“You understand that there is no case in military history where an Enclosure has been completed that the attacking forces have not eventually won, except where an outside Navy exists in sufficient force to break the Enclosure.” – Bel Riose
Ship tactics and Fleet tactics has been part of Traveller ever since High Guard was published by GDW way back. These are the definitions from High Guard:
Ship tactics “The individual has been trained in the operation of a starship or space ship in battle”.
Fleet tactics “The individual has been trained in the use of formations and maneuvers in naval operations”.
Ship tactics
All ships must have the same position, vector, facing and roll
Ship tactician’s Pilot roll against largest ship Size under command
May group weapons across ships to get larger volleys
Ship tactics allow multiple ships in a group, all with the same position, vector, facing and roll, to move and fight as one, you can even form volleys of weapons from different ships under your command, three fighters with one laser each can attack together as a three gun volley with a DM of +3 for example. Ship tactics skill level determine the max number of ships under your control, Ship tactics skill level also break Initiative ties.
The Pilot of the Ship tacticians ship roll against the largest ship Size under command, and the result is then shared by all ships under command, they move and fight as one ship for Initiative purposes and turning. Ships that cannot maneuver from Stun or Hull damage cannot be included in a tacticians command.
Fleet tactics
All groups must have the same vector, facing and roll
Fleet tactician’s Pilot roll against largest Size under command
May share computer dice across ships
Fleet tacticians allow multiple groups or or ships within range and with the same vector, facing and roll to share a common Pilot task result and computer dice pools. The Pilot of the Fleet tacticians ship roll against the largest ship Size under command, and the result is then shared by all ships under command. All ships pool their computer dice pool and use dice from the pool to increase improve their task roll. No task roll can use more dice than the best computer under command. A group is either an individual ship or a group of ships under command of a Ship tactician. Ships that cannot maneuver from Stun or Hull damage cannot be included in a tacticians command.
So, in short, Tacticians allow ships under his command to turn and move, and most importantly; fight, as one and have Initiative as one. Tacticians turn groups of ships into single units, allowing them to fight as one, which, incidentally, also immensely speed up large engagements. Fleet tacticians extend the allowed separation for ships under command and may also share computer dice between ships similarly to how AWACS planes assist individual planes.
“Great empires are not maintained by timidity” – Tacitus
Vector movement 