Several MGT rules questions...

[Evilschemer]

I'm somewhat new to running Mongoose Traveller and have a few rules questions that have come up.

1) Dodging - does the player have to announce they are dodging before the attack dice are thrown or can they wait to see if its necessary?

2) Fixed turrets - What skill is used for Fixed Turrets? Gunnery? Piloting? If Gunnery - what's the difference between fixed turrets and regular turrets game mechanically?

3) Rail Guns from High Guard - what are the range modifiers?

4) Laser Damage - According to High Guard, Pulse Lasers should do 2d6 and Beam Lasers 1d6 damage. Is this accurate?

 

[HG_B]

I'm somewhat new to running Mongoose Traveller and have a few rules questions that have come up.

2) Fixed turrets - What skill is used for Fixed Turrets? Gunnery? Piloting? If Gunnery - what's the difference between fixed turrets and regular turrets game mechanically?

Gunnery. Mechanically, fixed guns have to be aimed with the ship, not so rotating turrets.

Laser Damage [/B]- According to High Guard, Pulse Lasers should do 2d6 and Beam Lasers 1d6 damage. Is this accurate?

Yes, it is a rules change.

 

[Evilschemer]

Gunnery. Mechanically, fixed guns have to be aimed with the ship, not so rotating turrets.
.

But there's no facing in the starship combat rules, so they are mechanically the same as regular turrets.

 

[HG_B]

But there's no facing in the starship combat rules, so they are mechanically the same as regular turrets.

Hardly, wait till your ship gets its M-drive damaged and can't maneuver. You won't be able to fire on the ship approaching from behind to board, nor the boarding party...

 

[jawillroy]

Hardly, wait till your ship gets its M-drive damaged and can't maneuver. You won't be able to fire on the ship approaching from behind to board, nor the boarding party...

"Calling all hands: Everybody get out and push!"

 

[HG_B]

"Calling all hands: Everybody get out and push!"

THAT'S why they invented the TL 14 Advanced Thrust Pack! :rofl:

 

[Evilschemer]

Okay, so unless your maneuver drive takes two hits, they are functionally identical.

Otherwise, as far as I can tell, there's no facing or even direction in MT's spaceship combat, which isn't a complaint, just an observation.

Even in a 3 or 4 ship combat, it's all about how far away the enemy ships are from the PCs and from each other. There's nothing in the rules denoting relative position, just relative range.

 

[aramis]

No, MGT* does not use facing in the standard rules; it does in the alternate movement rules in MGT-HG.

(note that MT is the standard abbreviation for MegaTraveller, not Mongoose)

 

[HG_B]

Okay, so unless your maneuver drive takes two hits, they are functionally identical.

"Fixed Mounting weapons cannot move, are limited to fi ring in
one direction (normally straight ahead), and are found mainly on
fighters."

Don't get upset if your GM disallows your fixed laser from providing point defense...

 

[aramis]

There was, at one point, a restriction of using the lower of pilot or gunnery for shooting fixed mounts. I don't recall if it was in MGT playtest or in CT AM Solomani.

 

[Evilschemer]

So the answer to my question is: "No, there are no defined rules differences between fixed mount and turret, but it is subject to GM interpretation."

Since I'm the GM, I'm okay with that. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything somewhere else in the book.

To me, it seems that a weapon that relies on the pilot's piloting skills to line the vessel up to hit or miss would be based on the attacker's pilot skill. That's my own house rule I think I'll use.

 

[HG_B]

To me, it seems that a weapon that relies on the pilot's piloting skills to line the vessel up to hit or miss would be based on the attacker's pilot skill. That's my own house rule I think I'll use.

It would be a combo. In WW2, the fighter plane guys with high kill scores (when studied) were found to be long gun hunters. Pilot skill alone made for piss poor gunnery skill with fixed weaponry...

 

[toddaroo]

1) Dodging - does the player have to announce they are dodging before the attack dice are thrown or can they wait to see if its necessary?

Dodging is a Reaction not an Action. A PC can only Act so many times during a combat Round, but may React as many times as they want (Core, p60 Action Summary box). Further, the Reaction text on page 61 states the more times a PC Reacts the longer it takes for their 'turn' during combat. Since each Reaction lowers the PC's effective by 2.

2) Fixed turrets - What skill is used for Fixed Turrets? Gunnery? Piloting? If Gunnery - what's the difference between fixed turrets and regular turrets game mechanically?

(Core, p147) states under Maneuvers that a ship's pilot may help Line Up a Shot providing the gunners with a stable firing platform (and though not stated specifically, it can be extrapolated to point any fixed weapons in the right direction). The pilot makes a Pilot check to aid the gunner(s) as per the rules for Task Chains (Core, p51).

3) Rail Guns from High Guard - what are the range modifiers?

Railguns are Short range or less weapon systems. Their range mods are on page 73 of High Guard in the Weapon Ranges chart at the bottom (for Short Range weapons).

4) Laser Damage - According to High Guard, Pulse Lasers should do 2d6 and Beam Lasers 1d6 damage. Is this accurate?

Yes.

 

[Evilschemer]

It would be a combo. In WW2, the fighter plane guys with high kill scores (when studied) were found to be long gun hunters. Pilot skill alone made for piss poor gunnery skill with fixed weaponry...

That makes sense for a style of combat where physical projectiles are affected by gravity, so someone who is an experienced marksman with a fair sense of general projectile velocity can place the projectile where he wants it when he wants it.

