New Scale System

[CRMcNeill]

With this scale system, the majority of the RAW's capital ship stats will remain as they are (apart from changing Scale: from Capital to Starship), but lose 2D of scale modifier relative to starfighters. Every ship Victory-Class Star Destroyer and up, however, will need a stat revision of some kind, usually to reflect the ship being equipped with both Starship and Capital-Scale weaponry, much like the primary and secondary batteries on WWII battleships.

So, without further ado, here is my version of the ISD as it would appear under my scale system:

IMPERIAL I-CLASS STAR DESTROYER
Craft: Kuat Drive Yards' Imperial I-Class
Type: Star Destroyer
Scale: Capital
Length: 1,600 meters
Skill: Capital Ship Piloting: Imperial I-Class Star Destroyer
Crew: 36,810 (Skeleton: 5,000 @ +20) &
Crew Skill:
Astrogation 4D
Capital Ship Gunnery 4D+2
Capital Ship Piloting 5D+1
Capital Ship Shields 4D+1
Sensors 4D
Passengers: 9,700 (troops)
Cargo Capacity: 36,000 metric tons
Consumables: 6 years
Hyperdrive Multiplier: x2
Hyperdrive Backup: x8
Nav Computer: Yes
Maneuverability: 1D
Space: 6
Hull: 7D
Shields: 3D
Sensors:
Passive: 50/1D
Scan: 100/3D
Search: 200/4D
Focus: 6/4D+2
Weapon Systems:
20 Heavy Turbolaser Batteries
Fire Arc: 6 front, 6 left, 6 right, 2 rear
Crew: 5 each
Skill: Capital Ship Gunnery
Fire Control: 1D
Space Range: 4-20/50/100
Atmosphere Range: 8-40/100/200km
Damage: 7D
10 Heavy Ion Cannon
Fire Arc: 3 front, 3 left, 3 right, 1 rear
Crew: 5 each
Skill: Capital Ship Gunnery
Fire Control: 1D
Space Range: 3-15/36/75
Atmosphere Range: 6-30/72/150km
Damage: 5D
60 Turbolaser Batteries
Fire Arc: 18 front, 18 left, 18 right, 6 rear
Scale: Starship
Crew: 3 each
Skill: Capital Ship Gunnery
Fire Control: 4D
Space Range: 3-15/36/75
Atmosphere Range: 6-30/72/150 km
Damage: 5D
30 Ion Cannon
Fire Arc: 20 front, 15 left, 15 right, 10 back
Scale: Starship
Crew: 3 each
Skill: Capital Ship Gunnery
Fire Control: 2D+2
Space Range: 1-10/25/50
Atmosphere Range: 2-20/50/100 km
Damage: 3D
40 Laser Cannon
Fire Arc: 10 front, 10 left, 10 right, 10 back
Scale: Starfighter
Crew: 2 each
Skill: Capital Ship Gunnery
Fire Control: 3D
Space Range: 1-3/12/25
Atmosphere Range: 100-300/1.2/2.5 km
Damage: 3D
10 Tractor Beam Projectors
Fire Arc: 6 front, 2 left, 2 right
Crew: 4 each
Skill: Capital Ship Gunnery
Fire Control: 4D
Space Range: 1-5/15/30
Atmosphere Range: 2-10/30/60 km
Damage: 6D

Notes:
-While there is a great deal of discrepancy regarding what weapons the ISD is equipped with in the films versus what it is equipped with in the RPG, I believe it possesses both heavy guns in turrets and smaller guns firing through ports in the hull (as well as smaller laser cannon used to engage starfighter-scale targets). In the spirit of WEG, rather than go over the models with a magnifying glass, I just picked a number. YMMV.

-I believe that there is a mix of both laser and ion weaponry at both the large and medium levels, while the starfighter weaponry is intended purely for defensive purposes.
_________________
"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

[hongxiquan]

Couldn't you determine what scale a capital ship is in just on their length stat?

