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Thread: (CODA) Idea about Ablative Armor

  1. #1

    (CODA) Idea about Ablative Armor

    I've read through the starship rules in the Narrator's Guide. (I don't have Starships as of yet, but am looking to.) I had a thought about the Ablative Armor ship edge. Why would you wish to spend 5 Spaces for an edge that gives you 5 Structure at a penalty (May only be repaired at a space station), when you can simply chose to convert 5 Spaces into Structure by the standard rules?

    Why not have Ablative Armor function in a way it is intended: reduce the penetration of a weapon attack by adding to Threshold (+1 would b be fair in my opinion). Then, add in a game mechanic to have the bonus wear off (i.e. ablate) after so many hits. Say 5 hits to keep in line with the 5 Spaces. You could even add the concept of armor remaining per firing-arc/hit-location. "Captain, the armor on the starboard side is down to 20%!" "Helm, bring us around to present our Port side on this next pass."

    Has anyone else had this idea?

    Does anyone else think it is a good idea?

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    This has been covered quite a few times on the forum, but to keep the answer brief: While you are paying 5 points for 5 structure, as with the normal rules.. Those 5 points don't count towards criticals: So you have to take 10 points of damage before you create a critical... you are in essence getting a buffer of 5 'free' points of damage! If you added 5 normal structure, those would cause criticals as normal. Especially on small ships, only a few criticals can be crippling!

    Your idea could work too though, there's no reason not to add it as a house rule if you'd like While I like the authenticity of the 'flavour' of aft, starboard and port shields etc, that was specifically removed from Coda to streamline and simplify it. In essence the Coda system is an abstract: Hence the number of phaser banks don't equal exactly countable phaser banks, and it's more about game ballance! However, you could (to create flavour without unballancing the game) create a maneuver which would 'bring about' the ship, to present the undamaged armour/shields, effectivelly raising your protection, for a round, or something?
    Ta Muchly

  3. #3

    Thanks

    Thanks for the response! Especially since it is something that has been covered so often before.

    I can see why the "buffer" would be helpful, when you mention it. I hadn't seen anything about whether it counted towards criticals or not.

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