TRAVELLER T4 BASIC COMBAT SYSTEM I. GENERAL NOTES. 1. These rules, with some modification, are taken from the T4 Main Book. 2. To Hit Number. This is determined by a character's skill and base attribute. We will use the modified system (called on the Traveller Mailing List KBv1.1) that I designed. That is--double the skill and add it to half the attribute (rounding up). KBv1.1 also alters the amount of dice thrown for difficulty. Easy, Average, Difficult, and Formidable stay as is, but Staggering is changed to 4 dice, and Impossible is changed to 5 dice. 3. Spectacular Success. When this is rolled, the attacker is entitled to a critical hit. See the notes on spectacular success on pg. 50 of T4. 4. Spectacular Failure. This is usually a fumble of some sort, but also may be some other stroke of bad luck. See the notes on pg. 50 of T4. II. SURPRISE. 1. Surprise is covered on pg. 51 of T4. 2. Surprise Procedure. Roll 1 D6 for each party. If one party rolls at least 3 higher than the other, surprise has been achieved. It is possible that neither party will achieve surprise, and if this is the case, both parties are considered to be aware of each other. DMs to the Surprise Throw Battle Dress worn by any member +2 Highest Leadership skill + skill level Highest Tactics skill + skill level Highest Recon skill + skill level Military training (Army or Marines only) +1 Party includes a vehicle -1 Party has 8+ people -1 Party has 10+ animals -1 Party consists entirely of pouncers (animals) +1 3. Benefits of Surprise. The party with surprise may elect to avoid contact with the other party or engage in combat. Melee strikes done with the benefit of surprise do not count against the End limit for a character--see pg. 60, T4. Surprise continues until lost. Any alarm will automatically end surprise. An unsilenced shot can do this, as can a member of the target party warning others in some manner. Any target that is hit, but not immediately rendered unconscious, will generally make sufficient noise to alert others. Note that laser weapons, silenced pistols, and all guns in vacuum do not make any noise when fired. 4. Losing Surprise. If no alarm is raised as detailed above, there is still a chance, each time an attack is made, that an unattacked comrade of the victim will see him fall, or become alerted by some other means, and give out warnings. Roll 5- on 2 D6 for this to occur. 5. Encounter Range. This is covered on pg. 51 of T4. The GM will generally handle this. 6. Avoidance. This rule is for parties that do not have surprise. Parties that have surprise can avoid contact with the other party simply by stating it (and moving quietly). If two parties encounter each other, both without surprise, either may attempt to avoid contact before combat occurs with this procedure. Roll (3 + Range Number) or less on 2 D6 to avoid. III. THE COMBAT ROUND. 1. Combat Round Notes. This continues to be six seconds long. The AHL Tactical Combat System splits these rounds in half--resulting in two three second phases. Within each round, a character is allowed to move and attack. The Initiative throw determines who goes first. Generally, movement is completed first, with the lowest initiative throw going first. This allows characters with high initiative throws an advantage because they are able to react to other's movement. Then combat is determined after everybody has had a chance to move, but the high initiative characters go first to allow them to shoot or strike first (and thus gain an advantage if they hit). The GM may modify this based on the situation. Combat Round Procedures. In general, a combat round will play out like this. 1. Initiative Throw. 2. Movement is done--lowest initiative throw moving first. 3. Combat--highest initiative throw attacking first. 2. Initiative. There are several ways to determine initiative--by group size, by group roll, or by individual roll. The specifics on these are listed on pg. 52 of T4, but generally, we will be using the individual roll method. Individual Initiative. I've made a slight modification to the initiative rules to allow a character to take advantage of his Dex, Leadership, or Tactics levels. Individual Initiative Throw: 1 D6 for higher dice. DMs to Individual Initiative Throw . Highest Leadership skill on character's side + skill level Character's Tactics skill (see note below)* + skill level Dex 5-9 +1 Dex 10-14 +2 Dex 15+ +3 Minor Wound -1 Serious Wound -3 Critical Wound -5 Draw -3 Weapon Bulk - bulk rating Notes: All ties mean that the combat is simultaneous. If a character uses any Tactics points in his initiative throw, he may not use them in the Tactics pool. Thus, a character with Tactic-2 could take both skill levels as a +2 on all of his initiative throws throughout the combat, but he would not be allowed to contribute to the Tactics pool. Or, the same character could use one point as a +1 to all of his initiative throws, but he could only contribute 1 point to the Tactics pool. The character could also devote both points to the Tactics pool, but he would gain no benefit to his initiative throw. The character's decision for the first combat will decide the use of his tactics points for the rest of the round--meaning if he doesn't use one or some of them for the Tactics pool the first time he throws for initiative, he will not be allowed to contribute to the pool later in the combat. 