| MOVEMENT | |
SPECIAL |
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COMBAT
The basic object of most INTERCEPTOR scenarios is to destroy the enemy. To do this, ships are maneuvered into the best possible attack position and their weapons are fired. The important factors involved in making a successful attack are firing arcs, line-of-sight, range, and crew quality.
GENERAL COMBAT PROCEDURE
Combat takes place during the Movement Phase. Each energy-using weapons system on a ship that was powered during the Decision Phase, and all missile-carrying hardpoints with ammunition remaining, may fire once per turn. Weapons may be fired at any time during a turn, except during the Initiative and Decision Phases -- during another player's move, during your own move, before or after a move, etc. The procedure is as follows:
| Announce what weapon(s) will fire at what target, and at what point on the map. If a target is moving, the firing player must watch as it moves across the map, and declare his fire at the instant of his choice; he may not watch the target complete its movement and then move it back to an advantageous point. All weapons that are to fire at this point must be declared. All weapons allocated against a target are considered to fire even if not all of them are required to destroy the target. |
| If the target wishes to return fire, the owning player states this now, and does so under the same restrictions as the original firer. If the target's owner says nothing, the target must undergo the attack and suffer the consequences. The target may either return fire at the unit attacking it, or at any other unit in its field of fire. In either case, the exchange of fire is considered to be simultaneous. |
| To resolve the fire of each weapon, make sure that the intended target is within the firing arc of that weapon and within its range. Once a to-hit number has been determined, roll to see if the shot struck the target; if it does, it will do damage in a manner based on its type and the target's level of shielding. |
A firing arc is the area of space around a ship into which a particular weapon can be aimed. For fixed weapons
(those not mounted in a fully-rotating turret), there are four arcs: Forward, Aft, Left, and Right. Any object within
the lines delimiting the firing arc are potential targets for the weapons mounted to cover that arc. Turreted weapons
can fire into any and all of the four arcs. All fire is considered to be coming from the rear hex of the counter and
aimed at the rear hex of the target counter. If ships should be firing at each other in the same hex, the arc of fire to
use for each is determined by the pilot of the ship that moved into that hex last during the Movement Phase.
Weapons under the control of a ship's pilot are normally fixed to fire through its Forward arc. Any weapons fixed to fire through other arcs and/or mounted in turrets must either be operated by a gunner, or risk task overloading the pilot (see PILOTS AND CREW). Note that the actual field of fire of a fixed weapon is much less than its arc indicates; the extra area incorporates attack angles and ship positioning that the hexgrid cannot easily show.
LINE OF SIGHT AND TACTICAL INTELLIGENCE
INTERCEPTOR's map scale is 15 kilometers to the hex; under ordinary circumstances, as long as a unit is on the playing area it can be seen at all times and fired at if in range. However, there are times when battles are fought in and around "terrain" such as asteroids, wreckage, gas clouds and the like which can have a variety of effects on play - - especially on line of sight. Even under normal circumstances, electronic jamming, counter-jamming and other deception measures can make identification of targets and their status uncertain until one gets close enough to "count rivets".
TACTICAL INTELLIGENCE: Depending on how close any of his units are to enemy ships, a player may require his opponent to give him information about those units. The amount of intelligence that can be gathered by observing an enemy unit is as follows:
| TACTICAL INTELLIGENCE TABLE | ||||
| ||||
| Exact Ship Class need only be revealed if the opponent would recognize the ship class; else, tonnage only |
COVER: Ships may use wreckage or asteroids as cover (see ASTEROIDS). A ship may also use a friendly ship as cover by declaring this before movement begins. The covered unit must start a turn in the same hex as its covering ship and spend the entire turn with the same velocity, heading and facing as the covering ship, moving at the same time. The covered unit must specify which side of the covering ship it is hiding behind, and may only fire into or be fired at through the 180 degree arc opposite the covering ship. The covering ship must be at least three times the tonnage of the covered unit (i.e., a 245-ton FLUTTERING PETAL fighter could hide behind a 1000-ton PEGASUS corvette but not vice versa, nor could it hide behind another PETAL). If the line of sight from an observing unit passes through the covering ship, increase the range bracket by two. Also see DANGER SPACE, below.
DANGER SPACE: If two or more ships are in the same hex, and any or all of them are not in cover (see COVER, above), there is a chance that fire that misses its intended target will hit the other unit(s) close to it. If a shot misses its original target, make another to-hit number calculation for the next largest unit in the same hex that is not in cover (size priority calculated in the fashion as for movement order) and re-roll the attack. This process is continued until the shot hits one of the targets in the hex, or until it has missed all of them, in which case it has no further effect. Also note that HELL missiles destroyed in the same hex as their target, or any HELL missiles used for anti-missile fire in the same hex as a ship (friendly or not), will affect all non-covered units in that hex -- see DAMAGE.
RANGE
Range is determined by counting the number of hexes from the firing craft to its target, including the target's hex but
excluding the attacker's. Begin at the hex next to the attacker along the line-of-sight and follow the shortest path to
the target. The range has an effect on how difficult it is to hit the target, with distant targets being harder to hit.
For example, the range from Fighter A to Fighter B is six hexes, from Fighter B to Fighter C is four hexes, and from Fighter C to Fighter A is five hexes.
DIRECT FIRE PROCEDURE
Non-missile weapons fire can begin after a player has determined that a target is within range and that there is a clear line-of-sight. First, determine the Base To-Hit Number of the firing weapon (or for a group, if using TOT gear -- see CONSTRUCTION SYSTEM), which depends on range. Roll the die; the number rolled is then modified by crew skill differential, target attitude, and any other appropriate factors. If the final result is equal to or less than the Base To-Hit Number, the weapon has scored a hit. In any case, a roll of 1 will always hit, and a 10 will always miss.
| BASE TO-HIT NUMBER TABLE | ||||||||||||
|
This number is modified by the following factors:
SKILL DIFFERENTIAL:
The firing pilot or gunner subtracts his Gunnery Skill Level, plus any Gunnery familiarity bonus, from the To-Hit die
roll. The target's pilot then adds his Piloting skill, plus any Piloting familiarity bonus, to the To-Hit die roll.
