Some questions regarding Traveller

[Iron Guardian]

Don't know if these have been brought up before, but I have a couple of questions:

1) Movement -- Currently the Aslan and Vargr have special movement abilities similar to sprinting per the Athletic/Sprinting skill. Can Aslan and Vargr sprint as per the skill in addition to their special move ability or are they meant to be used separately? In other words:
-can they combine special move with Athletics/Sprinting?
-are they to be used separately?
-or is the Aslan and Vargr special movement used in place of Athletics/Sprinting?
In addition, certain augments also affect movement...how does this work in conjunction with the racial movement abilities and/or Athletics/Sprinting?

2) Grav Belts -- Other than a short write-up in the core rules, no further mention is ever made regarding them. I kind of expected some further info in either the Central Supply Catalog or the Civilian Vehicles books...but nothing is written. My group and I are wondering what they look like, how they operate (i.e. can you fire weapons while using one?), if any special clothing should be worn considering the speeds they are capable of...etc. I know there are some built-in to Battledress and that an augment in the cybernetics book exists, but I have the same questions regarding them.

:? :? :?

 

[Stainless]

RE: grav belts. I've always envisaged them as looking something like this (from the MegaTraveller days);

i.e., not a belt as such, more like a harness. In fact, like bike leathers would probably make more sense;

 

[rust]

And the desription in MegaTraveller was:

Grav Belt: A standard-issue Tech Level 12 grav belt looks
like a parachute harness with a “stiffener” that runs down the
back and has a series of artificial gravity modules around the
waist. The grav belt weighs about 10 kg, but once it is turned
on, a neutral control setting eliminates this weight.
This configuration provides 300 kg of thrust for four hours
between charges. The grav belt has a maximum speed in an
atmosphere of 300 kph, a cruising speed of 225 kph, and a
nap-of-earth speed of 40 kph.

Other parts of Mega Traveller mention grav belt equipped units armed
with FGMPs, so I would think that it is indeed possible to fire a weapon
while using a grav belt.

 

[Tasha]

And the desription in MegaTraveller was:

Grav Belt: A standard-issue Tech Level 12 grav belt looks
like a parachute harness with a “stiffener” that runs down the
back and has a series of artificial gravity modules around the
waist. The grav belt weighs about 10 kg, but once it is turned
on, a neutral control setting eliminates this weight.
This configuration provides 300 kg of thrust for four hours
between charges. The grav belt has a maximum speed in an
atmosphere of 300 kph, a cruising speed of 225 kph, and a
nap-of-earth speed of 40 kph.

Other parts of Mega Traveller mention grav belt equipped units armed
with FGMPs, so I would think that it is indeed possible to fire a weapon
while using a grav belt.

IIRC high Tech FGMP and PGMP's are all grav Compensated for recoil, so shouldn't cause any problems from firing while using a grav Belt

 

[Iron Guardian]

Ok, but how does one control thrust and manuevering since the descriptions seem to imply they are "hands-free", psionics being illegal and no mention of some kind of cyberlinks being used (...knowing of course that the idea of cyberware was just entering into science fiction around the time MegaTraveller came out courtesy of William Gibson and others IIRC). My thinking on this being how would somebody conduct an aerial "dogfight" using grav-belts which would involve lots of manuevering and changes in speed while firing away at someone. :?

Also still awaiting answers to my first question as well...

 

[far-trader]

Ok, but how does one control thrust and manuevering since the descriptions seem to imply they are "hands-free", psionics being illegal and no mention of some kind of cyberlinks being used...

At least one of the previous rules sets described it as (optionally) being controlled by a linked HUD (heads up display) with eye-tracking software (look to control). You could probably throw voice command into it too for some functions.

 

[Stainless]

In 2011 we already have direct neuronal control of robot prosthetic arms, so I doubt hands-off control will be a problem by that tech level. However, considering the speeds and altitudes you can get to, I would not advise a buttock control mechanism! :lol:

 

[AndrewW]

IIRC high Tech FGMP and PGMP's are all grav Compensated for recoil, so shouldn't cause any problems from firing while using a grav Belt

FGMP's include a gravity suspension system to reduce their inertia.

 

[d(sqrt(-1))]

In 2011 we already have direct neuronal control of robot prosthetic arms, so I doubt hands-off control will be a problem by that tech level. However, considering the speeds and altitudes you can get to, I would not advise a buttock control mechanism! :lol:

Hey that brings a new meaning to the term "afterburner"!

