Solitary Campaign

[Spartan159]

So, I'm trying to do a mostly solitary campaign knitting together various published adventures along with sandbox random encounters and trying to write things down into a hopefully coherent readable story. Yeah, too much time and not enough close by player/GMs. Anyway I'll probably need input from time to time as I run into mental blocks or deficiencies in my knowledge. Should I post here in The Lone Star, or start an ongoing thread over in IMTU? Or is this something I should just wade through myself and leave everyone else in peace?

 

[Highorbit_drifter]

I'd say go for it. If you're willing to write it out, you may as well. Maybe the peanut gallery can offer some comments or help with random encounters or whatnot?

 

[Timerover51]

I would say go for it as well, as long as you do not mind getting 10 different views from 9 different individuals.

 

[Spartan159]

I'd say go for it. If you're willing to write it out, you may as well. Maybe the peanut gallery can offer some comments or help with random encounters or whatnot?

Sure, I'll take what I can get. I'm stealing from every version of Traveller as it is.

I would say go for it as well, as long as you do not mind getting 10 different views from 9 different individuals.

Only 10? :rofl:

What prompted me to post in the first place is a simple question, I'm starting off with the introductory adventure and I got to thinking, if a basic world survey is worth 50k and a red zone worth 100k, what about non imperial worlds? Would the Zhodani or Sword World Confederation even permit it or would they consider it spying? From write ups I don't think the Darrians would care, if anything they would just want a copy of the scientific data.

And, just to add to the angst, as I write this, and the reason I'm up at a quarter of 2 AM my time, my companion of 15 years, a cat named Meerkat or sometimes Ringtail just passed away and I don't know what to say other than it sucks. I'm not fishing for sympathy but this group is my primary outlet and I had to share with someone. I apologize it it offends anyone.

 

[Timerover51]

What prompted me to post in the first place is a simple question, I'm starting off with the introductory adventure and I got to thinking, if a basic world survey is worth 50k and a red zone worth 100k, what about non imperial worlds? Would the Zhodani or Sword World Confederation even permit it or would they consider it spying? From write ups I don't think the Darrians would care, if anything they would just want a copy of the scientific data.

I suspect that the Zhodani and maybe the Sword Worlders would consider it spying, and be a bit upset about it. Against that, on Mission to Mithril, the Sword World agent is at least reasonable, in the sense of supplying needed parts in exchange for a survey. You might want to bump up the price of the Red Zone survey though.

And, just to add to the angst, as I write this, and the reason I'm up at a quarter of 2 AM my time, my companion of 15 years, a cat named Meerkat or sometimes Ringtail just passed away and I don't know what to say other than it sucks. I'm not fishing for sympathy but this group is my primary outlet and I had to share with someone. I apologize it it offends anyone.

Been there, and not that long ago, like September of 2015. I still keep expecting Grace to lecture me about taking the water dish out of the bathtub while I shower. One of our other departed cats, Chocolate Chip, was our official company greeter. As soon as he heard a car in the driveway that was not ours, and he could tell, he was by the front door, expecting to be at least spoken to and patted on the head.

 

[Spartan159]

I suspect that the Zhodani and maybe the Sword Worlders would consider it spying, and be a bit upset about it. Against that, on Mission to Mithril, the Sword World agent is at least reasonable, in the sense of supplying needed parts in exchange for a survey. You might want to bump up the price of the Red Zone survey though.

I figure that's for simple TAS travel warning zones, expected danger zones would be higher, and then there are actual Interdicted zones. Which I'm going to have to go through the GURPS behind the claw and decide what is what. Taking inspiration from the Traveller DOS games of long ago I was thinking of being able to acquire permits for some places, Victoria for instance seemed to imply that you could get a permit as long as you stayed away from the moon (Yeah right! :devil and did not trade in metals (Which btw is pretty cold blooded of the scout service)

Been there, and not that long ago, like September of 2015. I still keep expecting Grace to lecture me about taking the water dish out of the bathtub while I shower. One of our other departed cats, Chocolate Chip, was our official company greeter. As soon as he heard a car in the driveway that was not ours, and he could tell, he was by the front door, expecting to be at least spoken to and patted on the head.

