Planetary Governments E and F

[ShawnDriscoll]

Been running the numbers on my computer. Governments E and F will not show up if rolling 2D-2 for Planetary Population. So maybe add some notes in the rules that Populations B and C, along with Governments E and F, are referee choices to add rather than die roll choices. For players that might wonder why those results aren't coming up for them.

 

[grauenwolf]

Isn't there supposed to be some sort of modifier to population based on the planet's other characteristics?

 

[ShawnDriscoll]

Isn't there supposed to be some sort of modifier to population based on the planet's other characteristics?

I haven't seen one. My computer suggested using 4D4-4 for rolling population in the meantime.

Another problem is that Governments E and F are triggered when world populations are in the hundreds of billions and trillions mostly. I'm sure an F government can show up in just millions. Or are vastly populated worlds just going to end up with E and F as a run of course? The citizen is just too small in such societies, while the government has control of everything.

I haven't read enough sci-fi books from the '60s to know if this is a thing that Traveller avoided copying back in the '70s. And I haven't read all the setting stuff written for Mongoose that might be using such governments now.

 

[Old timer]

Actually they do come up, they are just rare. Planetary population is rolled as 2D-2, and government is rolled is 2d-7 plus the planets population. So if you rolled a 12 on 2D, which then becomes 10 (pop in the tens of billions) and then roll 2D-7 and rolled a 12 then, which would become 5 (12-7=5) and then add world pop (10), the result would be 15, government type F.
What i have noticed is planet pops of 11 and 12 seem to be impossible to create as there does not appear to be any mods to the population roll so the maximum roll is 10.

 

[ShawnDriscoll]

Ok. So 12 and another 12 then make an F. About 1 out of 20 worlds for me, using 4D4-4 for population. And around 1 out of 40 worlds, using 2D6-2 for population.

I just wasn't letting the computer run through loops enough times.

 

[Old timer]

Yes, and hence very rare.

 

[MongooseMatt]

Given their rarity, and given that we will have alternate methods of system creation later (starting with the Companion, most like), does anyone see an actual issue here?

 

[Old timer]

Short answer, no . These worlds are rare and the system generation reflects that.

 

[ShawnDriscoll]

Given their rarity, and given that we will have alternate methods of system creation later (starting with the Companion, most like), does anyone see an actual issue here?

Nope. I'm good here.