(I originally posted this in another thread, but I think it was buried. I'd like to hear your comments)

***

Let's daydream about a Tractor Beam special rule card (and ship modification card).

Mechanics-wise, it may act like an ion cannon to start: roll a number of attack dice as a secondary weapon attack (Range 1-3), if you get even one net hit or crit, disregard the remaining dice, deal no damage, and the tractor lock has been established. The rolling of defense dice will allow nimble ships to escape the tractor lock in the first place. As a side note, you probably cannot tractor lock a ship whose base is larger than your own.

Then you need some kind of simple mechanic to represent the tractor beam's effect. Here are some possibilities:

1. Target ship is unable to move at all (sounds too harsh). Perhaps lose a single Activation Phase?

2. Target ship is only able to do green maneuvers

3. Target ship is pulled straight toward tractor beam ship 1 range increment (a bit fiddly and hard to do correctly, especially with regard to preserving facing, etc)

4. Much like when a stressed ship attempts a red maneuver, perhaps the tractor beam operator gets to choose the target ship's maneuver dial setting for the next Activation Phase.

I am tempted to say this modification can only be added to certain ships (the TIE Defender, Mist Hunter, and XG-1 all mention the use of said device, as well as capital ships and larger, of course). I don't think this should be added to an A-Wing, however...

Hmm, I like 4 but it would be very powerful. I'd maybe go with 1.

Some ideas...

1. Any turn away from operating ship becomes 1 harder (Green -> White, White -> Red, Red -> Forbidden), any turn towards the operating ship becomes 1 easier (Red -> White, White -> Green, Green -> Green). Any straight manoeuvers where distance to the operating ship is reduced at the end of the move are 1 easier, those that increase the distance are 1 harder.

2. Agility of the tractored ship is reduced by 1. Tractor lock is lost if at the end of the combat phase the ship is at more than range 2 (?) of the tractoring ship.

3. Tractored ships may attempt barrel rolls, boost and daredevil actions. After declaring the action (including the direction of the barrel roll, movement token and direction used to boost, or direction of the daredevil), but before measuring to see if the manoeuver is possible, roll a single defence die. On the roll of an evade, (you receive a stress token and*) the tractor beam is broken and the barrel roll/boost/daredevil action continues. This action MUST be completed. Should this movement lead to base or template overlap with obstacle roll for damage as per normal movement rules.** Should this movement lead to base overlap with another ship then both ships roll 1 attack die and take damage as shown.***

3a. Expert Handling should be modified to say "You may then remove 1 enemy target lock or tractor bean from your ship."

4. Ships that are tractored may not spend an evade token when defending against any attacks from the ship with the tractor beam.

5. Tractor beam is lost in the following combat phase at the first instant the team of the ship with the beam is activating ships with the same pilot skill of the ship? (This is a little complicated - you want the beam to only allow the team using it to get 1 shot per pilot on the tractored ship)

* Optional - dunno if this makes tractors too powerful.

** This represents the fact that you break the tractor beam and lose control, possibly hitting something. It is why the direction of the action taken must be declared before measuring if it is possible.

*** As for **, you hit someone and damage them. Could possibly be removed. Might have to say no damage but slide along token till in base contact?

Oh thought of three others,

3b. Addendum to 3. Add that on roll of {eye} you continue the manoeuver but don't break the target lock. You do have the option to take damage.

6. Tractored ships cannot perform moving actions in the combat phase. So no free barrel roll action for Turr Phennir...

7. Ships getting target lock must have unobstructed line of sight to target. So no locking through asteroids.

How about something simple like:

Upgrade Secondary Weapon:

Tractor Beam: 3 points

Remove Target Lock - Roll 2 dice, Range 1-2. Do not discard this card. If enemy ship is hit. It suffers no damage, but gains a stress token. If it already has a stress token it counts as performing a red maneuver while having a stress token.

Simple and effective. No changes to existing rules or cards.

I would go for something passive along the lines of "Defender counts as -1 Agility when at Range 1". Really simple, represents it being easier to target a ship which is Tractored.

