Re: FB2 Fleets (or "How I Learned to Hate the Savasku")

G'day guys,

I go away for a week and come back to find everybody hates our spiny
little 
buddies ;)
And just when we were getting the hang of coordinating attacks with
their 
movement so they had nothing to hit us with, sigh. To be fair the SV 
probably do need a bit of a nudge - cymbal attacks (hitting hard from 
multiple sides all at once and then picking off the 'stunned' victim) 
probably aren't everybody's idea of a good cup of tea ;)

Just a few razoos worth

1) While they are good (advanced tech and all that) I don't think its to

the extent of 5 for 10 as someone suggested, we've played a few games
where 
the SV were 75% of the KV force points wise and they got their head
handed 
to them (as pointed out when they crumple they go down fast so the 
difference isn't 2x overall).
2) I'd keep the advanced drives (it fits their overall flexibility and 
doesn't mean all the FB2 SSDs would be out of date).
3) I wouldn't go for enforced screens either, no other race is forced to

have screens at high masses so the SV shouldn't either (they're 
bio-constructs so the designers are going to have figured out how to get

around that one anyway).
4) I do find putting spicules into the D pool and pods into the R pool a

very neat way of trimming the A pool monsters (when given the choice I 
always opt for that house rule now), but I guess that only works when 
you're in a PB/fighter intensive playing field (like ours) - and yes our

Phalons have been able to hit the SV, though they have also been known
to 
hit themselves ;)
5) We've decided to keep the 'strike the colours' rule for them, but
more 
as a morale based thing - you really want to leave before you lose so
many 
PG you can't FTL anymore.
6) While I'd like to keep the range brackets at 6" or 12" (easier to 
remember that way) I guess I can manage to remember 8" ;)
7) I wouldn't put an arbitrary cap on the number of power points you can

put through a stinger
8) If re-costing the shots is absolutely necessary to getting a better 
perceived balance then OK, but I'd probably prefer seeing if one of the 
other options worked first.

So like I said they need a nudge (and not with a sledge hammer), it did 
take us quite a few games to get them sorted and they still don't throw 
games that pan out like our more usual games - much more cat and mousey,

but given Mikko's earlier comments on that topic I'm guessing that's not
up 
everyone's alley ;)

Better go before my jet-lag makes me even less coherent than usual ;)

Beth

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Elizabeth Fulton
c/o CSIRO Division of Marine Research
GPO Box 1538
HOBART
TASMANIA 7001
AUSTRALIA
Phone (03) 6232 5018 International +61 3 6232 5018
Fax 03 6232 5053 International +61 3 6232 5053

email: beth.fulton@marine.csiro.au