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Old 05-31-2020, 05:12 AM   #1
hal
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Buffalo, New York
Default Sensors in GURPS TRAVELLER

I will be running a GURPS TRAVELLER demo for some players in Vancouver Canada before too much longer.

Just to have a little fun, I decided to run a scenario I've always wanted to run , which was "what happens to a ship caught on the wrong side of the border when the war starts in 1107?

Based on prior research that the Fourth and Fifth Frontier war's had about as much time between them as World War I and World War II, I decided years back, to stat out a picket class ship using GURPS TRAVELLER TL 12 using Stealth technology as well as an electronic warfare module. The idea was to have this scout ship act as an electronic Intelligence (ELINT) for when/if the Sword Worlds ever engaged in a naval buildup that might presage another Frontier war.

Problem is/was - I had NEVER really bothered to think about the ramifications of the GURPS TRAVELLER sensor rules - and up until now, had never really bothered with reading the rules closely (having never used those rules or stealthed ships in game play, you might imagine that I never NEEDED to look closely at the rules).

So, here is the scenario as it unfolds:

One Sword World TL 10 400 dTon patrol cruiser

vs

One Imperial TL 10 Imperial 600 dTon un-streamlined subsidiezed liner
One Imperial TL 10 Imperial 30 dTon life boat

Wildcard is:

one Imperial TL 12 100 dTon stealthed Scout with an EW module and 1 turret weapon system.

Situation: Imperial Captain is midway between taking off from the starport and heading towards his jump point well past the 100 diameter limit of the world. A light cruiser is in orbit - but not powered up for any conflict. A Patrol cruiser was delegated the task of boarding the Liner and taking it captive, moving it past the orbit of the main world to the military base further away from the main world.

The Captain of the ship, upon given orders to cut acceleration and assume an orbit around the main world, will have to decide whether to fully comply and allow his ship to be captured intact, or find some other solution. He can't jump back towards the Imperium, as he has no means to refuel. He can't place his passengers at risk - as that violates his sense of duty. He can however, scuttle the ship by attempting to bypass the safety protocols of his fusion power plant, or he can jump out of system one or two parsecs away, hunt for an icy asteroid in the Ort cloud - or anything in between. His goal ultimately, is to deny an intact hull for the enemies of the Third Imperium.

So, that's the scenario. One player aboard the Doomed 600 dTon liner, one player aboard the picket class ship.

My next post will be the stats on the 100 dTon Picket Class Ship.
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Old 05-31-2020, 05:20 AM   #2
hal
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Buffalo, New York
Default Re: Sensors in GURPS TRAVELLER

The Picket class scout ship is cutting edge stealth technology applied for the use of survelliance. Originally designed prior to the outbreak of the Fourth Frontier War, these highly classified ship designs were transmitted from Capital to Mora, where they were produced under license and heavy security at the Mora Shipyards.

These ships cost nearly 3 times what it costs to produce a standard scout ship, but for their intended purpose, the cost is considered to be acceptable. Due to the high expense and heavy maintenance requirements - this ship also makes extensive use of Maintenance robots to assist with routine maintenance.


Crew: 3 - Pilot/Navigator, Turret Gunner, Engineer

Hull: 100-ton VGSL, Medium Frame, Standard Materials, Bonded Superdense (Expensive) Armored Hull (DR 200, Thermal Super-conducting Armor, Psi-Shielded, Instant Chameleon), Total Compartmentalization, Radical Stealth (-16, AMod -8), Radical Emission Cloaking (-16, PMod -8 [-8, PMod 0 in space]).

Control Areas: Compact Basic Bridge/12 (Complexity 9), EW/12 (Hardened, Complexity 10).

Compact Basic Bridge/12
Radio: 50,000,000 miles
Laser: 100,000,000 miles
Meson: 20,000 Miles

Sensors:
Compact Bridge/12
Passive(38): 30,000
Active (42): 150,000
RadScanner (35)

EW:
Area Jammer (7): 2,250 miles
Radio Detection Finder: 500,000,000 miles
Radio Jammer: 50,000 miles

Engineering: Sm Engineering/12, 3 Jump Drive/12, 13 Maneuver Drive/12 (4.12 / 5.29 Gs, 1,300 stons thrust), 20 Jump Fuel Tank/7, 2 Fuel Processor (1.3 hours to refine Jump Fuel Tank/7), Small Utility/12.

Accommodations: 3 Stateroom, Low Berth/ 9 (4 Cryoberths), Ships Galley/ 7, Gymnasium/ 7 (4 Users).

Misc: 20 Hydrogen Fuel (Fire 13).



Armaments: 1 Turret/12 Battery of 1 (DR 100, 3xStd Laser/12 405 Mj[RoF Bonus +1]).


