ShawnDriscoll
Cosmic Mongoose
Combat
* Initiative is not used
* Combat Rounds are not used
* Initiative is not used
* Combat Rounds are not used
House Rules - Feel Free To Share Your Custom Rules Here
- Thread starter Solomani666
- Start date
Solomani666
Mongoose
ShawnDriscoll said:
Can you elaborate on this please?
.
ShawnDriscoll
Cosmic Mongoose
Solomani666 said:
Watch the combat portion of this video http://youtu.be/w2eyjKUUeng?t=1h39m36s
alex_greene
Guest
House rules for my OTYOYO ("Out There, You're On Your Own") setting:-
Jump drive fuel is 10% of the mass of the drive per Jump rating used. So's power plant fuel. Power plant fuel lasts one year, but allowances are made to get the ship from arrival to the port, so the dreaded "running out of fuel" scenario is never a consideration.
TL 9-10, Jumps are like those described in Traveller Core Rulebook: one Jump lasts one week, in and out. TL 9 ships have acceleration couches, and all breakables and sharp objects are secured to enter and leave Jump: transitions to and from Jump at this tech level are rough.
TL 11-14: A single Jump could be for one week, eighteen weeks or 52 weeks: the distance crossed in that time depends on the Jump rating. Half the fuel to enter Jump; half the fuel to exit Jump. J-4 covers 4 parsecs per week. Most long-distance Jumps are rarely longer than 50 weeks, because of the whole "running out of power" scenario. A J-1 ship could make a single Jump to a world two parsecs away, even at J-1 - it just takes the ship two weeks. A Jump across a rift like the Great Rift would take a J-1 ship about a year - two months for a J-6 ship in a single Jump. Most ships make much use of low berths in those Jumps.
TL15+: Hyperdrive; performance as for TL 10-14, but ships remain in Einsteinian space. Think of it as kind of the difference between the hyperdrive ships in Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis and the Ancient FTL ship Destiny in Stargate Universe.
TL 16+: Intergalactic travel possible via wormhole drive - think of the last episode of Stargate Atlantis.
TL 16+: Stable micro-wormholes permit FTL communications, but only between non-FTL objects: planets, stations and ships in sublight. Starships still needed to haul cargo, even when transporters become feasible.
Jump drive fuel is 10% of the mass of the drive per Jump rating used. So's power plant fuel. Power plant fuel lasts one year, but allowances are made to get the ship from arrival to the port, so the dreaded "running out of fuel" scenario is never a consideration.
TL 9-10, Jumps are like those described in Traveller Core Rulebook: one Jump lasts one week, in and out. TL 9 ships have acceleration couches, and all breakables and sharp objects are secured to enter and leave Jump: transitions to and from Jump at this tech level are rough.
TL 11-14: A single Jump could be for one week, eighteen weeks or 52 weeks: the distance crossed in that time depends on the Jump rating. Half the fuel to enter Jump; half the fuel to exit Jump. J-4 covers 4 parsecs per week. Most long-distance Jumps are rarely longer than 50 weeks, because of the whole "running out of power" scenario. A J-1 ship could make a single Jump to a world two parsecs away, even at J-1 - it just takes the ship two weeks. A Jump across a rift like the Great Rift would take a J-1 ship about a year - two months for a J-6 ship in a single Jump. Most ships make much use of low berths in those Jumps.
TL15+: Hyperdrive; performance as for TL 10-14, but ships remain in Einsteinian space. Think of it as kind of the difference between the hyperdrive ships in Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis and the Ancient FTL ship Destiny in Stargate Universe.
TL 16+: Intergalactic travel possible via wormhole drive - think of the last episode of Stargate Atlantis.
TL 16+: Stable micro-wormholes permit FTL communications, but only between non-FTL objects: planets, stations and ships in sublight. Starships still needed to haul cargo, even when transporters become feasible.
A
Anonymous
Guest
CosmicGamer said:
CosmicGamer, any thoughts on how to bring Zero-G and Vacc Suit to Scouts?
