Ships of the Spinward Extents

[wintertraveller]

Congratulations and thank you to the authors and publishing team on Mongoose's recent additions to the Traveller Universe! Tiles such as Skandarsvik, Third Imperium, Glorious Empire, and Spinward Extents are all strong additions.

Is it me or do the ships published in Spinward Extents seem to be far more deadly per ton than those published in most other materials? I'm generally pleased to see these published ships take full advantage of High Guard. Nicely done.

I'm surprised to see use of quad turrets, core computers on ships below 3,000 tons, ubiquitous use of radiation shielding, and meson bays.

I love the new 2,400 ton Yurletyashi Class Frigate and also the new Murien Pulse Laser Bay. The 800 ton I'sred Fireship is super deadly. The I'sred aliens make great scary-alien antagonists.

One minor note on the Yurletyashi Class Frigate - the jump fuel volume isn't calculated to correctly take advantage of the Jump Drive's fuel reduction advantage. Am I wrong?

I am curious what you all think of the uses of quad turrets and other technologies mentioned earlier in the Traveller Universe? What are you thoughts regarding these trends in the new ships of the Spinward Extents?

Cheers

 

[Geir]

My bad on the Yurletyashi. You are correct and it doesn't account for the 36 tons saved. You could either double the endurance to 16 weeks (another 34 tons - so close and wouldn't change the deck plans much) and add two tons cargo, or just add 36 to the cargo capacity.
As for the quad turret on the Storm Knight Starfighter, the whole point of the ship is that it's a bit over the top, so I tossed it in there as an example of the mindset of the people who flew them.

A semi-unrelated note, since my current project is an update to the Central Supply Catalogue. There was one request to tag things that either weren't or were OTU items. Still rattling in my head, but the counterargument, which I'm leaning towards, is that Charted Space is a big place. Even within the Third Imperium there are going to be unusual technology innovations which might not have caught on. Unless they're physically impossible, they probably show up somewhere. The cover of the first Mongoose edition Zhodani book shows what looks like an arc-field weapon, and though old Traveller purists (and I'm sort of in this category - or at least old) might object to 'light-sabers' creeping into the environment, well they're not Imperial Standard Issue, but that doesn't mean they might not exist in certain cultures. Availability is the referee's control on items. If you don't want it in your campaign, you can set a negative availability DM to some huge number, or just plain ban it. Or make the quest for this rare (locally at least) item into an adventure.

 

[wintertraveller]

Geir, Thank you for your thoughtful comments and all of your work for the Traveller community.

 

[steelbrok]

My bad on the Yurletyashi. You are correct and it doesn't account for the 36 tons saved. You could either double the endurance to 16 weeks (another 34 tons - so close and wouldn't change the deck plans much) and add two tons cargo, or just add 36 to the cargo capacity.
As for the quad turret on the Storm Knight Starfighter, the whole point of the ship is that it's a bit over the top, so I tossed it in there as an example of the mindset of the people who flew them.

A semi-unrelated note, since my current project is an update to the Central Supply Catalogue. There was one request to tag things that either weren't or were OTU items. Still rattling in my head, but the counterargument, which I'm leaning towards, is that Charted Space is a big place. Even within the Third Imperium there are going to be unusual technology innovations which might not have caught on. Unless they're physically impossible, they probably show up somewhere. The cover of the first Mongoose edition Zhodani book shows what looks like an arc-field weapon, and though old Traveller purists (and I'm sort of in this category - or at least old) might object to 'light-sabers' creeping into the environment, well they're not Imperial Standard Issue, but that doesn't mean they might not exist in certain cultures. Availability is the referee's control on items. If you don't want it in your campaign, you can set a negative availability DM to some huge number, or just plain ban it. Or make the quest for this rare (locally at least) item into an adventure.

Way back when, Loren K Wiseman asked if anyone remembered a precedent for light sabres in Traveller (think he was GURPS Traveller line manager at the time). The consensus was that if anyone had them it would be the Darrians (some sort of controlled plasma type thingie). Out can GT Humaniti with a gut with a light sabre on the cover (more of a light knife IIRC). Think the artwork had landed and it caused a sudden "Uh oh, are these a thing in Traveller?" moment.

 

[Subzero001]

Does this book fulfill questions about the missing Aslan clans? Does this have any history of the "Humbolts"? Does this have anything about "Darrians" before their incident like a lost colony etc.. is this book worth aquiring for mainly solo play?

 

[G'Naakbusters]

There's implicit reference to the Humbolts. By which I mean, one of the human states in the region was boosted by the arrival of Imperials who are very likely the Humbolts or people associated with them. The name is never used, but if you know your Charted Space Traveller worldbuilding it's probably them. Certainly it supports that interpretation.

I don't recall any major mention of Darrians, though Sword Worlders and Sindalians are both commonly referenced as origin points for human populations in the region.

Local Aslan politics are explored a fair bit, since Aslan hold more than a subsector's worth of Beyond. There are two minor races introduced who are part of the Hierate, and so we learn about clan politics in the region. If you mean, "is there anything about Cultural Purge refugees", like the clans mentioned in Trojan Reach, then, no, none of those particular hooks are followed up on, unless I missed something.

 

[Geir]

There's implicit reference to the Humbolts. By which I mean, one of the human states in the region was boosted by the arrival of Imperials who are very likely the Humbolts or people associated with them. The name is never used, but if you know your Charted Space Traveller worldbuilding it's probably them. Certainly it supports that interpretation.

I don't recall any major mention of Darrians, though Sword Worlders and Sindalians are both commonly referenced as origin points for human populations in the region.

Local Aslan politics are explored a fair bit, since Aslan hold more than a subsector's worth of Beyond. There are two minor races introduced who are part of the Hierate, and so we learn about clan politics in the region. If you mean, "is there anything about Cultural Purge refugees", like the clans mentioned in Trojan Reach, then, no, none of those particular hooks are followed up on, unless I missed something.

Both Aioaoa (Beyo 1501) and Aueaiai (Beyo 3007) besides being randomly generated, consonant-free, yodel-like names, are both intended to be 'deviant' Aslan clan worlds.

There is a second more obscure potential Humbolt state (Bolt-hold?) in addition to the fairly obvious one. What you do with either reference, or rather implication, is entirely up to you... except I have a hankering for writing a Spinward Extents adventure or two after I finish this World Builder Handbook thing, and it might come up.

 

[G'Naakbusters]

Both Aioaoa (Beyo 1501) and Aueaiai (Beyo 3007) besides being randomly generated, consonant-free, yodel-like names, are both intended to be 'deviant' Aslan clan worlds.

There is a second more obscure potential Humbolt state (Bolt-hold?) in addition to the fairly obvious one. What you do with either reference, or rather implication, is entirely up to you... except I have a hankering for writing a Spinward Extents adventure or two after I finish this World Builder Handbook thing, and it might come up.

Oh, yeah, I forgot Aioaoa. Even though it's quite noticeable, being red-zoned and rather isolated in the middle of nowhere.