Travellers Needed! High Guard Updates

[Hardwire]

Ok, all this is fine an well, however this is not the thread for it. This is a thread on what minor changes need to be made, not a total rewrite of the Mongoose Traveller system.

If this was a discussion on Mongoose Traveller 3e and how to make the whole game better, that would call for introducing FF&S.

 

[Condottiere]

There is that chapter on EXOTIC TECHNOLOGY.

 

[Hardwire]

There is that chapter on EXOTIC TECHNOLOGY.

Yes and a minor tweak to Exotic Tech is ok, once again not a major rewrite of the traveller ship building/combat rules.

 

[RYXlord]

Perhaps a comment or a sidebar in the Power section regarding Jump Dimming? It's only mentioned in the write up of the Far Trader.

 

[Condottiere]

Custom or necessity?

Shops dim the lights to let customers know it's closing time.

 

[Terry Mixon]

Which setting - Third Imperium, T2300, Pioneer, Dark Conspiracy, the thousands of bespoke settings...

Mongoose Third Imperium, obviously.

Which setting - Third Imperium, T2300, Pioneer, Dark Conspiracy, the thousands of bespoke settings...

See above.

Traveller is so much more than just the Third Imperium setting...

but the trend has been throughout 2e to default to writing for the Imperium, even in the so called setting neutral books. This is what happened to CT - generic 1-3, Imperium mentioned 4-5, Imperium as default 6-8. Then MT dropped all pretense at being anything but a charted space setting rpg. TNE at least had the alternative technology chapters in FF&S, T4 and T5 back to the charted space role playing game.

We do need to bow to the inevitable. Mongoose is going to do Mongoose. The rest are alternate settings, and they aren't doing them. Rather than bemoaning that, we have to deal with that we have.

 

[agentwigggles]

M/R drive atomsphere speed table would be nifty.

Sidebar on using cargo bay as a launch bay. This is a somewhat common question.

 

[RYXlord]

There are no specific rules given regarding the storing of modular components, though Adventure Class ships seems to suggest they require docking space sufficient for the tonnage of the component. It would be nice to have that clarified in the Modular Hull write up.

 

[wintertraveller]

The biosphere's feature of offsetting life support costs could use more clarity. Which life support costs are reduced?

 

[wintertraveller]

Ship endurance in terms of stores might be something that could use a bit more detail.

Separating spares and other stores such as food in this design would be helpful.

The element class product notes naval stores for 100 days. Are military stores a different cargo burden than civilian ships? I'm thinking that measuring stores in weeks and cargo tonnage might be useful making this consistent in a way with power plan fuels.

Fuel weeks + stores weeks = ships endurance in weeks

 

[Terry Mixon]

Fuel weeks + stores weeks = ships endurance in weeks

Actually, it should be the lower of the two. No fuel, no power. No stores, people starve, and things break down.

 

[wintertraveller]

Actually, it should be the lower of the two. No fuel, no power. No stores, people starve, and things break down.

Yes, yes, thank you. I didn't express that well

 

[Terry Mixon]

Yes, yes, thank you. I didn't express that well

No worries.

 

[wintertraveller]

Description of canister storage in HG don't match the core rulebook and don't match similar descriptions for missiles in HG and probably should.

(However, I prefer the current HG language for sandcasters rather than the core rulebooks. I understand the issues with 1 ton turrets packing in more missiles or sand canisters than physics would allow. However, from a game play perspective it is odd that triple sandcaster turrets would not hold an amount divisible by 3. I don't seek to litigate the discussions on turret storage, but just wanted to point out we are not yet aligned in the text across the rules)

HG 2022 Sandcaster: Although mounted in turrets and of use against boarders, the sandcaster is primarily a defensive weapon used to protect ships from laser, energy and particle weapons. Each Hardpoint-mounted sandcaster holds 20 sand canisters and costs Cr25000 to refill. Sandcasters on Firmpoints hold four canisters and cost Cr5000 to refill

Core Sandcaster: Although mounted in turrets and of use against boarders, the sandcaster is primarily a defensive weapon used to protect ships from laser weapons. Each turret with one or more sandcasters holds 20 sand canisters and costs Cr25000 to refill. It takes one round to reload a sandcaster.

The core rules sandcaster also don't include mention of use against energy and partical weapons despite the addition of the particle weapon barbette in the core rules, but that is feedback for the core book.

 

[boggo2300]

Custom or necessity?

Shops dim the lights to let customers know it's closing time.

I've never been in a shop that does that... Pubs on the other hand...

 

[boggo2300]

Description of canister storage in HG don't match the core rulebook and don't match similar descriptions for missiles in HG and probably should.

(However, I prefer the current HG language for sandcasters rather than the core rulebooks. I understand the issues with 1 ton turrets packing in more missiles or sand canisters than physics would allow. However, from a game play perspective it is odd that triple sandcaster turrets would not hold an amount divisible by 3. I don't seek to litigate the discussions on turret storage, but just wanted to point out we are not yet aligned in the text across the rules)

HG 2022 Sandcaster: Although mounted in turrets and of use against boarders, the sandcaster is primarily a defensive weapon used to protect ships from laser, energy and particle weapons. Each Hardpoint-mounted sandcaster holds 20 sand canisters and costs Cr25000 to refill. Sandcasters on Firmpoints hold four canisters and cost Cr5000 to refill

Core Sandcaster: Although mounted in turrets and of use against boarders, the sandcaster is primarily a defensive weapon used to protect ships from laser weapons. Each turret with one or more sandcasters holds 20 sand canisters and costs Cr25000 to refill. It takes one round to reload a sandcaster.

The core rules sandcaster also don't include mention of use against energy and partical weapons despite the addition of the particle weapon barbette in the core rules, but that is feedback for the core book.

the HG is contradictory sasys Sandcasters are Turret mounted but talks about them being Hardpoint and Firmpoint mounted in the next sentance, I think it should be reworded very slightly to "Each Hardpoint turret-mounted sandcaster"

 

[Condottiere]

Well, I am taking casters under the loop, at the moment.

Turret mounted may be a requirement to react to light speed energy weapon mitigation.

If it's chaff, you can use a fixed mount.

 

[Terry Mixon]

Another suggested change. Move mortgages to be calculated off 4-week maintenance periods like everything else. As Mongoose Traveller doesn’t define months or days in a year, this is cleaner and more consistent.

If it is based on 365 days, you could have Holiday and 13 4-week maintenance periods. To keep the calculations the same as they have always been, give a pass on the mortgage on the 13th maintenance period. The ship is supposed to be getting annual maintenance anyway, so it could be covered that way.

 

[Condottiere]

The exact length of a maintenance cycle period is a suggestion, not really an absolute.

The dungeon master could dice for it in secret.

 

[Terry Mixon]

The exact length of a maintenance cycle period is a suggestion, not really an absolute.

The dungeon master could dice for it in secret.

Actually, the Core Rulebook spells it out precisely when it comes to weeks. Now, what a week is is pretty vague. That’s pretty much why I think they should move the mortgage to maintenance periods.

A starship operator faces many costs every four weeks, which must be paid in order to carry on flying. This four week ‘block’ is often known as a Maintenance Period.