			    TRAVELLER Digest 205

Topics covered in this issue include:

  1) Re: Striker	by Michael Llaneza <mllaneza@mercury.sfsu.edu>
  2) Re: Traveller Digest 204	by "Harold D. Hale" <hdhale@smtpwpo.dayt.tasc.com>
  3) Classic Traveller (Near Complete) Auction	by kkl@genie.cs.byu.edu (Kenneth Li)

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Date: Sat, 25 Feb 1995 08:31:26 -0800 (PST)
From: Michael Llaneza <mllaneza@mercury.sfsu.edu>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Cc: Multiple recipients of list <traveller@MPGN.COM>
Subject: Re: Striker
Message-ID: <Pine.SOL.3.91.950225082621.11124A-100000@mercury>

Retief, pick up a box of Renegade Legion grav tanks in plastic. They work 
splendidly for Striker. Also note the metal tanks as well. These are from 
Nightshift Games these days..

Maps: I have a USGS survey map of Sonoma Counta, CA. It is scaled at 
1cm=1km. Divide Striker ranges by 100 to give map distances. The maps 
have contour lines and roads marked on them. Pick an area you are 
familiar with (I grew up in Sonoma County) and you are set for a map 
based game.

I will be resuming publication of my magazine, Imperial Dispatches, on 
the WWW. Striker will be a featured game. I'll post the address when the 
new servers at school are up and running. I'll be wanting house rules, 
vehicles, scenarios, organizations etc for the site.

Michael Carter Llaneza
Conceptual Design Services             The Worse it gets,
Pi Kappa Phi                           The more I get used to it.
"I am the NRA"			       Duty Now For The Future
Veteran of the Bermuda Triangle Expeditionary Force 1990-1951


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

Date: Sat, 25 Feb 1995 21:07:24 -0500
From: "Harold D. Hale" <hdhale@smtpwpo.dayt.tasc.com>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Re: Traveller Digest 204
Message-ID: <sf4f9bbb.032@smtpwpo.dayt.tasc.com>

"fireplug" says:

>I'm running a Solomani campaign, and I have some assumptions here:
>1) People from the Terran Empire (what the subsector calls itself) don't
>like the phrase "Solomani". The Imperium gave it to the Terrans, and, to
>the Terrans, the Third Imperium meant suppression and conformity.

   I'm assuming here that the Second Solomani Rim War (what the
Solomani call the Rebellion) doesn't happen, and that you are running
a varient campaign.

   "Terran Nationalism" would be a natural development, as Terra is not
truly "Imperial" nor for that matter truly "Solomani".  Depending on how
things develop in your campaign, Solomani to the Terrans could have
the same implications as "Imperial" does in the RC.

>2) The Terrans cut themselves off from the rest of the galaxy in 1120, 4
>years after the Imperium fell. Also, Terran ships never had the little
>black boxes (transponder suites). So, when Virus hit around 1130, the
>Terrans were better able to survive Virus.

   The problem is that neither the Imperium or the Solomani would have
allowed the Solomani to establish a "Switzerland" type state between
them.  The Solomani in particular would have been against it, as Terra
is their theoretical homeworld.

   Sealing off the borders would even be more problematic.  The fleet
required would be massive, as Terra doesn't have any rifts to isolate
itself from anyone.

   If they don't have "little black boxes" what do they have?  They have
to have some way of telling good guys from bad guys--that would be
critical to enforcing a blockade, unless you are prepared to visually
communicate with all ship traffic (military and commercial), and don't
mind blowing up the ocassional ship who's communications array isn't
working.

   The other presumption is  that the Terrans would *know* to do away
with "little black boxes" because they transmit Virus.  Up to 1130, no
one had any reason to believe that these devices would be the death
of most of interstellar civilization.  A time traveler could go back and tell
them to destroy the boxes  and why (assuming that anyone who
listen to him or her), but that would be about the only way.

