All editions of Traveller agree that starships require considerable maintenance, and that the cost of this maintenance is one-tenth of one percent (0.1%) of the original cash price of the ship per year. And almost all editions agree that this cost is incurred in an annual maintenance overhaul that requires two weeks at a class A or B starport.
The one exception is Mongoose Traveller: instead of a single annual overhaul, maintenance in MgT is divided into 12 monthly maintenance events, which once per year should be performed at a shipyard. There are many advantages to this approach, beginning with simplicity; it also has the benefit of breaking the expense of maintenance into smaller and presumably more manageable payments.
But that said, the annual overhaul has a lot of game history: “Crew members generally take their vacations at this time.” The overhaul is also generally the time for recertification for the starship.
I looked at maintenance rules in other editions as I considered bringing back the routine maintenance overhaul to MgT. I found a few rules I liked enough to also use. CT tied crew position requirements to regular, continuous maintenance in a way that seemed easy to adapt to MgT. TNE and GT both include provisions for do-it-yourself overhauls that were yoinkable.
But maybe the most interesting rule came from T20, which consistently features the “best of breed” ideas from earlier editions. T20 allows crews to do additional monthly maintenance in order to reduce the eventual cost of the annual overhaul.
My house rules for starship maintenance in MgT do not increase overall monetary costs, but do offer some additional flexibility to the beleaguered owner:
Preventative Maintenance. Starships require continuing maintenance as they operate. On almost all starships, maintenance takes up the largest portion of the crew’s budget of work hours. Every mechanical and electronic part on board has a maintenance schedule, and must be inspected, cleaned, serviced, or replaced in accordance with that schedule. Cleaning is the most basic form of preventative maintenance for both the ship and the crew. Personnel not currently on watch may assist in preventive maintenance and do not need ranks in any specific skill.
The cost of preventative maintenance is included in the crew salaries. A starship that meets all crew requirements has sufficient crew to perform necessary preventative maintenance, and no further checks or expenses are required. Ships that are undercrewed and do not carry enough dedicated or full-time skilled engineers or mechanics run the risk of malfunction.
If a ship is undercrewed, roll 2D for each week of operation and apply the following DMs: +1 if using unrefined fuel (and not equipped to do so), +1 per engineer or mechanic missing from the crew list, +1 per month past annual maintenance overhaul date. On 13+, the ship suffers a critical hit. Roll 2D on the Poor Maintenance table and apply the effects.
Monthly Maintenance. A well-maintained ship costs far less to operate than one that forgoes routine maintenance in the hopes of saving a few credits. Performing regular routine maintenance each month will further reduce the chance of malfunction and the eventual cost of the annual overhaul itself.
Monthly maintenance can be performed at any Class A, B, or C starport. Routine maintenance costs 0.0025% (1/40000th) of the original (new) price of the ship per month. One full day per month is all that is needed to perform routine maintenance.
For each month of routine maintenance performed on a ship by the crew, reduce the cost of the annual overhaul by 5%, up to a maximum of a 50% reduction in cost. Because of this, a ship may skip performing routine maintenance up to twice in one year without failing behind and losing the annual maintenance cost reduction. Even factoring in the cost of routine maintenance, a ship saves 20% on average on the cost of the annual maintenance.
Annual Maintenance. Annually, a starship should be given a complete overhaul in order to ensure that it is kept in good working order. Such maintenance costs 0.1% (1/1000th) of the original (new) price of the ship and requires two weeks at a class A or B starport. The owner must make provision for payment of the maintenance fee when it comes due. (Standard practice is to establish a ship maintenance fund and deposit 1/12th of the annual maintenance cost each month.)
Crewmembers generally take their vacations at this time but must still receive their salaries. The ship owners must make provision for the expected loss of revenue while the ship is out of service.
This annual maintenance can be conducted by the crew at a Class C or better starport in twice the normal time (four weeks), provided the required parts have already been purchased at a Class A or B starport. These parts cost .05% (1/2000th) the original (new) price of the ship and occupy a volume of 1/200 the ship's displacement tonnage. There is no additional cost above crew salaries and berthing fees, but the crew obviously gets no vacation. At a Class D or E starport, this do-it-yourself maintenance takes eight weeks.
If annual maintenance is skipped or skimped on, roll 2D each subsequent month, with a DM equal to the number of months skipped. On 8+, the ship suffers a critical hit. Roll 2D on the Poor Maintenance table and apply the effects.
Copyright Information
The Traveller game in all forms is owned by Far Future Enterprises. Copyright © 1977 – 2021 Far Future Enterprises. Traveller is a registered trademark of Far Future Enterprises. Far Future permits web sites and fanzines for this game, provided it contains this notice, that Far Future is notified, and subject to a withdrawal of permission on 90 days notice. The contents of this site are for personal, non-commercial use only. Any use of Far Future Enterprises’s copyrighted material or trademarks anywhere on this web site and its files should not be viewed as a challenge to those copyrights or trademarks. In addition, any program/articles/file on this site cannot be republished or distributed without the consent of the author who contributed it.
Materials produced by Digest Group Publications (DGP) are copyright © Roger Sanger. Any use of Digest Group Publications’ copyrighted material or trademarks anywhere on this Web site and its files should not be viewed as a challenge to those copyrights. Usage is intended to follow the guidelines announced by Roger Sanger on the Traveller Mailing List for preserving the overall Traveller milieu.
No comments:
Post a Comment