Steve Jackson Games - Site Navigation
Home General Info Follow Us Search Illuminator Store Forums What's New Other Games Ogre GURPS Munchkin Our Games: Home

Go Back   Steve Jackson Games Forums > Roleplaying > GURPS

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 02-15-2017, 12:34 AM   #1
GoblynByte
 
GoblynByte's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Dayton, OH
Default [Spaceships] Crew traits...

I'm trying to build a crew for a fairly straightforward "starter" tramp freighter. SM +7, TL 10^, standard reactionless drives (only 1G), hyperdrive, a single major weapon battery (beam), and an antimatter power plant with sufficient output to run everything. It is primarily a cargo vessel, but would be able to accommodate 2 passengers if needed.

The crew compliment is a total of six: 4 control stations, 1 technician, and 1 gunner. I'm thinking about breaking the bridge crew into 1 captain, 1 pilot, 1 navigator/comm/sensor operator, 1 chief engineer.

So, what traits do you think would be required for each of these crew members to perform their duties? Here's what I'm thinking. Tell me if you think this covers the basics.

Note: this disregards some rather obvious traits that might be shared by all the crew (e.g. Spacer, Vacc Suit, etc) and focuses on what the character in that role would need to perform their specific duties.
  • Captain: Merchant Rank 2; Diplomacy; Leadership; Merchant
  • Pilot: Merchant Rank 1; Piloting (High Performance Spacecraft)
  • Navigator: Navigation (Space); Navigation (Hyperspace); various Electronic Operations skills.
  • Chief Engineer: Various tecnical skills appropriate to the ship components (e.g. Mechanic; Electrician; Electronics Repair; etc).
  • Technician: Similar to Chief Engineer, though probably not as skilled or broadly trained.
  • Gunner: Gunner (Beams)
What do you think? What would you absolutely make sure you include? Anything you'd take away from what I listed? What are your thoughts?
__________________
A man said to the universe:
"Sir I exist!"
"However," replied the universe,
"The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation."
GoblynByte is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-15-2017, 01:30 AM   #2
Refplace
 
Refplace's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Yukon, OK
Default Re: [Spaceships] Crew traits...

Quote:
Originally Posted by GoblynByte View Post
I'm trying to build a crew for a fairly straightforward "starter" tramp freighter. It is primarily a cargo vessel, but would be able to accommodate 2 passengers if needed.
  • Captain: Merchant Rank 2; Diplomacy; Leadership; Merchant
  • Pilot: Merchant Rank 1; Piloting (High Performance Spacecraft)
  • Navigator: Navigation (Space); Navigation (Hyperspace); various Electronic Operations skills.
  • Chief Engineer: Various tecnical skills appropriate to the ship components (e.g. Mechanic; Electrician; Electronics Repair; etc).
  • Technician: Similar to Chief Engineer, though probably not as skilled or broadly trained.
  • Gunner: Gunner (Beams)
What do you think? What would you absolutely make sure you include? Anything you'd take away from what I listed? What are your thoughts?
Add a Cargo handler and Steward, maybe let the Gunner have those roles as his duties are the least time consuming.
Cargo Handler could have Savoir Faire (Servant) and Freight Handling.
Captain of a freighter (especially a tramp) should add Accounting, Mathematics (Applied) and probably Administration. the latter not just for keeping the ship organized but also for dealing with starport bureaucrats. A form of Law would not be bad either.
__________________
My GURPS publications GURPS Powers: Totem and Nature Spirits; GURPS Template Toolkit 4: Spirits; Pyramid articles. Buying them lets us know you want more!
My GURPS fan contribution and blog:
REFPLace GURPS Landing Page
My List of GURPS You Tube videos (plus a few other useful items)
My GURPS Wiki entries
Refplace is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 02-15-2017, 05:16 AM   #3
GoblynByte
 
GoblynByte's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Dayton, OH
Default Re: [Spaceships] Crew traits...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Refplace View Post
Add a Cargo handler and Steward, maybe let the Gunner have those roles as his duties are the least time consuming.
Cargo Handler could have Savoir Faire (Servant) and Freight Handling.
Captain of a freighter (especially a tramp) should add Accounting, Mathematics (Applied) and probably Administration. the latter not just for keeping the ship organized but also for dealing with starport bureaucrats. A form of Law would not be bad either.
I agree, a cargo handler will be needed. As you said, the gunner would be the most appropriate for that. I didn't really like the idea of having a gunner on board anyway. It seemed like such a minor task to have someone full time. I was going to fold that task into someone else on the bridge. Having him perform cargo duties, though, will work even better.

I'm not too concerned about stewardship duties, though. In the concept I want to have passenger ferrying to be a second (maybe even third) concern.

And those are useful skills for the captain!

