Technobabble

[zonk]

I'm looking for some good technobabble in different areas.

1.) Engineering
2.) Piloting/navigatin
3.) Science
4.) Medical

What I want to do is make up cards when I roll up a problem with a specific explanation and what the character needs to do to resolve it. This would give the character something to roleplay with also. "Aye Captain, the dilithium crystals are cracked. I canna recrystallize them."

Or whatever!

Instead of just telling the players what number they need to roll, this will give them a problem with a bit of in game dialog describing the problem and what they need to do to fix it in game terms. The roleplayers should be able to run with that and for the less able it will give them something to hang a bit on.

So I need some good sources of Traveller style (doesn't hafta be Traveller, I can 'fix' that).

"Hand me the hydrospanners Chewie."

Any good places to look?

 

[Spinward Scout]

If you have access to the LUG Star Trek RPG, they have a chart in that. I believe the Serenity RPG has one, too. But, it would violate copyright for me to post or send you either.

 

[zonk]

If you have access to the LUG Star Trek RPG, they have a chart in that. I believe the Serenity RPG has one, too. But, it would violate copyright for me to post or send you either.

No problem. Unfortunately I have neither

If I remember correctly the LUG ST has been out of print for quite a while. I think the local shop might have a copy of Serenity. I'll look at it this weekend if it does.

Thanks!

 

[carlparl]

"Captain, the primary power flow monitor just burned out, and the backup can't handle the load. I'm gonna have to balance the power flow manually."

"Do what you can. That last hit just blew through the carbolizer assembly. If we don't get clear before our reserves are depleted, none of that will matter anyway."

"Nav here. The isolator mechanism on the starlock is acting up, too. I'm not sure we'll be able to get a fix on any navpoints for much longer."

"Great. What else can go wrong?"

"Uhh, Captain. This might not be the best time to mention it, but the filter mechanism in your cabin tank failed. Your goldfish is dead."

 

[zonk]

"Captain, the primary power flow monitor just burned out, and the backup can't handle the load. I'm gonna have to balance the power flow manually."

"Do what you can. That last hit just blew through the carbolizer assembly. If we don't get clear before our reserves are depleted, none of that will matter anyway."

"Nav here. The isolator mechanism on the starlock is acting up, too. I'm not sure we'll be able to get a fix on any navpoints for much longer."

"Great. What else can go wrong?"

"Uhh, Captain. This might not be the best time to mention it, but the filter mechanism in your cabin tank failed. Your goldfish is dead."

:rofl: :devil:

I just remembered "at least 10 characters." for a reply

 

[far-trader]

So how does this grab you zonk...

Officer, the polarity of the prototype temporal transceiver has been redefined.

or...

Will standardizing the configuration of the torpedo launcher modulate the confinement field of the problematic torpedo launcher, Commander?

maybe...

Will decreasing the confinement of the malfunctioning sensor array redefine the confinement field of the positronic brain, Captain?

they're not the greatest but you can run as many as you need for inspiration here:

http://www.ics.mq.edu.au/~msjj/index.html

 

[flykiller]

lots of ordinary stuff can go wrong too.

Damage Control Events

Useful for describing shipboard damage. Roll (d6)(d6) one or more times to obtain a location on the matrix.

11. tool locker destroyed
12. spare parts locker destroyed
13. repair bench destroyed
14. coffee machine destroyed
15. gravitics fail
16. gravitics skew
21. gravitics become unstable
loss of control displays for
22. maneuver
23. jump
24. power plant
25. life support
26. fuel purifier
(loss of power)(excessive power) to (cables)(control panels) for
31. maneuver drive
32. jump drive
33. power plant
34. fuel purifier
35. life support
36. internal comms and sensors
41. external comms and sensors
42. weapons
43. bridge
life support
44. loss of air recirc
45. failure
46. improper operation
51. overpressurization
(imbalance)(overpressurization)(slow imminent failure) of
52. maneuver drives
53. jump drives
54. power plant
hydrogen leak resulting in
55. explosion hazard
56. flooding of the space
61. frozen equipment
62. (moderate)(high)(devastating) radiation field
63. (moderate)(high)(devastating) sonics
64. (one)(several)(many) electrical arcs between equipment
65. (jump field)(manuever field) intrusion into ship
66. fire (electrical)(grease)(hydrogen)(metallic)(high temp hot spot on the hull)(overheating machinery)

(c)Michael Gilliam 2005

 

[The Thing]

Well, I don't do a lot of technobabble myself. When I have to have some tech as part of a story, I think carefully about what it's meant to do and try to make it consistent and plausible.

Example: A while back I needed a device that was part of a jump drive that was small, portable, easily carried/stolen and so expensive that smaller, low budget ships might not carry a spare.

I came up with the "Lanthanum initializer module" and what it did was it was a complex superconductor based system that was used to make the jump engine work. Basically, traveller canon states all jump ships have a lanthanum grid in the hull to make the jump field, and that a lot of current is passed thru it during jump.

Well, i decided to build on that by saying tyhat the current had to be at a precise frequency to make the lanthanum grid generate the right field, and the lanthanum initializer module could pass a virtually unlimited amount of current thru itself and set it to the precise frequency needed to make the lanthanum grid create the jump field.

