Post by Gravedust on Jan 30, 2011 15:11:59 GMT -8
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GROUND COMBAT
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THE LOCATION GRID
Combat on the ground takes place on a location grid. The grid divides up the play area and is used for calculating distance for moving and ranged attacks. It is similar in concept to a Ship Diagram in terms of displaying crew location and movement, however while the Ship Diagram is oriented vertically (looking into the ship from the side), the Location Grid is presented horizontally (viewed from above like a map.)
Certain scenarios will feature both a Mission Map for airship combat as well as a Location Grid for hand-to-hand fighting, usually at a location important to the scenario. In most of these cases, the area of the Location Grid will be indicated somewhere on the Mission Map. Airships hovering over that point will have the option to interact with the Location Grid, either to drop off or pick up troops, or provide supporting fire.
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GRID CREW PLACERS
The location of characters on the grid will be indicated by small circles with faction colors, with a letter inside. The letter will correspond to the usual crewmember placer that will be outside the grid area. This is to save space since occasionally quite a lot of characters can wind up in the same square.
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MOVING ON THE LOCATION GRID
The Location Grid will (usually) be broken up into a field of 10 x 10 movement squares. If you are familiar with airship combat, the squares are similar in concept to the Compartments of an airship. Your Crew can be ordered from one square to another adjacent one at the cost of 1 Action (move). Diagonal moves cannot be made. Any number of Crew can occupy the same square if you desire, as the square actually represents a fairly large area. A Crewmember's exact location within the square is not important.
Not all areas of the grid can be moved through freely. Often times there may be buildings with walls or other impassible structures that cannot be moved though. Buildings may be entered through doors (or occasionally windows). In many cases walls can be be blasted through with an airship cannon or sapper bombs.
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ATTACKING ON THE LOCATION GRID
Melee attacks can be made against a character that is either in the attacker's movement square, or adjacent to it. (Diagonally adjacent counts as well) However melee attacks cannot be made through walls.
Ranged attacks can potentially hit any visible target on the Grid, however the accuracy of ranged shots is decreased by 10 per every movement square between the attacker and his or her target, making long-distance shots difficult. Ranged attacks can also be made through windows, but only if the attacker is adjacent to the window being fired through.
Grenades may be thrown to attack enemies in an adjacent square, but bear in mind that the blast of a grenade is not discriminatory and will hit ALL characters in that square, enemy or not. Grenades can be thrown through windows.
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COVER AND CONCEALMENT
Some squares have natural or man made features that provide shelter from incoming fire. Being in one of these squares confers an automatic penalty to ranged attacks made against characters in that square. The amount of the penalty depends on the 'quality' of the cover available, and should be noted in each square on the grid. Some squares are fully open and offer no cover at all.
Walls and other high structures can block line of sight entirely, making ranged attacks impossible against targets behind them. The most common form of concealment are the walls of a building, which cannot be fired through or even seen through unless they have windows and the character doing the shooting is adjacent to the window they intend to shoot through. If a wall has been destroyed however, it can be seen and shot through as though it were an open space.
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HIDDEN INTERIORS
The insides of buildings not yet explored by the Crew will sometimes be obscured until someone has entered the room or building. Sometimes enemies may take the opportunity to hide in unexplored buildings and then launch ambushes from them with grenades or ranged weapons, so be careful!
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AIR TO GROUND ATTACKS
Airships hovering at ground level at the point on the Mission Map where the Location Grid is located can choose to interact with the Location grid. If the ship is equipped with weapons it can fire them on squares of the Location grid. (These shots consume ammo and steam as normal, and are treated as a Called Shot, there is a chance they can miss and hit a different square than intended, so be careful where you call in fire...) Any weapon on board the ship can hit any square on the location grid, regardless of firing arc. Cannon shots can demolish walls and cause serious hurt to troops on the ground. If you wish to attack a square with the intent of destroying a wall, indicate which wall you want to try and hit. Walls may also be destroyed as a side effect of cannon fire.
Note that while an airship is hovering over a Location grid and firing it DOES NOT benefit from its evasion bonus if it is fired upon by another ship. Holding steady enough for gunners to make accurate shots on the ground means it has to remain still enough to be a sitting duck.
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LANDING TROOPS
Again, if a ship is hovering over the Location grid, it can use it's turn to deposit troops on the map. The areas where troops can be set down can be limited, and will usually be indicated on the Grid. Crewmembers should be in position to disembark the ship (close to hatches or cargo doors on the lowest level) must use 1 Action to move out of the ship through the hatch and onto the Grid. Ships may only land troops in one spot per round.
Troops may be picked up in a similar manner, so long as they occupy a square that is available for landing on. Any number of troops can be loaded or unloaded at once so long as they are in the right position. Ships can only make one pickup per round. They may drop off and pick up troops from the same spot at the same time, however.
Troops may also descend from an airborne airship to the location grid using parachutes. Parachuting troops must exit the ship through a Hatch or Cargo hatch in order to descend safely. Once used, the parachutes are discarded.
Jetpacks may be used in a similar manner, to get from the deck of an airship to the ground. In this case however the ship must be within 2 verts of the ground, as the jetpack's internal store of propellant isn't enough to cover a larger distance.
The chief disadvantage to landing troops by parachute or jetpack is that their landing point cannot be assured, and the may find themselves touching down at any point around the location grid.
