Hi All,

I have created the below map for my campaign (and before you ask, you its in the style of a Traveller sub-sector:

I did post this in the Game Master Section, but didn't really get much feedback.

Each "system" has some basic stats with the letter at the top being the spaceport type that the system contains:

A = Imperial Class Starport

B = Stellar Class Starport

C = Standard Class Starport

D = Limited Services

E = Landing Field

X = None

I am using a 5 hour per hex travel time, with a the following adjustments:

Using a minor route (grey line between systems) = +1 boost die

Using a major well travelled route (yellow line between systems) = +2 boost dice

Travelling through a system = +1 setback dice per system

Travelling through a gas cloud = Upgrade difficulty once per cloud hex travelled through

The following is where I am having difficulties.

The base difficulty for the check, as per EotE rules (p246-247), is Easy (one difficulty die), but I wanted to represent the difficulty of going "off the beaten path". To that end, I came up with the following modifiers based on the destination:

A = No modifier

B = No modifier

C = +1 difficulty

D = +2 difficulty

E = +3 difficulty

X = +4 difficulty

The issue I have is that the difficulty should be the same no matter which direction you travel. Therefore I came to these four options, that I would be keen on hearing people's opinions:

OPTIONS

1) Destination (Min 1) + Modified by destination

2) Origin (Min 1) + Modified by destination

3) Highest difficulty of the two + Modified by destination

4) Base (1) + Highest difficulty

RESULTS

1) Difficulty low but varies the difficulty on the return journey

2) Makes the difficulty high with up to 8 for X -> X

3) Makes the difficulty TOO high 9 difficulty occurring every time yo go anywhere near an X Class

4) I think seems the best fit as it makes the difficulties even no matter which direction you go.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

I think you are slightly off track. Don't add boost dice for heavily travelled routes. That should form the base difficulty. For instance, a major trade route (like the Corellian Spine) could be 1 difficulty. A busy rout might be 2 difficulty. A minor route is 3 difficulty. No route is 4 or 5 difficulty. I like the upgrade for gas clouds, but add in asteroids, black holes, etc. I also like the setback dice for passing a system without stopping. You could add blue dice if you get astrogation coordinates from a major system's spaceport, but it lets you be tracked easier.

So should the difficulty be:

Type 1 - Galactic Trade Route (i.e. Perlemain Trade Route) = 1 difficulty

Type 2 - Major Sector Trade Route (i.e. Prousley's Rim Run) = 2 difficulty

Type 3 - Minor Sector Trade Route (Journey between A-C Class Starports) = 3 difficulty

Type 4 - Travel to Civilized World (Journey to D-E Class Starports) = 4 difficulty

Type 5 - Non-chartered Journey (Journey to Unchartered "X" Worlds) = 5 difficulty

I wanted to avoid having to track other anomalies and the like, but a Black Hole could be cool.

Thoughts?

I was also thinking that you can buy the coordinates between certain systems, or each time you update your BoSS records you can buy different levels of astrogation "accuracy" which provide additional boost die.

Astrogation difficulty is, per the core rules, always Easy. The difficulty increases with things like "ship is damaged" or "you're being shot at". I have made the same kind of sector map as this, and I use setback dice for less-travelled routes. That way you also get some mileage out of the Galaxy Mapper talent.

Not wanting to correct you, as the Galaxy Mapper talent was something I had not thought of and will definitely take that into consideration, but you forgot a couple of "difficulties":

• Outdated, corrupt, or counterfeit navigation charts or navicomputer data.

This is what I was using for the basis of my additional difficulty, although RAW says +1 difficulty.

I'll take a look again over the difficulties and post my thoughts shortly

GM Hooly,

I'm familiar with the various Traveller subsector generators out there, but I'm very curious as to how you made this map - specifically, the colour, formatting and the inclusion of Imperial symbols, etc.

(It looks fantastic, BTW!)

Thank you

To answer the question, I purchased a PDF document from RPGNow which was a book of Subsector Maps. I imported it into Photoshop and went from there.

I created everything in photoshop, using the working copy with a white background and black text/symbols, etc.

As for the Imperial Logo, I found it on a font I downloaded ages ago called Tie Wing.

As far as the colours that were used for the +/- numbers, these indicate a green zone (no discernible trouble), orange (travel advisory warnings), and Red (Imperial Warning - Do not cross or dangerous to health)

The +/- symbols are the system's Rarity Modifier.

Would you believe I haven't even played a single game yet?

Beyond the Rim offers some additional insight to Astrogation checks...

Based on the above, I'd probably go with something like:

Major route, coreward: ♦

Major route, rimward; minor route: ♦♦

No route, well-charted (ex. major world): ♦♦♦

No route, poorly charted: ♦♦♦♦

No current stellar data; wildspace: ♦♦♦♦♦

Major stellar obstacle en route (ex. singularity, nebula): Upgrade check.

Outdated/antiquated charts: One or more ■.

Purchasing/updating charts: One or more ■.

So pretty close to what you had, GM Hooly, with a couple of tweaks.

That's awesome. Although I think I'm more impressed with the inclusion of the dice icons in your message

Seriously though, that really helps.

Wow. There is so much cool in this thread.

Here is the latest, and my last, version of my sector map:

I also sat down and did a gazetteer of all of the systems so that from anywhere, I can easily find the time taken to travel there, and the difficulty. Yes I ended up with the worst being 4 x Challenge and 4 x Setback, but try to fly through hyperspace from a system contained in the middle of a gas cloud,through the length of the gas cloud and bounce into a system that has the properties which replicate that of a massive gravity well, and you have that kind of a task. Unlikely to succeed, but not impossible...

Here is the latest, and my last, version of my sector map:

Wow. Do you have a key for this map, so that we can know what all the symbols mean?

IMO, this is the coolest map I’ve seen in the game, and the real shame is that I am so unlikely to ever again see any map anywhere remotely this cool.

OK, so here is the legend:

Each hexagon represents a star system. Its only brief data, but gives the GM enough information at a glance. I also have write-ups of the systems which can be found here.

Each hex grid is numbered to provide the coordinates for easy reference. This is what is called a Traveller Sub-sector map and covers 80 hexes. Also within the hex are up to 8 symbols.

CENTRE SYMBOL

This represents the main planet in the system. A solid dot indicates a regular world. This may not be a "garden world" but is "liveable", even if specialised housing is required. A black circle with white outline indicates an arid or "desert" world. The white circle with thin black circle within is the capital of the sector. The symbol of what appears to be a spinning top, with a thin circle surrounding is a system that has a Space Station as its centre of habitation. The Wheel would be a good example of this. I also have Asteroids (which I didn't use) which indicates a system completely destroyed and with no other sustainable planets, and the Black Hole, the later I used in the top half. There is also the "gas-cloud" symbol which indicates a pocket of immense gas or a nebula.

HEX BOTTOM

This is the name of the system, and normally the name of the major planet in the system.

HEX BOTTOM LEFT

Indicates a Sector Ranger base

HEX TOP LEFT

Indicates the presence of an Imperial Base. In the case of a system with a Rebel Base, an Alliance Logo would appear. As my campaign is set 5 years after Order 66 and the end of the Clone Wars, the Alliance has not yet formed, or is in the earliest stages of development.

HEX TOP

This is the type of starport ranging from A-E (Imperial, Stellar, Standard, Limited Services, Landing Field). There is an X class which indicates no starport of any kind and is reserved for unexplored worlds.

HEX TOP RIGHT

Indication of a Gas Giant in the system. I like the idea that Traveller has that for fuel in that starships can be equipped with "scoops" to scoop fuel from a Gas Giant in the case of an emergency. The fuel is highly unrefined, and may cause serious damage to an engine. I included this as a tip of the hat to Traveller, and to allow me to explore the "scoop" option as a modification rule for ships in this system.

HEX BOTTOM RIGHT

This has two purposes. The first number is the rarity modifier (-/+). This was to make things nice and quick if the characters need something in a hurry whilst on a planet and I need to know if something was easily accessible to purchase. Its modified based on tech level of the world, what type of starport, its population, etc. The second number of the law level of the world. I broke the rating down between 1 and 10, with the letters, L (Low), M (Moderate), H (High), E (Extreme). Again, this was a hint for me to explain what the players could/couldn't do on a world.

OTHERS

Warning Circles - These come in Red and Orange. These are Travel Advisory warnings, similar to what you get if travelling overseas. Orange indicates a problem with the world (disease, civil unrest, etc) and that visitors should be well prepared prior to attempting travel there. Its also more expensive to get to. Red indicates high danger. No travel should be undertaken there due to calamity, pirates, dangerous lifeforms, etc.

The last symbols are the dotted and solid lines. The solid lines represent highly travelled space routes, whilst the dotted represent minor routes.

The last symbols are the dotted and solid lines. The solid lines represent highly travelled space routes, whilst the dotted represent minor routes.

This is truly awesome!

So, Bekescaan (0801) is a world with a good B-class star port, low law level (L1), and on a minor route. So, it would probably be a pretty popular place for scoundrels and villains to go to and hang out — right?

What about Aan Esti (0208)? I’m not seeing any law level there, but I do see a Sector Ranger station.

The last symbols are the dotted and solid lines. The solid lines represent highly travelled space routes, whilst the dotted represent minor routes.

This is truly awesome!

So, Bekescaan (0801) is a world with a good B-class star port, low law level (L1), and on a minor route. So, it would probably be a pretty popular place for scoundrels and villains to go to and hang out — right?

What about Aan Esti (0208)? I’m not seeing any law level there, but I do see a Sector Ranger station.

1) Yes about Bekescaan. Just mind your Ps and Qs as the Bekescaan Mining Alliance does still maintain a certain level of order.

2) That's my mistake. Aan Esti is a -1/H7. Thanks for picking that up I've since corrected this

Oh man, I'm so homesick for the True Imperium.