On Sat, Sep 8, 2012 3:27 AM CDT Onno Meyer wrote:
>Hello everybody, > >I'd like to toss two thoughts into the ring ... > >First, it seems to me that the big ships, with several thousand >tons and a crew size in the double digits, caused less interest >than the little ones up to a hundred tons, with crews the size >of a typical gaming group. Is that the right impression? Generally, yes. I'd say players with wargamer trndsncies might prefer large ships, and possibly players who gets to play someone high up in the ship (bridge crew or department head). >Second, I was wondering why I keep thinking of cargo haulers and >not passenger liners when I think of big, commercial ships. Most >freighters have a little passenger capacity, in the tradition of >the Millenium Falcon and the Serenity, but their primary role is >to carry cargo. I can think of several reasons, some good and >some bad. > >* Passengers are individuals, which complicates the task of the > players or writers. You can tell stories how the valiant crew > deals with an endless succession of guest stars and their > foibles, but those would be people-oriented feel-good stories, > not hard-hitting action adventure. A load of machine parts or > industrial chemicals is less demanding, you can mention them > in passing and concentrate on the engine trouble or the > pirates. PCs could have non-lethal rivalries with other (NPC) crew members. Or, all passengers could be carried in freeze tubes for a budget liner. >* Even if you do such stories, you need only a few passengers > per adventure/episode. You can't turn the cruise ship around > for the forgotten teddy bear of a little kid if there are > hundreds of other passengers who would rather arrive on time, > thank you very much. You could send someone back in the liner's small craft ;) >* Passenger liners go between established destinations. So do > most freighters, but you see more freighters on the frontier, > where action adventures happen and aliens might strike out > of the shadows. Depends on the kind of liner. An old liner that transports settlers to colonies or frontier worlds could have a lot of action. A luxury liner, less so, but there is a greater chance of political intrigue. Brandon _______________________________________________ GurpsNet-L mailing list <[email protected]> http://mail.sjgames.com/mailman/listinfo/gurpsnet-l
