A bigger, better Harrier

While using our acceleration factors, plus accumulated velocity, the spacecraft isn't exactly at the same spot you're looking at, considering normal engagement distances, by the time the weapon hits.
 
Latency, includes light from target, to sensor equipment, to fire control, to trigger pull, to weapon platform, to beam travelling across that distance.

I could be wrong, but I'd say that the aimed at point has moved at least a couple of metres, since then.

Not to mention that the firing spacecraft, is likely moved a bit, in the meanwhile.

With the possibility that a wandering rock has managed to come inbetween.
 
Condottiere said:
Latency, includes light from target, to sensor equipment, to fire control, to trigger pull, to weapon platform, to beam travelling across that distance.

I could be wrong, but I'd say that the aimed at point has moved at least a couple of metres, since then.

Not to mention that the firing spacecraft, is likely moved a bit, in the meanwhile.

With the possibility that a wandering rock has managed to come inbetween.
Click to expand...
The math came out to something like less than a thousandth of a second and a movement of less than a meter at 1,000km or something like that. Might have been 10,000km. I do not recall off the top of My head.
 
With a human involved in the kill chain, I suspect latency is a tad longer.

One gravity being a tad less than ten metres per second, per second, I'm guessing that aiming where you think centre mass is likely to be at the end of that kill chain, has a higher probability of hitting something.

If you're feeling lucky, or deceptive, there's always called shot.


 
RYXlord said:
Have you considered throwing them into a mirror match? Have a small, fast, stealthy ship go after them that uses the same dirty tricks they do.
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Another Harrier (in whatever state of repair) is an interesting match to face generally. Firstly it helps explain why the PCs aren't infamous and instantly recognised everywhere - unless they're going for the atrocity approach and blowing away every witness, a general description of the Harrier is going to get associated with pirate attacks in the reach pretty damn quickly and if you act like this is the ONLY surviving Drinaxi harrier anywhere (give or take the war-era ones in the Admiral's base they may find later) it doesn't make sense that they can maintain any level of anonymity.

Plus it takes away a lot of the stealth options. The Harrier is, basically, a Klingon Bird-Of-Prey. With Superior Stealth and TL15 you have a DM-9 to be detected by TL12 sensors, increasing to DM-11 for TL12 ships with civilian sensors (most merchants and small craft), meaning that there's no point even rolling dice until the PCs choose to lock them up with active sensors, fire, or otherwise do something noisy.

A fellow ex-Drinaxi Star Guard gunship drops that to 'just' DM-4 (equivalent tech and advanced sensors) and probably has a trained sensor operator. Putting themselves in the position of ambushee for once can easily set up a memorable rivalry. The Ghost of the Reach is a similar option too (albeit one they can run the heck away from much more easily).
 
Getting back to the Radiation issue for a moment. I have not heard anyone mention that all ship hulls have 500 RAD Protection by default. It means that in order to effect any crew you need to roll at least a 9+ on the RAD result, and if the crew is wearing an average Vacc-Sui,t it needs to be a 10+
 
Default spacecraft hulls appear to be paper thin.

Thickness of hull armour should present more absorbing potential, so that crewmembers can luxuriate in that unradiated freshness.
 
hopsnbaer said:
Getting back to the Radiation issue for a moment. I have not heard anyone mention that all ship hulls have 500 RAD Protection by default. It means that in order to effect any crew you need to roll at least a 9+ on the RAD result, and if the crew is wearing an average Vacc-Sui,t it needs to be a 10+
Click to expand...
This is why I just ignore radiation in this iteration. My players are not going anywhere near battles involving meson weapons.
 
Page 14 of High Guard Update - A ship has 500, a normal Vacc-Suit has 60, so 560 if you are in a ship in a Vacc-Suit.

RADIATION SHIELDING (TL7)

Radiation shielding improves the crew’s protection

against radiation from both natural sources (such as

solar flares and pulsars) and artificial (including nuclear

missiles and meson weapons). A ship with radiation

shielding decreases the amount of rads absorbed by all

crew by 1,000 (rather than the normal 500) and treats

the bridge as if it is Hardened. Radiation shielding costs

Cr25000 per ton of hull.
 
MasterGwydion said:
This is the problem with the "aim for the middle" mindset of current Traveller. When you want to shoot a tear gas cannister through a building window, you aim for the building window, not just the building. Traveller would like you to believe that with all of this advanced targeting that will exist in the future, the average shot fired at the enemy is fired not caring where the shot actually hits. Every shot should be a targeted shot on a part of the ship. Just like every shot taken with a firearm in real life. In real life, when shooting at a person, we want to hit them in the torso, so We aim at the middle of the torso. If you want to hit them in the head, you aim at the center of their head, adjusted for multiple variables, but yeah. So why is the default in starship combat, "I shoot the ship"? Why is it not, "Target their jump drive" or "Target their power plant" as the default?

If you shoot at a particular part of the ship, then determining where to apply the Radiation Damage is easy.
Click to expand...
Keep in mind you are most likely shooting from thousands of KM away, using sensors...
 
Ol'Weedy said:
Keep in mind you are most likely shooting from thousands of KM away, using sensors...
Click to expand...
Yeah, using sensors thousands of years more advanced than any that We have even thought of yet. Should be no harder than being a sniper from a kilometer or 2 away. Less factors to compensate for.

