Planetary Scans

[Sifu Blackirish]

IIRC, Adventure 0 deals with a group of characters who are to make surveys of the entire Spinward Marches. Somewhere there is a chart that shows time required for various scans.

Questions:
* does this assume TL15 scanning equipment?
* are there any modifiers for lower TLs, specifically TL 9?
* how much of this can be done when incoming from the 100D limit? or must you be in 'standard orbit' to do this?

 

[Gadrin]

I hope they're scouts -- as in IISS.

This has a fairly detailed, nicely written section on how the IISS surveys
systems and how long it takes, etc. Pretty nice Price for the PDF.

http://e23.sjgames.com/item.html?id=SJG30-6605

I'd have to say unless they're an experienced survey company, it might take considerably longer, even with all the correct equipment.

If I remember correctly from my copy of First In, they use TTL 12 or so equipment. (Probably whatever they can get their hands on.)
They can do some work from the neighboring parsec, but most of it is done inside the system. Check out the PDF, it goes thru the
entire process.

If you're just not interested in GURPS Traveller stuff, try Little Black Book #6, Scouts.

>

 

[Moose]

You're conflating two separate books here.

I seem to remember that the terms of the task given in The Imperial Fringe were delightfully vague. The vessel was a surplus Type S Scout and the presumption was that the crew, only one of whom need be a Scout (to have the ship), should perform the task using it, and therefore that it possessed all the necessary sensor gear.

No further details of any significance were given regarding technology and there were certainly no tables/charts on procedure. The nearest would be:

"general world size, hydrographics and population will be noted from orbit, the starport will be examined on site and the atmosphere will be analyzed from the wolrd surface. Government, law level and tech level will be investigated in depth by the player-characters through interviews and simple poking around" - Surveying Systems, p16.​

For detail you'ld need to use DGP's Grand Survey or the World Builder's Handbook and would find, if you did follow that, that you'd need to do quite a bit of work. For example the "Survey" skill didn't appear in CT until the publication of Book 6: Scouts, and "Sensor Ops" is a MT skill!

The "adventure" served primarily as a justification for wide-ranging travel through the Spinward Marches.

 

[Andrew Boulton]

A0 p17 gives more details on time and methods.

 

[Moose]

So it does. Glossed over that a little.

 

[far-trader]

...

* does this assume TL15 scanning equipment?

Per S7 and B2 the Type S is TL9 (per B5 it would be TL11) so it's not TL15 equipment. Starting on Regina the party could purchase TL10 gear or wait till they find a higher TL world. But it would be their own expense.

* are there any modifiers for lower TLs, specifically TL 9?

I'd say no, rather grant bonuses if the group buys more advanced gear (out of their own pockets). It would probably speed up the process a little.

* how much of this can be done when incoming from the 100D limit? or must you be in 'standard orbit' to do this?

Some? In general I'd say you can get one days worth of data (basic system components and Size-Atmo-Hydro of same). The rest would require orbit and/or ground survey. They probably want Pop-Gov-Law and TL at a minimum to complete the survey. That would come from contact imo, either via commo or in person. If you want those bonuses I'd say you want to make contact to confirm what you're told and maybe even include some samples (biological, technological, information).

 

[Sifu Blackirish]

Thanks for the information, folks. That helps a lot.

Specifically, I have been thinking over trying some of my concepts in a play-by-post adventure, and I am trying to pin down some things so I don't look like an @$$.

So far, I think I just might dive in head first and see what happens...might be entertaining, like watching a multi-car pileup on the interstate...

 

[far-trader]

So far, I think I just might dive in head first and see what happens...might be entertaining, like watching a multi-car pileup on the interstate...

So, just a typical night in RPG town :smirk: