Motmos (world)

Motmos/District 268 (Spinward Marches 1340)
Classic Era (1116)	B68468B-5 Starport B Good: Spacecraft Construction, Overhaul, Refined fuel Size 6 Medium (9,600 km, 0.60g - 0.81g) Atmosphere 8 Dense Hydrographics 4 Wet World 40% Population 6 Moderate (7 million) Government 8 Civil Service Bureaucracy Law B Extreme Law (control of movement) Tech Level 5 Industrial (mass production)
See also	UWP
System Details
Primary	M2 V M2 V
Planetoid Belts	1
Gas Giants	0

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Jump map from Travellermap.com

Motmos is a nonindustrial, rich, agricultural world with improving living conditions due to a bustling agro-economy.

• As an agricultural world, this world is a near-ideal environment for producing quality foodstuffs of plant, animal, and other forms. Quality foodstuffs are a major export commodity for this world.
• It requires extensive imports of outside technology to maintain a modern, star-faring society. Having to import most manufactured and high tech goods drives the price up for these items at this world.
• This is a rich world with a prosperous and thriving world economy.
• Its economy is bustling and an increase in living conditions is expected in the near future.
• It is a client state of the Third Imperium in the District 268 Subsector of Spinward Marches Sector.
• This is a "low technology" world with technology competencies well below standard for Charted Space.
• This world-system has a Naval Base, usually associated with military starships, which may be located on or off-world.
• Motmos is a member of the Spinward Main.
• It lies on the Collace Arm.

Astrography & Planetology

Stellar Data

Motmos is a binary star system.

• Both are red main sequence stars.

Motmos has two stars in the star system.

Motmos
	Type	Category		Mass (Sol)	Temperature (K)	Luminosity
	M2 V	Main Sequence (Dwarf)		0.44	3470 - 3560	0.0565
	Unit	Diameter	Safe Distance	Habitable Zone	Jump Shadow	M-Drive Limit
	AU	0.0041	0.0197	0.25 - 0.48	0.41	4.1
	Orbit #	*	*	1	1	6
	Remarks		None
Motmos
	Type	Category		Mass (Sol)	Temperature (K)	Luminosity
	M2 V	Main Sequence (Dwarf)		0.44	3470 - 3560	0.0565
	Unit	Diameter	Safe Distance	Habitable Zone	Jump Shadow	M-Drive Limit
	AU	0.0041	0.0197	0.25 - 0.48	0.41	4.1
	Orbit #	*	*	1	1	6
	Remarks		None

System Data

The worlds of the system have been surveyed. They consist of:

• The mainworld.
• x5 secondary rocky worlds.
• x1 planetoid belt.

Mainworld Data

Motmos stands at the very edge of known space on the border between the Spinward Marches and the unexplored vastness of the Trojan Reaches Sector. It is a resource-rich world that huddles precariously in the narrow habitable zone of the cool red primary star, and would be notably less hospitable if its average temperature was not boosted ever so slightly by the system’s secondary star (a red dwarf). Thus, against the odds, Motmos enjoys a temperate climate that, together with the dense atmosphere, make it a prime agricultural planet. Motmos is also a world of striking beauty with towering mountain ranges, lush valleys, colorful deserts, and a network of small seas and lakes.

Mainworld Size (S)

Motmos is a Meso World between 8,800km and 10,400km in diameter. The world has a standard gravity between 0.6G and 0.8G. The horizon will appear about 4.4km away.

Mainworld Atmosphere (A)

Motmos has a pressure of 1.50 to 2.49 atmospheres. A Dense Atmosphere requires no survival gear although it may be hard on sophonts not accustomed to it.

Mainworld Hydrosphere (H)

Motmos has 35-45% of its surface covered by liquid water. There will be a number of small seas or one larger body of water. Wilderness refueling is possible.

Mainworld Geography and Topography

No centrally held map of the world exists within AAB Library Data records.

(Blank map, predominantly dry world.)

