Sup Veeky Forums.
I'm trying to find a good RPG for air combat. Specifically an RPG, or a wargame where the mechanics can be adjusted to allow for RPG-like mechanics. I am trying to do what's basically an Ace Combat campaign, and need to know what would be some good, simple, fun combat mechanics for jet fighters, with minimal simulatonism.
Any suggestions?
Buddy?
>minimal simulatonism
Okay, so every turn each player rolls a 1d6. If they get a 6, their plane shoots down an enemy plane. if they get a 1, they get shot down.
Is there a way to get more detailed than that without going full-bore 'holy shit, all of the tiny details are gonna fuck me up' and making it overly complicated? That's my main concern for a game like this. Jet-fighter combat is not simple, but I need a way to make it palatable to players.
With an afternoon's worth of work you could probably mod just about any highly customizable, setting-free RPG system for it. Fate Core comes to mind, though you'd need an entire new skill list for it.
Gurps
Only downside is a lack of a current Vehicles supplement, but there are workarounds using the spaceships book, and a scaling down article from Pyramid. It's a bit wonky but helps you ballpark the few stats you need on various planes.
Plenty of gun porn in high tech tho, so that's nice
Just make a diceless freeform system where every player gets a turn with a time limit to describe what happens, or something like that, if you like narrativism.
F-15C Eagle
Refresh: 3
Aspects:
>4th-Gen Air Superiority Fighter
>Not A Pound For Air To Ground
>Undefeated Record
>Twin-Engine, Single-Pilot
>Flying SAM Site
Skills:
>+4: AAM
>+3: Maneuver - Thrust
>+2: Flare - Radar - ECM
>+1: Chaff - Fuel - Durability - Stability
Stunts:
>"Solo Wing": Immune to Compels from Aspects related to wing damage or similar.
>Heavy Fighter: May choose to fire more than one AAM attack per turn with AIM-120D Phase-4 AMRAAM. Limited to eight uses total per sortie.
>Coordinated Effort: When vectored by friendly AWACS aircraft, add +2 to Radar checks.
It's less a focus on narrativism, and more 'I don't want my players to stare at massive spreadsheets.' Our issue is with extremely complex mechanics, and jet combat is extremely complex. Nobody wants to sit there and actually learn every detail behind jet fighters and how they work for the sake of the game.
I'll look at that one, but we've never been big on GURPS. I'll float the idea.
Never done Fate Core before, so I'll run this by them too, and see if anyone's interested.
Checks out GURPS Action 2. It has some very nice rules for abstract chase scenes that are easy to port over to dogfighting (you basically just allow the pursuer to become the quarry until someone gets downed instead of ending the "chase" via capture/getaway). The short version is that each participant chooses want they want to do that round -- focus entirely on widening/closing the gap, attacking, tricky shit, etc. -- and roll vs the relevant skill with a bonus for being faster or more maneuverable than the other person. In most cases, this will result in a change in distance between the two pilots e.g. the pursued jet shakes the pursuer and drops the distance between them from Medium to Far (this penalizes most attack rolls) but may call for an evasive maneuvers roll instead.
Honestly the subsystem doesn't really rely too much on GURPS mechanics, so you could always rip the rules from Action 2 and use them in your preferred system.
Okay
Get this
What if
Listen to me
What if
you refluffed
Dive in the Sky
Oddly enough this.
I know the Cult of Fate can be retarded sometimes but one thing Fate can do pretty well is allow the freedom of something like air combat without crazy complex rules. You can simulate shit like "radar lock" "on your six" and "evasive maneuvers" easily enough with Create an Advantage and counter them with Overcome actions.
The pantsless loli game? I understand refluffing it removes the retardation of the source material, but I was under the impression that the mechanics were pretty shit because, y'know, it was made by and for fans of a crappy early/mid-2000s anime that got by entirely on fanservice; it wasn't exactly written thr the most intense of mechanical specifications because no one cared as long as they could play a flying pantsless fox-loli.
Those are some mediocre aspects dude. Aspects are meant to be double-edged swords that either the player or the GM can call on for dramatic effect. What you have is a list of only-good-things and only-bad-things. That's on top of the fact that your aspects aren't really all that narrative in nature; they come off as pretty gamist.
Really, that's the issue with FATE -- no one knows how to make good aspects.
Buddy?
Might be a little harsh there user. I can't really think of a good way to use the first and last ones negatively but the middle three seem fine.
>not a pound for air to ground
Easy - Compels versus ground targets, Invokes versus air targets
>undefeated record
"Because your airframe has an Undefeated Record, you chose to turn and engage that new enemy squadron even though you're outnumbered. Here's your Fate Point." And do I even need to say how it can be invoked?
>twin engine single pilot
I admit it's an awkward aspect, but twin engines can be invoked for things like overcoming damages, while a single pilot could be compelled for having to divide his attention between flying the aircraft and operating radar and weapon systems.
They're not aspects I'd hold up as being the pinnacle of what an aspect should be, but it's not as bad as you made it out to be either.
Fair enough. The middle one about the undefeated record is pretty damn good, but I guess I didn't "get" the other two.
Sorry for jumping down your throat m80
OP here. That actually sounds pretty dope.
do you have a reason to fight yet
So, how would you emphasize roleplaying in a Fate game about jet-fighter pilots? Asking as a relative rookie GM who's only just now looking at the mechanics.
No, I flaked.
Wait, shit, I don't think you're in my group. I was just spouting ACZ lines. Sorry buddy.
yeah nah i was talking about another group lad
I'd look at the movie Top Gun or something. Roleplaying in a game like Fate isn't THAT different than roleplaying jet fighter pilots in any other system other than that Fate gives you some more tools to help make things more proactive for the players.
Pick your favorite RPG, then grab the rules from the X-wing minis game when it's time for air combat?
Play the Ace Combat games over again, especially Five and Zero. Really take note of how they use the planes and their pilots as characters, even in the air. It might give you some inspiration.
In Harm's Way: Wild Blue
Probably the best option to play mercenary pilots out of the box.
Mercenary Air Squadron
A simple table-top mercenary pilot table-top game. The combat system can be very easily adapted to your favorite RPG system.
Mekton Zeta and Mekton Zeta Plus
Let's you create all kind of vehicles and weapons and use them in combat.