Traveller General--Naval Armsman Edition

>>53950551
>What is the most dangerous type of combat in Traveller, and why is it boarding actions?

There's some fluff text in GT:Ground Forces in which a marine describes boarding actions as "house to house fighting, in zero-gee, inside a nuclear reactor, with the Big V (vacuum) outside". In a related sidebar, GT: Ground Force also states that boarding casualties "often top 75%".

The same sidebar provides a rule of thumb for the number of marines and amount of time required to search, seize, and/or scuttle ships of different sizes. The sidebar also discusses the famous Bard Endeavor boarding action during the Rim War which is a scenario in Classic's AHL game.

>>53951798
Boarding seems like it could be the worst sort of mission. If the defenders get too pissy they might just self-destruct the ship to spite the boarders/enemies. So maintaining a good reputation for fair play as a pirate would be a good idea. The defenders will be much more willing to surrender the ship if they know you'll just drop them off on some nearby backwater.

>>53953080
>Boarding seems like it could be the worst sort of mission.

Going by my play of Snapshot and AHL, it most certainly is. I have little problem with GT:GF's claims of 75% casualties. GT:GF also states that an opposed boarding is only considered when the potential reward is sufficiently great noting that you're not going to risk those casualties to seize a DD but might to grab a BB. Forex: the AHL scenario mentioned has the Sollies boarding in the hopes they can capture and examine the Bard Endeavor's MG spinal mount and screens.

[quote]If the defenders get too pissy they might just self-destruct the ship to spite the boarders/enemies.[/quote]

There's no Trek-like single "destroy the whole ship" device or system in Traveller. Fusion plants aren't fusion bombs, a single missile warheads isn't powerful enough, etc. What crews can do is "scuttle" a ship, that is damage systems sufficiently to prevent their use or salvage. Of course scuttling means you're destroying your own "lifeboat".

>>So maintaining a good reputation for fair play as a pirate would be a good idea.

Historical pirates did exactly that and for the reasons you suggest.

This game is stupid

>>53953301
Thanks for keeping the thread alive friend.

I created a character (in Mongoose 2nd edition, if that matters) and left my job after the first term, rolling a TAS membership as my benefit. Does this mean I get the high passages (and thus money) every two months over the rest of my terms?

>>53953275
AHL? What's that?

>>53954853

Azhanti High Lightning, an adventure set an a stupidhuge Imperial battlecruiser.

>>53954853

Sorry. I forget about how often we use acronyms.

AHL is Azhanti High Lightning. It was a product for Classic. It consisted of a skirmish level wargame which used combat rules derived from Striker, 14 sheets of deckplans for the AHL cruiser on which you played the game, a booklet explaining the deck plans, and another booklet full of info about the cruisers plus various skirmish scenarios.

It was the first and, so far, only set of usable BIG ship deckplans published for the game. Snapshot had plans for the scout/courier and the free trader. Other books in various versions have presented deckplans of various sizes for various ships too.

Like the Snapshot plans, the AHL plans were on separate sheets and not on pages in a book. You didn't need to copy and/or enlarge them. The AHL plans were also easy to 're-purpose" and even GDW did that up through MT.

>>53953708

Did you muster out? That is did you stop chargen after that one term or did you simply change careers?

What is the optimum number of players for a group? Three?

>>53959578
worked for me with 5

>>53959578
>What is the optimum number of players for a group? Three?

Depends on the referee & group. For me it was 3 to 5. Two rarely worked as one player and their ideas quickly came to predominate despite my efforts. Two also meant I was handling more "daily" NPCs then I liked.

Anything over 5 and I found it harder to balance the "face time" I think each PC should get. I want each player to have be important. Maybe not every session, but I definitely took care to avoid the group from evolving into A level and B level PCs.

Odd numbers are better for when cliques develop and, if a campaign lasts long enough, cliques ALWAYS develop.

>>53959960
I haven't been able to find any Meetup, or g+ groups for Traveller; it's mostly dnd. If I put up a flyer in my LGS, what should I put on it? This may be counting chickens before they hatch, but what should I do if too many players show up? I'm very young (18), should I just wait until I'm older to try GMing?

>>53960132
No, just KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID, don't overestimate your abilities, but don't underestimate them either, run the game you and your players want to run and everything will be fine

>>53960132

As >>53960750 explained, follow the KISS method (Although I hate the 'stupid" part of that acronym.) Start small, listen to your players, only add stuff when you need, and have fun. It's so simple even I have been able to do it.

Also, age has nothing to do with being a good GM. I first Traveller in 1977 when my friends and I were 16 and 17. We began GMing right away.

As for what to put on your flyer, talk to the guys in your friendly LGS. They'll give you good advice and may be able to point you at a group which is already playing.

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>>53960841
>Although I hate the 'stupid" part of that acronym
Keep It Simple Simon was the one I was originally taught
It was a bit of a shock when I first heard the "Stupid" variant

Does anyone have a good idea for a 'AK-47' like weapon for rebellion purposes? I don't just want to copy an existing stat block. I'm thinking of slapping a seperate failure table to it to reinforce the whole "cheap and illicit" side of arming a rebellion.

>>53955360
I did muster out, and then did four more terms.

>>53959578
>Three?
Tree Fiddy.

>>53953708
>>53964529

Sorry about the delay. I had to check my copy to confirm my suspicions. You received a TAS membership in your one term 1st career and thus get the high passage tickets from TAS during the 4 terms of your second career.

Multiple careers is something that wasn't part of Traveller until TNE so the mustering out benefit mechanism followed the old Classic/MT method; you didn't roll for any mustering out bennies until you were done with CHARGEN and not just a CAREER. Rolling after finishing a career makes more sense.

So, your PC can use, keep, or sell all those high passages they received during their subsequent 4 terms.

>>53966112

That "bubble car" reminds of an entry in DGP's "101 Vehicles". It was a gravitic kiddy chair. You popped junior in it, hit a few buttons, and it flew him to school.

The rest of the book isn't that silly and is well worth a look.. It should be in the MT folder.

>>53960877
It's a more modern usage, but I'm liking Keep it Stupid Simple - categorizing the method and not the person

>>53967889

It just rubs me the wrong way to even indirectly call someone stupid because they're asking for advice. Sure, there are tons of stupid and lazy people and a fair number post in general threads of this type. I just don't want to call someone stupid and/or lazy until they prove themselves to be stupid and/or lazy.

It's like those "X for Dummies" and "Idiot's Guide to X" books. I'm making the effort to get the book to research the topic and yet they're calling me an idiot or dummy?

It's a tiny thing in a grand scheme of things, but it's pet peeve of mine.

Jump-1

>>53962482
It's an assault rifle. Use the assault rifle stats.
This is not a /k/ game.

>>53971356

Must agree with this. Weapon stats in nearly all the rules sets are too granular to handle the "shitty rifle which breaks a lot" mechanism you want.

That being said, GURPS:Traveller has "malf" ratings for it's weapons because that's part of GURPS. You borrow that "malf" system, you could impose a negative DMs on hit throws, or you could impose negative DMs on damage.

It all depends on how much work you want to do during the game.

do gauss weapons get variant ammo?

>>53966837
Thanks for the answer! On a related note, how is the parsec distance for TAS-given high passages determined? Is it rolled (there are 6, after all) or something else?

>>53973324
>On a related note, how is the parsec distance for TAS-given high passages determined? Is it rolled (there are 6, after all) or something else?

With that question you've unwittingly one of Traveller's many "Ancient Can Of Worms"; the (in)famous per parsec versus per jump argument. While that argument mostly concerns freight rates, it occasionally spills over into passenger prices.

In Classic, in Book 2 on Page 4 it is flatly stated that: "Interstellar travel is priced on the basis of accomodations; prices cover a trip from starport to starport, encompassing one jump, regardless of length."

In Classic and nearly all the versions which follow, the high passage ticket you're getting from TAS pays for a ONE jump regardless of length.

MgT changes all that for no other reason than it allows to PC to make more money more easily. Mongoose changed Traveller to be more in line with the "Gimme Free Stuff/Monty Haul" style of play which many current RPGs players prefer. Mongoose thus hands much more stuff in chargen and makes trade much easier by charging per parsec rates for passengers and freight.

