Traveller: NPC stat blocks

Traveller’s stat blocks are not very helpful for a new GM. Why? Because they don’t include the stat bonuses. And that makes them easy to overlook.

I’m a big fan of making games as easy to run as possible. Especially roleplaying games, which require juggling plot, multiple NPCs and (sometimes) extremely complicated rules. Especially in something as high-stress as combat.

And forgetting to add a stat bonus/penalty could be the difference between life and death for a PC.

The stat block

But this is a modern character stat block from Death Station.

So, no stat bonuses listed.

And while not all NPCs are hostile to the PCs, this one probably is. So they are likely to attack the PCs with their club. What modifiers do they have to hit?

For a Traveller expert, this is easy. But for a new GM? (And remember, this is a free adventure that’s often suggested to new GMs as a good starting adventure.)

Worse, the NPCs in this adventure have a second stat block, depending on whether they are “enhanced” or “fatigued” – and they still don’t include stat bonuses.

Untrained NPCs

So here’s something that I’m not sure about. In Mongoose 2nd Edition Traveller, does an NPC get the same -3 penalty that an unskilled PC gets?

I’m going to argue no, for the following reasons:

• The -3 DM is referred to on page 58 of the core rules, which says “If a Traveller has no level in a skill at all, then they are untrained and will suffer DM-3 when trying to use that skill.” Note, it says nothing about NPCs. It could say “character” instead of “Traveller”, but it doesn’t.
• NPCs don’t generally have level 0 skills listed—so you could argue that they have level 0 on anything that’s unlisted.
• NPCs don’t have to follow the exact same rules as the PCs.
• It’s much simpler for the GM to ignore the -3 no-skill penalty for NPCS.

But goodness, it would be so much better if the rules were clear.

Clearer weapon stats

And while I’m here, things are worse if the NPC has a gun…

Here’s an NPC from Mysteries of the Ancients. (I’ve just noticed they have Gun Combat 0. Eh?)

They’re attacking us from 85m away. What attack bonus do they get? Well, that depends on what they are using – and that means I’ve got to go to page 126 (for the weapon stats), page 76 (for what the ranges mean), and page 74 for the actual DMs… Is it only me who is frustrated by this?

(In this case, at 85m is DM-2 for the shotgun and DM0 for the rifle.)

But we could write gun stats thus:

Shotgun 4D, bulky. Short (DM+1) 0-12m, Medium (DM0) 12-50m, Long (DM-2) 50-100m, Extreme (DM-4) 100-200m.

Rifle 3D, Scope. Short (DM+1) 0-62m, Medium (DM0) 62-250m, Long (DM-2) 250-500m, Extreme (DM-4) 500-1000m.

Yes, it’s a bit more text on the statblock, but it’s much easier to use at the table.

And that surely is the point.

Legend of the Sky Raiders

And what about Legend of the Sky Raiders, which I’m preparing to run for my group? (My review here.) Well, I don’t expect attribute bonuses in Legend’s stat blocks because back in 1981, attribute bonuses weren’t a thing.