Vition2's Custom Equipment Emporium

[Vition2]

I'm intending for this space to end up being a go-to for custom equipment I intend on using in a new AU I'm working on creating.  Warships are a much more common resource than they were even during the immediately pre-jihad canon era, and the professional militaries are resized by about an order of magnitude.

The first piece of equipment I am introducing is the Anti-Aerospace Battery (AAB for short).  This is a capital sized weapon that is intended to be used against aerospace formations and serves as a middle layer of defense.  The battery fires in a number of patterns intended to disable or destroy nearby aerospace fighters and small craft.  To make sure the battery can damage all types of enemies, it includes large numbers of LB-X ACs, LRMs, and Pulse Lasers (the weights and heat I started with include 4 LB 20-X ACs, 3 LRM-20s, and 5 Large Pulse Lasers) all slaved to a mostly automated targeting system.

Anti-Aerospace Battery
Mass:  275 tons
Heat:  300 points
Gunners:  1
Ammunition:  8 tons per turn of use

Rules:
- An AAB may make two attacks per round against ASF and SC with a -2 bonus to attack rolls.  The number of attacks can be increased to three attacks per round, but this option removes the bonus to all attack rolls.  The number of attacks can further be increased to four attacks per round, but this option levies a +2 penalty on all attack rolls.
- If a to-hit roll equals or exceeds the target number the targeted ASF is destroyed.  If a to-hit fails to hit the target number but doesn't roll a 2, then the ASF receives a near miss counter.  On a result of a 2 the attack misses completely.  At the end of the turn, each ASF makes a piloting skill roll with a penalty equal to the number of near misses it has accrued through the turn, if it fails, the ASF is counted as destroyed for this engagement as the pilot loses control of the ASF and it leaves the engagement area.
- An AAB may only fire at targets within 10 hexes and in the arc of the facing the AAB is located in.
- Against Warships and Military Space Stations, the AAB does no damage.  Against Dropships, Civilian Space Stations, and Jumpships, the AAB does 40 standard-scale damage.  This is to indicate that though a massive number of weapons are firing over the minute, the firing pattern is such that it is spread mostly ineffectually over these ships.

I welcome comments, critiques and suggestions.

[Alsadius]

I'd just have it use the standard capital Short range bracket instead of using its own specialized range, and get rid of the near-miss counters. That just seems like excessive rules bloat. But the general idea is cool, and I like the principle of it.

[idea weenie]

Instead of the near-miss counter , I'd just have the targeted ASF make a piloting roll right there (modified somehow).  If they fail, they are destroyed (they zagged instead of zigging).  Get enough near hits, and hopefully statistics will kill that ASF.  Unless you get the green ASF pilot who just keeps rolling wonderfully.

Or ask what the enemy ASF's Pilot rating is, and apply that as a direct modifier to the to-hit roll (though this can wind up with an elite ASF that can never be hit).

Since the AAB is a grouping of weapons that are linked together, would it be possible to get multiple AABs working together to hit a single fighter to get a to-hit bonus (similar to grouping 4 Capital Lasers to hit ASFs)?  It'd be a good reason for ASF to never be alone in a Warship's arc (all the guns are shooting at you, just you)

[Vition2]

I'd just have it use the standard capital Short range bracket instead of using its own specialized range, and get rid of the near-miss counters. That just seems like excessive rules bloat. But the general idea is cool, and I like the principle of it.

Re: Range - I actually prefer the Strategic Operations optional rule to have each weapon have its own short/medium/long ranges, so this isn't an issue for me; if you are using the basic ranges, then yes I would use standard short range.
Re: Near-miss rules bloat - A legacy of a house rule I like, for BattleTech, where for every 20 points of damage the piloting roll to not fall over increases by 1 (rather than a single +1 increase).  I also actually play more Warmachine/Hordes, so the idea of counters (fury/focus) is a normal concept for me.

Instead of the near-miss counter , I'd just have the targeted ASF make a piloting roll right there (modified somehow).  If they fail, they are destroyed (they zagged instead of zigging).  Get enough near hits, and hopefully statistics will kill that ASF.  Unless you get the green ASF pilot who just keeps rolling wonderfully.

Or ask what the enemy ASF's Pilot rating is, and apply that as a direct modifier to the to-hit roll (though this can wind up with an elite ASF that can never be hit).

Since the AAB is a grouping of weapons that are linked together, would it be possible to get multiple AABs working together to hit a single fighter to get a to-hit bonus (similar to grouping 4 Capital Lasers to hit ASFs)?  It'd be a good reason for ASF to never be alone in a Warship's arc (all the guns are shooting at you, just you)

Re: Near-miss counters - I'd prefer only making a single roll for this per round.  Having the ASF controller rolling after every shot forces a back-and-forth situation that would slow the game down more than I'd prefer.  So cutting it down to a single roll was where I went.  I did consider the option though.
Re: Piloting Skill - My mind went there too, and came up with a similar issue that you did.  I want this piece of equipment to be effective and the potential for making something nigh impossible to hit when the equipment was specifically designed to stop a tactic wasn't someplace I wanted to go.
Re: Combining AAB - I didn't want the bonuses to get too big, so that the targeted ASF stands zero chance of getting out alive, and I intend for the weapon to be used against more massed fighters (wings or stars) rather than necessarily singular opponents.  So the rules are to encourage spreading out the attacks between multiple fighters.

Thank you both Alsadius and idea weenie for your input and suggestions.  I appreciate them.