In the "Gazeteer of the Cluster", the rules for Merchant of Venus contain descriptions for each of the different planetary systems in the game. I was disappointed to find that these colorful descriptions had no effect at all on the play of the game. Even the optional rules introduced in The General neglected this possible chrome. So I made up my own.
Whenever a player first arrives at a city (not a spaceport) or Galactic Base, they roll a single d6. If the result is a 6, then a random event has occured. The player then rolls another d6 and looks up the roll on the chart for the planet they just landed on. I have tried to come up with many different types of events, so each planet will have it's own special flair. I also tried to make sure each planet had a balance of harmful and beneficial events.
I have included the descriptions for the systems from the rule book to put the random events into proper context. Hopefully this does not violate any copyright laws.
The primordial material in this system coalesced into a vast sphere of asteroids instead of planets. Explorers built domed colonies to mine this treasure house of minerals, and soon there was an entire civilization mingled among the asteroids. When the Empire fell, this civilization retreated to the central domes, leaving the rest to the ghosts.
Roll a d6 for each city in the system. The one with the highest roll is
abandoned. Place a marker on it to indicate this. If the player is at that
city, no trading may take place, but a single good may be found for free on a
roll of 5-6 on a d6.
Continuing in it's decline, the Asteroid
civilization retreats from another domed city.
The player may choose to lose one turn and do the following. For each 20$
spent, the player rolls two dice and multiples them together for the payoff on
that try. The player may see the result of each attempt before paying for the
next.
After paying prospectors rights, the gambling merchant may try
to mine the asteroids.
Draw one of the unused "?" markers, and without looking at it place it "?"
up on any asteroid in the system.
While through, an innocent asteroid
is found to hide something more.
Draw one of the unused "?" markers and encounter it immediately, paying the
penalty if one is drawn.
The merchant stumbles upon a relic of the
old Empire.
Find 3d6 x 10$, but lose 1d3 turns.
A valuable cache of minerals
is found, but a short jail term results from prospecting without a
license.
Take one cargo for free from the cargos available at this system (including
the factory good).
An abandoned colony is chanced upon, and some
overlooked valuable is found.
Colonists had barely started terraforming this planet when the Empire collapsed. They managed to survive in cave cities while the terraforming continued automatically.
No trades at all are allowed this turn. Only one trade may be made next
turn (as if initial landing), and unlimited thereafter.
The
terraforming has produced dangerous conditions, so the cave entrance is closed
for now.
If the factory for this system has been built, the owner must remove it and
make the deed available for purchase again. The owner receives half the value
of the factory in compensation.
The factory is judged to be hampering
the terraforming process and so the lease is revoked.
The colonists attempt a Swindle (rule 15.53) against the player. The
colonists receive a plus one since their species occupies the city. If the
colonists win the roll, they take the most expensive good the player
has.
Desperate colonists attempt to cheat the merchant.
If the player gives up a good (to the bonus cup), he may take the IOU
marker for this race.
As poor as they are, sometimes an IOU is the
best form of payment.
The item bought this turn may be purchased at half price.
The
colonists attempt to attract trade by lowering prices.
The item sold this turn will be at one and a half it's
price.
Increased demand for essential goods results in higher
prices.
This planet is one big desert of stone and sand, with a few small settlements at oases. The only large cities are in the greencaps at the poles.
A randomly chosen device on the ship is damaged.
A desert storm
causes poor visibility while landing, resulting in a crash.
Pay 1d6 x 10$ or cannot takeoff next turn.
The omnipresent dust
requires maintenance.
Roll 2d6, add 3 and multiply by 10%. This is the relative price you must
make your purchase at this turn.
Haggling with desert
trader.
Roll 2d6, add 3 and multiply by 10%. This is the relative price you receive
for your sale this turn.
Haggling with desert trader.
You may purchase the factory at half price this turn.
Abundant
sunlight and vast wastelands make finding good factory sites a
breeze.
This is a giant space station, built to service spaceships and passengers en route to or from the main Galaxy. When the traffic stopped, the service personnel who were stranded there converted it into a city. When the game begins, this station has already been rediscovered.
No trades at all are allowed this turn. Unlimited trading may be made next
turn.
A visiting delegation from the main Galaxy preempts all
business.
The player may not takeoff next turn.
The Tinkerers insist on
routine maintenance on your ship.
Any ships bought this turn are at one and a half cost.
Ships are
in short supply right now.
Any ships bought this turn are at half price.
A batch of ships
from the main Galaxy just came in.
Draw 1d6 markers from the bonus cup and place as usual.
Increased
traffic with the main Galaxy boosts local trade.
Examine any "?" marker still face-down on the board.
A passing
traveler tells a tall tale.
This oversized, low-density planet has an enormous surface area but tolerable gravity. It has large and varied habitable areas and a very large population.
Lose one turn immediately.
Who knew one planet could be so
BIG.
No trades allowed this turn, one trade next turn, unlimited after
that.
The huge population makes it difficult to find the right
contacts.
Resolve Revolts (rule 15.542) against all facilities on the planet per the
normal rules. The attacking species gets plus one to the die
roll.
