ATTACK ATTA CK VECTOR: TACTICAL
Second Edition By Ken Burnside, Eric Finley & Tony Valle
Copyright & Publishers Information Published by: Ad Astra Games P O Box 389 Pelican Rapids, MN 56572 (218) (21 8) 863 1784
[email protected] Copyright © 2011, Final Sword Productions LLC Rules questions are answered on the forums at http://www.adastragames.com/ Be sure to register your game at http://services.adastragames.com
Credits: Cover Art: Joshua Qualtieri, Charles Oines, Ken Burnside & Winchell Chung. Composition by Philip Markgraf and Ken Burnside Interior Art & Box Minis: Stephen Rider & Charles Oines Game Design: Ken Burnside, Eric Finley & Tony Valle Proofreading: Ethan McKinney, Leonard Conklin, Scott Palter Layout, 2nd 2nd Edition: Ken Burnside Layout, 1st 1st Edition: Matt Arnold More detailed descriptions of who contributed what to this project can be found in rule (Y1.0).
Printing of 20 Feb 2011
C AD ASTRA GAMES, 2011 CORE RULEBOOK O
1
(A1.0) INTRODUCTION (A2.0) (A2.1) (A2.2) (A2.3) (A2.4)
4
GENERAL COURSE OF PLAY BASIC CONCEPTS: USING WEAPONS: TRUISMS OF SPACE COMBAT: GLOSSARY OF TERMS:
(A3.0) USING THE GAME
10
11
27
28
(B3.1) SEQUENCE OF PLAY OUTLINE: (B3.2) SEGMENT PROCEDURES:
(B4.0) PLAY AIDS
31
36
(D3.0) ITERATIVE BEARING AND FIRING ARC TUTORIAL: 78 (D3.1) (D3.2) (D3.3) (D3.4) (D3.5) (D3.6) (D3.7)
BEARING BEARING BEARING BEARING BEARING BEARING BEARING
AND AND AND AND AND AND AND
FIRING FIRING FIRING FIRING FIRING FIRING FIRING
ARC ARC ARC ARC ARC ARC ARC
EXAMPLE EXAMPLE EXAMPLE EXAMPLE EXAMPLE EXAMPLE EXAMPLE
#1: #2: #3: #4: #5: #6: #7:
(D4.1) (D4.2) (D4.3) (D4.4)
85
SKIN LAYER DAMAGE PLACEMENT: APPLYING DAMAGE: EFFECTS OF DAMAGE TO SPECIFIC SYSTEMS: QUICK DAMAGE ALLOCATION:
94
(D5.1) DETONATING NUCLEAR WEAPONS: (D5.2) INITIAL BLAST EFFECTS: (D5.3) INTERNAL DAMAGE:
98
(D6.1) ELECTRONIC WARFARE: (D6.2) SENSORS: (D6.3) HIGH RESOLUTION TARGETING SYSTEM (HIRTS): (D6.4) COMMUNICATIONS GEAR: (D6.5) ENHANCED ZONE DEFENSE FIRE CONTROL:
(E1.0) WEAPONS
101
(E1.1) GENERAL WEAPON RULES:
43
(C1.1) GENERAL INFORMATION:
(C2.0) MANEUVERING WITH VECTORS
BEARINGS AND THE AVID: TUTORIAL ON 3-D BEARINGS: FIRING ARCS: WALKING THROUGH MAPPING:
(D6.0) ELECTRONICS SYSTEMS:
(B5.1) USING POWER: (B5.2) HEAT MANAGEMENT: (B6.1) GENERATING FLEX POINTS: (B6.2) USING FLEX POINTS: (B6.3) FLAG POINTS:
(C1.0) BASIC CONCEPTS
73
(D5.0) NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS
(B4.1) FRONT OF THE SCC: (B4.2) BACK OF THE SCC: (B4.4) WEAPON & MANEUVER REFERENCE CARD: (B4.5) BOX MINIATURES, STACKING TILES & TILT BLOCKS:
(B5.0) POWER & HEAT MANAGEMENT
(D2.1) (D2.2) (D2.3) (D2.4)
71
LEFT SIDE OF THE PAGE: CENTER OF THE PAGE: THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE RIGHT EDGE OF THE PAGE:
(D4.0) DAMAGE ALLOCATION
(B1.1) GAME SCALE: (B1.2) TIME INCREMENTS: (B2.1) TYPES OF DIE ROLLS:
(B3.0) THE SEQUENCE OF PLAY
(D1.1) (D1.2) (D1.3) (D1.4)
(D2.0) BEARINGS AND FIRING ARCS
(A5.1) SAMPLE GAME ONE (DRIFTING, BEARINGS AND WEAPONS WEAPONS FIRE): (A5.2) SAMPLE GAME TWO (PIVOTING, THRUST AND VECTORS): (A5.3) SAMPLE GAME THREE (ORIENTATION & THRUST IN 3-D, POWER AND HEAT MANAGEMENT): (A5.4) SAMPLE GAME FOUR (WEAPON FIRE AND DAMAGE ALLOCATION): (A5.5) FURTHER READING:
(B1.0) GAME TIME AND DISTANCE SCALES
DOCKING: RAMMING: MECHANICS OF RAMMING: FLYING IN FORMATION:
(D1.0) THE SHIP’S SYSTEMS DISPLAY (SSD) 9
(A4.1) FRONT OF THE CARD: (A4.2) BACK OF THE CARD: (A4.3) FURTHER READING:
(A5.0) WALK THROUGH TUTORIAL
FORMATION (C5.1) (C5.2) (C5.3) (C5.4)
(A3.1) NAVIGATING THE RULEBOOK: (A3.2) PARTS NEEDED TO PLAY THE GAME:
(A4.0) THE SHIP CONTROL CARD
ATTACK ATT ACK VECTOR: VECTOR: TACTICA TACTICAL L 59
44
(E2.0) LASERS
102
(E2.1) FIRING LASERS: (E2.2) ALTERNATE FIRING MODES FOR LASERS:
(C2.1) VELOCITY AND MOVEMENT: (C2.2) THRUST:
(C3.0) FACING CHANGES IN 2-D:
51
(C3.1) GENERAL INFORMATION : (C3.2) BALANCED FACING CHANGES: (C3.3) PERSISTENT SPINS:
(C4.0) MOVEMENT IN THREE DIMENSIONS (C4.1) (C4.2) (C4.3) (C4.4)
54
ORIENTATION IN 3-D: 3-D ORIENTATION ON THE AVID: THRUST AND VECTOR MOVEMENT IN 3-D: OTHER 3-D RULES:
(C5.0) DOCKING, RAMMING AND FL FLYING YING IN 2
C AD ASTRA GAMES, 2011 CORE RULEBOOK O
ATTACK ATTA CK VECTOR: TACTICAL (F1.0) HANDLING SEEKING WEAPONS (F2.0) DEFENDING AGAINST SEEKING WEAPONS (F2.1) (F2.2) (F2.3) (F2.4)
105 113
EVADING SEEKING WEAPONS: ZONE DEFENSE: GENERATING ZONE DEFENSE POINTS: ESCORT ZONE DEFENSE:
(F3.0) COILGUN OPERATIONS
(Y1.4) CHANGES IN 2.0:
(Y2.0) SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
155
(Z1.0) INDEX
156
(Z3.0) SYSTEM REPAIR REFERENCE
158
(Z2.0) AVID ORIENTATION REFERENCE
159
119
(F3.1) GENERAL OPERATIONS:
(F4.0) MISSILE OPERATIONS
120
(F4.1) MISSILE LAUNCH: (F4.2) MISSILE DEPLOYMENT:
(F5.0) MISSILE LAUNCH TUTORIAL (F5.1) (F5.2) (F5.3) (F5.4) (F5.5)
EXAMPLE EXAMPLE EXAMPLE EXAMPLE EXAMPLE
123
1: 2: 3: 4: 5:
(F6.0) KATYUSHA LOADING AND MISSILE CONSTRUCTION (F6.1) (F6.2) (F6.3) (F6.4) (F6.5)
128
KATYUSHA LOADING: MISSILE CONSTRUCTION: KINETIC WARHEADS: NUCLEAR WARHEADS AND DECOYS: PRODUCTION LEVELS AND RELIABILITY:
(Z3.0) MISSILE AVAILABILITY THROUGH 2275: 131 (G1.0) CREWS AND CREW GRADE
133
(G1.1) ESTABLISHING CREW GRADES:
(G2.0) DAMAGE CONTROL (G2.1) (G2.2) (G2.3) (G2.4)
135
GENERAL DAMAGE CONTROL RULES: TACTICAL DAMAGE CONTROL: SYSTEM SCALE REPAIRS: DEPOT LEVEL REPAIR:
(G3.0) ORDNANCE RELOADING
138
(G3.1) PURCHASING AND STORING RELOADS: (G3.2) RELOADING FROM MAGAZINES:
(G4.0) MATERIEL TRANSFER BETWEEN SHIPS 139 (G4.1) (G4.2) (G4.3) (G4.4)
PRE-REQUISITES FOR TRANSFER: SYSTEM SCALE TRANSFERS: TACTICAL SCALE TRANSFERS: TRANSFER VIA SHUTTLE:
(H1.0) SCENARIOS (H1.1) (H1.2) (H2.1) (H2.2)
141
SCENARIO SETUP: VICTORY CONDITIONS: CHOOSING FORCES: MISSION PROFILE DRAWS:
(H3.0) ROCKET RALL RALLY Y
148
(H4.0) RACETRACK OF ORION:
150
(H5.0) GUNBOAT DEMOLITION DERBY
152
(Y1.0) DESIGNER’S NOTES
153
(Y1.1) INFLUENCES (Y1.2) SPECIFIC CONTRIBUTIONS FOR 1.0: (Y1.3) CHANGES IN 1.5: C AD ASTRA GAMES, 2011 CORE RULEBOOK O
3
ATTACK VECTOR: TACTICAL TACTICAL
A
