KAAC Howlrunner Anti-Walker Vehicle

[CRMcNeill]

Here's one of my old, old concepts from the AOL SW-RPG group. It makes for a great vehicle-based combat scenario that requires a variety of different skill uses (Repulsorlift Operations, Sensors, Communications, Missile Weapons, etc.) Your characters can provide the crew for a single vehicle, or be split up among a team, commanding their own vehicles. Only got to play this once, and it was lots of fun.

Howlrunner

Craft: KAAC Freerunner (modified)
Type: Anti-Armor Missile Platform
Scale: Speeder
Length: 14.6 meters
Skill: Repulsorlift Operations: Freerunner
Crew: 2 (1 @ +5) & 4 gunners
Crew Skill:
Repulsorlift Operation 4D
Vehicle Blasters 4D
Missile Weapons 4D
Communications 3D
Cargo Capacity: 250 kilograms
Cover: Full
Altitude: Ground Level - 2 meters
Cost: 45,000 (found only in Alliance service, not available for sale)
Maneuverability: 1D
Move: 105; 300 kph
Body: 3D
Sensors:
Passive 2km/1D
Scan 4km/1D+2
Search 6km/2D+1
Focus 100m/3D
Note: All the sensors are contained in a pod mounted on a telescoping arm, which can be extended up to 15 meters above the vehicle. This allows the Howlrunner to utilize its sensors while remaining under full cover, such as behind a hill or a building, and still be able to perform line-of-sight scans and targeting for the missile launcher.
Weapons:
1 Anti-Walker Missile Launcher
Fire Arc: Turret
Crew: 2
Skill: Missile Weapons
Fire Control: 2D
Range: 0-100m/500m/1km
Damage: 10D
Ammunition: 16
Game Notes:
-On Target:
If the To Hit roll succeeds by 7 or less, the success value of the Damage roll is automatically divided in half, representing an improperly aimed shot. For example, on a To Hit roll of 7 or less, a Damage Result of +12 would be reduced to +6
-Interception:
Because the Finbat is slow on takeoff, it takes 1 round to reach a target at Medium Range, and 2 rounds to reach a target at Long Range. If fired at Medium or Long Range, the target can attempt to shoot down the missile in flight. The target may make one shoot-down attempt per round, the missile is a Very Difficult target (Speeder-Scale) and has a Body of 1D.
-Dual-Stage Drive: The standard Finbat missile is shoulder-fired with a maximum range of 500 meters. Alliance engineers designed and built an additional drive stage that mounts to the rear of a normal Finbat, acting as a launch and boost drive to loft the missile closer to its target.
2 Anti-Infantry Blasters
Fire Arc: 1 Front/Left/Right, 1 Rear/Left/Right
Crew: 1 each
Skill: Vehicle Blasters
Fire Control: 2D
Range: 50m-300m/800m/1.5km
Damage: 4D
Special Equipment:
Inter-Vehicle Targeting System
Base Difficulty: Easy
Game Rules:
-Targeting Howlrunner must make a successful Sensor Focus on the target.
-Targeting Howlrunner must make an Easy Communications roll to transmit targeting data to firing Howlrunner.
-Once it has received the targeting data (beginning of next round), the firing Howlrunner may fire a missile from full concealment, without penalty, as long as the target is in range.
-Jamming & Stealth: The IVT System utilizes frequency agile directional transmission systems to counter the effects of jamming. All attempts to jam an IVT transmission are at +10 Difficulty, while Sensor rolls to Detect & Identify the transmissions are Very Difficult.
Capsule This system is one of the keys to the Howlrunner's success. Since the Anti-Walker missiles has only 1/3 the range of the main guns on an AT-AT, Howlrunners nearly always attack from hull-down ambush positions under full cover. However, full cover works both ways, as the Howlrunner is also unable to see its targets. As such, a second Howlrunner, several kilometers away with a line of sight to the target, will make an active sensor sweep, then transmit targeting information to the Howlrunner waiting in ambush position, allowing it to launch its missiles without ever breaking cover.

Capsule:
One of KAAC's many Freerunner variants, this vehicle is found exclusively in service with the Rebel Alliance. After the Battle of Hoth, when Rebel anti-vehicle batteries were unable to stop (or even damage) attacking Imperial AT-ATs, much thought was given to developing a way to counter the threat of the Empire's walkers. The result is the Howlrunner, which combines a Freerunner chassis with a multi-round vertical launch system for Finbat Anti-Walker missiles. Originally known as the Finbat-Freerunner, the vehicle became known as the Howlrunner because of its success rate in bringing down much larger targets while operating in groups, much like the Kammarian pack hunter of the same name.

The Howlrunner functions best in teams, ambushing advancing walker units with a barrage of missiles before darting away to evade Imperial counter-attacks, only to ambush again from another location a few kilometers away. In addition, packs of Howlrunners will randomly alternate between targeter and shooter as conditions allow. The Empire has yet to develop effective anti-Howlrunner tactics; the most effective counter to date was a "strategic withdrawal" of the attacking walkers, followed closely by an orbital bombardment which inflicted 40% casualties on the engaged Howlrunner company. Walker units that press their attacks in spite of initial losses tend to take even heavier casualties as they advance, as the more mobile Howlrunners move out to the flanks and rear of the attacking force, where the walkers lack defensive weaponry.
_________________
"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index

[garhkal]

I love this. Especially the 'travel time to target' for the anti-walker missile and the comms/sensor link up.
_________________
Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!

[CRMcNeill]

It's been sitting around for a while. I originally posted it on the SW-RPG AOL Mailing List back in 1999, and we hammered out most of the bugs then. Since then, my print-out version has been gathering dust in a file cabinet, until I decided to do some housecleaning. Pretty much all the stats I've posted in the last few weeks are variations on themes of other stats I printed out from back then, but have since forgotten who the originals were. The ones I know for sure about are the D-Wing, the Fleet Support Freighter, the AWACS shuttle, the infiltration pod, all of which are derived from stats originally posted by Urban Lundquist (aka Wing Commander Luna). He used to have a SW-D6 website and we corresponded on various projects. The website, unfortunately, is long gone, and all the email addresses I had for him are down.

But thanks to the Internet Wayback Machine...
_________________
"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index