Star Cruiser Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• • Game Components
  • Sequence of Play
  • Facing
  • Movement
  • Detection
    • A. Signatures
    • B. Sensors
    • C. Committing Active Sensors
    • D. Detection Procedure
    • E. Effects of Detection
    • F. Maintain Target Lock-On
  • Firing
    • A. Firing Procedure
    • B. Target Engagement Limits
    • C. Weapon Description
    • D. Targets in Atmosphere
  • Range
  • Screens
  • Hit Location
  • Armor
  • Damage
    • A. General Hits
    • B. Surface Fixtures
    • C. Critical Hits
  • Damage Control
  • Remote Objects
  • Planets
  • Stars
  • Giant Emitters
  • Kafers
  • Ship Status Sheet (Continued)
  • Designer's Notes
    • The Science of Star Cruiser
    • The Nature of Tactical Combat
    • The Target Solution in Star Cruiser
    • Hide-and-Seek with Bazookas
    • Naval Missions and Ship Design
    • The Scenarios
• Scenarios
  • Colonial Wars in Space
  • The Scenarios
  • Colonial War Scenarios
    • The First Battle of Alpha Centauri
    • The Second Battle of Alpha Centauri
    • The Raid on 791 Remote
    • Ambush at DM-21 1377
    • The Neubayern Raid
    • The Battle of Barnard's Star
    • The First Battle of Joi
    • The Relief of the Xiuning Station
    • "Between Two Fires": The Second Battle of Joi

Game Components

The following components are included in Star Cruiser:

• Two Maps: Each map shows a starfield and has a hexagonal grid superimposed. Each hexagon (hereafter "hex") represents 600,000 km of space from side to side.
• One Counter Sheet: Counters representing 60 large ships and 120 small vessels, drones, torpedoes and game markers are included.
• One Naval Architect's Manual: This manual explains the principles used in the design, construction and use of starships, and gives complete rules enabling you to design and build your own vessels.
• One Data Form Booklet: This booklet has the ship data forms necessary for playing the game.
• Two Combat Charts: These summarize all relevant combat charts and tables.
• One 10-sided Die: The die is used to generate random numbers. Unless otherwise stated, all rolls are made using a 10-sided die for a 1-10 result.

This Rule And Scenario Book.

Sequence of Play

Star Cruiser is played in turns, each representing one minute of real time. All activity in a turn takes place in the following sequence:

1. Intruder Movement and Fire Phase
2. Active Sensor Illumination Phase
3. Detection Phase
4. Detonation Phase
5. Intruder Damage Control Phase
6. Native Movement and Fire Phase
7. Active Sensor Illumination Phase
8. Detection Phase
9. Detonation Phase
10. Native Damage Control Phase

Only the Native player may move and fire in the Native Movement and Fire Phase or conduct damage control activity in the Native Damage Control Phase. Only the Intruder player may move and fire in the Intruder Movement and Fire Phase or conduct damage control activity in the Intruder Damage Control Phase. In all other phases, both players conduct actions simultaneously.

After all phases are complete, a new game turn is started. Play continues until one side or the other fulfills the victory conditions of the battle being fought.

Facing

All ships have a facing, as shown in the diagram below. The diagram is printed in the Rules Book and labels the facing aspects as Port Broadside, Port Bow Quarter, Port Stern Quarter, Bow, Stern, Starboard Bow Quarter, Starboard Stern Quarter and Starboard Broadside.

Each vessel, missile, and drone in play must be faced toward one of six possible hexsides at all times. Facing may only be changed in the movement phase as a result of the expenditure of movement points. Facing affects movement for all ships and also affects the number of lasers which can bear on a target.

Facing also usually affects the reflective signature of the vessel and its target profile.

Movement

All ships and missiles, and most sensor drones, have a movement allowance. All ships in this game have their movement allowances printed in the Data Form Booklet. For specially designed ships, movement in Star Cruiser is equal to twice the warp efficiency, rounding to the nearest whole number. Note that only vessels with stutterwarps have movement allowances; all other ships and objects have a movement allowance of zero.

A ship's movement allowance is the number of movement points it may expend in a single movement phase. Each movement point may be used either to move the ship forward one hex in the direction it is currently facing or to change its facing by one hexside. Ships with more than one movement point may spend some points on facing changes and some on movement. Facing changes may be done at any point during the movement of the ship, including those at the beginning or end. A ship need not expend all of its movement points, but unused movement points may not be accumulated from turn to turn.

Sequence of Movement: Generally, a player moves one ship at a time, conducting its entire move and all fires, before moving another ship. Ships that begin the phase together and intend to move together for the entire phase may be moved at the same time.

"All Stop": Any ship may declare "All Stop" at the beginning of its movement phase, in which case it expends no movement points that phase. The ship's radiated signature is cut in half (rounding fractions down). Also, the ship may change facing in the hex it occupies (at no movement point cost) to any desired facing. Ships at "All Stop" may not fire submunition launchers.

Detection

All vessels in play are initially represented by "bogey" markers. It is impossible to completely mask all emissions from a powered-up starship, and the game assumes that in most cases both sides are aware of at least the presence of "something" out there. At that point, however, there is insufficient information to identify the bogey as a "bandit" (definite hostile craft) or, more importantly, provide any of the ship's weapons with an acceptable target solution. Once detected, however, the bogey is replaced with the correct ship counter and can be fired at.

Each vessel has two signatures and two possible means of detecting similar signatures in other vessels. Signatures may be radiated or reflected. The radiated signature of a ship represents the neutrino and infrared emissions of its power plant. Reflected signature is the extent to which a vessel will produce a recognizable radar "echo" when another vessel attempts to detect it with active radar.

Sensors may be passive or active. Passive sensors include neutrino detectors and infrared sensors, as well as advanced optics (telescopes). They do not emit any detectable energy of their own when in use (hence the name "passive"). Active sensors represent the multiple wavelength high-energy radars used by warships to illuminate small targets many light-seconds away. The chance of detecting another ship with active sensors depends on the range to the target, how good an "echo" the target will produce (its reflective signature), and how good the data processing equipment on the detecting ship is at deciphering the echo.

A. Signatures

Each ship listing gives the radiated and reflected signature values of the ship. Radiated signature is used when a hostile vessel attempts to detect the target vessel with passive sensors. Reflected signature is used when the detection attempt is made with active sensors.

Masking: Some ships have two radiated values, the second and higher one in parentheses. These ships incorporate neutrino shields and IR dissipating radiators on the hull surface to mask the radiated signature of the ship. The lower number is the normal (masked) signature, which is used until the ship's hull suffers enough damage to be breached (either a minor or major breach). When that happens, the signature is no longer masked, and the second (higher) value is used.

Target Aspect: Target aspect refers to the angle of the target vessel in respect to a hostile vessel attempting to detect it. Target aspect does not affect passive detection, but it does affect active detection. Most ships have lower reflective signatures when viewed radially (from the bow or stern) than when viewed laterally (from the side). Lateral values are used when the detecting sensor is in the broadside aspect of the ship, while the radial value is used when the detecting sensor is in the bow or quarter aspect of the ship.

B. Sensors

The ship status sheet gives a value for the active and passive sensors on a ship. In both cases, the number represents the ship's autospot range, the range in hexes at which the ship will automatically detect a vessel with a signature of 1 or greater. Active sensors only detect reflected signatures; passive sensors only detect radiated signatures. Each hex beyond perfect detection range raises the minimum signature detected by 1.

For example, a ship with a passive sensor rating of 5 would be able to detect any ship with a non-negative sensor value at a range of five hexes or less. At six hexes it could only detect ships with a radiated signature of 2 or greater. At seven hexes it could only detect ships with a radiated signature of 3 or better.

Negative Signature Values: Vessels with negative value signatures may not be detected beyond the sensor's autospot range. At the autospot range and less, the detecting player must roll the die and obtain a result greater than the absolute value of the vessel's signature. This die roll is not affected by range (but is only possible if the vessel is at less than autospot range). The player with the negative signature value vessel need not announce the true signature value of his vessel until and unless it is detected. Instead, he need only observe the detecting player's die roll and tell him whether or not it was high enough.

For example, a vessel with a signature of -1 would be spotted on a roll of greater than 1; one with a signature of -2 would be spotted on a roll greater than 2, etc.

C. Committing Active Sensors

During each Active Sensor Illumination Phase, both players decide whether they will illuminate their active sensors. During the phase both players place either an "illuminate" marker or some other unused counter or marker face down next to each ship. All are revealed simultaneously; those with "illuminate" markers are using their active sensor suites while all other ships are not.

Using the active sensor suite allows the vessel to use its active sensor rating in the next two detection phases; the one immediately following the Active Sensor Illumination Phase and the next one following that. Ships using their active sensors do so using the reflected signature of the target and their own active sensor value.

Illuminating the active sensors also has consequences. Since the radar is a massive burst of electromagnetic energy, the illuminating vessel is automatically spotted by all vessels of the opposing player. This automatic spot is in effect for the same two detection phases in which the active radar can be used.

D. Detection Procedure

In order to detect a bogey, a ship must make a detection attempt. This is done in several steps. First, the detecting player counts the range to the bogey he wishes to detect and determines the minimum signature which he can detect at that range. He then asks his opponent, "Is the radiated (or reflective) signature of this bogey N or greater?" (N being the minimum signature he can detect.) The opponent then answers either "yes" or "no"—"yes" resulting in the bogey being replaced with a marker or model. If the answer is "no," the bogey remains undetected.

A ship may attempt to detect a single target only once per turn. It may attempt to detect any number of different targets in a turn.

