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Trafe |
Trafe was "custom build" in order to have a Cyberpunkish
planet usable for CP adventures conversion.
In my campaign, Trafe is an Imperial world on the Imperial
side of a buffer zone separating the Imperium and Zhodani
areas. This last fact is not really mandatory, and you can
place it anywhere an High Pop, TL-A planet better suits your
campaign.
On Trafe, the real power is firmly in the hand of a dozen of
planet-wide corporations. Even if their power is laughable when
compared with the Imperial MegaCorporations, their control on
local affairs is complete.
Distance from Imperial control and weak governments helped
making a criminal paradise of Trafe. A lot of shady dealings
take place on it, and the Corporations don't really care, at
least while crime does not interfere with normal business. In
fact, many citizens suspect that illegal goods (like drugs,
hazardous biotech and other banned products) are actually
produced on Trafe and then resold on planets outside the
Imperial influence.
Culturally, Trafe is in the middle of the cybercraze to which
some TL-A planets succumb, especially when social pressure is
high. Most citizens seem to be strongly influenced by
technophilia and neophilia, and experiment freely with
cybernetics, VR, braindance and other similar fades.
Size & Atmosphere: Both are standard, but Trafe
air is quite polluted, mostly because the planet has large
fossil fuel deposits which have been fully exploited by the
natives. Local life forms were pretty simple (as shown below)
and the massive use of fuels, coupled with the limited impact
of imported plantlife caused the rising atmosphere
pollution.
The air is not healthy, but may be breathed without
filters.
Life Profile ............ Nucleic/Amino acids/Abundant DNA/Abundant Bacteria - uses hydrocarbons/Abundant Cyanophyte Bacteria - photosynthesizing/Abundant Protozoa/Abundant Waxed Algae/Plentiful Mosses/Widespread Rhizomes - eg Horsetails/Uncommon Gymnosperms - eg Cycads, Conifers, Ferns/Rare Moulds/Widespread Mushrooms/Uncommon Sponges/Abundant Hydrocarbon Fuel deposits exist - eg oil, gas, coal PlentifulMost of the land is cultivated. This contributes to desertification and other ecological disasters. The ecosystem is not stable, partly because all animals and many plants were imported from other planets and flora and fauna are far from reaching a satisfying balance: sudden extinction or surprisingly fast population increase are common among various animal and plant species.
Population: 1.2 Billions inhabitants.
Population is concentrated in highly urbanized areas.
Agriculture is almost completely automated, and the land far
from the cities has a very low population density.
Wealth is not well distributed, with a tiny number of very
rich people, a vanishing middle class and an ever rising number
of poors. This creates a lot of social unrest.
Law Level: Low. Gang wars, drugs, corporate wars,
social unrest and terrorism cause an high level of
violence.
Being on the fringe of Imperium gives Trafe a sort of
"Hong-Kong" feel, rife with illicit dealings and a certain
propensity for smuggling drugs, info, tech and other shady
goods to and fro the non-Imperium worlds around it.
Police is easily bribed, and serious law enforcement is often
provided either by private companies or by Corporation
security.
Government: The real power is firmly in the hand of Corporations, even if facade governments exist. Trafe population is divided in 6 states, which form a planetary federation. There is little chance of war or other form of open conflict among the states, and laws and customs are not very differentiated.
Tech Level: My take on Traveller Imperium is heavily
influenced by a "British Empire in space" attitude.
This means that some of the cultural obsessions of the Trafe
population, (especially their fixation with cybernetics,
violence, paranoia and their manic dog-eats-dog ethics) seem
more than a little insane to people coming from more
"civilized" parts of the Empire. All the "Cyberpunk" stuff
could be considered just "a phase" which some of the planets
pass through during their technical and cultural progress, just
like humans have to "pass through" adolescence.