Traveller-digest      Friday, October 8 1999      Volume 1999 : Number 1174



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

The following topics are covered in this digest:

Re: Firing two guns at once
Re: Battledress/Battlesuit Protection (GT)
Re: Annic Nova (canon)
Re: Annic Nova (longish)
Re: Annic Nova
Re: Annic Nova (canon)
Re: Battledress/Battlesuit Protection (GT)
Annic Nova
RE: Population Growth (longish)
RE: Metric vs. Imperial
Re: Battledress/Battlesuit Protection
Re: Battledress/Battlesuit Protection
Re: Jump Drives (Was: Re: Annic Nova)
Re: Firing two guns at once
Re: Annic Nova (canon) 
Re: Annic Nova
Starship disposal strategies (was: Annic Nova (longish))
Re: Annic Nova
Re: Annic Nova
re: Battledress/Battlesuit Protection
Re: Annic Nova (canon)
Re: Annic Nova
Re: Ammo Conservation ( was Re: Firing two guns at once)
Re: Annic Nova (canon)

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

Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 12:18:40 PST
From: shadow@krypton.rain.com (Leonard Erickson)
Subject: Re: Firing two guns at once

In mail you write:

> Black ICE wrote:
>> 
>
>> Note:  As a player, I will often change magazines when I'm getting
>> _close_ to running dry, especially if there's a short lull in the
>> firefight (such as when the enemy is reloading).
>
> Which is also proper RL firefight discipline, as well.

What do you do with all the partial clips? :-)

Also, some miltary weapons (the SKS, for example) don't load via
magazines, but via stripper clips. Stick it in, ram the rounds down
into the internal magazine with your thumb, pull the "clip" and close
the action. 

I haven't tried it with a partial load already in the rifle. If it
*will* let me "top off", then I guess thins are ok. Matter of fact, if
it works, it'd mean I could quickly "top off" again from the *partial*
clip. Can't do that with a removable magazine. :-)

- -- 
Leonard Erickson (aka Shadow)
 shadow@krypton.rain.com        <--preferred
leonard@qiclab.scn.rain.com     <--last resort

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

Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 12:26:49 PST
From: shadow@krypton.rain.com (Leonard Erickson)
Subject: Re: Battledress/Battlesuit Protection (GT)

In mail you write:

> Looking back, the 4cm RAM-9 grenade will pentrate TL10 battle dress most of 
> the time and TL11 battle dress some of the time. Although it is a slow 
> weapon to use (unless you've got a dedicated RAM launcher, like in Book 4: 
> Mercenary), it is cheap _and_ light, and means that guy with a gauss rifle 
> or ACR can be dangerous to someone in GT battle dress.
>
> A generous and sadistic GM,

Silly question. What will a LAW or higher TL equivalent do to BD?

- -- 
Leonard Erickson (aka Shadow)
 shadow@krypton.rain.com        <--preferred
leonard@qiclab.scn.rain.com     <--last resort

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

Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 12:28:36 PST
From: shadow@krypton.rain.com (Leonard Erickson)
Subject: Re: Annic Nova (canon)

In mail you write:

> Ya know, I've never been a Conon freak, and maybe this ship is one of
> the reasons why. It was the first "Book Adventure" I ever ran. My
> players spent a lot of time travelling in their recovered Annic Nova.
> Now it's broken and I guess they never really had any of those
> adventures!
>
> Com'on! The reason I gave, when asked, after a lot of time had passed,
> why the PC's couldn't duplicate the drives in the Nova, was simple. I
> said they could... if they could find a supply of the element used in
> construction of the capacitors. It seems that the storage capacitors
> used plates of an unknown element. No material known to Imperial science
> could be used and still duplicate the storage efficency.

*Please*. Do not use "unknown elements". That's Star Trek BS.

In the Real World any element (or mixture thereof) is easily
identifiable starting at around TL 5 or 6 (1910 technology). 

Add in the fact that properties of elements are actually quite
deterministic (that's how the periodic table was discovered in the
first place!) and it gets sillier.

What works *far* better is to let them try and then tell them that even
though the duplicate is an *exact* duplicate as far as they can tell,
it doesn't work. 

