Mooncurser's Handbook, 42nd Edition

Main Index:

Trading Rules

MALLOX POINT

A Mooncurser safehouse, to be used only in desperate emergencies such as alcohol shortages, impending mother-in-law visits, or looming death from psychotic former Galactic Consortium employees.

The Handbook will only reveal the location of Mallox Point under the most dire circumstances.

Mallox Point is at [47.3243 N, 122.3148 W].

MANKSKIN

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Mantar

The Mantese people have created an economy based entirely on tourism, which is astounding for a planet under perpetual cloud-cover with no remarkable natural features whatsoever. The Mantese chose to compensate by creating artificial attractions and charging exorbitant prices to see them, shrewdly capitalizing on the belief that high prices implies great value.

Mooncursers, on the other hand, believe in quality. The crew delivering the highest combined QUALITY total to a Galactic Consortium trading agent receives the Top Quality Bonus. The crew is paid triple for its cargo before any other bonuses are applied.

Marcus Nembek

Marcus Nembek is credited with discovering the method by which kurgle eggs may be harvested with a pair of andirons. He is not credited with discovering the minimum safe distance from the kurgle when the eggs are missed (which turns out, by the way, to be 42 Instarx).

With this 42nd edition of the Handbook, Galactic Consortium is pleased to offer a Mooncurser Edition Bonus. If the total quality values of a ship's cargo is exactly 42, that ship may double the value of any one other bonus it receives.

Marion hologram

For a brief period after its inception, holography was rife with artistic possibility. Avant garde artists flocked to the medium, exploring an entirely new dimension of self-indulgence and inscrutability. The Geometric Period gave birth to the now-iconic Pyramids Au Jus, the much-imitated Cubes Akimbo, and the tragically misunderstood Spheres I Found Under the Couch. It took the genius of Caruso Marion to break the shackles of the nascent form with works of stunning immediacy that engulfed the viewer in a storm of visceral emotion. By which, of course, we mean pornography.

As with every medium before it, holography soon became dominated by porn. Serious artists avoided the now-stigmatized form as public interest waned and the entire holographic bubble burst. Marion's sudden death in a highly-publicized freak zignaught collapse was a brilliant career move, as the market for his work suddenly skyrocketed. Marion holograms are now the hottest items on the art market.

Markin lures

Now, of course, we know *you'd* never need one of these. But for all those makkas out there who just can't get a flid, the Markin lure can be a lifesaver. Easily slipped into a drink or aerosolized, they are highly profitable for the resourceful entrepreneur who can export them off Linar. The sensors at the spaceport can be fooled by tucking Markin lures deep into a pile of zignaughts, though we've also heard of particularly well-organized crews pumping the control tower full of the stock that didn't quite fit into their cargo bays.

MARQUEE

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MECHANIC

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meteor beetle

A green insect approximately two inches long at maturity, the meteor beetle (also known as the deadbeat beetle) was named for its peculiar mating behavior. Male meteor beetles hurl themselves at the ground, using their horned wings to excavate a cavity in the earth. Females are drawn to this cavity for mating. The males depart the cavity for good, leaving the females behind to lay their young. These larva borrow deeper into the earth, until they eventually mature and leave the nest for good. The soil surrounding abandoned meteor beetle nests is exceptionally fertile.

Military Alphabet

A	Alpha		B	Bravo
C	Charlie		D	Delta
E	Echo		F	Foxtrot
G	Golf		H	Hotel
I	India		J	Juliet
K	Kilo		L	Lima
M	Mike		N	November
O	Oscar		P	Papa
Q	Quebec		R	Romeo
S	Sierra		T	Tango
U	Uniform		V	Victor
W	Whiskey		X	X-ray
Y	Yankee		Z	Zulu

Minor Janthrol

The Janthrol class was the ruling class on Raluria until the Janthrol Death March took care of that slight problem. The Minor Janthrol are the only known survivors of that aristicide. They only survived due to their connections with the merchant class. Who said cedricks couldn't buy freedom?

