(c) Copyright Andrew Harding 1999, 2000. Permission given to make copies of this document for personal use and to distribute it provided no fee is charged. Please send questions, comments and suggestions by email: aharding@lavalink.com.au Last revised 14 June 2000. Revised to plain text document to remove incompatibility between formats. Minor corrections and changes were also included. Description =========== Earth Expects is a highly detailed set of tactical space combat rules which emphasise skill over firepower. It is well suited to playing battles from duels to squadron actions; because of the high level of detail large fleet battles can be slow to play and therefore optional rules are provided to speed play in these games. Earth Expects is designed to represent battles within the solar system between ships capable of manoeuvre at sub light speed. No aliens have been encountered; battles and wars are fought between human factions as they have been since before the dawn of history. Modification for use in a galaxy spanning campaign is straightforward. Each hex on the main map represents 1,000 km. Each turn of the game represents one minute (ships do not move at sufficient speed for significant relativistic effects - the speed of light is roughly 18,000 hexes per turn). Each hex on a ship display represents roughly 50 meters. A typical warship will have around 5 crew per box, although there are wide variations to this figure. Record keeping, with the exception of damage, is left to the players discretion. If records are kept they should be clear, complete and unambiguous. Key concepts in these rules: * Manoeuvre is crucial to success. Correctly reading your opponent's intentions and acting appropriately will bring victory. * Accurately tracking an enemy warship at several thousand kilometres is not a trivial endeavour. * Numbers and firepower help, but are not as important as good play. * Ship design is quick and simple while having plenty of detail. * Balanced ships and fleets are generally better than specialised ones. * The rules are simple, but the decisions needed are not. * Combat is dangerous. There is no combination of defences that renders a ship capable of defeating weaker opponents without risk. * Warships, although probably making up a small percentage of total shipping, are the ships most likely to be used in the game and therefore are considered the standard. Other types are treated as special cases. Definitions =========== * Range: The number of hexes between one object and another, including the hex occupied by one of the objects unless the other object also occupies that hex. (Two objects in the same hex are at range 0; Adjacent objects are at range 1.) * Die, Dice: The standard dice used in the game is a normal six sided dice. If using the crew quality optional rule, some ships use eight or ten sided dice. * Engine: A series of connected engine (E) or half engine (e) boxes making up one system. Ships may have any number of engines. * Strength: The number of powered boxes in a weapon or shield. * Operating: A powered undamaged box or a system with one or more such boxes. * Armed: An operating weapon (exception: Missile launchers do not require power, but are armed if they are currently loaded) * Adjacent: Two hexes next to each other. For a ship, two boxes separated by armour are not adjacent. Each box is adjacent to the armour separating them. A hexside between two hexes is adjacent to both hexes but not to anything else. * Hex: Short for hexagon. Hexagons are used in a grid rather than squares because there are no diagonally adjacent hexes. * Facing: which of the six sides of a hex a ship is pointing towards. Ships always face a hexside (edge) and not a vertex (corner). * Box: A hex on a ship record representing part of that ship. Armour is a box even though it is not a hex. Hexes without systems are not boxes. * Primary box: The box of a multi-box weapon used for calculation of firing arcs. The weapon cannot fire if this box is damaged. Shown on the ship record by circling the letter representing the box type. * System: One or more connected boxes of the same type. Two adjacent boxes of the same type could be separate systems or parts of the same system. Half engine boxes may be part of the same engine system as standard engine boxes * Ship record: The arrangement of boxes that represent a ship. It is used to show the capabilities of the ship and to record damage. For instance: _ _ _ _ _ _ / \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \ \_/ \_/ \_/S\_/ \_/ \_/ / \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \ \_/ \_/ \_/P\_/ \_/ \_/ / \_/ \_/H\_/H\_/ \_/ \ \_/ \_/ \_/C\_/ \_/ \_/ / \_/ \_/E\_/P\_/ \_/ \ \_/ \_/ \_/H\_/ \_/ \_/ / \_/ \_/e\_/e\_/ \_/ \ \_/ \_/L\_/ \_/L\_/ \_/ / \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \ * Line of sight: A line drawn from the centre of one hex to the centre of another. A line of sight is blocked if any part of it touches a hex or hexside which contains something which blocks a line of sight (passing along a hexside touches both adjacent hexes. Passing through a vertex touches all adjacent hexes and hexsides). Weapons and sensors cannot be used through a hex or hexside which blocks line of sight. For those terrains where the number of hexes passed through is important, passing along a hexside counts as one hex of the terrain regardless of whether one or both adjacent hexes contain the terrain. * Firing arc: the hexes into which a weapon may fire or a sensor may operate. A weapon (sensor) on a ship can fire (operate) into any hex on the main map for which that weapon (sensor) would have a clear line of sight through the equivalent hex on the ship record to the edge of the ship record (remembering to allow for the facing of the firing ship). * Engine Failure: damage done to a ship by gravitic backlash when unable to achieve a legal speed. * Tailing: Having a lock-on to an enemy ship while behind it (the line of sight passes through the rear hexside of the enemy ship, not including the vertexes of that hexside). * Open to Space: a hexside is open to space if a line drawn from the center of it's hex through the centre of the hexside does not touch any other boxes of the ship before leaving the ship record. Turn sequence ============= Turns are broken up into steps, in each of which certain things happen. All players perform each step together in the order shown below. Players decide secretly in each step what they wish to do and then reveal their decisions together (unless specifically noted as remaining secret). In practice some steps may be combined and done by all players simultaneously to speed up play, although new players should stick carefully to the turn sequence until they gain a feel for when it is appropriate to combine several steps. Once all steps are completed for a turn begin again at the start of the sequence for the next turn. 1. Power Each ship takes the power generated by it's power systems and decides which systems to operate with that power - see the power system rules. 2. Movement Ships move on the map according to the engine rules. 3. Repairs Ships that have already taken damage may repair some of it. First, restore all boxes with light damage to undamaged (erase the dot). Those ships which allocated zero manoeuvre power this turn can then repair (reduce moderate to light or critical to heavy) one box per undamaged control system they had at the start of this phase. 4. Weapons All ships may now fire any weapons they carry according to the rules for each weapon type. The target for each weapon must be chosen before any of them are resolved (except for point defence weapons). 5. Sensors Ships now determine which ships they are tracking for the next turn as explained in the Sensor rules. General Rules ============= Victory ------- Earth Expects has no standard set of victory conditions; the importance of destroying enemy ships as opposed to simply damaging them or driving them away, as with the importance of preserving one's own force, will vary from time to time and place to place. Specific scenarios may give objectives and it is up to the players to determine who achieved their objectives from a given battle better. If you cannot agree on who won the battle, history is likely to record another indecisive combat or lost opportunity. Escape ------ A ship can only be considered to have escaped a battle if the enemy agrees to let it go or if it is at least as fast as the fastest armed enemy ship and no enemy ship is close enough to have any chance of causing damage. Shifting the Map ---------------- Because one patch of space is much like another, there is no reason that players should feel any need to stay within the arbitrary confines of a map. If the battle is getting close to moving off the edge of the map, move everything on the map the same number of hexes away from the map edge, keeping the same relative locations and facing (or add another mapsheet). Adding another mapsheet is recommended if there is any terrain involved or if there are a lot of ships in play. Docking ------- To dock one ship to another requires that both ships be in the same hex with no power assigned to either speed or manoeuvre. After this has been true for one turn, either ship may announce the intention to dock at the start of the next turn (if the ships are owned by different players, the other may refuse if the ship has any undestroyed engines). Again, neither may assign any power to either speed or manoeuvre. If neither ship fires any weapons or takes any damage during the docking turn then the ships become docked at the start of the next turn. Combine the two ship records so that the two ships touch on one display with both having the same facing (folding one of the displays works well). Once docked, the player who initiated the docking chooses one of the ships to remain active - it may use all systems normally, although some firing arcs are likely to be restricted. The other ship not use any system. After one more turn without speed or manoeuvre then the combination may begin moving, assuming the engines of the active ship have not been blocked. The speed and manoeuvre cost of the combination is that of the ship class of the combination (If a CA and a BB dock for a total of 150 boxes then the smallest hull that could hold that many boxes is a SD, for a speed cost of four.) If the combination ever generates manoeuvre points destroy the non-active ship. Further ships can be added