Simon Anderson([email removed]) writes:
>Re: The question on using scuba gear -
>
> It's just my opinion, but if characters want to use scuba gear
> for anything more demanding than a couple of minutes in a pool,
> then they better have at least scuba-0 ( ie basic training in
> what they're doing ). It may be tricky for characters to have
> got hold of the skill, but trying to do without it altogether
> would lead to the kind of problems you get in trying to use
> a vacsuit without skill, except visibility is a lot worse down
> there. The first minor problem they run into is liable to have
> them breathing water, or being forced to surface in a hurry at
> least, which can cause major problems if they do it too fast.
Simon is very correct. Speaking as a trained Rescue Diver with 19 years
of SCUBA experience, I can definitely state that without proper training
(lots of it, if you're planning on anything more than recreational diving),
a little mistake can get you dead, even in very shallow (<10 ft.) water.
First, there's working with the gear itself: watching your tank pressure,
not ascenting too fast (air embolisms, you know), not staying down too long
(getting the bends), not going too deep (again, the bends and possibly
nitrogen narcosis), or just flat running out of air and drowning because
you panicked and forgot how to do an emergency swimming ascent.
Then there's the diving environment itself. Being underwater for extended
periods is no more natural for humans than being in vacuum for extended
periods. You have to watch out for currents, low visibility, dangerous
plants and animals, dangerous temperatures (usually, too cold), and then
most dangerous thing of all is your inexperienced dive buddy :-).
For game purposes, the following guidelines would probably work:
SCUBA-0: Basic Open Water Certification (the lowest level of
diver training), followed by half a dozen dives.
SCUBA-1: Advanced Open Water Certification (the next level of
diver training), plus 1+ year of diving experience.
SCUBA-2: Search & Rescue Certification (or graduation from a
Commercial Diving Instruction School), plus 3+ years
of diving experience.
SCUBA-3: SCUBA Instructor Training, plus at least 5 years of
actual experience in a wide variety of dive locations.
Given the above list, most REAL recreational divers would be classified
as SCUBA-1, with Navy frogmen being SCUBA-2, and UDT or Seals being SCUBA-3.
Some examples are given below for tasks in Traveller, using these scuba
skills:
To maintain control in a heavy current:
Difficult, SCUBA, Str, 2 sec. (fateful)
Ref: If control is lost, the diver is swept along in the current,
possibly taking damage from collisions with obstacles.
To pry off a tunnel cover (grate) underwater:
Routine, SCUBA, Str, Dex, 15 sec. (uncertain)
Ref: If the diver lacks the neccessary tools, the task becomes
difficult. Exceptional failure means that the diver has slipped
and cut himself on the edge of the cover (1D of damage).
and so on. Hope this info helps out.
Later,
Mark F. Cook
USMail: User Interface Technical Support
Hewlett-Packard - Interface Technology Operation
[address removed]
INTERNET: [email removed]
UUCP: {cmcl2, harpo, hplabs, rice, tektronix}!hp-pcd!markc
All opinions and material above is the responsibility of the originator.
Submissions: [email removed], or [email removed]
Administrator: [email removed] (James Perkins)
The TML is made possible by facilities provided by Tektronix, Inc.