Star Force Terra Introduction Congratulations Commander, on your promotion. As you know, commanding a war fleet requires training. This manual will provide you with all the basic rules of space combat. Mark them well, for when the missiles are impacting and the beams are slicing, you ll be hard pressed to lead your fleet to victory. Background There are six known races in this section of the galaxy. Until a few years ago, each had been peacefully exploring the star systems around their home planets. Contact between the races could have been peaceful, and the galaxy could have become a nice place to live in. This was, however, not to be. As a carry over from their old planet-bound days, most races used their military forces for space exploration. As a result, first contacts usually occurred between armed fleets. As you might guess, when one obviously well armed fleet unexpectedly meets another obviously well armed fleet, the commanders can either open up communications or unleash the weaponry. It goes without saying that there were very few messages sent. And the replies to those that were sent took the form of high-energy particle beams and fission warheads. This resulted in fewer communications being attempted as time went on. The six races are now in the opening stages of a war for control of the few exploitable planets in this part of the galaxy. Registering this Game We have made these rules freely available through our website because we feel that by showing people the rules, our audience will see what a cool game we have made, and will want to start playing. Here are the basic steps you need to do to get started. Each is covered in much more detail in their respective web pages. Go to our website s Order page and purchase the game using PayPal s secure online service. Install the game using the registration code that is immediately emailed to you. Connect to Vassal s online room, chat with the other players, and start up a game. Pay Pal s buy page: To enter your registration code, double-click on the Vassal icon now on your computer. You will see the game screen appear. Go to: File -> Edit Preferences -> Registration Enter the Username and Registration code contained in your registration email.
Game Tutorial Included in the game is a quick tutorial. This tutorial will give you a very basic overview of the game. To open the tutorial, go to the Help pull down menu and select Tutorial. Information will then appear in the Chat area. The first instruction will direct you to hit the Step Forward button. Continue hitting this button to move through the tutorial. In some games, the play area is larger than the area displayed on your screen. Use your scroll bars to move around the play area to follow the action. Starting-Up a Game Here is our standard instruction sheet for creating and joining Vassal games
Adjusting the Screen Between the map and the Chat area is a thick gray line. You can hold your curser over that line and drag the line up or down to change the size of the Chat area. In fact, all thick gray lines can be adjusted in this way. Winning the Battle The game ends when the last of the 112 Action cards is drawn. Once the game has ended, players add up the total Victory Points they scored during the game. Players score points for destroying enemy ships, capturing Planets, and protecting their own ships. Each player totals the Victory Points of all enemy ships and captured Planets in his Vanquished Pile. Each player also scores Victory Points equal to the total value of each of his surviving ships. The value of a friendly ship is reduced by one for each Hit counter on the ship. The player with the highest point total wins. Victory Points Victory Points are used to measure the value of the ships and Planets in the game. The more Victory Points a ship or Planet has, the greater its value at the end of the game. The Victory Point value of each ship and planet is noted on its card. The planet Talos is worth 6 Victory Points and the ship Star Terror is worth 5 Victory Points. The Rules The rules are organized into sections for easy reference. Players should read the entire rules booklet before starting play (Right. Like this ever happens). This will minimize questions and allow for a more enjoyable game. Set-Up and Game Components The following sections will describe the various components of the game and how to prepare for play. Set-Up 1. Each player commands the space fleet of one Empire. Before starting a NEW game, chat with each other and decide on your Race: Cyber, Knights, Plopsuu, Shameer, Terran and Thak. The player to go first is determined by any method agreeable to all players (roll dice, argue loudly, intimidate, blasters at 50 paces, etc.). The ships and the special ability card belonging to each race have been pre-positioned on the screen. This graphic shows the Thak fleet, its special ability card, and its reserve fleet
2. Then, one player opens a NEW GAME and selects his Race in the Choose Sides window. 3. Each additional player then chooses a Race in the Choose Sides Window based on the Chat discussion held before the game. 4. The locations for each Empire are already placed on the game Map. These locations do not change. In each location area, you will find a race-specific Special Ability card and that race s Ship Reserve deck. Cyber Fleet Area for Knights Fleet Plopsuu Fleet Thak Fleet Area for Terran Fleet Area for Shameer Fleet This is an example of a 3-player game. The player order was determined to be Plopsuu, Thak and Cyber. Note the planet Talos begins by the Plopsuu fleet. 5. Go to your Race area by clicking on the Sector Map Button. It looks like a small box. A small Sector Map will appear on the Game Board in the upper right corner. You will be able to see a small representation of the entire game board. Click on the Sector Map area you want to go to and you will be instantly transported to that new area. Also, if you send a card to another area, you can watch the sector map to see that it has arrived at the correct location.
6. Player one selects 15 Victory Points of Ship Cards from his Reserve Pile, player number 2 gets 16 points, player number 3 gets 17 points, and so on. In a 6 player game, player number 6 will get 20 points. Drag the ships from your Race s ship deck and spread them out around your sector. Choose the Victory Points worth of ships you want, then drag the unused ships back into the ship deck. To see the ships more clearly, position your mouse pointer on the ship. The ship will increase in size, making the information easier to read. 7. Each player has a private window with the name of his Empire on it in the upper button area. This private window area will hold your action cards throughout the game. The private windows can be opened/closed using the F1 through F6 keys depending on the race you are playing or by clicking on the buttons for each race. The other players cannot open your private window. 8. Open the Action Card Deck by clicking on the Deck Button. Each player will drag 7 Action Cards into his private window (Terran player draws 8). 9. Planet Talos can be found in the top right corner of the Cyber Race area. Place Talos by the fleet being played by player one. Do this by right-clicking on the Talos card and sending it to the Race played by player one.