Thanks for the feedback. I appreciate it.
__________________
A man said to the universe:
"Sir I exist!"
"However," replied the universe,
"The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation."
GoblynByte is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-15-2017, 05:28 AM   #4
GoblynByte
 
GoblynByte's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Dayton, OH
Default Re: [Spaceships] Crew traits...

Here's a revised list. I didn't add Mathematics (Applied) to the captain. Accounting takes care of any practical math he'd need and Applied deals more with engineering and science tasks. He wouldn't need it more than any other character (not to say I wouldn't give it to everyone). I also didin't give the gunner Savior-Faire (Servant). I wouldn't think he'd be that lowly. ;)

I did add Streetwise to the captain as well as Strategy and Tactics. Seemed appropriate.
  • Captain: Merchant Rank 2; Accounting; Administration; Diplomacy; Leadership; Law (Interstellar Trade); Merchant; Strategy (Space); Tactics.
  • Pilot: Merchant Rank 1; Piloting (High Performance Spacecraft)
  • Navigator/Operator: Navigation (Space); Navigation (Hyperspace); various Electronic Operations skills.
  • Chief Engineer: Various technical skills appropriate to the ship components (e.g. Mechanic; Electrician; Electronics Repair; etc).
  • Technician: Similar to Chief Engineer, though probably not as skilled or broadly trained.
  • Gunner/Cargo Handler: Freight Handling; Gunner (Beams)
__________________
A man said to the universe:
"Sir I exist!"
"However," replied the universe,
"The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation."
GoblynByte is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-15-2017, 06:00 AM   #5
robkelk
Untitled
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: between keyboard and chair
Default Re: [Spaceships] Crew traits...

Is the cargo handler expected to find and buy/sell the cargo on this tramp trader? If yes, then Streetwise and Merchant would be appropriate on that list as well.
__________________
Rob Kelk
“Every man has a right to his own opinion, but no man has a right to be wrong in his facts.”
– Bernard Baruch,
Deming (New Mexico) Headlight, 6 January 1950
No longer reading these forums regularly.
robkelk is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-15-2017, 06:26 AM   #6
Curmudgeon
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Default Re: [Spaceships] Crew traits...

Quote:
Originally Posted by GoblynByte View Post
I'm trying to build a crew for a fairly straightforward "starter" tramp freighter. SM +7, TL 10^, standard reactionless drives (only 1G), hyperdrive, a single major weapon battery (beam), and an antimatter power plant with sufficient output to run everything. It is primarily a cargo vessel, but would be able to accommodate 2 passengers if needed.

The crew compliment is a total of six: 4 control stations, 1 technician, and 1 gunner. I'm thinking about breaking the bridge crew into 1 captain, 1 pilot, 1 navigator/comm/sensor operator, 1 chief engineer.

So, what traits do you think would be required for each of these crew members to perform their duties? Here's what I'm thinking. Tell me if you think this covers the basics.

Note: this disregards some rather obvious traits that might be shared by all the crew (e.g. Spacer, Vacc Suit, etc) and focuses on what the character in that role would need to perform their specific duties.
  • Captain: Merchant Rank 2; Diplomacy; Leadership; Merchant
  • Pilot: Merchant Rank 1; Piloting (High Performance Spacecraft)
  • Navigator: Navigation (Space); Navigation (Hyperspace); various Electronic Operations skills.
  • Chief Engineer: Various tecnical skills appropriate to the ship components (e.g. Mechanic; Electrician; Electronics Repair; etc).
  • Technician: Similar to Chief Engineer, though probably not as skilled or broadly trained.
  • Gunner: Gunner (Beams)
What do you think? What would you absolutely make sure you include? Anything you'd take away from what I listed? What are your thoughts?
I'd swap out most of the repair skills you've given the Chief Engineer for the design versions (box B190), eg. Engineer (Electronics), Engineer (Vehicle), Engineer (Electrical) and give him Machinist to build what he designs. I'd keep the repair skills with the Technician. The Engineer oversees the Technician but the main reason for having him is for those occasions when things really go belly-up, i.e. the problem goes from repair to replace and there is no spare.

OTOH, you need at least some skill redundancy. From a practical standpoint, on a six-man ship, the only reason for giving the Pilot Merchant Rank 1 is because you have the crews organized into two shifts*, with the Captain in charge of one and the Pilot in charge of the second. In the absence of a chain of command, it can be assumed that persons of equal rank are equals in authority. This can be good or bad, depending on whether equality is equated with individualism or collegiality. In the absence of a chain of command, someone with rank is going to have to decide whether to do things the Engineer's way or the Technician's way when there's a disagreement on the course of action to take, so you may want to consider putting a chain of command with who reports to whom in place.

As a minor note, absent retitling the positions after putting in redundant skills, I'd drop the Chief from the Engineer's title. With only one engineer aboard, there's no danger of confusing which engineer you mean when you say, "Engineer to the bridge."