3. Movement Options. This rule illustrates typical movement actions. Each round, a character has a movement status. The effects of these are determined below. Walking A character can move approximately 15 meters per round. Walking leaves the character free to perform most actions except aimed fire. This is sometimes referred to as speed-1 or S1. Walking characters can perform ranged attacks (snapshots) at a -4 DM. Attacks against walking characters are done at a -1 DM. Walking can be combined with the Evade action status to increase this DM. Running A combatant can run about 30 meters per round, but this prevents the character from making any sort of attack that round. However, the character may take other actions like going prone, standing up (and then running), or evading. Every round running counts as one fatigue point against a character's End. Running is sometimes referred to as speed-2 or S2. Attacks against running characters are done at a -3 DM. This can be combined with the Evade action status to increase this DM. Crawling Crawling characters can move roughly 8 to 10 meters in a round. The only other actions a character can take while crawling is to go prone (to initiate the crawl) or to stand up (ending the crawl). A crawling character is considered prone for purposes of hand to hand and ranged attacks. Trotting A trotting character can move about 20 meters in a round. The same restrictions for running apply here, except that fatigue points are applied every 10 rounds jogging instead of every round. Trotting characters may perform ranged attacks (snapshots) at a -8 DM. Attacks against trotting characters are made at a -2 DM. This can be combined with the Evade action status to increase the DM. Stationary A combatant does not move, but stays where he is. He need not be standing--he could be kneeling, lying prone, etc. Stationary targets are easier to hit, and there is a +3 DM for attacks made against them. The main benefit of the stationary movement status is that stationary characters may conduct aimed fire rather than snapshots. This is sometimes referred to as speed-0 or S0. Riding Characters in moving vehicles or on moving animals are considered to be riding. Characters on animals are restricted by the movement status of their mounts. The mount's running speed may be much faster than human running speed, but if the mount is running, the character is restricted as if he were running. Characters in moving vehicles use the restrictions listed under "walking" above. (When firing at a mounted rider or target in or on a vehicle, the attacker must declare whether he is shooting at the rider or his mount/vehicle. For any missed shots, roll 2 D6. On 11 or 12, the mount/vehicle was hit. The GM may change this based on the situation.) 4. Action Status. Along with movement, a character may normally perform one action each round. These are the basic types of actions. Go Prone Characters can use this to initiate a crawl or drop to their stomachs in order to make a smaller target for ranged attacks. Notice that this is a case where the action occurs before movement, but this still counts as the character's action for the round. Hand to hand attacks against prone characters are made at a +3 DM. Ranged attacks against a prone character receive a penalty equal to twice the range number between target and attacker. Stand Up A prone character can use this action to stand up. Evade This action can be combined with any movement status except crawling or stationary. This character is zigzagging and attempting to dodge fire. Attacks against evading characters are made at a penalty equal to the range number between the target and the attacker. Evading characters may not make any attacks during the combat round and may not use their weapons to block or parry. Strike This can be used to make hand to hand or armed strikes against an opponent in melee combat. A character must be at contact range with his opponent in order to attempt a strike. Ranged Attack This includes gun fire, thrown weapons, arrow shots, and even mortar fire. 5. Held Actions. A character may indicate that he is holding his action until later in the round. This could be used, for example, if a character wishes to sight his rifle on a doorway and shoot the first person to come through. A character my implement his held action at any time after his turn (determined by initiative), and the GM will govern the use of held actions. Normally, a character using a held action will go when the player indicates, but the GM will resolve special situations. 6. Multiple Actions. A character may conduct multiple actions, breaking the one action per round rule, by using this rule. It is listed on pg. 58 of T4. IV. HAND TO HAND COMBAT. 1. Procedure. Generally, hand to hand and melee combat will be handled as indicated in these steps although some of the alternative attack routines may alter this procedure. 1. Determine to hit number and difficulty level based on skill, ability, and attack routine. 2. Apply DMs for Fatigue, Weakened Blows, Defender's Skill, and any other DMs. 3. Roll on Hit Location Chart; Check location for armor. 4. Decrease damage dice for any armor used by defender. 5. Roll and apply damage; Check Hit Location Chart for additional damage. 6. Calculate Fatigue. 2. Range. In order to conduct hand to hand combat, an attacker must be within contact range with his opponent. 3. Short range melee weapons vs. long range melee weapons. If a character with a dagger (a short range melee weapon) is fighting an opponent with a spear (a long range melee weapon), the character with the short range weapon may not attack on the first round. He may defend though. Note that this only happens on the first round of a combat. 4. Weapon Length. Any weapon over 3000 mm is very clumsy and cannot be used against an individual at contact range after its first such use. Any weapon of greater than 1500 mm requires care in use because of the size of doorways and hatches. In AHL Tactical Combat System, any individual carrying such a weapon must expend one additional AP when passing through a doorway, hatch, or iris valve. 5. Weakened Blows. Characters can conserve energy in a hand to hand fight by using weakened blows. Weakened blows do not count against a character's End pool, but a negative DM is applied on the attack throw. Different weapons have different DM, depending on how hard they are to control. These weakened blow DMs can be found, by weapon type, in the Weakened Blow Chart below. Weapon Weak Blow Hands -2 Club -1 Dagger -2 Short Blade -2 Foil -2 Cutlass -4 Sword -3 Broadsword -4 Bayonet -2 Spear -3 Halberd -3 Pike -3 Cudgel -1 6. Special Rule--Special Strikes. Situations where Str and End wound not be a factor, like attacks against an unconscious target, do not normally need a task roll and do not count against a character's End pool. 7. Improvised Weapons. Weapons like a broken chair leg or broken bottle can be used to make an armed strike. Any weapon like this should be given a negative DM to hit to reflect the fact that they are more clumsy. A broken bottle, for instance, used as a knife, should use the Blade Combat (or similar skill) skill with a target numberDM of -1 or -2. 