Traveller General - Piracy Edition

File: bfeb1454b06dcd5207b21510b92bc370.jpg (60KB, 600x511px) Image search: [Google]

60KB, 600x511px

So, since the last thread ended on that topic.

Let's assume we have a TL 15 ship that combines mechanical and biologcal parts.

Most of the hull, structure, some sensors and a primitive control system (brain) are biological while things like weapons, drives, other sensors and the power plant are mechanical.

How could this ship protect itself against the temperatur differences existing in space ?
Complex water circulation system in the outer skin ?

Artifical outer skin for heat regulation and armor ?

I've started collecting various bits of homebrew from our threads. Where should I stick it? (other than the obvious)

File: ANTYWJS.png (203KB, 474x308px) Image search: [Google]

203KB, 474x308px

>>54174865

That old lady is Traveller AF.

>>54175580
https://pastebin.com/G1kb29aT
Fuck it, sticking it on pastebin.

>>54174968
Transpiration of water or hydrogen might be possible but I'm not sure.
>would transpiration work in space ?

But flying close to a sun is in general a bad idea for ships and colonies alike. You know, because of the giant, unshielded fusion power plant nearby.

>>54177179


Nice! Thanks for saving all that stuff.

>>54174968
>Artificial outer skin
Living beings on Earth can handle some pretty extreme pressures, so some form of natural grown, if not still "living", outer skin does not seem like a stretch. Vorlon and Minbari ships, Moya from Farscape, Marvel's Space Whales (X-Men's first Brood saga from back in the day), ST:TNG's Tin Man, and even the Tyranids.

The library master archive was taken down or isn't working any more.

File: Clipboard01.jpg (299KB, 1848x841px) Image search: [Google]

299KB, 1848x841px

>>54183586
Still works for me anon, although I do have a Mega account
Try again a little later, it could just be fucking with ya

>>54174865
Which book should I read first?
There seems to be 5 "normal" editions and 2 from Mongoose...

>>54184871
If you just want to 'play now', Mongoose 2e.

>>54185089
I want to read more about the system/setting before deciding if I want to play but I'll start with that one, thanks.

>>54180306
>Living beings on Earth can handle some pretty extreme pressures

True, but they don't put up with extreme pressure GRADIENTS.

Wile those tube worms living near black smokers along the mid-Atlantic ridge are living in an environment under tons of pressure, the pressure is the same inside and outside their bodies.

Usual Earth norms, the hull/skin of a "living" spacecraft is going to have to constantly withstand ~15psi on one side and vacuum on the other.

>>54181448

That's a really intriguing pic. Care to "explain" it?

>>54185122
Here a short greentext to summarize the setting. Anyone else feel free to correct me if I get it wrong.
> Life naturally evolves on several planets across universe
> one race of bipedal lizard-bird-creatures with wings develops FTL interstellar travel and spreads across universe
> enlist slower civilized species into their servitude
> to fit their purposes, uplift the entire fauna of those few other planets with life and spread naturally evolved and uplifted humanoids onto worlds across universe
> eventually one lizard bird creature develops psion powers beyond anyone's imagining to the point of immortality and omnipotence
> retreats into a universe of his own, other ancients see that he is becoming a threat
> war ensues between one lizard bird creature with enormous psion powers and the entire rest of his species
> psion lizard bird creature wins
> universe full of inhabitable planets and still inhabited by all the uplifted and naturally evolved fauna left behind, psion only wiped out the ancients
> even some fellows of ancient lizard bird creatures remained and are now called Droyne

That's why you have a setting where you meet complete aliens, alternative humans, but also animal uplifts. The gist of it is that even most alien-aliens are actually uplifts of the fauna of other planets. Thus you get incoherent tentacle monsters and elves alongside talking wolves.

>>54185496
Wow, thank you for typing that out!
I'm left with a few questions but I'll figure those out myself.

File: 1274463006517.jpg (16KB, 400x533px) Image search: [Google]

16KB, 400x533px

X-Boat Message
ORIGIN: DNBG0803 DUNMAG
DESTINATION: SWMK0107 WARDN
SENT: 025-1107
RECEIVED: 214-1107
RECIPIENT: Cpt. Tristan Horadric, CO Insufferable Intent (REG WARDYN ML8UD98
READ 275-1107
MESSAGE BEGINS
Dad, I know you're "enjoying" your "retirement", but can't you come home every once in a while? Your granddaughter would like to see you, and not just gifts from Chandlers and local artisans intermixed with holos of you getting shot at.
Seriously, why are you even travelling with a compulsive photographer?
I hope you can send a message back before Ilyia's 5th birthday (remember, it's 319), or maybe even show up yourself.
Or maybe you'll forget that you have a home to come to, just like you have for the last 12 years.
With Indifferent Love, Gloria Horadric

File: living_ship_1_by_parnmkie-d9tuuh1.png (348KB, 1024x528px) Image search: [Google]

348KB, 1024x528px

>>54185368

Cyborg ship anon here.

I'm finally at a point where im sure about some things.

Cyborg ships are possible and their strong side is working in a wide variation of situations, while dealing less well with extremes. Also the fact that the Hull and Structure are mostly biological has the plus side that a good portion of damage will fix itself over time and offer alot of redunacy.

Radiation shielding could work with natural ferric metal deposits across the ship with a copper coil around them, basically natural electromagnets.

Cooling could mostly work by changes of surface are and circulation of water/blood. The warm surface becomes smooth while the hull to the cold site increases their surface. For short amounts of time excess heat could be stored in the on board fuel(water) tanks.
A cold atmosphere is more tricky, but it could work by replacing the water in the outer (and preferably dead) layer of the hull by oxygen, a byproduct of the process which turns water indo fusion fuel.

As blood something like liquid haemocyanin might be the preferred over heamoglobin in the shape of red blood cells. Since blood cells don't deal well with sudden changes of pressure.

Some sensors might be actually be better if organic, some primitive gravitation sensors, optic and a tactile layer in extremeties (like fins on a shuttle/plane) could assist the pilot. High defenition optic sensors, radar, lidar and the like would probably be better if mechanical.

Weapons would also be mechanical because, as said before, mechanical parts deal better with extreme situations... like channeling the power for a railgun shot.

But most of the logistic systems like transport of ammunition, wastes and life support might be much better if left to the ships organs

Overall, organic ships are not better or worse than mechanical ships, they are more of a sidegrade.
A trader, laboratory or yacht would be pretty bad as organic ship, since those have a pretty narrow set of functions to sustain.

File: adventures_of_space_squid_by_justpieit-d6bf9ul.png (522KB, 550x660px) Image search: [Google]

522KB, 550x660px

>>54188449
Over all the whole thing would try to take the good parts of both, mechanical and biological as a cyborg ship.

But organic wise the whole thing would be less of a space whale and more of a space squid (with hard structure) or mollusc

>>54188203
>Alternate version from my fiancee (who is better at writing than me)
X-Boat Message
ORIGIN: DNBG0803 DUNMAG
DESTINATION: SWMK0107 WARDN
SENT: 320-1107
RECEIVED: 144-1108
RECIPIENT: Cpt. Tristan Horadric, CO Insufferable Intent (REG WARDYN ML8UD98
READ N/A
MESSAGE BEGINS
Hi grandpa. Mommy says since I am a whole hand now I can send you a messages like a big girl!
I really hoped you would make it for my birthday but its ok I know your busy. Would you mind
telling your friend to take a picture with you smiling and maybe send it for christmas? Or maybe he could take my picture if you decide to visit. That would be really nice, I really want to meet you.
Love, Iliya.

>>54188709
So...what exactly is this?

>>54189727
Page 9/10 bump content that isn't pictures (>>54188203 )
Followed by my fiancee's version, because she wanted to prove that she could make it sadder.

An archived thread ( the borrowers on sup/tg/) mentioned the roach coach. Does anyone remember that?

>>54194463
Not offhand. Was that the flying bordello, or the convenience store module for the cutter?

>>54194579
Not sure, the reference was in response to a ship that doubled as a fast food joint (with a drive through window, even).
I'm going to guess the cutter (so convert as much of a broadsword to cargo as you can, and you get a home base for it, with space for 2-3 resupply modules to land)

File: Roach Coach Trader Jim's Mobile Bar & Grill! Guaranteed to be off-world before the food poisoning sets in!.png (16KB, 800x600px) Image search: [Google]

16KB, 800x600px

>>54194463

Oh yeah, we had a couple of good threads about this thing.

>>54185089
In terms of getting into the "setting" I would recommend the first book you read is the MegaTraveller "Imperial Encyclopaedia".

any opinions on Mongoose's Secret of the Ancients?

>>54195241
One of the better compilations.

