Spinward Light Freighter

[robject]

I think it's worth noting that T5 uses 2%*Pn as baseline power plant fuel allocation for a month (about 2x the LBB5 requirement). Tech Level Stage Effects modify that a bit.

T5 II p 79

Tons= P x Hull /100 for 1 month**

** The default (decentralized) is 1%. But centralized power would indeed require 2%.

But Moped's observation is still interesting.

 

[Grav_Moped]

** The default (decentralized) is 1%. But centralized power would indeed require 2%.

If it's decentralized, do you have A "power plant" in the context of LBB2 or 5?

 

[robject]

If it's decentralized, do you have A "power plant" in the context of LBB2 or 5?

I think so. Unless I'm wrong (50% chance) it fits the CT context well.

Another question is: when you use a ship from CT in T5, is it centralized or decentralized?

I can't go by fuel usage, because fuel use means something different from T5 in both HG and Book 2. The Traveller Book ties power plant damage to drive performance -- of course. It ties fuel loss to the operation of lasers, which isn't the same as tying them to the power plant. So I am inclined to prefer that Book 2 ships are decentralized.

A hasty glance at High Guard also seems to indicate decentralized power... but I could be wrong.

---

With decentralized, the power plant is there to support the maneuver and jump drive. Other components can draw power from it, but have significant internal resources of some kind (magic?). But without a power plant, you can't move and can't jump.

With centralized, the power plant truly powers everything; the weapons, life support, compensators, gravity, whatever, and when it goes down, you have on the order of an hour or so to live / eject. It's not unlike "Out of Gas" from Firefly.

And in both cases, spine weapons have their own integral power plant. They're designed separately but bound together.

 

[robject]

I honestly have no idea why a ship would ever have "centralized" power as defined in T5. I think I used to know, but there's no reason given in the book, so...

 

[AnotherDilbert]

CT ships are Centralised. If the power plant all systems lose power (after some vaguely defined battery backup runs out). HG is very specific that all systems run off the PP.

 

[kilemall]

CT ships are Centralised. If the power plant all systems lose power (after some vaguely defined battery backup runs out). HG is very specific that all systems run off the PP.

Not to mention everything but missiles has an explicit EP rating which is charged against the PP.

 

[AnotherDilbert]

If it's decentralized, do you have A "power plant" in the context of LBB2 or 5?

There's a power plant running the drives.

Everything else runs on its own power, where "own" power has several options (it's T5 after all). It can be a battery (charged by the main PP) or fuel cells and fusion+ with its own tiny fuel supply. This is from memory, so I have probably forgotten most of the possibilities.

All this extra decentralised power equipment takes no noticeable space or cost.