History & Background (Dossier)

Motmos was colonized just 14 years after the first full IISS survey of the system was completed in 502. The original 400-plus settlers all belonged to a tiny “back-to-basics” social movement known as the ‘Separatists’ that had recently emerged in the Mora Subsector. Separatist philosophy, which valued the preservation of natural ecosystems above all else, taught that sophonts should live ‘on the land’, raise their own food, and limit industrial and technological development to the minimum necessary to sustain a “modern” civilization. The colonists accordingly created a society based on self-sufficient farming communities, and deliberately “froze” their technology at TL–5 (pre-nuclear, pre-computer, pre-spacefaring), with a strong bias in favor of ‘environmentally friendly’ technologies. They also enacted strict environmental protection laws, prohibited virtually all weapons, and placed severe limits on further immigration.

Today there are about 7 million sophonts on Motmos, the bulk of whom are descendants of the original colonists. Most reside in small farming communities scattered across the principal landmass. The capital, Kinnipac, with a population of approximately 130,000, is the only true city on the planet. It is situated within a few kilometers of the sole starport, which was constructed and is operated by an offworld corporation.

In 780, Motmos, Tarsus, and Tarkine formed the Ag Worlds Combine, a loose cartel that was designed to halt a spiral of mutually-destructive price competition in the lucrative agricultural export markets of Forine and Collace. It supplies food to much of District 268, which includes many systems (Trexalon, Singer, etc.) whose inhospitable and/or degraded environments made it difficult for them to feed their populations. The Ag Worlds Combine’s headquarters is located on Motmos just outside of Kinnipac.

After Dallia briefly seized control of Tarkine in 840 in order to resolve its food supply problems, the Ag Worlds Combine became focused on presenting a common front against any future aggression. Since all three members were greatly inferior to any potential aggressor in both population and technology, they resolved to use their control of much of the subsector’s food as a weapon. The Combine accordingly made it known that if one of its members was threatened or invaded, the others would embargo all food exports to the offending system(s). Although the Ag Worlds Combine still technically exists, it was seriously undermined when the Imperium invaded Tarkine in 960 and forcibly replaced its government - which had been covertly backing corsair activity.

Tacking swiftly to catch the shifting winds, Motmos then sought the Imperium’s protection against its more powerful, but food-poor, neighbors. In 963 it officially became a client state and allowed the establishment of an Imperial navy base in the system four years later. The naval base includes a dirtside facility that is located directly adjacent to Kinnipac Starport, a large orbital repair yard/fuel refinery, and smaller facilities (training sites, supply and ammunition depots, early warning stations, etc.) located on half a dozen other moons and planetary surfaces throughout the Motmos system. The Motmosians themselves are committed pacifists and maintain no armed forces of any kind.

World Starport (St)

Motmos has a Class B Starport, a good quality installation which includes all the expected amenities including refined fuel for starships, brokerage services for passengers and cargo, and a variety of ship provisions. There is a shipyard capable of doing annual maintenance, overhauls and most kinds of repair, and construction of non-starships. Most ports of this classification have both a Highport and a Downport.

• The facility is named Kinnipac Starport.
• The world is host to a Naval Base.

World Population (P)

Motmos has a population of 7,000,000 sophonts (millions).

• This is a Nonindustrial World, too small to support the complete chain of production of most goods from start to finish.

World Technology Level (T)

Motmos possesses a Technology Level of TL–5.

• Common Communication technologies for this TL include: Telephone, radio, and television.
• Common Power Generation technologies for this TL include: Electricity, hydrocarbon internal combustion, and the most fundamental atomic energy.
• Common Transportation technologies for this TL include:
  • Land: Ground cars or automobiles and tracked vehicles.
  • Water: Large ships and submersibles with steel hulls.
  • Air: Early aircraft including seaplanes and very early unmanned rockets.

World Government (G)

Motmos is governed by a Civil Service Bureaucracy. The leadership of the government takes another form (democracy, dictatorship, oligarchy), but the bureaucracy leadership influences policy. The government leadership may select the bureaucracy leadership, but not its membership. Usually the governmental leadership is divided, or incapable of setting policy, and the bureaucracy provides a stabilizing influence. This ruling bureaucracy may be the full government bureaucractic apparatus or a section with limited jurisdiction but considerable influence, like the military.

