Starfighter Combat

[Dredwulf60]

Starfighter combat

Edit: Clarified and Improved.

Establish encounter range
In open space, sightlines are unlimited, but it can be difficult to pick out targets against the backdrop of the starfield.

Sensors:
First detection is usually by sensors. The sensors roll is like perception check at the character level. The sensor setting used by a craft determines the craft’s own signature to any other ships. It also determines the range at which other ships can first be seen. Every ship with sensors will have the range for each setting listed.

Choose your sensor setting:
Silent: Signature: DC 30
Passive: Signature: DC 20
Scan: Signature: DC 10
Search: Signature: DC 05
Focus: NA

The signature is the DC for other craft’s Sensor skill rolls to detect you.

Roll your Sensors skill plus any bonus dice based on your sensor suite.

If your roll is higher than the (unknown) target’s signature, you detect that target at the detection range listed for your sensor suite operating in that mode.

eg: Your craft’s sensor suite in scan mode has the following stat line:
Scan: 25/ 1D That’s range of 25 space areas and 1bonus sensor die.

Your Scan skill is 3D. The character would roll a total of 4D.
If your opponent was operating sensors in Scan mode (DC 10) you would detect it if you rolled a 10 or higher. You could start your engagement at a range of 25 areas.

Note: ships within 10 space areas (adjacent boxes on the track) are automatically detected unless they are running silent.
A ship that fires on a target has its signature DC halved.

Engagement
A ship that detects another ship can fire upon it if it is in a valid fire arc. It may also begin to maneuver to a position of advantage. Combat at this range is non-dogfight.

Ships roll initiative on a round-by-round basis and can make attacks and dodges as normal.

Ship position can be tracked on a hex map if overall position to many other craft is important, or on the race and chase strip if only relative distance is a factor between two factions that are clustered.

A ship that closes to within 10 space areas without being detected (adjacent boxes) it gets double the roll results for the first dogfighting position test.

Ships that close less than 10 areas of each other (same box on the track) can engage in a dogfight.


The Race and Chase strip

Speed test:
When plotting movement for star fighters (and space transports engaging in chases or combat) use the strip for relative position tracking.

For combat purposes, every box is considered to be a distance of 10 space areas.
ie 2 space craft in adjacent boxes would be 10 space areas away from each other.
If there was an empty box between them, they would be 20 space areas away from each other.
If they both occupied the same box they would be within 5 space areas of each other and would typically move to the dogfighting clockray.


Sequence:
-Speed Test
-Position resolution
-Gunnery; rolling initiative amongst gunners if required, including hits, dodges, damage rolls.
-Shield re-energize rolls.

art of each round, both ships pilots make a speed test:

Speed test:
Roll 1D6 per space speed rating of the craft, plus the pilot’d DEX as a pip bonus.
Note: the speed test itself is unaffected by any multi-action penalties.


Use the comparison chart to determine the number of spaces.

Wild ‘1’
A ‘1’ on the wild die requires the pilot to match the result of the speed roll. Multi-action penalties are applied; (Flying the ship counts as a single action. If the pilot is in charge of the shields, sensors, communications, each counts as an additional action if they are used, as well as each shot that will be taken with a weapon.)


Failure means that the ship is being mishandled and prompts a wear roll on the main systems. Any failure is damage to that system in addition to the downgrade.
Systems:
-Hull
-Seals
-Powerplant
-Sublight drive
-Stabilizers

Cautious handling: A pilot can choose to roll less dice than the full space speed rating in order to make any such pilot rolls easier if he rolls a ‘1’.

Chart for Comparing scores:
ie Roll
1-5: +1 space
6-9: +2 spaces
10-19: +3 space
20-29: +4 spaces
30-39: +5 spaces
40-49: +6 spaces
50-59: +7 spaces

Each ship may move forward the number of spaces indicated.



Head-on Closure:
Normally it is assumed that all the spacecraft on the strip are generally heading the same direction; ie one or more is trying to catch or flee the others.
When space craft are coming together, the track can be used to track general distance, though the hex map may be more useful.
If the race and chase strio IS used, speed tests are not used.
Ships closing can automatically close at one of these rates:
½ space speed rate.
Base space speed rate.
Double space speed rate.
Quadruple space speed rate.

None require speed rolls or pilot checks unless they pass near a hazard or perform a stunt.







Dogfight Positions

When ships are very close, they move to the clockray map. Starting position depends on how they closed to that range.

Sequence:
-Position test
-Resolve relative positions
-Determine if any position of advantage.
--Gunnery; rolling initiative amongst gunners if required, including hits, dodges, damage rolls.
-Shield re-energize rolls.



Position test:
Roll Pilot skill + DEX pips plus the craft’s maneuver dice; use the comparison chart.
Note: when comparing star fighters to light space transports in Dogfighting position tests, the light space transports get ½ results (unless they have the Freight Fighter II technique)



Head On
The ships flight paths are within a 90 degree front arc of the other. This position doesn’t last long, as they soon pass by each other.
This is how ships that are closing on each other from opposite directions first enter a dogfight.


Place both ships on the clockray in the amber zones facing each other.
Make a position test.
Each craft can use the resulting spaces move toward the center of the clock ray, and/or laterally toward the red or green zones.

