| Ion Engine |
I |
These provide the motive power of ships. Each ship has a movement allowance equal to the number of undestroyed engines it has (4.2). |
| Gun |
G |
This weapon is remarkably similar to the naval guns of today. It fires a nuclear shell. The shell is completely “dumb”, having no homing or terminal guidance of any kind. This is not a drawback, however, in that the shell, once fired, cannot be jammed, intercepted or diverted. The probability of a hit with the Gun falls off dramatically with range. However, the effect of a hit (if one is made) is not affected by distance.One Gun hit destroys one system. Guns always hit the last system on the left end of the Control Sheet, skipping nothing. |
| Missile Launcher |
R |
This weapon, again, is not unlike those already in existence. It has a longer range than the Gun and a better chance of a hit at all but the shortest ranges. At very short ranges its chances of a hit are small,but they steady out at about 80% for most of their range. Missile hits, if scored, count exactly like Gun hits. They each destroy one system, and always the last one on the left. Missiles may, however, be stopped (destroyed before reaching the target) by Point Defense(7.3). |
| Gun/Missile Launcher |
W |
This system is simply a cannon barrel that has been designed to fire shells or missiles. In use, the player simply designates which type of ammunition he is firing as he fires the weapon. It cannot do both in a single turn.This weapon scores hits according to which type of ammunition is being fired. |
| Tractor Beam |
T |
During the Tractor Beam Phase of a given turn each player may use the Tractor Beam or Beams of any or all of his ships equipped with these beams to “latch” onto opponents' ships. A Tractor Beam may be used against any one enemy ship at any range between 0 and 5 hexes. At this range, the beam is automatically successful. Tractor Beams are automatically cut by Shearing Planes (8.4). That is, a Tractor Beam cannot attach to a ship which has an undestroyed Shearing Plane. |
| Shearing Plane |
C |
The presence of a Shearing Plane on a ship prevents a ship being attached to by the Tractor Beam (8.3) of another ship. One Shearing Plane may negate any number of Tractor Beams. |
| Force Beam |
F |
This weapon is, in the purest sense, a magnetic fist which rams the other ship and does damage by kinetic energy. The damage caused (assuming a hit is made) is a function of range. The closer you are the more damage you do. Hits are recorded just as Gun hits are, that is, they always hit the extreme left system on the track of the target ship or base. |
| Primary Beam |
P |
This is a modification of the Force Beam. The Force Beam spreads its compressive energy over an area measured in meters. The Primary Beam concentrates this same force over an area measured in centimeters. Primary Beams score hits directly against ship systems by a slightly different technique than the other weapons. Primaries ignore Shields and Armor, and score against the ship by a random method. If the Probability of Hit Table indicates a hit, the firing player rolls a single die and the hit is scored against the Nth system from the left (ignoring Shields and Armor). For example, if the player rolled a 5, then the 5th system would be destroyed.If the number rolled is higher than the number of undestroyed non - Armor and non-Shield systems left on the ship, then it is considered a miss. Primary Beams can only be fired every other turn, as the crystals and lenses are burned out and must be replaced. |
| Laser Beam |
L |
Very high-powered gas laser, vastly upgraded from early models. This weapon is short-ranged, relatively inexpensive, and may score more or less than one hit each time it fires, depending on range. Such hits are scored like all hits from left to right. However, Laser Beams ignore Shields and score their hits beginning with the Armor (or if there is no Armor, with internal systems). |
| Energy Beam |
E |
This weapon is a charged particle beam projectile, and functions by firing excited helium nuclei at the target. These particles build up a charge much like static electricity on the ship's hull, and this charge continues to build until something gives. The weapon may score from ½ to 5 hits on a given firing, depending on range. These hits will score against systems from left to right, but will ignore Armor and Cargo Holds. Energy Beams may be negated by Overload Dampeners(7.4). |
| Shield |
S |
Basically electromagnetic, these will provide some degree of protection to the ship, primarily by collapsing. Each hit of various types will collapse one unit of Shields, but his allows the ship to go on more or less undamaged. |
| Armor |
A |
This is not just aluminum-titanium-manganese-molybdenum-steel alloys, it also reflects general structural toughness and beefed-up framing. Factors of Armor work in a way similar to Shields, as they are destroyed by taking hits and {in many cases) prevent or delay damage to interior systems. |
| Point Defense |
D |
