Stargrave: Science Fiction Wargames in the Ravaged Galaxy Rulebook

Table of Contents

What You Need to Play
- Miniatures
- Dice
Chapter 1: Assembling the Crew
General Equipment List
General Equipment List
Chapter 2: Rules
Chapter 3: Campaigns

What You Need to Play

To play Stargrave you will need several things besides this book: a table to play on, miniatures, a tape measure or ruler capable of measuring in inches ("), a pair of twenty-sided dice (d20), a copy of the crew sheet found at the back of this book, and a pencil. Ideally, you should also use a collection of appropriate scenery pieces that allow you to add interesting tactical challenges to the gaming table. If you haven't already played one of these skirmish games, some of this may not be obvious, so everything is explained below.

Miniatures

Miniatures (also called figures or minis) are the centerpiece of this hobby, and the main reason many of us were drawn to it in the first place. In very simple terms, they are "toy soldiers" made of metal, resin, or plastic, often sculpted with an extremely high level of detail. You can buy official Stargrave miniatures, made by North Star Military Figures, on their website and in numerous specialty stores, representing the various captains and crew members that exist in the game, as well as many of the alien creatures mentioned in the rules. However, it is not mandatory to use these "official" miniatures to play. There are millions of really cool miniatures on the market, representing every facet and subgenre of science fiction. It's best to see this game as an opportunity to buy those minis you've always wanted but never had a use for. One note worth mentioning: most miniatures are sold unpainted, and for many players, the process of painting these miniatures is their favorite part of the hobby.

Stargrave was designed with 28mm figures in mind, which is the most widespread and popular size. Miniatures of other sizes also exist, and it is perfectly acceptable to use them to play, as long as all players use miniatures of the same size! Depending on whether your minis are larger or smaller than the assumed 28mm, you may need to adjust movement distances and weapon ranges slightly to generate the correct "feel," but once this fact is taken into account, size barely matters.

Players should do everything possible to get miniatures that resemble the characters they represent, with the same weapons and armour. However, this won't always be possible, so as long as everyone is clear on which mini represents which character, its exact appearance isn't important either.

In the Stargrave universe there are numerous alien species. Almost all are humanoid, but not all. If you want to play with a crew of space werewolves, human-sized insects, or simple giant amoebas, go ahead.

Most players mount their minis on bases. Generally, bases are metal or plastic discs between 25 and 32 millimeters in diameter. In Stargrave, the size of each miniature's base doesn't matter too much, so feel free to use whichever base is most visually appealing for each miniature.

Finally, in Stargrave we use various types of treasure markers. Although these can be represented by anything, from simple pieces of paper to coins, you should agree with your friends about this and the way you represent the ones that are different. The rules explain this point in greater detail further on.

Dice

Many of the actions characters perform in Stargrave (such as using one of their special powers or fighting) require the player to roll a die to determine whether or not they succeed. In Stargrave we use a twenty-sided die (often indicated just by its abbreviation, d20) for all rolls. Therefore, each player needs 1d20 to play. Although these dice aren't used much in more traditional board games, they do have a large presence in many specialist games, and you can find them in practically every hobby shop and online.

Chapter 1: Assembling the Crew

These are bad times for the galaxy. Most of its once-great planets have been reduced to rubble, their populations decimated. Even the smaller colonies that escaped the devastation of the war unscathed have watched their economies collapse with the loss of vital trade. Enormous pirate fleets roam the stars, taking whatever they want and imposing their own version of law and justice. Disease has ravaged entire star systems, and famine has turned others into abandoned wastelands. Raiding, border skirmishes, and other low-intensity conflicts are the daily bread of this era.

It is in an environment like this that "independent bands" operate. In general, they consist of a single starship and its crew: small bands of individuals who travel through star systems, keep to the shadows, and avoid drawing the attention of pirate fleets. Some of these individuals are fighters seeking to bring down the pirate fleets, or idealists looking for a way to rebuild civilization. Others are treasure hunters, combing the ruins left by the war for technology and other valuable artifacts they can put to use. Add to that bounty hunters, religious crusaders, unscrupulous merchants, small-time pirates, or criminals with a price on their heads. In truth, there are as many reasons and causes to fly among the stars as there are starships.

The first step in creating your band is to form a mental image of the group of people you'd like to play. Is your crew the remnant of a military unit for whom the Final War still hasn't ended? A band of nearly-extinct aliens desperately searching for other survivors of their species? Or a group of art experts who "recover" lost masterpieces from ruined planets, hoping to sell them at a high price to various collectors within the pirate fleets? Although this kind of decision has no mechanical impact in terms of rules, a few broad strokes of background will help guide the process and give you a starting point for telling your band's story.

Once you know what you want, even in broad strokes, it's time to create your Captain.

Creating the Captain

Each independent band is led by a Captain. This isn't a military rank in the usual sense — it simply indicates who commands the ship, no matter how small it is. In game terms, the Captain is the band's most important figure. The Captain is both the leader of your independent band and your most powerful miniature. Essentially, the Captain represents you on the tabletop.

To create your Captain you will need a crew sheet, like the one found at the back of this book (on page 163). The crew sheet has a place to record all the important information you'll need about the Captain (and the rest of the crew) over the course of the game.

The first decision you should make when creating your Captain is their name and species. Neither of these mechanically affects the character's abilities, but they will help you build a picture of them in your mind. Some people love to find a miniature they like and then build a whole story around it. Others prefer the opposite approach: creating the character first, then looking for a miniature that matches. Both approaches work equally well.

In a galaxy with tens of thousands of inhabited worlds, each with its own unique culture, practically any name you can think of will fit, so what matters now is finding something that feels right to you. Knowing your Captain's species might also help with naming them. There are nearly as many species in this galaxy as there are planets. Almost all of these species are humanoid, but some decidedly are not. You have complete freedom to determine your Captain's species, as long as, broadly speaking, it is roughly human-sized. Keep in mind that, in game terms, there are only cosmetic differences between a human being and any other species (see the sidebar on page 27 for more on the alien species of Stargrave).

Background

Once you've formed a mental picture of your Captain, the next step is to determine their Background. You may choose from eight different Backgrounds for your Captain, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. When selecting a Background, it's a good idea to study each one's capabilities and decide which best suits your playstyle. If you like aggressive tactics and close combat, a Biomorph might suit you well. If you prefer to operate from a distance, manipulating people and the environment, a Psion is probably more your style.

Below are all the Backgrounds, along with a brief description of their capabilities, typical appearance, and the most common motivations for taking up a life of adventure. Of course, all this is only a generalization, and it's perfectly fine to have a Captain who ignores all of it. Each description ends with a list of Profile modifiers and basic Powers for that Background. All of this is explained in the following section.

Biomorph. When the old empires fell, so did the laws restricting "genetic enhancement." Some scientists seized the opportunity to carry out extremely radical experiments — not just involving the genetic manipulation of naturally conceived individuals, but the creation of entirely new beings from scratch. In both cases, those who survived these experiments often gained unique abilities to manipulate their own bodies, such as restructuring their skeleton, growing new limbs, changing their skin tone, or even possessing specialized organs to withstand toxic substances or alien environments. Unfortunately, many of these "Biomorphs" also suffered serious psychological aftereffects from such modifications. While in the worst cases these individuals soon destroyed themselves, almost all the rest carry some kind of phobia, psychosis, or other mental illness.

Depending on their exact abilities, Biomorphs tend to wear very loose or very stretchy clothing, as well as unique or highly specialized armour that accounts for their capabilities. More than any other Background, these Captains tend to form independent bands because they are fugitives — either fleeing those who created them and want to run more experiments on them, or fleeing the consequences of some (often accidental) crime.

BIOMORPH
Profile Adjustments	+1 to Health, and +1 to two of the following: Move, Fight, Shoot.
Basic Powers	Camouflage, Adrenaline Surge, Shove, Toxic Claws, Dermal Plating, Body Restructure, Regeneration, Toxic Secretion.

Cyborg. A fusion of man and machine, cyborgs have been a constant, if never numerous, presence in every war fought over the last several centuries. Specialized cyborgs were created for practically every conceivable military task, including infiltration, disguise, reconnaissance… and front-line combat. Despite their great advantages, cyborgs were rarely worth the cost, given their high production expense, and so were never created in large numbers.

When the Final War ended, many cyborgs tried to "retire," but most discovered that keeping their bodies functioning properly required huge amounts of money. For that reason, many cyborgs work as freelance agents, making a living as mercenaries, bounty hunters, private investigators, or recovery specialists.

