       TRAVELLER Digest 30

Topics covered in this issue include:

  1) Re: *Shall Not Perish* (tm), Regency Sourcebook by Edward_Swatschek@mindlink.bc.ca (Edward Swatschek)
  2) Re: gauss wpns by Edward_Swatschek@mindlink.bc.ca (Edward Swatschek)
  3) air/raft design by Edward_Swatschek@mindlink.bc.ca (Edward Swatschek)
  4) Re #28, Armor etc by Lahtinen Antti <al76188@proffa.cc.tut.fi>
  5)  by gdw.support@genie.geis.com
  6) Ethnic stuff by "James M. Kelleher" <kelleher@holonet.net>

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

Date: Sun, 04 Sep 94 06:55:31 -0700
From: Edward_Swatschek@mindlink.bc.ca (Edward Swatschek)
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Re: *Shall Not Perish* (tm), Regency Sourcebook
Message-ID: <m0qhI47-0003YFC@rsoft.rsoft.bc.ca>

David Johnson writes:

> I also have "heard" that GDW has moved up the release of its own Regency
> Sourcebook from "something in two years" to a possible December, 1994
> release.  I don't have any confirmation of that rumor but I suspect if
> it's true that might be a further disincentive for folks to participate
> in our own TML Regency Sourcebook.

   Dave Nilsen was reported to have said "Regency sourcebook in the first
quarter of 1995! So let's all call it quits and go back to our hotel
rooms." to begin the TNE GenCon seminar.  (Report thanks to Clay Bush.)


--
               Edjs                    _
              ------                _ //  CIS  : 76427,662
   Edward_Swatschek@mindlink.bc.ca  \X/   GEnie: E.SWATSCHEK


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

Date: Sun, 04 Sep 94 07:25:58 -0700
From: Edward_Swatschek@mindlink.bc.ca (Edward Swatschek)
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Re: gauss wpns
Message-ID: <m0qhIX9-0003FYC@rsoft.rsoft.bc.ca>

   If you use a denser gauss bullet, I recommend you also increase the
barrel length to balance things a bit.  I've been using 0.1*Pi*r^3, and
barrels 2.5 times longer.

   Probably not worth the trouble, but if you want to be more complex
in deriving the mass of the bullet, here are some materials to choose
from:

bullet mass = df * Pi * r^3

   df    material
  ---------------
  0.02   glass
  0.06   iron/steel
  0.08   lead, crystaliron
  0.10   lead with a tungsten core (something like what the
         original gauss rounds were described as being)
  0.12   superdense
  0.16   tungsten, depleted uranium, gold (for cybermen :)


   For the magazine battery, I use the battery table from section 8
rather than the method used in the design sequence.

   Here's a handy table based on the section 8 battery table, in units
more useful for small applications:

Batteries

TL      Storage   Power         Cost
------------------------------------
 4        72 kJ      20 W       0.5
 5       108 kJ      30 W       0.5
 6       144 kJ      40 W       0.4
 7       180 kJ      50 W       0.4
 8       360 kJ     100 W       0.5
 9       720 kJ     200 W       1.0
10         1.44 MJ  400 W       1.5
11         1.80 MJ  500 W       2.0
12         2.70 MJ  750 W       2.5
13         2.88 MJ  800 W       4.0
14         3.60 MJ    1.0 kW    5.0
15         4.32 MJ    1.2 kW    7.5
16         5.04 MJ    1.4 kW   10.0

Storage: how many Joules of energy stored per kg of battery
Power:   standard power output per kg of batter, in Watts
Cost:    credits per kg.  If it outputs power at a higher rate than its
         standard rate, the cost is increased:

         req/std output   Cost
         --------------------
         3125 - 15625     x25
          625 -  3125     x16
          125 -   625     x9
           25 -   125     x4
            5 -    25     x2


Sample design:

Gauss rifle
TL 12
MuzzleV: 1600 m/s
MuzzleE: 3200 J
Length: 76.5 cm, Bulk: 5
ROF: SA/5, recoil: 1/3
Wpn mass: 2.704 kg
Mag mass: 0.238 kg empty, 0.388 kg loaded (60 rds bullpup box)
Loaded mass: 3.092 kg
Wpn cost: Cr1339
Mag cost: Cr4
Ammo: 4x20mm, 2.5g

