blackphoenix
Mongoose
Ok, so I've been an ACTA fan since the beginning, after a while I moved into B5wars as I was drawn to the complexness of it and the huge amount of detail (including races, ships, etc)
But for as much as b5wars grew on me I found it harder and harder to use the ships in ACTA as they lacked the flavor of the originals I had come to use.
So I decided to start my own conversion from b5wars into ACTA. Most of this is just first drafts here, curious what people think about the direction I'm going in and any constructive critism.
Arcs:
You will notice my arcs are significantly complex than what you're used to seeing.
Instead of just having AD available in all arcs around a ship I followed the b5wars weapon arcs of a ship and added them to this.
The reason for this is tactical. No splitting dice between targets, same reason for each weapon being listed seperately versus totalled together,
but if you have a weapon that can cover the left and front you will have to choose which enemy target you engage with that weapon, unlike many
current ACTA designs. As I said with multiple weapon listing. I followed the b5wars layout, so you may have two or more weapons in the same arc,
this allows you to engage different targets if you choose but will also come into play later when I have my critical chart corrected as individual
weapons can be lost.
B = Boresight to front
Ba = Boresight to Aft
BL = Boresight and Left half of a "front arc"*
BR = Boresight and Right half of a "front arc"*
BaL = Boresight and Left half of an "aft arc"
BaR = Boresight and Left half of an "aft arc"
F = Front Arc
L = Left Arc
R = Right Arc
A = Aft Arc
T = 360 Turret arc
FH = Front 180 arc
AH = Aft 180 arc
LH = Left 180 arc
RH = Right 180 arc
*These might not make sense until you think of the Earth Omega. Each of the front two Heavy Laser cannons will be BL and BR. So you could boresight a single target to fire both, or have the option of having a target in the left half of the front arc and still get to fire one of them. Or by chance you end up with a target in the left half and right half of the front arc you can engage both with one of each Heavy Laser cannons. No more boresight or bust.
Attack--
Roll d6, meet or beat the hull value, successful attacks then roll for bulkhead/damage
(1-2 bulkhead. 3-6 damage). Then for each damage done roll another d6 to check for criticals
(1-5 normal, 6 critical). Even with criticals the initial point of damage is still done, just roll on
the critical chart. Soon to come
So effectively you're doing the following:
1. Roll to meet/beat hull rating
2. Roll to see if its a bulkhead or solid hit
3. Roll to see if the solid hit is a critical or not
This adds an additional set of rolls, but nothing major enough to slow things down in my opinion. The reason is to decrease the chances of criticals slightly but not remove them all together.
Second, beams/raking weapons, most beams will only be normal attacks, few will be AP, that is left for plasma based or molecuar/armor ignoring beams. In addition, in b5wars beams become deadly as they continue to hit from the same volley, so here is my thought to represent the beams striking through the armor and continuing to damage.
Raking Weapons...IE former Beams--
For each AD of a beam roll a d6, like normal for attacks, but for each successful hit roll the die again but lower the number needed to hit by 1 and continue this up to 3 successful hits per AD. IE if you needed a 6 to hit initially and you rolled a 6 and a 5, the 6 is a hit but now roll it again needing 5s, then 4s.
Matter Weapons--SAP
Super AP for matter weapons to represent their ability for punching through armor. AD will generally be lower to reflect the limited ability for mass destruction as they may hit minor systems as they can in b5wars (IE taking out a twin array with a damage score of 30 or something)
Plasma Weapons--AP
All plasma based weapons have AP to reflect their ability to burn through armor.
EM weapons--EM
EM weapons gain a +1 to the critical roll, they are designed to cause criticals to ships systems.
Shields--
Limited tech in b5wars, shields rarely can absorb/deflect entire volleys. They will function similarly to the current GEG does, but shots
are blocked before any bulkhead/criticals are rolled for. Drakh will get an overhaul with something new.