Also problematic with a dreadnaught class capital ship is that the only canon ship that fits that weight class is the Super star destroyer.

I like the idea for an escort class for capital ships, but could that not be statted by saying they have a high maneuver score (so they can dodge) to offset their lower hull rating?

[CRMcNeill]

[CRMcNeill]

After due consideration, I have (yet again) revised my Scale System. Don't worry, it shouldn't affect your game at all unless you regularly go up against Super Stat Destroyers.

Basically, I decided to remove the Dreadnought scale. All the ships that would go in that category already have massive amounts of Hull dice, and it will ultimately remain simpler for those ships to stay at Capital. The scale system now looks like so:

Character 0D
Cycle +2D
Speeder +4D
Starfighter +6D
Walker +8D
Starship +10D
Capital Ship +14D
Death Star +24D

_________________
"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]

It would help if you explained what each group is. Ie what's the difference between starfighter and starship, or cycle and speeder.
_________________
Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!

[CRMcNeill]

<sigh>

Clipped from previous page:

This is what falls into each scale category...

Capital Ship:
-Super Star Destroyer
-Imperial Star Destroyer
-Victory Star Destroyer
-Torpedo Sphere
-Mon Calamari Cruiser

Starship:
-Dreadnaught-Class Cruiser
-Alliance Assault Cruiser
-Interdictor
-Strike Cruiser
-Escort Carrier
-Carrack Light Cruiser
-Alliance Bulk Carrier
-Star Galleon
-Nebulon B Frigate
-Lancer-Class Frigate
-Corellian Corvette
-Corellian Gunship
-System Patrol Craft
-Assault Shuttle
-Blastboat
-Luxury Liner
-Container Ship
-Bulk Transport
-Medium Transport

Walker:
-AT-AT
-AT-ST (possibly moved down to Speeder-Scale with bonus dice to Hull)
-Juggernaut
-Mobile Command Base
-Chariot Command Speeder (possible)
-Hoverscout
-Alliance Freerunner
-Heavy Tracker
-Speeder Truck
-Sail Barge

Starfighter:
-All starfighter types
-Cloud Cars
-Light Freighters
-Space Barges

Speeder:
-Landspeeders
-Airspeeders
-Compact Assault Vehicle
-ULAV
-Tramp Shuttle
-Skiff

Cycle:
-Speeder Bikes
-Swoops
-Repulsor Sled
_________________
"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]

I was wanting an explanation of why you see a difference between say a 'speeder bike' and skiff or ULAV for 'cycle/speeder', or why say a space barge/light freighter comes under Fighter scale, while system patrol crafts, luxury liners and medium transports class as starship.
Is it a size thing, crew? Not a rundown on what comes into each class.
_________________
Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!

[CRMcNeill]

I actually discussed most of that on the previous page, too. In short, though, yes, it is based almost entirely on size. It never made sense to me for Walkers, which are demonstrably bigger and slower than starfighters, to be both more maneuverable and more fragile under the RAW. In addition, a lot of the ships that are now in the Capital-Class had stats that were too fragile when compared to other ships a fraction of their size. Moving everything Victory-Class and up to a higher scale level just made more sense to me.

Of course, it might be simpler to understand if I kept Capital Ship Scale for most of the smaller ships and added Dreadnought-Scale to cover everything Victory-Class sized and up... I sense another re-edit coming on...
_________________
"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]

Okay, here we go again:

Character 0D
Cycle +2D
Speeder +4D
Starfighter +6D
Starship +7D*
Walker +8D
Capital Ship +10D
Dreadnought +14D
Death Star +24D

One of the biggest points of confusion on my original list was over what qualified as a Starship, as some people felt that it should also include the Starfighter-Scale Space Transports. In the end, it seems simpler to continue applying the label Capital Ships since that is a term we all understand.