Don’t Panic! Attack Vector is a game with a lot o complex math underlying it. Tere’s no two ways about it; we know, we did all o it to make the game work. Tis means you don’t have to. A lot o AV:’s rules are going to be dierent rom any other space combat game you’ve seen. Tese dierences exist because they’re the only way to make the game work as both a representation o what we want it to do, and be playable by human beings without a computer assisting. In particular, there are places where we describe a procedure, and don’t explain what the procedure does. Te reason or this is because trying to explain the procedure and what the procedure is simulating would result in glazed over eyes. In a lot o ways, AV: is like a Swiss watch. Te pieces and parts mesh together seamlessly, even i you don’t know what, exactly, they’re all doing. A Note On Complexit Complexity y Games have three kinds o complexity: 1) Conceptual Complexity: How many new concepts do you have to learn to play? AV: is High in this kind o complexity. 2) Procedural Complex Complexity: ity: How much record keeping is needed to play the game, and how common are rules exceptions? AV: is Medium in this kind o complexity. 3) Decision Comple C omplexity: xity: How many decisions are made during the game, and how many options must be kept in mind? AV: is High in this kind o complexity. In some ways, this is the ‘good’ kind o complexity, as it adds replay value.
4
(A1.0) INTRODUCTIO INTRODUCTION N
Attack Vector: actical (AV: hereaer) is a wargame about spaceship combat played on a map o hexagons, or “hex grid.” Te players take the roles o warship commanders in combat, employing tactics, attempting attempting to meet mission objectives, and operating within the constraintss o their ships’ capabilities. constraint capabilities. AV:’s spaceships maneuver in accordance with Newtonian mechanics, using thrust and momentum moment um to change their course. Once a ship is moving in a given direction, it will continue to move in that direction until it applies thrust in the opposite direction. AV: is a paper and pencil wargame in an era where w here computers can do impressive i mpressive modeling and polygon counts. While a computer can do the math needed to run a space combat game, it does not help the player understand understand everything that is going on. Moreover, computer games can rarely match the thrill o beating a live opponent by making better decisions and out-thinking them. Our goal in designing AV: AV: was to match tactical play with a good physics model, without sacricing playability playability in the process. o accomplish this, AV: tucks a great deal o detail “under the carpet” o the rules. While we have taken every precaution to ensure accuracy, the rules present the results o time spent with equations, rather than the equations themselves. Where space permitted, we have included the background science behind the r ule. A typical game o ΑV: takes roughly 20-30 minutes per turn; less in the hands o experienced players. A standard game takes somewhere between b etween 7 and 15 turns to complete. (A2.0) GENERAL COURSE OF PLAY
Games are played in scenarios, which provide the units and the objectives. Some scenarios may have secret objectives determined by drawing a card rom a standard deck o playing cards. A scenario may be pre-provided, balanced by equal points, generated by a campaign game, or agreed on by the players. Each scenario is played in turns. Each turn is broken into 8 segments. Play continues until one side has no chance o winning win ning and attempts to disengage, surrenders, surrenders , or is completely destroyed. (A2.1) BASIC CONCEPTS:
Four concepts are undamental to understanding unders tanding AV:: AV:: thrust thrust,, segmented movement, power management, and the Ship’s Systems Display (SSD). • Trustcrea Trustcreatesaccelera tesaccelerationand tionanddisplacemen displacement,while t,whileexpendingfuel. expendingfuel.Accele Accelerationis rationisthe the change in velocity in a given direction. Displaceme Displacement nt is the actual movemen movementt o the ship while it accelerates. • Segmen Segmentedmov tedmovemen ementbreaksaunit’ tbreaksaunit’smovementdownfrom smovementdownfromhexesperturnto hexesperturnto hexes per segment, allocating the movements proportionally. For example, a ship moving 7 hexes per turn would cover 7 hexes in 8 segments. Segmented movement movement tells you which segments the ship moves on. (In this t his particular example, the ship would move one hex on segments 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8). A ship moving 12 hexes per turn would move 1 hex on segment 1, 2 hexes on segment 2, 1 hex on segment 3, 2 hexes on segment 4, 1 hex on segment 5, 2 hexes on segment 6, 1 hex on segment 7 and 2 hexes on segment 8. A ship’s record o how many hexes to move on which segment (and in which direction) is called the movemen movementt grid. • Power Powermanagementis managementistheprocessof theprocessofspending spending power powerfrom frombatteries,relling batteries,rellingthebatteries thebatteries rom reactors, and storing the waste heat rom reactors in heat sinks. Te dynamic o power accumulation versus weapon cycle times sets the tempo o combat, while the ability to store heat in heat sinks sets the clock on the engageme engagement. nt. • SSDsdescribethec SSDsdescribethecapabili apabilitiesofshipsandhavecheckb tiesofshipsandhavecheckboxesandspacesforrecording oxesandspacesforrecording damage to various systems. As ships take damage, systems are marked o as destroyed and the ships’ capabilities decline. C AD ASTRA GAMES, 2011 CORE RULEBOOK O
ATTACK VECTOR: VECTOR: TACTICAL (A2.2) USING WEAPONS:
Tere are two broad categories o weapons in the game: beam weapons and seeking weapons. o make an analogy, a policeman has a pistol and a dog. Te pistol is a beam weapon, since the target cannot outrun the bullet. Te dog is a seeking weapon; it’s slower than the bullet, but can change course to intercept the target. AV: resolves weapons re with rolls o a 10-sided die (or “d10”). Beam B eam weapons have tables where you cross reerence the die roll with the range bracket to nd out how much damage was done. done. See the sidebar on this page.
