A Call to Arms: Babylon 5 Space Combat
A Call to Arms: Babylon 5 Space Combat Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Introduction
This game is divided into several chapters which may seem to contain a lot of rules you need to remember but it is far easier than it looks! The core rules are detailed in the following chapters.
- The Turn: A short description on how players take turns moving and attacking with their ships.
- Movement Phase: Describes how ships move in space.
- Attack Phase: Once your ships have moved into positions of advantage, how to blast your enemies.
- Special Actions: Ships need not only manoeuvre and fire – there are a whole range of Special Actions that players can choose from.
- Special Traits: Many ships and weapon systems have special rules that make them different from the norm.
These chapters contain all you need to know to begin playing, though you need only consult the Special Actions and Special Traits chapters as a reference, rather than trying to memorise them from the outset. Once you are familiar with these, you can proceed to the Advanced Rules and beyond.
What You Will Need
A minimum of two players are required, each with their own fleet of ships (you can use the counters included in the box set, or miniatures). You will also need a flat playing surface – the scenarios in this book assume a playing surface of six foot by four foot. In addition you will need pens, scrap paper to jot down notes and a measuring device marked in inches.
Scale
Veteran players may possess fleets of miniatures produced for B5 Wars by Agents of Gaming. Regardless of the scale of your miniatures (original or Fleet Action), they can be used freely. All distances are measured from the stem of a ship's base or the very centre of the counter. Some older miniatures may have more than one base. In this case, pick one and measure only from that. All distances are measured in inches.
Rolling Dice
The game uses ordinary six-sided dice. It is beneficial to have at least a dozen dice. If told to roll a die, roll it as normal and read the number on top. A number before a 'd' tells you how many dice you need to roll; 4d6 means roll four dice, 6d6 means roll six dice. You may also be asked to add or subtract a fixed number to the total; 2d6+4 means roll two dice, total them and add 4.
Re-Rolls
A re-roll means you ignore the first result and roll again. You must always accept the result of the second roll, even if it was worse than the first. You may only ever re-roll a specific dice result once, even if you have multiple opportunities to re-roll it.
Pre-Measuring
You are allowed to pre-measure distances and ranges at any time.
Movement and Firing
Though the game is played on a flat surface and 'altitude' rules are not used, a full three dimensional environment is assumed, so ships can pass over one another, planets, space stations, etc.
Every ship has a number of firing arcs, all of which are marked out on counters and bases. These are the areas that various weapons can fire into, as noted in their descriptions.
- Fore [F]: 90 degrees forward
- Aft [A]: 90 degrees rearward
- Port [P]: 90 degrees left
- Starboard [S]: 90 degrees right
- Boresight [B]: straight line ahead
- Boresight Aft [B(a)]: straight line behind
- Turret [T]: 360 degrees all round
All counters have the picture of the relevant ship (shown top down), with two lines bisecting the centre at 90 degrees, to demonstrate the main firing arcs. A single point at the front of the counter marks the Boresight line – another will be at the rear of the counter for the ship's Boresight Aft weapon (if any). Where the two main lines intersect at the centre, a single red dot marks the point of the ship where all measurements are taken (just like the base stem on a miniature).
Ships
Every ship in the game is defined by its roster sheet. The example in the book is a Hyperion cruiser:
Name: Damocles. Class/PL: Hyperion/Raid. Speed: 8. Crew: 25/6. Turns: 2/45°. In Service: 2246+. Hull: 5. Craft: 1 Starfury flight. Damage: 20/6. Special Traits: Interceptors 2, Jump Point. Crew Quality: XP. Dice: 4.
Weapons (Range / Arc / AD): Heavy Laser Cannon 18 / B / 2; Heavy Laser Cannon 18 / B(a) / 2; Medium Pulse Cannon 10 / F / 6; Medium Pulse Cannon 10 / P / 6; Medium Pulse Cannon 10 / S / 6; Medium Plasma Cannon 8 / F / 4; Particle Beams 5 / T / 4.
Weapon Special Traits listed in the example: Beam, Double Damage, Super AP (the two Heavy Laser Cannon); AP, Twin-Linked; Anti-Fighter, Weak. (The exact row each of the last two applies to was lost in the flattened text layer.)
- Name: What a ship is called is up to you, but it has been noted in playtesting that ships with names always seem to last longer!
- Class/PL: The actual type of ship and its Priority Level.
- Speed: The maximum distance in inches a ship can usually move in a single turn.
- Crew: Much the same as Damage, this shows how many Crew are onboard the ship. The second figure shows how far the Crew can be depleted before they become a Skeleton Crew. In the example, once the Hyperion loses 19 Crew, reducing it to 6 overall, it is crewed by a Skeleton Crew.
- Turns: Reflects how quickly a ship can turn (see Movement Phase).
- In Service: The Earth year in which the ship came into service and thus when it can be used.
- Hull: The higher the value, the better armoured a ship is to withstand incoming fire.
- Craft: A few ships carry flights of smaller craft onboard, normally fighters. Any carried as standard are noted here.
- Damage: The first figure shows how many points of damage a ship can withstand before being destroyed. The second marks the point at which the ship becomes Crippled. In the example, once the Hyperion takes 14 points of damage, reducing it to 6 overall, it becomes Crippled.
- Special Traits: Special rules that allow ships to perform actions impossible for others (see Special Traits).
- Crew Quality: The average figure is 4, denoting a Military-Grade crew. This can vary to reflect especially green or elite crews. Until you start playing Campaign games, use a score of 4 by default.
The Turn
Each turn is split into four phases, played in order: Initiative Phase, Movement Phase, Attack Phase and End Phase. When the End Phase has been completed, the turn ends and the next one begins with the Initiative Phase.
Initiative Phase
The Initiative Phase is used to resolve any actions that do not require players to make any choices (such as moving ships that are Running Adrift) and to decide who will have the Initiative for the turn. At the start of each turn, both players roll 2d6 and add the modifier for the race or fleet they are using. Any ties are re-rolled.
Initiative Modifiers
| Fleet | Modifier |
|---|---|
| Earth Alliance | +1 |
| Centauri Republic | +3 |
| Narn Regime | +2 |
| Minbari Federation | +4 |
| League of Non-Aligned Worlds | +0 |
| ISA | +2 |
| Raiders | +0 |
| Vorlon Empire | +6 |
| Shadows | +6 |
(Book Two gives the same modifiers for each fleet; the Civilian fleet has an Initiative of –4, only used in special scenarios created by players where civilians might conceivably have their own fleet.)
Movement Phase
The player who won the Initiative decides whether to move a ship first or force his opponent to do so. Players then alternate the moving of their ships. First, a player nominates one of his ships and moves it. It is also at this point that the player decides if the ship will perform any Special Actions, which may affect the ship's movement for the turn. Then his opponent nominates one of his own ships, decides if it will perform a Special Action and moves it. This continues until all ships have been moved. A particularly large fleet may still have ships to move after its enemy has finished; the larger fleet carries on moving ships until they have all had a chance to move.
Attack Phase
Players alternate the firing of their ships. The player who won the Initiative nominates one of his ships and attacks with it, resolving all damage dealt by that ship. His opponent then nominates one of his ships and attacks. This continues until all ships have attacked, or had a chance to attack. It is not compulsory for a ship to attack, even if it has a viable target. The player may nominate it and choose not to fire, but may not select it again that turn – there is no holding back!
End Phase
The End Phase is used to 'tidy up' the battlefield. This is the time Damage Control and other book-keeping tasks are performed. Once complete, a new turn begins.
Movement Phase
Once it has been determined who has the Initiative, players take turns to move their ships. A ship may only be nominated to move once in every turn and every ship must be nominated. You are not allowed to skip ships, even if it means you will move into a position of disadvantage.
Special Actions
Once a ship has been nominated, the player must decide if that ship is attempting any Special Actions that turn. This is done before the ship moves, as the choice may affect what movement the ship will make. A player does not have to attempt a Special Action. Special Actions are detailed in their own chapter.
Moving Ships
When nominated to move, every ship (except those with an SM Speed score) must be moved a distance in inches between its Speed score and half this amount. All movement must be in a straight line forward. No ship (except those with an SM Turns score) can simply turn on the spot – warships are extremely heavy and inertia will carry them forward before their bulk can be redirected.
All ships have a Turns score, which gives the number of turns they can make during one movement and the maximum angle each turn can be. Available Turns scores: 1/45°, 1/90°, 2/45°, 2/90°, SM.
1/45°, for example, shows that a ship could make one turn every time it moves, to a maximum angle of 45°. These turns may occur at any time after the ship has moved its mandatory half Speed movement.
Example: an ISA White Star manoeuvring to attack a Centauri Primus has Speed 15 and Turns 2/90° and must move forward at least 7 1/2" directly forward at the start of its movement. The rest of its movement is up to its Captain. It turns 90° after its mandatory movement and moves 4" forwards. The Captain then turns a second time, to bring the White Star's weapons to bear on the Primus – it turns a further 40° and moves forward another 2". Its total movement is less than 15" (its Speed score) and its number of turns (2) and their angles (90° and 40°) have not exceeded its Turns rating (2/90°). Note that a ship capable of 2 turns must always move at least 2" between its 1st and 2nd turn.
The Turns rating of SM stands for Super Manoeuvrable. Such ships (usually extremely agile craft, such as fighters) do not worry about turns or, indeed, facing. They are free to move in any direction the player chooses, making as many turns as he wishes along the way.
Ships may never be stacked on top of one another. You may never end your movement 'on top' of another ship or auxiliary craft.
Auxiliary Craft
Fleets with auxiliary craft (such as fighters) operate in a slightly different Initiative Order. All ships are moved in Initiative Order as normal. Once the ships of all fleets involved have been moved, the player who won the Initiative must choose whether to move his auxiliary craft first or force his opponent to do so. Then all the flights of auxiliary craft in a fleet are moved at the same time. Then the opposing fleet does the same with their auxiliary craft. Auxiliary craft can only attempt certain Special Actions.
Attack Phase
Players alternate the firing of their ships, calculating all damage and resolving its effects before moving onto another attacking ship. Once a ship has been nominated to fire, the player follows this process:
- Nominate targets for each weapon in each fire arc, checking each is within range.
- Resolve firing and damage.
Eligible Targets
For a target to be attacked, two conditions must be met. First, it must lie in the appropriate fire arc of the weapon system, as shown on your ship's roster. Second, it must be within the range of the weapon. You must nominate a target for every weapon you intend firing from your ship at the same time, before any attacks are made. You are allowed to pre-measure all targets before firing.
If a target lies on the border between two fire arcs, the attacking player may decide which of the two arcs the target will be considered to be within. He must choose one fire arc – he may not attack the target with weapons from both fire arcs.
Unless your ship has rules to the contrary, you may fire each weapon system once during every turn. Ships do not block line of sight as it is assumed they are fighting in a full 3D environment. You may fire 'through' any ship, be it friendly or enemy.
Firing
Each weapon has an Attack Dice (AD) score. This is the number of dice rolled every time the weapon is fired. The resulting number on each die is compared to the target's Hull score. For every Attack Die that equals or beats the target's Hull score, a hit has been scored. A roll of a 1 is always a miss; a roll of a 6 is always a hit. For every successful hit, roll 1d6 on the Damage Table:
| D6 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | Bulkhead Hit: No damage dealt |
| 2–5 | Solid Hit: –1 Damage, –1 Crew to target ship |
| 6 | Critical Hit: As Solid Hit but also roll on Systems Table (Critical Hit Location table) |
Splitting Fire
Weapons with multiple AD are allowed to split their dice between different targets. This is done when targets are being nominated. The amount of AD allocated to each target in every fire arc must be declared before any firing takes place.
Damage
When a ship's Crew score is reduced to 0, it is considered to be Running Adrift. For the rest of the game, the ship is moved at half speed in a straight line before Initiative is rolled for, until it moves off the table.
