Post by Deleted on Nov 4, 2015 9:39:53 GMT -6
Well, any Star Wars game needs rules for starship and starfighter combat and there are plenty of systems out there to choose from. But, for starters, I'm not interested in any miniature or position-based combat system. I've not nothing against miniature or map-based starship combat but I really need something more flexible that will work for small encounters and minor battles.
Most of the mapless ship combat systems work pretty much the same; there's a range between the two ships with some sort of die mechanic to change the range and with combat based primarily on this range. This type of system is used from early game like Traveller all the way through the most current FFG Star Wars game. I've looked through all my sci-fi RPGs and boardgames and haven't found a system that was very compelling. If anyone reading this has a favorite I might have overlooked, I'd like to see it.
In the meantime, I'm going to base my system on the one that I've considered the best for a few years now: the chase rules in the James Bond 007 game. Here you have the basic ranged band-based combat system but with rules for a variety of maneuvers other than just increasing or decreasing range.
The different maneuvers listed in the JB007 game are:
-Flee/Pursue: Trying to out run or catch up with just speed
-Force (close range only): This is using your vehicle to try and cut off or push another vehicle. Success makes the enemy move a certain way while failure can result in damage to your own craft.
-Quick Turn (long range only): This move simulates trying to move out of the way and hide behind some object so your pursuer loses track of you and flies past you. An example of this would be Han flying into the worm cave to hide from the TIE fighters.
-Double Back (close or medium range): Just what it sounds like.
-Trick: A catch all for any maneuver where your are intentionally driving or flying somewhere dangerous in the hopes that your pursuer will fail his roll and crash. Examples include Han flying into the asteroid field or Lando flying into the hole in the Death Star 2.
These rules take into account chases not just with vehicles but also on foot and with someone on foot versus someone in a vehicle.
For combat, I'm thinking of going with my usual d6+weapon power >= target's armor. To hit will be the usual process, of course. A hit would produce one or more damage dice depending on the weapon. As for damage, I'm not sure if I should go with vehicle hit points, damage table/cards, or some combination of both. The most recent FFG SW:Armada game has a nice compromise system with face down damage cards counting as one hit point and face up cards also providing an ongoing effect.
Most of the mapless ship combat systems work pretty much the same; there's a range between the two ships with some sort of die mechanic to change the range and with combat based primarily on this range. This type of system is used from early game like Traveller all the way through the most current FFG Star Wars game. I've looked through all my sci-fi RPGs and boardgames and haven't found a system that was very compelling. If anyone reading this has a favorite I might have overlooked, I'd like to see it.
In the meantime, I'm going to base my system on the one that I've considered the best for a few years now: the chase rules in the James Bond 007 game. Here you have the basic ranged band-based combat system but with rules for a variety of maneuvers other than just increasing or decreasing range.
The different maneuvers listed in the JB007 game are:
-Flee/Pursue: Trying to out run or catch up with just speed
-Force (close range only): This is using your vehicle to try and cut off or push another vehicle. Success makes the enemy move a certain way while failure can result in damage to your own craft.
-Quick Turn (long range only): This move simulates trying to move out of the way and hide behind some object so your pursuer loses track of you and flies past you. An example of this would be Han flying into the worm cave to hide from the TIE fighters.
-Double Back (close or medium range): Just what it sounds like.
-Trick: A catch all for any maneuver where your are intentionally driving or flying somewhere dangerous in the hopes that your pursuer will fail his roll and crash. Examples include Han flying into the asteroid field or Lando flying into the hole in the Death Star 2.
These rules take into account chases not just with vehicles but also on foot and with someone on foot versus someone in a vehicle.
For combat, I'm thinking of going with my usual d6+weapon power >= target's armor. To hit will be the usual process, of course. A hit would produce one or more damage dice depending on the weapon. As for damage, I'm not sure if I should go with vehicle hit points, damage table/cards, or some combination of both. The most recent FFG SW:Armada game has a nice compromise system with face down damage cards counting as one hit point and face up cards also providing an ongoing effect.
