Last month in 76 Plotlets, Part One, I offered 18 quick adventure ideas (centered on three topics) that could be used to fill out your playing session when your players pull a fast one on you. Each one was set in space and could easily be encountered while players are moving from Point A to Point B.

This article I'll finishing up my space adventures with three more topics and 18 more complete ideas.

4. Spatial Anomolies

The players stumble upon a spatial anomaly which offers the possibility of scientific exploration or danger, perhaps both.

Plot Twists.

1. Black Hole. The mother of all spatial anomalies presents itself to the players and also offers many adventure possibilities. Why is the black hole here? What happened to the system? Is there anything interesting stuck in the black hole?
2. Wormhole. Something unheard of, a stable wormhole, has appeared in the system. Why is it here? Where does it lead?
3. Supernova. The system's sun is about to go nova. Planets, space stations, and starships might need to be evacuated. The rapidly fluctuating ionosphere of the sun could cause communications problems or even weirder problems with other ship systems. Longer term, what sent a supposedly stable sun off the deep end. (Could the Darrians be involved?)
4. Asteroid! There are just too many bodies in most star systems to map. Sadly, this has resulted in an asteroid impacting something. Perhaps the system's main world, perhaps another ship, perhaps the players' own vehicle. Rescue will doubtless be required. Things could get even more exciting if more asteroids come smashing down, perhaps suggesting a purposeful attack.
5. Quantum Disturbance. Something has upset the very fabric of time in this area. One or more ships from the past or future suddenly pop into view. With the rich history of the Traveller universe laid out in front of you, it should be easy to quickly create the background for these unexpected time travellers. What disagreements arise when they suddenly find themselves elsewhen? Is there any way to get them home?
6. Migrating Species. Space is full of utterly amazing things. Some of them are even alive. The players encounter a herd of gigantic creatures which migrate between the stars like huge stellar whales. The players might need to protect local ships and stations from these largely mindless beasts. Or, they might want to investigate them, perhaps even communicate.

5. Misjumps

Misjumps are a trope in Traveller that might just be used a bit much. However if you use unrefined fuel or if you're sloppy with your calculations or if you jump too near a gravity well ... you might just find yourself somewhere other than expected.

Plot Twists.

1. A Galaxy Far, Far Away. The misjump lands the players somewhere very far from home. First they'll have to overcome communications problems with the locals. Then, they'll have to start a long trek back!
2. Personal Disaster! Ships often don't survive misjumps. Can the players hold their ship together long enough to get somewhere safe after it suffers massive damage from misjump?
3. Between the Stars. A misjump lands the players somewhere far from refueling sites. Natural resources could allow them to refuel, if the players are up to the dangers. Alternatively, a required stay in low berths might project the travellers into their own future.
4. Shared Disaster! Up the stakes for a disastrous misjump by landing the players right in another ship. The two are welded permanently together, and both ready to go up in flames. The personal disaster could be augmented by rising tensions between the two crews.
5. Lost in J-Space. The players' ship ends up stuck in Jump Space. They can only be rescued by other misjumping ships, who might get a chance to briefly dock with them while they too are out-of-sync with the universe. This basically imagines the other side of the Challenge adventure I refer to below.
6. Out of the Universe! The players end up somewhere far beyond the universe that they know. Perhaps a pocket universe created by the Ancients. Perhaps a strange realm where physics aren't the same and mere survival will be a challenge.

This topic seems to be covered a lot in the published material. One Crowded Hour is a Mongoose Traveller adventure offering a session-length adventure as disaster strikes a misjumping passenger liner. "The Derlict" in the just-released Signs & Portents #72 provides a between-the-stars adventure (whereas The Death of Wisdom, GDW's novel of The New Era, kickss off with a different take on the same topic). Long Way Home doesn't quite call its core problem a misjump, but the players do hit a "hyperspace tunnel" while in Jump Space, leading to the galaxy-far-far-away scenario.

Finally, The Abyss Rift in the Spinward Marches offers a unique nexus for misjumps. "Fated Voyage" in Challenge #46 contains the "Lost in J-Space" adventure that I mentioned above, though it's written from the side of the players encountering a lost ship.

6. In Medias Res

To a certain extent, whenever a starship precipitates out of Jump Space they appear in medias res in the system. The majority of the plot hooks thus far involve situations that were already in process and which quickly pull the players in as a result. However what follows are some suggestions for really in medias res situations.

Herein the players suddenly find themselves in a situation that isn't really understandable, but which they have to react to immediately.

Plot Twists.

1. Battle! Two ships are fighting each other. It you want, roll what one or both of those ships are on table #3, in the previous column. Just to be sure the players get involved, you can fire on them, have one of the ships call for help, or let the players recognize one of the ships as an old friend (or enemy).
2. War! If you want to up the stakes, turn the battle into a war with tens of ships on either side. In this type of situation, you'll need to work even harder to get the players involved. See the suggestions above, give the players a connection to the system, which is clearly under some sort of siege, or start things off by having someone in the Imperium ask the players to stop a war in the system before it's too late (and before they arrive and discover that it already is!).
3. Stop that Ship! This command comes from the local planetary government. There's no time to explain, as the ships going to get out to Jump range in a few minutes if the players, who are right in the way, don't do something.
4. Help! A single survivor floats in a vacc suit, or maybe there's a launch with a couple of people in it. Perhaps the PCs see another ship Jump out, just as they appear in-system. In any case, the survivors have a woeful tale to tell the players, the gist of which requires the players to quickly chase after the ship which left these people to die.
5. Planet Busters! The players arrive in system just in time to see the death throes of one of the system's outer worlds, as it's blown apart by a planet-busting ship of phenomenal strength. In all likelihood, it's an Ancient artifact gone awry, and the players will have to figure out how to put a stop to it.
6. Civil War. Not all battles are in space! Upon arriving in system, the players get a plea from help from the local system's main world, where a civil war has just broken out. How can the players deal with something so big, and even more importantly, which side should they join?

Conclusion

That's it for my space plotlets. Next month I'm going to continue my look at Traveller settings by highlighting the many different places within the Imperium that you can play in, then in a couple of months I'll be back with 36 more plotlets, this time all adventure hooks that could occur on just about any planet the players are visiting.