Voidstriker! A miniatures game of tactical starship combat for two or more players by Charles Oines *** Shareware Version *** Copyright 1992, 1993 by Charles Oines. All Rights Reserved. Credits Game Design by Charles Oines Playtesting, helpful comments, interesting rules additions and general creative interference: Jay Adan, Chris Bartlett, Erik Beaumont, Kenneth W. Burnside, Bill "Wizzo" McClendon, Victor Merceica, Sara Ryan, Ken Wheeler, Alan Young and probably many others whose names have been lost or forgotten in the mists of time and endless revisions... Thanks go to Rod Coleman, for his most excellent and frighteningly powerful text editor _Sudden View_; GFA Systemtechnik for producing GFA Basic 3.5e (used for extensive computer modeling and star system generation), my parents for putting up with me writing this when I should have been looking for a "real" job; and Steve Jackson for giving me a spot in the Gaming Business and a tremendous load of insight into what makes a game *fun*. Thanks also go to GEnie, for cheaply satisfying my information addiction and cutting my legendary long-distance phone bills down to almost nothing. Introduction Voidstriker is an intermediate-level game of tactical space combat for two or more players. The rules feature unique, realistic and playable vector movement, detailed yet fast (and again, realistic) damage resolution, and easy adaptation to the use of miniatures or starship models. Voidstriker simulates the interstellar naval battles of the mid-22nd century, roughly 150 years from now. This text file is Shareware. It may be freely copied and distributed anywhere so long as it remains completely intact and unaltered in any way. If you like this version, or hate it but find yourself playing it a lot anyway, please send $10 to Charles Oines, 1048 Hazel, Deerfield, IL 60015. Not only will making your shareware donation keep your karma clean, but it will get you a typeset copy of the complete 48-page rulebook, with more ships, weapons, an extensive background universe, and ship construction rules, all on 3-hole punched paper. In addition, when the printed version comes out (published by Nightshift Games), registered players will get $10 off the cover price (still undetermined, but likely to be around $14.95. If it comes in at $10 or under, you get it free!). Comments, questions, or random musings can be sent to me at my above address (if you want answers, enclose a SASE and register your copy!). Online support for Voidstriker can be found on GEnie, in the Scorpia RT, at 805;2;40 (the Nightshift Games topic) or at my GEmail adress, C.OINES1. Chapter 1 Getting Started To play Voidstriker, you will need this rulebook, a set of counters or starship miniatures, several 6- and 10-sided dice, pencil and paper, and a fairly large table to play the game on. Voidstriker can be played solo, or with several players. Most of the scenarios in Chapter 6 are designed for two sides, but each side can be run by a team of players, each player representing a ship captain or fighter squadleader. 1.1 Dice Voidstriker uses 6- and 10-sided dice, referred to in the rulebook as D6 and D10, respectively. "1d6+10" means "roll one 6-sided die and add 10 to the result." ites 1.2 Beginning The Game To start a Voidstriker game: 1. Pick a scenario from Chapter 6, or make up one of your own. 2. Arrange any planets, asteroids, etc. according to the scenario's setup rules on the playing surface. 3. Select or design your starships. Fill out a record sheet for each ship involved in the scenario and pick a counter or miniature and matching vector counter to represent it. 4. Place all ships in their starting positions and have at it! Chapter 2 The Basic Game 2.1 The Map The map can be nearly any large, flat surface; no special map is necessary. All movement is performed with rulers or yardsticks and protractors. The assumed game scale is 1" = 1,000km. Starship miniatures add interest; the miniatures put out by FASA and I.C.E. are both of excellent quality, and have the additional benefit of 1" hexagonal bases (perfect for movement and figuring firing arcs). Games Workshop also has a line of attractive starship miniatures, (some of which look menacingly alien), with larger, but still useful, bases. 2.2 The Units The combatants in the basic game are fighters and larger ships armed with a variety of lasers, missiles, and mass drivers. A ship is rated in terms of its capabilities and components: Tonnage: The weight of the ship in a 1-g gravity well. Ship Data: Details the Displacement and damage point ratings - xx tons, x DP - for the ship's bridge, crewspace, life support, and any cargo space; and also tells how many sensors are on the ship and the cost of the ship in megabucks. Crew: Shows the crew breakdown. Performance: Details the ship's drives and power plant, and shows its Turn Mode and Target Size Modifier. Armament: Gives the ship's Armor rating and describes its weapons and magazines in detail. Ships in the Basic Game are armed solely with laser weapons, missiles and mass drivers. More detailed information on ship data will be given throughout the rules as needed. 