Targeting the bridge on ships in phase world

Ley Line walkers, Juicers, Coalition Troops, Samas, Tolkeen, & The Federation Of Magic. Come together here to discuss all things Rifts®.

Moderators: Immortals, Supreme Beings, Old Ones

cbrekkas
D-Bee
Posts: 47
Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2007 10:46 am

Targeting the bridge on ships in phase world

Unread post by cbrekkas »

Just curious what are the rules to targeting the bridge on ships in phase world. Can you target the bridge if so, what would the penalty be and do you have to get through the main body mdc first? In the Fleets of the three galaxies it states that fighters can focus attacks on small strategic targets would the bridge, engines be such targets?
User avatar
taalismn
Priest
Posts: 47908
Joined: Tue Sep 02, 2003 8:19 pm
Location: Somewhere between Heaven, Hell, and New England

Re: Targeting the bridge on ships in phase world

Unread post by taalismn »

I always thought that was rather stupid, and harkening back to Star Trek and anime where spaceship bridges were always sticking out in an obvious place where presumably, if the power failed, the captain could still look out the windows and see...space....
That might be true of a flying bridge, but the real command center/bridge oughta be in the depths of the ship, armored and protected by the rest of the ship, not where a starfighter can kamikaze into it and take out the whole command crew.

But yeah, if you want cinematic quick-kills, having the hotshot fighter pilot or gunner go specifically after the bridge, or critical engine block or hangar bay is certainly doable, provided you know where such features are in advance.
-------------
"Trouble rather the Tiger in his Lair,
Than the Sage among his Books,
For all the Empires and Kingdoms,
The Armies and Works that you hold Dear,
Are to him but the Playthings of the Moment,
To be turned over with the Flick of a Finger,
And the Turning of a Page"

--------Rudyard Kipling
------------
User avatar
Warshield73
Megaversal® Ambassador
Posts: 5110
Joined: Tue Mar 01, 2011 1:23 am
Comment: "I will not be silenced. I will not submit. I will find the truth and shout it to the world. "
Location: Houston, TX

Re: Targeting the bridge on ships in phase world

Unread post by Warshield73 »

cbrekkas wrote:Just curious what are the rules to targeting the bridge on ships in phase world. Can you target the bridge if so, what would the penalty be and do you have to get through the main body mdc first? In the Fleets of the three galaxies it states that fighters can focus attacks on small strategic targets would the bridge, engines be such targets?

In short:
- Yes you can target the bridge,

- There is no penalty to strike unless stated in the description of the target or the weapon being used. Some weapons have a penalty for hitting small targets. Now that is for direct fire weapons like lasers and rail-guns, being able to hit with guided or smart missiles depends on how your GM treats those weapons.

- You do not have to go through the main body if it is an external bridge tower. There may be a few designs that use an internal bridge but most, if not all, of the ones in the books have a tower like modern naval vessels. Now you will have to breach the shields and you have to have the angle. If the bridge is on the dorsal surface, as most are, you have to have a clear line of sight to hit it.

The bridge, weapons, engines, even docking bays are great targets for fighters and smaller craft so unless there is a penalty in the target or weapon description have at it.

Hope that helps

taalismn wrote:I always thought that was rather stupid, and harkening back to Star Trek and anime where spaceship bridges were always sticking out in an obvious place where presumably, if the power failed, the captain could still look out the windows and see...space....
That might be true of a flying bridge, but the real command center/bridge oughta be in the depths of the ship, armored and protected by the rest of the ship, not where a starfighter can kamikaze into it and take out the whole command crew.

But yeah, if you want cinematic quick-kills, having the hotshot fighter pilot or gunner go specifically after the bridge, or critical engine block or hangar bay is certainly doable, provided you know where such features are in advance.

Star Wars is the big inspiration here, at least in the first two books. But you are entirely correct. I take an Honor Harringto approach in my game. The "Bridge" in the MDC description becomes a sensor, flight control, even observation lounge in my ships while the actual command center is in the middle of the ship.

You can have all the A-Wing...I mean Scorpion pilots you want fly into the tower of a Doombringer but it's not going to cause it to crash.
Northern Gun Chief of Robotics
Designer of NG-X40 Storm Hammer Power Armor & NG-HC1000 Dragonfly Hover Chopper
Big game hunter, explorer extra ordinaire and expert on the Aegis Buffalo
Ultimate Insider for WB 32: Lemuria, WB 33: Northern Gun 1, WB 34: Northern Gun 2
Showdown Backer Robotech RPG Tactics
Benefactor Insider Rifts Bestiary: Vol 1, Rifts Bestiary: Vol 2
User avatar
ShadowLogan
Palladin
Posts: 7401
Joined: Thu Mar 30, 2006 10:50 am
Location: WI

Re: Targeting the bridge on ships in phase world

Unread post by ShadowLogan »

They would fall under the Called Shot rules for combat since all attacks target/damage the main body and can be subject to penalties due to size (usually noted in the MDC by Location listing). What happens when the Bridge is destroyed will vary from ship to ship and is again noted in MDC by Location section.
cbrekkas
D-Bee
Posts: 47
Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2007 10:46 am

Re: Targeting the bridge on ships in phase world

Unread post by cbrekkas »

Warshield73 wrote:
cbrekkas wrote:Just curious what are the rules to targeting the bridge on ships in phase world. Can you target the bridge if so, what would the penalty be and do you have to get through the main body mdc first? In the Fleets of the three galaxies it states that fighters can focus attacks on small strategic targets would the bridge, engines be such targets?

In short:
- Yes you can target the bridge,

- There is no penalty to strike unless stated in the description of the target or the weapon being used. Some weapons have a penalty for hitting small targets. Now that is for direct fire weapons like lasers and rail-guns, being able to hit with guided or smart missiles depends on how your GM treats those weapons.

