New Campaign - PCs are the Bridge Crew of a Warship

[Mithras]

Thinking of a new campaign to play with my boys (15 and 12) I'm torn between a conventional 3i campaign, and something I've been mulling over for more than a decade: RAF in space. Using a couple of setting conceits, the Royal Aerospace Force is the dominant if not the only military presence in space. I use the same ranks/terminology/uniforms/squadrons/insignia etc as the modern RAF and the players are crew of a combat craft/warship.

I have High Guard, so the players can create detailed RAF personnel, and I think I can kick around the Mongoose space combat rules to more simulate the bridge-crew-are-key-to-the fight type effect.

As a conceit its a bit like having the US Marine Corps almost unchanged in Space: Above and Beyond.

What are people's experiences having the players simply run the bridge crew? Do the rules give you enough choice, and enough effect on the battle?

If so I think I might give it a stab, first as a one-off, then as a short campaign if my sons bite...!

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

I ran a similar game with my teenage sons. They were the bridge officers (junior officers). You can use the PC Tasks from the TMB for the bridge crews.

Use the Barrage rules but let the Weapons Officer (a Player) roll for a bonus to hit. Have the Pilot make the pilot skill rolls etc.

I think it would work fine, it did for me, and look at Star Trek etc for ideas of how to involve the bridge crew without worrying about all those gunners hiding out in the turrets and bays.

Treat the turrets as Point Defense or Secondary defense and basically ignore them in the Tactical Game (automatic rolls). Let the PCs decide who to fire on and when (setting up the Barrages) and let them roll for their areas of expertise. The Chief Engineer assigns his engineers to repair and damage control and he makes the rolls..

Should be fine. Just abstract the crew with assigned/assumed skill levels and let the department head for that group (the PC) make the rolls.

Should be fun!

 

[kristof65]

Military/Naval/Warship campaigns are fun. In my experience, though, they work better with either a very small warship where cross-training between jobs would be logical or by having multiple characters on a larger ship.

In one of my campaigns, the PCs were all crew of a 20k ton starship - each player had 3-4 PCs - one in the command crew, one among the fighter pilots and one among the marine contingent. I can't recall what the fourth PC group was if I had it - but I do seem to remember there was a fourth group - maybe medical? Anyway, the primary PCs were the command crew - captain, 1st officer, chief engineer, etc - most of the roleplaying and ship decision making was their providence. If something like a boarding party was needed, other PCs would be assigned to it as needed. A lot of mix-matching of PCs as necessary for the task at hand.

 

[Mithras]

Thanks for the input. I'm a fan of the 'small ship universe' so crews will be small, I think the Leviathan will be the biggest sized warship around.

BTW, is TMB The Main Book? Sorry

I'd like everyone to have a role in all the combat, including the navigator/sensor ops guy, engineer (power?) and so on.

Maybe the thrust rating and powerplant levels are maximums/potentials. And the engineer has to make a roll to add to the basic level-1 running of these facilities. So the patrol cruiser will default to Thrust 1 for the pilot to use, unless the Engineer makes an average roll, with his successes adding to the thrust available. Is that Scotty-enough?

I might come up with a very simple power-distribution system, fuelled by a) the powerplant, and b) the chief engineer's roll.

 

[kristof65]

For small ship stuff, if you can get ahold of the old MegaTraveller Starship Operators Guide, it's great inspiration on tasks a crew can perform to keep the ship running.

Another good inspiration is the old Star Trek RPG by FASA - the original one from the 80s.

Assuming you can't (both are old and long out of print), I suggest sitting down and brainstorming task chains for ship operation. FREX, the Starship operators guide has one for Jump space - the engineer has to charge the jump capacitors, while the Navigator/Pilot has to chart the course. The outcome of their rolls provide modifiers to later rolls for the jump transition itself, then the length of the jump, etc, etc.

Combat can be handled similarly - Not entirely accurate for the traveller rules, but based on the old Star Trek RPG, it's fun if the engineer has power points he has to dole out to the other stations, and they can only perform tasks based on the amount of power he gives them. Within the Traveller task system, something like this can be created.

