Ironclad Armada

By Paul (bekosh) Polter

Starmada and related logos are trademarks of Majestic Twelve Games Starmada, The Admiralty Edition 2007 Majestic Twelve Games www.MJ12games.com

Ironclad Armada
CORE RULES MODIFICATIONS
Except where noted below, Ironclad Armada utilizes essential Starmada as described in the Core Rulebook, with the following modifications and substitutions: 1) Option D.11: Naval Movement is in play: thus, rule 3.0: Movement is not used. 2) For ships with sails instead of steam engines, Option D.11: Naval Movement is modified by special rule Naval Movement under Sail in Ironclad Armada.

OPTIONS IN PLAY
Ironclad Armada assumes the following options are in use: B.1 Armor Plating B.4 Countermeasures B.5 Fire Control B.7 Marines (Advanced) B.8 Mines B.12 Tech Levels B.15 Faceted Shielding C.1 Expanded Accuracy C.2 Expanded Firing Arcs C.3 Expanded Ranges C.4 Weapon Traits C.6 Dual-Mode Weapons E.1 Damage Control D.11 Naval Movement

CORE RULES MODIFICATIONS

Wind and Weather Conditions Naval Movement under Sail Shallow Water Collisions/Ramming Fouling, Grappling and Boarding Conversely, the following rules should not be used: 5.0 Fighters B.6 Hyperdrive B.10 Screens D.1 Basic movement D.5 Pivots D.6 Rolls D.9 Three Dimensional Movement D.12 Etheric Movement E.4 Sensor Modes E.6 Shield Reinforcement E.8 Searchlights New Equipment Option SU Cost ORAT DRAT Ram 5% 10 n/a Provides a modifier on Collision/Ramming die rolls.

Wind and Weather Conditions

In any game that includes sailing vessels, the wind and weather conditions at the start of the game will need to be determined. Those conditions should either be stated in the scenario setup or determined randomly. There are 4 strength levels for wind; Becalmed, Light, Normal and Storm. (See the Naval Movement under Sail section for details of the affects of the different wind strengths.) To determine starting wind conditions, pick one direction on the game board as North, Up, Top. The hex sides are numbered clockwise 1 through 6 as shown at right. Roll 1d6 to determine the starting direction that the wind is blowing towards. (Example: A roll of 2 means that the wind is blowing from hex side 5 towards hex side 2.) For the starting wind strength, roll on the following table. Wind Strength Light Normal Storm 1-2 3-5 6 (Re-roll and use Storm only on a second 6, otherwise Wind Strength is Normal.)

Weather conditions may change during the course of the game. Every turn during the End Phase, roll 1d6, if the result of the roll is a 1 or a 2, roll 1d6 on the Wind Strength Change Table and 1d6 on the Wind Direction Change Table and apply the results. Die Roll 1-3 4-6 Wind Strength Change Table Result Wind Strength drops one level. Wind Strength increases one level. Die Roll 1 2-3 4-5 6 Wind Direction Change Table Result Wind shifts 120 Clockwise. Wind shifts 60 Clockwise. Wind shifts 60 Counter-Clockwise. Wind shifts 120 Counter-Clockwise.

If wind strength is Storm and the die roll calls for an increase, the scenario immediately ends in a draw, as the combatants are too busy trying to save their ships from sinking to continue fighting.

Naval Movement under Sail

Rule D.11 Naval Movement is used with the following modification. Sailing ships are designed the same way as normal ships. However instead of Engines they have sails and masts. Ships under sail plot their movement the same as steam ships but have their Movement Point (MP) cost affected by the wind conditions. The MP cost per hex is based on the direction and strength of the wind. The effects are as follows: Becalmed: No movement allowed.

Light: Wind from the stern (JKL) move cost is 2 MP per hex. Wind from the bow (GHI) move cost is 3 MP per hex.

Normal: Wind from the stern (JKL) move cost is 1 MP per hex. Wind from off the port or starboard bow (HI) move cost is 2 MP per hex. Wind from the bow (G) move cost is 3 MP per hex.

Storm: Wind from the stern (JKL) move cost is 2 MP per hex. Wind from off the port or starboard bow (HI) move cost is 3 MP per hex. Wind from the bow (G) move cost is 4 MP per hex.