Weapon Name: Std Laser/12 405 Mj

Qty: 3

Type: Imp

Acc: 33

SS: 30

Dmg: 5dx100(2)

RoF: 1/60 (+7)

1/2 Rng: 26,000 (3 hexes)

Max: 78,000 (8 Hexes)


Stores: 10 Hold (10xUnspecified Cargo, 0 dtons free for cargo).

Statistics: DMass 225.59 stons, EMass 245.59 stons, LMass 315.59 stons, Base Cost MCr57.16, Load Cost MCr4.5, Total Cost MCr61.66, HP 15,000, Damage Threshold 1,500, Size Mod +8, HT 12, 36.3 Man-Hours/day Maintenance.

Space Performance: Jump-2 (2), sAcc 4.12/4.12/5.29/5.76 Gs.

Air Performance: aSpeed 2,639 mph, Skimming aSpeed 8,832 mph, aLift 1,300 stons.

Underwater Performance: uSpeed 30 mph, Crush Depth 82.5 yds.

Sample Times : Orbit 0.06 Hrs, Escape Velocity 0.08 Hrs, 100D 3.14 Hrs, Earth-Mars 54.02 Hrs.

Last edited by hal; 05-31-2020 at 05:24 AM. Reason: reformatted the laser weaponry stats
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Old 05-31-2020, 05:30 AM   #3
hal
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Buffalo, New York
Default Re: Sensors in GURPS TRAVELLER

Now for the implications:

That scoutship has a blip enhancer as part of its Electronic Warfare suite. This permits the scoutship to pretend to be a 20,000 dTon hull.

It's stealth features mean that it can actually loiter VERY closely to any main world and be excessively difficult (if not impossible) for TL 10 sensor platforms to spot. As a suggestion - do the math yourself and see just how close this scout is capable of approaching before it even has ANY chance of being spotted.

I'll post the results of the initial campaign start later on, but I thought I'd post it here. I'm using a standard TL 10 Patrol Cruiser (why re-invent the wheel) as the Sword World patrol cruiser.

In addition - this world (Sacnoth if it helps) has a Light Cruiser and five Destroyers hanging about it in orbit by the main world, and a Sacnoth fleet on maneuvers prior to this "event" going down. There is a "BatRon" further out from the main world, but that doesn't figure into the scenario. The players will have 2d6+3 twenty minute turns before the Light Cruiser gets into the act.
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Old 06-06-2020, 09:45 PM   #4
ldj00
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Bloomington, IN
Default Re: Sensors in GURPS TRAVELLER

I am interested to know what happened...
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Old 06-07-2020, 12:29 PM   #5
hal
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Buffalo, New York
Default Re: Sensors in GURPS TRAVELLER

Quote:
Originally Posted by ldj00 View Post
I am interested to know what happened...
Not this Monday, but next Monday, I will be continuing the process. Turn 1 when the 600 dTon freighter broke for it (he received a message from the hidden scout ship) - he blew his cargo bay doors open (bypassing the standard safety protocols) and allowed roughly 60% of his cargo bay to empty with all the freight that was stowed. That freed up enough mass that he gained about .5 G's in acceleration. He timed it right so that the curve of the planet would help shield him for a short time.

In addition, he launched the life boat and announcing it to the Authorities that he has done so.

Oddly enough? I kid you not, but Loren's PDF of the Stellar Class Liner actually as an Electronics Warfare Suite installed. I thought to myself "this is crazy" but then again, during an actual war, those subsidized liners are supposed to act as Naval auxiliaries - so I guess it does make sense. Long story short? The Liner has been jamming space so as to make a lock on, difficult.

Turn one: Launch Lifeboat, blow cargo, start EW.
Turn two: Use the world for a gravity slingshot (temporarily interposing the world's atmosphere between it and the Patrol cruiser - accelerating at max speed for the 10 Diameter jump distance in the hopes of making a crazy jump between 11 diameters and 100 diameters and hope for the best.

The overall possible plan is either look for an ice asteroid and hope it contains at least 60 dTons of ice that can be converted to fuel - or they can have the scout do some gas giant diving and act like a refueling shuttle for the liner. Again, the engineers are going to have to do some modifications to transfer the fuel from the one ship to the other. But, that's half the adventure.

The other half?

That will be revealed in good time.
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Old 06-07-2020, 12:31 PM   #6
hal
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Buffalo, New York
Default Re: Sensors in GURPS TRAVELLER

Eventually, I'm going to have to post the FULL particulars about TL 12 Stealth technology on a Size 8 hull as far as TL 10 sensors go trying to spot that stealthed fighter. Those babies can get up REAL close to TL 10 ships and not be spotted.

Toss in a Blip enhancer and it probably would have the same effect on some poor captain as happened with the Tower control officer in TOP GUN with the tower fly by.

20,000 dTons of hull just doesn't appear within 50,000 miles without warning!
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