                   TRAVELLER Digest 4

Topics covered in this issue include:

  1) Re: TNE products
     by rwm@MPGN.COM (Rob Miracle)
  2) Small oops in the server
     by rwm@MPGN.COM (Rob Miracle)
  3) Re: Ship design with FF&S
     by bonnevil@mermaid.micro.umn.edu (Steven M Bonneville)
  4) Startup hurdles
     by rwm@MPGN.COM (Rob Miracle)
  5) Behind the Claw
     by William White <whitew@eden.rutgers.edu>
  6) ANN: alt.games.frp.2300ad (fwd)
     by BORIS ZAIDFELD <cs911408@red.ariel.cs.yorku.ca>
  7) FF&S question
     by BORIS ZAIDFELD <cs911408@red.ariel.cs.yorku.ca>
  8) Re: Behind the Claw
     by rwm@MPGN.COM (Rob Miracle)
  9) Re: Motorbicycles, Hydroponics, Fusion Drives
     by BORIS ZAIDFELD <cs911408@red.ariel.cs.yorku.ca>
 10) TL10 Grav "Bike" designs
     by ccjoe@showme.missouri.edu (Joseph Heck)
 11) Archery skill and bows
     by "J. Dixon" <J.Dixon@massey.ac.nz>
 12) Re: Archery skill and bows
     by BORIS ZAIDFELD <cs911408@red.ariel.cs.yorku.ca>
 13) Re: FF&S Ship Questions
     by James Kundert <james@dumbcat.sf.ca.us>
 14) Functional Ship Classifications etc
     by "Upton, Django" <DUpton@VTRNNTOV.TELECOM.com.au>
 15) FF&S design mods
     by "Upton, Django" <DUpton@VTRNNTOV.TELECOM.com.au>

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Wed, 10 Aug 1994 14:45:08 -0400
From: rwm@MPGN.COM (Rob Miracle)
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Re: TNE products
Message-ID: <199408101845.OAA13409@Central.KeyWest.MPGN.COM>

In Message-ID: <29617.9408101605@titian.ecs.soton.ac.uk>, PR James
<prj91@ecs.soton.ac.uk> writes:

>Is there a FAQ for this list that lists all the TNE supplements etc currently
>available? If there is could someone mail me it. If not could someone mail me
>such a list if it isn't too much trouble.

I am not aware of any FAQ that exists that lists the TNE supplements.  Off
the top of my head (actually from my game bag, and the War Games West
catalog), here is whats avaiable:

0300 Traveller: The New Era                       The Main Book
0301 Survival Margin                              History of the fall
0302 Deluxe Traveller: The New Era Boxed Set      Main Book, FF&S, and a Map
0303 Brilliant Lances boxed set                   Tactical Ship Combat
0304 Fusion, Fire & Steel                         Equipment Design Guide
0305 Smash & Grab                                 RCES Missions
0306 Traveller Player's Forms
0307 Traveller's Referee Screen
0308 Battle Rider boxed set                       Strategic Ship Combat
0309 Path of Tears                                RCES Sourcebook
0310 Reformation Coalition Equipment Guide        RCES Equipment Listings
0311 World Tamer (Not out yet)
0312 Vampire Fleets (Not out yet)
0315 Star Vikings                                 RCES Sourcebook

Hope this helps.

Rob
--
Rob Miracle
rwm@mpgn.com
"You have a problem?  I have a plan!" -- Anton Devious


------------------------------

Date: Wed, 10 Aug 1994 14:57:34 -0400
From: rwm@MPGN.COM (Rob Miracle)
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Small oops in the server
Message-ID: <199408101857.OAA13638@Central.KeyWest.MPGN.COM>

This message serves two purposes, first it lets you know that we have found
a small but nasty bug in listproc.  This bug caused groups of 25 to not receive
digests, or individual messages.  Secondly, this is to test if we have fixed
it yet or not.

Thanks for you patience during this startup period.
Rob
--
Rob Miracle
rwm@mpgn.com
"You have a problem?  I have a plan!" -- Anton Devious


------------------------------

Date: Wed, 10 Aug 1994 14:04:38 -0500
From: bonnevil@mermaid.micro.umn.edu (Steven M Bonneville)
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Re: Ship design with FF&S
Message-ID: <199408101904.OAA08170@nautilus.micro.umn.edu>

Alvin Plummer <plummer@hubble.sheridanc.on.ca> writes:

>Finally: It would seem to me that all dedicated naval vessels would have
>fusion drives, as they are MUCH faster than HEPlaR is.