2.3 The Basic Sequence of Play Each combat round of Voidstriker represents about 10 seconds of real time. The combat round consists of 5 phases, and the Combat phase is further broken down into four 2.5-second move/fire phases. During each round, the players follow the sequence of play as outlined, one step at a time. 1. Drift Speed Determination 2. Initiative 3. Sensor Lock-On 4. Combat Phase a. Movement(drift/maneuver/accel), Firing, Damage Allocation b. Movement, Firing, Damage Allocation c. Movement, Firing, Damage Allocation d. Movement, Firing, Damage Allocation 5. Record Keeping 2.31 Drift Speed Determination Each ship and missile salvo requires two counters: the Ship Counter and its matching Vector counter. The Vector counter is marked with an arrow and an appropriate identifier. At the beginning of each combat round, each ship's Drift Speed is determined by measuring the distance in inches (rounded down) between the ship counter and its vector counter. The vector counter is then turned to point directly at the ship. Finally, the vector counter is placed under the ship counter (remember to retain its direction). Each ship captain then decides how much thrust, up to the ship's Thrust Factor, will be used for acceleration, evasive or attack maneuvers. Each point of thrust given to acceleration will move the ship counter one inch during the turn (apart from drifting, see below), each point of evasive maneuvering subtracts one from the to-hit rolls of all attacks made by and at that ship, and each point of attack maneuvers adds one to the to-hit roll for the ship's fixed weapons. 2.32 Initiative Each player rolls a single d10. Initiative is ranked from highest die roll to lowest. If a player's ship is out of control (bridge destroyed or whatever), that person automatically loses initiative to everyone else for that turn. The player who wins initiative for the round can decide who moves first during the movement phases, and gets to fire before the other player(s). 2.33 Sensor Lock-On Each ship has one or more Sensors on board; in combat these track enemy ships and missiles and give the appropriate information to the ship's fire control systems. A ship must allocate at least one Sensor to each intended target during the combat round. If a ship is not tracking another ship, it may not fire on that ship. During the sensor lock phase at the beginning of the turn, determine the target for each sensor, then roll a D10. Add the range and target size modifiers for the current target. if the modified roll is 3 or better, the target ship is painted, and may be attacked. If not, then the ship is untracked Note that normal modifiers for stationary targets and targets evasive maneuvering apply. An additional +3 is added to the roll if you were previously locked on in the preceding turn. Multiple Sensors can be allocated to a single target to increase accuracy for weapons fire. When more than one Sensor tracks a target, each doubling of sensors adds a +1 To Hit against that particular target (+1 for two, +2 for four, +3 for eight, and so on). 2.331 ECM During the sensor lock phase a player may elect to keep some senors for ECM. At -1 for one sensor,with each doubling subtracting -1 to the track roll against that target. A fighter squadron may pool sensors for ECM as well as for attack. ECM must be assigned to specific enemies. 2.34 Movement The four combat phases are broken down into Movement and Firing Weapons. Movement is further broken down into Drifting, Maneuvering and Acceleration. 2.341 Drifting During the Drift Phase, each ship and missile salvo is moved 1/4" for every point of Drift Speed the ship/missile has, in the direction the Vector Counter is pointing. The Vector Counter itself doesn't move at all during the turn. 2.342 Maneuvering Each Ship has a Turn Mode designation in degrees which shows how far a ship can rotate in any combat phase. A ship with Turn Mode 90, for instance, may change its facing up to 90 degrees in either direction. A missile (Turn Mode 180) can effectively change facing to any direction in each combat phase. 2.343 Acceleration Each ship, in reverse Initiative order (i.e., the ship that lost the Initiative for the turn moves first, the winner moves last) may move its ship 1/4" forward (in the direction the ship's nose is pointing) for every Thrust Factor put into acceleration. A ship doesn't have to use its full thrust, but any unused acceleration is lost. 2.35 Firing Weapons Weapons fire is conducted after each movement phase. Each weapon or battery may fire once per combat round on any target the ship is currently tracking. Fixed weapons may only fire at targets in the ship's 60-degree forward arc of fire. Forward-turreted weapons may fire at any target except those in the ship's Aft arc of fire; rear-turreted weapons may not fire into the forward arc.. Unless specified, weapons are assumed to be fixed. Mass drivers fire straight out from the front of the counter - if the mass driver's line of fire crosses the target ship's counter, roll for a hit normally. The pilot and each gunner are allowed to fire one weapon (or battery) each per turn. The pilot's controls include missile and fixed-weapon targeting systems, the gunners handle turreted weapons and batteries. To fire, the attacking player makes his attack roll. If he hits, he rolls the damage indicated in the weapons table, and the defending player allocates it immediately. The base to-hit of laser weapons is 4+ on 1 10-sided die; the base to-hit for mass drivers and blasters is 5+. When firing, the attacking player rolls the dice and adds the appropriate modifiers from the To-Hit Modifiers table. If the result is the to-hit roll or more, the weapon hit the target. To-Hit Modifiers A natural 1 always misses. There is no such thing as an automatic hit. Otherwise, all