>>54195277
Interesting read. Would have made an interesting novel.
The lethality and power creep is a bit much for my tastes, though. Nothing like the old CT series by that name.

>>54194855
Ah, the inspiration strikes again. My current idea is that megafreighters use 2000dT cargo containers... And then I thought, could I pack the equipment needed for a small colony in one? And could I make it land?

>>54193947
>dude on the right
two what?

>>54195298
which do you think is better?

>>54195503
As you can see from his knee and helmet, he escaped death twice already and is not willing to try his chance a third time.

>>54184871
There are a few more editions than that.

Read Classic, or a Mongoose corebook, unless you're already a GURPS fan.

>>54195503
Two "fuck you I'm not going out there, you go out there"s.

File: rvmodule.png (15KB, 807x580px) Image search: [Google]

15KB, 807x580px

>>54194855
I like that guy's idea of 30dT RV modules with basic built-in engines and optional fairings to streamline them enough for atmosphere work.

>This is the Traveller version of the ubiquitous Winnebago. These will be found in retirement-friendly systems and tourist spots throughout the Imperium. Owners of starships dedicated to module transport often organize package tours for RV module owners: "Dock your home and see the wonders of the universe! Relax in our casino lounge and get to know your neighbors for the voyage."

Fairing is 3dT and allows better speeds, and there's a 4.5dT microtug for transporting RVs with damaged engines.

I've always kind of liked the idea of a universe with mostly small craft, and the jump ships being huge affairs that small craft hop on board to travel between systems. Handwave, handwave, maybe M-drives only work on hulls under 100dT of volume because of the reactionless field generation requirements, while J-drives don't work on anything under half a megadton? Cue scheduled planetoid jumpships, possibly independent of local system authorities, either as a spacing guild thing or simply taking the 3I's "ruling the space between worlds" thing to extremes.

>>54185368
>That's a really intriguing pic. Care to "explain" it?
Not entirely sure about this one! Perhaps those pillars are conductors for electrical storms, much like the iron trees on Thorwald in the Solomani Rim. This creatures spectacular thunderstorms which in turn attract "nightgaunts", huge bat-like creatures which harvest the electrical current through osmosis and use it as sustenance. The visiting starship is a tourist vessel or noble's yacht enjoying the spectacle.

>>54185368
In the early US spaceflight days, they operated at a reduced pressure to help address this problem.

Apollo used 5 PSI of pure oxygen (which contributed/exasperated apollo one's fire).

If you were designing (breeding? growing? a spaceship with a hull made of living matter, I'd want to explore having it's 'skin' to be several layers of a semi-porous spongelike material, so while the outer layers are exposed to vacuum, each layer a couple of psi above the previous layer until you reach a comfortable pressure.

Essentially to mechanically hold onto gas similarly to how the earth does through gravity.

>>54197970
We could apply a cost reduction to small craft. This makes them even more available to the common public without decreasing PC ship options. This also gives you huge carriers for small ships.
Otherwise we end up with Battletech, where the PCs have to wait for a jump-carrier to show up in system before they can go anywhere.

>>54202532
I mean, hell, we could fluff it as a small craft needing less of the integral systems required for a jump capable craft. Even the spaceships need those, in case a later owner refits them to have a jump drive.

>>54201351

Yeah. multi layered skin is pretty much the norm, downside of the human skin in vacuum is the fact that we need to take in some of our oxygen through it.

It would be also helpfull if the outmost layer reflects infra red radiation while also absorbing heat from sourrounding matter to radiate it away.

Otherwise a two layer skin sytem could also work, like scales. The outer layer reflects IR and the lower oneradiates heat away. Ad some muscles to expose the second layer to the vacuu, so you can regulate the heat.

>>54202532
but Battletech's FTL is almost as 'bad' (read: limited) as Traveller's

>>54203415
Yeah, but its like waiting for the bus. Nobody wants to do that in a game.

>>54204651
It could work, it'd just mean the game location wasn't a subsector but a system, and you can fit a lot of junk in a system, and get around it pretty fast with a drive capable of sustained 2g or higher.

You'd only jump when you were leaving the setting for a new one, or desperately running to get on the jumpship and out of local jurisdiction.

>>54204748
You could also go EVE style and use jumpgates that have on/off cycles. This still has almost the same effect, since it makes the focus on small ship, with naturally limited interstellar travel.
This actually gives me an idea for an interesting ATU: what if there were Ancient jumpgates with ranges measured in hundreds of parsecs? How would this effect the spread of interstellar governments and trade?

>>54206066
it'd end up very mass effect island chain style, tiny clusters of a couple parsecs of settlement around each gate, not much more than that

>>54206097
Up until the limits of the gates were reached. If its a loop, is full of dead ends, or even just a small number of them, you would have people expanding away from the gates as worlds easily reached became over populated.
We could also put another interesting restriction on them: no gate shares a system (or even a subsector) with another one. This requires a long haul between the gates, thus opening up more raw volume for settlement and trade. Add in jump geography, and you get even more required volume for j1 haulers to make the route. Or would it be massive fleets of j6 couriers between gates?

>>54203067
Of frills, like one of those dinosaurs. I forgot how much a challenge heat is.

>>54206872
Optimal solution would be frills with an outer layer that give of heat radiation as well as reflect it at the same time, but i fon't know how feasible that is...

On the other hand, the ship is supposed to be TL 15

>>54208068
It stores heat in various materials, waiting until they turn liquid or almost gaseous from the energy build up. It then expells the materials, thus dumping massive amounts of heat at once.

>>54208193
.... so it sweats through bone/chitin/carbon plates ?

>>54208331
Or it pisses liquid sodium every once in a while.

Another idea, for ones that will be loitering in an area with LOS to the local sun is a bodily process that allows them to build a solar shield that isn't attached to them.

>>54208626
Like scatting a cloud of sand infront of them ?

The liquid sodium idea sounds neato, but i think that we have hit a point where we have a problem that could be solved by different ideas.

Some Organic ships could make great use of the sodium solution but my players are pirates so i think that a more natural approach will also work well enough.

The on board water tanks will suffice for short trips closer to the sund and function as heat storage.

And i think i will stick with the heat radiator frills/scales. If my players want to nail more metal bits into their ship, they can but i would prefer if it has as much cyberware as it needs and as less as possible.

>>54208819
Like scattering a cloud of sand, except with spiders webs is kind of what I was thinking. I was also thinking of shedding a specific layer of skin and letting it float in space to provide solar shielding. A possible route for ones that just spawned, to protect the young?
But yes, we could go a few hundred ways at this point. Heat radiators will work pretty well, but something must be said for the efficiency of 3-dimensional radiator structures.

>>54209147

3-dimensional radiator structures are pretty sweet, that's for sure.

So far my ship is pretty much a space faring cyborg mollusk at this point.

Basically you have multiple hollow rooms withing the ship and have some sort of bone/chitin/cartilage plating growing from rather thin living tissue.

If they are grown i would assume that they grow in shallow water and reproduce asexually by creating something that is basically a clone of themselve, you don't want a lot of mutation in your spaceship production line.

>>54195503
Found the American.

>>54194855
>>54197970
It's bugging me that not only is there no means to go between floors, there is no space allowance for it either.

>>54209675

Overhead iris/deck iris at the bottom end.

>>54209675
>>54209860
Specifically, inside the 2 parts labeled "access lock" (one in front, one in back). Notice the circle in there, then check the key.

>>54209331
>space faring cyborg mollusk

Sounds like a good name for a band

Does anyone else feel that plenty of DGPs stuff is as good a generic workbook as the standard GURPS supplement? Cause I'm getting that vibe off of it.

So I've been working on an ATU where there is no Imperium. In it's place is an ISO like organization that has a couple of departments that you would expect from the 3I (Scouts, TAS, Starport Authority), and a giant manual of standards, called the Stellar Trade Union.
Its mission: To boldly explore new potential markets, to to maintain the standards that ease interstellar trade, and help facilitate the rise of the galaxy out of the ashes of the Fourth Long Night.
I really hope to capture the old-school, pre-3I feeling that Traveller had.

>>54195965
The narrative difference is Raiders of the Lost Ark vs MIB. Cumulative clues leading to a cool thing vs "Chapter 1: everything you know is wrong, now here's your big gun"

>>54212765
Grand Survey and Census (CT) and their MT update World Builder's are broadly applicable toolkits for worlds.

>>54212852
It helps if there used to be some sort of large scale government or (attempt at) monoculture to instill enough respect for those organizations to let them do their work. Like the legend of the USPS in Brin's 'The Postman', or the modern beliefs about Arthur's knights or the golden age of the Samurai. Standards of behavior, respect for institutions from the good old days, and just enough modern reminders to keep the beliefs fresh, and those organizations will have the stature they need to function even in areas where they technically have no authority or protection.

