The Great IMTU Poll, Part V

[Golan2072]

Piracy

pi++ Piracy exists and is rampant. Anyone may commit piracy. Ship tracking and ID are uncommon.

pi+ Piracy exists. Antipiracy is mostly political or economic, and is inadequate. Transponders may be changed or masked, or are not widespread or sufficient.

pi Piracy only exists in the vacuum of government or corporate morals.

pi- Piracy is not sustainable.

pi-- Piracy is impossible.

---

Drop Tanks

ta++ Starships only really need fuel for maneuver.

ta+ "Tankless" systems are often used by large corporations.

ta Drop tank-assisted jumps are usable at TL14+.

ta- Drop tank-assisted jumps are expensive and dangerous.

ta-- Drop tank-assisted jumps should be banned.

---
Other Great IMTU Polls: I, II, III, IV

 

[Golan2072]

For me:

My view on piracy depends on the milieu at stake. In the Classical Era OTU, the Imperium is big, stable, well-established, has efficient military courier networks and ALOT of ships at its disposal for both defence against foriegn threats AND for internal patrol. For the Classical Era, therefore, I'd vote pi; piracy would work in it only on the frontier, on the edges of the Imperium.

However, as I'll probably set my next OTU game in the TNE:1248 milieu, I've voted for pi+. Governments are small and (comparatively) weak. Most of them have an acute shortage in ships, and an acute surplus in enemies, so their few fleet assets would be used to patrol the borders and/or attack other polities, with anti-piracy sweeps being a second-priority task performed only once in a while. Furthermore, 1248 has vast Wilds - low-tech, chaotic, sparsely patrolled areas, most of which haven't been even seriously surveyed for over a century - for pirates to hide in. And even large areas of what's nominally under the control of the major powers are not so different from Wilds.

Regarding Drop Tanks, I use them as they're written (so I've voted ta), though they are mostly used for military ships and fast couriers - commerce usually picks the route of least resistance and/or uses inflatible fuel-bladders inside their cargo holds if absolutely nescery.

 

[robject]

Strangely enough, my preference for droptanks has become more generous, from plain 'ta' ten years ago to 'ta+' today.

 

[chshrkt]

Originally posted by robject:
Strangely enough, my preference for droptanks has become more generous, from plain 'ta' ten years ago to 'ta+' today.

To be honest, I am not sure what a "Tankless" system is.

I like the idea of piracy outside the core. Why else would all the canon PC ships be running around with triple turrets?

I like the concept of changing the outward appearance of a ship through temporary external structures and paint (A-la some WWII practices and 'Q-Ships') and the ability to muck with transponders and what-not, though don't try to pass a customs inspection with a fiddled transponder unless you spent a pretty penny on the job. And IMTU, most planetary govt's just LOVE to do 'Customs' inspections, especially on random tramp freighters (read, the PCs ship).

 

[Golan2072]

Originally posted by chshrkt:
I like the idea of piracy outside the core. Why else would all the canon PC ships be running around with triple turrets?

Space-pirates are part of the Traveller core concept - and they add spice to otherwise routine interstellar journeys.

And IMTU, most planetary govt's just LOVE to do 'Customs' inspections, especially on random tramp freighters (read, the PCs ship).

Yep, here lies the big revenue from large fines for minor infractions enacted on small operators who usually don't have batteries of top-notch lawyers or bought politicians at their disposal (unlike the corporations).

 

[Jame]

PI; TA+. Piracy exists on the frontiers, in 1115; in wartime/Collapse/Long-Night situations it rises in the interiors.

Drop Tanks are not common, but they are a TL 10-11 system.

 

[Whipsnade]

For me: pi and ta-

Everyone knows my take on piracy and the Yo-Ho-Ho-ist versus Mugwump arguments over it.

As for drop tanks...

... how many commercial air carriers practice inflight refueling?


Have fun,
Bill

 

[fredofmars]

For me: pi and ta (shading to ta-).

Piracy is canonical, so it MUST exist in a universe that is close to the OTU (as MTU attempts to be). On the other hand, it is clearly difficult to pull off in most TUs - including mine.

Drop tanks IMTU are experimental at TL14, and very rare (read: still have problems) at TL15.

 

[flykiller]

pi+

of course piracy only takes place in the absence of effective government opposition, and even in the middle of the imperium there are vast regions where the government has about as much presence as moscow does in eastern siberia.

ta+

a great way to travel efficiently in civilized areas, but in undeveloped regions independent operators will require integral fuel tanks, so I don't see why opposition to these would rise above mild indifference.

 

[Scott Martin]

The Tanks "answers" were vague: perhaps the first one should have been
TA++ "It is safe for ships to fuel jumps entirely from jump tanks",
TA+ "ships can safely fuel most of their jump from external tanks"
TA "Ships must fuel jumps from internal tankage, or suffer some additional risk"
TA- "Drop tanks are risky"
TA-- "Are you freaking nuts? not IMTU!"

