Bolos in the SWU?

[CRMcNeill]

[CRMcNeill]

The big question would be whether to include the basic Bolo concept (big robot tank with a droid controlling it) or to go full crossover with it. Bolos had at least 33 different variants (not counting various subtypes), ranging from the Mark I (essentially an automated M1 Abrams) all the way up to the Mark XXXIII (140 meters long and 15,000 metric tons), developed over the course of over 1,000 years. Naturally, no crossover will ever be a perfect fit, so the question becomes how much of the secondary universe is cast aside to make it fit with the primary universe. Some useful points include:

-In their universe, Bolos are commonly transported in an assault pod mounted externally to a transport ship. This allows the Bolo to utilize its extensive sensors (at least equal to a capital ship) and high-powered weaponry and shields (the Bolo's main battery is equal to the main guns of a battlecruiser) to augment the offensive and defensive abilities of he transport, turning a troop transport into a very effective space combatant.

-While tank treads are practically a signature feature of Bolos, later models did include backup anti-gravity systems, allowing them to make assault drops to a planetary surface without the use of an assault pod. The anti-grav could also be used to temporarily elevate a Bolo several kilometers to provide line of sight targeting by the main battery against targets that would otherwise be protected by terrain.

-While vehicles of similar size and weaponry existed in-universe, the key distinction between Bolos and everything else was the Bolo was capable of operating independently of human control, and the superior processing and reaction speed of the droid brain AI over human crewed vehicles meant that humans just couldn't keep up. A human commander of a Bolo was there primarily for oversight purposes, but when necessary, the Bolo could function perfectly well without it.

So, this brings up a few questions...

-In a universe where anti-grav is much more prevalent, would a Bolo even need to be tread mounted? Or is there some advantage of stability for a vehicle to be in firm contact with the ground?

-In a universe where droids were the villains of the Clone Wars, and heavily restricted for combat use in the classic era, what would be the background of such a powerful weapon operating under droid control?

-Is the Bolo something that could be included in existing militaries, like the Alliance and Empire, or would it be something found in the Unknown Regions or Wild Space that allies itself with one side or the other? I don't think a single planet scenario is a large enough setting for Bolos, given the degree of damage they can inflict.
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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]

I doubt the treads would really be necessarily, given the prevalence of anti-grav repulsors.

I think they'd be confined to the Outer Rim and similar areas, at least in the Rebellion/Empire era. Even then they should probably be rare, to avoid dominating the setting.
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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]

[CRMcNeill]

One curious thing I noticed is that, while there are front-line combat Bolos, artillery support Bolos and scout/recon Bolos, there are no troop transport Bolos. Maybe it's my modern military prejudices, but I would think something that out-masses a Corellian Corvette would have some accommodation for carrying armed troops into battle...

Of course, what with the amount of damage a Bolo can inflict (based on the books), dragoons / mounted infantry would pretty much just be needed to clean up the mess afterwards...
_________________
"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

[Zarn]

Repulsorlift has been shown to be an expensive and jammable mode of transportation. I believe there was at least one planet described in the EU with powerful EM storms that made repulsorlift impractical, but I can't find the reference. The TIE Crawler was made specifically as a low-cost option, and used treads, as did its predecessor, the TIE Mauler.

Though far superior in general application, it just isn't as robust as other modes of transportation. Several inhabitants of SWEU have been shown tinkering with repulsorlift coils and coolant fluid, but few if any have been servicing a bipedal droid to any extent.

Repulsorlift also worked only inside a gravity well. And, one could assume that it would be fairly easy to detect using gravitic sensors, repulsorlift being gravitic in nature. Targeting the repulsorlift of a vehicle could therefore be fairly easy, making it potentially problematic to use on a combat vehicle.

Also, there's the cosmetic part when it comes to character-scale units and modes of transportation - the interrogation droid shown in ANH floated on repulsorlift, and was undeniably more threatening than the bipedal droids shown (with the possible exception of EV-9D9 and IG-88 shown in later movies).

Reliability shouldn't be an issue - Coruscant is shown with architecture that is impossible without repulsorlift, so reliability is good enough that one makes buildings that use repulsorlift.

