Re: Crew Quality & David Weber

Hi everybody,  (I'm not dead yet!)

Michael Blair wrote:
> 
> I have just got hold of the new David Weber collection 'More Than
Honor'
> (Details below). A lucky find in the one Belfast bookshop that caries
> many US imports.
> Though set in the Honor Harrington universe it does not feature her.
Of
> interest to us is an essay by Weber on the setting for the HH books
> which contains a lot of information on how his starships work.

There's an even better writeup (focuses soley on the starhip 
technology) in 'A Short Victorious War', if memory serves.

> It set me wondering, how would you reflect technology differences in
> Full Thrust? For example the Manticorian navy relies on its
> technological edge and more importantly its vastly superior crew
quality
> to balance it against the far more numerous Peeps.
> Limiting weapon selection and maybe degrading range for some weapons
> seems the only easy way to do it. The system is not really fine
grained
> enough for anything more. Crew quality is more difficult, any
> suggestions?

I've got a rules set to adapt FT for Honor Harrington (PLEASE sign up
for my event at GZG-ECC!! (8-) ), and I tackled this problem in 
several ways:

1)  RMN ships get bonuses on their ECM and point defence.
2)  RMN ships get bonuses on their offense rolls.  (I use a variant of
the FT to-hit system)
3)  RMN ships never surrender involuntarily.  Peep ships must undergo
Surrender checks.  (As per 'Striking the Colours', MT)

I haven't quantified them in my rules yet, because I'm still tweaking
them out for GZG-ECC (gee, the shameless plugs are everywhere! (8-) )
But, so far, it looks like a simple +1 appropriate applied in 
favour of the RMN works wonders.  

I didn't play with weapon ranges, because, at FT scale, the range 
differences are irrelevant.  A RMN Graser may be able to shoot 
5000-10000km farther, but when your unit scale is 24 000km, it 
doesn't make that much difference.  (8-)  I also decided that it was
unlikely that the RMN would be so far ahead of the Peeps as to make
differences in system mass and point cost, so I kept them the same
for both sides.  

Also, depending on what stage of the war you're at, the RMN may have
access to 'toys' that the Peeps don't.	

There are other crew quality factors that could fit in.  Sensor 
interpretation, fleet morale, things like that.  Some of it has to 
be built into the scenario description, others (like sensor 
interpretation), can be translated into a die roll, and thus we can
use bonuses...

Sorry to have rambled.	(8-)

J.

-- 
 *** Jerry Han - jhan@idigital.net - http://www.idigital.net/jhan ***
       "And we will raise our hands, and we will touch the sky; 
	      Together we will dance in robes of gold; 
    And we will leave the world remembering when we were kings..."
      When We Were Kings - Brian McKnight/Diana King - TBFTGOGGI