Fleet Organization Starships work best when acting within a fleet structure. The ships in a fleet are organized into three basic fleet positions: First Row, Second Row, and Third Row. The First Row represents those ships positioned around the perimeter of the fleet. Ships in the Second Row would be inside that outer perimeter in order to escort the ships in the Third Row, which are at the center of the fleet. You are free to decide which ships are to be placed into each Row. There is no limit to the number of ships a fleet may have in a Row, however, in order to have a Second Row, a fleet must have at least one ship in the First Row. Like-wise, a fleet must have at least one ship in the Second Row if it is to have a Third Row. If an attack destroys the last ship in the First or Second Row, the ships located in the Rows behind it are moved forward after all the current attacks are resolved. Placing a Ship in a Fleet Ships will be placed into a fleet under two conditions. Either the ship(s) have been received due to a Reinforcement card, or the ship(s) are Transports returning from a Planet. Whenever a ship is placed within a fleet, this rule applies. The ship may be placed in an existing Row, or behind an existing Row. You cannot have more than 3 Rows. When multiple ships are to be placed in a fleet at the same time, they are placed one at a time, with the owner choosing the order. The Dice This game uses 5 different types of dice. To roll each type of die, click on the appropriate button. Here are the symbols used for a 12-sided, 10-sided, 8-sided, 6-sided, and 4-sided die. and here are the buttons that are used to generate the various die rolls Launch! A player s turn is referred to as a Battle Turn. The player taking his Battle Turn is referred to in the rules as the Attacking Player. Any player he attacks is referred to as the Defending Player.
During a player s Battle Turn, he will execute several actions. The actions must be performed in the order given. Actions may not be saved; they are either performed or lost. Each of the actions is summarized in the following section. Sequence of Play 1) Play Reinforcement Cards 2) Rearrange Fleet 3) Attack A) Put one Planet into play B) Move Assault Troops to Planets C) Declare attacks D) Defenders play Pre-Shield Defense cards E) Roll attack dice F) Roll Shield dice G) Play Post-Shield die rolls H) Defender plays Post-Shield Defense cards 4) Claim Planets 5) Return Transports 6) Discard 7) Draw Play Reinforcement Cards During this step, you may play one or more of your Reinforcement cards. Place the new ships in your fleet. Rearrange Fleet During this step you can move your ships around however you like, as long as when you re done, you have 3 or fewer Rows. Attack This is the step when the Attacking Player plays cards. The specific rules detailing each card are covered in the Action Cards Section of the rules. All attacks must be declared before any are resolved. When declaring multiple attacks against the same target, the Attacking Player must specify their order. The Pre-Shield and Post-Shield steps are for the defenders, the Attacking Player may not play cards during this time. Fighter attacks (Terran Carrier-Based, or Planetary) are made during the Roll Attack Dice step. Claim Planets The Attacking Player must now claim Planets that were in his control at the end of his last Battle Turn, and remained in his control until the present time. These Planets are removed from play, and placed in the Attacking Player s Vanquished Pile. Any Troops on a captured Planet are flipped to their Transport side, and returned to the fleet. Planets captured (or played) during the Attacking Player s current Battle Turn may not be claimed at this time. Return Transports The Attacking Player may return any Transports currently on Planets to his fleet. Discard During this step the Attacking Player may discard none to all of the cards in his hand.
Draw During this step the Attacking Player draws his hand up to seven cards, taking the additional cards from the Action Card Deck. The Terran Federation player fills his hand to 8 cards. Next Player After the first player has completed his Battle Turn, the next player may conduct his Battle Turn. Once all players have had a Battle Turn the cycle repeats, starting with the first player. For convenience, play proceeds clock-wise around the table ( convenience can have many meanings, especially if one is in possession of a blaster). Player Order: Cyber, Knights, Plopsuu, Shameer, Terran, Thak. A Battle Round is completed once every player has conducted one Battle Turn. A player is eliminated from the game when the last ship in his fleet is destroyed. The Attacking Player dictates the order in which his attacks will be resolved. All attacks must be declared before any may be resolved. Show which ships are playing which cards by placing the Action Cards next to their ships. Combat Summary There are several types of combat that can occur during the course of a game. All combat combinations are based on the same idea: Attack Strength is compared to a Defensive die roll. If the Defensive roll is equal to, or greater than, the Attack Strength, the attack is negated. When a player destroys an enemy ship, or Carrier-Based Fighter, it is placed in a pile off to the side of the player s fleet. This pile is referred to as the Vanquished Pile. The Ships At the beginning of the game, the first player selects 15 Victory Points of Ship Cards from their Reserve Pile, player number 2 gets 16 points, player number 3 gets 17 points, and so on. In a 6 player game, player number 6 will get 20 points. Any Victory Points not used are lost. The rest of the ships are returned to the Reserve piles for later use. These are referred to as Reserve ships. Each player has his own reserve ship pile. Players may not take reinforcements from other players Reserve Piles. The Ship Cards also have right-click functions. These are used to send a defeated ship to another player s Vanquished pile. Also, they are used to move a Transport Ship to another player s Empire where there is a Planet in play. When the Transport Ship is returning to your fleet after fighting on a planet, these functions send it back to your own Empire.
