Small-scale starfighter/freighter combat manoeuvering

[Venlyss_Pnorr]

I recall reading something in the Rebel Alliance sourcebook some time ago that catered for, in essence, dogfighting between two opposing starfighter-scale ships.

If memory serves, there were a whole list of manoeuvers with listed difficulty and outcome if executed successfully.

I know pretty much all of the rules are optional, but I really struggled to find a way to integrate this nice idea into actual play. The idea that someone can pull one of these manoeuvers and end up on the tail of their would-be-assailant without the former attacker having the chance to make at least an opposed reaction piloting roll seems a little off to me.

So my question to you fine fellows it this - How do you handle small-scale (1v1) starfighter or freighter combat? I am particularly interested in the freighter version since it's more likely that this is the type of craft the players will be using.

I was also curious as to how you employ MAPs in these sort of scenarios. It seems to me that - all other things being equal - a starfighter pilot would be at a significant disadvantage against a freighter with a crew of 2 or more as the freighter pilot could simply 'full dodge' round after round, waiting for his gunners to get lucky while the fighter pilot is going to have to pull his trigger at some point and in doing so, suffer a MAP.

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Ven

[Tupteq]

First I'd like to say "Hello" to everyone. I'm back on Rancor Pit after five years of absence.

Now to the merits, I'll answer to only part of your questions:

There's a rule in D6 Space that if a vehicle is doing a full dodge, then all shooting from it is at -3D. I extended this rule to all activities on-board (like sensors, shields etc.).

Cautious movement is a free action, so if a starship moves slowly, then there's no MAP. Starfighters are generally faster than freighters, so they may move faster "for free".

I'm using a house rule that Maneuverability of a freighter is reduced depending on it's load (e.g. -1D for full load). It replaced my previous tries to create a new scale (space transport: 8D).

Next house rule is that the ship is protected by it's full shield rating from all directions, so shields aren't used as a reaction skill.

Next rule is adapted from d20 - using sensors in passive mode is a free action.

In sum, all rules above make small scale combat a bit simpler and faster (less actions and rolls) and starfighter (due to better maneuverability and speed) is quite usable because in best case the only pilot's action in the round may be shooting at the target (passive sensors, shield raised earlier, cautious speed).

[vanir]

I don't have my game laptop with me but can give a basic run down on our system, which is heavily developed for starfighter pilot PCs since we've had several in our group throughout major campaigns (and good GMs tailor campaigns to suit PC templates). I'm also an aeronautical enthusiast so bring that interest to bear.

We run it like an RPG'd flight simulator. There's a couple of house rules establishments as a baseline:

1. we use the 2E die cap scaling system for vehicles/starship combat except when targeting specific onboard systems (ie. "called/aimed shots"), which is the only time we use the 2R&E and it only applies to the specific system, eg. raking across a CEC Corvette with your TIE suffers a die cap on damage as per 2E scaling, however if you elect to specifically target the shields on the Corvette the damage to this particular system will be done using the 2R&E scaling system only to damage the shields themselves, the structural integrity of the craft itself won't exceed one level of damage (although individual systems maybe destroyed). This way small craft can either attempt to take down larger craft using massed fire against the hull integrity, or alternatively elect to take out individual systems on a larger craft for a boarding operation or subsequent damaging attacks, all of which may involve additional manoeuvres and piloting tasks to accomplish. This combat system is modelled to give a more "Pacific carrier warfare" kind of feel to starfighter combat against large armoured warships.