>>54213184
The Patrol, from Norton's books, is an SF example of both the institution and the type of setting described.

>>54209953
Although really, if you're selling RVs to the old and retired, stairs would be a big deal. Maybe they have low-G grav plating instead?

>>54209616
"two what" anon here, as I am definitely not American, what led you to say that? Genuinely curious.

File: Mollusk.jpg (303KB, 1487x1000px) Image search: [Google]

303KB, 1487x1000px

So i made a deckplan for an biologic ship.
It's still work in progress but i would be happy to hear your thoughts about it.

Please be gentle, it's my first ship.

As for purpose: 200 dT raider

>>54217823
Nice, I like the shape, it reminds me to Moya and the B5 shadows.

>>54213625
Make it a zero-g zone and give handholds. Easier than stairs, and allows you to bring a walker or wheelchair with you. Add in a couple vents directed to drift things down to the floor.
Its like the airvents on the ISS, or that one strip from Free fall: in theory, unattended objects in zero-g will remain where they are, or will drift until they hit a surface. In practice, all unattended items will end up on an airvent cover.
>>54213184
That's what I'm going to be putting in for the history. This is the Fourth Long Night known to them, and plenty of tales remain from previous empires to make people see them as a sort of Regent for the next one.
The sheer economic incentives they give for working with them don't hurt either. For example, if a world decides to join (declares commitment to compliance with the standards), its local currency is traded at a 1-1 with the credit for the next five years. This does make it easier to pay the "consultancy fees" to maintain the Standards Compliance office (its basically a member tax), and they advertise your planet with news reports of compliance and brochures on trading opportunities.
The SPA will cover up to 75% of the cost of building and running a Starport (size dependent on local astrography, government desires, and world population), takes a 0.5% tarrif, and shares the profits of all fees and tarrifs with the locals at a ratio equal to how the costs are split.
The TAS (thinking of calling it something different, like the Spacers Guild or something) has multiple levels of membership, and covers certification of skills, in addition to regular TAS stuff (costs decrease according to membership level).
The X-Boats (J6 here), are mostly internal and news, but worlds can buy access to them for government use.
Scouts have the prestige of the 3Is Imperial Navy.
Any other things I should look at?

>>54218563
The official setting is arguably seeing its third, if you count the long quiet after the Final War to be the first, the usually labeled Long Night the second, and the one-two punch of Virus and the Empress Wave bringing on the third. Like the aftermath of the Final War, the Virus and Wave combo virtually depopulates Charted Space, so it'll be a long recovery.

>>54218942
This is the fourth one since humanity (and its Ancient distributed derivatives) have expanded into space.
I should probably rough out some ideas for what caused each one. Economic collapse is one, wide spread civil wars is another, any other ideas?

>>54219791
Regional or larger natural disasters, from supernovae suddenly occulting jumpspace for many parsecs or at an important travel junction, to mysterious events like the Ashen Stars.

If you have the Mongoose Zhodani book, read the bit about the artifact they triggered accidentally. Now imagine if kept going.

Wars need to be "civil" to shut down a large state. The exhaustion and infrastructure damage can happen regardless.

>>54220011
Wars need NOT be civil, that is.

File: Finished Mollusk.jpg (387KB, 1487x1000px) Image search: [Google]

387KB, 1487x1000px

Finally done, the finished 200dT raider.

>>54220011
Oh, that's nice and nasty.
So here's what I got so far
1st collapse: wars and raiders, both following a sort of wave front/venn diagram as two or more powerfully psionic groups forcibly enlisted entire worlds in fights to the death over ancient artifacts they couldn't even use. General infrastructure collapse, but a quick recovery, minus the psionics
Second collapse: the madness wave. From a then unknown epicenter, a huge wave crashing through 45% of known space, causing portions of the population to become feral murders, others to just give up and die, and yet others were immune. Psions were also less effected, and could help shield others from the wave. Long ass recovery time, as the insane population went full reaver.
Third collapse: economic, followed by civil wars and raiders.
Fourth collapse: the rearranging. Empire of that time triggered what they thought was a regular, semi-understandable Ancient weapon. It first knocked almost all ships in known space out of jump space, made it even harder to get into, and then shuffled the map. It took 600 years for jump-1 drives to work again, and everybody had inaccurate maps. On the other hand, you could see out of your jump bubble now.
And the four or more precursor races had spread various useful servant species around a lot of the galaxy.

>>54220942
Double check your deck positions. At first glance, it looks you misplaced your iris valves.
Other than that, it looks great.

>>54221016
The weapon of the fourth collapse was a simple crystalline globe, five hundred meters across, with wires of platinum, lanthanum, and other unknown materials embedded in the structure. It was recovered from a system that was beyond the extent of the first imperial era, which also contained an incomplete Dekopi Ring.
Dekopi Ring: named after an erroneous transliteration of a corrupted audio file that dealt with the probable origin of a legend about a legend from the natives of the system that the first ring was discovered in. These are giant rings, 3AU in radius, each surrounding a star. 7 large streams of visible energy go from points on the ring to the star, performing an unknown function. There are 9 known ones, and it was over these that the wars of the First Collapse were fought.
Their actual function is unknown, but it is rumored that they, or an artifact taken from them, is what gave the Mind Lords of that era their great powers (at referee's discretion, a character can gain incredible psionic power from these, unknown methodology. PSI is rolled as 2d6x50, and is recovered completely within an hour. Almost every talent can be gained, and is gained at level 10, before adding (2d6+PSI DM)*2 levels to each. Not suggested for PCs).
They most likely cage something, such as the weapon that triggered the fourth collapse.

>>54221540
Don't let your players get this. Average PSI would 450, with a DM of +148.
This means every talent is, on average, 320.
On the other hand, incredibly powerful psions who could enslave entire planets, which might be right up your groups alley.
Geez, my dad didn't leave an impression of grand historical scale on me, no, not at all.

>>54221163
Thank you, i hope my players will like it too.

Yeah i messed up the valves, thanks for noticing.

>>54221016
Shuffled the map?
It moved star systems around and stuff?

>>54222428

I assumed he meant it shuffled the jump map, not necessarily the actual-space map. That would be even crazier.

>>54222428
>>54222766
It might have... Consider this:
The Dekopi Rings contain artifacts that imbue effectively random people with intense Psionic power (I also decided that they could then imbue people in turn with lesser levels of power). They were also built by one of the more recent Ancient races. An unfinished one was the site from which a super weapon was recovered. Is it unreasonable that it would be something as crazy as that?
Possibly. But psions get the impression that the Rings contain something extremely dangerous, and with tales of two Mind Lords fighting to keep the Rings from being messed with, and tales of several others deciding that they needed to break the Rings and remake the universe...
I might have gone full Lensmen with the ancient history.

>>54213683
You didn't recognise the archer's salute, so the other anon figured you were American. After all, there's only two countries on the internet.

For context, raising two fingers like that is the British version of the middle finger. The scorched guy is basically telling his commander to go fuck himself, cause he isn't going to risk another peek at the invincible armour with the death gun.

>>54222968
Learn something new everyday... thanks anon !

>>54223010

The origin of that "V" hand gesture is, allegedly, in a war between the English and French. The French hated English archers, and so they chopped the first two fingers off any English archers they captured. The English stuck those two fingers up at the French as a gesture of defiance - "Haha, you haven't caught me!"

This story is disputed by historians, but my history teacher taught it so we could all have an excuse to flick a V at him.

>>54223492
I heard much the same thing, bit it was the English punishing the Welsh longbowmen (the English didn't have those until they stole them from the welsh). The welsh then had another variant, with those two fingers down and the rest extended - "you can't stop me".

>>54223592
In all likelihood, neither of our stories are true, and flicking the Vs is one of those folklore things that just doesn't have a real explanation.

So to practise the system and GMing online, I want to start a solo campaign. What do you suggest for where to start and with what?

I'm using MT1e.

>>54224714
Depends on what you mean by solo. In other games, it !means 1 player, and 1 DM. In traveller, it means tabletop masturbating games, I mean, you are the player and the referee in one. There's some good solo resources, and they focus mostly on trying to make a buck via the trade systems while dealing with random events. Start anywhere.
If you have a single player, give them JOAT 3 after they muster out and run the game of "highly skilled bum for hire, will work to get out of here"

File: pacha space2.png (263KB, 557x605px) Image search: [Google]

263KB, 557x605px

Is there a way to play Traveller without reading a bunch of books? I just want something I can do with a few friend. I started reading SR5 and it's just this slog to try and get through to play.