modifiers are cumulative. Target Size Modifier (TSM). The target ship's TSM is added to the roll. Sensors. +1 per each doubling of sensors tracking the target (+1 for 2, +2 for 4, +3 for 8 and so on). If no sensors are tracking the target, no weapons may fire on that target. Range. Ships at longer ranges are harder to hit. The following table shows the Range in inches, and the to-hit bonus or penalty for that range.: Range: 0 1 2 3 4-6 7-10 11-15 16-21 22-30 31-45 46-70 71-100 100+ Mod: +2 +1 0 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8 -9 -10 Evasive Maneuvers. Each Thrust factor allocated to evasive maneuvers subtracts one from the to-hit roll of any and all attacks against and by the evading ship. Attack Maneuvers. Each Thrust factor allocated to attack maneuvers adds one to the ship's to-hit roll with fixed weaponry. A ship may not perform attack and evasive maneuvers during the same phase. Nonmaneuvering target. An immobile target (a ship with its drives destroyed or shut down, a surface base on a planet or moon, an orbital station, etc.) can be targeted at +5 to-hit when the target's position is known. 2.351 Firing Missiles Each missile tube can launch a single missile every third turn. When a missile is launched, place the missile counter directly in front of the launching ship, facing the same direction, and place the missile's vector counter on the launching ship's vector counter, facing the same way. The missile starts with the same drift speed as the launching ship. Missiles have Thrust Factor 12 (and all of it goes into thrust) and enough power for three turns acceleration. Missiles have Turn Mode 180. For ease of counter use, any group of missiles fired at a single target during a single turn is considered a salvo, and requires only one pair of counters. A ship must be tracking the target vessel with at least one sensor when the missiles are launched. The to-hit roll for missiles is 10+ on 1 10-sided die. Add one to the roll for every phase the missile has spent in flight, subtract the target's evasive maneuvers, and add the target's TSM to the roll. If the missile fails the roll, it explodes harmlessly. Targeting a missile is at -4. If the target ship has initiative for the round, it can hold fire until the missile is at point blank range (within 1 inch) and fire before it gets close enough to damage the target ship. Any damage destroys a missile. Fratricide may occur when a missile is detonated before it can reach its target. If an explosive missile is blown up before it can get to its target, any other missiles within 1/2" of the exploding missile have a 3 in 6 chance of also being destroyed. Xraser missiles suffer fratricide on 2 in 6, nuclear missiles on 5 in 6. "Chain reactions" won't happen - missiles that are destroyed by fratricide won't affect surviving missiles. (Note: Nukes? Register and find out!) Missiles may be used for anti-missile fire by purposely detonating a missile when it intercepts an incoming salvo, inducing fratricide normally. Nuclear missiles are excellent in the antimissile category. If there is more than one target in the missile's target's inch, the other ships, missiles, or whatever have a 50% chance of suffering spillover fire from an explosive or nuclear missile hit. Spillover damage is one half the missile's normal damage (roll each hit separately and halve the damage). 2.36 Damage When a weapon hits, calculate the amount of damage by rolling the number of dice indicated in the Weapons Chart and adding any given modifier. For single weapons, this will by expressed as (for instance) 1d10+2, which means to roll one 10-sided die and add 2 to the result. Weapon mounts containing 2, 3, or 4 identical weapons fire at the same time and at the same target, inflicting multiple attacks under a single attack roll. A multiweapon mount with three Mk-III Lasers would inflict three 1d6+5 hits, and its damage is represented on the ship control sheet as 1d6+5(x3). Each die of damage is resolved separately, as though the weapons in the mount were separate weapons. Lasers suffer diminishing effects at longer ranges; for every 3" range between the target and firer, subtract 1 from the damage roll. Blasters, similarly, subtract 1 from the damage roll for every 2" range between target and firer. Mass Drivers do one die of damage for each damage point they have; thus, a damaged mass driver does less damage. All damage allocation rolls are made on a single 10-sided die. Damage is initially rolled against the Surface Damage table. Leftover damage must then penetrate armor. All ships have an Armor rating representing both plating on the outer hull and internal bulkheading. When damage penetrates the surface, subtract the target ship's armor rating from the remaining damage. If there are no damage points left over, the hit was deflected or absorbed by armor and does no further damage. After the first armor penetration, damage is rolled on the General damage table unless the attack came from the target's aft arc of fire, in which case the damage is rolled on the Aft damage table. The system rolled takes the damage to its DP. If there's enough damage left over to penetrate armor again, roll on the Internal damage table. If, after all that, there's enough damage around to penetrate armor once more, ignore any further damage and roll once on the Critical Damage table. Unlike the other damage tables, the Critical Damage table requires a 6-sided die. Damage Allocation