When a ship's Damage score is reduced to 0, it is considered to be destroyed but the opposing player must roll 1d6 on the chart below, adding +1 for every point below 0 the damaged ship has taken.
| D6 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1–5 | Running Adrift: As detailed above |
| 6–9 | Ship Destroyed: Burned out hulk, left stationary on table |
| 10+ | Ship Explodes: All targets within 4" are attacked by half the exploding ship's starting Damage in AD (maximum 10 AD). The destroyed ship is removed from the table. |
Thresholds
Both Damage and Crew scores have secondary figures, noted on each ship's roster. For example, a Hyperion has Damage 20/6: it can take 20 points of Damage but when it has been reduced to 6 points, a threshold has been reached.
If the Damage score is brought to this threshold level, the ship is Crippled. All turns are reduced to 45° and it will make one less turn (to a minimum of one) during its movement. The ship's Speed score is permanently reduced by half and only one weapon per fire arc may be used while attacking. Any Interceptors the ship may have are destroyed. In addition, roll 1d6 for every Special Trait the ship possesses – on a 4+ that Special Trait is destroyed, as jump engines go off line or carrier bays become cluttered with debris.
If the Crew score is brought to this threshold level, the ship is running on a Skeleton Crew. No Special Actions may be attempted and only one weapon system may be fired in each turn. In addition, it suffers a –2 penalty to all Damage Control checks.
Auxiliary Craft and Dogfights
After every ship on the table has had a chance to attack, both players then attack with their auxiliary craft. The player who won the Initiative attacks with all of his auxiliary craft first, followed by the player who lost the Initiative. Every auxiliary craft attacks at the same time, no matter where on the table they are. Nominate targets for each flight and then resolve their attacks, as if nominating targets for a ship's weapon systems against different targets.
If you attack an auxiliary craft flight or ship with your own flight, resolve the attack as normal. You make an ordinary attack and targets receive any Dodge applicable. However, if you are in base contact with an enemy flight, you are considered to be engaged in a dogfight. When auxiliary craft launch their normal attacks, they are considered to be engaging at long ranges; this is why other auxiliary craft still retain their Dodge trait against such attacks. To ensure the job is done right, you must close range and start dogfighting.
Once you move a flight into base contact with an enemy flight of auxiliary craft, you are dogfighting and follow these rules:
- Auxiliary craft may only conduct dogfights against other flights, not ships.
- A dogfight develops automatically by one flight moving into base contact with another and neither may move until the enemy has been destroyed – this is why it can be very important to retain the Initiative when moving your fighters.
- Every flight of auxiliary craft has a Dogfight score (found in the fleet lists in Book Two), reflecting its raw potential and ability to manoeuvre into an advantageous position.
- You resolve all dogfights your flights are involved in when you nominate your auxiliary craft to attack in the Attack Phase. When two opposing flights engage in a dogfight, both players roll one die and add the Dogfight score and the Crew Quality of their flight. The Stealth trait never applies in dogfights.
- You may add +1 to your dice roll for every extra flight you have in base contact with the enemy flight you are targeting. Flights may support any number of dogfights in this manner but may never conduct a dogfight against a flight they have already helped support against.
- The player who scores the highest wins the dogfight and destroys the enemy flight automatically. If the scores are equal, all flights are locked together and may not move until another dogfight has been fought and won. You may only destroy one enemy flight during each dogfight, no matter how many are arrayed against you.
- In general, each flight will only fight one dogfight in each turn. However, a flight can fight twice. For example, two flights may dogfight when one player nominates his auxiliary craft, reach a draw, and therefore be locked in combat. When the other player nominates his auxiliary craft to attack, the two flights must dogfight once more. By the same token, if a flight is attacked by multiple enemies and wins, it will still have at least one enemy flight in base contact when auxiliary craft are nominated again in the turn.
Critical Hits
If a Critical Hit has been scored on the Damage Table, roll 1d6 on the Critical Hit Location table, then roll on the appropriate Critical Hit table. The special effects of Critical Hits are not cumulative and where several Critical Hits affect the same ship in a similar way (such as loss of Speed on Engine hits), only the highest penalty is applied. However, you should note each Critical Hit scored, as each must be repaired separately during Damage Control. The additional Damage and Crew loss indicated is applied immediately, in addition to the normal Damage and Crew loss the hit inflicted. This extra Damage and Crew loss is multiplied by Double Damage and Triple Damage weapons as normal.
Critical Hit Location
| D6 | Location |
|---|---|
| 1–2 | Engines |
| 3 | Reactor |
| 4 | Weapons |
| 5 | Crew |
| 6 | Vital Systems |
Example: an Omega destroyer suffers both Thrusters Damaged and Fuel Systems Ruptured Critical Hits during an attack from a Sharlin warcruiser. The extra damage is applied for both but the ship only suffers a –4 penalty to Speed, for having the Fuel Systems Ruptured. However, when the fuel systems are repaired, the Omega still suffers a –2 penalty to its Speed, as the Thrusters Damaged Critical Hit is still in existence.
(The following Critical Hit tables were re-aligned from a flattened text layer in which the columns had run together; the Damage, Crew and Effect columns are given in the order they appeared.)
Engine Critical Hit
| D6 | Area | Damage | Crew | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | Power Relays Destroyed | +0 | +0 | –1 Speed |
| 3–4 | Thrusters Damaged | +1 | +0 | –2 Speed |
| 5 | Fuel Systems Ruptured | +2 | +1 | –4 Speed |
| 6 | Engines Disabled | +3 | +1 | Speed to 0, no Special Actions |
Reactor Critical Hit
| D6 | Area | Damage | Crew | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1–3 | Capacitors Damaged | +0 | +1 | –2 Speed |
| 4–5 | Reactor Gas Leak | +0 | +3 | No Special Actions |
| 6 | Reactor Explosion | +3 | +4 | Speed to 0, no Special Actions |
Weapons Critical Hit
| D6 | Area | Damage | Crew | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1–3 | Targeting Systems Damaged | +0 | +1 | All weapons lose 1 AD (to a minimum of 0) |
| 4 | Power Fluctuations | +0 | +0 | Each weapon will only fire on a roll of 4+ on 1d6 |
| 5 | Weapons Offline | +2 | +2 | No firing out of one random arc |
| 6 | Catastrophic Ammunition Explosion | +3 | +4 | No weapons can fire |
Crew Critical Hit
| D6 | Area | Damage | Crew | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | Fire | +0 | +2 | — |
| 3–4 | Multiple Fires | +0 | +3 | — |
| 5 | Localised Decompression | +1 | +3 | — |
| 6 | Hull Breach | +2 | +4 | — |
Vital Systems Critical Hit
| D6 | Area | Damage | Crew | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bridge Hit | +0 | +1 | No Special Actions |
| 2 | Engineering | +4 | +3 | No Damage Control permitted |
| 3 | Weapons Control | +4 | +4 | No firing out of one random arc |
| 4 | Secondary Explosions | +1d6 | +1d6 | — |
| 5 | Reactor Implosion | +2d6 | +4d6 | — |
Note that Vital Systems cannot be repaired through Damage Control.
No firing out of one random arc. Two Critical Hits (on the Weapons and Vital Systems tables) will stop a ship from firing out of one random arc. When your ship suffers one of these critical hits, consult your ship's entry in the fleet lists. From the top of the weapon descriptions, count down all the unique fire arcs (Turret and Boresight arcs count for this). The Earth Alliance Olympus is a good example – reading from top to bottom it has Turret, Fore, Port and Starboard arcs. Roll one die and count downwards for every unique arc: a roll of 1 would result in the Turret arc being knocked out, a 2 the Fore weapons, a 3 the Port weapons and a 4 the Starboard weapons. Rolls of 5 or 6 should be re-rolled. Ships such as the Hyperion have six possible fire arcs, so you will not have to roll again if you roll too high. Some ships (notably those of the Drazi) have just one fire arc and so will lose all weapons on these Critical Hits – this is an intentional and built in weakness.
End Phase
Once all players have moved and attacked with all their ships, the End Phase is played out to complete the turn. This is used to complete any book-keeping needed for special rules, as well as providing a chance for players to repair damage their ships have sustained from critical hits.
Damage Control
During the End Phase, players can repair their ships through Damage Control. The player who won the Initiative during the turn does this first, for all of his ships that have been damaged. Many Critical Hits have special effects that further debilitate a ship beyond the raw damage they cause. These special effects are the only things Damage Control can repair – it cannot be used to restore Damage or Crew points.
A player may only attempt to repair one Critical Hit on each of his ships during every End Phase. A ship may not attempt to repair a Critical Hit on the same turn it was suffered – it must wait at least one full turn before attempting to fix a Critical Hit.
To repair a Critical Hit by Damage Control, select one effect a ship is currently suffering from and roll 1d6, adding the ship's Crew Quality score. On a 9 or more, the effect has been repaired and the ship can continue to operate normally. If you roll less than 9, the effect persists though you may try again in the End Phase of the next turn. Critical Hits to Vital Systems may never be repaired.
Special Actions
Special Actions permit players and their ships to do some extraordinary things. Whether it is bracing for impact against incoming attacks or forcing a damaged enemy vessel to surrender, Special Actions greatly increase the tactical options available.
Performing Special Actions
When a ship is nominated to move, a player can also choose to perform a Special Action. Some are automatic, while some require a Crew Quality check for success. Each ship may only attempt one Special Action in every turn. A Special Action must be chosen and attempted before the ship begins to move. Auxiliary craft can only use certain Special Actions, denoted in the text.
Crew Quality Checks
A Crew Quality check is performed by rolling 1d6 and adding the ship's Crew Quality score. If the total matches that listed in the Special Action's description (or exceeds it), the action is successful and will be performed. A 6 on this kind of Crew Quality check is always a success. If failed, the ship moves as normal.
Some Crew Quality checks are listed as being Opposed. Both players involved roll 1d6 and add the Crew Quality scores of their respective ships. If the player attempting the Special Action exceeds his opponent's total, the action is successful. The roll must be exceeded – a tie results in the Special Action not working. A 6 rolled by either side in an Opposed check is not an automatic success.
Auxiliary craft do not have individual Crew Quality scores. Their Crew Quality is either equal to their mothership's (for flights launched from ships) or is determined by their Wing (all flights within a Wing have the same Crew Quality).
Activate Jump Gate!
Crew Quality Check: Automatic (or Opposed if the jump gate is controlled by the opposition; see Jump Gates in the Advanced Rules). Effect: Any ship within 6" of a jump gate may activate it and prepare to enter hyperspace. While attempting this Special Action, the ship may not fire any weapons and its Speed score is halved. A ship may not enter a jump gate on the same turn that it is activated. An auxiliary flight may activate a jump gate in the same way as a ship, however it cannot activate an enemy controlled jump gate (those needing a Crew Quality check to activate) as small craft lack the technical facilities to hack into the gate computer systems.
All Hands to Deck!
Crew Quality Check: 9 Effect: The Captain orders the entire engineering division to alert. If successful, the ship gains a +1 modifier when attempting Damage Control and can attempt to repair any number of Critical Hits in this End Phase.
All Power to Engines!
Crew Quality Check: Automatic Effect: Diverting all power away from side and station-keeping thrusters, the Captain orders his crew to make best speed. The ship adds +50% to its Speed score for this turn. No turns may be attempted. A fighter may only use All Power to Engines! if it has the Afterburner trait. It may only use its Afterburner once in a battle and will only add +50% to its Speed for the turn in which it is used. However, it may make any amount of turns while it uses the Afterburner.
All Stop!
Crew Quality Check: Automatic Effect: The ship may move between 0 and half of its Speed in this turn and may make no turns. If the ship is in a gravity well at the time, another Special Action may be attempted in the same turn.
Close Blast Doors and Activate Defence Grid!
