Another Idea (not from Spinward Scout)

[Timerover51]

I was reading the official history of the Australian Navy in World War 2, and came across a problem that the Navy encountered at the start of the war. Basically, the militia at that point in time, could not be required to serve outside of Australia, but if a service member switched from the militia to the naval reserves, he became liable to service outside of the territorial waters of Australia. This had not been properly explained to the men (possibly deliberately, I know what military recruiters are apt to do), and when they suddenly found themselves patrolling in the Indian Ocean off the coasts of India and Africa, and in the Mediterranean, they were not happy, and complained to Members of Parliament. The government very wisely made the decision that since changing from the militia to the naval reserve was a voluntary act, that the men were obligated to serve wherever their ship took them. Eventually, things settled down and this was no more an issue, at least for the Navy.

Now, reading this got my little grey cells (with apologies to Agatha Christie) working. How about the characters having a ship that needs crew, preferably a Far Trader with no fixed schedule, and the additional crew are hired under the belief that they will be traveling a fairly fixed route between two, somewhat standard planets (i.e. Earth-like). Once on board and preparing to Jump, the hirelings discover that they are not going where they thought that they would be going, but somewhere entirely different, and that this will be the case for several months, possibly a year or more. This makes them quite unhappy, and they begin to plot a mutiny to seize the ship and head back to their home. The players have to stop the mutiny, and then either convince to crew that this is what they signed out to, or stop the mutiny and then find new crew at the next starport. Obviously, the Game Master plays the would-be mutineers.

 

[Grav_Moped]

It's already there in the rules! IIRC, subsidized merchants can be recalled for use as auxillaries. Might just be confabulating this with the Civil Reserve Air Fleet though.

And the J2/2g version of that ship is just a drive swap away, no changes needed to the deck plans.

 

[Timerover51]

It's already there in the rules! IIRC, subsidized merchants can be recalled for use as auxillaries. Might just be confabulating this with the Civil Reserve Air Fleet though.

And the J2/2g version of that ship is just a drive swap away, no changes needed to the deck plans.

I forgot about that with respect to the subsidized merchants. One of the Australian ships with the biggest problems was a passenger liner converted to an auxiliary cruiser.

 

[mike wightman]

Liners become troop transports and/or hospital ships...

Here in the real world I am sure someone has thought about weaponising standard shipping containers.

Individual containers could be kitted out as:
missile launchers
point defence
radar and EW pods
etc.

You could get a lot of cruise missiles and anti-ship missiles on a container ship, and no one would know what was in the containers...

 

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None of these appear to be deployed, when you'd think they'd need them.

 

[aramis]

It's already there in the rules! IIRC, subsidized merchants can be recalled for use as auxillaries. Might just be confabulating this with the Civil Reserve Air Fleet though.

And the J2/2g version of that ship is just a drive swap away, no changes needed to the deck plans.

Yeah, otherwise that drive compartment space is either fuel or wasted.
Tripple D's hit 45 Td (25, 7, and 13, respectively) of the 50 ton engineering compartment.
But yes, you're conflating in the CRAF. The subsidy in CT/MT is to force one onto route, not take one off it, as it's there to ensure merchants actually go there.

 

[Spinward Flow]

Tripple D's hit 45 Td (25, 7, and 13, respectively) of the 50 ton engineering compartment.

That's why you want to go with D/D/E drives (48 tons for a 50 ton compartment) that also enables Double Fire programming for laser turrets.

The subsidy in CT/MT is to force one onto route, not take one off it, as it's there to ensure merchants actually go there.

Indeed. Subsidies are intended to "bias" a merchant ship to remain within a particular grouping of systems. You can still "tramp trade" within that subsidy group if you want to though. That then helps ensure that there is going to be some volume of interstellar traffic between the subsidized group systems with knock on downstream benefits for the subsidizing government beyond just counting the credits. Things like foreign trade jobs, influence (cultural, economic, diplomatic, military, etc.) and a whole host of other effects that aren't going to show up "nicely" on balance sheet ledgers but which amount to an increase in Soft Power for the subsidizing government.

 

[Grav_Moped]

Yeah, otherwise that drive compartment space is either fuel or wasted

RAW it can't be fuel, either.

I'd allow it there as a house rule in demountable tanks (so it isn't free, and drive hits risk puncturing the tank -- with consequences if not empty), and/or allow HG fuel purifiers in that space because they're drives-related.

 

[Diveguy]

Liners become troop transports and/or hospital ships...

Here in the real world I am sure someone has thought about weaponising standard shipping containers.

Individual containers could be kitted out as:
missile launchers
point defence
radar and EW pods
etc.

You could get a lot of cruise missiles and anti-ship missiles on a container ship, and no one would know what was in the containers...

There's also been recent open-source reporting about the PRC weaponizing shipping containers as well. The suggestion was less to hide them domestically, and more a way to pre-position strike assets in a covert manner using merchant shipping.

 

[Spinward Scout]

Another Idea (not from Spinward Scout)​

Not all of them are from me? I think this is the 'hey man, you talk too much' warning, right?

 

[Timerover51]

Not all of them are from me? I think this is the 'hey man, you talk too much' warning, right?

No, Kelly, you do not talk too much. I might at times, though. I was just trying to distinguish my idea from yours. Your idea did inspire me, and I had just been reading the official history of the Australian Navy in World War 2. I know, I have a very odd idea of light reading.

 

[Spinward Scout]

No, Kelly, you do not talk too much. I might at times, though. I was just trying to distinguish my idea from yours. Your idea did inspire me, and I had just been reading the official history of the Australian Navy in World War 2. I know, I have a very odd idea of light reading.

Thanks Dale.

I didn't know the Aussies had a Navy in WWII.

 

[Daidoji Dave]

The players have to stop the mutiny, and then either convince to crew that this is what they signed out to, or stop the mutiny and then find new crew at the next starport.

That's a little dark man. If I ran that at all I'd leave it open to the players which way to jump. They might also join the mutiny, let the shanghai'd crew out of slavery, and depart for a life on the run in their own new ship.

 

[Timerover51]

That's a little dark man. If I ran that at all I'd leave it open to the players which way to jump. They might also join the mutiny, let the shanghai'd crew out of slavery, and depart for a life on the run in their own new ship.

That is always an option for the players.

 

[Timerover51]

Thanks Dale.

I didn't know the Aussies had a Navy in WWII.

Yes, they did. They lost three cruisers, the heavy cruiser Canberra at Guadalcanal in August of 1942, the light cruiser Sydney in November of 1941 to a German raider after a distinguished career in the Mediterranean, and the light cruiser Perth in the Battle of Lombok Strait in March of 1942.

The official history of the Australian Navy in World War 2 is here:

Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 2 – Navy

www.awm.gov.au

 

[TamsinP]

Thanks Dale.

I didn't know the Aussies had a Navy in WWII.

About a year ago I read one volume (of six) of the official history of the Australian Army in WW2. I also have a strange idea of light reading.

 

[Timerover51]

About a year ago I read one volume (of six) of the official history of the Australian Army in WW2. I also have a strange idea of light reading.

I have been reading that as well, along with the Air Force history. You have the same idea of light reading that I do. That goes with the US Army official histories of World War 2, especially the ones dealing with logistics.