Salvage ideas?
- Thread starter davidence
- Start date
^ I like that too; nothing like legally possessing goods that are the assumed property of a less than legitimate owner bent on getting it back!
A twist I threw at one of my groups looking to make their mark as salvagers was this:
The group investigated the site of a recent space battle, looking to salvage some hard-to-find (i.e. prohibited) military hardware. The area was under strict military quarantine but they spied out the area for about a week and couldn't find any signs of organized surveillance or enforcement. So they drifted their way into the debris field, carefully snaking between hulks until they found nearly intact corvette. They linked up with the target vessel, found the special equipment they were looking for (and some other tasty goodies), and started to remove them. Just as they were putting spanner to bolt, an Imperial battlegroup arrived to commence a gun shoot, using the hulks for target practice.
The first indication the crew was in trouble was when the ship they were salvaging suddenly lurched into a spin, pinning the boarders against the bulkhead. They dropped what they were doing and beat feet back to their ship, whose pilot was desperately trying to slow the spin and regain control!
The mayhem that ensued was most memorable, particularly their attempt to extricate themselves from the debris field while simultaneously avoiding detection by the warships and incoming fire. I was sure to add lots of showers of molten debris and near misses as hulks evaporated around them. Although they were spotted, they did manage to jump free of the system before being apprehended.
It's a tough universe, but it's tougher when your stupid. And there's no such thing as a free lunch!
A twist I threw at one of my groups looking to make their mark as salvagers was this:
The group investigated the site of a recent space battle, looking to salvage some hard-to-find (i.e. prohibited) military hardware. The area was under strict military quarantine but they spied out the area for about a week and couldn't find any signs of organized surveillance or enforcement. So they drifted their way into the debris field, carefully snaking between hulks until they found nearly intact corvette. They linked up with the target vessel, found the special equipment they were looking for (and some other tasty goodies), and started to remove them. Just as they were putting spanner to bolt, an Imperial battlegroup arrived to commence a gun shoot, using the hulks for target practice.
The first indication the crew was in trouble was when the ship they were salvaging suddenly lurched into a spin, pinning the boarders against the bulkhead. They dropped what they were doing and beat feet back to their ship, whose pilot was desperately trying to slow the spin and regain control!
The mayhem that ensued was most memorable, particularly their attempt to extricate themselves from the debris field while simultaneously avoiding detection by the warships and incoming fire. I was sure to add lots of showers of molten debris and near misses as hulks evaporated around them. Although they were spotted, they did manage to jump free of the system before being apprehended.
It's a tough universe, but it's tougher when your stupid. And there's no such thing as a free lunch!
^ I like that too; nothing like legally possessing goods that are the assumed property of a less than legitimate owner bent on getting it back!
A twist I threw at one of my groups looking to make their mark as salvagers was this:
The group investigated the site of a recent space battle, looking to salvage some hard-to-find (i.e. prohibited) military hardware. The area was under strict military quarantine but they spied out the area for about a week and couldn't find any signs of organized surveillance or enforcement. So they drifted their way into the debris field, carefully snaking between hulks until they found nearly intact corvette. They linked up with the target vessel, found the special equipment they were looking for (and some other tasty goodies), and started to remove them. Just as they were putting spanner to bolt, an Imperial battlegroup arrived to commence a gun shoot, using the hulks for target practice.
The first indication the crew was in trouble was when the ship they were salvaging suddenly lurched into a spin, pinning the boarders against the bulkhead. They dropped what they were doing and beat feet back to their ship, whose pilot was desperately trying to slow the spin and regain control!
The mayhem that ensued was most memorable, particularly their attempt to extricate themselves from the debris field while simultaneously avoiding detection by the warships and incoming fire. I was sure to add lots of showers of molten debris and near misses as hulks evaporated around them. Although they were spotted, they did manage to jump free of the system before being apprehended.
It's a tough universe, but it's tougher when your stupid. And there's no such thing as a free lunch!
