TEXT: BATTLETECH
  TM
  TOURING THE STARS
  
  ATlAS
  4
  BENET III
  Star Type (Recharge Time): M5V (206 hours)
  Position in System: 3 (of 8)
  Time to Jump Point:  2.45 days
  Number of Satellites: None
  Surface Gravity: 0.65
  Atm. Pressure: High (Tainted)
  Equatorial Temperature: 28 °C (Arid)
  Surface Water: 60%
  Recharging Station: None
  HPG Class: B
  Highest Native Life: Reptiles
  Population: 681,035,000 (3096)
  Socio-Industrial Levels: B-B-A-B-D 
  Landmasses (Capital City): Sierra (Donner)
  BENET III
  First surveyed in 2239, the Benet system was initially written off 
  as unsuitable for colonization. According to legend, the system 
  was named for an unrequited love by the survey mission captain, 
  who took his own life after filing the official paperwork to register 
  the name. Although originally pronounced in the French fashion, 
  over the subsequent centuries the name shifted to have a hard 
  consonantal ending.
  Despite the assessment, the first colonists arrived nearly two 
  decades after the system’s survey. These first settlers were employees 
  of an industrial conglomerate drawn to the planet’s potential mineral 
  wealth, rather than one or more of Terra’s coherent ethnic groups. As 
  a result, the populace was never dominated by any one culture and 
  any traditions that grew up over the years were generally localized 
  and small-scale in nature. Planetfall for the initial batch of settlers—all 
  employees of various mining and manufacturing corporations and 
  their families—saw the establishment in 2261 of a small community 
  that would grow into the city of Morningside, later to function as the 
  planet’s first capital.
  To the early colonists, it was obvious how Benet would likely 
  have gone ignored indefinitely, were it not for its abundant mineral 
  deposits. Sierra, the sole continental landmass, is volcanic in origin, 
  with a string of still-active volcanoes stretching across the northern 
  reaches. Surrounding the peaks and extending most of the way 
  south into Sierra’s interior is a wide swath of badlands that made the 
  central regions of the continent unsuitable for large settlements, so 
  the majority of Benet’s population resided along the southern coastal 
  regions, with smaller communities scattered along the shores of 
  the Northern Sea. The Scitte Isles, located far off in the Eastern Sea, 
  were completely uninhabited, being barely able to support a meager 
  amount of native life, let alone human enclaves. Automated harvesters 
  crisscrossed these islands, collecting the chemically rich biological 
  byproducts of what animal life was found there, and periodic transports 
  brought the results back to Sierra for processing.
  The primary hindrance to more widespread settlement of Sierra’s 
  interior was the dangerous and unpredictable gasses that spew forth 
  both from the northern range volcanoes as well as many fissures 
  amid the badlands’ rough terrain. Frequent seismic activity made 
  it difficult to predict when and where an outgassing would occur, 
  but the deeper into the badlands and closer to the active volcanoes 
  one went, the greater the chances. In the foothills surrounding 
  the volcanoes, the air was so permeated by poisonous gas that 
  rebreathers were necessary; even people living near the southern 
  end of the badlands tended to keep rebreathers on their persons at 
  all times. Today, evidence of this difficult environment is apparent 
  in the number of ghost towns—some quite large—that dotted this 
  region, most having been abandoned during the Succession Wars 
  as it became more and more difficult to maintain the technology 
  necessary to safely live under threat of wandering gas clouds.
  Sierra was divided into four administrative districts. Gakken County, 
  covering the majority of the continent, was largely uninhabited, with 
  only the narrow northern coast amenable to settlement. Beaux Pawl 
  was the largest town in the county, but mostly served to support the 
  research facilities and military bases sprinkled across the badlands. The 
  town was also home to the planet’s main orbital tracking station (which 
  unfortunately made it the focus of a number of attacks throughout the 
  Succession Wars). The station doubled as an astronomical research 
  
  ATlAS
  5
  facility and produced many prestigious award winners from its staff. 
  Traffic at the small Beaux Pawl spaceport mainly brought in necessities 
  bound for the bases with only a trickle of outbound mineral shipments.
  Kehl County, in the southwest, was the most heavily populated 
  region on Benet and home to the majority of the planet’s industrial 
  facilities. Johnston Industries operated the largest of these complexes 
  in the foothills around Martine. During the FedCom Civil War, the 
  forests of western Kehl saw intense action between the Forty-first 
  Avalon Hussars and the Fifth Donegal Guards. A number of military 
  bases throughout the region not only provided protection for the 
  valuable factories but also functioned as high-capacity supply depots 
  for several large-scale operations conducted by various ruling powers, 
  dating all the way back to Operation SMOTHER in the 2720s. The 
  massive Martine and Rohan spaceports handled more traffic than 
  the other five spaceports on Benet put together, mostly outbound 
  shipping from Johnston and other manufacturers, as well as raw 
  mineral exports.
  Marquis County, a narrow strip of land surrounding the city of 
  Marquis Falls, was the location of what passed for a resort area on 
  Benet. The richest inhabitants of the planet, including all of the senior 
  management at Johnston Industries, owned extensive estates in this 
  county, particularly in the exclusive Hylene Isles just off the coast. 
  Several resort towns dotted the coast and spearfishing in the crystal-
  blue waters was a popular activity. While Benet did not get much in the 
  way of tourist trade, the Marquis shore was a popular destination for 
  corporate visitors and high-ranking military staff.
  The fourth district, the Donner Administrative District, became 
  home to the planetary capital city of Donner, which lay in the heart 
  of the region. Donner became the capital after a severe gas eruption 
  during the Third Succession War forced the evacuation of Morningside. 
  The establishment of Donner as the capital also coincided with the 
  rise of the Ducrimmon-Davions as Benet’s ruling family. A purely 
  administrative city, Donner possessed very little in the way of nightlife 
  or cultural vibrancy to speak of. Extending for a hundred kilometers 
  around Donner stood four of the planet’s seven spaceports, three 
  of which were devoted almost entirely to Benet’s food distribution 
  network. The lack of adequate agricultural output to sustain the 
  planet’s population necessitated a massive amount of off-world 
  imports and extensive rail lines to facilitate food distribution across the 
  continent, at least until the JumpShip shortages of the Succession Wars 
  forced the world into an expensive agricultural independence. 
  More than anything else in its history, Benet III became known 
  for the so-called “Death Mists” that eventually rendered the planet 
  uninhabitable. Since the mid-3050s, the frequency and intensity 
  of large-scale gas venting in the badlands had been on an increase. 
  Scientists grew especially alarmed in the early 3080s, when two of 
  the most devastating outgassings on record forced the evacuation of 
  nearly a million inhabitants from northern Kehl County. Even with the 
  aid of local militia and the Twelfth Vegan Rangers, the death toll from 
  these events climbed to the tens of thousands. Despite this tragedy, 
  many in the corporate community derided the scientists’ warnings 
  as “alarmist fear-mongering”. A study commissioned by Johnston 
  Industries in 3086 concluded that the recent outgassings fell well 
  within Benet’s historical parameters, and claimed the deaths were due 
  to inadequate government services and poor leadership, rather than 
  any danger from the planet itself.
  AN
  GR
  Y M
  OUN
  TAIN
  S
  Terminus Station
  W E S T E R N 
  S E A
  E A S T E R N 
  S E A
  GAKKEN
  COUNTY
  KEHL DISTRICT
  DONNER 
  ADMINISTRATIVE
   DISTRICT
  MARQUIS COUNTY
  AURORA BADLANDS
  I
  R
  O
  N 
  MO
  UNTAI
  N
  S
  Beaux Pawl
  Chunchucmil
  OCTOBER
  ISLES
  HYLENE
  ISLES
  SCITTE
  ISLES
  SCITTE
  ISLES
  Morningside
  S I E R R A
  S I E R R A
  WADDI RIVER
  Donner
  Martine
  Rohan
  Keener
  Marquis Falls
  Waupaca
  Fort McCoy
  Firebase Rosslyn
  Fanshaw
  Mount Miasma 
  (Volcano)
  Mount Kauhu
  (Volcano)
  Verlanta
  XOCCHEL RIVER
  LAKE
  TORMENT
  
  ATlAS
  6
  By early 3093, nearly the entire northern half of Kehl County had 
  been abandoned, though government officials still maintained that 
  the evacuations were temporary and that people would eventually 
  be able to return to their homes and businesses. Behind the scenes, 
  however, officials were growing increasingly worried about the 
  situation. Records later released to the public (during lawsuits against 
  Johnston Industries) indicate that the corporation was beginning 
  to shift its assets to facilities on other worlds such as Addicks, while 
  continuing to downplay the local danger to the public.
  The crisis reached its critical point nearly a year later, when a week 
  of nearly non-stop seismic activity opened up thousands of gas vents 
  across the continent. As prevailing winds 
  carried most of the noxious fumes southwards, 
  the northern coast was spared the worst of the 
  event, although several hundred people—
  mostly elderly or those already ill—lost their 
  lives in and around Beaux Pawl.
  For the inhabitants of Sierra’s southern 
  regions, however, the death toll was much 
  higher. Without little to no warning, massive 
  clouds of poisonous gas swept down from 
  the badlands and across the towns of Kehl 
  County. Millions found themselves helpless, 
  without rebreathers or shelter from the gas. 
  Everyone else on Benet hunkered down in 
  shelters to wait out the clouds, convinced by 
  years of denials and media manipulation that 
  the crisis would be temporary.
  In the initial days of the disaster, most 
  of Marquis County and the Donner 
  Administrative District were spared. Messages were sent out via HPG 
  to nearby worlds and to both Robinson and New Avalon requesting 
  assistance. In the meantime, local militia forces did what they could to 
  help the trapped populace by ensuring that everyone had adequate 
  supplies to see them through the crisis. Despite their efforts, the death 
  toll continued to rise. A number of Succession War-era shelters that 
  had seen little subsequent maintenance suffered catastrophic failures, 
  condemning tens of thousands more to an agonizing, choking death. 
  When, after the first week, DropShips arrived at the Martine and 
  Rohan spaceports, many were shocked to learn that rescue hadn’t 
  come. Instead, Johnston Industries was relocating as much of its 
  operations as possible to other systems. More than one firefight broke 
  out between local militia forces and mercenary-reinforced corporate 
  security troops escorting the DropShips. Though separated in their 
  isolated shelters, the people of Benet began to clamor for someone 
  to blame for their situation. Local radio channels were swamped with 
  accusations and recriminations, most directed at Johnston executives 
  and the politicians who had supported them.
  Twelve days after the beginning of what had come to be called the 
  “Death Mist”, the first help arrived. Under orders from Jerome Sandoval, 
  elements of the First Robinson Rangers and the Robinson DMM arrived 
  to provide assistance and transport to evacuate the planet. The process 
  went smoothly—though slowly—at first. Three days into the effort, 
  a surge of seismic activity in the Aurora Badlands of northern Kehl 
  County unleashed a new round of gas venting, causing the populace 
  and their rescuers to seek shelter together to ride it out. Over the next 
  two weeks, this pattern was repeated several times and every time 
  the body count crept higher. An almost constant stream of DropShips 
  traveled from surface to orbit, ferrying a pitiful few evacuees to safety. 
  Commercial JumpShips, contracted or even coerced by Jerome 
  Sandoval, supplemented the efforts of the military, but could only help 
  a small part of the planet’s population.
  In the second week of July, nearly a month after the crisis began, Duke 
  Tancred himself arrived in system to observe the rescue efforts. Many 
  on the ground, subjected to whisperings that Johnston executives 
  and the Duke had conspired to keep the severity of the looming crisis 
  hidden from the public, greeted his arrival angrily. Sandoval’s own 
  actions only made things worse. Four days after his arrival, JumpShips 
  from the Draconis Combine arrived at Benet. 
  Broadcasting their friendly intent, troops 
  from the Fifth Ghost and the Seventh Sword 
  of Light had come to assist in the evacuation 
  effort. Whether from desperation or failure to 
  read the mood of the people, Duke Sandoval 
  accepted the offer of aid and Combine 
  DropShips began landing to take in evacuees. 
  The citizenry, driven by rumors that the 
  Combine was stepping in to claim Benet once 
  the existing populace evacuated, reacted 
  badly and violence broke out. For the next 
  three days, the Combine’s aid workers found 
  themselves trapped in their own DropShips 
  by angry mobs and even some militia forces. 
  To their credit, the Robinson Rangers and 
  DMM troops stayed clear of the ruckus and 
  continued evacuating outlying communities. 
  Eventually, Tancred was forced to rescind his 
  acceptance of Combine aid and the Kuritan ships lifted off without a 
  single refugee on board. After broadcasting words of encouragement 
  and resolution to the remaining people on the planet, Tancred Sandoval 
  retreated to Robinson to discuss the situation with his cousin. The talks 
  from their meetings would eventually give rise to what became known, 
  unofficially, as the Sandoval Civil War just a few months later.
  The futile evacuation proceeded for the next four months, with 
  Benet’s atmosphere worsening each day. By the time the final refugee 
  transport lifted off from Mount Sheppard spaceport outside Donner, 
  millions had died, and not all from the gas clouds. Increasing tensions 
  as the continuing evacuation efforts dragged on led to many violent 
  outbursts that had to be controlled by the forces on the ground. A 
  little more than ten percent of the pre-crisis population survived 
  the Death Mists. Environmental scientists delivered even more bad 
  news in a series of conferences dedicated to the disaster in 3096: the 
  concentration of poisonous elements in Benet’s atmosphere had 
  reached a tipping point and it would be centuries—if ever—before 
  the environment returned to normal. At the conclusion of the 
  conferences, the March government on Robinson declared Benet 
  abandoned and off-limits; ComStar officially removed the system 
  from its maps shortly thereafter.
  The first governor of the Benet III colony was Hamish McClaugherty 
  of Robinson, whose family maintained a prominent position in 
  the planet’s administration until the end of its habitation. Jessika 
  McClaughtery, a direct descendant of Hamish’s younger brother, was 
  the last mayor of Donner and made a point of being on the final shuttle 
  of the evacuation.
  
  A TImE Of WAR AdvENTURE SEEdS
  7
  PIllAGE, PlUNdER, PIlfER  “IT’S A FINDERS KEEPERS KIND OF WORLD.”
  Recommended Group Size: 4-6 players
  Recommended Group Type: Military, mercenary, special ops, covert ops
  Recommended Skill Levels: Regular to Veteran (Key Skill levels 3-5)
  Inspired by the chaos surrounding Benet III’s evacuation, unscrupulous parties have elected to plunder the world’s abandoned cities and factories. 
  Johnston Industries’ extensive facilities in Kehl County offer a tempting target for the boldest scavengers.
  Complications: A few obstacles for players to tackle.
  A Nasty Surprise: The folks running Johnston Industries are no idiots; they fully expected that someone might raid their abandoned factories in the hopes 
  of finding something useful or profitable. That’s why they’ve left a number of little “surprises” for anyone who tries. These surprises can range from simple 
  booby traps, such as machinery rigged with explosives or other deterrents, to mercenaries contracted to stay behind as long as possible and protect the 
  factories from pillage. Considering Johnston’s extensive contacts in the government, an AFFS protective force would not be out of the question.
  Everybody Wants Something: The potential riches to be gained from raiding the Johnston factories would be irresistible to many different parties, not 
  just the one that hired the players. Before they can abscond with any treasures, the players will have to contend with other scavenging NPC groups. 
  The potential for mayhem and accidental disaster while engaging in combat in a factory setting should keep the players on their toes.
  It’ll Be Our Little Secret: Johnston Industries is ostensibly a responsible corporation, but who knows just what secret projects they had going on in their 
  Benet facilities? What better place to hide something they didn’t want anyone to know about than a crap-hole planet like Benet III? It would be just 
  the players’ luck to stumble across some hidden project deep within the bowels of the factory, something that Johnston would do anything to ensure 
  never came to light. Forbidden bioweapons? HPG research to circumvent ComStar’s stranglehold? Technological horrors inspired by the hated and 
  feared Manei Domini? Whatever it is, it can’t be good.
  Tips: It’s up to the gamemaster to decide what is left in the abandoned Johnston factories, or even just how abandoned they really are. The chaos of 
  the planetary evacuation can offer a great many wrinkles to this mission. Perhaps the players stumble across a group of citizens hiding out in the factory 
  because they couldn’t get to an evac shuttle in time. Do the players help them or continue with their mission? How will the players transport any loot 
  they find away from the factory without alerting whatever authorities remain on planet? What will they do if their employer double-crosses them once 
  they deliver the goods and tries to leave them on a world that will soon be uninhabitable?
  
  A TImE Of WAR AdvENTURE SEEdS
  8
  AcTION ScIENcE! “NERDS, GUNS, POLITICS, AND POISONOUS AIR. WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?”
  Recommended Group Size: 4-6 players
  Recommended Group Type: Military, mercenary
  Recommended Skill Levels: Green to Veteran (Key Skill levels 1-5)
  Increasing seismic activity on Benet over the past several years has been cause for concern among the scientific community. The players are hired 
  to provide protection for an expedition to the Northern Range to investigate the danger to the planet, unaware that there may be a more immediate 
  danger stalking them.
  Complications: A few obstacles for players to tackle.
  Local Troubles: While the badlands of Sierra are largely uninhabited, there do exist several small communities who live their lives unencumbered by 
  social conformity. These people do not take kindly to any intrusions into their domain and have little fear of any show of force less than a full-on military 
  operation. The meager protection provided to the expedition by the players is certainly not enough to deter attack. Though the players may have a 
  better armed and better-trained force, the natives of the badlands have more experience with the region and a large enough reserve of combatants 
  to balance out any advantages.
  Sin After Sin: The purpose of the expedition may be to gain knowledge regarding the planet’s troubles, but human nature doesn’t take a back seat to 
  scientific progress. Conflicts, whether based on personal or professional friction, have a habit of coming out when least desirable. As security for the 
  expedition, the players may have to deal with the consequences of such interpersonal conflicts. How will they handle it if one of the lead scientists 
  turns up dead in his quarters one night? Who killed him and why?
  Cross-Purposes: Not everyone believes in the ecological danger facing Benet III. Some powerful people will stop at nothing to prevent the truth from 
  coming out. The players may have even been approached—as a group or individually—beforehand by agents of these powerful interests with an 
  offer to enrich their own pockets by ensuring that any unwelcome findings made by the expedition never make it back to the public. How will the 
  players handle not knowing whom they can trust, even amongst themselves? Conversely, the expedition’s sponsors may have been well aware of the 
  political and corporate opposition to their goals and tasked the players with ferreting out anyone who would try to block the truth from coming out.
  Tips: Isolating the players and NPCs in a hostile environment and then throwing complications into the mix can provide some interesting storytelling 
  and roleplaying opportunities. Do not hesitate to make the atmosphere of Benet III into an adversary for the players; as they get deeper and deeper 
  into the badlands the air quality will become increasingly poisonous and their lives will depend upon both their equipment and trust in their comrades. 
  
  RUlES ANNEx
  9
  mAPSHEET TABlES
  GAKKEN cOUNTY
  2D6 Result
  Map
  2
  Desert Hills (MSC1)
  3
  Desert Sinkhole #1 (MSC1)
  4
  Box Canyon (MSC2)
  5
  City Ruins (MSC1)
  6
  Box Canyon (MSC2)
  7
  Desert Mountain #1 (MSC1)
  8
  Desert Mountain #2 (MSC1)
  9
  Deep Canyon #2 (MSC2)
  10
  Desert Hills (MSC1)
  11
  Rolling Hills #2 (MSC1)
  12
  CityTech* (MSC1)
  *Place Light and Medium buildings of varying heights in each clear non-paved hex.
  KEHl cOUNTY
  2D6 Result
  Map
  2
  Desert Hills (MSC1)
  3
  Box Canyon (MSC2)
  4
  BattleTech (MSC1)
  5
  City Hills Residential #1 (MSC1)
  6
  Open Terrain #2 (MSC2)
  7
  Open Terrain #1 (MSC1)
  8
  Desert Hills (MSC1)
  9
  Rolling Hills #1 (MSC1)
  10
  Desert Hills (MSC1)
  11
  Rolling Hills #2 (MSC1)
  12
  CityTech* (MSC1)
  *Place Light and Medium buildings of varying heights in each clear non-paved hex.
  mARQUIS cOUNTY
  2D6 Result
  Map
  2
  Rolling Hills #1 (MSC1)
  3
  Rolling Hills #2 (MSC1)
  4
  Woodland (MSC2)
  5
  City Suburbs (MSC2)
  6
  River Valley (MSC1)
  7
  Rolling Hills #1 (MSC1)
  8
  Open Terrain #2 (MSC2)
  9
  Open Terrain #1 (MSC2)
  10
  BattleTech (MSC1)
  11
  River Delta #1 (MSC1)
  12
  Rolling Hills #2 (MSC1)
   
  dONNER cOUNTY
  2D6 Result
  Map
  2
  Rolling Hills #1 (MSC1)
  3
  CityTech* (MSC1)
  4
  CityTech* (MSC1)
  5
  City Street Grid Parks (MSC1)
  6
  City Downtown* (MSC2)
  7
  Rolling Hills #2 (MSC1)
  8
  City Residential* (MSC2)
  9
  Rolling Hills #2 (MSC1)
  10
  Scattered Woods (MSC1)
  11
  Open Terrain #2 (MSC2)
  12
  CityTech* (MSC1)
  *Place Light and Medium buildings of varying heights in each clear non-paved hex.
  
  OPTIONAl RUlES
  11
  The following additional special rules are intended to provide further 
  flavor to games set on the world featured in this supplement. For the 
  most part, these rules may be considered advanced and optional, as 
  they primarily reflect conditions and/or features unique to this one 
  planet or planetary system.
  dEATH mISTS
  Benet III has become famous for the so-called “Death Mists” that 
  caused the planet’s complete abandonment in the mid-3090s. The 
  atmosphere pre-3094 should be considered Tainted (Poisonous), 
  although the farther one gets from the volcanic peaks in the northern 
  reaches of Gakken County, the more breathable it becomes. Down 
  south, in Marquis County and the Donner Administrative District, 
  the air is breathable without external support, and thus the Tainted 
  atmosphere condition will no longer apply. Player groups operating 
  in the badlands or deeper into Gakken can be subjected to random 
  venting of deadly gasses. So close to the source, these gasses are 
  considered Caustic rather than Poisonous (see p. 56, TO) with effects 
  levels that vary from Tainted to Toxic, depending upon the location 
  and time period (as determined by the gamemaster or via random roll).
  Post-3094, after the runaway outgassing of Death Mists, all of Benet 
  III’s atmosphere is considered to have a Toxic (Poisonous) atmosphere, 
  with Caustic effects added for any scenarios set within 20 kilometers of 
  a volcano or other gas vent.
  The rules for Tainted and Toxic atmospheres are found in Tactical 
  Operations (see pp. 56-57, TO).
  ScREE RAT
  The Benetian scree rat, despite its name, is a lizard-like creature 
  quite a bit larger than the average rat. Native to the badlands of central 
  Sierra, this creature is well adapted to life among the region’s rocks and 
  rough terrain. As an ambush predator, the scree rat’s scaly, rock-like 
  skin allows it to hide among the post-glacial talus and await its prey. 
  It is adept at scrambling at great speed across the badlands’ uneven 
  surfaces. Scree rats hunt in packs, and have little fear of humans; many 
  intruders into a scree rat domain have found themselves on the wrong 
  end of a horrifying assault by half a dozen or more these creatures 
  suddenly emerging from cracks in the ground and surrounding rocks.
  The scree rat’s resistance to the poison gasses so common in its 
  home territory has made its blood desirable as a folk remedy to treat 
  those who have been exposed to the toxic air. It is believed, however, 
  that not even the scree rat survived the Death Mists.
  Mass: 30 kg
   STR 
  BOD 
  DEX 
  RFL 
  INT 
  WIL 
  EDG
   
  2 
  4 
  3 
  10 
  2 
  4 
  4
  Size Class (Modifier): Small (–1)
  BAR (M/B/E/X): Scaly hide 2/2/1/1
  Damage (AP/BD): 1M/2
  Move (W/R/S): 10/20/40
  Traits: Aggressive, Armor (+2), Camouflage (+1), Pack Hunter (6-10), 
  Poison Resistance (+2)
  Skills: AniMelee (+2), Climbing (+4), Running (+4)
  RAPIER fISH
  The largest aquatic animal on Benet III, the rapier fish inhabits the 
  warm coastal waters off Marquis County and sport fishing for this 
  creature was a favorite pastime of the rich and well-to-do. Covered in 
  a bony carapace and possessing a thin, sharpened snout for offensive 
  purposes, the rapier fish was a deadly hunter of smaller species but 
  usually was not aggressive towards humans unless provoked. The 
  favorite prey of the rapier fish was the colored kettlefish, which it 
  would spear on its namesake feature and then draw into its mouth 
  using a muscular ridge that undulated along the sides of the spike. 
  Rapier fish rapiers were considered the best tool to use in the popular 
  Benetian sport of spearfishing and a good quality one could fetch high 
  prices on the open market. The status of the rapier fish following the 
  atmospheric catastrophe is unknown.
  Mass: 80 kg
   STR 
  BOD 
  DEX 
  RFL 
  INT 
  WIL 
  EDG
   
  3 
  5 
  5 
  7 
  2 
  2 
  5
  Size Class (Modifier): Medium (0)
  BAR (M/B/E/X): Bony carapace 3/2/1/2
  Damage (AP/BD): 2M/3
  Move (W/R/S): 17/36 (Swimming)
  Traits: Armor (+3)
  Skills: AniMelee (+3), Swimming (+6) 
  BENET III TERRAIN
  Benet III’s Sierra supercontinent is broadly divided into 
  four counties. The dominant terrain features of these 
  counties are reflected by the various mapsheet tables 
  presented here. Remember that for any scenarios set on 
  Benet III, the planet’s volcanism and geysers create an ever-
  present hazard of toxic and sometimes caustic chemical 
  taints in the local atmosphere. These effects are covered by 
  the Death Mists rules on this page.
  Eruptions: As an added option, scenarios set in the 
  Gakken County region—where the planet’s geology is most 
  unstable—may feature volcanic or chemical eruptions 
  that take place right where the action is. To reflect these 
  effects, the players may consider using the rules for Magma 
  and Hazardous Chemical eruptions found in Tactical 
  Operations (see pp. 36-38, and p. 49, TO, respectively). The 
  rules for geysers (see p. 48, TO), may also prove handy. If 
  the Hazardous Liquid Pools Table is used to randomly 
  determine the severity of a chemical-outgassing eruption, 
  apply a +3 modifier to the 1D6 roll, and treat any modified 
  result of 6 or more as Deadly.
  
