			    TRAVELLER Digest 416

Topics covered in this issue include:

  1) Weapon prices
	by Hans Rancke-Madsen <rancke@diku.dk>
  2) Excel 5.0 spreadsheet
	by myhre@oslonett.no (StarWolf)
  3) RICE Paper #SM-2715:  Porozlo/Rhylanor
	by Christopher_Griffen@dmcwave.com (Christopher Griffen)
  4) 
	by toad@ugcs.caltech.edu (Benjamin Lane)
  5) Re: TRAVELLER digest 413
	by aboulton@cix.compulink.co.uk (Andrew Boulton)
  6) Re: Some FFS Help Please
	by "Brendan O'Donovan" <Brendan@odonovan.demon.co.uk>
  7) Virus effects in hard times
	by "Brendan O'Donovan" <Brendan@odonovan.demon.co.uk>
  8) RE: Some FFS Help Please 
	by That Computer Guy <darkstar@UDel.Edu>
  9) Virus effects in the wilds
	by "Brendan O'Donovan" <Brendan@odonovan.demon.co.uk>
 10) Biological Warfare  Part 1
	by "Bruce Johnson" <JOHNSON@tonic.pharm.arizona.edu>

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

Date: Thu, 14 Sep 1995 18:06:22 +0100 (METDST)
From: Hans Rancke-Madsen <rancke@diku.dk>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Weapon prices
Message-ID: <199509141606.SAA17450@embla.diku.dk>

As I was preparing a price list for a new planet I noticed that there is
something seriously askew about the _FF&S_ rules and the rules for black
powder weapons in the back of _World Tamer's Handbook_. The examples in 
WTH is 11 to 13 times as expensive as the weapons listed in the main TNG 
rules and the ACR shown in FF&S is about five times as expensive as the 
one in the main rules.

Question for GDW: Is the prices derived from the FF&S and WTH rules
correct? If so, shouldn't you correct the price lists in the main rules?

Anyway, could someone who know about these things perhaps let me know 
the 1995 prices of whatever Traveller weapons is commonly available
today? (You know: Revolver, automatic, SMG, rifle, double-barreled shotgun,
pump action shotgun, etc.) I'd like to know wether the main rules prices
or the other ones are the more realistic.



      Hans Rancke
University of Copenhagen
     rancke@diku.dk
------------
        "The referee should determine the nature of subsequent
         events based on the individual situation."
                                _76 Patrons_, p. 8

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

Date: Thu, 14 Sep 1995 18:22:20 +0200
From: myhre@oslonett.no (StarWolf)
To: Traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Excel 5.0 spreadsheet
Message-ID: <199509141622.SAA22954@hasle.oslonett.no>

Is there anyone out there that got a starship design spreadsheet?
It should contain options for calculating g-thrust from either MW (20 ton of 
thrust per MW) or by the standard rule(10MW thrust per displacement ton).

In exchange I can provide a spreadsheet for designing lasers and gauss weapons.

I would like to get the spreadsheet mailed by MIME or BinHex. And another 
thing email me first about the details about your spreadsheet, before I 
accept. Or else I risk to get 20 spreadsheets in my mailbox tomorrow :)


--------------+-------------------+-----------------------------------
Roger Myhre   | myhre@oslonett.no | http://www.oslonett.no/home/myhre/
HIWGmember 142| Some people have one of those days, I got one of 
              | those lifes.
--------------+-------------------------------------------------------


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

Date: Thu, 14 Sep 1995 10:02:40 -0700
From: Christopher_Griffen@dmcwave.com (Christopher Griffen)
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: RICE Paper #SM-2715:  Porozlo/Rhylanor
Message-ID: <058603d0@MailXFER.DMCWAVE.COM>

     The final installment of my Rhylanor Cluster RICE papers:
     
     NOTE:  For anyone who has obtained the Rhylanor paper, please note 
     that the settlement date of the planet should be changed from "ca. 
     250" to "ca. 150."
     
     
     Porozlo System
     
     Porozlo (Rhylanor:  Spinward Marches/2715) A867A74-B          Hi Tn    
        B201 RE M1 V M7 V G=1.02, Day=23:26:42.01, Year = 22d 20:16:41.12 
     Atmo=1.00, Weather Control
     Temp= +16.8 (7/lat +21 to -49) (season +10.2 to -17.0, 17 deg lat) 
     Daily temp range 38.00
     Agricultural, Ores, Compounds; Agroproducts, Non-metals; Parts, 
     Durables, Consumables, Weapons; Artforms
     Progressive/Advancing, Competitive/Neutral, Fragmented/Aloof Legal:  
     4-54444     Tech  B8-BBBAB-B9BB-CB-F
     
     Viewing the beautiful glowing orb of Porozlo from afar, who would 
     suspect that this Terran Normal world is the site of some of the most 
     vicious internecine warfare in the Regency?
     
