Rules For Attack Vector

Copyright 1996 by Mike DeSanto
desantom@io.com
Table of Contents
Basic Rules
Overview 1.
Materials 2.
The Ship Description Sheet 3.
Starship Components 4.
The Order of Play 5.
1.
Advanced Rules
New Rules 1.
New Devices 2.
Starship Design 3.
Campaigns and Experience 4.
2.
Campaign Universe
History 1.
The Physical World 2.
Groups and Alliances 3.
Scenario Seeds 4.
3.
Helpful Reference Sheets
Attack Vector Ship Record Sheet 1.
Movement Quick Reference Sheet 2.
Hull Point Cost Table 3.
Thruster Point Cost Table 4.
Beam/Plasma Weapon Point Cost Table 5.
Rocket Point Cost Table 6.
Miscelaneous Weapon Point Cost Table 7.
Some Sample Starships 8.
4.
Basic Rules
Overview
Attack Vector is a game of futuristic combat between ships in space. I have attempted to add some realistic elements to the game, while keeping it fun to play.
Attack Vector is best when played with small fleets of ships, 3 to 5 per player. With more ships, bookkeeping becomes a problem. With less, strategic elements are minimized.
Attack Vector is designed as a tabletop game. These rules assume you will be using measuring tapes as the only point of reference. However, if you would like to use a hex map, the same rules can be used.
Attack Vector - Space Combat in the 27th Century http://web.archive.org/web/20010613071537/http://www.io.com/~desantom/AttVec/ATTVEC.HTM
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These rules
Ship Description Sheets
Statistic Allocation Tables
suitable playing surface
Two counters to represent each ship.
Two or more players.
The Ship Description Sheet
The Ship Description Sheet shows the capabilities of a single ship. It lists the ship's name, the capabilities of the engines, computer and hull of the ship, and any devices
in the ship, such as armor, thrusters, sensors and weapons.
If you are just starting out, much of this sheet will not make sense to you. The description is placed early to let you become acquainted with the layout and terminology
involved.
Ship Name
The line at the very bottom of the sheet is for the ship type. For example, Stealth Fighters, Assault fighters, and Gunboats are all different ship types.
The ship shown is an Assault Fighter.
In the upper right corner is a space for the model name. Use this space to note exactly which model represents this ship.
Ship Statistics
In the Upper Left Corner of the sheet is the Ship Statistics. These are E - Engine, C - Computer and H - Hull and $ - Cost. These statistics represent the resources the
ship has to allocate to various systems. Sensors require resources from the ship's computers, Thrusters require resources from the Engines, and so on.
Crew Statistics
The crew can affect the abilities of a ship. The available skills are Electronic Counter-Measures (ECM), Piloting and Gunnery. These are listed in the upper right corner, just under the model designation.
Crew skills are explained in the Advanced Rules section. The crew in this example has average skill, represented by all zeros.
Basic Devices
At the bottom of the triangular 'ship' image is a listing of basic devices. A device is a part of the ship that does something. Thrusters give the ship acceleration. Sensors scan for other ships.
There are 5 basic devices: Armor (A), Cloak (CL), Point Defense (PD), Thrusters (T) and Sensors (S). Only Thrusters and Sensors are mandatory for every ship. The others are common enough to warrant
being on every sheet.
The sample ship has only two basic devices, Thrusters and Sensors. The Assault Fighter has a max Thrust value of 8 and a max Sensor value of 6.
Additional Devices
The triangular area above the basic devices is used to display additional devices such as weapons, warp pods, or hangars.
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The sample ship has a Plasma weapon battery, with a 90 degree forward arc of fire, three guns, a maximum Engine setting of 1, a maximum Computer setting of 7.
This section will describe the components of the Ship Description Sheet in greater detail.
Two terms used in this section are Statistic (Stat) and Device. Statistics show the resources of a ship. Devices are components that actually perform ship functions, like weapons and Thrusters.
Statistics
Each starship has three statistics: Engine, Computer and Hull. These statistics do not actually do anything by themselves. They do supply the resources that the devices need to operate. Also, when a ship is
damaged, the damage is applied to the statistics most of the time.
Some devices require only engine, some require only computer, some require both. All devices take up space The Hull is equal to the space required to hold all of the devices in the ship.
Devices
Mandatory Devices - Thrusters and Sensors
Devices are parts of the ship that do work. Two devices are mandatory for every ship. These are Thrusters and Sensors.
Thrusters allow the ship to move. For each point of engine applied to thrusters, the ship may accelerate 1". Thrusters have a Maximum Engine rating. This is the maximum number of engine points that can
be allocated to the thrusters.
Sensors allow the ship to see. The number of computer points allocated to Sensors is used to attempt to lock onto targets in combat. See the combat section for more detail. The Sensor value is the
maximum number of computer points that can be allocated to sensors.
Other Basic Devices
There are three other Basic Devices. These are devices that are common enough to be on every sheet, but not every ship has them. The basic devices are Armor, Cloak and Point Defense.
Armor is thick plates of special materials which is designed to reduce, reflect or absorb damage from enemy weapons. For every point of armor, the damage done by enemy weapons is reduced by 1. No
matter how much armor you have, all hits will do at least one point of damage. Also, Beam weapons are only slightly affected by armor. Divide armor by 2 (rounding down) for attacks by beam weapons.
Cloak is similar to modern radar jamming. The cloaking system attempts to fool enemy sensors into thinking that the ship is in a different place than where it really is. The amount of Engine allocated to
cloak is used in combat when attempting to evade sensor lock. The value on the sheet is the maximum number of Engine points that may be allocated to cloak.
Point Defense systems are batteries of small guns which attempt to shoot down incoming fire. They are explained in the Advanced rules. Ignore them for now.
