Question about pistol and rifle skill

[Garyius2003]

A Traveller all version question about pistol and rifle skill:


I am a former Us Marine, and the holder of a CPL permit who practices quite a bit with both rifle and pistol. My preferred rifle is the AR family, but I can shoot bolt action and garand type well. I would call myself rifle and pistol 1 for traveller.

Is there a difference between current rifles and energy type in terms of skills? Are lasers easier or different to shoot? Should there be two different skill classes for rifles and pistols?

 

[FreeTrav]

I'd say that they're different, but not so different that your slug-thrower skills are totally inapplicable.

Remember, energy-projecting weapons will have essentially no recoil, no windage, and unless you're using extreme ranges (tens or hundreds of thousands of miles), there will be essentially no need to 'lead' the target.

My inclination would be to treat an energy weapon as defaulting to equivalent slug-thrower minus 1 - but slug throwers default to equivalent energy weapon minus 2, since you don't develop the concept of leading the target, windage, reaction to recoil, etc., if you learn energy first.

 

[Carlobrand]

One thing we don't do in Traveller, but probably should, is apply penalties for differing world sizes. Differences in gravity or atmosphere alter the bullet's trajectory, and it may take a few shots before the shooter learns to compensate. And then there's the "muscle memory" bit - instinctively squeezing off that first round the way you were trained before you remember that you're not in Kansas anymore.

 

[far-trader]

One thing we don't do in Traveller, but probably should, is apply penalties for differing world sizes.

I thought so once too

Worked it out and found it was trivial to insignificant. If I did the math right

Nothing a simple sight adjustment couldn't fix anyway, and I introduced future tech sights that did it automatically. They read the G-rating and adjusted the sight accordingly. Slightly more advanced ones even taking into account the atmo pressure and windage downrange. Of course the shooter has to KNOW there might be a difference to take such measures or invest in such tech if they are going to be shooting under widely varied conditions. Traveller character experiences and gun skill 1+ covers that imo.

 

[saundby]

For slug throwers I assume a standard part of organized training is putting the trainee in locations with different characteristics or at least in simulators that give the feel even if not the actual presence.

Shooting under differing gravities, in different atmospheres, under the effects of coriolis conditions, etc, is part of how I justify to players the fact that slug thrower skills at some level are just as much developed skills as other things (medic, engineer) at an equivalent level.

Plus I assume a wider range of action types, ammo types, etc.

 

[aramis]

A Traveller all version question about pistol and rifle skill:


I am a former Us Marine, and the holder of a CPL permit who practices quite a bit with both rifle and pistol. My preferred rifle is the AR family, but I can shoot bolt action and garand type well. I would call myself rifle and pistol 1 for traveller.

Is there a difference between current rifles and energy type in terms of skills? Are lasers easier or different to shoot? Should there be two different skill classes for rifles and pistols?

In MT, you have:

• Gun Combat (Cascade)
  • Energy Weapons
  • Handgun
  • Laser Weapons
  • Neural Weapons
  • Rifleman
  • Submachinegun
• Combat Rifleman (includes Rifleman)

Shotguns fall under Rifleman.
Rifleman is non-full-auto weapons.
Combat Rifleman adds full auto weapons.
Energy Weapons is Plasma, Fusion, and Particle Beam weapons.
Laser Weapons is laser pistol, laser rifle, laser carbine.

I like and use the MT structure. Tho' I'd put shotguns separately from Rifleman and make them both serve as the other at -1 level, and delete CRM, instead adding an autofire skill which limits the base weapons skill.

 

[BytePro]

IMTU, slug throwers are quite different than energy Weps - both in operation and in maintenance and repair. So slug thrower skill provides no benefit when using energy weps and vice versa.

Currently using a home-brew system mostly CT with MgT style task mechanics and a very different combat mechanic. However, some of these concepts may be of use:

Have two skills each for slug and energy - small and heavy. Small arms skill applies as a DM against untrained heavy (normal MgT -3 untrained DM). Heavy provides no benefit for small arms. (Not using cascade skills.)

As each individual weapon will generally have differences, I apply a difficulty DM on first combat uses (5 success tick marks - exceptional successes get 3) of any unfamiliar weapon in a class. Each character has a list of 'familiar' weapons of which I provide an initial list based on service careers. This proficiency list adds a certain roleplay color, ala Korben Dallas in the Fifth Element, and am thinking of doing it with other things (vehicles, ships, etc.). Normally I abhor extra 'accounting' but it seems workable.​