Jack Photon
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Post by Jack Photon on Mar 30, 2022 7:07:47 GMT -5
"Scotty. Set automatic return for me... Ten minutes should do it." "Captain. The Transporter retains the memory of the body's molecular structure. Will it apply as well to your present height?" "Kirk to Enterprise... The Transporter beam apparently returns our molecules to normal spacing."
Not much else to say on this one other than that trick didn't work on the Teratins. However, it's speculated that their size became a genetic trait, not the oonstant exposure to waves that are 'complex and beyond (Spock's) experience'. "Spiroid waves" also apparently have no effect on Transporter beams.
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Jack Photon
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Post by Jack Photon on Mar 31, 2022 15:39:48 GMT -5
Lorelei. "Perhaps the Transporter is the key. It holds the molecular pattern of our original bodies when we beamed down to the planet."
"Spock, can the Transporter be programmed to re-pattern us as we were?"
"Possibly. But the odds against us are 99.7 to one."
"But this has never been done before. Suppose it fails?"
"Their patterns will break up and scatter in space."
Well, they rolled good on that one. Uhura shouts they are losing the patterns but it's no probs.
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Jack Photon
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Post by Jack Photon on Mar 31, 2022 21:35:16 GMT -5
Savage Curtain Scotty mentions a dying mass of flesh, but that is the lava's fault, not the transporter had it happened. Obsession is more tame than I was thinking. Shock waves from the anti-matter explosion rock the ship as transport is underway causing Spock to switch to Circuit B. That's the bulk of the transporter episodes I can think of. Any time there are issues, a person can partially manifest and fade away up to several times as either a central blob of glitter or the suggestions of an outline. Once a pattern is acquired (they have dissolved in one location but are mid-transit), the operator can call for a system reset, pause and do another full attempt at least once, but Enemy Within suggests serious time delays as well. Once a pattern is captured, it seems the data must get sloshy in some way, maybe, so that the operator must bring one set of parameters to match another, 'dialing in' or fine-tuning the materialization into given safety margin where the computer can finalize the details of the pattern-matching and re-materialize correctly. Maybe. Scotty's most common phrase is "I've got a piece of them, anyway." Mudd's Women, another one of note. There is always a sigh or look of relief on faces with a few admissions that it was a 'close call' and 'you might have been lost'. Lorelei was the only one where the consequence is spelled out. Clearly in-world there is Operator fear/concern on losing someone in tricky circumstances. Other times are more than the casual throw of sliders suggesting total complacency with the process as if no more dangerous than standing at a cross-walk waiting for the signal.
There are numerous close calls. There are a number of factors affecting each situation. None are commonplace.
Above all else we see the demands of the script interfering with the 'natural processes' that would normally unfold in a real world situation. A character must die/survive so the story is made to fit the end. Of course in our game worlds, we need to expand the potential and allow for death and dismemberment clauses. That makes for good role playing as opposed to good TV. There are far too many TV NPC's that would have lived in a game scenario for the attention they would have gotten as fellow crewmates as opposed to disposable story points they were required to be for television purposes. And there are far, far too many Starring Roles that should have died, but can't because they are the starring role and immune to ultimate danger, being only affected by circumstantial and/or momentary hinderance. So back to the original idea of a danger table. "Did you hear about the transporter malfunction aboard the Good Ship Lollipop?"
"No, what happened?"
"They were traversing the galactic energy barrier when an ion storm hit as an ancient pseudo-deity threw lightning bolts at them."
"Crap! Well, I'll certainly watch out for that one. Lolz. Hey, want to beam down to the planet and get some drinks and then maybe beam to the other side and get some more drinks?"
"Sure! Let's go!"People can easily understand and get over long shot odds of danger. Just because an airplane crashes while yours is mid-flight does not means yours is about to as well. "Did you hear about the transporter accident aboard the Bad Ship Gumdrop?"
"No. What happened?"
"Turns out Transporter Chief McGuffin was a sociopath with a hidden grudge bent on avenging himself on 2 of the 6 people on the pad. The other 4 crew were incidental he later said under questioning. He's off to Tantalus Colony for some rest and relaxation. Can you imagine? Welp, those were some good drinks! Let's go to the local transport-o-mat and beam back to the ship."
*gulp* "Sure you don't want to take a shuttle?"
