Point defense (aka Repel boarders!).

[Deathrider6]

  What forms of point defense are available to a leviathan besides a shipboard contingent of marines/bluejackets? Would a gatling type weapon (handcranked) or primitive machine guns (maxim) type be available?

Do the 3" class of cannon have a grapeshot round available? IMO Anything larger caliber would probably be over kill but a 6" grape might be used as well for ground support work.

[Wantec]

The Grapeshot might work on an enemy crew if they were on-deck of the enemy ship, or you could fire into an opening on a boarding craft, but probably the best anti-boarders weapons would be Marines with the occasional gatling gun turret up high to cover your own decks.

[First Sea Lord Randall Bills]

  What forms of point defense are available to a leviathan besides a shipboard contingent of marines/bluejackets? Would a gatling type weapon (handcranked) or primitive machine guns (maxim) type be available?

Do the 3" class of cannon have a grapeshot round available? IMO Anything larger caliber would probably be over kill but a 6" grape might be used as well for ground support work.

That is a level of detail the Core box simply will not cover. i.e. there are no boarding rules and no specialty munitions. So at the current time, while an "in universe" answer may be created, there is no game mechanic answer here.

However, both of those concepts are in notes stage, with potential plans for incorporating such rules in the future.


Randall

[bpardoe870]

Tossing in historical perspective - boarding actions in the early 20th century were limited.  It was hard enough to pull two large warships astride each other on the high seas.  Add in this universe you would be laying alongside of a flying battleship, not too many men would be willing to scramble across a gangplank for engagement.  One little slip...

Blaine

[Leaderoforcs]

It still opens the door for some wonderful fiction, even if in truth (heh) it would be impractical.  Also remember that boarding actions still happened up into WWII at least.  If you look, you can find the article detailing the incident when a ship repelled a U-boat crew with a bunch of potatoes.

[Darrian Wolffe]

Well, once we get into an era when we've got access to aircraft, boarding actions certainly become possible.  Anyone recall the Crimson Skies boarding tactic?  Load a bunch of guys onto the wings of an aircraft, fly slowly above the target, and have the boarders essentially jump off with mini-'chutes.

Whether it's at all intelligent to do so above a moving, shooting combat vessel rather than a slow zepplin is an entirely different question.  But I can totally see somebody trying it at some point.

As to literal "point defense", Maxim guns should be available at this time (predating the discovery of electroid - if I'm not mistaken - in 1884).  A point defense network of machine guns as an anti-aircraft and anti-torpedo measure sounds within the realm of possibility.

[ColBosch]

Indeed, the very first HML Leviathan mounted a 6-lbr and several Maxim machine guns. Later ships almost certainly include them, perhaps stored in gun lockers and "clipped" onto the railings as needed. They're just not modelled under the rules yet.

[Worktroll]

Unlike some games, in Leviathans machine guns will have ranges greater than 90 yards, and also be incapable of damaging anything more than trivial armour-plate ...

W.

[Leaderoforcs]

Yeah, when that dinky little machine gun opens up at its maximum range of 90 meters and separates a leg from its owner in one lucky shot, the owner is generally not pleased, since a machine gun shouldn't really be able to do that anyway.

[Alius]

Yeah, when that dinky little machine gun opens up at its maximum range of 90 meters and separates a leg from its owner in one lucky shot, the owner is generally not pleased, since a machine gun shouldn't really be able to do that anyway.

I don't know. Have you seen what Mini-guns can do to cars and other vehicles today?

[Leaderoforcs]

You mean the things built out of plastic and aluminum, as opposed to several inches of solid steel plating?

[ColBosch]

Modern indoor gun ranges use warship armor for their back walls; it's completely impervious to small-arms fire.

[Worktroll]

But ... but ... a .303 bullet can penetrate 1.3mm of armour. So, logically, if you kept hitting on the same spot ... 

(Yeah, don't hurt me! )

W.