Psionics Prevention Measures

[CordwainerFish]

So, if I understand correctly : if a psion wants to teleport from 1 ship to another, the psion's ship must match vector with the target ship (otherwise, the psion might boil or freeze himself to death)...

Not freeze or boil, but rather appear inside the destination ship still keeping the relative velocity of the origination ship. Say hello to Mr. Bulkhead at however many meters per second.

I don't know how easy it is these days to get a hold of Larry Niven's essay "The Theory and Practice of Teleportation", but I'd bet long that it and/or Niven's fiction inspired Trav's rules.

 

[Geir]

1st FFW? or 1FW? Ugh.
FFW: First? Fourth? Fifth? Fifteenth? Final? Best to put a number in all the acronyms.

 

[Sigtrygg]

FFW is the usual abbreviation for the fifth, the earlier ones are usually numbered since they are historical.
1FW, 2FW, 3FW, 4FW, FFW.
Make any sense? Nope.

But since when has the Third Imperium been sensible or consistent?

 

[Geir]

But since when has the Third Imperium been sensible or consistent?

'3I'? Certainly not 'III' - and yet, 'III' is what is on the cover of MgT v1 sourcebooks - it makes sense in some sort of convoluted way.
I'll have to go back to a colleague's favourite Tech Support response (spoken with heavy accent): "I am very sorry, but that is the way that it is."

 

[Sigtrygg]

Does the Third Imperium refer to itself as such?

This adventure takes place in the Regina subsector, located on the far
spinward edge of the Imperium, about 44 weeks by express boat from the ruling
core, and more than three years out by ordinary transport. The lmperium itself is a
far-flung empire of 281 subsectors and over 11000 worlds.

Imperium: The lrnperium is a strong interstellar government encompassing 281
subsectors and approximately 11,000 worlds. Approximately 1100 years old, it
is the third human empire to control this area, the oldest, and the strongest. Nevertheless,
it is under strong pressure from i t s neighboring interstellar governments,
and does not have the strength nor the power which it once had.

The Vilani called their empire the Ziru Sirka, The Rule of Man was a continuation of the Ziru Sirka under Terran overlordship...

 

[ottarrus]

Does the Third Imperium refer to itself as such?





The Vilani called their empire the Ziru Sirka, The Rule of Man was a continuation of the Ziru Sirka under Terran overlordship...

I suppose it's an IMTU thing.
IMTU, the Third Imperium is very conscious of its history and therefore refers to itself as such in all official documentation and announcements. Colloquially, it's just 'the Imperium' as a casual reference.
I'll occasionally abbreviate it to 3-I in posts just to save space.

 

[ottarrus]

Not freeze or boil, but rather appear inside the destination ship still keeping the relative velocity of the origination ship. Say hello to Mr. Bulkhead at however many meters per second.

I don't know how easy it is these days to get a hold of Larry Niven's essay "The Theory and Practice of Teleportation", but I'd bet long that it and/or Niven's fiction inspired Trav's rules.

Well, the teleportation rules specifically mention excessive heating/cooling of the body when teleporting. And yes, just like with real estate, teleporters are concerned about 'location, location, location'.
This is why Imperial troops will often thread thin wire in clearings or depressions where clairvoyants might direct teleporters. Nothing like popping into existence with 4 strands of wire running through your body... especially if one of them is tied to a grenade... Again, the Imperium has had 500 years of warfare with the Consulate to figure out countermeasures - - and the Consulate has had 500 years to work out counter-countermeasures. It's all part of the nastiness of warfare.

 

[alex_greene]

Well, the teleportation rules specifically mention excessive heating/cooling of the body when teleporting. And yes, just like with real estate, teleporters are concerned about 'location, location, location'.
This is why Imperial troops will often thread thin wire in clearings or depressions where clairvoyants might direct teleporters. Nothing like popping into existence with 4 strands of wire running through your body... especially if one of them is tied to a grenade... Again, the Imperium has had 500 years of warfare with the Consulate to figure out countermeasures - - and the Consulate has had 500 years to work out counter-countermeasures. It's all part of the nastiness of warfare.

There's one small problem with tripwires / monofilament traps. People have to go through there afterwards, like maintenance people, passengers, crew. You can't clear all those little traps, especially if the idiot who planted them gets killed before he can tell the rest of the crew what he's done.

 

[ottarrus]

Something I think bears mentioning about teleporting troops...
Zhodani Guard Commandos are essentially science fiction paratroops, and you deal with them using many of the World War Two countermeasures. Primarily, you attempt to interdict all the battalion sized landing zones via several means... flooding, wire obstacles, minefields, etc.
The groupment clairvoyants can't see everything, and the defender doesn't know which area they've identified. It's impractical to booby trap every single wide spot... those traps restrict your movement too. So you set traps and obstacles at random and move them often.

