DSII/CENTURION Conversion Notes

Since there has been some discussions on both lists regarding some kind
of
crossover mechanics, I thought I might post my (as yet unfinished)
conversion rules.

My next attack after DSII/CENTURION is done will be DSII/INTERCEPTROR,
using the FMA mechanics for the vehicles themselves and my own vector
movement system.

-- 
[  Alexander Williams {thantos@alf.dec.com/zander@photobooks.com}  ]
[ Alexandrvs Vrai,  Prefect 8,000,000th Experimental Strike Legion ]
[	     BELLATORES INQVIETI --- Restless Warriors		   ]
====================================================================
      "If not me, who?	If not now, when?  If not this, what?"
	 "In nomine malas portas, convoco Hasturam Nefas."

		   Centurion to Dirtside II Conversion Notes
				       
or How to Take Over a Galaxy on $4mil Credits a Day

   
    Alexander Williams
    
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			       Table of Contents
				       
     * Introduction
     * Vehicles
	  + Size
	  + Power Systems
	  + Weapons
	       o Projectile Weaponry
		    # MDC Equivalency Table
		    # Gauss Cannon Equivalency Table
	       o Missiles
		    # Missile Equivalency Table
	       o Lasers
		    # Laser Equivalancy Table
	  + Defenses
	       o Anti-Missile Weaponry
		    # Vulcan Anti-Missile System Equivalency Table
	       o Armour
	       o Shields
		    # Shield Rating Equivalency Table
	  + Movement
     * Infantry
     * New Rules
	  + Grav Shields
	       o Grav Shield Rating Cost Table
	  + Grav Movement (Updated)
     * Examples
	  + TOG Trajan
	  + TOG Ferrox Rex
	  + CW Scorpion
       
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				 Introduction
				       
   One of the more popular wargames of the past few years is
   Centurionurion, originally produced by FASA, but licensed to
   Nightshift Games, along with the rest of the Renegade Legions wargame
   line, to languish in near-obscurity while a dedicated fanbase
scurries
   about and continues enjoying not only the game but the setting even
   moreso. Many of its fans (myself included) are afficinados of obscure
   wargames in general, and have a certain affinity for the clean
   simplicity and excellent integration of the Dirtside II mechanics. It
   seemed inevitable, then, that someone would compile a guide to
   reproducing the Renegade Legion universe in Dirtside II.
   
   This is that guide. We'll start with Centurion, the futuristic game
of
   ground combat, in which grav tanks provide the force and infantry
   provide the backbone of a tremendous military machine that spans the
   galaxy.
   
   [Note: From time to time, suggestions about how to handle things in
   Stargrunt II, Ground Zero Games' squad-level infantry-combat game,
   will be pointed out. That *would* have been the province of the
   never-released Phalanx in the Renegade Legion line; for those that
   want to get into man-to-man combat (or, at least, squad-to-squad)
   Stargrunt II would make an excellent investment.]
   
				   Vehicles
				       
   The first thing to note is the dichotomy of vision exemplified
between
   the basic Centurion and Dirtside II. In Centurion, the system is
   geared to generate wide diversity because it only has the single
   setting to deal with, while in Dirtside II the generic system has, by
   necessity, to do a very many things well and so must simplify things
a
   lot. The conversion between the two will not be perfect, but it sure
   will be a whole lot of fun!
   
Size

   Next, let's look at the comparitive sizes of vehicles in Centurion
and
   Dirtside II. In Centurion, there are two basic classes of vehicle,
   grav and non-grav, while in Dirtside II there are several, all but
one
   non-grav (leaving VTOL aside for the nonce). Non-grav vehicles in
   Centurion are considered 'the usual size,' as it were while grav
   vehicles are generally depicted as *much* larger, in both volume and
   surface area, yet are no harder to hit. This can be represented in
   Dirtside II by making grav vehicles SIZE from 3 - 7, requiring (at
   least) STEALTH 2 to make the effective signature less. For those
using
   the optional rule that FIRER SYSTEMS DOWN - TARGET deactivates active
   STEALTH, these two points cannot be removed. Handwave it as the
   inherent ECM of the system that is on highly-redundant backup.
   