Thanks for making me smile, I needed that. 1) I my daughter is named Grace, she encouraged me to do this writing thing in the first place and is my editor in chief. 2) Meerkat was named so because he would stand on his hind feet in the middle of the yard looking around just like his namesake.

and part of my reply is in-between the quotes, my bad

 

[Timerover51]

Thanks for making me smile, I needed that. 1) I my daughter is named Grace, she encouraged me to do this writing thing in the first place and is my editor in chief. 2) Meerkat was named so because he would stand on his hind feet in the middle of the yard looking around just like his namesake.

and part of my reply is in-between the quotes, my bad

Do not sweat the remarks in the quote, and I am glad that I could make you smile.

By the way, I like the quote in your signature, as I am a fan of Churchill as well. One of my greatest frustrations from my first trip to England, when we went to Blenheim Palace where is was born and also buried, was having my camera double-expose the picture of his gravesite. Bummer than.

 

[Spartan159]

I managed to fix it so the question would be seen, what do you think of the idea of not all red zones = interdiction? All interdictions would of course be red zones, the major question is how would you find out beyond automated satelites such as in the classic era games workshop book IISS ship files (Which I lost my copy somehow, fortunately it was on the apocrypha disk) or running into a Navy/IISS patrol?

 

[77topaz]

Beyond the Imperium, there are often no interdictions - the red zone is instead a warning from the Travellers' Aid Society for travellers to not go to that world.

 

[Timerover51]

I managed to fix it so the question would be seen, what do you think of the idea of not all red zones = interdiction? All interdictions would of course be red zones, the major question is how would you find out beyond automated satelites such as in the classic era games workshop book IISS ship files (Which I lost my copy somehow, fortunately it was on the apocrypha disk) or running into a Navy/IISS patrol?

I would agree with the idea that all Red Zones do not equal Interdiction. I seem to remember that one of the planets in the Spinward Marches is listed as a Red Zone at certain times of the year because of local celebrations.

The following is from the Starter Edition with respect to Red Zones.

Red travel zones usually indicate that a major danger exists within the system. This danger may be disease and the world is quarantined. The system may be involved in a war, and surface or space battles may be probable. Red travel zones are also used to show a government edict prohibiting entry to the system or world. This may be to protect a local civilization which is still developing and not yet ready for interstellar contacts or to protect valuable resources until the government can mine them.

The first thing is Danger to visit, for various reasons, so travel there at your own risk and do not bother the Imperium if you have problems. Then you have Interdiction. So what you actually should have is two classifications for Red Zones. One would be Red Zone-Danger, the other would be Red Zone-Interdicted. With the Danger category, I would doubt if even there are any satellites in orbit monitoring things, while with Interdiction, you could have anything from a couple of satellites on up.

With respect to your example of Victoria, there you might have a 4 to 6 man Scout monitor ship keeping an eye on things. Present your permit before landing, and maybe submit to some bugging and monitoring equipment to keep you on the straight and narrow, and you can land. Realistically, what you say to the locals will be up to you.

 

[whulorigan]

I rather like the GT: Far Trader sidebar explanation of the Red Zone as a TAS Classification:

GT: Far Trader, p.51 (sidebar)

Insurance Underwriters
Originally a service to members, who often couldn’t get conventional insurers to cover them for liability or loss during their more interesting activities, insurance underwriting has become the single largest moneymaker for the TAS. The Society is said to insure for or against anything for a price, and its vast information network ensures that its assessments of risk are the most up-to-date available.

The Travel Zone advisories (p. GT70) posted by the Society are an outgrowth of this risk-assessment function that the TAS shares with its members as a courtesy. These are also warnings: venturing into a posted Amber Zone (p. GT19) without paying an additional risk premium could result in non-payment of insurance claims, while deliberately entering a Red Zone (p. GT56) voids most insurance agreements. Of course, if nothing happens, there is nothing to report.

Thus, Interdiction is a function (within the Imperium) of the IISS, IN, or other government quarantine service, and TAS would naturally classify all interdictions as Red Zones by default. But that leaves the possibility of other Red Zones that are assigned by TAS due to exceedingly dangerous circumstances (as Timerover mentions above). As an example: the Red Zone in the Shionthy/Regina system is due to the presence of high concentrations of Antimatter in one of the system's belts left over from the Ancients' War. But there are belters active in the system - it is not a government interdiction.

Outside the Imperium, the TAS Red Zone classification may be assessed due to the existence of local government regulations, or for other subjective reasons as decided by the TAS governing board.

