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The Bowcaster... underpowered? My take on it.
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Naaman
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 8:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I like that. It simulates the concept of muscle memory quite well.
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CRMcNeill
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 8:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Naaman wrote:
I like that. It simulates the concept of muscle memory quite well.

That could be applied to some of your specialty actions from the Tactical Combat thread, too. I think I may start a topic to see what people have for suggestions.

Also, I had another thought for the Initiation Pattern: a center-break model, like an old shotgun. I could see it being easier to build and easier to reload, so what would be a good negative? Accuracy?
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Ninja-Bear
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PostPosted: Tue Jan 10, 2017 6:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey all in an adventure in Instant Adventures has the Heavy Bowcaster at 5D.
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denderan marajain
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 26, 2017 3:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Raven Redstar wrote:
Speeder scale damage makes for a fair adjustment to me.

4D standard damage becomes 6D against character scale targets. Makes it a natural choice for a 5D strength character like a wookiee.


I was always under the Impression that Speeder Scale gives a +4D Bonus??
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Raven Redstar
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 26, 2017 6:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Page 95 of R&E:

Character: No Modifier
Speeder: 2D
Walker: 4D
etc...
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denderan marajain
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 26, 2017 6:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Raven Redstar wrote:
Page 95 of R&E:

Character: No Modifier
Speeder: 2D
Walker: 4D
etc...


Thanks a lot

I did not know R&E until now Smile

i have to read this Chapter but i am quite sure that i will not like what i am about to read Sad
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Whill
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 03, 2020 9:16 pm    Post subject: Wookiee bowcasters Reply with quote

Bump. Here are my updated Wookiee species attributes (from what is in this thread years ago). I made Wookiees a 14D species like Humans and Zabraks (PCs of all species have 18D in attributes regardless of species average attribute totals). Humans and Zabrak have an average of 2D+1 and max of 4D+1 in all six normal attributes. I'm not adding the Wookiee special abilities here because they aren't relevant to this (They get bonuses for smelling, astrogation, languages, and intimidation.)

Code:
Average    MIN/MAX
DEX: 2D    1D/3D+2
KNO: 2D    1D/3D+2
MEC: 2D+1  1D+1/4D+1
PER: 2D    1D/3D+2
STR: 3D+2  3D/5D+1
TEC: 2D    1D/3D+2

In working on my skills set recently, I looked at bowcaster and came to this thread, and another which I'll quote from below.

Quote:
I think a bowcaster doesn't really make much sense as a weapon in general, but it makes more sense to me if it is a cultural traditional weapon. I imagine the ancient traditional weapon of the Wookiees was the archaic crossbow, but that is insufficient against enemies with blasters. As Wookiees incorporated more technology into their lives, some even leaving Kashyyyk behind for the greater galaxy, it was important for them to maintain some connections with their past and the natural world, so a hybrid blaster-projectile weapon reflects that. Since RotS bowcasters have actually been made with both metal and wood components. I like that.

I like to think of the bowcaster as the signature weapon of Wookiee warriors, and I have a hard time imagining a Kashyyyk factory that is pumping out "stock" bowcasters for all of them. Bowcasters being "handcrafted" and partially made out of wood makes me feel that they should all be unique creations.

To fully realize these concepts, I want to make bowcaster an advanced skill. It would be very rare for non-Wookiees to have it. Making it an advanced skill allows for it to a holistic skill that is used to design/construct, repair/modify, and shoot it. Applying this simple house rule, what attribute it gets added to depends on the function. If you are designing/constructing, repairing, or modifying, add the skill to Technical. If you are shooting the bowcaster, add Dexterity to the skill. So the skill is the attack skill, the repair skill, and the engineering skill, but it is only for this specific weapon.

And since these are personalized handcrafted weapons, they all don't have to have the same stats. If a PC starts with a bowcaster, we aren't going to go through the process of spending credits and rolling dice to build one because they already created the bowcaster as part of their background. So I'm thinking there needs to be a system for making one during character generation so a Wookiee PC doesn't start with a bowcaster with max abilities and totally tricked out in every way. I'm interested in making a point-buy system where the player of a Wookiee PC who is starting with a bowcaster gets a set number of "creation points" to design one, so the player can decide which features are most important and allocate points accordingly. Do they want high damage? High rate of fire? High range? Do they want the ability to switch to non-hybrid modes to fire projectile-only and/or energy-only? Do they want to have an energy-only stun-damage setting? Do they want to require a lifting roll to load the weapon? If we could come up with all the options, then we could just assign "point" values to each one and come up with a total number of creation-points to start out with. The results of the expenditure is a unique weapon (or at least seemingly unique within the scope of the campaign).

