Small Craft Jump/FTL drives

[Infojunky]

Wait.. what? Now we're getting into a weird state of semantics. Page 105 specifically states "Small craft are any vessel under 100 tons; all small craft are *incapable* of Jump...". Where is it written anywhere in the Traveller rules since they were created that 100 tons is a small craft let alone small craft can have Jump? I thought we were hypothetically designing small jump ships and now we're creeping back to yes they exist.

Heh, ain't it grand!

We could go into volumetric evaluations of Traveller Spacecraft next.....

 

[Lord High Munchkin]

We could go into volumetric evaluations of Traveller Spacecraft next.....

Given modern computing, that isn't so hard.

 

[Infojunky]

We could go into volumetric evaluations of Traveller Spacecraft next.....

Given modern computing, that isn't so hard.

Darn a spreadsheet makes it a breeze, in fact weird Traveller related spreadsheets get drive a lot of my madness.... (Though a certain instructor of upper division statistics used to deride my use of spreadsheets, but that is because he would get lost in the Calculus behind them)

Ok I can't resist.....

Figure it this way, the Standard drives are all internally based on a 200 dTon increment as a core part of their volume equation. Thus the core base hull is 200 dTons, which also sets the basic range of volumes for these drives. Thus with theoretical base volume of 200 dTons and a max theoretical volume of 1600 dTons we get the center of the class. So with a generous rounding factor can be sett at 100 to 2000 dTons as a class.... Where does the 1600 come from you ask, well if you look at the problem from the gross outer dimensions point of view with 200 dtons equaling your 1 unit cube then you two unit cube will have 8 times the volume thus 1600.

See I was doing this from a 100 dton assumed base hull volume and the class had 2 steps instead of one. i.e. 100 dTons, 800 dtons and 2700 dtons, but these are odd in the fact they don't follow the internal consistency of the 200 dton increment with the drive calculations, while the 200 dTon with a healthy rounding factor does.

 

[Condottiere]

According to Mongoose, hundred tons is Shrodingered into being both small and large craft, the difference apparently being the bridge, the number and type of armaments and the drives.

 

[atpollard]

Just jumping in with my 2 cents ...
There should exist a 100 dTon Jump-1 ship, so there is a missing Jump Drive about half the size of the JD-A (based upon the internal logic of the game).

Except the jump drives really baseline at 200 tons, not 100. 100 tons is just the smallest hull that can, OTU, jump safely.

So what happens at TL 9 when you insert a TL 9 JD A into a 100 dTon hull?
The civilization jumps to TL 11 and J2?

... seriously, I understand your point and see the logic in it, but the ship performance table then proceeds to advance in 100 dTon increments.
Also, While not binding on Mongoose Traveller, there is also the body of other Traveller Rules (beginning with the original Classic Traveller High Guard and including T5) that allow a 100 ton J1 ship ... to suggest that 100 dT Jump 1 ships do exist in the Third Imperium.
YMMV.

 

[GypsyComet]

Not at all. Just because the Vilani were cramming enough drive into their scout ships to fling them at J2 doesn't mean they knew how. Not a trivial matter, either, since the Vilani made do with J1 for 5,000 years. That gap between the rifts gets a LOT bigger when you only know Jump-1.

 

[Infojunky]

Not at all. Just because the Vilani were cramming enough drive into their scout ships to fling them at J2 doesn't mean they knew how. Not a trivial matter, either, since the Vilani made do with J1 for 5,000 years. That gap between the rifts gets a LOT bigger when you only know Jump-1.

Well they did until Book 5 came out....

 

[GypsyComet]

Not at all. Just because the Vilani were cramming enough drive into their scout ships to fling them at J2 doesn't mean they knew how. Not a trivial matter, either, since the Vilani made do with J1 for 5,000 years. That gap between the rifts gets a LOT bigger when you only know Jump-1.

Well they did until Book 5 came out....

Well, since the story of the Vilani wasn't told that far back until after Book 5...

 

[sideranautae]

Here's my games drive table.

I currently don't allow <100 ton starships. But the table could be used to go that way.

 

[phavoc]

Here's my games drive table.

I currently don't allow <100 ton starships. But the table could be used to go that way.

Do you allow the current TL rule that lets you buy an item one TL early but pay a penalty for it?

 

[sideranautae]

Here's my games drive table.

I currently don't allow <100 ton starships. But the table could be used to go that way.

Do you allow the current TL rule that lets you buy an item one TL early but pay a penalty for it?

No. Only a Gov of a Rich or Ind. planet can do that as a proto-type device. IMTU.

 

[Condottiere]

Presumably, a TL8 jump drive prototype is larger than ten tons, and costs double; similarly a fusion plant prototype, which all things considered. might be cheaper to operate than a fission plant.

Considering the capability to visit other star systems, it seems a worthwhile investment.