The only thing I know about traveller is that it works off d6 and it is make your own space man. Also that, when you roll it determines what happens to you/flow charts?

>>54226231
You only need the core book for your edition, everything else is optional addons for specific campaign types.
Unless you're using T5, in which case get either Classic or Mongoose (1e, since 2e makes you buy two books that should've been one). Boom, done.
Character creation involves going through your pre-adventuring history, measures in terms of service (4 years). Then you retire/quit, roll some benefits, and have a midlife crisis involving buying a ship, leaving home, trying to make money, and getting shot at.

has anyone ever run post Mongoose SOA games with the augmented agents? It SEEMS like a bad idea, hard to balance, but I'd like a second opinion

>>54226563
>Unless you're using T5, in which case get either Classic or Mongoose

I played with someone and we did the character creation thing. Do I have to read anything before doing something like that and/or is it extensive?

>>54226898
Eh, getting a basic idea of their TU is the best idea - you don't want to fluff your career as an Imperial Marine if there is no Imperium, for example.
If its an OTU game, all you really need to know is that there is a massive (11k worlds) Imperium, and it gives no fucks until you start fucking with free trade.

bumping for the best named ship: beowulf

>>54225198
>In other games, it !means 1 player, and 1 DM.

No it doesn't, that's a one-on-one game, or head-to-head game as TSR called it.
Solo gaming was a thing in wargaming long before RPGs even existed, and have been a part of various RPGs ever since. Pathfinder has solo modules, as did World of Darkness, GURPS, and probably a half dozen other systems I forgot.

>>54224714

Look into a GM emulator, Mythic is the big name, but there are a bunch of others, too.

>>54226563

Buying a ship is optional. If you don't have a ship to start, you can ignore like half the rules.

>>54227816
Tunnels and Trolls, and The Fantasy Trip, for that old time 70s origin.

I can't decide should I play Cepheus or Mongoose? what are the biggest differences?

>>54226231
Y'might also consider Cepheus. I think the core rulebook for that one's a freebie?

File: 1456118992494.jpg (282KB, 972x761px) Image search: [Google]

282KB, 972x761px

>>54229300
on the wrong computer for the nicely written up list, but here goes:
Cepheus is essentially Mongoose 1e with the serial numbers filed off. What you really want to know is what the difference is between Cepheus/1e and Mongoose 2e, which is generally as follows:

- some skills have been reworked in 2e (athletics is a background skill, computers has been mashed into electronics, so you don't have 5 luddites flying a ship), and homeworld skills is a suggestion, not a rule anymore.
- 2e cuts out a lot of the weird, horribly balanced material in a lot of 1e's early supplements (Mercenaries and the Robot supplement, in particular) while integrating some minor material (such as ship components from Aliens 3: Darrians) into Core.
- particularly, one of 2e's standouts is the simple, but effective, close sliding scale of personal/vehicle and starship scales, which is much better handled than in 1e.
- 2e also does away "Hull Classes", instead relying on generic percentages, which means you can make, say, a 24 dton ship, instead of being pigeonholed into narrow definitions.
- vehicles in 2e is much better handled than in 1e (yes, we all liked doing m3 calculations, but they're tedious)
- conversely, starship construction is no longer in the core rulebook and is split into its own book, which shouldn't matter if you're just looking the stuff up in the archive.
- Also, because it's Mongoose, there's some pretty poor editing issues, and 2e, like parts of 1e, still has references to rules that don't explicitly exist (morale checks, for example).

Personally, as much as I empathize with what Cepheus is doing, Mongoose 2e's ever slightly more refined rules, particularly for spacecraft and vehicles, are just enough for me to prefer it.

File: robotech_zbr_02_mk_iv_officer_s_battlepod_by_chuckwalton-d97tpjf.jpg (3MB, 3570x2391px) Image search: [Google]

3MB, 3570x2391px

>>54230104
>I think the core rulebook for that one's a freebie?
Is that also pretty light and not a lot of reading. I'd like something maybe that's more RP and less reading a ton of shit and having to look up this and that (I'm familiar with d20 mostly).

>>54226231
Traveller would be a great option for a first time, one of the reasons I love the system is how concise the core book is.

Though I'd suggest you go Mongoose, to be specific.

File: wtf am I reading3.png (10KB, 754x406px) Image search: [Google]

10KB, 754x406px

>>54232790
I'll go for it, but I don't really want to read much. I also don't know much about Traveller. Willing to read stuff later, though.

SR5, Path and 5e has kinda burned me out. Path and SR5 and big ass books (I know they combined players and DM books together), but jesus... 500 pages is such a time fuck. Guess I'm just used to reading small-ass internet paragraphs or something.

>>54232919
>>54230731
Congrats, here's what you need to know about how to do anything: roll 2d6, add the modifier from your stat (changes according to task, because literally almost every skill can be used with any stat), and add the skill level then the task type penalty. Aim for 8+. All your stats and skills fit on an index card, with room.

>>54230446
I've only played 1e Mongoose, but I definitely think I'll move up to 2e now. Thanks, Anon

>>54233478
>Aim for 8+.
Appreciate it.

We rolled our stats. There's not way for the players to aim for 8+, right? Or are you saying the DC checks I make up should be 8+? Sorry if I'm misunderstanding something simple.

>>54230446
Indeed, that's exactly what i needed.
its 2e then.

>>54233873
Okay, the standard/only DC is 8. The difficulty of a task is represented by a positive or negative modifier to the roll itself (but you can always hide the difficulty and just adjust the DC +/-2 per step - just remember that number when you to calculate effect, if needed. Effect is roll-DC, and is used for some things). As a note, we often shorten "roll 2d6, target 8+" to "Throw 8+ with (modifiers like stat, skill. Difficulty usually just increases the throw number in this notation)"

>>54230446
Okay, that makes 2e a lot more palatable. I'll just ignore the cap on total skill ranks, since you go over it with enough terms.
I'll probably stick with 1e, since that's the physical book I have and that's the only way to get game actually started in my house...

Okay, here is what I got for history and game style.
The current era is Recovery and Pocket Empires, sort of like TNE and Milieu 0 for the OTU. The overall style can be best be described as Post-Lensmen.
The Ancient Era: Unknown to -200,000. Four galaxy spanning races existed at various points in this era, but placing them precisely is hard thanks to various members of these raves engaging in temporal manipulation. The presumed oldest is the Progenitors, who reached the Singularity and disappeared. They were potentially extragalactic as well, with a few recovered starmaps showing (past all the corrupted and undecipherable data) extensive colonies in multiple galaxies. The next were the Forerunners, who hit about TL27, with possible enclaves hitting the singularity. Reason for disappearance, unknown, possibly moving to a new galaxy. Following them were the Prometheans, who hit approximately TL25 before tearing the galaxy apart in a giant war and dying off. The last were the Ancients, who hit a TL of 29, but also achieved a possible Psionic Singularity. They too factionalized and fought a massive war, possibly with time displaced members of previous races. Their surviving facilities cover the most stellar geography, and they built big (see the Dekopi Rings). Their death and final war also caused enough devastation to delay effective empire building afterwards.
Members of all four races genetically engineered various servant races and ecologies that they spread around, with almost half of them being limited spread experiments.
The Unknown Period: -200,000 to -8000. This period is mostly unknown, with various bits of history being unearthed via archeology. Presumably, the remnant artifacts and damages of the Ancient Era caused severe issues.
The First Imperial Period: -8000 to -6500. Characterized by the Mind Lords, incredibly powerful Psions. Ended with the Psionics Wars, which enslaved entire planets.
The First Long Night: -6500 to -6000.
(Cont)

>>54235373
Second Imperial Period: -6000 to -5600. Ended with the Madness Wave.
Second Long Night: -5600 to -4000.
Third Imperial Period: -4000 to -2400. Ended with an economic collapse and wars.
Third Long Night: -2400 to -2100.
Fourth Imperial Period: -2100 to -957. Ended with the closure and rearranging of Jump Space.
Fourth Long Night: -957 to -75.
Current Era: -75 to STU Year 517 (current year). Sometimes called the Fifth Imperial Era.

>>54235486
I guess I have to wonder how these impact the modern day of the campaign.

>>54236392
Mostly in the form of artifacts. I'm going to leave them at a few sentences each, and then expand the STU's history to rough outline.
I'm also not going to map everything, and will just have rules to help create the local pocket empires of what ever sector/district you're in, since I'm planning on putting this up online one day.