Crew Quality Check: Automatic Effect: If successful, the ship has its number of turns reduced by one and can only fire one weapon system. However, for each point of Damage taken this turn, roll one die. On a 5 or more, the damage is ignored. This has no effect on Crew loss but may be used to mitigate the effects of Critical Hits which inflict extra Damage, though the special effects of Critical Hits will still take effect.
Come About!
Crew Quality Check: 9 Effect: The ship can either make one more turn than normal (following the usual rules for turning) or may increase one normal turn by an extra 45°.
Concentrate All Firepower!
Crew Quality Check: Automatic Effect: Nominate one enemy target before you begin moving your ship. All AD used by the ship that miss this target may be re-rolled. No turns may be attempted, nor may any other target be attacked.
Give Me Ramming Speed!
Crew Quality Check: 10 Effect: If a ship is Crippled, its Captain may decide to make the ultimate sacrifice and order a course that heads straight for an enemy vessel. A Crew Quality check must be made. The ship may add 50% to its Speed but can only turn once. If it contacts an enemy ship, you may try to ram it. Only one enemy ship can be targeted in this way and auxiliary craft may not be targeted. Both players make opposed Crew Quality checks. Should you fail this check, your ship narrowly misses the enemy; no ram is made. If you score higher, you have successfully rammed the enemy. Both ships suffer immediate Damage and Crew loss equal to half the opponent's starting Damage score. This damage is automatic; no Attack Dice are rolled. Each ship also suffers 1d6 Critical Hits.
Initiate Jump Point!
Crew Quality Check: Automatic Effect: Only ships with the Jump Point or Advanced Jump Point trait may use this action. A ship initiating a jump point has its Speed score halved for this turn. In addition, it may not fire any weapons. A ship may not enter a jump point on the same turn that it is created. See Jump Points in the Advanced Rules.
Manoeuvre to Shield Them!
Crew Quality Check: Opposed (see below) Effect: Nominate one friendly target and one enemy target. Auxiliary craft such as Fighter flights may not be targeted with this Special Action. Your ship must end up within 3" of the friendly target, directly between it and the enemy target. If your ship does not manage this, the manoeuvre automatically fails. If the enemy target attempts to fire upon the friendly target this turn, it must make an Opposed Crew Quality check with your ship. Should your ship's result exceed the enemy target's result, all attacks that were to be fired at the friendly target are instead fired at your ship. These attacks are resolved normally.
Run Silent!
Crew Quality Check: 10 Effect: The ship powers down all systems in an effort to avoid detection. If the Crew Quality check is passed, the ship gains the Stealth 3+ trait for this turn only. During this time, it may not fire, its Speed score is halved and it may not turn. If the Crew Quality check is failed, these restrictions still apply – the crew are still trying to run silent, they are just not successful.
Scanners to Full!
Crew Quality Check: 9 Effect: Only an auxiliary flight within 4" of an enemy ship with the Stealth trait may attempt this action. Scanners to Full! is performed at the end of the Movement Phase. The flight may not attack in the same turn, nor may it be in base contact with an enemy flight. A Crew Quality check is made with a target number of 9. You may add a +1 bonus to this roll for every other friendly flight within 6" of the target that is also performing this action. If successful, the Stealth score of the target is reduced by one for the rest of the turn. Each flight attempting this action may either make the Crew Quality check or add the bonus but may not attempt both.
Stand Down and Prepare to be Boarded!
Crew Quality Check: Opposed Effect: If an enemy ship is either Crippled or on a Skeleton Crew, you may try to force it to surrender. You must have ships within 10" of it whose total starting Damage points are greater than the enemy ship's starting Damage points. Ships involved in this Special Action (other than the enemy ship) may not make any attacks. Both players make an opposed Crew Quality check. If you beat your opponent, his crew will surrender. Leave the ship motionless on the table. So long as one of your ships stays within 10", it will take no further part in the battle. If it is attacked, control passes immediately to your opponent once more. If all your ships are more than 10" away in the Initiative Phase of any turn, your opponent may make a Crew Quality check. If he scores 10 or more, control of the ship passes to him once more. Auxiliary craft, such as Fighters, may not be affected by this Special Action.
Example: Interceptors in Play
An EarthForce Warlock-class Advanced Destroyer is being attacked by a pair of Centauri Primus-class ships. The first Centauri ship, a Primus, hits the Warlock 3 times with its Twin Particle Array. The Warlock has Interceptors 4 and addresses each hit in turn. The Warlock's player rolls 4 dice and scores 2, 3, 3 and 6. As at least one 2 was rolled, the first hit is completely negated. As all Interceptor dice rolled 2 or higher, they may all be re-rolled to negate the second hit – this time the player rolls 2, 3, 5 and 5. The second hit is completely negated as at least one die rolled a 3 but the Warlock loses one Interceptor die (the one that rolled a 2). The Warlock only rolls three Interceptor dice for the third hit and only gets 1, 1 and 3. Since none of these dice rolled the required 4, the third hit pierces the Warlock's defences and its damage is applied.
The second Primus first hits the Warlock with its Battle Lasers. As a Beam weapon, this automatically pierces the Interceptors and its damage is applied. The Primus' second hit is from its Twin Particle Array. Even though the Warlock has technically lost all of its Interceptor dice (by failing to roll a single 4 during the last attack), the Warlock's player may still roll 1 Interceptor die. However, he needs to roll a 6 to resist the damage. For the remainder of the turn, the Warlock is always allowed one Interceptor die and needs a 6 to succeed. The following turn, all of the Warlock's Interceptor dice are refreshed.
Special Traits
Special Traits are applied to both ships and weapons. These are special abilities that in some way alter the core rules of the game.
Special Ships
Adaptive Armour: The entire hull of the ship comprises semi-living organic material which can readily adjust itself to repel the worst of most attacks. Whenever the ship sustains damage from an attack from a weapons system, halve the Damage and Crew points lost (to a minimum of 1 each).
Advanced Jump Point: The ship is equipped with the most technologically advanced jump engines in the galaxy and can make jumps into realspace with high precision. The jump point of the ship entering realspace will not deviate and the ship may act normally on the turn it arrives. In addition, a jump point created in realspace may be placed in any fire arc.
Afterburner: Using powerful secondary thrusters or even just dumping fuel into the combustion plant of the engines, this ship can achieve a rapid increase in speed for a short time. When using the All Power to Engines! Special Action, the ship may double its Speed for the turn. Afterburners may only be used once per game.
Carrier X: This ship has been designed as a fleet carrier and can deploy its flights of fighters extremely rapidly. While most ships are limited to launching or recovering just one flight in a turn, this ship can launch or recover a number of flights equal to its Carrier score. The number of launchings/recoverings cannot exceed the ship's Carrier score.
Command +X: A ship with this trait is equipped with advanced communications systems and is usually crewed by high-ranking officers who use it as a flagship. So long as the ship is on the table and not Crippled or reduced to a Skeleton Crew, the owning player gains an extra bonus to his Initiative rolls equal to the Command score. This is not cumulative and may not be added to the bonus granted by other ships with the Command trait.
Dodge X: Some ships (notably fighters or the legendary White Star) are exceptionally nimble and can make sudden, violent movements to thwart attack. Whenever the ship suffers a hit, roll one die. If the die equals or exceeds the Dodge score listed for the ship, all effects of the attack are ignored. The ship has dodged the attack.
Fighter: Though counted as ships for the purposes of most rules, flights of Fighters do not have a Damage score. They are destroyed by the first hit they suffer. Their Crew Quality score is either equal to their mothership's (for flights launched from ships) or is determined by their Wing (all flights within a Wing have the same Crew Quality score). Fighters may never take any Special Actions.
Fleet Carrier: The ship is not a mere carrier of auxiliary craft – it is the centre of an entire fleet. A fleet carrier may always deploy two flights before the start of a battle. In addition, so long as the fleet carrier remains on the table, every auxiliary craft flight in the fleet is granted a +1 bonus to its Dogfight dice. Finally, whenever you remove an auxiliary craft counter within 30" of your fleet carrier, roll one die. On a 5 or 6, the flight was not completely destroyed and managed to struggle back to the fleet carrier. It will be available next turn for launch, completely revitalised and ready for battle. If an enemy ship (not auxiliary craft counter) was within 4" of the counter when it was removed or if it was removed during a dogfight, apply a –1 penalty to this dice roll. A +1 bonus to the roll is granted if the flight was within 10" of the fleet carrier. If you roll lower than this, the flight is completely destroyed or scattered and will not reappear. A fleet carrier may only repair and replenish craft that it could normally carry, so it will be unable to use this special ability on craft from allied fleets. The effects of this trait are lost once the fleet carrier becomes Crippled or goes down to a Skeleton Crew.
Flight Computer: A ship listed as having a Flight Computer can never have a Crew Quality score less than 4 (Military-Grade). In addition, they ignore all penalties for being reduced to a Skeleton Crew, though being reduced to 0 Crew will still leave a ship Running Adrift – the Flight Computer must have someone alive to instruct it in order to pilot the ship.
Interceptors X: Interceptors are highly effective short-ranged active defence systems that target and neutralise incoming attacks. When the ship first suffers a hit from an attack in a turn, roll a number of dice equal to the Interceptor score. If any die results in a 2 or higher, the hit from that Attack Die is completely negated and ignored. Dice that do not roll 2 or higher are removed. All dice that rolled 2 or more may be used against the next attack that strikes the ship, but they must then roll 3 or more. So long as at least one die manages this, that hit too is ignored. Dice that do not roll 3 or higher are removed. Any die that succeeded in rolling 3 or more may then be used against the next incoming attack, though they will need to roll 4 or more, and so on. This continues until the ship has been protected against all attacks or the Interceptors have been reduced to 1 Interceptor die. A roll of a 6 on this Interceptor die will always negate an attack, no matter how many times the Interceptors have been used. Interceptors cease to function when a ship becomes Crippled. Interceptor dice 'refresh' at the beginning of every turn, meaning that a ship's Interceptors will be at optimum capability (maximum number of dice, needing 2+ rolls) against the first attack of every turn. Certain weapons ignore Interceptors, as do the Attack Dice from jump points and exploding ships.
Jump Point: The ship carries the large and powerful jump engines used to punch a hole from real space into hyperspace. The full rules for creating and using jump points are detailed in the Advanced Rules chapter.
Scout: This ship has been designed specifically for gathering intelligence on enemy fleets and relaying it back to friendly ships. So long as you have more ships with the Scout trait than the enemy fleet, you may re-roll Initiative for both setting up and the first turn, so long as the scenario allows these rolls in the first place. So long as it is within 24" of a ship with the Stealth trait, a scout may make a Crew Quality check at the start of the Attack Phase. If it rolls an 8 or more, the target ship will have its Stealth score reduced by one for the remainder of the turn. This ability cannot affect a target more than once in a turn, so the Stealth score can only ever be reduced by one. Instead of reducing the target's Stealth score, the scout ship may try to redirect attacks aimed against the enemy ship. Make a Crew Quality check. If the result is 9 or more, you may choose any one weapon system on any ship attacking the enemy target. You may re-roll all Attack Dice for that weapon system that fail to hit the target.
Self-Repairing X: Due to highly advanced bio- or nano-technology, this ship can repair itself, albeit slowly. The ship grants its crew a +1 bonus to all Damage Control checks. In addition, the ship will regain a number of lost Damage points in every End Phase equal to the score listed after Self-Repairing.
Stealth X: After an attack has been declared on this ship, a target lock-on must be achieved. Roll a die and compare it to the target's Stealth score. If the score is equalled or exceeded, the attack proceeds as normal. If not, all attacks that had been nominated to hit the target are wasted, as the firepower is uselessly expended on empty space. Also, if a ship with Stealth is more than 10" away from a ship trying to gain a lock-on upon it, its Stealth score is increased by 1.
Special Weapons
Accurate: These weapons do not roll their AD to hit as other weapons must do. The targeting computers will automatically hit any ship that is attacked with this weapon system. Every Attack Die of the weapon is rolled as a hit on the targeted ship. Accurate Beam weapons automatically hit once; subsequent rolls to hit only need a 3+ roll of the AD to hit again. As long as these secondary hits roll 3+, they may be re-rolled to inflict further hits on a 3+.
