The Re-boot of my universe.

[Cryton]

Oh, and I forgot to mention, the Empress Wave, as it hit the Spinward Marches coreward border in 1205 Im, is now 13 parsecs to rimward from that point (along the 0113 to 3213 line across the Spinward marches, and extending outward across charted space.). The recent upswing of Droyne activity's in my game's current meta plot, all seems to have started in around 1224 Im, when the wave passed through Hexes 2107, 2206, and 2307 of the Regina subsector.

 

[Dragoner]

Sounds like maybe sonar pulse to expose something? Do you have the TNE2 disk? The Spinward States describe the empress wave as much ado about nothing. Though as some sort of sonar pulse to flush out someone it makes for a better story. I haven't decided upon much of a metaplot, just fleshing out the fulani sector, which I have maps, upps for and everything and some adventure, the Guild Droyne Worlds will send raiders out, which are little more than long range recon patrols, same as what the Imperium does, but the GDW is off the map literally. Players can head back towards anywhere, the Spinward Marches if they want, but the adventure will be the frontier, ruins of the ancients and others, strange Zhodani artifacts, etc. .

 

[Cryton]

The three hexes are the locations where the Grandfathers pocket universe systems were originally located. And yeah, In MTU I guess you could say it effectively flushed something out of hiding, and made it pay a bit more attention to the universe around it.

Edit: And I do have the TNE-2 disc, as well as the 1248 source books in hardcopy.

 

[Dragoner]

Yes, I didn't want to spoil it if you were hiding the info, good way to include that stuff, otoh, yaskodray is waaay powerful, how do you plan on dealing with that?

So did the TNE books always have those covers? Some seem to bet copyrighted 2008, when did Mongoose and QLI come into the picture? Some stuff is very recent. Some is like uh...did we need another version of the type A2? and some I could see a publisher raising an eyebrow at like The Black Imperium Holocaust Zone of the section on "Mixed-Race Humans."

 

[Cryton]

None of my players are on the COTI boards that I know of. So I'm not hiding anything. And I know Yask was pretty potent (TL32 by T5 standards), But he doesn't SEEM to be active. Its just the Droyne, who so far haven't shown themselves to posses tech beyond TL15 (generally averaging TL13 in the former Domain of Deneb, TL12-13 in the area frequented by the Freedom League, and TL 12 around the areas claimed by the 4th Imperium.), that are running around doing "uplifting" things. You probably have a fairly good guess who gave the orders to do so. Just don't bet on being right, as like I said, Grandfather lied about the final war being over.

The 1248 books are primarily rules independent, covering only the setting with enough explanation so that they can be used with any Traveller rules set. The 1248 stuff was published in 2008, just prior to MgT, so its all very recent, and yes they always had the neat orange and black covers.

 

[Dragoner]

I plan on running my campaign online, so I want to keep some stuff secret more or less, just to not ruin suprises. One thing I have found making everything TL16 (Guild Droyne are TL17 but their equipment is all special) is that all the hard to come by or super rare and advanced Imperial TL15 stuff is rather common by this point. My frontier area is TL15 high standard for the most part, with only rare Imperial TL16 stuff being imported.

 

[Cryton]

Well. It has been a while since I have updated this, and have a few more things that I have tweaked into my game.

The first is that those running Nobles, as an option for the primary title holder, they do not get cash muster out benefit rolls, but rather they get portfolio rolls ala MgT Book 8: Dillettante.

A second add to Nobles, is the addition of Land Grants, with the number of world Hexes being received coming strait from T5. As for what they are worth, each Hex is considered an Estate portfolio element generating an income of 10 KCr per trade code of the world that Hex is on per month. If the world has no Trade codes, it only generates 5 KCr per Hex per month.

Nobles also get their votes in the 4I moot, and can receive 100 KCr for each one twice a year from them.

Next, if you couldn't guess, I have started using T5 for mapping my worlds and expanding the UWPs.

As for the game itself, its about to resume having been on hiatus for the holidays.

 

[Cryton]

I am also adding in an advantage/disadvantage system similar to the one found in MgTs Traveller 2300 and Chthonian Stars settings.