Example of play: We have a sailing ship with a Sail rating of 4 heading North with a Normal wind behind it from the Southwest. The player plots a movement of 2P1P, moving 2 hexes forward, turning to port, moving 1 hex forward and turning to port again. The wind starts on the ships port aft (J) arc so the move cost for its first 2 hexes is 1MP each hex. The ship then turns to port (P) and brings the wind to its port bow (H) arc. Its next hex of movement costs 2MPs for a total cost of 4MPs. Finally the ship turns to port again, resulting in the wind being from the bow (G) arc. This means that if the wind remains the same, a forward hex of movement at the start of the next turn would cost 3MPs or the ship would have to spend 1 MP to make a turn at the start of its movement as per Rule D.11 Naval Movement.

Shallow Water
Some scenarios have areas of the map designated as Shallow Water. Any ship over hull size 2 whose movement plot enters a shallow water hex it may run aground. If the ships movement plot enters multiple shallow water hexes, resolve each hex in the order that they are entered. Roll 1d6 on the Shallow Water table and apply the result. Die Roll 1-2 3-6 Shallow Water Table Result Run aground. End movement. Safe passage. Continue plotted movement.

Modifiers: For hull sizes 3-5, add 1 to the die roll. For hull sizes 10 or more subtract 1 from the die roll. Ships that are aground during the End Phase, may attempt to reverse out of the shallow water hex. Roll 1d6 on the Shallow Water Table with the same modifiers. A result of Safe passage allows the ship to move in reverse, at a move cost of 2 MPs per hex, on the following turn and then normally on the turn after that.

Collisions/Ramming
When, at the end of movement, a vessel is in the same hex as another, they have collided, even if it has accidentally collided with a vessel on its own side. Use Rule 3.3 Moving on the Game Board to determine which ship remains in the collision hex and the location of the other ship. Then resolve the Collision/Ram using the following procedure. For the purpose of these rules the vessel that remains in the hex is the Target Vessel and the other vessel is the Ramming Vessel.

Collision Damage
If the vessels collide there is the possibility of one or both sustaining damage. Before resolving Collision Damage, Collision Speed must be established. This depends upon the angle at which the striking vessel hits. It is calculated as follows: If the collision occurs in the Broadside arc (HJ or IK) of the Target Vessel, the Collision Speed is the speed of the Ramming Vessel. If the collision occurs in the Bow arc (G) of the Target Vessel, the Collision Speed is the speed of the Ramming Vessel, increased by the speed of the Target Vessel. Example: The Virginia Rams the Monitor bows on. The Virginia is moving at Speed 4 and the Monitor is at Speed 3. The relative speed is Speed 7, as the Monitor's speed increases the relative speed of the Virginia. If the collision occurs to the Stern arc (L) of the Target Vessel, the Collision Speed is the speed of the Ramming Vessel, decreased by the speed of the Target Vessel. Example: The Virginia Rams the Monitor in the Stern. The Virginia is moving at Speed 4 and the Monitor is at Speed 3. The relative speed is 1, as the Monitor's speed decreases the relative speed of the Virginia. If the relative speed is reduced to 1 or less neither vessel will take damage and no further action is required. If the Target Vessel is moving astern, swap bow for stern in the above situations. If the relative speed is greater than 1, each vessel then rolls 2d6, adding all applicable modifiers from the Collision Modifiers table and compares the result with Ramming Damage Table. This gives the amount of damage inflicted upon the other vessel.

Collision Modifiers Testing Vessel is Ram Equipped Vessel Striking Bows on Hull size 1-4 Vessel Striking Bows on Hull size 5-9 Vessel Striking Bows on Hull size 10+ Vessel Striking Bows on Other Vessel is Armor 0 or 1 Armor 2-3 Armor 4-5 Hull size 1-4 Vessel Hull size 5-9 Vessel Hull size 10+ Vessel Struck on the Bow of Ram Equipped Vessel Struck in Bow/Stern Arc Struck in Broadside Arc Relative Collision Speed Relative Speed 2-3 Relative Speed 4-6 Relative Speed 7-9 Relative Speed 10+ Modified Die Roll 6 or less 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 or More Ramming Damage Table Result No Damage Roll 1 Hull damage dice. Roll 2 Hull damage dice. Roll 3 Hull damage dice. Roll 1 Engine Damage dice. Roll 3 Hull damage dice. Roll 1 Engine Damage dice. Roll 4 Hull damage dice. Roll 2 Engine Damage dice. Roll 4 Hull damage dice. Roll 2 Engine Damage dice. Roll 5 Hull damage dice. Roll 3 Engine Damage dice. Roll 5 Hull damage dice. Roll 3 Engine Damage dice. Roll 6 Hull damage dice. Roll 4 Engine Damage dice.

