Variable defences - how to build this?

[Fitz]

I was thinking about building force fields for my Star Hero campaign which flicker on and off according to a set frequency to allow the ship's synchronized weapons to fire through unimpeded, but which hopefully catch some or all of an incoming attack.

 

How to represent this variable defence under the rules though? An activation roll is the obvious contender, but in this instance I don't want a binary on/off, but a sliding scale of effectiveness depending on how well the roll goes.

 

It can be done with some GM hand-waving, by buying multiple iterations of the appropriate defence with steadily increasing activation rolls, and assuming that a single roll result includes all the iterations below its level. I'm pretty sure that's not actually rules-legal though.

 

A genuinely rules-legal method would be to buy multiple iterations of the defence, all with a set activation roll, and have the player roll for every one, stacking the total defence. That would mean a hell of a lot of dice rolling though, and it feels clunky.

 

Any other ideas?

[dugfromthearth]

10 def act 8-

10 def act 11-

10 def act 12-

10 def act 13-

10 def act 14-

10 def act 15-

 

roll a 13 and 40 def activates, 20 def does not

 

one die roll.

[Solomon]

I'd go with a single activation roll. If you're feeling that picky about the system, just call it a "limited power: only if Flickering Force Field roll is X-" instead of "Activation roll X-".

 

Drawbacks and advantages seem to balance out, in my opinion. I see nothing wrong with linking all defenses to a single activation roll. Disadvantage level should be the same as for a normal activation roll, I think.

[Oruncrest]

By 'Force Field', do you mean the type found in the movie Star Trek: Generations? If so, I'd suggest buying a Force Wall with the advantage Personal Immunity to simulate the 'magic frequency' where attacks can go through unimpeded. Of course, you could have a problem if your opponents discover your 'magic frequency', but to use their newfound knowledge against you, their shields have to be down, so if you ship can take a licking, you might still win.

 

If you're talking about a 'Force Field' that goes down for the nanoseconds necessary for an energy bolt to go through, you might want to buy a Force Field with the limitation Requires an (computer) OCV vs. (attacker's) OCV Roll (-½) to simulate the 'blocking' of incoming attacks (and if you want to add outgoing attacks then you can add the limitation Force Field blocks outgoing attacks as well (-½)). Of course since you're essentially rolling a 'block', you'll probably want to use the points you saved to buy a computer with CSLs with your Force Field, although this can get expensive (it'll need a DEX as high as the highest DEX shooter on your side and at least twice as many levels as you have weapons if you used the 'blocks outgoing attacks' limitation).

 

Do these ideas help any?

[Farkling]

Following Oruncrest's model...

 

If the force field will block your outgoing attack completely, then it should be a force wall. They are the all or nothing fields.

 

Turning it around the OTHER way, you can build your force fields with force wall, and put indirect on the weapons...with an activation roll. If the indirect doesn't activate...(thwap) it hit the force field and dissipated (unless its a powerful weapon, then some will still get through)

 

"Captain, the Hyperstatic Nuclear Particle Cannon overloaded the shield generators and blew down the shields!"

 

In the bigger picture, you may be doing too much at once.

If you look at this as TURN combat between the capital ships, then the computer has a SPD 12, and drives the defense system. On the phases the crew fires weapons, the computer turns off the force field, and then turns it back on during the next phase...