Post by Darko on Aug 25, 2022 23:35:49 GMT
Since we were reminiscing in the Discord about old games and Fleet Command came up, I went looking for an old thread I had hidden away somewhere six years ago where (with permission) I was adapting Fleet Command in my own style. Well, I went down the rabbit hole and ended up expanding it a whole bunch and trying to fine-tune theoretical balance. I like to think I might run this after the Star Wars game, but for now I just wanted to put it out there as I continue to work on it and also so that Harrab could see some variation of his old setting. The original worldbuilding is all Harrab from way back in 2010/2011 and there's a bit extra I added to differentiate from his original games. The stuff I added is liable to change, but I guess we'll see. Hell, maybe Harrab will want to use this material himself.
I just remember we had a blast with the Fleet Command games and I always wished we'd finished one all the way through.
Anyway, presented without further adieu, I give you Fleet Command 2.
I'm going by the FC info from the Dakka game way back in 2011 (3 years ago!!), with my own adjustments and modifications.
So without further adieu, I give you Fleet Command 2.0, the latest edition and reboot of the classic game series created and pioneered by the one and only Lord Harrab.
Ship Construction
All players have 100 Requisition points to select the composition of their ship(s). You must choose a Dreadnought, carrier, cruiser or destroyer class ship. Any remaining Requisition points can be spent on escort frigates or special systems and weapons. So for example you might have a carrier with escorts or a single dreadnought or a cruiser equipped with the most advanced experimental equipment from the military R&D division.
Any unspent points can be used to requisition special or experimental equipment for your ship(s). If you have requisitioned multiple ships, e.g. a Destroyer and two frigates, then your ship with the highest cost is your command ship and the others are subordinate, commanded by lower-ranked NPC officers. You will still be able to give orders to them and write from their perspective.
Ship Hardpoints
Hardpoints tell you the number of systems that may be fitted onto your vessel. All ships are already assumed to have an FTL drive, sub-light engine, shuttlecraft hanger, communications array, sensor array, 1 Point Defenses hardpoint and life support module installed at no extra cost. Additionally, all vessels are equipped with escape pods, however these are not considered a hard point as by the point there are none left, your ship has already been destroyed or evacuated. All ships also start with a Mk 7 shield array providing 10 shields. This can be upgraded.
- If the FTL drive is damaged, the vessel cannot achieve faster than light speeds and travel between solar systems.
- If the sublight engine is disabled, the vessel loses its chance to dodge incoming attacks and cannot move whatsoever - this is particularly dangerous when fighting in asteroid fields, near a solar body or close to a black hole! Your combat speed is a representation of how quick your ship moves relative to vessels of a different class. Typically, a fleet will maintain the same speed and formation until combat begins, however once combat begins some captains prefer the versatility of speed to adapt to unpredictable circumstances or for greater chance to disengage after performing a hit-and-run strike.
- If the shuttlecraft hanger is destroyed, your characters cannot leave the ship unless it docks with another vessel or enters dry dock.
- If the communications array is destroyed, you cannot communicate outside of your ship without using a shuttle or docking with another vessel to communicate directly with other characters.
- If the sensor array is damaged, the ship is essentially blind and cannot target enemy vessels beyond point blank range.
- If point defenses are destroyed, the ship cannot defend against torpedoes, missiles or strike craft.
- If the life support module is damaged, the crew will begin to die as artificial gravity, air recycling and artificial atmosphere/temperature is disabled. If this happens, it will take a number of turns equal to half the ship's maximum hullpoints for the entire ship to become a derelict. This also dictates how long your crew has to reach the escape pods. For example, a Destroyer that loses life support would have 4 turns to evacuate or keep fighting before its crew succumbs to the void, unless the life support system is repaired by another ship.
Ship Health and Shields
In addition to the hardpoints which tell you how many systems or weapons may be fitted to a ship, ships have hit points (HP to differentiate from hardpoints). This is how much damage the hull can directly sustain before the ship is destroyed. If the ship has a shield generator hardpoint, it has an additional layer of protection before its hull takes damage. The amount of HP and shielding a ship has varies depending on its class as well as the systems it has equipped. The standard configurations before systems or weapons are added are below.
Disclaimer: the ships represented here exclusively follow Alliance Navy configurations and specifications. Who knows what else is out there lurking in the infinite darkness...
Titans
Cost: N/A
Weapon Hardpoints: 20
Hardpoints: 12
HP: 40/40
Shields: 40/40 [two shield generators]
Point Defenses: 10
Combat Speed: 1
Evasive Dodge: 0%
Crew: 1000
The Final word in fleet engagements. Massive, heavily armoured and armed, these ships can tear apart entire fleets on their own with little trouble, the bad news is that they are rarely seen without an escorting fleet of smaller ships. Facing one of these ships in combat is every captain's worst nightmare. Attacking one directly is suicide. The Alliance Fleet only ever built four of these behemoths during the most desperate chapters of history. All were destroyed or decomissioned due to the huge operational costs involved with supporting one of these ships in peace time.
Heavy Cruiser
80 Requisition Points
Weapon Hardpoints: 6
System Hardpoints: 6
HP: 18/18
Point Defenses: 4
Combat Speed: 3
Evasive Dodge: 10%
Crew: 500
Heavy Cruisers, sometimes known as Dreadnoughts, are larger and more powerful ships that often serve as flagships of a fleet. In more dire circumstances, they are sometimes formed into squadrons. These older battleships are a holdover from the military era of the Alliance, where individual ships had to be powerful enough to survive on their own for extended periods of time. They are venerable and tough; heavily-armoured and full of back-up power systems, but difficult to retrofit with new technology. As a result, they have become less common over the years and are being phased out in favour of smaller and faster patrol ships. While many would prefer the adaptability of an exploration cruiser or the agility of a destroyer, there can be no doubting the effectiveness and durability of these colossal vessels which remain popular with Admirals and other veterans of the last war.
Exploration Cruiser
60 Requisition Points
Weapon Hardpoints: 4
System Hardpoints: 8
HP: 12/12
Point Defenses: 3
Combat Speed: 3
Evasive Dodge: 20%
Crew: 300
Special: if the cruiser is equipped with a Damage Control hardpoint, it instead can recover 2 hullpoints every round instead of 1.
The jack of all trades of the fleet, designed to replace the aging Heavy Cruisers in peace time. These reliable ships are the rugged workhorse of the fleet, easily outfitted for any combat role. They aren't the biggest or the most dangerous ships but they are the most versatile.
Fleet Carrier
60 Requisition Points
Weapon Hardpoints: 3
System Hardpoints: 5
HP: 10/10
Point Defenses: 4
Combat Speed: 3
Evasive Dodge: 15%
Crew: 250 + flight crews
Special: The carrier starts with one interceptor bay and one bomber bay built-in.
This is the only ship which can equip launch bays of any variety.
Carriers are equipped with an ESM pod (electronic support measures). The ESM pod grants the Carrier +2 to the roll to destroy incoming torpedoes and bombers. If the ship is in Defensive Formation, this bonus is granted to other ships in the formation.
The heart of a fleet, provides other ships with a dense fighter screen and bomber squadrons and advanced targeting sytems.
Destroyer
40 Requision Points
Weapon Hardpoints: 5
System Hardpoints: 4
HP: 8/8
Point Defenses: 2
Combat Speed: 3
Evasive Dodge: 25%
Crew: 200
Special: Designed solely to target enemy capital ships and exceedingly heavily armed for their size. Vulnerable to heavy barrage from capital ships.
These hunter-killers are easily capable of destroying much larger starships when they launch a coordinated attack, but they rarely survive a one-on-one engagement.
Frigates (these cannot be selected as your main ship. They serve only as escorts.)
Cost: 20 Requisition Points
Hardpoints: 4
HP: 4/4
Shields: 4/4
Point Defenses: 1
Combat Speed: 4
Evasive Dodge: 30%
Hardpoints:
- Mk 5 Shield Generator
- 2 Pulse cannons or 2 Torpedo Launchers or 2 Railguns or 2 Flack Cannons or 1 Ion Cannon
Crew: 100
The light, hit-and-run main body of the fleet. Vulnerable to strike craft and heavy cruisers but can gang up on cruisers and carriers.
Torpedoes and Fightercraft
Torpedoes
Torpedoes are relatively slow moving, high damage weapons.
After they launch, it takes a moment for their on-board propellant system to activate and their on-board targeting computers to track the assigned hostile. Once locked in, they are too fast to be evaded by capital ships.
On the turn that torpedoes will strike their target, a D20 is rolled if the enemy ship or its escorts have point defences.
For every point defence hardpoint that is targeting the torpedoes, add +1 to the result of the die roll.
For every flack cannon, add +3.
If the result is 16+, the torpedoes have been destroyed before they could impact the target.
A natural roll of 1 always fails regardless of modifiers.
Example:
A Destroyer launched four torpedoes at a Carrier last turn. The Carrier has 3 Point Defence hardpoints. A D20 is rolled four times:
13
15
17
5
As the carrier has 3 Point Defence hardpoints, any result of a 13 or above successfully destroys a torpedo. This means that only one of the Destroyer's torpedoes successfully hit its target.
Interceptors can also attempt to destroy torpedoes. In this case, also roll a D20. Interceptors only require a result of 8+ to destroy torpedoes. If the Interceptors fail to destroy torpedoes that are about to strike an allied ship, the point defenses still get to make a roll to attempt to destroy them.
Boarding Actions and Marines
All military starships have at least a small contingent of security personnel or dedicated marines on board. The exact number varies but it is usually 10% of the crew complement.
A ship can ONLY be boarded if its shields are down or it does not possess any shields.
You can board an enemy ship without any Marine Barracks hardpoints, but it is unlikely to succeed. If it does, you can only deal a maximum of 2 damage to the enemy ship.
Every Marine Barracks hardpoint on the attacking ship increases the damage by 2. Therefore a ship with 1 Marine Barracks would deal 4 damage in a successful boarding action.
When any ship is boarded, roll a D20 to determine whether the defenders successfully repel the boarders.
All ships have a 'Security' rating listed below that determines the result on a D20 required to resist boarders. A natural roll of 1 always fails, but the intruders only deal half damage. Conversely, a roll of a 20 always succeeds.
This process is the same whether you are boarding or being boarded and the roll is always from the perspective of the defending ship.
It is possible for multiple ships to simultaneously board an enemy vessel and combine their Marine Barracks for the purposes of the attack.
If a hostile ship is reduced to 0 Hull by a Boarding Action, you may decide whether to capture the ship intact on 1 HP or scuttle the vessel, destroying it normally.
Security Ratings
Corvette: 19+
Frigate: 18+
Destroyer: 16+
Cruiser/Carrier: 12+
Dreadnought: 10+
Titan: 6+
Add +2 to the roll for every Marine Barracks hardpoint on the defending ship.
Add +10 if the attacking ship does not have Marine Barracks.
Subtract -2 for every Marine Barracks hardpoint on the attacking ship.
For example:
A Cruiser with 1 Marine Barracks is being boarded by a ship with 1 Marine Barracks.
A D20 is rolled. A score of 12+ is required to succeed as both ships have the same number of Marine Barracks, meaning the bonus cancels out.
In this case, the roll is a 1.
The intruders would normally deal 2 damage to the hull, instead they only deal 1 damage.
Example 2:
An allied Dreadnought with 3 Marine Barracks is attempting to board a hostile Destroyer with no Marine Barracks. The Destroyer can only succeed on a natural roll of a 20.
