AaronD

Re: Space Cowboy WWII Hero! Right here: http://images.comicbookresources.com/oddball/spacewesterncomics_40.jpg Another issue here: http://www.toonopedia.com/spacewst.jpg Sadly, there were only 6 issues.

Re: Guns, guns and more guns Thanks. I made a similar spreadsheet but just for WW2 weapons. My gunnutfu isn't so good so there are probably errors. Plus, it generates stats for d20 instead of Hero. I've been trying to come up with some sort of way to judge a weapons accuracy from its stats; it's non-trivial. Aaron

Re: Actung! Panzer! I've heard that the armored skirts were originally developed to protect against russian anti-tank rifles which could penetrate the hull sides of most german tanks at the time. The thin plate would distort and deflect the small ATR bullet. It was later found to be just as effective against shaped charges and was, thus, used throughout the war. Later skirts were wire mesh which were only for shaped charge weapons. I'm not 100% sure the anti-atr theory is correct but it makes sense considering they were originally fielded in Russian in 1943 where there wasn't much hollow-charge stuff around. Aaron

Re: Ww2 Hero

Re: Ww2 Hero One thing I'd suggest is to find those old propaganda films made during the war. They are sometimes called the "Why We Fight" series. You should be able to find them around $2 each (try Sam's). While they are complete propaganda they do give a great feel for what people thought about the war while it was going on. They also have so good stuff about the home front. Aaron

Re: Tanks for the Memories... Sherman M4

Re: Actung! Panzer! Here are the real-world armor thicknesses for the Sherman Turret Front: 89mm @ 0 deg* Turret Sides: 51mm @ 5 deg Turret Rear: 51mm @ 0 deg Upper Hull Front: 51mm @ 56 deg Upper Hull Sides: 38mm @ 0 deg Upper Hull Rear: 38mm @ 10 deg Lower Hull Front: 51mm @ 15 deg Lower Hull Sides: 38mm @ 0 deg Lower Hull Rear: 38mm @ 10 deg Calculating effective thickness based on armor angle we get Turret F/S/R: 89 / 51.2 / 51 Upper Hull F/S/R: 91.2 / 38 / 38.6 Lower HULL F/S/R: 52.8 / 38 / 38.6 To figure a bonus based on armor angle 15 deg -> +1 per 30 DEF 20 deg -> +1 per 15 DEF 25 deg -> +1 per 10 DEF 30 deg -> +1 per 7 DEF 35 deg -> +1 per 5 DEF 40 deg -> +1 per 3 DEF 45 deg -> +2 per 5 DEF 50 deg -> +1 per 2 DEF 55 deg -> +2 per 3 DEF 60 deg -> +1 per 1 DEF I don't know of any WW2 vehicle with a greater than 60 deg armor angle. It seems to me that the DEF 20 given to the M1A1 is much too low. If, for example, a 75mm gun does 5d6, that can do up to 30 points. A Sherman could not penetrate the front armor of a Tiger even if it fired every round at point blank range. A 5d6 gun would let him do that. I suggest making gun AP round do Normal damage so it reduces the probability of extremes in damage rolled. A 15d6 normal attack -can- do 30 points but its significantly less likely. Aaron *For my purposes, 0 deg is straight up and down.

Re: Actung! Panzer! I'm curious what the formula is for mm of armor plating per DEF point? Also, I'd probably split the different ammo types for the main guns. The penetration for the various 75mm guns varies from 60mm, 128mm, 131mm, up to 176mm for the l/24, l/43, l/48 and l/70 guns respectively while the damage for the HE shells is similar. Plus, you need stats for hollow charge and smoke round (and even canister!). There is an extra MG34 listed in the PzIII entry. That may be a holdover from the PzI stats. Finally, the 37mm gun didn't have sights for indirect firing. Not that you'd want to anyway since it would be way less effective than the 60mm mortar each platoon carried. What about equipment stored inside the tanks? Each tank came with a dozen or so hand grenades, a flare pistol, and several MP40s. Aaron

Re: Tanks for the Memories... Sherman M4 The coaxial MG was .30 cal, just like the hull mounted one. A .50 cal MG was often AA mounted in on top of the turret, but a .30 cal could be as well. Also, the bow machine gun was removable and included a tripod stored underneath (this was true for most german tanks as well). Handy for when your vehicle gets damaged. I don't know how that would work, cost-wise. Aaron

Re: What's the best method of introducing HERO System to newbies For me its simple. I create the character and give them a character sheet completely devoid of point costs. DO NOT MENTION ANY CALCULATIONS! This is extremely important. I've been able to run games with total rpg newbies just fine. The players only gets to act when I call out their name (from the speed chart) and whenever they do anything they roll three dice. From the die roll I determine if they hit or succeed at a skill. I also convert all killing damage to its normal DC equivalent (that way they only have to learn one way of figuring damage; it still bypasses PD as normal). It works for me. Aaron

Re: Old School Dungeons and Dragons Question. In the red book players manual is a short how-to-play write-up where the Chaotic magic-user Bargle kills the cleric Aleena (with a magic missile). You drag her dead body back to the cleric temple so there's no chance of her being asleep instead of dead. There is an intro adventure in the front of the red book DM rulebook. Here's a quote, "One special note: the town rulers have offered a reward of 1,000 gp for the capture of Bargle, the renegade magic-user! The death of Aleena, a well-known cleric, was the 'last straw.' They want to stop this danger once and for all, so keep your eyes open!" Aaron

