Seltorian Shield Cracker!

:oops:

This of course leads to two more traits:

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EXTRA ENGINE DAMAGE (x1.5?): A weapon with the Extra Engine Damage trait, as the name implies, is designed specifically to knock out the target's engines. Each damage die rolled by such a weapon, in addition to its other effects, automatically inflicts one engine hit on the target.

Example: An Extra Engine Damage weapon scores three points of damage on a target. Three dice are rolled, coming up 2, 3, and 5. As a result, two hull hits (3 and 5), four engine hits (2 plus three extra), one shield hit (3), and a weapon hit (5) are inflicted.

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EXTRA WEAPON DAMAGE (x1.5?): A weapon with the Extra Shield Damage trait, as the name implies, is designed specifically to knock out the target's weapons. Each damage die rolled by such a weapon, in addition to its other effects, automatically inflicts one weapon hit on the target.

Example: An Extra Weapon Damage weapon scores three points of damage on a target. Three dice are rolled, coming up 2, 3, and 5. As a result, two hull hits (3 and 5), one engine hit (2), one shield hit (3), and four weapon hits (5 plus three extra) are inflicted.

Well, that's why it's "1.5?"

My initial thinking:

If you have all three, that's identical (mathematically) to having four damage dice, at least in regards to system damage -- 3.33 engine hits; 3.33 shield hits; 3.33 weapon hits. The cube root of 4 is 1.6. I dropped it to 1.5 because no additional hull damage is inflicted.

But that's just an initial guess...

I disagree with a x4 multiplier. A ship that loses all of its hull is destroyed - victory points to the opponent. A ship that loses all of its engines merely can't move, it can still use Hyperdrive (if it has it) and can still fire if it has range and arcs. A ship that loses its shields can still move and shoot, its just easier to explode. A ship that loses its weapons can still escape. In all three cases, the ship isn't providing my opponent with victory points and in two of the three results, I wouldn't even consider the ship a mission kill as it is still able to provide a threat, although a diminished one. I'd consider x 2, 2.5 or even putting it on par with Extra Hull Damage, but not more than Extra Hull Damage.

Heck, even double damage is only a x2 multiplier and it would cause more overall damage than any of the Extra (x) Damage.
Looking at the example from above: The same rolls we'd get would be - four hull hits (3 and 5), two engine hits (2), two shield hits (3) and two weapon hits (5) - that's 10 overall points of damage, versus the 8 of the Extra Shield Damage.

While you are thinking about the subject, how would you cost a trait common to many game systems.  I have seen it called Point Fire, Precision Fire, Primary Beams, Needle Beams(in Full Thrust and in Starfire), and Non-Lethal Fire (in Star Fleet Battles where the Federation is obliged to use it). It consists of firing at a ship (usually at a penalty to Accuracy) and if the shot hits, the attacker chooses which system (Engines, Shields , or Weapons) is damaged. This looks to be equivalent to Extra Engine Damage, or Extra Shield Damage, or Extra Weapon Damage taken with the Trait: No Hull Damage, but should one take the highest multiplier or the average of the three multipliers? Further, should the multiplier be raised because which system is affected can be decided by the attacker during play (rather than being decided when the ship is designed)?

I'm not sure what you're saying --  example, please?

Hooray!

Those sound about right...  of the three, though, EWD caused the most fearful grimaces in our group.  ESD may actually be more effective, but our gut reaction said that being defanged sucks.

Couldn't you just increase your weapon's accuracy by 1 and then use Directed Fire all the time to achieve an analogous effect?  Or have a trait that ignores the penalty for DF at a reasonably low cost (probably at 1.3 or 1.4, since Anti-Fighter is largely similar at around that price)?

Hrm. Interesting. I like that, but my gut feeling is that if it is called Extra (X) Damage, it should work like Extra Hull Damage only with (X) instead of Hull. That way no one gets confused.

Perhaps two series of traits are optimal:

1) Extra * Damage - does a point of * damage per damage die, regardless of the result of the damage roll.  Existing example: Extra Hull Damage.

2) Double * Damage - does an extra point of * damage whenever a point of * damage is rolled.  Existing example: Double Damage (which applies to all damage types).

Ooh, and No * Damage.  I forgot that one.

And yeah, I could really see using something along the lines of Extra Shield Damage, Ignores Shields, No Hull Damage with a long enough range to wear down their shields in the opening (maybe Minimum Range, too, if you don't mind exceeding the trait limits).

This would seem to need a Table like the one for using two Range-Based traits on the same weapon.

Double Hull Damage: *1.5.

Double Engine Damage: *1.2.

Double Shield Damage: *1.2.

Double Weapons Damage: *1.2.

Double Engine Damage & Double Shield Damage: *1.4.

Double Engine Damage & Double Weapons Damage: *1.4.

Double Shield & Double Weapons Damage: *1.4.

Double Engine Damage, Double Shield Damage, & Double Weapons Damage: *1.5.

Double Hull Damage & Double Engine Damage: *1.7.

Double Hull Damage & Double Shield Damage: *1.7.

Double Hull Damage & Double Weapons Damage: *1.7.

Double Hull Damage, Double Engine Damage, & Double Shield Damage: *1.9.

Double Hull Damage, Double Engine Damage, & Double Weapons Damage: *1.9.

Double Hull Damage, Double Shield Damage, & Double Weapons Damage: *1.9.

It would be easier and only slightly more costly to just use Double Damage.

No Engine Damage: *0.9.

No Shield Damage: *0.9.

No Weapons Damage: *0.9.

No Engine Damage & No Shield Damage: *0.8.

No Engine Damage & No Weapons Damage: *0.8.

No Shield Damage & No Weapons Damage: *0.8.

No Engine Damage, No Shield Damage, & No Weapons Damage: *0.7.

No Hull Damage & No Engine Damage: *0.6.

No Hull Damage & No Shield Damage: *0.6.

No Hull Damage & No Weapons Damage: *0.6.

No Hull Damage, No Engine Damage, & No Shield Damage: *0.5.

No Hull Damage, No Engine Damage, & No Weapons Damage: *0.5.

No Hull Damage, No Shield Damage, & No Weapons Damage: *0.5.