Tables Roll Surface General Aft Internal Critical (d6) 1 No Effect Weapon Turret Bridge Armor 2 No Effect Thruster Power Plant Mass Driver Armor 3 No Effect Thruster Power Plant Mass Driver Armor 4 No Effect Cargo Thruster Crew Crew Killed 5 Sensor Cargo Thruster Power Plant Crew Killed 6 Turret Cargo Thruster Power Plant Ship Vaporized 7 Turret Crewspace Crewspace Power Plant 8 Cargo Crewspace Cargo Life Support 9 Cargo Missile Tube Cargo Magazine 10 General/Aft Internal Internal Magazine 2.362 Damage Results Armor. The ship's Armor rating is reduced by 1. If the ship's armor falls below 0, the ship is crippled; it can no longer maneuver, accelerate, fire weapons or recover small craft. It can still launch small craft (lifeboats, one hopes). Bridge. If the bridge is destroyed, all the bridge crew are killed and the ship is crippled until the bridge can be repaired. If the bridge is only damaged, 1d6 bridge crew (rolled randomly) will be aced and the ship will be out of control until reinforcements from the engineering crew (or spare crewmembers, if the ship has them) can take their place. Roll one die each turn, adding one to the roll for every turn past the first. When you roll 7+, the ship is back under control and may resume combat. If the ship has auxiliary or flag bridges, roll randomly among them to see which one bites it. Transferring control from one bridge to another takes 4 full combat phases,unless the auxiliary bridge has a ready command crew. Cargo. Essentially a free hit until detailed campaign rules show up. Crew. Each damage point takes out a crewmember. There's a 1 in 6 chance of each casualty being a bridge crewmember. Crew Killed. All the ship's crew is killed; the ship is no longer under anyone's control. The ship continues to drift at the same rate it was going during the turn. Crewspace. Crewspace hits may cause casualties among the ship's crew, in addition to damage to living quarters and accessways. Each hit to crewspace will kill or otherwise disable 1d6-1 crewmembers (roll one D10: on 1-9, an engineer or passenger is hit, on 10 a medic is hit). When all the crewspace is destroyed, further hits will incapacitate 1d6 crew and continue on to some other component. If there wasn't any crewspace to begin with (a fighter or short-ranged system defense boat, perhaps), treat this as a cargo hit. General/Aft. The hit ignores armor and goes directly to the General or Aft table. Internal. The hit ignores armor and goes directly to the Internal damage table. Life Support. In more primitive times, the loss of life support was not a critical problem in combat - it could be fixed later. Nowadays, life support includes the inertial compensators that keep crewmen from being splattered against the back wall during hard acceleration. If life support is destroyed, the ship may no longer accelerate, although it can change facing and fire weapons. Magazine. If a magazine is hit, the missiles, railgun or mass driver shells are destroyed. In addition, a hit to a missile or railgun magazine has a 1 in 10 chance of setting off one of the warheads, doing full damage to the ship's interior (roll immediately on the Interior damage table, ignoring armor for the first hit). The weapon does its full damage (any dice are automatically 6 or 10, respectively). If the ship has no magazines, treat this as a cargo hit. Mass driver shells, being relatively inert, do not explode. Mass Driver. A mass driver has 1 DP per die of damage it inflicts; thus, a Mk-IV Mass Driver has 4 DP to match its 4d10 damage. When the mass driver is damaged, the number of dice damage it does is reduced to the amount of remaining DP on the weapon. If the ship has no mass driver, destroy a random weapon instead. Missile Tube. A missile tube is destroyed. No missiles may be launched through that tube. Missile Tubes have 1 DP. If the ship has no missile tubes, treat this as a weapon hit. No Effect. The shot hit no important surface features; continue damage allocation normally. Power Plant. The power plant functions perfectly until destroyed. Any hits after it has been disabled have a 1 in 6 chance of blowing up the ship, which, on this scale, won't harm any nearby vessels. Roll Twice/3 Times. Roll two or three more times on the Surface Damage Table, ignoring the Roll x times results. Any damage left over after this must penetrate armor and go on to the General or Aft Damage Table. Sensor. One sensor takes a hit (1 DP) and may no longer track enemy ships. Ship Vaporized. Boom. Nothing left but a cloud of debris. Notify next of kin. Thruster. If the ship has a single thruster, the thruster operates at full efficiency until destroyed. When destroyed, the ship may no longer maneuver or accelerate. If the ship has two or three thrusters (designated as 2 x 5 DP or 3 x 5 DP, for instance), a random thruster takes the hit. If one of a set of thrusters is taken out, the ship's acceleration drops by half or a third, and its Turn Mode goes down by 15 degrees. If two out of 3 thrusters are knocked out, its turn mode goes down 30 degrees (Turn Mode 5 is the minimum) and thrust drops to 1/3rd its original level. Turret. Roll randomly among the turreted weapons that face the firing ship and destroy one of them. If no turreted weapons face the firing ship, treat this result as a no-effect, and continue damage allocation. Turrets have 1 DP. Weapon. Roll randomly among the weapons that face the firing ship and destroy one of them. Weapon mounts have 1 DP, regardless of the number of weapons within. If a multiweapon mount is hit, all the weapons in that mount are disabled. 