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Concept: Large scale space battles with multiple tiny ships mounted on stands. Players create armadas from a faction roster by adding individual ships to squadrons, creating unique units according to limitations or requirements detailed in the faction roster. Squadrons are then assembled into larger fleets according to limitations or requirements set in the faction roster, fleets gain special bonuses according to their type, and can activate as one, but lose their bonuses if they move out of formation or lose too many squadrons. Play is dictated by alternating activation and all dice rolls happen on a single D20 using a simple High but Under system. There is a Stress mechanic which influences activation order and can be used as a resource, carrying too much Stress can have seriously negative effects. Damage is abstracted so that you don't "lose ships" until it is theoretically improbable that more than one ship could survive in a unit, then the largest ship is used for stat and weapon purposes. There are mechanics for torpedoes and fighters as well. There will also be a fair amount of Mordheim-esque hijinks with random encounters and deleterious events. Space is a dangerous place.




Edit: Don't mind me just making room...

Insert Working Rules here.

Model stats explained.

Name: Destroyer Gunship
RATE: 4th (Important number here, basically tells you how big the ship is but this # is also used for some other important stuff like Command Range)
MOV: 9” (Your movement, in inches)
PIV: 3” (How far you gotta move before you can Pivot, bigger ships have to go further)
MOD: 3 (This is your Modifier, which you can use to modify attack and defense rolls, typically bigger ships have a higher MOD)
SC: 3 (Stress Capacity, pretty self explanatory. This isn't tied to Rating, thinking this will be a faction thing)
AP: 20 (Armour)
HP: 30 (Hull)
SEA’s: Action: Take 1 Stress to deal double damage to Fleets or Units this Activation. (Special Effect Action, these are, uh, actions you can perform and they, um, apply special effects...)
Weapons: 3 (The number of guns)
Small Lance Batteries (Batteries are broadside weapons that are your basic BFSL, big friggin space laser)
Small Lance Cannon (Fixed gun emplacements that usually face forward)
Small Lance Turret (Turrets are mainly a point defense thing and one of the rare weapons that can fire backwards ala 360 coverage)

Edit: Added the Generic Dudes Unit Roster below.

Edit: Cleaned up for easy copying.

Base Ship Roster.


Name: Escort Gunship
RATE: 6th
MOV: 11”
PIV: 1”
MOD: 1
SC: 3
AP: 0
HP: 10
SEA’s: Action: Take 1 Stress to deal double damage to Fleets or Units this Activation.
Weapons: 1
Small Lance Batteries

Name: Escort Point Defense
RATE: 6th
MOV: 11”
PIV: 1”
MOD: 1
SC: 3
AP: 0
HP: 10
SEA’s: Action: Take 1 Stress to deal double damage to Torpedoes or Fighters this Activation.
Weapons: 1
Small Lance Turret

Name: Frigate Gunship
RATE: 5th
MOV: 10”
PIV: 2”
MOD: 2
SC: 3
AP: 10
HP: 20
SEA’s: Action: Take 1 Stress to deal double damage to Fleets or Units this Activation.
Weapons: 2
Small Lance Batteries
Small Lance Cannon

Name: Frigate Torpedo Gunship
RATE: 5th
MOV: 10”
PIV: 2”
MOD: 2
SC: 3
AP: 10
HP: 20
SEA’s: Action: Take 1 Stress to deal double damage to Fleets or Units this Activation.
Weapons: 2
Small Lance Batteries
Torpedoes

Name: Destroyer Gunship
RATE: 4th
MOV: 9”
PIV: 3”
MOD: 3
SC: 3
AP: 20
HP: 30
SEA’s: Action: Take 1 Stress to deal double damage to Fleets or Units this Activation.
Weapons: 3
Small Lance Batteries
Small Lance Cannon
Small Lance Turret

Name: Destroyer Torpedo Gunship
RATE: 4th
MOV: 9”
PIV: 3”
MOD: 3
SC: 3
AP: 20
HP: 30
SEA’s: Action: Take 1 Stress to deal double damage to Fleets or Units this Activation.
Weapons: 3
Small Lance Batteries
Small Lance Cannon
Torpedoes

Name: Light Cruiser Gunship
RATE: 3rd
MOV: 8”
PIV: 4”
MOD: 4
SC: 3
AP: 30
HP: 40
SEA’s: Action: Take 1 Stress to deal double damage to Fleets or Units this Activation.
Weapons: 4
Medium Lance Batteries x4

Name: Light Cruiser Torpedo Gunship
RATE: 3rd
MOV: 8”
PIV: 4”
MOD: 4
SC: 3
AP: 30
HP: 40
SEA’s: Action: Take 1 Stress to deal double damage to Fleets or Units this Activation.
Weapons: 4
Medium Lance Batteries x2
Medium Lance Turret
Torpedoes

Name: Cruiser Gunship
RATE: 2nd
MOV: 7”
PIV: 5”
MOD: 5
SC: 3
AP: 40
HP: 50
SEA’s: Action: Take 1 Stress to deal double damage to Fleets or Units this Activation.
Weapons: 5
Medium Lance Batteries x4
Small Lance Turret

