New Hit Locations

[Jak Nazryth]

A little over a week ago I suggested the hit chart needed to be expanded for space combat.
Here is my first try. I welcome all comments and suggestions.
Roll 3d6
External Hits
03 -- Airlock
04 -- Hull
05 -- Sensors
06 -- Hull
07 -- M-Drive
08 -- Coating
09 -- Armor
10 -- Turret
11 -- Armor
12 -- Coating
13 -- Fuel
14 -- M-Drive
15 -- Hull
16 -- External Component
17 -- Hull
18 -- Airlock

Internal Hits
03 -- Common Area
04 -- Crew
05 -- Bridge
06 -- P-Plant
07 -- M-Drive
08 -- Structure
09 -- Hold
10 -- Bay
11 -- Hold
12 -- Structure
13 -- Fuel Processors
14 -- M-Drive
15 -- J-Drive
16 -- External Component
17 -- Crew
18 -- State Room

The M-Drives now has both external and internal components. The external component are the thruster plates and are reduced by 1 thrust with each hit, when they reach 0, they are destroyed and remaining hits get transferred to the main M-drive inside the ship. The internal M-drive can be protected by armored bulkheads

Coating includes reflect and radiation coating etc... if no coating, this results as a hull hit.

The internal location 3 "Common Space" not only includes passenger or crew lounges, but also shops, med bays, labs, or any other common areas not specifically used to operate or defend the ship.

Location 16 "external component" covers any added external component like aero-fins, breaching tubs, grapple arms, externally mounted small craft, cargo pods, drop tanks, etc...

I included state rooms as a separate item since each stateroom provides its own life support for the entire ship. If enough staterooms get damages, suddenly you have a very big problem.

Please give feedback. To much? Not enough? Just right?

Thanks.

 

[BP]

Nice - I like 3d6.

Respect the 3d6 bell curve, though.

Put Hull/Coating/Armor in the center of the bell curve - use the outliers solely for the less common items. - i.e. Turrets seem way too likely given their portion of the target. This also better supports the 'targeting' rules that allow DMs on the table.

You've chosen 3d6 - make use of it. M-Drives should only appear once on the table (its a valuable shot) - right now you give a ~14% random chance of hitting it. I'd keep it one entry on the higher value part on the chart (idea being higher rolls are 'better' in working with targeting DM).

Making use of the range - differentiate between large (drop tanks/small craft) and small external (breaching tubes; grapples) components.

Don't forget to add repair drones - I'd put that at 18 myself.

Add * note that all hits that don't apply (drones when there are none) revert to hull damage (but maybe not apply to structure if hull =0 - these are 'surface' hits only?).

Coating hits is a problem as it should be assumed on all external hits. A special Coatings/Hull hit may be justified, but I'd be more inclined to see it as a derived aspect. I.e. use threshholds for reduced effectiveness with % hull. This also addresses multiple types of coatings.

Fuel is typically a large target, but its still an internal one, IMO. Fuel should be prevalent on internal table.

Drop structure from internal table - it should be implied whenever items go to destroyed or do not exists. This frees up more detail slots.

I would treat staterooms like external components - i.e. not explicitly qualified. Use large/small volume - thus if ship just had 2 staterooms, vs say 20, small might be 2, large some portion of 20 (assume that 'level' of damage would cover damaged, inaccessible/inoperable, destroyed .. structure). Likewise Fuel/Hold might be served best with one entry for the smaller and one for the larger.

A J6 ship will likely have 60% volume to fuel - an J1 cargo hauler might have 60+% cargo hold.

Just some thoughts off the top (not necessarily good ones!)

 

[jwpacker]

Yes, my first thought when I saw the 3d6 was "what'll be on 10 and 11" - the numbers that get hit the most. You could put hull on both of those numbers and it'll be hit 54 times in 216 or 9 in 36, which closely approximates the current table's 11 in 36 without dominating it quite so much, for example. Unless that was a complaint about the old table you were trying to fix.

I've been leaning in the same direction, but going with component hits being proportional to the size of the component, and have been considering the blasphemy of using d100 to do it.

 

[BP]

I've been leaning in the same direction, but going with component hits being proportional to the size of the component, and have been considering the blasphemy of using d100 to do it.

I've yet to actually engage my players in starship combat - but to me 'targeting' is a critical aspect of interactive RP... and a random die roll based location hit table will never cut it.

My plan is to use deckplan silhouettes (or deckplans depending on IC knowledge) for player selective targeting. Results of called shots will factor range vs weapon accuracy adjusted by gunner skill, Gs dedicated to maneuver, and pilot skills. Misses will hit appropriate areas (not just random ones on a table designed for proportions) as will collateral damage. While still being playable. Well, that's the plan, anyway.