8. Armor. The reduction of damage due to armor is described in the ranged combat section, but a note is made here about damage done to attackers who hit armor with their hands and other body parts. Since slamming your fist against something hard does damage, apply 1 point of damage to an attacker for each hit he makes against rigid armor. 9. Pure Defense. A character can concentrate on countering his opponents attacks rather than making any attacks of his own. Attacking exposes one to a counter attack, and this rule allows a defender to focus all of his energy on defending himself. In such as case, the attacker and defender make opposed rolls against each other (see pg. 50 of T4) with the appropriate skills i.e. Brawling vs. Brawling, Blade Combat vs. Blade Combat, etc. The defender must have a weapon to defend himself with if defending against an opponent with a weapon. Neither character uses the other's skill rating as a negative DM in this case. If the attacker wins, the attack is automatically successful. If the defender wins, the attack is blocked and fails. 10. Attack Routine--Unarmed Strikes. This is melee combat using yourfist, foot, head, etc. Damage is normally 1 D6. Defenders can use their Brawling skill as a negative DM to the attack throw. To Hit at unarmed hand to hand combat: Average test of Brawling. 11. Attack Routine--Armed Strikes. This is melee combat with blades, clubs, swords, spears, chair legs or other makeshift weapons, etc. The appropriate skill for the weapon should be used i.e. Blade Combat, Fencing, Melee Combat, Dagger, etc. The damage done is determined by the weapon. Only defenders with weapons (to block with) can use their skill levels (with that weapon) as a negative DM to the attackers to hit throw. To attempt an armed strike: Average test of appropriate skill. 12. Special Rule--Fencing. Fencers use the same rules as listed above for armed strikes except they receive a special bonus. If an armed strike against a fencer fails, the fencer is allowed a free, additional, and immediate attack in the same combat round even though it is not his turn to act. This "return fencer's attack" is in addition to his normal action for the combat round. Two fencers fencing each other could use this rule to make multiple attacks in the same combat round given that misses are made. This rule can only be used following an unsuccessful armed attack. 13. Attack Routine--Grappling. This is an attempt to pin and hold a target. The attacker may choose to cause injury with the grapple, in which case the pinned character takes 1 point of damage to his End each round until he falls unconscious or breaks free. To break free from a grapple, the defender must roll an opposed Brawling test (see pg. 50 of T4 for opposed tasks) against the attacker. If the victim fails, he remains pinned in the grapple. If he ties or wins, he can either break the grapple or grapple the attacker in return. Brawling or Athletics skill can be used as a negative DM on any grappling attacks. To grapple someone: Difficult test of Brawling. 14. Attack Routine--Tackling. This is an attempt to tackle somebody to the ground. The target's Brawling or Athletics skill can be used as a negative DM to the attack throw. If successful, the target takes 1 D6 of damage, and the attacker takes 1 point of damage. Armor does not stop any of this damage, and both characters end the round prone. If the tackle is not successful, the defender remains unaffected, but the attacker still takes 1 point of damage and ends the round prone adjacent to his target. To tackle someone: Difficult test of Brawling. 15. Military Rifle Skill. Individuals with military backgrounds are trained to use rifles not only as ranged weapons but as melee weapons as well. This rule allows such individuals to use specific rifle skills (determined by the GM) as skill in melee combat (either with a bayonet or as a striking weapon). For these weapons, use a skill of one level lower when deciding melee attacks. V. RANGED COMBAT. 1. Ranged Combat Notes. This section covers everything from thrown rocks to artillery fire. These rules will be directed to the most common form of ranged attack, direct fire, unless otherwise noted (i.e. thrown weapons, indirect fire). Procedure. Generally, ranged combat handled as indicated in these steps although some of the alternative attack routines may alter this procedure. 1. Determine to hit number and difficulty level based on skill, ability, range, and attack routine. 2. Apply any DMs. 3. Roll on Hit Location Chart; Check location for armor. 4. Decrease damage dice for any armor used by defender. 5. Roll and apply damage; Check Hit Location Chart for additional damage. 6. Record ammunition usage. 2. Combat Range Table. There can be some confusion when calculating range for a ranged attack because the range names sometimes refer to different distances. The table below lists the base distances for each range category, and normally, this is the distance referred to when somebody mentions contact range or very long range. Weapons, however, perform differently at a given range. Therefore, a gauss rifle's contact range, with HE rounds, is up to 16 meters. The same range names are used, but the actually ranges that they represent are changed from the base to allow advantage or disadvantage for a specific weapon. For targets at a different altitude than the attacker, use the greater of the two distances--either horizontal or vertical. Range Number Range Name Distance Attack Rating. 