![]() |
Gamemaster Archive: Wing Pylon System Version 3.0![]() Rules | Notes | Direct-fire Weapons | Indirect Fire Weapons | Equipment: |
Date of release: 18th August 1998 This document replaces previous versions of the Wing Pylon Rules. It is a combination of my original rules and Kevin Doleīs expansion rules but in some cases I have modified or altered the rules to better conform with my gaming. The rules contained within this document are intended to introduce the ability for starfighters to carry and use externally mounted weapons, electronics or other equipment into the Star Wars Roleplaying Universe. Some people might think that this contradicts canon, i.e such things are not used within the movies, but these rules are a logical extension of warfare as we know today on Earth. In addition, several of the novels feature externally pylon-mounted missiles and guns so in my view the point whether this is canon or not is moot. Use them as you see fit in your game play! The Rules Payload First we must determine how much your starfighter can carry. The formula for this is simple; take the shipīs length, in meters times three. This is the maximum amount of payload you can carry externally. You must also determine what 3/4 and 1/2 of the maximum value is, and then, if necessary, round the values according to standard mathematical rules. The values you get is the number of payload dice you have.
As always, it is up to the Gamemaster to determine if these values are indeed correct. Some fighters may not be capable of carrying the calculated amount of payload due to the configuration of the ship. This is especially true for the A-Wing and B-Wing. In those cases use your own judgement. Hard Points: In order to carry the payload, you must have somewhere to put it. There are several types of hard points available ranging from pylons to bomb bays. Bomb BayInternal weapon bays, which can carry any type of gear, although some might require special equipment. Gravity bombs and missiles are no problem, for direct-fire weapons such as gun pods and direct fire/dumb rockets, you will need a elevator system to lower the gun out of the weapons bay. This is simply a hydraulic lift fitted with the needed link ups, it weighs 1D. These are actually indents into the skin of the fighter, wired to take missiles, but by adding a specially designed pylon (mass 1D), it is possible to mount any type of gear. Capable of taking any kind of payload. This is in many cases the largest pylon available. Please note that it is possible to have several centerline pylons, although in those cases they are smaller than one large. Wing Pylons: These are pylons bolted to the wings. You can, if possible subdivide these for each wing into Inboard Pylon, Middle Pylon and Outboard Pylon. Wingtip Pylon: These are pylons which cannot take heavy payloads. They are normally used to take light or medium anti-fighter missiles. Fitting New Pylons: Fitting exterior pylons takes up no weight, but it is difficult. Each 3D worth of pylons takes 2 Moderate Starfighter Repair or Space Transports Repair rolls (to mount the actual pylon), plus a Moderate Starship Weapons Repair roll for each pylon (to get the right computer linkups). They cost 500 credits per 1D in each pylon, plus 300 credits per individual pylon. Semi-recessed missile housings require 3 Moderate Starfighter/Space Transports Repair rolls and a Moderate Starship Weapons Repair for each pylon roll. They cost 800 credits per 1D of space, plus 500 credits per individual housings. Bomb Bays may only be added at the expense of cargo space, living quarters or other spaces. These are usually only added to freighters, as fighters usually don't have the needed space. Please note that fighters may have bomb bays but those were designed from scratch with this ability. External payload for some well-known starfighters: Z-95
A-Wing
B-Wing
X-Wing
Y-Wing
TIE
TIE Interceptor
TIE Bomber
Penalties As always, there are drawbacks. Starfighters which are heavily loaded suffers a reduction in maneuverability and speed according to the following table: Spacecraft at 3/4 or above of allowed payload;
Spacecraft below 1/2 of allowed payload suffers no penalties. Game Notes:
Since missiles, proton torpedos, bombs and rockets are difficult to aim and target against moving targets, the following modifications apply:
![]() Notes There are some abbreviations used below. Here are the definitions:
When I use the term "direct-fire weapon", I am referring to a weapon that fires off of the pylon itself, instead of dropping free before ignition. The given range for missiles and other self-propelled weapons is intended to be the range for the fire control on the weapon itself, while flighttime gives a figure on how many rounds it may travel at all-out speed. The move rating on missiles is how fast it travels at cruise speed. Please note that missiles normally go at all-out movement and thus have a move four times the listed one. The maneuverability rating on missiles is meant as a difficulty to try to shoot down the missile, not as an indication of how agile the missile is. If it can track you through the maneuver, it can do the maneuver. It is always in speeder scale. The body rating is always in speeder scale, even if the warhead may be in capital scale, and is intended to provide an indication on how tough the hull of the missile is. To figure out atmospheric range on the weapons below, the rule of thumb is that each space unit is equal to 100m. ![]() Direct-fire Weapons Turbolaser Pods These are very powerful laser cannons. They have long range and hit hard. They also have horrible power requirements. Still, they provide powerful, long range firepower at the beginning of a raid, and then they may be ejected before entering close combat. For this reason, it is a common modification to fit these with a distress beacon. After all, no one wants to explain to the boss how they lost something this expensive.
