Re: Weapons Modules, who would use them?

Part of the problem is that a lot of people have house rules that different
significantly from the published rules, and it shouldn't be a surprise
that as you change the mechanics you change what tactics would work.

If you have mechanics that allow for deep wildspace detections and encounters
you will have a lot more battles far from a gravity well.

Part of the current set up is that there is equality on some levels of
spelljamming technology.  Everybody travels roughly the same distance
per day, the sizes of the ships and their toughness is comparable.
When you make more of combat dependant on Detection magics you take
away some of the equality.  A society which is more advanced magicly
has _much_ more of an advantage, groundlings are in a much _worse_
position, because they don't have magical detection devices, or
communication crystals, cloaking devices or anything else which is
pure magic.

The current set up doesn't require a huge proportion of the crew
be mages or clerics.  If you make too much of a typical encounter
based on magic, you may as well not have an Player character fighters
because they aren't going to be _doing_ anything.

Unless the magical detection devices are integrated into the helms in
such a way that everybody has the same basic edge you risk changing
the player slowly learning what sorts of maneuvers work in space to
The Quest for the Better Black-Box-Device-For-Detecting-Other-Ships.
Why pore over deck plans when you just spend a little more money and
get a better detection system?


Remember that discussion about the effect of superior speed on tactics?
That goes double for detection range.

If I have a device that can tell me the number, course and tonnage of
other ships before they can detect my ship or fleet, I could take on
the Vodoni!  I attack when I have ten-to-one or better odds, and run
away otherwise.  Likewise a magical communication system can turn
an opponents surprise raid into an ambush that wipes out the raiders.

Very simple magical devices can double or triple the effectiveness of
a fleet's ability to protect or attack a world or sphere.

Michael Sandy