Jump Point Bombs

[Wulf Corbett]

Just curious, I have yet to actually play with stations. You can hit them with mass drivers, correct?

Correct. Or any other stationary/immobile target.

Wulf

 

[Pratch]

How about JP bombing a station...

It's immobile and can't move so you could potentially create several JPs on top of it.

That would actually be kind of cheesy though, thinking about it and pretty unfriendly! It would though be an easier way to win planetary assaults when a station is present.

 

[Wulf Corbett]

That would actually be kind of cheesy though, thinking about it and pretty unfriendly! It would though be an easier way to win planetary assaults when a station is present.

How many JP would you actually need to do serious damage to a Space Station? Given how many hundreds of Damage points they have (and even with their peculiar damage system)?

Wulf

 

[Slightly Norse John]

Severed Dreams (the scenario) was fun to play through, we came within 4 Damage of needing house rules for attempting to ram a station.
Mass drivers, JP bombs, lasers, pulse cannon, blazing Starfury wreckage- you can hit a space station with pretty much everything, really. If, doing that, (I was loyalist EA), I'd left one of my Hyperions in hyperspace to do the JP trick, I'd have been seriously short of firepower to fight in realspace with. As it was I left one Omega on I think 7DP, and Babylon 5 down below 200.
Three Hermes on the other hand, cycling their JP- not a bad plan, when you work out how much damage they could do otherwise and compare. Nice one Animus, by drawing attention to the possibility you've made it much more likely that this will actually be used.
Ah, that wasn't what you wanted was it?

 

[Dag'Nabbit]

OK, so let's look at this: 3 Hermes who are cycling their JP's to Bomb a station. If I remember right, it takes 3 rounds for a jump engine to reset itself. So, in a ten round fight, you would be able to activate 8 jump points on the station. At 6 AD/JP that 48 dice SAP, Trip Dam. Since 1's always miss, we'll figure that the station only suffers 40 hits. Average damage roll per hit is 3.5 so... 40x3.5=140 damage rolled. Apply triple damage: 140x3=420 points of damage.

OK, yep that's disgusting. Of course the first time this happens, your probably going to see a very angry Hyperion or Nova Jump into Hyperspace to deal with the Hermes-Bomb. I'm guessing that that would pretty much stop any further jump points targeting the station as the Hermes (?pl of Hermi?) have to now face combat in Hyperspace.

 

[Geekybiker]

That would work except its been stated before that you can't open a JP to hyperspace with enough accuracy to go chase ships. Or at least get to them before they destroy the base.

 

[Dag'Nabbit]

The point there is that I don't need to chase them as they are not running away. They are going to be very close to a ship jumping to hyperspace. If the Hermes wanted to run, I agree that I would not catch them. However, it would stop the bombing.

 

[Pauly_D]

OK, so let's look at this: 3 Hermes who are cycling their JP's to Bomb a station. If I remember right, it takes 3 rounds for a jump engine to reset itself. So, in a ten round fight, you would be able to activate 8 jump points on the station. At 6 AD/JP that 48 dice SAP, Trip Dam. Since 1's always miss, we'll figure that the station only suffers 40 hits. Average damage roll per hit is 3.5 so... 40x3.5=140 damage rolled. Apply triple damage: 140x3=420 points of damage.

OK, yep that's disgusting. Of course the first time this happens, your probably going to see a very angry Hyperion or Nova Jump into Hyperspace to deal with the Hermes-Bomb. I'm guessing that that would pretty much stop any further jump points targeting the station as the Hermes (?pl of Hermi?) have to now face combat in Hyperspace.

dont forget though that the Hermes's Jump Points will scatter so a lot less of the Jump Point bombs will actually hit

 

[Wulf Corbett]

dont forget though that the Hermes's Jump Points will scatter so a lot less of the Jump Point bombs will actually hit

And even if they do, 420 points will not destroy most Stations, even though, sure, it'll do some serious damage. Meanwhile, any ships in realspace (and if there are none, you already lost the scenario) will be facing the stations full weaponry. You still have to win in realspace.

Wulf

 

[Triggy]

dont forget though that the Hermes's Jump Points will scatter so a lot less of the Jump Point bombs will actually hit

And even if they do, 420 points will not destroy most Stations, even though, sure, it'll do some serious damage. Meanwhile, any ships in realspace (and if there are none, you already lost the scenario) will be facing the stations full weaponry. You still have to win in realspace.

Wulf

Unfortunately for the space station, the Hermes bomb only takes one Raid level point and a space station takes four so the EA player only has to stay out of range of that station and all is still well and good!!! (at least until the rest of the fleet moves in to take out the damaged station in roughly turn 7/8)

If you're worrying about scatter then try the AJP Minbari version with Torothas (IIRC). Same problem for the defender, only with more accurate jump points!

 

[Wulf Corbett]

Unfortunately for the space station, the Hermes bomb only takes one Raid level point and a space station takes four so the EA player only has to stay out of range of that station and all is still well and good!!! (at least until the rest of the fleet moves in to take out the damaged station in roughly turn 7/8 )

So, as I said, the battle still has to be won in realspace. These tactics won't win any battles against Stations, no matter how much they can theoretically help.

Wulf

 

[Target]

A real good way to get rid of Space Staion.
Fight Narn, they come at you with some t'loths, panic about getting boarded. Concertrate tons of firepower on them and only cripple one which eventually makes a ram roll. The damage is spectacular. My poor Centauri Colony.