

The amount of thrust needed to close or open by one range category is given in the Range Table – the number given is the amount of thrust needed to move from that range category to either a closer or more distant one. In each manoeuvre phase, a ship can allocate Thrust either to movement (closing or increasing the range to a target) or manoeuvring. The Effect is added to the Initiative of the spacecraft (or fleet). The commander of each spacecraft (or each fleet, if more than one ship is involved on each side) may a Tactics (naval) check. The ship with a greater Thrust score gains a +1 DM to its roll.
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The ship’s computer can cover several positions if it is running the appropriate software:įire Control programs can either act gunners or aid existing gunners.Ī ship equipped with repair drones and Auto-Repair software acts as damage control.Ī ship running an Intellect program and Expert Pilot can be the pilot.Ī ship equipped with repair drones and running an Intellect program and Expert Engineer (M-drive or J-drive) can be a drive engineer.Įach ship in an engagement rolls 2d6 to determine their starting Initiative score. Passenger: Passengers are all people aboard ship who are not assigned a position and are assumed to be waiting in staterooms. Marine: Prepares to repel boarders, or to board enemy ships. A character must choose which turret he is manning at the start of the combat.īay Gunner: Each bay weapon has its own gunner.ĭamage Control: A character assigned to free-floating damage control can repair any system. Turret Gunner: Each turret has its own gunner. Pilot: Flies the ship, responsible for changing course and for evasive manoeuvres.Ĭaptain: Commands the ship, and can use Leadership and Tactics skills.ĭrive Engineer: An engineer can be assigned to each of the M-drive and the J-drive. There can be only one pilot, but other than that, any number of people can occupy the same position. More often, ships engage near a planet, where the range is Short or Medium.Īt the start of an engagement, all crew must be assigned to a position on board ship.

If two vessels randomly encounter each other while travelling, the encounter will begin at Very Long range. The recent campaign, Pirates of Drinax, by Gareth Hanrahan, has been winning a lot of plaudits recently too.Each turn in space combat lasts six minutes. The current Mongoose version is regarded by many as the most approachable and flexible version of the game, suited to casual and long term gamer alike. The game itself has gone through many editions, and several systems. Arcane Magazine ranked it at number 3 in the Best RPGs ever, and it retains a hugely stable and loyal following regardless. The LBB design (Little Black Book) was also seen as very futuristic in its day, and has become something of an iconic cover design.īoth the game itself and the main game designer, Marc Miller are Origins Hall of Fame recipients, and it has been cited by Mike Pondsmith of Cyberpunk fame as one of the 100 Best Hobby games ever (the Green Ronin publication). The original game (and Mongoose's Traveller to a degree) is broadly generic, so in this manner it's sometimes seen as the science fiction equivalent to D&D.
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It still tends to appeal to fans who prefer their sci-fi "hard" and gritty in tone at least, and generally runs in the same manner as Josh Whedon's Firefly TV show. At the time of it's original release (1977) it largely captured the burgeoning Star Wars gamer fanbase and managed to maintain it with strong sales up until the late 80s when an official Star Wars (WEG) came out. While it wasn't the very first science fiction rpg (that would be Metamorphosis Alpha), it was the first RPG system to be skills based, while it also introduced ideas such as Tech levels, lifepath character generation, quasi science-based world design, animal design and starship design. In terms of game design history, it's one of the most innovative games ever made.