Stealth--
Stealth is no longer a random roll for chance. Stealth ships reduce an enemies ability to target at distance and thus reduce the enemy's
effective range. Stealth reduces weapon range by half to a minimum of 6" (unless the weapon range was already under 6", then uneffected). If the stealth trait is destroyed with a critical the ship goes back to being targetted per normal.
Piercing--P
Weapons capable of piercing modes in b5wars don't translate well to ACTA. Instead of a different firing mode weapons with this ability gain
a +1 to the bulkhead roll lessening a chance of rolling a bulkhead hit.
Energy Mine--EGM
Target a spot versus ship, EGM detonates on that spot causes possible damage in a 3" radius. Roll AD against all targets within the radius.
Agile--
Ships with the agile trait are allowed to make their turns at any point of movement and without the standard delay between turns.
Antifighter--AF
Antifighter weapons add a +1 to their attack rolls when firing against fighters
I am keeping a priority system for ease of gaming, my system will heavily favor the PL of the game but will make one step up and down usable too, but after that returns diminish quickly.
However, fighters will have a seperate PL system as I am not including them with ships, yes you will have to purchase them seperately. My fighters will be far more useful than they are currently but not over the top. No "Dogfights either, just firing like normal. Move last, fire first.
Test Fleet: Centauri VS Narn 5pt Raid (No fighters currently)
Centauri: 1x Primus, 2x Demos, 2x Darkners
Narn: 1x G'Quonth, 2x G'Quan, 2x Thentus
Race: Narn
Name: G'Quonth
Class: Battle
ISD: 2252
Speed: 8"
Hull: 5
Hits: 60
Turns: 1/45
Craft: 2x Flights
Troops:
Traits: Jump Engine
---Weapons---------Range-----AD-----Arc-----Traits
Heavy Laser----------24-------3------F------DD, R
Heavy Laser----------24-------3------F------DD, R
Heavy Laser----------24-------3-----BL/L----DD, R
Heavy Laser----------24-------3-----BR/R----DD, R
Ion Torpedo----------48-------4------F------SL
Ion Torpedo----------48-------4------F------SL
Light Pulse Cannon----4-------5-----FH------AF
Light Pulse Cannon----4-------5-----FH------AF
Light Pulse Cannon----4-------5-----AH------AF
Light Pulse Cannon----4-------5-----AH------AF
Twin Array------------4-------4-----FH------AF, TL
Twin Array------------4-------4-----FH------AF, TL
Twin Array------------4-------4-----AH------AF, TL
Twin Array------------4-------4-----AH------AF, TL
Race: Narn
Name: G'Quan
Class: Raid
ISD: 2242
Speed: 8"
Hull: 5
Hits: 60
Turns: 1/45
Craft: 2x Flights
Troops:
Traits: Jump Engine
---Weapons---------Range-----AD-----Arc-----Traits
Heavy Laser----------24-------3------F------DD, R
Heavy Laser----------24-------3------F------DD, R
Energy Mine----------48-------2------F------EGM, SL
Energy Mine----------48-------2------F------EGM, SL
Light Pulse Cannon----4-------5-----FH------AF
Light Pulse Cannon----4-------5-----FH------AF
Light Pulse Cannon----4-------5-----AH------AF
Light Pulse Cannon----4-------5-----AH------AF
Twin Array------------4-------4-----FH------AF, TL
Twin Array------------4-------4-----FH------AF, TL
Twin Array------------4-------4-----AH------AF, TL
Twin Array------------4-------4-----AH------AF, TL
Race: Narn
Name: Thentus
Class: Skirmish
ISD: 2215
Speed: 12"
Hull: 4
Hits: 30
Turns: 2/90
Craft: --
Troops:
Traits: Agile
---Weapons---------Range-----AD-----Arc-----Traits
Medium Laser---------16-------2-----FH------R
Medium Laser---------16-------2-----FH------R
Twin Array------------4-------4-----F/R-----AF, TL
Twin Array------------4-------4-----F/L-----AF, TL
Twin Array------------4-------4-----A/R-----AF, TL
