My first playtest entry. I decided to keep it simple and test out a flight of the hatchlings cheapest entry- the Muckworm. I matched them up with a flight of Kosmos that had slightly better skills and had enough points remaining to add an element of Spirit Riders.
Brood Forces:
Muckworm A: Pilot-[3]; Weapon 1 [3]; Weapon 2 [3]; Weapon 3 [3]; TPV: 49
Muckworm B: Pilot-[3]; Weapon 1 [3]; Weapon 2 [3]; Weapon 3 [3]; TPV: 49
Muckworm C: Pilot-[3]; Weapon 1 [3]; Weapon 2 [3]; Weapon 3 [3]; TPV: 49
Muckworm D: Pilot-[3]; Weapon 1 [3]; Weapon 2 [3]; Weapon 3 [3]; TPV: 49
Flight TPV: 196
Terran Forces:
Kosmos A: Pilot [5]; Gunner [5]; TPV: 37
Kosmos B: Pilot [5]; Gunner [5]; TPV: 37
Kosmos C: Pilot [5]; Gunner [5]; TPV: 37
Kosmos D: Pilot [5]; Gunner [5]; TPV: 37
Spirit Rider A: Pilot [3]; Gunner [3]; TPV: 24
Spirit Rider B: Pilot [3]; Gunner [3]; TPV: 24
Flight TPV: 196
Optional Rules:
- Variable Speed Torpedoes
- Easing Target Speed Restrictions (no- issue this match as none of the weapon systems had any)
- Damage Control
- Drive 0 Turns
- Sideslips
- Turning Restrictions
Forces set up opposite each other along edges 2 & 4 and turn 1 play commenced...
Turn 1
Torpedo/Missile Launch Phase: none
Initiative Phase: Hatchlings-13 Terrans-8
Movement: Muckworm gammas lurch hesitatingly forward, Kosmos pilots advance enough so that the hatchlings are within the long range band of their miniguns and line up for fire...
Cannon Fire Phase:
Kosmos A @Muckworm A {Rng 9 Long
-1} Roll: 6-5-6 = 17
-1 = [16]
Hit! Low- 5 (Doubles! x2) =
10 damage, Muckworm A in FrEnZy! closest target: Kosmos A
Critical 7: Jump Pod Misfires- J4, Direction- 6, 15 hexes
Kosmos B @Muckworm B {Rng 12 Long
-1} Roll: 1-2-6 = {9
-1} = [8]
miss
Kosmos C @Muckworm C {Rng 12 Long
-1} Roll: 3-3-2 = {8
-1} = [7]
miss
Kosmos D @Muckworm D {Rng 12 Long
-1} Roll: 4-2-1 = {7
-1} = [6]
miss
Missile Results Phase: N/A
End of Turn
Turn 2a
Torp/Missile Launch Phase:
Spirit Rider A-- 1Mk.10 @ Muck C; Spirit Rider B-- 1Mk.10 @ Muck D
Missiles all out of range
Initiative Phase: Hatchlings-4 Terrans-9
Movement: Hatchling maggots, jolted from the opening salvo of tracers flying past, and having been split, lose the initiative. With the buzzing of their dispatched brethren on their right flank filling their linked-consciousness and detecting fast-moving incoming entities (torps), the clutch bank right- taking a turn to regroup. A pair of hatchlings uses J2 pods shaking one of the Mk.10's tracking them. The Spirit Rider pilots throttle down as their torpedoes streak away- waiting to see the direction the bugs break. The Kosmos teams pursue only just enough to stay in the sweet spot- just close enough to attempt missile lock-on for next turn and fire miniguns while at the same time staying out of reach of the bug's X-Beams, which they were now in the arc of since the enraged alien had looped around for an apparent forward attack run.
Torpedo Results Phase: 1 torp still tracking, none at target
Turn 2b
Cannon Fire Phase:
Kosmos A @Muckworm A {Rng 9 Long
-1} Roll: 1-1-6 = {8
-1} = [7]
miss
Kosmos B @Muckworm A {Rng 10 Long
-1} Roll: 4-1-4 = {9
-1} = [8]
miss
Kosmos C @Muckworm B {Rng 10 Long
-1} Roll: 5-5-4 = {14
-1} = [13]
Hit! Low- 4 (Doubles! x2) =
8 damage, Muckworm B in FrEnZy! closest target: Kosmos C
Kosmos D @Muckworm B {Rng 10 Long
-1} Roll: 4-3-5 = {12
-1} = [11]
Hit! Low-
3 damage
Critical 8: Drive Apperatus Destroyed- Drive = 0, DV = 5
Missile Results Phase: N/A
End of Turn
Turn 3a
Torp/Missile Launch Phase:
Kosmos A @Muckworm A; Roll: 8 = Lock-on failed
Kosmos B @Muckworm A; Roll: 3 = Lock-on acquired (5 missiles launched)
Kosmos C @Muckworm C; Roll: 4 = Lock-on acquired (5 missiles launched)
Kosmos D @Muckworm D; Roll: 9 = Lock-on failed
Initiative Phase: Hatchlings-4 Terrans-9
Movement: Feeling cornered with the situation looking worse by the minute, the hatchlings put themselves at risk in an aggravated attempt for desperate revenge. The Terrans surmising they had put their prey on tilt based on the brazen eagerness of the Brood to close and trade fire, obligingly folded the distance on their quarry, trapping them within favorable deflection arcs for the burst of depleted uranium streams about to be unloaded in their direction.