File: 9c7af4bed54ac2f79c3554c445064500.jpg (19KB, 564x372px) Image search: [Google]

19KB, 564x372px

>>54234900
>I'll probably stick with 1e,
Well, for what it's worth, the player-side of things is very light-weight and essentially transferable between Mongoose 1e and 2e (apart from some tiny skill changes). You can use the ship creation, vehicle rules, etc., from whatever/wherever else you want (CT even!), so I would suggest at least checking out the ship rules in 2e.

>>54237718
I just did and I am sold (come to me, Gypsy Fleet!). Most of the skill changes seem to make sense as well. Vehicle rules are basically what I expected, and its mecha time.
So it looks like I'm hacking MT' system creation (or maybe TNE or T4 or T5 if those are any better), with all sorts of shit pulled from wherever (like some of B5's psi), into MgT2.
So I just make a mecha powered by ancient artifacts that was piloted by a Mind Lord and see how the players respond.
Okay, that era of MTU seems like it would be fun. For Psions.

>>54238024
Gypsy Fleet?

>>54239893
Nomadic spacers, obviously. The biosphere really helps with that, since it cuts one more tie to surface trade (so they do it because they want to, not because they need to make a buck, now).

>>54239893
Im also making the space RVs commonly available.
I might have to make pensions reasonable though, it means nothing to be a higher rank other than more bennies right now.

Rebuilt pension system
Pensions are gained upon the fifth term of service. Base pay per year is cr2000 per term, with a bonus of cr2000 per rank obtained. In case of commission, the bonus is increased to cr3000 per rank.
Consolidated tables
Base pension
>5 terms KCr10
>6 terms KCr 12
>7 terms KCr 14
>8 terms KCr 16
Rank bonus
>R0 +Cr0
>R1 +Cr2000
>R2 +Cr4000
>R3 +Cr6000
>R4 +Cr8000
>R5 +KCr10
>R6 +KCr12
Officer bonus
>O1 +Cr3000
>O2 +Cr6000
>O3 +Cr9000
>O4 +KCr12
>O5 +KCr15
>O6 +KCr18
So an Admiral of 8 terms would have a yearly pension of Cr34,000, or not enough to make most mortgages. Guess you need those ship shares real bad, even then!
>An Admiral hauling cargo? Where's your palace?
>have you seen my pension? Some planets I can't even rent a studio apartment with it!

>>54243226
The Winter-Bangor Model 29 Space RV.
50 ton standard hull, light - MCr 1.875
Budget M-Drive 2, inefficient (6.5 power points required) 1 ton, MCr 1.5
Budget TL12 Fusion Plant 1.5, inefficient (produces 16.875 power points) MCr 1.125
Fuel 3 tons (20 months endurance)
Bridge 3 tons MCr 0.5
Computer/5 MCr 0.03
Basic Sensors
2 staterooms 8 tons MCr 1
2 biospheres (aquaponics) 2 tons MCr 0.4
Common space 8 tons MCr 0.8
Airlock 2 tons MCr 0.2
Cargo 21.5 tons
Base cost (standard design) MCr 6.687
Mortgage, new Cr27,863
Monthly maintenance Cr669

A fairly cheap design, this craft is still livable with little to no input costs. Popular with retirees who want to stay in space, its long endurance, decent cargo space, and ability to support 4 people indefinitely (minus the occasional resupply for the aquaponics) makes it a very attractive option, especially for those who have managed to garner several ship shares.
In any system, most of these can be found wandering the belt, performing small shipping tasks for the prospectors (making their most common nickname "Grandparents", made even better by the married and grandparent status of most owners) and selling their fresh produce to them, often in exchange for spare parts. Those who build up a good rep are often gifted with surprise payments towards their mortgage from complete strangers.
Multiple variants exist, usually modifications to the cargo bay for additional tasks. The most common one is the emergency responder, usually paid for by the belter community as a whole. It upgrades the p-plant and M-Drive to standard models, then jacks them up to as high as possible before adding a medbay and a few emergency low berths. The grandparents of such a craft usually inspire the rest of the system to put more effort into medical services in the belt (they're 90 fucking years old, why are they having to step in where we should be?!)
Per tradition, they only give you cookies if you've been a good belter.

>>54244628
Correction, the power plant is 1.75 tons and produces a bit over 19pp, to account for the power draw of the biospheres. Cargo has been dropped to 21.25 tons, and endurance is a bit over 17 months.
This increases costs thusly:
Price 6,855,750
Mortgage 28,566
Maintenance 686

>>54235373
>Mind Lords, incredibly powerful Psions. Ended with the Psionics Wars, which enslaved entire planets.

Do you have an average number of dice for a Mind Lord? 6, 12? plot convenience?

>>54244628
>Per tradition, they only give you cookies if you've been a good belter.
This is good.

2dT is a lot of aquaponics to be a standard feature, though - I'd assume it's more of a storage room that's commonly converted to aquaponics, because you can stash a lot of food in that volume.

>>54244874
Yeah, but each ton negates the life support cost of two people. The designers went ahead and assumed double occupancy of both staterooms, and put in enough aquaponics to fully support that crew level.
>>54244797
Mind Lords rolled 2dx50 for their PSI.
Their directly created subordinates rolled 2dx25
then 2dx10, followed by 2dx5, 2dx2, and then 2d+2.
One population of roving spacers is going to have that last PSI roll on 8+ (10+ for men, since stereotypes).

>>54193947

Battle Dress is so fucking rad.

>>54245330
DAMN son...how the fuck do you balance this thing?! that's some low level phoenix force shit there

>>54245653
I think the idea is that any Psi Lord older than fourth generation is long dead.

File: Lensmen-1170x775.jpg (198KB, 1170x775px) Image search: [Google]

198KB, 1170x775px

>>54245713
They died out about 6500 years before the game starts. None are known to survive, unless they used an ancient artifact to displace themselves in time.
Could be worse, I could've had it as 2dx100, but yes, it is ridiculously powerful. You can't balance it, you can only escalate and hope they don't escalate back.
>>54245713
A few artifacts, recovered by followers of the MInd Lords, have survived to the present day. THey grant, seemingly at random, 2dx2 PSI, who may then upraise up to PSI number of 2d+2 bloodlines (ability to have it decreases with generations until 8+, with some exceptions).
But yes, massive armies of psions were in that era, and I went FULL LENSMEN ON THAT BITCH.

File: tumblr_osjirpKtrR1sndzdgo1_1280.jpg (55KB, 564x766px) Image search: [Google]

55KB, 564x766px

>>54246403
That pic has a great Solomani feel to it

>>54244628
>(making their most common nickname "Grandparents", made even better by the married and grandparent status of most owners)
This is so comfy it hurts, Anon

>>54249221
Its old people in a space rv flying around an asteroid belt, its supposed to be comfy.

So, one question, can relate to both, but mostly refers to MT1e. So the vargr use charisma right? I want to know something. You roll charisma with 1d6+2. So assuming it operates like any other stat, best case scenario, you get an 8 and thus a modifier of 0. Not-best-case scenario, you get something ranging from 3 to 5, in which case you even get a negative modifier. So at best, 0, at suboptimal, -1 but all the qualifications, and in some careers, survival and advancement rolls are also charisma rolls. Isn't that a bit - inhumane? Or did I get how this works completely wrong and you're supposed to add the stat itself to the roll?

>>54252126
Wrong, vargr cha is 2d6. Not sure where you got the 1d6+2 from.

>>54252421
From Alien Module 2: Vargr from MgT 1e.

Though the 1e core rulebook just says they replace Social Standing with Charisma, it give no modifiers.

As for 2e, the core rulebook makes no reference to Charisma at all. Vargr have Social Standing.

>>54252126
That is only the starting amount. You can raise it and lower it through success and failure (Alien Module 2, page 33). Vargr society is all about proving yourself. If you haven't proven yourself (and therefor have a higher Charisma), other vargr won't listen to you or follow you.

File: K11.jpg (287KB, 600x1003px) Image search: [Google]

287KB, 600x1003px

>>54252622
also, they tattoo their fur, err...paint it, bit like pic related

>>54252560
Huh, that is pretty weird.
>>54252622
Here comes the problem: Hit 10+ with an often negative CHA DM to gain CHA (although you can add leadership in some circumstances. The best way is to hope like hell that you gain several CHA bonuses during careers, but thankfully most of their CHA based advancement rolls are fairly easy.

Overall, I would say increase it to 1d+4, allowing the Vargr PC a better chance of getting through their careers. Of course, the lack of really high CHA Vargr, and the ease of gain and loss, is part of what drives them into small, mostly poor, groups of individuals desperate for any chance at glory.

So I want to reduce the costs of spaceships (particularly small craft) in MgT2e, without driving down the costs of starships too much.
I'm currently looking at a component cost multiplier of x0.25, with jump drives being x1.5.
Running those figure on a Far Trader (Beowulf Mod) gives me a final cost of a titch over MCr41. Doing it to a shuttle gives me a bit under MCr3.8.
Does this sound reasonable?