Starship Classes All military ships are armed with Beam and Missile weapons. The exact technology varies somewhat from race to race, but the end results are roughly equivalent (someone on the attacking ship yells Fire! and someone on the targeted ship yells Look Out! ). Military ships are also equipped with Deflector Shields. These Shields protect (or at least attempt to protect) the ship from enemy attacks. Ships are organized into classes based on their size and capability. The following sections briefly describe each of the major ship classes. Frigates Most of these ships were used for scouting and deep space patrols before the outbreak of hostilities. Those races that do have this class of ship are quickly replacing them with newer designs. Putting this class of ship into heavy combat is another way to speed up the replacements process. Destroyers These ships are both lightly armed and lightly defended. The main duty of Destroyers is to escort the larger ships of the fleet. Due to their light shields and weapons, Destroyers tend to be the ship class lost most often in combat (except of course, for Frigates). The crewmen on Destroyers do not, however, appreciate being referred to as expendable. Cruisers These ships form the backbone (exo-skeleton, primary slime tube, brain board) of most navies. They possess both strong shields and firepower. Battlecruisers These ships are fundamentally Cruisers, but with increased shield strength and heavier weapons. Battlecruisers are very handy. They re just big enough to rip an enemy ship to pieces, but small enough to avoid the attention given the larger ships. Battleships These ships are the top of the line in most fleets both in weaponry and shields. The Battleship is second only to the Dreadnought in sheer destructive potential. Many Frigates and Destroyers have been extremely impressed with a Battleship s firepower (just before they are blasted into space dust). Dreadnoughts These ships usually wade into the battle and leave crumpled hulls in their wake. Going into battle against a Dreadnought is a good way to have the other members of your fleet refer to your ship with words like used to and was. Carriers To date, only the Terrans have managed to operate carriers in space. This is largely due to their old planet bound military days. The idea of landing fast moving aircraft on a (relatively) small ship, after flying very close to major enemy forces, was something that never occurred to the other races. The Terran carrier is a ship in need of escorts. Carriers do not carry much in the way of weapons. They do, however, carry small Fighters that fly in very close to enemy ships in an attempt to inflict damage. Transports These ships should be the most closely guarded. They carry the Assault Troops used to capture Planets. Transports carry no weapons and have very light shielding. The Troops on any Transport tend to be some of the more colorful (violent, heavily armed) members of any navy. If asked to sum up a general Life Philosophy, most Troopers respond (regardless of race): Ammo is heavy, might as well use some. Armored Transports Identical to Transports, except these ships carry light weaponry. These ships are expected not only to land Assault Troops, but also provide the fleet with some additional firepower when things get tight. Any rule which applies to Transports also applies to Armored Transports. Fighters Each squadron is assumed to consist of approximately 20 single seat Fighters. The following rules apply to both Planetary Fighters, and the Terran Carrier Based Fighters.
Fighter Capability Fighter Squadrons are rated for their capability to attacking Ships, Troops, and other Fighters. A Fighter squadron attack is conducted just like any other type of attack. Fighter Attacks The die symbol next to Vs. Ship & Troops indicates the die type rolled when the Fighter attacks one of these targets. The target s defensive die roll must equal or exceed the Fighter s Attack roll, in order for the defender to survive the attack. If the defense roll is failed, the target is destroyed. This means that a single successful Fighter attack can destroy a ship, even though the target may still have multiple Hits to Destruction levels remaining. When attacking a ship in the Second Row, a minus one (-1) is applied to Fighter attack die rolls. When attacking a Third Row target, a minus two (-2) is applied to Fighter attack die rolls. Enemy Assault Troops are considered to be First Row targets. If the Fighter s modified attack die roll is 1 or less, the Fighter group is destroyed. In the case of a Terran Carrier Based Fighter group, the defending player places the destroyed Fighter group in his Vanquished Pile. In the case of Planetary Fighters, they are simply discarded. Examples: A Planetary Fighter card is sent to destroy a fully operational Terran Battleship (in the First Row). The Attacking player rolls an eight-sided die. The roll comes up a 6. The defending player then rolls a ten-sided die. The roll comes up an 8. The Battleship is unharmed, and the Fighters are discarded. Planetary Fighters may not land on a Carrier. Starship Capabilities The ships of all races are described by three different attributes: Attack Points, Defense Strength, and Hits to Destruction. Attack Points A ship s Attack Strength is specified by the number(s) running along the bottom of the card. This ship has 15, then 11, then 8, then 6 Attack Points. When the ship is fully operational, use the left-most number in the row. This Attack number specifies the number of Attack Points the ship can use during the owning player s Battle Turn. A ship s Attack Points may be divided among several Attack cards. When a ship uses multiple Attack cards, the attacks may be targeted against several enemy ships. A ship is not limited to attacking the same ship, or even ships in the same fleet.
