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ColBosch · 12-21-2017, 04:13 PM

A little while back, someone asked if any Ogres mounted howitzer-type weapons. (It was in an unrelated thread and caused quite a bit of drift, which is why I'm posting a new topic.) Clearly, all of us checked our well-worn copies of GURPS Ogre and concluded that no, no Ogres ever mounted artillery pieces.

But.

We were wrong. In the update for Ogre Miniatures (page 69 of the combined edition), we find a very different Ogre Mk VII from the beast described in GURPS Ogre. Here's the basics of each:

GURPS Ogre: 4 MB, 12 SB, 24 AP, 4 missile racks, 32 internal missiles. Starting MP 2 (i.e., 30 mph off-road), no hints as to number of tread units.

Ogre Miniatures Update: 4 MB, 8 SB, 24 AP, 12 external missiles, 2 howitzers. Starting MP 2 (i.e., 4"), with 96 tread units. Ogre howitzers are evidently ATK 6, RNG 5, DEF 3. It's also got some weird special rules which I'm ignoring for now.

So there's a thing. The GURPS Ogre version is two Mk Vs glued to the back half of a Fencer. It's slow, but straightforward to use - to, honestly, the point of boredom. It's just a Mk VI+. The Ogre Minis version is odd, to say the least. I really don't know what to make of it. For instance, why don't the howitzers replace any of the regular batteries, why is their range truncated, and why double-up on external missiles but drop racks entirely?

I'm not sure I like either take. Adding howitzers to an Ogre would break up the rather linear progression of increasing weaponry, but Ogre Miniature's version just feels weird and wrong, even before we get into the special rules.

Thoughts?

12-21-2017, 04:13 PM	#1
ColBosch Join Date: May 2007	Howitzers on the Ogre Mk VII A little while back, someone asked if any Ogres mounted howitzer-type weapons. (It was in an unrelated thread and caused quite a bit of drift, which is why I'm posting a new topic.) Clearly, all of us checked our well-worn copies of GURPS Ogre and concluded that no, no Ogres ever mounted artillery pieces. But. We were wrong. In the update for Ogre Miniatures (page 69 of the combined edition), we find a very different Ogre Mk VII from the beast described in GURPS Ogre. Here's the basics of each: GURPS Ogre: 4 MB, 12 SB, 24 AP, 4 missile racks, 32 internal missiles. Starting MP 2 (i.e., 30 mph off-road), no hints as to number of tread units. Ogre Miniatures Update: 4 MB, 8 SB, 24 AP, 12 external missiles, 2 howitzers. Starting MP 2 (i.e., 4"), with 96 tread units. Ogre howitzers are evidently ATK 6, RNG 5, DEF 3. It's also got some weird special rules which I'm ignoring for now. So there's a thing. The GURPS Ogre version is two Mk Vs glued to the back half of a Fencer. It's slow, but straightforward to use - to, honestly, the point of boredom. It's just a Mk VI+. The Ogre Minis version is odd, to say the least. I really don't know what to make of it. For instance, why don't the howitzers replace any of the regular batteries, why is their range truncated, and why double-up on external missiles but drop racks entirely? I'm not sure I like either take. Adding howitzers to an Ogre would break up the rather linear progression of increasing weaponry, but Ogre Miniature's version just feels weird and wrong, even before we get into the special rules. Thoughts? Last edited by ColBosch; 12-21-2017 at 04:16 PM.