 

[Highorbit_drifter]

Red Zone doesn't equal Interdiction, as is said. It probably voids your warranty on everything you own and is banned as part of your ship repayment plan. Unless you own the ship outright your bank, your insurance broker, your mom, is not going to want you flying into a Red Zone.
(edit - I missed WHULorigan's post, so in other words "ditto")

You might be able to if it was an 'accident' like a misjump. Or you spoof your transponder and it says you were somewhere else at the time, or your ship was under a different name. For example, you switch out your transponder for a one of a ship you know is going to be safely moored somewhere. Best thing is you won't know if that works until some investigates. And by then you've hopefully made enough Credit to pay them off or buy a new ship. Or you're dead.

A Red Zone classification is a great way to hid stuff. I'd say any government is going to pay plenty IF they aren't the ones doing the hiding. But that gets you into the realm of treason and espionage if you discover stuff about the wrong people.



I'm very sorry to hear about your pet. 15 is a long life, so I'm sure Meerkat was happy. Whenever one of our cats sits up on their haunches we call out "meerkat!" and go look to see what has gotten them so interested. I've always had lots of pets, and whenever you lose one it is very difficult. They are our friends, or family really.

 

[kilemall]

One thing about those surveys- it's ridiculously cheap compared to the effect.

Consider what an upgrade to starport or population or tech means- it's a jump of 5-20% in the value of the WHOLE DARN PLANET.

Or the reverse, a drop in stats and therefore a drop in value.

That's a lot of credits. And therefore a lot on the line for the locals to try and influence whoever valuates those UWPs.

It would be worth as much as the planetary navy to identify and affect any such survey work, scout branch TAS OR private. A portion of the intel budget should be oriented towards that work.

Think of the play Inspector General for one possibility.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Government_Inspector

Can the players keep their objectivity and refuse all those bribes, especially as the Scout pay is so paltry?

Should they?

There is of course the 'rate us this or else' sort of adventures.

Or subtle 'players don't know they are being manipulated' stuff, perhaps a mystery of reality/conspiracy sort of meme.

Also, most player characters don't have the Survey skill, if they don't I would send along a Survey bot that does all that collating, with all sorts of fun action items that goes with that, especially bot personality and 'have to hold onto the bot to get surveys done to keep money coming' sort of adventures.

 

[Blue Ghost]

Shameless plug for my blog

Mister Spartan159, if you need ideas, then I might recommend my blog for some ideas

 

[Spartan159]

Highorbit_drifter - I'm gonna try for the high road on this one, the Scout Service sent us here, we're supposed to be here dagnabit. Permits where possible, wit and diplomacy where not. Thanks for the kind words, he was definitely family. While GT:Far Trader mentioned the insurance thing, did they mention actual costs?

kilemall - I'll admit I had not considered that angle, now that you bring it up I wonder how widespread such would be. I need to sit down and decide how "honest" this Empire is. I want Strephon and Norris to be heroic, the empire is probably bureaucratic with some good nobles, some bad ones and mostly self absorbed ones. I'm leaning towards having large combatants but maybe not so many of them. There's a lot of background that needs work :coffeegulp:

Thanks Blue Ghost, I've already been scurrying about hither and yon gathering various ideas. It's been a long time since I had seen Starchaser. *grin*

 

[Highorbit_drifter]

Highorbit_drifter - I'm gonna try for the high road on this one, the Scout Service sent us here, we're supposed to be here dagnabit. Permits where possible, wit and diplomacy where not. Thanks for the kind words, he was definitely family. While GT:Far Trader mentioned the insurance thing, did they mention actual costs?

No actual costs mentioned.

Unless insurance is mentioned elsewhere in the rules, we can extrapolate from what we know about the 3I. The Imperium's primary concern is interstellar trade, so its going to care about insurance rates for starships. It won't offer the insurance itself, that is something for private business, but it will regulate it. So you might get your insurance from Hortalez et Cie, or a local subsidiary, but you won't have to worry about being ripped off.

Standard insurance covers, what? 80% of a vehicle's cost? The Imperium wants to promote star travel, not reward foolish behavior after all, so not 100% coverage.

This page gives a good basic for ship maintenance examples. Mongoose Traveller says that amount is 0.1% per year of the purchase price. Real world examples notes this is way too low, for warships (1% to 250%) and a Panamax cargo ship (14%). Insurance would have to come out of that number. So lets spit-ball 0.01% per year.

In GURPS a Scout is MCr26.3. That is Cr2630, or Cr219 a month for insurance. Personally I'd go higher for a Scout that is exposed to some danger even on a normal run, as opposed to a merchant ship. But that's up to you.
I'd say the premiums in an Amber Zone at least double that, and even then that is pretty cheap. A Red Zone would increase by an order of magnitude (IMO), so Cr2190 a month. Again very cheap.

