From: 34zbtxq@cmuvm.csv.cmich.edu (Susan M. Shock) Date: Mon, 23 Sep 1996 17:04:41 -0400 Subject: BASIC SHIP COMBAT SYSTEM FIXES (LONG) I've been doing a little work here and there on the Basic Ship Combat System in the T4 rulebook. It had the right idea, but I felt it was not as well integrated with the T4 rules as it could've been. Don's response to my statements tried to explain where it was coming from, and I understand that realism is not the issue. In fact, I wouldn't care about realism at all. I just want a system that fits well with the RPG and uses the characters skills. So, here are the fixes I've come up with. As I go through, I'l try to explain my rationale for the changes I've made. STEP ONE: TASK FORCE ASSEMBLY No changes here. STEP TWO: INITIATIVE Each side rolls an Average (2D) task against Tactics (those who don't have Tactics use it as a 0 level skill) with the following Die Roll Modifiers: +1 for each level of Leadership the task force Commander possesses -1 for each ship after the first in the Task Force. The side that succeeds by the most has the Initiative for that turn. STEP THREE: RANGE STEP Winner of the initiative can increase or decrease the range by one band. Task forces cannot go beyond very long range unless they break off. STEP FOUR: BREAK-OFF There are two ways a ship can break-off; by jumping out, and by accelerating away. JUMPING OUT: Going to jump during a battle requires an Difficult task roll by both the Astrogator and the Engineer. If successful, the ship jumps out in the Pursuit phase in (Jump distance x 2 / Power Plant Rating) turns. (Thanks to Wildstar for that idea!) If the result is less than 1, the ship can jump out that turn. ACCELERATION: If a ship is at Very Long range from it's closest pursuer, it can leave the battle in the Pursuit phase. STEP FIVE: SENSOR STEP Sensor rolls are made using the Sensors skill and INT of the sensors operator, with modifications for range and size. You must declare whether you are using Active or Passive Sensors. The sensor ratings indicate the ranges at which the sensor can be used; compare the rating to the Range table; this is the Short range. Add +3 range bands to determine the maximum range. (EX: A4 is a Very Short range sensor. It's maximum range is Long. Anything beyond this range cannot be detected by this sensor.) If a target is using Active Sensors, it is automatically detected. Once the target is detected, it must be LOCKED to be fired on. This is +1 Difficulty Level easier than the detection task, and is not automatic even if the target is Active. If attempting a target lock with Active sensors, you get +1 Difficulty level (i.e. it gets easier, going from say Difficult to Average.) RANGE TABLE DISTANCE RATING Very Short 5 hexes (150,000 km or less) Average (2D) Short 10 hexes (300,000 km) Difficult (2.5D) Medium 20 hexes (600,000 km) Formidable (3D) Long 40 hexes (1,200,000 km) Staggering (3.5D) Very Long 80 hexes (2,400,000 km) Impossible (4D) SIZE MODIFIERS HULL(d tons) SIZE MODIFIERS <1 5 -4 1+ 6 -3 10+ 7 -2 100+ 8 -1 1000+ 9 0 10,000+ 10 +1 100,000+ 11 +2 1,000,000 12 +3 STEP 6: DECLARE FIRE Both sides declare what weapons they intend to fire, with the side that lost the initiative declaring first. They then declare what defenses they are employing. Lasers not declared as firing offensively may be used to shoot incoming missles. STEP 7: WEAPON FIRE All weapons fire is simultaneous, so if a weapon is destroyed, the damage takes effect the NEXT turn, not the current one. Fire is conducted using the Gunnery ability of the characters manning the weapons, using the Range tables and Size modifiers listed above. The Fire Control rating of the ship is added to the Target Number. Spectacular successes do double damage to armor and result in TWO rolls on the Surface Damage table if the ship has armor, or two hits on Structure and two rolls on the Internal Explosions table if it does not. Hits that breach the armor get only one roll on the Internal Explosions table. Spectacular failures have no effect. STEP 8: LAUNCH AND RECOVER VESSELS As per the rulebook STEP 9: BREAKTHROUGH As per the rulebook STEP 10 : PURSUIT Ships beginning the turn at Very Long range from their closest enemy and who are still at that range can now leave the battle. Go back to step 2 and repeat until the battle is over. The major alteration, besides using the task syetm a little more, is in the Initiative step. Under the published system, the side that got initiative had it for the whole fight. This way, adversaries with equal ability will trade off now and then while those with clear superiority will generally do better. Also, it seemed to make more sense to use Tactics than leadership, but leadership ability is important, thus it is used as a modifier. Please let me know what you think of this version! I decided to post it publically so I could get some wider feedback, and so that those who wanted it could use it. Allen