Gestalt Space Cruiser

[crayadder]

I am trying to build a cruiser that is formed by a bunch of smaller vessels connecting together.

 

My vision is that I would have 50 or so smaller ships, say corvettes with a crew of 5 each, that would all be able to connect to each other, creating the rooms, corridors, and systems of the cruiser.

 

If ships got destroyed or needed to leave for recon missions or the like, the rest of the ships could rearrange to best suit the cruiser's needs. For instance, if it took 5 corvettes to create the engines and one of them got damaged or destroyed another from elsewhere on the cruiser could take its place, sacrificing some functionality from the system/part of the ship it came from.

 

Say there are a number of weapons systems on the cruiser and each one takes two corvettes to create. You could take one corvette from a weapon system to replace the destroyed one in the engine to bring the engine back up to peak performance while the power and capabilities of the weapon system the corvette came from would diminish.

 

So, how would you build this? I'm guessing Multiform will be used, but I'm not sure how or how to build in the transient system levels based on how many ships are used in them.

 

Thanks,

Cray

[Kraven Kor]

Re: Gestalt Space Cruiser

 

I would probably build the component ships, giving each of them a Multiform Power that "Requires Multiple Users." Then build the cruiser as the multiform. The trouble there is you will have to kind of break the rule that the base form can't be less points than the alternate form.

 

Another way would simply build the fighters and cruisers and "hand wave" the mechanics of the joining, with the cruiser having a complication that it requires x% of the fighters to form / function.

[Kraven Kor]

Re: Gestalt Space Cruiser

 

As to the components, I would simply build all the powers as "Restrainable" and OAF (being the fighter) with the "Requires Multiple Foci or Funtions at Reduced Capacity" or whatever option.

[Vulcan]

Re: Gestalt Space Cruiser

 

Interesting concept for a space opera-style game. In a more 'hard' sci-fi setting... there are just too many problems.

[Kraven Kor]

Re: Gestalt Space Cruiser

 

But it perfectly fits the implications of this post and his Avatar. I mean, who wouldn't want to play "Voltron HERO"

[dsatow]

Re: Gestalt Space Cruiser

 

I'd create each ship independently and then give each ship clinging.

[Kraven Kor]

Re: Gestalt Space Cruiser

 

I'd create each ship independently and then give each ship clinging.

 

Wha-*HEAD ASPLODE*???

 

I... have no words for how wrong that is, beyond the general "There is no wrong way to do things in HERO" mantra that I am currently chanting to remain calm

[Sundog]

Re: Gestalt Space Cruiser

 

Funny, I was remembering an old comic book, not Voltron. British publication, called Starlord, similar to 2000AD (And later merged with it).

One of the stories was called Mind Wars. Both of the major powers (FISC, Federation of Interstellar Sentient Cultures, and the Jugla Empire) had ships that could do this, the FISC Weaponships and the Jugla Dreadnoughts. In both cases if the ship ran into something it just couldn't handle, they'd break into several dozen smaller vessels and hope that some of them would escape.

Mind you, it would need to be something pretty powerful to deal with those ships. At one stage in the story four Weaponships working together simply shatter an entire planet...

[crayadder]

Re: Gestalt Space Cruiser

 

lol

 

Thanks for the input.

 

I'm trying to make/buy the ship as a vehicle/follower for my character. The premise of the campaign is that Present day earth has been attacked by an alien threat called the Horde, which is made up of a hive mind race that has a number of subjugated races as its lackeys.

 

The governments of Earth had prepared for just such a situation and had created many ark-like space ships which were filled with all that is necessary to continue the human species elsewhere.

 

There are 3 PCs and we are all involved in the movie industry. There is the handsome B-movie action hero, who thinks life is an action movie, and acts accordingly. There is the hot bombshell leading lady who is smarter than she looks, but sex sells so she emphasizes her feminine gifts and hides her intelligence. And then there is the eternally disgruntled, bitter, stuntman/understudy of the air-headed action hero who does all the hard stuff and can actually act, but sees all the credit going to said airhead. He's also French Canadian ;-)

 

Inexplicably, these three are working on the same movie and in the middle of filming a scene when Earth is attacked. They happen to survive the initial bombardment and are found by a soldier who is looking for people to bring to the LA ark, since most of those assigned were killed in the surprise attack.

 

They leave and spend 1500 years in criosleep while their ship flies to its pre-programmed habitable world. They are woken early on by a crazy technician who has been awake the entire time. He's done this by cloning himself continuously over the centuries. He gives the PCs the opportunity of a lifetime. Go back to sleep for the rest of the journey and learn whatever skills they want via technology that the tech developed during his millennia long studies.

 

Upon arrival a the planet the ship is not in very good condition and the PCs are woken to help the tech land it. They encounter a number of alien species, some friendly and some not, within the first week and their skill and success at dealing with them all leads them to the obvious conclusion - They should be the leaders of humanity in its reboot.

 

Discovering that there are 4 other planets within a sector of space called by the local coalition of aliens as the neutral zone. The PCs use what they know best - show business, and begin creating a human empire based on the one thing all species needs - entertainment.

 

This is obviously a tongue-in-cheek campaign and it is fun. I am playing the Frenchman and he is in charge of developing the military so I was trying to come up with a unique and cool flagship that had some useful abilities not commonly seen.

 

Thanks again for the input.

Cray

[Ranxerox]

Re: Gestalt Space Cruiser

 

I think your best bet is Duplication with the duplicates built on less points than the base form (a lot less points) but with the altered duplication advantage and raid duplication advantages.

[Narf the Mouse]

Re: Gestalt Space Cruiser

 

Wha-*HEAD ASPLODE*???

 

I... have no words for how wrong that is, beyond the general "There is no wrong way to do things in HERO" mantra that I am currently chanting to remain calm

What's wrong with that suggestion? It's the simplest and easiest.

[dmjalund]

Re: Gestalt Space Cruiser

 

What's wrong with that suggestion? It's the simplest and easiest.

Then you'd have to make rules for multiple 'characters' moving together while clinging on to each other

[Narf the Mouse]

Re: Gestalt Space Cruiser

 

Then you'd have to make rules for multiple 'characters' moving together while clinging on to each other

If the acceleration produces a strength (use throwing chart) greater than the clinging strength, they fall off.

 

Two seconds.