E. Effects of Detection

Once detected, a bogey is replaced with the correct ship counter. The detecting ship at that point usually has sufficient information to determine the ship type and can determine its characteristics. (The computer calls up the appropriate information including displacement, drives, crew complement, etc.) More importantly, the detecting ship now has a solution to the target problem, and its gun directors are locked onto the target.

F. Maintain Target Lock-On

Once a bogey is detected, maintaining that detection is somewhat easier. Roll 7+ on the die to maintain the target lock, using the crew quality modifier (listed for each scenario) as a die roll modifier. However, subtract 1 from the die for each attempt in excess of 1 made during the turn. For example, if a sensor operator attempted to maintain a target lock on three targets, each attempt would suffer a die roll modification of -2.

Of course, if the target remains within the range at which the ship's sensors can detect it, no additional roll to maintain the lock-on is necessary. The roll is only used to maintain a lock on vessels that normally could no longer be detected.

Redundant Sensors: If a ship has multiple passive sensors and operators, each passive sensor must be considered when tracking multiple targets. For example, a ship with two passive sensors could maintain a lock on two separate vessels without suffering a negative modification. The sensors could track four vessels, each sensor maintaining a lock on two vessels and each with a modification of -1, etc.

Firing

All weapons in the game are directed-energy beam weapons, either lasers or particle accelerators. Missiles in the game are remotely piloted spacecraft carrying one or more directed energy weapons and intended to carry them "in harm's way" without endangering the mother ship or its crew. Also, missiles are smaller targets (smaller target profile) and are, thus, more difficult to hit. Submunitions are small detonation lasers dropped by a ship and almost immediately detonated and fired. For game purposes they are treated as regular lasers.

A. Firing Procedure

Both sides may fire their weapons at any point desired during the Intruder Movement and Fire Phase. Any weapons not fired during the Intruder Movement and Fire Phase may be fired during the Native Movement and Fire Phase. Thus, each ship can fire each weapon once per turn. Both sides may fire all of their weapons at hostile missiles in the same hex as the one they occupy during the detonation phase. This does not count against their normally allowed one shot per turn.

The moving player moves ships one at a time and specifies when he will fire during the phase. If the enemy fires at a moving ship, he must so announce while that ship is moving, and fire is then resolved. If a moving ship fires from a hex, and an enemy ship fires at it while it is in the same hex, the fire is resolved as if it were simultaneous. That is, the damage from one ship's fire does not take effect until the other ship resolves its own fire.

B. Target Engagement Limits

A ship has a limited number of fire directors, termed Target Tracking Arrays (TTA). Each TTA can engage only one target per phase but may direct more than one weapon to fire on that target. A TTA may only direct the fire of weapons mounted on the same ship as the TTA. For example, a ship with five lasers and two TTA mounts could engage two targets in a phase. It could fire one laser at one target and four at the other, two at one and three at the other, etc.

Ships equipped with UTES (Unified Target Engagement System) have one TTA per UTES, in addition to the laser or particle accelerator there. This mount can direct the fire of conventional turrets on the ship as well. Thus, a ship with two UTES and three lasers functions the same as a ship with two TTA and five lasers.

C. Weapon Description

The ship rating section lists the fire characteristics of all energy weapons carried by vessels in the game. Four characteristics are listed: targeting, mounting, hits and damage. Submunition launchers also include number of rounds carried.

Targeting: Lasers rely on several high-energy bursts to blanket several possible course endpoints for the target. Modern high-efficiency lasers can put out more energy bolts in a given time and, thus, have a greater chance of scoring a hit. By the same token, particle accelerators generally have a lower rate of fire and suffer accordingly. The targeting value of the weapon itself is expressed as a die roll modifier to the chance of hitting.

Mounting: Most weapons are single mounts, but some vessels employ double mounts to get the effect of a more modern (high rate of fire) laser. A double mount still makes only one attempt at a hit, but enjoys a +1 modification to the hit die roll.

Strikes: Normally a weapon will inflict one target strike per successful shot. Certain weapons (mostly so-called "detonation lasers") pump out a tremendous volume of energy in a very short time in the form of numerous attacks on each given target location. If these weapons achieve a hit, they inflict strikes (rolls on the Hit Location Table) equal to the number shown. Thus a detonation laser with a strike value of 10 would, if it actually hit its target, inflict ten separate strikes.

Example: The owning player may, if he desires, divide these strikes up among several enemy ships. If so, he must specify how many strikes are directed at each ship before making any hit determination rolls. One roll is made per target ship and, if successful, all the strikes directed at the ship hit it.

Damage: Most weapons have a damage value of x1, meaning they do one point of damage per actual strike. Some exceptionally powerful weapons have a damage value of x2 or x3, indicating that they do two or three points of damage per strike. (See Damage below.)

Rounds Carried: Each submunition launcher is a canister containing several small submunitions. A submunition does not have a stutterwarp drive. It has only a small number of attitude control jets with two or three seconds of fuel, a nuclear warhead, a laser, and a tight beam communication receiver. The submunition is dropped and, since it has no stutterwarp, remains in place. The ship that dropped it, however, continues to move away. While it does so, the gunner on the ship directs the submunition at the target, using the tight beam commo link. He does this using his TTA as if the submunition were a hull-mount laser. The short-range tight beam transmitter is included in the submunition dispenser rack. When the ship is a safe distance away, the submunition warhead detonates and pumps a grazer (gamma ray laser), which fires at the target an instant before it is destroyed by the explosion. Thus, each submunition launcher fires like a laser. It can fire once per turn. Unlike a laser, it has a limited ammunition supply, that being the number of submunitions carried in the launcher. Once these are exhausted, the mount may not fire any more. The "rounds carried" listing is the total number of times the launcher can fire per scenario.

D. Targets in Atmosphere

No weapon may engage a target that is still in an atmosphere. One-third of the time a ship spends entering or leaving a planet's surface is spent in the atmosphere. During the remaining time, it is still escaping the gravitational pull of the world but is out of the atmosphere and is, therefore, an eligible target.

Range

Weapons may only fire at targets in adjacent hexes or in the same hex as the firing ship. To determine whether a weapon hits, roll the die. The weapon hits on a roll of 7 or greater. However, the die roll is modified as follows:

• • Crew Quality (see scenario) (does not apply to missiles).
• • or - Target's Target Profile.
• • or - Weapon Targeting Rating.
• -2 at 1 hex range.
• +1 if double-mount turret.
• • or - Ship's Targeting Computer Rating.

Note: All ships actually equipped with a targeting computer have a positive die roll modification. Certain older ships in some of the earlier historical scenarios have particularly primitive tracking means which are reflected by rating them with a negative die roll modification re-coded in the targeting computer entry line of the ship rating.

Screens

The ship status sheets list screen values for those ships that have them. Screen values range from 1 to 6 and represent the effectiveness of the screen at the beginning of each turn in which they are energized. Their effective value may decline as they absorb hits during the turn.

Once a hit has been achieved on a ship with screens, it must be confirmed against the screens. For each hit, roll the die once. The hit penetrates through the screens if the die roll is greater than the current screen value; otherwise, the screen absorbs the hit.

Each hit absorbed by the screen reduces the effective value of the screen by the damage multiplier of the weapon. This reduced effective value is in effect from the end of the phase in which the hits were made, and remains in effect until either reduced further or until the owning player's next Damage Control Phase. During a player's Damage Control Phase, all screens automatically reset to their original value.

If a ship's power plant is inoperative due to battle damage or the ship is executing an "All Stop," the screens may not be used.

Players may energize (turn on) or de-energize (turn off) their screens during any Friendly Movement Phase but must announce any change in screen status when they do so. While in use, the current value of the screens is added to the radiated signature of the ship. However, a screen need not be run at full power and instead may be "tuned" to any value up to the original screen rating.

Hit Location

Once a hit has been achieved on a ship and it has been confirmed against the ship's screens, the hit location must be determined. Roll on the General Hit Location Table. If the result is "surface fixture," immediately roll again on the Surface Fixture Hit Location Table. If the result is "critical," immediately roll on the Critical Hit Table.

Armor

Some ships have an armored hull. If so, this is noted on the ship status sheet. Armor protects the ship's internal components from damage but provides no protection for surface fixtures. Thus, a hit on a surface fixture of an armored ship is resolved normally.

Any hit other than on a surface fixture is affected by armor and must be confirmed. In order to confirm a hit on an armored ship, roll the die. If the result is higher than the ship's current armor level, the hit normally penetrates and causes damage. Otherwise, it is ignored.

Once the hull has taken enough hits to suffer a minor breach, its armor value is cut in half (rounding fractions up). Once the hull has taken enough hits to suffer a major breach, its armor value is reduced to zero.

Jack Turrets: Jack turrets are flat-topped, retractable turrets with limited arcs of fire. However, jack turrets have the advantage of being armored. Each jack turret has the same armor value as the hull, and, thus, hits on them must be confirmed as if they were an internal component rather than a surface feature. Jack turrets keep their full armor value regardless of how seriously the hull has been breached.

Damage

For each strike on a vessel, roll the die once on the General Hit Table. Each strike does damage points equal to its damage multiplier, and these damage the indicated location.

A. General Hits

Hull: The ship rating for a vessel will list three different hull hit values. The first (lowest) number is the number of cumulative hull hits required to open a minor breach. A minor breach reduces the ship's armor value (if any) by half and renders masking equipment inoperative. The vessel uses its unmasked radiated signature and adds 1 to its reflected signature. If the vessel does not employ masking, then this hit level affects only the reflected signature. The second (higher) number is the number of cumulative hull hits required to open a major breach in the hull. A major breach in the hull doubles the radiated and reflected signature of the vessel and reduces its armor value to zero. The third (highest) number is the number of hits required to completely destroy the structural integrity of the hull. Once the hull fails, the ship is completely destroyed.