  4
  ATLAS
    DUNKLEWÄLDERDUNKLERFLÜSSENSCHATTENWELT (LATER KNOWN AS “BOB”)
  Lit only by the dim glow of an M1-class subdwarf star, 
  Dunklewälderdunklerflüssenschattenwelt (later known as “Bob”), was 
  never much of a paradise—at least, not by human standards. First 
  surveyed in the late 2500s, shortly before the Draconis Combine’s 
  entry into the Star League, the world was considered for use as a 
  base of operations against the nearby Outworlds Alliance when the 
  Reunification War broke out. Although the DCMS cancelled those 
  plans, the still-unnamed system was later given a second look during 
  the height of the Star League—this time by Frontiers Unlimited, a 
  “colonial brokerage firm” based in the Lyran Commonwealth. In an 
  operation backed with a number of Combine and Terran developers, 
  FU sent an expedition to the planet to establish its claim, under the 
  leadership of Mission Director Thaddeus Øystein.
  Director Øystein and his team made landfall in February 
  of 2689, and finished establishing their initial settlement—
  Krimhildhausen—by the following April. It was only then that 
  the new colonists announced the name of their new homeworld: 
  Dunklewälderdunkleflüsseschattenwelt. Literally translated (from the 
  corrupted form of German that Mr. Øystein spoke) as “shadow world of 
  dark woods and darker rivers," Dunklewälderdunkleflüsseschattenwelt 
  was easily the longest world name on record at the time—or 
  since. Indeed, it would even gain an extra “n” when House Kurita 
  incorporated the planet in its own registries as a part of the Draconis 
  Combine’s Galedon  Military District. 
  When challenged about the name, Øystein justified his choice for two 
  solid reasons. The first of these was that the coined name was a perfectly 
  accurate description for the new planet; thanks to a variety of factors, 
  the world existed in a near-continuous state of shadow, with forests and 
  rivers tinged nearly black in casual observation. For the second reason, 
  the director noted how easy it was to find on a map; where many Star 
  League-era colonies tended to receive short, easy to remember names 
  like Capra and Enif, the thirty-six (or, rather, thirty-seven) letter name 
  he bestowed on Dunklewälderdunkleflüssenschattenwelt stood out 
  on maps like a mountain among anthills.
  Nomenclature aside, Dunklewälderdunkleflüssenschattenwelt’s 
  development was fraught with a number of issues. Although it orbited 
  its parent star within the habitable life zone, possessed a human-
  friendly gravity and climate (albeit on the colder side), and was blessed 
  with ample water supplies, the planet’s evolution had created some 
  unique complications. 
  For starters, its subdwarf sun was not only noticeably dimmer 
  and cooler than that of an equivalent main sequence star, but its 
  ultraviolet radiation was significantly higher—a condition the 
  settlers termed “ultraviolet excess." Although the planet had a 
  sufficient magnetosphere to protect against cosmic rays, its ozone 
  layer was weak against the continuous bombardment of ultraviolet. 
  This resulted in a biosphere that wanted for warmth, but was rich 
  in all manner of plant-life. To adapt to these needs, the flora of the 
  planet developed darker pigmentation to draw in as much heat from 
  the light as possible, while the ultraviolet radiation infused them 
  with energy to spare. Trees on the planet regularly grew to dizzying 
  heights, extending canopies of thick, green-black leaves that virtually 
  blotted out the sunlight along the forest floors, while equally dark 
  algae and aquatic plant life transformed even the shallowest 
  freshwater ponds into inscrutable expanses that could be mistaken 
  for tar pits. Even the planet’s air was tainted by this gloom, as pollens 
  from the abundant plant life created unnatural clouds of organic, 
  green-gray dust on a seasonal basis. 
  BOB 
  (DUNKLEWÄLDERDUNKLERFLÜSSENSCHATTENWELT)
  Star Type: M1IV (202 hours)
  Position in System: 1 (of 4)
  Number of Moons: 1 (Riesenschild)
  Days to Jump Point:  2.96
  Surface Gravity: 1.1
  Atm. Pressure: Standard (Toxic)
  Equatorial Temp: 15 oC (Cold-Temperate)
  Surface Water: 72 percent
  Highest Native Life: Birds
  Recharging Station: None
  HPG Class: None
  Population: 346,000,000 (2765); ca. 956,000 (3130)
  Socio-Industrial Levels: C-D-D-D-D (2765);  
  F-F-C-F-C (3130)
  Landmasses (Capital City): Ketzerheimat, 
  Klüfterlande (Krimhildshausen—2765), Lamarae, 
  Lunarblessed (Ruprecht—3130)
  
  5
  ATLAS
  Fortunately for the first settlers, the water and air contaminants 
  could be managed well enough with basic filtration technologies, 
  but the danger of exposure to the ultraviolet excess all but forced 
  them to locate most of their settlements under the shade of 
  Dunklewälderdunkleflüssenschattenwelt’s obsidian hyper-sequoias. 
  Human encroachment thus began amid the planet’s forests, which 
  soon revealed the existence of several unique predators, including the 
  jet-black, blood-sucking nachzehrers (a native, toothy, bat-like bird 
  named for vampires of ancient Germanic lore), and the shambling 
  valdvicts (a large, ambulatory plant capable of launching barbed vines 
  to stun and ensnare prey). 
  These alien predators—particularly difficult to handle, thanks to their 
  large numbers and tendency to blend in with the surroundings—were 
  especially dangerous to the colonists’ food supplies. Because human 
  biology could not process the majority of the planet’s native species, 
  virtually all of the local agriculture and ranching grew dependent on 
  imports. Efforts to create adequately protected havens for transplanted 
  livestock and crops often drew more attention from native fauna, 
  and it was only through carefully coordinated culling programs that 
  Dunklewälderdunkleflüssenschattenwelt’s developers gained enough 
  breathing room to grow. In addition to these plant and animal hazards, 
  many of the world’s residents suffered from regular bouts of various 
  illnesses and allergic reactions traced to other impurities found 
  throughout the global biosphere. While Star League medicine largely 
  kept these cases in check and lethality was rare, additional mental 
  health issues continued to plague the first generations of settlers—a 
  result of their extended living in a world of such perpetual darkness.
  Despite the challenges, Dunklewälderdunkleflüssenschattenwelt 
  persevered, its population growing past 300 million by the 2760s. 
  By this time, House Kurita’s leadership had seen fit to establish a 
  permanent garrison base on the planet, ostensibly to keep an eye on 
  the nearby worlds of the Outworlds Alliance and guard transit routes 
  to and from other frontier worlds such as Antallos.
  In 2784, after the dissolution of the Star League, General Aleksandr 
  Kerensky and most of the surviving SLDF gathered at New Samarkand 
  in preparation for their final exodus from the Inner Sphere. Alarmed 
  at the sudden military build-up, House Kurita began scrambling its 
  military forces in anticipation of a possible assault by a vengeful 
  Kerensky. Located relatively close to the region, the DCMS garrison 
  on Dunklewälderdunklerflüssenschattenwelt—the Twelfth Dieron 
  Regulars—was among those redeployed. 
  When the Combine troops failed to return after Kerensky’s departure, 
  and news of war with Houses Steiner and Davion came just two years 
  later, Governor Patton MacDonald decided to make several sweeping 
  changes. Some of these common-sense efforts aimed to improve local 
  security and infrastructure, but others focused more on keeping the 
  people distracted in these uncertain times. In 2788—one year before 
  the centennial celebration of the planet’s initial settlement—Governor 
  MacDonald announced a global referendum to replace the planet’s 
  cumbersome name. On 1 April 2789, amid much fanfare, the votes were 
  tallied and a surprising new name (chosen decisively by the unlikeliest of 
  grassroots campaigns ever waged in recent history) was found.
  From that day forth, Dunklewälderdunklerflüssenschattenwelt 
  became known, simply, as “Bob."
  T R Ü B E W A S S E R
   N I C H T  T R I N K B A R
  G E F Ä H R L I C H E S  D I N G M E E R
  YUBITSUME
  SHIMA
  SCHNITZELBANK
  WELTSCHMERZKÜSTE
  TATAKIWARU KAIKYŌ
  FERNWEH
  KESSELMEER
  SONNEREFLEXIONBUCHT
  K E T Z E R H E I M A T
  L A M A R A E
  L U N A R B L E S S E D
  K L Ü F T E R L A N D E
  Himmelsspitze
  Watchpoint
  OLD KINDERHOOK
  Krimhildshausen
  Bīkon
  Schattenhandgelenk
  Nachtknöchel
  Ruprecht
  Ekesburg
  Inton
  Willougby
  THE NIGHT
  TIMBER
  SH
  AD
  OW
  CA
  ST
   M
  OU
  NTAI
  NS
  Azuma 
  Tōrō
  Last Light
  Einenbesserenortalsdortüber
  Lebensmüde
  Hikari no Sasu Basho
  Luton
  Nishi  
  Tōrō
  KURO NO KAIGAN
  KA
  LL
  US
  BE
  RG
  E
  VERMEIDESCHWÜLENWALD
  DÜSTERSCHMIRGELN
  DARK GARDENS
  G
  R
  I
  M
  PE
  AK R
  A
  N
  G
  E
  ZUNGENBRECHERBUCHT
  Fliegerabwehrbataillon 
  Hauptsitz
  First Light
  NIHIL ATOLLS
  
  6
  ATLAS
  Of course, what nobody imagined happening was the complete 
  collapse of all interstellar travel to the planet once the name change 
  took place. With the DCMS invasion of the Federated Suns well 
  underway, the communiques reported from Bob—delivered by courier 
  ship, as the planet’s HPG had failed during the Amaris Crisis years—
  never found their way to all the necessary officials. The oversight, 
  which would go unnoticed for more than half a century, led to calamity 
  as Dunklewälderdunklerflüssenschattenwelt vanished from the maps, 
  and was replaced by a new world named Bob...
  While all shipments earmarked for the planet’s very survival still bore 
  the old name. 
  Worse still, the Combine’s growing need for ships to support their 
  war effort stripped away all “non-essential traffic” in the area. Within 
  months of the name change ceremonies, trade to the frontier world 
  had abruptly ceased. With no working HPG station to report in, “Bob” 
  was completely cut off from the interstellar community. Efforts by the 
  MacDonald administration to 
  keep the crisis quiet while they 
  sought a means to get word 
  out before starvation ensued 
  failed. Soon, the cessation of 
  traffic and news from off-world 
  became painfully apparent, 
  creating an economic down-
  turn that went from bad to 
  worse with each passing 
  month. Agricomplexes failed, 
  medical facilities ran out of 
  supplies needed to keep local 
  pathogens in check, and illness 
  became widespread. With 
  no native fuel sources—Bob 
  lacked reasonably accessible 
  native fuel sources, and thus 
  relied heavily on imported fuel, 
  fuel cells and fusion technol-
  ogy—on-world travel across 
  the planet slowed to a crawl, 
  further undermining the local infrastructure.
  The rioting began in the fifth year of Bob’s isolation. Governor 
  MacDonald started ordering crackdowns, diverting security forces 
  optimally raised to maintain the culling cycles. As the increasingly 
  paranoid and desperate citizens fought back, the populations of 
  nachzehrers and valdvicts rebounded at an alarming rate. Whole cities 
  burned, while outlying towns fell to rampaging predators. 
  Between the fighting, starvation, and collapse of infrastructure, more 
  than half of Bob’s planetary population succumbed over the next ten 
  years. When the last vestiges of the planetary government collapsed 
  entirely in 2805, the various survivor settlements found themselves left 
  to their own devices. By 2815, ComStar survey teams found the world’s 
  many cities burned out and abandoned, their streets filled with skeletal 
  remains stripped bare by local predators, while the air and water tested 
  high in a variety of native toxins. Bob—still recognized under its old name 
  of Dunklewälderdunklerflüssenschattenwelt in ComStar’s database—was 
  written off as another incidental casualty of the First Succession War. 
  [Editor’s Note: As was the case for many such worlds, however, there 
  were many pockets of human survivors left behind and overlooked by 
  these survey teams. Those on Bob managed to survive in small, scattered 
  communities with varying level of success, while nature overran their 
  abandoned cities and towns—in many cases, literally.] 
  Bob is remarkable not only for the interesting species of flora and 
  fauna that call its dark lands home, but also for the obvious signs of 
  a great cataclysm that clearly befell the planet perhaps as recently 
  as ten thousand years before mankind came along. At some point in 
  the planet’s past, its single moon was struck by a large, fast-moving 
  celestial object—possibly another moon, spun off from one of two ice 
  giant planet that occupy the system’s outermost orbits.
  The impact tore a chunk of Bob’s own moon away, sending large 
  hunks of lunar debris into the planet below, creating numerous 
  craters that can still be seen in the geography today. Most of these 
  impacts struck the vast expanse of the planet’s largest continent  
  (Ketzerheimat), while a 
  particularly violent strike 
  near the shores the small-
  er, southern continent of 
  Klüfterlande formed a gulf 
  the locals named Kesselmeer. 
  Volcanism triggered by this 
  particular impact formed a 
  prominent spike of igneous 
  land that rises from the center 
  of this gulf, and was named the  
  Himmelsspitze (“Heaven’s 
  Point”). Other evidence of the 
  so-called “Great Lunar Fall” can 
  be seen in the form of island 
  chains created by impact 
  ejecta, and there are even 
  signs of strikes beneath the 
  frozen wastes of the northern  
  Lamarae continent. Indeed, 
  only one major land mass on 
  Bob appears to have been 
  spared the direct effects of the ancient cataclysm: Lunarblessed—the 
  planet’s other southern continent. 
  [Editor’s Note: Because the early surveys suggested that the presence 
  of Bob’s moon likely prevented a more direct hit on the planet itself, the 
  surviving remnant was named Riesenschild (“Giant shield”) by the Øystein 
  Expedition. Today, with all the major fragments long since fallen to Bob or 
  spun away entirely, only a fine trail of smaller debris follows Riesenschild’s 
  progress across the sky, creating an irregular and incomplete dust ring 
  that shares the lunar orbit and makes it appear as if the planet is being 
  perpetually circled by its very own comet.]
  It is interesting to note that most of the planet’s occupied settlements 
  stand on this landmass today, with the largest township (Ruprecht; 
  population: about 25,000) serving as the closest thing the planet has 
  to a capital city. These people—descendants of the few survivors of the 
  planet’s collapse centuries ago—have only a fragmentary knowledge 
  of what followed in the wake of their ancestors’ downfall. What they 
  do seem to recall, however, paints a picture of horrors that suggest a 
  
  7
  ATLAS
  period of barbarism, in which many of the locals turned on one another. 
  Some even claim that tribes of cannibalistic men—called Dunkels by 
  the locals—still linger in the forgotten woodlands of the distant lands, 
  their existence devolved to pre-civilized times. [Cursory surveys to these 
  regions by reputable explorers have yet to reveal whether any “Dunkel” 
  groups actually survive today, or whether they are spoken of only in the 
  manner that one might use to scare children into good behavior.]
  Reduced to a technological sophistication roughly analogous to 
  Terra’s European region during the nineteenth century, the Bobbies 
  (as they call themselves) have developed a hardy resistance to the 
  planet’s natural toxins that would have made their forefathers envious. 
  While visitors to their world still must rely on filtration technologies to 
  drink the water or breathe the air—especially in the local spring and 
  autumn seasons—today’s Bobbies require no such aid. This might be 
  attributable to a remarkable addition made to the people’s diet: the 
  pulpy “flesh” of the valdvict.
  Evidently, this ambulatory floral predator held within its thick hide 
  a secret ability to process the nutrients of its animal kills in a way 
  that could—with some effort—be consumed by humans. Although 
  this “plant meat” is tougher and chewier than cattle jerky (and is still 
  unpalatable and barely digestible to non-natives of this world), the 
  people of Bob have learned to harness this new food source in a way 
  that has enabled them to live on past their own “dark age,” and enter a 
  new age of enlightenment.
  Despite their throwback existence, it is clear that the Bobbies never 
  forgot that humanity came from the stars, and the locals still remember 
  childhood tales of a “Great Red Dragon” that once ruled over their world 
  generations past. But they know nothing of the Clans, the Jihad, or the 
  Republic of the Sphere. The Bobbies speak in a language that is mostly 
  English, but mashes in some words of Germanic and Japanese origins, 
  and they retained the basic principles of mechanical and electrical 
  engineering possible for such technological conveniences as artificial 
  lighting, recorded music, printing presses, and indoor plumbing. With 
  a lack of even fossil fuels to work with, however, engine technology 
  on Bob has regressed to steam and hydroelectric power sources. Local 
  literature exists, with many samples clearly transcribed from copies of 
  ancient Star League-era texts, as well as original tales—some of which 
  appear to be romanticized versions of their own half-forgotten past.
  Curiously enough, however, there is one word that has been 
  forgotten completely by the people of Bob:
  Dunklewälderdunklerflüssenschattenwelt.
  
  8
  A TImE OF WAR ADvENTURE SEEDS
  IT SEEmED LIKE SUCH A GOOD IDEA AT THE TImE!
  Recommended Group Size: 2-4 player characters
  Recommended Group Type: Military, Security, Resistance, Survivors
  Recommended Skill Levels: Green-Veteran (Key Skill levels of 1-5)
  For the people of Dunklewälderdunklerflüssenschattenwelt, April Fool’s Day of 2789 was the beginning of a long and grisly end. Governor MacDonald, 
  of course, had no way of knowing that the planet’s name change to “Bob” would prove so disastrous, but when he found that his world and its people 
  were suddenly and inexplicably shut off from the very universe, he quickly entered panic mode.
  Aware that the cessation of off-world traffic and news would not go unnoticed for long, MacDonald began preparing the various security and police 
  agencies for the inevitable unrest. Stalling for time, he told his fellow “Bobbites” (the original term the rechristened planet’s inhabitants gave themselves) 
  an endless series of lies. Local merchant JumpShips, he claimed, had been “temporarily reassigned” or “experienced technical difficulties," while the 
  planet’s HPG techs were receiving word “almost daily” from the Kurita leadership, and would be able to restore transmission services to properly report 
  the crisis “any day now." 
  Meanwhile, MacDonald’s administration desperately tried to reestablish some form of contact with the Draconis Combine, the Outworlds Alliance, or 
  even the equally isolated world of Antallos. Planetary communication satellites were turned outward, beaming distress calls into deep space, and several 
  of the planet’s resident merchant DropShips were commandeered for “special errands,” their skeleton crews tasked with “slow-boating” their way to the 
  nearest star systems—missions that, tragically, would never succeed.
  As the people gradually became aware of just how dire the situation was, and that their governor had hidden it for so long, the tensions fueled by years 
  of lies and dwindling supplies reached their boiling point. In the years to come, Bob’s entire civilization would plunge into chaos.
  Complications: A few obstacles for players to tackle.
  The Natives are Restless: Whether assuming the role of security personnel working for the MacDonald government, or citizen agitators struggling 
  with the very real threat of imminent starvation, these will be dangerous times indeed. MacDonald’s efforts will aim at restoring calm with minimal 
  bloodshed at first, but when things turn ugly, the fighting will be devastating. Lacking heavy equipment beyond police vehicles, riot control will not 
  happen in the form of unassailable BattleMechs; it will get up close and personal.
  Warriors of the Road: Food will not be the only precious commodity drying up as traffic to Bob stops. Every consumable resource, from fuel sources and 
  batteries, to engines, equipment, and ammo will begin to grow scarce. Having not anticipated such a sudden disruption of access to the local trade 
  routes, stockpiles will be non-existent, and it will not take long before the authorities or common survivalists realize their only hope may lie in securing 
  as many of these limited resources for themselves.
  Survival of the Fittest: As the months and years go by, and society crumbles entirely, the desperate and increasingly hungry populace will have to 
  consider securing alternative food sources. With few digestible options that do not come at the cost of lingering illness, and carefully tended crops 
  and cattle herds overrun by predators or consumed by other humans, the unthinkable may be necessary to survive.
  Tips: For A Time of War scenarios, this is going to get nasty. As basic filtration technologies fail, Bob’s environment itself will turn on its surviving 
  humans. Illnesses of various types—most side effects of consuming local food, drinking poorly filtered water, or even breathing the air during the 
  planet’s spring and autumn months—will grow commonplace. Gamemasters should use the Disease rules (see pp. 245-249, AToW) as a guide. Many of 
  the local illnesses are recoverable, but it will take the survivors on Bob several generations to develop enough tolerance to these dangers. It will also be 
  necessary to keep track of any and all consumables the characters use in the aftermath of society’s collapse; scavenging and scrounging will be only way 
  to survive in what will quickly become a wild wasteland.
  
  9
  A TImE OF WAR ADvENTURE SEEDS
  YOU’RE NOT FROm AROUND HERE, ARE YOU?
  Recommended Group Size: 2 to 8 player characters
  Recommended Group Type: Pirate, Explorer, Mercenary
  Recommended Skill Levels: Veteran (Key Skill levels of 4-6)
  The oversight that led to Bob’s demise on interstellar maps took over fifty years to come to light. By then, of course, the Succession Wars were in 
  full swing, and both technology and casual travel across the Inner Sphere were in decline. With little to recommend it before the collapse, and a death 
  sentence passed by ComStar after all was said and done, few saw any reason to give the world another look.
  Naturally, this made the system a haven for bandits and a destination for explorers. With so much left in ruin, and an environment far from hospitable, 
  visitors never stayed long—though some may have never left, depending on where they landed, how lacking they were in defenses, and who (or what) 
  emerged to greet them. 
  Welcome to Bob!
  Complications: A few obstacles for players to tackle.
  The Forest is Alive!?: The dark woodlands of Bob provide shadow for many forgotten settlements, and an ideal place to hide from pursuit for those 
  living a life on the lam. It also tends to protect visitors to the planet from the worst of the sun’s ultraviolet excess. Unfortunately, they are also host to 
  a wide array of alien predators, which includes some of the nastiest flora and fauna on the planet. The worst of these are the dreaded valdvicts and 
  nachzehrers. Adapted to blend into their surroundings, or to lurk so high up in the towering foliage as to be effectively out of sight and mind entirely, 
  these creatures often lie in wait, striking at their prey with little to no warning, day or night.
  Meet the Locals: Depending on where visitors to Bob set down, they might encounter the planet’s remaining human inhabitants. 
  On the continent of Lunarblessed, these humans will tend to be the relatively civilized Bobbies, who live a primitive existence 
  similar to Terra at the turn of the twentieth century, and will be rather non-violent—though not necessarily friendly or trusting. The 
  Bobbies see the worlds beyond theirs as people who abandoned them, and thus hold a deep belief that they have no real need 
  for the humanity that rejected them. They will fight if threatened, using rather primitive—but nevertheless effective—weaponry.  
  Visitors who land elsewhere—particularly on the continents of Ketzerheimat and Klüfterlande—will more than likely encounter the barbaric “Dunkel” 
  tribes. These harsh wilderness survivors have regressed to a truly primitive existence, and their language has degraded to the point of near incoherence. 
  Like the Bobbies, they are largely immune to the planet’s tainted biosphere, but their diet is often supplemented with human flesh—as much a result 
  of desperation as a remnant of their brutal existence. Dunkles are tight knit and completely untrusting of outsiders; they are as likely to attack as they 
  are to flee, and are capable of laying traps to snare anyone or anything they consider a potential food source.
  The Ruins of Fliegerabwehrbataillon: Among the more curious artifacts of Bob’s fallen greatness still standing, the ruins of Fliegerabwehrbataillon 
  are located in northern Ketzerheimat, where the planet’s largest continent meets the barren, arctic expanses of Lamarae. Judging by the vast 
  expanses of cracked ferrocrete and the nature-overrun towers, Fliegerabwehrbataillon was a large spaceport and military base that dates 
  back to the days when a DCMS garrison called this world home. The surrounding fortifications include a number of ancient, corroded weapon 
  emplacements, and an assortment of bunkers underground have collapsed, flooded, or are now home to unknown surprises. Curiously, a cautious 
  inspection may reveal signs of repeated visits over the last few centuries, including a segment of glassy ferrocrete indicative of fairly recent 
  DropShip landings on the ancient tarmac. The mysteries of who has been coming to visit this ruin—and for what purpose—are excellent fodder 
  for explorers and lostech scavengers alike.
  Tips: A Time of War gamemasters should read up on the rules for creatures (see pp. 238-244, AToW; and pp. 106-119, AToWC) to handle encounters 
  between player characters and the local fauna. Consult the Optional Rules for Bob’s Flora and Fauna for more information (see p. 12). Likewise, bear in 
  mind that Bob’s environment is generally inhospitable for human life. Although its atmosphere is considered Toxic, the fact that most effects are not 
  immediately lethal so much as they are continuously debilitating, consult the appropriate Tainted Atmosphere rules (see p. 238, AToW or pp. 56-57, TO).
  Among the human survivors, the Dunkel peoples possess very primitive, improvised weaponry no more advanced than sticks, stones, and slings, and 
  limited personal armor. Their civilized Bobbie counterparts are better equipped, but still primitive by modern standards. More information on this is also 
  found in the Optional Rules (See p. 12). If fighting either group on the tactical level, the locals will work as conventional infantry; there simply hasn’t been 
  much demand for armored vehicles on Bob since the world’s collapse. 
  
  OPTIONAL RULES
  12
  The following additional special rules are intended to provide 
  further flavor to games set on the world featured in this product. For 
  the most part, these rules may be considered advanced and optional, 
  as they primarily reflect conditions and/or features unique to this one 
  planet or planetary system.
  BOB’S FLORA AND FAUNA
  Bobbian flora and fauna largely reflect and amplify the planet’s dark, 
  shadowy nature. Most plant life has a deep green to black coloring, 
  which allows them to draw and retain heat better, while an abundance 
  of ultraviolet light has given them energy to spare, resulting in some 
  truly impressive growth. (The average height of Bobbian trees ranges 
  from 20 to 50 meters, with the native “hyper-sequoias” reaching 
  dizzying heights of 300 meters or more.) Because such gigantic foliage 
  requires extensive root systems and branch spread, however, a typical 
  Bobbian forest actually tends to have enough open land to move 
  vehicles and BattleMechs through unhindered. The tactical gameplay 
  effects of this may be found under Bob’s Terrain (see p. 14). 
  Some of Bob’s flora is so energized that it has taken on animalistic 
  qualities. Bob has a number of plant forms that are carnivorous and/
  or mobile, with attack features that include toxic secretions, “exhaled” 
  poisons, and prehensile limbs. Of these killer plant-animal hybrid forms, 
  the valdvict is arguably Bob’s apex predator, capable not only of remarkably 
  fast movement and a kind of thermal “perception," but also a deadly, 
  short-ranged vine grapple attack. Worse still, even when a Bobbian plant 
  form is not actively trying to hunt and kill something, the pollen of most 
  Bobbian flora has proven toxic to human beings. Regular seasonal releases 
  of Bobbian pollen—which looks much like blowing ash—can cause 
  outbreaks of various seasonal illnesses and severe allergies. Fortunately, 
  few of these are lethal in nature, but only the natives of Bob have lived on 
  the planet long enough to withstand these ill-effects completely.
  The animal forms on Bob include insects of various sizes, fish, 
  some amphibians, reptiles, and toothy, bird-like avians. Most of 
  these creatures mimic the darkness of their environment, largely for 
  camouflage purposes, but also for some degree of heat retention. 
  Of these animal forms, the nachzehrer is the most vicious of the 
  planet’s avian predators (but not necessarily the largest). Having long 
  developed an affinity for perching in the high limbs of Bobbian trees, 
  this bat-like creature tends to swoop down on its prey in small flocks 
  that can quickly overwhelm even a human adult in seconds.
  BOB’S CHILDREN
  The human survivors on Bob are divided into two broad groups: 
  the primitive and tribal Dunkels, and the much more organized and 
  sophisticated Bobbies. Both groups have developed a tolerance to the 
  planet’s normally sickening ecosystem, and both may pose a threat to 
  unfamiliar visitors. To reflect this, all natives of Bob who are born or live 
  after 2850 automatically possess the Fit Trait (see p. 117, AToW).
  Among the Dunkel, personal weaponry consists of nothing more 
  advanced than sticks, stones, slings, and other improvised low-tech 
  weapons—none of which use refined metals in any way. Some Dunkels 
  have developed a kind of personal armor made from flexible bark-hide 
  of the valdvict (BAR 2/2/1/1). Dunkels have no functional knowledge of 
  advanced firearms or heavy equipment, and all are considered Illiterate 
  (see p. 119, AToW).
  The civilized Bobbies have retained a level of industrial technology, 
  but in the absence of economical fuels and full-scale production 
  facilities, most of their equipment is hand-made by dedicated 
  craftsmen. Bobbie weapons typically include bows (including 
  crossbows), steel swords and knives, and basic slug throwers—most of 
  which use simpler technology (represented by Tech Level B equipment 
  in AToW Equipment Tables). Bobbies don’t often make use of personal 
  armor, but some town guardsmen have been known to wear a kind 
  of locally-produced, valdvict leather-backed chainmail that functions 
  much like a vintage bulletproof vest (BAR 1/3/1/2). Bobbies maintain 
  an economy largely based on barter, but there is also a form of local 
  print currency used as a means of credit.
  vALDvICT
  The name valdvict—evidently an Anglicized corruption of “Wald 
  Wicht” (or “Forest Wretch”)—refers to one of the nastiest predators 
  on Bob…one that is not an animal in the true sense of the word. This 
  ambulatory plant form typically stands anywhere from three to four 
  meters in height, with the bulk of its body resembling the stout trunk 
  of a local hyper-sequoia sapling. Its “feet” are a knotted group of 20 to 
  30 small, prehensile appendages that resemble thick roots anywhere 
  from 30 to 60 centimeters in length, which enable the creature to 
  move by coiling and uncoiling in concert.  
  Wrapping around the trunk of the valdvict are a number of leafy vines 
  that otherwise blend in with the creature’s flexible brown-black bark 
  skin. These vines descend from a cluster of thicker limbs that spread out 
  from the top of the plant like the branches of any other tree, with an 
  ample number of black-green leaves that gather much of the creature’s 
  energy during long dormancy cycles. “Buds” among these limbs and 
  among the creature’s root-like “toes” serve as sensory organs that detect 
  the presence and position of nearby water and heat sources.
  The valdvict normally remains stationary for long periods, preying 
  only on small creatures that happen by while absorbing water, nutrients, 
  and ultraviolet energy in the same manner as most plants. During this 
  time, the creature tends to bury its root-feet into the soil, and remains 
  largely stock-still for days, weeks, or even months at a time, gathering 
  energy slowly. Indeed, until it attacks (or a dearth of nutrients in the 
  immediate vicinity forces it to move in an effort to stave off its own 
  starvation), valdvicts look and act just like most common plant forms 
  in the universe. Only when the creature has stored enough energy for 
  extended movement will it generally do much more than passively 
  absorb the minerals it needs, sometimes even casually snaring small 
  creatures lured by pheromones excreted from the base of its trunk. As 
  a result of this habit, it is not uncommon for larger animals or people 
  to pass a valdvict many times over a span of several days before finally 
  triggering an attack. Because their senses are more acute at night, most 
  valdvict strikes tend to happen after sunset.
  When the valdvict does launch an attack, however, the movement 
  is alarmingly swift. A whip-like twist of the creature’s trunk is usually 
  the only warning, giving alert prey only one or two seconds to react. 
  At that point, the creature releases one or more of its dangling vines, 
  each of which can extend as far as five meters in any direction to 
  ensnare and stun its prey. The combination of the vines’ impact, and 
  the paralyzing toxins released by rows of retractable, fang-like “thorns” 
  along their length, is typically enough to stun a creature long enough 
  
  OPTIONAL RULES
  13
  for the valdvict to then move toward it as its vines begin to constrict, 
  further immobilizing the victim. Once a valdvict reaches its prey, it 
  clambers atop the fresh kill’s body, and begins to dig its roots back 
  into the surrounding soil, while gradually widening its trunk base to 
  accommodate its meal. It is the crushing and suffocation that results 
  from that which typically kills the valdvict’s prey, even as numerous 
  channels in the creature’s base begin to absorb the proteins of the 
  hapless animal. Digestion of a valdvict’s prey can take hours, but 
  the valdvict usually retains enough energy to move away if it senses 
  danger nearby. 
  Like most pseudo-animal plant forms, the valdvict appears to have 
  no distinct brain or complex organs to speak of, but its behavior 
  suggests a kind of rudimentary predatory intelligence more complex 
  than other ambulatory plants. Furthermore, much like a tree, valdvicts 
  can survive the loss of several limbs, leaves, vines, and roots before 
  it loses the ability to function. That most of these appendages can 
  be grown back in time means that the most reliable way to truly kill 
  a valdvict is to shatter its trunk (though burning and poisoning the 
  creature can be effective means as well).
   
