Upgrade to the Tau seeker or SMS?

[Uncle Nutsy]

Not 100% sure if this is the right section, but i'm fairly sure it is. Feel free to move if it isn't


I was watching future weapons not too long ago, and one type of missile grabbed my attention. It's called the starstreak and I figured, "hey, why not try it out in the 40k universe?" In a nutshell, it's three small darts propelled by a carrier, and the darts guided in by a laser. The targeting system locks onto anything and all the guy has to do is decide wether or not to fire.

So after a day or two thinking about how to translate he mechanics, I came up with some statlines. I'd like to do some fluff for it but I'm pretty horrible at it. Maybe one of you chaps can assist?

This is a rough draft but I think it's pretty good so far.



Trident Missile

<insert fluff here>

Heavy 1, 1D6 hits, Str 7, AP3 range 48"


On a 1, all darts miss.
On a 2, one dart hits
on a 3 and 4, two darts hit.
on a 5 and 6, all darts hit


what do you think?

[therealjohnny5]

my immediate concern is the 1D6 hits. It's not based on any BS so your hit probability is off and it's changing one of the fundamental mechanics of the game. it would make more sense i think if you made it Heavy D6 S7 AP3 R48"

[Uncle Nutsy]

I was able to get a bit of help and i came up with this.


For each hit scored by a Trident Missile, roll 1D3: If the result is a 1, a single hit is inflicted as normal, but if the result is a 2 or 3 then that many hits are inflicted instead.

[slxiii]

so the possibility to get 18 s7 ap3 hits on a target.... doesnt seem right for darts propelled through the air. The HE Missile pods are s7, and an ion cannon-which destroys matter at an atomic level, is s7 ap 3.
for DARTS, i would expect s3, not s7, unless they were some kind of massive harpoon sized darts, in which case firing d6x(d6)d3 seems a bit ridiculous.

[Sanguinary Dan]

The modern equivalent he's trying to model can be used against most armored targets and airplanes. So the S and AP probably aren't that far off. As I recall it uses tungsten darts with an explosive warhead. The tungsten punches thru any armor and then the charge detonates. Sort of like a Bolter.:D

I'd suggest it's better as a Seeker upgrade. You should lose indirect fire but gain the chance at multiple hits, making it a better weapon against anything with the ability to ignore some of the damage table or force you to reroll. It would also give you a better shot at taking out a transport as multiple rolls on the table are much more effective.

I do agree that it should be treated as a Heavy2 or 3 weapon since the darts home in on target designated by the firer. Almost anything can happen to block or disrupt that for some or all of the darts.