On the bridge in-jump

[Jak Nazryth]

We all know a jump last approximately 1 week.
So during the jump, inside jump space, is there any need for a pilot or astorgator to be on the bridge? Is the ship on auto-pilot? What exactly CAN be done IF a pilot or navigators skills are needed while in jump space?
Or is the bridge simply the loneliest place on a ship during jump?
I am setting up a mid-jump scenario and I want to make sure the players (and me as the GM) have a good grasp of crew stations during the jump phase. Obviously nobody should need to be at a weapon station. Engineers will obviously be monitoring the jump drives and power plant. But what about the ships pilot, astrogator, communications, computer ops, etc....
The core book is silent on most conditions within jump space except "Being completely cut off from the rest of the universe"... so is there even a need for my players to be at their crew stations on a bridge?

Also... since it does not cover this in the book, is there ever a chance for an emergency "exit" out of jump space? Say if something went wrong with the engines during day 5 of the jump? How is this handled? Can the ship exist jump space early?
Thanks for any input.
Jak

 

[barnest2]

In terms of crewing the bridge, I would say on most ships there would be a person on the bridge most of the time, just in case.
One a military ships, there would be two or three there at all times, and maybe more. After all, you can use jump time to run sims and stuff.

 

[DFW]

What exactly CAN be done IF a pilot or navigators skills are needed while in jump space?

Nothing.

Or is the bridge simply the loneliest place on a ship during jump?

Someone is monitoring ship systems & security. From bridge or engineering. Depending on where the systems are.

Also... since it does not cover this in the book, is there ever a chance for an emergency "exit" out of jump space? Say if something went wrong with the engines during day 5 of the jump? How is this handled? Can the ship exist jump space early?
Thanks for any input.
Jak

Nope. Once in, it is till the natural end. If your PP or J-drive fails, you are in for a horrible misjump scenario. Or, the engines aren't doing anything with the jump at that point. Up to the GM.

 

[rust]

We all know a jump last approximately 1 week.
So during the jump, inside jump space, is there any need for a pilot or astorgator to be on the bridge?

No, but - as DFW pointed out - someone will keep an eye on systems like
life support, either from the bridge or some other work station.

Also... since it does not cover this in the book, is there ever a chance for an emergency "exit" out of jump space?

Yes, for example if some rogue planet drifted into the ship's jump route
and the ship is catapulted out of jump space when it hits the planet's d100
sphere. However, this is nothing the average crew would expect to hap-
pen, so only a truly paranoid (or military ...) crew would have all stations
manned to be prepared for such a desaster.

 

[zero]

^ The plotting of astrogation is partly to avoid such disasters in the first place, one would think.

 

[barnest2]

^ The plotting of astrogation is partly to avoid such disasters in the first place, one would think.

I doubt you can track a rogue planet... Boy, that would screw a J-1 ship over wouldn't it

 

[rust]

^ The plotting of astrogation is partly to avoid such disasters in the first place, one would think.

Even a jump-1 crosses 3.26 light years of basically unexplored space, of-
ten between planets with a technology level which is too low to operate
advanced astronomical observatories in space, and even advanced obser-
vatories would have extreme difficulties to discover a cold, dark object in
interstellar space, and more difficulties to calculate its speed and vector.

And then there is that little problem that any object's emissions cannot tra-
vel faster than light, so when a rogue planet enters the observatory's field
of view at a distance of 1 light year, the observatory will become able to
detect it one year later. Very bad for anyone travelling that way during
that year ...

 

[DFW]

^ The plotting of astrogation is partly to avoid such disasters in the first place, one would think.

I doubt you can track a rogue planet... Boy, that would screw a J-1 ship over wouldn't it

A rogue SGG with a small, rocky moon. Pirate base. :twisted:

 

[far-trader]

^ The plotting of astrogation is partly to avoid such disasters in the first place, one would think.

I doubt you can track a rogue planet... Boy, that would screw a J-1 ship over wouldn't it

A rogue SGG with a small, rocky moon. Pirate base. :twisted:

Of course "hitting" said rouge SGG (or even a very LGG or something bigger) even if you had no idea it was somewhere along your route would be such an infinitesimally unlikely event that it has to come down to referee fiat. Don't forget, space is big, really big times big... and mostly empty, really empty.

 

[DFW]

Of course "hitting" said rouge SGG (or even a very LGG or something bigger) even if you had no idea it was somewhere along your route would be such an infinitesimally unlikely event that it has to come down to referee fiat. Don't forget, space is big, really big times big... and mostly empty, really empty.

Of course. I'll win the Mega Million Lotto jackpot 10 times before I'd accidentally cross the jump shadow of one of these.

 

[rust]

Of course "hitting" said rouge SGG (or even a very LGG or something bigger) even if you had no idea it was somewhere along your route would be such an infinitesimally unlikely event that it has to come down to referee fiat. Don't forget, space is big, really big times big... and mostly empty, really empty.

Yep, although considering the number of ships and of their jumps in the
Imperium I would expect it to happen at least once or twice each year.

 

[DFW]

Yep, although considering the number of ships and of their jumps in the
Imperium I would expect it to happen at least once or twice each year.

