There is a reason why howitzers are not
normally used to take out infantry, why hand grenades don't make the best
anti-aircraft weapons and why small arms don't destroy submarines, and it's not
because they suck: they are not designed for that purpose!!(duh)!!! I mean, it
seems rather pointless (and expensive) to kill ants with a mortar, and it's
rather difficult to target a single ant with such a weapon.
On many weapon systems described in
games such as Rifts and Robotech, there is a description of primary and/or
secondary purposes. The idea is to make those purposes applicable to game play
through bonuses/penalties in combat based on the target and the weapon system
(I actually didn't come up with the idea, I have to give that credit to Mack
Beckett). Here's how it works...
Primary Purpose: When used for its
primary purpose, the weapon gets full bonuses from its targeting system and, if
the operator rolls successfully on their weapon systems skill those bonuses are
also added.
Secondary Purpose: If a weapon is being used for its
secondary purpose, it can only have bonuses from the weapon systems skill (if
successful, otherwise no bonus) OR the targeting system, whichever is higher.
Tertiary Purpose: Some weapon systems
have a tertiary purpose. If this applies, it can only have bonuses from the
weapon systems skill (if successful, otherwise no bonus) OR the targeting
system, whichever is lower.
Non-classified Purpose: If being used
for something other than what it is designed for, no bonuses are allowed.
Grey Areas: In some cases, such as
"assault" and "defense" purpose classifications, it seems
vague what that means. Assault means a charging weapon against targets of equal
or greater size than the unit with the mounted weapon. Defense refers to
incoming targets of equal of greater size. Both classifications mean that the
unit (robot, tank, etc.) can fire while mobile. Anti-aircraft, anti-armor and
similar classifications usually mean that full bonuses are attained when fired
stationary. If moving, reduce the bonuses by one classification.
How the Hell are Robots & Power Armor Operated?
Good question. When you think about it,
there are some questions that really need answering:
PC: How does a power armor pilot choose between weapons, or even
fire those weapons, since the pilot's hands are encased in gauntlets, unable to
press buttons?
GM: That's easy. Voice commands.
PC: Then how do they turn on/off their radio or loudspeaker?
What if the pilot is talking to their friend and end up firing a missile by
using the keyword? You can't say "radio off" or whatever during your
conversation either? That doesn't make sense.
GM: Shut up! Your asking of inane questions is wasting valuable
game time... [translation: I have no brain]
The answer is quite
simple: Computers. Every hi-tech war machine uses computers and most often use
snazzy HUDs, too. The main thing is the HUD. Without it, the armor/robot is
essentially useless. There exists within the HUD a retinal scanner which reads
what the pilot is focusing on. On his display there are, superimposed upon the
view, transparent buttons or icons. When these icons are focused upon (or
equivalent if bionic eye wired into HUD), the button is "pushed". Most
HUD computers can be programmed with the computer programming skill, or even
the elite combat skill of that particular model. They simply set (for example)
program alpha-1 to be select main weapon system and go directly into fire mode.
Thus on the HUD is an additional button: The Alpha-1 button. The whole process
is similar to a one-button mouse. It'd also be a wise idea to mix voice
commands with this system (safer & more efficient, too).
To select and fire a weapon without
programming, the following "buttons" are used:
a) Select
weapon;
b) [Weapon
icon or Speak weapon name];
c) Fire
mode (button or command);
d) [focus
on target as button. Each squint or voice command to "fire" is a
shot];
e) [When
finished firing] End weapons mode via voice command or retinal button.
To use a radio:
a) Radio
on (by retinal button only!);
b) [scroll
frequency or select channel by icon];
c) Activate
Scrambler [if necessary];
d) Transmission
(that means speak);
e) Mute
Icon [if desired during conversation];
f)
End transmission Icon [when done speaking, by
retinal button only!]
To fly:
a) Thrusters
on;
b) Manual
flight;
c) [flight
path follows angle of head/facing; squint or voice command to activate
autopilot];
d) [Can
now fire or scan the area during automated flight. When done or performing
special maneuvers like dodging…] Manual flight;
e) Landing
program
To do a jet assisted leap:
a) Thrust
Leap;
b) [select
destination as button via squint or voice command]
As you can see, there are endless
possibilities. The efficiency of the default procedures, however, is still
lacking unless preprogrammed buttons are used instead. A psychic with
telemechanic operation or machine ghost is a virtual god with this system, able
to create programs at a whim DURING combat! The bonuses are offset by the time
required to concentrate on the psychic ability, but the variability and
flexibility of the HUD are awesome.
What I strongly suggest
for power armor or vehicle pilots is to have a separate sheet of paper with all
the extra buttons in their HUD for easy reference. Gunners would have different
buttons than pilots and communications officers, so let each PC devise a scheme
to enhance personal efficiency.
NOTE 1: If using a captured or
unfamiliar HUD, the pilot gets no bonuses from the robot combat until a later
time when the personalized buttons and programs can be made. This explains
combat bonuses.
NOTE 2: Automatic weapon use is possible
(that is, weapons that fire on command of the computer, acting as an artificial
gunner), but the computer gets no bonuses and has only 2 attacks per melee (or
fires each 2 seconds). These are only applicable to weapons NOT attached to the
limbs of the robot or power armor (the ones used for walking and manual
manipulation, like arms and legs on power armor).
NOTE 3: Multiple weapon systems can also be used if
preprogrammed, but only 1 energy weapon system can be active at any one time.
Any more would fry the insides of the vehicle.
Sometimes on large robots, and even on
power armor, there are turrets which don't have a gunner to account for (like
the extra weapon arms on many robots). Simple: If a gunner is not available or
not present, the computer takes over. The pilot spends an attack designating a
couple targets (roll Weapon Systems 10 times to see how many per attack, or use
some other method) as primary, secondary and so on. Then, the next melee (and
subsequent melees until targets are destroyed) the guns go on auto fire
control, with the computer's 2 or 4 attacks per melee (or 1 shot per second for
robots, 1 shot per 2 seconds for power armor). For weapons with the purpose of
defense, no target designation is needed, in which case they operate as
anti-missile systems.
Being in the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time: Giant Guns and
Small Targets
If I ever, EVER catch a GM letting a
player shoot at a veritech with a reflex cannon, I'm gonna slap him upside the
noggin. The fact of the matter is that a really big weapon (like the main
cannon on a battleship) can not possibly track a target as small and fast as a
one-man fighter. The only way it could be done is to time the fire so that the
target is in the path of the weapon... not a likely occurrence.
For a fighter (or similar
"small" target) to be hit by a massive weapon in combat it must
fulfill two criteria: The pilot must fail his/her piloting roll AND must fail
an automatic dodge against the natural strike roll of the weapon being fired.
If many small targets are in the line of fire, they ALL make the rolls
described above. This is also applicable if the large weapon is being fired at
a huge target and the other small targets happen to be in the line of fire.
The other side of the coin: Big targets
can not dodge weapon fire from small weapons, only weapons that take a long
time to power up. (Boy, that was complex)