Shuttle or other for 400 ton Corsair?

[Condottiere]

But if you don't, you show that you lack confidence in your charisma and leadership skills, and that kills your charisma. So you need to show that you do trust your subordinates, but without trusting them too much...

A balance obviously can be found, because at least one Vargr state covered about a sector and lasted centuries (though I bet it's government didn't). By Traveller standards that's not much. By the standards of our history it's a major and long-lasting state.

Trust, but verify.

You want to be sure that you have the borrower's testicles in your grip, if only by proxy.

 

[Enoki]

Privateering is very specific.

A lot of pirates appear to be privateers that went into private enterprise, and crews somewhat disenchanted with navy life, but with a skill set that's monetizable.

Vikinging appears to be more community based, even if captain might be of higher status.

The Barbary corsairs it was both religiously based, and capitalism; which, to be fair, might not have receded into history.

"Privateering" is simply a variant of being given a letter of marque. A privateer in 20th century terms is a merchant raider. That is, a government sponsored vessel operating in a grey zone where it uses subterfuge and guile to take prizes.

In Traveller I could see a ship like this being either a merchant hull or warship that "flies" false colors to lure in prizes. You could have, say an enemy of the Imperium who has either a copy of or captured Imperial warship that acts like a customs or other official government vessel. They demand the target ship heave to and allow a boarding for "inspection." The boarding party then takes the ship.

I vaguely recall a movie from the late '60's where some pirates use a submarine they refurbished to do something like this to an ocean liner. Found it!

Überfall auf die Queen Mary (1966) ⭐ 5.6 | Adventure, Crime, Thriller

1h 46m | 12

www.imdb.com

 

[Condottiere]

Privateering is pretty specific permission against the national enemy.

Pirates are actual outlaws, that aren't automatically granted due process.

 

[Enoki]

Privateering is pretty specific permission against the national enemy.

Pirates are actual outlaws, that aren't automatically granted due process.

 

[Enoki]

Ral Rantans. The pirates par excellence of Traveller.

 

[whartung]

State sanctioned "piracy" does not have to be economically practical.

Criminal piracy does.

The fundamental issue with Traveller piracy is the economics of it.

Not that a State wants to waste money, but they have larger political goals. Conflict as such is never profitable in the short term.

But criminal pirates, they don't and can't look at it that way. They need profits, profits worth the risk, and they need them directly.

 

[Spinward Flow]

Although Mouretsu Pirates was (mostly) a lighthearted anime series that romanticized pirates and piracy into more of a stylized cosplay for entertainment (rather than a "serious business" of cutthroat life/death and loss of liberty) ... it still managed to pull off some pretty incredible things that were totally unexpected.

Things like having a 200 year old solar sailing "yacht" that has been donated to a girl's high school which has A HISTORY (no spoilers) that none of the students on board at the time really knew about.

Cat & Mouse battles involving EW capabilities ... with an unexpected outcome (see episodes 2.75, 3, 4 & 5, english dubbed: LINK).
HIGHLY recommended as an inspiration for how to handle organized unwanted/pirate encounters in a Traveller campaign, starting from while docked at the highport (the opening narration of Episodes 3, 4 & 5, pre-titles are especially useful to ALL spacer crews!)

The curious parallels between nautical sailing (wind and waves) and orbital navigation into aerobraking descents to a world surface ... and how that kind of skill has multiple applications in different contexts is a recurring theme throughout the series.



Even more surprising, the series has plenty of schoolgirls wearing skirts in zero-G ... and not a single (gratuitous) upskirt view at ANY time throughout the entire run ... which, considering the "demand" for Fan Service™ in the anime market is honestly quite remarkable.

 

[Condottiere]

After I watched it, I had a go at trying to replicate the sailing aspect with solar panels.

Summarized: possible under the last edition, not practical under the current one.

Sabotaging an enemy's trade routes, to raise insurance rates - who pays insurance in Traveller?

 

[Badenov]

After I watched it, I had a go at trying to replicate the sailing aspect with solar panels.

Summarized: possible under the last edition, not practical under the current one.

Sabotaging an enemy's trade routes, to raise insurance rates - who pays insurance in Traveller?

Who sells insurance in Traveller? Given the prevalence of piracy and the difficulty of making money with trade, ditching a ship for insurance seems like it ought to be pretty common. Can't make a payment? Get hit by pirates, cash out your policy, start fresh.

 

[Condottiere]

The Greeks invented shipping insurance, and they were surrounded by pirates.

Though, you have to wonder what the caveats were in the policy.

Castration for insurance fraud?

 

[Rupert]

Who sells insurance in Traveller? Given the prevalence of piracy and the difficulty of making money with trade, ditching a ship for insurance seems like it ought to be pretty common. Can't make a payment? Get hit by pirates, cash out your policy, start fresh.

