Another Version of Cloaking

I have some rules for cloaking that are somewhat different than those being
discussed. In converting ships from Starfleet Wars to FT, one of

the races has an 'Invisibility Screen' but I was never happy with how it
played. In order to get the effect I wanted, I came up with the following
 rules which fall kinda in-between the other cloaks.

Basically when cloaked, the presence of the ship is known and its position is
known (to some extent) but that is it. Information beyond the presence of the
ship is unknown (size, class, etc). It could be a destroyer or it could be a
dreadnought but there is no way to tell. The cloaking effects the fire control
of the opposing ships so cloaked ships are fired on as if they were 2 times
the actual distance away (14" actual distance, combat

resolved as if the distance was 28")

The cloaked ship can see out and can fire, but at a reduced level. Since the
general rational for cloaking is that it takes lots of power, I could not have
them fire as normal so only beam weapons can fired when cloaked
 but they fire as a beam battery one size smaller (A-batts fire as a
B-batt
with 2d6 to 12" and 1d6 to 24").

This results in the cloaked ship having the ability to fire at targets out
 to 24" with an A-batt but its opponents can only target it out to 18"
with
 an A-batt.  Thus the cloaked ship has a 6" band of immunity, if it can
stay there. On the other hand, at a range of 6" or less, the cloaked ship
 only gets 2d6 to attack with its reduced A-batt, but the opponent now
gets 3d6.

In the end I think it can make some interesting scenarios where one side has
several cloaked ships of unknown sizes. Are they all destroyers and the they
are trying to bluff? Or are they all capital ships just waiting
 for you to close so they can de-cloak and open fire with all their
weapons? I am planning a future PBeM game based on this. It also has some
interesting campaign implications when the presence of ships are known, but
not their size or type.

On Friday, December 19, 1997 3:40 PM, Dean Gundberg
> [SMTP:dean.gundberg@bcbsnd.com] wrote:

Interesting system Dean.
I'd call it a Veiling Device :-)

sincerely

> I have some rules for cloaking that are somewhat different than those

This reminds me of the sensor blanketing done in E. Docs Smith's Lensman
books.