Okay chaps, take a look at the rules below, a set of mechanics designed to handle multiple missiles with a single roll, while streamlining countermeasures taken against them.
This is a revision for the Core Rulebook, which will obviously have an impact on High Guard, but we must start at the beginning.
Let me know of any issues you can see and, hopefully, we can make these rules (or something close to them!) official. I would like to achieve consensus on these rules by the end of the weekend if possible...
Missiles
[[[ Replace text on pages 161-162 ]]]
Missile Combat
Unlike most weapons which travel at or close to the speed of light and so hit enemy ships almost instantly, missiles take time to cross the gulf of space. However, despite this drawback, missiles are capable of doing a great deal of damage when they hit an enemy ship.
Launching Missiles
Missiles cannot be used against targets within Adjacent or Close ranges, as there is not enough time for them to obtain a solid lock and safety protocols are engaged to stop the, turning back and hitting their own launch vessel.
Missiles are launched in salvos. A salvo is all the missiles launched by a ship against a single target in the same combat round. This could be a single missile from one turret or dozens from multiple turrets or bays (see High Guard for more information on weapon bays).
Missile salvos effectively have a Thrust of 10 and will reach their target a number of combat rounds after they have been fired, as shown on the Missile Flight table.
Missile Flight
Range Rounds to Impact
Close and Short Immediate
Medium 1
Long 2
Very Long 3
Distant 5
Note that while missile salvos can be fired at Distant ranges, the attacking ship must have detected its target before they can be launched. Given the limited information that can be gained from sensors at this range, friendly fire incidents may be common among Travellers who are too trigger happy with their missiles.
If a missile has not reached its target within 5 rounds, it will run out of fuel and become inert.
Missiles and Targets
When a missile salvo reaches its target, the missile makes an attack roll as normal. However, the Gunner skill of the Traveller(s) that fired the salvo is not used as a DM.
Instead, the number of missiles in the salvo greatly affects their chances of making a successful attack. Apply DM+1 to the attack roll for every full 5 missiles in the salvo.
Note that missiles almost always have the Smart trait (see page 75). For missiles, use the TL of the missile itself or that of the attacking ship, whichever is greater.
Finally, missiles launched at Distant range expend most of their fuel just reaching their target, leaving little to counter the target’s manoeuvres. Missile salvos launched at Distant range suffer DM-6 to their attack rolls.
Impact
If an attack roll for a missile salvo is successful, the target will sustain damage. If the salvo consists of just a single missile, this is performed as normal.
However, if a salvo consists of more than one missile, do not add the Effect to the damage caused. Instead, add 1D of damage for every point of Effect. This represents the increased damage of multiple missiles striking their target.
Variant Missiles
High Guard introduces different types if missiles that are more accurate, carry more fuel or are faster, but these rules suit all missiles included in this Core Rulebook. If a ship launches different types of missile at the same target in the same round, then all the missiles of each type are counted as a different salvo.
Electronic Warfare
A Traveller performing sensor operator duties on a spacecraft can use the Electronic Warfare action to destroy or misdirect incoming missiles before they impact his vessel or another ship within Close range.
The sensor operator must succeed at a Difficult (10+) Electronics (sensors) check (1 round, INT) in order to destroy or render inert incoming missiles within a single salvo. The Effect of this check is applied as a negative DM to the salvo’s attack roll when it reaches the target.
Note that a negative Effect on the Electronics (sensors) check will give the salvo a bonus to hit – the sensor operator has made a critical mistake and effectively broadcast the position of his ship, giving the missiles a better electronic profile to attack!
Electronic warfare may be performed upon a salvo multiple times over several rounds, with the effects being cumulative. However, a salvo may only be subjected to electronic warfare once per round, no matter how many sensor operators are available.
Long Range Launches
At extreme ranges, combat involving missiles creates a very different atmosphere. The target spacecraft will likely have detected the launches and its crew will have several tense minutes to watch the blips on their sensor screens gradually get closer and closer.
Fortunately, the crew need not be idle as they await their destruction as there are several countermeasures that can be taken against incoming missiles.
Electronic Warfare: A sensor operator may engage in electronic warfare once every round, following the rules above.
Flee: A spacecraft under missile attack may simply turn around and engage its manoeuvre drive, thrusting away from the missiles. Missiles are extremely long-ranged weapons and so it is not normally possible to outrange a missile in this way, but it can perhaps buy enough time to prolong electronic warfare or make a jump.
Point Defence: Finally, just as a salvo is about to strike, gunners may engage in point defence, as detailed on page 160.
[[[ Replace text on page 160 ]]]
Point Defence (Gunner)
Using a turret-mounted laser (beam or pulse), a gunner can destroy incoming missiles. Note that a weapon used for point defence cannot be used to make attacks in the same combat round, and vice versa. Point defence may only be performed against missile salvos (see page 161) as they are about to make their attack roll against a target – missiles are too small and too fast to be targeted at greater ranges.
The gunner must succeed at a Gunner (turret) check against any missile salvo that is about to make its attack roll against his spacecraft. If the salvo consists of a single missile, a successful check will automatically destroy it. Otherwise, the Effect of the check is used as a negative DM applied to the missile salvo’s attack roll. Note that, unlike electronic warfare (see page 162) a failed Gunner (turret) check will not provide the missile salvo with a bonus to its attack roll.