My cut at the OTU on this scale would be "TA"

Originally posted by Bill Cameron:
As for drop tanks...

... how many commercial air carriers practice inflight refueling?

How many commercial air carriers would use jetisonable fuel tanks if a significant fraction of the fuel was used on take-off

That said, I still chuckle when someone posts "but certainly there are planets that make it easy to fence trillions of dollars in starships with the serial numbers filed off"

Maybe in the Vargr extents, but then they wouldn't bother wasting time with the files there...

That puts the OTU at "PI" by my reckoning

Scott Martin

 

[Ptah]

pi (but MTU setting has a lot of pi or privateers to be more precise, pi- within borders of organized polities unless you are a privateer fencing goods.)

ta- (you'll never get insurance or a passenger license with those things.)

 

[Whipsnade]

Originally posted by Scott Martin:
How many commercial air carriers would use jetisonable fuel tanks if a significant fraction of the fuel was used on take-off.

Scott,

Well, if you're going to ask that question, you'll need to ask the whole question.

How many commercial air carriers would use jettisonable fuel tanks if a significant fraction of the fuel was used on take-off and at the risk of the aircraft exploding if it took off within 100D of the jettisoned tanks?

YM (no pun intended) MV.


Have fun,
Bill

 

[robject]

Yeah, we don't want our passenger liners exploding. That would put a damper on our stock prices.

But then, I heard a rumor that that was an act of sabotage by the Naval Illuminati.

My take is like flykiller's -- large megacorporate freighters in the core sectors run established lines tankless. A litmus test for Imperial snobbery.

 

[Liam Devlin]

Pi & Ta.

IMTU, only the Navy uses the darn things..otherwise, the megacorp's Bulk freighters would be outta bidness.

 

[kafka47]

Piracy is one of the staples of Traveller, therefore, I voted pi+. It is hard to imagine what the a TU universe would be without predators, I guess it would be Classic Trek, no even that had pirates of a sort. What interests me, why the sudden interests in pirates...I have always played them as Mercs gone bad. Fallen heroes. Is it because in a world in which Sept. 11 has forever created no clear cut distinction between right & wrong. Where traditional villains now can be heroes? Or it is something deeper or shallow?


Ta- They are expensive and dangerious retrofits to Starships, I don't limit their use but when there is several dangers associated with them least of all the whole ship blowing up, it usually provides a cautionary note to players who wish to acquire longer legs.

 

[robject]

Interest in pirates is nothing new in the Traveller community, Kaf. Anyone else remember the great Piracy debate a decade ago on the TML?

 

[Golan2072]

Originally posted by kafka47:
Piracy is one of the staples of Traveller, therefore, I voted pi+. It is hard to imagine what the a TU universe would be without predators, I guess it would be Classic Trek, no even that had pirates of a sort. What interests me, why the sudden interests in pirates...I have always played them as Mercs gone bad. Fallen heroes. Is it because in a world in which Sept. 11 has forever created no clear cut distinction between right & wrong. Where traditional villains now can be heroes? Or it is something deeper or shallow?

My interest in Pirates is mostly as villains and opponents - especially if the players operate a free trader. Having your Type-A chased by a pirate ship or two is a staple of Traveller, after all

 

[Ishmael]

imtu, piracy is more like commercial warfare with a government's covert approval against another power.
a nice plot thingy but not overly important to me..definately not like yohoho and a bottle of rum stuff.

drop tanks are used.

I don't have reactionless thrust imtu. Extra range when needed but with the option of jetisoning the extra mass when more preformance is wanted

jump with drop tanks is used as well when longer jumps require more fuel ( jump performance based on mass instead of volume ), however jump fuel tanks must also have a jump grid built into them to be able to be kept during jump ( so jump field can cover them as well ) making them more like extra tankage to extend range that *can* be dropped if needed...and the 'mother' ship must have designed hardponits to mount them and be stressed for G's too.

not so much for merchant ships as the drop-tank's loss or the cost to recover them is added expense...but military doesn't have that issue. ( the reason military jets use them and commercial airlines don't )

mtu<>ytu

 

[Ptah]

Originally posted by robject:
Interest in pirates is nothing new in the Traveller community, Kaf. Anyone else remember the great Piracy debate a decade ago on the TML?

Yes, and they were a shade less ugly than the near-c rock debate. Odd to think it was over a decade ago. IIRC that was around 1994-95. Does that sound right?

 

[Ptah]

Originally posted by kafka47:
Piracy is one of the staples of Traveller, therefore, I voted pi+. It is hard to imagine what the a TU universe would be without predators, I guess it would be Classic Trek, no even that had pirates of a sort. ...

Yep they had the Orion Pirates, even in SFB. Of course you never see them in the show, what sane pirate would attack a Heavy Cruiser class starship?