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From: owner-traveller-digest@mpgn.com (Traveller-digest)
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Subject: Traveller-digest V1996 #742
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Traveller-digest    Wednesday, December 11 1996    Volume 1996 : Number 742



(R)1996. Traveller is a registered trademark of FarFuture Enterprises.
All rights reserved.

The following topics are covered in this digest:

Re: Strength of Aslans and Domain (Long)
RE: Bitter Starships Review
Re:Bruce Who? 
Re: Bitter Starships Review
STARSHIPS
Wierd UWP
Old vs. New
That annoying 1000d T-plate limit.
RE: Bitter Starships Review
Re: Bitter Starships Review
RE: Old vs. New 
Re: Props, etc. - was Traveller on IRC
Re: Bitter Starships Review
Aslan
Re: Toronto Traveller Game
TAKE THE TRAVELLER STAT TEST
DOG TAGS!
Re: German Translations
Mail from Ken Whitman

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

Date: Wed, 11 Dec 1996 12:50:26 -0500
From: TPeterAZ@aol.com
Subject: Re: Strength of Aslans and Domain (Long)

Hi,

Well.  I've got to concede all your points regarding ihatei and Vargr
invasions, Hans.  Still more reasons (IMHO, of course) why the whole bloody
Rebellion makes entirely no sense.  I'm afraid TCS is still absent from my
collection of CT materials (though if anybody's got an extra copy...), so I
really have no "rule" foundation on which to base my argument.  The only data
I was drawing on was "historical" information from the Regency Sourcebook,
Survival Margin, Arrival Vengeance, and TNS, which clearly indicated that the
Cats and Dogs had indeed posted gains; in some cases, significant gains.  I
love your idea of how to deal with ihatei in all their sundry varieties.
 Coopting one clan or another to do the dirty work always made a lot of sense
to me.  You make a great point about Glisten being hard to defend, being a
belt, yet in the Regency Sourcebook, it says that the ihatei were easily
booted out.  Oy.  None of this makes any sense.  I hate to say this (I expect
massive flames here), but why doesn't IG throw out all material after 1117
and rewrite the Rebellion.  Keep the highlights like Virus (if you must),
just clean up the details in a way that more closely observes established
practices like TCS.  Or, throw out TCS, and admit that the numbers were
inaccurate, and rewrite them to fit the history.  Just as a point of
reference, BTW, I'd be curious to see what percent of GNP was spent by
various nations, in various time periods, on defense.  Real world, that is.
 It sounds to me like TCS has a stock rule for determining what percent of
the economy may be spent on ships.  Well what if the population is willing to
accept (or is forced to accept) a lower standard of living.  (See US v. USSR
1945-1990).  Just wondering.

And as for Norris' oath of fealty <rolling up my sleeves>, we may have to
agree to disagree on this.  Fealty is defined as "the duty and loyalty owed
by a vassal or tenant to his fuedal lord."  Got that from the dictionary.
 How Norris defines his duty can be argued.  Perhaps he would feel it was his
duty to Strephon to tell him to give up.  Norris would offer him asylum in
the Regency, a comfortable life, etc.  Not sending ships when (if) Strephon
called for them is not necessarily disloyal.  Loyalty, again from Webster,
"faithful to those persons, ideals, etc. that one is under obligation to
defend, support, or be true to."  At some point Norris would have to decide
which is the greater obligation: Strephon, the man, or the Imperium, the
institution.  I simply believe that Norris would choose the Imperium.  In
Survival Margin Norris is quoted as saying, "...(T)he first thing to believe
in is that *our* destiny *belongs to us*, and we are the only ones who can
take it away from ourselves.  The Imperium is not a supernatural force.  The
Imperium is not an exhibit in a museum.  *The Imperium is us.*  And the
Imperium isn't over until we say it's over."  Norris also sent a letter to
the head of each faction, asking (p. 4 of Arrival Vengeance, p. 44 of
Survival Margin) specifically, to whom this fealty is owed.  IMHO, Norris
admires Strephon, the man, and would whatever necessary to help him, but not
at the cost of his domain (the only place the Imperium still lives).  And the
biggest perceived threat to his Domain is not the Vargr, Aslan, or Zhodani,
but rather the forces at work throughout the Imperium that have brought this
great institution crashing down.  Better Deneb should be intact when it all
is over, to act as the conciliatory force to bring the Imperium back
together.  That is the ideal to which Norris would be most faithful.


