Questions for the Ancients.

[notagoodusername]

So folks, to kick off discussion about the HH setting I thought I'd throw a few questions to the powers that be.

1) Who is writing it?

2) Do you have an approximate release date?

3) How closely will it stick to the T20 system?

4) WIll be self-contained and release under the OGL, will it be a complete setting book with rules changes so that the T20 book is not needed, or will it be a T20 setting book?

5) Have you got ideas on modifying the T20 space combat sytem to keep the HH vectors and speed importance in combat. Likewise broadsides and impeller wedges make facing rules very important, how do you see yourself doing that?

6) Given that almost every modern personal firearm the RMN use rips people to shreds, how do you envisage interfacing that with the RPG need for characters to have a reaosnable survival chance?

7) Will you be running a metaplot in your relases, and if so, what time period will the setting be written for intially in novel series terms? (I'm only on number 2, so this answer may not mean much to me).

8) Being as Naval life is so important in the HH books are you going to throw a short Navy life, terms and etiquette primer in the book?

That'll do for now. If the Ancients grace us with answers we can get discussions rolling!

Shane

 

[hunter]

Originally posted by Shane Mclean:
So folks, to kick off discussion about the HH setting I thought I'd throw a few questions to the powers that be.

1) Who is writing it?

I am handling the crunchy bits, Martin will take the prose

2) Do you have an approximate release date?

ASAP

3) How closely will it stick to the T20 system?

As closely as possible while maintaining the flavor of the Honorverse

4) WIll be self-contained and release under the OGL, will it be a complete setting book with rules changes so that the T20 book is not needed, or will it be a T20 setting book?

It will be OGL, and mostly self-contained. The THB will be useful to have but not required for the basic game. At least that is how it stands now and is subject to change (though I doubt it).

5) Have you got ideas on modifying the T20 space combat sytem to keep the HH vectors and speed importance in combat. Likewise broadsides and impeller wedges make facing rules very important, how do you see yourself doing that?

The space combat system will reflect the Honorverse and be significantly different.

6) Given that almost every modern personal firearm the RMN use rips people to shreds, how do you envisage interfacing that with the RPG need for characters to have a reaosnable survival chance?

Avoid getting hit?

7) Will you be running a metaplot in your relases, and if so, what time period will the setting be written for intially in novel series terms? (I'm only on number 2, so this answer may not mean much to me).

We will present the Honorverse as an overall setting.

8) Being as Naval life is so important in the HH books are you going to throw a short Navy life, terms and etiquette primer in the book?

Yup, but that's more along MJD's lines


Hunter

 

[Straybow]

Is this going to be more focused on Naval action? I know many people comment on 2300 as being less applicable to the traditional tramp trader or independent mercenary type campaign.

 

[hunter]

Originally posted by Straybow:
Is this going to be more focused on Naval action? I know many people comment on 2300 as being less applicable to the traditional tramp trader or independent mercenary type campaign.

Yes the first, main book will focus mainly on naval operations, particularly with the RMN.

Hunter

 

[JaXa]

Is there any chance to be HHRPG beta-tester.

I'm gamemastering RPG for 10 years and I'm very experienced Game Master (systems like
Star Wars, Fading Suns, Legend of 5 Rings, Dungeons and Dragons (2nd and 3rd
edition)don't have secrets for me)
I've also wrote some articles to Polish RPG Magazines.
If you are looking for betatesters I will be a good candidate

 

[eclipse]

Originally posted by hunter:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Shane Mclean:
So folks, to kick off discussion about the HH setting I thought I'd throw a few questions to the powers that be.

[qb]
6) Given that almost every modern personal firearm the RMN use rips people to shreds, how do you envisage interfacing that with the RPG need for characters to have a reaosnable survival chance?

Avoid getting hit? </font>

Damn good advice. There is body armor in the Honorverse, but you need the serious mil-spec stuff to really stop a pulser round.

 

[BetterThanLife]

Unless you are talking about Marine Bodyarmor, the Honorverse Battledress equivalent, I don't recall anything stopping a pulser. (And I don't recall even Marine Armor stopping much pulser fire.)

My advice, get behind a bulkhead and hope they don't have a Tribarrel.