Twin Array------------4-------4-----A/L-----AF, TL
Burst Beam------------4-------2-----RH------AF, EM
Burst Beam------------4-------2-----LH------AF, EM
Race: Centauri
Name: Primus
Class: Battle
ISD: 2202
Speed: 8"
Hull: 5
Hits: 42
Turns: 1/45
Craft: 2x Flights
Troops:
Traits: Jump Engine
---Weapons---------Range-----AD-----Arc-----Traits
Battle Laser----------32------4------BL/L---DD, R, P
Battle Laser----------32------4------BL/L---DD, R, P
Battle Laser----------32------4------BR/R---DD, R, P
Battle Laser----------32------4------BR/R---DD, R, P
Twin Array------------4-------4-----L/F/R---AF, TL
Twin Array------------4-------4-----L/F/R---AF, TL
Twin Array------------4-------4-----L/F/R---AF, TL
Twin Array------------4-------4-----L/F/R---AF, TL
Twin Array------------4-------4-----F/L/Ba--AF, TL
Twin Array------------4-------4-----F/L/Ba--AF, TL
Twin Array------------4-------4-----F/R/Ba--AF, TL
Twin Array------------4-------4-----F/R/Ba--AF, TL
Race: Centauri
Name: Demos
Class: Raid
ISD: 2241
Speed: 10"
Hull: 5
Hits: 34
Turns: 2/45
Craft: --
Troops:
Traits: Jump Engine
---Weapons---------Range-----AD-----Arc-----Traits
Plasma Accelerator----8-------4------F------AP, DD
Heavy Array-----------8-------6------L/F/R--
Heavy Array-----------8-------6------L/F/R--
Ballistic Torpedo-----24------6------F------DD, SL
Race: Centauri
Name: Darkner
Class: Skirmish
ISD: 2249
Speed: 12"
Hull: 4
Hits: 30
Turns: 2/45
Craft: --
Troops:
Traits: Jump Engine
---Weapons---------Range-----AD-----Arc-----Traits
Battle Laser----------32------4------BL/L---DD, R, P
Battle Laser----------32------4------BR/R---DD, R, P
Matter Cannon---------16------2------BL/L---SAP, P
Matter Cannon---------16------2------BR/R---SAP, P
But for as much as b5wars grew on me I found it harder and harder to use the ships in ACTA as they lacked the flavor of the originals I had come to use.
So I decided to start my own conversion from b5wars into ACTA. Most of this is just first drafts here, curious what people think about the direction I'm going in and any constructive critism.
Arcs:
You will notice my arcs are significantly complex than what you're used to seeing.
Instead of just having AD available in all arcs around a ship I followed the b5wars weapon arcs of a ship and added them to this.
The reason for this is tactical. No splitting dice between targets, same reason for each weapon being listed seperately versus totalled together,
but if you have a weapon that can cover the left and front you will have to choose which enemy target you engage with that weapon, unlike many
current ACTA designs. As I said with multiple weapon listing. I followed the b5wars layout, so you may have two or more weapons in the same arc,
this allows you to engage different targets if you choose but will also come into play later when I have my critical chart corrected as individual
weapons can be lost.
B = Boresight to front
Ba = Boresight to Aft
BL = Boresight and Left half of a "front arc"*
BR = Boresight and Right half of a "front arc"*
BaL = Boresight and Left half of an "aft arc"
BaR = Boresight and Left half of an "aft arc"
F = Front Arc
L = Left Arc
R = Right Arc
A = Aft Arc
T = 360 Turret arc
FH = Front 180 arc
AH = Aft 180 arc
LH = Left 180 arc
RH = Right 180 arc
*These might not make sense until you think of the Earth Omega. Each of the front two Heavy Laser cannons will be BL and BR. So you could boresight a single target to fire both, or have the option of having a target in the left half of the front arc and still get to fire one of them. Or by chance you end up with a target in the left half and right half of the front arc you can engage both with one of each Heavy Laser cannons. No more boresight or bust.
