#1307 Booby Traps

[Anonymous]

I thought to put in a feature request to implement booby traps as per TacOps page 297.

I had the idea to make a drone-controlled aerospace fighter into a budget "Cruise Missile" (Hey that's all a Tomahawk really is, right? Minus the 'budget' part :P)

Too bad an aero would need to land before it could hurt anything with its explosive.

[foij]

Isn't that what the bullet suicide drone already is?

[Anonymous]

Yeah, the Bullet Suicide Drone only has an 80 rated engine though, it should in theory be possible to create a kamikaze drone with a far higher yield for minimal increase in cost. Something like a 70 ton 5/8 conventional fighter would create a devastating explosion worth 350 damage, which even at 3 hexes away is more damage than a direct hit from the Bullet drone. Go big or go home, right? :)

[foij]

FYI, the construction data for the booby trap is coded into MM, but trap hasn't been implemented yet in game. It's currently dead weight.

[visplane overflow]

The relevant rules citation is here for convenience :

"The Booby Trap is a one-shot device that can be activated during a unit’s Weapon Attack or Physical Attack phase, regardless of the unit’s
engine type. Once activated, a Booby Trap explodes immediately, destroying the booby-trapped unit completely (leaving nothing for salvage).
The controlling player of a unit that activates its Booby Trap may attempt to use any on-board ejection systems to save the warrior or crew at the
same time, but must apply a +4 modifier to the target number for a successful ejection (see p. 196), in addition to any modifiers based on the ejection
system used. If successful, the ejected warriors or crews land outside the exploding unit’s hex (either adjacent to it or a number of hexes away, based
on the ejection system used) in the following turn.
In ground combat, the damage inflicted by a Booby Trapped unit is treated as area-effect damage similar to an artillery blast. Against all units in the
same hex as the exploding unit, this damage is equal to the booby-trapped unit’s Engine Rating. If the unit has no Engine Rating, multiply its Cruising
or Safe Thrust MP by its tonnage and use that value in place of the Engine Rating (to a maximum of 500). For Mobile Structures, multiply the structure’s
MP value by its size in hexes times its height in levels, and use that value for Engine Rating (again, to a maximum of 500). In addition, against all units
1 hex away from the exploding unit, the Booby Trap inflicts damage equal to the exploding unit’s Engine Rating, divided by 2. This damage is halved
again (to one-quarter of the unit’s Engine Rating) against units located 2 hexes away, and again (to one-eighth the Engine Rating) against units 3 hexes
away. Round all fractions up. Units 4 hexes or more away from an exploding booby-trapped unit suffer no damage.
Airborne units that employ a Booby Trap inflict no damage to other units unless another airborne unit is in the same hex on the Low Altitude map (or, if
a non-aerospace airborne unit, within 3 hexes and elevations of the exploding Booby Trapped unit). In such an event, the other airborne unit must make a
Control Roll/Piloting Skill Roll when the Booby Trap explodes. If this roll fails, the other airborne unit suffers damage equal to one-quarter of the exploding
unit’s Engine Rating (as computed above). Aerospace units operating on the space map that activate a Booby Trap inflict no damage to nearby units.
If an atmosphere is present and the underlying terrain is not water, the hex occupied by an exploding Booby Trapped unit is filled with fire after the
unit’s destruction. Critical hits to a Booby Trap will not set off the device, but will simply disable its arming systems, rendering it inoperable."