OOC and MIA

[Tiglath]

Only Mech 1 here, so go for it. Thanks for the assist. ( I just wasted a natural 12 on scoring Scotch, so I'd best not risk complex mechanics )

Hey, take success where you can! If Int can help, Jakob rolled a 9 to contribute to the "how do we fix this thing" of the vehicles. If no Int, then it's just a 7.
Mechanic-1, Int-12 [2d6+3] = 6+3 = 9

Well, I'm going to call those both successes!

I can't really argue with a 12 (Jess now possesses excellent Scotch) and the remote mounts do need "inventing" as well as "constructing" so there should be an Int DM in there somewhere as well as some bonus for communal effort (or a the very least a "montage scene"! )

Therefore both vehicles now have an HMG in a rotating mount on the roof fired from inside using a periscope sight. Note the gunner will be effectively standing in the open vs return fire so a "hull down" firing position is advisable for these vehicles. Also the HMGs won't readily "dismount" but that's no real issue for the team.

[helvorn]

Jumping in to join the crew! I'm thinking a Marine Pilot out of Book 5.

Any suggestions on chargen? I'm fairly open.

[helvorn]

I figured that Book 5 is my friend. I need to dust off Striker and AHL for sure!

[joertexas]

I figured that Book 5 is my friend. I need to dust off Striker and AHL for sure!

Matt, here's a couple I found - I don't remember which one I used, though:

http://www.batintheattic.com/traveller/

https://ffilz.github.io/Gaming/travellercharacter.html

I don't know if either of them support Book 5.

[shaidar]

Jumping in to join the crew! I'm thinking a Marine Pilot out of Book 5.

Any suggestions on chargen? I'm fairly open.

Welcome Helvorn!

[shaidar]

Jakob will alternate between his loadout (armor, weapons, gear) and the standard Marine loadout. Working to solidify his "Instruction-2" skill, he writes up training plans for rapid gear up, deployment from the ship and vehicles, sensor recognition of the Baron's forces, and team movement. That's mostly morning stuff. In the afternoon he'll work on tactical scenarios sandboxing, and the training plans for those. All the staff are invited, and whomever else Frank thinks might benefit from being there. While everyone has some level of tactical expertise, if not formal training, there are a lot of backgrounds and different tactical and stragetic philosophies. Jakob knows he sees things through a Marine visor; getting everyone on the same page, no matter what book it's from, is his goal.

In between will be physical training, lending his mechanical skills to fix the vehicles, learning their control systems so he can drive them on planet, and spending time learning Imperial Navy stuff.

Prerna brings her Tactics skills into the mix, speaking from her scout/sniper prespective.

I think it makes sense that the squad leaders, plus Frank and Voss attend as well. Hopefully Frank and Voss can bring in useful info from the Deputy Minister on how he plans to run the diplomatic mission , along with any info on the baron's troops and the current situation there, all of which will help direct the planning.

We can also feed whatever info we have into the battle computer.

[Leitz]

IRL, the next few weeks will be a bit busy for me. I need to edit and code on a timeline. My usual process is that I'll either post less verbose responses (still checking daily) or I'll succumb to the need to escape and write something long and boring. For example, added something to "Jakob on Collace", even though he's not there any more.

[joertexas]

Jumping in to join the crew! I'm thinking a Marine Pilot out of Book 5.

Any suggestions on chargen? I'm fairly open.

That would probably put you flying Dustoff missions in the ambulance, or flying any combat vehicles we're able to obtain later. I think we could also use a C3I (Command, Communications, Control, Intelligence) staff specialist to help gather and control the information we need to fight effectively.

[Leitz]

Jumping in to join the crew! I'm thinking a Marine Pilot out of Book 5.

Any suggestions on chargen? I'm fairly open.

That would probably put you flying Dustoff missions in the ambulance, or flying any combat vehicles we're able to obtain later. I think we could also use a C3I (Command, Communications, Control, Intelligence) staff specialist to help gather and control the information we need to fight effectively.

The C3I might be better as an NPC, unless we have someone who really geeks out on that sort of thing. A star ship pilot would be useful, but our current skillset might make that less useful if pilot was the primary focus. Unless we go into pirate hunting mode, then it would be very useful. A grav vehicle flyer could be very useful with current mission parameters.

Really, though, it boils down to what you want to play. Tiglath has been very accomodating to various character concepts.