>3) Right now, Virus is more like the Barbary pirates. There's a lot of
>vampire ships out there, and you never know when they're gonna
>attack - you just know they will. Hence, Terran ships are armed to the
>teeth. Any sign of a Virus-infested ship is grounds for immediate
>destruction.

   This goes without saying....particularly the killing of vampire ships
part.

>Also, any info on the Second Imperium (the "Rule of Man") and theories
>on the Solomani will be appreciated.

   I would be happy to answer more specific questions.  Theories on
the Solomani would take up quite a bit of bandwidth.

David A. Nelson says:

>    I'm interested in the philosophy being used by starship designers out
> there.  what are the general guidelines people out there are using
>when building warships for an imperaial space background.
>
>1. armor is your friend. most warship want a armor values around 100.
>    the few Cubic meter you lose will be made up for with the protection
>    gained.

   But it is also true that you can't make your ship damage proof either.
Beyond armor value 100, you reach a point of diminishing returns rather
quickly.

>2. One big hole is better to many little holes.  Putting 1 150 point blast
>into an enemy is better then 3 50 point blast.  The bigger damage, the
>more likely you can cause a critical hit and totally take out cital systems
>(i.e,  life support, powerplant, etc.).

   The old rule of 1 turret per 100 tons displacement having gone the
way of thruster plates, you can now mount as many weapons as you
have personnel/power/surface area.  But you are right, the bigger
the punch, generally the better.  I say generally because of the ability of
"low wattage" lasers to strip off surface fixtures (like antennas) and
shoot down missiles.  I strongly recommend on a warship a mix of
both.

>3.  If you ship's mission is to 'lie in the line' keep the small craft to
the 
>smallest number possable.  Unless your design is going to carry a large
>number of troops, or be used for police/coast guard type duties a good
>deal, forget the small crate use the space something mission related
>(i.e., firepower)

   That depends.  If you plan on being able to evacuate your crew
quickly should something happen to the ship, then you need more
small craft.  Passenger liners would almost certainly have to have
enough small craft to hold all the passengers and crew in a disaster
using cramped seating  (ever try to show a stressed out mother holding
two children how to use an emergency one-man evacuation bubble?
I wouldn't try it....).  On military craft, all small craft (outside of
fighters,
which should be of the multi-role variety) should be as ulitiarian as
possible.  For example, the same boat that carries the suppiles should
also have removable seats available for passenger transport.

>4.  I always use laser turret/barbette instead of nuclear dampers
>turrets/barbettes;a laser is more flexible.  A laser allows you to stop a
>missile [away] from you, [and the laser] can be used to hit the person
>who fired that missile at you.

   Very true.  Any nuclear damper proponents out there?

>5. no MFD = DEAD

   While individual gunners can continue to fire weapons if the MFD
is down, not having a MFD can ruin your whole week.  It's usually a
good idea on a warship to have at least one backup.

>I still have not come up with a good answer a few question like these.
>
>what is a good g-rating for a war ship of given size?

   The maximum for the tech level.  No one says you have to burn that
many G-turns all the time (something about running out of fuel), but it
is nice to have the acceleration (or deceleration), as under the right
circumstances it can save your ship.

>how long should a ship design to work with a fleet take to purify it fuel?

   That depends.  I'd say 24 hours as a good guess.  The longer you
take the refuel, the longer you have to stay in one place.  If your ship
(fleet) is hurting or seriously undergunned (or both) sitting in one place
too long can be fatal.  If you plan on your ships operating in fleets or
large task forces all the time (accompanied by a tanker/fuel refinery),
and your ships don't routinely refine their own fuel, you could get by with
significantly longer  processing times.  I would never design a starship
that couldn't refine it own fuel, as Murphy's Law can be *very*
unforgiving.  Better to be stuck in a system for a few weeks refining fuel
your shuttle scoops up by the thumble full than to be stuck in a system
permanently or misjump into deep space.

