Subj:	TRAVELLER digest 285
Date:	95-05-14 19:18:25 EDT
From:	traveller@mpgn.com
To:	traveller@mpgn.com

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			    TRAVELLER Digest 285

Topics covered in this issue include:

  1) Re: TL15 Spinal Mount Comparison
	by bonn0015@flipper.itlabs.umn.edu (STEVEN M BONNEVILLE)
  2) Gauss spinal weapons.
	by adou01@cs.auckland.ac.nz (Andrew Richard  Doull)
  3) Traveller FAQ
	by jamesd@spirit.com.au (James Dempsey)
  4) Adventure outline : Dark Century
	by "Brendan O'Donovan" <Brendan@odonovan.demon.co.uk>

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

Date: Sat, 13 May 1995 23:58:02 -0500
From: bonn0015@flipper.itlabs.umn.edu (STEVEN M BONNEVILLE)
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Re: TL15 Spinal Mount Comparison
Message-ID: <199505140458.XAA02592@starfish.itlabs.umn.edu>

Derek Smith <Derek_Smith.LOTUS@crd.lotus.com> wrote:

>I think you'd get a more accurate comparison by keeping DISCHARGE
>ENERGY constant.
>
>This way your laser would shrink drastically in size.  I expect
>that at TL 15 it would be the smallest, cheapest (both important)
>weapon of the three, and (at least against ships that aren't
>giant floating sandcaster platforms) the most effective.  It's
>DV will be less, but it's PV will probably be higher.

Ok, ask and ye shall recieve.  Here's a rework of the laser and 
a return of the PAWS weapon, DE constant at 250 gigajoules, and
effective range constant at 2400 Mm.  You're right, the results
*are* interesting: 

TL15 250-GJ Laser Lance
-----------------------
Volume:  45088 kL    Mass: 88831 metric tons
Power:    6944 MW    Crew:     1
Surface Area:  5.3 sq. meters
Price:  MCr 703.3
10:1/400-1250  20:1/400-1250  40:1/400-1250  80:1/400-1250

Now let's compare this with the competition, the PAWS that I
previously posted:

TL15 250-GJ PAWS Spinal Mount
-----------------------------
Length:  500 meters
Volume:  44360 kL     Mass: 87953 metric tons
Power:    6944 MW     Crew:     1
Surface Area:  2.4 sq. meters
Price:   MCr 497.8
10:2500  20:2500  40:2500  80:2500

*Very* interesting.  They're about the same size, but the laser 
costs 1.4 times more.  The PAWS is a better deal against ships
with armor of 1253 or less because it's cheap and does as much
or more damage than the laser.  Against ships with armor factors
heavier than that, the laser's massive penetration makes it the
better choice, since then it does more damage than the PAWS. 
Again, modifying the PAWS for rapid fire beyond -2 Diff Mod will
require less volume than doing it to the laser, which might be
another reason to pick the PAWS instead.  Of course, the laser 
still has no length requirement. 

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


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

Date: Sun, 14 May 1995 19:56:16 +1200
From: adou01@cs.auckland.ac.nz (Andrew Richard  Doull)
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Gauss spinal weapons.
Message-ID: <199505140756.TAA16604@cs26.cs.auckland.ac.nz>

Little did I realise what I was getting into with the discussion of throwing
rocks at planets...
Thanks for all the information concerning gauss weapons being used in ship to
ship combat but that was never my intention in the first place.  The easiest
way to cause damage in space combat using physical weapons IMHO is to fire
fletchette warheads mounted on space missiles at the target.  There is quite
a good discussion on this in the gdw-beta list from which I formulated my own
set of rules for impact missiles.
Electro-mag catapults were really intended to provide in-system transfer and
planetary launch capabilities.  Because of this, I am rating them in terms of
g-turns and providing incidental rules for planetary bombardment.  My
inspiration here is the 2300 AD "Nyotekunda (sp?) Sourcebook" which includes
an adventure set on the "Andrw Carnegie", a 1400m electro-mag catapult.
Has any one else noticed the length rules for spaceships produce very squat
shapes?  I allow spinal mounts to extend beyond the length of a spaceship
with the same disadvantages that having a folding EMS array extended gives.
This also allows improvements to PAs and meson gun performance, which is a
good
thing IMHO.  I am considering getting rid of laser focusing purely because
big
lasers are SO good.
 
A.D.Venturer (aka Andrew Doull)
 
PS: Yah the FAQ!  It would be an excellent resource.

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

Date: Sun, 14 May 95 19:48:33 
From: jamesd@spirit.com.au (James Dempsey)
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Traveller FAQ
Message-ID: <20aa1f8b.51d7a-jamesd@loki.spirit.com.au>

On Sat, 13 May 1995, Shalom Zaidfeld wrote:

> > perhaps if people were to send their FAQ topics into one central person,
and
> > that person just collates them it might be possible.
>
> Good idea.  Does anyone want the "job"?

