Freelance Traveller

designed by Ken Pick

These five ships are progressive modifications of the Hercules (Type AH) bulk freighter introduced in The Traveller Adventure (c. 1983).

They are intended as large merchant ships in a "small-ship" Classic Traveller campaign for a TL11-12 "pocket empire" where the maximum typical speed is jump-2.

Baseline AH Heavy Freighter (Traveller Adventure, c. 1980):

5000 tons. Jump-1, 1-G. 510 tons fuel.
Model/2bis. 15 staterooms.
4 hardpoints. Pinnace. 2911 tons cargo.
Streamlined. 15 crew, no passengers.
MCr 985.2; 36 months; CER 2.95.

First modification:

Increase engine size from W to Z, thus boosting performance from Jump-1/1-G to Jump-2/2-G.

AH2 Heavy Freighter (TL11). 5000 tons. Jump-2, 2-G. 1020 tons fuel.
Model/2bis. 16 staterooms
4 hardpoints (4 triple laser turrets). Pinnace. 2367 tons cargo. Streamlined. 16 crew, no passengers.
MCr 1044.6; 36 months. CER 4.54.

Using a 5000-ton hull, the Heavy Freighter is an up-engined version of the Type AH bulk freighter. It mounts jump drive-Z, maneuver drive-Z, and power plant-Z, giving a performance of jump-2 and 2-G acceleration. Fuel tankage for 1020 tons supports the power plant and allows one jump-2. Adjacent to the bridge is a computer Model/2bis. There are sixteen staterooms and no low berths. The ship has four hardpoints and four tons allocated to fire control; mounting four triple beam laser turrets. There is one ship's vehicle: a 40-ton pinnace that can be fitted as a lifeboat. Cargo capacity is 2367 tons; the cargo bay is plumbed with fuel manifolds for collapsible or demountable fuel tanks. The hull is streamlined.

The AH2 requires a crew of 16: captain/pilot, navigator, 8 engineers, medic, 4 gunners, and pinnace pilot; maximum life-support capacity is 32. The ship costs MCr 1044.6 (including 10% standard-design discount) and takes 36 months to build at Tech Level 11.

Second modification:

Add passenger accomodations -- a lot of them. After tales of the old ocean liners (Lusitania/Titanic/Normandie/Queen Mary), the typical 20-to-40-passenger Traveller liner looks a bit lame. Here is a real liner for major trunk routes:

AM Packet Liner (TL11). 5000 tons. Jump-2, 2-G. 1020 tons fuel.
Model/2bis. 160 staterooms, 200 low berths, 60 emergency low berths
4 hardpoints (4 triple laser turrets). 4 shuttles. 1367 tons cargo. Streamlined. 40 crew, 40 high passengers (single-occupancy), 160 middle passengers (double-occupancy), 200 low passengers.
MCr 1224.6; 36 months. CER 3.18.

Using a 5000-ton hull, the Packet Liner is a passenger version of the Type AH2 heavy freighter. It mounts jump drive-Z, maneuver drive-Z, and power plant-Z, giving a performance of jump-2 and 2-G acceleration. Fuel tankage for 1020 tons supports the power plant and allows one jump-2. Adjacent to the bridge is a computer Model/2bis. There are 40 crew staterooms, 120 passenger staterooms, 200 low berths, and 60 emergency low berths. The ship has four hardpoints and four tons allocated to fire control, mounting four triple beam laser turrets. There are four ship's vehicles: a 95-ton shuttles, of which two or three are pre-fitted as lifeboats. Cargo capacity is 1307 tons plus 60 tons passenger baggage; the cargo bay is plumbed with fuel manifolds for collapsible or demountable fuel tanks. The hull is streamlined.

The Packet Liner requires a crew of 40 (evenly divided between ship operations and the Purser's department): captain, first officer, second officer, 3 pilot/navigators, 8 engineers, doctor, 2 medics, 4 gunners, and 20 stewards (including shuttle pilots); maximum life-support capacity is 320. The ship carries 40 high passengers in private staterooms, 160 middle passengers in double-occupancy staterooms, and 200 low passengers. The ship costs MCr 1224.6 (including 10% standard-design discount) and takes 36 months to build at Tech Level 11.

