Crashes in Traveller

Skarg · April 06, 2018, 11:39:52 AM

Quote from: Willie the Duck;1033110Is terminal velocity for a person (on Earth) really only 121 mph? That's... well not all that survivable, but a lot closer than I expected. I'm surprised that there aren't more objects that survive falls from great heights relatively unscathed.

Other objects may not be as light & fluffy as a human (so their terminal velocity is higher) and/or they're not just falling from no initial velocity. Something in a stabe low Earth orbit has to be going about 17,500 mph relative to the surface to stay in orbit... terminal velocity isn't going to be a safety net for that!

A Traveller ship in maneuver combat that ends up on a vector intercepting a planet when it loses it's maneuver ability is liable to be on at least that bad a vector, or worse.

jeff37923 · April 06, 2018, 11:52:22 AM

Surviving re-entry is one thing. Surviving a crash-landing is another.

GameDaddy · April 06, 2018, 03:31:35 PM

Quote from: Willie the Duck;1033110Is terminal velocity for a person (on Earth) really only 121 mph? That's... well not all that survivable, but a lot closer than I expected. I'm surprised that there aren't more objects that survive falls from great heights relatively unscathed.

I saw a video a few years back where someone had fallen just seven stories (barely achieving terminal velocity) and landed on concrete. Dudes face looked like a pancake. I actually googled some falling photos of a similar nature, however can't display them at the moment as they are gruesomely NSFW. Hit anything at seventy and you go splat. Hit anything in execss of 100 and it is much works than that.

I don't think I'll ever forget the picture of what was left of the motorcycle dude that had collided with a chain link fence after at over 120 when he lost control of his motorcycle and ended up flying into the fence.

jeff37923 · April 06, 2018, 06:43:56 PM

Quote from: GameDaddy;1033159I saw a video a few years back where someone had fallen just seven stories (barely achieving terminal velocity) and landed on concrete. Dudes face looked like a pancake. I actually googled some falling photos of a similar nature, however can't display them at the moment as they are gruesomely NSFW. Hit anything at seventy and you go splat. Hit anything in execss of 100 and it is much works than that.

I don't think I'll ever forget the picture of what was left of the motorcycle dude that had collided with a chain link fence after at over 120 when he lost control of his motorcycle and ended up flying into the fence.

Yeah, listen to GameDaddy. When I first researched this, I found all sorts of photo and video footage about what a high speed collision does to the human body, not real pretty to look at.

rgrove0172 · April 07, 2018, 12:04:07 AM

As a paramedic working the interstate for 23 years I concur.

RPGPundit · April 08, 2018, 10:12:35 PM

Let's not have any of those kinds of pictures here, please.

Willie the Duck · April 09, 2018, 12:01:30 PM

I'm not sure they would be relevant, anyways. My point was (if I had one at all, more than just a "Really? Only 121 mph?") that I kind of (on a gut level) thought it was more like... I don't know, somewhere over 200 mph, but below mach 1 (exactly what I thought it was, I guess I don't know).

I guess, on further reflection, it does make sense. There have been a few cases of someone surviving falls of terminal velocity height (usually in the 'fell from aircraft' or 'jumped from aircraft, parachute failed completely' vein). Most of them are like that guy landed on the side of a snow-covered hill and basically slid all the way down (sorta like a stuntman landing on 300' of cardboard boxes), but one or two have like landed in the middle of a field and survived. I guess that's like those rare people who survive 120 mph motor-vehicle crashes -- close enough to survivable that enough mitigating factors can add up to alive.

RPGPundit · April 11, 2018, 02:22:42 AM

Well, that's why I always roll for stuff like falling damage (or other mass-damage). There's always that outside chance he'll get low enough to survive even if its 20d6.

zx81 · April 27, 2018, 04:01:25 PM

Heres a short crashsequence.
In Traveller this would be a failed shipsboat roll, but at least the pilot made his strengthsave.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vup9pA2wDRM

GameDaddy · April 27, 2018, 08:58:29 PM

GameDaddy · April 27, 2018, 09:26:54 PM

Oh, and I have had a few days like this...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vz5v4GbGr0

RPGPundit · May 02, 2018, 04:12:09 AM

That's some interesting material.