Other Devices
For now, the only other devices we are interested in are weapons. The description of a weapon has several components.
First is the Arc of Fire. This is designated by a circle which is partially filled in. Arcs of fire are either 90, 180 or 360 degrees. See Figure 2 for the list of symbols.
Beneath the arc symbol is a single letter designating the type of weapon. In the basic rules, this is "B" for Beam weapon or "P" for Plasma Weapon.
Beneath the weapon type are three numbers, the number of guns in the battery, the maximum Engine (per gun) and the maximum Computer for the battery. A battery may fire one shot per
turn for each gun. These attacks may be aimed at different targets.
Beam weapons do damage equal to the number of engine points allocated to the weapon. Due to their incredible power, damage reduction dor armor is halved (rounding down) vs. beam
weapons. The engine setting for a weapon can be anywhere from 1 to the maximum.
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Plasma weapons do damage equal to twice the number of engine points allocated. However, plasma weapons must be set to full engine before they can fire. If a plasma weapon has a Max
A weapon may be allocated any amount of computer points that does not exceed its maximum. The number of engine points allocated is used during combat when attempting to hit an enemy.
Weapons that come in Batteries (Beam and Plasma weapons) must allocate engine to each individual gun in the battery, but need only allocate computer to the battery. For example, an
anit-fighter battery may have the statistics 6/3/7. To fully charge this battery will require 18 Engine (6 guns at 3 Engine each) and 7 Computer.
The Order of Play
There are three distinct sections of play; Setup, Combat, and Victory Determination.
Setup
During setup the players must decide how large the fleets will be, and what the victory conditions are.
For a short game, 2000 points will do. Any less an there will be very little strategic element. The upper limit is set by how long you want to play and how many people are participating. On average 5000
points per person is recommended.
Once the fleets are chosen, fill out a Statistic Allocation Sheet, listing all the devices in all your ships. You will need this during combat.
If the game is not a simple brawl, objectives should be set for each side, and points awarded for achieving those objectives. For example, one side must protect a defenseless ship. If the ship survives, the
defender gets 1000 bonus points, if not, the attacker gets 1000 points.
It is important that the victory conditions be clear and that all players agree. This will remove conflicts at the end of the game.
Combat
Combat takes place over a number of turns. Each turn represents an arbitrary amount of time, during which ships maneuver and shoot at each other.
Each turn is broken down into three phases:
Allocating Statistics 1.
Movement 2.
Attacks 3.
Repeat these three phases until one side is destroyed, one side gives up (and the other surrenders) or an objective is met that ends the game.
Allocating Statistics
During this phase, allocate your engine and computer points to various systems on the statistic allocation sheet. Remember that the total of all engine/computer settings for a single ship can not exceed the
engine/computer statistic of the ship.
The values set in the statistic allocation phase dictate you attack and defense abilities for the rest of the turn.
Movement
Basic Vectors.
Attack Vector uses a vector based system of movement which is designed to simulate the actual movement of objects in space. To understand the movement, a basic understanding of vectors is necessary.
A vector is really just a number with a direction. 12 feet is a number, 12 feet North is a vector. Vectors are represented by an arrow. The length of the arrow represents the value, and the
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The easiest way to add vectors is called the Head-To-Tail method. In this method you draw the first vector. Then draw the second vector with its base at the
point of the first vector. An arrow drawn from the base of the first vector to the point of the second vector is the sum of the two vectors.
Ship Designation.
In Attack Vector, each ship has 2 counters. The first is called the Position Counter, and is usually a model ship. The second is called the Velocity Counter,
usually a cardboard chit or other marker.
These two counters are used to make a vector showing the speed of your ship. The Position counter is where your ship is NOW; the base of the Vector. The Velocity Counter
is where your ship WILL BE after it moves, at its present speed; the point of the vector.
Movement
Movement is done it three phases: Course Change, Movement, and Facing Change. Each ship has Movement Points equal to the number of Engine points allocated to
Thrusters. Movement Points are used to change course and to change facing.
Step 1: Course Change. To change course, the ship applies its thrusters to add a new speed vector to the current speed. This is done in a very simple way, move the Velocity Counter 1" for each movement
point used. Immediately change the facing of your ship to point the same direction you moved the Velocity Counter. You may not move the velocity counter more than 1" for each movement point used.
Any movement points you did not used may be used to change the facing of the ship (See step 3)
Step 2: Movement. Now you move the ship along the new course. Measure the distance from the Position Counter to the Velocity Counter. This is your ship's speed. Measure the same distance from the
Velocity Counter directly away from the Position counter. Move the Velocity Counter to the spot you just measured, and put the Position Counter where the Velocity Counter was. Be careful not to change
the facing of the Position counter.
Step 3: If you have movement points remaining, you may now change the facing of your ship. Facing changes are done by clock points, 30 degree increments like the face of a clock.
For each Movement Point, you may rotate the ship 1 clock point, up to 4. In no case may you change the facing of a ship more than 4 clock points (120 degrees).
Learning Movement.
Here is a quick training course to test your understanding of the movement system. Place 2 obstructions on the table to represent planets. They should be about 6" across, but almost anything will do; CDs,
coffee mugs, etc. Place a coin on either side of each obstruction as shown in Figure 3.7. Place another 12 inches from one end. This is the starting point.
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Place a stationary ship (both counters on the same spot) on the starting point. Assume this ship has a Thrust of 5. Maneuver this ship so that it passes through each coin in a figure eight pattern, and comes
to rest at the starting point.
Attacks
When all ships have been moved, the attack phase begins. Attacking takes three steps: Attempt a Sensor Lock, Weapon Fire, and Damage Allocation.
All attacks are resolved by a Contest. The attacker rolls a d10 and adds a value from the ship sheet. The defender does the same. If the attacker's total is higher, or the totals are the same, the attack is
successful. If the attackers total is lower, the attack failed.
