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.....

Additionally, bonuses to any test cap out at +60. This is like, one of the most basic rules in the game. How can you not know this?

It's good to note the max, because if the combined negative modifier is -60 then you are still +10 or something for the test. Anyhoot, I houseruled there was no max (or min, which is fun when you say you have a -105% to pass something, so that 01 you roll is really needed now) for my games. Maybe they did the same. *shrugs*

Max virus torps a frigate can put out wouldn't do much to a cruiser.

And, depending on how you read the rules for multiple virus torps, they might well be pretty brutal.

In particular, damage is directly to crew population (and morale), menaing a precentage of the target-ship's capabilities, not in any way connected with the size of the attacker.

So yes, with a poor commander on the cruiser, that might work really well.

Max virus torps a frigate can put out wouldn't do much to a cruiser.

That'd be 4 from a firestorm.

And, depending on how you read the rules for multiple virus torps, they might well be pretty brutal.

In particular, damage is directly to crew population (and morale), menaing a precentage of the target-ship's capabilities, not in any way connected with the size of the attacker.

So yes, with a poor commander on the cruiser, that might work really well.

The other problem lies with armour. Given that the Terminal Penetration of a Virus Torpedo is only 1, your average damage for one of those torpedoes is going to be only 21.8765. Since your average cruiser has an armour of 20, and if you're playing Mathhammer then it's worth it to bulk up on armour, it's likely that all four Virus torpedoes aren't going to enter the Hull.

This is very true.

The RT mechanics are terrible at every aspect. Why? Because they are barely modified, transfered mechanics of Dark Heresy. The underlying issue is that PCs in RT get much better bling, resulting in a lot of one-shooting items.

Some examples of broken mechanics:

-Seneshal having legitimate 25 armor+6 TB, along with true grit laughing your ass off on meltaguns.

-99% chance for passing a dodge test... Plus a reroll, two dodges a turn, and 50% chance to negate any hit that actually connects (power field).

-Stacking same modifier on space ship, resulting in, for example, 95 hp raiders, transports with +120 to maneuverability and one of the smallest hulls in the game dealing enough ramming damage to cripple a battlecruiser in one go.

-Every anti-tank weapon that hits a character instagibs him (unless he's the forementioned Seneshal).

-Noone really understands how the acquisition works, so every1 houserules it

-The only way to be good at something is stacking modifiers. Result being that you usually either have a ~30% chance succeed at something or 100%.

Those are the first examples from top of my head, could go on and on for ages.

1- I would need the mechanics to get 25 armour

2-doens't seems to horrible; ascension chars can pull this off; tech-priest's been doing that with awanress tests since rank 6-7 with his implanted good quality aupex

3-No idea how to get a raider to 95 hull point, nor a mechant vessel with 120 maneuvrability... Please explain the mechanical know-how to get that.

4-anti-tank weapon vs a human..human looses everytime, nothing too horrid about that.

5-Really? No one understands it? It's explained in the book, I never had to jump around loops to house rule it a ton...(Granted been a while since I ran RT, but I usually go with a sinlge roll for a single item; you can't find it, it's not currently availalbe at the city/station you're currently at...also no fate point can be used with acquisition rolls.)

6-Stacking mods are the way to go yes; but I usually never had anyone break the 100 margin (short again, of the Tech-priest)

Keeping in mind I run a Dark Heresy campaign prertty much straight up with the core book and specialised books (Lathes World, BoJ, Ascension..)

1. So what?

(BTW, one of my friends I play RT with said there's an alternative career that gets a fate point for every two removed bionics. 15 fate point characters are possible...)

2. Ascension is a bit broken, too.

3. someone already explained- you can take a supplemental component such as, err, reinforced bulkheads? multiple times.

4. Yes, but it doesn't make it healthy in an RPG. There's no real reason not to hang around with 5 lascannons and 5 autocannons (did I mention that a small investement in S and T allows you to carry both no problem?) other than GM saying "you run into 20 guys with lascannons."

5. "single roll per item" "no fatepointing acquisition" are houserules.

Also, try throwing in Commerce and Barter.

6. It's not so easy in DH, but in RT it's weird if you have no 100-rollers by the time they hit rank 2. Right now (we just hit rank 3) we have at least 6 such things in a 4-man party (dodge, charm, commerce, command, tech-use, stealth IIRC)

Yeah the whole 100+ PF in 3 adventures assumes your players are doing nothing more than an A-to-B trade troute with no combat or anything else. IE your players enjoy rolling occasional die, not having any threat and then levelling up.

Boringsville.com

While that's entirely true, it's problematic that it's even possible to do. You could essentially timeskip for two sessions, and then start buying up planets and cornering the sector market and wage a large-scale war against.. anyone, really.

This... is precisely why I gimp the crap out of PF rewards for endeavors. Only in the rarest of circumstances, where the players not only hit every goal/milestone, but also find a way to creatively squeeze some more juice out of the business enterprise will they ever even get 5 PF for an endeavor. And that would be a once in a campaign sort of thing... even even that. Average PF award is 2. There is the occasional 1 or 3. I've never given out 0, but I have had endeavors actually reduce PF quite often. Sometimes that's because the players fail hard and need lots of cash to pick up the pieces (of the ship and reattach them), and sometimes its investments they make towards the future - i.e. foregoing PF on a small endeavor in order to reinvest it or grease some wheels towards a bigger payday later.

The thing that differentiates RT from the other systems in the scope - it's grand. And grand can't be done in 5 sessions/15 hours played

I completely agree Trae, particularly once the Dynasty gets a dedicated transport/achievement point ship it is just way to easy to get 7+ bonus PF per adventure in RaW. If this were universally applied, your average Calixis merchant house would have a profit factor somewhere in the 5 or 6 hundreds. Hell, a Universe Mass Conveyor fitted to haul bulk cargo would gain a 20 PF every time it's owner completes a minor trade endeavor (ie, open a new simple trade route).

So yeah, Achievement Points are the most breakable content in RT.

If you and your group play from the assumption that you have no expenses period.

Not to mention the belief that no one will bother your merchant fleet, ever. (first thing I'd target)

Well, by RaW (and only speaking by RaW, I don't do it this way myself) they don't have any expenses. The only way Profit Factor can be permanently, involuntarily reduced is by Misfortunes. If the players take no actions to prevent them Misfortunes reduce PF by, at most, 5 pts each. During the time it takes that misfortune to resolve, our "Merchant Guild" player could have performed another minor trade endeavor and gained 20 PF. The result is a net gain of 15, despite ignoring what ever issue occured.

Also note there is no "Merchant Fleet" involved. This is just a single Universe Mass Conveyor renegotiating contracts. (This is actually part of the problem I have with achievement points - being able to haul more on the first run doesn't greatly increase the value of a trade route over the next century.)

Most breakable content? I'd go with core ship rules. There are so many ways to build a broken voidship, often by mistake...

Additionally, bonuses to any test cap out at +60. This is like, one of the most basic rules in the game. How can you not know this?

Because it's the final bonus to the test once you've calculated bonuses and penalties that's capped at +60. Having a total bonus of 70 means that it negates a penalty down to -10 before that +60 twitches.

Yeah, you should be working through BODMAS then cap the total modifier if is above +60 or below -60.

Yeah, you should be working through BODMAS then cap the total modifier if is above +60 or below -60.

It was rather my understanding of it, you worked through all the positive and negative modifiers and THEN capped it at 60.