travelling in a nebula, thoughts?

[VT1099ace]

ok, Nebula..they're out there, waiting....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebula​

but just how would you treat one IYTU? (In Your Traveller Universe)
size? planetary: system wide/parsec? proto-planetary: same? supernova remnant: multi-parsec?
what of Radiation exposure?
Sensor/comm signal interferance?

anythng else?

 

[aramis]

Radiation: same as stellar system.
Jump effect: negligible. (Canonically, Trin is in a nebula, and no special rules applied there...)

Descriptive: The outside stars may be less visible by an order of magnitude, night is'nt quite as dark.

Signal interference: DM-1 on comm tasks at most.

 

[Andrew Boulton]

They can be pretty big (subsector-sized, or bigger), but so diffuse you can't see them from the inside.

 

[VT1099ace]

well that seems a let down, I was hoping for more...um...dramatic/interesting possible effects.

 

[Andrew Boulton]

Denser ones are possible, of course.

 

[Magnus von Thornwood]

Dramatic you say....

What about say like the plasmatic space lightning? Like that kind of interesting?

 

[Gadrin]

well that seems a let down, I was hoping for more...um...dramatic/interesting possible effects.

Trek might do you some good:

regions of charged particles,
ion-zones,
plasma bursts

I had a NPC group from the Far Frontiers Sector (using Faraday) who were "galactic engineers" (terraforming, diverting comets, building asteroid bases, etc). I believe I had them building a "artificial nebula" at the LaGrange points on a moon (I'd have to go back and find my notes). This is where a company or government would hide a secret base. Outsiders would think it's natural, and it would/should prevent radar/ladar scans but probably not densitometers. They'd use meson comms to communicate.

I think the dangers were

1 - Navigational
2 - Navigational
3 - Navigational

as in getting people in and out of the nebula for shift changes (say 20 or 30 day shift rotation).


>

 

[VT1099ace]

well an ionized reflection nebula seems to have the potential to mess with sensors (both active and passive), distorted visual. radiation ofcourse (like a hits from a PA?) flares from the reflection source star....toss in a GK ship to rescue

I'm thinking something dramatic and challenging for PC to overcome/explore

 

[Gadrin]

well an ionized reflection nebula seems to have the potential to mess with sensors (both active and passive), distorted visual. radiation ofcourse (like a hits from a PA?) flares from the reflection source star....toss in a GK ship to rescue

I'm thinking something dramatic and challenging for PC to overcome/explore

These are from FASA: Rescue on Galatea by Mark Lawrence
which I thought was an interesting note...

Shadowsand: An airless set of planetesimals captured within a ring of radius 500,000,000
km around a collapsed supernova black hole. Because of the enormous energies released by
the nova, Shadowsand has been mined heavily in the last 15 years since the discovery there
of eka-metals, super-heavymetals with very unusual and unique properties. In 1094, the
Chalq Dhamon rebels commandeered mining operations there considered vital to the success
of Genem inc.'s freepoint armor projects for fourteen months before being destroyed by
several contingents of Protectorate Marines.

Koenig, Lt. General Malachi Formerly one of the high officers within the
Protectorate commandos, Koenig was passed over for promotion to General for
his abnormal field tactics while serving as the last commanding officer in
the Shadowsand campaigns. He subsequently refused forced retirement when a
routine psychological profile suggested symptoms of slight neurotic
schizophrenia, probably deriving from his experience in the Veil, an area on
Shadowsand Sixteen in which the stars are completely eclipsed by intervening
debris, forcing a direct view of the heart of the black hole standing at the
center of the system. The effect is reportedly one of severe disorientation
and a consequent feeling of non-corporeality, Koenig remains one of only two
people out of a legion of 300 Marines to have survived the experience the
other being former Force Commander E idolon Chantree, and records of the
incident are kept classified since Koenig disappeared not long after
receiving the order for his resignation ten years ago.

And the system...
http://www.travellermap.com/JumpMap.aspx?sector=Far+Frontiers&hex=2526&jump=6&scale=48&options=8210

A black hole, the event horizon, an area of debris, the supernatural implications of viewing the
horror -- that'd be a rather neat setup to send a ship + marines into to handle that encounter...

Sounds like perfect stage for a PBP! o:



>

 

[aramis]

Several of you have been watching too much Star Trek & BSG.

Visible nebulae are only a few tiny particles per cubic meter, if even that. Maybe even a fraction of a gram per cubic meter. (Aerogels are measured in grams per liter... and are far more dense!)

 

[Gadrin]

Several of you have been watching too much Star Trek & BSG.

Yeah, I have a space opera setting called the Hourglass Nebula that's the remnant of a long-blown supernova spread out over hundreds of parsecs. Since it's not a "hard sci" campaign I can do things like have thick-as-pea-soup cloud cover, floating chunks of debris and solar winds, etc, etc all the tv-type stuff that wouldn't happen

This opens the way (literally) to finding a "northwest passage" thru the muck and getting out to the other side, but like said, it's not a realistic setting, more over the top, wow-type stuff.