Sensor Lock
Before you can fire weapons at an enemy, you must obtain a sensor lock. Remember that each inch on the table represents from 50 to 5000 miles. If you do not know exactly where the enemy is and what
direction it is moving, you will not hit.
You may attempt a sensor lock once per turn on each enemy ship. If the lock attempt fails, you nay not fire at that ship, but you may attempt to lock onto another.
The contest for a sensor lock uses the following formula:
Attacker: d10 + Sensor setting - Range
Defender: d10 + Cloak setting
If the attacker wins this contest, continue to the Weapon Fire phase. If not, the attacker may attempt to lock onto another enemy.
Weapon Fire
Once a sensor lock is obtained, any weapon that can be brought to bear on the locked ship may be fired. This is also a contest, using the following formula:
Attacker: d10 + Computer setting of Weapon
Defender: d 10 + Thrust setting
No weapon may be fired more than once in a single turn. Once a target has been fired upon, you may not go back to a previous target. For example, Ship Z has 4 Particle guns. It fires at ship A with 2,
damaging it. It then fires at ship B, which is destroyed. Ship A can not be fired at again until next turn.
Damage Allocation
When a ship is hit, the damage is spread across the ship systems. First, subtract Armor from the damage done. Then, for each point that penetrates the armor, roll a d10 on the following table.
Damage
Allocation
Roll Effect
1-3 -1 Engine
4-6 -1 Computer
7-9 -1 Hull
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When a Device Hit is rolled, roll randomly to determine which device was hit. (You may need dice other than d10 for this.) Any device other than Sensors and Thrusters is destroyed by a single hit.
Thrusters and Sensors are reduced to half efficiency (rounding down) by the first hit, and destroyed by the second.
When rolling for device hits, count groups of Hangars, Boarding Pods and Cargo Pods as single devices. For example, a Cruiser has 7 Hangars. Count these as a single device. If hit, one Hangar is
destroyed, defenders choice.
A ship with no thrusters may not change its velocity or its facing, but may still fire. If all players agree, the ship may be declared destroyed.
A ship with no sensors may not attack or defend against attacks. It is considered destroyed.
Note that damage to a ship does not affect the ship until the next Statistic Allocation Phase. Even ships that are destroyed are allowed to finish the turn.
Determining the Victor
Usually, the winner will be fairly easy to tell; the one with ships still on the table. However, sometimes the outcome may be in doubt.
To determine who won, each player should add up the point values of all enemy ships destroyed. Also include any bonuses earned, which were decided during setup. The player with the highest number
wins.
Advanced Rules
Once you have gotten the hang of the basic rules, some more options are nice to open up the strategic elements of the game. That is why Advanced Rules were added.
NewRules
Silent Running Starship sensors have more in common with submarine sonar systems than anything else. Active sensors are rarely used, because they allow the enemy an instant lock on your position.
Instead, ship sensors constantly watch the ECM spectrum, looking for the telltale emissions of a ship. When you try to stop these emissions as much as possible, you are 'running silent'.
For a ship to run silent it must allocate ZERO Engine points. If even a single point of Engine is allocated to a device, the silent running bonus is lost. While Silent Running gives a bonus similar to cloak, no
silent running bonus is given if Cloak is active.
When a ship is Running Silent it gains +5 when defending against enemy sensor locks.
Aimed Shots
Science fiction is full of commanders saying "Target engines only". Aimed shots are also useful when a ship is to be captured, to destroy those pesky Thrusters and Point Defense Systems.
There are two options for aimed shots; Aiming for Statistics and Aiming for Devices.
Aimed Shots
Target Modifier to Hit Must win by...
Statistic -2 3
Device -3 4
The Modifier to Hit is applied to the attacker's Weapon Computer during the Fire Weapons phase of combat. This reflects that sometimes you can just try too hard.
If the attacker wins the modified contest to hit, the desired target may not be the one hit. The attacker must win the contest by at least the Must Win By number.
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If the attacker wins by at least the Must Win By number, the result depends on the target. If a statistic was targeted, Half of the damage done after armor (rounding down) is applied directly to that statistic.
The rest is allocated Normally. If a Device was targeted, the first point of damage is automatically done to that specific device. The rest is allocated normally.
Crew Skills
This section adds the human component to spaceship battles. While computers are very good at a very many things, the skill of the people operating them always makes a critical difference. So, crews have
skills.
Crew skills range from -5 to +5. A rating of zero represents a well trained crew with combat experience. Negative values represent green crews with substandard training, and positive values are the
seasoned veterans.
There are three skills a crew may have; Electronic Countermeasures (ECM), Piloting, and Gunnery.
ECM
ECM is the skill to use Sensors and Cloak to their fullest potential. This skill is added to Sensors (for the attacker) and Cloak (for the defender) during the Sensor Lock phase of combat.
Piloting
This is the crews skill at flying the ship. The Piloting skill is added the defender's Thrust value during the Fire Weapons phase of combat.
Gunnery
Gunnery is a crews skill in using shipboard weapons. The Gunnery skill is added to the attacker's Weapon Computer value during the Fire Weapons phase of combat.
Quick and Dirty Damage Rules
For a faster game with less record keeping, try this Quick and Dirty variant. Use the Quick and Dirty Combat Table below to assign damage. Since Engine and Computer are never damaged using this
system, you only need to allocate once. If the ship is designed so that all devices may be activated at once, you do not need to allocate Engine and Computer at all. In this case you assume that all devices
are active at all times and get on with the shooting.
Quick and Dirty combat is recommended for combats with more than 10 ships on each side, or short games that you want to finish quickly.