Power Plant: The ship rating for a vessel will give two different power plant hit values. The first (smaller) value is the number is the number of hits required to render the power plant inoperable. The second (higher) number of hits are those required to damage the plant beyond repair. Once the power plant is inoperable, the ship goes to an "All Stop" situation. Additionally, the ship may not make any active sensor detection attempts or fire any energy weapons. Battery power is sufficient to maintain communications, life support, and the passive sensor array for the duration of the battle.

Crew: One damage control crewman is killed.

Surface Fixture: Roll again on the Surface Fixture Hit Table.

Critical: Roll again on the Critical Hit Table.

B. Surface Fixtures

Active Sensors: One or more damage points to the ship's active sensor array renders it inoperable until repaired. If the ship is equipped with more than one active sensor array, randomly determine (with a die roll) which array was hit. A ship that has no undamaged active sensor array may not conduct active detection attempts.

Passive Sensors: One or more damage points to the ship's passive sensor array renders it inoperable until repaired. If the ship is equipped with more than one passive sensor array, randomly determine (with a die roll) which array was hit. A ship that has no undamaged passive sensor array may not conduct passive detection attempts.

Weapons Mount: One weapons mount (turret, missile pack, submunition dispenser) is hit. If the vessel has more than one weapons mount, randomly determine (with a die roll) which was hit. One damage point to a weapons mount renders it inoperable, and two points damages it beyond repair for purposes of the game. A damaged weapons mount may not fire until repaired, nor may a damaged UTES direct the fire of another weapons mount.

Target Tracking Array (TTA): One damage point to a TTA renders it inoperable, and two points damages it beyond repair. A damaged TTA may not direct fire while inoperable.

Communicator: One damage point to a communicator renders it inoperable, and two points damages it beyond repair. If more than one communicator is present, determine randomly (with a die roll) which is damaged. A damaged communicator for a remote station may not control a missile. If no other remote station is available to take control of the missile, it goes to "All Stop" until communication is reestablished with it.

Screen Generator: One damage point to the screen generator reduces the screen value by one until repaired. Multiple damage points cause multiple reductions in screen value. If a ship does not have screens, this counts as a weapons mount hit.

C. Critical Hits

Computer: One or more damage points cause major electronic disruption, causing most data processing equipment to fail. The ship may not fire, move, control remote objects or make detection attempts until the system is repaired.

TAC: One TAC work station is destroyed and the operator killed. That station may not be remanned, but any vacant computer station may be manned and substitute for the work station.

Bridge: One member of the bridge crew is killed and the work station destroyed. That station may not be remanned, but any vacant computer station may be manned and substituted for the computer station.

Life Support: The ship's life support system is damaged. Reduce all crew quality modifiers by 2 until it is repaired.

Drive: The ship's stutterwarp is damaged. The ship may not move until it is repaired.

Hangar Deck: One hangar launch door is rendered inoperative and the deck extensively damaged. If a fighter or other vessel is in the hangar at the time, it is damaged as well. No craft may be launched from, or recovered to, the deck until it is repaired. The damage to the small craft is a hull hit.

Missile Bay: One missile bay is damaged. If the bay has one or more missiles in it at the time, one missile is damaged as well. No missile may be launched until the bay is repaired. The damage to the missile is a hull hit. If the missile can sustain only one hull hit, it is destroyed. This does no additional damage; it merely turns the missile into junk.

Continuing Damage: Continuing explosions and fire cause additional damage until the continuing damage is brought under control (repaired). Each unrepaired continuing damage result inflicts one damage point at the end of each Friendly Damage Control Phase. Roll on the General Hit Table to determine the nature of the damage. (This may trigger a critical hit roll, which in turn may trigger another continuing damage result).

Damage Control

Damage can be repaired during the Friendly Damage Control Phase of a turn. The ship rating lists the number of extra engineer personnel available for damage control. Each group of three engineers (or fraction thereof) forms a single damage control party. Thus, a ship with nine extra engineers has three damage control parties. A ship with 10 extra engineers has four damage control parties.

Each damage control party may attempt to repair one point of damage. To succeed, it must roll an 11 or higher on the die, but it receives the crew quality modifier as an addition. Also, since the bulk of the engineering crew is stationed near the power plant, as are most of the engineering tools and spare parts, attempts to repair power plant damage receive a die roll modifier of +4.

The owning player must declare what all of his damage control parties are doing during the phase before rolling any of the repair attempts.

Remote Objects

Remote objects are all those unmanned vessels that are controlled from another ship. Missiles and sensor drones are typical remote objects. Fighters and other manned objects are not.

Remote objects are launched at the beginning of the Friendly Movement and Fire Phase before any movement or fire takes place. If the remote object is powered, it may move during that phase.

Controlling the remote object is the job of a remote operator on the mother ship. While in control, the remote object can do anything that any other ship can do, providing it has the equipment necessary to do so. If equipped with sensors, it can detect other ships; if armed, it can attack; if it has a drive, it can maneuver.

Detonation Missiles: Detonation missiles are slightly different from other missiles in that they "fire" by setting off a small nuclear explosion. The explosion destroys the missile, but (momentarily before it does) it pumps a very powerful X-ray or gamma-ray laser which takes multiple shots at nearby targets. The detonation missile is a means of including considerable directed-energy firepower in a small package, although admittedly a one-way package at that.

During the Detonation Phase, any detonation missile on either side may detonate and discharge its weapon. Commitment to detonate is done simultaneously and secretly by the same means (and using the same counters) as for active sensor illumination. Those missiles which detonate must fire and are then removed from play.

Once a missile commits to detonate, all vessels in the same hex as the missile have an opportunity to fire at it with their lasers and particle accelerators. All hits on the missile are hull hits. If sufficient hull hits are achieved to destroy the missile, it detonates but does not fire its laser. If the missile sustains hull hits, but not enough to destroy the missile, the total number of hull hits is applied as a negative die roll modifier to the missile's own fire.

Planets

One planet counter is included in the game. This represents a planet and its entire complex of natural satellites, if any are present. In scenarios which call for the presence of a planet, the hex in which the planet is placed is referred to as the "planetary hex." Only one planet is included as, given the scale of the game, two planets will never be on the same map at the same time. Planets affect both movement and detection.

Movement: Vessels pay one additional movement point to enter a planetary hex and one additional movement point to leave a planetary hex. A vessel may enter and leave a planetary hex in the same turn provided it has sufficient movement points to do so. Ships stationary in the planetary hex (at "All Stop") are in orbit.

Take-offs and Landings: The scenario will list the time it takes a ship to descend from or climb to orbit from a planet surface. When using the Star Cruiser rules to fight out battles from a Traveller: 2300 campaign, the Thrusters section of the Naval Architect's Manual will enable you to calculate the time to or from orbit for any craft from any planet. A part of the time to or from orbit will be spent in the atmosphere. This is specified in the scenario and can be calculated using those rules.

Detection: A planetary hex counts as two hexes for purposes of determining detection range. This is also true when attempting to detect ships in the planetary hex.

Ships landed on the planet are not placed on the playing surface until they take off. Landed ships may not be detected. Ships in the atmosphere of the planet may not be detected except by other ships either in orbit, or transitioning to or from orbit.

Stars

One star counter is included in the game. In scenarios that call for the presence of a star, the hex in which the star is placed is referred to as the "stellar hex." The six adjacent hexes are referred to as "near stellar hexes." Stars affect both movement and detection.

Movement: All vessels pay two movement points to enter or exit a near stellar hex. No vessel may ever enter a stellar hex.

Detection: A near stellar hex counts as two hexes for purposes of determining detection range. This is also true when attempting to detect ships in the near stellar hex. No detection attempt may be made through a stellar hex.

Giant Emitters

Nuclear explosions and illuminated vessels are giant emitters. Giant emitters produce such giant amounts of energy that detection through the hex becomes difficult. Each vessel which illuminates counts as a giant emitter for as long as it retains its illuminated status. Once a detonation missile or submunition is detonated in a hex, that hex becomes a giant emitter hex (due to radioactive debris) for the rest of the game. Mark this with an inverted unused counter.

Giant emitter hexes are identical to near stellar hexes in their effects on detection. Giant emitter hexes have no effect on movement.

Kafers

The later scenarios include several actions against the Kafers, a violent and hostile alien race with which several Earth nations are at war in 2300. Kafer crew quality is universally low, but improves once the crew becomes aroused. Once a Kafer ship is fired at, its crew has a progressively greater chance each turn of becoming aroused. Roll the die once each turn thereafter. On the first turn, the Kafer player must roll a 1 or less. On the second turn he must roll a 2 or less, etc. Once the crew becomes aroused, increase its crew quality level by 3 for the remainder of the scenario.

Ship Status Sheet (Continued)

Critical Hits: There are several possible critical hits.

• Computer: The ship's overall computer (not its targeting computer) can sustain damage. Boxes are provided to record hits.
• Tactical Action Center: Two stations are almost always present in the TAC—the active and passive sensor operators. These are already printed on the form (if one or both are unnecessary, mark them out). The remaining 18 blank spaces are to be filled out with all other sensor, fire control, flight controller, or remote stations to reflect the TAC of the ship. Each hit kills the crewman at the station and renders the station inoperable. A hit box is provided for each.
• Bridge: The required bridge personnel are already printed on the blank status sheet. Any additional stations must be filled in on the 10 blank spaces.
• Life Support, Drive, Hangar Deck, Missile Bay, Continuous: Hit boxes are provided for multiple damage to each of these areas of the ship.

Damage Control: Each damage control section consists of three individuals. Starting from the left, allow space for each engineer who is available for damage control and fill in all remaining spaces. For instance, a ship with eight damage control engineers would have two complete sections and one with only two men (the last is unable to repair things, but will absorb battle injuries).