     Porozlo's balkanization is the result of poor colonial planning.  Due 
     to its remarkable resemblance to Terra, Porozlo was a highly 
     sought-after system.  Colonization claims were filed by numerous 
     private and public interests, most of whom were of Solomani origin and 
     all of whom had legitimate claims.  Roughly three quarters of the 
     claims were made by colonists with corporate sponsors, the largest 
     made by Transstar, the Terran shipping megacorporation.  The remaining 
     25 percent were comprised of government-sponsored colonization 
     programs and population-relief projects.
     
     Because of the high demand for rights to the system and conflicting 
     legal claims, an impartial mediator was selected to resolve the 
     conflict.  The mediator determined that it was in the best interests 
     of all involved to distribute Porozlan land to as many of the 
     claimants as possible on a first-come, first-served basis.  Strict 
     head-count limits were imposed.  Not surprisingly, a solution that was 
     intended to make everyone happy made no one happy.  
     
     The majority of the lots were distributed among an astrographically 
     isolated Solomani group in Daibei Sector.  These Solomani were 
     primarily descended from colonists who had originally come from 
     Terra's Eastern and Southern European and North African regions during 
     The Rule of Man.  A large portion of the lots were distributed among 
     ethnically diverse Solomani groups from throughout the rimward portion 
     of the Imperium and the remaining lots (about 5 percent in all) were 
     given to a handful of Vilani interests and Core-based colonists of 
     mixed descent.
     
     The Imperium's attempt at generosity resulted in the system's 
     perpetual state of conflict.  After establishing footholds on the 
     planet in 161-163, many colonial settlements quickly adopted 
     isolationism as their credo and began to form their own individual 
     governments on the planet.
     
     After permits were distributed to the second wave of colonists from 
     Daibei and nearby Diaspora sectors, the colonial administration 
     encouraged an even distribution of ethnic populations among the 
     nations of Porozlo to foster a more homogeneous political environment. 
     Unfortunately, hundreds of micro-immigrations nullified the 
     Imperium's efforts in the subsequent decade.
     
     Remarkably, the only ethnic group that did not geographically polarize 
     itself was the Vilani.  Vilani minorities can be found in most of 
     Porozlo's nations.  They are frequently the educated elite, holding 
     jobs as physicians, attorneys, bankers and corporate executives.  Not 
     preoccupied by the ethnic conflict of the planet's other settlers, the 
     Vilani have formed their own functional niche in Porozlan society.  
     Conscious of their minority status (and the historical peril of those 
     who have held such status), the Vilani settlers have been careful not 
     to isolate themselves, so as not to incur the wrath of another 
     Porozlan ethnic group or nationality.  In fact, the dispersed Vilani 
     minority are arguably the greatest philanthropists on the planet, 
     contributing a disproportionate 22 percent of the planet's charitable 
     donations in an average year, while they comprise only eight percent 
     of Porozlo's current population.  The Vilani minority speaks Galanglic 
     in the business community but continues to speak a Vilani dialect in 
     the home and at cultural functions in order to preserve their 
     heritage. 
     
     Porozlo's resources were scattered enough that over the centuries, 
     further political fragmentation occurred along economic lines.  The 
     final result was a world with upward of 80 independent nations.  
     Porozlo became a textbook case on how to create a balkanized world.  
     Though Porozlo's population was as diverse as any in the Imperium, for 
     the most part the world avoided major wars until a dramatic event in 
     its history.
     
     The Porozlan fragmentation and a growing awareness of the planet's 
     limited resources gave birth to a grassroots political movement, which 
     eventually became known as the Private Ownership (PO) bloc.  The PO 
     bloc came into being during a firestorm of debate about foreign 
     investment and exploitation of Porozlo's resources.  The status quo 
     had been more or less pro-free trade.
     
     For two decades after the birth of the PO bloc, the majority of 
     Porozlan nations underwent revolutions of one sort or another.  It was 
     during this extremely xenophobic period that the planet became 
     registered by the Travellers' Aid Society as an amber zone to warn 
     travellers of the danger posed by distrustful Porozlans.
     
     After 20 years of PO revolution, the pendulum began to swing the other 
     way.  Those who supported foreign investment and development united 
     under the banner of the Free Trade (FT) bloc in reaction to radical PO 
     movements.  This political schism was to become the defining event in 
     Porozlo's history.  Historians debate the original date of the 
     Porozlan Schism, but most place the date on either 1016, when the 
     first domestically governed megacorporate labor union (thought to be 
     the precursor of the PO bloc) formed in the nation of Stepozhevac, or 
     on 1084 when the FT bloc came into being.
     