MOJO

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monofilament

Monomolecular fiber of astounding tensile strength, spun through the specialized glands of a Lynchian sub-species. Since it is only a single molecule wide, monofilament can break molecular bonds and cut through virtually anything. As famously demonstrated by award-winning but not particularly dextrous engineer "Stubby" Bromowitz, it can be extremely dangerous when handled improperly.

MONOPOLY

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Montevoid

An ancient race believed by many to be the first sentient spacefaring race, responsible for the uplift of other races to sentience. The Montevoid disappeared before recorded history. Some say they ascended to a higher plane of existence. Some believe their genetic manipulations created a deadly plague that wiped them out. And some say they're still out there, watching and waiting for their creations to become worthy of their attention. But mostly, nobody really gives a flid as long as they don't show up with blazing space guns and a giant cookbook labelled "To Serve <insert your personal species here>".

moonbloom

A fragrant purple flower of the orchid family, moonbloom blossoms only under the light of all three moons of Faylasi. The pistils of the flower can be brewed into a powerful aphrodesiac, inflaming the subject's passions to such an extent as to become indiscriminate about the object of his attentions. Many a teenager's first sexual experience--and for teens living on a farm, their first therapy sessions--can be traced to a moonbloom-laced beverage.

Mooncurser

An individual of style and means who earns his living out among the stars. The typical Mooncurser captains or crews an interstellar vessel. When it comes to his cargo, he's more concerned about obtaining payment than permission. Mooncursers subscribe to an ethos that values honor and reputation, quality and panache, and above all, freedom: of trade, of worship, of sexuality. Mooncursers believe in facing the universe on their own terms--which, more often than not, means cash in advance.

Moopnar

The hapless Moopnar were wiped out by the Xanjians in a series of goring attacks in the year 5461. Acording to rumor, the Xanjians covered their horns with the deadly poison phenoch prior to the assault.

The Xanjians now have exclusive control over the remote. It would be best to let them keep it at this point.

MOREMUSEUM

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Morse

A   .-
B   -...
C   -.-.
D   -..
E   .
F   ..-.
G   --.
H   ....
I   ..
J   .---
K   -.-
L   .-..
M   --
N   -.
O   ---
P   .--.
Q   --.-
R   .-.
S   ...
T   -
U   ..-
V   ...-
W   .--
X   -..-
Y   -.--
Z   --..
0   -----
1   .----
2   ..---
3   ...--
4   ....-
5   .....
6   -....
7   --...
8   ---..
9   ----.
Fullstop   .-.-.-
Comma   --..--
Query   ..--..

Morse Code

A   .-
B   -...
C   -.-.
D   -..
E   .
F   ..-.
G   --.
H   ....
I   ..
J   .---
K   -.-
L   .-..
M   --
N   -.
O   ---
P   .--.
Q   --.-
R   .-.
S   ...
T   -
U   ..-
V   ...-
W   .--
X   -..-
Y   -.--
Z   --..
0   -----
1   .----
2   ..---
3   ...--
4   ....-
5   .....
6   -....
7   --...
8   ---..
9   ----.
Fullstop   .-.-.-
Comma   --..--
Query   ..--..

MOSAIC

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mosquitapillars

A parasite native to Linar. Harmless in its larval state, the mosquitapillar becomes a bloodsucking terror once it emerges from the coocon. Many tourists are delighted by its large fluttering eyelashes until it sinks its fangs in their nose. Then they are not so much delighted as they are screaming in pain.

murgaleen

A small, furry, completely unremarkable animal that generally divides its time among climbing trees, picking fruit, and making more murgaleens. The locals like to create large parks for them to live in their cities, although they rarely take them as pets. The phrase flidding like murgaleens used to be common, but that figure of speech has been in extremely poor taste ever since the murgaleens' role in the Canary Incident was brought to light.

Murgaleens' prodigious sex drive has a spillover effect on local commerce, and Mooncursers capitalize on this phenomenon by noting that the value of all non-SEX items is increased by three if a SEX item of the same category (ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, MINERAL, or MANUFACTURED) is included.