Showing posts with label Mongoose. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mongoose. Show all posts

Friday, April 11, 2025

Traveller Pirates - Hard Copy

The hard copy showed up earlier than expected. It is nice, but a little larger than the original LBBs by maybe 1/8 to 1/4". I've not measured it.

I can't say if the black is off - my copies are a few decades old. The font is close, but still there is enough of a difference that I can tell. It seems more italicized than the originals. The cover feels about the same thickness though and does have a nice feel. 

Inside, the pages are brighter of course. The pages are slicker, and the paper of course is different. The font seems a bit smaller to me compared side by side, and again, it not quite the same font. And the tables still have that not-quite-right feel to them. I feel the typesetting was more meticulous in the classic books, and people just use the electronic tools without giving them a lot of thought as it is so simple to make changes. 

Overall, though, it is a good effort at recreating the original style of the LBBs. I am saddened that it is a bit taller than the original books by a bit, but happy that there is a new classic book out there!

Is it worth it? If you love Traveller, and want the extended Pirates career, then yes. Though I think there are close variations in a Cepheus book or two (and one I've seemed to have misplaced, as well as the T5 ship deck plans. They are somewhere in here!) I'm even hoping to get my group to play Traveller gain, this time maybe as pirates. Last time they seemed too constrained and were so very leery of breaking any rules. Even though each planet has its own laws, and there are few Imperial-wide laws out there. Just no nukes is the main one I can recall. That and do not mess with trade, though that may be more a product of countless discussions I've read through and not actual Imperial edicts. 

And again thinking about Traveller software. I got what I wanted done in the Traveller world explainer, and of course, not being able to distribute it, and people naturally hesitant about downloading an installer from an unknown source, kinda put an end to that process. But I did get the World Builders book from Mongoose in PDF, and oddly the Perilous Void book as well. And I could make a web site but again, I've no idea about how to host such a thing. What I can do though is make the source code open source and people could run it locally. It would work on a Mac, Windows or Linux machine. That way they could see the source code as that is what they would be using.

The idea is to use SQLite as a backend to keep track of data, and I'd go way overboard with a similar architecture as I use at work, with repositories and all that. Anyway, thinking about it at any rate as I really like writing code, I really like Traveller, and they go hand in hand. But I'd start small: start with a system generator. You could create or open a system. It would be API-oriented, and at the moment no graphics. But in theory (!) I could also start using the TravellerMap API again and you could actually generate a subsector and plop that into the API and get that map. I know how to do that, though the details in generating the correct files would be a little tricky in some ways as it is a fixed-width file vs a nice JSON or XML file which are simple to do. But I've got that hankering again. Which would make this probably the 20th or so project that I get started on and never complete. But I am thinking about it.

For those who want to see all the incomplete projects, my GitHub repo is here. The Traveller one has several under it. Most are Windows-based but a few I started messing with web applications, and those, if written in .NET core, will run on Macs as well as PCs. Which is what I am doing for work as it will actually get deployed on a Linux box. Microsoft has changed a lot over the years....

If there is interest, let me know! I may even start this weekend as I have time for some reason - no gaming Saturday, my wife is out of town, so I may get a prototype of something. Between scaffolding and AI assistance, I am getting faster at web development finally.

Posted by at No comments:
Labels: ,

Thursday, April 10, 2025

Traveller Pirate Character Generation

I've got the notice that the physical book has shipped, but it won't show up until next week. I'll do a review of the physical product then. But for now, let me see about rolling up a pirate character!

Constance "Nightmare" Astley. RIP, died age 19

Initial stats: 958677. A fairly average person, a bit stronger, a bit clumsy, not too smart but no dummy either. And an even die roll and we have a lady pirate, Constance 'Nightmare' Astley (thank you, random name generators!) Rolling for a branch and Constance is a Crew member. 

Term 1

Year 1: Basic and advanced training. Constance gains the Vacc-Suit skill and Zero-G Combat. She will be able to jump from the pirate ship to the ship they are attacking! She also picks up the Brawling skill based on her crew position - apparently Apprentice Henchmen can fight. While it does say you can roll for promotion, there is no training column, so we'll go with the Grounded column, requiring a 10+. Which she does not make. and update: re-read the rules and no promotions in training. Not sure where I saw, or thought I saw, that!

Year 2: Raid! And she dies an ignoble death with snake eyes.

We'll have to try again!

Maria 'Immortal' Lynx

AB6748 Pirate Corporal, age 26

Brawling-2, Communications-1, Gunnery-1, Recruiting-1, Carbine-1, Carousing-1, Zero-G Combat-1, Survival-1. 
Low Passage
New stats: AA6748. Stronger and more dexterous than average, not particularly well educated. And another even die roll so now we have Maria 'Immortal' Lynx. Here's hoping the immortal part works. 

Term 1

Year 1: basic training for our new crew member. Brawling-2 (got it twice), Communications. 

Year 2: Raid! She survives! But is not promoted but does gain Gunnery-1. 

Year 3: Special Duty - Loot! That must have been some raid! She gets Cr4,000 and gains the Recruiting skill. The good life helps in showing how well pirates can do.

Year 4: Raid! She survives her 2nd raid, gets promoted to Henchman, and gains Gun Combat - Carbine-1 (had to look back at book 1 gun skills, and the carbine seems a likely pirate choice. At least to me, a guy who knows nothing about guns). 

Re-enlistment takes 7+, and she does make it. So off to term 2!

Term 2

Year 1:  Smuggling. Easier to survive, and she is promoted to E3 Corporal. And gains the Carousing skill

Year 2: Piracy. Barely survives and does not get promoted. But she does gain Zero-G Combat.

Year 3: Smuggling. Surviving another year and no promotion. She does gain +1 Dex giving her AB6748.

Year 4: Grounded! She lives to tell another tale, and again is not promoted. But gains the Survival skill. 

She does NOT make her re-enlistment roll, so Maria 'Immortal' Lynx is tossed out of the pirate crew. Apparently, years of not getting promoted did not look good on her resume!

Mustering out, she gains Cr0 on the cash table, and a low passage. The pirate life is not one for retiring well.

And Pinterest is getting way too many AI art images...hate that.
from Artstation

And as we've been expanding the Space Gits game (one of the other players is quite the writer!) I'm going to drop her into his expanded world. For Space Gits, her skills would be mapped as:

  • Brawling 2 => Brawl+2
  • Communications 1 => Comms+1
  • Gunnery 1 => Big Guns+1
  • Recruiting and Carousing => Negotiations+2
  • Zero G Combat 1 => Zero G+1
  • Survival 1 => Survival+1
Space Gits is heavily influenced by Traveller! Not sure there is a 1:1 relationship but close enough for me.

