T5 Errata Discussion Thread

[LimeCooler]

Drive Formulae errors on page 337.

My questions concerns page 337: Drive Formulae.

Under the Anti-Matter Power Plant formulae you list: EP = (T-30) x 100. By transposing this and solving for T you get T = (EP/100) + 30. Using this new formula; all of the tonnages listed after AM Drive ID “K” are too heavy as currently listed on the “Starship Dives” table on page 338. If this is intentional then a warning note needs to be added to the AM formulae stating it does not work for drives larger than “K” or the formulae need to be adjusted to account for the difference.

Under the Collector Power Plant formulae you list: EP = T x 20. By transposing this and solving for T you get T = EP/20. Using this new formula all of your collector drives are ½ of what is listed on “Starship Dives” table on page 338. Which is correct, the table or the formulae? If the table is correct you need to add a multiple integer of “2” somewhere in your Collector formulae otherwise the entire Collector column on page 338 needs to be changed.

The rest of the formulae check out with the listings on the “Starship Drives” table on page 338.

Thank you.

 

[Licheking]

Errata says: "p. 250, 02 GunMaker, Weapon FillForm (clarification): For the FillForm, the D value from GunMaker 05, Burden and Stage (page 253) applies to both D1 and D2. "

I have been going through the 1001 GunMaker examples and Marc hasn't applied this rule to the weapons there, at least not to my reckoning. Also i noticed that all the shotgun entries have Frag as an effect, but can't find where any of them have got it from, Unless the basic Shotgun entry should be Frag instead of Bullet!

 

[thalassogen]

I have been going through the 1001 GunMaker examples and Marc hasn't applied this rule to the weapons there, at least not to my reckoning. Also i noticed that all the shotgun entries have Frag as an effect, but can't find where any of them have got it from, Unless the basic Shotgun entry should be Frag instead of Bullet!

I guess, Frag for shotgungs does make more sense than Bullet...
And maybe it should have been "D from Burden and Stage applies to D2 and D3"?

 

[Reban]

I went back and had a look at the Master Text Old file that comes on my CD and the paragraphs for Burden and Stage are seperate, unlike the final text which addresses both Burden and Stage in one paragraph loosing the clarity.

Chart 5. Burden
Select an appropriate Burden and record its TL, Range, Mass, qreBs (Burden), Miscellaneous (usually Mods to QREBS), D2 (Mod to D2), and Cost. Observe the requirements under Comment.
Mass. Mass is a multiplier. Entries from this chart should be preceded by x (a times sign).

Chart 5. Stage
Select an appropriate Stage and record its TL, Range, Mass, qreBs (Burden), Miscellaneous (usually Mods to QREBS), D2 (Mod to D2), and Cost. Observe the requirements under Comment.
Mass. Mass is a multiplier. Entries from this chart should be preceded by x (a times sign).

Originally then it was: D1 + (D2 + D + D) =

So thats where the errata seems to come from, but the Fillforms are suppose to lay out and define how the process works and the GunMaker fillform makes it look like:

(D1 + D2)+D =

Rather than what the errata says should be:

(D1 + D) + (D2 + D) =

As for the examples, I've ignored all of them because they're either riddled with errors or done with versions of Makers that don't correspond to the final eratta'd version.


As for frag for shotguns, I agree, but I'd go further and say you should be allowed switch between Frag and Bullet to represent shot and slug cartridges. In fact for most weapons I think swapping between different Effects (within reason) could represent different types of ammo.

 

[Licheking]

yeah my thoughts too, specifically for slugthrowers anyway. Energy weapons get the variable power setting.

 

[Reban]

Slugthrowers yes, also grenade and rocket launchers, perhaps missile launchers. As well as swapping some Effects for others I think you could also differentiate rounds be re balancing damage dice.

For example the standard Hand Grenade on p.227 is: Blast-1 Bang-2 Frag-1
Total dice 4.

For a Fragmentation Grenade I'd re-balance it as: Bang-2 Frag-2

For a WP or Incendiary Grenade I'd swap some Effects: Blast-1 Bang-1 Burn-2

Same total dice but no fragments only burn damage.

But I'm waiting to put this into action until we see final errata on how GunMaker works.

