Re: [SG] Specs

Brian commented, responding to Laserlight:

>
>> Writing up Hudak's Hooligans
>> (http://home.quixnet.net/~deboe/sg/hudak.htm)  I realized I don't
know
>> what the specs are for flamers.  Is this just that I've overlooked
>> them?
>
>Flamers don't really have FP/impact specs like the rest of the weapons
in
>SG - they just have a close combat effect, AFAIK. (cause TERROR, & two
die
>shift for CC, I think. Don't quote me, my book is in a box somewhere!)
>
>So you can't use them except in Close Assault. Not unreasonable, given
>that most modern/historical flamethrowers had a range of 30m or less,
and
>that's only 3 inches in SG2.
>
>There've been a couple of proposed/house ruled larger flamers -
vehicular
>or just 'heavy' - they've all suffered from being grotesquely over the
>top, I remember.
>

I've never liked the fact that flame weapons only have a CC effect,
particularly with the idea that you can mount them on vehicles with
bigger
power pumps, etc.

I've tried out the following rules in SG games:

Flame Thrower:

FP d8  Impact d8
Range: Close only
Special:  Forces a confidence test, +2 threat level for suffering ANY
hit
with a Flame Thrower, +3 for suffering a casualty.  Any *shot* with a
flame
thrower, even if it misses entirely, causes a Suppression.  Plus can set
terrain on fire (as per the rulebook).
CC:  Same as rulebook says.

Re the confidence issues ans suppression - they're terrifying, so
getting
shot at by one should be scary.  People are going to duck if one is sent
in
their general direction.  Actually getting hit by one will be terrifying
to
the point where confidence tests are necessary, and seeing your buddy
running around on fire trying to put it out is just over the top (so,
earns
the BIG penalty against your morale).

I've played them this way a number of times and these rules seems to
work
fine and not be overpowering or unbalancing.  Note that I don't let many
of
them get in the game in the first place, though.  

This is a bit more interesting than CC only, and not overpowering (in my
experience).

Vehicle Mounted Flame Thrower:

Tom and I wrote these up a while back and posted them on stargrunt.ca

"Heavy Vehicle Mounted Flame Throwers ("HVMFT") have limited range, and
can
only fire at targets within the vehicle's close range band (up to 12").
They attack infantry formations as per a normal vehicle heavy weapon
(quality die, FC die). Any hits to the unit are resolved with a d10
impact.
The main effect of the weapon is it's dramatic influence on a target
unit's
morale. The target unit struck by a Heavy Flame Thrower must take a
confidence test with a TL of +2, and an additional penalty of +1 per
casualty suffered by the attack. This confidence test is required even
if
the target unit suffers no hits. These weapons are designed to
terrorize,
and if the unit fails the confidence test, it's morale level drops by 2
levels for a simple failure, and 3 levels for a serious failure (when
the
dice result is less than half the target number). This could be
catastrophic for even experienced and highly motivated troops, but that
is
appropriate after coming under fire from this type of weapon."

the page is at:

http://www.stargrunt.ca/vehicles_equipment/sg2_hvyflmr/sg2_hvyflmr.htm

Yes, these rules are pretty potent, though the very short range is a
balancing factor.

I've played with these rules a couple of times and they can be very
potent.
 Having said that, I only use them on walkers (easy to kill), and the
vehicles suffer additional penalties for carrying them (greater chance
for
damage from the exposed weapon system including from small-arms fire,
greater chance of catestrophic damage if penetrated, etc).  If you had a
bunch in your force, they would be nasty, but putting them on
easy-to-kill
vehicles and limiting them in number (part of the scenario design) is a
good way of balancing their effectiveness.

-Adrian

***************************************

Adrian Johnson
adrian@stargrunt.ca
http://www.stargrunt.ca