Once running with the Red Reaver pirates. after 8 years of raids, piracy and smuggling taught Maria one thing: get out while the getting is good. Quiet and deadly, Maria seems to only have dark-colored and tight-fitting clothes. She has a flair for the theatrical, wearing a Kevlar cloak that seems to flow more like heavy silk yet provides some additional armor, especially from the rear. A decent shot, her almost preternatural dexterity helps her aim significantly. Her slender frame belies her strength, though at almost 6' tall she does stand taller than most people around her. She has since settled down on Kagen's Moon. She sometimes works for Archangel Securities as hired muscle when needed, but they do not trust her as they are somewhat aware of her background. The twins, Egrest and Trome, think she may still be working for the Red Reavers. Only Maria knows the truth. She has a small apartment near the port, across the street from Mama Luigi's, a brothel run by Luigi Demoncica, who is no one's mama. Maria has sometimes been a bouncer there when the more riotous ships dock at the port and shore leave becomes more rambunctious than normal.

Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , ,

Saturday, March 22, 2025

Classic Traveller Book 9: Pirates

 Mongoose did release Book 9, the 1st Classic Traveller book published in decades. It harkens back to the old-style and, while I've yet to receive a physical copy, the PDF is very similar to the original LBBs in terms of size and style. They even used black & white line drawings.

Of the 4 authors I only "know" Rob Eaglestone, and I respect the knowledge and work he has put into Traveller over the years. The others I probably should know but alas, I really don't keep up with a lot!

The Quick Overview

The table of contents reflects the classic progression, an introduction giving the overview of things. This takes a couple of pages. The chapter on pirate characters is 4 pages, and of course includes background, generation, pre-enlistment options and so forth. Skills introduces some new skills and lists the various cascading skills. This covers the actual details of pirate character generation, along with the skill tables and mustering out. As well as a generation checklist. We have 4 pages devoted to pirate organizations as well as the Vargr (forever linked to piracy and corsairs). A largish chapter on the practices of piracy covers 8 pages. Two corsairs are detailed, a human and a Vargr ship. 4 pages cover various equipment updates for people and ships, and then we round out the 48-page book (including covers) with deatils on the Khukish subsector in Corridor. Where I've never played or run a game.

Longer overview

Foreword

Marc Miller wrote the forward, which is nice. To quote: 
We present here more than rules about piracy: they are tools for creating new roles in the role-playing environment. New career paths. New skills. The pirate in Traveller isn’t just a raider: they must marshal many different skills in order to succeed.

Introduction

This introduces that piracy has been around forever. While COTI will argue forever about the economics of piracy, I like my Traveller to be a bit pulpy and I see no reason not to have pirates. Space is really big, and our imaginations should be as big as we want. Piracy then can exist in the Traveller universe, even the 3rd Imperium as not everyone of course plays there.

This section could be straight out of the original books: required materials being Classic Traveller books 1-3, pencils, paper and of course 6-sided dice. Die rolling conventions are covered again. At least not as complicated as T5 which really has a LOT of die rolling conventions, Classic just has 1: roll 2 dice and apply any modifiers as needed. 

Pirate Characters

This overview of "what is a pirate" explains that there is no single pirate force but rather collections of pirates, noting that space is unforgiving and the "there are bold pirates and there are old pirates, but not too many old, bold pirates" spiel. It covers the general overview of creating a pirate character. There are no pre-enlistment options, noting that most pirates do not come from affluent backgrounds. But it does note if you have any of the extended character generation books, those are options you can use. Your pirate may have gone to a university. 

Piracy starts at 18 otherwise. 7+ to get in, with +1 if Social is 7- and +2 if Endurance is 9+. It does note that there is no formal entrance to get in: getting abducted is one way. The example is given of using the Other character generation as your entrance to becoming a pirate, or just plain GM fiat. There is an interesting note that "unlike other professions, pirate draftees are able to be promoted in their first term of service". Ahh, yes, the other advanced character generation the 1st term is basic training. So not so odd other than there is no basic training for pirates: into the deep end first!

As per the other advanced books, pirates also serve 4-year terms of service. This section covers the same basic info. Though there is basic training after all, but apparently still a chance to get promoted. The process is the same as the other books: roll for assignment, resolve the assignment, check for survival, and if you are still alive check for promotion. They can go from E1 to E4 once per term, and E4 rolls into O1. At that point you can only get promoted once per term. The "ranking" system is thus a bit different but that is really to be expected: just as the Scouts have no formal ranking system, pirates have their own informal ranking.
Details of special duty are outlined, and interestingly there is a jailed option that may take 1-2 years instead of the 1 year of special duty. This reduces their social rank, and of course there is the chance of getting killed in jail. I do like the loot special duty - you take a year off relaxing with all your ill-gained loot!

Skills

This covers a lot of existing skills, but if you only had books 1-3, you would not have all the skills the pirate career gives you. They cover all those skills, and I did not notice any new skills being added. But it is nice for those who do not have all the classic books (I do have most of them in print and all of them via PDF. Somehow, I managed to hold on to all my Traveller stuff for 40+ years!) Cascade skills (gun combat and the like) are explained.

Pirate Generation Tables

Then we have the character generation tables. While this is very similar to the older books, the spacing in the PDF just seems off to me. It seems that they tried to emulate the look of the classic books, but the formatting is just off to me. Maybe it will look better in print. 

There are no rank-based skills, and the ranks are fun:
TABLE OF RANKS
Rank
E1 Apprentice Henchman
E2 Henchman
E3 Corporal
E4 Sergeant
O1 Second Lieutenant
O2 First Lieutenant
O3 Captain
O4 Leader
O5 Group Leader
O6+ Varies

The tables are laid out the same as Books 4+, so nothing new there. Which is what we want in a Classic book! The only formatting difference is cascade skills are listed in bold to help indicate you need to expand it a bit. Which is nice.

Pirate Organizations

This section covers forming a pirate company (step 1: obtain a ship). Though, like one of the old JTAS books, you really could be a pirate in a non-traditional sense of the word: hijack cargos at the port itself. And as per many conversations, to be an effective pirate you need to know if the ship has something worthwhile aboard, as well as its schedule. Perhaps this book covers that, we shall see. Like the Vargr, maintaining leadership is a bit different when you are a pirate, and the details in maintaining discipline and leadership challenges are covered.

A section on privateering is covered, which amounts to government sponsored piracy. Think one of my college games I gave the players a Letter of Marque. But that was a long, long time ago!