So, I created a plausible, useful decive central to the plot that really wasn't technobabble, at least IMO.

I think if people writing game adventures try, and try to use existing canon as a base, they can come up with plot deviuces that aren't just gibberish.

 

[aramis]

Engineering:
Jump DriveParts:

• Jump Motivator
• Zucchai Crystals
• Jump Coil or Jump Grid
• Jump Tokomak
• Main or Auxiliary Data Bus
• Field Sequencer.

Power Plant Parts:

• Fuel Pump
• Main Bottle
• Gravitic generator
• Repulsor arrays
• Main sequence motivator
• Power Bus
• Plasma Bus
• Vent Tap (on main bottle
• Induction Coils
• EMR Converters
• Override Motivator
• Core Dump System
• Coolant fuel bypass
• fuel preheat tubing
• Damper field projector
• Main Data Bus
• Manual Overrides
• EMR Shielding
• Neutron Radiation Screening

Maneuver Drive & Gravitics:

• Main thruster plate array
• Attitude Array (Forward, Ventral, Dorsal, Port, Starboard)
• Intertial Motivator(s)
• AG plating (M/F)
• Inertial Dampening plating
• Main Data Bus
• Flight Dynamics SPU
• Landing Auxiliary Plates
• Plasma Bus
• Main Power Bus
• Coolant Bus
• Alignment Frames (on a given plate)

Of course, such a list really sets the implications for what types of process are in use. IMTU, Power plants are damper-tech based gravitic bottles using a localized 100G field generated with repulsor beams to initiate fusion, using high tech electromagnetic wave capture (solar panels in far simpler terms, but optimised for broad spectrum), "top-fed" fuel, and bottom escapement of helium, lithium, and other trace elements.

 

[Merxiless]

There was a great article in Stardate magazine long ago (Might have been called Technobabble, or Treknobabble or lol something else entirely) in the 80's that got me thinking along these lines, written for Star Trek FASA Edition. I'll look in my old files in my FASA Boxes, I might still have it.

It had a sort of expansion for Dr. Who, to boot.

Seems like everything else after that was either based on, derived or cobbled from that article, more or less, or parallel thinking. It is a gold mine.

Definitely a staple of my own Last unicorn Trek Games...not so much for Traveller.

Well lots of what i have found with a cursory search is:

a loose chart here:
http://web.missouri.edu/~heivilinj/ST-RPG/technobabble.html

The above are taken from:
pg 109, Star Trek Role Playing Game, Narrator's Guide, Decipher Games
And
pg 231, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Roleplaying Game, Last Unicorn Games

If you have Tablesmith 4.2, I have some tables I've made, expressly for use with my sfrpg campaigns, that I can post via PM to anyone requesting it.

(Or in public here, I guess, if so permitted by the mods).

Last email I have for the author of Tablesmith is Bruce Gulke (akira at mythosa dot net)


With this beast, it's trivial to generate the following in a second:
Iso-Gauss Magnetic Interlock
Static Refraction Transducer
Sub-Dekyon Induction Dampener
Modal Nuclear Grid
Para-Planar Beam Field
Penti-Matter Wave Destabilizer
Uni-Modal Fission Transmitter
Bi-Dimensional Recirculation Increaser
Bi-Focal Refraction Drive
Modulating Magnetic Catalyst
Osmotic Recirculation Shutoff
Quad-Orbital Reflection Bus
Para-Electrostatic Oscillation Activator
Quasi-Electrostatic Metallic Screen
Gauss Pressure Transtator
Static Circulation Reducer
Shifting Fusion System
Bi-Photon Field Grid
Quantum Oscillation Destabilizer
Shifting Chemical Module
Uni-Tronic Reflection Reducer
Cyclic Thermal Projector
Multi-phasic Plasma Bus
Quasi-Neutrino Oscillation Dampener
Anti-Matter Thermal Projector
Gauss Deflection Inhibitor
Static Recovery Amplifier
Positronic Circulation Augmenter
Resonating Deflection Override
Orbital Reflection Configuration

...Ad Nauseum

 

[Arthur Denger]

14. coffee machine destroyed

We're all gonna die!!! And it won't be an easy death...

 

[Arthur Denger]

Thanks, aramis, that covers most of the (canon) basics...


Bridge:

Flight Plan
Approach
Glide Path
Tower or Ground Control (when referring to starport guidance)
Burn (engage maneuver drive)
Low (or high) orbit
Geosynchronous or Parking (Clarke) orbit
Trojan Points or just Trojans
Plot
Trajectory
Vector
Velocity or Vee
Delta (a change in velocity or vector)
Apogee
Perigee
Slingshot (use planetary gravity well to boost velocity)
Deadstick (atmospheric maneuver using little or no power, control surfaces only)
Rough landing, hard landing, bumpy landing, etc. (nobody likes that word, "crash")
Crater (verb - what you do if the above ends abruptly)
Mayday (or Signal GK for you Vilanophiles out there!)
Dock
Embark (and disembark)
Pax (crew shorthand for passengers, but never used in their presence!)
Paxsickle (low berth passenger, as above)

Comm
Transponder
(Sensor) Lock
(Open a) Channel
Transmit (shorthand: Xmit)
Receive (shorthand: Rx)
Bogey(s) (unidentified craft)

Okay, many of these aren't technical terms at all, but jargon or slang which the crew might use, nonetheless.

