Starport Bar (OOC Chat Area)

[Thumper]

Sorry it’s been a bit erratic on the updates. I have some family health issues going on and dealing with that in the real world.

No problem! Real life first!!

[subaltari]

He’ll also play with the newly acquired shotgun microphone by trying to capture embarrassing conversations from down the corridors.

If Ty pointed it at a certain portion of the cargo hold, he might pick up something like this: https://youtu.be/sEymyO5Abp4

[Thumper]

Oh geez!

[Eris]

Oh geez!

It's the goats! They're planning an uprising in revenge for the sacrifice of their leader to two legger's for food!

[Hvalreki]

He’ll also play with the newly acquired shotgun microphone by trying to capture embarrassing conversations from down the corridors.

If Ty pointed it at a certain portion of the cargo hold, he might pick up something like this: https://youtu.be/sEymyO5Abp4

Love how the movie portrays the Sardukar. That said I couldn't help but think of this scene when I watch that one and thought about the emperor

The Padisha Emperor Shaddam IV

[Thumper]

“Four legs good…two legs baaaad!”

[subaltari]

Love how the movie portrays the Sardaukar. That said I couldn't help but think of this scene when I watch that one and thought about the emperor

Great film, but of course there were many elements of the book that got left out. One that I missed is that Paul's little sister Alia, about three years old at the time, is the one who kills the Baron with her "Atreides gom jabbar."

[subaltari]

Since the crew went missing and the ship has been left unattended for months on a low law level planet, I guess anything could have happened. I have some speculations after you said that I won’t voice until we get more data.

Oh, do tell!

Had I gone with my original character idea (the Other with computer skill), I'd be making a backup of the ship's cores for us before handing them over to the IISS.

[Thumper]

Just that the last crew either

1) fell victim to something/someone unrelated to their mission. The ship and its data cores are ripe for our taking. Weird that they’d all go missing with no other reports home

2) fell victim to espionage or local government actions. In this case, was Amondiage involved? Did they stumble into an Amondiage action and get taken out quietly? How would that affect us?

3) they fell victim to an imperial plot/conspiracy

Again, too early to voice any speculation…except we may want to proceed with the mission suspicious of Amondiage

[subaltari]

I agree, and feel like 2) and 3) are more likely than 1). If the data is so valuable, the mystery player may have known this and made a grab for it. I'm not too optimistic that the cores will be sitting there waiting for us, once we pay the 72k to get in (anyone else feel like we're in an episode of Storage Wars?)

Amondiage's involvement could be nothing more than circumstantial. The deed appears to have gone down on Acadie; Amondiage is just the parent world. But you're not wrong to be suspicious.

The crashed Launch is a lead worth following, even if it dead-ends with a closed invoice at a local scrapyard.

[Spearmint]

My own thoughts were the two deceased escaped with data cores and were hunted down, hence trying to locate more background on where they were last seen.

[Thumper]

72k Cr is about 2 years worth of parking fees. Racketeering! Ty will try to negotiate that down. A bribe of the administrator may be needed as well.

Even at 100cr/day parking plus impoundment fees, we should get off for a fraction.

[subaltari]

I hope she agrees!

[Eris]

No record of the crew leaving? Star Port Admin has been aboard her sense they 'went missing' so if we go into Perfect Stranger we aren't going to find a bunch of long dead bodies are we?

[Thumper]

The "special room" comment by Ty was in reference to the Intel Data Recording Room and the Auxiliary Power Plant. I didn't think about the rear pop-up turrets; but,ya, that'll be problematic. Perhaps we can hire the engineer from the Divine Providence to assist us...and keep him out of those areas as much as possible.

[subaltari]

To work on the J-Drive and M-Drive (and Main Powerplant), everything an engineer needs to get to should be inside the Engine Room.

If he starts asking questions about the Aux Powerplant (and sooner or later he will), then we're going to have to either BS him or show him the Systems Room.