>>54252975
Combining this with Picks CER gives me a surprising figure: The Type-R merchant gains a CER of 5.38, making it completely sustainable as a freighter/passenger mix.
Technically speaking, I should figure out what the needed per-jump income is to meet costs. I'll check back in a bit with that.

>>54253209
To cover costs, (with the everything but jump cost discount), and assuming a hired crew of skill 1, per jump costs (all monthly costs multiplied by 12, then divided by an expected 25 jumps/year, and rounding up fractional credits) is Cr121,625, not counting docking fees. Dividing this by the profit bearing tonnage (259.5 tons) of the ship gives us a per-ton needed income of Cr469. Pretty easy to get, 80% freight and half passengers gives Cr159,200 freight, Cr22,400 for mid passengers, and Cr3,500 for low passages, for a total of Cr185,100, for a per-jump profit of Cr63,475.
Which is pretty nice, if it's an independent with a good contract (adding mail makes it even bigger). Yearly profit is Cr1,586,875. If the crew are full partners in the ship, their yearly income (not counting salary) is Cr317,375. In fact, it's probably higher, partners are not paid a salary.

>>54252421
>>54252622
Thanks guys. I was thinking about doing just that anyway, but thanks to you, I can do it with no scrupules.

File: 1289059176.ipoke_nut_crosssection_display.jpg (1MB, 2000x1500px) Image search: [Google]

1MB, 2000x1500px

>>54252975
>So I want to reduce the costs of spaceships (particularly small craft)
Well, for small craft in particular, HG doesn't have very efficient builds using its own rules. Non-gravity (1/2 cost) and light (3/4 cost) hulls will save a bit, and shaving what amounts to probably 1 Hull isn't going to matter much to small craft that are going to be destroyed with a single pulse laser attack anyway.

Powerplant costs can also be saved by using a combination of gravitic and reaction drives (1g is all that's necessary to forgo heat shielding, and the low Thrust rating also means low power requirements as reaction drives don't need it). Not only are reaction drives cheaper, but they're lower-TL so you can bump them up quite a bit to get some fuel economy out of them.

File: Eaexplor_lg1.jpg (51KB, 617x378px) Image search: [Google]

51KB, 617x378px

For those looking to design a system where Gates are the primary mode of travel outside systems / sectors The Explorer class ship from Babylon 5.
They explore, build gates and then keep going. They only hit "the end of the line" when they run out of Gates or need a refit.

>>54254771
stolen from the wikki.

The primary mission of all Explorer ships is research and exploration, thus they only possess moderate defenses consisting of four turreted 52mm Pulse Cannons, four twin particle beam arrays, and two squadrons of Starfuries. This makes Explorer ships large, ill-defended targets. Their massive Jump engines and powerful fusion reactors, however, enable Explorer class vessels to escape dangerous situations quickly.

Explorer ships spend a great deal of their time exploring The Rim, the uncharted and unexplored areas of space that have not been claimed by any known race. As this is the case, Explorer ships are often the first class of Earth Alliance vessel an alien race might come into contact with. This privilege and burden of first contact is not taken lightly and, as the slightest misinterpreted action can result in tragedy, the crews and commanding officers of Explorer ships are extremely well versed in first-contact procedures.

Due to Explorer-class ships dominating the exploration field, they are equipped with the latest in sensor and communications technology, allowing greater ease in contacting and communicating with different alien species. Also, several large planetary drop ships allow Explorer ships to chart and explore entire planets within a few short weeks, laying the foundation for a more detailed expedition.

>>54254807
Though Explorer class ships have more than enough power to jump into Hyperspace and go where they will, the bulk of an Explorer class ship's mass consists of spare parts with which to build Jump Gates. The continual construction and distribution of Jump Gates makes it easier for other Earth Alliance vessels and commercial ships to jump into new areas of space. Some fans have speculated that this provides the Earth Alliance with a quick and effective way to quickly expand humanity's sphere of influence, as well as to gain valuable resources and revenue, as Earth Alliance can charge vessels transit fees for the use of Jump Gates, but there is no evidence from any broadcast episodes of the show to support this claim.

>>54253641
1G acceleration means also that you are royally fucked when you land on a world with 1.1G gravity.

>>54255983
Doesn't Traveller have some antigravity shit? I always though landing/taking off depended on that more than landing like a plane or Falcon rocket.

>>54174865
Found this elsewhere:
https://devilghost.com/software/travellercharacter/

Basic Classic Chargen, The RNG seems kinda hinky, and I'm a little annoyed that they don't list skils for dead characters, but still useful for random NPCs / expendable scrubs.

>>54256477
Yeah they have reactionless drives (gravitronicwhatsnot) but the laws of momentum still apply. that's why your drive's power is measured in G's of acceleration.

>>54256477
see also, grav tanks, which can fly

>>54174865

So I saw there was a kickstarter up for some traveler stuff from Mongoose. I'm new, and I'd been meaning to get some traveler stuff sooner or later, would it be worth it or not? I don't know much about the current company and the system.

>>54258201
The problem ranges from "we don't care, because Space Opera", to one of several technical sounding solutions in the editions that do care.

The two most common are over-cocking your Maneuver Drive, per MegaTraveller. The drives are assumed to be able to handle this in short spurts of an hour or so to be able to take off from worlds with more surface gravity than your drive is rated for in long-term thrust.

The second assumes another component of drives and/or hulls that allows a ship to simply ignore natural gravity, making the maneuver drive rating your available thrust regardless.

>>54258595
There's also the fact that most m-drives only work at x-distance from a gravity well.
Like early/cheap drives only work out to the 100Ds, so it's not a massive stretch to have normal M-drives only work out until 10000Ds or whatever.
That would sort of imply they "push off" normal gravity in order to work

>>54258672
>early/cheap drives only work out to the 100Ds, so it's not a massive stretch to have normal M-drives only work out until 10000Ds or whatever.
That's pretty close to the OTU assumption.

at the risk of sounding stupid, what IS a Merchant Marine? all google gives me is a naval academy

>>54223492
>>54223592

There's also a part about "pluck(ing) yew," which they the French apparently misinterpreted as something more vulgar when yelled aloud from across the field.

>>54263463
Merchant marine == civilian owned water-faring trading vessels (mostly ocean but also riverboats etc).

Work on a boat going from port to port selling cargo / oil / whatever? merchant marine.

File: isaac_hannaford_03.jpg (456KB, 1800x941px) Image search: [Google]

456KB, 1800x941px

>>54255983
Apart from what the other anons have said in regards to 1g being a nominal rating rather than a maximum, I wasn't clear in the previous post. A 1g gravitic drive is sufficient to not require heat shielding, but (as per MgT 2e, but not explicit in 1e) thrust ratings from gravitic and reaction drives are additive, so attaching a, say, 10g rocket onto that ship is both economical (for small craft that don't need to do long patrols, at least) and pretty sexy as well.

>>54263463
>>54264139
The term is kind of confusing due to "Marine" being associated with the military, isn't it?

>>54266440
That term itself was originally "marine infantry", literally meaning troops carried about boats. The 'marine industry', for example, means boatbuilding. I do understand the confusion if you were familiar with the term 'Marine Corps' first.

>>54263463
>>54264139
At the risk of sounding stupider, what sort of security would have been on a civilian owned water-faring trading vessel?

Mongoose gets a lot of shit for merchant marines, but my reading, security is one of the 'branches' that the giant shipping conglomerates use.

I'd picture one of these ships having a bunch of guys to work loading and unloading, with some cross-training on ship operations, including security (they probably spend most of their time in transit cleaning and shit, but I'd want someone to repel boarders, or at least to coordinate defense.)

>>54266934
>what sort of security would have been on a civilian owned water-faring trading vessel?
Traditionally, none. Just the crew and whatever they had to hand. The recent pirate issues off the Horn of Africa saw shipping companies employing PMCs as security, with considerable success.

>>54265621
>nominal
Okay my english is failing me right now, so oyu mean that, incase you get into a 2g gravitation well and move straight away from it that your 1g drive somehow generates three times the force ?

>A 1g gravitic drive is sufficient to not require heat shielding

I agree with that statement, since you don't have to enter the atmosphere with 2000 m/s

>>54258595
I run it as a set of grav screens (or lifters ) that are built into the M-Drive.

File: concept_by_tinnenmannetje.jpg.jpg (1MB, 1920x1080px) Image search: [Google]

1MB, 1920x1080px

>>54267282
I'm not talking in real life, I'm explaining how the rules work in MgT 2e. A ship with a 1g Thrust Rating doesn't actually only produce 1g. It may produce more than that for a short period of time, but that is what the Gravitic drive is rated as.

