TheRPGSite

OOC Thread for the upcoming game.

A couple questions for you, WK.

• When are we starting? Before/during/after Fifth Frontier War? Or alternate FFW-less timeline?
• How old is the Sirius Moonlight? Has she picked up any quirks (http://www.estarcion.com/kaleja/77quirks.html)?

It'll be after the FFW - probably around 1115 so you guys can have had a hand in the war if you like.

AS to quirks - neat table. I'd say the ship is probably 15-20 years old and has two quirks, I'll let you roll 'em.

Wk, do I need to purchase supplies for the ship's locker, such as basic vacc suits, survival packs, rescue balls, tool kits, and such, or can I assume that it came stocked with the Moonlight?

Also, Cap'n Buzz wants to open up a line of credit on a bank on Lunion, preferably a branch of the megacorp Zirunkariish if it exists. He's got the ship as collateral, so is 500 KCr reasonable?

Ship's locker - consider it stocked with all of the basics for a crew of 4, including 4 Vacc Suits - if you want more they'll have to be bought. As far as firearms and such, everyone will need to bring their own, or you can buy it up yourself.

As to lines of credit, all major banks are represented on Lunion, so you can go with Zirunkariish if you like. A 500KCr. line of credit is do-able. You have any info on interest rates for loans in Traveller or should I set my own? :)

Quote from: Werekoala;513819Ship's locker - consider it stocked with all of the basics for a crew of 4, including 4 Vacc Suits - if you want more they'll have to be bought.

I'll put together a list for your thumbs-up-or-down in the next day or so.

Quote from: Werekoala;513819As far as firearms and such, everyone will need to bring their own, or you can buy it up yourself.

Firearms means a trip to tech level B, law level 0 Shirene, jump-1 from Lunion.

Heh-heh-heh . . .

Quote from: Werekoala;513819As to lines of credit, all major banks are represented on Lunion, so you can go with Zirunkariish if you like. A 500KCr. line of credit is do-able. You have any info on interest rates for loans in Traveller or should I set my own? :)

"High Finance" in JTAS 13 says 4D: Line of credit interest in 1115 (4d6=15) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3370282/).

Fifteen percent sound okay to a mortgage banker? ;)

Sounds damn high by today's standards, but we'll roll with it - anything to drain your coffers.

And lest anyone think this doesn't sound Firefly enough, remember that Malcolm Reynolds may be a Big Damn Hero, but he's a lousy businessman.

Trading - even legitimate trading - is hard enough, with Imperial nobles and Starport Authority bureaucrats and megacorp managers and ruthless pirates and Aslan raiders and rival merchants all willing to take us down.

And even if we manage to keep our ship in one piece and our cargo out of somebody else's hold, the margins aren't as good as the stuff we can do off the books.

So we have a legitimate business front, and then we have our black market dealings made with loan sharks' money in a quiet corner of startown.

And that's when we get PAID, y'all. :)

Quote from: Werekoala;513822Sounds damn high by today's standards, but we'll roll with it - anything to drain your coffers.

For a guy who's main asset is a flying fusion reactor, I'd say it's damn generous! :)

SHould I be making a streetwise check to find some under the counter guns right about now?

Lunion has a low law level, a high tech level, and is a major trading hub - finding legit weapons here won't be a problem, really - as long as you're not looking for nukes, man-portable fusion or plasma guns, crew-served heavy weapons and the like. Essentially any personal, non-energy weapons should be easily do-able.

Now if you want lasers and the like...

So, for my personal stuff, no problem, just tick off some credits and put 'em down on my 'character sheet'?

So the second question is: If I can get (maybe later, at another stop) some... ah... reclaimed... lasers, there is a market for them here?

I don't think my budget, at the moment, supports a plasma gun.

Just a Guess... ;)



EDIT::On a quick skim through the really bad copy of LBB 1 I have (er... thank you internet?), It looks like an automatic pistol, a shotgun, some cloth armor and a blade come in under a K, which leaves enough to round out some ammo for the guns (to a K, leaving 9K left for 'investments'.  I do imagine this guy would pick up some old reference texts if he was applying for a job as a medic, along with my notional load of possibly 'Hot' pharmacuetical products.   I've a mind to swap the automatic for a body pistol instead

Yup just buy what you want from the books and lose the Credits.

As to selling lasers here - you might pick them up relatively cheap here, and sell them dearly on another world, rather than trying to bring them in from elsewhere. There is a supply here, even where it's generally not allowable to carry them openly.