Cyborgs can look very different from one another. Some are practically indistinguishable from an ordinary human being, while others show obvious robotic parts. A few have fully robotic bodies, with only the brain and nervous system remaining of the original living being.

CYBORG
Profile Adjustments	+1 to Health, and +1 to two of the following: Move, Fight, Shoot.
Basic Powers	Camouflage, Robotic Control, Energy Shield, Target Lock, Data Hack, Temporary Boost, Reflex Move, Energy Spike.

Mystic. During the Final War, many people turned to religion for comfort as the galaxy collapsed into anarchy around them. At first, the most visible expression of this was the rise of apocalyptic cults. Some of these cults traced their roots to genuine religions thousands of years old; others sprang up spontaneously in response to the staggering death toll. Almost all of these sects were quickly wiped out during the conflict or destroyed themselves, but a handful survived and even flourished. By blending mysticism with alien technologies and "dark science," the surviving groups developed Powers as terrible as they are deadly. Although not all of them are "evil," many people regard their members as witches or sorcerers, and rarely welcome them among their own. In addition, these mystic sects tend to travel between the stars in search of various things: ancient mystical texts, alien technology, or new secrets of dark science.

There was another, much quieter reaction to the war: the flourishing of monastic orders. Although these orders differ greatly from one another and pursue very different goals — from offering healing, to researching the past for its preservation, to accumulating military might — all their members believe in establishing and maintaining order. It's common for a monastery to take the towns and villages around it under its wing. Thanks to this, many such areas have become genuine havens in these dark times.

To join one of these orders, an aspirant must first demonstrate a deep connection to the cosmos around us all. Whether this is the result of some unknown physiological ability, or simply requires opening the mind to the possibilities of the infinite, is unknown. Either way, some of these mystics have developed abilities that seem to defy the laws of physics.

Whether sectarians, monks, or even knights, these mystics tend to wear loose, unassuming clothes, often including hooded robes. Although some of the more militant orders make use of armour, this isn't universal, as it seems to interfere with many mystics' abilities.

MYSTIC
Profile Adjustments	+2 to Will, +1 to Health, and +1 to one of the following: Move, Fight, Shoot.
Basic Powers	Animal Control, Healing, Dark Energy, Void Blade, Vital Leech, Suggestion, Puppeteer, Mystic Trance.

Rogue. Although law and order may have vanished from practically the entire galaxy, the truth is that these individuals never paid it much attention to begin with. The only law they follow is not getting caught. This Background covers all kinds of shady characters: smugglers, gamblers, fences, none-too-scrupulous traders, drug dealers, and so on.

These individuals tend to survive the horrors of the galaxy through a combination of cunning, intelligence, and luck. While they generally possess no mystical powers or bodily enhancements, they do know when to trust to fate, or when to make a run for it when a deal goes bad. Although they may not look dangerous at first glance (at least compared to other individuals), they usually already have several contingency plans ready, a lucky coin in their pocket, and a well-loaded firearm hidden up their sleeve.

Rogues travel among the stars always looking for the one big score that will make them rich and let them retire.

ROGUE
Profile Adjustments	+1 to Will, +1 to Health, and +1 to two of the following: Move, Fight, Shoot.
Basic Powers	Hidden Firearm, Power Cancellation, Data Upload, Swindle, Fortune, Reflex Move, Haggle, Bribe.

Psion. Over the past several centuries, psionics — the ability to affect reality using the mind alone — has become increasingly accepted, evolving into an extremely rare branch of science. Most of the institutions and schools dedicated to promoting, training, and studying individuals with psionic gifts were prime targets of the Final War, and today lie in ruins, though many of their students survived the attacks.

Psions can manifest very different abilities from one another. Some can move objects with their minds or conjure fire out of nothing, while others can enter other people's minds and control their bodies like puppets. Because of their exotic abilities, pirate fleets actively recruit these individuals, and if they don't join voluntarily, they are often kidnapped and blackmailed into cooperating. As a result, a Psion's life is always extremely dangerous, and has driven many of these individuals to live constantly on the move, forming independent bands to fight the pirate bands or, at the very least, stay one step ahead of them.

Psions try to keep a very low profile, and therefore tend to wear "normal clothes." That said, many shave their heads completely, since their hair tends to thin or weaken when they use their powers. Many also feel the need to wear unique or highly specific tattoos, although the cause of this custom has never been well understood. Psions rarely wear armour, since it interferes with the use of their abilities.

PSION
Profile Adjustments	+2 to Will, +1 to Health, and +1 to one of the following: Move, Fight, Shoot.
Basic Powers	Destroy Weapon, Psychic Shield, Force Locks, Psionic Fire, Levitation, Force Wall, Suggestion, Pull.

Roboticist. Few people truly understand robots. Even those who build and repair them rarely understand how they think, or what motivates them beyond their basic programming. The exception to this general rule are Roboticists. These people (who often have trouble communicating with their fellow human beings) seem to possess a certain empathy for, or feel more comfortable with, these artificial constructs.

In general, Roboticists are great engineers and have built some of the most intelligent, capable, and efficient robots known. Not only that, they're able to connect with them on a level others cannot understand. It isn't rare for a Roboticist Captain to have more robots in their crew than living beings, and these crews also tend to operate at a highly efficient level of coordination.

Roboticists are always on the hunt for new technology and, above all, money, with which to improve their robots and make new discoveries, pushing the limits of what is or isn't possible. This leads many of them to work as smugglers or mercenaries. These individuals tend to be very focused on their work and, in general, tend to neglect their own appearance. It's also common for them to always carry many tools and spare parts to repair their "children."

ROBOTICIST
Profile Adjustments	+1 to Will, and +1 to two of the following: Move, Fight, Shoot, Health.
Basic Powers	Remote Control, Robotic Control, Robot Creation, Remote Shot, EMP Pulse, Robot Repair, Reprogramming, Remote Drone.

Techno. Given the sheer size of the galaxy, it's inevitable that technology advances much faster in some places than others. Even with modern space travel, technological diffusion can be very slow. The Final War also destroyed most of the galaxy's great civilizations, causing the overall technological level to collapse abruptly, creating a genuine dark age in many places.

Although the ability to build much of the existing cutting-edge technology was lost during the war, many examples of it still survive, even though few people seem to have the ability to repair it. These individuals earn a reputation as "Technos," since they always seem to be tinkering with some strange and wonderful device.

Although very few Technos dress alike, the truth is that almost all of them tend to carry a lot of cutting-edge equipment and personalized toolkits on them.

TECHNO
Profile Adjustments	+2 to Will, and +1 to two of the following: Move, Fight, Shoot, Health.
Basic Powers	Data Upload, Data Hack, Anti-Grav Boost, Holographic Wall, EMP Pulse, Remote Drone, Data Transfer, Teleport.

Veteran. More beings fought in the Final War than in any other known conflict in the history of the galaxy. Although trillions of people lost their lives in the war's many horrifying battles, many more survived it. When the central governments of the two great warring empires collapsed, almost all the soldiers of both sides were left to fend for themselves. Many tried to return home and rebuild their lives as best they could, but only a small fraction found their homes destroyed and their loved ones gone. Others knew the war had changed them so much that they could never go home again.

During the first years after the war ended, it was common for many of these veterans to join forces and form small armies, but almost all of them were wiped out by the pirate fleets. The survivors managed to escape by going into hiding or forming small independent bands, capable of moving without drawing too much attention.

Many of these veterans continue fighting for a lost cause: their empire, their home planet, or their sense of justice. Others gave up all hope of healing the galaxy and became mercenaries, bounty hunters, or raiders. A few seek a way to use their martial abilities to feed their families.

Many of these veterans have military training, but they're also aware that their survival depends on a combination of skill, luck, and good equipment. For this reason, veterans always carry the best armour and the best weapons they can find.

VETERAN
Profile Adjustments	+1 to Fight, +1 to Health, and +1 to one of the following: Move, Fight (for a total of +2), Shoot.
Basic Powers	Weaponsmith, Target Designation, Coordinated Fire, Remote Shot, Energy Shield, Fortune, Command, Energy Spike.

Choosing Powers

Now that your Captain has a Background, the next step is choosing their starting Powers. These are a set of special abilities that make your Captain unique, and choosing them is one of the most important decisions you'll have to make. These Powers give your crew a set of advantages that, with luck, you'll be able to use to defeat your enemies.

