Knight Hawks 2000

Science-fiction role-playing invariably involves spaceships, space travel, and almost inevitably, space combat. As a supplement to Star Frontiers 2000, this chapter gives some quick and dirty rules for conducting battles in space, as well as some starship construction rules which are equally straightforward.

SPACE COMBAT, THE QUICK AND DIRTY WAY

SCALE

Space combat uses standard scales of time and distance to regularize play.

Time: Each turn represents six seconds of play, same as all other combat turns

Distance: Should characters use counters and a hexgrid, each hex would then be 60 meters across×60 meters wide×60 meters high. Changing facing by one hexside is the same as making a 60 degree turn.

Units: Each marker or ship model represents one space vehicle, whether it is a missile, drone,

or space craft. (All are referred to as vehicles in these rules.) For purposes of space combat,

planets may occupy any hex on the map, but they do not interfere with play in any way.

PREPARATION FOR PLAY

Before play can begin, a few things need to be prepared.

Playing Surface And Markers: If desired, a hex grid(or several, see below) can be used to position miniatures or counters. Optionally, vector arrows on sheets of regular narrow-ruled paper can be used instead; in this instance, each line on the paper represents 60 meters of distance.

Any type of markers can be used on the playing surface.

Ship Record Sheets: Each ship involved in the battle will need some sort of ship record sheet to keep track of crew skills, systems, damage, etc.

Chips And Pop: Self-explantory.

THE GAME TURN

DETECTION

Each side involved in the combat makes a Sensor Operation skill check, modified by ECM, to detect opposing vessels. A successful detection of one ship by another automatically reveals the position of both ships, and combat can begin between them.

Ships must roll to detect and re-acquire one another at the beginning of every turn, except for ships which have been and taken damage during that turn. These are detected automatically.

The check is modified by the following:

-50% for ECM.

-25% per decoy launched.

-10% per 1,000 kilometers distance if using energy sensors

-20% for Hull Sizes 1-2

-10% for Hull Sizes 3-4

+0% for Hull Sizes 5-8

+10% for Hull Sizes 9-12

+20% for Hull Sizes 13-18

+30% for Hull Sizes 19-20

+50% for Hull Sizes 21+

+10% per point of ADF used that turn.

+5% per point of MR used that turn.

If no ships detect one another, combat cannot take place.

INITIATIVE

Each ship now rolls Initiative, modified by the IM of either the ship's captain or its pilot, dependent on the type of ship. Ships move and fire in order from lowest to highest Initiative.

MOVEMENT

Each ship begins the battle with a given speed and direction, referred to as a vector, through which it travels in space.

Determining a ship's movement through space during combat consists of two distinct elements:

Acceleration: Each ship begins its turn moving at a given number of hexes/meters per turn; if a ship does not accelerate, it will continue moving at that velocity throughout the turn.

If a ship uses acceleration, it can move a number of hexes/meters faster than its beginning speed.

Acceleration(or lack thereof) determines the ship's speed and distance it travels during the course of a turn.

Maneuver Points:Each ship has a listed amount of Maneuver Points, based on the formula (1/((Hull Size/Maneuver Rating))/6)), each maneuver taking ((HS/MR)/6) turns.

The ship may use these maneuver points to:

Evade(½ total Maneuver Points; minimum 1 MP): The ship can take evasive action, based on the pilot's Vehicular Combat(Starship) skill, or ±(5%×Starship Pilot Skill Level+(ADF)%+(MR)%-(HS)%) if the pilot does not possess the Vehicular Combat(Starship) skill.

Evasion involves radical changes in vector throughout the turn.

Change Direction(1 MP per facing change/60 degree turn+1 MP per 600 km/hex up or down): A spacecraft maneuvers in three dimensions, represented in play by facing changes on the main hexgrid and movement up and down on hexgrids assumed to be suspended above and below the playing surface.

The point costs for evasion subsumes point costs for changing direction.

There is no maneuver point cost for lateral distance or speed as these are covered under Acceleration, above.

Keeping Track Of 3D Movement: Three-dimensional movement presents a special challenge to a referee. Even with the use of a single hexgrid, he can only keep track of ships' directions in two dimensions.

The best way to keep track of three dimensional movement would be for the referee to write down the current direction vectors next to each ship on a sheet of paper(or list it on a computer)for each turn, changing the information as the vector information changes, and making the information available to the players, so they can plot their moves.

