Alternative options for mustering out ship benefit?

[Strummist]

As everyone knows, some professions have ships as mustering out benefits.

If every occupation had a ship as a benefit, which ships would be most appropriate for each occupation?

As the CT/MT rules stand, Scouts get a Scout, Merchants get a Merchant, Nobles get a Yacht, Hunters a Safari Ship, Scientists get a labship, Belters get a wossname... So continuing in that vein, each occupation could (in a non-canon TU) have a ship that suits their niche.

If you were to introduce a ship for professions that don't have them at present which ships would you recommend? (Either your own design or a classic.) How would you keep it balanced? (i.e. no huge patrol cruisers for ex-Navy).

A related question put here to avoid starting two threads, how would you upgrade the current MOB ships to TL15, in the same budgets? I've seen TL15 re-designs of the Scout/Courier that are lovely.

 

[aramis]

Navy would get shares in a "retired" corvette. The 400Td Type T or similar in up to 1000Td...

 

[far-trader]

I've actually played with ideas along this line since CT. Choices have changed a bit now and then but for the Navy I do a Letter of Marque and 400ton Patrol Cruiser - Now go hunt Pirates and generally show the flag in all those systems the Real IN can't be bothered with.

 

[McPerth]

For the Marines, I guess a Mercenary Curiser (or something similar) would be appropiate.

 

[far-trader]

For the Marines, I guess a Mercenary Curiser (or something similar) would be appropiate.

My choice there is Battle Dress* and employment aboard a Merc Cruiser as a squad or platoon leader. The owner of the ship and company is usually not ex-Marine or ex-Army but may be ex-Navy (though imo the Merc Cruiser is too big a ship to give to any player, maybe a group of players pooling resources could manage it, but they'd probably be ex-Navy imo and imtu).

* of course at that time I was playing with the idea that Battle Dress was a permanent effect, those who got the skill are basically married to their suit and there's no leaving it, so you pretty much muster out with it or die

 

[MCEvans]

IMTU if the scout rolls more ship benefits instead of ignoring them I allow newer or larger ships but not over 300dT. Merchants are similar older A's with 10 years per roll (after the 1st) or newer and larger ships available with more rolls. In MT this gives a good use for BP and a ship that can be used to make money with.

Don't forget that Pirates can get a corsair.

far-trader
[FONT=arial,helvetica]I've actually played with ideas along this line since CT. Choices have changed a bit now and then but for the Navy I do a Letter of Marque and 400ton Patrol Cruiser - Now go hunt Pirates and generally show the flag in all those systems the Real IN can't be bothered with. [/FONT]

Is it a local Subsector or Sector level Letter or is it good Imperium wide?

Army and Marines no ship, wouldn't know how to run one. But a license to to create a Merc unit and a chit for 50% off used Imperial goods, good for 4 years and at least 2TL below Imperial Standard. Size of unit based on final rank. Captain = Platoon, LTC = Company, General = battalion.

Why does anybody else need one?

 

[Selandia]

I guess it would be much like current disposal rules, because the concern of the autorities would be the same: sell the stuff without the firepower. After wwI a crowd of armed trawlers were disarmed and sold for civilian use...only to be drafted back for wwII. Salvage vessels, tugs, any auxilliairy with a civilian use were disposed of easily after wwII and their CT equivalent (every type of hull may have been used) could be allocated with reserve status to retiring senior officers. Warship would be a trickier things, usually allocated to characters with "security contract" with someone allowed that kind of hardware

Selandia

 

[carlparl]

As a real world example, we have Jacques-Yves Cousteau'S RV Calypso. It was built as a minesweeper in 1941 for the Royal Navy, became a ferry after the war, and was turned into a research vessel in 1950.

 

[scott]

That's funny--I was just thinking about how to create the Traveller equivlanet of the Calypso or a similar research vessel.

 

[Icosahedron]

Army and Marines no ship, wouldn't know how to run one. But a license to to create a Merc unit and a chit for 50% off used Imperial goods, good for 4 years and at least 2TL below Imperial Standard. Size of unit based on final rank. Captain = Platoon, LTC = Company, General = battalion.

I like this.
Filed away for future use.

 

[McPerth]

About multiple rolls of the ship benefit, I've always treated (house ruled) that they can be exchanged by a space skill (mostly in the way a multiple rolls of a weapon, or some other benefits in MGT, can be taken as a skill), some pay off for the ship (as rules) or as an improvement of the ship (e.g. from free trader to far trader, referee's ruling in this case).

 

[Strummist]

Thanks for all the ideas in this thread. Now I've had a chance to look at the way Mongoose Trav handles it, I like the idea of ship shares, and allowing the players to design their own ship.

Ship skill's a nice idea for excess benefits.

I'm considering small craft as MOB - imtu I've gone a bit overboard designing various 10t boats - and ships that can carry them - so there's usually a "working passage" option for someone with their own boat.