Ordnance: Keep track here of all missiles and ordnance carried by the ship, their types, and how many are actually carried.

Crew: Fill in the comfort level of the ship. Also, determine the crew quality of the ship from the scenarios and note it here.

Enormous Ships: For ships which simply cannot fit on a single status sheet, use multiple status sheets. Note which sheet represents which components and mark hits off of each as necessary.

Designer's Notes

The following notes are the designer's commentary printed in the Rules Book. They describe the design approach and are not operating rules.

As you play Star Cruiser, you will quickly find that it is considerably different from any space combat game you have played before. Our approach to designing Star Cruiser was first to try to pin down what space combat between starships was likely to be like and then to design a game that reflected it. The first step was to identify the science upon which starships were based.

The Science of Star Cruiser

I've heard it said that a science-fiction author is allowed one major change in the laws of physics. I'm not certain how true that is for authors, but it's a good rule of thumb for game designers. The one major departure from current physical laws in Star Cruiser (and in Traveller: 2300) is the Jerome Drive, more commonly referred to as the stutterwarp. The Jerome Drive relies on the principle of "tunneling" to move particles from one location to another without passing through the intervening space. Each tunnel is relatively short, but the drive cycles at a rate of millions of warps per second and thus gives the illusion of considerable speed.

The apparent speed of a starship is affected by the sheer power of its drive, the warp frequency of the drive, the mass of the ship, and the presence of a gravity well. The sheer power of the drive, when compared to the mass of the ship, determines the average length of the warp tunnel. Gravity severely truncates the length of the warp tunnel. Warp frequency indicates how many times the ship will tunnel per second. All of these combine to produce an apparent speed. The activity of the drive itself at high cyclic rates produces a gyroscopic effect that is referred to as pseudomomentum. It is not true momentum in the Newtonian sense, but limits the magnitude of immediate changes in direction and velocity.

Aside from the star drives themselves, the science of starships is a relatively conservative linear projection of current technology. Power plants are based on refinements of existing designs. Weapons are directed energy beam weapons, either lasers or particle accelerators. Detonation lasers and particle accelerators are currently under development for the U.S. Strategic Defense Initiative ("Star Wars") program, and the game's submunition dispensers are an economical and logical outgrowth of this. Detection in the game is by means of neutrino detectors, infrared sensors, enhanced optics, or reflection of radar or laser radiation. In all cases these are currently available, at least in theoretical form, and require only better data processing to produce the results suggested by the game.

The Nature of Tactical Combat

You can make an argument (and I am now doing so) that developments in tactical combat can largely be viewed as attempts at better solutions to the targeting problem. That is, the problem in tactical combat is seldom one of developing a weapon that will deliver sufficient damage in the event of a hit; the problem is, instead, finding a weapon that can be relied upon to achieve a hit.

For example, the smoothbore musket is a perfectly acceptable mankiller, provided you can manage to hit someone with it. To increase the chances of a hit, battalions in the 17th and 18th centuries formed up in tightly packed lines and discharged their muskets in simultaneous volleys all at the same target. That enabled them to achieve a fair number of hits. To increase the individual infantryman's chance of a hit, rifling was added to the musket's barrel, and this increased the accuracy sufficiently so that a more dispersed formation could achieve the same number of hits. Massed formations could then be shot to pieces in short order, and so by the American Civil War, armies tended to fight in loose skirmish lines. The development of the machinegun combined the rifle's accuracy with the massed battalion's volley effect and did so without requiring large numbers of men to expose themselves to enemy fire. The result was more dispersion of the infantry and the need to put more firepower in the soldier's own hands—hence, the automatic rifle, grenade launcher, etc.

Naval warfare has seen a similar evolution. The 17th century's ships of the line, with twenty or thirty guns per broadside, quickly gave way to warships with rifled shell guns. Each rifled shell gun had a much higher chance of scoring a hit, and each shell did much more damage. As a result, a ship carried fewer guns but could do much more damage and do so at greater range. To counteract the effects of better guns, ships added armor. The answer to armor was larger guns, but the greater weight of large guns meant ships could carry fewer of them. To give them the same chance of scoring hits and more numerous small guns, more work was done with ballistics. Larger ships were built to provide more stable firing platforms. Rangefinders and fire directors improved gunnery accuracy. By the 1980s, many warships carried only a single gun or missile launcher.

Where is all this leading? The central problem in any tactical situation is hitting the target. There are two possible ways to increase your chances of hitting a target: Increase the per-shot chances of a hit (precision of fire) or keep the same per-shot chance of a hit but increase the number of shots fired at the target (volume of fire). Examples of both solutions can be found throughout history, but, of the two, precision of fire is clearly preferable. Why? Because the other fellow is firing at you as well, and a precision weapon is usually a smaller target than a volume weapon, all other things being equal. Consider the example of a handful of riflemen versus a massed battalion of musketeers; or the large three-decker ship of the line versus the steam frigate with a few rifled shell guns; or the rapid-fire large caliber naval guns of a light cruiser versus the missile launcher of a Soviet Osa-class missile boat.

After thinking this through, I decided that the Star Cruiser system should concentrate on the solution of the target problem. This entails efforts of the attacker to achieve a good target solution and efforts of the target to frustrate that solution.

The Target Solution in Star Cruiser

There are three main elements to the target solution: enemy position, weapon performance, and weapon control. By enemy position we mean the location of the enemy when your shot arrives. By weapon performance we mean the actual flight path of your shot as affected by the physical characteristics of the weapon itself and the environment through which the shot passes. By weapon control we mean the degree to which you can precisely control the aiming of the weapon (quite well in a spacecraft, for example, but much less so with a rifle). As data processing improves, our ability to measure and control for each of these variables has improved, and that enables engagement of targets at successively greater ranges.

While the attacker attempts to increase his chance of a hit, the target can take measures to decrease it. Just as the two means of increasing the likelihood of a successful shot are increases in precision of fire and in volume of fire, the target's two defensive options involve decreasing the precision of fire and decreasing its effective volume. To decrease the precision of fire, the target must interfere in one of the three variables above. The easiest to control for the target is target position, and most defensive measures based on reduction of precision concern themselves with disguising target position. Simple examples of this are camouflage paint and electronic jamming of radar. In Star Cruiser the main component in this type of defense is basic ship design. Most ships are designed to minimize their "signature," the extent to which enemy sensors can detect them. Contemporary stealth technology is a good example of this. Stealth is hardly super-science; its basic principles were outlined before World War II. In the future, considerations of radar cross section and reflectivity of materials will be basic to any military ship design.

Reducing a ship's normal emission level is important as well, as passive sensors will become much more important. Active sensors, once illuminated, are like beacons for enemy missiles and fire control equipment, and thus will often be mounted on remote sensor drones.

The second means of frustrating a target solution is to reduce the effective volume of enemy fire. Volume is reduced if rounds are rendered harmless even if they hit, and this is usually accomplished by means of armor. In Star Cruiser armor is used, but so are screens. Screens are not mysterious force fields that prevent enemy weapons from penetrating. Instead they are electromagnetic fields which hold reflective particles in suspension. When a laser hits the screen, the particles reflect a portion of the laser light and then vaporize, absorbing the rest of the laser's energy. Although some energy will penetrate the screen, often the screen absorbs or reflects enough energy that the remainder is insufficient to damage the ship.

Hide-and-Seek with Bazookas

The result of all this is that Star Cruiser sometimes resembles a very lethal game of hide-and-seek. This is certainly true of battles between smaller ships. A good analogy is to compare this to modern antisubmarine warfare. One good shot can end the battle, but that doesn't mean that the game comes down to one die roll. The true strategy and drama lies in the efforts to pinpoint the enemy and set up your shot without getting hit in return.

The most effective means of getting in your shot without being hit in return is a missile, and that is why all modern warships in the game rely heavily on missiles for their offensive ability. No matter how well a ship is constructed, it is an inherently larger target than a missile. Thus, a missile can be fired from a safe distance and has a better chance of penetrating to effective range than does a ship. By the same token, use of a remote sensor drone can enable you to detect your enemy while remaining at a safe distance. A second solution is the use of a number of small fighters. Although a larger target than a missile, a fighter is still harder to hit than most ships and is capable of delivering a quick hard punch with either a conventional beam weapon or submunitions dispensers.

In general, human fleets tend to rely more on stealth and its related technologies to avoid destruction. The Kafers, on the other hand, tend to rely more on armor and screens. This is so because the average level of intelligence and initiative is much lower among Kafers than humans, with the result that qualified pilots are much rarer. To compensate for this, Kafer fleets tend to rely on fewer very large ships, each heavily armed and protected, but virtually impossible to conceal. If human tactical battles can be likened to hide-and-seek, Kafer tactics are closer to a barroom brawl. Kafer ships close as rapidly with the enemy as possible, trusting their armor and screens to minimize damage on the approach run, and then trade broadsides until one or the other ship is crippled or destroyed. The limited number of fire directors on a Kafer ship make it fairly easy to overload its antimissile defenses and land hits, but the sheer amount of punishment a Kafer ship can take can be very demoralizing.

Naval Missions and Ship Design

Star Cruiser concentrates on pure ship-to-ship combat. However, that is not all there is to the mission of star fleets in the 24th century. The most common naval mission is the landing party, and that is why most naval ships in the game carry troop complements. For the most part, naval vessels are called upon to enforce the peace, and this rarely involves more than chasing down blockade runners or privateers, putting shots across the bows of merchant vessels, and landing a platoon or so of combat troops. A platoon of marines or legionnaires can do wonders to restore order oh low-population frontier worlds. When designing warships of your own, remember that their main mission is to show the flag and be able to project national power into a variety of environments.