Why? Because there's something about it that their current technology
can't even *detect*, much less duplicate.

An example would be someone from the 30s trying to duplicate a
transistor, or worse yet an IC. As far as *their* technology can
determine, the transistor is *absolutely pure* silicon or germanium (or
gallium arsenide, or whatever). Their technology isn't up to detect the
parts per *trillion* doping that makes it work. 

With the IC, they can see that there's some sort of structure, if they
use the best microscopes. No idea what it means, nor how to create such
fine details. And without the theory, they can even determine *what*
the structures should be.

As a general rule, I say that scientists and techs can usually sort of
figure out stuff that's only 1 TL ahead of them. If it's 2 TLs, they
can't figure it out, because they'd need stuff at the next TL to either
figure it out, or to duplicate it. If it's more than 2 TLs they'll be
lucky to figure out what it actualy *does*, much less how. 

As an example of that, back in the 30s modern gigahertz (and up )band
radio gear would be puzzling as all hell, because they wouldn't know
about wave guides, and on top of that, they'd only be able to detect
the IF frequency stage output *way* up at the high end of their gear's
range. The actually operating frequencies would be out of reach. 

If you are feeling generous, let them get a few breakthoughs out of the
gizmos, even if they can't detect it. For example, the folks back in
the early 30s *would* learn one useful trick from modern gear.
Composition resistors. Back then resistors were still high resistance
wire. Realizing that the resistors in this gear were a mix of graphite
and other stuff, with the resistance controlled by the percentage of
graphite would be a major advance. They might also get the idea of
printed circuits from it as well. 

Both would be valuable "inventions". Just not what they were looking
for. With the Annic Nova, maybe they'd discover a slightly better solar
cell, or a better way of transferring large amounts of power (ie they
can figure out how the stuff that lets the accumulators dump all that
power to the drive works, but not the accumulators).

- -- 
Leonard Erickson (aka Shadow)
 shadow@krypton.rain.com        <--preferred
leonard@qiclab.scn.rain.com     <--last resort

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

Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 13:18:21 -0700 (PDT)
From: Anthony Jackson <ajackson@molly.iii.com>
Subject: Re: Annic Nova (longish)

Leonard Erickson writes:

> If the ship is "at rest" with respect to the star, you don't *need* to
> do anything. It'll fall into the star (eventually, as I recall, free
> fall from Earth orbit to the Sun is around 90 days).

Hm.  I'm sure its a direct multiple of the time of an orbit, but not sure what
that time is.  In any case, this is true, but with traveller thrusters all you
need to do is accelerate in a direction which is the reverse of your orbital
movement for about 1 hour/Gs.  This is the kind of navigation problem you
could solve with 1940s technology.

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

Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 16:22:12 -0000
From: "Chris Seamans" <semo@pil.net>
Subject: Re: Annic Nova

- -----Original Message-----
From: Christopher Thrash <thrash@io.com>
To: traveller@lists.imagiconline.com <traveller@lists.imagiconline.com>
Date: Friday, October 08, 1999 6:36 PM
Subject: Re: Annic Nova


>"Required Items
>
>"An operating jump drive requires several basic components which, when
>operating together, make jump possible.
>"Power Source: Jump uses large amounts of energy to rip open the barriers
>between normal space and jump space. Normally, only a fusion reactor can
>supply this energy. Some alternate systems make use of solar power
>generators (which operate much more slowly), or anti-matter power systems
>(rare and very high-tech)."


So help me, I always feel a perverse thrill when canon breaks canon. It is
really a beautiful thing.

Now I'm going to load up some TL-15 Battle Dress equipped Imperial marines
into my solar-powered Annic Nova to go in search of the AI controlled
Kinunir.

Anybody need any Tree Kraken glands? I have the feeling I'm going to run
into a foppish noble who wants to go on a hunting trip!