* It's probably a bad idea to let the ship travel any distance without at least someone watching the helm for possible dangers and the crew can't do a full six-man manning 24/7.

Last edited by Curmudgeon; 02-15-2017 at 06:29 AM. Reason: added footnote
Curmudgeon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-15-2017, 06:46 AM   #7
GoblynByte
 
GoblynByte's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Dayton, OH
Default Re: [Spaceships] Crew traits...

The main structure of the crew goes off the guidelines in Spaceships. That's really where the "Chief" part of Chief Engineer came from. I'm not really married to it.

Moreover, it is a small ship and wouldn't really warrant a crew of multiple shifts. I can give more than one character the Pilot skill at lower levels and they can handle a watch shift easily enough.

Being 300 tons it is just on the margin between suggesting a first mate or even a captain. I considered dropping the captain role and just rolling it into a pilot/co-pilot dynamic. But the Merchant Rank 1 for the pilot was really for profit shares and such. But that's debatable.
__________________
A man said to the universe:
"Sir I exist!"
"However," replied the universe,
"The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation."
GoblynByte is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-15-2017, 06:53 AM   #8
GoblynByte
 
GoblynByte's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Dayton, OH
Default Re: [Spaceships] Crew traits...

Quote:
Originally Posted by robkelk View Post
Is the cargo handler expected to find and buy/sell the cargo on this tramp trader? If yes, then Streetwise and Merchant would be appropriate on that list as well.
That aspect was going to be handled by the captain.
__________________
A man said to the universe:
"Sir I exist!"
"However," replied the universe,
"The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation."
GoblynByte is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-15-2017, 06:54 AM   #9
GoblynByte
 
GoblynByte's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Dayton, OH
Default Re: [Spaceships] Crew traits...

They should really do a Spaceships book filled with crew templates.
__________________
A man said to the universe:
"Sir I exist!"
"However," replied the universe,
"The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation."
GoblynByte is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-15-2017, 01:59 PM   #10
Phantasm
 
Phantasm's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: On the road again...
Default Re: [Spaceships] Crew traits...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Curmudgeon View Post
I'd swap out most of the repair skills you've given the Chief Engineer for the design versions (box B190), eg. Engineer (Electronics), Engineer (Vehicle), Engineer (Electrical) and give him Machinist to build what he designs. I'd keep the repair skills with the Technician. The Engineer oversees the Technician but the main reason for having him is for those occasions when things really go belly-up, i.e. the problem goes from repair to replace and there is no spare.
The main use of engineers on a ship is maintenance. In surface ships, "Engineer" means "maintaining the engines". I'd give him Merchant Rank 1, equal to the Pilot (who seems to be the ship's XO?) and keep the Mechanic/Electronics Repair specialties, and also put a few points into Leadership, as he'd be managing the repair crew (the Technician and maybe the Cargo Handler when doing routine in-flight maintenance).

A ship's engineer is not meant to create new technologies, despite what Scotty and Geordi say, which is the main use of the Engineer skill. The skills can come in handy for figuring out a few jury-rigs, though, so I wouldn't rule them out. I'd probably not put Engineer as high as Mechanic or Electronics Repair, though.


Also, on a ship this small, I'd probably roll Pilot and Navigator into the same role. Look at Wash on Firefly. He pulled both duties.

In fact, let's look at the crew of Serenity just prior to the pilot episode:

Mal: Captain, ship's owner. He makes the deals, decides where to go, and when to pull out.
Zoe: The ship's second-in-command. She's mainly the Cargo Handler, and keeps a level head in a fight.
Wash: Ship's pilot. He not only pilots the ship, but also plots the course they're to take. He's got some electronics repair skill, too, as he's able to rig a beacon in "Out of Gas". During routine flights, he sets the ship's autopilot to handle the course he programs in.
Jayne: Pure muscle (also a muscle-head). Technically security, but is also a general "floater" doing what needs done, including assisting Kaylee in the engine compartment.
Kaylee: Ms. Fixit Supreme, possible low-level psychic ("the engines speak to me"). It's her job to keep the ship running.

Inara was technically a passenger.

Simon joins later as the ship's medic. The ship had a medical bay for emergency surgeries before he signed on, though I believe Mal and Zoe, and maybe Kaylee or Inara, handled bullet extraction prior to that.

At the end of Serenity, it looks like Mal's training River to handle Wash's job.
__________________
"Life ... is an Oreo cookie." - J'onn J'onzz, 1991

"But mom, I don't wanna go back in the dungeon!"

The GURPS Marvel Universe Reboot Project A-G, H-R, and S-Z, and its not-a-wiki-really web adaptation.
Ranoc, a Muskets-and-Magery Renaissance Fantasy Setting

Last edited by Phantasm; 02-15-2017 at 02:12 PM.
Phantasm is online now   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
spaceships

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Fnords are Off
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 01:02 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.