[shaidar]

We might be able to cover C3I with Voss and Dubbs, there's potential future career development there.

I can see us flying of into space to search for the 1188th at some point, but not quite yet

[Tiglath]

Jumping in to join the crew! I'm thinking a Marine Pilot out of Book 5.

Any suggestions on chargen? I'm fairly open.

Welcome Helvorn!

Please welcome helvorn to the game!

Apologies helvorn there should have been some suitable announcement...

The team will likely need someone to "fly the dropship" but also with some other skills so you're not "parked outside with the engine running" while you miss all the action.

[shaidar]

Not sure how useful, but here is a link to a Google spreadsheet with current team skills on:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/ ... view#gid=0

[joertexas]

Apologies helvorn there should have been some suitable announcement...

I got it covered - sorta

[Leitz]

Not sure how useful, but here is a link to a Google spreadsheet with current team skills on:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/u/ ... view#gid=0

On that spreadsheet, note that the people with Olive backgrounds in their column header are PCs. The rest are NPCs.

[The Bindoner]

Hi Helvorn, welcome aboard.

Another leatherneck, eh? Well, a pilot could be useful, we don't have many ship-board skills. And as a Marine you'll have all the basic merc skills.

[Leitz]

Frank would have been well briefed on, if not even involved in, some of the training. Jakob has been drilling them like Marines, and in this case it might pay off. The unit could actually deploy without being "ferried" down, couldn't it? Even funnier, if you like, Skip and Jakob could use the grav belts and deploy as pathfinders. Anyone else want to jump out of a perfectly good space craft?

[Tiglath]

If the liner could go atmospheric this would be a viable deployment option.

High Guard gives: Any ship of configuration 1 to 6 can land on a world with an atmosphere 0 or 1;
for all other worlds, streamlining is required. The M Class liner has a type 4 partially streamlined hull (OK for skimming gas giants but no good for atmospheres). Inchin is atmosphere type 2.

Yes, in a pinch, they could "wilderness refuel" at a gas giant but this is not a good idea 1 parsec from a suspected pirate base! Also although they have fuel scoops there is no on board purification plant - but there is on the cutter refueling module.

So, alas, "wrong kind of hull" is the issue - which would make an atmospheric grav drop insertion "interesting" if not "downright scary"... and then "hot"!

But at least the diplomats were comfy all the way here!

And, if there are pirates on Avastan, you dodged them ... so far ...

[Leitz]

I'm probably missing a lot, but Inchin is size 4 (small, 1/3 to 1/2 gravity) and a very thin atmo. Not much atmo to burn in on, not much gravity to fight, right? Depressurize the cargo bay, anyone in combat armor and grav belts could exit out a hatch, and then the grav vehicles exit.

Maybe not total "Marine Assault", but impressive.

[shaidar]

it also means we can leave the atmosphere without relying on being ferried up.

We could deploy like this and 'secure' the landing point. I know we don't really need to, but it would send a message.

Although part of me says that we shouldn't highlight that particular ability.

[Tiglath]

This is a bad idea ... you are therefore welcome to try!

The expensive ship (that you don't own) risks breaking up and/or burning up forcing its way into the (admittedly thin but still there) atmosphere. Unless you get as deep into the gravity well as you can the gravitics you seek to use to retard your fall won't work efficiently. Gravitics needs gravity to work. Therefore this requires risking / effectively writing off the ship.

The best analogy I can think of is landing your airliner in the sea. Its theoretically possible to survive safely in optimum conditions but if you do your aircraft is still in the sea.

If you start outside the gravity well (in space) you'll need initial velocity to aim you at the planet e.g. Vacc suits with thrusters (and the skill to use them) to move you towards the planet. Your grav vehicles are just stuck. You then need as many shipboard skills as possible to avoid bouncing off the atmosphere (into deep space) as you attempt re-entry and a method of dumping the heat if you do (like an ablative re-entry shield). [There's a whole JTAS article on this. Folk with shipboard skills galore do it for sport while folk with grav vehicle 0 shouldn't! ]

Note: The reason to rejoice in the type 2 (or thicker) atmosphere is that it prevents starships simply lining up their weapons and taking potshots at anyone on the planet's surface from space. Vacuum worlds are effectively indefensible (see FFW). The presence of an atmosphere means ships have to use secondary batteries / subcraft and deadfall ordnance to "bombard" the surface.