Traveller - DM for parry

[Stainless]

In the Main Rulebook, the information on parry is;

"A character who is being attacked in melee can parry, applying his
Melee skill as a negative DM equal to the attack roll. A parrying
character also has a –1 DM on all skill checks until the next round."

However, it is unclear if this is an automatic success (e.g., like the Dodge -1 DM) or if a Melee skill check needs to be successfully rolled first of all. I suspect, as written, that it is an automatic success, but clarification would be appreciated.

 

[R Arceneaux]

Per your quotation you have your answer....

Your answier basicly lies in weither this applican which you stated is listed in the Feat Section of your game rules book. OR is it located in the skill check section of your game rules book.

I would let that be my guide keeping in mind that stuff in the Feats Section do not require dice rolls to confirm success while stuff in the Skills section do require confirmation of dice rolls for success.

Just a PS at this point...

Our little game group has adopted an internal rule that simply says that IF ya roll a 1 on a skill or attack roll then of course you have an auto loss/fail. BUT you also then rol 2 d4 dice. One die determines the nature of the failure (1 for a simple slip and trip up to a 4 for major blunder) with the second dice determining the nature of the result (1 being minor thing up to 4 being catastrophic up to and including hitting your fellow player character killing them). It makes for interesting close combat knowing that your good buddy just might slip while shooting his big azz gun by accident blow your head off.

 

[R Arceneaux]

DISCLAIMER....

Having said all of the above, also keep in mind that in matters silent or not covered in the Official Rule Book (for whatever reason) the GM is ultimately going to have the final say on matters which happen that are not specificly covered in the Offical Rule Book. And the makers of the game cannot cover every single thing or situation in a rule book.

LOL a a good DM just loves to trip up the player characters by throwing them an unexpected challenge.


Its all part of the game....

 

[Stainless]

Thank you for your response, but I'm afraid you're not talking about the Mongoose Traveller system.

 

[R Arceneaux]

My reply was a catch-all...

A feat does not have to be stated as a feet in order to be a feat.

A skill does not have to be stated as a skill in order to be a skill.

It is the function, how something works that determines what a thing is.

 

[Anunnaki]

Hiya,

In the Main Rulebook, the information on parry is;

"A character who is being attacked in melee can parry, applying his
Melee skill as a negative DM equal to the attack roll. A parrying
character also has a –1 DM on all skill checks until the next round."

However, it is unclear if this is an automatic success (e.g., like the Dodge -1 DM) or if a Melee skill check needs to be successfully rolled first of all. I suspect, as written, that it is an automatic success, but clarification would be appreciated.

I believe that the phrasing should read:

"A character who is being attacked in melee can parry, applying his Melee skill as a negative DM to the attack roll..." (remove the word equal)

The Common Modifiers to Attacks table (see Attacks in the Combat chapter) lists Target Parries (Reaction) in the Penalties column, with -Defender's Melee Skill as the penalty.

So, automatic success with no Melee skill check required.

Hope this helps!

Kind regards,

James Sutton
Managing Director

 

[Stainless]

Thanks James. I hadn't thought of cross-referencing it to elsewhere in the rulebook. Now that I look at it, it's also in the GM screen.

 

[R Arceneaux]

It appears you did not catch my drift....

An example..true story...

We were playing D D 4 dot something ed. This situation came up and the GM read the rule on it word for word. He looked up and prononced screw the rule/its stupid. We are going to when this happens use the OLD RULE which makes more sense.

Following the rules as there are written is OK, good, fine except there the rule as stated detracts from the game enjoyment by those playing the game. Its OK to be the GM and change the rule book every now and then to make a campagne more spicey, and dicey.

As the GM your job is to make the players both hate you and love you at the same time.

 

[apoc527]

I'm sorry, but am I the only one wondering just WTF is going on with R Arceneaux??

Seriously, it's bizarre.

 

[R Arceneaux]

I am somewhat at a loss to assist you because I was clear in my statements.

Unless one is in an official tourney situation the rule book should not be considered the be all and end all. A guide absolutely but not the absolute authority.

Throw out a rule and replace it with one of your own for the casual play situation where entertainment is the only thing on the table.

Open the mind to the possibilities that small changes represent.

 

[Rikki Tikki Traveller]

R Arceneaux - The Traveller system doesn't use Feats, so that is where the confusion comes in from your response.

In Traveller there are only skills, no character levels, no feats.

Hope that clarifies things.