>I agree with that statement
Again, it has nothing to do with real life. The rules require heat shielding on ships entering the atmosphere if they have no gravitic drives. The minimum thrust gravitic drive is Thrust 1. Therefore, a 1g gravitic drive is sufficient to not require heat shielding.

>>54269811
2E HG has a thrust 0 grav drive for station keeping, or to pull the heat shield trick.

>>54267282
IMTU gravitic drives couple to the gravity fields of celestial bodies and then exchange momentum with them. The efficiency of this coupling is attenuated by distance and relative velocity between the drive and the celestial body. A Thrust-1 drive produces 1G of acceleration under standard conditions: at a specific distance, with a specific relative velocity of a specific massed celestial body. When the drive is closer and has a smaller relative velocity it produces more thrust. If you try to accelerate indefinitely your drive gets progressively weaker and weaker, as the relative velocity between you and nearby celestial bodies increases (this is to prevent easy relativistic projectiles). When the drive is sitting still on the landing pad it is as close to the planet as it can get, and the relative velocity is 0, giving maximum performance.

>>54271355
I think Einstein just startet turning in his grave...

I find it a bit hilarious that a free trader could pick up a band on tour as passengers. Seriously, tours get big, even for small ones. Its not just the band and the road crew either though - any tour takes cargo space for their equipment.
Bands shouldn't be something you roll on the passenger tables, they're charters, and long term ones at that.

>>54274012
For going concerns, I'd agree. It is why Cirque is touring in a ship of its own, to the tune of several thousand tons.

But "band" can also be interpreted in modern terms as a DJ, or, as the one song from years ago put it, "two turntables and a microphone".

>>54276463
Get me some containerized staterooms and enough cargo room for 20 trucks (need to figure out the tonnage on that), and I can ship most shows as far as the money allows.

>>54277117
Rough estimate is that ten feet of trailer is two tons displacement. A Type R is close to the right size.

>>54277331
Okay, I'm used to two sizes of truck: 40 foot, and 45 foot. Closest I find is the intermodal 40' and 45' high cube containers.
Low end is about 5.58 dtons, high end is about 6.38 dtons. We also get the 53 foooters, which are about 8.99 dtons.
Shows are measured in trucks, ranging from a van for a small "bar gig", to about... 35-45 trucks for the big arena shows (which will be actually 2-3x that as they send multiples of all the stage gear forward to keep the tour schedule). Average show I work is about 15-25 trucks, so 95.7 to 159.5 dtons.
Tour usually has about... a shit ton of people, I would call it 0.75 per truck, not counting drivers, plus about 10-20 others, depending on how big the band is. M83, for example, was a five truck, and they ran with 15 tour hands.
So, with the size of an interstellar show, call it 300 tons of cargo, 54 tour hands (double bunk), plus band (single bunk), plus any family or fans they drag along.
And a shit ton else.
Suffice to say, 70 staterooms and 350 tons of cargo should be good, unless you trim crew down to the absolute minimum: accountant, Tour manager, Production manager, Lighting Lead, Audio Lead, Video Lead, Backline Lead, Wardrobe Lead, plus one additional person per sub-department of each. Probably drop it to... maybe 20 to 30 people.

>>54277331
And 20' intermodal is... 2.45 dtons. Pretty close.

Is there any decent way of making character gen a bit more random? I really like the character gen but since you assign stats before entering careers I find it's less random than you would at first expect.

>>54278199
An owned Type M would be closer then, or perhaps a tour fits most of what it needs into a Type M and also has a Type A or A2 and a lead team, booking crew, etc.

Cirque (the T5 campaign) has enough room on the main ship, and uses a Scout ship as its booking lead.

>>54279289
The process can be almost entirely random, taking stats in order of roll, randomly picking careers and specialties (if Mongoose), etc.

Many see the charm of the usual scheme as having a plan when you hit adulthood then rolling to see if it works out, then playing with the result.

>>54279289
Roll for them in order, then pick the career you think fits.
If that's not random enough, then roll for career as well. MgT has 12 careers in the base book, so roll 1d: odds, 1st group. Evens, second group. Then roll 1d in the group, then 1d3 for assignment. Expect a lot of failed survival rolls, with Draft as an 8+ for your first unqualified term.
1st Group
>Agent
>Army
>Citizen
>Drifter
>Entertainer
>Marine
2nd Group
>Merchant
>Navy
>Noble
>Rogue
>Scholar
>Scout

>>54279594
it really IS midlife crisis in space...

>>54279565
Yeah, it's made easier by the required stage components being pre-installed on the big tops, but seriously, that cargo capacity?
>Cirque, 17 tons
>BT1, 20 tons
>BT2, 10 tons
>BT3, 12 tons
>Cargo pod, 54 tons, but 26 of it is not theirs
>Claims 18 tons of essential performance equipment, including the tent and seating
I'm gonna start laughing now, I've worked the actual Cirque, and based on design specs (everything takes physical space to distribute the loads, no matter how good your materials are), the current Cirque tour, even with as much of the support infrastructure folded into the ships as you can get, wouldn't really fit in 18 tons.
That was a 45 truck show, seating about 6K per performance.
>The internal fittings include light, collapsible seating and risers for spectators. With the seating fully assembled, 1700 guests can attend a single performance. Heating and cooling systems are included and can be attached and operated as necessary.
>Poles, props, food service stations, set-pieces and portable restrooms are also carried in cargo. These portable rest rooms are by no means sufficient for a full audience, but provide basic facilities. Spare food and care material for the various animals are also carried in this cargo space. All told, Cirque devotes six pods (18 tons) to essential performance equipment and material in standard cargo carriers.
Yeah, they need more than 18dtons. Rob and Marc forgot to build the stage, or the lighting truss, or the audio systems (trust me, claiming acoustics and giving people headphones is not an adequate substitute for a good audio system), but I shouldn't be surprised.
After all, Roger Waters has 5 trucks of just video equipment (45 footers, of course). We used 3 on that show, and my home venue can seat up to about... I wanna say 17K people for concerts. 1700 people per performance is fucking tiny, especially on an interstellar tour.

>>54279635
I went ahead and did this for my first term. 6/6/6/10/10/7 and rolled into entertainer journalist. I don't think I would've ever picked that career normally so I'm actually pretty happy about it, thanks.

>>54280439
666AA7 Entertainer/Journalist? Sounds good, and don't mind the mildly satanic random rolling...

>>54271850
Momentum is preserved, energy is preserved and nothing goes past the speed of light (Jump drives are another matter of course). I don't see why this would be any more problematic for old Einstein than an orbital slingshot or magnetic levitation.

File: ansel-hsiao-k20.jpg (469KB, 1920x1200px) Image search: [Google]

469KB, 1920x1200px

>>54271022
>thrust 0 ... pull the heat shield trick.
Good catch.

File: WISE_1828+2650_Brown_dwarf.jpg (1MB, 4800x3200px) Image search: [Google]

1MB, 4800x3200px

>>54282520
Could a ship with a powerful enough M-Drive conceivably skim gas from the surface of a very cool brown dwarf?

>>54279855
Why do you think so many people went "ooh, comfy" at the RV module?

>>54283268
Some of the really cool brown dwarf stars are just slightly warmer Jupiters. The gravity would be beatable, but the radiation might not be.

>>54283268
The defining difference between a brown dwarf and a gas giant is if it glows by itself, or reflects light instead. That being said, most tend to be a few hundred jupiters of mass (as far as we can tell) if not more. The transitional type that would be feasible for this kind of thing is extremely hard to detect from earth.

Campaign/NPC seed, based on my grandparents: two 60+ bounty hunters, married, flying around in a modified, very comfy, scout.

>>54266979

If you watch old WW2 you will see the standard "working stiffs" drilling with anti-aircraft guns and doing anti-submarine and destroyer drills. Depending on the cargo and the threat level they might have a squad of "actual" marines aboard who both train and act as a first response so that the rest of the crew could deal with damage control.
Try "Action in the North Atlantic.."
and "The Navy Comes through"
Bogart really was a member of the merchant marine on the Leviathan. (his lip scar *may* have occurred there..or in childhood)

>>54286117
Which is really an example of how a ship also could be used as a passenger liner and an armed troop carrier as well..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Leviathan

>>54279635
>>54280439
Add on to this for MgT2E: first term roll 4+ on 1d to qualify for education: odds university, evens military academy.
In case of A+SOC, any term in which you don't qualify for a career should have you go into Noble (auto qualify with SOC A+), representing you using your status and family connections to make money somehow.Also, feel free to Futz with the skill tables if a story starts being told (example: noble diplomat who is being told to make trade deals. Replacing a skill on the table with Broker is perfectly reasonable).
For even more fun, roll 1d3+1 life events for your childhood!

