Rocket Artillery (TL 4)

[Tinman]

The rockets stated in Low-Tech are TL3.
The rockets in Empire- Total War are TL4.
I don't see a problem for using Rof rules for a TL4 rocket attack.

[Anders]

Originally Posted by Tinman

The rockets stated in Low-Tech are TL3.
The rockets in Empire- Total War are TL4.
I don't see a problem for using Rof rules for a TL4 rocket attack.

Ooops.

Now I have wasted everybody's time again.

Sorry.

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by Tinman

The rockets stated in Low-Tech are TL3.
The rockets in Empire- Total War are TL4.
I don't see a problem for using Rof rules for a TL4 rocket attack.

Weren't TL4 rockets still notoriously inaccurate even against large targets?

[DanHoward]

Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth

Weren't TL4 rockets still notoriously inaccurate even against large targets?

Yep. Same goes for TL5 rockets. There are plenty of reports available from 18th C British experiments in India.

[Tinman]

Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth

Weren't TL4 rockets still notoriously inaccurate even against large targets?

Shure. But if you fire a bunch at a ship, army (or large unit in formation) or fortification it should increase your chance of some hits.

[vierasmarius]

Ideally, we'd treat artillery fire as an area attack with a high chance of scatter. In 3rd edition, indirect-fire attacks had an automatic -10 to hit (before modifiers for range and target size). You'd be likely to miss with the first salvo, but a Forward Observer could help additional shots land closer to the target point. The effect at the point of impact would depend on the nature of the artillery. Standard HE shells would be an explosion centered on that point, while multi-projectile attacks like shrapnel shells effectively be Area Bombardment attacks. Cluster munitions or multiple HE rockets dealt an average amount of explosive and shrapnel in an area, less damage in wider area, with a small chance of a direct hit for massive damage.

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by Tinman

Shute. But if you fire a bunch at a ship, army (or large unit in formation) or fortification it should increase your chance of some hits.

The cap only prevents that if you've gotten your chance to hit pretty far up already.

[Verjigorm]

Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth

The cap only prevents that if you've gotten your chance to hit pretty far up already.

And once you fire enough of them, you are better served by spreading out your fire. I don't see why suppressive fire couldn't be used for this. IF a Hwatcha really fired 500 arrows, thats ROF 500 x 1(LONG reload). Why use the rules for suppression fire(the erratic nature of the device pretty much means everything isn't going to shoot at once, or even near the same area. So I think suppressive fire can certainly model it, and then you just space it out to a certain area. Like maybe 20 rockets per 2 hexes, so that could be a a 50 hex swath of destruction.

[Tomsdad]

Originally Posted by Anders

Or down a narrow tunnel [DF].

Sorry I thought we were talking about the big wheeled things.

The Chinese had those hand held boxes that fired bunches of rocket propelled arrows though?

[sir_pudding]

The Scatter rules are very generous to long range explosive weapons, even misses by 10+ are usually going to saturate the area with explosions and shrapnel.