Navy Procedure - Jumping Outside the Imperium

[Mithras]

Don't we discuss some bizarre and esoteric things here?

OK. I'm about to start a solo game to run over the next few weeks, the 10 man crew of an imperial naval cargo ship (the Heavy Freighter found in Mongoose Traveller), running a 2 jump route from the naval base at Regina to Frenzie (Vilis). To do this, the ship will jump to Jenghe to refuel, then to Phlume to refuel, then outside of the imperial border to Rangent, then back in to Denotam (naval base), Mirriam (naval base) and on to the base at Frenzie. It will make this run a dozen times and the events, encounters and problems that arise will form the meat of the game.

Trouble is it jumps out of the imperial borders (Rangent). What do you think of this? Would it need an escort? Would it be escorted all the way - or just for the Rangent jump? It is armed with 2 triple turrets.

 

[far-trader]

My personal take on it would be the IN wouldn't waste the escort on such an obviously low priority freight run At least not all the way. And the logistics for just the one cross border jump are poor. If there was a IN base at each end, maybe.

(meaning of course that the PCs will get into trouble and they are probably carrying something not so low priority )

The route seems a bit odd (but you may have your reasons). I'd change it to:

Regina to Extolay
Reasons - The B class port means easy refuelling and you skip the wasteful J1

Extolay to 871-438
Reasons - You're already going over the border, might as well make it count and show the flag in the (potential*) Client State system and all that.

* SMC lists it as Non-aligned but the ###-### designation flags it as an Imperial Client State or claim iirc. Not sure if it's errata or what.

871-483 to Rangent
Reasons - Because it's there

Rangent to Denotam
Reasons - It's there, it's Navy, it's (about) halfway, LIBERTY! (the shore leave kind)

Denotam to 728-907
Reasons - Another client state to wow, and besides Mirriam will have regular traffic

728-907 to Frenzie
Reasons - Whatever reasons you have for wanting to get to Frenzie all the way from Regina, with a hop across the border

 

[Mithras]

My route just tries to stick to bases, naval if possible, scout if not. That way cargoes can be dropped off and picked up en route.

My Denotam isn't much of a shore-leave, but I suppose any time on a world is better than time in that damn stateroom!

I haven't knocked up descriptions for anything in Jewell, so I can't comment on that world as a stop-over. 728-907 near Mirriam I have written up as 'Safari World' with the Shriekers. A wilderness (with an E-class port in MTU).

Fascinating

 

[far-trader]

Ah, bases! I should have seen that Makes sense.

 

[Gadrin]

Depends on the surroundings you use IYTU.

For instance in some settings Tremous Dex is a "Tortuga Port" and often is the home port for Privateers from Arden. I've used this in the past. So once
they learn your schedule...

Of course it's not all that easy, but if you dock planetside for fuel and not GG refueling, be cautious. Groundcrews are a good source for info on ships, especially "repeaters".

Ages ago during a PBP I had one of the mega-corps luring pirates out by running ships into the non-imperial surrounding systems.

One of the ship captains was abducted and held for ransom after receiving a package at the downports, and the stun-wand pen, made him look like he was having a heart attack. A phony medic crew was nearby and took him away. A ransom was asked before the ship left port with a "due date" and it wouldn't take long for the word to get around if the company didn't pay.

Eventually I used some Imperial Marines aboard a ship to help repel boarders and kidnappings (with battledress and gauss weapons). And I think I used some Kinunir's to hunt the pirate ships themselves. Using GG refueling stops as the lures, jumping in tandem with the freighters.

Depends on who's gear you're carrying and how important it is though.


>

 

[CosmicGamer]

Eventually I used some Imperial Marines aboard a ship to help repel boarders and kidnappings (with battledress and gauss weapons).

I was just thinking the same thing. In general nobody seeking cargo will mess with attacking a military vessel because it would be common practice to have protection on board, especially when there is valuable cargo. Not just protection from boarding, but protection during loading and off loading too.

The greatest need for escort would be if there is a threat against the ship itself - terrorists, hostile governments and the like.

 

[DElrick]

Well, Rangent is an E class port, so there won't be much there in the way of facilities. I'm at work, so I don't have the world stats to hand, but I'd guess it is low TL or low population.

If you are only jumping in and skimming at the gas giant(s), I'd say that there would be a low enough risk that an escort wouldn't be justified. The system should be big enough for one ship to hide in and your ship, being Navy, should have adequate sensors to detect trouble in time to do something about it.

 

[G. Kashkanun Anderson]

Rangent is a mid-tech (TL7) corporate-owned world (and with about 5 million people hanging around dirtside, a surprisingly high-population one at that). I would take this to mean that it is unusually trade-dependent for a nonaligned E-starport world, and either has contracted out patrol/escort duty to a major third party, or has arranged a payment/protection system with the local privateering types.

Either way, you'll pay dearly for the priviledge of doing business at Rangent; but it might be a surprisingly "safe" place to make port, as long as you're willing to play ball with them.

 

[Gadrin]

I was just thinking the same thing. In general nobody seeking cargo will mess with attacking a military vessel because it would be common practice to have protection on board, especially when there is valuable cargo. Not just protection from boarding, but protection during loading and off loading too.

