Travellers Needed! High Guard Updates

[Terry Mixon]

Lifters. They are mentioned in the Starship Operator’s Manual but should be explained and quantified in High Guard. They can do things, so they aren’t fluff. Right now the discussion in another thread is if they could act as alternate landing gear and it sounds like they could. That makes them needful for a specific explanation.

 

[Condottiere]

Planetary gravity fields vary.

Going by Traveller mechanics, excess thrust allows motivation.

Under the local gravity pull, perhaps a variant of high burn thrusters.

 

[ProfGrizzlyJon]

And another thought: Advantages and Disadvantages for sensors.
Mostly thinking about prototypes and early prototypes, to make some sort of sensors possible on low tech spacecraft. Wouldn't give the higher tech ones DMs (well maybe DM+1 for two advantages), but things like longer detection ranges and better energy consumption (more like decrease by 1pp to no lower than 1pp, but not percentages) would be reasonable.

You can also simply apply retrotech rules to them, and let them get cheaper and smaller.

 

[ProfGrizzlyJon]

And another thought: Advantages and Disadvantages for sensors.
Mostly thinking about prototypes and early prototypes, to make some sort of sensors possible on low tech spacecraft. Wouldn't give the higher tech ones DMs (well maybe DM+1 for two advantages), but things like longer detection ranges and better energy consumption (more like decrease by 1pp to no lower than 1pp, but not percentages) would be reasonable.

And, you can put vehicle sensors on starships/spacecraft to fill in those gaps.

 

[ProfGrizzlyJon]

As an ask, @Geir , I'd like to see clarification about point-defense turrets on firmpoints. Something to the effect of "Point Defense Turrets may be mounted on firmpoints without being subject to the 0:1 limit that applies to Single turrets, but they may not mount a Heavy Point-Defence Laser (TL11)."

 

[ProfGrizzlyJon]

Lifters. They are mentioned in the Starship Operator’s Manual but should be explained and quantified in High Guard. They can do things, so they aren’t fluff. Right now the discussion in another thread is if they could act as alternate landing gear and it sounds like they could. That makes them needful for a specific explanation.

Z-drives are simple. The lifters are simply 0G grav drives that only work in 1D, are "built in" to gravity hulls, and have a top speed of Idle (Speed Band 1). You lose lifters when you choose a non-gravity hull or lose power to support "Basic Ship Systems" as described on pg 17 of the Core Rulebook.

I use them all the time. I am debating whether the new Cluster Truck rules should improve the lifter performance, or provide lifters when they aren't present.

An internal compensation system can be built into the hull of a vessel or a station that does not have a manoeuvre drive. Each 0.1G of internal gravity system adds Cr10000 per ton to the cost of the hull. 0.2G provides enough internal gravity to avoid most long-term health issues associated with living in microgravity. 0.4G is the minimum required for comfort. (Cluster Truck)

 

[Condottiere]

I'm looking in to designing smaller quarter tonne weapon systems, that you could, in theory, scatter around the hull like tinsel on a Tannenbaum.

 

[ProfGrizzlyJon]

I built a “softpoint” system that was all .25 dton based as well. Works fairly well without overpowering.

 

[Shardan13]

Please extend the computer table entries beyond TL 15. I think Behind the Claw added some TL 16 stuff including the ship computers but extending the ship computer table to TL 20 should be simple enough. Also some High Guard technology doesn't have a TL listed and some technology seems never able to be improved by technology advances or have cheaper predecessors. An example is the aerofins, there isn't a version that provides a +1DM (which could be cheaper or appear at an earlier TL than the standard aerofins if it had a TL or a more expensive and TL higher superior version.

 

[ProfGrizzlyJon]

Please extend the computer table entries beyond TL 15. I think Behind the Claw added some TL 16 stuff including the ship computers but extending the ship computer table to TL 20 should be simple enough. Also some High Guard technology doesn't have a TL listed and some technology seems never able to be improved by technology advances or have cheaper predecessors. An example is the aerofins, there isn't a version that provides a +1DM (which could be cheaper or appear at an earlier TL than the standard aerofins if it had a TL or a more expensive and TL higher superior version.

Have you @Shardan13 considered using the Retrotech rules? 1/2 cost per TL works out really well in filling those gaps, even when you add in /bis and /fib.
Or, adding in the 2300AD rules for NETWORKED CORES:
Multiple cores can be installed to manage the operations of large stations. The networked infrastructure takes no space but does cost 1% of the
total cost of the installed cores.

I built a “softpoint” system that was all .25 dton based as well. Works fairly well without overpowering.

To be fair, the 2300AD rules for "ball mounts" also work well: "
Ball Mount: The ball-mount is similar to a firing port but designed to accommodate fixed weapons, typically medium and large calibre machineguns. The weapon’s barrel protrudes from the ball that rotates freely within its socket, allowing a wide arc of fire. There is typically
a remote sighting mechanism on the weapon to allow accurate fire, although in some cases a simple armoured window is provided (DM-2 to attack rolls). Ball mounts cost Lv1000. A weapon of up to 500kg may be attached to them.

 

[Shardan13]

ProfGrizzlyJon I don't have the 2300AD rules and while I like the idea of the retrotech rules for cheaper ship computers at higher TLs Behind the Claw shows that Mongoose has the idea that higher TL computers are possible with their corresponding higher bandwidths.

I like the idea of networked cores and loved to see it in a High Guard update.

 

[ProfGrizzlyJon]

ProfGrizzlyJon I don't have the 2300AD rules and while I like the idea of the retrotech rules for cheaper ship computers at higher TLs Behind the Claw shows that Mongoose has the idea that higher TL computers are possible with their corresponding higher bandwidths.

I like the idea of networked cores and loved to see it in a High Guard update.

That is my point. The Ship's Computer table stops making sense
A TL 15 Computer/35 is MCr30.
A TL 15 Retrotech Core/40/fib/bis is MCr 1.4
A TL 15 Retrotech Core/80 is MCr 23.7