Modules for the Modular Cutter

[Galadrion]

I'm hoping that the forum regulars here can help me, since my mental filing system seems to have failed me. At some point in the recent past, I was reading some Traveller material which included, among other things, a number of additional modules for the modular cutter. For the life of me, I can't remember what that source was, so I'm hoping someone here can remind me where it was. It included things like a ground base, an ultralight fighter carrier pod, cargo, passenger, and combined cargo/passenger modules, and fuel processing capabilities. Any ideas, anyone?

*Edit*: And, of course, as soon as I posted this I went looking one more time and found it: the Modular Cutter entry in the High Guard Update 2022. Sigh. We're getting too many versions of the core material books; we're going to start needing an index to keep track of where everything is.

 

[Vormaerin]

I do believe that it was mentioned there were going to be modules for the modular cutter in Friday's Small Craft book, too.

 

[AndrewW]

I do believe that it was mentioned there were going to be modules for the modular cutter in Friday's Small Craft book, too.

There are.

 

[Galadrion]

Good. Main reason I was looking for this was the jump cutter in Adventure Class Ships, with the thought of also possibly scaling up the idea, which means that there could be uses for a large number of 30 Dt modules.

 

[WHULorigan]

I'm hoping that the forum regulars here can help me, since my mental filing system seems to have failed me. At some point in the recent past, I was reading some Traveller material which included, among other things, a number of additional modules for the modular cutter. For the life of me, I can't remember what that source was, so I'm hoping someone here can remind me where it was. It included things like a ground base, an ultralight fighter carrier pod, cargo, passenger, and combined cargo/passenger modules, and fuel processing capabilities. Any ideas, anyone?

*Edit*: And, of course, as soon as I posted this I went looking one more time and found it: the Modular Cutter entry in the High Guard Update 2022. Sigh. We're getting too many versions of the core material books; we're going to start needing an index to keep track of where everything is.

If you are not overly picky about rule system/mechanics, GURPS Traveller had an entire sourcebook called Modular Cutter with loads of Cutter Module variants described. You ought to be able to tweak and retrofit them for Mongoose usage with minimal effort.

 

[Boogie]

Oh nice! I didn't know this was coming. I have been making my own maps for the 30 ton modules for use in conjunction with the Jump Cutter & Mercenary books. Very excited to see what they have for us. Hopefully they will include nice 2D Deck Plans so I don't have to keep subjecting my players to my own renditions!

 

[shammond42]

And just to note that if you want to print your own modular cutter, there's less than 48-hours left on the 2nd Dynasty small craft Kickstarter.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2nddynasty/official-traveller-small-craft/description

 

[MongooseMatt]

As a sneak peek, we have the following 30-ton modules in the Small Craft Catalogue (released tomorrow!):

Armoury
Cattle Transport (cows!)
Cold Passage
Fighter Hangar
Frontier Medical
Life Support
Missile Support
Orbital Outpost
Passenger
Planetary Assault (kick marines out the side)
Planetary Outpost
Power
Public House (mobile pub!)
Relaxation (also known as the chill-out module)
Salvage
Space Borne Early Warning (budget space AWACS)
Tanker
Urban (drop this and the Travellers have everything they need for ground/city exploration)

 

[Condottiere]

 

[Sigtrygg]

Isn't that what you base your numerous Solomani threads on?

 

[Condottiere]

It sort of evolves.

Fighting Ships gave the hook on the Empire in Star Wars, with the abnormally high application of wedged hull configurations.

Reimagined and Deadlock hints at the the current state of the Confederation Fleet, which is why I tagged the next generation fast dreadnought as the Mercury class.

Cattle Car tells me not to take this stuff too seriously.

The Expanse fits in there, somewhere, likely kinetic point defence, and aesthetics.

 

[J. L. Brown]

My own take on the 30 dTon TL 12 module:

2x Nuclear Damper (20 dTons)
3x Fusion reactor (45 power)
1.5 Fuel (10 weeks duration)
5.5 High-Capacity Batteries (220 power, 33 minutes operation)

Going by the Field Nuclear Dampers in the Field Catalog (3 dTons, covers a 1 km radius), this should cover an area of about 21 square kilometers -- about 2.7 km radius. Not sure how long decontamination takes though. If it takes just one starship round, then a cutter could cruise along at 40 km/h & clean up 245 square km per hour.

 

[Fluffy Bunny Feet]

If you put a cutter fuel module in a far trader could the fuel in it be used directly to make a jump or would it have to be pumped first into a standard fuel tank?

 

[WHULorigan]

If you put a cutter fuel module in a far trader could the fuel in it be used directly to make a jump or would it have to be pumped first into a standard fuel tank?

I am almost certain that it would have to be pumped into the standard tank first. Collapsible fuel bladders had to be pumped into the tanks, although dismountable (rigid) tanks could be installed and used directly, but they were designed for this.

Retrofitting anything with the fuel system is probably a bad idea.

 

[Fluffy Bunny Feet]

Retrofitting anything with the fuel system is probably a bad idea.

The idea here is that it wouldn't be a retrofit but the ship designed to use it as a tank. This way the ship could remove the fuel module and compete more effectively against jump 1 free traders as the 20 tons of fuel would be replaced with 20 tons of cargo (or passenger space). If it was used with 2 modules to cover all the fuel it could remove them both and run interplanetary with extra cargo.

It wouldn't literally be a cutter module but 1 (or 2) purpose built modules to replace Jump 1 worth of fuel.

 

[Arkathan]

If you are not carrying a cutter to remove the modules, install the dual Fuel/Cargo containers.
Each ton is 1.05 Dtons and costs Cr5000 per Dton (Cr5,250 per usable ton)
That IS connected to the fuel system and can be used for cargo when emptied. And you don't have to empty all of it to benefit from the cargo storage.

HG22 pg49

 

[Condottiere]

Fuel/cargo containers doesn't mention how long it takes to flush the emptied tank, nor how much it costs.

 

[Condottiere]

Or, not.

 

[AnotherDilbert]

The idea here is that it wouldn't be a retrofit but the ship designed to use it as a tank. This way the ship could remove the fuel module and compete more effectively against jump 1 free traders as the 20 tons of fuel would be replaced with 20 tons of cargo (or passenger space). If it was used with 2 modules to cover all the fuel it could remove them both and run interplanetary with extra cargo.

Sure, if the ship is purpose built with a modular hull. No retrofitting hull structure.

Demountable Tanks can do it, see The Traveller Adventure. Probably takes too long to fit and remove.

As already discussed fuel/cargo containers are ideal for your purpose, and can be retrofitted.

With Drop Tanks you can carry the jump fuel externally, freeing up interior space. (You don't have to actually drop the tanks.) Your jump drive should easily be powerful enough.

 

[Arkathan]

Fuel/cargo containers doesn't mention how long it takes to flush the emptied tank, nor how much it costs.

It costs nothing, and if you want to assign a time on it, you are just evacuating flammable gas from the area and cleanup of any unrefined residue. Grease and detritus going from cargo to fuel. Simple Mechanics task if that. No more than d6 man-hours for the whole compartment, and that is erring on the side of being overly labor intensive.