Dane Johnson [email removed], in Message #6928, says:
>Consider the lowly Bwap. Although this
>minor race has been spacefaring since the First Imperium and enjoys a
>wide dispersion throughout the Third (having been described as common
>merchants) I had never heard of them until I stumbled across a copy of
>The Best of the JoTAS
The Bwaps (or Newts) first appeared in JTAS #11 (pub. 1981), and have
only appeared once or twice in print aside from their Contact article.
I agree, this is a shame. The reason for their effective disappearance
is fairly obvious, however, once you look back at the MegaTraveller
era and all of its problems. The two people who created the Bwaps
were not really part of the Megatraveller period. Both had other
projects to pursue (Battletech for one), and DGP found another
race (the Vilani) to take over the role of instinctive bureaucrats.
Of the two creators, one has come back to TNE with a vengeance, while
the other is trying his hand at the SF (non-gaming) market, having
exhausted Battletech's potential. The two are Loren Wiseman and
Bill Keith. With Loren back in the arena, we may see the Newts again.
Here's hoping.
-------
Then, [email removed] (in message #6929), said:
>...I was put off buying BL by the combat system in the roleplaying
>game. I resoned that if they were capable of putting such a
>roleplaying-hostile set of rules in the RPG, the board game version
>would be even less playable in a roleplaying context.
Actually, with a map, counters, and _visible_ movement system, BL is
easier to pick up. The hard part is designing ships, not using them.
-------
Furthermore, Constantine Thomas [email removed] (in message
#6930) said:
>First off, does anyone know what Maintenance Points are, and how
>they are used? I can't seem to find any reference in the TNE main
>rules (or the FF&S ones, for that matter) about them, other than
>whats stated in the ship design round-up bit.
TNE Rulebook, pages 241-244. Maintenance points are the number of
hours per week a vehicle or other piece of hardware requires to run
risk-free. For even small starships, this amounts to a full-time
job for several people. Fortunately, many TNE skills are now both
'use' and 'maintenance' skills, when they were just 'use' skills in CT
and MT, so there are more maintenance personnel on-board a ship than
first appears.
>Is it me, or do you actually get two different values (through two
>different calculations) when determining Maintenance Points. One
>calculation is the aforementioned one that is one of the final
>steps in the ship design sequence at the start of FF&S, which adds
>up the total mass of the ship minus that of its hull shell, then
>divides it by various numbers. The other calculation is in the crew
>calculation step, when you're finding how many Maintenance Crew
>you'll need on the ship (i assume these are Technicians, as
>opposed to Engineers).
The number under "Calculating Maintenance Points" (the final step
in ship design) is the one to use. As a house rule, you may want
to calculate this value both with and without Cargo mass included, to
give a better idea of the "ship only" maintenance requirements.
Yes, the Maintenance Crew are "Technicians." They are hired for
their Mechanical, Electronics, Gravitics, Communications and related
skills, though Ship's Engineering is certainly appreciated. Ship's
Engineering is non-optional for Engineering Crew, and the Chief should
have a touch of Starship Architecture as well.
>...what exactly are Stewards, and why do you need them on
>non-passenger ships?
Even adventurers and Scouts appreciate someone who can cook.
The formula for Stewards is such that you must be designing some
BIG ships to get Stewards without passengers.
The Steward position is filled based on the Service skill (the
TNE equivalent of Steward) as well as other skills based on the
nature of the ship. Stewards often double as Supercargo and Purser,
meaning Marketing, Liaison, Admin/Legal, and Bargain skills would
be important, plus whatever skill would serve to allow the Steward
to "perform maintenance" on the Cargo (I admit I'm at a loss here).
They can also serve as assistants to the Ship's Doctor, making a
bit of Medical(Trauma Aid) handy if they serve on a large liner.
-------
Finally, [email removed] (Mark Urbin) says in Message #6932:
>I stopped by my local game shop asking for the new Traveller
>miniatures. The owner couldn't find `em in the Chessex catalog.
>Could someone please provide me with some info on them. Who
>makes them? Which ones are available? Ball park figures on prices?
RAFM makes them, everything in the TNE book at or under 400 tons
is available, and all packs are in the $6-$8 range with quantity
varying by type. It took my local store quite a while to find
them also, but they _are_ available.
-------
James Kundert [email removed]
[email removed]
There was a young lady named Bright,
Whose speed was much faster, much faster than Light.
She departed one day in a relative way,
And returned on the previous Night.
--Albert & the Heart of Gold