 

[dalthor]

Starship building - sensor ambiguities

On page 341, under section 13 (Sensors) Step F states "Install a control panel for each sensor"

As I understand it, each sensor type requires a control panel, and multiple control panels may be installed on a single console.

On page 383, in the "How sensors work" chapter, the table at the bottom of the page states "Each sensor requires a 1-ton console on the Bridge"

The table specifically lists several tech levels of sensors, each requiring a dedicated console.

==

Personally, I'm changing the column header on pg. 383 from "consoles" to "Control panels", and dropping the tonnage column.

If I choose to install a 2nd set of sensors as a backup set, I'll put a 2nd console on my emergency bridge.

 

[Original_Carl]

On page 341, under section 13 (Sensors) Step F states "Install a control panel for each sensor"

As I understand it, each sensor type requires a control panel, and multiple control panels may be installed on a single console.

On page 383, in the "How sensors work" chapter, the table at the bottom of the page states "Each sensor requires a 1-ton console on the Bridge"

The table specifically lists several tech levels of sensors, each requiring a dedicated console.

==

Personally, I'm changing the column header on pg. 383 from "consoles" to "Control panels", and dropping the tonnage column.

If I choose to install a 2nd set of sensors as a backup set, I'll put a 2nd console on my emergency bridge.

Hello Dalthor,

I think what the rules are trying to tell you is that you'll need one control panel for each sensor. You can assign multiple control panels to a console. See p345.

Control Panels go on each starship component. This is the direct access user interface for the given component (see p514 for a picture). Off the top of my head, this includes Wings, Jump Field, P-Plant, M-Drive, J-Drive, Fuel Fittings, Life Support, and Vehicles (and possibly fuel tankage, depending on your interpretation of the control panel rules). Pretty much anything that can/should be controlled must have a control panel. There's a rule that you have to have a control panel for every 35 tons of whatever you're trying to control (if you have a device greater than 35 tons to which you must install a control panel).

Consoles automate control panels and allow them to be remotely controlled, i.e. from the bridge.

I hope that helps.

-Carl

 

[Reban]

VehicleMaker Stubs p.300

Does anybody have any idea what "Stubs" are for?

They are an option for Grav and Lift Flyers. Their only effect on the design is a cost of 20KCr. No effect to TL, Speed or Load is given.

I have a few ideas what they might be:

• An aid to lift or agility that should give a +1 to Speed
• A weapons pylon or station, which should either benifit Load or be a Weapon Mount
• An alternate to Add-on Wings exclusive to Grav and Lift Flyers

Or are they just remnant of an idea that needs to be expunged from the Vehicle Enhancers table?

 

[Daddicus]

Pg 142, two "Grav" skills

There is a Grav skill under Driver and there is another with the same name under Flyer.

Was this intentional? If so, then no worries. If not, we should add it to the errata.

 

[Licheking]

Does anybody have any idea what "Stubs" are for?

They are an option for Grav and Lift Flyers. Their only effect on the design is a cost of 20KCr. No effect to TL, Speed or Load is given.

I was under the impression that they gave Stability to those craft using them like fins do for starships, but will check with my book when i get home.

There is a Grav skill under Driver and there is another with the same name under Flyer.

It is also under watercraft. Each of the 4 types of vehicle has a grav motive system so you have Ground, Flyer, Military and Watercraft. My take was that Grav vehicles can be built using different design parameters, for example a grav vehicle built using the ground rules could only reach a ceiling of 10m, while one built using the flyer build could go up to any height. They each have different cost depending on which build you are using with Flyer as the most expensive.

 

[Reban]

There is a Grav skill under Driver and there is another with the same name under Flyer.

Was this intentional? If so, then no worries. If not, we should add it to the errata.

Yes it's intentional. As Licheking points out its also under Seafarer. To understand the way these skills work its important to look at the allowed and disallowed terrain charts in VehicleMaker and the way they effect the difficulty level of driving, flying and sailing tasks.

Roughly you have Ground Grav Vehicles operating close to the ground governed by the Driver skill. Grav Flyers operating from NOP to Orbit governed by the Flyer Skill and Grav Watercraft operating on and in water/liquid governed by Seafarer.

In most cases for Grav vehicles the skills are interchangable. For example you could use Driver when operating a Grav Flyer close to the ground or I think you could use Flyer to get a ground Grav vehicle to and from orbit.