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Jack Photon
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Post by Jack Photon on Mar 31, 2022 22:19:33 GMT -5
Pattern DegradationIn Dove, Scott suggests he can keep the Klingons suspended indefinitely. Spock mentions to McCoy he's unaware of any test involving long-term stasis, bu that it would be 'fascinating'. Kind of sociopathic of him there on that one... In TNG, Scotty himself stays alive for 75+ years while his buddy's pattern has degraded beyond recovery. In Lorelei, Scotty says your pattern 'disperses to space'. While suspended you are in a state of non-temporal, non-experiential/pseudo-existence. If you don't materialize, you will never know it; you were already gone anyway. And obviously we have 35/70mm STTMP showing us a hint at the ugliest possibilities. So. Where, when and how and over what timescale does a danger table function? Feature One It must get safer over time, years/decades with occasional leaps such as TWoK to even TUC showed distinct changes.
Two basic variables Common Risk; one in a million whatev's. Everyone who steps on the pad rolls 6, 7, 8, 9, even 10d10 and if all 0's, die. Roll LUC to see if painful or not.
Doesn't matter if the TransOp was successful skill roll or not. Or roll 1-1million if TransOp roll was a fail and see who survives? Is that normal LUC roll at that point or a one-1million scenario?
Specific Risk; Circumstantial and highly weighted against survival. Well, there's no way to say; Ion Storm +10, energy distortions, +25, etc...
In my 3rd Edition Framework, I've created a table of basic die mods for the GM. There's Can't Fail at -30 or Need-a-Miracle at +60 and many others. This allows the GM a fast, intuitive way to call a die mod, for or against. A Foolproof situation is -50, whereas Unexpected Surprise is +15 and Impossible is +45. A very large blanket that covers much ground.
It could be that risk is more role-played than mechanical in nature. The suggestions and stories of bad transports. Feed random scuttlebutt here and there. Roll many dice behind screens for every transport whether you look at them or not. Give someone a history involving knowing someone who died on the pad. (That gives me a new tweak for my 3rdEd character Lifepath tables! Hooray on that.)
Another consideration is the totality of malfunction. Is it one pad in six, some or all transportees that die? Or do some live and others die? What is the disposition of their persons and locus?
Hopefully I'm not the only one thinking about all this.
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Post by aramis on Apr 1, 2022 2:55:01 GMT -5
Tholian at 10:38 has Spock and co. twinkle in the chamber a moment, but cuts back to them shifting around on Defiant waiting for the beam. Scotty tries 3 if not 4x depending on how you count it before heaving a big sigh of relief that they came through as if it were close. Kirk sparkles once, cuts back to Defiant which fades out taking Kirk with it. From there, only a matter of him being at the right place and time when they attempt to beam him, no particular troubles. Trying to remember when Spock "cross-circuiting to B" saved the day... Obsession? www.chakoteya.net/StarTrek/47.htm Obsession [Transporter room] (Spock and Scott are at the controls with McCoy watching.) SPOCK: Reset. Energise. CHEKOV [OC]: All decks, stand by. Shock waves. (The ship is shaken, and still nothing appears on the transporter pad.) MCCOY: Do something. SPOCK: We are, Doctor. Cross-circuiting to A. SCOTT: Got them. A piece of them, anyway. SPOCK: Cross-circuiting to B. MCCOY: Crazy way to travel, spreading a man's molecules all over the universe. (Finally the swirly bits solidify into two men.) SCOTT: Captain, thank heaven. SPOCK: Mister Scott, there was no deity involved. It was my cross-circuiting to B that recovered them. MCCOY: Well then, thank pitchforks and pointed ears. As long as it worked, Jim.
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Jack Photon
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Post by Jack Photon on Apr 2, 2022 5:59:27 GMT -5
Thanks, Aramis! That one interaction of Spock and Scott provides an interesting game mechanism at play. Is Spock adding a percentage of his skill to Scotty's? Did Scott fail and call on Spock to gain a second attempt? When Scott says "reset.", did they both fail and get a second chance if the pattern was initially saved?
