Settler equipment list

[Omnivore]

Most of the ground seems to have been covered already, but one thing I noticed missing was any information on what kind of a culture the colonists have, and what their goals are. By this I mean, what is their economic class and tech background, are they motivated by religious or philosophical beliefs, are they pie in the sky dreamers or down to earth types?

The reason I ask is that the answers might have a heavy impact on what they bring along, what forms of technology they are willing to use, what technological level they plan to try and support locally, and how resilient they are likely to be in the face of adversity.

Brian

 

[rancke]

So, Forboldn. Atmosphere 9 = Dense Tainted?

Dense. Surface pressure too high to support unprotected human life. The low tech level makes it unlikely to maintain enclosed environments with equipment needed to maintain the lower pressures for habitat and farms. A location of appropriate altitude might have a low enough pressure to settle.

Tainted. Population could have an engineered genetic adaptation or implant. They very well may need to constantly wear the appropriate gear which possibly could not be manufactured at the local tech level. Stock lots of spares. Some but probably not all habitats would provide filtering.

According to Wikipedia[*]:

"The high C02 content of the atmosphere has largely restricted development of Forboldn to the highlands where the concentration is low enough to be tolerable. Though filter masks allow humans to breathe in the lowlands, most people prefer to make their home where they can breathe without artificial aid. 80% of the population lives on the Wueldn Plateau, an area roughly the size of France located in the southern temperate zone, and on other, smaller, high-lying areas. The remaining 20% consists of people with a higher than normal tolerance for CO2 who are able to survive at lower altitudes and are spread out across the rest of the planet. On Forboldn, where people for many generations have bred for this trait, it is much more common than usual and many Forboldians can survive CO2 levels that would quickly kill a normal, baseline human. This tolerance is distributed evenly along a curve, but Forboldians usually think of it as divided into three discrete levels. Off-worlders have at most one level of CO2 tolerance, and that only rarely. Only people from Forboldn and planets with similar atmospheric conditions will have two or three levels.

The land surface of Forboldn is divided into four regions: The Highlands, where baseline humans can breathe comfortably; the Uplands; the Midlands; and the Lowlands at sea level. To breathe comfortably in the Uplands, one level of CO2 tolerance is necessary, in the Midlands two levels are necessary, and in the Lowlands three levels are required. A certain yoga-like breathing technique allows an adept to breathe air one level above his tolerance level as long as he is conscious."​

[*] Non-canon, based on my own writeup of Forboldn, but AFAIK still canon-compatible.​

The law level at the main colony may be 4 but
1) Will everything the settlers bring go through extensive customs inspections upon arrival?

I don't think so.

2) It doesn't sound like the main colony will be providing security or law enforcement for the settlers so the settlement could possibly have it's own law level.

Correct.

3) Security would be likely to have better armor and weapons than the populace but it's also possible a stockpile is available for every able bodied person to take up arms as a militia against local wildlife and possible attack by other settlements.

With 200 people there isn't going to be any security except for a part-time peace officer and every able-bodied person in times of crisis.

Tech. Unless outlawed, there is no reason the settles can't bring some higher tech with them than what is locally manufactured.

No reason at all except for cost and concerns about keeping the technology functioning.

Key systems should have some spare parts and possibly a backup system. When necessary, a part can still be ordered from off world.

No, that would take months and cost money the settlers presumably don't have (or they would have bought more equipment in the first place).

I would think some of the higher tech items would be:
Solar, wind, or hydro power depending on environment.
Possibly a refinery for a hydrogen and a hydrogen power plant.
Equipment for producing drinkable water.
Medical equipment.
Agricultural equipment.
Manufacturing equipment. Machine shop, mining equipment, and so on.
No reason the settlers can't have a high tech vehicle or two (backup) for traveling to the main city.

All good ideas.


