Newbish n00b questions, MkII

[stubby]

I wonder if I should make custom rules for hooks? For BrikWars purposes they're really probably just as good as a hand, and can be used as a hand weapon as well. Parrying with a hook is probably easier than parrying with a knife, although on a failure result of "parrying weapon gets knocked away" it probably means it gets chopped off.

[Tzan]

For cartoon purposes I would expect a space pirate with 2 hook hands can pilot a ship just fine.

[Gungnir]

Most prosthetic limbs aren't grafted directly onto the body, so I imagine they could just pick it up and put it back on.

[*CRAZYHORSE*]

I think it is indeed just plus 1" to their size so your big fig with compensating would have a power level of of 6 instead of his normal power level of 4.
Big creations usually don't really need to compensate though. I also think for bigger creations gathering power makes more sense.

[*CRAZYHORSE*]

6. Every source as in every weapon. So striking a unit in heavy armor with two 1d weapons will result in 0 damage unless you have some overskill going on. If one attacker with 4 arms and multiple actions strikes you with multiple cc weapons and also shoots you then every single weapon gets one dice removed from its damage roll.

7. With burst autofire you get to attack the same target multiple times with the same weapon. Every single shot gets a damage die removed from its damage roll, it's the same for big creations spanning multiple arcs as long as there is armor plating in each arc.

8. Yes you just curse a certain area with your die. With a d10 you can probably add a 2"+area of effect but I don't know how you would deal with field size otherwise unless you like curse a specific object like the kitchen table or this puddle.

IMO I would fudge it and let you roll dice for field size if you wanted.
Rolling one die would give you a one dimension line segment as your field shape.
Rolling two die would give you a two dimensional field of size die x die.
Rolling three die for field size would allow you to add volume of course as your field size would be die x die x die.

You would still need to add dice that actually cause the effect so creating big field hazards is quite costly on only something the more elite magical forces could do. Like a demon prince summoning a field of fire or a Master Fartomancer creating a brown mist field of suffocation.

[stubby]

IMO I would fudge it and let you roll dice for field size if you wanted.
Rolling one die would give you a one dimension line segment as your field shape.
Rolling two die would give you a two dimensional field of size die x die.
Rolling three die for field size would allow you to add volume of course as your field size would be die x die x die.

I've been feeling this way too - the radius from d10s isn't really ideal for creating area effects the way you'd really want.

But I also wanted to avoid having to keep track of specific dimensions. I had enough of dimensions after the pre-2005 versions of BrikWars; that's the reason everything is based on a straight one-number Size" measurement now.

Maybe the best way to handle it is to say you can create Area of Effect by spending any two SN dice. Roll them both, and keep the lower roll. You can add the lower roll to the size of your effect. If you want to add more size, roll another pair of dice and add the lower result.

If you wanted to make area effects easier, you could change it so you could spend and roll any number of dice, remove the highest result, and total the rest as your maximum effect size. But I worry that the power would ramp up too quickly in that version.

The trick then is figuring out how d10 radii, d8 arcs, and dice-pair Size interact with each other if you've got more than one in the same effect.

[*CRAZYHORSE*]

Maybe the best way to handle it is to say you can create Area of Effect by spending any two SN dice. Roll them both, and keep the lower roll. You can add the lower roll to the size of your effect. If you want to add more size, roll another pair of dice and add the lower result.

I like this idea. Nice simple and straight forward although I don't mind keeping track of the actual field dimensions as I would just plop down some markers and be done with it. Besides what are supernatural powers with out some special effects huh. Most fields require obvious edge markers any way. If you would make your field dimensions a circle with a certain radius you will be remeasuring again and again if a unit is in it or not. With just four simple markers you have a field and with just two you can keep track of any kind of wall effect like a wall of fire or a magical line of methamphetamine which increases the speed of anybody that walks through.

Besides I feel like creating an entire field effect is something for really powerful entities which requires a lot of magical channeling. As we all know from fiction most wizards just cast fire balls or at most a wall of fire but an entire field of fire is something only Sauron could easily create.

[stubby]

Yeah, I'm a fan of edge markers also. It's just the forcing magic effects into random rectangles that seems like extra pain for no benefit. I much prefer tying it back into the Size" system, where you can have any shape you want, and the only number to check is whether it fits in the Size" inches.

[*CRAZYHORSE*]

Sounds good to me. Any simplification is super welcome as I usually have to play brikwars with people who are not regular wargamers. If I can explain a rule in one or two sentences that it's always welcome in my book.

[stubby]

Hmm, good idea. I should unify the area effect rules between explosions, arc fire, and field hazards.

I don't know if that would help Scouts necessarily. Their cover bonuses have more to do with increased camouflage than any actual protection.

[stubby]

True enough. If it can be fudged either way, better to fudge in the direction of consistency rather than having to make up new exceptions.

YOU WIN THIS ROUND

[stubby]

under "Flight Maneuvering", it says:

A non-hovering Flying Vehicle cannot remain in the air if it is reduced to Half Speed for any reason - this means no moving backwards, equipping Armor Plating, or flying with half its Propulsion missing.

