Cover Fire

[Neo-Paladin]

-or-
How Notoriously Bad Shots Were Able to Hold an Empire:

Cover Fire
A character firing at a rate of 3 can provide cover fire, which provides 1/2 cover (+2D6 to hit) to self and allies, against opposition in the field of cover fire. Unless the opposition itself has at least 3/4 cover, each character in the cover fire zone takes damage if a 1 is rolled on the wild die for an action. A character providing cover fire does not roll initiative, and the cover is active for the entire round.

Squad Cover Fire:
A squad united under Leadership can use tactics to coordinate and more effectively fill a region with cover fire. Like standard Cover Fire, Squad Cover Fire provides 1/2 cover (+2D6 to hit) to allies against opposition at moderate range in the field of cover fire for the entire round. At the leader's initiative each character, without at least 3/4 cover, in the field of cover fire rolls 1D6 for each character laying down cover fire, and any 1's denote a hit. This is the main tactic for Storm Troopers, which produces low accuracy as a single member, but effectiveness as a squad. If the cover fire region is spread to more than three hexes per Squad member use the single Cover fire rules.

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So, thoughts? On one hand it may be a little tweeky, but to does mean less rolling, so it should speed combat, and the flavor seems to fit what we see in the movies.
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Science is organized knowldge, wisdom is organized life
-Kant

[CRMcNeill]

Rules of Engagement has a Suppressing Fire rule, where the number of shots fired was added to the difficulty of anyone in the target area attempting to shoot back.
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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

[Naaman]

Other then when their blasters are on stun... or when shooting unarmed villagers... do the storm troopers hit anything at all in the films? I guess there are some hits on Hoth and perhaps in the space battles... but are those storm troopers?

In any case, I rather like to make the storm troopers fight like they know how to fight. This keeps the number of combatants to a manageable level, and storm troopers are somewhat "elite" in my games. In other words, low level heroes have trouble with them, and it takes a bunch of them to threaten heroes with some experience under their belts.

As for the write up, from what I can gather, it seems pretty solid. Though something about increasing the difficulty to hit for a suppressed shooter doesn't sit well with me... seems like maybe he should be forced to make a dodge roll, and if he succeeds by... say... 10 or more he can shoot. If he succeeds by 5 or more, he doesn't get hit, but he cannot shoot; and if his roll does not win by at least 5, he gets hit. Just an idea.

[CRMcNeill]

They seem to do well when not shooting at heroes; the boarding of the Tantive IV, for instance.
_________________
"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]

And that is cause in the films, the 'heroes' had script immunity'.
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Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!

[Naaman]

Whch is basically what I was getting at: either we want the PCs in danger or we do not. If the idea is to make them especially lowsy shooters, then a GM my be better serves by fudging dice rolls, etc.

The way I run it, if the heroes are geting shot at, their lives are on the line.

Depending on the experience level of the particular stormies invoolved, they may even use really, really good tactics.

[CRMcNeill]