0 Contact 0-3 m Easy 1 Very Short 4-15 m Average 2 Short 16-45 m Difficult 3 Medium 46-150 m Formidable 4 Long 151-450 m Staggering 5 Very Long 451-1500 m Impossible 3. Attack Routine--Snapfire. Snapshots are those quick direct fire shots people make without taking the time to aim--just point and shoot quickly. The main advantage to snapfire attacks is that characters can move and shoot in the same combat round. To make a to hit throw using snapfire, simply figure the range to the target and cross reference that on the weapon's sheet. This will give you the difficulty. 4. Attack Routine--Aimed Fire. When a shooter really wants to hit a target, he stops, braces himself, takes careful aim, and squeezes off a shot. This is basically snapfire except it is aimed and receives a bonus for doing so. Each weapon chart lists a + DM for aimed shots. Other than this, aimed fire is handled exactly like snapfire. A character conducting aimed fire must choose stationary as his movement status for the turn so that he can aim. The aim is disrupted if he is attacked in hand to hand combat or is hit by a ranged attack--even if he takes no damage due to armor. If either of these two things happen before the character fires his shot, he cannot make the aimed shot (but could make a snapshot). The character can try again, if he is able, next round. 5. Attack Routine--Snipe. A character must take two actions aiming to conduct a snipe. A snipe action is conducted just like aimed fire except, if the hit is successful, the sniping character can use his level of weapon skill to move the rolled hit location up or down the chart--in whatever direction the player wishes up to a maximum of the skill level. In this way, a sniper can skew his hits to critical areas on his targets. The GM may declare that the attacking character decide where he is aiming before the attack is made, then skew the shot towards that area on the hit location chart. 6. Attack Routine--Autofire. The biggest advantage to autofire is, since a character is firing more bullets, he gets more than one attack throw. This will increase the chance that a target is hit and provide for the possibility of additional damage. Another benefit to this attack form is that the group hit rule is used--see below for details. Autofire is handled like snapfire with a few exceptions. Spectacular success with automatic fire results in automatic double damage (for the primary target only) after any subtraction for armor and/or cover, etc. In this case, the maximum damage dice is also doubled to 6 D6--note this is an exception to the maximum damage rule. Weapons firing 4 to 5 rounds in a burst are allowed two attack throws per burst. Weapons firing 6 to 10 round bursts (or more), and weapons that are exclusively fired in the full automatic role (light machine guns, autocannons, VRF gauss guns, etc.) are allowed three attack throws per burst. Any spectacular failure with automatic fire is considered a weapon jam. Weapons used in the fully automatic mode cannot be used for aimed fire. Autofire Recoil. Because of the recoil of multiple fired rounds, accuracy is an issue. Use a - DM on all autofire attacks equal to the range number of the target. Due to this recoil, autofire cannot be aimed. 7. Attack Routine--Suppression Fire. Sometimes a character may want to use automatic fire to interdict movement through a particular area: a doorway, the mouth of an alley, the area between burned out vehicles, etc. Suppression fire is a combination of the autofire and held action rules and can only be accomplished with fully automatic weapons. Basically, a character can designate a target area to conduct suppression fire against. If anybody moves through that area, an immediate autofire attack can be attempted against them. Use double the range number as a DM, but only throw one attack no matter the burst size. If a hit is achieved, normal (not double) damage is done. Characters conduction suppression fire are allowed these immediate attacks as long as there is a target in their suppression target area (meaning that a character could get multiple actions in a round). If more than one target moves through the area, standard group hits apply. 8. Attack Routine--Rapid Fire. A character may wish to fire a continuos stream of shots instead of controlled bursts. If this is the case, increase the difficulty of the hit by one level but allow the character to designate three primary targets near each other. The targets don't need to be adjacent, but they all must fall within the same 45 degree arc. Rapid fire may be used with single shot weapons, but when combined with fully automatic weapons, rapid fire allows characters to thoroughly spray an area with fire. Characters can use rapid fire for up to three pulls of the trigger, but the weapon must have enough ammo (single shot, burst) to fire these three times. If this is not the case, then two targets can be attacked with rapid fire. Also, rapid fire may be used against a single target. Generally, rapid fire is not effective (and not allowed) at targets at greater than medium range. Targets other than the first incur a -2 DM to the attack throw. Characters using rapid fire also gain benefits associated with each attack throw--group hits and addition throws for autofire. Think of rapid fire as a means for characters to perform multiple attacks in one round. Note that a character is limited to the number of targets he can attack in the same combat round based on his Dex. See the changing targets rule below. 9. Attack Routine--Shotguns. Shotguns are handled just like snapfire except that they also use the group hit rule. Unlike most group hits, attacks with shotguns under this rule allows attackers three extra attacks. Targets must be human sized or smaller, within range, and grouped closely together. Shotguns receive a +2 DM when firing at flying targets. 