> From: [email removed] (John Driver)
>
> What is Allegiance Na (Not Available?), Uh, and Go, found in the
> Dark Nebula Sector (Solomani & Aslan)?
Na is Non-Aligned. The others are Aslan Clans I believe, but I don't
have references handy.
>
> What is the population multiplier? It is not explained in the
> Ref's handbook. Also, how do you figure out population density.
Population multiplier is the first digit in the population. Thus if
you have a population code of 6 1,000,000 - 9,999,999 people (quite
a range) then a multiplier of 4 indicates that there is 4x10^6 or
4,000,000-4,999,999 people (a much narrower range).
Density is people per unit area, thus knowing the surface area of a
sphere = 4*pi*r^2 If people do not live in the water then the
hydrographics percentage must be taken away from the surface area.
Then those people living in orbit (if significant) should be taken away
from the population total. Dividing the latter by the former will
give you population density.
This is of course of no real use. If you look at earth there are
large sections where the density is far below the mean (the poles,
deserts, etc.) while there are areas where the density is far greater
(Hong Kong, Japan, etc.)
>
> What is the signifigance of Stellar Size? It says like Size II,
> II, VI, D, etc in the Ref's book but I couldn't find an explanation
> for it. I know it is used for system creation but I want to know
> what they mean in terms of diameter.
Other than the fact that the sun is a Size V, not having my
astronomy texts makes this one hard to answer...
>
> Under Step 6 of Extended System Generation it says to "Use the
> previous throw for primary star type/size as +DM." Does this mean
> that if I rolled a type K star for my primary star (8 on a 2-12
> scale) that the roll for the companion star would be +8?! This is
> precisely what it says to do but I don't see the reasoning behind
> that one. It effectively means that I can't roll anything higher
> than a four if I want to stay on the chart.
This rule reflects the fact that smaller stars will have even
smaller companions (otherwise the first star would be referred
to as the companion). Most stars will have a dwarf star as a companion
and these tend to be Red (cool) stars. Presumably if you roll >12
then you should be reading the 12 result on the table.
>
> I didn't like how a character's home planet law level dictated what
> weapon skills that character could choose during creation. So I
> made the following changes. Marines, no matter what law level
> their home planet is, can choose any weapon skills. This is
> because they are a combat force and spend most of their time in
> space anyway. Same with Army. Even if they are stuck on their home
> planet, government tech level inhibitions probably wouldn't apply
> to them. I could understand a planetary militia having SOME
> restrictions, but an Imperial Marine shouldn't be disallowed to get
> Energy Weapons simply because his homeworld doesn't allow them there.
> Anyone see reasons why I shouldn't implement this in my campaign?
As long as you don't allow the characters to muster out with fusion
weapons, then it won't matter if they are skilled with them or not.
Weapons of semi-mass destruction can cause many problems in a game,
not to mention scaring the natives.
However I do disagree with your points. First of all with law level.
Consider the use of military forces. If they are planet bound, and
the world is not balkanized, then the military won't need to have
weapons that many law levels above the populace. If they are
imperial, then the homeworld will have no effect, as the troops
will not be stationed on a single world. You should check exactly
what branch the characters have enlisted in. I don't get down to the
U.S. much, but I am quite certain that the U.S. Marines don't spend
too much of their time in space...
As for tech levels. This is where I most stongly disagree. Any Imperial
force can get whatever tech level you choose (usually 14-15). A subsector
force up to whatever the highest tech level in the subsector. However a
planetary force will not have any significant number of weapons (more than
one elite unit's worth) of a higher tech level for two reasons. 1) The
military is often ultra conservative. It is common for weapons to
be available for several years before the army will equip the main troops
with new weapons. (e.g. During the U.S. Civil war. Repeating rifles
were available, but the troops were issued with muskets) 2) The military
is very concerned with supplies and availablity of repair parts. Just
imagine if the tech 10 planetary force is equipped with tech 14 fusion
weapons. An invading force can simply blockade the planet, and skirmish
for a while. Soon the defending forces will have no functioning weapons,
and if they are not trained with non-energy weapons will be simple to
roll over with invading troops.
>
> Ok, thanks again. hasta.
>
>
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