The Leopan

By Eric Johnson <ithaqua_@classic.msn.com>

Leopan Heavy Cruiser SSD

Leopan Armor System Rules

Leopan Plasma Degenerator Rules

New Rules

The Leopan have developed an armor system which is used to protect their ships in combat. Unlike conventional armor, Leopan armor is more resistant to battle damage.
(CR-1.1) DESIGNATION
(CR-1.11) SSD   Leopan armor is present on the SSD by the use of a number which is encased in parenthesis. These numbers represent the highest undamaged strength of the armor system.
(CR-1.111) CAMPAIGN STATUS   In a campaign or other extended scenario game, the strength of an armor bank may be reduced to represent previous battle damage. If this is the case, the scenario will note such by the use of the following standard (Front X) or (Aft X), where X will equal the current strength of the armor banks of the unit in question.

(CR-1.12) POSITION   Leopan Armor covers broader arcs than conventional shields.
(CR-1.121) SHIPS   There are two separate banks of armor. The fore (or front) armor bank protects the front hemisphere of the ship. The aft (or rear) armor bank protects the rear hemisphere of the ship.
In conventional game terms, the front armor bank protects against any damage which would normally strike the #1, #6, and #2 shields. The aft armor bank protects against damage which would strike the #3, #4, and #5 shields.
For clarifications in combat, players are directed to the rules regarding Andromedan ships and their Power Absorber Panels. These rules explain how certain situations may arise in combat which may complicate the determination of which armor bank will be affected by damage.

(CR-1.122) BASES   Bases are equipped differently than other units. The following rules explain these certain exceptions
(CR-1.1221) COMBAT BASES (Base Station, Battle station, and Starbase) These units are equipped with six separate armor banks. Each armor bank protects one "shield" arc, i.e., armor bank #1 covers shield facing #1, armor bank #2 protects shield facing #2, etc.
(CR-1.1222) OTHER BASES: This includes any other base units (i.e., ComPlat, MB, etc.) EXCEPT ground bases. These units have armor banks exactly the same as ships (CR-1.122); hemispheric armor banks.
(CR-1.1223) GROUND BASES: Small and Medium ground bases have a single armor bank which covers all arcs, i.e., they have one armor bank which protects against all fire which can normally affect them.
(CR-1.1224) LARGE GROUND BASES: This consists of combat bases (CR-1.1221) placed on the surface of a planet. Use the same procedures listed in (P2.731) except each arc covered would have an armor bank value equal to 150% of the nominal armor bank.
(CR-1.123) OTHER NON-SHIP UNITS: Only units of size class-5 or larger are equipped with armor banks. Other units such as drones, fighters, or shuttles are incapable of using the Leopan armor system.

(CR-1.13) STATUS: Leopan armor system is a passive system in that it requires no energy to operate or function. In this sense, there is no comparison to shields with their multiple possible functions (full, minimum, or down). Note that because of this, armor banks can never be "dropped."
An armor bank which has sustained any strength loss is considered damaged. An armor bank which has a strength value of zero is considered down, but NOT destroyed.

(CR-1.14) EXCLUSIVE USE: Only Leopan units are equipped with the Leopan armor system. No other race has been known to have used it.
It should be noted that Leopan armor is a "system" which could not be removed from a Leopan unit as it is an integral part of the hull as such removal would make both the unit and the armor useless.

(CR-1.141) SIMULATOR USE If players insist, they can study the effects of Leopan armor on other units by the use of the simulator rules. Players should note as such units may not have been designed to take advantage of the armor system, strange results may occur.
The author of these rules suggests that if players decide on such an experiment that they take into account the unit they wish to equip and use the armor values of the equivalent Leopan class of unit for an approximate value.

