Supplement Four
SOC-14 5K
The Range Band conversion of the Book 2 Space Combat movement rules was a gift from the heavens when I first opened Starter Traveller.
Well, in actuality, Starter Traveller was my first version of Traveller. And, when I finally got to Book 2, I looked at the protractors and rules and space neede the size of the living room floor, scratched my head, and said, "Huh"?
I've said a few times (most recently in this post: http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discuss/showpost.php?p=293134&postcount=13 ) that what I like to do is lay the deckplans of the player's ship out on the gaming table and play space combat completely from the point of view of the players' characters inside the ship. What they "see", they see on sensors, as I describe it to them. If the ship is hit, then they need to run around to different locations to affect damage control. If there are boarders, then we will conduct fire fights in the ships corridors in between ship combat rounds. Stuff like that.
It's a great way to play Book 2 space combat. Rather than making it a standard board game, it becomes centered on roleplaying: What's happening to the players? What do they see?
Well, one of the things that makes this type of play possible is the Range Band movement system used in Starter Traveller. Gone are the protractors and rulers. No longer needed is the entire living room floor. Now, the GM can keep track of distance between the players' ship and the enemy by making marks on some simple lined notebook paper.
One of the difficulties, though, has always been multiple enemies. It's hard to plot them on a Range Band ladder.
Well...no longer.
Go to this website and create a Polar Graph Sheet. http://incompetech.com/graphpaper/polar/ Print it out.
Now, you have a Range Band plot where you can keep track of multiple enemies.
The player's ship will always be in the center. Plot all enemies or other vessels around the player's ship. Now, at a glance, you can see distance to the players and distance between enemies, using the Range Band method.
Viola! Easy as pie!
Well, in actuality, Starter Traveller was my first version of Traveller. And, when I finally got to Book 2, I looked at the protractors and rules and space neede the size of the living room floor, scratched my head, and said, "Huh"?
I've said a few times (most recently in this post: http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discuss/showpost.php?p=293134&postcount=13 ) that what I like to do is lay the deckplans of the player's ship out on the gaming table and play space combat completely from the point of view of the players' characters inside the ship. What they "see", they see on sensors, as I describe it to them. If the ship is hit, then they need to run around to different locations to affect damage control. If there are boarders, then we will conduct fire fights in the ships corridors in between ship combat rounds. Stuff like that.
It's a great way to play Book 2 space combat. Rather than making it a standard board game, it becomes centered on roleplaying: What's happening to the players? What do they see?
Well, one of the things that makes this type of play possible is the Range Band movement system used in Starter Traveller. Gone are the protractors and rulers. No longer needed is the entire living room floor. Now, the GM can keep track of distance between the players' ship and the enemy by making marks on some simple lined notebook paper.
One of the difficulties, though, has always been multiple enemies. It's hard to plot them on a Range Band ladder.
Well...no longer.
Go to this website and create a Polar Graph Sheet. http://incompetech.com/graphpaper/polar/ Print it out.
Now, you have a Range Band plot where you can keep track of multiple enemies.
The player's ship will always be in the center. Plot all enemies or other vessels around the player's ship. Now, at a glance, you can see distance to the players and distance between enemies, using the Range Band method.
Viola! Easy as pie!