Tim Peter
<TPeterAZ@aol.com>
"There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, Ignorance."--- Socrates

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

Date: Wed, 11 Dec 1996 09:52:39 -0800
From: "Douglas E. Berry" <dberry@hooked.net>
Subject: RE: Bitter Starships Review

At 08:11 AM 12/11/96 -0500, you wrote:
>It may just be me, but the campaigns I've played in and enjoyed the 
>most we flew ships under 1000tons.  The PCs were the crew.  Maybe we 
>had to hire an extra engineer or two.  The only ships we saw even 
>close to that size were military war vessels, and we steered clear of 
>them.  Do that many people play games were PCs are in charge of 
>vessels larger than 5000tons?

While most of the time I prefer the smaller vessels, I am currently planning
a game set aboard the I.N.S Coronation (BB-216), a 75,000 ton TL 12
battleship.  The players will control various characters from the senior
officers to the ship's Marines.  I'm stealing the idea from Ars Magica.

For most Traveller campaigns, the big ships are just that: big.  They are
beyond the scale of a free trader or scout in much the same way as a Geo
Metro compares to a M1A2 MBT.  


+----------------------------------------------+
| Douglas E. Berry          dberry@hooked.net  |
|     Professional Driver - Traveller Guru     |
|        http://www.hooked.net/~dberry/        |
|**********************************************|
| "Life's a journey, not a destination."       |
|                                   -Aerosmith |
+----------------------------------------------+

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

Date: Wed, 11 Dec 1996 11:02:55 -0700 (MST)
From: Bruce Johnson <johnson@pill.pharm.Arizona.EDU>
Subject: Re:Bruce Who? 

Stu Dollar (that evil commie Solsec infiltrator) speweth

> > that here so everyone knows: I mean the frequent TML participant who
> > is at Arizona State University's Department of Phramacology. 
> 
> Joe, how dare you confuse a fine institution with that little second 
> rate college down south.  :-)
> 
> Mr. Johnson is at University of Arizona's Department of Pharmacology.  
> 
> Stuart L. Dollar
> Stuart L. Dollar               sdollar@goodnet.com
> Alumni of the Undefeated Rose Bowl Bound
> Arizona State University Sun Devils
> AP #2 Coaches Poll #2, (11-0)  Bring on the Buckeyes!!!

	Responding weakly...Well, we just let you win this year (yah
right:-/) But watch out for the real Arizona team, there boyo...the bball
boys'll show you who the Real powerhouse is in this state!

	As for the Rose Bowl, I'm stuck between a real rock and a hard
place: ASU (gaak I'm choking on the words) does deserve it, and they
deserve the #1 spot, but my mother-in-law's a huge OSU fan, and they may
be here visiting by then.

And for the record, I work for the College of Pharmacy, not Pharmacology,
and if there are further contests, I would at least like to win one of
them, so I won't judge them all!

Bruce Johnson
University of Arizona
College of Pharmacy
Information Technology Group

Institutions do not have opinions, merely customs

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

Date: Wed, 11 Dec 1996 12:44:20 -0600 (CST)
From: Steven Bonneville <bonnevil@itlabs.umn.edu>
Subject: Re: Bitter Starships Review

BrianMays@aol.com wrote:

> But my point really is that all of the previous incarnations of Traveller
> have allowed for over 5,000 tons.  To call a book "Starships" and stop the
> sequence at 5,000 and waste space with expensive color plates that serve no
> purpose AND charge $20.00 for it - that's what irks me.

Actually, classic Traveller rules only supported ships up to 5000 tons.  To
build bigger ships, you needed to buy _High Guard_, and the rule systems 
between the standard "Book 2" designs and _High Guard_ turned out to not
quite be compatible.  SSDS looks like a fancy version of "Book 2", when
I think many people were expecting a fancy version of _High Guard_.