Quick and Dirty
Combat Table
Roll Effect
1-9 -1 Hull
10 Device Hit
New Devices
This section lists new devices to spice up the game. Feel free to use as many or as few of these as you want.
Rockets
This category includes any rocket, torpedo or missile that is fired and finds its own way to the target. A rocket takes only 1 point each of Engine
and Computer to arm, thus saving valuable resources for other systems. Rockets also tend to do large amounts of damage.
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Rockets are designated by the letter "R", with a fire arc above and three numbers underneath. These numbers are Attack Score / Damage / #of
Shots.
The attack score is used instead of Computer setting during the Weapon Fire phase.
Cannons
Cannon are cheap, low damage weapons which fire solid projectiles in very large numbers. They require 1 point of engine to activate, and up to
Max Computer to aim. Cannon have a limited number of shots. Cannon do one point of damage for each point the attacker wins the contest by, up
to their Max Damage.
Cannon are designated by the letter "C", with a fire arc above and three numbers underneath. These numbers are Max Computer / Max Damage / #
of Shots.
The saving grace of the Cannon is its astounding rate of fire. A cannon may fire at all ships in its arc of fire that are sensor locked. This makes
them popular for fighter defense.
Point Defense Systems
Point Defense systems are a Basic Device. A point Defense system is a number of very small guns which attempt to shoot down incoming Plasma, Rocket or Cannon rounds. The number of points of
Engine allocated to a PDF is added to the Thrust of the ship it is mounted on during the Weapon Fire phase of combat.
Note: This bonus does not apply against Beam weapons.
Warp Pods
Warp Pods allow a ship to travel the vast distances between stars. If a ship does not have a Warp Pod, it can not travel between stars unless it is in a Hangar in a larger ship.
Warp Pods may optionally be used to escape a battle. To use a warp pod, the ship must use no Thrust for the turn, and allocate no Engine to weapons. After all combat has finished for the turn, the ship is
removed from play. Players should decide before starting whether Warp Pods may be used to escape a battle.
When a ship uses a Warp Pod to flee combat, the other side gets half the point value of the ship as victory points.
Hangars
Hangars are used to transport small ships. Each hangar has a number beneath it, representing the Size of the hangar. Hangars of size 1 hold fighters. Hangars of size 2 hold Gunboats.
For a ship to be put in or removed from a Hangar, the carrier ship must have Thrusters set to 0. When launching, the ship being launched is placed on the board with its base touching that of the carrier, with
the same velocity as the carrier. When landing, the ship entering the hangar must have its base touching the carrier.
Boarding Pods
Boarding podss are small, computer guided ships that carry a troupe of marines to board an enemy ship or land near an enemy base.
To launch a Boarding Pod the base of the launching ship must be touching the base of the ship to be boarded. Also, the ship to be boarded must have a Thruster setting of 0.
When the boarding pod is launched, roll the following contest:
Attacker: d10
Defender: d10 + PDS setting
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If the attacker wins this contest, the boarding party has successfully taken over the ship. It is removed from play, and the attacker gains a 50% victory point bonus for capturing the ship intact. If the
Mines/Drones
These devices are un-manned weapon platforms with no thrusters. They simply wait for a ship to come within a certain range and begin firing at friend and foe
alike.
A drone is basically a ship with no engines, and it is bought as such. A drone may carry one weapon. This weapon has a 360 degree arc of fire for the cost of a 90
degree arc. The drone has exactly the same engine and computer as the weapon it carries. Unlike a ship, it uses the same computer for sensor lock and weapon
tracking. A drone has a hull of 1 +size of weapon.
All drones are considered 'Silent Running', and therefore have an automatic Cloak value of 5.
Example Drone
E: 5
C: 5
H: 2
Sensors : 5
Cloak : 5
Plasma Gun: 5/5 360 degree fire
Cost: Engine 25
. Computer 25
. Hull 10
. Sensors 0
. Cloak 0
. Plasma gun 125
. ---------- ---
. 185
When a Drone is launched, it is placed with its base touching the base of the launching ship. Its Velocity Counter may be placed anywhere within 3" of the Velocity Counter of the launching ship. Once a
drone is launched, its course and velocity can not be changed. Drones are moved during the Movement Phase BEFORE any ships are moved. Drones DO NOT count for victory points when they are
destroyed. To get points for a Drone, you must destroy the ship that launched it.
All drones are housed in size 1 Hangars.
The Shockwave Bomb
The Shockwave Bomb is a ponderous device. A fusion bomb with a yield of several hundred megatons is encased in a thousand or so tons of iron. When detonated the iron is converted into an expanding
sphere of superheated ions (plasma).
Shockwave Bombs are rated by size. For each point of size, the bomb requires 1 Hull, has a base damage of 10 points, and a base explosive radius of 1 inch.
Shockwave Bombs are detonated in the Attack Phase. Immediately remove the ship or drone carrying the bomb and place a blast template in the same spot. Any ships in the area immediately take the listed
damage. Any ships who move through the area during the Movement Phase also take the listed damage. The area expands at the END of the movement phase. Any ships in the area affected by the bomb at
the beginning of the Attack Phase immediately take damage for the current size. This makes it possible for the shockwave to dmage a ship twice in the same turn.
The effect of a shockwave bomb lasts for 3 turns. In the first turn, it effects everything within its base radius, doing the base damage. In the second turn it effects everything from its base radius to its base
radius time 2, and does one half base damage. In the third turn it effects everything from its base radius X 2 to base radius X 3 and does one quarter base damage (round down).
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1 S x 10 0 - S
2 S x 5 S - 2xS
3 Sx2 2xS - 3xS
Shockwave bombs are not fired, they are dropped. They must be mounted on a Drone or attached to a ship as a self destruct mechanism. A Shockwave Bomb requires 1 Computer and 1 Engine to detonate.
