What skill covers Cargo Handling?
- Thread starter Infojunky
- Start date
Balfuset790
Mongoose
By default there isn't one, or rather it's dependent on the means by which you're stowing the cargo. If you're doing it by hand then you'll need to make Zero-G rolls to handle the cargo in a micrograv environment, or Remote Operations if you''re using a remote cargo loader/arm.
However, I don't think it would be too much of an issue if you wanted one specifically to either create a specific Stevedore skill, or maybe have it as a specialty attached to steward - which thereby also allows you to assist your passengers in stowing their cargo as well as any freight the ship is carrying.
However, I don't think it would be too much of an issue if you wanted one specifically to either create a specific Stevedore skill, or maybe have it as a specialty attached to steward - which thereby also allows you to assist your passengers in stowing their cargo as well as any freight the ship is carrying.
Reynard
Emperor Mongoose
This sounds like one of those times you revert to a Characteristic rather than a skill if you aren't operating a vehicle or remote cargo handler. If we're talking manual stowage then use Strength while Intelligence could be situations that requires special procedures of sorting. Remember that Tasks are for important tasks rather than routine operations. Most of the time, stacking boxes and stowing cargo is fairly routine. Getting it stowed as quick as possible or looking for a particular cargo without a manifest in a hold with lots of cargo could call for a check.
CosmicGamer
Mongoose
As a career: Trade (Cargo Handling)
As something to roll for:
As for what skill do ships crew need? To me, Ships personnel don't typically move the cargo around a port or even load the ship themselves. This is handled by the dock workers that have the trade skill. The most needed skill for a ship is broker. It's not just for brokering the deal, but a skill that would cover knowing the ins and outs of import/export taxes, "paperwork", and rules. Lacking that, maybe admin. Maybe investigate and recon to determine if there is anything out of order.
Granted the tramp merchant might ply the areas where ports don't have the facilities but the broker can make sure the people shipping or receiving handle the cargo all the way up to the space ship and if they can move it that far, these back world folks likely bring the equipment or muscle to do the loading and unloading from their sailing ship, cargo plane, train, or mule if such is not available at the port.
There may still be times when the crew needs to "handle" the cargo. When dealing with speculative trade on a back world, the ships crew may have to figure out a way to get cargo to/from buyers/sellers around a world that has inadequate transit infrastructure. What skill may be needed could be very situational.
As something to roll for:
andCore Rules said:
So it really shouldn't be needed much.Core Rules said:
As for what skill do ships crew need? To me, Ships personnel don't typically move the cargo around a port or even load the ship themselves. This is handled by the dock workers that have the trade skill. The most needed skill for a ship is broker. It's not just for brokering the deal, but a skill that would cover knowing the ins and outs of import/export taxes, "paperwork", and rules. Lacking that, maybe admin. Maybe investigate and recon to determine if there is anything out of order.
Granted the tramp merchant might ply the areas where ports don't have the facilities but the broker can make sure the people shipping or receiving handle the cargo all the way up to the space ship and if they can move it that far, these back world folks likely bring the equipment or muscle to do the loading and unloading from their sailing ship, cargo plane, train, or mule if such is not available at the port.
There may still be times when the crew needs to "handle" the cargo. When dealing with speculative trade on a back world, the ships crew may have to figure out a way to get cargo to/from buyers/sellers around a world that has inadequate transit infrastructure. What skill may be needed could be very situational.
ShawnDriscoll
Cosmic Mongoose
Infojunky said:
To make things interesting, and depending on tech levels:
Use Drive for steering things around.
Use Mechanic for when things break down, or to figure out how some tow contraption works to explain to someone else how to use it.
Use Remote Operations to work things from a control panel.
Most of the time, there will be citizen workers or automated robot devices that handle this kind of stuff for the players, usually done out of camera frame.
I'm assuming the player characters are not really traders (never used a forklift). They are either pretending to be, or they happened to fall into that kind of work temporarily.
