Post by Gravedust on Jul 5, 2010 19:33:56 GMT -8
Well over the weekend I decided to try out a combat test to try out the new rules for airship combat.
..The battle featured 3 ships,
-Warspite
-Shadow
-Mephisto
-Warspite and Shadow were of the same class and on the same side, with stats of
[Bulk: 120] [Empty Weight: 134.8 Tons] [Max Carry 105.2 Tons]
[Max Power : 6000 Hp][Firepower: 52] [Armor: 930] [Crew:12] [Cargo:12]
[Level Speed: 69.0 K/h][Overspeed: 100K/h] [Max Climb:2,300 f/m]
[Max Range: 14,904 Km][Value: $171,850]
Both Warspite and Shadow (Warspite is an actual ship used by the brits. It is my favorite.) Are fast cruiser-types, fitted with 2 Turreted Damage 16 cannons and 1 side mounded 20 damage cannon each.
-Mephisto was a slightly larger but much nastier ship on it's own:
[Bulk: 130] [Empty Weight: 169.5 Tons] [Max Carry 150.4 Tons]
[Max Power:8000 Hp] [Firepower:72] [Armor:1015] [Crew: 12] [Cargo:12]
[Level Speed: 74.4 K/h][Overspeed:130K/h] [Max Climb:2,400 f/m]
[Max Range: 21,927 Km] [Value:$251,300]
Mephisto is (in the terms of this fight) a technologically superior ship, (again a sort of cruiser type) but more limited in terms of armament, featuring 3 24-damage cannons fitted with equipment to increase accuracy and damage, 1 mounted on the front and the other two to the sides.
Each ship had a compliment of 11 crew:
1 captain, 1 pilot, 2 mechanics, 3 gunners, 4 'roustabouts'
Each with some stats in the appropriate areas. Each captain was given leadership Special stat.
I started the two forces in opposite sides of the playing area, about 50 movement squares distant. In the center of the play area was a large mountain with several plateau-like peaks extending up to a Height of 7.
The first few round were spent gaining altitude and closing the distance to the center. More or less all engines were overcharged by the mechanics in order to gain extra power during this period. Mephisto got there first and levelled off around Altitude 7, hovering around the peaks as Warspite and Shadow came into range, Shadow somewhat in the lead. As both the smaller ships stopped and gained enough altitude to reach the tops of the peak, Mephisto came forward into range and fired on Shadow with it's forward Cannon, missing once, and pranging the engine compartment with the other shot, though the damage was not extensive.
Siezing the advantage (winning Air Tac twice in a row, and going Last on the previous turn and getting to go 1st on the next ) Mephisto charged forward, reloading and firing again with it's forward gun, with the intent of swinging to starboard in order to fire it's side guns in broadside, hoping to hit Shadow hard enough to bring it down before it could really react. But (an embarassing) failure in both engine overcharge rolls left the pilot without enough power to make the final turn to put the side-guns into range. Mephisto's monster forward cannon shots both missed, adding insult to injury.
Shadow returned fire, pranging the upper and lower front of the ship but not penetrating the thick armor that protected the front.
Warspite was having some trouble with her engines as well and was in poor position for a shot, so she elected to save her steam and move into a better position for firing next turn.
And here's where the captain of the Mephisto lost his damn mind.
Apparently infuriated by the lack of success of his previous brilliant plan, he decided to try it again, spooling up his engines to charge forward, firing with first the forward cannon and then swinging at a right angle to fire both side cannons at point blank range into Shadow, targeting the bridge and the already-damaged rear engine compartment. This time things went to plan, all six overcharged cannon shots tore into the ship from point blank range, decimating the bridge with the 2 forward cannon hits, destroying it entirely along with captain and pilot. As the ship swung around, it's side-cannons tore into the aft engine compartment, Blowing out both sides but miraculouslt not completely destroying the engine itself, which stayed together by a thread and some duct tape, apparently.
Shadow was beat to hell and back, but still in the fight. And it still had three guns. All of which were aimed at Mephisto point blank. The return volley cut through the bridge's armor and killed Mephisto's captain and pilot in turn, jamming the throttle and severing control cables.
Both ships slid out of control, (Shadow on account of not having a bridge at all anymore) moving on opposite directions. Again the Shadow's luck seemed to have deserted it; it drifted directly towards a sheer cliff face. Mephisto powered blindly on to the north, what was left of it's crew trying to get up to the bridge and regain control of their ship.
