RE: [FT] Nanite Colony (was: Devourers)

I had thought along these lines also.
A nanite colony creature.
 
Build ships using Human style Tech. Beams are modified into tractor
beams
such that they do not inflict damage, but provide conveyance for the
nanites. Screens effect the transfer beam as they would Beams (i.e. cut
down
the number of nanites that infect the ship.

Damage is marked off in the normal fashion. But it represents areas of
the
ship that are infected instead of damage. Crew factors can attempt to
disinfect the hull boxes and infected systems as if repairing systems.
If
the roll is equal to or greater than the normal threshold check number
(i.e.
6 for 1st, 5+ for 2nd, etc.) the system is controlled by the nanites. If
engines are infected, the nanite player may write movement orders for
the
ship (if 1st infection write for only 1/2 of MD, round down; ship player
writes order to use up to 1/2 MD round up). In order to use a weapon of
the
infected ship, it must have infected both a weapon and a FCS.

Also the infection spreads. For each hull box row infected, one
additional
hull box is infected at the end of each turn, after DCP attempts are
made
(this give the DCPs a better chance to keep the infection down, but can
result in threshold damage after DCP repairs). If DCP disinfect a ship's
hull back past the beginning of a hull row (i.e. the 1st box of the 2nd
row
of a ship was infected and DCP manages to disinfect 2 hull boxes), the
ship
does NOT take the threshold check again if the hull boxes are reinfected
this game. During a game, newly infected ships cannot be modified to
allow
them to infect other ships (only the ships that start the game
infected). If
a ship is abandoned, the infection spreads at double the normal rate. A
ship
that is completely infected has full control of all ship functions. DCPs
may
attempt to sabotage their own ship (if it is determined that the
infection
cannot be stopped). A DCP that rolls a 4+ may damage a ship system; on a
roll of a 6+, it may destroy the system. For each additional DCP in the
attempt (up to 2 extra), adds 1 to the die roll.

If the ship takes damage, it takes damage to the infected hull boxes
first.
If it takes a threshold check from damage, the threshold check is
performed
normally.

Nanites may make repairs to systems as normal (use the crew factors hull
boxes that they control to indicate the number of pseudo-DCPs available
to
them).

In the few play-tests, the Nanite ships should cost about 2x normal.
Also,
victory points should be varied with the amount of ships that the
nanites
take over. In other words if the sides start with even points (1:1), and
the
nanites take over a ship worth 1/5 of the opponent, final victory points
should be adjusted (1.2:1).

In the couple of play tests, it made for a good deal of fun. Players
suddenly have to deal not only with the enemy, but with the odd shot
from
their own ships. They also have to decide when a ship is too infected
and
turn on it.

-----
Brian Bell
bkb@beol.net
http://www.ftsr.org/
-----

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Izenberg, Noam [SMTP:Noam.Izenberg@jhuapl.edu]
> Sent: Monday, February 05, 2001 10:18 AM
> To:	'FT List'
> Subject:	[FT] Devourers
> 
> Beth's SV Parasite Pod idea dredged up something I'd worked on a while
ago
> -
> an alien race with the working name "Devourers" [snip]
> 
> Noam