I would be happy to collate the topics.

> Some things to add to the FAQ:
>
> -FTP, WWW and gopher (or any other Online resources)
> -Mailing-lists (GDW-beta, TNE-Pocket etc) information
> -Reviews (past (Classic & mega) and present(TNE)) of GDW products by
>  members of TML (ie: Aliens of the Rim)
> -Errata location
> -Rumors and offical GDW policy (Loren's part)
> -Challenge's submission guides
 All sound great.

> -Recommanded Stores for Traveller Products around the world by TML members.

 Maybe as a separate document - it could get VERY big!  There is no reason 
we couldn't have links this and other documents though. (Web page anyone?)

BFN.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
James Dempsey
email: jamesd@spirit.com.au



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

Date: Sun, 14 May 1995 12:34:53 GMT
From: "Brendan O'Donovan" <Brendan@odonovan.demon.co.uk>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Adventure outline : Dark Century
Message-ID: <12@odonovan.demon.co.uk>

While sorting out some papers in my room this morning I found
a copy of an adventure I wrote a few months ago, which I sent
off to GDW. I never got any reply from them, so I assume they
don't want it. Still, it's not too bad, so I thought the TML
might appreciate a brief summary of it. 

Background
Austin Gray is an extremely wealthy and greedy man. For many years he was a 
member of the crew of a far trader, drifting from system to system, trying to

make ends meet. Until one day, when while his fellow crewmembers were running

sensor checks at (I used New Martham/Thoezennt), prior to jumping back out of

the system, an anomalous reading was picked up from a small moon orbiting the

system's gas giant. The ship's launch was dispatched to investigate. They
found 
a small naval depot that had been heavily bombed in the war. The radiation 
levels were barely tolerable, but the damage to the communications and 
sensor equipment had protected what remained from Virus infection. Several 
warehouses remained intact, containing parts for starship fusion plants and 
weapon systems. There was far more than would fit on board the trader, so
ther 
crew abandoned their planned trade route and returned to Aubaine to stake a 
finder's claim.
Back on Aubaine, Austin arranged for the other member's of the crew to meet
with 
a tragic accident in a grav vehicle malfunction, leaving him sole recipient
of a 
claim worth hundreds of megacredits. Not satisfied to retire with the money,
he 
started to think of ways to make even more.
His time in the wilds eventually provided inspiration. He had seen how small 
numbers of high tech troops could allow a TED to rule, so he reasoned that 
others would pay well for the services of similar mercenaries, to swing the 
balance of power in their favour. This left him with one further problem, a 
mercenary unit such as he envisaged would require a starship for support and 
transport, but the only ones available were battered relic ships, as the 
Coalition had control of the shipyards and all new ship construction.
He decided to trick the Coalition into building the ship he wanted. He wrote
a 
clause into his will, stating that on his death, the Coalition would inherit
his 
fortune, on the one condition that it was used to construct a ship as a
memorial 
to him, from ship plans he commissioned himself. He then staged his own death

(lost at sea on Aubaine, no body recovered). This was done to prevent the 
questions that would be asked if he donated the money while still alive, and
it 
prevents him from being a suspect when he steals the ship from the RC.
After his 'death', the Coalition was only too happy to add another ship to
its 
fleet, and so the Dark Century class Frontier Cruiser was constructed. As the

adventure begins, the Coalition is recruiting the finest crew it can for the 
Century's shakedown cruise.

Outline of plot:
Part one. The characters report to the Wet docks on Aubaine for a briefing, 
where they first see the Century (my design was 900t to minimise signiture,
was 
EMM masked, maximised use of passive sensor arrays and carried a 2000Mj
particle 
accelerator). During the night, the characters follow a mysterious figure,
who 
leads them on a wild goose chase around the dock facility before disappearing

again. The characters witness the theft of the Dark Century from the dock,
and 
within seconds are arrested for their alleged part in the theft. It soon
becomes 
clear to the characters that they are being framed by the head of security,
who 
is in the pay of Austin. The characters escape from the docks so that they
can 
gather the evidence to clear their names.

Part two. Forced to live under cover after being framed for the theft of the 
Century, the players research the security man's past and discover links to a

lead engineer on the project, who was paid large sums of money. The
characters 
beg, borrow or steal transport to an exclusive holiday resort island, where
the 
engineer is guarded. A raid on the house reveals evidence of his, and the 
security head's part in the theft, clearing the players. The players are
given 
command positions on a mission to recover the Dark Century.

I'll leave it up to you as to where you take it from here, as this developed 
into a mini campaign, which I don't have time to write out here. 

If anyone from GDW is reading this, and are interested in the full version of

this after all (hey, maybe it got lost in the post first time), then email me

and I'll see what I can do.

-- 
Brendan O'Donovan 


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

End of TRAVELLER Digest 285
***************************


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