Errata for Core Rulebook

[GothiousRex]

Ok

I've found the Player's Guide download from the Mongoose website which has some corrections.

I've also noticed the error on the character generation procedure on page 5.

I've found a few typos here and there.

Is there anything I'm missing?

 

[GothiousRex]

I agree about the Laser Pistol.

The clip would likely be less expensive as the technology for power cells advanced. I think that's what the original designers could have been thinking, but the Laser Rifle clip goes up in price...

 

[Jame Rowe]

One more piece of errata:

There is no way of calculating a planet's distance from its sun.

 

[Gruffty the Hiver]

One more piece of errata:

There is no way of calculating a planet's distance from its sun.

:? :shock: Uhm, that's not errata Jame - there's no system presented for generating stars in the core rulebook.

 

[Jame Rowe]

One more piece of errata:

There is no way of calculating a planet's distance from its sun.

:? :shock: Uhm, that's not errata Jame - there's no system presented for generating stars in the core rulebook.

Except for one thing: on page 171, there's a table for world temperature; it says something about planetary distance from the sun, but there's no way of calculating that; it was present in the playtest version.

 

[dmccoy1693]

Except for one thing: on page 171, there's a table for world temperature; it says something about planetary distance from the sun, but there's no way of calculating that; it was present in the playtest version.

Just a guess, but it sounds like the type of thing that would have been cut for space and will show up in a future supplement. I mean I also remember suppression fire being in the playtest as well. It was one of the combat options I had my NPCs use against my playtest players. That rule showed up in Mercenary.

The only other reason I could see for star creation rules (and various other rules) not showing up in the main book when they were in the playtest and then appearing in future supplements is to help sell supplements by advertising that those missing things are in there. Now I don't see suppression fire and star creation rules as important enough to be a real selling point (unlike say a barbarian class or a druid class missing from the D&D 4E PHB but showing up in the PHB II to help sell that book) so I don't believe that this reason is the case.

 

[Gruffty the Hiver]

Matt has already said that star system generation won't be part of the Scouts book and will be published as a separate book so, yeah, I agree with dmccoy on this one.

 

[MongooseMatt]

The only other reason I could see for star creation rules (and various other rules) not showing up in the main book when they were in the playtest and then appearing in future supplements is to help sell supplements by advertising that those missing things are in there. Now I don't see suppression fire and star creation rules as important enough to be a real selling point (unlike say a barbarian class or a druid class missing from the D&D 4E PHB but showing up in the PHB II to help sell that book) so I don't believe that this reason is the case.

It wasn't. The thing about a basic rulebook is that it should be, well, basic For those looking for a heavyweight system creation system, you'll be catered for in the years ahead, but 90% of games will work just fine with the mechanics in the current rulebook. Plus, if we started putting more complex mechanics in the basic rulebook, chances are it would still not have been released

 

[klingsor]

The system in the core book works well enough. The habitable zone/temperature bit is just there because it needs to be and it is useful for getting a better idea of what the planet is like. A hotter planet will have smaller or no polar and mountain ice caps while a colder one might have them reaching a significant way to the equator with the other climatic zones squashed up a bit (the proper term might be climatic compression but do not quote me on this). As long as you avoid the old lie (well, gross simplification) that every world has just one climate type and you will be fine.

In the unlikely event that you did not already know this there is a habitable zone around each star where life is most likely to be found – in the Sol system it reaches very roughly from Venus to Mars but certain factors can complicate this – such as the planet orbiting a brown dwarf which would give it extra heat so it could be a little further out from the sun.

The classic Traveller Book 6 Scouts had a quite detailed system for generating a whole system from star type to moons but it is I suspect obsolete and inaccurate based on modern data from actually detecting planets in other solar systems but it is still useable – the results might be overly simplified but they will not be totally ridiculous. Megatravller and TNE had their own systems but I cannot recall how they compare with book 6. For me a modern, realistic solar system generator is perhaps the single most desired book for Traveller which is odd as I use the OTU but now I know about Forven sector I can use it.

 

[Woas]

As I've been making worlds lately I noticed that chart in world creation wasn't complete either. It has temperature roll DM listings for if the planet is close or far from the sun, but I was expecting there to be some roll to determine that but saw none. So I just assumed it was kind of up to the referee.
Same with planet population which calls for a flat 2d6-2 roll, which of course means you can get a result of 0 - 10, yet the chart has a 11 and 12. I just figured those are for the referee to select for special cases.

As for myself regarding planet distance from the sun/temperature, I rolled d6 and on a 1 the planet was in the hot edge of habitable zone and in the cold edge if I rolled a 6.

I have some related questions about world temperature. How does it effect trade codes? I had several planets that ended up being cold or frozen with water on them (presumably just ice at those temperature ranges) yet going off the trade code chart, would not have applied for Ice Capped.
And same with hot and roasting worlds but not qualifying for the desert code - although I guess it could just be very hot with volcanoes and such, not necessarily sand.
Or alternatively a hot/roasting world that does qualify for Garden or Agriculture.

Perhaps temperatures could be new trade codes? Iz for Inside-(habitable)Zone and Oz for Outside-(habitable)Zone? Or just Fr, Co, Ho, Ro for Freezing, Cold, Hot, Roasting respectively. At least that could help explain the planet a little better when a player sees the planet's trade code of Ag Ga and then finds out its a hellish rock of a planet with a thick, steamy atmosphere.