I'd make some comment implying that there might *possibly* be a negative
effect on production values due to the pressure that fans have been 
putting on IG to try and stick to their original, unrealistic release
schedule, but my asbestos shirt is at the cleaners.  That having been
said, I don't think _Starships_ is worth $20 either, and illustrates
why I don't pre-order products sight unseen....

  Steve Bonneville
  <bonnevil@itlabs.umn.edu>

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

Date: Wed, 11 Dec 1996 14:06:05 -0500
From: 34zbtxq@cmuvm.csv.cmich.edu (Susan M. Shock)
Subject: STARSHIPS

        I will say going in that I have yet to see STARSHIPS for myself, but
I do have some comments regarding some of the things that are being said.

THE 5000 TON LIMIT: First of all, I agree with Stu; if you objected to the
fact that SSDS was stopping at 5,000 tons, you've had plenty of time to
voice your objections. The document for SSDS has been available on Joe
Heck's website for some time now; I've had it for months!
        Secondly, there's this tendency for some people to complain bitterly
when they don't get what THEY want, never mind if anyone else wants it or
not. There is AS OF YET no system in place for handling starships larger
than 5,000 tons in space battles. When there is it will undoubtably involve
a slighly different rating system than that used for smaller ships (example;
High Guard as opposed to Book 2, or Battle Rider as opposed to Brilliant
Lances). When this system is ready, there will undoubtably be expansions to
both QSDS and SSDS to cover ships of that size. Failing that, there will be
(eventually) the Naval Architect's Handbook, which will allow the building
of any size ship you like. In the meantime, FIRE, FUSION and STEEL is still
available to allow building of larger hulls; while it is out of print, there
seem to be enough people who bought it and hated it that I'm sure they'd be
willing to unload their copies on you!
Also, what happened to all the complaints about TNE being "too military"?
What's more military than capital ships? 
        I'm sure TCS and High Guard et. al. are fun to play if you're in to
that sort of thing. IG is trying to get the basic materials out for
ROLEPLAYING in the Traveller Universe. Traveller is, first and foremost, a
ROLEPLAYING GAME. In my mind, and I'm sure in the minds of some of the
powers-that-be, this is it's primary focus.
        There is no way I would let my characters have ships that big. And
if they fight them, I don't need stats; I just say the magic words, "You're
Dead". Works real well :)

DECK PLANS: Having not seen them I have no opinion on their appearance, but
we live in the age of the Photocopier. A little fancy trick with copies and
you can overlay your own square or hex grid as you wish. That way, you have
a choice about which to use, whereas if IG had superimposed a square grid,
and you wanted to use hexes, you'd have to redraw the deckplams anyway!
Freedom of choice; ain't it great?

        I'm just glad, given the circumstances, that there's any Traveller
at all.
                                                Allen

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

Date: Wed, 11 Dec 1996 10:18:25 -0900
From: aramis@lunatic.asylumbbs.com (William F. Hostman)
Subject: Wierd UWP

>     Port D/E/X, Tech 9+ = inhabitants capable of building a starbase, but
>     poor or no base present; possibilities include: xenophobia, existing
>     port recently damaged/destroyed, planet interdicted from interstellar
>     contact, space technology lags behind other tech levels for some
>     reason.
>
>     Does anybody else have any interesting explanations for weird UWPs?

How about regulations prohibiting large areas of
tarmac/exposed-non-natural-bedrock? Maybe they are just unwilling to allow
the risks of large vessels in atmosphere, and have (at best) a shuttleport
(AKA Type D Port).

Also, dependant upon government, it could be that the D port is the
official civillian one, and several corporate ones of better quality exist,
but charge high fees.

William F. Hostman
Aramis@asylumbbs.com

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

Date: Wed, 11 Dec 1996 10:18:28 -0900
From: aramis@lunatic.asylumbbs.com (William F. Hostman)
Subject: Old vs. New

Like so many others, I am unhappy with what I see of T4. There are serveral
concepts I like (If it ain't obvious from yesterday, the psionics rules are
one of my fav's), and many I hate.

