Not much to say for this one. I've gotten a bit of feedback on 0.987, and that in addition to some time to think has given me some more thoughts on what is needed. Many of the slight changes that didn't make it into the last version are being added with this one. This takes the form of several clarifications and fixes for some of the new rules. Missile costs have been fixed, enemy vehicles with old attributes have been updated, and several personal-scale weapons have been slightly balanced. The Shredder has also been given some much needed love, being updated into a 10cr heavy weapon. As always, see the patch notes for more in-depth details on the various changes.
Here's the new version.
0.9.88b
Melee Weapons are now a Useful skill, to match Martial Arts.
PDW weapon price decreased.
Assault Rifle Wounds increased by +2.
Breachers are now AP3 and Wounds increased by +1.
HE Grenades are now AP-1 against vehicles instead of AP-2.
Satchel charges now deal two hits to vehicles.
Clarified how armor Wounds are removed when wearing layered armor.
Light PA and Recon PA weight has been increased.
Twitch+ Fibers now increase melee AR by 2 and DR by 1, Strength penalty remains at -1.
The Carbine rules text has been clarified; also explicitly usable as a melee weapon now.
The Shredder has been changed into a 10cr flak cannon.
Light Missile CR increased to 4, now is AP1.
Medium Missiles CR increased to 6, now has AP1, two attacks, and three shots.
Anti-Air Missiles CR increased to 6, now has three shots.
AP Missile CR is increased to 8.
Incendiary Missile CR is increased to 8, shots increased to four.
Fire and Forget Missiles shots increased to four.
Fixed and updated a few 'bestiary' entries that I'd missed with correct CR costs and derived attributes.
Artillery/MLRS missiles now cost 3CR each, up from 1. Now has a 3x3 blast that hits other targets at AP1, and deviates 2d6 grid spaces on a miss.
Power Armor (Mobile Infantry) weight increased. I like chunky Power Armor.
Deleted a few duplicated ChromeStrike headers in the bestiary.
Copied the Gutter Power Armor over from the barely finished OPFOR expansion.
Reactive Fire now explicitly does not work against enemies already in line of sight, and is at -2 if not prone or crouching.
Heavy Missiles now cost 9cr, have three attacks, and three shots.
Oh shoot, new version. Not gonna do a full thing right now, but I will say I like the new Shredder statblock. I'm imagining some kind of explosive buckshot nonsense and I love it.
ReplyDeleteThe missile alterations mostly look good but Medium and Heavy missiles need a second look: Heavy Missiles have the same unit price as Medium Missiles but are strictly better in terms of AP and capacity. My suggestion would be to buff heavy missiles somehow (perhaps x2 damage or something), reduce the count back to 3, and raise the price to 3cr per missile (9 total).
Good catch. Reuploaded the pdf, slapping a 'b' onto the version number. Bumping their cost up to 9cr and shots down to three was an obvious solution, but I had to think on the performance a bit. Damage x2 is a huge wounds-per-turn boost, especially given that the weapon has two attacks by default. Here's the possible statblocks I considered, and my rationnel behind them, on the off-chance someone reading finds it interesting.
Delete9 cr - AP2, has two attacks, damage x2
4.00 wounds average against 5+ or 6+ armor
3.33 wounds average against 4+ armor
2.67 wounds average against 3+ armor
Paying 3cr for a very likely 3 wounds against an opponent, or 2 wounds against an NRB/tank seems a bit silly. That is very costly for a consumable charge, but at the same time, that might be placing too much power in missile boats- I could envision a scenario where three mechs with Heavy Missiles get a spotter and just annihilate one target after another. A bit silly, but four guaranteed wounds against a lighter mech is definitely a bit too much.
9 cr - AP3, has two attacks.
2.00 wounds average against 4+ or 5+ or 6+ armor
1.67 wounds average against 3+ armor
1.33 wounds average against 2+ armor
This is better, although it's more on the lackluster side for 3cr. With this stat-block, I wonder why the mech doesn't just slap on three Burst Rifles. Statistically speaking, Burst Rifles have 0.667 wounds-per-hit against 4+ armor, and three of those would nearly have the same performance as missiles, sans range and bonus chance to hit, and no worry about expending shots.
9 cr - AP2, has three attacks.
3.00 wounds average against 5+ or 6+ armor
2.50 wounds average against 4+ armor
2.00 wounds average against 3+ armor
Now we're talking. Good middle-point between the two, although my concern now is that it might be too many dice being thrown around. On the other hand, that might be appropriate for a low-ammunition weapon that should have a high impact in a battle against a foe once used. This feels like a good level of power for the 3cr-per-pop weapon.
Against 4+ armor:
Light Missile: 0.67 wounds per action on a hit for 1cr
Medium Missile: 1.33 wounds per action on hits for 2cr
Heavy Missile (new): 2.00 wounds per action on hits for 3cr
Heavy Missile (old): 1.67 wounds per action on hits for 2cr
That's mathematically pretty, am I right or am I right? Makes the power-per-price increase into straight line. Time to feel slightly smug and very slightly autistic.