2.362 Crew Casualties Crewmen are vital to ship's operations - without them, the ship is nothing but parts. When crew members are taken out of commision, the ship's combat effectiveness suffers. Replacement bridge crew can be drawn from engineering; roll 1d6 to find out how many turns it takes for the replacement to show up. Specifically: Captain. The ship is no longer under tight control. Reduce the ship's Turn Mode by half and apply a -3 modifier to all weapons fire until someone else takes command. Sensors may not be reallocated; they continue to track the last target(s) until a new Captain issues new orders. Pilot. If the pilot is killed or disabled, the ship may no longer maneuver or accelerate until a replacement arrives. Gunner. Loss of a gunner reduces the number of weapons that may fire by one. Officer. Officers coordinate repair attempts; one less officer means one less repair attempt at the end of the turn. Engineer. The engineer's main duty during combat is damage control, and he can't do it if he's dead. Replacement bridge crew are often drawn from the Engineering pool as well, so loss of engineers is just as bad as loss of command crew. Medic. Medics attempt to revive casualties; but they can't revive themselves. 2.37 Damage Allocation Example In this example, a UNSN Destroyer is attacked by a Japanese heavy cruiser. The destroyer's two fighters have already been launched. The cruiser gets successful hits with its Mk-V Mass Driver (for 22 points of damage) and one dual Mk-IV laser turret (for 10 and 12 points). We allocate the mass driver's damage first. (Note: Fighters? Launch Bays? Register and find out!) The first roll (on the Surface Damage table) is 1, or No Effect. The destroyer has Armor 4, and 4 points are subtracted from the mass driver hit, bringing it to 18. The Japanese ship is not in the Destroyer's aft arc, so the next roll is on the General Damage table. A 6 is rolled, striking the destroyer's Launch Bay and, since each launch bay has 1 DP, both fighter berths are smashed, and the remaining 16 points continues on. Subtract another 4 for armor, and the remaining 12 points go to the Internal Damage table. A 7 (Power Plant) is rolled, and the plant's DP is reduced from 19 to 7 - still functional. Now the laser hits are allocated. The first one did 10 points damage. The roll on the Surface Damage table is a 6 (Turret), and one of the Dual Mk-II laser turrets is disabled. 5 Points (9 - 4 for armor) continues on to the General Damage table. A 9 is rolled, taking out the destroyer's dual missile tube mount (for 1 DP). The remaining 4 DP are absorbed by internal bulkheads. The second laser hit (12 points) rolls a 5 (Sensor), taking out one sensor installation (1 DP). 4 Points are absorbed by armor, and the remaining 7 points go to the General Table. A 3 is rolled (Thruster), and the shot goes into one of the destroyer's two thrusters, reducing it from 20 DP to 13 DP. At this point, the destroyer is still combat worthy, and if it can stay away from the cruiser's mass driver, it stands a good chance of surviving this battle. 2.4 Record Keeping During the Record Keeping phase, all necessary end-of-turn game events (damage control, reviving casualties, etc.) are handled. 2.41 Damage Control During the Record Keeping phase, ships may attempt to make repairs on damaged equipment. Everything except Armor can be repaired on the fly. Each Officer on the bridge may oversee one repair attempt per turn, and may command up to 10 Engineers for any single repair attempt. The roll to make a simple jury-rigged repair is (Number of Engineers + 3 or lower) on 3d6, subtracting 1 from the roll for every full turn spent on the attempt. The player must state how many turns will be spent on the effort; if the repair attempt is broken off before completion, the bonus for multiple turns is lost. A natural 17 or 18 means the component cannot be repaired except at a shipyard. A successful repair roll restores one DP to the damaged component. Up to half the component's former DP may be repaired in this way (at least 1 point); further repairs require the use of a shipyard with orbital repair facilities. Sensors, turrets, and other 1 DP components are functional again on a single good repair roll. If a component is repaired and destroyed again, the time to repair it becomes 10 turns, then 100, then 1,000, and so on. If a heavily damaged ship is given plenty of time to lick its wounds, it can be restored to fighting condition again. Damage to the ship's crewspace hinders repair attempts until the crewspace is fixed: -1 to any attempt if crewspace is damaged; -3 if the crewspace is more than half damaged, -5 if crewspace is destroyed. 2.413 Damage Control Example The UNSN Destroyer captain from the last example looks over the damage reports, and sets one of his four officers to repairing the missle tube mount. The Officer in charge of the repair has 10 Officers handy (there haven't been any casualties yet.), and uses them all. The roll to repair the missle tubes is 13 (10 Engineers +3) on 3d6. The captain rolls, and comes up with 9, and the missile tubes are back in action. 