Speed and Targeting Difficulty

[CRMcNeill]

I've always thought that the Target Speed Modifier for Missiles and Torpedoes was both poorly designed and unfairly biased against a weapon that was already extremely short ranged to begin with. IMO, Target Speed should affect the Difficulty to hit for all weapons, but should also be modified based on the target's aspect to the shooter (i.e. flying toward, crossing in front or flying away from the shooter). What I suggest is the following:

If the Shooter is in the Target's:

Left or Right Fire Arc: Increase Base Difficulty by 1/2 of the Target's Speed in SUs.

Front Fire Arc: Increase Base Difficulty by 1/4 of the combined speed of the Shooter and Target in SUs.

Rear Fire Arc: Increase Base Difficulty by 1/4 SU's of difference between the Target's and Shooter's Speed in SUs.

Note that the modifier is added to the Base Difficulty only, not the Target's evasion roll (unless the Target is using a Full Reaction, in which case normal rules apply).

For example, if an X-Wing and a TIE Fighter are both engaged in combat at Full Speed (16 SU's for the X-Wing, 20 for the TIE) and the TIE crosses in front of the X-Wing, the Difficulty of the X-Wing's deflection shot will increase by +10 (1/2 of 20).

If the two craft are engaged in head-to-head (both in each other's Front arcs), the difficulty for both Shooters increases by +9 (16 + 20 = 36. 1/4 of 36 = 9).

If the X-Wing is tailing the TIE, the difficulty increases by +1 (20 - 16 = 4. 1/4 of 4 = 1).
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"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]

Why is head to head where the speeds should be faster, thus harder to do, have the same 1/4 mod as doing so from the rear? If anything it should be more like 3/4!
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Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!

[CRMcNeill]

Because while closing speeds are faster in a head-to-head, there is also less lateral movement. It's still difficult, because the oncoming target will pass through the targeting envelope of the shooter's weapons much more quickly, but calculating lead on a target is not just a factor of speed.

EDIT: The difference in Difficulty in a head-to-head vs. a trailing position comes from how the speed is applied. They're both 1/4, but head-to-head is 1/4 of Target's Speed plus Shooter's Speed, where trailing is 1/4 of Target's Speed minus Shooter's Speed.
_________________
"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