Ship weapons

[wrathgon]

Self Defense in the Black

A starship weapon is not simply a point-and-shoot weapon. Like personal weapons, they come in different sizes, powers, and flexibilities, allowing characters to adapt to a wide range of tactics. There are three common types of weapon, with two uncommon types.

Cannons: Cannons are powerful, single-shot weapons that deal massive damage in one strike. Cannons can only fire in one direction.

Guns: Guns are weaker than cannons, but rely on a constant spray of damage rather than a single shot. Guns can fire for multiple turns before needing to cool, allowing several attacks. Guns can typically swivel, allowing them to fire into three different adjacent directions (such as forward, down, and to the right.)

Missiles: Missiles are like cannons in that they are single-shot and deal their total capacity for damage in one strike. Unlike cannons, they suffer no range penalty and can be fired in any direction. More interestingly, they can be programmed to strike on someone else's turn. In fact, they must be; they cannot strike on the same turn they are fired. A missile hits whatever side is facing the attacker on the turn it hits.

You use your Wisdom modifier instead of your Dexterity on attack rolls with missiles.

To target your own ship with beneficial psychic talents, you need an electroanimus, also called a "ghost in the machine."

Focused Fire
Hammering a target with a lot of firepower at once is more effective than dealing the same damage over a period of time. If multiple weapons strike a target simultaneously, each of them deal an additional point of damage per die for each weapon beyond the first. The is the idea of fired linked weapons.... The timely of all this is critial and such when trying to focus fire all attacks take a -4 to hit for each weapon trying to hit together after the first (so two weapon -4 three -8 ect). Only attacks that hit add to the damage.

For example, the Shenandoah has a gun set to fire for 3 rounds, each time striking for 6d12 damage. On the last round, the neutron cannons also fire, dealing 15d8 damage. Because there is an extra weapon hitting on this round, both weapons deal an additional 1 point of damage per die; the gun deals 6d12+6, and the cannon deals 15d8+15.

If a missile was also programmed to hit at that time, all three would instead deal an additional 2 points of damage per die, resulting in a gun that deals 6d12+12, a cannon that deals 15d8+30, and a missile that deals 6d12+12. This extra damage is calculated before the 25% increase for striking the rear of a ship.

Skilled Attackers
Having a high base attack bonus does grant additional attacks with starship weapons but only with weapons that can fire semi auto or full auto. Single shot weapons gain nothing.

This only applies to a character with the Starship Gunnery feat.