Torp Results Phase: Muckworm dodge attempt- Roll = 4; ((4 + Plt 3 = 7) -10) = -3 doge failed; Damage roll:
10,
Critical 8: Drive Apparatus Destroyed- Drive = 0, DV = 5 Muckworm D in FrEnZy! with a drive of zero, so he just sits and stews in it.
Turn 3b
Cannon Fire Phase:
Muckworm A (X-Beam 1) @Kosmos A {Rng 1 Short
+1} Roll: 5-6-1 = {12
+1} = [13]
miss
Muckworm A (X-Beam 2) @Kosmos A {Rng 1 Short
+1} Roll: 7-1-1 = {9
+1} = [10]
miss
Muckworm C (X-Beam 1) @Kosmos D {Rng 7 Long
-1} Roll: 8-5-2 = {15
-1} = [14]
Hit! Low(2)x3 =
6 [6 - 2DR] = 4
Muckworm C (X-Beam 2) @Kosmos D {Rng 7 Long
-1} Roll: 6-2-3= {11
-1} = [10]
miss
Muckworm C (X-Beam 3) @Kosmos D {Rng 7 Long
-1} Roll: 5-6-2= {13
-1} = [12]
miss
Muckworm D (X-Beam 1) @Spirit Rider B {Rng 1 Short
+1} Roll: 3-8-4= {15
+1} = [16]
Hit! Low(3)x3 =
9 [9 - 3DR] = 6
Muckworm D (X-Beam 2) @Spirit Rider B {Rng 1 Short
+1} Roll: 3-5-1= {9
+1} = [10]
miss
Kosmos A @Muckworm C {Rng 1 Short
+1} Roll: 3-5-3= {11
+1} = [12]
miss
Kosmos B @Muckworm A {Rng 1 Short
+1} Roll: 4-4-4= {12
+1} = [13]
miss
Kosmos C @Muckworm D {Rng 1 Short
+1} Roll: 4-6-3= {13
+1} = [14]
Hit! Low-
3
Kosmos D @Muck D {Rng 1 Short
+1} Roll: 5-6-6 = {17
+1} = [18]
Hit! Low- 5 (Doubles! x2) =
10
Spirit Rider A @Muckworm D {Rng 8 Long
-1} Roll: (4-4-3)+1 = {12
-1} = [11]
miss
Spirit Rider B @Muckworm D {Rng 8 Long
-1} Roll: (5-3-1)+1= {10
-1} = [9]
miss
Missile Results Phase:
@ Muckworm A- Roll: 6-4-5-3-3 = 21
Hit! High(6)+5 =
11
Critical 4: X-Beam-1 Malfunction- 1d8 damage as ammo burns off (
5)
@ Muckworm C- Roll: 1-6-6-5-2 = 20
Hit! High(12)+5 =
17 Muckworm C in FrEnZy! closest target: Kosmos A
Critical 2: Penetrating Wound-
2 more damage
End of Turn -Muckworm B Regeneration attempt: 10 (fail)
At this point the pair of Muckworms with remaining drives (1 had a Jump Pod 4 intact) lost their frenzy in an epiphany that the situation was doomed & high tailed it off their map edge.
Final thoughts
While I don't want to put too much into an individual match, especially one with as low a points value as this, one thing stood out... --the Muckworms felt like they were outmatched. A few reasons for this:
- The Kosmos has the right tools for the job. I thought the miniguns having limited ammo would put them in the same camp as the Gammas, but that extra range and the fact that the Doubles God was favoring them really made them shine. And missiles too? Yes please.
- Gamma Defensive Value cap. With the gamma skill cap currently at max 4, the Defensive Value is at best 11 for most gamma critters, and in the case of a pair of them (Bright Thorn & Shaggai) the range is an ugly 6 to 9. A small ship with a price tag hovering around 50 points having a drive that competes with the fastest of ships is as easy to solve for a fire-control system as a lumbering Betafortress? If this is a feature, the hatchlings had best step up their bio-screening game something quick. Compare with a few similarly pointed designs-
- Bloodhawk: 15 - TPV 47 (P1/G5)
- Chupacabra: 15 - TPV 28 (P5/G5) or these core designs...
- Dart: 16 - TPV 31 (P5/G5) [The DV on these would be a headache for any gamma I think -due to being saddled with that accursed d4 ADB! More on that below.]
- Hell Bender: 12 - TPV 43 (P5.5/G5.5) [best Muckworm match-up?]
