Solar Starfire Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• What You Will Need to Play
• Terminology
• Warships
• Freighters
• Bases
• Sequence of Play
  • 1. Initiative Phase
  • 2. Movement Phase
    • Hard Turn
    • Engine Modulation
    • Warp Point Transit
  • 3. Combat Phase
    • Extreme Numbers
    • Order of Fire
    • Field of Fire
    • Restricted Arc of Fire
    • How to Engage a Target
    • Weapon Chart
• Systems Used in Quick Start Rules

Introduction

The Quick Start Rules is a compilation of the three separate Quick Start Rule releases for Ultra and Solar Starfire. These rules simulate tactical combat in outer space. STARFIRE can be played by two or more players and can be played solitaire. STARFIRE is played on a hex map using counters that will represent the ships. If you or your group of players have questions not covered by these rules, they can be addressed to the Community Forums at http://www.starfiredesign.com/forum/.

What You Will Need to Play

The Quick Start Rules requires some components to play. These rules, paper, pencils or pens, and access to a computer to print out a map and counters will be required. You will also need ten-sided dice which can often be found at local gaming, hobby, or online stores. More expensive cardboard counters, large premade maps, and other accessories can be found, but are not necessary to play.

Terminology

The one group of terms that will be addressed here are the abbreviations for the various sizes of ships used in this Quick Start Rules.

• ES: Escort. A very small warship.
• CT: Corvette. A small combat and patrol ship. Dangerous to larger ships in groups.
• DD: Destroyer. Mid-sized ship and the largest available to many starting empires.
• CL: Light Cruiser. Heavier mid-sized ship, usually the flagship of smaller fleets.
• CA: Heavy Cruiser. A capital ship and often a flagship. Dangerous to anything smaller.
• BS1: Base 1. A stationary base the size of a Destroyer.
• BS2: Base 2. A stationary base nearly the size of a Heavy Cruiser.
• FT1: Freighter 1. A commercial ship the size of an Escort.
• FT2: Freighter 2. A commercial ship the size of a Corvette.

We will also look at how ships are represented in STARFIRE. Each system on a ship is represented by a letter or combination of letters. Other information will also be included in each ship description. Below is an example ship.

Bradley
- CT
[2] S S S A A A A Q (I) (I) (I) F [6]

(The example's size line is printed as "C" in the source text layer; it is shown here as "CT", the size abbreviation given in the key.)

• Bradley: The name of the ship.
• CT: The size of the ship, a Corvette.
• [2]: The Turn Mode of the ship. How quickly it can change direction of travel.
• S S S: Three units of shields, a defensive system.
• A A A A: Four units of armor, also a defensive system.
• Q: The crew quarters and life support. This includes the bridge.
• (I) (I) (I): The inertialess engines used to move the ship.
• F: A force beam, a weapon used to attack other ships.
• [6]: The Movement Points of the ship. This may be reduced by damage.

Warships

Warships are the standard vessel in the Quick Start Rules. Warships usually mount weapons, sensors, and defensive systems. Warships must mount Inertialess Engines (I) and Crew Quarters (Q).

Freighters

Freighters (F1 and F2) are commercial vessels, not warships. They are designed to transport goods and passengers. Freighters may only mount Inertialess Engines (I), Crew Quarters (Q), and Cargo Holds (H). Freighters take double damage from any successful attack.

Bases

Bases (BS1 and BS2) are fixed fortifications used to guard important locations, but are treated as ships in most respects. Bases usually mount weapons, sensors, and defensive systems. Bases must mount Crew Quarters (Q). Bases may not mount Inertialess Engines (I). Bases have no Movement Points and may not move on the hex map. They cannot transit warp points. They take damage in the same manner as ships, and are never considered to be without a drive field. Bases have no blindspot and can fire in any direction. Plasma torpedoes add one (+1) to their "To-Hit" number if used against bases.

Bases also gain extra range when using Missiles (R or G) and Plasma torpedoes (Pt). A Base needs to mount Combat Sensors (Y) to take advantage of this extra range. A Base targeting another unit with Missiles or torpedoes will subtract five from the actual range in hexes, to a minimum of 12 hexes. A unit 12 hexes or closer to the Base does not have its range modified by this rule.

Example: A base firing a Missile Launcher (R) at a target at a range of 20 hexes treats the target as if it were only 15 hexes away, but a target at 16 hexes is treated as if it were 12 hexes (the minimum that range can be reduced to).

Sequence of Play

The game is played as a series of tactical turns (simply called turns in these rules). Each turn is composed of a number of phases which are completed in order.

