Andrew Boulton
The Adminator
I am absolutely not doing them all, but here's a Class E:
Class E Starport
- Thread starter Andrew Boulton
- Start date
I am so glad you are not doing these...thanks! :rofl:
(as always, your work is simply splendid)
(as always, your work is simply splendid)
far-trader
SOC-14 10K
Beat me to it :smirk:
"Set 'er down over there by the water. We can pump it to refuel..."
(Ship sinks into the bog never to be seen again)
"Set 'er down on top of the ridge there. We can run hoses down to the water to refuel..."
(Bank of ridge gives way, ship slides down the hill and is buried never to be seen again)
"Set 'er down on that mountain over there. We can refuel from the hot springs..."
(The not so dormant volcano is riddled with crusted over magma chambers, the ship lands on one, crashes through, melts and is never seen again)
Oh the fun of exploring uncharted landing sites :file_23:
Dan,
Precisely!
That's why all E and X class "starports" are not alike.
It's also why the PCs can't simply park their Beowulf anywhere they want on whichever planet they're visiting. There needn't be an armed orbital patrol enforcing a "Landings Only At The Port" statute. Simple geology will keep starships from landing on the vast majority of the land any planet may have and water landings have hazards all their own.
I pointed this out once during a thread at SJGames in which someone who should have known better was bitching about how the players can simply fly their ships or air/rafts wherever they need to go on-world.
Regards,
Bill
Precisely!
That's why all E and X class "starports" are not alike.
It's also why the PCs can't simply park their Beowulf anywhere they want on whichever planet they're visiting. There needn't be an armed orbital patrol enforcing a "Landings Only At The Port" statute. Simple geology will keep starships from landing on the vast majority of the land any planet may have and water landings have hazards all their own.
I pointed this out once during a thread at SJGames in which someone who should have known better was bitching about how the players can simply fly their ships or air/rafts wherever they need to go on-world.
Regards,
Bill
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beowulf2044
SOC-12
Absolutely, Whipsnade. Which is why I always love it when the Players attempt it (usually not more than once early in a campaign).
Some of us have to develop the ability to pull this off convincingly. But this forum helps mightily. Thanks!
Robject,
You're welcome, but Dan is the one who provided the actual examples.
To any GM who has had difficulty explaining to their players why they can't blithely land their Marava any place they choose, let me suggest you bring up the example of construction sites. Such sites are common and are the delight of nearly every child, so the players should be familiar with them.
Remind your players of the manner in which bulldozer tracks sunk into what was seemingly packed earth. Point out the prep work done in some cases just so heavy equipment can move into or across certain areas; impacting, rolling, laying down heavy mesh mats, etc.
Next, you can point out that aircraft runways(1) are not only rated by length, but by the strength of their surfaces. Furthermore, taxiways and hardstands are rated for surface strength too.
Finally, you can point to how some vehicles bog down in certain terrain while others glide through. Again driving the point about surface pressure home.
The idea that a loaded or empty tramp trader, let alone a Suleiman, can simply park on what land form it chooses to is one that good GMs should quickly disprove. Fortunately, there are more than enough real world examples to help a GM do just that.
Regards,
Bill
1 - While, thanks to contragrav, very few starships and spacecraft IMTU take off and land like aircraft, they still need hardstands on which to land and "park".
My only thought after seeing some of the ideas presented here are:
How far can a ship sink into normal "ground" before the ship won't sink any more? How deep are marshlands likely to be before a ship can't be seen because it sank too deeply? In theory, it depends almost solely upon ground conditions themselves no? How much can earth be compacted before it can't be compressed any further? If you have bedrock 12 feet under the relatively looser top soil, how far down will a ship that weighs 266 tons sink before it becomes stable?
Now, with retractable landing gear, it might be a bit of a problem if 90% of your landing gear sinks into the ground, causing damage to the gear as you try to lift off the surface too quickly. But how much of the problems being alluded to above, are likely to be common occurances for pilots who have the training to know that you don't do things like that without taking precautions or without being alert to the potential risks? Would an expert pilot make that kind of mistake, or would it be a neophyte pilot?
Just musing aloud here.