Meanwhile, Warspite, shocked at the carnage suffered by her sister and just now getting into a decent attack position, turned broadside and opened up into the rear of the retreating Mephisto, hitting her on her most vulnerable side. One of the shots plowed through the lower rear of the ship and struck the aft engine, damaging it and causing an explosion that swept through the lower decks, setting off a chain explosion in the forward engine, and damaging the cannon compartments directly atop both. The rear cannon took this opportunity to burst into flames.
Still not quite finished with the Mephisto, the Shadow's rear turret gunner sent one final volley it's way (Presumably with his middle finger in the air) which swept through the damaged upper deck to kill the mechanic and roustabout who were trying to get the bridge in proper order. This semi-valiant gesture was followed immediately by Shadow slamming bow-first into the side of a cliff at 30 knots, crushing the forward gun and engine compartments (and an unfortunate turretgunner and mechanic)
Warspite reloaded and lit up the Mephisto again, wrecking more compartments and disabling the aft engine, punching holes in the pressure tank, and perhaps most critically, causing the furnace to flame-out. Mephisto was now less a airship than a smoking, flying tomb. If what was left of the crew couldn't get the furnace working again, the still out of control ship would crash as soon as the steam in it's leaking pressure tank ran out. Fortunately being down to one engine slowed the rate at which steam was being used, since the throttle-stuck ship was hellbent on going as far as it could, but being held back by the one working engine.
Ill-fated Shadow, scraped along the edge of the cliff, causing more damage, then finally decided enough was enough and dropped with a crash to the ground below. Fortunately it was high up on a plateau so the drop wasn't as far as it might have been. The remaining crew were harshly jostled but most survived the final impact. The ship's furnace -also apparently deciding enough was enough- saw fit to explode, though this really only served to further wreck parts of the ship that were already abandoned or totally unusable. What remained of what remained of the Shadow's crew exited the premisis post-haste.
Warspite's Captain, watching the crash with awe, decided to light up Mephisto once again for good measure, killing yet more of the crew and spreading fire throughout the ship.
Meanwhile aboard the imminently-doomed Mephisto, the crew managed to fight back the fires and relight the furnace, extending their survival time from seconds back into minutes. One prudent soul climbed to the the bridge raised the white flag for surrender. Warspite did the gentlemanly thing and stopped firing, then dropped down to see what they could do for Shadow's crew.
Over the next rounds the fires aboard Mephisto were gotten under control, and eventually control of the helm was restored. However with only 1 working gun (which was damaged) 1 working engine (working at 75% capacity) and a holed pressure tank there was virtually no chance of escape or victory, and so the ship was grounded and turned over to the captain of the Warspite.
The final toll:
Mephisto:
2- Injured
1 Wounded
8 Dead
Shadow:
3- Injured
2 Wounded
6 Dead
Warspite:
PERFECTLY FINE!!!
(Seriously. No damage at all.)
Anyway... So it took a long time and pushed back the guide for air combat, but I'm glad I did ye test. I modified some rules and clarified others, but in general I think everythgin works about like I wanted it to..
The high casualty rate was mostly the result of Mephisto's "well.. let's get REAL CLOSE then shoot!" tactic (which was dumb, to be honest) a lot of Shadow's casualties came from bashing into the side of a cliff. (which, I hate to say it, was pretty funny) Mephisto lost a TON of people to the fire from Warspite. The rear armor was all gone by the second volley so poor Mephi was just taking it up the tailpipe for huge amounts of damage to everything and everyone on the ship. I'm very surprised she didn't crash.. The crew managed to get the furnace working again at literally the last minute.
So yeah.. The lethality of this encounter was a bit more than I'd ever want to put my RP players through. But like I said, a lot of the deaths stemmed from me putting the ships REAL CLOSE, where the damage from cannons is maximized, and getting to make called-shots against compartments makes it easy to target things like the bridge and just blow them up and kill the peeps in them. I did adjust the rules to make it easier to survive area damage from a cannon hitting your compartment, though.
Other than that, I think it all went pretty well.. it took a LOoonnng time to do the first few rounds but by the end it was pretty fast once I'd gotten used to things.