AP (Armour Piercing): Add +1 to the results of all Attack Dice rolled for this weapon.
Anti-Fighter: These weapons ignore the Dodge score of any target.
Beam: If an Attack Die from this weapon successfully strikes a target, immediately re-roll to attack again – the target number this time, however, will be one higher than before. You may continue to re-roll every Attack Die that continues to hit the target, with a target number one higher than previously used, until you run out of Attack Dice. A roll of a 6 always counts as a successful attack and may be re-rolled again. Beam weapons completely ignore Interceptors. However, they can only split fire if the targets are within 4" of each other.
Double Damage: These weapons will double all Damage and Crew loss dealt to a target, including the bonus damage caused by Critical Hits. In addition, they will always cause at least one point of Damage (but not Crew loss), even if the Damage Table lists the attack as a Bulkhead Hit.
Energy Mine: A weapon unique to the Narn, an Energy Mine is an extremely long-ranged fusion bomb hurled through space. When fired, nominate a point in space that is within range and the appropriate fire arc. You do not have to target an enemy ship – an empty patch of space is just fine. Every object within 3" of this point will automatically be attacked by the Energy Mine. Energy Mine attacks ignore Dodge, Interceptor and Stealth traits on all ships within the 3" radius. Energy Mines suffer a –1 penalty to all rolls made on the Damage Table (meaning they cannot score critical hits). Energy Mine weapons cannot split Attack Dice to create multiple area effects.
Gravitic Shifter: This weapon has no Attack Dice. Instead, nominate a target in range and within the appropriate fire arc. Make opposed Crew Quality checks. If you beat the targeted ship, you may immediately turn it up to 45° in any direction.
Mini-Beam: A Mini-Beam weapon ignores Interceptors just like a Beam but does not gain the ability to score multiple hits with every Attack Die. When targeting flights within 4", Mini-Beam weapons may also be counted as Anti-Fighter weapons.
Precise: You may add +1 to all rolls on the Damage Table.
Slow-Loading: These weapons may only fire every other turn.
Super AP: Add +2 to the results of all Attack Dice rolled for this weapon.
Triple Damage: All Damage dealt to a target will be tripled. In addition, they will always cause at least one point of Damage (but not Crew loss), even if the Damage Table lists the attack as a Bulkhead Hit.
Twin-Linked: Any Attack Dice for this weapon that do not successfully strike their target may be re-rolled.
Weak: Deduct 1 from the results of all Attack Dice rolled for this weapon.
Advanced Rules
Auxiliary Craft
A few ships are able to carry a flight or two of much lighter craft, usually fighters. Some ships act as full-blown carriers and may have many such flights onboard. A ship carrying auxiliary craft may only deploy one flight before the start of a battle. This is optional and represents a patrolling flight being used to safeguard the ship. The one exception is the Ambush scenario, where the attacker is free to deploy all of his fighters before the start of the battle. Wings bought separately may be deployed outside of ships as normal.
A ship not performing a Special Action may launch one flight of auxiliary craft. At the end of the ship's movement, place the flight anywhere within 3" of the ship. In the next turn, the flight is free to act and is treated as a separate ship itself, subject to the Special Traits it has.
A ship may recover one flight of auxiliary craft a turn. The returning craft must be within 3" of the ship during the End Phase for this to occur. A ship may recover any friendly flights, even those belonging to other ships. However, it may only do so if it has fewer flights onboard than are listed in its Craft score. A Hyperion cruiser, for example, could not recover a wandering Starfury flight unless it had already launched its own flight.
Supporting Ships
A flight may be moved onto the base of a friendly ship that is within range of its movement at any time. When this happens, the flight is considered to be supporting the ship and will then be automatically moved whenever the ship moves. Flights may also be placed on the base of a ship to support it before the start of the battle. A maximum of four flights may support a ship in this way, regardless of its actual size. If the ship moves further in a turn than a flight's Speed, the flight will be left behind.
Whenever an enemy flight attacks the ship, the supporting flight is immediately moved into base contact with the enemy and a dogfight resolved immediately. A supporting flight may only do this once per turn but any number of supporting flights may be used to engage an enemy flight. Whatever the result, the enemy flight may not attack the original target ship if it is intercepted in this way. If the defending flights survive the dogfight, they are returned to the base of the ship they were protecting.
Fighters can also be used to support other auxiliary craft. This works very similarly, except that the maximum number of flights that can support a flight of auxiliary craft is one. Whenever an enemy flight attacks or attempts to dogfight the auxiliary craft, the supporting flight is immediately moved into base contact with the enemy and a dogfight resolved immediately. A supporting flight may only do this once per turn. The supported flight does not engage in the dogfight. This includes the case where a supported flight attacks a supported target: the two supporting flights dogfight while the supported flight attacks the target as normal.
Crew Quality
By default, all ships have Military-Grade crew (Crew Quality 4). The fleet lists allow variable crews, most often used in Campaign games.
| Crew | Crew Quality Score |
|---|---|
| Elite | 6 |
| Veteran | 5 |
| Military-Grade | 4 |
| Green | 3 |
| Civilian | 2 |
Multiplayer Games
Very few changes are required to introduce additional players. During the Initiative Phase, players roll for Initiative as normal, re-rolling any ties. Play can then begin in this order, with multiple players simply taking their turn.
For example, suppose the Earth Alliance player scored 7 for Initiative, the Narn player 6 and the Minbari player 12. The Minbari player has the choice of whether to move first or wait his turn. If he declines, the Earth Alliance player then makes the same choice. If he too declines, the Narn player will be forced to move first, followed by the Earth Alliance and then finally the Minbari. Each moves one ship after the other, before it is the Narn player's turn to nominate another ship to move. Play continues in this pattern. In the example above, the Minbari player would nominate a ship to attack first, then the Earth Alliance player and then the Narn, before the Minbari player gets to choose a second ship to attack.
It is easier to create multiplayer scenarios if you either have very strongly defined objectives for each fleet or if fleets are allied into two separate forces, with the fleets on each side pursuing the same objective. This avoids the natural inclination to 'gang up' on a single fleet.
Jump Gates
Any ship within 6" of a jump gate may activate it and prepare to enter hyperspace, using the Activate Jump Gate! Special Action. While attempting this Special Action, the ship may not fire any weapons and it must move between 0 and half its Speed. If the jump gate is friendly or neutral, the attempt is automatically successful. If the jump gate belongs to an enemy (possible in some advanced scenarios), its controls must be over-ridden. This is done by making an opposed Crew Quality check, with the jump gate assumed to have a Crew Quality of 6.
Once activated, the jump gate will remain open for three turns, during which time any ships are free to use it. By simply moving onto the jump gate, a ship will be removed from the battlefield as it makes the jump to hyperspace. A ship must enter through the jump gate's forward arc.
Jump Points
A ship may only open a jump point if it has the Jump Point or Advanced Jump Point Special Trait and is using the Initiate Jump Point! Special Action. A ship initiating a jump point may only be moved between 0 and half its Speed. In addition, it may not fire any weapons. A jump point counter is placed anywhere in the front arc of the ship, within 6", after the ship has been moved. No ship can enter a jump point on the turn it is created. The jump point stays open for up to three turns so long as the ship continues to use the Initiate Jump Point! Action. During this time, any friendly ship moving into the jump point's forward arc (whether or not it has the Jump Point trait itself) will be removed from the battlefield as it enters hyperspace. As soon as the ship initiating the jump point moves onto the counter and enters hyperspace itself, or when three turns are over, the counter is removed. Once a jump point counter has been removed, the ship that created it may not initiate another one for at least three turns, as its jump engines have to recharge.
Some scenarios allow ships to be kept off the battlefield until needed, waiting in hyperspace. These ships are not deployed at the start of the game but are kept to one side. So long as at least one friendly ship remains on the battlefield, any ships waiting in hyperspace may be brought into play – if no friendly ships are on the battlefield, ships waiting in hyperspace cannot be brought into the game. This is done by one or more of them using the Initiate Jump Point! Action as part of the normal Movement Phase. The ship's player announces that his ship will take the action and places a jump point counter anywhere on the battlefield. The counter is then moved 2d6" in a random direction, as it is almost impossible to accurately predict the correlation between hyperspace and realspace. Any ship in realspace which shares the space of the jump point (or is within 4" of its forward arc) as it is created suffers a 6 AD attack with Triple Damage. This damage only occurs when the jump point is created – it does not inflict any additional damage in later turns. This jump point may be held open for up to three turns and may be used by any friendly ships that do not have the Jump Point trait who are also waiting in hyperspace. As soon as the ship creating the jump point moves onto the battlefield, the counter is removed. All ships must leave the jump point from its forward arc.
Moving from hyperspace to realspace in this way demands a great deal of energy and so a ship entering the battlefield from a jump point may not turn, fire any weapons, launch auxiliary craft or use any Special Actions in the same turn, unless it has the Advanced Jump Point trait. In addition, it may not create a new jump point for at least three turns after it has arrived.
Yellow jump point counters represent an entry point from realspace into hyperspace, while blue counters show an entry from hyperspace into realspace. A ship may not use a blue counter to enter hyperspace nor a yellow counter to enter realspace. These are one-way passages between the dimensions.
Squadrons
Up to three ships (or nine flights of auxiliary craft, though you cannot mix the two) may be placed in a squadron, though they need not be all of the same type. If you use squadrons, you must organise ships into them before a scenario begins. Once ships have been placed into a squadron, they must always remain within 6" of at least one other ship in the squadron, unless they become Crippled or are destroyed. If either of these events happen, the ship automatically drops out of the squadron and is treated as a single ship as normal.
While in the squadron, all ships are moved and fire at the same time. You nominate the entire squadron to move or fire, instead of just one of its ships. You are under no restriction to use the same Special Actions or target the same enemy ships with the entire squadron – the only requirement is that you keep all the ships within 6" of each other at all times and make every effort to maintain this formation if they are ever split up. Enemy ships still choose one ship as a target for their weapons, rather than selecting the squadron as a whole. All ships use the highest Crew Quality score of all ships within the squadron for all purposes.
You may break a squadron apart at any time by declaring your intentions during the Movement Phase and moving your ships so they end up more than 6" apart. You may break off just one ship in this manner, leaving the rest of the squadron intact.
Stellar Debris
Players can always agree to fight in empty space or scatter debris round the tabletop as they see fit. Some scenarios have specific requirements for the placement of stellar debris. Unlike other models on the table, stellar debris will block line of sight between ships on opposite sides of it. Unless otherwise stated, you can target a ship in the same Stellar Debris you are in and you cannot target a ship if it cannot target you because of Stellar Debris.
Asteroid Fields
An asteroid field may be of any size but most will take up an area of six square inches. Each asteroid field has a density rating, which may be freely chosen or generated randomly:
| D6 | Density Rating |
|---|---|
| 1–2 | 6 |
| 3 | 7 |
| 4 | 8 |
| 5 | 9 |
| 6 | 10 |
A ship may freely enter an asteroid field at any time. However, it must roll 1d6 and add its Crew Quality score and gain a total equal to or greater than the field's Density Rating. Ships with the Fighter trait gain a +1 bonus to this roll. If the test is passed, the ship moves through with no problem. If the test is failed, the ship suffers an attack using as many Attack Dice as the distance the ship moved in inches in this turn. This attack is counted as having the Super AP and Triple Damage traits. Ships with the Dodge trait may use it as normal.
