[kcdusk]

I better get my thoughts out here before Reallus turns up!

1. Pointed or wide-nosed bow, meh, doesnt matter. Ones in Australia are pointy. Maybe wide nose is a European thing.

2. Diesel or steam? I cannot remember but i reckon either in "Pirates" or "Going Home" they talk about either the Tug or Train as having something different about it, suspend belieft etc as to how its powered. Either way, as a GM i'd be happy to make the tug diesel or steam powered because either way maintaining fuel is going to be a challange and thats what the game is about.

3. Position of funnels? Too detailed for me. Dont care. Maybe its a Eurpean thing.

4. Tugboat + half decked out barge? Well, its T2K. I think its the only option they have. You could poke "mate, theres got to be a better way" holes in almost any of the scenarios. I think the idea was to give you a mode of transport (tug) and a trailer type platform (barge) that isnt quite fit for purpose and have the PCs work with it. Heavy equipment verse room for people? A way to have PCs have to dump some gear. Also, a fun part, a chance to deck out the tug and barge with armaments and defensive positions. Non-combat role play and skills required but you can still get a taste of preparing for combat. After fitting out both tug and barge the PCs have to live with their dreamboat or nightmare for the rest of the adventure. Personally i really liked this aspect of the game.

5. You could decide to get a big paddleboat Weswood. As a GM i'd love it if a group of players wanted to play that out. Just like in the great race though, it has its own pros and cons. You'd have to persued the old coot to ditch his tug, find a paddleboat, make it river & battle worthy and hope she got under bridges or around fallen ones. I'd be thinking a paddleboat is too big a target with no "hardness" about it that the tug has. Not as manouverable. No speed. Great dining room though!

No problems with your thoughts Weswood. Personally i dont worry about minor (to me) details like shape of tug nose or funnels. I think steam or diesel question doesnt matter because in either case i think you'd be scrounging wood/coal/diesel the while trip. And i like players who think a bit outside the square like considering something other than the tug, even though in this case i'd still go the tug (but i enjoyed thinking about other ideas).

If you dont like the idea of going to warsay, rescuing people etc then move on to another town/scenario. Or if its morw the means of the rescue, run with your paddlesteamer idea.

Its T2K. Lots of stuff is happening that doesnt make sense in the Pre-T2K world.