This is a revision for the Core Rulebook, which will obviously have an impact on High Guard, but we must start at the beginning.
Let me know of any issues you can see and, hopefully, we can make these rules (or something close to them!) official. I would like to achieve consensus on these rules by the end of the weekend if possible...
Missiles
[[[ Replace text on pages 161-162 ]]]
Missile Combat
Unlike most weapons which travel at or close to the speed of light and so hit enemy ships almost instantly, missiles take time to cross the gulf of space. However, despite this drawback, missiles are capable of doing a great deal of damage when they hit an enemy ship.
Launching Missiles
Missiles cannot be used against targets within Adjacent or Close ranges, as there is not enough time for them to obtain a solid lock and safety protocols are engaged to stop the, turning back and hitting their own launch vessel.
Missiles are launched in salvos. A salvo is all the missiles launched by a ship against a single target in the same combat round. This could be a single missile from one turret or dozens from multiple turrets or bays (see High Guard for more information on weapon bays).
Missile salvos effectively have a Thrust of 10 and will reach their target a number of combat rounds after they have been fired, as shown on the Missile Flight table.
Missile Flight
Range Rounds to Impact
Close and Short Immediate
Medium 1
Long 2
Very Long 3
Distant 5
Note that while missile salvos can be fired at Distant ranges, the attacking ship must have detected its target before they can be launched. Given the limited information that can be gained from sensors at this range, friendly fire incidents may be common among Travellers who are too trigger happy with their missiles.
If a missile has not reached its target within 5 rounds, it will run out of fuel and become inert.
Missiles and Targets
When a missile salvo reaches its target, the missile makes an attack roll as normal. However, the Gunner skill of the Traveller(s) that fired the salvo is not used as a DM.
Instead, the number of missiles in the salvo greatly affects their chances of making a successful attack. Apply DM+1 to the attack roll for every full 5 missiles in the salvo.
Note that missiles almost always have the Smart trait (see page 75). For missiles, use the TL of the missile itself or that of the attacking ship, whichever is greater.
Finally, missiles launched at Distant range expend most of their fuel just reaching their target, leaving little to counter the target’s manoeuvres. Missile salvos launched at Distant range suffer DM-6 to their attack rolls.
Impact
If an attack roll for a missile salvo is successful, the target will sustain damage. If the salvo consists of just a single missile, this is performed as normal.
However, if a salvo consists of more than one missile, do not add the Effect to the damage caused. Instead, add 1D of damage for every point of Effect. This represents the increased damage of multiple missiles striking their target.
Variant Missiles
High Guard introduces different types if missiles that are more accurate, carry more fuel or are faster, but these rules suit all missiles included in this Core Rulebook. If a ship launches different types of missile at the same target in the same round, then all the missiles of each type are counted as a different salvo.
Electronic Warfare
A Traveller performing sensor operator duties on a spacecraft can use the Electronic Warfare action to destroy or misdirect incoming missiles before they impact his vessel or another ship within Close range.
The sensor operator must succeed at a Difficult (10+) Electronics (sensors) check (1 round, INT) in order to destroy or render inert incoming missiles within a single salvo. The Effect of this check is applied as a negative DM to the salvo’s attack roll when it reaches the target.
Note that a negative Effect on the Electronics (sensors) check will give the salvo a bonus to hit – the sensor operator has made a critical mistake and effectively broadcast the position of his ship, giving the missiles a better electronic profile to attack!
Electronic warfare may be performed upon a salvo multiple times over several rounds, with the effects being cumulative. However, a salvo may only be subjected to electronic warfare once per round, no matter how many sensor operators are available.
Long Range Launches
At extreme ranges, combat involving missiles creates a very different atmosphere. The target spacecraft will likely have detected the launches and its crew will have several tense minutes to watch the blips on their sensor screens gradually get closer and closer.
Fortunately, the crew need not be idle as they await their destruction as there are several countermeasures that can be taken against incoming missiles.
Electronic Warfare: A sensor operator may engage in electronic warfare once every round, following the rules above.
Flee: A spacecraft under missile attack may simply turn around and engage its manoeuvre drive, thrusting away from the missiles. Missiles are extremely long-ranged weapons and so it is not normally possible to outrange a missile in this way, but it can perhaps buy enough time to prolong electronic warfare or make a jump.
Point Defence: Finally, just as a salvo is about to strike, gunners may engage in point defence, as detailed on page 160.
[[[ Replace text on page 160 ]]]
Point Defence (Gunner)
Using a turret-mounted laser (beam or pulse), a gunner can destroy incoming missiles. Note that a weapon used for point defence cannot be used to make attacks in the same combat round, and vice versa. Point defence may only be performed against missile salvos (see page 161) as they are about to make their attack roll against a target – missiles are too small and too fast to be targeted at greater ranges.
The gunner must succeed at a Gunner (turret) check against any missile salvo that is about to make its attack roll against his spacecraft. If the salvo consists of a single missile, a successful check will automatically destroy it. Otherwise, the Effect of the check is used as a negative DM applied to the missile salvo’s attack roll. Note that, unlike electronic warfare (see page 162) a failed Gunner (turret) check will not provide the missile salvo with a bonus to its attack roll.
