Traveller5 Walk-Through: Adventure-Class Starship design
This walk-through focuses on the process of ship building and is based on the Traveller5 Core Rules (T5) as initially released in April 2013. Subsequent errata may change specific numbers or options, but will not invalidate the description of the process in these pages.
The Close Escort is a military ship used by governments and corporations for convoy escort and route protection. The Gazelle class was the first canonical design to use drop tanks to increase its jump range. Unfortunately, the original 1980 version used an invalid ship design. This article makes one major change to make the ship’s design valid for any and all design systems: base tonnage is increased from 300 to 400 tons.
Mission (pp. 314, table on p. 330)
Starships are primarily defined by Mission. Military combat ships come in three basic varieties: primaries for front-line combat, secondaries for front-line support, and auxiliaries for other support roles. An Escort (Mission Code ‘E’) falls under the third umbrella. This particular Escort is relatively small, and therefore is more effective with close combat – hence we add the “Close” secondary mission code. Thus, the Close Escort’s Mission Code is EC.
The Mission code, the design class, Mission full name, and TL are shown as follows:
EC (Gazelle-class Close Escort) TL 14
Hull (p. 315, tables on p. 332)
The second step is to select the Hull (p. 315). There are four variables that detail a hull: volume, Configuration, Structure, and Fittings.
Configuration (p. 332) indicates the overall organization of the ship, whether the ship's components are an accumulation of components, or enclosed in a lifting body, or somewhere in between. Configuration sets upper limits on the maximum acceleration of a hull, especially in an atmosphere. Some Configurations, such as the Planetoid, cannot enter an atmosphere at all. The Gazelle has an Unstreamlined Hull (U) – capable of entering an atmosphere, slowly, but not built for fancy atmospheric maneuvers. It will have significant drag.
The Volume (a 'D' hull at 400 tons) is selected from the table on page 333. Volume and Configuration together specify the hull price. A 400 ton Unstreamlined hull costs MCr 14. A more aerodynamic version of the Close Escort might use an Airframe or a Lifting Body, which would increase the hull cost to MCr 30 and MCr 52, respectively.
We have our first design element, the hull. We list the hull’s volume, type, cost, and notes as shown below.
EC (Gazelle-class Close Escort) TL 14
Structure (p. 316; table on p. 334) is about the hull’s construction. Structure affects some performance characteristics, and also affects the basic armor on the ship. Fittings (p. 317; table on p. 334) give some options about how the ship lands on planets. For example, you can give your ship wings like the Serpent-class Scout, or handy landing legs for setting down on uneven surfaces in the wilderness.
The Gazelle has a Charged Hull Structure, which costs as much as the hull, according to the subtitle to table D on page 334. It also doubles the base Armor Value (AV) of the ship, that is, to AV 28.
For landing gear, we select Landing Legs with Pads from table E on page 334. Adding legs displaces 1% hull tonnage, or 4 tons, and costs MCr 1 per ton, for a total of MCr 4.
Our running balance looks like:
This walk-through focuses on the process of ship building and is based on the Traveller5 Core Rules (T5) as initially released in April 2013. Subsequent errata may change specific numbers or options, but will not invalidate the description of the process in these pages.
The Close Escort is a military ship used by governments and corporations for convoy escort and route protection. The Gazelle class was the first canonical design to use drop tanks to increase its jump range. Unfortunately, the original 1980 version used an invalid ship design. This article makes one major change to make the ship’s design valid for any and all design systems: base tonnage is increased from 300 to 400 tons.
Mission (pp. 314, table on p. 330)
Starships are primarily defined by Mission. Military combat ships come in three basic varieties: primaries for front-line combat, secondaries for front-line support, and auxiliaries for other support roles. An Escort (Mission Code ‘E’) falls under the third umbrella. This particular Escort is relatively small, and therefore is more effective with close combat – hence we add the “Close” secondary mission code. Thus, the Close Escort’s Mission Code is EC.
The Mission code, the design class, Mission full name, and TL are shown as follows:
EC (Gazelle-class Close Escort) TL 14
Hull (p. 315, tables on p. 332)
The second step is to select the Hull (p. 315). There are four variables that detail a hull: volume, Configuration, Structure, and Fittings.
Configuration (p. 332) indicates the overall organization of the ship, whether the ship's components are an accumulation of components, or enclosed in a lifting body, or somewhere in between. Configuration sets upper limits on the maximum acceleration of a hull, especially in an atmosphere. Some Configurations, such as the Planetoid, cannot enter an atmosphere at all. The Gazelle has an Unstreamlined Hull (U) – capable of entering an atmosphere, slowly, but not built for fancy atmospheric maneuvers. It will have significant drag.
The Volume (a 'D' hull at 400 tons) is selected from the table on page 333. Volume and Configuration together specify the hull price. A 400 ton Unstreamlined hull costs MCr 14. A more aerodynamic version of the Close Escort might use an Airframe or a Lifting Body, which would increase the hull cost to MCr 30 and MCr 52, respectively.
We have our first design element, the hull. We list the hull’s volume, type, cost, and notes as shown below.
EC (Gazelle-class Close Escort) TL 14
Code:
Vol Component MCr Notes
400 Hull D, Unstreamlined 14 -1 AgilityStructure (p. 316; table on p. 334) is about the hull’s construction. Structure affects some performance characteristics, and also affects the basic armor on the ship. Fittings (p. 317; table on p. 334) give some options about how the ship lands on planets. For example, you can give your ship wings like the Serpent-class Scout, or handy landing legs for setting down on uneven surfaces in the wilderness.
The Gazelle has a Charged Hull Structure, which costs as much as the hull, according to the subtitle to table D on page 334. It also doubles the base Armor Value (AV) of the ship, that is, to AV 28.
For landing gear, we select Landing Legs with Pads from table E on page 334. Adding legs displaces 1% hull tonnage, or 4 tons, and costs MCr 1 per ton, for a total of MCr 4.
Our running balance looks like:
Code:
EC (Gazelle-class Close Escort) TL 14
Vol Component MCr Notes
400 Hull D, Unstreamlined 14 -1 Agility
- Charged hull 14 AV 28
4 Landing Legs, Pads 4 Wilderness Landing OK
