Possible alternate use for Web Breakers
Star Fleet Universe Discussion Board: Star Fleet Battles: SFB Proposals Board:
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(G) New Systems:
Possible alternate use for Web Breakers
Imagine a way to help ships slip through webs. Right now, by Canon, the only way for a non-Tholian ship to move through a Web is for it to expend, over the next thirty two impulses, enough power to move a number of hexes equal to the strength of the Web.
What if the ship were to be hit with a web breaker, causing a brief fluxuation in the Web in the immediate vicinity of the ship, weakening it in the immediate area enough to allow the ship hit to move through more easily.
I'll try to explain everything my twisted mind is thinking with an example...
Imagine a ship is trying to fly through a Web. The Web has a strength of 35. Normally, flying through it is impossible, but the ship trying to slip through gets fired upon by a friendly Seltorian CA at a range of five hexes right after it gets stuck in the Web.
At that range, a ship would be hit by a Shield Cracker on a roll of 1-4, so the Seltorian rolls once for each Web Breaker. One hits, the other misses.
The Seltorian then rolls on the Web Breaker table, and rolls a two for the 'Breaker that hit the ship and a five for the one that missed. The missed one cancels 7 aggregate strength points (so it may not reduce the strength of the Web at all, depending on its length) and the one that hit adds thirteen movement points to the ship for calculating if it's moved enough to make it through the Web, meaning the ship only needs to now expend twenty two movement points over the next thirty two impulses to get through the strength 35 Web.
The ship also sustains four points of damage to the facing shield; the Shield Cracker effect still remains. This means a ship hit with enough Web Breakers to slip through easily could have fairly battered shields from the "Help"
The ship being "Helped" in this way MUST first be stuck in the Web (and potentially face breakdown effects if it hits too fast), so firing a slew of Web Breakers at a ship right before it hits the web won't help it, it'll just do shield damage.
Also, if, say, a Seltorian Commando Frigate dives into a web and has four successful "Helps" from friendly ships, if they all hit the, say, #4 Shield, it may be dropped (which may have been the Seltorian plan all along; it can start beaming out its boarding parties).
And, as I mentioned in the example, the Ship Help shots that miss will instead hit the Web normally.
Does this sound unreasonable or potentially too powerful for the Seltorians? Does the penalty ("Shield Cracker" hits) adequately balance the benefit?
Or do I need to doublecheck my medication dose again... 
An even nastier thought crossed my (alleged) mind, what if instead of just the TARGETED shield suffering the four points of Shield Cracker damage, what if the interaction between the Webs and the Web Breakers cause an enveloping action to take place, and ALL shields take the four point hit?
The Seltorian Commando Frigate in the example above, the one who got four successful "Helps," would in this case completely lose Shield Numbers 3, 4, and 5, and wouldn't have much left in 1, 2, and 6!
But hey, it'd be through the Web!
Jeff.
It sounds too powerful in that misses still have positive effects for the Seltorians. Also, it sounds like you're mixing (E15.0) and (E16.0) functions with your penalty. Honestly, it sounds confusing.
It also has a serious potential tactical downside. Should one ship be helped through and another fails, either because of misses or because of poor Web Breaker die rolls, the forces are split giving the Tholians fewer urgent targets at which to concentrate fire.
Additionally, if the Selts have enough WBs to help multiple ships through, especially with multiple WBs concentrating on a single ship to help, then they likely have enough ships with WBs to force drop the web in short order allowing all ships to be effective.
Good points, Roscoehatfield.
The best response I can give, right off the top of my head, is that if and when I do propose something, I don't want anything potent enough to actually impact the history of the SFU.
This potential "Alternate Firing Mode" is meant as just a little bit of fun, perhaps as part of a Stellar Shadows Journal.
That misses still have a positive effect for the Seltorians is a very good point. I'm trying to put the words together in my mind to offer a counter argument, but I'm awfully under the weather right now, and my brain (such as it is) isn't working its best.
As far as mixing (E15.0) and (E16.0) functions for the penalty, that's exactly what I did. I do apologize for the confusion. I would point out that by (E15.24), the Web Breaker can be used as a shield cracker, so I do think that, while sadistic, the penalty is appropriate.
As far as the potential tactical downside, that's part of the reason why I feel this is not unreasonable; it's enough of a problem as to make this proposal something with no impact on the history of the SFU.
I'm glad to have helped, if I did. Should I try to provide feedback, I try to give a reason as well as a rule number, if it fits.