(CR-1.2) OPERATION
(CR-1.21) PROCEDURE When a unit with a Leopan armor bank sustains damage, the following procedure is used. (NOTE As there are several times in which a unit may be damaged, the following procedure may be used several times during a turn, impulse, or even stage)
(CR-1.211) STRENGTH OF ARMOR The current strength of the target armor bank is determined; see above.
(CR-1.212) EFFECT The following will determine the effect of the Leopan armor system
(CR-1.2121) If the damage is less than or equal to the current strength of the armor bank, no internal damage will be scored on the unit. However, there is a chance that the armor system will lose strength due to the absorption of the damage.
Roll a die. If the die roll is less than or equal to the damage scored on the unit, 1 strength point is lost from the armor bank. If the die roll is greater than damage scored on the unit, then no damage is sustained (either to the unit or the armor bank).
(NOTE: This means that if a unit takes more than 5 points of damage but does not penetrate the armor, the unit WILL lose a point of armor strength.)
(CR-1.2122) If the damage scored is greater than the current strength of the armor bank

1. Determine the amount in which the armor bank was exceeded by the damage.
2. Divide this result by 4, but do NOT round this product.
3. This product (without fractional amount, if any) is the amount of damage which the unit will sustain in internal damage. This amount is also subtracted from the value of the armor bank.

(CR-1.22) ENVELOPING WEAPONS: This category of weapons has special effects based on the type of weapon that is fired. The following describes the specific effect against a unit with armor banks.
NOTE: These situations and examples assume that the enveloping weapon is striking a unit which has hemispheric armor banks, e.g., ships.
(CR-1.221) HELLBORES The exact effect depends upon the status of ALL armor banks on the unit.
(CR-1.2211) If NO armor bank on the unit has sustained damage, i.e., all armor banks are at their initial scenario entry value, all hellbore damage is divided by the number of armor banks. The result is the amount of damage applied to each armor bank.
(CR-1.2212) If ONE armor bank has sustained damage, that armor bank is considered to be the weakest "shield" for the nominal hellbore damage procedure. This applies in all cases, even if the damaged armor bank has a higher value than any other armor bank on the unit.
(CR-1.2213) If MORE than one armor bank has sustained damage, use the normal hellbore damage procedure. However in these cases where more than one armor bank is damaged, th_e weakest "shield" will be armor bank with the lowest current strength.
(CR-1.222) PPD's: Determine the damage by a PPD according to how many "shield" facings would be hit by the PPD damage.
If the PPD would strike either the #1 or #4 shield, then full PPD damage would strike the front or rear armor bank, respectively.
If the PPD would strike either the #2 or #6 shield then the larger amount of splash damage strikes the front armor bank and the smaller elements strike the rear armor bank.
If the PPD would strike either the #3 or #5 shield then the larger amount of splash damage strikes the rear armor bank and the smaller elements strikes the front armor bank.
If the PPD strikes directly between the armor banks (i.e., the line between the #2 and #3 shields or #5 and #6 shields), use the ALT line of damage. If there is an uneven amount of damage, the larger amount would be scored based on normal Order of Precedence regarding such fire.
(CR-1.223) EPT's: The warhead of the EPT is divided by the number_ of armor banks on the unit. Each armor bank sustains damage equal to this result.
(CR-1.224) SABOT's: When determining the SABOT effect, the following modified damage chart replaces the one normally used with the SABOT

	VOLLEY
	1st	2nd	3rd	4th
TARGET BANK	55%	70%	85%	100%
OTHER BANK	45%	30%	15%	0%

NOTE: This is the case where the SABOT hits a unit with hemispheric armor banks (i.e., ships). If the SABOT hits a unit with six armor banks, use the normal SABOT procedure and ignore the above.
(CR-1.225) ENERGY FLUXES: When determining the effect of an energy flux, treat the Leopan unit as if it did have shields, but only for purposes of determining the damage applied to the armor banks.
The following "rules" explain the damage by an energy flux based on the following diagram. These examples assume that a Leopan ship is damaged by an energy flux fired at range 8 doing five points of damage. It should be noted that if the targeted unit had six armor banks, the same damage procedure described in (DW-2.0) could be used unchanged.)
NOTE While these rules may seem cumbersome, they are relatively easy to perform.

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(CR-1.23) REINFORCEMENT: An armor bank cannot be reinforced as shields may be.

