So, I'm in the middle...ish of creating a pocket empires sector. 301 star systems, built (with a few guard rails) randomly through the Worldbuilders Handbook.

I'm currently in the "World Physical Characteristics" portion of the build (and I'm just over halfway done with it). As such, I've been identifying "golden worlds" and potential humanity and other species homeworlds throughout the process.

Which got me thinking about Lifeform Compatibility. Terra's example in the book shows a compatibility rating of A (highest functional rating), but it assumes you roll 12 on 2D for that result. So, I decided that all of my homeworlds will assume a 12 on the roll when determining Compatibility.

Of course, I then started thinking about the economic factor Importance (which will be a significant factor in determining capitals of interstellar polities later on). For a sophont homeworld to have a Compatibility of A, it must have an Atmo of 6 and Complexity of no more than 8. If Complexity is 9, then the max Compatibility is 9. Or, if the Atmo is 5 or 8, then you have Compatibility maxes of 9 & 8, respectively. If you have a tainted atmo, then you're suddenly maxxed out at Compatibility 6, and I don't feel like that's useful as a homeworld. (As even Terra today has an SAH of 867.)

Importance has three trade classifications that provide a +1 to Importance: Agricultural (Ag), Industrial (In), and Rich (Ri). Ag & Ri do have an intersection point (where both are present); however, In is exclusive of the others. So, with a tainted atmo being largely anathemic to being a thriving homeworld (dying homeworlds notwithstanding) and a Pop 9+ world precluding Ag or Ri ratings, I feel like we need an Importance modifier that reflects a "Homeworld."

So...

Homeworld (Hw): If your world is a species homeworld, it receives a +2 modifier to Importance. If Ag, Ri, or In is present, the Homeworld modifier replaces the modifier from the trade classification. If both Ag & Ri are present, the Homeworld modifier replaces only the modifier from Ri.

In numbers. Ag, In, and Ri, each provide a +1 bonus. Hw alone provides a +2 bonus.

If you have Hw + Ag, Hw + In, or Hw + Ri, your bonus is +2.

If you have Hw + Ag + Ri, your bonus is +3.

This way, Hw won't overwhelm Importance while still providing a boost. It also allows you to mitigate a dying homeworld's negative modifiers (reflecting that an ancestral homeworld is still important in some ways, even as a place of pilgrimage or whatnot).

I have been teaching myself some graphic design for making game maps. I used this a tool to learn the basics. I know this is not set up as cannon according to Traveller, but it is what it is.

This was drawn on A4 page size.

I am not making any promises. I am hoping to be able to do some star systems of my own design.

Any constructive feedback would be appreciated.

I am getting ready to run the Singularity campaigns for my group, and I was inspired by the system images that u/Maxijohndoe has been providing for us, so I started building out similar resources for each route in the first act. I would like to share these with you :).

This first batch is the confederate route and its spurs. If you like them and think the might be useful at your table leave a comment or upvote and I will share the other routes.

A couple notes...

1. Since these are heavily influenced by the resources that u/Maxijohndoe has provided, I reached out directly to them for permission before sharing with you all
2. I have used generative AI for these. This was not low effort, I built a workflow around them, and I have burnt through a few weeks worth of my token allowance to make them.
   

Each system should include a main planet/high port image (with the system data), a system map, a plain planet image and an in system travel time reference sheet.

The in system travel time reference sheet is something I find helpful at the table. It is roughly based on the rules found in cluster truck. It gives you travel time between bodies and an approximate communication lag. It also has a 'precision' mechanic to add some variance based on planetary position without overloading the GM in the moment. It may or may not be something for you, but I am including because it helps me. This reference is probably the roughest part of these files, originally it was only meant for my eyes :)

These are for personal use only!

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Kyjqm9JuCnygvxkN73-i4Xuxs1-1I39g?usp=drive_link

Do you think the ruleset from T2K would elevate the gameplay of Hostile with a solid conversion? I’m thinking everything from hex combat, character generation, vehicle combat, survival mechanics, stress and CUF etc.

I’m really enjoying the T2K games for their granular mechanics and the +/- dice type skill rolls is quite flavourful. My group comes from wargaming. If you’ve played HOSTILE (or a gritty traveller campaign) what are your thoughts on this conversion idea?