Alongside the description of each Background is a list of associated basic Powers. Chapter 4: Powers, which begins on page 105, describes these Powers in depth. For now, you must choose three or four of these basic Powers (your choice) associated with your Captain's Background. Afterward, you may choose one more (or two, if you only have three from your Background) from the complete list found in Chapter 4, as long as they don't belong to your list of basic Powers.

When you choose a Power, you must record it on the crew sheet in the appropriate place on the Captain's template. Next to it you'll see a space to record its activation difficulty. The lower this number, the easier it will be for your Captain to use that Power during the game. If it's one of your Captain's Background's basic Powers, the activation difficulty equals what's given in its description. When it doesn't belong to your basic Powers, this activation difficulty increases by two points. That means it's harder to use Powers that don't belong to your archetype.

Once that's done, you may reduce the activation difficulty of two different Powers by one point each, whether or not they're part of your Background's basic Powers.

You'll notice that next to each of the Captain's Powers, on the crew sheet, there's a column labeled "Fatigue." This number is fixed, and you must record it exactly as given in its description, whether or not it's a basic Power of your Background.

As your Captain takes part in scenarios over the course of a campaign, they can also gain additional Powers, as well as become more proficient with the ones they already have. All of this is explained in Chapter 3: Campaigns (see page 74).

Profile

In Stargrave, all miniatures (whether Captains, Soldiers, or alien creatures) have a Profile that determines their efficiency during the game. This Profile consists of six characteristics:

Move (M): The character's speed. The higher it is, the more it can move each turn.

Fight (F): The character's ability to fight in melee combat, as well as their skill at avoiding enemy shots.

Shoot (S): The character's ability to fight with ranged weapons.

Armour (A): The physical protection the character has; this includes the effects of any armour or energy shield they use.

Will (W): Their determination, courage, and facility with using technology.

Health (H): The character's physical stamina and the amount of damage they can withstand before being seriously wounded or dying.

Each of these characteristics is always represented by a number. In general terms, the higher, the better. The exact meaning of this value will be described further on; for now, the only important thing to know is that all Captains start the game with exactly the same starting Profile.

Initial Adjustments

Before recording the Captain's Profile on your crew sheet, you should check the description of the chosen Background again. Each one modifies this starting Profile according to its "Profile adjustments" entry. Some of these adjustments are fixed, while others you'll need to choose among the options offered. Apply all the adjustments indicated to the starting Captain Profile given on this same page, and then record the result in the appropriate section of the crew sheet.

Multiple Values

In certain circumstances you'll be asked to record two different values for the same characteristic. This is called "multiple values" and is shown as "+2/+3." In these cases, the first number always indicates the real value, while the second indicates its effective value under current circumstances. Multiple values commonly occur when using advanced technology, being affected by certain Powers, or suffering some kind of injury. All of these possibilities are explained further on.

Level

All Captains start the game at Level 15, but there's no need to "level up." These 15 levels are already accounted for in the starting rules for creating the Captain. This value is explained in more depth in Chapter 3: Campaigns (which begins on page 75).

Equipment

All Captains have six equipment slots. The Captain can choose their equipment from the general equipment list (see page 29). Acquiring this equipment costs nothing beyond the investment of equipment slots itself. Over the course of a campaign, Captains can change the equipment they carry after each game, so that if they find an advanced carbine, a particularly interesting piece of alien technology, or a cache of grenades, they can carry them without trouble in the next game. They also have the option of swapping their equipment for something else from the general equipment list between games.

With that, you've covered all the steps needed to create your Captain: they're ready to go. That said, lone wolves don't tend to last long in this dangerous corner of the galaxy. In the next section you'll learn how to put together a crew to accompany your Captain on their missions and expeditions of galactic exploration.

Creating the First Mate

Depending on the exact ship, this could be a genuine first mate, a lieutenant, or, as some fleet captains prefer, their "number one." Whichever it may be, the First Mate is always the Captain's right hand. Their duty is to oversee the crew's day-to-day tasks so the Captain can focus on planning and objectives.

Every crew has a First Mate, and creating one follows the same steps as creating a Captain. First, choose the First Mate's Background. It can be the same as the Captain's, but it doesn't have to be. It's perfectly acceptable, for example, to have a Techno Captain and a Cyborg First Mate (or vice versa).

Next, choose the First Mate's Powers. They begin the game with four Powers: two or three (player's choice) must belong to their list of basic Powers; the rest can be chosen from those in Chapter 4: Powers, as long as they aren't basic Powers. To assign the activation difficulty of each Power, use the value given in Chapter 4, increasing that amount by +2 if it is one of their basic Powers, or +4 if it is not. As you can see, First Mates not only start with fewer Powers, but they aren't able to use them especially well. That's why they're First Mates and not Captains!

First Mate Profile

All First Mates share the same starting Profile. Like Captains, the First Mate applies the modifiers associated with their Background when determining their starting characteristics.

First Mate Level

All First Mates begin the game at Level 0. This value is explained in more depth in Chapter 3: Campaigns (which begins on page 75).

First Mate Equipment

First Mates only have five equipment slots, but otherwise choose their starting equipment from the general equipment list, the same way their Captain does.

Recruiting Your Soldiers

Now that your officers are ready, it's time to fill out the rest of the crew. To keep things simple, we call Soldiers all members of your crew who aren't the Captain or First Mate. Even if, by their Background, they aren't true military types, in the hard world of independent bands everyone ends up having to fight sooner or later.

All Captains begin the game with four hundred credits (400 Cr.), which they can spend to recruit up to a maximum of eight Soldiers, of which a maximum of only four can be Specialists. To recruit a Soldier, the Captain simply invests the amount of credits shown in the following tables. This represents a combination of the cost of equipping, maintaining, and paying the wages (among other things) of that individual. Many of these Soldiers follow their Captain out of simple loyalty.

A few Soldiers are "free," meaning it costs nothing to recruit them. This way, a Captain will always be able to recruit a full crew of eight Soldiers, even when short on funds.

Each Soldier has a fixed Profile, also given in the following tables. Unlike Captains and First Mates, a Soldier's Profile never changes, unless affected by an outside effect, such as advanced technology or a Power. The crew sheet has enough space to record all your Soldiers and their respective Profiles. You can give them a name if you like, though given how harsh the galaxy of Stargrave is, you'd best not get too attached to them...

All Soldiers always come equipped with the gear listed in their Profile. In addition, each has one free equipment slot. Each Soldier's Profile already includes any bonus or penalty to their Move and Armour associated with the equipment noted in their entry.

Equipment: All Soldiers already come with a standardized equipment list, given in the notes column of the Soldier tables. Soldiers cannot use any additional equipment from the general equipment list, though if they lose part of the gear listed in their notes, it will be replaced free of charge with an identical piece at the end of the game.

All Soldiers have one equipment slot; however, they cannot use it to carry any of the items described in the general equipment list. They can only use their equipment slot to carry items found or acquired during the campaign. See the section Calculating Loot (page 77) for exact details. In the case of weapons and armour, they must be of the same type as the weapons and armour already listed in that Soldier type's notes. In this case, the advanced weapon or armour not only replaces its mundane equivalent, it also uses up the equipment slot.

Robots: Whenever you recruit a new Soldier, the player may declare that individual to be a robot. This adds no extra cost and does not alter the Soldier's characteristics or equipment. However, you must add the designation "Robot" to that Soldier's notes. Robots are immune to the toxin and wound rules described in the combat section, and are also unaffected by gas or a low oxygen level. On the other hand, robots also have other vulnerabilities and weaknesses, which will become very apparent as you read through the rest of the rulebook. Many Captain and First Mate Powers can only affect robots or, conversely, don't affect them at all.

In terms of appearance, robots can look however you like, as long as they are roughly human-sized. Some robots are androids so advanced that it's almost impossible to tell them apart from a human just by looking, while others are more like walking household appliances.

Neither the Captain nor the First Mate can be robots, though if you like this idea, seriously consider using the Cyborg Background for them instead.

Temporary Crew

Although independent bands have a maximum permanent roster of ten members (a Captain, a First Mate, and eight Soldiers), it is sometimes possible to gain "temporary members" through the use of certain Powers, advanced technology, or special rules given by a scenario. When a crew gains a temporary member, that member follows all the same normal rules as a permanent member, with the exception that they may only take part in that one game. Once the scenario ends, the temporary member leaves the band.

