Fires on Ships - Your Opinion Needed!

[MongooseMatt]

Hi guys,

We are messing around with various rules here in the office - one proposal has been to have fires on ships. Basically, certain critical hits can cause fires, which have to be fought at the end of a turn, or they start eating up Crew and Damage, as well as creating more fires.

A little extra book-keeping (the downside) vs. the ability to create a flaming hulk (think the Churchill in Severed Dreams).

Do you want to see this rule in CTA? Only happens when certain critical hits are scored, but an extra note to track when it does happen.

Your choice. . .

 

[H]

sounds good, the crew crits especially could be beefed up with this, they are the worst crist in the game as it stands.

 

[katadder]

i think fires could cause extra crew damage maybe as part of a crew crit but not extra damage to the ship, damage toa ship would end up effecting the hull, which generally doesnt catch fire so much cos of the vacuum. also make them easier to repair than other crits as a 1 in 3 chance of continuing damage would be bad
the only prob then tho would be ships with low crews, die even easier so thinking that i would be against this.

 

[Lord David the Denied]

I'm in favour of it. Additional crew loss from fires would be realistic, and doubly frightening in space as the fire uses up the ship's atmosphere.

 

[Lorcan Nagle]

I like it, but maybe keep it as an optional rule for peopel who prefer their games more streamlined.

 

[G´berg]

I´m no veteran and perhaps have not enogh experience, but though it seems a good and saucy addition, I think complicating the course of the turn would not be good.
I therefore voted against.

 

[Wulf Corbett]

Having briefly playtested the initial rules, I vote in favour, but with lessened intensity! Matt will know what I mean

Wulf

 

[H]

I guess you mean that it did TOO much, when I tihnk a starship like a modern navel vessel would have fire suppression systems, pressure doors, and a compartmentalised structure, so it shouldn't be an out and out killer, apart from maybe on small ships, or on a ship thats already lost a significant amount of crew.

 

[katadder]

think if you had fires whitestars would be decrewed even quicker, so in effect another nerf to that ship.

 

[Wulf Corbett]

think if you had fires whitestars would be decrewed even quicker, so in effect another nerf to that ship.

True, but Whitestars should have a good enough CQ to put them out easily (it's quite a simple test at present). It's a thought though, and the sort of thing that worried me (but with Drazi Sunhawks...)

Wulf

 

[CZuschlag]

I like the gap in the crit tables that crew hits provides. I'd prefer the table as is.

And yes, I am in particular worried about WS balance, which I think, for once and for all, we've got right; the ship balances on the point of a needle....

 

[JayRaider]

I voted No. The game has enough book-keeping already

 

[Greg Smith]

I'm kind of on the fence.

I do think they are more book-keeping (and maybe more rule looking up -"how many points does an unextinguished fire cause again?"

I do like the idea however, if they are implemented I would like to see a special action that helps extinguish them, better yet the existing 'All hands to deck' should allow attempts to extinguish all fires.

 

[philogara]

A little extra book-keeping (the downside) vs. the ability to create a flaming hulk (think the Churchill in Severed Dreams).Your choice. . .

Oh dear, the first thing that sprang into my mind was Orks and Gargants! And I've not played that game for years!

Need to watch more B5 and purge the impure thoughts

As to a serious answer, yes, I think the game can stand a little more book keeping, though that of course is personal preference.

 

[Locutus9956]

Nah that one you can keep, Epic was a pretty good game actually. So was BFG for that matter. 40k on the other hand.....

 

[LordClinto]

I like the idea and voted yes, but I don't like the idea of additional bookkeeping.

I would suggest a minimal amount of additional damage, say 1 dmg and/or crew per turn that the fire isn't exstinguished.

 

[Shadow Queen]

Burnt flesh .... Tastes like Chicken or so they say :wink:

 

[Reaverman]

I voted no, and 2 grounds.

1. There is already the extra crew damage factored in, and it would add to extra paperwork. Small fleet actions would not be a problem. But large battles are going to be a bit of a pain, making it a bit of a headache. Like what has been mentioned, fire retardant systems are going to try to keep the damage to a minumum. All the crew would do, is simply close the doors.

2. Its going to Nerf Whitestars (AGAIN), or ships with very low crew values.

3.A minority on here, are going to whine their socks off yet again. Everytime time they face Narn, and complain that Narn ships yet again are too hard and demand the Narns to be Nerfed or have their ships upgraded to reflect the fact.

 

[Slightly Norse John]

It was normal in Harpoon; the most dangerous part was that crits were done on a proportion of damage rule, so a conflagration could easily cause further crits. I had a Ticonderoga class cruiser's missile magazines cook off from that, factor of eighteen overkill. Ah, the good old days...
The only kind of book- keeping I really object to is keeping track of things which don't matter. I am refusing to use the flat CQs for fighters, for instance, because there's an extra tactical choice in there, and the satisfaction of getting it right is worth the extra drop or two of brain- sweat. This, well, personally I don't believe spaceships are that inflammable, but it's pretty much canon that they are, so in the interests of the background, yes.

 

[Shadow Queen]

lets see what its like and then deside