Seems likely to me too.  We had a discussion about the efficiency of
the BL/FF&S drives earlier this summer which came to similar conclusions,
and also noted that the Daedalus drives are worthless.  However, there
is the possibility that fusion drive signatures are too high for use in
combat -- this isn't addressed anywhere, but many of the "side-tech"
issues aren't really well addressed in the rules yet.  Personally, I've
been using HEPlaR for consistency in my own designs (like my 12G TL16
heavy fighter design, which I currently plan to post once people have
had a chance to resubscribe).

PR James <prj91@ecs.soton.ac.uk> writes:

>Is the surface area of a hull calulated including the hull plating thickness
>or excluding it?

Hull plating goes *inside* the hull.  Since all the hull figures are
initially based on a sphere, they're very easy to find using high-school
geometry -- the values in BL/FF&S have been rounded slightly.  I've done
some figures to experiment with non-standard hull sizes.  Once you have
the volume:

  length == 2 * (cube root (volume * (3/(4 * pi))))
  surface area == volume * (6/length)
  material volume == 4/3 * pi * ((length/2)^3 - ((length/2) - 0.01)^3)
   (The volume of a sphere of a diameter equal to the hull's length minus
    the volume of a sphere 1cm smaller in radius.)

If my math is off, someone please let me know.  All units are the same as
those on the BL/FF&S tables.  Read the whole section very carefully -- I
hate how GDW changes units from cubic meters to displacement-tons all over
the place.

>How much fuel capacity should a ship have? Enough for one jump, 10?

At least one -- you'll find yourself using a lot for G-turns.  For
combat ships, 50+ G-turns are highly recommended to avoid "limited 
maneuver fuel" status in _Battle Rider_.

>How is the number of crewstations and workstations required calulated????

See the section on building your ship's bridge.  Most other components,
like standard turrets, already have what they need built in.

>Are the cost, size and power of navigational aids the same nomatter what size
>ship they are fitted to . . . . [deleted]

Yes.  Obviously, on a big ship this is incidental.

>Can a ship have a computer of a tech level higher than its control system?

No.  FF&S, p. 48.  This doesn't stop you from using a lower tech computer
if you really want the lower tech control system, even if better are 
available.

>Is it possible to have retractable turrets (so a ship can be equipped with a
>turret and still remain streamlined)?

I believe, for starships, this is automatically assumed.

>How are costs for fuel scoops calculated?

It's a flat rate on total ship tonnage, carried over probably from as far
back as "Classic" Traveller's High Guard.  I believe that you can just
specify how much hull surface area you want them to eat up.  Either way,
it hardly matters at Cr 75 a cubic meter -- they are cheap.

  Steve Bonneville
  <bonnevil@mermaid.micro.umn.edu>

 

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 10 Aug 1994 15:18:44 -0400
From: rwm@MPGN.COM (Rob Miracle)
To: xboat@MPGN.COM, traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Startup hurdles
Message-ID: <199408101918.PAA13840@Central.KeyWest.MPGN.COM>

Due to a small but painful bug in listproc, some people may have missed some
messages.  We have put in a temporary fix for the problem, and are working on
a permenant solution.

If you missed todays digests, please feel free to send the following command
to  listproc@mpgn.com

get traveller tml9408-02
get traveller tml9408-03

or 

get xboat xtml9408-02
get xboat xtml9408-03

Thanks for your patience.
Rob
--
Rob Miracle
rwm@mpgn.com
"You have a problem?  I have a plan!" -- Anton Devious


------------------------------

Date: Wed, 10 Aug 94 15:58:05 EDT
From: William White <whitew@eden.rutgers.edu>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Behind the Claw
Message-ID: <CMM-RU.1.4.776548685.whitew@er4.rutgers.edu>

Boy, am I glad the TML is back!

     I've been trying to prepare a Spinward Marches campaign, and
it occurred to me that a useful thing I could do was to make a
bunch of short "planetary data files" that would let me quickly
generate adventures before PCs made planetfall; with enough of
these floating around, I could let the PCs wander around the
universe with little need to "pull" them in the direction of my
only prepared adventure ("Sorry, guys...I don't know what's in
that system.  Why don't you accept this unattractive job offer
instead?")

     The idea was to create a short, one-page summary describing
enough information to ref the planet, and then think up a variety
of "adventure hooks" to use depending on the situation.  Some
would be "real" adventures, and others would just be "incidents"
or casual encounters so that NPCs and patrons could be introduced
in a fairly unique way, or to give the players some experience
and keep them on their toes.

     What follows is an example of a "planetary data file" of
this sort.  Comments will be appreciated.  I would like to thank
Bryan Borich for his feedback; his suggestions were immeasurably
helpful, and I have incorporated some herein.