General Equipment List

In Stargrave, we group all weapons, armour, and miscellaneous equipment into a series of categories. This way, for example, the specific weapons that might exist within a given category make no mechanical difference — there's no distinction between using a laser pistol or another pistol that fires three explosive rounds: both use the pistol's values.

Certain weapons have Damage Modifiers (DM). This amount is added to or subtracted from the damage inflicted after determining who wins the combat. Chapter 2: Rules (see page 59) explains in more detail how these weapons work.

No miniature may carry more than one type of armour at a time.

Aliens in Stargrave: In Stargrave we can divide aliens into two broad categories: humanoid and non-humanoid. Whatever the reason, the truth is that almost all intelligent, technologically advanced species in the galaxy are humanoid; that is, they have what can clearly be identified as a torso, head, two arms, and two legs. The exact appearance of these body parts is highly varied (and extreme), and can include scales, feathers, spines, bony crests, tentacles, and so on. As far as the mechanics of these rules are concerned, all these aliens are treated the same, and players may represent their crew members as any humanoid alien species they wish.

Profile

All First Mates share the same starting Profile. Like Captains, the First Mate applies the modifiers associated with their Background when determining their starting characteristics.

First Mate starting profile: Move 6, Fight +2, Shoot +2, Armour 9, Will +2, Health 14.

Level

All First Mates begin the game at Level 0. This value is explained in more depth in Chapter 3: Campaigns (which begins on page 75).

Equipment

First Mates only have five equipment slots, but otherwise choose their starting equipment from the general equipment list, the same way their Captain does.

Recruiting Your Soldiers

A few Soldiers are "free," meaning it costs nothing to recruit them. This way, a Captain will always be able to recruit a full crew of eight Soldiers, even when short on funds.

Neither the Captain nor the First Mate can be robots, though if you like this idea, seriously consider using the Cyborg Background for them instead.

Temporary Crew

General Equipment List

No miniature may carry more than one type of armour at a time.

Aliens in Stargrave

In Stargrave we can divide aliens into two broad categories: humanoid and non-humanoid. Whatever the reason, the truth is that almost all intelligent, technologically advanced species in the galaxy are humanoid; that is, they have what can clearly be identified as a torso, head, two arms, and two legs. The exact appearance of these body parts is highly varied (and extreme), and can include scales, feathers, spines, bony crests, tentacles, and so on. As far as the mechanics of these rules are concerned, all these aliens are treated the same, and players may represent their crew members as any humanoid alien species they wish.

Of course, the galaxy of Stargrave also has numerous non-humanoid alien species. In most cases, these aliens appear in the various scenarios as "Independent creatures." In Chapter 6: Bestiary (page 139 onward) you can find several examples of them. Future Stargrave supplements may include specific alien races with special characteristics and abilities that can be recruited as crew members, but for now, there are none.

That said, don't let this categorization limit you. If you have a non-humanoid alien miniature and you're dying to add it to your crew, go right ahead. Use the values of a Soldier type that already exists (or of your Captain or First Mate, if you prefer) and make sure to tell your opponents exactly what that miniature represents before you start playing. Ideally miniatures should always look as much as possible like the character they represent, but that rule should never get in the way of the fun, or of using the miniatures you want to use.

Miscellaneous Equipment

Medkit A miniature equipped with one can spend an action treating another miniature within 2", provided neither is engaged in melee. It can replace the movement action. The treated miniature removes poisoning, automatically recovers from being Stunned, and stops suffering penalties for being wounded (although these will return if it loses more Health, of course). The medkit has no effect on robots. It can be used as many times as desired during a scenario — there is no limit on uses. It takes up one equipment slot.

Cyber-terminal Also called "terminals" or "virtual keyboards," this is a small personal computer loaded with numerous programs that let you crack the security of digital Loot markers. A miniature carrying one of these gets a +6 bonus to its rolls to free a data container. It takes up one equipment slot.

Filter Mask Often built into some kind of helmet, this provides a small reserve of breathable oxygen. Miniatures wearing a filter mask are never affected by gas or a low oxygen level. It takes up one equipment slot.

Tool Kit The most common slang term in the galaxy for a small kit of tools that lets you bypass physical locks, handcuffs, and other restraints — very useful for freeing physical Loot markers. A miniature carrying one of these gets a +6 bonus to its rolls to free physical loot. It takes up one equipment slot.

Weapons

Machine Gun These are large weapons capable of firing at enormous rates. When making a ranged attack with this weapon, the miniature can make two separate Shoot rolls against two different targets no more than 2" apart, or a single Shoot roll against one target with a +2 damage modifier. If the miniature has two actions, it can do both — making two Shoot rolls against two different targets up to 2" apart, with a +2 damage modifier on both. A machine gun takes up three equipment slots and has a maximum range of 24". The miniature also suffers a -1 penalty to Move unless it is wearing heavy armour or assault armour, which already include gyrostabilizers for this weapon type.

Hand Weapon This category includes all kinds of tools built specifically for melee combat on a futuristic battlefield. This includes power swords, electro-whips, energy maces, etc. Since the damage these weapons deal rarely depends on the individual strength of the user, the specific size of the weapon usually makes little difference either, and this category ranges from light weapons like a rapier to gigantic two-handed power hammers. A hand weapon takes up one equipment slot and has no damage modifier.

Carbine The most common weapon seen on modern battlefields. This category includes laser rifles, blasters, needle launchers, wave cannons, and many other types of ranged weapons whose function boils down to essentially the same purpose: killing an enemy from a decent distance. Carbines take up two equipment slots, have a maximum range of 24", and have no damage modifier.

Knife This is a dagger, blade, or any other small weapon used as a last resort. Most likely the knives carried by your crew will feature some sort of advanced upgrade, such as a monofilament edge, a heat-generating blade, electric discharges, etc. Regardless, all knives have a damage modifier of -1. The first knife carried by the Captain or First Mate does not use up an equipment slot; additional knives do, so a Captain or First Mate can carry one of these weapons and keep their full complement of equipment slots. If a Soldier doesn't have a knife as part of their standard equipment, then they don't have one and cannot acquire one.

Unarmed When a miniature ends up with no melee weapon, it can still keep fighting, but it suffers a -2 penalty to Fight in melee combat and a -2 damage modifier. Creatures that use natural weapons instead of manufactured ones are never considered unarmed. The unarmed condition only applies when the figure is actively engaged in melee combat — that is, it does not take the -2 penalty when making ranged attacks (even if it is also engaged in melee at the same time).

Shotgun These firearms sacrifice some of the carbine's range to increase their firepower. Shotguns take up two equipment slots, have a maximum range of 12", and a damage modifier of +1. Any miniature that would normally carry a carbine may swap it for a shotgun (including Soldiers).

Grenade (Fragmentation) This grenade is thrown at a target point and has a maximum range of 6". All miniatures within 1.5" of the target point immediately suffer a Shoot +3 attack. A bag of grenades takes up one equipment slot. If a Captain or First Mate is equipped with grenades, they carry both types (fragmentation and smoke) and they still only take up a single equipment slot. At the end of this book (page 174) you'll find an area template representing a fragmentation grenade.

Grenade (Smoke) This grenade is thrown at a target point and has a maximum range of 6". It creates a dense, circular cloud of smoke 4" in diameter and 3" tall. Lines of sight cannot be drawn through the smoke it creates. At the end of every turn (not counting the one in which the grenade was thrown), roll a die: on a 1-5, the smoke disperses and the template is removed from the table. A bag of smoke grenades takes up one equipment slot. If a Captain or First Mate is equipped with grenades, they carry both types and they take up a single equipment slot. At the end of this book (page 174) you'll find an area template representing a smoke grenade.

Grenades sidebar: Soldiers with grenades and grenade launchers as part of their equipment may use either smoke or fragmentation grenades, choosing which before each attack. Every miniature equipped with grenades is assumed to carry as many of each type as it needs until the scenario ends. The full grenade rules are on page 58.

Grenade Launcher A grenade launcher increases the range of grenades to 16". However, these weapons are quite imprecise, so a -1 penalty applies to the roll to reach the target point with a grenade launcher. A miniature equipped with a grenade launcher is considered to carry as many grenades of both types (fragmentation and smoke) as it needs. A grenade launcher takes up three equipment slots.