Harold D. Hale
Advisor for Naval Affairs to her Holiness Priestess Shoshanna
"it's ok, we're with the band"





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

Date: Sat, 25 Feb 1995 20:26:49 -0700 (MST)
From: kkl@genie.cs.byu.edu (Kenneth Li)
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Classic Traveller (Near Complete) Auction
Message-ID: <199502260326.UAA29527@genie.cs.byu.edu>

This may not be the right place, but if you don't like it, please hit the 
<delete> key. I will not be posting further update on this list since I
am only a temporary "Traveller" in this list.  Please respond to me by
email : kkl@genie.cs.byu.edu. Thanks for your attention...


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



Classic Traveller Auction 

In financing CSGSA at BYU. I am helping out Paul E. Black for yet another
auction. This time for the Traveller RPG. Actually we are interested in
selling
them as one bunch. But it all depends, and all of the items MUST go!! If you
see something you like, make a bid or you can bit at the overall price.

Ratings

Mint
     Brand New. Never Used. No wear.
Excellent
     May have slight external signs of wear. No internal wear.
Good
     Shows external signs of wear. Possible internal wear/marks.
Fair
     Heavy external wear. Signs of internal wear/marked in. Some pieces may
be
     missing (listed).

Status

[OPEN] bidding is open for this item.

[Going] bidding has slowed, and the item will be declared sold unless a
better
offer comes in.

[SOLD] the item is sold, and awaiting payment. If the transaction fails,
bidding may be reopened.

Traveller Items

The overall minium bid for all Items below is $75.

[OPEN] Classic Traveller Box Set consist of Book 1, 2, &3 (GDW)
     Fair condition. 1977 First Edition, Box wear, broken and taped.
Underline
     in Books. Name written in.
     Min bid $4

[OPEN] Book 4 Mercenary (GDW)
     Good condition. External wear. Rules underlined. Name written in.
     Min bid $2

[OPEN] Book 5 High Guard (GDW)
     Excellent condition. Rules underlined.
     Min bid $2

[OPEN] Supplement 2 Animal Encounters (GDW)
     Excellent condition. Rules underlined. Name written in.
     Min bid $2

[OPEN] Supplement 3 The Spinward Marches (GDW)
     Mint condition. Name written in.
     Min bid $2

[OPEN] Supplement 4 Citizens of the Imperium (GDW)
     Excellent condition. Rules underlined. Name written in.
     Min bid $2

[OPEN] Supplement 6 76 Patrons (GDW)
     Mint condition. Name written in.
     Min bid $2

[OPEN] Supplement 7 Traders and Gunboats (GDW)
     Excellent condition. Water marks.
     Min bid $2

[OPEN] Supplement 8 Library Data (A-M) (GDW)
     Excellent condition.
     Min bid $2

[OPEN] Supplement 9 Fighting Ships (GDW)
     Good condition.
     Min bid $2

[OPEN] Supplement 10 The Solomani Rim (GDW)
     Excellent condition.
     Min bid $2

[OPEN] Supplement 12 Forms and Charts (GDW)
     Excellent condition. Name written in.
     Min bid $2

[OPEN] Special Supplement 1 Merchant Prince (GDW)
     Excellent condition.
     Min bid $2

[OPEN] Special Supplement 3 Missiles in (GDW)
     Mint condition.
     Min bid $2

[OPEN] Adventure 1 The Kinunir (GDW)
     Good condition. Name written in. Pencil writtings.
     Min bid $2

[OPEN] Adventure 2 Research Station Gamma (GDW)
     Excellent condition.
     Min bid $2

[OPEN] Adventure 3 Twilight's Peak (GDW)
     Excellent condition. Name written in.
     Min bid $2

[OPEN] Adventure 4 Leviathan (GDW)
     Excellent condition. Name written in.
     Min bid $2

[OPEN] Adventure 5 Trillion Credit Squadron (GDW)
     Good condition. Name written in.
     Min bid $2

[OPEN] Adventure 6 Expedition to Zhodane (GDW)
     Excellent condition.
     Min bid $2

