• Welcome to the new COTI server. We've moved the Citizens to a new server. Please let us know in the COTI Website issue forum if you find any problems.
  • We, the systems administration staff, apologize for this unexpected outage of the boards. We have resolved the root cause of the problem and there should be no further disruptions.

Type C Starport - "reasonable repairs"

S

storuggla

SOC-5
I assume this subject has come up repeatedly before, but I cannot find a thread using the search function or Google so I apologize in advance for picking at old scabs.

Traveller LBB3 page 5: C Routine quality installation. Only unrefined fuel available. Reasonable repair facilities are present. Scout base (with refined fuel available for scouts) is present on a throw of 8+.

Type A and B Starports have " Annual maintenance over-haul available." listed.


So what is "reasonable"? Type D Starports have no repair facilities at all, which implies that reasonable might be sugar-coating it a little since there's no bottom limit?

Looking at the chart, a roll of 9+ means no repairs at all so 27% of all worlds have no way of repairing a starship. If say, a Jump Drive isn't seen as "reasonable repairs" that would mean that 58% of all systems would be unable to maintain interstellar travel.

I keep thinking about this and what it means for the implied setting, but I would love some to hear what others have done or been thinking about this.
 
storuggla said:
So what is "reasonable"?
Click to expand...

Anything under complete overhaul....

In my games generally it means that combat damage can be repaired, as long as the item in question hasn't been destroyed. (Consider Book 2s ship damage rules).
 
infojunky said:
Anything under complete overhaul....

In my games generally it means that combat damage can be repaired, as long as the item in question hasn't been destroyed. (Consider Book 2s ship damage rules).
Click to expand...


CT LBB2 p33: A drive reduced to less than A is destroyed, and must be replaced rather than repaired.

That's a good point, the phrasing here states that a destroyed drive as it cannot be repaired but has to be replaced cannot be "fixed" at a C Starport. It would perhaps be sensible to treat all "Destroyed" as "Starport A or B only".
 
If a drive is destroyed, but the ship has made it to a Class "C" starport, I would allow the starport to have a drive shipped in and then the starport staff can replace the drive. I would take the same view for a maneuver drive and a power plant. I would allow the Class "C" starport to do the annual maintenance work, as per the rules, that amounts to a 0.1% of the price of the ship, so not that large a charge. On a 101 Million Credit Subsidized Merchant, that annual maintenance fee is only 101,000 Credits. A Class "C" starport should be able to handle that as well.

I would view reasonable repairs at either replacing major components with shipped in components or repairs up to around a Million credits or so.
 
Is the class C starport linked by a trade lane to other worlds? If so there is regular freight and thus spares can be imported.

Trouble is it will take x number of weeks for the order to make it to the nearest A or B port where the parts can be sourced, and a further x weeks for them to be shipped (at a surcharge of 1000Cr per ton of spares).

What will the ship crew do on this backwater world for a good few weeks while they wait?

Patrons? Animal encounters? A planned scenario or two. You actually have the potential for a game here :)
 
We actually have more detailed rules for starship repairs:

TCS said:
Starport Repairs: Full repair may be done at any A or B starport, but j-drive repairs require double cost and time at B starports, and no starport may repair a ship system of higher tech level than the starport's tech level.
Click to expand...

TCS said:
Jump Failure: Ships unable to jump because of critical hits [=destroyed] on their power plant, jump drive, computer, or bridge present a special problem. If the bridge or computer is out, another ship may be linked to it for jump; the linking ship must have a computer and bridge as least as large as that of the damaged ship, and linking takes one week. Both move at the jump rate of the slowest ship and maneuver is impossible while linked. Roll for breakdown of the link after every jump; repair takes another week. Ships whose power plants or j-drives have been destroyed must either be transported to a starport inside a tender or must be repaired in place. To repair a ship in place, first a message must be sent to a starport capable of repair; a new drive must be transported to the damaged ship; and it must be inserted, taking double the normal repair time (although not double cost).
Click to expand...


Since the imported jump drive can be inserted into the ship in any system, even without any starport or population, it presumably requires some sort of repair ship or mobile shipyard.
 
