Gravity Well Projectors

[CRMcNeill]

So, as part of my Rebellion Ship Conversions project, I've been working on the CC-7700 Interdiction Frigate, which mounts a single gravity well projector. This got me thinking about how gravity wells are used in the game.

Based on the original Interdictor stats posted in the ImpSB, Gravity Well Projectors seem almost like a precision targeted weapon, in that they have fire control, range and a specific effect if the targeted ship is struck (i.e. if you are hit, you can't jump into hyperspace). I would guess that the operator of the gravity well projector would have to successfully target a ship every round to keep steering the gravity well onto the target to keep it locked in place.

However, when Timothy Zahn used the Interdictor in his Thrawn trilogy, Gravity Well Projectors became much more cumbersome. The rules written up for using Gravity Well Projectors in Wanted by Cracken were much more detailed, but also presented a much more complicated method of using Gravity Well Projectors that was more in line with what was presented in the Zahn novels than what is seen in the RPG stats.

My question is, which rules do you use, and why?
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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

[garhkal]

For most of the games i run, its by the base book as thrawn was a tactical genius and so saw the flaws in how they were normally used and created applications based on that use to benefit him.. normally that sort of genius is not aroud to see those correlations.
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Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!

[CRMcNeill]

[wildfire]

I just reread the rules in Wanted by Cracken to refresh my memories, it's been years since I've had it come up in a game.

I prefer the rules in Wanted by Cracken, as they match what is in the novels better than the RAW, it is a more complicated set of rules but not that complicated.

[CRMcNeill]

So, w/r/t this topic, I ended up writing my own rules for Gravity Well Projectors, in an attempt to simplify the more detailed rules found in Wanted By Cracken.

At the time, there was only one size of Gravity Well Projector, but subsequently, Fractalsponge came up with a much larger version mounted on his version of the Dominator-Class Star Destroyer, as I mentioned here. While I would like to eventually do a stat for the Dominator, the stats for the Gravity Well Projector (as written, at least) don't really lend themselves to upsizing, and I've been at a loss as to how to change it.

It occurred to me tonight that the simplest solution would be to give Gravity Well Projectors a "Damage" rating where the value rolled is applied to the Astrogation Difficulty of the targeted ship, then using my Quick Blast Radius rules to calculate loss of effectiveness based on how badly the Gunnery roll failed by. This would allow for larger Gravity Well Projectors to inflict more "Damage" over a wider area.

Thoughts?
_________________
"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

[CRMcNeill]

So, the point was made on the Fractalsponge Discord that Gravity Well Projectors have serious in-universe issues w/r/t how gravity affects nearby objects, particularly if a gravity well is projected within a stellar system. A planetary-scale well projected in close proximity to an Earth-like planet would cause massive tidal shifts, seismic events and potentially even shift the planet’s orbit.

There is also the issue of the level of power generation needed to project a gravity well of that size at a distance from what is, relatively speaking, a small ship like an Interdictor Cruiser.

It occurred to me that it would be better to side-step the known effects of gravity and redesignate Gravity Well Projectors as Mass Shadow Projectors. That way, we can technobabble something about the effects of mass shadows in hyperspace within the confines of the fictional unknowns of hyperspace.

Thoughts?
_________________
"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]

Well, we know from the novels, thrawn (and iirc also bel iblis) used GWP's to great effect, not just for pulling out ships in known areas, as a 'quick thrust for where we need it', but also in reverse to push ships away.. So the must have SOME sort of gravity effect...

BUT i do agree, using one close to a planet should cause tidal and other issues..
BUT do you think the empire would worry about that long term?
_________________
Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!

[Whill]