OK, here's a possibly silly. How much power should a ship have?
Obviously it should have enough for all its basic systems plus enough to use its warp or impulse engines. Then of course there are shields, which are hideously expensive (in terms of power required). That leaves weapons, but depending on how the ship is armed, that could get expensive too.
I'm guessing it should have enough to run its basic systems, maneuver at impulse speeds (or go to warp), raise shields and fire its primary weapons array(s), all at the same time. If the crew wants to open fire with everything they've got, they'll have to play around with power allocation.
Well, here's how I try to figure up a ship's Power:
1. Figure out how much Power the shields will use. That's almost always your biggest single Power expenditure.
2. Figure up the Power cost for firing three weapons (or your main weapon three times).
3. Add up the cost for other Power usage, like SIF, IDF, maneuvering, and so on. (You don't need to add in warp travel or a cloak, neither of which are in use at the same time as all these combat systems, generally.)
4. Add all that together, then tack on a little extra just to be safe.
That's basically how I figured out the Power for the ships in the SRM. I don't recall the playtesters expressing any problems.
Once we get the forms out, there's one for tracking Power allocation that will allow you to easily tot up how much Power your ship uses.
A Question of Power
Reply With Quote