Hortalez et Cie., apparently. Also other megacorps. But I suspect they're mainly insuring major corporations, and those corps probably mostly self-insure, buying insurance against major unexpected losses only, not against 'normal' loss.

However, I bet freight is insured, either by the shipper as part of their contract, or by the owner.

 

[whartung]

The Greeks invented shipping insurance, and they were surrounded by pirates.

Thus the need for insurance. Shipping is risky, businesses aren't big fans of risky. Insurance helps mitigate some of that.

 

[Enoki]

On insurance...

I could see companies being around that sell it. I could see the seller of your freshly bought far trader on a loan demanding you have it and keep it up to date.

Big and mega corporations might not insure with another company but rather simply self-insure and write off any loss. I could also see these companies definitely having a "security" division within the company of thugs and mercenaries that get paid to hunt down pirates that take one of their ships and make them hurt really, really bad.

 

[kilemall]

My assumption is that the bank buys insurance against its investment loss in a ship loan. The operator/loanee gets nothing out of the loss, just off the hook for the loan. Except likely no one will loan again, and the insurance company and/or the bank will be thorough in investigating any complicity in the loss.

 

[Condottiere]

Geico, the bounty hunter.

 

[GypsyComet]

The 400 ton class P -- the old Pirate Corsair?

Geometry aside (since a 100 ton bay that can take an arrowhead style Scout won't work for anything else, even cargo), the general threshold for sub craft defining their carrier is around 20%, either in aggregate or as one craft. At 20% the carrier stops being a ship that "incidentally" carries sub craft, and becomes a ship tailored, often visibly so, to carry that specific sub craft.

 

[spank]

On insurance...

I could see companies being around that sell it. I could see the seller of your freshly bought far trader on a loan demanding you have it and keep it up to date.

Big and mega corporations might not insure with another company but rather simply self-insure and write off any loss. I could also see these companies definitely having a "security" division within the company of thugs and mercenaries that get paid to hunt down pirates that take one of their ships and make them hurt really, really bad.

Theoretically you have submitted a business plan as part of the loan process, and theoretically that business plan would not include operations in areas know for privacy.

OTOH in in older versions of Traveller piracy was much more rampant.

 

[Spinward Flow]

OTOH in in older versions of Traveller piracy was much more rampant.

To be fair, in CT ... only type A and B starports were "piracy banished" from the potential encounters while maneuvering in N-space (such as between world and jump point, for example). Everything else (starports C-X) could potentially have Random Encounter™ results that would result in an attempt at piracy. (LBB2.81, p35)

LBB2.77, p36 did something ... very different ... which made it possible to have encounters with pirates EVERYWHERE except at type E-X starports ...

This earlier take on things has some curious implications.

• Type A starport: 2D=6 roll means pirate encounter
• Type B starport: 2D=8 roll means pirate encounter
• Type C starport: 2D=10 roll means pirate encounter
• Type D starport: 2D=11 roll means pirate encounter
• Type E starport: 2D=11-12 means a Free Trader ... all other results are No Encounter
• Type X starport: No Encounter is only possible result

In other words, if a Free Trader wants to avoid any and all risks of piracy in LBB2.77, you need to be plying routes among type E (or X) starports exclusively ... since everywhere else could mean a pirate encounter is possible.

Wait ... hold on ...
What's a Type C Cruiser ...

LBB2.77, p19-20:

Cruiser (Type C): Based on the type 800 hull, the type C cruiser is a quasi-military vessel designed for private or semi-military operations. It is equipped with 25 staterooms (five for the senior crew: commanding officer, pilot, navigator, medic, and chief engineer; double occupancy for the remaining 40 crew members: 8 gunners, 4 engineers, 3 galley cooks, 2 pinnace pilots, 2 pinnace gunners, 1 admin clerk, 2 medic/orderlies, 1 forward observer, plus 17 spaces for research personnel, technicians, or troops). No low berths are installed. The ship has jump drive-M, maneuver drive-M and power plant-M, making it with capable of jump-3 and 3 G acceleration. Eighty tons of cargo space are allocated. Computer Model/5 is installed adjacent to the bridge, and 8 tons are allocated to fire control equipment. The cruiser has 8 hardpoints, each equipped with a triple turret, but weaponry is not initially installed. The hull is not streamlined. Fuel tankage amounts to 288 tons, including 48 tons available for refuelling the pinnaces. Hull compartmentalization contains two pinnaces, two ATVs and one Air/Raft. Base price for the type C cruiser is CR 419,670,000.