I always kept an eye on my players finances as it's a good way for a good game to go bad quikcly. If I were using MgT, I'd say that TAS provides a VOUCHER good for one jump regardless of length instead of a TICKET worth a specific amount in credits. That would mean a PC wouldn't be able to hoard and then sell off 16 years worth of TAS high passages each worth as much as 470K credit apiece.

While allowing your PC to enjoy their TAS membership while still in chargen is legal in MgT, you can also see how it's a fucking horrible idea and wholly typical of Mongoose. Six unused high passages can theoretically bring in nearly 2.820 MIILLION credits a year and "earn" the PC 45.120 MILLION credits during the four terms in question.

Having a PC whose is a multimillionaire right out of chargen is asinine.

>>53972821

They might in TNE. TNE got very "gearheaded", especially with regards to weapons. It was due in part to the use of GDW's House System which had been developed for their "gun pron" RPG Twilight:2000.

>>53968046
I hear ya, I'm just noticing (and pointing out) that the message changed subtly if you switch the S's

>>53976627

I agree with you, anon. Your switch of the S's makes the phrase much better.

>>53964333


Any ideas for this one? I like the hatch in the middle of the giant blue naked robot chick's forehead. Does it mean it's a mech of some type? If so, what do they use it for? Extreme pole dancing?

>>53972821
>>53974775

I checked the TNE core rules and gauss weapons do have different ammo types.

The 4mm rifle has dart and tranq rounds. The 4mm gauss SAW has dart and HEAP rounds. The VRF version has dart and HEAP rounds too.

That's just the core book. FF&S may have more variant rounds. The RCES equipment guide book may have variants too.

I have a question for you guys: mongoose or classic?
I'm hoping to get two people who really aren't into sci-fi or super rules heavy into it (one of them grew up with constantly homeruled ad&d), so T5 is right out, and I'm leaning away from mongoose thanks to all the editing and balance issues I've noticed.

>>53977218
>I have a question for you guys: mongoose or classic?

Classic is old school. Like real bare bones, no task system, limited skills, role more than roll, rulings over rules, old school.

MgT is an update of sorts as it contains stuff that many current players think a RPG should have like uber detailed chargen to replace imagination, task system, dozens and dozens of skills, roll for everything, lots of free stuff, rules for everything.

>>53977218
be aware of mongoose's shit editing though

>>53977443
>MgT is an update of sorts as it contains stuff that many current players think a RPG should have like uber detailed chargen to replace imagination

>uber detailed chargen
>new

Have you even played Traveller before in your life, anon?

>>53974744
Another thing to remember is that while the character has years to get tickets, they also have years to spend tickets. If you got a free plane ticket to anywhere on Earth every month you would visit all sorts of interesting places. If you had that opportunity but didn't spend a single ticket over a ten year period then you are definitely unusual as a person.

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>>53977105
>hypersonic tranq dart
I'm sure this barely stings.

>>53979992
You won't even notice as it puts you to sleep permanently.

>>53979992
At which speeds do gauss rounds travle again, mach 3 or something ?

>>53979520
>Have you even played Traveller before in your life, anon?

I've played it since '77. You?

My post was comparing and contrasting the two rules sets with one another. MgT's chargen is full of table to create contacts, specific life events, backstories, and the like. Even Classic's "advanced" chargen didn't approach that level of detail. MgT is "uber" detailed compared to Classic's Book 1.

>>53979588
>If you got a free plane ticket to anywhere on Earth every month you would visit all sorts of interesting places.

Not quite. You've naturally forgotten travel times leaving your analogy faulty at best. Visiting anyplace on Earth by airplane doesn't require a two week round trip. Far fewer people would be visiting Disneyworld each year if it two weeks just to get there and back.

Anyway allowing a PC to rack up tens of millions of credits in unused high passage tickets while still in chargen is just silly. While I like MgT's multiple careers, just when an awarded mustering out benefit come into force must be done with some common sense. Benefits like a gun, money, skill/stat buffs can be awarded immediately, but what about awards like vehicles or ships shares?

Imagine a PC who starts as a merchant, spends one term there, rolls for a free trader, and then spends the next four terms in another career. What is going on with that ship doing those 16 years? How is the mortgage being paid?

>>53977443
>rules for everything

You are half right and half wrong. Traveller has most thing you might need covered with some rules, but those are mostly guidelines, exspecially when it comes to tasks.