RANGE > 0DIE ROLL 10 3(+5)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
S L R M 3
5 6 6 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
1113
1415
1617
1822
2330
D7 2 3 4 4 5 5 6 6 6
D5 D7 1 2 3 3 4 4 4 4
D5 D7 1 1 2 2 3 3 3 3
D3 D5 D7 1 1 2 2 2 2 2
D1 D3 D5 D7 1 1 1 1 1 1
(A2.3) TRUISMS OF SPACE COMBAT: COMBAT:
All players bring their own set o assumptions to a space combat game, either rom television programs, popular ction, or rom other wargames o similar theme. Many o these assumptions don’t apply to AV:, and a number o the more common questions are addressed below to answer the questions o “where are they?” Space is vast, but mostly empty. Space is also dark and cold; the average background temperature o space is 2-5 Kelvin. Ships with habitable lie support sections, even with the engines o, will have a surace temperature o at least 200 to 250 Kelvin (ice melts at 273 Kelvin). For a typical habitable section o a ship, the radiated heat signature is in the range o a ew hundred kilowatts, which is generally detectable out to 30,000 km in under a day using a ull spherical search pattern with a broad-eld IR-band telescope with an aperture o 3 meters. While there is ecliptic dust that can re-radiate re-radiate solar energy at about that temperature, the signal is much more dispersed, and likely doesn’t show proper motion against the sky. In addition to the waste heat generated by lie support, a ship’s power generation system generates heat. A perect Carnot heat engine produces 2 watts o waste heat or every watt o electricity it produces, where waste heat dissipation is ree (like in an atmosphere). In space, waste heat has to be radiated. Minimizing radiator size (to make them retractable in combat, and to make them mass less) means running them at a higher temperature, which reduces the eciency o the Carnot cycle. Each radiator in AV: is roughly a 25m x 25m surace radiating rom both sides at around 1600 Kelvin. Each radiator disposes o roughly 44 GJ o waste heat in 128 seconds, or a signature strength o roughly 340 megawatts, which is detectable (easily) out to around 10 light seconds (3 million kilometers) under the same conditions as the crew’s waste heat. (Te distance rom the Earth to the Sun is 500 light seconds, as a point o comparison.) Beyond that, or a 5,000 ton ship using a reaction drive, even in cruise mode, it’s producing a minimum o a 340 gigawatt signature signature at about 2800 K, which gives a 1 day spherical search pattern “guaranteed” detection radius o a bit over 1,000 light seconds, or roughly 2 AU. In low thrust uel economy mode, it takes roughly 10-16 weeks to cross 1 AU AU.. During this th entire time, the people attempting attempting detection need only look or a 14 magnitude star with measurable proper motion. (A ship in combat thrust puts out drive signatures 10 times as bright, and would be easily detectable out at roughly triple the ranges listed above, or around 6 AU). STEALTH DOESN’T WORK:
Any ship using a reaction drive reveals its mass by the correlation between observed rate o thrust and the temperature and brightness/mass spectroscopy o the exhaust plume. plume. Tis means that unless unless the decoy weighs as much as the ship it’s protecting and has the same drive as the ship its detecting, it will be be easy to distinguish against the sky. DECOYS DON’T WORK:
C AD ASTRA GAMES, 2011 CORE RULEBOOK O
Reading A Weapon Table A target is at range 10, and the die roll is 6. Te rst column shows a range o 0 to 10, so the target is in the rst range bracket. A die roll o 6 means we read on the 6 th row down, which nets 7 points o damage to the target.
Arguing Thermodynamic Thermodynamics s Te discussion about stealth in space is one that comes up periodically on the Ad Astra orums, and on the SFCONSIM-L mailing list; enough so that it’s regularly met with eye rolling. Common attempts to justiy stealth in space include: Directional Radiation: Tis technique requires directing your thermal signature away rom enemy sensors and coasting in ‘running silent’. Aside rom the multi-week (oen multiple month) travel times it requires, it also requires knowing where the observation platorms are in the system, and is still voided whenever you apply thrust. Hidingg Behind a Soletta: A Hidin soletta is the spacegoing equivalent o a parasol, a big thin lm o something meant to shade an object rom solar radiation. When used or stealth, the soletta will pick up and re-radiate your thermal signature in a matter o hours, or will occlude parts o the sky (or the local loc al star)
Hiding Behind a Planet: With transit times measured in weeks and orbital periods measured in minutes, at some point your orbit is going to put whatever object is occluding your observation behind you, and you’ll stand out like a bug in ront o a mirror.
5
A
ATTACK VECTOR: TACTICAL TACTICAL ENGAGEMENT RANGE: Te timing o engagements is set by
the orce with the greatest ability to change velocity. Tis results in three basic types o engagements: battles at hyperspace termini, battles at planets, and intercept battles (where one side is trying to preventt the other rom reaching a planet or hyperspace terminus). preven terminus). Inter Intercept cept battles can theoretically happen at tens o kilometers per second o closing velocity; the lack o stealth, and the desire o crews to avoid mutual suicide prevents this handily. Weapon ranges are limited by the total ability to change velocity or missiles, and by beam spread or beam weapons. Most beam weapons that obey the laws o physics are limited to hundreds or thousands o kilometers, k ilometers, delivering delivering damage in several s everal pulses per second.
A
Te game scale in AV: is 20km/hex. Planets are represented represented by an edge o the map (usually the table surace) being impassable to ships o either side, and asteroids are lone clumps o material, one to ten hexes in diameter. Tis means that there is no horizon line to hide behind, b ehind, and thus no need to have “orward scouts” relaying inormation back to the main orce. Likewise, the “clump o asteroids to dodge through while dogghting” is, alas, a Hollywood invention. SPACE IS BIG; TERRAIN IS SPARSE:
Unlike surace naval combat, where aircra can move roughly 40-50 times aster than their carrier, a small spaceship and a large spaceship have a dierent dierent dynamic. Te smaller ship will mass less, so s o the same drive mounted on both the smaller ship and the larger ship will produce dierent amounts o thrust, and the smaller ship will be able to turn aster (due to shorter moment arm eects). Te strong distinction between aircra and surace naval ships doesn’t t space combat, and thus the swarms o ghters swooping and banking as they nimbly dodge the battleship’s beams doesn’t t either. (Not to mention the lack o atmosphere in space to swoop and bank against.) In AV: V:,, reaction drives are limited by thermo thermodynamics, dynamics, with thrusts measured in increments o 1/8 o a G. Te largest reaction drive dr ive used in this product produc t puts out 4.5 terawatts o energy. Te total power generation capacity o the human race at the beginning o the 21 st century is roughly 12 terawatts. Te maximum change in velocity (or delta v, shown as ∆v) is set by the raction o the ship’s mass devoted to uel. PHYSICS IS THE SAME FOR EVERYONE:
One o the great divides in the adventure gaming eld is split between “competitive” players and role-players. While AV: is unabashedly a competitive wargame, wargame, that should not keep players rom thinking about the role they play in commanding a spaceship. AV:’s deault background setting is the en Worlds, a story o the human colonization o near stellar space, rie with political machinations, intrigues, feet actions, tragic errors and transcendent hopes. It is, above all else, a human universe, one where the actions o a ew in great duress can alter the course o history, and where the human ideals o compassion, courage, honor and duty refect all that we aspire to. Te political context o the en Worlds has moved away rom the grinding game o attrition and total war. Limited conficts or limited political objectives are the norm. It’s reasonable to accept a surrender (or surrender yoursel) to be ransomed back rather than ght to the last gasp o air. With this in mind, while it’s possible to play AV: as nothing but a gritty wargame, played to the bloody death or the thrill o beating your opponent with nothing but your tactical cunning, there is the potential or it to be more than that. Te ship descriptions have detail applicable to campaign games or role-playing games. Te historical scenarios scena rios fow rom a political context, where the results o one battle can infuence the next, and (by varying ordnance and consumable stores, or repair status) can be played with incomplete intelligence. THE ROLE OF THE PLAYER:
6
C AD ASTRA GAMES, 2011 CORE RULEBOOK O
