Combat Cheat Sheet

Quick reference for personal combat (Mongoose Traveller 2e Core Rulebook, 2022 Update — sourced via the Core Rulebook in NotebookLM). See also the Skill Check Cheat Sheet for the underlying roll/Effect rules, the Spaceship Operations Cheat Sheet and the World Codes Cheat Sheet.

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The Combat Round

A round ≈ 6 seconds. Each round, in Initiative order (highest first), a Traveller takes either:

• one Significant Action + one Minor Action, or
• up to three Minor Actions (forgoing the Significant).

Plus unlimited Free Actions and Reactions.

Action	Per round	Examples
Significant	1 (or trade for 2 extra Minors)	Attack, apply first aid, full-attention task
Minor	1 (up to 3 if Significant forgone)	Aim, change stance, draw/reload, move
Free	Unlimited	Shout a warning, push a button
Reaction	Unlimited — but each gives DM−1 to your next actions	Dodge, Dive for Cover, Parry

Initiative

• At combat start each combatant rolls a DEX or INT check; the Effect of that check is their Initiative for the whole fight.
• Tactics: one character per side (unless surprised) makes a Tactics check; its Effect is added to everyone on that side’s Initiative.
• Combatants may freely delay to act later. Ties → highest DEX, then simultaneous.
• Referee may roll one Initiative for a group of NPCs (using their highest DEX/INT).
• Combatants usually start at Medium range; map scale 1.5 m per square.

Surprise / Ambush (first round only): aware side DM+6 to Initiative, unaware side DM−6. (This is an Initiative modifier — there is no separate attack bonus for an unaware target beyond Prone −1.)

Attacks

Average check — success on 8+.

Attack	Formula
Melee	2D + Melee + STR or DEX DM
Ranged	2D + Gun Combat + DEX DM

• Rocket launcher → Heavy Weapons (portable); thrown weapons/grenades → Athletics (dexterity).
• The Effect of the attack is added to damage.

Range (weapon’s Own Range stat)

Band	Distance	DM
Short	≤ ¼ of weapon’s Range	+1
Normal	within Range	0
Long	up to 2× Range	−2
Extreme	up to 4× Range	−4

• Beyond 100 m is automatically Extreme unless the weapon has the Scope trait (referee may extend to 300 m in a no-stress environment).

Note: Don’t confuse this with the named Range Band table (Close/Short/Medium/Long/Very Long/Distant/Very Distant, in metres) — that governs encounter distance and vehicle/spacecraft weapons, not personal to-hit. Personal attacks always use the weapon-Range multiples above.

Damage

• On a hit, roll weapon Damage dice + Effect of the attack. Melee also adds STR DM.
• Subtract armour Protection from the total. An attack with Effect 6+ always deals at least 1 point, regardless of armour or dice.
• Application order: END first → at 0, excess to STR or DEX (target’s choice) → when that hits 0 the Traveller is unconscious and damage flows to the last physical characteristic → all three (STR/DEX/END) at 0 = dead.
• Recompute characteristic DMs from the reduced scores and use them until healed.
• Destructive weapons (Damage XDD): multiply rolled total ×10.

Armour

• Protection subtracts from each attack’s damage.
• AP X (Armour Piercing): ignores Protection equal to X. (Spacecraft-scale targets ignore AP unless the attacker is also Spacecraft scale.)
• The Effect 6+ → minimum 1 damage rule bypasses armour.

Personal Combat Modifiers

Bonuses	DM	Penalties	DM
Aiming	+1 per Minor spent aiming (cap +6)	Fast-moving target	−1 per full 10 m of relative movement
Laser Sight	+1 (only when aiming)	Long range	−2
Short range	+1	Extreme range	−4
		Target in cover	−2
		Prone target	−1

Key Actions & Reactions

• Aim (Minor): +1 per consecutive aiming Minor, cap +6. Lost if you fire Auto or use a Scope that action.
• Automatic fire (Auto X):
  • Single — normal.
  • Burst — add Auto score to damage; spends Auto-score rounds.
  • Full Auto — make Auto-score attacks (may split among targets within 6 m of each other); spends 3× Auto-score rounds. No aiming benefit in any Auto attack.
• Dual weapons: attack with two one-hand weapons at DM−2 to both; may not aim. (One weapon only = no penalty.)
• Cover: DM−2 to ranged attacks against you.
• Dodge (Reaction): subtract your DEX DM or Athletics (dexterity), whichever is higher from one attack (ranged or melee). Costs −1 to your next actions.
• Dive for Cover (Reaction): DM−2 to every attacker this round (−1 if no cover within 1.5 m), may grant bonus Protection — but you forgo your next actions entirely. Ranged only.
• Parry (Reaction): subtract your Melee skill from one melee attacker.
• Moving in close combat (within 2 m): leaving gives the enemy a free attack at DM+2.
• Grappling: opposed Melee (unarmed). Winner may force prone, disarm (on Effect 6+), throw (1D m / 1D damage), deal 2 + Effect damage ignoring armour, drag, or escape.

Not in Core: personal-combat called shots and suppressive fire aren’t in the Core Rulebook (they need the Companion). The only called-shot rule is in space combat.

Cover Protection (when Hiding — Fully in Cover, Not attacking)

Cover	Protection
Vegetation	+2
Tree trunk	+6
Stone wall	+8
Civilian vehicle	+10
Armoured vehicle	+15
Fortifications	+20

(Use the single most effective cover if more than one applies.)

Key Weapon Traits

• AP X — ignores X points of Protection.
• Auto X — single / burst / full-auto modes (above).
• Blast X — hits everything within X m; no Dodge (may Dive for Cover); cover between target and blast centre counts.
• Bulky — needs STR 9+, else attack DM penalised toward negative.
• Very Bulky — needs STR 12+, else larger penalty.
• Radiation — target takes 2D×20 rads (more if Destructive/Spacecraft scale).
• Scope — ignores the 100 m auto-Extreme rule if the Traveller aims first.
• Smart — attack DM = weapon TL − target TL (min +1, max +6).
• Stun — non-lethal; damage hits END only (after Protection); at 0 END the target is incapacitated for rounds = overflow; fully healed by 1 hour rest.
• Zero-G — usable in low/zero gravity with no Athletics (dexterity) check.
• Destructive (XDD) — rolled damage ×10.

Healing & First Aid

Method	Restores
First Aid (Significant action; medikit)	= Effect of a Medic (EDU) check (min 1), split among damaged characteristics. Within 1 minute of injury, once only.
Natural healing	1D + END DM per day of full rest (only END DM/day if surgery is still needed).
Medical Care (bed rest, sickbay)	3 + END DM + doctor’s Medic points/day.
Surgery (needed if 3 characteristics still at 0 after first aid)	Failed check loses 3 + Effect more points.
Mental (INT/EDU) damage	1 point each per day.

Unconsciousness: make an END check every minute; on a failure, wait and retry with cumulative DM+1 per prior failed check.