Strike Craft (Interceptors and Bombers)
Interceptors and Bombers cannot be targeted by capital ship weapons. Only Point Defences, Flack cannons, corvettes and other fightercraft can engage them. However, they can attack capital ships. Interceptors do very little damage but bombers can cause massive damage with their bombs.
Point Defences destroy Interceptors on a D20 roll of 18+ and bombers on a D20 roll of 14+. If the roll fails then the Interceptors or Bombers deal their normal damage to the ship.
Add +1 for every extra Point Defence hardpoint.
Add +3 for every Flack Cannon targeting the hostile Interceptors or Bombers.
-3 if bombers are escorted by Interceptors
A natural roll of 1 always fails regardless of modifiers.
Example:
A Bomber squadron is attacking a Cruiser with 1 Flack cannon and 1 Point Defense.
A D20 is rolled.
The result is 10, +3 for the Flack Cannon and +1 for the Point Defense, bringing the result to 14. The bombers are successfully destroyed before they can do any damage.
When Interceptors fight hostile Interceptors, roll a D20 for each squadron.
Add +2 to the roll if one side outnumbers the other.
Add +5 to the roll if the hostile side is only bombers.
Whichever side rolls highest wins the engagement. On a roll of a 10+, the hostile Interceptors have been completely destroyed. Otherwise they are forced to disengage and return to their mothership for repairs and cannot be deployed again in this combat engagement. It is possible for both squadrons to destroy each other.
A carrier or starbase can only launch 1 squadron per Interceptor or Bomber hanger hardpoint per combat engagement. It is assumed that the hanger has enough reserve strike craft and repair facilities for future combat engagements even if multiple squadrons are destroyed.
For example, a carrier with 3 Interceptor hangers and 3 bomber hangers can launch 3 of each per combat.
The Interceptors do not need to return to their hanger during the combat, whereas bombers must return after each successful attack they make.
Abandoning Ship.
If a player ship drops to below 3 heath, the player in command can announce he/she is abandoning ship instead of performing other combat actions, the ship is automatically destroyed at the end of their post, but the crew survive in escape pods, if their allies win the battle they can be recovered and can request a new ship.
if the Player fleet loses the engagement, the crew of the abandoned ship are taken prisoner by their enemies. players that then decide to go on a rescue mission to save them.
Players can instead choice to keep fighting when at low health, but will be unable to evacuate in time if their ship is destroyed. In that case they are Killed in Action.
Ship Postures
Inbetween combat rounds you may update your Ship Status with a Posture that changes how it behaves in the next turn. These have benefits and drawbacks. They all last until the Combat Round is over and you either change Posture or adopt no Posture. All ships begin with No Posture at the start of combat, unless combat is begun by a ship entering an offensive Posture, such as closing to Point Blank with another ship - this is considered a hostile action.
No Posture - default, no change to ship operation. Cannot launch Boarding Actions.
Defensive Formation - this only works in tandem with another allied ship. The ships must remain together each turn until one or both step down from a Defensive Posture. Their point defenses and flack cannons are combined against all torpedoes and strike craft attacking one of them. The downside is they are vulnerable to area of effect weapons.
Disengage - your ship attempts to exit the combat by going into hyperspace. This requires a functional FTL drive. Your ship may not fire any weapons this round. If it is not destroyed by the end of the round, your ship has successfully disengaged and left the area.
Tactical Withdrawal - you may not fire any weapons this round, but your ship's evasive dodge value doubles.
Point Blank - Your ship gets right up in the enemy's face. They cannot dodge your attacks. You cannot dodge their attacks. Torpedoes hit their target the same turn. You may launch a Boarding Action against the enemy ship. At this range, every Point Defense on your ship deals 1 extra damage in addition to any other weapons. You can only get to point blank range against a ship with the same or a lower speed than your ship.
Cloaking - if your ship is equipped with a cloak, it is undetectable to ordinary hostiles. You may cloak or decloak your vessel in the same turn as performing another Posture, such as closing to Point Blank, making a Tacitcal Withdrawal or Disengaging. On the turn you decloak, your ship's shields are not active. It takes 1 full turn to activate your shields after decloaking. You may instead choose to immediately recloak at the start of your next turn if you choose and become untargetable.
Abandon Ship - a ship with 50% or less HP remaining can be abandoned. The ship is self-destructed to prevent capture by the enemy, but the crew may be rescued by friendlies if the combat is won. If it is lost, your crew is captured by the enemy. If you abandon ship directly after an enemy vessel has performed a boarding action or Ram against your vessel without withdrawing, the enemy suffers damage equal to your ship's full HP x2.
Guard - if you activate Guard Posture, your ship positions itself in front of an ally and intercepts all damage that would otherwise target that vessel this turn.
Ramming Speed - if you perform a Ram, your ship cannot fire any weapons this turn. The enemy ship suffers damage equal to your ship's Combat Speed multiplied by half of your full HP. Your own vessel suffers damage equal to the hostile ship's full HP. This damage ignores any shields remaining on either ship. Ramming is a desperate measure and almost always results in the destruction of both ships. However, there are some who employ 'suicide ships' usually of the Frigate class with minimal crew or using an autopilot to destroy much larger vessels without ever firing a shot. Generally speaking, ramming a ship of a similar weight class is mutually assured destruction while ramming a much larger vessel is unlikely to be successful. Ramming a much smaller ship is still dangerous but more likely to be survived. Of course, this desperate measure isn't usually considered unless all hope of winning the day has been lost already.
Example
A Dreadnought rams a Titan
The Dreadnought deals 3x9=27 damage
The Dreadnought suffers 40 damage
Dreadnought destroyed, Titan survives with 13HP
A cruiser rams a Dreadnought
The Cruiser deals 3x6=18 damage
The Cruiser suffers 16 damage in return.
Cruiser is destroyed, Dreadnought survives with 2HP
A Destroyer rams a Dreadnought
The Destroyer deals 4x3=12 damage
The Destroyer suffers 16 damage in return.
Dreadnought survives with 6HP, Destroyer destroyed
A Frigate rams a Cruiser
The Frigate deals 4x4=16 damage
The Frigate suffers 12 damage
Both destroyed
A Cruiser rams a Frigate
The Cruiser deals 3x6=18 damage
The Cruiser suffers 4 damage
Frigate destroyed, cruiser survives with 8HP
You may allocate a number of systems and weapons equal to the maximum number of hardpoints for your ships. Leftover Requisition Points from ship selection may be used to requisition special systems.
Weapons
Depending on the type of ship, there is a limit to the number of hardpoints which can be dedicated to Primary Weapon Systems. This is due to the extremely high power requirements of offensive systems - starships still need to be able to maintain their shields, life support, sensors and other sub-systems. A ship made of nothing but guns would simply be unable to function.
Phased Pulse cannon
0 Requisition Points
1 Weapon hardpoint
Damage: 2
Classic and reliable ship-to-ship ordnance.
Railgun
0 Requisition Points
1 Weapon hardpoint
Damage: 3
Special: may only be fired every 2 turns.
The next-generation of heavy weaponry designed to replace the traditional heavy cannon, railguns pack a powerful punch but suffer from a long recharge time despite a century of advances. They can deliver devastating salvoes, but ships exclusively equipped with railgun broadsides often found themselves vulnerable to return fire. Many captains favour a mixture of railguns and other weapons to offset this risk while others commit fully to the philosophy that the best defense is more offense. Most ships will carry at least one Railgun to strengthen their opening salvo.
Ion cannon
5 Requisition Points
2 Weapon hardpoints
Damage: 7
Special: can only be fired every 3 turns.
A focused particle weapon capable of inflicting extremely high damage at the cost of a long recharge time.
Sunlance [Exploration Cruiser or Destroyer only]
5 Requisition Points
2 Weapon Hardpoints
Shield Damage: 0
Hull Damage: 9
These cutting edge weapons cause devastating damage to unshielded targets, slicing through a ship's hull with a high-powered laser like a knife through butter. However, the amount of space required for extra power capacitors mean many captains prefer to rely on simpler weaponry to get the job done. These deadly weapons are easily damaged and some spacefarers prefer to have weapons to spare rather than risk being toothless. Nevertheless, this is a risk some are willing to take due to the raw power of these state-of-the-art weapons.
Missile Launcher
0 Requisition Points
1 Weapon Hardpoints
Hull Damage: 2x2
Special: Missiles CANNOT be avoided using evasive dodge due to their tracking systems or be attacked by Interceptors.
They function the same way as torpedoes in regards to Point Defenses. Unlike Torpedo Launchers, it can be fired every turn.
CANNOT damage shields.
The Missile Launcher is an old-school weapon from the days before Railguns became the weapon of choice for interstellar combat and shields became ubiquitous. Firing multiple, fast-moving projectiles, it is designed to overwhelm Point Defenses by volume of fire.
Multiple Missile Launcher
0 Requisition Points
3 Weapon Hardpoints
Hull Damage: 8x1
Special: Missiles CANNOT be avoided using evasive dodge due to their tracking systems or be attacked by Interceptors. They function the same way as torpedoes in regards to Point Defenses. Unlike Torpedo Launchers, it can be fired every turn.
CANNOT damage shields.
The MML fires 8 missils every time it is used.
The Multiple Missile Launcher is an evolution of the original Missile Launcher, utilising lower-yield warheads en masse. Sustained barrage is guaranteed to eventually break through even the heaviest defense grid.
Torpedo launcher
0 Requisition Points
1 Weapon hardpoint
Hull Damage: 1x6
Special: Torpedoes CANNOT be avoided using evasive dodge due to their tracking systems.
Vulnerable to strike craft and point defenses.
CANNOT damage shields.
The Torpedo Launcher fires 1 Torpedo each time it is used. It must then be reloaded for 1 turn.
Powerful ordnance capable of crippling a ship if the payload can penetrate the hull. Modern shields are designed to disperse the detonation of torpedoes on impact. Captains who enjoy the hunt often open up with a volley of ion cannon shots as they launch a salvo of torpedoes, ready to finish off their wounded prey before they have a chance to recover.
Quad Torpedo Launcher [Destroyer only]
5 Requisition Points
3 Weapon Hardpoints
Hull Damage: 4x6
Special: Torpedoes CANNOT be avoided using evasive dodge due to their tracking systems.
Vulnerable to strike craft and point defenses.
CANNOT damage shields.
The QTL fires 4 Torpedoes each time it is used. It must then be reloaded for 1 turn.
Dedicated Torpedo Destroyers replace the entire prow with four launch tubes to maximize rate of fire.
Plasma Torpedo Launcher
10 Requisition Points
3 Weapon Hardpoints
Damage: 10
Special: CANNOT be avoided using evasive dodge due to tracking systems.
Takes one full turn to reach the enemy target.
Every time this weapon is fired it must be reloaded for 1 turn.
If the ship is reduced to 50% hull, this weapon becomes unusable and causes 3 additional points of damage to the ship.
Extremely volatile but extremely deadly. The new plasma warhead is equally effective against shields and ship hulls, making it one of the most feared weapons in the galaxy.
Kinetic Strike Cannon, AKA "Rods From God." [Heavy Cruiser only]
10 Requisition Points
6 Weapon Hardpoints
Damage: 12 (ignores shields)
Special: due to the spinal mount of this experimental weapon, the entire ship must track the target. As a result, enemy targets gain +20% dodge chance against this weapon. Additionally, every time the KSC is fired, the ship suffers 1 hull damage due to the immense recoil. Dedicated Damage Control teams are essential for the safe operation of this ship-killer. The KSC is only inoperable once the entire ship has been destroyed, as it is built directly into the core superstructure of the ship.
