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Andromedan Dissection Beam variants?

 
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Nerroth
Fleet Captain


Joined: 08 Oct 2006
Posts: 1744
Location: Ontario, Canada

PostPosted: Fri Nov 16, 2012 11:42 pm    Post subject: Andromedan Dissection Beam variants? Reply with quote

Not too long ago, Star Fleet Battles: Module C3A provided a "threat file" for the Andromedans; offering a collection of the kind of simulator creations which the research and development teams of the Alpha Octant created in their decades-long efforts to try and unravel the key mysteries behind these extra-galactic invaders.

Most of the ships and technologies in this file never actually existed, or (so far as we are aware) never could exist; representing guesses (at varying degrees of wildness) which, for one reason or another, never panned out in the way they had expected to.

However, there is one notable exception; the dissection beam (and the mothership variants shown to operate it in C3A's SSD file). Unlike the other new technologies published in that file (such as spatial distorters, or first-generation X-tech), the dissection beam was "real"; albeit in another, far darker quantum reality than our own.

When the Star Fleet Galactic Survey Cruiser Darwin returned from its fateful trip to a near-parallel universe in 2595, it brought back a wealth of data which the alternate Federation had gathered during the twelve-year gap between the disappearance of "their" Darwin and the arrival of "our" Darwin in the alternate 2607. Among the many nightmares recorded in those data files (not least of which being the existence of the fearsome Devastator battleship, which the Andros never quite got around to fielding in the main timeline) was data on the dissection beam, as well as a list of four mothership variants which fielded them.

In SFB, the dissection beam itself is a relatively short-ranged weapon, that uses the heavy tractor-repulsro beam chart out to range 8. In addition, if the target ship is not being tractored by the firing mothership, an additional roll must be made prior to consulting the weapon chart to see if the weapon must halve its damage scored (or, indeed, miss entirely); which makes locking on to the target with a tractor beam a virtual pre-requisite for the dissection beam-armed vessel. (To make matters worse, the DSB takes up a lot of option mount space, and increases the cost of the base hull significantly.)

To make up for all of this, however, the dissection beam has some very dangerous benefits indeed. When rolling on the damage allocation chart, instead of rolling for each location separately (as is done in SFB), all of the boxes of that type on the ship are destroyed before moving on to the next type; and rather than being merely "disabled" (as it would be in FC terms), boxes taken out bey a DSB are literally shorn off the target ship, and cannot be repaired again.

(If a DSB hits with a high enough damage and rolls for the right location, it can literally shear off a Federation CA's warp nacelle in a single gulp.)

The bonus only kicks in once the facing shield is down, however; so the attacker would have to batter down the target's defences before they can start to wield the scalpel.


The four mothership variants recorded as existing in the alternate timeline are the Extractor (a Conquistador variant), Incisor (based on the Intruder), Dissector (with a Dominator base hull), and the fearsome Devourer (an even more nightmarish ship than the "standard" Devastator, if one could be imagined).

While none of the four ships are knwon to have existed in the "main" timeline, adding them in to FC (or Borders of Madness) could allow Andromedan players to have fun in the alternate timeline; and give their opponents reason enough to be grateful they stayed on the other side of the inter-dimensional divide.


So, could the dissection beam variants be worth considering some day for FC or BoM?
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Kang
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Joined: 23 Sep 2007
Posts: 1976
Location: Devon, UK

PostPosted: Sun Nov 18, 2012 3:23 pm    Post subject: Re: Andromedan Dissection Beam variants? Reply with quote

Nerroth wrote:
....not least of which being the existence of the fearsome Devastator battleship, which the Andros never quite got around to fielding in the main timeline...


Ooh, that sounds like fun!

Steve, is that one you could put in Communique for us, please? Smile
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mjwest
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Joined: 08 Oct 2006
Posts: 4069
Location: Dallas, Texas

PostPosted: Sun Nov 18, 2012 3:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Since it rules and ships, that sounds more like an entry to Captain's Log.
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The Ghost
Lieutenant JG


Joined: 18 Oct 2008
Posts: 47
Location: Colorado Springs, CO

PostPosted: Mon Nov 19, 2012 3:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I wouldn't mind seeing the "standard" devastator in Fed Cmdr some day as other "unbuilt" battelships from SFB have made it into Fed Cmdr. I wouldn't want to see the disection beam in standard Fed Cmdr as it changes a core concept that everything (except frame) can be repaired during the game. It would become one more thing that has to be tracked, was this box damaged and can be repaired or is this box "missing" and no longer repairable.
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terryoc
Captain


Joined: 07 Oct 2006
Posts: 1386

PostPosted: Mon Nov 26, 2012 11:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I would like to see this in a Cap Log sometime. If Borders of Madness, then those who want to deal with the extra complexity can find a way to mark sliced off systems (mark in another colour?).

The fact you need a tractor lock for maximum effect would tend to nerf this system a bit in Fed Commander, because of the way energy allocation works.
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Monty
Lieutenant Commander


Joined: 23 Aug 2007
Posts: 239

PostPosted: Tue Dec 18, 2012 5:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

You could always use a hole punch.

Sounds like a very interesting weapon system. I always enjoyed fighting against Andros, like playing monsters.

Instead of proposing a rule you could always write a scenario and bake it into the special rules.
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