[NOTE: I was working on the following until I got wind of the T3 revision.
Please send it along to GDW via GEnie. Maybe they can use some of the ideas.]
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Revised Starship Combat Rules (v1.0)
[0] Combat Ststistics
Each ship must have it's combat characteristics defined (generally done
after the design process).
* Critical characters (pilot, gunners, etc) must determine their base combat
efficiency:
Skill: (none) 0 1 2-3 4-5 6-7 8-9 10
Effic: -4 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 +4
* Hull Capacity: Ship hulls have a limited amount of punishment that they
can take before becoming incapacitated. This value is based on hull size
and armor type.
HCS = 2 x (Displacement/100)^0.6666 x Armor modifier (below)
HCD = 12 x (Displacement/100)^0.8333 x Armor modifier (below)
Soft Steel ........................ x0.248
Hard Steel ........................ x0.310
Composite Laminate ................ x0.705
Lt. Weight Composite Laminate ..... x0.815
Crystaliron ....................... x1.000
Superdense ........................ x1.148
Bonded Superdense ................. x2.214
Coherent Superdense ............... x4.429
HCS (Hull Capacity, Streamlining) indicates the number of hits to reduce
a hull rating one level (Hypersonic-Supersonic-Transonic-Subsonic-Simple).
Dropping one level indicates a breach -- two levels indicates a serious
breach. At three or more the ship has too many holes to be pressurized.
{note: Airframe = Hypersonic, Streamlined = Supersonic, Partially Streamlined =
Transonic. All others = Unstreamlined rating. Ratings and speeds from
STRIKER}
HCD (Hull Capacity, Disabling) indicates the number of internal structural
hits a ship can withstand before becoming a delilect (i.e. cannot maneuver
else she breaks up).
{Note: These hull damages are meaningless when using a divisional damage
system, in the notes later on}
[1] Pre-combat
Before combat, determine the readiness modifier of each critical
character (pilot, gunners, etc). The result of an open-ended roll is
checked to determine their readiness:
... -7,-6 -5,-4 -3,-2 -1,0 1,2 3,4 5,6 7,8 9,10 11,12 13,14 ...
... -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 +0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +5 ...
The open roll is performed as follows: roll 1d6
a) if 2-5, use that number
b) if 6, add 5 to the roll of 1d6. Subsequent 6's add 5 and another roll.
c) if 1, subtract 5 from the roll of 1d6. Subsequent 1's subtract 5 more.
Thus, rolling a 6 means you get 5+1d6. However, if you roll another 6,
on this second roll, you get 10+1d6, and so on until you do not roll
a 6. The same process goes for 1's. Once the "direction" is determined,
you do not consider the other end (i.e., if on a 6 chain, ignore rule "c"
above).
{Note: Joe Gunner (Gunnery 3, base of 0 (from above) rolls a 6. Using rule
"b" he rolls again, getting a 4. His total is 9, which converts to a +3.
His gunnery modifier for this encounter is +3. Fred Gunner (Gunnery 6,
base of +2) rolls a 1, then another 1, and finally a 5. Using rule "c"
his roll is 5 (last roll) -10 (for the two 1's) for a -5 total. On the
table, this is a -4 modifier, so he starts combat with a -2 rating.}
Thus, on average, critical characters will operate at or near their
normal efficiency. However, some will start off very well, while some
will be having a very bad day.
As combat turns go by, the readiness will improve (if negative) or degrade
(if positive) at a chance determined by the quality of the position
(cramped vs. roomy, no HUD, HUD or Holo-HUD, etc).
{Note: As combat turns go by, the ratings are improved or reduced to the base
levels. Thus, as combat goes by, Joe will tire and eventually have a +0
rating, while Fred will eventually get the kinks out and be operating at his
normal +2 rating. How fast their levels change will depend on the equipment
they have to work with. Good equipment will eliminate negative penaties faster
and slow the rate of degredation. Likewise, Poor or primitive equipment will
hasten a loss of "edge" and make "getting up to speed" longer. In addition,
small or cramped workstations or cocpits will increase the rate of degredation
and slow the rate of improvement. (However, unlike the equipment, they do
not have the opposite effects if large and roomy)}
For small ships, one readiness check is made per gunner. For larger
ships, one is made per section (laser weapons, missile weapons, etc).