>

 

[atpollard]

1% of the particles in the Nebula are comprised of uncommon quark-like particles that are attracted by the energy field in 'Bonded Superdense' hulls and embrittle the Superdense atomic matrix. A visible inspection (via EVA) of the exterior of the hull will reveal that the paint is lifting and the underlying metal is flaking away.

Estimated time to hull breach is 1D6 years per point of Armor.
But wait until you get the bill to repair the damage at your next annual maintenance.

 

[Trent]

It's possible that a powerful enough nova might produce tiny amounts of anti-particles, which could cause interesting things to happen.

 

[aramis]

1% of the particles in the Nebula are comprised of uncommon quark-like particles that are attracted by the energy field in 'Bonded Superdense' hulls and embrittle the Superdense atomic matrix. A visible inspection (via EVA) of the exterior of the hull will reveal that the paint is lifting and the underlying metal is flaking away.

Estimated time to hull breach is 1D6 years per point of Armor.
But wait until you get the bill to repair the damage at your next annual maintenance.

Or worse, building up and interfering with all the drives...

 

[sabredog]

They're foggy, you might hit some errant chunk of old cometary ice.

Best to get a lookout aloft to keep watch, and maybe someone in the chains for good measure.

 

[VT1099ace]

1% of the particles in the Nebula are comprised of uncommon quark-like particles that are attracted by the energy field in 'Bonded Superdense' hulls and embrittle the Superdense atomic matrix. A visible inspection (via EVA) of the exterior of the hull will reveal that the paint is lifting and the underlying metal is flaking away.

Estimated time to hull breach is 1D6 years per point of Armor.
But wait until you get the bill to repair the damage at your next annual maintenance.

what would happen if you charged up the j-drive in a cloud of this stuff? maaaybe couldn't get a stable field and you'd be stuck until you could move to an area of lesser density? could take a looong time...how much fuel is on board? be like jumping into amber and your the bug!

 

[Gadrin]

what would happen if you charged up the j-drive in a cloud of this stuff? maaaybe couldn't get a stable field and you'd be stuck until you could move to an area of lesser density? could take a looong time...how much fuel is on board? be like jumping into amber and your the bug!

no wonder you're extinct.

and by your logic -- instant plot seed...

GM: "So you're plowing thru the edge of this h-u-g-e nebula and you come across an Azhanti High Lightning-class cruiser that's obviously been drifting for a few centuries..."

PC: "You already ran the AHL three weeks ago."

GM: "Okay, it's a Leviathan-class merchant, and when you scan it with the densitometer, you get these images like giant reptiles..."

PC: again




but seriously, it'd be a good place to find something lost...

>

 

[VT1099ace]

no wonder you're extinct.

and by your logic -- instant plot seed...

GM: "So you're plowing thru the edge of this h-u-g-e nebula and you come across an Azhanti High Lightning-class cruiser that's obviously been drifting for a few centuries..."

PC: "You already ran the AHL three weeks ago."

GM: "Okay, it's a Leviathan-class merchant, and when you scan it with the densitometer, you get these images like giant reptiles..."

PC: again




but seriously, it'd be a good place to find something lost...

>

would be a head scratcher, how to get in to salvage a ship you know is there but jumping into the system where it is impossible and jumping to the edge and m-driving in would take waaaay to long? but the target is waaay to valuable not to recover...:smirk:

 

[Ran Targas]

I use nebula as basically the equivalent mountain ranges in a fantasy setting; you can go through them but it's slow and very dangerous and you often don't end up exactly where you wanted to. If you have a guide, you stand a much better chance of making it but still, nebula are not picnic places for amateurs. A culture of "mountain men" have grown up around the scouts who choose to chart these phenomenon, particularly because they also hold small pockets of very valuable metals and hydrocarbons. The hardened veterans have often learned to safely navigate portions of the nebula, even plotting the eyes of the storm where conditions are relatively safe for jump navigation. Some scouts have even made a good living prospecting mineral clouds for mining companies, atleast until the radiation sickness or cancer take them.

My house rules for jump navigation make penetrating very far into a nebula difficult for those not familiar with their peculiarities; particularly those without scout or navy experience. Long jumps (3 parsecs or more) more often than not end with a mis-jump. And if you mis-jump into a hex that's still within the nebula, then figuring out where you are is extremely difficult. Imagine jumping into a swirling cloud of hot ions, the light of several young variables pouring through your windows, bathing your Sulie in hard radiation; best of luck surviving the next few minutes.

IMTU, the boundaries of nebula also tend to be frequented by pirates and smugglers looking for cover, whether it's for covert meetings or just making repairs. My players, after paying a prospector a rather large fee, were shown a jump route through one nebula; along the route is a pirate haven where almost any cargo can be fenced. Not much more than a couple dozen cargo containers lashed together, the haven has been very useful for me when building adventures.

 

[VT1099ace]

and maybe the exotic charged particles of a nebula (esp. a supernova remnant) could, through induction with the a jump grid as it runs back to the drives blow out all kinds of fuses and circuit breakers ?... anyone have a penny to pop in the panel? or a cartridge from the armory? o: