Some House Rules

[tkdco2]

Here are a few house rules that I came up for my Traveller games.

Character Generation: You can roll 3 dice and keep the best two when determining UPP. Assign as desired, but try to keep INT and EDUC as close in value as possible.

Titles of Nobility: I changed things a bit to reflect current status
Rank A: Baronet or Knight
Rank B: Baron
Rank C: Viscount
Rank D: Count or Earl
Rank E: Marquis
Rank F: Duke or Prince

Weapons: I switched the damage values of foils and daggers. Foils do 2D damage; daggers do 1D damage. Hatchets are treated as blades but weigh 500 grams and are TL 2. Axes are treated like halberds but cannot thrust.

Unarmed Combat: I took a page from GURPS and separated it into Brawling, Judo, and Karate skills.
Brawling: As described in Book 1. Also allows the use of brawling weapons.
Judo: Can throw at -1 DM to attack for an extra 3 points of damage. An attack roll of 2 means that the thrower falls instead of the target. Grapples ignore armor but do no damage until the target is pinned.
Karate: Can kick at -1 DM to attack for an extra 3 points of damage. An attack roll of 2 means that the kicker falls. Can add +1 DM to attack or defense.

Starship Combat: Railguns are treated as fusion guns. Dragon Magazine # 95 has the article "Antimissiles and Roundshot" which expands starship weaponry.

NOTE: I may use Starmada instead of Traveller for my space combat system. The Starmada Compendium hits my sweet spot as far as starship combat is concerned.

[kesher]

Those look pretty workable, though I admit a fondness for letting the dice fall where they may when it comes to the UPP...

Never heard of Starmada--now I've got more reading to do!

[tkdco2]

Starmada is a good system, although the latest edition (Nova edition)is a different game from the one I prefer (Compendium).

I wrote up those rules before I got books 4 and 5, but they still work with the additional books.

[tkdco2]

Here are my rules for bows and crossbows:

Crossbow:  Damage 4D, Req DEX 5, DM -1, Adv. DEX 9,   DM +2
Long Bow:  Damage 3D, Req DEX 7, DM -3, Adv. DEX 11, DM +2
Short Bow: Damage 2D, Req DEX 6, DM -2, Adv. DEX 10, DM +1

If using the Mercenary and High Guard rules, make the following modifications to advancement:

During the first term, all officers are automatically promoted to O-2 after two years and to O-3 after the fourth year. Roll for promotion during the fourth year in all subsequent terms. This is more in keeping with current average rate of US military advancement. Note that O-1 and O-2 both correspond with OF-1, and O-3 corresponds with OF-2 in NATO rankings.

[tkdco2]

The Army can be used as a police force, like the Carabinieri or Gendarmes. The troops would come from an infantry background. They may stay in a given area for years, or they may be reassigned as needed.

[tkdco2]

Feb 3, 2015 2:56:29 GMT -6 tkdco2 said:

Character Generation: You can roll 3 dice and keep the best two when determining UPP. Assign as desired, but try to keep INT and EDUC as close in value as possible.

I'm rethinking that last bit. Someone on another rpg board stated that intelligence and academic excellence don't necessarily go hand in hand. So perhaps INT can be a measure of common sense and street-smarts, while EDUC can be a measure of book-smarts.

An example of a high-INT, low-EDUC character would be the kid from the Home Alone movies. He's still in elementary school, so his EDUC score inst too high for the normal character (although it may be higher when taking his age into account). Yet he constantly outwits the burglars who break into his home and try to harm him.

On the flip side of the coin is Dr. Frasier Crane from Cheers and Frasier. He is a practicing psychiatrist, so he has earned his MD. But he constantly hatches hare-brained schemes that end up making look like the fool he really is. High INT, low EDUC. In D&D terms, perhaps he has high INT, low WIS.