Alternatively, a referee can construct a playing surface of overlapping hexgrids, one set above the main hexgrid, one set below, similar to the old boardgame Chopper Strike or those 3D chess sets on Star Trek.

Or, if the players are playing online, the referee can make several hexgrids, designating one as the main hexgrid, for maneuvering on the galactic plane, and the others as Hexgrid +1, Hexgrid +2, Hexgrid -1, Hexgrid -2, etc.

Turning Over(1 MP): A ship can turn over on its long axis, so that its engines are pointing in the opposite direction of the direction it is travelling in, allowing the ship to decelerate.

Generally, this maneuver should not be attempted during combat, as it allows any enemy ship in range a shot at your engine's unprotected exhaust venturi.

Grappling(All MPs): A ship can maneuver to grapple another ship or object during combat, as per the Knight Hawks rules.

Laying Mines(1 MP per hex mined): Ships carrying mines may only employ a max ADF of 1 while laying mines and must expend one MP per hex to be mined.

Stretching Out Maneuvers Over Multiple Turns: If a ship has insufficent MPs to perform a given maneuver during its turn, it can perform part of the maneuver each turn, over as many turns as need be.

Performing a multi-turn maneuver prevents the ship from making any other maneuvers.

FIRING

Weapons may be fired at any time during the turn, provided the target is within weapons range. Aship can make a number of attacks equal to the number of weapons it has on board, with linked weapons counting as a single attack.

There are no MPO restrictions; any weapon can be fired at any point during the turn.

Strafing: Should a ship's movement cause it to cross the path of another ship before movement is complete, the moving ship is allowed to attack the other ship in passing. This is called strafing.

Attacks Of Opportunity: Should a ship's movement bring it within weapons range of another ship, that ship can fire on the moving ship at that part of its move which brings it into range.

Point-Blank Range: Should a ship close to less than 180 meters of(within three hexes of) a ship four or more Hull Sizes larger than it(and survive being fired upon in the interim), it is considered to be at point-blank range and can strafe the larger ship without the larger ship being able to fire or use defensive missiles against it in return.

Division Tactics: Three or more ships under the same command are considered to be in a division. A division shares the same to-hit roll(usually that of the lead ship)and combines all damage inflicted into one.

EXAMPLE: Six fighters are assigned to screen three bombers as they make their attack runs against a destroyer 1,200 meters away. A pair of enemy cruisers are 60 meters away on either side of the fighter/bomber formation.

During the two hexes the fighters and bombers must move to reach the destroyer, the destroyer can open fire on the entire formation, as can both cruisers.

Those fighters and bombers who survive the incoming fire and are able to close to less than 180 meters of the destroyer(enter the same hex as the destroyer) are now immune to return fire.

Each division of three fighters will now attack as one unit, while the three bombers attack as one unit.

WEAPONS

The most common weapons in Frontier space are listed below.

Heavy Laser Cannon(HLC): These weapons are the ship-mounted versions of planetary laser cannon. They have a range of 1,800,000 kilometers(30,000,000 hexes), fire once per turn and inflict 4,000 points maximum structural damage(400D10 structural points damage).

Medium Laser Cannon(MLC): These smaller cannon are the most common shipboard and vehicle-mounted weapons, with a range of 1,800,000 kilometers(30,000,000 hexes), firing once per turn, and inflicting 800 points(80D10)of maximum structural damage.

Light Laser Cannon(LLC): AD/Zeb's refers to these as heavy lasers. In space, they have a range of 1,800,000 kilometers(30,000,000 hexes), firing five times per turn, inflicting 200 points(20D10)of maximum structural damage per pulse which hits.

Each pulse is a separate to-hit roll.

Medium Laser Battery(MLB): This is a turreted medium laser cannon; the turreted mounting allows it to fire into any arc.

Light Laser Battery(LLB): This is a turreted quad mount of light laser cannon; the turreted mounting allows it to fire into any arc.

Heavy Electron/Proton Cannon(HEC/HPC): A heavy weapon which fires either a beam of protons or a beam of electrons at a target. It has a range of 1,800,000 kilometers(30,000,000 hexes), firing once per turn and inflicting 3,000 points(30D10) of maximum structural damage.

