Canada 2300AD:
Version 'J'
Version 'J'
Last update: July - Fifth Frontier War
What is Version 'J'?
My own, non-canon, "parallel 2300 universe" created to correct some things in the canon that are, in my opinion, just plain wrong in the basic game with respect to Canada [and some items for a few other nations].
What will I find here in Version 'J'?
Corrections to what I consider the most blatant oversights and inconsistencies that went into the background of the 2300 Universe. These are not major alterations, but for the most part refinements of the existing body of work. No damage has been done to the 2300 canon, just minor revisions: this is 2300, Version 'J'.
The "Version 'J' universe" includes:
- population increases for several nations
- new naval designs for ships of the Canadian Space Navy
- an enhancement for one missile design
- a new colony with a tantalum strike, jointly settled with the Scandinavian Union
- lots of background material for Canada
What will I not find in Version 'J'?
There are no major shifts in power between the starfaring nations on Terra. There are no Kafer occupations of earth, nor new allies discovered out on the starlanes. No 'magic' rules are introduced, no man-portable anti-starship antimatter rifles. This is not to say these things could not happen - but that's something for you to discover in your own campaign, not here.
When is Version 'J'?
The information in Version 'J' takes Canada and her possessions from 2300 to the year 2303, just a few months after the Battle of Beowulf as described in GDW's moduleInvasion. The background is much more in-depth than that of the basic game, and will allow a much richer 2300 environment for anyone whose campaign takes them to the Chinese Arm, Canada, or the front lines of the Kafer War.
Why did you write Version 'J'?
I made these changes as a correction for the inconsistencies in the writing of the original source material, and to remove the worst offences against common sense. Only �three hundred families� on Doris after 27 years of settlement, Colonial Atlas?? Please.
Also, this will allow Canada to step up to the plate in the Kafer War. With tantalum, Canada can build a space fleet, one tough enough to take on the Kafers. Working with the Scandinavian Union to defray the costs, it would be easy to set another colony at the far end of the Canadian Finger.
Finally, writing this material off-and-on over months [or years] was a fun way to relax. This is my version of the 2300 universe, where I was able to fix a few things and give my imagination free reign. This is not a radical redesign, but a �tweaking� of the official 2300 universe that I have enjoyed writing.
I find your viewpoint intriguing. How do I discover more about Version 'J'?
Follow the links to read on.
North America Shortchanged: Why do the nations of 2300 North America have only as many people [or fewer] as they started with before the Twilight War, over 300 years ago? Granted, life wasn't a picnic for a while, but Europe got hammered just as bad if not worse, and now you have nations you could throw a long [American] football pass over with twenty or thirty million people. Do Serbia and Flanders really have more people than Texas? Are there more Czechs than Canadians, all shoehorned into a much much smaller area? Why have the people on the North American continent forgotten how to have children?
If "the core" in 2300 really does have the gritty urbanscapes and cybergangs from the sourcebooks, they aren't going to hang out in the landscaped, greenspaced, suburban commuter paradises that Canada and America evidently turned into. Here are the changes you need to put the contrasts and the shadows back in the big cities where they belong.
Mystery Solved: In the first edition of 2300 [named Traveller 2300] there was included in the ship listings the British York-class colony ship. In later editions [like the 2300 AD that I have a copy of] the York is not included. Which made it difficult for me to get an idea of how big the colony on Doris was supposed to be, since the colonists arrived on two Yorks. Now after an appeal to the 2300 board, I have those stats.
Papers, Please: Your Canadian character is crossing the frontier. How will they be received? It depends where they're going, of course.
A Day In The Life: Who is the Prime Minister? Have they reformed the Senate yet? How many seats are there in the Commons? For that matter, what are the parties? All those little political niceties that keep a nation running [or not] that don't often appear in the sourcebooks.
Way too much of a Good Thing: You're playing Star Cruiser. What is the absolute longest you have ever seen a missile stay in play? Five turns? Maybe ten? Then why give the SIM-14 enough fuel for 480 [count 'em!] turns? Want to do something interesting with all that extra mass?
Relax, there's no quiz: A codification of what happened when in Canada's space race.
Key Dates in the Canadian Space Program
For your reading enjoyment: After I designed my new missiles and ships, I gave them a test drive, and gamed out a scenario. Here's the 'translation' of what happened to short-story form - yes, the Kafers really did get a critical computer hit on my brand-new toy. Good thing I put in all those damage control teams!
Where is the new colony? Located at DM +0 4810, a charming K0 V system. See the map of relative locations, the distances table, and the system data on humanity's new home at the far end of the Canadian Finger. Not wanting another Kolonie Zwei burrowed into a rock orbiting a class - M red star, I tweaked the primary up from a crummy K8. Now the new colony has a breathable atmosphere, climate, and an ecosystem.
Also included is information on the systems around Gimli.
The Canadian Space Navy: A listing of all the ships in service, and those under construction, as of the beginning of 2303, and where they are stationed.
Canadian Merchant Ships: Descriptions of Canada's merchant ships - the Hudson 2 upgrade, the Westerner colony ship and W2 upgrade, and the H2Q 'merchant escort' with its own armament suite.