So, I basically argue that:

Repulsorlift has a higher signature than other types of locomotion

Repulsorlift is easier targetable than other types of locomotion

Repulsorlift is more fragile than other types of locomotion

Repulsorlift is more expensive

Repulsorlift is potentially more vulnerable to certain environmental hazards

[CRMcNeill]

All good points.

In addition, a vehicle whose weight is actually resting on the ground has added stability, whether it is through wheels, treads or feet.

In the past, I have considered how repulsorlifts actually function, and my feel is that repulsorlifts (for ground vehicles, at least) are composed of two different systems: 1) the repulsorlift field, which actually supports the vehicle's weight by pushing against the local gravity field, and 2) a tractor field that grips the surface under the vehicle and pushes against it to provide movement, in much the same way that wheels or treads push against the ground.

With that in mind, a repulsorlift vehicle would have to be constantly expending power, even when parked (the repulsorlift keeping the vehicle afloat and the tractor in "anchor" mode, keeping the vehicle immobile). A ground contact vehicle would, on the other hand, would not. This would be in addition to the added stability of constant surface contact already. Hover vehicles would then have a place as a hybrid of sorts, offering similar mobility to repulsorlifts without the same constraints (although something the size and weight of a Bolo would be unfeasible as a hover vehicle).
_________________
"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

[aegisflashfire]

If Cloud City can efficiently operate on repulsors, I don't see why a Bolo couldn't. Luke's Landspeeder and speeder bikes don't seem to have any trouble hovering when 'off' If repulsors do consume power, its got to be negligible.
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http://swfallingstar.podbean.com
GM of Falling Star: D6 Star Wars Campaign Podcast

[CRMcNeill]

[aegisflashfire]

My general rule on repulsors is that if I want something to float it can. (cf. my floating structures on Averam, including the Su-Pod Dome and a number of other buildings)

Cloud City, the landing platforms on Coruscant, any number of droids seem to have no trouble floating indefinitely.

Primarily Rule-of-Cool says if you want it to float, it can. From a tech perspective, perhaps repulsorlift technology is sufficient to 'bounce back' gravity or somehow invert the warped space-time effect of gravity, but don't provide any additional lift. In otherwords, it can cancel out the effect of gravity for zero power expenditure, but thrusting, rising up, or any other actual motion within that field will draw power.
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http://swfallingstar.podbean.com
GM of Falling Star: D6 Star Wars Campaign Podcast

[CRMcNeill]

[CRMcNeill]

So, while there is definitely a place for both artificial intelligence and Bolo-sized vehicles in the SWU, I tend to feel that there isn't much of a place for Bolos themselves outside of specific conditions or scenarios. A Bolo is just too massive to include as a player character, and too unwieldy to be carried aboard the kinds of starships that PCs will have access to, not to mention that a Bolo aboard a starship would be impossible to conceal and likely very illegal as well; the Empire would take a dim view of something with that kind of power outside of its control.

That being said, it does open other possibilities. Has anyone ever played a droid character as an AI installed aboard a starship? It has precedent in the SWU (see the Kierra. Playing a ship's AI would present its own share of challenges, in that the ship AI can't exactly leave the ship and go walking around as part of the party.

Thoughts?
_________________
"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

[Leon The Lion]

[CRMcNeill]

What happens if the connection signal between the ship and the droid is disrupted, or detected at the wrong time? A strong broad-band data connection sufficient to operate a droid by remote would likely be detected quite easily by sensors, which would make it difficult to sneak into, say, an Imperial garrison without notice.
_________________
"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]

Another thing to consider regarding tracked vehicles vs. repulsor craft: in some games, falling damage is lethal (as in real life it is quite deadly). Repulsorcraft means there's nothing stable between a character and the ground, should the tech fail (for whatever reason). So it's sort of like your stability point, but more from a danger/safety perspective.

Not to mention that the tracked/treaded vehicles could just be stuff of a lower tech level. I know the EU references this with the planet Roon. It is so isolated (due to the Cloak of the Sith) that it has a hodge-podge of different technology levels, so old school stuff alongside more "modern" materials (like repulsors).
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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