Rel
Liquid Awesome
Howdy gang. I'm going to be running Star Wars in the near future but only as a one-shot game. I've got the Revised rules and I've used them for space combat in the past for a one-shot and for a "mini-campaign" of about 4 sessions. What I found was that I spent a LONG time trying to explain the rules to the newbies and that we spent most of the time with our noses buried in the book trying to follow the rules instead of the battle being fast paced and fun. It got to the point that I swore never to include space combat in a one-shot again, which is pretty sad.
So I've cobbled together an abstract system that I THINK will be fairly easy to grasp for the novices, will be fast and fun, and will capture a reasonable feel of space combat in Star Wars. I have some serious doubts as to how well this would translate into the scale of major engagements with capitol ships on both sides or even a capitol ship vs. small fighters. What I'm really after is something that will work on the scale of a few fighters and freighters duking it out in space.
I really need to get the kinks ironed out of this thing by Saturday so I can print it to take to the beach. Until then I'm wide open for suggestions and critique. Please ask me if I've not explained it very well.
Star Wars Space Combat
1) Any players/droids make Repair checks on damaged systems
2) Pilot declares a maneuver and makes a Pilot Check
3) Opposing pilot(s) make Pilot Checks
4) Countermeasures are fired and Angling of Deflector Shields takes place
5) Each ship (starting with the ship whose turn it is and proceeding through Initiative Order) fires any guns that can fire.
6) Repeat
Basics:
In relationship to one another, ships are always at one of four ranges. These ranges are (from closest to farthest):
Firing Range
Long Range
Sensor Range
Out of Range
Ships may fire weapons at other ships provided that they are within Firing Range or Long Range. Firing at a ship at Long Range incurs a -4 penalty. The bonus for firing a weapon is calculated by adding the ships Size Bonus, the crewman’s Ranged Attack Bonus and the ships Fire Control Computer bonus (if any). All weapons fire in one of three firing arcs: Front, Rear or Omni-Directional.
In order to fire a Front firing weapon, a pilot must get their target “In Position”. Doing this requires a Pilot check as detailed in the maneuvers list below. A weapon that fires to the Rear can only be fired at a ship that is In Position on the firing ship. Omni-Directional may be fired at any ship within range. A Pilot may only fire weapons that are Front firing. All other weapons must be fired by Gunners, droids or by the computer.
Pilot Maneuvers
“Get Target In Position” – If you win the opposed Pilot check then you put the target ship “In Position”, allowing the firing of Forward facing weapons on that turn.
“Head to Head” – If you win the opposed Pilot check then the enemy ship is considered In Position but you are also considered In Position for them. This maneuver gives a +4 bonus to the Pilot check.
“Fly Defensively” – If you win the opposed Pilot check then your ship gains a +2 to Defense (+3 if you have at least 6 Ranks in Pilot) and any weapons fired that turn suffer a -4 to Attack Rolls.
“Evasive Maneuvers” – If you win the opposed Pilot check then your ship gains a +4 to Defense (+6 if you have at least 6 Ranks in Pilot) and any weapons fired that turn suffer a -8 to Attack Rolls.
“Break off Engagement” – Your ship moves one Range further from each enemy ship who failed to beat your Pilot check.
“Close Distance to Target” – Your ship moves one Range closer to each ship that failed to beat your Pilot check.
Co-Pilot/Computer/Repair Checks
“Give Her Some More Juice!” – By taking careful control of the throttle, the Co-Pilot can aid the Pilot in the task of piloting the ship. If the Co-Pilot makes a DC 10 Pilot check then he gives the pilot a +2 to his current maneuver. If the Co-Pilot makes hits a DC of 15 then he can give a +4 to the “Break Off Engagement” or “Close Distance to Target” maneuvers.
“Angle the Deflector Shields!” – The Co-Pilot or any character at a computer terminal on the ship can attempt to angle the ships deflector shields to the Front or the Flanks. All attacks on a ship hit the Flanks unless the firing ship is In Position of the ship being struck.
“Boost Power to the Engines!” – The Co-Pilot or any character at a computer terminal on the ship can attempt to increase power to the engines at the expense of the deflector shields.
(I'll note that the list of maneuvers for the non-pilots is not comprehensive and I've not assigned DC's to all of them yet. I'm happy to take suggestions for additional maneuvers so long as the list doesn't get too long. Ideally I'd like each player to have to contemplate no more than about 5 or 6 options for maneuvers to keep things fast and fun.