The book covers trade wars in the Imperium (fitting in our current political climate!) Of course, Imperial megacorporations version of a trade war is significantly different than ours: "The practice brings companies into direct violent conflict, industrial espionage and practical piracy". Well, at least for the moment at any rate (and I'll stop there...like COTI, real-world politics have no place in my games or blog).

The Practice of Piracy

Covers how pirates operate, a very brief history, safe havens and the like. The economics of piracy are covered and lets us know that it is not always as lucrative as fictional stories portray. Of course, this is a fictional universe...This section covers the various forms of loot and what you can get. At least we now have a rule for stripping a ship: 
Pirates can pull everything of possible value from the ship (drive components, electronics, cabling), leaving a useless hulk. Every 100 tons of ship stripped in this way takes 1D hours to produce 10 tons of cargo with a value of Cr50,000 per ton. Small craft are looted separately and not included in this total. This is most efficiently accomplished at a friendly port but can also be done in space, if time allows.
Other activities are covered: raids, smuggling, extortion and the like. Opposition is also covered and expands bit on systems to determine an Imperial or local force. I have used the Space Patrol book to do the same sort of thing.

Mercenary Tickets

Apparently, worlds will hire pirates as mercenaries. Some example tickets are given.

Corsairs

Two ships are detailed. Sadly, one is just the 400-ton trader we've seen before. While it makes sense, it would have been nicer to have something new. On the bright side, the picture looks like it came from the 70s!
The Vargr Glory Corsair is covered as well and has the classic Vargr wings.

Ironmongery

New equipment is covered here: cargo movers, chaff cannisters, and a few other things that have been done in other books in other versions of Traveller. Nice to have them here. There are some personal equipment items added, such as a breaching charge and both a grappler round and a rescue round. Even a "prize crew robot" is defined. New software is added. Though to be honest, even when I was playing in the 80s I had most of this stuff already vaguely defined as I was a computer science major! Comm encrypt, chindi to mislead sensors and a few other things that would come in handy in the life of a pirate. 

Khukish Subsector

This sparsely populated subsector straddles Corridor and has Imperial, Vargr, Client state and non-affiliated systems. So ripe for a variety of systems where piracy could work.
At first glance, Khukish Subsector is home to four different political groups. Two organised Vargr polities to coreward, the Irrgh Manifest and the Glory of Taarskoerzn, are constantly in conflict over religious and political matters. Both are sources of traditional Vargr corsairs raiding into the subsector, preying on the non-aligned worlds, the Imperial worlds and clients and each other. The raiders of the Glory are somewhat more ruthless and known to have a penchant for terror attacks against the Manifest and their perceived allies. The corsairs of the Manifest follow a more traditional Vargr approach to the non-Vargr in the region but hold particular rancor for the ships and personnel of the Glory.
The Third Imperium holds the rimward half of the subsector. It maintains a client state relationship with several worlds in the non-aligned zone within both the New Vland Cluster and the Ushamla Main.
The non-aligned systems are a sparsely populated and equipped collection of independent worlds. Some lean toward the Imperium, though generally in vain, while others attempt to keep their dependence on outsiders to a minimum.
So rich in possibilities!

Conclusion

So, is it worth the money? As the first Classic book in a long, long time, for me it was. Sadly, while I am not quite a completionist I do love classic Traveller. You may have noted I do like career books. Which in fantasy games translates to all the race and class books I keep getting. And will use some day!

For me, it is worth the money as I really do love Classic Traveller. And I hope they produce more stuff, I've noted before I really don't like where Mongoose is taking Traveller: while I liked 1st edition a lot, their subsequent versions are going too far off the path I consider Traveller. And that is fine: different people like different things, and I have all the old books. They are not taking anything from me and the market is a lot different now. But I hope that they will see value in the Classic line and continue to publish for that as well as their version of Traveller. Well, technically both are their version as they now own Traveller. 

I'll save my final "is it worth it" when the physical book shows up. While the PDF has some formatting issues in my eyes, I am hoping the physical book is the same quality as the original books. Honestly - they should have hired that guy on COTI who is basically recreating the classic books and he (I assume he for some reason) has it down just about perfectly, including the tables. The tables in the PDF are the weakest point: they just don't "look" right. Perfectly functional, but sort of like the uncanny valley in terms of visual impact to me.

And yes, I will see about generating a pirate character or two in another post. This weekend both my gaming plans fell through, so suddenly I had more time than expected. Though I did take my old gaming buddy to lunch - we've known each other 40+ years. Sadly, he is now mostly wheelchair-bound, and my house is inaccessible to him as I'd love to have him over to play as he has always played interesting characters. I've run 2 Traveller games with him: one he played a Scout, the other a barbarian. From planet Bob (it had an entirely different name in Imperial records). 

And also working on painting scenery stuff. Test fit a few things, but these are all now painted. Archon makes some nice stuff.

And watching squirrels eat off their picnic table we just got. Yes, I am easily amused! And so is Fiskerton, one of my cats.

Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , ,

Saturday, March 15, 2025

Fantasy Trip Game Prep, Pirates and Zombicide

The Space Gits game was pretty short but pretty direct. I think the players had a good time, but I only wanted to run a few sessions. Though I do want to get back to it as I think it is fun.

I have a week to prep the next face to face session at my house. I've got the OSR Booster and will let them roll on the weapons or armor, their choice, and maybe the halfling hearthsinger may know about those. But first they have to get there, past the splattered gelatinous ooze they blew up last session.

I still plan on having Stubboon's ghost there but also may bring back the demon/succubus from the earlier sessions: I want them to have a slightly better combat for one, but also if they can succeed, they may help the corruption of the magic in that area. They do have a lot of people in that party though not many magic weapons that can defeat her. I need to be cautious if I do that.

I've set up a test dungeon past that last spot: I think I will have something start chasing them as they have not left anyone behind to guard the door. And my players generally only read my blog when I post the recaps so pretty safe to put that out there (and even if they do read it, they are excellent at playing in character even knowing things their characters don't. I am a very fortunate gamer!)

Anyway, brought out the toys and played with some configurations. It is even on a cardboard sheet so I can put it under the gamer table (a folding table that is above the coffee table so I can slide it there to hide it from the players! Of course, the purpose of the folding table was to put it away between sessions. It has not been folded up for quite some time).

I took a picture, then using Google Draw started putting ideas down. I will need to expand on these, but also go through the minis I have for appropriate creatures and things and have them all ready BEFORE they show up instead of trying to search while they are there. I have some boxes I can put the "may get used this session" minis into to have that ready. 

