Wound penalties?

[GarethL]

The rules are a little unclear here I think, but how do people use the damage rules?

As attributes are eroded by damage, does the appropriate DM erode as well? This is generally how I play?

It seems a little odd that a character can have a serious DM penalty on one stat because of damage, but not have any other stats affected?

Is it intended then that damage does not erode DMs at all?

 

[Linwood]

When injury erodes a characteristic the DM changes as well. RAW, I think.

As for how that looks in the real world - I assume the nature of the injury is responsible (pain can be very specific, for example). But you could always home-rule a mechanic that forces the player to distribute the damage over more than one characteristic.

Didn’t CT have a rule about distributing damage by the individual die results? That might be a possibility.

 

[TrippyHippy]

Yes they should do, although we have frequently found that if planned correctly, an ambush tactic with firearms normally wipes out unsuspecting characters quicker than they get a chance to work out adjusting modifiers. It's only where battle armour and defensive strategies are used that combat gets prolonged with firearms. Hand to hand combat, without armour may take longer - but my group tends to avoid these quite diligently.

 

[NOLATrav]

We’ve always played that characteristic DMs drop as the stats do. The steady erosion of positive DMs generally have the PCs running away to fight another day.

Yes, in CT damage was allocated via whole dice. So if your 3D damage gun hits for 4, 2 and 3 = 9 total, you could divvy up those three dice pretty much however you liked but they had to remain whole. So one for each characteristic, or the two low dice to one and the high die to another. Helped to avoid getting knocked unconscious (if Enerii has stats of 777777 and takes that hit he would be 270777 - unconscious - or could be 453777 under CT - not unconscious).

 

[Linwood]

Not conscious - but with substantial wound penalties.

 

[ShawnDriscoll]

The rules are a little unclear here I think, but how do people use the damage rules?

As attributes are eroded by damage, does the appropriate DM erode as well? This is generally how I play?

It seems a little odd that a character can have a serious DM penalty on one stat because of damage, but not have any other stats affected?

Is it intended then that damage does not erode DMs at all?

Characteristic Modifiers are the most important thing in the game. Make sure they are kept up to date during play.

 

[Old School]

Yes they should do, although we have frequently found that if planned correctly, an ambush tactic with firearms normally wipes out unsuspecting characters quicker than they get a chance to work out adjusting modifiers. It's only where battle armour and defensive strategies are used that combat gets prolonged with firearms. Hand to hand combat, without armour may take longer - but my group tends to avoid these quite diligently.

Yup. Exactly what a successful ambush should do. Traveller combat is designed to be deadly.

In real life, most gunfights tend to be very brief encounters for the same reasons. The exceptions, usually involving military engagements, last longer because rarely does anyone expose themselves to direct fire once the shooting starts.

 

[Condottiere]

Never been shot.

But I've been instructed that if you do get hit by a military grade bullet, you are hors de combat.