Terry Mixon
Emperor Mongoose
Yet another ridiculous rule I’ll ignore.
Fuel Dumps
- Thread starter Fresnel
- Start date
Condottiere
Emperor Mongoose
If I understand it correctly, it's a low level gravity well generator.
Try combining that with orbital ranged manoeuvre drive.
Try combining that with orbital ranged manoeuvre drive.
T5 introduced it, but specifically had a number of different drive options you could use instead. I don't know details on them though, so I don't know what they did, so I don't know if the m-drive nerf was meant to so drastic or if it was expected that obtaining these other drives was reasonable
Combine a ram scoop (high guard version) and a reaction drive… If you want to kill a planet’s biosphere you can at TL7.
I feel like it is older than that, because I didn't buy T5 until after I involved in MgT2e. But it was probably fan theory prior? Like the sophont sentience rule. But, regardless, neither of those rules help make the game better, imho. So they go bye-bye.
MasterGwydion
Emperor Mongoose
Yeah... I ignore those rules too.
Mind you, I don't think it is a terrible idea in the abstract. Traveller attracts a lot of tech/science minded people as well as wargamers, so they like to try to figure out "Reasonable" ways for the future tech to work. The M-Drive is pure space magic so any attempt to give it some kind of science flavored basis (like being a gravity drive) is going to have logical limits that the mechanism doesn't originally have.
I can imagine a setting where that is baked into how systems develop and whatnot, but Traveller has never actually accounted for this effect in any of its published materials and flat out contradicts it in a lot of stuff.
Ultimately, I find that making M-Drives less space magic harms gameplay. I want more reasons for travelling in real space, where the characters can actually interact with things and less reason to jump within system. As much as I love the idea of rocketry, I don't want to be calculating burns, vectors, and fuel reserves at the table.
The sentients only for ftl travel thing is either a Niven-ism or a misguided attempt to explain why people still crew starships. Niven makes it an interesting thing. But, again, Traveller doesn't actually do anything with it and has published materials (like Annic Nova) that directly contradict it.
I can imagine a setting where that is baked into how systems develop and whatnot, but Traveller has never actually accounted for this effect in any of its published materials and flat out contradicts it in a lot of stuff.
Ultimately, I find that making M-Drives less space magic harms gameplay. I want more reasons for travelling in real space, where the characters can actually interact with things and less reason to jump within system. As much as I love the idea of rocketry, I don't want to be calculating burns, vectors, and fuel reserves at the table.
The sentients only for ftl travel thing is either a Niven-ism or a misguided attempt to explain why people still crew starships. Niven makes it an interesting thing. But, again, Traveller doesn't actually do anything with it and has published materials (like Annic Nova) that directly contradict it.
I happen to be firmly on the side of requiring sophonts for ships. It's silly of course, but I have no interest in the robot handbook, or in any significant level of automation on ships.
(I have no problem with an ai that practically IS a sophont. But then I just treat it like a sophont, with all the requirements that comes with, like life support, even if the details are different.)
(I have no problem with an ai that practically IS a sophont. But then I just treat it like a sophont, with all the requirements that comes with, like life support, even if the details are different.)
Condottiere
Emperor Mongoose
If you have a large enough spacecraft, you have an organic gravity well.
I'm fine with remote ops in system ships, like how we are doing with the Voyager 1. And I'm not blessed/cursed with the sort of players who question fundamental assumptions like "why are people on these ships?". Star Trek has people on the ships. Droids don't fly ships in Star Wars. The Serenity has a crew. That's just how it works 
I don't hate the idea of requiring a sophont for ftl travel. But I'd want that sophont to be *doing something* like in Niven. The specific mechanics in Robot Handbook for it are not to my liking. It also really doesn't solve the problem. If the only thing you need sophonts for is keeping jumpspace from confusing the astrogation computer, you only need a couple people on your battleship and none at all on your Monitors.