Only if every Jump route had a planet on it...

 

[Jak Nazryth]

So my original idea is for the "encounter" sounds universal. At least 1 person needs to be on the bridge at all times during jump to keep an eye on the systems. So when the cargo "wakes up" I can have a good idea where everyone is on the ship. 8)

Sounds like this thread is diverging a bit, so I'll go ahead and give my two cents. I've always understood that jump space was completely outside the normal universe, therefore immune to anything in normal space, with the exception of the 100 diameter rule when creating the jump field itself and tearing a hole in reality. Rogue planets, mass-field generators, etc... sounds more like how the Star Wars game mechanics handle hyper space, or how a warp-drive might interact with normal space. Was there an addition to Jump space in some of the earlier versions of Traveller like TNE or Mega?

 

[Jak Nazryth]

oh yeah, almost forgot.
This is a question for a player-based ship and not a military ship.
It's between 200 and 400 tons; typical "adventure" class ship.

 

[Liam Devlin]

On topic:

I generally have the players keep at least 1 person on the bridge, and one on the engineering post in Jump. The crew rotates who is where, in case pesky cargo or Passengers try to cause a ruckus... thats for the player crew to decide: the watches.

 

[DFW]

Rogue planets, mass-field generators, etc... sounds more like how the Star Wars game mechanics handle hyper space, or how a warp-drive might interact with normal space. Was there an addition to Jump space in some of the earlier versions of Traveller like TNE or Mega?

Page 141 MGT MRB "Gravity can cause a Jump bubble to collapse
prematurely, bringing a ship back into normal space early (so if a
ship tried to Jump from Earth to Mars when the Sun was between
the two, the vessel would fall out of Jump space as soon as it came
within one hundred diameters of the Sun."

 

[far-trader]

Yep, although considering the number of ships and of their jumps in the
Imperium I would expect it to happen at least once or twice each year.

Only if every Jump route had a planet on it...

...and they'd all have been mapped ages ago if that was the case in a couple thousand year old Imperium

-------

Back on topic for me as well then, sort of, since it's more a MTU/ATU answer. I like my crew to earn their keep so you have to keep them busy. Even in jump.

Within the OTU that can be maintenance (not just of systems but also of pertinent skills through simulations - use it or lose it, goof off for a week in jump and your Piloting skills will be at least a little rusty, and less sharp the higher they were to start with).

In MTU/ATU I've toyed with:

The Pilot is really only busy in normal space, but very busy then, and as (usually) senior rating aboard has to be the boss through jump, making sure the rest of the crew is doing their jobs. The leader role is small on smaller ships though, larger ships have actual command crew for this purpose.

The Navigator/Astrogator has to maintain a regular watch on the jump "flow" and "trim" the ship through jump to maintain a smooth, predictable, and safe trip. This is why automated jumps aren't done, they tend to go "off-trim" and get destroyed or lost. Nav is more art than math, and some suspect part magic/psionic (latent and subconscious though). Small ships with the Pilot handling Nav manage it because the crew is small enough to not need a boss.

The Engineer has to maintain pretty constant vigil over the power feeds when the ship is operating, he can rest when the ship sets down and powers down.

The Steward is busiest with passengers during jump, but also busy in port handling all the business of the ship. Of course a lot of that involves carousing so some might not see it as "work" so much.

The Medic is usually not very busy at any time, but has to be on call 24/7 until the ship lands in a friendly port where other medical facilities are available.

The Gunners have it the easiest, they are only needed in normal space, and then only if there is an actual threat. They typically double as ship security in jump space (more about being seen than doing) and manual labour in port.

 

[far-trader]

Page 141 MGT MRB "Gravity can cause a Jump bubble to collapse
prematurely, bringing a ship back into normal space early (so if a
ship tried to Jump from Earth to Mars when the Sun was between
the two, the vessel would fall out of Jump space as soon as it came
within one hundred diameters of the Sun."

That's a major change (if it is). At least without a clarification that "prematurely", "early", and "soon" refer to spatially and not chronologically. Traveller has always been 1 week* in jump space even if interrupted along the plot. So the example of jumping Earth to Mars with the Sun in the middle would have you spend a week in jumpspace and come out at the Sun 100d instead of at Mars 100d.

* or longer for misjumps, never less than a week, that would totally change the dynamics of jump travel, people would be able to build a J6 ship and plot a J6 jump with a purposeful plot of a world J1 distant "in the way" and get there in about a day instead of a week

 

[rust]

Yep, although considering the number of ships and of their jumps in the
Imperium I would expect it to happen at least once or twice each year.

Only if every Jump route had a planet on it...

Not once or twice per year and ship, only once or twice per year and Imperium.

 

[far-trader]

Not once or twice per year and ship, only once or twice per year and Imperium.

I guess it would depend on several factors. How many ships and how many rogue planets being the biggest. Though again, space is big, almost unimaginably so, and even with many many many more ships and rogue planets than I'd care to swallow as realistic I'd still say the odds are better that DFW will win the lottery jackpot 10 times this year, even if he never buys a ticket

I'd say (and I feel generous in even supposing it) once or twice EVER in the history of the Imperium.