How far can a ship sink into normal "ground" before the ship won't sink any more? How deep are marshlands likely to be before a ship can't be seen because it sank too deeply? In theory, it depends almost solely upon ground conditions themselves no? How much can earth be compacted before it can't be compressed any further? If you have bedrock 12 feet under the relatively looser top soil, how far down will a ship that weighs 266 tons sink before it becomes stable?
Now, with retractable landing gear, it might be a bit of a problem if 90% of your landing gear sinks into the ground, causing damage to the gear as you try to lift off the surface too quickly. But how much of the problems being alluded to above, are likely to be common occurances for pilots who have the training to know that you don't do things like that without taking precautions or without being alert to the potential risks? Would an expert pilot make that kind of mistake, or would it be a neophyte pilot?
Just musing aloud here.
far-trader
SOC-14 10K
You're welcome of course
Bill would have had something along the same lines if I'd been slower to post.I'm thinking there are a few of us here who could put together a fun list of hazards for just normal everyday stuff, never mind the exotic worlds
To answer Hal's question off the cuff, I'm vaguely recalling stories of heavy equipment sinking out of site quickly into the tundra bogs during construction of the Alaskan highway because the thaw came early or someone drove off the track. And those were professionals. And more stories concerning the early days of that road where they had to keep hauling in bed material as it sank until they had filled it in down to deep permafrost (maybe the sunken vehicles were cheaper than the fill
).Concerning landing gear issues, the reason for the landing gear is to transfer the load to structure that can carry it. So if you sink up to your gear bay you may have other issues to deal with before worrying about sinking deeper, such as the hull buckling or twisting from the unequal stress. Again just off the top of my head.
I do agree an expert would help (Scouts seem well suited to the job, as does the ship, being the smallest there is and equipped for the study) if you had to land away from a real Starport. But they have to make a point of doing the work. How many players just decide to land "over there in the clearing, in the ocean to dip free fuel, etc... " without a thought to any consequences.
Of course you don't want to be too cruel to the players the first time. Make them panic a bunch, make it a close call...
"You settle onto the clear flat spot on the mountain side and start winding down the contra grav when suddenly the whole flat spot cracks and collapses into a hidden pool of molten magma. Roll a Piloting check... You barely manage to maintain lift and the hull is splashed with hot magma. Roll another Piloting check... The added weight nearly pulls you down to your doom but some good flying gets you out of the hole. You'd better find somewhere safe to set down and see about the damage... "
If they don't take the hint and carefully check out the landing sites from then on they deserve what the dice give them :devil:
Seems we need some event tables for "Landings in the Wilds"* I might have to start a thread if no one beats me to it...
* I'd be surprised if it hasn't been done already, so I may do some googling first...
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Just find a body of water to land in.
I agree that some guidelines for how hard it is to find a suitable spot to land on would be Real Nice. I doubt it will be that hard to find a suitable bit of rock somewhere close to where you want to land, though. But what do I know[*]?
Hans
[*] About this particular topic, I mean.
I agree that some guidelines for how hard it is to find a suitable spot to land on would be Real Nice. I doubt it will be that hard to find a suitable bit of rock somewhere close to where you want to land, though. But what do I know[*]?
Hans
[*] About this particular topic, I mean
.
At least this starport has an outhouse.
Somehow I half expected to see one of those migrant workers manning a vegtable stand. Maybe an out of work Vargr selling jerky strips or something... just don't ask what it's made of
Somehow I half expected to see one of those migrant workers manning a vegtable stand. Maybe an out of work Vargr selling jerky strips or something... just don't ask what it's made of
I didn't want to carp, but now that someone mentioned the beacon: The one constant feature of a Class E starport that I always imagine is a utilitarian building with a solid door and made of some hard material (plascrete?
) where the beacon is housed. This building (and the beacon it houses) was put up (and paid for) by the Scouts. Depending on the situation someone local may or may not have a copy of the key to the door, but the beacon is definitely not sitting out in the rain where anyone in need of a few advanced electronics components (or just a bit of metal) can just help themselves.Hans
far-trader
SOC-14 10K
Maybe it's like our small local (about 6 planes at one time) field. Run by the plane owners. A windsock is enough for daylight use and and if you want the lights turned on (runway, windsock, and "office" you phone while circling and somebody drives out to do that, and unlock the pump for avgas if needed. Or something like that.
