Front Fire Arc for a Vehicle

[DougRed4]

Elsewhere I've talked about my creature attack (an underwater beast attacking a submersible).

The craft involved has a Torpedo Launcher with 3 missiles, which only fire with a front fire arc. But their range is: 50-100/500/1 km, so these are long-range weapons.

Do you think it matters that the target is not in the firing arc, if the PCs decide to fire these torpedoes? In other words, can they hone in on the great monster attacking them (which is twice the size of their entire vehicle), which is doing so mostly from behind. And would the torpedoes then loop back to strike the creature?

I realize that, as written, with the fire arc being only front, they probably shouldn't. But this Mon Cala submersible is made to traverse the dangerous waterways of this deadly environment. Would it make sense for them to be heat-seeking, perhaps at a Difficult roll? (if the target is not in the front fire arc)

Thoughts?
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Currently Running: Villains & Vigilantes (a 32-year-old campaign with multiple groups) and D6 Star Wars; mostly on hiatus are Adventures in Middle-earth and Delta Green

[CRMcNeill]

My current version of proton torpedoes allows them to be fired underwater, and to guide on targets that are designated by the launching ship's Sensor Focus mode (roll Sensors + Focus dice like a weapon attack). If the Lock-On is maintained, any launched ordnance will home on the designated target.

Another option that Whill used for his MC-13 Mon Cal Freighter is Pulse Lasers, which I've retconned as a laser weapon optimized for underwater use.
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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

[DougRed4]

Thanks, CRMcNeill!
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Currently Running: Villains & Vigilantes (a 32-year-old campaign with multiple groups) and D6 Star Wars; mostly on hiatus are Adventures in Middle-earth and Delta Green

[Naaman]

I suppose its a question of whether the targeting system can "find" the creature.

The Falcon hid from the sensors of the ISD by parking on its hull. There may be some blind spots (GM's call, of course) immediately surrounding the craft, which, if the creature fits wholly or sufficiently within, might make targeting it impossible.
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SpecForce Combat Elements
All About Lightsabers: Designing, Building, and Fighting

[garhkal]

[Whill]

[CRMcNeill]

Depends how high/low tech you want it to be. Modern missile tech allows for extremely off-bore / "over the shoulder" missile shots, so long as the pilot can bring some form of target designator to bear. And modern wire-guided torpedoes have been capable of this for decades.

I think Naaman's idea will present the biggest challenge; it'll be tough to lock onto a target when it's literally touching the ship's hull.
_________________
"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]

Especially since even HITTING the beast, will still present shockwaves TO the vehicle...
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Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!

[Naaman]

Lol. Something that never comes up (but "should" in certain cases, IMO) is what happens if the shot misses. In this case, if the creature successfully dodged, the pilot would need to make a dodge roll, as well...
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SpecForce Combat Elements
All About Lightsabers: Designing, Building, and Fighting

[DougRed4]

This is Mon Cal tech circa 1 BBY, and going by what we see of their massive ships, I'm thinking they're sufficiently high tech. Being as we have heat seeking missiles ourselves, it seems reasonable that these missiles could work that way.

Though, as others have stated, with the beast so close (literally grappling the submersible), it would also make sense that a direct hit would cause some damage to the ship itself.

Keep in mind that the monster/creature is nearly twice as big as the vehicle itself.
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Currently Running: Villains & Vigilantes (a 32-year-old campaign with multiple groups) and D6 Star Wars; mostly on hiatus are Adventures in Middle-earth and Delta Green

[CRMcNeill]

I have my Quick Blast Radius Rules that might help account for near misses. I suppose you could say that the body of the monster provides partial Concealment, which will affect Accuracy, which will in turn affect damage reduction from the near miss.
_________________
"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