Brilliant Lances Rules Question

[ChaserCaffey]

(Previously posted to TNE-RCES, so anyone on that list has probably already seen this)

While paging through my copy of Brilliant Lances, I came across
the rules for nuclear dampers, where I noted that larger (i.e. not turret
or barbette) damper installations can theoretically have ranges in excess
of one hex.

My question is: are there any limitations on the number of times a
damper may fire on an incoming missile, or on which missiles are targeted?
For example, is there anything to stop me from building an "Aegis" type
ship with a 300,000-km range damper and taking multiple shots at missiles
coming in towards my task group, other than the size and power
requirements of such an installation? Is there a limitation on the number
of missiles a damper can fire on in a given turn?

 

[mike wightman]

Brilliant Lances Rules of Play, page 21:

Nuclear damper turrets... are limited to firing on only one missile per turn.
Larger damper installations may conduct defensive fire against all missiles that fire on the ship during the turn.

What I can't find, though, are where those large nuclear damper installations are in the ship design sequence?

 

[GJD]

IIRC higher ROF dosen't allow for more shots, but does provide a positive accuracy modifier. It's been a while since I've played, though.

G.

 

[ChaserCaffey]

Originally posted by Sigg Oddra:
Brilliant Lances Rules of Play, page 21:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Nuclear damper turrets... are limited to firing on only one missile per turn.
Larger damper installations may conduct defensive fire against all missiles that fire on the ship during the turn.

What I can't find, though, are where those large nuclear damper installations are in the ship design sequence? </font>[/QUOTE]Thanks, that's what it looked like to me as well. That does make large NDs pretty good, although I could see missile shooters compensating by sending them in at high vectors so that you cross the damper's range in one turn.

The design rules for large dampers are not in the Brilliant Lances sequence, but can be found in FF&S on pg. 57. There's no mention of ROF there, so I assume you're allowed to fire on each target within your range once.

 

[Badbru]

I've read the bit Sigg quoted with regards to this and thus that's how I've usually played it but my question is why? A turret has one beam pointer so ok maybe only one missile engaged per turn... but then so too does a barbette, one beam pointer I mean. When you read through the design sequence there's really no difference between turrets and barbettes other than you can't fit the necessary components into a turret until TL F?

Why then is the turret penalized?

pg 152 of Striker 2 has a design sequence upgrade for nuclear dampers. Long and short of it is that the published ones assume use in space and therefore have a ROF 10 but similar to overpowering lasers you can increase the volume and the power input to increase the ROF which allows -diff mods to the nuclear damper task rolls
Thers a table in Striker 2 which basically incorporates both the space combat ROFs and the ground combat ROFs and shows the volume multipliers and mw input multipliers for a desired ROF.

Doesn't really address the "How many targets engaged per turn?" question though and I find the rules answer of Turrets = one, anything bigger = as many as you like, as having no basis in fact. (or atleast no basis in the design sequence)
For simplicity of play (lord knows Brilliant Lances could use some) I usually just say any damper installation be it turret, barbette, or something odd, can target as many targets as it wants. It's a handwave but it works for me.

I've toyed with other solutions like running ND's through MFD's and like missiles having the -diff mod number of the MFD equalling how many targets can be engaged, or with overpowered ND's having each additional -1 diff mod equating to an additional target, but how complex do you want to get?
As for all fire type tasks you only get one roll of the dice. Different rates of fire give different +/- diff mods to the task difficulty of that one roll of the dice.