Look at shadowrun 5e for example, they gut rules for treading water, shooting through a bazilion kinds of cover and shooting penaltys and the most hamfisted hacking rules you will ever see.

>MgT is an update of sorts as it contains stuff that many current players think a RPG should have like uber detailed chargen

>you get an officer as enemy over 4 years of service

My god, my entire backsotory was written for me anon. Good thing that there isn't any space for variables my non-rules-light brain couldn't handle, like, what did i do, what did he do, where were we when that happened, what was the context, in which line of service did we work ? Really good thing that there are non of these questions when i roll on a piece of paper and recive a super vague line of text.

I bet you also think that the experience system is flawed compared to the ground idea of traveller.

>>53979520
Is right, traveller pretty much startet the whole background generator thing from CT on.

>>53981322
I just opened my Mongoose 2e book, it says "hypersonic". That's mach 5.

>>53981399
>Imagine a PC who starts as a merchant, spends one term there, rolls for a free trader, and then spends the next four terms in another career. What is going on with that ship doing those 16 years? How is the mortgage being paid?
There's something about two players gaining two free traders, it says one gets the ship and the others gets 25000Cr a year, gaining a part of the off-screen ship's profits. Can only assume this applies here too.

>>53981435

Like >>53979520 you ignoring the fact that I was comparing Classic with MgT only and I was highlighting the differences between Classic and MgT only.

>>53977218 asked about Classic and MgT only, so I wrote about Classic and MgT only. That's it. You can rope in all the other RPGs you want to "prove" whatever you want, but that's not what I wrote about. Okay?

>>I bet you also think that the experience system is flawed compared to the ground idea of traveller.

Yes I do but only if it is applied outside of it's rules set. Classic has about 2 dozen skills and relatively "low" skill levels, so a limited experience system works for it. MgT has far more skills and it's system works better with relatively higher skill levels, so it needs the experience system it has.

>>53981437
>There's something about two players gaining two free traders, it says one gets the ship and the others gets 25000Cr a year, gaining a part of the off-screen ship's profits. Can only assume this applies here too.

Which still doesn't answer the question or solve the problem.

Both players get a free trader in the 1st term and then spend 4 more terms in chargen. Do they bank that 25K/year for 16 years only to somehow be reunited with their ship later on? And a ship that, despite earning enough in the way of profits to pay out 25k/year, somehow still has the SAME mortgage amount outstanding 16 years later?

As a referee I'd "park' the award until the PC actually finishes chargen. The ship isn't automatically a physical ship, but instead is an ability to participate in a ship purchase program. In this way it's like the VA home loan programs.

You can apply to join the program, but they aren't going to authorize your participation unless you yourself can act as the owner aboard. You aren't going to be able to say "Gimme the ship now. I'll let someone else run it while and not make any mortgage payments I'm off doing other stuff for the next 16 years."

>>53983037
what is the rectangular prism?

>>53983970
I'd assume a solomani ship?

>>53983970
>>53986616
>>53983037
It looks like 3 Borg Cubes ducktaped together.

>>53983037
>>53983970
>>53986616
>>53986646

Whatever it is it's damn interesting. Hopefully the anon who posted it will tell us more.

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I was tidying up my hard drive and found a flowchart for computer hacking a kind anon posted several threads ago.

It's for MgT but, looking it over, I don't see any real reason why you couldn't use it with other versions.

The anon's question about TAS passage vouchers prodded me to look over MgT2e chargen again. I hadn't realized that someone put together a very helpful chargen flowchart for MgT2e.

Even better, that flowchart is in the archives.

>>53971356
No it's my game and I want something different for my mooks.

>>53971660
I'll have to have a gander at the malfunction stuff, it's mainly for thematic extras so that there will be the occasional explosion when a poor mook gets a bad roll, plus I want to discourage the PCs from just picking stuff up and thinking they got a perfectly serviceable rifle (Though if they want to have it checked and cleared with a gunsmith or something I'd just remove the malfunction downside).

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>>53981936
Aye, I dare say it's the sort of thing the Ref can come up with an explanation for.
The only career that gets Free Trader as a benefit is Merchant, so you could say that it represents your character knowing someone from back in the day who has a ship they don't really want any more, and who'd be happy to have you take it off their hands in exchange for paying the rest of the mortgage.
Or, as you say, it could represent credit and good references towards a ship purchase program.