to the docked pair by the same procedure. The entire procedure (three turns) must be repeated for each additional ship to be added. To undock reverse this procedure. Hidden ships ------------ Given the right circumstances it is possible for ships to hide themselves so effectively that they are effectively invisible, although others observing the ship from a distance will have at least a rough idea of where it is from where tracking was lost. Ships cannot become hidden during a game; when setting up for a game involving hidden ships both sides should know where the hidden ship could be, but not it's exact location. A hidden ship is revealed at the end of any phase if there is an enemy ship within a number of hexes equal to the amount of power it used this turn (round fractions down; if a ship used four and a half power then it would be detected by an enemy ship four hexes away). It is also revealed at the end of any phase in which it fires any weapon, operates any sensor or assigns any power to engines. Hidden ships may use unpowered flight without revealing their location. To search for a hidden ship requires the use of a sensor; the attempt is made during the lock-on phase. Roll the die for the sensor as normal; if that roll would have achieved a lock-on to the hidden ship then the hidden ship is revealed. All normal sensor rules are used (firing arc, modifiers, power needed, etc.) If the hidden ship is revealed by that search, roll again using the same sensor and modifiers to see if it has been locked onto. Damage ------ As the boxes of a ship (including armour) take damage their damage level increases. The damage levels are listed below. Each level requires a certain number of damage points to reach. Undamaged: The normal state of a system. No mark. Zero damage points. Light damage: A small electrical short, tripped safety or other minor effect. The box will be unavailable for one turn. If this occurs to part of a multi-box system, this box cannot be used next turn but all other boxes can be (unless this is the primary box). The hull of the ship shows minor damage - slight buckling, laser scratches, etc. Mark the box with a dot ( . ). One damage point. Moderate damage: There is some damage to the hull but the internal systems are mostly intact. Perhaps a melted circuit board, broken power connection or loose mounting has made this system unavailable. If you let your crew move around by holding off on the manoeuvres they will be able to at least jury-rig a fix (reducing the box to light damage). After the battle a more lasting repair can be made without recourse to a shipyard. Multi-box systems cannot connect through a box with this level of damage. Structurally the section is still sound, although there is probably a slow leakage of atmosphere. The box is marked with a single line ( / ). Two damage points. Critical damage: Serious damage to the structure of the ship has occurred at this level and the internal systems are in bad shape, although many components can be salvaged. Power cannot be traced through a box with this damage level, although it is possible to restore that connection within a game, reducing the damage level to Heavy. It is only possible to repair this damage level between games, with several days or weeks available for work. This damage level is shown by crossed lines in the box ( X ). Three damage points. Destroyed: Effectively non-existent. A few twisted girders may remain, but the box is not present for any game purpose. The ship will require considerable time in a shipyard to rebuild the section. This is shown by filling in the box. Four damage points. Heavy damage is the result of a repair to a critically damaged system. Although the system still cannot be used, power can now be traced through the box. A single point additional point of damage will still destroy the box. Show this level by drawing a circle around the cross that is already present representing critical damage. Equivalent to three damage points. Unrepaired damage to systems is cumulative from turn to turn. (If a system already has two points of damage from the previous turn and repaired one this turn then three more points are required to destroy it.) At the end of the weapons phase, if a ship has taken so much damage that it contains two or more sections which are no longer connected to each other then the owning player must decide which section to continue to play. All other sections are considered destroyed. Initial Point of Impact ----------------------- When weapons of most types are fired at a ship, their hit location is determined by this procedure. See the rules on the individual weapons to see what effect a hit has. 1. The attacker (firing player) chooses a row of hexes on the target ship. This row must be as parallel as possible to the line between the two ships on the main map; If two sets of lines would be equally parallel then the defender can choose which set of lines to choose before the attacker chooses the specific line. For instance, the United Nations battlecruiser Vigilance is attempting to stop the scout Icarus from escaping. With the ships placed as shown below left (V is the Vigilance and I is the Icarus, both facing up the page - M is a group of four missiles launched by the Vigilance last turn), the defender has the choice about whether to use a vertical line on the ship record or a diagonal one. Trying to preserve his engines in order to get away, he tells the attacker to choose a diagonal row. Trying to hit the engines in order to slow down the scout before it gets way, the attacker chooses the line marked **** in the diagram below right. \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/S\_/ \_/ \_/ / \_/ \_/ \_/I\_/ \_/ \ / \_/ \_/+\_/ \_/ \_/ \ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/+\_/P\_/ \_/ \_/ / \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \ / \_/+\_/H\_/H\_/ \_/ \ \_/ \_/ \_/V\_/ \_/ \_/ \_/+\_/ \_/C\_/ \_/ \_/ / \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \ /+\_/ \_/E\_/P\_/ \_/ \ \_/ \_/M\_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/*\_/H\_/ \_/ \_/ / \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \ / \_/*\_/e\_/e\_/ \_/ \ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/*\_/L\_/ \_/L\_/ \_/ / \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \ /*\_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ 2. The attacker chooses whether rolling high moves left or right (up or down if attacking from the side), then the defender rolls two dice. For each point above or below seven, move the chosen line of fire one row in the appropriate direction. The first box of the ship which that line crosses is the initial point of impact. If that line never touches the target ship then the weapon has missed (some weapons have special rules modifying this). Continuing the above example, the attacker chooses that rolling high will move the row up the page, then the defender rolls two dice and gets a nine, which is two more than seven so the row is moved two spaces up. This is shown by the row marked ++++ in the above diagram. Unless the Vigilance has hit with other weapons this turn, it looks like that scout is going to get away - it probably isn't going to be too concerned about damage to a sensor at this point. If the roll had been a ten, that would have moved three rows up and the shot would have missed the target. Same hex combat --------------- If two ships end movement in the same hex, calculate their relative positions by this procedure. Although several of these steps say to calculate firing arcs as if one or both of the ships were in a different hex, this is only to calculate the arc - both ships are still in the same hex and any weapons fire will be at range zero. When calculating firing arcs for ships in the same hex, use the actual facing of the ship even if the firing arcs are calculated as if one or both of them were in different hexes. If neither ship moved this turn, relative positions are the same as they were last turn. If only one ship moved, calculate firing arcs as if the ship that moved is in the hex it entered the final hex from. (Use this line to calculate firing arcs against missiles, treating the missile as the moving ship.) If both ships moved, calculate firing arcs as if the slower ship (the one that spent fewer speed points this turn) is in the hex it entered the final hex from. If both ships moved at the same speed, calculate firing arcs as if the ship with more unused manoeuvre points is in the hex it entered the final hex from. If both ships moved at the same speed and have the same number of unused manoeuvre points, calculate firing arcs as if both ships are in the hexes they entered the final hex from. (This may include repeating this process for that hex. If the ships also started the turn stacked, firing arcs are the same as they were last turn.) Point Defence ------------- Although currently only used for missiles, this procedure is explained here (rather than in the missile section) in order to allow for the possibility of other systems requiring similar handling. Should such systems be added later, please interpret 'missile' as 'legal point defence target' for the rest of this section. Firing arcs apply normally to point defence fire. Unlike other weapons fire, point defence need not all be allocated before any is resolved. Instead the firing player can choose the target for each attempt just before resolving it. All weapons have a defence rating. This is modified by +1 for each hex of range between the firing ship and the missile. For each operating sensor in arc of the missile one hex of range may be ignored for this purpose. Any sensors used in this phase cannot be used to make lock-on attempts later in this turn. Some weapons have additional range penalties (eg. Ion cannon) which cannot be reduced by sensors. To hit a missile requires a roll equal to or greater than the modified defence rating on one die (some weapons have special rules - such as Anti missiles choosing which of two rolled dice to apply). If that results in a hit the weapon may fire again, needing to equal the higher of the modified defence rating for the new target or the immediately previous die roll to hit again. A weapon can keep firing in this mode until it misses or runs out of targets in arc. Looking at the situation above left, it is now the start of the weapons phase. The first thing that occurs is that the four missiles move to their target, the Icarus. From their