This is a multiplex weapons mount including lasers, high speed cannon and short-range Missiles. Its purpose is to detect, track, and destroy incoming Missiles before they strike the ship. The concept of how the Point Defense system operates can be a bit difficult to grasp. Out of a given volley of Missiles, use the Probability of Hit Table to determine which Missiles have “hit”, and which have “missed”. Those which are shown to have missed have passed so far from the ship that the defensive systems ignore them, and only those which are shown on the table to have “hit” are taken by Point Defense. In the purest sense, Missiles found to have “hit” on the Probability of Hit Table are more correctly described as “will hit if not stopped by Point Defense”. The system can be overwhelmed, however, and each succeeding Missile in a given volley has a better chance of getting through. A volley is defined as fire from a single ship or a group of ships using Datalink (12.2). This first Missile will be successfully intercepted on a die roll of 1–5, the second on 1–4, the third on 1–3, the fourth on 1–2 and the fifth on 1.The sixth and all successive Missiles in a given volley will automatically hit and cause damage. The Point Defense system is used against Missiles found to have hit by the Probability of Hit Table. Thus, when fired at ships having Point Defense, Missiles must go through two die rolls, one to get to the target and the other to get past the Point Defense system. If a given ship has more than one Point Defense system, each fires at incoming Missiles in rotation. The first Point Defense system fires at the first Missile, the second Point Defense fires at the second Missile and so on until all Point Weapons 7 Defense systems have fired once. Then the first Point Defense system fires again and so on. No incoming Missile may be fired upon by more than one Point Defense and no Point Defense may fire more than once at a given Missile. Each Point Defense keeps track of Missiles fired at (for diminishing returns) for itself. Note that Missiles fired from different ships are counted as separate volleys unless using Datalink. |
| Cargo Hold |
H |
These are used to expand the ship's ability to operate away from bases for a period of time. In campaign games, it is suggested that the ship be allowed to operate for four months for each Cargo Hold. In combat scenarios, the Hold is simply a cheap system that can be done without if lost in battle. No ship, except Freighters, may have over 10 % of its available space as Cargo Holds, but any ship may have at least one Cargo Hold. Cargo Holds are generally large almost empty spaces in the ship's structure. There is a considerable possibility that an incoming hit would cause the collapse of several Cargo Holds. When several Cargo Holds are arranged on the ship's Control Sheet in succession (for example, a small Freighter might be S S A H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H I I I any hit which is scored against the first Hold in the series will actually destroy one to six Cargo Holds (the actual number is determined by rolling a single die). |
| Multiplex Tracking 2 |
M2 |
No ship may fire at more than one ship in a given turn unless it is equipped with Multiplex Tracking. The number of different targets at which a ship which is equipped with Multiplex Tracking may fire is equal to the number after the “M'' specifying the system as Multiplex Tracking. A ship with the system “(M2)” is equipped with Multiplex Tracking sophisticated enough to enable it to fire at two targets simultaneously. Likewise, a ship with “(M4)” could fire at four different targets simultaneously. The entire symbol “(M2)” is treated as one system on the ship control sheet and destroyed as such. Players should refer to the cost chart (13.8) for the cost of installing Multiplex Tracking in ships built from scratch. |
| Multiplex Tracking 3 |
M3 |
Same for three targets. |
| Multiplex Tracking 4 |
M4 |
Same for four targets. |
| Datalink |
Z |
Ships may have special Datalink equipment installed on them in their original construction. Ships with such equipment are organized into groups of two or three before the scenario begins. The groups may not be reorganized during the course of the scenario. Ships which are grouped into Datalink groups may, during the course of the scenario, be fired SIMULTANEOUSLY (all fire is timed by the on-board computers to arrive at the target at the same time, thereby overwhelming the defenses). If three ships using Data link were to all fire Missiles at a single target, those Missiles would be treated as a single volley for defense purposes. Primary Beams do not affect Datalink systems. This is because the Datalink arrays cover a wide area, and a 5 cm hole anywhere in the array is not all that damaging. |
| Overload Dampener |
O |
This is a gigantic capacitor which stores the energy of an Energy Beam and then bleeds it off into space. Each undestroyed Overload Dampener in a ship negates one Energy Beam hit (lone damage point) per volley (NOT per turn). Note that this only affects Energy Beams, and not any other type of beam. An Overload Dampener may be allowed to absorb four points of Energy Beam hits in a single volley, but this will burn it out completely it is marked off as a destroyed system). |
| Advanced Maneuvering |
|
There is not a letter designation for this system because it is not considered a system in the same way that other systems are. It cannot be destroyed by combat and remains in use as long as the given ship equipped with this system has at least one lon Engine remaining. It is simply the use of more expensive control systems which allow the turn mode of a ship to be reduced by one point below what it would normally be. |
| Science Instruments |
X |
These systems serve no function in the game, except when a player is required to move a ship equipped with these instruments to a particular spot in order to fulfill the victory conditions for a scenario. |
| Bulkhead |
B |
The Bulkhead is put into Freighters only. Its sole purpose is to break up long strings of Cargo Holds into smaller compartments which cannot be destroyed as easily (a series of Cargo Holds collapsing from a single hit would stop upon reaching a Bulkhead). There can be a maximum of one Bulkhead for each four Cargo Holds. |
Roll a 2D6 and score less than or equal to number in
table adjusted for range.
Cross reference weapon type to range to determine number
of systems damaged.