Subject:
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Re: PIRATE GAME: New Cutter Record Sheet and other discussion
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.gaming, lugnet.pirates
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Date:
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Tue, 30 Jul 2002 16:51:03 GMT
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Viewed:
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56 times
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Mr L F Braun wrote:
>
> In lugnet.fun.gaming, Frank Filz writes:
> > I just spent some time working on a new cutter record sheet. The new
> > sheet reflects some rule changes:
> >
> > Cannon fire is -1 at 18" and -1 per 6" thereafter (a rule we have been
> > playing with at BrickFest)
> >
> > Grape is -1 per full 3" of range (I'm wondering if this will work better
> > than a flat -6 which is hardly worth taking).
>
> I think this is a much better calculation. Grape wasn't
> even worth doing at point-blank range the other way, though
> making it equal to a musket may be going a bit too far the
> other way--maybe -1 per 2"? (-1/inch is a bit too severe.)
I also thought about -2 per 3". I'm somewhat inclined to not introduce a
new set of range steps because of thinking how to put the range mods
right onto the range sticks (and musket has to be on both long and short
sticks). It probably is worth making sure grape is primarily a special
case shot since pirates generally want to capture without damaging
ships.
> > On other rules thoughts, I'm curious how people feel about the wind
> > speed? I'm real inclined to dispense with it, and just modify wind
> > direction. It might be interesting to introduce a small chance of a
> > storm (hmm, two possibilities for storms - rain squalls which limit
> > range to 6" and give ships the possibility of escaping, and big storms
> > which might cause damage). Perhaps two dice are rolled each turn for
> > weather, the first causes a wind direction change on a 5 or 6. The
> > second causes a squall on a 6, if it's already squalling, a 6 results in
> > a storm, a 1-3 results in an end to the squall. Or the squalls could
> > just be factored into the weather chart. In fact, the more I think about
> > it, the more I'm thinking of then writing a program which just rolls up
> > a game's worth of weather. This chart then becomes a handy reference to
> > the turn (the GM would just check off each turn, and there could even be
> > space for the GM to write in commentary to be used in a later game
> > summary).
>
> I liked the wind as it was last time--not so capricious, but
> with definite variance. Being becalmed was a nice bit of
> unpredictability.
I'm just wondering how much effect it really has since it basically
affects everyone equally. I guess it does reduce the effect of
maneuvering to close or open range. I do think though that eliminating
the roll during the game would be good even if the wind speed is kept.
The big problem I had with Steve's chart was that the wind direction
just didn't change enough. I would like to see it cycle through the
whole compass during a game (either that, or we need to declare what the
prevailing wind direction is so people can plan for it).
On a similar tack... I have looked through all my naval combat rules,
and basically they are pretty consistent on a ship immediately stopping
if it turns into the wind, though one game allowed a maneuver roll to
make a 2 point course change across the wind. So it looks like I won't
change those rules.
As far as the free turn, the idea is that the most maneuverable ships
(or ones with the best captains) get a real maneuvering advantage. Note
also that the two points of free turn allows cutters to effectively tack
back and forth (another ship will need to spend a whole turn turning to
the new tack). I'm not inclined to get rid of the extra free turn, but I
could consider other thoughts. I did notice that additional turns
actually cost one crew not two (for cutters, more for larger ships).
> > Here is the text of the record sheet:
> >
> > CANNON ROLL TO HIT:3d6 for 10 or more
> > +1 Target within 6" firing ball
> > +0 Target between 6" and 18" firing ball
> > -1 Target between 18" and 24" firing ball
> > -1 Per full 3" of range firing grape
> > -1 Each additional 6"
> > +2 Firing from land
> > +1 Target on land
> > +1 Target is class 6 or larger, or large building
> > -1 Target is class 1
> > Worst of these:
> > +1 Target is Hull
> > -2 Target is Hull while crossing the T
> > -3 Target is boat or canoe
>
> Crossing the T is a *negative* modifier? I thought it was a
> positive effect. Or is that just an extra damage roll?
The -2 is for a hull shot at the bow (rule buried in the text, though
the -2 for crossing the T always showed up in the chart on the record
sheet). My impression is that a crossing the T shot isn't that much
harder to hit because it's pretty easy to get the side-to-side aim
correct, but range is harder to gauge (of course there should be some
bonus for subsequent shots at the same range, though in this age, gun
powder loads aren't very uniform and the moving ships will tend to
change ranges).
Frank
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