      Round   DV   Pen       Range         Price
      -------------------------------------------
      dart    4    1-2-Nil   100 (115)     Cr0.05
      tranq  -1    Nil        30           Cr0.10

Other: gyroscopic compensator
       optic sight
       rifle grenade adapter
       bayonet lug


--
               Edjs                    _
              ------                _ //  CIS  : 76427,662
   Edward_Swatschek@mindlink.bc.ca  \X/   GEnie: E.SWATSCHEK


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

Date: Sun, 04 Sep 94 07:37:04 -0700
From: Edward_Swatschek@mindlink.bc.ca (Edward Swatschek)
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: air/raft design
Message-ID: <m0qhIld-00039cC@rsoft.rsoft.bc.ca>

   This design is based on the Hurricane air/raft detailed in DGP's
World Builder's Handbook.

-----------
Tech Level:
   15

Price:
   3 973 800 Cr

Size:
   42 kL (3 tons)

Mass:
   15.0 tonnes empty
   22.2 t loaded                                Power (kW)
                                                ----------
Power/Loco:
   6 MW fusion (2 standard 3 MW fusion packs)
   4 tonne-thrust HEPlaR                              200
   contra-grav lifters                                300
   1.7594 MW excess power

Maint:
   4

Controls:
   holographic linked                                   3
   flight avionics, TL 10+                            100
   terrain following avionics, TL 15                   20
   flight computer x2, TL 15                          110

Commo:
   radio, 3 000 km                                    100
   laser, 3 000 km                                     80
   meson, 3 000 km                                    200

Sensors:
   AEMS, 30 km                                      2 500
   PEMS, 30 km                                          2
   NAS, 500 m                                           6
   densitometer                                       400
   headlights x2                                        0.2
   searchlight                                          1

Life Support:
   extended life support                                8.4
   artificial gravity/inertial compensators           210
   * Note that there is no air-lock.

Cargo:
   7 kL
   4 x 100 L isolation chambers for collecting samples.

Accom:
   2 adequate crew stations (driver, sensor operator)
   2 adequate seats

Armament:
   0.4 kL forward chassis mount (max circular diameter is 0.4 m)
   1.2 kL deck/belly mount (diameter is 0.8 m, available on both the
          deck and belly)

Speed:
   accel:   1.3 m/s/s
   maximum: 400 km/h
   cruise:  300 km/h
   NOE:     100 km/h

Travel Move:
   high: 1200
   NOE:   600

Combat Move:
   high: 56
   NOE:  14

Fuel Capacity:
   reaction mass: 4 000 L LHyd
   power plant: 600 L LHyd

Fuel Consumption:
   HEPlaR: 50 L/h
   power plant: 1y duration

Combat Statistics:
   Config: standard USL
   Susp: grav
   HF:      7
   HS:      7
   HR:      7
   Deck:    7
   Belly:   7
   Windows: 4  (25% of chassis side and deck hits strike a window, as
               do 75% of front hits.  I chose the AV arbitrarily,
               seeing no specific mention of how good transparent
               armour is.)


   At close to 4 MCr, this is an expensive vehicle, but is popular with
the Imperial Scouts and Navy.  What makes it popular, and expensive, is
the good communications and sensor suites (90% of the cost is in the
meson communicator, active EMS, and densitometer).

   Space is set aside for some fair weaponry, but with an AV of 7 it
should not be mistaken for an armoured vehicle.  The references to
diameter define the maximum focal array diameter of any lasers that
might be installed.

   The standard fusion pack is a 1 kL, 1.3 t, kCr102 unit producing 3
MW of power and containing fuel for 1y of operation, in a
self-contained unit (with an AV of 2).  Has enough controls installed
to be operated independently, but works best when tied into a proper
crew station (increase task difficulties if no crew station hook up).

   The vehicle is unlikely to be found intact in a Star Viking
campaign, but working fusion packs and NAS sensors bring top credit if
salvaged in working condition.