10. Attack Routine--Thrown Weapons. How far and how hard it is to hit a target with a thrown weapon is determined by a character's throw range. The skill used for throwing objects is Throwing. Throw Range. Objects of 1 kg or less can be thrown horizontally a number of meters equal to Str x 5. Throwing upward, this range is reduced to a number of meters equal to the character's Str rating. Heavier objects can be thrown for shorter ranges. For objects weighing up to the character's Str in kg, halve the normal range. For objects weighing up to double the Str rating, divide the normal range by 10. Characters cannot throw objects heavier than their Str rating in kg. Thrown Weapon To Hit Table. To find the to hit difficulty for thrown weapons, figure the distance to the target, make sure it does not exceed the character's throw range, and cross reference with the table below. Throw Range Difficulty. 0-3 m Difficult 4-15 m Formidable 16-45 m Staggering 46-150 m Impossible 11. Attack Routine--Indirect Fire. Indirect fire requires the use of a spotter or some kind of spotting device that is within sight of the target and can report firing corrections. Acting as a spotter involves the use of the Forward Observer skill. Indirect fire usually requires the use of the Heavy Weapons or Artillery skill. To hit with indirect fire: Difficult test of appropriate skill. Use the range number of the target as a penalty DM to this throw. Because the indirect fire procedure requires the use of two people--the weapon operator and the spotter--use the lower of the two skills (but the weapon operator's attribute) when making the to hit roll. The best spotter in existence is helpless if the firer is inept, and the best of firers cannot hit a thing without accurate instructions from his spotter. 12. Attack Routine--Bow Combat. Bow combat is conducted using the normal direct fire rules listed here, but generally, bows cannot hit targets beyond long range. 13. Group Hits. Because of the spread of fully automatic fire (or other weapons that can attack more than one target), characters adjacent to targets of automatic fire are attacked as well. After the attack is made on the primary target, roll to hit throws against targets within 1.5 meters of the primary target. (This area is called the weapon's danger space--some weapons have wider danger spaces.) Use double the range DM on this attack, only roll one attack per additional target, and don't double the damage dice if a spectacular hit is achieved. No more than two additional targets (this is with a 4-5 round burst) can be attacked in this manner--choose the two closest the primary target (if a hit was achieved on the primary target, otherwise, roll randomly for all targets within range). Weapons firing 10 rounds in a burst or greater are allowed attacks at four adjacent targets. 14. HE Rounds. After normal hits are resolved, including group hits from automatic fire, blast effects may cause damage to individual targets adjacent to the primary target. Roll a second time for group hits, but apply half damage. These extra targets must be adjacent to the target character to be attacked. Adjacent characters are those in the same 1.5 meter square as the target. 15. Flechettes. All flechette rounds, fired at targets at long and very long range, use the shotgun rule for group hits. 16. High Energy Weapons. All PGMPs and FGMPs, fired at targets at very long range, use the shotgun rule for group hits. The danger space for most PGMPs and FGMPs is 4.5 meters. 17. Accessories. There are a multitude of accessories that can aid ranged fire. The most common are listed here. Telescopic and electronic sights provide a +4 DM to hit at long and very long ranges. Pistol shoulder stocks provide a -1 DM to hit at contact range but provide a +1 DM at very short, short, medium, and long range. Rifle folding stocks use a -1 DM at very short, short, medium, long, and very long ranges. 18. Cover and Concealment. An individual who is completely under cover cannot be attacked. An individual who is in complete concealment cannot be attacked unless the firer has some reason to fire into that area (and the below DMs are used). Use a -4 DM on attacks against target under partial cover. Use a -1 DM against targets who are concealed. If a character, who is under partial cover, is hit by an attack, roll on the critical hit chart to determine location. If the shot hit a location that cannot be hit because of cover, then the shot is a miss. 19. Darkness and Night. Poor lighting conditions may restrict the ability of an individual to see and attack. Attacks at targets greater than Short range suffer a -9 DM on the attack throw. Vision is also restricted to Short range. Partial darkness (weak light sources like moonlight, distant illumination, etc.) allows visibility up to Medium range, and ranged attacks at greater than Medium suffer the -9 DM. Electronic sights or nightfinder equipment may be used to eliminate these DMs and improve visual range. There is an improved version of these rules listed in the AHL notes. 20. Size. Targets that are basketball sized or smaller are considered small--use a -3 DM against these targets. Targets that are the size of a ground car or larger are considered large--allow a +3 DM to hit these targets. 21. Firing into hand to hand combat. It's dangerous to fire into a situation where a friend is in contact range with your target. Use a -3 DM on the to hit roll, and if the attack fails, choose a random person within contact range and roll an attack against him. This new target may be friend or foe. 22. Drawing. Drawing a weapon is an action, but the referee may let a character quick draw--meaning draw and fire in the same round. To perform a quick draw: Average test of appropriate weapon skill. If this is successful, apply a -3 DM to the drawing character's initiative throw. Characters who also draw and fire at their next available opportunity use a -3 DM to hit. A special case occurs when two or more people draw against one another. Use an opposed roll of the weapon skill to determine who goes first. 