Flamethrower This category of weapons (which also includes other armaments such as plasma weapons and acid throwers) emits a jet of corrosive or burning substance, affecting the template found at the end of this book (page 174). Flamethrowers take up two equipment slots, and the miniature carrying one must apply a -1 penalty to its Move unless it also wears heavy or assault armour, since both already include gyrostabilizers. Flamethrowers have a damage modifier of +2. Additionally, miniatures wearing light or heavy armour do not fully benefit from it, so subtract one point of Armour from figures in light armour and two points from figures in heavy armour. Assault armour protects normally against these weapons. Likewise, when determining whether there is cover, miniatures only benefit from it if the cover is solid.

Pistol The weapon of choice for close-range shootouts. It is always a one-handed ranged weapon. There is an almost infinite variety of pistols, and while lasers and weapons that fire a chemically propelled solid projectile remain the most common, there are also needle pistols, plasma throwers, or dozens of other different projectile types. All pistols take up one equipment slot, have a maximum range of 10", and have no damage modifier.

Armour

Light Armour This category of armour represents tactical vests or breastplates that only protect the torso's vital organs. It may include reinforcement for the head, knees, and elbows, but it's more about protecting the wearer from blunt blows and strikes than from enemy weapons fire. A miniature equipped with this increases its Armour by one point.

Heavy Armour This represents heavier armour and generally always includes some kind of hardened breastplate, closed helmet, vambraces, and greaves. Although it offers significant protection, it is also bulky and heavy. Any miniature equipped like this increases its Armour by two points, but also reduces its Move by one.

Assault Armour Expensive, hard to obtain, and very demanding to maintain, assault armour offers the ultimate in personal battlefield protection. It not only provides full-body protection, with its own air supply, but is also powered so the wearer doesn't have to bear its immense weight. A miniature with this armour increases its Armour by four points. The armour, however, takes up two equipment slots, though it has the advantage of granting its wearer a hand weapon, a pistol, and a filter mask for free, since it comes with all of these already integrated.

The components integrated into assault armour can be upgraded and replaced following the usual equipment rules (for example, the pistol built into a Soldier's assault armour could be swapped for a carbine, but this would use up their only slot for items).

Before starting a scenario in which these armours will be used (including the first one of the campaign), the Captain must pay 50 Cr. for each of these assault armours in their crew, reflecting its maintenance and the armour's charging process. When it belongs to a Captain or First Mate and this cost isn't paid, the character must swap it for something else. If the armour belongs to a Soldier and this cost isn't paid, that individual cannot take part in the game (in this case, the Soldier may be temporarily replaced by a Recruit or a Runner).

Shield On modern battlefields, shields are barely used, since most firearms or characters have enough power to punch straight through them. So a normal shield offers no protection at all. There are, however, certain advanced technologies and alien designs that are still useful. Unfortunately these cannot simply be bought — since they can only be obtained by playing a campaign, we won't give further detail here. What we will say is that, should you ever obtain one, these shields take up one equipment slot and prevent the miniature from carrying or using any weapon that takes up more than one equipment slot (carbines, grenade launchers, etc.).

Weapons and Armour Summary

General Weapons Table

Weapon	DM	Max Range	Item Slots	Notes
Machine Gun	+2	24"	3	-1 to Move (except heavy/assault armour); 2 targets
Hand Weapon	–	–	1	–
Carbine	–	24"	2	–
Knife	-1	–	1	–
Unarmed	-2	–	–	-2 to Fight
Shotgun	+1	12"	2	–
Grenade (Fragmentation)	–	6"	1	3" diameter damage template (Shoot +3)
Grenade (Smoke)	–	6"	1	4" diameter smoke template
Grenade Launcher	Grenade	16"	3	-1 to Shoot
Flamethrower	+2	Area	2	-1 to Move (except heavy/assault armour); adjusts Armour and cover (see page 32)
Pistol	–	10"	1	–

General Armour Table

Armour	Armour Adjustment	Item Slots	Notes
Light Armour	+1	1	–
Heavy Armour	+2	1	-1 to Move
Assault Armour	+4	2	Maintenance (50 Cr); includes hand weapon, pistol, and filter mask
Shield	–	1	Prevents carrying weapons that use 2+ equipment slots

Chapter 2: Rules

Now that you have a Captain and a crew assembled, it's time to begin your adventures in this devastated galaxy. This chapter contains all the game's basic rules, explaining how to lay out the game table, move, fight, use Powers, and how to run the alien creatures and pirates that often show up in the middle of an operation.

Setting Up the Game Table

The first step in any game of Stargrave is laying out an attractive table full of scenery. The simplest way to do this is to look at Chapter 5: Scenarios and pick one of those included, either at random or by agreeing with your opponent on which to use (see page 119). This will tell you what kind of terrain to use and how to place it, as well as where and how many Loot markers to place, what kind of alien creatures are roaming the area, or other special rules that might apply.

Another option is to ignore the scenarios and play a "standard" game. In a standard game, players should use whatever scenery they have on hand, arranging it on the table however they see fit, by mutual agreement. The galaxy is a huge, diverse place, so any kind of terrain works, from tropical jungles to a dusty village in the middle of a barren desert, to the interior of a colossal derelict starship.

The key when laying out the game table is to fill it to the brim with terrain. Independent bands have to keep a very low profile if they want to survive, so conflict rarely breaks out in "open ground." Seriously — the more obstacles there are in the way, the more fun and interesting the game will be. The greater the density of obstacles and the number of places miniatures can use to hide, take cover, or make a dash, the better. When there are too many long sightlines and open ground, the game easily degenerates into a static shootout with very little maneuvering.

As a general guideline for laying out terrain, try to make it impossible to see the other end of the table from any corner or edge. In fact, ideally sightlines should rarely extend more than 12" or 24" (thirty or sixty centimeters) in a straight line.

Edge Selection

Once all the terrain has been arranged on the table to everyone's satisfaction, each player must roll a die. Whoever rolls highest chooses which edge of the table they want to use as their starting edge. If there is only one opponent, that player automatically deploys on the opposite edge. When there are more than two players, the second-highest roller chooses which empty edge they want to use, then the third, and so on.

When the game is going to be played on a very small table, say 60x60 cm, it's better for players to deploy in the corners rather than along the edges, since this makes better use of the space the table occupies during the game. Four-player games on a 90x90 cm table should also consider deploying in the corners.

Once it's known which edges or corners each player deploys from, the player who chose first must place all the members of their band within a maximum of 2" of their starting edge, and at least 6" away from any other edge. If deploying in corners, all members of the band must be placed within a maximum of 5" of their starting corner. After the first player, the rest follow in the same order in which they chose their deployment spots.

Placing Loot Markers

Now that all the miniatures are on the game table, it's time to place the Loot markers. Acquiring these markers is the main objective of most games of Stargrave. There are two kinds of Loot markers: physical and digital (computer data). It's necessary to use two visually distinct types of markers so each kind of loot can be easily identified.

To begin, place one Loot marker in the exact center of the table and roll a die to determine its type: (1-10) is a digital loot marker; (11-20) is a physical loot marker. To make the game more fun, it's best if this isn't too easy to reach — or at least is a spot that's hard to see. No miniature should be able to trace a line of sight from its deployment position to this marker without having moved first.

Then, starting with the player who deployed their crew last, players take turns placing additional Loot markers. Each player must place one digital loot marker and one physical loot marker on the table. They may place the marker anywhere they like, as long as it's on the half of the table opposite their starting deployment position, and at least 6" from any other Loot marker. Remember to count vertical distance when measuring the distance between Loot markers.

The full Loot marker rules are found later in this same chapter (on page 64, to be exact).

Once all the terrain, miniatures, and Loot markers are deployed, you can begin the first turn of the game!

The Loot-marker placement rules for a standard game were designed to encourage maximum carnage, by placing all the markers near the center of the table. For a somewhat gentler version of the game, I'd suggest allowing players to place one loot marker on their own side of the table, as long as it's still 12" from their deployment edge. This should increase the odds that crews come away with at least one Loot marker.

The Turn

Games of Stargrave are divided into turns. During each turn, every player gets the chance to move all the miniatures in their crew.

Initiative

At the start of each turn, all players must roll a die. The player who rolls highest is the primary player for that turn. The second-highest roller is the secondary player for that turn, and so on. Reroll ties.

Phases

Every turn is divided into four phases: the Captains' phase, the First Mates' phase, the Soldiers' phase, and the Creatures' phase.

