Credits Game Design Harry Pratt

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Credits Game Design Harry Pratt Editor/Layout/Artwork Leslie Pratt Starship Construction Tool Ken Hiseler Playtesters Aaron WTF Mike? Feit Erik BOOM! Gustafson Mike Broke it!

1 Credits Game Design Harry Pratt Editor/Layout/Artwork Leslie Pratt Starship Construction Tool Ken Hiseler Playtesters Aaron WTF Mike? Feit Erik BOOM! Gustafson Mike Broke it! Kriz Leslie Pratt Scott More Fighters VanVooren Special thanks go to Ken Hiseler for creating the excellent Starship Construction tool included with this publication. Astute players will notice that we have named one of the Corporate Worlds fleets in his honor. Please go to to register Colonial Battlefleet and get electronic copies of the counter sheets and the ship design spreadsheet. To contact the author, Harry Pratt at For further information about upcoming Colonial Battlefleet releases, visit Published by Ad Astra Games, an imprint of Final Sword Prod Colonial Battlefleet: Core Rules 2010 Harry Pratt. All rights reserved. Pictures, diagrams, and artwork in this publication are 2010 Leslie Pratt. All rights reserved. Steel Dreadnought Games logo 2009 Leslie Pratt. Reproduction of this work by any means without the written permission of the author is expressly forbidden. The images in this publication were created using Photoshop Elements 7.0 from photos of Brigade models and images of space objects taken by the Hubble Telescope. The models are Brigade Models LLC and are used with permission. The images of space objects are public domain. First Printing. File Edit Date of 21 JUL 2010

2 Table of contents CHAPTER 1 - THE BASICS 5 CHAPTER 6 - FIGHTERS 52 Historical Background 5 Fighter Launch Platforms 52 The Singularity Drive 11 Fighter Squadrons 52 Ship Classification 12 Types of Fighters 52 Ship Roles 13 Fighter Movement 53 What You Need To Play 14 Fighter Shooting 55 The Ship Data Card 15 CHAPTER 7 - SCENARIOS 59 Comparing Ships 15 Use Of Optional Rules 59 Building A Fleet 16 Fleet Rosters 59 Turn Sequence 17 Generating the Scenario 60 CHAPTER 2 - INITIATIVE & MOVEMENT 18 Random Scenario Table 60 The Initiative Phase 18 Victory Points 60 The Movement Phase 19 Generate Scenario Point Limit 60 CHAPTER 3 - WEAPONS & EQUIPMENT 22 Fleet Construction 61 Defensive Systems 22 The Fruits of Victory 61 Weapon Systems 24 Scenario: Ambush 62 Weapon Table 29 Scenario: Convoy Raid 64 Special Weapon Properties 29 Scenario: Meeting Engagement 66 Equipment 31 Scenario: Warp Point Assault 68 CHAPTER 4 - THE SHOOTING PHASE 37 Scenario: Unprepared Defense 70 Reading Weapon Hardpoints 37 Scenario: Armageddon 72 The Shooting Phase 38 CHAPTER 8 - OPTIONAL RULES 74 Line of Sight 38 Boarding Actions 74 Firing Arcs 39 Dangerous Warp Point Transit 76 Range 40 Factions 76 Fire Control 40 Floating Hex Board 78 Attack Dice 41 Maximum Speed 78 Rolling To Hit 41 Relativistic Distortion 78 Resolve Damage 44 Technology Levels 79 Critical Hits 46 Terrain 82 Critical Hits Table 46 Twelve-Point Navigation 85 CHAPTER 5 - DAMAGE CONTROL 50 Variable Missile Speeds 86 Resolve Boarding Actions 50 Life Support Damage 50 Regenerate Shields 51 Damage Control Checks 51 (continued on next page)

3 CHAPTER 9 - STARSHIP CONSTRUCTION 87 APPENDIX I - CONSTRUCTION TABLES 97 Tonnage & Hull Points 87 Construction Costs Table 97 Hull Type & Role 87 Special Costs Table 99 Engines 92 Master Weapon Table 99 Shields 92 Equipment Table 100 Armor 93 APPENDIX II - PLAY AIDS 101 Point Defense 93 Blank Ship Data Cards 101 Fire Control 93 Turn Tracking Card 102 Weapons 94 SHIP DATA CARDS - THE ALLIANCE (UACS) 103 Assign Hardpoints 95 SHIP DATA CARDS - FEDERATED CORPORATE NAVY 109 Equipment 96 SHIP DATA CARDS - HISELER STARSIDE MFG. INC. 114 Security Forces 96 SHIP DATA CARDS - THE SCOURGE 118 Make Role Adjustments 96 Name Your Ship 96

4 CHAPTER 1 THE BASICS Welcome to the universe of Colonial Battlefleet! For decades, authors such as Jack Campbell and David Weber, and filmmakers including George Lucas, Glen Larson, Gene Rodenberry, and others have entertained us with stories of exciting space combat. As a result, entire generations have grown up dreaming about what it would be like to live and fight amid the stars. Colonial Battlefleet allows you to make those dreams a reality on your tabletop. A good book can be gripping and keep you up all night reading, and a movie can have stunning visual effects. However, there s nothing quite like seeing your own fleet of miniature starships arrayed on a table in front of you as you control their actions in a battle against insidious and terrifying foes. These rules are not based on any singular canon but are designed to be flexible so that whether you re interested in leading a desperate fleet as it tries to escape from behind enemy lines, fighting against powerful evil empires, or defending yourself against homicidal robots and hostile races, you can play out the battles and experience the thrill of victory (or the agony of defeat). Colonial Battlefleet provides exciting game play and offers a tremendous amount of tactical depth and replayability. Colonial Battlefleet provides exciting game play and offers a tremendous amount of tactical depth and replayability. The rules are designed to be clear and easy to learn so that while you play, your attention will be focused exploiting tactical opportunities, not on using the rules. We want you to feel as if you are out in space commanding mighty fleets... not here on earth wading through a rulebook! We have included races and fleets for you to play, but we realize that eventually most people like to try their hand at building their own fleets from the keel up. Therefore, we ve provided a starship construction system that is easy to use, and a whole lot of fun! HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Colonial Battlefleet can easily be adapted to virtually any popular science fiction setting, but it has an ancient and blood soaked history of its own. The history below outlines the current factions on the galactic stage. Special rules for playing these factions can be found in Chapter 8 Optional rules. 5