On this E class Starport same thing. The field is marked for daylight landing and if the weather is bad or it's dark you have to radio the keeper who comes out from town, opens up the crate, hauls out the beacon and turns it on. Saves on the powercell and wear and tear since they only see a Scout maybe once a decade to check up on things.
And you have to be careful you have the right frequency for the keeper and official beacon. There's wreckers who'd love nothing more than to lure you down well off the field with a false beacon and hold you up for a ransom before letting you go on your way...
...that never happens with our local airport if you might be wondering. Though now that I think... :devil:
On this E class Starport same thing. The field is marked for daylight landing and if the weather is bad or it's dark you have to radio the keeper who comes out from town, opens up the crate, hauls out the beacon and turns it on. Saves on the powercell and wear and tear since they only see a Scout maybe once a decade to check up on things.
And you have to be careful you have the right frequency for the keeper and official beacon. There's wreckers who'd love nothing more than to lure you down well off the field with a false beacon and hold you up for a ransom before letting you go on your way...
...that never happens with our local airport if you might be wondering. Though now that I think... :devil:
Could be. The thing is, it seems to me to be contrary to the concept of an Imperial starport. I know I usually advocate not making absolute statements about How Things Are Done In The Imperium, precisely in order to let authors and GMs tailor a setting to their own needs, but I still think there would be a few universals. One of them would be the Imperial starport, with extrality and everything. So maybe the world doesn't warrant a paid SPA employee, but the Scouts (or the SPA?) would still set up an official Imperial starport, with a beacon and an extrality fence (or at least a painted circle
) and a plaque with Starport Regulations.Hans
far-trader
SOC-14 10K
I tend to agree. Somewhere in my stuff is a 3ton moduel for Type S Scout/Couriers (3ton cargo hold CT versions). Class E Starport in a Box. Scout out the location, set down and grav it out, turn it on, job done, another world claimed by the IISS
Fully automated. Standard Beacon and field lights. Self contained power supply good for over a year. Small emergency shelter and basic survival supplies (Imperial Credits or TAS Card gets what you need).
A year (or so... ) later another poor IISS Scout comes along (great job for DD Scouts), gravs out the replacement, turns it on, loads up the old one to return to a Scout Base for refurbishment and reuse on another world.
Local airport around here, you do 3 mic-clicks on the unicom, and the lights turn on. Locals have access to avgas by using their gas key. Visitors have to negotiate with either the FSS attendent during shop hours (Mon-Sat 0700-1900) or one of the locals (better have cash).
Some E-ports might have similar... send a data signal to get the beacon on, and the fuel feed requires imperial cash, verified by computer. There's a taxi stand, too, in a bunker.
Some E-ports might have similar... send a data signal to get the beacon on, and the fuel feed requires imperial cash, verified by computer. There's a taxi stand, too, in a bunker.
From the Safari Ship pdf... (not an E-class, but...)
Code:
INVESTIGATING 567-908
Upon arriving in the 567-908 system. the shlp can proceed directly to the
planet. From Orbit: The world can be reconnottered from orbr, in which case
the basic layout of the planet can be seen. The player's map of 567-908
should be made available to the players from thlo point on. In addition, the
world's characteristics can be confirmed. It can be seen that respirators
wlll be required when lndivtduals \?nl.re O L ~ nto Ine Lerv tnn slmosDhorc
-emperal.#es ale mooe#ale lo narm The Starpon Tn s norlo's rlarpon r merely s
markea Dawn of oeclrocr mdr,eo on fie na>lCdf,"" ct>ar,< I % "CdlPll "I>
ln"PllLdl"r ""1 1.1 from I"? e.ster0 Snore of the sea. This region has
patches of exposed bedrock, and one such patch has been designated the
starpart There are no factlltles, no personnel, and no buildings or services.
A nearby river is a source of unrefined fuel.
The starport beacon 8s an unobtrusive installation, the antenna extends a few
meters above the ground, while the beacon transmitter IS located below ground
I" a sealed vault. At the antenna base 4s a handoet lwhlch lnterfacer to the
beacon) and an electronic starport log.
The log is simply an automated recording of stsrport landings. act#vit#esn.
otable events, and other basic data about starport activity, Informatton 1s
entered manually at the beacon lteelf (such data entry is voluntary and lo
used like a fllght plan for reECue purposes).