Semo - Traveller Heretic via LBB fundamentalism ;)

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

Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 16:23:53 -0000
From: "Chris Seamans" <semo@pil.net>
Subject: Re: Annic Nova (canon)

- -----Original Message-----
From: Leonard Erickson <shadow@krypton.rain.com>
To: traveller@lists.imagiconline.com <traveller@lists.imagiconline.com>
Date: Friday, October 08, 1999 8:11 PM
Subject: Re: Annic Nova (canon)


>Why? Because there's something about it that their current technology
>can't even *detect*, much less duplicate.
>
>An example would be someone from the 30s trying to duplicate a
>transistor, or worse yet an IC. As far as *their* technology can
>determine, the transistor is *absolutely pure* silicon or germanium (or
>gallium arsenide, or whatever). Their technology isn't up to detect the
>parts per *trillion* doping that makes it work. 


Great post. Leonard, you rock! ;)

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

Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 13:28:15 -0700 (PDT)
From: Anthony Jackson <ajackson@molly.iii.com>
Subject: Re: Battledress/Battlesuit Protection (GT)

Leonard Erickson writes:
 
> Silly question. What will a LAW or higher TL equivalent do to BD?

In what system?  In GT a TL 9 brilliant micro-missile does 6d*10(10), which won't get through the commando battledress (due to laminate armor; avg penetration is 1050 DR laminate), but will kill anything an FGMP can kill, and weighs something like 2 lb.  A TL 8 DRL/120 will do 6d*20(10) and oneshot just about any battledress (not to mention punching through frontal armor on an M1 tank), but is closer to bazooka sized; the TL 9+ equivalent does half again more and is effective on TL 10- tanks, let alone battlesuits.

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

Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 16:32:16 EDT
From: GypsyComet@aol.com
Subject: Annic Nova

IIRC, the Annic Nova was quietly removed from 3I canon sometime during the MT 
era.  If it is being brought back in, then the beyond-exotic drive components 
sounds like the best way to accomplish it.

And yes, the Annic Nova and Battletech's FTL drives have a lot in common. 
Since FASA is younger (as a company) than the Annic Nova's first appearance, 
this is hardly a problem for the Annic Nova...

GC

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

Date: Fri, 08 Oct 1999 16:35:56 -0400
From: Ian Ferguson <ian@vax2.concordia.ca>
Subject: RE: Population Growth (longish)

Timothy Collinson writes:
<snipped>
>On the other hand, they might not be allowed to stay way they 
>are or find 'real' colonists moving in and threatening their 
>way of life.  Haven't quite got that far yet.  Might be a
>good moment to end the adventure with all that left wide open!

	It's always nice to face the PCs with situations that
	just cannot be solved with firepower.  :)

<snipped>
>>This is easy enough on a large scale.  Just recall that
>>population growth tends to be exponential: (number at
>>time t) = (number at time t-1)^r [this can be worked forwards
>>or backwards in time.  For a small scale with a particular
>>distribution of ages (as you have), it might be better to
>>work the Leslie matrix backwards.

>My apologies, I blinked and missed it, what was 'r'?

	Oops, sorry.  I kind of glossed that one over.  I also
	made an important error, which I will correct now.  The
	quantity 'r' is known as the 'intrinsic rate of natural
	increase' and is a measure of the rate at which a 
	population grows.  The correct formula is:

			N(t) = N(0)*e^(r*t)

		where	N(t) is the population size at time t
			N(0) is the population size at time 0
			* is the multiplication sign
			e is the constant 2.71828
			r is the intrinsic rate of increase
			t is the time since time 0

	Thus, with an r of 1 the population increases by a 
	factor of e in t years.  If r is 0, then N(t) = N(0),
	and the population is stable.  If r is negative, then
	the population is declining.  For your example, you 
	might use:

		N(0) = 20
		t = 50 years
		r = 0.02

		N(t) = 20*e^(50*0.02) = 54.37

	or

		N(t) = 100
		N(0) = 20
		r = 0.02
		Ln[N(t)/N(0)]/r = t (Ln is the log(base e))

		Ln[100/20]/0.02 = 80.47 years

	The latter formula is a clue as to why e is used as
	the constant in the r formula.  Note that the value of
	r will depend on the units of time used.  This whole
	thing is probably more involved than you need, and it
	would not work well with a population of 20 individuals
	with an atypical age distribution.  I only covered it 
	because I had made the earlier error and did not want 
	leave it uncorrected.

Peez

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

Date: Fri, 08 Oct 1999 16:42:43 -0400
From: Ian Ferguson <ian@vax2.concordia.ca>
Subject: RE: Metric vs. Imperial

>Anthony Jackson writes:
>>Charles Collin writes:
>>>>I also wish that GT were metric -- it just feels more futuristic
>>>>and sensible and, for me at least, it's easier to use for things
>>>>like vehicle design.
>>>         Tell that to the people at NASA!
>>Oh, that's MEAN! :-)  It's right on the money, of course, but it's
>>still really COLD! 
>Snort.  The lesson there is 'don't mix your units', not that one or the
>other system is unusable.

	I never said that Imperial measures are unusable.  It's just
	that scientists all over the world (including in the USA),
	as well as manufacturers and the public in the great majority
	of the world, use metric.  The best way to avoid 'mixing your
	units' is to standardize.  Hmmmm, what seems to be the most
	logical solution...?

:)
Peez

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

Date: Fri, 08 Oct 1999 16:09:06 -0500
From: Black ICE <wombat@premier.net>
Subject: Re: Battledress/Battlesuit Protection

Anthony Jackson wrote:
> 
> Terry Carlino writes:
> 
> > You are obviously using the BD from GT. First In gives Scout BD at an even
> > lower value DR 60. The issue is the GTL-12 Imperial Marine Commando Battle
> > Dress from GT:Star Mercs p61, with DR 1200, which will basically ignore
> > FGMP fire.
> 
> The star mercs BD is also 3/4 of a ton, flies, runs at 70 mph, etc....

And exactly what effect does the suit running at 70 mph have on the legs
of the wearer?

- -- 
AuricTech Shipyards Journeyman Gearhead
"Gold-Plated [tm] solutions for copper-plated problems!" (r)
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Shadowlands/9776

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

Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 14:08:02 -0700 (PDT)
From: Anthony Jackson <ajackson@molly.iii.com>
Subject: Re: Battledress/Battlesuit Protection

Black ICE writes:

> And exactly what effect does the suit running at 70 mph have on the legs
> of the wearer?

I'm not _defending_ the BD.  Just commenting.

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

Date: Fri, 08 Oct 1999 17:55:07 -0400
From: Thom Jones-Low <tjoneslo@together.net>
Subject: Re: Jump Drives (Was: Re: Annic Nova)

> 
> Date: Fri, 08 Oct 1999 14:31:55 -0400
> From: Christopher Thrash <thrash@io.com>
> Subject: Re: Annic Nova
> 
> >Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 11:06:07 -0400
> >From: "Sword Worlder" <swordworlder@clinic.net>
> >Subject: Re: Annic Nova (canon)
> >
> >- ----- Original Message -----
> >From: Christopher Thrash <thrash@io.com>
> >> as long as the worst canon-breaking bits (no LH2 requirement, primarily)
> >> are either fixed or firmly pidgeon-holed as curiousities, not practical or
> >> useful for the Imperium in general.
> >
> >Canon-breaking?  This is the earliest canon, from the first instance of a
> >canonical storyline book, JTAS No.1, Loren's baby.  So now, twenty years
> >later, we need to "fix" it?
> 
> "Required Items
> 
> "An operating jump drive requires several basic components which, when
> operating together, make jump possible.
> "Power Source: Jump uses large amounts of energy to rip open the barriers
> between normal space and jump space. Normally, only a fusion reactor can
> supply this energy. Some alternate systems make use of solar power
> generators (which operate much more slowly), or anti-matter power systems
> (rare and very high-tech)."
> 
> "Jumpspace", Marc W. Miller, JTAS#24, p. 35.
> 
> "Annic Nova", JTAS#1, pp. 16-32, was also by Mr. Miller.
> 
> I concede the point, and withdraw the request.
> 
> I must admit to being totally at a loss at this point for why anyone would
> waste so much economically useful space on LH2 tankage, if it is not a
> requirement for jump (the only mention in the article is related to power
> production).
> 
	IMTU, and I know I got this from somewhere else (probably equally
unofficial), the LH2 is not used for power to create the jump, but used
during the jump as part of the jump drive system to protect the ship.
I'm not saying Marc is wrong (never argue with an Elder One), it just
never made any sense as described.