--
               Edjs                    _
              ------                _ //  CIS  : 76427,662
   Edward_Swatschek@mindlink.bc.ca  \X/   GEnie: E.SWATSCHEK


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

Date: Sun, 4 Sep 1994 21:52:35 +0200 (EET DST)
From: Lahtinen Antti <al76188@proffa.cc.tut.fi>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Re #28, Armor etc
Message-ID: <199409041852.VAA06488@proffa.cc.tut.fi>

David John Yeardly <djy@st-andrews.ac.uk> wrote:

>why penitrated ? if a trooper in battledress is hit by a large mass
>moving at even relitively low speed then the kinetic energy will have
>to go somewhere and at best this will result in brusing/fractures.

 GDW's current damage system is based on the kinetic energy
 of the projectile, and it is possible to calculate the damage
 for almost any type of projectile.

 Example: 10kg rock is dropped from a cliff, and hits a trooper
 20m below (in 1G gravity, with negligible air friction). The rock
 will have about 1962 joules of kinetic energy when it hits.
 This energy corresponds to DV 3 and Pen 1.

 Modern 5.56mm NATO bullet has the same damage value and short range
 penetration as this rock.

 Note that heavily armored troopers will still take _Blunt Trauma_
 damage from any projectile that hits their armor, and troopers
 can be killed with multiple non-penetrating hits. This is explained
 in TNE rulebook, in page 285.

>If this is the case then if TL2 use siege weapons then battledresse
>troupers are going to take damage as when the projectile hits the
>momentum that it has has to be disapated and as a result the trooper
>will suffer damage

 Catapult-launched slow and heavy rock can be as dangerous as a rifle-
 fired fast and light bullet, if they have the same kinetic energy.

>an effective weapon could therefore be designed around a HSHE round, a
>modern tank killing weapon. As the target is a trouper then the round
>could be of small caliber say 10-15 mm and this would do damage without
>penitrating the suit thus leaving it for future re-use.

 I assume that you meant a HESH warhead.

 HESH High Explosive Squash Head - Warhead composed of plastic
  explosive which deforms in impact and then detonates.
  Effect is to create shock wave in armor plate to create
  spalling - large flake(s) of armor which fly around the
  interior causing havoc with crew and equipment.

 HESH warhead is also called HEP, High Explosive Plastique. Note that
 kinetic energy penetrators can cause similar spalling as HESH does,
 even when they do not completely penetrate the armor.
 HESH warhead is one approach to penetrate armor using explosives, and
 though it has different damage mechanism than HEAP warhead, the final
 results are relatively similar.

 IMHO, HESH warheads are high-tech HEAP warheads.

 PS. The shock wave caused by HESH explosion can cause major damage to
 modern tank engines, electronic devices, vision blocks, etc. It is
 quite unlikely that HESH-wrecked combat armor could be re-used without
 complete overhaul.




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

Date: Mon,  5 Sep 94 02:31:00 UTC
From: gdw.support@genie.geis.com
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Message-ID: <199409050242.AA099122951@relay2.geis.com>

 
 traveller@mpgn.com
 
 From TRAVELLER Digest 25
 
 To T.Eldritch:
 
 > Do the rest of you guys reckon the power armour strength
 > rules are a bit silly too? If you double the strength of a
 > weedy character that only makes them average...
 > Would a fixed strength value or an addition
 > to the users strength be a bit more sensible?
 
 We did what we did to give characters in BD a little variety,
 rather then making them all exactly the same. This was a design
 decesion, and we made a lot of those that some people don't agree
 with.
 
 To Mark Watson:
 
 > The worst part of the TNE generation system is that
 > bloody playing card system which makes everyone
 > monomaniacal.
 
 That system is intended for use _only_ with NPCs. Player
 characters can act however their players want them to.
 
 > (Loren, is it Genie producing this indentation?)
 
 I don't know. It shows up once in a while, and I have no idea
 where it is coming from. Probably some blip induced by the
 transfer from Office Mac to Home PC to GEnie's Honeywell
 mainframe to whatever it is MPGN runs on...
 
 >> All companies (large and small) are being hit hard by recent
 >> events, and rumors of firings and lay-offs are
 >> rampant throughout the industry.
 >
 > But not WoTC, I think.
 