The Scenarios

The scenarios included in the game are drawn from every war fought with armed spacecraft by man up to 2300 AD, with one exception. The so-called Slaver War (2252-2255 AD) is not included, since starships were used only by the human fleets (Manchuria and Canada), while the Sung used only ion-drive slow boats. The battles of the Slaver War are of historical interest only and are too hopelessly one-sided to make decent scenarios. While the scenarios are representative of the types of actions fought and the types of ships used, they are not exhaustive. Many battles were fought which are not represented in the game, and a number of warship classes built are not shown in the countermix. In many cases one particular ship is used to represent a different ship of the same class in a particular scenario. This was necessary due to the limitations of the countermix. Players should feel free to use the counters provided to make up additional scenarios from the wars presented or even to test different ships in hypothetical scenarios.

Scenarios

Colonial Wars in Space

• The Alpha Centauri War (2162 AD): Argentina versus the European Space Agency (France, Bavaria, Great Britain, and Azania). Azania did not provide combatant ships or troops. First use of purpose-built interstellar warships.
• The First Rio Plata War (2203 to 2207 AD): Brazil versus Argentina. First use of missile-armed warships.
• The Second Rio Plata War (2235 to 2237 AD): Brazil versus Argentina.
• The Third Rio Plata War (2275 to 2279): Brazil versus Argentina, Mexico and the Inca Republic.
• The Central Asian War (2282 to 2287): Manchuria versus Russia, France, Bavaria and later Japan.
• The Joian Revolt (2285 to 2291): Joi versus France.
• The War of German Reunification (2292 to 2293): France versus Germany.
• The Kafer War (2297 to present): Kafers versus France, Germany, Ukraine, America and Tanstaafl, with a growing number of other human governments preparing for cobelligerency.

The Scenarios

The scenarios that follow are listed in chronological order, from the first clashes of the Alpha Centauri War to the most recent fleet actions against the Kafers. As fleets have become larger and weapons more sophisticated, naval combat has grown in complexity. Thus, the earlier scenarios tend to be simpler, and we suggest that players start with the first scenario. After that, players can sample scenarios that appeal to them. The very large fleet actions of the Kafer War are recommended only for multi-player play, as they can become extremely complex.

The information required to play the scenarios is included in the specific scenario listings. The information is presented in the following format:

• Scenario Name: The name of the historic battle.
• Year: The year in which the battle was fought.
• System: The star system in which the battle was fought.
• Conflict: The war in which the battle took place.
• Background: A brief description of the historic events leading up to the actual battle.
• Set-Up: Where ships set up. In general, one player will set up in the "middle" of one map while the other will enter from a map edge. Exact hex placement of the "middle" is unimportant, so long as the counters are placed close to the center of the map.
• Victory: The conditions each side must meet to win.
• Intruder: A description of the vessels of the Intruder player, including ordnance carried and any battle damage sustained prior to the start of the scenario. If battle damage was sustained, it will be specified as "four turrets destroyed." The owning player then randomly distributes the damage over the available turrets before the scenario begins.
• Native: A description of the vessels of the Native player, as above.
• Special Notes: Some scenarios have special notes pertaining to that scenario alone. Often, these relate to vessels taking off from planetary surfaces.
• Using The Maps: The scenario description may specify that one map is used at start or that both are. Regardless of how many maps are used to begin with, both maps may later be used in the scenario. If ships are about to move off the edge of one map, the other map can be re-positioned to enable continued movement. In other words, the edge of the map should not be considered a barrier to movement.

Colonial War Scenarios

The First Battle of Alpha Centauri

• Year: 2162
• System: Alpha Centauri
• Conflict: The Alpha Centauri War
• Background: Following the discovery of the garden planet Tirane orbiting Alpha Centauri, international tensions mounted. The ESA prepared to colonize the world and pressed its claim to the entire planet. Numerous nations protested, but only Argentina took action. With a two-ship squadron of armored cruisers, the first purpose-built interstellar warships, the colony ships were intercepted at Tirane and captured without loss of life. The ESA member nations hastily assembled a small force of colonial transports armed with lasers and dispatched them to Alpha Centauri to challenge the Argentinian squadron.
• Set-up: The planet representing Tirane is placed in the middle of one map. The two Argentinian cruisers are in orbit in the planetary hex. The ESA ships enter from the far edge of the other map. The Argentinian ships may not leave orbit until at least one ESA ship has been detected.
• Victory: The player with the last surviving vessel wins.
• Intruder: ESA
  • M-1 (French Aries-class auxiliary cruiser) (CQ: -1)
  • M-2 (French Aries-class auxiliary cruiser) (CQ: -1)
  • M-3 (British Wombat-class auxiliary cruiser) (CQ: -1)
  • M-5 (Bavarian Helmut Korell-class auxiliary cruiser) (CQ: 0)
• Native: Argentina
  • CA Santisima Trinidad (CQ: 0)

The Second Battle of Alpha Centauri

• Year: 2205
• System: Alpha Centauri
• Conflict: First Rio Plata War
• Background: When war broke out between Argentina and Brazil over the Rio Plata boundary regions, the main body of Argentina's star fleet was in orbit over Tirane. Brazil's small fleet of missile frigates hit them there and ushered in a new age in stellar warfare.
• Set-up: The planet representing Tirane is placed in the middle of one map. The three Argentinian ships are in orbit in the planetary hex. The Brazilian ships enter from the far edge of the other map. The Argentinian ships may not leave orbit until at least one Brazilian ship has been detected.
• Victory: The player with the last surviving vessel wins.
• Intruder: Argentina
  • CA 25 De Mayo (Santisima Trinidad-class) (CQ: +1)
  • DD Almirante Brown (CQ: +1)
  • DD Crl. Belgrano (Almirante Brown-class) (CQ: +1)
• Native: Brazil
  • FF Ipiranga (CQ: +1)
    • Ordnance Carried: 4 x AAS-2 missiles
  • FF Mearim (Ipiranga-class) (CQ: 0)
    • Ordnance Carried: 4 x AAS-2 missiles

The Raid on 791 Remote

• Year: 2236
• System: DM-26 12026
• Conflict: Second Rio Plata War
• Background: Although not prepared to directly contest the powerful Brazilian fleet during the Second Rio Plata War, the Argentinians nevertheless conducted several raids on Brazilian outposts, research stations and remote bases. Several of these raids resulted in spirited naval actions, the most famous of which occurred off DM-26 12026.
• Set-up: The planet counter is placed in the middle of one map, representing the asteroid-based remote station. The two Brazilian ships begin in orbit over the remote station, but can move away immediately. The Argentinian ships enter from the far edge of the other map.
• Victory: The Argentinians win if they destroy the Brazilian remote station and escape with at least one ship intact. The Brazilians win if the base is not destroyed. If the base is destroyed, but both Argentinian ships are destroyed as well, the scenario is a draw. To escape, an Argentinian ship must break contact.
• Intruder: Brazil
  • FF Mearim (Ipiranga-class) (CQ: +1)
    • Ordnance Carried: 3 x AAS-2B missiles, 1 x Vue drone
  • DD Mato Crosso (Espirito Santo-class) (CQ: +1)
    • Ordnance Carried: 30 x AAS-4 missiles
• Native: Argentina

Ambush at DM-21 1377

• Year: 2264
• System: DM-21 1377
• Conflict: Third Rio Plata War
• Background: Early victories in the Third Rio Plata War gave Argentina a decisive advantage over Brazil, and Argentina's cautious naval strategy never allowed Brazil a chance to redress the balance. At DM-21 1377, however, the Brazilians managed to spring an ambush that came close to making good their earlier losses.
• Set-up: The star counter, representing DM-21 1377, is placed in the center of one map. The Argentinian ships enter stacked together from any board edge. After the Argentinians indicate the edge they enter from, the Brazilian player may place his ships in any near stellar hex. The Argentinian ships must move in a straight line to exit the opposite map edge and cannot deviate from that course until a Brazilian ship or missile is detected.
• Victory: The player with the last surviving ship wins.
• Intruder: Argentina
  • DD Grl. Belgrano (refitted Almirante Brown-class) (CQ: +2)
    • Ordnance Carried: 2 x EM-1 missiles
  • FF Piedrabuena (CQ: +3)
    • Ordnance Carried: 8 x EM-5D missiles
  • FF Bouchard (Piedrabuena-class) (CQ: +2)
    • Ordnance Carried: 5 x EM-5D missiles

The Neubayern Raid

• Year: 2283
• System: Neubayern
• Conflict: Central Asian War
• Background: As ground fighting on Earth heated up, Manchuria launched a deep, bold raid up the French Arm. At Neubayern the Manchurian raiding force caught a small convoy escorted by the Bavarian frigate, Kassel.
• Set-up: The Bavarian ships set up in the center of one map. The Manchurians enter from any edge of that map. The Bavarian ships are stacked together and may not split up until at least one Manchurian ship or missile is detected.
• Victory: If one Bavarian ship escapes, the scenario is a draw; if two escape, the Bavarians win. To escape, a ship must break contact.
• Intruder: Manchuria
  • FF Tunghu (CQ: +1)
    • Ordnance carried: 6 x Glowworm missiles
  • FF Ilu (Tunghu-class) (CQ: +1)
    • Ordnance carried: 6 x Glowworm missiles
• Native: Bavaria
  • FF Kassel (Aconite-class) (CQ: +2)
    • Ordnance carried: 2 x Ritage-1 missiles

