A bunch of bulk answers to questions that were posted during the last
week or so of TML:
>From Andrew H. Bond:
> I am new to TML, has this subject been broached before,
> if so why are vehicles still being designed with grossly
> inadequate power supplies?
Most of the published vehicle designs (especially those from GDW) are grossly
in error, incorrect, or simply terribly inefficient. The ones in the
Imperial Encyclopedia and Fighting Ships are some of the worst offenders.
Check out the TML vehicle design archives, and you will find a number much
more suitable ships. Or design your own. If you find any errors in my
designs, let me know, and I'll explain myself or post a corrected design.
>From Adam Rios:
> I just bought the Traveller 2300AD game for a song and am new to the
> list and Traveller 2300AD game. I was hoping someone out there could
> inform me where to get the most info on this game at the various ftp
> sites and how would I know if its for the Traveller 2300AD game. I
> also am new to this computer e-mail thiong and hope that there is
> someone out there who also plays Traveller 2300AD to kinda converse
> with me on the rules 'cause I am no mathemitician and frankly the
> combat and world generation stuff reads rough for a non-scientific
> type trying to enjoy a scientific/space genre. Two more questions
> (please dont think me stupid but)
No such thing as a stupid question. Traveller:2300 was revised to become
2300AD; and is still in print. I don't know many people who play it, but it
does have a following. Check out a recent issue of Challenge; there is at
least one 2300AD fanzine available; this would be a good source of new ideas,
adventures, and vehicles for you.
>
> 1: What exactly does au meen?
AU is the Astronomic Unit, the mean distance from the Earth to the Sun.
This is a convenient yardstick for measuring things that are much too
large to be measured in meters, and much too small to be measured in
light-years.
>
> 2: What are some of you seasoned players opinions on Traveller 2300AD?
I thought it was an interesting concept, and had potential. Unfortunately, I
can't afford the time, energy, or money to "follow" two major game systems at
once, so I pay less attention to 2300AD than to Traveller/MegaTraveller.
Part of the reason is that I bought Traveller:2300 hoping that it would be a
Traveller-compatible game (about the early Terran Confederation and the Rule
of Man), the dissapointment helped to sour me on the game. I never felt like
buying it a second time to get the updated rules when it became 2300AD. I
got Star Cruiser (2300AD ship-to-ship combat and ship construction rules),
but that was about it. At least at my local game stores, much 2300AD stuff
(suppliments and adventures) are still available.
>From John Driver:
> How does a character gain an AT in a skill that he already has through
> experience only?
> Later on the page, under Gaining The Skill, it mentions the
> procedure for a character to improve the skill once he has the AT in it.
> It also says that if the character already has that skill, success
> increases the skill one level. But, how does that character gain the AT
> in this skill he already has? Does he observe someone with the same
> skill but at a higher level than himself? Or is the observation/tryout
> stuff just skipped? The rules don't say, and this has befuddled us as
> to what the correct procedure is. Someone please enlighten us.
Well, it really *IS* in the book, but not where you are looking. I don't
have my books with me now (I'm at work), but it is there. You are looking at
the rules for learning a new skill; there are also rules for character
advancement elsewhere in the book. The following is from memory, so someone
correct me if I'm wrong: At the end of each gaming session, the Referee
awards ATs to the players. The Ref may specify which skill the AT is to be
used on ("That was some great role-playing you did in the bar scene, so take
an AT on your Carousing skill", or "You did a lot of tricky flying today, so
take an AT in Pilot"). Or, the Ref may allow the player to choose any skill
that was used during the session (as in "Mission Accomplished; everybody take
an AT").
Personally, I award one AT to each player at the end of each session; and
another AT each session to one player for "best role-playing" (as determined
by the players, I break ties as needed), also each session. These ATs may be
applied to any skill of the player's choice, except that it must be a skill
that the player used at least once during the session. I also award one AT,
my choice of skill, to each player at the end of each "adventure" or other
logical break in the action. Thus, players get one (sometimes two) ATs per
session, plus one AT per "adventure" played. This means that players who show
up regularly and contribute get rewarded.
