Subject:
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Re: RulesTalk: Probes
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.gaming.starship
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Date:
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Wed, 31 Mar 2004 22:49:36 GMT
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Viewed:
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2994 times
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In lugnet.gaming.starship, John P. Henderson wrote:
> Here's an interesting question...
>
> A player has emailed the GM requesting that his home sector send out a number of
> "Long Range Deep Space Probes." (The player is also an SM.) He has provided
> stats including high sensors and zero weapons. And these probes have no crew.
> They don't have any crew-like robots either, just some communications drones to
> relay data back to their home. But these probes are capable of (and intending)
> inter-sector travel. Are these or are these not "Ships" by terms of Starship
> rules?
>
> Previously, any discussion of the rules dictated that anything that travels
> between sectors must be a registered Ship (for game mechanics). Even a starbase
> being towed or tractor-beamed to another sector would be a Ship and take up
> slots against the players allotment. NPC Ships that remain only in their SM's
> sectors do not need to register or count against totals. Craft, smaller vessels
> incapable of inter-sector travel on their own, can be registered for reference
> but do not count against totals. But this probe idea is new, and without crew
> or artificial intelligence, are they really Ships according to Starship?
>
> I personally like the probe idea. And my initial reaction is to let it slide
> without registration. However, perhaps we can enforce that an image of a brick
> model be available for each probe style?
>
> What does everyone think?
My two cents (quickly--we've had a bit of craziness here
so I'm late on SM emails, my work, and EVERYTHING) are that
probes should be fine, if they are registered as ships--with
brick models, images, the works. And it must be up to the
SMs visited what the probes will see and be able to do; the
capabilities must be spelled out quite specifically by the
player to allow the SM to make necessary allowances.
If automated, that would have to be stated as well--for
example, in my sector, sending such a probe would very likely
be the equivalent of tossing it in a black hole. But I do
think it needs to be a registered Ship if it wants to go
hopping about inter-Sector.
I may need to ask about "mystery ships" travelling inter-
sector, in a related vein; I have a ship whose travel may
begin, but whose specific nature and purpose may not be
known until it arrives at its destination. I'm not sure how
such a thing is handled...
all best
LFB
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: RulesTalk: Probes
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| (...) I think the reason I would vote in favor of not registering is the very thing you hint at in your first comment here. Probes are (or should be) rather disposable. (The player who want to use them currently has a write up with pics that say (...) (20 years ago, 1-Apr-04, to lugnet.gaming.starship)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | RulesTalk: Probes
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| Here's an interesting question... A player has emailed the GM requesting that his home sector send out a number of "Long Range Deep Space Probes." (The player is also an SM.) He has provided stats including high sensors and zero weapons. And these (...) (20 years ago, 31-Mar-04, to lugnet.gaming.starship)
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