I am adding the changes to Noble and the Advantage/Disadvantage systems to allow for a wider range of character customization options, and to give the Imperial Nobility in the 4th Imperium the "oomph" that they have long deserved but have seemingly lacked in the 3I and editions prior to the publication of MgTs Dilletante and T5.

Now mind you, in the cases of Nobles, there will be a price to pay for the new wealth, land and votes. Namely they will have to start playing the part of an Imperial Noble. Should my noble players choose not to take the upgrades, they will be considered to be either heirs to the current title holders, or members of they title holders family and continue on as they have been.

 

[DangerousThing]

I am also adding in an advantage/disadvantage system similar to the one found in MgTs Traveller 2300 and Chthonian Stars settings.

I am adding the changes to Noble and the Advantage/Disadvantage systems to allow for a wider range of character customization options, and to give the Imperial Nobility in the 4th Imperium the "oomph" that they have long deserved but have seemingly lacked in the 3I and editions prior to the publication of MgTs Dilletante and T5.

Interesting. Are you also going to be using point based character generation, or stay with the random one?

And please keep us posted, I'd like hear more. This sounds interesting.

 

[Cryton]

I am currently using a semi-random method as follows:

1) 2d for each of your attributes, add any planetary and racial mods.
2) choose 3+Edu mod 0 lvl background skills.
3) recieve basic training 0 lvl skills for first career. choose 1 0 lvl skill for basic from a secondary skill. If you already have one of these at 0 lvl, increase it to lvl 1
4) spend skill points (15 per term) using chart on MgT Main Rulebook p40. You also pay for rank out of this pool at a max of +1 rank per term served. Maximum skill level you can buy is 4.
5) roll 1 event per term served applying any results.
6) Muster out. 1 roll per term served, plus 1 if rank 1 to 2, + 2 if rank 3 to 4, + 3 if rank 5 to 6.
7) buy advantages. You get 2 points per term to a maximum of 7 points total. You may take up to 5 points in disadvantages, which will give you an equal amount of points to spent on advantages. Max is 12pts of advantages with 5 points disadvantages.

Yes this does give some very competent characters, but I have a 4 term cap on total terms served.

 

[Cryton]

Ok. The semi random character generation did not work out well. My players shouted it down as they actually LIKE random generation, using the Iron Man option to boot! o:

So I am revising what I have listed to reflect what we have been using:

1) 2d for each of your attributes, add any planetary and racial mods.
2) choose 3+Edu mod 0 lvl background skills. You get Language:Anglic 2 for free.
3) Proceed with standard Mongoose Character Generation from here. Your choice of using the Iron Man option or normal Injury rules for failed survival. Also your choice of either normal skill generation (roll die on chart) or using the Skill Selection option (pick instead of roll).
4) Muster out. 1 roll per term served, plus 1 roll if rank 1 to 2, + 2 rolls if rank 3 to 4, + 3 rolls if rank 5 to 6. Nobles that roll a 7 for material benefits fro the first time get the High Noble Advantage, giving them a Land grant and votes in the moot. Nobles who do not have the High Noble advantage are considered planetary, honor or reward nobles. Additional rolls of 7 are treated normally for benefits receipts, as you can only become a High Noble once.
5) buy advantages. You get 2 points per term to a maximum of 7 points total. You may take up to 5 points in disadvantages, which will give you an equal amount of points to spent on advantages. Max is 12pts of advantages with 5 points disadvantages.

As to how the game is going so far, my players pooled their ships shares to get a Far Trader and have been exploring outside the 4I. Currently they are doing salvage operations in the ruins of the worlds they explore. Its been great fun so far.

 

[selunatic2397]

Sounds cool! In my traveller universe I am down to 1 player on sundays after I get off a 5am to 2pm retail shift...it works!

Using the longer jump ranges we talked about sometime ago here He is seeking someone with a j3 boosted to a j300 (in his wildest dreams anyway) to get his astrophysicist to a hypergiant that went boom ''a while ago"...he did not get any data better than that!

He's hoping to see a gamma ray burst go off...as that is what his doctoral thesis is about...well that and getting a military grant to "research possible applications of targetting said gamma ray burst"

I am debating him finding the mathematics geek who won the scout in a poker game and is trying to link the unified field theory with a quantum gravitics theory...and black holes!