{I really like this system. It adds a bit of "readiness" to combat encounters.
To simulate combat readiness or laxity, one can ignore rules "b" and "c"
as required. (thus, "Ship 'O Fools", with a Lax crew, would not reroll and add
on 6's, but would reroll and subtract with any 1's). If used with the proposed
d20 system, add the values above to the skill rating before calculation
of skill level.}
[2] Combat Sequence
[3] Damage Resolution
[4] Post-Combat
{Note: I never got to this stage. The following are notes I made, to be
chopped up and placed in the above document.}
2) In combat, 2d6+(gunner rating)+(weapon accuracy rating)-(pilot rating)-
(agility rating)-(defensive rating) is cross-checked on a firing table
corresponding to the number of weapons fired (may use HG numbers for
space saving) to determine the number of weapon hits. The amount of
computer resources devoted to the weapon system improves the basic
accuracy bonus. Likewise, the amount of resources devoted to evasive
actions will determine the computer add to the ship's defensive rating.
{More detail below on this}
4) Weapon accuracy's are based on ease of tracking and hitting (i.e.
beam lasers are +1, while pulse lasers are +0).
{Yea, standard stuff}
5) Computer Power is "allocated" for different tasks. Using the Maximum
CP input as a "power rating", "allocate" these CP's for combat tasks.
example: The ship's computer has <what ever fits, I don't have my book
with me> a limit of 15CP. If the ship has two gunnery positions, the
pilot may allocate 5CP to each gunnery position and reserve 5CP for
evasive action control.
This simulates the computer power dedicated toward target location
prediction (i.e. Predict programs from book 2) as well as "Jinking"
and "facing" changes for defeating such programs (i.e. Maneuver/Evade).
The number of CP required for each bonus is some power function,
not linear. The power function for evasion ramps up faster and starts
at a higher number. [Note: Somebody good at "does it look reasonable"
math please come up with some functions...I was thinking of
2+CP^2 for gunnery and 3+CP^3 for evasion.
{Note: This needs to be rewritten as it is kind of confusing. Basically,
for a +3 Evasion, 3+3^3 (or 30) CP are needed. For a +3 gunnery, 2+3^2
(or 11) CP are needed. Evasion requires more CP due to the need to swing
a whole ship around instead of just a turret. Presumably, Evasion bonuses
are limited to maneuver G rating. Targeting bonuses could be limited by
sensor's available or TL. Spinal mounts would use the Evasion formula.}
{Note: This rule above was to bridge the gap between the old Book-2 programs
and post-HG combat with "computer Model" modifiers. This Method allows a
starship commander to determine how computer resources are allocated.
Conceivably, each gun position COULD have it's own computer and dedicated
CP allotment, with the ability to be augmented by the main computer. I agree
that this system could very well be unweildy with HG style ships, but in
"player-scale" combats, I think it is a good balance. This system could be
extended to include sensor tasks.}
6) The Hit tables correspond to the HG ratings:
------------ Roll ---------------
Beams: 0- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 ....
1 -- -- -- -- -- -- 1 1 1 1 1 1 ....
2 -- -- -- -- -- 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 ....
3 -- -- -- -- 1 1 2 3 3 3 3 3 ....
6 -- -- -- 1 2 3 4 6 6 6 6 6 ....
10 -- -- 1 2 3 6 8 10 10 10 10 10 ....
etc... This chart is in no way accurate, just a
guide to what I was talking about.
{NOTE: This was an attempt to get around the "30 lasers fire at the ship,
and one hits" bugaboo in High Guard. The "Roll" above is the
base roll (on 2d6, before modifiers) to hit. I agree this still needed work.}
{end of notes}
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The rules above were my (initial) attempt to make traveller combat more
personal and less abstract than HG (and the botched MT hack of it) version.
My multiple laser rule was an attempt to add some sort of "bracketing"
ability without having to roll for each laser, yet allow for more than
"one" hit.
