Stating MRLs in BT

[beachhead1985]

So; I want to stat some multiple rocket-launcher artillery in BT.

Playing around with it, I'm come down to three potential courses of action;

1. multiple rolled to-hit for each rocket.
2. single, very large template of  even, low damage.
3. compromise with a couple of rolls to hit for a few moderately-sized areas of effect.

These would be single-shot weapons.

I might consider an infantry version to represent something like the single-fired Type 63 and BM-14 rockets used in Vietnam, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

I would welcome any input.

[Luciora]

 The original thunderbolt-10 sounds similar to your idea.  What era are you looking to stat it in?

[beachhead1985]

The original thunderbolt-10 sounds similar to your idea.  What era are you looking to stat it in?

The single-shot one?

3090s

[Luciora]

Yep that's the one from Unbound.   Image-wise and possibly damage-wise.  I guess you could work something off of that.

[Dragon Cat]

If it's what I think your looking at I'd

fire it like indirect fire missiles targeting the hex

take the 40 column on missile hits roll it then split it over 4 hexes this shows the spread of them over range and the chances of misfires

If that's the small version maybe a big version with 80?

[ANS Kamas P81]

In fairness, at least the US based MLRS is perfectly represented by Arrow.  Watch the fire rates, they're not all that fast, and ten second firing cycles on the tabletop is actually better than what you get from the real thing.  Maybe for something lighter, like a Grad, a few smaller Thunderbolt-5 launchers would work.

[idea weenie]

Try modeling this MLRS.  It can fire 2 rockets per second at its max fire rate.

[HobbesHurlbut]

Try modeling this MLRS.  It can fire 2 rockets per second at its max fire rate.

look like something for Support Vehicle rules.

[beachhead1985]

How about these?

Flurry Small MRL
Heat: 3
Damage: 8/8/6 R2, each of 4
Range: 6 maps (9.6km in Der Tag Scale)
Ammunition:  One-Shot
Mass:  6
Critical Spaces:  2

Hailstorm Medium MRL
Heat: 7
Damage: 12/12/10 R2 each of 6
Range: 35 maps (56km in Der Tag Scale)
Ammunition:  One-Shot
Mass:  16
Critical Spaces:  6

Hurricane Large MRL
Heat: 12
Damage: 20/20/20/10 R3 each of 3
Range: 112 maps (70km in Der Tag Scale)
Ammunition:  One-Shot
Mass:  25
Critical Spaces:  18


My thinking with multiple blast radi is roll your first hit as per normal, then roll scatter again; that's direction, roll 1d6, that's distance. Boom that is your next point of impact. repeat until the entire volley is fired.

You could actually do an entire artillery battery firing together like that.

[beachhead1985]

thoughts?

[Cryhavok101]

I would make MRLs special ammo for the Cruise Missiles from TacOps, and have them simply roll for scatter for each cluster of 5 damage. Each cluster would damage the whole hex it lands in and do 1 point of damage to the surrounding hexes. Possibly increase the distance they can scatter.

[theagent]

I would make MRLs special ammo for the Cruise Missiles from TacOps, and have them simply roll for scatter for each cluster of 5 damage. Each cluster would damage the whole hex it lands in and do 1 point of damage to the surrounding hexes. Possibly increase the distance they can scatter.

Not sure they need the extra point in the adjacent hexes, but that's more for consistency (cruise missile damage seems to drop off faster than standard artillery for some reason).  It's not a bad idea.

Maybe there could be an additional +1 or +2 modifier on the initial strike roll (to show that they're less accurate than a single round).  Each one can scatter in a different direction (MoF = # of hexes), but maybe you roll a D6 to determine the 'center' hex, & then they all scatter right around it?
 -- Example:  MoF is 4, so after rolling 1 on the D6 you determine that the shot from a Cruise Missile/50 (10 clusters) lands 4 hexes 'forward' from the target hex.  Each shot gets another D6 roll for scatter around the central hex (treat a result of 1 as landing in the 'center' hex).

[Cryhavok101]

(treat a result of 1 as landing in the 'center' hex).

Six sided dice, and six sided hexes. If one of the numbers is the center hex, there is a direction it can't scatter. Instead, what about having the first 5 point cluster hit the target hex, the second one scatter from there, the third one scatter from the second's hex, etc. Get some completely random scatter patterns going, all over the place. Otherwise, if it is just 6 lines radiating out of a single point, there is a  lot of ground that would be untouched by it.

I'd do one die for scatter direction, a second die for scatter distance.

[Hptm. Streiger]

When I might add some different perspective.
We know that ranges in BT don't need to be correctly scaled. (at least this is how i would convert this abstract stystem)

so a rule of thumb might be weapons with BF short range reach for 2km, medium 8km long 32km....
so you already have MRLs - MRMs and LRMs.
CruiseMissile might be a real intercontinental missile and a scattering warhead might be a mirv that scatter on a preprogrammed pattern.
arrows - cruise missile.
...
so when talking about MRLs take a MRM and think about a indirect mode - maybe 50% more long range.
l

[theagent]

Six sided dice, and six sided hexes. If one of the numbers is the center hex, there is a direction it can't scatter. Instead, what about having the first 5 point cluster hit the target hex, the second one scatter from there, the third one scatter from the second's hex, etc. Get some completely random scatter patterns going, all over the place. Otherwise, if it is just 6 lines radiating out of a single point, there is a  lot of ground that would be untouched by it.

I'd do one die for scatter direction, a second die for scatter distance.

As long as the secondary scatter is just adjacent hexes, that works for me.  You could still have a crazy train snaking across the map (18 scatters from a CM90, oooggh...), or you could have a tight coil that centers around that central hex, or some other freaky metalstorm raining across the map.

Yes, I think that's a wonderful idea....

[beachhead1985]

SO, if I understand what is being suggested here;

Nothing fancy, just a damage value and 5pt groups scattering all over the map?

I'm totally not against that at all