Location:

Fulacin (Spinward Marches 2613)  Rhylanor Subsector, Spinward Marches, Third Imperium – Classic Traveller RPG

 

Overview:

Nestled in the arid, heavy-metal-tainted deserts of Fulacin, approximately 600 km from the planet’s Class A starport at Fulacin Down, lies the Dustveil Arsenal, a clandestine arms dealership operating out of a camouflaged bunker complex. This fortified outpost caters to mercenaries, smugglers, and rogue factions seeking high-tech weaponry beyond the Imperium’s watchful eye. The facility thrives in Fulacin’s lawless outback, where the planet’s sparse population (2,300 sophonts) and corporate governance by Spinward Development Corp. allow such operations to flourish with minimal oversight. The Dustveil Arsenal is a hotspot for intrigue, offering PCs a chance to purchase rare weapons, uncover black-market schemes, or tangle with dangerous clients, all while navigating the desert’s environmental hazards and the arsenal’s paranoid defenses.

Setting Details:

• Fulacin (Spinward Marches 2613): A temperate, high-tech (TL 13) world with a standard oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere tainted by heavy-metal dust and oxides, requiring filter masks to avoid respiratory illness or carcinoma. The planet has 42% hydrographics (small seas), abundant native wildlife, and a population of 2,300, mostly transient workers or corporate staff. Its Class A starport, Fulacin Down, is a hub for ship construction and trade, linked to Rhylanor, the subsector capital.
• Location: The Dustveil Arsenal is in the Ironwind Expanse, a vast desert of rust-colored dunes and eroded mesas, 600 km northeast of Fulacin Down. Abandoned mining rigs dot the region, and metallic dust storms choke it, obscuring sensors.
• Access: Reaching the arsenal requires a 600 km overland journey from Fulacin Down, as corporate patrols and dust storms disrupt sensors restrict air travel. PCs can use grav vehicles, ATVs, or air/rafts, but must contend with navigation challenges (Survival or Navigation skill checks). The trip takes 12–18 hours by ground vehicle or 3–4 hours by grav vehicle, assuming no delays. Note that the law level does not preclude landing a starship or ship’s boat near the Arsenal entrance, though this will annoy Varek, the arms dealer.

Description of the Dustveil Arsenal:

The Dustveil Arsenal is a subterranean complex built into a low mesa, camouflaged by holo-emitters and dust-coated panels to blend with the desert. Automated turrets and a biometric scanner guard its entrance, a reinforced blast door hidden in a dry gulch. Inside, the bunker sprawls across multiple levels: a showroom of advanced weaponry, a workshop for custom mods, secure vaults for high-value stock, and a command center bristling with surveillance tech. Varek Torm, a grizzled ex-Imperial Marine, runs the facility. He has become an arms dealer, whose network spans the Spinward Main. The arsenal’s isolation and Fulacin’s lax oversight make it a haven for black-market deals, but its clients—mercenaries, pirates, and even Zhodani agents—create a volatile atmosphere.

Environmental Hazards:

• Tainted Atmosphere: Without filter masks (Cr50, widely available), PCs suffer 1d6 damage per hour from heavy-metal dust inhalation (Endurance check to halve damage). Long-term exposure (End check weekly DM-2) risks carcinoma (Medic check, DM-2, to diagnose/treat).
• Dust Storms: Periodic storms (1d6 chance daily) reduce visibility to 10 meters, impose DM-2 on all skill checks, and jam sensors (Electronics check DM-2, to compensate). Vehicles risk mechanical failure (Mechanic check pre storm to avoid).
• Wildlife: Predatory dust-vipers ambush from dunes, targeting lone travelers. (2d6 kg, Animal, Pouncer, 6/6 hits, Teeth 1d6, Stealth 2) Their metallic scales make them hard to detect (Recon check DM-2).

Key Features of the Dustveil Arsenal:

• Entrance Gulch: A narrow, wind-scoured gulch conceals the blast door (TL 13, Armor requires 200 points of explosive damage to breach). Two plasma turrets (TL 12, 4d6 damage, program has DR+1 to hit) scan for intruders (Sensors check DM-4 to disable). A biometric scanner requires a pre-arranged code or Computer DM-6 to bypass.
• Showroom: A cavernous chamber displays weapons: TL 12 laser rifles (Cr4,000, 4d6), TL 13 gauss pistols (Cr2500, 3d6), plasma grenades (Cr500, 6d6), and rare TL 14 Zhodani disruptors (Cr10000, 3d6 + stun, illegal). Prices are 20% above standard because of black-market premiums. Barter or Streetwise DM-2 can lower costs.
• Workshop: A TL 13 weapons fabrication lab customizes weapons (e.g., DM+1 accuracy for Cr1,000) or repairs gear (Mechanic check). Suspicious PCs may notice crates marked with corporate logos, hinting at Spinward Development Corp.’s involvement.
• Vaults: TL 14 secure vaults (Computer DM-8, to breach) hold experimental weapons, like a prototype TL 15 meson pistol (Cr50,000, 5d6, 1/day). Stealing risks triggering alarms and lockdown.
• Command Center: Varek’s nerve center, with holo-displays tracking clients and desert patrols. A TL 13 computer holds client lists, including names tied to pirates, clans, or Zhodani agents (Computer, DM-4, to access).

