In reply to Referee (msg #83):
This seems reasonable to me. So basically the more specialized and advanced the tool, the better it performs in its niche.
In reply to Messages #81, #84, #85:
At this point we've spent more than half of the 800,000 Credits on the locker and provisions, not including fueling the ship. So while it would be great to have every possible contingency item on hand, we should be realistic about what we think we will encounter. We have to balance what we have on hand with our need for capital to perform speculative trade, purchase fuel, pay port fees, salaries, etc.
I am very comfortable with where we are at with the locker at this point and let me explain why:
1) In the ref’s previous game, which some of us participated in, it was made clear that in his universe, ship’s are resilient enough, that even a older ship, could limp out of port with no tools on board and reasonably expect to make it to her next destination after jump. So my guess is that given the amount of equipment we have on hand, we may be over equipped compared to most ships in this universe.
2) My understanding is that the game will have a reduced level of violence. So where as in most games, the ‘O shit we need more firepower moment’ may cause you to call your friend in Battle Dress over, I suspect that the longarms in our locker will serve the same role in this game. We are unlikely to carry longarms off the ship given the extraterritoriality issues in the game. Also, almost every population center greater than 1000 people in the two subsectors has a law level of six or higher. I suspect stunners and brawling will see quite a bit of use and if we need to reach for firepower, a laser or auto-rifle will generally be sufficient. Again, it’s one of the things I asked about early on, so let me share the exchange.
Hayden Marks:
I guess I'm looking to find out how my peer group of merchant free traders arms and equips themselves on the whole, so I understand what the baseline is. That way I know if I'm getting too far away from it. Also, it's helpful to know if this is the kind of game where I can get by with a suit of cloth, a gun, some commo, and a handcomp, or if I should hit CSC hard and make sure I'm well-equipped.
I know you said violence will be de-emphasized for the game, so I'm trying to tone down my natural inclination to stock up on guns, armor, and more guns! Lol
Ref:
This is a setting where
only certain elite units in the Free Republic have combat armor and only the militaries of the most advanced polities have ACRs or laser weapons. For most other militaries its flak jackets and assault rifles type armament at the individual level. So, though there's always the possibility the other side will bring a bigger gun, it isn't as pronounced as in more advanced Trav games. Also, the size of the gun has to be balanced against the questions it engenders and the risk. A system trader on the Espiaux-Savigny run may not have any firearms aboard, whereas a trade crew running to Oberon or Santander may have a stash of assault rifles tucked away.
Maybe this will help:
Situation Possible Response
cop finds knife on PC in rough area move along
cop finds handgun on PC in rough area May I see your concealed carry permit, sir?
no carry permit weapon confiscated, night in jail, fine
cop finds serious weapon on PC (SMG, etc) PC taken into custody for questioning
cop finds military weapon on PC arrest
fisticuffs in bar or alley cops may be called or not
depending on area and clientelle
knife drawn in bar or alley cops probably called
shots fired cops certainly called, local investigation
attempted murder (target wounded) investigation, local manhunt
murder big investigation, planetwide manhunt
multiple murder interstellar investigation, extradition
of fugitives
Long story short, on most planets with some form of Rule of Law, if deadly force is used by someone other than the police, law enforcement will want to know by whom and why at a minimum.
In short, it all depends on the adventure. If the group is investigating the derelict fat trader with the oddly shaped acid holes in the hull on a barren planet, having a fair amount of firepower is certainly justified. Same if the group is conducting a "business deal" with pirates on the surface of a desolate moon somewhere. Likewise, if the group is meeting a contact in a seedy bar, having a concealed pistol and some discreet armor is also appropriate. Where characters can get in serious trouble is if they try to take the ACR to the bar, or the bank, or the wealthy businessman's office.
A bit of a mealy-mouthed "it depends" answer, but does that help?
3) The single HEV suit was considered in light of the fact that only 1 planet in either Halowon or Espiaux subsectors has an atmosphere code of A or higher (Winters Gate unless my eyes are getting too old to find another). So we don’t face the threat of corrosive or insidious atmospheres on any inhabited world in the two subsectors. And while an HEV suit protects against additional threats, such as radiation, overall, I trust in our ability as players to come up with ingenious solutions to problematic conditions (and I trust the Ref not to put us in a non-win scenario to begin with). Also, I knew that I’d be selecting a Salvage Suit for Hayden, which has a feature sets that puts it somewhere between a normal vacc suit and an HEV suit. So I’d say we are shipping out with 1.5 HEV suits. At some point we will pickup another HEV suit (a full version if someone has the vacc-2 to wear it and the engineering skill to be useful while wearing it), but for now, I think we will be ok.
4) For similar reasons, we will pickup a wider range of tools and cutting gear once we’ve made money, but I’m confident that between the two or three people using the toolsets we have, along with the cutting torch on the Salvage Suit, won’t be trapped anywhere for too long if we run into problems before we make those purchases.
Those caveats aside, I do appreciate the feedback you guys have given. The bulkhead patches were an ‘oh crap, I forgot those’ moment and was the kind of oversight that makes me appreciate having more than one set of eyes on this.
We could plus up the locker a quite a bit more if you guys would consider working the first three jumps as working passage (i.e. without salary). Let me know if you are open to this idea.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:05, Tue 08 Feb 2011.