The greatest need for escort would be if there is a threat against the ship itself - terrorists, hostile governments and the like.

Sure, it just depends on where you're going with it as a GM.

The troops also helped protect the crew dirtside. I can't remember if
I used "fake Imperials" where their unis/armor just looked authentic or
not. I do remember using a finite number of official Imperial Marines.

IIRC, the PCs had met up with a group of mercenaries that were brought in to supplement Imperial troops. And they took part in a raid on a home HQ where the pirates/privateers were holding. One of the planets in that area has little or no O2 except in gullies/canyons carved into the surface and the pcs found themselves traversing the canyons in a pair of air/rafts in combat armor to assault the place. Opponents had balloons and some defensive equipment (it was more out of the way than a true fortress) and they made short work of the security and breached the site.

Sorry it was several years ago.

>

 

[tim_manley]

I'm curious how you do solo play in that regard. Can you give some details on your solo-style setup?

 

[boomslang]

To do this, the ship will jump to Jenghe to refuel, then to Phlume to refuel, then outside of the imperial border to Rangent, then back in to Denotam (naval base), Mirriam (naval base) and on to the base at Frenzie. It will make this run a dozen times and the events, encounters and problems that arise will form the meat of the game.

Since this is apparently a contracted point-to-point run from Regina to Frenzie, you won't have the opportunity for many side excursions (the aforementioned Tremous Dex, for example, has a certain appeal to the entrepreneurially-minded), but is there a contractual obligation that mandates Jenghe in lieu of Extolay as a refuelling stop?

 

[Mithras]

Not really, but Jenghe has a scout base and a gas giant, BUT looking at my maps again, I notice Extolay has a naval base... ha! that makes more sense, Extolay -> Phlume.

Since this is apparently a contracted point-to-point run from Regina to Frenzie, you won't have the opportunity for many side excursions (the aforementioned Tremous Dex, for example, has a certain appeal to the entrepreneurially-minded), but is there a contractual obligation that mandates Jenghe in lieu of Extolay as a refuelling stop?

 

[Mithras]

My write up for Rangent comes from Kimanjano from 2300AD:

Rangent is the innermost planet circling a K4 star, it has standard pressure atmosphere with a high percentage of methane. Oceans cover virtually 100% of Rangent's surface, and these shallow, soupy seas contain high proportions of organic compounds and amiino acids. The oceans are poisonous to humans, and the air reeks of methane. Certain properties of the polycarbon soup that is a majority of the shallow seas are ideal for the manufacture of plastics and resins. Other compounds have great medical applications. The population of Rangent operate huge floating processors that collect and refine the rich organic soup, these have fission powerplants allowing year long missions. They are supplied by dirigibles which call periodically, transferring the processed distillates to the landing field ready for collection by space transport. The population of 1,200,000 is governed by the extraction company, part of the SuSAG megacorporation which produces chemicals and medicines for the entire Imperium. SuSAG maintains a huge orbital habitat called Midway which grows the food needed to supply the needs of its workers sailing the seas of Rangent. The E-class landing field is an extremely large artificial platform standing above the waves that serves as a docking facility for refining ships and dirigibles. It houses vast chemical storage tanks from which the distillants are pumped aboard shuttles from Midway. There are no refuelling or repair facilites

Well, Rangent is an E class port, so there won't be much there in the way of facilities. I'm at work, so I don't have the world stats to hand, but I'd guess it is low TL or low population.

If you are only jumping in and skimming at the gas giant(s), I'd say that there would be a low enough risk that an escort wouldn't be justified. The system should be big enough for one ship to hide in and your ship, being Navy, should have adequate sensors to detect trouble in time to do something about it.

 

[Mithras]

Solo Gaming

I'm curious how you do solo play in that regard. Can you give some details on your solo-style setup?

Hah, this is quite complex. I was going to put this up as a separate thread. Essentially, I'm RPing a soap-opera, where internal problems are more important than exterior forces - and the dice rules all.

I tested this out with the usual merchant trading crew - then found out that the economics got boring, the personalities brought it alive. Now I'm going for this naval game - a straight run from Regina to Frenzie and back.

Essentially, its like writing a novel, but in your head, the hard work (writing) is reduced to a 'ships log' to keep notes. I roll the dice (more later) then spend the rest of the day trying to imagine how that all fits together. I have visuals for uniforms, all parts of the ship, an excellent deckplan, photos of all crew members - and the crew are actors I know, and can picture extremely well interacting. Their personalities drive much of the 'plot' - that there is, virtually none!

I follow a detailed checklist, essentially it involves checking each character for reactions, twice in jump, once on/above a world. Each character has a 1d6 table, that gives reactions specific to him.

eg. Navigator (acted by, lets say Shia Laboef from Indiana Jones)
1 Kicks off against the captain, gets into trouble
2 Tries to pick up the cute gunner/loadmaster
3 Angry at his family, takes it out on the crew
4-6 OK

Every crewman has their own table, all rolled simulatenously. I retain rights over one PC, a character I follow and don't roll for I decide his reactions based on everybody else.