location the attacker could choose to have them enter the hex of the Icarus from either directly below or from the bottom left. In either case, two lasers will be available for the defence, so the attacker chooses to have them all enter from directly below for a good chance of obtaining engine hits. Both lasers are powered and the defender chooses to use both for point defence (probably a good idea in this case.) The range to the missiles is zero, so the modified defence number of the laser is the same as it's base number - two. The first laser rolls a two, destroying a missile. This allows it to roll again, this time rolling a five, destroying a second missile. To kill a third missile now needs a five or better, and a roll of four misses, ending the fire from that laser for this turn. The second laser rolls a one, failing to destroy a missile, so the two remaining missiles will hit the Icarus this turn. Ship Systems ============ Anti-Missile ------------ Abbreviation: A Defence rating: 2 (Special, see below). Firing arc: Standard Power needed: 0 Anti-missiles are small high-speed missiles used to defend against enemy missiles. They simply close with the target missile and depend on the interaction between the two drive fields to destroy the missile's engine (the small engine of a missile cannot cope with even minor fluctuations as the larger and more stable ship engines can). This means that pin point accuracy is not required to score a kill. They are incapable of damaging ships. When used for point defence fire, each anti missile system rolls two dice, although only one of them counts. The firing player chooses which to use and which to ignore. Armour ------ Abbreviation: N/A (represented by either a thick line between hexes on the ship display or by two parallel lines on one hexside. Use whichever you find easiest.) Power needed: 0 Armour represents a whole range of damage dissipation and absorption equipment, not just thick metal or composite plating. Effective against most types of damage, it's main failing is the inability to prevent electrical overload from following the ships power network. Armour is a box and therefore absorbs damage like any other box (with the exception of Ion Cannon damage). Each box of armour only counts as one sixth of a box against a ship's allowed total. Control ------- Abbreviation: C Power needed: 0 Control systems include all the specialist systems necessary to operate a warship: high powered computers, communications gear, emergency life support systems, etc. Control systems are needed to manoeuvre, to guide missiles and to operate sensors; damage control parties are based in them. Control systems may be mounted anywhere in the ship. Several other systems require control systems either to function or to function at full effectiveness. A control system can be used any number of times in a turn, but only once for each function. Engine ------ Abbreviation: E Power needed: Up to 1 per box Engines allow ships to move and manoeuvre. They operate by wave-locked gravitic principles allowing a ship to achieve change in position relative to the most significant local mass without expending reaction mass. The drive is very effective at movement towards and away from the local mass and at movement with or against it's spin but has extreme difficulty moving out of that plane. Other problems include the limited volume within the field that is sufficiently stable to operate electronic systems and the difficulty of changing the direction of motion, a procedure requiring at least two sources of gravitic flux and substantial quantities of computing power to prevent runaway instability. Most warships mount two or more engines. Restrictions Engine systems may contain more than one box, although there is an upper limit on the size of any one engine system which depends on the class of the ship. All boxes making up an engine system must be in a straight line aligned with the ship's direction of motion; the rear hexside of any engine system must be open to space. Unlike weapons, all undamaged boxes of an engine system may be used even if other boxes of that engine are damaged. Abilities Engines can produce either speed or manoeuvre points. Each speed or manoeuvre point costs an amount of power which depends on the class of ship. Each engine box may use up to one point of power per turn. All boxes of the same engine system must produce the same type of points. No more than one engine system may be used to generate speed points. One engine system may be used to generate manoeuvre points per undamaged control system. Acceleration & Deceleration The amount of power allocated to speed cannot increase by more than one point from the amount allocated in the previous turn. It may not decrease by more than one unless sufficient manoeuvre points (see below) to make up the shortfall are generated and used for deceleration. One manoeuvre point allows deceleration by one speed point; the power required depends on the class. (If the Vigilance, a battle cruiser with a speed cost of two and a manoeuvre cost of three, spent six power on speed last turn (producing it's top speed of three) and wanted to spend only three this turn, this is a reduction of three in speed power. That is an extra reduction of two points of speed power, equivalent to one point of speed, so one point of manoeuvre is needed, which will cost three manoeuvre power.) Engine Failure If a ship is incapable of assigning sufficient power to manoeuvre to decelerate then it takes one die of damage per quarter point shortfall (round up to the nearest quarter point). This applies only if the ship cannot achieve a legal speed - ships cannot voluntarily take this damage in order to slow down faster. This damage is applied one die at a die and is treated as Ion cannon damage except that the initial point of impact is selected randomly from all engine boxes on the ship and armour can be damaged by it. If a ship has no engine boxes when selecting an initial point of impact for this damage then it is destroyed. Resulting speed & manoeuvre Divide the power assigned to each of speed and manoeuvre by the relevant cost for the ship to calculate the actual number of speed and manoeuvre generated this turn. After allowing for any necessary deceleration points, discard any fractions. Reduce the manoeuvre points generated by one (to a minimum of zero) for each other ship of equal or larger size (speed cost) in the same hex. This is the number of speed and manoeuvre points the ship has to spend this turn. Tailing At the start of the movement phase (after power has been assigned by all ships) you must announce both the power allocated to speed and manoeuvre and the resulting number of speed and manoeuvre points for each ship you control if an enemy ship is tailing it. In games with more than two sides, only give this information to players who control qualifying ships. Unpowered flight If a ship (not base) with one or more undestroyed engine boxes (they may be damaged) assigns no power to either speed or manoeuvre during a turn it may either change it's facing by one hexside or begin accumulating partial hexes of movement. If the ship accumulates partial hexes for ten consecutive turns then it is moved directly forward one hex. It is still considered to be moving at speed zero. Movement plot Now decide on where you are going to move your ship. All of the ship's speed points must be used; each of which moves the ship one hex forward. Manoeuvre points can be spent before each hex of the ship's movement (no manoeuvre points can be spent after the ship has used it's last speed point except if the ship has no speed points this turn). Not all manoeuvre points need be used (although they still count as generated - any leftover manoeuvre points are assumed to be used making minor constant evasive course changes, too small to show up on the map but enough to avoid enemy railgun fire.) Turning one hexside takes one manoeuvre point. Changing the next hex of movement so that the ship moves one hex forward and to the side costs one manoeuvre point. This is called a 'drift' and does not change the facing of the ship. If two drifts are done in a row the next hex of movement will be backward and to the side; three drifts will move the ship directly backwards. Cancelling the next hex of forward movement costs two manoeuvre points. If two manoeuvres are made without using a speed point in between then the second one costs double. If three are made in a row then the second one costs double and the third costs triple (and so forth). After movement has been decided for all ships, move them all on the map according to what was decided. Show the exact path that each ship takes as well as the final hex and facing. Resolving impossible moves If after movement a ship is found to have made a move that it is not capable of doing (spent four manoeuvre points when it can only generate three for instance, or accelerated by more than a single point of power, or spent more power than it has) then change it's movement so that it simply moved straight ahead at the same speed as last turn instead of the planned move (if it is incapable of reaching that speed, move it at it's current top speed and assign any needed power to deceleration). Any excess speed power is lost; if there is insufficient speed power then take power from manoeuvre to make up the shortfall (if this reduces manoeuvre power to zero, the ship still may not perform repairs or reload missiles this turn). If there is still insufficient power then take power from weapons or sensors to make up the difference (the opponent may choose which weapons or sensors become unpowered, which will require revealing the power assignment decided at the start of a turn). For instance, the battlecruiser Vigilance has two six box engines, a speed cost of two and a manoeuvre cost of three. If six points of power have been allocated to speed and six to manoeuvre this turn this produces three points of speed and two points of manoeuvre. Starting in the hex marked V below facing up the page, it could: / \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \ \_/ \_/1\_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ / \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \ \_/ \_/2\_/5\_/ \_/ \_/ / \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ / \_/ \_/ \_/3\_/ \_/ \ \_/ \_/V\_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ / \_/ \_/ \_/4\_/ \_/ \ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ / \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \ 1 Simply travel straight forward three hexes. 