Developed by Blackwater Weapons Tech (USA) this massive spinal cannon fires gigantic spears tipped with a shield scrambling warhead at near light speed, these massive projectiles can tear apart a cruiser class vessel or devastate a ground target from orbit in a single shot, but puts a lot of stress on the firer's superstructure, meaning its captain must be careful to limit use until he/she can correct for the immense recoil, or risk having his own ship torn apart.
Secondary Weapon Systems
Use standard Hullpoints rather than Weapon Hardpoints.
Point Defenses
1 Hardpoint
Each time this weapon system is taken, it adds +2 point defenses to the number your ship starts with by default. Furthermore, although they are ineffective at long range, every Point Defense can deal 1 damage to enemy ships at Point Blank range.
Flack Cannon
0 Requisition Points
1 Hardpoint
Special: each Flack Cannon adds +3 to destroy torpedoes and strike craft.
Dakka Dakka Dakka!
Shieldbuster Beam
10 Requisition Points
1 Hardpoint
This unique emitter produces a non-lethal beam that drains up to 4 shields from your enemy and applies them to your own ship or an ally. If your target has less than 4 shields, your own shields are only restored by the same amount.
Shield Generator (Max 1 per ship)
Enables defensive shields equal to the ship's Shield value that absorb damage to protect the hull and vital systems. Generally speaking, it is unheard of for a military vessel not to be equipped with a shield generator. Only commercial vessels or extremely desperate pirate ships operate without one. If the shield generator is damaged, the vessel will no longer benefit from shields negating damage to the hull until repaired - additionally, shields will not regenerate until the end of each combat engagement or until repairs are carried out. Once your shields are depleted, direct hull damage will begin to damage or destroy hardpoints. Damaged hardpoints can be repaired between combat engagements, however destroyed hardpoints are permanently gone unless your ship can be properly repaired in dry dock with suitable facilities. Choose your battles wisely.
There are different types of Shield Generator. These are only available to Destroyers, Cruisers, Carriers and Dreadnoughts. Smaller vessels have limited shielding and larger vessels often have multiple shield generators.
Shield Generator Mk 7
0 Requisition Points
0 Hardpoints - all ships have this system unless it is replaced by a superior shield
Shields: 10/10
The most common Shields used by Alliance vessels in the modern age.
Shield Generator Mk 8
0 Requisition Points
1 Hardpoint
Shields: 14/14
A significant improvement on the Mk 7, these shields can withstand significantly more damage.
Shield Generator Mk 9
0 Requisition Points
2 Hardpoints
Shields: 18/18
The Mk 9 is usually only seen on the largest and heaviest ships in the fleet due to the massive amount of hullspace it requires.
Shield Generator Mk 10
0 Requisition Points
3 Hardpoints
Shields: 20/20
The most powerful Shield Generator in the Alliance, it provides unparalleled protection at the cost of extremely high power consumption and hullspace. Alliance Titans were large enough to support two of these Generators.
Interceptor Launch bay
0 Requisition Points
1 Hardpoint
Squadron Damage: 1 (capital ships, escorts, corvettes)
Special: takes 1 turn to deploy unless pre-emptively scrambled. They will automatically engage the nearest hostile strike craft, interceptors and bombers or remain in a defensive formation to protect against torpedoes.
Fast and deadly strike craft. They are not very effective against capital ships but excel against bombers and torpedoes.
Bomber Launch bay
0 Requisition Points
1 Hardpoint
Squadron Damage: 6 (capital ships, escorts, corvettes)
Special: takes 1 turn to deploy and reach target enemy unless they are pre-emptively scrambled. It will then take an additional full turn to deploy the bomber squadron again and reach another target.
These flying payloads can decimate capital ships if left unchecked, especially when deployed in multiple waves with escorting strike craft to shield them.
Corvette Launch Bay
10 Requisition Points
4 Hardpoints
Corvettes are the largest strike craft ever produced, and the most versatile, able to engage both capital ships and strike-craft with their autocannon turrets.
They are extremely effective at destroying smaller strike craft but are vulnerable to capital ship weapons - even a few heavy cannon shots will quickly destroy them.
Their main defense against this is their speed, able to dodge incoming projectiles much more easily than larger vessels. As a Squadron the corvettes share a single profile.
For every full 2 HP they lose, their damage is reduced by 2 and their number of point defenses are reduced by 2.
3 Craft per squadron
Short range, can engage any target.
Corvette Squadron
HP: 6/6
Shields: 3/3
Damage: 6
Combat Speed: 4
Evasive Dodge: 55% to capital ship weapons
Special: immune to Flack cannons and point defenses. Counts as having 6 Point Defenses.
Therefore, a full corvette squadron will destroy interceptors on a 3+ and bombers on a 2+.
A squadron of 2 will destroy interceptors on a 5+ and bombers on a 4+.
A single corvette will destroy interceptors on a 7+ and bombers on a 5+.
Regenerating Shield Capacitors (max 1)
5 Requisition Points
1 Hardpoint
Special: Upgrades your ship's standard shield array, this experimental shield generator automatically replenishes
2 shield point at the start of your turn in each combat round, up to the ship's maximum. You may not have Regenerating Shield Capacitors as well as Overcharged Shield Capacitors.
Overcharged Shield Capacitors
5 Requisition Points
1 Hardpoints
Special: Once per combat engagement when your shields are below 50%, you can Overcharge your shields and immediately gain +5 shields for the rest of the battle. After this point, once your shields are depleted, they are gone until the combat ends. You may not have Overcharged Shield Capacitors as well as Regenerating Shield Capacitors.
Nuclear Payload
10 Requisition Points
1 Hullpoint
Your vessel is equipped with 3 Nuclear Missiles. These extremely dangerous weapons require a secure, radiation-proof storage vault to be transported. If your ship has a Missile Launcher, you may elect to fire a Nuclear Payload instead of shooting normally. It functions the same way as firing normally, except the damage increases to 25. The target ship as well as any other ships at Point Blank range, performing Boarding Actions to the target or Ramming the target, also suffer 25 damage. If your ship is destroyed for any reason, all ships at Point Blank range, performing Boarding Actions, Ramming your ship or in a Defensive Formation with your ship suffer 25 damage. A Nuclear Payload can only be used three times and then it must be replenished at a starbase.
Plasma Cooling Chamber
0 Requisition Points if you have selected the Plasma Torpedo Launcher
1 Hardpoint
Special: this hardpoint ensures that if the Plasma Torpedo Launcher is damaged, it will not cause additional damage to your vessel - unless your enemy destroys this hardpoint first or simultaneously.
Marine Barracks
0 Requisition Points
1 hardpoint
Damage: 2 (0 to shields)
Special: these highly trained marines are capable of infiltrating enemy ships to cause damage from within or capture the enemy vessel intact. They are also the only line of defense against enemy boarders and almost all ships maintain at least a minimal contingent of marines for defensive purposes. A ship with no marines is virtually defenseless if boarded. All Marine Barracks on a ship act as one for the purposes of boarding and defending ships. (See: Boarding Actions above)
Emergency Repair Bay
10 Requisition Points
2 Hardpoints (max 1)
Special: the advanced repair facilities and remote-control drones are capable of performing emergency repairs in the heat of battle. Each turn, the ERB can repair 2 hullpoints to any friendly ship including itself. This stacks with Damage Control healing. The drones can also come in handy for salvage operations in the cold vacuum of space.
Damage Control (max 1)
0 Requisition Points
1 Hardpoint
Special: while all vessels maintain a team of engineers to keep the ship running and make limited repairs, a dedicated Damage Control facility is essential for ships expecting a long-term deployment. This allows a ship to recover 1 hullpoint of damage every turn in combat and effectively repair damaged hardpoints outside of combat that have been rendered inoperative. Smaller vessels often forego these facilities, relying on their speed to avoid damage and larger support vessels or dry dock for serious repairs.
Ablative Armour (max 1)
0 Requisition Points
2 Hardpoints
Special: ablative armour sacrifices a lot of hull mount space in exchange for greater durability. The armour is valued by captains who feel most at home charging directly into the heat of battle or prefer to slug it out in a war of attrition with other vessels. While all starships are heavily armoured by default, this specialised additional protection turns a starship into a spacefaring tank capable of outlasting all but the most devastating attacks. Ablative Armour permanently adds four HPs. Additionally, Ablative Armour is only permanently destroyed when the entire ship is destroyed - it cannot be damaged.
Silent Running Stealth Generator (max 1)
20 Requisition Points
1 Hardpoint
Ships with this subsystem developed by Japan's Shogun Defense Corporation hark back to the Submarines of old earth, silent stalkers of the void, able to loiter in hostile space and report troop movements, land operatives upon enemy worlds, or ambush unsuspecting ships. This Generator bends light around it's ship's hull and masks all energy emissions, and while it may demand massive amounts of power and therefore require their captain to think before he strikes, lest he be anilated by the counter attack, the advanates this could bring if fully developed could reshape space combat.
This system renders the ship invisible to both visual and sensor sweeps. This is very useful for attacking an enemy with their shields down at point blank range so that they cannot dodge.
Think before you act - shields cannot be charged or maintained while stealth field is active.
Ship must de-cloak to fire. It may fire during the same turn it decloaks however must wait 1 full turn to raise shields - unless the enemy is completely destroyed, they will have a window of opportunity to return fire without your shields up!]
Valkyrie's Vengeance Defensive System
10 Requisition Points
1 Hardpoint
Developed by Scandinavian Solutions Inc, this network of hull plates and targeting systems favor the aggressive, in-your face captains, essentially, their plan of action is to take hits, as whenever the sophisticated computer system register a hit on its hull, it immediately tacks the fire to its source and counter-attacks, using advanced auto-loaders and Ion-cannon energy storage banks to quickly ready the retaliatory strike, although these additions can tax a warships power generators.
Pros: when fired upon ship makes an immediate counter-attack with all weapons. Cooldown: 2 turns
Cons: due to the power drain, shields are permanently reduced by 50%.
Reinforced Ram
0 Requisition Points
1 Hardpoint
Your ship receives 75% less damage from ramming hostile ships.
Hyper-impulse Engines
10 Requisition Points
1 Hardpoint
Your ship increases its combat speed by +1 and its evasive dodge by +15%.
Character sheet:
(Note: all characters must be human.)
Name:
Age:
Gender:
Personality:
Nationality:
Rank: (Minimum rank Lieutenant Commander, Commander or Captain)
Appearance:
Bio
Ship Name:
Class:
Appearance:
Shields: -/-
HPs: -/-
Hardpoints: -/-
- Communications Array
- Sensor Array
- Shuttle Bay
- FTL Drive
- Sub-light engine
- Life-support module
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Bridge Officers: (name, rank, brief description)
XO:
Helmsman:
Gunnery Chief:
Chief Engineer:
Marine Commander:
Crew:
Bio: (can be newly constructed or an old vessel)
Name: Maya Sharpe
Gender: Female
Age: 32
Nationality: European Federation (German.)
Personality: Driven, demanding. She knows that everyone can achieve much if they put effort into it, anyone who she feels doesn't try their hardest isn't worth her time.
Rank: Admiral
Appearance: Tall and imposing, Flame-read hair hangs down her back in a long braid. Suffered intense burns across her entire body during the Battle for New London and still bears the scars across her face and neck.