ATTACK VECTOR: VECTOR: TACTICAL (A2.4) GLOSSARY OF TERMS:
All o these terms are explained in their usage context later in the book. Crew Rate: Te quality o your crew, expressed as a target number to b e equalled or exceeded. Ranges rom 2+ (Legendary) to 10+ (Hopeless) Vector Inormation Display; Display ; this is the tool used AVID: A VID: Attitude Vector to record changes to a ship’s orientation, its current vectors, and changes to vectors. It is also used or shooting bearings, Nose Aft A and tracking ring arcs. Te key concept o the AVID is that Top Bottom AVID Port Stbd it’s a top-down view vie w o a sphere, divided divi ded into windows that t hat are color coded in rings (amber, blue, green and purple), showing how ar away away rom the equator equator you are. Te outer part o the F F/A AVID is made up o 8 arrows. 6 o them correspond to the A-F map directions, the other two are + (or Up) and — (or Down). Tose arrows are called vector arrows, arrows, and have a gray E/F part (where changes to vectors are accumulated) and a white part (where numbers or vectors are shown). Tere are two dierent colors o AVID; the Red AVIDs have direction D at the top o the card, while the Blue AVIDs have D/E E direction A at the top o the card; i you set Red and Blue so that the arrows on the cards match the directions printed in the center o the map sheet, all directions will “work” or both players o the game without anyone having to rotate their D – AVID card. Box Miniatures: A box miniature is the “counter” or your ship in the game. Tey are printed on card stock with six views o the ship, one printed on each box-side. Te top has a triangle pointing to the ront and a semi-circle at the stern; think o them as the arrowhead and eathers o the direction you applyy thrust in. Te bottom o the box miniature has an anchor symbol on it. appl Hex Map: Te game is played on a map o hexagons, called a hex map. Each hexagon is called a “hex”. Ships are placed in hexes, acing either the side o a hex, or a corner, but not on the lines between hexes. Te hex map has a rosette in the center, labeled A through F going clockwise. Tere is a second ring to the rosette, labeled 000 through 330, used or other games Ad Astra publishes. Tis ring can be ignored or now. Directions Up and Down are shown by + and -. Te maps are geomorphic, meaning that when you’re about to run o the edge o one map, you can move the second map to that t hat edge and continue the ght. th e map is shown by the hex it’s in, while altitude is shown show n Stacking iles: A ship’s position on the by placing stacking tiles under it, like poker chips. ilt Blocks: A ship’s orientation on the map is shown with tilt blocks. Te box miniature rests in the trough, and can either show a shallow angle (30°) or steep angle (60°). A box miniature that’s pointed straight up or down is at a 90° angle. SSD: Ship Systems Display; the record sheet that shows your ship’s current capabilities. Systems can be destroyed on the SSD by marking o their boxes. Pivots: Any acing change that moves the ront o the box miniature around is a pivot, whether it’s done up or down or in i n the plane o the map. I you’re used to turning tur ning a gure on a map to get it to ace where you want, that’s a pivot; AV: allows you to pivot up and down as well. Rolls: A acing change that rotates the box miniature around its long axis is a roll. Rolling a ship allows you to fip the ship, bringing the other side’s weapons to bear. Bearings: Shooting a bearing is guring out what part o the sky you see the target in, mapped to one o the windows o the AVID. Tis generates a arget marker. arget markers get mapped to Firing Arc Diagrams. C AD ASTRA GAMES, 2011 CORE RULEBOOK O
A
+
Circle markers when they’re below the amber ring
B
A/B
B/C
C/D
C
AVID SI DE VIE W
7
ATTACK VECTOR: TACTICAL TACTICAL
able) is used or shooting bearings. Count out the RAL: Te RAL (Range-Angle Lookup able) hexes rom you to your target on the bottom o the RAL, then count up by the dierence in altitude. Te number will be the real range to the t he target, and the color will match the ring o the AVID it’s visible through. Te RAL is printed on the back o this rulebook. Hit Locations: Te SSD breaks the ship down into seven hit locations, loc ations, each with their own table. Which location is hit is determined determined by a d10 roll. Asteroid s: a ship with a vector Vector Movement: Moveme nt: Vector movement is like the old video game Asteroids: o 4 hexes per turn in direction A, 2 hexes per turn in direction B, and one hex per turn in + will move 4 hexes in A, 2 hexes in B and gain 1 altitude each turn. o slow down, you have to rotate 180° and apply thrust in the opposite direction. Vector: Velocities in AV: are vectors, and are independent o the ship’s acing; they are written as a number o hexes per turn in a map direction. Trust : Ships change velocities by applying thrust, which accumulates rom turn to turn. Adapting to movement with momentum is the biggest conceptual hurdle or people coming rom ground combat games. A ship’ ship’s current maximum thrust is shown on the right side o the SSD in the Trust Matrix; damage to the engines marks o boxes on the le, reductions in the mass o the ship (see Fuel Units, below) may shi which row o the thrust matrix is used. Displacement : I you apply thrust or a whole turn in vector movement, without changing direction, your ship will move a number o hexes in the direction o thrust equal to hal o the amount you changed your vector by, carrying ractional hexes o movement over to your next turn. Tis “hal movement” is called “displacement”. Displacement represents the eect o continuous continuous,, rather than instant, acceleration. Fuel Unit: A uel unit represen represents ts the amount o uel uel needed to accelerate the ship by one hex per turn; this is 156.25 meters per second o velocity change. change. Fuel units are are shown on the SSD in the uel track; each column o uel units represents one hull space (approximately (approximately 25 tons including including tank mass) o uel. Te shape o the uel units changes rom circles to squares (and sometimes back and orth multiple times) - each change in shape indicates that the ship’s maximum rated thrust has increased due to the ship’s mass declining. Markers: Ships use End o urn (Eo) markers to indicate where their ships will e at the end o the current turn. Tey use Future Position Position (FP) markers to show where the ship will be at the end o the current segment. broken down into eight eight substeps called segments. segments. Each turn is 128 Segment: One turn is broken seconds long, each segment is 16 seconds long. End o urn Procedure: At the end o each turn, each ship records how much heat they’ve stored in their heat sinks, and chooses how many reactors they wish to have active on the next turn. Tey may also extend extend radiators. radiators. b atteries. Reactors: A reactor generates power that rells batteries. Battery: Power is accumulated in batteries and spent to re weapons. Heat Sink: Heat sinks store the waste heat rom reactors to be dissipated later, via radiators. radiators is Radiators: Te mechanism o the ship used to dissipate waste heat; extending radiators accepted as a sign o surrender, surrender, as the ship cannot sustain combat rated thrusts while they are out. Kinetic Weapons: Weapons which damage the ship by impacting it; damage is based on the square o the impact velocity and the mass o the impactor.
A
8
C AD ASTRA GAMES, 2011 CORE RULEBOOK O
ATTACK VECTOR: VECTOR: TACTICAL
(A3.0) USING THE GAME
A
AV: uses an alphanumeric rule numbering system pioneered by Star Fleet Battles . Everything is organized rom le to right within the rule number, as described by rule (A3.1) below. While this system can appear daunting at rst, in the end, it’s an outline, and makes nding things a snap. Ultimately Ultimately, this rulebook ends up staying in the box when the game is played, and the extensive navigation system is there to make sure that when you DO need to look something up, you can nd it quickly (A3.1) NAVIGATING THE RULEBOOK:
Te game is divided into sections, each designated by a letter. For example, you’re now in “section A” which deals with “General Rules and Inormation.” All rule numbers in section A begin with the letter “A”, just as this rule (A3.11) does. Tere are tabs on the edge o each page showing the sections, making it easier to fip through the rulebook and nd the right section. Te major rules sections are listed in the able o Contents; the game also has an Index. (A3.11) SECTIONS:
Between the section letter and the decimal point is a number, number, speciying a particular rule. Each rule begins with a single column column gray box to make it easier to nd on the t he page. (A3.12) MAIN RULE NUMBER:
(A3.13) RULES SUBDIVISIONS: Aer the decimal point, the numbers work dierently. dierently.
