Revised Heavy Combat Rules (Including Plasma and Emergency Warp)

Appendix 4: Heavy Combat Rules

(note: these rules may be amended for balance or to take into account new ships/systems as the game advances. The game owner is the final judge in all rule-related questions)


For purposes of balance, a ship not equipped with directed energy weapons rolls two six-sided dice, while a ship with directed energy weapons rolls three. This is to ensure that non-directed energy weapon ships don't have a disproportionate amout of points with which to apply ECM or shield reinforcement.


Movement.

Speeds are indicated in increments of one point. Players can use one rolled point to accelerate or deccelerate by one point of speed. A speed of one moves your ship one unit per turn. One unit is roughly equal to the length of the ship. For purposes of play, different ships of the same class are assumed to be approximately the same length.

Rotating in place while firing is possible, but only half of directed energy will hit initial target. If a targetted ship rotates to avoid fire, it will still take full effect on the initial shield facing from any directed energy weapon (phasers, beam disruptors) on the first phase of the turn. Damage from torpedoes and packet disruptors are divided. If a ship fires a directed energy weapons while rotating, the damage is divided. If a ship fires photon or packet disruptor while rotating, damage is not split (because it tracks to the designated target).

Turn Ratios:

Used for turning on a map, or rotating in place. 1/1 means you can turn one shield facing in one turn. 1/2 means you can turn one shield facing in two turns, and so on.

Freighter (F) 1/1

Frigate (FF) 1/1

Destroyer (DD) 1/2

Light Cruiser (CL) 1/3

Heavy Cruiser (CA) 1/4

Dreadnought (DN) 1/5


Targetting specific system: 1 in 10 chance of doing 1 point of damage. (Refer to chart if using two 6-sided dice.)

2(total) =1

3=2

4=3

5=4

6=5

7=6

8=7

9=8

10=9

11=10

12=reroll


Beam Disruptor/Phaser Rules:
Phasers and Beam Disruptors track to port/starboard/dorsal/ventral
Max range is 10 (X.5)
Range 9 (X1)
Range 8 (X2)
Range 7 (X3)
Range 6 (X4)
Med range is 5 (X5)
Range 4 (X6)
Range 3 (X8)
Range 2 (X9)
Close range is 1 (X10)

Defensive Phaser Rules:
Phasers and Beam Disruptors track to port/starboard/dorsal/ventral
One point to fire. Roll for damage, Roll 1d6
Max range is 5 (X.5)
Range 4 (X1)
Range 3 (X2)
Range 2 (X3)
Close range is 1 (X4)
(damage totals ending in .5 round down)

Photon Rules:
One pt required to fire photons. In all photon equipped ships, if a ship has at least two launchers, one will cover all forward arcs while the other will cover aft arcs. All photons can track to ventral or dorsal arcs. Photon Torpedoes can be launched every other turn. Separate roll for photons. Roll once for 'to hit' (at range 8-10). Roll again for damage. CA has a max of 20 torpedoes.
Range 1-3= X8 multiplier (Range 1=additional 1/4 damage to attacking ship). Always hits.
Range 4-7= X4 multiplier. Always hits.
Range 8-10= X2 multiplier. Needs 3-6 to hit.

Packet (Klingon) Disruptor Rules:
One point required to fire disruptors. Klingon disruptors fire forward only, but can track to dorsal and ventral arcs. Disruptor Bolts can be launched every third turn. Separate roll for disruptors. Roll once for 'to hit' (at range 8-10). Roll again for damage.
Range 1-3= X8 multiplier. Always hits.
Range 4-7= X4 multiplier. Always hits.
Range 8-10= X2 multiplier. Needs 3-6 to hit.

Plasma Torpedo Rules:
Four points required to fire plasma torpedo, and 1 point per turn to maintain charge. (1 point per turn over four turns). Plasmas can track to all arcs. Plasmas always hit. Damage according to range chart. Plasma torpedo tracks to original target, moving three spaces per turn.
Damage Multiplier:
Range 1-3= X30 (Range 1=additional 5pts damage to attacking ship).
Range 4-7= X20
Range 8-10= X15

(Note on Plasma defense: Batteries provide emergency warp power for burst of speed. Two spaces per turn. During use of emergency warp, no other actions possible. Each use of emergency warp depletes one battery.) At Range 5+, plasma's can be destroyed with ten pts damage from any weapon.

Cloaking Rules:
Cloak renders ship invisible and untracable. Cloaking requires 1 point to initiate and maintain. Cloaked player must keep track of his movements/position relative to opponent(s), and must report movements to moderator (if there is one) Ships cannot remain cloaked for more than ten consecutive turns. Ships cannot fire when cloaked. Cloaking ship has neither shields nor weaponry for one turn prior to, and one turn after cloaking device activated. Countermeasures can be used to protect vessel while cloaked, and cloaking/decloaking. If opponent manages to hit cloaked vessel, damage goes straight to armor, hull and internals. Player rolls 6-sided die to simulate attacking ship's attempt to hit cloaked vessel. Roll of 1 is required on a 1d6 roll.

Lack of Sensors Rules are similar to cloaked rules. If a ship has lost as much as 1/2 sensor capacity, 1-3 (6 sided die) necessary to hit with any weapon. With complete loss of sensors, player rolls 6-sided die to simulate attacking ship's attempt to hit the opponent. Roll of 1 is required on a 1d6 roll.

