Comments about the T4 Combat System
Ughh... The tables are put ten pages away from their rules, unlike CT where the encounter/surprise/range tables are mostly placed on the same pages with their respective rules. It's not much of a problem with PDFs (as I could print the tables seperately and use them in conjuction with the rules) but for hardcopy this is too many page flipping for my taste.
The surprise mechanic is copied from CT-LBB1
AS IS; luckily, it isn't transformed into the cumbersome, characteristics-over-skills default T4 task system.
The encounter range determination system is another copy-N-paste from CT-LBB1.
The Combat Round has been cut down from 30 to 6 seconds (why?); initiative is a welcome addition to Traveller (especially from a group-dynamics POV - now every player resolves his character's actions in initiative order). The "high initiative characters act first but move last" is an interesting idea, but it adds the complication of making
every player have two "turns" per Combat Round (one for actions, one for movement) rather than resolving all actions and movement in one time.
The "Group Initiative by Size" is a semi-realstic and very simple way to resolve initiative, but it suffers from the major problem of group initiative in large and "chaotic" gaming groups - some players are better served by having a rule-based action order. The other initiative systems are kinda the standard in concept in most RPGs (such as [A]D&D).
Range bands are yet another CT-LBB1 copy-N-paste, with the addition of different scales for outdoor and indoor action, which is an interesting idea, but it suffers from confusing new players, especially as weapon ranges aren't based on bands but on meters... And indoors, some bands are 1.5m each, which makes meter-based calculations annoying.
Movement is a bit slower in T4 than in CT (15m/turn walking rather than 25m/turn walking).
The difference between Aimed Fire (i.e. firing in a turn in which you haven't moved at all) and Snap Fire (moving AND firing in the same turn) is a very good idea - its a good simplification of the Striker movement modifiers. I'm going to use it in my CT combat variant!
Crawling is another good addition - but shouldn't characters who stay prone and not move at all be able to fire with a good modifier (far easier to brace your weapon and resist recoil)?
Tackle attacks are a good idea - but they are based on the T4 Task System; I'll try to UGM them later on for CT use.
Attacks are task-based, which would be a good thing if the task system was better.
Again, Snap Fire vs. Aimed Fire is one of the best additions to the T4 combat system. The fact that longarms are better for aimed fire than handguns is another good idea.
Autofire cannot be used in Aimed Fire - an interesting idea, but, again, a good LMG fired when prone (i.e. with the bipod deployed) or from a tripod/mount would be accurate enough for Aimed Automatic Fire, right?
Hmmm... So there is no limit to the area/angle "interdicted" by Surpressive Fire?
And why can't one attack cause more than 3D of damage, especially with shotguns, plasma/fusion weapons, flechette/explosive ammonition or high-caliber (HMG, for example) rounds?
Armor absorbs damage dice. I love that
The flexible vs. rigid armor is an interesting idea but is not very nescery and could easily be ignored or replaced by a knockback rule.
Wounding (after damage reduction by armor) follows the CT rules, with the clarification about who decides to which characteristic to apply each damage die. But why keep the obscure "first blood" rule and not replace it with Spectacular Success or Spectacular Failure?
Stun Damage is another good point, and quite elegently handled.
"Dead" characters could be recovered in major TL11+ hospitals - I like that (this is also a way to get certain things inplanted in a character despite her approval and/or make the PCs owe someone a BIG favor).
No morale rolls for PCs - a good change; ofcourse, certain things might cause PCs to lose composure, but these would be the exception, not the rule; and it could be handeled by roleplay anyways
The jumping rule is great for a rule-of-a-thumb approach - I like that!
The explosion rules seem nice - I've gotta reference them with the CT-LBB4 demolition rules to come up with something more all-encompassing.
Combat loads: another CT-LBB1 copy-N-pase.
The robot/vehicle "hit-points-per-system" (locomotion, powerplant, superstructure) rule reminds me of MT; I'd prefer a simpler, LBB2-style hit table.
The "Tactics Pool" is a good idea to incorporate this skill into gameplay, despite the paperwork and tracking required. I'd use tokens or coins to track the pool (i.e. put one coin per Tactics skill point into a small box; remove one from the box per DM point applied.
The "Offensive Pool" is an interesting way to link Strength to melee damage; however it's quite complicated and requires some paperwork. Two "pools" to track (Tactics Pool and Endurance) are enough.
The Bottom Line: The following are the "high points" of the T4 combat system that are worth to keep in mind when thinking on creating CT house-rules:
- Crawling, p.52
- Aimed Fire vs. Snap Fire, p.56
- Armor absorbs Damage, p.57
- Stun Damage, p.57
- Reviving the Dead, p.58
- Jumping, p.58
- Explosives, p.59
- Tactics Pool (is it a good idea?), p.60