>>54288964
where'd you find that, anon?

>>54290041
google

File: rahul_philip_01.jpg (718KB, 1800x849px) Image search: [Google]

718KB, 1800x849px

>>54286990
> first term roll 4+ on 1d to qualify for education
Shouldn't that be to roll to see whether or not you even roll for education qualification, since education has its own qualification?

>1d3+1 life events for your childhood!
The Infinity rpg (coming soon (tm)) from Mophidius (which, frankly, uses a terrible 2d20 system), has a lifepath system which has a lot in common with MgT's character generation, and does this, with separate life events for youth, adolescence, and then life events during careers.

MgT 1e has a huge list of relatively minor life events in Cosmopolite which would do well here. (Remember to pray to the RNG gods for the very rare chance of the event where you get a free 500dton ship with all its mortgage paid off)

>>54291855
you get a free 500dton ship with all its mortgage paid off

But anon, where's the plot? he asked sarcastically

>>54292769
The ship is haunted/stolen from a mob boss/spoofing the ID of a well known criminal in the sector you are travelling to/keeps killing its crew/is secretly the egg of a space whale/part of an extensive money laundering scheme...

>>54291855
My mistake, that's 4+ to attempt pre-career education.
>>54292837
No, seriously, the explanation for it is that you helped someone really rich, they gave you a ship, and they might show up as a patron.

>>54284836
>>54284701
>>54283268
I feel I am ill-equipped to even begin to know where to look for the math required to find an answer to my question. Is this one of those times where I should just hand-wave it?

>>54295228
Yes. Having them doing pilot and sensor checks to "avoid radiation hotspots". It sounds exciting, therefore it could work.
In game at least.

>>54295473
Agreed. Space Opera is where Traveller is centered. You can slide toward Hard SF or into Pulp from there, but if it makes your game better.

File: f1e75fbdb4ad1a843ed1fbf192ff0230.jpg (345KB, 1920x1038px) Image search: [Google]

345KB, 1920x1038px

Tell me about this city /tg/.
Here, have a random UWP (slightly edited)
A676C74-E TC
Give me whatever you got.

>>54295617
TC?

>>54295617
Megacorps: The Planet.

With an estimated population in excess of a Trillion individuals the world (Which for the sake of it I'll call Caernheim) is constantly choked by the mass of industrial workflows. The actual processes involved are considered to be clean in most sectors of the core regions, however the sheer amount happening in one place, coupled with the waste of such a monstrous populace, causes the air to be classified as toxic to those not adapted to the planet.

To ask who rules Caernheim is a waste of time; multiple groups claim (and indeed hold) power within the never shifting cityscape. A humorous effect of such a large population is that rule via fear is not effective; security systems cannot stop millions of disgruntled people from storming a control building. Thus the ruling bodies have taken to offering the best deals to swing peoples' loyalty, the current party in primary position for example offers discounts on a popular type of biscuit to the point that there is a mild obesity epidemic brewing. Rumblings about a rival group trying to strike deals with lipo-removal specialists are the current hot-topic in political circles.

>>54296959
Orbital living spaces house a good chunk of the population (more space to use) with companies ferrying people and cargo between the habs and surface. The main starport is found within the centre of this orbital network and plays host to every kind of trade imaginable with most regulations based on speeding up processes rather than ethical/safety standards.
At a glance this could lead to poor quality of imports but companies that offer good merch and service are more likely to get seats in government, thus people are secure in the knowledge that lust for power tempers peoples laziness.

Housing also extends over the oceans, massive support structures stabbing down into the crust through the waters, aided by orbital tethers which monitor strain and load. The ocean-borne cities allow for someone to drive 360 degrees around the planet, were they suicidal enough to bother, a local man once broke a record by spending five years doing constant circuits of the main roads without autopilot and relying on a steady stream of drugs. His last words; "Fuck cyclists" are still visible on his gravestone.

>>54297060
It cannot be overstated that corporations run everything, this includes emergency services. Once again, lust for power forces competing services to make sure they are not only affordable but also worth recomnending to your friends.

The capital section of the cityscape is Brattenkiln™, and houses the main government buildings alongside TAS and many other important organisations. The bulk of off-world travellers will pass through here if they decide to go planetside, with many options available from transport companies.

The main sport of Caernheim is a form of low-grav ball sport call Tagbett, with three teams of 13 fighting to get a 17-sided inflated polygon into the central goal point.

Alright, I've been playing Starsector a shitload recently, and I'm looking to find a good scifi space game. Traveller seems neat, and I played it a little bit maybe 5-6 years back, but it appears that there's a complete lack of any groups doing it at all. There's two up on Roll20, but they seem to be dead as fuck.

>>54299752
And 9 months later this planetary system expelled a little rogue planet.

File: dragon.jpg (180KB, 2250x1041px) Image search: [Google]

180KB, 2250x1041px

>>54299752
Pretty classic example of a system defense boat (albeit one shaped like a cutter in this case), hidden in its little asteroid belt base. Could be pretty cozy in there. They'd make regular patrols through the belt looking for anyone lurking insystem who shouldn't be there. Also works as a "stay behind" force in the event of a system invasion; they stay hidden in the belt and do hit-and-run attacks on the invading fleet.

File: fausto_01.jpg (166KB, 1178x733px) Image search: [Google]

166KB, 1178x733px

>>54297286
Well, Traveller is pretty neat, but compared to most systems, yeah, it's pretty dead. It *does* make for a fairly solid sci-fi system (particularly the long list of optional rules chapters in MgT2e) for lots of settings though, from Infinity to Mass Effect, with almost no alterations to the rules at all.

GURPS.

>>54302064
Optional rules in MgT2e? Like in other books or did I miss that in core?

>>54302336
Nothing really in the core rulebook (unless you count psionics as optional). High Guard is where there are a number of optional things, but those apply to ships only. Central Supply Catalog does have non-3rd Imperium stuff in it that would be optional.

>>54297286
>Starsector

What is this?

>>54297286
>>54302064
There's a discord that's getting off the ground, in the past weeks have started 3 groups (playing over roll20). I've been thinking of throwing my hat in the ring for a fourth.
https://discord.gg/ammEbd

>>54302064
You can blame T5 and Mongoose for that.
Mostly Mongoose, thanks to their new licensing policy (what do you mean third party products sold better than our own? Ban them! Ban them all!).

Right, question.

In your opinion, which is the best version of Traveller for starships. I'm not concerned so much with system rules, but if you had to pick one versions starships, which would it be? I was thinking of Mongoose 1e for consistency with weapons, armour, fuel and cargo, but is there life in 2e? Would you choose Classic? I don't like Classic Highguard for its way of handling weapons and armour. TNE for me is a tad too complex and HERO is a tad abstract.

Thoughts?

>>54303462
Basically, it's a 2d space-based Mount and Blade-esque game. You're a pilot/captain, you're in space, go fuck shit up. Raiding, exploration, diplomacy, invasions, all sorts of shit. The main focus of the game is the combat and salvaging, and there's also a variety of mods to add useful little bits, factions, tweaks, graphics, and music to it too.

It's a neat little game and it's like $15.

Here's a clip of a ship from the Imperium mod: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNcyzVTVMT4

Main site: http://fractalsoftworks.com/

There's usually a general up on /vg/, and the forums have a mod index that's helpful, but it's best to play vanilla first.

>>54306516

That missile spam made me moist.

File: 1470420002090.png (944KB, 1200x800px) Image search: [Google]

944KB, 1200x800px

>>54306344
Well, if you like MgT 1e's ship building rules, 2e's is, for the most part, superior. 2e does away with discrete hull sizes and uses percentages instead, so you can build a 7 dton or 22 dton ship. It also does away with Hull/Structure dichotomy and brings Hull points in line with personal scale so that there's better interaction there. Also, no more turret fire control tonnage, because everyone always forgets to do it, it's inconsistently represented in 1e's other books and because it's more in line with lack of computer tonnage.

And for people that don't like to play in the 3I, 2e has a chapter essentially devoted to other settings (there's an astromech droid and quad turrets and a superlaser)

There are a few missing paragraphs from 1e regarding non-fusion fuel sources, but it's fairly easy to port them over.

>>54308608
You can also run a fairly hard-tech game by adding a few equations to the reaction drive fuel for finer detail, since HG runs dV as hours of thrust, not actual achievable velocity change.
You can also add several options to represent different types of reaction drives.

>>54306516
The portrait list has the SMAC faction leaders. kek
Hopefully it's not too bad a game.