2.42 Medical Services A medic can attempt to revive and send back into service one casualty per turn. The medic has a basic 50% chance of reviving any given casualty. Anyone who can't be revived is either dead or crippled, and must undergo more extensive treatment at a later time. 2.43 Free-floating Maps If a ship is in danger of leaving the map prematurely (before the player wants to), and there are no planets or asteroids in the scenario, the vectors of all the ships and missiles can be modified to keep that ship from exiting the map while not changing the tactical conditions at all. To do so, move the exiting ship's vector counter directly underneath the ship (cancelling his velocity), and move all the other vector counters exactly the same distance and direction, in effect, accelerating the map to keep up with the fleeing ship. Generally, this should not be used when planets or asteroids are involved in the scenario, unless the planet is just there for "atmosphere," and doesn't actually have anything to do with the scenario. Chapter 3 Advanced and Optional Rules 3.2 Map Features The map scale is 1"/1,000 kilometers. Moons and planets can take up a considerable amount of map space when included in scenarios. 3.21 Planets & Moons Planets range in size from a single inch or less (a small moon or large asteroid) to 13" across (the Earth), up to over 100" across (Jupiter). The gravity of most worlds will be too weak to affect starship movement - the ship's gravity drives easily overpower the planet's gravitational field for purposes of sublight movement. A ship's sensors cannot track a target that is obscured by the planet - if a direct line cannot be traced from the center of the tracking ship's counter to the center of the target ship's counter, that ship cannot be tracked. If a ship manages to get a planet between itself and incoming missiles, the missiles will lose contact with the ship and track the planet instead. A ship may not safely jump outsystem while within a star's gravity field. The ship must travel in normal space to the edge of the star's gravity well (see below). 3.22 Asteroids Asteroids (large and small rocks, dust, and other debris) obscure Sensor readings and make high-speed travel dangerous. Each asteroid counter covers one or more inches. Each full inch of asteroids between an attacker and target subtracts 1 from the to-hit roll. Asteroid counters don't move from their positions on the map. To make a set of asteroid counters, roll 1d10 to find length and 1d6 to find width of each counter, and cut out a rough shape of that size with thick paper or light cardboard. The resulting counter indicates a thick concentration of asteroids, rocks, and dust. If a ship or missile enters an asteroid counter, roll 2D6, add the ship's TSM and drift speed to the roll, and subtract any thrust given to evasive maneuvers. If the result is 9 or higher, the starship or missile takes collision damage from an asteroid impact. Rolling a natural 12 always results in impact. To calculate the damage from the hit, roll one d6, add the ship's TSM and drift speed, then roll that many d10s. If a missile hits an asteroid, it is destroyed. Lasers may be used for "asteroid point defense." When passing through an asteroid field, the ship's commander may delegate lasers or laser batteries to asteroid defense, having the lasers fire on asteroids that are likely to collide with the ship. The benefits follow the same progression as sensor tracking; i.e., 1 laser turret provides -1 on the asteroid evasion roll, 2 lasers provides -2, 4 provides -3, 8 provides -4, etc. The lasers must be turreted, and the number of lasers in the turret doesn't matter (a quad laser is just as effective as a single or dual laser turret). Missiles generally won't lose the target if it passes through or behind an asteroid counter; the asteroids' sensor echo is much different. 3.23 Takeoffs and Landings To land, a ship spends four combat phases immobile next to the planet. On the next turn, it drops to the surface. Taking off is done in reverse order: the ship spends one turn adjacent to the world (climbing out of the relatively very strong gravity well), then may accelerate normally. Chapter 5 Sample Ships 5.2 U.N. Space Navy Ships 400 ton Gunboat Ship Data: Bridge (2 DP), no crewspace, .65 tons cargo (1 DP), 1 Sensor, Life Support (1 DP). MB 744.425 Crew: 1 Pilot, 1 Gunner. Performance: Thrust Factor 8 (2 x 8 DP), 70 MW Power Plant (8 DP). Turn Mode 100, TSM -2. Armament: Armor 3. 1 Triple Mk-II Laser Turret (F). 1 btty: 2 Quad Mk-I Missile Tube Mounts. 2 16-missile magazines. 3,000 ton Destroyer Escort Ship Data: Bridge (4 DP), Crewspace (17 DP), 286.58 tons cargo (16 DP), 12 Sensors, Life Support (5 DP). MB 2,683.15 Crew: 1 Captain, 1 Pilot, 2 Gunners, 3 Officers, 23 Engineers, 2 Medics. Performance: Thrust Factor 4 (2 x 17 DP), 232 MW Power Plant (15 DP). Turn Mode 70, TSM +1. Armament: Armor 8. 1 Dual Mk-IV Laser Mount. 2 btty: 4 Quad Mk-I Laser Turrets each (1 btty F, 1 btty A). 1 Quad Mk-I Missile Tube Mount. 1 60-missile magazine. 4,000 ton Fleet Intruder Ship Data: Bridge (5 DP), Crewspace (25 DP), 54.75 tons cargo (7 DP), 6 Sensors, Life Support (8 DP). MB 4,644.35 Crew: 1 Captain, 1 Pilot, 3 Gunners, 6 Officers, 53 Engineers, 4 Medics. Performance: Thrust Factor 4 (2 x 20 DP), 586 MW Power Plant (24 DP). Turn Mode 70, TSM +1. Armament: Armor 5. 1 Mk-IV Mass Driver. 1 20-shell magazine. 2 Triple Mk-III Laser Turrets (Both F). 1 Triple Mk-III Missile Tube Mount. 1 15-missile Magazine. 7,000 ton Heavy Cruiser Ship Data: Bridge (7 DP), Crewspace (30 DP), 329.75 tons cargo (18 DP), 10 Sensors, Life Support (9 DP). MB 9,328 Crew: 1 Captain, 1 Pilot, 10 Gunners, 8 Officers, 71 Engineers, 4 Medics. Performance: Thrust Factor 3 (3 x 18 DP), 741 MW Power Plant (27 DP). Turn Mode 60, TSM +2. Armament: Armor 7. 