I'm writing a scenario for MTU which uses low berths for people smuggling. One of the reasons why I did the design for the autonomous portable low berth.

I'm also thinking about using them for orphan transport from an over populated world to a farming world. This provides the orphans with a family and the farmers with kids and cheap labour. Not really a novel use but it did get me thinking about whether mass transport by low berth is a viable option. I mean there is a 2.78% chance of a mishap and a major one can cause 3D permanent wounds.

Turns out that it's actually quite hard to kill someone getting them out of a lowberth. Certainly in MT. If I've got any of this wrong then please point it out.

Imperial Encyclopaedia Page 87
To survive a low passage voyage: Routine, Medical, Edu, 1 min. (Fateful)

So you have to have Medical-1 and it's highly likely that you will have an EDU of 5 or more (83.33% likleyhood), also because it's and EDU skill you can also use Computer Augmentation applies allowing a DM +1 with a hand computer and a medical database. So why wouldn’t you? Certainly if you are going to do lots.
So without really trying it's a +3 DM meaning you only need one more DM and it's the best it's going to get so Medial-2, or EDU A will get you there i.e. roll 3 or above. You can't get any better because rolling 2 is always a fumble.

Ok so for 2.78% of the time someone is going to have a Mishaps. Of this 2.78% who suffer mishaps 8.33% will have a Major Mishap (suffer 3D permanent wounds (which may kill them)), 58.33% will have a Minor Mishap and the rest will have Superficial Mishaps.

So we're only really concerned with the Major mishap.

3D wounds is 3 hits, so those with lifeforce of 8 or less will should (may) be killed. However it’s slightly more complicated. Applying 1D to each characteristic it’s more likely that either one or two characteristics will be reduced to 0 (Minor or Major Wound) than all three (killing them) although it’s possible.

The minimum Lifeforce characteristics are 222 giving 5/6*5/6*5/6 (58%) chance of being killed.
It’s also impossible to kill someone with one (average) stat of 7.
The chance of having a stat of 6 is 15/32, the chance of having three 6 or less is 15/32*15/32*15/32 or 10% of the population as a whole.

So for 2,800 people (because that's the amount I will be making making a troop transport for). 10% of them will have three stats 6 or less or 280. Of those 280 2.78% of them will have a mishap, or 8 of them. Of those 8.33% of them will have a Major mishap. Call it 1, and then you apply the damage roll and the worth case (222 stats) you still have a 42% chance of living. And as your stats go up so does your chance of living.

So low berths in MT are pretty dam safe.

-----Original Message-----
From: xxxxxx@simplelists.com <xxxxxx@simplelists.com> On Behalf Of Alex Goodwin
Sent: 05 February 2021 14:30
To: xxxxxx@simplelists.com
Subject: Re: [TML] Other Uses For Low Berths

On 5/2/21 7:08 am, Kurt Feltenberger wrote:
> <snip>
>
> Anyway, I'm curious how others might use the low berth in an
> unexpected manner.
>
Umm.. people smuggling, such extracting dissidents from the Ziru Sirka , while labelling them "refrigerated tractor parts" ?  Or are you talking specifically about unusual _uses_ of low berths themselves, not what creatively-miscreant PCs do to conceal same?

Thanks to the machinations of a certain Dodgie bugger, Milford et al don't know who they extracted, and the extractees don't know who got them out.
--

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