[OPEN] Adventure 8 Prison Planet (GDW)
     Excellent condition. Underline and written in.
     Min bid $2

[OPEN] Double Adventure 1 Annic Nova (GDW)
     Mint condition.
     Min bid $2

[OPEN] Double Adventure 4 Marooned Alone (GDW)
     Excellent condition.
     Min bid $2

[OPEN] Double Adventure 5 The Chamax Plague (GDW)
     Excellent condition.
     Min bid $2

[OPEN] the Journal of the Traveller's Aid Society No. 6 (GDW)
     Mint condition.
     Min bid $2

[OPEN] the Journal of the Traveller's Aid Society No. 7 (GDW)
     Mint condition.
     Min bid $2

[OPEN] the Journal of the Traveller's Aid Society No. 8 (GDW)
     Mint condition.
     Min bid $2

[OPEN] the Journal of the Traveller's Aid Society No. 9 (GDW)
     Mint condition.
     Min bid $2

[OPEN] the Journal of the Traveller's Aid Society No. 10 (GDW)
     Mint condition.
     Min bid $2

[OPEN] the Journal of the Traveller's Aid Society No. 11 (GDW)
     Mint condition. One water mark at Back cover.
     Min bid $2

[OPEN] the Journal of the Traveller's Aid Society No. 12 (GDW)
     Excellent condition. Some Yellowish mark in front cover and 1-2 pages.
     Min bid $2

[OPEN] the Journal of the Traveller's Aid Society No. 18 (GDW)
     Mint condition.
     Min bid $2

[OPEN] the Journal of the Traveller's Aid Society No. 22 (GDW)
     Mint condition.
     Min bid $2

[OPEN] the Best of the Journal of the Traveller's Aid Society Volume 1 (GDW)
     Excellent condition. Some Yellowish mark on back cover and 1-2 pages.
     Min bid $2

[OPEN] the Best of the Journal of the Traveller's Aid Society Volume 2 (GDW)
     Excellent condition. Marks in some pages.
     Min bid $2

[OPEN] Snapshot Close Combat Aboard Starships in the Far Future (GDW, Box
game)
     Excellent condition. 1979 Edition, Partially punched, Box scuffed, one
     corner damaged. Including some counters from MayDay (I think).
     Min bid $4

[OPEN] Scouts & Assassins 2nd Edition (Paranoia Press, approved for
Traveller)
     Excellent condition. Some dirt.
     Min bid $2

[OPEN] Merchants & Merchandise (Paranoia Press, approved for Traveller)
     Mint condition.
     Min bid $2

[OPEN] Sorag Handbook of Organization and Equipment (Paranoia Press, approved
for Traveller)
     Mint condition.
     Min bid $2

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


Auction Rules

  1.  Buyer pays shipping. Games shipped US Mail or UPS, buyer's choice. That
     is, I'll find out the postage charge and add it to your bid.
  2.  Payment by check or money order in US funds. Checks must clear before
     game(s) are sent.
  3.  Minimum bid increment is $0.50. If there are two bids for the same
     amount, the first bid I recieve has precedence.
  4.  Please, no conditional bid. As it may give me a lot of work to do.
  5.  Minimum bids are listed. These are true minimums; everything bidded on
     will be sold.
  6.  I will post updates at least twice a week while bidding is open.
Updates
     are also available via WWW at
     http://genie.cs.byu.edu/~kkl/travellerAuction.html
  7.  Unless bidding is strong, this auction will end by 18 Mar 95. An item
     will be listed as "going" for at least one posting before being declared
     "sold."
  8.  We prefer to sell all the above item in a bunch. Thus if the total
     individual item bid ties with the overall bit, the overall bit will win.
     If some of the items are never bid on, we will decide on whether selling
     to the overall bit or not.
  9.  Email bids or questions to Kenneth Li at kkl@genie.cs.byu.edu.

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

Created Feb 25, 1995 ...
Updated
by Kenneth Li (kkl@genie.cs.byu.edu)



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

End of TRAVELLER Digest 205
***************************