2. Use both manoeuvre points to cancel one of the hexes of forward movement, then travel forward two hexes. 3. Turn to the right, travel two hexes, then drift to the right for the last hex. 4. Turn to the right, travel one hex, turn right again and move two more hexes. 5. Drift to the right for the first and second hexes, then move one hex forward. This list is not exhaustive, it has many more options to choose from. For comparison , the Stunt Double, a corvette with four one box engines (and not much else after the four hull, four power and three control systems needed to use them) could generate as many as four speed points and twelve manoeuvre points. One possible manoeuvre for such a ship would be to turn one hexside, then drift three times to move directly backwards (1), using ten manoeuvre points as four manoeuvres have been made from the same hex, then turn again and move (2), then turn again and move two more hexes (3,4), which is about as close as Earth Expects comes to the Bootlegger Reverse. Sure, the same final hex and facing could have been reached with only five manoeuvre points, (turn twice and move, turn once and move, drift once then move one more hex) but it wouldn't have looked as good on camera. / \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ / \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \ \_/ \_/ \_/S\_/ \_/ \_/ / \_/ \_/1\_/ \_/ \_/ \ \_/ \_/ \_/2\_/ \_/ \_/ / \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \ \_/ \_/ \_/3\_/ \_/ \_/ / \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \ \_/ \_/ \_/4\_/ \_/ \_/ / \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \ Half engine ----------- Abbreviation: e Power needed: 0 Half engines, as the name implies, act in many ways as though they were half an engine box. In particular, each half engine box counts as only half a box towards the maximum permitted engine size and can be used to produce half a point of speed or manoeuvre power. They can be combined with engine boxes in a single system. Half engine boxes include a dedicated power supply, so that their use does not require any power from the rest of the ship, although their use is considered movement power for all other purposes (such as acceleration limits, tailing, repairs and reloading missiles). Half engine boxes still require a full hull box to support. Generator --------- Abbreviation: G Power needed: 1 per box Shield Generators create strong magnetic fields around the ship. Although this has no effect on lasers, missiles or rail guns the charged particles that an ion cannon projects are accelerated harmlessly around a ship. A sufficiently powerful and focussed ion stream is still capable of penetrating a shield; one that is already starting to disperse is unlikely to. Shield generators may be mounted anywhere on a ship. Shield generators do not need to designate primary or supporting boxes and need not be connected; all operating shield generator boxes count towards the system strength. Add the strength of the target ship's shields to the range when resolving Ion cannon fire. Hull ---- Abbreviation: H Power needed: 0 Hull systems include crew quarters, life support, workshops, fuel supplies, cargo space, passenger quarters, structural reinforcement, etcetera. Any system mounted on a ship that has no role during combat is represented by hull. Ships are required to have at least as many hull boxes as they have total Engine and Half engine boxes. Most weapons are limited in size to the number of hull boxes on a ship. Ion cannon ---------- Abbreviation: I Defence rating: 3 (+1 per hex of range) Firing arc: standard Power needed: 1 per box Ion cannons are powerful but short ranged weapons. They project a narrow beam of charged particles at relativistic speeds, the electrical pulse produced when hitting the target is highly effective at shorting out equipment but less likely to totally destroy systems. Range is limited by the charged particles making up the beam dissipating into harmlessness because they repel each other; the magnetic fields that are produced by shield generators are a highly effective defence. Individual ion cannon systems may not consist of more boxes than there are hull boxes on the ship. To resolve Ion cannon fire, roll one die per operating box. Add one die if the firing ship has a lock-on to the target. This is the attack factor. The defence factor is equal to the square of the range to the target (if the target is operating shields, add their strength to the range before squaring). The Ion cannon does damage to the target equal to the difference between the attack factor and the defence factor (assuming the attack factor is higher - no fair claiming that your one box Ion cannon can do 99 points of damage because the target is ten hexes away!). Ion cannon cannot damage armour - completely ignore any armour on the target when calculating the point of impact and when resolving the damage. Calculate a point of impact for the Ion cannon normally and apply one point of damage to that box. If any points remain, choose a box randomly from those adjacent to the last box damaged and apply another point. Repeat until all points are used. For instance, the Vigilance has fired on the Icarus with a three box Ion cannon. As the Vigilance has a lock on, it gets to roll four dice for damage. With rolls of 3, 5, 1 and 2 for a total of 11 and a defence factor of four (the range is two and the Icarus mounts no shields) seven points of damage are done. The point of impact is determined to be the sensor on the front of the Icarus and one point is done to that box (point number 1 in the diagram below) .As there is only one adjacent box, the second point is applied to that box (power, number 2 below). The third point could be applied to any of four boxes; a die is rolled to choose between them with 1 being the sensor, 2 the right hull, 3 the control, 4 the left hull. The roll is a 5, so it needs to be rerolled; this time it is a 1 and the sensor is damaged a second time (point number 3). Point number four hits the power system again. Point number five again could hit any of the adjacent boxes; using the same procedure, this time the roll is a two, damaging a hull box. Point number six could hit any of the adjacent systems; a die is rolled (1-2 bottom power, 3-4 control, 5-6 top left power - the exact system does not matter as long as all boxes have an equal chance, in this case four is rolled) to select between them, hitting the control box. The last point could hit any of the adjacent boxes; with 1 chosen as the top box and higher numbers counting clockwise around, a roll of three knocks out the second and last power system. With no power to allocate and no ability to manoeuvre next turn, perhaps the Icarus will not be able to get away after all... / \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / \ \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / S \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / / \ _ / \ _ / \1_3/ \ _ / \ _ / \ \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / P \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / / \ _ / \ _ / H \2_4/ H \ _ / \ _ / \ \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / C \5_ / \ _ / \ _ / / \ _ / \ _ / E \6_ / P \ _ / \ _ / \ \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / H \7_ / \ _ / \ _ / / \ _ / \ _ / e \ _ / e \ _ / \ _ / \ \ _ / \ _ / L \ _ / \ _ / L \ _ / \ _ / / \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / \ Laser ----- Abbreviation: L Defence Rating: 2 Firing arc: standard Power needed: 1 per box Depending on concentrated coherent light to deliver damage, lasers have a tendency to damage many systems along the exterior of a target rather than penetrate deeply. This is due to the difficulty in holding the beam on the same point of the target. Effective at longer ranges than ion cannon (although beam dispersion does still occur) and without the restrictive firing arcs of the rail gun they are versatile and common. They are often mounted in large groups in order to compensate for the relatively low individual damage potential - even the largest single lasers have difficulty doing significant damage against modern countermeasure systems, although they have a fearsome range. Individual laser systems may not consist of more boxes than there are hull boxes on the ship. To resolve Laser fire, roll one die. This is the attack factor. The defence factor is equal to the effective range divided by the strength of the laser, rounded down. If the firing ship has a lock on then the effective range is equal to the range, otherwise it is equal to the sum of the ranges out to the range. (If the range is 4 but without a lock-on, then the effective range is 1+2+3+4 or 10). A table is provided at the back of the rules for common situations; if using a size of laser not on the table it can be useful to calculate the range brackets beforehand. The laser does damage equal to the attack factor minus the defence factor (with a minimum of zero). The first point is applied to the point of impact. Now roll to see whether the point of impact row moves; roll one die, with a 1 or 2 moving one row, 3 or 4 not moving and a 5 or 6 moving one row in the other direction - keep the same 'high' direction as was used to determine the initial point of impact. Apply another point to the box which is the new point of impact (note that this box isn't necessarily adjacent to the box damaged by the first point, but will be one which could have been the initial point of impact) and repeat until all points are used. If the point of impact for a laser misses the target ship completely, either in the initial roll or as a result of drifting off the target with later points, only one point is wasted. Roll again for initial point of impact for any remaining points, using the same line as the attacker first chose for that laser. For example, the Vigilance also has a two box laser powered and in arc of the Icarus. Seeing no reason to hold fire, the player rolls a six for it's damage. As the Icarus is two hexes away and the Vigilance has a lock-on, the defence factor is only one, so five damage results. Once again the attacker chooses to target the visible engine box (line ****); a ten is rolled to determine the initial point of impact (line oooo) and the first point of damage is wasted. The defender rolls again for hit location