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TML Bundles come from the archives of the Traveller Mailing List,
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----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sun Dec  8 21:00:15 PST 1991
From: traveller-request@metolius.wr.tek.com (TML Administrator)
Subject: TML Bundle #269: Table of Contents

-AMN- --Date--- --Sender--------- --Subject-----------------------------------
3245  04-Dec-91 KELLOGG@ducvax.au A rather bad joke |-> << And now for a rather
3246  05-Dec-91 MacGyver          Re: (3233) What will DGP do? << Hans Rancke-M
3247  05-Dec-91 rem@oz.plymouth.e Wow, fall a little behind, and... << I've bee
3248  05-Dec-91 Adam Naylor       General Traveller Questions << [You can reach
3249  05-Dec-91 Robert S. Dean    Re: (3232) Seeker products << Hans Rancke wri
3250  05-Dec-91 Robert S. Dean    Re: (3233) What will DGP do? << Hans Ranck as
3251  05-Dec-91 James T Perkins   Re: General Traveller Questions << Edmund, A 
3252  05-Dec-91 Hans Rancke-Madse Starship sex << > From: "J.A.F.O." <BSU646@va
3253  05-Dec-91 Joe Heck          GDW and upcoming releases... << A friendly vo
3254  05-Dec-91 Robert S. Dean    Re: (3244) GEnie: MegaTrav design flaws << Sc
3255  05-Dec-91 richard@agora.rai Neo-Traveller << Thanks Bertil for the eye-op
3256  05-Dec-91 bgillesp@lonestar Re: The Twilight 2K system. << I just finishe
3257  05-Dec-91 surman@zulu.lgs.l GEnie: Traveller Revision << Here's some of m
3258  05-Dec-91 Mike.Metlay@ORGAN Vargr kinda love << Actually, the sickest thi

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

Archive-Message-Number: 3245
Date: Wed, 4 Dec 1991 17:10 CDT
From: KELLOGG@ducvax.auburn.edu
Subject: A rather bad joke |->

And now for a rather bad joke...  to the tune of 'Groovy kind of Love'

"When I'm feeling blue,
 All I have to do
 Is bark a bit at you,
 Then I'm not so blue.

 When your close to me,
 I can smell you're in heat
 I can feel you breathing
 In my ears,

 Wouldn't you agree,
 Baby, you and me
 Got a Vargr kind of love?


 Anytime you want to
 You can turn me on to
 Anything you want to
 Any time at all

 When I lick your ears,
 Oh! I start to shivver,
 Can't control the quivvering
 Inside.

 Wouldn't you agree,
 Baby, you and me
 Got a Vargr kind of love?


	(Bridge)

 When I'm in your paws,
 Nothing seems to matter,
 If the worlds should shatter
 I don't care

 Wouldn't you agree,
 Baby, you and me
 Got a Vargr kind of love?
 We've got a Vargr kind of love..."


Credit for the hook goes to Metlay.
(Yeah it was originaly his joke, but he didn't think of the song!)
Musical credit goes to Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders
You can blame the lyrics on me... :-)

Scott Kellogg
Death to Phil Collins!  Death to Phil Collins!
(available in FULL DIMENSIONAL MONO!)

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

Archive-Message-Number: 3246
From: MacGyver <macgyver@cis.ohio-state.edu>
Subject: Re: (3233) What will DGP do?
Date: Thu, 5 Dec 91 1:54:55 EST

Hans Rancke-Madsen writes:
> What I'm really anxious to know is: Will DGP drop Megatraveller too?
> I gather thaty they are not involved in Traveller III, but will they
> retain their licence to do Megatraveller stuff? And do they want to?
> Or will they switch to that new game of theirs, AI?

	Well, DGP is putting all the plans they have on MT on hold.
They are even selling all MT manuscripts, drawings, etc they have to other
people. They do still have the license, but that's about it. 

	MTJ #3 is their last MT product, I think.

