  gun  #1, gun #2,
Manoeuvre drive and the computer.
The two sections at the bottom of the  screen are the overhead 2D view (left)
and the engineer's controls and important information (right).
Each of the repairable systems has  a  bar  indicating how much damage it can
take. To the left of  the  bar  there  is  a percentage of operating ability,
telling you how much a  system  has  been  damaged.  A  damaged system can be
repaired, but not to full operating  capacity.  Full repairs can only be made
at a starport with shipyard facilities. Once  a system is destroyed it cannot
be repaired, it must be replaced.
A character may repair  only  one  system  at  a  time.  A character can quit
repairing a system and begin repairs on a different one at any time.
The ship's jump drives and  structural  points  are displayed separately from
the systems that can be repaired. Structural points can ONLY be repaired at a
starport with shipyard facilities.
When a starship is hit in  battle,  damage  is distributed to several places.
The systems mentioned (gun #1,  gun  #2,  Manoeuvre drive) and the structural
points. A system becomes inoperable when destroyed.  If a character is in the
gun or  computer  stations,  they  will  sustain  damage  as  well.  Once the
Interloper's structural points are reduced to zero (0), the ship is destroyed
and your characters along with it.

8. Communications Station

You can get all the useful  information  about  the worlds within a system at
the Communications station.
You can also  receive  bits  and  pieces  of  information  about  other ships
appearing on the In-System  Travel  Screen.  The  information  is broken into
three categories:

System Information.
This is a list  of  all  the  planets  in  the system, their characteristics,
number of satellites, and the starport class. For example:

MENORB SYSTEM
SUN SMERA       SIZE 2          TYPE M5

ORB     CLASS   UWP             NAME    SAT     STPT
 1      Planet  D653523-D       Trill    4       D

The  UWP  (Universal  World  Profile)  is   used  to  describe  the  physical
characteristics of a world. Like the Universal Personality Profile (UPP), all
numbers are hexadecimal. In a hexadecimal  system, the numbers ten through 15
are represented by the letters A through F, respectively. Numbers one through
nine are the same as in the decimal system. Refer to the charts below to find
out what each of the numbers  in  the  UWP  represent. The numbers in the UWP
refer to,  in  order,  Starport  Size,  Atmosphere,  Hydrosphere, Population,
Government, Law Level and Tech Level. (See the charts following.)
For a list and description  of  all  the  starport  options, see the STARPORT
section.

Planet Information:
This information consists of  all  the  data  from  the following charts that
pertain to the selected planet.

Ship Information:
The accuracy of this information depends on the related skills of a character
in the Communications  station.  The  type  of  information  given is: ship's
class, owner, maximum acceleration, computer  type, structural points and the
number of hard points in which weapon systems could be installed.
This information is given for all  the  ships that are currently the overhead
view on the In-System Travel Screen.

                     ----------------------------------

                                 WORLD SIZE

Code    General Description             Min Diameter            Max Diameter

R       Asteroid / Planetoid Ring       Multiple Bodies         Under 1 km
S       Very Small                      200 km                  799 km
0       Asteroid / Planetoid Ring       Multiple Bodies         Under 200 km
1       Small                           800 km                  2399 km
2       Small (Luna: 3200 km)           2400 km                 3999 km
3       Small (Mercury: 4800 km)        4000 km                 5599 km
4       Small (Mars: 6400 km)           5600 km                 7199 km
5       Medium                          7200 km                 8799 km
6       Medium                          8800 km                 10399 km
7       Medium                          10400 km                11999 km
8       Large (Terra: 12800 km)         12000 km                13599 km
9       Large                           13600 km                15199 km
A       Large                           15200 km                16799 km

SGG: Small Gas Giant
LGG: Large Gas Giant
R: A Ring orbits a world.
S: A small body orbits a world or a star.
0: A planetoid or asteroid orbits a star.


                              WORLD ATMOSPHERE

Code    General Description

0       vacuum
1       vacuum (trace atmosphere)
2       vacuum (very thin tainted atmosphere)
3       vacuum (very thin atmosphere)
4       thin (tainted atmosphere)
5       thin
6       standard
7       standard (tainted atmosphere)
8       dense
9       dense (tainted atmosphere)
A       exotic
B       exotic (corrosive atmosphere)
C       exotic (insidious atmosphere)
D       exotic
E       exotic
F       exotic


                             WORLD HYDROGRAPHICS

Code    General Description     Minimum %       Maximum %

0       desert world            0 %             4 %
1       dry world               5 %             14 %
2       dry world               15 %            24 %
3       wet world               25 %            34 %
4       wet world               35 %            44 %
5       wet world               45 %            54 %
6       wet world               55 %            64 %
7       wet world               65 %            74 %
8       wet world               75 %            84 %
9       wet world               85 %            94 %
A       water world             95 %            100 %


                              WORLD POPULATION

Code    General Description     Population

0               low             less than ten
1               low             tens
2               low             hundreds
3               low             thousands
4               mod             ten thousands
5               mod             hundred thousands
6               mod             millions
7               mod             ten millions
8               mod             hundred millions
9               high            billions
A               high            ten billions


                              WORLD GOVERNMENTS

Code    General Description

0       NO GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE: In many cases, but not all, family bonds
        predominate
1       COMPANY/CORPORATION: Government by a company or corporation
        managerial elite; citizens are company employees.
2       PARTICIPATING DEMOCRACY: Government by advice and consent of citizen.
3       SELF-PERPETUATING OLIGARCHY: Government by a restricted minority,
        with little or no input from the masses.
4       REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY: Government by elected representatives.
5       FEUDAL TECHNOCRACY: Government by specific individuals for those who
        agreed to be ruled. Relationships are based on the performance of
        technical activities which are mutually beneficial.
6       CAPTIVE GOVERNMENT/COLONY: Government by a leadership answerable to
        an outside group; a colony or conquered area.
7       BALKANIZATION: No central ruling authority exists; rival governments
        compete for control.
8       CIVIL SERVICE BUREAUCRACY: Government by agencies employing
        individuals selected for their expertise.
9       IMPERSONAL BUREAUCRACY: Government by agencies which are insulated
        from the governed.
A       CHARISMATIC DICTATOR: Government by a single leader enjoying the
        confidence of the citizens.
B       NON-CHARISMATIC LEADER: A previous charismatic dictator has been
        replaced by a leader through normal channels.
C       CHARISMATIC OLIGARCHY: Government by a select group, organization, or
        class enjoying overwhelming confidence of the citizens.
D       RELIGIOUS DICTATORSHIP: Government by a religious minority which has
        little regard for the needs of the citizens.
E       RELIGIOUS AUTOCRACY: Government by a single religious leader having
        absolute power over the citizens.
F       TOTALITARIAN OLIGARCHY: Government by an all-powerful minority which
        maintains absolute control through widespread coercion and
        oppression.


                              WORLD LAW LEVELS

Code    General Description

0       NO LAW (no prohibitions)
1       LOW LAW (body pistols and explosives restricted)
2       LOW LAW (man portable energy and laser weapons restricted)
3       LOW LAW (machineguns and automatic weapons restricted)
4       MODERATE LAW (light assault weapons restricted)
5       MODERATE LAW (personal concealable weapons restricted)
6       MODERATE LAW (all firearms except shotguns restricted)
7       MODERATE LAW (shotguns restricted)
8       HIGH LAW (blade weapons controlled, no open display)
9       HIGH LAW (weapon possession outside home restricted)
A       EXTREME LAW (weapon possession restricted)
B       EXTREME LAW (rigid control of civilian movement)
C       EXTREME LAW (unrestricted invasion of privacy)
D       EXTREME LAW (paramilitary law enforcement)


                              TECHNOLOGY LEVELS

Code    General Description

0       pre-industrial (primitive)
1       pre-industrial (bronze or iron age)
2       pre-industrial (printing press)
3       pre-industrial (basic science)
4       industrial (internal combustion)
5       industrial (mass production)
6       pre-stellar (nuclear power)
7       pre-stellar (miniature electronics)
8       pre-stellar (super conductors)
9       early stellar (fusion power)
A       early stellar (jump drive)
B       average stellar (large starships)
C       average stellar (sophisticated robots)
D       average stellar (holographic data storage)
E       high stellar (anti-grav cities)
F       high stellar (anagathics)
G       high stellar (global terraforming)
H       extreme stellar


                                  STARPORTS

Code    General Description

A       All options available
B       All options available
C       All options available
D       All options available
F       Only DISK, BANK, PERSONNEL and CARGO available
G       Only DISK, BANK and CARGO available
H       Only DISK available
X       No starport facilities other than landing pads

                      --------------------------------


9. Medical and Sick Bay Station

The medical and sick bay  stations  share  the  same  station screen. The two
sections at the bottom of the screen  consist  of the Overhead 2D view (left)
and the following:

The name of the character in the medic  station. On the left side of the name
of each character is the character's service symbol.

The name of the characters in the  sick  bay station and two hits values. One
is the  current  state  of  the  characters  hits  value,  the  other  is the
character's maximum hits value.

Icons (for players using a mouse) that  allow you to heal a damaged character
or return a character to duty.
A character in sick bay cannot be healed  unless there is also a character in
the medical station.

Healing characters in the sick  bay  can  be  done  while  the ship is on the
ground or in space.
A character in the medical station may treat  only one character at a time. A
character can cease treating one character  and begin healing a different one
at any time.

10. Starships

While travelling through each system,  the  Interloper will encounter a great
amount of stellar traffic. The Spinward Marches is a rapidly growing frontier
territory  and  trade  routes  are  steadily  travelled  by  Independent  and
Megacorporation traders. As can be expected,  there is also a thriving pirate
population that roams the space outside the  trade routes, waiting to prey on
the wealthy Megacorporation trade ships.
The ship Lenara gives your  characters  at  the  beginning  of  the game is a
registered far trader of the  Sharurshid  Megacorporation. But because it was
being used by Lenara  for  a  special  undercover  assignment,  it  has a few
features other ships of the same class don't have.
There are  seven  classes  of  starships  that  can  be  encountered  in this
MEGATRAVELLER adventure:

Small Interplanetary Craft:
These craft aren't fitted with jump-capable  drives. They are primarily used,
by those who can  afford  them,  to  travel  between  worlds within a system.
Small-time operators use  this  smaller  craft  to  transport  small loads of
cargo.

Trader/Armed Merchant:
These vessels are fairly common  and  are  often used by Megacorporations and
independent traders. Their primary purpose is to deliver cargo in and between
systems. To defend against  suspected  pirate  raids,  all  trading ships are
built with one or several hard points for the installation of weapon systems.

Armed Escort:
A lightly armed vessel used  by  the Imperial government and Megacorporations
to protect the bigger  and  slower  traders.  This  ship  is  also capable of
carrying a small load  of  cargo,  but  not  enough  to  make it an effective
trader.

Destroyer:
A medium  class  ship  designed  for  seek  and  destroy  combat  techniques.
Moderately armed  and  manoeuvrable,  these  ships  pose  a  threat  to  many
unsuspecting pirate fleets. Also capable of carrying a small amount of cargo,
these ships are sometimes captured and used by pirate groups.

Corsair:
A formidable heavy fighting vessel, the battleship of the future. The Corsair
is a heavily fortified and  armoured  vessel  used  in most battlefleets. The
ship has sufficient cargo  space  to  carry  military  food,  arms, and other
miscellaneous supplies.

Scout:
Commonly used for exploration of uncharted  regions of space, the scout class
vessel is lightly armed and very manoeuvrable.

X-Boat:
These ships are used  exclusively  by  the  Imperial  fleet for communication
purposes.  These  ships  are  responsible  for  the  transport  of  mail  and
information between systems within the Imperium.

Ships encountered will have one  of  four  types  of owners. Different owners
will only control certain ships.

The Imperium's armed battlefleet (scout, destroyer, corsair, X-boat)

A  pirating   organisation   (destroyer,   scout,   escort,   trader,   small
interplanetary craft)

A megacorporation (traders, escorts)

An independent owner (traders, small interplanetary craft)

There are ten different Megacorporations. These are:

1. Oberlindes           6. Tukera
2. Ling Standard        7. Susag, LIC
3. Imperiallines        8. Delgado
4. Sharurshid           9. Zeneca
5. Naasirka             10 Gsbag

If you wish to earn the credits  you  need to purchase your jump-2 drive, you
may want to risk being a pirate. It is a profitable but dangerous way to make
a living.

11. Starship Statistics

The following  statistical  information  on  the  various  starships  you may
encounter includes the ship's weapon systems,  along  with the type of lasers
and  number  of  missiles,  structural  points,  weapon  hard  points  damage
capacity, amount of cargo space, and the acceleration rate (G level).

Small Interplanetary Craft
cargo: x2
G level: 4
weapons: #1 TL 8 pulse laser pwr: 25
ship's structural points: 300
weapon structural points: 60

Trader/Armed Merchant
cargo: x20
G level: 1
weapons: #1 TL 13 beam laser pwr: 25
         #2 TL 13 beam laser pwr: 25
structural points: 1500
weapon struct. points: #1 300
                       #2 300

Armed Escort
cargo: x5
G level: 2
weapons: #1 TL 8 beam laser pwr: 25
         #2 missile bay w/8 missiles
structural points: 1750
weapon struct. points: #1 350
                       #2 350

Destroyer
cargo: x8
G level: 2
weapons: #1 TL 13 beam laser pwr: 25
         #2 TL 13 pulse laser pwr: 25
         #3 missile bay w/16 missiles
structural points: 2000
weapon struct. points: #1 400
                       #2 400
                       #3 400

Corsair
cargo: x12
G level: 2
weapons: #1 TL 13 beam laser pwr: 50
         #2 TL 13 pulse laser pwr: 25
         #3 missile bay w/12 missiles
         #4 missile bay w/12 missiles
structural points: 2500
weapon struct. points: #1 500
                       #2 500
                       #3 500
                       #4 500

Scout
cargo: x8
G level: 3
weapons: #1 TL 13 pulse laser pwr: 50
         #2 missile bay w/16 missiles
structural points: 1500
weapon struct. points: #1 300
                       #2 300

Imperial X-Boat
cargo: none
G level: 4
weapons: Tl 13 pulse laser
structural points: 1500
weapon struct. points: 300

12. Piracy

The more you pirate a Megacorporation's ships, the more protective vessels it
will assign to subsequent  trading  expeditions.  In  fact,  if  you pirate a
Megacorporation often enough you  will  encounter  Imperial  ships aiding the
Megacorporation's trade ships. The Imperium  dislikes  using its own ships as
an escort service, but  sometimes  it  must.  The  Megacorporation within the
Imperium are very powerful.
It will take excessive piracy to  get  the Imperium to escort Megacorporation
ships, mainly because the Imperial fleet is  so spread out (due to the rumour
of an upcoming frontier war and the current rate of piracy).
But beware: the Imperial fleet  is  not  a  force  to  be  reckoned with by a
solitary pirate vessel.  Those  who  live  by  the  sword  die  by the sword.
Remember also that the Interloper will often  be the target of other pirating
ships. It would be a serious loss if you  just left a planet with a hold full
of valuable cargo, only to have it taken by pirates.
In order to pirate a vessel,  the  targeted  ship  must first have its weapon
systems inoperable. This will require  inflicting  a  lot  of damage and some
good guesswork. After the weapon systems are  knocked out you must attempt to
match course and speed of the vessel.
If this is accomplished, the station  portion  of the screen (no matter which
station you're currently in) will be replaced with the graphic display of the
pirated ship's cargo hold. The  area  used  for  the 2D overhead view (bottom
left) will be replaced  by  the  graphic  representation  of the Interloper's
cargo hold. You can then take the cargo from  the other ship - as long as you
have available space in the cargo hold of the Interloper.
Note: Most ships have a self-destruct mechanism, often set when pirates board
ships. This will limit the amount of  time  you have to take the other ship's
cargo. Should  your  characters  still  be  on-board  a  ship  when  it  self
destructs, both your characters and the Interloper will be destroyed.
One of the major risks  of  pirating  another  ship  is that, in the process,
you're vulnerable to other attacking  ships.  Therefore  it's  a good idea to
make sure that  the  area  is  secured  of  all  other  enemy  vessels before
attempting to pirate a crippled vessel.