for the second point, so following line ++++ the sensor takes a third point of damage (two have already been done by Ion cannon fire earlier in this turn). Rolling for drift, the defender gets a four, so a fourth (third from this laser) point is done to the sensor, destroying it. For the fourth point the defender rolls a three, which means no drift; as there is no longer a sensor box to damage that point also misses the Icarus completely. Rolling again for initial point of impact (for the one remaining point) a six is rolled, which means that point number four damages the left laser of the Icarus (six is one lower than seven, so the point of impact moves one row down the page from the row first chosen by the attacker - line xxxx). The following diagram shows damage from the laser only in the order it was rolled: \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / o \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / / \ _ / \ _ / o \(1)/ \ _ / \ _ / \ \ _ / \ _ / o \ _ / S \(4)/ \ _ / \ _ / / \ _ / o \ _ / + \2_3/ \ _ / \ _ / \ \ _ / o \ _ / + \ _ / P \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / / o \ _ / + \ _ / H \ _ / H \ _ / \ _ / \ \ _ / + \ _ / \ _ / C \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / / + \ _ / \ _ / E \ _ / P \ _ / \ _ / \ \ _ / \ _ / * \ _ / H \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / / \ _ / * \ _ / e \ _ / e \ _ / \ _ / \ \ _ / * \ _ / L \ _ / \ _ / L \ _ / \ _ / / * \ _ / x \5_ / \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / \ \ _ / x \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / / x \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / \ Missile ------- Abbreviation: M Defence Rating: N/A Firing arc: standard Power needed: 0 Missile launchers carry a large supply of guided missiles with both gravitic and reaction drives. Although the launching ship must provide guidance to the missile during flight as the missile is not capable of independently tracking targets they remain effective, especially against targets without significant point defences. They carry a mechanical device for homing in the final stage of flight (after entering the target's gravitic field) and a powerful chemical explosive warhead. Nuclear tipped missiles are also carried although they are ineffective against moving targets because the electronics necessary to achieve detonation cannot survive the entry into the targets field. Due to the significant storage and cargo handling requirements for missiles no ship may mount more missile launchers than it has hull boxes. Missile attacks are not resolved within a single combat phase. Instead, upon launching a missile place a counter on the map to represent it (if playing with miniatures a useful alternative is to place a die with the number of launched missiles showing). The target of the missile must be announced when it is launched; the type of the missile need not be announced until impact. In the sensor phase of that turn, remove the missile if the launching ship does obtain a lock-on to the missile's target. Also remove any missiles launched by a ship that it cannot control (a ship may control one missile per undamaged control system). After movement of the next turn, move the missiles to their target. Missiles may choose any facing in their start hex before moving, but may only spend one manoeuvre point once they have begun moving. They have an unlimited number of speed points. This will result in them entering the target hex. Missiles may be prevented from impact by enemy point defence fire; a single hit from point defence will destroy a missile. Any missiles that survive point defence fire now hit their target. If the missile was a nuclear missile, it does no damage unless the target ship spent no power on either speed or manoeuvre this turn, in which case the target is destroyed. Standard missiles resolve a point of impact based on the location of the missile, not the launching ship; if the line of fire is moved so much that the missile would miss the target then turn the line of fire sixty degrees, keeping the same point of impact and count any excess rows in the new direction. This can only be done once - if the missile would be required to change it's line of fire a second time to hit the target then it has missed. Having determined the point of impact, roll two dice and apply that much damage to the point of impact. If this destroys that box, apply any remaining damage to random adjacent boxes (one point at a time). If any of those boxes are destroyed by the missile hit then boxes adjacent to them become part of the random selection as well. Continuing the example from above, the Icarus has been hit by two missiles of the four launched at it. The attacker must choose a vertical line of fire and picks the one passing through the left engine (****); with low rolls moving to the left and a roll of 4 (three less than seven) shifts the row gets shifted one row to the left, which is as far as it can go, then rotates around the laser box and moves two more rows up to the line shown as ++++, so the front left hull box is hit. Two dice are rolled for damage for a total of nine. That hull box is so far undamaged, so four of those points are applied to that box, destroying it. The next point is applied to one of the three adjacent boxes chosen at random, in this case the engine (a die was rolled with the power system 1-2, the control 3-4 and the engine 5-6 and coming up a six). The sixth point again could hit one of those three boxes and the power is chosen. Point number seven again hits that power system, destroying it (it already had two points of damage from earlier in the turn). With the destruction of that power system another hull box becomes part of the random selection (as would the sensor if it had not already been destroyed). The eighth damage point hits the control system and point number nine hits the right hull box. Pleased at the result so far, in particular damaging the control box beyond repair (without another control box to do the repair, moderate damage is sufficient to achieve this), the attacker chooses the rear hull as the target for the last missile (figuring that a near miss in either direction will hit an engine). That looks like a good choice when an eight is rolled for hit location, but a roll of only four for damage means that only that box gets destroyed, although the adjacent laser will be also be destroyed at the end of the weapons phase as it is no longer connected to the rest of the ship (technically the player could choose to keep the laser and destroy the rest of the ship, but... ) / \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / \ \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / S \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / / \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / \ \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / P \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / / \ _ / \ _ / H \6_7/ H \ _ / \ _ / \ \ _ / \ _ / + \1-4/ C \9_ / \ _ / \ _ / / \ _ / + \ _ / E \ 8 / P \ _ / \ _ / \ \ _ / + \ _ / \5_ / H \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / / + \ _ / \ _ / e \ _ / e \ _ / \ _ / \ \ _ / \ _ / L \ _ / \1-4/ L \ _ / \ _ / / \ _ / \ _ / * \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / \ \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / / \ _ / \ _ / * \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / \ \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / / \ _ / \ _ / * \ _ / \ _ / \ _ / \ Power ----- Abbreviation: P Power systems supply the power necessary to run all onboard systems. Providing enormous power through warm fusion techniques these safe and efficient generators are standard in all military and most civilian craft. Power systems require one box each and can be mounted anywhere on the ship. Each undamaged power system generates one point of power per turn. During the power phase of the turn which systems of each ship are going to be powered must be decided. A box can only be powered if a path can be traced from the power system(s) providing the power which passes only through boxes with no more than moderate damage. There are limitations on assigning power to engines which are described under the engine rules. Power assigned to a system but not used does not carry forward to the next turn. Railgun ------- Abbreviation: R Defence rating: 5 Firing arc: restricted to front (rear) hex row only Power needed: 1 per box Accelerating large projectiles to high speed by electromagnetic means, Railguns are perhaps the least subtle of modern weapons. Although they have difficulty hitting manoeuvring targets and have narrow firing arcs they remain popular because of their fearsome damage potential. Given a lock-on to a target in front of the ship range is irrelevant as the projectile does not lose power with distance. All boxes of a rail gun must be in a straight line aligned with the direction of motion of the ship and individual rail guns may not contain more boxes than the number of hull boxes on the ship. The firing arc of a railgun is restricted to the row of hexes directly in front of the ship (rear mounted railguns are restricted to the row of hexes directly behind the ship) and then only if it meets the normal criteria for firing in that direction. Railguns cannot be both front and rear; should a railgun be mounted in such a position that both forward and rear arcs would be legal draw an arrow beside the railgun to indicate the direction of fire. To hit with a railgun requires a roll on one die greater than the amount of manoeuvre points generated by the target. Add one to the die roll for each lock-on beyond the first which the firing ship has to the target. Add the range to the target's manoeuvre if the firing ship does not have a lock-on to the target. Add the firing ship's manoeuvre to the target ship's manoeuvre if firing a rear rail gun. If a railgun hits, it does one die of damage per operating box. Apply all of this damage to the point of impact, which is determined normally. If that destroys the box, apply any remaining damage to the next box in the line of fire; repeat until all points are used. Sensor ------ Abbreviation: S Defence rating: N/A Firing arc: standard Power needed: 1 Sensor systems include an array of detection, analysis and ranging equipment. Although they are capable of many more functions than fire control, that remains their most important game use as weapons either cannot fire or suffer