Recent content by ross

It’s not economically feasible for merchantmen to use disposable weapons. Missiles are for naval forces.

I was under the impression, at least in the old days, that Dreadnoughts were larger than Battleships. So BBs were 300k-400k dtons. Again, my memory may be failing.

You do realize there have been 40+ years since that was the only source.

Well technically the Imperium Navy does control the IISS at some level. Much like the Marine Corps or the WW2 Army Air Corps. They function as separate entities but at some point in wartime they are part of the same chain of command. Very high level military command is a whole school of thought.

Actually there's a good half-dozen assumptions there that aren't necessarily so. Does the Imperium use Civilian contractors? Do they use a bid process or do they use a fixed cost method? What are their specification documents? How much is managed by the Navy? Ad nauseam. Honestly, your point...

Well that's kind of how Traveller has worked since 1977. We start with some assumptions and every crew and GM effects and changes to suit their tastes and ideas.

Canon can be helpful or harmful. It could also be pedantic. IMTU I can make my own choices. Make ships my own way, and my players can have a good time. So can you and yours.

The biggest issue I have with escape pods are the incredibly short life support available. With the power and fuel rules as they are long term survival is all but impossible. In Traveller "escape pods" are good for planetfall, and hope to gods there is an atmosphere.

This is a fair position, and probably generally true. There may be some situations where robots may be useful, and there may be capabilities for certain tasks that generally aren’t used. However your reasoning is sound and consistent with the setting.

I think the Explorers Edition is everything an intro should be.

Wing...

I think there is a strong case for Mercenary being rewritten as a single and better organized book. A lot of great information, organized poorly without enough examples and context.

The idea that nothing would be replaced by better quality parts in an interstellar society is absolutely insane.

AI is trash, and no professional project should use it.

See also “Earth Made of Glass” by John Barnes for a great riff on the gates concept.