Re: [Epic] Buildings in E40k

From: Erik Rutins <snowdo1_at_...>
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 14:13:18 -0400

Chris:

All of my comments below are based on no playtesting or experience with
building in Epic SM/TL or Epic 40k (aside from using them as cover).
With that caveat...

> *BUILDINGS IN COMBAT*
> For the purposes of combat, treat buildings as immobilized war
> engines. Thus, when firing at a building, the number of dice
rolled
> should equal the firepower being brought to bear on the
building, and
> War Engine close assault weapons automatically cause critical
damge,
> etc.

So, when you fire at 'that building' you're only firing at the building
and nothing has any chance to hit the infantry inside (unless it causes
a critical/destroys the building) right?

> Size Armor Damage Capacity Assault Firepower
> ---- ----- --------------- ------- ---------
> Small 6+ 15 5 5
> Medium 6+ 30 10 10
> Large 6+ 45 15 15
>
> Thus, any hit which meets or beats the armor value has a chance
to
> cause critical damge to the building as per the normal rules for
war
> engines.(i.e., successfully beating armor on a 6, then roll a 6
to
> cause critical damage)

But hits can only be caused by SHVs and Titans, right? I'm just trying
to put this all together. Infantry and vehicles can't do squat (no pun
intended) as I understand it. Or did you mean ANY super heavy weapons,
regardless of where they're mounted? This would make more sense.

I don't think a big infantry firefight should bring a building down,
even if tanks are involved (but I've never tested this personally <g>).
 OTOH a Scud missile can bring down a building. Apparently Andy and
Jervis were watching the battles in Sarajevo and Chechnya.

> *BUILDINGS IN CLOSE ASSAULT*
> When a buidling is close assaulted (or engaged in a firefight),
check
> the appropriate stat on the profile above. In all cases, the
> assaulting units may never take casualties as a direct result of

> assaulting a building, nor are they ever forced back.

This seems a bit silly on the surface. Assaulting a building? I guess
I could see it though - Bloodthirster stubs toe on rubble, lashes out
with axe at nearest piece of concrete...

> rate the "toughness" of the buildings. I wanted to make sure
that a
> single squad with an Assault of 1 would have a very slim chance
of
> actually doing some damage to a building.

Why not just scratch the assaulting part? I don't think building
damage should belong in the assault or firefight phase, personally.

> 2 +3 The building shakes violently! All units inside
the
> building are hit as if under a Heavy Barrage
Template

Do you mean "The attacker should place one barrage template on the
units in the building. Resolve immediately as a Heavy Barrage."? Or
do you really mean "Hit the units in the building with a Firepower =
Units x 2 attack."? The latter seems quite potent, especially if
you're talking really large buildings. I would tend to limit this to
the template.

> 3 +2 Heavy Shrapnel fills the building! Roll 1d6 to hit
each
> unit in the building

This is really potent too - Most troops would lose 1/3 of what's in the
building. I guess I'm leaning towards the criticals damaging the
building more than the troops. Or perhaps you should just place one
template again and treat as a mega-cannon shot? With these kind of
crits, I'm inclined to always shoot at the building and never at the
troops inside, which is not what was designed for, I think.

> 4-5 +1 The units inside are thrown into disarray! All
units are
> treated as if hit by a Disrupt Weapon

i.e. Roll one die for each detachment in the building, on a 4+ it takes
an additional BM or roll one die for each UNIT (this would be way too
powerful for a 4-5 critical, IMHO, especially in large buildings which
are looking way too much like death traps now). One disrupt on each
detachment would be reasonable.

> 6-8 +0 The Building holds steady under the attack.

I like this one. :-)

> 9 +1 A large chunk of Debris falls on a unit! One
random unit
> inside the building takes a hit

This is reasonable too, but let your opponent choose the unit.

> 10 +2 The building shifts in its foundation! Units inside
the
> building may not shoot and may not perform Special
Orders
> (Overwatch, Assault, March, Etc.)

How about just each detachment with a unit in the building gets an
extra blast marker.

> 11 +3 The building bursts into flames! Each shooting
phase,
> roll 1d6 to hit each unit in the building.
Additionally,
> the building takes 1 damage each turn. Don't roll
for
> Critical damage for fire damage

Flames! Yikes, this is nasty. I like the idea though, but I think this
should be +4 damage and listed as 12 on the chart. Instead of rolling
1d6 to hit each unit, I would automatically add 1 blast marker to each
detachment with a unit in the building during each shooting phase
hereafter.

> 12 +4 The Structure is severely damaged! Treat all units
inside
> the building as if hit by a Barrage

I would make this a +3 and place a single barrage template wherever you
feel the structure was damaged. Treat as a mega-cannon shot. Put it
in the 11 slot.

> 3-4 4-5 5-6 Crumbling The building begins a slow crumble! roll
1d6
> to hit each unit still inside the
building at
> the end of each movement phase. At the
> beginning of each turn, roll a d6: on a 5
or 6,
> the building is Destroyed as below

I like this chart - seems reasonable. I would not only roll to hit but
add a blast marker too.

> 5-6 6 --- Destroyed The building collapses under the
incredible
> assault. Units in the building are
destroyed
> unless they roll a 4+

Bail-out roll makes sense. This is very reasonable.

> ----------------------------------------
> When a building is destroyed, place a suitably large marker or
ruins
> piece to represent the smouldering rubble which is left behind.
> ----------------------------------------

But of course!

> Well there they are. I wanted to make buildings pretty tough,
but yet
> still vulnerable to big guns (as they should be). Additionally,
I
> thought that while offering great cover and protection to
infantry (+2
> to armor), there should be a price to pay. The Critical Damage
chart
> represents this difficulty, and the Catastrophic chart
represents the
> chance that the units inside can evacuate.

<whew> Good work all in all. I guess you've noticed by now that I
really feel you should tone down the critical damage effects on the
occupants of the building. That +2 armor won't mean much if folks stop
shooting at the infantry 'cause they can get more bang for the buck by
shooting at the building. Your catastrophic chart is great - I think
in combination with a crit chart that hurts more building than infantry
these will be very good rules. (IMHO)

Regards,

- Erik
  
"Look within. Within is the fountain of good, and it will ever bubble
up, if you will ever dig."
- Marcus Aurelius
Received on Tue Jun 10 1997 - 18:13:18 UTC