Captains' phase: Each player activates their Captain and up to three Soldiers within line of sight, up to a maximum of 3".
First Mates' phase: Each player activates their First Mate and up to three Soldiers within line of sight, up to a maximum of 3".
Soldiers' phase: Each player activates all Soldiers they have not yet activated.
Creatures' phase: All independent creatures activate.

Group Activation

Normally, miniatures activate one at a time throughout the phase, and each figure must complete both of its actions before the next one can activate. There is an exception to this rule. During the Captains' and First Mates' phases, a player may declare a group activation to activate their Soldiers together with the officer. In this case, the player moves all the miniatures they are going to activate in that phase before any of them completes its second action. Then, each activated miniature completes its second action in whatever order the player wishes. So, during the Captains' phase, a player could move their Captain and up to three Soldiers. The Captain could then use a Power, followed by the second action of each of those three Soldiers.

When a player chooses to perform a group activation, every activated miniature is required to move as its first action; it cannot do anything else before that. In addition, every miniature that is going to activate in that phase must be part of the group activation. For example, it is not possible to group-activate the First Mate and one Soldier, resolve their actions, and then separately activate a second Soldier.

This alternative type of activation is especially useful in certain situations. It's commonly used to surround a specific opponent with several miniatures in order to defeat them more easily in melee, though it can also be used to redistribute the position of several figures for a better line of sight, or to push a group through a narrow position more easily.

Group activation is a special type of activation in which the Captain or First Mate and the Soldiers activating with them coordinate their movement to gain an advantage. It is not mandatory to declare a group activation when activating more than one figure in the same phase:

Normal activation: Complete all of one activated figure's actions before moving to the next.
Group activation: Perform the movement of all activated figures, then perform the second action of each activated figure in turn.

Characteristic Rolls

When a miniature attempts to do something during your turn that isn't covered by the general rules, it must be resolved by calling for a roll of one of its characteristics. In these cases, the miniature is asked to make a characteristic roll, for example a Will or Fight roll, against a Difficulty X, where X is the value it must equal or beat to succeed. For example, "make a Will roll (Difficulty 16)." To do this, the player simply rolls a die and adds the value of the characteristic in question. When the total equals or beats the Difficulty, the miniature succeeds. When the total is lower, it has failed.

For example, in one of the scenarios, players are told they need to force open a large door to reach the loot on the other side. To do this, a miniature must be adjacent to the door and spend an action attempting to break the lock with a Fight roll (Difficulty 14). So the player spends an action, rolls a die, and adds the active figure's Fight characteristic. When the total is 14 or more, the miniature manages to force the door open.

In theory, scenarios can call for rolls of any characteristic. When the characteristic isn't a bonus value (like Move, Health, or Armour), simply roll a die and add the characteristic's current value. So, on a Health roll, use the value reduced by damage the miniature has taken, not its maximum Health. When a figure has multiple values, use the current value as well.

Automatic Success and Failure, and Maximum Bonuses

Whenever a miniature makes a characteristic roll and rolls a natural 20 on the die, the roll succeeds. This holds true even if, after applying existing modifiers, it fails to reach the required Difficulty. Likewise, a natural 1 on the die, before applying any modifier, is always a failure. A natural result is the value shown on the die, before taking into account any modifiers that may apply.

Whenever a crew member makes a die roll, no matter the kind (for example, characteristic rolls, Shoot or Fight attacks, activation rolls, etc.), the maximum bonus applied to a die can never exceed +10. If the combination of a miniature's characteristics and modifiers produces a bonus higher than +10, it is reduced to a total of +10.

For example, a Captain with Fight +5 uses combat drugs (+1 to Fight) and a hand weapon with advanced technology (+1 to Fight), together with two allies (+4 to Fight), and engages in melee with an opponent — normally this would give a total of +11 on the roll. However, due to this rule, that total is reduced to +10.

Movement

Any time a figure activates and can perform two or more actions, one of them must be a movement action (although there are some specific exceptions). The first time a miniature moves during a phase, it can move a distance up to its Move characteristic in inches.

Difficult ground: Costs 2" of movement for every 1" moved (or part thereof).
Jumping: A miniature may jump up to 4" horizontally, but must first move that same distance in a straight line. The distance jumped counts toward its total movement.
Combat: A miniature locked in melee combat cannot move.
Force combat: If not locked in combat, a miniature can intercept another figure that passes within 1" of its position.
Falls: If 3" or less, there is no effect. If greater, the miniature suffers damage equal to (1.5 × inches fallen), rounded down.
Swimming: Make a Will roll (Difficulty 5), with modifiers. On success, it activates normally. On failure, it has no actions this activation and suffers damage equal to the margin by which it failed the swim roll.
Dig deep!: On its first action, the miniature may move 3" while ignoring movement penalties. It then immediately ends its activation.

Melee Combat

Whenever a miniature ends its move in contact with an enemy miniature, or an enemy ends its move in contact with it, the two figures become locked in combat. Combat is resolved as follows:

Both miniatures roll a die and add their Fight characteristic, plus any other relevant modifiers (for example, bonuses from allies or Powers).
Determine who scores the higher total; that miniature is the winner.
Adjust the winner's roll by any existing Damage Modifiers (DM).
Subtract the loser's Armour from that amount.
Apply any damage multipliers.
If the resulting value is greater than 0, the loser suffers that much damage, subtracted from their current Health. If it's 0 or negative, there is no damage.
The winner may choose to remain locked in combat, push their opponent back 1", or retreat that same distance themselves.

Ranged Combat

The attacker checks whether it has line of sight to, and is within range of, its intended target, and then declares the target.
The attacker makes a Shoot roll: roll a die and add its Shoot characteristic.
A natural 20 is a critical hit, while a natural 1 means the weapon jams.
The target makes a defense roll: roll a die and add its Fight characteristic, plus any modifier relevant to defending against ranged attacks.
Determine who scores the higher total; that miniature is the winner.
If the target wins or ties, the attack misses.
If the attacker wins, the attack hits.
Adjust the attacker's roll by any existing Damage Modifiers (DM).
Subtract the target's Armour from that amount.
Apply any damage multipliers.
If the resulting value is greater than 0, the target suffers that much damage, subtracted from its current Health. If it's 0 or negative, there is no damage.
If the target suffers 4 or more points of damage from the attack, it also becomes stunned.

Grenades

Choose the target point.
Make a Shoot roll (Difficulty 12), applying the modifiers from the Grenade Attack Table below.
If that roll fails, the target point scatters in a random direction a number of inches equal to the margin of failure. If the scatter is greater than 6", the attack fails outright and the target point is discarded.
A smoke grenade means placing a smoke template over the target point.
A fragmentation grenade causes a Shoot +3 attack against all miniatures within 1.5" of the target point.

Grenade Attack Table

Situation	Modifier
The target point is in line of sight.	+2
Throwing while the miniature has already made a movement action during this activation.	-1
Firing a grenade launcher.	-1

Using Powers

How to Use Powers. To activate a Power, the player announces which Power their Captain or First Mate intends to use and its target. Then they make an activation roll (that is, roll a die). If the number rolled on the die is equal to or greater than the Power's activation difficulty, it works successfully. If it's lower than the activation difficulty, the Power fails to work (although the miniature can still move, explained below).

Effort. After making the activation roll, but before determining whether it succeeds or fails, the Captain or First Mate may choose to push themselves. Basically, the individual activating the Power chooses to sacrifice Health to increase the result of the activation roll, at a rate of 1:1. For example, if an officer fails their roll by a margin of three points, they could suffer three points of damage to make the Power succeed.

Fatigue. Some Powers cause immense physical or psychic fatigue to the user. Whenever a figure activates a Power with a Fatigue cost greater than 0, it suffers an amount of damage equal to that Fatigue value. For example, if a Biomorph activates the Adrenaline Rush Power, they immediately suffer two points of damage. Miniatures cannot use Powers whose Fatigue cost is equal to or greater than their current Health value.

A miniature may take damage both from pushing itself and from Fatigue when activating a Power, but not to the point where either would reduce its current Health to 0 or less.

Chapter 4: Powers (which begins on page 102) describes each of the individual Powers.

Free Movement. Whenever a player declares that their officer is spending an action to use a Power, that miniature may also move up to 3" for free. This movement can happen either before or after resolving the activation roll that determines whether the Power succeeds. The figure cannot make this move if it's already locked in combat, though the Power being used could allow it to leave combat if it works successfully. Activating a Power and moving uses up a single action, which is not itself a movement action.