reduced performance without accurate targeting data. A ship may make one lock-on attempt per control system; each attempt may use one or more sensors; each sensor may only be used in one attempt. Any number of attempts may be made against a single target. To resolve an attempt, roll one die. The attempt succeeds if that die roll is greater than the range to the target. Modify the die roll by +1 if the rolling ship had a lock-on to that target last turn, by +1 for each sensor making the attempt beyond the first and by +1 if the target ship took damage, fired any weapons or is using sensors this turn. With the Vigilance two spaces from the Icarus, a modified roll of three or better is needed to obtain a lock-on. With +1 for having a lock on last turn and +1 for doing damage to the target (the use of weapons by the Icarus would also give this modifier, but it can only be counted once) that is rather easy (needing a roll of one or more to succeed) so every attempt will succeed. Ship design =========== To design a ship, first decide what type of ship and look up it's statistics on the table below. The maximum boxes and engine size columns are upper limits; the speed and manoeuvre cost columns show fixed costs for the class. The value column shows what cost to use if purchasing ships from an allotment of points for a battle or campaign. Now choose which boxes to use (within the limits on the various types of boxes given with the system descriptions) and lay them out on a hexmap. Type, Maximum boxes, Engine size, Speed cost, Manoeuvre cost, Value Corvette (CT) , 15 , 1 , 0.25 , 0.25 , 1 Scout (SC) , 12 , 1.5 , 0.25 , 0.5 , 1 Destroyer (DD) , 30 , 1.5 , 0.5 , 0.5 , 2 Frigate (FF) , 28 , 2 , 0.5 , 1 , 2 Heavy cruiser (CA) , 50 , 3 , 1 , 1 , 4 Light cruiser (CL) , 45 , 4 , 1 , 2 , 4 Battleship (BB) , 100 , 5 , 2 , 2 , 8 Battlecruiser (BC) , 85 , 6 , 2 , 3 , 8 Dreadnought (DN) , 135 , 7 , 3 , 3 , 12 Superdreadnought (SD) , 160 , 8 , 4 , 5 , 16 Battlestation (BS-0) , 200 , 9 , 5 , 8 , 20 Oversized (per level) , +25 , +1 , +1 , See note , +4 Oversized ships are ships larger than battlestations and the modifiers are to the battlestation costs. The first level of oversize has a manoeuvre cost modifier of +4; this increases by one per level (+5, +6, +7...). Such ships are noted as BS-1, BS-2, etc. Ships may mount engines from a larger class. Such ships use the higher of their normal speed and manoeuvre costs and those of the hull the engines are taken from. A CA of 50 boxes mounting DN engines would pay DN costs, but could dock to an 85 box BC without increasing those costs further. For example, due to a need for a large and fast ship to use to discourage raids in the Jovian planetary system, construction of a new battlecruiser is approved. This gives the designer a total of 85 boxes to assign. In order to use the full potential of the hull's speed, a full six box engine is chosen as the first engine. A second six box engine is also mounted, providing both redundancy and a reasonable ability to manoeuvre. Twelve hull boxes are needed to support those engines, as is a control station. Thinking about what kind of weapons to carry, the designer notes that the ship is intended to fight or pursue lighter craft, not to take on ships it's own size. Against smaller opponents, missiles are perhaps the best weapon, although Ion cannon are also good. Ten missile launchers and a pair of three box Ion cannon are selected. Five additional control systems are included in order to allow guidance of a large missile volley; eight sensors should allow launching of that volley at very substantial ranges. As the ship is not suited to dogfighting only a two box railgun is installed, mainly to punish any enemy attempt to conduct repairs, although it also provides some standoff capability against bases due to the large sensor array. A pair of two box lasers are added to provide additional medium range firepower; two more one box lasers are included for both additional short ranged firepower and missile defence. The remaining twenty three boxes are all used as power systems to provide the power to operate the ships systems. After experimenting with a few different arrangements of the weapons mix and other systems, the designer comes up with the layout shown below (primary boxes are shown by bold print) and names the new ship the Vigilance. \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ / \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/S\_/S\_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/M\_/R\_/M\_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ / \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/M\_/E\_/E\_/M\_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/P\_/R\_/P\_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ / \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/H\_/E\_/E\_/H\_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/S\_/P\_/C\_/P\_/S\_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ / \_/ \_/ \_/M\_/P\_/E\_/E\_/P\_/M\_/ \_/ \_/ \ \_/ \_/ \_/S\_/P\_/P\_/P\_/P\_/P\_/S\_/ \_/ \_/ / \_/ \_/M\_/P\_/P\_/E\_/E\_/P\_/P\_/M\_/ \_/ \ \_/ \_/ \_/C\_/P\_/ \_/C\_/ \_/P\_/C\_/ \_/ \_/ / \_/ \_/H\_/P\_/C\_/E\_/E\_/C\_/P\_/H\_/ \_/ \ \_/ \_/I\_/I\_/P\_/P\_/P\_/H\_/P\_/I\_/I\_/ \_/ / \_/ \_/I\_/H\_/H\_/E\_/E\_/H\_/H\_/I\_/ \_/ \ \_/ \_/L\_/H\_/S\_/L\_/H\_/L\_/S\_/H\_/L\_/ \_/ / \_/L\_/M\_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/M\_/L\_/ \ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ Bases ----- Bases are considered a special type of ship (ships that don't move) and all rules referring to ships also apply to bases except where specifically noted. Bases cost one quarter as much as a ship of the same size (there is no further discount if the base is an auxiliary or civilian type). Bases may not move or manoeuvre but may mount engines, although the engines need not have any hexside open to space. A base needs as many engines as the speed cost of it's equivalent hull; these allow the base to maintain a stable position and to prevent attack by nuclear missiles. A base can be hit by nuclear missile if it does not assign this power to the engines (the grav field of a base is far more stable and less disruptive to electronics than that of a ship and therefore a stronger field is needed to prevent detonation). Ships may dock to bases (with the bases permission) even if the base is operating it's engines; the base must be chosen as the active ship if docking during a game (it is possible to dock to a base for the purpose of moving it, but it requires lengthy and difficult procedures both before and after moving before the base can become active again). Two bases cannot dock to each other. If a railgun is mounted on a base it may only fire at a specific other base, chosen when the base is constructed. Bases may rotate; if so they rotate one hexside per turn. The direction of rotation cannot be changed during a game (it may be changed between games) and it does not require any power. Naval Auxiliaries & Civilian ships ---------------------------------- Auxiliaries (meaning civilian craft which have been converted to carry armament, purpose built paramilitary craft and some older or cheaper warships) have no restrictions on their design or available systems. However, being converted to a role or built to lower standards does have it's cost. Such ships can only absorb three points of damage per box rather than four - the first point taken to such a ship does Moderate damage, the second Critical and the third destroys the box. Repairs are possible as usual (Moderate to Light, Critical to Heavy). A lightly damaged box that takes one point will become Moderately damaged again. In addition, lock-ons to such ships are slightly easier; to lock on to an auxiliary requires only that the modified sensor die roll equal the range rather than be greater than it. Auxiliaries cost only three quarters of what equivalent warships do. Most passenger ships and some freighters have two damage points per box. The first point taken does Critical damage and the second destroys the box. Such ships may not mount Anti Missiles, Generators, Ion Cannon, Missiles or Rail Guns. Laser systems may not exceed one box. This is not a political restriction but represents the lack of support equipment necessary for such systems to function. The speed and manoeuvre costs for these ships are doubled, representing more efficient but less powerful engines. When resolving lock-on attempts against one of these ships double the modified die roll before comparing it to the range; a result of equal or greater than the range is needed. These ships cost half what an equivalent sized warship would. Many freighters have only one damage point per box. These ships consist of little more than a superstructure and are not suitable for passengers or any cargo that cannot stand vacuum. Only those boxes which are completely surrounded by armour may hold atmosphere; those ships of this type that carry a crew usually have at least one hull box protected in this way. The only systems such ships may mount are engines, power, armour, and hull. The speed cost for these ships is also doubled (the manoeuvre cost is irrelevant as they cannot mount control systems). They are locked onto in the same manner as passenger ships and cost one quarter of the cost of an equal sized warship. Terrain ======= Planets & Moons --------------- Planets are represented in the game by several different terrain types. On the outside is an atmosphere, for those planets that have one. Then comes the surface and interior hexes inside that. The number of each depends on the size of the planet. Gas giants have no surface, just atmosphere hexes and interior (atmosphere too dense for ships to survive and inwards). Planets with exceptionally hostile atmospheres have only interior hexes. Moons as treated as planets, although they are smaller (possibly as little as a single surface hex). For instance, Earth would be represented by a circle of surface hexes nine hexes in diameter surrounded by one row of atmosphere hexes with all hexes inside the surface being interior hexes. Although planets move, this can usually be ignored in the game because all ships inside it's interface move along with the planet. If combat could occur on both sides of the planet's interface, move the planet (and any ships within it's interface) at the start of the movement phase before ships move. Atmosphere ---------- Ships may enter an atmosphere hex