Hans

 

[rancke]

Most of the ground seems to have been covered already, but one thing I noticed missing was any information on what kind of a culture the colonists have, and what their goals are. By this I mean, what is their economic class and tech background, are they motivated by religious or philosophical beliefs, are they pie in the sky dreamers or down to earth types?

So far they're Far Future cognates of Wild West settlers, mostly to cut down on the exposition. I haven't decided if the locals are more of the same (fairly recent settlers who has been there for a generation at most) or native insular Forboldians. Depends on how much I want to complicate the plot. Culture clash would improve role-playing opportunities, but I'm not sure it would be worth the added complexity.


Hans

 

[rancke]

It looks like a guesstimate of the colony budget is sorely needed. With the caveat that nothing is set in stone, here's what I have so far:

According to Striker, Regina's per capita income is CrImp25,600. If these people are dead average middle class, they should have a yearly income of CrImp5,120,000. While there is a leavening of upper middle class families, I'm not sure how much that would increase the income.

But how much does a yearly income translate into in terms of lifetime savings? I must confess that I haven't the foggiest notion. Twice as much? Five times as much? Ten times?

Whatever it is, a sizable chunk goes to buying the land. That is a crucial part of the adventure.

The remainder would be the budget for the colony equipment.


Hans

 

[Enoki]

As far as equipment goes it depends alot on the terrain they are going to be settling in. Assuming a temperate, vegitated landscape with adequite water supply I'd say they need:

Minimal

Hand tools for construction of homes and for farming etc.
List would include: Shovels, picks, axes, adz, digging bars, carpentry tools, sledge hammers, transit (survey equipment), mechanic's tools, electrician's tools, blacksmith's tools, mason's tools, chain saws (one and two man), wheelbarrows


If they had the money to buy bigger stuff:

Backhoe (vital if you want to do serious digging on a budget)
Two man hole digger
plow attachment for backhoe
plate compactor
Generator about 20 Kw or so
Arc Welder
gas cutting rig
dump trailer
Portable lumber mill
large air compressor
Jack hammer or two
Cement mixer
lathe (wood and metal)
drill press(s)
table saw
planer
joiner
mill (metal work)
bench grinder
metal cutting band saw


Tents or other shelters

Hardware like nails, screws, wire, etc.
Metal shapes like angle, rod, bar stock etc.
Rebar
Cement and lime
Large tanks for water etc.

Basically, if they are starting from scratch they need to build shelters and then maintain their equipment and grow food.

 

[Gray Pennell]

Something to keep in mind about the budget. Historically most colonies have a sponsor whether it was the crown, the church, or a rich merchant. It might not be a lot but it could cover the land, or the power plant. Second the colony would have been planned for years so the would be colonist might also had years to stock pile equipment and items.

 

[Omnivore]

Hmm high density atmosphere... tech 4, but probably could support a bit of TL5 tech longer than higher tech could be supported... how about an airship for the vehicle? Maybe two so they have a backup, they're cheap though a bit bulky for shipping, perhaps shipped in kit form. TL5 would I think be high enough for an early multi-fuel internal combustion engine that could use alcohol or methane as fuel.

 

[Travellerspud]

priority #1 = tools (maybe just the hardened tool tips without handles)
priority #2 = medical (especially drugs like antibiotics!)
priority #3 = planet-wide communications (satellite network ideally with gps)

even a religious "back to nature" group would invest in these...

beyond that, it really depends on the group beliefs and goals. A "back to nature" group might then prioritize #4 as animals in stasis. A "religious or cult" group might prioritize #4 as books, artifacts, and other (useless in survival terms) cargo. A "scientific" group might prioritize #4 as research equipment and the ability to retain high tech (even if at very low quantities ie- a few "replicators"). A "zeno-phobic" group might prioritize #4 as weapons. Almost everyone would bring some weapons, but on a TL 4 world maybe advanced flintlocks (electric ignition, solar powered in the stock) and crystal-iron blades (that would last hundreds of years without sharpening).

