I. Introduction
This booklet includes supplemental rules for playing StarMarines with ships.
If someone from 20th-century Earth were to visit us today, he might be surprized to learn
that seagoing warships have a place in the 23rd-century way of war. But on most habitable
worlds, there's a lot of water, and a ship is a much more economical way to move things across
water than spaceship pickup or sub-orbital shuttle. Thus, once an army has conquered one land
mass on a planet, they will usually send their forces to the next continent by ship.
This means that, for every race that tries
to use a planet's seas as a highway, there is another race that will try to stop them.
The resulting sea battles aren't as big as Jutland or Leyte Gulf, but are every bit as fierce.
Ships in the StarMarines universe fall into many categories, based on their size and
function. Some races use all the ship types, while others have no interest in certain types.
They bear little resemblance to the 20th-century Earth ships whose names they bear.
Low observability is a must; a ship is an awfully big and tempting target,
and if an orbiting spaceship can get a radar lock on your battleship, kiss it goodbye.
So most ships sacrifice size and weaponry for a small radar cross-section.
Ships use the standard weapons of their respective races, with a twist. The weapons
are doubled -- two for the price of one -- giving a fair broadside without overcrowding the main deck.
If you are also playing with aircraft rules, ships can mount anti-aircraft weapons.
This rule book is an optional supplement to StarMarines.
It includes new counters for the ships and sea weapons, along with some basic scenarios.
You'll find an all-water map in my M8 maps. Multiple copies of this, plus the
coastal maps, will give you plenty of ocean to fight over.
II. Buying Ships
There are ship counters for each of the armies, but most of them are identical, except for a
few ships that aren't used by every race. Ship costs and attributes vary slightly from race
to race. All ship counters have a blue background and are considered large vehicles.
The page of ship counters gives you one of each type for each race, so if you want anything
more than a bare-minimum navy, you'll probably want to print more than one sheet.
Some races don't use certain ship types; these races will get an extra counter of some other
kind, usually a heavy cruiser.
You buy ships and arm them with weapons just like any land vehicle. All ship's weapons
are doubled -- you get two of those weapons for the price of one.
Such weapons are considered to be mounted in the same turret, they must fire at the same
target, and if one gets knocked out in combat, both get knocked out.
The only ship-specific weapon in StarMarines is the torpedo.
This is a short-ranged, accurate way to do some serious damage to your enemy's fleet.
The Radar Missile, from the Aircraft supplement, can be mounted on a ship and serve as
an anti-air or anti-ship missile, with unlimited reloads.
You can choose to omit any one weapon, on any warship that can take 2 or more hits,
and allow the ship to support a helicopter instead. You have to buy the helo and any weapons it
starts the battle with; if you buy none, it can carry none.
But after that, if the helo spends one turn stacked with a ship that
supports helicopters, it can reload any air weapons it can normally carry, at no additional charge.
III. Ship Movement
In most cases, ships will start the battle on opposite edges of the map. In water, of course.
Ships move normally in deep-water and shallow-water hexes. Some small ships can also
sail in river hexes. Ships have no ZOC. Collisions never happen.
N'Kakk ships carry their own controller units, and don't need to be in range of any other unit.
Ships move like other StarMarines units; they must move in the direction they are facing,
and can turn one hex-face for each hex they move. Ships cannot move backwards or trade moves for turning.
Ships cannot be placed on Overwatch, except for anti-aircraft weapons, and such weapons can shoot
only at aircraft if on Overwatch.
III-a. Submarine Movement
Submarines and submarine cruisers normally remain submerged, with no counter on the map.
To keep track of which ship is where, keep a running log with pencil and paper.
Each turn, write down the map number and hex number of each hex that the sub enters.
Thus, you have a paper trail of the sub's movements to forestall any accusations of
"There's no way a sub could be there!"
You'll also need this information when your enemy is trying to locate your sub.
For a sub to surface or submerge, it takes all the sub's move units for one turn.
IV. Ship Combat
Ship combat is resolved like other combat, but with a difference.
Most ships are big enough that a single good hit isn't enough to sink them.
To keep track of hits, ships use casualty markers (also used by the Based-Infantry
rules supplement). A ship with no casualty marker is at full strength.
As it takes hits, stack a casualty marker with it that shows how many hits the ship has left.
When your ship falls below 1 hit, it sinks. A ship that can take 3 hits or more, and is
down to 1 hit, has its speed reduced to 1.