  STR 
  BOD 
  DEX 
  RFL 
  INT 
  WIL 
  EDG
   
  17 
  25 
  1 
  1 
  2 
  0 
  0
  Mass: 320-480 kg
  Size Class (Modifier): Large (+1)
  BAR (M/B/E/X): 4/4/3/3 (Bark Hide)
  Damage (AP/BD): 2M/6*
  Move (W/R/S): 4/12/35
  Traits: Armor (+4), Camouflage (+2 [E/I/C: 0/0/5]), Exceptional Attack/
  Constrict, *Exceptional Attack/Whip (base damage on successful 
  attack, plus Poison; Range: 2/4/5/6), Poison (Injected: AP/Strength: 
  2S/6; Duration: 4 turns; Continuous, Subduing), Offensive Adaptation 
  (Retractable Thorns)
  Skills: AniMelee (+2), Perception (+2)
  NACHZEHRER
  Compared to Bob’s homicidal plant forms, the nachzehrer is much 
  more easily understood. Named for vampires of ancient Germanic lore, 
  these black-feathered avians look almost like terrestrial bats in their 
  wing and tail shape, and indeed were initially classified as bats, thanks 
  to their behavior and appearance, until closer inspection revealed their 
  feathers, hollow bone structure, and the eggs that they lay in their 
  high-altitude nests. 
  Unlike most bird species, the nachzehrer does not have a beak, but 
  rather a lamprey-like snout, ringed by sharp teeth that the creature uses 
  to latch onto its prey. Four sharp-taloned feet enable the creature to 
  maintain its grip on the high branches of the Bobbian trees this species 
  calls home, and also helps them capture and restrain smaller victims. As 
  dedicated blood-suckers, nachzehrer favor all manner of land animals, 
  and appear to be just as content feeding off of native fauna as they 
  do humans, even though it is known that human blood is nearly as 
  indigestible to these creatures as most Bobbian fauna is for humans.
  The favored tactic of nachzehrer is to hang from the branches 
  of their trees, patiently scanning the grounds below for signs of 
  movement while remaining motionless for hours on end. To maximize 
  their potential for finding prey, nachzehrer work in flight packs of six 
  or more creatures, often spaced out to cover a wider area. When a 
  suitable victim is sighted, the lead bird typically lets out a short, ultra-
  high frequency cry that lets its pack know to attack, before beginning 
  its dive. The entire group then converges on the target, each latching 
  onto a different body location to feed.
  Because the various ambulatory plant forms on Bob offer no 
  nutritional value to nachzehrer, these bird-bats almost never seem 
  to attack them. Even though nachzehrer are known to be drawn to 
  movement, the species has apparently learned to ignore the motion of 
  the resident foliage—possibly for their own good. After all, it appears 
  certain that creatures like the valdvict don’t really care what their prey 
  is when they strike.
   
  STR 
  BOD 
  DEX 
  RFL 
  INT 
  WIL 
  EDG
   
  3 
  4 
  5 
  5 
  4 
  6 
  4
  Mass: 2-3 kg
  Size Class (Modifier): Very Small (–2)
  BAR (M/B/E/X): 1/0/0/0 (Feathered Hide)
  Damage (AP/BD): 2M/3
  Move (W/R/S): 1/75
  Traits: Aggressive, Blood Sucker, Camouflage (+1 [E/I/C: 0/0/3]), 
  Offensive Adaptation (Fangs/Talons), Patient, Night Vision (+3), Pack 
  Hunter (6-10)
  Skills: AniMelee (+4), Perception (+6), Stealth (+2), Tracking (+1)
  
  OPTIONAL RULES
  14
  GEFERLIxING
  For those inclined to think that the only real hazards to life live on 
  land, the geferlixing exists to remind them that even Bob’s rivers are 
  unsafe. The name is another Anglicized corruption of the species original 
  Germanic designation—Gefaehrliches Ding—which literally translates to 
  “dangerous thing." Encountered early on by the first colonial expeditions 
  to the world, the geferlixing was originally identified as a mysterious 
  marine life form of unknown shape, size, and capabilities, because the 
  dark river waters of the planet made visual contact impossible. It thus 
  took nearly five years before the settlers could agree that their “Ding” 
  was, in fact, a long-bodied, fang-mouthed eel.
  The geferlixing—available in both saltwater and freshwater varieties, 
  as well as some oceanic versions with truly titanic proportions—
  nominally feeds on the floating concentrations of pollen-infused 
  seaweed and algae found along the planet’s coastal and inland waters. 
  However, these creatures are actually omnivorous, since their diet can 
  also include smaller fish, as well as any other creatures that dare to 
  enter their waters. Like most of Bob’s native marine animals, geferlixings 
  do not rely on visual sensory organs to guide them, but use a mix of 
  magnetic and sonographic sensory organs for navigation. As a result, 
  these six-finned eels (the river-dwelling versions of which can measure 
  up to two meters in length) possess no identifiable eyes, and look mostly 
  like a mouthful of teeth connected to a long, oily black tail. 
  Geferlixings appear to have no fear or sense of scale, which is what 
  truly made them so dangerous to the human settlers. While their normal 
  diet consisted of small morsels of floating detritus and marine life, these 
  creatures often attack any larger land animals that step deeply enough 
  into their watery domains. In most such cases, a geferlixing will swim 
  swiftly toward the intruder, and either latch directly on its feet with its 
  jaws, or simply encircle the legs in an attempt to force its prey to trip. 
  Human survivors of geferlixing attacks have even claimed that these 
  beasts have enough strength to snag and pull an unsuspecting leg 
  or arm, attempting to drag their victims down much the same way 
  terrestrial alligators do when trying to drown larger prey.
   
  STR 
  BOD 
  DEX 
  RFL 
  INT 
  WIL 
  EDG
   
  4 
  6 
  4 
  6 
  2 
  6 
  3
  Mass: 31 kg
  Size Class (Modifier): Medium (+0)
  BAR (M/B/E/X): 1/0/0/0 (Light Scale Hide)
  Damage (AP/BD): 2M/3
  Move (W/R/S): 12/25
  Traits: Aggressive, Blood Rage, Camouflage (+1 [E/I/C: 0/0/3]), Good 
  Hearing (+4), Offensive Adaptation (Fangs/Bite Grip)
  Skills: Animal Agility (+3), AniMelee (+4), Perception (+4), Stealth (+2), 
  Swimming (+3)
  BOB’S TERRAIN
  The terrain on Bob is significantly dominated by massive woodlands, 
  river valleys, and mountains, most of which are tinged with darkness, 
  even when lit by the planet’s weak sun. Many of Bob’s larger mountain 
  chains, small islands, and coastlines are actually the remnants of the 
  huge craters that formed during a massive catastrophe the early 
  colonists called The Great Lunar Fall. 
  Because of the sheer height and size of Bobbian trees, the floor of a 
  typical woodland on Bob is actually quite open. To reflect this, for any 
  scenario set inside a Bobbian woodland, use the Bobbian Woodlands 
  Table presented here, and treat all heavy woods hexes on the map as 
  impassible terrain that blocks line of sight (representing the massive 
  trunks of a Bobbian super-tree). Light Woods hexes on the same 
  mapsheets are treated as Heavy Woods for line of sight and cover 
  purposes, while any Rough/Rubble hexes should be treated as Light 
  Woods. Water features and elevation changes are unmodified under 
  these rules. In addition to this, combat inside a Bobbian woodland is 
  treated as though it is happening under Full Moon Night conditions 
  (see p. 58, TO) during the planet’s daylight hours. If the battle takes 
  place at night, the effects become those of a Moonless Night instead 
  (see p. 58, TO).
  Finally, as noted under the Tips for the You’re Not From Around Here 
  Adventure Seed, treat the atmosphere on Bob as Tainted (see p. 56, TO).
  BOB’S WATERS
  Bob’s waters, especially in the rivers and coastal areas, are chronically 
  darkened by a blackish muck thanks to its forests’ common black 
  pollen drifts and the various species of marine plant forms that have 
  inherited the same tendency to assume extra-dark green-black colors 
  as their surface analogs. Because of this, little light penetrates the 
  waters’ surface, drawing in heat and allowing little of it to escape. 
  While basic filtration technology can easily make the waters safe 
  and clean enough for drinking and indoor plumbing, moving through 
  rivers or coastal waters can be a unique and hazardous endeavor, 
  especially as there are a number of Bobbian marine species just waiting 
  for unsuspecting surface fauna to intrude upon their bleak realm. The 
  almost tropical warmth of these waters, however, has made many of 
  the planet’s inland rivers and lakes an inviting place for the more cold-
  blooded native species. 
  To reflect these characteristics, any time a character or unit enters 
  Bobbian waters, it must make a relevant Action Check to avoid falling 
  (a RFL Attribute check for characters, or a Piloting Skill check). To reflect 
  the increased difficulty in seeing and gauging the underwater terrain, 
  all such rolls for entering and moving through the black Bobbian waters 
  must apply a –2 modifier to the dice roll’s result. Units or characters 
  that become fully submerged in Bobbian black waters will find the 
  darkness cannot be penetrated by searchlights, and thus must apply 
  all visual modifiers for Pitch Blackness when performing any actions 
  while submerged (see p. 236, AToW; or p. 58, TO). 
  mAPSHEETS TABLE
  WOODLANDS
  2d6 Result
  Map*
  1
  Scattered Woods (MS2, MSC2)
  2
  BattleTech (CBT, MS2, MSC1)
  3
  Woodland (MS6, MSC2)
  4
  River Delta/Drainage Basin #1 (MS4, MSC1)
  5
  River Delta/Drainage Basin #2 (MS4, MSC1)
  6
  Scattered Woods (MS2, MSC2)
  *See rules for additional conditions
  
  ATlAS
  4
  BONE-NORMAN
  Star Type (Recharge Time): G6V (187 hours)
  Position in System: 2 (of 9)
  Time to Jump Point:  7.01 days
  Number of Satellites: 1 (Devil’s Pinch)
  Surface Gravity: 0.92
  Atm. Pressure: Standard (Breathable)
  Equatorial Temperature: 24°C (Temperate) 
  Surface Water: 65%
  Recharging Station: None
  HPG Class: B
  Highest Native Life: Birds
  Population: 6,500,000
  Socio-Industrial Levels: C-D-D-B-C
  Landmasses (Capital City): Hapsburg (Red Stone 
  Palace), Renick
  BONE-NORMAN
  A stark world on the fringes of the Inner Sphere proper, Bone-
  Norman’s desolate, haunting geography can spook even the most 
  experienced warrior, convincing them that enemies lurk just out of 
  sight and that the planet itself does not want them there.
  Selected as a potential breadbasket world for the Rim Worlds 
  Republic, early settlers to Bone-Norman encountered a major obstacle 
  to their colonization effort. The elliptical passage of Bone-Norman’s 
  single, unusually dense moon creates powerful tidal forces that, over 
  eons, have radically impacted the planet’s two main landmasses: 
  Hapsburg and Renick. 
  On the large Hapsburg continent, the tides collided with the land’s 
  normal drift to force up sharp mountain peaks along the landmass’ 
  long, western “leading” edge. These mountains, the Rücken range, 
  stretch three-quarters of the distance from pole to pole. The result is 
  a dramatically rocky littoral zone where the difference between high 
  tide and low tide can be hundreds of meters, overlooked by steep 
  mountains. Ocean winds slam into the Rückens, leaving the windward 
  side of the mountains damp and creating a fierce, frequent Foehn wind 
  phenomenon on the backside of the range. Over time, this warm, dry, 
  fast-moving air scraped all vegetation from the leeward side of the 
  mountains as it rocketed past, and created badlands stretching far to 
  the continent’s interior. The winds carved a network of rock formations 
  and caverns across these badlands, and their unnerving, eerie howl 
  through these formations is audible even inside the sealed confines of 
  a BattleMech cockpit. Bone-Norman’s people maintain that those on 
  the lee side of the mountains are subject to the ancient Föhnkrankheit, 
  or “wind-sickness,” with symptoms ranging from migraines to outright 
  psychosis. No serious medical study has ever proven any ill effects, but 
  most residents of Bone-Norman’s interior accept it as a reality and give 
  those from the Rückens a wide berth.
  Hapsburg’s hilly badlands eventually give way to rolling plains filled 
  with blue grass, and thick stands of forests populated by an odd native 
  tree the locals call werewillows. The Rücken winds lose little of their 
  velocity crossing the plains, and the werewillows evolved to work 
  with their windswept environment. While the trees grow to just eight 
  or nine meters in height, their long limbs stretch nearly thirty meters 
  downwind, supported both by small amounts of lift from the howling 
  winds and by heavy metals drawn up by the trees’ roots deep in the 
  soil and spread through every branch and leaf. This rare phenomenon 
  wreaks havoc with most modern sensor equipment, obscuring many 
  types of scans and causing magres imagers to display only large, 
  blotchy masses wherever werewillows grow.
  Meanwhile, on the tiny island continent of Renick, severe tides rise 
  high enough that every five years the world’s oceans sweep across the 
  entirety of the landmass. When the moon, named Devil’s Pinch by the 
  first Rim Worlds explorers, passes near to the world at a certain point 
  during apogee, the moon’s influence wanes, and water rushes in to 
  turn much of Renick’s rich, arable land into a bayou-like landscape. 
  Despite the periodic flooding the hardy werewillows on Renick still 
  persevere, sinking their roots deep into the bedrock and providing 
  a gloomy canopy over significant portions of the island, but their 
  branches do not grow nearly as long as their Hapsburg cousins.
  The first settlers on Bone-Norman eked out a meager existence, 
  lacking the resources to weather Renick’s violent tidal shifts and 
  enduring the screeching winds of the mainland as best they could. 
  Among other Rim Worlders, Bone-Normanites earned a reputation for 
  
  ATlAS
  5
  surliness, attributed by off-worlders to the unending irritation of living 
  in a wind tunnel. As part of the Reunification Treaties, the nascent Star 
  League agreed to provide its know-how and financial backing to help 
  invigorate dozens of worlds, including Bone-Norman. On Renick, the 
  construction of enormous seawalls and waterworks helped calm some 
  of the more volatile tidal areas, and sturdy-stilted habitats delved deep 
  into the planet’s bedrock to ensure colonists’ safety and comfort. Star 
  League botanists also brought special quick-growing crops, a common 
  approach for those worlds with short farming seasons. Star League 
  engineers could do little to calm the howling gusts of Hapsburg, but 
  economic support jumpstarted a mining industry into the ore-rich 
  Rücken range.
  The League’s efforts won much of the locals’ gratitude on Bone-
  Norman, and it was likely for that reason that this world’s residents 
  largely welcomed Kerensky’s SLDF task force when it invaded 
  the Republic during the Amaris Civil War. The planet opened its 
  storehouses to offer the SLDF assistance, but by then those cupboards 
  were largely bare, having been picked clean during the reign of Regent 
  Mohammed Selim. Unfortunately, this loyalty earned little reward for 
  Bone-Norman’s residents as the SLDF completed its Republic conquest 
  and turned quickly toward Terra. The new government born of the 
  Rim Republican Army held Bone-Norman in little better regard than 
  Amaris, seeing it only as a typical, semi-productive backwater that best 
  served the nation with continued production. 
  Archon Robert Steiner II targeted Bone-Norman among the last 
  worlds for invasion during Operation ALMARIC. Depleted in both 
  resources and spirit after a half-decade of uncertainty and conflict, the 
  world’s remaining residents nonetheless mounted a brief but fierce 
  resistance. Their efforts were highlighted by a strike shortly after the 
  invading forces made landfall, during which a small band of local 
  partisans caught a Lyran company unknowingly bivouacking in an ill-
  advised portion of the turbulent western flood plain on the windward 
  side of the Rückens during a season of rising tides. Hemming in the 
  invaders long enough for the tide to come in, the partisans exulted as 
  the encampment drowned under a rush of water.
  That lone victory only drew harsh retribution from the surviving 
  Commonwealth forces, which cracked down on civilian access and 
  rights as special forces operators quickly identified and hunted 
  down those responsible. The resulting public executions at the foot 
  of Red Stone Palace, the planetary defense hub, doused any further 
  resistance. But those harsh acts cemented widespread hatred across 
  Bone-Norman not only against the Commonwealth occupiers, but 
  against General Kerensky for abandoning the former Rim Worlds 
  holding he once promised to protect. When Kerensky’s children 
  returned centuries later, the latter animosity easily transferred to the 
  Clans and helped fuel the world’s resolve against them.
  Under Commonwealth rule, Bone-Norman became a reliable—if 
  somewhat ill-tempered—exporter of luxury foods and ores over 
  the ensuing centuries, valuable for its relatively protected location 
  from both enemy and pirate raids. But the distribution of the Helm 
  Memory Core brought a new industry to this world: biomedical 
  research. Buried within the core were notes by a late Star League-era 
  botanist on possible biomedical discoveries and applications around 
  Bone-Norman’s vast intertidal zones. An astonishing variety of life 
  B R O A D
  S E A
  R E N I C K
  H A P S B U R G
  Greenbrier
  B R O A D
  S E A
  N A R R O W
  S E A
  Backstop
  T
  H
  E
   
  T
  H
  RE
  E SIST
  E
  R
  S
  R
  Ü
  C
  K
  E
  N 
  MO
  U
  N
  T
  A
  I
  N
  S
  Mount Jane
  Mount Berenice
  Sarai’s Peak
  Refuge
  Arvgero
  Paseo Ortega
  Mount Rehoboth
  Red Stone 
  Palace
  South Bay
  CRESTOMERE
  ISLANDS
  SHELTER
  BAY
  THORN
  BAY
  GULF OF
  HARMONY
  ALMOHAR
  LAKE
  TUNGSTEN
  LAKE
  Tipton
  New Hope
  Low Point
  Deep Trouble
  BONE WASTE
  Marching Stones
  Cave 
  of the Gales
  Gamper’s Pride
  Federton
  Dealg
  Siltslide Run
  Breakdown
  Sinkhole
  
  ATlAS
  6
  called these zones home, traveling with the flow of the sea between 
  the dramatic tidal shifts. Arc Royal-based BioHarvest, Inc. was the first 
  to recover these notes, and rushed to establish a presence on the 
  planet in 3031. 
  By fortunate coincidence, the Grave Walkers, a vaunted 
  mercenary regiment long in House Steiner’s employ, had set up 
  operations on nearby Apollo, after they were held out of Operation 
  GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG during the Fourth Succession War. The 
  mercenaries regularly rotated units through Bone-Norman for 
  mountain terrain and amphibious assault training. Through well-
  conducted political maneuvering and favor-trading, BioHarvest 
  executives successfully secured an ongoing, long-term sub-contract 
  which would place one of the two Grave Walkers regiments on Bone-
  Norman to watch over their interests. The company hoped to leap years 
  ahead of its competitors with research on the world, but blundered 
  by accidentally transmitting internal correspondence revealing the 
  existence of their facilities. A handful of other biomedical research 
  firms began negotiations to carve out their own fiefs on Bone-Norman, 
  but their efforts were cut short by the coming of the Clans.
  The presence of the Grave Walkers served another purpose, one 
  not disclosed to the planet’s leaders or its new corporate inhabitants: 
  the field-testing of an advanced early-warning satellite surveillance 
  system developed by the Federated Commonwealth. For this, Bone-
  Norman offered several distinct advantages: it was far enough away 
  from prying eyes to deter 
  espionage; the Grave Walkers’ 
  modern communications 
  technology could effectively 
  simulate that of a Federated 
  Commonwealth line regiment; 
  and the mercenary unit was 
  a trusted command with 
  several centuries’ standing, 
  whose silence was ensured. 
  Furthermore, the unusual 
  terrain on both of Bone-
  Norman’s continents would 
  help demonstrate the 
  advantages of early warning 
  and deployment ahead of an 
  enemy assault.
  Colonel Dennis Merwin, 
  commanding the First Grave 
  Walkers regiment, expected 
  a test to commence in the first few weeks after the system went 
  online—but the exact timeline for the drill was not shared with his 
  subordinates, so that he could simultaneously test his troops’ response 
  time. Rather than a drill, the mercenaries received an all-too-real test 
  when the new system functioned perfectly, and gave them significant 
  notice of the in-system arrival of a strike force calling itself Clan Jade 
  Falcon. 
  Arriving at Bone-Norman’s nadir jump point, Jade Falcon Khan 
  Elias Crichell and saKhan Timur Malthus tasked Malthus’ own Turkina 
  Keshik with the honor of claiming a one-time Rim Worlds holding 
  and leading the way back into the Inner Sphere. Eager to display the 
  obvious superiority of his Clan against the first Spheroid barbarians 
  they faced, Malthus pushed his bid low. His aggressiveness earned 
  both respect and concern in equal measure from Crichell, but the 
  senior Khan allowed his subordinate to carry out his attack. Ignoring 
  archived records of Bone-Norman’s unusual geography, the confident 
  Malthus planned a headhunting stroke by dropping virtually on top 
  of Red Stone Palace with his Keshik command Star and two Trinaries.
  Alerted to the Clan’s arrival and what seemed to be suicidally 
  few forces burning toward the planet, Merwin committed an 
  uncharacteristic act of hubris. Rather than simply encapsulate the 
  invaders and demand their surrender, the veteran battle commander 
  opted for a crushing show of force by ambushing them as they landed 
  at Red Stone Palace. Obliterating the interlopers would serve two 
  purposes: the Commonwealth would see that their early-warning 
  system worked; and BioHarvest board members, increasingly uneasy 
  with the funds spent to retain a top-tier mercenary unit on a world that 
  never saw conflict, would see the value of keeping the Grave Walkers 
  on their payroll.
  The mercenaries engaged the Falcons shortly after the Clan 
  forces landed, using a pincer movement to cut them off from their 
  DropShip. Though heavily damaged, the Keshik’s superior technology 
  spared them from total destruction. The Falcons broke through the 
  Grave Walkers’ lines and attempted to regroup in the wind-torn 
  badlands. The mercenaries 
  reveled in their victory over 
  the mysterious enemy, but 
  Merwin and his senior officers 
  held a more somber tone; 
  reviewing battle footage in 
  their command center, they 
  could see the obvious power of 
  the invading force, and the skill 
  of their MechWarriors. Worse, 
  the early-warning system now 
  showed a robust contingent 
  of reinforcements burning 
  toward the planet.
  Overwhelmed by the 
  sudden assault, Malthus had 
  no choice but to call in his 
  previous bid, consisting of 
  the Eighth Falcon Regulars. 
  The haughty warriors of the 
  Keshik despised the Regulars and their Star Colonel Brikai Buhallin, 
  whose fraternization with freeborn warriors and the lower castes was 
  the subject of frequent Trials of Grievance. But Malthus swallowed his 
  pride, believing that the prospect of being thwarted in his effort to 
  seize a hated Rim Worlds planet—and one of their Clan’s first targets—
  by a band of lucre-warriors was a worse shame. 
  With the sober realization that the loss of Bone-Norman was 
  now just a matter of time, Merwin shifted strategies to attempt to 
  equip the planet’s militia and citizens as best he could, laying the 
  groundwork for a guerilla resistance. The Walkers’ deep ties to Bone-
  
  ATlAS
  7
  Norman shone through in the way the mercenaries fought and died 
  to buy time for those efforts, and barely two companies survived 
  to board their DropShips. Merwin himself perished just before the 
  unit departed, torn from his cockpit by Elementals while supporting 
  distribution operations at a supply point. Sadly, the surviving Grave 
  Walkers found no relief. As the remaining mercenaries attempted to 
  regroup on Black Earth, they were shattered when the Jade Falcons 
  surged onto that world just two months later. Malthus earned one of 
  the Clan’s first victories, but the incident on Bone-Norman did him 
  no favors when he was ousted as saKhan following the disaster on 
  Twycross later that year.
  Ignited by the Grave Walkers’ heroic sacrifice, Bone-Norman’s 
  residents rediscovered their cantankerous streak and staged a bold 
  resistance effort during most of the 3050s. But the planet’s distance 
  behind the new Occupation Zone line began to tell in the lack of 
  supplies and support from the Commonwealth. By the early 3060s, 
  little in the way of organized opposition remained. The planet’s mines 
  were quickly reopened after the initial invasion, but Clan scientists 
  only haltingly picked up some of the work left behind by BioHarvest, 
  refocusing that research on emergency medicines rather than cures 
  for diseases.
  A few short years later, a Clan once again shattered the short-
  lived peace on Bone-Norman. Clan Ice Hellion targeted the world in 
  its 3071 invasion of the Jade Falcon Occupation Zone, but severely 
  underestimated the difficulties they would face. Facing the Hellion’s 
  elite Lithe Kill Keshik, comprising saKhan Conner Rood’s 200th 
  Attack Cluster, was the Falcons’ Eleventh Provisional Garrison Cluster 
  under the command of Star Colonel Idris. Desperately outgunned, 
  and knowing defeat was inevitable, Idris nevertheless vowed to tie 
  down Rood’s forces as long as possible in the hopes of throwing a 
  hitch into the invaders’ strategic timetable. To accomplish this, Idris 
  bid a Trial for the planet and chose the entire Hapsburg continent 
  as his Circle of Equals. The choice allowed the Falcon defenders to 
  counter the Hellions’ preferred fast-strike tactics by choosing their 
  own engagements and orchestrating ambushes without breaking 
  zellbrigen and forfeiting the Trial. 
  Two frustrating weeks later, the Hellions were forced to expose Rood 
  himself in a series of patrols, an opportunity that the saKhan knew the 
  Falcons could not pass up. Indeed, the Eleventh met the Hellions on 
  the Red Stone Plains, and the ensuing battle led to each side springing 
  a carefully prepared trap. The pragmatic Rood instructed a subordinate 
  to begin a general melee, allowing him to call in an additional Trinary 
  that was not part of his initial bid. Star Colonel Idris in turn unleashed 
  a formation of Erinyes ProtoMechs, which nearly succeeded in 
  penetrating Rood’s cockpit and severely burned him just a short time 
  before the Hellions claimed victory.
  Weeks later, the Jade Falcons returned in the form of the 
  reconstituted Falcon Guards, who had embarked on an independent 
  action to disrupt the Hellions’ new holdings. The Guards successfully 
  bid a Trial for the planet and defeated the Hellions’ thin garrison within 
  hours of landing, using mobile combined-arms forces to maximum 
  effect and reclaiming Bone-Norman for the Falcons.
  
  A TIME Of WAR AdvENTURE SEEdS
  8
  MEdIcINE MEN “THIS LITTLE PLANT HAD BETTER BE WORTH IT...” 
  Recommended Group Size: 4-8 player characters
  Recommended Group Type: Military, Mercenary, Black Ops
  Recommended Skill Levels: Green-Elite (Key Skill levels of 1-8)
  If someone has made a breakthrough, someone else is probably going to try to steal it. The players are that someone, sent to Bone-Norman to scoop 
  up a newly discovered plant which may hold the key to curing a disease prevalent across the Inner Sphere—and unlocking handsome profits for the 
  benevolent company offering the cure.
  Complications: A few obstacles for players to tackle.
  Over the Counter: The research facility housing the find isn’t the local corner drug store—it’s deep in a marshy bayou, well off any common transportation 
  route. Finding the place deep in the swamp will be hard enough, but accessing the stilt-raised structure will be tricky.
  Bat Country: There’s a reason medicine from the plant hadn’t been approved for human trials yet—the plant continually lets off spores which cause a 
  powerful hallucinogenic reaction. The effects may be mild, for comedic play, or borderline debilitating.
  Feed Me, Seymour: There’s a better reason medicine from the plant hasn’t hit shelves—the plant is rather large and rather hungry. Will subduing the 
  carnivorous flora destroy the cure the players’ employers are so eager to market?
  Just Here for the Planet: As the players prepare to abscond with their find, an enemy force—possibly the Jade Falcons, or perhaps the Ice Hellions—
  lands with the intent to seize Bone-Norman. Escaping will require a low profile and some quick decisions. 
  Tips: Traveling to and from the research facility provides a great opportunity to showcase Renick’s gloomy high-tide season, when much of the interior 
  landscape turns into swampy marshes and gloomy bayous. Play up the uncertainty of what lurks beneath the unusual setting.
  MANHUNT “DID YOU HEAR SOMETHING?” 
  Recommended Group Size: 3-6 player characters
  Recommended Group Type: Any
  Recommended Skill Levels: Regular-Veteran (Key Skill levels of 3-6)
  A notorious criminal who sought refuge on the fringe of the 
  Inner Sphere is at large in the badlands of Bone-Norman. Wanted by 
  several interstellar authorities for the kind of unspeakable acts that 
  fuel holovid police procedurals for years, the players must venture 
  into the howling winds and retrieve the monster, dead or alive.
  Complications: A few obstacles for players to tackle.
  Watch Your Step: The felon knows the players are coming and 
  has left some lethal surprises to discourage their pursuit. The 
  traps may be fully lethal, or may only injure group members, 
  allowing the killer to draw out his fun.
  Failure to Communicate: The winds tearing off the mountainsides 
  make normal conversation outside very difficult, and dampen 
  most sounds—including human screams.
  Dead or Alive: The criminal has no intention of submitting 
  peacefully, and as he fled, obtained enough devices and gear 
  to ensure that his last stand will be a bloody affair for anyone 
  pursuing him.
  Tips: Bone-Norman’s landscape is stark and foreboding, both 
  in the murky werewillow forests of the interior, and the winding 
  caverns of the badlands. The players should never know what’s 
  around the next corner as they hunt their quarry amid the eerie, 
  shrieking winds.
  
