Re: General EMP Thoughts

> I've been following the whole WotW thread, and though I'm not really
> keen on offering specific advice on each weapon, I do have some
> general thoughts on how EMPs ought - or ought not - to work.
>
> 1) They should affect a set number of systems - not a ship-wide
> blanket. This is for balance.
>
> 2) They should have a clearly defined, simple list (did I mention
> simple?) of the systems that they affect, and in what order. If you
> involve attacker or defender choosing, they'll take forever to do it,
> and no one will be completely happy with the results anyway. Nail it
> down, define it! That way there's nothing to argue about.
>
> 3) They should cause a normal threshold, no exceptions. This keeps
> record keeping and superfluous rules down to a minimum. KISS.

Howza bout the following - something I've been thinking about for a few
months, jsut found it on my hard drive and blew off the cobwebs....

Damage and Damage Control:

"Damaged" means inoperative until repaired.
"Destroyed" means permanently incapacitated until a shipyard repairs
the ship.

(Optional)
The first time that a system has a repair attempt, on a roll of 1
the system is found not to be damaged but destroyed, and the box should
be filled in, to note that it's not repairable.
For campaign purposes, Systems not known to be destroyed should be diced
for between games : 1 indicates the system is destroyed, 2-6 indicates
it
has been repaired.

Important Exception: Needle hits always destroy the system they hit.

(PSB/Justification - adds flavour without affecting the game much,
balance-wise)

MT Missiles
These move as per fast fighters, with a 2-turn endurance. They home in
on
the closest target when their endurance is exhausted. Note that like
fighters, they can burn the second endurance for an additional move of
up to 12", so they can usually make sure the desired target is the
closest
one if fired at close range.

Warheads:
Normal -
Does 2D6 damage if it hits, half penetrating.

ECM
Hits by ECM - or "Blinder" Missiles do 1 pt of damage. Their other
affects
are confined to Fire Control Systems and Special Sensors.
Each ECM hit causes an instantaneous threshold check to all FC systems
(and
special sensors, if any),requiring a 6 to damage them.

(PSB/Justification - PSB:The EMP warhead can only affect relatively
sensitive instruments, those which rely on measuring the outside
environment. In game terms, this means FC systems and Special/Improved
Sensors. Balance: In practice, nearly all needle beam targets etc are FC
sensors anyway, so the limitation just prevents completely wrecking the
larger ships, rather than poking their eyes out. These weapons should be
used to "soften up" a large target before hitting it with multiple
threats.)

Needle Missiles
These do D6 Needle attacks (not hits).