Quote:
Originally Posted by Suncrush
I'm getting back into the game after 16 years away, and forgetting some of the streamlining house rules I used to use. Someone linked the NOVA club rules in another thread, and I was wondering what people thought about them. |
Well, I have to confess, I am Prejudiced -- you see, I helped *write* them.... :)
That said:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Suncrush
No tire shots in the arena--I used to use this because dedicated tire snipers wrecked the local meta. I feel this is a popular house rule.
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It's almost a necessity these days, with 6-8d6 batteries being commonly available; the absolute maximum damage a car tire can take is 45 points (25 for Metal, 10 WH, 10 WG), while the average damage from three linked RRs with HEAT (the baseline for NOVA duels of Div. 25 or greater) is 27 points, so a car can take maybe 2 shots before its mobility is compromised, and maybe 4 to render it immobile. And that's *before* factoring in dropped weapons, particularly in "Checkerboard of Doom" configuration (1 B, 1 either L or R; anyone driving over that hits at least one counter dead on, and is in secondary-activation range of two others; now calculate what this does with incendiary SDs).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Suncrush
No turrets on race cars--How does this impact racing? I feel like almost all race cars use a turret, and I'm curious how banning them improves racing.
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The ban on turrets was the result of HMGs -- being able to bring 4d6 to bear any direction was a bit much.
If one limits the allowed damage of the weapons in the event -- my cap was "6 points max. per shot, to include damage caused over multiple turns" (otherwise incendiary ammo becomes commonplace) -- one can allow turrets.
The idea was (as stated) to focus on Speed and Maneuvering rather than Blasting Opponents To Tapioca -- if we wanted to do that, we'd run a normal arena duel.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Suncrush
No maneuvering-induced to-hit penalties--I feel like these get forgotten a lot at casual tables, anyway, but how does this affect game balance?
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Mainly, it makes scoring hits less likely; which means more wasted ammo, and a greater likelihood of the event becoming a ram-fest (remember; Ramming doesn't have a to-hit...).