Rule (C2.32) is not the 32nd rule under (C2.0), but rather, the second item under the third subtopic o that rule. Rather than indent the outline’s hierarchy, progressively lighter shades o grey or the rule r ule numbers themselves indicate levels o rules. Te range o rule numbers on a page is listed in the outside corner o the header. (A3.14) EXAMPLES AND NOTES:
Examples o specic rules are shown in the sidebars
on the outside edge o each page. (A3.15) ANNEXES: Some
inormation will be superseded by new releases. An example would be a complete index to the game, or the master ship chart. Tis inormation is in Annexes, which are replaced when new supplements come out. Consolidated annexes are sold on the Ad Astra Games web site in electronic ormat. Many rules cross-reerence other rules in the game; this helps using the rulebook rulebo ok as a reerence tool. When exceptions or special cases are listed; they will be clearly marked. I rule A cites an exception to rule B, and rule B does do es not specically list the exception rom rule ru le A, the exception still applies. applies. (A3.16) CROSS-REFERENCES AND EXCEPTIONS:
(A3.2) PARTS NEEDED TO PLAY THE GAME:
Te ollowing components c omponents are required to play AV: AV:.. Many o them can be b e downloaded download ed and printed out rom the Ad Astra Games web site. • Tisrulebook,and Tisrulebook,andtheship theshipbook.Tehist book.Tehistoricalbackground oricalbackgroundbookhasscenarios bookhasscenarioswhich which are useul or starting a game. • PhotocopiesoftheShipSys PhotocopiesoftheShipSystemsDispla temsDisplays(SSDs)neededtoplaythechosenscenario. ys(SSDs)neededtoplaythechosenscenario. • Oneboxminiature,one Oneboxminiature,onefuturepositionmarker futurepositionmarker,oneendofturnmarker ,oneendofturnmarker,andoneShip ,andoneShip Control Card (SCC) or each ship. Each side o the battle should have a copy o the Weapon and Maneuver Reerence Card. Tere should be tilt blocks and stacking tiles. • Atleastthree Atleastthree10-sideddice(d10s).Morea 10-sideddice(d10s).Morearealwaysuseful. realwaysuseful. • Ahex-map Ahex-mapwith0.9” with0.9”(23mm)or (23mm)orlargerhexes. largerhexes.Severa Severallvendorssupply vendorssupplythese,includingfelt these,includingfelt maps sold directly by Ad Astra Games. wo double sided paper maps are included. included. • Anassortm Anassortmentofpens entofpenssuitabl suitableforusingonalamina eforusingonalaminatedsurfa tedsurface.Fine ce.Finetippermane tippermanent nt markers can write on laminate and be erased with rubbing alcohol (or a dry erase marker) and a cloth. Grease pencils or crayons also work. C AD ASTRA GAMES, 2011 CORE RULEBOOK O
9
ATTACK VECTOR: TACTICAL TACTICAL
A
On segment 1, your ship moves 1 hex in direction A, shown by the movemen movementt grid—look at the row that says “1” on it and read it rom le to right. We show this by moving the uture position marker at the beginning o the segment, and moving the ship to the uture position marker marker in the middle o the segment. Weapons re comes aer the uture position marker has been placed, and beore movement. (A5.121) Place your uture position marker one hex away rom your ship in direction A, then move your ship to the uture position marker. (A5.12) SEGMENT 1:
DESIGN NOTE: 3D In The Tutorial O all the things that throw people, 3-D is the scariest up ront, while adding the least mechanical overhead to the game. 3-D does requires the most practice to get procient with. Aer playing through the rst three turns o the tutorial, you should have it down cold.
On segment 2, your ship will move another hex in A. Beore moving, there should be a chocolate 2 hexes away rom your ship, one hex o in A, one hex o in B. We’re going to shoot a bearing on that chocolate, using the AVID (also shown below) (A5.131) Te AVID is a spherical bubble around the ship that ts inside o the hex the ship is in. Te AVID is xed in relation to the map, and not the ship. Te view o the AVID on the SCC is rom the pole (purple/mau (purple/mauve ve circle) down. Te green, blue and amber rings r ings are subdivided into windows. A side view is shown at right. For this chocolate, which is at the same altitude as our ship, we’re only worried about the amber ring. We want to know which amber window we see the chocolate through. (A5.132) Shooti Shooting ng a bearing means “Where in the sky do I see it?”. it?”. Te end result o shooting a bearing means placing the range to a specic target in an AVID window; the combination o range-in-an-AVID-window is called a ‘target marker’. (A5.133) It’s clear rom the map that we see the chocolate choc olate through the t he hex corner, between directions A and B at a range o 2. We place the target marker by writing a “2” in the amber window on the A/B hex corner o the AVID, as shown on the AVID at lower le. (A5.134) Beore moving the ship, ship, try to predict where the target marker or this chocolate will be on the AVID aer this segment’s movement is complete. (A5.135) Move the ship to the uture position marker. (A5.13) SEGMENT 2:
KEY CONCEPT: CONCEPT: The AVID AVID Te AVID is a ball that contains your ship; the ball, like the hexes on the map, are xed - your ship rotates in the ball the same way it can ace dierent sides o the hexes on the hex map. Below this sidebar is a picture o a lled out AVID or this turn, a side view o the AVID showing how many degrees o pitch (vertical angles) correspond to each o the color bands o the AVID, and a rendered picture o Rak in an AVID in a hex grid, with poles sticking out showing the orientation symbols. Te AVID is the most important concept to absorb in playing the game; everything else builds o o it.
Nose Aft Top Bottom Port Stbd
6
1
A
+
AVID
Circle markers when they’re below the amber ring
2
F
F/A
3
+90° to
B
A/B
Color
Shorthand
Purple
+++
Green
++
Blue
+
+76 °
t o
7 5 +
°
°
5
6 4
+
4
+
o
t
B/C
E/F
°
6
1
+ °
5
1
+
o
Amber
t
E
D/E
C/D
°
C
5 1 -
-
1
6
Blue
°
t o
-
- 4
–
D
AVID SIDE VI EW
5
°
Hannibal
7
-
5
°
t o
4
-
6
°
-76°
Green
--
Purple
---
to -90°
12
C AD ASTRA GAMES, 2011 CORE RULEBOOK O
ATTACK VECTOR: VECTOR: TACTICAL
Te ship’s uture position marker will move one hex in direction B. Shoot a bearing and see i it matches your prediction rom (A5.133). (A5.141) Move the ship to the uture position marker and eat the chocolate. (A5.14) SEGMENT 3:
A
Your ship will move two spaces this segment, one hex in A, and one level up (direction +). Place your uture position marker on a white tile, one hex away in direction A. (A5.151) Your course won’t take you through the chocolate shown with a triangle. (A5.152) Let’ Let’ss shoot a bearing and place the target marker or this chocolate on the AVID. From our current position, the chocolate is 4 hexes out in A, and 2 hexes out in F. Would that be visible through the hex corner or the hex edge? I you’re unsure, compare the two dierent distances and use the rule o thumb printed above the AVID—4 is not 3 times as large as 2, thereore it should be in direction F/A. (A5.153) Now look at the chocol c hocolate’ ate’s vertical vertic al component: it’s one level below us, and 6 hexes away. Using the RAL (Range/Angle Lookup able) on the back o the book, we’ll see that the target is 6 hexes out and has a dierence in altitude altitude o 1 hex. Tis puts itit at a range range o 6. Te color on the RAL RAL is amber, meaning we still see it through the amber ring. We record the target marker in the F/A amber window o the AVID, as shown in the upper AVID illustration in the sidebar to the right. (A5.154) Move to the uture position marker. Your ship should now be one altitude level above the plane o the map. (A5.15) SEGMENT 4:
Nose Aft Top Bottom Port Stbd
6
1
A
+
AVID
Circle markers when they’re below the amber ring
6
F
3 F/A
B/C
E/F
E
B
A/B
D/E
–
C/D
D
C
AVID SIDE VI EW
(A5.16) SEGMENT 5:
Your uture position marker will be 1 hex away in direction A. (A5.161) Let’s re-shoot that bearing to the triangle-chocolate. It’s now 3 hexes away in A, and 2 away in F, which Nose Aft Top Bottom AVID keeps it bearing through Port Stbd direction F/A. 5 F F/A (A5.162) Te altitude dierence is 2, since we’re one level up and it’s one level down. Te horizontal distance is 5, the vertical distance is 2. Using the RAL,, we go out 5 and up 2, and see that the range is 5 in the blue ring. Since RAL E/F it’s below us, it’ll it’l l be in the lower blue ring r ing on the AVID. AVID. We write a 5 in the F/A blue ring and circle it to show that it’s beneath us, just like the note to the upper right hand o the AVID AVID says. Te target marker is shown on the lower D/E E AVID on this page. –
C AD ASTRA GAMES, 2011 CORE RULEBOOK O
6
1
A
+
Circle markers when they’re below the amber ring
3
B
A/B
B/C
C/D
D
C
AVID SIDE V IEW
13
ATTACK VECTOR: VECTOR: TACTICAL (A5.166) Which o the three orward bearing weapon mounts can shoot at that chocolate?
We’re looking to re through a window that is down one diagonal-and-port o the nose. As you can see, only weapon mounts A and B can re at the chocolate. Now it’s time to make a decision—do you shoot now or wait? Te weapon you’re you’re using (the 3 space MRLS shown earlier) has a point blank range bracket o 0 to 10 hexes, so getting closer won’t help; go ahead and shoot. wo 3 space lasers should do the job. Roll a d10 or each one, and cross-reerence cross-reere nce the result with the range column to get the damage done. All lasers red at chocolates add their damage together. together. (A5.167) In the later sample games, games, those lasers will have a cycle time and cost power to use, and add some restrictions on how their damage adds together. We won’t worry about that or this game, we’ll just assume the lasers won’t be ready again until next turn. (A5.168) Now move to your uture position marker.
