thread: 2009-04-08 : Mechaton Area-effect Weapon Rules
On 2009-04-13, Uriel wrote:
I dunno if I had this idea first or not Vincent, but I've played with it. It works, but it gobbles up dice pretty fast that has to stay at the table once rolled.
My preferred method right now is that only your target is activated; secondary targets that already have a defense value take damage as usual if it's low enough to be overcome by the attack; secondary targets that doesn't have a defense value yet take the damage when they act. I keep track of this "delayed" damage by placing a number of pennies or other small coins equal to the damage dealt next to the mecha and then either a die or small piece of paper on top of that to remember the attack value. It disrupt the flow of the game less I think.
I think that the idea that extra artillery attachments can be used to increase AoE instead of being rolled is very fine. Another thing I'm play testing right now is that you can increase AoE range by rolling less damage dice.
And that you can increase sensor range by taking extra minus to your die roll.
David has a good idea about varying the shape of the AoE. I think our standard firing pattern for mass area effect in when I was an artillerist was 40x120 meters if I'm not mistaken for a battery of 4 15.5 cm haubits.
Easiest way IMHO to measure AOE in Mechaton: join together 16 Hinge Cylinder 1 x 3 Locking with 1 Finger and 2 Fingers On Ends, without Hole (just so we aren't confused about which part I'm talking about :) and click them one step: you get a circle that has an inner diameter of almost 3 inches. Great as a standard target measure that almost all tabletop strategy games has, but it can also be reconfigured to squares or rectangles. Although at it smallest, with one side being 1 hinge and the other being 7 which is a little more than 4 inches long, it not an AoE attack any longer, it's just a line between mecha A and B. You can abuse this even more by bending into a sort of C but that is just retarded.
anyway AoE attacks rules, the last three games were full of hilarious friendly fire.
What I am really curious about though is if you played with those extra action for high initiative?