Bill White (whitew@eden.rutgers.edu)

     


PLANETARY DATA FILE

Emerald/Spinward Marches (1006) Library Data
B766555-B S Ag Ni  534 Im M1 VI

-62 degrees Celsius mean base temperature at mid-latitudes;
Mass .71 terra; .93 std g; orbit 1; outside habitable zone;
132 std day/local yr; 34 std hr/local day; 93.18 loc day/loc yr.

     Emerald gains its name from the greenish hues of the glacial
seas that make up more than 50% of the world's surface.  Much of
the rest of the planet's surface is frozen, save for isolated
"hot spots" where geyser-like mineral springs emanate from the
planet's interior.  These slushy areas are marginally habitable,
rising slightly above the melting point of water ice.  Commonly
referred to as "sleetmarshes", these serve as the centers of
human habitation on-planet and require extensive terraforming and
terraform maintenance to maintain their viability.

     The inhabitants of Emerald, or "Emeraldas" (as they refer to
themselves), are a hardy and energetic lot, and their social
organization is geared towards making their less-than-paradisian
planet a productive one.

     The Emerald Planetary Management Committee is comprised of
experts in the areas of terraforming, engineering, weather
control, power systems, and agriculture.  The committee includes
all those who meet certain qualification standards; every ten
years, computer-selected resumes are presented to the council for
review.  It takes a two-thirds majority vote to deny a selectee
his or her seat on the committee.  Once seated, a committee
member serves until death or retirement.  The committee is
responsible for the development and maintenance of the planetary
infrastructure.
     Regional and local "executaries" and their subordinate
technicians or "operatives" are hired by their immediate
superiors, though resumes are again initially selected by
computer.  These agents are responsible for maintaining the
complex infrastructure that supports human habitation, including
geothermal power stations, irrigation systems, weather control
stations, heating arrays, and communication and navigation
satellites.  
     Executaries have extensive authority in the districts where
they preside, though their performance must be reviewed and
contracts renewed every five years.  They may hire and fire
subordinate executaries and operatives.  They may assess and
collect taxes within their district.  Within their purview, they
may administer justice for certain categories of crimes and
misdemeanors; however, serious crimes are generally remanded to
Imperial authority.
     Special executaries in charge of new construction and other
critical projects can be appointed at the regional level, by the
District Executary, or at the planetary level, by the PMC.

     Most Emeraldas are small landholders, farmers on the
sleetmarshes.  A recent initiative by the PMC intends to
collectivize these smaller farms into large cooperatives in the
name of efficiency.  There is, naturally enough, resistance to
this plan, and a fierce debate is ongoing within the committee as
to its wisdom.

ADVENTURE HOOKS:

1) A group of farmers from one district want to free themselves
from the PMC's hegemony.  The PCs have been hired:

     a) by the farmers to lead an assault on the local power
     station.
     b) by the local executary to infiltrate the farmers' group.
     c) by the farmers to kidnap an executary or PMC member.
     d) by a sympathetic executary to investigate the farmers'
     grievances.

2) A speeder carrying 

     a) an important PMC member, or 
     b) the daughter of a well-to-do farmer,

is missing and presumed to be down on the ice.  Its emergency
beacon is not functioning, and its last reported location was a
few hundred kilometers from the starport.  The Scout Service's
rescue team is currently unavailable.  The locals are calling
upon everyone available to assist in the search, particularly
those with access to sensitive starship sensors.  If the PCs
join, they:

     a)  find the downed speeder and return its passengers
     safely, earning the gratitude of a potential patron, if they
     succeed at their Impossible Sensor task rolls.
     b)  are attacked by the same monstrous life form that downed
     the speeder, an escaped specimen from an expedition to
     spinward being studied at the Scout Station.
     c)  are captured by the same rebel farmers who shot down the
     speeder.  They must escape and, if possible, rescue the
     captive.
     d)  don't have a snowball's chance of finding anything. 
     However, severe weather forces them down and damages their
     vehicle; they must survive the brutal cold and make their
     way across several hundred kilometers of rugged frozen
     ground back to the starport.
     e)  search but return empty-handed, or find the downed
     speeder with its passengers frozen to death.

3)  A power station serving an experimental domed homestead out
on the frozen ground called "tiger plains" breaks down and its
backups fail.  Several hundred people are in danger of freezing
to death very quickly.  The PCs are hired to assist in the
evacuation.  They:

     a)  quickly and efficiently make several trips, earning
     their pay and the gratitude of the refugees.
     b)  are first on the scene and must find a way in; all door
     mechanisms are frozen shut.
     c)  must deal with the difficulties and dangers of cold
     weather operations, including injury and equipment failure.
     d)  face a panic-stricken mob of homesteaders, who threaten
     to overload the PCs' vehicle.
     e)  are attacked by the saboteurs of the power station.