1. Initiative Phase
2. Movement Phase
3. Combat Phase

1. Initiative Phase

Initiative is determined by each player rolling a single ten-sided die. The player with the highest roll is considered the winner. In the event of a tie the player who lost initiative on the last turn is the winner. In the event of a tie at the start of the game, simply roll again. The player that has won initiative will move last and fire first.

2. Movement Phase

During the Movement Phase, the players will move their ships on the hex map. The player having the lowest initiative roll must expend one Movement Point for each of their ships having a Movement Point remaining. The winner must then expend one Movement Point for each of their ships having a Movement Point remaining. This process will be repeated until all ships have expended all of the Movement Points they have available.

A ship may expend its Movement Point by moving one hex in the direction the ship is facing, or may remain in the same hex the ship is currently in. Any number of ship counters may occupy a hex.

Each ship must always maintain a specific facing. This means that the ship counter must always be pointed at a specific adjacent hex. It can only move into the hex it is facing.

[Diagram caption: Using a Movement Point, the ship can stay in place or move forward (shaded hexes).]

[Diagram caption: Must face a specific hex side. Good, Good, Bad.]

A ship may change the hex it is facing by one hexside after expending a Movement Point, if it has fulfilled its Turn Mode. The Turn Mode is fulfilled by expending a number of Movement Points equal to the ship's Turn Mode in a single direction. This can be done by moving in a straight line, remaining in the same hex without changing facing, or a combination of both. Facing changes always occur after the expenditure of a Movement Point. Never before.

Damaged engine rooms will reduce the Movement Points a ship will have available. This is covered under the description of the Inertialess Engines (I).

Hard Turn

At the beginning of the Movement Phase, before a given ship expends any movement, a player may announce a Hard Turn. To do this a player's ship must have Movement Points equal to or greater than its Turn Mode. After declaring for a Hard Turn a ship must expend all of its Movement Points in the hex it started in. When it expends its last Movement Point for the turn, the ship may change its facing to any direction. This can be very useful for a slower ship that would otherwise be unable to get smaller and faster ships out of its blindspot.

Engine Modulation

At the beginning of the Movement Phase, before a given ship expends any movement, a player may announce a ship is using Engine Modulation. To do this the ship must have at least one more Movement Point than its Turn Mode. After declaring Engine Modulation a ship's Movement Points are reduced by an amount equal to the ship's Turn Mode. So a Corvette with a Turn Mode of 2 and six Movement Points that declares "Engine Modulation" will only have 4 Movement Points for the current turn. The ship must also expend at least one (1) Movement Point and must move from its starting hex to use Engine Modulation. It cannot expend all of its remaining Movement Points in its starting hex.

Engine Modulation subtracts one (–1) from the "To-Hit" number of any ship attacking it.

Warp Point Transit

Warp Point Transits are the most complicated maneuver covered in the Quick Start Rules. It is also one of the most crucial for players to master in STARFIRE as nearly all conflicts eventually involve a Warp Point assault. The warp point itself is represented by a single counter on the map, it is placed in a single hex and does not move.

The player making a warp point transit must first determine the order that their ships will pass through the warp point. This order cannot be changed unless specified in the scenario. During the Movement Phase, all of the transiting player's units (both on and off the map) will expend a Movement Point (MP), but only a single unit can pass through the warp point during that Movement Point. The ship that transited during the MP will be placed on the map in the same hex as the warp point, with a facing of the owning player's choice. It may perform no other movement with that Movement Point. After the ship has completed the warp point transit it will be able to expend the rest of its Movement Points normally on the map.

No ship can perform a Hard Turn or Engine Modulation on the turn it transits the warp point. The warp point transit is treated as if the ship had changed facing and resets its turn mode. The Movement Point expended to perform the warp point transit does not count to fulfill a ship's Turn Mode.

Warp Point transit interferes with a ship's operation. Combat Sensors and Datalink cannot be used the tactical turn a ship transits a warp point. Ships transiting the warp point will have three subtracted (–3) from all "To-Hit" numbers that turn. Point Defense will have one subtracted (–1) from its intercept numbers for that turn. Any unit firing at a ship that has transited a warp point that turn will have two subtracted (–2) from its "To-Hit" numbers. Units defending a warp point may also be subject to surprise, and this will be covered in the specific scenario.

Ships may also exit the map through the warp point and are considered to have disengaged or escaped if they do and may not return to the scenario. To exit the map through a warp point a ship must do one of either:

• expend a Movement Point to enter the hex of the warp point, or
• expend a Movement Point in the hex of the warp point.

Only one ship may leave the map at a time during a given Movement Point. Ships may not leave the map through a warp point on the turn they enter the map through a warp point. Ships are not required to transit a warp point if they enter the warp point hex or expend a MP in the hex, and may move through the hex normally if they choose not to transit the warp point.