(footnote)I've always thought the Merc cruiser was poorly suited for the role of carrying troops. It just doesn't have enough room (I'd prefer something that can carry 50+ troops plus crew). Instead I have my own design, a 900t ship with room for 50 at double occupancy plus a crew of 16, and "passengers" i.e. officers and clients (8 High, 12 Middle) making a total of 60 staterooms, with a maximum capacity of 120 people. It carries 2 20t small boats, 4 G-Carriers, an Air/Raft and a 2 ton grav lifter, plus a reasonable cargo bay. With all this, it's cheaper than the merc cruiser (and tougher, too).

 

[Icosahedron]

I'm considering small craft as MOB - imtu I've gone a bit overboard designing various 10t boats - and ships that can carry them - so there's usually a "working passage" option for someone with their own boat.

Interesting. Tell me more. What is MOB?

 

[Strummist]

Interesting. Tell me more. What is MOB?

MOB= Mustering Out Benefit.

_______________________________________________________________

Sample TL15 10t boat:

HULL
10 tons standard, 140 cubic meters, Needle/Wedge Configuration

CREW
Pilot

ENGINEERING
4G Manuever
Power plant-4
0.400 EP
Agility 4

AVIONICS
No Bridge Installed, Model/1 Computer

HARDPOINTS
None

FUEL
0.4 Tons Fuel (28 days endurance)
On Board Fuel Scoops, No Fuel Purification Plant

MISCELLANEOUS
2 Small Craft Staterooms, 1 Acceleration Couch, 2 Tons Cargo

COST
MCr 6.944 Singly (incl. Architects fees of MCr 0.069), MCr 5.500 in Quantity

CONSTRUCTION TIME
5 Weeks Singly, 4 Weeks in Quantity
___________________________________________________________
Same boat without the staterooms carries more cargo and is cheaper.

You can build a 6G 10t fighter with a triple turret (1 laser 1 missile 1 sand) for about 10MCr.

 

[Icosahedron]

I did quite a few boat designs myself with LBB5. I also found the 10dT became ubiquitous. It's big enough to have useful contents, but small enough to be easily carried.

How does the working passage function for boat owners?

 

[Strummist]

How does the working passage function for boat owners?

(all with the obvious disclaimer that this is imtu)

In frontier regions, there are routes with very few starports above an E rating, and so it's harder to hire a boat in each system. Also in frontier regions you have higher risks and lower rewards, so there's a good chance of a ship having a bay but no boat.

In those situations I'd offer a player working passage with their boat, paying perhaps Cr1500 per month to cover living expenses and routine maintenance, plus hazard pay and free repairs if there's any combat. Given that even a smallboat costs a few million, it's a better option for a captain than buying a replacement.

For an unarmed boat, the ship might use it for a 'mail run' to other settlements in the system while the ship visits the mainworld, or to run cargo and passengers for an unstreamlined ship - though at about 5t per trip this might take a while for a large cargo. There's plenty of jobs for a small boat, they all basically boil down to "bring X to/from Y and while there do Z".

For fighters, it's simpler - escort the ship

In more settled and advanced areas this isn't really a workable idea.

 

[Icosahedron]

Thanks.
Interesting concept. Probably only works in a situation where the boat is more useful than the cargo it displaces - eg worlds where you're hard-pressed to fill cargo space or where there really are no boats for hire - otherwise, the 10,000Cr you'd get for shipping 10dT of cargo in the boat bay could probably hire you a boat and more besides.

 

[Carlobrand]

I'd have gone for a yacht for navy retirees, on condition that they achieved flag rank - O7 or better. Given the political influence involved at that level, it seems appropriate that retiring Admiral so-and-so might be gifted a yacht by the local government for his services to the Imperium (and his influence in steering that purchase of ship's boats to the local shipyard).

For Army/Marine retirees of similar rank, either the same or - if they wish to form a mercenary company - a conditional loan of a Broadsword and a naval flight crew on detached duty (and therefore paid by the retiree), the condition being that they agree to accept certain special missions as may arise from time to time and to refrain from contracts inimical to Imperial interests.

 

[Strummist]

That's a good idea. Or perhaps a Safari Ship for the Army if they want to retire or keep a low profile? But definitely, each ship comes with some sort of obligation - either financial or occasional actions.

@Icosahedron - yeah, it's a fringe economic case, carrying a small boat. It's not really sensible anywhere with a real economy, but for a mail run across a sparsely settled area, where you're not generating much trade, you're rarely going to fill the hold anyway? Maybe. Of course a real cheapskate wouldn't have a streamlined ship in the first place and therefore is already eating into the bay space, leaving only 10t.

An E-class starport can just be a bloke called Steve and a pond, so unless Steve's got time to meet you in orbit, you'd better have a boat.

 

[BytePro]

An E-class starport can just be a bloke called Steve and a pond...

:rofl:

Though 'technically', that would 'qualify' as a Class D, as a Class E generally has no fuel, nor, er, facilities...