If the ship or drone carrying a Shockwave Bomb is destroyed, the bomb may not be detonated. If the Drone carrying a Shockwave Bomb or the shockwave bomb itsself is damaged by a device hit, the
bomb may not be detonated.
Example of Shockwave Bomb use:
A Groombridge Federation suicide fighter has a Size 1 Shockwave Bomb. It uses it to clear a UPS Minefield.
Turn 1
Setup 1.
Movement 2.
Attack
Shockwave Bomb detonates.
Every ship within 1" takes 10 points of damage.
3.
Turn 2
Setup 1.
Movement
Any ship passing through the area affected by the
shockwave bomb takes 10 points of damage.
After all ships have moved, the effect expands to 2".
Anything within 1" of the detonation point is now safe.
2.
Attack
Before any ships fire, any ship between 1" and 2" of the
detonation point take 5 points of damage.
3.
Turn 3
Setup 1.
Movement
After all ships have moved, the effect expands to 3".
Anything within 2" of the detonation point is now safe.
2.
Attack
Before any ships fire, any ship between 2" and 3" of the
detonation point take 5 points of damage.
3.
Turn 4
Setup 1.
Movement
After all ships have moved, the effect expands disappears.
2.
Attack 3.
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The damage rating of the Swarm Missile is actually the damage done by each individual missile. One missile hits the target for each point you win the attack contest by. So, if the attacker rolls 17 and the
defender 13, 4 rockets hit. On a tie one rocket hits.
Swarm Missiles require 2 Hull.
Blight Cloud Torpedoes
This abhorrent device uses nanotechnology in its most destructive way. This torpedo explodes into a cloud of Blight nanotech. This cloud exists for only a few seconds, but if a ship is hit it flies through the
cloud and is 'infected'.
Blight nanomachines exist simply to copy themselves. If they find the necessary materials, they construct a copy and search for more materials. If an 'infected' ship is lucky, the blight will not have access
to some necessary material and will quickly die. If they are unlucky, the ship and all its contents will be reduced to a pulsating blob of nanomachines constantly breaking each other down to build new
copies of themselves.
When a ship is hit with a Blight torpedo it takes d10 damage. On a roll of 1 the Blight dies and does no more damage. Every turn thereafter at teh begining of the Attack phase, the infected ship takes 1d10
damage. Every turn the number needed for the blight to die is increased by 1. (On the second turn 2 or less kills the blight. On the third turn 3 or less, etc.) The blight laways dies after 10 turns.
The player who uses a Blight torpedo gets NO EXPERIENCE for ships destroyed by the Blight. If the blight dies before the ship is destroyed, experience is calculated normally. This is because a ship
completely reduced by the blight can not be used as salvage, it must be destroyed completely for the safety of the fleet. Ships destroyed by Blight count normally for Victory determination.
Blight Torpedoes, like rockets, require 2 Hull.
Tractor/Pressor beams
These devices allow a ship to exert force on other bodies in a non-destructive way. For each point of Energy put into the beam, the Velocity Counter of the lighter ship will be moved 1 inch toward (or away
from, attacker's choice) the other ship. The velocity counter is moved during the Attack Phase, but the ship maneuvers normally from this new course during the next Movement Phase.
Tractor/Pressor beams require 1 Hull.
Additional Thrusters
It is possible to mount thrusters to fire into the Fore, Port and Starboard arcs. This is expensive, but can be very handy.
When a ship has more than one thruster, only one thruster may be used in a single turn. When the ship maneuvers, the side opposite the thruster must point in the direction the Velocity Counter was moved.
Thrusters do not fire in arcs, they fire directly Aft, Forward, Port or Starboard.
The cost of additional thrusters increases for each thruster over the first.
Each aditional Thruster requires 1 Hull.
Starship Design
Everyone wants to design their own ships. This section details how.
Each component of a ship costs points. The total of the point cost of all the components is the cost of the ship.
Statistic Cost
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Each point in a statistic costs 5 points. The Hull of a ship must be equal to or greater than the sum of the Size of all the devices it contains. (See the next section for details.) The Hull also may not be less
Engine and Computer statistics may have any value. Keep in mind the requirements of the ship's devices when assigning statistics.
Device Costs
The cost of all devices may be taken from this table.
Device Costs
Name Size Cost Formula
Max Thrusters 1 Hull per point
Max Sensors 1 5 per point
Max Cloak 1 2 * Hull per point
Armor 1 50 per point
Warp Pod 3 50
Hangar special 5 * Size
Cargo Pod 1 1
Boarding Pod 1 2
Point Defense Systems 1 Max Eng. * 30
Expanded Arcs of Fire
(weapons only)
N/A
x 1 - 90 Degree Arc
x 2 - 180 Degree Arc
x 3 - 360 Degree Arc
Beam Weapon 1 Max. Eng. * (Max Comp.)
Plasma Weapon 1 Max. Eng. * (Max Comp.)
Rocket 2
((2^A) +(2 * D)) * S
A =Attack Score
D =Damage
S =Number of Shots
Cannon 2
((2^D) * C) +S
D =Damage
C =Max Computer
S =Number of Shots
Shockwave Bomb Varies
10^S
S =Size
Swarm Missile 2
((D*10)+(2^C))*S
D =Damage per missile
C =Attack Score
S =#of Shots
Blight Torpedo 2
(10 * 3^A) * shots
A =Attack Score
Tractor/Pressor Beam 1
(2*E)*(C)
E =Max Engine
C =Max Computer
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N =Number of thrusters (total) on the ship.
Crew Skills
The skill of the crew modifies the value of the ship as shown in the Crew Skills Table.
These modifiers apply to each skill individually. If a crew has -3 Piloting (-300 points), +1 ECM (100 points) and +1 Gunnery (100 points), the total is -100 points for skills.
