Where's the Traders & Gunboats Preview?

[lastbesthope]

Matt,

You promised it in the blog and it ain't there yet. Have you been too busy eating Yorkshire pud across the road? :lol:

LBH

 

[towerwarlock]

Have him flogged by the trolls!

 

[GypsyComet]

Trolls have a "Catch it, eat it" philosophy, so make sure they have proper supervision.

 

[MongooseMatt]

Going up today, all going well!

 

[towerwarlock]

Well of course, but first they have to tenderize the really tough meat.

 

[Anonymous]

Passing it on, the preview is up!

Like that Type M!!

 

[Paladin]

Linkage:
http://www.mongoosepublishing.com/pdf/travtradersgunboatspre.pdf

 

[Paladin]

"stupid" question, but how do you "reload" the fighters in the Criminal vessel on pg 63 without landing and using some sortof lift hoist system? Seems like it would be impossible while in flight.

 

[Xoph]

Sweet! The Traders & Gunboats preview looks super cool! I can't wait this and High Guard and I'll be set!

I find the Criminal Vessels section strange, why would criminals have their own classes of ships. Toyota doesn't make a type of car for criminals, bayliner doesn't make a boat class for pirates, and Boeing doesn't make a Sky pirate special. Criminals just use, and modify for their criminal enterprises, they same vehicles everyone else uses. If they didn't it would be too easy for the imperial law enforcement to find them. "Yes Sir! you're right, that is a thug class criminal ship." Personally I'm going to use these as light corporate and planetary government military and escort vessels or maybe some as alien ships.

 

[kafka]

Oh I do so beg disagree...Criminals would so much get their own ships with all the fancy features that go with. Remember, in Traveller you are not likely to get a visual identification of a starship until it is too late...so having the stats for a criminal starship is solid gold...all too often we have had to make compromises with different classes masking as Q Ships...the sensors in Traveller can read powerplant output, a reflected shape but mostly passive data. Criminal ships could also double as Spy Ships used by Intelligence Services. Thank you Mongoose and Very kewl.

The real life precident for this would be in Russia, right after the Fall. It was possible for criminals to aquire Western Cars. But, the police (GAI) was only equipped with Ladas with Superchargers needless to say they were no match.

 

[MongooseMatt]

Toyota doesn't make a type of car for criminals,

No, but it seems to have a good line for warlords (the Hilux).

bayliner doesn't make a boat class for pirates,

Again, no, but Cadillac seems to be targeting gangsters (or is that gangstas?) with the Escalade. . .

and Boeing doesn't make a Sky pirate special. Criminals just use,

My analogies end there. . .

 

[Cleon the Mad]

Sweet! The Traders & Gunboats preview looks super cool! I can't wait this and High Guard and I'll be set!

I find the Criminal Vessels section strange, why would criminals have their own classes of ships. Toyota doesn't make a type of car for criminals, bayliner doesn't make a boat class for pirates, and Boeing doesn't make a Sky pirate special. Criminals just use, and modify for their criminal enterprises, they same vehicles everyone else uses. If they didn't it would be too easy for the imperial law enforcement to find them. "Yes Sir! you're right, that is a thug class criminal ship." Personally I'm going to use these as light corporate and planetary government military and escort vessels or maybe some as alien ships.

Well, I can see your point, but at the same time Traveller in it's core rules of most editions already has a "Criminal" class ship, the Corsair. I guess whatever justification one has for that ship existing would be expaned upon for the other "Criminal" class ships IMO. (Of course we're also going on one deck plan without any data for that ship, or explination of the class too, so we need to consider that).

Then again, to play somewhat of a devil's advocate with myself, I always did find the concept of a dedicated corsair somewhat funny...but in my TU I also have an unarmed version of said ship, without the ability to adjust surface details as a large trader also.

As an aside, the deckplan pictured somewhat reminded me of something one might see from the Vargr extents? If it is, corsair ships are often sanctioned by their government(s) and the ship would only be a "Criminal" class to the Imperium. Anyway again we can only speculate. And drool, the preview does make me want the book right now.

 

[Chumbly]

Also, remember not all space is Imperial. Some non-imperial worlds might be quite willing to build these for Imperial pirate and criminal cartels. Also,
Imperial yards might be willing to build these for export into the Vargr Extents, or other non-imperial space. Its like the international arms trade,
what governments will let you build and sell for domestic carnage is one thing, what they let you sell abroad for mutual carnage of other country's citizens is whole different thing and the accounting trail usually gets a lot more vague. Just look at that Ukrainian ship of tanks that the Somali pirates grabbed, its clear that the Ukrainians were the seller, and the Kenyans were "Probably" the middlemen, laundering the sale, but the final buyers for the tanks and weapons, is still really unclear(and its a mixture of companies and governments involved in this shady sale).

I would agree criminal ships would be rare and have a hard time operating in the Imperial Core, border sub sector's could be a completely different matter. Governments moral qualms on the arms trade, almost always stops at their own borders.

Zhodani Thought policeman examining mind of Zho shipyard builder found building criminal ships: "What you thinking building ships for social deviants...Oh you will selling these to criminals deep in Imperial space...
Ah never mind..let me do a few adjusments to help your sales...

:twisted: <radically strengthens mental prohibitions against selling to anybody who might use these in Zhodani space...turns off all mental scruples to sales to Imperial criminal scum operating in Imperial space>

 

[waylandson]

I like it, must add it wish list.

 

[lastbesthope]

Going up today, all going well!

Thanks Matt.

LBH

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

Thanks for the preview!

It just reinforces my decision to buy this one (it was a long struggle, since I normally like to make my own designs). It looks like you are covering a LOT of ship types.

AND, judging by the page numbering, it will be a nice sized tome as well. WORTH IT!

 

[towerwarlock]

OK I LOVE IT!!! GOTTA HAVE IT!

 

[RedBeardSean]

I think I'm looking forward to this one more than High Guard. More useful for my game!

 

[lastbesthope]

Looking forward to this book now.

Still want High Guard, for itself and for the upcoming B5 applications.

LBH

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

Yep, HG is a "must have" for me too, but so is the B5 Sourcebook!

Damn! At this rate, I will end up buying EVERYTHING for MGT, something I never did for CT!