COMBAT

The key to Traveller combat is to not get hit. Use Evade when you move (for the Evade bonus), and move from cover to cover (for the Cover bonus). And, if you can, wear armor (the best way to avoid damage).

PROCEDURE

1.Determine the facts of the encounter.

A. Which party has surprise?

B. Initial encounter range?

C. Escape or avoidance?

2.Begin combat round.

A. Individual movement status.

B. Individual targets and attacks.

1.Attacker’s DMs.

2.Defender’s Dms.

C. Determine wounds at end of round.

D. Roll for morale if unit has 25%+ casualties.

E. Begin a new combat round (go to 2 above).

3.When combat ends, aid the wounded and regroup forces.

SURPRISE & MOVEMENT

SURPRISE: Each side rolls 1D: if one side is >=3 the other, they’ve achieved surprise.

MOVE ACTIONS: You can Move, Then Attack.

MOVEMENT: Range bands of 25 meters.

RANGE: The fve ranges are: close, short, medium, long, or very long.

GENERAL ATTACK DMS

Roll 8+ to hit an opponent, adding appropriate DMs.

Untrained Weapon Usage (NPCs): Any character using a weapon with no training gets -5 on attacks, +3 when defending. PCs have an expertise of 0.

Drawing: Drawing a weapon results in DM of -3.

Darkness and Night: Gun attacks at > than short range are subject to DM -9. Partial

darkness (moonlit night, distant illumination, or other weak light sources) reduces visibility range to medium, and attacks with guns have DM -6. Electronic sights eliminate negative DMs due to darkness & poor lighting.

Cover and Concealment: Partial cover DM of -4.

Drawing:

Drawing a weapon results in DM of -3.

Darkness and Night:

Gun attacks at > than short range are subject to DM -9. Partial darkness (moonlit night, distant illumination, or other weak light sources) reduces visibility range to medium, and attacks with guns have DM -6. Electronic sights eliminate negative DMs due to darkness & poor lighting.

Cover and Concealment: Partial cover DM of -4.

RANGED ATTACKS

Thrown Blades: Wound is 2D.

Non-Standard Weapons: Use similar weapon as template. For example, a pocket knife is inferior to a dagger, and treated as a dagger minus 1 Dagger.

Full Automatic Fire: Use the rife row on the weapons and range matrix when fring single shots. Automatic fre allows rolling to hit twice against the same target. The group hit rule applies against companions of the target.

Group Hits By Automatic Fire: Non-evading individuals adjacent to target are also attacked by the burst of automatic fre (max two adjacent targets). Each gets a DM of -3 plus any other appropriate DMs.

Group Hits By Shotguns: Each shot by a shotgun may attack up to three individuals adjacent to target if each is human-sized or smaller. Flying targets (winged animals, fying vehicles) have a DM of + 2.

Reloading: Unless otherwise stated, reloading a gun with a full magazine takes one combat round, during which time the shooter is treated as evading. Revolvers do not use magazines, and take two combat rounds (one combat round if not simultaneously evading) to reload. Laser carbines and laser rifes do not use cartridges; their power packs must be recharged after being exhausted. Recharging a spent power pack requires approximately an hour at a power source. Laser rifes and laser carbines require recharging of their power packs at a power source.

MELEE ATTACKS

Melee attacks are called ‘blows and swings’ and follow these rules:

Normal Melee Attacks (<= Endurance): A character may make a number of normal (UN-weakened) combat blows and swings which does not exceed their endurance score at the beginning of the combat encounter (e.g. character with endurance 9 may make 9 combat blows). Once this allowance has been used up, the character may not make any more UN-weakened combat blows until he / she has rested 30+ minutes.

Weakened Melee Attacks (> Endurance): Combat blows and swings are attacks made after the normal combat blow and swing allowance has been used up; use the negative DM in the weapons table.

DEFENSE

Evade: A character can evade instead of attacking (prevents parry or block) to receive defensive DM (-1if at short or close range, -2 if at medium range, -4 if at long or very long range).

Parrying (Melee Defense): Use expertise level in brawling or blade weapon as a negative DM in brawling or blade combat. A long gun (e.g. rife or carbine) may be used to parry (treat as brawling weapon, e.g. a cudgel). A weapon may be used both to attack and parry in the same round.

WOUNDS

Wounding: Each die’s damage must be applied to a single characteristic; except for the first damage, player chooses which characteristic. Excess damage carries over to another characteristic.

First Blood Rule: This first wound is applied to one of the three physical characteristics (STR, DEX, or END) determined randomly. If that characteristic is reduced to zero, any remaining hits are distributed to other physical characteristics on a random basis. Once a characteristic is reduced to zero, further points are applied to other (non-zero) characteristics.

Unconscious & Death: Characters with one or two characteristics at zero are unconscious. Characters with three characteristics at zero are dead.

Coup De Grace: You may use a weapon to kill an unconscious or un-struggling individual (person or animal) at close range in one combat round.

MORALE

When 25% of a party is unconscious or killed, they start making morale throws. For an average party, 7+ is the throw to not break and run. Valiant parties may have a higher throw. DMs are allowed: +1 if the party is a military unit; +1 if a leader (leader skill) is present; +1 if the leader has any tactical skill; -2 if the leader is killed (for two rounds at least, and until a new leader takes control); -2 if casualties (unconscious and dead) exceed 50%.

HEALING AND DEATH

Players with wounds but no characteristics below zero incur no rules effects during combat. After combat, wounds heal as follow:

ZERO OR ONE CHARACTERISTIC AT ZERO

1.If one physical characteristic at zero, character is unconscious, and regains consciousness in 10 minutes.

2.Once conscious, all wounded characteristics are placed midway between wounded and full levels, rounding fractions down.

3.Characteristics are restored after 3 days (rest without medical aid), or 30 minutes (medical attention from character with Medical-1+ skill and medical kit equivalent).

TWO CHARACTERISTICS AT ZERO

1.Character regains consciousness in 3 hours.

2.Once conscious, any wounded characteristics remain at the wounded level (or at 1, whichever is higher).

3.Characteristics are restored only after 5d6 days in medical facility, once Medical-3+ skill and medical facility become available.

THREE CHARACTERISTICS AT ZERO

1.Character is dead.

2.Go through pockets for loose change.

3.Roll up new character.

COMBAT EXAMPLE

In a firefight, three adventurers (each with UPP 777777) are hit by rife fire. A rife inflicts 3D hits. The attacker is unlucky against Adventurer One and rolls 1, 1, 1. Because this is One’s frst wounding, all three hits are applied against one characteristic, and the referee, rolling randomly, applies the hits against strength. Adventurer One is temporarily reduced to UPP 477777 for wounding purposes only.

Adventurer Two fares less well. The attacker rolls 6, 3, 4. Again, because this is Two’s frst wounding of the combat, all hits are applied against one characteristic (a die roll applies them against his strength).

Adventurer Two’s strength is reduced to 0, absorbing the frst die and 1 hit from the second; the remaining hits from the second die and all of the third die are applied randomly to his other two physical characteristics (two more die rolls apply 2 hits to endurance and 4 hits to dexterity). Two’s temporary UPP is now 054777; he is unconscious. Adventurer

Three fares worst. The rife fre die rolls are 6,6, 6. All hits are randomly applied to his dexterity, reducing it to zero after absorbing the frst die and 1 hit from the second. The remaining hits from the second die and all of the third die are applied randomly again, both against his strength; the remaining 5 hits from the second die and 2 hits from the third die reduce strength to zero. The remaining 4 hits from the third die are applied to his only remaining characteristic, endurance. Adventurer Three is seriously wounded with a temporary UPP 003777.