TARGET ATTITUDE:
The relative velocity and directions of motion between the attacker and his target also affects the To-Hit die roll. All
target attitudes are judged on the basis of the target's HEADING. Apply the following modifiers:
| ANGLE OF ATTACK MODIFIERS | |||
|  | ||
Paralleling is when Firer and target heading in same direction, and firing side-mounted weapons into target's side or turreted weapons into any facing. A target must have a velocity of at least 1 to qualify for these modifiers. A target that remains stationary does not receive any angle of attack modifier. Any question as to which facing is being hit is resolved in the target's favor.
DAMAGE TO ATTACKER:
Internal damage to a ship may affect its ability to hit a target. See INTERNAL DAMAGE EFFECTS for details.
CONSECUTIVE TARGETS:
The attacker adds 1 to the To-Hit die roll for each target he has fired at after the first this turn (i.e., if this is the third
ship he is firing at this turn, he would take a +2 modifier).
OTHER MODIFIERS:
A ship in Random Movement can still fire weapons, but does so with a +3 To-Hit die roll modifier in lieu of any
Gunnery or familiarity bonuses. A target in Random Movement DOES NOT receive modifiers for Piloting skill or
familiarity. Any attacker suffering from task overload receives the modifiers specified in PILOTS AND CREW.
Subtract 1 from the To-Hit die roll for every 1000 tons after the first (rounding down) of a target ship's tonnage (e.g., no modifier if attacking a 1000-ton ship, but subtract 4 from the To-Hit roll if attacking a 5500 ton ship, and so on).
For example, Pilot Marcos has a green Renegade pilot in his sights. His Base To-Hit Number at range 6 is 7. His Gunnery skill is 4, and he has a Gunnery familiarity bonus of 1; the Renegade has a Piloting skill of 4 and no Piloting familiarity bonus. The angle of attack modifier is +4, and there are no other To-Hit modifications. The combined modifier to the To-Hit roll is +3, so Marcos must roll a 4 or less for each weapon that is being fired to hit the target, since his PILUM is not fitted with TOT gear.
DIRECT FIRE WEAPON SYSTEMS -- NOTES
| IMPORTANT: | Note that the only direct-fire weapons that may be used while in atmosphere are lasers (NOT cone lasers), mass driver cannon, and MDC-Gs. | Lasers: | No changes to standard To-Hit procedure. They do damage in a line one column wide, and rows deep accorded by the damage done. | CLs, MDCs, EPCs NPCs and TPPs: | No changes to standard To-Hit procedure. They do damage as accorded by their template. | Laser/EPC: | The firer must make two To-Hit rolls for this weapon. If the first roll succeeds, the laser component of the weapon hits and does
damage normally. If not, do not make a second roll. The second roll determines whether the EPC component successfully followed the laser bolt. If the roll succeeds, the EPC will hit the same column of the target's armour block that the laser did. If not, the EPC misses and does no damage. If TOT is being used, the firer must still make two rolls as though a single LEPC was being fired, with the same effects for successful or unsuccessful rolls. |
Pod-Mounted Lasers and MDCs: | No changes to standard To-Hit procedure. Treat as standard laser of the appropriate size, with the exception that pod has a limited range and number of shots -- see PODS. | MDC-G: | No changes to standard To-Hit procedure when being used in offensive mode -- treat as MDC 8; when in defensive mode, see SHIELDS AND ANTI-MISSILE SYSTEMS. |
GENERAL MISSILE FIRE PROCEDURE
Unlike direct fire, a missile attack requires no To-Hit die roll -- an attack automatically hits if a missile reaches its target's hex without first being stopped by anti-missile fire or other obstacles. The difficult part is achieving a lock-on to fire the missile at all -- but, once this is done, the weapon will take care of itself.
A missile can be launched at any point during the Movement Phase if the firer is not in Random Movement, preconditions for locking-on that missile type have been achieved, if the target is within the missile's range bracket (or to a maximum of 15 hexes, if in atmosphere), and if the firer rolls equal to or lower than the missile's Intelligence Rating. If the target is using ECM, the base Intelligence number is reduced by 3 for all missiles except DFMs and RISs. The firer also reduces the base Intelligence number by 1 for each target he has fired at after the first this turn, either with missiles or direct fire weapons (i.e., if this is the third ship he is firing at this turn, he would reduce the missile's Intelligence by 2 to reflect the lowered time the weapon has to lock-on). Should the lock-on roll fail, the missile cannot be launched this turn at any target.
When a ship launches a missile (other than DFMs -- see below), a missile counter is placed on the launching ship's hex. The firer then moves it across the board hex by hex along the shortest path to its target as his opponent watches, giving him the chance to take action (see DEFENSIVE SYSTEMS, below).
If the missile enters an obstructed hex (containing an asteroid, wreckage or the like), the missile uses its intelligence as its Piloting skill level for any required Piloting rolls, and is assumed to have a velocity of 10 for this purpose only. If the missile fails its roll, it hits the obstruction and inflicts its damage to the obstacle as necessary.
If a missile hits its target, and if it penetrates the target's shields, damage is resolved normally using the appropriate Damage Template.
MISSILE TYPES -- NOTES
DOGFIGHT ARMOUR PIERCING MISSILE (DAP):
DESCRIPTION: DAPs are "all-angle" missiles equipped with very heavy armour piercing warheads for use in close-range dogfights.LOCK-ON PRECONDITIONS: The DAP's target must be within the attacking ship's forward 60-degree arc; this restriction is lifted if a turret-mounted hardpoint is launching a DAP). The attacking ship must have a clear line-of-sight to the target and must be within three hexes to attempt a lock-on roll.