by any means, but if not entering by unpowered flight take one point of damage per point of speed to every box that can be hit by fire coming from directly in front of the ship. Entering an atmosphere hex ends a ship's movement for the turn (simply ignore any further hexes of movement) but does not reduce it's speed. Missiles do not take damage upon entering an atmosphere hex, but do stop movement for the turn. Atmosphere does not block line of sight except for Ion cannon. (Railguns may operate into or out of an atmosphere hex but not through). Any laser or railgun fire into, out of or through an atmosphere hex is considered not to have a lock-on; sensors cannot be used to negate range when resolving point defence if the line of sight includes any atmosphere hexes. Railguns that fire into or out of atmosphere have their damage resolved as missile damage (the projectile melts). Sensors double the range (for all purposes) once for each hex of atmosphere in the line of sight. Surface ------- Ships may only enter a surface hex by using unpowered flight or the ship is destroyed. This does not represent landing on the surface but low altitude flight. A ship can land by accumulating another hex of unpowered flight or move out of the hex using any form of movement. To launch from a planet accumulate a hex of unpowered flight in order to change to low altitude flight and then move out as normal. A line of sight is blocked if it passes through a surface hex. Ships landed in a surface hex may not fire, although those using low altitude flight may. Bases on the surface may fire with appropriate firing arcs. Interior -------- Any ship entering an interior hex by any means is destroyed. Interior hexes block line of sight. Interface --------- This is the line where the most significant local mass changes. Crossing such a line requires shutting down the engines and then restarting them relative to the other mass. For instance, travelling from the Earth to the Moon requires crossing an interface, after which the ship moves relative to the Moon rather than to the Earth. Flying on from the Moon to Europa would require crossing four interfaces: Moon/Earth, Earth/Sun, Sun/Jupiter and Jupiter/Europa. Interfaces are spherical around the planet or moon they are related to (this is a gross simplification but is adequate for game use). In most cases an interface can be represented as a line on the map, but the one around a small moon could be only a few hexes from it. The interface moves along with it's planet or moon, as do any ships in the interface or inside it. If a ship enters an interface hex during a turn then it stops in that hex, decelerates to speed zero and takes engine failure damage for the deceleration. Unspent manoeuvre points may be used to reduce this damage but the free deceleration may not be. It may move out of the interface hex next turn using the normal rules. If an interface hex moves into a ship's hex, then the apply this damage based on the speed of the interface except that if the ship is facing towards the interface add the speed of the ship to that of the interface; if the ship is facing away from the interface then subtract the speed of the ship from the speed of the interface. (The still ends up in the interface at speed zero). Missiles and anti-missiles may not fire through interface hexes, although they may enter or leave them. Asteroids & Rings ----------------- Use this terrain type for any area of space which has significantly more rock and dust than is typical. Several levels are provided to represent different quantities of debris. Particularly large asteroids can be represented as a single hex of planetary surface. Standard This is a realistic asteroid field, which consists mostly of empty space. If the target ship is in such a hex, lock-on rolls are at -1 unless the ship making the attempt is also in that hex. (If anything, this overstates the case). Dense This is an area of space with so much matter that high speed is dangerous (such as the denser parts of Saturn's rings). For each such hex entered during a turn, roll one die. If that result is less than the speed of the moving ship, the ship must spend one manoeuvre point per point lower. For each point of manoeuvre not available (never generated, or already assigned) the ship takes one die (always six-sided) of damage. Resolve this damage as though it was laser damage with the point of impact chosen randomly from all boxes that could be hit from in front of the ship. If this damage drifts off the ship then choose the new point of impact randomly as well (one point of damage is still ignored). If missiles enter such a hex, roll one die and destroy the missile if a one is rolled. Lock-on rolls are at -1 for each such hex in the line of sight, with an additional -1 if the target ship is in such a hex unless the ship making the attempt is also in that hex. For point defence two sensors are needed to negate each hex of dense asteroids (though each hex of dense asteroids only counts as one hex of range if not negated). Cinematic Use this level to represent areas literally full of tumbling rocks, colliding and rebounding in unpredictable directions (no such field exists in the solar system). Ships entering such a hex must expend as many manoeuvre points as their speed; if they cannot then the ship is destroyed. In addition, roll as if entering a dense field except that each point of manoeuvre power shortfall does two dice of damage (resolve as one die of missile damage to a randomly selected box that can be hit from the front of the ship, then one die of laser damage using the same point of impact unless it drifts off the ship, in which case choose the new point of impact randomly.) Missiles are destroyed if they enter one of these hexes. These hexes block line of sight and no weapons or sensors can be used into or out of such a hex. If both firing ship and target are in the same hex then weapons may be fired normally. Subtract one die (of the type used by the target ship) from lock-on attempts made within the same hex. Comets ------ Treat a comet as one or more a dense hexes of asteroids (the head) and a number of tail hexes (around the head and in a line away from the sun). If the line of sight passes through one or more tail hexes there is a -1 to lock-on rolls. Radiation --------- Use this only for intense radiation fields such as exist near Jupiter, Earth's is not powerful enough for this effect. All ships take one die (always six sided) of ion cannon damage from a random direction for each hex in a radiation belt moved into during the turn (resolve radiation after movement, not during it). Determine the direction for each die of damage separately and treat all damage that is coming from the same direction as a single hit from range one. Shields affect the damage as usual. The point of impact for that hit is chosen randomly from all boxes of the ship that could be hit by fire coming from that direction. Roll one die for each radiation hex a missile enters and destroy the missile if that die is a 1. Apply a -1 to lock-on rolls for each hex of radiation in the line of sight. Each hex of radiation counts as two hexes of range for point defence. Heat ---- Ships close enough to a heat source (such as the Sun) take one point of damage to every box that could be hit by laser fire coming from the direction of the heat source. To represent more intense heat, also roll one or more dice each turn. For each die that comes up a one, an extra point of damage is done to a box selected randomly from those already taking heat damage. This would probably be a great time for another example about the Icarus, but I think that ship has had a hard enough time already. Optional Rules ============== The rules in this section are provided to add variety or to allow customisation of the game to suit different backgrounds. Many backgrounds will also require modification of the game scale and many terrain rules. Some have significant effects on balance, ship design and/or tactics, so decide on which (if any) of these rules you are going to use before setting up for a battle or campaign. Crew Quality ------------ Elite and Crack crews may be purchased (or assigned as part of a campaign or battle setup). If purchasing them, elite crews double the cost of the ship they are on and crack crews quadruple it (so a destroyer with a crack crew would cost eight points). Elite crews use eight sided dice (numbered 1-8) rather than six sided dice; Crack crews use ten sided dice (numbered 1-10). This includes all weapon fire, sensor lock and repair rolls made by that ship and the initial point of impact rolls for weapons fired at that ship (change the line of fire one row for each point away from nine for elite crews and eleven for crack crews). This rule can also be used to simulate a technological disparity between forces. Some of the benefits an elite or crack crew obtain would be due to a high supply priority and access to better quality stores (officially or otherwise) in any case. It is suggested that no crews below standard quality be used; to represent an incompetent crew or obsolete technology treat the ship as an Auxiliary rather than a warship. Exposed Engines --------------- In many backgrounds, ship's engines need to be mounted at some distance from the main hull. There are a couple of different ways of implementing this in Earth Expects, either or both of which could be used. The first is to prohibit the placement of any system (other than armour or other boxes of the same engine) adjacent to an engine box. This allows inboard engines at a somewhat higher cost than external ones. A more severe restriction is to require that all engine boxes have at least four hexsides either open to space or adjacent to other boxes of the same engine. All Ahead Reverse ----------------- Those ships which have engines with front hexsides open to space may move in reverse using all normal rules. A ship may change from forward to reverse movement or vice versa by decelerating to zero speed power then accelerating in either direction. The direction a ship is going to move in (forward or reverse) must be announced before power allocation. The 'rear' of a ship for those system affected by it (eg. enemy sensor lock, railguns) is relative to the ship's direction of motion. On the turn a ship changes from forward to reverse or vice versa other both directions are considered 'rear' except for movement. Variable Repairs ---------------- Instead