Most groups would bring enough minimal shelter to house everyone until better shelter can be made with local materials (using the tools they brought), and enough food too last 1-2 harvests (plus of course many seeds of all varieties in the hope some would grow). A group power station (even if just a solar array) for radio communications and battery recharging. Groups that were not "back to nature" would probably bring one bulldozer or tractor with scoop (and small crane) for clearing a class D starport pad and some "downtown" streets, etc. At least 1 "power 5000" radio. Possibly a medical robot (cheaper in the long run than anagothics for your doctor, or buying a computer and expert medical software capable of training new doctors). Maybe the guts of a sawmill for cutting lumber. A forge. A still (or two!). Some means of teaching children (a small library or teaching robot).

at least, that is how I do it IMTU.

Figure 1 ton per settler for personal gear, plus another .5 - 1 ton per settler for group gear.

 

[Jame]

Communications gear. Yes, TL 10 - 13 stuff like the below. (Well, maybe not the missile systems.)

3D printers, various robotic machining tools, hydroponic setups, air defense lasers and missile systems.

• 
  Educational materials - the young ones need to learn as well as do their chores
  Recreation materials - all work and no play could lead to a population boom
  Flora and fauna to remind them of home
  Small pieces of equipment like small ATVs and such that assist with taming the land
  Weapons

AND make sure that the YES, T-Prime, place you put it is at least TL 9. If it isn't, CHANGE it to at least TL 9.

 

[Carlobrand]

Forboldn? Site of the Forboldn project?? And they've already bought land??? Oh, goodness, they've walked into a world of hurt!

Forboldn, TL-4 non-industrial world: coal, wood, steam engines, single-shot breech-loading firearms, shotguns, 6-shooters, basically you're looking at the Wild West with a lousy atmosphere. Or maybe Botany Bay, Australia's a better example: the Impies have been shipping prisoners here. Others too, but those are the ones that are likely to cause headaches.

First - know the planet. Ignorance kills. Climate? Weather patterns? Preferred dress and customs to adapt to them? Local useful and dangerous fauna? Local useful and dangerous flora? Is there a wood-like plant for building? Are there local animals that will serve for draft and food? What are the local fuel sources? What other local resources are exploited? Will the winds support wind-mills, or - on a dense atmosphere planet - are they too strong and destructive? What are the diseases, the local cures, the likely injuries and the ways to remedy them? What are the local customs? Would not be a good thing to get there and accidentally trigger a blood-feud. Learn the skills of a TL-4 culture: working iron with hammer and forge, glassmaking, tanning and working hides, basic muscle-powered construction and engineering, how to make cloth or rope, frontier first-aid skills, digging wells, handling animals, preserving food and so forth. You'd be surprised what you can do with muscle power and a little ingenuity.

Thought: bringing stuff that a low-tech non-industrial world can't fix may give you a short-term edge, but in the long term you won't have adapted to the world, and trouble will come when your tech breaks down or gets stolen from you - and this is a world where someone's likely to try and steal your goodies. (Say, "Thank you, Emperor.")

If you're going to bring in tech, make it weapons - gives you a survival edge while you learn the lay of the land, and if they manage to take that, well, you're dead at that point, so you won't care. Law Level 4 says no SMGs, no energy weapons, no automatic weapons, no boom-boom - semi-auto rifles will give you a bit of a firepower edge while the ammo holds out, maybe mixed with carbines if weight is an issue, and it won't be as hard for them to transition to the local Winchester and Springfield variants when the ammo's gone - or maybe you'll get lucky and figure a way to manufacture ammo within the limits of the local tech.

Second high tech: medical equipment. But, not too high. Antibiotics, anesthetics in case surgery is needed, surgical equipment, basic diagnostic equipment - and a few souls who know how to use that stuff. The less obvious, the better: bots are fun but pricey, not easily replaced, and likely to breed jealousy and resentment. A human doc can teach you to be a doc while he's doctoring. Start planning your Plan-B for when the good stuff runs out - there may be local plants with anti-infective or anesthetic properties.