INTELLIGENCE RATING: 7
DAMAGE: 30 points (See Template)
RANGE BRACKET: Minimum = 0; Maximum = 3
DESCRIPTION: A DFM cluster is designed to inundate its target with a large number of small, high- velocity unguided missiles.LOCK-ON PRECONDITIONS: None -- treat DFM attacks in the same fashion as a direct fire attack, rather than a missile attack. There is an additional +4 To-Hit Modifier that reflects the large quantity and spread of projectiles heading for the target. As with a direct fire attack, DFMs cannot be intercepted, nor are they affected by ECM or Decoys.
INTELLIGENCE RATING: NA
DAMAGE: 12 points (See Template)
RANGE BRACKET: Minimum = 0; Maximum = 6
DESCRIPTION: The RIS missile tracks a target's engine exhaust radiation. It is therefore useless against OIs.
LOCK-ON PRECONDITIONS: The RIS' target must be within the attacking ship's forward 60-degree arc (or that of a turret launching an RIS) and the attacker must be within the target's 120-degree rear arc, as shown in the illustration. The attacking ship must have a clear line-of-sight to the target and must be within ten hexes to attempt a lock-on roll.
INTELLIGENCE RATING: 5 -- unaffected by ECM, but is affected by Decoys
DAMAGE: 30 points (See Template)
RANGE BRACKET: Minimum = 3; Maximum = 10
DESCRIPTION: The SSS missile locks on to the configuration or silhouette of its target.LOCK-ON PRECONDITIONS: Functional scanners are required to fire this missile. The attacking ship must have a clear line-of-sight to a target within its 60-degree forward arc and be within 30 hexes to attempt a lock-on roll. Unlike DAPs, turret-mounted SSS missiles must also abide by these lock-on preconditions.
INTELLIGENCE RATING: 8
DAMAGE: 20 points (See Template)
RANGE BRACKET: Minimum = 3; Maximum = 30
DESCRIPTION: TGMs track a ship's friend-or-foe transponder signal. They are "fire-and-forget" weapons, whose method of operation makes them useful as a screen for a retreat or as nuisances during an attack.LOCK-ON PRECONDITIONS: Unlike other missiles, TGMs are not used up in one turn -- they lie dormant until they acquire a target. When launched, a TGM counter is placed in its launching ship's hex, taking on the ship's velocity (plus or minus up to 3 points at the firer's option) and heading. The TGM will continue to drift at that velocity and heading until it locks onto a target. When movement starts in the turn after launch, the TGM makes a lock-on roll against each target not broadcasting a friendly transponder signal up to 30 hexes away, including friendly ships with damaged transponders. Once a lock-on roll succeeds, the missile will move to attack in the usual way. If no lock-on is achieved, the TGM continues drifting and must try to make a lock-on roll in each succeeding turn.
INTELLIGENCE RATING: 7 -- TGM Mark Is will lock-on to ANY target not broadcasting a friendly transponder signal. TGM Mark IIs are sometimes able to distinguish between enemy and friendly ships that are not sending out a transponder signal; see below.
DAMAGE: 15 points (See Template)
RANGE BRACKET: Minimum = 0; Maximum = 30
DESCRIPTION: Using a system identical to the SSS, the HELL missile locks on to the configuration or silhouette of its target. Its great size, devastatingly powerful warhead and high cost tend to restrict its use to attacks on high-value targets such as large OIs or PCS.LOCK-ON PRECONDITIONS: Functional scanners are required to fire this missile. The attacking ship must have a clear line-of-sight to a target within its 60-degree forward arc and be within 30 hexes to attempt a lock-on roll. Unlike DAPs, turret-mounted HELL missiles must also abide by these lock-on preconditions.
INTELLIGENCE RATING: 8
DAMAGE: Variable -- the HELL missile is salvage-fused to insure detonation in all cases, and will also do damage to nearby targets when it explodes.
A HELL missile that strikes its target and penetrates its shields will inflict 300 points of damage to the target facing that was struck and 150 points to each of the facings adjacent to the one struck. For example, if a target's Aft facing was struck, it takes 300 hits, and the Left Aft and Right Aft facings would take 150 hits each.
If the target's shields stopped the missile (see DEFENSIVE SYSTEMS, below), the damage to the three facings affected is equal to the basic damage times the percentage chance of successful penetration of the given shields. For example, a target has shields with a flicker rate of 70 on its Forward and Aft facings and a rate of 60 on all other facings. If its Aft facing was struck by a HELL missile which its shields stopped, it would still suffer damage from the close-up blast. The Aft facing would take 150 hits and the Left Aft and Right Aft facings would each take 75 hits, since the chance of penetrating a 60- or 70-rate shield is 50%, thus halving the HELL's basic damage.
Ships in the same hex as a HELL detonation (including the original target, if it had shot the HELL down or decoyed it away at that point) will suffer damage to the three facings nearest to the blast, and reduce damage based on their shield rates in the same fashion as described above. The procedure is the same as for HELLs stopped by target shields, except that the damage inflicted on the nearest facing (before reduction by shields) is 200 hits and that to the adjacent facings is 100.
Ships 1 hex away from a HELL detonation take damage in the same way as those in the same hex, but the damage is reduced to 100 on the nearest facing and 50 to the adjacent facings; ships 2 hexes away from a HELL detonation take 50 on the nearest facing and 25 to the adjacent facings. Ships 3 or more hexes away from a HELL detonation suffer no damage at all.
All missiles, decoys and ejected crews drifting in space that are within the blast radius of a HELL detonation are destroyed. Note that destroying another HELL missile in this way will cause it to explode as well, with the same effects as the original. It is thus possible to have a very spectacular chain reaction if several HELLs are in the area at the same time, which most commanders keep in mind when employing them. Caveat Emptor!
RANGE BRACKET: Minimum = 4; Maximum = 30
These are attachment points for pods and missiles, which can be located either interior or exterior to a ship's armoured shell. An autoloader, although it performs most of the same function as a hardpoint, is what its name implies -- a magazine-fed, automatically reloading missile launcher -- rather than a rack from which ordinance is slung and dropped.Hardpoints can carry either missiles or pods; they may not carry both at once. Missiles are described above, Pods are self-contained systems that can be mounted in place of missiles on a ship's hardpoints, giving extra flexibility when preparing for a mission. Specific cost and price data for all of the above can be found in the CONSTRUCTION SYSTEM. Note that non-weapon pods (ELS, ECM, Sensor, Painting, and Safeguard-1) cannot be carried on turreted hardpoints, nor may any type of pod be carried in the ammunition bays of autoloaders.