I'm tweaking tables for 2300 and given the setting's disconnect between scouts and the military I'm thinking to swap out Gun Combat from the Service Skills for Zero-G and losing Survival to add Vacc Suit then adding Survival back to the Exploration Specialisation skills but I can't decide which to lose: Stealth or Recon. Given the description for Exploration I can see the need for Recon but not necessarily Stealth.
Guess I've answered my own question but it'd be good to hear your thoughts.
Condottiere
Emperor Mongoose
Scoutships power down to save on fuel; most areas switch off artificial gravity, except for critical stations and the gym.
As for EVA, the drones have to be taken for walkies?
As for EVA, the drones have to be taken for walkies?
CosmicGamer
Mongoose
Numerous issues with Scouts from the core rules such as Zero G and Vacc Suit skill on a nice cozy courier but the scouts who actually go exploring must only go to pleasant places with gravity and standard atmosphere because those skills are not on the Service skills or Specialist table for Exploration or Survey.hiro said:
If and when I do finally give it more thought, there would be numerous changes and I'd also consider changing Scout basic training to:
Unlike other careers, a Scout gains level 0 skills
from the appropriate Specialist table instead of
the Service Skills table in basic training.
But to address your proposal, on the Specialist Exploration table you could join the two pilots into one, Pilot(spacecraft or small craft), so that you can add Survival there.
My house rules for character creation.
* 1st term, you don't have to roll to qualify. I'm a sucker and let my players get at least an initial shot at doing what they want. Doesn't mean they will survive...
* If rolling on the events or life events table, you get something that doesn't fit your character concept, you can either reroll or tell me a story and, if I like it, we'll make it work with appropriate mechanical benefits or penalties. Making your character more real/interesting is cooler than making your character mechanically a better whatever.
* A good story during character creation can influence any die roll... Remember, it may come back and bite you. Don't try this too often though.
* The GM will reward you somehow if the players manage to make their life events, mishaps, events, etc. tie in to other characters stories of the known back story of the universe. Nothing major, but something beneficial will come out of it. Usually not without a harrowing adventure, though.
* Give me more adventure hooks in your backstory, the more wonderful adventures will come out of it.
* 1st term, you don't have to roll to qualify. I'm a sucker and let my players get at least an initial shot at doing what they want. Doesn't mean they will survive...
* If rolling on the events or life events table, you get something that doesn't fit your character concept, you can either reroll or tell me a story and, if I like it, we'll make it work with appropriate mechanical benefits or penalties. Making your character more real/interesting is cooler than making your character mechanically a better whatever.
* A good story during character creation can influence any die roll... Remember, it may come back and bite you. Don't try this too often though.
* The GM will reward you somehow if the players manage to make their life events, mishaps, events, etc. tie in to other characters stories of the known back story of the universe. Nothing major, but something beneficial will come out of it. Usually not without a harrowing adventure, though.
* Give me more adventure hooks in your backstory, the more wonderful adventures will come out of it.
alex_greene
Guest
For the Personal Development and Service Skills tables, you should be allowed to choose the skill, particularly during the first term.allanimal said:
Also, some of the more essential skills (such as Vacc Suit and Zero-G for a space-based Scout career, or yer basic Gun Combat(Rifle) for any kind of sniper specialisation) should not be left up to chance, but placed in the Ranks and Benefits tables so they are acquired automatically at a given rank where such skills are absolutely necessary.
The pre-career education options being explored by Mongoose should include, say, a Space School where Zero-G and Vacc Suit are the core skills being taught.
Starship dodge/evasion:
An attack is defined as 1 barrage, turret, or bay.
A dodge causes a negative DM equal to the pilot/crew skill to the attack roll (this replaces the flat -2).
The dodge -DM is halved (rounding up) vs barrages.
---------------
Result:
Piloting affects combat like how gunnery affects combat. Therefore there exists a reason to raise piloting past 2.
In adventure style games, starship evasion isn't much changed. Perhaps the characters will have a pilot of +3.
In veteran/elite/military engagements, piloting skill actually matters.
