Here is something I've added to MTU to make Jumping a little more challenging and hopefully interesting. It requires extra calculations and bookkeeping, so is maybe mostly of interest to gear heads, but others might like it too.
Jump Distances.
The distances between stars on Traveller maps is always in Parsecs. Jump Drive ratings are in parsecs. Very useful for keeping things simple. But simple can be boring, and not very realistic.
So, I was implementing the Primitive and Advanced Spacecraft rules from Chapter 4 of Mongoose Traveller 2nd Ed. when it occurred to me that it would make sense for the Jump Drives to gain a small distance increase at higher tech. For example J2 drives become available at tech 11, but wouldn't a tech 14 J2 have a slightly better range than a tech 11 J2?
As I said, this is just a detail for those that like details.
Say the tech 14 J2 drive's actual range is 2.3 parsecs. That fits the idea, but the map still only shows jump distances as absolute Parsecs. So, for this idea to be meaningful, one must have jump distances between systems vary a bit from the simple Parsec model.
What I do is when someone wants to decide on whether to jump somewhere I roll dice for the accuracy of the map distance. The actual distance can be up to 0.5 Parsecs off compared to the distance shown on the map. Roll 2 dice, subtract 7, use the result as tenth of parsec distance adjustment for the distance between those two stars. Once you roll for the specific distance between a particular pair of stars write it down and use that same distance going forward for all jumps between those stars.
For example: The distance from Regina to Yori is 2 Parsecs according to the map. Roll two dice with the result of 10, minus 7 = 3, the actual distance is 2.3 Parsecs. (If the roll is less than 7 you have a negative adjustment to the distance, so a roll of 5 results in the distance between Regina and Yori being 1.8 Parsecs.)
Now you need a ship with a J2.3 drive to make that trip. Still, you want to allow other J2 ships to be able to make such a jump or the whole game gets distorted. Simple. If the distance exceeds the ships rating by 0.1 or 0.2 Parsecs then the difficulty of the Jump is increased one level. If the distance exceeds the rating by 0.3 0r 0.4 Parsecs then increase the difficulty two levels etc.
This way a ship with a J2 drive can still go to all the same places as before, but some Jumps may involve a bit of a risk.
Now there is a real advantage to having a Tech 14 J2 (J2.3) over a Tech 11 J2.
Note that if one wants to buy a ship with a Budget Jump Drive the drive might be rated as J2, but in actuality only be J1.8. Save money, but trade off is that some Jumps are a bit more dangerous.
The specific rule is: add "Increase Jump Range by 0.1" to the Jump Drive Advantages list, and "Decrease Jump Range by 0.2" to the Jump Drive Disadvantages list.
Jump Distances.
The distances between stars on Traveller maps is always in Parsecs. Jump Drive ratings are in parsecs. Very useful for keeping things simple. But simple can be boring, and not very realistic.
So, I was implementing the Primitive and Advanced Spacecraft rules from Chapter 4 of Mongoose Traveller 2nd Ed. when it occurred to me that it would make sense for the Jump Drives to gain a small distance increase at higher tech. For example J2 drives become available at tech 11, but wouldn't a tech 14 J2 have a slightly better range than a tech 11 J2?
As I said, this is just a detail for those that like details.
Say the tech 14 J2 drive's actual range is 2.3 parsecs. That fits the idea, but the map still only shows jump distances as absolute Parsecs. So, for this idea to be meaningful, one must have jump distances between systems vary a bit from the simple Parsec model.
What I do is when someone wants to decide on whether to jump somewhere I roll dice for the accuracy of the map distance. The actual distance can be up to 0.5 Parsecs off compared to the distance shown on the map. Roll 2 dice, subtract 7, use the result as tenth of parsec distance adjustment for the distance between those two stars. Once you roll for the specific distance between a particular pair of stars write it down and use that same distance going forward for all jumps between those stars.
For example: The distance from Regina to Yori is 2 Parsecs according to the map. Roll two dice with the result of 10, minus 7 = 3, the actual distance is 2.3 Parsecs. (If the roll is less than 7 you have a negative adjustment to the distance, so a roll of 5 results in the distance between Regina and Yori being 1.8 Parsecs.)
Now you need a ship with a J2.3 drive to make that trip. Still, you want to allow other J2 ships to be able to make such a jump or the whole game gets distorted. Simple. If the distance exceeds the ships rating by 0.1 or 0.2 Parsecs then the difficulty of the Jump is increased one level. If the distance exceeds the rating by 0.3 0r 0.4 Parsecs then increase the difficulty two levels etc.
This way a ship with a J2 drive can still go to all the same places as before, but some Jumps may involve a bit of a risk.
Now there is a real advantage to having a Tech 14 J2 (J2.3) over a Tech 11 J2.
Note that if one wants to buy a ship with a Budget Jump Drive the drive might be rated as J2, but in actuality only be J1.8. Save money, but trade off is that some Jumps are a bit more dangerous.
The specific rule is: add "Increase Jump Range by 0.1" to the Jump Drive Advantages list, and "Decrease Jump Range by 0.2" to the Jump Drive Disadvantages list.