This errata announcement does not include anything mentioned
in earlier errata listings, namely, the Errata list dated
4/1/88.
According to Group Digest (editors of MegaTraveller), this
earlier errata is nescesary for this errata to make sense.
In at least one case, this new errata makes changes in the
old errata (fun fun fun!!! :-)
I posted the Errata dated 4/1/88 to this mailing list
sometime this past summer. The moderator of this list may
still have a copy available in an archive somewhere for those
of you who missed it, if not, drop me a message and I can try
to mail you a copy. I can't guarentee anything, our mailer
here has a heck of time figuring out UUCP addresses.
This file was originaly posted to Delphi by Group Digest.
-Mike
- --------
MegaTraveller Errata, 10/01/88
PLAYERS' MANUAL
Page 15, Aging (clarification): The aging rules used when a
character reaches age 34 and beyond apply during play as well as
during character generation. This is hinted at on page 16 in the
paragragh on disability, but never explicity stated in the rules.
If any character has a birthday during an adventure session and
reaches one of the ages shown on an Aging Table row (page 47), that
character must immediately make the indicated saving throws to
avoid losing UPP points.
Pages 20, 22, 24, Mustering Out Benefit Rolls
(correction): The Mustering Out Benefits tables shown do not
match the text on page 17. The correct table, which matches the
text, is shown below:
MUSTERING OUT BENEFITS
Per term of service .....1
Rank 1 or 2 .............1
Rank 3 or 4 .............2
Rank 5 or 6 .............3
Notice the rank bonus rolls are mutually exclusive. In other
words, a character who is rank 5 or 6 gets 3 extra rolls; he does
not count as rank 1, 2, 3, or 4.
Page 51, Military Occupational Speciality Table
(correction): Die roll 2 under Infantry, Commando, and Ship's
troops should be Cbt Rifleman skill, not Gun Cbt.
Page 54, Advanced Naval Characters (omission): The
Technical branch assignment resolution table is missing. Here it
is:
Technical Training Shore Duty Patrol Seige Strike Battle
--------------------------------------------------------------
Survival auto 3+ 3+ 3+ 3+ 3+
Decoration none none none none 9+ 8+
Promotion (7+) 8+ 9+ 8+ 7+ 7+
Skills 7+ 8+ 9+ 7+ 7+ 7+
Page 55, Engineering school (addition): Under the Special
Assignments column, add Naval Architect to the list of skills
available at engineering school. This way, naval characters can
acquire Naval Architect skill.
Page 66, Tactical points pool (addition): Some referees
have reported that their players are abusing the tactical points
pool. The intent of tactical points is to simulate the effect of
tactics skill being shared among the group before and during the
fight. This leads to some suggestions to avoid abusive use of the
tactical points pool:
* The single highest tactics skill level from among the group
represents the maximum possible draw from the pool available at any
one time. Thus, if the highest tactics skill possesed by any one
character in the group is tactics-3, the maximum draw at any one
time is 3.
* If the referee feels a questionable use of tactics points is
occuring (such as a character with handgun-0 using 8 points from
the tactics pool to get a good chance of getting a hit), force the
player to roll a special communications task (using whatever is
appropriate: radio, shouting, etc.) with another character who has
tactics skill. If the communication is successful, the handgun-0
character may only draw as many tactical points from the pool as
the character he communicated with has as a tactics skill level.
However, the referee should only use this task as a last resort to
keep abuses in line: the questionable situation has to be really
"stretching it" before this rule should be used.
* Characters do not have to contribute all their tactics skill
as points to the pool. They may hoard some of their tactics skill
for themselves, creating their own private tactical pool. This may
sometimes be out of character, however.
Page 68, Interrupt restrictions (revision): Strike the
rule that states "a unit cannot interrupt the turn of another on
his own side." The idea with this rule was to avoid a complicated
chain of interrupts. However, as some players have pointed out,
sometimes a character on your own side may do something stupid, and
it makes sense to be able to interrupt either to help him out or to
try and stop him. The rule of "no more than one interrupt per side"
serves quite well to keep interrupts in check.
Page 72, Line of Sight, Obstructions, Cover, and
Sighting (clarifications and additions): The following rules
more clearly explain line of sight, obstructions, cover, and
spotting. (Oh! Now I see! ...Ed.)
LINE OF SIGHT: INDOOR COVER
Indoors, three main types of cover are available: corners,
consoles (or furniture), and machinery.