A hardpoint may carry any combination of pods or missiles within its tonnage limit, and as restricted in the Notes for that particular type. It is not permitted to split the weight of a missile or pod between several hardpoints (i.e., a HELL missile weighing 10 tons could not be carried by a fighter with 4 External Hardpoints, even though their total load capacity would be 12 tons).
Data for the various hardpoints are located under DESIGN. The combat effects of the different hardpoint types are discussed in DAMAGE.
Incoming missiles must first run the gauntlet of a target's defensive systems before attempting to penetrate its shields; whereas a successful direct fire shot strikes the target's shields immediately. Details on each defensive system follow:
ANTI-MISSILE FIRE:
Ships can use direct fire weapons to intercept any type of missile but DFMs. These shots are
resolved as usual, but with an additional To-Hit die roll modifier of +4; any hit destroys the missile (and detonates it,
in the case of a HELL missile). For skill differential purposes, a missile's Intelligence Rating is treated as its Piloting
skill.
DFM, DAP and HELL missiles may be used against other missiles, using their normal lock-on and firing procedures. Any hit destroys the targeted missile (and detonates it, in the case of a HELL missile).
For the purposes of Tactical Intelligence and allocation of defensive fire, HELL missiles can be identified after launch at any range bracket due to their radioactive warheads; no other missile types can be identified except by their behavior.
Note that defensive missiles or direct fire can be used on any enemy missiles passing within range, not just those targeted on the ship in question. This allows ships to guard each other or to mass their defensive fire (for example, a fighter might take refuge under the guns of an orbital installation, or several ships might be used exclusively to stop incoming HELL attacks on a larger ship that they are convoying).
DECOY MISSILES:
As the name implies, a Decoy is intended to attract enemy missiles away from its launcher
through electronic spoofing and engine exhaust simulators. Decoys may be used at the same time as ECM, and the
two do not affect each others' function. A Decoy may only be launched when an enemy missile has locked onto the
target ship, and must be launched before the missile enters the target's hex.
The Decoy may be placed anywhere within three hexes of the target ship. When the Decoy appears, all missiles locked on to the target ship at that moment must make another lock-on roll to avoid attacking the Decoy instead. For this purpose, the attacking missiles' Intelligence is decreased by 2 if the Decoy is 1 hex away from the target, decreased by 1 if the Decoy is 2 hexes away, and is not decreased if the Decoy is 3 hexes away. This represents the increased chance that the attacking missiles can sort out the two images if distance gives them a few extra seconds to do so. The advantage to placing the Decoy farther away comes if HELL missiles need to be diverted -- the defender must balance the chance of a failed diversion against the extra damage that a closer explosion might cause. All attacking missiles that succeed in their lock-on roll continue into the target ship's hex; all that did not enter the Decoy's hex and explode there, with the appropriate effect. Note that DFMs are unaffected by Decoys, as they are unguided missiles.
Regardless of its effectiveness or lack thereof, the Decoy is removed from the board as soon as all attacking missiles have made their lock-on roll. No more than one Decoy can be used by a ship at a time, although it is possible to launch one immediately after another as long as the supply lasts. Decoys cannot be targeted for anti-missile fire, as they do not operate long enough to allow this.
POINT DEFENSE SYSTEMS: Once a missile has entered the hex containing its target, the target can attempt to stop it using one of the following systems if it is so equipped.
MDC-G (TOG ONLY): The Mass Driver Cannon - Gatling is a small-caliber multi barreled version of a standard MDC on a semi-flexible mounting, which allows it to function in either the point defense or direct-fire roles. The MDC-G has a 60-degree field of fire if fixed forward or aft, or a 120-degree field of fire if fixed on either side. Due to fire control constraints, only 1 MDC-G may be fitted to fire into any of these arcs by any ship regardless of size, and may not be mounted in a turret (see ORBITAL INSTALLATIONS for exceptions to these restrictions). An MDC-G must be operated by a crewman; if used in its point defense mode, any number of shots counts as the use of one weapon for that crewman. The MDC-G cannot be used at the same time as a Decoy, although it may be used at the same time as ECM. If used against missiles, refer to the chart below:
MDC-G ANTI-MISSILE TO-HIT CHART MDC-Gs cannot be used against DFM attacks. All missiles shot down by MDC-Gs are assumed to be stopped prior to hitting the ship's shields. Intercepted HELL missiles are assumed to detonate in the ship's hex.
If the MDC-G is used in its direct fire mode, it cannot be used for missile defense at all during that turn, and vice versa. It has the following values when firing directly, and uses the MDC 8 damage template.
SAFEGUARD (CW/RL ONLY): Safeguard is an adaptation of the point-defense lasers used on ground vehicles and installations. Unlike the MDC-G, the Safeguard system has a 360-degree field of fire, and is fully automatic -- i.e., using it does not count as firing a weapon. It cannot be used at the same time as a Decoy, although it may be used at the same time as ECM. Due to fire control constraints, only 1 Safeguard system may be carried by any ship or OI regardless of size, and may not be mounted in a turret. The different versions of Safeguard increase both the number of incoming missiles that can be engaged as well as the chance that each will be intercepted, as shown below:
SAFEGUARD ANTI-MISSILE TO-HIT CHART MISSILE ENGAGED IS ... THIS TURN Ver 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th+ 1 5 2 - - - - 2 8 4 2 1 - - 3 9 5 3 2 1 - 4 9 6 4 3 2 1Safeguard cannot be used against DFM attacks. All missiles shot down by Safeguard are assumed to be stopped prior to hitting the ship's shields. Intercepted HELL missiles are assumed to detonate in the ship's hex. Note that Safeguard-4 systems can attempt to stop any number of non-DFM missile attacks in a turn, although its effectiveness will drop severely after the first five; this is the only version of Safeguard able to do this.