Overpopulation leads to restlessness, vandalism and eventually
sabotage.
Draw one marker from the bonus cup and place in this system, regardless of
where it's supposed to be placed. If it is a demand marker for a good this
race doesn't buy, one of that good may be sold with that demand
marker.
With all the varied cultures here, you can find nearly
anything.
The purchase this turn may be made as if the IOU marker for this race was
being turned in.
With this many people, not everyone's going to know
when a promise has been made, or kept.
The player may take on emigrants to be delivered to any system instead of
the normal trading this turn. Use an unused marker to indicate them. Each
emigrant takes up one hold. The player receives 100$ for every emigrant taken
aboard. 20$ must be paid each turn by the player for their life support. If
the player dumps any emigrants in space, he is permanently
banished from that system.
The local government is willing to pay
merchants to even slightly reduce the population.
This system consists of rocks and ice. When the power plants in the system ran out of energy, one city managed to survive by inventing strange folkways to conserve heat.
Lose one turn immediately.
Strange folkways delay any
actions.
The player must pay 1d6 x 10$.
Have to pay a fine for violating
local customs.
If the player chooses to lose one turn immediately, the single good he
sells next turn will be at one and half normal price.
Participating
in local customs ingratiates the merchant to the people.
If the player chooses to lose one turn immediately, the single good bought
next turn will be at half price.
Participating in local customs
ingratiates the merchant to the people.
Unlimited trade is possible this turn.
With only one city, it's
easy to find all your contacts.
The player may take one good for free.
A chance discovery is made
while exploring an abandoned city.
This oversized moon orbits a gas giant planet that radiates enough energy to give the moon a temperate climate. Little energy arrives from the distant sun.
All devices not in a hold are damaged.
A burst of radiation from
the gas giant scrambles equipment.
Must pass through a 1d6 x 10$ hazard while landing.
Navigating
through a gas giant system has it's hazards.
Place the ship on the spot above the city, and move it 1d6 along its
previous course.
Navigation is difficult in a complex system like
this - the approach is missed.
The item purchased this turn may be bought at half
price.
Plentiful materials close at hand in the gas giant system
boosts production.
Unlimited trade is allowed this turn.
Perpetual daylight as the
distant sun appears at night allows extra time for trading.
If the ship takes off next turn, double its roll for movement.
The
ship is refueled with a high power fuel refined straight from the gas
giant.
This technological marvel is a vast doughnut of air, floating in free-fall between its sun and a dense planet. The gravity fields of the sun and planet balance to hold the atmosphere in place, while powerful generators keep the atmosphere dense and protect it against the solar wind. This wonder has existed long enough for an entire ecology of exotic beings to evolve there, but it is a total mystery: the builders are unknown and the generators are so small and cleverly disguised that they have never been found.
All drives on the ship are damaged (except the relic drive).
The
mysterious generators interfere with your drives.
The player must pay 100$.
A substantial fine is charged when
the configuration of your engine disrupts part of the biosphere.
No trade is allowed this turn, only one the next turn, unlimited after
that.
"Landing" in a zero-G biosphere isn't like landing on a
planet.
The player may pick up a fare worth 2d6 x 10$ at any planet. Use an unused
marker to indicate it.
An exotic animal for a nearby zoo.
The player may purchase a device this turn at half price.
Zero-G
manufacturing aids in construction of electronic components.
The player receives 100$.
You discover a clue to the generators
maintaining the biosphere.
This hot, humid world is composed of jungle, rain forest, and swamps. Life there is a constant struggle against the billions of life forms that infest it.
Pick a hold on the ship randomly. All contents of that hold are
lost.
A violent creature sneaks on board and isn't disposed of until
one of the holds is wrecked.
Pay 1d6 x 5$.
You suffer severe injuries in the jungle that
require treatment.
Lose one shield marker (including the relic).
The natives steal a
shield from your ship to help contain the jungle.
The player may purchase a shield for half price this return, regardless of
the technology of the race.
Shields are a necessity here, so it's
possible to find a used one cheap.
A port may be purchased this turn at half price.
Local merchants
offer to help build a port to escape the jungle.
The factory may be purchased this turn at half price, but the factory good
must be placed in the bonus cup.
Abandoned factory for sale, cheap,
but initial production was lost to the jungle.
This giant spaceship is designed to carry a whole population of colonists for generations while they travel from star to star at sublight speeds. The ship blundered into orbit around a neutron star, and now it is trapped; it is too massive to escape the star's gravity, and its population is too large to evacuate.
For the ship to next takeoff, it must roll 1d6 and get a result higher than
the number of holds.
Your ship is deep within the gravity well - the
bigger the ship, the harder to get out.
All drives are damaged.
The intense radiation and gravity fields
damage your engines.
Half of a hold is unusable until after the ship leaves the system. The
contents may be sold this turn.
Desperate to escape, some people
occupy part of a hold - it's to risky to the ship to try to remove
them.
Draw a marker from the bonus cup. If it is a demand as normal. If a good it
may be purchased at twice normal price this turn. If it is a far, the player
will receive half the value of the fare immediately to take it on board this
turn.