Therefore, I'm going through all my MT stuff and pulling together a set of
design tables that include:
        Mega Ref's Manual
        Wood, Wind, Steel & Steam
        Hard Times/One Small Step
        Wet Navy
        Ornithopters
        FF&S [TNE, only parts, esp new tech]
        [conversions to build aircraft with the standard rules]
If anyone out there has any articles with design sequences for mega
[besides COACC, which I have, and shall ignore for now] which I haven't
listed above, please contact me.

I'm Not shure what I'm gonna do about damages yet... but I'm gonna mix and
match large chunks of system mechanics into a "version" I can enjoy.

William F. Hostman
Aramis@asylumbbs.com

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

Date: Wed, 11 Dec 1996 15:29:29 -0100
From: rellio@po-box.mcgill.ca (Roderick Darroch Elliott)
Subject: That annoying 1000d T-plate limit.

        I've been pondering it.  I know that it's been done to death and
back again, but since I wasn't there for the debate, what was the
motivation for putting it in (aside from planet-killing lifeboats infested
with virus, loaded with burnt singing hardcovers and high school texts on
Rebellion-era history, and covered in Chris Foss art, natch?

        Personally, I think that it's  annoying, and would use the
following explanation for how T-plates work: rather than depend on existing
gravity fields, T-plates create their own.  T-plates have two major
subsystems; a gravity field generator and a big flat plate of dense metal,
sandwiched together with some space in between.  The grav field generators
generate an extremely localized gravity well in a space surrounding the
plate components (hence the gap between the generators and the plates), and
the plate component simply moves within it, shoving the ship (solidly
attached to its T-plates, one hopes) along with it.  Essentially, the ship
just bootstraps itself along.

        As the gravity field is quite localized (rather than space curving
nicely in towards it, it takes a sharp bend, almost like a corner), the
rest of the ship and other vessels are not affected (unless they're close
enough to touch) by the field.  Light passing through it is of course
affected.

        As for the annoying blue glow, it is a result of of the photons
being emitted by the  plate interacting with the trailing edge of the
gravity field; the plates become quite hot as a result of the high energies
involved (perhaps they serve as heat sinks for the grav generators).  This
causes them to glow, emitting  photons; as the photons "jump the curb" out
of the area of sharply bent space surrounding the plate into normally
curved space, they emit Cerenkov radiation.

        Thus, the T-plates do not have to depend on local gravity fields...

        Comments?

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

Date: Wed, 11 Dec 1996 13:56:32 -0600 (CST)
From: "Peter  H. Brenton" <pete@cummings.uchicago.edu>
Subject: RE: Bitter Starships Review

On Wed, 11 Dec 1996, Clint Fishback wrote:

> It may just be me, but the campaigns I've played in and enjoyed the 
> most we flew ships under 1000tons.  The PCs were the crew.  Maybe we 
> had to hire an extra engineer or two.  The only ships we saw even 
> close to that size were military war vessels, and we steered clear of 
> them.  Do that many people play games were PCs are in charge of 
> vessels larger than 5000tons?
> 

Only once, it didn't last long, but I had to do *something* with the
Azhanti High Lightning deckplanms.  The ship involved had a robotic brain
installed and decided to go it on it's own at one point.  Shades of
Vampire Fleets.

5000 tons in the Classic Traveller sense is the largest vessel of merchant
type that one is likely to encounter along the backwater routes of the
spinward marches.  I would expect the fledgling Sylean Empire to be the
same.

Pete

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

Date: Wed, 11 Dec 1996 14:55:46 -0500
From: "Christopher Weuve" <caw@intercon.com>
Subject: Re: Bitter Starships Review

Steve Bonneville said:
> I'd make some comment implying that there might *possibly* be a 
> negative effect on production values due to the pressure that fans 
> have been putting on IG to try and stick to their original, 
> unrealistic release schedule, but my asbestos shirt is at the 
> cleaners.  That having been said, I don't think _Starships_ is worth 
> $20 either, and illustrates why I don't pre-order products sight 
> unseen.... 

No flames, but I would like to say that I disagree with this assessment.  Fan 
pressure isn't the reason for the bad art (not just "unTraveller-like," it's 
BAD) or the deckplans that any one of us could have done in an afternoon.  And 
it is not like Imperium has delivered shoddy product but met the schedule.