For that matter, the tech level, local Naval and Scout bases, and the fact of the trade hub makes it almost certain you can get anything you want here for the right price. ;)

Got it: No lasers because they don't carry them, not because they don't have them.

With the naval base and all, I wonder if I can pick up a load of 'off the loading dock' lasers to sell elsewhere? Extra cheap?  I'd have to compare that to the 'above board' cost, obviously.

Feels like I'm getting ahead of myself/the game....

Not really getting ahead, good to know how you're thinking. Never hurts to have goals. :) we'll wait a day or two for everyone else to post characters and then start with who we have at that time - stragglers can come in as they see fit, one good thing about having a fairly large group.

Going to give it until Wednesday for anyone else who wants to join to get into the mix and then we'll get it started.

Sounds good to me. :)

Its already Wednesday for me... Just sayin'..

What wierd part of the globe do you occupy?

Right now? I'm, what, four or five hours ahead of Greenwich mean. Next month I'll be more or less in Greenwich, pissin' on the clock, then back again.

Speaking of... don't expect too much of me in March. Ima be in the land of haggis. Priorities are haggis then gamings...

I don't have my Traveller .pdfs on my laptop, so I'll put together the ship's locker stuff tomorrow when I get home.

Cap'n Buzz would like to take the crew to dinner, to talk a little business.

Sorry for not doing my character yet, it's been crazy around my houise the past week. Got a new puppy, my wife was in a fender-bender involving a patch of ice and a pole (no injuries were suffered by any living things), and I got braces :( I will try to whip out a character tonight, but I understand if it's too late. On the off chance it isn't too late, are there any character types still needed? Gearhead? Heavy? Doctor?

Just as a reminder to folks - never too late to jump in as long as the Captain has an open slot; for that matter, no reason someone couldn't join in as a paying passenger or something.

GOD I'm such a dope - I've been caling the ship the SUnrise forever, but you wanted it called the Moonlight. Ack!

Benny, can you change thread titles?

Done. :)

Quote from: WerekoalaDingir/Solomani Rim 243-1111 System defence forces were scrambled today at the emergence of an unidentified vessel from jump. The vessel was later identified as the Terran Confederation battlecruiser Ark Royal, lost over 3,000 years ago. Officials later issued a brief statement that the ship was in Naval hands and an investigation was underway.

Quote from: some news story about the FalklandsThe decommissioning last December of the U.K.'s sole remaining aircraft carrier, Ark Royal, well before its service life ended,

Hmmm.....

:cool:

:D

Also, the in-character thread is up and you guys can begin when you like. Starting in the restaurant where the 'cap has graciously agreed to buy everyone dinner. As is the nature of a "sandbox" style game, I'll chum the waters with hooks, but it's up to you guys to take them (or just get a cargo and go - up to you).

If you want more structure, I'll provide it, and things will come your way inevitably as a result of your (in)actions as well.

TLDR; Game on!

Remind me, after diner, to find a 'Dummy's guide to stewarding', or something of that sort.

I'm reasonably sure Aron's never even HEARD of a ship's steward (seen one, sure... from a low-berth slot on a passenger ship...), much less has any idea what they do.

Quote from: Spike;514952Remind me, after diner, to find a 'Dummy's guide to stewarding', or something of that sort.

I'm reasonably sure Aron's never even HEARD of a ship's steward (seen one, sure... from a low-berth slot on a passenger ship...), much less has any idea what they do.

Buzz is Vilani, which means there's a manual. With the Vilani, there's ALWAYS a manual, and a procedure, and a review process.

For those who aren't so familiar with the background of the "official" Traveller universe, a couple of notes about the Traveller's News Service entries.

The dates given are in day/year format. The official Imperial Calender has 365 days, but no real months as-such. So the date 46-1111 for example would be the 46th day of the 1111th year of the Third Imperium. Official Imperial dates are used for most purposes, but can vary quite a bit from "local" time-keeping. As a rule, generally, in-game the dates and such will be official Imperial reckoning.