Dust Clouds
Dust clouds cause little damage other than throwing sensor readings off the scale and disrupting equipment. Ships within a dust cloud do not have their line of sight blocked – ships within a dust cloud may target ships outside the cloud and vice versa. Dust clouds still block line of sight if they are between two ships and neither ship is within the dust cloud. A ship may move freely into a dust cloud at any time. While inside, it temporarily suffers a –1 penalty to its Crew Quality score. At the same time, it gains the Dodge 6+ trait against any weapon system it is attacked by, whether the weapon was fired from within the cloud or outside. Finally, a ship attempting the Run Silent! action from within the cloud gains a +2 bonus to its Crew Quality check in order to do so.
Planets
Planets are best represented on the table by round templates of a size relating to the planet, as described on the Planetary Table. Ships that are Running Adrift when they move onto the planet are automatically destroyed though other ships may fly 'over' it without penalty. A planet blocks line of sight to enemy ships, as with other stellar debris, unless the other ship is actually on the planetary template, in which case line of sight will be clear to any ship within range.
Planetary Table
| D6 | Planet Size | Template Diameter | Moons | Gravity Well | Speed Increase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1–3 | Lifeless Rock | Up to 3" | 0 | 2" | 3" |
| 4–5 | Earth-like World | 4"–9" | 1d6–4 | 6" | 5" |
| 6 | Gas or Ice Giant | 10" or more | 1d6–3 | 12" | 8" |
Typically, you will only have one planet on the table at any one time. All planets exhibit their influence on objects around them in the form of a gravity well, the area of space extending away from the planet's surface in which the effects of its gravity can still be felt. The gravity well extends from the edge of the planet's template to the distance shown on the Planetary Table.
If a ship begins its movement within the gravity well and parallel to the planet's surface, it may take advantage of its orbital position. So long as the ship stays at the same distance from the planet as it started, it may be moved forward around the planet, with the distance moved equal to the arc travelled. However, for all purposes, it counts as having just moved in a straight, forward direction. This manoeuvre is referred to as orbiting. This allows a player to change direction very rapidly, while perhaps taking advantage of Special Actions that require him to move in a straight direction (such as Concentrate All Firepower!).
A gravity well can also be used to accelerate a vessel to incredible speeds. In order to do this, a ship must move towards a planet (in other words, end up closer than when it started) and end its movement within the planet's gravity well. In addition, it must also keep the planet in its forward fire arc. If it accomplishes these conditions, then the ship will automatically be moved an extra distance forward equal to the Speed Increase shown on the Planetary Table and may also make an additional 45° turn (or less) at any time during this movement. This extra movement and turn occurs at the end of the Movement Phase and can feasibly shoot a ship out of the gravity well. As above, the ship may take advantage of Special Actions that require him to move in a straight direction when increasing speed in this manner, as long as it did not turn before entering the gravity well.
Moons: The number of moons a planet has can be randomly generated using the Planetary Table. All moons are counted as Lifeless Rocks and orbit at a distance of 4d6" from the edge of the planet's template.
Planetary Rings: To randomly determine whether a ring exists around a generated gas or ice giant, roll 1d6. On a 3 or more, a ring exists, at a distance of 1d6+6" away from the edge of the planet's template. The ring will typically be 3" wide and will be counted as either a dust cloud or asteroid field (equal chance of either).
Generating Stellar Debris
When using scenarios, you may be asked to randomly generate stellar debris. Divide the battlefield up into 12" squares. For each square, roll one die. On a 6, a random piece of stellar debris should be placed anywhere within the square. The exact type is rolled for on the Random Stellar Debris table:
| D6 | Stellar Debris |
|---|---|
| 1–3 | Asteroid Field |
| 4–5 | Dust Cloud |
| 6 | Planet – only one planet is permitted on the battlefield. Re-roll this result if you have already rolled for a planet. |
Tactical Withdrawals
Any ship may choose to retreat from the battleground, either by simply moving off a table edge or by exiting the battle via a jump point. By doing so, the ship escapes safely but your opponent will receive one-quarter of its normal Victory Points at the end of the game. Some scenarios may have restrictions on which table edges may be exited safely. If one of these edges is not chosen, the ship counts as if it has been destroyed and gives up its full victory points. Once a ship leaves the battle by exiting through a jump point or jumpgate, it may not return and counts as performing a tactical withdrawal.
Scenarios
Each scenario provides a list of objectives that each player must meet in order to claim victory. You may agree to play any selected scenario with your opponent, or roll for one randomly on the Random Scenarios table. Players generally have a number of Fleet Allocation Points with which to choose their forces as indicated in the text of the individual scenarios (the default is 5). Several scenarios use random Fleet Allocation points; for these, both players roll 1d6 before the game and add the totals together before checking the Random FA Points chart to see how many points they each have. The Priority Level of a particular scenario is either determined randomly (see Campaigns, Random Priority Level) or simply chosen and agreed upon by all players. Players may optionally specify an Earth year for the scenario about to be played (see In Service Dates in the Fleet Lists section).
Random Scenarios
| 2d6 | Scenario |
|---|---|
| 2 | Assassination |
| 3 | Recon Run |
| 4 | Convoy Duty |
| 5 | Ambush |
| 6 | Space Superiority |
| 7 | Call to Arms |
| 8 | Annihilation |
| 9 | Blockade |
| 10 | Carrier Clash |
| 11 | Flee to the Jump Gate! |
| 12 | Supply Ships |
Random FA Points (column alignment reconstructed from a flattened text layer)
| Combined 2d6 | FA Points each |
|---|---|
| 2 | 3 |
| 3–4 | 4 |
| 5–7 | 5 |
| 8 | 6 |
| 9 | 7 |
| 10 | 8 |
| 11 | 9 |
| 12 | 10 |
Each scenario has a number of entries:
- Fleets: Some scenarios may impose limitations on one or both fleets (e.g. required Fleet Allocation Points values or certain types of ship).
- Pre-Battle Preparation: Everything players need to do before play begins, including how to set up the battlefield and where fleets should be deployed.
- Scenario Rules: Special rules not covered elsewhere.
- Game Length: Most games continue until one side gains victory, but some have strict time limits.
- Victory and Defeat: The conditions required for players to win.
Victory Points
Many scenarios use Victory Points (VP) to determine who has won. Unless otherwise stated, they are always gained for damaging the opposing fleet:
Destroying an enemy ship: Gain VP equal to the value on the Victory Point Calculation table.
| Difference in Priority Level of Ship and Scenario | Victory Points |
|---|---|
| Ship is same Priority Level as scenario | 10 |
| Ship is one Priority Level higher than scenario | 20 |
| Ship is two Priority Levels higher than scenario | 30 |
| Ship is one Priority Level lower than scenario | 5 |
| Ship is two Priority Levels lower than scenario | 3 |
| Ship is three Priority Levels lower than scenario | 2 |
| Ship is four Priority Levels lower than scenario | 1 |
Forcing an enemy ship to surrender: Gain VP equal to double the value listed on the table – the ship must still be in a surrendered state at the end of the battle.
Each enemy ship that executes a Tactical Withdrawal: Gain VP equal to one-quarter of the ship's value on the table, rounding up.
Each enemy ship that is Crippled or reduced to a Skeleton Crew: Gain VP equal to 20% of the ship's value on the table, rounding up.
You can only gain VP from each enemy ship once, though you always gain the highest possible VP. If, for example, you reduce an enemy ship to a Skeleton Crew and then force it to surrender, you gain double its value in VP, not double its value plus 20%.
For holding ground: If you have at least one ship on the table but your opponent does not, gain 5 VP. This does not apply in a Blockade, Convoy Duty or Flee to the Jumpgate scenario.
Auxiliary Craft and VPs: Auxiliary craft included as the onboard complement of fighters for a capital ship do not give VPs for being destroyed – the VPs awarded for the mothership factor in the fighters already. For every wing or part thereof of auxiliary craft destroyed that was bought for a fleet separately from any carrier, VPs are awarded as for destroying a ship of the same Priority Level as the auxiliary craft wing. For example, if an Earth Alliance player bought 18 Starfuries for his fleet as 6 Starfury wings and during the game his opponent destroyed 11 of those, the opponent would be awarded VPs as if he had destroyed 4 Patrol-level ships.
Attacking and Defending
Many scenarios require the players to decide who is the attacker and who is the defender. If you do not want to decide between yourselves, roll one die each and add your fleet's Initiative score, re-rolling ties. The highest scoring player will be the attacker.
(The scenario map figures showing deployment zones were not available in the source text; where a scenario refers to "the map", set up as agreed between players consistent with the text.)
Ambush
A small fleet has laid a trap for a much larger enemy.
- Fleets: The defender has 5 Fleet Allocation Points. The attacker has 3 Fleet Allocation Points.
- Pre-Battle Preparation: The defending fleet is placed in the central deployment area marked on the map, with all ships pointing towards one short table edge. The attacker picks one of the deployment areas that run alongside the long table edges. He may place stellar debris how he wishes in this deployment area – all other stellar debris is generated randomly. He then places his ships in this deployment area though he is permitted to keep all but one ship in hyperspace, so long as he has at least one ship in hyperspace with the Jump Point or Advanced Jump Point trait.
- Scenario Rules: The attacker has one 'free' turn at the beginning of the battle. He may move and attack with his ships normally but the defending fleet may do nothing – its ships may not move, fire, take Special Actions or perform Damage Control. They must simply take the damage during this turn.
- Game Length: Until the attacker has withdrawn or until he has no ships on the table (Running Adrift, destroyed and surrendered ships do not count as viable ships).
- Victory and Defeat: Victory Points. However, the defending player does not gain Victory Points for ships that tactically withdraw.
Annihilation
- Fleets: Players have random Fleet Allocation Points and choose their fleets freely.
- Pre-Battle Preparation: Roll for Initiative as normal – the losing fleet will be forced to set up first. The fleets are deployed anywhere in their own deployment zones as shown on the scenario map. Stellar debris is generated randomly.
- Scenario Rules: None.
- Game Length: Until the victory conditions have been met.
- Victory and Defeat: This battle will continue until all the ships on one side have been destroyed. The winner is the fleet with at least one ship remaining on the table.
Assassination
- Fleets: Players have random Fleet Allocation Points and choose their fleets freely.
- Pre-Battle Preparation: The defender deploys his fleet first. The attacker must nominate one ship in the enemy fleet at the highest priority level possible and secretly record its name on a scrap piece of paper. This ship is his target, the one marked for assassination. The attacker may keep up to half of his fleet in hyperspace at the beginning of the game, so long as he has at least one ship in hyperspace with the Jump Point or Advanced Jump Point trait. Stellar debris is generated randomly.
- Scenario Rules: None.
- Game Length: 12 turns, or until one fleet withdraws or either side has no ships on the table (Running Adrift, destroyed and surrendered ships do not count as viable ships).
- Victory and Defeat: Victory Points. However, the attacker earns triple the normal Victory Points for any damage done to his target ship.
Blockade
- Fleets: The attacker (the blockader) has 5 Fleet Allocation Points. The defender (the blockade-runner) has 2 Fleet Allocation Points.
- Pre-Battle Preparation: The blockading player deploys his fleet first. All ships must be pointing directly towards the opposite long table edge. The blockade-runner will move all his ships on from anywhere along this opposite table edge in the first turn. The blockade-runner may not use the Initiate Jump Point! Special Action as the blockader is successfully jamming his jump engines.
- Scenario Rules: The blockade-runner has one 'free' turn at the beginning of the battle. He may move and attack with his ships normally but the blockading fleet may do nothing – its ships may not move, fire, take Special Actions or perform Damage Control. They must simply take any damage dealt during this turn. After this first turn, Initiative is rolled normally.
- Game Length: 12 turns, or until the victory conditions have been met.
- Victory and Defeat: Victory Points. The blockading player scores Victory Points normally. The blockade-running player only scores Victory Points for moving ships off the blockader's long table edge. He gains the full VP value of every ship moved off the table in this way, regardless of its condition, as if it had been destroyed. The blockader's long table edge and the two short table edges are considered to belong to the blockader for the purposes of tactical withdrawal. The opposite long table edge is considered to belong to the blockade-runner.
