Colonial Viper Mk VII - Pegasus Refit Version

[OldGuy59]

266764

This is the playtest version flown at the Wings of Prague Convention 2019, and not (yet) official.

[Naharaht]

Thank you for revealing this card to us, Mike.

[Elmslie]

Thanks, Mike.

[OldGuy59]

Image of the prototype at PragueCon:
267842

It is conceivable that the stats could change on official release, but this is what I'm going with for now.

[Kaiser]

I wonder what the Tail Gun uses as fire arc? Also the not-downgraded MkVII is stated as being vulnerable of becoming useless because it can be hacked by the Cylons. Are there rules for this somewhere?

[OldGuy59]

I wonder what the Tail Gun uses as fire arc? Also the not-downgraded MkVII is stated as being vulnerable of becoming useless because it can be hacked by the Cylons. Are there rules for this somewhere?

The wingtip gun (third forward-firing KE weapon), uses the same firing arc. What was done at Prague, IIRC, was that the pilot was given four extra chits at the start of the game (drawn randomly from the chit mix). When firing at a target, the pilot could add one extra chit to the damage (per shot). When the extra chits were gone, the wingtip cannon was out of ammo.

Don't know about the Nav system, as we didn't play with that handicap.

[jbmacek]

The wingtip gun (third forward-firing KE weapon), uses the same firing arc. What was done at Prague, IIRC, was that the pilot was given four extra chits at the start of the game (drawn randomly from the chit mix). When firing at a target, the pilot could add one extra chit to the damage (per shot). When the extra chits were gone, the wingtip cannon was out of ammo.

Don't know about the Nav system, as we didn't play with that handicap.

There are a set of four or five cards that are swapped out to represent the downgraded nav system.

[Teaticket]

Looking at the Mk VII I see the two cards mentioning the Factory CNP and the Retrofitted CNP. The Factory CNP mentions it has backdoors that allow Cylons to infiltrate it and make it harmless. What are the rules that do this? Are there any rules for this?

[OldGuy59]

Looking at the Mk VII I see the two cards mentioning the Factory CNP and the Retrofitted CNP. The Factory CNP mentions it has backdoors that allow Cylons to infiltrate it and make it harmless. What are the rules that do this? Are there any rules for this?

I don't know that any rules for this were published before Ares Games lost their license. Andrea may have had a plan, but I can't recall hearing it. Basically, if players are flying a Factory CNP Viper, there is a possibility of Cylons shutting down the fighter. Not a good "playable" scenario, if you are the Colonials, and suddenly find yourself moving inertially across the play area being shot at with no way to return fire.

[Teaticket]

Thanks Mike. Sorta what I expected.

It would have to be a specifically designed scenario for sure to have the chance the Cylons could shut down a Viper VII.

Another question, the Tail Gun. Does it have a rearward firing ability or is its attack modifier just used with a normal shot?

I'll be running some BSG at a pair of upcoming conventions and was thinking of having a Mk VII or two fly, so I'm looking at their +s and -s.

[OldGuy59]

The "Tail Gun" term is an unfortunate translation choice, IMHO.

The Viper Mk VII 'Tail Gun' is not a weapon that allows firing to the rear, as would be expected in English useage. It refers not to its firing arc, but its physical location on the Viper.

The weapon is mount in the top of the fin above the cockpit, and in any conventional aircraft, that could be considered the 'tail'. It points forward, and is 'harmonized' to the same aim point as the fuselage guns. It adds to the damage of those guns, and is not able to change aim point. The pilot can choose to fire it, or not.

PS: I got confused with the MK I and MK II Viper cannons, which are located in or near the fuselage. The MK VII has wing mounted guns, as seen here:
312830

ADDITIONAL FIREPOWER
Like the Mark II, the Viper's main weapons are kinetic energy cannons. In addition to the wing-mounted guns, an additional one is housed in the Mark VII's vertical stabilizer. Hard points for weapons such as missiles are located under the wings.

Source: Battlestar Galactica Shipyards Book (Hardcover), Authors: Paul Ruditis and Richard Mead
https://shop.eaglemoss.com/hero-collector/battlestar-galactica-ships-collection/battlestar-galactica-shipyards-book-hardcover

[Teaticket]

Thanks again Mike. Now looking at the model I can see the 'tail gun' aiming forward.

[OldGuy59]

Looking at the Mk VII I see the two cards mentioning the Factory CNP and the Retrofitted CNP. The Factory CNP mentions it has backdoors that allow Cylons to infiltrate it and make it harmless. What are the rules that do this? Are there any rules for this?

This is my hack at a gear card for the Cylons, to exploit the Factory CNP issue on Mk VII Vipers.
313087
[Edit: Updated banner text from 'talent' to 'gear']

I based this on the DRADIS Jammer gear card for the ECM Raptor.

Intent: One roll is made at the start of a turn. Any turn, as there doesn't seem to be a limitation on the DRADIS Jammer, either. A roll of 12 affects all MK VIIs within long range, using Factory CNP. Only then, does the player get the follow-on roll. Should the second roll also be a 12, all MK VII Factory CNP ships on the table are disabled, and that pretty much should end the scenario for the Colonials.

Note: If a ship has its firing system disabled for three turns, and the pilot flying the ship gets desperate, he could "reboot" his ship by turning it off and on again. This takes one full turn. If the ship is completely disabled, there is no possibility of rebooting it.

Use the above as you see fit. Any comments or critiques (playtesting?) would be welcomed.

[Teaticket]

Thanks Mike. My thought was something similar to the Raptor ECM. I'll give this a run through and get you some feedback.

[OldGuy59]

Thanks Mike. My thought was something similar to the Raptor ECM. I'll give this a run through and get you some feedback.

Peter,
I've corrected the banner text above, cause I missed it in the original post.

Also, there was additional thought that I couldn't put on the card. There should be some possibility of a temporary total shutdown, I just don't know how to game that.

If there is a pilot that wants to do the 'reboot' process, please note that while the ship is doing the off-on procedure, the ship should move using Inertial Movement rules. One turn using straights at its current Kinetic Energy.

[Teaticket]

If there is a pilot that wants to do the 'reboot' process, please note that while the ship is doing the off-on procedure, the ship should move using Inertial Movement rules. One turn using straights at its current Kinetic Energy.

Yeah, I would have done that as it was the obvious thing to happen. Later this week I'll play with it and see what I come up with.

[Flying Helmut]

It would be great to have something workable for the tabletop, which doesn't destroy game balance.

In the reboot Series Pilot episode, two Cylon raiders "delivered" their program hack and utterly disabled an entire squadron of Vipers...
The Cylons then each launched a salvo of missiles, each one of which targeted one Viper, and the entire Squadron was wiped out in just a few seconds!

No good at all for gameplay.

[OldGuy59]

I went with something other than 'any cylon ship'. Being that the Colonials have a support ship doing the jamming (ECM Raptor), sort of like a 'Wild Weasel' aircraft in air warfare. Some Cold War and present-day fighters had/have individual self-protection jamming equipment, but to affect large groups of planes, or ground installations, it takes large, powerful gear not suitable for individual fighters.

Therefore, I went with a Heavy Raider as the 'Backdoor' delivery vehicle. For game play, I went with something similar to the DRADIS Jammer available to the Colonial side, rather than an all-or-nothing effect. It is like the gun jams in Wings of Glory, where some jams should permanently disable the guns. Not too fun for the recipient.