Artillery

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth

Didn't you have a lot of trouble getting that example to correspond to a recognizable reality, though?

It is true that light mortars are often used more like grenade launchers. Most of them nowadays are even designed with features that support this use.

So it sounds like they don't actually have any effect on whether your shot hits the target, but might not let you take the shot at all either because the trajectory needs to be clear? And might possibly re-task the guns at an inconvenient time?

Yeah, pretty much.

[Pirtti]

Originally Posted by Varyon

Yeah, the RAW scatter rules don't really work that well in cases like this.

It's probably best to fudge scatter when dealing with artillery or bombs (read: every time), because trying to create a sensible rule for it is only going to end in tears.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Pirtti

It's probably best to fudge scatter when dealing with artillery or bombs (read: every time),

Not every time. It works fine for single thrown weapons like grenades, and even for most man-portable grenade launchers. It has problems with significantly rapid fire launchers as well as anything with significant CEP.

because trying to create a sensible rule for it is only going to end in tears.

I don't think that's true. If you treat the sheaf as an area, and then have some method to see what happens to PCs or important NPCs. There's obviously some overlap here with Mass Combat.

[Pirtti]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

significantly rapid fire launchers

More like anything with a RoF of 3+, but yeah, I suppose it's decent for LAWs and the like.

then have some method to see what happens to PCs or important NPCs

Fudging within reason is mine.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Pirtti

More like anything with a RoF of 3+, but yeah, I suppose it's decent for LAWs and the like.

It works fine for hand grenades, vials of acid, and even fireball spells, which is really the scale it's made for.

Fudging within reason is mine.

I'm anti-fudging in general, and I'm trying to work this out for more general use.

[Pirtti]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

I'm anti-fudging in general

Can't argue with that.

Since this is an Artillery skill thread, I hope talking about Guided Missile isn't too much of a derail. Why is it a specialization of Artillery, and why is it IQ-based? Most ATGMs aren't indirect!
IQ may work for Stingers and Vikhrs, but I think SACLOS and MCLOS missiles are almost purely DX. Sure, you can make the attack rolls as DX-based but you still have to buy up the skill with IQ, even if a Sagger is all you will ever use.

[Ulzgoroth]

Originally Posted by Pirtti

Sure, you can make the attack rolls as DX-based but you still have to buy up the skill with IQ, even if a Sagger is all you will ever use.

What?

If you decided to make all the rolls for your Artillery (Guided Missile) work be DX-based, the skill being nominally IQ based would have almost no significance. The only consequence I can see would be on skill defaults (either Artillery at default from another skill or some other skill at default from Artillery), but I don't think there are any defaults either to or from Artillery (Guided Missile).

[Pirtti]

Originally Posted by Ulzgoroth

the skill being nominally IQ based would have almost no significance

In most cases it would be insignificant, but you'd still have to have your players buy up DX while looking at a skill that nominally requires IQ. Easily houseruled away entirely, but it's an unnecessary nuisance.