SHIELDS:
Once a direct fire attack or missile has struck a target ship, the shield of the facing that was hit must be
penetrated to do damage. The chances of success are as follows:
| SHIELD PENETRATION CHART | |
| FLICKER RATE | PENETRATION |
|---|---|
10 20 - 30 40 - 50 60 - 70 80 - 100 110 - 120 130 - 160 170 - 200 | 1 - 8 (80%) 1 - 7 (70%) 1 - 6 (60%) 1 - 5 (50%) 1 - 4 (40%) 1 - 3 (30%) 1 - 2 (20%) 1 (10%) |
If the shield is penetrated, go to DAMAGE to resolve the effect (but see FIREWALL, below); if not, there is no effect (with the exception of HELL missiles, as described above).
FIREWALL (KESSRITH ONLY):
This is an evolution of so-called "reactive armour", consisting of explosive blocks
linked to proximity fuses covering the outer surface of a ship's armoured shell. If a missile of any type other than
DFM or HELL penetrates the shield of a Firewall-equipped ship, roll to find the center of the hit as described in
DAMAGE, below. If that location has a Firewall armour box, the missile is destroyed along with the Firewall box, but
no further damage is done. DFMs and HELLs will destroy Firewall boxes like any other armour, as will all direct fire
weapons hits.
DAMAGE
Once a shot has hit its target, the exact damage inflicted must be determined. Each weapon is rated according to the amount of damage it does at any specified range. This varies considerably, depending on the type of weapon. Each point of damage that the weapon does will destroy 1 armour box or one internal component box of the target ship. In addition, each type of weapon spreads its damage out in different ways.
DAMAGE TEMPLATE
The Damage Template is made up of die-cut diagrams showing the shape of damage for each weapon in the game, except for lasers (also see DIRECT FIRE WEAPON SYSTEMS -- NOTES, above). Each shape is labeled for weapon type and damage amount and has a small arrow centered along the top of the shape. Lasers need no template, as their damage simply descends straight down a column of armour for a number of boxes equal to the strength of the laser.
| DAMAGE TEMPLATE | Click to View |
|---|
Each side of a ship has armour, as shown on the Armour Diagram of the Ship Record Sheet. It is configured in ten- column-wide boxes. The number of rows depends on the amount of armour carried. To determine where damage is done on the armour, the attacker rolls one die. This determines the center of the hit. The defender then takes the damage template and aligns the arrow of the appropriate weapon and damage shape on the rolled column. The arrow is then lowered on the armour diagram until it is above the highest remaining armour box of the indicated column. The area covered by the template is the area destroyed by the hit. If the area shown by the template extends below the last row of armour boxes, apply that damage to the Internal Component Block. If part of the damage template extends beyond either side of the armour block or Internal Component Block, then the hits in that area have no effect.
For example, two 6-point laser shots and an MDC 10 hit the Forward armour block of a SPACE GULL fighter. The SPACE GULL has a total of 80 armour points on that side. The first laser hits in Column 3 and is marked off as shown in diagram 1. The second laser hits in Column 5. If it had hit in column 3, the armour would have stopped 2 points and so 4 would have gone into the internal structure. The MDC 10 hits in column 6, and the damage is marked off as shown in diagram 3. The 2 points of armour missing from Column 5 were done by the second laser hit and are lost. If the MDC 10 had hit in Column 5, the arrow for the MDC 10 hit would be centered over Column 5 and lowered until it reached an intact armour box. This would have been in row 7, as the laser shot removed the armour from the first six rows in column 5. This damage would have appeared as shown in Diagram 4. Two points penetrate to the internal components and the hit widows the armour in Column 4.WIDOWED ARMOUR
When all damage against a ship at a given point in its movement has been resolved, the defender must check for widowed armour. Widowed armour is created when upper layers of armour are undercut by penetrating hits, as shown in Diagram 4 above. Any such armour is also marked off, even though it has not been hit. Widowed armour is created when any block of armour remaining on the Armour Diagram cannot trace a continuous path of armour blocks to the bottom row. The armour blocks of this path must connect at the side and/or the top or bottom. Blocks that touch only at the corner are not connected for this purpose. The following diagrams show some examples.
DAMAGING INTERNAL COMPONENTS
Once damage has destroyed the last row of armour, any further damage in that column penetrates into the internal structure of the ship. The internal structure is represented by the Internal Component Block on the Ship Record Sheet. Each ship has a different number of internal component boxes. Thus, it is usually much more difficult to cripple a large ship than a small one. When shots penetrate to the Internal Component Block, the weapons destroy internal component boxes just as they would armour boxes, and use the same damage templates to do so.
Each internal component is made up of one or more boxes. Components with a single box are disabled by a single hit; those with more than one box are disabled when more than half of the boxes in that component (rounding up) are marked off. "Free" boxes represent areas or systems whose loss will have no effect on a ship's battle worthiness.
TURRETS
Each of a ship's turrets has a separate Internal Component Block of its own, and a single armour block. When a ship with one or more turrets is hit, the attacker must roll the die to see if he hit a turret or the ship's main hull. The chance of hitting a turret is equal to (Number of turrets / 2, rounding up, with a minimum of 1 as long as at least 1 turret still exists). If the ship has multiple turrets, roll randomly to see which of the turrets is hit. All damage inflicted on a turret's armour and Internal Component blocks is resolved in the usual fashion. Once a turret is destroyed, any residual damage passes into the ship's hull and is resolved as usual. Hits on a previously-destroyed turret are re- rolled until they strike an existing turret, or are applied directly to the ship's hull if none remain.