  RUlES ANNEx
  9
  MAPSHEETS TABlES
  HAPSBURG
  2d6 Result
  Map
  2
  Mountain Lake (MS2, MSC1)
  3
  Desert Mountain #1 (MS3, MSC1)
  4
  Desert Mountain #2 (MS3, MSC1)
  5
  Desert Sinkhole #1 (MS3, MSC1)
  6
  Rolling Hills #1 (MS3, MSC1)
  7
  Scattered Woods (MS2, MSC1)
  8
  Rolling Hills #2 (MS3, MSC1)
  9
  Desert Sinkhole #2 (MS4, MSC1)
  10
  Desert Hills (CBT, MS2, MSC1)
  11
  Heavy Forest #2 (MS4, MSC1)
  12
  Woodland (MS4, MSC1)
  RENIcK
  2d6 Result
  Map
  2
  BattleTech (MS3, MSC1)
  3
  Rolling Hills #1 (MS3, MSC1)
  4
  Archipelago #2 (MS7)
  5
  River Delta/Drainage #2 (MS4, MSC1)
  6
  Lake Area (MS2, MSC1)
  7
  Large Lakes #2 (MS4, MSC1)
  8
  Coast #1 (MS7)
  9
  River Delta/Drainage #1 (MS4, MSC1)
  10
  Archipelago #2 (MS7)
  11
  Rolling Hills #2 (MS3, MSC1)
  12
  Woodland (MS6, MSC2)
  
  OPTIONAl RUlES
  11
  The following additional special rules are intended to provide further 
  flavor to games set on the world featured in this supplement. For the 
  most part, these rules may be considered advanced and optional, as 
  they primarily reflect conditions and/or features unique to this one 
  planet or planetary system.
  TERRAIN ANd WEATHER
  Bone-Norman’s inhabited areas feature harsh terrain and weather 
  that can starkly vary with the phases of the moon. The Mapsheets Tables 
  presented here reflect the nature of Bone-Norman’s dominant terrain 
  based on which continent the scenario is set. For scenarios taking place 
  on Hapsburg, the Hapsburg Mapsheets Table reflects the rocky and 
  windswept expanses of the supercontinent. Scenarios set on the island 
  continent of Renick should use the Renick Mapsheets Table instead.
  Werewillows: To reflect the sensor-scattering effect caused by the 
  unique high-metal content of Bone-Norman’s werewillow trees, treat 
  all woods hexes on Bone-Norman mapsheets as one level of extra 
  density for line of sight purposes. (E.g. Light Woods hexes affect LoS as 
  Heavy Woods; Heavy Woods hexes affect LoS as Ultra-Heavy Woods.) 
  Werewillow trees do not change movement purposes, however. Thus, a 
  single light woods hex of werewillows will impose a +2 to-hit modifier for 
  attacks that enter or pass through them, but will only cost +1 MP to enter 
  or pass through. Additionally, each hex of werewillows also produces 
  ECM effects identical to those of a Guardian ECM Suite, applicable only 
  to attacks or sensor checks that trace a LoS through the wooded hex.
  Thanks to the bayou-like conditions of Renick, the werewillows there 
  grow much closer together than their Hapsburg cousins. Hidden Units 
  (see p. 259, TW) in an Renick werewillow hex can remain hidden until 
  an enemy unit moves to an adjacent hex.
  Weather: Hapsburg is constantly punished by howling winds, 
  especially near the extensive Rücken mountain range, so scenarios 
  taking place there may make use of Wind effects (see p. 61, TO). To 
  determine the strength of these effects, the gamemaster should 
  roll 1D6 prior to the start of the scenario, and consult the Hapsburg 
  Weather column of the Bone-Norman Weather Table. 
  For scenarios set on the Renick island continent, where flooding is a 
  more pertinent issue, the same pre-scenario roll determines the extent 
  of flooding that takes place. In cases of Light Flooding, all non-water 
  map hexes adjacent to water of any depth must be treated as Mud (see 
  p. 50, TO). Moderate Flooding transforms the underlying terrain of all 
  land hexes into Swamp terrain (see p. 51, TO). Under Heavy Flooding, 
  the map is so inundated with water that all Level 0 terrain is treated as 
  though it were immersed in Depth 1 water, while all water features and 
  other terrain hexes with a Depth of 1 or more are increased by 1 level 
  of water Depth. Only terrain features of Level 1 and higher are treated 
  as being above the water in Heavy Flooding conditions.
  BONE-NORMAN WEATHER EffEcTS
  D6 Result
  Hapsburg Weather
  Renick Flooding
  1
  No Wind
  No Flooding
  2
  No Wind
  No Flooding
  3
  Light Gale
  Light Flooding
  4
  Moderate Gale
  Light Flooding
  5
  Strong Gale
  Moderate Flooding
  6
  Storm
  Heavy Flooding
  NUdIBS
  Related to the sea swallow of Terra, these soft-bodied mollusks live in 
  the vast tidal pools along the continental coastline created by the tides 
  of Bone-Norman. Nudibs cling to the surface of the pools by sucking air 
  into a gas sac, and expel the air to drop down onto their prey. As long 
  as a man’s forearm, the Bone-Norman nudib has developed a potent 
  poisonous sting which can prove dangerous to humans—moreso 
  because nudibs are often found in colonies across large pools. Swept 
  into the pools by the rising tide, many of the mollusks are often left 
  behind when the tide retreats and the pools begin drying out.
  Mass: 2-4 kg
   STR 
  BOD 
  DEX 
  RFL 
  INT 
  WIL 
  EDG
   
  2 
  1 
  1 
  1 
  2 
  1 
  1
  Size Class (Modifier): Small (–1)
  BAR (M/B/E/X): Normal 0/0/0/0
  Damage (AP/BD): 1M/1
  Move (W/R/S): 0.5/—/—
  Traits: Poisonous (Sting: [Contact; AP/Strength, 1S/1D, Duration: 1 turn]), 
  Skittish
  Skills: AniMelee (+0), Swimming (+1) 
  cAIMONSTOS
  Legends of enormous reptiles lurking deep in swamplands date back 
  to the bayous of old Terra, but on Bone-Norman, they are very much a 
  reality. Drawing their name from a crude portmanteau of “monstrous 
  Caiman,” the caimonstos make their home in the flooded interior of 
  Renick during the wet season. Growing to nearly ten meters in length, 
  the flat-nosed reptiles grow quickly and are notoriously aggressive 
  thanks to a rather short lifespan. As the retreating tide inexorably 
  shrinks their swampy habitat, caimonstos turn on each other in an orgy 
  of violence, until only a few of the largest, meanest specimens remain 
  in the small bayous which remain wet year-round, burying themselves 
  in the mud to await the next high tide, and their next meal.
  Mass: 1,800-2,200 kg (adult)
   STR 
  BOD 
  DEX 
  RFL 
  INT 
  WIL 
  EDG
   
  38 
  35 
  3 
  6 
  3 
  5 
  2
  Size Class (Modifier): Very Large (+3)
  BAR (M/B/E/X): Scaly hide 2/2/1/1
  Damage (AP/BD): 1M/4
  Move (W/R/S): 5/10/15 (land)
  Traits: Aggressive, Armor (+2), Cold-Blooded, Patient
  Skills: AniMelee (+4), Perception (+2), Stealth (+3), Swimming (+2)
  
  ATLAS
  4
  BROWNSVILLE
  Star Type (Recharge Time): K3V (194 hours)
  Position in System: 2 (of 5)
  Time to Jump Point:  4.62 days
  Number of Satellites: Rings, and several shepherd 
  moonlets
  Surface Gravity: 0.90
  Atm. Pressure: Standard (Breathable, before 2811);  
  Tainted, after 2811)
  Equatorial Temperature: 22°C (Arid, before 2811);   
  50°C (Arid, 3150)
  Surface Water: 75%
  Recharging Station: Zenith, Nadir (before 2850);  
  None (after 2850)
  HPG Class: A (before 2850); B (after 2850); None (3150)
  Highest Native Life: None
  Population: 573,000,000 (2780); 25,000,000 (2850);  
  None (after 2860)
  Socio-Industrial Levels: A-A-A-A-A (2780);  
  C-D-A-C-D (2850); N/A (3150)
  Landmasses (Capital City): Florida, Illinois, Indiana,  
  Iowa, Ohio, Texas (Dallas)
  BROWNSVILLE
  Brownsville is a tragedy of the Star League Civil War and early 
  Succession Wars, and its death eventually helped seal the fate of many 
  of other worlds.
  The planet was settled by the newborn Terran Hegemony, under a 
  policy aimed at breaking up Terra’s entrenched ethnic and nationalist 
  groups who remained loyal to the obsolete member-states of the pre-
  colonial era. Brownsville, like New Dallas, was presented as a reward 
  for such groups, to encourage their loyalty to the Hegemony. Though 
  it was close to Terra, and possessed bountiful water supplies, this world 
  was ignored prior to 2315 because it was not quite habitable. In 2315, 
  it became the subject of an intensive, Hegemony-backed terraforming 
  campaign. Thanks to its abundant water and a nitrogenous atmosphere, 
  Brownsville proved much easier to transform than Terra’s sister-planets 
  Mars and Venus (Terra IV and II), and it took only a few decades to fill 
  the atmosphere with oxygen and create stable, flourishing ecosystems.
  The first settlers, drawn from North America, found their 
  paradise in the continental interiors, where young forests and 
  verdant grasslands thrived in temperate climates with rains 
  of good, clean water. Lakes were filled with game fish and the 
  artificial soil created through techniques developed for Venus was 
  perfect for the engineered crops the colonists brought with them. 
  The dense, striated rings circling the planet produced spectacular 
  skies. Settlement was fast, as the armies of terraforming workers 
  were joined by their families and millions of North Americans 
  throughout the 2350s. Most of these settlers preferred the 
  temperate continents of Indiana and Iowa to the steamy equatorial 
  lands of California or the arid, fjord-pierced continent of Texas. 
  They brought with them a conventional Hegemony planetary 
  constitution, creating a republic with long terms for its aloof 
  elected officials and a very professional bureaucracy.
  Despite the vast oceans their new homeland had to offer, the 
  majority of Brownsville’s new settlers clustered inland, well away from 
  the planet’s many coastlines. The reason for this, put simply, was that 
  the beaches and coasts were astonishingly ugly. After establishing a 
  breathable atmosphere and a thriving ecosystem, the Hegemony 
  officially ended its terraforming process early, because there were 
  more worlds to rehabilitate and resources were finite. However, 
  Brownsville’s pre-terraforming environment had been anoxic, so 
  its oceans were filled with vast amounts of dissolved metals. Those 
  oceans—once an incredible, emerald green thanks to an abundance 
  of nickel compounds—had turned to an ugly, red-brown as the new 
  atmosphere began oxidizing iron, and the beaches where land and 
  ocean met tended to become unsightly slicks of blood-colored mud.
  Although the rusty waters were not particularly toxic, Brownsville’s 
  metal-rich oceans posed another problem in the long term. Without 
  constant atmospheric processing, the seas would act as gigantic “air 
  sinks,” their metals scrubbing oxygen levels in the atmosphere below 
  habitable levels. During the heyday of the Terran Hegemony, this was 
  seen as a minor matter, and the colonists eventually settled on a bare 
  minimum of atmospheric processing because there was no rush to 
  oxidize more than they needed when simpler filtration technologies 
  could meet their demands. 
  Brownsville was an unexciting member of the Terran Hegemony 
  for its first centuries of life. During the Age of War, it was raided once 
  each by the Federated Suns and Capellan Confederation, but suffered 
  very little damage from either attack. In fact, fewer Brownsvillians 
  
  ATLAS
  5
  were killed as a result of the Age of War conflicts than died during the 
  twenty-fifth century civil unrest locally known as the “Hooligan Years” 
  (when young residents favoring hockey or baseball took to the streets 
  to battle fans of the opposing sport).
  Financially, Brownsville was wealthier than most worlds in human 
  space, but hardly stood out from its counterparts in the Hegemony. 
  It contributed no unusual foods, technologies, or arts to the great 
  tapestry woven by the Star League. Few people, even the locals, 
  were aware that Brownsville had become an important center for 
  the manufacture of atmospheric processors and the Star League’s 
  inexpensive water filters. To the locals, these exports were merely an 
  extension of the terraforming infrastructure that kept Brownsville alive, 
  and held negligible importance to the planetary economy.
  If Brownsville had a reputation abroad for anything during the Star 
  League era, it was notoriously poor sportsmanship. The planetary 
  hockey and baseball teams were banned from Hegemony and Star 
  League sports leagues for a total of twenty-two years between 2371 
  and 2765, with reasons including the widespread abuse of illegal 
  performance-enhancing medicines, illegal cybernetics, throwing 
  games for gambling, and excessive violence. (On at least two 
  occasions, in fact, Brownsville-based sport franchises were found guilty 
  of hiring hitmen to cripple key opposing players.) Ironically, despite 
  that reputation, Brownsville’s own violent crime rate was below the 
  Hegemony’s average.
  The economic recession of the mid-twenty eighth century hit 
  Brownsville relatively hard. Its banks were intertwined with with Star 
  League-wide industries such as tourism, when Richard Cameron 
  reached his majority and plunged the League into political and 
  economic chaos. Brownsville’s leadership and business community 
  thus proved quite receptive to Stefan Amaris’ “suggestion” of a change 
  in dynasties. 
  With guidance from Rim Worlds Republic troops, themselves mostly 
  of Hegemony descent, Brownsville’s militia worked swiftly to subdue 
  the few SLDF troops on planet during Amaris’ takeover. Compared 
  to bloodbaths elsewhere, Brownsville’s role in the Amaris Coup was 
  largely a simple matter of changing locks and passwords. When the 
  Usurper made his move, many of the local SLDF troops had been 
  enjoying an “Armed Forces Day” at the expense of the planetary 
  baseball league. Sozzled on beer and fried butter bites, most of these 
  soldiers had no idea what was going on across the Hegemony until 
  well after they found their chartered buses and limousines diverted to 
  prison camps. In the first month of the Coup, only thirty Star League 
  troops were killed on Brownsville, mostly while trying to break out of 
  the prisons. 
  A successful planet-wide media campaign rolled out, arguing in favor 
  of Amaris as Emperor. Brownsville embraced Amaris as Director-General, 
  but within a year, the euphoria of incompetent Richard Cameron’s 
  deposal and Amaris’ ascension gave way to unease and worry. By 
  2767, the Houses had still not recognized the Hegemony’s “justly 
  elected” Director-General as Emperor. Worse, Brownsvillians learned 
  that Aleksandr Kerensky was in open rebellion against Amaris’ “lawful 
  superiors.” Reports even claimed that some of the stern tactics Amaris 
  favored against the Houses, such as financial sanctions, only appeared 
  to hurt the Hegemony’s economy and irritate the fence-sitting Houses. 
  T I P P E T A H O E
  T O H O S A L T O N
  O K E E R I E
  R A T H W A W A
  L A D Y B A R B E E
  YOKEHANDLE
  EVERGLADES
  T E X A S
  C A L I F O R N I A
  F L O R I D A
  I L L I N O I S
  I N D I A N A
  I O W A
  O H I O
  Dallas
  San Antonio
  Amarillo
  Dayton
  Cleveland
  Davenport
  Indianapolis
  Dubuque
  Bucyrus
  Mount Columbus
  Mount
  Des Moines
  Mount Houston
  Tampa
  San Jose
  Bakersfield
  Berkeley
  MI
  AM
  I 
  MO
  UN
  TAI
  NS
  Pensacola
  CHESTER BAY
  NUECES BAY
  BAFFIN BAY
  SANTA AMELIA
  RHODE ISLAND
  ALCATRAZ
  SAN
  CAMPELLA
  Daytona
  Primary Water 
  Filtration Center
  PENSACOLA
   BAY
  WABASH
  STRAITS
  Evansville
  Rockford
  Peoria
  Geneva
  West Palm
  Sarasota
  Tallahassee
  Mount Angeles
  SANTA FE STRAITS
  SAN PEDRO BAY
  SANTA MONICA
   BAY
  Militia
  Headquarters
  
  ATLAS
  6
  With war on the horizon, Brownsville began to militarize. Amaris 
  offered contracts to replace House suppliers who were now supporting 
  Kerensky, and these were excellent means of stimulating the local 
  economy. When the SLDF finally left its ironic Rim Worlds bastion 
  to assault the Hegemony, Brownsville’s militia found itself on the 
  frontlines among the Patriot regiments throughout the Hegemony. 
  The planet’s military factories 
  were hardly the largest in the 
  years-long conflict, but they 
  contributed their share.
  Brownsville remained largely 
  unimportant to either side 
  throughout much of the Star 
  League Civil War. The SLDF 
  largely ignored it until 2775, 
  at which point Amaris’ forces 
  made a nuclear scorched Earth 
  retreat without contesting 
  Brownsville. Because the 
  nuclear charges were set by 
  Brownsville volunteers among 
  Amaris’ forces, the targeted 
  complexes were evacuated 
  before the detonations. Amaris 
  decreed that the SLDF would 
  find nothing of use on Brownsville, and he was not wrong. The SLDF 
  did use Brownsville as a staging point for its attack on New Home, but 
  they found scant weapons to support their crusade. 
  In the aftermath of the war, Kerensky’s army had few resources to 
  spare for Brownsville’s recovery, and there were other war-ravaged 
  worlds in desperate need of aid. Left to its own devices, and with 
  only a trickle of aid from the Houses, the planetary economy 
  and infrastructure struggled along for two years. The planetary 
  government, grown autocratic under Amaris’ rule to suppress 
  simmering discontent, proved adequate to the task, however. This 
  same government—which had suspended local elections to prolong 
  the rule of its pro-Amaris leadership—was free to make hardnosed 
  decisions to triage its postwar population. These efforts included 
  concentrating resources on saving the largest, most easily aided 
  groups, while abandoning other districts. 
  Though much has been made of the pollution and fallout from 
  Amaris’ scorched earth retreat, popular histories have overstated 
  these effects. The fallout from the surface detonations was only a 
  threat for a few weeks because the modern, all-fusion weapons used 
  were themselves “clean”, and the neutron-activated elements in the 
  ground had short half-lives. More damaging was the contamination 
  to the thousands of square kilometers of productive river deltas 
  downstream from Brownsville’s wrecked industrial facilities, where 
  industrial chemicals released by the explosions rendered vast tracts 
  of agricultural land useless. Despite these effects, there were millions 
  of square kilometers of undamaged agricultural land elsewhere. 
  In fact, the largest problem for Brownsville was that its industrial 
  complexes were sensibly co-located with transportation hubs. 
  When the complexes were destroyed, every industry on Brownsville 
  simultaneously lost access to key suppliers (at the very least), and 
  large-scale transport came to a halt.
  The most immediate problem was food distribution. The Indiana 
  continent’s undamaged farms produced bumper crops while their 
  giant agribots worked (spare parts were a medium-term issue), but the 
  food could not reach other continents because ports and rail junctions 
  were now cooling radioactive 
  craters. At the cost of the 
  lives of thousands of political 
  dissidents, Brownsville’s 
  government quickly established 
  temporary ports on the coasts. 
  While the government efforts 
  verged on brutality, there 
  was also heroism: hundreds 
  of volunteers laid temporary 
  railways and installed new 
  cargo handling equipment 
  in blast zones before the 
  radioactivity had faded. With 
  food supplies stabilized by 
  2776, Brownsville’s leadership 
  turned to the longer-term issues 
  of rebuilding industry to keep 
  its population fed and housed, 
  and eventually to maintain a technological civilization. Perhaps because 
  these emergency conditions proved so effective, Brownsville was one of 
  the few Hegemony worlds not to lynch its pro-Amaris officials or throw 
  them from office, despite growing interstellar outcry and the urgings 
  from the small SLDF garrison. In all probability, this likely contained the 
  world’s death toll in the wake of the Civil War to just several hundred 
  thousand, where others suffered the loss of millions.
  Caught up in its own troubles, Brownsville was blindsided by the 
  SLDF Exodus. While its government blamed the crumbling state of the 
  Terran Hegemony on “the coward Kerensky’s flight,” its scant reserves 
  were tapped to procure military hardware. By equipping its out-
  sized militia, raised for the ongoing suppression of localized revolts, 
  with SLDF equipment, the planetary leadership created an effective 
  defense force against interstellar predations. Brownsville’s leadership 
  dismissed overtures from Confederation and Free Worlds diplomats in 
  2785, instead seeking to ally with its Hegemony neighbors. But these 
  Terran neighbors rebuffed Brownsville in turn, considering its people 
  and government tainted by their enthusiastic support for Amaris, and 
  the retention of their Amaris-era leadership.
  Brownsville thus stood alone when the first Capellan “peacekeepers” 
  arrived in 2786 in support of a minor rebel group. The Confederation 
  claimed that the rebels represented “the legitimate interests of 
  the oppressed Brownsvillians,” and hoped to intercede “to effect a 
  peaceful transition of regimes.” The inexperienced CCAF troops were 
  unprepared for the hardened veterans of Brownsville’s militia. After 
  brief clashes—and the delivery of the heads of their allied rebel leaders 
  in boxes of salt—the Capellans retreated.
  When the Capellans returned in 2789, they not only brought 
  considerably more force, but also considerably more diplomatic skill. 
  
  ATLAS
  7
  This time, they offered Brownsville protection against the “rampant 
  imperialism” of the Federated Suns and Free Worlds League if it joined 
  the Confederation under generous terms. To make their point about 
  the planet’s vulnerability to the Houses, Capellan Soyal-class cruisers 
  destroyed several of the shepherd moonlets in Brownsville’s rings with 
  their mass drivers—not coincidentally the moonlets which contained 
  Star League-era naval weapon batteries. The planetary government 
  signed the unification treaty and even kept the original terms; in 2789, 
  the Confederation could afford to be generous.
  For close to twenty years after its capitulation to House Liao, 
  Brownsville managed to escape the violence and brutality of the First 
  Succession War. The Federated Suns and Free Worlds League both 
  probed the planet’s defenses, but found an impoverished world hardly 
  worth conquering. This gave the people of Brownsville time to rebuild, 
  and the government kept its public distracted from politics with a 
  series of successful four-year reconstruction plans. 
  To meet domestic needs and pressing demands from the 
  Confederation, Brownsville’s industries even managed to resume 
  the production of advanced water filtration systems. Unfortunately, 
  as the First Succession War neared its end, water filter factories had 
  become strategic targets in the “total war” mindset that dominated 
  the House Lords. It was for this reason that the Free Worlds ultimately 
  decided to invade the planet in 2811. Although the Confederation was 
  heavily engaged against the Federated Suns at the time, Brownsville’s 
  planetary militia managed to beat back the Marik attackers. As was the 
  tactic of the time, the defeated FWLM retreated behind a barrage of 
  nuclear weapons meant to cripple the planetary infrastructure, and 
  destroy the objectives they sought for themselves.
  Unlike Amaris’ scorched earth action, the League forces wantonly 
  targeted population centers with no chance for evacuation. Over 
  one hundred million people died outright, including the ruling junta, 
  which left Brownsville paralyzed. Because of this, another 150 million 
  people perished by 2813 from fallout, famine, disease, and exposure. 
  Millions more lives would be lost over the next ten years before the 
  nuclear winter passed.
  Reeling from multiple setbacks, the Confederation could scarcely 
  offer Brownsville sufficient aid to stem its losses. Birthrates plummeted 
  as planetary conditions worsened, leading to a continuous drop in 
  population through the 2850s. The destruction of now-irreplaceable 
  atmospheric processors in the League bombardment was the real 
  deathblow: by 2850, the global oxygen levels had fallen almost too low 
  to support animal life. Humans could survive with respirators, but the 
  ecosystem itself had been profoundly compromised by then. Carbon 
  dioxide and methane levels climbed, creating warming that further 
  disrupted the already destabilized weather systems. Though many 
  Brownsvillians did attempt to flee their doomed world, JumpShips had 
  become desperately scarce by the middle of the twenty-ninth century. 
  ComStar formally abandoned Brownsville in 2862, making a 
  dramatic show of evacuating the several thousand refugees living near 
  its dismantled HPG compound. The world was stricken from interstellar 
  navigation maps and declared “dead”, but some contemporary 
  estimates placed a few million survivors on-world at the time, scattered 
  in small enclaves around the planet. Today, Brownsville has once again 
  reverted to its lifeless, pre-colonial state. Its atmosphere has returned 
  to its fully anoxic composition, and surface temperatures now average 
  fifty degrees Celsius.
  
  A TImE Of WAR AdVENTURE SEEdS
  8
  I’m NOT dEAd YET
  Recommended Group Size: 2-4 player characters
  Recommended Group Type: Military, Dissidents, Security/Spy
  Recommended Skill Levels: Green-Veteran (Key Skill levels of 1-6)
  In 2785, the Houses began courting the valuable Hegemony worlds in what would become an ever more blatant and desperate effort to gobble up 
  the remains of House Cameron’s legacy. In some cases, diplomacy and historical ties proved sufficient; worlds that had been jointly administered by 
  Terran and House regimes alike often accepted House suzerainty without a fight. But some worlds—including Brownsville—were not ready to accept 
  the Hegemony’s failure. Brownsville was unique, however, in that its pro-Amaris leadership made it a pariah to the interstellar community, rebuffed by 
  even its neighbors. 
  Brownsville thus stood alone against the Capellan Confederation’s first, ham-handed attempt to seize the isolated world. House Liao reckoned the 
  key was Brownsville’s anti-government rebels, who were protesting decades of their own leader’s autocratic repression of the people. By defeating key 
  loyalist military forces, the Confederation hoped to spark a general uprising and install handpicked, pro-Capellan leaders into the planetary government.
  Complications: A few obstacles for players to tackle.
  You Want Us to Do What?: Maskirovka agents attempting to build a unified rebel front had the first inkling of trouble. Most of Brownsville’s “rebel groups” 
  spoke vigorously against the government on planetary computer networks, but rarely protested in person because that led to bad encounters with 
  riot police and prison camps. As Liao’s agents painfully learned, the groups that were taking action in the streets were often undercover security stings 
  aimed at culling such dangerous would-be rebels. Meanwhile, other power groups—the business community and security services—were happy with 
  the status quo.
  First Kerenskyites, Now You Punks: The Brownsville militia was filled with veterans of the long Civil War, and after 2784, the planetary government wasn’t 
  picky about which side they fought for. They were also well-equipped with Civil War surplus that Brownsville was buying rapidly; other Hegemony 
  worlds might not treat with Brownsville, but they would trade for its hard currency. The Capellan regiments that hoped to quickly destroy the planetary 
  militia (and clear the way for a carefully stage-managed rebellion) faced troops that were much more skilled, had a significant technological advantage, 
  and were more numerous.
  Tips: This is an easy opportunity to play “the bad guys” in a secret rebellion under A Time of War rules, since both sides in this conflict are “morally 
  challenged.” A Total Warfare or Alpha Strike battle between the CCAF and Brownsville militia, meanwhile, is an opportunity to try out the late Star League 
  Civil War equipment found in the Liberation of Terra publications. The CCAF position is untenable, but it can be the start of a “fighting retreat” campaign.
  
