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New Rules for Astromachia
I suppose you could call me a fan, but in my mind, fans were always these mindless zombies that drooled over whatever crumbs were tossed their way. I certainly am not that kind of fan.
I do enjoy the game of Astromachia, and wrote these as "Mental Exercise" as much as to expand the horizon of the game. I come from a background in Role-playing, where Peter Drake seems to be more of a "Board Gamer". I always felt somewhat confined by board gaming, and have always sought ways to make them more open-ended and more realisitc. I must admit that these may add a layer of complication, but some of you may enjoy them as much as I enjoyed writing them. You may adopt all or part - after all, it's YOUR�game!
The Charts on this page will not render properly in the LYNX BROWSER.
Section I : Size Mods, Stealth, ECM and ECCM
Part A - Size Mods:The idea here is to reflect the fact that it is easier to hit a large target than a small one.
Application: Add the given modifier to the dice roll, when firing at a target that is equal to or smaller than the "Target Size" given in the first row. Larger Targets become easier to hit.
Target Size 1.25 2.5 5 10 20 40 80 160 320 Add to Dice Roll 3 2 1 0 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5
Part B - Stealth: The idea is to add the dimension of "Stealth Technology" to the Game, adding a touch of Realism.
Application: To effectively do this, and reflect what happens in the real world, this must be added in New Construction. Stealth is a design ideology, not a "bolt on" system, and cannot be added to an old ship without a COMPLETE�REBUILD. It is effectively a New System for Astromachia.
Stealth makes it harder to be detected, and takes up a bit of space.
Rules for Stealth:
1) For each +1 to the dice roll to be hit, the Stealth system takes up 5% of the space in the ship.
2) Each section of the ship must have "stealth" as a system, for each stealth system.
3) Each level of stealth must be seperate and designated as "st-1", "st-2" etc...
4) A critical to a Stealth system (designated as are other systems) in a section causes the WHOLE�SHIP to loose a level of Stealth. If the ship has three systems, and the first is hit, it is still +2 to hit.
5) Stealth must be the first system in a section.
6) Stealth cannot be repaired in the course of a scenario, and requires a shipyard to repair.
Part C - ECM: ECM�is basically the generation of "electronic noise" to lessen the chance of a hit.
Application: Another New Sytem, It is an Electronic System for making your opponent miss by generating a lot of "false echoes" and noise on the enemie's sensors.
Rules for ECM:
1) One size for One Point of ECM.
2) May be placed anywhere on the system layout.
3) Makes the User +1 to be hit.
4) It is also an additional Action. It may be turned off by placing the Token face-down. This may be done once a turn for each token.
5) There is a max effect to be had, in that you can only be made twice as hard to hit at a given range. Short Range max effect is to make the necessary roll to hit a 6 or better, Medium Range is 12 (assuming other mods), and Long Range is 18. Three systems is the probably the most cost-effective, but I leave that to the Ship Designer. ;-)
Part D - ECCM: ECCM is an electronic means of "cutting through" the static that ECM generates.
Application: Another New System, ECCM cuts through ECM on a one for one basis.
Rules for ECCM:
1) One Size for One Point of ECCM.
2) May be placed anywhere in System Layout.
3) Each Point reduces ECM�by one level on the Target Vessel.
4) ECCM is also an additional Action, place the token face-down to deactivate it. This may be done once per turn for each token.
5) Each point of ECCM may only be directed at a single target each round. It is not effective vs all ECM on the board, but only to "punch through" the static produced by a single ship at a time.
Section II : Missile Design and Use:
I am not really happy with the "one shots" used as missiles in Astromachia. I adapted these rules from some I wrote for a game I designed, they were simplified to make them fit in better with Astromachia.
A. Design
1. Decide on Missile's Size, Range, and Sensors required. When this is done, the rest of the remaining size is used for the warhead. You may redesign to your hearts content to get the missile you want.
2. At each Step below, subtract each component's size from the target size, and keep track of how much size remains. If you go over the limit, redo your design. A spreadsheet comes in handy!
a. Frame Size = ( missile size X Range) / 200
b. Engine Size = ( missile size X Range) /200
c. Fuel Size = ( missile size X Range) / 50
d. Sensors - .25 each on missiles - one is needed per 5 hexes range.
g. Whatever is left over size-wise is divided by .01 to give the warhead damage.