Passive IR and Light Amplification are a useful edge while the power holds out, and they can be a hidden advantage since you're only likely to use them when others can't see them. Communications - SMALL radios that can keep the various homesteads in touch with each other without being obtrusive. Bring small generators for recharging, with engines designed to burn alcohol and stills for manufacturing alcohol - in an agrarian colony, that should eliminate any problems with finding fuel. More small is better than few large - doesn't hurt as much if stuff breaks down or is stolen. Keep that stuff in a shed or in a room of the house; the less there is to be jealous of, the less hostile attention you'll draw.

If you want to be stable long-term, you'll be relying on animals and animal-pulled equipment. Animals breed, tech doesn't, you can eat the animal if things get tough, which you can't with a machine, and the neighbors aren't going to be jealous of your donkeys. It's easier to repair or replace an animal-drawn plough with just your skills and muscle than a tractor. And, if there's a local TL-4 tech alternative - a steam-powered plough, say - you should be able to trade for it. Dogs, chickens, cattle, sheep for clothing and food, pigs because they'll eat just about anything and you can eat them - of course, that applies to dogs too. Seeds for whatever local food crop or cash crop grows best in that particular area.

Most of that kind of stuff you can buy in an agrarian culture, so if weight or volume is an issue, any kind of high-value trade good that you can trade for that stuff is good. Just be careful not to hang out the "I'm rich, please rob me" sign.

 

[Enoki]

I know from actual experiance if you are going to build a house, town, whatever, and have to clear boulders, stumps, etc., and flatten land or dig things like septic systems, trenches, foundations, then a backhoe is the essential "power tool" on a budget. It can dig, move soil, grade, trench, excavate, and perform a whole range of useful tasks that would take dozens of people far longer to accomplish. You couple this with a small dump vehicle or trailer that a vehicle can pull when needed. The two will do what you need initially at the least cost.

Backhoes used today on Earth go for around $20,000 for a decent one. A dumper like a Morooka dump truck would be my choice.

http://www.equipmentlocator.com/asp/eDetails/eqID/1184346/eID/88/loc/na-en/close/yes/

I would think the settlers major priority would be establishing a settlement with food and shelter. They could pick the spot from orbit or aerial reconnissance with a ground check following to find the best location. Once on the ground you stay put initially. Expansion or moving to new locations is done only once you have a permanent settlement up and running.

Unless there are dangerous animals or potential enemies military equipment could be minimal or non-existant at first. The focus should be on construction. This means construction tools and tools that repair and support construction equipment.

Most manufactured materials would have to be imported at first. You are not going to get a cement plant or steel mill up until you have a fairly large and established population for example.

Wherever possible local raw building materials should be identified up front and maximized in use. Be it adobe, stone, wood (or wood-like), or something else this saves hauling in building materials.

If something like trees are available then a lumber mill (portable saw mill) is a vital tool. If not and rock and masonry are to be used then bring a small rock crushing plant and screening machine along to make sand and gravel for concrete and mortar. Cement would have to be imported initially. If limestone is locally available a lime plant is possible early on.

Comm gear other than a minimal amount for talking to incoming supply ships would be largely unnecessary. One or two small computers for information storage and processing would suffice initially in that area.

Your energy source should be limited to essentials with few or no luxuries included drawing power. If this means people have to use oil lamps and candles then so be it. A local energy supply like oil, radioactives, or such should also be identified for future use in providing a greater energy resource to the colony.

Medically, things should be limited to routine treatment. Serious injuries or debilitating ones should be dealt with by removing the person to another planet where treatment is more readily possible rather than trying to have a massive medical system locally. Basically, early 20th century medicine would be more than sufficent.

The big push should be to get a self-sufficent functioning town that can feed itself up and running. Until that happens nothing else is really worth pursuing.