     PO movements spread like wildfire, affecting each and every national 
     government on Porozlo.  As the PO/FT division deepened, democratic 
     governments' elected officials became almost exclusively drawn from 
     either the PO or FT bloc.  Many of the planet's more dictatorial 
     governments resisted at first, but as public sentiment grew, even 
     nations led by autocratic dictators began to align themselves under 
     one banner or the other.
     
     The conflict has raged on for over a century now, with the balance of 
     power frequently shifting between the two parties.  During the last 80 
     years, the balance has settled, with the PO dominating about 30 
     percent of the planet's countries and just under half its population.  
     The FT bloc dominates the more technologically developed and 
     industrialized nations.  Several underdeveloped countries have fled to 
     the FT wing in recent years.  Under the guidance of Chairman Augwynne 
     Sorsi, the nation of Nemso has sponsored a ground-breaking new 
     organization, called the Free-Trade Advisory Council (FTAC), to help 
     these nations "get on their feet."  Using programs like the FTAC, the 
     Free Trade bloc has successfully swayed public sentiment to their side 
     in the interstellar region.
     
     Wars are frequent on the soil of Porozlo, with an average of six going 
     on at any one time.  The perpetual state of conflict on Porozlo 
     spurred the TAS to deny the Porozlo United Council's request for amber 
     zone nullification in late 1148. 
     
     While most Porozlan wars are of the brushfire variety, many escalate 
     to full-scale conflict with occasional threats of biological and 
     nuclear weapon use made by opposing countries.  The presence of 
     neutral Rhylanor curbs the use of such weapons, however.  The 
     Rhylanori senate's unequivocal position is non-intervention unless the 
     war escalates to the point where such weapons are used.  One Rhylanori 
     senator, who requested anonymity, brashly stated, "If the Porozlans 
     start nuking each other in our backyard, we're going to bring the sky 
     down on their heads."
     
     The frequency of international conflict on Porozlo has made the planet 
     a nexus for mercenary activity.  "Warworld" is the name many regional 
     mercenary units use for the besieged planet.  Because of its adverse 
     political environment, Porozlo has acquired the distinction of being a 
     "mercenary magnet" over the past three centuries.
     
     While several offworld peace initiatives and summits have been 
     sponsored by neighbors Rhylanor and Zivije, most of them have ended 
     with the representative Porozlan national delegates walking away from 
     the table in frustration.  The divisiveness between the nations of 
     Porozlo has thus far proven irresolvable.
     
     Despite the pervasiveness of warfare on Porozlo, the planet as a whole 
     is rather economically successful.  Nemso, the richest and most 
     dominant nation on Porozlo, has the population and resources of many 
     entire systems in the subsector.  The Free Trade party has dominated 
     the nation's parliament since the 1107 overthrow of King Syzygy, the 
     former hereditary monarch.  Many other nations, most notably Morovic, 
     New Dalmatia, Zenerabi, M'Dwailei and Hauvania, have also prospered 
     under the auspices of the Free Trade party.
     
     Although the FT nations have been models of economic success, the 
     downside of foreign industrial exploitation is also evident in their 
     cities.  Visible signs of blight and homelessness are much more 
     prevalent in FT cities than they are in the more socially democratic 
     PO cities and countries.
     
     The main PO nations of Porozlo, including Almarac (the most populous 
     nation on Porozlo with six billion inhabitants), Anisinta, Turin, 
     Digliotti and Vyben, tend to be more militant.  Local militias, 
     created for the purpose of defending their homesteads from "invading 
     offworlders," are common in PO nations.  While PO nations are not 
     nearly as prosperous as the FT nations, it can accurately be said that 
     for the most part, their citizens live on a more economically 
     egalitarian scale.  The majority of their citizens could be classified 
     as lower middle class.
     
     Porozlo is home to a multitude of fascinating cultures and traditions. 
     The artistic community flourishes in most nations on Porozlo.  
     Political and cultural strife on a planet often fosters an active 
     artistic community and Porozlo is no exception to this rule.  Porozlan 
     poets, painters and sculptors are revered for the level of emotion 
     that their works elicit and for the quality of their craftsmanship.
     
     Porozlo remains a glorious example of a Terran Normal world.  The 
     breathable air, lush landscape, majestic mountain ranges and rich blue 
     oceans make Porozlo a top tourist attraction for travellers who are 
     smart enough to look beyond the political instability of the planet.  
     Tourists tend to choose the more politically stable countries for 
     their visits, far away from the raging fields of war.
     
     All but one of Porozlo's A-quality starports are located in 
     FT-controlled nations, with the most traffic at Nemso Down Starport.  
     Nemso maintains the planet's sole orbital facility as well, Nemso 
     Orbital.  Among PO nations, only Almarac maintains an A-level starport 
     facility at great expense to the populace.  In order to uphold the 
     virtues of the PO bloc, Almarac spares no expense to make its primary 
     port a jewel among common stones.  Though the facility is arguably the 
     most modern of all Porozlo's starport facilities, traffic at Almarac 
     Starport is somewhat sparse.
     
