0101 Muskatoon

0101 Muskatoon A 562584-E

Starport Type A - Muskatoon Starport is the finest starport in the sub-sector, renowned for its spacious docking and building capacity, the slowness of its customs officials, and the sheer volume and in-your-face glitz of its pleasure domes and arcades (with attendant high prices). The starport is the home of the Muskatoon Imperial Shipping Co-operative (MISC for short), which builds the bulk freighters, liners, and luxury yachts for this corner of the sub-sector. Many smaller shipyards specialize in tramp freighters and other small vessels of dubious purpose. The feature everybody remembers, though, is the Mischief, a 10 000 ton behemoth that protects the system from any attack. Capable of a ponderous 1G maneuver, it has not sortied for battle in the more than 50 years it has been built. A right of passage for every 17-year-old is to serve one year aboard the Mischief, where they automatically get one roll on the Navy Personal Development table. At age 18, Muskatoon natives get a +1 DM to enlist in Navy or Marines if they choose that as their career path.

Planetary Size 5 - Approximately 5250 miles in diameter, and 16 500 miles around at the equator, with a 10 degree axial tilt. Muskatoon rotates on its axis once every 30 earth hours. Its calendar year is 350 Terran days long

Atmosphere Type 6 - Standard atmosphere, excellent for Earth-standard lifeforms. Temperatures at the equator can reach 60 Celsius during the day, with an average close to 45 Celsius. The poles can reach 0 during the summer, and as low as -80 Celsius in the winter. Prevalent mountain ranges divide the planet into definite climate regions.

Hydrographic Percentage 2 - Although oceans and lakes make up only 24% of the planet's surface areas, at an average depth of 3.1 miles, the oceans are Significantly deeper than Earth's oceans, and life is plentiful and bountiful. With fewer than a million people, and high-tech irrigation systems, the planet can grow all the foodstuffs it needs easily.  Population Size 5 - Muskatoon has 900,000 inhabitants, 10% of whom either work for MISC or the planetary government. The starport itself has over 10 000 citizens, and the rest are mostly concentrated in the great savannahs of the temperate zone between the tropics and the polar regions. Farming, industry, and technological innovation are the major occupations

Government Type 8 - Muskatoon is governed by a complex interweaving of 537 differing civil service bureaucracies, which all have predefined tax bases and hiring practises. Examples are the Weights and Measures bureau, the Dock Inspection bureau, the Vehicle Piloting bureau, the Law Creation bureau, the Law Contention bureau, the Law Enforcement bureau, etc.

Law Level 4 - The Bureau of Personal Protection recognizes the Right to Bear Arms of every citizen. Energy weapons and automatic or semi-automatic weapons are prohibited except for the Military, or collectors who can get exemptions from the Bureau of Restricted Devices

Technological Index E (14) - One of the highest technological levels in the sub-sector, anything can be built or bought on Muskatoon, assuming you can get past the paperwork. But everybody knows there are ways to circumvent legalities or restrictions...

Notes - A rich world, Muskatoon looks heavily bueaucratized and regimented, but its Bureau of Innovation is surprisingly open-minded, and myriads of small and medium business start-ups try ideas with Bureau grants and loans that are not yet accepted by the rest of society, and there is much opportunity between the seams, so to speak. Crime and graft is also very organized, and adventure hooks are not lacking. The Bureau of Trade and MISC jointly funded the spaceport on sparsely-populated Miscatoon so as to reach the populous worlds of Aquaria (0103) and Kalamari (0203). No organized solution has yet been found to the corsair empire on Penzance (0104), comprised of Jump-3 ships built on Muskatoon itself.

The Mischief is meant to be a gonzo ship that may or may not even be viable in a fight. If using High Guard rules, make it some ridiculous size.