1 Dual Mk-V Laser Mount. 2 Triple Mk-III Laser Turrets (1 F, 1 A). 4 Dual Mk-II Laser turrets (2 F, 2 A). 3 Triple Mk-I Laser Turrets (All A). 1 Quad Mk-IV Missile Tube Mount. 1 40-missile magazine. 5.3 American (both US and FAC) Ships 500 ton Gunboat Ship Data: Bridge (2 DP), Crewspace (4 DP), 30.05 tons cargo (5 DP), 2 Sensors, Life support (1 DP). MB 688 Crew: 1 Pilot, 1 Gunner. Performance: Thrust Factor 6 (2 x 8 DP), 62 MW Power Plant (7 DP). Turn Mode 100, TSM -2. Armament: Armor 4. 1 Mk-III Laser Turret (F). 1 Dual Mk-III Missile Tube Mount. 1 8-missile magazine. 2,500 ton Destroyer Escort Ship Data: Bridge (4 DP), Crewspace (21 DP), 93 tons cargo (9 DP), 8 Sensors, Life Support (6 DP), MB 3,177.55 Crew: 1 Captain, 1 Pilot, 3 Gunners, 4 Officers, 32 Engineers, 3 Medics. Performance: Thrust Factor 340 tons, 8 (2 x 22 DP), 340 MW Power Plant (18 DP). Turn Mode 70, TSM +1. Armament: Armor 4. 1 Dual Mk-III Laser Mount. 2 Triple Mk-II Laser Turrets (Both F). 1 Triple Mk-II Missile Tube Mount. 1 18-missile magazine. 5,000 ton Light Cruiser Ship Data: Bridge (6 DP), Crewspace (27 DP), 191 tons cargo (13 DP), 6 Sensors, Life Support (8 DP). MB 8,263 Crew: 1 Captain, 1 Pilot, 3 Gunners, 7 Officers, 61 Engineers, 4 Medics. Performance: Thrust Factor 4 (2 x 22 DP), 560 MW Power Plant (23 DP). Turn Mode 55, TSM +2. Armament: Armor 5. 3 Dual Mk-IV Laser Turrets (2 F, 1 A). 1 Dual Mk-IV Missile Tube Mount. 1 20-missile magazine. 5.4 United Kingdom Royal Navy Ships 500 ton Gunboat Ship Data: Bridge (1 DP), Crewspace (3 DP), 4.4 tons cargo (2 DP), 2 Sensors, Life Support (1 DP). MB 911.55 Crew: 1 Pilot Performance: Thrust Factor 6 (3 x 7 DP), 92 MW Power Plant (9 DP). Turn Mode 105, TSM -2. Armament: Armor 3. 1 btty: 2 x Mk-III Lasers. 1 Quad Mk-II Missile Tube Mount, 1 8-missile magazine. 4,500 ton Patrol Cruiser Ship Data: Bridge (4 DP), Crewspace (23 DP), 589.875 tons cargo (24 DP), 8 Sensors, Life Support (7 DP), MB 5,163.6 Crew: 1 Captain, 1 Pilot, 1 Gunner, 5 Officers, 45 Engineers, 3 Medics. Performance: Thrust Factor 5 (33 DP), 393 MW Power Plant (19 DP). Turn Mode 45, TSM 2. Armament: Armor 6. 1 Mk-V Laser. 1 Dual Mk-III Laser Turret (F). 1 Dual Mk-IV Missile Tube Mount. 1 40-missile magazine. 6,500 ton Heavy Cruiser Ship Data: Bridge (6 DP), Crewspace (30 DP), 632 tons cargo (25 DP), 10 Sensors, Life Support (9 DP). MB 9,742.31 Crew: 1 Captain, 1 Pilot, 4 Gunners, 8 Officers, 80 Engineers, 5 Medics. Performance: Thrust Factor 3 (3 x 18 DP), 785 MW Power Plant (28 DP). Turn Mode 60, TSM +2. Armament: Armor 7. 1 Mk-V Mass Driver. 1 100-round magazine. 1 btty: 2 Triple Mk-III Lasers. 2 Dual Mk-IV Laser Turrets (1 F, 1 A). 1 Quad Mk-IV Missile Tube Mount. 1 40-missile magazine. 5.5 Imperial Japanese Ships 300 ton Gunboat Ship Data: Bridge (3 DP), no crewspace, 6 tons cargo (2 DP), 3 Sensors, Life Support (2 DP). MB 467.3 Crew: 1 Pilot, 3 Gunners. Performance: Thrust Factor 6 (3 x 5 DP), 36 MW Power Plant (6 DP), Turn Mode 105, TSM -2. Armament: Armor 3. 3 Mk-I Laser Turrets (2 F, 1 A), 1 Mk-IV Missile Tube, 1 4-missile magazine. 3,000 ton Missile Destroyer Ship Data: Bridge (5 DP), Crewspace (21 DP), 178 tons cargo (13 DP), 12 Sensors, Life Support (6 DP), MB 3,695.225 Crew: 1 Captain, 1 Pilot, 3 Gunners, 4 Officers, 35 Engineers, 3 Medics. Performance: Thrust Factor 6 (3 x 17 DP), 336 MW Power Plant (18 DP). Turn Mode 75, TSM 1. Armament: Armor 5. 3 Triple Mk-II Laser Turrets (2 F, 1 A). 1 Quad Mk-III Missile Tube Mount. 1 60-missile magazine. 6,000 ton Battlecruiser Ship Data: Bridge (6 DP), Crewspace (30 DP), 194 tons cargo(13 DP), 12 Sensors, Life Support (9 DP). MB 5,749.85 Crew: 1 Captain, 1 Pilot, 3 Gunners, 8 Officers, 78 Engineers, 5 Medics. Performance: Thrust Factor 4 (2 x 24 DP), 692 MW Power Plant (26 DP). Turn Mode 55, TSM +2. Armament: Armor 4. 1 Mk-V Mass Driver. 1 20-shell magazine. 2 Dual Mk-IV Laser Turrets (both F). 1 Dual Mk-IV Missile Tube Mount. 1 16-missile magazine. 5.6 Arabian Ships 2,000 ton Corsair Ship Data: Bridge (4 DP), Crewspace (14 DP), 974.8 tons cargo (31 DP), 4 Sensors, Life Support (4 DP). MB 1,078.29 Crew: 1 Captain, 1 Pilot, 2 Gunners, 2 Officers, 13 Engineers, 1 Medic. Performance: Thrust Factor 4 (2 x 14 DP), 124 MW Power Plant (11 DP). Turn Mode 65, TSM 0. Armament: Armor 3. 2 Quad Mk-I Laser Turrets (1 F, 1 A). 1 Dual Mk-I Missile Tube Mount. 1 8-missile magazine. 3,500 ton Destroyer Ship Data: Bridge (5 DP), Crewspace (23 DP), 513 tons cargo (22 DP), 6 Sensors, Life Support (7 DP). MB 4,522. Crew: 1 Captain, 1 Pilot, 3 Gunners, 5 Officers, 42 Engineers, 3 Medics. Performance: Thrust Factor 5 (29 DP), 421 MW Power Plant (20 DP). Turn Mode 60, TSM +1. Armament: Armor 5. 1 btty: 2 Mk-IV Lasers (F). 2 Dual Mk-III Laser Turrets (1 F, 1 A). Chapter 6 Scenarios 6.1 Standoff at Bishamon II The U.N. Space Navy sends a task force to the Japanese-held Bishamon system to soften up the Imperial Japanese defenses before the main battle fleet arrives. Before the UNSN task force can begin their bombardment of the IJN system defense installations, the IJN sends an intercept squadron to destroy them. Setup: Bishamon II (an 11" world) is set up in one half of the playfield. The IJN player gets two battlecruisers and two missile destroyers, which may start anywhere within 5" of the planet's surface, at any beginning drift speed up to 6. The UNSN player has one heavy cruiser and two fleet intruders, which enter the map at the far end at any drift speed between 5 and 15. The UNSN ships must be within 6" of each other Victory Conditions: The side with the last surviving ships on the battlefield is the winner. 