Playtest Feedback: Ship Combat

[Morrus]

So the next playtest document will contain this version of the initiative/movement rules. Those using starship combat now might want to use these.

- INITIATIVE is equal to the pilot's INITIATIVE and is re-rolled every round (starship tactics is a skill which works like tactics does on the ground - i.e. gives a +1d6 to INITIATIVE)

- Each round is divided into two phases – a movement phase, followed by an action phase. First, in the movement phase, all ships move in reverse INITIATIVE order (so those who won INITIATIVE move LAST); then all ships take actions in regular INITIATIVE order (so those who won INITIATIVE act FIRST). It's important to note that movement technically takes place simultaneously, but those who won initiative get to make their decisions about movement after seeing what their opponents have chosen to do.

 

[Connorsrpg]

That sounds like a great idea for 'any' chase scenario. I might use that for our Savage Worlds - SIFRPG Hybrid game.

Another good idea I read somewhere, was getting the craft/vehicle/person being chased to determine the DC's/TN's.

So they could choose to enter an asteroid field or canyon etc and when in there try and make things even more difficult with tight turns, purposely going close to asteroids/outcroppings etc.

 

[Morrus]

That sounds like a great idea for 'any' chase scenario. I might use that for our Savage Worlds - SIFRPG Hybrid game.

Another good idea I read somewhere, was getting the craft/vehicle/person being chased to determine the DC's/TN's.

So they could choose to enter an asteroid field or canyon etc and when in there try and make things even more difficult with tight turns, purposely going close to asteroids/outcroppings etc.

Yeah, that's a great feature of player-narrative focused games! This isn't one of those, but it's still an wardrobe feature!

 

[Morrus]

As a side note, the nest playtest document has a section on planetary atmospheric aerial combat. It's surprisingly short, but I think it covers everything needed in a concise way.

(I do still have to do do something with smaller than Class I ships, though).

 

[Celebrim]

Maybe ship-to-ship combat, should be done in a more abstract way, like 13th age combat? Some basic distances and special maneuvers to change it.

Abstract combat works better IMO if and only if you are approaching the campaign from a ruler/director perspective. If your character is managing some sort of empire, then managing mass combat on a tactical level is usually going to be too burdensome and doing all of it at that level grinds the campaign to a halt and prevents you achieving the larger goals of the narrative.

But if the scale of combat is personal, then tactical combat is better than abstract combat. If you are emulating something like Luke Skywalker flying an X-Wing, or the crew of the Starship Enterprise fighting some foe, then you want to have a very concrete very personal feel to it. Ideally, you create the sense that the ship is the player's character, and that his actions in control of the ship are therefore very meaningful.

The play testing I've been seeing are lending themselves to this later scale.

I'm seeing some interesting ideas in the starship combat rules. I'm still not fully convinced that the rules are offering enough opportunity for character and player skill to shine, but I'm inclined to agree with what seems to be Morrus's stance, that such rules are better left to an advanced supplement focused on Starship Combat for those that actually care enough to want such a thing. There is no sense adding that burden of complexity to the base rules.

Likewise, the empire management focus and consequent abstract mass combat rules is a rules extension that you probably should leave to an advanced campaign supplement of some sort IMO.