No matter what skill modifiers are applied, no ship EVER costs less than 100 points.
See the section on Campaigns and Experience for more information about crew experience.
Crew Skills
Skill Ship Cost Modifier Crew Starting Experience
-5 -500 -5000
-4 -300 -3000
-3 -200 -2000
-2 -100 -1000
-1 -50 -500
0 0 0
1 50 500
2 100 1000
3 200 2000
4 300 3000
5 500 5000
Campaigns and Experience
Eventually, nameless fleets fighting for unknown reasons becomes tiresome. This section adds spice to the game by giving each player a fleet that grows or shrinks depending on the players success.
Knowing that losses in the current battle will affect future battles makes the game much more fun.
Calculating Experience
When a battle ends, add up the Cost of all enemy ships destroyed, plus bonus points for Enemy forced to flee and special objectives achieved. This total, which is also used to determine the victor, is your
experience.
Experience can be used for three things; repairing damaged ships, buying new ships and increasing crew skills. Experience may also be saved over several battles, for use when it is most needed.
Ships currently in the fleet may not be modified, but may be scrapped. Scrapping a ship gives zero experience, it just removes the ship from the fleet.
Repairing Damaged Ships
When a ship is damaged in combat, it takes resources to repair it. These resources are represented by experience points. Repairing a damaged device or restoring lost statistics costs the same experience as
for a new ship. The values are listed in the Device Costs table.
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Experience points may be spent for new ships on a one for one basis. If you finish a battle with 3000 pexerience points, you may buy 3000 points of new ships.
Increasing Crew Skills
Each crew skill has its own Experience rating. Experience points may be used to increase crew skills with the following restrictions.
Only one skill may be increased per ship per battle. 1.
Only enough experience may be added to increase a skill by 1. 2.
No crew skills may be increased unless the ship actually damaged an enemy during the latest battle. 3.
For example, a Cruiser was purchased with a green crew: ECM -2 (-1000 exp), Piloting -2 (-1000 exp) and Gunnery -1 (-500 exp). During the last battle this cruiser damaged an enemy, and the fleet earned
4000 exp. The player may use experience to:
Increase the ECM skill to -1 at a cost of 500 exp. 1.
Increase the Piloting skill to -1 at a cost of 500 exp. 2.
Increase the Gunnery skill to 0 at a cost of 500 exp. 3.
It is not possible to spend more than 500 points on this ship. Also note that if the ship had not damaged an enemy in the last battle, no skills could be raised at all.
Campaign Universe
Every campaign game needs a Campaign Universe. A place where fleets can come from and fight, with all the reasons for fighting already in place. Feel free to use the universe detailed here, or make up
your own.
History
The following is a excerpt from "How We Got Where we Are Today: A commentary on the Spacer Wars". This propaganda booklet is published by the United Planets of Sol, and may contain bias.
Exploration of space began in the year 2634, at the World Science Consortium. That is where a group of scientists from all over the world released their Unified Field Theory.
Well, that really blew the lid off of things for a while. There were breakthroughs, disasters, (never forget the Nanotech Blight that ate southern California) and general advance for decades. Four inventions
opened up the universe to Humans: Nanotechnology, the Force Dispersion System, the Reactionless Thruster and the Warp Pod.
Nanotechnology did all the things science fiction writers had been going on about for years. It cured disease, made self repairing machines, and destroyed the manufacturing industry. J ust drop a properly
programmed nanotech seed into a vat of nutrients and raw materials, and the next day you have a new spaceship to your exact specifications.
The Force Dispersion System, as you know, takes a force exerted upon itself and applies it evenly to everything within its field. This allows astronauts accelerating at over 500 Gs to feel as if they are in
free fall. Of course, nearly all ships allow a 1G leakage to keep the bones from getting soft..
The Reactionless Thruster is what gives us those 500G accelerations. Even the most basic concepts of the Thruster are beyond the scope of this document, but on the most basic level, it pushes the ship
forward without pushing anything we can see or feel backwards. And it does it using only electricity. All you need is a fusion reactor and a reactionless thruster, and you can fly through space to the end of
the universe.
And finally, the Warp Pod. This will get you to the end of the universe much faster, like instantaneously. Another device too complex to explain, it allows a ship to move in a straight line for a given
distance without traversing the space in between. To a warp pod, go straight ahead until you reach Mars is no different than going until you reach the Andromeda Galaxy. They are both instantaneous.
We used our new found mobility to explore the universe, and found it just as barren, desolate, and inhospitable as scientists had predicted for hundreds of years. We have found no sign of life other than
ourselves. On the bright side, there was no reason not to colonize and terraform wherever we could set down a lander. And colonize we did.
The first decade or so it was all scientific expeditions. Then rich corporations started mining colonies. As travel became more reliable, and therefore cheaper, disgruntled minorities started colonizing. They
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In the beginning the colonies were all friendly. After 50 years or so there were over 200 independent colonies. That's when things started to fall apart.
It all began close to home, around Alpha Centauri in the year 2725. A group of mining colonies decided they could govern themselves, and officially split from Sol government. We granted them
independence, and stopped sending supply ships. They wanted Sol support, but did not want to pay taxes like other law abiding citizens.
There were accusations from intentional sabotage to active piracy by Sol, all of which were false. These lies did stir up malcontents in other colonies. Soon the entire system of colonies collapsed like the
ancient British Empire.
21 colonies were totally destroyed by fighting. Millions dies from starvation, disease, or war. Sol government, feeling that the universe was against them, became isolationist, recalled all remaining citizens
to Sol system, and bottled up tight.
The colonies fought long, brutal wars for dominance. Sol has kept watch, without interfering, for decades. When things became more calm, she reached out to her neighbors and offered help rebuilding. 7
independent colonies rejoined Sol, and require our protection.