Again, all comments, advice, and suggestions would be appreciated.

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 10 Aug 1994 16:06:28 -0400 (EDT)
From: BORIS ZAIDFELD <cs911408@red.ariel.cs.yorku.ca>
To: TNE Mailing List <traveller@MPGN.COM>
Subject: ANN: alt.games.frp.2300ad (fwd)
Message-ID: <Pine.3.07.9408101627.A27951-c100000@blue>


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 10 Aug 1994 14:16:37 +0200 (LISBOAHV)
From: "Pedro A.C. Tavares" <ftavares@qrc.com>
To: gdw-beta@quark.qrc.com
Subject: ANN: alt.games.frp.2300ad

This is the welcome message to a new newsgroup dedicated to 2300AD.  If you
wish to read this group check your local usenet listings.  If it is not present
ask your system administrator to include it.  I am setting up a mail digest
for people whose site doesn't support usenet or alt groups.  Let me me know if
you wish to be included in it.
   


Welcome to alt.games.frp.2300ad
-------------------------------

    This is the introductionary post to alt.games.frp.2300ad, a newsgroup
dedicated to the discussion of matters concerning the 2300AD role playing
games.

    2300AD is set in the future in a time when space colonization is well
under way.  While most colonies are politically controlled by one of the 
100 Earth nations, some have became independent states.  Some intelligence 
alien species are known and contact with them is in general peaceful and 
rewarding to both parties.  There is however one exception.  In 2298 a new
race was discovered.  The newcomers turned out to be hostil and shortly
after invaded one of the frontier colonies.  In the year 2300 little is know 
about this new race.  Some believe it is a small problem the can be dealt 
with locally.  Others fear that this may be the biggest threat humanity has
ever dealt with.

    2300AD is in the opinion of many players one of the games with a richer
hard science-fiction setting.  Games can focus on subjects as varied as the 
political intrigues among Earth nations, the exploration of new star systems,
the fighting against the new alien race (known as the Kafers), troubleshooting
in a frontier colony or in one of the highly developed core colonies.

    I hope this group will give players and Game Masters a place to discuss all
matters related to 2300AD and similar games.  For further information you can 
contact me, Pedro Tavares, at <ftavares@skull.cc.fc.ul.pt>.  There is also a 
ftp site for stuff about the game in <ftp.fc.ul.pt>.  At the moment it is 
empty because of disk space problems.  I will try to correct that as soon as
possible.  If you would like to upload files to this site please let me know.
I have at the moment equipment lists and a reference database with varied 
information on the world of 2300AD.  As I said above I'll upload them as soon
as posible.

Regards,
Pedro Tavares <ftavares@skull.cc.fc.ul.pt>




----------------------------------------------------
Pedro A.C. Tavares

Departamento Fisica
Faculdade de Ciencias de Lisboa
          
Email: ftavares@skull.cc.fc.ul.pt
       ftavares@ptearn.bitnet

Phone: +351 1 7573141 ext.1011
----------------------------------------------------



------------------------------

Date: Wed, 10 Aug 1994 16:09:10 -0400 (EDT)
From: BORIS ZAIDFELD <cs911408@red.ariel.cs.yorku.ca>
To: TNE Mailing List <traveller@MPGN.COM>
Subject: FF&S question
Message-ID: <Pine.3.07.9408101610.A28075-8100000@blue>

How would I findout what is the MV of a size 0.9 and down hull?
The lowest MV given is for size 1 Hull.

     -Shalom Zaidfeld
     -Toronto, Canada




------------------------------

Date: Wed, 10 Aug 1994 16:15:41 -0400
From: rwm@MPGN.COM (Rob Miracle)
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Re: Behind the Claw
Message-ID: <199408102015.QAA14497@Central.KeyWest.MPGN.COM>

>     I've been trying to prepare a Spinward Marches campaign, and
>it occurred to me that a useful thing I could do was to make a
>bunch of short "planetary data files" that would let me quickly
>generate adventures before PCs made planetfall; 

>     The idea was to create a short, one-page summary describing
>enough information to ref the planet, and then think up a variety
>of "adventure hooks" to use depending on the situation.

I think this was the intent of many of the Amber Zones from the Journals. 
I have used the AmberZones and Contact! sections from the Journals quite often
in my campaigns just for this purpose.  The biggest problem is indexing all
the existing material.  Also, I like makeing sure that I stay within the
mainline of the game.  Thus, while you have a great description of Jewell,
there may be somewhere an official description of Jewell that is different.