(CR-1.24) REPAIR: An armor bank cannot be repaired by repaired by Damage Control (D9.2) since that procedure is only used for shields. An armor bank may be repaired by Continuous Damage Control (D9.7). An armor bank can also be repaired by Repair systems (G17.0), but it cannot be repaired by Emergency Damage Repair (D14.23).
(CR-1.241) COST: It costs 4 points to repair one point of Leopan armor.
(CR-1.242) CDR BONUS A unit may make an amount of armor point repair up to its undamaged Damage Control rating. This is in addition to repairs which it may normally make using CDR. Thus, it is possible for a unit with a Damage Control rating of 4 to repair up to a total of 8 points of armor, four with its normal allowed repairs, and four additional armor point repairs.
(CR-1.243) REPAIR SYSTEM LIMITATIONS: A unit cannot repair its own armor using repair system (G17.0). Repair systems can only be used to repair armor on OTHER units.

(CR-1.25) DETECTING STRENGTH OF AN ARMOR BANK: The strength of a given armor bank is generally known to your opponent.
(CR-1.251) Rule (D4.14) provides that the ship portion of the SSD can be inspected at any time, so the enemy will usually know how much damage has been scored on a given armor bank and how much strength remains on a given armor bank.
(CR-1.252) If using the optional Tactical Intelligence rule (D17.0), this information will not be known except as provided therein.

(CR-1.3) LEAKY ARMOR BANKS (Optional)
This parallels the rule presented in (D3.6). An armor bank would leak the same as a shield; The same ratio of damage internal damage would be used.
This leak will not affect the strength of the armor bank unless as provided in (CR-1.21).

(CR-1.4) INTERACTIONS
Leopan armor, while unlike conventional armor in some respects, is the same in others. Leopan armor is like armor in the fact that except for damage, it is treated exactly the same. The following rules clarify these situations

(CR-1.41) DIRECT FIRE WEAPONS
(CR-1.411) DISRUPTORS have a special effect when firing against Leopan armor. Each disruptor which causes damage will do 1 point of damage directly to the strength of the armor. The remaining damage of the disruptor follows the procedures of (CR-1.21) normally. This automatic armor loss is calculated AFTER the normal procedure is followed.

(CR-1.42) SEEKING WEAPONS
(CR-1.421) SPEARFISH DRONES: The spearfish drone will penetrate armor normally according to its special rules. This is in regards to amount of internal damage cause by the drone. Any damage which would normally be done against the shields of a unit affect the armor according to (CR-1.21).

(CR-1.43) SHIP SYSTEMS
(CR-1.431) TRANSPORTERS: Leopan armor does NOT block or hinder the effects of transporters in any way.
(CR-1.432) ESG: The damage caused by the impact of a ESG is treated as weapons fire; use (CR-1.21) normally.

(CR-1.44) MINES damage Leopan armor normally under the procedures of (CR-1.21). This applies to explosive mines or captor mines firing weapons.

(CR-1.45) TERRAIN can affect Leopan armor.
(CR-1.451) DAMAGE: Any terrain effect which can cause damage will affect Leopan armor normally under the procedures of (CR-1.21). This includes ring material (P2.223), asteroids (P3.2), pulsar waves (P5.23), gravity waves (P9.31), and dust clouds (P13.2).
(CR-1.452) NEBULAE: There is no effect on Leopan armor from being in a nebula.
(CR-1.453) WYN RADIATION ZONE: There is no effect on Leopan armor from the WYN radiation zone. Leopan armor does not protect the ship from the suffering the effects of the WYN radiation zone.
(CR-1.454) HEAT ZONES: Leopan armor is unaffected by a heat zone (P10.1). However, Leopan armor does not protect the ship from sustaining internal damage from the heat zone.
(CR-1.455) RADIATION ZONE: Leopan armor will protect the ship from the (P15.1) provided any armor bank has a strength greater than zero. If any armor bank has a strength of zero, the (P15.1) effect will apply until all armor banks have a strength greater than zero.

 

(DW-13.0) PLASMA DEGENERATORS

The ships of the Leopan use a one-turn-load heavy weapon called the Plasma Degenerator. Similar to a disruptor, it is also able to damage plasma on a 1-for-1 bases (unlike the 2-for-1 effect of phasers). It can be fired overloaded at any range, but with hefty restrictions. The weapon functions by harnessing the energy of a plasma implosion in the firing chamber. This results in a powerful beam of energy which can damage shields and ships with ease.

(DW-13.1) DESIGNATION
(DW-13.11) SSD: Each box labeled "PD" represents one plasma degenerator. Each is armed, fired, and recorded separately.