Attack--
Roll d6, meet or beat the hull value, successful attacks then roll for bulkhead/damage
(1-2 bulkhead. 3-6 damage). Then for each damage done roll another d6 to check for criticals
(1-5 normal, 6 critical). Even with criticals the initial point of damage is still done, just roll on
the critical chart. Soon to come
So effectively you're doing the following:
1. Roll to meet/beat hull rating
2. Roll to see if its a bulkhead or solid hit
3. Roll to see if the solid hit is a critical or not
This adds an additional set of rolls, but nothing major enough to slow things down in my opinion. The reason is to decrease the chances of criticals slightly but not remove them all together.
Second, beams/raking weapons, most beams will only be normal attacks, few will be AP, that is left for plasma based or molecuar/armor ignoring beams. In addition, in b5wars beams become deadly as they continue to hit from the same volley, so here is my thought to represent the beams striking through the armor and continuing to damage.
Raking Weapons...IE former Beams--
For each AD of a beam roll a d6, like normal for attacks, but for each successful hit roll the die again but lower the number needed to hit by 1 and continue this up to 3 successful hits per AD. IE if you needed a 6 to hit initially and you rolled a 6 and a 5, the 6 is a hit but now roll it again needing 5s, then 4s.
Matter Weapons--SAP
Super AP for matter weapons to represent their ability for punching through armor. AD will generally be lower to reflect the limited ability for mass destruction as they may hit minor systems as they can in b5wars (IE taking out a twin array with a damage score of 30 or something)
Plasma Weapons--AP
All plasma based weapons have AP to reflect their ability to burn through armor.
EM weapons--EM
EM weapons gain a +1 to the critical roll, they are designed to cause criticals to ships systems.
Shields--
Limited tech in b5wars, shields rarely can absorb/deflect entire volleys. They will function similarly to the current GEG does, but shots
are blocked before any bulkhead/criticals are rolled for. Drakh will get an overhaul with something new.
Stealth--
Stealth is no longer a random roll for chance. Stealth ships reduce an enemies ability to target at distance and thus reduce the enemy's
effective range. Stealth reduces weapon range by half to a minimum of 6" (unless the weapon range was already under 6", then uneffected). If the stealth trait is destroyed with a critical the ship goes back to being targetted per normal.
Piercing--P
Weapons capable of piercing modes in b5wars don't translate well to ACTA. Instead of a different firing mode weapons with this ability gain
a +1 to the bulkhead roll lessening a chance of rolling a bulkhead hit.
Energy Mine--EGM
Target a spot versus ship, EGM detonates on that spot causes possible damage in a 3" radius. Roll AD against all targets within the radius.
Agile--
Ships with the agile trait are allowed to make their turns at any point of movement and without the standard delay between turns.
Antifighter--AF
Antifighter weapons add a +1 to their attack rolls when firing against fighters
I am keeping a priority system for ease of gaming, my system will heavily favor the PL of the game but will make one step up and down usable too, but after that returns diminish quickly.
However, fighters will have a seperate PL system as I am not including them with ships, yes you will have to purchase them seperately. My fighters will be far more useful than they are currently but not over the top. No "Dogfights either, just firing like normal. Move last, fire first.
