Nifty TL16 gadget wanted

[rancke]

I'm doing pre-gens for an introductory adventure, and one of them was a Drifter/Scavenger who got an unusual life event and found an Ancient artifact.

Now, I'm not going to give an introductory character an Ancient device, as I think the Ancients are way overused. But I'm thinking that maybe he and the crew he was working with might have found a misjumped (and thoroughly derelict) Old Darrian scoutship and that he might have picked up some useful trinket for himself.

So I'm looking for ideas for a nifty little something that a player can have fun with but which wouldn't unbalance the game. Some TL16 gadget that an Old Darrian scoutship or one of its crew could have been carrying.

EDIT: What I need is a personal item, something carried around on the person.

Some ideas that I've used before are a laser pistol with an integral battery and a chameleon field uniform.

NB! I hope to submit the finished adventure to Mongoose, so please don't provide any suggestions that you're not willing to let me use for such purpose.


Hans

 

[shield]

Neural activity sensors or a neutral activity rifle, very high penetration densiometer. The TL16 power plant is more efficient as are TL16 turret weapons and possibly the TL16 ship's computer. Whilst not full AI, it could have more of a personality / intelligence. The TL16 jump drive may also be more fuel efficient.

These have all popped up in the megatraveller rules.

 

[whulorigan]

I'm doing pre-gens for an introductory adventure, and one of them was a Drifter/Scavenger who got an unusual life event and found an Ancient artifact.

Now, I'm not going to give an introductory character an Ancient device, as I think the Ancients are way overused. But I'm thinking that maybe he and the crew he was working with might have found a misjumped (and thoroughly derelict) Old Darrian scoutship and that he might have picked up some useful trinket for himself.

So I'm looking for ideas for a nifty little something that a player can have fun with but which wouldn't unbalance the game. Some TL16 gadget that an Old Darrian scoutship or one of its crew could have been carrying.

EDIT: What I need is a personal item, something carried around on the person.

Some ideas that I've used before are a laser pistol with an integral battery and a chameleon field uniform.

NB! I hope to submit the finished adventure to Mongoose, so please don't provide any suggestions that you're not willing to let me use for such purpose.

IIRC, from MT or DGP there was the suggestion that the ancient Darrians were borderline TL-17 in one or two limited areas. If you are willing to stretch your TL-16 requirement a bit, how about this from MgT Sup4: Central Supply Catalogue:

MgT Sup4: Central Supply Catalogue
Shield, Repulsor (TL 17): A new take on the riot shield concept. A repulsor shield is an advanced riot shield with a set of repulsors built into it. These are powered by a small backpack which has 25 ‘power points’ available before needing to be recharged. If the repulsor field is turned on, it projects a fi eld in front of the user which pushes people and even projectiles away. This costs 1 power point per round. It imposes a DM of –1 to hit on small projectile weapons (slugthrowers, bows, thrown weapons and so on), –2 on hand weapons and has no eff ect on energy weapons. Attacks which hit will fall on the shield on 8+; its armour value is 10. The shield can also emit a pulse, costing 5 power points. This will send anyone within 3m of the front face of the shield reeling back or even knock them over unless they roll Dex 8+. This pulse does not cause any damage.

 

[Murphy]

Last time this came up in chargen, I gave the character a monadium knife. Useful, never dulls, but it's still just a knife. And it's heavy.

Nobody ever said it had to be sharp to one-atom edge

EDIT: To be more in line with the OP's question, you can adjust this so that the character gets a TL16 version of some basic tool.
Something along the lines of universal smart wrench (+DM to using Mechanic). Or a flashlight with a lifetime's worth of battery power. Or a pair of protective gloves that resist every known aggressive chemical, even obscure ones.

Or... sonic screwdriver. Heh heh.

 

[McPerth]

The TL16 jump drive may also be more fuel efficient.

These have all popped up in the megatraveller rules.