In its travels the Multi-Generation Ship could have picked up
all sorts of things, but goods are in short supply and fares eager to
leave.
When the ship leaves, it will receive one extra die for movement, and the
player may choose what the number will be.
The Multi-Generation Ship
can still manuever a little to give a boost, and they know the system
well.
May purchase any type of drive this turn for half price, but it will be
damaged.
They won't need it again.
Overpopulation, deforestation, and industrial waste have poisoned the seas, removed the forests, and triggered the "greenhouse effect" on what was once a garden planet. This automatically cured the overpopulation problem, and the survivors are locked in battle to reverse the trend, even as they are evolving to match their new environment.
No trade at all is allowed this visit.
The inhabitants here are to
busy trying to survive to trade.
Pay 1d6 x 10$ upon liftoff, or cannot trade at this system until twice that
is payed.
A fee is charged for the pollutants the ship releases into
the atmosphere.
All available goods in this system must be placed into the bonus
cup.
The factories have been shut down for a while to reduce
pollution.
The good sold this turn receives one and a half its price.
Mutated
survivors desperately need essential goods.
The good bought this turn is at half price.
Evolving inhabitants
have no need for now useless goods.
If the player purchases a spaceport this turn, no one will be allowed to
land on the planet for the rest of the game.
In an effort to attract
trade and reduce pollution, they will grant a monopoly to anyone who builds a
spaceport.
This is a space station as big as a planet, filled with uncountable cubicles and passageways. Once a trillion beings dwelt there but now only a few remain, clustered near the portals in the outer skin. The inner corridors are dark and still, forbidden places of legend.
Lose turns until a 4-6 is rolled on 1d6.
Lost in the unexplored
passageways.
No trade allowed. Must leave next turn.
Caught trespassing in
forbidden area, you are expelled from the station.
Draw an unused "?" marker and encounter it immediately. Do not count any
shields to reduce the cost of a hazard.
A chance discovery in a long
abandoned section.
Roll 2d6, add 3 and multiply by 10%. This is the relative price for the
good if sold this turn.
As the population drops, demand is bound to
fluctuate.
The player may take any normal device except drives from the supply for
free.
An old device is found left behind deep in the
station.
Draw a marker from the bonus cup. If it is a good or fare, the player may
take it aboard the ship or return it to the cup. If it is a demand marker, the
player may keep it and use it the next time he sells the matching
good.
An old good, a unique technique for an existing good, or a lost
soul - who knows what might be found in this place.
This planet was apparently a systemless rogue planet that wandered close enough to a blue giant star to be trapped in orbit. When the planet thawed out it proved to have a nice blend of land, sea, and air, but it is a violent place of hurricanes, earthquakes, and volcanoes, caused by its elliptical orbit and the high-energy radiation from the blue giant.
Cannot takeoff next turn.
Violent conditions prevent
takeoff.
Must takeoff next turn, and will recieve only 1d6+1 for
movement.
Impending storm/quake/eruption forces an emergency
departure.
Either damage a shield, or roll for each good and lose it on a 1-2 on
1d6.
Prolonged assault by the elements overloads defensive system or
destroys unshielded merchandise.
The good sold this turn receives one and a half its price.
Local
supply was damaged recently.
May buy a damaged local device for half price.
Damaged equipment
sold as scrap, but it's just needs some repair.
May purchase factory for one and a half normal price this turn, and receive
factory good for free.
Victim of the latest disaster unloads a unique
"fixer upper".
This sytem survived the fall of the Empire, but it saw constant warfare in the dark centuries that followed. Finally one of the warring planets was reduced to radioactive rubble, leaving the other one, ruined and crippled, to recover in peace.
A randomly chosen device on the ship is destroyed.
Leftover mine
results in damage to the ship.
Resolve a Swindle (rule 15.53) against the player. The species receives
plus one to its roll.
Terrorists attempt to hijack the ship or its
cargo.
Resolve a Revolt (rule 15.542) against the player's facilities, if any. The
species gets plus one to its roll.
Militant group attacks an
off-worlder installation.
The player may purchase any one weapon or shield this turn, regardless of
the technology of the race.
War surplus available for
sale.
The player may resolve one Revolt (rule 15.542) against another player for
free.
Former soldiers offer to sabotage a competitors
property.
At any later point in the game, the player may choose to remove a hazard
marker from the spot his ship occupies.
Locate an old "planet buster"
- useless in ship-to-ship battle, but perfect for fixed
targets.
Except for a few small islands, the surface of this planet is entirely covered by water. Most of the population lives on the giant lily pads that cover the oceans.
Lose one randomly chosen cargo.
That lily pad LOOKED
stable.
No trade allowed this turn, but unlimited still allowed next
turn.
There is a brief delay while trying to find a stable place to
land.
No unlimited trading allowed this visit.
The lily pad is nearly
overloaded already.
Take one good for free.
A pad floats by in the night with some
lost cargo on board.
Any fares may be redeemed for full value, regardless of their intended
destination.
Great place for a vacation.
Unlimited trading allowed this turn.
The merchant you're looking
for lives on one of the small islands - easy to locate.