Also, you use the Ship Damage Table instead of the usual Vehicle Damage Table.
The Ship Damage Table differs from the Vehicle Table in that the
emphasis is on knocking out weapons, instead of immobilizing the target.
Ships can aim each of their weapons at a different target. Doubled weapons must both fire at
the same target. Ships firing more than one torpedo can fire at no more than two targets.
IV-a. Aircraft Against Ships
Aircraft can attack ships like any other ground target. Ships can attack aircraft with anti-air
weapons and machine guns (medium weapons that fire three times in a turn).
Anti-air weapons on ships that can take 2 or more hits (ignoring damage) get unlimited free reloads.
N'Kakk aircraft can attack ships that aren't in a controller's range.
IV-b. Attacking Submarines
To attack a submerged submarine, you need two things: sonar to find the sub, and a torpedo to shoot at it.
All frigates, destroyers, and submarines (not sub-cruisers) carry sonar.
Also, if you equip a ship with a helicopter,
the helo can carry a sonar set and a torpedo instead of any aircraft weapon markers.
Ships that don't come with sonar cannot carry it.
The effectiveness of sonar depends on the speed of the unit using it.
If the ship was motionless in the current turn, or if the unit is a helicopter,
the sonar has a range of 2. If the ship moved 1 hex, its sonar range is 1.
Any faster than 1 hex of movement, and the sonar has a range of zero --
it works only in the hex occupied by the ship.
With each sonar you wish to use, you ask your opponent whether that sonar can
detect anything. He must answer truthfully, as follows:
- If no submarine is in range of that sonar, the answer is "no contact."
- If a submarine is in range, the answer is "Contact at #," where "#" is the hex location of the sub.
- If the same sonar is in range of more than one sub, give one answer for each sub.
Then you have to get a torpedo-equipped ship or helicopter into, or next to, that
hex. Torpedoes are the only weapons that can hit a submerged submarine.
The attacker must specify which hex he's dropping his torpedo into. If it's the hex
where the sub is, the torpedo attacks normally. If the sub is one hex away, the
torpedo loses its to-hit bonus. More than one hex away, the sub is out of range and the torpedo can't hit.
A sub on the surface gets attacked like any other ship.
V. Morale with Ships
Ships are considered vehicles, and never have to make morale checks.
VI. Ships and the Races
Most alien ship names are unknown outside their own race. They are generally called
by their type names, which refer to their relative size and their function.
VI-a. The StarMarines
StarMarine ships are straightforward, no-nonsense designs. They can use any ship
type. Their battleships and battle-cruisers cost 1 build-point less than normal.
VI-b. The Norx
Norx warships are built tough. All Norx ships of Light-Cruiser size and smaller get +1 Toughness.
This does not apply to landing craft. Norx do not use submarines or sub cruisers --
all that sneaking around is not for them!
VI-c. The Pelgari
The Pelgari do not use the Pocket-Battleship -- they have no use for a ship that can't get out of its own way.
Any Pelgari ship with armor of 0 or 1 gets +1 armor, except subs.
VI-d. The Victors
To no one's surprise, the Victors like extra armor on their ships.
Any Victor ship with a speed of 3 or higher gets +1 armor and loses -1 speed.
Ships with 0 or 1 armor and less than 3 speed get the +1 armor at no penalty.
Subs are unchanged. Victors do not use Battle-Cruisers, seeing them as a watered-down
battleship that's begging to be shot at, but can't take the heat.
VI-e. The Dran
Dran don't use FAC's or submarines, but they love their submarine cruisers.
Dran SC's can carry 2 more torpedoes than normal.
VI-f. The N'Kakk
N'Kakk destroyers get +1 armor and -1 speed. They use all other ship types unmodified.
VI-g. The Ghouls
The Ghouls don't fight like other races at sea. They attack like anyone else,
but their goal is to bring their ship adjacent to an enemy vessel,
preferably a weaker or damaged ship, so they can board it.
Roll a die and add the difference in hits between the Ghoul ship and its victim
(subtract the difference if the target ship has more hits).
A roll of 4 or less means the Ghoul boarders were repelled with casualties, which costs their ship one weapon.
A roll of 5 or higher means they have overcome the crew and taken them aboard their own vessel.
The other vessel gets scuttled and sinks. Submarines and sub-cruisers cannot board.