>From Catie Helm
> So here's a question for all you fleet tactics types (of which I'm not). If
> you had your choice of two squadrons to try to combat the vargr corsairs
> moving into the Domain of Deneb, what sort of squadrons would you pick and
> why?
> It's safe to assume that the vargr ship profiles listed in the rebellion
> book are typical of what the Navy types in this little fleet would be up
> against (well, that's what my friendly local GM is taking as a default for
> corsair fleets).
> It looks like my character is going to get a choice of anything, so long as
> it doesn't exceed two squadrons worth of ships. I'm open to what all you
> ship tactics experts think. Really, indulge yourselves. I'm literally all
> ears here.
Sounds good to me. I'd take a squadron of my "Frigate" designs, and a
squadron of assault ships (pick from Scott Kellogg and Robert Dean designs).
The frigates designs were posted to the list a number of months ago, and
should be in the archives somewhere (if not, mail me and I'll send them to
you).
The frigates were specifically designed to be able to outfight anything they
couldn't outrun (does maneuver-6, agility-6, computer-9, spinal meson gun,
and a full set of screens sound?). A squadron of these, with escorts (I
posted an escort design with them) and supply ships should do quite well
agains any design GDW has published. There are only two drawbacks to the
design: one is that they have relatively low jump performance, and the other
is that the amount of sustained combat they can put up is limited by
available fuel (I use combat booster power plants to acheieve the required
performance, and the booster fuel is limited to a few days). The frigates
should be able to handle anything the Vargr can throw at them in the way of
fleet action with minimal losses. The use of booster power plants for combat
*IS* official, as per a MegaTraveller Q&A column of quite a while ago.
Presumably you would also want a squadron of assualt craft (assault carriers,
troopships, and landing craft), so that you can capture and hold planets,
bases, and the like. Check the design archives for suitable ships; I haven't
designed any. If the carriers also had attack fighters, they can defend
themselves and the rest of the squadron (Scott Kellogg has a COACC design
which should make mincemeat of just about any threat; however, it is not
quite an official design).
A frigate squadron (frigron?) would be 4 to 6 frigates, with 6 to 8 escorts
of mixed types (destroyers, destroyer-escorts, and fleet escorts). Choose
escorts whose characteristics match the frigates (maneuver and agility are
important here). Enough tankers should be attached to be able to jump once
and then refuel the frigates and escorts for another jump. Supply ships (or
use dromedaries instead of tankers) should also be attached for long
missions. Remember that the frigates advantages include high maneuver speed;
keep the tankers and supply ships out of the fight (leaving them in a
location in deep space is good) so that the frigates don't loose the ability
to break off by accelleration (their short jump performance and limited fuel
supply limits their ability to break off by jumping; however, with careful
fuel management, it is possible). Another good trick is to carry plenty of
drop tanks with the supplies, so that the frigates can perform a maximum
jump, and arrive with a full load of fuel.
The assault squadron (I won't touch the contraction, sorry) would be 3 to 5
carriers and a like number of troopships, with 6 to 8 escorts. Again the
escorts performance should match or exceed the other ships in the squadron.
Finally, the vargr are probably the second most over-rated non-problem to the
Domain; an organized, concerted effort should cut through the vargr like a
hot knife through butter. Also remember that vargr psychology will tend to
produce up-and-coming officers who don't mind slitting their captain's throat
and joining the other side as soon as it looks like the other side is going
to win. This does not apply as much to vargr fighting humans, but it has
been known to happen. Just remember that you are dealing with vargr, and
appeal to their primary motivations.
In case you are wondering, the most over-rated non-problem to the Domain is
the Aslan. The aslan males want land; the aslan females want someone to
trade with. Taking worlds by force will not solve the problem (it will make
holding on to the land a constant struggle, and will tend to make potential
trading partners into enemies). Aslan settlers want worlds where they will
be able to live in relative peace and prosperity. No matter where they
settle, the will improve the economy of the domain. The only problem remains
to figure out where to put them, and how to convince them to go there. There
are plenty of depopulated worlds in the domain, either because they are
underdeveloped, or because they have suffered at the hands of the vargr.