The next step is to identify (or having previously identified) something that will generate cash as an export. That gives the colony the funds to keep itself running and to grow. Only one or two things that bring in a positive cash flow will work.

At that point you bring in the basic equipment necessary to start production of your exportable item(s). Preferably, your settlement is co-located with these so you don't have to move or expand to get into production.

Once you start having a net positive cash flow more settlers will come. Things will begin to run themselves and the colony will become a thriving civilization.

 

[rancke]

Forboldn, TL-4 non-industrial world: coal, wood, steam engines, single-shot breech-loading firearms, shotguns, 6-shooters, basically you're looking at the Wild West with a lousy atmosphere. Or maybe Botany Bay, Australia's a better example: the Impies have been shipping prisoners here. Others too, but those are the ones that are likely to cause headaches.

The land that the settlers bought is located on a small highland plateau some way from the Wueldn Plateau, so the atmosphere will be fine. The Forboldn Project settlements are all on other plateaus, so those settlers won't be a problem. Any threat would be from native lowlanders.

First - know the planet. Ignorance kills. Climate? Weather patterns? Preferred dress and customs to adapt to them? Local useful and dangerous fauna? Local useful and dangerous flora? Is there a wood-like plant for building? Are there local animals that will serve for draft and food? What are the local fuel sources? What other local resources are exploited? Will the winds support wind-mills, or - on a dense atmosphere planet - are they too strong and destructive? What are the diseases, the local cures, the likely injuries and the ways to remedy them?

All these factors I assume as a default to be not very dissimilar from prime land on Earth.

What are the local customs? Would not be a good thing to get there and accidentally trigger a blood-feud.

As I said above, I may or may not introduce culture clash. It depends on how much I want to complicate the plot.

Thought: bringing stuff that a low-tech non-industrial world can't fix may give you a short-term edge, but in the long term you won't have adapted to the world, and trouble will come when your tech breaks down or gets stolen from you - and this is a world where someone's likely to try and steal your goodies. (Say, "Thank you, Emperor.")

The ultimate goal of the Forboldn Project is a healthy agricultural planet with Early Stellar technology and around 10 million inhabitants. If I set this in 1105, my settlers would be expecting local technology to rise to that level over a couple of decades. (By 1116 Project plans have been well and truly buggered, but if I set the adventure in 1120, it will be in the GTU where it the Project at least won't get its death blow from the Rebellion).

Second high tech: medical equipment. But, not too high. Antibiotics, anesthetics in case surgery is needed, surgical equipment, basic diagnostic equipment - and a few souls who know how to use that stuff. The less obvious, the better: bots are fun but pricey, not easily replaced, and likely to breed jealousy and resentment. A human doc can teach you to be a doc while he's doctoring. Start planning your Plan-B for when the good stuff runs out - there may be local plants with anti-infective or anesthetic properties.

The big problem would be getting a doctor for 200 people, but presumably the colony planners will make an extra effort to find one. Also, they could be hoping that the locals would want to avail themselves of his services.


Hans

 

[Icosahedron]

Quite a bit of this is covered in the World Tamers Handbook, including the costings that you need (IIRC, there may even be land costings there).

I am assuming a ‘logical universe’, in which, although the planet is TL4, there is a starport and high tech goods will be imported. You can get imported replacements for common items, eg rechargeable batteries, computers, e-books, copper wire, electric motors, etc, and there will be vehicles for sale at a price. There are millions of consumers here, and off-worlders are going to be selling them stuff, both necessities and luxuries.
If the world is a designated settlement project there will be all manner of heavy and bulky equipment for sale at the starport that can be bought on arrival rather than taking up cargo space, unless the local price mark up is prohibitive (which it shouldn’t be if there are subsidies to encourage settlement).

In a logical universe, credits are much easier to transport than equipment, and they will only import stuff that cannot be bought locally, or is so costly here that it is worth importing. Decide first what can be obtained at Mos Eisley....

