D20 Future Q&A With Rodney "Moridin" Thompson and JD Wiker!!

[The Black Kestrel]

Hi Krusty! Been a busy weekend else I'd have replied sooner.

Quite likely - as Plane Sailing was kind enough to point out I was really just commenting on the general principle of damage. Something that could be used as a framework upon which to base weapon (and armour) scaling on both a Size and Progress Level basis.

The principle I agree with, my point was to show that the principal needs to take technological progress into account as well, not to invalidate it.

Remember that those technologies are in their infancy so its not unreasonable to suggest a performance boost of +50% on the previous Progress Level. We are not talking about experimental weapons but rather standard issue military hardware.

I knew the 50% was going to come back and bite me in the butt.

Nevertheless you see the logic in it? This is wholly consistent with what we know about Star Destroyers.

Nope, IIRC X-wings and other Rebel star fighters do a good job of taking out Star Destroyers. Eggshells with howitzers is generally how I view Star Destroyers

Assuming Full Platemail (Heavy Armour to be more specific) is 1/4 inch thick at the strongest point the +32 defensive bonus relative to 1 inch thick plating. However the Abrams probably has this at its weakest point with about 2-4 inches on the front slope making it a possible +64-128.

Its notable the Abrams own main armament is pretty much ineffective against another Abrams tank.

Actually the Abrams frontal armor is the equivalent to approimately 900mm RHA (2.95 feet of armor-grade steel). There are weapons that can penetrate the Abrams frontally but they are few and far between. Almost all the Abrams kills in OIF were either mobility kills or from side or rear shots. So the +32 is for the front with a +21 or +22 for the sides. Personally I prefer Hardness for vehicles as tanks and APCs are big targets and easy to hit, slightly more difficult to penetrate and damage.

The reproductions of plate armor tend to hover in the 16 gauge area though I don't know what that would be in inches or centimeters.

 

[RodneyThompson]

Hey guys, if you don't mind starting another thread if you want to have a discussion about weapon damages, that would be great. I would like to keep this thread for direct Q&A only, because it makes it much easier to track posts that I need to answer. Thanks guys!

 

[Morgenstern]

Fair enough .

Can either of you explain to us the reasoning behind the cyberware penalties? Do I understand correctly that you can have a number of implants equal to your Con mod (the stat that's already one of if not the best in the game )? And each implant beyond that causes level drain (!!)? It would appear one of the most effective torture techniques in the game is now to snatch somebody and put some chrome in them?

From a balance standpoint, are cybernetic implants really equivalent to a level in benefit? If so, then you are entitled to +X levels worth of benefit from your Con bonus? If not, why such a savage penalty?

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hi Morgenstern!

While all of these are way more interesting than I would have thought, I think that this one is flawed - you base should probably be more like 1-2 points of damage from tossing a very small rock, possilby 1-3 if we're thinking sling (hand held tool to launch said rock). Otherwise you iss out on some of those tech leves having actually been aplied to miniturization rather than increasing damage output. Bullets are small, and that makes them easier to transport - a very desirable characteristic often glossed over by gamers . You step all of the above down by two levels, and I think you might have more senseible and more playable numbers .

Remember that the above case studies were simply off the top of my head to illustrate how the scaling works. Glad you find it interesting, although it was never intended to be the definitive list, that would take a little more research and development. But I hope people get the crux of what I was trying to say.

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hello there!

Hey guys, if you don't mind starting another thread if you want to have a discussion about weapon damages, that would be great. I would like to keep this thread for direct Q&A only, because it makes it much easier to track posts that I need to answer. Thanks guys!

Sure no problem.

Black Kestrel - I will reply to your above post in this thread:

http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=100444&page=5

 

[JDWiker]

Fair enough .

Can either of you explain to us the reasoning behind the cyberware penalties? Do I understand correctly that you can have a number of implants equal to your Con mod (the stat that's already one of if not the best in the game )? And each implant beyond that causes level drain (!!)? It would appear one of the most effective torture techniques in the game is now to snatch somebody and put some chrome in them?

From a balance standpoint, are cybernetic implants really equivalent to a level in benefit? If so, then you are entitled to +X levels worth of benefit from your Con bonus? If not, why such a savage penalty?

Lord ... yet another thing they changed from my original turnover. I never mentioned anything about negative levels in regard to cybernetics.

Sigh.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Fair enough .

Can either of you explain to us the reasoning behind the cyberware penalties? Do I understand correctly that you can have a number of implants equal to your Con mod (the stat that's already one of if not the best in the game )? And each implant beyond that causes level drain (!!)? It would appear one of the most effective torture techniques in the game is now to snatch somebody and put some chrome in them?

From a balance standpoint, are cybernetic implants really equivalent to a level in benefit? If so, then you are entitled to +X levels worth of benefit from your Con bonus? If not, why such a savage penalty?

Some of them are. I would have preferred if cybergear had used a cyberpoint system instead of the current system - more like mutations. I don't see how bioart is worth the same amount as a piece of cybergear that gives you DR 4/-, which just happens to be better than three Tough talents that you need to be 7th-level to get.

And yes, the torture angle works perfectly, if you're a fan of the GAP series.

I think any useful piece of cybergear (eg one that gives you bonuses to skills or combat values) should require you to take Cybertaker in the first place to give you the Con +1 pieces.

 

[Robbert Raets]

Hey! Have you guys figured that LA out yet?

My best guess is +1 = 11 Mutation Points!

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

I saw +6 MP = +1 LA getting thrown around a lot.

Lord ... yet another thing they changed from my original turnover. I never mentioned anything about negative levels in regard to cybernetics.

What was the original penalty?

 

[Gilwen]

I saw +6 MP = +1 LA getting thrown around a lot.



What was the original penalty?

*BUMP*
I would also like to know what the orginal penalty was and the rationale behind it.
Thanks,
Gilwen