   One of the advantages this gives the Dirtside II designer in
emulating
   Centurion is that gravs are now much more able to carry heavy
   ordinance in the form of missiles, large gang-fired guns and the
like.
   Given the withering firepower that most Centurion gravs lay down,
this
   makes the recreation ring with much more versimilitude. Given the
   space requirements of infantry in Dirtside II, the larger frames give
   the MICV gravs the ability to carry infantry that they should have.
   
Power Systems

   All gravs use FGP for power. Most non-gravs in Centurion use HMT,
with
   the appropriate limitations. If you want to simulate low-tech
outposts
   or TOG auxillia, you may want to create some with CFEs.
   
Weapons

   Now that we've got the size of vehicles scaled, let's look at weapon
   selection. In Centurion, there are a fairly limited number of weapon
   choices because the system mimics the setting, one in which
   near-constant war has 'worn the edges off' the technology, leaving
   just what seems to work the best.
   
  Projectile Weaponry
  
   MDCs come in an 8, 10 and 12 ratings and scale pretty cleanly to MDCs
   in Dirtside II in sizes 1, 3 and 5. What in Centurion are called
Gauss
   Cannons (massive slugs accelerated down railgun tracks) (in bores
   ranging from 25mm - 200mm are handled well by 25 and 50mm Gauss
   Cannons to HKP/3, 100 and 150mm to HKP/4, and the all-powerful 200mm
   Gauss Cannon equates to the HKP/5.
   
    MDC Equivalency Table
    
   MDC 8
	  MDC/1
   MDC 10
	  MDC/3
   MDC 12
	  MDC/5
	  
    Gauss Cannon Equivalency Table
    
   25mm, 50mm
	  HKP/3
   100mm, 150mm
	  HKP/4
   200mm
	  HKP/5
	  
  Missiles
  
   There are two distinct types of missile in Centurion, which is a good
   thing as there are two distinct types of missile in Dirtside II,
   making a match simple. SMLMs become GMS/Ls while TVLMs are GMS/H
   (representing their superior penetration). A problem rears when you
   consider that missile packs in Centurion are of limited capacity,
   while in Dirtside II the racks are assumed to house suffiCenturion
   armament to last out a typical battle (and, let's be honest, who ends
   up running out of missiles in a game with the average engagement
   between units running to two turns?). One way to address the problem
   is to give the Dirtside II vehicle one GMS/L or /H, as appropriate,
   for every 6 missiles carried. Thus, the TVLG(12) pack becomes 2xGMS/H
   and, unless you're carrying an entire grav packed with them, you're
   unlikely to ever see more than a 2xGMS/L.
   
    Missile Equivalency Table
    
   SMLM
	  GMS/L
   TVLM
	  GMS/H
   6 Missiles
	  1xGMS
	  
  Lasers
  
   One of the laser weapons in wide use in the Centurion system appears
   to be the Anti-Personel Laser, found on nearly every grav in
   existance. Typically, this is *not* an externally mounted fixture but
   within its own turret, so the basic APSW will cost 2 spaces and 4pts
   from the vehicle (odds are there's already a much larger weapon in
the
   turret; if not, the APSW requires 3 spaces). The other major use of
   lasers in Centurion is as a laser painting/targeting system, allowing
   weapons to penetrate grav shields (about which more will be said
   later). This costs a basic 50 points and can be used for all the
usual
   purposes of a Dirtside II spotting laser as well as
Centurion-specific
   purposes.
   
