I'm adopting my Emperor vs Horus rules for general spaceship combat. The goal is to fight battles inside a ship using tiles or 3d corridors.
Comments? Criticism?
Wars in the Stars
(By: Kid Kyoto)
SUMMARY
Wars in the Stars are common. Boarding actions, exploring Space Hulks, capturing orbital installations are just as important as surface battles in the grim darkness of the far future. These rules allow for fighting aboard space ships or space hulks.
Capture control rooms and other locations to affect the entire battlefield.
Infantry and walkers only.
Optional rules for hidden movement (blips).
THE BOARD
TERRAIN
The entire table should be covered in corridors and rooms. Several companies make them, they can also be scratch-built. Space Hulk tiles can also be downloaded from the
GW site. Alternately dense buildings and walls could be used.
Special Rooms – You can include several, clearly identifiable special rooms (see below). Special rooms should be several from each other and scattered throughout the table. One short side should be designated the front of the ship, another the rear.
Cover – Rooms should have some cover from crates, machines, statues or consoles.
Doors – You may not see or shoot through a door. Opening a door takes 2” of movement. Doors automatically close when no one is within 2”. Doors are AV12, any penetrating hit will permanently destroy a closed door.
Entrances – Corridors that touch the table edge, these are the entrances. There should be several on the two long ends. The short ends should not have entrances.
Recommendations – at least two large rooms (1 square feet or more), at least two long straight corridors at (least 24”).
SPECIAL ROOMS
There are several special rooms. To control a room at the start of your turn you must have one model in it (whose unit is not in assault, pinned or falling back) and have no enemy units inside. The unit must remain in the room to use it (except for the teleporter). The player who controls the room may use its special abilities on one unit. All special rooms are optional; players can decide between themselves which they will use and which they will not or roll a die and on a 4+ use the room.
Control Room – This is the heart of the ship and should the largest room. The player who controls this room may order the ship’s orbit to decay (see below) or stop the orbital decay. At the start of his turn the player may also decide if the shields are up or down. If shields are down reserve units with the deep strike ability may do so. If they are up the reserve units must walk on.
Destroyed Rooms – Destroyed rooms cannot be entered. Any model deep striking into them is destroyed.
Engine Room – This room controls the power to the rest of the ship. The controlling player may attempt to do one of the following: raise/lower shields, start/stop orbital decay, detonate the reactor. On a roll of 4+ the player succeeds. Fighting in the engine room is very dangerous. At the end of any phase where someone shoots into the engine room (shooting out of the room is safe) or fights an assault roll a
D6. On a roll of 1 there is a radiation leak or other malfunction. Every model in the room takes a wound on 4+ (they may take armor saves or invulnerable saves).
Medical Bay – The squad that controls this room may either restore lost wounds to all multi-wound models or return one model to life.
Negative Space – Space not covered by corridors is assumed to be armor, ducts, power conduits and other impassible terrain. Models may not pass through it, any models deep striking into it are destroyed.
Plasma Reactor – Models may not enter the plasma reactor. Any entrances to it terminate in an armor 14 wall. Any models who deep strike into it are destroyed. Players may attempt to destroy the reactor by shooting the outer walls. Any penetrating hit will destroy it and cause a catastrophic explosion. All models within
3d6” of the outer walls are instantly destroyed, as is all terrain. All special rooms lose power. The security center, teleporter and medical bay have no effect. The ship’s orbit begins to decay and shields go down permanently (see below). The player who blew it up loses 5 victory points.
Security Center – The player who controls the security center may open or close doors anywhere on the table at the start of his turn.
Shrine – The player who controls the shrine gains 1 victory point per turn.
Teleporter – At the start of the movement phase the controlling player may deep strike anywhere on the table. Players may use the teleporter even if the shields are up since they are inside the shields already.
Vault – This room stores the treasures of the ship. Perhaps it has rare technology, vital intelligence or just bars of gold. When a unit takes control roll a
D6 at the start of the turn. The room may be searched every turn until it is destroyed.
1 – OPPS! You set off a booby trap. A massive explosion destroys the room killing everyone inside (regardless of toughness or armor). Remove the room.
2-3 – Nothing of interest.
4-5 – Minor treasure. Gain 1 victory point.
6 – Major treasure! Gain 5 victory points.
Weapon Tower – During the shooting phase the player who controls the weapon tower may fire lance strikes anywhere on the board. Lance strikes have this profile: S7,
AP-, large blast, scatters
2d6”-shooters ballistic skill. The player may fire even if the shields are up since the shots are coming from within the shields.
ORBITAL DECAY
Orbital decay can be triggered in the control room, the engine room or by the destruction of the reactor. If the ship’s orbit decays, it will burn up in the atmosphere. Place a string at the front of the ship. At the start of each turn it advances
2d6”. Any models and terrain between the string and the front of the ship are destroyed.
No victory points are awarded for units killed this way.
