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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
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Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
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 Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2015 7:40 pm Post subject: External Pods on Starfighters |
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One of the final things I want to include in my Advanced Starfighter Combat system is the ability for starfighters to carry external pods fastened to their undersides. I'm basing a lot of my ideas on Wing Commander Luna's Wing Pylon System, with a definite eye towards paring down as much of the crunch as possible.
However, as much as I want to include as many of the details as possible (after all, the K-Wing is initially armed with nothing but pod-mounted weaponry, so if I ever want to make a realistic K-Wing stat, there have to be as many pod-type weapons as possible), I am hitting something of a mental snag in that, if I make the available pod types too available, the importance of a starfighter's integrated weaponry is greatly reduced. Short version, I want to be able to include the options for pods, but not by making them so useful that pod-based weaponry becomes more viable for players than a starfighter's stock weapons.
Here is a short list of the pods types that I'd like to include. If you have any others you would like to contribute, please let me know.Mission Pods
--Jamming / ECM
--Reconnaissance / ESM
--Targeting
--Low-Altitude Navigation
--Astrogation
--Ferry Tank
--Cargo Pod
Weapon Pods
--Cannon Pods
---Mass Driver
---Laser Cannon
---Ion Cannon
---Tractor Beam
--Ordnance Pods
---Torpedoes
---Missiles
---Mines
---Bombs
---Mini-Rockets
---Land Mines
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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
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Savar
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Joined: 14 Feb 2015
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| Posted: Mon Feb 16, 2015 9:21 pm Post subject: |
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| On thing would be a pod would have it's power internal so limited number of shots, unless the fighter had extensive mods to power them.. That would be one way to limit them, also number of pods mounted. Now the K-wing would auto have the power connections. |
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garhkal
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Joined: 17 Jul 2005
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Location: Reynoldsburg, Columbus, Ohio.
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| Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2015 3:40 am Post subject: |
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| Savar wrote: | | On thing would be a pod would have it's power internal so limited number of shots, unless the fighter had extensive mods to power them.. That would be one way to limit them, also number of pods mounted. Now the K-wing would auto have the power connections. |
You would also need rules for what happens if those pods themselves get targeted. Would damage overflow into the carrying fighter. Can droids on board make repairs like R2 did to the 'stablizer'?
You might also wish to look into extra fuel pods, like the Xwings carried in Star fighter's of Adumar.
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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
Joined: 05 Apr 2010
Posts: 16172
Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
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| Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2015 4:17 am Post subject: |
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| garhkal wrote: | | You would also need rules for what happens if those pods themselves get targeted. Would damage overflow into the carrying fighter. Can droids on board make repairs like R2 did to the 'stablizer'? |
This is already complicated as it is. I would likely have a penalty to Hull, Speed and Maneuverability depending on the size of the pod, just to represent the added fragility.
| Quote: | | You might also wish to look into extra fuel pods, like the Xwings carried in Star fighter's of Adumar. |
That was actually X-Wing: Rogue Squadron. They didn't use fuel pods in Adumar.
_________________
"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.
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garhkal
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| Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2015 6:49 pm Post subject: |
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GHHA. I knew it was one of the Xwing novels where pods were used.
Though since a ship's consumable rating is not just fuel, but food, water and air, we would first off need to figure out how long a fighter can go between fuelings, and how much time is taken off during combat maneuvers and such.
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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
Joined: 05 Apr 2010
Posts: 16172
Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
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| Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2015 8:53 pm Post subject: |
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| garhkal wrote: | | Though since a ship's consumable rating is not just fuel, but food, water and air, we would first off need to figure out how long a fighter can go between fuelings, and how much time is taken off during combat maneuvers and such. |
I'm less concerned about food and water. Just as an example, my big rig can take 240 gallons of diesel fuel and go through it in two days on the road (~1,700 miles). My intake of food and water over that same period is negligible by comparison (a couple gallons of water and a few pounds of food).
My theory is that, much like the air filtration systems aboard modern submarines, the environmental controls will operate perpetually so long as they have power to operate, and a craft will run out of fuel much sooner than the pilot will run out of food, so a consumables tank will be just a fuel tank.
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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.
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garhkal
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| Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2015 2:59 am Post subject: |
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What i was on about though, is say take an X-wing. By the RAW it has 1 week of consumables. Does that mean without going into combat, it can fly for a week straight?
How much extra fuel does combat take off that time?
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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
Joined: 05 Apr 2010
Posts: 16172
Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
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| Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2015 3:06 am Post subject: |
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| garhkal wrote: | | How much extra fuel does combat take off that time? |
For that, you would probably have to revert back to the Fuel Cell rules from 1E Tramp Freighters, which we've discussed here. In fact, I found this quote which pretty much sums up my feeling about tracking fuel consumption: | garhkal wrote: | | Fuel cell tracking (like blaster shots and encumberance etc) are often good ideas in writing, but most often get overlooked/ignored for pace. |
_________________
"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
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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
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Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
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| Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2015 4:37 pm Post subject: |
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As I get into this, I feel more and more strongly that External Pods can very easily throw off the balance of existing starfighter types, rendering their internal weaponry nearly redundant. More than any other rule I've proposed as part of this project, I feel GMs should be very choosy about the kinds of pods that they make available to characters.