 

[alex_greene]

Wing suits.

Edit: So that's what Batman looks like under his cowl. His costume really doesn't work during the day. :lol:

From this site:

"A wingsuit-only landing is not possible just yet, but a project to achieve that is underway!"

Hopefully, that will be a lot more feasible in an era of grav belts.

Ideas:

As prototech devices, grav belts resemble those huge rocket packs like the ones James Bond used in Thunderball - basically, some bored aeronautics student straps a single grav propulsor to a sturdy webbing harness, throws in a rudimentary control and a battery, for a bet, and lets rip.

His successor, after clearing up the mess and attending his predecessor's funeral, patents the device and gets the government contract to make more, only smaller and cheaper for front line deployment.

A tech level or two later, they're using wing suits with custom-built micro grav units built into the fabric. Not so much grav belts any more, more grav suits.

On a personal note, my characters' Ship's Lockers have had these babies since I restarted Refereeing Traveller.

One benefit of grav belt wing suits - characters now have the option of using three skills with them. Flyer (grav belt), Zero-G and Athletics (flight).

Read that again. I allow wingless human characters the option of learning the Flight speciality of Athletics.

Edit: Corrected once again, with thanks.

 

[barnest2]

As prototech devices, grav belts resemble those huge rocket packs like the ones James Bond used in Thunderball - basically, some bored aeronautics student straps a single grav propulsor to a sturdy webbing harness, throws in a rudimentary control and a battery, for a bet, and lets rip

Fixed that for you :lol:

 

[atpollard]

1) Movement -- Currently the Aslan and Vargr have special movement abilities similar to sprinting per the Athletic/Sprinting skill. Can Aslan and Vargr sprint as per the skill in addition to their special move ability or are they meant to be used separately? In other words:
-can they combine special move with Athletics/Sprinting?
-are they to be used separately?
-or is the Aslan and Vargr special movement used in place of Athletics/Sprinting?

In addition, certain augments also affect movement...how does this work in conjunction with the racial movement abilities and/or Athletics/Sprinting?

I have no ‘Official Powers’ to answer, but strictly In My Opinion:

Innate Racial Abilities, Skills gained through Special Training, and Artificial Augmentations are three completely different items and can indeed be stacked.

In combat terms, I could purchase a rifle that is innately more accurate than the average rifle. I could then attend sniper school and improve my skill at shooting a rifle. Upon graduation, I could visit a high tech world and purchase and advanced sighting system for my rifle that improved long range accuracy. No one would argue that I can either buy a quality rifle, or learn to shoot, or purchase a good scope, but I could not combine the benefits.

In exactly the same way, I could be born with innate ability, improve it through training and augment it with cybernetic enhancements.

One caveat, if each ‘benefit’ were to double the base speed, a reasonable referee would probably not allow the benefits to magnify previous benefits unreasonably. For example, if Race doubled base movement and training doubled base movement and augments doubled the base movement, I would be reluctant to allow them to directly combine as Base Movement x 2 x 2 x 2 = Base Movement x 8. I would rather allow them to combine as Base Movement x 2 for any 1 improvement, Base Movement x 3 for any 2 improvements, and Base Movement x 4 for all 3 improvements. Each augment improves base movement by a certain amount and the Incremental Improvements all add to the base movement.

I hope that made sense to you.

 

[DFW]

Ok, but how does one control thrust and manuevering since the descriptions seem to imply they are "hands-free", psionics being illegal and no mention of some kind of cyberlinks being used (...knowing of course that the idea of cyberware was just entering into science fiction around the time MegaTraveller came out courtesy of William Gibson and others IIRC). My thinking on this being how would somebody conduct an aerial "dogfight" using grav-belts which would involve lots of manuevering and changes in speed while firing away at someone. :?

Well, a couple years ago, (TL 7) I saw a helmet demonstrated that monitored brain waves and allowed basic control of an airplane & firing of weapons. Combine that with HUD
and add 2 TL's.

There ya go.

**For the record, this is what is used by bridge personnel IMTU**

 

[simonh]

In exactly the same way, I could be born with innate ability, improve it through training and augment it with cybernetic enhancements.

I can't resist throwing one small spanner into the works here.

In this case the 'ability' you are born with is actualy the physical structure of your body in terms of bones, joint articulation and musculature. These are what give you a movement ability. Cybernetics don't enhance those, they actualy replace them, perhaps completely, and possibly with a replacement that isn't even the same shape.

Simon Hibbs

 

[Iron Guardian]

Ok, for grav-belts I may go with three options being available:

1) A"civilian" version with attached arm-rest controls utilizing both arms kind of like the old "James Bond" jetpack style that would be somewhat cheaper than the regular one;
2) an upgraded "civilian" version utilizing the HUD mentioned before in place of the arm-rests for regular price;
3) a "military" version with attached weapon mountings if I am reading previous entries correctly (not sure if previous entries indicated whether the high-energy weapons had built-in grav/gyro-stabilizers or if those were part of the belt, haven't really read much on these weapons yet as my group is a bunch of adventurers, not mercs...same with battledress stuff). Maybe cost a bit more because of the mountings...

I also figure users would probably need a flight suit of some sort with helmets (or at least something to protect the face and provide respirator functions). Skill-wise, I am thinking Zero-G (lvl 0) for option 1 version, Zero-G (Grav-Belt, lvl 1) for versions 2 and 3. As a positive DM, I would give a +1 DM to skill roll if user is wearing a wing-flight suit when performing manuevers. Just mulling all this over right now and seeing if anyone has anymore input on this , thanks for the help so far!

As for my first question on movement, I think I will go with the stacking (natural move + athletics skill + augments). Regarding augments, I am thinking (based on the cybernetics book rules) that if the augment is artificial (non- bio-organic), no stacking. If the augment is bio-ware, then stacking could occur since it is more "natural." If the augment provides a different means of movement (i.e. a bi-ped that can use quadro-pedal movement) and is bio-ware, then I would probably enforce the optional rule In Cybernetics regarding training (requiring a skill roll with perhaps the multi-action penalty applied if they are trying to use both athletics and their new movement skill). 8)

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

At 400 kph, a flight suit would be a necessity.

By TL12, HUDs are pretty common, I think I would just use that as the standard civilian version.

FGMPs and other High Tech weapons have built-in Grav Stabalizing, it is not part of the Grav Belt.

 

[Iron Guardian]

I assume by grav-stabilizing, that also means gyro-stabilizing?

I am thinking I might still keep the option 1 civilian models around as I figure they could be the precursors to the more modern HUD models...kind of "vintage" models and have the minimum skill be the same for all options as Zero-G/Grav-Belt 0 then. I may also have the "arm-rests" controls as attachments that could be bought as sort of back-up if something should happen to the HUD (hopefully while the character is not using it and flying about :twisted: ), especially since there are many lower tech worlds about where HUDs may not be available to buy. Of course characters could purchase additional HUDs but I could make the arm-rest attachments cheaper* (NOTE: Do not have any rulesbooks handy at the moment so I am kind of just winging it here). In any case, this may seem rather trivial overall, but GM's including me around this area tend to be a devious lot. :twisted: :twisted:

*Do not recall how much HUDs are, but if they are fairly cheap I could still have the arm-rest attachments around for roleplaying purposes -- i.e. religious beliefs forbid use of augments or augment-like devices that "become" part of the body, characters want to give their belt a "vintage" feel, physical handicap that precludes use of certain devices like allergies. What can I say, I am an "old-school" type of guy in some ways... :wink:

 

[DFW]

I assume by grav-stabilizing, that also means gyro-stabilizing?

No, accelerometers that hook to the grav system to compensate more recoil/motion.

 

[Iron Guardian]

Oh. I assume gyro-stabilizing is also part of it to compensate for any fancy manuevering? Or is grav-stabilizing an enhanced version? I never took any physics courses back when I was younger so any distinctions are kind of lost on me. My physics knowledge is pretty much the really basic stuff. :? Heck, I fell behind our real world tech curve back around the mid-to-late 'nineties when I learned that something called an MP3 player had come out about a year or two before. Been somewhat behind ever since...

 

[DFW]

Oh. I assume gyro-stabilizing is also part of it to compensate for any fancy manuevering? Or is grav-stabilizing an enhanced version? I never took any physics courses back when I was younger so any distinctions are kind of lost on me. My physics knowledge is pretty much the really basic stuff. :? Heck, I fell behind our real world tech curve back around the mid-to-late 'nineties when I learned that something called an MP3 player had come out about a year or two before. Been somewhat behind ever since...

Gyros in aircraft/ships simply resist motion (thus detect changes) and hook to nav & control systems. They are large and bulky. You'd never use them on something this small.

Multi-axis accelerometers detect magnitude and direction of the acceleration as a vector.