Hello everyone. This is my first post to the list. I hope I'm not rehashing
stuff that has been beaten to death in recent memory...
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While the old Traveller system is okay, it does have some problems.
Here are a few things I found to be rather helpful:
Combat System
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Multiple Attacks:
In a 15 second combat round, it is somewhat unrealistic to assume that
a character may only fire once (excepting panic fire and bursts from
automatic weapons). There is an easy way to allow a character multiple
shots. Each additional shot is at a cumlative -1 to skill. So, for example,
three shots in a round will all be at -2. There are a few additional
modifiers. A revolver is an additional -1. A bolt action rifle has a -3,
not a -1, penalty. Automatic weapons may fire additonal bursts, but
the penalty is -2. Due to the variable loading times of single shot
weapons (muskets, grenade launchers, bows, etc), the GM must determine if such
weapons can fire more than once per round, and at what penalty.
Hit Points:
While the damage system is somewhat realistic, it is also somewhat cumbersome.
An easier way to handle the amount of damage a character takes is to add up
the character's Strength, Dexterity, and Endurance, and treat it as a hit point
pool. After combat, the character then reassigns the points back to stats.
Obviously, no stat can end up higher than it was before combat began. Also,
when a character reaches 0 hp, he passes out. Death occurs when the character
reaches a negative score equal to or greater than the character's Endurance.
Weapon Damage:
The damage of several weapons should be changed:
Body Pistol - 1d6 Revolver - 2d6 Auto-pistol - 2d6
Rifle - 4d6
Armor System:
Rather than having armor reduce the chance for an attacker to hit the
opponent, the armor should reduce damage. Each type of armor is rated
for three types of defense: melee, ballistic, and laser. High energy
weapons are defended against by the lower of the ballistic and laser
numbers. In each category, the armor has a certian number of dice.
If the defender is hit, roll the damage for the weapon, and then the
resistance for the armor. If the armor's roll is equal to or greater than
the damage roll, the defender takes no damage. If the damage roll is
greater, subtract the resistance roll from the damage roll, and apply to
the defender. Optional ammo types can easily be recreated -- AP rounds
halve the armor's resistance roll, but do only half damage to the target
(halve damage AFTER armor is accounted for). Hollow point ammo doubles
the resistance roll, but any damage that gets through does double damage
to the target. When determining the to-hit modifier for each weapon, use
the Unarmored modifier, regardless of what the target is wearing.
resistance vs
armor type melee ballistic laser
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jack 1d6 1d6/3 0
mesh 2d6 1d6/2 0
plate* 3d6 1d6 1d6/3
cloth 4d6 3d6 1d6
flak vest 3d6 2d6 1d6/2
combat 5d6 5d6 2d6
ablat 1d6 1d6/2 3d6
reflec 0 0 4d6
*-not an official armor, but included for completeness
Starships:
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Fuel: By all means use the powerplant formula in High Guard: 0.01xPnxTonnage.
Also, the formula for determining jump fuel should use 0.05 rather than
0.1. Otherwise, the fuel required is (at least for my tastes) far too much.
Jumpdrives: I have a few optional rules for this. There are three enhancements
that a jump drive may have. The first (the Hawking Drive) allows the ship
to only be in jump for 3.5 days. This enchancemnt increases JD cost by 25%
and mass by 10%. The second (Biron Override) allows the ship to jump from
a gravity well with reduced hazards. Drop the penalties by 5. Cost of the
JD doubles and mass increases by 25%. The final enhancment (Liau Drive) allows
the JD to operate at approximately double its rating. Fuel consumption is
doubled, and there is a +1 to the mis-jump chance (+2 if the ship goes beyond
a jump-6). Cost and mass are as the Biron Override. Also, the drives must be
worked on for 1-3 hours after such a jump. If not worked on, roll a 9+ on
2d6 for the drive to fail when activated. For each forced maintanence missed,
lower this by 2. All three can be placed on the same jump drive. Also, ships
under 100 tons CAN use jump drives, though cost is doubled.
Character Generation:
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Skill Improvement:
To me, this is the one major area where Traveller is lacking. I have problems
with rules that basically state that a character can never improve skills
by experience. At the end of an adventure, the GM should look over each
character's skills, and place a check by each one the GM felt the player
used in such a way that the character would have learned from it, or that
the character used a skill repeatedly under difficult situations. For
each skill with a check, the character must FAIL a roll of 5+(2*skill level).
For example, a character with Rifle-3 must roll a 12 to improve his skill.
Obviously, a character with a skill of 4+ cannot improve skills by mere
experience. They are so highly skilled that 'mundane experience' will fail
to help them, since they have few problems with even difficult situations.
These are the kinds of characters that must study to improve skills.