So ... basically an earlier take on the Type C Mercenary Cruiser (LBB3.81, p20):

Mercenary Cruiser (type C): Using an 800-ton hull, the mercenary cruiser is built to carry small troop units for corporate or government operations. It has jump drive-M, maneuver drive-M, and power plant-M, giving jump-3 and 3-G acceleration. Fuel tankage of 318 tons supports the power plant, provides for one jump-3, and holds 48 tons in reserve for its small craft and for long term operations. Adjacent to the bridge is a computer Model/5. There are 25 staterooms and no low berths. Eight turrets are installed, with fire control, but no weaponry is carried. The ship carries two 50-ton cutters, each with an ATV module (which includes an ATV). There is provision inside the ship for two additional modules. There is an air/raft carried in a hull compartment. Cargo capacity is 80 tons. The hull is unstreamlined.
The minimum crew necessary for the mercenary cruiser is nine: commanding officer, pilot, navigator, four engineers, and medic. Gunners, cutter pilots, troops, and administrative personnel may be added as desired. The ship costs MCr445.95 and takes 25 months to build.

 

[Grav_Moped]

Wait ... hold on ...
What's a Type C Cruiser ...

LBB2.77, p19-20:

So ... basically an earlier take on the Type C Mercenary Cruiser (LBB3.81, p20):

Note that the LBB2'81 version of the Happy Fun Ball still includes 48Td of extra fuel for the 50Td Cutters (that replaced the 40Td Pinnaces) despite those craft only needing 2Td fuel per month instead of whatever they'd go through under the '77 small craft fuel burn rules...

Not sure what they'd need a year of fuel for the pinnaces for, when the Type C only had one month's worth (maybe 3 months if you use the TCS power-down rule) for its own use.

Yeah, they missed that step in tranposing it between the editions. Same deal with the drives for the Subie...

 

[spank]

To be fair, in CT ... only type A and B starports were "piracy banished" from the potential encounters while maneuvering in N-space (such as between world and jump point, for example). Everything else (starports C-X) could potentially have Random Encounter™ results that would result in an attempt at piracy. (LBB2.81, p35)

LBB2.77, p36 did something ... very different ... which made it possible to have encounters with pirates EVERYWHERE except at type E-X starports ...

This earlier take on things has some curious implications.

• Type A starport: 2D=6 roll means pirate encounter
• Type B starport: 2D=8 roll means pirate encounter
• Type C starport: 2D=10 roll means pirate encounter
• Type D starport: 2D=11 roll means pirate encounter
• Type E starport: 2D=11-12 means a Free Trader ... all other results are No Encounter
• Type X starport: No Encounter is only possible result

In other words, if a Free Trader wants to avoid any and all risks of piracy in LBB2.77, you need to be plying routes among type E (or X) starports exclusively ... since everywhere else could mean a pirate encounter is possible.

Wait ... hold on ...
What's a Type C Cruiser ...

LBB2.77, p19-20:

So ... basically an earlier take on the Type C Mercenary Cruiser (LBB3.81, p20):

I could certainly understand Pirates being more common in more populous places, but only to a point. There needs to be enough traffic to support brigandage, but not so much that it merits routine, or dedicated patrol.
Pirate encounters in Both '77 and '81 are a little odd, in '81 the presence of a scout or naval base increase the chance of encountering pirates and in '77 a better starport increases the odd of a pirate encounter.
The only reason pirate encounters don't occur at class "A" and "B" starports in '81 is because they are simply not present on the table, but at "C" and worse starports the presence of a scout or naval base gives a +DM and increases the odd of a pirate encounter.

Personally between the two I prefer the '77 approach, because it is a simple chart, rather than a table for each type of Starport,
A better approach would be to place the "pirate" encounter at the top of the table, which would reduce the odds of encoutering pirates, and make the odd decrease as modifiers are added.

With this change the odds of a pirate encounter drop to:

• Type A starport: 2D=3 roll means a pirate encounter (5.6%)
• Type B starport: 2D=5 roll means a pirate encounter (11.1%)
• Type C starport: 2D=7 roll means a pirate encounter (16.79%)
• Type D starport: 2D=8 roll means a pirate encounter (13.9%)
• Type E starport: 2D=11 roll means a pirate encounter (5.6%)
• Type X starport: No pirate encounter

Which I like very much, bigger Starports mean less chance of Pirates, but so do backwater, low traffic systems, with small or no Starports.
Even a Class "A" is not completely safe from Pirates, but this does solve the problem of having more Pirates at better ports.

If you also add Modifiers for Scout and Naval base you can completely suppress Piracy at class "A" and "B" Starbases, but the odds of piracy increase at Class "D" and worse Starports.


For example a Class "D" Starport the Odds of a Pirate Encouter are:

• LBB 2 '77 5.6%
• LBB 2 '77 Modified 13.9%
• LBB 2 '77 Mod + Scout 16.7%
• LBB 2 '77 Mod + Naval 13.9%
• LBB 2 '77 Mod + Both 11.1%

I guess you could make the argument that the bases are there to address the Piracy, Or add a "Piracy Suppression" roll, instead of a modifier, 8+ for Scouts, 6+ for Naval, and 4+ for Both.