Laser Cannon, Blaster Cannon and Autoblaster Pods Not as heavy as turbolasers, laser cannons can shoot more often and are much smaller. They are often mounted in sets of two, three and four, and fire-linked.
Disruptors Disruptors are not a traditional weapon. However, the Tenloss Syndicate isn't really all that interested in the repercussions of using these weapons, which shatter objects. They don't actually use these on their own ships, but they do sell them to other criminals, who care little for the risks of this weapon.
Game Note: On a Wild Die roll of "1", the cannon malfunctions. Mass Drivers Mass drivers are simple, old-style rail guns. They have remained in service for two reasons: they ignore ray shielding, and they use no power. This last is very important to anyone trying not to advertise that they are armed. They have the very noticeable draw back that they have limited ammo and low damage potential.
Ion Cannon Useful for privateering, counterintellignece and law enforcement, ion cannons are becoming an increasingly popular item on external mounts.
Incom Combi-gun A new, and unique, weapon, the Incom Combi-gun combines both a laser and an ion cannon into one jointly fired and linked package. Currently in it's first generation, it is a little bulky. However, Incom expects that this shall improve within the next few years. This combination in designed for attacking shielded ships, and does its job quite well.
Note: Roll Ion damage before the regular damage. Tractor Beam Pod The tractor beam reduces the targets maneuverability, however, it is under development and therefore is fragile to use under real combat situations. Roll 1D each time it is used, on a 5 or 6 the tractor beam is disabled, requires a moderate starship weapon repair roll to fix.
Conner Nets An older weapon, they have remained in service as they are very useful to immobilize ships, particularly those on the ground. They have the added bonus of potentially damaging those who touch the net, requiring them to burned off unless the crew is willing to wait a few hours for any residual charge to disperse.
Game Notes: Difficult Starship Gunnery roll to activate. All ships touched by net suffer +5D penalty to any action that requires an electronic system. Any person touching the net suffers 10D character damage. "Dumb" Rockets "Dumb", or unguided, rockets are simple, ballistically fired weapons that contain no seekers nor maneuvering capabilities. They are manufactured my many manufactures and fill many different roles. Usually packed in pods containing anywhere from 5 to 20, their mission is dictated by their payloads. They are in limited service with the Empire, but planetary and corporate forces are known to use them.
![]() Indirect Fire Weapons Concussion Missiles These are simply high explosive warheads, usually with duraluminum penatrator tips. They explosives are calibrated to produce a harmonized shock wave in hard material, tearing the target apart from the inside. They are more popular than proton torpedoes with the Empire, while smugglers, pirates and mercenaries use them in about equal portions.
Proton Torpedoes Similar to concussion missiles, these projectiles carry proton scattering warheads, much like an overgrown thermal detonator. These are preferred by the Rebellion (which has standardized the Incom M-4329 series for their starfighters' launchers), and the Empire is showing some interest in them, as demonstrated by the new multi-launcher adopted on the TIE Bomber after the first production run. They lack the range of modern concussion missiles, but are more powerful.
Stand Off Missiles SOMs give the user a nice feeling of security during an attack, as they are usually fired outside the range of the enemy's guns. Most use a proton warhead, and a very large ion engine for propulsion. Usually used to attack capital ships, these semi-intelligent weapons are rapidly becoming popular with the Rebellion. Fortunately for civilians, the Emperor's troops have taken greater control of the sale of these weapons to prevent these from being used by the Criminal Rebellion against civilian shipping and transport.
Ion Radiation Tracking Missiles This is a very old design. Original used against atmospheric craft, these used to track the thermal signature of the target's engines. When Ion engines came into existence, starfighters lost most of their thermal signature. Then some bright boy designed a seeker head that tracked off of the ion trail left by an ion engine. Their use remains unchanged- short range, fire and forget capabilities. They are easily distracted by ion flares.
Intercept Missiles Using an active sensor seeker head, these missiles offer longer range than ion tracking missiles. The Republic used these extensively, but they see little use today. Why this is unknown, but no one seems to like them these days. It could be because capital ships, the usual target of missiles these days, are just to large for an intercept missile's brain to hit.
Anti-Radiation Missiles These were original meant for suppression of enemy sensor systems, they quickly became a selfdefense weapon as IR and Intercept missiles were adapted for ground launching against starfighters and landing craft. As the anti-starfighter business went over almost entirely to energy weapons, ARMs dropped in popularity. Now, they are used primarily to force enemy ships to shut off their sensors at the beginning of a raid. They are effective, in that the best use a sub-nuclear explosive that is designed to minimize fallout and blast, much like a proton torpedo, but to maximize the electromagnetic pulse, killing electronics.
"Iron" Bombs "Iron", or unguided, bombs are simple, ballistically fired weapons that contain no seekers nor maneuvering capabilities. Easy to produce, they are manufactured by many. Most are based on those designed by Republic Munitions, later Imperial Munitions.
