Pauli replied to me: > I allow the TL10+ Deceptive Jammer to affect passive sensors > and radscanners as well (but jammers or stealth have no effect > on the external hyperspace entry and exit point FTL signatures).
Except for the radscanners, this is official, I think. > With this small rules change, basic stealth with fairly modest > jammers can allow pirates to take civilian transports or small > freighters by surprise. Powerful sensors are expensive and > civilian craft often cannot justify the expense of fitting in > enhanced or advanced sensor systems. Unless there is FTL radar, which is pretty much required for warp but otherwise optional. The nice thing about jammers is that their cost and weight doesn't depend on ship size. That may be unrealistic, but $500k per vehicle isn't very much by starship standards. > > This hyperspace interdiction thingy is another interesting > > factor. What is the best FTL option for a pirate setting? > > Not sure about that, but hyperdrive seems to work quite well > for me. STL space combat/action, with hyperdrive to skip the > vast distances at more reasonable speeds. Hyperdrive has problems with the look and feel of sails at the horizon, catching up in a stern chase with enough time for deliberations and some fancy sailing. > > For a cinematic setting, maybe there is a reason why the > > unobtainium mines must be operated with unwilling workers. > > Perhaps unrefined unobtainium emits radiation which leads > > to a slow, lingering dead and at the same time disrupts > > electronics. > > > > Or the pirates have a social system which requires slaves > > for status. They'd be more like vikings/raiders if they > > have a sustainable society. Think 'Klingon' -- a real > > warrior doesn't work if he (rarely she) can possibly make > > someone else do the degrading work ... > > > > Also possible, but going out of their way raiding for slaves > would be rarer if the demand was lower, only to supply > the pirates with slaves. Slaveraiding becomes more of a problem > if the pirates can sell whole lots of slaves to some other > more official entity (like a pocket empire) they have trade > relations with. Or if they ARE such an entity -- the viking concept. Raiders might view slaves as the perfecly normal way to increase the size of their tribe, and fail to see why others see things differently. "Why, they were just peasant wenches. We didn't touch any Techs or Officers ..." But when all is said and done, I believe slave raiders are too dependent on cultural assumptions to make any 'generic' raiders. > Well, in my setting the light starfighters are strictly > short-occupancy vehicles with limited endurances/range - They > require a larger ship or a base for refueling, refilling air > tanks, maintenance and pilot accomodations. Think of them > simply as additional helpers for the main pirate ship, cannon > fodder to draw in (and hopefully dodge) fire so that the main > ship takes less overall damage in a fight.. Losing a fighter or > two every now and then sucks, sure, but losing a vital key system > on the main ship could mean losing the battle. Maintenance access space might be the key. I thought that the dividing line between short and long occupancy was at 24 hours, but I can't find the quote right now. Fighters with only STL drives could be a tactical liability. Onno _______________________________________________ GurpsNet-L mailing list <[email protected]> http://mail.sjgames.com/mailman/listinfo/gurpsnet-l