 

[Condottiere]

The Zhodani should test for candidates who are good at dice rolling.

 

[ottarrus]

There's one small problem with tripwires / monofilament traps. People have to go through there afterwards, like maintenance people, passengers, crew. You can't clear all those little traps, especially if the idiot who planted them gets killed before he can tell the rest of the crew what he's done.

Certainly true.
But there are several tech solutions to much of that. Modern Earth militaries are experimenting with land mines that have detonators with a deactivation timer in them... if the mine hasn't been triggered within a certain amount of time, the detonator deactivates and the mine become inert. It's still dangerous [we are talking about explosives here], but far less deadly to passers-by.
It's also within the Imperium's technological base to make wire that decays. You pull the wire off the reel and when it is snipped, it begins a countdown. After a certain timeframe, the wire breaks down into its constituent atoms and blows away.

 

[ottarrus]

The Zhodani should test for candidates who are good at dice rolling.

Not just the Zhodani....
"I survived Character Generation..."

 

[Condottiere]

Darwinism in action.

 

[alex_greene]

Rules lawyers, desperate to cover every, single, hole in their battle plans, and forgetting the Golden Rule of "No battle plan ever survived first contact with the enemy."
ANY. Enemy.

 

[ottarrus]

I really like your parallel between NBC and anti-psion training.
(And, boy, did those noddy suits make you sweat in hot weather!)

Thanks! Yeah, I thought it was a good comparison in a 'red delicious v granny smith apple' kind of way.
And yeah, there is nothing quite like the stink of sweat, oil, ammonia main gun propellant, gun powder, and a pair of charcoal pants impregnated with all four!

 

[k0k0pelli]

I would be more worried about psions in diplomacy and spy situations than combat. If I understand things correctly psions of any significant power make a small percentage of the overall Zhodani population.

Sure they could be used in direct confrontation but movies aside there is a reason elite forces such as SF, Marine Force Recon, and SAS are not frontline troops. Scouting, guerilla warfare, hit and run, and maybe sabotage but not conventional warfare.

Dropping an elite, very expensively trained, force into a ship might work in very specific circumstances but you would need the very specifically trained force in the right place on a ship that manages to match direction precisely enough to do the teleportation and then they would need to take out the ship then escape with them knowing the destination and still matching vector.

That is a lot of risk to highly expensive troops for marginal gain. Far better to use them for surgical, carefully planned strikes or intelligence gathering. Trained psions as a military force are truly a potential game changer, but they can fall to a grunt with 6 weeks of basic training and an automatic rifle like anyone else.

 

[Sigtrygg]

How does the teleporter displace all the air at their arrival point?
If they can displace air can they displace water?
Can they displace solids?
Is it a case of they air they replace being teleported back to their point of origin?

 

[k0k0pelli]

How does the teleporter displace all the air at their arrival point?
If they can displace air can they displace water?
Can they displace solids?
Is it a case of they air they replace being teleported back to their point of origin?

Who knows, I would say they displace any non-solid gas or liquid. thunder at the area of departure

As far as solids I would argue they either appear in the closest unobstructed area or the teleport fails. I could see the argument towards appearing in a solid being lethal but the power with conservation of energy and momentum is enough of a limitation without that IMHO.

Or teleportation could be a slow effect like a star trek teleporter. in which case the air would displace or fill in over time, preventing a rapid change.

 

[ottarrus]

Who knows, I would say they displace any non-solid gas or liquid. thunder at the area of departure

As far as solids I would argue they either appear in the closest unobstructed area or the teleport fails. I could see the argument towards appearing in a solid being lethal but the power with conservation of energy and momentum is enough of a limitation without that IMHO.

Or teleportation could be a slow effect like a star trek teleporter. in which case the air would displace or fill in over time, preventing a rapid change.

IMTU, a teleporter displaces air, water, and LIGHT objects when they 'port in. A light tree branch would bend to accommodate the 'porter's mass, but a thick branch or a tree trunk definitely would not.
If the teleporter rolled a fumble on their skill die roll, I'd probably have them make a mishap skill check vs their PSI score [NOT PSI+skill level]. If they succeed, they expend the PSI strength but fail to teleport... essentially no harm no foul... But if they fumble the mishap check, things get very bad. 'Very bad' being 'up to and including the possibility of 'porting into an object'.

 

[Condottiere]

What can be displaced, will be displaced.