Bio: Coming from a long family history of Military service, Maya thought it was a no-brainer that she would follow her parents footsteps and enlist in the Navy at 18 with no complaints. Graduation at the top of her class and with the highest test scores stunned the alliance brass that tutored her, that combined with her natural good-looks made her the poster girl of the Alliance for several years, yet it was during the Battle of New London that she earned her lasting fame. Successfully defending an entire planet from a Pirate invasion, (that included a mighty dreadnaught,) with only her Carrier, "Vanguard". her rise through the ranks afterwards was meteoritic, and now she serves as a training officer at Fort Norton, prepping the officers of a new exploratory fleet to be formed under her command.
Ship Name: "Vanguard"
Class: Carrier
Appearance:
Shields: 10/10
HPs: 10/10
Hardpoints: 10/10
- Communications Array
- Sensor Array
- Shuttle Bay
- FTL Drive
- Sub-light engine
- Life-support module
- Shield Generator (1 hullpoint)
- 2 Torpedo Launchers (2 hullpoints)
- 3 Interceptor Launch Bays (3 hullpoints)
- 3 Bomber Launch Bays (3 hullpoints)
- Point Defense System (1 hullpoint)
- ESM Pod (free)
Bridge Officers: (name, rank, brief description)
XO: Commander Gordon Johnson
Helmsman: Lt James L Macguyver
Gunnery Chief: Lt Eleanor Richards
Chief Engineer: Lt Cmdr. Samuel Adams
Marine Commander: Cmdr. Ross Mason
Bio: Although outdated-looking on the outside, "Vanguard" carries cutting edge tech within her old and battered hull, and is even more Famous throughout the Alliance than its captain.
Originally designed as a mobile refinery and factory, intended to travel between systems gathering resources, upsurges of pirate attacks against the outer colonies in the years approaching the Navy's one hundred years anniversary, that required the vessel's refit into a dedicated combat vessel. New London was the closest planet to the wandering harvester with the required industry to perfrom the changes, so the Vanguard was sent there. Its was merely a few days after the work was complete that the massive pirate fleet attacked, and the new warship was thrown into the fires of combat all to soon with an entire word at the stake.
Now, even though it is nearly 70 years old, it has been retrofitted with the latest technology available to keep this venerable ship flying just a little while longer.
Some Facts about New London
- the Vanguard had been a mobile refinery until a few bays before the attack, with singe launch bay for defense, she'd always resented it as a pointless backwater assignment, as i mentioned, she got top marks in Norton Training.
- it was the only Alliance ship in system. vs a Pirate Dreadnaught who thought the system easy prey.
- Sharpe refused to retreat and let the Pirates take how many thousands of people as slaves. As a result, Sharpe ordered everyone else to evacuate while she distracted the enemy and bought time for the people on the planet to get to shelters.
- The Vangaurd would have been destroyed if the two ships hadn't knocked out eacth others command centres at the same time, leaving both dead in the water.
- She suffered extreme burns across her entire body, burns that disfigured her, (She had once posed as Poster-Girl, something she had been very proud of at the time.)
Combat posts.
Combat posts are in character posts that involve their ship attacking or making an aggressive move towards another vessel. this is so I as the GM will be able to describe reactions and damage to each players action. Players will be informed as to when they are in a combat situation, at that point, objectives and a list of detected hostiles will be displayed.
Once in combat players are to display a health and shields count, along with their ship name so I and other players can determine their status at a glance.
Aggressive moves include:
Readying or Firing weapons
Launching strike craft,
attempting to ram another vessel.
attempting to go to hyper-space. (although not a combat action per-say, this indicates a desire to leave the combat.)
Non-Aggressive moves include:
Raising shields
attempting repairs
Communicating between ships in the fleet,
maneuvering. (but keep in mind the time frame, no moving across the system before your ion cannon shots have hit the target, for example.)
Combat posts Example:
GM posts:
WIth a sudden flare of light and energy, three pirate Raider-class cruisers emerged from hyper-space almost right on top of the lone "EXAMPLE", readying their trio of heavy cannons as they fell upon their prey.
You are now in combat.
Hostiles: Three Raider class cruisers.
Raider
3 heavy cannons
5 slave bays.(Non combat systems.)
Objectives:
Survive
Player A posts
"EXAMPLE"
Ship Status: Battle stations
Hull: 8
Shields: 8
Alarms blared throughout the EXAMPLE as hostile cruisers began to warp into the system almost right on top of them,
"Alert! Three hostile cruisers detected. Direct front, three thousand kilometers. They're arming weapons."
Sharpe was quick to respond.
"All hands to battle stations," she ordered. "Raise shields, Load both torp tubes. Standby to fire main guns."
"Aye ma'am." her XO replied, "General Quarters. General Quarters, all hands man your battle stations. we are now at condition one."
A flickering field of energy enveloped the Alliance ship, while within its hull crewmen were rushing to their stations, damage control teams were ready, and auto-loaders armed the point defenses and heavy cannons
"There! Target the foremost cruiser, both tubes and all guns. Fire"
"Aye, aye." replied the gunnery officer, "Fire one. Fire two. All guns fire."
A brief burst of atmosphere sprouted from the bow of the EXAMPLE as two huge missiles were launched from their tubes hidden there and streaked towards their target. the Three cannons mount on the ships spine fired in a silent roar, sending high explosives screaming towards the hostile ship
"Clean Launch, Torpedoes one and two are on target." reported the gunnery officer
"Move us away, full speed, open some distance between us."
Its deadly cargo away, the mighty CRUSIER turned about and sped away from its aggressors.
GM posts:
Surprised by the sudden reaction of the lone enemy, the cruiser it had targeted opened up with its heavy cannons without raising its own shields first, three shots speeding through the void between the two ships to impact the larger ships shields in bright flares of energy.
the Alliance Cruiser's own shots tore from the unprotected pirate's hull and tore a cannon from its mount. Enraged, it turned to follow its foe, finally raising its own shields.
the other two followed suit, firing their own weapons at the retreating ship, finally bursting its protective field and damaging the armor beneath
Cruiser A status:
Hull: 5
shields: 8
Crusier B status:
Hull: 8
Sheilds: 8
Cruiser C status:
Hull: 8
Shields: 8
Player A then posts:
"EXAMPLE"
Ship Status: Taking damage
Hull: 7
Shields: 0
"We've been hit! Minor Hull damage. Shields are down"
"Solid hits with main guns. Torpedoes are still on target
"Evasive maneuvers." Sharpe ordered, "Contact fleet command. request reinforcements."
Miscellaneous background
Background on PDF organization and responsibilities, the unification of Human Armed forces under a single mutual command. The Sword.
The Alliance Navy and Planetary defense forces.
Mankind has been unified for nearly two hundred years.
The Alliance Navy has full control over Mankind armed forces as a security measure to prevent its member states from attacking each other. Every nation and colony has a responsibility to meet recruitment quotas, but beyond gathering the recruits, they have no control over what those men and women do beyond having their council member vote on it in session. In essence, the Navy is from every country, yet belongs to none of them.
The Navy is not responsible for a planet's internal security, thats for their Planetary Defense Force, (PDF) these men and women are locally recruited and supplied by their homeworld, they operating as both a garrison and police force and are equipped with tanks, artillery, Police cars and what ever else they need to ensure security on ground operations. The many PDFs are separate from the navy and is mainly autonomous although in the unlikely event of a full scale invasion the Navy would have command authority due to their being the "real" millitary, and can provide Air Support with Strike craft, bolster defensive positions with marine fire teams and Harbinger dropships, not to mention they can annihilate hostiles from orbit if needed.
Transfers between the PDFs are uncommon, but could happen, but it'll be like teaching a fish to fly, or a bird to swim, they'd have little to base their training on, and sometimes it'll be too ingrained to bother replacing.
Example: a PDF fighter pilot thinks in "up" and "down, concepts that don't exist in Space, a PDF pilot would have to work extremely hard to overcome that, were as a Navy pilot is trained from a blank slate and can more easily adjust on the rare occasions they need to fly in atmosphere.
The Sword.
The Sword is given to a cadet who qualified from an Academy, those who earned their command via the XO path don't tend to have one, thus The Sword is a highly coveted a status symbol and only comes in one style, Longword, which is why it is so easily recognized throughout the Human Systems Alliance. If it came in different types, anyone could claim they'd gone through the hellish training and the symbol would lose its value. If an Officer earns distinction during their service, they may have the formal name of the event engraved on the blade.
Captains are not required to wear the sword at all times, only during formal ceremonies, but many like to keep a reminder of their achivements close.
Example: Sharpe successfully defended an entire planet with nothing more than a recently converted ore miner against a dreadnought class ship, so she has the Planet's name "New London" engraved on the blade.
I just remember we had a blast with the Fleet Command games and I always wished we'd finished one all the way through.
Anyway, presented without further adieu, I give you Fleet Command 2.
I spoke with Harrab some time ago about possibly creating a reboot of his lauded Fleet Command series, with myself taking the helm this time. I figured that I'd test how it feels to drive one of these games and how well I can run one here before considering doing a public one.
I'm going by the FC info from the Dakka game way back in 2011 (3 years ago!!), with my own adjustments and modifications.
So without further adieu, I give you Fleet Command 2.0, the latest edition and reboot of the classic game series created and pioneered by the one and only Lord Harrab.
LORE
A Shared Dream
For centuries mankind had looked up to the night skies in wonder and awe, naming the Constellations, watching the silent dance of planets and moons, and dreaming that one daythey could swim amongst them in the infinite void of space.
Mankind’s first steps into space were crude and infrequent. Fuelled more by internal bickering and posturing than any desire for genuine advancement of their people, many astounding leaps of discovery and invention soon ignored in favour of the next one. Their landing on the moon, merely a few decades after inventing powered flight, was cast aside as trivial as Mars became the next target for competing nations to aim for.
It wasn’t until Europe federated in 2045, and led by France combined the resources of all it’s former independent nations, and founded the first lunar colony within sight of where Neil Armstrong had placed mankind’s first footprint on the dust, that mankind realised the potential of a race united with one purpose. Two years later, within the confined main hall of Lunar Base Joan D’arc, Representatives from every nation on Earth’s surface signed the Human Systems Alliance charter and pledged their country’s support in colonising the wider galaxy. For the first time in its history, Humanity stood united under a shared dream, the Human Systems Alliance was born.
Although united under a mutually elected government, the nations of earth was still allowed a certain level of independence, their existing governments where slotted into an overarching hierarchy with few problems, each elected an ambassador to represent them on the council and were allowed to pursue their own projects to colonise space, provided they obeyed the laws and directives of the Alliance and shared their findings freely with the entire planet.
Space ship technology advanced in leaps and bounds; in 2063, England’s HMS Queen Victoria landed on mars, its prototype Ion drive propelling it across the vast gulf between planets at a fraction of the time it had taken earlier probes. In 2092, Japanese and German scientists perfected an energy shield generator that rendered anything within its protective bubble almost immune to projectiles. 2102 saw the perfection of Terra-forming tech by America, and by 2105 the first trees were planted under open sky on Martian soil. 2120 was the birth year of the first ship-mounted cannon, developed by Germany as a way of destroying asteroids or other solid objects that could breach a ship’s shield, and its use as an offensive weapon was realised immediately.
Aware of the possible dangers the galaxy could contain, the Alliance Navy was formed, its members plucked from around the world, and trained in orbit above the world of their birth. Their ranks swelled as colony after colony was founded across the solar system, and thousands of eager men and women flocked to defend their new homes. Hundreds of dull grey ships prowled the solar system, ensuring that everyone remember the union that had allowed them to get even this far into space. For over 100 years the Alliance Navy was at the forefront of galactic exploration and security, developing a proud tradition as the defenders of humanity in a harsh and unforgiving universe. During this century of unparalleled expansion, several wars were fought between the Alliance Navy and the Independent Coalition, a faction of breakaway colonies with delusions of grandeur. They were beaten and forced to flee into the depths of uncharted space. There were rumours of skirmishes with alien vessels, however Naval Intelligence never confirmed the truth of the matter - but no one could deny that over the years there were numerous unexplained disappearances of Alliance ships venturing too far into the unknown.
far into space.
