Two thoughts come to mind. First, spaceships do not rely on buoyancy to stay afloat. If the cargo shifts, it might require adjusting the engine's thrust to counteract the unequal distribution of mass, but that is about it. Secondly, if water in the cargo is a problem, just remove the atmosphere in t...

There are a few checks that use a 2D6 roll with Broker skill and a characteristic: Negotiating a Deal: Average (8+) Broker check (1D hours, INT). [Presumably a mission payment or contract rather than trade goods] Finding a Buyer: Average (8+) Broker check (1D hours, SOC). Finding a Supplier: Average...

I do not see anything in the rules that states that any tools are required to test for psionics. If the instructor has telepathy then I think it would be pretty simple to scan another person's mind in search of similar abilities. If the current psion does not have the telepathy talent is would be a ...

Adding to that - it’s reasonable to assume that even with the most advanced materials there would be some wear and tear over time. So some allowance for that - maybe just that for X dtons of solar sail you need so much of an allowance for repair drones - would be a good idea. Since the cost of the ...

This gives solar panels the power production per ton of exactly ten times that of a fusion plant of the same tech level. Not quite, the solar panel are based on an imaginary PP-1, but still does not allow manoeuvring. Good catch. Since the solar panels are 1/10th the size of a fusion plant that wou...

Taking the simplest case, a ship with no powerplant, solar panels would be 10% the size of a imaginary powerplant sized to power basic systems and an M-drive providing thrust 1. That hypothetical drive would require power points equal to 20% of the ship's tonnage for basic systems and equal to 10% o...

The 2nd edition repair rules ( CRB p. 150) REPAIRS Damage to a ship falls into two categories – critical hits and hull damage. Critical Hit: A critical hit can be jury-rigged back to use (see page 160), but will stop functioning again after 1D hours. Properly repairing a critical hit requires not on...

At TL 3 the natives will never know the PCs are mining the asteroid and be unable to do anything about it if they find out, so long as everyone stays off planet. If the characters or hired workers land on the planet they may be subject to arrest or execution, so keeping good relations with the local...

Highguard lists Jump-2 as requiring 5% of the ship tonnage +5 tons. So a 400 ton ship would require a 25 ton jump drive as listed. The only issue I see is that the ship's computer is listed as Computer/5 bis, which can run the listed software, but should only be Cr. 45,000 rather than the listed MC...

There are no rules that I recall that deal with this issue. I expect that the mortgage owner will still want the loan repaid and the borrower will still be required to make the payments. One way around that problem is if the ship, or the loan, were insured. It is possible that each mortgage payment ...

If he is putting the estate up as collateral, he could get a loan up to 80% of its value (MCr. 268). In reality, the income from the estate is far too low to make the payments on such a large loan unless the noble has significant additional income. The actual amount of the loan will vary widely depe...

The transponder is more likely a part of comms or sensors although it could be a separate unit. Removing, replacing or reconfiguring the transponder should be possible but I have not seen any information on doing so in Traveller. New ships get built new transponders so any shipyard should be able pu...

The 2nd edition Highguard book also has much of the information from Starports included as options, starting on page 59. IMO Starports goes into far more detail and does a more thorough job of explaining the options however. What I would suggest is using one (or both) of those books to actually desi...

You have laid out the requirements already and that is halfway to the solution. An unstated requirement is close proximity, as these sort of agreements work best when communications and trade between the worlds is easy. For sources of metals/ores Argona (3 parsecs away, reachable by a Jump-1 ship) h...

There ought to be ways to increase any characteristic. Nearly all careers allow stat increases instead of skills if the player selects the Personal Development table during character generation. If there is a game mechanic, no matter how abstract, to increase stats in chargen and well established re...

I would have to re-read the terms specified by Oleb to clarify how he expected overhead costs to be paid, but baring specific language that disallows it, I would distribute shares (even Oleb's) based on net income rather than gross. Of course, even if Oleb specifically said he gets paid first and th...

The object radius tells you how big the object is. It is intended mostly as a description but it can be used to calculate the volume of the planetoid. Since "tons" in Traveller is almost always a measurement of volume, you can use the result as the tonnage for the yield calculation. Note that planet...

I don't see the problem. Lucky rolls happen, so do unlucky rolls. Let the players enjoy their success just like they have to suffer their failures. On the other hand, they now have to ride herd on several pirate crews that are used to doing their own thing. Keep the Morale/Loyalty situation in mind....

If I ever need a freight lot of 7, 8, or 9 dtons, I select two (or more) incidental lots that add up to the needed amount. I don't see any reason to change the rules when that simple process works so well.

The Gazelle got a nice weapon upgrade in the conversion to 2nd edition, but they turned it into a tin can by dropping the armor from 8 points to only 3. I do not understand the reason for that drastic reduction unless it was to guarantee that a Gazelle "invariably suffered disproportionate losses". ...