Concussion Missiles - What a Mess

[FVBonura]

Good ideas Mamatried.

[Impaler]

What if each D of the launchers gunnery becomes a +1 added to the ordinances role. So for example if your missile is 6D and the launcher had 3D gunnery then the combned roll is 6D+3. This lets the launching platform contribute but dose not out shine the missiles inate ability to seek it's target. We can abstract away if this benifit is from sensors or 'throwing' the ordinance out faster etc. If desired a higher bonus could be applied for a lock-on, but this raw gunnery bonus is intended for all situations including firing unguided projectiles.

If Torpedoes are slower, less nimble etc then give them a lower fire control stat then missiles, and then give unguided rockets and bombs the lowest of all maybe just 1D so they are almost completly dependent on the gunnery bonus from the launcher and can only just barely hit the broad side of a Star Destroyer.

If a guided projectile (missile or torpedo) exceeds it's maximum range then it is considered to run out of propellent and become 'dumb' and it's fire control drops to that of a rocket and with it's prior fire-control now converted to gunnery bonus. So that 6D+3 missile drops to a 1D+6 rocket like roll. All influence of the launcher is now gone and the last bit of guidance the missile had to orient itself is treated as the gunnery value. If the target is big and slow and not too much past the max range the chance of a hit are still good, but against a nimble fighter the spent missile is nearly useless. Any range increment penalties now start to acrue to the now-dumb missile as if it were a rocket. Essentially we treat it as if it were a rocket launched from the location the missile ran out of fuel.

[deano]

As promised, here are the rules I believe Chris Curtis created that could be a useful framework.

Deano


Edit: Discovered that Chris and I worked on it together in 2005 apparently! Man I am getting old

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Starship Missile Rules

Starship missile weapons now have the following stats, allowing them to be used with both this alternate system and with the conventional/existing rules:

Scale: - Scale is the scale of the missile itself. Generally, this would be Speeder for starfighter missiles or Walker for capital ship missiles since missiles are small fragile things.

Fire Control: - Fire Control shows how "smart" the missile is, how good it's onboard targeting package is.

Space: - Space is just like with normal starships. This is how far the missile moves in one action or move.

Max Moves: - Max Moves is the number of moves or actions the missile can take before running out of fuel.

Range: - Range is included to be compatible with the existing rules. It is not used in the alternate system.

Damage: (Scale) - Damage works just like normal. Note, however, that the damage most likely is on a different scale (typically Starfighter or Capital) than the scale of the missile itself. This is listed explicitly.

Targeting

To Hit - Missile weapons are fired as normal. Simply roll the Gunner's skill + Fire Control against the difficulty (see below). Once the missile comes into contact with the target it will detonate and deal damage to the target as normal.

Difficulty - The base difficulty to hit is derived from the range of the target. The difficulty starts at Moderate and increases one level for every Move (beyond one) that the missile must perform to reach the target. i.e. The target is at 35 Space Units, the missile has a Space of 20. Therefore, it must make two Moves before it can reach the target. The base difficulty in this case is Difficult. If the target is dodging, adjust the difficulty as normal.

Shooting the Missile Down - In any action phase where the missile is heading toward the target but has not reached it yet, the target has the opportunity to try and shoot it down. The to hit difficulty is determined by the Range Difficulty + Scale Difference Difficulty. If the missile is hit at all, it can no longer hit the target and is considered "destroyed".

Dodging after the Missile is Fired - In some cases, a target may elect to dodge the missile after it has been fired at the target. In these cases, the target may make a dodge roll, but suffers a -1D penalty in addition to any other penalties such as multiple-action penalties or scale difference penalties (scale difference of the two ships, not the missile and the target). The missile retains its original to hit roll. If the missile's to hit is still greater than the target's dodge, the missile remains on-target.

Examples

Example 1 - Recreate the proton torpedoes used by the X-wing and Y-wing

Scale: Speeder
Fire Control: 2D
Space: 7
Max Moves: 1
Range: 1 / 3 / 7
Damage: 9D (Starfighter)

This is a short ranged torpedo that only has enough fuel to travel for one action. Therefore, it has a max range of 7.

Example 2 - A Corellian Gunship fires on a target at 42 Space Units

Scale: Walker
Fire Control: 3D
Space: 20
Max Moves: 3
Range: 2-12 / 30 / 60
Damage: 8D (Capital)

This is a much longer ranged missile that has enough fuel to travel for 3 actions. Therefore, it has a max range of 60, but also takes 3 actions to get to that range.

First Action - The gunship fires on the target. Base difficulty is Very Difficult since the missile must make 3 Moves to reach the target. The gunner rolls his gunnery skill + the Fire Control and gets a 27, enough to hit the target.
Second Action - The target, realising it is under attack, decided to try to dodge away from the missile. The pilot makes his dodge roll (-1D for dodging the missile and -1D for being a second action) and gets a 24. The original to-hit roll is still greater, so the missile remains on-target.
Third Action - The missile reaches the target and impacts, inflicting 8D capital scale damage.
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TORIS - toris.magriller.net

[deano]

Whilst searching I also found this relic from 1997:


Okay, here goes nothing. After much studying and careful consideration,
I have come up with new and improved versions of the Advanced Concussion Missile, and Advanced Proton Torpedo. So let the games begin:

Advanced Concussion Missile:
Designation: ACM
Speed: 28
Warhead: 8D
Endurance: 5 rounds
Fire Control: 6D+2

Advanced Proton Torpedo
Designation: APT
Speed: 14
Warhead: 10D
Endurance: 10 rounds
Fire Control: 5D

Heavy Rocket
Designation: HR
Speed: 8
Warhead: 6D capital
Endurance: -
Fire Control: -

Heavy Space Bomb
Designation: HSB
Speed: 1
Warhead: 9D capital
Endurance: -
Fire Control: -

The targeting is still the same. Two rounds are required to solidify a
lock, HRs and HSBs don't have any Fire Control, so they need no lock.
They are like the normal missile and torpedo. They are line-of-sight
weapons only, and the HSB is VERY limited because of it's speed. If you
are using my GPWL sizing system, then the ACMs are 3, the APTs are 4, HRs
are 6, and HSBs are 12 SPCs each.
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TORIS - toris.magriller.net

[Mamatried]

[garhkal]

I see concussion missiles as more 'tracking once fired' to their targets, than proton torps...
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Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!

[Mamatried]

[Impaler]

It is physically unable to travel in atmosphere? That seems too extreme in my opinion to just disallow them entirely. A penalty to tracking and range perhapse if we want to say that the shielding glow on the Torpedeo causes higher drag in the atmosphere or even prevents the shielding from working and thus negating the only advantage the torpedo has, but the ordinance should still be able to be fired and track a target in atmosphere if it's what you have in the magazine.

[CRMcNeill]

My solution, using my Sensor Lock-On rules.
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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]

[FVBonura]

Wow, thanks guys!

[deano]

Thanks for the feedback

We used the above rules in my last campaign, but it hasn’t come up in my current game as there is less of a focus on space combat currently.

Deano
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TORIS - toris.magriller.net

[FVBonura]

[Impaler]

[CRMcNeill]