Re: [FT] Tug/Tender Rule Question

DOC Agren wrote:

 >I have been playing around with the idea of a cruiser sized ship with 
Tug/Tender ability to
 >carry 4 Mass 10 subcraft (non-FTL fast Gunships).
 >
 >Inspired by the old Traveller Battleriders, Battletech Assault
Dropships, 
and the Evil
 >Empire Tau which appears to use the same idea.
 >
 >My question has to with when these subcraft jump from system to 
system.  Are they
 >attached to the tender by "jump collars - ala Battletech" or just
within 
the expand field?

It is entirely up to you. Whatever "attachment" your background
prescribes 
is assumed to be included in the extra Mass of the tug drive - that's
why 
it is twice as large as a normal FTL drive.

 >And if the the ship enters combat with Gunships attached, how fast can
U 
deattach?

One full turn, during which neither ship (or ships, if more than one
ship 
is launching from the tug simultaneously) can manoeuvre at all. Whether 
this delay is caused by the time it takes to detach the physical
grapples 
holding the ship, or because the ships need that long to move far enough

apart using manoeuvring thrusters alone to be able to light up their
main 
drives without incinerating each other, or some other reason entirely is

again up to what you think fits your background best.

A launched ship "inherits" the course and speed of the tug. There should

also be an option for "scrambling" towed ships much like you can
"scramble" 
fighters in an emergency, but the rules for that haven't been worked out
yet.

Tenders use the same launch rule as tugs do.

(Laserlight - remember what I said a couple weeks back about putting 
revised tug rules on the IF beta page...? <g>)

***
Doug Evans wrote:

 >I do know most of the cost analysis I've seen suggested you didn't
gain a
 >lot by using a battlerider scheme, and a strong argument could be made
to
 >keep the danger to the tender low.

Correct. There's a tentative solution for this, but we're not yet sure
that 
it won't screw something else up instead.

***
Rrok Anroll wrote:

 >Having the books on hand for my dragon/space sea-life info.... on Page
8 
of FB1, it
 >specifically mentions extending the field around other ships and that
the 
FTL drives are
 >bigger...

In the *GZGverse*, yes. If you don't play in the GZGverse, none of the 
GZGverse PSB applies.

 >after all... if it was something that required additional structure,
why 
not just build a bigger
 >ship with really large hanger bays...?

Probably because internal hangar bays would require a much, much, MUCH 
larger (and correspondingly more expensive) ship than external
cradles...

***
Doug Evans wrote:

 >What is the difference in effect between a tender and a tug?

In the FT rules, "tender" refers to a ship with internal space ship
docking 
bays (as opposed to internal fighter/small craft bays, which makes the
ship 
a "carrier" instead) while "tug" refers to a ship with a tug FTL drive.

Regards,

Oerjan
oerjan.ohlson@telia.com

"Life is like a sewer.
  What you get out of it, depends on what you put into it."
-Hen3ry