Wilson MacGyver                      | Everytime you have an idea, I get 
Internet:macgyver@cis.ohio-state.edu | grounded for a week!
=====================================| 			- Gloria
Disclaimer:All opinions are mine only|=======================================

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

Archive-Message-Number: 3247
From: rem@oz.plymouth.edu (Bob Mahoney)
Subject: Wow, fall a little behind, and...
Date: Thu, 5 Dec 91 9:54:55 EST

I've been *rather* behind in my TML reading, so I was astonished to read about
the "new and improved" initiative.

I generally agree with the "reservations" that TMLers have had, but I did get
one idea:

There's this mad scientist, see?  And he invents this special motor oil, see?
and this motor oil completely destroys any machine that uses it, see?  And the
scientist makes lots and lots, and everybody uses it, and the world is promptly
lubricated back into the stone age!

(And then we can have magic and swords.)

- -- 
                                ..
- -------------------------------m--m------------------------------------------
Bob Mahoney    Plymouth State College   Computer Services, Plymouth, NH 03264
rem@oz.plymouth.edu      Net Manager/Postmaster       bobmah@psc.plymouth.edu 

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

Archive-Message-Number: 3248
Date: Thu, 5 Dec 1991 16:45:14 +1100
From: Adam Naylor <anaylor@gara.une.oz.au>
Subject: General Traveller Questions

[You can reach Edmund temporarily at anaylor@gara.une.oz.au.  He isn't a
TMLer but we can help him.  Yes, I know some of these questions are
similar to earlier ones from him -- James]

Okay I have a few general questions on character generation .....

1) The Mercenary

- - What assignments can a mercenary character be promoted on ?
The book says on all the assignments NOT listed in paratheses, however
none of them are listed in paranthses .

- - The rules assume the character joins the imperial army . Yet he would
not be able to fly grav vehicles if he came from a tech 9 planet or less .
This does not make sense . Are the rules assuming that the imperial 
government lower thier tech levels of the military depending on what world
thier garrison is on ? The americans certainly did not do this in vietnam !

- - Why cannot the character belong to the army of his homeworld ? Or why
not the security forces of a megacorp ? 

- - The referee's companion state that tech 14+ planets arm and equip thier
troops with battledress and energy weapons . Yet the only way battledress
skill is gained is if the character is a commando, or a marine on ships
troops . Why not say instead that a character from a tech 14+ world gain the
battledress skill in place of vacuum suit on the infantry MOS skill table .

- - The rebellion sourcebook states the imperial garrison numbers (average)
for member worlds . But those (on average) with a pop of 4- dont have any ? 
Does this mean the character cannot join the army ?

- - The mercenary assignments table gives basic descriptions of assignments 
Does this mean the assignments assume the following ?

Police Action : Garrison from planet is stationed on another world eg : 
US marines in vietnam .

Counter Insurgency : Worlds garrison fighting against rebellion or civil 
strife ?

Raid : A 'war' situation ?

Internal Security : ???

2) Merchants 

- - The merchant character has no access to increase his stats of Str, End,
Dex, and Int (Dex if he were not a FT) . He gains no access to Jack Of All
Trades Skill . He has no access to naval architecture . Why not do the 
following . 

Replace Carousing (gained with a roll of 2 on the life table) with Physical 
Replace Blade Combat (gained with a roll of 2 on the shipboard table) with
hand combat . 
Replace + 1 Edu (Life : 5) with Mental
Replace CCarousing (Life : 6) with the skill branch which allows you too
choose from Leader, JOT, Instruction, and Carousing (Sorry dont have my 
book here) .

3) Naval Characters

- - When can naval characters get promoted ? 

4) Marines

- - Do marines function at the tech level thier base is stationed on or 
at tech 14/15 ?

5) Other Races 

- - What differences are thier between humanti, Aslan, Vargr etc when making
up a character, and what bonuses do thier races gain ? (Please dont say
none cause thats pretty shallow !!) 

6) Scouts

- - What justification is there in giving a member of the tech branch a
scout ship ?

- - Do high ranking IISS members gain a bonus mustering out ?

7) Can brownie points be spent on mustering out rolls ? I say yes cause
it allows hopless characters (such as those who have an Int:2) build up
stats (depending on the roll), but this can be abused eg a rank E2 merchant
getting a vessel ? 

