Attenuator Field Projectors

[Greenkey15]

What if it couldn't protect against air attacks? The shield couldn't cover your head, just make a wall around you that is (WS * 2) inches tall. If you can gain the high-ground, strafe with an aircraft, or something along those lines, the shield would have another counter.

I don't know any pop sci-fi where that's the case. Overloading and walking through shields are well-established sci-fi tropes. I'm also worried about nerfing shields too much -- I want them to be useful, and as it is, burn-out is curtailing that pretty severely (although I suppose a shield is still quite useful against single or paired enemies, and even if it does burn out, it blocked some of the damage -- maybe I should just call it Overload, since Burn-Out implies something permanent).

I don't have many bricks with me at the moment, but I've got one each of the Rebel and Snowtrooper Battle Packs on hand; I'll shield the Imperials and have the Rebels rush them a few times using the Overload rules. We'll see how this turns out! Their CP are nearly equal (slightly biased in the Empire's favor), so if I got it right, the wins should be about even.

Ah, I see. I was thinking more along the lines of a portable wall, not a bubble. So, if the generator blocks some kind of massive attack will the troops inside still take damage, or will the generator bear all of the damage from the attack and be useless from that point on? It would be far more useful if the latter was true, if unbalanced.

[HAL-9001]

So, if the generator blocks some kind of massive attack will the troops inside still take damage, or will the generator bear all of the damage from the attack and be useless from that point on? It would be far more useful if the latter was true, if unbalanced.

The shield deducts damage coming in, no matter what (i.e. 1d6 rolls a 5, 5 damage will be deducted from that volley). If the damage coming in is at least three times the damage blocked (in this case, 15 or more), the shield then overloads and drops for 1d4 turns (after which it comes back up).

[NapalmKing]

I have been thinking of a similar sheild generator but slightly different, mine would be an incindenary sheild generator what it would do is cause damage to incoming objects rather than slow them down melting bullets or detonating explosives mid flight. my rules for it were going to be something like 1d6 damage for a basic sheild to projectiles entering the field and it would have a 50/50 chance of activating( it wouldn't effect biologicle materials and would respond to codesed transponders carried by friendlies sparing them harm)

[trebnos1]

That's a nifty idea as well.

[stubby]

2010 has shield rules on the way as well, but they're handled under the new Field Hazards system that you haven't seen yet. They're a little fiddly, but right now they give a tradeoff between using up inches off your Weapon Size limit and adding Armor beyond your physical Size limit.

That's cool, but I'm pretty sure that's not what I'm going for here -- my goal is to protect a large area, rather than one Creation.

I'll call it a "shield projector" to make it clear that this is an area-of-effect device.

Huh, what's funny is that I had really only been thinking of using it for one Creation, but the Field Hazard system they're based on is designed for large areas - it was a hack to try and limit it to one creation in the first place. Now that I'm back home on the BW dev computer, I can pull some quotes:

Energy Shields
Cost: Size"xCP per 1d6 Energy Shield or 1d10 Specialized Shield
While not Hazardous in the usual sense, Energy Shield dice are treated as a type of Hazard Dice, subject to the same Field Size limits as other Hazard Dice. When active, Energy Shields add to the Armor of a surface whenever it's struck by Damage, but they're vulnerable to overloading when a Creation's Weapon Size limit is exceeded, to disabling when its Shield Projectors are destroyed, and to Operators who set them to the wrong level at a critical moment. Energy Shields are not especially cost-effective as a replacement for standard Armor, but they do open up extra protection options for a Creation that has already reached its maximum Structure Level.

By default, Energy Shields work against all kinds of Damage, although certain settings or strategies can call for Specialized Shields which are super-effective against a specific attack type, but have no effect on anything else. In sci-fi settings, starships often have separate Specialized Shields for energy weapons and for physical projectiles, while a fantasy setting may have Specialized Shield enchantments against melee weapons or against ranged projectiles. A standard Energy Shield die protects against 1d6 points of incoming Damage, while a Specialized Shield die protects against 1d10 points of incoming Damage of its designated type.

Energy Shields are almost always mounted on a Creation, which can be a problem for power management - the Energy Shield dice are subject to the Creation's Weapon Size limit, meaning that a Creation that activates several Weapons and Devices during a turn may not have enough energy left to keep the Energy Shields powered during opponents' turns, especially if it's hit by multiple attacks. Even in very simple battles, Creations with Energy Shield dice should have some means of showing how much power they have left available in their Weapon Size limit for the turn (usually with a series of pips on some surface), or at the very least some indicator of whether the Energy Shields are up or down (with a switch element or any other removable piece used as an Energy Shield indicator, for instance).