In a setting where the beam weapon fires at the speed of light or where the physical projectile is un (or less) affected by gravity it just becomes a matter of timing to make sure the target is in front of your weapon when you pull the trigger (or in the case where you are firing several light mili-seconds away, is where your laser or railgun slug is GOING to be).

 

[Evilschemer]

Dodging is a Reaction not an Action. A PC can only Act so many times during a combat Round, but may React as many times as they want (Core, p60 Action Summary box). Further, the Reaction text on page 61 states the more times a PC Reacts the longer it takes for their 'turn' during combat. Since each Reaction lowers the PC's effective by 2.

Yes, I know. When you are shooting a player character, and you roll dice, and roll a total of 8, would you let your player shout "I dodge! it misses!". or would you require the player announce his reaction dodge BEFORE you roll the dice?

(or vice versa if a PC is attacking an NPC, how would you as a player feel if you rolled an 8 and said "I hit!" but the DM then says "I dodge! You miss!" after the dice are rolled.)

(Core, p147) states under Maneuvers that a ship's pilot may help Line Up a Shot providing the gunners with a stable firing platform (and though not stated specifically, it can be extrapolated to point any fixed weapons in the right direction). The pilot makes a Pilot check to aid the gunner(s) as per the rules for Task Chains (Core, p51).

But that can be done whether its a turreted weapon or a fixed weapon. Again, no mechanical difference.

Railguns are Short range or less weapon systems. Their range mods are on page 73 of High Guard in the Weapon Ranges chart at the bottom (for Short Range weapons).

Hey, thanks! I didn't see that chart. This helps a LOT!

 

[toddaroo]

Yes, I know. When you are shooting a player character, and you roll dice, and roll a total of 8, would you let your player shout "I dodge! it misses!". or would you require the player announce his reaction dodge BEFORE you roll the dice?

That made a lot more sense in my brain when I was writing it. But... I clearly didn't even come close to answering your question! Sorry, I'll try again:

On page 61 of the Core it says under Attack "The attacker declares his target, and the foe may choose to react. The attacker then makes a skill check and if successful deals damage to his target." Because a Dodge provides a negative DM to an attacker's Attack roll, then it follows that the GM states that the NPC is going to attack the PC and then readies the dice to roll. The Player then decides whether or not they want their PC to react (in this case Dodge) which if done gives a -1 DM to the Attack roll the GM is waiting to toss.

Me personally? I'd have everyone shout their intentions just as the above rules state. Since there is no limit to the number of times one can Dodge it becomes a bit of a trade off between taking a hit/getting to act sooner.

But that can be done whether its a turreted weapon or a fixed weapon. Again, no mechanical difference.

Right; I thought you may want the page reference which clarifies that. The differences would be as has been already stated in the results of combat, IE, Can the ship maneuver, or is it on the drift because it's M-drives are offline? Do you even allow fixed weapons on a non-fighter ship? That sort of thing.

Hey, thanks! I didn't see that chart. This helps a LOT!

You're welcome. =D

 

[hdan]

It would be a combo. In WW2, the fighter plane guys with high kill scores (when studied) were found to be long gun hunters. Pilot skill alone made for piss poor gunnery skill with fixed weaponry...

Since you need the same character to do both tasks (fly and shoot), wouldn't you get a -2 multiple actions penalty? That would seem to be a disadvantage to having a weapon that is fired by the pilot.

 

[Subzero001]

Dependent on the ship. if the ship has the software package for "Gunnery" (on the chart for ships Core 113) also there is a modifier to Evade if they have that in the package as well as Gunnery.

Hope this helps.

 

[hdan]

Dependent on the ship. if the ship has the software package for "Gunnery" (on the chart for ships Core 113) also there is a modifier to Evade if they have that in the package as well as Gunnery.

Sure, the fighter pilot can mitigate his fixed weapon disadvantage with some targeting software or turn over one of those functions to an intelligent agent program; he still suffers the inherent -2 penalty of the Pilot also be the Gunner.

I would argue that because the aiming of the weapon is inherently connected to the orientation of the ship, the same entity (pilot or computer) must operate both the piloting controls and gunnery controls, incurring the -2 penalty at all times.

So software assistance would be extra desirable for ships with fixed weapons mounts, as would hot-shot pilots. As you say, a good enough Gunnery and Evade package can totally mitigate the multi-action penalty, allowing the ship's designer to use automation to replace crew. It seems like special purpose computers could be advantageous here.

 

[Cryton]

I'm somewhat new to running Mongoose Traveller and have a few rules questions that have come up.

1) Dodging - does the player have to announce they are dodging before the attack dice are thrown or can they wait to see if its necessary?

Its announced before the roll. Dodging is a reaction, so its announced when the attacker declares his attack before the roll.

2) Fixed turrets - What skill is used for Fixed Turrets? Gunnery? Piloting? If Gunnery - what's the difference between fixed turrets and regular turrets game mechanically?

It uses gunnery skill, though I suppose a pilot can aid you with a fixed turret. And as said earlier, Fixed turret is functionaly identical until you cant maneuver. then you cant reorient the ship to aim it.

3) Rail Guns from High Guard - what are the range modifiers?

rail guns (lbb2 p 50) use the short range mods (lbb2 p73)

4) Laser Damage - According to High Guard, Pulse Lasers should do 2d6 and Beam Lasers 1d6 damage. Is this accurate?

Yep that's correct. Its errata.