 No...not WOTC. If GDW were WOTC we wouldn't be in the situation we are in.
 
 > Have you looked at working with
 > them in the same way White Wolf have?
 
 They don't seem to be interested in SF...at least not ours.
 
 To Shalom Zaidfeld:
 
 > Is writing a utility to help design vehicles
 > using FF&S rules as a spreadsheet
 > and then giving it away to whoever wishs to use
 > that spreadsheet illegal?
 
 If it contains any of our copyrighted material (tables, charts,
 etc.), yes. Writing the utility and using it yourself is
 evidently OK (to the best of our legal advice), but selling,
 conveying, or giving it to anyone else is a definite no-no (and
 this includes putting stuff in FTP sites, BBS libraries, "I just
 put it on a disk and left it on a table" gimicks, and the like).
 
 To David Reed:
 
 > My question was of more technical, legal nature than
 > the note from Mr. Nilsen addressed, but since
 > I find you posting here I will take that as a
 > tacit nod in the direction of open and free
 > conversation, the likes of which T$R (tm)
 > seeks to stifle.
 
 We can't give you a technical legal answer because we aren't
 lawyers, and the legalities of the whole "Intellectual property
 vs Infobahn" thing aren't completely settled yet. GDW must,
 however, take a rather conservative position in these matters, or
 risk _losing_ the trademarks and copyrights that constitute our
 livlihood. That's why we have to answer Shalom (see above) like
 we did.
 
 We have no problem with _conversation_ about Traveller (we
 actively encourage it), but there are people who want to do a
 good deal more than that, and get highly offended when we tell
 them they can't (I have heard rumors of a series of flames
 circulating about us because we wouldn't OK an on-line
 electrozine). I'm not kidding when I say that one proposal wanted
 to photocopy/OCR large bunches of our stuff and give it away, and
 wanted our official stamp of approval to do so (we refused, of
 course).
 
 > Here is an issue that's been really bugging me since
 > I first began playing Traveller (Classic) quite some
 > time ago. I found several remedies for the issue
 > myself, but additional insight would be very much
 > appreciated. Where did the plethora of races
 > from Terra go? It would seem, however,
 > that every human in the Traveller universe is
 > caucasian, and cultural spice is added
 > by the use of alien cultures.
 > I guess it's possible that the Traveller universe
 > is one in which there were never any races
 
 > on Terra besides the "white" ones...
 
 Not true. GDW's policy has _always_ been that the full panoply
 of Terran racial and national diversity went into space, spread
 out, and diversified. Why do you think we say: "Any character is
 potentially of either sex or any race." Back in the classic
 Traveller days, John Harshman and I tried to get the widest
 variety of ethnic names into the game in order to drive this
 point home (anybody remember an admiral Stashu Nagoya, the
 Japanese-Pole?). Of course, what happened to it afterwards is
 anybody's guess.
 
 We have had (and still have) problems convincing our artists to
 depict other than causasian males (we are not alone in this
 either), but this should _not_ be construed as indicating that
 space travel is only for WASPs (check out the illos in Star
 Vikings on pps 10, 26, 28, and 68 for some characters that are
 clearly not purely European, and several of the others are
 problematical...its a little hard to tell from a B&W illo) or
 only for men. Frankly, I am a little peeved that we do not have
 more asiatics depicted in our illustrations, and I have mentioned
 this our art director. I disagree with many of Gene Roddenberry's
 philosophical expressions in Star Trek, but I feel he got one
 thing right: We humans should celebrate our diversity.
 
 As for cultures, we don't talk about individual planetary human
 cultures or religions much (except in individual adventures),
 because we assume that referees will bring interesting and exotic
 cultures/religions into their campaign to suit their own tastes
 (just as you have done) and we prefer not place any restrictions
 on this. We do not discuss sex or sexual orientation for the same
 reason. Player characters can be whatever their players want them
 to be, and the game is richer and more diverse because of it.
 
 Sorry if I went a little overboard in this response...I feel
 rather strongly on the subject.
 
