Combined Turret Batteries

[Ol'Weedy]

I seem to recall my long lost original LBB#5 (Original High Guard), having a rule about combining multiple turrets into a single attack roll (i.e. battery fire). I don't think it's mentioned in Mongoose 2nd edition.
I also can't recall if it worked like a single combined turret, or just gave a plus on the attack dice.
With the first option, a pair of triple pulse turrets would be doling out 2D+10 damage on a hit.
A pair of triple fusion gun turrets, would belch out a warming 4D+20 per hit + radiation, and therefore a guaranteed crit on anything under 600 tons... once you install the requisite 2nd fusion plant.
If this isn't all a figment of my imagination...

 

[wingsday]

This is sort of the baseline functioning of the fleet combat system, except you group all weapons of a given type or scale, such as all the turret mounted pulse lasers, all of the large bay railguns, all of the ion barbettes etc.
In this case you just multiply the damage by the number of weapons being fired after subtracting armor but before applying screens

 

[Condottiere]

I rather doubt thirty twenty millimetre Bofors would penetrate battleship side armour.

Probably there's some maximum damage point, and increasing chance to hit.

 

[Galadrion]

I rather doubt thirty twenty millimetre Bofors would penetrate battleship side armour.

Probably there's some maximum damage point, and increasing chance to hit.

Since you're supposed to subtract the armor value from the weapon damage before multiplying for the number of weapons, lighter weapon fire (i.e. turrets) will mostly just bounce off of heavy warship armor, no matter how many weapons are used. (Oh sure, you'll get the occasional golden BB, but for the most part strong enough armor will simply shrug off civilian-scale weapons fire.)

 

[Annatar Giftbringer]

The new Imperial Navy book has battery rules.

 

[Condottiere]

Multiple repulsor bays can stack to hold larger ships.


Presumably, not just turrets can be coordinated and routed to a single fire control console.

 

[Annatar Giftbringer]

The Imperial Navy rules lets you cut down on number of required gunners, and offers two new types of attack.

Focused battery fire for additional damage, or dispersed for increased hit chance.

 

[Shadowblayde99]

Hi. Just been reading the turret rules. It doesn't seem to make sense that a single pulse laser does 2D damage but having 3 pulse lasers in a triple turret doesn't do 6D damage but instead does 2D + 4. Any reason for this?

 

[Vormaerin]

Well, it wouldn't do 6D6. It would do 2D6 three times. An important distinction because of armor.

But the main reason for that is simplicity. It avoids needing to make 3 to hit rolls, 3 damage rolls, 3 armor calculations, 3 damage resolution rolls, etc for each turret. If there is some "realism" argument, I am unaware of it.

 

[Vormaerin]

Hi. Just been reading the turret rules. It doesn't seem to make sense that a single pulse laser does 2D damage but having 3 pulse lasers in a triple turret doesn't do 6D damage but instead does 2D + 4. Any reason for this?

But if you want a rationalization, though, here's one:

The gunner is at the fire control console trying to hit a small, fast moving target at ranges where it is just a sensor blip. Each roll of the dice does not reflect one pull of the trigger. It is six minutes (a space combat turn) of the turret firing based on a firing pattern established by the gunner that is designed to bracket the possible paths of the ship being targeted.

A triple turret is not firing 3 shots simultaneously. It is increasing the number of shots in the array. This, on average, results in a few more hits but not three times as many. This average increase in effectiveness amounts to +2 per additional weapon system on that turret.

 

[Condottiere]

I wouldn't count on the game mechanics making actual sense.

The reason we tend to install multiple barrels, and/or increase the rate of fire, is to increase the chances of hitting something.

It's possible that a subsequent round hits a weakened area.

If multiple shots are fired from an energized weapon system, you either have to clarify or recalculate the power input.