And, of course, provided that much of what you need is available locally, the best thing you could do would be to fill your hold with trade goods - things that can be sold locally for more than their purchase and transport costs, thereby maximising your purchasing power on arrival...

They would need enough food to keep them going in case of a crop failure - probably a year or more. However, since credits take up much less space than food, food is probably the main resource they could and would buy on-world, along with clothing and machinery, until they can produce their own. These would provide the rationale for your cross-country treks.

Seeds are useful and take up little space, but for the first crop, pre-germinated plants and saplings would save a lot of time and nurturing that could be better spent on constructing other infrastructure.

They would benefit from some machines, JCBs, tractors, quad bikes, etc, and the know how to fix them, and some repair parts, but again, it would be a good idea to use machinery that can be bought and repaired on-world. They should also include personnel who can work with animal labour.

Temporary accommodation (tents) yes, prefab buildings probably not, they’d build from local materials. Except they’d want a decent prefab medical facility and a couple of Low Berths for transporting critical cases to the Starport hospital.

Unless they’re intending to declare war on their neighbours (or expecting war to be declared on them) weapons would be for hunting only. Rifles, etc, using locally obtainable ammo. It’s a settlement, not a military outpost.

Grazing fauna that can provide milk, meat and textile when let loose on the native flora would be needed, but livestock are expensive to ship and could probably be bought cheaper on arrival.

A couple of RTGs, fuel purifiers, fuel cells, plenty of rechargeable batteries, locally-maintainable wind and solar generators, power supplies, lanterns, torches, hand tools, power tools and survival gear would probably take up most of the space that wasn’t used for seeds, plants, medical supplies and trade goods.

 

[E.D.Quibell]

You'd need someone capable of maintaining and repairing robots along, and he then becomes a point failure source. It's a choice, just like the choice between tractors and horses to draw the plows.

The Bots should run for a year with no maintnance and then have a good chance of working the second year without any as well. After that it's a bonus, but then it's a two year plan to be up and running sustanabally. You would need someone with Robot Ops, but that's it. It also becomes an adventure seed allowing the PCs to gain favour by reparing the Bots that have brocken down.

Do you know of any canonical writeups of farm bots and construction bots? Or fan writeups with permission to include in a JTAS Online article?

101 Robots has them. Not sure if you can use them due to the DGP copyright, although some of it is copyright GDW.

You made me think of something very important: A power source.

Just a small fusion PSU, and fusions still to make hydrogen, and a few solar pannels will likely do.

Best regards,

Ewan

 

[E.D.Quibell]

If I am to use them in a JTAS Online or a Signs & Portents article, I need to be able to quote the basic information about them.

Hans

I would offer mine, but they have already been posted so won't be accepted by JTAS or Signs & Portents.

Best regards,

Ewan

 

[Omnivore]

101 Robots has them. Not sure if you can use them due to the DGP copyright, although some of it is copyright GDW.

Fair use clause of copyright law covers that*, and to be completely honest if either DGP or GDW copyright holders were to object or sue over something that trivial then they're complete idiots as it is free advertising for their product since there are 100 other robots your article/adventure didn't use.

*Especially if you only use the portion of the design/description that has direct impact on your adventure and, of course, give proper credit/reference.

 

[samuelvss]

I know from actual experiance if you are going to build a house, town, whatever, and have to clear boulders, stumps, etc., and flatten land or dig things like septic systems, trenches, foundations, then a backhoe is the essential "power tool" on a budget.

Agreed, but hard work never killed anyone. Disease has killed many, though, particularly at TL 4, though steel killed more.

Unless there are dangerous animals or potential enemies military equipment could be minimal or non-existant at first.

On a world with people, especially people without the things you have, on the frontier, there are potential enemies. If you want to guard your food, shelter, women, and backhoe, then adopting a "wait and see" attitude is a recipe for disaster. That said, the arms needed are not extensive; enough to make you a hard target, and making the dropping of varmits and game animals fairly efficient.