     Free traders should be warned that legal cargo in one Porozlan nation 
     is contraband in another.  Be wary of the trade laws in each nation 
     you intend to visit.  More than one trader has had his ship impounded 
     for carrying goods from an FT nation into a PO nation and vice versa.
     
     Industry is alive and well on Porozlo.  Boisterous international 
     competition for interstellar markets has fostered a progressive 
     planetary culture.  In just the last 20 years, Porozlo has advanced 
     from TL-10 to 11 in the Regency technological profile system.
     
     
     Porozlo System Details
     
     Orbit      Name    UPP     Remarks
     Primary    Corusca M1 V
     0  Porozlo A867A74-B       Hi Tn
     50      Jelorba G546467-B       Fa Mi
     1  (Empty Orbit)
     2* Glint   M7 V
     0       Czaczezhnia     Small GG        Size 60 1       Ring System    
      YR00000-0
     2       Ring System     YR00000-0
     5       Glyph   Y300000-0       Va
     7       Tybalt  Y100000-0       Va
     13      Aamed   Y200000-0       Va
     55      Padenton        YS00000-0       Va
     3  Brazhorno       Y1A0102-B       Re
     13      Alec    YS00000-0       Va
     40      Cela    GS00207-A       Va
     4  Milano  Y600000-0       Va
     5  Borges  F410663-A       Co
     8       Blanca  Y100000-0       Va
     35      Sinai   HS00107-B       Re Va
     6  Calyph Orga     G500636-B       Re Va
     7          Mandrigora      H643437-B       Mi
     
     * Companion star.

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

Date: Thu, 14 Sep 1995 09:58:13 -0700
From: toad@ugcs.caltech.edu (Benjamin Lane)
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Message-ID: <199509141658.JAA00504@beat.ugcs.caltech.edu>

Hi all,

	Let's see; first Virus.

Yes, I think that the primary methods of preventing
infection with Virii would be to rely on "hardwiring"
a lot of your circuitry, as well as to a certain extent
reducing the amount of inter-connectedness in the system.
Perhaps a change of mentalities from "Connect everything
possible, unless it for some reson NEEDS to be separate.
This allows flexibility and redundancy" to "Connect only
what you must. For safety's sake. And limit most connections to data-exchange, not control." Also, while some Deyo 
chips and a lot of synaptic processors (this is the 
party line, not my opinion) were capable of circuit 
modification, in 1201 as well as 1995 that is almost unheard 
of. It should be possible to a) monitor the circuitry for 
changes, and b) find out what mechanisms the Cymbeline life-
forms used to modify themselves, and interdict them. Much 
like preventing bacteria from reproducing - perhaps the 
Cymbeline chips  need certain types of dopant, or power, or 
something which can be controlled. I remeber it being 
mentioned that even in 1130 on Dulinors' flagship a few 
smart computer operators managed to trace and destroy the 
Virus that had infected it - after all, they took "manual"
control of the ship in time for an emergency landing.
c) limit outside access - obvious. don't hook up your 
transponder to your main system RAM. For crying out loud,
why would one do that anyway, at least on a warship? It's 
asking for intrusion/warfare. The whole Deyo hokum is very hard to beleive. Minuteman silos aren't on the Internet, and they don't have dial-in modem lines.
d) diversity - encourage several different approaches to 
computing problems. standardization taken to the extreme
is an invitation for disaster. Agree on a few conventions,
but leave it at that. And don't build all your military
and scout ships with identical systems. Sure, you'll have
maintenance complexities, but that's better than Virus 
controlling all your BB's.
e) Be frugal with computing power. Don't equip your toaster
with a 2 Teraflops processor just because they're cheap. 
besides, I think Virus would need A VERY POWERFUL processor
to become self-aware. With anything less it will just 
lay eggs and perhaps destructive Trojan Horses. It won't
proliferate in such an environment, and if it doesn't have 
a powerful system as a base it will less able to develop
successful intrusion methods for new computers.

In short; expose it, poison it, quarantine it, confuse it 
and starve it.

