The iCloak

The recent discussion about ship building got me to thinking about the 
Illuminati's greatest weapon and darkest secret -- so secret, in fact,
that 
I'd never actually gotten around to designing it.  No, not the
Mind-Control 
Lasers (although those are coming too).  Instead, I speak of the
Illuminati 
Cloaking Device -- hereafter referred to as the iCloak, to distinguish
it 
from the standard FT cloaking device.

(And yes, this is based on the Mimbari ECm from the EFSB)

Unlike standard cloaking, the iCloak does not render the ship using it 
totally invisible (with one special exception; see below).  Instead, it 
blurs and confuses the enemies' targeting sensors, making it impossible
to 
"lock on" to the iCloaked ship.  The iCloaked ship is placed on the
board 
and moved normally; the enemy knows its approximate position, but not
with 
enough precision to use directed fire against it.

In game terms, this is how it works

Any ship that wishes to fire at an iCloaked ship must first roll a "6"
on 
one die.  This applies to direct fire only; Salvo Missiles, Nova
Cannons, 
and Wave Guns are unaffected by the iCloak.

(Should SLMs be effected?   Perhaps just by giving the iCloaked ship a 
slight defensive bonus?)

The attackers roll is modified if the iCloaked ship does any of the 
following:

     Each point of thrust spent to accelerate, decelerate, or maneuver:
+1 
per thrust point used.

     For each level of Beam fire: +1 per level (so firing a Class 1 beam
is 
+1, firing a Class 2 is +2, firing a Class 4 is +4, firing one Class 1
and 
one Class 2 is +3, etc.).

     For each Needle beam fired: +1.

     For each Torpedo fired: +2.

     For each Salvo or Missile Pack launched: +1.

    For each level of Screens currently active: +1 (I'm not sure about
this 
one, but it seems to fit).

Any combination of the above that totals +5 or more, as well as firing a

Nova Cannon, a Wave Gun, or using an active Reflex Field, will
completely 
negate the effects of the iCloak.

An iCloaked ship that is completely stationary and inactive is rendered 
completely invisible.  ANY activity, of ANY sort, will reveal this ship;
the 
player should announce his intention to become active at the beginning
of 
the turn, and the ship will be placed on the board at the end of the
order 
writing phase.

Cost and mass need to be figured out later; preferable at a time when 
(unlike now) I have the FB1 in front of me.  I'll be basing both upon
the 
standard Cloak, for the sake of simplicity.

Any thoughts about the above?  A ship with an iCloak will be more
effective 
than a regular Cloaked Is it workable, balanced, and playable?

John Crimmins			  john1x@hotmail.com
     http://www.voicenet.com/~johncrim/index.html

   "We're not at home to Mr. Reasonable, sergeant."
   "I do not hear him knockin', sir."
    --Terry Pratchett, _The Fifth Elephant_

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