Edit - We can put a cruise missile in through someone's bedroom window now from the other side of the planet. Why should space combat in thousands of years be less accurate than that?
 
MasterGwydion said:
Yeah, using sensors thousands of years more advanced than any that We have even thought of yet. Should be no harder than being a sniper from a kilometer or 2 away. Less factors to compensate for.

Edit - We can put a cruise missile in through someone's bedroom window now from the other side of the planet. Why should space combat in thousands of years be less accurate than that?
Click to expand...
We can bounce lasers off of the reflector(s) on the moon from the Apollo missions.
The only difference between that and space combat for targeting purposes is that the reflector is tidally locked to earth and moves at a known velocity.
 
Arkathan said:
We can bounce lasers off of the reflector(s) on the moon from the Apollo missions.
The only difference between that and space combat for targeting purposes is that the reflector is tidally locked to earth and moves at a known velocity.
Click to expand...
By measuring how long it takes laser light to bounce back — about 2.5 seconds on average — researchers can calculate the distance between Earth laser stations and Moon reflectors down to less than a few millimeters. This is about the thickness of an orange peel.

www.nasa.gov

Laser Beams Reflected Between Earth and Moon Boost Science - NASA

Dozens of times over the last decade NASA scientists have launched laser beams at a reflector the size of a paperback novel about 240,000 miles (385,000
www.nasa.gov www.nasa.gov

That is over 384,000km, way beyond that range of most Traveller space combat. 2.5 seconds in a 6-minute combat round is nothing. That is 144 times every round. There and back for active sensors. Half of that for lightspeed weapons fire and passive sensors.

"Dozens of times over the last decade NASA scientists have launched laser beams at a reflector the size of a paperback novel about 240,000 miles (385,000 kilometers) away from Earth."

We can accurately target something the size of a paperback novel at 385,000km currently and hit it. I am going to guess that targeting the M-drive on a 100-ton ship should be much easier, even if it is moving independently, considering it is several thousand times the size.
 
That window is not sitting still.


album_alb4307085.jpg
 
locarno24 said:
Another Harrier (in whatever state of repair) is an interesting match to face generally. Firstly it helps explain why the PCs aren't infamous and instantly recognised everywhere - unless they're going for the atrocity approach and blowing away every witness, a general description of the Harrier is going to get associated with pirate attacks in the reach pretty damn quickly and if you act like this is the ONLY surviving Drinaxi harrier anywhere (give or take the war-era ones in the Admiral's base they may find later) it doesn't make sense that they can maintain any level of anonymity.

Plus it takes away a lot of the stealth options. The Harrier is, basically, a Klingon Bird-Of-Prey. With Superior Stealth and TL15 you have a DM-9 to be detected by TL12 sensors, increasing to DM-11 for TL12 ships with civilian sensors (most merchants and small craft), meaning that there's no point even rolling dice until the PCs choose to lock them up with active sensors, fire, or otherwise do something noisy.

A fellow ex-Drinaxi Star Guard gunship drops that to 'just' DM-4 (equivalent tech and advanced sensors) and probably has a trained sensor operator. Putting themselves in the position of ambushee for once can easily set up a memorable rivalry. The Ghost of the Reach is a similar option too (albeit one they can run the heck away from much more easily).
Click to expand...

MasterGwydion said:
It is a great weapon for a pirate. Surrender or be irradiated. If they don't surrender, kill them with radiation and take the whole ship instead of just parts of it's cargo. It will still have most of it's hull points. It just won't have any crew. Remember that after the Harrier was designed originally, the Radiation rules got nerfed. The Harrier does not currently function as designed.

Edit- I just said it couldn't one shot the crew anymore. You read it as both of those things changed, not only the "one shot ruined lives part".
Click to expand...
The ship works fine in the right context. I found that in practice the Barbette doled out a lot more damage than 4Dx3 would suggest. It has +4 from software and the accurate trait. With a +3 gunner like my group had*, the crit's made it devastating against small ships. Even an average hit damage wise on say an Empress Marava, is likely to be in the 35-50 damage range (the weapon is high yield). On a 80HP ship, that's 44-62% damage before you add the crits.

*My former group already had a ship when starting the campaign. They ended up using that ship, plus a few they captured, to do all the pirating, and used the Harrier as the Drinaxian cavalry riding in to save the day. They got both loot AND a positive reputation... and I learned one of my players knew the plot ahead of time.
 
Ol'Weedy said:
They ended up using that ship, plus a few they captured, to do all the pirating, and used the Harrier as the Drinaxian cavalry riding in to save the day. They got both loot AND a positive reputation... and I learned one of my players knew the plot ahead of time.
Click to expand...
To be absolutely fair, this is precisely how Princess Rao ought to be telling the characters to behave. Throw on top of that a quick precis about 'Political Policy Profile' for each world, and encouragement to reshape foreign governments to be more receptive when 'Rebirth of the Kingdom' rolls around. After all, that day is the clearly-envisioned goal of the entire campaign -- the characters need to be toppling unfriendly and intractable regimes & installing friends in places of power all throughout the campaign.
 
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