Now, fusion power;
	this is a fun one - lots of semi-hard science here.
The following is what I've always imagined, although 
I   
 TL-9; The first Tokakmaks using magnetic confinement.
		Power conversion is through heat engines (water,
		liquid sodium, CO2 or helium)
		Fuel is Deuterium-Tritium, or He-3. Tritium 				produced by neutron bombardment or lithium.
		Laser-Inertial fusion is still not useful except
		in Daedalus drives and fusion rockets.
		Jump drive powerplants use short-duration
		intense magnetic fields (HPG-driven) to 
		boost fusion throughput to build up charge.
		These high fields allow MHD tube type power 
		conversion as well as D-D fusion. 
		see previous post for details.
TL-10; Improved magnetic confinement - supplemented by
	gravitic confinement allow higher pressures and temps.
	D-D fusion standard. 
	Heat engines still common; some thermoelectric 
	conversion used. Advantages are no moving parts, 
	higher efficiency.
	HEPlaR drives appear. These are NOT merely reheating
	of hydrogen. Instead, waste heat and radiation from the 	reactor is used to induce fusion in fuel. Gravitics 
	allow non-toroidal confinement shape, which simplifies
	thrust production. 
	Muon fusion possible for certain applications.
TL-11; Essentially as above - evolutionary improvement,
	above all more thermoelectric conversion which allows 
	smaller power plants.
	Jump drives take advantage of temporary high 	confinement pressures/temps to induce limited proton-	proton chain fusion.
TL-12; Contiued slow development. Advances in high field-	strength superconductors allow MHD tube energy 	conversion in long-duration applications.
	A reactor now resembles a HEPlaR drive with an MHD
	tube attached at the exhaust - the high-velocity
	"exhaust" is charged and passed through a magnet,
	creating current.
TL-13; Leap in capabilities due to new understanding and
	control of nuclear forces. Confinement shape can vary,
	spherical (radiation source) and cylindrical (MHD tube) 	common. Proton-proton chain standard. MHD type power 	conversion standard for most applications, including 	jump drive.
TL-14; Perfection of Proton Chain fusion.
	Jump drives now use resonant oscillation induced 	charge-separation of plasma (sending positive charges 	down one tube, negative 	down another) to build up 	potential. 
TL-15; Triple-alpha fusion used. First standard P-P chain,
	then fusing three He-4 nuclei. Charge separation 
	power conversion in all applications. 
Tl-16; Carbon catalysed fusion. CNO chain (carbon + He-4
	forms nitrogen. N + He-4 forms oxygen. O + He-4 
	reforms Carbon. ) 
Comments?

Re; missles. How about building a 7 metric tonne, 7 kl
	booster stage? attach it to a standard missle -
	presto, extended range, and when you jettison the
	booster you retain original performance ratings.



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

Date: Thu, 14 Sep 95 20:20 BST-1
From: aboulton@cix.compulink.co.uk (Andrew Boulton)
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Cc: aboulton@cix.compulink.co.uk
Subject: Re: TRAVELLER digest 413
Message-ID: <memo.918034@cix.compulink.co.uk>

In-Reply-To: <199509131035.GAA22451@Ambassador.MPGN.COM>


  > From: cmdrx@magicnet.net (Commander X) 
  > Subject: Hackers in Traveller 
  >  
  > HACKERS, CYBERDECKS, COMPUTER EMPATHICS 
  > AND YOU 
  >  
  > I will leave the Role playing details to individual GM's, but if any
  > of my fellow Traveller Addicts out there want it, I do have my own
  > hacking rules that I use for my Campaign.  They are a fusion of the
  > old MT Computer rules(Remember those big control factor numbers?)
  > and Cyberpunk 2020 by R. Talsorian Games Inc. (credit where credit
  > is due!) If you want a copy, just e-mail me (cmdrx@magicnet.net) 

Don't talk to me about hackers...

My Players discovered how much fun they could have with this recently. You
wouldn't *believe* how much damage they could do! Any hints on how to
*stop* them would be gratefully received!

There was one fun moment (for me, anyway). They were trying to hijack a
Destroyer, and had got control of the computer room. They didn't have much
time, so their comp-tech had to work quickly. A few good rolls, and she
was in. "Okay, computer, shut down all terminals *NOW*!" Click. "Err...
except this one. Hello? Computer? Oh bugger..."

  > From: That Computer Guy <darkstar@UDel.Edu> 
  > Subject: Some FFS Help Please 
  >  
  > Me again with my FFS question of the month.  Here goes.  I was trying
  > to create my own little 7kl grav bike.  Well, my design was a tad
  > off, so I checked mine against the grav bike from TNE/FFS.  Well,
  > unless I'm missing something, that isn't a feasible design. 
  >  
  > Here's what I've come up with.  2.5kl for the cramped seat (for the
  > driver), and another 1.5kl for the restricted seat (for the
  > passenger), then 2.5kl for the cramped crewstation.  That's already
  > 6.5kl out of 7kl.  Take the .7kl that you're suppossed to add for
  > this being a moderately sloped grav vehicle, and you've surpassed
  > your limit! 

Can't you ignore seat volumes for bikes?


