New maneuvers!

[KillerWhale]

Hi all,

Gosh, I like writing maneuvers. Here are new ones. Feel free to comment!!

Tier 2

"Watch And Learn" (Tactical) (This one is taken from a VOY ep, I don't recall the title)
The tactical officer fires a warhead in the vicinity of enemy ships, then uses a beam weapon to detonate it, sending an EM shockwave to disrupt the systems.
PREREQUISITES: All targets must be in the same range increment. The acting ship must be equipped with a warhead launcher and a beam weapon.
DURATION: Instant.
TN: 5+sum of targets’ protections.
EFFECT: If the maneuver is successful, all targets suffer the penetration ratio of the warhead plus the beam weapon used. For every 3 points of damage suffered by the vessels, the operations system takes 1 point of damage.


Tier 3

Riker Maneuver (Command)
The ship releases the gas (or any other unstable substance) contained in its Bussard collectors (or cargo bay) in the vicinity of enemy ships, then ignites it by firing on it.
PREREQUISITES: Cannot be used after Evasive Attack (C), Fast Attack (C), Z-Axis (H), Open (H) or Evasion (H). All targets must be in the same range increment.
DURATION: Instant
TN: 20+3/ship targeted beyond the first
EFFECT: The TN of this maneuver is 20+3 for each ship targeted beyond the first. On a successful maneuver, all targeted ships suffer the penetration damage of the weapon used to ignite the gas.

By the way, does anybody know if there will be new maneuvers in the Starships book?

[Don Mappin]

Originally posted by KillerWhale
By the way, does anybody know if there will be new maneuvers in the Starships book?

Yes. (Yes I know and yes there are.) Well, at least, there were when I last saw it.

[KillerWhale]

Yes. (Yes I know and yes there are.) Well, at least, there were when I last saw it.

Maaarvelous! Thanks Don for your answer. Argh, I can't wait I can't wait...!!!

[KillerWhale]

Here goes another one, mostly made to model the Defiant's orientation in combat (present pulse phasers to the ship, then fire).

Tier 2

Maximize Coverage (Helm)
The ship orients itself toward its Primary Target so as to maximize the impact of its weapons.
PREREQUISITES: None.
DURATION: Until next maneuver.
TN: Target’s protection.
EFFECT: If the maneuver is successful, the overall penetration of the ship’s next tactical maneuver is increased by 1 in the case of a Complete Success, by 2 for a Superior Success, and by 3 for an Extraordinary Success.
If the acting ship does not perform a tactical maneuver in the same round after Maximize Coverage, and just after it, then the effects are lost.

[Jesse Heinig]

Yes, the maneuvers are still in the starship book.

There was one that never seemed to show up, though, which confused me. The Open maneuver is presumably used for evasion (to generate space between you and the enemy) but it only makes it harder to hit you for the person that YOU are targeting. Strange.

So, I'm working on "Minimize Aspect" and "Evasive Maneuvers."

J.H.

[KillerWhale]

Hi Jesse,

Thanks for your answer. Yup, for me Open was just a way to get farther from one given opponent... And not an evasive maneuver per se.

I had the same idea and designed an Evasion maneuver a while back, I hope you like it:

Tier 2

Evasion (Helm)
The ship performs a series of sharp turns to shake off attackers.
PREREQUISITES: Cannot be used after any Tier III maneuver
DURATION: Until next round
TN: 15+3 per attacker beyond the first.
EFFECT: For each attackers the ship wants to shake off beyond the first, the helmsman gets a +3 TN to his System Ops (Helm) skill test.
The ships dodged lose Lock On. Those that didn’t have Lock On add +3 to the TN of their tactical skill tests to attack the ship for the next round. The acting ship cannot use any Tactical maneuver just after Evasion.

And some others that can still be found here:
http://forum.trek-rpg.net/showthread...h+of+maneuvers

[Sho-sa Kurita]

For the 'Riker Maneuver' I'd say the range should not only be the same for all target ships, but that it cannot be greater than 'short' ('medium' max). Further than that and either the gas has time to dissipate, or the ships have time to see the attack coming and can avoid it.

-- Daniel

[KillerWhale]

For the 'Riker Maneuver' I'd say the range should not only be the same for all target ships, but that it cannot be greater than 'short' ('medium' max). Further than that and either the gas has time to dissipate, or the ships have time to see the attack coming and can avoid it.