One change I mentioned a while ago (which may have been sent to you in the
packets, but I am not sure) is the "Gal Force" style lasers. To re-cap:
//
Laser //--------
Vane --> //+--------
//++-------- Reflected Lasers, to target ---->
//+++--------
//++++--------
//|||||
#################################
########## Ship Hull ################
###########################################
Lasers are arranged in banks, with anywhere from 1 to 30 lasers per
bank (usually in a line, but in a rectangle for large numbers).
The vane, with is movable for targeting, focuses the lasers on a single
impact point (each vane has a targeting mirror for each laser in the bank,
in addition to the vane itself being able to rotate and move).
Damage to the target ship equals number of lasers - armor protection
(note: this is different from my above "Note 6". In that, the number of
lasers hitting depends on how well you bracket the target. In this
idea, a hit is all or nothing. Note, however, a 30 laser hit is NOT a
single point of damage, but 30x damage).
Laser vanes can be folded down for atmosphere operations and to protect
the mirrors from normal travel damage (microdust, etc).
As I stated in that old post, Missiles need not be in turrets. At TL 9+
they can target on their own, given aquisition data from the gunner and
the ship's sensor array. So missile banks are simply tubes along the sides
of the ship (like torpedo tubes). Computer CP in this case is used to
provide a clearer sensor "picture" for the missile before launch.
Damage from missiles, being individual objects, would use my "Note 6" above,
since with 30 missiles flying at the target, it is possible for all, none,
or some to hit the target, depending on how agile the target is, how smart
the missiles are, etc. Missile bays simply allow either more of the smaller
missiles, or larger ones (which are harder to kill with sand, see below).
Sand is handled similar to Screens in 2300ad. Sand banks provide a metalic,
ablative screen around the ship. In HG terms, the ship requires one factor
of sand for every ship size. (i.e. while a 100t Scout can get by with 1
sandcaster, providing Factor 1 protection, a 1000t escort requires 10
sand banks for the same protection. However, the actual scaling should
be based on the AREA of the ship's increase, (i.e. .6666 power law), so the
1000t excort would need (10^.666) or 4.6415 (round to 5) sand banks.
Sandcasters are not a Single unit, but spread over the ship (i.e. 1 Sandcaster
might actually be 100 seperate dispensors over the hull). The other half
of the Caster is the hull grid that generates the magnetic fields to keep the
sand screen around the ship. The sand rating is considered when determining
how many missiles hit, and reduces the amount of laser damage. Sandscreens
will obviously require more power now.
Particle beams are handled as they are now, as turrets. However, they
too add the number of particle beams to get the particle damage (before
being reduced by sand or armor).
Armor has the effect of reducing weapon damage. I suggest a divisional
method, as used in STRIKER for breaches.
(Note that this system already allows some abstraction (for lasers). While
missile damage is handled on a per-missile basis, you could just break the
damage into 2 or 3 hits (for large volleys) and then apply the armor.)
A simple fractional table could be given for quick reference.
IMPACT
ARMOR 1x 2x 3x 4x 5x 6x 8x 10x 15x 20x 30x "Class"
10/12 1 2 3 3 4 5 7 8 13 17 25
9/12 1 2 2 3 4 5 6 8 11 15 23 EE
7/12 1 1 2 2 3 4 5 6 9 12 18
6/12 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 5 8 10 15 E
5/12 0 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 6 8 13 D
4/12 0 1 1 1 2 2 3 3 5 7 10 C
3/12 0 0 1 1 1 2 2 3 4 5 8 B
2/12 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 3 5 A
1/12 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 2 3 AA (A2)
beyond these levels are the extreme armor ratings, where the ship is basically
all armor...
1/18 ... AAA (A3)
1/24 ... AAAA (A4)
1/30 ... AAAAA (A5)
1/36 ... AAAAAA (A6)
Armor determines effectiveness of any attack.
(Example: Ship Alpha has B rated armor, while Ship Beta has E rated armor.
Both ships, armed with laser vanes, attack. Alpha (a gunship) gets 2
laser hits (each vane has 10 lasers). Beta also hits with its one vane,
containing 5 lasers.
For beta, each 10x laser hit translates into a 5x internal hit. This
leaves 5x external energy, which converts to a 3x surface hit. The remainder
is lost. Obviously, beta suffers from two of these.