8) Can brownie points be spent 'At any time' . eg a character gained a 
level 3 heavy weapons skill (by rolling a 4 on the command table) . But at the
ebd of the characters generation he wants to have leader skill so he spends a
brownie point to upgrade it to leader ? 

9) Can you spend a brownie point to gain a special mission and recieve a 
brownie point for it ?

10) Do scouts gain a brownie point for training/special/war missions . Do
merchants gain it for having bonuses ?

Thats about all I can think of . I have access to the errata published
already but they dont cover the thinks I wanted to know . 

Please If you have any comment, no matter how small please tell me 

Edmund





A

A
A


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

Archive-Message-Number: 3249
Date:     Thu, 5 Dec 91 11:22:59 EST
From: Robert S. Dean  <rsdean@crdec8.apgea.army.mil>
Subject:  Re:  (3232) Seeker products

Hans Rancke writes:
>
> Does anybody know anything about two products from Seeker that
> I've seen advertised in 'Megatraveller Journal' #2: _Lords of
> Thunder_ and _Consumer's Guide_? Are they out? Are they any
> good?

I'm pretty sure that these products are not yet available...I've been keeping
a fairly close watch on distributor lists for them.

Rob Dean


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

Archive-Message-Number: 3250
Date:     Thu, 5 Dec 91 11:26:45 EST
From: Robert S. Dean  <rsdean@crdec8.apgea.army.mil>
Subject:  Re:  (3233) What will DGP do?

Hans Ranck asks:

> What I'm really anxious to know is: Will DGP drop Megatraveller too?
> I gather thaty they are not involved in Traveller III, but will they
> retain their licence to do Megatraveller stuff? And do they want to?
> Or will they switch to that new game of theirs, AI?

DGP is definitely dropping support of MegaTraveller, according to the latest
on GEnie.  I should go back and post the note from a few days ago, in which 
they state _That they are looking for a buyer for their files_.  Dropping
it, and then throwing out the pieces it seems.  All DGP efforts will be
devoted to A.I.  )-:  I just got my copy of Cats and Rats last night.  What
a loss...I was especially saddened to see a projected Vol. 5 for minor
races advertised.

Rob Dean



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

Archive-Message-Number: 3251
Subject: Re: General Traveller Questions 
Date: Thu, 05 Dec 91 08:34:14 PST
From: James T Perkins <jamesp@metolius.WR>


Edmund,

A lot of your questions are indicative of the proofreading in
MegaTraveller.  MT was written by Traveller experts for Traveller
experts, and was never really shaken out.  So, as a self-appointed
Traveller expert, I usually observe these little inconsistencies and
decide what *I* would do with them.  I'll shoot from the hip without my
sources today.  To wit...

Adam Naylor <anaylor@gara.une.oz.au> writes:
> - The rules assume the character joins the imperial army.  Yet he would
> not be able to fly grav vehicles if he came from a tech 9 planet or less.

I figure anyone in an interstellar organization can learn skills at the
Average Stellar tech level or higher.

> - Why cannot the character belong to the army of his homeworld?  Or why
> not the security forces of a megacorp?

Because this is a fine detail not included in the rules.  Feel free to
take a few liberties to set this up on your own, based on the Imp. Army
character generation.

> - The rebellion sourcebook states the imperial garrison numbers (average)
> for member worlds.  But those (on average) with a pop of 4- dont have any?
> Does this mean the character cannot join the army?

Population indicates the civilian RESIDENTS of a planet, not military or
transient population.  So, a system with a resident population of 16
people could still support a garrison of a few thousand troops.  It's
just that there won't be a lot of movies or shopping for the troops to
induldge in, off-duty.

> - The mercenary assignments table gives basic descriptions of assignments
> Does this mean the assignments assume the following?

> Police Action : Garrison from planet is stationed on another world eg :
> US marines in vietnam.

> Counter Insurgency : Worlds garrison fighting against rebellion or civil
> strife?

> Raid : A 'war' situation?

Sound good to me.

> Internal Security :???

Military Police?

> - The merchant character has no access to increase his stats of Str, End,
> Dex, and Int (Dex if he were not a FT).  He gains no access to Jack Of All
> Trades Skill.  He has no access to naval architecture.  Why not do the
> following. [replace skills on tables]

Sounds good to me.