The ship that ends up closest to the center wins initiative.
A ship in the red zone gets a bonus on any attack rolls. (+2D6 to all attack rolls.)
A ship in the green zone gets a bonus on any dodge rolls. (+2D6 to all dodge rolls.
A ship in the center gets a bonus on the next round’s position test. (+2D6 to position test from neutral position.)

Carry on with any gunnery actions etc.
After this one round, the ships have passed each other.

If both wish to dogfight, see Neutral position below.
If one wishes to flee, place both craft onto the race and chase strip with 2 spaces between them. (If either ship made it to the center of the clockray in the head-on position result, advance it 1 bonus space on the track; 1 further if it was fleeing, 1 closer if it was chasing.)

If both wish to flee, the engagement ends.




Neutral
Both craft are moving in the same or opposite directions. Summarized as any time the craft are not closing with each other, and neither is in the tailing position. Ultimately defined by the fact that neither is in a position to fire on the other with fixed forward axis weapons.

This is the default position between ships that have no otherwise adversarial relation to each other.

Set up:
Place both ships on the clockray on the outermost opposite amber spaces facing toward the top or bottom of the clockray.

Position test:
The higher rolling player moves his craft the designated number of spaces. He can move around the ring, or toward the center, in any combination.

The lower rolling player moves the opponent’s craft(s) up to the number of spaces he rolled, (if the opponent did not reach the bright green band or the center.)

If either craft ends up in the brighter green band, he immediately has gained the position of advantage; move to Tailing Below. (The lower rolling player does not get to adjust his opponent’s position.)

If either craft makes it to the center of the clockray, he can immediately take a snap shot, and then both craft reset to the neutral position. (The lower rolling player does not get to adjust his opponent’s position.)

On the gunnery phase, any turreted weapons can be fired at each other. Range is always calculated by counting through the center of the clockray.

Snapshot: The craft brings its forward arc to bear on the enemy for a single attack, based on the present range. The target has DC 20 to dodge. Any additional gunnery can be performed, then the round begins with a new round and both craft starting in the Neutral amber positions again.






Tailing
One craft is chasing the other, and is in a position of advantage, roughly within 90 degrees rear arc of the target craft. This is how a ship chasing another first enters a dogfight.
The benefit to a tailing position is that the aggressor can continue to make attacks un-opposed, though a twisting, turning defender can be a hard target unless the aggressor gets in very close.

A ship that is chasing another craft and moves into the same area of the track can automatically move into the aggressor in a tailing dogfight position.

Set up:
Place the tailing craft in the center-center of the red zone, facing toward the center. Place the disadvantaged craft in the center of the clockray facing upward.

Position test:
The disadvantaged player does not move his own craft. Based on the result of this position test, he moves the opponent craft. He can move it closer or from side to side in any combination, but not diagonally. He can not move the opposing craft off the edge of the clockray.


The tailing player then moves his own craft a number of spaces based on the results of his own position test.

If the Tailing craft is still in the red zone, he can make any attacks with bonuses.

If the tailing craft is out of the red zone, he can make any attacks without bonuses.

If the tailing craft is in the amber zone, he has lost the tail. Both craft will move into the neutral position.


Tailing craft advantages:
Close band: +3D6 to attack. Target’s DC to dodge: 35
Mid band: +2D6 to attack. Target’s DC to dodge: 30
Outer band: +1D6 to attack. Target’s DC dodge: 25
Oblique (Out of red zone): -1D6 to attack. Target’s dodge DC: 20.



(The aggressor has a slight advantage to maneuvering because the red zone is larger; if he hangs back as he can better judge where the defender is going to be going; the counterpoint is that the defender will be better able to dodge his attacks and may be more apt to lose the tail if he suddenly makes a run for it.)

In the Gunnery Segment, the tailing craft always has initiative. Each space on the chart is 1 space area.

A disadvantaged ship can choose to try to make a run for it instead of maneuvering for advantage. (See Run for it below)


Run for it
A disadvantaged craft has the option to pour on the power and attempt to outrun the advantaged craft. Instead of using pilot+maneuver for the position test, use the craft’s speed rating dice with pilot’s dex in pips as if it were making a speed test.

The advantaged ship gets to shoot with maximum advantage. If the disadvantaged ship survives, it can move the number of spaces it generated from its speed test on the race and chase strip. This is how many spaces it moves ahead of the pursuing craft.

Both craft now continue using the race and chase strip.






[/u]

[Dredwulf60]

The clockray described above, with the race and chase chart on the right.

[Dredwulf60]

Edited.
Main post adjusted.
New graphic added.

[CRMcNeill]

I've been wanting to give this a detailed examination, but this is the first night I've been home with my laptop set up since you posted. At first blush, it looks more complicated than I would like to run without having a very good feel for the mechanics. I'm going to spend some time reading this evening, both to get a feel for what you have here and to see if there is anything I can use for my own system (I was never able to factor in Speed and Weapon Range into the combat system in a manner that I liked).
_________________
"No set of rules can cover every situation. It's expected that you will make up new rules to suit the needs of your game." - The Star Wars Roleplaying Game, 2R&E, pg. 69, WEG, 1996.

The CRMcNeill Stat/Rule Index

[Naaman]

One of the issues that we run into is that when we try to solve a problem with a house rule, we sometimes build the new house rule according to existing house rules and in order to post them, we have to add a bunch of stuff that is peripheral. I suspect that in his system it runs quite fluidly.

[Dredwulf60]

[Dredwulf60]