Call to Arms
- Fleets: Players have random Fleet Allocation Points and choose their fleets freely.
- Pre-Battle Preparation: Roll for Initiative – the losing fleet will be forced to set up first. The fleets are deployed anywhere in their own deployment zones as shown on the scenario map. This clash takes place in deep space and so no stellar debris or planets are required unless both players agree to their use.
- Scenario Rules: None.
- Game Length: 10 turns, or until either side has no ships on the table (Running Adrift, destroyed and surrendered ships do not count as viable ships).
- Victory and Defeat: Victory Points.
Carrier Clash
- Fleets: Players have random Fleet Allocation Points. Both fleets must have one ship with at least two flights of auxiliary craft. All other ships in the fleet must be of an equal or lower Priority Level than the scenario.
- Pre-Battle Preparation: Roll for Initiative as normal – the losing fleet will be forced to set up first. The fleets are deployed anywhere in their own deployment zones as shown on the scenario map. Stellar debris is generated randomly.
- Scenario Rules: None.
- Game Length: 10 turns, or until either side has no ships on the table (Running Adrift, destroyed and surrendered ships do not count as viable ships).
- Victory and Defeat: Victory Points. The short table edges are considered to belong to the player who has his deployment zone there for the purposes of tactical withdrawal. The long table edges are considered to be neutral.
Convoy Duty
- Fleets: In a Priority Level: Patrol game, the defending player has 5 Fleet Allocation Points. The defending player also has two corporate freighters. He may replace either corporate freighter with two civilian traders or both with a single space liner. These are the convoy ships he must protect. For every increase in Priority Level, the number of corporate freighters increases by two. A Priority Level: War game would therefore have ten corporate freighters. The defender may replace any or all of these with civilian traders or space liners as listed above. The attacker has 3 Fleet Allocation Points, regardless of Priority Level.
- Pre-Battle Preparation: The defending fleet is placed in the deployment area marked on the map. The attacker does not start on the table. Instead, he will move his ships on from either long table edge during any turn he chooses. He is not required to move all his ships on from the same table edge, nor in the same turn. The attacker may also keep up to half of his fleet in hyperspace at the beginning of the game, so long as he has at least one ship in hyperspace with the Jump Point or Advanced Jump Point trait. Stellar debris is generated randomly. The convoy ships are always moved first each turn, before all other ships controlled by either player.
- Scenario Rules: None.
- Game Length: Until all convoy ships have either been destroyed or have left the table (Running Adrift, destroyed and surrendered ships do not count as viable ships).
- Victory and Defeat: Victory Points. However, the attacker gains 2 VPs for every convoy ship he manages to completely destroy (but no other VPs are earned for destroying these ships). The defender gains 2 VPs for every convoy ship he manages to exit from the exit edge marked on the map and earns the usual VPs for destroying attacking ships. For the purposes of tactical withdrawal, the short edges are considered to belong to the defender while the long table edges belong to the attacker.
Flee to the Jump Gate!
- Fleets: The attacking player has 5 Fleet Allocation Points and chooses his fleet freely. At least one of his ships must have the Jump Point or Advanced Jump Point trait. The defending player has 3 Fleet Allocation Points.
- Pre-Battle Preparation: A jump gate is placed on the table, as shown on the map. The defending fleet is deployed first, with all ships pointing towards the jump gate. The attacker then chooses up to two ships to be placed in his deployment zones at the far corners of the table behind the defending fleet. The rest of his fleet is kept in hyperspace; at least one of these ships must have the Jump Point or Advanced Jump Point trait. The defending player may not use the Initiate Jump Point! Special Action as the attacker is successfully jamming his jump engines. The jump gate is considered to belong to the attacker.
- Scenario Rules: The attacker moves his main force onto the table from the Surprise Entry Point on Turn 2. He must have a ship that is capable of opening this jump point in hyperspace.
- Game Length: 10 turns, or until the victory conditions have been met.
- Victory and Defeat: Victory Points. The attacker gains Victory Points as normal. The defending player gains the full VP value of every one of his ships that exit via the jump gate, regardless of its condition, as if it had been destroyed. The defender also earns the usual VPs for destroying attacking ships.
Recon Run
- Fleets: The defender has 5 Fleet Allocation Points and chooses his fleet freely. The attacker has 3 Fleet Allocation Points.
- Pre-Battle Preparation: The defending fleet is placed in the deployment area marked on the map. The attacker will move his ships on from any one table edge he chooses in the first turn of the game. The attacker may also keep up to half of his fleet in hyperspace at the beginning of the game, so long as he has at least one ship in hyperspace with the Jump Point or Advanced Jump Point trait. Stellar debris is generated randomly.
- Scenario Rules: The objective is for the attacker to successfully scan as many enemy ships as possible. To do this, he must move a ship within 12" of an enemy ship and then roll 1d6, adding his Crew Quality score. On a 7 or more, he successfully scans the enemy. Each attacking ship can scan one defending ship per turn. However, they may not perform any Special Actions while doing so.
- Game Length: 10 turns, or until every defending ship has been scanned.
- Victory and Defeat: Victory Points. However, the attacker gains half of an enemy ship's destroyed VP value, rounding up, whenever he successfully scans it. Each enemy ship may only be scanned once.
Space Superiority
- Fleets: Players have random Fleet Allocation Points and choose their fleets freely. Both players are permitted to keep up to half their ships in hyperspace, so long as they have at least one ship in hyperspace with the Jump Point or Advanced Jump Point trait.
- Pre-Battle Preparation: Roll for Initiative as normal – the losing fleet will be forced to set up first. The fleets are deployed anywhere in their own deployment zones as shown on the scenario map. Stellar debris is generated randomly.
- Scenario Rules: None.
- Game Length: 10 turns.
- Victory and Defeat: Victory Points. In addition, divide the battlefield up into a grid, where each grid square is 24" by 24". If a player has at least one ship in a square and no enemy ships, he gains a bonus of 5 VPs. Crippled ships and those Running Adrift or on a Skeleton Crew may not claim a square in this manner. For the purposes of tactical withdrawal, each short edge is considered to belong to the player who deployed along its length. Long table edges are considered neutral.
Supply Ships
- Fleets: Players have 5 Fleet Allocation Points and choose their fleets freely. The defending player also has two corporate freighters. He may replace either corporate freighter with two civilian traders or both with a single space liner. These are the supply ships he must protect. For every increase in Priority Level, the number of corporate freighters increases by two. A Priority Level: War game would therefore have ten corporate freighters. The defender may replace any or all of these with civilian traders or space liners as listed above. The attacker may keep up to half of his ships in hyperspace, so long as he has at least one ship in hyperspace with the Jump Point or Advanced Jump Point trait.
- Pre-Battle Preparation: The defending player deploys his entire fleet around the planet. The attacker then deploys his entire fleet in the area surrounding the planet. The supply ships are always moved first each turn, before all other ships controlled by either player.
- Scenario Rules: None.
- Game Length: 10 turns, or until either side has withdrawn or has no ships on the table (Running Adrift, destroyed and surrendered ships do not count as viable ships).
- Victory and Defeat: Victory Points. The attacking player gains a 2 point bonus for every supply ship he destroys (but no other VPs are earned for destroying these ships). The defending player gains a 2 point bonus for every supply ship that survives the battle. If the supply ships make a tactical withdrawal, they are considered to be destroyed with regards to Victory Points – if the attacker manages to force the supply ships out of the system, he will have done a great deal of damage to the defending player's logistics in this region of space.
Campaigns
A Campaign is a set of scenarios that depict the entire war for one star system, where every battle can have a profound effect upon the next and ship crews gain experience.
Beginning the Campaign
You need at least two players with complete fleets, though the Campaign system can support many more. Every player should have at least 10 Fleet Allocation Points worth of ships chosen from the Battle Priority Level. Ideally, every fleet should be different, but it is okay to have the same type of fleet on differing sides, with one representing a rogue faction of their government, perhaps.
Then create the Campaign diagram, which shows the star system all the players are attempting to control. This comprises a number of Strategic Targets, all of which are considered important by the invading fleets. The number of Strategic Targets is random, rolled for on the Number of Strategic Targets table (which assumes two players; for every additional player, add one more Strategic Target). Each Strategic Target must then be rolled for on the Random Strategic Targets table. The first Strategic Target will always be a Settled World in every Campaign.
| 2d6 | No. of Strategic Targets |
|---|---|
| 2–4 | 6 |
| 5–8 | 7 |
| 9–12 | 8 |
| 2d6 | Strategic Target |
|---|---|
| 2 | Spacedocks |
| 3 | Inner System Comet |
| 4 | Settled World |
| 5 | Gas Giant |
| 6–8 | Dead World |
| 9 | Jump Gate |
| 10 | Asteroid Belt |
| 11 | Mining Outpost |
| 12 | Spacedocks |
(The mapping of results to targets above follows the order in which the flattened source table listed them.)
Asteroid Belt: Usually the domain of miners and Raiders, asteroid belts can be a haven for skilful Captains, enabling them to hide their vessels for long periods of time while vital repair work is carried out after battle. They also provide a natural navigation menace that can convince enemy ships to keep away from a region of space.
Dead World: Though of little long-term benefit to the victor, worlds hostile to normal life nevertheless provide valuable gravity wells that enable fleets to gather safely while performing repairs or regrouping.
Gas Giant: Providing all the benefits of dead worlds, they can also provide valuable raw materials for the reactor systems of many fleets.
Inner System Comet: The blazing comet can provide a superior method of concealing jump-capable reinforcements without alerting the enemy to their growing numbers.
Jump Gate: Possession of a jump gate means a fleet has the ability to bring in reinforcements at will.
Mining Outpost: A mining outpost will have all the refining facilities to remove its raw materials and process them into something the possessing fleet can readily use for its ships.
Settled World: Roll one die. On a 1–3, this is an industrial world. On a 4–5 it is an agrarian world and on a 6, it is a primitive (or low-tech) world.
Spacedock: So long as a fleet maintains control of the docks, it will have easy access to repair facilities and refits that will keep its ships battle-ready and in space.
The Campaign system does not need a detailed map, with each Strategic Target linked to one or more others. Fleets are highly manoeuvrable and, given time, have the ability to strike almost anywhere within a star system. You could just list the available Strategic Targets on a scrap piece of paper, though a sketch of the star and relative positions of the Strategic Targets is worthwhile.
Example (Fig. 21): the Narn are being battered back by the Earth Alliance out of the Kahuna system. The Earth Alliance holds Kahuna I (Gas Giant), II (Settled World, industrial) and IV (Dead World), while the Narn hold Kahuna V (Dead World). Kahuna III (Gas Giant) and Fuschi-Corkoran's Comet (Inner System Comet) are uncontrolled.
Starting Fleets
Every player takes a fleet roster and creates a fleet, using at least 10 Fleet Allocation Points worth of ships chosen from the Battle Priority Level. If all players agree, ships from the Other Craft fleet list may be chosen in addition to their usual fleet list. In this case, any Spacedocks bought by a particular player count as additional Strategic Targets under his control.
Players must randomly roll for the Crew Quality of every ship in their fleet on the Random Crew Quality table. Players are allowed to swap Crew Quality scores between two of their ships – this allows them to have a decent crew on their flagship. Other than this, you are stuck with the crew you roll for, though they will have a chance to improve during the Campaign. All onboard flights have the same Crew Quality score as their parent ships.
| 2d6 | Crew | Crew Quality Score |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Civilian | 2 |
| 3–4 | Green | 3 |
| 5–8 | Military-Grade | 4 |
| 9–10 | Veteran | 5 |
| 11–12 | Elite | 6 |
The Campaign Turn
Each Campaign Turn consists of the following phases:
- Initiative
- Select Targets
- Generate Scenario
- Fight Battle
- Ship Experience
- Repairs and Reinforcements
Once every player has performed the Reinforcements phase, a new Campaign Turn begins.
