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)
Free Trader is the term given to an independent interstellar merchant ship, which plys the space lanes carrying cargo and passengers. Usually, a free trader is a 200-ton vessel capable of jump-1. The Craft Type Code assigned to these ships is A. An example of this type of ship is the standard 200-ton Beowulf-class free trader.
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. [1]
Basic Supraclass Definition
THE FAR TRADER: The basic ship involved in free trade is called the free trader. Variations on the basic ship have resulted in variations in the name. The subsidized merchant, partly because of its size, and partly because of its subsidy, is called the fat trader. Some well-equipped high-G traders employed beyond the Imperial border are called fast traders. The type A2 far trader derives its name from its jump capability: its drives are capable of Jump-2, twice what the standard free trader can do. The far trader can be encountered anywhere in the Imperium. It ranges far and wide, and deals with every world it finds. Even amber zones and red zones are not considered off limits by its captains, provided there is profit to be made and the risk of being caught is slight. Marc Miller. Traders and Gunboats (Game Designers Workshop, 1980), 23.
Selected Type A Variant Ships
- Type A class Free Trader
- Type A-J2 class Free Trader
- Type A-P class Free Trader
- Type SA class Free Trader
Armored Trader / Frontier Trader:
References & Contributors (Sources)
- Dave Sering. Starships and Spacecraft (Judges Guild, 1979), TBD.
- Twilight's Peak (book) (CT Adventure 3)
- Merchant Prince (book) (CT Book 7)
- 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
- Marc Miller. T5 Core Rules (Far Future Enterprises, 2013), TBD.
- Marc Miller. Starships and Spacecraft (Far Future Enterprises, 2014), TBD.
- 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
- ↑ Frank Chadwick. The Guilded Lilly (Game Designers Workshop, 1995), 43.