If ship with 'experienced' rating has 10 points to devote to sensors, cloaked vessel can be 'flash' detected at range of 4, for that turn only. Targeting is possible for that turn only. If they hit, damage goes straight
to hull and internals.

Max of two points (pre-multiplier) can be used to repair two systems over 3 turns

Loss of Impluse engines means you can't manuever. Loss of half of impulse capacity means it takes twice as long to move. Turn ratio is doubled as well. Loss of warp capacity restricts you to 1 repair point per turn. Any other action requires repair of warp systems.

Two points can be used to move laterally. For example, if ship A rolls to port, ship B can use two points to move laterally to maintain desired shield facing. You can't fire while moving laterally, and any fire received hits the shield facing the enemy. Due to the stress placed on the spaceframe, you can only move laterally every two turns. Same rule applies for HET (High Energy Turn). One battery can also be used for an HET. An HET allows the player to turn in any direction immediately. The same limitation placed on lateral moves also applies to HET's.

One point of shield reinforcement takes two points. Shield reinforcement can last to a second turn if it isn't fired on. Then shield levels return to normal.

One point of countermeasures takes two points. Countermeasures can last to a second turn if it isn't fired on. Then levels return to normal.

If a ship loses 3/4 of its internals, it is subject to catastrophic damage, calculated as such: (1d6):

Roll: 1
Lose Additional Internals: 6
Roll: 2
Lose Additional Internals: 5
Roll: 3
Lose Additional Internals: 4
Roll: 4
Lose Additional Internals: 3
Roll: 5
Lose Additional Internals: 2
Roll: 6
Lose Additional Internals: 1
(Round up or down if necessary. If your calculation ends up at .5 or less, round down. .51 or up round up)

Shuttle/Fighter Rules:
Loss of shuttle bays prevents launch or recovery of shuttles/fighters. Shuttle's max speed is 4. Fighter's max speed is 3. Fed shuttles are armed with defensive phasers. Klingon/Romulan shuttles are armed with defensive beam disruptors. Shuttles can withstand 15 points damage. Federation fighters are armed with standard phaser and photon torpedo. Klingon/Romulan fighters are armed with standard beam disruptor and photon torpedo. Fighters can withstand 20 points of damage. Any attempt to target a shuttle or fighter is subject to 1-3 on a 1d6 roll to account for maneuverability of the small craft. ECM Support Shuttles generate a constant 5 point ECM support as long as they remain within three spaces of launching ship (or other ship, as designated by Command and Control ship. Maximum of four ECM Support Shuttles can be assigned to a single ship at a time.

Multipliers For Experience In Ground Combat/Boarding Party Action
in ground or boarding party:
• Presence of Captain adds a point to each die rolled
• Presence of Security Chief adds a point to each die rolled
• Presence of CMO removes 1pt damage per crew per round
• Presence of Science Officer gets past system-specific security codes
• Presence of Communications Officer translates any alien language

Benefits of Experience Points:

Five Points= "Experienced"
Ten Points= "Veteran"
Twenty-Five Points= "Elite"
Fifty Points= "Legendary"

Rewards for Experience Points:

"Experienced"
• Heavy Combat: Five 'Hero Points'*/Flash-Detect cloaked vessel at range four with 10 sensor points
• Basic Combat: Initial five points extra
• Ground Combat/Boarding Party: Extra 1d6 roll added to ranks
• All Game Types: One extra ship of Light Cruiser or lower class

"Veteran"
• Heavy Combat: Seven "Hero Points"*/Flash-Detect cloaked vessel at range four with 10 sensor points
• Basic Combat: Initial seven points extra
• Ground Combat/Boarding Party: Extra 2d6 rolls added to ranks
• All Game Types: One extra ship of equal or lower class

"Elite"
• Heavy Combat: Ten "Hero Points"*/Flash-Detect cloaked vessel at range four with 10 sensor points
• Basic Combat: Initial ten points extra
• Ground Combat/Boarding Party: Extra 3d6 roll added to ranks
• All Game Types: Two extra ships of equal or lower class

"Legendary"
• Heavy Combat: Fifteen "Hero Points"*/Flash-Detect cloaked vessel at range four with 10 sensor points
• Basic Combat: Initial fifteen points extra
• Ground Combat/Boarding Party: Extra 5d6 roll added to ranks
• All Game Types: Freedom to create as many ships as you can handle
• Game-wide access to contributing/editing scenarios
• Moderator status consideration

*"hero point"= one opportunity to turn faster, repair a system quicker by one turn, restore a shield box in a single turn, reload a photon or packet disruptor in a single turn. Essentially, any action that a more experienced crew (such as a 'miracle worker') could do quicker, you can do once by using a "hero point". Any disagreement about the use of a hero point will be decided by the owner or moderator.

Combat Veteran Intuition:
Any player who has conducted five heavy combat exercises has the ability to suspect the presence of a cloaked ship lying in wait. The method for this is for the combat veteran to roll a 1d6. A roll of 1-3 allows the veteran to fire randomly or simply maximize countermeasures without proof of any cloaked ships. An 'Experienced' rated player can also attempt to flash-detect using the appropriate rules. This comes into play in single-player games when a player is going against a cloaked opponent but shouldn't know that, or if an experienced player wishes a moderator to give them random surprises.

One experience point rewarded for:
• Five Heavy Combat engagements or
• Ten Basic Combat engagements or
• Five post-length (100+ words each) log entries
• Ten "What Are Your Orders, Captain?'", "Captain's Log", or other Command College exercises.