mrinku

Query? Quantum? Quest? Qualify? Quick? Quad? Quadratic? Quiet?

Don't the Amazons get a free pass due to Magic? That's all I assumed.

Dare I say that it's just as anachronistic to assume that modern planetary travel and communications is a good model for interstellar travel and communications? Science Fiction (especially adventure Science Fiction) is notoriously bad at prediction, which is not its function anyway. It's there to entertain, but should be true to its assumptions and fictions.

As a point about Jurassic Park, it wasn't set in the future. The action takes place in 1989, the year before the book's publication. They WOULD have needed multiple Crays at the time. So I'd probably drop that one as an example. Interesting point I discovered fact checking that one - Universal bought the film rights before Crichton had even published the book, and the film and book versions (and Spielberg) were pretty much always connected.

Totally fine

The other point that's going to come up is grabbing a flyer. i.e. Hulk grabs Superman... but it's reasonable given their respective powers that Supes can fly vertically while Hulk keeps his grip. Superman would probably lose his current momentum, though, and start from speed zero.

Yeah, that's a cute idea, but the speed change rules basically mean it won't happen the way he hopes, even if allowed. 5 and 7 do however have one segment in common - segment 12. What that should probably end up being is that he acts at SPD 7, but can only take attack actions on two of his phases, which the GM would designate.

Yeah, I don't think we're really arguing here. It's largely a matter of taste. For me, the problem of the FTL radio is that it flattens out the cool real physics limits of light speed communication within a solar system. THAT's the realism that gets trampled by it, not talking between systems. But as it's all rubber science anyway, you could limit it to inter-system communications only (won't work at distances less than half a light year or so because of subspace wavelength limitations) or have it require large and expensive installations (too big for a ship; maybe limited in bandwidth and thus not used for regular messages).

Worth pointing out that even a 100d sphere is a mere pinprick at the distances involved. Even if a clear path is required between jump insertion point and jump emergence point (which is never really established, but may as well be true...), it's not likely to be an issue, aside from clearing the origin world. Also... https://www.forbes.com/sites/chadorzel/2016/05/04/the-real-reasons-quantum-entanglement-doesnt-allow-faster-than-light-communication/#44e5fd8d3a1e Quantum entanglement is not likely to help. Basically, because of Quantum. The Jump Drive IS the amazing FTL communications device for default Traveller. But feel free to add FTL radio if you wish.

The irony is, even between the original 1977 edition and the revised 1981 edition of Traveller Moore's Law had been at work with a vengence and they would have been quite well aware of the shortcomings of the original assumptions. On the other hand, the primary focus of the rules, computer wise, was one capable of accurately plotting a multi-light year Jump. Starship computers massing several tonnes never quite failed the reality check for that purpose. Though the rules for more mundane program storage limits (Target, Evade etc) certainly did (and were quietly dropped in later editions).

Submersible Portable Laboratory And Science Hub (SPLASH).

Good article, though.

Tape storage, lest we forget, persisted into the 21st century in the form of video cassettes for home recording. It wasn't until the widespread adoption of PVRs that they entirely died out. The Commodore 64 shipped with no persistent storage; you bought the datasette peripheral (using auto cassettes) or saved up a LOT of pocket money for that floppy drive. First program I ever wrote and saved on cassette tape was a Traveller subsector generator.

Multipower should do the trick. Each option has its own charges.

Top grade stuff, Dean!

If you want a rough historical equivalent, how about Captain Cook's voyages? Endeavour was purchased and refitted by the Royal Navy for the purpose of exploration. Naval captain and crew, civilian scientists as supercargo. Now, that's not a close match to Enterprise-D, since HMS Endeavour was just an collier with some guns added and the Enterprise was a main fighting ship... but specialist passengers that aren't expected to fight do have precedent. Also in line with NASA adding non-astronaut mission specialists to a shuttle mission.

Super Skrull is another.

It can also be done as a Complication (Social, possibly Physical). Accidental Change might also be useful. Captain Marvel types sometimes get tricked into changing by saying the magic word. Johnny Bates/Kid Marvelman is a prime example.

I think his sarcasm mode was on

Correct for groundhuggers (and also those vantablack fatigues are going to get REAL hot REALLY quickly...). It could have some practical use for spacecraft, though again the heat management issues are potentially huge.

Also watched Die Hard. First time seeing it for my son; glad to see it still holds up well.

Yeah, I've never rated Empire over Star Wars, and the fact that I don't use the New Hope title probably clues you in on my vintage. It was very much a different era - no internet, no home video. I saw Star Wars in the theatre once, at age 11, and between 1977 and 1980 all I had to feed my fandom was the novelization, the Kenner toys, one precious magazine, the Star Wars Holiday Special when it aired and Splinter of the Mind's Eye. Empire Strikes Back was only the second chance to actually see it all on screen again.

For me the main annoyances were structural. All the false starts that led nowhere just got annoying... they may not have cause me to suspend disbelief, but they didn't feel particularly Star Wars. Even the prequels managed to keep the action kicking along at a hectic pace. My biggest complaint was that the opening establishment scene just dragged on and on. They just don't do that in this series.

I like Cassandra's idea, though it might be cleaner to go with Follower when both characters are meant to be controlled by the same player. DNPC means the GM can (and should) complicate things by having the DNPC unavailable, kidnapped etc on a regular basis. Paying the points for Follower shifts the control to the player. But you may want that level of complication. With either the DNPC or Follower approach, an appropriate Physical Complication such as "Merges With Partner in Hero ID" should cover things.

Fire, Fusion & Steel is in fact a generic science fiction technology kit. It defaults to the TNE setting but constantly suggests atlernatives. One of the best supplements ever written, once you have the extensive errata patched in