There is a phrase that puts things into perspective.
In my T20 games we hardly ever played with battle dress, only two or three times, but it really worked well IMHO.
R
Autocannons on starships.
- Thread starter Hotfoot Jackson
- Start date
In my T20 games we hardly ever played with battle dress, only two or three times, but it really worked well IMHO.
R
Just jocking. I understand in any case (as the x 50 multiplier in starship weapons for MGT) means that if any starship rating weapon is used against personnel and hits, it's no worth rolling damage (except sandcasters).
I've never readed T20. In MT, sandcasters penetrate BD up to medium distance and make 10 damage points (a typical character is KO after 3 and killed after 5 more). The seccond to last starship rated weapon (TL8 beam Laser) penentrates a BD at nearly any distance and does 500 dmg points...
bubbacleese
SOC-8
It's good that we all can play nice together.
"I see your sandcaster and raise you two autocannons." stated David
"So thats one sandcaster and two autocannons to me. Call." said Bill
"Too rich for me.." Mark said tossing in his cards.
"Two autocannons; Call." Chirped Alice
And so the game continued into the night...
"I see your sandcaster and raise you two autocannons." stated David
"So thats one sandcaster and two autocannons to me. Call." said Bill
"Too rich for me.." Mark said tossing in his cards.
"Two autocannons; Call." Chirped Alice
And so the game continued into the night...
Neverless, using this starship rated batteries against dirtside targets, due to their danger spaces and high overkilling, it's not a feasible option if you care for collateral damage, so having some vehicle scale weaponry when you need to use you ship as ground support could be a good option.
Using a starship laser (or any starship rated weapon) ti kill a grav tank would be (IMO) as using Iowa 16" guns to kill a tank. Surely they'll kill it... and anything near it.
Imagine the scene of Empire strikes back that began this thread. If a space rated weapon was used there, the likely result would be the full collpse of the cave, probably trapping the Milleniun Falcon in the collapse.
I don't believe Imperial Law Enforcement agencies would accept the collateral damages, except in full fledged war (and that only as long as nuclear missiles are not involved, as Imperial RUles of War specify).
Using a starship laser (or any starship rated weapon) ti kill a grav tank would be (IMO) as using Iowa 16" guns to kill a tank. Surely they'll kill it... and anything near it.
Imagine the scene of Empire strikes back that began this thread. If a space rated weapon was used there, the likely result would be the full collpse of the cave, probably trapping the Milleniun Falcon in the collapse.
I don't believe Imperial Law Enforcement agencies would accept the collateral damages, except in full fledged war (and that only as long as nuclear missiles are not involved, as Imperial RUles of War specify).
bubbacleese
SOC-8
I can see a GM making or scaling the damage down a bit, or perhaps a redesign of the area around the landing pads at star ports. Perhaps there is a great deal of room around each ship thus giving you a nice kill zone without worrying about collateral damage.
Then again you will just have that one player who just has to fire the bigger more destructive weapons right there in the heart of the star port. Now we are talking about killing dozens if not hundreds of innocent people as well as massive destruction of the star port facilities.
...wait, that sounds like a nice scenario...
"Ok party, you are near the star port when you hear tremendous artillery like sounds and you feel the ground shaking violently. Roll dex check to see if you fall down. Ok, everyone is ok but the shots are still firing and the ground is still bouncing. Some insane gunner at the star port has opened up on the star port with a ships weapon and is killing hundreds and destroying everything in sight. It's up to you to stop him! How do you want to start?"
Then again you will just have that one player who just has to fire the bigger more destructive weapons right there in the heart of the star port. Now we are talking about killing dozens if not hundreds of innocent people as well as massive destruction of the star port facilities.
...wait, that sounds like a nice scenario...
"Ok party, you are near the star port when you hear tremendous artillery like sounds and you feel the ground shaking violently. Roll dex check to see if you fall down. Ok, everyone is ok but the shots are still firing and the ground is still bouncing. Some insane gunner at the star port has opened up on the star port with a ships weapon and is killing hundreds and destroying everything in sight. It's up to you to stop him! How do you want to start?"
Xerxeskingofking
SOC-13
...
this is a game with tacitcal nucluar missles as semi-standard issue to anvy warships....
the sight of a gunner going to town on a starport would not be one you'd like to see (or one you'd see once, beforethe being flash blinded.
Civilian ships do not generally carry nukes (need a jolly good reason, permits etc. generally too much hassle) & I doubt a gunner on Naval ships could fire nukes without bridge approval.
Missiles today do not arm themselves until they are in flight and a suitable distance from the launcher (a long way away for even tactical nukes). Missiles intended for space combat are likely not to arm themselves for 30km or more. Far enough that dirtside use is problematic, soon enough to be insignificant in ship to ship combat.
It would also be relatively simple for nuke manufacturers to instal an atmospheric pressure switch as a safety mechanism. Equally it may be possible to fool it, but that is not a skill your average deranged gunner would have. Regardless the ships computer, background weapons diagnostic would pick it up immediately, especially if you are landed in the downport. I would also think the the ships computer, knowing its status ('In Port' or 'In Atmosphere') would lock-out firing controls for nukes.
And this is just two or three of the no doubt many safety mechanisms built into missiles, especially nukes, to prevent deliberate or accidental miss-use.
Carrying nukes without any complying safety mechanisms will also lead to regular interviews (or maybe just the one) with port then Imperial authorities as to why you feel the need to carry nukes usable on planetary populations...