The Battle of Barnard's Star

• Year: 2284
• System: Barnard's Star
• Conflict: Central Asian War
• Background: In one of the few major actions involving Russian naval elements under Russian command, a squadron of Russian license-built Aconite-Bass frigates engaged two of the powerful new Manchurian missile destroyers.
• Set-up: The Manchurians set up in the center of one map. The Russians enter from the far edge of the other.
• Victory: The player with the last surviving ship wins.
• Intruder: Russia
  • FF Zhdanov (Aconite-class) (CQ: +1)
    • Ordnance carried: 2 x Silka missiles
  • FF Dzerzhynskiy (Aconite-class) (CQ: 0)
    • Ordnance carried: 2 x Silka missiles
  • FF Suvorov (Aconite-class) (CQ: 0)
    • Ordnance carried: 2 x Silka missiles
• Native: Manchuria
  • DD Chien-lung (CQ: +1)
    • Ordnance carried: 8 x Fantan missiles

The First Battle of Joi

• Year: 2286
• System: 61 Ursae Majoris-3
• Conflict: Central Asian War/Joi Revolt
• Background: With the tide of war running against Manchuria, they seized upon the idea of joining forces with the Joian rebels. The first step to assisting the rebels, however, was to temporarily break the French blockade and land badly needed military supplies.
• Set-up: The planet counter represents the planet Joi and is placed in the middle of one map. Both French vessels are in orbit around Joi. The Manchurian and Joian squadrons enter from the far edge of the other map.
• Victory: The Manchu/Joian player wins if the Anjou-class freighter can be maintained in orbit for 15 consecutive turns without being destroyed or having a power plant failure. If the French squadron is completely destroyed, but the Anjou-class freighter (due to battle damage) is unable to reach orbit, the scenario is a draw. Under any other circumstances the French win.
• Intruder: Manchuria and Joi
  • FF Ilu (Tung-class) (CQ: +1)
    • Ordnance carried: 6 x Glowworm missiles
  • FF Jurchen (Tung-class) (CQ: +1)
    • Ordnance carried: 6 x Glowworm missiles
  • M-1 (Necessite-class auxiliary cruiser) (CQ: 0)
    • Ordnance carried: 5 x Glowworm missiles

The Relief of the Xiuning Station

• Year: 2287
• System: Xiuning
• Conflict: Central Asian War
• Background: In an attempt to cut Manchurian communications to colonies and outposts up the Chinese Arm, the Suffren warped to Xiuning and landed three platoons of combat walkers. The Manchurian defenses proved too strong to overwhelm in one quick rush, however, and the difficulty of maintaining the ground assault force by means of the Suffren's landers slowed the tempo of operations. Bombardment from orbit had little effect on the honeycomb of subterranean tunnels that housed the outpost, as it was difficult to pinpoint targets or assess fire effectiveness. Two weeks later, as the struggle flagged on, a small Manchurian relief force warped into system.
• Set-up: The planet counter is placed in the center of the map. The Suffren is in the planetary hex in orbit. The Suffren's three landers are grounded on the planet. (Use USN fighter counters for the landers.) The Manchurian squadron enters from any map edge.
• Victory: If the Suffren is destroyed, or if it withdraws before recovering its landing party, the Manchurians win. If the Manchurian ships are destroyed, but the landing party is destroyed as well, the scenario is a draw. If both the Suffren and its landing party survive, the French win.
• Intruder: Manchuria
  • FF Ilu (Tung-class) (CQ: +1)
    • Ordnance Carried: 6 x Glowworm missiles
  • FF Jurchen (Tung-class) (CQ: +1)
    • Ordnance Carried: 6 x Glowworm missiles

"Between Two Fires": The Second Battle of Joi

• Year: 2291
• System: 61 Ursae Majoris
• Conflict: Joi Revolt
• Background: The temporary alliance between the "Front Populare Joian" and Manchuria had resulted in a temporary lifting of the siege in 2286. However, it also lost the FPJ all support among the other ESA nations, as European sympathy ran strongly in favor of the French and their allies in the Central Asian War. With the eventual defeat of Manchuria by the Allies, the FPJ was completely isolated diplomatically, and a small French squadron soon arrived and landed more combat troops. However, the FPJ had used its period of grace to good ends, and France was exhausted after the long and costly war in Asia. If the fledgling Joian fleet could inflict a reverse on the French squadron, Paris might be forced to begin serious negotiations for independence.
• Set-up: The planet counter represents the planet Joi and is placed in the middle of one map. Both French vessels are in orbit around Joi. The two Joian fighters are landed on the planet surface. The Joian frigate enters from the far edge of the other map.
• Victory: If the Suffren is destroyed, the Joian player wins. If the Suffren survives, the French player wins. The Suffren may not break contact.
• Intruder: Joi
  • FF Liberte (Tung-class frigate purchased from Manchuria) (use Manchurian Tunghu counter) (CQ: +1)
    • Ordnance Carried: 3 x Glowworm missiles
  • 2 FS-/7A fighters (use USN counters F1, F2) (CQ: +1 each)

The Kimanjano Raid

• Year: 2292
• System: Kimanjano
• Conflict: The War of German Reunification
• Background: As French and German ground forces fought in France, Germany made a bid to sever trade and communication through the French Arm. With French naval assets heavily committed elsewhere, a hastily assembled scratch force massed to defend the vital system of Kimanjano.
• Set-up: The French ships set up in the center of one map. The Germans enter from the far side of the other.
• Victory: The player with the last surviving ship wins.
• Intruder: Germany
  • FF Sachsen (CQ: +1)
    • Ordnance Carried: 12 x SR-9 missiles
  • FF Braunschweig (Sachses-Bass) (CQ: +1)
    • Ordnance Carried: 12 x SR-9 missiles
• Native: France
  • S1 (L'Orient-class armed survey ship) (CQ: +1)
  • FF Vauquelin (Aconit-class) (CQ: +3)
    • Ordnance Carried: 2 x Ritage-1 missiles

The Third Battle of Alpha Centauri

• Year: 2293
• System: Alpha Centauri
• Conflict: The War of German Reunification
• Background: After several successful German commerce raids up the French Arm, French naval forces up-arm were considerably reinforced. When French naval strength in the Alpha Centauri system was at its lowest, the Germans struck with both of their new Hamburg-class cruisers.
• Set-up: The planet counter is placed in the center of one map. Both French ships are in orbit in the planetary hex and may not move until a German ship or missile is detected. The Germans enter from any map edge.
• Victory: The first player to have a cruiser destroyed loses. (The other ships in the squadron will break contact at that point.)
• Intruder: Germany
  • CG Hamburg (CQ: +1)
    • Ordnance Carried: 24 x SR-10 missiles
  • CG Koln (Hamburg-class) (CQ: +1)
    • Ordnance Carried: 24 x SR-10 missiles
  • FF Thuringen (Sachses-Bass) (CQ: +1)
    • Ordnance Carried: 12 x SR-9 missiles
• Native: France

Kafer War Scenarios

The Death of DC-2

• Year: 2298
• System: Eta Bootis
• Conflict: The Kafer War
• Background: Although human naval forces had been reinforced in the Eta Bootis system, no attempt at serious reconnaissance toward Arcturus was attempted, and thus there was no warning of the approach of the Kafer invasion force. The human defenders were badly scattered. The French 2nd Cruiser Division (DC-2) first realized that a state of hostilities existed when a squadron of Kafer warships cut it off from the inner stellar system and engaged it.
• Set-Up: Both maps are used. The French squadron sets up in the middle of one map, the Kafers in the middle of the other. No planets are present.
• Victory: The French player must exit the map with one or both warships along the far side of the Kafer set-up map and then break contact. If both ships exit and break contact, the French win. If one ship exits and breaks contact, the game is a draw. If no French ships exit and break contact, the Kafers win. The level of victory is shifted one level toward the French for each Kafer ship destroyed.
• Intruder: Kafer
  • BC Beta-1 (CQ: -2)
    • Ordnance Carried: 20 x Whiskey-type missiles
  • BC Beta-2 (CQ: -2)
    • Ordnance Carried: 20 x Whiskey-type missiles
• Native: French

"Like a Wolf in the Fold"

• Year: 2298
• System: Eta Bootis
• Conflict: The Kafer War
• Background: Following the destruction of the French 2nd Cruiser Squadron, the French and Ukrainians made a desperate effort to collect their forces and gather in the scattered civilian shipping in the system. Two old Ukrainian destroyers, escorting a group of slow merchants, found themselves cut off by a Kafer raider.
• Set-up: Both boards are used. The Ukrainians enter on the far edge of one board. The Kafers set up in the middle of the other board.
• Victory: The Ukrainians must get the civilian vessels off the far edge of the Kafer map and break contact. The Ukrainians win if all three merchants escape. The scenario is a draw if either both freighters or the one liner escapes. If none of the above conditions are met, the Kafers win. Add one to the level of victory if the Kafer ship is destroyed.
• Intruder: Kafer
  • BC Beta-1 (CQ: -2)
    • Ordnance Carried: 14 x Whiskey-type missiles
    • Battle Damage: three gun towers destroyed; four jack turrets destroyed
• Native: Ukraine
  • DD Sevastopol (Kiev-class) (CQ: +1)
    • Ordnance Carried: 15 x Glowworm missiles

Last Stand at Tithonus (The First Battle of Tithonus)

• Year: 2298
• System: Eta Bootis
• Conflict: The Kafer War
• Background: The Kafer armada now approached the only colony world in the Eta Bootis system—Aurore, a satellite of the brown dwarf gas giant Tithonus. Admirals DuBoise and Borodin gathered the remnants of their fighting ships near Tithonus. The size of the Kafer armada and the mauling already received reduced the chances of a successful defense considerably. Both admirals however, determined to make one last attempt at a stand to keep the Kafers out of Auroran orbital space as long as possible. The ace up their sleeve was the as-yet uncommitted French flagship, the Ste. Jeanne d'Arc and its powerful complement of Mistral fighters.
• Set-up: The Kafers enter from the edge of one board. The planet counter (representing both the gas giant Tithonus and its companion Aurore) is placed in the center of the other board. All French and Ukrainian vessels are placed within three hexes of Tithonus.
• Victory: The French and Ukrainians gain one victory point for each ship (excluding fighters) that escapes, two victory points for each Kafer battlecruiser destroyed and three victory points for each Kafer battleship destroyed. If the French and Ukrainians end the scenario with eight or more victory points, they win; otherwise, the Kafers win.
• Intruder: Kafer
  • BB Alpha-1 (CQ: -1)
    • Ordnance Carried: 30 x Whiskey-type missiles
  • BB Alpha-2 (CQ: -2)
    • Ordnance Carried: 30 x Whiskey-type missiles