Victoria - Class Destroyer: The first capital ship designed for the new CSN. It might have too much armour for its task, but oh well. Probably it should be classed as a light cruiser, but that's covered in the description.
Nemesis - Class Battlecruiser: The stats and short history of the largest ship class in the Canadian Space Navy - and the fastest warship in human space. From a distance, it radiates like a Kennedy, but it fires more missiles and actually has armour.
Vimy - Class Assault Transport: A joint design and construction project with America and Australia, the Vimy can haul up to 1550 troops plus cargo, has six landers, lots of armour, and moves faster than any colony ship. Just the vehicle to liberate colonies - or take the war to the enemy.
Arrow - Class Fighter: An interceptor design with a massive punch. It costs more than an Aconit-class frigate, less than a Martel-class fighter, and a flight of Arrows can actually destroy a Kafer warship before the Kafer can swat them like flies, the fate of most other human fighters.
Snowball Courier Drone: A common message-carrier along the Canadian Finger, and being marketed throughout human space.
Recent History of the Canadian Space Navy: More background to the sudden explosive growth to the CSN.
State of the 'Finger': Recent happenings in the Canadian Finger.
State of the Canadian Colonies
Canada's Armed Forces at Terra: A brief overview of the growth in the armed forces in response to the Kafer War.
The Kafer War After Beowulf: Events along the French Arm after the Battle of Beowulf - yes the Battle was won, but the Kafers didn't know that. Reinforcements were fed into the Arm by both sides. And after the French Arm is cleared of the invaders, what then?
The 'Wet' Navy: The space navy gets most of the headlines, but there is still shipping on Terra, shipping lanes to protect in times of crisis, and the need to defend your coast from a possible aggressor. The Navy is a vital component of the defenses of most nations, and here is Canada's.
The Air Force: Protecting the skies and projecting force are the jobs of any air force. Here are Canada's aircraft, squadrons, and wings.
The Army: The world of 2300 is a multinational, militarized one. Here is the Canadian Army, charged with protecting Canadian soil and sovereignty, sent around the globe and beyond on missions both of peace and war. For no land is truely under your control until you have boots on the ground in force.
Ranks: An army captain and a naval captain are two very different animals. And where do the air force and space navy fit in?
Canadian Intelligence Services: Everyone wants to know what their opponent is up to, what they are planning, and even what their friends think. Dozens of corporate agencies try to win advantage for their patrons, and must be watched. These are the groups that help the Canadian government defend her interests in the shadowy espionage world.
Asteroid Base Bettina: Starting out as a mining base in the asteroid 250 Bettina, the Canadian Forces Base there is capable of quickly deploying ships out of the system. Located beside the Bettina Yards, the site of almost all of Canadian ship construction, CFB Bettina is a key installation defending not only Earth and the solar system but the outer colonies as well.
GRBs & Doorstops: Gamma-Ray Bursts are not fully understood - but any natural phenomenon that sprays high levels of gamma-rays billions of light-years ranks as a potential hazzard to astrogation. Since the gamma-rays travel at the speed of light, there is no warning of their arrival. One moment you are fine, the next awash in a gamma wave that could fry your ship's computers.
That's why the Doorstop-class tripwire drones were built - squat cylinders of stutterwarp-driven gamma detectors. They get hit by a strong enough gamma burst as they wait at their watching post in deep space, they hurry home to tell you before you get blasted too.
Adventure Seeds & Ideas: A dozen adventure seeds for your gaming pleasure. They can serve as starting points, red herrings, or as a dash of local colour. Written for the Chinese Arm or Canadian space, they can be modified to cover any region you need.
Twilight: 2000 Section
While strictly not 2300, it is background material. Here are items of T2K use, some that directly influence the 2300 universe and some that do not.
Post Twilight War: This is how I imagine the 'unification' of Canada from the problems posed in the official timeline. Breaking out a map and my faithful Challenge Magazine [issue #30] to the article "Canada:2000", I used the listing to plot the locations of all the units. The Quebec units were spread out all over the place, with no way they could support each other - strung out like grapes on the vine. Ripe for plucking. From there, the rest was simple.
DC-3: An article that was accepted for publication in Challenge magazine, but never got printed before GDW went under. It gives stats and background for a WW 2 aircraft that could see use in a post WW 3 environment.
Things to do after an apocalypse: Most player groups in Twilight: 2000 engage in a little reconstruction, at least on a local scale. Some really get into the rebuilding. If you've ever wanted to start rebuilding on a grand scale, from a town to the whole province, here's some information to get you started when you're rebuilding in Manitoba.
Fifth Frontier War Section
The Game: Here's an old one - the Fifth Frontier War was a board game from GDW released way back in 1981. I joined a pbem version of the game, but it died of game delays, player attrition, the usual suspects. But I'd shelled out for the 'Classic Games' reprints book from FFE. What to do?
Luckily I was able to find a few friends who were interested in the game, so now I'm the ref in my own version. Stay tuned for progress.
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