Alpha takes a 5x laser hit, which translates to a 1x internal hit. The
remaining 4x energy becomes a 1x surface hit.
Internal hits damage Drives, crew areas, power, etc. Surface hits knockout
external weapons (i.e. non-spinal), sensors and external screens (Sandscreen
grid), communications, streamlining, jump drive grid, etc.
High-energy weapons (Particle, X-ray laser, fusion/plasma) reduce armor
rating by one level. Very High Energy Weapons (Nuke Missile, Antimatter)
reduced it by 2 levels.
Screens can use the same chart, if given ratings the same as hull armor.
Basically, if the two defenses are the same rating the mutual protection
is one level greater. If there is too much difference, there is
no significant change.
(Example: A Gunship has B Class Armor and B Class screens. Being the same
level means the ship has an effeective protection of Class A. If the screens
are damaged, and are reduced to Class C, they no longer provide significant
protection over the armor, and the ship now has Class B protection.)
This idea would definately work better with a larger armor spread (from 15/20
to 1/20)
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I used 12 steps on the above chart, because 12 is a nice number. You can just
as well use 10, 20 or some other number, but remember that useful armoring
doesn't begin until the 1/2 mark. Unarmored ships, on the above table, would
be rated at EE (3/4) armor. Armor rating, of course, is based on Armor
Hardness and thickness. Higher numbers allows greater variation with
regards to High-energy Pentration (i.e., with a a table based on 1/20,
Fusion/Plasma could have -1 rating, Particle and Xray at -2 ratings, etc).
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Weapon Limitations: I suggest that surface weapons be limited based on
surface area, not ship size. A 1350kl ship has a surface area of 732 M^2 if
a cube, 590 if a sphere. Split the difference for "normal" ships,
you get 661 square meters. From this, configuration can alter this basic
rule of thumb (-10% for spherical or disk ships, +10% if close structure
or box, +20% if dispersed structure, +40% if open frame) As volume increases,
area increases to
the .666 power (this can be tabulated), so a 2700kl ship (200t) has an area of
1049 M^2. After lopping off X% for drives (based on G-acceleration) and
Y% for Jump Grid (based on jump number), and a reasonable amount for general
ship stuff (air locks, landing jacks, windows, etc), the remainder is
available for weapons, sensor arrays, sandscreens and commo equipment.
This allows the removal of the "hardpoint" limitations. If you got the
hull area, you can put on the weapons.
In my games, I gave each race a specific style of ship. The Imperium used
mainly wedge and cone forms, the Zhodani used close structures. Aslan
prefered Needle forms. K'Kree used Spheres or Disks. Hiver ships were
usually irregular shapes. Vargr used everything, but also tended toward
needles, wedges or disks. These form preferences are for capital ships and
orbital-only ships. Landers or other atmospheric ships tended to be
more similar. If these new rules are used, racial preference could make
a difference in ship effectiveness, so to offset this perhaps a "bonus" could
be assigned to prefered configuartions, at the expense of a loss in other
configurartions. (1/2 the bonus or penalty of the shape, or 5%)
(Example: Imperial Design prefers wedges and cones, so an additional 5% of
hull area is given. However, Spherical ships are the least prefered, so
they are further penalized by losing 5% more for a -15%.
Zhodani ships, being more
close structured, get +5% (giving +15% total over "normal" styles), but
dislike dispersed styles, losing half of the normal dispersed structure
or open frame bonus, for a total of +10% and +20%, respectively).
Note: Because hull volume goes up faster than hull area, this idea makes
SDB's and Battle Riders much more viable (i.e., no need to leave room for
a jump grid)
This rule also means that a 1,000,000t ship cannot have 1,000 times the number
of weapons (only 100x). Because of this, large capital ships will not have
multitudes of small guns, but instead have larger ones. The purpose
of smaller guns, to shoot down missiles and fighters, is left to escort
ships.
Since, in the above rules, AREA has to be calculated, it should be the basis
of any to-hit modifiers based on ship size.
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Well, there are some of My ideas to y'all at GDW. I hope you can get
something useful out of them.
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Burton Choinski Phoenix Technologies, LTD
"All opinions are mine, not Phoenix's" Cambridge, MA
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