  A TImE Of WAR AdVENTURE SEEdS
  9
  YOU cAN’T fIGHT If YOU’RE THIRSTY
  Recommended Group Size: 2-8 player characters
  Recommended Group Type: Military
  Recommended Skill Levels: Regular-Veteran (Key Skill levels of 2-6)
  Despite being located at ground zero of the bloodiest war in human history, 
  Brownsville escaped damage for most of the First Succession War. Its militia brushed 
  aside three of the four attacks that followed the Star League Civil War with little damage 
  to the planet. Even the Capellan conquest in 2789 had largely been negotiated: after 
  the Confederation destroyed key battle stations, the planetary government acceded 
  before losing most of its militia or suffering more damage to its cities, industry, and 
  population. 
  Of course, Brownsville had little to recommend it; Amaris had destroyed the valuable, 
  advanced Hegemony industries in 2775. The probes by the FWLM and AFFS early in 
  the First War were desultory because Brownsville was not nearly as valuable as its 
  hotly contested neighbors. But by 2811, Brownsville had spent decades rebuilding in 
  relative peace. Its new industrial base was not the pinnacle of Star League technology 
  anymore, but it was comparable to the best of the Inner Sphere, and had even resumed 
  producing the Star League’s miraculous water filters. This proved ironically unfortunate.
  The First Succession War had started as a conventional land grab but escalated 
  quickly when the Houses invoked strategies aimed purely at destroying their foes’ ability 
  to wage interstellar war. This entailed attacking everything from BattleMech factories 
  and shipyards to JumpShips of every type. It also meant targeting vulnerabilities like 
  terraforming systems, which would cripple many worlds in a hostile House. 
  This strategy left the Free Worlds League in need of water filters after the Capellans 
  and Lyrans destroyed the League’s factories, and in 2811, Brownsville had a functional 
  filter factory. If the League couldn’t secure that factory, they would destroy it.
  Complications: A few obstacles for players to tackle.
  Maskirovka as a Strategy: It’s not just an intelligence agency. The Confederation 
  was supposedly removing Brownsville’s sizable militia for years to shore up its 
  faltering operations in the Chesterton region, but this has been mostly a shuffling of 
  forces on paper. In fact, it was new recruits from Brownsville being assigned to old 
  militia regiments and sent to support the CCAF. The veterans from the old militia 
  regiments were consolidated into fewer, larger formations that the Free Worlds’ 
  incompetent intelligence service, SAFE, mistook for simply fewer defenders. There’s 
  an opportunity for an A Time of War campaign to reveal or protect this deception, 
  and a reason to field uneven forces in Total Warfare and Alpha Strike scenarios.
  Nuke it from Orbit: Intelligence oversights may cut both ways. By 2811, it was almost 
  standard practice for invasion forces to include “boomers”: DropShips fitted with 
  capital missile launchers and large magazines that could douse a planet in nuclear 
  weapons. It was likewise standard practice to hunt boomers. Historically, Capellans 
  didn’t identify, let alone intercept, the converted freighter that the Free Worlds used 
  to bombard Brownsville. But can the PCs be more on their toes than the rest of the 
  Maskirovka or Brownsville aerospace defense? 
  Tips: Hunting for nuclear weapons may involve A Time of War scenarios ranging 
  from infiltration of FWLM field camps on Brownsville, to zero-gravity boarding and 
  inspection operations of suspicious DropShips. It could also include Total Warfare 
  aerospace interceptions.
  
  OPTIONAL RULES
  12
  The following additional special rules are intended to provide further 
  flavor to games set on the world featured in this supplement. For the 
  most part, these rules may be considered advanced and optional, as 
  they primarily reflect conditions and/or features unique to this one 
  planet or planetary system.
  IRONfIN TUNA
  One of many slightly engineered species in Brownsville’s oceans, 
  the “ironfin tuna” gets its name from the red iron oxide deposited in 
  its scales, which is one of its several mechanisms for coping with the 
  high metal content of the water. In conjunction with the proteins of 
  its scales, the ironfin tuna had a lacquered appearance with colors 
  ranging from ochre to crimson. Because of this filtration, the fish was 
  mostly safe to eat. Fishers needed to be careful to remove scales, 
  kidneys, and gills, which is where metals concentrated. The ironfin was 
  an important commercial fish and popular sport fish during the Star 
  League era. Mature ironfins could reach 500 kilograms.
  Mass: 300-500 kg (adult)
   STR 
  BOD 
  DEX 
  RFL 
  INT 
  WIL 
  EDG
   
  12 
  12 
  2 
  5 
  5 
  5 
  2
  Size Class (Modifier): Large (+1)
  BAR (M/B/E/X): Scaly hide 1/0/0/0
  Damage (AP/BD): 1M/1
  Move (W/R/S): 50/105 (Swimming)
  Traits: Thick-Skinned
  Skills: AniMelee (+2), Perception (+4), Tracking (+2) 
  mAPSHEETS TABLES
  INdIANA
  2d6 Result
  Map
  2
  Heavy Forest #2 (MS4, MSC1)
  3
  Scattered Woods (MS2, MSC1)
  4
  Lake Area (MS2, MSC1)
  5
  River Delta/Drainage Basin #1 (MS4, MSC1)*
  6
  Open Terrain #1 (MSC5, MSC1)
  7
  Open Terrain #2 (BT, MS5, MSC1)*
  8
  Open Terrain #1 (MSC5, MSC1)*
  9
  Large Lakes #1 (MS4, MSC1)
  10
  River Delta/Drainage Basin #1 (MS4, MSC1)
  11
  Woodland (MS6, MSC2)
  12
  Rolling Hills #2 (MS3, MSC1)
  *Treat open terrain hexes as Planted Fields (see p. 38, TO).
  BROWNSVILLE TERRAIN
  Brownsville has a diverse range of terrain like any planet. 
  Its ugly oceans are simply ugly, neither truly toxic nor 
  made up of ’Mech-dissolving acids. Its Indiana continent is 
  unusually flat and covered with fertile soils that have made 
  it an ideal center for agriculture, but the other landmasses 
  possess every shade of geography and ecosystem found 
  on Terra. 
  The random terrain tables found on p. 263 of Total 
  Warfare will cover most of the planet’s varied landscape, 
  but for scenarios set on the Indiana continent, players may 
  use the Indiana Mapsheet Table provided here.
  
  4
  ATLAS
  Located close to Terra, Inglesmond was discovered in the first waves 
  of interstellar exploration but ignored for centuries. It had plenty of 
  water, but also an inhospitably reducing atmosphere of nitrogen, 
  methane, and carbon dioxide. The Terran Alliance began terraforming 
  the planet in the late twenty-third century, when Projects Aphrodite 
  and Lowell wound down. Inglesmond wasn’t a particular priority for 
  the Alliance and had no colonies lined up for it, but the planetary 
  engineering corporations had enormous lobbying clout with the 
  government and even more highly-paid personnel to keep employed. 
  Eventually, a British group expressed interest in settling this world and 
  planned a colonial expedition to take place around 2350 when the 
  terraformers estimated their work would be sufficiently complete.
  The Terran Hegemony happened first. In 2349, Michael Cameron 
  selected Inglesmond (then-named “New Britain”) as a trial world 
  for a program aimed at defusing regional patriotism on Terra itself. 
  New Britain was gifted as a “custom-made paradise” to Brazilian 
  settlers, as part of a propaganda effort meant to convince them 
  that the Hegemony was of great benefit to Brazil. The overarching 
  goal was to secure the loyalty of those who continued to espouse 
  devout patriotism to their increasingly defunct Terran nation-states, 
  and gradually wean them from such impulses via settlements on 
  far-flung worlds. Polling showed the project was quite successful 
  at securing the Brazilians’ favor, so Cameron would continue these 
  efforts with other worlds such as Brownsville, Lone Star, and New 
  Dallas. Meanwhile, the Lusophone Brazilian settlers had developed 
  the slang name, “English World” for New Britain, a name that was 
  erroneously immortalized as “Inglesmond” by English-speaking 
  Hegemony bureaucrats.
  Inglesmond is an unusual world, though far from the oddest 
  discovered by humanity. It has a circular orbit of 0.83 AU around its 
  bright primary, creating a local year only 290 Terran days long. This 
  produces somewhat short seasons, which are particularly extreme due 
  to the planet’s axial tilt of nearly seventy degrees. Its large moon, which 
  follows an equatorial orbit, is apparently the product of a massive 
  impact that occurred in Inglesmond’s youth and is the obvious cause 
  of this extreme tilt, and also its stability against the interference of the 
  system’s other gravitational sources. 
  This has made it possible for Inglesmond to retain a stable—if 
  bizarre—climate. The poles spend a quarter of the year each aimed 
  almost directly at the sun, giving a large area of the planet continuous 
  illumination for the summer, when they become quite hot. Summer 
  averages around forty degrees Celsius in the polar zones, and some 
  polar island interiors exceed eighty degrees. During the winter, each 
  pole falls mostly into darkness, where the region chills to freezing. 
  Polar sea ice development is limited in winter, however, due to the 
  enormous thermal mass of the oceans. But it is the equator where 
  the climate is oddest. Spending over half the year barely illuminated 
  and at high obliquity to the sun, while the other half of the year falls 
  directly under the sun and provides a normal twenty-one-hour day/
  night cycle, the equator thus experiences continually cool or cold 
  temperatures. For this reason, Inglesmond’s single permanent ice “cap” 
  is actually an ice “belt” that stretches around its equator.
  Moderating the polar temperature extremes is their extensive water 
  coverage. Both poles only possess scattered islands, while three of 
  Inglesmond’s five continents (Ceara, Amazonas, and Catarina—ranked 
  largest to smallest) are in the middle latitudes of the northern and 
  INGLESMOND 
  Star Type: G7V (188 hours)
  Position in System: 2 (of 7)
  Time to Jump Point:  6.57 days
  Number of Moons: 1 (Martim Vaz)
  Surface Gravity: 0.92
  Atm. Pressure: Standard (Breathable)
  Average Temp: 22 oC (see text)
  Surface Water: 70 percent
  Recharging Station: Zenith, Nadir (2787);  
  None (3150) 
  HPG Class: A (2787); None (3150)
  Highest Native Life: None
  Population: 4,270,000,000 (2787); 12,000 (3150)
  Socio-Industrial Levels: A-A-A-A-A (2787);  
  F-F-B-F-C (3150) 
  Landmasses (Capital City): Para, Ceara 
  (Doosamontana [3150]), Amazonas, Catarina 
  (Novas Brasilia [2787]), Ionus, Sergipe
  
  5
  ATLAS
  southern hemispheres. The largest continent, Para, and smallest 
  continent, Sergipe, form a belt of land around the equator that serves 
  to anchor the planetary ice belt. There are two large oceanic passages 
  across the equator, both of which stay ice-free year round due largely 
  to warm water currents coming off the poles. The ice-free northern and 
  southern edges of Para and Sergipe are prone to severe flooding during 
  spring and fall, when the equator is most brightly lit. Today’s remnant 
  human population lives entirely on Ceara in the northern hemisphere, 
  at about sixty degrees latitude, where seasonal temperature swings 
  are tolerable and there is some nighttime or dusk during the summer.
  The middle latitude continents have thriving, terrestrial-derived 
  ecosystems that do well in the moderate climate of those regions. Many 
  of the imported flora and fauna were slightly genetically “tweaked” to 
  adapt to long days and nights, especially the plant life. Today, as it was 
  in the Star League’s heyday, Inglesmond’s middle latitude lands run the 
  gamut of terrestrial biomes, from rainforests to deserts and swamps. 
  The deep ocean ecosystems are also in good shape and prospering, 
  and the world has one of the largest known populations of cetacean 
  species in the Inner Sphere—even larger than Terra’s. Coral reefs and 
  coastal ecosystems are still young despite vigorous seeding efforts 
  from the planet’s populated days, but—as with the rest of the world—
  these reefs have been doing well without human interference.
  Despite an unusual environment, Inglesmond thrived. It was settled 
  by colonists from wealthy Brazil; surrounded by the most developed, 
  industrialized, and wealthiest colonies in human space; and by 
  2349 there was a large body of experience in managing its colonial 
  development, which helped drive its economic growth. Inglesmond 
  settled down to be a quiet, loyal, and industrious member of the 
  Hegemony for over four centuries.
  If Inglesmond could be said to have an economic niche, it was 
  one focused on civilian production. Like most worlds, its economy 
  was dominated by domestic planetary activities, but also enjoyed 
  a healthy trade balance exporting high-value goods that made 
  best use of JumpShips’ and DropShips’ small cargo capacities: from 
  medicines, electronics, and jewelry (as this world was rich in heavy 
  metals), to exotic materials like high-boron alloys. Inglesmond 
  manufactured few noteworthy military products, but its large 
  civilian shipyards churned out common merchant JumpShips and 
  DropShip classes. The world was advanced, wealthy, mineral-rich, 
  and even had bountiful farms.
  The world’s large population concentrated on the temperate 
  middle latitude continents, which were (and are) thick with forests 
  and grasslands. Aesthetically, few of its cities were particularly 
  distinctive; they were built at the height of the Hegemony and drew 
  upon architectural influences from across the Inner Sphere. There was, 
  however, a minority who favored the mobile aquatic cities that could 
  migrate between hemispheres to avoid the planet’s seasonal extremes, 
  and the planet hosted several waterborne arcologies, including at 
  least one Atlantis class floating city—perhaps the largest oceanic 
  habitat structure ever built in the Hegemony. Apart from these sailing 
  arcologies, Inglesmond’s transportation was typical: fusion-powered 
  aircraft for long-ranged travel, high-speed trains, automated highways, 
  and light rail in dense urban areas, while the abundant waters lent 
  themselves to bulk freight shipping. 
  M A R  D E
   D O I S  S A N T O S
  V A S T O  O C E A N O
  ILHA DOS 
  BALEIAS
  BAIDANSIA
  (formerly Baía da Ânsia)
  A M A Z O N A S
  I O N A S
  C E A R A
  S E R G I P E
  C A T A R I N A
  P A R A
  Carutapera
  Rio Ruidoso
  Nhamunda
  Jutaí
  São Tomé
  Poleiro de Alicea
  Doosmontana
  (formerly Montanha do Deus)
  Forte Bosque
  Tefé
  Mutagua
  (formerly Muitas Águas)
  Ponsperanz
  (formerly Ponto Esperança)
  ILHABELA
  ILHA DAS ABELHAS
  Praispentes
  (formerly Praia dos Serpentes)
  Penscam
  (formerly Penhascosão)
  Penscoho
  (formerly Penhascosinho)
  O C E A N O  S E R E N O
  M A R  D O  N O R T E
  O  C O R R E D O R
  L A G O S  B R I L H A N T E S
  São Geraldo
  Cidade Fenda
  Água Doce
  Telha
  Ponto dos Anjos
  Cidade Murcego
  Anzol
  MO
  NT
  AN
  HA
  S R
  IJO
  M
  O
  N
  TA
  NHAS BA
  I
  X
  O
  MO
  NT
  A
  N
  H
  A
  S 
  A
  C
  I
  M
  A
  BAÍA FILIPE
  Filipe
  Cidade das Ondas
  Primeira Luz
  Viseu
  Barreirinhas
  Novas Brasilia
  MONTANHAS AVERMELHADAS
  São Luís
  Boa Partida
  M A R  M U R A D A
  
  6
  ATLAS
  Inglesmond’s planetary government followed the Hegemony 
  norm, but by the twenty-eighth century, local nobles dominated the 
  planetary legislature’s upper house, creating an atypically conservative 
  and elitist theme in local politics. Thanks to immigration, the primary 
  language of the local population was Star League Standard English. 
  Descendants of the original Brazilian settlers remained a distinct part 
  of the planet’s society, but by the 2700s, they were merely one part 
  of a much larger whole. Their Portuguese language survived as a 
  secondary tongue and for this reason Inglesmond became a significant 
  source of Portuguese literature and media during the Star League era. 
  The Brazilian cultural love of football also survived here and some 
  the Hegemony’s dominant football teams and players hailed from 
  this world, winning Hegemony (and Star League) championships an 
  average of once per decade. 
  While the cities were “Hegemony Generic,” many of Inglesmond’s 
  government buildings and, eventually, homes of the wealthy and 
  famous developed a “neo-baroque” interior decoration style. This 
  evolved into the gaudier, wide-
  spread “Cameron Baroque” or 
  “Star League Baroque” during 
  the twenty-eighth century, 
  but the “original” neo-baroque 
  is still used as a mark of class 
  by those who want to show 
  some reserve and refinement 
  in their wealth.
  During the Star League 
  Civil War, Inglesmond was 
  ambivalent. Like most of the 
  Hegemony, its few voters 
  favored Stefan Amaris, being 
  disgusted with Richard 
  Cameron’s incompetence 
  and the manner in which his 
  policies were endangering 
  the Hegemony as metropole 
  of the Star League. However, 
  Inglesmond evinced a mercenary attitude toward Amaris: when the 
  SLDF and Houses refused to recognize the new Emperor, their support 
  began to wane. After seeing some of Amaris’ brutality toward less 
  cooperative worlds, the people of Inglesmond generally kept their 
  collective head down and cooperated with the Terran government 
  until the SLDF arrived in 2773. The SLDF found the world still under 
  a nominal Amaris government, but garrisoned by mercenaries and 
  soldiers from the Draconis Combine. The SLDF drove those forces off 
  Inglesmond with no casualties, but before Kerensky’s troops could deal 
  with the pro-Amaris government, most of politicians in high offices 
  resigned abruptly to well-paid retirements. This was a contingency plan 
  by the planetary government in case the SLDF won; it was suspected 
  the newly retired politicians might return to office in a stage-managed 
  counterrevolution if Amaris eventually defeated the SLDF.
  While some have derided Inglesmond as “spineless” during the Civil 
  War, that was because its people considered themselves loyal to the 
  Hegemony itself, rather than its contending leaders. As an example 
  of its loyalty, by 2776 it was entirely willing to stress its economy 
  both to both a militia to deter further Combine adventurism and 
  also to feed the SLDF. Inglesmond dutifully took up contracts for its 
  new masters and its taxes shifted to Kerensky’s puppet “Hegemony-
  in-Exile” government quickly after their liberation. Supporting the 
  SLDF meant a significant militarization of the planet, which this 
  industrialized world accomplished quickly. Its surviving militia units 
  were tasked with deterring Kuritan aggression as the Combine 
  occupied nearby worlds like Telos IV, Imbros III, and Styx as soon as 
  Amaris and Kerensky left.
  When the Civil War ended and the High Council was dissolved, 
  Inglesmond—largely untouched despite years of conflict around 
  it—looked to its own needs at first, waiting for the Terran Hegemony 
  to reorganize its war-battered member worlds. By 2782, however, 
  the planetary leadership recognized that the Hegemony was in a 
  moribund state and began attempting to re-organize the nation on 
  its own, as did a number of well-off Hegemony worlds. Unfortu-
  nately, the “unofficial” nature of these efforts was poorly received. 
  Empire-building was rampant 
  amongst novice Hegemony 
  administrators, nobles, and 
  planetary governments to the 
  point that pragmatic efforts to 
  restore the Terran realm found 
  no traction. With the departure 
  of the SLDF, Inglesmond ac-
  cepted that a graceful recovery 
  was out of the question, and 
  shifted to wartime mobiliza-
  tion. With a few like-minded 
  worlds in the Hegemony’s Lone 
  Star District, it would simply 
  have to defend itself and its fel-
  low worlds against the circling 
  House vultures until Terra was 
  on its feet again.
  The First Succession War 
  still came as a shock to the 
  people of Inglesmond. Most had anticipated the defection of a few 
  Hegemony planets to the nearest Houses, but the accelerating, naked 
  land grab that heralded the war was unanticipated. When House 
  Kurita’s forces inevitably entered the region in the early months of 
  2786, Inglesmond’s defenders, a mix of SLDF veterans and cutting-
  edge war machines, bled the Combine invaders badly on nearby 
  Deneb, Algedi, Kervil, and Styx. 
  Two things turned the tide against Inglesmond, however. First, 
  the Combine managed a devastating raid against the planet’s LTV 
  Aerospace shipyards in 2787, destroying millions of tons of partially 
  built WarShips and a pair of WarShips borrowed from nearby Dieron. 
  Second, the Combine (and all the Houses) willingly used far more 
  weapons of mass destruction than even the “brutal” Amaris did during 
  Star League Civil War. 
  When driven back to Inglesmond, the defenders openly courted 
  Houses Steiner and Davion with offers of allegiance in exchange 
  for surcease from the Kuritans. Though constrained by their own 
  strategic concerns, the Lyrans and the Suns managed to send a 
  
  7
  ATLAS
  regiment of mixed troops each as “exploratory forces”, but their arrival 
  only turned the Siege of Inglesmond into a four-way debacle. In the 
  course of the fighting, all three of the House combatants resorted to 
  nuclear scorched earth tactics, desperate to deny such a wealthy and 
  industrialized Hegemony world to the others.
  The Combine finally claimed nominal suzerainty over Inglesmond by 
  2789, but abandoned the nuclear winter-shrouded wasteland in 2799 
  when no useful salvage could be found amid the radioactive craters 
  of its industrial complexes. After a perfunctory search for survivors in 
  2801, ComStar struck this world off its maps.
  Unlike many terraformed worlds that died during the Succession 
  Wars, the planetary engineering on Inglesmond was thorough. The 
  planet proved easier to work with than Mars or Venus because it 
  receives illumination similar to Terra. There was also little in the way of 
  native life to overcome beyond some microbes, the atmosphere had 
  a good partial pressure of nitrogen, and liquid water was bountiful. 
  Effort was put toward sequestering the major oxygen sinks, like iron 
  in the oceans, so continuous artificial atmospheric processing was not 
  required after the late twenty-fourth century. Amazingly, Inglesmond’s 
  ecosystem, climate, and ozone layer have all bounced back to their 
  antebellum norms despite the deployment of an estimated eleven 
  gigatons of nuclear weaponry during the early years of the First 
  Succession War. It has helped greatly, of course, that the planet has 
  been free of humans for three centuries. The ecosystem is thus doing 
  well, and is maintaining oxygen levels while natural greenhouse effects 
  remain at stable levels. This native environment could last almost 
  indefinitely without maintenance
  Salvagers returned to Inglesmond several times throughout the First, 
  Second, and Third Succession Wars. The callous lostech scavengers 
  often hunted down survivors who approached their ships because 
  the native presence endangered the legal claims for salvage. Lyran 
  intelligence forces later found a DCMS recovery operation in 2803 had 
  deployed nuclear weapons against four large survivor communities 
  rather than deal with the complications they posed. ComStar 
  recertified Inglesmond as uninhabited in a publicly announced visit 
  in 2822, and again after a secret expedition in 2912. Because of these 
  surveys’ mixed results, Inglesmond is sometimes shown as inhabited 
  on 2822 maps and sometimes not.
  Today, the planet is occupied by several dozen feuding hunter-
  gatherer tribes that often arm themselves with metal implements 
  salvaged from ruins. The most powerful tribe, an inbred group of 
  several clans, rules from a decrepit Castle Brian that still manages to 
  produce some geothermal electricity and distilled water. This Castle 
  Brian is located within a massive granite mountain, earning the 
  name “Doosamontana” from its inhabitants – probably a corruption 
  of Star League-era Portuguese for “God Mountain.” The modern 
  inhabitants were discovered by Coalition scouts during the Jihad, 
  when evaluating the world as a secret staging base for the attack 
  on Terra, but the First Succession War bioweapons still lingered in 
  the environment in mutated forms and the Coalition had no time 
  to develop adequate countermeasures. The Republic of the Sphere 
  treats Inglesmond as a “planetary nature preserve” rather than an 
  inhabited system, and allows remote study of the natives by a multi-
  national team of researchers.
  
  8
  A TIME Of WAR ADvENTURE SEEDS
  SHOOTING STARS
  Recommended Group Size: 2-6 player characters
  Recommended Group Type: Military, Covert Ops
  Recommended Skill Levels: Green-Elite (Key Skill levels of 2-8)
  After several humiliating setbacks in the Hegemony’s Lone Star district 
  between 2786 and 2787—some at the hands of Inglesmond’s militia—the 
  Draconis Combine re-evaluated the strategic capabilities of this overlooked 
  world. Between its wealth, heavy industry, and political stability, the Kuritans 
  quickly determined that Inglesmond could raise several brigades of truly 
  formidable militia in just a few years, and potentially support them with 
  WarShips emerging from their own still-upgrading shipyards. As the DCMS 
  faced the imminent pressure of two giant foes in the Lyran Commonwealth and 
  Federated Suns, ignoring this world for much longer put the very real chance of 
  a resurgent Terran Hegemony (or at least a portion of it) at the Dragon’s back. 
  By late 2787, Inglesmond had yet to fully mobilize and remained dependent 
  on a few key facilities. With the fall of Dieron in December of 2786, the planet 
  was struggling to complete the first batch of WarShip hulls its upgraded LTV 
  Aerospace yards were building, but it was still making progress. Meanwhile, the 
  Combine found itself entrenched in an all-out war against the Davions while 
  holding the Steiners at bay. Even with its resources strained, the Dragon could 
  no longer afford to ignore this secondary threat. Best to strike soon.
  Because the Combine’s navy was mostly tied up fighting the Houses, the plan 
  to break Inglesmond’s naval yards and naval defenses rested on a diversionary 
  attack at Lone Star (which had been largely overlooked to this point), and 
  then sending a small group of converted DropShips into the system via the 
  Inglesmond-Martim Vaz L1 pirate point. Some of the DropShips would engage 
  the battle station there with nuclear-tipped Barracudas, drawing the defenders’ 
  attention, while other DropShips and dispersed fighters carrying Alamos would 
  race toward the shipyards orbiting Martim Vaz. No one was expected to return, 
  so it was acceptable for the fighters to make a one-way, non-stop burn toward 
  the shipyard; they had fuel for that.
  Complications: A few obstacles for players to tackle.
  Why Aren’t Those Shooting?: The heavy use of nuclear weapons at the 
  pirate point startled Inglesmond’s defenders, who had only seen them used 
  tactically on other Lone Star district worlds, and thus drew the available 
  aerospace defenders to deal with those berserk “pocket WarShips.” The militia 
  was, however, aware some invading forces were headed for the moon, but 
  their leadership ordered all attention be given to the nuclear threat. It was a 
  close decision.
  Counterfactual Speculative Histories: The 2787 destruction of Inglesmond’s 
  shipyard and its subsequent nuclear bombardment the following year have 
  long been popular topics for the Inner Sphere’s “speculative wargamers” and 
  “counterfactual historians” because the battle itself could easily have turned 
  out differently. And if it did, the course of the Succession Wars might have 
  gone differently, as within another few years Inglesmond would have been 
  unassailable, at least in the sense that the Houses could not spare enough 
  troops from their titanic conflicts to deal with a Hegemony rump state that 
  had a small fleet and some of the Hegemony’s industry.
  Tips: This is an opportunity to use or avoid nuclear weapons in a naval 
  conflict; the fighters headed for the shipyards are unlikely to use their few 
  Alamos against defenders, while the DropShips at the pirate point will use their 
  Santa Anas profligately against WarShips that might survive them. Rules for 
  nuclear weapons are found in Jihad Hotspots: 3070 (see p. 130, JHS3070). Rules 
  for L1 pirate points are found in Strategic Operations (see pp. 87-89, and pp. 134-
  135, SO), and offer the opportunity for the battle to hinge on a misjump.
  RUMBLE IN THE RUBBLE
  Recommended Group Size: 2 to 8 player characters
  Recommended Group Type: Military, Salvage Experts
  Recommended Skill Levels: Green-Regular (Key Skill levels of 
  1-4)
  By 2803, about a million survivors from the 2788-2789 
  nuclear scouring had congregated on the continent of 
  Amazonas. They had been overlooked by ComStar in its 2801 
  rescue operation because of the survivors’ strict radio silence 
  procedures, and because they were not on the continents of 
  Ceara or Catarina, where most of the pre-war population had 
  lived and died. Amazonas had mostly been a nature reserve 
  with few nuclear targets like factories, cities, radio emitters, 
  and campfires that caught the eye of House gunners. Its 
  ecosystems had bounced back from the nuclear winter, and 
  the invaders had favored modern, pure-fusion weapons 
  that produced little fallout. Strict quarantine procedures for 
  newly arrived refugees kept bioweapons from getting loose 
  on Amazonas. 
  Left alone for eleven years, Inglesmond’s Amazonas 
  survivors had re-established agriculture, a functioning 
  telecommunications network (by fiberoptic lines), and were 
  building towns with decent materials and infrastructure. The 
  survivors were apparently quite industrious.
  In 2803, orbital surveys by Draconis Combine salvage teams 
  (investigating a world ComStar declared dead in 2801) noted 
  the survivor communities, who thought they had missed 
  some undamaged towns. Plus they would get the honor of 
  informing the Combine that the world was still inhabited and 
  useful. When they found survivors, the salvagers assumed that 
  anyone on the battered planet would welcome any aid from 
  the stars.
  Complications: A few obstacles for players to tackle.
  How Many BattleMechs?: As it turned out, part of the reason 
  that the survivors had settled Amazonas where they did 
  was an Inglesmond militia base had escaped destruction. 
  The wilderness training facility had not only included 
  functioning power plants, machine shops, clinic, and food 
  stores, but also an intact militia ’Mech battalion. Not all of 
  that battalion was functioning in 2802 for lack of parts, but 
  the operable ’Mechs were late SLDF models.
  It’s the Only Way To Be Sure: After the first militia attacks 
  destroyed the salvagers’ small BattleMech guard detail and 
  their WorkMechs, the Kuritan response had been to retreat 
  to orbit and improvise aerial freefall casings and altimeter 
  fuses for the fusion demolition charges normally used to 
  excavate Castles Brian. However, the civilian smallcraft 
  pressed into the role of bombers took obvious and 
  suspicious routes toward the four cities. A more alert militia 
  might have halted this attack.
  Tips: This scenario is an opportunity to host battles in a 
  post-apocalyptic wasteland, albeit one free of the usual 
  cinematic fallout and biohazard threats. Inglesmond is 
  rebuilding a civilization, but the barbarian hordes threaten 
  all that work.
  
