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Re: Renegade Legion tank packs on eBay

From: Michael Llaneza <maserati@f...>
Date: Fri, 12 Nov 1999 06:31:24 -0800
Subject: Re: Renegade Legion tank packs on eBay

At 11:46 PM -0500 11/11/99, BDShatswell@aol.com wrote:
>In a message dated 11/11/1999 9:23:17 PM Central Standard Time,
>maserati@flash.net writes:
>
>>  And use 'em for DSII and we're back on topic. And there's DSII stats
>>   for the whole Centurion array of tanks.
>> 
>
>Excellent!  May I ask where?
>
>Bill

here's a set of conversion rules, I'll see if I can't find the file 
with the vehicle designs in it. Last seen on AOL if I recall correctly

I heard a nasty rumour that my last post of this bounced, so here we go
again.

Now, with examples!  :)

===

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

   
     Alexander Williams
    
      _________________________________________________________________
				      
				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
	   + Vehicles in Closing
      * Infantry
      * New Rules
	   + Grav Shields
		o Grav Shield Rating Cost Table
	   + Grav Movement (Updated)
		o Grav Drive Difference Table
      * Examples
	   + TOG Trajan
	   + RL Wolverine
	   + CW Scorpion
       
      _________________________________________________________________
				      
				  Introduction
				       
    One of the more popular wargames of the past few years is CENT,
    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 DSII mechanics. It seemed inevitable, then, that
    someone would compile a guide to reproducing the Renegade Legion
    universe in DSII.
   
    This is that guide. We'll start with CENT, 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 CENT and DSII. In CENT, the system is geared to generate
    wide diversity because it only has the single setting to deal with,
    while in DSII 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 CENT and
    DSII. In CENT, 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 CENT 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 DSII 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 DSII designer in emulating CENT
    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 CENT gravs lay down, this makes the
    recreation ring with much more versimilitude. Given the space
    requirements of infantry in DSII, 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 CENT 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 CENT, 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 DSII in sizes 1, 3 and 5. What in CENT 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 CENT, 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 CENT are of limited capacity, while in DSII the
racks
    are assumed to house suffiCENT 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 DSII vehicle one GMS/L or
    /H, as appropriate, for every 12 missiles carried. Thus, two
TVLG(12)
    packs 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
    TVLG
	   GMS/H
    12 Missiles
	   1xGMS
	  
   Lasers

    One of the laser weapons in wide use in the CENT 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
    CENT 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 DSII spotting laser as well as CENT-specific purposes.
   
    For vehicular damage, there are a spread of lasers available. The
    match-up between CENT lasers and DSII 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 CENT
battlefield.
    In CENT, 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
DSII,
    a Vulcan-2 or -3 by an PDS/ENHANCED and a Vulcan-4 by a
PDS/SUPERIOR.
    ADS doesn't appear in the basic CENT 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 CENT 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 CENT 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

    Grav vehicle movement rules already exist in DSII; however, they
don't
    match the behavioural characteristics seen in CENT's depiction. To
    really match the performance envelope of grav vehicles in the source
    material, DSII gravs need to buy VTOL movement instead of Grav. More
    information on how gravs move in DSII can be found in See section
Grav
    Movement (Updated).
   
    Conventional movement vehicles should buy the form of movement in
DSII
    that fits their deployment; in CENT, you simply bought a certain
    number of MP to be spent every Turn.
   
Vehicles in Closing

    Keep in mind, oft times, design compromises will have to be made to
    fit the design into DSII. One of the main changes to occur is that,
    because of the lack of weapon-specific hits, multiple mounts can be
    dropped unless absolutely necessary for concept. Occasionally, less
    important weapons will be dropped altogether (often missiles). Think
    of this as the effect of streamlining the system for more efficency.
   
