Aerial Combat
The abstract aerial combat system included in GDW's basic House Rules combat system was good for quick and dirty combat, but lacked some of the visual appeal of a miniatures action. This compatible set of rules seeks to rectify that situation.
Scale
The scale used for aerial combat is compatible with the 10-meter outdoor ground scale
use in the various GDW House Rules products. Each turn is five seconds long. An additional
dimension, "Flight Level," is required for play. Each flight level is equal to
10 meters.
Set-Up
Each aircraft engaged in aerial combat should have a record sheet. This record sheet
should list the aircraft’s maximum speed (in 10-meter increments), it’s maximum
altitude (in 10-meter increments), and the Gs pulled during turns. Sufficient space on the
record sheet should be available to record damage.
A. Maximum Speed
Movement for an aircraft is dependent upon three factors: The aircraft’s speed, the pilot’s skill, and any maneuver points the pilot attempts to achieve that turn.
1. Aircraft Speed
Aircraft speed is the listed speed in 10-meter increments.
2. Pilot Skill
This is the skill level (not asset) of the pilot.
3. Maneuver Points
At the beginning of the turn the pilot must declare whether he is attempting a special maneuver, and exactly how many maneuver points he is attempting to gain. A pilot can opt for 1, 2 or 4 maneuver points. Use the following chart to determine the skill roll:
Maneuver Points |
Skill Roll |
1 |
Difficult |
2 |
Formidable |
4 |
Impossible |
Adding aircraft speed, pilot skill and maneuver points together gives the aircraft’s speed for the turn.
B. Maximum Altitude
The maximum altitude of the aircraft will typically be listed on the vehicle card for the aircraft. Note that grav vehicles in Traveller have no maximum altitude.
C. Gs per turn
Gs per turn is dependent upon the speed of the aircraft and the angle of the turn. The basic Gs per turn for each aircraft can be worked out ahead of time and put on the aircraft record sheet. Divide the aircraft’s speed by 5 and multiply the result by the multiplier on the following table for each 30 degree turn the aircraft makes.
Turn |
Multiplier |
30 |
0.17 |
60 |
0.33 |
90 |
0.50 |
120 |
0.67 |
150 |
0.83 |
180 |
1.00 |
Movement
Movement is based upon the maximum speed of the aircraft. Each movement point permits
the aircraft to do one of the following:
• Climb 1 flight level
• Move forward 1cm or hex
• Descend 2 flight levels
• Turn 30º
Fixed-wing aircraft have a minimum speed. The player must allot at least this number of movement points to "Move forward 1 cm or hex" or the plane will stall. If the plane stalls, it will plummet five flight levels. The pilot may attempt to recover (Average: Pilot). A successful roll indicates the aircraft levels out (5 flight levels lower). A failure indicates the aircraft plummets another 5 flight levels. A catastrophic failure increases the difficulty level of recovery on the next turn by one level. If at any point the aircraft’s flight level is reduced to 0, the aircraft crashes and everyone aboard is killed.
Turning
Turning stresses both the aircraft and the pilot. For every G greater than one the
aircraft takes during a turn increase all task rolls made by the crew by one difficulty
level. There is also a chance the pilot will black out. Subtract the tech level of the
aircraft from the Gs pulled in the turn and consult the following table:
Result |
Difficulty vs. Constitution |
-4 or less |
Easy |
-3 or -2 |
Average |
-1 or 0 |
Difficult |
1 or 2 |
Formidable |
3 or 4 |
Impossible |
Results of greater than 5 are an automatic black out.
The difficulty level is what the pilot needs to roll to avoid blacking out. If the roll fails, the pilot blacks out for a number of turns equal to 15 minus his Constitution, during which time the plane loses 5 flight levels per turn. On a catastrophic failure, double the black-out time.
An airframe may also suffer damage during a high-G turn. Subtract the tech level of the aircraft from the Gs pulled in the turn and consult the following table:
Result |
Minor Damage Rolls |
-4 or less |
0 |
-3 or -2 |
1 |
-1 or 0 |
2 |
1 or 2 |
3 |
3 + |
4 |
Weapons Range
Add the difference in altitude (in meters) to the horizontal range to the target to
determine the actual range to the target for to-hit purposes. Aircraft with fixed-forward
mounts must be climbing to attack aircraft above them, and diving to attack targets below
them. They may only attack targets in the direction of their facing.
Missiles
Use the "Anti-aircraft Missile" rules on page 295 of the TNE rule book. If
an aircraft is attempting to evade an IR (heat-seeking) missile and has a flare (decoy)
launcher the roll to break the missile lock is one level easier.
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