Third modification:

Shrink the liner by 1000 tons and let those Z-engines move her at Jump-3:

AM3 Fast Packet Liner (TL12). 4000 tons. Jump-3, 3-G. 1260 tons fuel.
Model/3. 160 staterooms, 200 low berths, 60 emergency low berths
4 hardpoints (4 triple laser turrets). 4 shuttles. 1208 tons cargo. Streamlined. 40 crew, 40 high passengers (single-occupancy), 160 middle passengers (double-occupancy), 200 low passengers.
MCr 1232.8; 36 months. CER 4.3.

Using a 4000-ton hull, the Packet Liner is a smaller, faster version of the Type AM packet liner. It mounts jump drive-Z, maneuver drive-Z, and power plant-Z, giving a performance of jump-3 and 3-G acceleration. Fuel tankage for 1260 tons supports the power plant and allows one jump-3. Adjacent to the bridge is a computer Model/3. There are 40 crew staterooms, 120 passenger staterooms, 200 low berths, and 60 emergency low berths. The ship has four hardpoints and four tons allocated to fire control, mounting four triple beam laser turrets. There are four ship's vehicles: a 95-ton shuttles, of which two or three are pre-fitted as lifeboats. Cargo capacity is 1148 tons plus 60 tons passenger baggage; the cargo bay is plumbed with fuel manifolds for collapsible or demountable fuel tanks. The hull is streamlined.

The Fast Packet Liner requires a crew of 40 (evenly divided between ship operations and the Purser's department): captain, first officer, second officer, 3 pilot/navigators, 8 engineers, doctor, 2 medics, 4 gunners, and 20 stewards (including shuttle pilots); maximum life-support capacity is 320. The ship carries 40 high passengers in private staterooms, 160 middle passengers in double-occupancy staterooms, and 200 low passengers. The ship costs MCr 1232.8 (including 10% standard-design discount) and takes 36 months to build at Tech Level 12.

Heavy Liner accomodations High Passage: a private stateroom, classy restaurant dining (with room service), private First-class bar/lounge/casino, and first dibs on any shared recreational facilities, at the usual price of Cr 10000. Some liners offer "VIP Passage", with double-sized suites, personal stewards, and VIP-priority boarding and disembarkation at Cr 20000 and up. Middle Passage: a shared stateroom, cafeteria-style dining, and access to the ship's facilities. The double-occupancy cabins drop the price of a Middle Passage from Cr 8000 to Cr 6000 or so. Low Passage: detachable low berths for off-ship freezing down/ recovery at a starport medical center and easy loading into the lifeboat/shuttles when abandoning ship. A liner this size will probably have separate dining rooms and bar/ lounge/casino for High and Middle passengers; large-sized recreational facilities (such as gyms, full swimming pools, full theaters, or sports courts) would be shared between High and Middle passengers, with High Passage getting priority (and probably the best seats). Onboard ship's store would also be shared.

Fourth Modification:

Let's take the Type AM again and go in the other direction -- adding 1000t of hull for an oversized 6000-ton ship. According to the CT Book 2 tables, stock Z-sized engines can drive a 4000-ton ship at Jump-3/3-G; this argues for a "thrust" of 12000 tons, allowing a 6000-ton hull with performance of Jump-2/2-G. And as long as we have all that extra room, let's double the passenger capacity:

AMH Large Liner (TL11). 6000 tons. Jump-2, 2-G. 1260 tons fuel.
Model/3. 320 staterooms, 400 low berths, 120 emergency low berths
4 hardpoints (4 triple laser turrets). 8 shuttles. 1968 tons cargo. Streamlined. 80 crew, 80 high passengers (single-occupancy), 320 middle passengers (double-occupancy), 400 low passengers.
MCr 1473.8; 42 months. CER 4.8.