13. Ship Movement

The Interloper can be piloted from  two  screens: the In-System Travel Screen
and the pilot station. Controls for  piloting  the  ship are the same on both
screens. The pilot you have flying the Interloper will play a big part in how
well the ship  travels  and  manoeuvres.  This  will  be  important in combat
situations.
It is, of course, possible for an  unskilled character to pilot the ship, but
he will not do so very well.

14. Cargo

There are thirty different types  of  cargo  that can be purchased throughout
the eight systems in the game.
The availability and price of each depends a  lot on the world on which it is
bought or sold.
The types or cargo are:

FOODSTUFFS
1. Streechen Wine
2. Foodstuff
3. Grain
4. Water
5. Spices

INDUSTRIAL
6. Steel
7. Nonmetal Ores
8. Iron
9. Special Alloys
10. Radioactives
11. Pharmaceuticals
12. Ship Supplies
13. Tools
14. Petrochemicals
15. Explosives

AGRICULTURAL
16. Animal Compounds
17. Livestock
18. Fertilizers
19. Plant Compounds
20. Lumber

HIGH TECH
21. Electronic Parts
22. Medical Equipment
23. High Tech Parts
24. Computers
25. Robots

MISCELLANEOUS
26. Starrghrite
27. Clothing
28. Raw Crystals
29. Textiles
30. Entertainment Equipment

All of the buying and selling of cargo is done at starports with a cargo menu
selection. The cargo hold of  the  Interloper  has  enough  spaces to hold 20
units of cargo.

15. Starports

There are a maximum of five menu selections available at a starport. The menu
selections depend on the class of  the  starport,  which  can be found in the
Communications Station section of the manual in the Starport chart.
The five menu selections are:
1. DISK
2. BANK
3. PERSONNEL
4. CARGO
5. SHIPYARD

Each of these menu items offers sub-sections.

DISK: SAVE / GAME OPTIONS
Selecting DISK will allow you to (1)  save  the  game and (2) change the game
options.
(1) It should be noted that even though  a saved position can be restored any
time during game play, starports are the only  place at which the game can be
saved. It's a good policy to save the game every time you land on and leave a
world. See the technical supplement for more information.
(2) The various game options (sound,  restore  game,  etc) are covered in the
technical supplement.

BANK: PARTY ACCOUNT / RETIREMENT PAY
Selecting BANK will allow you to either (1) deposit and withdraw credits from
the Party account or  (2)  receive  any  retirement  pay  a  character may be
eligible for.
(1) The party account is an alternative to pooling all the party's credits to
one character when you wish to buy  something.  It's a good idea to keep most
of the party's credits in the PARTY  ACCOUNT  because the account can be used
to pay for most all purchases made  in  the game. The only time you'll really
need hands-on cash is when you bribe an NPC.
(2) Retirement pay is issued on  a  monthly basis to eligible characters. You
are informed of retirement pay when you generate a character who retires.

PERSONNEL: RECRUIT / TRAIN
Selecting PERSONNEL will allow you to  (1)  recruit a new character into your
party or (2)  train  a  character  in  skills  that  he  has  used  often and
successfully.
(1) When you have lost a character(s), you can add a new one to your party at
starports with personnel facilities. The  characters  that are made available
for recruitment consist of the extra characters on your character disk.
Note: To finish the game,  you  must  have  at  least  one character from the
original character party.
(2) There is a fee for  training  a  character  in  a skill. A character must
repeatedly use a skill successfully in order  to  train for an extra level in
that skill.

CARGO: BUY / SELL
Selecting CARGO will allow  you  to  (1)  purchase  any  type of cargo that's
available and (2) sell any  cargo  in  the  Interloper's  hold. See the Cargo
section for more information.

SHIPYARD: REFUEL / REPAIR / BUY WEAPONS / SELL WEAPONS / BUY SUPPLIES
Selecting SHIPYARD will allow you to:
(1) Refuel the Interloper; you can purchase refined and unrefined fuel at any
starport. Unrefined fuel is cheaper, but  the  chances of a misjump increase.
If the Interloper is fitted  with  a  fuel purification plant, then unrefined
fuel  is  transformed  into  refined   fuel   when  purchased.  With  a  fuel
purification plant,  you  will  only  be  given  the  option  for  purchasing
unrefined fuel because there is no need to purchase refined.
(2) The REPAIR option  allows  you  to  repair  structural  damage and system
damages  that  cannot  be  repaired  by   a  character  in  engineering.  See
Engineering Station for more information.
(3) The BUY WEAPONS option  allows  you  to  purchase weapon systems for hard
points on the Interloper. If you  wish  to  purchase a new weapon system, you
must have an empty hard point on the Interloper.
(4) SELL WEAPONS lets you sell any of  the weapon systems you may have on the
Interloper.
(5)BUY SUPPLIES allows you  to  purchase  all  the  other necessary equipment
vital to the upkeep, operation, and improvement of the Interloper.
At each starport there  is  a  bulletin  board.  Pay  close  attention to it,
because there is often a message to all Travellers visiting the world.

                      MISCELLANEOUS STARSHIP EQUIPMENT

Computer Programs
MODEL   STORAGE CPU     COST (Imperial Credits)
1       4       2       20,000
1/bis   4       4       40,000
2       6       3       100,000
2/bis   6       6       180,000
3       9       5       200,000

Storage = The number of programs that can  be loaded into the computer at one
time.

CPU = The number of loaded programs the computer can run at any one time.

Pulse Lasers
TL      PWR     Cost    Damage
8       25      22,500  75
8       50      45,000  125
13      25      67,500  175
13      50      90,000  225

Beam Lasers
TL      PWR     Cost    Damage
8       25      25k     100
8       50      50k     150
13      25      75k     200
13      50      100k    300

Missiles
Type                            Cost (Each)     Damage
mine                            1,000           125/100/75
scatter mine                    1,250           90/70/60
constant unguided               4,000           300/200/125
multiple const. unguided        3,500           130/110/90
constant guided                 5,500           300/200/125
constant homing                 7,500           350/250/175

Mines:
These are ejected from the  rear  of  the  starship and remain stationary. If
used correctly, set in  strategic  patterns,  mines  can  be  an offensive or
defensive weapon.

Scatter Mine:
Shortly after being ejected  from  the  Interloper,  this mine disperses into
three smaller mines. These three mines cover more area but are less potent.

Constant Unguided Missiles:
These travel in a straight trajectory.  Most  of the time these missiles have
to be fired directly in the path of the intended target.

Multiple Constant Unguided Missiles:
The same as the constant  unguided  missile,  except that when launched, this
missile separates into three smaller  warheads.  This increases the chance of
hitting the target,  but  the  individual  warheads  do  not  inflict as much
damage.

Constant Guided Missiles:
These missiles travel in a straight  trajectory but accelerate and decelerate
to match the speed of the intended target.

Constant Homing Missiles:
These missiles are the most effective  and  the most expensive. When fired at
an intended target, these missiles home  in  on  the target and will not stop
until they hit a target or are destroyed by laser fire.

15. Systems

There are eight star systems in the game. In the included IFF files, you will
find maps of each system and  the  planets  within it. Along with each system
layout is the system's flag.

16. Space Combat

Similar to ground combat, you must first  go  into combat mode to fight enemy
ships. Combat mode is initiated whenever  another  ship moves into the circle
surrounding the Interloper on  the  In-System  Travel  Screen. When in combat
mode you are placed into the station screens.
All the Interloper's operations  are  handled  from  the station screens. See
each individual station section for more information.
From the pilot station you fly and Manoeuvre the Interloper.
From the two gun stations you fire installed weapon systems at enemy ships or
incoming missiles.
From the computer station you load and run necessary programs which allow you
to do things such as firing lasers, missiles, manoeuvring, etc.
From the engineering station you  can  partially  repair certain ship systems
that have been damaged.
From the communications station  you  can  get  information about the vessels
you're fighting.
From the medical and sick bay stations you can heal injured characters.
The 2D overhead view at the lower  left  side of all station screens lets you
visually locate other enemy  ships  and  keep  track  of their movements. All
missiles and mines are displayed, as well. The area you see in this view is a
small section of the combat  area.  The  view  can  be  enlarged to an entire
screen to offer a wider range of view.  When the view is enlarged, the circle
around your ship represents the overhead  2D  view. When enemy ships move off
the full screen, they are out of combat range.
Your ship, Interloper, is always centred in the screen. Lines pointing in all
eight compass directions extend from  the  ship. These lines represent weapon
facing from the weapon stations.
To fire at the enemy ships you  must  go  to  one of the weapon stations. The
whole bottom right portion of the screen  consists of a viewport and controls
for targeting and firing the weapons. Weapon  systems  can be fired up to 360
degrees. Two of the lines extending  from  the  Interloper on the overhead 2D
view will be highlighted at  the  gun  stations.  The  area between these two
lines represents the view from the  weapon's viewport. All ships and missiles
on the overhead 2D will likewise appear in the weapons viewport.
All of the weapon systems will have a targeting and firing icon, as well as a
left and right arrow icon to move  the  weapons  viewport to the left and the
right. As you move the weapon  viewport  to  the  left and the right, the two
highlighted lines on the 2D overhead view will move to show the area of space
displayed in the weapon's viewport.
Beam lasers fire one concentrated shot.  Afterward, it will begin to recharge
to full capacity. You need not wait for it to recharge all the way. It can be
fired at any time, but the  damage  it  inflicts  is based upon the amount of
charge it has.
Pulse lasers are fired in four small bursts. Once fired, they will also begin
recharging. All  fully-charged  bursts  must  be  used  first.  If  the  only
remaining burst is partially-charged, then it  can be used. The damage caused
depends on the charge  in  the  laser.  Pulse  lasers are effective defensive
weapons against incoming missiles.
Missiles have to be loaded into the missile bays before they can be launched.
Each missile launcher  has  four  missile  bays.  Once  the  missile bays are
emptied, they must be reloaded with missiles in storage.

                      ---------------------------------

                     COMPUTER PROGRAMS AND WHAT THEY DO

Program                 Size    Cost    Effects
Target (T)              1  4k   required to fire beam or pulse lasers
Launch (L)              1  5k   required to launch missiles from their bays
Jump 1 (J1)             1  4k   required to make a jump-1
Jump 2 (J2)             2  10k  required to make a jump-2
Navigation (N)          1  5k   required to make any jumpspace attempt
Manoeuvre (M)           1  5k   required to Manoeuvre ship
Predict 1 (P1)          1  1k   increases chances to hit opponent
Predict 2 (P2)          2  5k   upgraded and more effective version of P1
Predict 3 (P3)          2  15k  upgraded and more effective version of P2
Manoeuvre/Evade 1 (ME1) 1  3k   decreases the chance of your ship getting hit
Manoeuvre/Evade 2 (ME2) 2  1k   upgrade of ME1, further decreases hits
auto evade (AE)         1  2k   same effect as ME2, takes less space

Size = the number of storage spaces the program takes up in the ship computer

                     ----------------------------------


                  PLANETARY SURFACE EXPLORATION AND COMBAT

1. Introduction

Throughout your adventure in  the  MEGATRAVELLER  universe,  you will visit a
variety of worlds. Some of the planets will contain abundant green vegetation
and high population, while other worlds  will have harsh environments such as
scorching dry  deserts,  non-atmospheric  vacuums,  or  glacial,  ice-covered
terrain. You will also encounter many  unique individuals along your journey.
Some of the people you meet are  barbaric and uncivilized, whereas others are
members of sophisticated, high-tech societies. You  will also come upon alien
beings in your journeys. As  you  control  your  group of travellers you will
meet new friends willing to help you on  your way. Some will help you acquire
more Imperial credits. Some will  provide  you with important information. At
times, an individual may ask you to  perform  a task, for which he promises a
reward.
However, not everyone in the  MEGATRAVELLER  universe  is friendly. There are
many merciless and  untrustworthy  characters  throughout  known space. These
felonious  individuals   include   interstellar   pirates,   bounty  hunters,
professional assassins, and  greedy  criminals.  These  villains  do  as they
please and live their lives in total  disregard  of the law. There is no room
to negotiate with the dregs of the universe.  It is best to deal with them on
their own terms. Stand strong, fight hard and utilize your character's skills
and training in combat. If a bounty is  placed on your party, you will surely
encounter some of the most dangerous  and heartless offenders ever known. Get
ready to fight!
While exploring planetary  surfaces,  all  actions  take  place  on  two game
screens; the overhead view screen and the character screens.

2. The Overhead View Screen

All of the ground exploration and  combat  action takes place on the overhead
view screen. From this screen, you  will  be  able  to access any of the five
character screens.

                            Character Information

The top portion of the  screen  displays  important information about each of
the characters in your party. Each character is represented by a square block
which is  divided  into  different  sections.  The  following  information is
represented in the character block:
A) The character's former military  service  symbol  is displayed, along with
his rank.
B) A graphic  representation  of  the  helmet  or  headgear  the character is
wearing. If no headgear is being  worn,  a  simple outline of the character's
head is displayed.
C) A graphic representation of the armour or protective suit the character is
wearing. If no bodily protection is being worn, an outline of the character's
upper body is displayed.
D) The first of the  two  bars  next  to  the  character block represents the
character's oxygen supply. As oxygen is used, the bar will become smaller.
E) The second bar corresponds  to  the  character's  life force (hits value).
When physical damage  is  suffered,  the  bar  will  become  smaller.  If the
character is healed, the bar  will  grow  accordingly.  The life force bar is
intersected by a white line. When  the  bar  is reduced below the white line,
the character becomes  unconscious.  If  the  bar  disappears completely, the
character dies.
Next to the character  information  blocks  is  an  icon  that  allows you to
reorder your party of characters.