Keep having fun!...*goes off to bed as 4am comes early with barking squirrel happy dogs nearby*

 

[Cryton]

Because it came up, I have to put this herelease keep in mind this is about IMTU.

Jump Space IMTU

Jump Space works as per the article in JTAS 24.

Jump field drives, Jump plate using drives and Jump Grid using drives are all in play. The differences between the three are mostly cosmetic, dealing with the size of Jump Envelope they create, and what that entails. Jump Drives that use Plates or Grids can operate in Jump Field Mode if they have to (usually done when there has been damage to the hull and you need to Jump).

Hydrogen is not needed for the Jump Envelope, A powerplant and a functioning J Drive are. (It's a field not a Hydrogen Bubble!).

The Hydrogen used for Jump Fuel is burned by the Fusion PP to Power the J Drive when it tears opens and closes the Hole into Jump space. The power to rip open and close a holes in reality is immense, and requires overclocking of the Fusion Power Plant to get this power fast enough. Thus, the fuel requirements for Jump using Fusion Power Plants. In jump space the J Drive doesn't need more power than is available from the Fusion Power Plants regular operations to maintain the jump envelope. Exiting Jump Space doesn't take immense power, its a natural process that occurs at the end of your time in jump.

Turning off the J Drive while in Jump Space is Bad. It can kill everyone on board over the course of a few hours, and it is an IMMENSELY painful and sanity warping way to go. ("Ship arrives with crew and passengers Dead!" is an occasional News Headline IMTU). It's a nasty and visible form of miss jump.

Gravity Wells that can effect Jump HAVE to be large NATURAL gravity sources (> 1 000 000 Dtons) until TL 21 when the Jump Damper and Jump Projector are invented. This does mean you can initiate Jump from inside of a larger ship. This is a bad idea, as anything inside your Jump Envelope, the size of which depends on if your running a Jump Field Drive, Jump Plates or Jump Grid, goes into jump with you. This can do severe damage to the ship your Jumping from, and if enough mass is taken with you, you can expect not only a misjump, but damage to your ship as well (possibly catastrophic). Jumping out of a ship that is already in Jump Space is always catastrophic for you, sometimes for both ships.

Drop Tanks and Jump capable small craft do exist IMTU. Drop Tanks, when used, can not be used with Jump Field Drives, or with other drives running Jump Field Mode. Drop Tanks use on ships using Jump Plates run an increased chance of mis-jump. Ships using Jump Grids can use Drop Tanks without any problems.

I think that between the article, and my notes here, that covers everything.

 

[selunatic2397]

Nice bit of data...you've given me something to think about...thanks!

 

[Frankymole]

The Hydrogen used for Jump Fuel is burned by the Fusion PP to Power the J Drive when it tears opens and closes the Hole into Jump space. The power to rip open and close a holes in reality is immense, and requires overclocking of the Fusion Power Plant to get this power fast enough. Thus, the fuel requirements for Jump using Fusion Power Plants.

I think in Classic Traveller (Digest era as it morphed into MT), the drive used zuchai crystals, which are mentioned as a component of jump drives further back in some CT adventure(s) but not specified how they work. The crystals, according to late-80s, CT/MT, record an "energy image" so the fast-pumping power plant is essential. This energy is than directed into the lanthanum drive coils (later, in MT, hull grid) in a specific pattern to set the navigation course - which is therefore pre-set at the moment of Jump and cannot be altered or cancelled/interrupted except by an accidental misjump event.

DGP's Starship Operator's Manual had the powered-up lanthanum grid to maintain the jump field at a (1 meter?) distance from the hull during the week in jump. That must tie in with the grid being one-meter squares.

Most fun I had in my first ever Traveller game back in '83 was fighting hand-to-hand combat against a hijacker in a Ship's locker, whilst the pilot was trying to jump during the hijack, with a hull breach due to collision with a police fighter, not to mention that one of us had a breached vacc suit, and we hadn't even cleared planetary atmosphere yet let alone 10 diameters... well, I say fun. More like RIP.

How do jump "plates" work?