Recent content by J. L. Brown

So the idea is that someone could design a TL 9 'Birdsong' Cargo Hauler, and then immediately see what that hull could be updated to at some higher TL? That seems like an extremely useful bit of functionality for refs who want to do some world-building / history. The appeal might be somewhat...

No, there are several pre-career options which allow you to roll life events. Just like you may get the full slate of skills from Basic Training if you do University in your first 'term', because 'University' is not a career. I think this incorrect; the 'Life Sense' power (as just one example)...

No, I'm not going to try to guess what sort of content is buried in the previous 263 pages & hope that I phrase it right so that it shows up; it would probably be quicker to just read the whole thread. I was hoping that anything which stuck out as particularly worthwhile or interesting in the...

So mostly this thread seems like a place for Condottiere to brainstorm and do stream-of-consciousness thoughts on ships -- is there an index or summary for folks who want to contribute, but don't want to wade through 263 pages?

Not to throw explosive fuel on the fire here -- especially since I am away from my books at the moment -- but I think the 'Re-Test with penalty' only applies to rolling talents on the general skills table. For basic training, you get every skill from the specific branch-skill table without...

Wrath of the Ancients, page 44. There is a description of the benefits that a player can choose as a 'General Enhancement': Which is all great as far as it goes. except page 167 contradicts it. This is the place in the adventure where 'Revelation Index' (RI points) are described. A Traveller...

Have they given the bio-weapons from Treasure of Sindal to Pietr Vallis or the Grehai Movement? Have they duplicated them?

I have recently hit on the idea of allowing for the possibility of the players feeding Richter Grehai to Vorito's Jaskarl Plan. Basic outline is a slower-than-usual burn of stories in 'Shadows of Sindal'. Introduce the Grehai movement to the players early on, possibly in the adventures used...

Sorry, no. Vargr are wolves. Genetically modified wolves, from stock taken from Terra 300000 years ago -- 270000 or more years removed from the date when humans first began the domestication of wolves to dogs. There are (canonically; at the table, do whatever is fun for your game) no...

That just makes the Ihatei problem worse. If non-first sons are already too rare to support the 'waves of Ihatei' narrative, then giving them productive ways to exit the Ihatei path (like earning lands through service) does not explain how Ihatei are a thing. In-universe, 'The Ihatei Problem'...

Thank you so much! I knew I had made a mistake. So continuing this line of thought, with the corrected (& much superior) math provided by PeterDebney: 73.8 % of Aslan pairings do not produce Ihatei. Pairings that produce more than one Ihatei are fewer than 6%. There are a number of...

I really like this approach. Even basic Profession/0 is good enough to find employment & earn credits each month -- and it is assumed that a person is using default skills in a non-stressful situation, with task chains & extra time. And I think this is brilliant. I am looking at Profession...

Assuming the Aslan fertility is near replacement rate, then the average male Aslan has three wives; between them they have four children. Chances that any single child will be female is 75% so: Families with 4 daughters = 0.75 x 0.75 x 0.75 x 0.75 = 31.6% Families with 3 daughters = 0.75 x...

That Aslan is a giant among his kind, renowned for the astronomical medical bills from fixing chronic problems with his spine & joints -- and he has an especially geneered human dwarf to ceremonially hand his weapons to him. And, in this picture, that dwarf is kneeling. /s Sorry, I couldn't...

I just noticed a potential problem with 'Biosphere': So each person packed into a 'slave quarters' block takes up exactly as much life support as a person in the luxury suite? That seems... strange.