  11
  OPTIONAL RULES
  The following additional special rules are intended to provide 
  further flavor to games set on the world featured in this product. For 
  the most part, these rules may be considered advanced and optional, 
  as they primarily reflect conditions and/or features unique to this one 
  planet or planetary system.
  cIBOLAN WHALE
  This oceanic behemoth is an immigrant from El Dorado and 
  apparently was named in reference to another “lost city.” By 2694, 
  Inglesmond’s oceans had been filled with many of Terra’s cetacean 
  species, some recovered from extinction by fossil DNA extraction, and 
  it was a source of pride to the population that they were helping to 
  undo the damage of pre-homo stellaris humans on the home world. 
  However, not everyone on Inglesmond was sensitive to the nuances 
  of this honor and some, such as the Baron Brance von Liddleschitte, 
  thought the goal was simply to have as many whale-like entities as 
  possible. He was quite stubborn and sufficiently connected to force 
  the Terran Hegemony, Inglesmond, and Federated Suns governments 
  to authorize the import. Finding public scorn rather than accolades 
  for his charitable work, Baron Liddleschitte abandoned plans for 
  further imports and retired to the Grand Canal of Mars, which had 
  a much more understanding demographic than the “unwashed 
  plebeians” of Inglesmond.
  Ironically, the ungrateful people of Inglesmond almost immediately 
  came to love the imported Cibola whales. Until puberty (when they 
  begin a growth spurt that takes them from ten to over fifty tons), the 
  xeno-mammals were able to move on land in the manner of terrestrial 
  pinnipeds and often play in ways that humans find adorably clumsy. 
  Their faces are relatively mobile and convey emotions by expression; 
  their long-jawed “dog grin” is easily understood by humans. The 
  Cibola whales are bright and friendly animals; although they are 
  predators, they avoid attacking humans and many of the terrestrial 
  cetacean “immigrants” on Inglesmond, which they have been known 
  to play with and even assist in a manner similar to the Terran dolphin. 
  The famous Rafael Case in 2697, when an imported Cibola whale 
  towed a disabled sailboat (occupied by the Rafael family) several 
  hundred kilometers to an inhabited island, started Inglesmond’s 
  appreciation for the giants. Sometime in the thirty-first century, the 
  Inglesmond population of the whales exceeded the population on 
  their home world.
  Cibolan whales are bright animals, but their curiosity, expressiveness, 
  and playfulness have led to incorrect exaggerations of that intelligence. 
  While communicating to some degree among their kind (the Cibolan 
  whale “song” is unmusical barks, grunts, and rumbles) and apparently 
  possessing fantastic long-term memories, they do not quite seem to 
  equal terrestrial gray parrots or bottlenose dolphins. They do recognize 
  individuals of other species even after decades of separation, and 
  pods of Cibolan whales are able to communicate among each other 
  to spread warnings of threats (whalers, predators, weather). Their 
  infrasonic rumbles are relayed across oceans in mere days if sufficient 
  numbers of pods are present.
  The whales are opportunistic, pack-hunting predators that are 
  equally happy consuming fish, squid, and krill, so long as they acquire 
  the enormous amounts of calories needed. Their cooperative hunting 
  behaviors include “bubble herding” schools of fish. Cibolan whales, like 
  their terrestrial counterparts, primarily depend upon sonar, though 
  their vision is decent. They dive and remain submerged as long as 
  Terran cachalots to hunt seafloor pray, but their nitrogen-affixing 
  bone marrow spares them decompression sickness experienced by 
  terrestrial deep-diving mammals.
  They organize into pods of five to ten whales. When not hunting 
  (which takes up about fifty percent of their waking time), Cibolan 
  whales will rest on the surface in close formation to conserve calories, 
  often “gossiping” (as El Doradan xenobiologists refer to the continuous 
  barking and grunting in a resting pod).
  An unusual attribute of the Cibolan whales is their apparent 
  immortality. They reach adulthood within twenty years, when they 
  are merely some twenty meters long and forty tons, but continuously 
  grow slowly thereafter. They are highly resistant to disease and cancer, 
  and severe injuries up to and including amputations will regenerate 
  over weeks and months. This means Cibolans generally only die due 
  to mishap or predation. The eldest known Cibolan is on El Dorado and 
  is 920 years old based on growth rings in its lost teeth, which means 
  it was an adult before humans arrived on that old colony. Such a 
  methuselah is about forty meters long and 300 tons.
   
  STR 
  BOD 
  DEX 
  RFL 
  INT 
  WIL 
  EDG
   
  40 
  700 
  3 
  4 
  6 
  4 
  6
  Mass: 100,000 kg (adult)
  Size Class (Modifier): Monstrous (+6)
  BAR (M/B/E/X): 6/5/5/5 (Thick Hide)
  Damage (AP/BD): 6M/160
  Move (W/R/S): 30/40 (Swimming) 
  Traits: Fast Learner, Hardy, Fit
  Skills: AniMelee (+3), Perception (+6), Tracking (+4)
  Note: Juvenile Cibolan whales weigh only 10,000 kg, and may move 
  on land at their swimming “Cruise” rate. Juvenile whales reduce the STR 
  and BOD of adults by a factor of 10, reduce their size to Monstrous 
  (+5), reduce all BAR values by 2 points, and possess a damage AP/BD 
  of 4M/16.
  INGLESMOND TERRAIN
  Inglesmond has a wide range of terrain like any inhabited planet. 
  The random map tables found on p. 263 of Total Warfare is a reasonable 
  representation of most of the world’s terrain. For scenarios set in and 
  around the survivor community located in Amazonas, the Wooded 
  Terrain Table is recommended.
  
  ATLAS
  4
  LONE STAR
  Star Type (Recharge Time): M1V (202 hours)
  Position in System: 5 (of 12)
  Time to Jump Point:  2.96 days
  Number of Satellites: 1 (Vespa) (2450–2825);  
  None (after 2825)
  Surface Gravity: 0.8
  Atm. Pressure: Standard (Breathable)
  Equatorial Temperature: 22°C (Arid, before 2800); 
  –5°C (Arid, after 2822); 
  Surface Water: 40%
  Recharging Station: Zenith, Nadir (before 2780); 
  None (after 2780)
  HPG Class: A (before 2780); None (after 2780)
  Highest Native Life: None
  Population: 573,000,000 (2780); 25,000,000 (2822); 
  None (3150)
  Socio-Industrial Levels: A-A-A-A-A  (2780); 
  C-D-C-D-D (2822); N/A (3150)
  Landmasses (Capital City): The Belt (Volgadon)
  LONE STAR
  Owing to its 120-year terraforming process, Lone Star was one of 
  the last worlds settled within the Terran Hegemony. As a terraforming 
  subject, Lone Star was especially challenging. Located well beyond 
  its primary’s conventional life zone, the planet was desperately cold, 
  much like Mars in the Terran home system. Its atmosphere was thin 
  and nitrogenous, with its modest water reserves entirely locked up 
  in sheets of polar ice. Yet, despite the difficulties in establishing and 
  maintaining a habitable climate, Lone Star was finally declared open 
  for settlement in 2533. Part of the planetary terraforming effort even 
  required moving a local asteroid (Vespa) into orbit to host a skyhook 
  and mines. 
  The success of Lone Star’s transformation was a matter of national 
  pride. It also resolved some political issues in creating a new provincial 
  capital world without the “baggage” of the much-older colony systems 
  around it. By 2600, its population was in the hundreds of millions; its 
  local industry was burgeoning, thanks to tax breaks and cheaper land 
  than most of the Hegemony; and its agricultural sector was exporting 
  a wide range of luxury foods.
  Lone Star’s land is concentrated in an unusual belt of continents 
  that follow the prime meridian around the poles. These five linked 
  landmasses all had formal names in the system’s early settlement 
  days, but the residents obstinately came to refer to the unbroken 
  expanses as simply “The Belt.” In its terraformed heydays, most of 
  the world’s free water came to be concentrated in two roughly 
  circular, highly saline oceans (known to the locals as “Big Pond” 
  and “Other Pond”), respectively situated almost antipodal to each 
  other in the eastern and western hemispheres. The abundance of 
  polar land, and Lone Star’s low axial tilt, produced large ice caps 
  that came to serve as its settlers’ principal source of fresh water. The 
  large continental interiors, meanwhile, were hyper-arid, with terrain 
  varieties spanning the gamut of deserts found all across the Inner 
  Sphere: hot ergs, chilled rocky plains, saline wastes, dry mountains, 
  and more. Today, of course, these continents and oceans are mostly 
  covered in ice.
  Before its fall, Lone Star had some regions with very pleasant 
  climates and its populations largely concentrated in those areas. 
  In 2765, the planet’s 573 million residents lived in nine major 
  metropolitan regions. Eight of these dense metropolises (collectively 
  called “The Pond Cities”) were located along the northern and southern 
  temperate-zone coasts of the Ponds, with four cities per ocean. Those 
  regions boasted temperatures moderated by the oceans and fed by 
  abundant freshwater, either collected from ocean-driven precipitation 
  or supplied by the polar meltwater rivers.
  The preplanned Pond Cities were compact for their populations, 
  an arrangement driven by land-price analyses by Lone Star’s 
  development corporations: dense urban areas saw faster price growth 
  than typical colonial sprawls across low-cost rural lands. To maximize 
  their economic and political power, the first planetary government 
  used its zoning powers to bottle up its settlers and their descendants 
  in the Pond Cities. By 2765, each of these cities claimed over fifty 
  million residents in its soaring skyscrapers and arcologies. Yet, despite 
  some off-world depictions, individual accommodations were spacious. 
  Multi-tiered transit systems of buses, trains (both underground and 
  elevated), and VTOLs provided reasonably swift movement for the 
  huge populations. There were no suburban sprawls around the cities; 
  they transitioned immediately to nature preserves and farm fields. 
  
  ATLAS
  5
  All eight Pond Cities were also unusual in layout thanks to the 
  enormous tides generated by Lone Star’s sun. These swells could 
  often rise more than twenty times as high as those of Terra’s lunar 
  tides; although the pull of the system’s fourth planet had prevented 
  tidal locking, Lone Star had a rotational cycle fifty-six hours long, and 
  thus possessed slow tides. For coastal cities, this prompted several 
  adaptations. Four of the Pond Cities sat on natural and manmade 
  highlands along the coasts. Among them, the city Cliffside on Big 
  Pond frequently won architectural awards for the dramatic arcologies 
  it built along its granite cliffs. By comparison, three other cities favored 
  columns and pilings that enabled them to rise above their estuaries 
  and tidal flats. The cunningly named Stiltsville on Other Pond made a 
  point of incorporating its massive pilings into its architecture, rather 
  than trying to hide them as simple foundations—a feat that inspired 
  the brutalist “Big Iron” architectural style that became popular in 
  the mid-twenty-seventh century. Finally, the Pond City of Mudflat 
  took a more confrontational approach, pitting the Hegemony’s 
  engineering against nature by expanding into the tidal zones with 
  sealed buildings, dykes, and “amphibious infrastructure” designed to 
  either survive or prevent daily submersion. It was normal for dykes 
  to be made of ferroglass, so residents could stroll beside transparent 
  walls of high tide water, while the sealed lower floors of buildings 
  would continue normal business as fish swam outside their windows. 
  Lone Star’s dramatic tides even served its electrical needs, providing 
  a lower-cost alternative to fusion power.
  Inland from the surging seas, the Pond Cities grew crops in 
  abundance, supporting herds of free-ranging farm animals that 
  give “Loners” (as the planet’s inhabitants referred to themselves) a 
  meat- and dairy-rich diet unknown on less fortunate worlds. With no 
  native ecosystem to protect and rich soil produced as a byproduct of 
  terraforming, Lone Star’s agricultural sector cultivated a complicated 
  mix of plants and animals originally imported from many worlds across 
  the Hegemony.
  Lone Star’s ninth metropolis was its capital city, Volgadon, situated 
  at a narrow point in The Belt within the planet’s northeastern quadrant. 
  Volgadon straddled a low continental divide between the two major 
  polar rivers (Grande and Autre) that drained to Big Pond and Other 
  Pond, respectively. The city was built around a large, elaborate canal-
  and-lock system that linked Grande and Autre, effectively tethering the 
  two oceans together. Despite having much less water coverage than 
  Terra, Lone Star was highly dependent on inexpensive water transport 
  because of its cities’ concentration around the Ponds. Volgadon’s 
  canals thus provided a final, critical link to global trade. Predictably, 
  the savage fighting between Stefan Amaris and SLDF forces destroyed 
  these canals, which would not be repaired until 2783.
  Volgadon was an oasis on The Belt, but grew little food for itself. 
  About once every eight weeks, Lone Star’s sixty-day year and axial tilt 
  warmed the north pole, which caused cold, humid winds to roll off the 
  northern icecap and across the deserts, delivering fierce, days-long 
  dust storms to the region. Lone Star’s slow rotation did little to deflect 
  the southern march of these storms. This plant-suffocating, ultra-fine 
  halide dust made it impossible for local farmers to compete effectively 
  with their Pond City counterparts, who did not need greenhouses and 
  dust canopies. Thus, the capital’s economy was dominated by its public 
  O T H E R
  P O N D
  B I G
  P O N D
  SWINGWAY 
  ISLANDS
  GRANDE
  RIVER
  AUTRE RIVER
  T H E  B E L T
  T H E  B E L T
  T H E  B E L T
  Vespa
  Impact Site
  Ice Station
  Zebra
  Ice Station
  Antelope
  Cliffside
  Stiltsville
  Washlind
  Tidesink
  Antediluvia
  Soakfoot
  Treadwater
  Mudflat
  Volgadon
  Swartzhof
  Redding
  THE VAST
  DUST SEA
  SELEK SANDS
  TREATY 
  ISLANDS
  PHIALE
   BAY
  GARNER
  SEA
  BEGLEY 
  BASIN
  DRY  ISLAND
  O
  N
  E
  R
  A
  N
  G
  E MOUNTA
  INS
  O
  N
  E
  RA
  NG
  E M
  OUN
  TAI
  NS
  Crossout 
  Locks
  LYDIA
  FIELDS
  GARDENS OF
  ALCINOUS
  GYGES
  FIELDS
  KUMARI
  KANDAM
  DOGGERLAND
  GADEIRUS
  TERRACES
  THE MU 
  LOAM
  Sepranta
  Hunlare
  
  ATLAS
  6
  sector, electricity production (cascades of dams on the two watersheds 
  produced abundant power), and tourism on the manmade, tide-free 
  lakes behind the dams.
  While Lone Star’s population lived primarily in the urban zones, there 
  were other cities and towns scattered elsewhere. These much-smaller 
  cities included the likes of mining cities, such as Swartzhof (which was 
  destroyed during the SLDF’s liberation effort).
  One of the advantages that made Lone Star an agricultural exporter 
  and regional capital for the Hegemony was its short transit time. 
  DropShips could reach the planet, exchange cargos, and return to 
  the jump point all within 
  the span of a conventional 
  JumpShip’s recharge period. 
  Because the local sun was 
  relatively dim, clusters of 
  recharge stations were 
  constructed just inside 
  the proximity limits of the 
  zenith and nadir points 
  and—prior to the Amaris 
  Coup—were home to Star 
  League Navy’s Second Star 
  Squadron. These facilities, 
  further protected by the 
  system’s SDS network, 
  became primary targets for the SLDF during its liberation campaign. 
  Lone Star was never able to afford to replace the stations before its 
  final environmental collapse. 
  The short transit distance and least-inflated land prices of the 
  Hegemony also made Lone Star a favored site for export-oriented 
  manufacturing. By the Star League Civil War, Loners were making 
  a wide range of “background” components (from computer parts 
  to myomers) used in many other industries across the Star League. 
  The planet’s business community was particularly adept at securing 
  contracts for the Territorial States of the Periphery. Lobbying the small, 
  oft-overlooked Star League offices that managed Periphery affairs 
  could get new restrictions placed on the Canopian, Concordat, or 
  Outworlds production of certain high-tech goods deemed “disruptive 
  or insightful of secessionism.” With an inside track on such upcoming 
  restrictions, Lone Star’s manufacturers would position themselves to 
  become the primary suppliers for those goods. A wide range of vital 
  technologies from fusion reactors and JumpShip drive controllers to 
  computers, medical scanners, and so forth, were built on Lone Star for 
  Periphery export. While this practice was not limited to Lone Star, this 
  world did excel at it; the Periphery realms did not appreciate being 
  so “economically enslaved” to slipshod factories six months and more 
  away from their borders, but had little option. 
  While Lone Star’s civilian population started with a weak majority 
  in favor of Stefan Amaris’ reign, the new, Director-General of the 
  Hegemony enjoyed only the most fragile grip on this opinion. The use 
  of terrorist bombings and chemical attacks to eliminate SLDF forces 
  and loyalist militia regiments left Loners wary of the new regime, and 
  some even formed resistance cells. When Kerensky finally liberated the 
  planet in a campaign that ran from 2772 to 2774, each of the Pond Cities 
  had suffered at least one WMD attacks. With most of its agricultural 
  zones suffering damage from biological weaponry, and roughly three-
  quarters of its herd animals killed off, Lone Star’s agricultural output 
  was as devastated as its cities’ once-vast manufacturing districts. 
  Worse yet, the quick battle to seize Vespa wrecked the station-keeping 
  drives it used to maintain the asteroid-moon’s orbit against the tidal 
  influences of the sun and Lone Star IV.
  In the thirteen years since its liberation and the onset of the First 
  Succession War, Lone Star made little progress toward recovery. 
  Not only had it suffered severe damage to its industry and cities, its 
  planetary government 
  was a wreck, and tens 
  of millions of wartime 
  refugees struggled to 
  survive without even 
  the most basic support. 
  Like many Hegemony 
  worlds, Lone Star’s people 
  violently threw from office 
  anyone who had served 
  in government during 
  Amaris’ rule, and the SLDF 
  proved unable to spare any 
  personnel to manage the 
  world’s day-to-day affairs. 
  Private businesses and House troops were able to re-establish some 
  basic services and security in the absence of government interference, 
  but with the lack of regulation, even these efforts were hindered by 
  corruption and price-gouging.
  The post-Amaris government of the Terran Hegemony only 
  made matters worse for Lone Star. In attempting to coordinate 
  the recovery of its war-torn worlds, the crumbling interstellar 
  bureaucracy often managed only to completely deprive vital 
  resources to some planets in vain, misdirected efforts to meet the 
  needs of others. Like many, the people of Lone Star were aghast 
  when General Kerensky launched his Exodus. However, it followed 
  the lead of nearby Inglesmond in eschewing Hegemony-wide needs 
  over those of its regional community. The Lone Star Province would 
  rebuild itself—hopefully deterring the adventurous Houses at the 
  same time—and then aid its fellow Hegemony remnants. This plan 
  might have worked had the First Succession War been longer in 
  coming, and far less devastating in scope. 
  After several initial defeats at the hands of Hegemony militias in the 
  Lone Star Province, the Houses took different approaches in their efforts 
  to annex the area. For the Lyran Commonwealth, this meant stepping 
  up its diplomacy with worlds suffering from Combine raiders. For the 
  Draconis Combine, it meant “taking off the kid gloves” by destroying 
  the shipyards at nearby Inglesmond. Lone Star itself did not escape the 
  Dragon, either. Kuritan agents released bioweapons on the planet’s 
  polar ice caps, which specifically targeted the specially engineered flora 
  and algae that made it possible for terrestrial life to survive and thrive 
  on the planet. These toxins in turn spread toward the interior reaches 
  via the bimonthly dust storms. Without directly killing a single Loner 
  in battle, the so-called “Dragon Plague” thus undermined the world’s 
  
  ATLAS
  7
  artificial ecosystem. The plague took a couple of terrestrial years to 
  run its course, during which time Lone Star’s populace concentrated 
  all possible efforts on preserving the plants that helped maintain 
  Lone Star’s environment. So engaged by this effort, the planetary 
  government could only surrender when DCMS forces finally threatened 
  a full invasion in 2789. As a “reward” for this bloodless capitulation, the 
  Combine provided several atmospheric processors to the Loners, most 
  of which were destined for the surviving Pond Cities. 
  House Kurita found little of value in Lone Star beyond the glory of 
  conquering another Hegemony world. Having been ravaged so badly 
  in the Civil War, the local industries could produce little of strategic 
  value for the Combine’s war machine and so the planet received little 
  protection from the military that only recently threatened to force itself 
  upon it. Because of this, Lone Star suffered a devastating blow when 
  Lyran raiders destroyed the still-incomplete atmospheric processors 
  in 2803. The terraformed environment began an irrevocable slide 
  back into its frigid, pre-human state as the artificially-maintained 
  greenhouse effect collapsed, and the population dwindled as a 
  two-decade exodus followed. Within a few years, virtually all local 
  agriculture (using plague-resistant crops) ground to a halt, and the 
  millions who had yet to evacuate began starving to death. By 2822, 
  Lone Star’s population was less than four percent of its pre-Amaris 
  levels. ComStar, which had never managed to re-establish HPG services 
  on the destitute world, wrote the world off its maps in 2824. 
  As if death by starvation were not enough, one last tragedy remained 
  to befall Lone Star: Vespa was going to hit the planet. Without the 
  giant station-keeping drives that kept the tiny moon in a stable orbit, 
  its orbit became increasingly eccentric. In 2825, the fifteen-kilometer 
  asteroid struck the surface with an impact greater than the “dino-
  killing” Chicxulub impact on ancient Terra. Although none of the 
  planet’s major population centers was directly hit by Vespa’s fall, the 
  aftermath effectively destroyed what little of the global environment 
  that could have been salvaged.
  Today, unlike some other cases of failed terraforming, Lone Star 
  retains a breathable atmosphere. Minerals in the crust are only 
  slowly binding atmospheric oxygen at a rate of about one percent 
  per millennium. However, it is a desperately cold world where the 
  only surviving life are microbes at seafloor volcanic vents. Combine 
  salvagers looted anything of value in the Second Succession War. Since 
  then, only climatologists visit, and then infrequently.
  
  A TImE Of WAR AdvENTURE SEEdS
  8
  WHAT A PLEASANT BREEZE
  Recommended Group Size: 2-4 player characters
  Recommended Group Type: Military
  Recommended Skill Levels: Green-Elite (Key Skill levels of 2-8)
  North of the capital city, on the banks of the Autre River, is Swartzhof, a city of 75,000 that has grown up in a district with a complicated geological 
  history. In the district, ancient plumes of mantle-type rocks have intrusions of later, completely different volcanic deposits. The volcanism is a billion years 
  dead, but it left behind a mineral cornucopia. Mining operations based in Swartzhof yield chromium, nickel, manganese, copper, gold, platinum, and 
  related metals. Because free oxygen is new to the world, the deposits are not heavily weathered and easy to process into metals. (Some of the original 
  settlers wanted to name the city “New South Africa,” but the majority preferred to name it after an internationally famous pornography and action holovid 
  star, Amelia Swartzhof, who was born in the district.) 
  Excellent transportation systems supported Swartzhof’s enormous mining operations, including a large seaport on the river. With navigational 
  improvements, Autre was an aquatic highway that could deliver 100,000-ton freighters to the capital of Volgadon and its lock system, which led to either 
  ocean. There was also a large spaceport at Swartzhof, through which the city imported titanic mining machines and exported its mineral wealth. As a 
  bonus, the local weather was often pleasant: cool, sunny, very dry, and often with a northerly breeze.
  Despite the city’s status as a mining and industrial hub, Swartzhof was strategically unimportant to planetary defense. Combined with the virtual 
  absence of other population centers for two hundred kilometers in every direction, an invader could conceivably seize the area for nearly a year before 
  the factories of the Pond Cities began to notice any shortfall of metals.
  In 2772, the SLDF thought all of these conditions made Swartzhof a perfect beachhead for the world’s liberation. But for the Amaris Empire’s garrison 
  troops, Swartzhof’s isolation meant they could attack the assault force without restraint.
  Complications: A few obstacles for players to tackle.
  Look What I Can Do: In all the excitement at Swartzhof, the planet thought it would be a good idea to show its new visitors one of its famous dust storms. 
  Only this one proved to be a once-in-a-century storm that would last for days. BattleMechs, aerospace fighters, and characters on the streets alike will 
  have trouble seeing more than thirty meters. Historically, this drove Amaris’ forces to blanket the city with bombs in hopes of catching some of the 
  invisible SLDF invaders, but it is an opportunity for both sides to exploit.
  Unexpected Guests: For most of the three days the 2772 dust storm raged at Swartzhof, both sides were prone to blundering into each other. Civilian 
  sympathizers on both sides took to using the local communication network to report troop movements for their favored side, while opposing scouts 
  often called in BattleMech, aerospace, or orbital fire support.
  Tips: For A Time of War scenarios, this is an excellent opportunity to use respirators and look into the rules on illnesses and poisons (see pp. 245-249, 
  AToW) to represent the “brown lung” effect of breathing in Lone Star’s halide dust. Total Warfare and Alpha Strike combat scenarios should refer to the 
  rules for Lone Star’s dust storms on p. 12.
  
  A TImE Of WAR AdvENTURE SEEdS
  9
  WHO WANTS TO TELL THE cOORdINATOR?
  Recommended Group Size: 2-8 player characters
  Recommended Group Type: Military, Scientists
  Recommended Skill Levels: Regular-Veteran (Key Skill levels of 2-6)
  After diplomacy failed, the Houses began resorting to strong-arm tactics to annex worlds from the incapacitated Hegemony. This, among many other 
  actions, eventually avalanched into the First Succession War. While common historical treatises on the First War focus on the titanic battles between the 
  five House armies that ravaged the worlds of the former Hegemony, the truth was that there was a sixth combatant in the First Succession War: the Terran 
  Hegemony itself. 
  The Hegemony never truly recovered from the Star League Civil War, in part because of widespread policies that banned anyone who served in 
  government under Amaris’ reign from serving in government post-Amaris. This prevented almost everyone with useful bureaucratic experience—from 
  local governors to meter maids—from effectively doing their jobs. Their replacements were war-scarred, ideological novices who faced the nigh-
  impossible job of rebuilding a shattered realm while surrounded by enemies on all sides. These leaders did such a poor job that, in many cases, Hegemony 
  worlds eventually came to welcome an allegiance with a neighboring House, or joined such realms after brief negotiations. Some planets, though, could 
  not countenance a partnership with the avaricious Successor States, and so continued to try rebuilding themselves and their fallen Hegemony until they 
  were forced to surrender at gunpoint.
  Lone Star was one of the Hegemony loyalists. It attempted to form a coherent interstellar alliance with other Lone Star district worlds, though its 
  poverty, shattered industry, and bumbling planetary government meant it could contribute little to the regional community. Nevertheless, when the 
  Combine did arrive, its militia fought, and even managed to repulse the first raid.
  If there was a little more time to expand the militia, or a little more success getting the world back on its feet, or planetary security had caught the 
  Combine saboteurs dispersing bioagents on the ice caps, then history might have played out very differently.
  Complications: A few obstacles for players to tackle.
  Did They Loot a Mackie Museum?: As one of the poorer Hegemony worlds after the Civil War, Lone Star had to make do with older, second-hand salvage 
  and export-grade equipment. On the other hand, a couple of companies of militia MCK-9H Mackies can ruin the day of DCMS troops sitting in their 
  landing zones. Historically, one of the DCMS officers in the understrength invasion drew the unfortunate “honor” of informing Minoru Kurita of their 
  failure against museum hardware (and was never seen alive again).
  Ice Station Zebra: The PCs are DCMS, Hegemony, or planetary personnel who have annoyed someone enough to be sent to Lone Star’s ice caps. DCMS 
  forces will need to deploy dozens of multi-ton bioagent dispersal modules to catch the polar winds without the locals getting wise and stopping them. 
  Hegemony and/or local forces would want to stop any activities being performed by invaders to their world. Local scientists studying the life cycle of 
  polar bacteria, meanwhile, might just wonder what DCMS personnel are doing on their planet.
  Tips: These scenarios can give a gamemaster a chance to exercise the A Time of War hostile environment rules (see p. 237, AToW), or pit Hegemony 
  upgrades of elderly Age of War designs against Star League-era DCMS equipment.
  
