Striker
| Striker | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 TBD | |||
| Author | Frank Chadwick | ||
| Publisher | Game Designers Workshop | ||
| Version | Classic Traveller | ||
| Edition | 1st | ||
| Format | Game (Box Set) | ||
| Language | English | ||
| Pages | 164 | ||
| Year Published | 1981 | ||
| Canonical | Yes | ||
| Available from | RPGNow | ||
| Also See | War in Charted Space | ||
| Stock #704 | |||
Striker is a Game Designers Workshop product.
- It is a game system and book designed for Classic Traveller.
- Please also see: Striker Rule Book 2
Description (Specifications)
A well-edited and professional game product, probably not surprising since GDW at the time was one of the more experienced and important publishers of wargames rules on the scene. Players could game out military battles from a handful of characters up to approximately battalion size for the most ambitious players, using every piece of military weaponry and equipment they could think of in the context of Traveller, no matter what Tech Level. All they needed were the rules, a couple of tape measures, a pair of dice, a playing surface such as a large tabletop or empty floor space, and small miniature figures made of lead to represent the troops, or a suitable substitute. Homemade or store-bought miniatures of terrain features and buildings are strongly recommended.
Referees conducting a normal role-playing session should find Striker a useful 'source book' for ideas and gadgets, and even inspiration for adventures and NPCs.
The most remarkable achievement in Striker was a coherent rule system that let players design combat vehicles and weapon systems from any Traveller tech level and have them fully described for use in the rest of the Traveller game system as well as in Striker. The design system was roughly similar to the High Guard rules for spaceship design, but the Striker system necessarily provided finer detail to match the smaller size of Air/Rafts and armored vehicles compared to spaceships.
Any player who had CT Book 4: Mercenary and was hungry for more would almost certainly love the content Striker attempted to provide. Any player who ever wondered exactly how battle dress, grav tanks and high energy weapons would act on a battlefield would enjoy these rules.
The rules were very appropriate for Traveller campaigns based upon mercenary units, and for resolving army and marine combat of different kinds, as well as dealing with encounters and various groups. They were also very useful for fleshing out how militaries in general functioned in Traveller and what equipment they had.
Striker also played well as a stand-alone game even for some people who weren't interested in the rest of Traveller, but were interested in modern and/or science-fiction combat games.
Table of Contents
Rule Book 1: Basic Rules
| Rule Book 1: Basic Rules | |
|---|---|
| Section | Page/s |
| Introduction | 4 |
| Section I: Preliminaries | 4 |
| Section II: Playing the Game | 13 |
| Section III: Fire Combat | 29 |
Rule Book 2: Advanced Rules
| Rule Book 2: Advanced Rules | |
|---|---|
| Section | Page/s |
| Introduction | 5 |
| Section I: Advanced Rules | 5 |
| Section II: Optional Rules | 28 |
| Section III: Campaign Rules | 34 |
| Section IV: Integration with Traveller | 39 |
| Appendices | 46 |
Rule Book 3: Equipment
| Rule Book 3: Equipment | |
|---|---|
| Section | Page/s |
| Introduction to Book 3 | 4 |
| Design Sequences | 5 |
| Sample Vehicles | 29 |
| Equipment Lists | 31 |
From the Back of the Box
The Universe of Traveller - Communication is limited to he speed of courier ships. Remote central governments exercise only limited control over the affairs of their frontier territories. Megacorporations struggle for control of sparsely settled mineral-rich worlds. And everywhere, there are mercenaries for hire to settle disputes.
Striker fills an important place in the Traveller universe - rules for ground combat with 15mm figures and vehicles.
The basic combat system used in Striker is based on the popular Azhanti High Lightning game system. The movement system is simplified for use with larger forces and a ground scale of 1" = 25 meters. The basic rules are written with the beginning miniatures player in mind and can easily be used as a combat resolution system for existing Traveller games. All weapons and vehicles covered in Traveller and Mercenary (Book 4) are rated for use in the game.