Anyway.. I'm going to take what I learned and changed apply it to my current draft of the air combat section of the player's guide.. maybe put it through another test before posting it.. just to make sure...
..The battle featured 3 ships,
-Warspite
-Shadow
-Mephisto
-Warspite and Shadow were of the same class and on the same side, with stats of
[Bulk: 120] [Empty Weight: 134.8 Tons] [Max Carry 105.2 Tons]
[Max Power : 6000 Hp][Firepower: 52] [Armor: 930] [Crew:12] [Cargo:12]
[Level Speed: 69.0 K/h][Overspeed: 100K/h] [Max Climb:2,300 f/m]
[Max Range: 14,904 Km][Value: $171,850]
Both Warspite and Shadow (Warspite is an actual ship used by the brits. It is my favorite.) Are fast cruiser-types, fitted with 2 Turreted Damage 16 cannons and 1 side mounded 20 damage cannon each.
-Mephisto was a slightly larger but much nastier ship on it's own:
[Bulk: 130] [Empty Weight: 169.5 Tons] [Max Carry 150.4 Tons]
[Max Power:8000 Hp] [Firepower:72] [Armor:1015] [Crew: 12] [Cargo:12]
[Level Speed: 74.4 K/h][Overspeed:130K/h] [Max Climb:2,400 f/m]
[Max Range: 21,927 Km] [Value:$251,300]
Mephisto is (in the terms of this fight) a technologically superior ship, (again a sort of cruiser type) but more limited in terms of armament, featuring 3 24-damage cannons fitted with equipment to increase accuracy and damage, 1 mounted on the front and the other two to the sides.
Each ship had a compliment of 11 crew:
1 captain, 1 pilot, 2 mechanics, 3 gunners, 4 'roustabouts'
Each with some stats in the appropriate areas. Each captain was given leadership Special stat.
I started the two forces in opposite sides of the playing area, about 50 movement squares distant. In the center of the play area was a large mountain with several plateau-like peaks extending up to a Height of 7.
The first few round were spent gaining altitude and closing the distance to the center. More or less all engines were overcharged by the mechanics in order to gain extra power during this period. Mephisto got there first and levelled off around Altitude 7, hovering around the peaks as Warspite and Shadow came into range, Shadow somewhat in the lead. As both the smaller ships stopped and gained enough altitude to reach the tops of the peak, Mephisto came forward into range and fired on Shadow with it's forward Cannon, missing once, and pranging the engine compartment with the other shot, though the damage was not extensive.
Siezing the advantage (winning Air Tac twice in a row, and going Last on the previous turn and getting to go 1st on the next ) Mephisto charged forward, reloading and firing again with it's forward gun, with the intent of swinging to starboard in order to fire it's side guns in broadside, hoping to hit Shadow hard enough to bring it down before it could really react. But (an embarassing) failure in both engine overcharge rolls left the pilot without enough power to make the final turn to put the side-guns into range. Mephisto's monster forward cannon shots both missed, adding insult to injury.
Shadow returned fire, pranging the upper and lower front of the ship but not penetrating the thick armor that protected the front.
Warspite was having some trouble with her engines as well and was in poor position for a shot, so she elected to save her steam and move into a better position for firing next turn.
And here's where the captain of the Mephisto lost his damn mind.
Apparently infuriated by the lack of success of his previous brilliant plan, he decided to try it again, spooling up his engines to charge forward, firing with first the forward cannon and then swinging at a right angle to fire both side cannons at point blank range into Shadow, targeting the bridge and the already-damaged rear engine compartment. This time things went to plan, all six overcharged cannon shots tore into the ship from point blank range, decimating the bridge with the 2 forward cannon hits, destroying it entirely along with captain and pilot. As the ship swung around, it's side-cannons tore into the aft engine compartment, Blowing out both sides but miraculouslt not completely destroying the engine itself, which stayed together by a thread and some duct tape, apparently.
Shadow was beat to hell and back, but still in the fight. And it still had three guns. All of which were aimed at Mephisto point blank. The return volley cut through the bridge's armor and killed Mephisto's captain and pilot in turn, jamming the throttle and severing control cables.
Both ships slid out of control, (Shadow on account of not having a bridge at all anymore) moving on opposite directions. Again the Shadow's luck seemed to have deserted it; it drifted directly towards a sheer cliff face. Mephisto powered blindly on to the north, what was left of it's crew trying to get up to the bridge and regain control of their ship.
