CT Only: Rewriting and updating the LBB, Book 2

[AnotherDilbert]

And -- often overlooked -- TL dependence for maneuver in LBB2!

You can't even get a maneuver drive that pushes a 5000Td hull at all, until TL-15 (it needs a Size W M-Drive for 1g).

Yes, that is part of the higher tech allows bigger ships, that are more efficient thing.

 

[Tobias]

TBH. the Book 2 combat system is not really suitable for ships >1000 tons. Remember what I wrote about the "ship explodes" critical not being too relevant because it only happens every 216 hits? Well, with dozens of turrets on one ship, that in fact happens quite often. So often I felt compelled to add an optional rule reducing critical hits on large ships in my variant rules posted above.

But the more basic fact of the matter is that Book 2 is a simple system for small civilian or paramilitary craft.

 

[kilemall]

That's what Mongoose did. On of my larger gripes with it. Battleriders and non-starships in general have a lot going for them as it is, and this way, they are a complete no-brainer.

It would also make very little sense to me to change the system I like better and use more to accommodate the system that I don't and I don't than vice versa. Especially if it's much less complicated. I've layed out the amount of work you need to adapt Book 2 to a Book 5 paradigm above, and that's it. No further thinking about per ton prices and whatnot necessary.

Long story short, I've put all the work in I'll ever need to put in to adapt Book 2 designs to the Book 5 drive size paradigm, and it took me ~15 minutes total. Personally, I see no reason to put in considerably more work to adapt Book 5 to Book 2's drive paradigm, particularly since I think that's the worse of the two paradigms anyway. Let alone completely overthrow both paradigms and redo both systems and their resultant designs.

I went the other way, went with tonnage based damage and simplified damage systems to cut down on all that rolling. Plus idiosyncratic items like radiation inflicting neutron embrittlement or turning refined fuel into unrefined.