Why not just be a pirate?
- Thread starter karmarainbow
- Start date
Vile
Banded Mongoose
I don't think there are rules in MGT regarding accuracy when exiting Jump. As you say, it can'y be too inaccurate, although hitting rocks on exit should not be a concern - vacuum is really, really empty. It would only be an issue if you had to jump into a relatively small volume surrounded by a lot of traffic, like one of those stations mentioned above. In the absence of rules on the subject, you could always rule IYTU that navigation is accurate enough to allow that.
In the RAW, though, this could be interpreted as a reason why there are no such choke points (which would be much easier to defend), Jump accuracy simply does not allow it.
In the RAW, though, this could be interpreted as a reason why there are no such choke points (which would be much easier to defend), Jump accuracy simply does not allow it.
Depends. For a large planet, yes. But some colony worlds you can generate are little more than cities with a big back yard.
Most of the traffic in such a system will be (as described by the original poster) ships jumping in, refuelling at the gas giant, and jumping out.
If the system isn't part of a major polity - for that matter is between two or three none-too-friendly-but-not-really-wanting-a-war major polities, then there won't be a fleet base from any of the above if it's an even vaguely strategic neutral system; major convoys or corp fleets will probably rate an escort but unless the pirates are imbeciles they won't try to attack something like that.
As noted, the most important thing for success is reliable intel and a safe way to dispose of ill-gotten gains - which is why I recommended a sufficiently influential patron 'sponsoring' the PCs in this campaign.
Vile
Banded Mongoose
The best sponsor would be a rival government, of course. Being a privateer is a lot safer than being a pirate.locarno24 said:
See Crimson Dark, though. :twisted:
Since you would probably prefer an English language reference, I do notspinwardpirate said:
have one at hand.
However, I seem to remember that European fleet deployments are dis-
cussed in Barbara Tuchman's "The First Salute", and then the bibliography
of this book should lead to even better sources.
As mentioned, the main problem for the European powers was that most
of their naval bases were in the West Indies, where hurricanes are com-
mon during the hurricane season, and a hurricane could easily destroy a
sailing ship, whether at sea or in a port. Therefore the fleets usually were
recalled to Europe for maintenance and repairs before the hurricane sea-
son and returned to the West Indies afterwards, only a number of smaller
ships remained on station in the region for the entire year.
spinwardpirate
Mongoose
Exactly my point. Add in some piracy on a megacorporation level, and there will be plenty of people willing to outfit a ship, or turn a blind eye, or pat someone on the back (or knight them) for messing up a rival, etc.GamerDude said:
SDBs remain the same - plenty of well-armoured hulls with military-grade weapons. If limiting yourself to TL 6-8 you can still make a pretty good showing - Particle beams are available, but only as bay mounts. Still, that's enough to knock a big hole in anything up to and including a fleet warship.
The closer you are to the TL6 end, though, the less effective you'll be, so you're probably best short-circuiting the problem by hiring off-world mercs with off-world tech.
Most likely thing to do is contract for a squadron of battle-riders to press into service as SDBs - they can be carried in and dropped off by the appropriate battle tender class. This means they can't be big by SDB standards but then the world probably doesn't want to be spending that much anyway.
Depends on whether it's an imperial world. If it is, then he has no business trying to do enforcement work in it.
Also - since we're talking about pirates - note that if the planet's defences are too weak, relative to the economy there, it becomes increasingly tempting for the pirates to just loot the mainworld instead; a few ortillery strikes to knock down any defences and hold the colony government at gunpoint and there you go.
Egil Skallagrimsson
Mongoose
Yeah. In a Traveller type universe the TL 6 planet will be able to hire a small number of SBDs and space fighters to deal with problems in system. Remember that they do not have to invent, or even have the industrial base to maintain, all of this. They just hire mercernaries and/or assistance from the local high tech "big powers" (i.e. the Imperium). Over time locals are trained up to use most of the tech, and repairs are done somewhere else.
The comparison with today is not too forced, many nations operate (at varying levels of imcompetance) aircraft technology well beyond what they could produce, because it is supplied and maintained by European or US providers.
A large pop TL6 planet should have enough wealth to fund its own anti-pirate system defence, one with less wealth may get a couple of SBDs and a squadron of fighters (plus warning satallites etc) lent by the Imperium, if there is a threat of any consequence from pirates.
Egil
The comparison with today is not too forced, many nations operate (at varying levels of imcompetance) aircraft technology well beyond what they could produce, because it is supplied and maintained by European or US providers.
A large pop TL6 planet should have enough wealth to fund its own anti-pirate system defence, one with less wealth may get a couple of SBDs and a squadron of fighters (plus warning satallites etc) lent by the Imperium, if there is a threat of any consequence from pirates.
Egil
Egil Skallagrimsson
Mongoose
I think, Somebody, the difference is between earth as it was in TL6, a planet alone, and how a TL6 planet would look like in the OTU in a universe with quick and cheap interstellar trade (so long as you are close to a J1/J2 main anyway), as well as large polities that have a vested interest in maintaining the peace.
Egil
Egil
Egil Skallagrimsson
Mongoose
Somebody said:
Yes, certainly the more developed a country is the easier it is for them to operate the advanced tech, but things are not quite as bad as you suggest. Remember the Argentinians and the exocet? If they had bought 3 or 4 more of those they would have won in 1982. The North Vietnamese and air defence? Shot down a lot of US jets. Egypts use of high tech in 73. None of those 3 nations could operate at the level NATO would have achieved, but they could still cause a lot of problems.