In my 3rd Edition Framework I have a Fail flow chart. If one person fails, it used to be you made a LUC roll. Now you can do that or call in a 2nd hand who can then make a skill, then LUC roll if they fail, but it gets flowchart-ey, so you have to see it. However, it suggests a similar situation to this scene. It also suggests that Fails should get a 2nd chance to succeed, at least in later years as more redundancy is built into the system. "It was my cross-circuiting to B that saved the day." Suggesting Scotty failed and Spock stepped in per the flow chart. And Spock may have had a LUC roll in there, too. I'll have to map the scene out to die rolls sometime. I'd like to describe an entire show in game mechanics on youtube at some point.
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As to Transporter Failure Tables, I think I've got a summation of my thoughts.
Thank you C57D for allowing me to posit here in your thread asking us to posit herein this thread.
I mentioned Common Risk.
On thinking on it, even 1 in a billion is still a Failure of operator or system. Therefore a successful transport cannot then invoke a 7d10 'roll all 0's and die' effect. That would be a Failure. For game purposes, we can throw those odds out as skill rolls and equipment condition are the direct causal factors for PCs in-game, over random fatalistic long-shot odds.
As to Specific Risk,
On a Fail, each person in the chamber would roll 1d10 against the Fail Table below.
Per 3rd Edition, they could use LUC Pool at 10-1 cost. I'll explain more on that in a bit.
First, a sub-table to determine pad number and quantity.
I am counting Pad 1 as front left looking from the console, Pad 2 front right and going counter-clock-wise to Pad 6. 1d10 Pad # and/or Qty 1-3 0 4-5 1 6 2 7 3 8 4
9 5 0 6
With the idea that a Fail should not automatically be Fatal, I present for consideration:
1d10 Fail Result
1-2 Sound, lights dim, no glitter, dark, reset 3 Beamed up to 1d10km/mi away from target, potentially high, in trees/bushes, above/in water
4 Partial De-Mat, 0-6 Qty. of Pads safely go/arrive, others remain in place, unharmed
5 Person fades, pattern lost 6 Partial De-mat, Purple Heart Table, roll d%/2 to skew harmful
7 1 Pad explodes, (1d10/2)d10 damage (to legs)
8 0-6 Qty. of Pads explode per damage above. 9 Partial De-Mat, particular items remain, comms, phasers, equip, clothes? 0 Disassociated Condition, Roll LUC to see if aware as you fizzle.
Each player in the chamber would roll their own fate.
If 3rd Edition LUC Pool applies and player uses 20 LUC to push result roll, it goes 2pts in either direction. Player rolls 5, Pattern lost. 2pts either side is 3, Beamed 1d10km away or 7, 1 pad explodes. As GM, I'd have player roll LUC again w/ player rating each option from ideal to least ideal outcome. Better roll, ideal, lesser roll, middle and LUC Fail roll gets the least ideal option.
I the GM would not loop the table results. Thus, that same 20pts of LUC in this case pushes a 0 only to 8 or a 1 to only to 3; not a 0 wrapping to 2, or 1 wrapping to 9. In that case, a 2nd LUC roll would be Pass/Fail for the one option or the other as there is no third option in this case.
A new consideration is the consequence of failure. The operator put on leave while investigation initiated. What if determined to be operator error? It was their dice afteral and their responsibility to ensure equipment is in order. Are they then off to the brig for involuntary manslaughter? What happens in the real military when someone dies? I bet there is a bit of kerfuffle involved.
To Galileo 7.
Chief verbally warrants to Kirk that Transporters are 100% safe and operational. Kirk accepts Chief at word and orders Landing Parties 1,2 3 to action. One or more of those parties suffers harm by the Fail Table. How liable is Kirk for not taking personal steps to ensure Chief was correct, such as even glancing at the console to ensure no error lights or signals that Chief may have missed. Rather, Kirk walks in and scoots out in a half-turn without concern. Is Scott on the hook as Dept Chief even though not there? What is the chain of responsibility? Did Kirk cut Scott out by going to the T Room for that verbal assurance.
Please apply critiques to my Fail Tables and reasonings.
