Players wrecked their prototype ship, now what?

[renski]

Running a traveller game, which is the second campaign in my non-3rd imperium setting. The players got their hands on their civilisations very first jump cable ship. A TL9 2000 dTon exploration vessel.

They tested the jump drive by jumping into a blank hex and back, and then decided to go settle an old score and take on a TL12 800 dTon Missile Frigate. Technically they won the battle, but then abandoned ship on the shuttles after 24 nukes and 96 smart missiles caught up with them.

The causalities were two crew members, the J-Drive, the Power planet, every other turret and system, 20 points of structure, and the ship's cat (which sadly died on the operating table when the medic threw snake eyes). The total repair bill is going to be something like 150 MCr, and they've got ~60 MCr in reserves. I guess they're going to have to repair as much as the ship as they can afford.

To fix the structure based on 1d6 weeks per point it's going to take well over a year to get the ship fixed. Is this the correct interpretation?

I'm pretty sure they've learnt to respect and fear the Traveller space combat system. But does anyone have any thoughts on how to handle this? I think various players have little errands and training they'd like to do which should keep them busy for a few months at least.

That plus a few side adventures should pass the time easily enough I guess, but a few ideas would be welcome as they've (yet again) managed to completely derail the campaign. Last time they sold pretty much every plot device they came across.

What about their 30 remaining crew members? They're currently held up in a cheap hotel after getting out of hospital. Will they all want to stick around doing nothing for a year, especially considering one needs a replacement foot (alla cybernetics book trauma rules) and the rest must be pretty traumatised :twisted: .

Comments and thoughts on how to sort out this giant mess would be most welcome.

Thanks,

Renski

 

[BP]

...as they've (yet again) completely managed to derail the campaign.
...

What? How can that happen? :shock:

(Refer to http://darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0001.html)

Kidding aside - its sounds more like the rules are derailing the campaign. :wink:

I'd make those repairs take even longer! Then there is justification for the shipyard (or maybe a major investor of, or known to, same) providing a 'loaner'...

P.S. was there anything left of the Missile Frigate (salvage wise)?

 

[renski]

P.S. was there anything left of the Missile Frigate (salvage wise)?

Been thinking about that. Unlike the players it managed to keep fighting right until the last structure point. But, what does this mean?

I was thinking of randomising by rolling a couple of times on the Merchant Prince Salvage tables, and given it's high tech stuff the local worlds don't have access to I might apply a multiplier to it's worth.

 

[BP]

Ah, well, no structure means 'blow'd up, but good!' to me... to quote Core - 'A ship that runs out of Structure breaks up and is completely destroyed.'

Of course, you are the Ref - the meaning of 'completely destroyed' is up to your interpretation. Even 'destroyed' all the raw material is still there, just, er, re-arranged.

Personally, I'd say its no longer useful as a ship and individual major systems have all received damage. But that doesn't mean things couldn't be salvaged. The drives or power plant might even be repairable (maybe permanently at a lower rating) or worth some percentage of their original value at least.

Sure you can roll for these things - but keep in mind that the goal of rolling is to add randomness to the game - as a Ref there are times when its best that you use Referee fiat.

 

[Vargrz]

I agree it is up to the referee, but I'd consider the ship completely FUBAR! So salvage would be for raw materials (maybe).

Now to keep the rules from ruining the campaign, it sounds like the time for a patron to offer your crew some work while their ship is repaired. A year can be a desperate long time! Perhaps their action against the frigate drew some attention, and this is the seed for the next opportunity (or problem).

 

[GypsyComet]

I have no problem re-interpreting the loss of all structure points as "no longer qualifies as a ship", but then I've handed out ships that were, to paraphrase early helicopter crews, "10,000 parts flying in loose formation around an oil leak, held together by safety wire."

 

[BP]

:lol:

Ok Cap'n... we got her mostly back together, 'cept'n we ran outta vent tape and some daft fool wasted half our J-B Weld on that grav-block fracture we had last month...

 

[alex_greene]

Here's what you do.

The parts are crap, but you put them all together, and you got a Firefly. Thing'll run forever, if you've got a mechanic even half awake.

*sucks my lower lip, looking over the wreckage* Best offer I can make for those parts ...

 

[locarno24]

Well that was inept.

The obvious question is the phrase "old score" - if they were in the planet's first jump-capable ship, how did they have an old score to settle? Is anyone else going to turn up looking for the missile frigate?

Rather than waiting for a year whilst the prototype is fixed, maybe have them go on the run - sans ship - for a bit?

Does the overarching plot really need them to have a ship? Might be interesting to leave it as 'tough - deal with it'...

 

[steelbrok]

Or simply pick a career table (Pirate sounds appropriate!) roll survival, events etc (but no skills or mustering out benefits) and say:

"OK, it's now one year later, your repairs are completed and this is what you've been doing for the laast year"

 

[tneva82]

Well that was inept.

The obvious question is the phrase "old score" - if they were in the planet's first jump-capable ship, how did they have an old score to settle? Is anyone else going to turn up looking for the missile frigate?