Same with shit like the Yacht, where you could explain it as an older brother upgrading to a newer model (or the Safari ship) and loaning you his old one

It seems like a pretty good opportunity to inject a little imagination into the table fetish-y chargen

>>53988544
>It seems like a pretty good opportunity to inject a little imagination into the table fetish-y chargen

Well put. The earlier anon's otherwise normal question about TAS passages simply found a "glitch" in MgT's RAW chargen. Isn't fixing glitches what GMs are for?

Any rules set is going to have "glitches" and, IMHO, the ability to have multiple careers during chargen in MgT is WELL WORTH any "hiccups" that may occur with regards to mustering out benefits.

If an "early" TAS award results in a PC "earning" tens of millions of credits in saved high passages, the GM and player can sit down to find some "fix". Similarly, if an "early" award of a free trader results in a PC getting 25K/yr in profit sharing but no reduction in mortgage length, the GM and player can work that out too.

I'll add another example of a "troublesome" early benefit: the IISS hading out scout/couriers to retired detached duty personnel. Using the earlier anons example of 1 term in Career A followed by 4 terms in Career B, a PC could serve 1 term in the IISS, "earn" a s/c, and go on the serve 4 subsequent terms in the merchants, army, navy, etc. While they're doing those 16 years, what's happening to that s/c the IISS handed them?

A good GM and a good player will recognize that problem and come up with a solution which works for them.

>>53977105
In TNE and T4 gauss weapons could be designed with solid dart, HE, HEAP and tranq ammo. That was all.

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>>53989201

>>53988471
In TNE gear (including weapons) could be given a "wear" value. This had implications for it breaking down or malfunctioning.
The wear value was determined by rolling 1D10 at acquisition. The price of an item was its book value divided by the wear value. The higher the wear value the more worn out was the equipment.

>>53979992
If I remember my physics right, would you not be able to reduce the force exerted on the projectile by reducing the current to the magnets?
So it could be manufactured to allow the user to dial down the gun to less-than-lethal levels for the darts. Hell, if the gun's fancy it could do that automatically when you load the darts into it

Sorta Mass Effect-lite

>>53989596
>Hell, if the gun's fancy it could do that automatically when you load the darts into it

I don't see why any of those things couldn't work.

One of the DGP guys wrote about sitting next to a DARPA researcher during a plane trip and questioning the man at length about the possible capabilities of gauss weapons.

>>53989476
>In TNE gear (including weapons) could be given a "wear" value. This had implications for it breaking down or malfunctioning.

Good catch, anon. I'd forgotten about TNE's wear ratings.

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>>53983970
>>53986616
>>53986646
>>53988308
It's the cover of a Perry Rhodan book, part of a long-running German scifi series

>>53991347
I've wanted to read those ever since I saw the spherical ships
>tfw don't read german

>>53991347

Thanks anon.

>>53991612

There were English translations published of the first 100 or so, I think. Old Forrest Ackerman did a lot to get it brought to the US.

>>53988308
Image search reveals it as a Perry Rhodan cover.

http://perryrhodan.us/php/displaySummary.php?end=2399&start=2300

>>53989201
Simple, those careers were detached duty, not Retired and detached - for all actual purposes, they were still an active duty scout performing some observation task or shit. Navy? Your survey area was filled with hostile aliens that wouldn't negotiate. Your team was integrated into a warship for that tour. Army? Long term survey of a red zone planet. Marines? Bit of both. Merchant? Either evaluating the industry's newest cargo handling techniques from the crewman's perspective, or attached to a free trader to keep planetary facts up to date. Civilian? Budget problems, go supplement your pay with a second job, but you're still active. Or pick up a social science and get your data from the inside. Agent? Cross training.
They were a special specialist, so every term let them roll for a possible (8+ or more) scout skill in addition to the current career skill. They don't actually retire until the player selects the last term, and then they get their bennies.
Also, if a players gets TAS membership in an early term, they don't get to keep the ticket/vouchers, and should have their next skill automatically be broker or the like - they get free tickets, says the boss, they can reduce the travel budget if I can get them into that training course...