Im MT rules, jump drives begin to be more fuel efficient at TL 17 (yet they are all more efficient than other Traveller versions at J2+)

 

[Dagrill]

I'm doing pre-gens for an introductory adventure, and one of them was a Drifter/Scavenger who got an unusual life event and found an Ancient artifact.

EDIT: What I need is a personal item, something carried around on the person.

Some ideas that I've used before are a laser pistol with an integral battery and a chameleon field uniform.
Hans

Hi Hans,

If you MgT Darrians can I recommend the Hair Styling comb, single use, recharges in sunlight for 6 hous.

Kind Regards

David

 

[aramis]

ideas that I've used before are a laser pistol with an integral battery and a chameleon field uniform.

Integral Laser Pistol is canonically TL 15.

Chameleon uniform is TL 15 as well; TL13 for hard suits.

 

[mike wightman]

An i-phone 1600.

it can be used as a personal comm unit, mini-comp, holcamera etc, it's advanced software can sync with any lower TL system, and its AI assistant is projected as a male/female holographic avatar.

It can be worn as a jewel or a tattoo even.

 

[Spinward Scout]

How about a Psionic Intuition Gauge. Sort of a very high tech Magic 8 Ball. The player asks a question (or thinks of a question) and the device gives a very brief telepathic answer. It could just be a good luck charm until the player starts to figure it out.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_8-Ball

 

[rancke]

How about a Psionic Intuition Gauge. Sort of a very high tech Magic 8 Ball. The player asks a question (or thinks of a question) and the device gives a very brief telepathic answer. It could just be a good luck charm until the player starts to figure it out.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_8-Ball

I just had an idea that I'm NOT going to use. A "reset button". Pressing it sends the character one minute (or whatever a combat round is) back in time. Game mechanically everybody else plans to do the same thing as the first time around, but the character can do something else.


Hans

 

[Marchand]

From CSC Tech Level 16 description:

"The main new technology at TL 16 is the tractor, a reverse repulsor.
Tractors are somewhat unreliable but the technology has some
uses where fine control is not vital.

Primitive neural weapons are
available for use in personal combat."


- So, one of those?

 

[simonh]

I just had an idea that I'm NOT going to use. A "reset button".

Why not?

I'm serious, a film director or TV script write wouldn't hesitate for a second before using such a plot device in a show, likewise an SF novelist, so why not use it in an RPG?

If you're worried about long term consequences, limit it to a fixed number of non-renewable uses and a long warmup rate between uses.

Simon Hibbs

 

[Drakon]

Why not?

I'm serious, a film director or TV script write wouldn't hesitate for a second before using such a plot device in a show, likewise an SF novelist, so why not use it in an RPG?

If you're worried about long term consequences, limit it to a fixed number of non-renewable uses and a long warmup rate between uses.

Simon Hibbs

It has been done already, it is called "Galaxy Quest". What ranke described is not too different from the "Omega 13".

 

[rancke]

Why not?

Too powerful for my purpose. Also too powerful for an Old Darrian (TL16) artifact. This would be Ancient (TL35) class arifact.


Hans

 

[esampson]

A handheld magnetic monopole detector, or something similar. Anything that is given to the character runs the question "Why don't we reverse engineer it?" More efficient jump drives/power plants could have highly unbalancing effects, not because the Imperium suddenly has more efficient devices but because the characters have some sort of rights to it, which should mean they get a tiny fraction of the cost of each copy made, which would add up to millions or even billions of credits.

Characters would quickly turn into Imperium versions of Bill Gates. They won't sell an individual stand alone product (computers/starships) but they will get a small amount of money from the majority of all sales of a given product.

On the other hand the ability to detect magnetic monopoles won't break anything because without other advanced technology there's no use for them. Maybe someday Imperial scientists will figure out what to do with magnetic monopoles and suddenly the ability to find them will be something every prospector wants but until that happens the demand for monopoles will be low (for research purposes) and there won't be a lot of detectors being sold (though there will be a few, so players can make some money off the artifact).

