 January 6, 2016 - 10:11am | Most people know about the third rail in the subway being dangerous. What can we surmise about the Port Loren monorail? Is it mag lev? Is so what about the sathar agent in the PGC security Breach encounter that is pictured as being blown off the monorail platform by the PCs. It would be tough for him to not land on the center rail so what would happen to him? Repulsion of anything metal on him from the mag lev effect? Energy zap similar to making contact with third rail? I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 January 6, 2016 - 11:52am | If it is mag lev then it is not energized all the time. The rail is made up of many separate coils that are fired in sequence when the train is above it. When they fire they create a magnetic field that is not a danger to be exposed to. The danger to our Sathar agent is from bludgeoning himself as he lands on it. -iggy |
January 6, 2016 - 12:34pm | Alright, and who cares about the sathar agent anyway? Not even a sathar would. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 January 6, 2016 - 4:56pm | When the monorail first opened here it had a penchant for dropping paarts as it was moving, with the largest being one of the wheels that crushed the hood of a taxi passing underneath. |
 January 6, 2016 - 6:23pm | When the monorail first opened here it had a penchant for dropping paarts as it was moving, with the largest being one of the wheels that crushed the hood of a taxi passing underneath. We can hope the Star Frontiers monorails are a little beyond that. Ad Astra Per Ardua! My blog - Expanding Frontier Webmaster - The Star Frontiers Network & this site Founding Editor - The Frontier Explorer Magazine Managing Editor - The Star Frontiersman Magazine |
January 6, 2016 - 6:32pm | We can hope the Star Frontiers monorails are a little beyond that.
That all depends if the monorail construction was outsourced to Corporate Handled Imitation Negligence Abroad aka "CHINA". |
 January 6, 2016 - 9:19pm | Yeah, that is a good question: Are Port Loren's monorails rail cars or maglevs? I generally assumed they where maglevs systems, from years of hearing them being presented by Boomers as "futuristic" things, like flying cars and rocketships. |
January 7, 2016 - 1:57am | Rail cars aren't too futuristic but a mag lev would be fast, efficient, and futuristic I feel like this is the way to go. Unless someone else has a good idea. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 January 11, 2016 - 9:12am | I'm sure they're maglev. If they can generate magnetic fields along all the roads to control traffic, they can propel monorail cars. But whether maglev or magnetically propelled rail cars, the magnetic field generators would be insulated and not a hazard to touch. |
January 11, 2016 - 10:49pm | If they can generate magnetic fields along all the roads to control traffic
That's actually just a rule in the Basic game book to keep movement rules simple and restrained. The Expanded game book rules allow anyone to attempt any maneuver at any speed with skill & ability checks (modified by conditions) and the resulting loss of control/crash & damage effects when they fail. |
January 12, 2016 - 6:32am | Sure, it's to keep the basic game simple, but it's still part of Port Loren and it makes sense. You can perform any maneuver at any speed when not on magnetically controlled roadways, but in Port Loren your aircar is controlled. It's just good traffic-control sense. |
January 12, 2016 - 12:11pm | Now that I think about it, and truth be told it's been a while since I cracked the book open, I believe that was merely an excerpt from the inside cover story and not a rule that was discussed in the game. |
January 12, 2016 - 7:29pm | It is in the story and the rules. See page 6, third paragraph under Skimmers, "Magnetics generators built into the roads automatically reduce the speed of approaching vehicles." It then goas onn to define this speed as 5 squares per turn. I agree this was introduced for simplicity of play. However I can easily rationalize this as a safety precaution in Port Loren for the downtown area and other high pedestrian areas of cities. This is likely marked by something like blue lights along the curbs of the intersection to indicate the magnetic generators are active. -iggy |
January 12, 2016 - 8:38pm | I guess it was a rule, I just checked my Basic Plus project and I implemented it there as well: http://www.starfrontiers.us/node/2164 Color me embarrassed.  Dastardly new plot hook: the Port Loren Raiders from the Basic game scenario have a jamming device in their skimmer that allows them to blow through intersections at higher speeds. This serves to frustrate the hell out of the pursuing players as they crawl through each curve and intersection... |
January 13, 2016 - 11:02am | New Equipment item: Mag field scrambler 5kg uses 1 SEU/turn and must be installed on vehicle and powered by parabattery Cost is about 6,000 Cr (black market on many planets) I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