See p.290 Operations, pp.291-293 Terrain Effects/Altitudes/Depths to understand these three skills and Grav vehicles.

 

[Reban]

I was under the impression that they gave Stability to those craft using them like fins do for starships, but will check with my book when i get home.

It doesn't state that anywhere in VehicleMaker. There are three "Wing" options that add to speed and can be added to Grav Flyers.

As I understand it Stability relates to turbulence in ACS for spacecraft operating in atmosphere, but I don't think that applies to Vehicles (they are designed to operate in atmosphere).


I think Stubs and Redundancy were just forgotten to be given a function. I've popped Redundancy into the errata thread with a suggestion but Stubs is harder to interpret. I'd appreciate your input.

 

[Licheking]

If they don't add to stability you could do 1 of 2 things, use it to increase qrEbs by 1 making it easier to use or Increase Speed by 1 at the expense of Load. I think i will use the first option and have it increase ease of Use.

 

[Daddicus]

Thanks, guys!

I had done a search, but do you know how many words in a Traveller book start with "grav"? Tons.

I didn't think to say "whole word only", which got me right to your references, plus a few more. Thanks for the idea!!!

 

[dalthor]

Where is the roll for P in PBG?

OK, found the section in system generation to roll belts and gas giants. Did not find anything to generate the population multiplier.

Using "if pop > 0 then mult = roll 1d6, if result is 6 then roll 1d6+3" seems to work...

What did I miss this time? o:

Dalthor

 

[dalthor]

Stellar data - distinguishing primary, near, and so on...

While working on system generation, I noticed that there can be up to eight (8!) stars in a system.

Unfortunately, I found nothing to distinguish which are which in a world line.

IMTU, I use no delimiter for primary, parentheses for close, curly braces for near, and brackets for far:

Primary/companion = G5-V M3-III
Close/companion = (M2-V K1-V)
Near/companion = {M3-VI K5-VI}
Far/companion = [M2-V Bd]

resulting in: G5-V M3-III (M2-V K1-V) {M3-VI K5-VI} [M2-V Bd]

Another with a primary, and a near with companion: G5-V {M4-V Bd}

I seem to recall something similar, but can't find where that discussion occurred.

Is anything in the works for the errata to distinguish these?

Dalthor

 

[agorski]

OK, found the section in system generation to roll belts and gas giants. Did not find anything to generate the population multiplier.

Using "if pop > 0 then mult = roll 1d6, if result is 6 then roll 1d6+3" seems to work...

What did I miss this time? o:

Dalthor

It's in the errata for pg. 431:

While the population significant digit is explained here, the detail for generating it was left off the checklist. P = 2D−2, rerolling “0” results unless Pop=0, in which case P=0.

Unfortunately, this generates 1-10, which can't be right and doesn't generate an even distribution. So I roll a D10, re-rolling 10s for a number between 0-9.

 

[thalassogen]

Unfortunately, this generates 1-10, which can't be right and doesn't generate an even distribution. So I roll a D10, re-rolling 10s for a number between 0-9.

I suggested using the 1-9 even distribution on page 31.

 

[rancke]

It's in the errata for pg. 431:

While the population significant digit is explained here, the detail for generating it was left off the checklist. P = 2D−2, rerolling “0” results unless Pop=0, in which case P=0.

Unfortunately, this generates 1-10, which can't be right and doesn't generate an even distribution. So I roll a D10, re-rolling 10s for a number between 0-9.

The number generated is between 0 and 10 (11 possible outcomes). A population multiplier must be between 1 and 9, so any result of 0 or 10 is just rerolled. You're right about the distribution being uneven, but unfortunately Classic Traveller and the versions that strives to be close to Classic Traveller has an absolute ban against any type of die other than D6. This, I believe, includes T5[*].

It's actually pretty easy to generate a number between 1 and 9 with just D6s:

In the following, D3 means 'roll a D6 and count 1-2 as 1, 3-4 as 2, and 5-6 as 3'.

1) Roll D6; on a result of 1-2, roll D3; one a result of 3-4, roll D3+3; and on a result of 5-6, roll D3+6.

[*] Or am I wrong?​

Hans