	<ping> memory segment recovered....

	High Guard 2nd ed. P39: "A ship which breaks off by jumping must have a
destination and enough fuel to get there. It must expend energy points
equal to two turns output from the power plant whos number is equal to
the jump being attempted. ... A ship which can not summon the required
energy in two turns may not jump at all."
	
	From this can be concluded the LH2 Jump fuel is *not* used before the
jump, but during the jump. The energy required to open the Jump Space
hole is supplied by the Power Plant, the Jump Fuel is used for something
else. 

	Oh Damn, I really don't mean to re-start the Nth annual "Jump Drive
Physics" flame war, but if we are quoting original sources....

- ---
	Thomas Jones-Low	
	tjoneslo@together.net

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

Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 17:29:22 EDT
From: Sethkimmel@aol.com
Subject: Re: Firing two guns at once

In a message dated 10/8/99 8:11:32 PM !!!First Boot!!!, 
shadow@krypton.rain.com writes:

<< What do you do with all the partial clips? :-) >>

for a semi auto pistol, you grasp the new full mag in you off hand between 
thumb and index finger. You drop the partially empty mag into the SAME hand 
and grab it with the other fingers, and then insert the new mag. You then 
place the partially empty mag into your gunbelt, but NOT into an empty ammo 
pouch (so it doesn't get confused for a full one). Since you are juggling TWO 
pistol magazines in your off hand, I would consider this a difficult task in 
the various Traveller rule mechanics...

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

Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 17:31:53 EDT
From: Sethkimmel@aol.com
Subject: Re: Annic Nova (canon) 

In a message dated 10/8/99 7:02:40 PM !!!First Boot!!!, 
jamstar@accesstoledo.com writes:

<< *DAMN* I wish they'd come back... >>

Marc's supposedly reprinting them in a larger format next year; I can't wait!

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

Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 17:33:24 EDT
From: Sethkimmel@aol.com
Subject: Re: Annic Nova

In a message dated 10/8/99 7:28:30 PM !!!First Boot!!!, dsherbot@rockies.net 
writes:

<< I have a copy of JTAS#1 NM for sale. Anybody interested?
 And since everyone is on the topic...didn't anybody else notice the tiny
 corpse? in a vacc suit floating prone in the bottom left corner of the JTAS
 picture of Annic Nova?
 
 Seaottre@hotmail.com
  >>

yeah ; Contact Colin at Downport.com; He needs one...

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

Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 14:38:11 -0700 (PDT)
From: Craig Berry <cberry@cinenet.net>
Subject: Starship disposal strategies (was: Annic Nova (longish))

> Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 11:59:22 PST
> From: shadow@krypton.rain.com (Leonard Erickson)
> 
> If the ship is "at rest" with respect to the star, you don't *need* to
> do anything. It'll fall into the star (eventually, as I recall, free
> fall from Earth orbit to the Sun is around 90 days).
>
> But if you are in orbit or moving at typical Traveller "transit"
> speeds, you'll have a *big* vector at right angles to the line joining
> you and the star. You have to kill all but a fraction of that
> "sideways" velocity, or it'll turn your attempt to hit the star into an
> orbit around it (or just a clean miss). 
> 
> 6 days at 40 km/sec (typical *solar* orbital velocity) gives about 22
> *million* km side displacement. You'd miss the star by quite a bit. And
> the Autopilot is not going to *let* you set the ship on an impact
> course for a star. 

Effectively at rest.  The Earth's orbital speed around the Sun is roughly
30 km/s.  To kill this speed at an acceleration of .1 g (1 m/s^2) requires
30,000 seconds -- just over 8 hours.

It's tough to realize just how *different* solar system navigation gets
with a constant-acceleration drive capable of tenths-of-a-gee performance.
Things that look hard with our rocket tech suddenly become trivial.  You
can kill the entire sideways component on the first work shift of the
first day of acceleration. :)

As for autopilot safety overrides, that's a possibly more valid point.
Especially if we presume the young or unqualified crew model.