Test Fleet: Centauri VS Narn 5pt Raid (No fighters currently)
Centauri: 1x Primus, 2x Demos, 2x Darkners
Narn: 1x G'Quonth, 2x G'Quan, 2x Thentus
Race: Narn
Name: G'Quonth
Class: Battle
ISD: 2252
Speed: 8"
Hull: 5
Hits: 60
Turns: 1/45
Craft: 2x Flights
Troops:
Traits: Jump Engine
---Weapons---------Range-----AD-----Arc-----Traits
Heavy Laser----------24-------3------F------DD, R
Heavy Laser----------24-------3------F------DD, R
Heavy Laser----------24-------3-----BL/L----DD, R
Heavy Laser----------24-------3-----BR/R----DD, R
Ion Torpedo----------48-------4------F------SL
Ion Torpedo----------48-------4------F------SL
Light Pulse Cannon----4-------5-----FH------AF
Light Pulse Cannon----4-------5-----FH------AF
Light Pulse Cannon----4-------5-----AH------AF
Light Pulse Cannon----4-------5-----AH------AF
Twin Array------------4-------4-----FH------AF, TL
Twin Array------------4-------4-----FH------AF, TL
Twin Array------------4-------4-----AH------AF, TL
Twin Array------------4-------4-----AH------AF, TL
Race: Narn
Name: G'Quan
Class: Raid
ISD: 2242
Speed: 8"
Hull: 5
Hits: 60
Turns: 1/45
Craft: 2x Flights
Troops:
Traits: Jump Engine
---Weapons---------Range-----AD-----Arc-----Traits
Heavy Laser----------24-------3------F------DD, R
Heavy Laser----------24-------3------F------DD, R
Energy Mine----------48-------2------F------EGM, SL
Energy Mine----------48-------2------F------EGM, SL
Light Pulse Cannon----4-------5-----FH------AF
Light Pulse Cannon----4-------5-----FH------AF
Light Pulse Cannon----4-------5-----AH------AF
Light Pulse Cannon----4-------5-----AH------AF
Twin Array------------4-------4-----FH------AF, TL
Twin Array------------4-------4-----FH------AF, TL
Twin Array------------4-------4-----AH------AF, TL
Twin Array------------4-------4-----AH------AF, TL
Race: Narn
Name: Thentus
Class: Skirmish
ISD: 2215
Speed: 12"
Hull: 4
Hits: 30
Turns: 2/90
Craft: --
Troops:
Traits: Agile
---Weapons---------Range-----AD-----Arc-----Traits
Medium Laser---------16-------2-----FH------R
Medium Laser---------16-------2-----FH------R
Twin Array------------4-------4-----F/R-----AF, TL
Twin Array------------4-------4-----F/L-----AF, TL
Twin Array------------4-------4-----A/R-----AF, TL
Twin Array------------4-------4-----A/L-----AF, TL
Burst Beam------------4-------2-----RH------AF, EM
Burst Beam------------4-------2-----LH------AF, EM
Race: Centauri
Name: Primus
Class: Battle
ISD: 2202
Speed: 8"
Hull: 5
Hits: 42
Turns: 1/45
Craft: 2x Flights
Troops:
Traits: Jump Engine
---Weapons---------Range-----AD-----Arc-----Traits
Battle Laser----------32------4------BL/L---DD, R, P
Battle Laser----------32------4------BL/L---DD, R, P
Battle Laser----------32------4------BR/R---DD, R, P
Battle Laser----------32------4------BR/R---DD, R, P
Twin Array------------4-------4-----L/F/R---AF, TL
Twin Array------------4-------4-----L/F/R---AF, TL
Twin Array------------4-------4-----L/F/R---AF, TL
Twin Array------------4-------4-----L/F/R---AF, TL
Twin Array------------4-------4-----F/L/Ba--AF, TL
Twin Array------------4-------4-----F/L/Ba--AF, TL
Twin Array------------4-------4-----F/R/Ba--AF, TL
Twin Array------------4-------4-----F/R/Ba--AF, TL
Race: Centauri
Name: Demos
Class: Raid
ISD: 2241
Speed: 10"
Hull: 5
Hits: 34
Turns: 2/45
Craft: --
Troops:
Traits: Jump Engine
---Weapons---------Range-----AD-----Arc-----Traits
Plasma Accelerator----8-------4------F------AP, DD
Heavy Array-----------8-------6------L/F/R--
Heavy Array-----------8-------6------L/F/R--
Ballistic Torpedo-----24------6------F------DD, SL
Race: Centauri
Name: Darkner
Class: Skirmish
ISD: 2249
Speed: 12"
Hull: 4
Hits: 30
Turns: 2/45
Craft: --
Troops:
Traits: Jump Engine
---Weapons---------Range-----AD-----Arc-----Traits
Battle Laser----------32------4------BL/L---DD, R, P
Battle Laser----------32------4------BR/R---DD, R, P
Matter Cannon---------16------2------BL/L---SAP, P
Matter Cannon---------16------2------BR/R---SAP, P