Defense Strength The dice symbols located next to each of its Attack numbers defines a ship s Defense Strength. This ship has a d12, then d10, then d8, then d6 for its Defense Strength. In order to defend itself against an in-coming attack, a ship must roll its Shield die and achieve a result equal to, or greater than, the strength of the attack. Example: If an attack with an Attack Strength of 4 is launched against a ship, the ship must make a Shield roll of 4 or higher in order to negate the attack. An undamaged Dreadnought DN151186 would roll a 12-sided die, trying to roll a 4 or higher. Hits to Destruction Each set of Attack Points and Shield Dice are referred to as a Hits to Destruction level. Most of the ships in the game take several hits in order to be destroyed. If an attack is not negated, place a Hit counter on the ship card. When a ship takes a Hit, its attack and defense capability is reduced. One Hit will reduce a ship to using its second set of Attack Points and Shield Die (the number and die symbol located to the right of the left-most set). When a ship has taken a number of Hits equal to its total number of Hits to Destruction, it is destroyed. When a ship is targeted with several attacks the damage from a successful attack takes effect immediately. Thus, if the first attack succeeds, the target would use its next lowest Deflector Shield die when rolling to stop the next attack in the volley. Examples: A Terran Destroyer fires a 3-point Beam Attack against a Plopsuu Destroyer. The Plopsuu ship would have to roll a 3 or higher on its Shield die in order to negate the attack. If the roll is failed, the Plopsuu ship is destroyed. The Shameer player launches a 5-point Planetary Battery, a 4-point Missile Volley, a 3-point Missile Volley, and another 3- point Missile Volley at a Cyber Dreadnought. The Shameer player specifies the order of attack to be the 5, then 4, then 3, then 3. The Cyber Dreadnought has a 12-sided Shield die. His first shield roll is a 3. This means the Shields did not stop the 5- point attack. The Dreadnought player places a Hit counter on the ship. The roll to stop the next Attack is rolled on a 10-sided die (due to the Dreadnought being reduced one level by the previous attack). This roll is a 7, thus negating the second attack. The third roll is also on a 10-sided die, and comes up a 1. Another Hit counter is placed on the Dreadnought. The Dreadnought has now been reduced by two levels.
Action Cards Many of the Action Cards contain artwork depicting the various aliens and ships present in the game. This artwork in no way limits which race can play the card, or the race it can be played against. All races can use all cards and can play them against any other race. The Action Cards have built-in right-click functions that allow them to be sent to another player s Empire or discarded. Drag the action cards from your private window onto the game map next to your own fleet. Select which of your ships are launching each Attack by placing it next to that ship. Then, right-click on the Action Card and play it against another fleet. The Action Card will immediately disappear from your fleet area and appear in the other fleet s area (you can see this on the Sector Map). When all the Action Cards have been sent to the Empires you are attacking, go to those Empires (by clicking on that Empire on the Sector Map or by using the scroll bars) and place the Action Cards next the individual ships you are attacking. Action Cards may either be played during your Battle Turn, or when your fleet is under attack. The color of the border running down the left edge indicates when a card may be played. If the border is RED, the card may be played during your Battle Turn. If the border is WHITE, the card may be played when your fleet is being attacked. If the border is half RED, and half WHITE, the card may be played at either time. Defensive cards played during an enemy attack are also designated as being played either before or after the target rolls its Shield die. The symbol along the border is used for easy reference.
Evasive Action and Missile Defense are Pre-Shield Defense cards. These cards are played before a Shield die roll is made. Flaming Retaliation, Emergency Power to Shields, and Damage Control are Post-Shield Defense cards. These cards are played after a Shield die roll has failed. Cards Played During your Battle Turn Beam Attack A Beam Attack may be played by a ship in the attacking fleet s First Row, and may be targeted against any ship in an opposing fleet s First Row. Close Barrage These attacks, like Beam Attacks, are a First Row to First Row attack. However, due to the close range of the attack, the enemy Shield roll is at -2 (as specified on the card). Thus, an enemy ship would have to roll two above the strength of the attack in order to negate it with its Shields. Damage Control When played during his Battle Turn, the owning (Attacking) player may remove any one HIT against any one of his ships. Damage Control may also be used to prevent a Fighter or Assault Troop from being eliminated. Missile Volley Missile Volleys may be made from a ship in the First or Second Row, and may be targeted against any enemy ship in the First or Second Row. Emergency Power to Weapons This card is used to double the Attack Points of one of the ships in your fleet during your turn. Planet Each card represents a valuable planet within a star system. When played, the Planet card is placed in front of the Attacking Player s fleet. Each of the three Planets has a name. The names are for player enjoyment only, and are not important from a rules point of view. Planetary Batteries These cards represent large planet-based weapons capable of firing up into space. These cards are just like any other Attack card, with the following exceptions. These cards may only be played when there is a Planet in play; they may only be played against enemy ships, not Assault Troops or Fighters. Since Planetary Batteries are fired from a ground based on one of the Planets in play (which Planet, and who s in control of it, isn t important), the Attacking Player does not need to allocate Attack Points from his fleet to use the card. These cards have three Attack Strengths listed. The top number is used when attacking an enemy ship in the First Row. The middle number is used against Second Row ships. The bottom number is used against Third Row ships. Planetary Bombardment Space fleets will at times turn their weaponry toward enemy Troops holding valuable Planets. These cards allow the Attacking Player s fleet to attack enemy Assault Troops. Any ship may contribute to this type of attack, even those in the Third Row. Each ship participating in the bombardment must allocate Attack Points in sets of four. Each set of four Attack Points gives the Attacking Player one attack roll at an enemy Assault Troop. The Attacking Player then declares the number of attacks against each opposing Troop. The Attacking Player may freely allocate the attacks.
