RE-FT PBC

Oerjan Ohlson wrote-

>Apart from the question why you'd want a space combat game to better
>represent WW1/2 warships, I'm not entirely convinced that WW1/2
>warships had any plasma beam cannon...? <g>

Please note- this is a example of pedantic, otherwise known as taking
the
p**s by being literal in whats said. Otherwise called being loyal to the
exact words, not what was actually meant.<G> You couldn`t have 15" guns
on a
starship, due to the low speed of such a projectile, they`d be easy pds
targets.

>"Roll same as a Cl.2 batt" means including re-rolls on the dice? In
>addition to the re-rolls on the damage dice?

No, I meant that the rerolls are on the beam die, no reroll on dammage
die.
I meant the dammage is worked out by rolling just like beams (same die
for
range/modified by sheilds etc), but where beams do 1 or 2 DP, the PBCs
do
1D6 or 2D6.

>If the range and number of fire arcs is the same, double (average)
>damage means double Mass - unless of course you change the Cost/Mass
>ratio.

Yes, and no. You have to think also of the fact that a more massive
weapon
(eg HPBC), if at twice the mass (compaired to Normal PBC), would be at
more
of a disadvantage to threshold checks/critical dammage. The idea for
these
guns was to combine a beam cannon with a p.torp. Instead of firing a
partical beam, the beam acts as a guide for the charged plasma packet
fired
by the p.torp (thinking like the discription given for the hellbore guns
in
bolos, where a plasma round is fired down a laser beam. The laser was
used
to create a vacumn, along which the plasma bolt traveled. Otherwise, the
plasma bolt just vaporised on leaving the barrel when contact with air
is
made). The mass for the weapon was made from combining 2 cl.3 bats
+p.torp
(for normal PBC), 2 cl.3 bats +2 p.torps (heavy PBC), and 2cl.2 bats
+p.torp
(for the light PBC). Just realised, the mass for the light PBC should
have a
mass of 8 ofr 3 arcs, 10 for 6 arcs.

Would allowing no rerolls alter the mass/dammage ratio? The dificulties
of
compairing it to other weapons are the fact that its to hit is the same
as
beam batts, but the dammage is the same (or greater) as a p.torp. When
compairing it to beam batts, the dammage is greater than the same mass
in
beam batts, but they are also more vulnerable than the same mass of beam
batts to dammage (threshold checks). When compairing to p.torp, the hits
are
better at longer range, but also the total dammage would be less than
the
same mass in p.torps. Also, the PBCs are effected by sheilds, where as
p.torps are not.

These may sound (or be) difficult points to ballance, so you see why I
placed them out here in electronic limbo, to get some arguments to help.

BIF
"yorkshire born,yorkshire bred,
strong in arms, thick in head"

PS-I`m sure I`ve STILL forgotten summet. Ho well, I`ll reply when
someone
points it out<G>.