Tweaking ranged weapons to be consistent

[chapter master 454]

So one thing that has really annoyed me is the hearthstone we play with some weapons. I find it really confusing as a mechanic and to me often just means weapons become ineffective along with disallowing accurate point costing as now we must consider the weapons high point and low point and figure what it should be pointed for (High, mid or low?). While this is all pipe dreams and silly ranting, within this thread I intend for my own feeling of mind I want to with the armoury of space marines adjust the stats of any weapons that have a random factor (things like lascannons, plasma cannons and so on) as right now if you get smacked by a thunder hammer you take 3 wounds however a lascannon can do only a single wound to a tank. Just ain't right that these are the damage dials we work with.

 So if you want to read what I have done, continue reading and as time goes on I may tweak these and add. I will first be making the statlines then pointing them afterwards.

 

For Rapid Fire, Assault and Heavy weapons there are 2 possible sub-types they can be and all their rules apply as normal however if they are a subtype they will not have a set number of shots but instead vary depending on what target they are aiming at. These are the Small Blast and Large Blast Sub-types, these weapons fire payloads of explosives that make it very difficult to miss and very often are good at clearing out large number of enemies. Below are the rules pertaining to each. Each Blast weapon has 3 numbers for how many attacks it can make depending on how many models are in the unit. These thresholds are for 1, 5 and 10 models in the target unit. Blast weapons cannot split their fire between targets. All blast type weaponry is considered hard to miss with so any model firing a blast weapon can re-roll 1s to hit when attacking with a blast weapon.

 

 Small Blast:

These weapons are normally small explosives like frag grenades or mortar shells. While not large these weapons are often portable and easily used by most troopers. All Grenade weapons have the Blast sub-type unless stated within their entry. Against an enemy unit of up to 4 models these weapons get 1 attack, this represents that such a small squad can maintain effective spacing easily and have plenty of room to move. Against an enemy unit of 5-9 models these weapons get 3 attacks, this represents that such a squad needs to maintain contact and can't be spaced so effectively on the battlefield. Against any enemy unit with 10+ models these weapons get 4 attacks, this represents the weapon being most effective but it's small size or small payload is unable to reach much more than those close to the detonation.

Quick Reference: 1-4 model(s): 1 attack, 5-9 Models: 3 attacks, 10+ models: 4 attacks

 

Large Blast:

These are the big guns, weapons that are normally seen on battle tanks and siege guns. Rarely seen on anything less than massive units, these weapons not only have massive payloads but often the shell itself can do some damage. When firing at an enemy unit of 1-4 models, these weapons get 2 attacks This represents a small squad or singular target being able to move freely and often able to get out of the way with little obstruction from squad mates however getting hit by the blast or the shell would equally hurt and both can be devastating. When firing at an enemy unit of 5-9 models, these weapons get 5 attacks. This represents these weapons being able to level small squads with ease as they find it harder to get clear of the blast as squad mates can easily get in the way. When firing at an enemy unit of 10+ models, these weapons get 7 attacks. This represents the blast getting as much as it can reach within the enemy unit.

Quick Reference: 1-4 models: 2 attacks, 5-9 models: 5 attacks, 10+ models: 7 attacks

 

To clarify for rapid fire weapons, they double their number of attacks as normal from the base line given so at half range a rapid fire small blast weapon firing against a squad of 8 models would get 6 attacks.

 

-Going to do some quick stat lines for weapons I feel could of been better and can be more accurately fixed up. Statline follows standard 40k conventions: Name ,Range , Type and shots, Strength, AP, Damage, Special rules (if none, a - is present). If there is a way of displaying this better let me know-

 

 

Demolisher Cannon: 24" ,Heavy Large Blast (2/5/7), 10, -3, 5, -

 

Lascannon: 48" ,Heavy 1, -3, 5, -

 

Meltagun: 12", Assault 1, - 4, 4, any target within half range of this weapon recieves double damage -my version of melta-

 

Frag Missile: 48", Heavy Small Blast (1/3/4), 4, 0, 1, -

 

-was quickly putting this down so I can come back later-

 

[Claws and Effect]

Your thunder hammer vs lascannon logic is flawed.

 

There is a 1 in 3 chance the lascannon will do less damage than the hammer, that is true.

 

But if the target is 37" away, the thunder hammer has a 0% chance of doing more damage than the lascannon.

 

Just looking at damage dealt in a vacuum is not enough for finding balance. Other factors have to be considered.

 

In this case, the balance point is the fact that the lascannon can hit a target on the other side of the table and can potentially deal twice the damage of the hammer, while the hammer is guaranteed 3 damage per unsaved wound but is restricted to melee range.

 

It's actually a pretty fair balance point.

[Xenith]

So you've made things more consistent by subdividing into more categories?

 

A large blast can never kill a clumped up group of 4 people? Only ever gain one hit Vs vehicles?

 

I think I prefer the 8th ed system of rolling the d6 to determine the size of the blast and thus how many are potentially hit.

 

I do like your version of the melta rule better though.