But maybe all that would be more trouble then it is worth. If we can't come up with system for a starting PC's bowcaster, then I guess I will come up with "starter bowcaster" stats that any starting Wookiee PC whose player wants a bowcaster gets, and after the campaign starts they can start modifying it or building new ones.
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CRMcNeill
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 03, 2020 9:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't see how Bowcasters would be sufficiently advanced or unique in operation as to require an (A) Skill. Now, their construction, on the other hand, makes more sense.

And if you're looking for a bowcaster for a starting character, I suggest my Defender Pattern from this post. It's got decent starting stats, with room for the character to upgrade to something more impressive later on; an Assault variant Hunter Pattern would require three separate Heroic Bowcaster Repair rolls (although Bowcaster Engineering might be more appropriate) just to get a basic version.
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Whill
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 04, 2020 12:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

CRMcNeill wrote:
And if you're looking for a bowcaster for a starting character, I suggest my Defender Pattern from this post. It's got decent starting stats, with room for the character to upgrade to something more impressive later on

My last post above linked to that post with your bowcaster stats. Thanks for your suggestion.

CRMcNeill wrote:
Now, their construction, on the other hand, makes more sense... an Assault variant Hunter Pattern would require three separate Heroic Bowcaster Repair rolls (although Bowcaster Engineering might be more appropriate) just to get a basic version.

Yes. Even in RAW, constructing something non-primitive would be the realm of an engineering skill, not the repair skill. Bowcasters are not primitive crossbows.

CRMcNeill wrote:
I don't see how Bowcasters would be sufficiently advanced or unique in operation as to require an (A) Skill.

I know. I thought the projectile-energy hybrid aspect was unique. If projectile-energy hybrid weapons are common in the EU, I haven't come across anything to make me want them to be common in my SWU. In my quote above, I said, "I think a bowcaster doesn't really make much sense as a weapon in general," but bowcasters are Lucas film canon so they do exist in my SWU. Wookiees are a PC playable species and the bowcaster is the only hybrid weapon I see as necessary for even existing in my SWU, which makes them unique. But if there is a plethora of projectile-energy hybrid weapons in the EU that I don't know about, please point them out to me because maybe I do need to check them out.

And if projectile-energy hybrid weapons became common after the WEG game, then should there even be a separate skill for bowcasters? Maybe the skill can be for the whole category. In my game, I have a skill for all energy weapons (including blasters) and a skill for all (non-primitive/non-archaic) projectile weapons, but bowcasters are both and therefore do not fit neatly into either category. Advanced skills have a game mechanical advantage of requiring prerequisite skills, so I made bowcaster an advanced skill with both energy and projectile attack skills (and other skills) as prerequisites.

And as I stated, I made the skill more "advanced" by making it be the attack skill, the repair skill, and the engineering skill all rolled into one. That might seem like it is too powerful, but the balancing factor is that all aspects of using the skill are only applicable to this one weapon. Whenever the character is without the bowcaster, they get no advantage from having the skill. These are large weapons impossible to conceal, so in my SWU you can't just walk into any place with one. Bowcasters are mainly flavor for Wookiee characters that other characters don't have. A way to give them even more flavor is to make every bowcaster in existence uniquely designed by its creator. The idea is an artisan hybrid weapon, which makes it more "advanced" in my mind.

But I am used to this sort of resistance to my "avant-garde" ideas to take greater advantage of the game mechanical features of advanced skills. I was just throwing it in because it was applicable to this thread. It was not my main purpose in posting...
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 04, 2020 12:12 am    Post subject: customizable starting-PC bowcasters? Reply with quote

This post has nothing to do with making bowcaster an advanced skill. Let's just say it stays a normal skill. Now...