Energy Shields are created by Shield Projectors extruding from the surface of a Creation. Any elements or objects can be used as Shield Projectors, as long as it's obvious to all players; these have no extra cost beyond the original cost of the Energy Shield dice. Shield Projectors can project to any distance, but they can't project through solid objects, so only the surfaces with immediate line of sight to the element are protected. If a Creation has multiple surfaces, it'll need multiple Shield Projectors to cover all of them. Shield Projectors can be vulnerable to Component Damage attacks, always one Structure Level weaker (minimum Structure Level zero) than the Creation they're mounted on, although they are also protected by their own Energy Shield dice in most cases.

[HAL-9001]

So, if I'm reading that correctly, you can buy a Shield die (for the cost of the Size of the Creation on which it is mounted?), and any surface with LOS to the shield projector(s) can be protected by that die? Does this include, for example, Minifigs or other Creations?

Some of that text indicates that the Size Limit will be handled differently -- only a certain amount of weapons able to be fired per turn? That also suggests (one way) to take down a shield generator is to fire at it one at a time, building up to the size limit to overload it. Would this also prevent the creation from moving or using its other weapons?

This reminds me a bit of BW2001. Is this intentional? I apologize in advance if the comparison is insulting.

Energy Shields are created by Shield Projectors

Now I need a new name! Er... Shield Projectors for BrikWars 2005?

[stubby]

So, if I'm reading that correctly, you can buy a Shield die (for the cost of the Size of the Creation on which it is mounted?), and any surface with LOS to the shield projector(s) can be protected by that die? Does this include, for example, Minifigs or other Creations?

Field Hazards are handled by the Size of the Field they create, so a single Creation might have a whole series of tiny shields or one big shield (in theory) covering a Field twice the Size of the Creation itself.

I guess I'll need to make rules that address more specifically about when and whether a Shield Projector can protect objects other than the Creation it's mounted on.

Some of that text indicates that the Size Limit will be handled differently -- only a certain amount of weapons able to be fired per turn? That also suggests (one way) to take down a shield generator is to fire at it one at a time, building up to the size limit to overload it. Would this also prevent the creation from moving or using its other weapons?

This reminds me a bit of BW2001. Is this intentional? I apologize in advance if the comparison is insulting.

That's actually correct. For game balance purposes I wanted to make shields kind of a pain in the ass, so that it'd be better to stick to the regular Armor system in 99% of cases. But I wanted to give them some unique enough gameplay options that it'd be worth including them at all, because otherwise it's better just to say "your tank has energy shields? just add another armor level" than to add extra rules to remember.

:fu:

Now I need a new name! Er... Shield Projectors for BrikWars 2005?

Force field emitters? Deflectors?

[trebnos1]

I guess I'll need to make rules that address more specifically about when and whether a Shield Projector can protect objects other than the Creation it's mounted on.

Or we could just fudge it

[HAL-9001]

I think I'll call it an "Attenuator Field" -- it doesn't exert a force on or deflect anything, but rather bleeds off energy from incoming attacks.

[*CRAZYHORSE*]

This is looking very exciting.
And shield projectors would be very useful with open topped personal carriers if they also protect the minifigs.

[HAL-9001]

And shield projectors would be very useful with open topped personal carriers if they also protect the minifigs.

That's the idea. I don't have pictures yet (will soon!), but the Solar Federation's Mule Hovertruck is an open-topped carrier (like a hover-pickup).

[Nitewatchman]

2010 has shield rules on the way as well, but they're handled under the new Field Hazards system that you haven't seen yet. They're a little fiddly, but right now they give a tradeoff between using up inches off your Weapon Size limit and adding Armor beyond your physical Size limit.

You best release that-there rulebook before we riot.

[*CRAZYHORSE*]

I was fiddling around with my WIP dreadnought and thought of giving him support rockets.

Support rockets pin them selfs in the ground where the hit and emit a 4" or 6" (I haven't decided yet.) energy field to protect ground units.
How would this work since it won't be mounted on the vehicle?

[razgriz 25th inf.]

holy shit guys, green key is back! HAI GREENKEY! I WENT TO MILITARY SCHOOL THEN GOT WITHDRAWEN WHEN I FIGURED OUT IT WAS A REFORM SCHOOL, NOT AN ACADEMY! WHAT ABOUT YOU?

[Greenkey15]

It's a long, dull, and peaceful story.