For each attack declared against an Assault Troop, the Attacking Player rolls one 6-sided die. The defending Troop must then equal or exceed that roll with its own defense die roll, in order to negate the attack. If a defense roll is failed, the Troop is eliminated. The defender must conduct his defense roll immediately after each Planetary Bombardment attack die roll is thrown. Planetary Bombardment cards may only be used to attack Assault Troops, not ships or Fighters. Special Ability Note: Each Thak ship is not restricted to allocating Attack Points in sets of four. Two or more Thak ships can combine some of their Attack Points with one another to produce a total of four Attack Points. Example: The Terran player plays a Planetary Bombardment card when a Thak Troop is in control of one Planet, and a Cyber Troop in control of another. The Polaris, Rome and London each allocate four Attack Points. The Terra allocates eight Attack Points. This gives the Terran player five attacks against Assault Troops. He allocates one against the Thak, and four against the Cyber. The die roll against the Thak comes up a 3. The Thak defense roll is a 3. The attack has no effect. The first three attacks against the Cyber comes up: 2, 3, 6. The Cyber defense rolls are: 6, 4, and 2. The third attack eliminates the Troops. The Cyber player then plays a Damage Control Card, to negate the attack. The fourth attack is a 5. The last defense roll comes up a 1. The Cyber player does not play another Damage Control Card, so the Troop is eliminated. Planetary Fighters Each card represents a squadron of Planet-based Fighters. They may be played against any enemy ship or Assault Troop. The rules for conducting Fighter combat are given earlier in the rules. This card may be played even when there are no Planets in play. Reinforcements There are two types of Reinforcements cards. The first type denotes a specific number of Victory Points of ships that may be selected from your Reserve Pile. Several low value ships may be claimed with one of these cards. The value of the ship(s) claimed may not exceed the value of the card(s) played. Several Reinforcement cards may be combined in order to claim a high point value ship. Examples: The Plopsuu player uses a 3-point Reinforcement card in order to claim 1 (2-point) Transport, and 1 (1-point) Destroyer. The Thak player uses a 3-point, and a 2-point Reinforcement card in order to claim a (5-point) Battleship. The second type of Reinforcement card will allow the Attacking Player to claim any one ship in his Reserve. The point value of the ship is irrelevant, it can be anything from a lowly Frigate to a mighty Dreadnought. Cards Played When You re Under Attack Damage Control These cards are played after an attack against the defending player s fleet has been resolved. One successful attack may be negated for every Damage Control card played. These cards must be played before the next attack is resolved. These cards may be used to defend ships, Fighters and Assault Troops. Special Ability Note: If an attack is reflected by the Plopsuu Reflector Shields, Damage Control may be played by the Attacking Player to defend his ship, after his own shields have failed to stop the rebounded attack. Emergency Power to Shields You can play one of these cards after you have rolled a Shield roll in order to re-roll. Troops and Fighters cannot use these cards.
Special Ability Note: If an attack is Reflected by the Plopsuu Reflector Shields, this card may be played by the Attacking Player to defend his ship. Special Ability Note: The Shameer ships have two Shield dice when cloaked. Re-roll both dice. Evasive Action These cards are played before any Shield rolls are thrown. Each Evasive Action card played will negate one attack. Frigate and Destroyer-class ships may only use most of these cards. Cruiser-class ships may also use a few. The restriction is printed just under the main title for each card. Evasive Action cards are one of the favorites among the Frigate and Destroyer crews. Flaming Retaliation After an enemy attack has been resolved which resulted in the destruction of a ship, the owner of the destroyed ship may attempt to ram it into any one of the enemy ships that contributed to the attacks allocated against it. The strength of the ram attack is based on the number of Hits to Destruction the ramming ship had when undamaged. Roll the appropriate dice as indicated on the Action Card and add their results. This is the strength of the ramming attack. The target ship ( ram-ee in technical naval talk) may use any of the normal defenses to stop the ram attack, including the shields. For each point the shield roll is failed by, the rammed ship takes one Hit of damage. If destroyed by the ram attack, the rammed ship is placed in the Vanquished Pile of the player playing the Flaming Retaliation card. Regardless of the outcome of the ramming attack, the ramming ship is placed in the Attacking Player s Vanquished Pile (it was after all blown up in the initial attack). This card may not be used if Fighters or Planetary Batteries destroyed the ship. The ram attack takes place after the Attacking Player has resolved all of his attacks. Example: The London, Terra and Yorktown fire on the Thak Battleship KUL Thax, which is destroyed. The Thak player then plays a Flaming Retaliation card and chooses the London as the ship to be rammed. After all Terran attacks are resolved, the Thak player rolls two 8-sided dice. The results are 3 and 6. The strength of the ram attack is 9. The London rolls a 4 on its 8- sided die. The London takes 5 Hits and is destroyed. Missile Defense Each of these cards will negate one Missile Volley. Missile Defense cards must be played before Shield dice are rolled. Planets Before players draw their initial Action Cards, place the Planet Talos card by the first player s fleet. Talos may be captured and fought for as normal. This represents the first star system that the Races meet at and fight for. There are two Planet cards in the Action Deck, and one Planet (Talos) that begins in play. Each of these represents a Planet of some importance to each race s exploration efforts. How to Put a Planet into Play To play a Planet card, the card is placed to the side of the owning player s fleet. This is done during the Move Assault Troops to Planets step of the player s Battle Turn. The Attacking Player may choose to defend the Planet with Assault Troops. To do this, one or more Transport ships are removed from his fleet, flipped-over (to the Assault Troop side), and placed by the Planet card.