Last edited:
Thanks!
(I'm used to the naming convention "Adventure 5" or "A05".... it went right past me!)

For what it is worth, I often keep the tech level of the Starport independent of the tech level of the world depending on the circumstances of the setting.

This is for a variety of reasons. But on a practical rules level, if one doesn't do this one can end up with (at extreme cases) A or B starports that can't repair starships.

I understand that for many people this is a controversial view. But for me... well I've always assumed starports and worlds can work at varying TLs.
 
C Class starports

infojunky said:
In my games generally it means that combat damage can be repaired, as long as the item in question hasn't been destroyed. (Consider Book 2s ship damage rules).
Click to expand...

Ditto.

Also computer, life support, and light sensor repair. Not replacement.

Currently, in my game, the C class starport is cannibalizing a Marava far trader for everything that can be carried off.
 
creativehum said:
Thanks!
(I'm used to the naming convention "Adventure 5" or "A05".... it went right past me!)

For what it is worth, I often keep the tech level of the Starport independent of the tech level of the world depending on the circumstances of the setting.

This is for a variety of reasons. But on a practical rules level, if one doesn't do this one can end up with (at extreme cases) A or B starports that can't repair starships.

I understand that for many people this is a controversial view. But for me... well I've always assumed starports and worlds can work at varying TLs.
Click to expand...

I always assume that the highest tech level of a world is found within the vecinity of the star port. The further away, the more variable the tech level can be.
 
Within the Imperium, this classification may be rather rigid, but then again, most commercial ships may not be built at a greater than technological level twelve, or at least, the majority of their components may not be.

Technological level twelve would be the minimum default for most starports, in my opinion.
 
In the end, it would be dependent on how many numbers are built between technological levels thirteen to fifteen.

If the norm doesn't require a greater range than three parsecs, there's not much reason to build a commercial ship at a higher technological level, unless some form of competitive advantage can be leveraged out.
 
High tech drives are much cheaper, e.g. LBB2 Z-drives or HG power plants. Hence high tech ships are much more economically efficient.

If that were the only criteria most ships would be TL-15. Since they are not, there are other considerations...
 
If you wanted to get into crunchy detail, a TL15 Type A should be much more capable, cheaper and/or desirable in little detail bits that don't affect USP per se but translates into more profit. Say higher cargo fees chargeable due to more safety/cushion features that protect transit, or more high tech luxury per stateroom.


And/or, you could say most Type A are TL9 if you have a pricing adjustment for TL and they are much cheaper, or performance upgrades like fuel use is 10% - (9-ShipTL) per jump number. So a TL13 ship uses 6% of hull volume per jump number. You really want a price difference for that ship vs. a TL15 or TL9 ship.



None of that crunch is in basic CT, you'd have to put it in and decide if it has gameplay content value worth the redo.


As for the OP, my dividing line for reasonable C starport repair is replacing letter drives, limited hull repair, otherwise less then total component replacement for HG 'custom' ships and tagged to TL.



Now keep in mind, C and D starports are not 'limitations' but an opportunity to explore the 'non-standard' side of starship logistical ops, with private megacorps/feudal/government base/jump tug services/portable jump dock rental/eccentric personal facilities all in play, which may involve politics/favors/patrons/serious money to access.
 
CT has merchants that use A-Z drives - that makes them TL9 to TL15. LBB2 and the Traveller Adventure.

MT has the standard ships as TL15 since it was the only way to build them until the power plant fudge was legitimized.

Look at the TL of the free trader in the adventure Knightfall, or the TL of the ships in IE.

I have a list on paper...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

S
Experimenting with Hop Drive
2
Replies
39
Views
733
whartung
W
C
Auto-Jimmy v0.9.2: Robot Construction Release
Replies
8
Views
441
CthulhuStig
C
W
T4 merchant design challenge
Replies
9
Views
900
warwizard
W
Spinward Flow
Trade Codes + Population as limiter for Hull Sizes in construction capability
2 3
Replies
43
Views
2K
kilemall
kilemall
M
Higher Technology Items on Low Tech Worlds and Improvements
2 3
Replies
44
Views
2K
chipla
C
Back
Top