I also bought the Mongoose Classic Traveller Book 9: Pirates book. I'll do a review of that in an upcoming post. While I don't like the direction Mongoose is taking Traveller (and their art is just not good I feel - often so vague it looks like AI art though I know it is not. But art is in the eye of the beholder), the quick preview looked like Classic Traveller, and it uses the same LBB format. 

And no Zombicide this weekend as my fellow player got sick. I may have to bring in the modern or SF version as we've been playing the Green Horde a lot and it is good to switch things up. We've been making our own scenarios up, including multi-level versions using the vaults as the basic idea.






Posted by at No comments:
Labels: ,

Thursday, January 30, 2025

Character Challenge 30: Traveller Belter

For some reason, I wanted to do a belter. And think that could even parley into some solo-Traveller gaming as I go prospecting in the belt. Just to play with the rules and see about the fractional fuel usage, tracking life support, all the little technical things that to me are actually fun. At least in theory! I'm using Mongoose v1 Adventure 1: Beltstrike rules and may see about the rest of those rules if I decide to try a solo game again.

And belters also start at age 14 in Classic, so I'll do the same here even though I cannot see if that rule applies to the Mongoose version.



Pascal Esperon, Miner 5 terms

9687A7 age 34 Rank 5
Pilot (small craft)-1, Computer-1, JoT-1, Prospecting-1, Mechanic-1, Broker-1, Vacc Suit-1, Medical-1,  Admin-1, Zero G Combat-0, Gun (Laser)-0, Comms-0, Astrogation-0

A well-rounded character, Pascal is living his dream aboard his own singleship, rock hopping like his childhood video heroes. Though sometimes he is borderline about the law as he does have smuggler friends, he is generally an honest man trying to make an honest living. Easy to smile, he enjoys his long solitude

Educated on a high-tech world, Pascal Esperon learned his way around the teaching computers, getting Computer-0 as a homeworld skill. While his system had an advanced educational system, Pascal wanted nothing more to be in space, prospecting the belts. Perhaps growing up watching too many episodes Rock Hoppy and Belter Bob helped push him to a career in asteroid mining.

Joining the mining guild as well as the team at Swift Rock Group (see, I remembered this time!) he learns the basics of mining and continues on in the rough and tumble world of asteroid mining.

Term 1: 14-18

Basic training, and picks up Vacc Suit-0, Zero-G Combat-0, Gun (Laser)-0, Comms-0, Astrogation-0, Pilot (Small craft)-0. And as the government came out with new rules and administrative processes, he also gains Admin-1. For his diligence, he was promoted to rank 1.

Term 2: 19-22

His past diligence was no indication of future work ethics: snake eyes on the promotion roll! Pascal was taking things for granted, after realizing that the shows he watched were much more exciting than the life of a miner actually was. Though he did learn how to properly prospect with Prospecting-1. And his love life got better: Arcadia Brosnan and Pascal serve aboard the Crazy Gander and seem to really hit it off. They remain close friends to this day and sometimes talk about getting married but Pascal and Arcadia both want to have a big strike before they can tie the knot. They are having an informal contest to see who gets rich first. 

Term 3: 23-26

Deciding to buckle down, Pascal is promoted to Rank 2, and takes in the role of medic this term, getting certified in Medical-1 as well as basic maintenance with Mechanic-1. But he also allowed a smuggler to use a company ship (which will benefit him in the mustering out process). Our Pascal knows people from the wrong side of the asteroid now. Which could work in the game I am planning as well (though Space Gits and not Traveller).

Term 4: 27-30

Mishap! One of his supposed friends betrayed Pascal over a rich seam of precious metal in a newly found asteroid. He is now enemies of Wyn Strackam. He does get promoted to Rank 3, becoming a supervisor and getting the Broker-1 skill. He also had more practice in space, getting certified to Vacc Suit-1. And getting to be a bit of an all-arounder, gaining the Jack-of-all-Trades-1 skill.

Term 5: 31-34

20 years of working for the same company! He survives and is promoted to Rank 4. He works out a lot more in the high-grav gym, gaining strength +1, and improves his small boat skills to Pilot (Small Craft)-1. He also made a contact with Berloc Ros somehow. Perhaps a signal from an alien device picked up from the alien ship in the junk yard (and hmm, that opens up a possible NPC connection as well I can throw in if needed!) 

Mustering out

Deciding 20 years is long enough, Pascal retires from the Swift Rock Group. Due to his smuggling friend, he does manage to get a Belter Singleship which he names the Silent Drifter. Along with Cr11,000, a planetoid share, a bump in intelligence from all the reading he did in his downtime.

Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , ,

Wednesday, January 29, 2025

Character Challenge 29: Traveller

Getting back to a Traveller character as this was originally a Traveller blog! No real idea what to do, so let's do what I always do: roll up stats and see what comes to mind.

UPP: 877884

So - pretty average across the board, though a low social ranking. I've already done a hit man this time around I think, so no need to do that again. And not all low-social characters have to be bad people or come from a bad background. Looking at the books on the bookshelf (sadly all the Classic stuff is actually in a tub as those small books do not fit on a bookshelf well. And I want them more protected) I see the Mongoose Book 7: Merchant Prince. And as the Space Gits game may change impetus (same scenario I plan on running but the characters they want to play are not mercenaries, so will need to figure out with them what sort of game they are wanting to play and go from there). And a junk dealer works for the characters they want to play. And fits in with a new reason to visit the station which I need to work on a bit more.

Traveller

Berloc Ros, Junker, 5 terms

877884, age 38
Computer-2, Broker-2, Gun (Pistol)-1, Gun (laser)-1, Advocate-1, Melee (Bludgeon)-0, Investigate-0, Mechanic-0, Pilot (Small Craft)-0, Trade(Salvage/Repair)-0, Vacc Suit-0


An older man with rough speech yet seems to know what he is talking about when it comes to buying and selling second hard parts. He wears rough coveralls, and his tool belt is festooned with a variety of tools, all in excellent condition. His protective hat is hardshelled, and the coveralls have padded knees. He has crawled through a lot of spaces and takes care of his knees. Willing to trade and his ability to broker good deals has led many spacers looking for cargoes and replacement parts at the Fos Gently Used Parts Yard.

Berloc Ros was born in a system that was once popular and high tech, but politics, shifting space trade lanes, and several natural disasters later, much of the population had left. Berloc's family lived in Startown, and ran the scrap yard. Their three children had a wonderful, if occasionally dangerous, playground. All three learned how to spot treasures in the junk, and after their parents cleaned things up and fixed them, they would sell them to the spacers looking for cheap parts. 