Thanks! Sounds very sensible to me! At the same time it seems it's a tad underpowered - let's increase the damage. So, new wording:

Riker Maneuver (Command)
The ship releases the gas (or any other unstable substance) contained in its Bussard collectors (or cargo bay) in the vicinity of enemy ships, then ignites it by firing on it.
PREREQUISITES: Cannot be used after Evasive Attack (C), Fast Attack (C), Z-Axis (H), Open (H) or Evasion (H). All targets must be in the same range increment, and no greater than Medium.
DURATION: Instant
TN: 20+3/ship targeted beyond the first
EFFECT: The TN of this maneuver is 20+3 for each ship targeted beyond the first. On a successful maneuver, all targeted ships suffer 2 times the penetration damage of the weapon used to ignite the gas.

[Lancer]

Originally posted by KillerWhale
On a successful maneuver, all targeted ships suffer 2 times the penetration damage of the weapon used to ignite the gas.

The only problem I have with this otherwise cool maneuver is the damage being only depending on the weapon used to ignite the gas. I think it would be more realistic to figure in the size of the ship somewhere, as a larger ship should be able to carry and/or collect more gas than a smaller ship.
how about setting damage at Weapon Penetration + 1/2 Size or something like that?

[Calcoran]

Originally posted by Jesse Heinig
Yes, the maneuvers are still in the starship book.

There was one that never seemed to show up, though, which confused me. The Open maneuver is presumably used for evasion (to generate space between you and the enemy) but it only makes it harder to hit you for the person that YOU are targeting. Strange.

Actually there's been a bit of talk on that part of the ship combat rules some time ago, namely the "primary target conundrum" ... let's see ... there:
http://forum.trek-rpg.net/showthread...&threadid=4630
Our group has been using the "Primary Target/Primary Threat + Evasive Modifiers" house rule for some time now, and we've been quite happy with it. It makes the Open maneuver, as well as most evasive maneuvers much more realistic, and still plays quite fluidly.

So, I'm working on "Minimize Aspect" and "Evasive Maneuvers."
J.H.

Will we see things like "Attack pattern Omega 3"? (just saw an episode of DS9 again yesterday ... I love it when Sisko says this, it just sounds great )

[KillerWhale]

Ya know, I wasn't really satisfied with it myself...

how about setting damage at Weapon Penetration + 1/2 Size or something like that?

That's a very good idea! After thinking it over, I even tend to believe the weapon penetration shouldn't be that important in the detonation.

What about setting the damage at the ship's size + half the weapon penetration? (the reverse, that is)

[loryk]

But my dear it's probably a purist scientific point of view but did'nt the damages depend on the gas type ???

i think that it perhaps will be difficult to translate in game rules but in this maneuver i think the most important is the nature of the gas. some gas are more dangerous than others.

example: pure hydrogen vs deuterium+tritium

but in order to solve your problem you can create table of gas types in bussard collectors, give them a "detonation power" and implement that in your damage formula

but it's only my point of view you're the GM :

[KillerWhale]

But my dear it's probably a purist scientific point of view but did'nt the damages depend on the gas type ???

You wouldn't be surprised to know it was my first approach

However it seems to be too difficult to model in game terms... Putting up a table of gases just for this particular maneuver which would mostly be a last-ditch action is maybe too much.

However, depending on the setting of the combat, there may be adverse effects. For example, if the ships are exposed to some hazard (nebula, ion storm...) they may be forced to take the tests again pertaining to the hazard when the maneuver is executed. That may do it.

[Lancer]

Originally posted by KillerWhale
What about setting the damage at the ship's size + half the weapon penetration? (the reverse, that is)

Sounds good to me.

And for the hazardous environments: That's something I'd be carefull about. Enough of those space hazards can have an daverse effect on your shields as it is, so this maneuver is already more likely to do significant damage in nebulae, etc. not to require any additional rules (IMHO).

[KillerWhale]

Enough of those space hazards can have an daverse effect on your shields as it is, so this maneuver is already more likely to do significant damage in nebulae, etc. not to require any additional rules (IMHO).

True... But then there are the effects of the nebula that may interact with the ignited cloud, like in ST:I - I believe they should be suffered again...?

I'm proposing this:

Riker Maneuver (Command)
The ship releases the gas (or any other unstable substance) contained in its Bussard collectors (or cargo bay) in the vicinity of enemy ships, then ignites it by firing on it.
PREREQUISITES: Cannot be used after Evasive Attack (C), Fast Attack (C), Z-Axis (H), Open (H) or Evasion (H). All targets must be in the same range increment, and no greater than Medium.
DURATION: Instant
TN: 20+3/ship targeted beyond the first
EFFECT: The TN of this maneuver is 20+3 for each ship targeted beyond the first. On a successful maneuver, all targeted ships suffer the following damage: acting ship's size + half the weapon penetration used to ignite the gas.
If the ships are taken in some kind of navigational hazard (nebula), they have to suffer the Effects listed an additional time.