BTW, the best advice on CT task throws from an official CT source was written by Marc Miller and described on pages 28-29 of the Traveller Adventure.
There are all sorts of throws used in a CT game. It's up to the Ref to decide which type of throw is best for any given situation.
Some Refs prefer a structured task system, and for those Refs, I present the three CT task systems that I've devised in the OP. Of those, the UGM is the most popular, but CTI and System 1123 had their adopters among Traveller players when I first released them.
Don't forget that the UTP - the Universal Task Profile - was originally designed for use with Classic Traveller by DGP and first published in their Traveller magazine*. This is the task system widely known as the one used in MegaTraveller. It, also, is an excellent choice for a CT Ref looking to use a structured task system.
*The UTP first appears in issue #1 of DGP's Travellers' Digest magazine, page 48, in the article, The Gaming Digest - Using Skills Effectively, published in 1985. The task system grows in sophistication, published in Travellers' Digest articles, until it becomes the official system used in the MegaTraveller edition of the game.
Myself? I'm an old school CT guy. I like to customize rolls on the spot. I like how CT values skill and stat differently based on the importance each has to a particular throw. No other edition of Traveller does that. Some see this as a problem with CT, but I know it's one of CT's huge benefits (and one of the reasons I so love this edition of the game).
For example....
Medical-2 or better is required to received a +1 DM on the throw to revive a person from low berth. Medical-1 or less gets you nothing, and Medical-3 or more nets you nothing more than the +1 DM originally mentioned.
Vacc Suit skill is applied at +4 per level when rolling the 10+ throw to avoid dangerous situations. What does this mean? It means that Vacc Suit-2 is sufficient to avoid most dangerous situations (because the minimum throw is 2, plus the 8 points for the skill, equals 10).
Engineering skill is usually applied at +2 per level, to emphasize the relative value of expertise.
In the vast majority of situations, skill leves are applied at +1 per level.
And, throws can be anything in CT--whatever the Ref deems appropriate for a situation.
Popular throws are to throw 1D, 2D, 3D, or more dice against a character's attribute, trying to roll lower than or equal to the stat: Roll 2D for STR or less to force open the stuck hatch; Roll 4D for EDU or less to recognize the scratches on the stone as an ancient, forgotten alient dialect.
The CT Gun Combat task is 2D for 8+. Add mods. Likewise, the CT throw to avoid legal issues on a world is 2D looking for Law Level or higher.
The CT task to throw a weapon is 18+, using full DEX as a modifier, plus other mods.
A simple, random throw suggested in The Traveller Adventure is for the Ref to throw 2D to create a random target number, then have the player throw 2D, plus mods, looking for a number equal to or higher than the generated target.
You don't always have to use 2D on your throws, either. The daily throw for a Random Encounter on a world is 1D for 5+. The weekly throw for a Patron Encounter is also 5+ on 1D.
Matrices are also used, where 1D accross he top is matched with 1D along the side to correspond with a result. Or D66 results are used.
Really, anything goes.
A couple of throws that I use in my games are situational. If one character's task results effects the ability of another character to complete a task, I'll sometimes do something like this:
Let's say Bleath is out of ammo and Arnet has an extra weapon. Arnet pulls the extra pistol and tosses it to Bleath. The quality of Arnet's toss of the weapon will effect how easy it will be for Bleath to catch the weapon. So, I'll have Arnet make a throw of DEX or less on 2D. If successful, Arnet throws the weapon so that it is possible for Bleath to catch it. The result of Arenet's throw becomes the target number for Bleath's catch (thus a low number is good for everyone).
Example: Arnet, DEX-6, throws 2D and gets a 5. This means that Bleath has a chance to catch the weapon Arnet is tossing towards him.
Bleath must roll 2D, looking for a result of 5+. If successful, Bleath catches the weapon. I'd give Bleath a +1DM if his DEX is equal to or higher than the throw. So, if Bleath has DEX-7, he throws 2D +1 for 5+.
See how much sense that makes? With a structured task system, it's not always easy to make the task fit the situation as closely as this.
Another example of a throw I might use is when two or more characters work together. For example, I might say that it takes a throw of 20+ to shove a big, heavy, stone sarcophagus across the floor in order to reveal the hidden staircase steps leading down into the pyramid. Up to three characters can work effectively together in order to push this big piece of stonework.
A character can throw a D6 for every 5 points of STR. Thus, if the three characters have STR-5 (1D), STR-7 (1D), and STR-C (2D), the task to move the sarcophagus is 4D, looking for 20+.
To further illustrate the concept, look at page 27 of The Traveller Book, under the Ship's Boat skill. Listed are a couple of examples of how the skill can be used in various situations, with the referee deciding the mechanics of any particular situation.