Using a 6000-ton hull, the Large Liner is a passenger version of the Type AHL superfreighter. It mounts jump drive-Z, maneuver drive-Z, and power plant-Z, giving a performance of jump-2 and 2-G acceleration. Fuel tankage for 1260 tons supports the power plant and allows one jump-2. Adjacent to the bridge is a computer Model/3. There are 80 crew staterooms, 240 passenger staterooms, 400 low berths, and 120 emergency low berths. The ship has four hardpoints and four tons allocated to fire control, mounting four triple beam laser turrets. There are eight ship's vehicles: all 95-ton shuttles, of which at least six are pre-fitted as lifeboats. Cargo capacity is 1848 tons plus 120 tons passenger baggage; the cargo bay is plumbed with fuel manifolds for collapsible or demountable fuel tanks. The hull is streamlined.

The Heavy Liner requires a crew of 60-80 (of which the majority is from the Purser's department): captain, first officer, second officer, third officer, 3 pilots, 3 navigators, 8 engineers, 2 doctors, 4 medics, 4 gunners, Purser, Assistant Purser, 40 stewards (including shuttle pilots), and 12 miscellaneous service/administrative crew; maximum life-support capacity is 320. The ship carries 80 high passengers in private staterooms, 320 middle passengers in double-occupancy staterooms, and 400 low passengers. The ship costs MCr 1473.8 (including 10% standard-design discount) and takes 42 months to build at Tech Level 11.

Fifth modification:

Let's do the same as the AMH, except using the AH2 as a basis to give us a 6000-ton Superfreighter:

AHL Superfreighter (TL11). 6000 tons. Jump-2, 2-G. 1260 tons fuel.
Model/3. 44 staterooms, 10 emergency low berths
4 hardpoints (4 triple laser turrets). Pinnace. 4072 tons cargo. Streamlined. 20 crew, 24 passengers.
MCr 1120.2; 42 months. CER 7.3

Using a 6000-ton hull, the Superfreighter is an enlarged version of the Type AH2 heavy freighter. It mounts jump drive-Z, maneuver drive-Z, and power plant-Z, giving a performance of jump-2 and 2-G acceleration. Fuel tankage for 1260 tons supports the power plant and allows one jump-2. Adjacent to the bridge is a computer Model/3. There are 44 staterooms and ten emergency low berths. The ship has four hardpoints and four tons allocated to fire control; mounting four triple beam laser turrets. There is one ship's vehicle: a 40-ton pinnace that can be fitted as a lifeboat. Cargo capacity is 4072 tons; the cargo bay is plumbed with fuel manifolds for collapsible or demountable fuel tanks. The hull is streamlined.

The AH2 requires a crew of 20: captain, pilot, navigator, 8 engineers, medic, 4 gunners, 3 stewards, and pinnace pilot; maximum life-support capacity is 88. The ship carries up to 24 high/middle passengers in private staterooms. The ship costs MCr 1120.2 (including 10% standard-design discount) and takes 42 months to build at Tech Level 11.

Scale Efficiency

Most player-character ships (200-ton Type A Free Traders and their 300-ton stretches; 400-ton Type R Fat Traders and their 5-600-ton stretches) plug along with a CER of around 3; these ultra-large merchies regularly run with CERs of 4-7, up to twice as profitable for the expense as the small ships.

This explains why the common-carrier rate for cargo is Cr 1000/ton -- too low for the small ships to break even without resorting to speculative trade and/or "extralegal" means. These superships can easily turn a profit on Cr 1000/ton cargo rates, and either competition or freeze-out price-fixing acts to keep the rates this low -- no need for "dirty tricks" on the megacorps' part.

Free Traders (i.e. player-characters) must therefore flock to the frontier areas, where the traffic is too small to support these superships, abandoning the more settled and heavily-trafficked routes to the megacorps and their superships. On the frontier, the traffic levels are low enough that small-lot cargoes (possibly paying premiums) are more common as well as the "frontier-barter" system of speculative trade.

Of course, the frontier is more dangerous than the inner systems, competition from other small-scale Free Traders is more intense (including "extralegal" means), and life is more of a struggle -- but if you wanted job security, you'd be wearing megacorp livery and pulling a fixed salary doing milk-runs in these big ships, wouldn't you?