B5 BREWs update.

Date sent:  22-AUG-1996 10:30:12 

After messing about last night, I've decided that the idea I came up
with
is too complex. I'm going to revert to Mark's idea of using Railguns
to represent the beams.

I'm still adamant (gedit?) that the pulse cannons can block beam fire,
(I know this doesn't sit well with some people. Tough.) and the idea of
charging should stay.

So you still have a central power store. The only things that draw
from this are the beams and the jump drive. You gain 1d6 points each
turn (provided the Jump Drive is intact. I assume a ships reactor is
part of the jump system, and only jump capable ships have reactors
powerful
enough to charge a beam weapon) and can store a maximum of 6 points.
These points can be used for. (The power system is assumed built into
all Jump Capable hulls for free)

- Open a Jump Point cost 6. (No charging of power core while point is
held)
- Fire a Beam. cost = Beam Class.
- Self Destruct (Happens on critical to Jump System) d6 damage per point
  stored. Can be done volunteraly in unusual circumstances (only if
  mixing Role Playing with Wargaming)

Which reminds me.

---------------------------------------------------------------
Jump Drive Criticals. Roll d6 (add 1 for each previous critical
		      to the drive system)

1-3. Minor damage. Roll d6 each turn a point is held open.
		   1-4 OK. 5 or 6 point collapses, destroying ship
		   and any ship on jump point template.
4    Heavy damage. May no longer jump. Charge now only 1/2 d6
		   (round down) per turn.
5    Destroyed.    No more Jumping. No more charge.
6    Explosion (see above)

A repair crew can modify Destroyed to Heavy Damage and Heavy to
Minor Damage. Minor is the best they can get it to in the
field. A Drive that has Exploded may not be repaired.
----------------------------------------------------------------

Modification to firing. Damage is reduced by one per shield factor.
Within 12" shield factor is penalised by 1. Within 6" shield factor
is ignored. May attack a fighter as if it were any other ship (Obviously
a hit on a fighter is going to be pretty fatal)

You no longer have to declare firing, and can now use other weapons
in the same turn. (Because these beams are less powerful, such a
balancing factor is not needed).

I'm quite pleased with the arc reliant interceptors. Most ships
can manage level-3 defence in one arc, but few can cover more
than one arc effectively, and it forces a choice between attack
and defence. C-bats and ADAF are now the weapon of choice.
(Older ships should have PDAF, with B as main armament. Newer
ships can fit either a ADAF defence grid, or multiple C-bats,
with smaller ships going for the Cs. Main cannons are usually A)

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Minbari BGEW (Big Green Energy Weapon)

As BREW, but it don't need to charge. Minbari screens subtract
from the Hit roll. Ships also have armour 1, but lack intercept
mode for their energy weapons, which themselves can not be
intercepted. (Usually fitted with multiple ADAF, some As and a 4)
With Minbari screens, you simply don't need interceptors.

BGEW may optionally fire as a needle beam, provided a detailed scan
of the target ship is made in the same turn.

I always class the White Star as a Destroyer, but despite it's small
size, it can fit a Jump Drive, and a BGEW. It uses Plasma Cannons,
so can go on intercept mode, has Minbari Screens and Armour 2, 
is Fast, and nearly invincible by ordinary ship standards.

Yes, that's right folks. The Minbari use a class 4 beam as standard.
That's enough to cause a threshold check with each hit on most ships.

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Vorlons and Shadows BYEW and RBREW (Big Yellow Energy Weapon and
Really Big Red Energy Weapon)

Treat as the normal energy weapons, costing a number of bio points
equal to three times the weapon class. (You can choose what class
you want to fire with, with no upper limit, but can only make
one attack a turn like this. You want to fire a class 10 beam?
That kinda puts the slice and dice beam in it's place.)

Bio screens, like Minbari stealth screens reduce the chance to hit
by one per screen level.

All Vorlon ships have class 2 armour as standard. All Shadow
Battlespiders
can phase in and out of hyperspace (treat as cloaking) as per jump
drives.
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All B*EW require one firecon per target which may not be shared by
any weapon which is not also a B*EW.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Well. I think my B5 variant is really shaping up. Anyone any more
comments.
Keep the feedback going.

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| Adam Delafield, I.T. Officer	      | Bolton Institute,  |
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