"EXTERNALLY MOUNTED" INTERNAL COMPONENTS
External Hardpoints, External Heavy Hardpoints, and External Rescue Compartments are located within a ship's hull skin but outside of its armoured shell to save tonnage; such systems do not need shutters, hydraulics and the like to move them into and out of firing position when not under armour. These systems are placed on top of the armour block of whichever of the ship's facings that they are mounted on. If the center of a damage template is placed on an armour column covered with an external system, move the template back to treat the external system as the first box of damage. Note that, with some weapons, this will result in wasted hits. External systems covering widowed armour blocks are lost when the widowed armour is removed. Unarmoured ships cannot carry external systems.
INTERNAL DAMAGE EFFECTS
COMMAND AND CONTROL SYSTEMS:
BRIDGE (if fitted): If the Bridge is disabled, the ship will drift at its last heading, facing and velocity; it may not fire weapons or recover small craft, although automated systems such as Safeguard will continue to function; if attempting T-Space transition, the run is canceled. The ship maintains its last power allocation to shields (assuming other damage does not preclude this), but may drop shields in order to abandon ship. If the ship has backup command facilities (such as a second Bridge or a separate pilot cockpit that is manned at the time), full control can be regained after 1 turn out of control (i.e., if the Bridge is disabled during Turn 1, the ship is out of control during all of Turn 2, and only recovers at the start of Turn 3).At the end of each turn in which the Bridge is hit, divide the number of Bridge hits suffered so far by the original total of Bridge boxes (rounding up to the next 10%) to determine each Bridge crewman's chance of being wounded. If a crewman is wounded, roll again on the Consciousness Table (see below), with each 25% of Bridge damage (rounding up) counting as a hit to determine what column to use. If the crewman fails the roll, he cannot perform his assigned functions (i.e., if the pilot passes out, the ship drifts and cannot fire the weapons under his control unless he wakes up), and cannot abandon ship on his own initiative -- see ABANDONING SHIP. During the Decision Phase of the next turn, all unconscious crewmen must roll again on the Consciousness Table, with a successful roll indicating that the crewman has reawakened and can resume his functions. REPAIR TIME (BRIDGE ONLY): 24 hours per box. The amount of time it will take for wounded crewmen to return to action (if ever) depends on the situation -- see CAMPAIGNS for guidelines.
An example of Bridge damage: A TOG CINGULUM Class corvette has 50 Bridge boxes, and all 7 of its crewmen are used to man it -- there are no separate cockpits or backup facilities. At the end of a turn in which the Bridge is hit, there are 15 total hits against the Bridge. 15 / 50 = 30%. Each crewman must roll greater than a 3 to avoid being wounded; those that are wounded must roll on the "2 Hits" column of the Consciousness Table, as the Bridge has lost more than 25% but less than 50% of its total boxes, which rounds up to 50%.COCKPIT: (for any crewman if Bridge not fitted, or if installed in addition to a Bridge) These hits represent wounds inflicted on the crewman himself as well as damage to his cockpit systems. All cockpits, regardless of type or occupant, can take 4 hits, and are disabled after 3 hits are taken. A disabled Cockpit prevents the crewman from performing any of his assigned functions (piloting, weapons fire, etc., as determined in the design process -- see CONSTRUCTION SYSTEM for details). In addition, each time a cockpit hit is suffered, the crewman must roll a number equal to or less than the number found on the Consciousness Table to remain conscious.
CONCIOUSNESS TABLE If the crewman fails the roll, he cannot perform his assigned functions (i.e., if the pilot passes out, the ship drifts and cannot fire the weapons under his control unless he wakes up), and cannot abandon ship on his own initiative -- see ABANDONING SHIP. During the Decision Phase of the next turn, all unconscious crewmen must roll again on the Consciousness Table, with a successful roll indicating that the crewman has reawakened and can resume his functions. REPAIR TIME (COCKPIT ONLY): 24 hours per box; can be completely replaced in 12 hours if Cockpit is a Multiracial type and spare modules are available. The amount of time it will take for wounded crewmen to return to action (if ever) depends on the situation -- see CAMPAIGNS for guidelines.
DIRECTIONAL CONTROL SYSTEMS: Disabling all DCS on one side of a ship makes it impossible to change facing or heading in the appropriate direction unless the ship can be rolled to bring working DCS thrusters into play, as well as making atmospheric operations more hazardous. If multiple DCS were fitted, the ship's maneuverability in the appropriate direction(s) will be reduced proportionate to the number lost. See MOVEMENT for details. REPAIR TIME: 2 hours per box.
ATMOSPHERIC CONTROL SYSTEMS: Disabling the ACS on one side of a ship makes it impossible to change a streamlined ship's heading in the appropriate direction, as well as making atmospheric re-entry or interface bouncing more hazardous (see MOVEMENT). REPAIR TIME: 1 hour per box.
AVIONIC SYSTEMS:
TRANSPONDER: This system broadcasts the ship's IFFN (Identification -- Friend, Foe or Neutral) signal. If it is disabled, friendly TGMs may lock on to the ship in error. REPAIR TIME: 15 minutes per box.COMMUNICATIONS: If disabled, the ship cannot talk to other ships. In team play, this ship cannot communicate with teammates or the enemy. If a player is flying more than one ship, those with disabled Communications cannot give Tactical Intelligence data to or receive it from friendly ships. REPAIR TIME: 1 hour per box.
LONG-RANGE SENSORS: If this system is disabled, it will be extremely difficult for the ship to find its way back to a moving carrier. This can be important in campaigns. REPAIR TIME: 1 hour per box.
SCANNER: If disabled, the ship is no longer able to fire SSS or HELL missiles. In addition, it cannot receive any Tactical Intelligence other than the presence, size in hexes and streamlining (or lack thereof) of a ship, or the presence (not type) of any missiles. REPAIR TIME: 1 hour per box.
NAVIGATION COMPUTER: If disabled, plotting a course for long-distance travel (such as to or from a carrier, base or objective) becomes very difficult. This will be important in campaigns. REPAIR TIME: 1 hour per box.
FASTER-THAN-LIGHT NAVIGATION COMPUTER: This system is only carried on FTL-capable ships, and is treated as a free hit on all other ships. If it is disabled, T-Space transition is not possible. REPAIR TIME: 1 hour per box.
