Howdy. I came late to the B5 party. While browsing the "Ship Builder's Manual," I came across mention of the fusion engine ship feature, the gravitic drive ship feature, etc. (pgs38-39)
The descriptions & costs of the various engine types are clear enough, but do these ship features have any impact on combat, travel times, etc.? If so, where is this info detailed? If not, are there any rules governing situations like:
How many Gs a ship with fusion engines & (presumably) no artificial gravity can pull before the crew suffers damage, ie - early Earth Alliance ships? What are the penalties to PC/NPC abilities at 2G, 3G, etc.? I'd think that this would be especially important for fighter dogfights.
Can ships with gravitic drives run rings around those with fusion drives?
Is there any benefit to having hybrid fusion/gravitic drives vs just fusion or just gravitic? How 'bout in hyperspace vs realspace?
What impact do the various drive types have on travel times, in both realspace and hyperspace?
Gravitic drives are described as "extremely quiet, allowing for much more on board activity in all areas of the ship rather than simply just the commons halls." How does this work in gameplay? Are there penalties to PC/NPC actions outside the (again, presumably) noise-shielded areas on a ship equipped with fusion drives?
Inquiring minds wanna know...
Bonus round/ultra-geek question #1: Fuel for fusion drives - are we talking deuterium? Tritium? Helium-3? Something insane (and inefficient), like a proton-boron reaction?
Bonus round/ultra-geek question #2: Any rules or stats in any of the books for an Orion drive?
The descriptions & costs of the various engine types are clear enough, but do these ship features have any impact on combat, travel times, etc.? If so, where is this info detailed? If not, are there any rules governing situations like:
How many Gs a ship with fusion engines & (presumably) no artificial gravity can pull before the crew suffers damage, ie - early Earth Alliance ships? What are the penalties to PC/NPC abilities at 2G, 3G, etc.? I'd think that this would be especially important for fighter dogfights.
Can ships with gravitic drives run rings around those with fusion drives?
Is there any benefit to having hybrid fusion/gravitic drives vs just fusion or just gravitic? How 'bout in hyperspace vs realspace?
What impact do the various drive types have on travel times, in both realspace and hyperspace?
Gravitic drives are described as "extremely quiet, allowing for much more on board activity in all areas of the ship rather than simply just the commons halls." How does this work in gameplay? Are there penalties to PC/NPC actions outside the (again, presumably) noise-shielded areas on a ship equipped with fusion drives?
Inquiring minds wanna know...
Bonus round/ultra-geek question #1: Fuel for fusion drives - are we talking deuterium? Tritium? Helium-3? Something insane (and inefficient), like a proton-boron reaction?
Bonus round/ultra-geek question #2: Any rules or stats in any of the books for an Orion drive?