Not neccessarily. You only have to be in one fight to die. Its was a similar situation in Iraq, if an Iraqi unit fought a US unit, the Iraqi unit was wiped out, meanwhile the US unit continued fighting day after day. An Iraqi soldier may have only been in one battle during the entire war while US soldier (esp. those in the leading elements) were fighting day after day. This is generally the case when one side so outpowers the other such as Germany's invasion of France. I'd have a hard time envisioning a campaign focusing on war crimes. Its such a unpleasant topic. Read Raymond Gantter's book Roll Me Over. He has an entire chapter detailing rapes, murders, theft and even female sex slave rings; all during the US occupation of Germany after WW2. To single out the soldiers who fought in Vietnam isn't quite fair. Aaron

WW2 Hero This is an interest of mine as well. Email me at akkala@cyberramp.net if there is anything I can do to help. Aaron

My favorite book on the subject is called "Warfare in the Classical World"*. Its a good primer on Greece and Rome. Its mostly military and doesn't really talk about gladiators. Anyway, its got lots of groovy pictures. You should be able to find it at your local used book store in the military history section. Aaron *I've also seen it sold as "Warfare in the Ancient World".

I see now. What I did was roll multiple d12s in a row (I have lots of them) and then scan down to see the next one that was 4 (max SPD) or less. If everyone's Speed is 6 or less, you can just roll d6s instead. However, I'm starting to like the card way. I think I'll try that next. Aaron

Yes, I meant Speed or higher. Maybe shuffle in 12 end of segment cards. Theres a miniature wargame like this. Aaron

I'm curious, what would you consider a "sucky" roll to be? Since everyone would go on a 1, 2 or 3 (usually), I just can't see any result being bad for the entire party (unless, on average, the party had lower speed than the NPCs). Aaron

I used a modified version of the D12 thing. As the GM, I would roll one D12. Everyone with that Speed or less would act (in Dex order). If I rolled a 12 then the turn would end and everyone would get a REC. That mixed it up quite well. Since it was a fantasy game I didn't have to worry about move/segment. Aaron

I've played this way for years. Plus I change skills to bonuses and roll 3d6+bonus to beat a target number. This makes much more sense as well as greatly simplifying skill versus skill tests. All without changing probabilities one bit. Aaron

In my fantasy campaign, I used "normal" die rolling for killing attacks (1d per 5 pts, etc). It worked out real well and was great for the hero-newbie. They only had to learn one way for punching and sword fighting. I'm suprised this isn't listed as a option*. Aaron *Assuming its not

Certainly an MG42 is better at suppressing an area than a Thompson. The rules, however, do not distinguish the two. I was thinking of having multiple OCV penalties for suppression fire based on ROF. I don't like the sprayfire rules as is. They seem to fiddly. I didn't mean wind per se. If you have two bullets, a .22 and a .50 both shot with the same muzzle velocity and same barrel length, the .50 will travel straighter longer and, thus, should have a better RMod. (Or, rather, the .22 should have a worse one). Aaron

Couple random thoughts... First, I've been thinking about the +OCV bonus for autofire. There should be some advantage when firing single shot at long range. I was thinking of having a bonus to OCV but an offsetting penalty to RMod. I still haven't gotten the number right. On a related (but off topic) point, have you thought about reworking the suppression fire rules since a weapon has the same effect regardless of rate of fire. In fact, a AF3 weapon is preferable to a AF10 weapon because it will use less ammo. Also, what about the effect of lighter bullets being more affected by wind resistance and, thus, having poorer long range performance regardless of barrel length. Finally, I'm trying to work out a system were large caliber weapons (.50s and ATRs) have the ability to blow through soft cover. Right now, a character shooting at someone peeking out from behind cover gets a -4 OCV penalty regardless of the type of cover. I was thinking of a +1 OCV bonus only useable to offset soft cover. Edit: What exaclty do you mean by "levels of piercing?" Aaron

I agree. However, the OSS stuff has pretty good coverage in Golden Age and Digital Hero. What I was thinking was just a set of "background" info that could be used in a Golden Age, OSS, commando, or plain infantry campaign. Kinda pick and choose stuff. I could easily fill a book the size of the Ultimates with just WWII era equipment. That's not all that necessary. Here's what I think, from a rule/campaign perspective, the hero system could use some fleshing out to support a straight military game: - Indirect artillery, spotting and forward observers - Tanks turrets, weapon loading and setup times. Weapon teams. - Morale, fear and command/control - Shrapnel as an effect of blasts. RKA Ex are just too regular for what is a hit-or-miss type weapon (esp grenades) - Cover, camouflage, and patrolling Aaron

I would never suggest that it should be a printed book. However, sounds like there is at least enough interest for me to start rewriting my notes. Aaron

Now that I have plenty of time one my hand (since losing my job), I was thinking of compiling all my WW2 Hero notes into a web page or Digital Hero article. However, looking around I'm not sure if anyone would be interested. Note that this is no-superhero, band of brothers, type stuff not golden-age stuff. Anyone else run a military campaign (however short), even if its not WW2? Aaron