---===---
Andrew Boulton

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

Date: Wed, 13 Sep 1995 16:26:50 GMT
From: "Brendan O'Donovan" <Brendan@odonovan.demon.co.uk>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Re: Some FFS Help Please
Message-ID: <80@odonovan.demon.co.uk>

Jerry wrote :

> Here's what I've come up with.  2.5kl for the cramped seat (for the
> driver), and another 1.5kl for the restricted seat (for the passenger),
> then 2.5kl for the cramped crewstation.  That's already 6.5kl out of

FFS doesn't really make this clear, but I think crewstations include seats in 
their volume, I've certainly never added volume to spacecraft workstations for 
seats. If you look at the waork/crewstations, they correspond to the 
cramped/adequate/roomy seats from the accomodations chapter, seeming to support 
this.
 
> 
>         --Jerry

-- 
Brendan 


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

Date: Wed, 13 Sep 1995 16:55:13 GMT
From: "Brendan O'Donovan" <Brendan@odonovan.demon.co.uk>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Virus effects in hard times
Message-ID: <82@odonovan.demon.co.uk>

With regard to the discussion on Virus vs Final War:
C20 earth is not a good example for how virus would effect TL8-9 worlds, because 
TL8 earth is not part of an interstellar culture. Even small TL8 worlds would 
have one or two SDBs bought from another planet or produced locally to protect 
the world, especially as the Civil war began to erode the navy's control over 
piracy. SDBs, especially at low tech levels, are likely to depend on missiles, 
which can do 1/25-79 damage even at TL8 and out to a few hexes, instead of 
lasers, which have ranges in fractions of a hex at TL8, and require massive HPGs 
to muster even fairly low performance (look at how bad the TL10 laser in FFS is, 
TL8 is far, far worse). The situation then becomes one, where the poorest, 
lowest tech worlds are as likely, or more so than high tech planets in the safe 
areas, to have several megatons of nuclear warheads in orbit over them. Also, 
while high tech planets would have point defence over cities which might hold 
out against a Virus long enough to destroy at least the first wave of missile 
attacks (assuming the Virus attack was poorly planned and missiles from 
spacecraft were fired before it controled ground defence, or possibly if ground 
defence was isolated from communicators) the poorer worlds would most likely not 
stand a chance.
Mind you, I'm not saying that the 'Whoops there goes my atmosphere' effect in 
asteroid belts/corrosive atmospheres etc wouldn't be significant, only that low 
tech worlds too would be very vulnerable to Virus.
--  
Brendan 

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

Date: Thu, 14 Sep 1995 16:48:19 -0400
From: That Computer Guy <darkstar@UDel.Edu>
To: aswfh@orion.alaska.edu
Subject: RE: Some FFS Help Please 
Message-ID: <199509142048.QAA01800@chopin.udel.edu>

In Reply to Your Message of Wed, 13 Sep 1995 17: 07:41 EDT
Date: Thu, 14 Sep 1995 16:48:18 -0400
From: That Computer Guy <darkstar@chopin.udel.edu>

: darkstar@UDEL.EDU did scribe:
: >to create my own little 7kl grav bike.
: 
: >Here's what I've come up with.  2.5kl for the cramped seat (for the
: >driver), and another 1.5kl for the restricted seat (for the passenger),
: >then 2.5kl for the cramped crewstation.  That's already 6.5kl out of
: >7kl.  Take the .7kl that you're suppossed to add for this being a
: >moderately sloped grav vehicle, and you've surpassed your limit!
: 
: the listing for Seats in FF&S is for passengers; crew require [only] a
: crewstation. (FF&S, p25, p65)
: 
: Take a TL 13 design example:
:                         Vol     Mass      MW            Cost
: Hull rate 0.5 (mv 0.5?) [7]
: fast subsonic chassis   0.35       -       -               -
: 0.15 cm SD hull shell   0.075     1.125    -            1071
: Front Slope             0.7        -       -               -

[rest deleted]

Thanks for the help.  Now I've just got one more questions (doesn't
this get annoying?  8).  I decided to settle for .07cm of armor which
would equal an AV of 1.  No, I've got a simple chassis and a moderate
front slope.  This makes the front AV 1.5.  Do I round this up to 2 or
round it down to 1?  Also, lets say that by some freak occurence I
ended up with another fractional value like 2.7, does this become an AV
of 3 or not?

Once again, thanks in advance...

       --Jerry

8) Jerry Alexandratos                %  "Nothing inhabits my    (8 
8) darkstar@strauss.udel.edu         %   thoughts, and oblivion (8
8) darkstar@canary.pearson.udel.edu  %   drives my desires."    (8

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

Date: Thu, 14 Sep 1995 18:08:36 GMT
From: "Brendan O'Donovan" <Brendan@odonovan.demon.co.uk>
To: traveller@mpgn.com
Subject: Virus effects in the wilds
Message-ID: <84@odonovan.demon.co.uk>

Sorry if this is a repeat posting, but I haven't seen it come up yet, and some 
weird stuff was happening on Demon Internet yesterday.

