Pesky Hyperdrives...!

[Mojomoe]

Here's a real quick question for you GM types -

I have some quick-witted players who manage to avoid space combat by jumping to hyperspace at the first sign of enemy fighters. Has anyone had success in keeping layers like that 'space-grounded' long enough to dogfight, instead of simply jumping to light speed at the drop of a hat? Perhaps I just have players that know the system too damned well.

I suppose I could always implement a fuel cell system and force the to pay for their jumps...

[shootingwomprats]

Pick an astrogation difficulty number. Typically Moderate (13+). The difficulty number may be adjusted up or down based on how perilous the route is. Remember a hasty entry doubles the difficulty number.

If the roll is failed by 10+ they cannot enter Hyperspace, a new astrogation calculation is required. A roll missed by 1-9 an astrogation mishap, refer to R&E p.119.

Calculating the Jump
Hasty Entry ... 1 turn to calculate
Typical Entry ... requires 12 turns if using a well traveled route or calculated coordinates.

Calculating a route between known systems takes about half an hour. If the ship has never jumped to the destination system before these calculations can take several hours.

Now if you want to add some house rules. I tell characters that they must clear the gravitation well of the planet, this requires 10+ turns. Then they can start calculating the astrogation roll, 12 turns, for a total of 24 turns at a minimum.

The number of turns you require for them to leave the gravitation well depends on you. If you want to make it 20+12/1 turns make it that way.

If the players push you to be able to make a jump from inside the gravitational well, require them to make either a Heroic (35+) astrogation roll or the x2 difficulty for hasty entry, whichever is higher.

Hope that helps.
_________________
Don Diestler
Host, Shooting Womp Rats
The D6 Podcast
http://d6holocron.com/shootingwomprats
@swd6podcast, Twitter

[TyCaine]

How have you been playing the hyperspace rules with them? Has it been a case of they say they want to jump to hyperspace, and poof their gone?

If so, that's where part of the problem is, as SWR said they should be rolling for the hyperspace astrogation checks and at a greatly increased difficulty due to it being a hasty 'retreat'.

Look at Han & Chewie when they get into a crunch, they talk about one of them having to calculate the jump to light speed while the other tries to hold the Imperials off...

SWR's thoughts were great, and I hate to say I'm stealing them for myself, though I've always instituted the astrogation checks, those ideas posted here make it more exciting I think.

These ideas should keep them around long enough to get some contact with the TIEs (or whoever), add that the TIE pilots are targeting specific areas of the player's ship and you could have their hyperdrive temporarily knocked out of commission. From there some very creative flying will be needed (more rolls) to avoid being shepherded towards the waiting cruiser and it's tractor beams......

Which could lead to them retreating into an asteroid field to try and hide (sound familiar?) or flying into the atmosphere of the nearest planet and holing up somewhere... Which leads to interaction with the inhabitants of the planet to bargain for parts... etc, etc, etc...


And it all started with a failed astrogation check, and a lucky shot from the TIE flight leader...


T.C.
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"For every person with a spark of genius, there are a hundred with ignition trouble."

[Leon The Lion]

Good thoughts all around.

For myself:

[Kytross]

Interdictor cruiser and gravity mines.

[Jedi Skyler]

A hyperdrive mishap pulls them out of hyperspace, and unfortunately it happens to be in very close proximity to a Lancer frigate or something, maybe a ship carrier. They will, of course, launch immediately. Or perhaps the characters drop out of hyperspace right near an Imperial operation already in progress, with TIE fighters already launched. The mishap will require the techs to fix the problem before they can exit via hyperspace, and will force the PCs to engage in combat with the rapidly closing fighters...

[Quetzacotl]

But you can do something like that only so often until it becomes rediculus how often you stumble apon the empire or some other enemies right in the middle of nowhere.

In Star Wars space is not that densely populated (also the asteroids of an asteroid belt or field are rediculusely close to one another).

[DougRed4]

My most knowledgeable player (on SW and the EU) has pointed out that good pilots often have two jumps pre-programmed. One to immediately jump away (only when they know about it, of course), and then a second that takes them on a different trajectory, just in case their adversaries calculate where they went with the first jump.
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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

[garhkal]

[vanir]

[shootingwomprats]

Yeah I been re-reading the rules. It appears you need to:

1. Plot a trip (30 minutes to several hours).
2. Input trip into the Nav-comp (12 rounds, 1 round double the difficulty).
3. Hit the hyperspace button (requires 50 spacial units from gravity well).

It is never explained what happens if you do not have a course plotted before you hit the Nav-Comp. We can assume you must have a starting location and a destination. This is more than likely not an optimally calculated route.

I would assess a x2 to x5 time penalty to the trip depending on the conditions just prior to the hyperspace jump. If a trip would normally take 18 hours, a rushed hyperspace calculation would make the trip 36-90 hours
_________________
Don Diestler
Host, Shooting Womp Rats
The D6 Podcast
http://d6holocron.com/shootingwomprats
@swd6podcast, Twitter

[Ral_Brelt]

I'd argue that you dont have to have your origin and destination laid into the comp to hop into hyperspace. I mean, on a basic level, do you tell your car where it is and where your going before setting your cruise control? You press a button and go...same concept in my games. The preventative for PCs blind jumping is that they go where the GM wants, which is invariably a place lacking in shiny toys, credits, a good sabaac game, whatever motivates your players. I had a party blind jump a stolen corvette from an Imp resupply base across a minefield and end up in wild space for one adventure. They rabbitted because a Vic II came in across their planned escape vector, and the station was launching TIEs. But I digress...if the party is flipping the switch to escape a fight, you can always make use of issues, roll some dice, make a face and explain things go fine on the jump out, only to have the hyperdrive make a horrendous noise and dump them into realspace where you want them...maybe a derelict ship floating in the black empty between systems, or in wild space with entirely unknowns...'why are their weapons ripping through our shields *and* damaging our hull?'

[DougRed4]

So who here is Oliver Queen over on the Google+ group?
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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

[shootingwomprats]

That would be me, Don.
_________________
Don Diestler
Host, Shooting Womp Rats
The D6 Podcast
http://d6holocron.com/shootingwomprats
@swd6podcast, Twitter

[atgxtg]