MAIN FIRE CONTROL COMPUTER: If disabled, no further weapons fire is possible. REPAIR TIME: 1 hour per box.
SHIELD SYNCHRONIZER: If disabled, all outgoing fire must roll to penetrate the ship's own shields. Use the same procedure as shown in DEFENSIVE SYSTEMS, with the exception that all direct fire, missiles (including HELLs) and Decoys that fail the penetration roll are lost with no effect on the firer or the target. REPAIR TIME: 1 hour per box.
HELM CONTROL COMPUTER: If disabled, the ship cannot change its heading or facing, cannot perform a roll maneuver, and will automatically fail any required Piloting skill checks -- in cases requiring a roll to see how severe the failure was, roll the die with no modifiers. REPAIR TIME: 1 hour per box.
THRUST CONTROL COMPUTER: If disabled, the ship cannot change its velocity. REPAIR TIME: 1 hour per box.
WEAPONRY AND DEFENSIVE SYSTEMS:
HARDPOINT (INTERNAL OR EXTERNAL): If disabled while a missile or pod is attached, the carried system is destroyed with no further ill effect. REPAIR TIME: 1 hour per box.AUTOLOADER: Comes in two sections: the Autoloader itself (20 tons) and its ammunition (30 tons). If disabled, the Autoloader cannot fire. Its ammunition may explode if hit (see CARGO BAY). REPAIR TIME: 2 hours per box.
TIME-ON-TARGET SYNCHRONIZER SYSTEM (TOT): If disabled, all weapons attached to the TOT gear must be fired individually, with the appropriate effects on task overloading and combat. REPAIR TIME: 2 hours per box.
ALL OTHER WEAPONS AND DEFENSIVE SYSTEMS: If disabled, the system cannot be used in any mode that it is normally capable of. There are no other effects. REPAIR TIME: 2 hours per box.
SHIELD GENERATORS: If a shield generator is disabled, the 60 degree facing of the ship that it normally protects cannot put up a shield until the generator is repaired. REPAIR TIME: 4 hours per box.
INTERNAL ECM GEAR: If disabled, the ship loses its ability to affect missile lock-on rolls by ECM unless a backup ECM Pod or Internal ECM is carried. REPAIR TIME: 4 hours per box.
TURRET STRUCTURE: All turreted weapons require a certain amount of tonnage for the turret's structure, rotation gear, and so on. If this system is disabled, roll the die. On a 1, the turret is jammed facing towards the ship's front, with a 2 meaning that the turret is facing to the right front, and so on in a clockwise direction; the turreted weapons are now considered to be fixed weapons firing in the appropriate direction with a 60-degree field of fire like that of an orbital installation (see below). On a 7-10, the weapons are unable to fire at all and must be abandoned, although the turret can still absorb damage.
VLCA-RELATED SYSTEMS:
VLCA PANELS: These are the transmission/reception arrays needed for a VLCA system. If disabled, the VLCA system cannot be used. REPAIR TIME: 1 hour per box.EXTENSION/RETRACTION GEAR: If disabled, VLCA Panels cannot be extended or retracted and the ship's clamshell doors cannot be opened or closed. While the panels are extended, the armour of the ship's forward half is disregarded, no shields may be used and the ship may not move. When the panels are retracted, the ship may move, use its shields, and the armour once again covers the ship's forward half. REPAIR TIME: 2 hours per box.
ENGINEERING SYSTEMS:
POWERPLANT: If this system is disabled, the ship cannot generate Energy Points to operate any of its systems. If all powerplant boxes are lost, the ship explodes and is destroyed. REPAIR TIME: 1 hour per box.ENGINE: If an engine is disabled, the ship's ability to generate Thrust Points is reduced regardless of the state of its Powerplant. In the case of multi-engined ships, the possible maximum number of Thrust Points is always rounded up; a single-engined ship cannot generate thrust at all. REPAIR TIME: 2 hours per box.
FTL DRIVE: FTL drive moves a ship through T-space. Obviously, it is not required if the ship is not intended for interstellar travel. If this system is disabled, the ship may not go into T-Space. REPAIR TIME: 4 hours per box.
ANTI-GRAV LIFTERS: If the lifters are disabled while moving in atmosphere, the ship will lose altitude and possibly crash -- see MOVEMENT. REPAIR TIME: 2 hours per box.
FUEL TANKS: In battle, hits against a ship's fuel tanks are treated as "free hits" -- there is assumed to be enough fuel in lines and voids to last out the action. In a campaign, the ship's endurance is reduced proportionately to the amount of fuel tank boxes lost. REPAIR TIME: 1 hour per box.
ACCELERATION COMPENSATOR: Required to maintain livable artificial gravity during high-G maneuvers. If the compensator is disabled, the ship cannot accelerate or decelerate at a rate greater than its crew can stand (see CONSTRUCTION SYSTEM). REPAIR TIME: 1 hour per box.
OTHER SYSTEMS:
QUARTERS: At the end of each turn in which an occupied Quarters area is hit, divide the number of hits suffered so far by the original total of boxes in that Quarters area (rounding up to the next 10%) to determine each occupant's chance of being wounded. If an occupant is wounded, roll again on the Consciousness Table (see above), with each 25% of Quarters damage (rounding up) counting as a hit to determine what column to use. If the occupant fails the roll, he cannot abandon ship on his own initiative (since passengers have no other combat-related function) -- see ABANDONING SHIP. During the Decision Phase of the next turn, all unconscious passengers must roll again on the Consciousness Table, with a successful roll indicating that the passenger has reawakened. REPAIR TIME (QUARTERS ONLY): 2 hours per box. The amount of time it will take for wounded passengers to return to action (if ever) depends on the situation -- see CAMPAIGNS for guidelines.CARGO BAY: Empty cargo bay boxes are ignored -- hits striking them will continue onward until a "solid" box is struck, at which point they will do their damage and continue inward as usual. Loaded cargo bay boxes are destroyed as usual if hit. In battle, hits against any loaded cargo boxes but Missile Reloads are treated as "free hits" unless something valuable is carried (i.e., if troops are being carried by the ship and their survival is important to the scenario's victory conditions, etc.). If a box containing Missile Reloads is hit, it will cause secondary explosions. All boxes adjacent to the Missile Reload box will be destroyed; this can cause a chain reaction if more Missile Reloads are near to the explosion. Continue the process until all possible secondary explosions have been resolved. In a campaign, the loss of a ship's cargo can have many effects. REPAIR TIME: N/A.