                               Marching Order

The Marching Order icon, next  to  the  aforementioned icon, represents which
character is in the lead  position,  and  the  order  in which the other four
characters fall behind. It is important  to  keep track of which character is
leading. In most situations,  the  leader's  skills  and attributes are taken
into account in determining the success  or failure of tasks. However, during
combat, each character is represented by  its  own  icon on the overhead map.
Therefore,  when  talking   to   non-player   characters  (NPCs),  purchasing
equipment, operating vehicles, etc.,  make  sure  that  a  character with the
appropriate skills is in the lead position.
All movement and combat will take place in the overhead display window. While
moving about the planets, your party  of  characters will be represented by a
single icon. When in combat,  five  smaller  icons, representing each of your
characters, will replace  the  large,  single  icon.  Each  character  can be
distinguished by a particular colour  (or  pattern). This colour (or pattern)
will be the same as the  colour  used  on  the character's service symbol and
character screen.
Below the overhead display area, there is  a text window which displays short
messages and information to the player during the game.
The bottom-right side of the screen is used for the following:

During planetary movement and exploration, the movement of the lead character
and vehicle icons is controlled  using  the  arrows  that  point in the eight
compass directions. These arrows are designed  to allow movement of the icons
using a mouse.

When an important NPC is encountered  by  your lead character on the overhead
display, a picture of the NPC will appear in this section of the screen.

In combat mode, the  rightmost  portion  of  the  screen  is  used to display
important character information for combat. Information  for only one of your
five characters appears at  a  time.  But  you  can  easily cycle through the
character  information  for  each  member  of  your  party.  The  information
displayed for each character is:

Primary or Secondary weapon and the ammo in the clip currently loaded
# of extra clips of ammunition
# of radiation grenades
# of explosive grenades
# of chemical grenades

From this display you  can  control  your  characters'  actions during combat
sequences. These combat actions are:

reloading the primary or secondary weapon
throwing grenades
switching information between characters firing primary or secondary weapons

In the lowest right corner  of  the  screen  are menu selections that control
your party's actions while  they  explore  on  the  overhead display. Some of
these menu selections are broken down  into sub-menus when they are selected.
Note: All of the sub-menus have an ESC option which, if chosen, will take you
back to the main menu selections. These primary menu selections are:

        CONVERSE
        GAME
        ITEM
        VEHICLE
        PARTY

                         The CONVERSE Menu Selection

Select CONVERSE when  you  want  to  communicate  with  an  NPC.  In order to
communicate with a NPC, the lead character icon must be close to, and facing,
the NPC icon. By selecting  the  CONVERSE  menu selection, the following sub-
menu options will appear:
        TALK
        BRIBE
        ESC
If TALK is selected, the NPC  will  communicate  with you in an enlarged text
window. If  BRIBE  is  selected,  another  sub-menu  is  displayed.  You  can
determine the amount of the bribe you wish to offer from among five choices:
        1,000 credits
        5,000 credits
        10,000 credits
        25,000 credits
and     50,000 credits.

                           The ITEM Menu Selection

By selecting ITEM, the following sub-menu options appear:
        TAKE
        USE
        ESC
TAKE allows you to pick  up  an  object  you  have  discovered. USE lets your
characters use any item in their primary or secondary weapon (item) slot.
To take an item, the lead character  icon  must  be  on top of the object. If
TAKE is chosen, you will be  asked  which  character wishes to take the item.
Once you select a character,  the  item  will  be  placed in that character's
inventory of items. If USE is selected, you must select the character wishing
to use an item. A character can only use  an  item if it is in his primary or
secondary weapon  (item)  slot.  Any  object  or  weapon  in  the  primary or
secondary weapons (item) slots is considered ready to be used.

                         The VEHICLE Menu Selection

The VEHICLE menu item offers the following sub-menu options:
        LEAVE
        STATUS
        ESC
If your party is in a vehicle, the  LEAVE option will allow the characters to
exit the vehicle, with the  lead  character  icon placed directly outside the
vehicle. The STATUS  selection  allows  you  to  check  the  condition of the
vehicle. Various information, such as damage, is displayed.

                          The PARTY Menu Selection

The PARTY menu selection is used when  you wish to enter your five characters
into combat mode. When not in combat,  your characters are represented on the
screen by a single icon. In combat, each  character has its own icon, so that
each may be controlled individually. Choosing  PARTY  will bring up two other
menu selections:
        BREAK
        REGROUP
BREAK initiates the combat mode and  generates five separate character icons.
REGROUP ends combat mode and integrates the individual icons back into one.

                           The GAME Menu Selection

Selecting the GAME option will give you the following choices:
        RESTORE
        QUIT
        PAUSE
        SOUND OFF (SOUND ON)
        ESC
RESTORE should be chosen to restore  a previously saved position. QUIT should
be picked to leave the game. Note:  the  game  will  not be saved. Be sure to
save the game at the nearest starport  before  you QUIT. Although there is no
PAUSE key, you can pause the action at  almost any point in the game by going
to a character  information  screen.  If  SOUND  OFF  is  selected, the sound
effects and music will be  toggled  off.  The  SOUND ON option restores sound
effects.
The name of the planet your  characters  are exploring appears directly above
the main menu. In addition, the name of the star system containing the planet
also appears. This information helps you keep  track  of where you are in the
MEGATRAVELLER universe. You are advised to  take  notes about each planet and
what you find  there.  Jot  down  any  rumours  you  may  hear.  Note the TAS
(Traveller's Aide Society) and library  information  you discover. It may all
come in handy later.

3. The Character Screen

There are several terms that should be explained before the character screens
are described. You will encounter these terms often.

1. Weight:
 Each character will have  a  maximum  amount  of  weight  (kilograms) he can
carry. The character will  move  slower  when  this  maximum  weight limit is
exceeded. The more weight a character  attempts  to carry over his limit, the
slower he will become. It is  impossible  for a character to completely stop,
but he can be reduced to a crawl.

2. Primary/Secondary Weapon (Item) Slots:
Each character has  19  inventory  boxes  on  the  character  screen in which
objects can be placed.  In  addition  to  these  19  boxes,  four other boxes
represent the  character's  armour  or  protective  suit,  headgear,  and the
primary and secondary  weapons  slots.  Therefore,  a  character  can  have a
maximum 23 objects and weapons on his  person  at one time. Note: some of the
weapons take up TWO inventory boxes due to their size.
The primary weapon (item) slot is used  to  represent a weapon or object that
is in the character's hands  and  ready  to  use.  In a combat situation, any
object or weapon in the primary  weapon  slot  will  be used. The primary and
secondary weapons (item) slots can be reversed at any time.
The secondary weapon  (item)  slot  represents  a  weapon  or  object  that a
character can quickly access.  For  example,  if  during  a combat sequence a
character wants to use a weapon or  object  that is not in his primary weapon
(item) slot, he can easily switch to the secondary weapon slot. Additionally,
the secondary weapon  (item)  slot  is  used  for  smuggling  weapons through
starport checkpoints. Any weapons a  character  wants  to smuggle through the
checkpoint should be placed in the secondary weapon (item) slot. Depending on
several  factors  (size  of  weapon,  personal  skills),  the  character  may
successfully sneak the weapon out of the  starport. If the character fails in
his attempt to smuggle a weapon, it will be confiscated by starport security.

Individual Character Screens

Each of the five characters in your  party has an individual character screen
that supplies all needed information. On  the  character screen, you can view
and move  objects  that  are  in  the  character's  19  inventory  boxes. The
background colour (or pattern) matches the  same  colour (or pattern) used in
the same character's service symbol.
The top portion of the character screen remains the same as the overhead view
screen. The bottom portion of the screen displays:
A) A list of the character's skills.
B) Four  menu  selections  above  the  19  inventory  boxes.  The  four  menu
selections are:
        PICK OBJECT
        USE OBJECT
        QUIT USING
        OBJECTS
The above menu selections are  used  to  move  objects  in the character's 19
inventory boxes. Also, these  menu  selections  allow  you to place headgear,
ARMOUR, and a protective  suit  on  a  character.  The  primary and secondary
weapon or object can also be selected using these menu selections.
C) The character's service symbol,  service  name, rank, and individual name.
Next to this information are the  VIEW  and  CLOSE  icons, used to access the
menu selections mentioned below.
D) Next to the above menu options  is  a larger list of selections that allow
you to obtain a great deal  of  pertinent character information. This list of
menu selections consists of:
        PERSONAL RECORD
        HEALTH
        PRIMARY WEAPON
        SECONDARY WEAPON
        WEAPON LIST
        ARMOUR
        GRENADES
        INSPECT OBJECT

Selecting PERSONAL RECORD will display:
The character's UPP (both original and temporarily altered).
Weight the  character  is  currently  carrying  and  the  maximum  weight the
character can possibly carry (in kilograms).
The character's life force value (hit points).
The character's title, based on Social Standing (ex: Baron).
Amount of credits the character is carrying.
The amount of credits in the party account.
The # of terms the character has served in the military.
The amount, if any, of retirement  pay  the  character is eligible to receive
each month.

Selecting HEALTH will display:
The character's life force (hit points).
Name of any breathing equipment the character is wearing.
The remaining oxygen supply.

Selecting PRIMARY WEAPON or SECONDARY WEAPON will display:
(If there is a weapon in the primary weapon slot):
The name of the weapon in the primary weapon slot.
The number of reloads the character has for that weapon.
The current clip loaded in the  weapon  and  how  many shots are left in that
clip. This is displayed with a bar graph.
(If there is an object in the primary weapon slot):
The name and picture of the object.
The object's weight (kilograms).
The base value of the object in Imperial credits.

Selecting WEAPON LIST will display:
An entire list of  all  the  weapons  in  the character's inventory including
weapons in the primary weapon or  secondary  weapon slot. Along with the name
of the weapons is a display of the amount of ammunition being carried.

Selecting ARMOUR will display:
The name and picture of any ARMOUR the character is currently wearing.
The weight of the ARMOUR, in kilograms.
The condition of the ARMOUR or protective suit that the character is wearing.

Selecting GRENADES will display:
The number of radiation, explosive,  and  chemical  grenades the character is
carrying.

Selecting INSPECT OBJECT will display:
An object in the character's inventory  must  be  chosen to inspect. You will
then see:
The name of the object chosen.
The weight (in kilograms) of the object chosen.
The base value of the object chosen.

4. Terrain

Due to variety  of  worlds  in  the  MEGATRAVELLER  universe,  many different
landscapes will have to be traversed. Some ground can be covered on foot, but
the use of a vehicle may be  needed  before your party can travel over rugged
terrain. If your party cannot find a vehicle on the world they are exploring,
an alternate form of travel must be discovered.
All the explorable planets can be placed into three categories:
1. Desert worlds (some may have no atmosphere).
2. Green habitable worlds (some may have exotic atmospheres),
3. Ice worlds (some may have no atmospheres).
Note: atmospheres are covered in the Oxygen and Life Support Systems section

The following data on various terrains will  aid you on your adventures. Many
of the worlds have common types of  terrain. Therefore, this data is compiled
into a single list.

Green Grass:
Areas of lush green grass that allow easy and natural movement. Movement does
not require the use of a vehicle.

Farm Land:
Areas of plowed  grassland  used  for  agricultural  development. Allows free
movement.

Rough Grass:
Regions of high, dense  grass.  Movement  on  foot  is  slowed.  The use of a
vehicle is not necessary, but helpful.

Highways and Roads:
Paved areas that increase the rate of  movement on foot. Paved roads exist in
most star cities and  startowns.  Wider  highways  help  increase the flow of
traffic.

Pathways:
Pathways are cleared areas of ground,  usually near rougher terrain. Pathways
better the chance of successfully  negotiating seemingly inaccessible regions
on foot.

Bridges:
Bridges allow movement over large expanses of water that cannot be crossed on
foot. Like roads and highways, bridges allow faster movement.

Swamps:
Wet and sloppy  areas  consisting  of  small  pools  of  water,  soft mud and
quicksand. On foot, these areas  are  inaccessible.  However, at times, there
are cleared pathways  of  solid  ground.  A  grav  vehicle  can  cross swampy
regions.

Mountains:
Mountainous regions consist of  high  peaks  and  smaller rocky outcroppings.
Movement through these areas is impossible, both on foot or by vehicle.

Cracks:
Small openings in the ground  that  prevent  movement  on foot. Cracks can be
crossed in an ATV or a grav vehicle.

Crevices:
Similar to cracks,  though  much  wider  and  deeper,  crevices  can  only be
traversed in a grav vehicle.

Bushes:
Dense shrubs and plant  life  making  movement  on  foot impossible. To cross
dense areas of bush, an ATV or grav vehicle is required.

Trees:
Densely covered regions of tall trees. The  only way to journey through these
areas is in a grav vehicle that is capable of flying over the trees.

Rocks:
Hazardous areas covered with jagged rocks  and boulders that make movement on
foot impossible. To cross rocky terrain, an  ATV or grav vehicle is required.
Even an ATV has a hard time crossing rocky terrain.

Fences:
Fenced areas are often used to surround  farm  land or wealthy estates in the
hope of stopping vagrant trespassing. A grav  vehicle can be used to fly over
a fence if it is too dangerous to climb.

Water:
Large stretches of water can be  crossed  by bridge. Some worlds contain such
vast expanses  of  water  that  bridges  cannot  be  constructed  between two
populated areas. Therefore, a hydro  foil  or  grav  vehicle  must be used to
travel between these areas.

Ice Plains:
Flat, slippery regions of smooth ice. They can be traversed on foot, but at a
slower pace than normal.

Large Craters:
Craters are caused by the impact of  large meteorites on a planetary surface.
Craters are quite deep and a grav vehicle is essential to cross them.

Small Craters:
Similar to larger craters, but  not  as  wide  or  deep, small craters can be
slowly crossed in an ATV or grav vehicle.

Cactus Plants and Palm Trees:
Found only on desert planets with an  atmosphere, these areas of exotic plant
life can only be crossed in a grav vehicle.

Buildings: You will visit a  large  number  of different buildings throughout
the MEGATRAVELLER universe (see Buildings). You  can fly above buildings in a
grav vehicle. Otherwise, buildings must be travelled around.

5. Oxygen and Life Support Systems

Some of the worlds that can  be  explored  have a breathable atmosphere, very
similar to  Earth.  A  breathable  atmosphere  eliminates  the  need  for any
cumbersome protective suits and breathing apparatus.
Other worlds have a variety  of  different  atmospheres  not meant to support
human life. With the invention of engineered survival equipment, man can live
in these harsh environments.

Vacuums are the most difficult environments  in  which to survive. To enter a
vacuum, a character  must  have  some  form  of  protective  suit with proper
breathing equipment. Failure to  wear  the  proper  equipment  will result in
instant death by implosion.  See  the  Imperial  Soldier's Weapons and ARMOUR
Guide to determine what types of protective suits are suitable for vacuums.

Exotic, corrosive, or insidious atmospheres  require  the  use of a helmet or
respirator with a filter.
Atmospheres of this type are caused  by  unusual  gas mixtures. If the proper
equipment is not worn, physical  damage  is  gradually suffered, resulting in
eventual death.
In these atmospheres, it is vital  to  keep  track of your character's oxygen
supplies. A lack of attention  to  oxygen  supply  will surely lead to death.
Don't let your party of  characters  wander  further than their oxygen supply
can carry them.
Auxiliary Oxygen tanks can be purchased  at  general utility stores. They are
just like other objects in a characters inventory. When used, they completely
restore a characters oxygen level.
The rate at which a  character  uses  his  oxygen  supply is dependent on two
factors. First, the higher  a  character's  END,  the slower that character's
rate of oxygen consumption. Secondly, oxygen use increases for all characters
during combat because of high stress and physical exertion.

