General Tech Level Theft in the Third Imperium?

[TamsinP]

Pimane ... E500343-4

LBB3.81, p12 Tech Level Table modifiers:

• Size: 5 = +0 DM
• Atmosphere: 0 = +1 DM
• Hydrographics: 0 = +0 DM
• Population: 3 = +1 DM
• Government: 4 = +0 DM

Total Tech Level DM: +2
1D6+2 = 3-8 results

Moral of the story is ... Pimane is "RAW legal" at TL=4.

A slightly more involved insight would be that the population of Pimane is in a "dieback" condition of slowly withering away rather than continuing to grow and prosper. There isn't much of anything THERE that other star systems are going to want to trade for (at least, by 1105), meaning that Pimane is in the "bust" phase of a Boom & Bust cycle.

Presumably, at some point in the past, there must have been a "rich strike" found that brought people to the Pimane system to "work the mines" and harvest the resources that had been found ... but that resource has been harvested by now, the mines have played out and the boom times are over, so the economics (and thus technology level) of Pimane have been in decline ever since.

If a prospector can find another "motherlode" rich strike somewhere, then the "good times" might come back ... but prospecting is grueling, dangerous work with incredibly low rates of return on investment, so a lot of people have been giving up and getting out of Pimane if and when they can.

Pimane can still probably harvest SOME quantity of resources for sale on the interstellar market (presumably to Strouden), but it's barely enough to keep the world economy going ... and Pimane just isn't "important" enough for some moneybags to come along and try to make a revitalization project out of the place ... so Pimane just keep slowly declining.

Yes, I am aware of the DMs for TL and that for Pimane the TL would be 1D +3, giving a potential RAW range of 4-9; I assume they rolled a "1" during the generation procedure.

The "Minimum TL" I was referring to is from later versions where for different Atmosphere codes they set minimum TL values. In MgT2e, the minimum TL for Vacuum worlds (Atm = 0), it is meant to be 8, but their data for Pimane lists it as TL 7 (presumably to reflect that it is in die-back). Traveller Map and the Wiki, using T5 data also list it as TL 7.

Given the trade factors, it's definitely a case that Pimane is on a "scrape together enough resources out of what is left to sell in order to buy the parts and materials they need to make do and mend, but never enough to pay for everyone to get off the world.

 

[Grav_Moped]

Would concur with @bookwyrm if I was sure I wouldn't be giving @TamsinP negative rating points in the process.
These are just random numbers interpreted as the description of a fictional world in a game system. Somehow, it still feels tragic...

 

[Silverhawk]

Yes, I am aware of the DMs for TL and that for Pimane the TL would be 1D +3, giving a potential RAW range of 4-9; I assume they rolled a "1" during the generation procedure.

The "Minimum TL" I was referring to is from later versions where for different Atmosphere codes they set minimum TL values. In MgT2e, the minimum TL for Vacuum worlds (Atm = 0), it is meant to be 8, but their data for Pimane lists it as TL 7 (presumably to reflect that it is in die-back). Traveller Map and the Wiki, using T5 data also list it as TL 7.

Given the trade factors, it's definitely a case that Pimane is on a "scrape together enough resources out of what is left to sell in order to buy the parts and materials they need to make do and mend, but never enough to pay for everyone to get off the world.

Don't forget about those people who won't leave even when the situation is bad.

OLD TIMER: "I'm not leaving and you can't make me. This is my home."

RANDOM OFFICIAL: "But sir, the mines are played out, there is no resources to keep fixing you atmospheric dome and recirculation system. You have to leave or you'll die here and alone."

OLD TIMER: "Yep, in my home."

It is just something of human nature.

 

[Spinward Flow]

Don't forget about those people who won't leave even when the situation is bad.

You can lead a man to water, but you cannot make him THINK.

It is just something of human nature.

Some people would rather die than leave their home that they've always known.
Not exactly Darwin Award worthy, but definitely a contender in the "participant" category.

 

[coliver988]

You can lead a man to water, but you cannot make him THINK.


Some people would rather die than leave their home that they've always known.
Not exactly Darwin Award worthy, but definitely a contender in the "participant" category.

Some people just like to live where they are: it is not all about economics or personal gain. Personal comfort and familiarity can trump a lot of things. Being condescending about other people's choices to live in a place you may not like seems...not nice.

 

[kilemall]

Some people just like to live where they are: it is not all about economics or personal gain. Personal comfort and familiarity can trump a lot of things. Being condescending about other people's choices to live in a place you may not like seems...not nice.

I think it’s more useful to use that behavior as an example of how identity focused sentient beings are and how they will pursue preserving that even to the point of destroying their physical selves.

Explains love, war, bad economic decisions, genocide, conflicts that don’t have to be, etc.

It’s really at the core of most conflicts in our little sci-fi story game.

I would further postulate that most sapients that aren’t a wholly hive mind are subject to this identity as existence driver of action, and even beings wholly submerged in a collective are supporting that identity. Perhaps even more vehemently given mutual reinforcement.

 

[Krikkitone]

One other issue with TL is that it is a single number… the environmental technologies available would probably be higher than 4. Not 8, but you could probably get some 1/2 decent vac suit repair there. (at least it would be better than the vac suit repair if the SAH was 686 instead of 500.

 

[mike wightman]

There are many supplements that break the TL down into different technology areas.

The latest book by MgT The World Builder's Handbook, T5, MegaTraveller...

 

[atpollard]

Party pooper! ;-)

I don’t know … most PCs seem to end up able to find one of the few surviving artifacts.