BTW, have I mentioned lately that I think Mongoose really should do an MGT version of the Starship Operators Guide?

 

[Mithras]

Now I do have a copy of the Starship Operator's Guide, but not really read it in much depth. I will take a look tonight.

 

[georgec]

Thinking of a new campaign to play with my boys (15 and 12) I'm torn between a conventional 3i campaign, and something I've been mulling over for more than a decade: RAF in space. Using a couple of setting conceits, the Royal Aerospace Force is the dominant if not the only military presence in space. I use the same ranks/terminology/uniforms/squadrons/insignia etc as the modern RAF and the players are crew of a combat craft/warship.

If you are going for an 'air force' theme, try some WW2 Bomber Command literature as this will give you the feel of a multi-crewed operating environment. The one thing that distinguishes the 'navy' theme from the 'air force' theme is the duration of the mission, with navies operating for extended periods with a number of watches while air missions tend to be conducted without (much) crew relief.

 

[justacaveman]

I find this hard to believe.


You have teenage children that listen to you?

:twisted:

 

[Mithras]

They are good boys. The worst thing is we've had a long long break in oour Traveller campaign, my enthusiasm has dropped (you know as it does) and they keep asking me...when are we playing Traveller again? Soon, I say..

I'm a fool. They might be too old soon and not want to play, I shouldn't keep stalling them. Hence digging around for a new game to get us all energized.

 

[Mithras]

Perhaps the way I can do this is to reduce jump times from one week down to one, two or three days. Staterooms can be replaced with cabins and bunks.

I like to think of the AWACs, Nimrod martime patrol planes and the huge B-36 strategic bomber with lots of crew (and bunks as well I seem to remember). EDIT: B-36 flew 40 hour missions with 15 crew.The B-36B was flow by 15 aircrew. The aircrew in the forward section included:

Flight commander.
Pilot & copilot.
Bombardier.
Navigator.
Two radio operators.
Two flight engineers.
Observer / gunner.

There were five gunners in the rear compartment. The B-36 featured bunks to allow crewmembers to get some rest on long missions. It also had a head and a galley, with rations heated up the rear section sent forward on the trolley.

I've even read that one B36 experimented with a nuclear powerplant, so it makes an interesting 'model' for an RAF Traveller game!

If you are going for an 'air force' theme, try some WW2 Bomber Command literature as this will give you the feel of a multi-crewed operating environment. The one thing that distinguishes the 'navy' theme from the 'air force' theme is the duration of the mission, with navies operating for extended periods with a number of watches while air missions tend to be conducted without (much) crew relief.

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

Thanks for the input. I'm a fan of the 'small ship universe' so crews will be small, I think the Leviathan will be the biggest sized warship around.

BTW, is TMB The Main Book? Sorry

I'd like everyone to have a role in all the combat, including the navigator/sensor ops guy, engineer (power?) and so on.

Maybe the thrust rating and powerplant levels are maximums/potentials. And the engineer has to make a roll to add to the basic level-1 running of these facilities. So the patrol cruiser will default to Thrust 1 for the pilot to use, unless the Engineer makes an average roll, with his successes adding to the thrust available. Is that Scotty-enough?

I might come up with a very simple power-distribution system, fuelled by a) the powerplant, and b) the chief engineer's roll.

TMB is the "official" OGL approved initials for the Traveller Core Rule Book by Mongoose (The Main Book or The Mongoose Book, I never figured out exactly what it was supposed to mean).

Read the combat section of the TMB again, there are all kinds of skill rolls that can be made by various characters in a combat situation. For the command/bridge crew, they could make the rolls for their department.

Lots of things for everyone to do!