6. Healing Injuries

A character can sustain bodily damage in  a number of ways; combat being only
one of them. When a character is injured, it is vital that he receive medical
attention to heal the physical  damage  sustained.  Without proper healing, a
character will not survive in hostile situations.
There are four methods that can be  used to quickly heal a wounded character.
Each of the methods has advantages and disadvantages.

Hospitals:
Hospitals are the easiest  and  most  efficient,  but  most expensive healing
option. Some more uncivilized worlds do  not  have medical facilities, so the
hospital option does not always  exist. However, advanced hospital facilities
on  high-tech  worlds  allow  instantaneous   healing  due  to  the  advanced
technology of the Imperium.

Medical Kits (med-kits):
The major  advantage  of  a  med-kit  is  that  in  the  hands  of  a skilled
individual, a  character  can  be  healed  from  wounds  suffered  in  combat
situations. Although the kits can be used  by anyone, they are most effective
in the hands of a character with related medical skill.

Starship (Interloper):
Each starship is equipped with  a  medical  station  and an accompanying sick
bay. Healing aboard a  starship  occurs  slowly,  and  it  may be a difficult
journey to travel back  to  a  starport  with  serious  injuries (see Medical
Station in the INTERSTELLAR COMBAT AND STARSHIP EXPLORATION section).

Speed Healing Serum:
Developed by the military, this healing serum  can be used by a character who
lacks competent medical skills. Only one dose of  the serum can be used on an
individual character (See Serums and Drugs).

7. Vehicles

As previously  mentioned,  there  will  be  areas  where  travel  on  foot is
impossible or highly dangerous. In these areas  a  vehicle can be rented - if
there is a rental location on the  planet.  There are three types of vehicles
that can be rented: a tracked ATV (All Terrain Vehicle), grav vehicle (flying
hovercraft), or water vessel.

ATV:
An ATV is a standard  vehicle  designed  to  traverse most terrain that would
normally  prohibit  movement  on  foot.   Although  quite  reliable  in  most
situations, the  ATV  does  have  its  limitations.  It  is  not  capable  of
travelling over mountains, crevices, and craters. Likewise, it is not able to
float or cross a body of water. The heavy ATV, powered by a standard internal
combustion engine, is capable of high speeds. Although some military versions
exist, the ATV is mainly used  for  exploration and travel purposes. Although
it is not as capable as  a  grav  vehicle,  it  is easier to operate and less
expensive to rent.

Grav Vehicle:
The grav vehicle is the most capable planetary vehicle. It is restricted only
by the most formidable  terrain,  such  as  elevated  mountain-tops. The grav
vehicle is extremely heavy because  of  its  protective armour plating. It is
capable of very high speeds. It  is  fusion  powered  and  can carry up to 10
persons.  Grav  vehicles  are   used   on   high-tech  worlds  for  planetary
transportation. The demand for these vehicles  is high, and rental prices are
costly.

Hydro Foil:
Some of the worlds you will  visit  consist  of  60%  or more water, making a
water-faring vehicle essential. This  water  craft  is  charged by hydro foil
power, generated by a powerful internal  combustion engine. This water vessel
is capable of  high  speeds,  and  can  seat  seven  passengers including the
driver.

Vehicles can be obtained at a vehicle rental building. Not all worlds contain
renting facilities, and some rental facilities  do  not carry all three types
of vehicle. If your characters want to rent a vehicle, they will be asked for
a fee and a deposit. If  the  vehicle  is returned in suitable condition, the
full deposit is returned. If the vehicle  is returned damaged, then a portion
of deposit is kept for repairs. If the characters don't return the vehicle at
all, or if the vehicle is destroyed,  then  the entire deposit is kept to pay
for the loss or retrieval of the vehicle.
Once the fee and  deposit  are  paid,  the  rented  vehicle will be available
outside the rental building. To  place  your  characters in the vehicle, move
your lead character icon onto the  vehicle  icon.  The lead character will be
the person who operates the vehicle.  The  EXIT VEHICLE menu selection allows
the characters to leave a vehicle and  proceed  on foot. The vehicle is moved
in the same fashion as the lead character icon.
While in the vehicle, characters are still capable of picking up items on the
ground, talking to NPCs, and  accessing  all  the character information. This
makes game play from a vehicle very easy.

8. Serums and Drugs

Due mainly to military experimentation,  a  variety  of serums and drugs have
been developed to enhance physical performance. These serums can be purchased
at any general utility store, but are very costly.

Speed Healing:
Each dose of speed healing serum can be used only once on a single character.
When used, the serum  will  instantly  heal  bodily  injuries  that have been
sustained. There are risks associated with this serum. It should only be used
when the character is about to become unconscious.

Fast Drug:
This serum increases the body's metabolism, accelerating the speed at which a
character can move and take action. The  use  of  the fast drug has one major
drawback; it  places  a  strain  on  the  resources  of  the  human  body and
additional physical injury can result when  it  is  used. When using the fast
drug, it is a good idea to have  a  slow serum handy. Though rare, there have
been several cases where death has resulted from fast drug use.

Slow Serum:
This serum was developed to act against the  fast drug. If the effects of the
fast drug are no longer needed,  this  serum  can eliminate the impact of the
fast drug.

Combat Drug:
This drug was designed to enhance an  individual's STR, DEX and END, making a
character more effective in combat situations. Like the fast drug, the combat
drug extracts more than the human body  is  meant to give. It is not uncommon
for the combat drug to cause physical damage to a character taking it.
Unfortunately, no serum exists  as  an  antidote  to  the  combat drug, so it
should only be used by a healthy character.

In order to use a serum or drug,  a character must have it in his possession.
A character cannot use a serum or drug on another character. To use the serum
or drug you  must  view  the  appropriate  character's  character information
screen, and make sure the serum or  drug  is in the primary or secondary item
slot. Next, you must  choose  the  USE  ITEM  menu  selection  and select the
appropriate serum or drug. The serum or  drug picture will disappear from the
primary or secondary slot and will immediately begin affecting the character.

9. Planetary Law Levels

Just as you will encounter a variety  of landscapes and alien societies, each
world also has different  levels  of  structured  law.  Some  worlds are very
restrictive, banning even simple hand-held weapons.  Other worlds may have no
law at all. Worlds with no legal  structure  are the most dangerous places to
journey. The scum of the universe tend to assemble there.
The following is a list of law levels and the weapon restrictions that apply:
 Level  Classification  Restrictions

0       NO LAW          no prohibitions
1       LOW LAW         body pistols and explosives restricted
2       LOW LAW         man portable energy and laser weapons restricted
3       LOW LAW         machineguns and automatic weapons restricted
4       MODERATE LAW    light assault weapons restricted
5       MODERATE LAW    personal concealable weapons restricted
6       MODERATE LAW    all firearms except shotguns restricted
7       MODERATE LAW    shotguns restricted
8       HIGH LAW        blade weapons controlled, no open display
9       HIGH LAW        weapon possession outside home restricted
A       EXTREME LAW     weapon possession restricted
B       EXTREME LAW     rigid control of civilian movement
C       EXTREME LAW     unrestricted invasion of privacy
D       EXTREME LAW     paramilitary law enforcement

Law levels are cumulative. For example, on  a law level 6 world, all firearms
except shotguns are restricted along with the provisions set for law levels 1
through 5.

Each time your characters land on  a  planet  they will arrive in a starport.
Each starport is surrounded by high  walls with reinforced ARMOUR plating and
only one, highly-guarded exit. At these checkpoints all weapons restricted by
the planet's law level will be  confiscated.  On worlds with extremely strict
law levels, you  party  of  characters  may  be  weaponless.  If  weapons are
peacefully turned over to starport authorities,  your party will be permitted
to leave the starport  and  venture  into  the  surrounding startown. If your
characters refuse to hand over their  illegal  weapons, the guards may attack
and your party may be forced to flee to its starship and leave the planet.
Depending on the size and type of weapon, and based on a character's skill, a
member of  your  party  can  attempt  to  smuggle  weapons  through  starport
checkpoints. In order to successfully smuggle a weapon, the weapon must be in
the character's secondary weapon (item)  slot.  You  will  notice that when a
smuggling attempt succeeds, all of the  illegal weapons in the character's 19
inventory boxes are confiscated, but the  smuggled  weapon - in the secondary
weapon (item) slot  -  remains.  If  the  attempt  fails,  the  weapon in the
secondary weapon (item)  slot  is  confiscated  along  with  the  rest of the
character's weapons.
On high law level worlds there  are  strict legal structures and virtually no
corruption. By breaking the law, your  party  of characters may be imprisoned
for a certain length of  time.  The  jail  sentence  imposed will reflect the
severity of the crime and the  particular  law  level of the world. When your
characters are released from  jail,  the  weapons  and objects they possessed
before their incarceration will  not  be  returned.  After their release from
jail, your characters will be escorted to their starship and ordered to leave
the planet. Any weapons confiscated at  a starport checkpoint are returned to
the characters. A jailer cannot be  bribed into releasing your character from
prison. If your characters commit a crime  on  a world with a high law level,
your party will be reprimanded  when  they  return  to the starport. You will
then have the option of using an  Imperial  Release  or paying a set bail. If
your characters have to pay bail money, their weapons will be confiscated but
will be returned when using an  Imperial  Release. Another, less risky way to
be released from jail is to use an Imperial Release.
If your characters  possess  an  Imperial  Release,  they  can  use  it to be
immediately released from jail with  full  return  of their weapons. Imperial
Releases will be accepted on any Imperial world.

10. NPC (Non-Player Character) Interaction

During the adventure, your party of  characters  will  meet a large number of
NPCs. Many of these will be  friendly,  but  others  should be avoided. It is
advisable to converse with as many  people  as  possible, because NPCs are an
excellent source of  information  and  potential  money-making opportunities.
Some NPCs will be willing to provide information as an act of friendship. But
other, less-scrupulous individuals will seek a  bribe or expect your party of
characters to perform a specified task before they are willing to help or pay
you.
To interact with an NPC, the lead character  icon must be close to and facing
the icon of the character with whom you wish to converse. Your lead character
is the person who will do the talking  with  an NPC. Be sure that a character
with satisfactory interpersonal  skills  is  in  the  lead character position
during oral communication. Select  the  CONVERSE  option  from among the menu
selections. The NPC will either:

1. Give a short and friendly response  that reflects the fact that he doesn't
have much to say and  wants  to  continue  whatever  he  was doing before you
approached him. The short response  is  displayed  in the text window beneath
the overhead view of the world.

2. Appear in a picture that is  displayed  on  the right side of the overhead
view screen. The area of  the  screen  that  contained  the overhead view and
small text window will be replaced  by  one  large  text window. The NPC will
communicate with you and his messages will  appear in this large text window.
If an NPC is coyly reserved, a healthy bribe may loosen his tongue.
A NPC may ask your party  of  characters  to  accomplish  a task for him. For
example, a person you encounter may have  had a valuable heirloom stolen from
him in the past. He may offer your  group a reward to discover where the item
is located and retrieve it for  him.  Once your characters retrieve the item,
they should return to the NPC and  converse  with him again. When the item is
returned to its rightful owner,  the  NPC  will  give your party its promised
reward.
Since your lead character is the person who converses with NPCs, he will also
be the person attempting bribes. Therefore,  you may want your lead character
to have personal bribery  skills  and  control  of  the  major source of your
party's funds. If a NPC steadfastly refuses a bribe he may be trying to raise
your price. With each bribe attempt  the  character stands a better chance of
successfully bribing the NPC, so credits  given in previous bribes aren't for
nothing.

11. Buildings

During your party's travels,  your  characters  will  continuously search for
certain buildings on planets they visit.  Most of the essential buildings are
located in the startown or  starcity,  situated directly outside the starport
where you land. However, some buildings may be in less populated areas of the
world.
Some of the buildings don't have an interior light source. In these cases, an
electric torch  or  lantern  is  needed  to  see.  Also,  some  doors  may be
reinforced so that unwanted intruders  cannot  gain  entrance. A breaching or
demolition charge can sometimes destroy the door.
To make  game  play  easier,  the  buildings  that  can  be  entered  by your
characters all have a road  or  walkway  leading to their entrance. Abandoned
buildings that cannot be entered  and  explored  do  not have such a walkway.
Also, similar buildings will look the same  no matter which world you are on.
After some time, it should be easy to recognize each building by its picture.
For example, a museum has the same  building picture whether it is located on
Efate, Alell or any other world. However, this does not imply that the museum
on Efate will offer the same price  for  a valuable artifact as the museum on
Alell.
Here is a list of the buildings that appear most frequently on the worlds:

Weapons Shop: (appears in red)
Here a character can buy and sell  weapon  supplies. The level of weapons for
sale at a weapon shop is dependent  on  the particular world's tech level and
law level. The higher the world's tech level and the lower the law level, the
greater the selection of weapons at a weapons shop. When purchasing a weapon,
you will be asked what character wants to buy or sell arms.
If a character opts to  sell  a  weapon,  he  can  only  sell a weapon in his
inventory and not weapons possessed by other characters in your party. When a
character sells a weapon, all of its  ammunition is passed along as well. The
more ammo sold with the weapon, the  more  money a character will receive for
the sale. If one of  your  characters  managed  to  smuggle an illegal weapon
through the starport checkpoint, a  weapons  dealer  may  be willing to pay a
hefty price for the restricted weapon.
If a character opts to buy  a  weapon,  the selection of available weapons is
displayed. Any weapon can be purchased  from  the  list. The weapon will come
with one clip of ammo, but additional ammunition can be purchased separately.
Some weapons shop owners are  known  to  sell illegal, black-market arms. But
Imperial security forces have been  heavily  investigating and arresting such
dealers. The chances of buying illegal weapons  on a restricted world is slim
to none.
If a character plans to buy ammunition  for  his weapon, he can only purchase
it for a weapon he is  currently  carrying  in  his inventory and for weapons
that are permitted by the world's law level.
The weapons shop has no  interior  overhead  map.  Upon  entering the shop, a
picture of the shop keeper will  appear  on  the  right side of the screen. A
large text window, where all  transactions  will  take  place, will be to the
left of the picture.  This  text  window  will  replace  the overhead display
window.

armour Shop: (appears in blue)
At armour shops, a character can buy or sell any form of armour or vacc suit.
The only factor that restricts the  availability  of merchandise in an armour
shop is the tech level of  the  world.  The  higher a world's tech level, the
more sophisticated and advanced types of armour and vacc suits available.
A character can only sell armour  or  vacc  suits that he possesses. A higher
price will be paid  by  the  owner  of  the  armour  shop  for equipment that
surpasses the tech level of the planet. For example, if a character wishes to
sell a TL 12 Hostile Environment Vacc Suit on a world with a tech level of 7,
he will command a very high price for  the suit. When a character attempts to
sell armour or  vacc  suits,  any  damage  the  equipment  has  suffered will
depreciate the value.
If a character  wants  to  purchase  armour  or  a  vacc  suit,  a listing of
available armour and vacc suits is displayed.
As with the weapons  shop,  the  armour  shop  has  no interior overhead map.
Buying and selling is done by communicating with the shop owner.