Initiative
Initiative is rolled for using 2d6 and applying the player's fleet modifier. Re-roll all ties. However, a –1 penalty is applied to a player's Initiative roll for every Strategic Target he currently holds.
Select Targets
The player who won the Initiative Phase selects any one Strategic Target that he does not currently possess. If this target belongs to another player, he moves to the next phase, fighting a battle with that player's fleet. If it is currently unoccupied, the next player in the Initiative Order may decide to also occupy it, in which case they both move to the next phase to fight a battle. If this player chooses not to, the choice falls to the next player in the Initiative Order, and so on. If the attacking player is not challenged in this way, he gains the Strategic Target automatically, without a fight.
Once it has been decided what the player who won the Initiative is doing, the next player in Initiative Order chooses a Strategic Target and follows the same process. He may not choose a Strategic Target that has already been nominated by a previous player in this turn.
Every ship on your fleet roster may only take part in one battle during every Campaign Turn. Once you have used it in one battle it may not be used in another during this same turn.
Generate Scenario
Once it has been determined that two players will fight, the player who nominated the Strategic Target to be fought over must roll on the Random Scenario Type table to determine which scenario will be played. During this scenario, he is regarded as the attacker.
| 2d6 | Scenario |
|---|---|
| 2 | Assassination |
| 3 | Recon Run |
| 4 | Convoy Duty |
| 5 | Ambush |
| 6 | Space Superiority |
| 7 | Call to Arms |
| 8 | Annihilation |
| 9 | Blockade |
| 10 | Carrier Clash # |
| 11 | Flee to the Jump Gate! * |
| 12 | Supply Ships |
# This scenario may only be used if both fleets have ships capable of acting as carriers. Otherwise re-roll this result. * This scenario may only be used if the Strategic Target being fought over is a Jump Gate. Otherwise, re-roll this result.
The Priority Level of the scenario is also randomly decided:
| 2d6 | Priority Level |
|---|---|
| 5 or less | Patrol |
| 6–7 | Skirmish |
| 8–9 | Raid |
| 10–11 | Battle |
| 12 or more | War |
Both players may influence the result of this roll. Before rolling, each may secretly mark down a modifier from –3 to +3 on a scrap piece of paper. Once the dice are rolled, both players reveal their modifier and apply it to the dice roll for a final result.
Each player normally has 5 Fleet Allocation Points to spend, though the specific scenario may have alternate point values. Players choose ships from their fleet roster to use in the scenario but may not take a fleet that has a greater points value than specified. If you are fighting multiple battles in a turn or have a battered fleet after several losses, you may not be able to field a large enough force to use all your Fleet Allocation Points. You are never required to field a fleet that uses all your Fleet Allocation Points, even if your opponent does.
Fight Battle
Play the scenario. The victor of the battle will either retain or gain the Strategic Target over which he and his opponent were fighting. This is immediately added to his fleet roster and may be used in later phases of the same turn. If a battle ends in a draw, the Strategic Target remains in the possession of the player who possessed it originally (or remains unoccupied if no player had it on his fleet roster). Any ships destroyed during the battle are crossed off the fleet roster. All existing damage (including effects of Critical Hits) are also noted on the fleet roster. Ships that have surrendered to the enemy are also crossed off but the enemy does not mark them down on his own – it is assumed it takes far too long for the captured ship to be analysed and re-crewed before the Campaign ends. Regard it as a trophy.
Players should collaborate to form a strong narrative for the Campaign, devising reasons why fleets are fighting at any one particular time.
Ship Experience
During every battle, ships acquire Experience Point (XP) Dice for various actions they successfully perform:
| Action | XP Dice Gained |
|---|---|
| Destroying enemy ship of lower Priority Level than your ship | 1 |
| Destroying enemy ship of same Priority Level as your ship | 2 |
| Destroying enemy ship of Priority Level one higher than your ship | 3 |
| Destroying enemy ship of Priority Level two higher than your ship | 4 |
| Destroying enemy ship of Priority Level three higher than your ship | 5 |
| Destroying enemy ship of Priority Level four higher than your ship | 6 |
| Forcing an enemy ship to surrender until end of game* | Double XP Dice earned for destroying it |
| Crippling an enemy ship | Half XP Dice for destroying it (round down) |
| Reducing an enemy ship to a Skeleton Crew | Half XP Dice for destroying it (round down) |
| Being on the winning side in the battle | 2 |
* Only for the ship that enacted the Special Action that forced the enemy ship to surrender.
(Row values were aligned from the order in which the flattened source table listed them.)
To count as destroying an enemy ship, your ship must deliver the killing blow – the attack that actually destroyed the enemy vessel. By the same token, to gain XP Dice for crippling an enemy ship or reducing it to a Skeleton Crew, your ship must have delivered the attack that caused this to happen. A ship may earn XP Dice for both Crippling an enemy ship and reducing it to a Skeleton Crew. It may not earn XP Dice for both this and destroying the enemy ship; only the XP Dice for destroying the ship are gained. However, one ship may gain XP Dice for Crippling an enemy ship and another gain the full XP Dice reward for destroying it in a later attack. A ship may never be reduced to less than 0 XP Dice. Auxiliary craft, such as fighter flights, do not earn XP Dice. Destroying auxiliary craft does not earn the destroying ship any XP Dice.
XP Dice may be saved for future Campaign Turns or they may be spent immediately as shown below. A ship may only benefit from its own XP Dice and the effects may never be applied to another ship.
Increase Crew Quality: You may spend 1 XP Die in an attempt to improve the Crew Quality of your ship. Roll the XP Die. If you score higher than your current Crew Quality, it will be raised by one point. If you score equal or lower, the XP Die is wasted. You may only attempt this once every Campaign Turn for each ship on your fleet roster.
Repair Ship: Any number of XP Dice may be expended in trying to makeshift repair a ship. Roll any number of XP Dice and multiply the result by three (or four if you control an asteroid belt). This is how many Damage points you can recover on the ship. You cannot increase your ship's Damage points to above their original number. Ships which have been Crippled may not use XP Dice in this way and must await full-scale repairs, as detailed in Repairs and Reinforcements.
Tactical Judgement: Any number of XP Dice may be kept aside, ready for use in future battles. Each XP Die spent allows you to re-roll one die that directly affects that ship. This may be an Attack Die (either fired by or at the ship), a Damage roll, a Crew Quality check – anything that may directly affect the ship expending the XP Die. The rules governing re-rolls apply.
Refitting: For every 2 XP Dice you expend, you may roll once on the Refitting table below. This may be done any number of times, so long as you have enough XP Dice. Effects are not cumulative within a specific system (you cannot apply Additional Weapons Fitted to the same weapon system twice, though you can apply it twice to two different weapon systems). If any results cannot be applied to your ship for any reason, re-roll them.
| 2d6 | Refit |
|---|---|
| 2 | Jump Point: The ship gains the Jump Point trait if it did not have it before and has at least 20 Damage points. If the ship already possesses the Jump Point trait, it gains the Advanced Jump Point trait instead. |
| 3 | Turbo Weapons: Choose one weapon system. It immediately gains the Double Damage trait. |
| 4 | Improved Sensor Array: Add a +1 bonus to any attempt made to gain a target lock on an enemy ship with the Stealth trait. |
| 5 | Improved Stealth System: The ship gains +1 bonus to its Stealth score (improving Stealth 3+ to Stealth 4+, for instance) or gains the Stealth 2+ trait if it did not have it before. Stealth may not be increased to 6+. |
| 6 | Long Range Targeting Systems: Choose one weapon system. It has its range extended by 50%. However, when using this extra range, halve the number of AD used (rounding down). If a ship is using this weapon at its extended range, it may not split fire. |
| 7 | Additional Weapons Fitted: Choose one weapon system that has at least 4 AD. It gains an additional 2 AD. |
Other Duties: For every 2 XP Dice you expend, you may roll once on the Other Duties table. This may be done any number of times, so long as you have enough XP Dice. Effects are not cumulative (you cannot gain Time in Orbit twice to gain a +2 bonus when forcing enemy ships to surrender). If any results cannot be applied to your ship for any reason, re-roll them.
| 2d6 | Other Duty |
|---|---|
| 2 | Contact Made: A diplomatic mission to the local Raiders has paid off well. You may immediately add any one Raider ship (or Wing) of your choice of Skirmish or lower Priority Level to your fleet roster. |
| 3 | New Captain: A new Captain takes command of the vessel. Once per battle, the ship may attempt to take two Special Actions in the same turn. These may not be the same Special Action and all effects of both Special Actions apply. Therefore, a ship cannot combine the Run Silent! Special Action (which requires no turning) with the Come About! Special Action (which increases turning). It could combine Run Silent! and All Power to Engines!, as neither invalidates the other, which would effectively allow the ship to Run Silent at full speed. |
| 4 | Now You See Me. . .: This ship has been conducting scouting exercises all over the system, forcing other fleets to chase it. You gain a +2 bonus to your Initiative for the next Campaign Turn. |
| 5 | Telepaths: Whenever the ship has to make an Opposed Crew Quality check, it gains a +1 bonus. Narn fleets may never have telepaths onboard. |
| 6 | Veteran Fighter Pilots: Choose one of your ship's Fighter flights. This flight gains a +1 bonus to all Crew Quality checks when dogfighting. |
(The refit and other-duty results are listed in the order the flattened source table presented them, one per 2d6 result from 2 to 12.)
Repairs and Reinforcements
During this phase, every player automatically receives 10 Repair and Reinforcement (RR) points, which are used to repair damaged ships, replace lost crew and call for reinforcements from High Command. The total number of RR points is modified by the events listed in the RR Points Modifiers table. It is not compulsory to spend all your RR points every turn; they may be saved for future turns.
| Event | RR Points |
|---|---|
| Player captured a new Strategic Target this turn | +10 |
| Player lost a Strategic Target this turn | –20 |
| For every industrial world the player possesses | +6 |
| For every agrarian world the player possesses | +3 |
| For every primitive world the player possesses | +1 |
| For every gas giant the player possesses | +1 |
| For every mining outpost the player possesses | +5 |
| For every jump gate the player possesses | +3 |
Repairs: Each RR point may be expended to replace up to 5 lost Damage points from any ship in the fleet. A ship that has been Crippled must have an additional 5 RR points spent on it before any repairing may be performed, unless you possess a Spacedock as one of your Strategic Targets, in which case this premium may be ignored. 2 RR points may be spent repairing a single Critical Hit to a ship's Vital Systems. Other Critical Hits each cost 1 RR point to negate.
In addition, you may voluntarily send a ship back to High Command for complete repairs, no matter what its condition. You will not be able to use the ship for a full two Campaign Turns but after this period, it will be returned to your fleet roster at the beginning of the third Campaign Turn, fully repaired of any Damage or Crew loss (though if the ship had been reduced to a Skeleton Crew it suffers a permanent one point loss to its Crew Quality). Ships with the Self-Repairing trait automatically recover all lost Damage points (though not Crew or critical hits) before their next battle.
Recruiting: Each RR point may be expended to replace up to 8 lost Crew points from any ship in the fleet. If you possess a settled world as a Strategic Target, each RR point replaces 10 lost Crew points. If a ship has been reduced to a Skeleton Crew, you may recruit crew for it as normal but it will have its Crew Quality score permanently reduced by one. If a ship has been reduced to 0 Crew you may recover it at the end of the battle so long as the ship is on your fleet roster and you won the battle.
Reinforcements: You may purchase new ships for your fleet roster by spending RR points as shown below. You may only purchase ships from the same fleet list that you originally selected. If you have a jump gate as a strategic target, you may reduce the cost of all reinforcements by 1 RR point. If you have an inner system comet as a strategic target, you may reduce the cost of all reinforcements with the Jump Point or Advanced Jump Point trait by 1 RR point. These reductions are not cumulative and you may only use one or the other for each new ship you purchase.
| Priority Level of Ship/Wing | RR Points |
|---|---|
| Patrol | 5 |
| Skirmish | 10 |
| Raid | 16 |
| Battle | 23 |
| War | 30 |
Victory and Defeat
The winner of the Campaign is the player who can capture all available Strategic Targets first. A player automatically loses the Campaign if every ship on his fleet roster is destroyed.