 

[TrippyHippy]

Yes, I think the sensible place for detailed starship rules, and star system creation is in the High Guard/Scouts books respectively.

Just like I expect to see a more involved trade system in a Merchant Prince book, and the combat stuff in the Mercenary book.

I suppose, if they keep doing these types of books for other careers, we could see crime and punishment systems in a combined Agents/Rogues book, a system for political interaction and diplomacy in a Nobles book, and so on. It's the meat of those types of book, beyond just having extra chargen options.

 

[EDG]

As for myself regarding planet distance from the sun/temperature, I rolled d6 and on a 1 the planet was in the hot edge of habitable zone and in the cold edge if I rolled a 6.

I suggested something similar in the playtest, but using 2d6 and a roll of 2- or 12+ for Freezing/Roasting. I also had DMs for atmosphere type too.

I have some related questions about world temperature. How does it effect trade codes? I had several planets that ended up being cold or frozen with water on them (presumably just ice at those temperature ranges) yet going off the trade code chart, would not have applied for Ice Capped.

Traditionally Ic worlds are those that have atm 0 or 1 but do have hydrographics. Mars would be an Ic world. A glacial habitable world wouldn't represent the same sort of market.

Or alternatively a hot/roasting world that does qualify for Garden or Agriculture.

IMO they wouldn't. In fact I think I suggested that Ag and Ga worlds had to be Temperate by definition.

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

I have house-ruled that to qualify for Garden, a world must be Temperate in addition to the published requirements.

I am still debating about Agricultural. After all, a Hot world would be tropical over a large portion of the surface, so Agricultural could still apply.

For a Cold world, much of the polar regions would be frozen, but there would be large sections that might be like Canada or northern Russia which could still be classified as Agricultural. Ocean farming would certainly be possible on Hot or Cold planets.

 

[zanwot]

The classic Traveller Book 6 Scouts had a quite detailed system for generating a whole system from star type to moons but it is I suspect obsolete and inaccurate based on modern data from actually detecting planets in other solar systems but it is still useable

I do not have the book, but I do not see why they would be obsolete. The planets we have detected are all giant planets, and not because that is all there is but because that is all we can detect. So it does not say anything about earth size planets (or smaller), and even less about possible atmospheres. The detected planets actually confirm Traveller solar systems in a way, as they definitly confirm that it is not rare for suns to have orbiting planets. There may be some issue on the type of existing giant planets, but that seems a minor issue.


Concerning Agricultural planets version temperature, I defnitly agree with RTT, and I would even go further and consider it *possible* for a Hot or Cold world to be Garden (If say Population lower than Size) as all it would need would be a continent size area of the planet with good conditions.

 

[EDG]

The classic Traveller Book 6 Scouts had a quite detailed system for generating a whole system from star type to moons but it is I suspect obsolete and inaccurate based on modern data from actually detecting planets in other solar systems but it is still useable

I do not have the book, but I do not see why they would be obsolete. The planets we have detected are all giant planets, and not because that is all there is but because that is all we can detect. So it does not say anything about earth size planets (or smaller), and even less about possible atmospheres. The detected planets actually confirm Traveller solar systems in a way, as they definitly confirm that it is not rare for suns to have orbiting planets. There may be some issue on the type of existing giant planets, but that seems a minor issue.

The stellar data in CT Scouts is very wonky, and some of the tables don't actually work. And of course the size/atmosphere relationship it assumes (i.e. none) is nonsense.

Also, we know that most systems are not nice tidy ones with rocky planets close to the star and jovians further out.

So yeah, it's obsolete.

 

[zanwot]

And of course the size/atmosphere relationship it assumes (i.e. none) is nonsense.

Oh... ok... So it did not even respect knowledge of the time.

 

[klingsor]

It was a good attempt, probably better than that in any other RPG before or since, but this seems to be something that needs to be written by someone who really knows what they are doing.

 

[Gruffty the Hiver]

It was a good attempt, probably better than that in any other RPG before or since

Definitely not since: GURPS Traveller: First In and GURPS: Space did it much, much better.

but this seems to be something that needs to be written by someone who really knows what they are doing.

Indeed it does.

 

[EDG]

It was a good attempt, probably better than that in any other RPG before or since

Like Gruffty said.... no .

but this seems to be something that needs to be written by someone who really knows what they are doing.

Is that a hint?

 

[klingsor]

I have not looked at GURPS Space since second edition or so but I don't remember it going into the depth that Book 6 did. I like GURPS, great sourcebooks, but have not played it this century!

I had let GURPS Traveller slip my mind. I could not even tell you if I own a copy of First In as my copies of the books are on loan to a friend. It would be good, the best of GURPS and Traveller - good suggestion!

We have seen the sort of adverse reaction that occurs when perceived mistakes [1] are found as occurred most infamously with Mercenary. So we do not want this to happen with the planet building book. If nothing else it is embarrassing! So yes, defiantly a hint, or rather a wish and a hope.

Now I am curious about the real world subject, does anyone know a good book on modern - planetology? What is the topic to look for on the index card? What I really want is I suppose Solar Systems for Dummies.


Notes
1. Is that a suitably innocuous way of phrasing it?