Whispers on the Abyss : Errata

[Bill Sheil]

Duplicating my post from the main forum:

Deckplans (p16) state "1 square= 1 ton". There are about 750 squares in the deckplans (excluding the wings) so the scale looks more like the Traveller standard 1 square = 0.5 tons.

For the ship description taking the numbers stated, the 57 tons (actually 57.6) available for cargo, plus 20 tons designated as "Concealed Compartment" looks correct on p15, for a total of 77 tons.

However p14 states

The Type R2A4 has 74 tons of unallocated space, of which 20 tons are located in the dorsal bulge where the launch used to be.

on p17:

The forwardmost section of the deck is a secure cargo area, surrounded by armoured bulkheads, with a capacity of 20 tons...

Aft of the secure cargo area is most of the unallocated tonnage. If this area is not repurposed it can hold about 50 tons of cargo in addition to any in the secure area...

If no systems are installed in the bulge it remains as a 20-ton open space which could be used for stowage... [on the deckplan key this is "11: Concealed Compartment"]

If the concealed compartments and secure area are used in conjunction with the remaining cargo hold, the vessel has a nominal capacity of 114 tons.

All of these quoted numbers are inconsistent. From the actual design sheet I think there should be 20 tons of secure cargo, 37 tons of normal cargo and the bulge with potentially 20 tons of concealed cargo. (For a total of 77 tons).

 

[Playwars]

Page 110, the AT-100 does not have the "One Shot" weapon trait despite being a single use disposable launcher/container. Its damage is also listed as 10D when it should be 1DD as per the High Damage Weapons rule of the Central Supply Catalogue (page 178).

 

[Bill Sheil]

p38:
MAIN CARGO AREA: Retain as cargo hold or fit Internal Accommodation Unit (reduces cargo capacity by 40 tons)?
Not possible given that the actual size of the main cargo area (excluding the secure storage) is 37 tons, see first post.

p44 Paragraph 6:
The plot, or whoever is instructing AutoBridge, must make a Very Difficult (12+) Pilot check to pull off this manoeuvre...

 

[GabrielGABFonseca]

This has taken me a while, but I've compiled the traditional errata for this book as well — The Deep and the Dark had kept me otherwise occupied.
As usual, entries with [?] are ones I'm not sure if an actual error is present.

---

• Page 16, Upper Deck: On the rearmost part of the vessel there are two rooms that I am almost completely sure shouldn't be labelled as 'briefing rooms' and, based on the descriptions on page 17 (See 'Upper Deck, 3rd paragraph) should be a Medical Bay and Library.
• Page 44, Fifth Paragraph: "The plot, or whoever is instructing AutoBridge, must make a Very Difficult (12+) Pilot check to pull off this manoeuvre." - As amusing as this sentence is, I'm mostly sure it should be 'The pilot', not 'The plot'.
• Page 46, First Paragraph: "These is nothing illicit about that; General Products might be trying to relaunch the class and creating demonstration vessels, or they may have orders from a client who wants a version of those ships for some reason." - There is, not 'These is'.
• Page 57, 'GAINING ENTRY', First Paragraph: "The wreck is lying on slightly sloping terrain, partially dug in buy the force of the crash." - By the force, not 'buy the force' (the force, I am afraid, is not for sale).
• Page 58, Second Paragraph: "Medical bots can normally be commanded by any crewmember subject to override by a specialist or command level officer. working in that department." - A rogue full stop between 'command level officer' and 'working in that department.'
• Page 69, Seventh Paragraph: "A nearby mine shaft has recently collapsed, and if excavated would be found to contain the bdies of several Wildcatters along with everything missing from the settlement other than a few personnel and their weapons." - The bodies are missing an o.
• Page 70, 'THE SPINWARD MAIN', First Paragraph: "The Travellers have a meeting scheduled at Dinom, eight parsecs from Fulacin. By refuelling at K’Kirka they could get there in a little over two weeks." - The distance between Fulacin and Dinom is eight parsecs, so even if a straight line could be flown between the two, the best possible time for the Type R2A4 is four weeks, ignoring refuelling stops. The fastest practicable routes all require 5 jumps (Fulacin → Gileden → Echiste → K'Kirka → Wypoc → Dinom, or perhaps possibly Fulacin → Kinorb → Keanou → K'Kirka → Wypoc → Dinom), so the text should read 'in a little over five weeks'.
• Page 88, 'COURSE OF THE BATTLE', Third Paragraph: "Some make it back to the city but soon there are mining lasers burning holes in building complexed." - Classic 'meant to press s but pressed d typo', we've all been there. 'complexed' should read 'complexes'.
• Page 92, 'IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVES': "The defenders could turn the tide of the battle if they can suddenly inflict heavy casualties on the rebels on break an assault that otherwise looks likely to succeed." - The rebels are probably not on a break and this sentence should read 'on the rebels or break an assault'.
• Page 104, Third Paragraph: "They can speculate it, invest it or spend it on shoes if they like, but it has to repaid someday." - Missing a 'be' between 'but it has to' and 'repaid someday'.
• Page 105, First Paragraph: "Management-level personnel wear an aiguilette on the right shoulder and all personnel have a military-style ‘fruit salad’ with award ribbons for long or exceptional service." - 'aiguilette' is missing a second 'l'; the correct spelling is 'aiguillette'.
• Page 111, 'Laser Weapon': The box text states that 'similar guns are available without the case; those bought without the case cost Cr4500.' and yet the stat block lists the price for the 'Secutiry Laser' (also notice name discrepancy) as Cr3500, whilst the Magazine/Powepack Cost is Cr5000. What's going on here?