I think its a great idea, and you have a good grasp of what goes in there.
In fact, in the TNE supplement Path of Tears, they basically do what you are
doing. 

Good luck!
Rob

--
Rob Miracle
rwm@mpgn.com
"You have a problem?  I have a plan!" -- Anton Devious


------------------------------

Date: Wed, 10 Aug 1994 18:40:14 -0400 (EDT)
From: BORIS ZAIDFELD <cs911408@red.ariel.cs.yorku.ca>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Re: Motorbicycles, Hydroponics, Fusion Drives
Message-ID: <Pine.3.07.9408101813.A7818-a100000@blue>


On Tue, 9 Aug 1994, alvin plummer wrote:

> Welcome back, everyone!

Yap..  It's good to be back online with TML...

> Any ideals about how to design bikes for TL6 to TL 9?  I've havent
> attempted to yet; however, I have heard that any attempt to do so using
> FF&S rules lead up to massive engines, weighing in at 500 kg.

Nop.  But if anyone does know, i would like to know too :-)

and on this note, does anyone have any spreadsheets/programs to help with
designing vehicles/etc with FF&S?  

     -Shalom Zaidfeld




------------------------------

Date: Wed, 10 Aug 1994 17:47:11 -0500 (CDT)
From: ccjoe@showme.missouri.edu (Joseph Heck)
To: traveller@MPGN.COM (TML Submissions)
Subject: TL10 Grav "Bike" designs
Message-ID: <9408102247.AA23051@showme.missouri.edu>

I created these a while ago for the TNE-Pocket group - thought I'd share them
with you all since FFS designs have been a topic.

I'll be working up some lift vehicles and jump ships for TL9 in the near 
future, I'll post them here when I'm done.

TL10 Racing Grav Bikes
Price: 900,880 Cr
Size: 14 kiloliters displacement = 1 ton (M) (Fast Subsonic)
Mass: 6.9 tonnes (empty), 9.5 tonnes (loaded)
Power: 2MW TL7 Fuel Cell, with ducted fan assembly
       (2.475 tonnes thrust)
Maint: 1
Controls: Dynamic Link Controls, TL10 Flight Avionics,
       TL10 NOE Avionics, TL10 Flt Computer, 300km Radio,
       30km Passive EMS
Life Support: None
Cargo: None
Crew: 1
Passengers: None
Travel Move: 2400km (800km/hr Max, 600km/hr cruise)
            (140km/hr NOE)
Combat Move: 111/19
Fuel Capacity: 2600liters HGHD
Fuel Consumption: 600liters/hour (endurance=4.3 hours)

Combat Stats:
Config: Motorcycle    HF:4
Suspension: Grav      HS:2
                      HR:2
Deck: Open         Belly:2

TL10 Grav Bikes (single person)
Price: 357,980 Cr
Size: 14 kiloliters displacement = 1 ton (M)
Mass: 5.03 tonnes (empty), 9.5 tonnes (loaded)
Power: 1.25MW TL7 Fuel Cell, with ducted fan assembly
      (1.3 tonnes thrust)
Maint: 1
Controls: Dynamic Link Controls, TL7 Flight Avionics,
          TL10 Flt Computer, 300km Radio
Life Support: None
Cargo: None
Crew: 1
Passengers: None
Travel Move: 1200km (400km/hr Max, 300km/hr cruise)
            (40km/hr NOE)
Combat Move: 56/19
Fuel Capacity: 4470liters HGHD
Fuel Consumption: 375liters/hour (endurance=11.92 hours)

Combat Stats:
Config: Motorcycle    HF:4
Suspension: Grav      HS:2
                      HR:2
Deck: Open         Belly:2

TL10 Grav Bikes (two person)
Price: 357,980 Cr
Size: 14 kiloliters displacement = 1 ton (M)
Mass: 2.73 tonnes (empty), 7.2 tonnes (loaded)
Power: 1.25MW TL7 Fuel Cell, with ducted fan assembly
     (1.3 tonnes thrust)
Maint: 1
Controls: Dynamic Link Controls, TL7 Flight Avionics,
          TL10 Flt Computer, 300km Radio
Life Support: None
Cargo: None
Crew: 1
Passengers: 1 (restricted seat)
Travel Move: 1200km (400km/hr Max, 300km/hr cruise)
            (40km/hr NOE)
Combat Move: 56/19
Fuel Capacity: 1970liters HGHD
Fuel Consumption: 375liters/hour (endurance=5.25 hours)

Combat Stats:
Config: Motorcycle    HF:4
Suspension: Grav      HS:2
                      HR:2
Deck: Open         Belly:2