Obviously, automatiion's failure to take over the spaceworld isn't because of the sophont jumping rule.
I don't hate the idea of requiring a sophont for ftl travel. But I'd want that sophont to be *doing something* like in Niven. The specific mechanics in Robot Handbook for it are not to my liking. It also really doesn't solve the problem. If the only thing you need sophonts for is keeping jumpspace from confusing the astrogation computer, you only need a couple people on your battleship and none at all on your Monitors.
Obviously, automatiion's failure to take over the spaceworld isn't because of the sophont jumping rule.
Sigtrygg
Emperor Mongoose
It is older than that, much older. I have a vague memory of it being in the Q&A of a Digest or Journal - a DGPism to explain why MT had grav drives and thruster plates as m-drives, or some such, I will go and check. It may have reared its ugly head in T4 but I will get back to you on that one too (a cut off at 2000AU is mentioned in FF&SII)
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Sigtrygg
Emperor Mongoose
There is no example of it in Traveller canon until introduced in a MgT supplement, why is was then fanonised into canon by others is beyond me. There is, just for a change, actual canon to contradict it in the Third Imperium setting.
Condottiere
Emperor Mongoose
It's what's known as a surprise encounter.
As long as you don't play your robots as slave sentiences like the Star Wars droids, there's lots of reasons to have humans on interstellar ships. Namely the ability to react to unusual circumstances or deal with things they aren't programmed for.
Not to mention the Vilani already lived through their skynet phase and don't want to do that again.
Not to mention the Vilani already lived through their skynet phase and don't want to do that again.
MasterGwydion
Emperor Mongoose
Very Advanced and Self-Aware Brains can operate outside of their programming, including adjusting to things that they are not programmed for, even developing skills on their own if they have the available bandwidth.
I love robots in general, so I have them everywhere in high tech societies, unless they wouldn't be for social reasons. Although, once the Virus hits, well, *starts singing* "When the walls, come tumbling down..." lol
GabrielGABFonseca
Emperor Mongoose
I was leafing through the original SOM earlier hunting for references for a few wiki pages (adding proper citations and sources to it is a constant battle!), and the M-Drive section does actually mention something somewhat like it, but with a very important caveat. Relevant section reproduced below, from page 2 of the original SOM:
So back then, what the original SOM terms 'gravitic propulsion' is what T5 would understand as the M-Drive, and the actual Thruster Plates/M-Drive is a genuine reactionless system unfettered by any such limitations.
It's interesting, in a way, how T5 almost seems to have 'shifted' the drives back by one step each; the M-Drive is now the 'gravitic drive' from SOM, and the G-Drive is more akin to the engines of G/Carriers and other grav vehicles; but I digress.
Condottiere
Emperor Mongoose
The lack of gravity wells in an empty hex, would explain why no one jumped into one.
Which is a feasible explanation, than just ruling you can't.
Which is a feasible explanation, than just ruling you can't.
On that note, I'm not a super fan of the "Jump is a straight line through real space" concept because it adds nothing to the game. There's no way to actually track that on an interstellar level. There's not even really any meaningful way to do so on a star system level. So its just like this fact that exists that I guess you can use to explain some kinds of misjumps? But in game mechanics, you are going to misjump from engine problems. The astrogation roll is just a help for the engineer's roll.
There's a lot of words invested in the idea you might accidentally hit some planet or star but no mechanics for actually doing so. Misjumps are nearly impossible now that they effectively got rid of unrefined fuel and annual maintenance.
There's a lot of words invested in the idea you might accidentally hit some planet or star but no mechanics for actually doing so. Misjumps are nearly impossible now that they effectively got rid of unrefined fuel and annual maintenance.
Actually, this is a potential opportunity for storytelling.
The Travellers escape a planet with bad guys right on their heels. They only need to get to 100D can then they Jump out - but oh no! The only viable jump is shadowed by the system's Sun! They need to fight or evade for a lot longer. Drama!