[Thumper]

Can we pack some cargo crates to the rear of the aft cargo hold to hide the aft pop-up turrets from view? Maybe put up a tarp over the back and pretend we’re welding back there (mechanic’s work)? That should keep the turrets concealed.

Keep the Intel Systems Room locked and a mechanic escort with him at all times? Should keep him out of there.

Suggested BS for why the aux power plant:
- needed inflight for the collapsible cargo bay fuel tanks and processing of that raw fuel. I expect most local engineers have never seen these kinds of collapsible fuel tanks.
- emergency system required by an Imperial directive for registered ships going to deep space operations…buys time for main power plant maintenance or repairs when making many jumps to transit long jump routes. Surely they wouldn’t know Imp regs.

The room next to the aux power plant’s fuel tank is an additional fuel processor. No need to go in there?

Other ideas?

I think we can BS credibly to explain that unique configuration of the aft cargo area. Thoughts?

[Hvalreki]

Hi Travellers,

Sorry about he confusionon on the situation throw. I didn't explain that concept very well. A situation throw is for me to determine the odds of something I couldn't reasonably figure out on my own, i.e. how hard to conceal the modifications to the Perfect Stranger's aft cargo bay and systems room?

As in all things Traveller I start with a base 2d6 throw and then add modifiers. Because I think it is a more difficult than usual task, I decided +1 for the Turret equipment and another +1 for the systems room and Aux power connections into engineering. That gives a 2d6+2 roll for me, I rolled a 7+2 is 9.

Now the tables are turned. The players have to roll a 9 or better to "succeed" at concealing the mods.

I hope that makes sense to everybody.

There is a full blurb in the spoiler if you want to know more.

Situation Throws

https://talestoastound.wordpress.com/20 ... n-numbers/

https://talestoastound.wordpress.com/20 ... on-throws/

The point is that a roll is not required for every action or every situation. The game actually can move along quite well without lots of rolls, with the fictional details created by the Referee and the Players providing enough context for the Referee to adjudicate on the fly.

Where the Situation Throws come into play is when the Referee doesn’t have enough guidance to make a call off the top of his head. (“Would someone look back as this firefight starts and notice the Player Character sneaking into the camp?”). If he’s not sure what the call would be, the Referee asks for the Player to make a Situation Throw.

Situation Throws: In the absence of any other guidance, the referee may always resort to the situation throw. When an incident first occurs, throw two dice to determine its relative severity. A low roll means that it is easy, a high roll means comparative difficulty. The number achieved is now the situation number.

The player characters involved, when they attempt to deal with the situation, must roll the situation number or higher on two dice. They are, of course, allowed DMs based on any appropriate skills. Tools, assistance, and equipment may also provide beneficial DMs; weather, haste, adverse environment, or other handicaps may impose negative DMs.

It is even possible for a referee to make the situation number greater than 12, thus making success impossible unless the players can provide necessary skills or tools with DMs to get their throw also above 12.


1. We start with our basic formula of Situation Throws 2D6 +/- DM ≥ Throw Value equals success
2. If an applicable characteristic is 9+ and higher than the Throw value, the character receives a DM +1 to the roll
3. For every two points the characteristic exceeds the Throw value, the character receives and additional DM +1 to the roll
4. If the Throw value is 15 or higher, any applicable characteristic of F will receive a DM +1
5. If an applicable characteristic is 4- the character receives a DM -1 to the roll
6. If an applicable characteristic is 2- the character receives a DM -2 to the roll
7. The determination of what, if any, characteristics are applicable is determined on a situation-by-situation basis.

https://talestoastound.wordpress.com/20 ... r-part-ii/

[Thumper]

Ok, thanks. So a concealer does need to roll. Straight roll or would any modifiers apply?

[Spearmint]

If 'Easy' is doing spot welding and mechanics, he can make the Conceal.

Does this work?Colonel Aziz 'Easy' Schmidt: Mechanics [2d6+3]=8+3=11