Thu May 03, 2018 3:45 pm
I would rather see Torpedoes as a disruptive weapon rather than as a pure damage dealer. Although it sounds nice fluff wise, if all you are doing is making a long winded clunky-mechanic damage dealing weapon you may as well save the time by just boosting the other weapons more. Instead I'd rather see them have unique rules that creates a unique play style. Namely I'd want them to have the potential to do a huge amount of damage as a scare tactic, but have the application of that data based on a different mechanic to a standard hit roll - namely in disrupting enemy manoeuvres.
Here's the basic idea:
- Doesn't count towards launch assets as per Lorn's suggestion.
- Has to be fired as step 2 of the launch phase (as per current rules), and a token is placed.
- Works like bombers in that the token is resolved at the end of the launch phase if in range, or at the end of that ship's next turn if in 2x range.
- Range of Heavy Torpedoes is 6", and Light Torpedoes is 12". Scan/sigs/spikes/stealth don't alter this.
- No PD vs Torpedoes, and shields are also ineffective (use the non-shield profile)
- Torpedoes make 1 roll to hit, and target is based upon orders of the target ship only.
- Torpedoes may not cause critical hits, and if they miss they are removed from play.
- All 'damage' counts as separate 1-damage hits, with a saving throw made individually against each point of damage on the weapon
- The damage value should be scary high! Possible additional effects too.
Hit roll required based on ship orders of that turn if within range, and what they do next turn if in 2x range:
- 2+ for Station Keeping & Weapons Free
- 4+ for anything else
- 6+ for Max Thrust or Course Change.
- Light Torpedoes hit 1 better (1+ (i.e. auto), 3+, 5+)
The purpose of this weapon then becomes fleet disruption. In particular it is designed to be anti-weapons free. If a big enemy ship wants to go WF and is near a torpedo-boat then it knows doing so risks taking a lot of damage. Or it could decide to manoeuvre to prevent the damage, which means the Torpedo boat has the desired effect of suppressing enemy fire. This is why it is critical that it uses the orders of that turn for ships that are within range, because it forces the enemy commander to make a decision before knowing what it going to happen - the essential aspect of a suppression weapon.
In order to make it scary it needs to have volatility in the result. This is because we don't want it to be too powerful on average, but we want it to have the potential to be very powerful as this can scare people. This is also why it should always have armour saves - that allows us to push the damage higher without making it too powerful. For example knowing that most big enemy ships have a 3+ armour save you could make a Heavy Torpedo have 24 damage. The average is 8 (which is not that powerful given that you have to be close and still make the hit roll), but has the potential to be really scary (imagine rolling 15 1's and 2's in your saves!).
That creates the problem of Torpedo spam - you want the weapon to suppress but not be blindly fired every turn. So this means that they must be limited as well. Having only one torpedo means you still get the suppression effect, but as soon as you have fired it that suppression is gone for the rest of the battle. That means that the controlling player must also make a choice about when to use it; will you take out that heavy cruiser that just went weapons free, or save it for the battleship coming forwards. I think that this means that the best players will know when not to use it.
Light Torpedoes I see being more multiple use, multiple shot, lower damage so that they are better suited for taking out cruisers and frigates (something like 6 or 8 damage here), and doesn't scare the bigger stuff at all.
It also, if they are foolish enough to get into range, gives you a weapon that will really scare Shaltari ships.
It also speeds the game up by not having it hang around multiple turns, is often not used at all, and works in a similar way as an established mechanic of bombers. And finally I think something like this is a lot more fun and tactical as well.