Corners: Doorways and bends in corridors constitute corners for
the purpose of determining cover. It is of course possible to use
such obstructions to interrupt the line of sight completely, and
thus be considered hidden.
A character behind such a corner may, however, lean out from
behind it and fire. For targeting purposes the character is
considered to be under cover, but visible in the square into which
he is leaning.
Consoles (or Furniture): Units may crouch behind consoles
and thus be counted as hidden (unable to fire or be fired upon).
Alternatively, they may partially expose themselves and fire
(and be fired at), in which case they are considered to be under
cover, but visible for any fire directed at them.
Machinery: A unit adjacent to machinery may fire through it
and be fired upon through it.
The unit adjacent to the machinery square is considered to be
under cover but visible unless the firing unit is also adjacent to
the same machinery square-in which case, neither is considered to
be under cover.
If neither the firing unit nor the target unit are adjacent to
the machinery square through which a line of sight would pass, the
machinery square becomes an obstruction, and the line of sight may
not pass through it.
LINE OF SIGHT: ILLUMINATION AND DARKNESS
Combat generally takes place in an indoor or outdoor location
that is well-lit. When combat takes place in darkness, vision is
impaired.
Characters or robots may turn off inside lights using switches
placed on walls or bulkheads near portals. The referee may specify
that certain areas are in darkness due to power or system failure.
Combat outdoors at night also takes place in darkness.
Depending on the amount of background light available, the
referee must decide whether the darkness is partial or total
(partial darkness is more common). When an area is in darkness, use
the visibility and spotting rules.
When in darkness, increase the difficulty of all "to hit" and
spotting tasks by one level.
Darkness does not apply if the weapon, character, robot, or
vehicle has vision enhancement devices.
LINE OF SIGHT: VISIBILITY AND SPOTTING
Basic combat provides some simple visibility and spotting rules
in the form of the cover status: under cover, but visible, and
hidden. These rules introduce a new type of cover status: under
cover, not visible. This cover status means you can see the enemy,
but he can't see you.
At the ground scale covered in most outdoor combat sessions, few
playing areas cover an area more than serveral hundred meters,
which is well within normal visibility ranges. As a result, the
primary limitation on line of sight which provides for an under
cover, not visible status is target concealment.
The indoor visibility is generally a problem only when darkness
(either partial or total) exists.
The following discussion further defines how line of sight
works.
Units: Characters, animals, robots, and ground vehicles do not
block line of sight.
Hills: Hills block the line of sight.
Vegetation: Trees block the line of sight, with certain
modifications. Units on the ground (or flying nap-of-earth) cannot
see through dense trees, but can see through up to 50 meters of
sparse trees (to medium range).
Observation from above is also affected by tree covered areas.
In dense trees, the sky is considered entirely locked by
branches, leaves, or the equivalent; thus units in dense trees may
not see or be seen if the line of sight passes through this canopy.
In sparse tree areas, this canopy is broken; a vehicle in the
air may see though the canopy (and be seen) for a radius on the
ground equal to 20% of the vehicle's altitude above the ground; for
example, a vehicle at 250 meters altitude can see (and be seen by)
a unit on the ground up to 50 meters away from the point directly
below the vehicle.
Trees vary in height, but average about 10 to 30 meters; the
leaf canopy may begin at varying heights, but should average half
the height of the trees.
Undergrowth has no effect on the line of sight.
Buildings: Buildings block the line of sight. Units in
buildings and who are not on the ground floor can see units not
adjacent to lower obstacles. Buildings are 4 meters tall per
story.
Smoke Screens: The line of sight terminates at a smoke screen.
Smoke screens are 15 meters high.
Under Cover, Not Visible (Concealed): Terrain features
which do not block the line of sight, however, may make a unit
harder to see.
Characters, animals, or robots are concealed if they are in an
area of trees or undergrowth. Vehicles are concealed in areas which
contains both sparse trees and any kind of undergrowth (dense or
sparse).
Units may also be deliberately camouflaged. If a unit is
concealed at the beginning of the combat session, the referee may
allow it to be counted as camouflaged. If so, it remains
camouflaged until it moves for the first time.
In partial darkness, all units beyond medium range are
considered concealed.
In total darkenss, all units beyond short range are considered
concealed.
Hidden Units: In some terrain, units may choose to be hidden.
This choice is possible for characters, animals, or robots in
buildings, gullies, field fortifications, directly behind walls, or
just over the crest of a hill. Vehicles can choose to be hidden if
directly behind hillcrests or stationary in buildings.
