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Heinlein Arachnids

From: "Phillip E. Pournelle" <pepourne@n...>
Date: Wed, 05 Nov 1997 16:46:48
Subject: Heinlein Arachnids

Status: RO

Hello,
	There has been a couple people mentioning an interest in
replicating
Heinlein type arachnids in StarGrunts II and DirtSide II.
	Here's my two cents worth for SG II.  Draw them up as regular
troops
except they have movement like calvary/power (12 inches), full armor
(d8),
and CC weapons such as a combat shotgun as well as their nasty teeth...
	Now they ignore morale and Modivation factors and use a D12
quality die.
Additonally there is no squad leader.  They have a brain as a platoon
leader but he doesn't work like a normal leader.  First whatever each
bug
sees, he sees, instant fire support, (if avaiable from the other brain
controlling the artillery, etc).  The Brain also has 4 activation
markers,
that can be transfered automatically from him to any squad under his
command, but the squads don't have any activations themselves, they just
take two actions when activated.  The Squad of soldier bugs can
automatically respond to close combat by instinct.
	Now the question become the effects of supression.  Do they
ignore
suppression?  I think not.  I think that the soldier bugs still have
some
instincts for immediate survival and the high quality die would reflect
how
easy it is for the brain to overcome this.
	This all would mean that if you are using the point system that
I posted
earlier that these guys would have a quality cost multiple of 2,
probably 2.5.
	If you use a natural distribution in DSII for the human forces
arrayed
against them, then the Arachnids would be purchased like a cybernetic
vehicle or two times their normal costs.
	What are your thoughts?
		Phil P.

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