I may be the only one on this list who doesn't think the little black books 
are the be-and-end-all of Traveller.  I do think, however, that NO artwork/
deckplans is better than BAD artwork/deckplans, especially if I pay more as a 
result of the bad artwork. 

I think Imperium would be well-advised to recycle old art/deckplans (heck, 
there is 20 years worth available) and concentrate on the system and the 
background.  The first rule of such a product should be to avoid turning off 
the customer;  I wonder how many newcomers have picked up the T4 book, took 
one look at an illustration and put the book back down, never to look at it 
again.

Christopher Weuve  [caw@intercon.com]
Through sheer random chance, my employer may 
someday agree with something I say.

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

Date: Wed, 11 Dec 1996 15:15:47 -0500 (EST)
From: That Computer Guy <darkstar@UDel.Edu>
Subject: RE: Old vs. New 

In Reply to Your Message of Wed, 11 Dec 1996 10: 18:28 -0900
Date: Wed, 11 Dec 1996 15:15:47 -0500
From: That Computer Guy <darkstar@brahms.udel.edu>

: Like so many others, I am unhappy with what I see of T4. There are serveral
: concepts I like (If it ain't obvious from yesterday, the psionics rules are
: one of my fav's), and many I hate.
: 
: Therefore, I'm going through all my MT stuff and pulling together a set of
: design tables that include:
:         Mega Ref's Manual
:         Wood, Wind, Steel & Steam
:         Hard Times/One Small Step
:         Wet Navy
:         Ornithopters
:         FF&S [TNE, only parts, esp new tech]
:         [conversions to build aircraft with the standard rules]
: If anyone out there has any articles with design sequences for mega
: [besides COACC, which I have, and shall ignore for now] which I haven't
: listed above, please contact me.

That's all of it William, with the exception of a MTJ article that
listed a bunch of extra components that you could purchase for starships
(high-efficiency drives, low maintenance drives, etc...).  I was real
careful not to miss anything when I shipped you that stuff.

People may want to check out GURPS Vehicles as well (to see what an
itegrated design system looks like) and then just convert the stuff over
to Traveller.

: I'm Not shure what I'm gonna do about damages yet... but I'm gonna mix and
: match large chunks of system mechanics into a "version" I can enjoy.

I like what I've seen of T4 so far.  The only thing that I would
possibly change is just using MT's task system.

       --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: Wed, 11 Dec 1996 13:27:20 +0000
From: "Suzette C. Dollar" <suzd@goodnet.com>
Subject: Re: Props, etc. - was Traveller on IRC

> To follow up on Kenneth's comments on the Traveller Adventure, I've
> just finished running that with my players, and you *have* to have
> props - there is the wallet Kenneth mentioned, but also some of the
> important happenings in the adventure are presented through the news,
> so you need other news items to make the important ones less obvious.
> I also have "ship's in port" at each stop, so that the PCs can look up
> old friends, expect problems with old enemies, and actively search for
> rumours from arriving vessels.  There are other props such as computer
> data acquired, forms needing filling in and signatures affixed.  All
> these are essential to the progress of the adventure.


Really?  I'm currently playing the Traveller Adventure..... I'll have 
to ask my GM why we haven't gotten any of these required props.  I 
remember finding a wallet, but it was described to us,  news 
bulletins were read to us,  etc.   Sounds more fun your way. 

Suz

(Ducking because she expects to be severely beat about the head with 
a large trout after Stu reads this <g>)

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

Date: Wed, 11 Dec 1996 15:25:08 -0500 (EST)
From: Rob Dean <robdean@access.digex.net>
Subject: Re: Bitter Starships Review

> I really miss Joe Fugate.

I miss DPG, but there were some real screamers in Joe Fugate's Q&A column.
If anyone is interested, I can dig out a few examples from old issues of
TD...

By the way, Joe Fugate has the lead article in the January 1997 issue of
_Model Railroader_ magazine, concerning exotic layout design, but there is
no mention of Traveller...