At TL10, all three sets of the grav bikes use Fuel Cells for power, running
a small ducted fan assembly to provide vectored thrust. As you can see, the
prices ain't cheap...
-- 
 joe                          (314) 882-5000
 ccjoe@showme.missouri.edu    University of Missouri - Columbia  
 "with a little practice, writing can be an intimidating and
 impenetrable fog!" -- Calvin
 <A HREF="http://www.missouri.edu/~ccjoe">ccjoe</A>

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 11 Aug 94 11:07:55 +1200
From: "J. Dixon" <J.Dixon@massey.ac.nz>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Archery skill and bows
Message-ID: <9408102335.AA13485@cc-server4.massey.ac.nz>

Greetings all,

Can anyone help me out here?

Characters in TNE can have a skill in archery but there are no
stats for bows in terms of range, damage, penetration etc. or have
I missed something.  Has anyone come up with appropriate values for
arrows and crossbow bolts?  I have had NPC's use crossbows but was
stumped as to reasonable damage and penetration values, now one of
my players wants to use a crossbow.  Also would crossbows be
effective in zero gravity?

My roleplaying group has been playing TNE for abut 8 weeks after
many years of fantasy and they hate the TNE universe.  It is too
depressing and the players don't have enough access to futuristic
stuff they complain.  I started them in a Pocket Empire in the
middle of the wilds as I didn't like the standard RCES or old
Imperium settings and thought a Pocket Empire woud give more
control over the universe.  The suggestion is that the party is
time warped into the future 200-300 years.  This would then allow
for more interesting planet cultures than just after the virus,
vampire ships and virus affected equipment would be less common and
the Pocket Empires would be in an expansion phase rather than just
a survival phase.  The Wilds will still exist.  Has anyone else
done this?

What are peoples opinions on the damage system?  We changed to the
On Target system (from an old White Dwarf?) which multiplies damage
based on the hit location which works well with the current combat
system.

Thanks for your interest.
Jonathan Dixon


------------------------------

Date: Wed, 10 Aug 1994 20:11:13 -0400 (EDT)
From: BORIS ZAIDFELD <cs911408@red.ariel.cs.yorku.ca>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Re: Archery skill and bows
Message-ID: <Pine.3.07.9408102011.B14993-b100000@blue>


On Wed, 10 Aug 1994, J. Dixon wrote:

> Can anyone help me out here?

You came to the right place.  :-)

> Characters in TNE can have a skill in archery but there are no
> stats for bows in terms of range, damage, penetration etc. or have
> I missed something.  Has anyone come up with appropriate values for
> arrows and crossbow bolts?  I have had NPC's use crossbows but was
> stumped as to reasonable damage and penetration values, now one of
> my players wants to use a crossbow.  Also would crossbows be
> effective in zero gravity?

You can find verious low tech Weapons in the Reformation Coalition
Equipment Guide [RCEG] on pages 102-103.  You can find stuff like muskets,
cross bows & Bows. 

Here are the stats for the Light Cross Bow as found in RCEG p. 103:

Light Cross Bow

Tech Level : 2
Ammo : Bolt/quarrel
Weapon Length: 100 cm
Weapon Weight: 4 kg
Weapon Price:  Cr275
Magazine: None
Ammunition Price: Cr1
Ammunition Weight: 40 grams per Bolt
Features: None

Ammo:

Bolt/quarrel   
ROF : 3
Damage Val : 1
Pen. Rtg : Nil
Bulk:     6
Magazine: 1i
Recoil:

SS: 5
Burst: -
Short Range 40
---

Hope I helped,

     -Shalom Zaidfeld
     -Toronto, Canada




------------------------------

Date: Wed, 10 Aug 94 17:33:26 PDT
From: James Kundert <james@dumbcat.sf.ca.us>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Re: FF&S Ship Questions
Message-ID: <9408110033.AA04629@dumbcat.sf.ca.us>

PR James asks:

>Is the surface area of a hull calulated including the hull plating thickness
>or excluding it?

 Hull Armor thickness takes up volume on the "inside" of a ship's basic
volume (a Scout's armor takes up some part of the 100 displacement tons,
for instance), so there is no difference.  If I read your question correctly...


>How much fuel capacity should a ship have? Enough for one jump, 10?

