Long term fans of Traveller will recognise the name M J Dougherty as a prolific writer who really knows his Traveller material. So, we were very happy when we finally persuaded him to embark on a new mini-series for Traveller entitled the Referee's Aids, a set of PDF releases designed to provide quick, easy, and above all useful information to the busy referee to round out his campaigns.

The first, Referee's Aid 1: Among the Trojans, was greeted with unanimous approval from Traveller fans. We are now pleased to announce that since then, another four have appeared!

The Type-S Scout/Courier fulfills one of the most basic requirements of any interstellar organisation – be it a government, commercial entity or military force. It is first and foremost a low-cost messenger ship, and although it does have some additional features its overall capabilities are limited by the need to provide an interstellar communications capability at as low a price as possible. 

Referee's Aid 2: The Type-S Scout/Courier provides an indepth look at one of the most common ships in Known Space, along with its variants. It walks you through every aspect of the Scout, with all new 3D deck plans, and provides specific vessels to be used in encounters. 

If you are looking to flesh out the ship many players start with, look no further.

The Type-A Free Trader was developed long ago to provide efficient, low-cost transportation for small cargoes and a few passengers. It is an eminently useable design which has been adapted to many other roles, but ultimately is optimised for moving almost half its tonnage in cargo from one star system to another.

The Type-A is, more than anything else, cheap. Its sensor fit is basic and its flight controls are minimal. It does, however, have a large cargo area and reasonable passenger accommodation, and since these are the tools of its trade, not wasting tonnage or money on anything else can be considered a plus. As a result of its efficiency in the small-transport field, the Type-A is one of the commonest starships in charted Space. It is primarily used by small shipping firms (many of them single-vessel outfits) but is also operated by many governments as a mail ship or even a naval auxiliary. Numerous owner-operators (as distinct from small shipping companies) also find this design effective.

Referee's Aid 3: Type-A Free Trader provides an in-depth look at one of the most common ships in Known Space, along with the A2 Far Trader variant. It walks you through every aspect of the Free Trader, with all new 3D deck plans, and provides specific vessels to be used in encounters. 

If you are looking to flesh out the ship many players start with, look no further.

A star system consists of one or more stars plus whatever planets, comets and asteroids orbit it. Composition can vary a lot but for every star system there is a designated mainworld. This is almost always the most populous planet in the system, and will have this status for some good reason. Usually this means good habitability or resources, though there are sometimes other reasons why a world is settled. Where there is no obvious mainworld, one is usually selected based upon its relative position to the system’s primary (star). This might be an airless rockball in some systems, and another world could in theory be designated mainworld if the system is later settled and a different planet is chosen as the main location.

Written by fan-favourite M J Dougherty, A Guide to Star Systems is an invaluable addition to the Referee's Aid series, exploring the different systems of the galaxy and discovering how they can be used to influence campaigns.

For the very rich, starships are eminently affordable purchases. Although a starship may be bought as an investment, then hired out to other organisations or used for mercantile operations, a yacht is a personal vessel. Most are specially commissioned or refitted to fulfil a specific purpose, and can provide some inspiration of what can be done with an open-ended budget without simply sinking money into armaments. The Type-Y yacht is the merest of what is possible with truly unlimited wealth but provides a classic status symbol recognisable throughout Charted Space.

Built on a 200-ton hull, the Type-Y yacht is a noble's plaything used to entertain friends and undertake political or commercial missions. M J Dougherty takes you through this ship, luxurious stateroom by stateroom, to explore how the other side travel through space.

Look out for more material from Mr Dougherty - as well as more Referee's Aids, he has also been seen steeping off a liner from the Trojan Reach, clutching a datapad and muttering something about investigating a whole subsector...