 

[Andrew Boulton]

Rough landing, hard landing, bumpy landing, etc. (nobody likes that word, "crash")

I prefer the term "lithobraking"

 

[deniable]

Apogee
Perigee

You could use the related aphelion and perihelion for solar orbits, and apoapsis and periapsis for any body.

You could also look for inspiration in old hardware manuals. I still remember one that mentioned a 'Dynamic air movement device.'

 

[Daneel Olivaw]

I prefer the term "lithobraking"

:rofl:

Now that's funny!

I agree that internal consistency would improve the role-playing experience, so some thought given to malfunctions and ship systems would be a good thing. As you improvise or use each item from one of the lists herein, you could keep little notes on how each component interacts with the others, building a consistent idea of how the ship works as you go.

 

[Merxiless]

I'm sure there was a JTAS or Challenge article on ship's systems, with a little flowchart. "Shipboard Malfunctions in Traveller" or some such.

 

[kafka47]

What an excellent thread!!!

Four for Four

1.) Engineering
a) "Have you reversed the polarity of the neutron flow?"
b) "Must vent the excess plasma through the main thrusters, if we are to stand a chance."
c) The Jump field is a highly unpredictable state of being, one error in the calculation could result in one part of the ship materizing around Grime rather than Regina, so please Captain, let me do my job and I will not interfere with yours."
d) "The computer is only the secondary brain to ship's system, the first is me."
2.) Piloting/navigation
a)"Away she blows, mark, helm adjust 5meters to the right." [comment made by comet chasers ie Snow Dogs]
b) "There I have plugged the coordinates into the navicomputer and now we just need to sit back and re...what the friggin' what is that? Hard back starboard now, Mr. Jensen!"
c) "Just watch this, I used to run the rings of Telemen when you parents were still in diapers."
d) Easy, easy. There can you give me a bearing on that object right there, fire thrusters, 2 and 4 in a non sequential burn that ought get us close enough without 'em noticing."
3.) Science
a) "The ancient Terran used to shout, Eureka when confronted with a naked man running through the street, while this man is clearly suffered, I don't think anyone will be shouting eureka today."
b) "God does not roll dice, we do with 85% certainity" [league of Imperial mathematicians]
c) "The task that is before is unpreceedented in the history of the Imperium, for what we are about to establish the reversing of the singuality and return zero to being a not the negation of all but the beginning of a new era in pure and applied temporal researches."
d) "The only way to determine this is through research, a trip to the library, my friends is in order. Yes, books, an archaic technology but most effective means of recording past achievements. Come on, you lazy sods, research."
4.) Medical
a) "I believe, you will find the route of the alien pathogen was absorbed through through the clone's anterior gill."
b) "The victim would appear to have died from heart failure however, what remains mysterious is the nature of this inorganic blockage on the route to the secondary heart."
c) "Cloning is easy in the 57th century but getting the exact match of personality matrixes overlaid with current experiences and the creation of memories which are artificial but appear real is the real trick."
d) "The crudity of these instruments, you astonish, Mr. Henrick. I am a surgeon not a butcher. What am I to do with these metal instruments?"

 

[Golan2072]

I'll try:

1.) Engineering
- Interface Demodulator
- Gravitic Field Retuner
- Gravitic Projection Nacelle
- Tachion Signal Converter
- Grid Redistributor
- Laser Safety Interlocks
- Tachion Shunt

2.) Piloting/navigatin
- Insertion Matrix
- Trans-spatial re-calibration point
- Trans-spatial Conversion (AKA jump)
- Attack/approach/docking/landing vector

3.) Science
- Just use the last names of two scientists and then append "process", "method", "equation", "theory" and so on, e.g. "the Kirschenbach-Joel Theory".
- Quantum Quasi-Particle Flow
- Anomalous Spatial Demorphification
- Psionic Wave Emissions

4.) Medical
- Just use the last names of two scientists and then append "process", "method", "equation", "theory" and so on, e.g. "the Amlaris-Levi Process".
- Just use a scientist's name and append "disease" or "syndrome", e.g. "the Isenholtz Syndrome" or "Pinker's Disease".
- Cyborg Conversion Station
- Detoxification Process
- Cranial Re-ostiofication Process

 

[Fritz_Brown]

Actually, use the character's names for the disease.... And, don't tell them beforehand. :devil:

 

[aramis]

Medical:
add prominent victim's disease, as in Lou Garrig's disease, or Wegener's Vasculitis... examples might include Dilgaddin's Baldness Disorder
World of Origin also works, such as Rhylanor Palsy or Wypoc Lung (aka Miner's Lung; RW African Sleeping Sickness)

Technology in General: inventor's or Patenter's process or patent. EG Lemple-Ziv-Weller Compression. Common enough ones often lose the names, and keep the initials (again, LZW Compression)