House Rules · GURPS 4e
Gates & Inner-System Travel
Outer-edge gates, L/M/S parking orbits, shuttle fees, inner-system months — pirates beat response time, not law.
Gates & inner-system travel
Game: Orion Corridor — 2277 · Rules: GURPS 4e at the table GM spine: WCP_Website/campaign-authoring/palimpsest/GALAXY-TRAVEL.md · ECONOMY-AND-UPKEEP.md
Companion: Law levels
Design goal
- Gates are fast between stars — Concord rings are the campaign default.
- Systems are still huge — arrival at the gate is not arrival at the job.
- Two wallets — jump tariff and inner-system time/fees.
- Pirates are normal — even Sol. Response time is the game, not “no criminals.”
Notification: outer-edge gates
Jump gates are built on the outer traffic shell of each mapped system.
| Why (fiction) | Why (table) |
|---|---|
| Queue mass traffic without crossing cities | Separates jump wait from dock wait |
| Screen arrivals once at system perimeter | Navy/customs at shell |
| Keep coupling radiation & traffic away from ports | Drama on the long leg inward |
Player line: “We gated in” ≠ “We’re at the mark.”
Notification: two-speed travel
| Leg | Speed | Paid to |
|---|---|---|
| Gate → gate | Minutes–hours | Concord (tariff, fuel dock, manifest) |
| Gate shell → berth | Hours–months | Fuel, parking orbit, shuttles, inspections |
Sol example: Solaris Gate to Earth approach on legal lanes: weeks to months. Pirates can hit on that leg and be gone before system security agrees it happened.
Parking orbits (L / M / S)
Ports assign parking bands by distance from the primary target (station, dome, yard).
| Band | Daily ₡ (Class II) | Shuttle (per person) | Wait feel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long (L) | ₡140–₡220 | ₡350–₡650 | 1–3 days |
| Medium (M) | ₡280–₡420 | ₡120–₡220 | half-day–day |
| Short (S) | ₡520–₡780 | ₡45–₡90 | hours |
- Scale daily orbit fees by CHC (see ship-class brief on Net).
- Cargo tender: +₡40–₡90 per ton · priority ×1.5
- Station/planet dock berth (inside the port, after shuttle) is extra — corps, wealth, diplomats, or CHC 0 system craft. Gate-rated freelancers default to orbit only.
Shuttle service is always available at treaty ports. Never free.
Inner-system time (table)
| Route | Time |
|---|---|
| Gate shell → parking orbit | Hours–2 days |
| Parking → station (shuttle) | Hours–days |
| Station → inner world | Hours–weeks |
| Hub gate shell → inner port | 2–14 days typical |
| Sol gate shell → Earth (legal) | Weeks–months |
| Planet ↔ planet (same system) | 1–3 days fusion |
Roll ship d100 on long inner legs if you use wear tables.
Piracy (canon)
| Truth | Table use |
|---|---|
| Populated systems still get hit | Traffic = cover |
| Professionals beat response time | Strike → strip → vanish |
| Law level ≠ safe | High law = more paper, not fewer thieves |
| Crime pays at corridor scale | One freighter take > nuisance bounty month |
Common vectors: parking-orbit tender leg, long inner transfer, lane drift, dust/wreck shadow, fake registry.
Response (LL 3 system, if pinged): 3d6×10 minutes — adjust by law level (see Law levels doc).
Typical arrival loop
- Decouple at gate shell — clearance done or pending.
- Assign parking band (L/M/S) — pay daily or argue.
- Queue shuttle/tender — fee, cargo manifest.
- Station work — yards, fixers, customs on the station tier (your hull stays in orbit unless you're corp/wealth or flying a system-only skiff).
- Optional dock berth — pier inside the port; ₡850+/day tier; rarely booked by working Class II crews.
- In-system hop (if job is elsewhere) — fuel + time from parking orbit.
- Work — bounty, cargo, plot.
Quick GM answers
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| “We jumped — where are we?” | Outer system shell. Not the city. |
| “Why can’t we dock now?” | Slot, inspection, orbit band, law hold — pier berths aren’t for freight budgets anyway. |
| “Can pirates hit Sol?” | Yes. |
| “Who responds?” | Lowest relevant law layer + Navy if Sol. |
Player handout: PLAYER-GATES-INNER-TRAVEL-AND-LAW.md (palimpsest handouts)