Traveller: rules for side effects of using firearms in a spaceship ?

[pemerton]

I’m new to running Traveller and am looking for advice.

I've been running a fair bit of Classic Traveller over the past few years, and have wondered about your issue but have never had to make any decision about it!

I like your approach. Maybe throw 5+ (with a negative DM = damage dice of a firearm; maybe no or a reduced DM for lasers) to avoid a negative consequence of a missed shot. EDIT - negative DM for high energy weapons should maybe -5.

It seems to me you would need to know what equipment / control panels are available to damage in a specific area.

I don't think this is necessary. I like @werecorpse's approach of just making it up!

 

[Ixal]

One thing to consider - if a ship bulkhead would be so fragile that a human-wielded slugthrower could penetrate it, how would it fare against bits of space debris and micrometeors? That said, damage to critical internal systems is a bit more on point. Nobody wants the regulators shot up on their jump drive reactor. But I don't know of any formal system for this in the editions of Traveller I've worked with over the years.

The interior of a ship is far thinner and weaker than the exterior, especially as in Traveller weight matters (like in real life). And as werecorpse said, there will be lots of vulnerable instruments, equipment and wiring to hit.

 

[dragoner]

In old school Traveller, there were SNUB pistols firing High Explosive rounds, ACR's can too; we also had stun grenades. Shotguns aren't bad in the old rules and make a lot of sense as it would be near impossible to get a sight picture while wearing a space suit helmet. Much of this stuff was in Traveller up to Mongoose 1e, but they may very well have pulled it, as I have switched over to Cepheus Engine. Also old school had Traders and Gunboats, with walls taking 100 points damage to make a hole and bulkheads needing 1000. People also had messed with gravity as a trap for boarders.