A twist I threw at one of my groups looking to make their mark as salvagers was this:
The group investigated the site of a recent space battle, looking to salvage some hard-to-find (i.e. prohibited) military hardware. The area was under strict military quarantine but they spied out the area for about a week and couldn't find any signs of organized surveillance or enforcement. So they drifted their way into the debris field, carefully snaking between hulks until they found nearly intact corvette. They linked up with the target vessel, found the special equipment they were looking for (and some other tasty goodies), and started to remove them. Just as they were putting spanner to bolt, an Imperial battlegroup arrived to commence a gun shoot, using the hulks for target practice.
The first indication the crew was in trouble was when the ship they were salvaging suddenly lurched into a spin, pinning the boarders against the bulkhead. They dropped what they were doing and beat feet back to their ship, whose pilot was desperately trying to slow the spin and regain control!
The mayhem that ensued was most memorable, particularly their attempt to extricate themselves from the debris field while simultaneously avoiding detection by the warships and incoming fire. I was sure to add lots of showers of molten debris and near misses as hulks evaporated around them. Although they were spotted, they did manage to jump free of the system before being apprehended.
It's a tough universe, but it's tougher when your stupid. And there's no such thing as a free lunch!
Liam Devlin
SOC-14 5K
You're an evil man Ran Targas! chuckles wickedly :rofl:
Ye get the daily Evil GM stars for the day! I bow
Ye get the daily Evil GM stars for the day! I bow
Liam Devlin
SOC-14 5K
You're an evil man Ran Targas! chuckles wickedly :rofl:
Ye get the daily Evil GM stars for the day! I bow
Ye get the daily Evil GM stars for the day! I bow
Liam Devlin
SOC-14 5K
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I used a variant of this ploy once upon a time--the ship in question was a 200dton Cobra-class Corsair, used in smuggling illegal workers to a Non-industrial planet in a form of corporate indentured servitude.
The players' vessel's patron was a stuffy nobleman whom they soon tired of rules and regs etc..and while not adverse to his version of stellar philanthropy..saw little money from it.
The plot thickened when the smuggler vessel's skipper, who was the only sister to the local crimelord, part of the VGB vilani mafia of the main, had the player's Skipper PC kidnapped in order to coerce them into running slaves themselves.
The plan backfired when the party countered and found the smuggler vessel hidden on an old Rim War Solomani Confederation base's ruins, and killed the six man crew, and seized the ship, rescuing their comrade.
When all the dust cleared, they'd "salvaged" a ship that had been MFU listed before the Rim War.
Okay so far? Yes. However, the VGB regional boss of the subsector had invested heavily in the seizing of the vessel, its manning, and add-on extras..like a fixed plasma cannon in the nose.
Their next jump to a port with registry two parsecs away turned out to be that boss's homeworld..and they while leaving Sir Stuffy Blue nose behind, had now acquired a new meaner leaner Patron..
Moral: the Grass isn't always greener on the other side of the fence!
Liam Devlin
SOC-14 5K
-------------------------------------------------
I used a variant of this ploy once upon a time--the ship in question was a 200dton Cobra-class Corsair, used in smuggling illegal workers to a Non-industrial planet in a form of corporate indentured servitude.
The players' vessel's patron was a stuffy nobleman whom they soon tired of rules and regs etc..and while not adverse to his version of stellar philanthropy..saw little money from it.
The plot thickened when the smuggler vessel's skipper, who was the only sister to the local crimelord, part of the VGB vilani mafia of the main, had the player's Skipper PC kidnapped in order to coerce them into running slaves themselves.
The plan backfired when the party countered and found the smuggler vessel hidden on an old Rim War Solomani Confederation base's ruins, and killed the six man crew, and seized the ship, rescuing their comrade.
When all the dust cleared, they'd "salvaged" a ship that had been MFU listed before the Rim War.
Okay so far? Yes. However, the VGB regional boss of the subsector had invested heavily in the seizing of the vessel, its manning, and add-on extras..like a fixed plasma cannon in the nose.
