Re: Latest Travails

> From: "Robert S. Dean" [email removed]
> Subject: (2900)  Latest Travails
>
> SPACE COMBAT
>
> I found that in the
> heat of the game that it was not worthwhile to worry about sensor rolls, and
> that the -1 per hex sensor penalty seems too severe given that weapons are
> supposed to have a 500,000km range.

  I'll look at that. Judging from the data on what sensors can see on different
ranges, the sensor combat ranges are a little low. Since Mayday uses twice as
large hexes, the sensor ranges could be doubled with the nice side effect that
Maydays movement rules can be used without modification.

> THE AFTERMATH
>
> Now they
> have landed on the planet (Pagaton, TL4, in an ice age) in a spot that you
> could consider to be equivalent to southern Greenland (in the equivalent of
> the 1850s--a steam press to bend the hull members back into shape might be
> available, but not in 'Greenland'). The enemy is expected to orbit in 24-48
> hours.  Should they be easy to find with a densitometer?

  Since densitometers have a rather bad resolution on long ranges, the only way
someone could detect them distinctly from orbit is if they have any internal
gravitics running. The ship is made of superdense (I assume) combined with
metals of all types and solids and some liquids, and a lot of gasses. If the
resolution is bad enough, the detecting densitometer will just see the average
density in each 'pixel'. Since the density of most civilian ships is about that
of water or ice southern Greenland is a very good place to hide. If the
density of the ship *isn't* correct, it can easily be adjusted by loading on
random rocks and other junk.
  If this has been done, the plant has been shut down, the ship camouflaged
in the visual and IR areas and it is observing radio silence, the only way of
the privateers to find them is to do a densitometer scan at a so short range
that the densitometer will be able to discern different parts of the ship, and
so detect the superdense hull.

  It will be slightly more undetectable it they put it on the bottom of some
random lake or sea and cover it with silt.

  (As seen in the quote in my sig on the end of the latest machinetools, I
had a very similar situation in my campaign last sunday:)

> If they elect to abandon their ship, how often should a free trader
> call on this world?  Would a world with refueling (water) available only a
> jump-1 from a class A starport be unfrequented?

  I seem to remember reading something about that the IISS prohibits
introduction of TL6+ items on TL5- worlds. If this is so it would put a wooden
slipper in the mercantile machinery and seriously limit any interest off-
worlders might have in legal interaction with the world. Illegal interaction
is of course always possible but I would advice against hitching a ride
with a gunrunner.

> Rob Dean

- -bertil-
- --
'Det a"r oo"versa"ttbart...'