2. visual distances are now defined as 3-15 space units depending on the size, class and type of craft, its reflective qualities and the specific environment and other factors. Typically, in starfighter combat, visual range to detect other starfighter sized craft manoeuvring in combat is 1-2 space units. This is quite a distance since starfighters move at literally millions of kilometres per hour when they start moving between planets even at sublight speeds, due to relative velocities and physics involved with space travel. Space units are in fact tremendous distances which somewhat vary depending on the proximity to a gravitational body. Best perspective for it is the distance from a planet, 1 space unit for a low orbit and 3 space units for a high orbit. A low orbit is around 250km. A high orbit is several thousand kilometres altitude and requires a relative angular velocity of around 30,000km/h to maintain. That's only 3 space units and to look at with the naked eye, you're going to have some trouble picking out the satellite. Can be done, but you'll need a bit of training or self education or something. Now keep in mind in modern jet fighter combat you're at BVR from about 7 kilometres...with IRST assistance, and you have real trouble picking a bogie up visually from about 3km, especially if he's camo'd and has some background to blend into. They just move too quick, you're trying to find incredibly tiny enemies with peripherary vision in a huge area of hiding places, that is nowhere to be seen even when you manage to catch a glimpse in the corner of your eye because they move so quick, and that's the kind of trouble you have at only a couple of kilometres. Starfighters are about the same size and move many times quicker in space.

The way this all translates into starship combat, particularly in starfighter combat is visual range is basically short range on any weapon system. If you want to fire on targets at medium or long range (eg. 4-25 space units with a laser cannon), well you'll have to find them using your sensor sweeps first because bud, how can you fire on something when you don't know where it is precisely?
In other words, combat at medium/long range is BVR combat and is run like doing BVR combat in modern real world fighter jets. You do a sensor sweep, you paint your target, he does countermeasures, you fire on him, he tries to avoid the shot, you both close the gap and manoeuvre for position.


So the combat phases goes like this:

Round 1.
I enter a combat area in my X-Wing. I tell my Astromech to do a sensor sweep while I take a nice good look out the canopy. We're coordinating actions in this first round, I'm doing a PER/Search but can't see immediately behind me from the cockpit, whilst the Astromech is doing a Sensors/Scan all around the craft (slightly higher difficulty to detect enemies directly on the rear facing due to interference from the engines emissions, if there are any spatial anomalies like radiation clouds nearby these regions will also have difficulty increases to detect enemies close to them).

Okay let's say my Astromech picks up no bogies on the Scan but there are some radiation clouds off my starboard wing interfering with the signal returns. Now I rolled fairly high on my Search (21 - quite difficult), and with difficulty I do actually notice a fast moving, tiny object of some kind in front of the radiation cloud, on the right side arc to my own vessel, it's in visual range but quite a distance so must be either a large vessel at 10-15 space units or a small one at 2-3 space units, since it's moving very fast I'm placing my bets on it being a small one that's close.

End of round. RWR (passive alarms) don't signal that I'm currently under enemy fire control locks (ie. I'm not being fired upon this round). I've done my actions/declarations, there are no reaction rolls to make, the round is over.

Round 2. I win initiative because I saw the enemy before he realises he's been detected. I elect not to "play dumb" and instead declare some actions and take the initiative.

I don't like being "bounced" (a pilot term for being suddenly jumped on by enemy fighters and blown to bits), so given I seem to have a bogie at about 2 spaces off to the right and moving fast, I'm going to open up some distance and manoeuvre for a better position. You see, my laser cannons don't point sideways so I have to maneouvre anyway. Trouble is that's not real smart to do at short range when he might be lining me up for a shot, so I'm going to open up some distance and try to turn the tables.
I'll be manoeuvring and pouring on the power (accelerating at 1move/round), I'll coordinate my Astromech to angle the deflector shields to the right arc (easy starship shields), and tell it to try to pick up the bogie on a dedicated Sensors/Search function in the same direction. I need a successful Detect to get my fire control on him when I come back around. No sensors-detection, no fire control, that's how BVR combat works. In fact without a sensors-detection my Astromech won't be able to use the shields as a reaction roll either and will have to angle them upon set arc facings (which can be bad in a dogfight).

Now the GM makes some judgement calls. He knows how he's planned the movement of the bogie and should map this using space units and counters for the players. Your ship is here moving like this, the bogie is there moving like that, etc. He doesn't place the counters until they're detected of course, so the bogie counter went on the map only after I picked him up in visual detection.
There might be more bogies out there, that haven't been picked up on the Sensors and that I haven't seen because the difficulties were too high. I don't know about them, but if they fired upon me the passive alarms in the X-Wing would at least alert me that I'm being fired upon and the direction of fire. Until then, I won't know about them...if they're out there.