LIFE SUPPORT: On a ship with short-duration life support, disabling this system leaves the crew with 30 turns of air in their spacesuits. If the ship does not land someplace where there is a breathable atmosphere, or if the crew is not picked up by another ship within this time, they will die. Note that an ELS pod cannot take the place of the ship's main life support system -- it only extends the endurance of a working system. Disabling the life support system has no combat effect on a ship with long-duration life support; in a campaign, however, the ship must either begin repairs at a repair facility or be abandoned within 24 hours, as the crew cannot stay in spacesuits indefinitely. REPAIR TIME: 2 hours per box.
REPAIR FACILITIES: In battle, these are treated as "free hits"; in a campaign, disabled repair facilities can't be used to maintain other ships (obviously!), which makes the ships and/or orbital installations that have them priority targets for both sides. REPAIR TIME: 1 hour per box.
HANGAR BAY: If a ship is in a larger ship's hangar bay at the time that the bay takes damage, apply the hits directly to the smaller ship's front armour block and work inward as usual. If the small ship explodes due to losing its powerplant while still in the bay, the large ship suffers damage as though a HELL missile had exploded against the next row of boxes inward from the bay. Hits against an unoccupied hangar bay will continue onward until a "solid" box is struck, at which point they do their damage and continue inward as usual. These hits have no direct combat effect. REPAIR TIME: N/A.
TOWING ATTACHMENTS: If disabled, the ship cannot lock onto a disabled ship to move it using the towing ship's STL engines, or allow the use of FTL Drive Jumpers; if already locked on, the lock is lost when this system is disabled. The ship under tow continues to drift at the heading, facing and velocity of the towing ship at the moment the Towing Attachments were disabled. REPAIR TIME: 2 hours per box.
FTL DRIVE JUMPERS: If disabled, the towing ship cannot use its FTL Drive to move a ship whose own FTL Drive is disabled. If the towing ship was making a T-Space transition run at the time, it is immediately aborted and must be restarted. This will also happen if Towing Attachments are disabled. REPAIR TIME: 4 hours per box.
HOSPITAL BAY: In battle, these hits are treated as "free hits"; in a campaign, the ship cannot influence post-battle crew recovery rolls if its Hospital Bay is disabled. REPAIR TIME: 6 hours per box.
RESCUE COMPARTMENT: If an RC is disabled, the occupants (if any) are killed. REPAIR TIME: 2 hours per box.
SHIP DESTROYED: Represents overall structural integrity of the ship or the loss thereof; see below for damage effects. REPAIR TIME: 12 hours per box.
DESTROYING A SHIP
A ship can only be put out of action permanently in the following ways:
POWERPLANT EXPLOSION: If all boxes of a ship's powerplant are lost, the ship explodes and is
completely destroyed, along with all crewmen and passengers aboard at the time. The amount of damage
to ships in the vicinity varies, as follows:
Ships in hexes adjacent to an exploding ship will take hits equal to (Destroyed ship's Powerplant Rating / 100) against the facing closest to the blast. This damage is reduced by shields in the same fashion as HELL missile damage (see above).In all of the cases shown above, the explosion damage is applied from left to right. All missiles in flight or ejected crew units in the blast area of an exploding ship will be destroyed; HELL missiles in flight or carried by the exploding ship will detonate. As always, this can cause chain reactions, which are resolved immediately. |
STRUCTURAL COLLAPSE: When a ship starts to take hits against its Ship Destroyed row, it has taken
potentially fatal structural damage. At the end of every turn in which a ship suffers damage to its Ship
Destroyed row, or at the instant that the pilot of a ship with such damage is required to take a Piloting skill
roll, its pilot must roll above the number of Ship Destroyed boxes lost at this point to avoid breaking up. If
the roll is unsuccessful, the pilot must roll again on the chart below:
1 - 4: The ship breaks up without an explosion. The crew has as many turns to abandon ship as there are Ship Destroyed boxes left, during which time all systems except ejectors and hangar bays cease to function; after this period, any personnel left aboard will die. The wreck will continue to drift at its last heading and velocity.If the roll is successful, the ship continues to operate. |
| CREW FATALITIES: If all of a ship's crewmen with Piloting and Gunnery skill abandon ship or are killed without otherwise destroying the ship, it becomes a derelict drifting at its last heading and velocity (but see FLIGHT CONTROL, above). If the ship has a functioning powerplant, "dead-man" controls will shut off power to all systems but life support and hangar bays; if not, any personnel still aboard must go to emergency life support. Any survivors may abandon ship, or possibly wait for rescue. |
| ACCIDENTS: Ships may be destroyed by piloting errors -- crashing while flying in atmosphere, burning up on re-entry, and the like as specified in various sections of the rules. There is no chance of surviving such accidents. |
| SELF-DESTRUCTION: This may be declared by a ship's pilot in the Decision Phase if he is conscious and the ship's powerplant is functional. The pilot chooses a delay period between 1 and 10 turns, which must be written down; at the end of this time, the ship explodes with the effects noted in POWERPLANT EXPLOSION. During the delay, the ship cannot change facing, heading, or velocity, and all crew members and/or passengers may abandon ship using the appropriate procedure (see below). Note that the ship can still be destroyed by enemy action during the delay period. |
DAMAGE CONTROL AND REPAIR
Because of INTERCEPTOR's short time scale, systems disabled in combat cannot be repaired during a scenario. The indicated repair times are only used if there is an opportunity between scenarios for repair work to be done, and if the ship's situation allows particular repairs to be done at all. See CAMPAIGNS for further details.
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SPECIAL |
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