The decision to be hidden is made at the beginning of an unit's
turn and applies until the next combat round. Hiding units may not
be spotted; if already spotted they remain spotted as long as they
do not move - hiding units may not spot, fire, or perform any other
activities requiring observation of the area; they are "keeping
their heads down."
Spotting Concealed Units: Units which have not been spotted
by the enemy may be kept off the playing surface; their positions
(and movements) should be recorded for later verification if a
dispute arises. This may be done on a small map of the area, with
written descriptions, or by using small cards or markers on the
playing surface in place of the unit. In the last case, also use
several dummy markers to confuse the enemy.
To spot a concealed unit:
Difficult, Recon, absolute: 1 combat round
Referee: Make one roll for each concealed unit, applying the
best recon skill from among any of the opposing units with a
potential line of sight to the concealed unit.
Decrease the difficulty of this task one level if:
* The concealed unit is moving (a popup doesn't count as
movement in this case);
* The concealed unit fired a high-signature weapon. In darkness,
this applies to a moderate signature as well.
Increase the difficulty of this task one level if:
* The concealed unit is camouflaged;
* The range from the potential spotting unit(s) to the concealed
unit is beyond very long range. Decrease this to medium range for
partial darkness, and to short range for total darkness.
* For darkness, increase the difficulty of all spotting tasks by
one level.
LINE OF SIGHT: SMOKE
Line of sight terminates upon encountering a smoke screen.
Some weapons are listed as having a smoke round available. All
such rounds have a specific screen length given in the weapons
table.
On the combat round of impact, one marker is placed on the
playing surface in the square of impact. On the the next combat
round, a second marker is placed in a square adjacent to and
downwind of the first marker (use the scatter procedure if the wind
direction is unknown).
Once the screen has reached its screen length, the round ceases
to generate smoke and the screen begins to dissipate. On the next
combat round, remove one marker from the upwind end of the screen.
On the next combat sound, remove another marker, and so on.
Continue this procedure until the smoke screen is gone.
Fire: Brush fires and structural fires both produce smoke. In
both cases, the length of the smoke screen is 50 meters.
As with a smoke round, one smoke marker is added to the screen
downwind of the fire each turn until the maximum length is reached.
Unlike a smoke round, the screen is not removed after it reaches
its maximum length, but rather remains in place until the fire
stops burning.
Page 72, Line of Fire (addition): The target closest to the
firing unit and in the line of fire is attacked first, ignoring all
friendly units. However, if exceptional failure occurs when rolling
for a hit, then friendly units are included when determining the
closest target. (In other words, don't get exceptional failure or
you may hit some of your own guys who happen to be in the line of
fire!)
Pages 72,73, Danger Space (omission): The danger space for
flechette rounds applies only along the line of fire and is not
circular like the danger space for all other rounds.
Page 72, Vehicle Hit Value (addition): For purposes of
personal combat only, multiply a vehicle's hit value by 10 before
starting the combat session. For example, a ground car lists hull
hits of 2/5. Its actual hit value in personal combat is 20/50
(multiplied by 10). In a similiar manner, its locomotion and power
plant hits are each 10/20 (1/2 multiplied by 10). Use the
unmodified values for starship combat rather than personal combat
(see the errata entry for Referee's Manual page 94, Power Plant-n).
Page 73, Pinpoint location (suggestion): Some players have
reported abuses with the pinpoint hit location rule as written,
since specifying such a shot reduces the target's armor rating by
one-half. An easy fix is to change the rule to increase the task in
difficulty one level when a pinpoint location is specified, rather
than requiring exceptional success. This makes a pinpoint location
shot work the same as a shot at a small target (page 69).
Increasing the difficulty for a pinpoint location hit also works
nicely because if the player wants to take great care in making the
shot, he can try for a cautious attempt. Many players will feel the
increase in difficulty is not worth the lowered armor rating, which
ends the abuse problem.
Page 76, Gauss Rifle (correction): Dmg column for the Gauss
Rifle (4mm) should be 4, not 3.
Page 76, Assault Rifle and Advanced Combat Rifle (correction): The
Assault Rifle (5mm and 7mm), as well as the Advanced Combat Rifle
(7mm and 9mm) should both be given 2 autofire targets. Both of
these weapon types are capable of automatic fire.
Page 78, Grenade Launchers (correction): The HE and HEAP
pen/atten values were accidentally switched on all the grenade
launchers. HEAP rounds are designed to pierce armor and thus have a
greater penetration than HE rounds.