THere are lots of interesting mixes.

Of course I also roll a master table for Events, malfunction, ship encounter, injury or illness, etc. These can colour or help explain some of the character reactions. Occasionaly passionate scenes come up (I try to mix crews genders for this!) which can be quite steamy - where do they occur? When?

Some skill rolls are made but not many, its not about that. Its about imagining every tiny detail of sghipboard life. The argument in the sickbay, the fight outside the cockpit or passionate encounter during a late-night watch on the bridge. It helps to have a rough idea of what every one does, and roughly when.

The greatest fun is in not knowing what will happen next. How grudges can be created and turn into hostility, how characters can be unexpected thrown together when someone is vulnerable and love emerge.

Its not everyone's cup of tea! But I'm on vacation at the moment, and it's great to fill hours of free thinking time! Roll a few days of reactions in jump, then think it all through, because I know the 'actors' I can imagine dialogue and action. THen jump to the next reaction roll (out of jump) and see how things have progressed. NOW how do people feel. Try and figure why. Roll on the Event/Encounter TAble - does that give a clue, or perhaps previous rolls help - check on the ships log for info on this.

To picture the scenes, you need to know the ship really well. I take images from the internet to 'populate' my cargo ship.

You asked!!

 

[Mithras]

Let me think of an example. Leaving Regina highport (I found online pictures to use of REgina from orbit, and the high port station - can't beat illustrations!), someone got injured. Rolling randomly it was Tam the gunner/loadmaster.

During reaction rolls pre-jump, the captain was angry with Tam (random roll - nice roll!) and the medic was angry with the captain. The navigator tried to impress the pilot (the PC) which was nice, but not relevant here. So, I figured an hour or so later, Tam was using a powerloader to move cargo, took some shortcuts (he is an Able Spacehand) and got injured. The captain later bawled him out, but the ship's medic kind soul she must be, stood up to the captain and defended him. I know from my choice of actor that the medic is 40, underacheiver, not much confidence, but quite loud. She's a liuetenant and tries to talk the captain down - with no effect - I decide. THats a GRUDGE right there to record. If there comes a chance to put those two into opposition, I will do it.

Tam thinks alot of the medic in return.

Now we roll everyone's tables for the first few days of jump...

So now you're thinking, when does he use the Traveller rules? Well, its all setting and background for me, with a few skill and attribute rolls. I just want to experience daily life on board a free trader or imperial ship - I've done the big battles, crime capers and treasure hunting expeditions in typical Pc - referee group games. Now I want to know what it is like to spend weeks cooped up with your shipmates!!! Roll a d6 and keep moving...

 

[Icosahedron]

I'll put in a vote for a thread on this.
I'd be interested to know what tables you use for reactions, whether you make them up, how you make them up, when, why and how often they're used, whether you stick to them or ignore conflicting information, how long the process takes, whether it creates a 'plot' or whether it's just a tangled web, etc.

 

[Mithras]

I'm away in London for a break this weekend, I'll probably have plenty of free time to write a blueprint article if you think anyone would be interested.. it was inspired by a) daydreaming, b) the advice in Book 0 about setting up your own crew of merchants, and c) an article in JTAS on 'realtime' solo gaming. I haven't gone that far yet, but its a possibility. Oh yes, d) the complex love triangles of most TV shows featurng a cast of men & women living and working together.

 

[rancke]

Since this is apparently a contracted point-to-point run from Regina to Frenzie, you won't have the opportunity for many side excursions (the aforementioned Tremous Dex, for example, has a certain appeal to the entrepreneurially-minded), but is there a contractual obligation that mandates Jenghe in lieu of Extolay as a refuelling stop?

Maybe it ties in with the reason the Navy contracts a civilian ship in the first place. Presumably the Navy will have its own jump-3 auxiliaries jumping regularly from Regina to Denotam via Phlume and either jump-4 auxiliaries jumping directly between Denotam and Frenzie or jump-2 auxiliaries going via Mirriam. So why not wait for the next regular supply run? It would be faster (especially if there is a jump-4 supply run between Denotam and Frenzie) even if they have to wait a week or two to send it off. There's something distinctly peculiar about the whole situation that cries out for an explanation.



Hans

 

[Mithras]

Hans, my intention was to have this as a Navy ship, with Navy crew on a Navy run - but I haven't any naval transport write-ups or deckplans (which are crucial for this game)! But I agree, they'd probably have much bigger and better ships.

 

[boomslang]

Hans, my intention was to have this as a Navy ship, with Navy crew on a Navy run - but I haven't any naval transport write-ups or deckplans (which are crucial for this game)! But I agree, they'd probably have much bigger and better ships.

You could do it with a stock Type MT (deck plans from the CT Alien Realms supplement) flagged as a Naval Auxiliary -- but she's a Jump-4 hull, which eliminates some of your navigation challenges.

Alternatively, you could go with a Jump-2 1000-dton Solomani Type SK (no deckplans available, but you could rescale & repurpose the MT ones above since much of it is off-map cargo & fuel) and simply decide she is a prize taken from the Sword Worlds in the 5FW and now operating as an Auxiliary in private hands under the ownership of a former IN line officer...