Name: Cruiser Carrier
RATE: 2nd
MOV: 7”
PIV: 5”
MOD: 5
SC: 3
AP: 40
HP: 50
SEA’s: Action: Take 1 Stress to deal double damage with Fighters launched by this Unit until this Units next Activation begins.
Action: Place up to 5 Fighter Markers.
Weapons: 5
Medium Lance Batteries x2
Fighter Bay x2
Small Lance Turret

Name: Battlecruiser Gunship
RATE: 1st
MOV: 6”
PIV: 6”
MOD: 6
SC: 3
AP: 50
HP: 60
SEA’s: Action: Take 1 Stress to deal double damage to Fleets or Units this Activation.
Weapons: 6
Medium Lance Batteries x2
Large Lance Batteries x1
Small Lance Turret x2
Fighter Bay

Name: Dreadnought Gunship
RATE: 1st Superheavy
MOV: 6”
PIV: 6”
MOD: 7
SC: 3
AP: 60
HP: 70
SEA’s: Action: Take 1 Stress to deal double damage to Fleets or Units this Activation.
Weapons: 8
Medium Lance Batteries x2
Large Lance Batteries x2
Small Lance Turret x2
Large Lance Cannon
Torpedoes

Spruefleet Basic Weapons.

Torpedoes. Torpedoes are launched by placing Torpedo Markers within the Fire Arc of the firing Unit facing forward paralell to the fire arc and no more than 6” away from the firing Unit. Torpedoes then immediatley move 12” forward one Marker at a time in a straight line. Torpedoes then stay in play and continue to move forward 12” in a straight line at the beginning of each Round until they either come into contact with a Unit scoring a hit or move off the board. Torpedoes can score hits during launch, but they must have travelled at least 4” before coming into contact with a Unit. Units cannot add Firepower to Torpedo damage unless at least one Model in the Unit has Torpedoes.

Name: Torpedoes
ARC: 90 deg F
RAN: N/A
ATT: 18
DAM: x2

Batteries. Batteries are broadside mounted guns with limited rotation, they are the most common type of weapon and can be found on almost all types of ships.

Name: Small Lance Batteries
ARC: 45 degrees L/R
RAN: 24”
ATT: 12
DAM: +1

Name: Medium Lance Batteries
ARC: 45 degrees L/R
RAN: 30”
ATT: 13
DAM: +2

Name: Large Lance Batteries
ARC: 45 degrees L/R
RAN: 48”
ATT: 14
DAM: +3


Cannons. Cannons are fixed gun emplacements that sacrifice mobility for firepower.

Name: Small Lance Cannon
ARC: 90 Degree F
RAN: 12”
ATT: 12
DAM: +2

Name: Medium Lance Cannon
ARC: 90 Degree F
RAN: 18”
ATT: 13
DAM: +3

Name: Large Lance Cannon
ARC: 90 Degree F
RAN: 24”
ATT: 14
DAM: +4

Turrets. Turrets are typically much smaller gun emplacements designed to provide full coverage against torpedoes, fighter and smaller ships. Some Turrets are designed specifically for point defense, these will be marked with a PD in the DAM stat. A Point Defence Turret does double damage to Torpedoes and Fighters.

Name: Small Lance Turret
ARC: 360
RAN: 12”
ATT: 12
DAM: +1 PD

Name: Medium Lance Turret
ARC: 360
RAN: 12”
ATT: 13
DAM: +2



Name: Large Lance Turret
ARC: 360
RAN: 12”
ATT: 14
DAM: +3

Fighter Bays. Fighter Bays are multipurpose hangar bays which hold a ships complement of fighters bombers and scouts. While all ships have hangar bays for transports and such, only dedicated Fighter Bays can launch Fighters. Ships carrying Fighter Bays will always have an SEA which can be used to place Fighter Markers. Fighter Markers must be placed within 4” of the launching Unit. The launching Unit then continues its Activation, the Fighter Markers activate next. Fighter Markers are considered to be their own Unit. Fighters can only perform a Move Action unless otherwise stated, they attack by coming into base contact with other Units and or Torpedoes. Fighters do not take Stress and they are never considered to be part of a Fleet. Units cannot add Firepower to Fighter damage unless they are also equipped with Fighter Bays. Unless otherwise stated Fighter Bays carry 1 Fighter Marker each.

Name: Fighter Bay.
MOV: 12”
Vs Ships
ATT: 10
DAM: 0
Vs Fighters
ATT: 12
DAM: +2
Vs Torpedoes
ATT: 14
DAM: x2

I love the torpedo idea. It gives players an "oh crap" moment as the things speeding towards them. Would you consider something that could disorient the torpedo, like some fort of flare launcher? These could be added to smaller ships to try and protect the bigger scarier stuff.

This is a really cool idea and I look forward to hearing more about it!

Welp, been awhile!

I started a substack and a gaming company. Working on securing funding to get some projects off the ground and into the printers.

Here is the substack link to Final Future. The rules for Spruefleet should be free to read and are in a playtesting state. I think this game may be a book-only type game to both cut costs and to encourage people to create their own ships or use other minis they already own. Perhaps down the road I'll come up with a kit line that people can buy, but for now - here ya go!

Playtest it and leave feedback on your results!


https://finalfuture.substack.com

Cheers!

Edit: The working rules do not require a subscription to view, though this would be greatly appreciated as it helps pay for, well... everything! There are no scenarios currently, however players can still test the rules with a simple "duke it out" style match. I also have a couple other games on the go, but these do require a subscription to view.