C20 earth is not a good example for estimating Virus damage, because Earth is 
not part of an interstellar culture. Most TL8-9 worlds in Traveller were part of 
the Imperium, and did have starports. Most of these systems would buy in low 
tech SDBs or produce some locally to protect the world and merchant shipping 
from corsairs. This would have become more important during Hard Times as the 
Navy lost control of piracy in the wilds. 
At TL8, SDBs will use missiles and not lasers. A TL8 missile can hit a target a 
few hexes away when launched, and even do a respectable 79-1/25 damage. This 
compares to lasers which have ranges in fractions of a hex at TL8, and require 
massive HPGs to muster even fairly low damage (look at the TL10 laser in FFS, 
TL8 lasers are far, far worse). 
The situation is one where the poorest worlds are those which are most likely to 
have several megatons of nuclear warheads in orbit over them. If Virus hit 
their defence force, then the planet could be devastated. Also, while higher 
tech planets might have point defence over cities which could hold out against 
the first wave of the planet's own missiles launched against them (if fire 
control was insulated from communications to prevent hacking, and if Virus 
didn't wait to control ground defence before attacking) but lower tech planets 
wouldn't stand a chance.
By TL8, much of a worlds' population already lives in cities (look at Earth) 
rendering the world more vulnerable. Worlds which aren't in a cold war situation 
are less likely to have decent defences, worlds which are might get jumpy and 
nuke themselves.
The 'whoops there goes my atmosphere' effect in asteroid belts and corrosive 
atmospheres would still be significant, but low tech planets too would be 
vulnerable.
 
-- 
Brendan 

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

Date:          Thu, 14 Sep 1995 15:50:45 MST7
From: "Bruce Johnson" <JOHNSON@tonic.pharm.arizona.edu>
To: traveller@MPGN.COM
Subject: Biological Warfare  Part 1
Message-ID: <8DA7A3416B@tonic.pharm.Arizona.EDU>

Here's a stab at making biological weapons...these will be rare
events, folks, so don't throw one at your players every week!

Human Biowarfare Agent generation tables.

Agent Type	Vector Type		Lethality
Die 	Agent Type Die 	Vector	Die 	Death Rate*
1	Virus	1	Aerosol		1	Total (100%)
2	Virus	2	Aerosol		2	High (75%)
3	Virus	3	Aerosol		3	High (50 %)
4	Bacteria	4	Aerosol		4	Moderate (35%)
5	Bacteria	5	Water Supply	5	Moderate (25%)
6	Bacteria	6	Water Supply	6	Low (15%)
7	Protozoa	7	Water Supply	7	Low (10%)
8	Rickettsia8	Soil			8	Very Low (5%)
9	Prion	9	Insect		9	Very Low (1%)
10	Fungus	10	Animal	10	Non (0%)
					
Transmission Type	Contagiousness 	Systems Affected
Die 	Type			Die 	Chance 		Die 	System
1	Airborne		1	Very Low (1%)	1	CNS
2	Airborne		2	Low (5%)		2	CNS
3	Airborne		3	Low (10%)		3	GI Tract
4	Airborne		4	Low (15%)		4	GI Tract
5	Body Contact	5	Moderate (25%)	5	GI Tract
6	Body Contact	6	Moderate (40%)	6	Syatemic
7	Body Fluids	7	Moderate (50%)	7	Systemic
8	Body Fluids	8	High (70%)	8	Lungs
9	Insect		9	High (80%)	9	Skin
10	Insect		10	Total (100%)	10	Immune
					
Incubation Time	Acute Phase 	Recovery Phase 
Die 	Time			Die 	Time		Die 	Time
1	1 day		1	1 day	1	1 day
2	1 day		2	1 day	2	1 day
3	4 days		3	4 days	3	4 days
4	4 days		4	4 days	4	4 days
5	4 days		5	4 days	5	4 days
6	1 week		6	1 week	6	1 week
7	1 week		7	1 week	7	1 week
8	1 month		8	1 month	8	1 month
9	1 month		9	1 month	9	1 month
10	6 months		10	6 months	10	6 months
				
				
Morbidity (1 D10 + Lethality)		
Die Roll	Time		
2	Minor (still walking)	7	Major (Need Care)
3	Minor (need rest)		8	Major (Need Care)
4	Medium (bed rest)		9	Major (Need Care)
5	Medium (Bedridden)		10	Extreme (Hospital)
6	Medium (Bedridden)		11+	Extreme (ICU)

Explanations: 

Agent Type: What kind of infectious agent this diseased
is caused by. This will affect how these agents are encountered,
transmitted, etc. 

Vector Type: How the agent is delivered to the target area

Lethality: How many UNTREATED people die from the agent, randomly
spaced through the Acute phase time period.  This can be very
important...a high lethality over a very long acute phase, you get
something like AIDS, over a short acute phase you get something like
Ebola.  