>>53992363
>Simple...

While some of those explanations would work for me, all that really matters is whether they will work for the GM and players involved.

In the end, that is all that really matters.

Not sure if it's allowed here but...

General question:

What would be the reason not to change to the new Paizo's Starfinder?

What is special about Traveller? Why not a more well known and broad system for sci-fi RPG?

I'm currently interested in space fiction lately and I was thinking about Traveller for some time, but I'm not really comfortable with it.

>>53993613
I play Traveller to get away from D&D. I couldn't care less about Starfinder.

>>53993613
it's deeper and (generally) less shit than paizo?

>>53993613
Because that "well known and broad system" is a pile of crap. Their fantasy rules suck and their sci-fi rules will as well. But that is a discussion for another place.

I suppose Starfinder could be mined for interesting bits to use in a Cepheus Engine campaign.

>>53994396
Maybe. I may steal the alien races that are new to Starfinder, but the assumptions built into the preview material they've released so far is a train wreck in the making. If you were one of those 14 year olds in 1978 who was dungeon crawling Star Destroyers and returning to your fantasy worlds with Everloaded +5 Blasters, Starfinder may be for you.

>>53995302
http://paizo.com/paizo/blog/tags/starfinder
Yeah, no.

>>53950551
>Naval Armsman
Is that like an official version of a Merchant Marine?

>>53988471
>I'll have to have a gander at the malfunction stuff, it's mainly for thematic extras so that there will be the occasional explosion when a poor mook gets a bad roll, plus I want to discourage the PCs from just picking stuff up and thinking they got a perfectly serviceable rifle (Though if they want to have it checked and cleared with a gunsmith or something I'd just remove the malfunction downside).
So you want an AK-47 equivalent, but you want it to be unreliable and prone to exploding?

That's kind of the opposite of the whole popular concept of the AK-47. It's shitty and a bit janky and not the most accurate assault rifle, right, but it doesn't explode or fall apart. It's the memetic weapon you can bury in the desert for twenty years, pull out, and start shooting the next batch of invaders.

>>53996131
Cheeky

>>53983970
The Pillar of Autumn.

>>53993613
Paizo suck dick at pretty much everything.

>>53993613
pretty sure that's bait

It has to be better than T20.

>>53996266
Fuck my brain I read that as Pillar of Autism.

I've been here too long.

>>53990003
T5 Introduces what it calls QREBS (quality, reliability, ease with use, bulk, and safety) giving a profile extension - any item could have the ratings (which could help differentiate an AR-15 from an AK-47), But I know in at least one draft, they talked about those 'standard' ratings to be for a new-from-factory model. A used model would have some variance (by rolling 2d6-7). In order to see if it's 'better', you'd need to have the weapon evaluated.

Now, at the table, that introduces a ton of complexity, but it's one way this has been addressed.

>>53993613
I really don't understand how that system is so popular, it's boring, over complicated and hp sponges in high level games is off puting as fuck.

>>53999136
Dungeons and Dragons Third Edition literally caused brain damage, and Pathfinder just kept on offering that familiar D20 fix when D&D changed.

>>53999136
Dungeons & Dragons is something everyone knows about. Even non-gamers. 3.0 was the first new (not-revised) edition in a decade. A movie came out at roughly the same time, and games such as Balders Gate and Icewind Dale were popular. So a lot of new people were introduced to RPGs through D&D and the d20 system.

When WotC abandoned the system to do 4e, Pathfinder was advertised as a continuance of the rules that generation had started with. That, and a lot of people feeling betrayed by just how much 4e was different from previous editions, made Pathfinder popular.

It has also been long enough now since 3.0 came out (~17 years) that people are feeling nostalgic, and the closest current system to what they played back then is Pathfinder.

>>53996478
I've read enough different RPGs to know that's not true.

>>54000109
>how much 4e was different from previous editions

[grognard grumbling about 3e's differences from TSR D&D]

>>54001147

Great pic of the Type P from Classic's Supplement 4: Citizens on the Imperium. It's sadly underused IMHO.

It's the same size of the more well known/used Type VP Vargr corsair. It has a LOT more cargo space 160dT vs. 20 dT although at the cost of a lower acceleration, 3g vs. 5g, one less turret, and no small craft or vehicles.

