These are answers or comments to stuff sent in earlier in December.
Sorry if it isn't timely enough, but some of us have trouble keeping
reality out of the way of our playtime.
Steven Gott writes:
>I don't think this is the wonder weapon to stop all of the RCES smash and
>grab teams though because Humans can only aquire long range targets up to
>about 800-1000 yards. This assumes very good conditions. I've always
>envisioned a smash and grab as a special operation and thus ASSUME that
>the RCES commandos will use common sense and attack at night, use their
>massive electronic warfare superiority, and in general, use every sneaky
>disgusting dirty trick they can come up with to get in and out with the
>goodies...
>I'm not saying that the 15mm ATR is useless. I certainly wouldn't want
>to be on the wrong end of one! What I'm saying is that you can't hit
>what you can't see and your not going to stop what you can't hit.
Note that at TL7 & 8, you have a variety of fairly effective IR, ladar, and ground radars.
(See TK2000 as well as various other millitary equipment descriptions for the last 20
years). While a S&G Team are probably good enough to damp out the radar (usually
a good clue that there's a problem brewing), IR and ladar systems can find them.
S&G Teams have advantages, not milk runs.
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Mike Basinger writes:
>When figuring out starting money in T:TNE, you multiple a cash base
>value * either your SOC or Gambling rank (higher of the two). Wouldn't
>it make sense to also allow a charater to use Marketing to figure this
>also.
Only if the person chose a mercantile career of some sort. One advantage to the
TK2000 & DC systems was that several careers provided varying incomes based
on skills needed in that career. That was something I suggested they keep.
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Susan M. Shock writes:
> Are there rules relating to costs involved in salvaging a ship? My group
>of Classic Traveller players managed to salvage a derelict Gazelle class close
>escort. Are there fees, such as salvage fees, registration fees, etc.? Taxes?
>How much can they expect to sell it for? (They want to sell it to the Imperial
>Navy). Are there any published rules sources, JTAS/Challenge articles, etc.
>that I could refer to?
Hmm. No rules that I can off-hand remember, but various costs that come to mind from
modern salvage over the last 100 years:
1 - Orbit or docking fees for wherever they bring the Gazelle (not to mention for the
vessel used to get to the Gazelle). If they connect her up to a base, there is power,
water, and air; possibly a temporary registration fee (possibly a safety inspection fee),
spaceport computer fees (if hooked up), food (and other lodging if ship is unlivable) costs.
Not to mention ship insurance. These fees can mount up over time -
and you may be talking about a lot of time.
Getting the attention of a naval bureacucracy
can take time (message runs through channels to a procurement branch, who has
to find a military salvage evaluator, who has to get to the ship to inspect it, return
his office, write a report on its current condition and value, have the report percolate through
channels back to the procurement branch, who then has to decide if they want to buy
the ship, then has to pass a financial board's review of the procurement decision (who
decides if they will release the money for the ship procurement), then a ships crew has
to be found and gathered to take possession of the vessel...
2 - If they plan to keep it or operate it: Registration fees for the ship, research into a title search
(To prove that the ship wasn't stolen or that there is not a current lien against the ship held by
another party), safety inspections, weapons licensing, repair costs, plus the docking fees
mentioned above.
On the other hand, if they DO sell the vessel back to the Navy, they will (eventually) receive
approximately 1/4 the value of the vessel less the cost of damage repair (even if the Navy will
do the repairs, it still costs them resources of people, equipment, facility use, etc.) and a
factor for the wear on the vessel.
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steve camp writes:
>I dunno, what do you guys think? (about using gravitic focusing for lasers at ranges
>well beyond physics as described in Challenge 71 article)
Before doing the math, and sticking with the concept, I arrived at basically the same conclusion:
If they can so finely manipulate gravity, why not just stick with gravitic drives and
avoid a MAJOR retcon that makes most of the ships from Classic and MegaTraveller cease
to work in TNE?
I just tut-tutted and put it down as another reason not to buy TNE. Sorry Loren.