of all repairs being automatically successful, roll a single die for each attempted repair. No more than one attempt may be made on any box each turn. For restoring light damage to undamaged, a roll of 2+ is needed. (As usual, this can be done even if the ship manoeuvred and there is no limit on the number of systems that can be rolled for.) For repairing moderate damage to light damage, a roll of 3+ will reduce it to light damage and a roll of 8+ completely repairs the box. A control box with moderate damage may roll to repair itself (no other system), needing a 6+ to reduce to light damage. When repairing critical damage, a roll of 4+ will reduce it to heavy damage. Elite or Crack crews may attempt to repair heavy damage during a game. On the second and subsequent turns without manoeuvring, a roll of 8+ is required to reduce heavy damage to moderate. The attempt counts as one of the ship's allowed repairs for that turn. Simple Sensors -------------- Instead of rolling for lock-on at the end of a turn, determine lock-on status just after movement. All normal rules are used except that all sensor die rolls are considered to be 3 (4 for elite crews, 5 for crack). Using the changed sequence but rolling the die for lock on is not recommended. This rule is useful to speed up the game when playing large battles at the cost of some tactical depth. Fast Missiles ------------- Another option that can speed up large games is to resolve all missiles within a single weapons phase. If using this option, in the weapons phase missiles launch and then move to their targets, then other weapons fire, then missiles impact. The counterbalance this improvement and to avoid the need to keep track of which missile launchers are loaded and which are not, missiles may only be launched if the launching ship spent no manoeuvre points this turn and has a lock-on to the target at the time of launch. Improved Tailing ---------------- When an enemy is required to reveal power distribution to you, do not assign your own power until you know how much your enemy is spending on speed and manoeuvre. If there is a chain of ships getting this information on each other so that no one ship can be identified which would have to reveal first then use the standard rule. Multiple Primary Boxes ---------------------- Systems may include more than one primary box. However, only one primary box may be included when calculating strength and any other primary boxes may not be used that turn (partial exception for laser arrays - only one primary box of the array can be used, but the primary boxes of the component lasers can be). The decision which primary box to use must be made during power allocation. If using this rule, a railgun could mount both a front and a rear primary box but any one primary box can still only fire in one direction. Laser Arrays ------------ It is possible to combine more than one laser into a single system. To show that a laser is part of an array rather than independent, draw a diamond (rather than a circle) around it's primary box and connect it to another box of the array with a line. The primary box of the array is marked with both a diamond and a circle and will also be the primary box of one of the component lasers. Treat laser boxes making up the array normally except that: * They cannot fire if the primary box of the array is damaged, the primary box of the laser is damaged or if any of the boxes forming the connection to either primary box have moderate or higher damage. * Firing arcs are calculated from the primary box of the array. * All lasers in the array must fire at the same target. * The array is treated as a single laser if used against missiles. * Resolve all damage done by the array as if it was a single laser. * The total number of laser boxes in the array cannot exceed the number of hull boxes on the ship. For instance, a ship with eight hull boxes could mount a laser array containing one three box laser, one two box laser and three one box lasers. If all are powered and firing at a target two hexes away with a lock-on, rolling 4 (three box), 3(two box),5,6,1(each one box) then 4+2+3+4+0 damage will be done, resolved as a single 13 point laser hit. Rapid-Fire Railguns ------------------- A railgun may be used in rapid fire mode (the decision is made during power allocation). If used in this mode, roll once to hit for each box of the railgun instead of for the whole weapon. Each box is rolled one at a time and there is a +1 to the to hit roll for each consecutive previous hit (count hits even if the hit location roll results in a 'hit' missing the target) from that railgun in that turn. Each box that hit rolls hit location and damage separately. When using this mode against missiles, reduce the initial target number needed to kill a missile by one for each box of the railgun beyond the first. Rolling ships Ships may roll around their axis, reversing the left and right sides of the ship for all purposes. To roll a ship requires three turns with no power assigned to either speed or manoeuvre. In the first turn, announce your intention to roll before power allocation. In the second, the ship may either change to the other orientation or abort the roll. After the third turn the ship may move normally. Disguised warships ------------------ It is possible to build a ship which carries significant weaponry while appearing as a normal freighter. Such ships need two ship records, one for the real ship and one for how it appears (the false should must have the same number of boxes as the real one and be of the same shape; create the false version by replacing any number of boxes with hull). Until the ship has been revealed, it pays the speed and manoeuvre costs and is locked-on to as if it were a passenger ship. Once revealed, it is treated as an auxiliary. The ship is revealed as an auxiliary if any of the following occurs: * It takes two damage to a box without that box being destroyed. * The owning player chooses to reveal it * It uses any system other than power not present on the false ship record * It is locked-on to by a roll that would have locked-on to it if it were a true warship (greater than range). Disguised warships cost the standard amount (they do not receive the auxiliary discount). Faster than Light escape ------------------------ Before the power phase of any turn a ship may announce that it is starting an attempt to escape from the battle by FTL. From that point on the ship may not manoeuvre unless it aborts the attempt, which also must be announced at the start of a turn. If a ship has moved twelve or more hexes since declaring the attempt then remove the ship from the game at the end of that turn. Quick Reference The turn sequence is: Power Movement Repairs Weapons Sensors Power: choose which systems you are assigning power to this turn. Engines, Sensors, Lasers, Railguns, Ion Cannon and Generators need one point each. Movement: decide on your ships movement (all speed points must be used). Each turn or drift costs one manoeuvre point (x2, x3 for second and third manoeuvre in a hex). Move ships once everyone has decided. Repairs: Remove all light (() damage. Reduce one box from moderate (() to light (() or critical (() to heavy (() per control system if you spent no manoeuvre power this turn. Point of impact: firer chooses line of fire, defender rolls two dice; move line of fire one row for each point above/below seven. The first box on that line containing part of the ship is the point of impact. Ion cannon: damage is one die per box of weapon; add one die if have a lock-on; minus (range+shields) squared. Ion cannons use the usual point of impact then drift one box at a time at random through the ship, doing one point to each box until all points are used. Ion cannons ignore armour. The first few squares are : 0x0, 1x1, 2x2, 3x3, 4x4, 5x5, 6x6, 7x7, 8x8, 9x9, 10x10 0 , 1 , 4 , 9 , 16, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81, 100 Rail guns: One die per box of weapon if hits (hit if one die rolls greater than the manoeuvre points generated by the target. If there is no lock on subtract the range from the die roll. Add one for each lock-on after the first) Damage is applied to the point of impact then along the line of fire. Rail guns may only fire directly forward or rear (rear add your own manoeuvre to that of the target). Missiles do not hit the turn they are launched. If the firing ship gets a lock-on to the target that turn then they will hit next turn unless shot down by point defence. Missiles do 2 dice of damage to the impact point with any excess distributed randomly to adjacent systems. Sensors obtain a lock on by rolling greater than the range to the target (+1 per sensor after the first, +1 if you had a lock on to that target last turn, +1 if target fired, took damage or operated sensors this turn) Laser Results Table Strength, Effective Range 1 , 0, 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6+ 2 , 0-1, 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9, 10-11, 12+ 3 , 0-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-11, 12-14, 15-17, 18+ 4 , 0-3, 4-7, 8-11, 12-15, 16-19, 20-23, 24+ 5 , 0-4, 5-9, 10-14, 15-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30+ 6 , 0-5, 6-11, 12-17, 18-23, 24-29, 30-35, 36+ 7 , 0-6, 7-13, 14-20, 21-27, 28-34, 35-41, 42+ 8 , 0-7, 8-15, 16-23, 24-31, 32-39, 40-47, 48+ Reduction 0 , 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 Die Roll, Result 1 , 1 , - , - , - , - , - , - 2 , 2 , 1 , - , - , - , - , - 3 , 3 , 2 , 1 , - , - , - , - 4 , 4 , 3 , 2 , 1 , - , - , - 5 , 5 , 4 , 3 , 2 , - , - , - 6 , 6 , 5 , 4 , 3 , 2 , 1 , - To use, read across the row for your laser strength until you find the range at which you are firing (use the effective range from the table below if you don't have a lock on). Then read down that column until you reach the row matching your die roll. The number in that box is how much damage your laser has scored. The reduction line shows how much was subtracted from the die roll. Range , 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 Effective , 0, 1, 3, 6, 10, 15, 21, 28, 36, 45, 55 Laser damage resolution: determine point of impact and apply one point then roll to shift the line of fire each successive point (by hexrow: two boxes damaged by the same laser need not be adjacent). 1-2 down one row, 3-4 same row, 5-6 up one row. If a laser misses the target ship then only one point of damage is wasted; roll again for a new point of impact.