6.2 Raid on New Angeles V Arab privateers attack a Free American Colonial outpost in the New Angeles star system, hoping to loot the base of its ordnance and other valuables. The FAC is caught unprepared, and fights a desperate defense. Setup: New Angeles VI (a 5" planet at the edge of the New Angeles system) is placed in the center of the battlefield. The FAC player must mark a location on the edge of the planet for the FAC naval outpost. The FAC player starts the game with one light cruiser anywhere within 6" of the planets surface, at drift speed 0, and six gunboats landed at the naval outpost. The gunboats launch on the second turn after the Arabs enter the map. The Arab privateers (representing any one of several hundred special interests) have two destroyers and three corsairs which may enter the map from any side at any drift speed they choose. All the Arab ships must enter the map within 12" of each other. Victory Conditions: The Arabs win if at least one corsair is able to land at the FAC base, spend six turns loading on loot, and escape. Any other result is a FAC victory. 6.3 The First Battle of Alpha Centauri Tensions between the U.S. and U.N. rise as their respective leaders refuse to back down from previous threats. Two battlefleets meet in open warfare over Pangaea, in the Alpha Centauri system. Setup: Empty battlefield. Optionally, asteroid counters may be placed on the field at both player's discretions. The USASF player has two light cruisers, three destroyer escorts, and two gunboats. The UNSN player has one heavy cruiser, three destroyer escorts, and two fleet intruders. Both squadrons start at opposite sides of the battlefield, at any starting drift speed they desire. Victory Conditions: The side with the last surviving ship(s) wins. Weapon Damage Tables Laser Damage Mass Driver Damage Xraser Missile Damage Mk-I 1d6+2 Mk-IV 4d10 Mk-I 1d10 Mk-II 1d6+3 Mk-V 5d10 Mk-II 1d10+2 Mk-III 1d6+5 Mk-III 1d10+4 Mk-IV 1d6+7 Mk-IV 1d10+8 Mk-V 1d6+10 Turn Sequence 1. Drift Speed Determination 2. Initiative 3. Sensor Lock-On 4. Combat Phase a. Movement(drift/maneuver/accel), Firing, Damage Allocation b. Movement, Firing, Damage Allocation c. Movement, Firing, Damage Allocation d. Movement, Firing, Damage Allocation 5. Record Keeping Range: 0 1 2 3 4-6 7-10 11-15 16-21 22-30 31-45 46-70 71-100 100+ Mod: +2 +1 0 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8 -9 -10 Damage Allocation Tables Roll Surface General Aft Internal Critical (d6) 1 No Effect Weapon Turret Bridge Armor 2 No Effect Thruster Power Plant Mass Driver Armor 3 No Effect Thruster Power Plant Mass Driver Armor 4 No Effect Cargo Thruster Crew Crew Killed 5 Sensor Cargo Thruster Power Plant Crew Killed 6 Turret Cargo Thruster Power Plant Ship Vaporized 7 Turret Crewspace Crewspace Power Plant 8 Cargo Crewspace Cargo Life Support 9 Cargo Missile Tube Cargo Magazine 10 General/Aft Internal Internal Magazine Voidstriker Starship Record Sheet +--------------------------------+-----------------------------------------+ | Ship Record | Armament Record | | | | |Ship Name:_____________________ | Weapon To-Hit Damage Magazine | | | | |Ship Class:____________________ | --------------------------------------- | | | | |Tonnage:_________Cost:_________ | --------------------------------------- | | | | |Turn Mode:__Target Size Mod:___ | --------------------------------------- | | | | +--------------------------------+ --------------------------------------- | | Crew Record | | | | --------------------------------------- | | ---- Bridge Crew ---- | | | | --------------------------------------- | |Captain:_______Pilot:__________ | | | | --------------------------------------- | |Gunners:_______Officers:_______ | | | | --------------------------------------- | | ---- Support Crew --- | | | | --------------------------------------- | |Engineers:_____________________ | | | +-----------------------------------------+ |_______________________________ | Movement Record | | | | |Medics:________________________ | Turn Drift Thrust At/Def | | | | +--------------------------------+ 1 _____ ______ ______ | | Damage Record | 2 _____ ______ ______ | | | 3 _____ ______ ______ | |Bridge:___Crewspace:___________ | 4 _____ ______ ______ | | | 5 _____ ______ ______ | |Life Support:___Sensors:_______ | 6 _____ ______ ______ | | | 7 _____ ______ ______ | |Power Plant:___________________ | 8 _____ ______ ______ | | | 9 _____ ______ ______ | |Cargo:_________________________ | 10 _____ ______ ______ | | | 11 _____ ______ ______ | |Thrusters: 1:__________________ | 12 _____ ______ ______ | | | 13 _____ ______ ______ | | 2:__________________ | 14 _____ ______ ______ | | | 15 _____ ______ ______ | |Armor:____ 3:__________________ | 16 _____ ______ ______ | +--------------------------------+ 17 _____ ______ ______ | |Notes: | 18 _____ ______ ______ | | | 19 _____ ______ ______ | | | 20 _____ ______ ______ | | | 21 _____ ______ ______ | | | 22 _____ ______ ______ | | | 23 _____ ______ ______ | | | 24 _____ ______ ______ | | | 25 _____ ______ ______ | | | 26 _____ ______ ______ | | | 27 _____ ______ ______ | | | 28 _____ ______ ______ | +--------------------------------+-----------------------------------------+