Some thoughts about radiation weapons in Highguard for consideration whenever the next update is.
Radiation hardening raises a ship's protection to 1,000, making it impervious to the radiation trait, which have a max output of 720 rads (2Dx60). The sidebar describing Radiation Damage on Large Ships mentions "To keep things simple, without glossing over the effects of accumulating radiation damage on the crew of large vessels, simply apply a cumulative DM-1 to all actions a ship performs for every 10% of Hull it loses to Radiation weapons. If the ship has radiation shielding, increase this to DM-1 every time it loses 40% of its Hull to Radiation weapons." This implies that that the intention of rad shielding is that some rads still gets through. Perhaps instead of raising the ships rad protection to 1,000, radiation shielding should reduce incoming rads in excess of the 500 rads by half? That puts the max radiation damage at 110, which is in the '1D damage and nauseous' range.
While on the topic of radiation, the sidebar on page 31 says "When a spacecraft weapon with the Radiation trait is fired, it inflicts 2D x 60 rads on everyone within 10 metres of the point of attack. It should be noted that radiation weapons have shielding and other safeguards that prevent them from affecting the gunners who fire the weapon and other crew in the vicinity." I've always found that unclear as 'point of attack' can refer to the attack's point of origin, especially given the next sentence talks about how the crew is shielded from the effects. Perhaps 'it inflicts 2D x 60 rads on everyone withint 10 metres of where the attack impacts." works better?
It then goes on to say "Radiation is simple to apply to low-tonnage ships." but I don't know if that's the case. I've taken that to mean the Referee determines rad strength, then hit location, then which crew members are within 30meters of that location, consults the radiation table in the core book, rolls damage for the crew, then determines how the irradiated crew member's penalties might effect the operation of the ship. At least, that's what I assume is how it's supposed to work, the book doesn't go into detail. I suppose it would be nice to know the intended handling, especially for novice Refs who might not be familiar with all the different systems involved.
It would also be nice have a line right after the 2D x 60 damage is quoted, reminding the referee that most ship hulls reduce rad damage by 500.
Logistically speaking, a lot of the information on the Radiation Effects on Large Ships sidebar on page 15 is repeated on the Radiation sidebar on page 31. It seems like room could be made to clarify radiation rules by referring players to page 15 for that and taking full advantage of the sidebar on page 31.
Just some thoughts from digging in the rad rules earlier today!
Radiation hardening raises a ship's protection to 1,000, making it impervious to the radiation trait, which have a max output of 720 rads (2Dx60). The sidebar describing Radiation Damage on Large Ships mentions "To keep things simple, without glossing over the effects of accumulating radiation damage on the crew of large vessels, simply apply a cumulative DM-1 to all actions a ship performs for every 10% of Hull it loses to Radiation weapons. If the ship has radiation shielding, increase this to DM-1 every time it loses 40% of its Hull to Radiation weapons." This implies that that the intention of rad shielding is that some rads still gets through. Perhaps instead of raising the ships rad protection to 1,000, radiation shielding should reduce incoming rads in excess of the 500 rads by half? That puts the max radiation damage at 110, which is in the '1D damage and nauseous' range.
While on the topic of radiation, the sidebar on page 31 says "When a spacecraft weapon with the Radiation trait is fired, it inflicts 2D x 60 rads on everyone within 10 metres of the point of attack. It should be noted that radiation weapons have shielding and other safeguards that prevent them from affecting the gunners who fire the weapon and other crew in the vicinity." I've always found that unclear as 'point of attack' can refer to the attack's point of origin, especially given the next sentence talks about how the crew is shielded from the effects. Perhaps 'it inflicts 2D x 60 rads on everyone withint 10 metres of where the attack impacts." works better?
It then goes on to say "Radiation is simple to apply to low-tonnage ships." but I don't know if that's the case. I've taken that to mean the Referee determines rad strength, then hit location, then which crew members are within 30meters of that location, consults the radiation table in the core book, rolls damage for the crew, then determines how the irradiated crew member's penalties might effect the operation of the ship. At least, that's what I assume is how it's supposed to work, the book doesn't go into detail. I suppose it would be nice to know the intended handling, especially for novice Refs who might not be familiar with all the different systems involved.
It would also be nice have a line right after the 2D x 60 damage is quoted, reminding the referee that most ship hulls reduce rad damage by 500.
Logistically speaking, a lot of the information on the Radiation Effects on Large Ships sidebar on page 15 is repeated on the Radiation sidebar on page 31. It seems like room could be made to clarify radiation rules by referring players to page 15 for that and taking full advantage of the sidebar on page 31.
Just some thoughts from digging in the rad rules earlier today!