- You do not have to go through the main body if it is an external bridge tower. There may be a few designs that use an internal bridge but most, if not all, of the ones in the books have a tower like modern naval vessels. Now you will have to breach the shields and you have to have the angle. If the bridge is on the dorsal surface, as most are, you have to have a clear line of sight to hit it.

The bridge, weapons, engines, even docking bays are great targets for fighters and smaller craft so unless there is a penalty in the target or weapon description have at it.

Hope that helps

taalismn wrote:I always thought that was rather stupid, and harkening back to Star Trek and anime where spaceship bridges were always sticking out in an obvious place where presumably, if the power failed, the captain could still look out the windows and see...space....
That might be true of a flying bridge, but the real command center/bridge oughta be in the depths of the ship, armored and protected by the rest of the ship, not where a starfighter can kamikaze into it and take out the whole command crew.

But yeah, if you want cinematic quick-kills, having the hotshot fighter pilot or gunner go specifically after the bridge, or critical engine block or hangar bay is certainly doable, provided you know where such features are in advance.

Star Wars is the big inspiration here, at least in the first two books. But you are entirely correct. I take an Honor Harringto approach in my game. The "Bridge" in the MDC description becomes a sensor, flight control, even observation lounge in my ships while the actual command center is in the middle of the ship.

You can have all the A-Wing...I mean Scorpion pilots you want fly into the tower of a Doombringer but it's not going to cause it to crash.


I was wondering because in MDC description of the the Doombringer and the Protector it says destroying the "bridge" would eliminate the main computer and master controls and injure crew members but there are secondary controls in engineering. So would the bridge be where the command crew be located? I've seen ships for example the Space battleship Yamato has 1st bridge (the tower), 2nd bridge (somewhere inside the hull) and a 3rd bridge/navigation (the bottom tower). Unless trying to be cinematic destroying the bridge would at best kill the command crew and reduce its capabilities a little. In case of ships with no visible signs of a bridge for example the Packmaster and Smasher class cruiser would the bridge/cic be assumed to be inside the ship and the MDC be what is needed to penetrate the main body to destroy it? I've been curious because I know that my players would want to go for the bridge.
guardiandashi
Hero
Posts: 1437
Joined: Wed Nov 27, 2013 12:21 am

Re: Targeting the bridge on ships in phase world

Unread post by guardiandashi »

cbrekkas wrote:I was wondering because in MDC description of the the Doombringer and the Protector it says destroying the "bridge" would eliminate the main computer and master controls and injure crew members but there are secondary controls in engineering. So would the bridge be where the command crew be located? I've seen ships for example the Space battleship Yamato has 1st bridge (the tower), 2nd bridge (somewhere inside the hull) and a 3rd bridge/navigation (the bottom tower). Unless trying to be cinematic destroying the bridge would at best kill the command crew and reduce its capabilities a little. In case of ships with no visible signs of a bridge for example the Packmaster and Smasher class cruiser would the bridge/cic be assumed to be inside the ship and the MDC be what is needed to penetrate the main body to destroy it? I've been curious because I know that my players would want to go for the bridge.


thinking about it logically.
destroying the bridge is a major hinderance:
1 the command crew on the bridge MAY be killed if they don't have a way to survive, or successfully evacuate.
destroys the main controls. this means have to switch to an additional control set (if available) and likely imposes various penalties
destroys the main computer:
additional penalties especially coordination ones like forcing all weapon systems into local mode, IE unless there is someone at the weapons emplacement it can't be used, and or no "battery fire" each weapon has to be fired independently
cbrekkas
D-Bee
Posts: 47
Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2007 10:46 am

Re: Targeting the bridge on ships in phase world

Unread post by cbrekkas »

guardiandashi wrote:
cbrekkas wrote:I was wondering because in MDC description of the the Doombringer and the Protector it says destroying the "bridge" would eliminate the main computer and master controls and injure crew members but there are secondary controls in engineering. So would the bridge be where the command crew be located? I've seen ships for example the Space battleship Yamato has 1st bridge (the tower), 2nd bridge (somewhere inside the hull) and a 3rd bridge/navigation (the bottom tower). Unless trying to be cinematic destroying the bridge would at best kill the command crew and reduce its capabilities a little. In case of ships with no visible signs of a bridge for example the Packmaster and Smasher class cruiser would the bridge/cic be assumed to be inside the ship and the MDC be what is needed to penetrate the main body to destroy it? I've been curious because I know that my players would want to go for the bridge.


thinking about it logically.
destroying the bridge is a major hinderance:
1 the command crew on the bridge MAY be killed if they don't have a way to survive, or successfully evacuate.
destroys the main controls. this means have to switch to an additional control set (if available) and likely imposes various penalties
destroys the main computer:
additional penalties especially coordination ones like forcing all weapon systems into local mode, IE unless there is someone at the weapons emplacement it can't be used, and or no "battery fire" each weapon has to be fired independently


Makes sense. What about ships with no visible bridge/cic with it being deep inside the ship. Would that even have it's own MDC? If bridge is listed on the MDC list it means it would be targetable?
User avatar
drewkitty ~..~
Monk
Posts: 17737
Joined: Sat Sep 30, 2000 1:01 am
Location: Eastvale, calif
Contact:

Re: Targeting the bridge on ships in phase world

Unread post by drewkitty ~..~ »

Since the bridge of a properly designed starship is located in the core of the ship...attacking that observation deck doesn't do anything much.
May you be blessed with the ability to change course when you are off the mark.
Each question should be give the canon answer 1st, then you can proclaim your house rules.
Reading and writing (literacy) is how people on BBS interact.
Post Reply

Return to “Rifts®”