As such, what was once Starship Scale is once again Capital Ship Scale, what was once Capital Ship Scale is now Dreadnought Scale (covering anything Victory Star Destroyer sized and up), and I have found a new place for Starship scale. Some people have argued that space transports should be at a higher scale level than starfighters, and I can't help but feel they are both right and wrong. As such, I have split the difference and introduced Starship scale, which covers pretty much anything that is starfighter scale but is not a starfighter. It is only 1D higher than Starfighter, and in the interests of simplicity, I'm going to assume that all of the ship's weapons stay Starfighter scale. The only thing this changes is that Starships (when compared to Starfighters) now have a 1D bonus to resist damage and a 1D penalty to Maneuver.

To clarify, here is the revised list of what-goes-where:

Dreadnought:
-Super Star Destroyer
-Imperial Star Destroyer
-Victory Star Destroyer
-Torpedo Sphere
-Mon Calamari Cruiser

Capital Ship:
-Dreadnaught-Class Cruiser
-Alliance Assault Cruiser
-Interdictor
-Strike Cruiser
-Escort Carrier
-Carrack Light Cruiser
-Alliance Bulk Carrier
-Star Galleon
-Nebulon B Frigate
-Lancer-Class Frigate
-Corellian Corvette
-Corellian Gunship
-System Patrol Craft
-Assault Shuttle
-Blastboat
-Luxury Liner
-Container Ship
-Bulk Transport
-Medium Transport

Walker:
-AT-AT
-AT-ST (possibly moved down to Speeder-Scale with bonus dice to Hull)
-Juggernaut
-Mobile Command Base
-Chariot Command Speeder (possible)
-Hoverscout
-Alliance Freerunner
-Heavy Tracker
-Speeder Truck
-Sail Barge

Starship:
-Light Freighters
-Space Barges

Starfighter:
-All starfighter types
-Cloud Cars

Speeder:
-Landspeeders
-Airspeeders
-Compact Assault Vehicle
-ULAV
-Tramp Shuttle
-Skiff

Cycle:
-Speeder Bikes
-Swoops
-Repulsor Sled
_________________
"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]

Looks good.
Though i would shift these 3 from "walker" down to speeder, with a 1D bonus to weapons and hull..
-Chariot Command Speeder (possible)
-Hoverscout
-Alliance Freerunner
_________________
Confucious sayeth, don't wash cat while drunk!

[CRMcNeill]

If I'm going solely on size, those three are actually bigger than Starfighters...
_________________
"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

[atgxtg]

[CRMcNeill]

The dividing line between Capital Ship and Dreadnought is right at 900 meters. Basically, anything smaller than a VSD is Capital Ship, and everything Victory and up is a Dreadnought.

As far as putting Walker above Starfighter, it is pretty obvious from the films that Walkers (the AT-ATs, at least) are for the most part larger than starfighters and the smaller space transports. Since they aren't burdened down with things like hyperdrives, ion drives, particle shielding, artificial gravity and the kinds of life support needed to survive in deep space, but still have plenty of room to install similar reactors and other power systems, I decided that that left them with plenty of carrying power to tack on massive amounts of armor. That armor would make them slow and ponderous, but much more durable. There would also be plenty of room for the walkers to carry around heavier weaponry than a starfighter could carry.

As for moving most of the combat vehicles up to Walker Scale, that was based almost exclusively on size. If you check the vehicle lengths, you'll find that all of the larger Speeder-Scale combat vehicles are actually the same size as or larger than most starfighters. Since they have the same sort of excess when it comes to power demand vs. supply, and they were big enough, I bumped them all up to Walker Scale.

Plenty of people have disputed my belief that Walkers should be bigger than starfighters, but no one has ever presented an argument that changed my mind.
_________________
"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

[atgxtg]

Sure, I'm not debating your classifications and scale. I was just wondering if you have some sort of guidelines that we can go by to help us classify ships.

Becuase we all know that five minute into play we will find out that the ships in the adventures are all 899 and 901 meters!

[CRMcNeill]