Best Ship Combat Rules at PC Level?

[Pierce_Inverarity]

The Power Projection thread reminded me of a question I've been meaning to ask for a while:

In your experience, which Traveller rules work best for the kind of small-scale combat likely to happen in an RPG? By "best" I mean:

Which rules are exciting (as opposed to just functional) for your run-of-the-mill, one-on-one Beowulf vs. Suleiman encounter?

Which rules manage not to bog down role-playing with (too much) detail?

Which rules, if any, give *all* PCs something to do in combat? (In other words: Are there rules that could qualify as a "combat chapter" for DGP's Starship Operator's Manual? I love the way in which the SOM really made the PCs feel they're *operating* their ship rather than just sitting in it.)

 

[Ganidirsii O'Flynn]

Sad to say, but despite all the effort to design game systems to be "better", my favorite still is CT: Book 2. Sometimes it takes some fluffing to give everyone something to do (like making the Steward keep the passengers calm in Turn 3), but all in all, it keeps the crew busy.

 

[The Oz]

I agree with Ganidiirsi: CT Book 2 rules are the best for keeping all the players involved. Pilots fly, gunners gun, computer techs run the computer, and everyone else does damage control.

Or prays....

 

[Ganidirsii O'Flynn]

That's the big problem with Starship Combat systems, as opposed to personal combat systems... It can be hard for referee's to keep folks involved on a personal level when the majority of systems play like wargames. Hard balance to strike, eh?

 

[robject]

I especially like damage control. Nothing gets the blood pumping like watching your ship slowly lose maneuver, lose power, and lose turrets against a looming Corsair full of hungry Vargr...

 

[Emperor Valdamir]

I agree with CT Book 2 being an excellent system. On a related subject, has anyone besides me tried converting High Guard weaponry to the Book 2 system? It's a project I work on occasionally. I'm not talking about trying to do fleet battles with book 2 (High Guard is still best for that), but I'd like to have some more flexibility in weapons systems for smaller waships in the 1000 to 5000 ton range, as well as being able to cutomize fighters more.

 

[The Oz]

Emperor Valdamir said,

I agree with CT Book 2 being an excellent system. On a related subject, has anyone besides me tried converting High Guard weaponry to the Book 2 system? It's a project I work on occasionally. I'm not talking about trying to do fleet battles with book 2 (High Guard is still best for that), but I'd like to have some more flexibility in weapons systems for smaller waships in the 1000 to 5000 ton range, as well as being able to cutomize fighters more.

I have done some work on adding some features of High Guard into CT Book 2 space combat. Armor (including partially armoring your ship), energy weapons, nuke missiles, new hit location tables, etc. I don't have it on a web page yet, though.

There's also Ken Pick, who has done a lot of work in this area. Look here:
Ken Pick's Freelance Traveller Shipyard

 

[soloprobe]

Best space combat rules for the PC level? You've got it! CT- Book two! One of its best features is how A ten minute space combat turn can contain, up to 40 book one pc combat rounds.....This means you can keep those characters REALY busy , running around with damage control equipment, Or getting weapons to repel boarders......

 

[far-trader]

Hi, meant to reply sooner but forgot, lucky somebody bumped it back to the top

You can check out a related discussion here where I throw in my own vote for an excellent system that should be easily adapted to most of the Traveller versions. It's "The Role-Playing Space Combat System" put out as a free for use download (pdf available here) for T4. Copyright 1996 by Joseph E. Walsh. Collaboration by Eris Reddoch, Guy "Wildstar" Garnett (who did the great QSDS, also a download there), and Allen Shock. Though I never gave it a thorough playing I recall it worked great in the solo test run through.