Still within the Round 2, I'm opening up the distance to the bogie to roughly 10 space units this round and barrel rolling to confuse him and break any weapons locks. To close the distance this round, ie. to pursue me and latch onto my tail position for a shot, he'll have to match my manoeuvre and speed, otherwise he can take pot shots from where he is if he bring the nose around to follow my roll, but I'll be out of range next round. To stay with me he has to match both my speed and maneouvres. To fire upon me immediately but not pursue he will have to match only my manoeuvre roll with his attack roll, but he can't pursue unless he lays on speed and piloting skill (keep in mind most starfighters can only fire on the front arc, a turret equipped freighter or scout doesn't have to match my piloting, only speed to pursue because of the turret, but they're usually much slower than starfighters so aren't real good at it and are better as defensive, not offensive craft against starfighters).

As it turns out the bogey's actions for Round 2 are to bring his nose around and fire his main armament as I speed away. As he takes no other action he must've already painted me on his Passive-sensors in the prior round, or else he wouldn't be able to maintain a fire control lock as I open up the distance to BVR combat.
Visually I've come flying along past his nose at an extreme visual distance, then suddenly accelerated with blistering speed into the great big universe, without a sensors lock he would've lost me within seconds and wouldn't even know where to fire his weapons, let alone where I might be given it doesn't take very long to shift direction/position by dramatic distances in starfighters with open throttles.
My passive-alarms alert me that I'm being fired upon. I use my Manoeuvring roll for the round as the defensive (dodge) roll against which the Bogie, now a Bandit (bogie is a UFO, bandit is an enemy craft), has to defeat using his fire control/attack roll.
My Astromech was successful with the shields. The difficulties to paint the bandit with Sensors was also reduced because he started firing energy weapons at me, so he's now painted and being tracked by my X-Wing's sensors too (once detected, they'll track a target on any arc automatically until it leaves scan range, which well exceeds weapons range).

For the moment the Astromech brings up the bandit on the sensor screens as the enemy fires, my manoeuvre is a tricky barrel roll at speed and the bandit misses. Now I'm tracking him on my screens, which is much better because now the distance is opened up I can't see him anymore.

End of Round 2.
Round 3. We roll Perception and he wins. We're both tracking each other on sensors screens, he's been using Passive-Sensors and unless he switches to an active Scan he'll lose me from the screen as soon as I exceed his listed Passive range (meaning he needs to use an action to make an active sweep or take the risk).
I've opened up the distance between us to about 10 space units (the original 2 + a move of 8 ). Now I'm really moving though, because I'm still accelerating from last round so this round I have 16 space units of movement to play with, tossing in any manoeuvres and direction changes I feel like...difficulty rating dependent, ie. the more complex I get within a single round using up my 16 space units on the combat map, the higher my piloting difficulty will be trying to achieve the overall maneouvring (as distinct from reactionary-manoeuvring to dodge enemy fire, although the same roll will be used).
According to my HDD screens he's moving currently at a steady rate of 3 space units, his vector oblique to mine. I'm flicking my fire control on for the laser cannons and opening S-foils (essentially free actions as preparation for actual combat round declarations).

My RWR alarms indicate he's firing again, he's taking the initiative but this will be his last shot. I'll just do another barrel roll and follow up with an Immelman outside his passive sensor range...



Hopefully I've given a rough guideline on how we work our combat phases, using the SW technology in its design specifications as much as possible and attempting to work the entire system much as the way a combat flight simulator does it, except the GM does the computations the program shell would normally do. But the figures are there, simple sensors specifications, fire control systems, manoeuvrability and speed ratings, the rest is just logic and rationale.

[CRMcNeill]

This might be some help.

I know I've had good experiences with a variant of Dueling Blades when simulating Melee and Brawling combat in D6, and I've been considering writing up something similar for Starfighter Combat, in that combat maneuvering would be decided by opposed Starfighter Piloting rolls, with the degree of success on a roll setting up the victor for a better shot (bonuses to Starship Gunnery).
_________________
"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

[Venlyss_Pnorr]

Many thanks for the replies, guys. Plenty to mull over!