It's got a bunch of "changeable" ID features too like "fins" which extend/retract, phony modules, and ELINT stuff like RF spoofing and a variable transponder.

Better yet, it's cargo bay features huge clam shell doors and it can hold a ship as big as 100dT. Just thing you need when you want to steal scout/couriers and x-boats!

>>53996164
I was going for the whole thing that AKs are the go-to weapon for insurgent fighters, I am aware that in real life they are quite sturdy but it ties into the games plot that a company is helping a rebellion with sub-par weaponry (Why they simply haven't fixed the manufacturing process is still to be discovered by the players).

It's not perfect, and the whole AK analogy isn't the best description but it was what I thought of when I first asked.

AHL games took hours, even days.I think when we played The Battle of Kagukhasaggan, we did it over a bank holiday weekend. Eventually I bought a second copy so we didn't have the problem of not enough maps. with 84 decks and 16 maps it was easy to run out of playing space. Very enjoyable game although I still prefer FFW.

>>53955195

AHL games took hours, even days.I think when we played The Battle of Kagukhasaggan, we did it over a bank holiday weekend. Eventually I bought a second copy so we didn't have the problem of not enough maps. with 84 decks and 16 maps it was easy to run out of playing space. Very enjoyable game although I still prefer FFW.

>>54002765

While the analogy you used was faulty, the underlying plot point still sounds fascinating. I still believe you're over thinking the problem.

You can get the effect you want by simply nerfing the standard ACR's performance and without adding all the baggage and bookkeeping malf rolls, wear ratings, QREBS, etc. will require. Let me use a historical example to explain.

While Krupp, the (in)famous arms manufacturer of the 19th and 20th Century may have had one big customer in the Prussia and later Germany, they weren't and couldn't be Krupp's only customer. During the Boxer Rebellion, German troops were pissed to find Krupp artillery in Chinese forts. When the government began screaming at Krupp, Krupp quietly explained those cannon were EXPORT versions and their sale had been okayed by the government.

Krupp further explained that, when compared to the "for Germany only" version, the export version of the same cannon were heavier, less accurate, had a shorter range, used less powerful shells, could only use certain shells, etc., etc. You can easily do the same with the standard ACR.

While your rebels are getting the same ACR design, simple manufacturing choices means it's heavier, less accurate, uses a weaker round, breaks/wear out faster, can only use certain rounds, etc., etc. than the real ACR.

You can do all that as easily as sprinkling a bunch of -1 DMs on the range and damage tables along with the "to-hit" rolls.

>>54003003
>AHL games took hours, even days

That's very much as odds with any of my experiences with AHL or the BoK scenarios. I would have liked to seen just *how* your group thought the game is played.

Two of the 3 BoK scenarios involve one deck, move a counter off a deck and it's gone. The entire ship forward of the aux bridge (deck 40?) is said to be flooded with fuel and/or irradiated and thus off-limits. That's half the ship off the table before you even begin.

The "Clear The Jump Drive Decks" scenario is the most involved with at most 2 decks in play at once, yet it plays quickly enough.

1st, there's a low counter density. The Imp counter pool is limited to only those with vacc suits, only 2D6 start, and the rest arrive in 1D6 amounts per deck until the counters run out. Make average rolls and you run out of counters in ~ 4-5 decks, 2nd, the Sollies must clear a deck before they can move "up", something many players forget. All the Imps have to be killed or have moved "up" or "down".

That 'clear" requirement plus the limited number of counters plus the forward half of the ship being a no-go zone means you're not going to have tiny firefights scattered all over.

When we played it. the Sollies would have their forces split between 2 decks. The bigger force would be clearing one deck while a smaller one would just be covering the hatches and elevators on the next deck below to prevent Imps from doubling back. Once the Imps run out of reinforcements it's little more than a cattle drive being run against the clock.

I remember playing the "Clear" scenario twice in one night, each time taking a different side so your grouping taking an entire long weekend to do the same doesn't make much sense to me.

how're the old traveller DOS games?

>>54007008

They were released in '90 and '91 by Paragon and they definitely weren't anywhere near 'state of the art' when they were released.

>>54007716
yes, but are they any good?

>>54008083

They weren't any good in '90/'91 so they won't have the nostalgic charm games of a similar vintage might have.