Remember that whatever the rule change for tractor beams is, the rules themselves would likely need to fit on a single card or two cards (Ion Tokens, Bomb Tokens 1&2 --> Tractor Lock Tokens) and be easy to both remember and implement.

***

Perhaps a target ship with a Tractor Lock token on it rotates it base (as little as possible) so as to align the front or back alignment guides with the tractor beam ship.

Then, like an Ion Token affected ship, the target ship assigns no maneuver dial in the Planning Phase.

In the Activation Phase the affected ship moves directly toward the tractor beam ship "as if it were assigned a white {straight 1} maneuver.

In the Combat Phase the target ship may attack as normal.

***

Perhaps the Tractor Beam ship modification acts like a secondary attack.

I like Range 1-3, something like 2 or 3 attack dice. Front arc only (not a turret, even on the YT).

Like the Ion effect, any net hit (remaining hits or crits not cancelled by defense dice) engages the tractor beam while not dealing any damage to the target vessel.

This secondary "Tractor Beam" attack may even require the spending of a target lock token in order to operate.

Also like the Ion effect, Large ships require two Tractor Lock tokens in order to suffer the effects. That may be enough to ensure that Small ships don't tractor beam big ships. Captial ships might be able to get more than one Tractor Beam modification upgrade...and thus have the ability to "double tractor lock" a Large ship.

Perhaps like the Stealth Device modification, the Tractor Beam lock-on is disrupted (turn the modification card face down for a turn) if the Tractor Beam ship suffers damage.

This may prove too powerful and unbalancing, but I think it seems like a plausible starting point (i.e. heavily influenced, rules-wise, by the existing Ion Token mechanic, for instance).

Adding a Stress token is an interesting idea.

Certainly simple!

Limits some movement, ultimately.

I think something more flavorful like the Ion Token sounds better, personally.

(I originally posted this in another thread, but I think it was buried. I'd like to hear your comments)

***

Let's daydream about a Tractor Beam special rule card (and ship modification card).

Mechanics-wise, it may act like an ion cannon to start: roll a number of attack dice as a secondary weapon attack (Range 1-3), if you get even one net hit or crit, disregard the remaining dice, deal no damage, and the tractor lock has been established. The rolling of defense dice will allow nimble ships to escape the tractor lock in the first place. As a side note, you probably cannot tractor lock a ship whose base is larger than your own.

Then you need some kind of simple mechanic to represent the tractor beam's effect. Here are some possibilities:

1. Target ship is unable to move at all (sounds too harsh). Perhaps lose a single Activation Phase?

2. Target ship is only able to do green maneuvers

3. Target ship is pulled straight toward tractor beam ship 1 range increment (a bit fiddly and hard to do correctly, especially with regard to preserving facing, etc)

4. Much like when a stressed ship attempts a red maneuver, perhaps the tractor beam operator gets to choose the target ship's maneuver dial setting for the next Activation Phase.

I am tempted to say this modification can only be added to certain ships (the TIE Defender, Mist Hunter, and XG-1 all mention the use of said device, as well as capital ships and larger, of course). I don't think this should be added to an A-Wing, however...

I like 3 and 4. I think that the TB could only lock and pull smaller ships. For example, large base ships could only TB small ships. My Customs Corvette will have TB. I thought about giving the TB a dice bonus if it targeted the same ship for consecutive turns. Four attack dice for the first attempt, five for subsequent attempts. I thought this would be appropriate because it would be easier to maintain a TB once it was established. Attacker would re-roll each turn to maintain TB.

How about something simple like:

Upgrade Secondary Weapon:

Tractor Beam: 3 points

Remove Target Lock - Roll 2 dice, Range 1-2. Do not discard this card. If enemy ship is hit. It suffers no damage, but gains a stress token. If it already has a stress token it counts as performing a red maneuver while having a stress token.

Simple and effective. No changes to existing rules or cards.

