So, my current Traveller campaign may soon involve some surface and subsurface naval warfare on a TL8 world. Looking at the absurdly high amount of hull points vs the relatively tiny amount of damage aTL8 torpedo could do, I saw that it would take a crazy number of torpedoes to sink something like the Achilles class frigate in the Vehicle Handbook. I figured in the real world a modern torpedo could possibly sink a frigate size vessel in a single well placed hit, and certainly with 2 or 3 torpedoes. Here are the house rules I came up with for naval warfare damage:
Wet Navy Combat
Naval vessels have “waterline damage” points (WDP).
W=T(H/50,000)
Where W=waterline damage points (WDP), T=Tech level, and H=hull points. Round fractions up.
When a water vessel takes damage from a DESTRUCTIVE weapon, roll an additional d6. If the result is a 6, waterline damage has been done. Note that if the weapon is a torpedo, or the target is a submersible, the roll is not needed and is always considered to have inflicted waterline damage. Whether or not WDP are inflicted, regular damage is still applied. A ship may end up dead in the water before it starts sinking from regular damage.
If waterline damage has been inflicted, damage is rolled as normal. Any damage dice that rolled a 6 results in a point of waterline damage. When a vessel has been reduced to zero WDP, it is sinking. If the damage done is equal to the vessel’s WDP, it will sink in 1d6 hours. If the WDP has been exceeded, it will sink in 1d6x10 minutes. If the WDP have been doubled, it will sink in 1d6 minutes.
For example, the Achilles class frigate is TL9 and has 14,000 hull points. This comes out to 2.52 WDP, rounded up to 3. The frigate is hit with a heavy cannon that inflicts 2DD damage. A d6 is then rolled to see if a waterline hit was scored. If a 6 is rolled and then when damage is rolled if either dice comes up as a 6, 1 WDP has been inflicted. If both dice roll a 6, 2 WDP have been inflicted.
If the same ship was hit with a TL8 torpedo (5DD damage), it would automatically have a chance to inflict waterline damage. Any of the dice rolled for damage that scored a 6 would inflict a point of waterline damage. A single TL8 torpedo could possibly sink the frigate, though it would likely take 2 or 3 torpedoes to do the job.
What do you guys think? Looking through my old Twilight 2000 v2.2 rules gave me the idea for waterline damage. Anything not hitting the waterline of a naval vessel would still take forever to wear it down, but well placed shots can send a ship quickly to a watery grave. I could also see maybe giving missiles that are specifically anti ship a better chance to inflict WDP damage. I'm looking forward to any feedback!
Wet Navy Combat
Naval vessels have “waterline damage” points (WDP).
W=T(H/50,000)
Where W=waterline damage points (WDP), T=Tech level, and H=hull points. Round fractions up.
When a water vessel takes damage from a DESTRUCTIVE weapon, roll an additional d6. If the result is a 6, waterline damage has been done. Note that if the weapon is a torpedo, or the target is a submersible, the roll is not needed and is always considered to have inflicted waterline damage. Whether or not WDP are inflicted, regular damage is still applied. A ship may end up dead in the water before it starts sinking from regular damage.
If waterline damage has been inflicted, damage is rolled as normal. Any damage dice that rolled a 6 results in a point of waterline damage. When a vessel has been reduced to zero WDP, it is sinking. If the damage done is equal to the vessel’s WDP, it will sink in 1d6 hours. If the WDP has been exceeded, it will sink in 1d6x10 minutes. If the WDP have been doubled, it will sink in 1d6 minutes.
For example, the Achilles class frigate is TL9 and has 14,000 hull points. This comes out to 2.52 WDP, rounded up to 3. The frigate is hit with a heavy cannon that inflicts 2DD damage. A d6 is then rolled to see if a waterline hit was scored. If a 6 is rolled and then when damage is rolled if either dice comes up as a 6, 1 WDP has been inflicted. If both dice roll a 6, 2 WDP have been inflicted.
If the same ship was hit with a TL8 torpedo (5DD damage), it would automatically have a chance to inflict waterline damage. Any of the dice rolled for damage that scored a 6 would inflict a point of waterline damage. A single TL8 torpedo could possibly sink the frigate, though it would likely take 2 or 3 torpedoes to do the job.
What do you guys think? Looking through my old Twilight 2000 v2.2 rules gave me the idea for waterline damage. Anything not hitting the waterline of a naval vessel would still take forever to wear it down, but well placed shots can send a ship quickly to a watery grave. I could also see maybe giving missiles that are specifically anti ship a better chance to inflict WDP damage. I'm looking forward to any feedback!