Popular starting ship size for four players?

[valthonis]

We're starting our very first Traveller campaign, Yeay!, but as the GM I'm torn between what size of ship to give the players.

Also, partly related, we're doing the hyperspace variant for travel so thus the double jump drive size, but does it still take the normal jump fuel costs to open a jump portal? IE a 200 Ton ship with Class A jump drive needs 20 fuel for a class 1 jump, I would assume opening a jump portal has that same requirement?

Thanks!

 

[DFW]

We're starting our very first Traveller campaign, Yeay!, but as the GM I'm torn between what size of ship to give the players.

Also, partly related, we're doing the hyperspace variant for travel so thus the double jump drive size, but does it still take the normal jump fuel costs to open a jump portal? IE a 200 Ton ship with Class A jump drive needs 20 fuel for a class 1 jump, I would assume opening a jump portal has that same requirement?

Thanks!

page 109 Main Rule Book. Paragraph titled Hyperspace Drive has the fuel requirements.

 

[valthonis]

Yep, it just mentions there are no additional fuel costs and that the ship travels 1 parsec per day (parsec = hex on system map right?)

 

[rust]

Yep, it just mentions there are no additional fuel costs and that the ship travels 1 parsec per day (parsec = hex on system map right?)

The hyperspace drive requires only the reactor fuel, no jump fuel at all.
And yes, 1 hex = 1 parsec.

 

[DFW]

Yep, it just mentions there are no additional fuel costs and that the ship travels 1 parsec per day (parsec = hex on system map right?)

Exactly. So, if it requires no fuel, and you don't have a jump drive installed, how much fuel do you need for hyperspace travel?

 

[far-trader]

Yeah, seems poorly written to me too valthonis.

Since (bold for emphasis is mine - italic is my suggested clarification):

"The alternative drives below use all the same rules as the Jump drive (mass, fuel, power consumption, range) unless otherwise stated."

"The portal drive... uses its manoeuvre drives to travel... in hyperspace, the spacecraft moves at a rate of one parsec per day per manoeuvre drive rating."

...it follows that the "jump drive" (mass, fuel, power consumption, range) is always going to be the minimum required. You don't need J6 to go 6 parsecs, just J1 and 6 days with a 1G maneuver drive. The only thing I might house rule is that you need the portal drive to match the maneuver drive to take full advantage of the speed. For example if you want to use a 2G drive to travel 2 parsecs per day in hyperspace then you need a J2 drive and fuel.

As for the "right size" of ship, I'd suggest one that has a crew role for each player character as a minimum. This could also mean NPC crew if the players are all after the glory roles and don't want the dirty jobs.

 

[far-trader]

Yep, it just mentions there are no additional fuel costs and that the ship travels 1 parsec per day (parsec = hex on system map right?)

The hyperspace drive requires only the reactor fuel, no jump fuel at all.

I beg to differ (and again fault the way the description is written and lack of an example, poor playtesting, proofing, and editing leading to this discussion that shouldn't be necessary). The key to me is "additional". There are no additional costs noted, but the basic "use all the same rules as the Jump drive (mass, fuel, power consumption, range)" must still be met. So to open a hyperspace gate in the first place you need a Jump drive and fuel. The question being how much? Is a J1 enough? Will that only permit M1 speed through hyperspace? Do you need a J# matched to M# for full speed # through hyperspace?

 

[rust]

High Guard is a bit clearer:

A hyperspace drive uses no fuel but requires double the space of
a jump drive that can travel the equivalent distance.

The hyperspace drive only uses energy from the power plant to open
the portal, and the ship uses the normal maneuver drive to enter hy-
perspace through this portal and to move through hyperspace, at a
speed equivalent to the maneuver drive rating in parsec per day.

 

[far-trader]

High Guard is a bit clearer:

A hyperspace drive uses no fuel but requires double the space of
a jump drive that can travel the equivalent distance.

A bit, but not much. So, Core needs errata if it's not already been added to the list.

