 December 19, 2007 - 11:16pm | I uploaded my Dreadnought info into the Wiki section: http://starfrontiers.us/node/1850 Applicable skills can be found here: http://starfrontiers.us/node/1768 And a sample ship here: http://starfrontiers.us/node/2306 |
 December 25, 2007 - 5:29pm | however, in our rules for every 5 points over HS 20 you have to do a
minimum hull damage of 2 or better for the hull to be damaged. I like that idea. Does you you apply this to hull hits only, or to any system hits on the ship? |
December 25, 2007 - 6:51pm | And for more advanced drives, why bother with that when the ship will be the grand prize for the enemy. Just hope the darn thing survives. I don't know about the ship being the grand prize. The contents, yes, but not the ship itself. At least not if we're talking about pirates, who typically roam about in HS:3 to 5 warships with crews only skilled as such to operate them...suffice to say no LVL:3 pilot is ever going to be commandeering a dreadnought and guiding it back home. Let's face it, LVL:6 pilots aren't exactly common finds amongst pirates, so any defeated dreadnought is going to be left drifting. Even the task of making off with the cargo is going to present something of a challenge, how many pirate ships will be needed just to make off with the contents of a HS:20 freighter's hold? In addition to the warships (assault scouts, corvettes, and/or frigates) they'll need a contingent of freighters on stand-by, again most likely in the HS:5 to 6 range. After all they don't want to be impeded by a larger/slower freighter when the militia ships come calling. With such a fleet to go up against, any size of ship is more than likely to face defeat, after all even a UPF assault scout will merely be paced by a pirate assault scout, anything larger will be caught and shot at. Even the boarding actions shouldn't be simple. A pirate frigate's 40 hands can gain access to the innards of a HS:20 freighter, but said freighter can easily have the same number of crew within. Same can be said about a sathar threat, their ships will be manned by similarly sufficient skilled crew as well, and even if they should have a LVL:6 pilot along for the ride, the -20% alien equipment penalty will still pose a challenge as far as making off with the captured ship (that one works both ways...unless of course said LVL:6 pilot is an agent of Frontier origin). And again if they merely wish to make off with the load, once again they'll need a fleet of ships to do so. Warships are known for their offensive and defensive prowess, not their cargo holds, be it pirate or sathar or UPF warships. Any way you slice it, you need a fleet to defeat the dreadnought and further capitalize on the win, and having a smaller ship doesn't increase your chance of survival against such numbers. After all, even the Gullwind with its extensive ADF of 4 will still be paced by a sathar or pirate frigate...and a pirate assault scout will still catch up to it. Add to that its crew of seven (and up to six additional passengers) won't pose much of a challenge to a frigate's boarders either. Furthermore the benefit of a frigate attacking the Gullwind is the intruding ship's co-pilot can make off with the prize, so taking it can be done with a fleet of one. One last comment on the taking a dreadnought: grapples. While the rules don't clearly state any restrictions about taking a larger ship into tow, it stands to reason that a frigate's B class drives aren't going to be moving a mass that requires a C class drive. Bottom line here is if a ship needs a C drive to move under its own power (which the rules clearly do state), it will need a similar sized or larger drive for towing. |
 December 25, 2007 - 10:46pm | As for pirates, if the loot is worth it part and partial will suffice. They are not going to care about taking the ship home to show of to anyone. Basicly, the great train robbery take the loot and scoot. A in some cases like at sea light the ship afire. And, some pirates do look at the idea that the bigger the ship the larger the bounty (booty, loot). And for the weapon hit I keep it to where only surface hits count and the EB, PB, DC get the special electrical damages. And, in our rule, if you cut down the number of hatches you raise the HP by that percent. I am putting together an upload on my house rule for all to see. It will take awile because all my rules are still in notebooks, the paper kind hand written. |
December 25, 2007 - 11:14pm | It will take awile because all my rules are still in notebooks, the paper kind hand written. Now there's one thing we have in common on this discussion! |
December 26, 2007 - 7:28pm | Has anyone asked you why you haven't put you info into the computer? My answer is most of the rules are one shot and for reference and they get modded or made while gaming. Putting the info into a computer would spoil the essence of the game at hand. |
 December 26, 2007 - 8:01pm | "Essence of the game at hand"? That's a very curious statement. I'm not sure how winging it establishes any essence other than pain in the arse. |
December 27, 2007 - 12:21am | Has anyone asked you why you haven't put you info into the computer? So far everything I have uploaded into the Wiki is on my PC as well. Each item recieving similar treatment gets printed out and reinserted to replace my hand written stuff. On the computer, I can still edit it and adjust as neccesary, and run off another printout to replace the last one. Which looks & reads nicer than erase marks or pen scratch-outs LOL |
 December 27, 2007 - 9:12pm | There's a term for ships that big, "Bomb magnets". I don't think the Sathar would be as concerned about capturing it as they would be destroying it. They'd throw everything they had at it and possibly come up with something new, suicide ships. Ships crewed with the intention to ram into anything that big, and we know the Sathar are capable of thinking in those terms. Having played as Sathar in KH it seemed the only way to knock out or cripple armed space stations was to ram a number of frigates, destroyers or a light cruisers into anything HS 20 or bigger. The ramming ship is destroyed and does 1d10 per hull size, frigate 5d10, destroyer 6d10, light cruiser 13d10 to 15d10. The UPF players didn't like this tactic at all, they lost at least 1 station and a number of carriers this way. In every age, in every place, the deeds of men remain the same. |
December 28, 2007 - 12:50am | You are so right. I kick myself in the arse for not putting it down this way before on how the Sather would respond to the dreadnought. The Sather are not a simplton force but a force that needs to be reconded with. A dreadnought would be a waste of funds, effort, and material. |
December 28, 2007 - 2:01am | Well, that would establish a cult-like mentality on the part of the Sathar, suggesting they have religious reasons for attacking the Frontier, or at least religious reasons for the warrior class to fulfill the request. That could be a problem for those who use sci-fi as a platform for atheism. Of course, that's another discussion all together. :oops: My contribution to this part of the discussion: cheaters! That aside, there's always a counter to popular tactics. That's why no one tactic ever stays popular for very long. I'd imagine dreadnought ship designs would be made to counter suicide attackers through something like firepower focus or sectioning, or something that makes suicide attacks less effective or palatable. Or a combination of designs and tactics. Also, it's easy to ram on a two-dimensional plain, but try it with the 3rd dimension. I think you'll find it much more difficult, especially if you factor in smaller scale movement. However, that's a moot point with canon rules. |
December 28, 2007 - 2:08am | Just admit it that dreadnought are just to expensive for the federation to invest into. In reality the tool-up would be extremely costly even using a method we came up with of building modules in space in HS 5 increments and connecting them. As for the Sather, if they feel they could get an up hand by ramming they will do so. There are things called shatter drones. A half dozen or so frigate or destroyer shatter drones should put this target out of commission. 30d10 to 36d10. with damage at that magnitude there would be a definite give somewhere. By the way, if they were of a cult mentality the federation would be gone already with what the books have the UPF with. |