 

[Garyius2003]

I revised it...

An answerer. A small device, the size of a current kindle. Pose a question, and it works off its own database and any other data it can collect, local EM (natural and manufactured), nearby computer networks...

Some questions it answers quickly, others take days or weeks, some it demands to be moved to another place or network area as it gathers data.

Wiki, only sometimes needing to be taken places.

"Who is the 3I Emperor?" [.000001 second] <Stephon> With a wiki page like screen giving main details of the person and his reign.

"Who will he appoint as the new Marches Duke?" [1 day in the Regina TAS hotel] <please move the unit to the main campus, Regina University> [3 days there] <please move this unit to Utoland Startown, near the main port gate>... Followed at some steps with a readout of different possibilities and suggestions to further refine the answer and update it with future moves

 

[robject]

Neural activity sensors or a neutral activity rifle, very high penetration densiometer.

I like these suggestions - basically a TL16 tri-corder or similar. Alternately a TL16 laser pistol.

ADLP-16 Darrian Laser Pistol, pre-Maghiz
Range: 500m
Mass: 0.95 kg
Damage: 4D + 1

For humans, this pistol is an ergonomic wonder.

 

[simonh]

"Who will he appoint as the new Marches Duke?" [1 day in the Regina TAS hotel] <please move the unit to the main campus, Regina University> [3 days there] <please move this unit to Utoland Startown, near the main port gate>...

That's really good. It needs a a call to action though. For example it could give several answers with probabilities attached, and conditions such as. "The probability of Noris becoming Archduke in the next 3months is 31%. If Admiral Condon is >10minutes late for his next security briefing this rises to 58%".

Or just rip off Person Of Interest.

Simon Hibbs

 

[rancke]

I like these suggestions - basically a TL16 tri-corder or similar. Alternately a TL16 laser pistol.

ADLP-16 Darrian Laser Pistol, pre-Maghiz
Range: 500m
Mass: 0.95 kg
Damage: 4D + 1

For humans, this pistol is an ergonomic wonder.

I've decided to go with the Old Darrian laser pistol. Did you calculate these stats using some official rules? What would be the number of shots in an integral battery and in a belt-mounted battery?

Does the wondrous ergonomic design provide a to hit bonus?


Hans

 

[robject]

I've decided to go with the Old Darrian laser pistol. Did you calculate these stats using some official rules? What would be the number of shots in an integral battery and in a belt-mounted battery?

Does the wondrous ergonomic design provide a to hit bonus?


Hans

I calculated the stats using GunMaker plus a mapping to Mongoose Traveller damage ratings. The weapon should conform well enough with most Traveller rules.

The ergonomic design means that, when carried, it adds *nothing* to encumbrance. Of course when carried in pallet containers the usual rules about mass and volume apply. If you wanted to, it could carry a (small) to-hit bonus, but I wasn't looking for that in particular -- in fact it may be more important to boost the overall quality of the artifact so that it will still work after all these years.

I don't know the number of shots; I would say it's 5% to 6% better than the TL15 versions -- when you use the TL16 battery. A TL15 battery can be made to fit the form factor, but you're back to TL15 battery life in that case.


Tri-Corder Now if you like, I've been meaning to work up some small but useful pieces of equipment, and a TL16 tri-corder would be a good exercise.

What does a tri-corder record? We can easily have a Biosniffer, EM Field Sensor, and Motion Sensor.

R2 Multisensor-12
TL C, 1 kg, Cr 2400.

About the size of a pack or cards, the multisensor is a combination Biosniffer, EM Field Sensor, and a Motion Sensor, wrapped up into one device. Its sensors have a range of 50 meters.

The R3 Multisensor-16, a TL16 artifact, has the same form factor of the TL12 version, but has an increased range of 150m. Of course, its value is much higher.