Let's Read: Traveller, 1977 Edition, Characters & Combat, page 44

Welcome to the last page of Characters & Combat. This is another page of tables, this time covering the modifiers for melee weapons. Obviously, there aren’t any range modifiers, since those are on the ranged table from the previous page. No, this page discusses required Strength levels, DMs for not reaching those levels, Advantageous Strength levels and DMs, and weakened blow modifiers. At the bottom, there’s a similar table for ranged weapons, but with Dexterity modifiers instead of Strength.

So, what are the easiest weapons to use? A 4 Strength means you can handle a dagger without penalty; a broadsword requires an 8. JR’s strength is 4, so he can’t wield his Blade effectively anymore (5 Str required), and suffers a -2 DM, negating his skill bonus. Well, that sucks. Sniping it is, then. The negative modifiers for low strength are a mixed bag, ranging from -1 for a spear or cudgel to -4 for a broadsword…and a club. Okay, I’m going to go back to the weapon descriptions for a second. What’s the difference between a cudgel and a club?

A cudgel is defined in the text (page 34) as a ‘basic stick used as a weapon.’ It can even be a tree branch or an unloaded long gun. I thought that’s what a club is! But on the previous page, clubs includes ‘found’ weapons like a pistol-whip, or a beer bottle, and basically whatever else you find on the scene. That…doesn’t really differentiate them, does it? Clubs are smaller than cudgels, maybe?

But they have the same Strength requirements for everything except the Required Strength DM for low strength. You need a 5 to swing a club or cudgel properly, an 8 or more for an Advantageous DM, and a -1 for a weakened blow. Why on earth would you call a weapon a ‘club’ instead of a ‘cudgel’?

So, you can’t get more than a +2 bonus from Advantageous Strength, and you need to be pretty muscular to get that much; a dagger, club or cudgel (that’s driving me nuts) requires an 8 or better for Advantageous Strength; only the Broadsword requires the majestic 12. Weakened blows range from a -1 to a -4. Oh, and I just noticed that if you want to punch somebody with your bare hands, if your strength is under 6, you get a penalty of -2. Using your bare hands is inferior in every way to using a knife.

Alright, the ranged weapons. Shotguns are the easiest to use, requiring only a 4 Dexterity to fire them well, and even if you’re really clumsy, you still only get a -1 modifier. Carbines are the next-easiest, with a  Dex required and a -1. Penalties for low Dex range from -1 to -3, so nothing as bad as the melee weapons can be. And the Advantageous Dexterity ranges are from 8 for a Rifle (JR’s specialty) up to 11 for a Body Pistol or a Laser Rifle. Again, Advantageous Dex DMs are either +1 or +2, and there are no ‘weakened blow’ modifiers for ranged weapons. Except if you’re throwing a dagger or a spear, I suppose. Or a cudgel. But not a club.

At the bottom of the page we have the explanation of what I just recapped, with the additional note that Weakened blow DMs are cumulative with any other modifiers affecting the attack.

And that…is that. We have successfully navigated through the Characters & Combat book. Next up, we’ll be tackling Starships, which should be exciting. Because it’s starships. I’m going to take few days off, I think, to regroup and prepare to tackle this all-important subject. That, and I've got a sci-fi book to finish.