Term 1: 18-22 Basic Training, Rank 0

Working for his parents, Berloc gains Melee (Bludgeon)-0, Investigate-0, Mechanic-0, Pilot (Small Craft)-0, Trade(Salvage/Repair)-0, Vacc Suit-0. He would sometimes co-pilot the shuttle to ships in orbit, and his father made sure he knew how to get a vacc suit on. This was after a close call (just made the survival roll!) when a leaking airlock connection tube almost killed him. And once during a salvage operation, he found a stockpile of guns and ammo in a secret compartment that had survived the crash. The sold them and he picked up Cr2500 for his share. He also picks up Broker-1 this term, bartering with his parents and learning how to get the best prices when buying or selling.

Term 2: 23-26, Rank 0

Easily surviving this term, his parents still do not think he has what it takes and is still at rank 0. Sadly, he breaks up with his first true love, and perhaps it is he constant dour outlook that dissuaded his parents from a promotion. He gains Computer-1 as he turns inward, and putters on the computers during his depression.

Term 3: 27-30, Rank 1, Wreck Peddler

Again, just barely surviving, he does get promoted to Junk Peddler, bumping his Broker-2 skill. He also focuses on computers more and gains Computer-2. Unfortunately, a criminal friend of his wants to hide his speeder in the junk yard, but Berloc thinks better of this, and despite the possibility of easy money, decides not to do this. 

Term 4: 31-34, Rank 3

Easily surviving, and promoted in the family business again, Berloc picks up Gun (Pistol)-1, Advocate-1. He is learning a bit about lawyering up to protect the family business as they are (mostly) legitimate. And it came in handy as he discovers a neighboring junkyard dealing with pirated salvage. Knowing to keep his mouth shut, Rhel For is in debt to the junker. 

Term 5: 35-38, Rank 3, Junk Dealer

Being a junker is dangerous as Berloc again just makes his survival roll. But he is taking over the junkyard as manager now, with his parents retiring and his two brothers having moved on to other careers. Oddly, an odd alien ship was hauled into the yard - the security system did not record anything but when Berloc shows up the next morning, there it was. It is an ancient warship. Taking things apart and putting them back together, Berloc learns to fire Guns (Laser) -1. 

And he will still be in business, so no mustering out though I think this could be a fun character to play.

Space Gits

Of course there is no career match, but as this is an NPC, we really don't need one. Going from the original book, he is from Mars, and that alien ship is part of that background (as well as actually being the event I rolled!) All the stats will be straight 10 (default). He won't be in combat as now leaning to this is how the rat brothers learned of the item on the station, and Berloc has hired them to retrieve it. There may be another alien artifact there as well, and they can keep that.




Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , ,

Friday, January 10, 2025

Character Challenge 10: Traveller Belter

I have Supplement 4, of course, but I also have Mongoose v1 Adventure 1: Beltstrike. Which also has a Belter career, along with a cool 5K mining platform. And gas mining is a kind of mining, so in case I need a survivor on the mining platform for the upcoming game, I'll generate one. 

And I just realized I missed putting in "swift" in the last 1 or 2 challenges: I've already messed up!

Initial rolls are B9B745, and an odd roll for male. Someone who is large and durable, but not as well educated as most. Coming from the Belt, Casimer Fontaine grew up in the rough and tumble mining habs between Jupiter and Mars. Coming from a line marriage (something Robert Heinlein used a bit) he is used to a large family. While his family line-name is Fontaine, his family belongs in the Swift Mining Consortium, a grouping of 7 large families that mine in the main belt. There are several mining consortiums belonging to a larger guild of miners.

Picking up Mechanical-0 growing up in the mechanical confines, he officially joined the family consortium at age 14, becoming a worker. Vacc suit-0, Zero-G-0, Gun combat (laser rifle)-0, Comm-0, Astrogration-0, Pilot (small craft)-0. He does not get promoted - youth and lack of a solid opportunity prevented his family from advancing his rank. "But he is only a child" he heard far too often. Yet one of his friends got hurt in an accident, and Casimer managed to find out the culprit behind the faulty vacc suit repair, and gains Investigate-1.

The next term he is promoted to rank 1 from 0 and picks up a Trade (Space Construction)-1 and learns how to build and maintain space habitats. Casimer also took advantage of a fellow miner, putting her into a bad light, but it made him look better. Which helped in his promotion to Rank 2, gaining another Trade (Space Habitat)-2 skill level. He honed his Mechanical-1 skills as well. He also found a new strike, gaining another promotion to Rank 3 and the Prospecting-1 and a new trade Trade (Hydroponics)-1 as he started adding hydroponic bays to some of the habitats to improve air quality as well as food supplies. In his final tour of duty with his family, he is promoted to Rank 3, finally gets certified in Vacc Suit-1 and leaves for the mining station at Jupiter, where he becomes one of the maintenance workers, maintaining the station.

A big man, Casimer is very touchy-feely - he would rather hug than handshake. Being well over 6 feet tall and almost 300 pounds, his hugs tend to be very enveloping. Outgoing and a workaholic, he is often found in the hydroponic bays messing with various systems. It is the only reason he is still alive when our adventurers get to the station.

Casimer Fontaine, Miner Worker

B9B745 age 30, 4 terms
Trade (Space Construction)-2, Mechanical-1, Prospecting-1, Vacc-Suit-1, Investigate-1, Zero-G 0, Gun combat (laser rifle)-0, Comm-0, Astrogation-0, Pilot (small craft)-0
Pinterest, no attribution

Space Gits

Having managed to build a mining laser, Casimer has been hiding in the hydroponics bay. 




Starship Geomorphs

Character Challenge

Day 1: Halfling Heartsinger

Day 2: Classic Traveller Noble

Day 3: Halfling Reeve

Day 4: Arcane Bard

Day 5: Space Gits Scientist

Day 6: Classic Traveller Army (died in chargen!)

Day 7: TFT Kobold

Day 8: Alien

Day 9: Traveller Navy Pilot

And some ideas for the mining platform which I've loaded into Owlbear. Still need to add a deck with the hydroponic bays.




Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , ,

Thursday, January 09, 2025

Character Challenge 9: Traveller Pilot

As I am not sure if the Space Gits game will need a pilot or one of the players will perform that job, I decided to roll up a Mongoose v1 Naval Pilot. Been a bit since I took those books off the shelf! But I actually like the old-school line art much better than what they are doing now (there are some, err, very creative licenses with their versions of Aslan and Vargr. Let's just throw away 40 years of history! But as I have all the old stuff, not an issue really. Just annoying).

