ebertran
Lieutenant Commander
Joined: 14 Jul 2005
Posts: 202
Location: Miami, FL
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 Posted: Wed Apr 24, 2024 8:43 am Post subject: Questions about Astrogation |
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So I want to have a consistent set of rules for my new campaign when it comes to astrogation, only because my players like to play smart and be ready for anything that may come their way. I encourage that, but I also like to challenge them.
One of the points that sticks out is astrogation and how it works. For this post, I am not concerned about travel times, at all. The sticking point here is the actual plotting of the route the PCs are about to take. I have a few questions.
Scenario 1:
The PCs make a hasty exit from a pirate's asteroid base after stealing something, and need to deliver it to a planet they've never been to. The pirates have unleashed starfighters to stop the PCs.
How long, per RAW, does that calculation to the new planet take? Is it a few hours as it says here?
| Quote: | Astrogation
Time Taken: One minute when your position is known and you are following a commonly-travelled jump route for which hyperspace coordinates have already been calculated (can be reduced to one round in emergencies). A few hours when your position is known, but your destination is one to which you have not travelled before and the nav computer must calculate coordinates. One day when you must take readings to determine your ship's current position and then compute hyperspace coordinates. |
Scenario 2:
The PCs make a hasty exit from a pirate's asteroid base after stealing something, and need to deliver it to a planet they've never been to. The pirates have unleashed starfighters to stop the PCs. The ship's droid has the jump stored in its memory banks.
Does the fact that the droid have a jump stored make a difference? Does the computer still need to interpret that jump? Does the droid already have the jump interpreted and feed it to the computer? Is it a minute? A few hours?
Scenario 3:
The PCs make a hasty exit from a pirate's asteroid base after stealing something, and need to deliver it to a planet they've never been to. The pirates have unleashed starfighters to stop the PCs. The PCs say "We have pre-planned jumps in our navcomputer! We use those!"
Does that take a minute to calculate per this: Time Taken: One minute when your position is known and you are following a commonly-travelled jump route...
The actual travel time stuff is easy to handwave. The jumping to hyperspace part is what's confusing to me and I just want some internal consistency.
The scene in the Falcon leaving Tattooine is a great example, Han is forced to fight tie fighters as the computer plots its course. It does not seem to be an automatic process.
And I'm not sure what exactly the droid storing jumps means to the process.
Thought: Han scrolled through Google to find the Bespin system. "Lando system? No Lando's a man..."
Maybe having jumps stored in the droid skips that Googling process, but the droid (or the PCs) still need to calculate the jump itself on the computer using Astrogation. Which may still taker a minute to process....
Thoughts? Any help?
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garhkal
Sovereign Protector
Joined: 17 Jul 2005
Posts: 14212
Location: Reynoldsburg, Columbus, Ohio.
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| Posted: Wed Apr 24, 2024 2:11 pm Post subject: Re: Questions about Astrogation |
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| ebertran wrote: | So I want to have a consistent set of rules for my new campaign when it comes to astrogation, only because my players like to play smart and be ready for anything that may come their way. I encourage that, but I also like to challenge them.
One of the points that sticks out is astrogation and how it works. For this post, I am not concerned about travel times, at all. The sticking point here is the actual plotting of the route the PCs are about to take. I have a few questions. |
Send them.. Always willing to help.
| ebertran wrote: | Scenario 1:
The PCs make a hasty exit from a pirate's asteroid base after stealing something, and need to deliver it to a planet they've never been to. The pirates have unleashed starfighters to stop the PCs.
How long, per RAW, does that calculation to the new planet take? Is it a few hours as it says here?
| Quote: | Astrogation
Time Taken: One minute when your position is known and you are following a commonly-travelled jump route for which hyperspace coordinates have already been calculated (can be reduced to one round in emergencies). A few hours when your position is known, but your destination is one to which you have not travelled before and the nav computer must calculate coordinates. One day when you must take readings to determine your ship's current position and then compute hyperspace coordinates. |
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Well as per the Raw write up for the skill itself, YES< it does take that long. Which is why it would have benefitted the party, to Pre-plan a route BEFORE hitting the base. Now they COULD do an emergency jump, to a KNOWN place, hoping they have time, once there, to then Plan out a proper jump to the place they need to go to.
| ebertran wrote: | Scenario 2:
The PCs make a hasty exit from a pirate's asteroid base after stealing something, and need to deliver it to a planet they've never been to. The pirates have unleashed starfighters to stop the PCs. The ship's droid has the jump stored in its memory banks.
Does the fact that the droid have a jump stored make a difference? Does the computer still need to interpret that jump? Does the droid already have the jump interpreted and feed it to the computer? Is it a minute? A few hours? |
IIRC if the jumps already pre-plotted, it takes but a minute. They can RUSH doing it in just one round, but doubles the diff, AND THEY ROLL each round till either they succeed OR suffer a hyperdrive mishap.. As per page 118 in the R&E book.
| ebertran wrote: | Scenario 3:
The PCs make a hasty exit from a pirate's asteroid base after stealing something, and need to deliver it to a planet they've never been to. The pirates have unleashed starfighters to stop the PCs. The PCs say "We have pre-planned jumps in our navcomputer! We use those!"
Does that take a minute to calculate per this: Time Taken: One minute when your position is known and you are following a commonly-travelled jump route... |
The big question, is NOT do they already have it planned up, but IS THE COURSE they are taking a commonly traveled route? IF ITS Somewhere they've never been too, FROM A PIRATE base, i seriously DOUBT ITS a commonly traveled route.
| ebertran wrote: | | Maybe having jumps stored in the droid skips that Googling process, but the droid (or the PCs) still need to calculate the jump itself on the computer using Astrogation. Which may still taker a minute to process.... |
EVEN if you have pre-planned jump coordinates, you STILL need to get to a PRE CHOSEN ESCAPE SPOT..
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