23. Reloading. Reloading a weapon when its magazine is empty is an action and requires, normally, one combat round to complete. Six seconds is still a short period of time to disengage an old magazine, locate and pull a new one, and replace the spent mag in the weapon--especially if one is not well versed in the operation of his weapon. To simulate this, the ref may require a check to replace the mag in one round. If the check fails, it can be tried each round until the check is successful. To reload a weapon: Average test of appropriate weapon skill. Revolvers do not take magazines, and therefore take more time. The minimum time to reload a revolver is two actions. If need be, half the weapon's ammo can be reloaded in one action i.e. 3 bullets for a 6 round revolver could be reloaded in one combat round. Revolvers assume 6 round cylinders. If a weapon takes more ammo, say 8 rounds, then use the individual ammo rule to see how long it takes. Speed loaders allow revolvers to be reloaded in one action. Individual rounds, like loading a revolver or a shot gun, can be reloaded one bullet at a time. Up to 3 bullets can be reloaded per action. Lasers do not use cartridges--they have power packs instead. Replacing a spent power pack is treated like changing a magazine if another power pack is carried and readily available. More likely, changing the power pack for a laser or other energy weapon will require 4 actions--one for each of these steps: disconnect the power cable from the weapon, take off the power pack, put on the new power pack, and connect the cable to the weapon. Belt type magazines, as used in heavy machine guns, usually contain 50 to 100 bullets, and these belts can be replaced in two reloading actions. If the weapon has a two man crew, usually a gunner and a loader, then each operator can work together to get the weapon reloaded in one action. Cassette type magazines, those used in large self contained feed systems on vehicles and such, require 5 reloading actions to reload. Thus, one person could reload them in 5 rounds, but 5 people, given sufficient space with which to work, could reload the weapon in only 1 combat round. All of these loading times are minimum times and assume that a fresh magazine is at hand to reload the weapon. 24. Special Rule--Hand Grenades. This rule modifies the hand grenade rule listed on pg. 59 of T4. Roll a normal to hit throw as described in the thrown weapon rules, and a successful hit means that the grenade landed with the target in the primary burst radius. A miss indicates that the scatter rules must be used--see below. A spectacular success means that the grenade actually landed on the target when it exploded--apply double damage. Concussion. Grenades have two values listed in their damage columns. One designates the concussive force of the grenade indicated with a "C". The number beside this indicates how many damage dice the grenade does due to concussion. The second listing is a numberwith a "B". This is the grenade's primary burst radius in meters. Targets within this burst radius will be hit by fragments--how many depends (see below). Targets at greater range than the primary burst radius, up to twice the primary burst radius, are in the weapon's secondary burst radius. Targets in this secondary burst radius will take less damage than those in the primary burst radius. These ranges continue until no more damage can be applied to targets, but the damage rating of the grenade is reduced at each burst radius. When the damage of the grenade drops below 1, the grenade cannot inflict any more damage. Use the chart below to determine the damage a grenade does due to concussive force. When applying concussion damage use the second column on the critical hit chart to determine location. Concussive Damage for grenades. Indoor or Enclosed Areas Outdoor or Open Areas Burst Radius Full damage Full damage 2 x Burst Radius 1/2 damage 1/4 damage 3 x Burst Radius 1/4 damage 1/8 damage 4 x Burst Radius 1/8 damage 1/16 damage Fragmentation. Characters in the burst radius will also be hit with fragments (given that the grenade is designed to throw fragments). Roll on one of the charts below to see how many fragments hit targets based on which burst radius they are in. Each fragment in the primary burst radius will do 2 D6 damage. Each fragment in the secondary (or beyond) burst radius will do 1 D6 of damage. PRIMARY BURST RADIUS SECONDARY BURST RADIUS D6 Shrapnel D6 Shrapnel 1-2 No fragments 1-3 No fragments 3-4 1 fragment 4-5 1 fragment 5-6 1 D6 fragments 6 1 D6 fragments Deviation. If the to hit throw fails, the grenade will deviate. Use one of the two charts below depending on which way the character was throwing. Roll two dice. The result will indicate which direction the grenade scatters before it explodes. The center square indicates the target square. ^ or \ indicates the direction of the throw (pointing towards the 7). Distance is calculated by rolling 2 D6 and halving the result. SCATTER DIAGRAM DIAGONAL SCATTER DIAGRAM 6 7 8 7 8 9 5 ^ 9 4 \ 4,12 2,10 3,11 4,12 5 2,11 3,10 Other Notes for Grenades. 1. The 3 D6 maximum damage rule does not apply to grenades. 2. Handle fragmentation attacks just like slug throwers--armor can block the frags. 3. Concussion effects ignore armor. 4. The concussive damage of a grenade can be ignored based on the situation i.e. in a vacuum. 5. There may be some protection from partial cover such as crouching behind a vehicle or hunkering down in a foxhole. The GM makes the final decision, but partial cover could affordhalf damage from concussion. For instance, this would be the case if a character was lying prone in a foxhole. Partial cover may effect fragmentation damage as well. 6. Characters in small, tight enclosures such as armored vehicles, small concrete rooms, or narrow trenches suffer automatic double concussion damage. 25. Pistol Recoil. If a pistol is steadied by using both hands to brace the shot, pistol recoil is more easily controlled, and the weapon is more accurate. One action must be used steadying the pistol, but the firing character receives a +1 DM to hit if he does so. This can be combined with the aim or snipe actions simultaneously. 