Ghouls must board if an enemy is adjacent.
VI-h. The Zrutes
Every Zrute ship that can carry heavy weapons, must carry at least one Radar Missile,
which the Zrutes love to use as an anti-ship weapon. All destroyers and frigates must carry a torpedo.
Their heavy cruisers and pocket-battleships cost 1 build-point less than normal.
VI-i. The Saurs
The Saurs got their ship designs from several other races, so they can use any ship type.
Note that, like other Saur counters, the ships face sideways, but the counter's facing is determined by the
lettering being right-side-up. Any Saur ship can substitute a medium weapon for a light one.
VI-j. The Swarm
The Swarm do not use ships. If a scenario calls for ships and for using the Swarm,
choose either another race, or another scenario.
VI-k. The Colonials
Colonials can use ships only if they are defending their own planet; they never use them when
attacking other worlds. They don't use expensive Battleships or Battle-Cruisers.
Colonial Carriers support only 4 aircraft, and cost 3 points less than usual.
VII. Ship Types
- Gunboat is the smallest, weakest, and least expensive warship.
It is able to sail up rivers and attack nearby land units.
- FAC (fast attack craft) is the same size as a gunboat, but faster and
more fragile. It carries two Radar Missiles as its main weapon (doubled, but with no reloads).
- Frigate automatically comes with sonar to help find submarines.
- Destroyer is a fast, versatile ship type. It comes with sonar.
- Light Cruiser is the next step up from the destroyer, and packs a much bigger wallop.
- Heavy Cruiser is many admirals' favorite ship type, combining good power and speed
with reasonable cost.
- Pocket-Battleship is a heavy cruiser that gives up speed in favor of more firepower.
- Battle-Cruiser is a hybrid warship, combining the armament and cost of a battleship
with the armor and speed of a cruiser.
- Battleship is the biggest, baddest warship on the high seas. Well-armed and hard to sink,
it is the centerpiece of many navies.
- Carrier can support up to 8 aircraft. It does not come with aircraft, but it does come
with unlimited air weapons for re-arming them. You have to buy the aircraft, and the weapons they start the
battle with. But after that, if an aircraft spends one turn stacked with a carrier, it can load any
air weapons at no additional cost. All aircraft are considered carrier-capable.
In most scenarios, aircraft start the battle stacked with their carrier, rather than
entering the map according to the usual aircraft rules.
- Submarine stalks its enemies underwater. Torpedoes are its only weapon, and it carries only
eight of them. Because a sub never surfaces, but is tracked off the map, it is not represented by a counter.
Subs carry the same sonar as frigates and destroyers, and can hunt enemy submarines.
- Submarine Cruiser is a large submarine that can either attack with torpedoes like a normal
sub, or rise to the surface and attack with conventional weapons.
The latter gives away the sub's position and runs the risk of getting hurt,
but since most weapons have a longer range than a torpedo, and since the sub-cruiser carries only a few
torps, this can be a useful way to get some hits on your enemies.
- Landing Craft is a small ship, able to sail in river hexes.
It carries one level-3 formation of soldiers, or four small vehicles, or one large walker-type vehicle.
- Transport can carry any four of the following: a level-3 formation of soldiers,
or four small vehicles, or one large vehicle.
Supertanks count as two large vehicles. Each module in a Victor Battle Train counts as one large vehicle.
VIII. Ship Weapons
- Torpedo is a short-range medium weapon that homes in on its target. It can be used once and is then
discarded. Like all ship weapons, it delivers two attacks. Torpedoes are the only weapons that can hit a
submerged submarine.
- Sonar is not a weapon, but a detection system that allows a helicopter to locate a submerged
submarine. If a ship does not come equipped with sonar, you can't add it.
A helicopter can carry a sonar and one torpedo as its entire weapons load if it can carry
weapons markers.
Ship weapons are located according to the following rules, if the Ship Table does not explicitly define them.
Main weapons (the biggest weapons a ship carries) go as follows:
- 1 weapon: fires front/left/right.
- 2 weapons: one fires front/left/right, the other fires rear/left/right.
- 3 weapons: two fire front/left/right, the other fires rear/left/right.
- 4 weapons: two fire front/left/right, two fire rear/left/right.
- Submarine torpedoes always fire front.
- Ship torpedoes always fire left/right.
Lesser weapons fire left/right.
IX. Ship Tables