> - When can naval characters get promoted?

Enlisted - up to once/year, officers - up to once/term.

> - Do marines function at the tech level thier base is stationed on or
> at tech 14/15?

I go with the latter.

> - What differences are thier between humanti, Aslan, Vargr etc when making
> up a character, and what bonuses do thier races gain?  (Please dont say
> none cause thats pretty shallow!!  )

Refer to the ethnic sourcebooks for the races.  Vargr, for instance, do
not even have a Social attribute - they have a related attribute instead
that indicates their relative influence in Vargr society.  I think there
are some additional adjustments.

> - Do high ranking IISS members gain a bonus mustering out?

I don't think so.

> 7) Can brownie points be spent on mustering out rolls?

I haven't used them for this, but I could be wrong...

> 8) Can brownie points be spent 'At any time'. [retroactive skill changes]

I don't use it this way.  I feel it needs to be applied at the time the
roll is made.

> 9) Can you spend a brownie point to gain a special mission and recieve a
> brownie point for it?

I would probably allow this.

> 10) Do scouts gain a brownie point for training/special/war missions.  Do
> merchants gain it for having bonuses?

Dunno.

James
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Traveller Mailing List Administrator	     James T Perkins @ Tektronix, Inc
traveller-request@metolius.wr.tek.com	     Beaverton, Oregon, USA
    "How many ancients can dance on the head of a pin?" - Scott Kellogg

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

Archive-Message-Number: 3252
From: Hans Rancke-Madsen <rancke@diku.dk>
Subject: Starship sex
Date: Thu, 5 Dec 91 17:35:18 MET

> From: "J.A.F.O." <BSU646@vaxa.bangor.ac.uk>

> 4) The starship crew lifestyle is worth thinking about, hardly ever on your
> homeworld... in lose quarters with the same crew for often years, the kind
> of starship-starport subculture that could spring up. One of my party
> see's the universe as a procession of bars where the drinks and licensing
> laws are all that change. The kind of bond a small ship crew can form esp.
> a warship like a t-type, gazelle or fiery and the fact that the trav'
> universe is apparantly an equal opportunities employer meaning sex ratios
> are roughly equal.

I'm running a naval campaign in which the players are officers and crew
on an Imperial warship. When I started I thought a bit about what rules
the Navy would have about shipboard interpersonal relationships. What I
came up with was 'Rule 37':

        "The formation of close emotional bonds detrimental to the
        discipline and efficiency of the ship is punished by..."

This puts the burden squarely on the ship's captain. If he says something
is allowed, then it is allowed. If he forbids anything, then it's forbidden.
The catch is that if anything _does_ go wrong, then it's his responsibility
too. Note that the rule includes, but is not limited to, sexual relations.
I also decided that over the years several rules of thumb had been arrived at:

        1) Relationships between people directly above and below
           each other in the chain of command is problematical.

        2) Relationships between people with too disparate rank
           is problematical.

        3) Relationships between people with approximately the
           same length of service is less problematical (So an
           officer and a CPO would probably be OK, as long as
           they weren't in the same line of command).

I've never had occasion to use this though. The thoughts of my players
dosen't seem to run that way. They're more interested in blasting pirates
and getting promoted!


      Hans Rancke
University of Copenhagen
     rancke@diku.dk
- ------------
                -    "You don't know wood from canvas,
                and you evidently don't want to learn.
                Well, I'll teach you!"
                        - Captain Bligh

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

Archive-Message-Number: 3253
Date:         Thu, 05 Dec 91 11:02:49 CST
From: Joe Heck <CSPECJH@UMCVMB.missouri.edu>
Subject:      GDW and upcoming releases...

A friendly voice at GDW told me this morning that the name of the new
Traveller package would be called Traveller: The New Era, and that it was
due to be released sometime about next november. According to whomever (I
never asked a name), the game was still in the writers hands and there
wasn't much telling what was going to come out of it since Editing was
being real secretive. She did mention that some folios and advertisements
would start being released around Feb '92....

Just an update... No promises as to the reliability of this info...