The true value of Striker, however, lies with the advanced rules. A complete system for designing armored vehicles and aircraft at different tech levels is presented, along with air-to-air and air-to-ground combat rules. The package contains everything a Traveller adventurer needs for campaigning with miniatures.
Physical Contents (Boxed Set)
Striker consisted of:
Three rule books:
- Rule Book 1: Basic Rules (48 pages)
- Rule Book 2: Advanced Rules (48 pages)
- Rule Book 3: Equipment (48 pages)
- A separate folio of sixteen numbered pages of Design Sequence Tables
- A separate folio of six unnumbered pages of combat tables.
All of this was in an 8.5-inch by 5.5-inch box with an attractive, full-color painting of what appears to be a small-unit commander with a map box and some headquarters troops equipped to approximately TL-9 in the foreground, and a grav tank in the background, with open grasslands and a large rock outcropping behind the tank. All the sophonts shown are humans.
Library Data Entries (Public)
Library Data Entries (Automated)
Meta-history & Background (Dossier)
Striker was a boxed set of rules for miniatures military combat in the Traveller game system, oriented towards small infantry units and some armor, with some provision for aircraft.
- There were also extensive rules for designing military vehicles and weaponry of various types, and quantifying their attributes for use in the game.
Technically, GDW called Striker "a complete adventure game of rules for miniatures", which makes it some kind of hybrid in the Classic Traveller canon between an adventure and rules. Notwithstanding, it did not receive an adventure number to show its place in the series of official adventures that were published for Classic Traveller, nor did it receive a rule book number. There has never been any doubt expressed anywhere that Marc Miller considers it firmly part of CT canon, the only issue (and it's a pretty trivial issue) is exactly what the proper name is for its place within canon.
It was published by GDW in 1981, in their standard digest format. Its full title was Striker: Rules for 15mm Traveller Miniatures. Readers will note that miniature figures are not strictly necessary for a complete and enjoyable game using Striker rules; acceptable substitutes can be improvised. Also, any miniatures used wouldn't necessarily have to be 15mm size. Finally, it is extremely easy to change the distance scale used in the game, and almost as straightforward to change the time scale. In other words, fans of 1/285th-scale and 1/300th-scale miniatures combat could easily use Striker, as could referees seeking to resolve high-powered combat in a boarding action or starport.
Striker is also available in the reissue version from Far Future Enterprises.
- Errata for this game were included in Journal of the Travellers Aid Society No. 12.
Striker Game & Book Series
There have been three editions to date:
- Striker or Striker I (published)
- Striker II (published)
- Striker III (unpublished)
Early Classic Traveller Game Modules
These games helped to set the setting of the very early Third Imperium in the early 1980's:
- Asteroid (game)
- Azhanti High Lightning
- Dark Nebula (game)
- Fifth Frontier War (game)
- Imperium
- Invasion Earth
- Mayday
- Snapshot
- Striker
Credits (Primary Sources)
| Credits (Primary Sources) | |
|---|---|
| Credit | Authors & Contributors |
| Designer: | Frank Chadwick |
| Development: | John Harshman |
| General Assistance: | Loren Wiseman; Rich Banner |
| Aircraft Design System Assistance: | J.D. Webster |
| Playtesting: | Greg Novak; Tom Harris; Neil Lasater; Steve Anderson; Frank Dixon; Don Grafmeyer; Chuck Kallenbach II; Peter Matthews; Al Bonzie; Gerhart Lushan; Tom Reed |
| Illustrations: | William H. Keith, Jr. |
| Art Director: | Rich Banner |
| Assistant Art Director: | Chris Purcell |
External Link/s
Commentary & Data articles:
- EXTERNAL LINK: Striker Zero by Ken Pick
- EXTERNAL LINK: Traveller's Other Combat System
Reviews:
- EXTERNAL LINK: TBD
Other Articles:
- EXTERNAL LINK: TBD
References & Contributions (Sources)
- Traveller Wiki Editorial Team
- Author & Contributor: Lord (Marquis) and Master of Sophontology Maksim-Smelchak of the Ministry of Science