GROUND COMBAT
==============
========================================
THE LOCATION GRID
Combat on the ground takes place on a location grid. The grid divides up the play area and is used for calculating distance for moving and ranged attacks. It is similar in concept to a Ship Diagram in terms of displaying crew location and movement, however while the Ship Diagram is oriented vertically (looking into the ship from the side), the Location Grid is presented horizontally (viewed from above like a map.)
Certain scenarios will feature both a Mission Map for airship combat as well as a Location Grid for hand-to-hand fighting, usually at a location important to the scenario. In most of these cases, the area of the Location Grid will be indicated somewhere on the Mission Map. Airships hovering over that point will have the option to interact with the Location Grid, either to drop off or pick up troops, or provide supporting fire.
========================================
GRID CREW PLACERS
The location of characters on the grid will be indicated by small circles with faction colors, with a letter inside. The letter will correspond to the usual crewmember placer that will be outside the grid area. This is to save space since occasionally quite a lot of characters can wind up in the same square.
========================================
MOVING ON THE LOCATION GRID
The Location Grid will (usually) be broken up into a field of 10 x 10 movement squares. If you are familiar with airship combat, the squares are similar in concept to the Compartments of an airship. Your Crew can be ordered from one square to another adjacent one at the cost of 1 Action (move). Diagonal moves cannot be made. Any number of Crew can occupy the same square if you desire, as the square actually represents a fairly large area. A Crewmember's exact location within the square is not important.
Not all areas of the grid can be moved through freely. Often times there may be buildings with walls or other impassible structures that cannot be moved though. Buildings may be entered through doors (or occasionally windows). In many cases walls can be be blasted through with an airship cannon or sapper bombs.
========================================
ATTACKING ON THE LOCATION GRID
Melee attacks can be made against a character that is either in the attacker's movement square, or adjacent to it. (Diagonally adjacent counts as well) However melee attacks cannot be made through walls.
Ranged attacks can potentially hit any visible target on the Grid, however the accuracy of ranged shots is decreased by 10 per every movement square between the attacker and his or her target, making long-distance shots difficult. Ranged attacks can also be made through windows, but only if the attacker is adjacent to the window being fired through.
Grenades may be thrown to attack enemies in an adjacent square, but bear in mind that the blast of a grenade is not discriminatory and will hit ALL characters in that square, enemy or not. Grenades can be thrown through windows.
========================================
COVER AND CONCEALMENT
Some squares have natural or man made features that provide shelter from incoming fire. Being in one of these squares confers an automatic penalty to ranged attacks made against characters in that square. The amount of the penalty depends on the 'quality' of the cover available, and should be noted in each square on the grid. Some squares are fully open and offer no cover at all.
Walls and other high structures can block line of sight entirely, making ranged attacks impossible against targets behind them. The most common form of concealment are the walls of a building, which cannot be fired through or even seen through unless they have windows and the character doing the shooting is adjacent to the window they intend to shoot through. If a wall has been destroyed however, it can be seen and shot through as though it were an open space.
========================================
HIDDEN INTERIORS
The insides of buildings not yet explored by the Crew will sometimes be obscured until someone has entered the room or building. Sometimes enemies may take the opportunity to hide in unexplored buildings and then launch ambushes from them with grenades or ranged weapons, so be careful!
========================================
AIR TO GROUND ATTACKS
Airships hovering at ground level at the point on the Mission Map where the Location Grid is located can choose to interact with the Location grid. If the ship is equipped with weapons it can fire them on squares of the Location grid. (These shots consume ammo and steam as normal, and are treated as a Called Shot, there is a chance they can miss and hit a different square than intended, so be careful where you call in fire...) Any weapon on board the ship can hit any square on the location grid, regardless of firing arc. Cannon shots can demolish walls and cause serious hurt to troops on the ground. If you wish to attack a square with the intent of destroying a wall, indicate which wall you want to try and hit. Walls may also be destroyed as a side effect of cannon fire.
Note that while an airship is hovering over a Location grid and firing it DOES NOT benefit from its evasion bonus if it is fired upon by another ship. Holding steady enough for gunners to make accurate shots on the ground means it has to remain still enough to be a sitting duck.
========================================
LANDING TROOPS
Again, if a ship is hovering over the Location grid, it can use it's turn to deposit troops on the map. The areas where troops can be set down can be limited, and will usually be indicated on the Grid. Crewmembers should be in position to disembark the ship (close to hatches or cargo doors on the lowest level) must use 1 Action to move out of the ship through the hatch and onto the Grid. Ships may only land troops in one spot per round.
Troops may be picked up in a similar manner, so long as they occupy a square that is available for landing on. Any number of troops can be loaded or unloaded at once so long as they are in the right position. Ships can only make one pickup per round. They may drop off and pick up troops from the same spot at the same time, however.
Troops may also descend from an airborne airship to the location grid using parachutes. Parachuting troops must exit the ship through a Hatch or Cargo hatch in order to descend safely. Once used, the parachutes are discarded.
Jetpacks may be used in a similar manner, to get from the deck of an airship to the ground. In this case however the ship must be within 2 verts of the ground, as the jetpack's internal store of propellant isn't enough to cover a larger distance.
The chief disadvantage to landing troops by parachute or jetpack is that their landing point cannot be assured, and the may find themselves touching down at any point around the location grid.