 Civilian ships generally have enough for one jump of their drive's maximum
range.  Military ships are a matter of design concept, but often get a
second jump by using drop tanks.  You may certainly install as much fuel
capacity as you think the design requires.  There is nothing to prevent you,
for example, from installing Jump-4 drives with only one parsec worth of
jump fuel.  This is one extreme of design efficiency, however.  This will,
if carried far enough, save a fair amount of volume in your design.  Such
a design will cost like %%#$@#$, however, as Jump Drives are one of the
more expensive items in a ship.
 The other side of the fuel problem is reaction mass for the HEPlaR drive.
This eats up volume at voracious rates.  In PC ships, it almost always
comes down to what you want more: cargo or manuevering time.  This is a
design philosophy question that only you can answer for your specific
campaign.


>How is the number of crewstations and workstations required calulated????

 Non-Bridge ("other") Workstations are easy if your design has a Bridge.
The number of non-Bridge workstations required is equal to the number of
Engineering crew required. Nothing else... Unless you get complicated and
install custom-built weaponry or shields that need workstations.
 Bridge Workstations required are equal to the total of Manuever, Command,
Electronics, and MFD crew numbers.
 This is all spelled out in the second paragraph ("If a ship requires a
bridge...") on page 14 of FF&S.


>Are the cost, size and power of navigational aids the same nomatter what size
>ship they are fitted to or are the figures given per displacement ton?

 None of these (FF&S page 48) make any mention of being "per cubic meter of
craft", so they are all absolute values.


>Can a ship have a computer of a tech level higher than its control system?

 FF&S, page 48, second column, "Important Note" just above the Computers
Table: A computer may not be installed which is from a _different_ tech
level than the craft's control system." (emphasis mine).  Not higher.
Not lower.


>Is it possible to have retractable turrets (so a ship can be equipped with a
>turret and still remain streamlined)?

 Where did the idea that turrets interfere with ship streamlining come from?
This is only the case for aircraft, and is called "drag".  Traveller has
never imposed streamlining penalties on armed starships or spacecraft.
Also, in TNE all turrets are already considered "retractable".  See the
picture in the TNE rulebook of the Laser Turret (p 349).
 There IS one major difference between TNE and previous editions, however.
Previous editions assumed that turrets were ALWAYS streamlined, even when in
operation.  This is not so in TNE, though this is not really mentioned that
I can recall.  The feasability of cranking an umbrella-shaped laser-emitter
out on a skinny aiming boom while doing Mach 6 in an atmosphere boggles the
mind.  Previous editions didn't have this problem.


>How are costs for fuel scoops calculated? You work out how many you want as a
>percentage of the total surface area, but the costs are given per cubic metre.
>Does one cubic metre of fuel scoop cover 1 square metre of surface area or 10,
>does tech level affect this?

 Honestly, this one bugs me too.  The cost of fuel scoops is based on the
volume of the _whole_ craft, not of the scoops themselves.  How this changes
with percent coverage is what gets me...


>Thanks for any help you can provide a travller newbie (who tried to design a
>traveller equivalent of a deathstar but gave up after he got lost in the
>complexities of the rules;-)

 ACK! Start with an X-Wing, instead.  Or the Millenium Falcon.  These are
fairly simple design concepts that won't get in the way of your rules
delving.  The Death Star, on the other hand, will require a trip to the
Meson Gun design sequence, and will have mind-boggling crew numbers.

James Kundert <j.kundert@genie.geis.com>
              <james@dumbcat.sf.ca.us>

There was a young lady named Bright,
Whose speed was much faster, much faster than Light.
She departed one day in a relative way,
And returned on the previous Night.
   --Albert & the Heart of Gold

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 11 Aug 94 11:57:00 EST
From: "Upton, Django" <DUpton@VTRNNTOV.TELECOM.com.au>
To: tml <traveller@MPGN.COM>
Subject: Functional Ship Classifications etc
Message-ID: <2E4A9E9E@msmail.trl.oz.au>


The following was posted to engrg.uwo.ca in the last days of the tml there 
and did not appear to be broadcast:

 The idea that ship classifications should follow the function of the design 
is a useful one that could help explain such anomalies as the various 
"cruisers" presented in Brilliant Lances & TNE.

 Ship classifications follow the requirements of a developing interstellar 
society.

Stage 1. Exploration & Colonisation
 New worlds are discovered colonies are established.

 This requires 2 basic types.

Survey ships
 - also called scouts, these ships carry survey sensors and discover new 
worlds for exploitation.

Transports
 - to transport colonists to the new worlds and resources back to the home 
world.

Stage 2. Settlement & Expansion
 As more and more worlds are colonised some of the older and more developed 
colonies get more self sufficient and hanker after independence.
 The expanding frontier causes the reaction times of the home worlds forces 
to become slower.
 The increasing merchant activity encourages some to turn to piracy.

 The appearance of warships characterises this stage.