We talked about using ion cannon rules for the TB, except that the tractored ship wouldn't recieve damage.

When all is said and done I want to be able to use my Tractor beam to pull smaller ships in to range 1 and murder them with turbolasers. Failing that, I want to tractor beam enemy ships into asteroids and mines.

I would go for something passive along the lines of "Defender counts as -1 Agility when at Range 1". Really simple, represents it being easier to target a ship which is Tractored.

Rodent,

sounds similar to one of my proposals (copied from previous thread):

Two types:

1. Capital Ship heavy weapon- the kind used by the Death Star to drag in the Millenium Falcon. I am not covering that here as I will leave that to those who are working on capital ship rules. Sorry.

2. Smaller, less powerful Tractor Beam s fitted to fighters to increase their effectiveness/lethality by reducing a target's ability to dodge/evade fire. These weapons, to fit into a starfighter, must be relatively small, light weight and underpowered (compared to capital ship weapons) and will not work on large or capital ship targets (then again, how evasive are these targets anyways?). They work by reducing a target's ability to dodge fire, making them a more predictable and thus easier target. My goal was to create a unique weapon that was simple and worked well within the existing rules without being overpowered or requiring complex rules. Therefore...

Tractor Beam s (fighter): "W hen targeting small ships at range 1, reduce target’s Evade by 1 (to a minimum of 0)”

Therefore...Thus, a small, evasive target (like a starfighter) becomes a somewhat easier target, making the attacker's weapons that much more effective. Range is only "1", so not overpowered. I would consider this to be in effect for any target in arc (not a separate attack, like Ion Turret or HLC). Costwise, I'd point it out similar to an Ion Turret. This could be considered a choice for a "Cannon" slot or built into a ship's design (like I did with my stats for the TIE Defender).

Chris

The idea of having to re-roll the attack each round is probably a good one.

The Tractor Beam Token could act just like the Ion token in that it could be discarded each turn after the effect (whatever that may be) has taken place.

I also agree with the idea of underpowered tractor beams (on Small ships, and maybe even Large ships) having a lesser effect that actually pulling in the target vessel.

Small Ship --> Small Ship: one tractor beam token reduces target agility

Large ships require two tractor beam tokens to have an effect (can't be done by a single small ship)

***

Another idea is the following. Does this even count as a secondary attack? Maybe it is an action, maybe it is like a bomb and not an attack or an action.

The reason I say that is because you'd like to apply the tractor beam, then shoot the same target in the same round to utilize the effect.

Especially important if the tractor lock token goes away automatically like the Ion Token.

***

Like dropping a Proton Bomb?

When you reveal your maneuver dial you may attempt to establish a Tractor Beam lock on a target ship.

***

Like Proximity Mines?

Action: You may attempt to establish a Tractor Beam lock on a target ship.

(I like this one the best, I think. Use an action to activate the Tractor Beam, then use an attack against said target. Hit or miss with the attack, the tractor lock tokens go away at the end of the turn.)

***

We also have to consider whether a target lock is required in order to use the tractor beam. This would reduce the number of ships even capable of using the tractor beam upgrade.

I would say tractor should be an action.

I have an interesting idea. Why not say:

Tractor Beam

Action: Choose 1 enemy ship at range 1. Roll 1 attack die, on a roll of (hit) that ship has agility reduced by 1 until the end of the round.

Additionally on a roll of (critical) if you have the (target lock) ability you gain a target lock on the enemy ship.

You then reduce your attack value by 1 until the end of the round.

You may only target this enemy ship in the combat phase.

I think this works quite well. The critical hit means you get a potential target lock (though only 1/8 time). I also quite like the idea of restricting target to only this enemy ship - in other words if you are focusing on maintaining the tractor beam you can't look away to shoot something else, if that means you lose your attack so be it. The reduction in attack value is indicative of the power use of the beam.

An action would be an interesting way to do it, the only issue I see is ships like the Avenger and Defender that have Tractor Beams are already fairly bloated on Actions.