> The sun has a radius of about 7e5 km. So to hit it with a travel time
> of 550,000 seconds, you need to restrict your side velocity to less than
> 1.3 km/sec. Actually, you could have a bit more than that, because
> we're ignoring the sun's gravity. But not all *that* much more. 

But a functioning navigation system -- without safety overrides in place
- -- could hit the sun trivially.  "Step 1:  Kill tangential velocity
relative to the sun.  Step 2:  Keep the nose pointed at the sun and
thrust.  Step 3:  Turn to plasma." :)  Obviously this will lead to a
nonoptimal course, but a 'real' nav system will have full optimized-path
generation capability wired in.  Tell it "Pass through this volume of
space as soon as possible, speed of passage is not a concern, and ignore
safety warnings," and it'll do the trick.

> At the end of 550,000 seconds at .1g, you'll be travelling at 550,000
> m/sec. 1.3 km/sec is about .2% of that. So you have to have your
> velocity vector accurate to about 2 parts in 1000. For six days...

You're neglecting active correction based on optical navigation, tracking
signals, accelerometers, and so on and on.  You don't aim once then fly
blind.  You continuously correct the course on the way in.

Sudden fun thought...I think we're finally getting around to designing
Disaster Area's "Sundiver" ship. :)

- -- 
   |   Craig Berry - cberry@cinenet.net
 --*--    Home Page: http://www.cinenet.net/users/cberry/home.html
   |      "There it is; take it."  - William Mulholland

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

Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 16:38:45 -0500 (CDT)
From: Steven Bonneville <bonnevil@ima.umn.edu>
Subject: Re: Annic Nova

Okay...a bunch of people said:

>>>The energy storage devices on the Annic Nova accumulates solar energy over a
>>>period of 1-6 weeks. Once they have accumulated enough energy the ship can
>>>jump. If they are not jump drive style capacitors, they are something even
>>>better. Annic Nova dosen't need any fuel tanks. That puts her one up on
>>>every other known ship in Charted Space.
[...]
> The accumulator looks to be about 10 squares long & 1 square wide, which 
> means on the order of 5 dtons *if* it is only 1 deck high.  I suspect it's 
> probably *2* decks high, but I haven't read Mrc's mind lately.

Isn't there a cross-section view of Annic Nova in the book somewhere, to
show how the ramp works and pinnaces attach?

> The accumulator is charged up by a solar panel grid *1 km* in diameter in 1 
> to 6 weeks.  It stores enough energy to power a J2 *and* a J3 *AND* provide 
> internal power & life support for 60 days.

Okay.  Assuming 1 kW/m^2 incident radiation, a perfectly efficient solar
collector would generate 1 GW of power if it has an area of a square km; 
over one to six weeks, that's going to be somewhere between 600 to 3600
terajoules of energy.

  -- Steve Bonneville

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

Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 17:43:21 EDT
From: Sethkimmel@aol.com
Subject: Re: Annic Nova

In a message dated 10/8/99 9:35:59 PM !!!First Boot!!!, Sethkimmel@aol.com 
writes:

<< yeah ; Contact Colin at Downport.com; He needs one >>


Oops; I meant Sworldworlder...

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

Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 20:57:40 +0100
From: SD Mooney <dom@cybergoths.u-net.com>
Subject: re: Battledress/Battlesuit Protection

"Brandon Cope" <copeab@hotmail.com> writes:

>Here are a few thoughts on the battle dress vs infantry weapon debate.
>I have used the TLs appropriate to each system.
>
>GURPS TL 11 = Traveller TL 14
>
>Classic Traveller
>Numbers: A FGMP-14 is +6 to-hit someone in battle dress (no TL given)
>     at a range of 50 meters.
>Evaluation: The person in battle dress will almost always get hit and
>     will almost always (average damage 42 vs average person with
>     21 "hit points") get fragged

T4: Roll to hit is on 3D at 50m (2.5D at 45m) versus average stat of 7 plus
say 1 for skill (in actuallity probably higher). An aimed shot would gain
DM +4 max and the use of a HUD would count this against evading. So say
target number is 7+1+4 which is 12. Average roll on 3D is 10.5 which is a
hit on >50% of occasions. Without target enhancement this falls...