(DW-13.12) DESTRUCTION: A plasma degenerator is destroyed on "TORPEDO" hits from the DAC (D4.21).

(DW-13.13) COST TO REPAIR: A plasma degenerator can be repaired for 6 repair points. This amount can be provided by CDR (D9.0), or Repair Systems (G17.0). EDR may also be used normally to repair plasma degenerators.

(DW-13.14) OPTION MOUNTS: It costs +0 BPV point to use a plasma degenerator in an option mount. It may be placed in any type of option mount, including Orion wing mounts.
(DW-13.141) FIRING ARC: The plasma degenerator in an option mount can only have a 120 degree firing arc which cannot be expanded.

(DW-13.2) ARMING PROCEDURE
(DW-13.21) ARMING: A plasma degenerator requires 3 points of energy (from any source) to arm. It may be fired on the turn of arming. This power can be allocated or from reserve power.

(DW-13.22) DISCHARGE: If a plasma degenerator is not fired by the end of a given turn, it must be discharged (E1.24); a plasma degenerator cannot be held.

(DW-13.3) FIRING PROCEDURE
(DW-13.31) FIRING PROCEDURE The range to the target is cross-indexed with the line labeled HIT# on the PLASMA DEGENERATOR COMBAT CHART. A single die is rolled, and if the number on the die lies between the probabilities given, a hit is scored.

(DW-13.32) PLASMA DEGENERATOR COMBAT CHART

RANGE	0-4	5-9	10-14	15-19	20-24	25-30
HIT #	1-6	1-5	1-4	1-3	1-2	1
DMG	5	5	3	3	1	1
O/L	10	10	6	6	2	2

(DW-13.33) RANGE EFFECTS: When firing without a lock-on, use effective range to determine the probabilit_y of a hit and the true range to determine the damage scored.
(DW-13.331) MAXIMUM RANGE The maximum effective range for a plasma degenerator is 30 hexes.

(DW-13.34) DIE ROLL MODIFIERS: The fire of a plasma degenerator can be affected by several die roll modifiers; see (E1.8). A plasma degenerator is a hit-or-miss weapon (E1.821).

(DW-13.35) FIRING RATE: A plasma degenerator can fire once per turn, but not within 1/4 turn (8 impulses) from a previous firing.

(DW-13.36) TYPE A plasma degenerator is a direct-fire heavy weapon. It is fired in the Direct-Fire Weapons Stage (6D2) of the Sequence of Play (Annex #2).

(DW-13.4) OVERLOADS (Advanced)
A plasma degenerator may be overloaded like other heavy weapons. However there are certain differences in how, and what effect, overloading a plasma degenerator has.

(DW-13.41) RESERVE POWER ONLY: A plasma degenerator can ONLY be overloaded with reserve power. It is not possible to overload a plasma degenerator during the Energy Allocation Phase.
(DW-13.411) AMOUNT: A plasma degenerator requires 3 points of RESERVE POWER to be overloaded. Apart from the reserve restriction, there is no other restriction as to what source this power must be (i.e., warp, impulse, APR, etc.).
(DW-13.412) ARM AND OVERLOAD: It is possible to arm a plasma degenerator (provided that it had not fired or been armed during that turn) and overload it. The only restriction is that the player must have provided a total of 6 energy points (3 to arm and 3 to overload) from RESERVE POWER.

(DW-13.42) RANGE LIMITATION: Unlike conventional weapons, a plasma degenerator may fire overloaded at any range the weapon can normally be fired at; there is no 8 hex range limitation.

(DW-13.43) FOLLOWING TURN RESTRICTION: The power required to fire an overloaded plasma degenerator puts a tremendous strain on the weapon.
A plasma degenerator which is fired overloaded cannot be armed on the subsequent turn. On the subsequent turn after this no arming turn, the weapon may be armed normally.
EXAMPLE On turn 1, a player arms a plasma degenerator during energy allocation. On the same turn, during impulse #24, the player uses battery power (reserve power) to provide overload energy for that plasma degenerator and fires it.
On turn 2, the player cannot arm the plasma degenerator for any purpose.
On turn 3, the player may arm the weapon normally, and could even overload it during that turn.
(DW-13.431) FIRING ONLY: If an overloaded plasma degenerator is not fired, the energy will be discharged (_DW-50.22) normally without any effect. The no-arming turn only applies when firing an overloaded plasma degenerator.