An action would be an interesting way to do it, the only issue I see is ships like the Avenger and Defender that have Tractor Beams are already fairly bloated on Actions.

I see this as an optional modification card, usable by most ships, not as an icon in the Ship Card's Upgrade Bar.

I would look at what the system was originally supposed to do in the X-wing game: slow down the maneuverability on TIE Defenders so the Missile Boat could lock on more easily. It was also quite handy for keep them in one's forward sights so that the guns could hit more effectively.

In that respect, I would give it the following ability:

Tractor Beam

System upgrade

Cost: 4

Effect: Action : Roll three attack dice against a ship range 1-2. If it hits, the defender must ignore one Evade result and cannot spend evade tokens during the attack phase.

I would intend for it to be used as the pilot's action rather than be used in the attack phase, so I'm not sure if I worded it correctly, but the idea is to basically force a more maneuverable ship to act like a less maneuverable ship and make them easier to hit. It never took power from the guns or disallowed the missiles/torpedoes to fire in the game, so I'm not making it replace the attack phase.

I would have Avenger/Defender with fewer actions anyway... ¬_¬

No missiles/target lock for Avenger but with 2 free titles, the first gives 1 missile slot and target lock and the second gives tractor beam.

Defender gets Focus, Barrel Roll, Target Lock, Tractor Beam, and has missile slot. It doesn't get Boost or Evade. I see it as big and heavy - it might be fast but it doesn't have great acceleration and it is so physically large it can't dodge so well.

In fact I quite like the idea of free titles allowing you to have multiple version of a ship. Allows some interesting either/or setups.

I would look at what the system was originally supposed to do in the X-wing game: slow down the maneuverability on TIE Defenders so the Missile Boat could lock on more easily. It was also quite handy for keep them in one's forward sights so that the guns could hit more effectively.

In that respect, I would give it the following ability:

Tractor Beam

System upgrade

Cost: 4

Effect: Action : Roll three attack dice against a ship range 1-2. If it hits, the defender must ignore one Evade result and cannot spend evade tokens during the attack phase.

I would intend for it to be used as the pilot's action rather than be used in the attack phase, so I'm not sure if I worded it correctly, but the idea is to basically force a more maneuverable ship to act like a less maneuverable ship and make them easier to hit. It never took power from the guns or disallowed the missiles/torpedoes to fire in the game, so I'm not making it replace the attack phase.

I'm not so much of a fan of looking to the games too hard. A lot of what was done in them was modified for playability. There had to be progression of ships in the games, the later ships were just better than the earlier ones and the Defender was supposed to be the uber ship for Imperials. In a more wargame scenario you don't want such an unbalanced ship as it doesn't favour only the player.

I'm not so much of a fan of looking to the games too hard. A lot of what was done in them was modified for playability. There had to be progression of ships in the games, the later ships were just better than the earlier ones and the Defender was supposed to be the uber ship for Imperials. In a more wargame scenario you don't want such an unbalanced ship as it doesn't favour only the player.

Though I do think the original stats for the Defender was Bat-**** crazy. I don't have an issue with things like the Defender being really good, as long as they pay for it. I think it comes down to which do you want to spend the 35+ points on a Slave 1 with lots of hull and shields and a rear arc, or the Defender which is faster and more maneuverable. They really fit the same slot in a crew.

Keeping it simple seems to be the way to go. And looking to the games isn't as bad as one might think. Remember, the tractor beam mod in TIE fighter was low powered, boresighted to the fighter's gunsight, and as long as it was active it just 'locked' on whoever was in your gunsights at the time, at close range. I think it would work fine as a mod card for those ships.

Boresight Tractor Beam

(Tie advanced/defender/assault gunboat) *maybe?

-When attacking an enemy ship at range 1, that ship's agility is reduced by one to a minimum of zero

simple, straightforward. if you want to make it flavorful, without adding too much complexity (no one wants this to be Star Fleet Battles)

-When attacking an enemy ship at range 1, that ship's agility is reduced by one to a minimum of zero for the rest of the combat phase.