  A TImE Of WAR AdvENTURE SEEdS
  10
  SATAN’S mALLET
  Recommended Group Size: 2-8 player characters
  Recommended Group Type: Military, Technicians
  Recommended Skill Levels: Regular-Veteran (Key Skill levels of 2-6)
  Lone Star was a moonless world when humanity reached it, but the terraforming process—borrowing directly from Terra IV’s Project Lowell—required 
  a skyhook to gently deliver vast amounts of volatiles. Faster cometary deliveries of light elements would, ironically, slow the terraforming because their 
  impacts would ravage the transforming environment for decades. Unlike the Phobos Skyhook, the resulting Vespa Skyhook was not in a truly stable orbit 
  because of the influences of nearby planets and Lone Star’s sun. And unlike the expansive Terran system, Lone Star’s was very compact: no less than six 
  planets orbited within 0.5AU of the sun, and there were twelve planets overall. These influences had prevented Lone Star’s tidal lock to the nearby star, 
  but also made moons (at least at Vespa’s altitude) untenable. The Hegemony had addressed this with WarShip-scale fusion engines that supplied the 
  micro-gravity thrust required for Vespa’s orbital stability but the SLDF’s liberation of the system from Amaris forces wrecked that stationkeeping drive. 
  Within fifty years, Vespa’s orbit had been pumped into a highly eccentric orbit that was grazing Lone Star’s atmosphere.
  2825 was the last chance to loot the frozen, dying planet, and both the Lyran Commonwealth and Draconis Combine knew it. Lone Star had been 
  looted by many salvage operations during the First Succession War, all of which focused on industry, militia and SLDF stockpiles, and technically savvy 
  survivors. What was left by 2825 interested only opportunists, mercenaries, and looters: the artistic and financial wealth of a Hegemony world, which had 
  been uninteresting to the government salvagers before them.
  Complications: A few obstacles for players to tackle.
  It’s A Small World After All: The well-known, well-mapped Hegemony planet meant that several groups of looters who showed up at the last minute 
  might target the same Hegemony District Bank and Platinum Reserves, or the same Lone Star Museums of Expensive Antiquities and Overvalued Art. 
  Hopefully, the characters brought enough guns to stake their claims.
  Spare Some Rations?: ComStar said the world was dead and abandoned, so the characters felt no compunctions about visiting with cargo freighters 
  meant to depart burdened with nothing but gold, gems, and artwork. Finding that survivor community near their salvage site could present a 
  moral quandary.
  Don’t Forget Your Mittens: Even before Vespa’s “asteroid winter,” the collapsing greenhouse effect on Lone Star meant the planet was chilling fast. 
  By 2825, temperatures in interesting salvage sites might be easily cold enough to strain characters’ gear (or give their BattleMechs a much needed 
  assist in cooling) at –40oC and below.
  Say Chicxulub Three Times Fast: Pinning down the final impact of Vespa is difficult for many reasons, including the difficulty of modeling asteroid 
  aerodynamics in the upper atmospheres of planets. Another issue is that after crossing Lone Star’s Roche limit, Vespa has shed its regolith hide 
  into an ever-evolving ring arc that is producing an erratic rain of debris and making it hard to track its several large metallic core fragments. Players 
  should consider Tactical Operations’ meteor shower rules (p. 56), earthquakes (p. 55), assorted wind conditions (p. 61) or, if a core fragment lands 
  within 100 kilometers of their forces, the afterlife.
  Tips: These scenarios can give a gamemaster a chance to exercise the A Time of War hostile environment rules (see p. 237, AToW) or Tactical Operations’ 
  terrain and weather conditions. And more than just rules, it’s a chance to run characters through a desolate, frozen wasteland of once-wealthy cities 
  under the clock of a continent-shaking doom.
  
  RULES ANNEx
  11
  mAPSHEETS TABLES
  vOLGAdON*
  D6 Result
  Map
  1
  Lake Area (BT, MS2, MSC1)
  2
  River Valley (MS2, MSC1, HPLR)
  3
  City (Suburbs) (MS6, MSC2)**
  4
  Scattered Woods (MS2, MSC1)
  5
  Wide River (BT, MS6, MSC2)
  6
  BattleForce (MS6)
  *Volgadon is vulnerable to the Lone Star dust storms described on p. 12.
  **Place Light and Medium buildings of varying heights in each clear non-paved hex.
  SWARTZHOf*
  D6 Result
  Map
  1
  Wide River (BT, MS6, MSC2)
  2
  City Street Grid/Park #1 (MS4)**
  3
  Large Lakes #2 (MS4, MSC1)
  4
  Desert Mountain #1 (MS3, MSC1)
  5
  Open Terrain #1 (MS5, MSC1)
  6
  Wide River (BT, MS6, MSC2)
  *Swartzhof is vulnerable to the Lone Star dust storms described on p. 12.
  **Place Light and Medium buildings of varying heights in each clear non-paved hex.
  PONd cITY*
  2D6 Result
  Map
  2
  CityTech Map (MS2, MSC1, HPCR)
  3
  City (Skyscraper) (MS6, MSC2)
  4
  Coast #1 (MS7)**
  5
  Coast #2 (MS7)**
  6
  CityTech Map (MS2, MSC1)**
  7
  Large Mountain #2 (MS5, MSC1)***
  8
  River Delta/Drainage Basin #1 (MS4, MSC1)**
  9
  River Delta/Drainage Basin #1 (MS4, MSC1)**
  10
  City (Skyscraper) (MS6, MSC2, HPCR)
  11
  City (Downtown) (MS6, MSC2)
  12
  City Street Grid/Park #2 (MS4, MSC1)
  *Place Light, Medium, and Heavy buildings of varying heights in appropriate paved hexes.
  **Treat all depth 0 water as Mud (see p. 50, TO) and all clear terrain as Swamp (see p. 51, TO)
  ***Treat all elevation changes as sheer cliffs (see p. 39, TO) unless the hex has pavement.
  
  OPTIONAL RULES
  13
  The following additional special rules are intended to provide further 
  flavor to games set on the world featured in this supplement. For the 
  most part, these rules may be considered advanced and optional, as 
  they primarily reflect conditions and/or features unique to this one 
  planet or planetary system.
  LONE STAR dUST STORmS
  A likely target for any invaders of Lone Star is the capital city 
  Volgadon. However, about every two months (i.e., once per local year, 
  during the summer), winds blowing down from the northern pole 
  generate continent-blanketing storms of fine saline-rich dust. (This 
  also happens a month later from the south pole, but only a few hermits 
  and mining facilities lie in the path of Lone Star’s southern dust storms.) 
  Long-Term Effects: In the long term, these dust storms can clog 
  engines, cause respiratory ailments, and short out inadequately 
  sealed electronics. Gamemasters may resolve these long-term effects 
  by requiring any personnel and equipment exposed to dust (without 
  suitable safeguards such as filter masks and environmental shielding) 
  to make a 2D6 roll once for every full hour of exposure. On a result 
  of 2, unprotected personnel will experience severe respiratory 
  irritation the locals call “brown lung”, while exposed electronics and 
  engine components will become clogged or caked to the point of 
  malfunction by dust particles. Equipment so effective will become 
  non-functional until repaired by a successful Technician Skill check, 
  with a –1 modifier to the dice roll. Personnel affected by “brown 
  lung” will suffer a –1 Attribute modifier to BOD and STR scores, and 
  a –1 dice roll modifier to all Skill checks for each time they suffer a 
  “brown lung” roll effect. These “brown lung” modifiers stack, to a 
  maximum of –3 per Attribute and Skill roll modifier, until treated 
  with a successful MedTech Skill roll (with a dice roll modifier equal to 
  the level of “brown lung” the character currently suffers) and a day or 
  more of bed rest. If a character suffering from the maximum level of 
  “brown lung” receives an additional “brown lung” effect result before 
  being properly treated, the character goes into severe respiratory 
  distress and becomes incapacitated. MedTech Skill checks needed to 
  treat and stabilize a character in this condition will suffer a –4 dice 
  roll modifier; if this roll fails, the afflicted character will go into acute 
  respiratory failure and die within seconds. 
  Short-Term Effects: In the short term, a Lone Star dust storm will 
  turn a battlefield into a short-ranged brawl, if opponents can find each 
  other at all. If wind speeds are low (moderate gale or less), the effects of 
  a Lone Star dust storm mimic those of Light Smoke (see p. 47, TO) that 
  will blanket all outdoor and/or exposed areas, and will be found up to 
  100 levels above the underlying terrain. In heavy gale or stronger wind 
  conditions, heavier sand particles will compound these effects, adding 
  the Blowing Sand condition (see p. 62, TO) as well.
  
  ATlAS
  4
  MANASSAS
  Star Type (Recharge Time): F3V (174 hours)
  Position in System: 3 (of 11)
  Time to Jump Point:  17.36 days
  Number of Satellites: 1 Fragmented (The Pearls)
  Surface Gravity: 0.98
  Atm. Pressure: Standard (Tainted)
  Equatorial Temperature: 25°C (Tropical) 
  Surface Water: 63%
  Recharging Station: None
  HPG Class: B
  Highest Native Life: Reptiles
  Population: 648,000,000 (2765); 98,000,000 (3150)
  Socio-Industrial Levels: D-D-B-C-D
  Landmasses (Capital City): Stonewall (Bull Run)
  MANASSAS
  Named in 2215 by the first people to colonize the world (who hailed 
  from Terra’s North America continent), early Manassas’ cultural dynamic 
  changed several times over the next three decades as additional waves 
  of colonists arrived from the Terran states of Portugal, Germany, and 
  Laos. These early settlers found a world with an apparently abundant 
  aquatic ecosystem, but a terrestrial biome that was still recovering 
  from a devastating series of cosmic impacts. A millennium before, a 
  huge asteroid hit Manassas’ closely-orbiting moon with a glancing 
  blow that shattered much of its surface, and bombarded the world’s 
  single supercontinent and surrounding seas with debris. The impacts, 
  combined with the already harsh climate of the interior lands, drove 
  ninety-five percent of Manassas’ surface life to extinction, and wiped 
  out half of its aquatic fauna. This mass extinction wiped out all of the 
  larger beasts that lived in the planet’s once-rich ecosystem, leaving 
  only the smaller and more adaptive creatures behind.
  The remnants of Manassas’ small moon have begun to recombine, 
  though the process will take many thousands of years to complete. 
  In the meantime, though beautiful, the lunar fragments (collectively 
  dubbed “the Pearls”) are a hazard to shipping and orbital craft above 
  the equatorial belt. Furthermore, once every 213 years, the “Storm of 
  Pearls”—a flurry of stellar debris heralded by the remains of the moon-
  damaging comet—returns to scour the planet’s low orbital zones of 
  anything that cannot move or weather the storm.
  Manassas’ single super-continent is called Stonewall, referencing 
  both a mid-nineteenth century Terran general, as well as the 
  impressively large mountain chain that cuts the south-east third of 
  the continent off from its remainder. This southeast area, known as the 
  Four Provinces, is where the majority of the population now lives, with 
  each province roughly analogous to the four early colonial settlement 
  zones. The capital city of Bull Run lies on the tip of the Virginia Peninsula 
  in the very south, with the other major cities of Porto, Neu Hamburg 
  and Tha Heua, arranged along the coast north-west of the capital. 
  Including those of the Four Provinces area, some ninety-five percent 
  of Manassans live in the Green Belt, the coastal regions where the 
  oceans counter the hostile climate that has rendered much of the 
  continental interior barren. It is within these regions that the terrestrial 
  ecology has reestablished itself. Prior to the twenty-eighth century, the 
  Green Belt was a narrow band along the shorelines, never wider than 
  100 kilometers, and usually much narrower. During the peak of the Star 
  League, terraforming efforts managed to extend these bands up to a 
  thousand kilometers inland, but over the last three hundred years, the 
  Belt has receded to an average width of five hundred kilometers. Lying 
  well within the present-day Belt, the Four Provinces remain solidly 
  connected by a thriving ecology, primarily populated by introduced 
  Terran flora and fauna that have adjusted to the planet’s twenty-six 
  hour day, and equally long “semi-night.” The long Manassan night is 
  kept aglow by the constant parade of the Pearls, whose close proximity 
  to Manassas provides enough light for crops to continue growing, 
  albeit slowly. 
  The first colonists on Manassas struggled to gain an initial 
  foothold. Early reports of the world’s aquatic biota espoused by 
  xenobiologist Marvin Miller proved unfounded. The claims of “Miller’s 
  Monsters,” famed sea creatures of immense size noted in Dr. Miller’s 
  early scouting reports, proved to be misleading. Miller’s now mythic 
  treatise on the potential benefits of Manassas’ aquatic resources and 
  its extraordinary, enormous (and exceptionally exaggerated) size 
  
  ATlAS
  5
  vanished once the colonists arrived to find their dreams of founding 
  a thriving world little more than a swindler’s lie. Manassas’ new 
  citizens struggled on, surviving despite colonial mismanagement 
  and the world’s subsequent abandonment by the Terran Alliance. 
  Thus, when Lucien Davion offered their world a place in his Crucis 
  Pact, Manassans were quick to accept. Still, despite the promises from 
  New Avalon and the benefits that did accrue with the creation of the 
  Pact, Manassas never truly prospered. As the Pact evolved into the 
  Federated Suns, Manassas became one of the first worlds in what 
  would be known as the Suns’ Outback.
  Manassas remained a backwater on the Golden Five’s backdoor, 
  an open secret no one wished to deal with or devote the resources 
  to fixing. This attitude was especially vexing for Manassans, whose 
  people loyally served in the armies of the Davion princes on all fronts 
  and during the Civil War. A Manassan regiment or fighter wing made 
  up part of the Davion Guards since the early twenty-fifth century. The 
  Manassan Planetary Congress did not make matters easy on itself, 
  as the four major ethnic groups had very different views on how 
  their world should develop. Those of German extraction looked to 
  resuscitate the dream of aquaculture, despite its limitations; the ethnic 
  Portuguese wished to develop large-scale mining operations for 
  resource extraction; and the Laotians and American descendants held 
  divergent views on arid land agriculture. Tensions never boiled over into 
  violence, but the ethnic diversity that gave Manassas its extraordinary 
  cultural tapestry also contributed to its inability to provide a consistent 
  narrative and focus that could have helped its people attract strong 
  and consistent resources throughout its developmental years.
  The Reunification War and early Star League passed Manassas 
  by, with the rest of the Inner Sphere growing exponentially while 
  Manassas continued to struggle. All of that began to change in 2729, 
  when Richard Davion came to the throne on New Avalon. Richard had 
  served with numerous Manassans in the AFFS and visited the world 
  on several occasions. He believed in Manassas’ potential and felt it 
  was a stain on Davion honor for such a loyal people to be ignored 
  for so long. In the midst of reforming the Davion military following 
  the hidden war with House Kurita and its Draconis Combine, and 
  less than enthused with the Star League’s attitude toward his realm’s 
  views on the integrity of Davion succession, Prince Davion decided to 
  merge honor and pragmatism. Needing to distract his people from 
  domestic issues and show the Star League that House Davion could 
  match it at its best, Richard formed the Outback Revival Project (ORP), 
  which aimed to invigorate the Outback worlds via vigorous “soft 
  terraforming” projects. Richard knew that his realm could not match 
  the Star League’s Department of Mega Engineering in terms of serious 
  planetary engineering, but in the areas of biome modification and 
  manipulation on already habitable worlds, the Federated Suns had the 
  resources to make a try of it.
  In 2735, the Federated Suns’ best planetary biologists, xenobiologists, 
  and other scientists descended on Manassas to set up both the 
  ORP and its test case project: Project EUROPA—the revival of the 
  terrestrial ecology of Manassas. Though discussion varies as to why 
  EUROPA’s success was so rapid (early propaganda claimed Davion 
  ingenuity, whilst revisionist studies state that a natural recovery of 
  the ecosystem was already underway), the fact remained that within 
  N O R D M E E R
  M A H A S A M U T
  O  O C E A N O
  Khampheng’s 
  Outpost
  Ostlandung
  Meuong Thoa
  Culpepper
  Clarksburg
  Unterseeisch
  BIG MOUTH
  BAY
  VERSTREUTEN 
  INSELN
  SANCTUM
  ISLES
  JACKSON INLAND SEA
  PRINCE WILLIAM
  LAKE
  BIG TONGUE
  LITTLE TONGUE
  FAR DESOLATION
  NEAR DESOLATION
  ST
  ON
  EW
  AL
  L 
  M
  OU
  NTA
  INS
  ST
  ON
  EW
  AL
  L 
  MO
  UN
  TAI
  NS
  Stone Mountain
  LAN XANG
  GREEN BELT
  VIRGINIA PENINSULA
  GREEN BELT
  GREEN BELT
  Leiria
  Sisattanak
  AS MARAVILHAS
  Rocha de Altura
  S T O N E W A L L
  Miracle Oasis
  Nacre Crater
  Luster Crater
  Davion Guards
  Monument
  Tha Heua
  Porto
  Neu Hamburg
  Bull Run
  Lost Cause
  Project Europa
  Primary Research
  Savage Station
  Guinea Station 
  (IE Staging Camp)
  
  ATlAS
  6
  fifteen years, the Manassan 
  Green Belt had expanded by 
  an order of magnitude and 
  did so again by 2775. The 
  population began to thrive, 
  and townships grew around 
  the many ORP base stations, 
  bio-ranches, and research 
  hubs. Unfortunately, just 
  as Manassas bloomed and 
  the world emerged as a net 
  exporter of food products, 
  the rising tensions of the 
  late Star League, the fall of 
  House Cameron, and the 
  Star League Civil War forced 
  the ORP’s closure as the 
  Davion military consumed 
  all available funding. The 
  bounty of Manassas’ golden 
  age lasted barely ten years; 
  crops were left to wither in the fields, or rotted in warehouses. 
  Shipping was increasingly diverted to support first the SLDF and later 
  the AFFS, until finally the brutality of the First Succession War gutted 
  the merchant lines that served Manassas.
  The First Succession War ended all hope for Manassas’ continued 
  growth and prosperity. As the DCMS advanced towards New Avalon, small 
  raids and strategic strikes became the norm. A major raid in early 2796 
  nearly destroyed the world when the DCMS forces singled out the Davion 
  research labs there for destruction. Bombarding the world with orbital 
  fire, and the use of strategic chemical and biological weapons, the Kurita 
  raiders poisoned and corrupted Manassas’ delicate but strengthening 
  terrestrial ecosystem. Amazingly, although the damage did result in 
  the overall shrinkage of the Green Belts, the Manassan ecology largely 
  shrugged off the worst effects of that assault, a testament to the work 
  of the Manassan and Davion 
  scientists. But the immediate 
  damage to the bio-ranches 
  and the major population 
  centers of the Four Provinces 
  was far more calamitous. 
  By 2800, there were only 
  11,000,000 Manassans left 
  alive and large swathes of the 
  planet—particularly those 
  close to former ORP facilities—
  were declared “Dead Zones”, 
  off-limits areas where no 
  Manassan dared tread.
  For fifty years, Manassas 
  struggled to recover and 
  survive, even as emigration 
  further weakened its 
  population. Where many 
  worlds eventually failed 
  and fell off the maps by 
  the early Third Succession 
  War, Manassas found a 
  way to prosper from its fall 
  from grace. As technology 
  continued to decline, worlds 
  where remnants of the 
  Star League’s technology 
  remained became hunting 
  grounds for technological 
  scavengers. For Manassas, 
  this scavenging came from 
  an unusual source: the Noble 
  Houses of the Golden Five. 
  Several attempts were made 
  to recover technology from 
  within the Dead Zones, but 
  the Manassas Run of 2874 
  gave these efforts some 
  interstellar notoriety. The 
  first Manassas Run involved a competition between three Golden 
  Five noble champions to see who could recover the most valuable 
  technological artifact in the shortest possible time from the Dead 
  Zones. Though the Run was little more than an effort by bored nobles 
  to entertain themselves, it captured the local imagination. In 2787, 
  Manassas sent invitations to eleven of the Golden Five’s noble houses, 
  inviting them to participate in a new Run. Every four years after that, 
  an ever-increasing field of champions struck out for glory, forging ever 
  deeper into the world’s interior in search of technology and fame. 
  Though little of real value was ever recovered during the many Runs, 
  the tourist market and exclusive Noble Clubs (havens for all kinds of 
  vice and entertainment) revived the Manassan economy.
  Many of the worst sorts of social miscreants followed on the heels 
  of the Manassas Run and its noble founders. Yet where many worlds 
  would have sought to curb 
  these less savory elements 
  of society, the Manassans 
  embraced them, opening 
  up their world to industries 
  of vice and pleasure. The 
  actual (and sometime 
  feigned) lawlessness of parts 
  of the world, the deadly 
  competition of the Run 
  (where anything goes and no 
  rules exist except to survive 
  and return with a valid 
  lostech prize), and the heady, 
  almost Canopian, pleasure 
  industry, created a venue that 
  became a microcosm of the 
  Third Succession War. Private 
  gangs and knights, fighting 
  
  ATlAS
  7
  and competing for noble favor, and rare technological 
  spoils, are cast amid a frontier world of devastated 
  glories—a world where hidden treasures and the actions 
  of a few can shape the lives of the many.
  Since the technological revival of the mid-thirty-first 
  century, the Manassas Congress was very careful to 
  ensure that technological advancement did not detract 
  from the aesthetics of the world. Though recovered 
  science has helped to restore some sections of the Green 
  Belt in and around the Four Provinces, the planetary 
  government is very careful to ensure that the Dead Zones 
  remain a persistent feature. The preservation of these 
  ruins of the Federated Suns’ technological height, and 
  the many interesting techno-archaeological resources 
  contained therein, eventually led to establishment 
  of an Interstellar Expeditions headquarters base on 
  Manassas. The opportunities to expose IE staff to rough 
  living, authentic dig sites, technological research and 
  hazardous environment training—all within a jump 
  of some of the most advanced research institutions in 
  known space—made Manassas and its capital fertile 
  grounds to cultivate IE’s next generation of explorers. 
  Despite the natural fit for Interstellar Expeditions, 
  the seventy-ninth Manassas Run, held in 3099, caused 
  a number of local problems. When the champions for 
  one of El Dorado’s First Families raided an IE dig that had 
  actually found an intact research database, the 3099 Run 
  turned especially deadly. Several late-arriving nobles sent 
  what were little more than hired pirates into the Run to 
  lay claim to the prize. Within days, IE mobilized its own on-
  world forces and a grand chase towards the Four Provinces 
  began. Three weeks in, having learned of the find via MIIO 
  agents on world, a company of agents from the NAIS 
  landed and ignited a pitched four-way battle between IE, 
  the El Doradans, other noble champions, and the NAIS. 
  The result was a bloodbath, the suspension of the Run 
  and the landing of the entire First NAIS Cadet Cadre four 
  weeks later to clean up. Since the “Bloody Run” of 3099, 
  new rules have been set in place to protect IE operations, 
  and to allow for NAIS oversight of finds. However, despite 
  these changes, the Run remains a dangerous and often 
  fatal endeavor. Nevertheless, successful Runners and 
  those crowned “Run Champion” can often retire on their 
  winnings and grants from grateful noble sponsors. 
  
  A TIME Of WAR AdvENTURE SEEdS
  8
  dIG ANd RUN “WHAT A WONDERFUL PLACE FOR A DIG, OLD BOY!” 
  Recommended Group Size: 2-4 player characters
  Recommended Group Type: Military, Mercenary
  Recommended Skill Levels: Veteran (Key Skill levels of 4-6)
  Manassas is a rough place and Interstellar Expeditions takes no chances when sending dig teams into its Dead Zones. Small BattleMech or armored 
  units are the norm for escort and IE pays well, as they need as many staff to graduate (and live) as possible. “Zoners”—those who survive dangerously 
  close to the Dead Zones and away from the Green Belt—are a constant, if low-level, problem. The real risk comes from the Runners, especially when they 
  think you might be onto something valuable.
  Complications: A few obstacles for players to tackle.
  Sir, I Think You Should See This?: Well, the boffins found something, and—before anyone could stop them—they announced their find “in the clear” to 
  IE’s HQ in Bull Run. Because of this, it would appear that certain less-than-savory elements among the current Manassas Run are now beating a path 
  to the dig…and the same fools who called up the devil now need you to protect them.
  Just Keep Runnin’: Well, it would seem this year’s crop of Runners is better than the last, as they blew through the camp and snagged a vital data core. 
  You have clear orders from IE HQ: retrieve that core or don’t come back.
  Here Comes the Cavalry: Well, you caught up to the Runners, and apparently a few who were not invited to the current party have decided to crash it 
  anyway. Just as you felt you had them in a position to strike, the NAIS has arrived to save the day. Unfortunately, it’s not your day they want to save, so 
  it looks like you now have to wade through some Davion regulars to get your prize… 
  Tips: This adventure seed gives a gamemaster the opportunity to introduce PCs to a large organization like IE, which can lead to further campaigns 
  in the future, while also allowing the PC group to overcome steadily mounting challenges with multiple points of success (or failure). The PCs could, at 
  any time, choose to work with or against any of the varied groups hunting for the current prize, or go rogue and join in the Run for personal glory. Or 
  perhaps they could even enter the official Manassas Run for IE and hope they live to see the Green Belt again. Depending on their success (and whoever 
  they had to fight with to win it), the players could easily end up with new friends (and enemies) from among IE, various Run-sponsoring nobles, career 
  Runners, or even the NAIS.
  JOIN OR dIE! “THE RUN’S NOT THAT BAD.” 
  Recommended Group Size: 2-4 player characters
  Recommended Group Type: Military, Mercenary
  Recommended Skill Levels: Veteran (Key Skill levels of 4-6)
  You’re not crooked or blacklisted, but you’re not the pin-ups of noble mercenary service either. Also, how were you to know that the fellow you cleaned 
  out at the poker table was a recently ennobled fool who has more clout than sense? It’s not his money he wants back either; it’s his pride and his family 
  controls most of the shipping on and off the world. So, the deal is: if you don’t win the Run for him, you might never get off Manassas.
  Complications: A few obstacles for players to tackle.
  You’re On Your Own: Just to make things interesting, your “sponsor” has made sure you will get no help; you are on your own. It seems like he 
  wants you to fail…
  We’re Being Hunted: As you move deeper into the Dead Zones, it seems someone is dogging your trail. Dealing with Zoners and stray Runners is bad 
  enough, but whoever is tracking you is not playing around; they want your scalp.
  It’s Whom You Know: Somehow, you did it! You got the prize, beat the odds, and even though the little prick has his precious honor back, he still refuses 
  to get you off world. Looks like you need to take matters into your own hands.
  Tips: This campaign is for PC groups who want a challenge and for GMs who can run a campaign that is very difficult—but still achievable—for 
  resourceful players who can think outside the box. The odds are certainly stacked against the hard-luck PCs, and players will need to be just as devious as 
  the gamemaster’s NPCs in meeting and overcoming the obstacles in their path. The rewards can be redemption and fame, whilst failure will see the PCs 
  bodies dumped in a Dead Zone and quickly forgotten.
  