Since there is no faster-than-light communication aside from what is carried on ships, it takes a long time for news to spread across the entire 11,000 worlds. This is why you'll note that some entries (the one from the Solomani Rim, for example) may be many weeks or months behind the "current" date. The absolute fastest news can travel is six parsecs per week (via a ship with a Jump-6 drive; your ship has a Jump-2 drive for comparison, or two parsecs per week). The Scout Service maintains a network of Jump-6 ships called X-Boats - basically jump drives with huge computer storage capability and one very lonely scout strapped in for a week of self-reflection. They move along set routes, dispensing and collecting news as they go, which is then spread off of the main routes by other ships. Think of them as the "pony express" of the Imperium. If you look at the maps you'll see lines between some worlds - these are officially charted jump routes, used by most ships for most purposes, including the X-Boats. Of course, fast couriers can be used when an X-Boat isn't available, or if something needs to go to a world off the main route quickly.

As such, safe but not-very-profitable cargo can almost always be had in the form of data and/or physical/bulk mail. Someone has to move the letters and bills, and off the routes there is not "postal service" per se.

As the astute among you will have already determined that means that you can also, if planned carefully and with a fast enough ship, out-run news of anything that you might have done. Just saying.

As a heads-up, Wk, based on UPP, Cap'n Buzz is interested in what sorts of illicit goods can be transported to Adabicci. Worlds with high law levels also tend to be the most corrupt, if MWM's description of the Bribery skill holds true, so that is someplace we're probably going to do a little smuggling at some point.

So, Cap'n Buzz is going to look up whatever information he can find on Adabicci.

He's also going to be looking for a starport with a reputation for doing 'after-market mods' to starships, to quietly get some smuggling compartments built into the Moonlight. I think Aron may be asked to make some inquiries on that score in startown.

Finally, Buzz wants to know about the situation on Shirene. Amber Zone, zero law level - can we purchase weapons and explosives there? What is the nature of the Amber Zone?

In typically Vilani fashion, Cap'n Buzz is going to get group consensus on our route, but right now I'm looking at Lunion to Carse to Capon to Carse to Shirene and back to Lunion for starters.

Adabicci - (Lunion 1824) - A57189B-B

Government is via Impersonal Bureaucracy (agencies insulated from the governed, they control the means of production, the producers, and the products).

Law Level B Extreme law (rigid control of civilian movement, regulations for almost every area of civilian and corporate life)  

What they want (illicitly of course) - consumable liquids of any type (liquors and fruit juices especially, but even bottled water would be premium), fresh foods (even some preserved types, variety is lacking), luxury items (small and inexpensive are best), clothing (the more exotic the better), drugs (all types, especially recreational), entertainment/personal electronics (certain types of films/music/etc. are deemed "counter productive" and frowned upon).

What they produce - lanthanides and other industrial minerals, industrial chemicals (not in large quantities, somewhat specialized and therefore profitable).

Problem - the bureaucracy. They require layers of permits to deliver "approved" cargos, and even more to ship off-world. As such, very few independent traders make port there. Corporations and their lawyers make their living just satisfying the miserly bureaucrats.


Shirene - (Lunion 2125) - B984510-B

A corporate "bread basket" agricultural planet, the Amber Zone is a holdover from the recent Fifth Frontier War and associated problems with the nearby Sword Worlds. Declared Amber due to enhanced security in the system, mostly as a warning that there would be increased military presence and scrutiny of any inbound ships. Will probably be down-graded once someone gets around to thinking about it.

That's the official story, at least.

Ack, another question! Which trade system are we using? Book 2? Book 7? Something else?

I imagine getting some 'tax free' liqour is stupidly easy. Its keeping it 'tax free' on the other end that is the problem.  I can probably hunt down some recreationals on top of that, low bulk per dose means a lot of doses per 'ton' of cargo.

As for Smuggling: I know that the MT agent book talks about compartments hidden in the fuel cells. I image Aron would know a little about that, its simple, practical and hard to beat if you aren't greedy (even if the customs guy thinks to check fuel cells, that is a long of hard to get to territory to check... usually with liquid hydrogen in it already!).


I'm typing this from work, so I won't have dice, or even dice simulators for about twelve hours (then Ima crash, didn't sleep last night, too busy...), so if I need a streetwise roll for some pharma, I don't mind someone else rolling to keep things moving, unless you screw up :D

So, I need a book on proper Vilani ship-butlering, a formal white uniform jumpsuit, a crate of the local rum (preferrably bootlegged) to keep the engineer juiced for the trip...

Oh... and a personal loan from the captain for 1.3k* so I can buy a full set of shares.  

No sweat.  :cool:






*estimating the above shopping list at under or around 200 credits. Also, just wanted to say when I used "tenk" in the IC thread, that was a slang portmanteau of Ten-Credits.  