(DW-13.5) INTERACTIONS
(DW-13.50) GENERAL: It is important when judging any interactions that a plasma degenerator is a direct-fire weapon. It is important to remember this fact when there is a situation which may not be covered in these rules.

(DW-13.51) COMBAT SYSTEMS
(DW-13.511) NON VIOLENT COMBAT: The plasma degenerator cannot use non-violent combat (D6.4).
(DW-13.512) PA PANELS: A plasma degenerator has no special damage rules (ala "disruptor leak") when fired at an Andromedan unit.
(DW-13.513) AEGIS FIRE CONTROL cannot control the fire of a plasma degenerator.

(DW-13.52) SEEKING WEAPONS A plasma degenerator can be fired at, and can damage the following types of seeking weapons Drones, Plasma Torpedoes, TRAMs, Hyperdrones, Seeking Shuttles, and Boomerang Fusers.
A Plasma degenerator cannot damage Boomerangs.
(DW-13.521) DRONES: A plasma degenerator is considered a penalized weapon (FD1.52) when fired at drones.
(DW-13.522) PLASMA TORPEDOES: A plasma degenerator may fire at and can damage plasma torpedoes. The procedure for firing at a plasma torpedo with a plasma degenerator is the same as firing at any other unit. The damage done by a plasma degenerator is taken off of the total warhead strength of the plasma torpedo.
EXAMPLE 1 A plasma degenerator damages a level 1 variable plasma torpedo for 5 points of damage, the variable plasma torpedo would be destroyed since it has a warhead strength of 5.
EXAMPLE 2 Two overloaded plasma degenerators do a total of 20 points of damage to a level 8 variable plasma torpedo. The variable plasma torpedo would cease to exist after travelling 20 hexes. If the torpedo would hit a target prior to this range, 20 points would be subtracted from the warhead strength when it hits its target.
NOTE: This warhead damage is separate from any damage sustained from any other source which can affect a plasma torpedo. However, when the plasma torpedo strikes the target, any and all damage done to the plasma torpedo would be subtracted before the application of the torpedo's damage.
(DW-13.5221) A plasma degenerator is penalized when firing at plasma torpedoes the same as it is when firing at drones (DW-13.521).

(DW-13.53) SHIP SYSTEMS
(DW-13.531) WEB: A plasma degenerator can fire into or out of a web hex, but cannot fire through a web hex with a strength greater than zero.
(DW-13.532) STASIS: A plasma degenerator cannot affect a target which is in stasis.
(DW-13.533) ESG's: A plasma degenerator can fire through an ESG with no effect. An ESG does not affect the fire of a plasma degenerator.

(DW-13.54) MINES: A plasma degenerator cannot damage a mine, nor can the fire of one trigger a mine.
(DW-13.541) CAPTOR MINES: A plasma degenerator can be placed in a captor mine. Note that DefSats have plasma degenerators as well. Note that in either of these units, a plasma degenerator may NEVER fire overloaded.

(DW-13.55) TERRAIN EFFECTS
(DW-13.550) GENERAL: Terrain normally affects a plasma degenerator through the use of EW. There are certain special cases. In any case, a plasma degenerator is treated as a direct-fire heavy weapon.
(DW-13.551) ATMOSPHERE: A plasma degenerator loses 25% of its damage when passing through one hex of atmosphere, rounding down. This effect is cumulative when firing through multiple hexes of atmosphere.
(DW-13.552) ASTEROIDS: A plasma degenerator may be used to clear a path through asteroids (P3.25). A plasma degenerator can score individual damage on large asteroids (P3.45).
(DW-13.553) BLACK HOLES, PULSAR: A plasma degenerator cannot be fired into or through a pulsar or black hole hex. In addition, no fire may be made within 2 hexes of a black hole.
(DW-13.554) NEBULAE: A plasma degenerator loses 50% of its damage (rounding down) when fired inside or through a nebula, or at a target which is inside a nebula hex.
(DW-13.555) RADIATION ZONE: A plasma degenerator is affected by (P15.6).

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