Joe

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

Joe Heck
(314) 882-2131

InterNet: CSPECJH@umcvmb.missouri.edu
BitNet:   CSPECJH@UMCVMB
cc:Mail:  MUCCGW.CSPECJH@SSGATE.MISSOURI.EDU

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

Archive-Message-Number: 3254
Date:     Thu, 5 Dec 91 13:25:46 EST
From: Robert S. Dean  <rsdean@crdec8.apgea.army.mil>
Subject:  Re:  (3244) GEnie: MegaTrav design flaws

Scott Kellogg writes:
> Subject: (3244) GEnie:  MegaTrav design flaws
> 
> The TDR folks had an idea which makes sense:  Have the
> chassis damage points of a vehicle be related to the weight of
> the chassis.  Thus a heavily armored chassis would be able to
> take more low penetration damage than a light one of the same
> size.  (The example was one of school bus vs. main battle tank)
> But I don't know much about it.  {Rob can you give us a run down
> on it?}

But of course...I'll append the appropriate sections of "TDR Vehicle
Design V1.1" below.  The basic idea is, as Scott says, that the current
damage point system is easy, but strange.  An M-1 tank is smaller
than a school bus, therefore it is easier to destroy in MT, where damage
points are equal to hull volume in kl divided by 6.  When I made up the
rule suggestion below, I arbitrarily decided that 1 ton of weight should
be exchanged for 1 kl in the old system...probably because the default
weight of any object in MT is 1ton/kl.  This would have the effect of making
a heavier object harder to destroy than a light object of the same volume.
The reason that the numbers below use /1.5 and * 1.7 instead 
of /15 and /6 is an errata which said that damage values
should be multiplied by ten for use in personal combat (by which they meant
everything except the High Guard derived starship combat system).  You'll
see that /1.5 = /15 *10 and *1.7 = /6 * 10 (rounded off).

COACC is a terrible offender in this regard, and I recommended using a weight
based approach to aircraft damage (cribbed from Striker, where else?) at
the same time.



        TDR VEHICLE DESIGN SYSTEM
        VERSION 1.1  
        20 DECEMBER 1990
        ROB DEAN
        
        ***************************************************************
        Remarks will be delineated with rows of asterisks at the 
        beginning and end.
        ***************************************************************
        
        DESIGN EVALUATION
        
        This section can be retained as is, with the following excep-
        tions.  
        
        Damage:  Calculate based on weight, not volume.  Also figure in 
        the factor of ten for personal combat rules to allow more differ-
        entiation of vehicles at lower sizes.  So new hull values become 
        Weight/1.5 (inoperative) and Weight*1.7 (Destroyed).  Values for 
        power plant and locomotion are figured as before, on a percentage 
        of the weight rather than the volume.
        


Well, that's all there was to it...

Rob Dean



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

Archive-Message-Number: 3255
From: richard@agora.rain.COM (Richard Johnson)
Subject: Neo-Traveller
Date: Thu, 5 Dec 91 10:53:23 PST

Thanks Bertil for the eye-opener on the T2K task system.  I could
easily get behind something close to this if it had slightly more
resolution.  That is: everyday=85% (of die used), routine=75%,
normal=50%, difficult=25%, formidable=15%  (success percentages)
or something like this.

Here's the reasoning:  I, as a GM, want to know, by looking at the
roll, just how badly mangled the task was.  This can affect the
outcome.  "Oh no Fred! The reactor is starting to run away! -
Fred's player rolls a (whatever) and *almost* shuts it down. -
Okay, it's going out of control and you now have ten minutes to
get yer party as far upwind as they can manage."  Rather than 
letting his slip of the control knob destroy the party utterly.

Otherwise, GDW might just be right in using dice with more sides.
As much as I like the simple 2D6 profile, more resolution would be
really nice.  Especially in the Trade and Commerce Rules.

** What're the goal and status with Trade and Commerce? **
I'm especially interested in this part of the new design, and offer
any and all info and assistance I can give.


Finally -- Virus...
Yecch.  It's not that it's such a repugnant idea (although it is 
to me).  It's that it's totally unneccessary.  The fall has come.
It is probably irreversible.

