[Spaceships] IR sig of Hot Reactionless Engines

[Daigoro]

On p24, it says that Hot Reactionless Engines have a heat signature similar to a conventional drive's exhaust- but which drive? The list of bonuses for detecting IR sigs on pp44-45 doesn't include reactionless engines.

A fusion rocket engine is +8, then faster drives go up from there. Maybe use the Antimatter Plasma Torch bonus of +10, because it has a similar TL and acceleration?

[lwcamp]

Originally Posted by Daigoro

On p24, it says that Hot Reactionless Engines have a heat signature similar to a conventional drive's exhaust- but which drive? The list of bonuses for detecting IR sigs on pp44-45 doesn't include reactionless engines.

A fusion rocket engine is +8, then faster drives go up from there. Maybe use the Antimatter Plasma Torch bonus of +10, because it has a similar TL and acceleration?

(1) It is fictional, so we can't use science or reality to guide us.

(2) It is your game, so make up whatever you think suits your vision of how things should work.

Luke

[Daigoro]

Originally Posted by lwcamp

(1) It is fictional, so we can't use science or reality to guide us.

(2) It is your game, so make up whatever you think suits your vision of how things should work.

Luke

1) I was actually comparing to a similar drive for game balance reasons, with no appeal to science nor reality.

2) I'm not the GM, so I was trying to find what the author's vision of the systems he designed was, or how other forumites would interpret it. If others agree that the wording is ambiguous or that there is an omission, I could submit it as an erratum.

[Fred Brackin]

Originally Posted by Daigoro

On p24, it says that Hot Reactionless Engines have a heat signature similar to a conventional drive's exhaust- but which drive? The list of bonuses for detecting IR sigs on pp44-45 doesn't include reactionless engines.

A fusion rocket engine is +8, then faster drives go up from there. Maybe use the Antimatter Plasma Torch bonus of +10, because it has a similar TL and acceleration?

Lack of reactionless drive's signature doesn't effect this. "Conventional drive's exhaust" means a reaction drive. Regular reactionless drives have no exhaust.

I'd go first with similar acceleration regardless of TL. Only if that left me with multiple choices would I use TL as a tiebreaker.

That said, your choice is probably as good as any.

[jeff_wilson]

Originally Posted by lwcamp

(1) It is fictional, so we can't use science or reality to guide us.

Science "or" reality? Do I have to pick just one?

But we can use fiction to guide us. Reactionless thrusters are primarily about not running out of reaction mass, otherwise they work like other forms of propulsion on vessels of similar story roles. For game purposes, this means roughly:

On rocket ships and adventuring craft in general, they'll have the same flashy bright plume and roar that "conventional" engines of similar performance would have.

On flying saucers and craft used by strange aliens, the signature will be subdued.

The drive signature of totally enigmatic artifacts will typically be entirely absent or something so off the wall it is only associated with the artifact's motion after much research and a couple of lucky breaks.