The vargr want plunder and glory, not land or trade. As the areas they have
conquered become poorer, and as infighting splits the corsairs apart, they
are less and less likely to hold on to what they have captured. The thing to
do is to offer the aslan large areas of land on vargr-occupied worlds, IF the
aslan will evict the vargr. Add some trade concessions and military support
(to sweeten the deal for the aslan females and males, respectively) and the
aslan should go for it (think about it: settle here and we will help you and
trade with you, or settle anywhere else and we will fight you). Just
remember that you are dealing with aslan, and appeal to their primary
motivations.
>From Dale Poole:
> Supplement 9: Fighting Ships
> According to the introduction, most of the ships in this book
> were designed using Book 5 'High Guard'. I have never seen
> High Guard, and so, the High Guard stats are meaningless to me.
> Is this book still useful for someone struggling to learn
> Classic Trav?
Recommendation 1: Get High Guard.
Commentary: I believe that an explanation of the High Guard data format
appears at the end (beginning?) of the book. Suffice it to say that the
numbers are performance stats for the ship and its weapons. As far as
a role-playing suppliment goes, Fighting Ships is "deep background" unless
you are playing a Navy campaign (in which case Book 5, High Guard, is a
necessity), player characters will only have passing encounters with most
of the ships shown in the book. You can use these ships as "throw-away"
descriptions, or as obstacles, or as backgrounds.
>
> Double Adventure 6: Night of Conquest/Divine Intervention
> Has anyone played either of these? What are they like?
> Challenging, easy, suitable or not for beginners?
I have inflicted "Divine Intervention" on a group of player characters. The
adventure is a neat idea, and the difficulty level depends more on the
referee than anything else. I tend to ad-lib quite a lot around the central
theme of the adventure, and so introduce or brush aside obstacles so that the
players are challenged but not overwhelmed. Maybe suitable for beginners,
depending on their age, experience with other games, and other intangibles.
>
> Fasa's Rescue on Galatea
> Same questions as for Dble Advent 6
I don't know; I don't have this one.
>
> MegaTraveller Starship Operator's Manual, Vol. 1
> Because the list has expressed so much grief over ship design
> in MegaTrav, I wonder if this book is useful for anything?
> Is there erata available for it? Was there ever a Vol.2, and
> how necessary is it, to complete Vol. 1?
There are no errata available, and there is no volume two (at one time there
were plans for a volume two, but DGP is undergoing some strangeness at
present). The volume is complete as it stands. The book is background
material and technical fluff, and could apply to Classic Traveller just as
well as to MegaTraveller. The majority of the text is techno-babble about
fictious starship systems, and can be read by the players as well as the
referee. It should give everyone lots of ideas about ways to abuse the
technology. I like it, but the book is fundamentally irrellevant.
>
> DGP's Grand Census
> I have yet to finish reading this one. Seems to be pretty light
> and inconsequential stuff. Is this book strictly for the
> 'Let's invent some new aliens' crowd?
Grand Census (together with Grand Survey) provide some ideas for detailing
worlds and the races that inhabit them. If you need some ideas for working
up a very complete world description, the book is quite good. I personally
consider Grand Census to be less fluff than the Starship Operator's Manual.
If you can make reams and reams of this stuff up out of your head, then you
don't need the book. I can't, so I find the tables usefull for generating
races and societies. The MegaTraveller World Builder's Handbook is the
combined MegaTraveller equivalent of Grand Survey and Grand Census.
>
> And finally, something from 'Seeker', called Merchant Class Ships, Vol. 1.
> The booklet says for use with Space Opera, but on some promo literature
> inside, it says also for use with Traveller. However, no Trav stats
> are given for the ships.
> It would probably be a straight forward enough conversion, as there
> are floorplans for three ship designs; the Banner Class, Voyager Class,
> and the Zephyr Class.
> Has anyone used 'Seeker' products before?
Nope. I prefer to do my own ship designs and deckplans.
[email removed]
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Science-Fiction Adventure
in the Far Future