Okay, here are my current notes:Light, Standard & Heavy Pods
LIGHT PODS
Used almost exclusively as ordnance launchers, holding either two missile-sized weapons, one torpedo-sized weapon or 12 mini-rockets. Available only for use with the K-Wing, as part of its ordnance-exclusive design.
STANDARD PODS (-1 Speed & -1 Maneuverability per Pod carried)
Targeting Pod
Terrain Following Navigation (+2D to Piloting at Low Altitudes)
Navigation Pod (10 jumps)
Ferry Tank (+3 days)
Cargo Pod (500 kg)
Multi-Warhead Launcher (6/3)
Stand-Off Intercept Missile
Shield Buster Torpedo
EDIT: Heavy Decoy
Mass Driver
Laser Cannon
Ion Cannon
HEAVY PODS (-2 Speed & -1D Maneuverability per Pod carried)
Surveillance
Electronic Warfare
Sensor Mask
Anti-Ship Torpedo
EDIT: Cluster Decoy
Navigation Pod (Unlimited)
Ferry Tank (+5 days)
Cargo Pod (1 metric ton)
Multi-Warhead Launcher (12/6)
Tractor Beam Projector
Refueling
Turbolaser Pod
POD MOUNTS BY STARFIGHTER CLASS
A-Wing: 1 Standard (Center Line)
B-Wing: 2 Standard
K-Wing: 2 Heavy, 6 Standard, 10 Light
X-Wing: 1 Heavy, 2 Standard
Y-Wing: 1 Heavy, 2 Standard
TIE Advanced: 2 Standard
TIE Bomber: 1 Heavy, 2 Standard
TIE Interceptor: 2 Standard
TIE/ln: None
Scimitar: 2 Heavy, 4 Standard
Z-95: 1 Heavy, 2 Standard
_________________
"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
Last edited by CRMcNeill on Thu Feb 26, 2015 2:49 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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garhkal
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| Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2015 5:31 pm Post subject: |
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I don't think all fighters should be allowed to carry external pods. Take a look at the A-wing. It's imo too small to even allow for a pod on it, what with where landing gear is. And where would Bwings carry them when their 's-foils' are closed?
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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
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Posts: 16172
Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
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| Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2015 6:49 pm Post subject: |
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| garhkal wrote: | | I don't think all fighters should be allowed to carry external pods. |
GM discretion.
| Quote: | | Take a look at the A-wing. It's imo too small to even allow for a pod on it, what with where landing gear is. |
I wasn't even aware there were official images of A-Wing landing gear. Even if it was in the way while extended (like the landing gear on modern aircraft), that wouldn't be an issue when it was retracted. And I only allowed it to carry a single standard-sized pod, which is basically 1/4 the capacity of an X-Wing or Y-Wing.
| Quote: | | And where would Bwings carry them when their 's-foils' are closed? |
Take your pick. On the sides of the engine housing, on the main wing underneath the folded S-Foils, on the S-Foils themselves, etc.
_________________
"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
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cynanbloodbane
Commander
Joined: 05 Dec 2014
Posts: 410
Location: Cleveland, Go Tribe!
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| Posted: Wed Feb 18, 2015 10:34 pm Post subject: |
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| crmcneill wrote: | | As I get into this, I feel more and more strongly that External Pods can very easily throw off the balance of existing starfighter types, rendering their internal weaponry nearly redundant. More than any other rule I've proposed as part of this project, I feel GMs should be very choosy about the kinds of pods that they make available to characters. |
Easy, Make them more fragile than built in weapons.
On a roll of one on the wild die for any shot from a pod, the pod is disabled in addition to normal results for a one on the wild die.
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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
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Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
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| Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2015 12:27 am Post subject: |
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| cynanbloodbane wrote: | Easy, Make them more fragile than built in weapons.
On a roll of one on the wild die for any shot from a pod, the pod is disabled in addition to normal results for a one on the wild die. |
My alternate theory will be to have the pods make the ship as a whole more fragile, via a dice penalty to Hull.
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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.
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garhkal
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| Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2015 5:03 am Post subject: |
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Or if the pod blows up, it deals damage directly to the carrying ships hull with NO shield bonus.
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CRMcNeill
Director of Engineering
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Location: Redding System, California Sector, on the I-5 Hyperspace Route.
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| Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2015 9:58 am Post subject: |
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Not all of the pods will be so volatile. I picture some of them, like the surveillance and electronic warfare pods being linked into the ship's systems and causing damaging feedback if hit.
_________________
"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
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