+2 -1 +1 +2 0 -1 -2 +2 +1 -1 -4 -1 +1 -1 0 +1 +2

Each damage die that comes up an odd number (1,3,5) causes 1 point of damage. Armor plating protects the hull from this damage on rolls of 1. When a collision occurs, the rigging of the involved ships may entangle and be fouled, locking the ships together. When a collision occurs, the Ramming Vessel must roll on the fouling table. If the result is Ships are fouled see Fouled Ships under Fouling/Grappling for the affects. If the result is "Ships are not fouled", they may continue to move normally the next movement phase. Die Roll 1-2 3-6 Fouling Result Ships are fouled. Ships are not fouled.

Modifiers: If one or both Ships have no masts, add 1 to the die roll.

Fouling and Grappling

Fouled Ships
1. While fouled or grappled ships cannot move or turn in place. 2. During the End Phase, prior to Shipboard Combat, Ships that have fouled their rigging may attempt to un-foul. Ships attempting to un-foul use the Un-fouling Table. Players need not attempt to un-foul if they do not wish to; however, they may roll one die for each of their ships that are fouled. If un-fouling is successful, both ships may move normally on that turn. If a ship is fouled with more than one ship, a player may roll once for each fouled enemy ship. If after the completion of all un-fouling attempts, any ship still remains fouled to one or more enemy ships; must wait till next turn to attempt to un-foul. Un-fouling Table Result Ships are un-fouled. Ships remain fouled.

Die Roll 1-2 3-6

3. Unfriendly Ships that are fouled may engage in Shipboard Combat that turn and any subsequent turns that they remain fouled.

Grappling
1. During the End Phase, prior to Shipboard Combat and after un-fouling attempts, any adjacent ships may attempt to grapple. 2. A ship may make one attempt to grapple each ship that it is adjacent to. 3. If the involved ships are friendly, grappling and un-grappling is performed automatically without rolling a die. 4. If the adjacent ship is unfriendly, an attempt to grapple is made by rolling one die and consulting the Grappling Table. Grappling Table Result Grappling Succeeds. Grappling Fails.

Die Roll 1-2 3-6

Modifiers: If the target ship is moving under sail, subtract 1 from the die roll. If the target ship has no masts, add 1 to the die roll. If the attacking ship and target ship are fouled together, subtract 2 from the die roll, 5. As with fouled ships, grappled ships cannot move or turn in place. 6. Unfriendly Ships that are grappled may engage in Shipboard Combat that turn and any subsequent turns that they remain grappled.

Un-grappling
1. After all attempts at grappling have been made in this phase, any ship that has been successfully grappled may attempt to un-grapple by rolling one die and consulting the Un-grappling Table. Un-grappling Table Result Un-grappling Succeeds Un-grappling Fails

Die Roll 1-2 3-6

2. A successful un-grapple negates all affects of the grappling. Each un-grappled ship may move normally the next turn. 3. On each turn that a ship is in a grappled state, if may attempt to un-grapple. If a ship is grappled more than once, it must un-grapple every successful grapple before it is free. 4. A ship may attempt to un-grapple once per turn for each successful grapple. 5. If after completion of all un-grappling attempts, any ship still remains grappled to one or more enemy ships, it must wait till next turn to attempt to un-grapple.

Shipboard Combat
Shipboard Combat is resolved using the Advanced rules in B.7 Marines. Ships must be in adjacent hexes and either fouled or grappled together for Shipboard Combat to occur.