 

[Mithras]

I've just been collecting tasks from TMB, you're right, from the captain to the pilot, sensor ops/ECM and gunery officer - plenty for everyone! The only person who needs an extra roll or two is the engineer. Currently he only has damage control. I'm thinking he can turn by turn roll to produce more 'power' and produce a few DMs to be distributed as he sees fit. The DMs should just resemble the one on the table in TMB for damage control:

Result 0 ..... +1
Result 1-5 .... +2
Result 6 ........ +3

DMs can be allocated as plus to hit (gunnery) or for the sensor ops in ECM/jamming/lock ons.

Maybe life support can provide a free +1 and thrust can +1 if those systems are shut down...

 

[phavoc]

Actually, you don't need to worry too terribly much about the "boring" time spent in jump space.

Since you are using a smaller warship, the campaign could be conducted completely within the boundaries of a star system. Instead of jumping between stars they are travelling between planets within the solar system. Visting space stations in the asteroids, fighting running battles with the bad guys, ducking behind planetoids, etc.

All the fun you can have in a subsector without adding any parsecs to your odometer!!

 

[locarno24]

Not a bad idea. Plus if you have what's essentially a system navy's lighter warship, you have less trouble with modelling the activities of 'the rest of the crew'. Although simply using their own skills (as Ensign Ricky will do exactly what they trained him to do - which incidentally means a few skill checks in advance to train him better might be good!)

You still get to overmatch most enemy ships unless you want to throw in something really scary - tracking 'pirate' small craft back from the gas giant towards a base hidden in orbit of one of its moons, and discover that the 'base' is actually a carrier.

The only person who needs an extra roll or two is the engineer. Currently he only has damage control. I'm thinking he can turn by turn roll to produce more 'power' and produce a few DMs to be distributed as he sees fit. The DMs should just resemble the one on the table in TMB for damage control:

Gunnery - not so much 'to hit', as temporarily granting a weapon High Yield.

Ordnance - Reload cycle time might (possibly) be reduced if you know what you're doing - we're not talking machine-gun missile launchers here, but if a normal launcher has a 6 minute cycle time (1 round), being able to reduce it might mean being able to launch two salvoes every other turn, or possibly to launch two salvoes in exchange for giving up shooting for a turn (a decent trade-off if the target's point defence is giving you headaches). If you go for a missile/sandcaster/railgun heavy ship then you have something generally for the engineer to be monitoring anyway.

Sensor power (lock-ons)

Engine power (help piloting checks)

 

[Mithras]

Well its coming together. I've decided to leave the RAF thing for now, and set the military game in my current setting: Shoulder of Orion, my players know a bit about it from playing drifters/adventurers over the winter.

The vessel will be the 400 ton patrol cruiser, there's a couple of great deckplans on the web. I'll have to dig up some interior photos from film/TV to get the players 'into' the ship. I'll start with pregens and let the players select from those available. As in Star Trek, each will need a hook (interesting background, useful advantage etc) to make them stand out.

I have 4 missions sketched out (the random mission generator in the back of High Guard is a real blessing) each one tied into a particular world in my setting.

I have a rescue mission/defeat the pirates; strike mission vs alien base that goes wrong and prpoels the ship back a 1000 years to the alien's heyday; a anti-smuggling patrol with pressure from a politician onboard leading to an attack on an automated base; an interdiction mission, searching ships leaving a mining world looking for dissidents, disabling those that don't stop - one will attempt a kamikaze run with nuclear bomb on board.

Also have a couple of missions in mind from JTAS Amber Zones, etc: there's one about saving a world from an asteroid, another Dagger from Efate about a rogue star cruiser AI; and of course the The Chamax Plague would make a great navy mission...

Excited!

Next I need to design the uniforms: I have to have a good idea of the uniforms if we are to play for any length of time...

 

[Gamerguy]

'What are people's experiences having the players simply run the bridge crew? Do the rules give you enough choice, and enough effect on the battle?'

I've done this many times - usually they are the bridge crew of a 70,000 ton Imperial Cruiser on an Imperial Mission.

The rules give you plenty of choice - you just command a large crew of NPCs who do the actual work aboard the ship. Leadership skills are a big plus in these kind of games.

This game will be fun - think Star Trek when you put it together.

8)