26. Two Weapons. A character can use two weapons, like two pistols, if it is physically possible to do so, but generally only one weapon can be fired at a time with any accuracy. Characters are considered to be using two weapons if they use more than one weapon in the same 6 second combat round. Otherwise, characters are only carrying two weapons, and they can use one weapon for a full round then use the other weapon for a full round without penalty. Check the below chart for to hit target number modifiers. Character is Left hand DM Right hand DM. Right Handed -4 -2 Left Handed -2 -4 Ambidextrous -3 -3 27. Changing Targets. Through the use of the multiple action rule or some other method, characters may attack more than once in a combat round. A maximum of 3 targets can be attacked during a round. There are DMs applied to the to hit throw based on the character's Dex. Check the chart below for DMs and the number of targets a character can attack in a single round. Dex Max Targets 1st Tgt DM 2nd Tgt DM 3rd Tgt DM. 0-4 1 0 NA NA 5-9 2 0 -1 NA 10+ 3 0 -1 -2 VI. WOUNDS. 1. Damage Procedure. Each weapon's stat sheet lists the weapon's damage rating. When a hit is achieved, this is the number of dice rolled to inflict damage to the target. 1. Roll on Hit Location chart to find hit location. 2. Check to see if that location is armored. 3. Roll damage and apply to stats. 2. Hit Location Chart. This is the primary hit location chart. Roll 1 D6 for both digits. The chart is from head to toe, and the probabilities for each location are: (for column one) 14% Head; 14% Arm; 51% Torso; 20% Leg. (for column two) 14% Head; 22% Arm; 40% Torso; 22% Leg. Roll on the first column for most ranged attacks--this table is weighted towards the torso. Roll on the second table for a more random distribution of damage (such as from explosions). Use the column that corresponds to the current wound category the character has. A hit location of incidental means that a piece of the character's equipment was hit, and the character probably did not take damage. Roll again on this chart to find location and pick equipment in that area or roll on the hit location chart above. If there is no listing below under the wound categories, then there is no secondary effect to the damage. Col 1 Col 2 Location Superficial Minor Serious . 11 11 Cranium/Ear Stuns 1 rd Frac/Conc Brain 12 12 Cranium/Crown Stuns 1 rd Frac/Conc Brain 13 13 Face/Eye Stuns 1 rd Frac/Impd Brain 14 14 Face/Jaw Stuns 1 rd Frac/Impd Throat 1p/r 15 15 Neck Throat 1p/r Spine 16 -- Top of Torso Throat 1p/r Spine 21 16 Top of Torso Frac Artery 2p/r 22 21 Top of Torso Frac Artery 2p/r 23 22 Shoulder Drop items Frac Impd/amp 24 23 Shoulder Drop items Frac Impd/amp 25 -- Upper Torso Lung 1p/r Heart 2p/r 26 -- Upper Torso Lung 1p/r Heart 2p/r 31 24 Upper Torso Lung 1p/r Heart 2p/r 32 25 Upper Torso Frac Artery 2p/r 33 -- Mid Torso Lung 1p/r Artery 1p/r 34 26 Mid Torso Lung 1p/r Artery 1p/r 35 31 Mid Torso Lung 1p/r Spine 36 32-33 Upper Arm Drop items Frac Impd/amp 41 -- Upper Abdm Intl 1p/r Intl 2p/r 42 34-35 Upper Abdm Intl 1p/r Intl 2p/r 43 36 Upper Abdm Intl 1p/r Intl 2p/r 44 41 Lower Abdm Intl 1p/r Intl 2p/r 45 42 Lower Abdm Intl 1p/r Intl 2p/r 46 43-44 Forearm/Elbow Drop items Frac Impd/amp 51 45 Pelvis Frac Spine 52 46 Pelvis Frac Impd 53 51-52 Hand/Wrist Drop items Frac Impd/amp 54 53 Groin Impd Intl 1p/r 55 54 Hip/Buttocks Frac Impd Hip 56 55 Hip/Buttocks Frac Impd Hip 61 56 Upper Leg Fall Frac Artery 2p/r 62 61 Upper Leg Fall Frac Impd Leg/amp 63 62 Knee Fall Frac Impd Knee/amp 64 63 Lower Leg Fall Frac Impd Leg/amp 65 64-65 Ankle/Foot Fall Frac Impd Ankle/amp 66 66 Incidental Secondary Effects: #p/r Character receives additional points of damage per subsequent round until medical attention received. Drop Items This might not be automatic. Stun Stunned characters cannot attack or move for 1 round, longer in the case of more serious wounds. Might require rest to recover. Fall Might not be automatic. Might incur extra damage, usually 1 point, depending on situation. Frac Fracture. Impd Impaired function of limb, organs, etc. Conc Brain concussion. Either mild, causing headaches, or serious, causing migraines, dizziness, seizures, etc. Severity increases if character loses consciousness. Lung Lung puncture, causes additional damage. Throat Throat wound impairs breathing, causes additional damage. Intl Internal organ hit, causes additional damage. Brain Partial or total paralysis, coma, speech impairment, blindness, personality change, seizures, etc. This will depend on swiftness of medical attention and amount of damage taken. Spine Almost always causes paralysis. Heart Heart injury causes additional damage. Artery Major artery hit causing additional damage. Amp Potential amputation. If large amount of damage received in a single hit, character may receive additional 1-3 pts. of damage per round until medical attention received. Energy weapon hits do not incur extra damage as the wound automatically cauterizes. 3. Special Rule--Aimed Snapshots. Characters may use their skill levels as a DM on this critical hit chart to skew it towards the head or feet (use a negative DM to skew toward the head, a positive DM to skew towards the feet). If all or some of a character's skill level is used this way, those skill levels cannot be used to determine the to hit number. 4. Optional/Additional Hit Location Charts. These hit location tables will be rarely used, but they are presented in the case that it is necessary to determine a hit location and the Critical Hit Chart is not appropriate. One of these charts could be used, for instance, if a left to right hit location is more appropriate or an animal is hit. Note that the critical hit chart should be consulted first, and that chart indicates a hit location. For serious damage, roll twice on these charts. For destroyed damage, roll three times. Table I. For side to side (left to right) skews. 2 D6 Throw Location Special . 2 Right Foot 3 Right Hand 4 Right Leg 5 Right Arm 6 Abdomen Roll 1D6-2 for number of organs effected 7 Chest Roll 1D6 for: 1,2 heart 3,4,5 lungs 6 both heart and lungs 8 Head Roll 1D6 for: 1 right eye 2 left eye 3 right ear 4 left ear 5 throat 6 roll twice 9 Left Arm 10 Left Leg 11 Left Hand 12 Left Foot Table II. For Head to Foot skews. Die Location. 