Warp points do not block or interfere with fire passing through their hex.

3. Combat Phase

The Combat Phase of a tactical turn occurs after all movement is complete.

Extreme Numbers

For the purpose of STARFIRE Quick Start Rules any "To-Hit" number reduced to zero or less cannot hit.

Order of Fire

The player who won the initiative roll chooses one ship and fires its weapons then resolves damage. Then the player who lost the initiative roll does the same. This alternating pattern is repeated with each unit of each player until all ships have fired. A player may designate a ship to have fired without firing any weapons. In this case play passes to the next player. Ships with no chance to damage an opponent's ship (no weapons or not in range) may not be used this way.

If one player has fired the weapons on all of his ships while the other player has ships with weapons yet to fire, that player will continue firing until all ships have fired.

Field of Fire

All ships in the Quick Start Rules have a blindspot that may not be fired into. This is caused by the engines interfering with the ship's sensors. The ship will be able to know that another ship is in the blindspot, but the sensors will be unable to target the weapons on it. The blindspot is a "wedge" of hexes 60 degrees wide directly behind the ship.

[Diagram caption: Firing Unit, 60° Blindspot.]

Restricted Arc of Fire

In smaller ships, some weapons have an arc restriction because the weapon's size makes them impossible to mount in turrets. This occurs when an Escort (ES) mounts either a Force Beam (F), or Laser (L), or either an Escort (ES) or Corvette (C) mount an Energy Beam (E).

Weapons mounted with a restricted arc of fire are denoted by placing a "+" following the system. So an Energy Beam mounted on an Escort would be shown as E+. These weapons may only target other units in the same hex and in the front 120° arc of the ship.

[Diagram caption: Firing Unit, Forward Arc.]

How to Engage a Target

After deciding which ship will fire, you will need to choose a target. Then the player will determine the range to the target, which is found by counting the hexes between the ships, counting the hex the target is in, but not the hex the firing ship is in. If both ships are in the same hex the range is 0. This range is then used on the Weapon Chart to determine the number the player will need "To-Hit" the target. The player will roll one ten-sided die for each weapon fired. If the number is equal to or less than the number "To-Hit", then the target has been hit.

Weapon Chart

The source's Weapon Chart is headed Weapon, Damage and Rate of Fire, with Range (To-Hit) running across the top from 0 to 20 hexes. The text layer does not confirm which of the small figures printed beside each weapon code corresponds to Damage and which to Rate of Fire, so they are reproduced as printed. The "To-Hit" and "Damage" values below were read cell by cell from the chart at each range.

Weapon	Printed figures	To-Hit by range (hexes)	Damage by range (hexes)
Standard Missiles (R)	1 1	6 at 0–11; 5 at 12–13; 4 at 14–15; 3 at 16–17; no hit at 18–20	none printed
Sprint Missiles (G)	2 1	7 at 0; 6 at 1; 5 at 2; 4 at 3; 3 at 4; 2 at 5; no hit at 6–20	none printed
Plasma Torpedoes (Pt-1)	-1	3 at 0–3; 4 at 4–6; 5 at 7–9; 4 at 10; 3 at 11–13; 2 at 14–15; 1 at 16–18; no hit at 19–20	2 at 0–17; 1 at 18; none at 19–20
Force Beams (F-1)	-1	8 at 0–2; 7 at 3–6; 6 at 7; no hit at 8–20	3 at 0; 2 at 1–3; 1 at 4–7; none at 8–20
Laser Beams (L-1)	-1	8 at 0–2; 7 at 3–6; no hit at 7–20	2 at 0–2; 1 at 3–6; none at 7–20
Energy Beams (E-1)

Notes printed under the chart:

• Standard and Sprint Missiles cause 3× damage to units that lack both shields and drive-field.
• Torpedoes gain Target TM/3 (FRU) To-Hit, maximum +3; maximum +2 vs. Drive-field down units.
• Laser beam damage skips shields.
• Energy beam damage skips armor and holds. Shields take 2 points of energy beam damage to destroy.

When a hit is scored, cross-index the Weapon Chart to find the weapon's damage at that range. That is the amount of damage applied to the target. Each point of damage will destroy one system. The standard method of doing damage destroys systems from left to right, starting with shields and only skipping previously destroyed systems. Destroyed systems may no longer be used. When all of the systems on a ship's record are destroyed the ship is considered destroyed and is removed from play.

Point Defense

A ship hit by missiles or torpedoes may use Point Defense (D) to attempt to shoot them down (intercept) before they deal damage. Each Point Defense on a ship may attempt its intercepts on a per attack basis, not per turn. If a ship mounts more than one Point Defense each may perform its own intercept actions. Only one intercept attempt on a missile or torpedo is allowed and any missed intercepts by one Point Defense may not be re-engaged by another. Missiles or torpedoes fired by ships in the blindspot of the ship mounting the Point Defense may not be intercepted.