   For vehicular damage, there are a spread of lasers available. The
   match-up between Centurion lasers and Dirtside II HELs is as follows:
   
    Laser Equivalancy Table
    
   1.5/1
	  HEL/1
   1.5/3, 1.4/4
	  HEL/2
   1.5/5, 1.5/6
	  HEL/3
   3/6, 5/6
	  HEL/4
   7.5/6
	  HEL/5
	  
Defenses

  Anti-Missile Weaponry
  
   The Vulcan anti-missile system is invaliable on the Centurion
   battlefield. In Centurion, this is an auto-firing Phalanx-type system
   intended to gun down incoming missiles and is found on a goodly
number
   of gravs and other vehicles. Vulcan-1 generally is covered by a
   PDS/BASIC in Dirtside II, a Vulcan-2 or -3 by an PDS/ENHANCED and a
   Vulcan-4 by a PDS/SUPERIOR. ADS doesn't appear in the basic Centurion
   rules.
   
    Vulcan Anti-Missile System Equivalency Table
    
   Vulcan-1
	  PDS/BASIC
   Vulcan-2, Vulcan-3
	  PDS/ENHANCED
   Vulcan-4
	  PDS/SUPERIOR
	  
  Armour
  
   There are no special rules for Armour except to note that gravs
   typically are heavily armoured beheamoths. Don't skimp on the armour;
   remember that a goodly number of these monsters are oversized and
able
   to carry oversized armour because of it. The heaviest gravs, with
   ARMOUR/7, will be difficult to damage, even with good shots from
   HKP/5s. Some gravs also have ABLATIVE armour; this, along with grav
   shielding (see section Shields), reduces the use of lasers as the
   'heavy punch' of grav tanks.
   
  Shields
  
   All grav vehicles in the Centurion universe have grav shields which
   deflect light-weight projectiles, energy-based attacks (including
   targeting lasers) and scramble the warheads of incoming missiles,
   making most weapons that don't hurl large hunks of something at
   relatively high speeds ineffective. The actual mechanics of grav
   shielding are treated in another part of this article (see section
   Grav Shields).
   
   To convert to the new Shield rules, note that there are ten possible
   values for Shields in Centurion and 5 possible die types; this works
   out well. Divide the (average) Shield rating by 2, rounded up, and
   take that as the die, starting at the d4, to use.
   
    Shield Rating Equivalency Table
    
   Shield 1, Shield 2
	  d4
   Shield 3, Shield 4
	  d6
   Shield 5, Shield 6
	  d8
   Shield 7, Shield 8
	  d10
   Shield 9, Shield 10
	  d12
	  
Movement

				   Infantry
				       
				   New Rules
				       
Grav Shields

   In Centurion, grav shields allow your vehicle to be impervious to the
   effects of missiles, lasers and MDCs ... as long as they don't hit
   while the shield has flickered off! Gauss cannons (and probably SLAM
   packs but must definitely not DFFGs) ignore grav shields completely
as
   their rounds are too heavy and too fast-moving to be deflected.
   
   In Dirtside II, vehicles with grav shielding have an overall rating
of
   a given die type, -1 on its roll when attacked from the rear or
bottom
   (but not sides). This die acts as another die when defense rolls are
   made; if the grav is in cover, then three dice are rolled to compare
   to the attacker's. Grav shielding, especially powerful grav
shielding,
   makes your vehicle nearly impervious to most fire.
   
   Because of the game effect of shields, they are considerably
   expensive. Each level of shield adds 50% to the overall cost of your
   vehicle. Eg. a shield rating of d6 would double the cost of your grav
   tank, while a d12 would add 250% or multiply the cost by 3.5x,
weapons
   included. The costs involved in equiping a force with grav shielding
   can add up quickly.
   
  Grav Shield Rating Cost Table
  
   d4
	  50%
   d6
	  100%
   d8
	  150%
   d10
	  200%
   d12
	  250%
	  
Grav Movement (Updated)

				   Examples
				       
TOG Trajan

TOG Ferrox Rex

CW Scorpion

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   This document was generated on 3 September 1997 using the texi2html
   translator version 1.51.