				    Infantry
				       
				    New Rules
				       
Grav Shields

    In CENT, 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 DSII, 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 adds 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)

    Grav vehicles in DSII buy VTOL movement, but do not act entirely
like
    VTOLs in every way. The differences are due, in large part, to the
    design of gravs as seen in CENT and certain additional deployment
    possibilities. Gravs have entirely taken over the helicopter and
VTOL
    support role in the Renegade Legion universe because of this
    additional flexibility.
   
    The major differences can be summed up as follows:
   
   Grav Drive Difference Table

      * The grav vehicle uses the 'grav' movement chart for both terrain
	and inches moved when in 'Low Mode,' not the VTOL chart. When in
	'Hi Mode,' they have 30in of movement while in 'Low Mode' they
	receive only 15in.
      * Like VTOLs, gravs may execute 'pop-up attacks' (See DSII, pg 32)
      * When deployed as a 'drop' the grav has a velocity of 90in/Turn
	which must be burned off at 30in/Turn (the speed of grav/VTOL
	gunships). Until the grav is moving at less than 31in/Turn, the
	maximum deflection of motion they can execute is 45deg, from the
	beginning of movement to the end, to either side of the
beginning
	axis of motion.
       
				    Examples
				       
TOG Trajan

Componant			Spaces		Cost
SIZE 7, 35 VSP			35		   -
Armour 6, Abl, 63Add				  98
FGP						  58.8
VTOL						 490
Frame cost:					 646.8
HKP/5, FF			25		  50
   BASIC FC			  -		   10
HEL/5, FT			10		  60
APSW, FT			 8		   4
GMS/H, ENH			 4		  45
PDF/SUPERIOR			 0		  60
STEALTH/2			 -		 280
TARG LASER			 -		  50
Frame+Equip			 -		1205.8
SHIELDS d12/Lv5 		 -		4220.3

    Notes: Notice that this version of the Trajan has lost the redundant
    laser and missiles, mainly to fit in the frame. It also has Ablative
    armour, as a half-step between the original Trajan and the Ferrox
Rex.
   
RL Wolverine

Componant			Spaces		Cost
SIZE 3, 15 VSP			15		   -
Armour 3, 9Add					  24
FGP						  14.4
VTOL						 120
Frame cost:					 158.4
HKP/3, FT			 6		  30
   BASIC FC					    6
GMS/H, ENH			 2		  45
APSW, FT			 0		   4
STEALTH/2			 -		 120
TARG LASER			 -		  50
Frame+Equip			 -		 413.4
SHIELDS d6/Lvl2 		 -		 826.8

    Notes: A fairly simple conversion; the HKP is dropped a level to
have
    a chance of fitting in the chassis with the GMS/H.
   
CW Scorpion

Componant			Spaces		Cost
SIZE 4, 20 VSP			20		   -
Armour 4, 16Add 				  36
FGP						  21.6
VTOL						 180
Frame cost:					 237.6
HEL/3, FT			11		  36
   BASIC FC					    6
GMS/L, ENH			 9		  30
GMS/H, BAS			 5		  30
PDS/ENHANCED			 2		  45
APSW, FT			 0		   4
STEALTH/2			 -		 160
TARG LASER			 -		  50
Frame+Equip			 -		 598.6
SHIELDS d8/Lvl3 		 -		 1496.5

    Notes: Again, the laser cannon has been stripped down fairly
    extensively to fit the other accoutrements into the frame. It now
    makes more sense for the Scorpion to depend more on its GMS
complement
    than the laser.
   
      _________________________________________________________________
				      
    This document was generated on 13 September 1997 using the texi2html
    translator version 1.51.

--
[  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."

Michael Carter Llaneza
Veteran, Bermuda Triangle Expeditionary Force, 1991-1950
Devolution is very real to me.
Whenever I hear the "Odd Couple" theme, I get this image of Dennis 
Rodman borrowing Marge Schott's toothbrush.
If you hear a ringing in your ears, don't answer it.
http://www.flash.net/~maserati/


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