Freelance Traveller

Pham’s Gunboats

by Joshua Levy

This article originally appeared in the May/June 2018 issue.

“That’s a tough little bugger.”—Unknown

Señor Pham was a scout on the barely populated fringes of a large empire. After a few terms he married the daughter of a ship builder. In his retirement he helped design several spaceships for use on the fringe of civilization, but this gunboat was his most successful design, by far.

Pham realized that a low population planet on the fringe did not have a good choice when it came to system defense. They could wait and save their money and buy a 400 ton system defense boat, but even if they did, if that boat happened not to be in service, then they had nothing. Also, while these systems wanted defense boats, they also needed search and rescue services, outpost resupply ships, and anti-smuggling patrols, all of which did better with more, smaller ships, rather than fewer, larger ships.

So Pham designed a 100-ton system defense boat, with the idea being that more systems could afford one, and then they could incrementally increase their fleet. Even a system that could afford two would still always have one in service, which would be an advantage over a 400-ton ship that sometimes wasn’t available at all. This basic concept was phenomenally successful. Smaller systems could afford something, and as they grew they could afford more and more. The one downside is that you need more pilots, since a single, large system defense boat, requires just one pilot, while the smaller gunboats will require 2, 3, or 4 pilots for the same firepower.

But Pham had worked on the fringe for decades, and designed a ship well suited to the “way out there” environment. He understood clearly that people were at the mercy of their ships, and that even a minor malfunction could be deadly far away from help. No corners were cut in design or construction. For example, instead of fitting one C class plant powering a C class maneuver drive, he designed three A class power plants linked to three A class maneuver drivers. Sure, it took up more space, but an engine failure or maneuver drive accident could never leave you stranded. He designed in the ultimate in redundancy, a maneuverable, armored G-carrier to serve as a lifeboat. Hull and computers had full redundancy. Higher quality parts were used throughout, resulting in a 2% higher cost, but also a much more dependable ship. Finally, he added an inner armored ring around the pilot’s station, so that a lucky shot would not take him or her out.

This led (eventually) to two other classes of ships: “Knock-Off Phams” and “Phrankenstien Phams”. Seeing the success of these gunboats and knowing that governments on the fringe were often short of money, other manufacturers starting making ships in the same class, but cheaper. These ships had one C class power plant powering one C class maneuver drive. They didn’t have the high end G-carrier/lifeboat. They had light armor or no armor, and nothing special around the pilot. And so on. These became known as Pham knock offs, and not in a good way, but they are cheaper and see widespread use on the fringe.

Meanwhile, Pham realized that he could sell these gunboats in “kit form”. Some systems had the facilities to assemble a ship, even if they could not produce the components. Also, the components for a gunboat could be shipped in about 80 tons of space, while a completed ship would take up at least 100 tones. Obviously, quality varied based on assembly. However, the big break through was when some planets started requesting partial kits. A planet that could construct power plants would buy a kit without a power plant. Planets that made their own computers or staterooms would buy kits without those, and add domestically produced components. These ships, which varied in quality, became known as “Phrankenstien Phams”.

Using a 100-ton hull (Hull 2, Structure 2), the Pham System Defense Boat (Space Guard Multipurpose configuration) is designed for piracy suppression, anti-smuggling operations, and search-and-rescue operations. It mounts no Jump Drive (being for in-system use only), three maneuver drive A, and three power plant A, giving performance of 6G acceleration. Fuel tankage of 12 tons supports operation of all three power plants for 28 days. Adjacent to the bridge is a computer Model 2fib. The ship is equipped with basic military sensors (DM 0). There are four staterooms and no low berths. The ship has one hardpoint and 1 ton allocated for fire control. The turret mounts two particle beam weapons and a pulse laser. No screens are mounted. There is a hangar for a G/Carrier used as a lifeboat. The hull is a streamlined wedge, armored with 12 points of Bonded Superdense armor. The ship requires a crew of four: Pilot, Gunner, Engineer, Medic. No provision for passengers is made. The ship costs MCr58.5 requiring 36 weeks to build.

Using a 100-ton hull (Hull 2, Structure 2), the Pham System Defense Boat (System Defense configuration) is designed for piracy suppression, anti-smuggling operations, and system defense (not against Regular Navy ships). It mounts no Jump Drive (being for in-system use only), three maneuver drive A, and three power plant A, giving performance of 6G acceleration. Fuel tankage of 18 tons supports operation of all three power plants for 42 days. Adjacent to the bridge is a computer Model 2bis. The ship is equipped with advanced sensors (DM +1). There are four staterooms and no low berths. The ship has one hardpoint and 1 ton allocated for fire control. The turret mounts two particle beam weapons and a pulse laser. No screens are mounted. There is hangarage for two fighters. The hull is a streamlined wedge, armored with 12 points of Bonded Superdense armor. The ship requires a crew of four: Pilot, Gunner, and two fighter pilots. No provision for passengers is made. The ship costs MCr60.4 requiring 36 weeks to build.

Using a 100-ton hull (Hull 2, Structure 2), the “Knock-off Pham” System Defense Boat is designed for piracy suppression, anti-smuggling operations, and search-and-rescue. It mounts no Jump Drive (being for in-system use only), maneuver drive C, and power plant C, giving performance of 6G acceleration. Fuel tankage of 24 tons supports operation of the power plant for 56 days. Adjacent to the bridge is a computer Model 1. The ship is equipped with basic civilian sensors (DM –2). There are four staterooms and no low berths. The ship has one hardpoint and 1 ton allocated for fire control. The turret mounts a beam laser and a pulse laser. No screens are mounted. There is hangarage for a lifeboat. The hull is a streamlined wedge, armored with 2 points of titanium steel armor. The ship requires a crew of four: Pilot, Gunner, Engineer, Medic. No provision for passengers is made. The ship costs MCr52.28 requiring 36 weeks to build.

