Freelance Traveller

Mongoose Traveller 2nd Edition: Reach Adventure 4: Last Flight of the Amuar

reviewed by Megan Robertson

This review originally appeared on rpg-resource.org.uk in Jan. 2018, and was reprinted in the September/October 2019 issue.

Reach Adventure 4: Last Flight of the Amuar. Martin J. Dougherty.
Mongoose Publishing https://www.mongoosepublishing.com
57pp., PDF
US$11.99/UK£9.86

This adventure sends the party into little-known space (at least as far as the Imperium is concerned) in search of a lost commercial vessel. It’s designed to take several months of game time, and there’s scope for adding in side adventures of your own on the way if you wish. Even their fact-finding inquiries on the places they visit in the course of this adventure may grow into something more should the mood take you and the opportunity arise. This book, though, just covers the core mission of locating the Amuar and finding out what happened. Alongside this main theme, the party will have to figure out whether or not their patron is to be trusted…

The adventure begins on Pax Rulin, subsector capital of the Pax Rulin subsector of the Trojan Reach sector, and takes the party through this subsector and neighbouring Egryn. This voyage will need a ship capable of Jump-3. If the party has one, fine, but if not their patron can supply one (and will even pay for berthing the party ship while they are away). The Referee’s Information chapter provides information on the stellar cartography of the whole region and explains what is to be found there… and perhaps more importantly, who is in charge. There’s also a fair bit about their target, the Amuar, which is a Leviathan-class ship designed for the sort of exploratory commerce in which she was engaged when she disappeared. The facts about her last voyage—which of course the party need to discover—are also laid out. A real chapter of disasters!

Next we meet the vessel that will most likely be used, a Far Trader called the Voidskipper. It has its own little foibles, which can be annoying or endearing depending on how you view them. One thing to note is that it’s quite cramped, so crews are likely to want to make the most of each planetfall. Encourage the almost claustrophobic feeling and let the freedom of each new world beckon… and there’s a neat system to model ‘crew fatigue’ if you want to make this part of your game mechanics. This affects their performance of their duties as well as making them short-tempered and difficult to live with. This can be reduced by shore leave or even a good dinner, but of course those not able to join in due to their duties actually get worse through resentment! It’s a nice idea for when an adventure involves a lot of time in the black.

Background done, the adventure begins. A relative of one of the crew of the Amuar has got hold of a ship and one crewman, but he needs a few more to go in pursuit, so seeks the party’s help. He feels that someone must know what happened to her and wants a diversely-skilled bunch to help find out. He offers a wage plus the possibility of big payouts for salvage or information. Apart from that, a few other reasons for wanting to go along are provided should you wish to use them.

The next part provides descriptions of the places they call at, and events that might take place there including a brief collection of suggestions for further adventures if you wish to prolong the stay. There are also opportunites to gather information about the Amuar and by the fifth system visited the party should be building up quite a good picture of the ship and have an idea where she ended up… if they don’t find all the clues they need, they may end up visiting even more worlds, and a good assortment are given brief descriptions should they stop there—although you will have to flesh these out considerably more than the first five planets.

Finally (hopefully) the party will arrive in the system where the Amuar is, and can then investigate what took place aboard. The locals are unfriendly and insular, but it should not prove too difficult to find the Amuar… and then the party will have to explore her to discover what happened. That’s where the adventure ends. You’ll have to attend to getting them back home yourself. As well as main NPCs, some new weapons and equipment and yet another ship (encountered on the way) are detailed at the back.

It makes for an interesting yet rather bland adventure which leaves quite a lot to the referee, although inventive ones can make it come alive. A lot of the time it reads more like an adventure outline rather than a full-blown adventure: expect that and you’ll find it quite well resourced.