General Utility Shop: (appears in white)
A character can buy and  sell  any  miscellaneous  objects he has discovered,
like gems,  electric  torches,  demolition  charges,  etc.  Be  advised: some
objects that can be sold at  a  general  utility  shop will generate a higher
price from an  interested  NPC.  Once  an  item  is  sold  and  your party of
characters leave the planet, the item cannot be retrieved.
The general utility shop has no interior overhead map. Buying and selling are
handled in the same manner as with the weapons and armour shops.

Jail:
Jails only exist on planets with a law  level of 1 or higher. Your characters
will be arrested and imprisoned when they disobey the laws and regulations of
a particular planet.  Upon  their  release,  they  will  be  escorted  to the
starport of that  planet  to  resume  their  lives.  (The  law enforcers hope
lawbreakers take this subtle hint and leave the world.)
Most jails have no interior overhead display  map. When in jail, a picture of
the jailer will appear on the  right  side  of  the screen and the small text
window and overhead view window will  become  one  large text screen used for
communication.
There  are  a  few  jails  with   overhead  display  maps.  These  jails  are
distinguished by a road or walkway leading to the entrance.

Vehicle Rentals:
Here a character can rent  a  vehicle  to  help  his  party travel across the
surface of a planet. There are three types of vehicles that can be rented: an
ATV,  a  grav  vehicle  or  a   water   vessel  (See  VEHICLES  for  specific
information). Not all three types of vehicles  can be rented at every vehicle
rental location. There is a limited supply  of vehicles available, so be very
careful with them when you rent them.
When a vehicle is rented, both a  fee  and  a  deposit must be paid. When the
vehicle is returned in satisfactory  condition,  the  deposit is refunded. If
the vehicle has been damaged, only a  portion  of the deposit is returned. If
the vehicle is destroyed  or  never  returned,  the  deposit  is  kept by the
vehicle rental facility.  Once  the  rental  fee  and  deposit  are paid, the
vehicle will be waiting outside of the vehicle rental shop.

Hospitals:
A character can enter a  hospital  if  he  has  been  injured and seeks to be
healed. A medical fee is charged based on the extent of injuries (See HEALING
section for more information).

TAS:
The Traveller's Aide  Society  can  be  entered  by  any  character,  but its
services are only available if the lead  character of your party is a member.
Membership can only be  obtained  while  mustering  out  of the military. The
purpose of TAS  is  to  assist  a  traveller  by  supplying  free lodging and
important travel information. Granted, the facilities are not as luxurious as
the famous Starfarer's Home super hotels,  but they are free. The information
available at TAS can provide  some  very  important  details about a specific
planet that your characters plan to visit.

Library:
The library is a  second  source  of  available  information.  There is a fee
charged for each piece of specific information  obtained. At a library, a fee
is listed above the first few words  of the first paragraph pertaining to the
information you seek. This provides a slight hint of what the information may
pertain to and its price.

Casino:
These buildings are present only on worlds  with a low law level. A character
can come here with hopes of hitting it big and spend hard-earned credits on a
game of chance. Many have struck it rich in a casino, but even more have lost
the vacc suit off their back and left galactic casinos bankrupt.

Hotels:
There are many chains of hotels  offering  lodging to travellers, but none as
elegant as the Starfarer's Home. Very powerful and influential people stay at
a Starfarer's Home when on business trips.

Bars:
After a long hard  day  of  exploration,  combat  and  adventure, there is no
better place  to  relax,  socialize  or  just  have  a  stiff  drink  than an
interstellar bar. There are all types  of clubs and bars scattered throughout
the Spinward Marches. Many interesting people  can be encountered in bars. Be
careful, because on some of  the  low  law  level worlds these watering holes
attract dangerous interstellar pirates and ruffians.

Starport Building:
These buildings  offer  all  types  of  services  ranging  from  outfitting a
starship to depositing money  in  your  party  account.  A character can also
train and improve his skills at a  starport  building.  It is best to visit a
starport building as soon as you land on  a  world. Your game can be saved at
this location. See STARPORTS section of the manual for more information.

12. Ground Combat

All of the combat in the game  is  handled  from the overhead view screen. To
initiate combat, you must first enter combat  mode. This is done by selecting
the PARTY selection on the main menu list.

2. When on the  ground,  your  enemies  can  fire  on  your  party when it is
represented by the large single party icon.  If  a hit is scored against your
party, a randomly chosen character will sustain the damage. To retaliate, you
must still divide your party into the 5 individual character icons.
When thrust into combat mode, your  lead  character icon will be representing
your entire party. The head  of  each  individual  character icon is the same
colour (or pattern) used to represent the character throughout the game.
Combat operates in a real-time  environment  and  is  not  based on rounds of
fighting. This means that  time  does  not  stop while characters fire/reload
weapons, move or make decisions. While controlling your characters in combat,
your enemy  (enemies)  will  also  be  firing  weapons,  reloading,  throwing
grenades, etc. At this  point,  you  can  either  utilise real-time combat as
before or press the "O" to issue combat orders to the members of your party.
Each of your characters has different  movement ratings based upon the amount
of weight they  are  carrying.  Characters  will  move  slower  when they are
encumbered (carrying more  weight  than  their  maximum  potential).  A sound
strategy is to move  encumbered  characters  behind  protective cover so that
they are not an easy target.
When in combat mode, each character is capable of:
Switching between primary weapon and secondary weapons,
Firing a weapon,
Throwing grenades,
Moving.

All character actions are controlled  from  the  character information on the
right side of the screen. Information is  only displayed for one character at
a time, but you can switch quickly and easily between characters. Use the 1-5
keys to change amongst characters.
At the  top  of  the  character  information  are  five  rectangular  blocks,
representing the characters in your party. The  blocks are the same colour or
pattern as the character they represent.  Below  these blocks are the service
symbol and name of the character whose information is being displayed.
Below this is a character's weapon information. Displayed are:
The picture and name of the weapon.
# of reloads for that weapon.
Graphic bar representing the remaining ammo in the clip currently loaded.
Icons to allow reloading and firing of the weapon.
A list of all the grenades a character is carrying.

When in combat, the small pictures representing your character's opponent are
displayed in the top right hand corner in place of the party's marching order
For characters who are going to engage  in  combat, use the TAB key to target
an opponent. If the character is going to throw a grenade, press the "T" key,
choose the type of grenade you wish  him  or  her to use, and press the ENTER
key. Next, the target box  will  appear  on  the  screen.  Use the TAB key to
target the opponent. (For multiple  characters,  press the TAB key repeatedly
until the cursor box is located  at  the  target  you wish to fire on.) After
targeting the opponent, press the ENTER  key,  and  then  use the 1-5 keys to
move to the next character.
For characters who are going to  retreat  or  hide, walk the character to the
position that you designate is safe.  Next,  use  the  1-5 keys to move on to
your other characters.

After you have issued all of the combat  orders, press the "O" key again. All
combat action will now progress.

Unlike many role-playing games where  armour  reduces  an opponents chance to
score a hit,  MEGATRAVELLER  uses  armour  to  reduce  the  amount  of damage
sustained when a character IS hit. Each  weapon has a penetration factor, and
armour or protective suits have an  armour  value.  When a hit is scored, the
amount of damage caused by the attack depends on the penetration value of the
weapon as compared to the armour value of the armour or protective suit.
If a weapon's  penetration  factor  is  substantially  lower  than the armour
value, the weapon will inflict a small portion of its base damage value.
If the weapon's penetration factor is  much  greater than the armour's value,
the weapon will inflict its base damage value.
If the weapon's penetration factor and  armour value are relatively the same,
the damage caused by the attack  will  be  half  the base damage value of the
weapon.
Useful information for the weapons and  armour  can  be found in the Imperial
Soldier's Weapons and armour Guide.
Each character has a life force (hits value) rating.
This rating is broken into two sections,  and is displayed using two methods.
The first method is a representation  using  two numbers separated by a slash
(2/2). This method is used  on  the  character  information screen. The first
number is the  amount  of  damage  a  character  can  sustain before becoming
unconscious. The second number represents  the  additional damage a character
is able to sustain before  dying.  Once  a  character becomes unconscious, he
will continue to lose points at a  slow  rate. It is important to get medical
attention to unconscious characters, because  once  the second number reaches
zero, the character is dead.
The second method used to display the  hits  value is done using a bar graph.
This method is used on the overhead view screen next to each of the character
blocks. The bar is separated by a  white  line.  If the bar travels below the
white line, the character is unconscious. If the bar completely vanishes, the
character is dead. The bar method  operates  the same as the numerical method
mentioned above.
If a character is rendered unconscious during  battle, he can be picked up by
another character in the party and carried  off the combat field. It is still
necessary to get the unconscious  character  medical attention soon after the
combat encounter. If  all  of  the  characters  in  your  party  are rendered
unconscious, they will soon die. Therefore it is absolutely necessary to keep
at least one character conscious.
If the battle is going badly and you  think  it best to live to fight another
day, you can let your characters retreat.  To retreat, regroup your party and
run.
There are three types  of  combat:  hand-to-hand,  direct fire and non-direct
fire.
Most of the game will probably be played utilizing direct fire combat. Direct
fire refers to projectile weapons which require  a  target to be in sight and
in range. For example, two  direct  fire  weapons  are  a pistol and a rifle.
Indirect fire includes the throwing of grenades,  for which a target does not
necessarily need be  in  sight,  but  you  must  know  its  general location.
Artillery fire at unseen distant targets is  the most common type of indirect
fire. Hand-to-hand combat is fought  with  knives  and swords at an extremely
close range. This type of combat will most likely take place on planets where
firearms are prohibited.
When using a direct fire weapon,  you  will  not  be able to shoot at targets
behind buildings and other obstructions. The only targets that can be hit are
those in the character's (not player's) LOS  (Line Of Sight). A simple mental
test is to imagine a  straight  line  between  the character and the intended
target. If there are no high obstructions in  the way, the target can be hit.
Some examples of  high  obstructions  include  buildings,  exterior walls and
vehicles.
Grenades, on the other hand, can be  thrown at targets behind an obstruction.
For example, if there are three opponents on  the other side of the wall, you
can lob grenades over the wall.
Range is not taken into account because  of the small distances involved in a
combat encounter. All weapons can  be  fired  at  any  target on the overhead
display screen. The  only  exception  is  with  hand-to-hand  combat, where a
character's icon must be next to, and facing, the intended target.

                   ---------------------------------------


                              DESIGNER'S NOTES

When Paragon Software acquired the  development  rights for the MEGATRAVELLER
computer game, we were finally given  the  chance to create a computer "role-
playing" game. Needless to say, we  were  quite  excited and couldn't wait to
get past the  preliminary  scheduling  and  preparation  stages  and into the
design and programming aspects of development.
One might think that since there was  a  pen  and pencil version of the game,
there was probably little computer  game  design  required. If only that were
true! As a matter of fact, it was exactly the opposite.
The computer game designer has a lot  of  people to please and excite about a
product (programmers, management,  artists,  and  most  importantly, you, the
computer  gamer).  Additionally,  the  designer  must  work  around  numerous
hardware limitations that can't be implemented  within a reasonable amount of
time.
This is a much  easier  task  to  prepare  for  when  you start from scratch,
because you're designing  the  game  with  all  the  existing limitations and
guidelines in mind. In the  case  of  MEGATRAVELLER,  we  had to "modify" the
existing material to fit within the development criteria.
We though it  was  important  to  include  both  interstellar exploration and
adventuring  on  planetary   surfaces,   both   very   important  aspects  of
MEGATRAVELLER. In order to accomplish this,  we  had to generalize the design
of each, which meant eliminating a lot of the small details.
Space combat was taken from the May Day rules, a board game implementing ship
to ship combat  utilizing  the  MEGATRAVELLER  rules.  The  game retained the
TRAVELLER feel, but was simpler than  Starship  Combat in the original rules.
We wanted to include all  the  different  varieties  of starships, a starship
construction option, and all  the  advanced  offensive  and defensive weapons
available in the pen and pencil game, but  we just didn't have the disk space
or the time. It is our hope to continually build upon this computer game with
future MEGATRAVELLER adventures and supplements.
The character generator follows the  basic character generation procedures in
the pen and pencil  version.  It  has  been  implemented  in exactly the same
manner as in the original game, with the exception of mustering out benefits.
We had to remove some of  the  available  benefits  and add new ones that the
player would find more useful in the computer version.
We unquestionably wanted to create  a  link between the original role-playing
game and the  computer  version.  For  this  reason,  we  kept  the character
generator as faithful to the original as  possible, with the exception of the
above changes. This compatibility means that  those  of  you who play the pen
and pencil version can print out characters from the computer version and use
them for MEGATRAVELLER role-playing. As  a  matter  of  fact, you can use the
character generator to create characters for  the pen and pencil role-playing
version of MEGATRAVELLER without ever using them in the computer game.
It wasn't possible for us to  allow  the creation of alien player characters.
Such a feature would have  used  up  too  much  critical  disk space that was
needed for other, more important  features.  Therefore, we integrated many of
the aliens in MEGATRAVELLER universe as  NPCs  you will encounter during your
adventures. This worked out very  nicely,  adding  a real science-fiction and
MEGATRAVELLER feel to the game. We even  went ahead and created a few bizarre
alien creatures of our own - though most of these are quite unfriendly.
When creating the surface maps for the planets in the game, we wanted all the
important locations to be easy to  find.  There's nothing more agonizing than
an incredibly large area to explore with  very little to accomplish. What fun
is it to spend most  of  your  time  wandering  over  a  large map in hope of
finding a specific building, location, or  person(s)? We felt that quality of
the game play is much more important  than  the quantity. So we tried as hard
as possible to match the gaming environment with the game design.
I could continue with explanations of why  we did or didn't implement certain
features, but I think I've said enough.
One final word of thanks to all  the  MEGATRAVELLER fans that called to offer
their support and encouragement. Thanks to  Digest Group Publications for the
material they sent us, it was a great help.
We would especially like to thank  Marc  Miller, president of Game Designers'
Workshop and creator of the TRAVELLER  universe, for his generous support and
research material.


                   ---------------------------------------


                 IMPERIAL SOLDIER'S WEAPONS AND ARMOUR GUIDE


                             The Imperial Creed

                   I proudly stand as an Imperial Soldier,
               and hereby swear a solemn oath to live my life,
                         to the best of my ability,
                               in the name of
                                the Imperium.

             May my actions be brave and my judgement be clear,
                 May my service always honour the Imperium.
                I firmly resolve to resist greed, corruption,
                 and self advancement against the Imperium.

                  I promise to preserve peace and to accept
                  alien races with friendship and equality
               so long as their intentions do not threaten the
                       welfare of the Imperial Empire.

           In the name of honour and justice, I steadfastly swear
          to lay down my life for the preservation of the Imperium.
                 Though my life may end in the call of duty,
           I promise to obey all orders given to me by my superior
         officers, and I pledge to exhaust every ounce of strength,
                   courage and will to defeat my enemies.

                                 ----------


WEAPONS

Welcome to the Imperial Armed Forces.
You can take  pride  in  knowing  you  have  earned  the  right  to serve the
Imperium, the greatest and most  just  universal  power  ever known. May your
service in the armed fighting forces always honour and preserve the ideals of
the Imperium.
As you are fully aware, the Imperium contains an array of unique worlds. Some
of these planets are inhabited  by  highly  civilized races who have achieved
startling technological advances.  Other  worlds  contain  primitive cultures
that continue to use rudimentary,  hand-held weapons. This Imperial Soldier's
Weapons and ARMOUR Guide is  devised  to  assist  you in identifying military
arms discovered within the Imperium.  A  picture  of  each weapon is included
along with pertinent statistical information that will help you determine its
strengths and weaknesses.
The statistical information is as follows:

Rounds/Clip:
This represents the number of rounds  (bullets)  that  can be loaded into the
weapon. In some instances, ammunition is contained in a clip, which is loaded
into the weapon.