Variants

Rules notes: if your Traveller universe has a more powerful turret type weapon, such as a “Barbette” then the Pham Gunboat is likely to carry that weapon. Also if drones or mines are common in combat, then those may be carried instead of the fighters. Fuel storage will be sacrificed to make room.

Variants of this design usually replace the sickbay and/or detention cells with something else. For example, systems focused on search and rescue will enlarge the sickbay and increase the sensor package. Systems focused on law breaking will have larger or more detention cells. Some systems may add a research lab and space for science drones, while those with far flung installations may opt for cargo space.

An occasionally seen version is the “Stealth Pham”. This version has a pop-up turret, a two-window bridge configuration, a camouflaged boat hatch, a dual exhaust system, and an electronic camouflage package. The result is that it looks just like a type-S (if operated at accelerations of 2G or less).

Occasionally 3 tons of fuel will be traded for more sensors and/or a larger ship’s locker, reducing the ship’s duration to 7 weeks instead of 8.

Civilian Uses

Genuine Pham gunboats are in great demand for civilian uses on the fringe. They come on the market when replaced, or when a system becomes wealthy enough to replace their fleet with larger, more specialized system defense boats. Knock-Off Phams are less in demand, but more common.

Weapons are almost always removed; the armored G-carrier is sometimes gone, sometimes replaced with something cheaper. Sometimes one (occasionally even two) of the drives are no longer functioning.

Tactics

It is important to remember that a Pham gunboat “punches above its weight” in combat. One gunboat is unlikely to lose to a non-military ship, even a larger one. (It may not win, either, but it is unlikely to lose.) Players who count turrets (“we have 4, he only has 1, we’re gonna win”) are going to be badly surprised.

Because Pham gunboats are faster than most civilian craft, they are going to decide both if there will be a fight at all, and when it will occur. They can leave any time. In combat with a freighter, even if an engine or power plant is completely destroyed, they are still likely to be the fastest ship in the fight. Their long range weapons mean that they will get off the first shots, and combined with their higher speed and maneuverability, mean the another ship (with only turret weapons) may never get into position to attack, but be picked apart by long range shots. No pirate wants to get into that kind of fight; they are far more likely to leave, if they can.

Finally, remember that a Pham gunship crew is likely to be braver than other crews, and more willing to take risks. They know they can leave any time. They know they have the longest range turret weapon(s) available. They know they have best armor and a better lifeboat (more quickly at hand) than the other ships. And the pilot (who is making the basic attack/retreat decision), knows that he or she has that extra bit of armor.

Some Quick Adventure Seeds

(These can actually be used for any small ship, but the Pham gunboat works for all of them.)

Dude, Where’s My Ship?

The adventurers are in a bar (near a University, although they may not know it). They are approached (or overhear) a fellow drinker complaining that their ship has been stolen. This is their patron, the collage aged scion of a big noble/industrial/famous family currently going to school at the local University. He or she had a falling out with a previous friend, who had the access codes to the spaceship your patron was using at college. This previous friend has absconded with the ship. Good thing it doesn’t have jump. It’s gotta be around here, somewhere. The patron doesn’t want the cops involved, both because he doesn’t want his friend in serious trouble, and also because he doesn’t want the embarrassment of his own family finding out he lost his ship. The characters will need to track down the location of the ship, and grab it while it is not in flight. They’ll never catch it in flight.

Old Treasure

The adventurers are in a bar (different bar) listing to some old alcoholic tell stories about the adventures of their youth. It seems they were part of a pirate crew who (at one point) captured a Pham gunboat. They were so successful, that at one point they filled the gap between the two primary hulls with pelleted gold, just to hide it. Eventually, they got caught. The main pirate ship jumped out system, the gunboat was captured, the other crew were put to death (dirtside firing squad), and that was the end of that. He survived by convincing the naval guys that he was a 16 year old galley slave, not really part of the crew. Anyway, the next morning, one of the adventurers (good with computers) realizes that records were kept of the disposition of captured pirate ships, and of subsequent sellers and buyers. By using various skills, the adventures can find the current owner. Another adventurer (good with engineering) can rig up a miniaturized vacuum cleaning drone and send it between the hulls to suck up all that gold gravel. All that remains is to track down the current owner and get him or her to let them “clean out” the gap between the hulls. If the gold hasn’t been found, the characters will find a windfall!

Research reveals that the ship has had a varied career over the last 30+ years, with several different owners, however the most recent buyer is in his or her late twenties and the child of a rich family. Apparently, he or she ran “into the woods”, moving away from civilization and other people. He or she hasn’t been heard from for years. The family is unhappy, but they are keeping a “stiff upper lip”.

When the characters finally track down the ship, the owner is camping in it. The engines will be unused, and maybe unusable. The owner will be suspicious of the characters, and might be paranoid or have other mental problems.

Dead Raccoon Trap

If you, as referee, want to destroy the character’s ship, you can run the following encounter. Just be careful not to kill the characters, unless that is the goal. The characters’ ship comes across a type-S. Maybe it is damaged, or abandoned, or actively sending out a distress call. In any case, when the characters approach, it’s a trap. The ship is really a Stealth Pham gunboat. Unless the adventurer’s ship does a lot of damage to it quickly, the gunboat will be able to escape if the combat goes against them. Once the combat is underway, the gunboat will use the tactics described above (i.e., out maneuver, out range, etc.)