Mega-Campaigns
A Mega-Campaign is spread through several star systems across the entire galaxy and takes a great deal more book-keeping; you might nominate one player as Campaign Record Keeper.
The Mega-Campaign Map: A Campaign map is a necessity. It should feature at least ten star systems (plus one for every additional player beyond the first two), though there is in theory no limit. Each star system should be connected to one or more other star systems by jump routes, more or less randomly. Each star system should have Strategic Targets generated for it as normal, though do not increase the number of targets based on the number of players. Players all begin with 10 Fleet Allocation Points at Priority Level: War and select one star system from which to begin. This is their home base and it is assumed they possess every Strategic Target within that system at the start. The player who drew the map should select his starting system after all the other players have chosen theirs.
Initiative and Selecting Targets: This is rolled for normally but all movement begins on the Mega-Campaign map. A player may advance towards any one star system that is directly connected to one he already possesses (i.e. a system where he controls all the Strategic Targets). If no other player is present in that star system, he automatically claims it and every Strategic Target within. If he moves into a star system already occupied by another player, he must select a Strategic Target to attack, as normal. From here on, the generation of scenarios and other phases proceed normally. Any ships on a player's fleet roster may be used in any engagements he is involved in, but every ship may only battle once per Campaign Turn. However, a player may never advance into a new star system (whether it is occupied or not) while he is still fighting for one he already shares with another player. If you own one or more Strategic Targets in a star system where another player also has one or more Strategic Targets, the target you select must be one of his Strategic Targets, not a target in another star system. If you have several star systems occupied by both yourself and other players, you are free to select a target within any one of them but may still not select a new star system to attack.
Repairs and Reinforcements: You gain a bonus of 20 RR points at the end of every Campaign Turn in which you completely possess all the Strategic Targets within a star system. You receive this bonus for every star system you completely possess.
Victory and Defeat: To gain final victory, a player needs to own every star system on the Mega-Campaign map. You may instead decide that the winner is the first to control half the star systems, or the first to completely destroy two enemy fleets, or the player who controls the most star systems after a set time period. You can set your own victory conditions but they should be agreed to and understood by all players.
Fleet Lists (Book Two: general rules)
Only the general fleet-building rules and fleet-wide special rules of Book Two are transcribed here. The individual ship roster blocks (Speed, Crew, Turns, Hull, Damage, weapons, traits) and the Book Two history text were flattened into interleaved columns in the source text layer and are not reproduced. Fleet compositions are given only for fleets whose list was clear in the source; the Minbari Federation and League of Non-Aligned Worlds compositions were too scrambled to reproduce reliably.
Priority Levels
Every ship has a Priority Level, which is derived from how powerful the ship is in game terms and in what conflicts the vessel is commonly used. Ships with heavier armour, greater speed and more weapons have a correspondingly higher Priority Level. In the Earth Alliance fleet list, for example, a Hyperion-class cruiser is Priority Level: Raid while an Omega-class destroyer is Priority Level: Battle. This means that, all else being equal, an Omega is twice as capable as a single Hyperion.
There are five Priority Levels in ascending order: Patrol, Skirmish, Raid, Battle, War. When you begin playing a scenario you need to set a Priority Level and decide on a number of Fleet Allocation Points that every fleet is allowed to spend. The default is 5. Players may buy ships at their listed points cost but their total may never exceed this fixed points value.
Fleet Allocation Points
Each Fleet Allocation Point buys one ship of the same Priority Level as chosen for the scenario. However, you may also purchase ships of a higher Priority Level (and have fewer of them) or ships of a lower Priority Level (and have correspondingly more ships in your fleet) or any mix of the above. You can never purchase a ship more than two Priority Levels higher than the scenario you are playing.
| Ship's Priority Level relative to scenario | Cost |
|---|---|
| Two levels higher | 4 points per ship/Wing |
| One level higher | 2 points per ship/Wing |
| Same level | 1 point per ship/Wing |
| One level lower | 1 point buys 2 ships/Wings |
| Two levels lower | 1 point buys 3 ships/Wings |
| Three levels lower | 1 point buys 4 ships/Wings |
| Four levels lower | 1 point buys 6 ships/Wings |
(The cost table's layout was lost in the source text; the rows above follow the order of the figures as they appeared and the ascending/descending pattern of the Victory Point table.)
A few, very special fleets do not have choices at certain Priority Levels, either because some fleets (such as the League of Non-Aligned Worlds) do not have very advanced vessels, or because others are extremely powerful and should not be used at the very lowest Priority Levels.
Wings and Flights
Fighter craft are bought in 'Wings' – a number of flights of that craft purchased as one fleet choice. All Fighter craft have [Wing] noted next to their Priority Level. Some ships carry one or more flights of smaller craft onboard. These flights may be deployed at any time before or during the battle and do not cost extra points – the cost of these flights is included in that of their parent ships. (Shadow fighters are the exception: they must be paid for separately and are not included in the ship's Priority Level.) Flights of smaller craft may also be bought separately and used as units in their own right.
Any Earth Alliance (or ISA) ship carrying one or more Starfury flights may replace any number of them for Thunderbolts, or vice versa, as long as the scenario is set in 2259 or later. Any Minbari ship carrying one or more Flyer flights may replace any number of them for Nial fighter flights, or vice versa, as long as the scenario is set in 2250 or later.
Crew Quality
The fleet lists assume all ships have a Military-Grade crew (Crew Quality 4). You might like to experiment with random Crew Quality scores, as detailed in the Campaigns chapter.
Larger Battles
Using 5 Fleet Allocation points is the default and will give games that take one to two hours to play, depending on the Priority Level. You are free to specify a different amount of Fleet Allocation points so long as all players agree.
In Service Dates
Every ship has an In Service date, a range of Earth years in which the ship can be used. As an optional rule, players might decide on a specific year, scenario or campaign. This may severely restrict some fleets (or invalidate them altogether) but makes for more 'realistic' games. The In Service date refers to this particular model of the ship – the Maiden Voyage entry indicates when the original version was launched. A small number of ships have 'All' listed as their In Service date, meaning they can be used in all scenarios and campaigns.
Squadrons
Once you have chosen your fleet, you are free to organise two or more of your ships into squadrons (see Squadrons in the Advanced Rules).
Fleet Compositions and Special Fleet Rules
Earth Alliance (Initiative +1): Patrol – Hermes-class transport, Starfury Wing (3 flights), Tethys-class cutter, Thunderbolt Wing (3 flights). Skirmish – Artemis-class heavy frigate, Olympus-class corvette. Raid – Explorer-class survey ship, Hyperion-class heavy cruiser, Nova-class dreadnought, Oracle-class scout cruiser, Sagittarius-class missile cruiser. Battle – Avenger-class heavy carrier, Omega-class destroyer, Orestes-class system monitor. War – Poseidon-class super carrier, Warlock-class advanced destroyer.
Centauri Republic (Initiative +3): Patrol – Corvan-class scout, Haven-class patrol boat, Sentri Wing (4 flights). Skirmish – Darkner-class fast attack frigate, Kutai-class gunboat, Maximus-class frigate, Morgrath-class frigate, Vorchan-class warship. Raid – Altarian-class destroyer, Balvarin-class carrier, Centurion-class attack cruiser, Dargan-class strike cruiser, Sulust-class escort destroyer. Battle – Primus-class battlecruiser. War – Octurion-class battleship. Centauri and Narn: Centauri vessels will never surrender to the Narn and are immune to any effects that would require them to surrender to Narn vessels, such as the Stand Down and Prepare to be Boarded! Special Action.
Narn Regime (Initiative +2): Patrol – Frazi Wing (3 flights), Sho'Kos-class police cutter. Skirmish – G'Karith-class patrol cruiser, Ka'Toc-class battle destroyer, Sho'Kar-class light scout cruiser, Thentus-class frigate. Raid – Dag'Kar-class missile frigate, Rongoth-class destroyer, T'Loth-class assault cruiser. Battle – G'Quan-class heavy cruiser, Var'Nic-class long range destroyer. War – Bin'Tak-class dreadnought. Narn and Centauri: Narn vessels will never surrender to the Centauri and are immune to any effects that would require them to surrender to Centauri vessels, such as the Stand Down and Prepare to be Boarded! Special Action.
Minbari Federation (Initiative +4): Patrol – Flyer Wing (2 flights), Nial Wing (1 flight). Other ships include Neshatan-class gunship, Sharlin-class warcruiser, Torotha-class assault frigate, Leshath-class heavy scout, Tigara-class attack cruiser, Morshin-class carrier, Tinashi-class war frigate and Troligan-class armoured cruiser (per-level assignment not reliably recoverable from the source text).
League of Non-Aligned Worlds (Initiative +0): Patrol – League Falkosi Wing (4 flights) and others; ships include Avioki-class heavy cruiser, Bimith-class defender, Brokados-class battle carrier, Ikorta-class light assault cruiser, Lakara-class cruiser, Sunhawk-class battlecruiser, Tashkat-class advanced cruiser, Tiraca-class attack frigate, Warbird-class cruiser, Xill-class battle saucer and Xorr-class war saucer (per-level assignment not reliably recoverable from the source text). Flights of smaller craft may be purchased separately and used as units in their own right.
Interstellar Alliance (Initiative +2): Patrol – Nial Wing (1 flight), Starfury Wing (3 flights), Thunderbolt Wing (3 flights). Raid – White Star. War – Victory-class destroyer. In Service Note: though some of the ISA's ships existed before its creation in 2262, this fleet list may not be used at all in scenarios set before this date. Rangers: all ISA ships gain a +1 bonus to their Crew Quality scores, to a maximum of 6. Using Other Fleets: when using an ISA fleet, you may spend 1 Fleet Allocation point of your allowance on ships from one of the following fleet lists: Earth Alliance, Narn Regime, Minbari Federation or League of Non-Aligned Worlds. In campaign games, the ISA may have a maximum of 1 Fleet Allocation Point at Battle level spent on allied ships at any one time.
Raiders (Initiative +0): Patrol – Delta-V Wing (6 flights). Skirmish – Strike Carrier. Raid – Battlewagon. Using Other Fleets: when using a Raider fleet, you may spend 1 Fleet Allocation point of your allowance on ships from the League of Non-Aligned Worlds fleet list, though they may only be ships of Priority Level: Raid or lower. In campaign games, Raiders may have a maximum of 1 Fleet Allocation Point at Battle level spent on allied ships at any one time.
Vorlon Empire (Initiative +6): Skirmish – Transport. Raid – Destroyer. Battle – Light Cruiser. War – Heavy Cruiser.
The Shadows (Initiative +6): Patrol – Shadow Fighter Wing (3 flights). Skirmish – Shadow Scout. War – Shadow Ship. Flights carried by Shadow ships must be paid for separately and are not included in the ship's Priority Level.
Other Craft: Patrol – Civilian Trader (x4), Corporate Freighter (x2), Patrol Boat (x2), Space Liner. Skirmish – Orbital Defence Satellite. Raid – Spacedock. The Priority Levels listed are those suggested for direct one-on-one battles and can be paid from the usual Fleet Allocation points allowance. Some scenarios may have victory conditions that depend on these other craft, in which case they may be awarded to one fleet for free, as in the Convoy Duty scenario. Civilian Initiative is –4 (only used in special scenarios created by players where civilians might conceivably have their own fleet). Some craft have the special ship trait Immobile, which means they have no Speed score and may not move or turn in any way once placed on the board. Corporate Freighters and Patrol Boats have [x2] listed next to their Priority Level of Patrol: a single Patrol fleet choice gains a player two of these ships rather than one. Similarly, a single Patrol fleet choice of Civilian Trader produces four of these vessels.