I may need to keep a list of slang words.  Beats my last attempt at PbP gaming, where I downloaded an eighty page lexicon of russian vulgarities....

Trade Book - use whatever you're comfortable with. To be honest, I haven't read the trade rules in so long I don't even really remember them. :P

Anything you want to add to the "lexicon" or whatever, feel free to post in the resources thread Spike (or anyone else for that matter).

Is making prison hooch covered under streetwise? ;)

I believe it would be, yes. :)

Well, I guess I know what I'll be doing in some dark corner of the cargo bay...

So, are we done with dinner? What was the tab?

Total tab for your table is around CR100 per person - somewhat pricey, but it's actually all pretty good stuff.

I'm going to be in all-day meetings tomorrow and Thursday, then on the road on Friday, so I'll try to get an update in later today if possible. Silly employer, expecting me to work during the day or something.

Aron's going to check around the underbelly of the port, see if any of the starports his... ah... previous crews might have used are still operating in the region.  If he can put in word that the Sirius Moonlight is available to move cargo from such stations to more legitimate ports for ships that can't... for personal reasons... all the better, but that's not really his first priority right now, just finding 'friendly' ports that do maintenance and modifications, no questions asked.

Updated my cred total to reflect dinner

Haven't fallen off the face of the Earth (yet) - just got home finally and I'll be busy today but will try to post an update either tonight or tomorrow. thanks for the patience.

Quote from: Sigmund;516524Updated my cred total to reflect dinner

Your money's no good here - Cap'n Buzz is picking up the tab.

Buzz is going to spend the week until we lift looking for cargo, both to purchase and to haul, for Carse (2224 Lunion). I want to make this first jump without passengers, unless we pick up a patron.

If it's okay with you, Wk, could I use BITS' 101 Cargos system for trading? Basically it's Merchant Prince but with added flavor - it provides actual cargo types like Book 2 but also accounts for tech level differences like Merchant Prince, which Book 2 doesn't.

I'll 'roll in the open' for everything using Invisible Castle, of course.

As a crew we also need to be looking for rumours or potential patrons as well.

Buzz is tapping his credit line for ImpKCr 400 - 300 goes to shares in Moonlight Merchanters, and the other 100 is going for the crew's low pressure suits and a few other equipment items. I'll post the descrition of the low pressure suit from Grand Census in the Resources thread.

Does the Moonlight start the game fully fueled, or do we need to take care of that cost?

Finally, and I apologize in advance for doing this to you, but Buzz also wants to know how many starports and spaceports are in the 2124 Lunion, 1824 Adabicci, and 2327 Strouden systems. We are going to establish a pattern of travelling to these secondary star- and spaceports when we visit the systems, so when we start buying and selling stuff outside of regular markets, it doesn't attract anyone's notice that we're not going straight to the main system starport.

Quote from: Black Vulmea;516744Your money's no good here - Cap'n Buzz is picking up the tab.

re-adjusting my cred total

Quote from: Black Vulmea;516744Your money's no good here - Cap'n Buzz is picking up the tab.

Thank God! I was terrified of this moment :D

Hey Butcher, your PM box is full.

Ack! Fixed. My bad.

So. I was reading the entry for Lunion on the starmap and I noticed it said 'tainted atmosphere', so I looked in my Traveller book (mongoose, so less useful than I'd like...) and I see that Tainted means "slowly poisons you unless you wear a filter", more or less...

... of course Lunion also has a population of eight billion. Of course my (also mongoose) Spinward Marches doesn't actually talk about Lunion... at all... in the lunion sector of the book.

So what? Dome cities? Sealed buildings with filters? Lots of indoor malls?

Or Bladerunner, miserable crowded open air bazaars where everyone wears a face mask of some sort, and half of them are dying of some obscure lung rot?


'Cause I'm thinking no self respecting Spacer would be caught dead hanging out on a planet where the air was actually worse than normal shipboard air after a month in the black.

Also, that could seriously mean buying up bulk filter masks for sale on less developed 'tainted' colonies might be a good idea... if we knew any reasonably close and off the main trade lanes. Or not if everyone lives in a big faaking bubble...

Then I'm thinking: Safaris into the tainted out of doors! That's some unspoilt wilderness there.



Ok... maybe I wasn't really thinking that. I'm mostly curious about Aron's environs and how that might affect what he does.