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I'm also happy to report that I could not spot any errors in the High Guard section whatsoever this time around! Hoorah!
One thing of note, however: the Angican seems to have fuel processors but no fuel scoop. While not a mistake, it is a peculiar design choice and I just wanted to point it out in case it was forgotten, though it could very well just be a conscious design choice too.

And lastly, one thing I've noticed is that while the description of the Dinom system matches that given in the original Double Adventure 2: Across the Bright Face, the depiction of the system as having only a lone gas giant around a giant star does somewhat fly on the face of the current T5 Second Survey data, which lists the system as having one gas giant and twelve other terrestrial worlds orbiting a Type A4 main sequence star.
Not the end of the world and it doesn't change the overall adventure in any way shape or form, but the Travellermap folks should probably be contacted to resolve this conflicting information at some point.

Otherwise, very good adventure and I very much intend to run it in the near future at my table!

 

[Bill Sheil]

And lastly, one thing I've noticed is that while the description of the Dinom system matches that given in the original Double Adventure 2: Across the Bright Face, the depiction of the system as having only a lone gas giant around a giant star does somewhat fly on the face of the current T5 Second Survey data, which lists the system as having one gas giant and twelve other terrestrial worlds orbiting a Type A4 main sequence star.
Not the end of the world and it doesn't change the overall adventure in any way shape or form, but the Travellermap folks should probably be contacted to resolve this conflicting information at some point.

Just to quibble, the system you are looking at with the "generate world map" in travellermap is not canon and links externally to Traveller Worlds site. Check out what it does with the Terra system. Apart from canon there are also significant errors in the generation system layout and temperature calculations (also inherited by T5 from Book 6).

I use it as an occasional quick helper but if it conflicts with canon (which it usually will with any previously described worlds), or common sense, then ignore it. Hopefully some day travellerworlds will get binned and replaced with something better that does take account of canon and physics.

 

[CordwainerFish]

TW also has a major software crush on making planets tide locked. And as far as I can tell, there's no way to tell it "assume the presence of a large moon and recalculate".

 

[Geir]

TW also has a major software crush on making planets tide locked. And as far as I can tell, there's no way to tell it "assume the presence of a large moon and recalculate".

I think the program is just using the defaults from T5 which pretty much make Orbits 0 and 1 lock. But it's more complicated than that. You could argue that both Mercury and Venus 'should' lock, but neither do... exactly. Leap day makes it one day too early for a monthly WBH plug, but who says I need to slavishly follow rules (and neither should worlds).

 

[GabrielGABFonseca]

Just to quibble, the system you are looking at with the "generate world map" in travellermap is not canon and links externally to Traveller Worlds site.

I am not looking at that. Travellermap does have actual information codified into the T5 Second Survey Format for the number of belts, gas giants, and total planets on any given system. If you go to the [About Second Survey Data] page, you'll see the key and the bits of the standard TSV format it uses on the back end.
I am quite familiar with the uncanonicity of TravellerWorlds, but it pulls in the aforementioned data before building out its systems using the T5 rules. Using Dinom itself as an example, its full Second Survey code is:

Hex

Sector

Name

UWP

Remarks

Importance

Eco. Ext.

Cult. Ext.

Nobility

Bases

Zone

PBG

Worlds

Alleg.

Stars

1811

Spin

Dinom

D300535-A

Ni Va Sa

{ -1 }

(843-3)

[3438]

B

—

—

201

14

ImDd

A4 V

On the "Worlds" column, it lists (as explained on the [relevant About Second Survey Data section]) the total number of worlds, so discounting the Gas Giant (-1) and the Mainworld (-1), that leaves 12 other worlds in the system.

 

[Geir]

Just started looking at this since I was stuck in a waiting room with my tablet. Haven't seen an update, so I assume January 15 is the proper file date.

Pictures behave oddly in Acrobat - my iPad is old so I can't confirm it really 'broken', because they usually appear normally in the non-fullscreen mode so I might just be running into memory or performance problems.

Page 16: In addition to what was noted above,

• The starboard lift (3) does not appear to go all the way to the upper deck
• The hidden compartments in the fuel tanks are not shown (I assume 10 tons on either side of the corridor on the lower deck)
• The secure cargo section doesn't make a lot of sense unless it covers the entire front of the ship and has something other than a hatch for entry.
• To correspond with the bulkheads listed, the thick line should be aft of the workshop and repair drones.

Page 48 and 68. Why, why, why are knights listed as SOC 10 when it should be 11? There a pattern here, and I just don't understand why its represent that way in a number of books. No game effect, but it deviates from what is understood from the Core book and 40-odd years of practice.

Page 48: second-to-last paragraph, I believe the name of the ship is meant to be Theile not Theide (if not, then change it on page 50 - the names don't match).

Page 68: Is Sir Hamex actually wearing a vacc suit with Protection +10? Doesn't match the narrative well or explain the critical wounds. More likely the bodyguard would have some sort of armour and anything the Sir Hamex might have would be 'discrete'. Like a diplovest.

And that's as far as I've gotten.