The OP is about pirates, not war with soveign states, a much less challenging adversary, so I think that a TL6 nation with access to the rest of the galaxy would be able to hire or acquire 5 or 6 SBDs and a few fighters, may even be given them by interested "big powers", enough to deal with Jack Sparrow
Egil
Somebody said:
Well, let's say Earth as an example but with one gov. Use the Mil budget of the USA only. ~$800 billion/year. A system fleet of any size needed is commissioned and the companies (like today) are hire to train ground crews and help with maintenance. Ship crews are hired from other systems.
Pirates are now breathing vacuum.
spinwardpirate
Mongoose
How other countries compare to the US in terms of defense spending.
I think the US is an outlier.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_military_expenditures
I think the US is an outlier.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_military_expenditures
Except that any 'combat capable' M-Drive equipped vessel is going to be able to pull 3G or so sustained acceleration outside an atmosphere. The only missile of those listed above which can even reach orbit is the MX-Peacekeeper (in its new guise of the Minotaur expendable launch vehicle), and there is no way in bloody hell it or any ASAT system in service today could hit something that manouvrable.
The years of incompetent flailing of the Missile Defence System trying to hit a purely ballistic target should support that point.
The TL6 Missile rack weapon can, but it represents a level of tech we sure as hell can't build.
(Equally, regardless of "what's possible today" the Particle Beam is supposedly TL8. Must have missed that coming into service
)Secondly, a traveller pirate would seek to carry enough armour to fend off pulse laser strikes - they being the main armament of its merchant prey. Armour/12 is also more than sufficient to deflect tactical nukes even if any do find their mark.
Finally, I'm talking the average world here. Reference to the US military budget is inappropriate because whilst the average citizen of the Imperium lives on a TL13+ hive world, the average world has a population about the same as the Channel Islands. A few billion pounds represents an optimistic view of such a society's entire GDP, not just its military budget.
Somebody said:
Okay, take 1/2 that. ALSO, the US is just ONE country that has a SMALL fraction of Earth's pop. (<1/10).
So, considering everything else you threw in. The AVAILABLE budget of an entire pop ~7 world is going to be about the same or even 1/2.
Result = Pirates breathing vacuum.
According to both most national definitions (including the one of the USA)locarno24 said:.
(Equally, regardless of "what's possible today" the Particle Beam is supposedly TL8. Must have missed that coming into service
and the current international definition, a particle weapon would be an il-
legal weapon of mass destruction. Bringing one into service would be the
equivalent of deploying biological or chemical weapons, so no nation has
done it (or admitted to have done it) until now, although to produce a par-
ticle weapon would not be a serious technical problem.
spinwardpirate
Mongoose
Relevant, because the amount the U.S. spends is obviously not the kind of money that will be spent by system "Joe Average" in "Backwater" subsector.
You seem to be convinced that the Imperium takes the taxes without de-Somebody said:
fending the systems. I have doubts that the populations who pay taxes
and get no protection of their systems and their interstellar trade in return
would accept such a situation, an Imperium of this kind could only be held
together by brute force, if at all - "No taxation without protection" would
make an excellent slogan for a rebellion.
Since the Imperium is not described as a counterpart of the evil empire of
Star Wars, and there are actually many worlds which voluntarily apply for
membership in the Imperium, it seems that the Imperium delivers enough
protection for the taxes it receives - which is bad news for the pirates, be-
cause for them Imperial forces are much more dangerous than planetary
forces.
IMTU, I had a water world (its UWP and background is posted in the "Worst places in the OTU" thread) that was set up by the Empire (though could be one of the other foreign powers) to be somewhere to send a bunch of political dissidents in the past.
The plot was that these people would be told theyre being sent to a prison planet, but they are attacked by Pirates (infact Agents of the power responsible) that the Navy would fight off until they arrive at this "newly discovered" water world.
The Navy agent heroes were set up by the dissident colonists as a ruling class and secretly joined with the fake pirates to form "The Patriots", and this exactly what the power had planned from the start. The government on the planet would be anti-violence and destruction to a Law Level G degree, making the colonies a living hell that the people would not even realise.
Also the colonies were set up as floating Arcologies, each run by a Patriot, who used comms to set laws exactly alike in each Arcology, so any colonist that wanted to escape would have to survive the harsh seas (you need a filter to survive outside the arcos too) and then if they made it to a new Arco would find it politically the same as the last.
The plot was that these people would be told theyre being sent to a prison planet, but they are attacked by Pirates (infact Agents of the power responsible) that the Navy would fight off until they arrive at this "newly discovered" water world.
The Navy agent heroes were set up by the dissident colonists as a ruling class and secretly joined with the fake pirates to form "The Patriots", and this exactly what the power had planned from the start. The government on the planet would be anti-violence and destruction to a Law Level G degree, making the colonies a living hell that the people would not even realise.
Also the colonies were set up as floating Arcologies, each run by a Patriot, who used comms to set laws exactly alike in each Arcology, so any colonist that wanted to escape would have to survive the harsh seas (you need a filter to survive outside the arcos too) and then if they made it to a new Arco would find it politically the same as the last.