An intercept is successful if a ten-sided die roll is equal to or less than the intercept number (see Point Defense (D) system entry) or exact numbers.

Limited Ammunition

In the Quick Start Rules some weapons' descriptions will list a limited number of munitions (missiles, torpedoes, etc.). Each time the weapon is fired, one munition is used. When no munitions remain, the launcher is depleted of ammunition and unable to fire, but is not destroyed.

Damage Control

In the Quick Start Rules shields are not considered destroyed by damage, only knocked offline. Any ship that has lost shields and takes no damage other than from lasers or three consecutive rounds will regain one shield at that time. This can be repeated if multiple shields have been damaged in combat. Shields regained this way take damage normally if the ship is again damaged in combat.

Wrecks

Some weapons skip systems in combat (lasers and energy beams). In the event that a ship is reduced to only shields (S), armor (A), and cargo holds (H) with all of its other systems destroyed, that ship is considered a wreck and is counted as destroyed for the purpose of these rules.

Target Limitations

In the Quick Start Rules a unit can target any number of ships out to 10 hexes. Combat Sensors (Y) allow this range limit to be exceeded, and are covered under the system descriptions.

Terrain

The terrain types that will be covered in the Quick Start Rules are planets and moons. Planets and moons do not fill the hex they are located in and do not impede movement through the hex. Bases may be placed in a hex with a planet or moon.

A ship, but not a base, located in the same hex as a planet or moon may declare that it is sheltering behind the planet or moon. This occurs before any other action in the Combat Phase. A unit sheltering behind a planet or moon cannot fire or be fired upon during the current turn by any unit not in the same hex. Planets and moons do not block fire in any other instance.

Units cannot land on planets or moons in the Quick Start Rules. Units cannot fire weapons at any population said to live on a planet or moon in the Quick Start Rules, unless otherwise specified in a specific scenario.

Status Changes

In STARFIRE, four status changes must be announced. The first is when all of a ship's shields have been destroyed. At this point the ship's player must announce "Shields Down." The second is when the first non-shield/non-armor system is destroyed. At this point the ship's player must announce "Streaming Atmosphere." The next is when any engine system except the last is destroyed, at this point the player must announce "Drive Field Fluctuates." The final occurrence is when the last engine system is destroyed, at this point the player must announce "Drive Field Down."

Systems Used in Quick Start Rules

• Shields (S): Shields are actually generators that produce a magnetic bubble around a ship. All shield systems must be the leftmost mounted system on a ship's control sheet.
• Armor (A): Armor is both metal plating and the hull's internal strength. Armor must be placed after shields, but may otherwise be placed anywhere on the ship's control sheet.
• Inertialess Engines (I): The Inertialess Drive creates a drive bubble around a ship that protects it and propels it at a measurable fraction of light speed. The Inertialess Drives are mounted in Engine Rooms (see Engine Rooms). The size of the ship determines engine room size and, more importantly, how many Movement Points a ship gets from its drives. An Escort (ES) or Freighter 1 (F1) gets three (3) Movement Points from each drive (I). A Corvette (C) or Freighter 2 (F2) gets two (2) Movement Points from each drive (I). A Destroyer (DD) gets 1 Movement Point for each drive (I). A Light Cruiser (CL) gets 2 Movement Points for every 3 Drives. A Heavy Cruiser (CA) gets one (1) Movement Point from every two (2) drives.
• Crew Quarters (Q): This is the living space and life support for the crew of the ship.
• Combat Sensors (Y): Combat sensors are the targeting arrays necessary for a ship to fire weapons at a range greater than 10 hexes. Loss of the combat sensors will prevent all fire beyond 10 hexes.
• Force Beam (F): Force Beams are short range weapons that use a drive field like beam to "ram" another ship and cause damage.
• Laser Beam (L): Laser Beams fire a coherent beam of light at a target. As light is magnetically neutral Laser Beams ignore (skip) all Shields (S) on the target, doing damage to the next system in line.
• Energy Beam (E): The Energy Beam fires a beam of charged particles at a target. These charged particles build up and short out a target's electronics and systems. As such, Energy Beams skip Armor (A) and Cargo Holds (H). Energy Beams require two points of damage to destroy a shield. A single point of damage applied against a shield at the end of an attack is lost.

The Quick Start Rules text ends here. Pages 5 to 11 of the document, including the remaining system descriptions (such as Engine Rooms, which the Inertialess Engines entry refers to) and the scenarios, are not in the source text and are not transcribed.