Rob Dean
robdean@access.digex.net

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

Date: Wed, 11 Dec 96 16:26:31 -0500
From: lewis@slipher.chara.gsu.edu.chara.gsu.edu (Lewis Roberts)
Subject: Aslan

All this talk of Aslan invasions got me thinking.  How good does land
have to be for an Aslan to want it? Do Aslan settle each and every moon
in the system?  The lower class Aslans would be the ones stuck with
airless moons and the like.

If this was true, it would suggest that Aslan worlds would be packed
full of Aslans, with them living everywhere from the inner solar system
to asteroid belts to the frozen moons of the far gas giants.    

Just a thought?

Lewis Roberts
- -----------------------------------------------------------------
Q:What did Noah use to light up the Ark? 
A:Floodlights!        
       
lewis@chara.gsu.edu
http://www.chara.gsu.edu/~lewis/roberts.html
- ----------------------------------------------------------------- 

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

Date: Wed, 11 Dec 1996 16:47:52 -0500 (EST)
From: Ethan Henry <ehenry@mag1.magmacom.com>
Subject: Re: Toronto Traveller Game

Hey! Is someone organizing a Traveller game in TO?
Let me in on it, please! I go away for a couple of weeks
and look what breaks out!

Anyways, if a game is getting organized, let me know.
ehenry@magma.ca

Thanks.

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

Date: Wed, 11 Dec 1996 16:23:23 -0500
From: whitman@pensys.com (Ken Whitman)
Subject: TAKE THE TRAVELLER STAT TEST

A lot of Traveller Fans have been asking about the Traveller test performed
at GEN CON last year.  So here is your chance to make a character based on
your stats.

STRENGTH
Subject holds an 8-pound barbell in one hand with the arm extended fully,
straight away from the body and parallel to the floor.

        Time    Score
        0-1 second      2
        up to 5 seconds 3
        15 seconds      4
        30 seconds      5
        45 seconds      6
        1 minute        7
        1 minute 15 seconds     8
        1 minute 30 seconds     9
        2 minutes       10
        3 minutes       11
        4 minutes       12
        5 minutes       13
        6 minutes       14
        7 minutes       15

DEXTERITY
Tester holds a 12" ruler a few inches above subject's hand. Drop the ruler
three times in between the subject's fingers for the subject to catch.
Record the result each time, then ignore the highest and lowest number for
the subject's Dexterity.  Subtract this number from 15.  The result is the
subjects DEX.

ENDURANCE
Subject holds his or her breath.

        Time    Score
        0-1 second      2
        up to 5 seconds 3
        15 seconds      4
        30 seconds      5
        45 seconds      6
        1 minute        7
        1 minute 15 seconds     8
        1 minute 30 seconds     9
        2 minutes       10
        3 minutes       11
        4 minutes       12
        5 minutes       13
        6 minutes       14
        7 minutes       15

INTELLIGENCE
How sharp and perceptive you are; not necessarily knowing a lot of stuff
(which actually comes closer to Education); mental quickness and
adaptability; using your mind to maximize the current situation.
        The subject's Int score starts at 3. Total point value for each
correct answer to the following questions for final score:

        1.      What is 2+2?
        2.      Without looking, what is the booth behind the subject selling?
        3.      What is the biggest number you can make with three digits?
        4.      What is the next letter in this order: O, T, T, F, F, S, S, E?
        5.      What is your favorite game?
        6.      Who is your favorite Imperium Games employee?

EDUCATION
Highest Education Completed             Score
No Schooling Whatsoever!        0
Preschool       1
Elementary School       2
Junior High     3
High School/GRE certification   4
High School Graduate    5
College 6
College Graduate        7
Master Degree   8
Ph.D.   9
Graduated Cum Laude     +1
Graduated Magna Cum Laude       +2

Average pages read in a month (fiction, non-fiction, classic literature,
magazine, etc.)
500-1,000                       +1
1,000+                  +2
Just (or mostly) comic books                    -1
Just (or mostly) The National Inquirer  -1

Do you/Have you read...
Newspaper everyday, or Encyclopedia
or Dictionary, beginning to end                 +1
Traveller, any edition, start to end    +1

