Let's Read: Traveller, 1977 Edition, Characters & Combat, page 27

            Alright, let’s continue with the surprise section of combat. Oh, and encounter range is covered on this page, too.

            So, ‘a party with the element of surprise may attack using surprise blows, swings and shots until surprise is lost.’ Surprise blows is apparently defined under the ‘Endurance rule,’ but I don’t think I’ve seen that rule yet. Surprise doesn’t last for a defined period of time, either; it lasts until the surprised side figures out they’re under attack, and someone raises the alarm. Okay, then. Rather nebulous definition there. If no one raises the alarm, surprise continues forever, so I guess that would apply to infiltrating a compound and silencing one guard at a time without being noticed. That makes sense.

            The modifiers for surprise include Leadership and Tactical skill (expertise, rather), which are only available for Marines and Army vets (Jamie didn’t get either one). On the other hand, any military experience at all also gives a DM, so the Navy, Marines, and Army get this bonus automatically. Every member of the surprising party gets to attack once, unless no alarm is raised, in which case they can keep going. And the attacks are all simultaneous, which means nobody loses their surprise attack just because someone raises the alarm before they actually get to roll.

            Next, we see Range as our topic. As in, how far apart the parties are when they encounter each other. There are modifiers based on the terrain, but surprisingly, the table doesn’t just go in a linear way from Close to Very Long. The ranges are mixed up somewhat, although they are skewed toward low=short and high=long.

            The table average is medium-long, although almost every encounter range roll will be modified (jungle and rainforest are the only terrains that don’t get a DM for this roll). So, if you’re in the desert, plains, mountains or on the road, you’re going to see people quite a ways off; if you’re in the swamp, a city, or inside a building or cave, they’re likely to be right on top of you before you notice them.