Meanwhile, Warspite, shocked at the carnage suffered by her sister and just now getting into a decent attack position, turned broadside and opened up into the rear of the retreating Mephisto, hitting her on her most vulnerable side. One of the shots plowed through the lower rear of the ship and struck the aft engine, damaging it and causing an explosion that swept through the lower decks, setting off a chain explosion in the forward engine, and damaging the cannon compartments directly atop both. The rear cannon took this opportunity to burst into flames.
Still not quite finished with the Mephisto, the Shadow's rear turret gunner sent one final volley it's way (Presumably with his middle finger in the air) which swept through the damaged upper deck to kill the mechanic and roustabout who were trying to get the bridge in proper order. This semi-valiant gesture was followed immediately by Shadow slamming bow-first into the side of a cliff at 30 knots, crushing the forward gun and engine compartments (and an unfortunate turretgunner and mechanic)
Warspite reloaded and lit up the Mephisto again, wrecking more compartments and disabling the aft engine, punching holes in the pressure tank, and perhaps most critically, causing the furnace to flame-out. Mephisto was now less a airship than a smoking, flying tomb. If what was left of the crew couldn't get the furnace working again, the still out of control ship would crash as soon as the steam in it's leaking pressure tank ran out. Fortunately being down to one engine slowed the rate at which steam was being used, since the throttle-stuck ship was hellbent on going as far as it could, but being held back by the one working engine.
Ill-fated Shadow, scraped along the edge of the cliff, causing more damage, then finally decided enough was enough and dropped with a crash to the ground below. Fortunately it was high up on a plateau so the drop wasn't as far as it might have been. The remaining crew were harshly jostled but most survived the final impact. The ship's furnace -also apparently deciding enough was enough- saw fit to explode, though this really only served to further wreck parts of the ship that were already abandoned or totally unusable. What remained of what remained of the Shadow's crew exited the premisis post-haste.
Warspite's Captain, watching the crash with awe, decided to light up Mephisto once again for good measure, killing yet more of the crew and spreading fire throughout the ship.
Meanwhile aboard the imminently-doomed Mephisto, the crew managed to fight back the fires and relight the furnace, extending their survival time from seconds back into minutes. One prudent soul climbed to the the bridge raised the white flag for surrender. Warspite did the gentlemanly thing and stopped firing, then dropped down to see what they could do for Shadow's crew.
Over the next rounds the fires aboard Mephisto were gotten under control, and eventually control of the helm was restored. However with only 1 working gun (which was damaged) 1 working engine (working at 75% capacity) and a holed pressure tank there was virtually no chance of escape or victory, and so the ship was grounded and turned over to the captain of the Warspite.
The final toll:
Mephisto:
2- Injured
1 Wounded
8 Dead
Shadow:
3- Injured
2 Wounded
6 Dead
Warspite:
PERFECTLY FINE!!!
(Seriously. No damage at all.)
Anyway... So it took a long time and pushed back the guide for air combat, but I'm glad I did ye test. I modified some rules and clarified others, but in general I think everythgin works about like I wanted it to..
The high casualty rate was mostly the result of Mephisto's "well.. let's get REAL CLOSE then shoot!" tactic (which was dumb, to be honest) a lot of Shadow's casualties came from bashing into the side of a cliff. (which, I hate to say it, was pretty funny) Mephisto lost a TON of people to the fire from Warspite. The rear armor was all gone by the second volley so poor Mephi was just taking it up the tailpipe for huge amounts of damage to everything and everyone on the ship. I'm very surprised she didn't crash.. The crew managed to get the furnace working again at literally the last minute.
So yeah.. The lethality of this encounter was a bit more than I'd ever want to put my RP players through. But like I said, a lot of the deaths stemmed from me putting the ships REAL CLOSE, where the damage from cannons is maximized, and getting to make called-shots against compartments makes it easy to target things like the bridge and just blow them up and kill the peeps in them. I did adjust the rules to make it easier to survive area damage from a cannon hitting your compartment, though.
Other than that, I think it all went pretty well.. it took a LOoonnng time to do the first few rounds but by the end it was pretty fast once I'd gotten used to things.
Anyway.. I'm going to take what I learned and changed apply it to my current draft of the air combat section of the player's guide.. maybe put it through another test before posting it.. just to make sure...
