			    TRAVELLER Digest 88

Topics covered in this issue include:

  1) Re: Azhanti BGs	by bonn0015@itlabs.umn.edu (STEVEN M BONNEVILLE)
  2) Gas Giant Refuelling: World Exploration	by alvin plummera <plummera@hubble.sheridanc.on.ca>
  3) Capital UWP	by rodge@case.cyberspace.com (Roger Sanger)
  4) Oops!	by bonn0015@itlabs.umn.edu (STEVEN M BONNEVILLE)
  5) Re: Gas Giant Refuelling: World Exploration	by rwm@MPGN.COM (Rob Miracle)

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Date: Mon, 31 Oct 1994 15:27:16 -0600
From: bonn0015@itlabs.umn.edu (STEVEN M BONNEVILLE)
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Re: Azhanti BGs
Message-ID: <199410312127.PAA10589@lobster.itlabs.umn.edu>

More on the _Azhanti_/_Maggart_ horde fight:

I realized that the _Azhanti_ is missing one other major component 
that we'd normally expect to see -- the 20% flicker "Vlandian" Black 
Globe.  I suppose that it was omitted to see how a conventional 
cruiser held up against a determined attack.  The high-performance 
jump drives in the _Azhanti_ make it ideal for a BG.  According to
FF&S, using the jump capacitors only, the TL14 _Azhanti_ drive can 
absorb up to 441000 MJ of incoming power before overloading.  But 
it doesn't say anywhere how to convert this into damage value, so 
this can't be easily converted to _Battle Rider_ damage points.

We have data for the _Kinunir_.  It can handle BR damage points
of 10, or 500-749 BL damage points.  The TL15 _Kinunir_ can take
at least 8750 MJ in its' jump capacitors.  This suggests that 

  BL damage points == 5 * (square root of capacity in MJ)
  
in a similar manner to the formulae for the PAWS and Meson weapon
sequences in FF&S.  The _Kinunir_ doesn't quite fit this on jump 
capacitor capacity alone, but it would be reasonable if even a
miniscule auxiliary HPG bank were also installed in the ship.  (In
the single cubic meter range!)  Unfortunately, other potential
solutions are possible, so this is only a guess.

If this *is* accurate, then the BG-equipped _Azhanti_ would have an
incredible minimum HPG capacity of 18 _Battle Rider_ damage points, 
without an auxiliary HPG bank.

  Steve Bonneville
  <bonn0015@gold.tc.umn.edu>


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

Date: Mon, 31 Oct 1994 16:10:01 -0500 (EST)
From: alvin plummera <plummera@hubble.sheridanc.on.ca>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Gas Giant Refuelling: World Exploration
Message-ID: <Pine.3.05.1.9410311509.A4528-c100000@hubble.sheridanc.on.ca>


Remember in your Elementary Astrophysis Class 101, where your
professor claimed that Jupiter was really a failed star?

Well, keep it in mind as I speak.

Menorb (Regina: Spinard Marches 1803 C652998-8) has no gas giants and
refuses to permit starships to refuell in it's small, precious seas.  And the
cost of even unrefined fuel is excessive.

But... Menorb orbits a cool M5 II Red Giant.  Loaded with lots and lots of
hydrogen.

So... can a typical Free Trader refuell at ole' Red Eye?  
If I can't, is it because of a lack of armour?  No way to get rid of
excess heat buildup?  Life support limits?  Sensor blindness?  

What if I chose to dive into a black spot... would it make a difference?

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

I was reading _The Grand Tour: A Travellers Guide to the Solar System_ by
Ron Miller & William K. Hartmann (well, actually looking at the neato
space art) and was skimming the "Vital Statistics" section at the back. 
The info in the book brought up a nomber of Traveller-related questions... 

 - If Our Heroes were scouting on a world, what would the difference be if
the world had a surface of - Carbonaceous rock
                           - Sulfur compounds (ie. Io )
                           - H2O ice 
                           - NH3 (Ammonia) ice
                           - CH4 (Methane) ice
                           - N2 (Nitrogen) ice
                           - CO (Carbon Monoxide) ice
..my scientific knowledge is so limited, the only thing I know is that
Io's soil stinks.  Should I avoid smoking on a world with CH4 ice surfaces?
And how does "dry ice" work, briefly?