Penetration Factor:
The higher the penetration factor, the more effective the weapon will be when
fired against armoured protection. You  should compare the penetration factor
of the weapon against  the  ARMOUR  factor  of  an  opponent to determine how
effective your attack will  be.  If  the  penetration  factor is greater, you
assault will be very damaging.  The  greater  the  difference between the two
factors, the more effective the weapon will be.

Damage:
The base amount of damage caused  by  the  weapon. Damage is also affected by
the protective ARMOUR an opponent is  wearing,  and the various skills of the
weapon's user.

Weight: The weight of the weapon in kilograms.

Cost: All monetary transactions are  carried  out using Imperial credits. The
credit amount represents the base cost of  the weapon. This cost can increase
or decrease based on the personal  bartering  skills  of the buyer or seller,
and the tech level of a particular planet.

Tech Level:
The technology  level  needed  to  create  the  weapon.  You  may  find  that
travellers have purchased high tech level  weapons  and sold them on low tech
worlds.

Law Level:
The law level  of  a  world  indicates  the  level  at  which  the  weapon is
prohibited. Some worlds with  stringent  law  levels  will confiscate certain
weapons outside of starports. It is  not  uncommon for weapons to be smuggled
past starport checkpoints. Punishment for weapons smuggling is severe.

These statistical categories will provide you  with  a basic knowledge of the
known Imperial weapons. Always be aware  that weapons can kill. Remember your
education and training, and always  use  clear  judgement in any circumstance
that requires you  to  raise  your  weapon.  Above  all,  honour the Imperium
through committed service in all your actions.
Long Live the Emperor. Long Live the Imperium.
        Duke Commander Sir Norris of Regina,
        Commander in Chief of the Imperial Armed Forces,
        Spinward Marches.

1. Personal Slug Throwers

"Slug Thrower" is term used  to  describe  a  firearm  or weapon that fires a
projectile within your line of sight (LOS). These weapons range from a simple
revolver or shotgun to the gauss  pistol,  the  most advanced slug thrower in
the Imperium. All of the slug  throwers  are  either single shot weapons that
fire one round for each pull of the trigger, or fully-automatic firearms that
fire bursts of several rounds when the trigger is pulled. Ammunition for slug
throwers is always purchased by the clip (magazine) or an amount necessary to
fully load the weapon.
Ammunition is never sold by the individual shell.

Revolver (7 mm)
Description: A fairly obsolete firearm, the  revolver  is often used on lower
tech worlds. One round is fired for each pull of the trigger. Six bullets can
fit into the revolver at one  time.  Ammunition for the revolver is purchased
in packages of six. The 7 mm  revolver  has a very low penetration factor and
is not very effective against most types of armoured protection.
Rounds: 6
Penetration Factor: 1
Damage: 3
Weight: 5
Cost: 125
Tech Level:5
Law Level:5

Magnum Revolver (9mm)
Description: The 9mm magnum revolver is a larger and more powerful version of
the 7 mm revolver. It  fires  a  larger  shell  and  has a higher penetration
factor. One round is fired with  each  pull  of the trigger. The pistol holds
six rounds which are always purchased in  a group, not separately. The magnum
revolver can be found on many  lower  tech  level worlds and is slightly more
expensive than the 7 mm revolver.
Rounds: 6
Penetration Factor: 3
Damage: 3
Weight: 1
Cost: 300
Tech Level: 5
Law Level: 5

Snub Pistol (10 mm)
Description: The snub pistol is a  low-velocity  revolver  that fires a 10 mm
shell at 100 to 150 meters per second. Although designed for use on starships
or in a zero-G environment,  this  weapon  has  a good penetration factor and
damage rating and is formidable when used at close range. An ammo clip is not
used; instead, six individual cartridges are loaded into the pistol. Ammo for
the snub pistol is always purchased six at a time.
Rounds: 6
Penetration Factor: 6
Damage: 4
Weight: 5
Cost: 150
Tech Level: 8
Law Level: 5

Body Pistol
Description: The body pistol is often  smuggled  into high tech level worlds.
The pistol is small and easy to  conceal. Designed to evade detection devices
at starports, it is constructed of  non-metallic material. The magazine holds
six rounds and is loaded into the pistol's handle.
Rounds: 6
Penetration Factor: 1
Damage: 3
Weight: 5
Cost: 500
Tech Level: 8
Law Level: 1

Auto Pistol
Description: The auto pistol is the  most  commonly used automatic weapon. It
fires bullets at 400 to 500 meters  per  second.  The weapon is fitted with a
magazine that can hold up to 15  rounds  of ammunition. A favourite among ex-
military  travellers,  the  auto  pistol  is  small,  inexpensive  and  quite
effective against opponents not protected by armour.
Rounds: 15
Penetration Factor: 2
Damage: 3
Weight: 1
Cost: 200
Tech Level: 5
Law Level: 3

Gauss Pistol (4 mm)
Description: The gauss  pistol  fires  a  needle-sharp  projectile that spins
through an electromagnetic field. The  gauss  pistol  is  silent. There is no
kickback when firing  the  gun.  Gauss  weapons  are  rare,  and  can only be
purchased on high tech and law level worlds.
Rounds: 15
Penetration Factor: 4
Damage: 4
Weight: 5
Cost: 600
Tech Level: 13
Law Level: 5

Carbine (7 mm)
Description: A shorter version of the 9 mm rifle, the carbine fires a smaller
round at 900 meters per second. Ammo is  held  in a 10 round magazine that is
loaded into the underside of  the  weapon.  The  carbine  is a cost efficient
weapon. It is light and easy to carry. It does not require extensive training
to fire; amateur  shootists  can  operate  the  weapon.  The  carbine  can be
purchased on lower tech worlds.
Rounds: 10
Penetration Factor: 2
Damage: 3
Weight: 3
Cost: 200
Tech Level: 5
Law Level: 8

Rifle (9 mm)
Description: Much heavier and longer than the carbine, the 9 mm rifle fires a
longer projectile at a velocity of 900 meters per second. The rifle is loaded
with a 20 round clip.  It  has  a  high  penetration  factor and is effective
against armoured opponents.
Rounds: 3
Penetration Factor: 5
Damage: 2
Weight: 5
Cost: 1000
Tech Level: 7
Law Level: 8

Auto Rifle (7 mm)
Description: The 7 mm auto rifle is a  much more refined weapon that the 9 mm
rifle. Because of its automatic fire capability, the auto rifle is restricted
by most worlds in the  Spinward  Marches.  During  combat, the weapon must be
reloaded frequently, because the ammo-clip only holds 20 rounds.
Rounds: 20
Penetration Factor: 3
Damage: 3
Weight: 5
Cost: 1000
Tech Level: 6
Law Level: 3

Gauss Rifle (4 mm)
Description: The 4 mm gauss rifle  is considered the state-of-the-art  direct
fire slug thrower. Using the same technology  as the gauss pistol, it fires a
needle-shaped projectile through an electromagnetic field at a velocity of up
to 1500 meters per second. The  weapon  is good value, considering its fully-
automatic firing capabilities and high  penetration  factor. A very effective
rifle against armoured opponents. The gauss  rifle  is a very rare weapon and
can only be purchased on high tech worlds.
Rounds: 40
Penetration Factor: 7
Damage: 3
Weight: 3.5
Cost: 1500
Tech Level: 12
Law Level: 8

Shotgun (18 mm)
Description: The shotgun is a powerful weapon  built not for accuracy but for
shock effect at short  range.  The  shotgun  fires  shells containing a large
number of tiny pellets at 350  meters  per  second. A 10-round clip is loaded
under, and parallel to, the gun's barrel. While the shotgun is very powerful,
it has a low penetration factor. It  is  nearly useless against most forms of
armour.
Rounds: 10
Penetration Factor: 1
Damage: 4
Weight: 4
Cost: 150
Tech Level: 4
Law Level: 8

Auto Shotgun (18 mm)
Description: The auto shotgun is  very  similar  to  the regular shotgun, but
offers fully automatic fire. The ammunition clip can hold 20 rounds. The cost
for an auto shotgun is higher than the normal shotgun.
Rounds: 20
Penetration Factor: 1
Damage: 4
Weight: 4
Cost: 500
Tech Level: 7
Law Level: 8

Submachine Gun (9 mm)
Description: The submachine gun is  a  small, lightweight automatic weapon. A
30-round magazine is loaded in the underside  of the weapon. It's much easier
to smuggle this weapon through starport  checkpoints  then some of the larger
auto rifles. The submachine gun is  a favourite among ex-military adventurers
and rebels on  lower  tech  worlds  who  can't  afford  advanced or expensive
armaments.
Rounds: 30
Penetration Factor: 3
Damage: 3
Weight: 2.5
Cost: 500
Tech Level: 5
Law Level: 3

Assault Rifle (7 mm)
Description: This weapon is similar to, but  lighter than, the auto rifle. It
fires a projectile at velocities of up  to  900 meters per second. A 30-round
clip is loaded into the  underside  of this fully-automatic rifle. Ammunition
is inexpensive and is  purchased  by  the  clip.  The  assault  weapon is not
permitted on any world with a law level  of three or greater. It is difficult
to smuggle the weapon past starport checkpoints.
Rounds: 30
Penetration Factor: 3
Damage: 3
Weight: 4
Cost: 400
Tech Level: 7
Law Level: 3

Advanced Combat Rifle (9 mm)
Description: More sophisticated than the  assault  rifle, the advanced combat
rifle fires an explosive bullet at a  velocity  of 900 meters per second. The
weapon is fully-automatic, and ammunition is  purchased in 20-round clips. It
can only be bought on high tech worlds with a low law level.
Rounds: 20
Penetration Factor: 4
Damage: 3
Weight: 3.5
Cost: 1000
Tech Level: 10
Law Level: 3

Light Assault Gun (LAG)
Description: This heavy rifle requires a  sling  to  assist in its firing. It
blasts a 20 mm shell at velocities of  400 to 500 meters per second. Although
the weapon is cumbersome, it has  a  high penetration factor and is effective
against armoured opponents.
Rounds: 5
Penetration Factor: 8
Damage: 4
Weight: 7
Cost: 600
Tech Level: 8
Law Level: 5

2. Personal Energy Weapons

Personal Energy Weapons are activated by power  packs worn on the body. These
power packs energize a weapon and allow  it  to  fire a set number of rounds.
Personal energy weapons are only  found  on  high  tech worlds, and are often
restricted by most law levels.
Some of the more  powerful  energy  weapons  are  used for military purposes,
Energy weapons  have  excellent  penetrating  power  and  are  very effective
against armoured foes.

Laser Carbine (TL 8)
Description: The laser carbine,  powered  by  a  backpack, fires high-powered
energy bolts. Like all  energy  weapons,  the  powerpack  is connected to the
weapon by a strong cable. The  laser  carbine fires a 9mm concentrated energy
beam that is aimed using an optic sight.
Rounds: 40
Penetration Factor: 7
Damage: 3
Weight: 5
Cost: 2500
Tech Level: 8
Law Level: 2

Laser Pistol (TL 9)
Description: The laser pistol functions in the same way as the laser carbine.
However, it is lighter, and does not have efficient penetrating power.
Rounds: 40
Penetration Factor: 4
Damage: 3
Weight: 1
Cost: 2000
Tech Level: 9
Law Level: 2

Laser Rifle (TL 9)
Description: The laser  rifle  is  the  standard  high  energy  weapon. It is
heavier and  more  powerful  than  the  laser  carbine.  The  rifle  fires  a
concentrated beam of energy that strikes  a  target  with an intense burst of
light and heat. A strategic advantage of  the  laser  rifle is that it can be
fired twice as much before its power pack requires regeneration.
Rounds: 80
Penetration Factor: 9
Damage: 3
Weight: 6
Cost: 3500
Tech Level: 9
Law Level: 2

Laser Pistol (TL 12)
Description: The TL 12 laser pistol is  a  more  advanced version of the TL 8
firearm. It has a higher penetration  value,  and  is  powered by a pack that
allows the weapon to be fired many times. This pistol is rare and can only be
purchased on high tech worlds with very low law levels.
Rounds: 120
Penetration Factor: 5
Damage: 3
Weight: 2
Cost: 3000
Tech Level: 12
Law Level: 2

Laser Carbine (TL 12)
Description: This upgraded version of the laser carbine is very powerful, and
has a higher penetration value against armoured foes. It has a greater firing
capacity.  This  very  rare   weapon   utilizes  state-of-the-art  scientific
technologies.
Rounds: 120
Penetration Factor: 10
Damage: 3
Weight: 4.5
Cost: 4000
Tech Level: 12
Law Level: 2

Laser Rifle (TL 12)
Description: The most powerful laser  weapon  ever  created,  the TL 12 laser
rifle can be fired often before  the  power pack needs recharging. The weapon
also has a very strong penetration  value.  This rifle is expensive, rare and
found only on high tech worlds. It is quite heavy and cumbersome.
Rounds: 120
Penetration Factor: 18
Damage: 3
Weight: 9
Cost: 8000
Tech Level: 12
Law Level: 2

PGMP (Plasma Gun Man Portable TL 12)
Description: The PGMP is energized by a  portable power pack that connects to
the weapon via a flexible  power  link.  The  powerpack uses a laser ignition
system to heat hydrogen fuel into  a  plasma  state. The plasma is then fired
through a magnetic field. One powerful plasma  bolt is fired for each pull of
the trigger. It is the most powerful weapon  a person can use; very few forms
of armoured protection can withstand it.  It  can  only be found on high tech
level worlds with an exceptionally low law level.
Rounds: 40
Penetration Factor: 20
Damage: 12
Weight: 6
Cost: 10000
Tech Level: 12
Law Level: 2

Neural Pistol
Description: The neural pistol, nearly impossible  to purchase, is the rarest
weapon in the universe. A blast  from  the pistol disrupts brain activity and
causes immediate unconsciousness. The weapon  is effective against most forms
of armour. Even if you  could  find  it  for  sale,  it would probably be too
expensive to purchase, because it's so technologically advanced.
Rounds: 20
Penetration Factor: 10
Damage: Unconsciousness
Weight: 1.5
Cost: 225,000
Tech Level: 16
Law Level: 2

3. Grenades and Rocket Launchers

This classification includes any weapon  which  fires an explosive rocket, or
any thrown projectile (grenade) that explodes  on impact. Grenades and rocket
launchers are highly restricted weapons. They  are  only found on worlds that
have no laws. These weapons are very  useful  because they can affect a group
of enemies as opposed to a single  target.  Also, grenades can be thrown over
obstacles such as walls, trees, or rocks.