Electron/Proton Cannon(EC/PC): A lighter proton weapon which is mounted aboard fightercraft. It has a range of 1,800,000 kilometers(30,000,000 hexes), firing once per turn, inflicting 200 points(20D10) of maximum structural damage.

Electron/Proton Battery(EB/PB): A turreted proton/electron cannon, able to fire once per turn into any arc.

Massdriver Cannon(MDC): A projectile weapon using a powerful magnetic field to propel solid metallic slugs into space at relativistic velocities(about 20 % of the speed of light). It has a range of 360,000 kilometers(6,000,000 hexes), firing twice per turn and inflicting 600 points(60D10)of maximum structural damage.

Heavy Massdriver Battery(HMDB): A turreted pair of medium-sized massdriver cannon, the heavy massdriver battery can fire into any arc, has a range of 360,000 kilometers(6,000,000 hexes), firing four times per turn and inflicting 400 points(40D10) of maximum structural damage.

Massdriver Battery(MDB): A turreted set of four small massdriver cannon, the massdriver battery can fire into any arc, has a range of 360,000 kilometers(6,000,000 hexes), firing eight times per turn and inflicting 200 points(20D10) of maximum structural damage.

Seeker Missiles(SM): Small guided missiles with a Level 3 robot brain, passive and active sensors, a plasma engine, and a one-kiloton antimatter warhead. These are dropped from hardpoints or internal bays, the onboard robot brain using its Missile Guidance(Level 3) program to seek out enemy targets and its Level 3 Vehicular Combat(Starship) program to evade interceptors(q.v.) .

A seeker missile has an ADF and MR of 30, and its plasma engine has enough fuel for ten turns' of acceleration, after which it automatically detonates.

Alternatively, a seeker can be dropped off and programmed to keep station, waiting until an enemy crosses its path, at which point it accelerates towards it.

A seeker missile does 460 points(46D10)of maximum structural damage, and a ship can launch a number of seekers equal to the amount of missiles on board per turn.

Missile Battery(MB): A missile battery is a four-tubed launcher firing smaller seeking micromissiles(see below) which otherwise act as seeker missiles. It fires at a rate of four salvos per turn, each missile having enough fuel to accelerate at ADF 30 for six turns before detonating.

Each salvo does 400 points(40D10) of maximum structural damage.

Torpedos(TT): A torpedo is twice as large as a regular seeker missile, with a Level 6 robot brain guiding its actions(with Missile Guidance and Vehicular Combat(Starship) programs at Level 6) and a one-megaton antimatter warhead doing 1000 points(100D10) of maximum structural damage. Its plasma engine has enough fuel to accelerate at ADF 30 for twenty turns before automatically detonating.

It otherwise acts like a seeker missile.

Micromissiles(MM): These are the missiles from the missile battery, carried externally and used by fighters and bombers for air-to-air(or space-to-space)combat.

In all respects micromissiles act like missile battery salvos; cost and volume are for four micromissiles.

Laser Pod(LP): The laser pod is a shorter-range medium laser cannon, designed to give fighters much-needed punch. It has the damage of a regular medium laser cannon, but its maximum range is only 225,000 kilometers(375 hexes).

Drone Fighters(DF): These are remotely-piloted fightercraft with a Level 6 robot brain and a full array of Astrogation, Gunnery and Starship Pilot programs, all at Level 6 as well.

Armed with the standard array of fightercraft weapons, drone fighters inflict 400 points(40D10) of maximum structural damage per turn, making up to four attacks per turn.

Multi-Missile Drones(MMD): Seen on destroyer and dreadnaught-class starships, multi-missile drones are robotically-piloted bombers(with the same robot brain and programming as the drone fighter, above) armed with either 230 torpedos or 460 seeker missiles on board.

Assuming it releases its entire payload in one turn, a multi-missile drone can inflict 6900 points(690D10)of maximum structural damage per turn.

Grapples: As per the canon Knight Hawks rules, save there is no minimum hull size requirement. Grapples can only be used once per turn.

Mines(M): Mines are antimatter warheads which can be emplaced in a volume of space by a ship equipped for minelaying. Mines are proximity-fused, with passive sensors which detect magnetic flux, heat and radiation(such as the heat and radiation pulse made when the density of local spacetime is changed by a Void field intersecting it)and detonate.