Their next jump to a port with registry two parsecs away turned out to be that boss's homeworld..and they while leaving Sir Stuffy Blue nose behind, had now acquired a new meaner leaner Patron..
Moral: the Grass isn't always greener on the other side of the fence!
Oh, yes, Salvagers definitely fall into the "Player Character" range.
The one I saw on Discovery was a wreck on the Oregon coast...
Haven't heard of any major salvage going on in Alaska... (when it does, it makes major news locally... salvagers spend money like water!)
But for a real taste of what weather does to static vehicles, just find some of the photos of "previous year's wrecks" of airplanes. Even worse are the older ones. It's wierd, but moss seems to LOVE to grow over metal objects.... and take root in every little crack.
Oh, yes, Salvagers definitely fall into the "Player Character" range.
The one I saw on Discovery was a wreck on the Oregon coast...
Haven't heard of any major salvage going on in Alaska... (when it does, it makes major news locally... salvagers spend money like water!)
But for a real taste of what weather does to static vehicles, just find some of the photos of "previous year's wrecks" of airplanes. Even worse are the older ones. It's wierd, but moss seems to LOVE to grow over metal objects.... and take root in every little crack.
Michael Schulz
SOC-12
It's funny, but in a lot of cases I would take the opposite tack. My thinking is that most equipment in the 3I is built to seriously last. Not only is Traveller set in the 54th century, but the 3I and most of its mega-corps are basically super-conservative structures; so I imagine that durability is seen as an ideal. Particularly if you are dealing with something made by the Vilani. I like to think that a Vilani corporation would be hopelessly shamed if one of their ships couldn't still be salvaged after crash landing in a jungle five years ago. It's Vilani dammit! Built to last a thousand thousand years.
If you're salvaging Solomani junk, on the other hand...
Michael Schulz
SOC-12
It's funny, but in a lot of cases I would take the opposite tack. My thinking is that most equipment in the 3I is built to seriously last. Not only is Traveller set in the 54th century, but the 3I and most of its mega-corps are basically super-conservative structures; so I imagine that durability is seen as an ideal. Particularly if you are dealing with something made by the Vilani. I like to think that a Vilani corporation would be hopelessly shamed if one of their ships couldn't still be salvaged after crash landing in a jungle five years ago. It's Vilani dammit! Built to last a thousand thousand years.
If you're salvaging Solomani junk, on the other hand...
Fritz_Brown
Super Moderator
Well, we can hope that some amount of corrosion is offset by advanced tech. After all, these things have to withstand nuclear blasts, particle accelerator weapons fire, and wind currents in a gas giant. And, "crash-landed" has a range of meanings. A Cessna 152 can "crash-land" by doing an emergency landing in a plowed field - going the wrong way. It could flip the plane at 50mph (pretty bad) or just sheer off the gear (bad) or just bend the prop when the plane tips forward (not that bad).
The question would be: what got the crew? Did the crash get them (pretty bad on the crash scale) or did they wander off looking for help (not bad)? If it was the sudden deceleration that turned them into smears on the bulkheads, there might not be a lot left to salvage.
The question would be: what got the crew? Did the crash get them (pretty bad on the crash scale) or did they wander off looking for help (not bad)? If it was the sudden deceleration that turned them into smears on the bulkheads, there might not be a lot left to salvage.
Fritz_Brown
Super Moderator
Well, we can hope that some amount of corrosion is offset by advanced tech. After all, these things have to withstand nuclear blasts, particle accelerator weapons fire, and wind currents in a gas giant. And, "crash-landed" has a range of meanings. A Cessna 152 can "crash-land" by doing an emergency landing in a plowed field - going the wrong way. It could flip the plane at 50mph (pretty bad) or just sheer off the gear (bad) or just bend the prop when the plane tips forward (not that bad).
The question would be: what got the crew? Did the crash get them (pretty bad on the crash scale) or did they wander off looking for help (not bad)? If it was the sudden deceleration that turned them into smears on the bulkheads, there might not be a lot left to salvage.
