(see previous post where I mentioned them in a PS)
I'm finding the rules a bit lacking. I'm in Mongoose Traveller 1st edition but will happily take pointers from any Traveller rule set
So, I can find the table on p.101 that tells me you can have a Rocket Launcher at TL6 and that its range is Ranged (Rocket) and it does 4d6 damage.
I can find the table on p.65 that tells me the ideal range for a rocket is Long (but it can go out to Very Long and Distant - although the latter is DM-4).
And I can find the table on p.64 that tells me Long range is 51-250m but the bad guys could take a shot at the Wolblutn (a Far Trader) out to 501+m (although there's no absolute limit on Long it would appear).
What I can't find is anything in the Space Combat section on what a 4d6 damage SAM would do to ship armour. I'm guessing very little.
There is a box on p.151 that looks at the issue the other way round (ship weapons against ground targets) which suggests multiplying damage by 50 to get personal-scale terms. That implies I can divide by 50 to go the other way. Which as I suspected isn't going to do a lot. Well, 4 sixes would give half a point which on the Damage table of p.150 could be read as No damage or I guess 'rounding up' would give a Single Hit.
Essentially what I'm after is a tense moment as the PCs, fleeing in the ship take off and realize they're being targeted by a SAM but I don't want it to be game ending. maybe limping off into orbit or something.
So my questions:
- is the above in the ball park of 'doing it right'? - I'm just about getting the hang of the very basics of personal combat, haven't started learning ship combat yet
- am I right in thinking a SAM at TL6 would be line of sight?
- am I right in thinking that at that TL, they're heat seeking - does that work with Traveller ships? I know TML has lots of discussion about waste heat in space but for this purpose?
- at that TL would they be vehicle mounted by necessity or could you have, I don't know, a shoulder mounted thing? (We're out in the backwoods so vehicles will be limited - although there must be access to the mining camp.)
- would sensors on a Far Trader pick up that kind of thing 'incoming' or just if it hits?