Evaluation: the PCMP does 23 Dice of Damage against an AV of around 11 -
thus 12 dice penetrate.
The rules are unclear if plasma is excluded from the kinetic kill rule, but
as the blast has a side blast explosive effect I would assume so. Thus,
average damage is 12 x 3.5 = 42, and an average person with 21 stat points
will no longer exist. In addition, plasma weapons such as this cause a
further 4D explosive damage and a significant chance of flash blinding for
personnel without flash supressors.

Dom

- ----------Dom Mooney---dom@cybergoths.u-net.com------------
                       MiB - Marines in Battledress
   "Protecting the Imperium from the Scum of the Galaxy"
Rob Prior's Mac software @ http://www.bits.org.uk/ 

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

Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 22:31:07 +0100
From: SD Mooney <dom@cybergoths.u-net.com>
Subject: Re: Annic Nova (canon)

"Sword Worlder" <swordworlder@clinic.net> writes:

>Canon-breaking?  This is the earliest canon, from the first instance of a
>canonical storyline book, JTAS No.1, Loren's baby.  So now, twenty years
>later, we need to "fix" it?  <sigh>  You know, while we are at it, the fact
>that Traveller has two l's in it causes problems with my spell-checker.
>What say we "fix" that. :-p

Nah, you've just got to set your spelling checker to "English".

On a more serious note - why fix the Annic Nova? It gives a little bit of
mystery - maybe it's something out of jump space, maybe the fuel is linked
up to a pocket universe etc...

Dom

- ----------Dom Mooney---dom@cybergoths.u-net.com------------
                       MiB - Marines in Battledress
   "Protecting the Imperium from the Scum of the Galaxy"
Rob Prior's Mac software @ http://www.bits.org.uk/ 

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

Date: Fri, 8 Oct 1999 17:45:09 -0400
From: "Sword Worlder" <swordworlder@clinic.net>
Subject: Re: Annic Nova

My spies are everywhere, the impies don't stand a chance ;-)

- ----- Original Message ----- 
From: <Sethkimmel@aol.com>
> << I have a copy of JTAS#1 NM for sale. Anybody interested?
> 
> yeah ; Contact Colin at Downport.com; He needs one...

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

Date: Fri, 08 Oct 1999 14:41:57
From: "Douglas E. Berry" <gridlore@pop.mindspring.com>
Subject: Re: Ammo Conservation ( was Re: Firing two guns at once)

At 11:55 AM 10/8/1999 PST, you wrote:

>So it should pentrate as normal. With a slight chanche of igniting
>anything flammable it lodges in (like a kevlar vest :-)

Ix-nay on the incendiary bullets.  For the tiny fuel sources in a tracer to
actually ignite anything, it would have to be *really* easy to burn.. like
gasoline soaked clothing in an areas heavy with gas fumes.  Even then, I'd
wager that a spark from a ricochet would be a better ignition source.

I have fired over two hundred rounds of 7.62mm tracer into dry brush at Ft.
Irwin in the hopes of setting it ablaze (he he he.. fire is COOL!!) with no
success.
- -- 
Douglas E. Berry       gridlore@mindspring.com
http://gridlore.home.mindspring.com/index.html

I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone,
but they've always worked for me.
             -- Hunter S. Thompson

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

Date: Fri, 08 Oct 1999 14:46:45
From: "Douglas E. Berry" <gridlore@pop.mindspring.com>
Subject: Re: Annic Nova (canon)

At 12:28 PM 10/8/1999 PST, you wrote:

>With the IC, they can see that there's some sort of structure, if they
>use the best microscopes. No idea what it means, nor how to create such
>fine details. And without the theory, they can even determine *what*
>the structures should be.

There's a wonderful moment in Harry Turtledove's _WorldWar_ series where
RAF radar technicians have finally gotten access to a relatively intact
Race fighter.  Brimming with anticipation, they pry off the nose cone and
pull out..

.. lots of little purple boards with *tiny* gold lines on them.  
- -- 

Douglas E. Berry       gridlore@mindspring.com
http://gridlore.home.mindspring.com/index.html

It's tough to beat a Chinese chef armed with
3 suckling pigs.     -Hud Nordin

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

End of Traveller-digest V1999 #1174
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