"The Glorious First of July": The Second Battle of Tithonus

• Year: 2298
• System: Eta Bootis
• Conflict: The Kafer War
• Background: For three months after their crushing defeat at First Tithonus, the human fleets had licked their wounds at Hochbaden under the command of Kontr-admiral Borodin (DuBoise having perished with the loss of the Ste. Jeanne d'Arc). Reinforced with additional ships from Earth and joined by a powerful German squadron, the fleet finally made its move on the Eta Bootis system. The Kafer fleet had not been reinforced and fell easy prey to the human riposte.
• Set-up: Tithonus is placed in the middle of one board. All Kafer ships are in orbit around Aurore, which places them in the Tithonus planetary hex at "All Stop." The human fleet enters from the far side of the second map.
• Victory: The human fleet must destroy or drive off every Kafer ship and end up with a ship in orbit in the Tithonus planetary hex.
• Intruder: France, Ukraine, and Germany
  • BB Tallyrand (CQ: +1)
    • Ordnance Carried: 16 x Ritage-2 missiles
  • FF Duperre (Aconit-class) (CQ: +2)
    • Ordnance Carried: 2 x Ritage-2 missiles
  • FF Kersaint (Aconit-class) (CQ: +2)
    • Ordnance Carried: 2 x Ritage-2 missiles

Battle of Laodemon

• Year: 2298
• System: Eta Bootis
• Conflict: The Kafer War
• Background: Following the human victory at Second Tithonus, the survivors of the Kafer fleet scattered, most of them retreating to Arcturus to regroup. One battleship, however, apparently low on fuel, lingered in the vicinity of Laodemon to take on water from one of the gas giant's moons and crack it to fuel. The human squadron had broken up to hunt down fugitives, and it fell to the German battlecruiser Bismark to engage the enemy.
• Set-up: The planet counter, representing Laodemon and its moons, is placed in the center on one map. The Kafer battleship Alpha-2 is in orbit in the planetary hex. The Bismark enters from any map edge. Alpha-2 may not move until it detects a hostile vessel. The Germans may not launch ordnance until they detect the Alpha-2.
• Victory: Either side may attempt to break contact. If either player breaks contact, the scenario is a draw. Otherwise, the winner is the survivor.
• Intruder: Germany
  • BC Bismark (CQ: +1)
    • Ordnance carried: 24 x SR-10 missiles
    • Battle Damage: three PA turrets destroyed; two dbl UTES turrets destroyed; one missile pod destroyed; three remote stations destroyed
  • 2 Gustov fighters (J-1, J-4) carried by Bismark (CQ: +2)
• Native: Kafer

The First Battle of Arcturus

• Year: 2299
• System: Eta Bootis
• Conflict: The Kafer War
• Background: By January of 2299, an American cruiser division had joined the human fleet at Eta Bootis. While repairs continued on several of the larger ships in the fleet, the American CruDiv was instructed to conduct a reconnaissance in force of the Arcturus system. Convinced that the two Kennedy-class cruisers could outrun anything too big to deal with, Rear Admiral Parker undertook the mission without protest. What he encountered at Arcturus was only a rearguard, but a particularly formidable one.
• Set-up: The star counter is used to represent Arcturus. It is placed in the center of one map. The Kafer vessels are placed in any hex of that map except for solar or near solar hexes. The American ships enter from the far edge of the other map.
• Victory: If the Kafer player destroys both Kennedy-class ships, the Kafers win. If the Kafer Alpha-4 is destroyed, and at least one American ship survives, the American player wins. In any other result the game is a draw.
• Intruder: America
  • CG Jefferson (Kennedy-class) (CQ: +2)
    • Ordnance Carried: 20 x SIM-14 missiles; 2 x HD-5 drones
  • CG Sanchez (Kennedy-class) (CQ: +2)
    • Ordnance Carried: 20 x SIM-14 missiles; 2 x HD-5 drones

Ship Annex

The ship illustrations printed in the Ship Annex are omitted. Each entry gives the printed performance and cost data.

Santisima Trinidad-Class Armored Cruiser

Warp Efficiency: 1.34, Power Plant: 15 MW Fission, Fuel: none, Range: 7.7, Mass: 6000 tons, Cargo Capacity: none, Comfort: 0, Total Life Support: 60, Price: unavailable

Almirante Brown-Class Destroyer

Warp Efficiency: 1.99, Power Plant: 15 MW Fission, Fuel: none, Range: 7.7, Mass: 4000 tons, Cargo Capacity: none, Comfort: 0, Total Life Support: 40, Price: unavailable

Almirante Brown-Class Updated Destroyer

Warp Efficiency: 1.99, Power Plant: 15 MW Fission, Fuel: none, Range: 7.7, Mass: 4000 tons, Cargo Capacity: none, Comfort: 0, Total Life Support: 40, Price: unavailable

Piedrabuena-Class Frigate

Warp Efficiency: 0.84, Power Plant: 10 MW MHD Turbine, Fuel: 8000 tons, sufficient for eight weeks of operation, Range: 7.7, Mass: 10,148.9 tons, Cargo Capacity: 1885.38 m3, Comfort: 0, Total Life Support: 56, Price: Lv10,855,000

Wombat-Class Auxiliary Cruiser

Warp Efficiency: 0.79, Power Plant: one 1 MW Fuel Cell plus one 5 MW MHD Turbine, Fuel: 250 tons, sufficient for two weeks of maneuvers and up to five hours of weapons use, Range: 7.7, Mass: 2700 tons, Cargo Capacity: none, Comfort: 0, Total Life Support: 15, Price: unavailable

Espirito Santo-Class Destroyer

Warp Efficiency: 0.981, Power Plant: 20 MW MHD Turbine, Fuel: 12,000 tons, sufficient for six weeks of operation, Range: 7.7, Mass: 16,128 tons, Cargo Capacity: none, Comfort: 0, Total Life Support: 40, Price: Lv10,908,000

Ipiranga-Class Frigate

Warp Efficiency: 1.78, Power Plant: 1 MW MHD Turbine, Fuel: 1400 tons, sufficient for two weeks of operation, Range: 7.7, Mass: 3000 tons, Cargo Capacity: none, Comfort: 0, Total Life Support: 12, Price: unavailable

Helmut Korell-Class Auxiliary Cruiser

Warp Efficiency: 1.11, Power Plant: 1 MW MHD Turbine, Fuel: 200 tons, sufficient for two weeks of operation, Range: 7.7, Mass: 2100 tons, Cargo Capacity: none, Comfort: 0, Total Life Support: 8, Price: unavailable

Aconit-Class Frigate

Warp Efficiency: 1.49, Power Plant: 7 MW MHD Turbine, Fuel: 1400 tons, sufficient for two weeks of operation, Range: 7.7, Mass: 2587.69 tons, Cargo Capacity: none, Comfort: 0, Total Life Support: 34, Price: Lv19,428,000

Tunghu-Class Frigate

Warp Efficiency: 2.063, Power Plant: 4 MW MHD Turbine, Fuel: 800 tons, sufficient for two weeks of operation, Range: 7.7, Mass: 1411.87 tons, Cargo Capacity: 468.03 m3, Comfort: 0, Total Life Support: 32, Price: Lv16,390,500

Chien-Lung-Class Destroyer

Warp Efficiency: 1.24, Power Plant: 15 MW MHD Turbine, Fuel: 9000 tons, sufficient for six weeks of operation, Range: 7.7, Mass: 10,932.05 tons, Cargo Capacity: 171.27 m3, Comfort: 0, Total Life Support: 51, Price: Lv24,286,000

Necessite-Class Auxiliary Cruiser

Warp Efficiency: 1.615, Power Plant: 3 MW MHD Turbine, Fuel: 300 tons, Range: 7.7, Mass: 2169 tons, Cargo Capacity: none, Comfort: 0, Total Life Support: various, Price: unavailable

FS-17A-Class Fighter

Warp Efficiency: 3.32, Power Plant: 5 MW MHD Turbine, Fuel: 36 tons, sufficient for 12 hours of operation, Range: 7.7, Mass: 338 tons, Cargo Capacity: none, Comfort: 0, Total Life Support: 2, Price: Lv23,744,000

Aries-Class Auxiliary Cruiser

Warp Efficiency: 1.28, Power Plant: 4 MW MHD Turbine, Fuel: 800 tons, sufficient for two weeks of operation, Range: 7.7, Mass: 4500 tons, Cargo Capacity: none, Comfort: 0, Total Life Support: 12, Price: unavailable

L'Orient-Class Survey Ship

Warp Efficiency: 1.898, Power Plant: 4 MW MHD Turbine, Fuel: 1800 tons, sufficient for six weeks of operation, Range: 7.7, Mass: 2465.6 tons, Cargo Capacity: 1121.57 m3, Comfort: 0, Total Life Support: 145, Price: Lv17,965,000

Martel-Class Fighter

Warp Efficiency: 3.177, Power Plant: 3 MW MHD Turbine, Fuel: 28.8 tons, sufficient for 16 hours of operation, Range: NA, Mass: 167.2 tons, Cargo Capacity: none, Comfort: 0, Total Life Support: 3, Price: Lv31,800,400

Tallyrand-Class Battleship

Warp Efficiency: 2.97, Power Plant: 415 MW Fusion, Fuel: none, Range: 8.7, Mass: 61,262.24 tons, Cargo Capacity: 21,728.8 m3, Comfort: 0, Total Life Support: 3200, Price: Lv523,770,000; approximately Lv1,000,000,000 with vehicles.