Against Barrages, that means crappy crews only benefit -1 while amazing elite crews will benefit a -3 (the change is minor but flavorful).
An attack is defined as 1 barrage, turret, or bay.
A dodge causes a negative DM equal to the pilot/crew skill to the attack roll (this replaces the flat -2).
The dodge -DM is halved (rounding up) vs barrages.
---------------
Result:
Piloting affects combat like how gunnery affects combat. Therefore there exists a reason to raise piloting past 2.
In adventure style games, starship evasion isn't much changed. Perhaps the characters will have a pilot of +3.
In veteran/elite/military engagements, piloting skill actually matters.
Against Barrages, that means crappy crews only benefit -1 while amazing elite crews will benefit a -3 (the change is minor but flavorful).
Rikki Tikki Traveller
Cosmic Mongoose
alex_greene said:
I do something like this. My house-rule is "roll first, then pick the table". A Players rolls for the skill, then looks at the various tables they are eligible to pick from and selects the desired skill. This makes the skill set of a character "semi-random". Some times there are 3-4 skills to pick from, some times there are only 1 or 2 (often you get duplicates).
CosmicGamer
Mongoose
Expert programs and skill levels.
Lets start with the rules as written:
1) A character using an expert system may make a skill check as if he had the skill at the program’s rating –1.
2) If the character already has the skill at a higher level then an Expert program grants a +1 DM instead.
Now a few examples
A) Character has a skill at level 2 and the expert program is at level 1
B) Character has a skill at level 2 and the expert program is at level 3
Lets start with A) using rule 2 it appears the character would get a +1 DM
With B) using rule 1 the expert program would provide 3-1 = level 2. The same as the characters skill.
Rule 2 appears to not be applicable as the characters skill level is not higher than the expert program.
A level 1 program provides the level 2 skill character more assistance than a level 3 program!?
The way I see it, rule 1 and 2 should be combined to be "A character using an expert system may make a skill check as if he had the skill at the program’s rating –1 or they may use the Expert program for a +1 DM instead."
This isn't quite a house rule, just a clarification. Even for the extreme nit picker who goes by the precise wording and says the characters skill must be higher to get the +1 DM. This can be covered by page 49 Situational Modifiers "If a character has help, such as good tools, competent aids or other beneficial circumstances, he receives a +1 DM to his skill check."
Lets start with the rules as written:
1) A character using an expert system may make a skill check as if he had the skill at the program’s rating –1.
2) If the character already has the skill at a higher level then an Expert program grants a +1 DM instead.
Now a few examples
A) Character has a skill at level 2 and the expert program is at level 1
B) Character has a skill at level 2 and the expert program is at level 3
Lets start with A) using rule 2 it appears the character would get a +1 DM
With B) using rule 1 the expert program would provide 3-1 = level 2. The same as the characters skill.
Rule 2 appears to not be applicable as the characters skill level is not higher than the expert program.
A level 1 program provides the level 2 skill character more assistance than a level 3 program!?
The way I see it, rule 1 and 2 should be combined to be "A character using an expert system may make a skill check as if he had the skill at the program’s rating –1 or they may use the Expert program for a +1 DM instead."
This isn't quite a house rule, just a clarification. Even for the extreme nit picker who goes by the precise wording and says the characters skill must be higher to get the +1 DM. This can be covered by page 49 Situational Modifiers "If a character has help, such as good tools, competent aids or other beneficial circumstances, he receives a +1 DM to his skill check."
My house rules:
https://drive.google.com/?authuser=0#folders/0B6c9Bl1d9QMGQ0xWYklTLUdFeDg
I use:
And I just came up with using the Psionics rules to emulate the things you can do with a technological civilization's ubiquitous computing/sensorium environments, so those are in there too. Want to learn to hack? Find a Psioni^H^H^H Den of Hackers. Too old and set in your ways to learn the mental nimbleness needed to be an expert hacker? Subtract Terms from your Hacking Skill roll to find out!