Guided Bombs A guided bomb is basically a plain iron bomb fitted with a target-detecting device in front and trajectory-control fins at the front and rear. This increases the stand-off range and greatly improves the chance of a hit compared to normal bombs. Iron bombs modified to this standard adds the acronym HOBOS (Homing Bomb System) to their model number. i.e mk84 HOBOS.
Use the iron bombs mentioned earlier, but add the following mass to their weight: Bombs weighing below 5D add +1 to their weightBombs weighingbetween 5D and 10D add +1D to their weight Bombs weighing over 10D add +2D to their weight Cluster Bomb Cluster bombs are filled with sub-munitions bombs which greatly increases the chance of a hit but decreases the available damage due to the larger area to be covered.
Fuel Air Munition (FAM) Bomb When a FAM bombs explode, it releases a cloud of fuel vapors. These highly flammable vapors then detonate, producing a massive explosion. This type of bomb works best in a standard atmosphere&gravity. It is not usable in vaccum or a high gravity enviroment.
![]() Equipment: Targeting Jammers Originally meant for courier and recon ships, these were adopted by squadrons that took on defense suppression missions for survivability reasons during the Clone Wars. In more recent conflicts, they have been used to protect strike craft from other fighters during raids. The A-Wing series has had one of these mounted internally.
Communication Jamming Pods A Communications Jammer increases the difficulty of finding specific com frequencies and makes it harder to communicate with ships or people in the jammed area. This applies to both friendly and hostile forces.
Note: Roll the operatorīs Communications skill with the relevant bonus from the table above, against the operator of the jammed target. Sensor Jamming Pods These function to block enemy sensor signals. They are often attached to the first wave of an attack to disguise the true strength of a force. They can not, however, block optical sensors.
(damage note: the first number is the difficulty modifier to all scanner operations inside of the area of effect, including fire control. The second number is the difficulty modifier to detect the jamming. )
Sensor Decoys These are simple droid drones that are meant to provide a larger target to sensors.
Copycats Copycats are modified proton torpedoes or concussion missiles that mimic their parent craft. They may either be launched from a pylon or from a standard launcher.
To distinguish between a copycat and the real thing, roll your sensor skill vs the programmer's Computer Pro/Rep skill +2D. Their service life depends on the speed that they are released at. Torpedoes function for one minute if they are going less than 6 space, 30 seconds if going faster than that, multiplied by the number before the D in their weight. Missiles function for one minute (12 rounds) if going under 8 space, 30 seconds (6 rounds) if going faster.
Flare and Chaff Pods These are used to dispense ion flares, to confuse IR missiles, or sensor reflecting chaff, to confuse intercept missiles.
Side-Looking Sensor Pods These contain powerful, active sensors. They are used to supplement the capabilities of fighters that have pressed into a recon role.
Electronic Intelligence Pods These are very sensitive sensor receivers and optical sensors with interpretive computers. They used to gather intelligence of the enemy's sensor capabilities, including the type, number and location of the active emitters, allowing intelligence officers to get an idea about such things as enemy defenses and the location of those defenses.
Targeting Pod Powerful, active sensors, these are designed to help weapons officers designate targets during a strike.
Target Designator This is a simple, invisible, harmless laser beam that uses a coded pulse. It used to "paint" targets for friendly assets.
Game Notes: Can paint 1 target per round. Gives a +1D Fire Control bonus for all friendly units receiving the data stream. Sensor Buoy Small, remote devices that contain nothing but a solar power converter, a subspace transmitter and a sensor package, these are meant to be dropped in overlapping patterns to make a checkpoint of provide security. They are often deployed from fighters at high speed, allowing a fleet to have a sensor perimeter several thousand kilometers in diameter in a few days if they are stopping for some reason.
Navigation Pod Makes it possible for ships without nav computers to calculate hyperspace jumps.
Ferry Tank Increases the amount of available fuel, oxygen and food, making it possible to travel further between landings .
Cargo Pods These are little more complicated than the ones made for speeders. These have vacuum rated seals and climate control capabilities. They hold 100kg and cost 200cr per D. It costs 50cr per D to add a one-time use cargo chute and signal beacon (for airborne resupply). Rescue PodA modified cargo pod. a rescue pod carries one to two occupants, a small a mount of equipment and two days worth of provisions. Originally meant for rescuing downed pilots from very small clearings and leaving in a hurry, they have become a common piece of equipment with Special Operations wings for carrying commandos.
Auxiliary Thrusters Simple, strap on boosters, these are used by some fighter pilots to increase their forward thrust for a limited period of time. They are also very limited in utility, as they are totally consumed by firing, they have marked effect on your manuverability and if too many are used at once, they can tear your craft apart at the seams. Notes: For each unit of speed provided by the thrusters, reduce manuverability by 1D. (It IS possible to have a negative manuverability with these.) For every unit of speed provided by thrusters, roll 1D vs the body rating of the ship, figuring damage normally. They are totally expended at the end of one round.
![]() © 1998 Urban Lundqvist. E-mail: ellebell@algonet.se, URL: http://www.algonet.se/~ellebell/ . Last update: 23 August, 1998 |