Re: Leroy's 3e

> Hi Leroy!

Hiya!


> Great stuff, I really like it! Sorry for the slow
> response!

Hey, I am just glad someone read it! I am glad you
like it.


> Some questions and comments:
>
> Ship Construction:
> 1a) What is the reason for reducing the air supply to
> 50% (two man months per ton vs. four man months in the
> old rules)?

Tons in my new system are 1,350 square feet,
half the size of a 2e SJ ton. So, that equates to
less air.


> 1b) Will you extend the list with "sample ship stats"
> to include all the ships from the original rules? (I
> know it might be quite extensive)

At some point, yeah, though I want to wait until I have what
I consider the first "final" draft of the rules, rather than a beta
test set of rules.


> Ship Combat:
> 2a) I think that a combat example with the various
> aspects of movement and combat would be nice.

Agreed, and I do intend to do up such a thing. But,
because it would be a real pain in the arse to go back
and update it if any extensive changes are made to
the system I have been holding off until I have a final
version.

Of course, it wouldn't hurt for others to convert a few
of the older ships over...


> 2b) It is written in "ship weapons"-section
> sub-section concerning "specific targets" and
> sub-sub-section on "targeting weapons" that the AC of
> the weapon does not suffer any penalties the ship
> gains from move actions. Why? It should (in my
> opinion) be easier to hit a weapon if the ship makes
> an unfavourable move.

I am not 100% sure on what my logic was on that one.
That sometimes happens when you work on something
hard and quickly. : )

I will give that rule some thought and I may very well change it.


> 2c) "ship weapons and the ready action. I can't figure
> what the penalty is for using the ready action for
> ship weapons.

There really is no penalty for taking the ready action to fire a
ship weapon. This is by design, and is there to reflect the 2e
rules that allowed a weapon to fire on the turns of others,
something I liked.


> If the penalty doesn't exist, then it
> should be stated that the ship weapon could be fired
> at any time the crew leader pleases.

Actually, it does: "Once a crew leader has taken the ready
action to fire a ship weapon, he can fire at any time, even in
the middle of someone else's turn."


> 2d) I can't figure the base ram damage described in
> the sections concerning ramming. It is stated that the
> base damage of the attacking ship is 2 times the
> ship's tonnage while the base damage from the "victim"
> is the equal to the target ship's hit points before it
> was rammed.
> I made a small example for myself: 2
> non-damaged hammerships, hit each other "head on", the
> speed of each ship is 5, base damage done to the
> "victim" is 800 ((5+5)*2*40) hit point while base
> damage to the attacker is 1680 hit points (2*840).

Yup, that is right.


> Even if the attacker makes his/her save and reduces
> the damage to 840 hit points, he/she still suffers the
> majority of the damage. Have I missed some thing
> (misunderstood the text) or should the base damage
> done to the attacker be reduced? Suggestion to
> reduction is to 50% of the damage inflicted on the
> "victim".

The high amount of damage is done on purpose. The idea is
that rams are weapons to _end_ fights, not begin them. You
don't ram a ship at the start of combat, because it will hurt.
You soften them up with ship weapons first. When you have
an enemy down to half or less, then you ram them. If rams
are made so they do high damage with lowered risk, too
many combats will start and end with one ship ramming the
other. How much fun is that? : )

Also, head on rams are supposed to be very painful. They
are not something you want to do except in rare situations.

Look at it this way. Hammership Alpha is ramming
hammership Beta at the aft angle. Alpha is down to 620 hit
points, Beta is at 430.

Alpha's base damage is 80. It rams at Speed 6 hexes. Beta
is moving at Speed 3 hexes. That is effective Speed 5 hexes.
So Alpha does 400 points of damage.

Base damage to the attacker is one half of the target ship's
hit points, or 215. A successful maneuver roll against DC 20
reduces this to 107. That's not too bad for a combat-ending
attack.


> 2e) Do you got plans for introducing the "great
> bombard" from the good old Giff preferred "great
> bombard" ship, described in War Captain's Companion,
> to the ship weapon list?

Yeah, at some point. I want to make sure the numbers
in the base system are workable before working on the
more esoteric stuff.


> This was a lot of comments to a great new system. Keep
> up the good work!

Thanks for the feedback. I really do appreciate it.


Leroy Van Camp III
malacoda@?????????.com
http://www.users.qwest.net/~malacoda/TarkasBrainLabIV.html
ICQ #20039817

"Where you come from is gone. Where you thought you were
going to weren't never there. And where you are ain't no
good unless you can get away from it."

              Ministry, "Jesus Built My Hotrod"