Helene "Hurricane" Turlton was born on a rock ball of a planet. Wanting nothing to do with that, she joined up in the Navy on her 18th birthday. Getting into the Flight career, she chose Helm as she wanted to fly. Cocky and aggressive, she was commissioned and promoted her first term. Sadly, to keep up with the other pilots, she became addicted to kaff. A strongly addictive stimulant that is illegal on many worlds. Discipline-0, Pilot (starship)-1, Comms-0, Sensors-0, Pistol-0, Astrogation-1, Tactics (Naval)-1, Recon-1, Space Science (Xenology)-1

Her next term she did not get promoted, but her practice on the gun range allowed her Pistol-2. Feeling older, she is still kicking butt. But somehow, she was captured and interrogated by a foreign government. Leaving her unfit for duty, she has become a pilot for a small mercenary group.

Loud and constantly chewing gum which is kaff-infused, Helene is messy, quick to anger, but also capable and loyal. She refuses to talk about her capture and has trust issues from that. But once you have gained her trust, she will follow you anywhere. Loves to fly and spends her free time in the bridge if she can, running simulations. Leaving cups, food wrappers and other debris all over the stations. She never seems to sleep. She keeps her stash of kaff in her locker, and if she runs out, the withdrawal symptoms include incapacitating headaches, shakes and vertigo for several days.

And yes, she was named after the hurricane that came through last year. Parts of my commute still look like a bomb has gone off. 

Traveller Mongoose v1 Character

Helene "Hurricane" Turlton, age 26, Navy Flight, Helm
785986, 2 terms, O2
Pistol-2, Pilot (starship) 1, Astrogation 1, Tactics (Naval) 1, Recon 1, Space Science (Xenology) 1, Discipline 0, Comms 0, Sensors 0

Space Gits Navy

I did not follow the Navy career but matched the Traveller information as best I could. For the skills, as Traveller is a d6 game and Space Gits a d20, skills are bumped a bit to have a similar effect (though not really sure about the statistics but close enough. I suppose I could have mapped is as 1/12 adds 8% chance, and 2/20s is 10%, so there really should be a range. But close enough). 


https://www.artstation.com/artwork/wO8Zg

Boarding tube

Squashed together some 0-Hr stuff. I need to get some maps for the game as it will be combat heavy.

Character Challenge

Day 1: Halfling Heartsinger

Day 2: Classic Traveller Noble

Day 3: Halfling Reeve

Day 4: Arcane Bard

Day 5: Space Gits Scientist

Day 6: Classic Traveller Army (died in chargen!)

Day 7: TFT Kobold

Day 8: Alien

Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , ,

Thursday, February 01, 2024

Character Challange 31 of 31: Maddox Wyrlet, Grav Racer

And I am finishing weakly and late! But finishing so I get a finisher's medal, right? I used to run marathons (and running may be a strong word) but I did finish them. So leaning on the sporting side of things, and I have the Foreven Worlds Careers book so may as well use it as there is an Athlete career in there. 

Initial stats are 748B87 so average strength, clumsy, decent endurance, smart and average education and social standing. Of the three options, I was going to pick electronic sports, such as drones or holo games. But vehicle advancement uses dexterity. Oddly his best chances are in vehicle spots. So off we go into racing, NASCAR better look out!

Term 1

Our rookie starts his training and gets Athletics-0, Carouse-0, Streetwise-0, Drive (Walker-0), Mechanic-0 and Electronics-0. And he must have made some great friends: Pleasure craft - he gets a great deal on a ship. Gain a yacht or two ship shares. Must know people in high places! Of course, a yacht is really, really expensive to maintain! And he just barely survives, only by dint of his intelligence! A close match with death-defying antics. He also makes Rank-1, so no longer a rookie. And picks up Grav-1. 

Term 2

Getting Mechanic-1 so he can work on his own vehicle, he again just barely survives though did not need the intelligence DM. Moving to Rank-2 he gains Electronics-1 so that he can also fix the comms. He also chose to speak up at a rally and was told to just pilot his walker. -1 DM against survival next term!

Term 3

Fortunately, I finally rolled high on the survival, but the ruckus from the previous term seems to have held public opinion against him, as he does not get promoted. However, the reporter covering Maddox Wyrlet falls in love with him, and they get married. He gains Grav Vehicle-2. 

Term 4

Sadly, Maddox, fresh from his honeymoon, threw a race and was caught. Bella promptly divorced our gambler, not knowing he had gambling debts to pay. He does gain Gambling-1 but gets a -1 on all benefits. Yes, I rolled snake eyes on survival. 

Having 5 rolls, he musters out of racing with Cr50,000 (the gambling at least off-set the -1), his grav racer (also known as a speeder) and the walker which he is barely proficient in, and gained a bit of wisdom with a +1 intelligence.

Maddox Wyrlet 748C87 age 34, ex-Grav Racer

Grav vehicle-2, Electronic-1, Mechanical-1, Gambling-1, Athletics-0, Carouse-0, Streetwise-0.

While he started in construction and knows how to pilot the walker he has, Maddox was drawn to the race circuit for grav racers. While working more as a mechanic at first, he learned to maintain most of vehicles that Team G used. In fact, he impressed the insanely rich owner that he was actually given a well-used yacht, Eventually, he started actually racing. His career was mired for years when he spoke out in a social protest against the overbearing government of his homeworld. Part of that was the tax burden his yacht was causing him. He took to gambling, thinking he was smart enough to beat the odds. Despite this, he married Chaleinne, the girl of his dreams. Like his racing career, it did not end well when he was busted for throwing a race in order to pay his gambling debts. She left him. Now his yacht has been impounded for taxes due and he is desperate for a job. And can even provide a ship should someone pay the impound fees...
Maddox and his flying machine

2024 Challenge


Day 18/19: OSE Guards
Day 22: OSE Gnoll

Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , ,

Wednesday, May 26, 2021

No Refund Refit

Well, not a refit but a recalculation based on the 650 tons it actually is.  Using this on-line ship builder, this is the initial redraft:

No Refunds, Courier Merchant
650 ton, TL 13 Civilian Design, 274.43 MCr
7 crew (Command: 1+1, Engineers: 1+2, Steward: 0+1, Medic: 0+1)
4 High/Mid passengers