Lastly, it is my intention to use most of the ship stat blocks fairly intact and to incorporate the Battle Damage chart on page 216 of the rulebook if the shields are penetrated. Having frequent damage to ships systems strikes me as a good thing since it gives the other crewmembers something to do.
Thanks for any help or feedback you can give.)
So I've cobbled together an abstract system that I THINK will be fairly easy to grasp for the novices, will be fast and fun, and will capture a reasonable feel of space combat in Star Wars. I have some serious doubts as to how well this would translate into the scale of major engagements with capitol ships on both sides or even a capitol ship vs. small fighters. What I'm really after is something that will work on the scale of a few fighters and freighters duking it out in space.
I really need to get the kinks ironed out of this thing by Saturday so I can print it to take to the beach. Until then I'm wide open for suggestions and critique. Please ask me if I've not explained it very well.
Star Wars Space Combat
1) Any players/droids make Repair checks on damaged systems
2) Pilot declares a maneuver and makes a Pilot Check
3) Opposing pilot(s) make Pilot Checks
4) Countermeasures are fired and Angling of Deflector Shields takes place
5) Each ship (starting with the ship whose turn it is and proceeding through Initiative Order) fires any guns that can fire.
6) Repeat
Basics:
In relationship to one another, ships are always at one of four ranges. These ranges are (from closest to farthest):
Firing Range
Long Range
Sensor Range
Out of Range
Ships may fire weapons at other ships provided that they are within Firing Range or Long Range. Firing at a ship at Long Range incurs a -4 penalty. The bonus for firing a weapon is calculated by adding the ships Size Bonus, the crewman’s Ranged Attack Bonus and the ships Fire Control Computer bonus (if any). All weapons fire in one of three firing arcs: Front, Rear or Omni-Directional.
In order to fire a Front firing weapon, a pilot must get their target “In Position”. Doing this requires a Pilot check as detailed in the maneuvers list below. A weapon that fires to the Rear can only be fired at a ship that is In Position on the firing ship. Omni-Directional may be fired at any ship within range. A Pilot may only fire weapons that are Front firing. All other weapons must be fired by Gunners, droids or by the computer.
Pilot Maneuvers
“Get Target In Position” – If you win the opposed Pilot check then you put the target ship “In Position”, allowing the firing of Forward facing weapons on that turn.
“Head to Head” – If you win the opposed Pilot check then the enemy ship is considered In Position but you are also considered In Position for them. This maneuver gives a +4 bonus to the Pilot check.
“Fly Defensively” – If you win the opposed Pilot check then your ship gains a +2 to Defense (+3 if you have at least 6 Ranks in Pilot) and any weapons fired that turn suffer a -4 to Attack Rolls.
“Evasive Maneuvers” – If you win the opposed Pilot check then your ship gains a +4 to Defense (+6 if you have at least 6 Ranks in Pilot) and any weapons fired that turn suffer a -8 to Attack Rolls.
“Break off Engagement” – Your ship moves one Range further from each enemy ship who failed to beat your Pilot check.
“Close Distance to Target” – Your ship moves one Range closer to each ship that failed to beat your Pilot check.
Co-Pilot/Computer/Repair Checks
“Give Her Some More Juice!” – By taking careful control of the throttle, the Co-Pilot can aid the Pilot in the task of piloting the ship. If the Co-Pilot makes a DC 10 Pilot check then he gives the pilot a +2 to his current maneuver. If the Co-Pilot makes hits a DC of 15 then he can give a +4 to the “Break Off Engagement” or “Close Distance to Target” maneuvers.
“Angle the Deflector Shields!” – The Co-Pilot or any character at a computer terminal on the ship can attempt to angle the ships deflector shields to the Front or the Flanks. All attacks on a ship hit the Flanks unless the firing ship is In Position of the ship being struck.
“Boost Power to the Engines!” – The Co-Pilot or any character at a computer terminal on the ship can attempt to increase power to the engines at the expense of the deflector shields.
(I'll note that the list of maneuvers for the non-pilots is not comprehensive and I've not assigned DC's to all of them yet. I'm happy to take suggestions for additional maneuvers so long as the list doesn't get too long. Ideally I'd like each player to have to contemplate no more than about 5 or 6 options for maneuvers to keep things fast and fun.
Lastly, it is my intention to use most of the ship stat blocks fairly intact and to incorporate the Battle Damage chart on page 216 of the rulebook if the shields are penetrated. Having frequent damage to ships systems strikes me as a good thing since it gives the other crewmembers something to do.
Thanks for any help or feedback you can give.)