TL-7 Disposable Rocket Launcher
Description: A very  powerful  and  costly  rocket  launcher.  It  is totally
independent of a rifle, and can  only  be  fired once before being discarded.
This disposable rocket launcher has an  extremely high penetration rating. It
is restricted to worlds with an  appropriate  tech  level and no existing law
level.
Rounds: 1 (then must be discarded)
Penetration Factor: 36
Damage: 6
Weight: 3.5
Cost: 4500
Tech Level: 7
Law Level: 1

Rocket Launcher (TL 10)
Description: This weapon can fire three  rounds before having to be reloaded.
It has a slightly lower penetration value,  but is potentially as damaging as
the TL-7 Disposable Rocket Launcher. The  Rocket  Launcher  (TL 10) is a very
effective, but expensive and rare weapon to purchase.
Rounds: 3
Penetration Factor: 32
Damage: 8
Weight: 5
Cost: 7500
Tech Level: 10
Law Level: 1

Explosive Grenade (TL 7)
Description: This grenade explodes into  flying  shrapnel when it strikes the
ground. It is a very effective  weapon  against  groups of enemies in a small
area.
Rounds: 1
Penetration Factor: 9
Damage: 8
Weight: 1
Cost: 500
Tech Level: 7
Law Level: 1

Chemical Grenade (TL 11)
Description: A  deadly  grenade  that  explodes  into  shrapnel  and  intense
chemical heat when  it  strikes  the  ground.  This  grenade  is difficult to
purchase and more expensive than  other  grenades.  It has a high penetration
value against armoured foes. The chemical grenade is only permitted on worlds
with no law level.
Rounds: 1
Penetration Factor: 13
Damage: 8
Weight: 1
Cost: 750
Tech Level: 11
Law Level: 1

Radiation Grenade
Description: Upon  explosion,  this  grenade  throws  off  intense radiation.
Everyone in  the  small  contaminated  area  of  the  explosion  suffers from
temporary radiation sickness. This radiation  sickness cannot be prevented by
armoured protection.  Radiation  grenades  are  often  used  strategically to
create a contaminated "area" separating you from your opponents.
Rounds: 1
Penetration Factor: NA
Damage: Area of effect
Weight: 1
Cost: 750
Tech Level: 11
Law Level: 1

5. Melee Weapons (Hand to Hand)

Even though we are  in  the  advanced  age  of  high  energy laser and plasma
weapons, the very basic weapons, used  for  thousands  of years, still play a
part in today's combat. Some worlds  have restrictions imposed by governments
forbidding any weapons except knives and swords. Hand-to-hand weapons can not
be thrown at an opponent. They can only be used for close-range fighting. All
melee weapons are constructed of sturdy, high-grade steel, with the exception
of the plastic knife.

Dagger
Description: A small, double edged weapon that can vary in style, workmanship
and length. Most daggers are approximately 200 mm in length.
Penetration Factor: 2
Damage: 2
Weight: 1
Cost: 10
Tech Level: 1
Law Level: C

Sword
Description: The sword is the most common hand held combat weapon. On several
low tech worlds, the sword is commonly  used as the main armament of militant
forces. Throughout the centuries, the  sword  has been a symbolic, decorative
weapon worn by many nobles and upper  class  citizens. Swords are forged in a
variety of styles and sizes, with single or double edged blade construction.
Penetration Factor: 4
Damage: 2
Weight: 1
Cost: 150
Tech Level: 1
Law Level: C

Plastic Knife
Description: This knife is similar to a  regular dagger, but constructed of a
dense hydrocarbon plastic. After the weapon  has been melted or misshapen, it
can return to its normal shape  by  tapping  firmly against a firm base. This
plastic weapon cannot be discovered at starport weapon detection areas.
Penetration Factor: 2
Damage: 2
Weight: 1.5
Cost: 300
Tech Level: 9
Law Level: C


                         armour AND PROTECTIVE SUITS

There are many worlds within  the  MEGATRAVELLER  universe, and each of these
planets has  unique  societies  and  environments.  Many  times  it  will  be
necessary to protect your body  with  armour  or protective environment suits
designed to allow survival in severe atmospheric conditions. There is a large
variety of armour and protective  suits  available.  The availability of this
equipment is largely determined by the tech  level of the world. On high tech
level worlds, all types  of  equipment  can  be  found.  However, on low tech
worlds, armour and  protective  suits  are  very  basic.  Obsolete armour can
usually be purchased for a bargain price on high tech level worlds. Likewise,
advanced equipment can be sold for a profit on worlds with a low tech level.
However,  buying  and  selling  is   largely   a  part  of  your  character's
communication and negotiating skills.

Jack armour
Effective against  blade  weapons  (sword  and  dagger),  jack  is  a leather
covering worn over the torso,  arms,  and  legs. Although jack is ineffective
against firearms and energy weapons, it  is  useful  on high law level worlds
which permit only  blade  weapons.  It  is  light,  inexpensive,  and easy to
purchase on nearly any world.
armour Value: 2
Weight: 1
Cost: 50
Tech Level: 1

Mesh armour
A slightly upgraded  version  of  jack  armour,  mesh  can  be  a  natural of
synthetic suit reinforced with a metal  mesh.  It is more costly, but heavier
and more durable than  jack  armour.  Mesh  is  most  effective against blade
weapons. But, like jack armour, offers little protection against firearms and
energy weapons.
armour Value: 2
Weight: 2
Cost: 150
Tech Level: 7

Flak Jacket
A flak jacket is an  inexpensive  form  of  ballistic  cloth fashioned into a
protective covering  to  guard  the  torso.  A  flak  jacket  offers  limited
protection against firearms. However, it will not defend you against personal
energy weapons.
armour Value: 3
Weight: 2
Cost: 250
Tech Level: 6

Cloth armour
An upgraded version of the flak jacket,  cloth is a protective suit made from
a heavier stock of  ballistic  cloth.  This  armour  absorbs  the impact of a
projectile and distributes the blow over the  entire  area of the suit. It is
highly favoured because of its low cost, light weight, and protection against
firearms.
armour Value: 5
Weight: 1
Cost: 500
Tech Level: 7

Ablat armour
An inexpensive material designed  to  ablat  (vaporize)  when struck by laser
fire. When the material vaporizes, the  energy  of  the laser fire is carried
away, offering protection  to  the  wearer.  Ablat  will  eventually lose its
effectiveness against laser attacks because  the  armour wears away each time
is is directly hit.
armour Value: 1 (6 vs. lasers)
Weight: 2
Cost: 75
Tech Level: 9

Reflec armour
Reflec armour is extremely  effective  against  laser  weapons, but virtually
useless against most other types of attacks.  This armour is constructed of a
reflective material on a plastic base.  It  is worn underneath clothing. This
armour is rare, difficult to purchase, and very expensive.
armour Value: 1 (10 vs. lasers)
Weight: 1
Cost: 1500
Tech Level: A

TL 8 Vacc Suit
This suit is not manufactured specifically for combat situations. Instead, it
is meant to protect the wearer from extreme temperatures, pressure variations
and atmospheric conditions. The vacc suit is  a basic survival tool on worlds
classified as desolate vacuums.  The  TL  8  vacc  suit  is more unwieldy and
uncomfortable than more advanced suits.  However,  this  suit serves the same
purpose at a lower price.
armour Value: 5
Weight: 10
Cost: 6000
Tech Level: 8

TL 9 Hostile Environment Vacc Suit (HEVC)
The TL 9 HEVC is a more advanced  version  of  the TL 8 vacc suit. It is less
cumbersome and provides  suitable  armour  protection  in  combat situations.
However, the main purpose of  the  suit  is  to  offer protection against the
harsh and dangerous environment of a vacuum.
armour Value: 7
Weight: 8
Cost: 8000
Tech Level: 9

TL 12 Hostile Environment Vacc Suit
Similar to the TL 8 and TL 9  HE  vacc  suits, the TL 12 offers protection in
vacuum environments as well as armoured  protection against enemies. The main
advantage of the TL 12  over  the  other  vacc  suits  is its flexibility and
mobility. Overall, it  is  the  best  suit  and  armour  combination, next to
military combat armour and battle dress.
armour Value: 8
Weight: 2
Cost: 10,000
Tech Level: 12

TL 12 Combat armour
Combat armour is restricted to Imperial combat  troops and is not sold on the
open market. But due to  a  thriving  black-market for military supplies, the
armour can be purchased on  high  tech  level  worlds. The armour, which also
serves as a vacc suit, is constructed  using advanced forms of metallurgy and
synthetic research.
armour Value: 9
Weight: 10
Cost: 125,000 (est.)
Tech Level: 12

TL 13 Battle Dress
An advanced and  powerful  version  of  combat  armour,  battle  dress is the
ultimate form of personal protection. Battle  dress is restricted to military
use. However, it can also be purchased on the black-market of high tech level
worlds. Detailed information on battle dress  is  not available because it is
considered highly classified in Imperial military circles.
armour Value: 11 (est.)
Weight: 26 (est.)
Cost: 200,000 (est.)
Tech Level: 13

                      ---------------------------------


                     BOUNTY HUNTER AND ASSASSINS JOURNAL

        THE IMPERIUM'S 10 MOST WANTED BOUNTY HUNTERS AND ASSASSINS...
                              REWARDS OFFERED.

Amrhein Alazar
Professional name: The Annihilator
Amrhein Alazar had an extensive career  in  the Imperial Marines, serving six
terms and eventually achieving the rank of  Force Commander. Three of his six
terms of service were spent in  the  Marine's  Special Service unit, the most
highly-trained and elite combat group  in  the Imperial Marines. All military
information and data on Alazar is  top  secret and restricted. However, it is
known  that  Alazar  was   dishonourably   discharged  for  dealing  smuggled
anagathics, rare and expensive age-retarding drugs.
After being discharged from the military, Alazar put his deadly skills to use
as a professional assassin.  An  expert  with  nearly  all forms of weaponry,
Alazar is most lethal with early tech level automatic rifles and pistols. His
record of assassinations is unblemished.  He has murdered hundreds, including
several high level Imperial government Ambassadors.
Alazar has thus far been able to  elude Imperial authority, leaving many dead
Imperial agents and independent bounty  hunters  in  his wake. According to a
recent rumour, he is hiding  out  somewhere  in  the  Regina subsector of the
Spinward Marches.
Alazar is considered the most dangerous and merciless assassin in the galaxy.
The Imperial Military Security Agency is offering a bounty of 250,000 credits
to anyone who neutralizes him.

Medical: 2
Battle Dress: 2
Laser Weapons: 2
Assault Rifle: 4
Brawling: 1
Forgery: 1
Survival: 3
Streetwise: 3


Katerenya Viridion
Katerenya Viridion is beautiful and charming.  Masked by physical beauty, she
is actually one of the deadliest assassins in the Imperium. Many unsuspecting
males have fallen victim  to  her  graceful  allure.  Viridion  relies on her
seductive appeal to lure her prey  within striking distance. She continues to
thwart Imperial Forces, who have pursued her for years.
Viridion was born on the planet Efate in the Regina subsector. Her father was
a military arms supplier who raised Viridion as  he would have a son. She was
taught at a young age  to  live  off  the  land,  fight  and use a variety of
weapons. Years  later  her  father  was  murdered  by  interstellar  pirates.
Viridion believed  that  her  father's  business  competitors  were  actually
responsible for  the  murder,  because  they  were  known  to  fund  pirating
operations. Taking matters into her own hands, Viridion set out to settle the
score against her father's enemies. She gained  revenge and began a career as
an assassin for hire.
Though she is  an  attractive  woman,  do  not  take  her  abilities lightly.
Viridion is an expert in the use  of  a variety of energy weapons. The Regina
Subsector Law Enforcement Agency is offering  a 225,000 credit reward for her
capture.

Energy Weapon: 3
Stealth: 2
Streetwise: 3
Intrusion: 2
Medical: 1
Handgun: 1


Gainus Ozar
Professional name: The Butcher of Boughene
Gainus Ozar is a savage and  sadistic  individual. His criminal life began at
the age of nine, when Ozar murdered  the headmistress of the orphanage he was
confined to, on the planet Boughene. Those who have met Ozar claim he suffers
from severe mental illness.  Others  say  he  is  possessed by wicked demons.
Regardless, Ozar is one of  the  most  sought-after assassins in the Spinward
Marches.
Ozar enjoys his work.  He  never  kills  in  a  quick,  efficient or painless
manner. He is known to  torture  and  terrorize his victims, sometimes taking
several days to kill them. He  has  been  known  to dismember his victims one
body part at a time; thus the name The Butcher.
A variety of Imperial enforcement  agencies  and Megacorporations have joined
forces to offer a  200,000  credit  reward  to  anyone  who  can capture this
heinous murderer.

Streetwise: 3
Stealth: 2
Sword: 1
Demolitions: 1
SMG: 2
Handgun: 2
Brawling: 2
Gambling: 2


Andolus Zelexian
At one time a prosperous trader, Andolus Zelexian turned to smuggling in hope
of reaping great riches. While most of his illegal actions focus on smuggling
and pirating intergalactic trade  routes  in  the  Regina Subsector, Zelexian
does put his lethal capabilities to use  as a paid assassin when the bounties
are high. As of late, Zelexian has been repeatedly striking trade ships owned
by the SuSAG, LIC Megacorporation, a large chemical and pharmaceutical firm.
Zelexian is an expert laser rifleman.  Through his smuggling contacts, he has
access to all the latest  energy  weapons  and  military defensive armour. In
addition to leading  pirate  forays  against  SuSAG,  LIC,  he  has also been
striking interstellar starships owned by  the Sharurshid Megacorporation. The
Regina Subsector Law Enforcement Agency,  in  conjunction with SuSAG, LIC and
Sharurshid, are  offering  a  reward  of  175,000  Imperial  credits  for the
neutralization of Zelaxian.

Trader: 4
Laser Weapon: 3
Handgun: 2
Liaison: 2
Pilot: 3


Maximillian "Maxie" Mortis
Maxie Mortis is an  ex-Imperial  marine  presently  serving as a professional
assassin for a powerful organized  crime  syndicate.  During his stint in the
military, Mortis served four terms  and  became proficient at weapons combat.
He is especially dangerous with  powerful  energy  weapons  such as the TL 12
Plasma Gun Man Portable.
Even in the military, Maxie  was  rebellious,  never  wanting to abide by the
strict guidelines imposed by  the  Marines.  According  to published reports,
Mortis disappeared after shooting,  and  critically  wounding, his commanding
officer on the firing range. Because  of  his insurgent actions, Mortis never
received a commission or promotion, though he served four terms of service.
Like most men in organized crime, Mortis  prefers to kill his victims quickly
and cleanly. Imperial intelligence sources  indicate that Mortis is operating
in the Regina or Jewell  subsector.  The  Imperial Law Enforcement Agency has
posted a 150,000 credit reward for the capture of Maxie Mortis.

Jack-Of-All-Trades: 3
Bribery: 2
Energy Weapons: 3
Stealth: 2
Gambling: 2


Szen Sanai
Szen Sanai is a  cunning  assassin  with  expertise  in  nearly  all forms of
weapons combat. After serving in the Imperial army for two terms, Sanai began
his underworld business,  selling  black-market  military  arms.  He ran this
highly successful business until Imperial agents discovered his operation.
A dozen Imperial officers  stormed  Sanai's  secret warehouse and neutralized
his cohorts. However, the seemingly  successful  raid became a bloodbath when
Sanai single-handedly killed every member of  the Imperial strike force using
his keen intelligence and deadly weapons skills.
Word of the slaughter spread through the universe quickly, and Sanai was soon
approached by  countless  underworld  figures  to  carry  out assassinations.
Sanai's first business was destroyed,  but  a  promising new career was born.
The Imperial Law Enforcement Agency has  offered  a 125,000 credit reward for
the arrest of Szen Sanai.