This free movement is subject to all the standard movement modifiers and limitations, such as difficult ground penalties or climbing. It doesn't reduce the miniature's Move to half with its other action — for example, a Captain with two actions could use one to move 3" and activate a Power, and then use their second action to move their full Move characteristic in inches.

This free movement can't be substituted for any other action, nor for actions that would normally be performed instead of a movement action (like unjamming a weapon).

Canceling Powers

If a Power has an ongoing effect and doesn't state a specific duration in its description, assume that Power lasts until the scenario ends. Unless the Power specifically grants the user that ability, it isn't possible to turn it on or off at will (not even for the caster) — it's always active. Nor does it end if its caster leaves the table or dies (although if that Power was applied to a miniature that has been removed from the table, it becomes irrelevant anyway).

Using Powers on Locked Miniatures

Whenever a Power generates a ranged attack and its caster wants to affect a target that is already locked in combat, its actual target must be determined randomly, as if it were a normal ranged attack. The only exception is when the caster is themselves already part of that same combat, in which case the ranged attack generated by the Power hits the intended miniature, with no need to randomly determine its target.

Powers that don't generate ranged attacks can be used on figures locked in combat completely normally, and always target whichever miniature is intended.

Loot Markers

There are two kinds of loot markers: digital loot and physical loot. Digital loot represents valuable information: maps, design blueprints, or digital currency. Physical loot is hard cash, valuable goods, or interesting artifacts. Each kind of marker behaves differently.

No loot marker can be moved in any way until it's been freed. To do this, a figure must move into contact with the marker and spend an action freeing it, beating a Will roll (Difficulty 14). On a failure, nothing happens, but the miniature may spend another action later to try again. On success, the marker is freed and can be picked up and carried. The miniature that freed a physical loot marker can pick it up for free as part of that same unlocking action, or any other miniature can pick it up afterward by spending an action. If it's digital loot, you always need to spend an action to pick it up (downloading the data, in this case). Once picked up, a loot marker always moves together with the figure carrying it. You cannot pick up a loot marker if there's an enemy miniature within 1" of it.

Each miniature can only carry a single loot marker at a time. If it's digital loot, the figure suffers no penalty for this. If it's physical loot, however, the miniature becomes slowed while carrying it (its Move is reduced by half, and it also suffers a -1 penalty to Fight and Shoot).

Any miniature carrying a loot marker may spend an action to drop it. This action can substitute for the movement action. The miniature and the marker are placed so they're no longer in contact. Another friendly miniature could pick it up by spending an action (an enemy miniature cannot, since the figure that dropped it is too close). When a miniature carrying a loot marker dies, the marker is left at the exact spot where that figure died.

If a figure manages to leave the table from one of its edges while carrying a loot marker, it has secured that loot for its crew. Both the figure and the loot marker are removed from the game.

Note that loot markers have no specific use during the game itself: in the heat of battle, characters are far too busy fighting for their lives to closely examine exactly what it is. See Chapter 3: Campaigns (on page 77) for details on determining what the treasure actually is, and the rules for what can be done with it once the game has ended, though it's best to leave that process until after the scenario is over.

It's worth pointing out that loot markers aren't objects. All miniatures may only carry a single loot marker, regardless of how many equipment slots they have free. Loot markers don't take up an equipment slot.

Loot markers never block line of sight, provide cover, or prevent movement (at least, not until they're picked up).

Creature Actions

The galaxy holds many dangers besides pirate fleets and rival independent bands. Many worlds are home to deadly flora and fauna, all too willing to attack anyone who gets too close without a second thought. In fact, some of these alien life forms are so different from ourselves that they don't perceive us as a threat so much as react violently on instinct. Chapter 6: Bestiary contains a collection of some of the most widespread, famous, and lethal life forms in the galaxy (starting on page 151).

The last phase of the turn is the creatures' phase, in which all miniatures that don't belong to any crew (independent creatures) take their actions. Those that do belong to a crew, even if only temporarily, activate as if they were Soldiers. Because of this, they can be activated together with the Captain, the First Mate, or during the Soldiers' phase.

Like almost all miniatures, independent creatures have two actions per turn. Although more powerful and intelligent creatures may have specific rules governing their actions (explained in the bestiary or in each specific scenario), the lesser creatures — which are encountered more frequently — follow a set of simple rules that determine how they behave on a given turn.

Independent creatures never attack other independent creatures. They aren't considered locked in combat with one another, even if their bases are in contact. Independent creatures always force combat when a crew member moves within 1" or less of them.

Players must go through the steps for each creature present, always starting with the one with the highest current Health value and then in descending order, when determining its actions. Follow the sequence given for each of the creature's actions, since the situation could change between them (for example, the creature moves toward a target, and after reaching an alley, there's a second, closer target, so its second movement action is to head toward that one instead of the first).

1. Is the creature locked in combat?

Yes: It fights using a combat action. If it wins the fight, it remains locked in combat. If faced with more than one opponent, it attacks whichever has the lowest current Health value.
No: Proceed to step two.

2. Is there a crew member within 10" and in line of sight?

Yes: If the creature is equipped with a ranged attack and has a crew member within line of sight and within the weapon's range, it fires at the nearest one. When a creature has more than one ranged attack available, it uses whichever is most powerful for the situation. It moves as far as possible toward the visible crew member closest to it, climbing over any obstacles it needs to. If it reaches an opponent on its first action, it uses its second action to make a melee attack.
No: Proceed to step three.

3. Random Movement.

If the scenario already has a set destination point, the creature moves toward it. When it doesn't, the creature moves in a random direction, advancing in that direction as far as its Move allows. If the creature reaches a wall or other obstacle (including the edges of the table), it stops at that point (independent creatures never leave the game table as a result of random movement). Once this movement is complete, if the creature has more actions left, check step two again. If it still has no appropriate target, the creature ends its activation without taking any more actions. Otherwise, proceed normally to step two.

Ending the Game

Games of Stargrave can end in several different ways. Most commonly, the game ends when the last loot marker leaves the table. At that point, assume that the rest of the miniatures still on the table make it back home safely without suffering any further harm.

Another way the game can end is when only one player still has miniatures on the table, either because all rival crews have died or because they've left the table. In this case, the player with miniatures still on the table automatically collects all the loot their crew is currently carrying. They must also roll a die for every unclaimed loot marker still on the table. On a roll of 15 or higher, that marker is also kept. On a roll below 15, the marker is lost.

In the incredibly rare, but theoretically possible, case where no player has any miniatures left on the table, the game ends and all loot still on the table is lost.

Certain scenarios have specific objectives that end the game once they're achieved. These specific cases will be given in each scenario.

When you're not playing a campaign, whoever manages to secure the most treasure wins. In a campaign there usually aren't specific victory conditions (unless the scenario says otherwise), and it's up to each player to decide whether their Captain "won" the encounter or not.

Chapter 3: Campaigns

If you're just starting out in the world of skirmish wargaming, it's probably worth playing two or three standalone games of Stargrave before starting a campaign. That way you can get familiar with the rules and how the various Powers work without worrying too much about the consequences of each game. That said, once you've seen how the game works, almost all players find it far more satisfying to play a campaign of linked games. Over the course of a campaign, players use the loot they collect during games to recruit new Soldiers, upgrade their weapons or equipment, and even improve their starship. In addition, as Captains and First Mates take part in scenarios, they also gain experience, which lets them improve their characteristics, learn new Powers, or make better use of the Powers they already know. This chapter provides all the information you need to run a campaign with your Captain and First Mate.

After each scenario, each player just needs to follow these steps in the order given:

Check for injuries or deaths.
Use "Between Games" Powers.
Calculate experience gained and levels.
Generate loot.
Spend loot.

Injuries and Death

The galaxy is a very harsh place, and death is so common it becomes frightening, especially among independent bands. In a standard game of Stargrave, all miniatures whose Health is reduced to zero are assumed to have died. During a campaign, however, whenever a miniature's Health is reduced to 0, it's assumed to have been "taken out of action," and this doesn't automatically mean it has died. It might have been knocked unconscious, wounded too badly to keep fighting, or simply lost its nerve and run off.

The first thing every player must do at the end of a scenario is check the status of all their miniatures that were left out of action (that is, whose Health was reduced to zero or less). Miniatures that ended the scenario with Health above zero begin the next game at their maximum Health.

Soldiers

For Soldiers, checking their status is easy: roll a d20.