Spike, to the best of my understanding, they live in sealed underground complexes.

Ref sir, how do we handle the crew's initial health assesment? How many rolls?

Also, what about health clearances? Do I have to roll any of that?

So.... sorta like being on a ship then. Right at home.

Lunion - yes, under-ice cities (it's a snowball world), so unless you go up-top you're fine.

Health - I think we can assume everyone starts out fairly healthy.

My life - fuck it. Sorry I haven't had time to update lately but it's just one thing after another.

Damnit! WHere are you people getting this data?!

Hell, I thought I was smart just noticing it was faaking tainted and shit. Really, the Mong Spinward Marches book is a little... lacking... in describing the main faaking worlds of the faaking Marches... innit?

Check the resources page, I put a link to a fan-created writeup of Lunion that I'm using as the ":official" world data.

Quote from: Black Vulmea;516752Buzz is going to spend the week until we lift looking for cargo, both to purchase and to haul, for Carse (2224 Lunion). I want to make this first jump without passengers, unless we pick up a patron.

If it's okay with you, Wk, could I use BITS' 101 Cargos system for trading? Basically it's Merchant Prince but with added flavor - it provides actual cargo types like Book 2 but also accounts for tech level differences like Merchant Prince, which Book 2 doesn't.

I'll 'roll in the open' for everything using Invisible Castle, of course.

As a crew we also need to be looking for rumours or potential patrons as well.

Buzz is tapping his credit line for ImpKCr 400 - 300 goes to shares in Moonlight Merchanters, and the other 100 is going for the crew's low pressure suits and a few other equipment items. I'll post the descrition of the low pressure suit from Grand Census in the Resources thread.

Does the Moonlight start the game fully fueled, or do we need to take care of that cost?

Finally, and I apologize in advance for doing this to you, but Buzz also wants to know how many starports and spaceports are in the 2124 Lunion, 1824 Adabicci, and 2327 Strouden systems. We are going to establish a pattern of travelling to these secondary star- and spaceports when we visit the systems, so when we start buying and selling stuff outside of regular markets, it doesn't attract anyone's notice that we're not going straight to the main system starport.

Carse (2224 Lunion) - A very low-pop world (6,000), essentially a "reserve" world that is undergoing research for future development/exploitation by several small teams of various corporations/research institutes. Cargo to them would consist mostly of research equipment, durable goods, personal comsumables. Exports - none to speak of, although passengers to/from are a possibility.

Your ship is fully fueled to start. You can use 101 Cargos (again, trusting you on this one but I can tell you take this trading super-seriously).

Starports/Spaceports

Lunion 2 Civilian Starports (an up- and down-port), 1 Scout base, 1 Naval base, 5 Spaceports

Adabicci 1 combined Civilian/Naval down-port, 1 Spaceport

Strouden 2 Civllian Starports (an up- and down-port), 1 Naval base, 6 Spaceports

Quote from: Werekoala;517682You can use 101 Cargos (again, trusting you on this one but I can tell you take this trading super-seriously).

Give me a day or three and I'll put up a copy of the cargo tables from 101 Cargos, so you don't have to feel like you're flying blind.

Argh. Haven't figured out any equipment for Hendricks. I have the LBBs now though.
There's something in there for me to go shopping right?

I swear I'm not dead, between work, personal issues, and arranging a move, my life's in turmoil at the momoent. Bear with me gang.

Its okay. For the next three weeks I'm chillaxin' in sunny Scotland... hard to check the internetz while you're werkin' the tan on the beach, yo.

OK - so we made it through the March Crush (at the end, 14+ days without a day off...add to that a move to a new apartment and general malaise, and, well, ya know) and my brain is starting to un-mushify. I've actually got a three-day weekend coming up so possibly tonight, or at worst in the next day or so, we'll get this sucker back on track.

Thank you so much for bearing with me during these trying times.

The irony of my last post is it actually was sunny in Scotland pretty much the whole time I was there.  I really could have gotten a tan... damn fur

No problem. Looking forward to getting back on track.

Quote from: Black Vulmea;528390No problem. Looking forward to getting back on track.

Me too. All the PbP games seem to have stalled. I'd like for one to move forward again at least, and this one is especially attractive to me, it's been too long since I played this game :D

Just fyi, still very much interested in this game, but I'm giving others a chance to act if they wish since JB has taken actions that will occupy him for a bit of a while.