__Ton._____MCr._____EP.____
| ___.__ | _39.00 | __.__ | Close Structure, partially streamlined, fuel scoops
| _52.00 | _31.20 | __.__ | hull armour #3
| __5.00 | __0.03 | __.__ | purification plant
| _20.00 | __3.25 | __.__ | bridge
| __2.00 | __9.00 | __.__ | computer model 2
| _19.50 | _78.00 | __.__ | drive jump #2
| _32.50 | _22.75 | __.__ | drive maneouver #2
| _26.00 | _78.00 | __.__ | power plant #2
| ___.__ | ___.__ | 13.00 | agility #2
| _13.00 | ___.__ | __.__ | fuel, PP endurance 4 weeks (8 weeks powered down)
| 130.00 | ___.__ | __.__ | fuel, jump range 2 parsecs
| __6.00 | __6.60 | __.__ | hard points x6 with triple turrets
| _44.00 | __5.50 | __.__ | staterooms x11
| 250.00 | ___.__ | __.__ | 250 tons cargo capacity
| __4.00 | __0.50 | __.__ | workshop
| __6.00 | __0.60 | __.__ | 1 ton low berth, emergency6 ton
| _10.00 | ___.__ | __.__ | hanger space for 10 ton place-holder
‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒
| 620.00 | 274.43 | 13.00 EP used, PP generates 13.00 EPs

277.17 MCr (first ship, includes architect fees) built in 100 weeks
219.54 MCr (20% discount in volume, TCS) built in 80 weeks


CT Ship Designer by Matt. Visit https://tca-2014-12.herokuapp.com

I need to go back over High Guard and the deckplans to see if that is about right. Still off by 30 tons but the 0-Hr deckplans are really spacious, not your typical Traveller submarine feeling. From the site and the Starfinder page (lots of great ships there! Not really great for Traveller as they aren't mostly fuel tanks, but I can live with that)



And I know, I keep saying I'll do a Mongoose version. Here is a draft of that:

Hull: 650 Closed Structure 650 32.5
286 Hull Points
Armor: 2 points Crystal [16] 1.625
Aerofins [2] 1
Manuever 2 [13] 26
Jump 2 [32.5] 48.75
Power: TL 12 Fusion [20] 20
Basic: 130
Manuever 70
Jump: 70
Emergency: 30 = 300 points
Fuel [196]
Man: 0
Power: 65
Jump: 130 Jump 2
"Fuel Compartment" 1
Fuel Scoops [1] 1
Fuel Purifying 20 tons/day [4] .2
Bridge [20] 3.25
Sensor Stations x2 [2] 1
Computer: Computer/25 TL13 10
Sensors: Military Grade {Power-2] 4.1
Staterooms: 6 [24] 3
Common Area: [15] 1.5
Full Hangar [40] 8
Airlocks: 4 [8] .8
Gaming Space [3] .018
Medical Bay [4] 2
Work Area [2] 1
Rentry/Lifeboats: 6 [3] .12
Cargo [240]
===== ====
645.5 165.863

Not quite matching, so probably need to get back to the CT designer to fine tune things. Not sure why the cost of the Mongoose is so much less - need to check my maths! Probably will dump into a spreadsheet to add things up better, and be able to save off the info. Though part of the issue is the deck plans only show 6 staterooms, so that's what I did with the manual. I'll have to adjust the passengers to 0 probably to make the 1st one fit, and readjust the cargo bay a bit.

Mongoose does its power a bit differently, but honestly that part seems more to the original spirit of Traveller: you may not have enough power to run all the things, hence the ancient tradition of dimming the lights pre-jump. Note that I've added a bit of extra power so all things can be run at once. The only thing taking extra power are the sensors. 

Speaking of sensors, I know there are some quite vehement threads about having a nuclear power plant in space cannot be stealthy: basic TL 5+ sensors should pick that up. Mongoose does have sensor rules based on your equipment as well as the potential for stealth ships. While I can't say I like where Mongoose is going with Traveller (they are either re-doing stuff that has been done way too often before, or doing things that to just don't feel like Traveller), I do like the stealth rules and all that. And as Malik is the sensor/comms operator, I added 2 sensor stations as that is also what shows up in the deck plans, just behind the bridge. I like to let players roll for things.

Between the military sensors (no DM, but at least no negative DMs as per basic & civilian grade) and specialized stations that apparently have no actual game effect, the players stand a slightly better chance at sensing things. Of course, the player's skills add even more hopefully.  Think I'll start using some sort of sensor rolls when I get back to my next session of exploring the League of Planets.
Posted by at 2 comments:
Labels: , ,

Friday, January 15, 2021

Character 15 of 31: Mongoose 1e Agent: Political Officer

 Juda Guezal

5884AA    Political Officer    5 terms, age 38, retired

Leadership-2, Diplomat-1, Network (Political-1, Corporate-1), Trust-2,  Steward-1, Animals (Training-1), Advocate-0, Drive (Grav-0), Language (Vilani), Social Science-0, Persuade-0, Computers-0, Admin-0
Cr31,000, TAS, 20 year old yacht Grand Escape, forged ID card for Sana Coopark, Cr10,000 retirement pay yearly at class A/B port
Rival: Resa Bennals, Accountant at General Products

Juda grew up on the company world of Pirumush, in a city and world mostly operated by General Products. Not seeing many options, primarily through a lack of intelligence, Juda joined General Products as an attaché to Jenia Colli, a mid-level executive. Sadly, Jenia crashed in a prototype starship, and for over a year Juda, at the behest of Jenia's boss Jose Helle, was made to act as if Jenia was still alive. Juda turned out to be quite adept at deception. This worked for some time, and Juda learned better how to lead others even if it was by acting as someone else. However, when Jose was arrested, Juda decided now was a good time to be someone else for a bit. Posing as Scout Sana Coopark, she managed a few months with her forged ID card. However, she returned to General and actually ended up finally getting promoted to intern, and her time spent with the executive branch honed her diplomacy skills and gained her some networking contacts within the company. She also managed to siphon off a couple thousand credits from one of the slush funds, earning her the enmity of one Resa Bennals. After more than 12 years, she gained more trust from the company, and was promoted to an Aide. She improved even more in leading others, and, as a temporary aide to a visiting Baron, she gained some political networks as well. She started to feel her age, though, and decided one last term to get to her retirement package would be the last. She travelled a bit more, and learned how to steward her charges. But the final blow was having to care for a pet beaked monkey. She did manage one final promotion That and she just suddenly felt older and tired, and thought this was a time to leave. She got 10 shares in an older yacht from General Products and has decided to charter this out for excursions as her retirement costs do not support the ship costs.


How you may meet Juda Guezal

She may be hiring crew for her yacht for a charter cruise. The players may need a secure location, and what is better than to charter a yacht for the journey and have complete privacy during jump. The Grand Escape could be having structural issues and is a random ship encounter. She also has trusted contacts in General Products and some diplomatic circles.