Soldier Survival Table

d20 Roll	Effects
1-4	Dead
5-8	Serious Injury
9-20	Full Recovery

Dead. The Soldier has died, and you must remove it from your crew sheet. Any items it was carrying are lost.

Serious Injury. The Soldier has been badly wounded. This individual may take part in the next scenario if you want, but starts it at half their maximum Health (round down).

Full Recovery. The soldier makes a full recovery and returns to their perfect state of Health in time for the next game.

Captains and First Mates

Handling Captains and First Mates is a little more involved. Roll on the Officer Survival Table whenever one of these characters is taken out of action during a game.

Experience and Level

One of the most enjoyable parts of playing a campaign is watching your Captain and First Mate grow in power over the course of their adventures. In game terms, this is represented in two ways: experience and level.

Experience

Experience represents the knowledge a crew gains during their adventures across this devastated galaxy. Experience isn't tied to any specific miniature, but the Captain and First Mate can use it to purchase additional levels. This experience is obtained based on reaching specific milestones during the scenario, given in the following Experience Table. Note that some scenarios grant additional bonus experience for achieving specific objectives.

Crews can earn a maximum of 300 experience points (XP) per game played.

Experience Table

Experience Points	Achievement
+30 XP	For taking part in a scenario.
+30 XP	If at least one crew member was reduced to Health 0 during the game.
+20 XP	For each loot marker the crew manages to free.
+10 XP	For each Power successfully activated* by the Captain or First Mate (up to a maximum of +100 XP).
+10 XP	For each member of a rival crew that your crew reduces to Health 0 (up to a maximum of +40 XP).
+5 XP	For each independent creature that your crew reduces to Health 0 (up to a maximum of +20 XP)**.

*This doesn't apply if the Power was used to free a loot marker (though you still earn the XP for freeing the marker). **This doesn't apply to creatures that already grant XP in a specific scenario.

It's usually a good idea to keep a running note of the experience you earn as you go, so that nothing gets forgotten by the end of the game. After the scenario, each player calculates the total experience gained and adds it to a running total, starting from whatever amount they began the game with. A full 100 XP can be spent to increase the Captain's or First Mate's level by one.

Level

Level is a numeric representation of a Captain's or First Mate's overall power. In general, miniatures of the same (or similar) level are roughly on par with each other in terms of strength, even if their capabilities are very different. All Captains start the game at Level 15, while all First Mates start the game at Level 0. Therefore, a starting Captain is significantly more powerful than a starting First Mate. The Captain has better characteristics, more Powers, better activation difficulties for those Powers, etc. In a very similar way, a Level 30 Captain is significantly more powerful than another starting Level 15 Captain.

After each game, the crew may spend a full 100 XP to improve their Captain's or First Mate's power by one level. If they have enough experience, they could buy more than one level. For example, a crew with 300 XP saved up could buy up to three levels, for their Captain, their First Mate, or split between the two however they like (perhaps two levels for the Captain and one for the First Mate, or vice versa). The only restriction is that the Captain can't be more than twenty levels higher than the First Mate, and the First Mate can't be more than five levels lower than the Captain. Soldiers have no levels and can't gain them. The only way to improve a Soldier is through better equipment.

Whenever an officer gains a level, they also receive an upgrade. The exact type of upgrade depends on the level acquired, as shown in the following table.

Upgrade by Level Table

New Level	Upgrade
1, 11, 21, 31, 41, 51, etc.	Reduce an activation difficulty.
2, 12, 22, 32, 42, 52, etc.	Improve a characteristic.
3, 13, 23, 33, 43, 53, etc.	Reduce an activation difficulty.
4, 14, 24, 34, 44, 54, etc.	Reduce an activation difficulty.
5, 15, 25, 35, 45, 55, etc.	Acquire a new Power.
6, 16, 26, 36, 46, 56, etc.	Reduce an activation difficulty.
7, 17, 27, 37, 47, 57, etc.	Improve a characteristic.
8, 18, 28, 38, 48, 58, etc.	Reduce an activation difficulty.
9, 19, 29, 39, 49, 59, etc.	Reduce an activation difficulty.
10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, etc.	Acquire a new Power or improve a characteristic.

Acquiring a New Power. The miniature may learn a Power it doesn't already know. It can be any Power from Chapter 4: Powers (which begins on page 102). If it's a basic Power for the character's Background, it has a starting activation difficulty equal to the value given in its description. Otherwise, the starting activation difficulty equals that value plus two. It doesn't matter whether the miniature is a Captain or First Mate — in other words, First Mates suffer no additional penalties when acquiring a new Power.

Improving a Characteristic. The miniature may improve one of its characteristics by one point, up to the following maximums: Move (7), Fight (+6), Shoot (+6), Will (+8), Health (25).

Reducing an Activation Difficulty. The miniature can reduce the activation difficulty of a Power it already knows by one. All Powers, whether or not they are one of the character's basic Powers, and regardless of their starting difficulty, can be reduced down to Difficulty 4, but it's impossible to reduce them below that amount. You cannot reduce a specific Power's difficulty by more than one point per game, but you can reduce the difficulty of two different Powers if you gain two levels at once and both grant this upgrade.

Calculating Loot

In standalone games of Stargrave, loot markers are only used to determine who wins. In a campaign, however, loot is a crucial element for tracking an independent band's progress and improvement.

You need to roll on the following tables for each loot marker the band manages to secure by the end of each scenario. Note there are two separate tables, one for digital loot and another for physical loot.

Digital Loot Table

d20 Roll	Reward
1	75 Cr.
2	1d20×10 Cr.
3	150 Cr.
4	1d20×15 Cr.
5	250 Cr.
6	1d20×20 Cr.
7	Information (75 Cr.)
8	Information (100 Cr.)
9	Information (125 Cr.)
10	Information (150 Cr.)
11	Information (200 Cr.)
12	Advanced Weaponry
13	Advanced Weaponry
14	Advanced Weaponry
15	Advanced Technology (Table 1)
16	Advanced Technology (Table 1)
17	Advanced Technology (Table 2)
18	Advanced Technology (Table 2)
19	Secret (200 Cr.)
20	Secret (200 Cr.)

Physical Loot Table

d20 Roll	Reward
1	Goods (75 Cr.)
2	Goods (150 Cr.)
3	Goods (200 Cr.)
4	Goods (250 Cr.)
5	Goods (300 Cr.)
6	Goods (400 Cr.)
7	Advanced Weaponry
8	Advanced Weaponry
9	Advanced Weaponry
10	Advanced Weaponry
11	Advanced Weaponry
12	Advanced Technology (Table 1)
13	Advanced Technology (Table 1)
14	Advanced Technology (Table 1)
15	Advanced Technology (Table 2)
16	Advanced Technology (Table 2)
17	Advanced Technology (Table 2)
18	Alien Artifact
19	Alien Artifact
20	Alien Artifact

Credits

The most widespread form of currency in the galaxy is the "credit," abbreviated Cr. In reality, it's not physical currency, but rather a small packet of data, but is accepted as legal currency throughout the galaxy. Each player must always keep track of the total amount of credits their bands have on their crew sheet. You can use these credits to recruit new Soldiers, acquire advanced technology, and upgrade your starship. See the following section, Spending Loot, for the details (starting on page 97).

Information

Since the galaxy is such an advanced place, information is money (at least, to certain people). Perhaps this loot marker is a list of the names of every member of an organization, banking codes, or the chemical formula for a highly sought-after pesticide. Whatever the exact nature of this information, the band can sell it for 20 XP. This amount doesn't count against the 300 XP maximum you can acquire per scenario. Alternatively, you can also sell the information for wealth, in which case you get the indicated amount of credits instead.

Goods

This kind of entry represents some of the vast collection of valuable substances and objects found throughout the galaxy, but that generally have no practical value to independent bands. It might be exotic foods, appliances, works of art, raw minerals, etc. Either way, you can sell these goods for a number of credits equal to the value shown.

Secret

The galaxy holds many secrets, such as the location of old weapons caches, the routes used by certain smugglers, or the codes needed to access certain alien computers. The crew can store these secrets aboard their ship until they decide to use them. Before playing a scenario, the band may activate this secret. If they manage to secure the central loot marker of a scenario, they can automatically make a roll on the advanced weaponry, advanced technology, or alien artifact tables without needing to make any other prior rolls. If they don't get the central loot marker, the opportunity is wasted.

Another possibility is to instead sell the secret for the amount of credits shown.