100-dTon TL 12 Prison Transport

[sageryne]

Hi all,

I worked with Robert Pearce (of Yet Another Traveller Blog) on a location called the Underground Prison Facility (available here):

[https://travellerrpgblog.blogspot.com/2025/07/underground-prison-facility.html]

The upper level of the prison included a starship for moving prisoners between facilities. I have written a description and specs to go with Robert's ship.

Please enjoy

- Kerry

 

[bookwyrm]

Nice ship. The only thing I thought should be changed was putting the prisoners in cold sleep. Better security and you could move twice as many. Plus you save lots of expenses on lower life support costs.

 

[Black Vulmea]

The only thing I thought should be changed was putting the prisoners in cold sleep. Better security and you could move twice as many. Plus you save lots of expenses on lower life support costs.

And you save even more on the 8% of prisoners who don't wake up . . .

 

[bookwyrm]

And you save even more on the 8% of prisoners who don't wake up . . .

Oops! I forgot about how, umm, deadly travelling by low berth is.

Who needs a death penalty when you can just transfer prisoners between star systems in a cold sleep capsule, the possibly first step of an eternal cold sleep.

 

[Spinward Flow]

Oops! I forgot about how, umm, deadly travelling by low berth is.

Actually, it doesn't have to be deadly.

LBB1.81, p20:

Medical-1 is sufficent to qualify a character for the position of medic on a starship crew. An expertise of medic-2 or better allows a DM of +1 when reviving low passengers (each normally throws 5+ to revive after a trip; otherwise the passenger dies).

Medical-3 is sufficient for a character to be called doctor, and assumes a license to practice medicine, including writing prescriptions, handling most ailments, and dealing with other doctors on a professional level.

Trick question.
Does medical skill of the attending crew "matter" to low berth survival rates?

I mean ... it should.
If you get a +1 DM per level of Gun Combat skill to hit things when shooting ... why wouldn't you get a +1 DM per level of Medical skill to the low berth survival roll?

Which means ...

• Base Throw: 5+ to survive
  • Medical-1 skill = 4+ to survive
  • Medical-2 skill = 2+ to survive
  • Medical-3 skill = 1+ to survive

So if you hire a Medical-3 "doctor" skill level to be your starship's medic ... throw 1+ on 2d6 to survive passage in a Low Berth.
Survival Rate = automatic success (unless complications apply a -DM to the throw).
But under "most circumstances" a Medical-3 starship's medic is enough to guarantee the survival of all low passengers (up to the 120 passenger limit in CT).

Cost per +1 to Medical skill level above minimum 1?
+Cr200 per month in crew salary ... under CT.
So ...

• Medical-1 = Cr2000 per 4 weeks
• Medical-2 = Cr2200 per 4 weeks
• Medical-3 = Cr2400 per 4 weeks

You'll pay more in crew salary, but be able to carry a LOT MORE low berth passengers (than "live" middle or high passengers) without risking DEATH upon attempts to resuscitate from stasis.

You'll probably also realize savings in terms of crew turnover rates, because "decent medical care onboard" rather than trying to scrape the leavings off the bottom of the barrel with people who barely passes a first aid course on a pass/fail basis as your "ship's medic" ...

 

[mike wightman]

per the rules as written

no medic - 5+
medic 1 - still 5+
medic 2 - 4+

I could be persuaded that medic 4 would drop this to 3+

It's similar to other skills where the bonus is skill level/2 round down.

 

[bookwyrm]

Actually, it doesn't have to be deadly.

I remember when I first got T20 and was looking at how bad it is to travel low passage. You have to make an endurance check if no Medic or the Medic fails their roll. Medic needs to roll 10+ on d20. A ship under 200 dtons that skimps on a ships Doctor/Medic when carrying low berth can be kind of scary. Might make for some interesting background, you know, like that ship with a horrifying record of low passage that don't make it to their destination.

 

[Black Vulmea]

per the rules as written

TTB, p. 50, for those following along at home.

no medic - 5+
medic 1 - still 5+
medic 2 - 4+

And 4+ is 91.66%.

 

[Spinward Flow]

It's similar to other skills where the bonus is skill level/2 round down.

That's how things work for LBB5.80 crew skills (pilot/ship's boat, ship tactics, etc.) because of how LBB5.80 abstracts ship to ship combat.

Can you cite instances of the same in LBB1-3 though?

LBB1.81, p30:

A basic throw of 8+ is required in every case to obtain a hit; that throw is subject to die modifications (DMs) for such considerations as range between the two parties, attacker and defender expertise in the weapons they are using, the types of weapons used, surprise, and other factors.

LBB1.81, p35:

EXPERTISE
A character's expertise or skill in a weapon can affect personal combat in both the attack and the defense.
Attacking: The level of expertise in a specific weapon is used as a positive DM on the basic throw to hit.
Parrying: A character may use his expertise level in his brawling or blade weapon weapon as a negative DM when engaged in brawling or blade combat (i.e. when using a brawling or blade weapon against an enemy also using such a weapon)

I'm not finding anything that remotely imputes to use "(medical skill/2)+1, then drop fractions" as being the way to compute +DMs for skills in LBB1-3.81 for "personal stuffs" like infantry combat (attacking/defending) ... let alone for things like survival rolls for low berths.

There IS a "freebie" +1 DM specifically listed in the medical skill itself for low berth survival rolls ... but I would never take that to mean "this is the ONE AND ONLY EXCLUSIVE +DM" that medical skill can EVER bring to bear on the low berth survival roll.
I mean ... that would be ... silly ... to assume ... right?