Terry Mixon
Emperor Mongoose
Dogfighting in space should be impossible, honestly. Maybe the next edition of High Guard will fix that.
Would a far/free trader ever use missiles?
- Thread starter k0k0pelli
- Start date
Terry Mixon
Emperor Mongoose
I personally agree that it should be subject to a round of defense. The rules are screwy.
Terry Mixon
Emperor Mongoose
That reminds me. The Q-Ship could fire jumpbreaker missiles and the pirate would be going nowhere (safely) before they have Marines breaking in though boarding tubes in battle dress. That DM-8 doesn't stop them from jumping but it almost guarantees that something really bad happens if they do. An effect -2 roll from the engineer at least gets them in the target system, but an effect -3 at best gets the ship 1D x 1D parsecs in a random direction, potentially in deep (and empty) space. At worst, well, no one will ever need to worry about that particular pirate again.
If called shots are made at the jump drive, that would also add to the party. The fighters won't want to be left out, and they will be at short range.
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Not in Traveller.
Condottiere
Emperor Mongoose
You could send a drone.
Terry Mixon
Emperor Mongoose
*quietly replaces his Q-Ship pulse laser turrets with ion cannon batbettes*
That is true, but you have no reason to shoot at a ship that has altered course to avoid, hasn't fired and hasn't hailed you to heave to.
On the other hand you are a ship that is masquerading as something it isn't, has turned to pursue and is now deploying auxiliary craft and launching missiles. You say you are the Navy, but half an hour ago you were claiming to be a trader. The captain could claim that he thought you were a Pirate and as you fired first he could launch everything he has in retaliation and still claim to be the injured party.
Jump breaker missiles still have to get there and the suspected pirate changed course at V. Long range if you recall. Jump breaker missiles are thrust 10 so will take 4 ship turns to get there.
Terry Mixon
Emperor Mongoose
The line for action would be if it comes into long range. If it does, all bets are off.
Further than that, if they look sketchy, well, they get a heave to order and if they don't like it, the order is still legally valid. Claim injury all you like, but the Navy has the law behind them. The evidence on the ship would prove it a pirate if it was.
The longer time to get missiles to it at very long range does add some slop. Even so, the whole goal is to lure the pirate into long range and spring the trap. If it comes that close, all bets are off.
Arkathan
Emperor Mongoose
Which is why I queued the mob.I know I have lost this battle but ion weapons are for Star Wars, not the Third Imperium. Along with dogfighting
Ion cannon is a good weapon as even if you fire on someone who turns out to be a genuine civilian, the damage is temporary (and you don't have to contend with armour). Unless you kill their Low Berths (oops) you can probably get away with it.
AndrewW
Emperor Mongoose
When ion weapons where put into the second edition High Guard they where not intended to be used in the Third Emperium setting, but you give someone some toys and they have to play with them.I know I have lost this battle but ion weapons are for Star Wars, not the Third Imperium. Along with dogfighting
Arkathan
Emperor Mongoose
Quad turrets and deflector screens too.
To that end, ion cannons should have been in that chapter, as well.
The Navy has Imperial Law behind them, but Imperial law is there to protect trade not harass it. Ordering a ship to heave to without justification is liable to get a junior officer an interview without coffee. Just pinging the transponder is proportionate. It is doesn't respond or comes back with anomalies then you have probable cause.
What evidence are you expecting to find on a vessel that has already cleared customs on the planet and the only piracy it was intending was aborted before it happened.
I think you need that 200 tonner (with the ion barbettes). With those in place I think will you probably catch them red handed. It isn't an expensive operation on your part either though since it relies on you jumping in each time you won't always catch a fish (but you can just bounce from system to system) forcing the pirates to try to guess where you will be next.
The countermeasure for the pirates will be insider information, tracking a score of Marines and half a dozen other crew might leave a trail that a resourceful pirate could exploit. It becomes cat and mouse (as it should) and far more than conversations about whether a particular piece of equipment or policy negates piracy.
Yeah, more "stuff that should be in the rules, but not in this particular setting".I know I have lost this battle but ion weapons are for Star Wars, not the Third Imperium. Along with dogfighting
The line for action is when you have Traffic control tell them to get the f' out of that flight path and they don't do it.
Or maybe a separate supplement along with the warp drives etc. I'll use the rules they put in the core books, but if they make it clear they are setting specific it is easier to ignore (and to explain to players that all that stuff isn't true in this game).
I await your proposal with interest.