If for whatever reason, the Attacking Player does not wish to put a Planet in play, it may be discarded like any other Action Card. The Attacking Player may only put one Planet into play during a single Battle Turn. There may be more than one Planet in play at the same time. How to Put Opposing Troops on a Planet On each opposing player s Battle Turn they may attempt to take the Planet away from the current owner. To do this, the Attacking Player sends his Assault Troops down to the Planet to do battle. The Attacking Player flips the appropriate Transport Cards to their Assault Troop side, and places the cards next to the Planet to be attacked. Use the right-click function on the Transport Ship card to move it to another player s Empire where there is a Planet in play. When the Transport Ship is returning to your fleet after fighting on a planet, these functions send it back to your own Empire. Sending Troops down takes place during the Move Assault Troops to Planets step. The Troop Cards The Assault Troops of each race are given an Attack and Defense Strength. These are represented on the card by two dice symbols at the bottom of the card. The die on the top is the Attack die; the one on the bottom is the Defense die. The Attack and Defense Strength of Assault Troops are based on the skill level of the troops, their equipment, as well as the thickness of their skulls. How Troops Engage Troops The Attacking Player declares which defending Troops will be Engaged by his Troops. Each defending Troop card will automatically counter-attack the attacking Troop card that Engaged it. Defending Troops that are not Engaged may freely choose which of the attacking Troops to counter-attack.
How Troops Attack Troops The Attacking Player rolls an Attack Die for one of his Troop cards. The defending player then rolls the Defense die for his Troop. If the Attack roll is greater than the Defense roll the target is eliminated. If the Defense roll is equal to, or greater than the Attack roll, the attack has no effect. All Troop vs. Troop combat is assumed to be simultaneous. This means that even though the attacking Troop card may have successfully attacked the defender, the defender will not be removed until it has executed its own counter-attack. Once all the attackers have conducted their attacks, the defenders conduct their counter-attacks. Non-Engaged defenders execute their attacks after the other defenders have executed their counter-attacks. The player who eliminates an enemy Assault Troop places the card in his Vanquished Pile. Layering Attacks against Troops It is possible (and preferable) to layer attacks against defending Troops. This may be accomplished with: Assault Troops, Planetary Fighters, and Planetary Bombardment attacks. When the Attacking Player is conducting a multi-layer attack he must specify the order of the attacks (e.g. first the Planetary Fighters then four Planetary Bombardments, then the Assault Troops). The specific Planet to which each attack is committed must also be specified. The Attacking Player views the results of one attack layer before allocating the next layer to specific Troops. If for example, a Planetary Fighter attack was to be conducted before the four Planetary Bombardments, the Fighter attack would be resolved before the four Bombardments would be allocated to specific defending Troops. But, the fact that four Bombardments will be executed cannot be changed. If one layer of attacks eliminates all the defending Troops, the following layers are still committed; they may not be cancelled or re-directed. If all the defenders are eliminated before a given attack layer is to be executed, such attacks simply have no effect. Continue or Retreat? After each attacking Troop card on the Planet has executed one attack, and each defender has executed one counter-attack, the owners may decide to conduct another Round of Ground Combat, or retreat one or more of their Troops off the Planet. The Defending Player must announce his decision first. So long as there are opposing Troops on a Planet, Ground Combat Rounds will continue to be executed. The Attacking Player may not end his Attack step while there are opposing Troops on the same Planet. The Attacking Player is free to choose which of his Troops will be attacking which defending Troops, at the start of each Ground Combat Round. Troops that Retreat off the Planet are flipped back to the Transport side, and placed in the owning player s fleet. Example: The Terran Federation player holds the 6-point Planet. He has the Grizzly and Lion Assault Troops on the Planet. During the Cyber Player s Battle Turn he sends the AT3/108 down to the Planet in an attempt to take control of it. To resolve the Troop combat, the Cyber attack die roll is a 1 against the Grizzly. The Terrans have no chance of failure, so a defense roll is not needed. The Terran counter-attack rolls are a 3 and a 5. The Cyber defense rolls are a 7 and a 6. The Cyber Assault Troops are not affected by the attacks. The Terrans announce their intention to stay. The Cybers also decide to stay. The Troop combat is repeated. This time the Cyber attack roll is a 5, and the Terran defense roll is a 4. Even though the Grizzly will be eliminated, they still get to return fire. Their attack roll is a 6. The Cyber defense roll is a 2. The Cybers are also eliminated. The Terrans retain control of the Planet, with the Lion. When an Assault Troop retreats from a Planet, the card is turned to its Transport side and placed into the fleet. Capturing a Planet If after combat is resolved, the attacker has at least one Troop card on the Planet, and the defender has no Troops, the Planet has been captured. The Attacking Player then places the Planet, and surviving Troops, in front of his fleet. If all Troops are eliminated, the Planet remains in the Defender s possession.