- Talon: 14 - TPV 44 (5.5/5.5)
- Continuing with Defensive Values- taking into account for ink, the gammas as a group can sometimes get to parity with Terran designs (as long as they max the Piloting skill to 4) by using ink clouds as cover, but to hide in a temporary defensive cloud just to tie in terms of DV seems a bit off. The cover of ink should make them a bit harder than their human opponents to hit while it lasts, not merely match them as if it was a handicap. If the Gamma skill caps are to remain in place, the formulaic value for brood should be scrapped in favor of a static value, or bumped 3-4 points upwards (DV= 11 + Pilot Skill) putting them in the 12-15 zone as default, and 15-18 range while hiding in ink -as it should be. Relaxing the skill restrictions to make them 3 - 7 [edit: from 3-6 because 3d8 x-beams start getting ugly in a hurry] (maggots pulled from the goo with skills of 1-2 are food) is another possible solution.
- Gamma odds to hit with X-Beams courtesy of the skill capped D4 ADB die. The Muckworm weapon design has an interesting trade off- multiple low chances to hit at limited range for increased damage. From anydice.com:
- From this data- a muckworm's x-beam has a 51:256 chance or 21.31% of hitting a Kosmos at range 5-8 for each individual shot. The chance for a Muckworm firing all three x-beams at a DV 14 Kosmos and connecting at least once at long range (15 on the dice needed to account for the range drop off) can be calculated at nearly 50:50 (49.4% hit vs 50.6% miss). Once the first X-Beam goes the odds drop to 1 in 3. Damage comes in quanta of 3, 6, 9, or 12 (depending what the d4 ADB die came up as) for an average of 9.47 points of damage per beam that hits (this factors in the four possible 24 damage spike sets: 7-4-4, 8-4-4, 4-7-4, 4-8-4; but not multiple beam hits). There's a slim chance of getting double 4's in the mix making for a stinging 24 point spike. Additionally there is a small chance you hit with two beams or rarer still- all three. By comparison the Kosmos minigun (with ADB of a D6) had the same odds for it's single shot as the muckworm's triple x-beam shots combined at exactly 50% (11 to-hit DV 10 at long range), gets doubles 19.44% of the time on the hits that total at least 11, with those doubles dealing an average of 10 damage and spiking as high as 30-36. Enough math- let the sods on engineering deck fiddle with that. The Kosmos comes out way ahead due to better range, the ability to get an even better ADB and Pilot skill for better hit odds, higher damage spikes, initiate, and tight turns, a missile launcher as a bonus, 2 damage reduction, and still usually coming in a bit cheaper. And this was just against a DV of 14- most of the craft I would expect gammas to be tasked with are small and can be even harder to hit. The TL;DR- Are gamma's x-beams up to the task of dealing with small fast craft when their ADB capped at a d4?
- Killing Frenzy: didn't much matter as it was a brief match and the target held back to move after the angered grub was forced to move. Would probably have just forced the gammas to stick in a losing fight longer. Can a frenzied brood ship that is out of ammo auto pass it's pilot skill check in order to “come to its senses” so that it can break away and try to regenerate? What does an out-of-munitions gamma that repeatedly fails to roll under it's paltry pilot skill do? Ram?
- Despite all this, gammas aren't meant to fight alone- a proper C-Cubed formation should be tested next. The typical formation of 1 Alpha, 4-5 Betas, 4 Gammas hover near the 1000 point mark crewed so perhaps with the combined arms of Alphas & Betas in the mix, the Muckworm will perform a niche role of laying down additional X-Beam fire (at damaged or easy to hit targets) better than going at it alone? Perhaps it is destined to harass retreating ships injured by the Betas and Alphas...
Next battle will see more of a broad battle with at least two more weapon system types like ink, drones, or spore mole launchers... all if I can fit them in, and will be 1000 points per side limited to the core ships on the Terran side.
Thanks for reading, suggestions are welcome. Too long? Diagrams too easy/difficult to follow? Opinions on optional rules used, tactics missing, conclusions drawn? Got a force list you would like tested?
See ya next battle rocket jockeys...
Edit--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just noticed in proofreading that Kosmos A & B both should have hit in turn 3 (they only needed 9's):
Quote:Kosmos A @Muckworm C {Rng 1 Short +1} Roll: 3-5-3= {11 +1} = [12] miss
Kosmos B @Muckworm A {Rng 1 Short +1} Roll: 4-4-4= {12 +1} = [13] miss
oops - AND Spirit Rider A too!
Quote:Spirit Rider A @Muckworm D {Rng 8 Long -1} Roll: (4-4-3)+1 = {12 -1} = [11] miss
This should have walloped those muck-ducks for 12, 24, & 10 points of damage respectively. Major oops. Turn 3 blowout was worse than reported. Must have been comparing the number needed to-hit to the the Kosmos DV of 14 in error during that turn. That '7 + Pilot skill' DV really sucks!