 From TRAVELLER Digest 26
 
 Steve Bonneville responding to S. Carleton:
 >> While it was never explicity stated, various accounts of
 >> Imperial history (like the overview in the old
 >> Library Data book and comments in GDW's Solomani
 >>sourcebook) led me to think that the Syleans were
 >> just a cultural group
 
 > No, Syleans are a human "minor race". But there
 > are only two pieces of evidence in print. The
 > clearest one is the world detail sheet for Capital
 > in Traveller's Digest #9 which states that Capital
 > (Sylea) has a human minor race. There also
 > was an _Azhanti_ intruder named "Sylean High
 > Lightning", and the initial adjective seems to mostly
 > be for separate human "races" (except the Solomani,
 > since they were the enemy when the ships were built
 > in the 990s). Some features in the Imperial Park on
 > Capital in TD #9 seem to have names that don't follow
 > any Vilani or Solomani pattern, and are possibly High
 > Sylean in origin.
 
 My view was that they were a culturally distinct group, but not
 a separate minor race from the mainstream of humanity. I'm pretty
 sure this was Marc's view as well, but I haven't spoken to him
 about it. I do not view the evidence quoted as overwhelming, but
 I'm not strongly attached/opposed to either notion.
 
 To Alvin Plummer:
 
 > Also, what happened to the *Shall Not Perish*
 > Regency sourcebook for TML?
 
 I don't know, but We have our Regency Sourcebook slated for
 release early in 1995. And (I don't know if this is going to
 start a sh*tst*rm or not), the title may be _Shall not
 Perish_...It may be _Keepers of the Flame_ or any of several
 other neat titles (all of them, SnP included, derived from
 Survival Margin, but SnP is in the running. The working title is
 _Regency Sourcebook_
 
  Loren K. Wiseman
    for GDW,Inc.

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

Date: Sun, 4 Sep 94 19:44:00 PDT
From: "James M. Kelleher" <kelleher@holonet.net>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM (Traveller posts)
Subject: Ethnic stuff
Message-ID: <199409050244.TAA09225@holonet.net>

before I get into this one just one thing...
David...
it is Scott - Irish or Irish - Scottish Scotch is what you drink!
from a Irish - Scott ( mostly Irish ;-) ) ( I once was corrected
on this by a retired RSM Ion McKenzie... :-) )
I have no problem and I don't mind playing with ethnically based worlds
or civilisatons...
but why just stick to solomani Ethnic bounds use the imagination...
How about Anserin or syleain erhnic varieations...
Or even ( He said going out on a limb Hope nobody saws it off... :-) )
Hiver or Aslan or ( Heaven forfend ) K'Kree...
Could be interesting and show the characters that the usuall press that
they see abut Aslan ( for Instance ) isn't always true...
That is one thing I so like about the Spinward Marches You run into 
ethnic Vilani who act more Solomani... etc.
it is a lot of fun trying to guess how a NPC who looks Vilani is going 
to act or react... ;-)
And I can see where this kind of thing will enliven any Campain. Especally
the RECES types...
I guess what this all boils down to is that I seem to have no intolerances ?
Well I don't know about that :-) but I have no problem with this kind of 
thing.
Some of the characters I have run or am running, Duchess Aurora... a Vilani-
solmani mix ( common in the Marches ) but her famialy is given to Blonds
( Gold hair accually ), Light eyes, and Psionics, all of which seem to be 
recessive Gens ( sp? ). 
Gunnar - He appears to be an ethnic Sword worlder Bigger than even their 
avrage but within their group. ( he is also from the Marches ) some of his
problems include blending in???? Sun light hurts!!! " Sun What Sun... here
in the fieords we don't see the sun much." He does have small boat handeling
and Tihlea -  Vilani She looks Vilani she sounds vilani she even has some  
of the conservatism of the vilani ( might be a result of her academic pro-
fession ;-) ). But she is a product of the prevailing culture here in the 
marches ( Regina/Regina ).
so you can play as much or little as you want with cultures. Bear in mind 
that starship crews and Scouts will be on the whole a more cosmopaltin bunch
and probably will wait and see just how it is going to jump....
Ok Ok I've babbled enough...
thanks for reading...
see you all...
jim

-- 
Remember: no matter where you go...
There you are...
B. Banzi

James M. Kelleher
kelleher@holonet.net

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

End of TRAVELLER Digest 30
**************************
