CT Only: Book 2 and Book 5 Small Craft Gunners

[aramis]

Note that there is a general rule in CT that filling two ship positions means BOTH are treated as one level lower. (Bk 2-81 p.16)

One person may fill two crew positions, providing he or she has the skill to otherwise perform the work. However, because of the added burden, each position is filled with skill minus one, and the individual draws salary equal to 75% of each position; thus, to fill two positions, the character must have at least skill level-2 in each (except steward: level-1).​

The Bk 1 is simply a reminder of this rule, and a partial exception. Due to this rule, I've always held that a pilot using Ship's Boat skill is at -1 to both Ship's Boat and to Gunnery for firing the guns.

 

[snrdg082102]

Hello Carlobrand,

I have made six attempts to reply to each item and quit because I didn't like the way my comments came across when I proofed them.

Hopefully this attempt won't be offensive or push the wrong buttons.

I think we are at an impasse concerning the combat rules in Book 5 and Book 2 since it is apparent that each of us interpret the rules from different references. Without further ado I'll concede that you have your way while I have mine and never the two will meet.

Thanks for the discuss though,

Hopefully, the next topic we'll be able to agree with each other and please do keep providing me with help, I really need a lot as you can see.

Anything can be designated as a target. There are no limitations. Even though the spinal mount is hypothetically very limited in its angle of fire, the game permits the ship to shoot at any opposing target without limitations - and most importantly without impairing its own agility. This tells us that the ship does not spend the entire turn training its spinal mount on the target; it doesn't even spend long enough doing that to impair its evasive maneuvering. Ergo, the time spent actually pointing the spinal mount at the target is a very small percentage of the turn.



Blind spot? Book 2 is running a hundred kilometers to the millimeter. There are no blind spots at those ranges, not in space.



How so?? The missile leaves the tube, orients, activates drive. I see no loss of fuel at all, and the loss of time is on the order of a second or two. These missiles are covering 30,000 kilometers in a turn; I don't think 30 meters is even noticeable on that scale.

The ship/boat launches one missile from a given launcher in a thousand second turn. If the missile was responsible for locking and pursuing from the tube, as it were, the ship could launch as many as it could shove out that tube in that time and basically machine-gun the opponent with missiles - or at the very least put three missiles in space per turn, since that's the rated capacity. That is not the image the game offers: the game has one missile being launched per tube per turn, which in my mind suggests that the missile is depending heavily on the launching ship's sensor feeds for the early phase of its attack. Which makes sense given the size of the missile's sensors, the size of the ship's/boat's sensors, and the tens of thousands of kilometer ranges we typically deal with.

There are no firing arcs in Traveller, not in Book 2, not in Book 5, not in MegaTraveller. There is nothing that limits a boat from firing missiles or lasers at a target in front, behind or to the side of its flight path. One cannot create rules from artwork, and that passing mention that says the weapons are "probably" rigid doesn't occur until Book-5, wherein we are also told the boat has 100% of its batteries bearing. Your referee was wrong; it happens sometimes.

 

[snrdg082102]

Howdy aramis,

Note that there is a general rule in CT that filling two ship positions means BOTH are treated as one level lower. (Bk 2-81 p.16)

One person may fill two crew positions, providing he or she has the skill to otherwise perform the work. However, because of the added burden, each position is filled with skill minus one, and the individual draws salary equal to 75% of each position; thus, to fill two positions, the character must have at least skill level-2 in each (except steward: level-1).​

​

Thanks for the reference, for some reason I keep forgetting that both the primary and secondary positions suffered the -1DM.

The Bk 1 is simply a reminder of this rule, and a partial exception. Due to this rule, I've always held that a pilot using Ship's Boat skill is at -1 to both Ship's Boat and to Gunnery for firing the guns.

I'm not sure I understand how that is possible, but then again I'm usually half baked anyway.

Here is my understanding of the Pilot skill. Starships and interplanetary ships >=100 requires a pilot with a minimum skill level of 1. The pilot skill for small craft is called ship's boat. The pilot of a starship/interplanetary craft's skill allows the character to operate a small craft with a -1 DM to the pilot's skill level. A pilot with ship's boat skill level-1 does not appear to be able to operate a starship or interplanetary ship >=100.

A sip's boat pilot without fires installed weapons with a -1 DM, however if the rule on page 16 implies the pilot had gunnery skill both ship's boat and gunnery skills have a -1 DM.

I'm probably half baked.

 

[aramis]

Howdy aramis,



[/INDENT] Thanks for the reference, for some reason I keep forgetting that both the primary and secondary positions suffered the -1DM.



I'm not sure I understand how that is possible, but then again I'm usually half baked anyway.

Here is my understanding of the Pilot skill. Starships and interplanetary ships >=100 requires a pilot with a minimum skill level of 1. The pilot skill for small craft is called ship's boat. The pilot of a starship/interplanetary craft's skill allows the character to operate a small craft with a -1 DM to the pilot's skill level. A pilot with ship's boat skill level-1 does not appear to be able to operate a starship or interplanetary ship >=100.

A sip's boat pilot without fires installed weapons with a -1 DM, however if the rule on page 16 implies the pilot had gunnery skill both ship's boat and gunnery skills have a -1 DM.

I'm probably half baked.

The book 1 rule implies allowing them to fire the guns even if they lack skill 1...

 

[Carlobrand]

... I'm probably half baked.

Don't feel bad. Baked Alaska's half-baked, and it's deeeeeeelicious!

 

[atpollard]

I'm just making a guess here, but can't anyone (including the pilot) operate all weapons (including the ship's guns) at skill level 0 (no bonus or penalty, so roll 8+ on 2d6). And since the pilot is both flying the small craft and shooting the guns (pilot and gunner positions) his Small Craft-1 skill becomes Small Craft-0 and his Gunner-0 skill gains a -1 penalty (roll 9+ on 2d6).

I don't remember it ever coming up in a game, but that's how I would probably handle it IMTU.

 

[snrdg082102]

Thank you again Aramis for getting me straight.

The book 1 rule implies allowing them to fire the guns even if they lack skill 1...

 

[snrdg082102]

But I'm not from Alaska and with the weather I'm getting more than half-baked.

Don't feel bad. Baked Alaska's half-baked, and it's deeeeeeelicious!

 

[snrdg082102]

Evening atpollard,

I'm just making a guess here, but can't anyone (including the pilot) operate all weapons (including the ship's guns) at skill level 0 (no bonus or penalty, so roll 8+ on 2d6). And since the pilot is both flying the small craft and shooting the guns (pilot and gunner positions) his Small Craft-1 skill becomes Small Craft-0 and his Gunner-0 skill gains a -1 penalty (roll 9+ on 2d6).

I don't remember it ever coming up in a game, but that's how I would probably handle it IMTU.

To the best of my recollection in the games I played the referees' required the characters to have a skill that was similar to the one being used. In Book 1 a character with Pilot Skill-1 or greater can also use the Ship's Boat skill of Pilot Skill Level - 1.

Xeno-Medicine allows the use of the Medical skill.

Jack of All Trades seems to be the skill that might be applicable to the situation.