3. Missiles are used just like one shots, but can be shot at. They are +2 to hit, in addition to usnig size mods (if used). They are destroyed by one damage point, but you only get one shot!
Section III: Fighters:
The fighters in Astromachia are basically small ships, and they are operationally used in much the same way.
A. There is a limit on how much accel a fighter�can use, but the the limit imposed by the design process is too low. The obvious thing is to go to Biological limits. Consult the chart below to determine effects......
Gee's Pulled Passout Target
8 5
9 6
10 7
11 8
12 9
13 ALWAYS PASSES OUT
Roll above the Passout Target to NOT pass out, if pilot fails - no action the next turn. Roll above it each turn to see if pilot awakens. Next Round reduce the target by 2, and roll each turn to see if pilot awakens. Each Round you may reduce the target by another 2. Each turn the Pilot is unconscious, no actions may be performed except for a Move, which is simply the fighter's inertia.
B. To speed things up, don't use Damage Allocation, simply mark off the damage. If you do this, don't assume they blow up - the pilot is also assumed to be able to "bail out".
Section IV: Carriers:
Carriers are the ships that carry Fighters into battle, supply their weaponry, and repair them. They project force in an effective manner, without the need of larger Capital Ships.
A. Carriers must provide the space to carry all the repair parts, missiles, and spare parts. Max size for a carrier is 400.
B. In order to carry the suplies, a new system is needed - holds. Each size of hold carries one size of repair parts, missiles, or weapons. They can also carry other items. A hold can carry missiles for a launcher on the ship proper. Holds are destroyed 1 size at a time.
C. In order to house and repair fighters, another new system is needed - Hangars. Hangars are disabled just like weapons or engines. A hangar size is equal to the size of the vehicle carried, plus one per crew member used to service the vehicle. If Hangar size equals Vehicle size, then no repairs can be done.
D. Vehicles in Hangars can be reloaded automatically (but not repaired) by devoting 1 space to AUTO. Fuel and weapons are reloaded by this system automatically. Reloading takes one round.
E. For each crew member used to service the vehicle, add a crewbeing at the end of the hangar.
F. Each Point of Damage takes one repair point, takes one Round to do, and needs one hold of Repair parts.
Section V: Extended Weapons Ranges and Limited Arcs
A. A Chart for Spread Beams - Spread Beams have the SB designator after their name. They loose damage the farther away the target is, but hit more often at a given range.
Cost in range: Short Medium Large
Damage damage is: Full halved quartered
------------------------------------------------------------
end of range bracket
0 are the numbers 1 2 4
1 given here: 2 4 8
2 3 6 12
4 4 8 16
8 5 10 20
16 6 12 24
32 7 14 28
B. Some charts for Limited Arcs - and notes on their effects on damage.
Here is the standard Astromachia Weapon Arc:
Here is an extended range narrow arc:
1. Note that the arc above differs from the standard hit arc, which is essentially a 90 degree spread. This is a 45 degree spread - a narrower arc. This arc is desiganted L1, it hits at double standard ranges, and increases weapon size 50%.
3. Below is the L2 Arc, a 22 1/2 degree arc. It hits at 4 times standard ranges, and doubles weapon size.
Section VI: Some Miscellanious Rules:
A. Ramming - Is considered a short range attack, the damage is eqaul to:
Smaller Ship Size X Difference in speed
It is applied from the direction of the attacking ship, and is considered blast damage. It may be modified by Stealth and Size Mods (if you use those), but not ECM.
B. Cloud Projector - a Defensive System:
1. It is a one shot Defensive device, which surrounds the ship with a cloud of ablative and reflective particles.
2. Each use of the device reduces incoming damage by one, and reduces the chance to be hit by one.
3. Each use takes 5 points of damage before rendered inoperative.
4. Incoming Missiles are damaged by the device.
5. The device occupies one size.
6. The cloud moves at the ships speed and heading. If the ship accelerates or changes course, the cloud dissipates. Rotating within the cloud does not effect it.
C. Upping the Shield Strength: I am not real happy with the limit on shields, as the limit is arbitrary (It is based on the available counter mix in the Minigame). Here's a rule that makes sense:
Max Number of Shield Generators is equal to Reactor Size
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