Key NPCs:

• Varek Torm (Arms Dealer): Human, ex-Imperial Marine Marine Force Commander 4A2946 Age 46 7 Terms Cr 50000; Blade Combat-3, Brawling-2, Cutlass-1, Electronic-2, Gun Combat-1, Revolver-1, Vacc Suit-2, Vehicle-1. Charismatic but paranoid, Varek runs the arsenal with a mix of charm and ruthlessness. He’s loyal to profit, not factions, but rumors tie him to Spinward Development Corp. Motivation: Maximize deals, avoid Imperial scrutiny.
• Lira Khev (Tech): Aslan female Merchant 3rd Officer 8A2869 Age 42 6 Terms Cr 45000, Mechanical-3, Navigation-1, Vacc Suit-1. Lira maintains the arsenal’s weapons and security systems, distrusting humans but being loyal to Varek. She knows corporate conspiracy but won’t talk without leverage. Motivation: Protect her pride, earn honor.
• Rax “Scorpion” Vell (Mercenary Client): Human male Retired Army Colonel A87986 Age 34 4 Terms Cr 17000, Air/Raft-1, Brawling-2, Electronic-1, Forward Observer-2, Mechanical-1, Rifle-1, SMG-1, Vehicle-1. A volatile merc leader shopping for weapons, Rax is quick to violence and tied to Neutral Rim pirates. Motivation: Arm his crew, settling scores.

Encounter Hooks:

• The Deal: A fixer hires the PCs to buy TL 14 disruptors from the arsenal for a client (e.g., a rebel group or corporate spy). Varek demands a steep price (Cr15,000 each) and proof of loyalty (e.g., a favor, like eliminating a rival client). Rax’s crew complicates the deal, suspecting the PCs are Imperial agents. Complication: Trackers on the disruptors alert Zhodani operatives to the buyer's location.
• The Sting: Imperial Scouts hire the PCs to infiltrate the arsenal and plant a tracking beacon in the command center to expose Varek’s clients. They must pose as buyers, navigate Varek’s paranoia, and avoid Lira’s security sweeps. Complication: Rax recognizes a PC from a past job, threatening to blow their cover unless they cut him in.
• The Heist: A rival arms dealer offers the PCs Cr100,000 to steal the meson pistol from the vaults. They must bypass turrets, hack the vault, and escape before Varek locks down the complex. Complication: A TL 14 neurotoxin trap (Endurance check DM-4, or 2d6 damage + unconsciousness) rigs the pistol’s case.
• The Corporate Shadow: The PCs discover crates in the workshop marked with Spinward Development Corp. logos, suggesting the corporation is funneling weapons to pirates or clans. Investigating risks Varek’s wrath and a corporate hit squad arriving to “clean up.” Complication: Lira knows the truth but will only spill if the PCs help her defect to the Darrian Confederation.

Random Encounter Table

(1d6, roll every 4 hours in the desert):

1. Dust Storm: Visibility drops, -2 to all checks, vehicles risk stalling (Mechanic to avoid).
2. Dust-Viper Ambush: 1d6 vipers attack (6/6 hits, Teeth 1d6, Stealth 2).
3. Scavenger Patrol: 2d6 scavengers (TL 10 rifles, 2d6 damage) demand Cr500 toll or fight.
4. Abandoned Rig: A derelict mining rig holds Cr1,000 in salvage but risks collapse (Dex).
5. Corporate Drone: A TL 13 surveillance drone scans the area (Stealth, DM-2, to avoid). If spotted, it alerts a patrol (arrives in 1d6 hours).
6. Mirage Cache: A hidden crate holds TL 12 medkits (Cr500) but is booby-trapped (Explosives, DM-2, or 3d6 damage).

Game Mechanics (Classic Traveller):

• Travel: Overland movement is 50 km/hour (ATV) or 200 km/hour (grav vehicle). Dust storms halve speed. Navigation avoids getting lost (+1d6 hours).
• Combat: Arsenal guards (2d6) use TL 12 laser rifles (3d6, +1 to hit) and TL 13 armor (Protection 15). Varek’s elite drones (TL 13, 10/10 hits, 4d6 plasma, Auto 2) join if alarms trigger.
• Social: Streetwise negotiates with Varek; Bribery (DM-2) sways Lira. Rax requires intimiation (DM-1) to back down.
• Hazards: Tainted atmosphere damage (1d6/hour, halved with Endurance) and dust-viper attacks (1d6, +2 to hit if surprised) test PC resilience.
• Rewards: Weapons (gauss rifles, disruptors), Cr10,000–50,000 in black-market credits, or intel on corporate/pirate networks. Stealing the meson pistol yields Cr100,000 but marks PCs as targets.

 

GM Notes:

• Tone: Gritty and tense, with a noir underworld vibe. The arsenal is a pressure cooker of greed, betrayal, and high-tech danger, set against Fulacin’s desolate beauty.
• Escalation: If PCs linger, rival clients (e.g., Dravani Clan enforcers) or corporate enforcers arrive, sparking a firefight. A failed heist triggers a lockdown (1d6 hours to escape).
• Consequences: Deals with Varek tie PCs to the black market, drawing Imperial or Zhodani scrutiny. Exposing the corporate link risks assassination contracts but earns Scout favor.
• Variations: Vary clients (Sword Worlds, Darrians), Varek’s true allegiance (corporate stooge or independent), or the vault’s prize (e.g., a TL 15 AI drone). The corporate conspiracy can tie to larger Spinward Marches arcs, like clan wars or Zhodani espionage.

 

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