Missiles today do not arm themselves until they are in flight and a suitable distance from the launcher (a long way away for even tactical nukes). Missiles intended for space combat are likely not to arm themselves for 30km or more. Far enough that dirtside use is problematic, soon enough to be insignificant in ship to ship combat.
It would also be relatively simple for nuke manufacturers to instal an atmospheric pressure switch as a safety mechanism. Equally it may be possible to fool it, but that is not a skill your average deranged gunner would have. Regardless the ships computer, background weapons diagnostic would pick it up immediately, especially if you are landed in the downport. I would also think the the ships computer, knowing its status ('In Port' or 'In Atmosphere') would lock-out firing controls for nukes.
And this is just two or three of the no doubt many safety mechanisms built into missiles, especially nukes, to prevent deliberate or accidental miss-use.
Carrying nukes without any complying safety mechanisms will also lead to regular interviews (or maybe just the one) with port then Imperial authorities as to why you feel the need to carry nukes usable on planetary populations...
Xerxeskingofking
SOC-13
oh, indeed, but a skillful electronics engineer/ hacker could not doubt sabotage the whole set up.
and this assumes we are talking about a "mad gunner", rather than deliberate, planned attack.
Another safty feature would be the use of Nucular dampers to prevent the warheads form detonating properly, and having the missle refuse to launch without a valid starship type target.
When I talked about using starship rated weaponry against groundside targets, regardless collateral damage, in a full fledged war, I was thinking more in the use of a ship as ortillery than its use in the starport (in the case of a landed ship, there's no point of using nukes, unless you ant to be suicide, and if so, better to blow up your own power plant at full power output, IMO).
Agree in all this.
BTW,
Do you think there would be also restrictions in the Imperial Rules of War for the use of Fusion weapons, after reading this description? (but perhaps that's for another thread...)
Well, you'd think so from that description, but as far as I know there isn't any radiation (or at least not enough to be mentioned) from FGMPs in any of the other rules besides MGT. I don't know enough about MGT to say whether they have them restricted by the Imperial rules of war, but I don't think any of the others do.
True, AFAIK (I havn't read GT nor T20, and only the basics of TNE), MGT is the only one to give some radiation value to FGMP (as quoted before).
Also, in MGT, Fusion bays (there are no Fusion Turrets) inflict radiation damage on starship combat, so the question that if they are restricted as nuclear weapons by Imperial Rules of War (on MGT paradigma) reamins.
Also, in MGT, Fusion bays (there are no Fusion Turrets) inflict radiation damage on starship combat, so the question that if they are restricted as nuclear weapons by Imperial Rules of War (on MGT paradigma) reamins.
Icosahedron
SOC-14 1K
I have a feeling there's something in CT somewhere about FGMP radiation. Not a specific value, but a warning that it should be used with battledress to protect against incident radiation affecting the firer. It doesn't seem to be in LBB4 or Striker, the obvious places, but it could have been in a supplement or a JTAS issue.
I've always held that you could fire one a couple of times without protection and still procreate, but if you spend any time without a battledress and surrounded by FGMPs, your hair's gonna fall out at the very least. That's a Ref fiat, though, and if you're wearing civvies on a nuclear battlefield, hair loss is probably the least of your worries.
I've always held that you could fire one a couple of times without protection and still procreate, but if you spend any time without a battledress and surrounded by FGMPs, your hair's gonna fall out at the very least. That's a Ref fiat, though, and if you're wearing civvies on a nuclear battlefield, hair loss is probably the least of your worries.
Patron Zero
SOC-13
Covering Retreats-Egresses
Mind not anywhere near the sage and revered 'tech-heads' as credit due to said parties more knowledgeable on canon rules CT or otherwise but I've always 'allowed' for some 'local' defensive measures on a starship-spaceship to protect itself while dirtside.
In particular, ages ago I adapted the Lief Erickson scout ship as a 100 ton scout-courier design and as such the ship had a dedicated rear-facing turret that mounted four (4) autocannons. Said weapons would offer protective covering fire for deploying-recovering the ship's ATV in hot-hostile LZs.
The rear turret, gun bubble actually, would also be of benefit for keeping aggressive aircraft at bay while the ship reached for the presumed safety of the vacuum of space above.
There was also have an unmanned remote operated turret as well on-in the ship's belly, two heavy caliber Gauss cannon in such were a bit of comfort to the crew again when operating in unfriendly skies.
My use of the word turret here not referring to CT canon term defining a 'standard' hardpoint-ship's weapon, think more of the defensive fittings on WWII bombers.
Mind not anywhere near the sage and revered 'tech-heads' as credit due to said parties more knowledgeable on canon rules CT or otherwise but I've always 'allowed' for some 'local' defensive measures on a starship-spaceship to protect itself while dirtside.
In particular, ages ago I adapted the Lief Erickson scout ship as a 100 ton scout-courier design and as such the ship had a dedicated rear-facing turret that mounted four (4) autocannons. Said weapons would offer protective covering fire for deploying-recovering the ship's ATV in hot-hostile LZs.
The rear turret, gun bubble actually, would also be of benefit for keeping aggressive aircraft at bay while the ship reached for the presumed safety of the vacuum of space above.
There was also have an unmanned remote operated turret as well on-in the ship's belly, two heavy caliber Gauss cannon in such were a bit of comfort to the crew again when operating in unfriendly skies.
My use of the word turret here not referring to CT canon term defining a 'standard' hardpoint-ship's weapon, think more of the defensive fittings on WWII bombers.