Farther out, the wars continue. Five groups, including Sol, control the 37 remaining major colonies, and about 60 minor colonies somehow survive on their own. The five groups are: the United Planets of
Sol, the Groombridge Federation, the Interplanetary Enterprises Group, New Israel, and the Nippon Allied Stars.
The United Planets of Sol you know. The United Nations expanded to include all countries on Earth in 2391, forming the first planetary government. When man went to the start, the U.P. went with him.
U.P. controls 8 systems.
The Groombridge Federation was formed when a radical group claiming to be based on Islam took over several mining colonies in the Groombridge system. They expanded through brutal military
takeovers, indoctrinating captured civilians with their genocidal 'religion', which has nothing to do with the true Islam. The G.F. controls 13 major systems.
Interplanetary Enterprises is a nightmare from late 1900 science fiction become real. I.E. started out as a mining company, then branched into nearly every industry imaginable. From phone sex to stuffed
toys to industrial tools to farming, I.E. did it all. And once they could do it all, they saw no reason to have a government other than the corporation. Unfortunately, they were successful. 99% of I.E. citizens
live in terrible conditions, tiny cogs in the great wheels of the giant corporation. I.E. controls 5 major systems.
New Israel is a group of planets bought by a group of Israelite J ews shortly after colonization began. Open hostilities in the middle east were stopped when the United Nations gained global control, but
diplomatic hostilities never let up. New Israel was the chance to have a J ewish nation without outside pressure. It succeeded fabulously, until the G.F. was formed. New Israel is on good terms with the U.P.,
and fights only to protect itself or its interests. New Israel controls 7 major systems.
The Nippon Allied Stars were started by a J apanese nationalistic movement which looked back to the days from 2100 to 2250, when J apan was THE superpower in the world. The Nippon Allied Stars are
feeling their wild oats, and are beginning to strike at their neighbors. Particularly the Groombridge Federation, which has hurt them sorely in the past. The N.A.S. controls 4 major systems.
The Physical World
The Force Dispersion System mentioned above protects the occupants of a ship from the tremendous accelerations involved in space flight. It does not, in any way, protect a ship from damage or prevent
damage from external sources.
For use in battles around planets, the following measurements are used.
1" =2000Km
1 Thrust point =1000 m/s =100G
1 Turn =30 Minutes
This will give a planet like the earth a diameter of about 6".
Another feature of the universe is an abnormality in the working of Warp Pods. Gravity wells severely affect the workings of Warp Pods. The only places a Warp Pod may be used is at a Lagrange Point
(L-point) or far outside the orbits of all the planets. Elsewhere, attempting to use a warp pod will simply destroy the pod.
Ship Types
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The classification of a ship is based on its Hull. In combat, the only thing known about an enemy ship is its classification. Once a sensor lock has been obtained on a ship, the number and types of weapons
Ship Types
Type Hull
Fighter 5 or Less
Gunboat 6 - 9
Destroyer 10 - 13
Cruiser 14 - 17
Battleship 18 - 21
Dreadnaught 22 Plus
Groups and Alliances
The first step in designing a ship is deciding what classification it falls into. Ships are classified by the size of their Hull. Without a guide, all your ships will be dreadfully expensive dreadnaughts. The
following table gives ship types and cost.
This section describes the groups of stars in a little more detail, and tells generally who likes who.
The United Planets of Sol
The UP is not as nice as the propaganda would have you believe. The original colonies were considered a part of the nations that financed them, and therefore had no real voice in the government. When
they finally started rising up, the UP got scared, and simply cancelled all interstellar contact. The colonies were cut off, and those that could not become self sufficient in a hurry, died.
The UP is just starting to try to open communications, mainly due to attacks by the Groombridge Federation. However, they are not trusted, and may not be all that trustworthy. The old wounds run deep.
The Groombridge Federation
While there is no "good guy" in the universe, the Groombridge Federation is very definitely the "bad guy". It started on a Groombridge mining colony. A self proclaimed prophet twisted the teachings of
Islam into an angry, genocidal cult. They took over the mining colony, then the system. The cult spread among the power hungry, the ignorant, and the angry.
One of the first things the cult did was start schools to indoctrinate the young early, and institute a brutal and efficient secret service to weed out any dissenters or spies.
The cult started out with only religious hatred, but quickly branched out to racial hatred as well. All those not of Arab descent were culled out. This has not earned them respect form the Nippon Allied
Stars or from New Israel.
To this day, the Groombridge Federation attempts to expand, swallowing up small colonies who do not get help from the other powers. They attack New Israel and Nippon Allied Stars ships on sight, and
do not take prisoners. They are bad people, designed expressly for campaign games.
Interplanetary Enterprises
Interplanetary Enterprises is interested in Interplanetary enterprises. Conditions are not nearly as bad as UP propaganda would have you believe. In order to be efficient, a worker must be content, if not
happy. This gives IE citizens a similar standard of living to those in the UP.
In fact, in order to survive, IE has had to become a government. Different subsidiaries compete with each other within the company. Espionage takes place between departments. Al the normal government
problems.
The main difference is the treatment of outsiders. Non IE citizens are seen as subhuman. IE citizens are portrayed as superior in literature and video. The value of an IE life is considered greater, much
greater in fact, than a non IE life. This has not won them friends.
New Israel
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New Israel was created so the J ews could escape oppression and attacks by hostile neighbors. It failed. The inhabitants have gone on as they always have, persevering against unwarranted attacks and
New Israel will not start a fight, but they will darn well finish it once it is started, and they don't mess around in the process.
Nippon Allied Stars
The Nippon Allied Stars, like J apan in the 1800s, is quite isolationist. They are attempting, through commercial and diplomatic means, to become the power they once were. They are polite and even
amicable. However, each of their systems is a no fly zone. They export, but do not import. They absorb, but do not ally. They, like New Israel, do not mess around when they are threatened.