RANGE > 0DIE ROLL 10 3(+5)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
S L R M 3
5 6 6 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
1113
1415
1617
1822
2330
D7 2 3 4 4 5 5 6 6 6
D5 D7 1 2 3 3 4 4 4 4
D5 D7 1 1 2 2 3 3 3 3
D3 D5 D7 1 1 2 2 2 2 2
D1 D3 D5 D7 1 1 1 1 1 1
On segment 6, your uture uture position marker will move 1 hex in direction B. (A5.171) For segment 6, shoot a bearing on the third chocolate, shown with a circle on the initial map. Using the RAL, we look out 6 hexes and go up 5 spaces on the grid; this gives a range o 7, visible through the blue ring o the AVID in direction A. Map the target mark to the ring arc windows like you did earlier. How many weapons can re at the target? (A5.17) SEGMENT 6:
Continue moving through the remainderr o the remainde t he Movement Movement Grid until you reach the end; the pattern o movements movements will look like the two illustrations at right on this page. I you eel like putting more chocolates down on the map to experiment with shooting bearings, go right ahead. (A5.181) o continue your dri or another turn, go back to the t he top o the Movement Grid and repeat the procedure above. Your ship does not “stop” at the end o the turn, and your vectors won’t change until thrust is applied (which is covered in the t he next sample turn.) (A5.18) SEGMENTS 7 AND 8:
Bearings & Maneuver order o operations in the Sequence o Play, how to shoot a bearing in 3-D, how to map One o the ways to identiy a that bearing to a ring arc, and how to read a weapon chart. Tis is a about 60% o the game skilled AV: player is that they use the ormula reerences right here. printed in the colored boxes DESIGN NOTE The 2-D Play Experience on the SCC to quickly eyeball AV: has the ‘murderer’ ‘murderer’ss row’ o scary movement concepts: 12 point acing and ring which window a target is arcs, segmented movement, vector movement with displacement, uel tracking and mass visible through, through, and then then reduction and (least amiliar o all) 3-D movement. It is possible to turn o 3-D when use this rom their uture you play; or some people, a 2-D segmented vector movement game is all they want. position marker to the target’s o turn o 3-D, you need to do two things: First, you only use the Amber Ambe r ring o the AVID, AVID, uture position marker to and ignore tilt blocks and stacking tiles. Correspondingly, or shooting bearings, you only care see i they’re going to get a whether the target is visible through the hex side or the hex corner, and you only ever use the better shot next segment. middle row o the ring arc diagrams, the row with the Nose, Port, Starboard and A symbols. Knowing when a target will Second when applying thrust (explained in the next sample turn), you only use be visible through a specic the orange cells o the Trust chart, and the A-F vector arrows o the AVID. window o the AVID allows Rules section F assumes 3-D play. play. Without it, kinetics and seeking weapons become them to plan their pivots and much more powerul, because your ability to evade them through maneuver is greatly maneuvers more eectively. reduced. It is strongly advised that you NO try using kinetics without 3-D. Orbital Mechanics (rule (C6.0)) requires 3-D play to work at all. In the end, 3-D requires you to learn some new concepts, but the turn by turn record keeping is minor compared to the play value it adds. Te rest o the tutorial assumes 3-D, as that is the deault assumption or the game. (A5.19) IMPORTANT CONCEPTS: You’ve learned how to use the Movement Grid, the
C AD ASTRA GAMES, 2011 CORE RULEBOOK O
15
A
ATTACK VECTOR: TACTICAL TACTICAL (A5.2) SAMPLE GAME TWO (PIVOTING, THRUST AND VECTORS):
A Nose Aft Top Bottom Port Stbd
A AVID
F
F/A
Circle markers when they’re below the amber ring
B
A/B
D/E
–
D
Put the chocolates in the same positions as or game one (or shi them a ew hexes around or variety). Place the ship in the same place as beore, but with no vectors, and acing direction F rather than direction A. Tis is shown on the AVID in the sidebar here. (A5.21) SETUP:
You will need the blue SCC and the Weapon and Maneuver Reerence Card, as well as a photocopy o the Rafk Mk. 1 SSD, plus dice, a map, a box mini or a Rafk, tilt blocks, stacking tiles, and an erasable marker. C/D C (A5.212) For this sample game, we’ll use more o the th e Sequence o Play Pl ay.. First comes placing the uture position marker (the Plotting Step), then comes the AVID SIDE VI EW Orders Step, where orders are written, ollowed by Reveal Fire Orders and Reveal Long Orders. Orders . Fire Orders are “orders “orders where you shoot shoo t something” and Long Orders are “orders that may take longer than a segment to complete”. Ten comes Resolve Trust, and nally Movement to the uture position marker. We’ll also show converting thrust into vectors and how to write out a new movemen movementt grid. B/C
E/F
E
+
(A5.211)
Since your ship has no vectors, its uture position marker should rest on top o it. (A5.221) Te rst thing to do is pivot the ship’s Nose to ace direction A. Like the hex map, the AVID is a xed rame o reerence. When your ship pivots, the AVID remains unchanged, and your Nose shis rom one AVID window to another. (A5.222) On the le hand side o the SSD, there are two columns o “caterpillar charts”, charts”, one or pivots, pivots, one or rolls. Te pivot chart or the Rak is shown to the le. Each wedge on the Caterpillar Chart represents 30° o acing change (ships can ace both hex corners or hex edges). Te black wedge shows where the pivot stops. Since each wedge is 30°, and Circle markers + we want to change our acing rom F to A, that’s 60°, or two when they’re below the amber ring wedges. Te second graphic on the chart has the second wedge blacked in. During the Orders Step, begin pivot/roll B A/B is checked and a pivot o 60° is begun. begu n. On the AVID, we draw an arrow rom the triangle pointing in F (where our ship’s Nose is pointing) to the window in A (as shown below). B/C (A5.223) Pivots take time to complete. o see how long it takes, look at the circle in the center o the chart. In this C/D case, we’re doing a 60 degree pivot, so look or the graphic C with the second wedge all in black. Te number in the circle (in this case, “+1”) is the number o segments segments the pivot will AVID SIDE VI EW take to complete. Te pivot will complete one segment aer initiation. Since we’re starting the pivot on segment 1, the pivot will be complete during movement on segment 2. We show this by writing the number 2 in the AVID window the pivot ends in, and drawing a box around it. (A5.22) SEGMENT 1:
Nose Aft Top Bottom Port Stbd
A AVID
2
1
F
F/A
E/F
E
D/E
–
16
+0
+1
+0
+1
+0 +1
+2
+0
+2
+1
+0 +1
+3 +2
+0
°
D
I
+3
+1
+2
+0
+3
+4 +1
+2
C AD ASTRA GAMES, 2011 CORE RULEBOOK O
ATTACK VECTOR: VECTOR: TACTICAL
Moving through the Sequence o Play, we haven’t haven’t engaged thrust yet, so there’s no thrust to resolve. Te ship sh ip has no momentum built up, so the uture position marker remains on top o the box miniature. We do have a acing change underway, and the Caterpillar Ch art shows a +0 in the 30° wedge o the chart. Tis means that the ship’s Nose will have traversed 30° in the 0th (or current) segment o the pivot; shi the miniature by 30° to ace the hex corner between F and A. Tis is also shown on the AVID AVID on the prior page. (A5.224)
o keep things simple or now, we’ll not write any orders on segment 2. With no thrust in progress, there are no thrust eects to record, and the ship is already at its uture position marker. We We complete the pivot we started earlier, and update the AVID by drawing the triangle in the amber window acing A, and rotating all the other marks so they retain their position on the AVID relative to it, as shown in the AVID at right.