It has been over a hundred years since the Alliance Navy was formed, and mankind has spread far amongst the stars. You are an Officer-Cadet of this proud organization, training for six years to command your own ship, explore, defend and command the cosmos. Now, as your final days at Fort Norton Academy draw near, you eagerly await the awarding of your ceremonial sword and the ship that comes with it.
For centuries mankind had looked up to the night skies in wonder and awe, naming the Constellations, watching the silent dance of planets and moons, and dreaming that one daythey could swim amongst them in the infinite void of space.
Mankind’s first steps into space were crude and infrequent. Fuelled more by internal bickering and posturing than any desire for genuine advancement of their people, many astounding leaps of discovery and invention soon ignored in favour of the next one. Their landing on the moon, merely a few decades after inventing powered flight, was cast aside as trivial as Mars became the next target for competing nations to aim for.
It wasn’t until Europe federated in 2045, and led by France combined the resources of all it’s former independent nations, and founded the first lunar colony within sight of where Neil Armstrong had placed mankind’s first footprint on the dust, that mankind realised the potential of a race united with one purpose. Two years later, within the confined main hall of Lunar Base Joan D’arc, Representatives from every nation on Earth’s surface signed the Human Systems Alliance charter and pledged their country’s support in colonising the wider galaxy. For the first time in its history, Humanity stood united under a shared dream, the Human Systems Alliance was born.
Although united under a mutually elected government, the nations of earth was still allowed a certain level of independence, their existing governments where slotted into an overarching hierarchy with few problems, each elected an ambassador to represent them on the council and were allowed to pursue their own projects to colonise space, provided they obeyed the laws and directives of the Alliance and shared their findings freely with the entire planet.
Space ship technology advanced in leaps and bounds; in 2063, England’s HMS Queen Victoria landed on mars, its prototype Ion drive propelling it across the vast gulf between planets at a fraction of the time it had taken earlier probes. In 2092, Japanese and German scientists perfected an energy shield generator that rendered anything within its protective bubble almost immune to projectiles. 2102 saw the perfection of Terra-forming tech by America, and by 2105 the first trees were planted under open sky on Martian soil. 2120 was the birth year of the first ship-mounted cannon, developed by Germany as a way of destroying asteroids or other solid objects that could breach a ship’s shield, and its use as an offensive weapon was realised immediately.
Aware of the possible dangers the galaxy could contain, the Alliance Navy was formed, its members plucked from around the world, and trained in orbit above the world of their birth. Their ranks swelled as colony after colony was founded across the solar system, and thousands of eager men and women flocked to defend their new homes. Hundreds of dull grey ships prowled the solar system, ensuring that everyone remember the union that had allowed them to get even this far into space. For over 100 years the Alliance Navy was at the forefront of galactic exploration and security, developing a proud tradition as the defenders of humanity in a harsh and unforgiving universe. During this century of unparalleled expansion, several wars were fought between the Alliance Navy and the Independent Coalition, a faction of breakaway colonies with delusions of grandeur. They were beaten and forced to flee into the depths of uncharted space. There were rumours of skirmishes with alien vessels, however Naval Intelligence never confirmed the truth of the matter - but no one could deny that over the years there were numerous unexplained disappearances of Alliance ships venturing too far into the unknown.
far into space.
It has been over a hundred years since the Alliance Navy was formed, and mankind has spread far amongst the stars. You are an Officer-Cadet of this proud organization, training for six years to command your own ship, explore, defend and command the cosmos. Now, as your final days at Fort Norton Academy draw near, you eagerly await the awarding of your ceremonial sword and the ship that comes with it.
OUTDATED
SHIPS
Ship Construction
All players have 100 Requisition points to select the composition of their ship(s). You must choose a Dreadnought, carrier, cruiser or destroyer class ship. Any remaining Requisition points can be spent on escort frigates or special systems and weapons. So for example you might have a carrier with escorts or a single dreadnought or a cruiser equipped with the most advanced experimental equipment from the military R&D division.
Any unspent points can be used to requisition special or experimental equipment for your ship(s). If you have requisitioned multiple ships, e.g. a Destroyer and two frigates, then your ship with the highest cost is your command ship and the others are subordinate, commanded by lower-ranked NPC officers. You will still be able to give orders to them and write from their perspective.
Ship Hardpoints
Hardpoints tell you the number of systems that may be fitted onto your vessel. All ships are already assumed to have an FTL drive, sub-light engine, shuttlecraft hanger, communications array, sensor array, 1 Point Defenses hardpoint and life support module installed at no extra cost. Additionally, all vessels are equipped with escape pods, however these are not considered a hard point as by the point there are none left, your ship has already been destroyed or evacuated. All ships also start with a Mk 7 shield array providing 10 shields. This can be upgraded.
- If the FTL drive is damaged, the vessel cannot achieve faster than light speeds and travel between solar systems.
- If the sublight engine is disabled, the vessel loses its chance to dodge incoming attacks and cannot move whatsoever - this is particularly dangerous when fighting in asteroid fields, near a solar body or close to a black hole! Your combat speed is a representation of how quick your ship moves relative to vessels of a different class. Typically, a fleet will maintain the same speed and formation until combat begins, however once combat begins some captains prefer the versatility of speed to adapt to unpredictable circumstances or for greater chance to disengage after performing a hit-and-run strike.
- If the shuttlecraft hanger is destroyed, your characters cannot leave the ship unless it docks with another vessel or enters dry dock.
- If the communications array is destroyed, you cannot communicate outside of your ship without using a shuttle or docking with another vessel to communicate directly with other characters.
- If the sensor array is damaged, the ship is essentially blind and cannot target enemy vessels beyond point blank range.
- If point defenses are destroyed, the ship cannot defend against torpedoes, missiles or strike craft.
- If the life support module is damaged, the crew will begin to die as artificial gravity, air recycling and artificial atmosphere/temperature is disabled. If this happens, it will take a number of turns equal to half the ship's maximum hullpoints for the entire ship to become a derelict. This also dictates how long your crew has to reach the escape pods. For example, a Destroyer that loses life support would have 4 turns to evacuate or keep fighting before its crew succumbs to the void, unless the life support system is repaired by another ship.
Ship Health and Shields
In addition to the hardpoints which tell you how many systems or weapons may be fitted to a ship, ships have hit points (HP to differentiate from hardpoints). This is how much damage the hull can directly sustain before the ship is destroyed. If the ship has a shield generator hardpoint, it has an additional layer of protection before its hull takes damage. The amount of HP and shielding a ship has varies depending on its class as well as the systems it has equipped. The standard configurations before systems or weapons are added are below.
Disclaimer: the ships represented here exclusively follow Alliance Navy configurations and specifications. Who knows what else is out there lurking in the infinite darkness...
Titans
Cost: N/A
Weapon Hardpoints: 20
Hardpoints: 12
HP: 40/40
Shields: 40/40 [two shield generators]
Point Defenses: 10
Combat Speed: 1
Evasive Dodge: 0%
Crew: 1000
The Final word in fleet engagements. Massive, heavily armoured and armed, these ships can tear apart entire fleets on their own with little trouble, the bad news is that they are rarely seen without an escorting fleet of smaller ships. Facing one of these ships in combat is every captain's worst nightmare. Attacking one directly is suicide. The Alliance Fleet only ever built four of these behemoths during the most desperate chapters of history. All were destroyed or decomissioned due to the huge operational costs involved with supporting one of these ships in peace time.
Heavy Cruiser
80 Requisition Points
Weapon Hardpoints: 6
System Hardpoints: 6
HP: 18/18
Point Defenses: 4
Combat Speed: 3
Evasive Dodge: 10%
Crew: 500
Heavy Cruisers, sometimes known as Dreadnoughts, are larger and more powerful ships that often serve as flagships of a fleet. In more dire circumstances, they are sometimes formed into squadrons. These older battleships are a holdover from the military era of the Alliance, where individual ships had to be powerful enough to survive on their own for extended periods of time. They are venerable and tough; heavily-armoured and full of back-up power systems, but difficult to retrofit with new technology. As a result, they have become less common over the years and are being phased out in favour of smaller and faster patrol ships. While many would prefer the adaptability of an exploration cruiser or the agility of a destroyer, there can be no doubting the effectiveness and durability of these colossal vessels which remain popular with Admirals and other veterans of the last war.
Exploration Cruiser
60 Requisition Points
Weapon Hardpoints: 4
System Hardpoints: 8
HP: 12/12
Point Defenses: 3
Combat Speed: 3
Evasive Dodge: 20%
Crew: 300
Special: if the cruiser is equipped with a Damage Control hardpoint, it instead can recover 2 hullpoints every round instead of 1.
The jack of all trades of the fleet, designed to replace the aging Heavy Cruisers in peace time. These reliable ships are the rugged workhorse of the fleet, easily outfitted for any combat role. They aren't the biggest or the most dangerous ships but they are the most versatile.
Fleet Carrier
60 Requisition Points
Weapon Hardpoints: 3
System Hardpoints: 5
HP: 10/10
Point Defenses: 4
Combat Speed: 3
Evasive Dodge: 15%
Crew: 250 + flight crews
Special: The carrier starts with one interceptor bay and one bomber bay built-in.
This is the only ship which can equip launch bays of any variety.
Carriers are equipped with an ESM pod (electronic support measures). The ESM pod grants the Carrier +2 to the roll to destroy incoming torpedoes and bombers. If the ship is in Defensive Formation, this bonus is granted to other ships in the formation.
The heart of a fleet, provides other ships with a dense fighter screen and bomber squadrons and advanced targeting sytems.
Destroyer
40 Requision Points
Weapon Hardpoints: 5
System Hardpoints: 4
HP: 8/8
Point Defenses: 2
Combat Speed: 3
Evasive Dodge: 25%
Crew: 200
Special: Designed solely to target enemy capital ships and exceedingly heavily armed for their size. Vulnerable to heavy barrage from capital ships.
These hunter-killers are easily capable of destroying much larger starships when they launch a coordinated attack, but they rarely survive a one-on-one engagement.
Frigates (these cannot be selected as your main ship. They serve only as escorts.)
Cost: 20 Requisition Points
Hardpoints: 4
HP: 4/4
Shields: 4/4
Point Defenses: 1
Combat Speed: 4
Evasive Dodge: 30%
Hardpoints:
- Mk 5 Shield Generator
- 2 Pulse cannons or 2 Torpedo Launchers or 2 Railguns or 2 Flack Cannons or 1 Ion Cannon
Crew: 100
The light, hit-and-run main body of the fleet. Vulnerable to strike craft and heavy cruisers but can gang up on cruisers and carriers.
TORPEDOES, FIGHTERCRAFT, BOARDING ACTIONS, SHIP POSTURES
Torpedoes and Fightercraft
Torpedoes
Torpedoes are relatively slow moving, high damage weapons.
After they launch, it takes a moment for their on-board propellant system to activate and their on-board targeting computers to track the assigned hostile. Once locked in, they are too fast to be evaded by capital ships.
On the turn that torpedoes will strike their target, a D20 is rolled if the enemy ship or its escorts have point defences.
For every point defence hardpoint that is targeting the torpedoes, add +1 to the result of the die roll.