The focus should be on construction. This means construction tools and tools that repair and support construction equipment.

Fairly permanent shelter can be erected in a couple of weeks with hand tools and local materials. Depending on other priorities, temporary shelter can suffice until thorough reconaissance has been done, security established, clean water identified, and sanitation established. Sleeping under a plastic sheet never killed anyone, but porr sanitation kills many.

Comm gear other than a minimal amount for talking to incoming supply ships would be largely unnecessary. One or two small computers for information storage and processing would suffice initially in that area.

If it's a nice friendly frontier, where human nature has largely been suspended. Otherwise, small, cheap handhelds are a profound tactical force multiplier.

Your energy source should be limited to essentials with few or no luxuries included drawing power. If this means people have to use oil lamps and candles then so be it. A local energy supply like oil, radioactives, or such should also be identified for future use in providing a greater energy resource to the colony.

Medically, things should be limited to routine treatment. Serious injuries or debilitating ones should be dealt with by removing the person to another planet where treatment is more readily possible rather than trying to have a massive medical system locally. Basically, early 20th century medicine would be more than sufficent.

I would have to say that medically, things should focus on cheap prevention and remedy of infection, disease and parasites. Early twentienth century medicine had no antibiotics, and limited vaccines; these, at higher TLs are ubiquitous. Hundreds of doses for the price of a backhoe...

The big push should be to get a self-sufficent functioning town that can feed itself up and running. Until that happens nothing else is really worth pursuing..

We clearly agree, but omitting or underestimating the need for security here is a fatal mistake.

 

[Omnivore]

Most manufactured materials would have to be imported at first. You are not going to get a cement plant or steel mill up until you have a fairly large and established population for example.

A good reference if you can find the books at your library would be the Firefox series. Another good reference would be anything on cottage industry in Germany during the latter half of WWII. Nearly every industry can, and has been at one point or another in history, downscaled from large to small (Breweries to Microbreweries) or upscaled from small to large (blacksmith forge to foundry).

So while I agree in the general case, with the right skills, preparations, and tools many large scale industries can be replaced on a small scale.

 

[rancke]

I would offer mine, but they have already been posted so won't be accepted by JTAS or Signs & Portents.

I don't know about S&P's policy, but I've sold several articles to JTAS Online that had been published elsewhere first. I was just paid half the usual rate. These were all previous dead tree publications, though, so perhaps that would make a difference.


Hans

 

[Whipsnade]

Quite a bit of this is covered in the World Tamers Handbook, including the costings that you need (IIRC, there may even be land costings there).

Agreed, and WTH wisely speaks in generalities instead of listing how many neck sleeves, smoke shifters, and other specific gee-gaws are part of the rations and capital goods needed by the colony.

In a logical universe, credits are much easier to transport than equipment, and they will only import stuff that cannot be bought locally, or is so costly here that it is worth importing.

In a logical universe that will lead to demand-pull inflation within the region in which those goods are sourced.

The interstellar region(1) around the colony will have a certain capacity for growing, manufacturing, and otherwise producing the items the colony will need. This capacity is already servicing demand for those same goods within the region. Demand and supply will not be perfectly matched of course, there will be a surfeit of some items and a surplus of others. When spending on supplies for the new colony occurs, demand will outstrip the region's ability to produce some supplies and inflation will result.

More mines, farms, and factories will open within the region to service this new demand but there will be a delay involved and the region in question will have hard limits imposed on the level of that increase by factors like population, tech levels, and world characteristics.

Demand-pull inflation and limits on regional capacity are why the Imperium cannot simply transfer trillions of CrImps from the core to the Marches to build dreadnoughts, raise armies, found colonies, or undertake other megaprojects.



1- While the size of that region will depend on shipping costs and those costs could be subsidized in some manner by the polity founding the colony, those costs will necessarily limit the size of the region.