Freelance Traveller - Doing It My Way - Task Systems - Abbreviated Combat Resolution (Mongoose Traveller)

Abbreviated Combat Resolution (Mongoose Traveller)

by Matt Adams

This article originally appeared in Issue #003 of the downloadable PDF magazine.

The idea behind this is that sometimes we wanted something to do the creative heavy lifting when we found ourselves saying "oh not another combat". This is for the times when we wanted to get back into the adventure and yet still experience some detail in a fight. A number of us are not hack and slash RPGers but we love Traveller.

Step 1: How the combat encounter started

Roll to determine the state of things at the beginning of the encounter. Were the players surprised? Did they have things in hand? Add modifiers to the roll as needed to indicate preparedness, incompetence, etc. The result is the die modifier added to all characteristic and skill tests for all players for this encounter. Alternately, select the die modifier from this chart based on the player character’s plans as the situation calls for.

2D6 Roll	Situation	DM
2	Ambushed by Opponents	-2
3-5	Caught by Opponents	-1
6-9	Unexpected Encounter by Both Sides	0
10-11	Caught the Opponents	+1
12	Ambushed the Opponents	+2

Notes: Die modifier to be applied to all combat rolls for the fight.

Step 2: Set intensity, (indicates number of skill and characteristic tests)

The number of characteristic and skills tests that will be performed is equal to 2d6. The roll is also the value of the danger rating.

Step 3: How the encounter played out

Make a number of characteristic and skill tests from the fight tables, the quantity of which is equal to the value obtained in step 2.

2D6 Roll	Narrative Description
2-4	“A quick, decisive encounter”
5-9	“A stressful situation”
10-12	“An intense situation”

Option 1: At this point, players and the referee can describe how the situation plays out in free form, possibly from a roughly sketched map. The referee and players can assign tests the following suggested ways:

assign a number of agreed upon tests to each player character from the total count derived in step 2, or
players may bid a number of characteristic damage points in exchange for desired tests according to what they want to narrate, or
select tests round robin style from the lists below, taking turns

Everyone is then free to give a "vignette" description of their character carrying out their part of the encounter, making their characteristics and skills tests from their quota. Working together with other PCs gives linked test benefits as normal.

Option 2: Roll 2d6 to determine the type of combat encounter (“deadly fight”, “protracted fight”, “running fight”, “hit and run”) and then roll to select characteristics and skills from the appropriate table up to the count obtained in step 2. Characteristic and skill tests are then made and their effects are subtracted from the danger number rolled earlier (if the effect of each test is positive).

The effect of each characteristic and skill test plus modifiers is subtracted from the danger value to arrive at an eventual final result. Only positive effects count and negative effects are discarded.

2D6 Roll	Type of Combat
2	Deadly combat—Multiply the danger value by two at the end of the combat, whether negative or positive.
3-7	Protracted fight
8-10	Running Fight
11-12	Hit-and-run

Deadly Combat
2D6 Roll	On Foot	Involves Ground Vehicles	Involves Flyers	Involves Aircraft/Spacecraft	On Foot, In Space	Involves Animals
2	Endurance	Endurance	Endurance	Endurance	Endurance	Endurance
3	Strength	Strength	Strength	Strength	Dexterity	Strength
4	Intelligence	Intelligence	Intelligence	Intelligence	Intelligence	Intelligence
5	Strength	Education	Education	Education	Education	Education
6	Dexterity	Dexterity	Dexterity	Dexterity	Dexterity	Dexterity
7	Intelligence	Intelligence	Intelligence	Intelligence	Intelligence	Intelligence
8	Dexterity	Dexterity	Dexterity	Dexterity	Dexterity	Dexterity
9	Gun Combat, Heavy Weapons, Melee Combat, or Explosives	Driver	Flyer	Pilot	Zero-G Combat	Animal Handling
10	Intelligence	Intelligence	Intelligence	Intelligence	Vacc Suit	Intelligence
11	Strength	Strength	Strength	Strength	Zero-G Combat	Strength
12	Endurance	Endurance	Endurance	Endurance	Endurance	Endurance