There is no limit to the number of times a Planet may be captured or recaptured. A player will gain lasting control of a Planet, if at the very start of his Battle Turn he is in control of a Planet. In order to do this the player must have had control of the Planet at the end of his last Battle Turn, and retained control through each of the other players Battle Turns. When this occurs, the Planet is removed from the table, and placed in the owner s Vanquished Pile. The Planet is collected during the Claim Planets step of the capturing player s Battle Turn. Any Troops on the Planet at the time are returned to the fleet. Once a Planet has been placed in a player s Vanquished Pile, it may not be taken away, or affected in any manner. (It s his, leave it alone.) Planets still in play at the end of the game do not count toward victory. There is an exception to this. If only one player remains in the game (all the others having been eliminated), the remaining player claims all Planets still in play toward victory. If a player is eliminated from the game while in control of a Planet, the Planet is placed in front of the player who eliminated the controlling player. This rule only applies to Planets still in play, not those in a player s Vanquished Pile. Race Descriptions Cyber (Si-ber) A long time ago, a race of beings constructed war machines to do their fighting for them. The exact history of the Cyber race is not known but at some point in their history the organic beings became overshadowed by their mechanical creations. In time, the race became purely mechanical. The fate of the original beings known as The Creators remains a mystery. Each Cyber Assault Troop drops in an ablative pod from its Armed Transport. The Armed Transport carries 512 Assault Troops. The Troops usually operate in groups of 16. The Cyber Troops are among the best in the galaxy. Special Ability: The Cyber race has developed Spinal Mount beam weapons. These weapons run almost the entire length of a Cyber ship. Spinal Mounts allow the Cyber to use Beam Attack Cards (not Close Barrages) from either their First or Second Row. The Cybers may target Beam Attacks against either First or Second Row enemy ships. Example: The Cruiser CR84 fires a Beam attack from its Second Row position against a Terran Destroyer in the second Row. Plopsuu (Plop-sue) The Plopsuu are both the most light-hearted and bureaucratic of all the races. These are two qualities not usually found in most races. The Plopsuu, however, seem to take gret joy in long involved forms and regulations. The Plopsuu greatly admire status and medals. Their greatest military leader is Grand Admiral Viirac (Veer-ak), who used to be just Admiral Viirac, but upon hearing of Terran admirals, decided not to be outdone. The Plopsuu flag represents the Plopsuu philosophy that if any three Plopsuu travel far enough they will eventually meet. And the other way around too. The amphibious looking Plopsuu can breathe the air of most planets, but they decided to add the bubble helmet to their uniforms because they thought it looked cool. They are getting into the spirit of things with the construction of their new war Destroyer Chilling Groan. The Battlecruiser Star Terror is also a new addition to the war effort. The Plopsuu have what might best be described as adequate ground Troops. Each Plopsuu Transport carries 50 Shuttles. Each Shuttle holds 50 battle hardened Plopsuu warriors. Special Ability: The Plopsuu always liked the idea of rebounding attacks against their attackers. A loosely translated chant We are rubber, you are glue, what bounces off us, sticks to you! is one of their favorite battle cries. Whenever an enemy ship attacks a Plopsuu ship (with Beam Attack, Missile Volley, or Close Barrage), and the attack is stopped with the Shield roll, the attack is rebounded against the attacking ship. Plopsuu ships may negate attacks with Evasive Action and other cards, just like all the other races; but those attacks are not rebounded. The attacking ship must defend itself against its rebounded attack as if it were a normal attack, meaning it can use Deflector Shields, Evasive Action, Damage Control, etc.
If the Plopsuu rebound a Knights of Conquest attack, the Knights do not suffer a -1 when defending against the rebounded attack do to the Knight s Special Ability. If the Plopsuu rebound a Thak attack, the attack may be rebounded against any one of the ships which allocated Attack Points for the attack (Plopsuu player chooses which one). Reflector Shields do not rebound Fighter or Planetary Battery attacks. Plopsuu Assault Troops do not have Reflector Shields, they conduct combat in the normal way. Example: The Terran Cruiser Rome fires a 3-point Close Barrage against the Star Terror. The Plopsuu player must roll a 5 or higher on a 10-sided die (attack Strength 3, plus 2 because it is a Close Barrage). The die roll comes up a 7. The Rome must then defend itself against a Strength 5 attack. Thak (Thack) The Thak are a hive-mind bug community. Thak appear to be closely related to earth insects in many ways. In the Thak community there are Warriors, Workers, Planners, and Brains. The Warriors serve as the military force of the Hive. The Workers maintain the Hive s infrastructure, while the Planners are responsible for contemplating the future and coming up with solutions to problems. The Brains coordinate the activities of the others in order to form the Hive structure. In general, the Thak prefer desert worlds, where they construct elaborate underground complexes and colonies. The instantaneous communication between special Brain Bugs on each ship, enable them to coordinate attacks with deadly precision. The Thak, however, do not produce the best Assault Troops. After losing several of their initial planetary battles they recently constructed a larger Armed Transport RIL Vactor. The Thak have also retrofitted one of their sub-light Planetary Protection Ships, the Battleship KUL Thax with Faster Than Light (FTL) Drives. A newly constructed class of Cruisers will also add to their fleet s