Each mine does 1000 points(100D10)maximum structural damage per turn, and a ship can lay a number of mines per turn equal to its maximum load, for a maximum of 10 mines per hex.

SHIP's VEHICLES

If a ship is carrying space vehicles, it can launch them as an attack as well.

Starting Speed:Vehicles(and missiles) launched from a ship begin the game with the same speed as the platform which launched them.

Remote Piloting: Missiles and drones launched from a ship can be remotely piloted from the ship. The remote pilot uses his Vehicles: Remote or Gunner: Missiles skill and half of the missile/drone's robot brain's Vehicular Combat(Starship) skill to guide the missile/drone to its target.

DEFENSIVE SYSTEMS

Interceptor Missiles(ICM): Mostly plasma engine and robotic systems, a single interceptor missile does damage through sheer kinetic energy. ICMs are launched in salvos of four missiles, and provide point defense against missiles, drones, fighters, and bombers.

An ICM accelerates at an ADF of 120 per turn(maneuvering at MR 120 per turn as well), with an endurance of one turn before its engine burns out. Each ICM salvo launched subtracts 25% from any incoming missile's chance to hit.

Anti-Beam Missiles(ABM): Similar in structure to an ICM, an anti-beam missile has a warhead of water(which turns to ice vapor in space) and strips of gold foil which blanket an entire hex upon detonating, thus providing a defense against both laser and particle-beam weapons.

ABMs are launched in salvos of four, blanketing four hexes in a line up to sixty hexes(3,600 meters) away from the ship launching them, each salvo subtracting 25% from the chance to hit for each beam weapon which passes through the cloud it creates, the beam's damage being reduced by 25% even if it passes through the cloud successfully.

An ABM has an ADF and MR of 60, with an endurance of one turn, after which it detonates.

Magnetic Deflection Shielding(MS): Magnetic deflection shielding or mag shielding, generates a skin-tight field of magnetic force around starships HS 2 or larger, deflecting beams and missiles away from the ship.

Mag shielding subtracts 50% from a missile or beam weapon's chance to hit, halving the damage of any beam or missile which hits.

SPECIAL SITUATIONS

RAMMING

A tactic generally favored by Sathar(and occasionally UPF) ships who either have no other way to hurt their foes, or simply wish to die with their teeth in their enemies' throats.

A ram is treated as a normal attack with the following exceptions:

Starship Pilot skill is substituted for Gunner skill level in the to-hit equation listed below.

There are no applicable modifiers other than those for Vehicular Combat(Starship), Piloting programs, and ICM salvos(though damage is not reduced on any success against ICMs).

A successful ramming attempt on the part of the ramming ship destroys it utterly(unless the ramming ship is at least four hull sizes larger than its intended target, then it only suffers ½×{[ramming ship's HS+rammed ship's HS]×100} points structural damage and {½×[ramming ship's HS+rammed ship's HS]} rolls on the Starship Damage Table below)and inflicts (ramming ship's HS×2,000) points of structural damage on the ship being rammed.

EXAMPLE: Just because its captain thinks he can, a Spacefleet Leviathan-class dreadnaught rams a small HS 3 merchant vessel. Since the dreadnaught is at least four Hull Sizes larger than its intended victim, it only suffers(½×[(25+3)×100])1,400 points of structural damage, while completely destroying the smaller ship with 50,000(25×2,000) points of damage.

The dreadnaught is reduced to 1,100 structural points in the ramming attempt, forcing it to reduce its ADF and MR to 2 and limp the rest of the way where its needs to go.

Coupled with crew casualties and the 14 damage rolls it must now make, the dreadnaught is now in poor shape to face any further opposition.

BOARDING

Sometimes the object is to capture a ship and crew(more or less)intact, rather than destroying it outright.

Several conditions must be met before a boarding attempt can be made:

1. The boarding vessel must either grapple or match vectors(course and speed) with the vessel to be boarded.

2. The boarding vessel must have enough crew to board the ship and operate their vessel at the same time(minimum crew is equal to the ship's Hull Size).

3. The boarding party must somehow gain entry to the ship they wish to board.

The last condition can be satisfied in a number of ways, ranging from computer hacking to open the airlock door, to cutting through the hull with laser powertorches or using shaped charges to blast their way in.