Conversion Notes
Map Scale: The map scale is approximately 12 hexes to the mile making the scale roughly 1:2640 if you use 2-inch hexes. This makes it good fit for 1:2400 scale miniatures, nearly all of which are less than 2 inches long. Some of the available 1/2400-scale miniatures are from: Panzershiffe, ACW (http://www.panzerschiffe.com/Warships_from_the_American_Civil_War.html) Tumbling Dice UK, Victorian & ACW (http://www.tumblingdiceuk.com/sail_steam.html) Figurehead, Iron & Steam (http://www.nobleminis.com/Figurehead/Figurehead2400.pdf) Time Scale: Each turn represents approximately 2 minutes. Tech levels: Unless otherwise specified, all tech levels are 0. Turret ships are +1 weapon tech. Royal Navy & German/Prussian ships are +1 shields (armor) tech. Royal Navy & German/Prussian ships after 1866 are +1 engine tech. German/Prussian ships are +1 weapon tech, +2 for turret ships. After 1870 all Royal Navy tech levels are +1. After 1870 all Royal Navy turret ships become +2 weapon tech. After 1870 all other fleets are +1 engines & +1 shields (armor) tech. After 1876 all fleets tech levels are +1, +2 weapons for turret ships. Hull size: The hull size was determined with the following formula. ROUNDDOWN (Tonnage/8) (Tonnage =Square root of the ships Tonnage.) Speed: For steam ships, use maximum speed in knots, divided by 2 and dropping fractions. Be careful with your reference material since the speed listed is often times the design speed. Many Civil War era ships failed to reach their design speeds in actual action. For ships that no speed information is available either use a speed from a similar vessel or, you can calculate a speed using the standard hull speed formula (1.34x WL) divided by 4. ( WL=Square root of the waterline length.) Then use the following modifiers to the speed; -1 for Ships of the line & large merchant ships, no modifier for large frigates, +1 for brigs, corvettes, frigates & sloops of war, +2 for schooners, small sloops and other small fast ships. You can also use this formula to calculate a speed for sailing vessels. Shields/Armor: The armor thickness in inches (round to nearest full inch) is divided by 2.5 and rounded to the nearest full number for the Shields/Armor rating. Casement ironclads and monitors use standard shields with the exception of Casement vessels that were known to have different armor thickness over different parts of the hull. (For example, The City or Cairo class Union Casement Ironclads was unarmored on the stern so use Faceted 10 (2,2,2,2,2,0).) Broadside and Citadel and other conventional ironclads use faceted shields with bow and stern shields the strength of broadside armor rounded up or down as appropriate to the armor data. (For ex. The HMS Warrior class Broadside Ironclads are known to have weak armor on the bow and stern. So use Faceted 14 (1,3,3,3,3,1). The HMS Hector corrected that problem so it has Faceted 16 (2,3,3,3,3,2).) Ships with armor backed by wood, gain 1 extra shield point for every 12 inches of wood backing.

Small, lightly built wood gunboats have no shields. Normal wooden hull ships (Sloops, Frigates and other mid-sized ships) have a shield of 1. Large Frigates and Ships of the Line have faceted shields of 10 (1/2/2/2/2/1). Note that at times, crews of wooden ships would drape chains over the sides of the ship to provide some minimal protection before going into action, the USS Kearsarge during her engagement with the CSS Alabama and the USS Hartford at the battle of Mobile Bay, being famous examples. In these instances, use the Faceted shields of 10 (1/2/2/2/2/1) instead of the normal Shield of 1. Guns: See the Ships Section for the stats for each category. Size Caliber Weight of Shot Categories (Smooth Bore) Very Light Up to 12lbs Up to 4.9 Light 13-47lbs 5-6.4 Medium 48lb-75lb 6.5-7.5 Heavy 76-100lbs 7.6-9.5 Very Heavy 101-200lbs 9.6-13 Ultra Heavy Over 200lbs Over 13 Marines: Divide the ships complement by 20 and round to nearest number. Other Equipment: Monitors & some Casement Ironclads have Armor Plating due to the difficulty of damaging the low freeboard hull. Monitors and other similar small low freeboard vessels have Countermeasures due to the small target area compared to a conventional ship.

Caliber (Rifle) Up to 3.5 3.6-4.5 4.6-6.4 6.5-7.4 7.5-10 Over 10

Bibliography
Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905. Conway Maritime Press, 1979. Brasseys Annual 1887, J.Griffin and Co. 1888 (Available from Google Books) Wikipedia.org (Many categories and individual articles related to the Ironclad era at sea.) Ironclads and Blockade Runners (http://users.wowway.com/~jenkins/ironclads/ironclad.htm) Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships (http://www.history.navy.mil/danfs/) NavSource Naval History (http://www.navsource.org/)