Protracted Fight
2D6 Roll	On Foot	Involves Ground Vehicles	Involves Flyers	Involves Aircraft/Spacecraft	On Foot, In Space	Involves Animals
2	A	Communications	Communications	Communications	Medical	Athletics
3	Communications or Tactics	Reconnaissance	Education	Reconnaissance	Communications or Tactics	Reconnaissance
4	Strength	Mechanical	Reconnaissance	Tactics	Vacc Suit	Animal (Veterinary)
5	Gun Combat, Heavy Weapons, Melee Combat, or Explosives	Driver	Flyer	Pilot or Remote Operations	Gun Combat, Heavy Weapons, Melee Combat, or Explosives	Animal Handling
6	Gun Combat, Heavy Weapons, Melee Combat, or Explosives	Gun Combat, Heavy Weapons, Melee Combat, or Explosives	Flyer	Pilot or Remote Operations	Gun Combat, Heavy Weapons, Melee Combat, or Explosives	Animal (Veterinary)
7	Athletics (Endurance) or Endurance	Endurance	Gun Combat, Heavy Weapons, or Explosives	Endurance	Athletics (Endurance) or Space Sciences	Melee Combat
8	Medical	Education	Education	Education	Medical	Dexterity
9	Survival	Mechanical	Endurance	Intelligence	Zero-G Combat	Education
10	Education	Navigation	Mechanical	Engineering	Education	Endurance
11	Reconnaissance	Tactics	Engineering	Endurance	Reconnaissance	Tactics
12	Endurance	Endurance	Endurance	Dexterity	Endurance	Endurance

Running Fight
2D6 Roll	On Foot	Involves Ground Vehicles	Involves Flyers	Involves Aircraft/Spacecraft	On Foot, In Space	Involves Animals
2	Stealth	Dexterity	Stealth	Intelligence	Vacc Suit	Dexterity
3	Gun Combat	Gun Combat	Dexterity	Dexterity	Gun Combat	Tactics
4	Athletics (Endurance)	Medical	Endurance	Endurance	Endurance	Endurance
5	Endurance	Driver	Flyer	Pilot	Tactics	Athletics
6	Tactics	Driver	Flyer	Endurance	Zero-G Combat	Animal Handling
7	Athletics	Gunner or Gun Combat	Gunner or Gun Combat	Gunner or Pilot	Education	Animals (Veterinary)
8	Reconnaissance	Reconnaissance	Navigation	Navigation	Reconnaissance	Endurance
9	Leadership	Mechanical	Endurance	Pilot	Leadership	Gun Combat
10	Melee Combat	Endurance	Reconnaissance	Reconnaissance	Melee Combat	Melee Combat
11	Medical	Tactics	Tactics	Tactics	Medical	Medical
12	Dexterity	Navigation	Mechanical	Communications	Dexterity	Dexterity

Hit-and-Run
2D6 Roll	On Foot	Involves Ground Vehicles	Involves Flyers	Involves Aircraft/Spacecraft	On Foot, In Space	Involves Animals
2	Dexterity	Athletics	Communications	Intelligence	Dexterity	Athletics
3	Athletics	Leadership	Dexterity	Communications	Athletics	Leadership
4	Stealth	Gunner, Explosives, or Gun Combat	Reconnaissance	Pilot	Stealth	Gun Combat or Melee Combat
5	Athletics	Stealth	Gunner or Gun Combat	Gunner	Stealth	Reconnaissance
6	Reconnaissance	Gunner, Explosives, or Gun Combat	Gunner or Gun Combat	Pilot	Reconnaissance	Gun Combat or Melee Combat
7	Gun Combat, Heavy Weapons, Melee Combat, or Explosives	Driver	Flyer	Navigation	Gun Combat, Heavy Weapons, Melee Combat, or Explosives	Animals
8	Gun Combat, Heavy Weapons, Melee Combat, or Explosives	Dexterity	Navigation	Dexterity	Gun Combat, Heavy Weapons, Melee Combat, or Explosives	Dexterity
9	Dexterity	Mechanical	Mechanical	Tactics	Dexterity	Animals (Veterinary)
10	Navigation	Navigation	Dexterity	Sensor Operations	Navigation	Navigation
11	Tactics	Tactics	Tactics	Leadership	Tactics	Tactics
12	Leadership	Dexterity	Intelligence	Reconnaissance	Leadership	Dexterity

Step 4: The Aftermath

If, after all the effect subtractions, the remaining danger is a positive number, this is the number of d6 dice to roll to derive a total of damage to apply across the group of characters. Armor applies. Negative danger values could be interpreted as extra effectiveness of the group towards their goal. One or two decisive characteristic and skill tests by a selected player can determine the actual outcome of the fight if this is important.

Since the philosophical approach to this resolution system is that combat is merely about survival, the precise effect of weapons was not considered. The combats simulated with this system generally assume players matched enough to their opponents for things to be interesting. However, a way to apply the effect of damage from weapons in a battle with this is to first determine the intensity of the battle (the danger number) and then have the opponents roll on this sheet as well. When gun combat, melee, or heavy weapons. is rolled, obtain the damage from the weapon at optimum range and add it to the final amount of damage to apply to the opponent side.