Free Trader

A Free Trader is a small starship commonly used for interstellar trade and commerce that is capable of Jump-1.

• Please see the AAB ship entry on Type A class Free Traders for the iconic ship of this generalized type.
• It is a Civilian Ship, a merchant ship, a trader... often used for tramp work.

Description (Specifications)

Hundreds of variants exist. The typical size equals 200 tons. A similar starship capable of Jump-2 is called a Far Trader.

Using a 200-ton TL–9 streamlined hull, the free trader is an elementary interstellar merchant ship plying the space lanes carrying cargo and passengers. It is fitted with drives giving it Jump-1 and 1-G acceleration. Fuel tankage supports one Jump-1 and two months of power plant operations. Fuel scoops are included. Installed on the bridge is a computer Model/1 and the default sensor suite.

Cargo capacity, the ship’s most important feature, is 82 tons, plus a mail vault. The hull is streamlined, and can land on uneven terrain. The free trader requires a crew of four: pilot/astrogator, engineer, medic, and steward

History & Background (Dossier)

The term Free Trader can be very confusing, as it refers both to a group of individuals and a type merchant vessel. Free Traders (the people) are men and women who owe allegiance to no government and who call no planet home. In many cases they were born on ship-board and have never lived "dirtside." These Free Traders farm a loose-knit tribal community and are the only vestige of interstellar commerce in collapsed Imperial Space, albeit a sparse and thin vestige. Back in Imperial times, there were free traders as well, but the term was merely a description of a job (like "gas station attendant") rather than of a unique way of life under circumstances where there is no longer any interstellar authority. The Free Traders of the New Era are a nation without a state, but form a continuous link to a lost epoch.

The vessels called free traders are a small and relatively cheap type of merchant ship. Although these free traders can be of various specific classes (Beowulf TL-15 free trader, Moraine TL-10 free trader, etc.), all share certain characteristics: they displace 200 tons, have jump-1 and 1-G performance, and have a simple and inexpensive electronics suite.

During Imperial times, the starship free trader was often capitalized in order to specify those precise performance parameters, while the free trader profession was lower case as befitted a general job description. However, in the New Era these terms are differentiated in the text by the use of lower case for the vessels as opposed to uppercase for the people.

Finally, Free Traders who have regular contact with the Reformation Coalition do not fly free traders; you can't get to Coalition Space from the Wilds with a Jump-1 ship.

Selected Type A Variant Ships

Free Trader:

1. Type A class Free Trader
2. Type A-J2 class Free Trader
3. Type A-P class Free Trader
   1. Basil class Merchant
   2. Beowulf class Free Trader
   3. Moraine class Free Trader
   4. Regni Yards Type A class Free Trader

Far Trader:

1. Type A1 class Far Trader
2. Type A2 class Far Trader
3. Type A2L class Far Trader
4. Type A3 class Far Trader
5. Type A3L class Far Trader
   1. Avian class Far Trader
   2. Empress Marava class Far Trader
   3. Garu class Far Trader
   4. Hero class Far Trader
   5. Jayhawk class Far Trader
   6. Prince Ferren class Far Trader

Deep Trader / Fast Trader:

1. Type A3 class Fast Trader
   1. Trojan Reaches Type A3 class Trader

Armored Trader:

1. Type AA class Armored Merchant
   1. Ronkli class Combat Transport
   2. Star class Armored Merchant

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 Far Future Enterprises or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

• Marc Miller. Starships (Game Designers Workshop, 1977), 19.
• Jim Cunningham. High Passage 1 (FASA, 1981), 53.
• Marc Miller. Imperial Encyclopedia (Game Designers Workshop, 1987), 81.
• Rob Caswell, William W. Connors, Joe Fugate, Gary L. Thomas. Starship Operator's Manual (Digest Group Publications, 1988), .
• Frank Chadwick, Dave Nilsen. Traveller: The New Era (Game Designers Workshop, 1993), 368.
• Frank Chadwick, Dave Nilsen. Brilliant Lances (Game Designers Workshop, 1994), 21.
• Guilded Lilly 0: The Guilded Lilly
• Don Perrin. Starships (Imperium Games, 1996), 28-29.
• Loren Wiseman. Deck Plan 1: Beowulf-class Free Trader (Steve Jackson Games, 2000), .
• Traveller Wiki Editorial Team
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science