But you have to consider the number of clients Hortalez et Cie has. Billions and billions of policies. And the Imperium says it wants starships flying around, so keep rates cheap and keep replacement ships available even to the most questionable people (PCs).

 

[kilemall]

Highorbit, I agree those rates are too darn low.

As I noted I have basic insurance subsumed in the mortgage payment (the banks aren't going to leave the bulk of their sunk capital cost in the hands of merchies operating on the margin to pay for), to pay off the book debt or provide another ship replacement to work off the rest of the debt.

Remember, the insurance needs to cover the loan, not just the replacement price of the ship.

Thanks to repo work, the banks/insurers likely have quite the backlog of available ships, putting them back to work is far more profitable then just 'selling at auction'.

I would say it's in the interest of banks to put a ship back in the hands of a working crew in the first 25 years or so of the loan, and to 'take the profits' of an insurance payout after that. Likely the reverse for players, they would want to get out from under a full debt load especially in the first 10 years, and at 30+ years they would like a ship at the end of the loan.

Going to an Amber or Red Zone would NOT be covered by this insurance and constitutes negligence (along with things like 'loss due to misjump from no maintenance/unrefined fuel').

Also, insurance does not pay for crew salaries and/or due payments while the loss is being adjudicated.

That is where Supplemental Insurance comes in, and should come steep (have to pay for the whole year not just a month for mission time, covers crew salary and ship payments, etc.). For simplicity, call it 1/4 of the ship payment again, or .1% PER MONTH.

That mission/ticket better pay well or have a bond in escrow paying that Supplemental.

 

[Spartan159]

I'm real shaky on the insurance thing, I just complain about the car insurance, and pay it or find cheaper. How does the premium thing work, only kicks in when I file a flightplan to an amber/red zone, or is it "You visited an amber zone once, from now on your cost is doubled?" Hmm what is the actual cash value of a used starship anyway? what would the lifespan of a starship be? AHL cruisers were still in use over a 100 years later. I don't buy resale value of a starship immediately dropping to 50% either. Age and maintenance would be factors, what else?

 

[kilemall]

I'm real shaky on the insurance thing, I just complain about the car insurance, and pay it or find cheaper. How does the premium thing work, only kicks in when I file a flightplan to an amber/red zone, or is it "You visited an amber zone once, from now on your cost is doubled?" Hmm what is the actual cash value of a used starship anyway? what would the lifespan of a starship be? AHL cruisers were still in use over a 100 years later. I don't buy resale value of a starship immediately dropping to 50% either. Age and maintenance would be factors, what else?

IMTU would be a 'wink' if they found out, long as the ship payments keep coming they don't really care since they are already covered and it's an overhead to manage that sort of relationship between player activities and the fees.

The trouble would come if the players did lose the ship, the game is rigged to reward winners and people sneaky enough to get it done without mishap, and punish losers.

An interesting question comes to mind, what happens with insurance when a ship is seized by authorities for either doing something illegal directly, or held as 'Emperor's Evidence'? I don't know, especially in the OTU.

As to lifespan of a ship, I've read constantly that there are 80-120 year old ships plying the star lanes.

I could live with that given that I can point out things like 90 year old locomotive power still in full time service, and USS Enterprise just got retired after 50+ years of service.

http://donsdepot.donrossgroup.net/dr145.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Enterprise_(CVN-65)

Should be the exception though, the ships are built to take a pounding and be safe for decades, but not over-engineered to invulnerability or surviving misuse/combat.

IMTU there is a definite lifespan on the fission powered ships due to neutron embrittlement, the backend price for saving on all that fuel cost for the cheaper front end fuel load.

Also, G-plates on ships are a 'new' thing and so a lot of the older ships are less valuable since they are problematic or more uncomfortable. A lot of the detached Type S are older no grav plate/1-G accel designs, it takes special favor and reward to get a newer one. However, VERY IMTU and not terribly useful for an OTU solitaire game.

I'd say it's the mileage put on and how good care and maintenance has been done on the craft determines lifespan and , along with any liabilities/advantages customization has put on.

Putting on a 4-G drive on a standard hull Type S for instance would involve drilling through that engineering firewall, and/or involve putting the drives on the outside of the engineering space and possibly putting stresses on the hull it was not designed for.

Or say laying on a Model/3 computer in the cargo bay makes it a more capable craft, but less desirable due to reduced flexibility and usefulness.

 

[Kilgs]

In regards to OP, I posted the same question and it was sent to the Moot for consideration. I never looked up the answer on where they should go...