Re: weapons skills

"Brent L. Woods" [email removed] writes:
>
>  In message 1489([email removed] (Adrian Hurt) writes:
>  >
>  >The pistol is still handled totally differently from the longarm, due
>  >to the different shape and weight.
>
>      I don't think I agree with that, in the case of lasers.  One of the
> more important considerations in using a slug-thrower is the recoil.

Having handled an air-rifle and an air-pistol, both pneumatic and therefore
recoilless, I can say that you do handle them differently.  Whether the
difference is significant enough to warrant a DM in Traveller is another
matter.  I'd probably put a -1 DM onto the PC's skill if he was trained
only on laser rifles and was trying to use a pistol (or vice versa).

>  >Rules customising time!  My damage system used the damage codes from
>  >the basic set and Mercenary, modified by the penetration roll from
>  >Striker.  If your penetration roll said "Light wound", you rolled the
>  >damage dice as stated.  If the penetration said "Serious wound", you
>  >rolled 1.5 time the number of dice stated (a 1/2 die meant roll one
>  >die, divide it by 2, round up).  If the penetration said "Fatal", you
>  >rolled 2 times the damage dice stated.
>
>      Wow.  And you survived the bookkeeping?

There wasn't that much bookkeeping.  As I said, weapons such as FGMP's which
have awesome penetration and damage dice, I didn't bother rolling for.  If
someone was hit by such a weapon, that someone was vapour.  Other weapons
don't have that many damage dice; the most destructive weapon most PC's
used was a laser rifle, with 5D damage.  Assuming a "Fatal" penetration,
that became 10D, and usually did mean fatal.

I also altered the way damage was taken.  I added together a PC's STR and
END, and the result was how much damage the PC could take before becoming
unconcious.  The DEX was the damage which could be taken after that before
the PC was dead.  If the damage roll was greater than 2 * (all three added
together), the PC was blown apart, vaporised, etc.  These rules were a
direct copy of how damage is handled for animals, which also had damage
points to unconciousness and damage points to death; and if you scored more
damage on the critter than 2 * its total damage points to death, there was
nothing left to eat/skin.

- --
 "Keyboard?  How quaint!" - M. Scott

 Adrian Hurt			     |	JANET:  [email removed]
 UUCP: ..!ukc!cs.hw.ac.uk!adrian     |  ARPA:   [email removed]