Whill wrote:
And since these are personalized handcrafted weapons, they all don't have to have the same stats. If a PC starts with a bowcaster, we aren't going to go through the process of spending credits and rolling dice to build one because they already created the bowcaster as part of their background. So I'm thinking there needs to be a system for making one during character generation so a Wookiee PC doesn't start with a bowcaster with max abilities and totally tricked out in every way. I'm interested in making a point-buy system where the player of a Wookiee PC who is starting with a bowcaster gets a set number of "creation points" to design one, so the player can decide which features are most important and allocate points accordingly. Do they want high damage? High rate of fire? High range? Do they want the ability to switch to non-hybrid modes to fire projectile-only and/or energy-only? Do they want to have an energy-only stun-damage setting? Do they want to require a lifting roll to load the weapon? If we could come up with all the options, then we could just assign "point" values to each one and come up with a total number of creation-points to start out with. The results of the expenditure is a unique weapon (or at least seemingly unique within the scope of the campaign).

But maybe all that would be more trouble then it is worth. If we can't come up with system for a starting PC's bowcaster, then I guess I will come up with "starter bowcaster" stats that any starting Wookiee PC whose player wants a bowcaster gets, and after the campaign starts they can start modifying it or building new ones.

Is anyone interested in this idea? A point-buy system for customizable starting-PC bowcasters?
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Raven Redstar
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 04, 2020 12:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Maybe not a point buy system, but it could be cool to see a list of potential modifications that a Wookiee might do on their bowcaster.
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 04, 2020 1:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Raven Redstar wrote:
Maybe not a point buy system, but it could be cool to see a list of potential modifications that a Wookiee might do on their bowcaster.

Sure, that's the easier route. Have all Wookiee PCs (who want a bowcaster) start with some baseline bowcaster, and then upgrade it in the directions you want to take it as you go.

I just thought that to fully embrace the concept of these being completely personalized individual weapons made by the character to their specifications, that they could start out with a customized bowcaster. (And then of course they could still be modified as they go.) If these are personally handcrafted weapons, it makes more sense to me that, depending on the character's background, they may have already personalized it before play begins. They are a long-lived species. Not that I have a lot of Wookiee PCs or ever expect to (and some may not even want a bowcaster), I just thought players should have the option of starting out with a unique bowcaster, especially if the character is older when play begins.

The simplest way to go is to just say that even though they are handcrafted, there are only one or a few designs. CRM went that route, and I guess a starting Wookiee PC's player could just pick one (with any exclusions the GM wants to enforce).
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 04, 2020 1:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

CRMcNeill wrote:
Here's a new concept.

WOOKIEE BOWCASTERS
There is a great deal of disagreement in the galaxy at large as to what a bowcaster is and how it operates. The reason for this is that the bowcaster is actually part of a broad class of weapons ranging from simple, single-shot hunting weapons to full-on, multi-shot assault weapons. Scholars have broken bowcasters down into a handful of broad categories, based on similarities of design...

With your bowcaster rules, do you have any suggestions for starting Wookiee PC guidelines and the bowcaster they start out with?
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PostPosted: Sun Oct 04, 2020 2:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Whill wrote:
With your bowcaster rules, do you have any suggestions for starting Wookiee PC guidelines and the bowcaster they start out with?
I suggest the basic Defender Pattern, one step up from the Initiation Pattern. It's styled after the bowcaster that Chewie uses in the Han Solo Adventures trilogy, where each round has to be hand-cocked.

There's also this:
    QUALITY BONUS:
    Once all three Bowcaster Repair rolls have been completed, compare the lowest skill roll to the Base Assembly Difficulty. For every 5 points by which the low roll beat the Difficulty, add +1 pip to Fire Control, representing a particularly well made bowcaster.
Perhaps on character creation, allow the character to roll their Repair/Engineering skill three times to see how well crafted their Bowcaster is. If they fail any rolls, they just get a basic Defender pattern.

There is also ammo availability. The options I listed below may be accessible on Kashyyyk, but they could be a lot harder to come by when the character is out and about in the galaxy.
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 30, 2020 11:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks. I have no issue with ammo factories on Kashyyyk, but like you said, this ammo would not be readily available anywhere in the galaxy, even to Wookiees. What about character ammo creation? Could a Wookiee with the right components and adequate technical prowess make their own ammo?
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