Having gotten some perspective from the RRT stuff, I think I can start piecing together what a Rifts Tactics game would look like. I'll be posting individual model stats periodically, but we'll start with the CS Grunt.
Basic Conversion Factors
These conversion factors are the baseline for given values - individual attributes may be tweaked up or down.
Speed: Given or calculated MPH / 15. 15 MPH = 1" MV.
Range: Given Range (in ft) * 3/1000.
MDC: Given MDC of main body / 25.
MD: Maximum damage of weapon / 20.
I have not done any work on calculating attack or defense values (GUN / DEF in RRT).
CS Grunt
MV | 1"
MDC | 4
RNG | 6" (4" for C-29)
MD | 2 (3 for C-29)
Our friendly cannon-fodder CS Grunt is back, and ready for action. As we've calculated before, the Grunt has a SPD of 20 which translates to about 14 MPH. This gives him 1" of MV, which makes sense at this scale. Infantry are SLOW compared to modern vehicles.
He's wearing CA-4 armor, which nets him an MDC of 4. Not the most resilient thing on the battlefield.
He's wielding a CP-40 rifle. It has a range of 2000 ft and does a max of 36 MD. Rifts Tactics stats would be 6" range and 2 MD.
So, he's not much to look at on his own: MV 1 MDC 4 RNG 6 MD 2.
However, the strength of the CS infantry is not in the individual, but in the army itself. I foresee CS infantry being bought by the platoon, with three to four stands of ten troops each (squads). To put this in perspective, a single stand would have 40 MDC and be putting out 20 MD. A full platoon is racking 160 MDC and putting out 80 MD, and that's assuming no special weapons. Based on my design for CS organization (still being worked out, hopefully it'll be published by the summer), each squad is rocking three C-29 plasma ejectors. So, a squad is putting out 7*2 + 3*3 MD, for a total of 23 MD per stand. 92 MD per platoon. A single squad could conceivable take out any known power armor and a few robots while they're at it.
So what's the downside? Speed. They are abysmally slow compared to everything else. Most units will outmaneuver them or take them apart before they close to a range at which they can bring their full fire power to bear - the CP-40 has a range 6" but the C-29 only has a 4" range. That's two rounds of advancing that the C-29s aren't being used. A smart opponent will use fast, hard hitting units to close and destroy the infantry before they're able to open up. Missiles work great as well.
Doesn't the CS use armored transports for just that reason? I can't imagine that those dead boys will be deployed without transport, SAMAS backup, a Spider Skull Walker or two, etc. Ooh, and Skelebots. Can't forget the Skelebots.
ReplyDeleteHuh, my own blog ate my reply. How's that for irony?
DeleteAnyway, yes, the infantry would most assuredly be backed up by PA and robots, as well as transports. However, right now I'm focusing on them as the baseline for other units. Start small, keep it simple, and work my way up. Kind of the same way a unit of SM in 40k are statted out by themselves, but may take a Rhino as transport. The Rhino has its own entry, etc. Same thing here.
A smart CS player will almost certainly take a transport for his infantry unless he's fighting a defensive game where he doesn't need to move much.