STARSHIP UPGRADE: FIRE-LINKING (OPTIONAL RULE)



Cost:
-Starfighter Scale: 100 credits per weapon
-Capital Scale: 300 credits per weapon
Availability: 1

GAME NOTES:

   When fire-linking weapons together, they must have the same Damage dice and other traits, effectively being the same weapon.  Damage increases +1D every time the fire-linked weapons are doubled.  For example, 2 weapons = +1D, 4 weapons = +2D, 8 weapons = +3D, etc.  GMs may decide some weapons cannot be fire-linked due to factors such as being too large and ungainly, weapons' position on the ship's hull, being too old and worn out (needing repair, overhaul, etc), or being to new, or just too alien and different and not fully understood well enough, among other reasons.

   While fire-linking large, powerful weapons is many spacers' dream, never underestimate the value of fire-linking a bunch of weaker weapons together (Ex: Corellian Engineering Corporation VCX-820A Assault Ship ).



GAME DESIGN NOTES:

   Fire-linking rules to me have been odd to work with in the past when trying to do conversions or original write-ups.

   In older D6 books, it states that every +1 weapon = +1D.  This can lead to weapons becoming overpowered (though if the players and GMs want this, that is perfectly fine).

   In Galaxy Guide 6 Tramp Freighters, fire-linking grants +1D per extra weapon, but caps this at 3 weapons max.  Useful, but limits any potential with a hard stop, probably because the developers  realized how overpowered it could become by that point.

   In the last official WEG D6 rulebook, revised and expanded, fire-linking is harder to find in the book, but after hunting it down, then looking up "combined actions", the result is that fire-linking is now +1 pip per extra weapon.  So you need 4 weapons to gain a +1D.  To me, this was an attempt to curb the overpowering factor, but nowe it seems too weak and not worth using.  Yet, there was still plenty of material and stat blocks that have "double" and "twin" weapons that seem to have a x2 version of a weapon with +1D Damage dice.

   And the fan-made Star Wars Rulebook Revised, Expanded and Updated (REUP) continues the last iteration of fire-linking.

   So, I wanted a new take on fire-linking that would give me and other players some power when used, had a limiting factor to prevent it from becoming overpowered (at least not without some cost that would cause players to think before going forward with fire-linking a bunch of weapons), but would still allow power creep if people wanted to pursue this option, and also could explain some of the weird stats I have seen throughout Star Wars D6.  This optional rule, IMO, covers all the bases and satisfies both sides of this problem.

   However, the other fire-linking rules may still have their uses, depending on the weapons being fire-linked.  For example, really weak weapons could use the +1 pip per weapon version, and very powerful weapons that also take up a lot of weight and cargo space could use the +1D per weapon version.



Availability Chart:

1 - Readily available throughout the galaxy.
2 - Available only in large cities or spaceports.
3 - Specialized item, normally available only on planet of origin.
4 - Rare item, difficult to find anywhere.
F - Fee or permit often required for purchase.
R - Restricted on most planets, and normally may not be bought or sold without appropriate Imperial or other relevant license.
X - Illegal on most planets.  Possession or use often violates Imperial or local laws except for specially authorized individuals; penalties may be severe.