a curious UWP

[beeber]

over on therpgsite, a poster rolled up a mainworld with the following UWP:

D78305A-7

how would you interpret a place with 0 pop, but possessing other "social" stats? i seem to recall something in MT which would indicate that "0" may actually mean "under 10 inhabitants" or the like. but not counting that, what could it be?

(original thread here: http://www.therpgsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7505 )

 

[deniable]

Army of ones.

I'd call it a population in the ones or 10^0. The pop multiplier will give you a population of 1-10. It could be a single family. One fight at dinner and the government goes to balkanized.

 

[beeber]

ha! a great scout report, that would make!

"a difference of opinion over the preparation of roast groat resulted in a change in the UWP's government type"

 

[Vargas]

One interpretation is that there are no permanent residents but the world is governed and, apparently, strictly at that.

 

[Flynn]

I personally subscribe to the "barren world" house rule, in which worlds with a 0 under Population also gets a 0 under Government, Law Level and Tech level, just to avoid situations like this.

However, if I were to attempt to interpret this UWP on my own, I'd say it's an out-of-the-way research facility that maintains a frontier starport for supplies from home. While the facility was created in conjunction with a corporation back home, the eccentric scientist that controls the facility does so in his own name (if only for tax purposes on the part of the corporation), and most of the visitors to the facility are temporary researchers or employees. Only the scientist and his immediate family or research group are considered permanent residents. Back home, the tax offices are giving the sponsoring corporation the hairy eyeball, but the UWP represents the "official" status of the world as it is presented in the media and to the public.

With Regards,
Flynn

 

[Fritz_Brown]

How did he get that UWP (which system)? Under CT, the Gov and LL would have been 0 if Pop was 0. (And, under CT, Pop-0 means NO inhabitants, not 10^0.)

Also, how would you have a Feudal Technocracy (Gov=5) with fewer than 10 people? Well, without it being a company-owned place (Gov=1), anyway?

 

[Spinward Scout]

Could a Feudal Technocracy be an Imperial Noble fief? Or a Imperial Preserve?

 

[beeber]

How did he get that UWP (which system)? Under CT, the Gov and LL would have been 0 if Pop was 0. (And, under CT, Pop-0 means NO inhabitants, not 10^0.)

Also, how would you have a Feudal Technocracy (Gov=5) with fewer than 10 people? Well, without it being a company-owned place (Gov=1), anyway?

he used CT, book 3, AFAIK. and looking through my copy, there's nothing to that effect. you can roll 0 pop but still have positive numbers in the other "social" fields. nothing that says "if pop = 0, then gov & law also = 0"

beats me how you'd run that gov type.

 

[aramis]

I'd put that "Feudal Technocracy" as the ownership is transfered by some external grantee. Probably imperial. So, I would agree with Fritz... It could be a fief.

 

[Plankowner]

I would agree with Flynn, it looks like a research facility (Feudal Technocracy Government) with no permanent residents. Maybe they are rotated out every 6 months or so.

 

[Merxiless]

D78305A-7

Frontier Spaceport
Size average, Dense Atmosphere, (Clean)
Hydrographics 30%, so it's arid, / dry, yet with a dense atmosphere, not polluted.

Pop 0, so Less than 10 regular inhabitants, but not "Barren" since there is a government of a sort and law.

Feudal Technocracy...I never liked that type, but there it is.
Law A, typical.
Tech - 7 there's the thing.

Overall, I see that as:

"Last Hydrogen for 20 light years", a less than vital vital refueling / resupply stop along some J8 long route, where people can, and often do, go the other possible way.

Despite the Dense atmosphere there's nothing here to warrant a larger settlement, or large scale exploitation, yet there's a Starport with more than a beacon, likely subsidized by some long haul cargo shipping service, so that their ships can be reliably refueled. The Government is actually 6, owned by a megacorp, it just hasn't been updated as to rating.

Thats' my spin on what I'd do with it.