Suffren-Class Cruiser

Warp Efficiency: 3.34, Power Plant: 300 MW Fusion, Fuel: none, Range: 7.7, Mass: 22,050.11 tons, Cargo Capacity: none, Comfort: 0, Total Life Support: 500, Price: Lv381,500,000

Gustav-Class Fighter

Warp Efficiency: 4.58, Power Plant: classified, Fuel: classified, Range: NA, Mass: 112 tons, Cargo Capacity: none, Comfort: 0, Total Life Support: 2, Price: unavailable

Anjou-Class Freighter

Warp Efficiency: 1.615, Power Plant: 3 MW MHD Turbine, Fuel: 300 tons, sufficient for one week of operations, Range: 7.7, Mass: 2169.296 tons (unloaded), Cargo Capacity: 25,066 m3, Comfort: +1, Emergency Power: Battery, 150 hours, Total Life Support: 24, Price: Lv6,360,000

Goethe-Class Liner

Warp Efficiency: 1.238, Power Plant: 5 MW MHD Turbine, Fuel: 5000 tons, sufficient for ten weeks of operation, Range: 7.7, Mass: 8027 tons, Cargo Capacity: 150 m3, Comfort: +2, Total Life Support: 140, Price: Lv6,965,000

Cargomax-Class Freighter

Warp Efficiency: 1.155, Power Plant: 5 MW MHD Turbine, Fuel: 5000 tons, sufficient for ten weeks of operation, Range: 7.7, Mass: 10,725 tons (unloaded), Cargo Capacity: 25,000 m3, Comfort: +1, Total Life Support: 55, Price: Lv17,100,000

Bismark-Class Battleship

Warp Efficiency: 2.75, Power Plant: classified, Fuel: classified, Range: 7.7, Mass: 25,720 tons, Cargo Capacity: none, Comfort: 0, Total Life Support: 516, Price: unavailable

Nafasi-Class Survey Ship

Warp Efficiency: 1.31, Power Plant: 2 MW MHD Turbine, Fuel: 800 tons, sufficient for four weeks of operation, Range: 7.7, Mass: 2737.315 tons, Cargo Capacity: 1764.48 m3, Comfort: +1, Total Life Support: 150, Price: Lv5,092,000

Hamburg-Class Missile Cruiser

Warp Efficiency: 1.89, Power Plant: classified, Fuel: classified, Range: 7.7, Mass: 12,223 tons, Cargo Capacity: none, Comfort: 0, Total Life Support: classified, Price: unavailable

Sachsen-Class Frigate

Warp Efficiency: 1.53, Power Plant: classified, Fuel: classified, Range: 7.7, Mass: 2563 tons, Cargo Capacity: none, Comfort: 0, Total Life Support: classified, Price: unavailable

Konstantine-Class Cruiser

Warp Efficiency: 3.02, Power Plant: 200 MW Fusion, Fuel: none, Range: 7.7, Mass: 15,442 tons, Cargo Capacity: none, Comfort: 0, Total Life Support: 181, Price: Lv150,370,000

Kiev-Class Destroyer

Warp Efficiency: 2.55, Power Plant: 50 MW Fusion, Fuel: none, Range: 7.7, Mass: 5512 tons, Cargo Capacity: none, Comfort: 0, Total Life Support: 72, Price: Lv48,635,000

Kennedy-Class Cruiser

Warp Efficiency: 4.81, Power Plant: 150 MW Fusion, Fuel: none, Range: 8.7, Mass: 7213 tons, Cargo Capacity: 3694 m3, Comfort: 0, Total Life Support: 100, Price: Lv154,120,000

Electra 917-Class Civilian Liner

Warp Efficiency: 1.574, Power Plant: 2 MW MHD Turbine, Fuel: 800 tons, sufficient for four weeks of operation, Range: 7.7, Mass: 2147.45 tons, Cargo Capacity: 46.921 m3, Comfort: +3, Total Life Support: 75, Price: Lv13,831,200

Kafer Alpha-Class Battleship

Warp Efficiency: 1.8, Power Plant: unknown, Fuel: unknown, Range: unknown, but at least equal to human technology, Mass: 70,000 tons, Cargo Capacity: unknown, Comfort: unknown, Total Life Support: unknown, Price: unavailable

Kafer Improved Alpha-Class Battleship

Warp Efficiency: 1.8, Power Plant: unknown, Fuel: unknown, Range: unknown, Mass: 70,000 tons, Cargo Capacity: unknown, Comfort: unknown, Total Life Support: unknown, Price: unavailable

Kafer Beta-Class Battleship

Warp Efficiency: 2.8, Power Plant: unknown, Fuel: unknown, Range: unknown, Mass: 47,000 tons, Cargo Capacity: unknown, Comfort: unknown, Total Life Support: unknown, Price: unavailable

Kafer Foxtrot-Class Fighter

Warp Efficiency: 3.168, Power Plant: unknown megawattage MHD plant, Fuel: 30 tons, Range: unknown, Mass: 180 tons, Cargo Capacity: none, Comfort: unlivable by human standards, Total Life Support: 3 Kafers, Price: unavailable

Kafer Golf-Class Fighter

Warp Efficiency: 3.28, Power Plant: unknown megawattage MHD plant, Fuel: 25 tons, Range: unknown, Mass: 230 tons, Cargo Capacity: none, Comfort: unlivable by human standards, Total Life Support: 3 Kafers, Price: unavailable

Errata

The following errata sheet, dated August 17, 1987, was issued for this edition and is reproduced as printed. It applies to the Rules Book and to the companion components.

Rules Book

• Page 2: The Sequence of Play explanation in the Rules Book seems to indicate that only the intruder can fire during the intruder Movement and Fire Phase, and only the Native may fire during the Native Movement and Fire Phase—this is not true. As is explained under Firing Procedure on page 4, each weapon may fire either during the Intruder Movement and Fire Phase or during the Native Movement and Fire Phase.
• Page 3: Under Facing, add the following: Same Hex: Oftentimes both a firing ship and its target will be in the same hex. When both the firing ship and target are in the same hex, the firing ship may declare itself to have any facing with respect to that target ship. Also, the ship with the higher movement factor decides which facing of the target ship is being fired upon, which also determines which target profile modifier is to be used, lateral or radial.
• Page 5: Under Armor, second paragraph, add: Armor values of 10 or higher are penetrated on a roll of 10.
• Page 5: Under Damage, add to the introductory paragraph: (If the ship does not have the indicated location, the hit is a hull hit instead.)
• Page 6: Under Screen Generator, omit the last sentence.
• Page 6: Under Damage Control, add: When a Bridge or TAC work station has been destroyed and a vacant station is to be substituted for it, the substitution is performed during the Friendly Damage Control Phase.
• Page 7: In The Ship Status Sheet, Surface Fixture Hits, third paragraph, this information is blatantly wrong. The bow on both the weapon displays and the counters is to the right, not the left. Also, on each status sheet, those weapons positions which can fire into three aspects are jack turrets. Those which can fire into five aspects are gun towers.
• Page 13: Under The Death of DC-2, add to Set Up: Each Kafer ship may have fired up to two of its missiles on the turn before play begins. They begin the game within one turn's movement from the firing ship. For the intruder, add the following: BC Beta-3 (CQ: -2), Ordnance Carried: 20 x Whiskey-type missiles; BC Beta-4 (CQ: -2), Ordnance Carried: 20 x Whiskey-type missiles. Also for The Death of DC-2 scenario, add the following note to the Victory section: If both French ships escape, the result is a draw. If the French destroy at least one Beta-class ship before breaking contact, the result is a French victory. If either French ship is destroyed, the result is a Kafer victory.

Naval Architect's Manual

• Page 3: In the Power Plant section, omit the references to MHD turbine blade diameters.
• Page 6: Under Fixed Weapons, add: Fixed weapons require power equal to their damage multiplier, in MW.
• Page 14: The masses of the American submunition dispensers were omitted. The "Grape-shot" masses 25 tons, the "Big Clip," 15 tons.

Ship Status Sheets

• Note: If a ship has no TTAs listed, it has UTES on all fixed weapons.

Star Cruiser Combat Charts

• Step 1: Add the following: + or - to target's target profile (see page 5 of Rules Book).

Transcriber's Notes

The source is a scanned page set with a machine-read text layer. The following were normalised while transcribing; all rules wording is otherwise as printed.

• Numerals split by OCR spacing (for example "1 8" for 18, "1 5" for 15, "1 50 hours" for 150 hours) are printed as whole numbers. Ship Annex figures were checked against the page images (pp. 16-18).
• Obvious letter-for-digit or letter-for-letter OCR errors in names were corrected to the printed spelling shown elsewhere in the book: "Vauqueiin" printed as "Vauquelin", "Aries-dass" as "Aries-class", "FF llu" as "FF Ilu", "CQ: O" as "CQ: 0", "CQ: + 1" as "CQ: +1".
• "Sachses-Bass" (Braunschweig, Thuringen) is printed that way in the source and is kept as printed.
• The source's typographical slip "higher that" (Armor) is printed as "higher than". The slip "the number is the number of hits" (Power Plant) is left as printed.
• The Sequence of Play is numbered for reference, and the Facing diagram is given as its printed labels, since the diagram itself is not reproduced in text.