Balfuset790 said:
As a person who works in the Transportation field and who has loaded many an Airplane or Truck I think I have the experience to say this. Really how hard is it to stack carton, or use a forklift to stack pallets. Now if you don't have much forklift experience it might take longer but it not that hard. Now I do have to worry about weight and balance when my guys are loading stuff but I don't see that as a problem on a ship with anti grav.
I would say common sense lvl-0. But it's really dependent upon what you are asking of the character. I've operated cranes to load/unload rocket pods and loaded semi-trailers at UPS and worked with aircraft cargo containers. Different set of skills, but none of them required any specialized training.
Loading cargo into a free trader or merchant ship should be about the same. The average person should be able to pick up most of the knowledge to do basic cargo handling very quickly. A longer time exposed to it should allow the character to quickly evaluate a situation and come up with a plan to deal with it and/or do the same job faster than a non-skilled one. But stacking crates or moving containers should not be a primary skill (regardless of what those dockworkers on the US West coast say!).
Loading cargo into a free trader or merchant ship should be about the same. The average person should be able to pick up most of the knowledge to do basic cargo handling very quickly. A longer time exposed to it should allow the character to quickly evaluate a situation and come up with a plan to deal with it and/or do the same job faster than a non-skilled one. But stacking crates or moving containers should not be a primary skill (regardless of what those dockworkers on the US West coast say!).
While I am not fishing for a new skill, the topic came up and I was kinda curious to see what other peoples take was on it.
Now add in to the base question things like Hazard Material handling.
Also consider the consequences of all the various cargo loading failures, from Loads shifting due strapping/dunnage bag failures to Angry Livestock in the hold, not to forget shipping two loads that should not be together in the same hold....
Now add in to the base question things like Hazard Material handling.
Also consider the consequences of all the various cargo loading failures, from Loads shifting due strapping/dunnage bag failures to Angry Livestock in the hold, not to forget shipping two loads that should not be together in the same hold....
Infojunky said:
Hmm hazmet while some drivers do have a Hazmet cert its not overly hard and more annoying than anything. Probably part of the job of the Cpt or Pilot so make it part oh Trade or Pilot skill no big deal really. Just really need to label it for anything over 999lbs in the USA, and mark where it is in the hold on the manifest. Well unless its right as you open the ramp there it is.
While loads shift all the time on planes, ships and truck I don't see it happening with grav plates in the Traveller universe, since they compensate for stuff like that. Note this is also where the idea of weight and balance come in. Now Cargo loading failures happen a decent amount of time, such as you fork a tote of plastic pellets (big mess btw), I have flipped a vending machines made one loud bang, light or fragile stuff gets squashed a lot. This is why you just need a person supervising the dockmen. Could do a event where you have Moe, Larry and Currley as the dock guys on this one world, that way you get to see them a lot if it is a normal stop for the crew.
Shipping loads that don't belong together well many trucks going down the road these days are what you call LTL which stands for "Less that Truckload", meaning they have a random bunch of stuff onboard. But despite this bad things do rarely happen since most stuff is industrial, retail stuff and random things that really doesn't matter what you ship it with. Now when you get into Hazmet and produce this can be very different, which is why they tend to have specialized equipment for it.
All of what I have said is just a quick rundown of stuff so if you have any particular questions just ask I am sure there are enough of us that can help.
Infojunky said:
Now a table of possible hazards I could definitely see. And it would be applicable regardless of skill level, cause as they say, stuff happens to the best of us. In general I would say cargo handling would be a INT-based roll. Fail it too bad and oops, those barrels of liquid mixed with that pallet of solid things and a basic science experiment gets performed...
I have been working on ideas around explosive decompression, and what what will do to cargo containers (and the cargo within). Any angry livestock could quickly become messy waste...
Rikki Tikki Traveller
Cosmic Mongoose
Infojunky said:
Not getting your deposit back on that one...
Condottiere
Emperor Mongoose
From the times I've been roped in to packing a moving van, and from some documentaries on containerships, experience about spatial relationships, weight distribution and knowledge about material incompatibilities would come in useful.