Independent Stars
These are systems that became self sufficient after the UP stopped supporting them, and have not been absorbed by any other powers. Some have kept independent by force, others by simply not being
valuable.
Independent stars may be anything from Buddhist sanctuaries to penal colonies. When you find an independent colony, you never know what the reception will be.
Independent colonies often fight with each other, often between colonies in the same system. There are dozens of little groups of planets who would like to be the sixth power.
Relations Between Powers
Relations Between Powers
UP GF IE NI NAS
UP Cool Hostile Good Neutral
GF Cool Neutral Hostile Hostile
IE Hostile Neutral Good Neutral
NI Good Hostile Good Cool
NAS Neutral Hostile Neutral Cool
Hostile Attack whenever met.
Cool Do not trust, avoid if possible. Shoot to kill if attacked.
Neutral Do not provoke, but defend yourself if attacked.
Good Relations friendly, trade encouraged.
Scenario Seeds
This section details several scenarios for play. Roll on the following chart to randomly select a scenario.
In this section, the terms Attacker and Defender are used. The defender is the owner of the systen where the combat takes place. Any ship may be used. The attacker may only use ships which have warp
pods or can be carried within hangars by the rest of the fleet.
Random Scenario Table
Roll Scenario
1 Battle around Planet
2 Escape
3 Protect Outpost from Destruction
4 Protect Outpost from Capture
5 Grab and Hold
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Two fleets meet in a battle to decide the fate of a star system.
Fleet Composition
Both players may use their entire fleet.
Setup
Place a planet, from 4" to 10" in diameter, roughly in the center of the board. Moons, 1" to 2" in diameter, may optionally be placed from 20" to 40" from the planet.
The player with the largest number of ships places one ship. The players take turns until all ships have been placed.
Objectives
There are no specific objectives in this scenario.
Escape
The attacker is escorting a defector with sensitive information out of enemy space. The enemy found out, and has blockaded the nearest L-point. The attacker must break through the blockade and get the
defector out.
Fleet Composition
The attacker gets half of their total fleet value in the battle. They also must escore the defector ship, which has the following stats: E-5, C-3, H-2, Thrust 5, Sensors 3, and a Warp Pod.
Setup
The defender places a 3" diameter counter to represent the L-point. The defender places her ships within 15" of this point. The attacker then places her ships witin 8" of the table edge farthest from the
L-point.
Objectives
The attacker gets 1000 points if the defector enters the L-point and activates the Warp Pod. The Defender if the defector ship is captured. No bonuses are given if the defector ship is destroyed.
Protect Outpost from Destruction
The attacker has discovered a secret enemy listening post, and has sent a force to destroy it. The defenders small defense force must protect the outpost.
Fleet Composition
The attacker may use her own fleet. The defender gets 3/4 of her fleet. The outpost is considered a ship with no cloak or thrust. All attacks automatically hit the Hull. The outpost has 100 Hull points.
Setup
Roll a d10 to decide the diameter of the planet the outpost is on. The edge of the planet is marked to designate exactly where the outpost is. Place the planet roughly in the center of the board.
The defender sets up first, within 12" of the planet. The attacker sets up within 6" of any edge of the table.
Objectives
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The attacker has learned of a productive enemy outpost in a sensitive location, and has decided to take it.
Fleet Composition
The attacker gets her entire fleet. The defender gets 1/2 of her total fleet value.
Setup
Roll a d10 to determine the diameter of the planet, and place it roughly in the center of the board. The defender selects a point on the edge of the planet to designate the outpost.
The defender places her fleet first. All ships must be within 12" of the planet. The attacker then places her ships within 6" of any table edge.
Objectives
If the outpost is not captured, the defender recieves 1000 points. If the outpost is captured, the attacker recieves 1000 points.
Grab and Hold
An asteroid field has been discovered with deposits of extremely rare and valuable minerals. Two fleets are sent to retrieve the minerals, and arrive at the richest spot at the same time.
In this scenario, both players are considered the attacker. The goal is to retrieve valuable asteroids and leave the board with them.
Fleet Composition
Both players may use their entire fleet. Note that a hangar is needed for each asteroid retrieved. Any fighters displaced by asteroids are considered destroyed.
Setup
Roll a d4+2 to determine the number of valuable asteroids. One player places the asteroids at least 15" from the edge of the table.
Roll d10+4 to determine the number of asteroids. The players take turns placing asteroids.
The player who did not place the valuable asteroids sets her ships first, then the player who placed the valuable asteroids. All ships must start within 6" of the table edge.
Objectives
For each valuable asteroid recovered, the player recieves 500 points.
Notes:
Asteroids must be stored in hangars. To pick up an asteroid, the ship must end the turn at a stop within 1" of the asteroid. At the beginning of movement next turn, the asteroid is removed and ship may
maneuver normally.
If a ship is destroyed, all asteroids inside are released with the same velocity and direction as the ship which carried them. Any asteroids that leave the table are lost.
Battle in Asteroids
An enemy outpost was discovered in an asteroid belt, and a fleet sent to destroy it. However, the enemy anticipated the attack and laid in wait in the asteroids.
Fleet Composition
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Roll d10+4 to determine the number of asteroids. The players take turns placing asteroids until all are placed.
The defender places 1/2 of her fleet value within 8" of one end of the board. Then the attacker places her entire fleet within 8" of the opposite edge. The defender then places the remainder of her fleet
anywhere 16" or more from the attacker's table edge.
Objectives
The attacker must get as many ships as possible to exit the table on the Defender's side.
Notes
The attacker recieves 500 points to make up for the defender's ambush.
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Copyright 1996 by Mike DeSanto

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