Originally posted by eclipse:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by hunter:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Shane Mclean:
So folks, to kick off discussion about the HH setting I thought I'd throw a few questions to the powers that be.

[qb]
6) Given that almost every modern personal firearm the RMN use rips people to shreds, how do you envisage interfacing that with the RPG need for characters to have a reaosnable survival chance?

Avoid getting hit? </font>

Damn good advice. There is body armor in the Honorverse, but you need the serious mil-spec stuff to really stop a pulser round. </font>[/QUOTE]

 

[bryan gibson]

yep, in the Honorverse, it seems personal combat more advanced than fisticuffs results in instant hamburger, and thats not much of an exaggeration.

 

[Capt. Blacklight]

Originally posted by bryan gibson:
yep, in the Honorverse, it seems personal combat more advanced than fisticuffs results in instant hamburger, and thats not much of an exaggeration.

Hell, Bryan, even fisticuffs seem to be on the evil side of things. Really, use a Heavy Crusier or better if one must engage in violence.

And you thought T20 was deadly.

 

[lightsenshi]

Originally posted by Bhoins:
Unless you are talking about Marine Bodyarmor, the Honorverse Battledress equivalent, I don't recall anything stopping a pulser. (And I don't recall even Marine Armor stopping much pulser fire.)

There are several references to unarmored people surviving pulsar fire. The first reference that springs to mind is the first assination attempt paid for by Earl North Hollow that took place in Field of Dishonor.

Remember that Manticore technology is somewhere in the vicinity of TL16. Think of a pulsar as a gauss pistol. Any questions?

 

[The Oz]

According to the text, both of Honor's people who were injured in that attack were hit by splinters of wood blown away by the explosive darts being used by the bad guys, and were not hit directly.

So yes, you can survive the side effects of being near-missed by a pulser, but direct hits cost you limbs at the least.

 

[lightsenshi]

Sounds right. I'm admittedly fuzzy as it's been a while. But even so, how many characters can survive 5d8 directly to lifeblood?

 

[The Oz]

I don't know T20, so I can't answer that, but I can say that the CT gauss pistol was usually =not= lethal with a single direct hit, doing only 4D damage.

Now, there is a reference from ON BASILISK STATION, where the Marine uses non-explosive rounds from his pulse rifle to gutshoot the Peep colonel in charge of the native uprising. The Peep is hit twice, and doesn't die immediately, but suffers for a while first (which is what the Marine had in mind). The target was wearing body armor which is said to "slow" the rounds but not stop them.

So a rating of 4D damage (CT style) might be about right for non-explosive pulser darts, which does make them equal to CT gauss rifles. If we then take the 4D damage that explosive snub rounds do and add that on to the normal gauss rifle damage, we could assume that (in CT) an explosive pulser dart would do 8D damage, which would almost always seriously injure or kill the target.

Marine powered combat armor (not combat skinsuits) does stop pulser fire, see the scene in "Nightfall" where Pierre's guards are using pulsers and a tribarrel on the Marines coming to kidnap him and the rounds either bounce off or detonate harmlessly.

I would think that Marine skinsuits would stop most pulser fire (not tribarrels, though) as well, or at least minimize the damage taken.

 

[korvin]

Originally posted by The Oz:
I don't know T20, so I can't answer that, but I can say that the CT gauss pistol was usually =not= lethal with a single direct hit, doing only 4D damage.

Now, there is a reference from ON BASILISK STATION, where the Marine uses non-explosive rounds from his pulse rifle to gutshoot the Peep colonel in charge of the native uprising. The Peep is hit twice, and doesn't die immediately, but suffers for a while first (which is what the Marine had in mind). The target was wearing body armor which is said to "slow" the rounds but not stop them.

So a rating of 4D damage (CT style) might be about right for non-explosive pulser darts, which does make them equal to CT gauss rifles. If we then take the 4D damage that explosive snub rounds do and add that on to the normal gauss rifle damage, we could assume that (in CT) an explosive pulser dart would do 8D damage, which would almost always seriously injure or kill the target.

Marine powered combat armor (not combat skinsuits) does stop pulser fire, see the scene in "Nightfall" where Pierre's guards are using pulsers and a tribarrel on the Marines coming to kidnap him and the rounds either bounce off or detonate harmlessly.