For every flack cannon, add +3.
If the result is 16+, the torpedoes have been destroyed before they could impact the target.
A natural roll of 1 always fails regardless of modifiers.
Example:
A Destroyer launched four torpedoes at a Carrier last turn. The Carrier has 3 Point Defence hardpoints. A D20 is rolled four times:
13
15
17
5
As the carrier has 3 Point Defence hardpoints, any result of a 13 or above successfully destroys a torpedo. This means that only one of the Destroyer's torpedoes successfully hit its target.
Interceptors can also attempt to destroy torpedoes. In this case, also roll a D20. Interceptors only require a result of 8+ to destroy torpedoes. If the Interceptors fail to destroy torpedoes that are about to strike an allied ship, the point defenses still get to make a roll to attempt to destroy them.
Boarding Actions and Marines
All military starships have at least a small contingent of security personnel or dedicated marines on board. The exact number varies but it is usually 10% of the crew complement.
A ship can ONLY be boarded if its shields are down or it does not possess any shields.
You can board an enemy ship without any Marine Barracks hardpoints, but it is unlikely to succeed. If it does, you can only deal a maximum of 2 damage to the enemy ship.
Every Marine Barracks hardpoint on the attacking ship increases the damage by 2. Therefore a ship with 1 Marine Barracks would deal 4 damage in a successful boarding action.
When any ship is boarded, roll a D20 to determine whether the defenders successfully repel the boarders.
All ships have a 'Security' rating listed below that determines the result on a D20 required to resist boarders. A natural roll of 1 always fails, but the intruders only deal half damage. Conversely, a roll of a 20 always succeeds.
This process is the same whether you are boarding or being boarded and the roll is always from the perspective of the defending ship.
It is possible for multiple ships to simultaneously board an enemy vessel and combine their Marine Barracks for the purposes of the attack.
If a hostile ship is reduced to 0 Hull by a Boarding Action, you may decide whether to capture the ship intact on 1 HP or scuttle the vessel, destroying it normally.
Security Ratings
Corvette: 19+
Frigate: 18+
Destroyer: 16+
Cruiser/Carrier: 12+
Dreadnought: 10+
Titan: 6+
Add +2 to the roll for every Marine Barracks hardpoint on the defending ship.
Add +10 if the attacking ship does not have Marine Barracks.
Subtract -2 for every Marine Barracks hardpoint on the attacking ship.
For example:
A Cruiser with 1 Marine Barracks is being boarded by a ship with 1 Marine Barracks.
A D20 is rolled. A score of 12+ is required to succeed as both ships have the same number of Marine Barracks, meaning the bonus cancels out.
In this case, the roll is a 1.
The intruders would normally deal 2 damage to the hull, instead they only deal 1 damage.
Example 2:
An allied Dreadnought with 3 Marine Barracks is attempting to board a hostile Destroyer with no Marine Barracks. The Destroyer can only succeed on a natural roll of a 20.
Strike Craft (Interceptors and Bombers)
Interceptors and Bombers cannot be targeted by capital ship weapons. Only Point Defences, Flack cannons, corvettes and other fightercraft can engage them. However, they can attack capital ships. Interceptors do very little damage but bombers can cause massive damage with their bombs.
Point Defences destroy Interceptors on a D20 roll of 18+ and bombers on a D20 roll of 14+. If the roll fails then the Interceptors or Bombers deal their normal damage to the ship.
Add +1 for every extra Point Defence hardpoint.
Add +3 for every Flack Cannon targeting the hostile Interceptors or Bombers.
-3 if bombers are escorted by Interceptors
A natural roll of 1 always fails regardless of modifiers.
Example:
A Bomber squadron is attacking a Cruiser with 1 Flack cannon and 1 Point Defense.
A D20 is rolled.
The result is 10, +3 for the Flack Cannon and +1 for the Point Defense, bringing the result to 14. The bombers are successfully destroyed before they can do any damage.
When Interceptors fight hostile Interceptors, roll a D20 for each squadron.
Add +2 to the roll if one side outnumbers the other.
Add +5 to the roll if the hostile side is only bombers.
Whichever side rolls highest wins the engagement. On a roll of a 10+, the hostile Interceptors have been completely destroyed. Otherwise they are forced to disengage and return to their mothership for repairs and cannot be deployed again in this combat engagement. It is possible for both squadrons to destroy each other.
A carrier or starbase can only launch 1 squadron per Interceptor or Bomber hanger hardpoint per combat engagement. It is assumed that the hanger has enough reserve strike craft and repair facilities for future combat engagements even if multiple squadrons are destroyed.
For example, a carrier with 3 Interceptor hangers and 3 bomber hangers can launch 3 of each per combat.
The Interceptors do not need to return to their hanger during the combat, whereas bombers must return after each successful attack they make.
Abandoning Ship.
If a player ship drops to below 3 heath, the player in command can announce he/she is abandoning ship instead of performing other combat actions, the ship is automatically destroyed at the end of their post, but the crew survive in escape pods, if their allies win the battle they can be recovered and can request a new ship.
if the Player fleet loses the engagement, the crew of the abandoned ship are taken prisoner by their enemies. players that then decide to go on a rescue mission to save them.
Players can instead choice to keep fighting when at low health, but will be unable to evacuate in time if their ship is destroyed. In that case they are Killed in Action.
Ship Postures
Inbetween combat rounds you may update your Ship Status with a Posture that changes how it behaves in the next turn. These have benefits and drawbacks. They all last until the Combat Round is over and you either change Posture or adopt no Posture. All ships begin with No Posture at the start of combat, unless combat is begun by a ship entering an offensive Posture, such as closing to Point Blank with another ship - this is considered a hostile action.
No Posture - default, no change to ship operation. Cannot launch Boarding Actions.
Defensive Formation - this only works in tandem with another allied ship. The ships must remain together each turn until one or both step down from a Defensive Posture. Their point defenses and flack cannons are combined against all torpedoes and strike craft attacking one of them. The downside is they are vulnerable to area of effect weapons.
Disengage - your ship attempts to exit the combat by going into hyperspace. This requires a functional FTL drive. Your ship may not fire any weapons this round. If it is not destroyed by the end of the round, your ship has successfully disengaged and left the area.
Tactical Withdrawal - you may not fire any weapons this round, but your ship's evasive dodge value doubles.
Point Blank - Your ship gets right up in the enemy's face. They cannot dodge your attacks. You cannot dodge their attacks. Torpedoes hit their target the same turn. You may launch a Boarding Action against the enemy ship. At this range, every Point Defense on your ship deals 1 extra damage in addition to any other weapons. You can only get to point blank range against a ship with the same or a lower speed than your ship.
Cloaking - if your ship is equipped with a cloak, it is undetectable to ordinary hostiles. You may cloak or decloak your vessel in the same turn as performing another Posture, such as closing to Point Blank, making a Tacitcal Withdrawal or Disengaging. On the turn you decloak, your ship's shields are not active. It takes 1 full turn to activate your shields after decloaking. You may instead choose to immediately recloak at the start of your next turn if you choose and become untargetable.
Abandon Ship - a ship with 50% or less HP remaining can be abandoned. The ship is self-destructed to prevent capture by the enemy, but the crew may be rescued by friendlies if the combat is won. If it is lost, your crew is captured by the enemy. If you abandon ship directly after an enemy vessel has performed a boarding action or Ram against your vessel without withdrawing, the enemy suffers damage equal to your ship's full HP x2.
Guard - if you activate Guard Posture, your ship positions itself in front of an ally and intercepts all damage that would otherwise target that vessel this turn.
Ramming Speed - if you perform a Ram, your ship cannot fire any weapons this turn. The enemy ship suffers damage equal to your ship's Combat Speed multiplied by half of your full HP. Your own vessel suffers damage equal to the hostile ship's full HP. This damage ignores any shields remaining on either ship. Ramming is a desperate measure and almost always results in the destruction of both ships. However, there are some who employ 'suicide ships' usually of the Frigate class with minimal crew or using an autopilot to destroy much larger vessels without ever firing a shot. Generally speaking, ramming a ship of a similar weight class is mutually assured destruction while ramming a much larger vessel is unlikely to be successful. Ramming a much smaller ship is still dangerous but more likely to be survived. Of course, this desperate measure isn't usually considered unless all hope of winning the day has been lost already.
Example
A Dreadnought rams a Titan
The Dreadnought deals 3x9=27 damage
The Dreadnought suffers 40 damage
Dreadnought destroyed, Titan survives with 13HP
A cruiser rams a Dreadnought
The Cruiser deals 3x6=18 damage
The Cruiser suffers 16 damage in return.
Cruiser is destroyed, Dreadnought survives with 2HP
A Destroyer rams a Dreadnought
The Destroyer deals 4x3=12 damage
The Destroyer suffers 16 damage in return.
Dreadnought survives with 6HP, Destroyer destroyed
A Frigate rams a Cruiser
The Frigate deals 4x4=16 damage
The Frigate suffers 12 damage
Both destroyed
A Cruiser rams a Frigate
The Cruiser deals 3x6=18 damage
The Cruiser suffers 4 damage
Frigate destroyed, cruiser survives with 8HP
SYSTEMS AND WEAPONS
You may allocate a number of systems and weapons equal to the maximum number of hardpoints for your ships. Leftover Requisition Points from ship selection may be used to requisition special systems.
Weapons
Depending on the type of ship, there is a limit to the number of hardpoints which can be dedicated to Primary Weapon Systems. This is due to the extremely high power requirements of offensive systems - starships still need to be able to maintain their shields, life support, sensors and other sub-systems. A ship made of nothing but guns would simply be unable to function.
Primary Weapon Systems
Phased Pulse cannon
0 Requisition Points
1 Weapon hardpoint
Damage: 2
Classic and reliable ship-to-ship ordnance.
Railgun
0 Requisition Points
1 Weapon hardpoint
Damage: 3
Special: may only be fired every 2 turns.
The next-generation of heavy weaponry designed to replace the traditional heavy cannon, railguns pack a powerful punch but suffer from a long recharge time despite a century of advances. They can deliver devastating salvoes, but ships exclusively equipped with railgun broadsides often found themselves vulnerable to return fire. Many captains favour a mixture of railguns and other weapons to offset this risk while others commit fully to the philosophy that the best defense is more offense. Most ships will carry at least one Railgun to strengthen their opening salvo.
Ion cannon
5 Requisition Points
2 Weapon hardpoints
Damage: 7
Special: can only be fired every 3 turns.
A focused particle weapon capable of inflicting extremely high damage at the cost of a long recharge time.
Sunlance [Exploration Cruiser or Destroyer only]
5 Requisition Points
2 Weapon Hardpoints
Shield Damage: 0
Hull Damage: 9
These cutting edge weapons cause devastating damage to unshielded targets, slicing through a ship's hull with a high-powered laser like a knife through butter. However, the amount of space required for extra power capacitors mean many captains prefer to rely on simpler weaponry to get the job done. These deadly weapons are easily damaged and some spacefarers prefer to have weapons to spare rather than risk being toothless. Nevertheless, this is a risk some are willing to take due to the raw power of these state-of-the-art weapons.
Missile Launcher
0 Requisition Points
1 Weapon Hardpoints
Hull Damage: 2x2
Special: Missiles CANNOT be avoided using evasive dodge due to their tracking systems or be attacked by Interceptors.
They function the same way as torpedoes in regards to Point Defenses. Unlike Torpedo Launchers, it can be fired every turn.
CANNOT damage shields.