A
(A5.23) SEGMENT 2:
Nose Aft Top Bottom Port Stbd
F
A AVID
F/A
+
A/B
Circle markers when they’re below the amber ring
B
(A5.24) SEGMENT 3: Now that your ship is pointed in the right direction, B/C E/F it’s time to turn on your engines. Te Rafk Mk. 1 is capable o a maximum thrust o 5, as shown in Trust Matrix at the top o the gray box. (We won’t be using the second row o the matrix in this tutorial). Set the engine at D/E C/D E C thrust 5 (1.25 G) and see what happens. happens. (A5.241) Te Trust Chart contains a lot o inormation all in one place. Look on the chart until you nd the columns or thrust 5. Te column on the D AVID SIDE VI EW – le is used or “orthogonal” “orthogonal” thrust—when the ship is pointed in the plane o the map (or pointed straight up or down). It’s shaded in yellow and orange. Between this column and the green column are a set THRUST CHART No displacements while pivoting 2.0 1.875 1.75 1.625 1.5 1.375 1.25 1.125 1.0 0.875 0.75 0.625 0.5 0.375 0.25 0.125 o white ovals; the ovals will become important in a little bit. 8 7.5 7 6.5 6 5.5 5 4.5 4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 (A5.242) During the Plotting Step, the ship’s uture position marker remains in the hex with the ship. During the Order Step, check “Change Trust” and write “5” in the box over the Trust chart. Once a thrust rating has been set, no orders need to be used to keep your ship thrusting—only write a long order when something changes. (A5.243) Aer orders have been processed, we go to Resolve Trust and use the 5 column c olumn o the Trust Chart, shown at right. Te level o thrust any ship uses is public inormation. (A5.2431) A yellow cell generates one acceleration dot , which is one hex per turn o velocity change, in the direction the ship’s Nose is pointed in. Because this is the rst segment under thrust, we check Circle markers o the rst box on the t he thrust chart (even though it’s segment 3 o the turn— Nose Aft A + when they’re below Top Bottom AVID the amber ring whenever we start thrust, we always start rom the top o the chart)—then Port Stbd put a dot in the gray (inner) part o the vector arrow in direction A (to show B F our accumulating vector), like what you see on the AVID here. F/A A/B (A5.244) During the Movement Step, our uture position marker is still in the hex o the ship, so the ship doesn’t move. Te ship is not in the midst o a pivot, so its orientation doesn’t change. We do, however, check or Trust Break Conditions as the last item on the Sequence o Play. (A5.245) Trust Break Condition C onditionss are: 1) Have we gone o the bottom o the Trust Chart? C hart? I yes, we’ve we’ve met a break condition. 2) Have we completed a acing change? I yes, we’ve met a break condition. 3) Have we set thrust thr ust to zero (turned the engine o)? I yes, we’ve we’ve met a break condition. None o those apply, so we haven’t met a break condition yet, but should keep them in mind.
C AD ASTRA GAMES, 2011 CORE RULEBOOK O
17
ATTACK VECTOR: TACTICAL TACTICAL
Keeping things simple, the ship’s uture position marker remains on top o the ship. No changes to orders will be made this segment; the ship will continue to apply thrust, allowing us to skip to Resolve Trust. (A5.251) During “record thrust eects”, we mark o the next cell in the Trust Chart, and mark a second dot in direction A. Te uture position marker still hasn’t moved out o the ship’s hex. (A5.25) SEGMENT 4:
A Nose Aft Top Bottom Port Stbd
A AVID
F
F/A
+
A/B
Circle markers when they’re below the amber ring
B
While the engine is thrusting, we’ll begin a pivot to 0 Starboard by 90° (3 AVID windows). 1 +2 (A5.261) Using the same procedures as segment 1, an arrow is drawn through 3 windows o the AVID. AVID. Because the ship is under Circle markers + thrust, the intermedia intermediate te window inormation also needs to be recorded. We We when they’re below the amber ring record the current segment (5) +0 in the A/B amber window, +1 (or a total 5 o 6) in the B amber window, and +2 (or a total o 7) in the B/C amber 6 B A/B window, where the pivot stops. (A5.262) Te order things happen on in the Sequence o Play becomes important here. Resolve Trust happens beore Movement, Movement, so when we cross B/C 7 o the box on the Trust Chart, the acceleration dot is recorded in direction A (or 3, total). Ten the ship is rotated to ace direction A/B. We don’t meet any Trust Break Conditions, so there is no need to resolve vectors yet. (A5.27) SEGMENT 6: Te pivot is still in progress, and the engines are on. How do we resolve the thrust, now that the ship is acing a hex corner? (A5.271) During the segment, the ship doesn’t doesn’t change any orders. Tis takes us directly rom the Plotting Step to Resolve Trust, where things get interesting. interesting. bias direction. A bias direction determines (A5.272) First, we choose a bias where odd acceleration dots go when we accelerate towards a hex corner, Circle markers and our choices here are directions A and B. We’ll put the bias direction as + when they’re below the amber ring direction A. We show this by circling the vector arrow in direction A. For 5 as long as the ship is acing the hex corner, subsequent acceleration dots 6 B alternate between A and B, with odd numbered dots rst, third, h, etc.) A/B recorded in the bias direction. . . . . . . 1.25 . (A5.273) Te ourth cell down rom the top o the Trust Chart is 5 B/C shaded dark orange this time, the color shows how many acceleration 7 dots the ship accumulates on the current segment. Light orange (as we saw above) is one dot, dark orange is two dots and white is none. (Tis pattern is repeated in the slanted thrust columns, with light green being one dot, dark green being two.) We place our rst dot in A (our ourth in that direction) and the second in B (the rst in that direction) (A5.274) Tird, there is a single arrow in the cell on the thrust chart. I the ship were not pivoting, it would displace its uture position marker one hex in direction A. wo arrows, at the bottom o the chart, results in 2 hexes o displacement. However, displacement doesn’t apply when thrusting while also pivoting, we’ll ignore it or now. (A5.275) Because we don’t accumulate displacement, the uture position marker remains on the ship. At the same point in the Sequence o Play, the ship’s Nose moves to ace direction B. (A5.276) Tis closes segment 6. (A5.26) SEGMENT 5:
+
+
Nose Aft Top Bottom Port Stbd
A AVID
F
F/A
E/F
Nose Aft Top Bottom Port Stbd
A AVID
F
F/A
E/F
18
C AD ASTRA GAMES, 2011 CORE RULEBOOK O
.
.
A
S MOVEMENT GRID E Vel Dir Vel G M 4 A 2 E N Ea Each ch Rm Rmd d Each Ea ch T
Dir
Vel
Dir
Each Ea ch
Rmd Rm d
B Rmd Rm d
ATTACK VECTOR: TACTICAL TACTICAL (A5.3) SAMPLE GAME THREE (ORIENTATION & THRUST IN 3-D, POWER AND HEAT MANAGEMENT):
Start your ship at the D edge o the map, with vectors o 4 in A, 2 in B, acing in B/C. Place chocolates as shown on the map below; chocolates may 1 be shied up to 3 spaces in any direction or variety’s sake. Tis is a continuation, o 1 2 the previous sample game, and the Movement Grid shown at right is identical to the 1 3 Movement Grid on the prior page. 1 4 (A5.311) You will need a photocopy o the Rafk Mk. 1 SSD (the one rom sample 5 game two will do ne), the blue SCC, and the Weapon and Maneuver Reerence Card. 1 6 You will also need the tilt and stacking blocks or your ship, some paperclips, paperclips, the box 1 7 mini and a uture position marker. 1 8 (A5.312) o the right o the AVID, on the edge o the 20 +3 22 RCT BTTY 10 SCC is the Energy Board. Write +3 in the box labeled 00 “RC”, 22 in the box labeled “BY” and 1 in the box labeled FLEX FLAG 9 1 “Flex Points”. Points”. Tese numbers or the Rafk Mk. 1 are in the data POINTS POINTS 8 7 block on the upper right hand corner o the SSD SSD.. ECM ECCM 6 (A5.313) Put paperclips along the Energy rack on the right 5 4 hand margin o the SCC, one on the “20”, one on the “2” and one on the bottom 3 most “0”. “0”. Tese paperclips indicate the current amount o energy stored in your 2 ship’s batteries. b atteries. 1 0 (A5.314) On the back o the SCC, put 15 in the “HEA SINKS” IN OUT HEAT MANAGEMENT 1/2 RCT HEAT HEAT EXCESS RADIATOR box, and 3 in the “RC ON” box. Tese gures are part o the 3 15 1.2 0 ON SINKS STORED HEAT OUTPUT upper right hand corner data block on the SSD. Put the ship’s DESIGN NOTE: SCC Color radiator capacity (1.2) (1. 2) in the Radiator Output box. Te ship’ ship’s radiators are IN, so Coding circle “IN” next to the radiators. (Ships with radiators OU have surrendered.) surrendered.) 0
4
0
2
Boxes that have purple borders around them (like the HEA SINKS box above) are or recording inormation rom the SSD.)
