Re: Great balls of black

"Brent L. Woods" [email removed] writes:
>  In message 1782, [email removed] (Adrian Hurt) writes:
>  >"Brent L. Woods" [email removed] writes:
>
>      Personally, I'd rather have one of the recovered Ancient artifacts
> rather than a new-made copy (though I *think* that there were only
> 2,000 of those that were found).  I'd tend to distrust the understanding
> of the copiers.

I'd rather have the Ancient version for another reason - it's probably a
USP code 9 version, compared to the code 1 copy.  Mind you, you don't get
the manual for the original!

>  >This depends on how the PC's get hold of it.  (Assuming that they do, of
>  >course - and assuming that they role-play properly, and don't make use of
>  >what the players read in various manuals.)  If they got one by looting an
>  >Imperial warship, they are probably more powerful than they have any right
>  >to be ...
>
>      Unless it's a derelict.  As I recall, there is mention of several
> black globe-equipped drelict ships here and there in the official
> publications.  Like the _Kinunir_, for example.

And if they make a good job of looting the Kinunir, they are probably more
powerful than they have any right to be.  Wait till they get caught in
possession of nuclear missiles, Marine battledress, and a black globe.

"Honest, your worshipfulness, er, sir, er, we found them lying around, honest
we did!"
"Oh yeah, where?"
"Shionthy, er, no, that's interdicted, er, oops ..."
"Very well, since you show an affinity for Kinunir class cruisers, let me
allow you to become residents of one - the prison ship Gaesh."

And so the referee gets to use another part of the book.

>  >>      Of course, this can be dangerous.  If you overload your capacitors,
>  >> your ship is destroyed (by violently exploding capacitors, I guess).  I
>  >> imagine that it's not a very good idea if you only have your jump drive
>  >> capacitors available.
>  >
>  >I don't see the danger.  If the ship has absorbed enough energy to make the
>  >jump, it absorbed the energy into the jump capacitors.  If it still exists,
>  >it hasn't overloaded the capacitors.
>
>      Ah, but what if your jump capacitors are fully charged, you're
> preparing to jump out of a *very* dangerous situation, *and your globe
> gets hit again*?

Perhaps I should have said "I don't see the _extra_ danger".  If, as a result
of using the globe, your capacitors are fully charged, you don't choose to
jump, and you get hit again, boom.  Answer: if your capacitors are fully
charged, you switch off the globe pronto, and try to discharge them as quickly
as possible - e.g. by jumping.

>      I just like to have ample safety margins whenever possible--could
> you tell?  ;-)

There is a safety marging available if your jump drive is capable of more than
a jump 1.  Let the capacitors get sufficiently charged for a jump 1, then
execute a jump 1.  If your jump drive isn't capable of more than jump 1, then
it's probably the sort of ship you want to replace anyway as a first priority.

- - --
 "Keyboard?  How quaint!" - M. Scott

 Adrian Hurt			     |	JANET:  [email removed]
 UUCP: ..!ukc!cs.hw.ac.uk!adrian     |  ARPA:   [email removed]