 

[Fritz_Brown]

he used CT, book 3, AFAIK. and looking through my copy, there's nothing to that effect. you can roll 0 pop but still have positive numbers in the other "social" fields. nothing that says "if pop = 0, then gov & law also = 0"

Hmmm, I've been using LBB6 so long, that I didn't realize that bit wasn't in LBB3! :nonono:

 

[atpollard]

D78305A-7

The world is an Imperial Fief inhabited by 9 members of the Larson Clan, 100 thousand robots, and 1 billion bovine. The world is a savanna with vast herds growing fat on the local flora without the presence of any cattle diseases or other native fauna. The cattle are processed into the rations that feed the local fleet (a very lucrative contract). The private repair facilities at this starport actually make it closer to a class C (but not quite), however the Larson Clan refuses to grant extrality to the port or allow ISA personnel to establish a permanent presence on "their" world – thus the port is disqualified from being granted a class C status by ISA regulations.

The high law level exists primarily to enforce a strict quarantine of visiting craft or individuals to protect the cattle. The Larson are known to shoot first and ask questions later, so unannounced visitors better talk fast and make a good first impression.

 

[Ishmael]

a factory complex with workers rotated through every 6 months or so?

military base with soldiers rotated through every few months?..or good for a tour of duty before returning home? That would imply that there is something on that world worth guarding....or suppressing.

 

[Spinward Scout]

100 thousand robots, and 1 billion bovine

If you calculate 1 billion as 1,000 million (some people don't), that's only 1 robot for every 10,000 cows. That means that for the robots to tend to every cow every day, one robot can only pay attention to one cow for 8.64 seconds a day. You're going to need a lot of automated feeders and access to a lot of water troughs. Otherwise, you're looking at starvation and dehydration on a regular basis. Unless you let them run wild, in which case, you have to deal with attrition from predators, accidents, bad weather, etc... Without a System Patrol Boat in orbit or any other kind of defense, especially without ISA involvement, you're probably going to have a lot of smugglers trying to steal them some steaks.

This should be interesting.

SS

 

[Fritz_Brown]

This is simply one where you have to tweak one of the numbers. I like the "Larson ranch" idea. Just grab a different Gov code (0 for "Family bonds predominate", or 6 for "Captive", maybe?) and run with it.

In my Excel system generator, I am frequently "unhiding" the raw numbers and tweaking them - because there are cases where changing a raw number won't actually change the outcome. That has been enlightening....

 

[Scott Martin]

by LBB-3 the gov and Law codes are both the result of rolling a "12" so you can't tweak these numbers at all if you want a Law Level A world...

Gov 0 gives a max LL of 5, Gov 6 is impossible (by LBB-3)

Scott Martin

 

[daryen]

Or, do what I do: Say, "Gee, that's stupid," and set the Goverment, LL, and TL to zero. You *know* that's what will happen after the PCs set down, anyway. Just get it over with right in the beginning.

Alternatively, this *used* to be the Larsen (or whatever) ranch, but everyone is dead now (bodies optional). The infrastructure has not yet decayed, but will over time. (Again, this is what it's gonna look like when the PCs get done, anyway.)

Finally, if you really want the Larsen ranch there, just chalk it up to surveyor's error, set the population digit to 2, and you are golden.

 

[Fritz_Brown]

Of course, Scott, setting a Law Level of A is kinda tough with fewer than 10 people on the planet - at least with TL-7. Seriously, what's your chance of being harassed on 108million square miles of land, with only 9 sophonts? Unless, of course, they are beings who have evolved beyond the need for a body, and are merely brains that control everything with their immense mental abilities?

 

[Ian Absentia]

Or, do what I do: Say, "Gee, that's stupid," and set the Goverment, LL, and TL to zero.

That's really not the point, though, is it? The point of the original post is to suss out meaning from the randomly generated UWPs you get from the classic Traveller rules. If that's not your bag, then so be it -- change the stats.

For the record, I was the one who originally posted the conundrum elsewhere. I enjoy the original rules and trying to make sense of seemingly senseless results, as a mental exercise if nothing else. I've really enjoyed some of the suggestions, particularly the automated ranch.

As far as the matter of a Law Level A goes, I should imagine that, even given the expanse of an entire planet, if all 10 or fewer people are purposefully concentrated in one locale, a very stringent LL could quite easily be enforced.

Finally, in defense of daryen's suggestion that the player characters are going to wreak havoc on the UWP stats, he's probably quite right. With a population so small, this is one of those rare opportunities where the PCs can have a disproportionate effect on the setting.

!i!