The question would be: what got the crew? Did the crash get them (pretty bad on the crash scale) or did they wander off looking for help (not bad)? If it was the sudden deceleration that turned them into smears on the bulkheads, there might not be a lot left to salvage.
^ T R U E
Even space hulks could be similarly plagued, making them all but unsalvageable.
- Radiation damage (making the interior dangerous to inhabit)
- EMP damage (rendering all electronic and electrical systems slag)
- Impact damage (sufficient degradation of the hull to reduce structural stability)
The list goes on. But again, there's no such thing as a free lunch. If the original crew had been able to make the ship fly, they probably wouldn't have left it.
Even space hulks could be similarly plagued, making them all but unsalvageable.
- Radiation damage (making the interior dangerous to inhabit)
- EMP damage (rendering all electronic and electrical systems slag)
- Impact damage (sufficient degradation of the hull to reduce structural stability)
The list goes on. But again, there's no such thing as a free lunch. If the original crew had been able to make the ship fly, they probably wouldn't have left it.
^ T R U E
Even space hulks could be similarly plagued, making them all but unsalvageable.
- Radiation damage (making the interior dangerous to inhabit)
- EMP damage (rendering all electronic and electrical systems slag)
- Impact damage (sufficient degradation of the hull to reduce structural stability)
The list goes on. But again, there's no such thing as a free lunch. If the original crew had been able to make the ship fly, they probably wouldn't have left it.
Even space hulks could be similarly plagued, making them all but unsalvageable.
- Radiation damage (making the interior dangerous to inhabit)
- EMP damage (rendering all electronic and electrical systems slag)
- Impact damage (sufficient degradation of the hull to reduce structural stability)
The list goes on. But again, there's no such thing as a free lunch. If the original crew had been able to make the ship fly, they probably wouldn't have left it.
Fritz_Brown
Super Moderator
Well, there are plenty of stories of folks walking off from perfectly good shelter/transportation in a survival situation because they were untrained or their judgement was seriously impaired.
- Maybe the engineers were killed, but nobody else.
- Maybe they needed one part they didn't have in their repair locker.
- Maybe their rations were compromised, and they went in search of food.
I agree wholeheartedly, Ran, "There's no such thing as a free lunch." But, if the referee works hard enough, and makes the PCs work hard enough, this could be a good way to get the group a ship.
- Maybe the engineers were killed, but nobody else.
- Maybe they needed one part they didn't have in their repair locker.
- Maybe their rations were compromised, and they went in search of food.
I agree wholeheartedly, Ran, "There's no such thing as a free lunch." But, if the referee works hard enough, and makes the PCs work hard enough, this could be a good way to get the group a ship.
Fritz_Brown
Super Moderator
Well, there are plenty of stories of folks walking off from perfectly good shelter/transportation in a survival situation because they were untrained or their judgement was seriously impaired.
- Maybe the engineers were killed, but nobody else.
- Maybe they needed one part they didn't have in their repair locker.
- Maybe their rations were compromised, and they went in search of food.
I agree wholeheartedly, Ran, "There's no such thing as a free lunch." But, if the referee works hard enough, and makes the PCs work hard enough, this could be a good way to get the group a ship.
- Maybe the engineers were killed, but nobody else.
- Maybe they needed one part they didn't have in their repair locker.
- Maybe their rations were compromised, and they went in search of food.
I agree wholeheartedly, Ran, "There's no such thing as a free lunch." But, if the referee works hard enough, and makes the PCs work hard enough, this could be a good way to get the group a ship.
- Crew hauled away by rowdy natives after bang-sticks failed to impress
- Crew abducted by slavers/unknown aliens for sale/vivisection
- Crew reduced to goo/fine mist/energy patterns by strange cosmic phenomenon/alien device
- Crew eaten by alien monster (that's still onboard)
- Crew hauled away by rowdy natives after bang-sticks failed to impress
- Crew abducted by slavers/unknown aliens for sale/vivisection
- Crew reduced to goo/fine mist/energy patterns by strange cosmic phenomenon/alien device
- Crew eaten by alien monster (that's still onboard)