* Morale rules are a near requirement in Traveller. It keeps combat realistic. Your enemy's morale is another resource you have to manage somewhat. Your OWN morale is a resource you have to manage with excruciating care.
https://drive.google.com/?authuser=0#folders/0B6c9Bl1d9QMGQ0xWYklTLUdFeDg
I use:
- CTs Rumor, Morale, Reaction, Encounter and Surprise rules.*
- Stars Without Numbers's(SWN) Factions system for Sector and Subsector powers and
- SWN: Darkness Visible's Agencies for in-system powers.
- Weapons and Armor always have a Tag modifying them in some way. It's never a suit of Combat Armor, TL11, but a T.H.U.D. Anvil II-class Hostile Boarding Suite.
And I just came up with using the Psionics rules to emulate the things you can do with a technological civilization's ubiquitous computing/sensorium environments, so those are in there too. Want to learn to hack? Find a Psioni^H^H^H Den of Hackers. Too old and set in your ways to learn the mental nimbleness needed to be an expert hacker? Subtract Terms from your Hacking Skill roll to find out!
* Morale rules are a near requirement in Traveller. It keeps combat realistic. Your enemy's morale is another resource you have to manage somewhat. Your OWN morale is a resource you have to manage with excruciating care.
I've got these elsewhere, but here's a good dumping ground:
Hull Volume
Cost = MCr 2 + MCr 3 per 100 tons of hull volume (Unstreamlined).
This is for ships from 10 tons up to billions of tons.
Powerplant Fuel Requirement
1% x hull volume x powerplant rating
This is for ships from 10 tons up to billions of tons.
Cramped Bridges
25% bridge volume; DM-2 to actions.
Small Hulls
Built-ins. Small hulls automatically have lifters built in that will get them to orbit from a world surface (time: hours equal to world size).
For Drop Tanks. Use Small Hulls for drop tank construction; assume grapples include transfer linkages (maybe).
Drive Formula
Drives for ships from 10 tons to billions of tons follow these rules:
J-Drive volume = 2.5% x hull volume x drive rating + 5; Minimum 10 tons.
M-drive volume = 1% x hull volume x drive rating - 1; Minimum 2 tons.
P-plant volume = 1.5% x hull volume x plant rating + 1; Minimum 4 tons.
Yes, the m-drive and pplant volumes affect small craft design. Small craft performance depends on the ship's TL. Fuel usage follows the formula at the top of this post, which means fuel requirements are proportionally low.
Multiple Drive Linkages
Multiple types of the same drive can be yoked together. Performance is additive; for example, two Jump-2 drives can be yoked to build a Jump-4 drive.
By the way, the AA, BB, CC and DD drives are actually yoked drives (I haven't calculated their "actual" letters).
Hull Volume
Cost = MCr 2 + MCr 3 per 100 tons of hull volume (Unstreamlined).
This is for ships from 10 tons up to billions of tons.
Powerplant Fuel Requirement
1% x hull volume x powerplant rating
This is for ships from 10 tons up to billions of tons.
Cramped Bridges
25% bridge volume; DM-2 to actions.
Small Hulls
Built-ins. Small hulls automatically have lifters built in that will get them to orbit from a world surface (time: hours equal to world size).
For Drop Tanks. Use Small Hulls for drop tank construction; assume grapples include transfer linkages (maybe).
Drive Formula
Drives for ships from 10 tons to billions of tons follow these rules:
J-Drive volume = 2.5% x hull volume x drive rating + 5; Minimum 10 tons.
M-drive volume = 1% x hull volume x drive rating - 1; Minimum 2 tons.
P-plant volume = 1.5% x hull volume x plant rating + 1; Minimum 4 tons.
Yes, the m-drive and pplant volumes affect small craft design. Small craft performance depends on the ship's TL. Fuel usage follows the formula at the top of this post, which means fuel requirements are proportionally low.
Multiple Drive Linkages
Multiple types of the same drive can be yoked together. Performance is additive; for example, two Jump-2 drives can be yoked to build a Jump-4 drive.
By the way, the AA, BB, CC and DD drives are actually yoked drives (I haven't calculated their "actual" letters).