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Jack Photon
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Post by Jack Photon on Apr 2, 2022 7:45:51 GMT -5
Going % would allow fine-tuning. Let's try...
d% Fail Result 01-25 Lights dim, no glitter, reset 26-40 Beamed up to (1d10)d10 km/mi away and/or Hi/Lo 41-50 0-6 Qty Pads arrive/go, others remain in place unharmed 51-58 Pattern Lost 59-67 Purple Heart Table 68-76 1 Pad Explodes 77-82 0-6 Qty Pads Explode 83-92 Partial De-Mat, equipment? 93-00 Disassociated Condition ------------------------------ LUC Pool applied to this chart might be 3:1 or 1:1. I'll have to think about it... If GM were to allow player for this exceptional circumstance, up to full LUC Pool (regardless if Pool is actually empty), then 3:1 cost. Maybe 2:1.
If GM plays straight LUC Pool as-is, empty, partially or completely full, then 1:1.
This way, as long as you have 7pts, you can avoid Dis-Associating yourself. You may still have Pattern Loss or Fatal Purple Heart, but you are not Disassociated alive.
Why allow this? Mostly as it's not the Players fault. They have just been thrown into a fatal situation with no options -except to hopefully push the dice one way or another is what LUC allows. Having players roll their fate themselves adds to their empowerment and self-determination. Thus even though they were thrown into this for no fault of their own, they have some kind of chance they can take and an open, plain table to throw against. This avoids Killer GM'ing and related prejudices.
I put the safer options at the lower end and worse at the top end, but stuck Pattern Loss square in the middle to retain some danger, so a high roll with lots of LUC Pool can still get vape'd, just not painfully so. A gentler end for the character.
And again, I would not wrap the table, 01 is the floor and 00 the ceiling.
The Fail Chart yields:25% Nothing, Try again 35% Miscalculation, Some go/others stay 15% System Error, Pad go boom 25% Death, or good chance of
That makes: 60% ok to bad 40% very bad to very, very bad
Having the table break in player's favor shows the GM wants to give them a good chance.
Also, more room to squeeze other options into the list by pulling a few percent from here and there as needed.
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Jack Photon
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Post by Jack Photon on Apr 2, 2022 8:22:11 GMT -5
Pattern Loss and Disassociated Condition are each 8% guaranteed death on the chart above. Purple Heart is 9% with a good shot at a similar fate, if not worse for surviving it.
The modified Purple Heart Chart from 3rdEd, Book 1, Character Gen has been moved to two posts from now in my summary.
That chart breaks down to:
10% up to 100d10 damage, un-healable 15% up to 10d10 damage, un-healable 25% up to 1d10 damage, semi-healable 25% up to (1/3)d10 damage, healable 25% up to negligible damage; 'garden-variety' flesh wound; hemorrhaging, broken/fractured bones, ruptured muscle tissues, etc
As the Transporter alone can swap your brain cell tissue with your liver cells and actual toe nail clippings, transporter damage is unique and therefore takes dice off your Attributes rather than 'normal' Wound damage off the END. Granted, your END will take a hit when your cartilidge is turned into epidermis and your bones into mucus cells. Your INT will be hit from the aforemntioned toe nails now integrated into your brain stem, CHA is lost when your tongue is now a thumb and your nose something unmentionable. Shall I go on with other detriments for each ATT? lolz. It ain't pretty stuff.
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Jack Photon
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Post by Jack Photon on Apr 2, 2022 20:04:21 GMT -5
I moved the ballpark Recovery Chart to the next post.
Consequent to it, the GM may see very low damage dice on a Fatal/Mortal result and decide the character can be released per Major or Serious Recovery time, perhaps. GM Discretion for relative damage and scenario.
For those not familiar with the 3rd Edition Crit tables on teh Recovery Chart, a Crit is 5% of your skill or ATT. 01 and 00 are Auto Crits.
For purposes of this example, 5% round down on LUC 70 is 3. Therefore, 01, 02, 03 are CRIT SUCC, while 98, 99, 00 are CRIT FAILS.
BARE SUCC/FAIL is 5% of the Target number, (In this example 68, 69, 70 and 71, 72, 73), but not applicable in this situation as that gets to be splitting hairs on a very weighty subject. The CRITS are in there to juice the table, not dice it fine.
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Jack Photon
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Post by Jack Photon on Apr 3, 2022 22:58:23 GMT -5
I revised several of the previous posts over the last day (inc. this one!).
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Jack Photon
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Post by Jack Photon on Apr 16, 2022 21:58:29 GMT -5
Here's a draft notion. Thoughts?
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Jack Photon
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Post by Jack Photon on Apr 20, 2022 22:15:51 GMT -5
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