Elizabeth Moon's "Trading" series

[BlackBat242]

Not HH, but perhaps more applicable to traveller.

What do you folks think about this series, especially the idea of "Letters of Marque and Reprisal" within the context of Traveller adventures?

 

[kafka47]

Everything save the pesky 18 year old who is running the show and I might also want the attempts to bump off Granny actually work. Moon's characters have extraordinary luck for a Traveller game, were I a Ref, I would have spaced Stella & taken the Pride as a prize ship and not let pesky crossbows stop me. And, what's this about FTL Communication, Traveller has to be run on the X-Boat system.

 

[mbrinkhues]

They DO give a relatively decend explanation for the ladies skills and capabilities with her being the "poster child/trained from birth star" of the family, the implant technology and a very good crew supporting her. That and she does make mistakes, actually quite a few of them and they cost her.

With the current situation in the "Vattas War" universe, FTL coms are mostly down so it really is "a ship came in". This will change. The problems I see are in the Implant technology, it is WAY beyond Traveller and in the lack of a strong multi-system government.

What can be mined are the societies, the whole trading guilds/merchant families concept, the ports and stations. We also get a good glimpse at StarMercs with an honor codex. And the concept of "colored" routes (Save/Unsafe) and captains using unsave ones to smuggle is nice.

 

[The Shaman]

I read the first two books, and my local bookstore never seems to have the third one in stock or I'd read that one, too, while waiting for the fourth to arrive in paperback. I've enjoyed the first two quite a bit - while not strictly Traveller, they definitely expand the canon of speculative fiction that deals with merchants-among-the-stars. The technology of the Vatta 'verse isn't so terribly far removed from Traveller-tech - ansibles aside, the two are quite at home alongside one another.

Originally posted by Michael Brinkhues:
The problems I see are in the Implant technology, it is WAY beyond Traveller. . .

There is a JTAS article that describes implants similar to these, including the effects of withdrawl from the implant that are featured in Moon's novels. It's more prevalent perhaps in the Vatta 'verse than in the OTU, but it is possible to have similarly wired characters.

 

[BlackBat242]

Exactly... JTAS #22 (CT) has them available at TL 14, although without any integral memory storage.

At this TL, they are purely links to external computers, with a "wireless" range of 1km max (line-of-sight, no obstructions). Range is greatly reduced depending on building structure, etc. However, any data-capable communications device may be used to extend the range for use of the link, you just set it up as for any other computer-computer communications link.

Any world of TL 10+ has a sufficient sattelite/cell-phone tech to allow use of the implant with that communications network (although a "translator" unit may be required due to local opsys architecture).

Cost is 10Mcr for the implant (installed), and 2Mcr more for the remote com link (installed)... otherwise an implant must be "jacked in" with a physical connection.

I would expect TL 15+ to start seeing integral memory capacity.


I agree that the "Ansible" should be dispensed with entirely, but virtually all other aspects of the series fits in well with Traveller, and can add much "flavor" to background for settings and adventures.

 

[kafka47]

I have no problem with computers having organic cores starting at TL14 and RNA transplants. If this biotech is a substitute for a good old computer jack a la Matrix starting TL15. I cannot see any conflict with the Traveller universe, given the relative poverty of the Imperium in the biosciences, perhaps, this more for Zhodani/Solomani space. Zhonny Memoronic here we come...