Transmission type: Once the agent is introduced into the population
via the vector above, how is the disease transmitted from person to
person.  This will drastically affect the countermeasures taken. 

Contagiousness: the chance that someone will contract the
disease...this needs to have some time value associated with it,
which will depend on a lot of external factors. This, as it applies
to player characters will have to be determined by the GM on an ad
hoc basis.

Systems Affected: This is the major organ system affected by the
agent.  This will affect what physical effects, gory details, and
recovery effects there will be.

Incubation Time: The time, after initial infection, the person is
asymptomatic.  However, for many, if not all diseases, the patient
is contagious, though usually to a lesser degree than during acute
phase.

Acute Phase time: The time during which the patient has the acute
disease manifestation.  If the patient dies, it will most likely be
during this time, so this is when the patient must save vs
lethality, using the percent generated above.  For player
characters, the GM will probably want to introduce some
modification, based on CON, or medicval skill of other players or
NPC's.

Recovery Phase time: This is the time which is required for full
recovery from the illness, barring any optional permanent effects
imposed by the GM.

Morbidity: How sick you actually get during the acute phase.  This
is obviously going to be affected by the lethality...a highly lethal
agent is not going to make you only minorly sick, so it goes from
2-11 by adding the lethality roll.  I truncated this at Extreme
(ICU) because there's not really much higher you can get.  

	These tables are a rough draft. All are generated using one D10. 
The GM is left much to his/her own devices for any lingering effects
during recovery, and any and all gory details.  Permanent or
temporary loss of STR, perhaps CON, maybe even INT (Remember those
horrific 106 degree fevers burn lots of brain cells) are all
possible effects.  Certainly the character is affected somewhat
during the recovery process.

	Remember, while TL 15 medicine may be miraculous, most characters,
and indeed most of the affected populations were not able to avail
themselves of such care. It wouldn't take much of an pandemic to
bring the US healthcare system to its knees, and what happens when
your doctors are among the first to die (they are among the first to
be exposed...)?

Biological Warfare, some practical points.

	Biological warfare, in general, like chemical warfare, does not
seek to simply kill as many people as possible.  The ideal agent
will not only kill, but take long enough to do so that many more
people are involved in caring for the sick (and risk getting sick
themselves).  The object is to tie up as many enemy personell as
possible for the longest possible time.  An ideal agent will make
people very sick for a long time, BUT with a low lethality rate, but
high incapacitation rate, so you end up with a growing pool of
recovering but non combat worthy personnel.  This will further
strain the resources of your enemy, since, if the disease is
survivable with sufficient care, enemy morale will suffer greatly if
the resources for that care aren't allocated.

	Tactical uses of BW are also numerous.  If you could cause 60-70%
of the enemy to come down with a minor, but incapacitating stomach
bug 24 hrs before your assault, you'll be in good shape.

	BW also doesn't require nearly as high tech as nukes, even.  Once
the basic principles of bacteriology and virology are known (TL
4-5???) BW becomes a possibility.  In our history it was used even
before these principles were known, but I doubt some TED is going to
want to release a plague without at least being able to protect
himself from it. 

	This system can also be used to generate natural plagues on lower
tech level worlds.  The PC's could land on Boondock 1, a TL-3
planet, during the Black Death, for instance, or a cholera epidemic.
They could also become big heroes by `miraculously' saving locals.
However, the higher the TL, the less likely that large epidemics are
going to occur, due to improved medical care, understanding of the
disease process, and better sanitation, so if the PC's run into
something like this on a higher TL world, it will most likely be due
to a BW agent, either deliberately released, or, ever so much fun
for those salvage people, accidentally released agents left over
from rebellion era BW munitions: "Hey Joe! Ever hear of this Model
6745BW45-5-23-9 105 mm shell? It looks funny, like this little cap
here..." <snap> <hisssss> "...ooops!"

	Introducing BW into the Trav universe is a little like the endless
discussion in some circles about throwing big rocks...if it's so
effective and cheap, why doesn't everyone do it? The same reason it
isn't done here on Earth...fear of retaliation, and the even greater
fear of not being able to control it.  Biological weapons can easily
turn and bite the wielder, even more so than nukes or chemical
weapons.  After all, nukes and nerve gas doesn't mutate and become
immune to your carefully hoarded stocks of antibiotics, serums and
vaccines.

	It will only be used by someone desperate or fanatical enough to
not care anymore...how often did this happen, in the chaotic waning
days of the Third Imperium? 


Part 2 will detail the LS Crichton... a research vessel being used to 
develop these kinds of agents, before it was taken over by Virus.  
How interesting...a hobbyist Virus with a biowarfare lab at it's 
disposal...

Bruce Johnson
Information Technology/College of Pharmacy
The University of Arizona
johnson@tonic.pharm.arizona.edu 


As if this place HAD any opinions...

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

End of TRAVELLER Digest 416
***************************