Unless you are using this as a way to introduce a superior computer
technology that doesnt take 10 tons of volume for a ship...  I'd
support that in the drop of a pin.

Keep struggling.  
- -- 
Richard Johnson     richard@agora.rain.com
"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from
 mediocre minds."    Albert Einstein

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

Archive-Message-Number: 3256
Date: Thu, 5 Dec 91 11:23:56 EST
From: bgillesp@lonestar.Prime.COM (Brian Gillespie)
Subject: Re: The Twilight 2K system.

I just finished reading Greg's post about the TW2k system and since I have
been actively playing it since it came out I figured I'd clarify a few items
and put my own comments in.

If you aren't interested in the Twilight:2000 system you should skip this
message.

Overall I like the game very much because it does a good job dealing with
the activity most likely to kill a character, combat.  Of the remaining
activities, in any good game, 90% can be resolved by the GM without the need
to consult any rules.  And let's face it, a good GM is what makes or breaks
a game.

My first requirement for a rule system is playability.  Realism, however
cannot just be thrown out the window, the game has to basically 'feel' right.

That said, a few things about the Greg's post that could use a little
clarification.

To hit determination: there are two types of shot: "quick" or "aimed"
aimed shots make the task one level easier.  All shots are considered
quick unless the character uses the preceeding phase to aim.

Example: given a character with skill 7 in a weapon. Roll 1d10, a 10 is always
a miss, a 1 is always a hit.

Shot type	Range
		Close	Medium	Long	Etc.
Aimed		14	7	3		(round to nearest & .5 = 0)
Quick		 7	3	2

Recoil:
All weapons have 1 or 2 recoil values.  1 for single shot(SS) recoil and
another for recoil when firing a burst, if the weapon is capable.
You take the total number of shots fired in a round times the individual
recoil value to get a total recoil.  If the total recoil is greater than the
characters strength, you subtract the difference from the to hit die roll.
Example: recoil of M16A2 SS is 3. Fire 3 shots for total recoil =9. Character
strength of 7 results in a -2 on all to hit rolls in round.

Damage: In the first edition of TW2k weapon damage used to drop off with
range.  In the second edition they just left the number constant. I like
it, much more playable.

Auto weapons fire: Weapons capable of automatic weapons fire have a Rate Of
Fire(ROF) value: standard values are: 10, 5 & 3.  Ignoring recoil for the
moment, this is the number of d6's you roll at close range. Each '6' that 
comes up means 1 hit on target.  Half of all remaining dice rolled are rolled
again if there are any other targets adjacent to primary target, again '6's
hit.  Modifiers: each range band reduces the number of d6's rolled by: 3,2,1
respectively, minimum of 1; total recoil greater than strength reduces number
of dice by difference, 1/6th hit chance stays same.


Problems with the system:
A supplement, Infantry Weapons of the World(IWW), is available and fixes some
of the weapon statistics problems and introduces some of it's own.

IWW finally makes pistols deadly, previous damage numbers were so low that
  no character would use one.
IWW adds the "instant kill rule". Simply put characters can now die from
  smaller arms with just one shot.
IWW`s problems: It gives the formulas used to calculate damage and recoil
  values and then goes on to use numbers that don't fit the formulas given.
  Inconsistent damage numbers: ie M16A1 does 2 dice damage while M16A2 does 3.

Some skills should have an initial level based on the characters attributes.
The worst situation we've run into is the thrown weapon skill when using a
grenade.  Basic military skill give you a level 1 in the skill.  According to
a strict interpretation of the rules, throwing a grenade successfully, ie
threw a window 10 feet away requires a roll of 1 on a d10.  This means that
90% of the time the grenade hits the wall and doesn't go through the window.
PC's stopped using grenades for a while since standing 10 feet from one was
not healthy.

Shotguns: uhhh, "interesting", nuff said.

Anyone who wishes to discuss the TW:2000 system is encouraged to email me.

Brian

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

Archive-Message-Number: 3257
Date: Thu, 5 Dec 91 17:28:09 CST
From: surman@zulu.lgs.lsu.edu (Michael A. Surman)
Subject: GEnie: Traveller Revision

Here's some of my thoughts on what needs revision in Traveller.
 