What I remember of the tractor beam in the X-Wing video games it was just a firing aid and certainly could not compare to the tractor beams on larger ships to actually move a target. For this game that simply means reducing the target's defense dice in some manner and/or preventing it from using evade tokens. Gazerfoxie's suggestion of giving it a Wedge like ability could be the easiest and thus the best although I'd probably limit that to range 1-2 depending on how much it costs.

Now if you have some kind of tractor beam for a large ship that could have a much bigger game effect but for starfighters you just aren't going to see a lot of effect.

I am in complete agreement withGrazerfoxie and StevenO, keep it simple and work within the established framework of the game. -When attacking an enemy ship at range 1, that ship's agility is reduced by one to a minimum of zero.

I'd also make it a System Upgrade card rather than a Modification card, as there are fewer ships with such capability and Tractor beams should be somewhat exclusive weapons, not available to the majority of ships. Of course, we are only talking about smallship weapons here, not the versions mounted on capital ships.

Chris

I am in complete agreement withGrazerfoxie and StevenO, keep it simple and work within the established framework of the game. -When attacking an enemy ship at range 1, that ship's agility is reduced by one to a minimum of zero.

I'd also make it a System Upgrade card rather than a Modification card, as there are fewer ships with such capability and Tractor beams should be somewhat exclusive weapons, not available to the majority of ships. Of course, we are only talking about smallship weapons here, not the versions mounted on capital ships.

Chris

That's not a bad idea, using it as a system upgrade card.

Your idea is not bad, but I don't think it feels like a tractor beam, plus you almost earn wedges ability without paying for wedges points. Agility is way more important to ships then attack, especially since all of the rebels barely have any agility as it is.

How about this:

Ship Upgrade or System Upgrade:

Tractor Beam: 3 points, Remove Lock-on, Range 2, only works only on non large ships. Target ship at range two now counts as range 1 from this ship for the rest of this turn.

Thus, you must lock-on, and it works like a tractor beam. It in essence pulls the ship closer or holds it in place, which is what tractor beams do. Also it doesn't work on large ships.

Simple and effective. No rules issues. Useful, but not game busting

Your idea is not bad, but I don't think it feels like a tractor beam, plus you almost earn wedges ability without paying for wedges points. Agility is way more important to ships then attack, especially since all of the rebels barely have any agility as it is.

How about this:

Ship Upgrade or System Upgrade:

Tractor Beam: 3 points, Remove Lock-on, Range 2, only works only on non large ships. Target ship at range two now counts as range 1 from this ship for the rest of this turn.

Thus, you must lock-on, and it works like a tractor beam. It in essence pulls the ship closer or holds it in place, which is what tractor beams do. Also it doesn't work on large ships.

Simple and effective. No rules issues. Useful, but not game busting

eagletsi,

Wedge's ability works at all ranges, no? My proposed Tractor Beam (refered to, above) would only have a range of 1 and is only fitted to fighters, effectively as part of an advanced fire control system. Tractor Beams (such as the one the Death star used to haul in the Millenium Falcon or the one used in the capture of Princess Leia's Tantive IV) that grab and hold ships and move them around, etc... are not what I'm talking about; those will have to be developed sepparately. The TB I'm talking about is only short ranged, limited to your arc of fire and works with the ship's FC system to improve weapons accuracy by limiting an enemy's ability to dodge shots. Plus it seems to mimic most of the effects seen in the video games. I just don't see an auxiliary system fitted to a fighter being able to "pull" anything.

Oh, wait... what you are saying is that the target ship at range 1 or 2 is treated as if it is only at range 1, thus giving the firing ship an extra firepower die (for being close range). So, you think that an extra Attack die at range 2 is less devestating than one less Evade die at range 1? Not sure I'd agree but I'm no mathimagician. Just don't think range 2 is really justified, IMO.

That said, I think your proposed points (3) are about right.

Chris

Well the main reason is because most of the Rebel ships cannot evade anyway, and it would require a lock-on.