30 years of hindsight. For pc's it is a pretty usless concept it does flavor the world though. If you land on planet x and everyone's driving horse and buggies but the PC are in an airraft.
Derek Stanley
Sent from my iPhone...
> On May 9, 2014, at 14:28, "Scott Nolan [Traveller_TNE]" <> wrote:
>
> Thanks for the responses. But doesn't that effectively just make TL a worthless concept? If a character wants a piece of TL 12 gear and can easily obtain it, what point is there in saying that Oriflamme (or any world in the RC) is of a lower TL? Who cares if the locals all use TL 8 cars and telephones if my PC always has access to the good stuff. It's the TL of the PC's gear that is really going to set a tone, don't you think?
>
> Scott
>
>
>> On Fri, May 9, 2014 at 4:39 PM, 'D. Stanley' [Traveller_TNE] <> wrote:
>>
>> Iâve got to agree with Harold here, while TL8 stuff will be everywhere, they probably mfg a small amount of TL9 and maybe even TL10 gear. TL11 and 12 gear will be very available at any store, there might be a premium on some of the larger items simply because of the logistics in shipping them. TL13+ is going to require that you know a guy who knows a guy who found something that âfell off the back of a truckâ.
>>
>>
>>
>> We have to keep in mind that these TLâs are a snapshot, a moment in time and unlike the Imperium where those TLâs might exist for decades or even centuries on a world the RC is ârecoveringâ and theyâre recovering fast so itâs quite likely that by the time NE3 rolls about Oriflamme might be TL10 or 11 and Aubaine might be TL13 or 14 simply due to the nature of the beast.
>>
>>
>>
>> Realistically Aubaine might have some TL13-15 manufacturing capabilities at NE1 but itâs so small it doesnât count. IE. There might be a factory making TL14 tablet computers or blue tooth headsets. These would be way faster and more advanced than the rest of the world is capable of making but theyâre so limited in production that they cost a fortune.
>>
>>
>>
>> Iâve been harboring a strong dislike of the Tech codes for ages, particularly in the TNE setting where things are changing so fast. In my own things I tend to divide up the planetary capacity in terms of broad categories, Medical Supplies, Weapons, Vehicles, Starships, Equipment. And I might break it down further and say things like, well these guys have a TL15 PRIS goggles factory thatâs operational, just for flavor.
>>
>>
>>
>> From: []
>> Sent: Friday, May 09, 2014 1:23 PM
>> To:
>> Subject: [Traveller_TNE] Re: Tech Levels - 'Splain them to me
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> I've always played it such that tech level was what was "commonly available and/or able to be manufactured", rather than it being a hard number where nothing higher tech was available. The Imperium is/was a start spanning empire where interstellar travel was very common. Sure there were backwater areas and worlds that were "off limits", but how else do you explain a world that has thousands of inhabitants is at TL6 with a very thin, tainted atmosphere? They import the goods necessary to survive.
>>
>> Thus, in the TNE setting, a world might be TL 8, but they may have everything from TL 8 to TL 15 available in terms of merchandise. The TL 12 stuff might come from a nearby TL 12 world (along with some TL 11 items manufactured as that world progressed--think old computers that people in the West treat as near junk, but to someone in Ethiopia they are super powerful PCs), TL 13-15 stuff would naturally be salvaged relic equipment that would be expensive and finding spare parts could be challenging. Local people would of course be making TL 8 stuff, and depending on what is was (say farm equipment or tools) it would be "good, sturdy gear". Not everything needs to be the latest and greatest technology--indeed locals may even have a preference for the lower tech stuff.
>>
>> So if I were on Oriflamme, I'd expect that most things would be TL 8, in some tech areas there was be a fair amount of TL 11-12 imported gear, especially electronics (light weight, easy to ship in bulk, ask the Japanese...). But if "you know a guy who knows a guy", maybe you can get hold of a precious TL 14 Solomani holo projector. The rest is up to your imagination and how you "make it work" for the game you are running.
