Optional Rule for 'Small Hex' Games: Any time two NPC vessels enter the same hex roll d100 for each ship. If both rolls come up the same number, the ships make contact and both take the number rolled in hull points of damage.
Fleet Captain does not come with a set scale for either time or distance. Individual GMs, scenario designers and player-empowering anarchist collectives can work such things out for themselves. Or simply do what the designer does and remember the MST3K Mantra: Repeat to yourself it's just a show, I should really just relax.
But there are times when the size of one of those hexes of empty space really matters. One is when you want to know if ships can accidentally bump into each other or not, hence the optional rule above. Another is when you want to put a planet on the map.
If we're fighting a last ditch effort to defend Earth from the forces of Omicron Persei 8 it's important to figure out at some point whether or not Earth fits on the map. Perhaps you print out a custom counter that's exactly one hex wide. "This counter blocks line of site and anyone entering this hex must make an Avoid Hazard maneuver or crash into a randomly determined city in New Jersey." Or maybe you cut an old globe in half and slap that puppy down on the map. You'll need different rules for that to cover the partial hexes peaking out beneath the hemisphere. Another possibility is that the battle is taking place so close to Earth that any vessel exiting the right side of the board at more than Drift speed crashes into the planet.
Or perhaps these hexes are friggin' huge and the Earth is just another dot in hex 1213. If I recall correctly,
Anyway, my point is that "Oops! I got my destroyer in your frigate!" is funny. But it shouldn't happen too often. Space, after all, is really, really big. Besides, if you want vessels crashing into stuff, that's what Improbably Dense Asteroid Fields are for.
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Point of reference here, Jeff, and a minor detail at best.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that Triplanetary was GDW.
Cheers...
Do your ships come in classes, like frigate, destroyer, etc? If so, one optional system people can use is to declare a 'safe size' for a given scenario, such that "destroyers and smaller can't crash in a hex; everything larger can". This can create some interesting tactics where you try to rush small ships through blockades. (I'm thinking that a 'small' ship can always zip around a 'large' ship, so there's no need to worry about relative sizes and what happens if three destroyers meet a light cruiser or some such.)
ReplyDeletePS: Does your rule apply even if they're allied ships, ala the Starship Troopers movie?
PPS: Maybe the captain's ship either never crashes or takes half damage, since he can actually fly the damn thing unlike the rest of the idiots?
Are you familiar with Wooden ships and Iron Men (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/237/wooden-ships-iron-men)?
ReplyDeleteWe played a multiplayer by e-mail version of it @ SF and the heavily-customized rules covered most types of ship-to-ship stuff, including ramming other ships and fleet actions.
Its a hex-based game, and we rammed each other frequently. You did a small amount of hull and rigging damage, and you had an opportunity to start a boarding action.
Boarding actions became a thing of the past as technology advanced, but you might want to consider it as part of your game design because most players had a lot of fun doing it.
It's always New Jersey, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteTriplanetary was designed by Marc Miller and published by GDW. SJG acquired the rights intending to reprint it. To my knowledge, that hasn’t happened, but I believe SJG still has the rights.
ReplyDeleteThanks for correcting me on Triplanetary's publisher, folks. I haven't owned a copy in forever and didn't bother to look it up.
ReplyDeleteLizard: 1) I like the safe size idea a lot. 2) Allied ships CAN destroy each other. 3) The flag vessel of the Fleet Captain is immune to inadvertent collisions though. I iwllclarify in the next draft.
Kirk: One of my design goals is to make boarding actions less of a pain the butt than SFB. Boarding actions are cool.