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What can we learn from Battlestar Galactica?
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Kemper Boyd
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 3:10 pm    Post subject: What can we learn from Battlestar Galactica? Reply with quote

I've been rewatching the new Battlestar Galactica series and decided to use some ideas from it in future campaigns.

First of all: general-purpose military craft don't appear much in Star Wars. Something like one of the Colonial Raptors would be a fun thing to have in a campaign. Decent range, able to do fire support, recon and land ground troops and even help board ships.

Second: the way the Battlestars in the series use their weapons against other ships seems like it could easily be adapted into the game. Instead of having Star Destroyers aim at enemy fighters, it would make more sense if they would use the kind of flak barrage as seen in the series, that is to say that their guns are used for area denial. The main batteries of the ships remain silent against fighters but are used for attacking other capital ships.

Gunfire would be sort of a navigational hazard instead of actively targeting single ships.
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Kemper Boyd
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 3:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I also very much liked how nuclear weapons were used in Galactica as ship-to-ship weapons. The fact that they don't appear in Star Wars much I've chalked to the fact that nuclear weapons are kind of messy for both parties in the engagement. Detonations mess with communications and starfighter activity, which might make them less attractive as an option. However, lower tech groups like some you could find in the Unknown Regions still might actually use them which might at times be a nasty surprise for Rebels or Imperials operating in the area.
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atgxtg
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 3:33 pm    Post subject: Re: What can we learn from Battlestar Galactica? Reply with quote

Kemper Boyd wrote:

Second: the way the Battlestars in the series use their weapons against other ships seems like it could easily be adapted into the game. Instead of having Star Destroyers aim at enemy fighters, it would make more sense if they would use the kind of flak barrage as seen in the series, that is to say that their guns are used for area denial. The main batteries of the ships remain silent against fighters but are used for attacking other capital ships.

Gunfire would be sort of a navigational hazard instead of actively targeting single ships.


That could be an interesting idea. Something like having the SD make an atak roll will combined fire and setting a difficulty that poilots need to beat to avoid getting hit and taking damage. Failing the roll by 10 or more might mean getting hit twice, by 20 3 times and so on.
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ZzaphodD
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 3:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Kemper Boyd wrote:
I also very much liked how nuclear weapons were used in Galactica as ship-to-ship weapons. The fact that they don't appear in Star Wars much I've chalked to the fact that nuclear weapons are kind of messy for both parties in the engagement. Detonations mess with communications and starfighter activity, which might make them less attractive as an option. However, lower tech groups like some you could find in the Unknown Regions still might actually use them which might at times be a nasty surprise for Rebels or Imperials operating in the area.


Also, nukes make the series more war-like while the high space opera SW theme is more like old legends.
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Kemper Boyd
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 4:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

ZzaphodD wrote:
Also, nukes make the series more war-like while the high space opera SW theme is more like old legends.


True that, but I've personally always been attracted to the idea of using Star Wars as a base from which to run military scifi adventures. The old WEG material is very good for that, I think.

I'm actually at the moment reviewing some old materials I've presented earlier here: http://www.rancorpit.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=2229

BSG has inspired me a lot about how to tell stories within a military context. Smile
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atgxtg
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 4:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

In case it helps D6 Ships has nukes do full damage to all targets within 2 space units, half damage to targets more than 2 but less than 3 space units way, and quarter damage to target 3-4 units away.

I'd probably go with:
Same Space : Full Damage
1-2: Half Damage
3-4: Quarter Damage
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ZzaphodD
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 5:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

What exactly makes nuke cover such large areas in space?
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atgxtg
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 6:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

ZzaphodD wrote:
What exactly makes nuke cover such large areas in space?


The authors of D6 Space.
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ZzaphodD
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 6:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

atgxtg wrote:
ZzaphodD wrote:
What exactly makes nuke cover such large areas in space?


The authors of D6 Space.


Hahaha, thats true..
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atgxtg
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 7:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

ZzaphodD wrote:
atgxtg wrote:
ZzaphodD wrote:
What exactly makes nuke cover such large areas in space?


The authors of D6 Space.


Hahaha, thats true..


Which more than can be said for Space Units. Considering that they suggest in D6 Space that Space Units are a couple of hundred or thousand kilometers (same sliding scale a Star Wars), it does seem a bit much. Maybe half damage to other ships in the same space unit, but a blast radius of 4000km is silly. One ship and a half dozen misses could wipe out the population on a planet.
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hisham
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 9:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Don't nukes cause considerably less damage in space because lack of atmosphere makes for really terrible shockwave damage? I think the BSG effects are good because nukes in space are just fireball pops. However, nukes detonated inside ships...

Also, I've house ruled starfighters flying through flak, but I think the house rule warrants an upgrade because I did it with first edition rules.
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Hellcat
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 9:33 pm    Post subject: Re: What can we learn from Battlestar Galactica? Reply with quote

Kemper Boyd wrote:


Second: the way the Battlestars in the series use their weapons against other ships seems like it could easily be adapted into the game. Instead of having Star Destroyers aim at enemy fighters, it would make more sense if they would use the kind of flak barrage as seen in the series, that is to say that their guns are used for area denial. The main batteries of the ships remain silent against fighters but are used for attacking other capital ships.

Gunfire would be sort of a navigational hazard instead of actively targeting single ships.


Actually some of the Republic Clone Wars era ships do have point defense for that exact purpose. The Venator-class Star Destroyers have 52 point defense laser cannons while the Acclamator I-class and Acclamator II-class assault ships have 24 point defense lasers.

The VicStars and ImpStars seem to have been a little more based on WWII carriers in that they were more heavily dependent on a CAP and TF (Task Force) anti-aircraft fire support. The carriers did have AA batteries, but not very many. They had to rely on battleships, cruisers, and destroyers to throw up AA fire in their defense (the fast battleships ended up being more carrier defense ships rather than shore bombardment ships) in addition to their own fighters knocking as many of the enemy out of the sky before they could get too close. For the VicStars and ImpStars they needed fighters and other ships for protection. The Lancer-class Frigates had been specifically designed to protect against Starfighter attack.
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atgxtg
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 10:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think the point defense guns are simply because the Clone War ships got statted out for D20. In D20 the ISD's have Point defense guns, too. Those turbolaser batteries (even the quad lasers on the Falcon) are very similar in appearance to 20-40mm ainti-aircraft guns.
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garhkal
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 10:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If i was to 'rate' the firepowers for a Flak screen i would have it based on something like this.

For each arc a ship wishes to protect with a flak screen he rolls Tactics against the enemy. If successful he can then roll full gunnery. IF it fails he only rolls half.
For every 5 the gunnery roll has, opponents have their maneuvering increased by 3. This then sets a difficulty for enemy fighters to break through.
If they fail, they take damage.
Maneuvering failed by 1-4 = 3d damage
5-8 = 4d damage
9-12 = 5d damage
13-16 = 6d damage
17-20 = 7d damage
21+ = 8d damage
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atgxtg
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 09, 2010 11:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

That would make what your firring not very important.

How about the base damage is tied to the damage rating of the weapon being fired? Maybe 1/2 value for "near miss". Then go to full value and up 1D each step after that?.
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