SOCIAL STATUS
Annual Household Income                         Score
Below $1,000 (700 pounds)                       1
$1,000 to $5,000 (700 to 3,000 pounds)                  2
$5,000 to $10,00 (3,000 to 7,000 pounds)                        3
$10,00 to $15,000 (7,000 to 10,000 pounds)              4
$15,000 to $20,000 (10,000 to 15,000 pounds)    5
$20,000 to $30,000 (15,000 to 20,000 pounds)    6
$30,000 to $50,000 (20,000 to 35,000 pounds)    7
$50,000 to $75,000 (35,000 to 50,000 pounds)    8
$75,000 to $100,000 (50,000 to 75,000 pounds)   9
$100,000 to $500,000 (75,000 to 350,000 pounds) 10
$500,000+ (350,000 pounds+)                     11

Do you have any currently famous relative?
(in politics, TV/movies, etc.)
Yes     +1

Have you ever been...
On television or in a movie?    +1
Honored nationally      +1

Do you play Traveller?
Yes     +1

INTELLIGENCE ANSWERS
1.        +1: 4.
2.  +2: Appropriate answer
3.  +3: 9 to 9th power to the 9th power.
             +1: 999.
4.  +4: "N", for Nine. ("O" is One, "T" is Two, "T" is Three, and so on.)
5.  +1: Traveller or Marc Miller's Traveller.
6.  +1: Whoever is giving this test.

PSIONICS
Have a tester flip a coin 15 times.  Guess heads or tales (front or back),
whatever.  The subjects PSI score is equal to the number of right answers.

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

Date: Wed, 11 Dec 1996 16:25:31 -0500
From: whitman@pensys.com (Ken Whitman)
Subject: DOG TAGS!

Special Offer!

For a limited time, you can receive a genuine military dog tag inscribed
with your own message! From the name and stats of your favorite military
RPG character, to your own address, or other fun things you care to put on
it! Send $10 for the first tag and $5 for each additional tag, along with
the desired message (limited to 3 lines, 15 characters per line) to:

Send Check or moneyorder to:
Ken Whitman
P.O. Box 481
Lake Geneva, WI 53147

***1 day turn around time ***

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

Date: Wed, 11 Dec 1996 00:43:03 +0100 (MET)
From: Thomas Biskup <tb@saranxis.ruhr.de>
Subject: Re: German Translations

On Tue, 10 Dec 1996, Joseph M. Saul wrote:
> Some context on a couple of these:
> >- -> Liebeskinder - "Child's Love" (or should that be "young love"?)
> >Nope- Rather Children OF love (As in: The result of Love)
> I wonder if this carries the connotation of illegitimacy that the term
> "love child" does in English...

At times I heard 'Kind der Liebe' [child of love] being used in a way of
meaning 'stupid' or 'foolish' but as far as I know as a native german,
it's pretty are and not commonly used.

> >- -> Beinbruch - "Broken Bone" (what, a high-G world??)
> >instead of bone, insert LEG
> Isn't there a toast (or war cry) -- "Hals und Beinbruch!"  Since I don't
> have my dictionary here, I have no idea what Hals means.  (Maybe it's the
> secondary planet in the system.  ;-)

Yes, 'Hals- und Beinbruch' is used for some sportsmen, pilots, etc.
'Hals' means 'neck'.

Ciao,

				Thomas.

- --
Thomas Biskup                               email to: tb@saranxis.ruhr.de
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"Would you choose one life over one thousand?
 I refuse to let arithmetic decide questions like that."
                          -- Data and Picard, "Justice", stardate 41255.6

 

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

Date: Wed, 11 Dec 1996 14:59:32 -0800
From: "Douglas E. Berry" <dberry@hooked.net>
Subject: Mail from Ken Whitman

Did anybody else on the list get a couple of messages from Ken Whitman
today?  One describing the Trav stat test from GenCon, the other an offer of
dog tags for sale..

+----------------------------------------------+
| Douglas E. Berry          dberry@hooked.net  |
|     Professional Driver - Traveller Guru     |
|        http://www.hooked.net/~dberry/        |
|**********************************************|
| "Life's a journey, not a destination."       |
|                                   -Aerosmith |
+----------------------------------------------+

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

End of Traveller-digest V1996 #742
**********************************

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