Forgery: 2
Trader: 1
Assault Rifle: 3
Heavy Weapons: 2
Handgun: 2
Recruiting: 1
Battle Dress: 3


Rhevah Hamache
Professional name: The Triggermaster
Rhevah Hamache had a long and distinguished career as a starship pilot in the
Imperial Scouts.  After  leaving  the  military,  Hamache  purchased  his own
starship and began trading  in  the  Regina  subsector.  Hamache always had a
reputation as a fair and  honest  trader.  After  the accidental death of his
wife and daughter,  Hamache  underwent  a  personality  change.  He  began to
smuggle cargo and pirate defenceless ships.  Money became his passion, and he
soon became "The Triggermaster", a malicious  killer for hire. Those who know
him well say that on the fateful day  he lost his family, his conscience died
as well.
Hamache is the leader of a  band  of  interstellar  raiders based at a secret
hideaway somewhere in  the  Regina  subsector.  The  Imperial Law Enforcement
Agency was offering a small reward for his capture until Hamache assassinated
Duke Annatoly Gruss, the  leader  of  a  planet  in  the Forboldn system. The
reward has been raised to 100,000 credits because of diplomatic pressure from
the Forboldn ambassador.

Pilot: 3
Handgun: 2
Navigation: 1
Communications: 1
Laser Weapons: 2
Vacc Suit: 1


Name Unknown
Professional name: Bolo
Bolo, a renowned captain  in  the  Imperial  Army,  was  thought to have been
killed in action during a planetary  surface  conflict on Emerald, a world in
the Jewell subsector. He  was  given  the  name  Bolo  by  the loyal Imperial
soldiers under his command. During his military career, he was decorated with
several awards of merit for bravery and heroism.
Recently, evidence surfaced proving Bolo is alive  - and operating as a hired
assassin  for  an   unknown   source.   His   victims   are  mostly  powerful
megacorporation executives.
Having served three terms  in  the  Imperial  Army,  and battle-hardened from
combat, Bolo makes an excellent assassin.  His  main weapons of expertise are
small arms which can be  smuggled  through starport checkpoints. The Imperial
Army Military Police Force is offering  a  reward of 75,000 credits to anyone
who can take Bolo prisoner.

Leader: 2
Hand Combat: 3
Assault Rifle: 1
Demolitions: 1
Recon: 3
Battle Dress: 1
Laser Weapons: 1


Demetrieye Jannev
Born in the Aramis subsector,  Jannev  is  a  master criminal. Armed robbery,
pirating and murder are just  a  few  of  the  felonies  of which this career
criminal has been  convicted.  Jannev  was  sent  to  the  planet Mithras, an
Imperial prison world in the  Glisten  subsector,  to  serve a life sentence.
With the aide of underworld  contacts,  Jannev  managed  to escape the savage
world.
Now a bounty hunter and assassin, Jannev  is  rumoured to be operating in the
Regina subsector. Jannev is heartless and distant. He has fulfilled dozens of
"blood contracts" on known  smugglers.  The  Regina Subsector Law Enforcement
Agency is offering a  50,000  credit  reward  for  the  arrest and capture of
Jannev.

Gambling: 2
Streetwise: 3
Brawling: 2
Handgun: 2
Liaison: 1


Fallous Cepholon
A small-time assassin for  hire,  Cepholon  has  managed  to  terminate a few
unknown victims of little importance. Cepholon  is not a very skilled gunman.
Some unconfirmed reports claim he accidentally shot himself in the leg during
a heated battle.
However, Cepholon is trying to make a name for himself, so he might have some
scheme up his sleeve. The only  reason  a  reward  of 25,000 credits is being
offered is because no agency  wants  to  spend  valuable time or resources to
search for him.

Dagger: 1
Handgun: 1
Intrusion: 1
Streetwise: 1


                    ------------------------------------
                         --------------------------

                                  GLOSSARY

Alell           One of the eight star systems in the Zhodani Conspiracy.
                Alell is a binary system (two stars) with three planets the
                characters can explore. (See system)

anagathics      Rare and expensive longevity drugs. A steady supply prolongs
                life and prevents aging.

armed escort    A type of ship that will be encountered in the game. Escorts
                will often be in a caravan protecting merchant ships.

Army            The Imperial Army is a planet-based fighting force. These
                soldiers fight in surface battles and campaigns. (see
                Service)

Aslan           The Aslan are a race of intelligent beings resembling Terran
                lions. Aslan females outnumber males three to one. The major
                goal of an Aslan male is to own land, while the female is
                concerned with trade, industry and knowledge.

Boughene        One of the eight star systems in the Zhodani Conspiracy.
                There are two planets and one moon to explore in this system.
                The mainworld is the planet where the characters are supposed
                to meet Dr. Arik Toryan.

character       The character refers to the fictional role in the role-
                playing game. In the Zhodani Conspiracy, one player controls
                five characters.

corsair         The largest ship in the Zhodani Conspiracy. It can have up to
                four weapons and can carry cargo.

credit          A monetary unit in the MEGATRAVELLER universe.

destroyer       A large, well-armed ship with limited cargo space.

Droyne          The Droyne are an intelligent race of small, winged
                herbivores. They are about one meter in height. Droyne
                society follows a rigid caste system.

Efate           One of eight star systems in The Zhodani Conspiracy. The game
                begins, and ends, on Efate's mainworld. There are two other
                planets and three satellites to explore in this system.

hexadecimal     Numbering system based on 16. Digits 0 through 9 are
                represented the same as in the decimal system. Numbers 10
                through 15 are represented by the letters A to F. The
                hexadecimal system is used throughout MEGATRAVELLER (see UPP,
                UWP)

hexes           Short for hexagons. Hexes are used in MEGATRAVELLER maps,
                both on ground and in space. The distance of a jump from one
                system to another is measured in hexes. (see jump, system)

Hivers          Hivers are an intelligent race in the TRAVELLER universe.
                Hivers have six limbs, one of which is their head. The head
                has six manipulative tentacles and six eye stalks. The other
                five limbs end in six-fingered hands and these limbs are both
                used as arms and legs.

Imperium, The   The interplanetary government of the MEGATRAVELLER universe.
                The present government is the Third Imperium, founded 1,107
                years earlier.

Interloper      The name of the Sharurshid ship Lenara gives to the
                characters at the beginning of the game. (see Raclor, Lenara)

interplanetary  One kind of ship the player will encounter. These craft
                travel between planets in the same system. They are small and
                fast with limited cargo space.

jump            Faster-than-light travel from one point in space to another.
                A jump is made by leaving normal space and travelling through
                an alternate space called jumpspace.

key, code       The keys referred to are complex computer files necessary to
                decode encrypted files. The code keys are stored on
                holographic cartridges.

Kiefer, Konrad  One of the major NPCs in the game, Kiefer is the major foe of
                the player. He is the Subsector Executive of Sharurshid
                Megacorporation and is smuggling Zhodani arms into the
                Imperium. He will hire bounty hunters and assassins to harass
                the player throughout the game (see Sharurshid)

K'kree          The K'kree, once called the Centaurs by humans, are the most
                massive of the major alien races. The K'kree are covered with
                short gray fur with a dense black mane. The K'kree are social
                creatures and live in herds.

Louzy           One of the eight star systems in The Zhodani Conspiracy. This
                system has three planets for the characters to explore.

mainworld       The mainworld in each system is usually, but not always, the
                most populated world in the system. The system is named for
                the mainworld.

Marines         Members of the armed fighting forces primarily carried aboard
                starships. They battle piracy and are used to board enemy
                ships in space. Imperial Marines also protect starports and
                bases that belong to the Navy and supplement other ground
                forces as needed. (see Service)

Menorb          One of the eight star systems in The Zhodani Conspiracy. Only
                the mainworld of Menorb and its moon can be explored by the
                characters.

Merchants       Traders. They can be employed by large trading corporations
                or they can be small independent traders who carry cargo and
                passengers between worlds. Merchants can deal in conventional
                trade and commerce or they can become involved in less-than-
                legal smuggling. (see Service)

Navy            The Imperial Navy patrols interstellar space. Ships and
                worlds in the vastness of space are subject to attack from
                pirates or unfriendly governments. The Navy seeks to protect
                interstellar trade lines and Imperial territory from pirates
                and foreign powers. (see Service)

NPC             A Non-Player Character is a character in a role-playing game
                that is not controlled by the player. Lenara and Kiefer are
                two prominent NPCs in The Zhodani Conspiracy. (see Kiefer,
                Konrad and Raclor, Lenara)

Pixie           One of the eight star systems in The Zhodani Conspiracy.
                Pixie has three planets to explore.

player          The individual playing a role-playing game. In The Zhodani
                Conspiracy, five characters will be controlled by the same
                player.

Psionics        The use of mental powers such as telepathy, telekinesis,
                clairvoyance, or teleportation. The Imperium considers the
                use of these powers to be a criminal act. The Zhodani is a
                psionic-using society, and that adds to the radical
                dissimilarities between the two cultures. (see Zhodani and
                Zhodani Consulate)

Quaam, Viktor   Viktor is Kiefer's right-hand man. He is responsible for the
                kidnapping of Dr. Arik Toryan. The characters must defeat
                Viktor in order to rescue Arik and continue the scenario.
                (see Kiefer, Konrad)

Raclor, Lenara  Lenara is the Transom agent investigating Kiefer. She has
                Kiefer's encoded file, which she gives to the characters (in
                addition to the ship and some money). She sends them to
                Boughene to meet with Dr. Arik Toryan. Lenara is the player's
                major connection to the scenario. (see Transom)

Scout Ship      One of the ships that will be encountered. The Scouts often
                give old ships to ex-scouts as a reward for excellent
                service.

Scouts          The Imperial Interstellar Scout Service is an exploratory
                service. The scouts are responsible for exploring and mapping
                new territories. In addition to this, the Scouts are also
                information couriers. They man the X-Boats, the high-tech
                Imperial postal service. (see Service)

sector          A division of the Imperium made up of sixteen subsectors. The
                Spinward Marches is the sector in which The Zhodani
                Conspiracy is set. The Imperium is composed of roughly 27
                sectors.

service         The career of the character before adventuring in the
                MEGATRAVELLER game. In MEGATRAVELLER, there are 18 different
                services. In The Zhodani Conspiracy, the five most common are
                used. (see Army, Marines, Merchants, Navy, Scouts)

Sharurshid      Sharurshid Megacorporation is one of 13 mega-corporations in
                the Imperium. Sharurshid's business activities emphasize
                trade in luxury and novelty goods, transport of goods between
                worlds, and service industries. Sharurshid has conducted
                limited trade with the Zhodani Consulate. (see Kiefer,
                Raclor, Transom and Zhodani Consulate)

skill           Acquired by characters while in the service. These skills
                will affect the ability of the characters to succeed at
                certain tasks. There are 72 skills in The Zhodani Conspiracy,
                from Academic to Zero-G Environment.

Spinward        The frontier sector of the Imperium, as it borders the
Marches         Zhodani Consulate. In addition to the two major powers, there
                are also numerous independent territories in the Marches.
                This sector has been settled since the year 400, but has
                potential for exploration and development for centuries to
                come. (see Imperium, sector, Zhodani Consulate)

startown        The section of the city near the starport. This area has a
                tendency to enforce law and order less strictly than in more
                provincial areas. There are more casinos and illegal weapon
                stores and fewer jails and security guards in startown than
                in the city.

subsector       Each sector in the Imperium is divided into 16 subsectors;
                each is named for the capital world. The Zhodani Conspiracy
                takes place in the Regina and Jewell subsectors on the
                Spinward Marches. (see sector, Spinward Marches)

system          A star, its orbiting planets, and associated satellites. One
                world in the system is designated as a mainworld, and the
                system is named for that world.

task            An action that a character attempts to perform during the
                game. Every task is assigned a difficulty that determines the
                number needed to succeed at that task. Difficult tasks will
                require a higher number than routine or simple tasks.
                Applicable skills will lower the number needed to succeed.
                (see skill)

Toryan, Arik    Dr. Arik Toryan is the Computer Operations Office Manager for
                Sharurshid. Toryan created an encoding scheme for Kiefer that
                needed two decoding keys - one specified by Toryan, the other
                by Kiefer. When Lenara approached Dr. Toryan and asked for
                his decoding key, he agreed to help. Dr. Toryan is followed
                to Boughene, then kidnapped by Viktor Quamm. The characters
                must rescue Arik in order to win the game. (see Kiefer,
                Quaam, Raclor, Sharurshid)

trader          A trader is a merchant ship (sometimes called an armed
                merchant). These ships carry cargo between systems and are
                often a target for pirates.

Transom         Transom is publicly known as an auditing division of
                Sharurshid. It has secretly developed into an agency that
                investigates embezzlement, theft and fraud of Sharurshid
                employees. (see Raclor, Sharurshid)

Uakye           One of the eight systems in The Zhodani Conspiracy. Uakye has
                three systems to explore.

UPP             The Universal Personality Profile summarizes a character's
                attributes as a sequence of six hexadecimal numbers (0 to F).
                The attributes, in order, are Strength, Dexterity, Endurance,
                Intelligence, Education and Social Standing. A character with
                a UPP of 777777 is average in every respect. A character with
                a UPP of A47CD8 is stronger than average (A), not very
                dextrous (4), and has an average endurance (7). The character
                is very intelligent (C), and extremely educated (D), with a
                social standing just slightly above average (8). (see
                hexadecimal)

UWP             The Universal World Profile is a series of letters and
                numbers used to summarize the characteristics of a planet.
                The characteristics, in order, are: Starport, Size,
                Atmosphere, Hydrosphere, Population, Government, Law Level
                and Tech Level. Efate, with a UPP of A646930D, has an
                excellent starport (A). It is a medium size planet (6) with a
                thin-tainted atmosphere (4) and it is a wet world - with 60%
                water (6). The population of Efate is in the billions (9)
                with an oligarchy (3) for government. There is no law (0) and
                the tech level is average stellar (D).

Vargr           The Vargr are an intelligent race resulting from genetic
                manipulation of Terran canines. They are bipedal carnivores,
                with hands similar to those of humans. The Vargr have no
                central government.

X-Boat          The X-Boat system is the Imperial "postal service" that is
                maintained by the Scouts. The characters will occasionally
                encounter an X-Boat. (see Scouts)

Yres            One of the eight star systems in The Zhodani Conspiracy.
                There are two planets and two satellites to explore in Yres.

Zhodani         The Zhodani are a branch of humanity similar to other human
                races. The most important difference is their use of
                psionics. The Zhodani have been battling with the Imperium
                for 500 years along the Spinward Marches.

Zhodani         The Zhodani Consulate is the government of the Zhodani people
Consulate       (equivalent of the Imperium).

Docs finished at 5:03 am  9/5/91.  None  of  this  scanned shit - pure typing
power... War and Peace - the unabridged version soon...l8r!