Cruisers
 - all purpose warships capable of extended patrolling. The size and 
capability of cruisers increases as the opposition changes from the odd 
armed merchant to the missile boats of rebellious worlds. The logistic 
problems of re-supply mean that DE weapons are preferred to missiles.

Merchants
 - privately owned transports not under the control of the home world.

Missile Boats
 - cheap craft with a powerful punch but limited endurance. Missiles are 
emphasised as they allow targets such as cruisers to be attacked at less 
risk for the boat. The ship of choice for a developing colony with 
pretensions of independence.

Stage 3. Independence & War
 As former colonies become independent they begin to behave like the 
original home world, eventually leading to conflicting interests and perhaps 
war.
 Alternatively an expanding frontier may contact aliens who are less than 
friendly!

 Warships become more developed.

Battleships
 - by increasing the offensive and defensive capabilities of cruisers at the 
expense of endurance the ultimate in space combat ships are produced. They 
are however so expensive that their loss must be carefully guarded against.

Destroyers
 - first called "missile boat destroyers" these ships are similar to missile 
boats but have fleet performance. Their role is to protect the fleet from 
missile boat attacks and as sensor pickets.

Frigates
 - the increasing size and cost of cruisers mitigates against their use in 
"police actions" so small cruisers are built to fill this role. These ships 
are generally called frigates.

Corvettes
 - small destroyers not capable of fleet performance. Often used for convoy 
escort and anti-piracy.

Couriers
 - the development of better jump drives allows faster communications. 
Couriers are small ships used to carry messages at the fastest available 
jump speed.

Django

------------------------------

Date: Thu, 11 Aug 94 11:57:00 EST
From: "Upton, Django" <DUpton@VTRNNTOV.TELECOM.com.au>
To: tml <traveller@MPGN.COM>
Subject: FF&S design mods
Message-ID: <2E4A9ECF@msmail.trl.oz.au>


The following was posted to engrg.uwo.ca in the last days of the tml there 
and did not appear to be broadcast:

There are a lot of problems with the FF&S design rules. Here are a few 
suggestions to help overcome some of the problems I found.

Lasers: It seems silly to me that a laser can be constructed at ANY pulse 
energy for a given area of focal array as a sufficiently high energy will 
damage the reflective/refractive parts of the focal array no matter how much 
extra mass is added !
The following formula accounts for increasing efficiency at high TL while 
limiting lasers to a penetration of nil on their own focal arrays:

MAX pulse energy=Non grav eff (%) x Area of focal array (cm^2) x 0.39

e.g. a TL 9 laser with 10 m^2 focal array has an absolute max pulse energy 
of:

0.3 x 100000 x .39 = 11700 MJ

High Energy weapons: Arrgh where do I start! Their disadvantages include:
 -high price
 -short range
 -low penetration
 -heavy
 -high recoil
 -heavy ammo
 -requires high tech maintainance
in short, only a complete moron would use them as they are.

Some mods to make them more viable:
IPR is now calculated from pulse MJ

IPR=MJ^-3  ( /2 at long, /10 at extreme )

Range is calculated using a formula derived from that I worked out for Mass 
Drivers.

Short range (m) = 1/k x ln ( vkt + 1 )
v= 8000 for plasma, 12000 for fusion
t=0.3
k=4 x (10^-3) x MJ^-(2/3)
For small arms use the shorter of either the above or that of an equivalent 
small arms laser.

Fusion guns derive extra energy from the fusion reaction.
Multiply the MJ rating of the fusion gun ammo by 2.25 for the purposes of 
damage, IPR and range.

Ammo is very heavy which means that small arms can only carry a few shots, 
also note that the amount of propellent required to fire a ETC gun with a 
muzzle velocity of say 12 MJ is about a quarter of the mass of a 12 MJ PPC 
Cartridge!
Ammo now has a mass and volume = 0.2 x EPG equivalent mass and volume.

Example ratings:

0.75 MJ Plasma Gun
Dam=10 PR=1,2,11 Pen=10,10,5,1 Range=514m

2 MJ Plasma Gun
Dam=16 PR=1,2,8 Pen=16,16,8,2 Range=763m

12 MJ Plasma Gun
Dam=39 PR=1/2,1,4 Pen=78,78,39,10 Range=1349m

125 MJ Fusion Gun (x2.25=281.25 MJ)
Dam=192 PR=1/7,1/3,2 Pen=1344,1344,576,96 Range=3093m

Note that the above values are closer to the 2300AD concept of a H.E. 
Weapon.

I hope the above will be of some use to people struggling to reconcile the 
traditional concept of H.E. weapons with the complete duds presented in TNE.

Django. 

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End of TRAVELLER Digest 4
*************************
