Okay, bearing in mind that we like quick and easy, a proposed revision to existing rulers in Mercenary for scaling battles between spacecraft and other stuff...
Traveller operates on two different scales when it comes to combat. First, there is the ‘personal’ level where characters battle one another. Vehicles also operate on this scale. Above this, there is the spacecraft level, where ships carry enough weaponry to boil a tank in one blast (note that a third scale, mass battles, is introduced later in this book, but that is really a subset of the personal scale combat rules).
Because spacecraft scale weaponry is so lethal to ground forces, it is not often that a vehicle (much less characters!) will ever want to make a stand against a ship. Most smaller weapons simply do not have the power to blast through the thick armour of spacecraft. In fact, they can do little more than scratch its paint. This is because spacecraft are shielded from the void of space and layered in thick armour designed to withstand the raw radiation of a star and absolute zero temperatures – a bullet or laser blast just pales in comparison.
The only weapons capable of damaging the exterior of a spacecraft are Destructive weapons, detailed on page XX.
Note that when engaging spacecraft engage personal scale targets or vice versa, combat is played with rounds of six seconds, not the usual six minutes of spacecraft scale.
Personal vs. Spacecraft
If a Destructive weapon targets a spacecraft, it loses its Destructive trait but its damage is treated as if it were a spacecraft scale weapon, rolling as normal on the table on page 150 of the Traveller Core Rulebook.
Spacecraft vs. Personal
If a spacecraft weapon targets anything on the personal scale, be it a vehicle or a (very unlucky!) character, it gains the Destructive trait and then rolls for damage normally, likely vaporising any character it strikes or seriously damaging even the most heavily armoured vehicle.
Traveller operates on two different scales when it comes to combat. First, there is the ‘personal’ level where characters battle one another. Vehicles also operate on this scale. Above this, there is the spacecraft level, where ships carry enough weaponry to boil a tank in one blast (note that a third scale, mass battles, is introduced later in this book, but that is really a subset of the personal scale combat rules).
Because spacecraft scale weaponry is so lethal to ground forces, it is not often that a vehicle (much less characters!) will ever want to make a stand against a ship. Most smaller weapons simply do not have the power to blast through the thick armour of spacecraft. In fact, they can do little more than scratch its paint. This is because spacecraft are shielded from the void of space and layered in thick armour designed to withstand the raw radiation of a star and absolute zero temperatures – a bullet or laser blast just pales in comparison.
The only weapons capable of damaging the exterior of a spacecraft are Destructive weapons, detailed on page XX.
Note that when engaging spacecraft engage personal scale targets or vice versa, combat is played with rounds of six seconds, not the usual six minutes of spacecraft scale.
Personal vs. Spacecraft
If a Destructive weapon targets a spacecraft, it loses its Destructive trait but its damage is treated as if it were a spacecraft scale weapon, rolling as normal on the table on page 150 of the Traveller Core Rulebook.
Spacecraft vs. Personal
If a spacecraft weapon targets anything on the personal scale, be it a vehicle or a (very unlucky!) character, it gains the Destructive trait and then rolls for damage normally, likely vaporising any character it strikes or seriously damaging even the most heavily armoured vehicle.