A game has to have been good in the first for people to remember it fondly enough to play it decades later.

>>54002394
>it can hold a ship as big as 100dT
This is the reason it didn't get a deckplan for years. A 400 dton ship that can swallow a 100 dton ship is not going to be able to disguise that fact, and since no two 100 dton ships in print use the same hull aside from the Seeker using retired Scout hulls, a Corsair builder has to decide ahead of time which 100 tonner the ship can handle.

>>54008215
And yet, I hear nostalgia spoken for both released games. They were only about five years into the age of useful GUI, and only three years into VGA. DOOM was still two years away.

>>54008867
I just don't see the point of trying to jack whole ships, especially the smallest of them.

I realize the ships are valuable, but trying to get one to hold still long enough to be taken aboard and still have it intact?

The scouts are just to small to have a high passenger turnover that would allow for hijacking.

>>54008867
>>54009048

Grabbing small craft makes more sense. There are more of them, they're easier to hijack, they're easily to carry away, and they're easier to sell.

>>54009268
A fair number of them are harder to catch though. 4+ Gs is common in small craft.

>>54009855

Who says you're grabbing them while they're underway?

>>54002394
It's also a totally legitimate privateer or armed freighter design. Totally.

Which is why there are quite a few of them around, so merely flying one doesn't mark you as a pirate.

>>54010801
It's also, um, a scout tender! Yeah! It can jump out to repair or recover or salvage scouts and seekers that get into trouble, so it's really useful in systems with a lot of those hulls around. And EVERY system has a lot of those hulls around.

TOTALLY LEGITIMATE STARSHIP.

>>54009268
>>54009855
>>54010112
You don't catch small craft, you point guns at the larger ship until they agree to let you have one of their small craft (or even an air/raft) if you'll go away.

>>54010801
>>54010819

Bingo. Give 'em both a cigar.

I'm no pirate and this is no pirate ship. Can't see my 160dTon cargo hold?

File: 1457168725228.jpg (84KB, 1024x768px) Image search: [Google]

84KB, 1024x768px

would something like the Terran Valhalla from X3 be viable? It's a supercarrier It has room for up up to 10 Transports, Bombers, or Corvettes in addition to 50 fighters (scout through heavy). Certain transport ships are also able to carry up to 6 fighters on their own, allowing you to launch a swarm of 110 fighters along with 10 armed transports all around your single, massive, VERY heavily armed destroyer, if you so choose. It's a russian nesting doll of death!

Pic related

>>54003223
Interesting history with advice, I shall heavily consider making minor tweaks like you have suggested. Thank you!

>>54011754
>would something like the Terran Valhalla from X3 be viable?
Probably about Cruiser size. Viable, if not exceptional.

>>54004593
it was the decision phase that bogged us down.

>>53993613
It depends what you mean by traveller. For me it the background of the Imperium, not the system - I still play megatraveller. There's a few different game engines, even d20 and GURPs. Are you going to play it for the rules, background or just for fun? Most of the sourcebooks can used with the different rules sets. Personally i'd play it straight with one of the available systems rather than wasting time porting it. The only exception I have is Diaspora. I love playing traveller with that.

>>54012452
why? what's so great about diaspora?

seriously, I know nothing, and a quick google search informs me that it SOUNDS like Moses and the book of Exodus, the RPG...which does sound pretty sweet, truth be told

link related...somewhat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRLsZldkkMo

>>54015715
meercats in spaaaaaaaaaaaace!

>>54017315
>>54015715
Looks like a cover for Heinlein's "Star Beast".

>>54012341
>it was the decision phase that bogged us down.

Sorry, I still don't believe you. There are only three choices to make during the decision phase; move, aim, or covering fire. That's it. You make your choice and it remains the same for the next 5 action phases. You can write down your choice or use chits.

With counter densities for each generally below 2 dozen and 2 to 3 players on a side, you're making decisions for 6 to 8 counters most of which aren't even in line of sight of the enemy.

There is no way your group took 2 to 3 DAYS to play what my group took 2 - 3 HOURS to play. There simply has to be something about the game you misunderstood or got wrong.

>>54011898

No problem, anon. Glad to help. Please be sure to let us know how the campaign goes.