With the latter two methods, the boarding party must inflict (10%×target vessel's total SP)in a single spot in a single attack to breach the hull at that point.

Also, if the either or both vessels used in the boarding attempt is pressurized, the boarding party must have some sort of airlock in place to equalize pressure between their side and the inside of the targeted vessel.

BOARDING PARTY TACTICS

In general, boarding attempts rely on brute force to effect breaches in the target ship's hull, the boarders generally using maintenance or combat robots to effect the breach and step into it(like canaries in a mine shaft).

Also, as the interiors of starships(especially airlocks and breach heads) are narrow chokepoints easy for the crew to defend and difficult for a boarding party to secure without massive casualties, multiple boarding parties are often employed to disperse the defending crew's energies and more quickly secure the ship's vital areas.

A ship can rally its crew to defend from hostile boarding attempts in a number of turns equal to its Hull Size for military, paramilitary and criminal vessels and a number of turns equal to double its Hull Size for purely civilian vessels.

HIT DETERMINATION AND DAMAGE

HIT DETERMINATION

Base To-Hit: ½ STR or ½ DEX+10%/gunner's skill level

Modifiers:

+10% per level of any Targeting programs.

± Vehicular Combat(Starship) Skill.

-30% for Selective Targeting.

+10% per Sharpshooter skill level.

Any applicable aim bonuses.

All other bonuses and penalties from KH

-25% per ICM/ABM salvo

-50% for mag shielding.

Critical Hit: Any natural roll of 01-05 is a critical hit, except for those characters whose final to-hit roll has been adjusted below 6%.

Critical Miss: Any natural roll of 96-00 is a critical miss, except for those characters whose final to-hit roll has been adjusted above 95%.

NPC CREW SKILLS

Crew skill levels for NPC crews involved in the game fall into the following categories:

NPC CREW SKILLS TABLE

DAMAGE RESOLUTION

For each hit a ship sustains-or each critical miss on the part of the firing ship-roll 2D10 on the table below:

For each critical hit taken, roll 1D10 on the table below:

For each hit or critical hit, 1D10 on the table below:

EXPLANATION OF DAMAGE RESULTS

The hit locations indicated on the Damage Tables are explained below:

Structure Point Damage: The ship's structure points are reduced by the amount of damage points sustained.

A ship which has lost ½ of its structural points loses half its ADF and MR and must roll once per turn against its (DCR+engineer's Stress Analysis level)to avoid breaking up.

A ship which has lost two-thirds of its structural points is reduced to an ADF and MR of 1 and must roll six times per turn against its (DCR+engineer's Stress Analysis level)to avoid breaking up.

A ship with zero SP is destroyed.

Void Engine: One of the ship's Void engines is damaged, reducing ADF by 1 until repaired.

Maneuver Jet: The ship's maneuver jet is damaged, reducing MR by 1.

Ordinance/Hangar Bay: One ordinance or hangar bay is hit, detonating all unused ordinance/docked ships in the bay, inflicting as many points of damage as there is ordinance/ships in the bay.

Sensors: A sensor hit indicates that one of the ship's sensors systems (roll randomly) has

been rendered inoperable. No detection may be undertaken with that system until it is repaired.

Once a ship's sensors have all been destroyed, that ship may not acquire any new targets for

weapons fire (it can, however, continue to fire at current targets, as long as they remain within

one-hex range).

Computer: One of the ship's computers has been damaged. If this is the ship's mastercomp, all stations are on local control and suffer a -20% penalty due to lack of central coordination. If it is one of the system computers(piloting, astrogation, engine, weapons, etc.), then that system is inoperative until the computer is repaired.

Weapon: One of the ship's weapons(firing player's choice)has been destroyed. Grapples and defensive systems count as weapons for purposes of this result.

Fire: An electrical fire has broken out aboard ship. The ship loses ½ ADF and all MR , rolling once per turn on the Starship Damage Table until the fire is extinguished.

A second Fire result turns a normal fire into a Disastrous Fire(see below). .107.154

Critical Hits

2× Structure Point Damage: The ship's structure points are reduced by double the amount of damage points sustained. A ship with zero SP is destroyed.

Maneuver Jet Destroyed: The ship loses all MR and can only move in a straight line.