  OPTIONAl RUlES
  11
  The following additional special rules are intended to provide further 
  flavor to games set on the world featured in this supplement. For the 
  most part, these rules may be considered advanced and optional, as 
  they primarily reflect conditions and/or features unique to this one 
  planet or planetary system.
  MANASSAS flORA ANd fAUNA OvERvIEW
  Until a little over 1,000 years ago, Manassas possessed a well-
  developed ecology that was progressing through its first true 
  flowering of more advanced genera across and around its single super-
  continent. That all ended with the near-destruction of the Manassan 
  moon and the bombardment that followed. Little of the planet’s native 
  large fauna remains; modified descendants of imported Terran species 
  now dominate the majority of the local biosphere, alongside the still-
  evolving survivors of smaller native creatures. 
  As Inner Sphere worlds go, the Manassan biome has no large 
  predators or hostile creatures that can seriously threaten humans. 
  However, many introduced Terran species have gone feral over the 
  centuries, with many near the major cities heavily impacting the 
  local ecology. Players wandering the planet’s wilderness may thus 
  find themselves occasionally menaced by the likes of feral creatures 
  common to Terra: bears, boars, coyotes, wolves, and deer. Nevertheless, 
  if not for the Dead Zones left over from the Succession Wars (and, of 
  course, humanity itself), Manassas may well be one of the safest living 
  worlds in the Inner Sphere.
  MANASSAN MOSS SKINK
  The largest living native terrestrial animal on Manassas is a reptilian 
  analogue called the moss skink, which has developed a unique method 
  for dealing with the long Manassan nights. Unable to keep its body 
  heat up to survivable temperatures over the twenty-six-hour night, the 
  fifteen-centimeter moss skink has developed a symbiotic relationship 
  with a local moss. The moss and the skink feed voraciously during the 
  day, the skink on algae beds and the moss on sunlight. The skink’s large 
  range allows the moss to spread its spores far and wide near the algae 
  beds for young skinks to pick up, whilst at night, the moss generates 
  heat by breaking down compounds contained in the algae. 
  The moss skink is generally harmless to humans and other animals. 
  The major problem with this species is that, without effective predation 
  for over a millennium, they are extremely populous and invasive, 
  and have an irritating habit of crawling into every nook, cranny, 
  piece of machinery, and moving part they can find—often causing 
  unprotected equipment to break, jam, or short out. In those regions 
  without suitable manmade population control efforts, moss skinks 
  often reach “plague-like proportions.”
  Mass: 0.095 kg
   STR 
  BOD 
  DEX 
  RFL 
  INT 
  WIL 
  EDG
   
  3 
  1 
  5 
  6 
  2 
  2 
  1
  Size Class (Modifier): Tiny (–4)
  BAR (M/B/E/X): Mossy hide 1/0/0/0
  Damage (AP/BD): 0M/1
  Move (W/R/S): 1/2/3 (amphibious)
  Traits: Cold-Blooded, Compulsion (Hard-to-reach hiding spots), 
  Susceptible, Thick-Skinned (Mossy hide)
  Skills: Animal Agility (+2), AniMelee (+0), Climbing (+2), Perception 
  (+2), Stealth (+3), Swimming (+4)
  MANASSAS TERRAIN
  The populated areas on Manassas are highly developed 
  and biologically active, but as one travels inward on the 
  mega-continent of Stonewall, the land becomes more 
  desolate and barren. The Manassas Mapsheets Table reflects 
  this by using a modified 2D6 roll result to determine which 
  mapsheets describe the area, based on how close to shore 
  the players are operating.
  To properly use the Manassas Mapsheets Table, determine 
  in advance how close to shore the scenario is taking place, as 
  well as the year in which the scenario is taking place. Then roll 
  2D6 for each mapsheet needed, applying the following roll 
  modifiers as appropriate:
  • –2 per 15 full kilometers inland (for scenarios set before 2730)
  • –1 per 15 full kilometers inland (for scenarios set between 2730 and 2950)
  • –1 per 45 full kilometers inland (scenarios set between 2950 and 3100)
  • –1 per 30 full kilometers inland (scenarios set after 3100)
  • +2 for scenarios taking place within 5 to 10 kilometers of the shore
  • +4 for scenarios taking place on the shoreline
  MAPSHEET TABlE
  MANASSAS
  Result
  Map
  1 or less
  Roll on Badlands Terrain Table (see p. 263, TW)
  2
  Open Terrain #1 (MS5, MSC2)
  3
  Desert Sinkhole #2 (MS3, MSC1)
  4
  Open Terrain #1 (MS5, MSC2)
  5
  Desert Sinkhole #2 (MS3, MSC1)
  6
  DropPort #1 (MS7, MSC2)
  7
  Rolling Hills #2 (MS3, MSC1)
  8
  Military Base #1 (MS7, MSC2)
  9
  Military Base #2 (MS7, MSC2)
  10
  Rolling Hills #2 (MS3, MSC1)
  11
  Rolling Hills #2 (MS3, MSC1)
  12
  Woodland (MS6, MSC2)
  13-15
  Roll on Wetlands Terrain Table (see p. 263, TW)
  16 or more
  Roll on Coastal Terrain Table (see p. 263, TW)
  
  ATLAS
  4
  ATLAS: PROMISED LAND
  Shortly after reaching the stars, humanity discovered that Terra 
  set a high standard of habitability. For land speculators this was 
  a challenge to be overcome, and selling colonial land started 
  by carefully naming the planet. There were hundreds and soon 
  thousands of colony worlds. A would-be emigrant might dismiss 
  a silly or unappealing name when researching a new home. With 
  a borderline world to populate in 2273, the Chaffins Colonial 
  Development Corporation selected the name “Promised Land,” and 
  began an emigrant recruiting campaign on Terra. 
  The Chaffins CDC spoke the truth as it extolled the virtues of Promised 
  Land. It was a big world, with more water than Terra, more than found 
  on any other settled world. Temperatures were moderate and the air 
  was breathable, sweet and clean. The soil was rich and terrestrial crops 
  thrived. Land was cheap and plentiful. None of the native life was a 
  threat. The moon was named Mana for its bounty of metals.
  But the Chaffins CDC did not speak the whole truth. Promised 
  Land had moderate temperatures, clean air, and good soil, but 
  only in some areas of the planet, proportionally less than Terra. The 
  bountiful water was also mostly saline, like Terra, and the record-
  setting land area included vast continental interiors isolated from 
  any hint of water, though their hyper-aridity had many rivals in 
  the Inner Sphere. The low tilt produced large ice caps and narrow 
  temperate zones.
  Size was an issue: Promised Land was the largest habitable planet 
  yet found by humanity (a title it retains to this day). The planet’s 
  diameter was nearly twice that of Terra (24,007 kilometers), which was 
  near the limit a rocky world could achieve before core compression 
  limited further growth. Promised Land did have 2.5 times the water 
  area and five times the land area of Terra, but this bounty came with 
  the highest gravity (1.7Gs) of any settled planet. It was near the limit (or 
  perhaps beyond) that healthy humans could endure for long periods 
  and was challenging for twenty-third century DropShuttles. This and its 
  fast spin (producing eighteen-hour days) produced numerous Hadley 
  cells and a powerful Coriolis Effect, which sometimes produced dense, 
  powerful cyclones over the oceans and incredible wind storms on the 
  low, flat continents.
  True, native life was no threat, if one had appropriate vaccines, anti-
  allergy medications, training, firearms, and body armor. The higher 
  orders of animals showed disturbingly high intelligence (on par with 
  terrestrial primates, but with differences), though most avoid human 
  communities after a few encounters. An entire class of animals is 
  sometimes dubbed by popular media as “post-mammals” for having 
  physiological traits derived from and improved in comparison to 
  mammals. (Xenobiologists, of course, lament the use of terrestrial 
  classifications for extraterrestrial life.) The entire ecosystem had 
  entered its multi-cellular state over a billion years before Terra. This 
  extra evolutionary period meant everything from microbes to animals 
  were tougher and more adaptable than terrestrial life, though not 
  particularly vicious. Terra’s most tenacious invasive species like 
  cockroaches and rats, which had sundered native ecosystems on 
  hundreds of planets, only survive in zoos on Promised Land. Cargo 
  and passengers departing Promised Land have always been subject to 
  vigorous biological screening. 
  This caution did lead to fictional exaggerations about Promised 
  Land’s ecosystems, even depicting it as a “death world.” In fact, camping, 
  hiking, and other outdoor activities were popular with residents and 
  no more dangerous than most worlds. However, the precautions 
  wilderness visitors required were unusual. Examples included toy 
  PROMISED LAND 
  Star Type: G8V (189 hours)
  Position in System: 2 (of 10)
  Number of Moons: 1 (Mana)
  Days to Jump Point:  6.19
  Surface Gravity: 1.7
  Atm. Pressure: Standard (Breathable)
  Equatorial Temp: 19 oC (Desert)
  Surface Water: 50 percent
  Highest Native Life: Mammal
  Recharging Station: Zenith, Nadir 
  HPG Class: A
  Population: 123,000,000
  Socio-Industrial Levels: B-B-A-B-B
  Landmasses (Capital City): Avalon, Camelot, 
  Eden, El Dorado, Elysium, Hyberborea, Jannah, 
  Mahoroba, Shambhala, Shangri La, Utopia, 
  Valhalla, Xanadu, and Zion (Chaffinsopolis)
  
  ATLAS
  5
  rifles over a shoulder to scare off would-be predators (who learned to 
  recognize human weapons by sight); shiny trinkets or food in easily-
  opened pouches (steering animal thieves away from valuable goods); 
  and awareness of some herbivores’ pre-agricultural gardens, which 
  were messy affairs that could be mistaken for undergrowth but were 
  defended vigorously. 
  Promised Land has dangerous volcanism. The total quantity is 
  proportionally similar to Terra by area, but Promised Land has more 
  area to create extremes. The planet’s age (six billion years) and small 
  core help temper volcanism, but the large continents and their slow 
  drift (from an under-hydrated crust) mean Promised Land is prone to 
  hot spot supervolcanoes akin to the Tharsis Bulge of Mars. Because 
  of the large sulfur dioxide and ash outbursts from such volcanoes 
  Promised Land has seen its ozone layer destroyed once during human 
  habitation (around 2400), an event that seems to happen every few 
  millennia. Further, a percentage of its land is inhospitable from sulfur 
  deposits, acidic lakes as large as some seas, and quake activity. Rifting 
  under the centers of continents creates some dry depressions several 
  kilometers below sea level where air pressure is more than doubled 
  and temperatures reach uninhabitable extremes. (The planetary militia 
  does like such areas, though, because they are hard to attack.)
  The planet also had some aesthetic challenges for early settlers, 
  though their descendants find beauty in the world. Any waves on 
  water were short, flat, and fast moving, which seem frantic rather 
  than relaxing. Air thinned out rapidly with altitude, so clouds 
  seem oppressively close overhead. While Promised Land had some 
  impressively tall volcanoes, its high gravity flattened mountain 
  ranges faster than on Terra and powered aggressive erosion. The 
  world thus has more flat land than Terra, endless flat lands.
  Its bright, white moon Mana is a wonderful mineral resource for 
  those who can afford vacuum mining operations of inexpensive 
  metals like iron. Mana has a nearly record density at 7.3 times that 
  of water because it is the denuded, 3,119-kilometer nickel-iron core 
  of a planetesimal. Astronomers suspect a superterrestrial planet 
  (“proto-Mana”) collided with “proto-Promised Land” and prevented the 
  resulting world from developing into a gas or ice giant. Accordingly, 
  Promised Land is surprisingly dry for a superterrestrial.
  Further, the planet presented health issues to settlers. The average 
  lifespan of “Landers” was decades less than the Terran Alliance norm. 
  The adaptable microbes of the world presented an endless series of 
  ailments that are still issues for visitors, while the aggressive immune 
  systems of vertebrate animals produce unpredictable allergic 
  reactions. The first settlers spent a decade living in sealed camps and 
  sweating in protective clothing until new drugs could temper some 
  of the reactions and infections, though these were insufficient. And 
  the gravity is unhealthy. 
  This battery of threats had been wearing on the population for some 
  decades, eroding the population with emigration and death. The final 
  insult was the rapid destruction of the ozone layer by volcanic gases. 
  The already-ailing settlement’s terrestrial crops collapsed, while native 
  life shrugged off the geologically common occurrence. Shortly on 
  the heels of triumph over a Lyran invasion in 2395, the Free Worlds 
  garrison and remaining colonists evacuated 2405 and Promised Land 
  was marked off the maps for nearly two centuries. 
  E L Y S I U M
  V A L H A L L A
  X A N A D U
  S H A M B H A L A
  A V A L O N
  C A M E L O T
  U T O P I A
  J A N N A H
  E L 
  D O R A D O
  E D E N
  H Y P E R B O R E A
  Z I O N
  M A H O R O B A
  E D E N
  J A N N A H
  ISLE OF
  SOLITUDE
  LONELY
  ISLE
  RECTITUDE
  FORGOTTEN
  ISLE
  E N C L O S E D  S E A
  I N N E R  S E A
  G R E A T  S E A
  S E A  O F  M E D I T A T I O N
  S H A N G R I - L A
  Point Kane
  Tigris
  Jannat
  South Slope
  Mount Parnassus
  Bliss
  Mount Helicon
  Karsten
  Vermilion
  Point
  Pastoralia
  VERMILION
  BAY
  PAEAN
  BAY
  Apollonos
  Ker Kolonnek
  DRAGON 
  COVE
  Ker Govenek
  Ker Kerenja
  Fortress
  Camulodunum
  Tintagel
  TWISTED BAY
  Tradertown
  HO
  TS
  PU
  R 
  MO
  UN
  TAI
  NS
  River City
  Chaffinsopolis
  Mount Zion
  Otisberg
  Kingston
  Eupraxis
  Helena
  Glastonbury
  Mount Kres
  Mount Lelder
  Kaiping
  Temür
  Martyr’s Rest
  Tenshi no 
  kodachi
  Maho no mori
  Rahat al-Shams
  Dar as-Salam
  THE FURNACE PITS
  Mount
  Kuyuncuk
  
  ATLAS
  6
  That invasion, allegedly launched to acquire Promised Land’s 
  widely ridiculed champagne for Archon Robert Marsden, was actually 
  a demonstration of Lyran all-environment military equipment. In 
  an era where many militaries still struggled with the wide range of 
  environments found in human space this would have been impressive. 
  The LCAF sensibly aimed to start by decapitating the garrison, but the 
  militia headquarters was in a deep rift valley. High gravity, 2.7 bars of 
  oxygen-rich atmosphere, and temperatures averaging ninety degrees 
  Celsius proved the Lyrans wrong about their equipment. Over half the 
  force was lost to DropShuttle crashes caused by the dense valley air. 
  Many armored vehicles were lost to engine fires and the elite jump 
  infantry could not jump in the high gravity. The surprised defenders 
  mopped up the incapacitated invaders.
  The Star League Accords brought a reduction in border tensions, so 
  in 2574 a group of Free Worlds and Lyran historians visited the world 
  to study the 2395 battlefield. The expedition’s landing site (well outside 
  the pressure and temperature extremes of the rift valley, naturally) 
  found itself beset by starving, ill humans. The 2405 evacuation had 
  apparently abandoned thousands of rural settlers who managed to 
  survive in small, feuding communities. The Landers prompted a major 
  relief effort by the new Star League, which wanted to demonstrate its 
  peaceful and humanitarian nature, especially to the Periphery. The 
  League did work wonders on Promised Land, bringing peace and 
  creating genetic therapies for humans that would make residents 
  more tolerant of the high gravity and native life. It also helped 
  domesticate the plants and animals Landers had been surviving upon. 
  New colonists even began settling the unusual world. 
  (The public relations oppor-
  tunity was squandered on the 
  Periphery as the Star League 
  made overly-direct compar-
  isons between the wretched 
  Landers and the Periphery.)
  A drawback to the genetic 
  engineering is that only the 
  Free Worlds League’s revulsion 
  for bionics exceeded their 
  revulsion for the Landers. The 
  arrival of the Clans further 
  amplified that bigotry. The 
  bigotry is amusing outside 
  the Free Worlds League 
  because the changes to 
  Promised Landers are rarely 
  recognizable even with 
  advanced medical scanners. 
  The strong heart and high 
  blood pressure do not exceed 
  human extremes, nor do the 
  toughened ligaments and 
  tendons. They have fewer circulatory, joint, and back problems than 
  the human norm, and are tolerant of Promised Land allergens and 
  infections. Promised Landers tend to be short, averaging 1.6 meters, 
  and are athletic like gymnasts or equestrian jockeys. Free World 
  depictions of them as goblin-like, hunchbacked boogiemen have no 
  basis in reality.
  There have been advantages to the ecosystem and high gravity: 
  Promised Land was rarely attacked during the Succession Wars and later 
  eras. The Lyrans destroyed Promised Land’s fusion engine factories and 
  orbital shipyards. After the vicious fighting in the Bolan Thumb faded, 
  Promised Land served as an entrepôt for Lyran merchants and thus was 
  not attacked by the LCAF. Instead, SAFE and LIC struggled amongst their 
  interstellar merchants in the system’s space stations. Until the thirty-
  second century, the only major conflict on Promised Land was a failed 
  pro-Lyran coup in 3056 that saw part of the world’s militia destroyed by 
  the Third Brigade of the Fusiliers of Oriente. Promised Land’s union with 
  the Duchy of Tamarind-Abbey (3078) was quickly regarded as a mistake, 
  something done out of historical inertia. Promised Land began looking 
  to the Lyran Commonwealth when the Duchy tightened restrictions on 
  Promised Land’s exports (allegedly because of biological contamination 
  risks) and then the Duchy’s public began airing miscegenation bills. Its 
  3101 entry to the Commonwealth happened with minimal collateral 
  damage when the Tamarind-Abbey garrison was destroyed in a short, 
  sharp battle - the planetary government had helped Lyran invaders 
  sneak into position outside the garrison’s base. The current Lyran 
  garrison concentrates on space stations for a reason: unlike other 
  Lyran/Free Worlds border trade systems, trade does not flow through 
  planetary warehouses but 
  rather large recharge stations. 
  As far as the Commonwealth is 
  concerned, the most important 
  part of the star system is just 
  inside the proximity limit of the 
  zenith and nadir points. The 
  Landers have long supported 
  a large space infrastructure. 
  Space stations always served 
  as biological screening points 
  and (at the Promised Land-
  Mana L4 and L5 points) low 
  gravity resorts and residences. 
  Prefabricated space stations 
  are a major Lander export, 
  delivered for final assembly 
  by DropShips. The recharge 
  and cargo stations at the 
  jump points are some of the 
  largest outside the Terran 
  asteroid belt and have thriving  
  trade bazaars.
  
  ATLAS
  7
  Governance of the world is an unusual representative democracy. 
  The basic government is a conventional three-branch system of a 
  presidency, senate, and judiciary. Citizenship is acquired by buying 
  into the planetary government, or by being born on the planet. 
  Citizenship shares may only be purchased if citizenships to other 
  political entities are abandoned, and may only be owned by a person, 
  not legal entities like corporations. Two shares are created for each 
  person born in Promised Land, with one given to the child and one 
  put on the market. Shares are deleted when the “share founder” dies, 
  so they are not normally inheritable. A citizen may sell all their shares, 
  reducing their status to a ward of the state similar to a resident 
  alien. On the current market, a share costs about 15,000 C-bills. In 
  an exception to the share inheritance rules, some noble titles hold 
  thousands of votes beyond their share founders’ deaths. Because 
  the government rarely uses referenda and some taxes are based on 
  numbers of shares held, having large numbers of shares offers little 
  authority except social prestige. 
  Today, settlements are concentrated on the four of the fourteen 
  continents (Camelot, Mahoroba, Utopia, and Xanadu) in the temperate 
  zones where the climate was genuinely pleasant and fresh water was 
  abundant. Two communities are situated on ancient, dead volcanic 
  provinces where deep mantle plumes have put mineral riches within 
  easy reach of human mining equipment. 
  Other than an unusual environment, Promised Land is a typical, 
  well-off Inner Sphere planet. It has a diverse industrial base to suit the 
  needs of its population, a productive agricultural sector, and a high 
  standard of living. The population is concentrated in a few dozen 
  large metropolises, which leaves the unique ecosystem and endless 
  landscape mostly undeveloped. Despite the threats sometimes posed 
  by the ecosystem, citizens have consistently backed conservation laws, 
  which favors the compact cities. Contrary to expectations, those cities 
  are not squat. Kilometer-tall skyscrapers are common since modern 
  materials are more than sufficient to defeat Promised Land’s gravity. It 
  is actually a point of pride for locals to build tall structures.
  Gravity and the planet’s scale has always thwarted easy long-
  distance travel. Jet aircraft (conventional or fusion) and airships are at a 
  loss, so air travel is either by expensive small craft and DropShip flights, 
  or by much slower fusion-powered propeller-driven aircraft.. Ocean 
  transport is popular for cargo due to its low cost and the vast oceans, 
  while electrified railways are utilized for overland transport.
  
  8
  A TIME Of WAR ADvENTURE SEEDS
  IS IT JUST ME, OR DO YOU fEEL WARM?
  Recommended Group Size: 2 to 4 player characters
  Recommended Group Type: Military, Security
  Recommended Skill Levels: Regular-Elite (Key Skill levels of 2-8)
  The Landers always made use of space stations at their standard 
  jump points, primarily to screen planetary exports of biological 
  threats. These recharge stations were perfect to serve as screening 
  points for international trade during the Succession Wars, and 
  allowed Promised Land to lobby into the position of one of the 
  Free World’s border crossings despite pervasive League bigotry. 
  The Landers had another reason to open their space stations to 
  Lyran visitors: the stations at the Promised Land-Mana L4 and 
  L5 points were residential, maternity, and vacation platforms. 
  By allowing Lyrans to frequent the stations with few restrictions, 
  the Landers let their enemies know the stations were not worth 
  attacking. This strategy worked throughout the Succession Wars; 
  the Lyrans only destroyed shipyards and used carefully targeted 
  nuclear weapons on planetary industrial targets.
  When the Free Worlds League reconquered Promised Land in 
  3144, it found pervasive hatred from Landers who had sought 
  Commonwealth suzerainty in 3056 and 3101. In the face of 
  textbook nonviolent civil disobedience, the few regiments of 
  Marik troops abandoned the high gravity planet and concentrated 
  on the many recharge stations at the zenith and nadir points, 
  which were the important parts of the system in the League’s 
  eyes. If the planet ever violently revolted against the League 
  bureaucrats and security personnel toiling on Promised Land, the 
  troops could arrive in mere days to crush the revolt as easily as 
  they had crushed the militia.
  The Landers have exhibited a laudable unity in ignoring and 
  avoiding League personnel to the point the Free Worlds had 
  no effective authority on the planet. However, a population of 
  over 100 million humans is never fully unified in any situation. 
  Hotheads have not given up their dream of seeing the FWLM 
  driven out of the system, and they’ve recognized that the League’s 
  combatants are concentrated in recharge stations that depend on 
  station-keeping fusion engines to avoid plummeting into the sun.
  Complications: A few obstacles for players to tackle.
  Tickets, Please: Player characters interested in reprogramming 
  station-keeping drives for a very gentle, unnoticeable burn 
  toward a star (either to stop it or make it happen) must, of course, 
  be wary of local personnel who want proof the characters 
  belong on the station. Even solidly anti-League personnel who 
  might help do not want to be labeled as terrorists.
  Women and Children First: It is unlikely the stations will make 
  much progress toward the star before someone aboard notices. 
  The fall will take weeks at the peak (and noticeable) acceleration 
  of the station, and less noticeable acceleration will take months. 
  But to trap the FWLM troops, one needs an excuse to remove 
  the transports: like evacuating civilians.
  Tips: For A Time of War scenarios, brush up on the Strategic 
  Operations descriptions (see pp. 122 and 244, SO) and rules of 
  space stations. Familiarity with zero-G combat (see pp. 159 and 
  237, AToW) will also be important. After all, space stations are not 
  single, large gravdecks.
  RUDE AWAKENING
  Recommended Group Size: 2 to 8 player characters
  Recommended Group Type: Military
  Recommended Skill Levels: Veteran (Key Skill levels of 4-6)
  After decades of racial abuse by its supposed ally, the Duchy of Tamarind-
  Abbey, Promised Land discreetly contacted the Lyran Commonwealth. While 
  the Commonwealth had many faults, bigotry about minor genetic therapies 
  was not among them. Also, it offered better tax brackets.
  The planetary government was confident it could deport the civilian 
  personnel who represented the Duchy on the planet. The problem was the 
  Seventh Tamarind Regulars, who significantly outgunned the infantry-heavy 
  planetary militia. However, the government had no problem working with 
  several local transportation companies to conceal the movement of the Third 
  Lyran Regulars and some Lyran mercenaries to the major seaport just outside 
  the main Tamarind garrison base.
  But the garrison was on the edge of a major city and too close to civilian 
  residences to consider orbital bombardment or artillery. The Lyrans accepted 
  that limitation, and that they would have to wade their heavy and assault 
  forces into close combat with (hopefully) unprepared defenders.
  Complications: A few obstacles for players to tackle.
  Meter Maids: Because there were some mixed loyalties among Landers, 
  the government did not alert all of its personnel to the Lyran infiltration. 
  It would only take one diligent Parking Authority Enforcer (PAEr, local 
  pronunciations of the acronym include “payer” and “spawn of Satan”) filing 
  an emergency request for extra tickets after finding a Lyran Atlas II idling in 
  a subcompact spot to prematurely alert the Tamarind garrison.
  Ever Vigilant: The Duchy troops have sensibly warded their facility with an 
  array of electronic monitoring systems. The handful of personnel awake 
  monitoring those systems might buy enough time to get critical companies 
  of troops into their ‘Mechs and tanks before the Lyrans could put screens 
  of anti-personnel units between the hangars and barracks. The Lyrans are 
  quite interested in disabling such systems – the player characters could 
  easily be Lyran, Marik, or planetary personnel trying to prevent that or 
  make it happen.
  Tips: The scenario presents some excellent opportunities to use sneak suits. 
  Also, it is an exercise in Tactical Operations’ high gravity rules (see p. 55, TO).
  
  11
  OPTIONAL RULES
  The following additional special rules are intended to provide 
  further flavor to games set on the world featured in this product. For 
  the most part, these rules may be considered advanced and optional, 
  as they primarily reflect conditions and/or features unique to this one 
  planet or planetary system.
  PROMISED LAND fLORA AND fAUNA
  Promised Land has one of the few cases of an ecosystem older and 
  significantly more advanced than Terra’s. It is not particularly lethal, but 
  the differences are noteworthy, at least for xenobiologists.
  The so-called Lander “post-mammals” receive the most attention, 
  perhaps because of the widely exported “cuddle bear” pet. Post-mammals 
  are evolutionary descendants of Promised Land’s mammals (which are 
  still quite extant). They have 5-chambered hearts, including a smaller 
  ventricle specifically for the brain, and the major veins of the limbs have 
  peristaltic muscular actions to boost blood flow back to the heart. (Certain 
  carnivorous post-mammals have fully developed this feature into two-
  chambered hearts in each limb.) Their lungs are uni-directional circulatory 
  lungs rather than bellows-type lungs of terrestrial mammals, with the air 
  entering and exiting through separate tracheal ports, fully utilizing the 
  lungs’ volume. Rather than a single diaphragm, sheets of muscle contract 
  different lobes of the lungs in sequence (keeping chest volume constant 
  while minimizing dead space in the lungs.) This also aids post-mammals in 
  clearing their lungs of foreign matter. The combination of efficient lungs 
  and circulatory systems makes post-mammal carnivores capable of feats 
  of great endurance, though this demands a lot of food.
  While human-level sentience does not exist in any Lander animal, 
  terrestrial crows, raccoons, dolphins, and chimpanzees would find 
  their intelligence the norm, not exceptions. Animal traits like Animal 
  Cognition, Tool User, and Fast Learner are appropriate (see pp. 106-
  112, AToWC). Some post-mammals exhibit additional specialized 
  brain centers compared to terrestrial animals. Carnivores and some 
  omnivores have exhibited a spatial memory center that appears to 
  remember 15 to 20 objects, their positions, and their velocity vectors 
  separate of their working memory, which gives them an excellent 
  situational awareness during hunts and fights, like the animal trait 
  Combat Sense (see p. 113, AToWC). Like terrestrial mammals, their 
  brain is bifurcated. However, post-mammals are distinguished by 
  a “super-prefrontal cortex” that seems to support superior cross-
  hemisphere coordination while allowing multi-tasking by allowing 
  each hemisphere to work on different problems simultaneously.
  Many Lander vertebrates show a third type of immune system, 
  “fortification immunity,” in addition to the “innate” and “adaptive” 
  immune systems of terrestrial chordates, making the animal trait Hardy 
  common (see p. 111, AToWC). This immune system rapidly adjusts cell 
  membranes of animals in response to pathogens, and also attempts 
  to “counterattack” parasites like biological weapons. This may produce 
  allergic reactions in humans exposed to Lander animals, per the 
  diseases rules in A Time of War (see p. 245, AToW).
  Animal behaviors are sophisticated. Lander “termites” build blade-
  shaped mounds over decades that are actively heated and cooled, 
  and arranged to exploit or retard solar heating. They farm fungi and 
  catalytically trigger methane flames in winter to maintain constant 
  mound temperatures. Many post-mammals exhibit pseudo-languages 
  able to convey numeracy, name threats, provide locations, and 
  identify individuals, per the animal skill Animal Communication (see 
  p. 114, AToWC). Despite being from a completely different world, post-
  mammals and some mammals are usually able to understand human 
  gestures as well as dogs, a feat rare on Terra. Cooperative problem 
  solving and deceit are common among such animals, indicating that 
  many are able to model the minds of other animals. Several species 
  have death rituals akin to Terran elephants.
  Three-tier social interactions (personal; group; and inter-group) 
  are also common on Promised Land, but only otherwise seen among 
  humans and dolphins. Non-instinctive interspecies cooperation is also 
  noted. For example, small tree-dwelling foragers may serve as scouts 
  for large, ground-dwelling gardening herbivores, who protect the 
  foragers from their predators. Predators may arrange to be “shepherds” 
  for a prey herd: providing protection against other predators, even 
  culling rivals to the herd’s alpha, in exchange for regular food. But 
  these relations are cultural, not instinctive: different regions may have 
  different interactions between species that vary year by year.
  cUDDLE BEARS
  Cuddle bears are post-mammals and one of the few animal exports of 
  Promised Land. They have been described as “miniature pandas” or “zebra-
  furred koala bears.” Most consider them adorable animals who seem happy 
  to do nothing more than cuddle with their owners all day, and appear 
  very attentive. They will perform simple, insipidly cute tricks on command, 
  which they pick up easily (and they toilet train). Unlike many bright animals, 
  they seem to require little stimulus and sleep most of the day.
  However, studies of brain activity show their pleasure centers rarely light 
  up when interacting with humans, despite making similar cooing noises 
  and expressions as when they are with their packs. The interpretation is 
  that they are very mercenary. This is supported by their selfish behavior 
  out of humans’ sight (as captured by hidden cameras). When underfed, 
  they steal food from neighbors (apparently to avoid alerting their owner 
  and being punished). They readily circumvent physical security with 
  their climbing ability and dexterous paws, and learn human schedules to 
  plan their mischief. Abused cuddle bears are dangerous and will arrange 
  premeditated traps, like trip hazards at the tops of stairs or broken glass in 
  bedding. Some abusive owners have documented cuddle bears causing 
  emotional duress and strife among humans, such as by planting stolen 
  toys on a sibling or a neighbor’s underwear with a spouse.
   
  STR 
  BOD 
  DEX 
  RFL 
  INT 
  WIL 
  EDG
   
  3 
  4 
  6 
  4 
  8 
  7 
  4
  Mass: 15-20 kg
  Size Class (Modifier): Small (–1)
  BAR (M/B/E/X): 1/0/0/0 (Furred Hide)
  Damage (AP/BD): 1M/1 
  Move (W/R/S): 4/12/35
  Traits: Animal Cognition, Hardy, Patient, Tool User
  Skills: Animal Language (+4), AniMelee (+3), Perception (+8), Tracking (+4)
  PROMISED LAND TERRAIN
  The terrain on Promised Land is just as diverse as any found on Terra, 
  and so p. 263 of Total Warfare is a reasonable representation of most of 
  the world’s terrain. 
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/BattleTech [multi]/Sourcebooks/Touring the Stars/Touring the Stars Compilation (ver 2).pdf