I did start this one yesterday, and skipped the gym today (I need a day off once in a while; I've been know to go to the gym daily for a few weeks at a time). I also updated my Traveller Career Bibliography a bit, and now realize I may want to stick all the alien sources in there as well, such as yesterday's Virushi. Just so I know where things are at; after 35+ years, I can't recall where I've read these things!

Initial rolls, not too bright but well educated.

  • Strength 6
  • Dexterity 9 (+1)
  • Endurance 9 (+1)
  • Intelligence 3 (-1)
  • Education 10 (+1)
  • Social 8
  • Gender 6 - female
So, not too bright but well educated. Dug out the Mongoose 1e Agent book and see that there is a Bounty Hunter, Ship Tracer, that uses endurance and social for most of the rolls. Not exactly the agent I was looking for, but having never rolled up this, I could try. Sadly the qualification roll is 7+, and with a -1 for my intelligence, probably not going to happen. But, the Analyst uses the social, and at least I don't get a negative DM. Rolling an 8, I just barely get in.

The  Analyst / political officer serves as an attache to a local politician. Seeing as this is a company-owned town, I'll go with someone on the board. 

I get to choose 4 background skills, and again using the Traveller Wiki's random page, I end up being born on Pirumush. UWP E524410-8, a company owned world with a very thin and tainted atmosphere. Looking over the official list there are no skills associated with the non-industrial nature, but I can choose from the list given. So I pick what I think an analyst may need:
  • Advocate-0
  • Drive-0
  • Language-0
  • Social Science-0

Term 1 - Basic Training

First term is basic training and we get all the service skills at 0:
  • Admin-0 (originally I picked admin for a background skill but changed it; hey, I can be flexible!)
  • Steward-0
  • Diplomat-0
  • Persuade-0
  • Computers-0
  • Deception-0
Survival roll I need a 6+, and rolling a 12 (!) apparently this was a very stress-free term! 
Advancement I need a 7+, and rolling a 6, I do not advance.
Events, 4, 2: my employer was killed in a starship crash, and I have to act like her for over a year. I can choose deception or add a cover (a cover is an alias the character can assume). I'll go with Deception-1.

Term 2

Survive with a 10. Picking the advanced education table, a 6 gives me Leadership 1. A 5 for advancement means I do not advance. Again.
Events 3,1: an unforeseen incident means I need to live like someone else for a few months. This means I need to create a cover identity at level 0, meaning I have a false name and some forged identity cards. Rolling on the draft table I have a cover as a Scout. A very weak cover. 

Term 3

While I failed my advancement roll, it was still above the number of terms I've been a political officer, so I can continue. 
Survive with an 8, and finally advance with a 12. Moving to Rank-1, I am now an intern. After 8 years. Well, I am not too bright...This gives me Diplomat-1. I get 2 skill rolls as I did advance, choosing personal development I roll a 2 for +1 INT, so UPP: 6994A86. Still at that -1. I'll roll on political officer table and 6 = Network. I'll add a corporate network for Network (Corporate-1).
Events: 1, 2: I have a chance to siphon off some slush money. I'll roll a die where even is stay honest, and odd is siphon off some spare change: odd it is. Not sure it was worth 1d6 = 2 for Cr2,000 and gaining the rival in accounting! But this girl just needs some bling I suppose.

Term 4

I'll have to make aging rolls at the end of this term, but we'll stick to it as I would like to be more than an intern! I survive (barely) with a 6. A 9 means I advance to an Aide, gaining Trust-1 (this is an indication of how much the corporation trusts me. After 12+ years you would think they would trust me a bit more, but as I've not been moving up through the ranks very fast...). It means I have 2 skill rolls, and so first on the personal a 6 gives me Leadership-2: I may not be trusted but I can lead! Think I'll roll there again, and a 4 bumps my social up; UPP 6994A89. Up to the upper end of middle-class!
Event 3,5, where an important visiting dignitary hires me mid-term. I can either gain them as a network or gain a language. Even, odd and 2 to gain a Network (Politics-1). 
Aging: roll 2d6 and subtract the terms. 7 - 4 = 3, so I am aging gracefully. I believe I'll go another term so I can retire...

Term 5

An 11 ensures I don't roll on the mishap table, and another 11 advances me to 03, which has no title nor skill. Always an aide, never an Organizer! Having 2 skill rolls, back to personal and a 1 gives me +1 Trust for Trust-2. Choosing the political officer table a 5 gives me Steward-1. 
Event 5, 1: I am assigned to take care of a very important official's pet. I gain Animals (Training-1).  
Aging did not go well: 3 - 5 = -2, so each physical stat drops by 1. UPP 5884A7.

Mustering out

Pretty sure the pet sitting thing was the final straw, that and my body aging on me far too fast. I also keep forgetting to add benefit rolls based on final rank. With a rank 0f 3 I get 2 rolls plus the 5 for the terms I served. 7 rolls with  max of 3 on the cash. So I'll do 3 cash and 4 benefits:
  • 5 = Cr15,000 (+ Cr2,000 siphoned off): Cr17,000
  • 2 = Cr4,000 => Cr21,000
  • 4 = Cr10,000 => Cr31,000
  • 5 = Yacht. Okay, I really DID impersonate my boss! 5 shares
  • 6 = TAS Membership
  • 5 = Yacht; another 5 shares for 10 shares
  • 2 = +1 social UPP 5884AA
So, 10 ship shares towards a yacht. And I can take an older ship (with issues) to reduce that even more. A ship share is 1% of the ship, so I have 10% already paid for. I can add a decade of age for an additional 1d6 shares. So, shopping for my 10 year old yacht I manage to get another 2 shares, but there appears to be some structural damage. Sadly I cannot find in the book what that actually means and if or how that affects game play. Perhaps it won't pass the next inspection (and there is an interesting conversation on COTI about that sort of thing I need to find). I'll try another 10 years and only get another 2%, so I own 14% of the 20 year old ship that has some oddly disturbing psionic echoes. 

Trying to interpret this into game terms, the ship is half paid off based on a 40 year mortgage. So assuming I can get it at 50% off, and add in my 14%, it means there is 36% left to pay over a 40 year period with a new mortgage. Rounding to MCr51 gives me MC18 to mortgage. Monthly costs are Cr4,210 per month maintenance, and Cr32,000 for life support. Having only a Cr10,000 / year retirement pay, she is going to have to charter this ship out. And hire a crew. Or perhaps she is still working indirectly for her corporation. 

Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)