Tracking ships

[Tforbes]

Remembering to include the hex/parsec that they start from. Jumping from one side of the system to the other still takes one week but adds to the potential destinations.

true. I had forgotten about that.

Quick tangent... is it possible to Jump but not go anywhere? Like, intentionally enter Jump space for a week and pop out exactly where you left? If you needed to hide or protect something for a week that could be an effective way to do it.

 

[Sigtrygg]

Yes, according to prior canon at least.

 

[Condottiere]

Insystem jumps are possible.

Going by Azhanti, the minimum distance could be close enough that it could be reached through normal thrusters from the point of departure, fairly quickly.

 

[MasterGwydion]

It would seem to make a huge change to warfighting as well, as one stealth scout ship per system, with some couriers to back them up, and you know where everyone leaving the system is going, if you can hit the Difficulty anyhow.

It also means that anytime someone jumps to an empty hex, the starport they left out of knows where they jumped. Might be something to pass on to the navy or law enforcement as a potential illicit fuel dump.

 

[Talon Greyfeather]

Ehhhh .... this doesn't seem to be a game breaker to me.

If you witness the jump - let's say sensor lock on the target vessel is enough to determine direction. An Astrogator should be able to plot potential destinations based on the ships jump signature anyway. It may take more time without the analyzer software ... maybe I need another check to search/find the target ships jump rating - but this wouldn't be that hard to do even without the software. I know this is a Jump-X ship ... so where could it be going based on where it is now? I pull up my sector map and I can get potential target hexes pretty quick. An Astrogator plotting the course based on the jump entry should get you pretty darn close (finally a good use case for an astrogation roll!)

At my table this would be a Referee roll. Players wouldn't know until they get there. If they have the software maybe they get a confidence factor, but you don't need specialized software to tell where they are going. Maybe the software does it faster because it can calculate all routes (not sure how as I thought an Astrogator was required to do route calculations) ... but the rest is just detective work.

Game breaker ... not imho. YMMV

 

[Sigtrygg]

MMDV

An enemy can follow you

The game is now different, and not in favour of the PCs.

Just try it, next time your PCs do something questionable have them followed to the next system by people who want to ask them questions

 

[Condottiere]

Interstellar travel isn't cheap.

So, it would have to be worth it to the pursuers to spend money, to, uh, pursue them.

 

[Fluffy Bunny Feet]

Pursuit need not be physical. Messages detailing your alleged crimes travelling on X-Boats ahead of you. You register with the Starport after you come out of jump and up comes the flag that your ship is wanted (or a crew member is) for high crimes. Things go down hill quickly from there.

 

[Condottiere]

 

[MasterGwydion]

Ehhhh .... this doesn't seem to be a game breaker to me.

If you witness the jump - let's say sensor lock on the target vessel is enough to determine direction. An Astrogator should be able to plot potential destinations based on the ships jump signature anyway. It may take more time without the analyzer software ... maybe I need another check to search/find the target ships jump rating - but this wouldn't be that hard to do even without the software. I know this is a Jump-X ship ... so where could it be going based on where it is now? I pull up my sector map and I can get potential target hexes pretty quick. An Astrogator plotting the course based on the jump entry should get you pretty darn close (finally a good use case for an astrogation roll!)

At my table this would be a Referee roll. Players wouldn't know until they get there. If they have the software maybe they get a confidence factor, but you don't need specialized software to tell where they are going. Maybe the software does it faster because it can calculate all routes (not sure how as I thought an Astrogator was required to do route calculations) ... but the rest is just detective work.

Game breaker ... not imho. YMMV

Just out of curiosity... Why does jump tracking even work? Seems to me like watching a plane take off from the airport and magically knowing where it is going. I don't care how well you know the capabilities of the aircraft or how closely you monitor its take-off, that will tell you nothing about where the plane is going.