The Missile Launcher is an old-school weapon from the days before Railguns became the weapon of choice for interstellar combat and shields became ubiquitous. Firing multiple, fast-moving projectiles, it is designed to overwhelm Point Defenses by volume of fire.
Multiple Missile Launcher
0 Requisition Points
3 Weapon Hardpoints
Hull Damage: 8x1
Special: Missiles CANNOT be avoided using evasive dodge due to their tracking systems or be attacked by Interceptors. They function the same way as torpedoes in regards to Point Defenses. Unlike Torpedo Launchers, it can be fired every turn.
CANNOT damage shields.
The MML fires 8 missils every time it is used.
The Multiple Missile Launcher is an evolution of the original Missile Launcher, utilising lower-yield warheads en masse. Sustained barrage is guaranteed to eventually break through even the heaviest defense grid.
Torpedo launcher
0 Requisition Points
1 Weapon hardpoint
Hull Damage: 1x6
Special: Torpedoes CANNOT be avoided using evasive dodge due to their tracking systems.
Vulnerable to strike craft and point defenses.
CANNOT damage shields.
The Torpedo Launcher fires 1 Torpedo each time it is used. It must then be reloaded for 1 turn.
Powerful ordnance capable of crippling a ship if the payload can penetrate the hull. Modern shields are designed to disperse the detonation of torpedoes on impact. Captains who enjoy the hunt often open up with a volley of ion cannon shots as they launch a salvo of torpedoes, ready to finish off their wounded prey before they have a chance to recover.
Quad Torpedo Launcher [Destroyer only]
5 Requisition Points
3 Weapon Hardpoints
Hull Damage: 4x6
Special: Torpedoes CANNOT be avoided using evasive dodge due to their tracking systems.
Vulnerable to strike craft and point defenses.
CANNOT damage shields.
The QTL fires 4 Torpedoes each time it is used. It must then be reloaded for 1 turn.
Dedicated Torpedo Destroyers replace the entire prow with four launch tubes to maximize rate of fire.
Plasma Torpedo Launcher
10 Requisition Points
3 Weapon Hardpoints
Damage: 10
Special: CANNOT be avoided using evasive dodge due to tracking systems.
Takes one full turn to reach the enemy target.
Every time this weapon is fired it must be reloaded for 1 turn.
If the ship is reduced to 50% hull, this weapon becomes unusable and causes 3 additional points of damage to the ship.
Extremely volatile but extremely deadly. The new plasma warhead is equally effective against shields and ship hulls, making it one of the most feared weapons in the galaxy.
Kinetic Strike Cannon, AKA "Rods From God." [Heavy Cruiser only]
10 Requisition Points
6 Weapon Hardpoints
Damage: 12 (ignores shields)
Special: due to the spinal mount of this experimental weapon, the entire ship must track the target. As a result, enemy targets gain +20% dodge chance against this weapon. Additionally, every time the KSC is fired, the ship suffers 1 hull damage due to the immense recoil. Dedicated Damage Control teams are essential for the safe operation of this ship-killer. The KSC is only inoperable once the entire ship has been destroyed, as it is built directly into the core superstructure of the ship.
Developed by Blackwater Weapons Tech (USA) this massive spinal cannon fires gigantic spears tipped with a shield scrambling warhead at near light speed, these massive projectiles can tear apart a cruiser class vessel or devastate a ground target from orbit in a single shot, but puts a lot of stress on the firer's superstructure, meaning its captain must be careful to limit use until he/she can correct for the immense recoil, or risk having his own ship torn apart.
Secondary Weapon Systems
Use standard Hullpoints rather than Weapon Hardpoints.
Point Defenses
1 Hardpoint
Each time this weapon system is taken, it adds +2 point defenses to the number your ship starts with by default. Furthermore, although they are ineffective at long range, every Point Defense can deal 1 damage to enemy ships at Point Blank range.
Flack Cannon
0 Requisition Points
1 Hardpoint
Special: each Flack Cannon adds +3 to destroy torpedoes and strike craft.
Dakka Dakka Dakka!
Shieldbuster Beam
10 Requisition Points
1 Hardpoint
This unique emitter produces a non-lethal beam that drains up to 4 shields from your enemy and applies them to your own ship or an ally. If your target has less than 4 shields, your own shields are only restored by the same amount.
Sub-systems
Shield Generator (Max 1 per ship)
Enables defensive shields equal to the ship's Shield value that absorb damage to protect the hull and vital systems. Generally speaking, it is unheard of for a military vessel not to be equipped with a shield generator. Only commercial vessels or extremely desperate pirate ships operate without one. If the shield generator is damaged, the vessel will no longer benefit from shields negating damage to the hull until repaired - additionally, shields will not regenerate until the end of each combat engagement or until repairs are carried out. Once your shields are depleted, direct hull damage will begin to damage or destroy hardpoints. Damaged hardpoints can be repaired between combat engagements, however destroyed hardpoints are permanently gone unless your ship can be properly repaired in dry dock with suitable facilities. Choose your battles wisely.
There are different types of Shield Generator. These are only available to Destroyers, Cruisers, Carriers and Dreadnoughts. Smaller vessels have limited shielding and larger vessels often have multiple shield generators.
Shield Generator Mk 7
0 Requisition Points
0 Hardpoints - all ships have this system unless it is replaced by a superior shield
Shields: 10/10
The most common Shields used by Alliance vessels in the modern age.
Shield Generator Mk 8
0 Requisition Points
1 Hardpoint
Shields: 14/14
A significant improvement on the Mk 7, these shields can withstand significantly more damage.
Shield Generator Mk 9
0 Requisition Points
2 Hardpoints
Shields: 18/18
The Mk 9 is usually only seen on the largest and heaviest ships in the fleet due to the massive amount of hullspace it requires.
Shield Generator Mk 10
0 Requisition Points
3 Hardpoints
Shields: 20/20
The most powerful Shield Generator in the Alliance, it provides unparalleled protection at the cost of extremely high power consumption and hullspace. Alliance Titans were large enough to support two of these Generators.
Interceptor Launch bay
0 Requisition Points
1 Hardpoint
Squadron Damage: 1 (capital ships, escorts, corvettes)
Special: takes 1 turn to deploy unless pre-emptively scrambled. They will automatically engage the nearest hostile strike craft, interceptors and bombers or remain in a defensive formation to protect against torpedoes.
Fast and deadly strike craft. They are not very effective against capital ships but excel against bombers and torpedoes.
Bomber Launch bay
0 Requisition Points
1 Hardpoint
Squadron Damage: 6 (capital ships, escorts, corvettes)
Special: takes 1 turn to deploy and reach target enemy unless they are pre-emptively scrambled. It will then take an additional full turn to deploy the bomber squadron again and reach another target.
These flying payloads can decimate capital ships if left unchecked, especially when deployed in multiple waves with escorting strike craft to shield them.
Corvette Launch Bay
10 Requisition Points
4 Hardpoints
Corvettes are the largest strike craft ever produced, and the most versatile, able to engage both capital ships and strike-craft with their autocannon turrets.
They are extremely effective at destroying smaller strike craft but are vulnerable to capital ship weapons - even a few heavy cannon shots will quickly destroy them.
Their main defense against this is their speed, able to dodge incoming projectiles much more easily than larger vessels. As a Squadron the corvettes share a single profile.
For every full 2 HP they lose, their damage is reduced by 2 and their number of point defenses are reduced by 2.
3 Craft per squadron
Short range, can engage any target.
Corvette Squadron
HP: 6/6
Shields: 3/3
Damage: 6
Combat Speed: 4
Evasive Dodge: 55% to capital ship weapons
Special: immune to Flack cannons and point defenses. Counts as having 6 Point Defenses.
Therefore, a full corvette squadron will destroy interceptors on a 3+ and bombers on a 2+.
A squadron of 2 will destroy interceptors on a 5+ and bombers on a 4+.
A single corvette will destroy interceptors on a 7+ and bombers on a 5+.
Regenerating Shield Capacitors (max 1)
5 Requisition Points
1 Hardpoint
Special: Upgrades your ship's standard shield array, this experimental shield generator automatically replenishes
2 shield point at the start of your turn in each combat round, up to the ship's maximum. You may not have Regenerating Shield Capacitors as well as Overcharged Shield Capacitors.
Overcharged Shield Capacitors
5 Requisition Points
1 Hardpoints
Special: Once per combat engagement when your shields are below 50%, you can Overcharge your shields and immediately gain +5 shields for the rest of the battle. After this point, once your shields are depleted, they are gone until the combat ends. You may not have Overcharged Shield Capacitors as well as Regenerating Shield Capacitors.
Nuclear Payload
10 Requisition Points
1 Hullpoint
Your vessel is equipped with 3 Nuclear Missiles. These extremely dangerous weapons require a secure, radiation-proof storage vault to be transported. If your ship has a Missile Launcher, you may elect to fire a Nuclear Payload instead of shooting normally. It functions the same way as firing normally, except the damage increases to 25. The target ship as well as any other ships at Point Blank range, performing Boarding Actions to the target or Ramming the target, also suffer 25 damage. If your ship is destroyed for any reason, all ships at Point Blank range, performing Boarding Actions, Ramming your ship or in a Defensive Formation with your ship suffer 25 damage. A Nuclear Payload can only be used three times and then it must be replenished at a starbase.
Plasma Cooling Chamber
0 Requisition Points if you have selected the Plasma Torpedo Launcher
1 Hardpoint
Special: this hardpoint ensures that if the Plasma Torpedo Launcher is damaged, it will not cause additional damage to your vessel - unless your enemy destroys this hardpoint first or simultaneously.
Marine Barracks
0 Requisition Points
1 hardpoint
Damage: 2 (0 to shields)
Special: these highly trained marines are capable of infiltrating enemy ships to cause damage from within or capture the enemy vessel intact. They are also the only line of defense against enemy boarders and almost all ships maintain at least a minimal contingent of marines for defensive purposes. A ship with no marines is virtually defenseless if boarded. All Marine Barracks on a ship act as one for the purposes of boarding and defending ships. (See: Boarding Actions above)
Emergency Repair Bay
10 Requisition Points
2 Hardpoints (max 1)
Special: the advanced repair facilities and remote-control drones are capable of performing emergency repairs in the heat of battle. Each turn, the ERB can repair 2 hullpoints to any friendly ship including itself. This stacks with Damage Control healing. The drones can also come in handy for salvage operations in the cold vacuum of space.
Damage Control (max 1)
0 Requisition Points
1 Hardpoint
Special: while all vessels maintain a team of engineers to keep the ship running and make limited repairs, a dedicated Damage Control facility is essential for ships expecting a long-term deployment. This allows a ship to recover 1 hullpoint of damage every turn in combat and effectively repair damaged hardpoints outside of combat that have been rendered inoperative. Smaller vessels often forego these facilities, relying on their speed to avoid damage and larger support vessels or dry dock for serious repairs.
Ablative Armour (max 1)
0 Requisition Points
2 Hardpoints
Special: ablative armour sacrifices a lot of hull mount space in exchange for greater durability. The armour is valued by captains who feel most at home charging directly into the heat of battle or prefer to slug it out in a war of attrition with other vessels. While all starships are heavily armoured by default, this specialised additional protection turns a starship into a spacefaring tank capable of outlasting all but the most devastating attacks. Ablative Armour permanently adds four HPs. Additionally, Ablative Armour is only permanently destroyed when the entire ship is destroyed - it cannot be damaged.