..also, in a sf story I read (a "mini-Forever War", I think), The boot
camp was on Pluto, and great care had to be taken to avoid contacting a
hot surface with the world's icy surface.  Or else, the hot stuff would
boil the ice it touches, and "sketter" across the surface of the world.
(and "hot", in this instance can mean -100 C, I think)

Since I know nothing about physics, I would appreciate any other "strange
and bizzare" phenomena I should be aware of when exploring those Ice Balls.

And how would you explore the Methane seas on a Gas Giant, anyways?
(Seasme Street: "Care - fully,  Care - fully, Care - full.....-L-Y!")

["Players can spend a lot of time mapping the metallic hydrogen oceans of
some gas giant, but they'll be more successful if they use the same time
to discover and explore... terrestrial-type worlds." p. 197, T:TNE.
          -  but I LOVE hydrogen seas!  Doesn't everyone?               ]
  
-----------------

While looking through _The Grand Tour_, I once again discovered the funny,
funky world of Io.  Using the "World Builder's Handbook", what is the
sesmisic stress of Io?  And how would I re-create such a world in my
campagin? (Other than just copying Io's physical features into game terms)

And, in Traveller terms, how many rings does Saturn have?

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

Finally, Titan and Triton have methane atmospheres.  How does methane
"behave" (don't say "explosively"!) ?  Titan seems to have a ugly brown mess
of a sky, while Triton's atmosphere is crystal clear.  

Alvin Plummer
(Forget about the Beanstalk - I want to do some Stardiving!)


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

Date: Mon, 31 Oct 94 13:50:21 PST
From: rodge@case.cyberspace.com (Roger Sanger)
To: traveller@MPGN.COM, xboat@MPGN.COM
Subject: Capital UWP
Message-ID: <9410312150.AA22657@case.cyberspace.com>


Capital/Core 2118 as of 175-1104 had a UWP of A586A98-F.  The world's
profile and cultural profile ala the World Builder's Handbook's format
is included in Travellers' Digest #9 by Digest Group Publications.  That
issue also contains an adventure that begins on Capital before Emporer
Strephon himself, character stats on the Emporer, Dulinor, and several other
nobles, and articles detailing The Crack Troops of the Imperial Guard, 
The Imperial Palace, Imperial Nobility, Library Data for Core Sector, two
subsectors in detail (I & J), and to top it all off, an Interview with the
Emporer.

Hope the above helps.

Sincerely,
Roger Sanger

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

Date: Mon, 31 Oct 1994 15:53:06 -0600
From: bonn0015@itlabs.umn.edu (STEVEN M BONNEVILLE)
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Oops!
Message-ID: <199410312153.PAA18720@diatom.itlabs.umn.edu>


In my last post on the Azhanti BG, my figures about the "miniscule HPG
bank" in the Kinunir are a bit off on the small side (I *thought* it
looked odd...) but otherwise everything should still work out.

  Steve Bonneville
  <bonn0015@gold.tc.umn.edu>

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

Date: Mon, 31 Oct 1994 17:00:12 -0500
From: rwm@MPGN.COM (Rob Miracle)
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Re: Gas Giant Refuelling: World Exploration
Message-ID: <199410312200.RAA01773@Central.KeyWest.MPGN.COM>

>But... Menorb orbits a cool M5 II Red Giant.  Loaded with lots and lots of
>hydrogen.
>
>So... can a typical Free Trader refuell at ole' Red Eye?  
>If I can't, is it because of a lack of armour?  No way to get rid of
>excess heat buildup?  Life support limits?  Sensor blindness?  

The big difference is the fact that Mister Star has a fusion reaction going
on, which includes all kinds of energy being spit out.  Heat is the big
issue, as soon as you scoop that plasma into your tanks, its going to ignite
your ship.  By the time you get deep enough to get past the combustion to
actually find hydrogen you are going to be a mass of melted metal.  

Add to that all the other radiation and such makes the task an impossible
one at best.

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

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End of TRAVELLER Digest 88
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