I think the assumption here was that all spacecraft can hover, so it's only things like airplanes that have to worry about this rule. But I can go back in and clarify it. You can have armored spacecraft and blimps and helicopters no problem, but Half Speed biplanes or 747s or B-52s can't leave the ground because their ability to generate lift depends on forward velocity.

6. Spaceflight: how do we buy it? Is it "Flying Propulsion" (in which case, we sadly wave goodbye to our loyal fleets of armored dreadnaughts), or is it "Standard Propulsion" that moves in 3 dimensions?

It's flying propulsion. You can still have armored dreadnaughts though.

7. Are there any special rules on armoring spacecraft?

Nope. Same as any other vehicle.

8. Are there any rules to differentiate spacecraft that are designed to stay in space (typically big-ass SHIPS), and spacecraft that move back-and-forth from space to atmosphere to the planet's surface (starfighters, shuttles, light freighters, etc)?

I couldn't think of any game-mechanical reason to draw a distinction, unless you're running a strategic-level metagame that spans both space and surface conflicts. Otherwise I can't think of any tactical-level engagement where this would have an effect on actual play.

9. How many inches of depth would a submarine have to sink to to get cover (well, "concealment", technically, but we don't differentiate b/w/ the two in BrikWars) from attackers firing at it from the surface? Obviously launched explosives (torpedoes, depth charges, etc) would bypass this penalty, at least in terms of damage.

For BrikWars purposes, I think the water surface can be treated as opaque cover with zero armor, unless you've got a special scenario that requires otherwise. I'd treat any completely-submerged submarine as Hidden, as if it were using the Stealth ability. You can spot it with any unit with the Tracking ability, as usual, and Marking the sub cancels any concealment bonuses.

What about the submarine firing back at the surface? Or launching missiles at targets above the surface?

Anything that breaks the surface is visible to the sub. Anything above the surface is visible if somebody on the sub has Tracking.

In order to make any attacks, the sub has to reveal its location, which means that enemies get a Detection roll to see if they spotted it before it got into prime firing position. Once Detected, it'd still be under the water surface though, so it keeps its concealment bonuses.

10. Is a minifig killing themselves for any reason (suicide bomber, about to get Mind Controlled/implanted by alien bug eggs and denying the enemy the opportunity) automatic, or do they still have to roll for it?

As long as he's got a weapon, I think this is automatic in most cases, although I might make him roll for it in the case of enemy control (for instance due to supernatural Mind effects or Stupidity.)

Do we get a Benny out of it, would that negate the usefulness of the Leadership skill?

I don't think there are any ways that killing yourself would earn a Benny automatically, although I guess that your enemies could award you one if they thought your suicide was epic enough.

[bann154]

Alright i have a question that relates more to custom weapons than anything is it acceptable for a size 5-6 launcher to fire an object (equivalent to a size 2 explosive) and it do 10d6 damage? Or would it be bound to gaining momentum for its size?

[Gungnir]

Alright i have a question that relates more to custom weapons than anything is it acceptable for a size 5-6 launcher to fire an object (equivalent to a size 2 explosive) and it do 10d6 damage? Or would it be bound to gaining momentum for its size?

A size 2 payload would do only 2D6 damage, or 2D10 explosive damage.

[Valiant]

Alright i have a question that relates more to custom weapons than anything is it acceptable for a size 5-6 launcher to fire an object (equivalent to a size 2 explosive) and it do 10d6 damage? Or would it be bound to gaining momentum for its size?

Are you questioning the raw power of the unadulterated Rheinmettal L/55 120mm Smoothbore Gun?
The reason why it is capable of doing 10d6 damage is due to the barrel length and ammunition type. While a 1" depleted uranium round can do 10d6 damage to 3d10 armour and above, it will only ever do 2d6 damage to 2d10 and lighter armoured vehicles/beings. This launcher is also limited in the fact that the vehicle it's installed on can only carry 14 rounds, and has to carry HEAT, HE and canister rounds on top of APFSDS. All of these ammo types are designed to counter a certain type of enemy/structure. Once an ammunition type is depleted, then the tank is unable to counter certain units anymore.

These are the ammunition stats. You can also view them on the ABS Defence Systems Weaponry page.

Spoiler

Show

DN08 HEAT Round
Damage: 8d6 against lightly armoured targets (1d10-2d10), 6d6 against heavily armoured targets (3d10-5d10) and 4d6 against infantry.
Range: 36"
DM12 APFSDS Sabot Round
Damage: 10d6 against heavily armoured targets (3d10-5d10), 10d6 against lightly armoured targets (1d10-2d10) and 10d6 against infantry. However, only 2d6 can be used against infantry and lightly armoured targets. Due to the sabot's nature, it will always over-penetrate the target, even if the target didn't take damage from the roll.
Range: 36"
DL07 HE Round
Damage: 5d6 against lightly armoured targets, 8d6 against infantry (3" radius) and 3d6 against heavy armour.
Range: 36"
M1028 canister round
Damage: 10d6 against infantry (5" radius), 3d6 against lightly armoured targets and 1d6 to heavily armoured targets.
Range: 30"