Well he said about jumping to empty hex and BACK so I assume old score happened in the starting solar system.

Which raises up interesting question. That battle was probably observed by the home planet and the guys who designed the ship might be "tad" pissed off

Good reason for "run for it!" option

 

[tneva82]

(Refer to http://darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0001.html)

Thanks for the link! Just what I needed! How am I supposed to get anything done when I'm laughing my ass off on these Too funny and sadly all too true

 

[renski]

Well that was inept.

The obvious question is the phrase "old score" - if they were in the planet's first jump-capable ship, how did they have an old score to settle? Is anyone else going to turn up looking for the missile frigate?

The old score was the remnants of an invading alien fleet. We had a party wipe on the very last session of the last campaign. They did well enough to technically win, but not well enough stop the system population going from A to 8 and lose three out six inhabited planets/moons/asteroids. :evil: So all but one designers/builders of the ship is dead anyway.

Given the mass destruction and the liberal use by the enemy of nuclear weapons on the Garden world, they were meant to be looking for a new home world but decided they wanted their moon home back, which is a crater in a crater.

There's now only one half decent ship left in system, as their ship and a in system warship are in the docks for the rest of this year from battle damage (Another fight they were involved with). Luckly that ship belongs to the military of main faction, and they can't break that one.

Regarding the missile frigate, I was planning on giving them something less coherent than a wreckage. Good for wires and small components and such to sell to a junker.

Renski

 

[renski]

(Refer to http://darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0001.html)

Thanks for the link! Just what I needed! How am I supposed to get anything done when I'm laughing my ass off on these Too funny and sadly all too true

Yeah, thats awesome. I stayed up after the reading them!

 

[Gee4orce]

As a wise general once said, "no campaign plan survives contact with the players"

I'd take the opportunity to have some ground side adventures, as the PCs struggle to prevent the stranded crew 'going native' and getting embroiled in trouble at their temporary home (sounds like they don't need much help with that though). Go for an episodic approach, maybe taking 3 or 4 gaming sessions to cover the extended duration of the repairs - don't actually focus on the repairs though, aside from possible side-missions to acquire parts or personnel. Instead, have the crew throw up interpersonal problems that need to be resolved with a bit of roleplaying. You've got the chance here to do several adventures that all have a different flavour and feeling.

But most importantly, as soon as you sniff that the players are getting bored, just fast forward to the point where the ship is repaired and ready for flight. Perhaps in the downtime the PCs might have discovered a clue to some fantastic discovery that they can bring back home to offset the undoubtedly frosty reception they'll otherwise receive.

 

[far-trader]

...as they've (yet again) completely managed to derail the campaign.
...

What? How can that happen? :shock:

(Refer to http://darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0001.html)...

...curse you BP! And how could I have missed this until now?? Big fan and mid-plot joiner of the LoTR treatment previously. So much fun, so much time well wasted.

...in other words, thanks and I owe you. And yes, you might well take that as a warning or threat :twisted:

 

[Captain Jonah]

Well there is always the:

"You wrecked our ship, our first faster than light ship, the only hope for our entire people to reach the stars and maybe find help to deal with the devestation we suffered. All our resources to build this one prototype and you wreck it, look at it. Years of work, ruined, by you lot. You will pay for this, you hear me, you will pay"

Followed by one term as prisoners.

Bonue points, they get a new skill. Plot points, they can then escape, steal the newly repaired ship and become mercenaries for hire, if you can find them, if you can afford them

 

[BP]

...
The old score was the remnants of an invading alien fleet. ... Luckly that ship belongs to the military of main faction, and they can't break that one. ...

They can't?

If the players need a ship to continue your campaign - give them one. You've used alien's before, don't see why one can't end up in system for their 'use'. Crew dead or dying; returned out of guilt; needed help for revenge or to overthrow their own people; captured by the military ship while refueling; etc.

You could even make it an adventure for the party to capture the ship, or be involved in the capture *(as they'd probably screw it up otherwise ). From the sounds of it, the crew are valuable to the system for their experience with a jump capable ship.

P.S. - have very much enjoyed the Darth & Droids spoof myself, glad to pass the link along. (http://darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0001.html)

 

[BP]

... become mercenaries for hire, if you can find them, if you can afford them

Pity the Fools! :lol:

Of course they should be thrown in jail by some bald, cigar sporting, hot headed politico!

Then they should, of course, be released because the system needs them...

"I gotta do something here, I still can't believe it. I gotta give you your dream shot! .... But you remember one thing: if you screw up just this much [makes gesture with fingers], you'll be flying a cargo hauler full of rubber dog feces to the outer system..."

 

[rust]

And do not forget the regular visits by bureaucrats of the
internal revenue service who remind the characters that
the government is still waiting for those 90 MCr from the
starship's repair bill, and that last year nine children died
because the health service did not have enough money to
buy the pharmaceuticals required to save them, and that
this year a famine is threatening to wipe out the populati-
on of an entire region because the government could not
afford to import the fertilizer needed for this year's crop -
all this and more because of that 90 MCr bill ...