Death From Above!!

[TheBouncyPherret]

Hey all! I've been playing Battlefield 2 a lot reciently, and decided to do a write-up of the attack chopper for OVA, so here it is:

Attack Helicopter (+7)

Armor +2 [DR4]
Fly +2
Life Support +1
Power Move +3
--Missile Pods: Area Effect, Ranged, Reduced Damage x2, Special Flaw(8 salvos) [DT5, End 10]
--Chin Gun: Accurate, Ranged, Rapid Strikes, Requirement(gunner), Reduced Damage x2 [DT5, End 10]
--T.V. Guided Missiles: Accurate, Armor Piercing x2, Ranged Extra Damage, Activation, Requirement(gunner), Special Flaw(8 missiles) [DT8, End 10]
Quick +2
Special Ability: Extra Occupants (2 total) +1

Frail -1
Size -2
Special Weakness: Exposed Occupants (can target pilot/gunner, but they have 3/4 cover) -1


I made these stats with the following considerations in mind:

• Fly is used to show speed of flight, while Quick is maneuverability.
• Maneuvers are rolled with the pilot's Pilot, and the mecha's Quick.
• Running away/chasing down is pilot's Pilot + mecha's Quick + mecha's Fly.
• A mecha, being a seperate entity, always performs a Recovery action every round. Otherwise, how would it be able to shoot as often as it does?

Hope y'all enjoy!!

[tokyosteve]

Hiya,

That sounds good, here are a few other little things you might want to consider.

I wouldn't make the armor add to defense, rather I would say that occupants can be targeted, but get 1/4 or 1/2 cover as per the cover rules. Normally by the mecha write-up you have destroy the vehicle first

Another potential flaw you can give it would be dependency: fuel -1 or vulnerable:fire (to simulate fuel and such), or special weakness if it takes damage the pilot must make a pilot check to keep it stable, or even for the really dramatic vulnerable: fuel tank (if you hit the fuel tank x3 damage or similar). Just some ideas.

Cheers,

[TheBouncyPherret]

Hiya,

That sounds good, here are a few other little things you might want to consider.

I wouldn't make the armor add to defense, rather I would say that occupants can be targeted, but get 1/4 or 1/2 cover as per the cover rules. Normally by the mecha write-up you have destroy the vehicle first

That makes sense. I forgot about the cover rules ^_^;; I'll look into it, and change it later. Good idea!

Another potential flaw you can give it would be dependency: fuel -1 or vulnerable:fire (to simulate fuel and such), or special weakness if it takes damage the pilot must make a pilot check to keep it stable, or even for the really dramatic vulnerable: fuel tank (if you hit the fuel tank x3 damage or similar). Just some ideas.

Cheers,

Not too sure about these. Dependancy: Fuel for a mecha is like Dependancy: Food and water for regular characters. I'm assuming that mecha need some type of fuel source to operate, unless they have Life Support +5, in which case there is no external source needed.

As for the explosive fuel tank, MythBusters tried it, and couldn't get a fuel tank to explode...no matter how hard they tried. So I'm gonna leave that out.

Thanks for the input!!

TBP

[tokyosteve]

Not too sure about these. Dependancy: Fuel for a mecha is like Dependancy: Food and water for regular characters. I'm assuming that mecha need some type of fuel source to operate, unless they have Life Support +5, in which case there is no external source needed.

Sort of, real helicopters have a very limited range, and really need to watch their fuel. I would probably do the same for any vehicle that didn't have a power plant built into it. That was the only major reason I would do it or put in different one (4hours of fly time before needing refuel)

As for the explosive fuel tank, MythBusters tried it, and couldn't get a fuel tank to explode...no matter how hard they tried. So I'm gonna leave that out.

Well yeah, but this is anime right there has to be an exploding something.

[Clay]

About Cover: OVA Mecha includes a Exposed Passengers weakness. The details are still being worked out, but it's very similar to that proposed here, being consistent with the cover rules.

About Explosions: I remember reading that full fuel takes are extremely difficult to get to explode. However, nearly empty ones combust easily because of all the flammable gas vapor in the tank. Of course, if Mythbusters says otherwise, perhaps this, too, is erroneous.

[TheBouncyPherret]

About Cover: OVA Mecha includes a Exposed Passengers weakness. The details are still being worked out, but it's very similar to that proposed here, being consistent with the cover rules.

Well, I was just making stuff up that works well within the rules as-written, since we don't have OVA Mecha yet....hint hint ~_^

TBP

[BM15]

The trick about fuel tanks is half fuel vapor, half what hits them. A normal bullet has very little chance of setting off a fuel tank. It would most likely just punch a hole in it (and a self-sealing fuel tank would not let any oxygen in to start a fire, nor let much fuel leak out). The times a tank does explode is the rare event the bullet hits above gas line (thus coming out into the vapor) and creates a spark (metal against metal, that does happen now and then).

However, fuel tanks w/o such protection have a problem. During WWII the US Navy loaded their fighters with armor peircing, incedniary rounds. Read: These things were on fire when they hit the enemy plane and cut through like you wouldn't believe. Most Japanese planes did not have self-sealing tanks and the moment ONE of these bullets hit one in the gas tank, tinder box. Why? The three neccessary components were present: Fuel (Aviation Fuel), a Spark (Burning Bullet) and Oxygen (No Self-sealing tank means air can get to the fuel now).

As a result Zeros and Oscars were exploding all over the place from hits to fuel tanks. Modern military-grade tanks are almost always self-sealing so this isn't an issue these days, so the Attack Helicopter doesn't have much to fear.

I say make it a Flaw you can take. "No Self-Sealing Tanks" and add a bad thing to corrispond with it (Anything 'Fire' that gets a Knockback causes the Mecha to explode instead).

Then again, this is all probably too technical for OVA.