4 Nose Aft Top Bottom Port Stbd
A AVID
F
F/A
E/F
(A5.31) SETUP:
On segment 1, place your uture position marker as indicated by the Movement Grid (or this segment it will be in the hex o your ship). Te objective on segment 1 is to start moving your ship’s Nose rom the yellow window in direction B/C, to 30° up (the blue ring) and acing in direction C+. (A5.321) During the Orders Step, check ‘Set Facing Change’, 0 I and draw the shortest path on the AVID rom B/C(yellow) to Circle markers +1 + C(blue). Draw a box around the last segment o the pivot. when they’re below the amber ring (A5.322) Te ship is not under thrust, so aer Process Long 2 Orders, we skip to Movement. Te ship’s ship’s uture position posit ion marker remains with B A/B the miniature, and the acing change’s +0 wedge is indicative o where we were acing at the start o the segment, so the ship’s Nose does not move. (A5.323) Because there is no thrust, there is no chance o a Trust Break B/C Condition occurring, so we go to the end o the segment. (A5.32) SEGMENT 1:
+
2
E
D/E
–
20
C/D
D
C
AVID SIDE VI EW
C AD ASTRA GAMES, 2011 CORE RULEBOOK O
ATTACK VECTOR: VECTOR: TACTICAL
Place the ship’s uture position marker 1 hex away in direction A. Tere are no orders checked o this segment, and the ship is not under thrust, th rust, so we skip to Movement. Movement. (A5.331) Te ship moves to its uture position marker, and then completes its pivot, with its Nose acing in C(blue). o show the ship’s orientation, we update the box miniature and the AVID. (A5.332) Te ship’s orientation on the map is shown by turning the box mini so that it aces direction C, then putting the box miniature 4 in the tilt block, so that the Nose points up in the “shallow” angle. Te Circle markers Nose Aft A + miniature and tilt block system allows everyone at the table to see your ship’s when they’re below Top Bottom AVID the amber ring Port Stbd orientation, and helps you make more intuitive maneuvers. (A5.333) Te AVID AVID is updated as shown shown at le. Both the triangle (nose 2 B F F/A A/B marker) and semicircle (a marker) are in the blue ring, pointing in C and F respectively, with the A indicator in a circle. Tis shows that your Nose is pointed 30° above the plane o the map, and that your A is pointed 30° B/C E/F below the plane o the map. Your Starboard and Port markers should remain in the plane o the map (in the yellow windows), 3 windows clockwise and D/E C/D counterclockwise respectively. E C (A5.3331) Since the ship is no longer level with the plane o the map, it’s worth noting where our op and Bottom are on the AVID. Draw a star D AVID SIDE V IEW – or the ship’s ship’s “top” “top” marker, and an anchor symbol or the “bottom” “b ottom” in the positions indicated; circle the Bottom marker. Te op marker will be 3 windows away rom both the Nose and Starboard markers, placing it in F(green), and the Bottom marker will be directly opposite the op (six windows away, Concept: Angled Thrust counting through F(blue-up), F(amber), F(blue-under), F(green-under), (purple-under) Angled thrust is explained more thoroughly and nally to C(green-under). in rule (C2.24) (A5.334) As thrust has not been engaged, there are no Trust Break Conditions, and the segment ends. (A5.33) SEGMENT 2:
Now that we’re acing in the direction we want, let’s engage thrust. Te reason we’re thrusting in this particular direction will be explained when the burn ends; or now, just ollow along to get the procedures down. (A5.341) Te ship’s uture position marker is placed one hex away in direction A. During the Orders Step, check “change thrust”, and enter 4 in the box. (A5.342) Aer orders are declared, we record thrust. Looking at the right side o the thrust-4 column, each cell is split with a diagonal line. When thrusting at an angle relative to the plane o the map, some o the acceleration dots will accumulate in the horizontal direction (C in this case, 1.0 .since . . . . . our Nose is. acing in C(blue), and some will accumulate in the 4 vertical direction (+ in this case, since the angle o our Nose is inclined above the plane o the map.) (A5.343) On the Trust Chart, the shading and displacement displacement arrows above the diagonal line are or the major thrust component, while the inormation below the line is or the minor component. So in Resolve Trust, we accumulate an acceleration dot in direction C, and then check o the entire right hand side o the cell on the thrust 4 column, like the illustration at right. During Movement, we dri to our uture position marker (in direction A), and we have no pivots currently outstanding. We meet none o the Trust Tr ust Break Conditions, so the segment s egment ends. (A5.34) SEGMENT 3:
.
.
C AD ASTRA GAMES, 2011 CORE RULEBOOK O
4 Nose Aft Top Bottom Port Stbd
A AVID
F
F/A
+
B
A/B
B/C
E/F
E
Circle markers when they’re below the amber ring
D/E
–
C/D
D
C
AVID SIDE V IEW
21
2
A
ATTACK VECTOR: VECTOR: TACTICAL (A5.37) SEGMENT 6: Place your uture position pos ition marker, and decide
the pivot you need to get a weapon into arc with the Rafk Mk. 1 . Te weapon mounts have broad arcs on this class o ship, so it shouldn’t be too hard to nd something in arc. (A5.371) I you have a laser in arc, it’s time to learn a little 1 more about how laser weapon codes work. Te weapon mount 2 or a 3 space laser on a Rafk is 3 MRLS 3(+5). Te rst 3 is 3 the number o spaces the weapon takes up; lasers range rom 4 size 2 to size 8 (and get larger in later products). Te MRLS means 5 it’ss a medium range laser. Tese tell you which weapon table to Nose Aft it’ Top Bottom AVID 6 Port Stbd reerence on the weapons sheet. Te second 3 is how many points 7 o power (rom batteries) it takes to re, and the +5 in parentheses F 8 F/A is the cooling time (how many segments it takes between rings). 1 Te weapon delays are tracked by writing the weapon mount and row (the rst laser in mount A would be A1) in the shaded boxes 2 E/F on the timer track on on the le side o the SCC. I we re re two lasers 3 A1 on segment 6, they will be available to re again in 5 segments, or 4 segment 11, which is segment 3 o next turn. D/E E 5 (A5.372) I you re two lasers on this segment (the minimum 6 needed to kill the t he chocolate), you’ll spend 6 battery power power.. Record 7 this by sliding the paper clips on the Energy rack rom 20 and 2 to – 8 10 and 6. Tis shows you’ll you’ll have 16 energy le in the batteries. batteries. (A5.373) Te ship is not thrusting, so we skip Resolve Trust. Te ship does dri to its uture position marker, and (i pivoting) continues continues through its pivot. Check or Trust Break Conditions (and resolve them i necessary). Now we add another step to our Sequence o Play—Regen Play—Regeneration. eration. Te ship has two reactors turned on, each generating 1.5 power. Tis generates 3 points o power every segment, which gets stored in batteries. Slide the paperclips up to 10 and 9 rom 10 and 6. Te maximum power your ship can store is equal to your battery total.
A
2
1
A
+
Circle markers when they’re below the amber ring
B
A/B
B/C
C/D
D
C
AVID SIDE V IEW
Dri along your vectors on segments 7 and 8, and shoot chocolates as the whimsy strikes you; remember to slide your paper clips or power tracking and timing tracks as you do this. th is. Practice going through all the steps; by now now,, they should nearly be automatic. (A5.38) SEGMENTS 7 AND 8:
At the end o the turn, there is a minor amount o record keeping. Te rst is accumulating heat points; reactors generate heat. Each turn that a reactor is active, it generates heat points equal to the ull power generation o the reactor, measured in power per segment; thus, the Rak generating 3 power per segment generates generates 3 heat at the end o the turn. Fractional heat points are always rounded up beore heat dissipation. Heat is stored in heat sinks. Record these in the “current heat stored” box on the back o the SCC. You can choose to turn o reactors (generating no heat or energy), or turn them back on. (A5.391) Extending and retracting radiators takes a ull turn (or either operation). Once extended, each radiator dumps 0.4 heat points per turn, and any ractional heat points remaining aer dissipation are rounded up when radiators are retracted. Radiators are vulnerable to weapons re; a ship can only appl applyy thrust thr ust when the radiators are retracted. Extending radiators is a surrender signal. (A5.392) Reactor and radiator status can only be changed between s egment 8 and segment 1; the status o the systems chosen remains that way or the duration o the next turn. (A5.39) POST-SEGMENT 8:
C AD ASTRA GAMES, 2011 CORE RULEBOOK O
23
4