2 Head 3 Head 4 Arm 5 Arm 6 Chest 7 Abdomen 8 Chest 9 Abdomen 10 Leg 11 Leg 12 Leg Table III. For Animal Head to Foot skews. Die Location. 2 Head 3 Head 4 Neck 5 Forequarter 6 Forequarter 7 Back/Sides 8 Back/Sides 9 Hindquarter 10 Abdomen 11 Tail 12 Tail 5. Hit Points. A character's hit points is the total of his physical stats--Str, Dex, and End. Damage rolled against a character reduces these stats and therefore negatively effects how a character functions. A player may decide which of these three stats to reduce due to incurred damage. Let's say 2D6 of damage is rolled against a character, and a 2 and a 4 is rolled. The defending player has to reduce the total of his physical stats by 6 points, but the player decides which stats to reduce. The only restriction here is that each die of damage cannot be broken up i.e. a character could not split the damage by reducing each of his stats by 2 (for a total of 6 points). The player must take 4 points from a stat and 2 points from a stat--although he may take all 6 points from the same stat. This damage will, among other things, reduce the target numbers for all skills governed by that attribute. Ever hit your thumb with a hammer? Hurts, doesn't it, and it's hard to use your hand for a while afterwards. 6. Critical Hit. Some wounds may be enough to daze or even kill a character. To simulate this, all of the damage from a spectacular hit is distributed randomly against a target's hit points. Apply the entire amount of damage sustained in the first hit to a random stat. If a stat is reduced to 0 in this manner, but all of the damage has not been applied, then continue to roll randomly on the remaining stats. In this manner, first blood can stun, incapacitate, or even kill. 7. Special Rule--Int and Edu Hit Points. A character's Int and Edu can be reduced, just like the character's physical stats, if a hit effects the head. In this instance, the character is allowed more hit points than normal, and he can use these two stats to absorb damage points that would normally incapacitate him. Allowing more hit points for the head is unrealistic, but this is one of those rules that is in the best interest of players by keeping their characters alive longer. What this rule will do is skew head shots towards superficial grazes. This evens out, as is indicated in the Healing section, because a character with a destroyed brain is not a candidate for healing. A character's Soc stat can never be used for hit points although a Psi rating, if the character has one, can be used just like Int or Edu (for head wounds only). Note that certain wounds, besides those that actually hit the head, could also effect the head. For example, a major artery hit in the leg could conceivably restrict blood flow to the brain. In this instance, if the GM sees it as logical, these extra hit points could be used. 8. Armor. Armor may reduce the amount of damage a target suffers. The AV (armor value) of the armor indicates how much damage it absorbs before armor penetration has occurred. For each AV point, subtract 1D6 from the weapon's damage rating. If the weapon's damage rating is greater than the AV of the armor, penetration has occurred, and the remaining points are applied against the target as damage. Note that penetrated armor should be repaired if it is to be used again. Targets still suffer blunt trauma damage if the armor used is classed as flexible. Targets take 1 point of damage for every D6 absorbed by the armor. Blunt trauma is not applied to characters in rigid armor types. Helmets. The Critical Hit Chart is specific as to where the character is damaged, but in cases where it is unclear (and the attacked character has a helmet on) use this rule. If the head is partially covered, as in the case of an open faced helmet, roll 1D6. On a 1 or 2, the shot hit the unprotected area of the face or neck. 9. Maximum Damage. Regardless of a weapon's damage rating, a character cannot have more than 3D6 of damage applied to it. This rule should be considered a general rule--note that some things, such as shotguns and autofire, break this rule. 10. Wound Categories. Any damage taken by a character results in a superficial wound. If a characteristic is reduced to 0, then the character has sustained a minor wound. If two characteristics are reduced to 0, the character has sustained serious wounds. If all three characteristics are reduced to 0, the character is dead. 11. Unconsciousness. Character's with minor wounds will fall unconscious from shock for 10 minutes. When character's recover, the stat that fell to 0 will be improved to 1, and the other stats will be improved to half way between their current level and their original, maximum level (drop fractions). Seriously wounded characters will also fall unconscious (and this may be a second time if they fell unconscious when they were minorly wounded, then recovered, then took more damage) from severe shock and coma from blood loss and injury. These characters will recover after 3 hours, and all stats remain at the wounded level (except all 0 stats, which are improved to 1). Alternatively, a character with a minor wound may roll 1D6 every 3 minutes, and if a 6 is rolled, the character becomes conscious. If a character has a serious wound, then roll every hour. 12. Stun Damage. Some weapons are listed as doing stun damage rather than actual wounds. Also, a character may indicate he is attacking to stun, rather than kill, in a hand to hand attack. There is a -3 DM used for this attack form. Stun damage is handled just like normal wounds, but characters recover from them much more quickly. Return 1 D6 points to one stat per hour of rest, but roll the stat randomly. Stats cannot be improved above their maximum level. 13. Disease. Rules for disease are listed on pg. 33 of JTAS #13. Additional rules are also listed on pg. 44 of TD #20. 14. Poison, Acid, etc. Rules for poison and acid are listed on pg. 59 of T4. Additional notes on poison can be found on pg. 49 of TC #9.