5 Rise of the Terrans Since the first Terran set foot on the moon more than five hundred years ago, it became clear the manifest destiny of all Terrans was to reach out to the stars and spread from the Orion Arm throughout the galaxy. Progress was unsteady through the 21 st century, but in 2105 the first of Sol s warp points was discovered and scientists quickly realized warp points offered the gateway to the stars Terrans had been dreaming of for centuries. Within twenty years, rudimentary warp point transit technology had been developed, and the first Terran Interstellar Exploratory Ships (IES) left to explore the galaxy. The pace, at first, was slow. Building up enough power using huge solar collectors to translate through a warp point took months. Crossing a star system could take a year or more. In addition, every system offered brand new revelations that had to be studied and cataloged. In the first ninety three years, Terrans explored less than two dozen systems. Finally, in 2198, over two hundred years after the moon landing, a Terran IES stumbled across the ruins of a civilization that the Terrans named the Precursors. The news that at last there was proof that Terrans were not alone in the universe was met with jubilation on Earth. Although the civilization had suffered some cataclysmic event and been wiped out nearly twenty thousand years previously, that first discovery yielded a treasure trove of information that allowed Terrans to leap centuries ahead in technological development. Having discovered the secrets of advanced anti matter generators and warp point stabilization gear, warp point transit changed from a risky gamble that took months to a routine process that took minutes. The discovery and replication of the singularity drive caused intra-system travel times to shrink from many months to a matter of a couple weeks. In the next five years, Terran explorers investigated and cataloged as many systems as they had in the previous nine decades. In 2202, the first Earthlike worlds capable of supporting life were discovered, and eight years later the first colony ships left Earth. Having discovered the secrets of advanced anti-matter generators and warp point stabilization gear, warp point transit changed from a risky gamble that took months to a routine process that took minutes. Discovery of the Archivists In 2218, a second ruined civilization with largely the same technological base as the Precursors was discovered. This race was dubbed the Archivists because of their culture s obsession with recording history. The Archivists were a much older race than the Precursors, but had been wiped out only seven millennia ago. Terran scientists were able to retrieve and decipher a considerable amount of historical information from the meticulously preserved data stores of the Archivists. It seemed that some secrets of space travel had been known for thousands of years. 6

6 The Archivist scientists speculated that the technological principles of the antimatter generator, warp point stabilizer, and singularity drive may have been invented by an ancient race more than a hundred-thousand years ago. Like Terrans, the Archivists had discovered older, ruined civilizations as they spread into the galaxy, and gleaned from them these technological secrets just as the Terrans had. Further investigation of the Archivist data stores revealed other, darker secrets. According to the Archivist s data, ruined civilizations were, relatively speaking, commonplace throughout the galaxy, and all showed the signs of deliberate and systematic extinction on an interstellar level. Not only that, but the races seemd to have been exterminated using advanced, but identical weapon systems. This grim news was ruthlessly suppressed. In the minds of the Terran leaders, the idea that Terrans were not alone in the universe changed from wonderous to terrifying. Such revelations could not be contained indefinitely. Formation of the Star Guard In 2243, the eleventh destroyed civilization was discovered, and word got out quickly followed by leaks of the previous discoveries and the horrifying conclusions of the scientific community. By that time, several Terran colonies were well established and thriving on other worlds. Terrans everywhere saw their own possible future writ in blasted landscapes and shattered ruins. In 2248, the Terran Star Nation was formed to address the threat of a possible return of this scourge of the galaxy. The first act of the TSN was to authorize and finance the creation of a mighty battlefleet, dubbed the Star Guard, to protect Terran holdings against the threat that had wrought so much devastation. For more than a hundred years the Star Guard watched and waited for the threat which had come to be known as The Scourge to return. But it did not come. Terran leaders grew complacent. The last sign of The Scourge was over seven millennia ago perhaps The Scourge itself had vanished into the dust of history. For more than a hundred years the Star Guard watched and waited for the threat which had come to be known as The Scourge to return. Decline of the Star Guard In 2352, funding for the Star Guard was slashed, and slashed again in 2359 to free up money for expanding social programs in the older colonies that were now known as the Core Systems. Politicians had long ago stopped worrying about The Scourge and were focused instead on their vision of making the Core Systems into a utopia through government programs. Some would say they were more interested in securing the support of their constituents and lining their own pockets, but whatever their motivation, spending increased enormously as social programs grew ever larger and more exorbitant. Funding for new colonization was cut next, and Terran expansion slowed and then stopped. Without the continuing rapid growth of the tax base, the expansion of social programs in the Core Systems was threatened. No politician wanted to be the one to cut social spending, but colonization needed to resume. A new solution was needed. 7

CREDITS. Game Design Harry Pratt. Sample file

CREDITS. Game Design Harry Pratt. Sample file CREDITS Game Design Harry Pratt Editor/Layout Leslie Pratt Playtesters Stuart Darraugh Michael Doty Aaron Feit Eric Gustafson Matt Heid Tom Jaggard Lt. Col. (Ret) Harry D.A. Pratt Leslie Pratt Tom Sibley