Freelance Traveller

Snapshot Armour and Range for Archaic Weapons

by Ewan Quibell

This article originally appeared in the March/April 2026 issue.

Editor’ note: This article and its accompanying tables assume that the reader is familiar with Snapshot.

On my journey through playing with Snapshot over the last 20-ish years I’ve looked at various things and tried different aspects of applying the simple starship skirmish game to other things. I know … why not?

So I’ve come to the point that I’m looking at various scenarios and trying to adapt things. This time archaic weapons, or rather TL3 or TL4 muskets, rifles and pistols. Now these are detailed in Journal of the Travellers’ Aid Society #11 for Azhanti High Lightning (AHL) and Striker but not for Snapshot. So I asked the Traveller community, because someone has to have done this before, but no one has done it specifically “but do remember that there is no difference at all”.

No difference at all? I ask.

So I look into it, and turns out there are differences …

Difference 1: Range

The ranges are about the same between Book 1 and Snapshot, and between AHL and Striker

However, the ranges in AHL and Striker are the effective range of the weapon, not the distance from the target like they are in Book 1 and Snapshot. So there isn’t a direct match. Translating the effective range of the archaic weapons to Snapshot is thus somewhat of an art.

Difference 2: To-Hit

In Book 1 and Snapshot a hit means you do damage. It combines the power of the weapon against the armour of the target and gives you a number to roll on 2D. If you roll that number or over you do damage.

In AHL and Striker a hit means you connect with the target; you may or may not do any damage

Difference 3: Damage

In Book 1 and Snapshot if you hit you roll damage per the number of dice specified. For a Body Pistol that’s 3D and then you apply that to the characters Stats.

In AHL and Striker if you hit you add the weapon’s penetration number against the die modification of the armour and a 2D roll and consult the damage table for no effect, light wound, serious wound, or dead.

Difference 4: Armour Value

Armour values are mostly the same. In Snapshot and Book 1 there is a slight variance depending on the weapon being used against the armour as to the armour’s effectiveness.

In AHL and Striker it’s a standard linear table of them getting harder; although you have to remember that a 2D roll is not linear so any linear variance in progression does not relate to a linear chance to damage.

So, not as straight forward as I thought, and not as easy either.

As I wanted to do this for Snapshot. I’ve put my guestimates into a Snapshot table so I can just print them out and play Snapshot without having to think too much about them or worry about trying to sort them out on the fly. Not that that is that difficult, sorting them out on the fly that is, it’s just it’s quicker to play if it’s already done.

I’ve done the work so I thought I’d share, and if anyone has any suggestions for improvements because they’ve already done the transcription and/or it turns out I’ve got it all wrong then please let me know and I’ll change what I’ve done to make it better.

Now to think up some scenarios …