The planet is governed by a civil service bureaucracy whose members are selected by competitive examinations that test both their technical skills and their knowledge of Separatist principles. In order to uphold those principles, the government strictly regulates almost every aspect of daily life. Whether its aim is to prevent environmental damage, halt the introduction of prohibited technologies, control population growth, or merely to ensure that Motmos’ exacting agricultural quality control standards are met, the bureaucracy rigidly and inflexibly enforces thousands of pages of highly-detailed rules and regulations. This necessitates a pervasive system of administration and law enforcement that employs large numbers of police and junior bureaucrats distributed in even the smallest settlements. Since many agencies have responsibilities that overlap in confusing and unpredictable ways, navigating one’s way through Motmos’ labyrinthine bureaucracy can be a tedious and highly frustrating experience. The inhabitants do not find this oppressive because they have been inculcated in the doctrines of Separatism since birth.

World Law (L)

Motmos has an extreme law level which covers every area of interaction. Laws are complex, detailed, and difficult to understand. Every interaction with the government requires an Advocate. Law enforcement is omnipresent and strict. Legal proceeding can take months to years to resolve and may involve dozens of people. A few worlds with this law level may be a Red Zone and others will be an Amber Zone. All objects specifically manufactured as weapons are typically regulated or prohibited (with no exception for private residences; visiting starships are only protected so long as they stay within designated starports and approach corridors). Civilian movement is rigidly controlled. Travel documents are frequently checked, and destinations must often be declared when traveling substantial distances across the world.

Trade Data

• Importance: 1 (ordinary)

World Economy

Motmos’ economy revolves around agriculture, and it exports a wide variety of foodstuffs throughout District 268. All manner of crops and livestock flourish on the shores of the lakes and seas in the in the equatorial zone, though inland regions tend to be rocky deserts that blend back into craggy mountains. However, some of the best cereal crops are grown in the temperate zones, where the heavily-forested mountain foothills yield excellent lumber. The planet possesses all of the mineral resources required for the development of an industrial economy, but the inhabitants have deliberately chosen not to exploit them. Moreover, in keeping with Separatist philosophy, primitive telephone and telegraph networks provide the only means of long-distance communication, and transport technology is limited to electric-powered trains and automobiles, sailing vessels with auxiliary steam propulsion, and a handful of propeller-driven aircraft.

• Resources: 8 (moderate)
• Labor: 5 (hundreds of thousands)
• Infrastructure: 5 (limited)
• Efficiency: +3 (improved)

World Culture

• Heterogenity: 8 (discordant)
• Acceptance: 7 (aloof)
• Strangeness: 7 (confusing)
• Symbols: 7 (somewhat concrete)

World Timeline

Major events that have affected this world and the wider region that it lies within:

• The Year 0: the Third Imperium is founded.
• 300-420: the Imperial First Survey charts the system.
• 589-604: First Frontier War.
• 604-622: the Civil War.
• 615-620: Second Frontier War.
• 624: the Express Boat Network is established.
• 979-986: Third Frontier War.
• 995-1065: the Imperial Second Survey charts the system.
• 1065: the Second Survey is published. Information about the system becomes widely available.
• 1082-1084: Fourth Frontier War, also known as the False War.
• 1107-1110: Fifth Frontier War.

References & Contributors (Sources)

This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Mongoose Publishing or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

• Marc Miller. The Spinward Marches (Game Designers Workshop, 1979), 18-19.
• Marc Miller. The Spinward Marches Campaign (Game Designers Workshop, 1985), 18-19.
• Marc Miller. Imperial Encyclopedia (Game Designers Workshop, 1987), 94-100. (UWP only)
• Rob Caswell. "Domain of Deneb: Sector Data." MegaTraveller Journal 3 (1992): 47-58. (UWP only)
• Dave Nilsen. The Regency Sourcebook (Game Designers Workshop, 1995), 48-49. (UWP only)
• Martin Dougherty, Neil Frier. Behind the Claw (Steve Jackson Games, 1998), 76.
• Mike West. The Spinward States (Avenger Enterprises, 2008), 110. (UWP only)
• Martin Dougherty. The Spinward Marches (Mongoose Publishing, 2008), .
• Martin Dougherty. Behind the Claw (Mongoose Publishing, 2019), 123-127. (UWP only)
• Timothy Collinson. Three Blind Mice (March Harrier Publishing, 2020), 30.