Slower Than Light Ships - A Rules System

[Mithras]

Hi, I stumbled over this set of rules I wrote last year for a campaign set in the Solar System. I never did run it, but I thought someone else might want to use the rules or add to them, or rewrite them!

If anyone does - let me know please, I'd love it reality checked, play-tested or rewritten

http://www.geocities.com/zozergames/building_stl_ships.pdf

 

[Mithras]

Actually, I might have stopped work on it because I had trouble getting slow boat and fusion ship economics to work, slow boats just didn't seem economical and never made money. Needs addressing I think.

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

Slow boats probably never should make money. They will be government sponsored research and exploration craft.

Until fusion/Torch drives come along (or gravitics) the economics shouldn't be able to work. Such is reality.

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

I just did a quick take on your writeup and I am quite impressed.

Using the jump fuel volume as a generic way to calculate reaction mass is a GREAT idea.

I am going to dig out my old rocket propulsion books to see how accurate that is, but as a first approximation it makes perfect sense and should be "good enough" for most people who don't want to delve into Specific Impulse and Reaction Mass Exhaust Velocities and do the calculus.

GOOD STUFF!

 

[Golan2072]

This looks VERY good - far better than what I had in mind when I thought of STL Traveller.

 

[Mithras]

I know people have speculated in the past as to whether the M drive is gravitic or a fusion drive or something, but the fact that it takes only power from the powerplant and no fuel at all told me years ago that it was a gravitic drive.

I figured I'd need huge amount of reaction mass for the fusion drive: it seemed it quick fix for me. Glad you like it!

I wanted slow boats to be family concerns, cheap cargo haulers like the ships in Ben Bova's Mercury (or the Earth Cargo Service from Star Trek: Enterprise). While megacorps and governments can afford to build fantastic new fusion torch craft.

Must tinker a bit more I think; make slow boats marginally above break-even, with fusion craft very very expensive to buy and operate.

 

[AKAmra]

Wow, my rules notes tend to be bullet points in a text document, this is very nice. Thanks.

 

[Mithras]

I've been looking at the rules again tonight. I think my problem is, I was using Traveller OTU prices for travel and cargo shipment in a universe where such things are very expensive, due to the huge costs and transit times.

I've made a minor revision of fuel: Slow Boats 0.1MassxMn and Fusion ships 0.2MassxMn.

And I'm x10 all passenger prices, cargo gets a hefty increase too.

Now I'll go back and look at the economics....

 

[captainjack23]

Cudos, mithras. This is very good. You should consider having this as at least a PDF OGL product.