Alternative wilderness refueling

The problem with having rules for asteroid mining is that if you have them, someone will want to use them. And I can't think of anything more boring.
The thrill of discovery. Claim jumpers, then there's the pirates who steal your ore. Or one of your workers is skimming off the top, whole adventure waiting to investigate. Shady organization using your minerals for something nefarious, do you allow it to continue or cut them off? Competition from a competing consortium trying to cut you out.
 
Rules like that would likely be used more for worldbuilding as opposed to by PCs during a game session or it would be downtime stuff.
Indeed... and I do a lot of worldbuilding. Besides, I kinda like the idea of putting together a homebrew campaign with a lot more of the flavor of Elite: Dangerous. More independent(ish) worlds, less of strong, centralized star empires, space miners, free traders, actual workable pirates. Now they're talking about player-driven planetary colonization - that'd be a nice addition. Wouldn't have to be on anything like the scale of E: D - a sector or two would be a good start. (Say, a sector of well-established area with a subsector-wide frontier region all the way around it, so six subsectors by six, with the outside ones all frontier for exploration. Extend the frontier region as the players decide to expand.)
 
Rules like that would likely be used more for worldbuilding as opposed to by PCs during a game session or it would be downtime stuff.
Or a contact/ally/patron with an interest in an asteroid mine with "problems" needs some trouble shooters and this would provide background for the people doing it.

I have an idea (just an idea nothing much written down) for an adventure where the characters are hired to go to a nearby system in which only asteroid mining takes place (there is no colony) because the regular flow of freighters has ceased returning. When getting there they find odd damage to various units (ships, stations, mining/smelting equipment etc) and have to deal with a space based life form that finds refined metals/alloys more tasty than ore. Naturally resistant to some types of damage.

Having an idea what people would be doing when "attacked" and what equipment might have been repurposed to fight off the creatures is helpful.
 
:D I know. Although another possible homebrew/sandbox game involves a stellar cluster - again, not quite on the same scale as E: D/the Milky Way, but closer.
If I ever get to start my game the players would start in a pocket empire without any outside contacts (but lots of conspiracy stories about there being one that "gave" them TL 9). Eventually they would be the ones for 1st contact with another pocket empire. I'd let them think the pocket empire was all there was till the time was right.

For some ideas you might find the old A.E. vanVogt "Planets for Sale" set in the Ridge Stars as an idea source.
 
Wilderness refueling should be setting and or TL dependent.

In the 57th century a gravitic drive makes this trivial.

In the 24th century using a reaction drive to get to and from a planet, or using a stutterwarp to intercept a comet and then have to EVA to it.

In the mid 21st century building a cracking plant on Mars...
 
Screenshot 2025-02-11 at 8.15.01 PM.png

Inspired by the above image from DNR's "The Crossing" and this thread, I give you this robot:

Deepnight Fuel Extraction Rig
Basics
: Hits: 32
: Locomotion: Walker
: Speed: 1 m
: TL: 12
: Cost: 3.5 MCr
Skills
: Athletics (endurance) 3, Athletics (strength) 4, Weapon () 1, Heavy Weapons (portable) 0, Profession (labourer) 2
Attacks
: PGHD-12 (Very Bulky)
Manipulators
: 1 X (STR 20 DEX 7)
Endurance
: 605 hours (25 days)
Traits
: Armour (+12), ATV, Large (+3), (idle), Hardened
Programming
: Basic (labourer) (INT 4)
Options
: Drone Interface, Transceiver 5 km (improved), Visual Spectrum Sensor, Video Screen (basic), Wireless Data Link, Vacuum Environment Protection, Transceiver 5000 km (enhanced), Self-Maintenance Enhancement (basic), Atmospheric Sensor, Corrosive Environment Protection, Insidious Environment Protection, Radiation Environment Protection, Submersible Environment Protection 2000 m (advanced), Satellite Uplink, Mining Equipment (large), External Power, Cutting Torch (improved), Fire Control System (basic), Weapon Mount (heavy)


This massive robot is designed to extract hydrogen from ice or frozen volatiles. Four legs spread out from a central core, which contains the mining equipment and a plasma gun to facilitate melting. While slow moving, it is extremely stable and capable of operating in any hostile environment.

The robot can extract 25 tons of hydrogen an hour. The Revelation carries four of these.

Note: The 25 tons/hour extraction is not even close to what the Robots Handbook uses for mining equipment. I back calculated that from what it would take to refuel the Revelation in the time discussed on p. 36 of "The Crossing", hand wave the result as being the result of ice being softer than rock, and having the plasma gun to assist.
 
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