>
>
Derek Stanley
Sent from my iPhone...
> On May 9, 2014, at 14:28, "Scott Nolan [Traveller_TNE]" <> wrote:
>
> Thanks for the responses. But doesn't that effectively just make TL a worthless concept? If a character wants a piece of TL 12 gear and can easily obtain it, what point is there in saying that Oriflamme (or any world in the RC) is of a lower TL? Who cares if the locals all use TL 8 cars and telephones if my PC always has access to the good stuff. It's the TL of the PC's gear that is really going to set a tone, don't you think?
>
> Scott
>
>
>> On Fri, May 9, 2014 at 4:39 PM, 'D. Stanley' [Traveller_TNE] <> wrote:
>>
>> Iâve got to agree with Harold here, while TL8 stuff will be everywhere, they probably mfg a small amount of TL9 and maybe even TL10 gear. TL11 and 12 gear will be very available at any store, there might be a premium on some of the larger items simply because of the logistics in shipping them. TL13+ is going to require that you know a guy who knows a guy who found something that âfell off the back of a truckâ.
>>
>>
>>
>> We have to keep in mind that these TLâs are a snapshot, a moment in time and unlike the Imperium where those TLâs might exist for decades or even centuries on a world the RC is ârecoveringâ and theyâre recovering fast so itâs quite likely that by the time NE3 rolls about Oriflamme might be TL10 or 11 and Aubaine might be TL13 or 14 simply due to the nature of the beast.
>>
>>
>>
>> Realistically Aubaine might have some TL13-15 manufacturing capabilities at NE1 but itâs so small it doesnât count. IE. There might be a factory making TL14 tablet computers or blue tooth headsets. These would be way faster and more advanced than the rest of the world is capable of making but theyâre so limited in production that they cost a fortune.
>>
>>
>>
>> Iâve been harboring a strong dislike of the Tech codes for ages, particularly in the TNE setting where things are changing so fast. In my own things I tend to divide up the planetary capacity in terms of broad categories, Medical Supplies, Weapons, Vehicles, Starships, Equipment. And I might break it down further and say things like, well these guys have a TL15 PRIS goggles factory thatâs operational, just for flavor.
>>
>>
>>
>> From: []
>> Sent: Friday, May 09, 2014 1:23 PM
>> To:
>> Subject: [Traveller_TNE] Re: Tech Levels - 'Splain them to me
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> I've always played it such that tech level was what was "commonly available and/or able to be manufactured", rather than it being a hard number where nothing higher tech was available. The Imperium is/was a start spanning empire where interstellar travel was very common. Sure there were backwater areas and worlds that were "off limits", but how else do you explain a world that has thousands of inhabitants is at TL6 with a very thin, tainted atmosphere? They import the goods necessary to survive.
>>
>> Thus, in the TNE setting, a world might be TL 8, but they may have everything from TL 8 to TL 15 available in terms of merchandise. The TL 12 stuff might come from a nearby TL 12 world (along with some TL 11 items manufactured as that world progressed--think old computers that people in the West treat as near junk, but to someone in Ethiopia they are super powerful PCs), TL 13-15 stuff would naturally be salvaged relic equipment that would be expensive and finding spare parts could be challenging. Local people would of course be making TL 8 stuff, and depending on what is was (say farm equipment or tools) it would be "good, sturdy gear". Not everything needs to be the latest and greatest technology--indeed locals may even have a preference for the lower tech stuff.
>>
>> So if I were on Oriflamme, I'd expect that most things would be TL 8, in some tech areas there was be a fair amount of TL 11-12 imported gear, especially electronics (light weight, easy to ship in bulk, ask the Japanese...). But if "you know a guy who knows a guy", maybe you can get hold of a precious TL 14 Solomani holo projector. The rest is up to your imagination and how you "make it work" for the game you are running.
>
>