Re: Screamer-Killer for Space Crusade

Posted by MortiS-the-Lost on Dec 01, 2011; 1:14am
URL: http://the-lost-and-the-damned.71.s1.nabble.com/Screamer-Killer-for-Space-Crusade-tp7025115p7049097.html

Kalrath wrote

I was reading this again, and have another question. In HTH does the Carnifex have 1 attack with 4R+2W or is it 2 attacks with 2R+1W?

The Screamer-Killer has a single Hand-to-hand Attack of 4R+2W (it's best not to get into close combat with it!)

Kalrath wrote

This looks quite cool! How do you figure the attack values? How do you balance them against the dreadnought? Solely by play test?

The 2nd edition 40k Tyranids Codex was used as a main point of reference while working on the rules for the The Screamer-Killer, allowing me to compare it with other Tyranid creatures that already appear in Space Crusade (Genestealers and Tyranid Warriors). From there I worked out it's hand-to-hand attack should be at least 4 Red Dice (making it comparatively more powerful than a Warrior with Bone-Swords). I then from that decided the Screamer-Killer should be roughly the equal of the Mk VII dreadnought (due to it's size) and it was just a matter of shifting dice around.
The process went something like this; For ranged attacks the Mk VII dreadnought mounts 2 heavy weapons (2 Red Dice) and also gets 2 White Dice for the Bolters on it's body and in Close Combat it gets 2 Red + 2 White. I already knew the Screamer-Killer would need to have at least 4 Red in close combat and only needs to have one Heavy Weapon: it's Bio Plasma attack (which would be roughly equivalent to a Plasma Gun). So 2 Red Dice could be 'shifted' from the redundant 2nd Heavy Weapon slot into Hand-to-hand, giving the Screamer-Killer 4 Red and an extra 2 White in close combat – which (cross referencing back to the Tyranid Codex) seemed about right compared to the Bone Swords and Genestealer's Close Combat attack. The 2 White Dice from the Bolters was added to the Bio-Plasma attack. I then did a little playtesting and tweaked the Screamer-Killer into shape, refining the Bio Plasma attack rules by dropping 1 White Dice and giving it a 2 Square wide Line-of-effect and clarifying it's special rules.

Kalrath wrote

One other thing, seeing you're using the same principle as in the plasmas, have your group ever dabbled with templates to use with the plasma? It feels odd that it can only shoot orthogonally or diagonally. I knows it's for rules simplicity sake, but we're not kids anymore, we can handle a bit of complication. Just something that came to me. What are your thought on this?

Personally I'm trying not to alter the core rules of Space Crusade to keep it as fast playing and easy to learn as possible (I tend to run quite large games in which speed of play is important)
I suppose you could using something along the lines of the 'Line 12' rule from the D&D 3.5 Miniatures rules; which would allow you to fire a Line-of-effect weapon (like a Plasma Gun or Fusion Gun) in almost any direction (Read up on the D&D 'Line 12' rule Here). Basic implication of the rule would be simple in itself, but (as you can see from the link) using the rule in play becomes rather complicated.