Re: Boarding actions

> ** I just want to make one comment to what Oerjan wrote:
> 
> 1. 100,000kg = 1 BF.... ouch. 

In the FB universe only. The amount of kgs per Mass depends
completely.on what background you're using.

> Even awake your marines must be wearing unobtainium knickers. 

The main reason for the Mass cost is of course game balance. However,
if you're worried about it it also includes their power armour and
weapons,  armoury and repair workshops, training areas (including gym,
ranges and possibly combat simulators as well), not to mention the
extra heads and kitchens... none of which are entirely mass-less. If
you don't provide at least the majority of those facilities, your
marines will turn into flabby-fleshed crew <g> in no time at all.

> 1 Mass for a BF... how many guys do you imagine this is? 

About 5% of the crew of a normal SD in whatever background you're
talking about. In Starfire, it'd be about 50 humans; in Honor
Harrington some 300... completely arbitrary, as long as it scales with
with the ship crew sizes in the same background. In the GZG universe,
about 10 people.

> 2. Sadly, in that same vein, crew units are what - 4 to ten guys? 

In the GZGverse, each crew factor is 10-20 men (10 men only on Mass 21
ships :-/). However, not all of them are on DCP duty, so each DCP/crew
BF is probably around 8-10 men... in this particular background. 

I also assume that most ships have at least some marines already
included in the crew (normally used for DC duties during combat), since
most SF books I've read has assumed that.

> you can't justify a huge defence force on the FT ship. So a dedicated
> Marine assault force is nasty nasty nasty!

Using my boarding rules, you need on average 4 BFs (*marine* BFs, that
is <g>) to capture an undamaged DD. Less than that and you'll probably
cause considerable damage but are likely to lose eventually. But yes,
it has quite a lot of potential - that's the reason I put the cost of
the teleporters so high. The other systems have their own inherent
limitations - torps and shuttles use up lots of mass, individual
boarding is very difficult to set up unless the target is already
crippled.

> But it won't get used a lot - probably get potted on a threshold
before it > can do its job....

Or get shot down by point defence while it tries to reach its target.

> Fortunately, it should be hard to board. When it does happen, if the
> boarders are professional marines in PA with IPGs, Lasers, and
various
> aides (been discussing these with Tom Anderson lately), the defenders
> (if they don't have Marines) are in a world of trouble. Attackers
have
> firepower, armour, and nasty dispositions on their side. The
defenders
> have home field advantage, but poorer troops and kit (as a rule,
> unless it is defending Marines).

Home field advantage (a powerful equalizer, as witnessed by every
instance of city fighting and guerilla war in history to date) which
includes control of blast doors (useful for cutting enemy groups off
temporarily) and securicams (to keep track of where the enemy is);
probably some marines of their own mixed into the "crew" BFs to lead
the defence, possibly automated or semi-automated defence weapons...
there are plenty of ways to make life unpleasant for the intruders even
if there are no pure marine BFs among the defenders. Sometimes those
ways even make a difference <g>

Oerjan Ohlson
oerjan.ohlson@telia.com

"Life is like a sewer.
  What you get out of it, depends on what you put into it."
- Hen3ry