Void Engine Destroyed: The ship loses one Void engine and a number of ADF points equal to (total ADF/total number of Void engines). If the ship loses all its Void engines, or if it only has one, the ship is destroyed, inflicting HS×2,000 points of damage to all ships within 1,200 meters.

Bridge Destroyed: The ship's bridge has been destroyed, resulting in the loss of all command functions and all piloting and astrogation control. The ship cannot maneuver, evade, or make any changes to its current speed, and any gunners onboard cannot take advantage of the pilot's Vehicular Combat(Starship) skill; gunners also suffer a -20% penalty to their to-hit rolls due to the loss of command and control.

Disastrous Fire: A severe electrical fire has broken out on board; the ship loses all power, all ADF, MR and DCR, and must roll once per turn on the Critical Hit Table.

A second Disastrous Fire result or a Void Engine Destroyed result destroys the ship instantly, inflicting HS×2,000 points of damage on all ships within 1,200 meters.

Otherwise, the ship will have to be abandoned in (HS) turns, as the fire either completely guts or completely destroys it.

EXAMPLE OF DAMAGE RESOLUTION

From previous examples, we learned that a Star Forces Pugilist-class war cruiser had found itself in combat with a Spacefleet Exalted-class destroyer.

In the course of the ensuing battle, the cruiser's pilot hit the destroyer squarely with all six of its heavy laser cannon, all of which counted as one hit for game purposes. Using the maximum damage rule(see my SF2K mods), the main beams inflict a total of 24,000 points of structural damage on the destroyer's flank, before factoring in the two anti-beam salvos and mag shielding.

One of the destroyer's proton battery gunners scored a hit on the cruiser in return, inflicting a maximum of 200 points of damage on the cruiser, before reductions from the Star Forces ship's defensive countermeasures.

Damage Reduction: Mag shielding and two anti-beam salvos from each side reduce the damage from the opposing ships' beams to one-quarter normal(50% of 50%), meaning the cruiser actually inflicts 6,000 points of maximum structural damage on the destroyer, and the destroyer inflicts 50 points of damage on the cruiser.

Damage Resolution: Since the proton battery's gunner's final to-hit was modified below 6%, his 04 only counts as a normal hit; he rolls 2D10 once on the Starship Damage Table; the result of that roll being an 11, knocking out a sensor system, in addition to the 50 points of structural damage.

The gunner chooses to knock out the cruiser's subspace radar, meaning it is offline until the Pugilist's crew and damage-control bots can effect repairs(see below).

The cruiser now rolls 1d10 on the Crew Member Damage Table, a result of 4 meaning the sensor operator takes 8D10(or 80 if using the maximum damage rules) of damage.

As the six main beams are linked together and count as a single attack, the Pugilist's pilot now rolls 2D10 once on the Starship Damage Table, scoring a direct hit on one of the destroyer's ordinance bays, the cruiser's pilot choosing to take out the torpedo magazine, detonating all sixty torpedos in the bay(the destroyer not having launched any ordinance), inflicting 60,000 points of damage over and above the 6,000 it has already inflicted.

Since the destroyer only had 1,440 structural points to begin with, either result is more than sufficent to vaporize it. As the cruiser was more than 1,200 meters away at the time, it does not suffer the 24,000 structural points of damage it would have from the destruction of the Exalted if it had been within 1,200 meters of it.

In an actual combat, both ships would have launched more anti-beam missiles to defend themselves, meaning the cruiser would probably have had to close to within less than 180 meters of the destroyer to inflict damage.

REPAIRS

Every third turn, ships which survive combat can effect repairs.

Every ship has a Damage Control Rating(DCR)equal to (HS×10), which represents the base chance of the damage-control robots to repair damage the ship has taken. This base chance is further modified by the Engineer: Damage Control and the Machinery:Repair skills of those on board.

A successful roll repairs one damaged system and (DCR+10% × skill) structural points, while a natural roll of 01-05 repairs all damage.

Failed rolls mean the system and structural damage cannot be repaired this turn, while a natural roll of 96-99 means the system and structural damage cannot be repaired at all, except at an SCC, while a natural roll of 00 destroys the system the crew was attempting to repair, and inflicts (DCR+10% × skill) additional structural points of damage, forcing the ship to roll 1d10 on the Crew Member Damage Table.

See Starship Construction 101 in the Online Ship Generator Project for new starship construction rules.