- - Dice: using 2d6 is an interesting concept from wargaming. It works
  ok but I prefer the percentile method (d100). It allows for all 
  sorts of adjustments better than 2d6.

- - Character generation: incomplete. The generation system needs to 
  be refined. College is one of my biggest complaints. Four years and
  all a character gets is MAYBE an EDU +1! This leads to my second
  complaint, skills. Classic Traveller, the way I see it, was designed
  with roleplaying as the main point in the game. The few skills that
  are there just add a little variety. It was up to the GM to resolve
  character actions and it worked. Then other RPG's were developed and
  brought with them skills buy the bucketfull (e.g. Rolemaster). Now
  MegaTraveller came out but didn't know which way to go. So you get
  a task system, a few more skills and still trying to merge old concepts
  with the new but it doesn't work very well. If you're going to add 
  skills then add skills. Granted the example cited above goes overboard
  but it helps shape the character. So when a character goes to college 
  at least something is learned. And the same goes for graduate school 
  (which isn't in the system now, anyway). How are Ph.D.'s created? Not 
  very easily by MT! In Classic Traveller a skill of 1 actually meant 
  something, 2 was very good and 3 was outstanding (it also conferred
  a medical degree to doctor characters). In MT skills of 4,5, 6, etc
  are common. And still using the 2d6 system!

  Character generation is one of the high points to the game. The 2nd
  MT computer game is great for developing characters. Now all that's
  needed is to include other races and there career choices as well. 

  If there is going to be an advanced generation method then include 
  the other career types, not just the basic 4. 

  Most non-military careers start with a college education.
  
  What about skills from high school! Wasn't anything learned, tech
  skills, academic skills. Might be pushing it but characters are not
  run of the mill. 

  Drop Education and Social Standing as characteristics. They are 
  conditions not attributes (as an aside, I use 13 attributes to
  describe characters in my games, 6 physical and 7 mental). So, add
  other characteristics that describe a character not something that
  is influenced by outside sources. Or, better yet, develop a class of
  secondary characteristics (actually conditions) that are used to
  expand the generation process.

- - Task systems are needed in any game that allows for a character to
  do any type of research or analysis. I have yet to find one that I
  really like. The MT task system is as good as any I have seen so far.

- - Combat. Again I have yet to find one I really like. In MT why have
  a skill for a weapon if you make a task out of using it.

- - Equipment design. Having an all encompassing system is nice but very
  unwieldly and looses some of its flavor. Split design into separate
  areas: computers, robots, starships, ground/air/water vehicles, weapons,
  etc. Current designs follow their own rules that sometimes don't make
  sense. Energy use being one of them, other aspects of physics too.

- - Pat answers such as "It's best for the game." or "Because that's the
  way it is." show poor salesmanship. Rational explanations get better
  converts.

- - Traveller Universe. One area that I find troublesome is economics. In
  In a universe that has limited communications how does credit work?
  Or electronic funds transfers? Seems like an easy way to counterfeit.
  Better explanations on existing aspects of the universe need to be
  done. This is a general statement that needs to be stressed. Everyday
  workings are not very well described and need to be improved. 

- - Modules collating existing published information. I would love to
  see a complete compilation of the Traveller News Service that appears
  in Challenge. The same goes for equipment. Background information on
  people, planets, systems, etc.  A 3-Ring binder format would work 
  very well.

- - Get a real editor. Not to be sarcastic but proofing has been poor.

Mike Surman
surman@zulu.lgs.lsu.edu


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

Archive-Message-Number: 3258
Date: Thu, 5 Dec 91 19:09:10 EST
From: Mike.Metlay@ORGAN.MUSIC.CS.CMU.EDU
Subject: Vargr kinda love

Actually, the sickest thing about that song is that a recorded version
of it actually exists-- I received it on a demo tape by a band called
"Scott Kellogg and The Loonees," which also featured original tunes
like "Monsters from the Id," "Surfable Haircut" and "Nine O'Clock Banana."
Scary stuff; the missus became an instant fan. |->

metlay


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