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 liner 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

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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 almost all orginally had 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.

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.

Selected Variant Types & Classes

Merchant Vessel - Tramp Liner:
Merchant Vessel - (Free Trader / Tramp Liner):

1. Type A class Free Trader
   1. Alexandria class Free Trader
   2. Basil class Merchant
   3. Beowulf class Free Trader
   4. Bremen class Caravel
   5. Carrack class Tramp Liner
   6. Coriander class Free Trader
   7. Lune class Freelancer
   8. March Harrier class Free Trader
   9. Moraine class Free Trader
   10. Nymph class Merchant
   11. Regni Yards Type A class Free Trader
   12. Tequila class Free Trader
   13. Type A1 class Free Trader
   14. Type A-J2 class Free Trader
   15. Type A-P class Free Trader
   16. Type TC(S) class Free Trader

Civilian Ship - Merchant Vessel - Far Trader:

1. Type A2 class Far Trader
   1. Akkigish class Far Trader
   2. Akkigish class Subsidized Merchant
   3. April Hare class Far Trader
   4. Avian class Far Trader
   5. Empress Marava class Far Trader
   6. Fanzhienz class Far Trader
   7. Farrou class Far Trader
   8. Garu class Far Trader
   9. Gizicih class General Trader
   10. Hero class Far Trader
   11. Hnneshant class Trade Boat
   12. Hugin class Trader
   13. Independent Hauler class Far Trader
   14. Jayhawk class Far Trader
   15. Khershawn class Trader
   16. Maru class Merchant
   17. Nymph class Merchant
   18. Princess Gunnhilde class Far Trader
   19. Salamander class Far Trader
   20. Soho class Light Freighter
   21. Solostar class Far Trader
   22. Stage class Far Trader
   23. Treader class Free Trader
   24. Type A2L class Far Trader
   25. Type HR class Trader
   26. Type VA class Trader
   27. Wulf class Free Trader

Merchant Vessel - (Deep Trader / Long Trader / Fast Trader):

1. Type A3 class Fast Trader
   1. Fat Cat class Far Trader
   2. Swordfish class Merchant
   3. Trojan Reaches Type A3 class Trader
   4. Type A3L class Far Trader

Merchant Vessel - (Armored Trader / Frontier Trader / Fast Trader):

1. Type AA class Armored Merchant
   1. Jasper class Provincial Merchant
   2. Khoghue class Armed Junker
   3. Nguksu class Armoured Fast Trader
   4. Siyuihwye class Armored Trader
   5. Star class Armored Merchant
   6. Type RAX class Protected Merchant
   7. Venture class Frontier Trader

Merchant Vessel - Heavy Trader:

1. Type AH class Heavy Trader
   1. Dakaar class Freighter
   2. Dakaar class Merchant Transport
   3. Leviathan class Merchant Cruiser
   4. Type TI class Merchant
   5. Type TJ class Merchant

Merchant Vessel - Light Trader:

1. Type AL class Light Trader
   1. Anjou class Freighter
   2. Aoa'iw class Light Trader
   3. Burning Sky class Merchant Schooner
   4. Consul class Provincial Trader
   5. Fortune class Merchant
   6. Joshim P. Stone class Provincial Trader
   7. Liz Zhorka class Light Trader
   8. Manta class Small Merchant
   9. Panga class Merchant
   10. Paya class Light Freighter
   11. Rhapsody class Merchant Trader
   12. Tachyon class Light Trader
   13. Unholy Exile class Trader

Merchant Vessel - Medium Trader:

1. Type AM class Medium Trader
   1. Anhk class Merchant
   2. Bloodwell class Merchant
   3. Tyrfing class Freighter

Ship Summary List

0 Representative Free Trader (A1) Classes
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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.
• Dave Sering. Starships and Spacecraft (Judges Guild, 1979), TBD.
• Marc Miller. Twilight's Peak (Game Designers Workshop, 1980), TBD. (Classic Traveller Adventure 3)
• Jim Cunningham. High Passage 1 (FASA, 1981), 53.
• Marc Miller. Merchant Prince (Game Designers Workshop, 1985), TBD. (Classic Traveller Book 7)
• 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.
• Frank Chadwick. The Guilded Lilly (Game Designers Workshop, 1995), TBD.
• Don Perrin. Starships (Imperium Games, 1996), 28-29.
• Loren Wiseman. Deck Plan 1: Beowulf-class Free Trader (Steve Jackson Games, 2000), TBD.
• Bryan Steele. Merchant Prince (Mongoose Publishing, 2010), TBD.
• Marc Miller. T5 Core Rules (Far Future Enterprises, 2013), TBD.
• Marc Miller. Starships and Spacecraft (Far Future Enterprises, 2014), TBD.
• Traveller Wiki Editorial Team
• Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science