Boarding Actions: Do those really happen?

[Shadowfax]

Well how the Navy reacts to pirats taking hostages is each GM's decision. Mine would be a nice ultimatum like "You have 20 minutes to release the hostages. Refuse to do it or try to move/fire up your reactors and you'll be fired apon" followed by a nuklear tipped missile shortly after the ultimatum ends.

-------------You might run the risk of being very unpopular among your marines with this kind of hard-line ultimatum.

Yes, I loose between 14 and 26 personal. But pirats quickly learn that taking marines hostage means death. Similar to what ElAl did with armored cockpit doors and a "don't yield" policy. You can blow their planes up but you can't take them.

------------------Although I do see this hardline approach being more realistic with marine (military) hostages. They knew what they signed on for. If however the hostages are some civilians or well-trained Tukerera Merchant crewmen. Well, I think that the Imperial Navy would try to negotiate the release of the hostages in this case.

 

[Shadowfax]

The reason that I started this thread . . .

But they are realistic if done in the right way (I don't know how anyone could say its not), and the fact is, thats what Marines are for, boarding (amongst other things)

---------------I started the thread to find out what would be considered realistic way for pirates in traveller to take ships. I proposed a theory that boarding actions in a realistic game would not happen very often, because they would be deadly and very hard to carry out successfully. I wanted to get a realistic basis.

----------------Personally, I think boarding actions are a lot of fun whether they are realitic or not just depends on YTU. So I wasn't arguing for or against them. Just gathering ideas, promoting discussion etc.

----------------With 16+ pages I guess I hit a good chord huh?