I would think that Marine skinsuits would stop most pulser fire (not tribarrels, though) as well, or at least minimize the damage taken.

Well accourding to Dave Weber, ALL skin suits are technically made out of material similar to ballistic cloth, and Marine skins suits are some what tougher than that but not by much.

Hre is a link to LOT of archived information from Dave Weber on his different series, but primariliy the Honor Herrington series.

http://thefifthimperium.com/

look on the left side menu, and there will be a listing for Dave Weber's Infodump.

Ben

 

[eclipse]

Originally posted by The Oz:
According to the text, both of Honor's people who were injured in that attack were hit by splinters of wood blown away by the explosive darts being used by the bad guys, and were not hit directly.

So yes, you can survive the side effects of being near-missed by a pulser, but direct hits cost you limbs at the least.

Remember that Honorverse Pulsers are NOT gauss weapons. Instead of a magnetic field, they use a grav field to accelerate the darts to truely ridiculous rates.

 

[The Oz]

True, they are grav weapons, but their =effects= are similar to the gauss weapons of TRAVELLER (they shoot chunks of stuff at high velocity without chemical propellants).

 

[eclipse]

Originally posted by The Oz:
True, they are grav weapons, but their =effects= are similar to the gauss weapons of TRAVELLER (they shoot chunks of stuff at high velocity without chemical propellants).

Similar, but deadlier. Pulser are guass weapons that go to eleven and beyond...

From Field of Dishonor:

The Star Kingdom's military hadn't used chemical-powered firearms in over three T-centuries, for no firearm ever made could match the single-hit lethality of the hyper-velocity darts of a pulser or pulse rifle. A man hit in the hand by a pulser dart might—if he was very, very lucky—survive with the mere loss of his arm

So we're talking a single, small dart that does the same damage, if not more, than a shotgun at close range loaded with buckshot.

A T20 Gauss pistol only does 1d12 (ok triple on a crit, but we're talking an average hit here, not a critical).

So call it an average of 6 points of lifeblood.
Joe Average has 10 or 11 lifeblood points.

An average hit from a pulser should do 10-12 points of lifeblood damage at a minimum.

Milspec weapons in the Honorverse are bloody nasty by design.

This is all MNSHO of course.

 

[lightsenshi]

Actually, I was under the impression that gauss pistols did 3d8 and had a 4 round burst setting.

But then again, my copy of TA1 disappeared quite some time ago.

 

[The Oz]

I can't judge T20 since I don't have it, but as I said the 4D of a CT gauss pistol (plus the 4D of the explosive power from a snub pistol, for a total of 8D) would be enough to kill most CT characters.

Frankly, beyond a certain point, adding additional velocity to a projectile is counter-productive unless you expect to face armor. A very high-velocity round will pass =though= an unprotected target, transferring only a small amount of energy to the target in passing. Now if that projectile hits bone it'll shatter the bone and send bone splinters as secondary projectiles to do more damage, although I could imagine that a very high velocity projectile might pass through bone so quickly that it just punches a small hole and doesn't shatter the bone.

In CT, gauss rounds were said to have an inner armor-piercing core of very dense metal and an outer jacket of softer metal that had a hollow-point design to cause mushrooming on hitting a soft target. I've don't recall seeing any similar description of pulser darts.

Given that we have a decription from OBS of a man taking =two= solid pulser darts and surviving for long enough to scream (and scream) his pain I'd be willing to say that it's the explosive the darts are made of that does most of the damage to an unarmored target, and not their hypervelocity. The hypervelocity is for dealing with armored targets.

 

[clementk]

Originally posted by lightsenshi:
Actually, I was under the impression that gauss pistols did 3d8 and had a 4 round burst setting.

Well there *used* to be a free 1 page supplement to TA1 that listed all the new weapons from it along with their stats. Can't find it now.

Gauss Pistol is: </font><blockquote>code:</font><hr /><pre style="font-size:x-small; font-family: monospace;">Cr2500 13 1250g 1/4 80m 1d12 (x3) S P N 40 250g Cr200 </pre>[/QUOTE]That's 1d12 damage, a 4 round burst, and a 40 round magazine.

Casey