OK, so hyperspace opening requires no fuel is cleared up. But the "a jump drive that can travel the equivalent distance" is nonsensical.

Hyperspace drive travel distance/time is maneuver drive based. What does it matter if I have a Hyperspace Drive 1 or 6? I can still travel 6 parsecs in 6 days with a M1 drive. The only difference is with a H1 drive I have to open the window 6 times instead of once for the H6 drive. At a huge savings in cost and mass. Oh and I only need a P1 instead of a P6 saving even more. Really, does anyone think these things out before writing them? And again an example (well a good example) would not only explain it better it would have had the writer realize the issue in the first place.

 

[DFW]

I beg to differ

It requires no jump fuel as it isn't a jump drive and you don't enter jump space. Thus, no fuel for formation of the jump bubble.

"Traditionally, the only form of faster-than-light movement in Traveller has been the classic Jump drive, which always takes one week to
travel a number of parsecs equal to its Jump rating and consumes a vast amount of fuel."

"Some of these drives consume much less fuel"

"A hyperspace drive consumes no extra fuel, but takes up twice as much space as a jump drive."

One must read and apply the info from the entire page (109)

 

[DFW]

Hyperspace drive travel distance/time is maneuver drive based. What does it matter if I have a Hyperspace Drive 1 or 6? I can still travel 6 parsecs in 6 days with a M1 drive. The only difference is with a H1 drive I have to open the window 6 times instead of once for the H6 drive. At a huge savings in cost and mass. Oh and I only need a P1 instead of a P6 saving even more. Really, does anyone think these things out before writing them? And again an example (well a good example) would not only explain it better it would have had the writer realize the issue in the first place.

I see what you are driving at now. This is as bad as ships with no lifting surfaces being able to glide. Yes, editing is extremely poor.

 

[rust]

What does it matter if I have a Hyperspace Drive 1 or 6?

It determines the size of the portal into hyperspace, for example a hyper-
space drive A opens a portal for ships up to 200 dtons, a hyperspace dri-
ve F opens a portal for ships up to 1,400 dtons. Apart from opening the
portal, the hyperspace drive has nothing at all to do with the speed of the
movement through hyperspace, this depends only on the maneuver drive
rating: 1 = 1 parsec/day, 2 = 2 parsec/day, and so on.

 

[valthonis]

So theorectically the hyperspace drives would allow ships without hyperspace drives to travel between systems too. Much like Babylon 5, assuming the escorting ships can fit into the portal created.

Could be a fun way to make hyperspace equipped ships more rare if one takes the similar jump gate aspect of B5.

 

[DFW]

So theorectically the hyperspace drives would allow ships without hyperspace drives to travel between systems too. Much like Babylon 5, assuming the escorting ships can fit into the portal created.

No.

 

[valthonis]

Why not? If there is a ship to open the portal at the other end the ships simply use their M-Drive to navigate hyperspace...

 

[DFW]

Why not? If there is a ship to open the portal at the other end the ships simply use their M-Drive to navigate hyperspace...

Same reason you couldn't do it in Star Wars.

 

[rust]

Why not? If there is a ship to open the portal at the other end the ships simply use their M-Drive to navigate hyperspace...

I think you could interpret it this way, but as I read the rules the ship
needs to have a hyperspace drive. However, it would of course be pos-
sible to use a "tender", a huge ship with an oversized hyperdrive which
transport ships without a hyperdrive through hyperspace.

 

[valthonis]

DFW:
I guess it depends if its Hyperspace like Star Wars or Hyperspace like B5wars.

 

[rust]

Since the hyperspace drive is "non-canonical" anyway and its use makes
it necessary to either rewrite much of the Third Imperium setting or to
use a different setting, you can of course handle it any way you like, in-
cluding the way it was used in Babylon 5.

 

[DFW]

DFW:
I guess it depends if its Hyperspace like Star Wars or Hyperspace like B5wars.

I usually go by what system inspired the rule for the game being played. In this case, Star Wars. But, it's up to the GM always.