strength. As noted earlier, the Thak are not the best of Troops. This is partially due to their lack of personal weapons. The Thak prefer to close into close combat where their claws and stingers can be used to deadly effect. They make up for this in sheer numbers. The smaller Armed Transports carry 60 shuttles each. The large Armed Transport carries 90 shuttles. Each shuttle carries 180 Thak Troops. Special Ability: Due to their Brain Bugs, the Thak are able to combine the Attack Points of several ships towards a single attack card, thus enabling them to use larger attack cards. This would allow two Destroyers, for example, each with three Attack Points, to use one 6-point attack card. In order to combine points the ships must be in a Row (or Rows) which allows them to make that particular type of attack (e.g. to contribute to a Beam attack, all ships must be in the First Row). Example: The ITH Razak, ITH Goran, and SIL Marth are all in the First Row. They combine to execute a 7-point Beam Attack against a Terran Destroyer, and a 3-point Missile Volley against a Cyber Cruiser. Shameer (Sha-meer) The Shameer are a secretive race. No one has ever seen one. They rely on their powerful Cloaking Devices for their edge in battle. The Shameer usually stay with Destroyer and Battlecruiser size ships. They have, however, recently produced a cruiserclass ship in order to strengthen their fleet for the upcoming war. Their fleet still contains quite a few of an older frigate class (the Spirit is one), used mainly for patrol duties. The Shameer conduct ground combat from four-man (person, thing, creature) Flyers. These Flyers then zip around blasting away at enemy forces. Each Flyer is equipped with a self-destruction device to keep it from falling into enemy hands. The Transport carries 400 such Flyers. Special Ability: Being a secretive sort, they naturally developed Cloaking technology. This consists of very powerful anti-sensor fields that prevent other ships from determining their exact position. Shameer ships enjoy formidable Shield protection when cloaked. The drawback is that the Cloaking Devices use an enormous amount of the ship s power, thus Shameer ships may not attack while Cloaked. The Attack Points are listed on the CLOAK-
side of the card for easy reference only. The Shameer player may freely flip his ships to either their Normal or Cloaked side at the start of his Attack step (some ships may be Cloaked, while others are Normal). The Shameer player may not then flip any of his ships again until the Attack step during his next Battle Turn. Example: While Cloaked, the Shadow is attacked with a 5-point Missile Volley. The Shameer player would then total the rolls of a 6- sided die, and a 4-sided die to determine the Shadow s defense strength. The total is an 8, thus negating the attack. Terran The Terrans come from Earth, so they were not all that surprised when the meeting of several groups led to hostilities. After centuries of inter-nation conflict, the people of earth finally achieved the One World ideal. This allowed the Terrans finally to develop the technology needed for star flight. Even though world co-operation is now in existence, many nationalistic rivalries still remain. In expanding into space, the Terrans have carried with them a great deal of aggressiveness; some unfounded rumors even have the Terrans doing more than their share of starting problems. The Terrans are generally competent in all areas of combat. The Terrans can hold their own (and anybody else s who isn t looking) in ground combat. Their troops are equipped with a variety of projectile and energy weapons. Their Transports carry 50 Combat Shuttles each. Each Combat Shuttle holds 30 marines. Carrier-Based Fighters The Terran Federation player may select his Carrier Based Fighters as part of his fleet. The carrier must be selected if any Carrier Based Fighters are selected. The fighters use normal fighter rules as described in the ship section. The Terran Carrier Based Fighters are placed on the Carrier. They do not hold a position in a Row. If the Terran player looses all his ships, while Carrier Based Fighters survive, the Fighters are returned to the Terran Reserve Pile. The Terran player is then eliminated from the game. Example: A Terran Carrier squadron attacks a Knights of Conquest Destroyer (in the Second Row). The Fighter attack roll is a 4, modified to a 3, because the ship is in the Second Row. The Destroyer s defense roll is a 2. The Destroyer is eliminated, and the Fighters return to the Carrier. A Terran Carrier squadron attacks a Plopsuu Transport (in the Third Row). The attack die roll is a 3, modified to a 1, because the Transport is in the Third Row. The Fighters are destroyed, and claimed toward victory by the Plopsuu player. The Terran Federation possesses the only Carrier in the game. The Terran player s fleet may not contain Carrier Based Fighters if the Terran Carrier is not present. Carrier Based Fighters must spend one Battle Turn Refueling and Rearming after each Battle Turn in which they are used. Theses cards are double-sided. After a Fighter is used in an attack (and survives) it is placed on the Carrier with its Refuel/Rearm side up. The group may not then be used during the Terran player s next Battle Turn. At the end of that Battle Turn the Fighters are flipped back to normal, thus readying them for the following Battle Run. If an opposing player should destroy the Carrier with Fighters on-board, the attacking player also claims the Fighters. If Fighters are not on-board at the time the carrier is destroyed, they are placed in the Terran s Reserve Pile, at the start of his Battle Turn. Fighters are considered to be off the carrier while conducting attacks against enemy Ships and Assault Troops. Special Ability: The Terran edge is in their crews, which are highly skilled and very enthusiastic. This allows the Terran player to hold up to 8 (instead of the normal 7) Action Cards. Also, the Terrans are the only race to master the complex procedures for operating Fighters from a space-borne carrier.