Silent Running Stealth Generator (max 1)
20 Requisition Points
1 Hardpoint
Ships with this subsystem developed by Japan's Shogun Defense Corporation hark back to the Submarines of old earth, silent stalkers of the void, able to loiter in hostile space and report troop movements, land operatives upon enemy worlds, or ambush unsuspecting ships. This Generator bends light around it's ship's hull and masks all energy emissions, and while it may demand massive amounts of power and therefore require their captain to think before he strikes, lest he be anilated by the counter attack, the advanates this could bring if fully developed could reshape space combat.
This system renders the ship invisible to both visual and sensor sweeps. This is very useful for attacking an enemy with their shields down at point blank range so that they cannot dodge.
Think before you act - shields cannot be charged or maintained while stealth field is active.
Ship must de-cloak to fire. It may fire during the same turn it decloaks however must wait 1 full turn to raise shields - unless the enemy is completely destroyed, they will have a window of opportunity to return fire without your shields up!]
Valkyrie's Vengeance Defensive System
10 Requisition Points
1 Hardpoint
Developed by Scandinavian Solutions Inc, this network of hull plates and targeting systems favor the aggressive, in-your face captains, essentially, their plan of action is to take hits, as whenever the sophisticated computer system register a hit on its hull, it immediately tacks the fire to its source and counter-attacks, using advanced auto-loaders and Ion-cannon energy storage banks to quickly ready the retaliatory strike, although these additions can tax a warships power generators.
Pros: when fired upon ship makes an immediate counter-attack with all weapons. Cooldown: 2 turns
Cons: due to the power drain, shields are permanently reduced by 50%.
Reinforced Ram
0 Requisition Points
1 Hardpoint
Your ship receives 75% less damage from ramming hostile ships.
Hyper-impulse Engines
10 Requisition Points
1 Hardpoint
Your ship increases its combat speed by +1 and its evasive dodge by +15%.
CHARACTER SHEET AND EXAMPLE CHARACTER
Character sheet:
(Note: all characters must be human.)
Name:
Age:
Gender:
Personality:
Nationality:
Rank: (Minimum rank Lieutenant Commander, Commander or Captain)
Appearance:
Bio
Ship Name:
Class:
Appearance:
Shields: -/-
HPs: -/-
Hardpoints: -/-
- Communications Array
- Sensor Array
- Shuttle Bay
- FTL Drive
- Sub-light engine
- Life-support module
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Bridge Officers: (name, rank, brief description)
XO:
Helmsman:
Gunnery Chief:
Chief Engineer:
Marine Commander:
Crew:
Bio: (can be newly constructed or an old vessel)
Name: Maya Sharpe
Gender: Female
Age: 32
Nationality: European Federation (German.)
Personality: Driven, demanding. She knows that everyone can achieve much if they put effort into it, anyone who she feels doesn't try their hardest isn't worth her time.
Rank: Admiral
Appearance: Tall and imposing, Flame-read hair hangs down her back in a long braid. Suffered intense burns across her entire body during the Battle for New London and still bears the scars across her face and neck.
Bio: Coming from a long family history of Military service, Maya thought it was a no-brainer that she would follow her parents footsteps and enlist in the Navy at 18 with no complaints. Graduation at the top of her class and with the highest test scores stunned the alliance brass that tutored her, that combined with her natural good-looks made her the poster girl of the Alliance for several years, yet it was during the Battle of New London that she earned her lasting fame. Successfully defending an entire planet from a Pirate invasion, (that included a mighty dreadnaught,) with only her Carrier, "Vanguard". her rise through the ranks afterwards was meteoritic, and now she serves as a training officer at Fort Norton, prepping the officers of a new exploratory fleet to be formed under her command.
Ship Name: "Vanguard"
Class: Carrier
Appearance:
Shields: 10/10
HPs: 10/10
Hardpoints: 10/10
- Communications Array
- Sensor Array
- Shuttle Bay
- FTL Drive
- Sub-light engine
- Life-support module
- Shield Generator (1 hullpoint)
- 2 Torpedo Launchers (2 hullpoints)
- 3 Interceptor Launch Bays (3 hullpoints)
- 3 Bomber Launch Bays (3 hullpoints)
- Point Defense System (1 hullpoint)
- ESM Pod (free)
Bridge Officers: (name, rank, brief description)
XO: Commander Gordon Johnson
Helmsman: Lt James L Macguyver
Gunnery Chief: Lt Eleanor Richards
Chief Engineer: Lt Cmdr. Samuel Adams
Marine Commander: Cmdr. Ross Mason
Bio: Although outdated-looking on the outside, "Vanguard" carries cutting edge tech within her old and battered hull, and is even more Famous throughout the Alliance than its captain.
Originally designed as a mobile refinery and factory, intended to travel between systems gathering resources, upsurges of pirate attacks against the outer colonies in the years approaching the Navy's one hundred years anniversary, that required the vessel's refit into a dedicated combat vessel. New London was the closest planet to the wandering harvester with the required industry to perfrom the changes, so the Vanguard was sent there. Its was merely a few days after the work was complete that the massive pirate fleet attacked, and the new warship was thrown into the fires of combat all to soon with an entire word at the stake.
Now, even though it is nearly 70 years old, it has been retrofitted with the latest technology available to keep this venerable ship flying just a little while longer.
Some Facts about New London
- the Vanguard had been a mobile refinery until a few bays before the attack, with singe launch bay for defense, she'd always resented it as a pointless backwater assignment, as i mentioned, she got top marks in Norton Training.
- it was the only Alliance ship in system. vs a Pirate Dreadnaught who thought the system easy prey.
- Sharpe refused to retreat and let the Pirates take how many thousands of people as slaves. As a result, Sharpe ordered everyone else to evacuate while she distracted the enemy and bought time for the people on the planet to get to shelters.
- The Vangaurd would have been destroyed if the two ships hadn't knocked out eacth others command centres at the same time, leaving both dead in the water.
- She suffered extreme burns across her entire body, burns that disfigured her, (She had once posed as Poster-Girl, something she had been very proud of at the time.)
EXAMPLE COMBAT POSTS
Combat posts.
Combat posts are in character posts that involve their ship attacking or making an aggressive move towards another vessel. this is so I as the GM will be able to describe reactions and damage to each players action. Players will be informed as to when they are in a combat situation, at that point, objectives and a list of detected hostiles will be displayed.
Once in combat players are to display a health and shields count, along with their ship name so I and other players can determine their status at a glance.
Aggressive moves include:
Readying or Firing weapons
Launching strike craft,
attempting to ram another vessel.
attempting to go to hyper-space. (although not a combat action per-say, this indicates a desire to leave the combat.)
Non-Aggressive moves include:
Raising shields
attempting repairs
Communicating between ships in the fleet,
maneuvering. (but keep in mind the time frame, no moving across the system before your ion cannon shots have hit the target, for example.)
Combat posts Example:
GM posts:
WIth a sudden flare of light and energy, three pirate Raider-class cruisers emerged from hyper-space almost right on top of the lone "EXAMPLE", readying their trio of heavy cannons as they fell upon their prey.
You are now in combat.
Hostiles: Three Raider class cruisers.
Raider
3 heavy cannons
5 slave bays.(Non combat systems.)
Objectives:
Survive
Player A posts
"EXAMPLE"
Ship Status: Battle stations
Hull: 8
Shields: 8
Alarms blared throughout the EXAMPLE as hostile cruisers began to warp into the system almost right on top of them,
"Alert! Three hostile cruisers detected. Direct front, three thousand kilometers. They're arming weapons."
Sharpe was quick to respond.
"All hands to battle stations," she ordered. "Raise shields, Load both torp tubes. Standby to fire main guns."
"Aye ma'am." her XO replied, "General Quarters. General Quarters, all hands man your battle stations. we are now at condition one."
A flickering field of energy enveloped the Alliance ship, while within its hull crewmen were rushing to their stations, damage control teams were ready, and auto-loaders armed the point defenses and heavy cannons
"There! Target the foremost cruiser, both tubes and all guns. Fire"
"Aye, aye." replied the gunnery officer, "Fire one. Fire two. All guns fire."
A brief burst of atmosphere sprouted from the bow of the EXAMPLE as two huge missiles were launched from their tubes hidden there and streaked towards their target. the Three cannons mount on the ships spine fired in a silent roar, sending high explosives screaming towards the hostile ship
"Clean Launch, Torpedoes one and two are on target." reported the gunnery officer
"Move us away, full speed, open some distance between us."
Its deadly cargo away, the mighty CRUSIER turned about and sped away from its aggressors.
GM posts:
Surprised by the sudden reaction of the lone enemy, the cruiser it had targeted opened up with its heavy cannons without raising its own shields first, three shots speeding through the void between the two ships to impact the larger ships shields in bright flares of energy.
the Alliance Cruiser's own shots tore from the unprotected pirate's hull and tore a cannon from its mount. Enraged, it turned to follow its foe, finally raising its own shields.
the other two followed suit, firing their own weapons at the retreating ship, finally bursting its protective field and damaging the armor beneath
Cruiser A status:
Hull: 5
shields: 8
Crusier B status:
Hull: 8
Sheilds: 8
Cruiser C status:
Hull: 8
Shields: 8
Player A then posts:
"EXAMPLE"
Ship Status: Taking damage
Hull: 7
Shields: 0
"We've been hit! Minor Hull damage. Shields are down"
"Solid hits with main guns. Torpedoes are still on target
"Evasive maneuvers." Sharpe ordered, "Contact fleet command. request reinforcements."
Miscellaneous background
Background on PDF organization and responsibilities, the unification of Human Armed forces under a single mutual command. The Sword.
The Alliance Navy and Planetary defense forces.
Mankind has been unified for nearly two hundred years.
The Alliance Navy has full control over Mankind armed forces as a security measure to prevent its member states from attacking each other. Every nation and colony has a responsibility to meet recruitment quotas, but beyond gathering the recruits, they have no control over what those men and women do beyond having their council member vote on it in session. In essence, the Navy is from every country, yet belongs to none of them.
The Navy is not responsible for a planet's internal security, thats for their Planetary Defense Force, (PDF) these men and women are locally recruited and supplied by their homeworld, they operating as both a garrison and police force and are equipped with tanks, artillery, Police cars and what ever else they need to ensure security on ground operations. The many PDFs are separate from the navy and is mainly autonomous although in the unlikely event of a full scale invasion the Navy would have command authority due to their being the "real" millitary, and can provide Air Support with Strike craft, bolster defensive positions with marine fire teams and Harbinger dropships, not to mention they can annihilate hostiles from orbit if needed.
Transfers between the PDFs are uncommon, but could happen, but it'll be like teaching a fish to fly, or a bird to swim, they'd have little to base their training on, and sometimes it'll be too ingrained to bother replacing.
Example: a PDF fighter pilot thinks in "up" and "down, concepts that don't exist in Space, a PDF pilot would have to work extremely hard to overcome that, were as a Navy pilot is trained from a blank slate and can more easily adjust on the rare occasions they need to fly in atmosphere.
The Sword.
The Sword is given to a cadet who qualified from an Academy, those who earned their command via the XO path don't tend to have one, thus The Sword is a highly coveted a status symbol and only comes in one style, Longword, which is why it is so easily recognized throughout the Human Systems Alliance. If it came in different types, anyone could claim they'd gone through the hellish training and the symbol would lose its value. If an Officer earns distinction during their service, they may have the formal name of the event engraved on the blade.
Captains are not required to wear the sword at all times, only during formal ceremonies, but many like to keep a reminder of their achivements close.
Example: Sharpe successfully defended an entire planet with nothing more than a recently converted ore miner against a dreadnought class ship, so she has the Planet's name "New London" engraved on the blade.