I've included the modifications into the rules to create V4.
Traveller Space Combat VERSION 4
These rules are greatly simplified from those appearing in Book 2 of Classic Traveller, and use a modified set of bonuses than VERSION 3.
1. Establish the initial range of the encounter; begin at either Very Short (500km or less), Typical (out to 50,000km) or Very Long (from 50,000km-150,000km).
2. Ships act in order of G maneuver rating.
3. Attacker's crew may make skill rolls (optional, but recommended if player-characters).
4. Attacker decides if any lasers will be held back for anti-missile protection.
5. Attacker launches any missiles at an opponent. Sand may also be launched.
6. Attacker can resolve his laser fire. Attacks can be grouped by type and share an attack roll. Roll 8+ for each laser attack (beam/pulse) firing on a target. There are various modifiers to this number:
+2 if Very Short range (for all weapons)
-2 if beam laser firing Very Long Range (pulse lasers cannot reach Very Long Range)
+1 if target has launched sand (versus lasers only)
+ the difference between attacker’s and defender’s Computer (if positive)
+ the difference between attacker’s and defender’s G drive (if positive)
7. Total all hits from all lasers in the attack. Figure the damage done (see below)
8. Missiles arrive. Roll 8+ for the flight of missiles as above. If they succeed and are are about to hit the target, the target can attempt to shoot them down at point-blank range. He can use lasers he has used in combat this turn, or ones set aside for this task. All weapons in one turret must fire at the same missile. To shoot down a missile, roll 8+ if dedicated; roll 10+ if the laser has already fired this turn. Apply a -2 if the defender has a better computer than the missile-firing attacker.
9. Total all hits from all missiles in the attack. Figure the damage done (see below)
10. Address movement. The ship with the highest G rating can close or extend the range by 1 range band (or maintain the current distance).
11. Go to 1 > It is now the opponent’s turn.
Range Bands
Very Short (Up to 500km) +2
Typical (Up to 50,000km) 0
Very Long (Up to 150,000km) -2
Distant (Up to 600,000km) no
Extreme (Up to 900,000km)-5 no
Weapon Hits
Beam Laser 1 hit
Pulse Laser 1 hit
Missile 3 hits
Nuclear Missile 6 hits
Figuring Damage
What are the total number of weapon 'hits' done by the laser or missile attack? This is the optimal number of hits. Usually less hits are applied to a target based on how high the successful attack roll was.
Exact roll One tenth of optimal hits
1-2 More One quarter of optimal hits
3-4 More One half of optimal hits
5-6 More Three quarters of optimal hits
7+ Full number of hits
Minimum number of applied hits is always 1. Every 10 applied hits should be traded in for a free critical hit.
Character Skill Rolls
• If Pilots make an 10+ roll, they can add +1 to the ship's G rating
• If Navigators make an 10+ roll, they can add +1 to the ship's computer rating
• If chief gunners make an 10+ roll, they can add +1 to one ship's to-hit roll in a turn
• If Engineers make an 10+ roll, incoming damage can be reduced that turn (??).
All rolls must be made at the start of a ship's turn.
Armour
Armour seems to be absent from the Book 2 universe altogether. The mercenary and patrol cruiser have no armour, neither do the 800 ton frigates and 1000 ton cruisers that feature in some of the Alien Modules. Perhaps we can postulate that in some way all ships, even civillian ones, are incredibly armoured to survive jump. The immense toughness of bulkheads in Traders & Gunboats would seem to support this idea. No rules for armour are thus provided. I do have a method to integrate a simple armour rule, though.
Sandcasters
Sand can be launched early in the ship's turn and stays in effect for one turn of incoming laser fire only. It provides either a -1 or -2 penalty on an attacker's incoming laser fire. That may not seem like much, but on a 2D scale it is, especially considering that even if hit that -1 may reduce the damage suffered. The DM used depends on the number of sandcaster weapons the ship mounts.
Less than 1 sandcaster per 200 tons …….. ineffectual
1 sandcaster per 200 tons ……………..............……. -1
2 sancasters per 200 tons …………..............………. -2
